Nearly packed....

So after 2 days I think I have everything we will need for our trip. I have fit it into 3 duffel bags and 3 carry on bags. I hope they all fit on the trains and into the little cars! I have looked at everything I have packed and don't see anything I can leave behind...maybe the food. Since we are bringing Luke I think bringing some snacks from home will help him not feel so home sick. From some of the other blogs I have read, there are times when we will be on the run and won't have time to eat a meal.....all of us will die! We eat every meal and snack in between. Only time will tell.....

Trust, Faith and Peace

First off, I will admit I am addicted to reading adoption blogs!!! That leads me to my post today....

When I tell people about our adoption they ask "why are you adopting from a country that you do not have any information on the child?". Many people I know well, keep asking me if we have pictures or anything.....no this is a true "blind" adoption. This also means we could come home the way we started...a family of three. But, I feel in my heart a great sense of peace. Drew says he thinks I am very intuitive. If I am scared of something I stop, reach deep down inside and feel how I am feeling. In this adoption, I am feeling peaceful. I could totally be deceiving myself but I am going to go with the thoughts that everything will be alright.

I don't know if I have told many people this story...when we were researching adoption we were going to adopt from Russia. I was researching agencies. One day, I got a package by FedEx from an agency for Ukraine. I had never really heard anything about Ukraine and never even knew they did international adoption! I researched more about it and found you didn't need an agency, high agency fees nor the mounds of paperwork agencies require to adopt from Ukraine....this became our path...

In saying all of that, I am asking everyone who reads our blog pray for us or sends positive thoughts. Not only for us but for the child we will bring home. She will be scared....her whole life as she has known it is going to change. We as a family will make it better!

Bathrooms

I have heard over and over about the disgusting bathrooms, holes in the ground, squatters and nasty train bathrooms. So I bought these nifty little things to let me pee standing! People have actually said to bring baggies to put over your shoes when you use the facilities! So while out, we will scope out the best bathrooms or limit our fluid intake!

Things I can't find.....

Ok, I have been to Target, Outdoor World and even Walmart (not my favorite place) and I cannot find wool socks for Luke and I or a clothes line with clothes pins!

I spent a better part of the afternoon organizing our stuff into categories (medicine, clothes, entertainment, etc.) and I have no idea how we are supposed to take all this stuff and travel light! It isn't the clothing we are bringing it is all of the other misc. stuff. They are going to have to send a bus to pick us up and transport us around!!

I almost forgot!

We will be in Kiev, Ukraine at the same time as 4 other American families I have met online. It will be so great to hook up while we are there to compare notes and experiences at the adoption center. Two of us actually have appointments on the same day! Wouldn't it be great if we were sent to the same regions!

Catching up

So I am checking off my "to do" list feverishly. One thing I am having trouble finding is warm wool socks for Luke and I. Evidently, only men hike or go in the cold....or maybe it is because we live in Florida! LOL

I think I have the dogs and Bart Simpson taken care of. I had to ask for help which is something I hate doing. It is a very heavy weight lifted off my shoulders.

My packing list is 5 pages long. I am not sure how I am going to fit all of this stuff and make each duffel bag weigh less than 50 pounds each. There are a few really strange things we need to bring like sink stoppers and duct tape. I have heard we can't live without either...LOL The amount of medical stuff to bring is enormous and will take up a suitcase itself. I guess Ukraine doesn't have a lot of the medical conveniences that we have here in the US. I am also bringing a fair supply of food in case we can't find something to eat (because we can't read Russian!) or we are in a huge hurry. I think it will also be nice to eat American food every once in awhile.

I need to get crackin' on the scrapbook I am going to bring with us. We will use it to show our daughter, the officials at the adoption center, caregivers and director at the orphanage as well as the judge in court. This is really a sticky thing because we don't want to show too much of our lives here in America because they already think we are "loaded" and can pay extra.

Another interesting thing about Ukrainians opinions of Americans...they think we are taking the children back with us to sell their organs. Many people adopt special needs children and Ukrainians can't figure out why we would want "damaged children". I have heard many caregivers at the orphanages are so thrilled to see pictures of kids after they are home.

So, that is what is happening in our adoption lives...

Unsolicited advice

You know, I have a new pet peeve! People giving me unsolicited medical and adoption advice! People talk to me as if I am clueless on the adoption process and the problems we may encounter medically with our child. I actually had a doctor (Luke's neurologist) tell me to watch for FAS because many pregnant women drink....really?? The only thing I told her was we were headed out of the country for our adoption and I got a 20 minute lecture on foreign adoption and how dangerous it is! Did she think we were going to change our minds 52 days before we leave? URRG!!!

I know people are just trying to be nice. Luckily, we haven't had anyone tell us we shouldn't adopt internationally because there are children here in America. That would send me over the top..

Okay, I feel better!!

School

Well we may have a little problem if our new daughter is school aged. The school Luke attends (private) cannot take a child that does not speak English. She would not be able to read the entrance exam. It would be impossible to have 2 kids at two different schools. We could get them to school but I wouldn't be able to pick them both up at 3:00 on opposite sides of town.

So this means we will have to put both kids in the neighborhood school and have Luke switch yet again. He will be really unhappy. If this happens we plan to tell him his little sister needs his help and hope this will make the transition okay.

I have been really trying to prepare for an older child. It seems from the families have recently been over there that older girls are more available. But now, we are really hoping for 4 and under. That way she will have a year at home and then we can put them both in the school Luke attends now. I know the girl that is meant to be ours will be the one we bring home...

I still don't have someone to watch our dogs and hamster. I am thinking of asking people to watch them only for a week each. That shouldn't be too overwhelming.

All winter wear has been purchased including my huge down coat complete with faux fur! I also found some boots that are actually cute. I have been collecting DVD's for cheap and have put them all into the carrying cases. We won't see any American/English TV so I thought we better be prepared and bring a lot to watch.

Until next time....

We have our tickets

Our airline tickets arrived on Monday! It is getting more real by the moment!

We have most of the warm clothing we will need. I (Michelle) just need a coat. Luckily, most all of the winter clothing is on sale right now. I have our packing lists all put together and have been chipping away at the things we will need to bring. I have no idea how we are supposed to pack light!

Now that the holidays are over we can concentrate on getting ready for our trip and the adoption. I have so much reading to do on medical conditions. I have heard from other families that have adopted from Ukraine that all children are listed with some sort of medical problem. Most of the diagnosis are wrong but we really need to be prepared for what the condition may be and decide if we are willing to accept it.

Next month I have to go to the bank and request all brand new bills to take with us. Ukraine is a cash society and they will only take new, unmarked bills. The US Embassy is really particular about this also. We will carry money belts with us. It seems totally freaky to carry $20,000 in cash to a foreign country but this is how it is done there.

So that is our latest update. I am sure as the next 60 days progress we will be loosing our minds!