Are You Ready For This?

Are you ready for this?

Today is Wednesday.. and if you've been paying attention the only day that adoptive parents can call USCIS between 1 and 4 pm. So I did and guess what?

I found out we were approved last week.

Our documents will go out tomorrow via DHL.

Yippee!!!

So Exciting!!!

This was the in depth FBI / Homeland Security clearance.

So now we just wait for the confirmation of our court date in Georgia and we're off.

It's nice to know that both countries have approved us. Thank You USCIS !

And for people like Kevin C. our neighbor who's been telling people that he thinks we're

like Mr. & Mrs. Smith? You know Brad Pitt and Angelina ? Yeah I see the resemblance. lol

Sorry to disappoint you but Brad.. I mean Bruce and I lead very "normal" lives.

Really this is normal ;o)

Ask Bruce / Brad / Mama ..lol

Yes he married me for the entertainment.

~~~

So what's left to do? Lots.. I have to finish my letter for translation which will be presented before the court in Tbilisi. Prepare a photo album of our life as well as some of the other children from Georgia that are already here in the USA to show how well their doing.

You should see how cute they are. And I must say the families who have adopted them are truly special. They really care not only for their child but Tamara and all the other children left behind. It's an honor to know these people.

Tamara already has play dates lined up.

Monday I will contact the US embassy in Tbilisi to check and see if they got our file.

They need our file to grant Tamara a Visa to return to the USA with us.

Once her little feet hit American soil she becomes an instant US citizen. ;o)

Cool Huh?

~~~

And then there's the packing, packing, packing and yes re-packing.

If you recall I packed Tamara's bags a while back... well I don't imagine she'll need the ski jacket any more or the dressy coat? LOL. So I have a little bit of repacking to do.

~~~

We also have to bring gifts for the facilitator, her assistant, translator, the nanny, cook, driver, lawyer, foster Mom, 2 - 10 year old girls that have befriended Tamara. One is the bio daughter of the foster family the other is their neighbor. And two Toddler Foster siblings that share a room with Tamara. So I still have some shopping to do.

Such a hardship ;o)

~~~

So are you ready for this?

~~~

Queen Tamara

Queen Tamara or Thamar

Most Americans think of the state of Georgia when you say Georgia.

But there was a very great empire long before the Europeans found America.

Queen Tamara ( or Thamar) ruled the medieval kingdom in the very crucial area between the Black and Caspian Seas and the Caucasus Mountains. She began the protector of Byzantium after the Fourth Crusade returned it to the control of the Christians but she also was the protector of many Muslims areas as well.

As the leader of Georgia, she brought a new age of arts and literature to the country, and was revered as being "radiant as the rising sun, born to illuminate the world around her. Women though she is, God had created her to be a sovereign."

http://www.european-georgia.com/culture/history/ Follow this link to the fascinating history of the Republic of Georgia. It will not only enlighten about the past but give you a deeper understanding of Georgia today.

~~~

One of the many "surprise" things we have to do is address our judge. Since Georgia doesn't allow too many adoptions their judges don't usually get very many international cases. Our judge I was told handled an adoption 2 years ago for a 6 yr. old boy in CA.
His Dad I am told memorized an hour long speech / presentation for the judge which apparently brought the judge to tears. How would you like to follow in those foot steps??? Oh yes... did I mention he did this in Georgian? Eeek.
So.. now we have to come up with some sort of presentation / act / performance if you will.
Any suggestions? I suppose I could always twirl my fire baton to a Georgian song? LOL..
Nah... they'd never allow one of those on the plane.

Oh well back to the drawing board.

~~~

Here Comes The Judge

Here comes the judge... Great news we have been assigned a judge and court date in Tbilisi.

That's very good news

So Exciting!

We're getting closer... as soon as our departure date is confirmed we can start the count down.

So Exciting!

Now for the details... house sitters, transportation, booking airlines.

So Exciting!

Not looking forward to the travel time.. looks like 26 hrs + each way. Grrrr

Anyone out there have any tips on how to keep a 3 year old entertained for 26 hrs?

Don't forget she doesn't speak English.

No drugs are not an option.

