A Weekend of Productivity

Well, I have had a very productive few days. This past weekend I went home to attend a JDRF family retreat diabetes conference in St. Louis. I have never been to New York, though I would like to, I have never been to LA or San Fran or even Chicago, unless you count flying in and then flying out on a connecting flight, but I have been to London and Edinburgh, Orlando, KC, and various other smaller cities and none of them get to me the way that St. Louis does! I love the arch, the zoo, the parks, the skyline, the old muddy Mississippi river, The Blues, Rams (minus Mike Martz!), and CARDINALS!! It just feels like home to me more than any other city I have been to. So I went to the JDRF conference with my sister and my niece, Tori. Tori was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 4 and as with many diseases, it is always a learning, growing educating experience. We had a great time, while my sister and I learned how to manage her diabetes better when she is sick, Tori got to act like a carefree child, something that isn't always possible since everything in life isn't sugar free/carb free and every body isn't running around armed with the knowledge necessary to recognize high and low blood sugars! We had good food and being there made me realize how much more of an active role I should take in helping support JDRF and their efforts.
Another accomplishment that happened is that Jeff and I finally bought a different car. We have been hemming and Hawing for over a year about what car to buy, what is more economical yet still environmentally responsible and more fuel efficient. Well, after much debate we finally took the plunge and bought a Toyota Matrix, not as fuel efficient as a Prius or other hybrid, but more in our price range, not as big as a Rav 4 or CR-V, but more fuel efficient and more in our price range. It will fit the dog, baby G and hopefully our camping gear (which we will find out about soon enough as we gear up for our first camping expedition this March). It is white with a sunroof, YAY! and a 6-disc CD changer, never had one before, but it's nice to have options!
The most important news I saved for last. We got all of our paperwork that we received in our travel packet done and our visa pictures and all that stuff is ready to go in the mail tomorrow! Yay! We also received our email notification that our paperwork is officially at the Consulate, so that is good, at least it is somewhere and not just floating around in space! LOL! The biggest problem we have is telling people where our paperwork is now and what that means and how long. They start to get that glassey eyed stare when you start saying things like "then it goes to the MOE" or "then the MFA matches your to a child" and when you say that it could take as long as 12 months I really do think I know what it feels like to be a pregnant elephant! So yep we are still waiting and still have some waiting left to do, which I am grateful of as it gives us a chance to do the mountain of things we need to do BEFORE we travel, not limited to getting the money together for the adoption and learning some Russian!!!! AHHHHHHH! Well, that is what time is for and with that in mind maybe I should go practice my Russian! Paka!