We leave 3 weeks from today!

Three weeks from today we are leaving for Ukraine! We talked to Katya on the phone this weekend and she told Leeza her bags were packed and she had already said goodbye to all her friends at school. (Even if the adoption goes well, we won't be home for at least 6 weeks)

She is obviously ready to come home. The winter over there has been very harsh and there is several feet of snow on the ground. We are hoping for a quick thaw before we get there, but usually that means flooded streets full of melting snow that freeze each night. Unfortunately, we think we will need to pack for both Winter and Spring weather.

Our friend Terry Robinson, who traveled with us last September will be traveling with us again for the first week. She wants to return to see the kids that she became friends with on the last trip. Wade's Mom and Dad, Vicki and David Weston, will be traveling over the 5th of April and will hopefully be able to attend Katya's court hearing. Vicki is also going to facilitate "AirMail Adoptions" so that she can match up interested families to orphans for letter writing, picture sharing, etc. So far the response to her idea has been great and a lot of orphans will be very excited when they get their packages and know that they have friends in America who think and care about them.

When Wade's Mom isn't traveling to Ukraine, she will be in Denver watching the Weston kids staying behind, and when Vicki leaves, Wade's sister Drew will be coming to Denver with her two kids to hold down the fort.

We couldn't do this without the support we have received from our family and friends. We are just hoping for an outcome that brings Katya home. There are lingering doubts in our minds that something will change in Ukraine that prevents us bringing her home. Nothing is certain until we are all safe at home together and there are just too many things that can go wrong. There are too many people in Ukraine that are involved in the adoptions for self interest that can cause us problems.

We return to the doctor to pick up some forms on Wednesday. After that, all our paperwork will be complete. It will just be a hectic 3 weeks getting ready to leave. There is lots to do when you are leaving 5 kids at home for 4 weeks, especially when we both have full time jobs.

More to come!