child departure report!

Last night we got Megersa's departure report! This is the last bit of info we think we'll get before we leave to get him. :) Basically if you get it - you're getting close! AND WE ARE - 12 days and counting....
I've corrected the typos they had in it:
They had my name as Kathleen.
It was stated he was 4 months, though the birthdate was correct, so I changed it.
Where it says cereal, it previously said cerelac (that one took me a few minutes to figure out what they are talking about)...
and I'm seriously doubting (though I haven't corrected it) that Megersa is in 0-3 month clothing. The weight/height/hc is the same as it was a month ago, so my guess is that they didn't re-weigh him, etc...and even then, he was 13 1/2 lbs. I'm guessing he's in 6 month clothing. I'd rather bring him clothes a little too big, than too small.
But for the rest, here it is:


Name: Megersa
Family Name: Timothy and Kathryn Nester
Age: 5 months (Birthday: September 3, 2009)
Location: Layla House, came from Shashemene

Feeding Schedule:
Food the baby eats: Cereal
What the baby drinks: Kirkland Infant Formula
7am – cereal
10 am – formula (180 ml)
1 pm – formula
4 pm – formula
5 pm – cereal
Nap from 12:30-3:30p
We have switched to a personalized feeding schedule based on age and weight, rather than our previous set-time feeding schedule.

Clothing Sizes: 0-3 months (He is skinny/has a small frame, but he will need the next size up soon)
Observations/Concerns/Comments:
When placed on back, does he/she wave arms and kick legs? yes
Can he/she roll over? yes
When placed on stomach, can he/she use forearms as props to lift head and/or chest? yes
Can he/she sit with support? yes
Can he/she sit-up unaided? Not quite
Does he/she keep balance while bending forward to grasp a toy? no
Can he/she crawl? no
Can he/she grasp furniture to pull self up to standing position? no
Can he/she stand with support of adult? no
Can he/she walk? no
Is he/she babbling or beginning to speak? Just baby noises
Does he/she bring objects to his/her mouth? yes
When feeding, does he/she use hands to grasp cup or bottle? sometimes
Can he/she grasp toys? yes
Does he/she have an interest in particular types of toys? Toys with faces such as animals
Can he/she shake a rattle? yes
Can he/she pass an object from hand to hand? yes
Does he/she respond to his/her name? yes
Does he/she turn towards noises? yes
Can he/she track an object with his/her eyes? yes
What is his/her weight? 6.12 Kilo
What is his/her length? 65.5 cm
What is his/her head circumference? 43.5 cm
Does he/she play peek-a-boo? Not really

Observation: Megersa is a sweet baby. The first day I observed him, he was very quiet and tired. He had a bit of a cough, so I think that is why he was so mellow and a bit fussy. After a couple of days he seemed to warm up to me, and he became very responsive. He grabbed my hands and smiled when I sang with him. He really enjoys being held but does not cry when set back down. Truly, he is a good natured infant. Physically, Megersa is quite wobbly, and I think he lacks some strength. However, with time I’m sure he will become strong. I noticed that he had a bald spot on the back of his head. Still, he is very handsome. With his smiles and loving nature, he will make a great addition to the family.

Observation By: Chelsea Cunningham, Layla House Volunteer

So, that's it! I wish they attached a picture of him. I haven't seen a new one in over a month, but I will see him face-to-face soon enough!!

Eastern time

Well, I'm in the Eastern time zone. For good. It was weird changing my phone this time (for those of you who don't know - you have to manually change your blackberry phone when entering a different time zone). Normally when I travel, I just leave it. It's only an hour difference, and I can do the math! :)
But, I'm back to Eastern time. I grew up in Eastern time, but spent the last 4 years in Central time. Tim's excited to "be back" but I could care less either way.

The last few days were a whirlwind of packing and saying goodbye.
When Cale was learning to repeat us, months back, he started saying "something's weird." Just out of he blue. I know he didn't know what he was saying, but he must have heard us say it at one point. Well, Sunday, when Tim woke me up for church, I looked at him and said "Something's weird." :) And it still feels weird.

