I'm hanging out at the airport in DC, waiting on time to board the flight to Germany. I was able to find a plug in for the laptop and free wifi....so, here I am!
Please pray for my husband and children at home. Within an hour of me arriving at the airport, Robert had TWO sick kids. Zoie is running a fever and Xander has yucky stuff coming out his ear. Xander is fairly easy to diagnose. He has an ear infection....again. But, Zoie is not having any symptoms except a fever, much like Olivia did earlier in the week. So, Robert is getting "broke in" to the single parent thing the hard way.....a trip to the doctors office before I ever actually make it out of the country! He, of course, is handling with his usual sense of humor....telling me to have fun and not worry because "it's under control". I'm pretty sure he's going to REALLY need that bubble bath by Monday morning now!
As for me, so far, everything has been pretty routine. Uneventful flights and as it stands now, the flight to Germany is scheduled to be on time. I did notice that with each flight, I had to go to the far end of the terminal furthermost away from wherever I started. Thankfully, I haven't been running late to catch a flight yet!
The other decision I have made already is that I will be checking in my carry on bag on the flight home. The only reason I really have it with me is to have a change of clothes if my luggage is lost in transit. I won't need to do that on the way home, so I am NOT lugging this back pack around! My laptop fits in my purse (along with my camera and my iPod). So, the back pack will be riding UNDER the plane on the way back!
Ok, that's all my random thoughts for now. According to my calculations (which could very well be wrong!), I should be in Sofia before all of you are awake tomorrow morning. Until then....PAKA! (oh wait, that's Russian. Ummm...I think Bulgaria is like Serbia and they say ciao (chow)!)
04 December 2009
03 December 2009
less than 12 hours to go........
Today I finally had The moment. You know, the one where I went, "Holy cow! I'm going to Bulgaria to meet our boys!" Yes, I know that I probably should have had that moment before now, but there has been SO much going on around here lately....and it seems like we've been waiting for this moment for SO long with this adoption. So now, I'm finally "there".....finally fully embracing the idea that this is REALLY happening....that very soon, our boys will be so much more than a photos and a one page description.
Prayer requests:
1.) A smooth flight to Bulgaria with no delays that cause me to have to run frantically through an unfamiliar airport or to miss a connecting flight (oh, and that my luggage makes it to Bulgaria at the same time as me!)
2.) For me, my nerves and that I won't get overwhelmed when it finally hits me that I'm going half way around the world BY MYSELF.
3.) For safe travels as we venture to the city where V lives & back to R.
4.) For the boys....for their health and safety as we go through the next few months to bring them home, that their hearts will be open to our meetings, that their caregivers will start preparing them for the transition in the coming months and that in 4 short days, I can somehow convey to them that they are loved and cherished.
5.) For my heart as I have to walk away and leave them there for several more months.
6.) For the remainder of our process. We are praying NOW that God's hand will be on the next step of our Hague paper work and that everything will go through smoothly and quickly to bring the boys home as soon as possible.
7.) For the parent group that I will meet with while in Sofia...and that God will give me the words to say to them that will encourage them in their journey.
8.) Above all, that God will be glorified in this trip. Adoption is His heart....we are just the lucky ones that get to experience His blessing. If I do nothing else, I pray that my life and our journey is a shining light to His goodness & the blessing that comes through adoption.
and now....let the journey begin..........
Prayer requests:
1.) A smooth flight to Bulgaria with no delays that cause me to have to run frantically through an unfamiliar airport or to miss a connecting flight (oh, and that my luggage makes it to Bulgaria at the same time as me!)
2.) For me, my nerves and that I won't get overwhelmed when it finally hits me that I'm going half way around the world BY MYSELF.
3.) For safe travels as we venture to the city where V lives & back to R.
4.) For the boys....for their health and safety as we go through the next few months to bring them home, that their hearts will be open to our meetings, that their caregivers will start preparing them for the transition in the coming months and that in 4 short days, I can somehow convey to them that they are loved and cherished.
5.) For my heart as I have to walk away and leave them there for several more months.
6.) For the remainder of our process. We are praying NOW that God's hand will be on the next step of our Hague paper work and that everything will go through smoothly and quickly to bring the boys home as soon as possible.
7.) For the parent group that I will meet with while in Sofia...and that God will give me the words to say to them that will encourage them in their journey.
8.) Above all, that God will be glorified in this trip. Adoption is His heart....we are just the lucky ones that get to experience His blessing. If I do nothing else, I pray that my life and our journey is a shining light to His goodness & the blessing that comes through adoption.
and now....let the journey begin..........
the blogging questions Q & A
Will you be blogging while you're in Bulgaria? Yes, of course!
