We are one step closer to traveling. We bought our tickets today. We are flying Lufthansa. Charlotte straight to Munich and then on to Kiev. We will be spending the day in Germany and have an evening flight on to Kiev. You don't need a visa to leave the airport so we might do some sightseeing. If we are too tired to venture out though we will probably pay the 30 euros and use one of the lounges. A hot shower and a quiet place to rest will probably sound good after the 9 hour red-eye.
I am also happy to say that the airport has a Starbucks in it. I'm not saying I will be having mocha withdraws as soon as I leave the country; I'm just excited about adding another mug to my Starbucks mug collection. I have all U.S. mugs so far. Lots of them, from a few Hawaiian Islands all the way to Puerto Rico. So I will be adding my first international mug to the collection. I'm sure I will be thrilled to be hauling a mug around for the rest of my trip, don't you think? This is the reason we will pack light. I must have a Munich mug! ;) Russian adopters get to visit the new Starbucks there, but Kiev has yet to get a Starbucks so we will unfortunately not be able to find one there.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
8 weeks!
We will be leaving in just 8 weeks. It is so exciting. There is no news really. We are trying to do the things that we need to do to get ready to go. Booking the flights is our current project. We are searching for good prices on tickets with flexible return dates (changeable for a small fee) and hoping we will be able to get a couple more tickets for our kids on the same flight. I thought this would be the easy part, but now I am not convinced. So many options. Which is best?
Saturday, April 12, 2008
We Got Our...
Golden ticket! Okay, not really our golden ticket, but we got our appointment date and it is just as exciting. We will be traveling to the State Department of Adoptions in Kiev in the second half of June! I start teaching next week and school gets out the week we leave. It is going to be crazy. We can't wait.
We have so much to do. We have to book our airline tickets, order money (you can only take new, crisp bills to exchange), make a packing list, figure out how we will pay our bills while we are away, and all that. Luckily Kevin's parents are going to take care of Keaton and the house while we are there.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
My First iMovie
We got our new digital video camera yesterday. It is a really pretty, shiny dark blue color. It is small, lightweight, and really user-friendly. Nothing really fancy, we just wanted something to take home movies of the kids with. The one we got is just perfect for us. It will be great to take to Ukraine. Within an hour I had taken a few minutes of footage of the dog (Kevin wasn't feeling well and made me promise not to video him), loaded it up on the computer, and added a title and some music. It is definitely nothing fancy, but it is my first try. I already feel pretty comfortable with iMovie. It could not be any easier to us.
Please don't mind our backyard. The lawn was mowed today and we are still recovering from winter and the drought! :)
Also, I had no idea how easy it would be to upload the video to Youtube and link it to the blog. Easy Peasy! I tried Photobucket first but I couldn't upload the video for some reason. The file wasn't compatible. iMovie is connected with Youtube so I used them, even though their quality is not very good.
Please don't mind our backyard. The lawn was mowed today and we are still recovering from winter and the drought! :)
Also, I had no idea how easy it would be to upload the video to Youtube and link it to the blog. Easy Peasy! I tried Photobucket first but I couldn't upload the video for some reason. The file wasn't compatible. iMovie is connected with Youtube so I used them, even though their quality is not very good.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Grandpa Carl
I haven't blogged in a while because we have been very busy around here. We had family in town for Easter, I got a long term sub job, we have been doing yard work (it is still cold about half the time here, but there are flowers and blossoms all over the place!), I had my test for my teaching credential, all kinds of busy!
Some sad news for our family is that Kevin's paternal grandpa (Carl) passed away the week of Easter. He was not doing well and we were not surprised to hear it, but it is still very sad. Carl lived a very long life though, he turned 90 last December! He was married to the love of his life for nearly 70 years! Please keep Grandma Libby in your prayers as she is mentally very fragile and has a hard time remembering what is happening. By the grace of God she is doing pretty well though. The whole family is getting together next weekend for Carl's memorial in Southern California, so we are flying out there on Thursday. It will be neat to have that side of the family all in one place because we are spread out in several different parts of the country, but it is too bad that it is for Carl's memorial.
No adoption news yet, but we should hear something very soon!
Here are a few pictures from Carl's life that I scanned to give you a glimpse of who he was:
In 1922, with his older brother Paul.
Goofing around "in the doghouse!"
With his firstborn child, Kevin's dad Bill.
With his lovely bride and Bill.
In 2000, dancing at our wedding. :) I love this picture. They were so cute and had some great moves!
Some sad news for our family is that Kevin's paternal grandpa (Carl) passed away the week of Easter. He was not doing well and we were not surprised to hear it, but it is still very sad. Carl lived a very long life though, he turned 90 last December! He was married to the love of his life for nearly 70 years! Please keep Grandma Libby in your prayers as she is mentally very fragile and has a hard time remembering what is happening. By the grace of God she is doing pretty well though. The whole family is getting together next weekend for Carl's memorial in Southern California, so we are flying out there on Thursday. It will be neat to have that side of the family all in one place because we are spread out in several different parts of the country, but it is too bad that it is for Carl's memorial.
No adoption news yet, but we should hear something very soon!
