Snow Birds Have Landed....Brrrrr

My gracious, generous and brave parents have made the three day journey from idyllic Naples, Florida to the December tundra of our South Loop neighborhood in Chicago. We are so thankful they will be here staying with the boys while we are going to Africa. And while we've never been gone from our kids for this long, we know they'll be in capable and loving hands.

Jon is now pulling 20 hour work days to make his deadline before we leave and I'm madly (but happily) packing and arranging our things to leave on Tuesday night. Here's our itinerary. I'm strangely looking forward to the long layover in London. Jon and I haven't had this much alone time in ages!

Tuesday, December 08, 2009
United Airlines #958
Depart Chicago O'Hare 5:04PM, arrive London Heathrow 6:55AM

Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Ethiopian Air Lines #701
Depart London Heathrow 9PM, arrive Bole Addis Ababa 7:45 AM

Thursday, December 10, 2009
Ethiopian Air Lines #811
Depart Bole Addis Ababa 10:45AM, arrive Kigali 1:15 PM

We'll be in Kigali until December 20th. We decided to stay an extra day before heading to Ethiopia because our POA's fiance is coming in from Stockholm on the 19th. Most of my family lives in Sweden, and it's where Jon and I were married, so we all thought it would be fun for us to get together.

Three cheers for Swedish/Rwandan families!

Leaving December 8th!

This is the earliest date we could leave due to Jon's work obligations, but we have found a great flight out of Chicago to London, then on to Addis and Kigali. We'll be in Kigali on Thursday Dec 10th at 1:15PM local time.

Onward we go!

The big reveal.....

Only two more weeks until we get to wrap our arms around this gorgeous child.

We already love her so much and can't wait to bring her home to Chicago and spoil her with love and attention. Our entire community is waiting with open arms.

I can't resist displaying her room, as I've been meticulously working for over 12 months picking out the linens, and my mom has been a sewing fiend.

When my mom and I do projects together we call it Team Irene--Irene is now the middle name for 4 generations of women in our family. We ecstatically welcome our new team member, Elizabeth Irene!

And Elsa, I hope you like the Chicago Bears. They sure have had a rough season, but you do look over Soldier Field from your crib.

Passed Court

Elsa is officially ours!

We are finalizing travel plans and tying up loose ends at work and home. More later....

December travel!

We found out this weekend that Jon's work deadline will likely be pushed back to February. As a result, we've decided to travel with the rest of the group in December. Right now it looks like we'll be leaving Dec 11th and returning on the 26th. We are elated. That's under 3 weeks away! And we'll be home for Elsa's 1st birthday on January 1! What a way to start the new year.

While we're gone the boys will be spending the time in Naples, Florida with my parents. Although we'll miss them greatly over Christmas, we know they're going to be having so much fun.

There is so much for which to be thankful during this Thanksgiving week.

Tremendous Love

We are overwhelmed by the love and support of our family and friends. Everyone is so thrilled that Elizabeth Irene Malaika has been chosen for us and that she will soon be home with us in Chicago. Right now a piece of our heart is in Rwanda.

We've learned she's 10 months old, born 1/1/09. (Jon envisions many college bowl game-themed birthday parties in her future!) We have officially accepted our referral, and arrangements are being made for court dates and potential travel dates. It seems we may be able to leave as early as December, but we will travel around January 14th.

Waiting the extra weeks to get our daughter is one of the hardest decisions we've ever had to make, but Jon can't leave the country until he finishes a work project that is due mid-January. And while we are devastated we can't leave sooner, waiting until Jon can dedicate the time and energy to travel to Rwanda and bond with Elsa will allow us to enjoy and welcome our daughter into our home and family without distraction.

I also want to thank all the wonderful people in Rwanda who are working tirelessly with our adoption paperwork and taking care of Elsa and the children at the orphanage.

Last, I must highlight the love and humility we feel towards Elsa's birthmother. We can only imagine how difficult her circumstances must have been. Throughout the years we will honor her, her existence and the precious life she has given to us.

Elsa

So we've decided on a name!

Elizabeth Irene Malaika Furr, and we will call her Elsa. She looks to be about about 9-12 months old.

Elizabeth was Jon's grandmother. Irene is my middle name, my mom's middle name and my grandmother's middle name. Malaika means "angel" in Swahili and is one of the names given to her by the nuns in the orphanage. Elsa is a derivative of Elizabeth and was the name of my Great Aunt in Sweden.

We love you, sweet Elsa. xoxo