So far....

We departed on Friday, and after spending 2 1/2 extra hours on the airplane in Portland before even taking off, we flew to Amsterdam. We didn't sleep much on the plane, so were a bit tired when we arrived in Amsterdam on Saturday at 10:30am, since it was 1:30am to our bodies. After getting out of the airport, we took a taxi to the downtown area and found a restaurant for lunch. We walked around the town a bit and took a boat ride on the canal to see more of the town. It was beautiful. We headed back to the airport earlier than anticipated, since we wanted to nap a bit and didn't have the energy to explore any more. We all got a quick 30 minute nap in before boarding our plane to Cairo at 9pm. We were all able to sleep a bit more on the plane and arrived in Cairo at 2:30am on Sunday. After getting our visas and flying through security we found a tour guide who was eager to set us up with some sight-seeing for that day and also made arrangements for us to get to our hotel. We arrived to the hotel and all took showers before falling into bed around 6am -our first beds since Thursday night.

We woke up around 10am on Sunday, got some breakfast and began our touring of Cairo. We were hooked up with an English speaking tour guide, a Muslim woman, who was very nice! First stop -to see the Pyramids. We chose to take camels (and horses) through the desert and viewed the Pyramids. Our guide was great and made sure to get some really good pics of all of us. We were even able to touch one of the pyramids! We saw the sphinx and then headed back. It was supposed to be around 100 degrees that day, although I never saw a thermometer to confirm. We were all troopers. Even Mom, who doesn't handle the heat, did great! We were promptly taken to a perfume shop where they tried to sell us perfumes we didn't want, and then to a paper making store where they tried to sell us art we weren't interested in. We then continued to a restaurant buffet where we were the only ones there and the food had probably been sitting there too long. Again -we were all troopers, ate the food and so far no one has been sick. We were hoping to get back to our hotel to take showers and wash off the smell of camels, but somehow didn't have time. So we hung out for awhile before heading to take a dinner cruise on the Nile River which included two shows -one with a woman belly dancer and the other with a man dressed in a skirt who spun around in circles for about 10 minutes straight without falling down. It sounds pretty strange, but was interesting! The weather at night is about 80 degrees, so we sat outside on the deck of the boat after the show and enjoyed the scenery of the city.

We actually got a full night's sleep, in our beds last night. In fact we slept for about 10 hours straight, which was amazing. We only got up to get some breakfast and then came back to our rooms to relax. Today we are keeping things pretty calm and don't have much planned. We hope to be caught up and adjusted to the 10 hour time change before heading to Ethiopia late tonight. Our flight leaves at 3:30am, so we probably won't sleep much tonight.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) morning we arrive in Ethiopia around 7:30am. We aren't scheduled to meet Olivia until Wednesday, although I am secretly hoping they allow us to meet her earlier than scheduled. Otherwise we will do some sight-seeing.

The internet connection here in Cairo is great, in our room, free and pretty quick. I don't anticipate it will be like that in Ethiopia, but we'll try to get online as often as we can to post updates.

Thank you to all who are praying for our trip. We certainly feel your prayers. Everything has run smooth so far, we're all in decent moods, catching up on sleep, healthy, excited and anxious! Please continue to pray for A & E who are at home with Grandma. It sounds like they're having a good time together, but that the girls are missing us. Please pray for patience, endurance and understanding for Grandma too. And of course, please pray for Olivia and her care-givers. Pray for Olivia's precious little heart as her life is about to turn upside down again. Please pray for her transition.

Loves to all of you.

Our Itinerary

Here's our itinerary for the two weeks we're gone. Feel free to pray for us during these times.

Friday, 7/30 -Depart PDX, 10 hour flight to Amsterdam + 9 hour time change.
Saturday 7/31 -12.5 hour layover in Amsterdam including a bit of sight-seeing maybe. Depart to Cairo, Egypt at noon PDT. Arrive Cairo 4:20pm PDT.
Sunday, 8/1 -Cairo, visit the pyramids and do a bit of sight-seeing.
Monday, 8/2 -Depart Cairo 5:35pm PDT and arrive in Ethiopia 9:25pm PDT.
Tuesday, 8/3 -Sight-seeing in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. MAYBE meet Olivia
Wednesday 8/4 -Meet Olivia!!!!!
Thursday 8/5 -Spend morning with Olivia and sight-seeing in the afternoon.
Friday 8/6 & Saturday 8/7 -Travel to birth area, visit original orphanage, meet her birth mom!!!!
Sunday, 8/8 -TAKE CUSTODY!!!!
Monday, 8/9 -Bonding time
Tuesday, 8/10 -Embassy appointment
Wednesday 8/11 -Bonding time
Thursday 8/12 -Obtain her visa and depart for home 12:50pm PDT. Arrive Amsterdam 8:45pm PDT.
Friday 8/13 -Depart Amsterdam 1:10am PDT. Arrive PDX 11:40am!