Our church farewell party on Sunday night was sad. I'm going to really miss a lot of people. I didn't cry TOO much, but it was definitely hard watching people walk out the door of the church and wondering if I'll see them again. ((Thank goodness for FACEBOOK!!)) The teens took it extremely hard too. They REALLY love Tim. And why not? He's an AWESOME youth pastor and such fun to be around! I know I'm sad when I'm not with him...even for a few days!
We'll miss you Faith Baptist!

Yesterday Cale and I flew from Chicago to Wilkes-Barre.
We left the house at 11:30am and as Tim and Cale were waiting for me in the car - I didn't really get a chance to look around for the last time, I just grabbed my carry-ons, my coat & Cale's pillow, and just ran out the door...
Our house was by far my favorite place I've lived. Good memories, nice layout, good location, no parents, no landlords...etc.
But I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to it.
So, I will now: "Goodbye house!"
Goodbye gigantic master bedroom and bathroom with walk-in closet.
Goodbye favorite stool at the kitchen counter.
Goodbye playroom that helped de-clutter the house.
Goodbye trampoline.
And just so it's not too sappy - I also want to add:
Good riddins to the moles that made our yard look like a discusting mess.
Good riddins to the temperature difference downstairs vs upstairs.
Good riddins to the ugly painted cabinets.

Ah. I feel better now. :)
I'm anxious to get to our new place and try my best to unpack before I leave for ET!!
I can't believe it's only 13 days away!! Cale was an ANGEL on the flight yesterday.
If you know him, you'll know what a statment that is!
He's not a BAD kid on flights - just extrememly energetic...as is his usual behavior. He doesn't sleep, and has a hard time sitting still or using his 'inside' voice. BUT, someone must have been praying for me yesterday (THANKS BABE!), because I think our hour delay was JUST what we needed. I found the 'kid port' in the airport, filled with ALL KINDS of fun things for him to do. It was made by the Chicago Children's museum, and Cale had a blast! I took some great pictures too...I just wish I had my cord that connects to the computer. Oh well.
I think it wore him out, so he was perfectly content to sit on the airplane and watch his favorite movie. He was a dream. :) This guy sitting across from me kept saying how he was so jealous that Cale was such a well-behaved (almost) 3-year-old!
I usually pack my carry on full of things to entertain Cale with, and if there is room, I'll throw in a magazine for me. Well, he was so entertained by sample seat belt the steward gave him, and the snacks & his movie...that I didn't know what to do with myself. I actually flipped through my entire magazine, then decided to "rest my eyes!" :) How about that?

Okay, well, I'm here in PA until Friday afternoon. Kinda bored here during the day with my brothers in school and my Dad & step-mom at work. Plus, I'm without car and cell phone service...but hey, at least I have the internet!
I'm sure I'll be updating my blog more often with non-interesting ramblings such as this one. :) But, I promise I won't blog 2x in one day!
Until tomorrow.

Remember when...

This is one of Cale's FAVORITE things to do these days...playing the "remember when" game. He has an EXCELLENT memory! Really, I'm so impressed!
The first time I think he started with the "remember when" stuff...was a few months ago. Tim, Cale & I went to Sam's Club for a family date. We walked around, got free samples, and then went to their little food court for pizza and hotdogs.
Cale was kneeling on those bench seats they have - very excited and moving around, when he fell off. He went straight back and crashed on the floor. He cried for a little while and said his arm hurt, but of course, he was alright after some snuggles.
At any rate, it had been months since the incident, and one day, out of the blue, Cale said to me "Mommy, 'member when we went to Sam's Club, and I fell down, and got an owie, and cried, and hurt my arm, and ate pizza?...'member that Mommy?"
I mean, WOW! I was so impressed...I'm surprised he didn't tell me what we were wearing, too!
Well, since then, he has been great at 'remembering' events. It's been fun.
So, to that end, I want to ask you:
Remember when I blogged about the card I sent to Megersa?
Well, at the end of last month, a traveling family open it for him. So, I thought I would post pictures of him looking at it!
((I can't post them ALL, because not all of the baby's have passed court - and well, you know the rules!)) But it was ADORABLE - all of the babies on the floor were diggin' it - the card got everyone's attention! Way to go, Mommy! :)
Here are some great ones of my boy, looking at his family:So, all in all...3 dollars WELL spent.
I know my last post was kinda 'heavy' so I thought this would totally be appropriate for now! I look forward to the next steps in life! They may be scary, but I wanted to share a verse a friend of mine shared with me:
"For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." Is 41:13
This is just what I needed today. :)

