Day 1 (September 12th)

Day 1
Everyone says to sleep but how? We are flying over 8,000 miles to pick up our babies which has taken us 17 months of hard work to bring them home. It is also the fulfillment of 15 years of longing for a family.

…but sleep everyone says sleep…

It is now 2 am and I need to be up by 3 am to get ready to leave. I will lay down for a quick nap. My fear of oversleeping is why the kitchen timer is sitting in our bedroom set to go off along with my alarm clock, Hubby’s alarm clock and a back up phone call from my mom for good measure.

4:00 am

Everything is ready. Everything is packed. In 27 hours we will be landing in Ethiopia.

5:00 am

The lady at the United Airline counter asks what we will be doing on our trip. I told her we were going to Ethiopia to bring our children home. The magnitude of what was about to take place overwhelmed me …I could not speak…and the tears of joy and relief began to flow.

Denver to Dulles

As with every step of this journey, travel has been no different. The emotions have been broad and sometimes unexpected. The flight from Denver to DC has brought with it a numb feeling that “this” isn’t real. I felt like we must be traveling anywhere but Ethiopia.

I have yet to be able to sleep…

8:30 pm

Our plane leaves right on time. Charlie is holding my hand from across the aisle. The wheels leave the ground and we really are Ethiopia bound. My mind is flooded with more thoughts than I can process. What if we aren’t able to bond with the kids? What if they are scared to death of us? What if I am not a good Mom? Will I regret doing this? What if they wish we would have never adopted them?
...the thoughts keep coming…
A gentle squeeze of my hand brings me back to my Hubby’s smiling face and to these precious words, “tomorrow you will be a Mommy.”

Yes, in 16 hours our plane will land in Ethiopia and I will be a Mommy.