Travel to Russia Confirmed - We Leave on Friday

We have our travel itinerary approved and are ready to catch our flight to Russia on Friday (yes, this Friday, June 13). *Please - no jokes about Friday the 13th*

We received our visas, passports, flight itinerary, and everything else needed to travel. I have made a picture book (one for each boy) with faces of immediate family. Each boy has a blanket and a stuffed animal as well. We are hoping that the caregivers will take care of the picture books, blankets and animals so that the boys will have something familiar when we come back to pick them up.

Our travel arrangements are somewhat frightening as we leave on Friday morning and arrive in Khabarovsk on Sunday morning - with a small layover in Chicago and Moscow. I think the time change is playing a big role in this. When we leave Khabarovsk on Thursday(the 19th), we leave in the morning, arrive in Chicago in the afternoon, and then in San Antonio late that night (so we leave and get back on the same day). It just seems wierd.

We don't know yet if we will get to see the boys once, twice, or many times. It all depends on our appointment times with officials and doctors. It also depends on the health of the children. If there is an outbreak of influenza, then they will shut down the place to all outsiders. I guess that is good for the children's safety, however it would really stink if it happened to us.

I am in the fretting stage at this point. I am worried about the doctor reports, worried about the boys' reaction to us, worried about leaving them, worried that Sawyer will have his 2nd birthday while we are waiting for the court date, etc...... There is so much to worry about, but I have been trying to focus on the anticipation and joy. The only problem is that the worry keeps seeping in to my thoughts.

I was able to get one BIG worry out of the way today. I met with central office personnel. After reviewing my records, it looks like I will be able to take off up to 12 weeks and it will not cost me much of anything. Thank God for that. They have also agreed for me to come in 1x a week to make sure everything is going smooth so that my staff knows that I am still planning on coming back and that I am connected into what is going on at school.

We purchased an Ipod for Bryan this weekend so that he could listen to his music and I could listen to mine. I will take along school work that I can do just to pass the time. They say that there is quite a bit of waiting that occurs on this trip. We, of course, have all the time on the plane, but also, we do quite a bit of waiting in the hotel. Since we do not speak Russian, and all tv channels are in Russian, I will pack some Soduku puzzles, etc.

Things are moving fast. We will be turning off our cell phones in Russia - it is way too costly to speak on the phones. The only communication home for this next week will be by blog and email (if we can get the internet to work where we are). I will blog as soon as we get back. Remember that we can not post pictures of the boys until after our court date (Gotcha Day) - and that will not be until late August. But we will be sure to relay any funny tales as soon as we can. Love to all of you. Say a quick prayer for us for a safe flight and a wonderful first visit with our boys.