Here are a few pictures from Carl's life that I scanned to give you a glimpse of who he was:
In 1922, with his older brother Paul.
Goofing around "in the doghouse!"
With his firstborn child, Kevin's dad Bill.
With his lovely bride and Bill.
In 2000, dancing at our wedding. :) I love this picture. They were so cute and had some great moves!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Nothing to Say
Nothing to report. We are doing well. Probably about 1/2 way through the wait for to hear about our appointment date. Please continue to pray that the SDA sees us fit to come over and adopt a couple of orphans from their country. It is totally out of our hands.
Lately we have just been trying to do some of the things that we won't hopefully will not have time for soon. Today I am cleaning the garage. Fun stuff.
Have a wonderful Easter week! Kevin's parents are arriving on Friday to spend the holiday with us and meet with the architect who is drawing up the plan for their house. Their house in California is for sale. If anyone wants a really nice Spanish style house on about 20 acres in central California wine country, let me know! We will miss "the ranch" but we are looking forward to having them close by at the lake! :)
Lately we have just been trying to do some of the things that we won't hopefully will not have time for soon. Today I am cleaning the garage. Fun stuff.
Have a wonderful Easter week! Kevin's parents are arriving on Friday to spend the holiday with us and meet with the architect who is drawing up the plan for their house. Their house in California is for sale. If anyone wants a really nice Spanish style house on about 20 acres in central California wine country, let me know! We will miss "the ranch" but we are looking forward to having them close by at the lake! :)
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
And Now We Wait
We received official word yesterday that our dossier was submitted as it was supposed to be. So what happens now? Well, we wait. Here is what we know:
- Today is Day 3 of what typically takes about 30 days (sometimes more). Sometime in the next month the SDA will look over our paperwork to verify that we are who we say that we are and that we are able to adopt the children that we are requesting. That is my take on it anyway.
- If all goes well with the paperwork then we will get an appointment date! In the past (for other families who have adopted) this date has been about 3 and a half to four months from when they turned their dossier in. However as far as I can tell we are one of the first families to have their dossier submitted since the SDA reopened for submission this year so I am not sure if their is a big backlog of families waiting to travel or something else that would make our appointment date pushed out a little further.
- Once we get a travel date we will start planning and preparing for our trip. There are all kinds of things we will need to take care of in order to be out of the country for at least a month, often times longer.
- The week of our appointment date we will probably plan to arrive in Kiev a couple days before our appointment just in case we have any travel delays.
- At our appointment we will likely be shown a few referrals that meet the criteria that we are requesting. (2 children, either sex, ages 6 and under, with minor correctable health problems. This is the typical language used to describe children who have minor health issues and delays that are typical of children who have been living in an orphanage.) We are actually approved for up to three children, so you never know. ;)
- After we accept a referral we will travel to wherever those children live in Ukraine to meet them and to hopefully pursue the adoption of the children.
- From there we would do all the legal paperwork and process to adopt the children. It usually takes a week or two for this and then there is almost always a ten day waiting period. Sometimes people come home during this ten day wait and sometimes they stay. It will depend on the situation, how long we have been there, etc. I may stay and Kevin may come home for the wait and then fly back. This will be something we won't decide on until we are there.
Feel free to ask any questions you have about the process. I will answer them as best I can. There is so much more to it than what I wrote, but I am trying to keep from boring you or confusing you. So that is it in a nutshell.
- Today is Day 3 of what typically takes about 30 days (sometimes more). Sometime in the next month the SDA will look over our paperwork to verify that we are who we say that we are and that we are able to adopt the children that we are requesting. That is my take on it anyway.
- If all goes well with the paperwork then we will get an appointment date! In the past (for other families who have adopted) this date has been about 3 and a half to four months from when they turned their dossier in. However as far as I can tell we are one of the first families to have their dossier submitted since the SDA reopened for submission this year so I am not sure if their is a big backlog of families waiting to travel or something else that would make our appointment date pushed out a little further.
- Once we get a travel date we will start planning and preparing for our trip. There are all kinds of things we will need to take care of in order to be out of the country for at least a month, often times longer.
- The week of our appointment date we will probably plan to arrive in Kiev a couple days before our appointment just in case we have any travel delays.
- At our appointment we will likely be shown a few referrals that meet the criteria that we are requesting. (2 children, either sex, ages 6 and under, with minor correctable health problems. This is the typical language used to describe children who have minor health issues and delays that are typical of children who have been living in an orphanage.) We are actually approved for up to three children, so you never know. ;)
- After we accept a referral we will travel to wherever those children live in Ukraine to meet them and to hopefully pursue the adoption of the children.
- From there we would do all the legal paperwork and process to adopt the children. It usually takes a week or two for this and then there is almost always a ten day waiting period. Sometimes people come home during this ten day wait and sometimes they stay. It will depend on the situation, how long we have been there, etc. I may stay and Kevin may come home for the wait and then fly back. This will be something we won't decide on until we are there.
Feel free to ask any questions you have about the process. I will answer them as best I can. There is so much more to it than what I wrote, but I am trying to keep from boring you or confusing you. So that is it in a nutshell.
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