We're in Samara!!!!!

Hi everyone!!!!

2 words............HOT and FAST!!!!!

This trip is SO FAST!!!!! Every night we've been in a different hotel. They have looked really nice, but their food is REALLY expensive!!!!! A water (16 oz.) is about $3!

It is as hot and muggy as Texas here, but the big difference is that we have no recognizable (significant) air conditioning in doors...............there's no way to escape the heat, be prepared to sweat all the time!!! :):):)

We arrived in Samara today and met with our translator and driver. They are WONDERFUL. We've already gone to get our notary documents done (something normally AFTER you've seen your child, but because our 2nd day falls on Saturday, it's not open) and have met with the assistant to the minstry of education here. They have all been delightful!!!!

A few months ago someone showed me how to access the Russian site for children and I looked at all of them. I only saw 1 little girl with a cleft in 2006 and didn't think it looked like her. Well, apparently they have already done lip surgery and that IS our little girl. She looks so different it's scary to me............I want to make sure it's the same child that we've been falling in love with this whole time............ :):):)

I can't wait to meet her tomorrow!!!! I'm SO excited to make that trip!!!!! We get to be with her from 12-6 tomorrow (we're 10 hours ahead of TX from here) and then rest...........just to meet with her for about 4-5 hours the next day as well. I just realized that I may need to change my outgoing flights!!! I need to ask 1st thing tomorrow so I don't mess up there................hopefully it will only change the Samara flight and not the home flight. We were already having to stay the night in Moscow..............so that's not a big deal if we can get this all figured out pretty quick.

Well, tomorrow we will not have internet access and the access here costs us by the 15 minute intervals.............so I'm off for now.

Please pray for us and know that we are thinking of all of our friends in China right now..................I hope you're staying a little cooler than we are. Also, remember that you get to go home with your little ones, we don't this trip. We have to leave her for about another 2 months until court........... :( so pray for me not to cry too much tomorrow. The closer it gets, the more attached to this little one I get, regardless of what the dr.'s say and what I see tomorrow..............Gary is pretty much committed already and I've kept my heart at bay until we see her................but I don't know how much longer I can hold it back.....................and it breaks pretty easily!!!! Please pray for our return trip as well.

Also, we went to the store this evening and things are MUCH cheaper there, we had to get a taxi though and it cost the same as the total of our groceries (mostly water of course).

BTW, the diet is SO OUT with this. I have no idea of what I've eaten this week so far.....................but I did get in 2 shakes today (yea me!!!). I WILL gain weight, but I'll also lose it too.

Thanks,

Terri for the Casebier's