A Dad's Journey Through International Adoption: Updating some of the stale blog stuff

/* This is where the background behind the title goes */

Currently in Novosibirsk:

Novosibirsk Webcams

Our visitors:

Updating some of the stale blog stuff

Friday, June 22, 2007

I noticed that my "Purchase of the Week" has been the same damn toy for a couple of months now. Of course for those who read the blog regularly you know that the accreditation delay perturbed me to such an extent that I really had no desire to update the blog much less things we've bought.

By the way, no major updates on the accreditation rumors but every now and then another person will post on one of the adoption forums that their agency heard they too have gotten all the ministries to sign off. So it certainly looks as though there will be a very large accreditation announcement by the MOE soon. Oh, that's soon in Russian terms which loosely translated means "some time before the end of the next century...maybe."

Hey, as long as they're on the track and moving I'm actually happy.

But back to new toys. We have actually been buying a few things, although I must confess that a good portion of them were "toys" for us. It's amazing how new clothes or TVs can make you feel so much better when the Adoption Gods are working against you.

I will highlight a big purchase that technically is for the kid (even though we get most of the fun of it). We got rid of our SUV and bought (dare I say) a minivan.

WHAT?

Yes, it's true a minivan.

Keep in mind that we use to think the SUV was a bit of a drag on our performance minded automotive creed (we both drive Bimmers). So a minivan is something that historically we laughed at.

However, a few months ago Stef kept dropping hints that maybe a minivan would be more practical with the kid coming and all. Then one night I decided to look into it and see what the top models had in terms of the bells & whistles we really wanted. We typically used our SUV as "hauler", after all it's kinda hard to toss lumber or flats of flowers into the back of Stef's little BMW convertible (aka the Princess Car).

I eventually zeroed in on the Honda Odyssey and I must say I was really impressed with everything that it has going for it. We've been very happy in the past with the Honda's we've own. So we ending up getting it and it's been quite a treat to cruise around in. Now we did go with the Touring model which has just about everything you could possibly think of including auto opening and closing side doors, auto tailgate, DVD entertainment system, navigation system, park distance sensor and a backup camera, satellite radio, enough cup holders to keep a football team happy, etc. etc. etc.

So I'm reinitiating the Purchase of the Week with our new...(spoken at a whisper level) minivan.

posted by Steveg @ 1:47 PM

3 Comments:

At 5:30 PM, Dede said…

Good looking mini-v...I mean Little Utility Vehicle (LUV) you got there! I hope you post some more pictures. I would like to check on the inside too.
At 9:25 PM, A Room to Grow said…

wow, steve... cool minivan! we both used to drive sedans and realized we needed something for the house and kids so we opted for the toyota highlander SUV (hybrid). it's not very cool, could be worse though, but it's great for hauling stuff around.
At 10:58 AM, Unknown said…

Neat vehicle! Stefanie says it is easier for Chianti to get in, which means it will be easier for me too. It is good to see you are more upbeat and I am too.
Love, Mother

Contributors:

steveg

yorkiemom

Our Story:

I'm Steve and this is my wife Stefanie. This is our story, mostly seen through my eyes, of the journey to create our family by adopting a child from Russia.

The Great Snowsuit Swap

Donate your old snowsuits or other one time use items to other adoptive parents at: