Well, at least our dossier is! Hee hee! Sorry if I got anyone excited - I couldn't help myself.
Beth sent me a quick note to let me know she handed our dossier to S in our agency's Moscow office this morning. Yay! After the DHL snafu that families from our agency experienced a few weeks back, we are thrilled, grateful and comforted knowing that Nick & Beth carried it over the Atlantic for us. Thank you again!
On another note, I received an email from USCIS this morning. She assured me that our I600A was delivered to the right department and that our invitation for fingerprints will be mailed out tomorrow. I'm not sure when the fingerprints are scheduled for, but I'm glad we will find out by the end of the week.
I just finished stalking the blogs of the families who are traveling this week, and am happy to report that it went very well for those who met their little ones for the first time today. Your son's sound absolutely adorable! The families who are in the 10 day waiting period enjoyed a day of exploring and have provided invaluable information for those of us who will be traveling soon. Thanks for all of the tips of places to go, groceries stores to use, etc.
I'm hoping that once I travel, I can repay some of the kindness we have received from our fellow CSS families!
Prayers for our Children
Monday, January 28, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
More off of the To Do List!
Enough Already! Fingerprints that is. Okay, so we’re waiting on our invitation from USCIS to have our fingerprints done so that they can process our I600A. That’s old news. It turns out we need yet ANOTHER set of fingerprints taken since we decided on the Moscow region. This 3rd set will be for the FBI to process & confirm (again!) that we aren’t bad people. We visited our Sheriff’s Office on 1/23 to have the prints taken and FedEx’d them Clarksburg, WV that afternoon. The FBI request form says the normal processing time is 12-16 weeks. Yikes!! Many of the families from my agency who have had this accomplished recently said that by writing “for international adoption, please expedite by ” they have received their clearances back by their requested date. I believe one family has been waiting for their prints well past their requested date, so the system isn’t perfect but normally seems to run smoothly. We decided to ask for our prints back by February 5th. We’ll see what happens! Oh, and once we do get them back they need to be apostilled which means another trip to Richmond for one (or both) of us.
Ana gave me some great suggestions for passing my time, one of which was to get a jump start on the Visa application and photos. We can’t fill out the Visa app entirely since we need to know travel dates, where we’re staying, etc., but we were able to get the photos done yesterday (4 each since we’ll need Visa’s for each trip). I had completely forgotten we needed the photos so thanks Ana for the great idea!
I also decided to call our bank on Friday & see what the process will be for getting the crispest (is that a word??) US dollars possible for our trip. Thankfully our agency doesn’t require us to carry a huge amount of money as others do, but we do need enough to cover things like paying our driver & translator each day, as well as the 8 dr. medical thing and other stuff. The USD’s have to be as new and “pretty” as possible which can be difficult for the amount of money we need to take. I read on a chat group just tonight that one family’s payment of $1700 was rejected simply because it was creased in the middle (they had folded it in half I guess). Another family’s bills had a very small purple stamp on the back, which apparently caused red flags and that money was rejected as well. So, the bills we need must be perfect! Our bank can’t “order” new money for us but said they will start collecting bills and placing them in a special Baby C vault until we reach the amount we need. I’m hoping this won’t take a long time for them to collect, but I’m also grateful they’re going to help us out with this.
What else? I’ve started making a packing list, compiling names of recommended travel agents, putting pretend dates into sites such as Travelocity & Kayak to see what fares would be like if we got travel dates 2 weeks out, checking out Peace Travel apartments and reading up on whether frequent flyer miles can be transferred/donated.
Oh, and I’m also making an instruction sheet for Judy. #’s 1-100 remind her that “THE DOGS DO NOT GET PEOPLE FOOD NO MATTER HOW MUCH THEY BEG AND ACT LIKE THEY’RE STARVING.” I know this reminder will do no good whatsoever because Judy has “Sucker” stamped on her head when it comes to my pups. I know we’ll be coming home to dogs that weigh 200lbs and 120lbs instead of 135lbs and 85lbs respectively. Other stuff on her instruction sheet will be our vet’s phone #, the 24 hr emergency vet clinic info, how not to set off the house alarm and what to do if she does set it off, etc.
So I guess that’s about it for now. I did email the USCIS lady I spoke to on Friday & gave her the info she asked for. I’m hoping she has a chance to call me back tomorrow with good news.
To wrap up, join us as we rejoice for the families from our agency who are in Moscow right now. Rob & Dede have been in Moscow for 10-11 days. They had a successful court date and are now just waiting a few more days to get their son home. Nick & Beth, who stuffed our dossier in their carry on luggage, and Mark & Sinziana are all making their first trip this week and get to meet their little ones for the first time tomorrow! I feel like I’m leaving other families off of this list and I apologize if I am! The point is that these families have had both struggles and celebrations throughout their journeys but look at where they all sit tonight! In a country far away, and very cold, and yet so close to child God has entrusted to them. How amazing is that?
Ana gave me some great suggestions for passing my time, one of which was to get a jump start on the Visa application and photos. We can’t fill out the Visa app entirely since we need to know travel dates, where we’re staying, etc., but we were able to get the photos done yesterday (4 each since we’ll need Visa’s for each trip). I had completely forgotten we needed the photos so thanks Ana for the great idea!
I also decided to call our bank on Friday & see what the process will be for getting the crispest (is that a word??) US dollars possible for our trip. Thankfully our agency doesn’t require us to carry a huge amount of money as others do, but we do need enough to cover things like paying our driver & translator each day, as well as the 8 dr. medical thing and other stuff. The USD’s have to be as new and “pretty” as possible which can be difficult for the amount of money we need to take. I read on a chat group just tonight that one family’s payment of $1700 was rejected simply because it was creased in the middle (they had folded it in half I guess). Another family’s bills had a very small purple stamp on the back, which apparently caused red flags and that money was rejected as well. So, the bills we need must be perfect! Our bank can’t “order” new money for us but said they will start collecting bills and placing them in a special Baby C vault until we reach the amount we need. I’m hoping this won’t take a long time for them to collect, but I’m also grateful they’re going to help us out with this.
What else? I’ve started making a packing list, compiling names of recommended travel agents, putting pretend dates into sites such as Travelocity & Kayak to see what fares would be like if we got travel dates 2 weeks out, checking out
Oh, and I’m also making an instruction sheet for Judy. #’s 1-100 remind her that “THE DOGS DO NOT GET PEOPLE FOOD NO MATTER HOW MUCH THEY BEG AND ACT LIKE THEY’RE STARVING.” I know this reminder will do no good whatsoever because Judy has “Sucker” stamped on her head when it comes to my pups. I know we’ll be coming home to dogs that weigh 200lbs and 120lbs instead of 135lbs and 85lbs respectively. Other stuff on her instruction sheet will be our vet’s phone #, the 24 hr emergency vet clinic info, how not to set off the house alarm and what to do if she does set it off, etc.