Will your blog be private while you travel? No! I have specifically asked our agency in Bulgaria and was told that this is not necessary. So, my blog will stay public.
How much internet access will you have while you're gone? I will have internet access the entire time that I am gone. So again, I will be able to update my blog daily (and answer emails, talk on IM and chat on skype!).
When are you going to share the boys' names on your blog? That's a good question! I think I will share their names (what we are naming them) when I meet them. Originally, Robert had bet me that I couldn't keep it secret until their names were legally changed (court, which is about a month before trip 2). I'm tired of calling them "V" & "R" on the blog and since that's not the way I think of them, I am just about ready to give up and tell Robert that he was right, just so I can call them by the names that I already think of them as!
Are you going to be able to share photos of the boys on your blog? I was told that I could, yes. But, you all want to wait until I go and pick them up to see pictures of them, right????
Will your blog be private while you travel? No! I have specifically asked our agency in Bulgaria and was told that this is not necessary. So, my blog will stay public.
How much internet access will you have while you're gone? I will have internet access the entire time that I am gone. So again, I will be able to update my blog daily (and answer emails, talk on IM and chat on skype!).
When are you going to share the boys' names on your blog? That's a good question! I think I will share their names (what we are naming them) when I meet them. Originally, Robert had bet me that I couldn't keep it secret until their names were legally changed (court, which is about a month before trip 2). I'm tired of calling them "V" & "R" on the blog and since that's not the way I think of them, I am just about ready to give up and tell Robert that he was right, just so I can call them by the names that I already think of them as!
Are you going to be able to share photos of the boys on your blog? I was told that I could, yes. But, you all want to wait until I go and pick them up to see pictures of them, right????
02 December 2009
less than 48 hours to go......
Today, Zoie realized that she is NOT getting to stay with Nana & Pop while I go to Bulgaria. That's where she stayed when we went to Ukraine and Serbia. I reminded her that her daddy was going to be here and that she has school. She doesn't care. All she cares about is that she won't be hanging out with her Pop for 10 days. *sigh*
A couple of hours after that conversation, she walked up to me and said, "I wish you would hurry up and leave. I really want to see new pictures of my brothers."
I shouldn't be insulted by that "hurry up and leave", right?????
Olivia has made a calendar of the days that I will be gone (the kids were out of school today due to tornado warnings all morning, so they had lots of time to question me about this trip). So far, she has school on there every day. I told her she would have to wait until Robert gets home tonight and quiz him on what else they are going to do on those days & on the weekends. It should be interesting to see what ends up on her calendar. I better make sure she schedules Robert's bubble bath in somewhere....LOL!
As it gets closer to time to leave, I can't help but wonder if Grifyn and Xander will miss me. Grifyn is so "go with the flow". He still doesn't have any aversions to strangers (which we're still working on) and he doesn't really show a preference for people. So, I can't help but wonder if he's even going to care that I'm gone.
And then there is Xander. Xander clearly notices when his daddy gets home from work every day. He LOVES his daddy! No matter where he is in the house, when he hears that door open in the afternoon and Robert starts talking, Xander comes running(or rather, scooting!). But, he's never really done that with me. Of course, he doesn't ever get much of an opportunity to miss me either. Still, I wonder if he will notice that I'm not here?
Ok, with 48 hours to go, here is what is still on my to-do list:
1.) wrap Christmas gifts (tonight after bed time since I didn't get to do it today because school was canceled)
2.) finish the last 2 loads of laundry (also tonight)
3.) go buy all the ingredients for teacher's gifts (we're making them since we have so many to give)
4.) make teacher's gifts (tomorrow night with the kids)
5.) last minute check-list (charge camera, computer and iPod; ensure I have passport & flight itinerary; make sure money is secure, check weight of luggage once it's zipped up the final time)
That's it! I still can't believe I'm going to be on a plane 48 hours from now!!!!!
A couple of hours after that conversation, she walked up to me and said, "I wish you would hurry up and leave. I really want to see new pictures of my brothers."
I shouldn't be insulted by that "hurry up and leave", right?????
Olivia has made a calendar of the days that I will be gone (the kids were out of school today due to tornado warnings all morning, so they had lots of time to question me about this trip). So far, she has school on there every day. I told her she would have to wait until Robert gets home tonight and quiz him on what else they are going to do on those days & on the weekends. It should be interesting to see what ends up on her calendar. I better make sure she schedules Robert's bubble bath in somewhere....LOL!
As it gets closer to time to leave, I can't help but wonder if Grifyn and Xander will miss me. Grifyn is so "go with the flow". He still doesn't have any aversions to strangers (which we're still working on) and he doesn't really show a preference for people. So, I can't help but wonder if he's even going to care that I'm gone.
