Packing for our 4  to 7 week stay in Poland.  Lifeline suggested that we pack for a week and then wash clothes weekly.  Even so, hard to fit winter clothes plus miscellaneous stuff into one 50 pound suitcase.  Had to include complete suit, tie, shoes for our one day in court.  Plus I am a big runner so layers of running stuff.  Anyways, we were able to pack our existing family of six into 8 checked bags.  We just about ready!

Received a call from Lifeline today asking when we were to arrive in Warsaw.  I told them Sunday about noon.  They had a concern with arriving then because we would then need to get in a van and ride seven hours to southwest Poland to the city where the orphanage was located.  Lifeline had been informed this morning that we would be meeting with the folks from the orphanage and then our kids on Monday morning. So....we would need to ride down Sunday and not Monday. 

Our current plan had us leaving Prattville, AL about noon on Saturday and driving to Atlanta airport.  We then flew out about 6 PM to Frankfurt, Germany, on Lufthansa Airlines, arriving at 8 AM.  Then on to Warsaw at 10:30 AM and arriving at noon.

Thankfully, our travel agent was able to find a flight from Atlanta (leaving Friday) to Chicago and then direct to Warsaw (arriving at 2 PM on Saturday).  So we would have at least two nights in Poland to work out the jetlag before meeting the kids. We are taking United to Chicago and then Polish Airlines to Warsaw.  I never knew there was a Polish Airlines. Thankfully, the flight is on one of the new Boeing 787 Dreamliners so we will see how that goes.  Checked out a few reviews of the airlines and the reviews were very mixed. Loved one quote, "My mother swears by them (Polish Airlines).  My brother swears at them!!"  We shall see!

Lifeline says we need to be in Warsaw by Sunday.  Working with our travel agent (Golden Rule), we could not find anything leaving out Friday to give us an overnight layover in London or Amsterdam.  Hoping to get to Europe on Saturday so we can start working on our jet lag.  We did find flights leaving on Thursday but we have a lot to do before we leave so we decided on leaving Saturday so we could get to Warsaw Sunday. So leaving Saturday around noon and heading to Atlanta airport. 

We have dates!!!

Our bonding period starts on November 5th.
We meet the kids for the first time on November 4th.
We arrive in Warsaw on November 3rd.
We leave from Atlanta the evening of November 2nd.

Our court date is scheduled for November 18th (two weeks after we meet the kids!!).

Not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but with the court date on November 18th, the two week appeal period would end around December 2nd.  Then another week of paperwork (birth certificates, visas, passports) plus another week of miscellaneous for travel. We may be home for Christmas.  Nevertheless, we will take one day at a time and appreciate the time we have in Poland with our new additions. 

We are working with Golden Rule Travel (www.goldrule.net).  They are familiar with travel requirements of families adopting and can find missionary fares which can sometimes be much cheaper and less fees when you have to change your return dates.  Typically, it is much cheaper to go ahead and book a round trip versus a one-way fare and pay the fee to change the dates. Note, not all airlines do missionary fares. 

Meeting today at the Lifeline office in Birmingham with Stephanie and Sasha (in-country advisor).  Lots and lots of good information.  They think we are two to four weeks away from traveling but said for us to be prepared because once we get the call, we may be traveling in less than a week. 

• We will need to be in country a day or two before the "bounding period" with the kids starts.  Poland requires the parents and children to be together for three weeks and for a social worker to stop by once or twice a week to verify that things are working out.
• Golden Rule Travel is who Lifeline uses for air travel arrangements.  We are to call them to coordinate.  We have the option to go ahead and book a round trip and guess on a return date and then move it once we know the exact date.  Else, we could book a one-way but typically there is no savings for doing this.
• Once we arrive in Warsaw, Sasha or Alex will pick us up at the airport.  We will stay in Warsaw one or two nights and then travel to the region where the kids are living.  We will not know until a few days before we travel if we will stay in that region or return with the kids to Warsaw for the bounding period. 
• Sasha will take care of all our housing needs while we are in Poland. 
• Special items to bring - power outlet converters.  Poland uses 220V.
• We are also to bring nice clothes for our court date (suite & tie and nice dress).  House shoes, it is custom not to wear shoes in the house but socks get dirty very quickly. 
• Documents to bring with us - Immigration paperwork from U.S. government approving kids for visa and our passports.
• Pack a suitcase inside a suitcase to bring back any clothes that the foster family may allow the kids to take with them.  Note: it is good to ask the foster family if they have any pictures of the kids growing up or any family pictures given to them of their natural parents.  It may not be something you want the kids to see then but may be good for them later in life.
• Bring games - card games and other things to occupy your time. We may spend a lot of time indoors due to the Poland winter weather.
• Yes, we can jog and walk around.
• Currency - Poland has their own currency but have plenty of ATMs available.  Exchange rate is one U.S. dollar equals about three Polish dollars. 
• We are to pack one weeks worth of clothes for trip.  It will be cold so layers are good.  We will have access to a washer but NO dryers so we are bring a clothesline. 
• Sasha will provide us a cell phone for us to call him while we are in country.
• Once we meet our kids, we may stay at the foster home for a few days before we move into an apartment (again, either in the region or in Warsaw).
• We do not need to give gifts for the foster parents.  In Poland, the custom is that only people who are close friends or family provide gifts for each other. 
• We may be able to have a party with the foster family and friends - we will have to play it by ear.  Sasha stressed that for many things we will need to play it by ear.
• Once we begin the bounding period, a social worker will come by once or twice a week to check up on us and see how things are going.  Typically, they will tell us a day in advance when they are coming. 
• We can do day trips to see things and planned adventures but not overnight trips.
• After the three week bounding period, we will then have our court date where the judge will ask us lots of questions.  Lord willing and everything goes fine, we then start the two week appeal period.  At this point, one parent can come home, if needed.  If one of us does not need to return home, one of us could take our existing kids on overnight trips (Berlin, other parts of Poland, etc...)
• At the end of the appeal period, the kids will need a medical exam (required by the U.S.) and take a T. B. test and other blood work.
• Then we pray to be heading home with our family of NINE.