So I guess that’s about it for now. I did email the USCIS lady I spoke to on Friday & gave her the info she asked for. I’m hoping she has a chance to call me back tomorrow with good news.
To wrap up, join us as we rejoice for the families from our agency who are in Moscow right now. Rob & Dede have been in Moscow for 10-11 days. They had a successful court date and are now just waiting a few more days to get their son home. Nick & Beth, who stuffed our dossier in their carry on luggage, and Mark & Sinziana are all making their first trip this week and get to meet their little ones for the first time tomorrow! I feel like I’m leaving other families off of this list and I apologize if I am! The point is that these families have had both struggles and celebrations throughout their journeys but look at where they all sit tonight! In a country far away, and very cold, and yet so close to child God has entrusted to them. How amazing is that?
Friday, January 25, 2008
I Refuse to Withhold Chocolate from Myself…
…but I’ll get to that in a bit. It’s not all about me. Not tonight.
I want to start by congratulating the families from my agency who are traveling tomorrow. Norm & I are absolutely thrilled for each of you. We are encouraged by your faith, your strength, your positive attitude, and your journey thus far. We will lift you up in prayer each day this week and ask our family and friends to do the same. Safe travels and many hugs are sent to you, as well as wishes for much happiness and joy when you meet your children on Monday!
Beth – we can’t thank you enough for finding room in your carry on for our dossier! We are comforted knowing it is in safe hands and will be in Russia, delivered to S in a few short days. Thank you!
Now, on to my pity party. I am bummed. Why? First, I allowed myself to get hooked on possible timelines. I allowed my expectations to rise, even though the rule of thumb for international adoption is to keep your expectations low so that you aren’t disappointed. Good advice but difficult to follow.
I called our USCIS office yesterday and they called me back today. I decided to explain how quickly we can travel once we have our immigration approval and to try & get a sense of their processing timeline. I’ve heard that if you explain that their approval is the only thing holding you from traveling, they can often expedite the process. Not so with our office. She wasn’t nasty at all when she said this and in fact was apologetic and extremely nice. But they do process the 600A’s on a first come, first served basis and they do not sway from that. So that was bummer #1.
Bummer #2 happened when she told me that their 9 week timeline begins once they have your fingerprints, which we have yet to receive our invitation to do. We thought the 9 weeks began the same day we submitted the I600A but apparently that is not the case. You may remember that Norm hand delivered our 600A on Monday, January 14, and we were a little nervous about the cashier getting it to the right person. Well, the nice lady I spoke to today didn’t comfort me a whole lot about whether the forms DID make it to the right person. She expressed concern that we hadn’t received a confirmation letter or fingerprint appointment yet. She was actually calling me from her cell phone (impressive, despite her other news) so she couldn’t check her records but assured me that is the first thing she is going to do when she gets to the office Monday. Please, please pray that Ms. Cashier Lady didn’t lose or misroute our paperwork as this obviously would not be a good thing!
She did have some news that was a little encouraging but I’m going to remain skeptical. She said that 9 weeks is (supposedly) the worst case scenario, and that often the time between fingerprints & approval is “significantly less” than 9 weeks. As lovely as that would be, I don’t think it’s healthy for me to focus on this possibility much.
Such is the life of an international adopter! Ups and downs, and one day complete and ultimate joy when your little one is home for good!
At the beginning of January I wrote a post of things I had to look forward to this month, one of which was the chocolate boutique at my friend Nancy’s house. It was originally scheduled for tomorrow evening but we rescheduled it to tonight. Perhaps this is another God wink…an event that God knew I would especially need today, and yet when we rescheduled the date I didn’t think twice about the significance of doing so. On any other day, given the mood I am in at the moment I would prefer to go to bed, hide under the covers and be comforted by the purring of my cats nuzzled up against me. I’m turning a new leaf though – or at least trying – and I am REFUSING to withhold chocolate from myself! Otherwise, that which is trying to bring me down and discourage me will win. So I say bring on the chocolate AND the good mood!
I made progress on some other fronts today but I’ll share that sometime this weekend. I’ve got chocolate beckoning me now!
I want to start by congratulating the families from my agency who are traveling tomorrow. Norm & I are absolutely thrilled for each of you. We are encouraged by your faith, your strength, your positive attitude, and your journey thus far. We will lift you up in prayer each day this week and ask our family and friends to do the same. Safe travels and many hugs are sent to you, as well as wishes for much happiness and joy when you meet your children on Monday!
Beth – we can’t thank you enough for finding room in your carry on for our dossier! We are comforted knowing it is in safe hands and will be in Russia, delivered to S in a few short days. Thank you!
Now, on to my pity party. I am bummed. Why? First, I allowed myself to get hooked on possible timelines. I allowed my expectations to rise, even though the rule of thumb for international adoption is to keep your expectations low so that you aren’t disappointed. Good advice but difficult to follow.
I called our USCIS office yesterday and they called me back today. I decided to explain how quickly we can travel once we have our immigration approval and to try & get a sense of their processing timeline. I’ve heard that if you explain that their approval is the only thing holding you from traveling, they can often expedite the process. Not so with our office. She wasn’t nasty at all when she said this and in fact was apologetic and extremely nice. But they do process the 600A’s on a first come, first served basis and they do not sway from that. So that was bummer #1.
Bummer #2 happened when she told me that their 9 week timeline begins once they have your fingerprints, which we have yet to receive our invitation to do. We thought the 9 weeks began the same day we submitted the I600A but apparently that is not the case. You may remember that Norm hand delivered our 600A on Monday, January 14, and we were a little nervous about the cashier getting it to the right person. Well, the nice lady I spoke to today didn’t comfort me a whole lot about whether the forms DID make it to the right person. She expressed concern that we hadn’t received a confirmation letter or fingerprint appointment yet. She was actually calling me from her cell phone (impressive, despite her other news) so she couldn’t check her records but assured me that is the first thing she is going to do when she gets to the office Monday. Please, please pray that Ms. Cashier Lady didn’t lose or misroute our paperwork as this obviously would not be a good thing!
She did have some news that was a little encouraging but I’m going to remain skeptical. She said that 9 weeks is (supposedly) the worst case scenario, and that often the time between fingerprints & approval is “significantly less” than 9 weeks. As lovely as that would be, I don’t think it’s healthy for me to focus on this possibility much.
Such is the life of an international adopter! Ups and downs, and one day complete and ultimate joy when your little one is home for good!
At the beginning of January I wrote a post of things I had to look forward to this month, one of which was the chocolate boutique at my friend Nancy’s house. It was originally scheduled for tomorrow evening but we rescheduled it to tonight. Perhaps this is another God wink…an event that God knew I would especially need today, and yet when we rescheduled the date I didn’t think twice about the significance of doing so. On any other day, given the mood I am in at the moment I would prefer to go to bed, hide under the covers and be comforted by the purring of my cats nuzzled up against me. I’m turning a new leaf though – or at least trying – and I am REFUSING to withhold chocolate from myself! Otherwise, that which is trying to bring me down and discourage me will win. So I say bring on the chocolate AND the good mood!
