LEAVING TODAY!!!!!

So, our last post said we were waiting on our travel dates and what do ya know...the very next day we were told that we could possibly have an embassy date of April 7th. Well, it turns out that that was true!! So, that meant we had a week and a half to prepare for travel!! It has been a whirlwind week and a half, but it will so be worth it when we have little Cliffy in our arms!! We leave tonight at 6:16 pm and we will arrive in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at 6:35pm tomorrow night. Whoo hoo!!! We will then go straight to our guest house and unpack and hopefully try to get some sleep! We will get up early the next morning (Easter Sunday!) and head over to our agency's child care home where Cliffy is and then WE WILL MEET OUR SON!!!!!! I can't even begin to describe how excited we are!!!! We hope to be able to post pictures and blog about everything while we're there. We have our embassy date on Wed. April 7th and we'll get Cliffy's visa to come home! We leave Ethiopia on Saturday, the 10th at 11:40pm. We'll have 1 stop in Frankfurt and then it's home to Atlanta!! Our plane lands at 4:15pm on Sunday night (the 11th). We are telling friends and family that if they want to meet us at the airport and welcome little Cliffy to the US, they can. Just allow us some time to get through customs. And if you have a I heart Cliffy t-shirt, wear it! We won't be letting anyone hold Cliffy yet, but it would be great to feel the support and love of friends and family. And speaking of Cliffy, here is a letter for our friends and family to explain a little bit about what Cliffy might be going through over the next several weeks and/or months...

Dear Family and Friends,

As we prepare for the arrival of our son, we have learned that while decorating the nursery and stocking up on baby essentials is important, even more important is the emotional health of our baby. In his short life, our son will have gone through more changes and life altering experiences than most adults could handle. Imagine how much harder the changes will be for him. While he may not consciously remember the events, he will still experience immense loss, including feelings of grief and trauma. He's already experienced the loss of a birthmother and will soon experience the loss of familiar and comforting caretakers as well as the sights, smells, and language of his birth country. His world will turn upside down. He will struggle with feeling safe and secure and he may lack the ability to trust that we will meet his needs.

We have prepared to meet his emotional needs so that he does learn that we will always take care of him and we will always keep him safe. We need your support. In order to form a strong and healthy attachment we will allow him to regress so that he has the opportunity to go through all of the emotional stages with us despite his chronological age. Although it may appear that we are spoiling him, we have been advised that it is best that we meet every need quickly and consistently. Until he has learned that we are his parents, we will need to be his primary caretakers at all times. It is essential that we always hold him, feed him, and do all of the nurturing. You may wonder how long this will take, but the timeline is different for every child. We will follow his lead and trust our instincts as his parents rather than worry about what society expects.

We have all been waiting anxiously for our son to arrive but he has not been waiting for us. He may show his grief and confusion in many ways and we are prepared to help him through it and prove that we are a forever family and this truly is his last stop. We trust that as our family and friends you will help us to do what is best for our son, and we thank you in advance for your support and understanding.



We can't tell you how thankful we are for all the love and support from friends and family. We can't believe this day has finally come!!! There are so many things whirling around in our brains, but mostly we are just READY! :) Please pray that we have safe flights, that all of our baggage arrives safe and sound and that we all stay healthy while in Ethiopia.
What an amazing journey this has been!!! We couldn't have done this without the people in our lives that love us. So, THANK YOU!!!!

With love and excitement,
Candy (and Chad)