Life is absolutely crazy (and not in a good way)....

Things have been crazy in our house for the past few weeks!!

*Our outside AC unit started acting up about 2 weeks ago, and last week it finally died.  As in, Totally Dead!  We have a Home Warranty company that we really like (most of the time!) and so I called them last Monday night and they assigned it to a repair company who came out on Wednesday (23rd).  The motor is shot and the wiring is really bad, so they totally disconnected the unit from the electrical supply to prevent any further problems (fire hazard??).  They then contacted the warranty company to get approval to replace the entire unit, who then said that they wouldn't pay for some things (removal of old unit, removal of old R-22 freon, acid cleaning of copper lines going into the house & placement of a sight glass on the new freon line=$525)  We approved the first 3 things but declined to accept the 'Optional Up-Grade of the Sight Glass ($150).  The AC company then said they wouldn't put the unit in unless we said we would pay for the 'Optional Up-Grade of the Sight Glass'.  Apparently, future reading of the freon won't be accurate if they can't 'see' the level.  I thought the freon was checked via the pressure.  Guess I was wrong!!  Anyway, as of Friday (25th) afternoon, I had contacted the AC repair company: approved the charges of $375, declined the $150 Sight Glass; contacted the home warranty company who then contacted the AC repair company and got 'official approval' to order the new unit.  The home warranty company then pushed the order through and it should be sitting in the 'Orders to be Filled' box at the suppliers when they open for business on Tuesday.  It is really hot in our house and we are praying that the order gets filled on Tuesday, the AC repair company can get it installed on Tuesday (Wednesday at the very latest!) and the house can get back to a normal temperature (most anything below 95 degrees would be great!!)  It would also be nice if we all could get a good nights sleep!!  Although Chris and I have both lost weight........

*We got 'The Letter' from the IRS on Thursday (24th).  Was so hoping that we wouldn't have to deal with this.  Basically, 'The Letter' is a form letter stating that the IRS is going to 'Examine' your tax file to see if you really qualify for the exemptions that you claim, regarding adoption expenses in our case.  Since we only make about $75,000 a year (between the 2 of us) and are expecting to get around $30,000 back (most of it is a one time thing since you can only claim international adoption expenses one time after the adoption is finalized), I am not entirely surprised that we were 'Red Flagged'.  I spent 20 minutes on hold then 30 minutes talking with a really nice lady at the Philadelphia office of the IRS Examination Office.  I put it rather bluntly to her: What (exactly) do we need to do to get this processed correctly and completely the first time?  What exactly do we need to send in?  What exactly do you (IRS) want to see?  What do I have to do to the individual papers (put Chris' name & social at the top of each and every one)?  After she got done laughing (apparently most people don't ask those questions), she told me exactly what papers/documents/receipts to send, what to put on each page, how to send it in (certified, return receipt requested and we sent it in a flat-rate Priority Mail envelope) and the basic time line to expect (30-45 days to 'review', if all is okay and file is closed then we would get a check in 2-6 weeks).  Not really happy about having to wait any longer!!  We really need that refund right now, but we know that there is a reason it has been delayed and that God will provide for us through this time!!  Anyway, made the phone call Thursday night, got the papers organized Thursday night, put name & social on papers Friday and made copies Saturday morning then dropped it off at the Sugar Land Post Office around 11:00 Saturday morning, sent in a flat-rate Priority Mail Envelope, certified mail and return receipt requested.  According to the USPS website, it is on its way and is scheduled for delivery in Philadelphia on Tuesday, May 29.

*The last week of school is upon us (both David & Rachael) and I hope things go well (and that we don't sweat to death before the AC gets fixed!!)  David's Kindergarten Graduation is Wednesday May 30 and we are really excited!!  They have decided to promote him to 1st Grade next year, with ESL support.  We (us and the school) decided to keep him in the ESL program which will give him the extra support and time needed for reading.  He is doing great (mastering) everything else.  This summer I will work with him specifically on reading to help make sure he is ready for 1st Grade in August.  We are all so ready for Summer Break!!!!

Week of Blessings

This week has been a week full of blessings (and a little bit of frustration).

Rachael's paycheck on the 15th was docked by just over $1000 and we won't know exactly why until the office opens back up after Spring Break (Extreme Frustration!!)

Monday we cancelled the tickets we had already bought for our last trip to Russia.  That could take up to 5-13 days to get refunded (frustration).

Monday we bought the one way tickets for us to Moscow (lower cost than we first thought it would be).

About 15 minutes later on Monday, we tried to buy one way tickets for all 4 of us to come home from Moscow (extreme frustration!).  Since we had 'unusual activity' with our card, the bank flagged everything and wouldn't let anything else go through (frustration).  Finally spoke to someone that night that said all the previous charges/reversals would be cleared by 9:00 am the next morning and we could try again.  Tuesday morning I called the fraud department at the bank to notify them that we would have charges to Singapore Air going through and to mark our account for this so that it wouldn't be flagged again.  They were very nice about it and said that if we had any other problems to call them directly.  About an hour later, Singapore Air called, we placed the charges and it all went through! (blessing!!)

We have the tickets we need to go and bring our boys home!  We even have the same row of seats that we have had on the past 2 flights.  We like those seats!!

Tuesday afternoon we got the call from Wal-Mart letting us know that Chris' Leave of Absence (4 weeks) was approved and he would need to fill out the papers that night when he went in to work. (blessing!)

On the way home Tuesday, Chris called and said that he was stopping by Wal-Mart to get his battery checked (light was coming on).  He had to get a new battery and also found out that the alternator in the truck was dead (hence the battery problem).  We took the truck to our car place in Richmond and thought it would cost around $300 to get a new alternator put in.  When we went to pick it up about an hour later, they told us that there wasn't any charges! (BLESSING!!)  The people that own the car place are friends from church and we were talking with them when we dropped off the truck about how the adoption was going.  We had absolutely no idea that they were going to bless us in such a way.  God has truly blessed us this week.

Today some really good friends emailed and have a donation for us to help with our final travel expenses.  The amount is more than enough to cover the travel insurance we took out for the trip! (Blessing!!!!)

We are supposed to take small gifts for the director and caregivers at the Baby Home and Rachael has been able to find some nice things for very low prices!  Also, some of the other things we need for this trip have been a lower cost than anticipated!  (Blessings!!!)

Some other really good friends are going to take Sheba (our dog) in while we are gone, allowing us to save the $420 we would have had to spend at the kennel. (blessing!)

Sunday, we were listening to KSBJ and a song came on (I don't know the title) that seems to be our 'theme song' right now.  It was all about how God uses the little things and frustrations to bring us back to Him and to rely on Him.  Through out this process, we have trusted in God to provide and He has in so many ways!

Please keep praying for us as we get all the little things done and bring our boys home.