I made progress on some other fronts today but I’ll share that sometime this weekend. I’ve got chocolate beckoning me now!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Mission Accomplished!
After much hoopla about the snowstorm headed towards Asheville, it actually didn’t even amount to a dusting. Itty bitty, tiny little flakes started fluttering to the ground around 12:30 today and the winds started picking up. It did look a little daunting around 1-ish and I would have been pretty nervous had we been driving on these switchback roads. However, now that it’s all said and done there’s not a whole lot of anything to talk about. I have no idea what the conditions were like to the east of us, towards the Durham area, so we could be in for a nasty little surprise on the way home but we’ll worry about that tomorrow if we have to. Prayers for safe travels please.
When we woke up this morning, we still weren’t sure what the day would have in store for us. We didn’t know if we’d be meeting C and handing in our dossier, or if we’d be stuck inside the hotel room all day. I was thrilled when C called my cell phone at 9am and asked if we’d be up to meeting her at 10am instead of 3pm. Absolutely!
Her office is about 2 blocks from our hotel and is in a beautiful Victorian house. We were able to meet her husband as well, who is just as nice as C. We talked to C for nearly 3 hours and are confident in our choice of being assigned to the Moscow region! C was able to put our worries about traveling “blind” and the 8 dr. medical thing behind us. It looks like C is going to ask one of the families traveling NEXT WEEKEND (Jan. 26) to take our dossier with them and turn it in to S in the Moscow office! Beth, I’m not sure if she meant you & Nick or another family but how fantastic would it be if she asks you? For those who don’t know, Beth & I signed up with our agency nearly the same day and have been on this journey together basically since day 1!
Oh, and to the other families from our agency: Is anyone else familiar with their other office mate Julia? Norm & I “met” her today also. If you don’t know who she is let me know and I’ll send you an email or comment.
We’re not exactly sure of travel dates yet since we’re waiting on our 171 from USCIS. However, C feels certain that we can wrap things up by the beginning of May. When she first said this, we thought she meant the first trip. That’s not the case – she actually meant that our entire adoption journey could be finalized before May! Oh my gosh – I’m still trying to process the possibility of having Baby C as 100% ours in April/May. Wow…
The only other thing that would have made today perfect is if the weather had cooperated early enough for Ana & Russ to make the drive. We missed not being able to meet them but honestly, I would have done the same thing if I were them. In their honor, we did eat lunch at the restaurant where we were going to meet them. Ana, when you forwarded me the menu and said “yummy!” you were right on! The food was fabulous, the ambiance was so cool, and our waiter was awesome. We really wish we needed a table for 4 but it gives us something to look forward to in the future.
So we head home tomorrow with our mission accomplished. How cool is that, when not that long ago I was stressing over fingerprint issues and thinking we would never move past the paper chase stage??
When we woke up this morning, we still weren’t sure what the day would have in store for us. We didn’t know if we’d be meeting C and handing in our dossier, or if we’d be stuck inside the hotel room all day. I was thrilled when C called my cell phone at 9am and asked if we’d be up to meeting her at 10am instead of 3pm. Absolutely!
Her office is about 2 blocks from our hotel and is in a beautiful Victorian house. We were able to meet her husband as well, who is just as nice as C. We talked to C for nearly 3 hours and are confident in our choice of being assigned to the Moscow region! C was able to put our worries about traveling “blind” and the 8 dr. medical thing behind us. It looks like C is going to ask one of the families traveling NEXT WEEKEND (Jan. 26) to take our dossier with them and turn it in to S in the Moscow office! Beth, I’m not sure if she meant you & Nick or another family but how fantastic would it be if she asks you? For those who don’t know, Beth & I signed up with our agency nearly the same day and have been on this journey together basically since day 1!
Oh, and to the other families from our agency: Is anyone else familiar with their other office mate Julia? Norm & I “met” her today also. If you don’t know who she is let me know and I’ll send you an email or comment.
We’re not exactly sure of travel dates yet since we’re waiting on our 171 from USCIS. However, C feels certain that we can wrap things up by the beginning of May. When she first said this, we thought she meant the first trip. That’s not the case – she actually meant that our entire adoption journey could be finalized before May! Oh my gosh – I’m still trying to process the possibility of having Baby C as 100% ours in April/May. Wow…
The only other thing that would have made today perfect is if the weather had cooperated early enough for Ana & Russ to make the drive. We missed not being able to meet them but honestly, I would have done the same thing if I were them. In their honor, we did eat lunch at the restaurant where we were going to meet them. Ana, when you forwarded me the menu and said “yummy!” you were right on! The food was fabulous, the ambiance was so cool, and our waiter was awesome. We really wish we needed a table for 4 but it gives us something to look forward to in the future.
So we head home tomorrow with our mission accomplished. How cool is that, when not that long ago I was stressing over fingerprint issues and thinking we would never move past the paper chase stage??
Friday, January 18, 2008
I don't like weather men/women
I'm sitting in a very nice Asheville hotel room, bummed and perturbed with the weather people who promised me this morning that it was going to be a beautiful weekend here. I know I heard them say, and read their reports of light snow flurries tomorrow morning but otherwise beautiful. Great! Or so we thought...
After driving 7 hours to get here, we find out that the weather may be so bad that C from our agency may not even be able to make it to the office to meet with us. Poor Ana & Russ had to cancel their plans to drive up as well. Yeah, it really stinks that we won't be able to meet them but they had also planned on dropping off some forms to C and now they will have to wait to do that as well. NO FAIR!!
So, Norm & I are deciding what to do. Do we check out of the hotel super early tomorrow to try & beat the storm? Or do we tough it out & hope that the storm somehow misses us? If we check out, is the hotel going to charge us for the 2nd night or will they give us some slack because of the weather?? And when do we get to meet Ana & Russ and thank them for their words of support and the friendship that we've developed on this journey?? Grrr....
All is not bad, though. I was able to watch my all time favorite show tonight, Dogtown on the National Geographic channel. I didn't know if the hotel would have this channel or not. Dogtown is a new program that features my all time favorite place to visit and volunteer - Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah. If you want to learn more about the show or about how to make a real difference in the lives of others (both people & animals), check out their website at www.bestfriends.org. My trip there last March changed my life!!
Anyway, I'm to the point where I'm rambling & none of you should have to endure that. So I'll sign off for now. If by any chance someone is still up reading blogs tonight, please pray that the weather cooperates and we are able to meet C tomorrow as we planned!
Ana & Russ - we need to try this again sometime!
TTFN,
Kar
After driving 7 hours to get here, we find out that the weather may be so bad that C from our agency may not even be able to make it to the office to meet with us. Poor Ana & Russ had to cancel their plans to drive up as well. Yeah, it really stinks that we won't be able to meet them but they had also planned on dropping off some forms to C and now they will have to wait to do that as well. NO FAIR!!
