Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Gotta Buy the Airline Tickets

The project du jour is purchasing the airline tickets. First we will try to use our credit card points. Let's see how far that takes us. Aerosvlit (Ukrainian Airlines) and Delta are the only airlines with a direct flight out of the US to Kyiv (JFK). With Aiden in tow that sounds like a good choice to make. Sometimes just a few choices makes it easier then too many choices, particularly when your brain is full of other things to think about.

We have to get most of our documents updated and apostilled again. Several documents will expire in March 2008, and we will be in the middle of our adoption.

I only have to find a pair of gloves for Aiden. This will be my third attempt at getting gloves for him that aren't too big. We are taking 2 backpacks and 1 check in item.

It is Thanksgiving Week. We have so much to be thankful for now and so much to look forward to being thankful about next year.

I have dozens of crotons to put into the ground before we leave. I'm not sure what to do about the tropical oasis I've created in our yard. Our travels come during the dry season here in Florida. I will have to find a kid to water our yard every week or so. How smart was it for us to be water thrifty and not install a sprinkler system???

Our lovely neighbors offered to take our cat, Bella, in during our trip. We are so thankful to have her in someone's house and not in a kennel for boarding. Perhaps a blessing in disguise, we had to put my beloved 19 year old cat, Coty, to sleep on Saturday. What a difficult decision to make. Her health was on a rollercoaster ride for the last year (thyroid issues, mental health issues) and now a very low red blood cell count. She had all but stopped eating and weighed only 4.3 lbs. This time I could not get her eating again. It was her time and she will not have to stay in a kennel now.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

When It Rains It Pours

Our hands are full. Our adoption trip is not the only project. Mom is recovering, slowly but surely, in the skilled nursing facility. I hope and wish she is home before we leave for Ukraine. It would be a gut wrenching choice to make to leave before she is home. We have to resign ourselves to just accepting what is and what will be.

Since we live in Florida we are spending every last dime we will save on winter travel airfare on purchasing winter clothing. An upnorth friend was kind enough to mail us a size 4T winter coat for our son to wear in Ukraine. We hoped to travel with just our Rick Steves travel backpacks, but now realize that we will need a checkin bag for some of our stuff. Fleece clothes may be warm and light weight, but they do not squish down very well. I think we now have a handle on the clothes to take.

Next is the paperwork and reference material. There is so much information to have with you, particularly for an information junkie like me. I can see where the advantage is to using an agency - let them worry about all the little stuff. Well, it is our worries to bear at this point. It will be ok. I contacted Dr. Yuri for his medical services and he has responsed that he will be available to us. He will be worth his weight in gold. We have no doubt that we will use him, if only to have some initial information to give to the pediatrician here in the States.

I cannot think of much else to post. We just have to get everything together now and purchase the travel tickets. It would be great to be able to use our reward points from the credit card company. Otherwise I think we will call Lonnie Rowland.