And then there is Xander. Xander clearly notices when his daddy gets home from work every day. He LOVES his daddy! No matter where he is in the house, when he hears that door open in the afternoon and Robert starts talking, Xander comes running(or rather, scooting!). But, he's never really done that with me. Of course, he doesn't ever get much of an opportunity to miss me either. Still, I wonder if he will notice that I'm not here?
Ok, with 48 hours to go, here is what is still on my to-do list:
1.) wrap Christmas gifts (tonight after bed time since I didn't get to do it today because school was canceled)
2.) finish the last 2 loads of laundry (also tonight)
3.) go buy all the ingredients for teacher's gifts (we're making them since we have so many to give)
4.) make teacher's gifts (tomorrow night with the kids)
5.) last minute check-list (charge camera, computer and iPod; ensure I have passport & flight itinerary; make sure money is secure, check weight of luggage once it's zipped up the final time)
That's it! I still can't believe I'm going to be on a plane 48 hours from now!!!!!
01 December 2009
less than 72 hours to go
This is the first time that I have ever had to prepare the house for ME to leave for a period of time. It's very weird to walk around and try to think of all the things that I just naturally do over the course of 10 days. My husband is perfectly capable of doing everything that I do (except for remembering to take the garbage down to the road on trash day...I'm really starting to wonder if he can actually do that..lol), but I'm trying to take as much stress away from him as I possibly can for his 10 day stint as a single dad. Today, I packed all the kids lunches & snacks for each school day that I will miss. each bag is labeled with the child's name and the date. All Robert has to do is to add the chicken nuggets each morning. So, that's one less thing he'll have to worry about that should help the morning routine go a little better. The kids have a list on the wall of what to do on school mornings, so Robert will have a "cheat sheet" to cover that too. I also went to
Wal-Mart and bought all the "comfort" foods for him & the kids. He knew I was buttering him up when I pulled the Nutty Buddy bars out of the bag!
I've made sure that therapy appointments(along with what time to be at each school to pick up the right kid on those days) is on the calendar and I'm wondering now if it will insult him if I write "trash day" and "recycle day" on the calendar too????
I'm also going to write down what time each school bus arrives in the afternoon. These are just some of the little things that he is aware is a part of the daily routine, but he will freely admit that he's never given much thought to because he's never had to do it.
I'm also going to send letters to the kids' teachers. I just want them to be aware that the routine is going to be a little different, that mom will be gone (so they will call Robert's cell phone if they need something during the school day and not mine) and that our kids ARE telling the truth if they mention that mommy is gone to meet their new brothers :)
My to do list for tomorrow includes washing all the dirty laundry and getting school clothes out for all the days I'll be gone. I'm also going to clean out the refrigerator...just because for some reason, that's been on my brain as something I need to do before I leave.
As far as things I've accomplished for my trip, today I made the photo albums for the boys. I made 3, so that if they will allow the boys to keep them, I have one for each of them (and one for me to have to share with the Ds support group). I really don't have anything left to do until Thursday night when I will add the last few items to my bag.
I checked the extended forecast for Bulgaria. It actually doesn't look too bad...at least not as far ahead as I can see. So, maybe I will get lucky where the weather is concerned! A girl can hope, right?
Oh, and for the record (because I want to have this written down), Robert says that he is not worried in the least about me being gone. He says that things run "like a well oiled machine" when I am gone. In fact, he has big plans for his time "alone". According to him, the first thing he's going to do while I'm gone and the kids are at school is........take a bubble bath. I have no idea where this idea came from.....but I sure hope he has as easy of a time while I'm gone as he is anticipating! I'll be looking forward to my skype conversations with Zoie.....because SHE will tell me how her daddy is really doing without me!
Wal-Mart and bought all the "comfort" foods for him & the kids. He knew I was buttering him up when I pulled the Nutty Buddy bars out of the bag!
I've made sure that therapy appointments(along with what time to be at each school to pick up the right kid on those days) is on the calendar and I'm wondering now if it will insult him if I write "trash day" and "recycle day" on the calendar too????
I'm also going to write down what time each school bus arrives in the afternoon. These are just some of the little things that he is aware is a part of the daily routine, but he will freely admit that he's never given much thought to because he's never had to do it.
I'm also going to send letters to the kids' teachers. I just want them to be aware that the routine is going to be a little different, that mom will be gone (so they will call Robert's cell phone if they need something during the school day and not mine) and that our kids ARE telling the truth if they mention that mommy is gone to meet their new brothers :)
My to do list for tomorrow includes washing all the dirty laundry and getting school clothes out for all the days I'll be gone. I'm also going to clean out the refrigerator...just because for some reason, that's been on my brain as something I need to do before I leave.
