48 hours to go.....

The plan:
-Leave Saturday Jan 19th morning 10:30, Tulsa -Chicago-Frankfurt-Kiev....19 hrs in all
-Arrive Kiev Jan 20th 1pm (8 hrs ahead)-I'm not looking forward to experiencing jet lag for the first time!
-Passport clearance, luggage, meet facilitator, go to hotel.
-Monday-recover from jet lag, sight see maybe-hopefully meet up with Meredith, whose SDA appointment is the day before ours.
-Jan 22nd, 9:30 am SDA appointment: Our adoption will be different than most people adopting from Ukraine. Most people go over for a "blind referral", meaning they arrive at their appointment, not knowing who their child will be. They request a gender and age range, and are given several files of orphans to review. Then they have the option to visit one or more of those kids to potentially adopt. We are able to request a specific child 1. because she has significant health issues 2. Because we know someone who has been there and seen her, and we could request her specifically. Please pray for us on our SDA date. I'm not sure why I'm nervous about it. I'm sure they are very nice people. We will be required to explain to them why we would travel half way across the world to adopt a child who is considered in most countries to be without value. I don't know what I will say or how I will say it. I'll ask the Lord to give me just the right words. I have put together a photo album to show them our home, our family, our neighborhood, her future school The Little Lighthouse, and her future friends at DSAT (Thanks Molly) to "prove" to them that she will be loved and cared for here.
-Next day we get the official referral, at which point we hop on the first train to her little city, about 12 hours I think? I will meet Kelly here!
-Meet with the local inspector (the U.S. equivalent of a social worker) who gives us permission to visit the orphanage.
-Have tea with the orphanage director, lawyer, and doctor (sounds fun but I am going to be thinking about somebody else I want to see at the orphanage), we'll show our photo album and learn all about our daughter.
-Meet her!
-Begin court paperwork, and wait for our court day. From this point on, we will visit Ava twice a day and bond with her, until our court date (could be around two weeks).
-Court hearing
-10 day appeals period (waiting period)- We will come home.
-Fly back, obtain permission to bring her home, finish the paperwork, medical exam, Visa, Embassy approval
-Finally bring her home (I am guessing this will be in early to mid March)...So close, yet so far away!