GREAT News!!!!!

Well, we just had the best night in a looooong time! We were out all afternoon and evening, and when we got home around 8:30, there was a message on the machine from Lesley, our program coordinator, saying she had an "update" for us. I knew this either meant really good news or really bad news, so I didn't even wait until the kids were in bed to call her back! Luckily, it was even better than I had hoped (I was hoping to hear that we were ready to be submitted for court this week), and she said that we were actually submitted for court today!!!! YAY! It will still be 4-6 weeks before we find out our court date, and then a while after that before we get to go, but this is a major hurdle to jump. We are really getting closer! Based on court dates that have been passed out recently, we are thinking our court date will be sometime in June, but we really don't know. We also found out that a family we have become close to was also submitted today, so we are excited and hopeful that we may get to travel together, which would be extra fun!

As if that wasn't good enough news for the night, I hung up the phone, opened my e-mail, and found a message from a wonderful new adoption friend who was just in Ethiopia bringing her new son home. While there, she realized our daughter was at the same place as her son! They didn't know this until their last day just before they flew home, but she was able to snap 3 quick pictures for us of our beautiful girl while she slept. She was also able to tell us that she looks "very healthy and chunky"!! :) Oh, she looks even more gorgeous than she did in her referral picture!

So, wow, what a wonderful night we've had. I now have a few new pictures to ooh and aah over, and hope that our end really may be in sight!!