Ready, Set, Go!!!

Duane and I tonight before we leave. I noticed that the last picture of us was taken in Serbia one year ago and so thought maybe a new picture would be in order;-)...say....R-U-S-S-I-A;-)
Here is our luggage and it is way too much!!! Don't you just love that pillow strapped to my Louise Vuitton luggage.....ha ha. However, the red bag will not return at all as it is strictly filled with all the goodies for the Orphanage. I just hope it does not weigh over 50#s and it does feel close. Anyway, we are packed now and ready to go!!!

Naturally, I didn't go to sleep until 1:00am. I had all three girls in the bed with me and poor Duane got pushed out to the couch....teehee. I have completed my list of things to do and with time to spare. So tomorrow afternoon we will go to Amarillo for a nice time alone and spend the night there. Monday we will leave for Dallas/Fort Worth. Then on to Paris, France in a ten and a half hour plane ride. Next, we will arrive in Moscow, Russia where we have a hotel room reserved so that we may rest before taking the flight out to Murmansk.

We are so extremely excited to see our little girl and I know they have told her that her Mama and Papa are finally coming to see her. She has watched other children get their families and now it is her turn. I am imagining she is as thrilled as we are right now...awe!!! I found some beautiful gifts for her. Ones which she will always remember receiving and they will make our time with her even more special.

Yesterday, I went to my favorite place to browse and bought a darling card about a mother and her young daughter. Then I bought some beautiful wrapping paper and matching paper fill with really nice bows for her personalized blanket. I would have to think a blanket is an important item to a child who has lived in the Arctic Circle!!! It has her name and date of birth embroidered on it.

Katie Aunna's blanket is light pink with little purple butterflies and the embroidery is also a lavender color. It is gorgeous and came with a beautiful white box that says "Personalized Gift For You". I also have a darling princess purse with cute items for her inside. The other children at the orphanage will have numerous other gifts such as hot wheels cars, party favors, coloring books, and play dough. We got pretty clothes for the girls and a make-up kit.

Also, we figured one of these kids will want to be a surgeon and so we brought the game "Operation" with us too. We are going to do some nice visits. I dread coming home without our doll baby already and we haven't even left yet;-(((. All of my remaining dossier work is complete and when we return home I will only need to gather the doctor's documents and update our police checks to get a court date.

Anyway......back to our planned visit with Katie Aunna. I found the most darling bracelet for her. It has a sterling silver heart charm and four silver beads. One bead says daughter, one says mother, one says love, and the fourth bead says forever. It is precious. I hope she likes it. One thing I do know for sure is that this little darling has watched kids get their families and now it is her turn. I can only imagine how thrilling that must be. Katie Aunna's mama and papa are coming very soon!!!

We are anticipating a wonderful trip to Russia and we are so grateful to be serving the Lord in such a blessed way. Pray for our safe travels and that Katie Aunna will enjoy us as well. The next time I blog will be from Russia. Love to all my family...especially my baby nephew Derek.....I love you!!! Till next time...Many blessings to all;-).