Friends, will you
pray for us in the coming days? As this adoption speeds towards the
finish line we have to plan the travel part. Who goes, who stays,
all that agonizing stuff. The big dream (or perhaps little
nightmare?) is to be able to take all four of the kids with us. They
ALL spent time with Pat over the summer and are all begging to go and
bring him home. If ever it made sense for all the kids to go, I
think this is it. I have been doing some serious researching over
the past several weeks, and it seems it could be possible through a
series of IFs.
1. IF we are
successful in getting passports for the three recently home from
China. You may recall that USCIS misspelled Isaac's name on his
Certificate of Citizenship. So, he doesn't actually have a hard copy
of this proof, and originals are required. We applied for passports
last week and are waiting to see if his passport can be approved with
only a copy of the misspelled certificate and the explanation.
2. IF we break from
the norm and rent an apartment away from the usual places adoptive
parents stay. We have found a four bedroom apartment that would
actually cost just a little over HALF of what we paid for the
two bedroom we had while adopting Isaac. Taxis don't stop for people
with wheelchairs so that adds a whole other complication to the
process, but not one that can't be overcome. It is only a five
minute walk to the health building and less than a ten minute walk to
the US Consulate. Two biggies taken care of right there.
3. IF we can book
our flights with a large enough window of time we can ALL travel for
what it cost for just the three of us the other times. This will
involve the gutsy (or stupid!) booking of flights before we get our
official travel dates – correctly estimating far enough out – or
hoping for a super speedy process that gives enough time to book but
still get there and back before the trade fair in mid April
when lodging costs double.
So, there you have
it. Our three big IFs. We would greatly appreciate your prayers for
wisdom, clarity of thought, and for the IFs to work out if this is
how we should proceed. Thanks!
