It was such a long wait to bring Deena home, and we are overjoyed that she is now in our arms! Here is a video of our trip to India to bring her home.
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Friday, January 1, 2016
We Made it to India!!
We are here!!! We slept a bit in the plane, so that was nice. We are going to get a few hours of sleep and then we are off and running to get my sweet girl!! Please pray for her and her adjustment period as everything is about to change. Also be praying for safety for our travels but also for David and the girls. Pray for no seizures for Madi while I'm away and no broken bones for Deena. Thank you!!
Monday, December 28, 2015
It's Amazing Watching the Details Unfold
I just have to share a quick story before I get to work making meals for David and the girls.
Yesterday was a bit of a stressful day, thought it was also very productive. I booked all of our flights, hotels, drivers, appointments, etc..., including making multiple calls to India. There were some moments where I was frustrated and feeling it wouldn't get done in time, and that's when God showed himself in a HUGE way!
To start with, I spent about 1 1/2 hours trying to find our airfare online. After finding just the right flights, reserving seats, calling the airline to confirm a few things, and trying to book it all, I got an error at the very end when I was trying to pay and book the flights. I tried multiple times and every time got the same error. I called the company again and they allowed me to book on the phone without any extra fees since I was having problems with their online sight. I spent just about 2 hours on the phone trying to get everything down correctly, waiting on hold, and all the "usual" stuff. I was feeling a bit flustered and was praying that I could get the flights I needed. When we were finally finished I was giving the book price, and it was just about $2,000 LESS than when I was booking myself online. I cannot explain to you why, other than to say it was totally a God thing, because she was booking basically the same flights, and was with the exact same company. It gets better too! My friend, Kariann, has been saving up to pay for her own ticket, even though I told her I would cover it because she is coming with me. It's just something she wanted to do. Then we had two family members give us unexpected money towards our travel fees. The new fees I was charged for airline, minus my friend's portion, are almost exactly how much we were given towards our adoption from our family. That means all of our airfare costs are COVERED! I'm so amazed!!!
The next amazing thing happened when I was booking our Delhi hotel. I wanted to book at the same hotel I was at last time because it was a great location, I am familiar with the area, they offer fair prices on exchanging money, and they offer free breakfast. I tried booking through hotels.com and other travel sites but the hotel wasn't offered. I then went through their site to try and book. I meant to see if there was availability and accidently e-mailed the hotel directly, not realizing I was in the wrong area. I found the correct way to check and put in our dates and information. They showed no availability. I checked again. Nothing. I checked some other travel websites again, and got nothing. I started looking on hotels.com for Delhi area hotels but was feeling defeated because I was trying to Google map the distances to each of the places we needed to go, wasn't sure where anything was, wasn't sure what hotels would be nice, etc.... I took a break and checked my inbox. I had an e-mail back from the hotel stating they had a room available for me. I confirmed the number of people and dates, and they confirmed I could book a room. I then called and confirmed again and gave them my credit card information. Not only was I able to book a room, but the rate they gave me was just about HALF of what I was expecting to pay them due to what their posted rates where. Amazing! So not only was I able to book at the hotel I wanted, I even got a better rate!!
There are many other expenses, adoption fees, and things we need to pay for, and honestly it's all going on credit card to pay off later, but there's even a plan there. I checked our second credit card, the one we never use, and we have a 0% balance transfer rate for 12 months, and our credit line is just about how much our remaining fees for the adoption will be. That means we have a full year to pay it down without stressing. I hate, hate, hate going in to debt, but keep reminding myself that there's no better or more important way to go in to debt than by adopting my sweet girl, and I am very thankful we have been able to live debt free for so long.
So there you have it. God had a perfect plan, and those most frustrating times in my day also lead to the greatest and most unexpected blessings! I've been so disappointed lately in our house not selling and having financial frustrations and the such, and this was such an amazing reminder that God is carrying us through this time and will continue to do so.
Yesterday was a bit of a stressful day, thought it was also very productive. I booked all of our flights, hotels, drivers, appointments, etc..., including making multiple calls to India. There were some moments where I was frustrated and feeling it wouldn't get done in time, and that's when God showed himself in a HUGE way!
