The final countdown....

Happy St. Patricks Day!!! How lucky is this day for us?! We are set to fly out early today and this time we are going through New York and then direct to Moscow. My parents came into town yesterday and Jordan was leary at first of their arrival ~ remembering to vividly of our last trip. This time though we have her looking forward to her travels to see her cousins in Charleston, SC. She is most excited to meet their new addition... Stella (the dog). She has had her Spiderman costume packed for a week and cannot wait to play with her "brothers." Pop Pop has been taking extra vitamins all week.

We spent the evening packing. The hardest part is packing for winter but keeping the weight down to under 40 lbs (after a couple of glasses of wine.) Mine is no where near.

We travel to Samara on Sunday and will get to see Garrett Monday. Our court date (aka "Gotcha Day") is on Tuesday the 21st. We do not get to officially take him from the orphanage until Wednesday the 22nd. We spend the last 3 days in Moscow going to the American Embassy and to doctors appts. At that time we will get to do some sight seeing and hopefully just spending time bonding. We are SOOOO excited.

I am the luckiest person alive today!!! It is hard for him to imagine what his life is soon to be like. I keep thinking of all the "firsts" he will be having next week. Definitely worth the wait!!
The wind is finally at our backs!!

The last week of mother of one...

Finishing up some last minute projects. I am not sure how cleaning the garage fell on my priority list. I think I am doing anything to keep busy this week. We are trying to arrange our trip and Chris thinks it would be interesting to not stay at an Americanized hotel in Moscow and experience the culture by staying in a Russian hotel. He calls this a fun adventure. I am not sure what I call it at this point. It isn't like Garrett can translate for us... yet.

Jordan is excited about being a big sister. She shows us how big she is by standing on her tippy toes... at the same time she is asking for a bottle. (She saw me packing bottles for Garrett). She is SO excited to be heading up to my sisters in Charleston, SC. We have been buying presents for their newest addition. Ssssssssssssstella (the dog)! Jen may get more help than she bargined for.

We are still scheduled to leave on St. Patricks day. Hard to believe we are down to the last week. It is amazing how much is involved in this process. Won't stop us from spending the day swimming though. Hey, we all have to have our priorities!

Confirmation...

We finally got confirmed travel dates for March 17th. Our court date is scheduled for the March 21st (GOTCHA DAY) and if all goes well, we are scheduled to fly home on March 25th. We are so excited. Trip 2 is harder to pack for. We have several boxes of orphanage donations and gifts for various people that have assisted us in the process. I can't think of any better way to celebrate St. Patricks day.

What a long process, but it is so nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are so grateful for all of the support along the way. Thank You! Will keep you posted!!!