Homesick

Can you be homesick for more than one thing at a time?
Can you be homesick for a home you haven't left...or a home you've never been?
Can you be homesick in the place of someone else? How about for someone you've never met? Can you be anticipate being homesick, and become homesick?

Well, I'm sure this is all debateable...but I'll bet you can guess what my answers to these questions are:
I say yes. One person can experience all these things.
And now that I'm living them, I can say that it's possible to feel all these things at the same time.

We are leaving IL in 5 days. We have not moved out yet. I haven't really had to say "goodbye" to any close friends yet...but I'm already homesick thinking about it.
I honestly can tell you that I didn't think it was going to happen. I've been SO focused on Megersa and the 'next step' in the process to bringing him home, that I hadn't noticed that time was zipping by...the clocks still work, and the calendar is correct, it's just that...I guess I haven't been paying attention.

I feel like I became a women in IL. Sure, that sounds silly. I moved to IL when I was 22...I had been married for a year...and I was a college student (somewhat ;) - that should classify me as an adult women, shouldn't it?
Well sure. Technically. But, I don't know.
I've experienced so many things in my life here.
Tim's first job - (and our first apartment that wasn't married student housing).
Becoming a Mom. Whoa...that one was HUGE! I think after you become a mom, you instantly grow up 10 years in maturity (or you should).
When you become a mom, it's like something "clicks!"
You realize that God has blessed you with life. One of His children is now in YOUR care, and you and your husband are the sole providers for them. That's a tremendous responsibility!!
I made a lot of long-standing friendships here.
You know, high school friends, even some college friends were good 'for a season' - in that time of life friends were the most important thing...and there are a few I still keep in regular contact with, but not really the character-building women I've grown to know and love here.
And I hadn't really thought of how things would affect others THROUGH Cale. Cale makes friends so easily. He wears his little heart on his sleeve, like his mommy. He's got some buddies here that I'm sure he'll ask about when we're in MD...but I hadn't contemplated people really missing him that much!
That sounds bad. Obviously people have said that they will miss us...but I mean, specific to Cale. I have a friend whose son is 3 weeks younger than Cale. Patty and I were pregnant together, and were due a day apart. Cale and Hogan have been playmates for almost 3 years...so when she said to me sadly, "Katie, I always thought our boys would grow up together..." it was heart-breaking.
Maybe I'm just noticing things now. Like the look in our Pastor's wife, Joni...(who has been an awesome example to me, and has been a surrogate Gramma to Cale) as she was playing with Cale, saying how much she'll miss him....
And our adoption process started here. It's so very hard to walk through this process without friends holding your hands...I've been so fortunate to have that. So telling them thanks for playing, but I can't share the prize, was hard. :( The ticking of the clock is a countdown to when I'll be homesick for IL.

But I'm kinda homesick for Maryland. I am excited about the opportunities, the close proximity to my family in PA, and the new friends I hope to make. I'm wanting it to feel like home, so that when I come home from Africa with Megersa, we will ALL be home. I just want to get there...and start settling in.

Can I be homesick for Cale, even though I haven't left him? I've only been away from him for 1 night, on 2 seperate occasions. And before you think I should "cut the apron strings" please note that I really haven't had much opportunity. Am I suppose to just leave for the sake of being gone?
That kid is the biggest part of my life right now...it'll definitely be hard to leave him for any extended amount of time.

