Congratulations,

your American Embassy appointment has been scheduled for July 31 , 2007.

That is the way an email we received two days ago began. This is the date that we have been waiting on and now it is finally here. One would expect relief, excitement, perhaps overwhelming joy...I will assure you it was all of those things and more. Jennifer kept saying, "We are actually going to Ethiopia, we are actually going to Ethiopia" - I had to keep her indoors so the neighbors wouldn't think she was crazy.

The past couple of days have been an absolute whirlwind of emotion and activity. We are scrambling to finalize some last minute adoption paperwork, confirm airline tickets, hotel reservations, gifts for orphans, on hand money, childcare arrangements for our daughters, adding the boys to our health and life insurance, still working on the house, packing, etc.

We leave next Thursday, July 26th and will return August 3rd. I am planning on taking my Mac so I can record our entire trip as we go. There are Internet Cafe's in Ethiopia so I may be able to get an email out or make a post on our blog. If we are not able to en route then I will make sure it is one of the first things that we do when we get back.

Please be praying that the Lord provides the last bit of money for our trip, for Jennifer's Mom as she watches all four of our daughters, and for our hearts to be firmly fixed on the Lord as we journey.