Thursday, September 22, 2005

Olivia's care package

Today we sent a care package to Olivia. We included several onesies for the other babies at the orphanage and a few things for Livie...small pink baby blanket that we've been sleeping with for a couple of weeks (so maybe it'll smell like us), a rattle toy, a board book with lots of colors (her growth report reported that she likes her foster mom to read her fairy tales), a few pictures (us, Putter, her room, our parents), and a disposable camera (asking them to please take pictures of her during her daily routine over the next few weeks). Thanks to Marie Walton for translating a note for us...with an explanation of the contents of the care package. Do you think she'll see our picture enough that we'll be familiar to her when we meet?? Is that ridiculous? The agency told us to put $0 value on the package. Otherwise, the orphanage may have to pay taxes on the value...or it will get held up in customs. So, we put $0 value. But then UPS called us tonight. "You didn't put a value on your package." I explained it was going to an orphanage and our adoption agency told us to put $0. The UPS person then explained that putting $0 as the value would definitely cause it to be held up in customs...$0 value will raise a red flag. That made sense. She went on to say the orphanage would NOT have to pay taxes on any value under $100. So I told her to put $5. I'm a bit worried. We put a value based on the recommendation of UPS...but against the recommendation of the agency. Both obviously have lots of experience with shipments to China. Did I make the right decision to take advice from UPS rather than our agency. Time will tell...

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