We have our referral!

We got our referral last week with updated medical information on our little boy and a new(er) picture. This latest photo was taken in June of this year, and my, how our little man has grown! The chubby little cheeks and rounded face of the early baby/toddler years have changed into more of the face of a little boy. He has also gotten taller even though he is still on the smaller side for his age. Basically, there is only one word to describe him. Beautiful! And, I get to see this beautiful, little boy up close and in person in a few short days!

Rob and I are in a mad dash at the moment to finish up our to do list and to make sure that we have purchased all of the needed items for our trip. I have also been busy making preparations for our daughter while we are away such as talking with her teachers. Julia has been very excited about Rob and I traveling to meet her brother, but now the reality is setting in that while Rob and I are with little brother we will be away from her. She has begun telling me that she does not want me to go, and I have had to explain that little brother cannot come home soon unless Daddy and I make this trip. I have never been apart from Julia longer than 48 hours since she was born, so this will be a new experience for both of us. And, I know that I am going to miss her like crazy. We are taking our laptop and the cell phone, so hopefully we will be able to skype with our daughter while we are away and get in a short phone call or two.

Other items on my to do list include stopping the newspaper (I have already stopped the mail) and contacting the bank about our upcoming debit card usage in a foreign country. I don't want any of our purchases to be declined because the bank thinks the card usage is fraudulent. I also need to order some euros from our bank since we will be in Paris on a long layover during our trip.

Then there are the things that I need to take care of at our house before we leave. It is the Christmas season after all, and our house could use some decorating before we leave. Rob got our large tree up in our bonus room on Sunday, but Julia and I still have to decorate it. We also managed to get our smaller potted trees out on the porch along with our life size Santa and snowman. Eventually, we will also need to tackle the garland and stockings on the fireplace mantle. It will only be two weeks until Christmas when we return from our trip so I cannot imagine waiting until that time to get the house decorated. Besides, this will be one more thing for Julia and I to do together before Rob and I have to leave.

 Sofia at Christmas


Speaking of Christmas, I am very excited about seeing how Christmas is celebrated in Bulgaria. I often peruse the Bulgarian news articles on www.novinite.com, and last week they featured an article about how the Christmas lights in the capital city of Sofia will be lit on December 1st. The traditional Sofia Christmas tree, the 50-year-old pine near the Rila Hotel in downtown Sofia, will be lit by the mayor, and that will be preceded by an open concert of dance and song groups. The ceremony will also feature fireworks. I plan on taking lots of pictures of Bulgaria at Christmas time so that our son can have the photos to remember his homeland at this special time of the year.