I am busy, busy, busy!!! I don't know about you, but that line always conjurs up the Magician from Frosty the Snowman. . .
I have checked off several of the big ticket items from the list of things "To Do" (Plane Tickets, hotel reservations, Visa's, cash needed, paperwork needed, medical report needed. . .). However, I have added several more items to the list! It's sort of making me crazy. . .(big breath) All will be well and all will get done.
So, now that I am able to breathe a little more, I've started reflecting on the difference between "To Do" and "To Be." "To Do" implies there is a list of items needing to be done and then checked off. A "To Be" list implies something completely different. For instance:
1. To be a good wife
2. To be a good mom
3. To be a good daughter/daughter-in-law/sister/sister-in-law
And most importantly,
4. To be open to God, His Word, His Love so I can
5. To be a spreader of His Love, joy, kindness, faithfulness
I'm thinking the "To Be" list is actually better and will leave me a lot more fulfilled!
So, while we are gone, we won't be hearing any news, not US news and probably not much else, either! While in Moscow, we'll be able to see CNN, which is broadcast in English, but in Krasnoyarsk, nothing is in English. So, we'll be depending on you all to let us know what is happening in Leesburg, Virginia, USA, and other US locales! Please email us or post comments on happenings so we won't feel so cut off from our breathren. Thanks!
Friday, March 7, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Checking things off the list!!
We've been busy. . .we've gotten quite a few big items checked off our things to do list. Yesterday I mailed off our Visa applications with our passports and we should have those back, barring any complications, by the end of the week; I bought our tickets, round trip, for both to and from Moscow and from Moscow to Krasnoyarsk and back. . .yikes!!! but then, it's actually a little less than our first trip. . .I arranged for our final medicals to get our lab work and chest x-rays, which will be done this afternoon; care for our two dogs, Maggie and Mosby. and the cat, Cleo,and Sam the Japanese Fighting Fish has been arranged; and we have put in for our time off from work! Now I can concentrate on getting the cash we need together, paperwork we have to hand carry together and arrange to have our bills paid while we are gone and have our mail held! I think we are doing well! And we still have two weeks until we leave! Hopefully, the rest will go so smoothly. . .
Oh! and we set Aidan's baptism for May 18th at Pat's parents church! It will be wonderful!
I talked to our agency yesterday to try and figure out what we need in the way of money for this final phase. It's still a lot left to pay: mostly for the hotels, though. And I was told that we will hopefully be in the Hotel Krasnoyarsk, but there is no guarentee we won't get bumped like we did last time. I really hope we don't get bumped! We were in a communication black out there!
So, here's a timeline: we leave two weeks from today; our court date is three weeks from today; we will hopefully have custody of Aidan four weeks from thursday; we'll be on our way home six weeks from tomorrow!
Please pray with us that we can make it through the next six weeks without any major problems or difficulties, and that we don't get bumped from the Hotel Krasnoyarsk!
Blessing!
Oh! and we set Aidan's baptism for May 18th at Pat's parents church! It will be wonderful!
I talked to our agency yesterday to try and figure out what we need in the way of money for this final phase. It's still a lot left to pay: mostly for the hotels, though. And I was told that we will hopefully be in the Hotel Krasnoyarsk, but there is no guarentee we won't get bumped like we did last time. I really hope we don't get bumped! We were in a communication black out there!
So, here's a timeline: we leave two weeks from today; our court date is three weeks from today; we will hopefully have custody of Aidan four weeks from thursday; we'll be on our way home six weeks from tomorrow!
Please pray with us that we can make it through the next six weeks without any major problems or difficulties, and that we don't get bumped from the Hotel Krasnoyarsk!
Blessing!
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Time difference and Time change
So next Sunday our time spring forward into Daylight Savings time. Although I love Spring, the newness and the promise of it all, I don't love the loss of the hour of sleep! I get up early in order to run, so that first week is a killer!
This year we'll get to experience that a hundred fold! We'll just be getting used to that hour and then we'll fly off to Russia. Fortunately, they don't spring forward until the last Sunday in March. That means that our time difference when we get to Moscow will only be 7 hours different from Eastern Time and then when we get to Krasnoyarsk it will only be 11 hours ahead of Eastern time! Small favors!