And I'm homesick for Megersa. I have been since the first day I saw his picture. I want him to be with me so much...but I know I'm going to feel so badly as we leave on the airplane. We are ripping him from the only thing he knows. His country, his people. The sights, sounds, smells....this is a lot to take away from a baby.

Of course thinking about being homesick, makes you more homesick.
Honestly!
At camp, when kids would start to cry at night, I started thinking about them being homesick...and inevitably I would end up homesick too.
Tim said we should take things "One step at a time." I agree.
But this stairmaster is on HIGH!!
Can we re-set it?? :)

I'm so thankful that I have God to help me through all of this time of transition. I can lean on Him, and the awesome husband he gave me. I'm not sure why the wave that I've been staring now feels like it's suddenly crashing down on me...but I'm glad that I have a life preserver.
These verses have been swirling around in my head:
Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. - Eph 6:10
What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. - Psalm 56:3
Your love, O God, reaches to the Heavens...your faithfulness, stretches to the sky. Psalm 57:10

Details, details.

We've decided to go with Ethiopian Air. It flies out of DC straight to Addis.
Emirates sounded really good and was recommended by many people. But I'm confident that EA will be fine too, as long as it stays in the sky!! :)
We don't have EVERYTHING set in stone yet - but here is our flight itinerary -

Going to ET:
We leave March 8th from DC at 9:30am.
Stop in Rome to refuel...but do not de-plane.
Arrive in Addis Ababa, 8:30am - March 9th.
Total travel time: 15 hrs.

Returning home:
We leave March 12th from Addis at 10:15pm.
Stop in Rome to refuel...
Arrive in Washington DC at 7:35am.
Total travel time: 17hrs, 20 min.

WHOA. Seeing it all mapped out there makes me anxious! Anxious excited...and anxious nervous....a little of both.
See, I do not travel well. And to explain myself, perhaps I need to defend myself. ;)
Traveling didn't occur very much in my family growing up. Almost my ENTIRE family - both sides of the family, grandparents, cousins, etc...lived within a 30 minute radius from each other.
I actually can remember DRIVING to Canada, and thinking that those 7 hours were the LONGEST hours of my life!!! Silly Katie.
This was before DVD players in the car...or Nintendo DS or IPODs or wireless internet, so you have to cut me SOME slack!

If you've read my previous posts...you'll know I'm a horrible sleeper. I am TOTALLY over-thinking the sleep thing right now.
But I want to be on the 'top of my game' when I meet Megersa!
I want to be there for him and not be grouchy because I'm so tired - and I AM GROUCHY when I am tired.....ask Tim.
Plus, I HATE to wake up early. Early for me is before 7:30am. Honestly.
What's that? You think "that's nothing!" - well, shut it....it's early for me! :)
Tim and I are not morning people.
Before we had kids, we'd stay up till 2 in the morning, and then sleep in till 11am.
Sigh.
If I listed the specific things that contributed to my "over-thinking" I'm sure it would only make me think about it more. I just have to FOCUS ON THE PRIZE!
The rest will work itself out. I will not fall over from exhaustion, but I won't be rested. I'll get through it! :)

Square Dancing

I want to start off by saying that God's blessings REALLY are new every morning. These past few mornings, especially so....

Now, to the story:
*Square dancing is the one where everyone switches parnters, isn't it?
Let's pretend yes, so the title fits. :)

Tim is no longer going to ET. His father is not going to ET.
But, Tim's mother is going. And I AM GOING!!

Okay, so you might be thinking that all the previous posts have said that Tim was going, and how I was so okay with it, and how it was the best decision...etc.

And you're right. The decision for me to stay was based off these factors:
1. My biggest priority would be for one of us to stay with Cale. (I do not think he is ready for a huge move & his parents to leave him for a week.)
2. Tim had decided that he was too uneasy about letting me travel alone with just one other female. He said it was either the 2 of us go together, or I stay home. (And because of rule 1, I planned to stay.)
Tim's reasonings were good - he wanted to protect me. He felt like having a male there (whether it be him or his father) would put his mind at ease. But, he hasn't been in touch with traveling families. I explained to him that many women travel alone, or with other women. It was safe. I still understood and respected his protective side.

