OMG We Have Travel Dates!!

It is so excited to finally be at the end of this process and the beginning of our new journey as a family.  This has been a very long process for us.....and the pick up trip is no exception.  Sadly, last Fall the USA added a new requirement of TB testing.  The children are already vaccinated for TB in this country so we are hoping that it doesn't mess up the testing.  Because of this new requirement our trip will be longer then we thought when we started the adoption process.  We also are traveling over Easter so this is making our trip even longer.  I am really ready to be done with the adoption process.  I hate being away from my other kids, so this is going to be really hard. Missing Easter and Daniel's birthday is hard.  But we have amazing friends who are helping us with the kids and we are so grateful!!Another downside of it now being Spring is the ticket prices have all gone up... a lot.  But enough whining.....

We are so happy to be going to pick up our sweet Maria!  We are really hoping that they are preparing her for her upcoming journey.  I am sure this is so hard for her to wrap her brain around.  She has only known orphanage life, so this is a big change for her.  The kids can't wait to get her home.....we all are ready to find our new normal!  Even Angie walks around saying "You go pick up Ria?"  We can't wait to get her here and see her blend into our family.  We have the suitcases out and the packing has started.  We are leaving in less then a month......it is so hard to believe it is finally here!!

Thank you all for all of the support, it means more then you can imagine!  Adoption is hard and it can be lonely, but having supportive friends and family really helps!!

On the home front, Jack and Daniel are shaving their heads for pediatric cancer research.  It is called St Baldricks Day.  We haven't seen Jack with out pretty long hair since her was 7 or 8, so we are interested to see what his eyes look like now ;-)

I am not sure if this will work as a link but it should get you to their page if you copy and paste it.  We would love some donations towards cancer research.  The boys are doing this in honor of our old neighbor Austin.  He lost his battle to pediatric cancer a year ago this week.

http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/697672/2014/fb_action_ids/10151959012941451/fb_action_types/og.likes/fb_source/other_multiline/action_object_map/%7B%2210151959012941451%22%3A1396530027281318%7D/action_type_map/%7B%2210151959012941451%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D/action_ref_map/%5B%5D/


So once again thanks for everyone's support!  We are so grateful!