A New Day Has Dawned--Could it be Manana?

Manana is here. Our facilitator called when we were in Dhulikheil and said the committtee would sign our file on Sunday (no doubt at 5pm). We then need the Secretary's signature and he gets back on Tuesday so we could be flying home in less than a week. Hurrah! Assuming all goes well. We are booked on a flight for friday but I doubt we will make it. Hopefully we can leave before next Monday. That would be nice. Really looking forward to seeing you all.

Sorry I haven't posted. We went up to the mountains and it was awsome. Mark spoke at the Kathmandu Univ. there. A great campus carved into the mountain. Then we stayed at a mountain top resort with great views of the Himalayan mountains. We woke to the sun rising over the mountains. Couldn't see Mt. Everest but saw the Annapuranas. It was magnificent. We had our own balcony facing the range. Glorious. Also amazing is the foothills and how every inch of them is terraced for farming. Wow. Human ingenuity. Unfortunately Dhulikheil is yet another place in Nepal that Mark and I thought would be better enjoyed without children. Our room was a bit sparse and we only had a double bed for the four of us. No heat or electricity or hot water. Oddly it didn't seem to matter. They had great feather comforters that are toasty warm and who needed electricity when we only wished to gaze out the picture window anyway or sit on the terrace. Great food too, although Ben was greatly upset when the mac and cheese he was so looking forward to had a ton of garlic in it.

We took a walk through the old city. It was incredible. About 400 years old. Really nice and people were freindly. Not like the touristy places where you are mobbed to buy or to give handouts. People were greatly excited when I told them Ben and Sarina were my children. They thought it very funny but nice. The children followed us saying "Hello, Hello" and I just had to take their pictures and show them. They loved that. A great gift for them. Afterward we took a drive through the mountains to take in the beauty of the area. It was awsome. (how many times have I said that). It was really nice to finally get out of the city and just relax.

So Sunday the committe signs out file. On Tuesday the Secretary. Then we have to sign the adoption decree, get her Nepali passport and then apply for her US visa. We've done all the back ground stuff already so we hope that that if we can get the decree on Tuesday and apply for the passport on that day too, maybe, just maybe we leave on friday. We do not gets our hopes up anymore.

I want to thank you all for being here everyday for us and I know that you are ready to go to war for us and luckily that has been averted but I thank you. I'm sorry that some days I don't write. Now that things are getting positive I"ll feel like posting more often.

WE need to leave here soon because Sarina is gaining weight. I swear she has gained five pounds and she is fast becoming a two year old and throwing fits. She used to sit happily on our laps and I thought how easy the plane flight will be. Ha, now she squirms to get down and run around. WE have ruined that child completely.

Now I can fianlly turn my attention to some serious shopping. It is about time. I have lots of things I want to get.