Leaving Today...

I have spent the morning pacing outside Garrett and Jordan's room waiting for them to get up. We still cannot believe that we will be in Russia yet again. We have a long run planned for this morning. Chris has an entire plan in place that is to gaurentee sleep on the long first leg. We have our ritual Bloody Mary's at the airport before boarding... then who knows. Funny to do something like this often enough that you actually have a ritual for flying to Russia.

We had a wonderful "last meal" as I call it because ordering over there is somewhat challenging to me. I have not had Borscht soup long enough that I am actually looking forward to having it again.

Jordan and I had a girls night last night. For those of you that know Jordan know that this is a big deal. Jordan is very far from girly. She wanted me to paint her finger and toe nails. In return, she painted my toe nails and now I seem to have two club feel... fused together with Pistol Packing Pink OPI nail polish. Hours later she kept coming over to me and blowing on them for perfection. It is an odd sensation not to be able to wiggle your toes. She thought it would be "cool" for me to wear this huge ring she pulled from the treasure box at camp this past week. It looks like a sea creature and she has already told me that she can't wait to see the pictures of it in Russia. I will be the envy of all.

You appreciate the moments at home right now... but as of 3:15 this afternoon, we will be taking off and heading east. When we went to get Jordan we actually flew over a hurricane heading for Florida. It is nice knowing that Gram and Coach won't have to weather anything like that this time. They will have their own hurricane to deal with right here... in the form of a grandson. We are ready for anything with this new baby girl.

We can't wait to get there...

Leaving tomorrow... Can't believe it!

Hard to believe that tomorrow we are on our 6th journey to Russia. We have been busy filling in the Northern Grandparents of the typical happenings of the Carey house for there own adventure here watching the two busy souls at home. Mike and I went down to the community pool and swam some laps today and got to see some friends that gave us a great send off. (Thanks... Dirtz's, Kirshner's and Hannah's)

Left packing to the last minute and spending time with the kids. Jordan understands most everything. She keeps asking us when we are going to Russia. She is excited to meet her new sister. Garrett is just happy go lucky... our without a clue sole. He notices the luggage, but spent more time getting rides in it then worrying about where it is going.

We are so excited... Very long adventure starts tomorrow. Just getting to Orenburg is going to take a two days. Chris told me to wear something I like... cuz I will be in it for a couple of days.

Will keep you posted... Love to you all... Kristen

We have an Update...

Well it came as a surprise to us to get a phone call this past Friday with a potential referral. We got the call about 45 minutes before leaving for the Go Diego Go show. I think Chris can attest to the fact that the show was a blur and our minds (and hearts) we racing. I looked over at Jordan... with an ear to ear grin and Garrett rocked so hard and fast I thought his head would spin off. What a moment.

When we started this process, we agreed that we were on a need to know basis and that we would not accept a referral unless we felt truly comfortable. Contrary to this agreement, we have managed to accept this referral without having any information. When we got this referral, something in our guts just felt right. We are scheduled to travel to Russia on July 15th. This little girl (9 months) is in a region southeast of Moscow called Orenburg. The region sits just north of the Kazakhstan border. We have heard wonderful things about the region and the structure of its orphanage program there.

Gram and Coach have signed on to babysit for the first trip. Jordan and Garrett are very excited to have them. Garrett doesn't have a clue, he agrees to everything and Jordan is already scheming. It seems that Jordan and Gram share the same passion for chocolate so I can only imagine the creations that will occur in the kitchen while we are gone.

We are very excited for our trip and really feel cautiously optimistic. Will keep you posted as we get more information. Russia... here we come!