Tuesday, July 28, 2009

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS . . .

Okay, so by this time next week, we'll be on a plane, on our way to Chicago. From there, we fly direct to Shanghai. We found out yesterday that the boys have both been officially accepted to the school we want them to go to. We found out on Sunday night, that we have a place to live. We thought we might have to stay in a hotel for awhile, until we found a place to live. Two big concerns, now taken care of. Thank goodness!

Last weekend was a rough weekend for me. Laura had a Bon Voyage Party for us at O'Connell's on Friday night. There were a lot of people there, which was great. We all felt really loved that night. It also gave us a chance to say goodbye to everyone. Saturday night my cousin got married, so we got to see all of the family. I cried a lot as we were leaving. I knew it would be the last time we'd see them for a very long time. I know this is going to be a very good experience for all of us, but it's still hard to leave everyone behind.

So far we have 6 suitcases, and I'm still not finished packing yet! We're probably going to end up with about 9 or 10 suitcases. I feel sorry for whomever has to deal with us as we go through Customs!

We're also trying to get the house completely cleaned before we leave. So far we have the garage, the basement, the family room, and the boys rooms cleaned. That leaves the kitchen, which I'm about halfway through with, the living room, Sarah Beth's room, our room, the laundry room, and all of the bathrooms. Now, can you see why I'm stressed?!?!?! But it'll all work out. We're leaving on Tuesday, whether the house is cleaned or not!

Tonight we're going to the Cardinal Hall of Fame Cafe with Ryan's work. They are taking us there for a going away dinner. The boys love that place, although I think they're favorite part is being able to watch TV in the booth! But it'll still be fun.

Mich

PASSPORTS . . .

Okay, so passports came today. That’s one less thing we have to worry about. Now we just need to schedule our flight, and then order the Visas. We still don’t know exactly what type of Visas we need. We’re working on figuring that out now.
We’ve also applied for the kids schooling. There is a lot of paperwork we’ve already sent in, and a lot more we still need to send in. It’s a pretty daunting process. There are only 2 2nd grade slots left, so I’m really nervous about getting Andrew in, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully we’ll know something for sure about school by this time next week. Once I know their school is taken care of, I think I’ll breathe a little easier. In the meantime, it’s one more thing for me to worry about!

HOME FROM VACATION . . .

Okay, so we’re finally home from vacation, and now it’s time to start getting everything rolling. We figure we’ll either leave on August 3rd or August 10th, depending on how long it takes for us to get the kids passports. We went today to get them, but because we don’t have a certified copy of Andrew’s birth certificate, they wouldn’t let us do it. We had Baptismal record, social security card and Hospital birth certificate, but that wouldn’t work. So now I have to go to Frankfort tomorrow to get a copy of his birth certificate, then we need to meet Ryan and go to the Post Office. We BOTH have to be there in order to get them ordered. If we put a rush on it, it costs a lot more, but we should get them within 2-3 weeks. We can’t get our Visas until we have their passports and all of our flights scheduled. We want to get over there before school starts, so we’re trying to rush everything in order to get it all moving.I’ll let you know how tomorrow goes. Wish us luck!
Mich

OUR JOURNEY . . .

Okay, so most of you know by now that we are moving to China for a year for Ryan's job. I decided to try this to keep you up to date with what's going on with us. Hopefully I can post some cool pics and info about China, and I also think it will be very therapeutic for me as well. I used to write a lot when I was in Elementary and High School, and even college, but now I don't do it anymore. So this is my attempt to start again.
We're supposed to be leaving in about a month, so I'll let you know our progress before we leave, and also how things are going once we get there. Wish me luck!
Mich