The Joshua Adventures

Some New Things to Remember

2011-02-09T23:59:00.000-06:00

Last week, I had taken Joshua out of his high chair and he was running up and down the hallway. All of a sudden, I realized, there was no pitter-patter of feet, so I decided to investigate. I found that our bedroom door and specifically the master bath (if you'd even call it that) had been left open. "Oh no, what was he getting into." I walked into the bathroom and there he was, standing on the scale.

Also, over the weekend when we had the TV on, there was an African American woman on the news, I think it was. He stopped and pointed excitedly, so we asked what? Who is that? Joshua answered "ME!!"

He can and has for awhile been able to point to his eyes, ears, nose (sometimes), teeth, tummy, and belly button (his favorite). He also has been saying "apple", "up", "down", "out", "off", "Rocky" (his yellow stuffed raccoon), "donkey" (what his stuffed animal, Eeyore is). He amzes me at the words he already knows and says. He also says "potty" (no, we aren't potty training him yet, but when I'm home alone with him, I'll say mommy has to go potty and he stated repeating me and running ahead of me to the bathroom.) I also heard him say today for the first time, "no". Yikes, off to bed for me.

15 month Doctor's Visit

2011-02-03T21:31:00.002-06:00

Joshua had his 15 month doctor's appointment. He ended up getting 4 shots and needs only one more to be all caught up with his vaccines. He now weighs 23 lbs 8 oz. and is 31 and a quarter inches tall. He's gained almost 4 lbs and grown 3 and a half inches, since we brought him home! He's at the 35th percentile for weight and the 56th percentile for weight.

Animal Sounds

2011-01-29T07:00:00.001-06:00

Most children probably start out with moo and baa and maybe woof. He loves dogs, so woof or some form of it would make sense.

His nursery is in a jungle theme, so he has a picture of a lion and other animals hanging above his changing table, as well as on his bedding and wall hanging. His first animal noise was a kind of lion's roar; really cute. Just yesterday, I was going through a book of animals and when we came to the pigs, he didn't oink, but made a snorting sound! Whenever I pointed a pig out to him, I'd oink and also snort like a pig. He'd laugh like crazy when I did the snorting,! But hearing him snort is so funny, when I realized what he was doing I couldn't help, but laugh! Also, when we look at his baby animals book and get to the gorilla, he beats his chest. Oh my gosh, this is adorable.

He also says wawa for water and mil for milk and he says and signs more. He also signs fish when we sing the fish song or sometimes when he sees a picture of fish. I bet he'll enjoy "Finding Nemo" when he is a little older. He says feet and shoe, also. He tries to repeat us a lot. He's starting to put block shapes through the right holes. It takes a little bit for him to figure the right hole, but he is getting there. Well, he is awake now, so I better get going!

Smart Shopping and Great Deals

2011-01-27T10:29:00.002-06:00

Last week, while I was checking my couponing sites, I saw this deal. Walmart.com had the Garth Brooks The Limited Series Box Collection for $5. That's right for $5 dollars, I got 5 CDs: Sevens, Scarecrow, Double Live- 2 CDs, The Lost Sessions and a DVD with Interview Footage, Music Videos, Live Performances, etc. Tax and shipping only came out to an extra $2 or so and then it turned out to be delivered by FedEx, not the post office (no offense to those of you with the USPS, but you know what I mean).

Also, last night, I went to Walgreens and spent only $5.70 for all this: (I was going to take a picture, but forgot and unpacked everything. I got a jumbo package of Huggies diapers, paper plates, 6 Hershey bars, and 3 packages of Jello. Actually, now that I check the receipt, I should have saved 30 more cents, because the candy bars were 80 cents each and I had 3 buy one got one (BOGO) free coupons and she entered only 70 cents for each of the coupons, but the diapers at regular price were 10.99 (now I'd never spend that much), so basically everything else was free and the diapers half price. Oh yeah, I also got $2 in register rewards to use next time!

Things I've Done and Words I Say

2011-01-24T21:55:00.004-06:00

Joshua's first experience playing in the snow.

Joshua meets Santa for the 1st time.

Joshua's First Christmas

I just wanted to take sometime to mark down a few things about Joshua.

