Traveling at Last!

We received word this morning that our court date has finally been confirmed for August 14th! Therefore, we must be in South Africa by this Friday, August 2. We are leaving Wednesday, July 31 at the crack of dawn. It will be a long day of travel. We will leave for the airport before 6 am and we will not arrive in Johannesburg until 4:30 pm the next day. One 13 hour flight, a 2 hour layover in Dubai and another 8 hour flight to Johannesburg.

We've reserved a rental car for the whole time we are there, about 5-6 weeks. We will be staying in a guesthouse not far from the children's home where our little guy is living. After our court date, we will have a week to do some sightseeing and hanging out as a family. Then we will begin the process of obtaining little man's Visa, new birth certificate, passport, etc. It will take 3-4 weeks for all of this to get processed through the system and we may need to adjust our return flight depending on when everything is completed. We'll also have an interview at the Embassy at some point.

As of now, we are planning on staying with a friend of a friend (of a friend) for the last 3-4 weeks. They reached out to us and invited us to stay with their family. They have a 4-year old as well. If we feel that we need to be in our own space, we will look into another guesthouse or hotel.

I am going to try to update the blog while we are there. I will only be able to do so when we have wi-fi access. If you want to be in contact with us, we are planning on using the app What'sApp for chatting, rather than texting. We will also plan on using Skype, FaceTime and email. We will be purchasing a cheap phone with a South African SIM card once we arrive in country so we can make phone calls.

Prior to our court date, I will not be posting any pictures or videos of Noel, because we really aren't supposed to until he is legally ours. After August 14th, though, prepare to be bombarded. Because he is adorable and you have to hear him talk.

We appreciate your continued prayers. We have been warned that this process is stressful.

All Our Love, Sarah and Dave

Anxiously Waiting

JUNE 14th: Received word from our agency that our court date in South Africa was secured for July 31st and we should be in the country by July 17th to begin the required two-week bonding period. We were told to wait until we had a scheduled telephone call with the South African adoption agency partner before we booked anything. That was scheduled for Friday, June 21st.

JUNE 21st: Skyped with our son for the first time. Travel call postponed until June 25th.

JUNE 25th: Skyped with our son for the second time. Travel call with Wandisa Adoption Agency in South Africa. Learned that the July 31st court date was tentative and they still had to submit more paperwork for the court to review. Still cannot book plane tickets or accomodations. Hope to hear from Wandisa by July 5th.

JULY 2nd: Skype with our son for the third time.

So that is where we sit right now. Getting anxious about booking everything with such short notice. Hoping we have enough money to pay for everything. Attempting to Skype with a four-year old.

Everyone keeps asking if we are excited. And we are. But honestly, there are so many other emotions bubbling around within me, that it is difficult to feel the excitement. I imagine it will come to the surface as we are on the plane.  Keep praying for our little man. We have seen him go through some different stages of this process already just in our Skyping. He was very reserved this morning and is clearly conflicted about leaving his home and coming to the States. We ache for him and all that he must be feeling. So much change for such a little boy.