So many things...

We had three years to work on getting her here.  And 48 hours to prepare to have her here.  It has been a whirlwind of excitement.

There have been a lot of big moments since yesterday.  Moments that we had been expecting since we started talking about adoption... but now that they are here they are no less surprising.  Here are a few random things I wanted to share before we left...

• Last night we bought formula and wipes and baby food for the first time in years.  Standing there looking at the baby food aisle we realized that none of these flavors are going to be familiar to her.  None of these even look like anything she's used to eating.  I said to Logan, "Let's not buy meats.  We don't know if she's had meat!"  It feels like we're having a newborn, but that newborn is nine months old.

• In these three years we have gotten so wrapped up in other families adoptions.  We've read their blogs, talked to them on our yahoogroups and recently followed them on Facebook.  I have prayed for, cried for, and jumped up and down screaming with excitement for families I never have and probably never will meet.  I burnt something on the stove when the Marquez family finally got Kaleb home.  I bawled and bawled when the Kulps finally got their referral.  We prayed and prayed for the Sorensons.  Once we were cleared yesterday, emails and messages started pouring in from women all of the place, "I've been crying tears of joy!"  "We've been praying every night!"  It's awesome, just truly awesome, to know that there are people who were as wrapped up in our adoption as we have been in theirs.  This adoption community is an amazing thing.  I am so, so, so grateful that we get to be a part of this group.  Thank you for sharing in our joy and allowing us to share in yours.

• We have an overnight layover on the 28th.  So I'll wake up on my 31st birthday in a hotel in Amsterdam with my husband and baby.  Logan is trying to take credit for planning it all this way.  As if he knew in 2009 that if we started our adoption in February I could have this fantastic birthday.  He's just that good.

• Our house has been like a party today.  People coming and going, dropping off donations.  Our phones have been ringing all day.  After all of these weeks of being sad at home, it's good to see our house alive and happy.

Tomorrow we'll be dropping River at Meme's in the morning.  Then we'll fly out of Indianapolis at 10:30 a.m.  Our flights are kind of tricky this time, so please pray for us that we don't have any problems tomorrow and for safe travel.  We'll get to Addis at 9:50 p.m. on Monday (their time).  We will pick her up first thing Tuesday morning.  


Our next post will be from Ethiopia!  We are also on Facebook now, so if you aren't already our friend, we're Our Ethiopian Daughter.