When we brought him home at 8 1/2 months, he was already pulling himself up and almost immediately was cruising, holding onto furniture

His first doctor's appointment, he weighed in at 19.6 lbs. (38%ile) and was 28 inches tall (53%ile).

7/10 was his first trip to Brookfield Zoo.

Over Labor Day weekend, he took his first overnite, out-of-state trip to Michigan and met his Grandpa Bill and Uncle Jeff.

He took his first steps in 9/11 in front of me and his grandma, my mom (Kevin was at a H.S. football game at the time). Actually, he walked across the living room. For the first couple weeks, his walking resembled the song, "Monster Mash". It really was cute to see.

He puckered up and gave me his first real kiss when I was getting out of the car to catch the train for work on October 14th.

Joshua turned 1 year old on October 16th.

On October 17th, he had his baby dedication at Cary Grove Evangelical Church.

Poor kid on October 28th, he had a circumcision. He bounced back remarkably. He was walking around that afternoon when we got home and before the end of the weekend, one would never know he had had surgery. He mended incredibly quick.

On November 13th, he went to Illinois State University, his mom's college alma mater to watch the H.S. volleyball championships, his probable high school alma mater, Cary-Grove H.S. vs. Lyons Twp. H.S., his mom's high school alma mater.

November 14th, he started saying nana for banana. He already says mama and dada.

November 19th was the 1st time I celebrated my birthday as a mother.

Although, it probably snowed some before, December 11 was his first experience playing in the snow.

December 11th was also the first time he saw Santa. He did very well with him. I wasn't sure how he'd do, but he didn't cry or anything. Of course, he didn't really understand the significance. I really wasn't that thrilled about this Santa, but after all this Santa was at our local Walgreen's.

Christmas Eve, Joshua weighed about 23 pounds and was 31 inches tall.

January 2nd was his 1st visit to Immediate Care. He had an earache and cough/cold.

He went to his 1st gathering with other kids adopted from Ethiopia to celebrate Genna -Ethiopian Christmas, on January 8th.

Words he says: mama, dada, daddy, bye, hi, nana - banana, peas - please, teet - teeth, ba - ball, hat, baby, cookie, and doggy.

I really need to keep this up, even if it is only a short little blurb of a couple sentences.

6 Months Ago

2010-12-28T00:01:00.000-06:00

6 months ago, we returned home from Ethiopia.

Here is one of the 1st pictures that we took after meeting him at just over 8 months old.

And here is a picture of him just a couple weeks ago at almost 14 months.

Don't Give Up!

2010-12-06T23:05:00.003-06:00

I will be back; I just need to find the time. Joshua is doing great!

My Review of BABYBJORN(R) Baby Carrier Active

2010-07-06T08:49:00.001-05:00

Originally submitted at One Step Ahead

How comfortable is this BABYBJORN carrier? Well, it's the one our head buyer chose for herself - and she's pretty much tested them all. It's simply more comfortable for longer periods: the ergonomic straps lift the weight off your shoulders, while the lumbar support protects your back...

Lifesaver/backsaver

By an80slady6886 from Chicago suburbs on 7/6/2010

Gift: No

Pros: Lightweight, Strong Construction, Comfortable

Best Uses: Infants, Travel, Daily Use, Out & About

Describe Yourself: First Time Parent

We just adopted an 8 month baby boy. Once we figured out how to put it together, it seemed so simple. It was great as we were walking around his birth country to not always have to carry him in our arms. Being a 1st-time mom, it made it easier to carry him around going right to a 19 lb. baby was not easy. He's also so comfortable in it that he falls asleep in there. I've also been able to put him in there as I do some cleaning up around the house. The lumbar support in the Baby Bjorn active model is great and makes carrying him around so much easier. I really haven't tried getting him in there myself; my husband always helps; getting him in there by oneself may be a little challenging.

(legalese)

More Photos of Joshua

2010-07-02T15:39:00.002-05:00

Photos of Joshua

2010-07-02T14:32:00.005-05:00

We're Home. Details later, but here are some photos to hold you until then

Leaving On A Jet Plane

2010-06-14T23:10:00.002-05:00

Yes, we got confirmation that the VISA will indeed be 6/24/10, so we will be leaving on Saturday! Only 5 more days!

Prayers Needed!

