Tuesday...leaving Nashville. My mom helped us get ready and out the door...and to the airport! Lorie met us there. Everything went so smoothly!

I thought I would have posted by now! It seems as though every free moment we are sleeping! It's 1:30 am here and I'm awake, so I thought I'd catch up a little. Pictures will have to come a little later.

We were able to spend several hours with Greta today (yesterday?). She was very timid when meeting us, but I expected that. She would have gone straight to Robert if the Directress had not sent her to me. I tried not to rush her. I hope the Directress didn't take that as me not being excited. I had taken a small stuffed horse to give her. I think that was a good distraction for her. She sat in my lap and looked down at the horse, then I'd notice that she was looking at me out of the corners of her eyes. When I noticed, she smiled.

She has every bit of the personality that her picture indicates! She smiles a lot. I love watching her play with Robert. She's good at pushing him around already!

When we were getting ready to leave, she thought she was going with us and started putting on her snowsuit. I wanted her to come with us too! She handled it well when the caregivers explained to her that she wasn't going yet.

I'm going to check e-mails and try to go back to sleep. We'll post pictures before leaving for the orphanage.

It's 13 degrees in Klaipeda right now . And it's about 3 pm there. Somehow I don't think I'll be letting the cold weather bother me too much!
Today is the last business day before I leave. 4 days to go! So many things to remember!

A week from today I finally meet Greta!

A week from now I will be in Vilnius, Lithuania. The forecast is for a high of 22 and cloudy - not that much different from what our weather has been like here recently! Now if I can just keep my wits about me enough to get on the plane with all of the documents and "stuff" that I need. I got a little update on Greta today. Dr. Genyte, the orphanage director, said that Greta has been healthy all winter. The last update I had was from October. Dr. Genyte also said that Greta is only wearing diapers at night. I expect that there may be some regression in that department.

I have been so blessed to be getting to know the Brubakers. They live in Klaipeda and adopted 2 boys from the same baby house/orphanage as Greta. Have I already said this? Anyway...through their blog I have been able to get glimpses of the orphanage and to get an idea of what next week will be like - as far as the visits to the orphanage.

Now back to working on that list...

So much for the list keeping me focused. I had about 16 items on it this morning and have only marked off 2. I think I'm in trouble.
It seems as though my trip keeps getting more complicated! I fly into Vilnius on the 20th. Spend the night there and drive to Klaipeda the next day. I'll be able to visit with Greta a couple of times a day at the orphanage for a few days. Then back to Vilnius to meet with the attorney on the 27th and to court on the 28th. Then back to Klaipeda to get Greta! Then we get her new birth certificate and her Visa, but there may be an additional trip back to Vilnius during this process (go to Klaipeda to get Greta, back to Vilnius to get court documents, back to Klaipeda to get birth certificate and Visa? maybe?). Then back to Vilnius to finish the adoption process - I have no idea what that means!
The current plan is to return to Nashville on Friday, February 12 around 6 pm. Yes, that's a day earlier than I've been telling everyone. Just one more sign of my lack of focus.
Now back to that list...

One week from now I'll be on my way to Lithuania. I'm to the point of not being able to sleep or concentrate! My To Do List is unbelievably long, but maybe it'll help me stay focused. I am so glad to have made contact with a family (the Magalhaes) in Vilnius - through Uncle Bobby's friend (and mmine too) Jerry Farmer's neice Nicki Brooks' friends the Holmes. Did you follow that? I'm looking forward to meeting the Magalhaes in person soon. I've also been e-mailing with an American family who are living and working in Klaipeda (the city where Greta lives). They have adopted 2 boys from the same baby house (orphanage) as Greta. I've also met another family through a Lithuania adoption blog who adopted from the same baby house 3 years ago and who also worked through Bethany. Isn't it a small world?!
Can you tell I'm excited? Now it's time to go work on that list...