So, Norm & I are deciding what to do. Do we check out of the hotel super early tomorrow to try & beat the storm? Or do we tough it out & hope that the storm somehow misses us? If we check out, is the hotel going to charge us for the 2nd night or will they give us some slack because of the weather?? And when do we get to meet Ana & Russ and thank them for their words of support and the friendship that we've developed on this journey?? Grrr....
All is not bad, though. I was able to watch my all time favorite show tonight, Dogtown on the National Geographic channel. I didn't know if the hotel would have this channel or not. Dogtown is a new program that features my all time favorite place to visit and volunteer - Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah. If you want to learn more about the show or about how to make a real difference in the lives of others (both people & animals), check out their website at www.bestfriends.org. My trip there last March changed my life!!
Anyway, I'm to the point where I'm rambling & none of you should have to endure that. So I'll sign off for now. If by any chance someone is still up reading blogs tonight, please pray that the weather cooperates and we are able to meet C tomorrow as we planned!
Ana & Russ - we need to try this again sometime!
TTFN,
Kar
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Confessions of an Obsessed Paper Chaser
I’ve been obsessed, consumed, confused and overwhelmed with this wonderful (not!) stage of adoption known as the paper chase. Since October, I honestly don’t think I’ve left my house without carrying at least one – and sometimes 20+ - paper chase documents somewhere on my person.
The paper chase started with everything we needed to accumulate for our homestudy:
Continued on to what we collected for our dossier:
**Keep in mind that 99% of all of these folders contain 2 or more copies of the documents inside them!
The paper chase started with everything we needed to accumulate for our homestudy:
Continued on to what we collected for our dossier:
And ended today – YES ENDED! – with the apostilling of our dossier. Make sure you “ooohhh” and “ahhhhh” over all the pretty gold seals!
**Keep in mind that 99% of all of these folders contain 2 or more copies of the documents inside them!
This, folks, is what we will be able to hand deliver to C. on Saturday! After that, how will I ever find a way to spend my time?
(Note to self: When the adoption journey becomes bumpy again, which you know it will, remember how hard you laughed tonight as you tried to write this post. Remember Norm’s “dude….” moment. Remember that you were laughing so hard no sound was coming out but tears definitely were! Remember getting your hand stuck in the couch trying to dig out the projectile Reese’s. Oh, and also remember that Norm is CUT OFF from soda & sugar after 8pm!)
Richmond Bound
Quick update...
For the most part, Norm had no problem dropping off the I600A yesterday. We're just hoping the cashier will now deliver all of our documents to the right person. We were also able to get the dossier notarized yesterday. Yay!!
This morning, though, I'm anxious about the dossier. Norm's driving down to Richmond with me to have everything apostilled and I'm just praying and hoping we did everything right. I'd rather be the driver to Richmond so I could focus on that instead of our dossier. As the passenger, well, I'm not going to have anything to focus on BUT the dossier! Ugh...
I spoke with Linda at the Secretary of the Commonwealth's Office again yesterday (the folks doing the apostilling). Linda is so, so helpful. I hope the rest of the employees there are as helpful and kind!! She gave me a tip on a "secret" parking lot that should help with finding a place to park since metered spaces are so hard to find. I told her I'd find her today & thank her personally!
I'll update tonight on how the apostilling goes. For now, I'm outta here to begin our road trip. Have a great day all!
For the most part, Norm had no problem dropping off the I600A yesterday. We're just hoping the cashier will now deliver all of our documents to the right person. We were also able to get the dossier notarized yesterday. Yay!!
This morning, though, I'm anxious about the dossier. Norm's driving down to Richmond with me to have everything apostilled and I'm just praying and hoping we did everything right. I'd rather be the driver to Richmond so I could focus on that instead of our dossier. As the passenger, well, I'm not going to have anything to focus on BUT the dossier! Ugh...
I spoke with Linda at the Secretary of the Commonwealth's Office again yesterday (the folks doing the apostilling). Linda is so, so helpful. I hope the rest of the employees there are as helpful and kind!! She gave me a tip on a "secret" parking lot that should help with finding a place to park since metered spaces are so hard to find. I told her I'd find her today & thank her personally!
I'll update tonight on how the apostilling goes. For now, I'm outta here to begin our road trip. Have a great day all!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Norm's Fun Day!
Norm's heading out this morning to hand deliver our I600A to the USCIS office in Fairfax. In fact, he's already showered and about to heat up the car. We're a little confused as to whether or not he can drop off the I600A without an appointment, but we'll find out in a few hours! We're hoping for the best. The website was a little confusing...one area said to make an appointment through Infopass which I tried to do, but their system responded to me saying something about no future appointments being available. Ummmm...does that mean no future appointments ever?? I found another area of the Fairfax site said you can file the I600A at the cashier's window between 8am and noon. So, that's what we're shooting for. If it turns out he can't drop it off without the appointment, we'll just FedEx it out this afternoon for delivery tomorrow. Poor guy is going to have to deal with DC traffic to get to the Fairfax office so I'm really, really hoping his trip up isn't all for not. (He works from home and rarely has to deal with commuter traffic...)
Once that mission is completed, Norm's stopping by my office so that we can finish up notarizing the last few documents of our dossier. Tomorrow I'm driving down to Richmond to have everything apostilled. Hopefully all of the docs will be correct and the dossier will be finished tomorrow. However, if something can't be apostilled tomorrow for some reason that leaves me Wednesday to fix it & have it renotarized, and Thursday to try again for apostilling. We're heading to Asheville Friday so please continue praying that we're able to hand deliver the dossier, in its entirety, to C on Saturday!
Don't think Norm's the only one with a "Honey Do" list today! I'm heading over to our courthouse to pick up the deed for our house. Now, those of you who have been following our journey closely should know that I WORK at the courthouse in the prosecutor's office! I just have to walk down a few stairs to get the deed. Heehee! I think that's a far better deal than driving up to DC. Oh, and I also get to fret over our dossier until Norm gets there to sign everything. I know I'm going to be reading, re-reading, proofing, etc., every word of every document just to make sure there aren't any typos. I'm a little nutty like that!
Once that mission is completed, Norm's stopping by my office so that we can finish up notarizing the last few documents of our dossier. Tomorrow I'm driving down to Richmond to have everything apostilled. Hopefully all of the docs will be correct and the dossier will be finished tomorrow. However, if something can't be apostilled tomorrow for some reason that leaves me Wednesday to fix it & have it renotarized, and Thursday to try again for apostilling. We're heading to Asheville Friday so please continue praying that we're able to hand deliver the dossier, in its entirety, to C on Saturday!
Don't think Norm's the only one with a "Honey Do" list today! I'm heading over to our courthouse to pick up the deed for our house. Now, those of you who have been following our journey closely should know that I WORK at the courthouse in the prosecutor's office! I just have to walk down a few stairs to get the deed. Heehee! I think that's a far better deal than driving up to DC. Oh, and I also get to fret over our dossier until Norm gets there to sign everything. I know I'm going to be reading, re-reading, proofing, etc., every word of every document just to make sure there aren't any typos. I'm a little nutty like that!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Great friends, good food and generosity
Great friends of ours, V&B, drove down from Maryland today to hang out and watch the playoffs. In fact, the Pats are still playing – GO PATS!! Norm’s from New England, so guess who we’re cheering for?
