It is so surreal. We have finally reached the point of travel! It has been a long time coming. In just 5 days, my dad and I will be jumping on a plane and flying to Eastern Europe to meet my boy! FIVE DAYS! What?! We've waited so long for this point that it almost felt like we were chasing the proverbial carrot, always just shy of getting a nibble. But alas, God was merciful and this first leg of the race is coming to a close. March 21st, we fly out, we spend nearly a full day in flight (or several flights, rather) and land in Levi's Eastern European countries capital on the 22nd. We stay the night in the capital and then the next morning we get a ride from our translator/guide to Levi's city. Our first visit with him is on the 24th. We spend 5 days in his city, visiting the orphanage twice a day. This has not been confirmed yet, but I think we may only get one visit on the 5th day, to allow enough time to travel back to the capital that night.
Just imagining that first visit and that last visit... sends me in a tail spin. I cannot wait to meet my son! So many questions and unknowns. So much joy and excitement! Love is practically bursting out of me! And then on the flip side, there will inevitably be a last visit. And my heart hurts just typing that out. It will be oh so hard to leave him. But, the phrase "last visit" also holds hope. Because the next time I see him, it will not be a visit. It will be forever. And forever suits my heart just fine.
So much has lead up to this point. And I have not done a good job of blogging along the way. I have used Facebook as a platform for sharing most often, but I'm trying to get better at tending to this little blog of mine. So bare with me. I've got 4 kids at home needing me all day long, and another child across the ocean who needs me just as much and I cannot be there for him yet, which is crazy making for a mama's heart.
We do a lot of praying for Levi throughout the day, because aside from adoption requirements and fundraising, prayer is the only thing we can offer Levi right now while he waits. I pray for him with Judah when I lay him down for nap. We pray for him at the dinner table each night. We pray for him with the kids before they go to bed. Cana especially likes praying for her brother. I pray for him before I fall asleep at night. And we pray for him at church or in our churches community group whenever we get a chance. Today I asked my 3 year old what we should tell Levi when I see him. In his sweet, impish way, he said, "tell him 'bout Nayna, Wowo, Judah, Yisha, mama, dada. Ok?" For those who don't speak Judah, he just listed his siblings and parents. :) I thought that was so sweet and simple and exactly the right answer.
5 days. There is a lot I need to accomplish in these last moments. It's a hectic time. My mind is constantly on overdrive, mentally going over to do lists for myself. Pray for me as I prepare to leave behind my family in search of another precious family member. Pray for my family as they live their day to day lives without me for a little over a week. Pray for safe travels for both my dad and I. Please pray for good visits with Levi.
I'm so thankful that my Dad is able to go with me on this trip. For a moment there I was afraid that I was going to have to travel alone. But Dad was able to make it work. He wants to meet his grandson after all! This will be an adventure of a lifetime for him and me. Some may wonder why my husband is not going with me, but for our family it just worked out better this way. My husband can only take off so much time from work, so he is saving his days so that we can go together on Gotcha trip. (Gotcha, or pick-up trip, is generally 4-6 months after first trip.) Josh will stay home and man the fort, with the help of his Mom and my Mom. And our church has been so wonderful in coming alongside us, and they will be bringing Josh and the kids a few meals while I'm away.
I leave the kids in good hands, but that doesn't make it easy. I know they will be fine though, and we have Skype to communicate with each other. It will be hardest for me to leave my baby, Kaisa. She is only 14 months old and has only recently stayed one night at a time away from me. We originally planned on taking her with us on the first trip, we got her a passport and everything, but then we found out that children are not allowed inside the orphanage. Which meant I was going to have to leave her behind and wean her earlier than planned. Which has been sad for me, and frustrating for her.
It's very late, and this blog is getting to be kind of jumbled. So I will leave you with a little fundraiser info. Currently we have a $500 matching grant from a beautiful group of people who are passionate about seeing orphans be placed in families. What a blessing! We are so close to matching it too. When our FSP reaches $8040, our match has been met and an additional $500 will be added!
Family Support Page
Also, a generous friend of mine has put together a HUGE scrap book fundraiser! There are dozens of scrap booking material lots (all new!) for a fair price, with FREE shipping, and all money spent on fabulous scrap treasures go toward our adoption, and another sweet families adoption. See more details here:
Scrap Book Treasures
PLEASE, please browse the scrap booking sale and share it with friends. My dear friend Rachel put an awful lot of work into getting everything organized, photographed and set up online for sale. Let's try to make all her hard work worth the effort!
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| Just a sample of the many items available! Please Shop! |