~~~

Good Nite Moon

Good Nite Lily

In the Great Lilac Room

There was a telephone

And a purple balloon and a picture of a fairy flying over the moon

And there were three little dollies sitting in chairs

And three little kittens and a pair of mittens

And a little toy house and a toy stuffed mouse

And a silver comb and brush and some silly puddy mush

And a quiet not so old Lady who was whispering hush

Good Night room

Good Night moon

Good Night fairy flying over the moon

Good Nite light and purple balloon

Good Nite Dollies

Good Nite chairs

Good Nite kittens and Good Nite mittens

Good Nite clocks and good night socks

Good Nite little house & Good Nite little mouse

Good Nite comb and Good Nite brush and

Good Nite to the not so old lady whispering hush

Good Nite stars

Good Nite air

Good Nite noises every where.

NOT The End

Actually this is just the beginning for us and Good Nite Moon ;o)

The picture above is of Tamara's doll crib, one of her vintage Madame Alexander Pussy Cat dolls and Lily.

Her cat. Yes we have 3 but Lily is the baby and Lily as you can see is the one who will be most agreeable when it comes to playing baby or perhaps dress up. No I didn't put Lily in the doll crib. LOL . She thinks it's hers?

In fact Lily thinks all the toys are hers.

She's a cutie.. can't wait to see Lily and Tamara in action together.

What about Eci and Camie? Well our teenage kitties are a little less interested in playing games.

Although sweet and cute they require a different form of parenting.

You just never know what they'll do next.

~~~

Special Song and Prayer

A special prayer and song (see song list to play... The Prayer sung by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli) for little

Kolton
Kolton is my... hum... 2nd cousin through marriage? He was born a month early and has been hospitalized for over a week now. Weighing in at a tiny 6 lbs. Our warm thoughts and best wishes go out to Kolton and his parents Karl and Karen and big sister Katrina during this difficult time.

He Said.. She Said

The Fish are jumping already.

Well it's official ...it must be Summer? 80F. + ???

We were hoping to travel in April as "usually" it's a fairly maintenance free month for us out side but not apparently this year. Yes... the fish are jumping already. Most years we have another few weeks before things come to life. Last week Bruce had to start up the waterfall and he started to feed the fish. Once the water temp reaches 50F they're hungry.

With the weather we've been having this past week the plum tree is in full bloom and the flowers & clover are starting to pop. It's just a matter of time until the grass starts to grow. And with grass come the weeds. And then there's the pool which we were hoping would remain closed until after we return home. We still have our fingers crossed on that one.

~~~

Yes... It was a lovely day today... let me tell you about our adventure.

This morning over coffee I asked Bruce if there was something special he'd like to do today. I was waiting for him to say "I don't know" which he did..lol. and then I suggested we go to Babies R Us and BJ's as we had to return the generic bed rails I bought since Tamara's bed comes with rails. But first we had to go to church. Our organist Shirley is on vacation and Bruce is covering for her with the electric organ. So we were eager to get there. We loaded up the car with the bed rails and before we made it half way up the driveway we realized we had a flat. A screw in my tire. OK... back it up ..park and grab the other car. Transferring the rails into Bruce's Volvo we make it to church on time. After services we head out again .. but first stopping at the house to write down the tire make / size so we can call Gregg our tire man from the road. Then it's off to brunch before Babies R Us. After leaving Babies R Us where we bought more then we returned. With Bruce driving I said make a left.. he said I know a short cut? OK... he made a right. We had a lovely 2-1/2 hour drive through central NJ and I knew we were in trouble when the sign said Welcome to Lebanon and then Butzville this way? Weird huh? Anyway we finally made it to BJ's.. then returning home his engine light came on. Eeek!

OK.. not a problem.. he thinks he knows what the problem is. So we return home. He jacks up my car.. spins the tire off throws it in the back of his car and has Gregg fix it. He's back home in under an hour. Googles Volvo sensors .. finds directions.. spends 5 minutes working on his car... DONE!!! Is he amazing or what? lol.

The reason for my sharing this rather ODD day with all of you is I think our drive through NJ today was some sort of subconscious form of revenge?

I rarely let him drive when we shop... yes I know I'm a control freak but we're talking "shopping" ;o)

We recently had a conversation about strollers. I was telling him that I was frustrated as I couldn't find one I liked that had all the creature comforts I was looking for in a girly looking stroller. He said why do you need that she walks? So I explained that when we're at the mall and Tamara gets tired I need a stroller as I can't carry her through the mall with the packages. He said well when she's tired come home? Ha.. I thought. so we went shopping together a few days later. We started off at Sears.. his store. Our mission was to find travel money bags. You know the kind that you strap on. Yes comfy I know. Anyway We also looked for some pants for him, shoes for me and some stuff for Tamara. The diagram below will explain how our day at the mall went. By the end of the day Bruce understood why Tamara needed a stroller.

