Van is on the way

Our van has been checked in at the port. Thanks to help from my dear friend Becky, our van is officially on the way to the Middle East. ETA? October 7th. Wow. October 7th? Really? I knew it would be long but October feels forever away.

We decided, early on, to check our van in at the end of our travel and rent a van when we get to Turkey being as the rental prices are considerably cheaper in Turkey. We could have sent our van weeks ago and rented something in the States in the meantime, but they are much more expensive here. So we opted for a rental on the tail-end of our trip.

We all took a drive to the port and dropped off the van. One funny thing. We were given a list of items that we needed to have in our van for departure months ago. JB has spent the last few weeks compiling these items. A fire extinguisher, triangle lights, things like that.

So, anyways, we bought the items. One of them was a $70 jumper system that allows you to jump your vehicle without having a secondary vehicle to jump it. But then, when we got to the port today, we were told that while it is recommended we have the jumper system in our vehicle when we are in Turkey, we are not allowed to ship it over in our vehicle. We instead have to mail it to ourselves and then put it in our vehicle when we get to Turkey.

That made total sense to me, don't you think? (Sarcasm intended.)

On a good note, our luggage hitch was allowed to be transported inside the van. We were told they may not like us take it which would have meant we'd have to leave it with John & Becky and figure out a time to get it later. But they let us take it. That felt wonderful.

As for our time with John and Becky, it has been wonderful, to say the least. I'll post pictures and tell more about it later, but Becky and I are kindred spirits. We share a passion for adoption, an understanding of infertility, a love of dogs, and just a general outlook on life.

Scrubs has done fantastic with their dog Annie, which has brought me great comfort. If anything drastic occurred tomorrow, Scrubs would be staying with them until we could figure out a Plan B. Knowing that he and Annie are already fast friends and get along fabulously is quite a relief. We have set up his kennel and put all of the blankets in it that he will be having in there when we travel. He is actually sleeping in there, by choice, right now, which makes us feel better.

We talked to the Vet. She said we can give him some Benadryl. We can also put a frozen water container in the kennel so he can at least quench his thirst on the flight.

The boys are doing great. A little more crankiness than usual. Naps and bedtimes that are varrying. Not eating fantastically, but overall, awesome. They have been great sports. Everyone has.

I will keep everyone posted on our lives. Your continued prayers are much appreciated. More details to come.