And So It Begins

Sitting at Seatac. Signs that we have nervous energy: just spent $28 on 3 magazines and some batteries. My nose won't stop running. My nose runs a lot when I'm nervous. Ty's random bursts into song annoy me. A little.

The past couple days I've been measuring time by frequency. "Two more vitamins til we leave." or "Five more times I'll feed Boone before we leave." or "Last time I will brush my teeth before we leave." (And, no, that was not a couple days ago.)

Last night, at home, I was surprised by melancholy. I can't explain it, really, but I also do not want to dismiss it. Maybe sometime soon I will realize its reason or purpose.

So, here we are, boarding in less than 30 minutes. We have a 2 hour layover in Frankfurt, and from there we fly nonstop to Addis. We arrive in Addis at 9:15 pm on Wednesday, 11/30. Someone from our guest home will pick us up. After a restful night of sleep (I can think positive, right?), we will be picked up on Thursday morning at 9:30 and be driven to the Thomas Center, the orphanage where our daughter will be waiting. We will meet her for the first time around 10 am Thursday, ET time. About midnight Pacific.

Our agenda the rest of the time is, well, we aren't sure, really. We hope to visit the Thomas Center every day except Sunday. On Sunday, visitors are not allowed, so we are working on hiring a Christian driver to show us the sites of our daughter's home country. We want to do a little shopping. Baskets, maybe, or wall art.

We will not be traveling to Lainey's remote orphanage as originally planned because our driver became unavailable. Instead, Lainey was brought to Addis Adama a few days ago.

We are excited to see Tana and Miles, who are already united in Addis and on Saturday will BOTH be returning home to Casey to begin their family of three life together.

We are also encouraged by Tana and Casey's timeline. Miles' embassy date was just a couple months after their court approval. There is a good chance we will be approved when we appear on December 6, and since we've been repeatedly cautioned against having a hopeful timeline, I'll leave the calculating up to you. Prayers for a quick turn-around would be appreciated. Although we have not met or held Lainey yet, I am already dreading the temporary good bye when we leave Addis.

It's meaningful and bittersweet that today, November 29, four years ago, Ty's dad passed away. Ty, Sr. had a rough personality and left a little to be desired as a father, but I have absolutely no doubt he would've been proud of his son and a hell of a grandpa.

It's a bit surreal and I have no idea what the next eight days hold. But, in our prayer this morning I thanked God that the deepest desire of my heart matched His will for our life right now. And I'm just a little excited to get this party started!

Seattle to Frankfurt.  Frankfurt to Addis Ababa.