So, how did things change, you ask?
Well...I guess it all started when I got the email stating we could have traveled on Feb 24th. Though I think it was all IN LOVE :) - perhaps I went a bit overboard "being sad" and pestering Tim if there was ANY WAY we could get Megs at the end of Feb. He was feeling really upset by it all.

Now, before I finish up the decision-making part of this story, I'll have to tell you, that throughout this past year I have "checked-in" with Tim (oh, probably about a 100 times) as to whether or not he's changed his mind...and would let me travel with his mother. The answer was always the same - with me, or nope (and I went back to Cale needing to be with one of us). So...in case you are thinking that I'm a wishy-washy, spur-of-the-moment decision maker, please know I am not. NOT on the big stuff anyway.

I've watched probably a hundred episodes of 'A Baby Story' (mainly when I was pregnant with Cale), and I was always touched by the miracle of birth - no matter to who, or how it came about...BUT, I would really cry when I watched the episodes that were devoted to Adoption baby stories (they are few and far between though).
When I saw the mother waiting in the room for her baby she had waited SO long for - and then they hand them to her...I mean, who WOULDN'T cry?! It's so touching.

Anyway, I guess I've always pictured that moment after we started the process...and it'd be me, with our Ethiopian baby. Before we received his referral - and maybe before I fell TRULY in love with him, I thought I could persuade my mind that the moment would be just as magical when Tim came off the plane with him.
And, if things hadn't changed...I'm sure it would have been.
((You know, I had a C-section, and wasn't able to hold Cale right away, which would have been my first desire -but I couldn't touch him until I was all stitched up. Even still...the moment I DID get to hold him was still magic.))

So now that you know the desire I've had since the beginning of the process was rooted deep, I can tell you what transpired to really change Tim's mind.

The night that I read the email about Embassy dates, I layed awake thinking of the possible scenerios - was the time that it 'clicked.' A loop in the rule system...
If I couldn't go without a man...I COULD still go...AND have someone stay with Cale.
I'd just go with BOTH of Tim's parents, and he could stay home!
Truthfully, I'd prefer to go with just his mom, but it followed both rules, right?

I sorta made up my own mind (and if Tim is reading this, I'm sure he's nodding his head) that I would go. That was the NEW decision....
Note: I'm not some head-strong women. Generally my "new decisions" are based off of things that I feel pretty confident that Tim will eventually 'come around on'- ie: Megersa's name. :)

So I told Tim that I figured out a way to go. And that I wanted to go. I needed to go, and that I think I SHOULD go. :)
I told him I'd like him to seriously think it over.
And if we're being honest, I think that initially he said Yes because he wanted to 'silence' all talk of the Feb 24th Embassy date...AND that he was starting to think it'd be okay. :)
He told me I had to call his mom and ask if she still wanted to go. Then, not 5 minutes later he adds "and maybe you guys could go without Dad."
WHAT?? I was baffled!!
When Tim asked his father to accompany him months ago, his mom offered to go with as well...but because I feel strongly that I should be the first women Megersa attaches to, I kinda put the kibosh on that. I did feel bad though, because I know she wanted to go...
Soooooo, I called. But I kinda got mixed signals from her. Months back when I explained the reasons for me NOT going, she very nicely questioned my decisions (repeatedly so). Looking back, I think she might have been trying to play the devil's advocate (and perhaps this time as well) to make sure my decision was the RIGHT one...and I guess I see her point.

But, all in all - Megersa's my son...he's Tim's son. We get to decide how best to care for him, and even if it's a snap decision (which this isn't, as you can see), it's ours to make.

I got off the phone with her feeling very confused. Did she not want to go now? I guess I wouldn't go if she didn't want to. I was feeling pretty bummed.
But as I drove home from the gym, I called Tim and he said "My mom REALLY WANTS TO GO!"
"Huh?"
But then he told me the analogy that she gave him -
I guess when she was first 'asked' (whether it was by accident or not) she got her hopes up way high. - And I think this is really awesome...don't get me wrong! So when I told her gently that I'd like for me to be the first women he bonded with, she was disappointed. And now "she was like a dog, with a peice of raw meat dangling in front of her face" and she doesn't want us to take it away...her words.

