How to make an American-Canadian-Ethiopian Family

Today Colleen is coming home from attending her Grandfather's funeral. She has been gone thee nights and I have really been missing her. It is a bit ironic considering I am normally the one who takes off for months at a time. It certainly gives me a better feel for what it must be like left at home. There was a nice tribute to her Grandfather in the Chicago Tribune (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/chi-knorring_obit30_bd_porkmar30,0,2259673.story).
Well, I am off to the airport to pick her up. Our family will be together once again.

The last seven days have not been great ones for us. My grandpa died on Friday morning. I had not been feeling well on Thursday evening, and on Friday had a full blown flu. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were spent in bed or on the sofa with a fever. Monday and Tuesday I went to work, but still was not feeling well. Wednesday, I made it half the day at work but lost my voice somewhere along the way. By noon, I was DONE. I came home and slept for hours.

But today, none of that mattered, because TODAY was CIS day. We had a 7am appointment at CIS in Boston to file our visa paperwork. An early appointment so that I could get to work on time at 8:30am. So we were up at 5:45 so we could walk the dog and leave in plenty of time to get to the appointment early. However, the universe had other plans. It started with the discovery that JF had accidentally parked in a fire lane last night (and the two nights before that-eek!!). That mistake cost us $220.00. I thought JF was going to have an aneurysm. I am not kidding!!! It was ugly, folks.

On our way there, we got a little stuck behind an accident where we were the witnesses. Luckily, no one was hurt and it only held us up for a few minutes. We should have realized it was an omen. Our next hurdle came after we found parking, which even at 7am in downtown Boston is a feat. Sadly, we went to the wrong building... a building that didn't open until 9. We found a nice police officer who pointed us in the right direction. Thank you, officer!!

Quite honestly, everything that could have gone wrong did. They had somehow canceled our appointment. Also, even though it says they take personal checks- they don't. And just FYI, it is hard to get a money order before banks open. I accidentally wrote a check to JF using my old checks, so the bank wouldn't allow it. And apparently, there are no copy machines in the JFK building, so you have to depend on the kindness of strangers (or a nice IRS woman named Annie) to make a copy for you. And if you don't have copies of your birth certificate, passport, marriage license, etc, they want to KEEP them. So all in all in was a nerve wracking day. However, all's well that ends well, and it did end well. We got a fingerprint date of April 11!!! Yay!!

On a sad note, I am flying to Chicago at 6am tomorrow to go to my grandpa's funeral. I have been asked to do a reading in the ceremony, which is a real honor. So say a quick prayer or keep your fingers crossed that my voice comes back to normal, and I can do it without sounding like a frog. Also, keep your fingers crossed as I HATE to fly, especially by myself, and I know it is silly , but I REALLY hate to do it. Sorry for such a long blog- I had so much to say!

I know this isn't adoption based, but I really feel the need to blog about this. Yesterday, Friday, March 21, 2008, my grandpa Edward Knorring passed away. He was such a gentleman. I loved him very much and have so many fun memories of being with him. I miss him very much. Rest in peace, Grandpa. I love you.

Well we just got back from Laura's from our fourth interview and our home study is almost done. It has taken just about a month which from what most people say is pretty quick. We've decided that the best thing about this process (meaning the home study) has been meeting Laura. We always feel great when we leave her, she has been so encouraging and has had so much good advice. We occasionally get a little frustrated with the paperwork, and we have been reading a bunch of books, many of which warn of "special" issues with adoptive children, which at times has worried us a little. Like most expecting parents we want our child to be happy and have every opportunity, and the thought of things outside our control is one which we have to accept. However Laura helps us put everything in perspective.
Colleen also got her new driver's license so she is no longer Colleen Stover, but Colleen Bertrand on all her IDs. I had suggested that Bertrand-Stover might work, but she feels it is a bit awkward, particularly since I all ready have a hyphen in my name. Speaking of combining cultures, we finally scouted out the Fasika Ethiopian restaurant and Irish Pub in Somerville, the review of their Éirinn Injera and Ge'ez Guiness to follow (just kidding, the pub and restaurant are connected but separate, the menu can be found at http://www.fasikarestaurant.com/).

