Getting Ready to Leave...

Soooo, this is the beginning of our blogsite...nothing really special here, but we HOPE to be adding to it over the next couple weeks!

We leave at 12:38pm on Wednesday from GrandRapids to head to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to pick up our THREE BOYS!!! Abraham, Yishak, and Abenezer---HERE WE COME TO BRING YOU HOME TO OUR FAMILY!!! Can't wait!!!

Bags are mainly packed (let's pray that the airline scales are the same as PakMail's scales...'cause that's where we took 'em to have 'em weighed!!!) Let's see: SIX large suitcases, computer bag, 2 well-packed carry-ons, and 2 big backpack/kid carriers that we hope to check at the gates! CRAZY!!!! Thanks so much to people who have done this: the Buikemas, the Hulsemans, the Volks, the Jenkins, the Zoets, the Deters--and SO MANY MORE who have given us lists of advice.... we have made MULTIPLE trips to Meijer and Target to pick up last minute essentials (who knew how much formula, diapers, and over-the-counter drugs we needed to bring?!)...

We are getting super excited...I think for me (Kate), I have finally turned the corner (not completely, but starting) from just fully petrified, chaotic, and panicked to "ready to do this" and beginning to feel at peace. AND to be actually LOOKING FORWARD with eager anticipation for our trip and for our boys to come home. So THAT is a good feeling!!!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to everyone who is PRAYING...we know that we cannot do this without God's grace, mercy, faithfulness, goodness, provision, and protection; and we can feel so many people praying those things for us, our girls as they stay home, and for the boys who will be joining our family! Thanks for reading our blog--we HOPE to be able to update it while we are in Ethiopia... We love you guys! Thanks for loving us so well!