Leaving on a jet plane - part dos

For those of you who are on facebook you already know I've had this song in my head all day!! Well, it's 2:00 a.m. and I can confidently say we are ready with bags packed and everything coordinated while we are gone (hope so!)

I'm feeling every emotional right now - excited, nervous, sad to leave the girls, looking forward to some down time on the plane and most of all anxious to meet our little H! This entire three weeks has been a complete rollercoaster but I wouldn't change it for the world. I'm so emotional right now I'll cry at the drop of a hat and I feel so out of control with my tears - feels very similar to the hormone surge I had right after I birthed Claire and Eden. I think my body is just getting ready to be a new mama again and once again, I wouldn't change it for the world. OH I can't WAIT to see him smile, kiss his head and cheeks, feed him, change his diaper, sing to him, tell him we love him forever and can't wait to bring him home... this will be a day we will forever be changed. (Might be Friday but we are scheduled to first see him Saturday)

Please pray for us as we leave for our amazing physical journey to our son - Lord knows we've been on the emotional journey for years! Here are some specific requests:

- Pray for H's heart to be prepared as we come into his world and he starts learning that we are now mom and dad. We will look different, sound different, smell different... might take some getting used to =)

- Pray for our safety as we travel as well as for our health - I'm still battling some health issues and Neil is notoriously sick when we travel. Hoping to not use our cipro but we are prepared if so (thanks Justin!)

- Pray for the girls - I'm nervous about leaving them this long as we've never stayed away longer than 2 nights. Claire is especially having a hard time with us leaving. She is really upset that we get to meet him and she doesn't and keeps saying "it's not fair" and "take a ton of video of H - make sure you get him making noises!" She has a tender heart that yearns to meet him just as much as we do. So hard to tell her she can't go. Eden is just excited to stay with the grandparents =) but talks about H - a lot!

- Pray for us to make every moment count and to soak in as much of Ethiopia as we can. We want to experience the people and culture so we can relay it to H as we raise him. We want to remember every moment as they are now the moments weaving our lives and stories together

- Pray that we get to meet H's birthmom - it's a slim chance because of where she lives but I've been praying this even before we were on a waitlist so I will continue to pray for this meeting to happen.

- Pray for our hearts and minds to be prepared and open to see what we will see and hear what we will hear. I've always heard and read that once you go to Ethiopia you are forever changed and leave part of you in Africa. We will see some hard things and we will see some incredible, beautiful things. We want to be open to what God is showing us and where He is leading us!

Thank you to so many of you who have been some of our #1 fans! We couldn't do this without your love and support. We are overwhelmed to see how the church just envelops each other and how great our God is through others.

I will try to update on here but not sure what communication we will be able to have while in Ethiopia so stay tuned for when we return!