A First Post At Last: And Baby Makes Four!

We're having a baby!

Maybe it's more accurate to say, we're expecting!

And in a very special way... not via stork but by 747, flying the 4,500 miles from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to New York, U.S.A.! We could not be happier, more nervous, more anxious, or more ecstatic! Mom, Dad, and Big Brother Zachary are all feeling fine.

Along the way, we've had some assistance from remarkable and dedicated "birth coaches" - namely, Sharon and Nicky at Children's Hope International (our adoption agency, based in St. Louis) and Marci with Ametz, the adoption branch of the Jewish Child Care Association, based in New York City. They helped us begin this journey, and they will be seeing it through to the end - till the moment that we walk off the plane with our daughter and beyond. At this point, it looks like that will be in Summer or Fall 2010.

Without sharing too many details of how we got here, I can say that God has graced us with the understanding that "family" really doesn't mean "blood relation," and that love has no bounds - including geographic ones. A few of the people that we have told about this joyous addition to our family have said, "what a mitzvah you are doing for this little girl." Truly, she is doing the mitzvah for us and our family.

Many adoption books and Web sites post something that is sometimes referred to as the "Adoption Credo," which is a very accurate description of our feelings about our soon-to-be baby girl - who is likely not even born yet!

Not flesh of my flesh, nor bone of my bone,
but still miraculously my own.
Never forget for a single minute,
You did not grow under my heart, but in it.
-Author Unknown

We are so glad that you are on this special journey with us!

(P.S., how great is that birth announcement image?! It is one of many Ethiopian adoption items from the Adopt-Tees shop at http://www.zazzle.com/adopttees)