WE'RE GOING TO RUSSIA...FINALLY!!!!!!!

Oh, dear friends (and you wonderful people I don't know but wish I did!),

This is the day we've waited to experience for three long years, and now we have no idea what to do with ourselves!!!!!! We got the phone call today (at 11:11, which is another story I'll mention in a minute), telling us that the Adoption Committee has extended a formal invitation to us to travel to Russia and meet our little boy!!!!!

There are not enough exclamation points in the world to portray my excitement!

A couple of years ago, we began seeing 11:11 twice a day, almost everyday on the clock. It wasn't as if we were watching for it, it just kept happening. It became almost creepy, and I told several close friends and family members that something big was going to happen for us either at 11:11, on November 11 or in November of 2011. I was half-joking, but this was such a cool thing today when I took the call, got the news, looked at the clock and....Whoa!

We have been given a few weeks notice (more than a lot of people receive), and even though we want to jump on a plane NOW, this preparation time is wonderful. We will be able to get cheaper flights and visas, make arrangements for my parents to come stay with the boys and get everything together that we want to take to our little sweetheart and to the other Russian children we've come to love along the way in this process.

We have been putting one foot in front of the other, plodding along, through so many setbacks because we didn't feel like God had given us permission to give up yet. I realize today that I must have lost hope somewhere along the way, though. I was shocked by the wonderful news this morning!

Anyway, I could go on and on, but I need to start brushing up on my Russian and buying presents for my little guy and....and....and....

:D