For a small fee...

It has become a joke with Clyde and me that every time we turn around, this mission is costing us money that we had not budgeted for.  For example - we had not planned on having our passports expedited (well I hadn't even planned on passports - so there!).  That was where the joke started:  "For a small fee..." in the booklet we got.  Every time we have to pay some money on paperwork, etc., Clyde and I smile and each other say, "For a small fee...!"  I had also very carefully been collecting dresses and skirts, knowing that for the next 2 years that would be my dress code.  Imagine my surprise when I found out that I will be wearing pants.  I am suddenly looking at pantsuits, dress pants and sweaters to smarten up my wardrobe to business casual.  We will never get out of the mid-70's for highs and can get as cold as -20 for lows, so there is not need for broomstick skirts anyway.  Another 'small fee'.  Clyde's dress too is business casual but that is easy, he wears that every day.  However they are suggesting long sleeved polo shirts for him  Try and find those in the springtime in the US!

We were also thinking of something that I thought at the time was really weird.  For those you that don't know - Clyde's last name was changed when he was a child.  In the infinite wisdom of the Virginia courts, they changed his name on his birth certificate too.  We spent 6 months trying to get that clarified and back to Bailey.  Finally, just before we sent our papers in, Clyde got a certified copy of his birth certificate and we were good to go.  He also had the premonition to get a certified copy of our marriage license.  We will need that for our visas.  I am glad someone was listening to the Spirit in this household.