It's all working out just right...

When we first started the journey to Mattea, I had almost no leave time as I had used it all up for Onnolee's adoption. I sat down to tally up how much time we might need, and my "hopeful" estimate was 4 weeks, or 144 hours. Then I added up the hours I have plus the holiday time I will earn in the next month, and my grand total was...143.5 hours!!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe it! I was hoping I would have at least 2 weeks, but didn't figure I would have FOUR! We have had an amazing journey so far. I can't wait to meet our little miss in 11 days. I am getting so psyched!!!

Are we forgetting anything...?

PACKING LIST:
CARRY ON:
Passports/Tickets/Adoption paperwork
Snacks for kids
Bottles/sippy cups
Travel size wet wipes
Diapers
Backpack full of diversional activities
(small books, stickers, My 1st LeapPad, Lauri kits, etc)
Dramamine
Chapstick
Gum
Ear plugs
Book
Zip locks
Tissues
Brush/comb
Hair elastics for Onny
Antibacterial wipes
SDA outfits
1 casual clothes change
2 clothes changes for kids
Power adapter/converter
Camera
Laptop
Medications
Deodorant
Toothbrush/paste
Travel shampoo
DVDs
CHECK IN:
Comfy shoes
Washcloths/towels
Feminine protection
Nail clippers
Lotion
Baby soap
Tide travel packs
Alleve
Melatonin
Kids' Motrin/Tylenol
Pepto tabs
Immodium
Cough drops
Antibiotics for kids and me
Benadryl
Desitin
Neosporin
Lice treatment
Bandaids
Febreze
Russian phrase book/dictionary
Can opener
Gatorade powder
Crystal light packets
Instant oatmeal
Hot chocolate
Trail mix
Ramen noodles
Peanut butter
Crackers (Ritz holiday)
M&Ms
Beef jerky
Fruit leather
Plastic silverware
Plastic bowls/cups
Pocket knife tool
Hand soap
2-3 more outfits per child
2-3 pajamas per child
Pack of new socks per child
Boots per child
Coat for Mattea
2-3 outfits for Mattea
4 pairs underwear for me
2 long underwear for me
Bra for me
2 t-shirts
1 jeans
Sweatsuit
2 umbrellas (don't have these yet...)
More books
Puzzles
AA batteries
Bubbles (orphanage)
Punch balloons (orphanage)
Wooden puzzles (orphanage)

My Funny Litte Elves

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

today

My wife takes for ever to pack all she thinks she needs to travel. I did all my packing today in less then an hour, one of the reasons I didn't do it until today.
We are traveling to Salt lake in two stages because of critters and putting them up while we are gone and I have the wheel chair to take up and one to pick up. We maybe returning home at two different times depending on what we find out when we get there.
I am looking forward to getting a nice warm Russian fur hat to keep my bald head warm. It will be interesting to be learning and using a new language at the same time and to meet our little girl. I am for some reason really laid back on this adoption and can't figure out why and LOU is wired so she can be the excited one for both of us. We are wondering just what we will find and have to deal with when we get there and it has been interesting all the road blocks that have come up and been dealt with in a very short period of time from issues with the house, kids and work for her and I am in the process of going back to work and the interviews that I have had and they keep getting longer, don't know if that is a good or bad thing only time can answer that question.
Seven days before I leave the house and shut it up for a month. Hope I don't forget to shut everything off that needs to before I leave. I also have a 10 page paper for my college course to get done before I leave too.

Nesting

Wow, in less than 5 days I will be heading up to Salt Lake City with the kids to spend Thanksgiving with my family up there and to get the older ones settled in where they will be staying for the next several weeks.
Onnolee's passport got here in one week from the time we sent the application in. Whew, that was a relief! It never even showed up in their system online.
So for the next couple of days, we will be packing and cleaning. I did most of my packing last weekend, but still working on the carry-ons. Stew hasn't started yet, so that's his priority. We are also cleaning, floor-washing, doing the rest of the laundry...
Estuardo is ready! All he can talk about is going to see Grandma and his big sister Serena, and then the airplane ride! He is very excited!!!
I am too...I can't wait to meet our little sweetheart!!!

Angels all over the world...

Grab This Button

First of all, this button above will take you to the Reece's Rainbow Christmas Angel Tree, where you can see a whole bunch of beautiful little angels who need sponsors for the holidays. (They also need Mommies and Daddies...)
Also, Meredith over at http://www.cornishadoptionjourney.blogspot.com/ is having a give-away! You can read all about the details at her blog, but she has two copies of the wonderful book
Up Close, A Mother's View, written by Fiona Yaron-Field, who is parenting a child with Down Syndrome. Head on over and check it out!

Those new Candy Cane Oreos are GOOD!!!

