Wow--I look at other people's blogs and feel very lame on the postings and updates. Alas, we've had a few things going on...

First of all, we passed court on May 8th, so we're officially the parents of two darling 10 month olds! I went to a presentation for work on the morning of the 8th and thought how funny it would be if someone asked me if I had kids. How often does it happen that a woman can give the true response and it is, "maybe." Because Ethiopia is hours ahead and our agency is on the West Coast, we had passed court in Ethiopia, but didn't know it yet!

It was a weird feeling to have children (totally, officially, last names are Simpson), and not be with them. It was then that my feelings changed. I had felt patient (overall) and ok about the process, but all of a sudden I wondered, "why are OUR children living in an orphanage? They should be home with us NOW where they belong!" So although we celebrated the day, I was actually more sad than I had been because I really felt they should just be home. So how long would that take?

Orignally, our agency had said it would be two weeks after we passed court that we would be getting a travel date (I thought), which would be two to three weeks out (5 more weeks of waiting). When Dave spoke to them on our court date, he thought they said it would be FOUR weeks before we heard about our travel time...two weeks doesn't seem so long, but when you're waiting to bring your kids home, it is. We were trying to get more clarity on this time frame, and feeling a bit confused. After about a day of that, I let it go. I reminded myself how faithful God has been in this whole process and how sure HE was of when our kids would be home--that it would be perfect. Well, the 13th we got an email with our travel date! So forget two or four weeks, how about 5 days! Again, as soon as I let it go and trusted God, something moved forward. The lesson continues to be learned...

So, we found out we needed to be in Ethiopia for our Embassy appointment on June 9th. Just yesterday, we got our tickets to Ethiopia, and we leave two weeks from today! Yippee! We'll be gone June 6-13. We're driving up to DC to fly out, but then our flights are relatively direct (a stop, but no plane change, which is awesome). You'd think the bazillion miles we have on different carries would help, but no. Of course, that's all so much less important than bringing our babies home! We'll be landing at Dulles on the morning of the 13th (and welcome visitors at the airport for those of you who have asked :)).

Now we're just preparing...everything. I look up and realize that a one year old would pull over this shelf, or that piece of art, and we're baby proofing. I'm trying to cook meals to freeze. I need to figure out what size diapers they wear, put plugs in the outlets, batteries in the toys, a fence up to keep them out of the water! Really, though, if they were here right now we'd be fine. Most importantly, we're full of love for Jada and Bennett, and we're excited to have them home. Our prayers continue to be that they are healthy and happy, and that we all attach well. We thank you for your prayers, too--you're support and love through this whole process has been amazing. Please put comments on the blog--I'm excited to be able to share this with Jada and Bennett some day as a part of a "baby book" of sorts, and I know your kind words will be so meaningful to them. I have saved every email and can't wait to show them how many people loved them, were praying for them, and were excited about them long before we knew them.

Much love to all of you.