Walking into the bar, Mike said to Charlie the bartender, 'Pour me a stiff one - just had another fight with the little woman.'
'Oh yeah?' said Charlie, 'And how did this one end?'
'When it was over,' Mike replied, 'She came to me on her hands and knees.
'Really,' said Charles, 'Now that's a switch! What did she say?'
She said, 'Come out from under the bed, you little chicken.'

The best joke ever needs to be told in person. Sorry!

So, I got a call from Laura our SW yesterday. We are meeting on Tuesday to go over our rough draft of our homestudy report. I am so excited!!! (Picture me dancing right now). So, this led me to ask her about the I600A form. Should we bring it to the meeting? And I asked her about InfoPass. For those of you who don't know, you make an appointment on-line with someone at the Immigration Office closest to you, and they help you fill out the form and fast track it. She recommended that we go this route instead. So we have an appointment at 7am (groan) on March 28. It is supposed to turn the processing time around from one month to one week or there abouts!!! I really think that we are going to be able to make our May 1 deadline after all!!! (picture more dancing)

And my last bit of good news is that I FINALLY found a parenting class for us to take. This does not seem like it would be a hard thing to do, but I could not find a class that was not part of a three part child birth class or breast feeding class. My frustration level was so high. How could the hospitals not offer them? I work in the Longwood Medical area with about 5 hospitals in spitting distance!! When I asked them about a parenting class, it was as if I was asking them for a DIY lobotomy kit or something. I finally found one that even includes the Infant CPR component, and even got us registered in the last two slots for the April 17th class. AWW YEA!

Would someone explain to me the justice?? PLEASE??? Explain to me how I have read 4 parenting books since January, was the one who actually sat still during the DVDs, took all of the notes while watching, and he gets 100% on the essay section of the test and I get 89%????? NOT FAIR!! AURGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

AURGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

And I can't even sulk with the dog b/c she ate a head of garlic yesterday; her breath is so bad when her head gets near me I feel like I am going to vomit.

It's enough to make you need a glass of wine.

So, JF and I spent this weekend watching a lot of parenting DVDs. It was quite an experience. Now, we learned a lot from these videos. It was very helpful. I am so glad that we watched them. But I have to say, the woman who did the majority of the talking in the seminars made me almost insane!!! Her voice was as grating to me as nails down the chalkboard. I wanted to run from the room. JF was feeling much the same way. We really had to take a deep breath and steel ourselves before each module. Yikes! And, in the essence of full disclosure, we were out celebrating our friend Vanessa's birthday until WAY TOO LATE last night. It did not make anything easier. As I said, we do feel much better off for watching them. It was absolutely worth it. But it was a LONG weekend.

I had been terrified of the tests that accompany the seminars, but it turned out that was baseless. Although we only have the results of the first three tests we took, we got 100% on those three, so I am not that nervous about our last score. We took notes and I think we got it. It is a relief that it is over. Another thing crossed off the list. YAY!! Another step closer to our baby:o)

So we recently found out that water in Amharic is actually pronounced "wooheh". Ever since we got our approval we have been finding more and more Ethiopian influences around us. I have met a number of Ethopians, including the family that runs one of the convenience stores down the street. There is an Ethiopian Restaurant just several blocks from our house (Fasika on Broadway), and everywhere we go we seem to meet people who work in Eastern Africa, particularly biologists (and one cultural anthropologist). I don't know whether it is just that we are thinking about it and so now notice it more, or if there is some strong cultural attractor. Regardless, it is interesting and helpful to meet all these people and speak with them.
So currently we are wading through the reams of documents we have to produce for this process. I am having a little difficulty getting an official birth certificate from Canada because since Canada was not a signatory to the 1961 Hague convention, they don't have apostilles. I have learned that there is a Canadian Consulate General in Boston so I think I may go there tomorrow.