travel plans

Things have been moving at a fast and furious pace these last few days. We sent for our visas, booked our flights (got great rates, praise God), and are putting together the paperwork to take with us. I think we will need a separate suit case for the paperwork. We are only allowed 40 lbs. each on Siberian Air, so we are trying to pack as light as possible. The charge for being over is several dollars per pound. What a scam. We had a scare today after thinking we had booked the wrong flight, but it was booked correctly, and all is well. I don't know why I get so worked up over a couple hundred dollars :)

The days are flying by, and there is still so much to do. We have been working on gathering things for some time now, but it is hard to believe we will be leaving in less than two weeks. Our departure date did change from our original plan because AA does not fly to Moscow on Wednesdays. So, we will leave on Tuesday and relax in Moscow for another day. Who knows what we will do. We can't afford to shop, and wouldn't be able to carry our loot due to weight restrictions anyway. We may be able to leave some stuff with the coordinator in Moscow.

Work is very busy for MaryEllen and me, so that adds to our stress. I can't wait for the girls to be here so we don't have this stress. I'm sure it will be replaced with other stress of being a parent. We are just reminding ourselves that in a few weeks all this will be over and we will step off the plane in Chicago. The process will be over. Its not that bad, but emotions run so high at times, and I am a guy. I can only imagine what MaryEllen is going through. We have really be great help for each other. It seems when I am stressed she is calm, and when she is stress I am calm. What a team?

We will be checking email daily in Russia, so hearing from you all would be a huge encouragement. Just click on the email link on the right side of this page.

Now we need to get together gift bags for some of the people who we will be in contact with, as well as the caregivers of the girls. This is not required, but is a custom in Russia and much of Europe. We are again trying to keep things light. Thanks for supporting us in this process.