Pre-"GOTCHA-Day" preperations

Well, we are a mere hours away from "GOTCHA Day" which is what the day you finally get your child and walk out of the orphanage is referred to by those who have gone through international adoptions before. From here on out February 24 will be a very special day for me as it signifies the day that RP FINALLY became an official member of our family! I am excited and nervous all at the same time - excited that in 24-hours we will be in Moscow starting the last leg of this very long cycle, but nervous as to how RP is going to react to the coming events. She has only known life in the orphanage for her 22-months of life and this is going to be a huge change for her. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that things go well but am prepared to just weather the storm if they don't and she has tantrums - what else can you do???

We are packed and ready to head to the orphanage tomorrow to pick up my "naked baby" (which is how my coordinator in St. Petersburg put it - in other words, you need to bring everything with you the child is going to need as you will get nothing from the orphanage other than the child - no clothes, shoes, diapers, toys, etc.) and her little Princess suitcase is ready for the flight to Moscow with toys and treats to hopefully keep her occupied for the hour and a half flight, so at this point all we have left to do is get a good night's sleep, a decent breakfast and lunch tomorrow, and pack the final necessities and we will be ready to head out of St. Petersburg once and for all.

Less than five days from now we'll be flying back to the US as a family and thus will start a whole new "chapter" in all of our lives. This process has been ongoing for 13-months and it's hard to believe that it's almost over - woo hoo!!!!!!!! :)