But, then we'll spring forward with the Russians on March 30th and have to deal with that all over again! Actually, looking at the positive of this factor, it will make our 10 day waiting period one hour shorter! Pretty cool! Okay! We're already an hour closer to getting Aidan and coming home!
God is so good for bringing those thoughts to the forefront!
This year we'll get to experience that a hundred fold! We'll just be getting used to that hour and then we'll fly off to Russia. Fortunately, they don't spring forward until the last Sunday in March. That means that our time difference when we get to Moscow will only be 7 hours different from Eastern Time and then when we get to Krasnoyarsk it will only be 11 hours ahead of Eastern time! Small favors!
But, then we'll spring forward with the Russians on March 30th and have to deal with that all over again! Actually, looking at the positive of this factor, it will make our 10 day waiting period one hour shorter! Pretty cool! Okay! We're already an hour closer to getting Aidan and coming home!
God is so good for bringing those thoughts to the forefront!
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Just a little venting. . .
And only a little so that it won't take over. . .
I'm just more than a little dissapointed in our church. . .we've been on this journey of adoption for a year and a half and now that we have a court date, travel plans and I know when I will return to work following our return home, I was hoping to plan our son's baptism. Unfortunately, for us that is, there are only two dates that really work with everyone's schedules. One of them the parish will be on retreat at our Diocesan retreat center and the other is a Bishop visit. I was actually told that it was decided to not have an infant baptisms on the Bishop visitation Sunday so as to not take away from the Confirmations. Truly. I was told that! I guess I always thought that, as Christians, we wanted to create more Christians, and this happens primarily through Baptism regardless of age! And, having taught Baptism classes in the past, at my church even!, I always thought that Baptism, of any age person, complimented Confirmation. I mean, Confirmation is the next step in the process of becoming a Christian, right? That's when you take those vows that were taken for you on for yourself.
Anyway. . . I will make arrangements elsewhere later this week and ut will all be well. It's about the fact of and not the where of baptism occurring.
Done!! No more mention of that!
I'm just more than a little dissapointed in our church. . .we've been on this journey of adoption for a year and a half and now that we have a court date, travel plans and I know when I will return to work following our return home, I was hoping to plan our son's baptism. Unfortunately, for us that is, there are only two dates that really work with everyone's schedules. One of them the parish will be on retreat at our Diocesan retreat center and the other is a Bishop visit. I was actually told that it was decided to not have an infant baptisms on the Bishop visitation Sunday so as to not take away from the Confirmations. Truly. I was told that! I guess I always thought that, as Christians, we wanted to create more Christians, and this happens primarily through Baptism regardless of age! And, having taught Baptism classes in the past, at my church even!, I always thought that Baptism, of any age person, complimented Confirmation. I mean, Confirmation is the next step in the process of becoming a Christian, right? That's when you take those vows that were taken for you on for yourself.
Anyway. . . I will make arrangements elsewhere later this week and ut will all be well. It's about the fact of and not the where of baptism occurring.
Done!! No more mention of that!
List Making Time!
So much to do! I just finished making a To Do list of things we have to do and of things I like us to do before we leave. Not much time to get it all done, and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by it all, but we'll give it a go!
First things first, though. We need to get our Visa's ordered, which I will do on Monday; Arrange our travel, again to be done on Monday; and set up our Medical exams for the chest x-rays and blood work, again to be arranged on Monday. Meanwhile, I will get the set of paperwork we need to hand carry together this weekend and then, hopefully, a week from now we'll be ready to start making a list of things to pack.
How do you pack for a month??? And, how do you pack for a third person whom won't be with us until the beginning of April??? I'm sure it will all work out somehow!
More later. . .
Blessings!
First things first, though. We need to get our Visa's ordered, which I will do on Monday; Arrange our travel, again to be done on Monday; and set up our Medical exams for the chest x-rays and blood work, again to be arranged on Monday. Meanwhile, I will get the set of paperwork we need to hand carry together this weekend and then, hopefully, a week from now we'll be ready to start making a list of things to pack.
How do you pack for a month??? And, how do you pack for a third person whom won't be with us until the beginning of April??? I'm sure it will all work out somehow!
More later. . .
Blessings!
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