That kinda convinced me. Because that is a vivid analogy! ha ha.
So, she told me that she'd ask "Dad" if he thought it'd be okay if we went just the 2 of us, and she'd get back to us. Tim said that if Dad thought it was okay for HIS wife to go with just another women, then he'd be okay with his wife doing the same.

So she asked Dad and his exact words were something to the effect of "yeah, I dont care if you go alone with Katie!" AH HAHAHAHAHAHA!
If you are me, you are imagining the MONTHS of torture Tim endured, and I put myself through, over this very decision - only have it come out the way I had originally dreamed! It's madness!! :)
But...that's what been happening over the past few days.
We've been square-dancing.

I do want to add that Tim said something super-intuitive, and super sweet recently with regards to this. See, I really do feel bad taking this away from him, and kept trying to "nudge" his feelings out of him on the topic. He told me that he was disappointed he won't be going, but he could tell that I am IN LOVE with Megersa in a way that he doesn't understand yet. He knows it means the world to me.
I love my husband!!

And since this story has gotten OVER-THE-TOP long, I will continue another day with our flight schedule, travel dates and our dilemma over where to stay.
Thanks for following along, and if you've made it this far...I'm impressed!

ps. Did you check out the ticker?? 1 month until our Embassy appointment! AHHH!!

Last Stop: Embassy!

I still have a hard time believing I can write this...but:
WE HAVE OUR EMBASSY DATE SCHEDULED!! -
March 10th!
I can't believe I will be holding my baby in less than 5 weeks!!And even thought I thought I may not write this (because it still really bums me out) I will...for those of you still in the adoption process wanting to know how long things take. We were given the opportunity to travel for the Feb 24th appointment!
(So...all in all, from court to being embassy-ready would have been only 4 weeks!)

Here's the story:
It had been a little over a week after we passed court, so we were anticipating another week or so until we had any solid information. And because Tim's last 'working' Sunday is the 21st of Feb, he booked a moving truck for Monday the 22nd. I booked flights on the 22nd of Feb.
Flights - non-refundable, truck - changeable with fees attached.
Everything was running as expected, until we got an email on Friday with Megersa's birth certificate attached. I thought it would have taken longer! In my head I started fantasizing about going to get the baby earlier than March 24, or April 7...but still tried to keep my hopes in check.
I know I mentioned that I wrote to my agency director and she said we should find out our travel dates "soon."
Well, sure...soon COULD be a week, a few days...but surely not a few hours?! But it was!
NOT KIDDING here - I got this email at 2:02am on Saturday:

Hi Katie,
Gail informed me that she has already received your court decree from the court! Gail is stating that your documents would be ready in time for an interview on February 24th. This would mean arriving in Addis no later than the morning of Feb 23rd and departing as soon as Friday evening the 26th. Would your family be able to make travel arrangement for this date?
Alternately, your family could interview on March 10th (arriving by the morning of the 9th and departing as soon as the evening of the 12th). Please let me know which date your husband prefers.

WHAT??? I MEAN, WHAT????
I was shocked beyond belief. Of course I have to tell you that it was the middle of the night when I saw this message, and I COULD NOT sleep after that.
Why was I checking my mail in the middle of the night?
Good question.
See, I'll have to admit this ugly truth in order for you to understand: I am in love with my Blackberry.
There - I said it!! Seriously, when I got a scratch on it last Sunday, I wanted to cry! It's kinda ridiculous....
At any rate, I woke up at 3 am to the sound of Cale crying, so I went downstairs to comfort him, and as I came back upstairs, I noticed my blackberry blinking at me.
For those of you without blackberries - they 'blink' red when you have a new text, voicemail, email, missed call...etc.
Why did I NEED to check this in the middle of the night?
I don't know. It's a compulsion.
But, I did...and I saw an email from AAI. My heart stopped for a second. What could this be about? Was something wrong with Megersa?
NOPE! We had our travel dates!!!
Wow, what a rush!
I woke Tim up immediately to tell him the good news, but he told me that we could chat more about the dates when he was "awake."
How he fell right back asleep I can not tell you!
My mind was whirring! The wheels were turning. I was determined to SOMEHOW make the Feb embassy date work. ((You know, if it had - I would be holding my baby in 2 weeks))......................
As you can see from the new countdown 'ticker', there was no solution to be found.