In true Judy fashion, she cooked enough food for a small army. I don’t think I’ll have to eat again until we have lunch with Ana & Russ in Asheville next Saturday. I am beyond stuffed…..
During lunch we gave V&B an overview on where we stand in the adoption process, and I proudly showed them the table in my office that is absolutely littered right now with our dossier documents. Documents that are longing to be apostilled on Tuesday!
Throughout the afternoon B made a few remarks about forgetting their checkbook at home but I didn’t pay much attention to her comment. After all, it’s not like we were going to charge them for lunch & dinner or expect them to leave Judy a tip! Anyway, come to find out B’s checkbook comments actually did have something to do with us...
V surprised us after dinner by pulling a wad of bills out of his wallet and handing them to Norm. He told us to use that money for apostilling our dossier on Tuesday, and to use the remainder for whatever else it would cover in the adoption. WOW!!!! I had tears in my eyes as V explained that they recently sold some furniture and other items on Craigslist, and they decided to donate those funds to getting Baby C home. I cannot thank them enough for their generosity!! Virginia unfortunately does not have a cap on apostilling docs for adoptive parents, so this unexpected donation will help us out tremendously.
Anyone who is reading this and is fretting about funds…please, please, please keep the faith and trust completely that somehow God WILL provide. He has gotten us this far and I know He will continue to see us through. We have been so fortunate that nearly every time we have faced some form of adoption expense and the funds weren’t just lying around, God has provided what we needed at that time.
I hated to see V&B leave tonight. I don’t feel like I said “thank you” enough times. I don’t know if I said it earnestly enough. I don’t even know if thank you is adequate. But I do hope they both know how much their generosity has touched us!! Again, all I can say is "wow"...
In true Judy fashion, she cooked enough food for a small army. I don’t think I’ll have to eat again until we have lunch with Ana & Russ in Asheville next Saturday. I am beyond stuffed…..
During lunch we gave V&B an overview on where we stand in the adoption process, and I proudly showed them the table in my office that is absolutely littered right now with our dossier documents. Documents that are longing to be apostilled on Tuesday!
Throughout the afternoon B made a few remarks about forgetting their checkbook at home but I didn’t pay much attention to her comment. After all, it’s not like we were going to charge them for lunch & dinner or expect them to leave Judy a tip! Anyway, come to find out B’s checkbook comments actually did have something to do with us...
V surprised us after dinner by pulling a wad of bills out of his wallet and handing them to Norm. He told us to use that money for apostilling our dossier on Tuesday, and to use the remainder for whatever else it would cover in the adoption. WOW!!!! I had tears in my eyes as V explained that they recently sold some furniture and other items on Craigslist, and they decided to donate those funds to getting Baby C home. I cannot thank them enough for their generosity!! Virginia unfortunately does not have a cap on apostilling docs for adoptive parents, so this unexpected donation will help us out tremendously.
Anyone who is reading this and is fretting about funds…please, please, please keep the faith and trust completely that somehow God WILL provide. He has gotten us this far and I know He will continue to see us through. We have been so fortunate that nearly every time we have faced some form of adoption expense and the funds weren’t just lying around, God has provided what we needed at that time.
I hated to see V&B leave tonight. I don’t feel like I said “thank you” enough times. I don’t know if I said it earnestly enough. I don’t even know if thank you is adequate. But I do hope they both know how much their generosity has touched us!! Again, all I can say is "wow"...
Friday, January 11, 2008
From WAAH to WOO-HOO in 24+ hours
I need to thank Beth, Ana & Jojo for their support and encouragement yesterday. They let me vent, ramble, and vent some more. Then they walked me through a major meltdown and talked me off my ledge…they were my cheerleaders but most importantly they were (and are!) my friends and I so, so appreciate their kindness and empathy.
Oh, and so does Norm since it saved him from having to do all of the above! Although I must say that he definitely did more than his share in working through the obstacle we faced.
Beth & Ana – if you think you had it bad with my email drama, poor Jojo actually SPOKE to me on the phone last night. Jojo, thank you for your patience!
I’m sure you’re all thinking “Enough with the gratitude, get to the point already!”
Well, much of what happened between 10:30am yesterday and 11:30am today is a blur. I will say that I was about as angry and discouraged as I’ve ever been. It started when I received a call yesterday morning from our SW saying that Judy’s prints had been rejected. That was bad enough. What made me flip out is that she also told me a message had been left at her office last week stating the prints had been rejected, but that info was never passed on to me or Norm. Other stuff made me flip out as well but the fact that it took 7 days to tell us about the rejected prints gave me “exploding head syndrome.” (I hear Ana has suffered from the same thing from time to time!)
I usually try to be as diplomatic and tactful as possible but that all flew out the window during my conversation with SW. I wasn’t rude but I was far from being subtle. I said what I thought needed to be said. And I cried. (May have yelled a few times after hanging up the phone but I was the only one in the office so there’s no proof of that!)
Then I vented and rambled to Ana, Beth & later to Jojo. Then I tried a dose of Susan’s therapy – a wonderful combination of chocolate and a couple furry friends. Susan’s version includes dark chocolate and a chocolate Lab. Mine was Reese’s, a Lab mix and a German Shep. Mix. It worked wonders!
Today at 11:30am I found out that the fingerprint thing has worked itself out. Yes - the fingerprint drama is OVER! Can you believe it?
SW asked me to stop by her office to retrieve 5 glorious, wonderful copies of our home study. After I picked myself up off the floor, I said I’d be right over. Thankfully her office is about 12 minutes from my own. I made it in 5!!
She & I put aside our differences, she handed me the most anticipated package I’ve ever received, and I was out the door (after writing a hefty retainer check for PPRs – post placement reports). Come to find out, SW was inspired by my meltdown yesterday. She coordinated with two other offices in Northern Virginia to have the committee re-approve our homestudy and get it to their Regional Director for signature yesterday afternoon. Then, they FedEx’d a packet to her for morning delivery today! I’m very impressed that they moved so quickly and secretively for us. Neither Norm nor I had any idea we’d have the homestudy in our hands today.
This means that I get to FINALLY mail in or I600A. For those who have already done this, can I FedEx it? Do I need to give them a return airbill to send me the receipt and/or appointment invitation back?
I also get to have the rest of our dossier notarized on Monday and apostilled on Tuesday. Providing everything is correct, we’ll be able to deliver the entire dossier to C. from our agency when we meet her in Asheville on Saturday, 1/19!!!!! Oh my gosh…talk about warp speed! Even though this is exactly the outcome I have been praying for and asked all of you to pray for, I can’t believe this is happening so quickly.