When we returned he took a nap ;o)

~~~

OK.. lets get serious. On the adoption front we're still waiting to hear from INS / FBI. From what I'm being told once the clearances come back to them they send them to the US embassy in Tbilisi and we travel. I'm sure I'll know more soon. I hope. I'd better...

OH please before I loose my mind!!! Just kidding.. still sane.. just a little anxious to go get our baby. ;o)

~~~

Tamara's Furniture arrived the other day.. very pretty as soon as I'm finished decorating I'll post a new picture. She has a very... very.. cool room for a 3 year old. ;o)

~~~

Age of Aquarius

January 21, 2005

That's the day our baby was born.

So she's an Aquarius...

The Water Carrier

January 21 to February 19

Traditional Aquarius Traits

Friendly and humanitarian

Honest and loyal

Original and inventive

Independent and intellectual

LIKES
Fighting for Causes
Dreaming and Planning for the Future
Thinking of the Past
Good Companions
Having Fun

DISLIKES
Full of Air Promises
Excessive Loneliness
The Ordinary
Imitations
Idealistic

Any Aquarius out there? Any of this true?

Here are a few people who share Tamara's birthday with her.

She's in pretty good company I think.

January 21, 1905 - Christian Dior - Designer , January 21, 1940 - Jack Nicklaus - Sports Figure, January 21, 1941 - Placido Domingo - Singer, January 21, 1942 - Mack Davis - Singer,

January 21, 1947 - Jill Eikenberry - Actress, January 21, 1957 - Geena Davis - Actress

~~~

We also had to give them (Georgian Courts) a middle name for Tamara so after going back and forth for weeks we finally decided on Tamara Katarina.

I always liked the name Katarina .. in fact if she were younger we would have changed her first name to Katarina. But we also thought it would be a great way for all of us to remember Kathy and Irina the two ladies state side that have been absolutely wonderful through this whole journey to Tamara. There is no doubt in my mind that they care for Tamara a great deal.

So Katarina it is.

On Bruce's side of the family.. strangely enough most of the ladies have the middle name Lee.

Weird huh? Nope can't make this stuff up.

I have had many people suggest that we name her Tamara Lee ... but to me that just sounded too much like a country western singer. And I wanted her to have a strong name she can grow into.

Katarina is a strong name. Sounds important I think? Anyway now she'll have something in common with her girl cousins here. Cousin Katie is a Katherine Ann and Cousin Amanda is Amanda Cathleen.

~~~

On the paper front. I spoke to INS today and they gave me our case # and they're working on it. Yahoo!!!! So exciting!!!

Georgia is cruising.. we should get our court date soon... I hope.

Another batch of documents are in Trenton should be back in a day or two.

These get hand carried to Georgia by us.

~~~

And more good news... Tamara's new bedroom set is being delivered tomorrow. Not bad considering it had to come from No. Carolina. I guess begging does work? ;o)

~nite~

Look for an open window

How many times have you heard when one door closes another one opens?

Too many to count I bet. I have learned through the years to always look for an open window.

Most things worth having require a climb rather then a simple walk through.

~~~

I received an email today from Cathy whom I hired as a mentor this winter to help me out with the paper chase for the Ukraine. We were going to attempt an independent adoption from there and then Tamara came along. Although Cathy's fees like all adoption fees are non refundable.. I never regretted sending her the check. In one fell swoop Cathy cleared up so many mysteries about the international adoption world for me. She is a single mother of 9 adoptive children. Talk about courage and in site.

Anyway... the email today made us feel like we had dodged yet another bullet. The Ukraine is voting yet again on an adoption bill. And although no one knows yet how it will turn out it's a very stressful time for those families who are in the process for the Ukraine.

Under the new bill no single adoptive parents and they would require a 45 year max age difference between the oldest parent and child. In our case that would have meant a 9 year old.

So as you can see sometimes we climb out the window before the door closes.

Sometimes we get lucky... sometimes when we follow our hearts... our inner voice and

we get it right. ;o)

~~~

The picture above was taken by my cousin Anna during her last trip to Croatia.

