Jodi Speaks Her Mind

Our Adoption - 2 weeks til departure 7/8/2005

Week 48

This week we managed to get a few things checked off our to-do list:

• completed and ordered our iPhoto book - we’re so excited about this!!
• found a pair of shoes I needed for our trip
• sent my passport back to the Ukrainian Consulate for correction (it took a long time to determine if this was needed)
• sent Steve’s cell phone off to be unlocked (it’s a GSM phone and will work with a Ukrainian sim card once this has been done)
• purchased a carry-on/backpack combination that should be perfect for us
• made arrangements with the bank for all the crisp new bills we will be needing
• bought the ergo baby carrier (with some help from my Mom), which I really really wanted! (www.ergobabycarrier.com) - thanks Mom!!
• decided on the specialty paper to get for our adoption announcements (Steve is doing the design)
• sent out an e-mail update with specific prayer needs (if anyone reading this is not on the list and wants to be, just shoot me an email - ivyredgirl at gmail.com)
• revised and updated a lot of our packing and final shopping lists

I’ve also been working on the Living Language Beginning/Intermediate Russian course! Mostly I’ve just been listening to the cd’s and trying to study the book when I can. It’s very much of an immersion style program, which is great, but you have to take some time to read the lessons in the book, so you know the meaning of the words in the dialogues that you’re listening to. I’m not yet able to determine meanings from context, because I can’t yet “think” in Russian except in certain, very rudimentary contexts, not to mention they speak incredibly fast on the CD. “Poftereetye medlinye, pozhalsta”!! (repeat it slowly, please!)

I had a special treat last night, when I got a call from my dear friend Vlada, who is from the Dnepropetrovsk region of Ukraine herself, but who has lived in the US for well over 10 years now. She is not only a good friend, she was also my original Russian tutor back in 1997 when I prepared the first time to go to Moldova, Ukraine, and then Russia (St. Petersburg). She was the most patient tutor, and we had a good time taking trips to the grocery store, and sitting outside in the springtime while I tried to mutter through with my limited Russian. I’m afraid even with review, I’m not much better off than I was back then, but we’ll see how it goes this time around. The most important thing to me is to be able to communicate with our child. Of course there is a possibility that he or she will only understand Ukrainian, rather than Russian. If that happens, I will be learning the Ukrainian phrases for children as fast as I can!!

Whew! Yes, it’s been a week like that! Tonight my office is giving us a little shower. That should be a fun diversion from all the craziness of preparations, so we can be reminded of the reason that we are doing all this, which is for a beautiful, amazing, precious child that God has set aside just for us!!