As if all if this weren’t enough excitement to make my head spin, Ana & Russ have decided to drive 3 hrs. next Saturday to meet us in Asheville! We’re going to have lunch together and hang out a bit before our meeting at 3pm with C. Yay! There’s also a chance that on our way home Sunday we’ll be able to reconnect with one of my cousins, his wife & their 3 kids who lives about 1.5 hrs. from Asheville. It’s going to be a busy weekend but so much fun.
Now if I could just make it up to see Beth & Nick…
Thanks to everyone who have been lifting us and Baby C up in prayer. Keep ‘em coming and remember to also rejoice for all He has provided to us in our adoption journey!
Oh, and so does Norm since it saved him from having to do all of the above! Although I must say that he definitely did more than his share in working through the obstacle we faced.
Beth & Ana – if you think you had it bad with my email drama, poor Jojo actually SPOKE to me on the phone last night. Jojo, thank you for your patience!
I’m sure you’re all thinking “Enough with the gratitude, get to the point already!”
Well, much of what happened between 10:30am yesterday and 11:30am today is a blur. I will say that I was about as angry and discouraged as I’ve ever been. It started when I received a call yesterday morning from our SW saying that Judy’s prints had been rejected. That was bad enough. What made me flip out is that she also told me a message had been left at her office last week stating the prints had been rejected, but that info was never passed on to me or Norm. Other stuff made me flip out as well but the fact that it took 7 days to tell us about the rejected prints gave me “exploding head syndrome.” (I hear Ana has suffered from the same thing from time to time!)
I usually try to be as diplomatic and tactful as possible but that all flew out the window during my conversation with SW. I wasn’t rude but I was far from being subtle. I said what I thought needed to be said. And I cried. (May have yelled a few times after hanging up the phone but I was the only one in the office so there’s no proof of that!)
Then I vented and rambled to Ana, Beth & later to Jojo. Then I tried a dose of Susan’s therapy – a wonderful combination of chocolate and a couple furry friends. Susan’s version includes dark chocolate and a chocolate Lab. Mine was Reese’s, a Lab mix and a German Shep. Mix. It worked wonders!
Today at 11:30am I found out that the fingerprint thing has worked itself out. Yes - the fingerprint drama is OVER! Can you believe it?
SW asked me to stop by her office to retrieve 5 glorious, wonderful copies of our home study. After I picked myself up off the floor, I said I’d be right over. Thankfully her office is about 12 minutes from my own. I made it in 5!!
She & I put aside our differences, she handed me the most anticipated package I’ve ever received, and I was out the door (after writing a hefty retainer check for PPRs – post placement reports). Come to find out, SW was inspired by my meltdown yesterday. She coordinated with two other offices in Northern Virginia to have the committee re-approve our homestudy and get it to their Regional Director for signature yesterday afternoon. Then, they FedEx’d a packet to her for morning delivery today! I’m very impressed that they moved so quickly and secretively for us. Neither Norm nor I had any idea we’d have the homestudy in our hands today.
This means that I get to FINALLY mail in or I600A. For those who have already done this, can I FedEx it? Do I need to give them a return airbill to send me the receipt and/or appointment invitation back?
I also get to have the rest of our dossier notarized on Monday and apostilled on Tuesday. Providing everything is correct, we’ll be able to deliver the entire dossier to C. from our agency when we meet her in Asheville on Saturday, 1/19!!!!! Oh my gosh…talk about warp speed! Even though this is exactly the outcome I have been praying for and asked all of you to pray for, I can’t believe this is happening so quickly.
As if all if this weren’t enough excitement to make my head spin, Ana & Russ have decided to drive 3 hrs. next Saturday to meet us in Asheville! We’re going to have lunch together and hang out a bit before our meeting at 3pm with C. Yay! There’s also a chance that on our way home Sunday we’ll be able to reconnect with one of my cousins, his wife & their 3 kids who lives about 1.5 hrs. from Asheville. It’s going to be a busy weekend but so much fun.
Now if I could just make it up to see Beth & Nick…
Thanks to everyone who have been lifting us and Baby C up in prayer. Keep ‘em coming and remember to also rejoice for all He has provided to us in our adoption journey!
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Good Stuff
Remember this post and how discouraged I was about the first appraisal of our house? (Scroll down a bit in the post to refresh your memory).
You may also remember in this more recent post that I mentioned the house was being reappraised (for the 3rd time no less!) on January 3. I asked for everyone to pray for that appraisal and those prayers were answered! Thank you, thank you!
We found out today that we have been approved for the HELOC which will definitely help us get Baby C home. Thankfully, as far as this is concerned “3rd times a charm” won over “3 strikes and you’re out.” I’m still researching fundraising ideas, and we are extremely grateful for any donations/contributions anyone feels led to give, but the HELOC is a nice cushion to have if we need it.
As long as I’m on a positive note, I should also mention that attorneys, at least the 13 in my office, do have hearts...and very compassionate ones at that! (Love you guys) They are going to a 4 day conference soon in Norfolk and are staying at a Marriott. They all joined the Marriott Rewards Program today and plan on donating/transferring their points to Norm & me to use on one of our trips to Russia. While this may not cover the entire stay, it will undoubtedly help lessen our lodging expenses. I would like to use these points for a portion of the trip and hopefully transfer to a Peace Travel apartment for the remainder of our stay. THANK YOU ALL AGAIN! For our upcoming trip to Asheville, we are also staying in the Renaissance and those points can be used in Russia as well.
In closing, our SW returns to the office tomorrow. I’m not sure I’ll get much sleep tonight because I’ll be praying for positive news regarding Judy’s fingerprints. As always, we're still inviting others to pray for a speedy and positive resolution to this issue as well.
Oh, and also tomorrow night is my first ever Mom’s Night Out with the FRUA DC chapter. We're headed to the Corner Bakery at the Fair Oaks Mall. Should be lots o’ fun (not to mention yummy)…
You may also remember in this more recent post that I mentioned the house was being reappraised (for the 3rd time no less!) on January 3. I asked for everyone to pray for that appraisal and those prayers were answered! Thank you, thank you!
We found out today that we have been approved for the HELOC which will definitely help us get Baby C home. Thankfully, as far as this is concerned “3rd times a charm” won over “3 strikes and you’re out.” I’m still researching fundraising ideas, and we are extremely grateful for any donations/contributions anyone feels led to give, but the HELOC is a nice cushion to have if we need it.
As long as I’m on a positive note, I should also mention that attorneys, at least the 13 in my office, do have hearts...and very compassionate ones at that! (Love you guys) They are going to a 4 day conference soon in Norfolk and are staying at a Marriott. They all joined the Marriott Rewards Program today and plan on donating/transferring their points to Norm & me to use on one of our trips to Russia. While this may not cover the entire stay, it will undoubtedly help lessen our lodging expenses. I would like to use these points for a portion of the trip and hopefully transfer to a Peace Travel apartment for the remainder of our stay. THANK YOU ALL AGAIN! For our upcoming trip to Asheville, we are also staying in the Renaissance and those points can be used in Russia as well.
