T - One Second and Counting

One day before we leave! Today is our last day of work and finalizing everything we need to take with us. Never thought it would be this hard to walk away from our lives for a couple of months. We take for granted all the little details and nuances in our day to day lives. Simple stuff we feel we should communicate to our parents so their stay in our home will be easier. We created a reference sheet of everything we could think of to provide. We keep thinking up more every day. I thought of a few more items that we did not put on the reference sheet on my drive into work this morning. Small things; they should know the location of the dog towels and know to put them in the shower downstairs to wash the mud off of their feet when they come in.... and that the recycle bag for the newspapers that come daily is in the front closet.... and that there will be a Wall Street Journal delivered every morning and the Star Trib on Saturdays and Sundays so my Dad does not drive to the store every day to buy them. Really seems ridiculous to worry at this point and I need to let it go. These just won't make it on the reference list at this point. They will figure it out after mopping one too many times and the papers are falling out of the box up at the street. Just might take a couple of days.

Lara and I are working on taxes. We realized that this is due while we are gone. We hope to be back by April 16th, but who knows. Should be done with this painful task tonight when we get electronic confirmation that our taxes were personally accepted by George Walker Bush. I could not bare to write the check last night and asked Lara to do it. We cant make money fast enough right now (or should I say spend it fast enough?) to keep up with the cash demand. Enough rant.

Jane is flying in tonight. House sitter number one. Just in time to be met by a snow storm that is coming in today. Texans love snowstorms.... Looking forward to having her up. Lara is picking her up at the airport and they should be at the house by 7:00. A quick visit and then we need to start packing.

Everything that needs to be packed is staged at this point. It will be interesting to see if we have enough luggage to carry everything. I think that we'll pack for about 5 days worth of cloths. Once we get there, we'll hit the stores and buy some Ukrainian fashion so we don't stand out. They say to wear dark cloths. We'll leave the sneakers home. I can see a vision of Lara wearing something dead, like the character Lara in "Dr. Zhivago". She would be smok'n in that fur number. If you did not know, "Dr. Zhivago" is where she got her name.

We have an apartment now in Kyiv. Just receive confirmation from the agency. $70 per night, right by the main city center, and 10 minutes from the Adoption Center. Sounds centrally located. We have no idea what it looks like. It does have Internet access so for the time we are in Kyiv, we'll have a line to the outside world.

It will be strange to be gone and miss the rhythms of life on the lake. The ice houses are coming off now and then there will be ice out, open water, the waterfowl migration and the return of the white pelicans and loons (not referring to Clarke). We will be back just in time to push the dock in and get our boat out of storage. Then fishing opener, warmer weather, and a new family member will usher in the event of summer. Can't wait.

Up, Up and Away! The next post will be from the Ukraine.

Meeting with the Agency

Lara and I met with the adoption agency on Friday. More changes in the Ukraine apparently! It turns out that the new administration of the Ukrainian Central Adoption Authority (CAA) is on the way out and a newer administration is taking over. Actually the "newer" administration is actually the "older" administration personnel that were in place prior to the current administration. The current administration is less than two years old. If this is all confusing to you, that's OK because it is to us as well. "Everything old is new again" as the saying goes. Not much rhyme or reason to it communicated. The timing of the change could not be better or worse depending on which side of that coin we land. The current administration is done the day we board the airplane on Friday, February 29th and the "new" administration starts the day of our first appointment on Monday, March 3rd.

We are counting on the "worker bees" at the CAA, to still be working on March 3rd and hoping they have done their homework and are as prepared as we are. Other options exist for us, but with this new turn in the road, we are going to keep plowing ahead vs. postponing. Too many wheels are in motion at this point and too much disappointment if we don’t go. I think this is where many people fall back on faith, so I'll do the same. Something has to go right at some point. Sort of the “double down” strategy of adoption. Keep going until you have no more go. Never quit. Eventually either the odds or a higher spirit will intervene and make things right. Faith.

On a less stressful note, I am happy to report that the child-to-be's room now has furniture and is looking less sparse. There is a dresser, mirror and night stand. It is looking more like an inhabited space every day. Now we just need the inhabitant!

More Progress

After an extremely cold winter here in Minnesota, we're really getting excited to be in the Ukraine for some warm weather. When we arrive the temperatures should be in the 30's and maybe we'll hit some 40's! Now, most of you would be running from temperatures like that. But, as Minnesotans, who have been surviving a winter where -15 degrees F. has been more the norm than the exception, 30 degrees really feels balmy. Yesterday it climbed to 17 degrees and my light jacket came out of the closet.

We have moved Zach and Lauren to the large, lower level bedroom and have everything down there for them. Lauren came over and seems to be OK with the arrangements. I think she thinks that it is cool that she is down there with Zach. They stayed up late on the computer and "hung out". Kind of like a slumber party. Lara and I finished the second bedroom this past weekend.

After six paint samples, we actually chose one that we had not put on the walls. A muted green color. We also moved the bed into the room along with the bookshelf Lara painted. Even with the toys and other kids stuff Lara has purchased, the room looks a little sparse as you can see in the pictures. It could use a rug on the wood floor, a dresser and a night stand. We'll probably wait for

the detailed decorating to know if we're bringing home a girl or a boy. I also have spoken with the physician in the Ukraine who will work with us once we select a child. Apparently he has examined around 300 orphans for US and Canadian Citizens and sounded very knowledgeable. He also provides a course before we go to the Adoption Center in Kiev to teach us what to look for and what to be and not to be concerned about in the medical records of the children presented to us. We will do this on the Sunday afternoon after we arrive in Kiev. Lara is in the process of contacting someone from the University of Minnesota. They have a program that works with adoptive parents adopting internationally. We may use them as a second point of reference and opinion.

We have also been getting ready for the arrival of Clarke, Jane, Norman and Maxine. All the airline reservations have been made. We have hired out the snow removal and dog walking to our friend's kids. After calling "professionals", I would rather Lucas and Emma have the money. They will do a great job. The "pros" were less professional and kind of winy about working more. Lucas and Emma will be much more reliable. We spent time Saturday getting all of our bills set up for automatic payment and buying bulk (Sam's club!) amounts of everything so our house sitters don't go without.

Also, we now have a cleaning person. Nice woman who happens to be from the Ukraine (just coincidence). It has been good having her. It forces us to get organized on Saturday morning before she arrives and the house looks great after she leaves. Gets the weekend off to a good start and gives us more time to do the things we would rather be doing. This is a part of our lifestyle modification plan to ensure more quality time with each other and the kids. We are nearing two weeks and counting before we leave! Stay tuned. Next post..... "General Update and Packing Strategy"!