This is it....

Dearest Family and Friends,

Well it looks like this will be our last posting until Lamar and I start our journey in 72 hours. Lamar finally finished his last shift and is officially off until we return from Ukraine. My mom and dad are on the way up from Florida and they should arrive tomorrow late morning. Sunday we will all go to church and then brunch for Lamar's birthday. Then, we're outta here! Everything is happening at very fast speeds, but we are very alright with this.

Packing has been fun. We have been watching the weather and it looks like it will chilly and wet while we are there. As most of you know, our dear friends we met in Japan, the Bryant family, also adopted from Ukraine. They came home in May with a beautiful 3 year old son, Max. They have been our inspiration in so many ways. They have paved the roads for and made our preparation so much easier. For example, they told us that we need to pack fitted queen-sized sheets, oatmeal, a head scarf for the temples (which they bought for me while they were there!), and boots, just to name a few. NONE of these things were on my packing list, so you can see what life-savers they are to us. In fact, our facilitator, Yuri, whom acts as our liaison, translator, tour guide, and advisor, was their facilitator. We hired him after the amazing treatments and experience they received from him. It's been a blessing to us to have all this guidance. Lamar and I don't feel so blind now heading out there. {shout out} Thank you, Bryant family! We can only pray we are blessed with such a beautiful child as Max. It gives us so much hope and eases many fears we have. Thank you!

Well, I still have a list of things I must complete so we can relax and enjoy the last couple of days with our boys.

Thank you all for the cards, well-wishes, phone calls, prayers, love, and support. A dear friend said she stocked up on candles to burn while we are away in honor of the adoption. (She's not even Catholic!) How cool is that?

Lotsa love,

Kris