Traveling on Monday, February 12...

Mom met a handsome, 30-ish year old man while we were squished like sardines in a bus that was taking us from the terminal to the airplane. I asked, in English, if we were on the bus that would take us to Moscow. He replied in English and was laughing at Mom and my conversation. We never caught his name, but he was a foreign exchange student in Kearny, Nebraska. His English was perfect and he is going to Moscow to a Food Exposition in order to learn about exporting from Poland to Russia. He was very kind and wished us well.

Mom took a good, long look at the jewelry – mostly amber. So, to those of you thinking that you might receive a souvenir or two, it's a good bet that we'll be bringing home some bling-bling! I had to drag her out of the art gallery / jewelry store in order to get on the plane.

We flew from Chicago O'Hare at 10:00 PM Sunday night. We arrived in Warsaw, Poland at 2:30 PM local time. Because we flew during our natural sleeping time, we both got about 5-6 hours of sleep during the nine hour flight. That certainly makes the trip go faster. Now we're on a two hour flight to Moscow. Our lay-over was cut down from two hours to 1.5 hours, so we hope that our luggage made it to the second aircraft.

I'm feeling really good. I don't feel anxious (YET). I'm not tired. I feel pretty content about the whole adoption experience. Packing was easier than I thought, because I used lists from CHI (Children's Hope International) to help with what to pack for Grace. I didn't pack a stroller for several reasons: carrying her is better for attachment, it's impossible to push a stroller through the snow or up and down the stairs at the airports, and if needed, I could purchase an umbrella stroller in country.

I did bring a simple little back-pack carrier that my friend Michelle found for me. It's perfect for traveling because it fit inside the suitcase – Mom just packed the rest of Grace's things around it. Michelle, thank you so much, it's just what I needed.

And, I want to thank Michelle for the fabulous reference letter. Since it wasn't in an envelope, I read it. You are so sweet! Thank you for saying such nice things about me! I hope the Russian government doesn't find out about the real me! Just kidding! Anyway, your letter is critical in this adoption proceeding and I greatly appreciate you taking the time to write it. Michelle and I were college roommates, so we have shared much over the years.

The same is true for Elaine and Linda, except the letters were sealed and I didn't open them! I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that you kept out the really bad stuff!!! But seriously, Linda and I were friend back in Paducah, Kentucky, when I was working as a co-op at Air Products. I think it was 1991? Those were GOOD times! Linda and a few other women introduced me to Country Western Music and I've never looked back. Thanks!

I worked with Elaine at Huntsman in lovely Ringwood, Illinois. People often mistook one of us for the other one. We had similar hair and dress styles, but Elaine was always thinner than me. Elaine introduced me to Stampin' Up and I'm still making cards today. I had the best-going-away-party EVER in Ringwood. So many people came to Barry's Bar on a snowy night in January... it was amazing and a very excellent event! And, I know that Elaine is a blog-addict, so enjoy the personal shout-out.

A post from Cheryl... To Kathy, Jenny, Sharon, and Anne: We've almost made it! I've been traveling for 28 hours and I'm veryexcited about my new granddaughter Grace! Dosvidanya! (Good-bye for now.) I will keep in touch. Don't work too hard! - Cheryl