To start with, I spent about 1 1/2 hours trying to find our airfare online. After finding just the right flights, reserving seats, calling the airline to confirm a few things, and trying to book it all, I got an error at the very end when I was trying to pay and book the flights. I tried multiple times and every time got the same error. I called the company again and they allowed me to book on the phone without any extra fees since I was having problems with their online sight. I spent just about 2 hours on the phone trying to get everything down correctly, waiting on hold, and all the "usual" stuff. I was feeling a bit flustered and was praying that I could get the flights I needed. When we were finally finished I was giving the book price, and it was just about $2,000 LESS than when I was booking myself online. I cannot explain to you why, other than to say it was totally a God thing, because she was booking basically the same flights, and was with the exact same company. It gets better too! My friend, Kariann, has been saving up to pay for her own ticket, even though I told her I would cover it because she is coming with me. It's just something she wanted to do. Then we had two family members give us unexpected money towards our travel fees. The new fees I was charged for airline, minus my friend's portion, are almost exactly how much we were given towards our adoption from our family. That means all of our airfare costs are COVERED! I'm so amazed!!!
The next amazing thing happened when I was booking our Delhi hotel. I wanted to book at the same hotel I was at last time because it was a great location, I am familiar with the area, they offer fair prices on exchanging money, and they offer free breakfast. I tried booking through hotels.com and other travel sites but the hotel wasn't offered. I then went through their site to try and book. I meant to see if there was availability and accidently e-mailed the hotel directly, not realizing I was in the wrong area. I found the correct way to check and put in our dates and information. They showed no availability. I checked again. Nothing. I checked some other travel websites again, and got nothing. I started looking on hotels.com for Delhi area hotels but was feeling defeated because I was trying to Google map the distances to each of the places we needed to go, wasn't sure where anything was, wasn't sure what hotels would be nice, etc.... I took a break and checked my inbox. I had an e-mail back from the hotel stating they had a room available for me. I confirmed the number of people and dates, and they confirmed I could book a room. I then called and confirmed again and gave them my credit card information. Not only was I able to book a room, but the rate they gave me was just about HALF of what I was expecting to pay them due to what their posted rates where. Amazing! So not only was I able to book at the hotel I wanted, I even got a better rate!!
There are many other expenses, adoption fees, and things we need to pay for, and honestly it's all going on credit card to pay off later, but there's even a plan there. I checked our second credit card, the one we never use, and we have a 0% balance transfer rate for 12 months, and our credit line is just about how much our remaining fees for the adoption will be. That means we have a full year to pay it down without stressing. I hate, hate, hate going in to debt, but keep reminding myself that there's no better or more important way to go in to debt than by adopting my sweet girl, and I am very thankful we have been able to live debt free for so long.
So there you have it. God had a perfect plan, and those most frustrating times in my day also lead to the greatest and most unexpected blessings! I've been so disappointed lately in our house not selling and having financial frustrations and the such, and this was such an amazing reminder that God is carrying us through this time and will continue to do so.
Monday, December 21, 2015
Too Big Not to Share TONIGHT
I just got word that D's passport should be picked up today in India.
What does that mean?
WE ARE GOING TO INDIA!!
Our tentative date is to leave December 31st. I'll keep everyone posted as we get more details. Please keep us in your prayers!
What does that mean?
WE ARE GOING TO INDIA!!
Our tentative date is to leave December 31st. I'll keep everyone posted as we get more details. Please keep us in your prayers!
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Photos From Our Boston Trip
We had a lot of fun on our Boston trip. Boston is not very wheelchair accessible, sadly, but the city is beautiful and, as always, we made it work without missing out. It sure helps to be creative! The people in Boston were also very friendly and helpful and helped us whenever they could. We are also SO thankful for the opinion we got about Madi's surgery and are also looking forward to our upcoming third opinion with Dr. Shafron on Thursday. Please continue to pray for clarity for us!! Without further-ado, here are some photos from our trip!
Off we go!
Boston Aquarium Fun
Clinic time! Yeah for second opinions!
Bus Tour!
Out on the Duck boat... the boats that run on land or water!
A harbor boat tour....
Some pretty pictures from down town...
A fun 3D movie.... Madagascar Lemurs, narrated by Morgan Freeman
A trip to the science museum....
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Our India Trip Thus Far
We have arrived!
We have been on 3 planes and were in the air for about 24 hours.
We slept very little, but tried.
Got in at about 1:00 am and got settled at about 3 am.
In about an hour we head out to the orphanage to meet my sweet girl for the first time!
I have so many emotions going through my mind right now, as I am sure you can imagine.
I will update soon with photos!
Leaving Phoenix:
Off we go!
Reading my journal from my mommas
Hello France!
Cheers!
Mush anyone??
Almost there!
In Bangalore!!! AH!
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