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Monday, March 3, 2008

YAY!

On the emotional roller coaster that is international adoption, we are back up again! We got our court date today - April 2! This was a little earlier than we thought it was going to be, so we are happy. (Our God is great!) I was so anxious about getting our court date today, that I only slept about 2 hours last night, but now I feel so much better having a date and a plan, and especially knowing exactly when we're going to see our little Snuggle Bunny again!

So I've spent the afternoon trying to make all the arrangements. We are not staying during the 10 day waiting period, so we will be making 2 more trips. I booked our 2nd flight, and I just emailed the travel agent to confirm our 3rd flight. Originally, we were hoping to have 3 seats on the flight back with Eli, but it's just too expensive, so we're going to just hold him on our laps and suffer through it. Otherwise, our flights should be ok. We're flying Delta from Atlanta on both trips.

I contacted Peace Travel about the 2 apartments we wanted, and we should receive confirmation tomorrow. I also faxed the form to Peace Travel for our visa support/invitation to travel. We'll be doing a dual entry tourist visa.

So our dates will be:
2nd trip - leave March 29, arrive in Moscow Sunday morning March 30, visit Eli on April 1, court on April 2, fly home Thursday April 3.

3rd trip - leave April 12, arrive in Moscow Sunday morning April 13, take custody of Eli on April 14 (can't wait!), fly home as a family on April 22 (Eli will become a citizen on my aunt's birthday!) Because our 10 day waiting period is over on Monday, this last trip will be a little longer than we originally thought. We'll end up staying in Moscow for 9 nights on this trip, instead of 6.

I'm so relieved to have actually started booking the flights and apartments. Now it feels real. Now we know exactly when he will be with us and when we will be bringing him home.

9 comments:

Deb said...

WooHooo!! Congratz on the court date! So happy you have your dates firm and that's plenty of time to prepare which helps with the tickets. You'll be over there before you know it bringing him home.

Becky and Keith said...

YAY! Congratulations!!! That is the best news! Good luck getting everything booked, it sounds like you'll be done with the arrangements very soon. How great to know that you'll be seeing Eli in less than a month!

Tiger & Kar said...

And here I thought talking to you this morning was going to be the highlight of my day!! :-)

Tonight Norm & I met with our small group. As is normal, we sent our prayer requests to the group around mid-day so that we could be on the same page this evening. Of course, you, R & Eli were right there at the top of the list for a quick court date, easy travel arrangements, and a joyous reunion. I am THRILLED to come home and read about your plans to see Eli in just a few short weeks.

Congrats!!! (and thank you for all the great tips this morning!)

Michael, Carrie, and S said...

Congratulations Ana! That is great news! Good luck with making all of your travel plans!

Joy said...

This is so cool to know that you will have him in your arms forever. By the way who are you trying to kid you would probably hold him the entire flight anyway. Travel safely.
Joy

Susan said...

Congratulations! You'll be there almost the same time as us. Court is March 31st for us and Gotcha day is April 11th with us leaving on Saturday the 19th. We are staying in the Jasper suite on Novy Arbat.

Anonymous said...

Yay! We'll also be there for our 31 March court date--staying at the Marriott Courtyard. Hope to see you there! Sally

Troy and Rachel said...

That's fantastic news!! Congrats on that court date and I know you can't wait to be home with your little guy!

the Horvaths said...

This is really great news. I am sure it's such a relief to know the dates. I pray that the time goes quickly. Keep us up to date on the plans, we learn so much! Congratulations, you are right God really is amazing.