The girl was on a sugar high!! It was very hard to keep her still long enough for a digital picture!

We received a grant today! THANK-YOU, ORPHAN FOUNDATION!!!

Wii did it!!!

Congratulations to the Greens!!! They won the drawing for the Wii game console!!!
THANK YOU EVERYONE for helping to make the fundraiser such a success!

Got our tickets!!!

I just finished purchasing our tickets to...Eastern Europe...We will be flying on Delta and leaving on December 1st to get there in plenty of time. We have made arrangements for the 3 older children and we will be taking Estuardo and Onnolee with us. We got a fantastic flight, only one stop at JFK, and then straight to...Eastern Europe. We have a 2-3 hour layover at JFK which will be a perfect amount of time in between. And the price was below what I had budgeted, so I am very happy!!!
Stay tuned...we are preparing to draw a name for the Wii...TBA in a few minutes...

WE ARE GOING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OUR APPOINTMENT IN COUNTRY IS DECEMBER 5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THURSDAY...

Okay, no definite news today BUT our agency wrote to me that our facilitator hopes to have our appointment date by THURSDAY!!! I am excited!!! The wait is hard, for sure, but the uncertainty is the hardest. I will be happy to have the appointment date, no matter when it is for, so we can start to make definite plans for travel, for the holidays, for our family. So, knowing that we should have our appointment date on Thursday is ALMOST as good as the real thing...hope I can sleep until then...

THREE DAYS LEFT...

...EVERY DONATION OF $5 TO THE CHIP-IN WIDGET WILL PUT YOUR NAME IN THE DRAWING ONE TIME FOR A CHANCE TO WIN THIS Wii GAME SYSTEM!!! EVERY SINGLE PENNY WILL GO TOWARDS BRINGING MATTEA HOME. WE ARE ALMOST HALFWAY TO THE GOAL...Wii CAN DO IT!!! THANKS VERY VERY MUCH TO ALL WHO HAVE DONATED SO FAR!!! IT'S ALMOST TIME TO TRAVEL TO BRING OUR LITTLE MISS HOME...

Tentatively hopeful, overwhelmingly anxious...

Due to Mattea's needs, the adoption authorities have unofficially approved our latest paperwork, and our facilitator will be officially submitting it tomorrow. All of this "tentativeness" has made me extremely anxious. I am praying still for a November appointment so Mattea can come home this year.

THANK YOU

I have to say, I am humbled and touched by the generous donations we have received since we began this journey to Mattea. Friends and strangers have given generously, and I am so very grateful. Tonight, Mattea's grant fund went up again and we don't always find out who makes these donations as they go through Reece's Rainbow, but again, thank you! From the bottom of my heart.

I've been TAGGED!!

Wow, I've been tagged, and twice! Michelle at http://fromnctoukraine.blogspot.com/ got me first, and then Debbie at http://www.jerdebwalker.blogspot.com/ got me again, so I guess I'd better hop to it!
The directions are above... hmm, 7 random trivial facts about Mama...
#1- My absolute favorite snack is hot buttered popcorn with GARLIC...I thought that was strange, until I met my husband 5 years ago and he loves it too!
#2- Also food--- I absolutely hate chocolate frosting. I would rather eat cake plain than for it to have chocolate frosting. Too sweet for me.
#3- I never read ahead in a book to see what will happen. That's cheating.
#4- I LOVE cold weather. I love to snuggle up and keep warm. We lived in Florida for 18 years and a couple of blocks from the beach, and we never went. Too hot for me!
#5- My favorite book as a child was "The Family Nobody Wanted." When we played pretend I always had at least 12 children, and I dreamed of adopting lots of kids with special needs. That dream sure came true!!!
#6- I have a 1 year old daughter and my mom will be 90 in February. What a span! (I am 50.)
#7- I sometimes get up in the middle of the night to check my email.
Those are the 7 most random thoughts I could come up with...Now to pass it on...
I tag---
JOY at http://www.considertheadoptionoption.blogspot.com/ who also needs something to do while she waits---she may be headed overseas along with Michelle, Debbie, and me.
CHERI at http://harrisquest.blogspot.com/ , mama to beautiful Malaena-Sloan,
MEGHAN at http://www.thenewdickinsonfamily.com/ who is waiting for Timur
MICHELLE at http://www.theadoptionmirror.blogspot.com/ who is waiting for beautiful Katie Joy
LORI at http://theharrisfamilyest2003.blogspot.com/ waiting to bring her 2 precious angels home
COREY at http://www.gaynesadventuresinparenting.blogspot.com/ flying to Guatemala soon to bring home her twins
and LINDA at http://www.gathermychildren.blogspot.com/ , also waiting for a travel date to pick up her two little sweeties.

All I want for Christmas

Estuardo's first Trick or Treat