The Abraham Family’s Journey to Russia to Bring Home Their Daughter

January 22, 2008

Too much information

I received an email from our agency that two of our documents had too much information. Go figure! Did I mention that Russian officials are picky? They were easily fixed and our agency should receive both revised documents this morning. I'm crossing my fingers that they are right now. One was the CPA letter for the business Martin and I own. Thank goodness the CPA is a friend we met through the boys' sports teams a few years ago. Even though this is the 3rd time he has redone the letter for us, so far it has only cost $20.

She also said our TBI clearance letter was wrong because they spelled my maiden name as PEEK instead of PECK. Our SW had already contacted the TBI and they told her it was on its way and corrected. Dare I ask, "What else will they come up with?"

As my mom puts it, "I'm starting to collect things." She was with me the other day when I impulsively bought a box of Barbie Cereal. We even had a discussion about which image of Barbie we should get -- there were three choices. What's crazy about that is I don't even know if our little girl will eat cold cereal (I do know our boys will NOT eat anything with Barbie on the box), but the expiration date says it is good until December 2008. Hey, my nieces are coming for a visit this weekend. Maybe they'll test it out for us?

Actually, I am finally starting to get ready for Trip One. I know I've read great packing lists on other blogs, but for the life of me I can't seem to remember where. So if anyone out there in bloggy land has any suggestions, I'd love to hear from you!

Here are a few of the items I've collected so far:


This is a photo album that we will fill up with photos of our family and leave with our daughter on Trip One. While she waits for us to return for on Trip Two, she can look at the photos everyday. The pages have clear plastic sleeves that are kid-friendly. I bought an extra one to keep at our house just in case it gets *lost* in Russia between trips.


This is a duel-voltage converter for plugging our American electrical things into Russian outlets. To be honest, I'm not sure if we will need the adaptor or not. But I found a great deal on it and thought it would be better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it.




I bought a few small (travel-size) bottles of "Gazillion Bubbles". Everyone says bubbles are a big hit in the orphanages. Our family has gone through a few thousand liters of bubbles and we have found that the Gazillion Bubbles are the best bubbles hands-down. No matter how much they get shaken, they work great! Now, the trick is keeping Nolan and Liam away from them.


Finally, since we haven't done very well when it comes to sitting down and learning the Russian language, I found couple of books that come with CDs we can listen to in the car. These books are supposed to help children learn the Russian alphabet, the days of the week, Russian counting songs, etc... I'm hoping they can teach Mom and Dad a thing or two as well!

4 comments:

Mama Fish said...

Thanks for leaving a comment on our blog! Your blog has lots of great information and ideas! I'm going to bookmark it so I can check back frequently. Where did you find the bubbles and t he photo album? I would also like to get those ahead of time. :-)

Troy and Rachel said...

Wow - seems like you are getting prepared. The books with the cd's should be a great help. I laughed over the Barbie cereal and your boys not eating it!! I can't believe you had documents with too much info - you never know!!

Joy said...

Hello,
I found your blog through one of the other blogs that I read frequently. I hope you do not mind if I read along. I am at about the same stage as you are.
Joy

Ryan and Katie said...

If you search the FRUA website for packing lists you will likely find great ideas. Also, if you know the region you are traveling to and sign up for a yahoo group for that region you will find packing lists in the files secions.