begging and beautification

Today was a better day, in spite of the weather forecasters, who were at it again. They were calling for freezing rain this morning, but of course, when we got up, nothing. So I was able to leave town without worry. My sister A. is a hair stylist in a nice salon, a little over an hour away, so I went to see her this morning. She fixed my hair - a trim and highlights to cover all the grey! My sister has a wonderful eye for color. I have challenging hair - very naturally curly and lots of premature grey, but she can always make it look great! I wouldn't want anyone else to do my hair. Now I'm ready to go have the pictures taken for our visa application.

After she performed her miracles, we went and had lunch. It was so nice to spend some time with her today. It perked me up after the frustrations of this past weekend.

When R got home from work, he took our medical forms to FedEx, and now those are on their way to our agency. It felt very good to send those!

Thanks to info from another family with our agency, I was able search online and find the email address for the USCIS officer that processes the adoption petitions in our regional office. I was so excited when I found that! After R got back from FedEx, we sat down together and wrote an email, begging for them to expedite the processing of our paperwork so that we can travel and to please let us know when we can expect to receive our approval, so we can finalize a travel date. Until we know when the approval will arrive, our dossier won't be registered, and we won't have firm travel dates.

Thanks, Karyn for reminding me that the timing is all in God's hands. As impatient people, we do what we can to further the process along, but ultimately, it will all happen according to His plan. Even though I lose sight of it in the heat of the moment, I do trust that He knows what's best, both for us and for Baby F.

P.S. Both going and returning today, I drove past the house that has the 2 llamas! This morning, they were in the back pasture, and I could hardly see them, but this afternoon, they were grazing and hanging out closer to the road, so I was able to get my adorable llama fix!

coats

Even though it was a holiday, UPS was still working, and our coats arrived today. They are perfect. We had a few errands to run this afternoon, so I wore mine and took it out for a test drive. It's very warm, and will work very well in Moscow. We also got new scarves.

I wish I had more news. I didn't have a good weekend. I was frustrated and irritated, because we didn't get to meet Norm and Karyn and because nothing arrived in the mail from USCIS. I'm SO frustrated that the immigration approval might delay our travel.

I am SO ready to finish packing and get on that plane. I'm SO ready to meet Baby F. and bring him/her home. The waiting is getting harder with every passing day.

P.S. I was inspired by Karyn to add the USCIS approval tracker, especially since that's all that stands between us and traveling right now!

bummed

We had planned to meet Norm & Karyn tomorrow for lunch, but now we're under a snow advisory, so we're not going. The weather is just not cooperating. I'm SO disappointed. I really wanted to talk to them face to face and get to know them better. I've really enjoyed the friendship we've started through our blogs and email. I'm so bummed that we won't be spending time with them tomorrow.

We also thought that on our way home tomorrow we'd have a chance to go by our agency and turn in our medical forms. We were going to talk to C. for a few minutes before heading home. Now we won't be able to do that either. I'll have to FedEx our medical forms on Monday.

The other disappointment today was a possible delay in our travel dates. Technically, we can travel on our 1st trip without having our 171-H, but if we do, our court date would be delayed. We need the 171-H to get a court date. It would extend our time between trips 1 and 2, and no one wants that. Not our agency, and certainly not us. So, if the 171-H doesn't arrive soon, it could push our travel date from Feb. 9 to later in Feb. I'm bummed about that too. I was really hoping we could leave for Moscow in 3 weeks. So, we'll wait and see what the mail (or snail as I call it) brings.

*** snow ***

It actually snowed tonight! Not much, just a dusting, but it's still snow! A little preparation for what we'll see in Moscow in 3 weeks!

Made some progress on the packing front. I ordered the rest of the clothes that we needed. From Land's End, I ordered coats, scarves, and long underwear for both of us and a cute fleece hat for me. Then I ordered another pair of pants for myself, dark grey slacks. I wanted another pair of dressier pants, since I'm not taking cords or jeans. I am taking a pair of comfy yoga pants though, to wear when we're hanging out in the apartment. Except for snacks and a few items from Target, I think that's everything we need, at least for this trip. I can't wait until I know Baby F.'s age, so I can start buying baby clothes!

R took my charm bracelet to the jeweler's today, to have the charm added that he gave me for Christmas. Of course, it's a little llama! It's SO adorable! I won't be taking it to Russia, but I'm looking forward to wearing it to church.

I wish I could turn off my brain. It's just so full! I'm so glad that we're going to Asheville on Saturday to meet Norm & Karyn. It will give me something to think about besides packing!

medical forms

Yesterday afternoon, we picked up our medical forms. Our doctor was so great. He filled out the forms while we were sitting there, got them notarized, and then double checked them with us to make sure they were exactly what we needed. He answered our questions, and then didn't charge us for the office visit. Everyone in his office is very supportive of our adoption.

So today, I sent the medical forms to be apostilled. Now I'm just watching the mailbox every day for the 171-H. I sent the laptop off to be repaired too, and we should have it back within a week, plenty of time before we travel.

I looked at video cameras online, but we haven't made a decision yet about which one to buy.

I'm feeling tired today. I haven't been sleeping well. Too much on my mind! I'm going to try to go to bed early tonight.

travel dates

We found out this morning that our dossier arrived safely in Moscow and is being translated right now!

It's not definite yet, but most likely, we will be going to the Moscow region on Feb. 9! We are so overwhelmed right now! Happy, excited, and freaking out, all at the same time! My mind is just whirling, thinking about finally meeting the baby and what he/she will be like, as well as about traveling and packing, and what is left that we need to purchase or do.

Since Moscow is a blind region, we won't have any information about the baby before we travel. C. said that Baby F. will probably be a boy, and that's all we'll know until we arrive.

Please pray for everyone handling our paperwork.

a blessing in disguise

Over the summer, we purchased a used, inexpensive laptop to take with us to Russia. I had already started using it, mainly for surfing the web at night and updating our blog. Last night, it started acting squirrelly, and by this afternoon, I knew the hard drive had failed. I was frustrated!

We decided to have it repaired this week. It's no longer under warranty, of course. We hate having to spend the $$$, but the laptop is no good to us if it doesn't work.

I realized it is a blessing that the hard drive failed now, while we still have time to have it repaired. What if that had happened while we were in Russia? That really would have been upsetting. Things continue to work out for us!