In closing, our SW returns to the office tomorrow. I’m not sure I’ll get much sleep tonight because I’ll be praying for positive news regarding Judy’s fingerprints. As always, we're still inviting others to pray for a speedy and positive resolution to this issue as well.
Oh, and also tomorrow night is my first ever Mom’s Night Out with the FRUA DC chapter. We're headed to the Corner Bakery at the Fair Oaks Mall. Should be lots o’ fun (not to mention yummy)…
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Yay Me – take two!
Before you get too excited, no we haven’t received Judy’s fingerprints back yet. BUT, we have great news to share nonetheless.
In my last post I mentioned that our agency reps cancelled their trip to my area (should have been here today) and that I had a four day weekend coming up but I didn’t know what to do with all that time off. Well, Norm & I have decided to take a road trip to Asheville over that long weekend and meet with C. from our agency on her turf instead! I am so excited! We’re going to discuss regions with C., take a tour of Biltmore, and just enjoy being in that beautiful area of NC. Ana’s trip inspired me to do the same – so thanks Ana!
I am praying every morning, throughout each day, and each night that we have positive closure to Judy’s fingerprints this week. If we do, we can still have our dossier apostilled early next week and then hand deliver it to C. when we meet her on Saturday, 1/19/08. I invite anyone who feels led to join us in our prayer vigil! Please do join us – we need and appreciate all of the prayers and encouragement sent our way!
Asheville is about 7 hours from our house and we’re leaving on Friday, 1/18. It will be a long, but enjoyable and beautiful drive. I’m hoping to make our hotel reservations today or tomorrow. If you’ve been to Asheville and have a hotel or B&B suggestion, feel free to leave a comment or send us an email.
As far as any updates we have on Judy’s fingerprints – I’m not sure what to say. Norm called our SW (social worker) last Thursday to see if she had heard anything. When SW said she didn’t have any news for us, Norm asked to ask her to call FPL (fingerprint lady) for an update. Well, how shall I put this?? SW got a bit of an attitude with Norm & initially refused to call FPL. Of course, Norm had some things to say about both her attitude and her refusal but it didn’t seem to make a difference. She still refused. Then, later SW called back & apologized for being snippy. She said she ended up calling FPL and left a message. To my knowledge, FPL has yet to return that call. SW also said that they had lost their Program Director (great……) and that she was on edge because of that. Losing the Program Director really concerns me. SW told me back in December that the Program Director is the only person FPL would talk to. So what does that mean for our fingerprint updates??? SW had no answer for that question. Oh, and this past Friday (the day after she got snippy with Norm) SW called back & told Judy that she is out of the office this week until Thursday. Again, great…..
I admit that there are times throughout each day that I get totally frustrated with this stall in our paperchase and the lack of communication. I’m not letting my frustration consume me though. I’ve realized that while I cannot control when we get Judy’s clearance back, I can control my reaction to all of this. Beth sent me an email a few days ago that my positive attitude was contagious. It meant so much to read that, and I hope others feel the same way. Not because I’m trying to inflate my own ego or anything, but because I want others who may be in a similar situation – either today, next week or next year - to realize that it WILL all work out in the end. I can’t even begin to tell you how much comfort I have found in other adoptive parents’ blogs. We all face challenges in our adoption journeys but once we finally have our little ones in our arms, that frustration is long forgotten. That is my focus AND my future!! So, “yay me!” again!
In my last post I mentioned that our agency reps cancelled their trip to my area (should have been here today) and that I had a four day weekend coming up but I didn’t know what to do with all that time off. Well, Norm & I have decided to take a road trip to Asheville over that long weekend and meet with C. from our agency on her turf instead! I am so excited! We’re going to discuss regions with C., take a tour of Biltmore, and just enjoy being in that beautiful area of NC. Ana’s trip inspired me to do the same – so thanks Ana!
I am praying every morning, throughout each day, and each night that we have positive closure to Judy’s fingerprints this week. If we do, we can still have our dossier apostilled early next week and then hand deliver it to C. when we meet her on Saturday, 1/19/08. I invite anyone who feels led to join us in our prayer vigil! Please do join us – we need and appreciate all of the prayers and encouragement sent our way!
Asheville is about 7 hours from our house and we’re leaving on Friday, 1/18. It will be a long, but enjoyable and beautiful drive. I’m hoping to make our hotel reservations today or tomorrow. If you’ve been to Asheville and have a hotel or B&B suggestion, feel free to leave a comment or send us an email.
As far as any updates we have on Judy’s fingerprints – I’m not sure what to say. Norm called our SW (social worker) last Thursday to see if she had heard anything. When SW said she didn’t have any news for us, Norm asked to ask her to call FPL (fingerprint lady) for an update. Well, how shall I put this?? SW got a bit of an attitude with Norm & initially refused to call FPL. Of course, Norm had some things to say about both her attitude and her refusal but it didn’t seem to make a difference. She still refused. Then, later SW called back & apologized for being snippy. She said she ended up calling FPL and left a message. To my knowledge, FPL has yet to return that call. SW also said that they had lost their Program Director (great……) and that she was on edge because of that. Losing the Program Director really concerns me. SW told me back in December that the Program Director is the only person FPL would talk to. So what does that mean for our fingerprint updates??? SW had no answer for that question. Oh, and this past Friday (the day after she got snippy with Norm) SW called back & told Judy that she is out of the office this week until Thursday. Again, great…..
I admit that there are times throughout each day that I get totally frustrated with this stall in our paperchase and the lack of communication. I’m not letting my frustration consume me though. I’ve realized that while I cannot control when we get Judy’s clearance back, I can control my reaction to all of this. Beth sent me an email a few days ago that my positive attitude was contagious. It meant so much to read that, and I hope others feel the same way. Not because I’m trying to inflate my own ego or anything, but because I want others who may be in a similar situation – either today, next week or next year - to realize that it WILL all work out in the end. I can’t even begin to tell you how much comfort I have found in other adoptive parents’ blogs. We all face challenges in our adoption journeys but once we finally have our little ones in our arms, that frustration is long forgotten. That is my focus AND my future!! So, “yay me!” again!
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Yay Me!
Yeah, so I realized that being somewhat bitter about our delay really isn’t making the paper chase move along any quicker. ‘Magine that. So, here’s a list of things for me to celebrate…as I wait not so patiently for Judy’s fingerprints to be “expedited”!!
Thursday, Jan. 3: House is getting reappraised. Prayers please!!
Saturday, Jan. 5: Our friend’s AWESOME band, 3am Panic, is finally playing again. You guys rock (literally!!)
Tuesday, Jan. 8: Two of the FABULOUS ladies from our equally FABULOUS agency will be in my area for a seminar. I get to meet them face-to-face and (perhaps) get one step closer to choosing one of their regions!! As important, I get to personally thank them for helping us bring our child home sometime this year. Love it!
