This day will go down as one of the best days of my life. Our coordinator called to give us our travel dates! In a month, we'll be holding Cameron in our arms.

We received an 18 page fax from the agency with all the last things we need to do in order to travel. Fortunately for us, our coordinator had already given us a list that had a lot of what is on the fax. So... we don't have much left to do. Except get airline tickets, visas, gifts, pack and repack and pack again... I already have tickets with Lufthansa on hold for us. We'll probably be purchasing them next week.

Last Mother's Day, I told Tom that I wanted to be a mother by Mother's Day next year. It looks like my wish will come true.

Happy Valentine's Day! Yesterday we heard from someone who visited Cameron! He reported that he is happy, healthy, and well cared for. He also managed to take a couple pictures of him. It made our day to hear a first hand report.

This morning I spoke to the director of our agency and he told us that he believes that we will be traveling by the 3rd week in March. I was hoping we'd leave by March 1, but I'll take what I can get! He was going to contact the lawyer in Kaz to get firmer dates for us. We expect to hear back from him early in the week. I guess the bright side is that instead of being bitterly freezing when we are there, it will only be freezing...

We went out to eat at the Big Sky Grill this past Saturday with Linda and Burl. They pulled up in their Explorer, and when I peered in the back, I thought Christmas had come in February! They had bought us a changing table and several extremely cute outfits. Beau had bought his cousin a megasaucer. Tom and I had fun putting it together when we got home. We gave Aunt Linda and Uncle Burl a little overview of staying at our house. It is such a wonderful feeling to have loving and supportive family nearby.

I'd forgotten to mention that Gramma had sent a check to help us get ready for Cameron to come home. I used it to purchase matching drapes, bookends and rocking chair cushions. The rocking chair is just about done and looks fabulous with the cushions.

Even though we have some things left to do, including getting the carpet in, the blinds hung, the fan hung, and the crib assembled (whew), we are ready to go get our boy. I pray for him every day, asking God to watch over him. I know that the caretakers there are wonderful and doing everything they can to keep him healthy and happy. But I'm ready to take over the job!

We just got some great news. We will not have to come home through Moscow! Up until now, the US Embassy in Kazakhstan did not process visas, so people adopting there had to exit through the US Embassy in Moscow. Well as of March 1, this will change. We will appear at the US Embassy in Almaty, Kazakhstan after the adoption is complete and then fly directly home. We will save at least two days of travel and the money for the extra plane ticket. God is GOOD!

We had a followup consultation with Dr. Bledsoe Sunday morning after she had reviewed the new video of Cameron that we had sent her. She gave a glowing report and told us that she had "no reservations about this little boy at all." What wonderful, magical words to hear! We just knew from looking at his new video, that he is doing well, but it has given us such peace of mind to hear a specialist say the same thing. She told us how excited she is for us and hopes we have a great trip. With this great news ringing in our ears, we drove to Lowe's and ordered the carpeting for Cameron's room. I started painting his grandmother's old rocker Sunday and hope to have it finished by Wednesday. I'm painting it using the paint we used for the trim.

We've heard that a key official with the MFA is here in the US, so no dossiers will be released from the MFA until his return, which is supposed to be February 8. We are still hopeful that we will be traveling at the end of February. We received the special packet for the region we are going, and it has all kinds of practical and detailed information on what to expect. It's getting so close! I received the snowsuit I ordered on Ebay, and it's absolutely adorable! Cameron is going to be cute as a button in it. :smile: