Making a list and checking it twice!

I leave in 6 days and my long list of things to do dwindles ... then I start a new long list ... it dwindles ... and again and again ... and this just goes on and on!

This weekend I finished ALL my shopping for the trip. I bought my gifts for the doctor, caretakers and nurses at the orphanage. I got gifts for the orphanage director, and my drivers, interpreters, and coordinators in both Almaty and Semey. I bought boy's clothes in both 9 months and 12 months (my referral turned 10 months old TODAY!) ... as I'm not sure of his size ... although I feel he will be on the small side ... I also bought shoes, bibs, socks, hats, gloves, etc., etc.

Yesterday, I spoke with Ashlee Forscher ... she and her husband returned in August from Semey with their baby boy, Owen! They live nearby ... in I believe Alpharetta, GA. She spoke at length about what to expect and gave me lots of wonderful, helpful hints ... such as ...

1. Bring a tension rod to hang in a doorway ... and hangers ... use this to hang dry my clothes.

2. WARNING ... Blogger.com is in RUSSIAN!!! So, when I go online to update my blog while overseas, I won't know what to do!! She advised me how to handle this!

3. She said life in Semey is very hard. She said it's kind of like camping out in that you have a roof over your head and running water! (Of course ... don't drink the water ... but you DO have it. Ha!!!)

4. You may have a t.v. but it probably won't work. Watch DVD's on your laptop.

5. Bring a can opener. She had to go to six different places before they found one in Semey. In other words ... no Walmart.

6. Almost anything I need for the baby, I can buy in Semey ... baby wipes, diapers, formula, food.

7. Get benedryl for the baby on his looooooong flight home. Motrin helped Owen ... but she thought maybe benedryl would have worked even better.

8. People over there will wear the same clothes two or three days in a row. She never used a blow dryer and rarely wore make-up. (Hmmm ... I don't know ... this will be a tough one ... gotta at least go with my eye liner and lipstick!)

9. Exchange money as soon as possible upon arrival.

10. Etc., etc., and to be continued ... as I plan to call her again with more questions!!!

This morning, I met Joanie Vignovich for breakfast. It is such a blessing that I will be traveling with Joanie on the trip over to Kazakhstan. She is also a single woman adopting in the region of Semey. We ate at I-Hop and talked about the trip. Joanie is a pure joy! GET THIS... she has a baby girl referral whose birthday is THREE days before the birthday of my baby boy referral!!! They are in the same play group at the same orphanage. If all goes well and we bring these two precious babies home ... who knows ... they could grow up to be life long friends! Wow! What a miracle! Just unbelievable! Unbelievable!!