The soccer coach

Just wanted to let everyone know that Ryan has taken on a new role (and not by choice). Yesterday an email was sent out to all the parents of 1st and 2nd grade soccer players saying they didn't have enough coaches for the season. So, I told Ryan and he called a friend and they are co-coaching Liam's team. It will be a learning experience for all of them. I think their main job will be snack schedule, keeping the kids busy and making sure everyone plays. I'll keep you up to date on the win/lose stats as the season starts.

Why we needed one more thing in our busy schedule, I do not know. You should see our May calendar, there is not an inch of space to write one more thing on it. I'm keeping June emptier in hopes of going on a big trip!

One more step closer

By the time I understand the complete process I will have been home for 6 months. I read on my group page about the steps we need to do after referral and our social worker has told them to me in numerous emails when I ask questions, yet every time I get a new letter I question "what does this mean? I guess it is because it is not the timeline we were told to follow at all, luckily we are going much faster. I guess doing that paperwork twice was worth it.

So, today we got a letter from the National Visa Center saying they have forwarded Shella May's packet to the U.S.Embassy in the Philippines. I had kind of skipped over that entire step in my original interpretation, so luckily it only took a week to get past that stage.

Now your saying "what does this mean?" Adoption friends please correct me if I am wrong, this means that her packet is in the Philippines waiting for appointment dates. She has to go to Manila and have a medical exam and a visa interview. Once these appointments are completed and she has passed with flying colors (think positively) we will go to the Philippines. We are hoping for the end of May or early June, but we can't get there on wishes alone. I'll keep you posted as we find out new things.

Doctors, pills and shots, oh my

Okay it doesn't sound like the Lions and Tigers and Bears, but you knew what I was going for. On Monday I went to the International Travel Clinic to see what I need to get ready to go to the Philippines. It was very interesting...I got a shot for Japanese something, some pills to take for Typhoid protection and a prescription for anti-Malaria pills. Today I get to go back for my second Japanese thingy shot and a Hep A and Hep B shot. I should have the entire alphabet covered soon. Of course all the side effects of the pills are nausea, great I don't have a problem with a weak stomach already or anything. So wish me luck and good health.

I think it is very interesting that we lived in Japan, but never had the Japanese thingy shot. It must be an illness that attacks only visitors or something:)

We're still cooking

Just wanted to update everyone on Lance and Liam's progress in cooking meals for the family. With school back in session it has slowed down a bit, but we are still trying to have them cook once a week. Lance made pizza one day, it took 2 hours, but it was good. Last night he made Ranch chicken bites (thanks Heather for the recipe). He was much faster last night because he knew they had to be done before our favorite reality show came on. He is gaining confidence and really looks forward to cooking. I have to nudge Liam a little more. We will see what recipes they pick out next and keep you updated. I told them eventually I would like them meal plan the entire meal and make sure we have all the food groups, but right now we are just learning how to follow a recipe.

Another side note about food prep, last night I made brownies from a book called Deceptively Delicious (thanks Michelle) because I know we don't eat enough veggies. Lance saw me puree the spinach and carrots and was a little reluctant to take a brownie in his lunch today. He asked for a sample and I let him have a bite for breakfast. He said they were good and that surprised him, pointing to the book so that Liam would not catch on.

Another Adoption Milestone

Today I was casually opening the mail and I saw a letter from Homeland Security. I thought, oh no did we screw up our application or something. Nope, it was that we passed our next step of our adoption process. We have been granted approval of our relative immigrant visa petition. Her file has moved on to the U.S. Embassy in Manila. That will be the last place her file goes before we travel. I would say we are within a month, give or take a few months. We seem to be on the fast track, which is nice because I would love to get her home to enjoy the summer.

The financial side of things

Thanks for all the advice that I have received so far. I thought I would share some of the finances behind our trip. We have borrowed no money so far for our entire adoption process, yay! We currently have in savings $6000 for the trip (including the $1000 donation to the orphanage) and we hope to put more into savings before we go. Of course after we are done, we have no savings left, but no debt either. Here are some of the prices we think we will encounter for our trip (those of you that have traveled, please correct me).

Looking at flights I think that we can get tickets on JAL economy class for about the same that we would pay for our local airline. The expense and inconvenience comes with flying to Chicago and staying the night there each way.

