Referral!!

Wednesday we got the greatest call from CHI that we had ALREADY been invited to travel to Russia to meet our baby! Anna, our US case manager, was shocked the process took only a few days from the time our documents arrived in the country to a few days later when the associate at CHI in Russia said there was already a match for us. I can't even believe things went so swiftly! We are right at 1 year from when we started the process and it sounds like roughly 2 months before he is home with us for good. Below is the email and itinerary from Anna explaining the first trip:

Dear Jessica and Gregory,
Congratulations!!! You’ve been invited to travel for the 1st trip to Moscow City.
Here are your official travel dates:

May 01 – leave US, arrive in Moscow on May 02
May 03 – visit to the Department of Education (where you will receive your child’s official information)
May 03 – visit to the orphanage
May 04, 05 – visit to the orphanage
May 06 – leave Moscow, arrive in US.

Karolyn will send you instructions for your visas, please apply for them as soon as you can (that way you can get your visas little cheaper).

If you should have any questions – please let me know.
Again, Congratulations!!!!

Anna

We leave in just a few days on our 18 hour journey to Moscow (I'll be honest, I'm going to need sedating for the trans-Atlantic crossing). We will be taking an item and some pictures that he will keep until our return. Still deciding on what the item will be as they note we should not leave anything we dearly want back - just in case. His room is (nearly) done with the exception of a sweet vintage dinosaur painting being completed as we speak, and of course - clothes! Poor thing has 2 pair of PJs and that's it so far! It's hard to buy things for a baby about whom you know no size or age or nutrition status! IT'S MAKING ME CRAZY!

Nonetheless, the time is almost here! Hopefully we will have at least the referral picture and possibly more when we get back! AHHHHHH!