3.5 days and counting...

We depart in 3.5 days -on Friday. I can hardly believe the time is FINALLY almost here.

We spent Saturday night getting packed, and are all packed -except for a few last minute type things. Our suitcases are under weight, which is pretty impressive. We did much better than anticipated!

I am feeling the pressure to finish up some things around the house and get things all organized for Grandma to take care of A&E while we are gone. The girls are excited, but getting a bit anxious for us to be away. They understand that Daddy & Mommy are leaving on an airplane to go to Ethiopia to bring Baby Sister home, but they don't understand how long we'll be gone. I think they are anticipating us being gone for a few hours -like on a work day. We have some fun things for Grandma to read to them and show them each day so they can hear what we'll be doing each day. Please pray for them regardless. I know they will be fine, but they will miss us a lot too.

Please continue to pray for Olivia and for the nannies who care for her. Pray for a smooth transition for Olivia as her life is about to turn upside down -different people, different sights, different smells, different sounds, different voices, different clothes, different bottles, etc. I cannot even imagine the heart ache this experience is for any adopted child. I mourn for the loss she has already suffered and for the loss she will suffer in leaving her birth country and everything she knows behind her.

Please pray for us -for safe travels, for strength, for energy (to adjust to the time change, to the sleepless nights due to anxiety, for the sleepless nights due to having a baby), for strength during our emotional times over the next several weeks, for compassion and for wisdom on how to care for Olivia during her transition.

Thank you all for your continued support!!!!!

Two Week Delay = Camping Fun!

Since we couldn't depart today as we had originally planned, we're heading out of town to go camping with a group of dear families. This is a camping trip we scheduled in February and that I have been looking forward to since we returned home from our last camping trip in August 2009. I was a bit disappointed we were going to miss it, but the gift we were going to get in return made it all worth it. Now with our trip being delayed by two weeks, we get to go camping anyway and we STILL get our gift. See? There's always a silver lining.

Olivia turned four months old this past week, we leave in two weeks and she will be in our arms in two 1/2 weeks. I can hardly believe the time is ALMOST here!!!

Update on Olivia!!!!!

We also received some good news this week -an update on Olivia. One of the representatives from our adoption agency traveled to Ethiopia last week. She was able to visit Olivia and gave us an update on her status and also took some pictures of her!

We have been told that Olivia smiles easily and is a generally happy, but vocal baby! They provided us with an update on how much she is eating, that she is holding up her head and that she wakes 2-4 times per night for a bottle or diaper change! Good thing her nights are our days!!!! She is sharing a room with three other babies. And here's a glimpse at some of the pictures.....

Some tummy time! She's holding up her head. That's a good sign. And check out all that hair!!!!!!

Such big, beautiful brown eyes!!!!

Whew! Only a small delay.

We received the official word today that our travel plans will be delayed by two weeks. This may seem like a bummer, but I am really praising God through this.

*Praise God that this is ONLY a two week delay.
*Praise God that we found out BEFORE we departed, as some families travelled to Ethiopia and then got the news from the Embassy that they had to wait two weeks causing them to either return home and then fly back or stay in Ethiopia for an extra two weeks.
*Praise God that tickets were still available on all the flights we needed.
*Praise God that we are comforted in knowing that Olivia is in God's hands.
*Praise God that we are trusting His timing over our own and know that He has a purpose in this minor delay.
*Praise God for the peace that only HE could give me, as He knows I am a planner by His design!
*We're also still praising God that we are only required to travel ONE time to Ethiopia, as all of the families being matched with children now are required to make TWO trips.

We are still waiting to find out from our travel agent how much it will cost to change our tickets, but again we're trusting in God to provide for this additional expense.

Thank you for your prayers and your encouraging words.

Oh NO!

We are supposed to leave in TWO WEEKS to go meet our daughter and bring her home. We just got a call today letting us know that our trip may be delayed due to the a change in our Embassy date in Ethiopia, as they apparently have more families scheduled on that day than they can process. It's all up in the air at this point and we won't have any more information until next week. Please pray. We know this is all in God's timing, but it's difficult to find out that we have to wait longer to get our hands on our precious daughter.