We are looking at this 5 star hotel as our first choice. It was recommended by blogging friends that said it had good cheap room service. We will stay in Manila 3 nights total and the hotel costs around $150 a night.

We have to fly to and from the island she lives on. There is really only one choice for an airline, but it is only a one hour flight.

We are thinking this hotel for Palawan. It says that rooms start at $65 a night and we will be there for 3 nights.

So, that's where my princess thoughts are for our finances. I'm really bad at traveling (if my former roommate P. ever comments, she will attest to my misfortunes while traveling). Now what do you think of my splurging?

Honest opinion needed

As I begin to research the flights available and hotels that we can stay in, I am turning into a spoiled brat. I am looking for any advice or just a quick slap across the face telling me to grow up and just handle it. I mean I was in the army, I don't need to be a princess, right?

Anyway, if you know me, you know that I have a love/hate relationship with traveling. I love to go and see new places and experience new things, especially new cultures. However, I hate flying and I don't like crowded places. Those are just two things I hate about traveling, my list of anxieties will bore you.

So, I'm planning one of the biggest trips of our lives. We are going to fly halfway around the world to meet our new daughter. This involves so much stress and anxiety, but the reason we are going is so worth it. Still looking for the thing that just zaps you to a new place in seconds that one of my blogging buddies wants to invent:) So here is the princess wanting to take Japan air instead of our local carrier and to stay in 5 star resorts while in the Philippines. Am I crazy? Taking JAL involves: flying to Chicago, staying the night there, catching the plane to Manila. Just reverse for the same trip home. I just love their airplanes and I miss Japan? I don't know what my excuse is, I just want to do it. In our hotel I want 24 hour room service and Internet in my room. Although when we are Palawan it looks like we will be lucky to have electricity 24 hours a day. Everything I read tells me to bring a flashlight.

So, I don't know what I'm looking for here. A slap across the face to bring me back to my middle class reality, a "you go for it girl, you deserve it", an offer to pay for my extravagances. You tell me what you think and what you would do. Any and all advice always taken.

Project #2

Well, we finally got around to painting this weekend. We painted our basement and we really like it. I tried to take pictures, but our camera is cheap and I can't turn the flash off for some reason. Note to self: buy new camera before trip to Philippines. It is a dark blue like the picture, but it looks much better in real life. We like it a lot. We still have some touch ups to do, but now I can start rearranging things. My goal is to move all toys downstairs and have bedrooms with just beds and dressers. I have so many things to go through as we rearrange. I want to purge everything we don't use. Our goal is to get bookcases for the basement and some bins to store toys in. Anyone want to fly out and do some handy work? We always welcome relatives from Oregon bearing tools.

Cooking up a storm

I am always looking for ways for the boys to become more responsible around the house. They are already in charge of the dishes during the weekend and a few other chores around the house. Last week I added a new thing and they are very excited about it. They are sharing the cooking with me. Each week they are to pick out a recipe from a kid's cookbook and plan a time during the week to cook it. They are both really excited about this new "chore" and they are having fun with it.

Last night Liam made us all French toast. It is almost too much work for me right now, but I figure in the long run it will pay off. I taught him how to crack an egg and he did the rest ( I picked out the shells, although he did pretty good for the first time). He did the dipping of the bread and the flipping of the toast (he really liked the flipping, doing each one about 5 times instead of just 2). Everyone enjoyed his dinner and he was very proud. He was sad because he had planned on making about 14 slices of toast and we did the math with the eggs and everything, but somehow it only made like 9 slices (I'm thinking too long in the dipping process). Overall, he did a great job and we were all proud.

Lance has chosen to make pizza for his meal tomorrow night. He will use pre-made refrigerated dough and pizza sauce though.

Next adoption milestone

Well, we just received news that we have passed another step in our adoption process. After we accepted Shella May's referral, our paperwork had to go through the Philippine court system to get approved. We were told to expect this to take 4-6 weeks, but ours was quicker! Our paperwork has just returned to our agency and all is good and we are off the the next step. Now our paperwork goes to USCIS (immigration) and gets approved on the U.S. side of the things. We were told this would take around 30 days, give or take a month or two, haha. We will keep you up to date on when we reach that milestone. We are so hoping to travel in June or July.