4 Weeks 6 Days. . .And Counting!!!

We finally got the call yesterday! The board in Thailand met Wed of LAST week, so I had just about given up for a travel approval call from our agency. I had even written in over the weekend to ask other waiting families if we could still get a call Mon or Tues, and they said "yes", but since it was already Wed I was getting discouraged. Then, about mid-day yesterday I saw where a family had just received their approval to travel. I was so happy for them but very disappointed and discouraged we hadn't been called. On the other hand, maybe there was still hope for us. Everywhere I went, that phone went with me! In addition, I was going to be preparing a meal last night for our neighbors who were leaving this morning to go get their daughter in China. I kept telling myself- "all in God's time" and trying to be patient. THEN about 4:45, with the phone within hand's reach of course, it rang and the caller ID said "Holt" (our agency)! Don't you know my heart skipped a beat. . .or two! Marissa said we had received first approval, which means travel approval, and that we would be attending the February 27th meeting in Thailand. I calmly said, "Thank you. We are so excited," but inside my heart was jumping!

Now, after sleeping on it, the excitement is no less. I'm getting ready to make some calls to inform our family and then on to flight and hotel reservations. Hopefully, the time will go quickly and Olivia will be home where she belongs! I know many families are frantic with so much to do, and although we do have plenty to do ourselves, we have already been preparing for quite some time. I told Brian the other night that I wanted to be able to go slowly and enjoy the preparations, not flying around in a dither the last few weeks. Hopefully, we'll be able to do that. Olivia's room is not too far from being ready, the highchair, carseat, and stroller have been purchased, and the to-do list has been made. Now, if I can just concentrate on the list!

Well, I've got to get busy (but not in a dither!) to find some good flights and get to work on those curtains! I'm happy to be able to share our good news with you, and I hope you enjoy reading about our progress as we count down the days!

Leah