We Got The Call.....

Gotcha Day is Monday!!!

I am so excited!!!!!!!!!  Schuyler and I were visiting with Atticus this morning when Sasha called.  She told me that our passports will be ready on Monday, so that means we can also go get our babies on Monday!  I couldn't believe it.  Still can't!  I was ready for them to take their sweet time with those passports, and was expecting them on Tuesday at the earliest, maybe even Wednesday since this past Wednesday had been a holiday.  Surprise, surprise!

She will come to our region by train and meet us at 8am Monday morning.  I am to bring all the Gotcha Day clothes I have for the kiddos with me.  Then we will drive to Belagorsk first to close out Charlotte's other bank account and pick her up.  Then we will drive back here to get Atticus.  That night we will take the overnight train, again, back to Kiev and Tuesday morning have our medical appointments for the children and our Embassy appointment for the kids' visas.  Wednesday we pick up the visas, and bright and early Thursday morning we will be off to the airport!!!!  I hope!  I have emailed Eldon asking him to book our flights, still waiting to hear back from him as it is still very early in the US.

I really cannot believe that the time has already come for us to finish this all up.  It is kind of like when Tim and I first had Evan.  We kept expecting someone to come to our home and say, "Thanks for babysitting, you did a great job now I will take my child back."  It feels kind of like that with this adoption.  I keep waiting for someone to say, "You have done a great job here, but sorry, they can't go home."

I am glad that we have a weekend packed with activity coming up, it will take my mind off everything that will be happening on Monday.  Tonight we are going to visit Natalya's English class again, and then going for dinner with a couple of her students.  Then tomorrow we will visit Atticus and then visit the older children's orphanage for Bible study.  We will also need to finish up our gift buying-- still need some chocolates, coffee, tea, etc for the nannies.  

Sunday is church and then Natalya, Schuyler and I will be taking a few of the children from Losovoya out for bowling!!!  I won't get to spend Mother's Day with my kids at home, but at least I will have my Schuyler here with me, get to see Atticus, and hang out with some other wonderful children.

I am very excited for this week ahead.  It will be the culmination of what Tim and I have worked for since February 14, 2011.  And now, exactly one year and 3 months to the day that we decided to commit to these two precious children, we will be able to take them out of the orphanages and into the loving arms of FAMILY!  God is truly so good, and we are very blessed.

It has been an awesome trip here in Ukraine.  So much has happened.  We have been able to step into the lives of children in orphanages, truly see what it is like and learn more firsthand about the plight of the orphan.  It has touched my heart, Schuyler's heart and Tim's heart in amazing ways.  It has definitely changed us, and for the better.  

We won't just be going home with our two new blessings, we are going home with a renewed devotion to help these children, the orphans of the world, in finding HOMES.... FAMILIES......LOVE.

They will not be forgotten simply because we are back on US soil.  

Not sure how much time I will have for blogging over the next few days, and really not sure how much time I will have period once we have the kids :), but if I don't get to post again until we reach home I want to say thank you again to everyone for your support, love and prayers.  Keep it coming!  This whole thing won't be ending as soon as we reach our doorstep, but rather just really beginning.  And the prayers...and the support ... will still be appreciated, perhaps more than ever.

Hopefully some of you will be able to greet us at the airport, still not sure what time that will be, but I can't wait to see the smiling faces of my hubby, my children and our friends once I get home!!!