As far as things I've accomplished for my trip, today I made the photo albums for the boys. I made 3, so that if they will allow the boys to keep them, I have one for each of them (and one for me to have to share with the Ds support group). I really don't have anything left to do until Thursday night when I will add the last few items to my bag.
I checked the extended forecast for Bulgaria. It actually doesn't look too bad...at least not as far ahead as I can see. So, maybe I will get lucky where the weather is concerned! A girl can hope, right?
Oh, and for the record (because I want to have this written down), Robert says that he is not worried in the least about me being gone. He says that things run "like a well oiled machine" when I am gone. In fact, he has big plans for his time "alone". According to him, the first thing he's going to do while I'm gone and the kids are at school is........take a bubble bath. I have no idea where this idea came from.....but I sure hope he has as easy of a time while I'm gone as he is anticipating! I'll be looking forward to my skype conversations with Zoie.....because SHE will tell me how her daddy is really doing without me!
29 November 2009
Why you packing, mom?
That's the question Zoie asked me tonight. I told her that I was leaving on Friday to go and meet her new brothers. To that, she replied(while jumping up and down and clapping), "YEA!! You're going to meet my brothers!" She then asked me a million questions about everything I was putting in the suit case, why it's cold in Bulgaria (after I explained why I was packing sweaters), what I was going to do if it snowed (I don't know! lol) and on and on. Needless to say, she was a good motivator to pack quickly!
So, the bag is packed. It only needs a couple of things added to it. Tomorrow, I'm going to put together photo albums for the boys. That's the only thing left on my pre-trip to do list.
So, the bag is packed. It only needs a couple of things added to it. Tomorrow, I'm going to put together photo albums for the boys. That's the only thing left on my pre-trip to do list.
28 November 2009
looking forward
The countdown is in single digits. I will be leaving for Bulgaria THIS Friday. It's still hard to believe. It's no less exciting the third time around. I'm not as nervous this time. I feel much more prepared about the whole "meeting our child" experience. I think the biggest thing that 2 previous international adoptions have taught me is this: NO expectations. It's EASY to fall in love with a photo. In the case of Bulgaria, those photos also came with some pretty detailed information about the children. So, it's also easy to imagine what *I* think the boys will be like. But the one thing I know for sure is this.....they'll be so beyond my wildest expectations. I'm looking forward to seeing them in person, to looking into their eyes, to holding them in my arms, to observing them in their environment and getting a glimpse at their personality, to showing them the photo album of pictures of all the brothers and sisters that are excitedly awaiting their arrival in our home, to wrapping my arms around them and praying for them. These are the things I'm looking forward to the most about meeting our boys. (and some where in all of that, it's going to REALLY hit me that I'm really bringing home 2 "older" boys to join our crew!)
I am also looking forward to meeting the wonderful woman in Bulgaria who has been my life line throughout this process. I'm looking forward to being able to give her a huge hug and to thank her for what she does for the orphans of Bulgaria. I'm looking forward to praying with her and spending time with her while in country. We have been truly blessed to have her in our corner through this process. She worked amazingly fast to get our dossier translated, authenticated, and registered so that I could get to Bulgaria in December. She didn't have to. Then she made sure that even with a busy schedule with other families, that there was a way for me to come in December. Again, she didn't have to. I could have traveled in January. But, she knew that it was important to me to meet "V" before his birthday. She worked to make that happen and I will forever be thankful to her for that.
So that's what I'm looking forward to today.
I'm also looking forward to FINALLY being able to publicly call my boys by their names and to stop having to use "V" and "R" :)
Tomorrow, I will pack!
I am also looking forward to meeting the wonderful woman in Bulgaria who has been my life line throughout this process. I'm looking forward to being able to give her a huge hug and to thank her for what she does for the orphans of Bulgaria. I'm looking forward to praying with her and spending time with her while in country. We have been truly blessed to have her in our corner through this process. She worked amazingly fast to get our dossier translated, authenticated, and registered so that I could get to Bulgaria in December. She didn't have to. Then she made sure that even with a busy schedule with other families, that there was a way for me to come in December. Again, she didn't have to. I could have traveled in January. But, she knew that it was important to me to meet "V" before his birthday. She worked to make that happen and I will forever be thankful to her for that.
So that's what I'm looking forward to today.
I'm also looking forward to FINALLY being able to publicly call my boys by their names and to stop having to use "V" and "R" :)
Tomorrow, I will pack!
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