But I spent the hours of 3am-6am thinking of every possible solution to moving and getting Megersa in the same week:
~I could fly out with both of Tim's parents (Tim REALLY wouldn't want me to travel with just another women - ie: my mom, or his mom...but if BOTH his parents went, that'd be okay, right?)
Ugh...I didn't get the shots...oh well, I could rush to get them, right? Sure, it'd be another $300+ and we'd lose that $300+ we spent on Tim getting shots.
Plus, I booked the flights to PA for Cale and I. I checked to see if I could get a refund - Nope. That'd be wasting almost $900. This was not the solution.
~Maybe Tim could still go, and I could handle all the moving? I could do it! I'd just need to: arrange people to help pack the truck...lose the money spent on my plane tickets, and drive, alone with Cale for 12 hours to MD, then arrange for people from our new church to help unpack the truck (all this while entertaining Cale without Tim). hm... - not likely.
~Maybe we could move earlier? We'd just pay the extra fee required to change dates on the rental truck. Oh, and ask our current church if that was okay...and skip out on the farewell party they're throwing us....then lose the money we spent on the tickets. - Doable, but kinda selfish. :(
~Could we move LATER?...losing the tickets...and not getting paid from either church (from our last paycheck here, until the first one there). Not feasible.
Though I thought through each scenario very carefully, I was STILL giving Tim the "puppy eyes" and telling him I was sad...
Unfortunately this went on for most of the morning, until the last "no dice" roll was cast - Tim called his parents (remember the plan was/is for Tim's dad to accompany him to ET to get Megs)...and both said that the week of Feb 24th would not have worked.
Humph. I kinda figured it wouldn't work out as soon as I saw the dates in the email, but what kind of Mother would I be if I didn't DESPERATELY want it to work out? I've been waiting to see and hold the baby God has given me for almost a year and a half!
Looking back, 2 weeks was like NOTHING to wait, but looking forward - 2 more weeks is an eternity! I'm still getting over it.

BUT...in all reality, March 10th is NOT that far away! It's sooner than we thought, and it'll give us time to settle in to our new place. It would have been extremely hard to get a new baby/move and unpack all at once...so this is the right decision.
I'm just so stinkin' excited!
We're at the last stop! It's all a dream, I think.
A dream coming true:

Drumroll please..........

We just got an email with Megersa's birth certificate attached!!
Now I know his birthday - and I have to say, I'm so excited to finally know!
Have you noticed the new 'ticker'?? - My baby is 5 months, 2 days old today!
His birthday is Sept 3, 2009.At first when I looked at the paperwork, I saw that it said 03/09/09 - and I was BAFFLED....I couldn't fathom who would say that that baby was 11 months old!!!
I immediately called my friend Rachael, who reminded me so sweetly that in Ethiopia, they date things - day, month, year.
Oh yeah. Duh!! Ha ha.

Anyway, I'm so excited!!
Outside of the sheer joy of actually having a "date" this is super exciting because this means that out of the steps needed before travel...we're now on #3 out of 3!
I mentally thought through what it meant that we had a birth certificate, and I decided to send this email to our agency director:
Hi Merrily!
I just wanted to tell you that we got a copy of Megersa's birth
certificate (via email) from Linda.
We are so excited to finally know his assigned birthdate!

Could you tell me what is the next step before we get travel dates?

This was her response:
Susan helps the families with the next steps and she isn't in today. I think you should expect to get travel dates soon. Merrily

I mean, can you believe it? It's actually happening!! We're going to be bringing our baby home. All he needs now is a passport! :) WAHOO!!!

