AAARGH!

The day after Christmas, my cousin Shelby is flying from Russia and I am flying from the US and we're meeting in Ukraine to celebrate Christmas with the kids at the orphanage. We have lots of cool plans for gifts and activities to do with the kids, which we've been making arrangements for for the last few months. I sent a package with most of the gifts for the orphans and craft supplies to Ukraine a few weeks ago so that it would be there waiting for us when we arrive. I just found out yesterday, however, that MEEST, the Eastern European shipping company our family often uses, put my box on a ship instead of a plane. The ship is not scheduled to arrive in Ukraine until 12/31 and then the box still has to be delivered, which could take up to 2 weeks more. We planned on giving the kids their gifts on New Years Day, which is their tradition. It is very unlikely that the gifts will be there in time for us to hand out then, and they may not even make it before I leave on the 3rd and Shelby leaves on the 7th. Needless to say, we're a little frustrated. Shelby and I have decided to re-buy the kids each the one gift that they specifically asked for so that we can give it to them on New Years. We can't stand the thought of their disappointed faces if we show up empty-handed. They would not understand that the gifts are on the way, but have just not made it off the boat yet. My mom also sent a few boxes with some other gifts, candy, and crafts, but we don't know yet if they made it onto a plane, or if they went by boat too. We're still hoping that those might make it in time.