Yes Annie.. I messed with your photo. Kind of cool no?

It was taken in Glavotok on the Island Krk.

The picture below is an original from the series.

This was the view our mothers had growing up.

Talk about an open window.

And below is the aerial shot of Glavotok.

This place has a very special place in my family's heart. Someday I hope to take Tamara there. Someday perhaps she too will find the open window with the awe inspiring view.

~~~

Happy Tax Day

Wow... it's that time of year AGAIN?

Seems like just yesterday we filed our return?

Oh.. maybe it was...lol

Just kidding... I hope you all had a stress free tax day.

~~~

I guess you all would appreciate an update?

Well things are progressing.. today we went for our final finger printing.

FBI / INS

There's a form they call a I600 which gives us permission from our government to bring Tamara home. Hopefully??? This part of the process will go swiftly as Georgia is almost ready for us.

I will be calling INS tomorrow. Yup tomorrow Wednesday if you remember adoptive parents have a 3 hour window to speak to a real person. So at exactly 1pm I'll program our phone to ring them. ;o)

Wish me luck!!!

~~~

Have a Seat

Saturday we went to visit our new friends who had adopted an adorably sweet little boy from Tamara's Baby House in Georgia. After seeing this energetic little 3 year old in action I decided the booster seat concept will have to wait so I went out today and bought Tamara a high chair. After consulting with my Mommy consulting group of course ;o). Thanks Girls! I settled on the Graco Classic Wood Highchair in Cherry. It looks much, much better in person then in this photo and it's actually a pretty cool chair. Starts out as a regular high chair, then turns into a toddler type booster high chair that you can pull up to a table and lastly it becomes a children's chair.

The cherry tray has a very good quality molded clear hard plastic tray that is dishwasher safe. In fact this "should"??? be fairly easy to maintain. And it matches our adult furniture which is great. Who ever picks the designs / colors for baby / toddler items this year should be shot.

Why on earth would they suddenly think that I would want an orange and green high chair, stroller or car seat? Honestly what are they thinking?

~~~

Below is Tamara's Royal Dalton Bunnykins table and chair set that arrived this week.

Cute no?

Perfect for all those tea parties... Yes of course she has a Royal Dalton mini tea set already waiting for her. ;o)

Bruce has been very co-operative assembling Tamara's new furniture pieces and I must say he's making them incredibly strong. I think he might be planning on using these chairs at some point? lol

Have a Seat ;o)

~~~

Weddings, Funerals & Babies...

Weddings, Funerals and Babies...

The three times in your life when the salesmen really see you coming.

As you all know I've planned a "few" weddings in my day. Unfortunately have had to plan a funeral as well. And now for the baby part.

After an extensive search these last two weeks we finally settled on a new bedroom set for Tamara. I really appreciate all the advice I've received via comment post, email and phone.

I have taken all your opinions into account.

And we have decided to go with Young America Isabella by the Stanley Furniture Company.

A made in the USA set that she can grow with... adding age appropriate pieces as she matures.

The concept is similar to the crib conversion to a toddler bed and then a daybed or full size.

We purchased a twin canopy that will start out at Toddler bed height with matching bed rails.

When she gets a little older we raise the bed and add a box spring to regular height. Still able to use the bed rails. At regular height we add a Trundle bed. Which will slide under the bed when not in use. Great for sleep overs.

It's a set that I would imagine any little girl would absolutely love.

I think you'll agree.

Above Isabella Set

Picture a twin set.. toddler height. Matching night stand and dresser / mirror...

Cute NO???

~~~

OK... It wouldn't be shopping if we didn't dream a little. So I figure I should show you what I would have bought had I won the Mega million lottery drawing this week. Of course I might have had a better chance had I actually purchased a ticket..lol

This little princess bed can be yours for a mere $16,000 + delivery.

I thought about it for about 10 seconds. That's how long it took me to realize where the comma was. The sheets.. being round are probably as expensive as the dresser we bought....lol. but it's nice to dream. ;o)

~~~

While looking at Fantasy Items I also found this Play House at Le Petite Maison.

Couldn't tell you how much this baby goes for as they don't tell you.. you complete their form which asks what your play house budget is? Since these are two story Baby Mansions with heat and running water perhaps we'll build one for Tamara as a wedding gift? lol

Nice huh?

OK and life wouldn't be complete without a special place for FiFi

So as you can see there are loopier people then I.

Comforting isn't it? LOL

~~~

On the adoption front ... everything seems to be moving along.

