We are packed. 7 tubs filled with 296 sneakers, 12 cans of formula, 200 pairs of socks and candy for the children in the orphanage. 2 carry-ons and one larger suitcase filled with clothes for us and Noemi, 150 diapers (gotta be prepared for the predicted blow-outs), bottles, nipples, burp cloths, rice cereal, waterproof shoes, rain jackets, toiletries, protein bars, linens, joint braces, a baby carrier, half of a pharmacy and too much more to mention. Thank goodness for those vacuum bags that suck all of the air out. Oh, and of course, in addition Donovan will have a hefty bag of camera equipment. We keep shuffling stuff around to meet weight requirements. I officially have no idea what I am doing. I don’t know this child, nor do I know how much power/water we will have access to…it’s all one big adventure. I figure we are in this together—me and Donovan and Noemi and all we can do is laugh. Honestly, I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Many of you have asked, so here’s the skinny on our trip:
We leave tomorrow to fly out of Washington DC at 8pm. It will be a direct, 16 hour flight into Addis Ababa with one refueling stop in Rome, but we don’t even get off the plane. We’ll arrive in Addis late in the evening on Sunday and go to our guesthouse where we will (try to—with the assistance of sleeping pills) sleep. Monday morning we will wait for a phone call letting us know when we will be picked up to be taken to the orphanage to meet Noemi. We’ll spend the week playing with and caring for Noemi at the orphanage. We also plan to get to know Addis as much as possible and take an in-country flight to the town that Noemi is from. There are a lot of unknowns, so our focus will just be on loving on that girlie and being flexible. We will arrive home, baby in tow, on September 2nd, greeted at the airport by our parents.
T minus 1 day to go! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh....
