Just for him

Just a couple of little things I am bringing with us for little Dennis. Do you think he will like them? Do you think our little 21 month old will fit into a size 5-6 shoe? If not, he'll grow into them!

Won't be Empty for Long

Only five days left till we leave! I am starting to get really excited! Hallelujah! Dennis here we come!

Here is all of the luggage we are taking and I need to make all of our stuff fit inside these two suitcases and two carry-ons. Can I do it?

On another note, everything is falling into place. I ran a bunch of errands today and even had the car washed for whoever drives it while we are gone. Believe me, my van so needed a good cleaning.

Donations are still trickling in, Praise God, and He has provided us with the funds to make this adoption happen! However, Erin never emailed me to claim her Moscow mug. What should I do? Erin, if you are reading, please email me your address.

Sorry this is so short, but I am off to fill up those suitcases!

Countdown-- 10 days till we board the Train (I mean plane)

Time is flying! Only 10 days left until John and I say goodbye to our 10 children and drive down to LAX. It is a bittersweet thought. Sure I will miss my kids, and I will probably wonder constantly how they are all faring, but as John puts it, in a way, this is a vacation away from the kids. Is that bad?

I am more calm as of now, and I am not sure that is good because I feel like I am getting nothing accomplished. I mean after all, we do have 10 days before we leave and that's plenty of time, right?

I guess maybe I just don't know where to start. I have written the note that allows my friend to seek medical attention for the kids, and I have bought the food and 30 foil casserole dishes to make up some freezer meals for my family to eat while we are gone. But what next? Pack? Buy gifts? Print pictures? What exactly should I be packing in my carry on? What kinds of foods/snacks should I take? What should I pack for Dennis? What kinds of things will they let us do with him? I am packing the frog, some bubbles, a blow up ball, a picture book, but what else?

I am sure looking forward to your comments/advice on this post.

Oh and by the way, the raffle ends tomorrow and I will be drawing a name around 7pm PST. So get a ticket if you would like a chance to win the mug. It is not to late. A few of you tried to use RME and it never worked. Please email if you are still interested in participating in the raffle or if you know that RME didn't work for you. Thank you so much.

How special is this?

Remember the list of things to take to Ukraine that I previously posted? Well, thanks to Charissa and her wonderful heart and story, I have decided to add this to my list.




P.S. Their story is one that truly touches my heart. God bless them and their little girl Ava.

Keep them coming :)

Please keep adding to the list as you come up with items to bring to Ukraine. I've posted links to other contributor's blogs. Please check them out too, as they are worthy of reading. :)

Things to take as I think of them

Thinking ahead, I've already started to compile a list of things that we will be taking with us. A lot of it comes from Laurel and John's blog who are in Ukraine as we speak.

1. Laptop computer
2. Wet Wipes
3. Spatula
4. Snack, snacks, and more snacks
5 Zip Lock bags
6. Sharpie Markers
7. Balloons
8. Deck of Cards
9. Reading material
10. Disposable Bibs
11. Luggage Tags (maybe I can borrow Laurel's)
12. potato peeler
13. baby sling This one is my favorite.

If you can recommend anything that I am missing please let me know. Also, if you are getting ready to travel, what are your "must takes?"

Here are things that I have added thanks to contributors Nataliya, Kathy, Annie, Shelley, and Tami. Check out their blogs, as I have come to enjoy reading them very much.

14. grocery bags
15. international adaptors
16. small umbrella
17. photo album of family (I planned on that but forgot to add it to the original list)
18. tape measure
19. flash light
20. wash clothes
21. a roll of TP
22. Sink Stopper
23. DVD player
24. Convenience comfort food like brownie mix and hot chocolate