We are here!!

Hoping it all gets there!

We are here!! Everyone warned us that this trip would be an adventure, and I have to say after landing in Ethiopia only a few hours ago, I can declare that statement as true. The good news is that we started the trip off well. All of our luggage was a non issue at the airport in Grand Rapids and Delta graciously allowed us to check all 10 bags with NO EXTRA FEES or problems. There were even a few that were over the weight limit, and they never said a word. The trip started to turn the minute we left Grand Rapids. We were unable to land in Detroit due to the strong winds of the storm, so we ended up deborting the landing and circling the airport for about an hour. When we finally did land, we sat on the plane another hour due to lightning. It was then that we started to panic. We only had a 1hr layover in Amsterdam and if we missed that flight to Addis Ababa, it could be days before we got here.

We called upon our Lord, and with his help and our speediness, we made our connection to Amsterdam just as they were closing the doors. But, there we sat on that runway for what seemed like another hour. We made it to Amsterdam and we had exactly 30 minutes before our connection to Ethiopia left. AND they close the doors 30 minutes prior. Well, this Mama was determined to get here and wasn't going to let anything stand in our way. We rushed off the plane and made a mad dash to our terminal which of course was on the other end of the airport.

So let me give you a glimpse of what this looked like.....little Janine running probably the fastest she has ever ran in her cute little sandels ( I know, i was told a million times to wear tennies) all teary eyed. The whole time I kept reminding myself that the Lord brought us here and he was clearly begging me to trust Him. I kept repeating to myself, "Just trust him Janine". Luke couldn't keep up and said it was quite possibly the fastest he has ever seen me run..ha! We got to the gate and found that they were waiting for us.....I just about broke down seeing God's hand in even the tiniest of details. We were finally boarded our flight to Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

We arrived, got through customs, met some other adoptive families and humanitarian aids, went to baggage claim only to find that our luggage never made it. We spent the next two hours trying to track it down. Long story short, it should be on its way tomorrow coming through Narobi, Africa. Please pray that we get our luggage-we have almost nothing. I'm going to look pretty bad tomorrow when I meet our baby girl. I'm sure she won't care at all(-: The good news is that we have our camera and video camera, so besides the greasey hair and inappropriate travel clothes, we should be all set. Our driver left thinking we never arrived, since it took so long to figure out where our luggage was. We ended up hitching a ride with a random taxi...it is pitch dark here and the ride to the hotel was very frightening! But, we made it and we are praising the Lord we are here. I'm sure I will not be able to sleep a wink....it feels like the night before I was induced with Kai. We absolutely cannot wait to meet our sweet baby in the morning. I'm sure tomorrow will hold a whole new adventure(-: Good night from Addis Ababa Ethiopia & we love you!

View from our lodge. That is a home down there and the darn dogs that stay up all night and sleep all day.

PS. We have no phone service and it may be days before we have internet connection again. We will do our best to keep you updated. Love & Miss you Kai, Aria &Becket!