A little hiccup here and there but nothing we can't handle.

~~~

Ouch!

Ouch!

Back to the Doctor today for more shots.

I don't think we'll catch anything for about 10 years.

They don't tell you about this part... no one makes it a point to tell you about all the medical screening, poking, testing you have to do first before you're approved and then again to travel.

Bruce picked up our prescriptions today.. they were over $500. That was our co-pay part.

Sounds like a lot doesn't it.. you'd think we'd have dozens of bottles and hundreds of pills for that. But in reality is was 2 Hep A vaccines, 2 Z packs , 2 Tami flu, and 2 Typhoid pill packs. In total I think he came home with about a dozen pills. Wow.. so glad we have a prescription plan??? The rest our Dr. provided at the office for a fee of course. Not sure which was more painful... the shot in the arm or the shot in the wallet. Somehow... the wallet seems more like an insult to our intelligence? Yeah... like we're not suppose to notice a $500 charge? Ah? Ouch!

Anyway... That was the highlight of my day? Other then shopping with Bruce and a quick dinner at Pizza Hut. Yes... he can be bribed with food.

Poor guy... he's been dragged all over 3 counties as I look for a possible new bedroom set for Tamara. Think we found it last night. But it really burns my buttons when I have to pay full retail on big ticket items. Guess it's all those years as a buyer.. you get used to wholesale figures. And when you know what the mark up is? Grrrr.

aNy WaY... the bedroom I want for her is not discounted anywhere... and I mean anywhere. Yeah... I'll probably get the store to eat the tax and delivery fees but I think they know that no one is discounting the set. Bummer. Well at least it's made in the USA.

And there is a HUGE difference in quality. I mean huge. Not sure what they're using to make furniture in China these days but they really should try ...um... wood?

So here's what I noticed / learned the last few days about the furniture in our stores these days.

Most of it is manufactured in China. Seriously... read the fine print. With the exception of some very expensive brands... the rest of it is pretty pathetic. So this is what happens and using the set I want for Tamara is a perfect example. OK... see if you can follow along here.

Set A is the American set. Made of wood, solid, non toxic.

Set B is the China Set. Made of Mystery material, shaky at best and who knows if it's toxic?

They both start at about the same price. Set A does well. The floor model is solid, it looks better, better styling lines. Set B is shaky, chips in the show room. The fancy molding is not wood but some sort of molded foam? Yeah.. that sounds healthy? Anyway... people aren't stupid.. when they see an inferior sample it doesn't sit well. Think about it.. why would a parent buy a bed, dresser for their young child if the sample couldn't hold up in a store? They wouldn't unless they had no choice. So... Set A retains it's price and value and set B goes on sale 50-60% off if you look closely enough. But we want set A. So I've spent hours online and in every furniture store within a 50 mile radius looking for it.

So what is this to die for must have set like? you ask?

It's a twin canopy that has the capacity to be a Toddler bed with matching rails while she's little.

Once she gets a little taller. Daddy can lift the mattress part up to a regular bed height and then we buy the Trundle Unit so she has room for a little buddy. Should she want a larger bed when she's a teen? No problem.. we swap with the guest room.

the set is rather extensive so we can add to it as she grows.

Kind of cool ...no?

~~~

I would think?

Ta Da

Is it morning yet? Thought I'd give you all a quick update. Today our document arrived via FedEx from Trenton and I scanned and sent it over. Hard copy stays with me. And gets hand carried over.

Also today found out slight change in plans when in country. Now we have to travel to Tamara's Birth Family's region to acquire a new birth certificate. So ... road trip. Hum... wonder how far that will be? Anyway.. it will give us the opportunity to at least drive through her village... perhaps even stop? I've been bugging our agency for months for information, pictures and such on the birth family. Perhaps We'll get to meet them after all?

At some point I expect Tamara will ask about her birth family. I would love to have some pictures of them or at least their village to share with her. Although the nanny has met them and I will have an opportunity to interview her... it would be nice to meet them first hand.

When you adopt a child your best opportunity to gather information is before the adoption. When you adopt internationally... your only opportunity may be while you're in country. So although a nerve racking, highly emotional event. It's an opportunity we really can't pass up should it present itself.