Okay...a few more pics for the road:Oh, and just for those of you who are time-line obsessed (as I was/still am) - it's been exactly 3 months since we got our referral...and a week and 2 days since we passed court. :)
And, if I may, I'd like to quote one of my Dad's favorite jokes:
Dad: "You know what they say when they cut the monkey's tail off?"
Me: "It won't be long now!"
(I realize now that this joke is a little dark, but hey, it was a childhood fav!)

The cat's out of the bag.

No more secrecy. I can COMPLETELY wear my heart on my sleeve again. Phew!
In all seriousness, keeping in this secret has been hard on me.
It's bittersweet, but I'm happy to say that the Nester family is embracing a new chapter in our lives. And here it is:
WE'RE MOVING!...and not just down the street, or a city over, but to Maryland!
THIS MONTH!!!
Crazy, I know!
Tim just accepted the Worship and Prayer Pastor position at Mountain View Community Church in Frederick, Maryland.
Tim is currently the Associate Pastor of Youth and Music at our current church, but has been experiencing God's tugging at his heart to peruse full-time worship for awhile. We have been praying for God's guidance as we went to interview and candidate at MVCC.
We need a lot of prayer as we try to sell our house. That is one of the hardest things to relax about. A new job, new house, new baby - all at once!
If you wouldn't mind praying for the sale of our house, that would mean a great deal! We are really hoping that someone will "assume the loan."
So that's big news. No news yet on Megersa's embassy date. It's been 1 week, 1 day, and Susan said it would most likely be 2 weeks until we find out...hopefully next Wednesday we'll know when we can travel!! I mean, I can't believe it's actually happening! I can BARELY stand it!! I can't WAIT to hold him and kiss his sweet little face! If I weren't so stinkin' busy packing and planning the move, I'd probably lose my mind! Haha.
Thankfully, God has given me an AWESOME amount of peace ever since we got our court date. I really feel like things will be smooth sailing.
The Ethiopian Embassy hears AAI's cases every other Wednesday, and our agency director said that we will most likely travel for the March 24th appointment, or April 7th. I'm praying very hard that it is in March - I'd LOVE it if we could
all be together for Cale's birthday!! But, I will try to exert patience, regardless!
Tim got his shots last week...well, most of them. He still has to get 2-3 others. His poor arm is really hurting him!
Anyway, back to the upcoming move:
We are 99% sure of where we are going to live. It's a townhouse in Frederick...about 10 minutes from the church. It's got 3 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms (I know - how crazy that there are more bathrooms than bedrooms!), and a finished basement that the owner said could be used as an extra room. It's got a back deck and a fenced in yard (praise the Lord!), with a membership to the townhouse community pool!
The pictures I've seen looked very nice...and the owner promised to make a few changes (with regards to primer, and wallpaper removal. We are confident this is the place for us. The owner is just that - not part of an agency, and is willing to let us paint colors we want, and do extra things with it. We will most likely be renting for several years before we can recover from the loss that we may take on this house....
It seems scary - but we are confident God is behind us, and we're excited! I fly out on Monday the 22 with Cale, and we are gonna stay in PA with my family for a few days, then I'll drive with Mom on Friday to MD. Tim hired a driver for the truck, and they said it'll take 2 days to get there. Tim will drive the van, and most likely get there before the truck and stay somewhere in Frederick (or maybe with his brother in Harrisburg). Then they hope to have stuff unpacked, and the major things assembled before Cale & I get there on Friday.
Lots of things happening!.......please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

video alert!

Video Alert! Video Alert!
Cuteness factor: 10!!


And here's another:

So, there's my baby.
But here is my BIG BOY!! I have not forgotten him.
There is no way I could.
I don't know how anyone could!
I love Cale SO MUCH!
I'm confident that once the jealousy subsides, he will be the best big brother ever! Plus, BONUS: He loves to play "doggie" and crawl around on the floor (it's exhausting sometimes...but I bet Megersa will LOVE IT!).