**Update – their trip has been cancelled. BOOO!!!! Oh well, maybe by some small miracle we will have Judy’s fingerprints back this week & I can use Tuesday to have everything apostilled!! Probably not but I (and you! heehee) can still be prayerful about it.
Thursday, Jan 10: I was invited to my first ever (but hopefully not last) Mom’s Night Out sponsored by the FRUA DC Chapter. Love it!!
Friday, 1/11: I have a dentist appointment. Okay, not loving this one but I suppose it’s a necessary evil. Ugh…
Saturday, 1/26: FRUA Winterfest in DC. Love it!!
Also Saturday 1/26 – Chocolate Boutique - - YUM!! I am on the Women’s Ministry at our church and we get an evening of chocolate sampling for an upcoming event. Notice I scheduled the yucky dentist appointment BEFORE the chocolate boutique! Hee hee! Very smart on my part if I do say so myself.
Saturday 2/2: Comedy Night sponsored by our Women’s Ministry. I love, love, love to laugh so this should be great therapy!
Also, this morning I spoke with our health insurance just to confirm coverage for Baby C so there are no surprises once we get home. Good news - there is no “pre-existing condition waiver” in our policy. They consider the adoption of a baby the same as having a newborn. Yippee!! So, Baby C’s needs (if any) will be immediately taken care of. Hopefully we won’t have to worry about it but it is soooo comforting knowing this! Definitely loving this one!
And…I have a 4 day weekend coming up this month – woohoo! Friday, Jan. 18th is Lee Jackson day (or something that as a citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia I am obligated to observe) and Monday, Jan. 21 is MLK Day. Any votes on where we should go??
And oh yeah, I almost totally forgot about this next thing. In one of my earliest posts I mentioned that, in addition to working full time in our Prosecutor’s office, I also work part time at my church as the Communications Assistant. That’s a fancy title for “putting together our weekly sermon bulletins.” (BTW – I love this job!) So, this evening I was preparing the bulletin for this weekend and the hymn below is one that will be sung at our 8:15 & 11am services on Sunday.
**NOTE – Stop reading NOW if you attend either the 8:15 or 11am EUMC service & don’t want the surprise to be spoiled!!”
Anyhoo, I found this hymn (and especially the 2nd and 3rd verses) really summed up this process known as International Adoption! Happy reading…
UM Hymnal #383 – This is a Day of New Beginnings
This is a day of new beginnings, time to remember and move on, time to believe what love is bringing, laying to rest the pain that’s gone.
For by the life and death of Jesus, God’s mighty Spirit, now as then, can make for us a world of difference, as faith and hope are born again.
Then let us, with the Spirit’s daring, step from the past and leave behind our disappointment, guilt and grieving, seeking new paths, and sure to find.
Christ is alive, and goes before us to show and share what love can do. This is a day of new beginnings; our God is making all things new.
In faith we’ll gather round the table to taste and share what love can do. This is a day of new beginnings; our God is making all things new.
So in summary, Yay me for all the fun stuff above. And for my fellow waiting parents, Yay Us for the YEAR of New Beginnings and the wonderful friendships we are making along the way!
Blessings to you all,
Kar
Thursday, Jan. 3: House is getting reappraised. Prayers please!!
Saturday, Jan. 5: Our friend’s AWESOME band, 3am Panic, is finally playing again. You guys rock (literally!!)
Tuesday, Jan. 8: Two of the FABULOUS ladies from our equally FABULOUS agency will be in my area for a seminar. I get to meet them face-to-face and (perhaps) get one step closer to choosing one of their regions!! As important, I get to personally thank them for helping us bring our child home sometime this year. Love it!
**Update – their trip has been cancelled. BOOO!!!! Oh well, maybe by some small miracle we will have Judy’s fingerprints back this week & I can use Tuesday to have everything apostilled!! Probably not but I (and you! heehee) can still be prayerful about it.
Thursday, Jan 10: I was invited to my first ever (but hopefully not last) Mom’s Night Out sponsored by the FRUA DC Chapter. Love it!!
Friday, 1/11: I have a dentist appointment. Okay, not loving this one but I suppose it’s a necessary evil. Ugh…
Saturday, 1/26: FRUA Winterfest in DC. Love it!!
Also Saturday 1/26 – Chocolate Boutique - - YUM!! I am on the Women’s Ministry at our church and we get an evening of chocolate sampling for an upcoming event. Notice I scheduled the yucky dentist appointment BEFORE the chocolate boutique! Hee hee! Very smart on my part if I do say so myself.
Saturday 2/2: Comedy Night sponsored by our Women’s Ministry. I love, love, love to laugh so this should be great therapy!
Also, this morning I spoke with our health insurance just to confirm coverage for Baby C so there are no surprises once we get home. Good news - there is no “pre-existing condition waiver” in our policy. They consider the adoption of a baby the same as having a newborn. Yippee!! So, Baby C’s needs (if any) will be immediately taken care of. Hopefully we won’t have to worry about it but it is soooo comforting knowing this! Definitely loving this one!
And…I have a 4 day weekend coming up this month – woohoo! Friday, Jan. 18th is Lee Jackson day (or something that as a citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia I am obligated to observe) and Monday, Jan. 21 is MLK Day. Any votes on where we should go??
And oh yeah, I almost totally forgot about this next thing. In one of my earliest posts I mentioned that, in addition to working full time in our Prosecutor’s office, I also work part time at my church as the Communications Assistant. That’s a fancy title for “putting together our weekly sermon bulletins.” (BTW – I love this job!) So, this evening I was preparing the bulletin for this weekend and the hymn below is one that will be sung at our 8:15 & 11am services on Sunday.
**NOTE – Stop reading NOW if you attend either the 8:15 or 11am EUMC service & don’t want the surprise to be spoiled!!”
Anyhoo, I found this hymn (and especially the 2nd and 3rd verses) really summed up this process known as International Adoption! Happy reading…
UM Hymnal #383 – This is a Day of New Beginnings
This is a day of new beginnings, time to remember and move on, time to believe what love is bringing, laying to rest the pain that’s gone.
For by the life and death of Jesus, God’s mighty Spirit, now as then, can make for us a world of difference, as faith and hope are born again.
Then let us, with the Spirit’s daring, step from the past and leave behind our disappointment, guilt and grieving, seeking new paths, and sure to find.
Christ is alive, and goes before us to show and share what love can do. This is a day of new beginnings; our God is making all things new.
In faith we’ll gather round the table to taste and share what love can do. This is a day of new beginnings; our God is making all things new.
So in summary, Yay me for all the fun stuff above. And for my fellow waiting parents, Yay Us for the YEAR of New Beginnings and the wonderful friendships we are making along the way!
Blessings to you all,
Kar
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
HAPPY 2008!!
Norm & I send best wishes for your New Year be happy, safe, prosperous and above all BLESSED! May we all bring our children home this year!
Norm & Karyn
Baby C - we're coming for you as quickly as we can!!
Mommy & Daddy
Norm & Karyn
Baby C - we're coming for you as quickly as we can!!
Mommy & Daddy
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