I would think? If we did have the opportunity to meet her birth family it would give her birth Mom some closure as well. I would think?

I would think? She would feel a sense of relief knowing her Birth Daughter has a family that adores her and will provide her with a happy, healthy, productive life.

I would think?

I would think?

~~~

Sweet Dreams Baby Girl

Sweet Dreams Baby Girl. Yes... this is Tamara's bedroom at the Foster Home. I had asked the agency to sneak a peek for me as I wanted to know what her sleeping arrangements / accommodations were like. As I mentioned earlier we have a full size bed in her room right now. Looks like baby girl sleeps in a crib. So now we need to decide do we get a crib for her to make her as comfortable as possible when she comes home? Remember she's 3 but the size of a 2 year old. What would you do? Redecorate or risk it?

Learned a few new things about Tamara today. Her foot is 14.3 cm long. About a size 8 in toddler sizes and if you look at her sleepy picture closely. She's sucking her thumb.

Cute huh?

I'll have to break her of that as soon as she's bonded. As cute as it is.. not good for the teeth.

~~~

Orphanage Fund Raiser

A Special Thanks to all those who have donated to the orphanage fundraiser.

Although the ticker (right hand column) has run out ..it's not too late to donate as we are still state side. Read the "Do it for the kids" post (right hand column under labels) for more information.

Checks can be mailed to our residence or you can Paypal over your donation to leek@primeisp.net

I found out today there are about 200 children in this baby house. Strangely enough while they were doing a head count for me they discovered there are two extra kids there?

Too bad we can't take them :o(

Anyway my original thinking was that I would buy shoes for all the kids. I'm in the process of trying to get an American children's shoe manufacturer to donate the shoes as there are so many. If I am successful we can then use the money raised along with our donation to buy other much needed items for the children. Wish me luck. Although I don't look forward to transporting a few extra suitcases worth of shoes I think it would be very well received by the children.

Shoes are considered a prized possession among orphans.

~~~

Those who have written checks.. FYI they will be cashed next week.

Thanks again for your generosity... I should be able to get some pictures for you while we are at the baby house. I know it will be a heart breaking experience but one we really must do.

~~~

Back to the Tea Hive & Update

Saturday found me going back to the Tea Hive for a Tea Party with the ladies from Church.

Somewhat tired from the festivities on Friday night but a nice way to kick off the weekend.

When I returned Bruce gave me some wonderful news. Our niece Angie and husband Brian had their 1st child. Little Logan Ray and Mom Angie are both doing great. In January her oldest sister Jennifer, husband Jim and big brother Avery welcomed their son Brydon Emery and in May our middle Wisconsin Niece Mindy, hubby Peter and big brother Issac are expecting a little girl. Lots of little cousins for Tamara to grow up with. Pretty cool stuff huh? Hardest part is being a "GREAT" Aunt and Uncle. Eeek!!!

Congratulations Girls and Guys... but mostly girls... after all you're doing 99% of the work. ;o)

~~~

To bring you all up to speed... We finally heard from Immigration and have our appointment for our final finger printing. In the mean time things are cruising along in Georgia. Tonight we received our travel document with instructions for obtaining tickets, how to deal with the remaining funds, our schedule (although we do not know the court date yet). Helpful tips on tipping, gifting (which we will be doing a lot of), shopping in Tbilisi, how to deal with the rather large staff that will be there to help us. Some cultural tips. Some safety tips. We will not be staying in a hotel but rather a private residence which we will rent for the 2-3 weeks we're there for security reasons. We should have Internet access so we will be keeping you informed as promised via this Blog. House / pet sitters, a neighbor and immediate family will have a contact # who will relay the message to us in country should you need us in an emergency. Social interaction should be done via this blog while we're away. We do plan on checking in at least once a day or as time permits. Georgia does have power grid issues so don't freak out if we miss a day or two while there. Georgia is having elections in May. We expect there will be some tension in Tbilisi which is their capital. Not to worry.. just watch CNN and I'll wave

Seriously we should be fine.. just thought I'd mention it so no one has a melt down in case we do see some excitement.

Bruce will disperse the necessary contact information to his business associates once we have a real itinerary. We are planning on using Skype while in country so we should have contact with the outside world. Not to worry.

Actually I can't wait till he reads these documents... should make for some very interesting conversation during breakfast..lol

~~~