2010-06-08T06:09:00.003-05:00

We are 12 days from travel and yesterday are adoption agency told us 5 families who are waiting to travel in a little over a week that final confirmation probably won't be until next Monday or Tuesday. This will give families only between 2-5 days of notice, which will greatly increase the cost of travel to probably skyrocketing prices. We were told this delay is from the U.S, Embassy. At least, one of the traveling families took the chance and booked tickets. The $750 per ticket changeover fee would be cheaper than buying tickets just a few days before. The rest of us families need to decide if we should take the chance and buy our tickets. Please pray that we decide what is best for our situation and also for travel confirmation to come much sooner. Thank you!

We passed court! Here he is!

2010-05-11T18:01:00.001-05:00

Here was his referral picture!

Today was Our Court Date

2010-05-11T06:17:00.003-05:00

Tune in later to find out the result. Have we been named Joshua's parents? Has the case been re-scheduled? We don't know the answer yet. Check back later tonight or if you are on Facebook, you may find out sooner.

2010-05-09T22:33:00.002-05:00

Just a little over 1 more day until court; please keep us in your prayers and thoughts that we will become parents to Joshua on Tuesday. As we sleep Monday night into Tuesday, our case should be up in Ethiopian Federal court.

Baby Shower #1

2010-05-07T23:58:00.001-05:00

Last Saturday, I had my first of several baby showers. A group of women meet every 1st Saturday of the month for what has been named Coffee and Conversation. They threw a small shower for me with many of the regulars. I haven't gotten pictures yet, but hope to receive them soon. I did snap a picture of part of the cake, that was left over and I brought home.

It was so delicious. It was from Costco and had chocolate mousse filling. So good and tasty, but way more than I could or should eat, especially since Kevin does not like chocolate. But we shared it with our small group which met the following night. I still have one or two more pieces. I think I'll see if I can freeze them, since I have another shower tomorrow with another Costco cake. This one Kevin can eat, since it won't be chocolate.

Got quite a few gifts, I can't name everything, but a sample were some adorable stuffed animals, books, a child's Storybook Bible, homemade blankets (beautiful), Photo frames and photo albums (always need those) and more. I just can't name everything. It was then that everything really started to feel real. Thanks to everyone who came!

Court Date 5/11

2010-05-07T23:28:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it has been so long since I posted here. I am usually on facebook and so are most people that I know so I just neglect this site. Last month, we finally were notified that our paperwork had been submitted to the court. Usually we aren't told when this exactly happens, but with the upcoming deadline for one or two trips, they did. Then a day or two later, we were told that our court date would be May 11th. Now that is only a few days away. Since Ethiopia is 8 hours ahead of the Central Time Zone, it will happen as we sleep Monday night into Tuesday morning. Please pray that all the paperwork from the different agencies and orphanage are there in court, everything is spelled correctly, all the people who need to be in court, are in court, and that the court's electricity is working at the time. If any of these things aren't just right, our case will be rescheduled, so let's hope, pray, think positive thoughts, whatever it takes for us to become Joshua's legal parents. Remember once we hear that we pass, I will share his pictre online. Also, remember, I will be at work and will be unable to post his pictures until I get home, so please be patient. Lately, there has been some phone difficulties, so we could be declared his parents and our agency might be unable to get through to our Agency's Ethiopian representative.

One Trip or Two?

2010-04-14T06:14:00.003-05:00

It looked like we'd squeak in under the old 1 trip rule, but it's very unsure if that will happen now. The U.S. Department of State made this announcement : The Federal First Instance Court of Ethiopia has announced that as of May 9, 2010, adoptive parents must appear at the federal court hearing for their adoptive child in order for the adoption to be approved. This new requirement will affect all pending and new adoption cases that have not yet been presented to the court. Here it is in full: http://pear-now.blogspot.com/2010/04/dos-adoption-notice-ethiopia.html

It is unclear whether one will have to have to have their courtdate by that, pass court by that time, or if the paperwork will merely need to be submitted to the court. Please pray that we have to take only one trip. This is also the most expensive time to travel to Ethiopia, so finding the funds to make two trips will be difficult.

Have You Heard?

2010-04-02T19:55:00.004-05:00

If you're not on either of our Facebook accounts, work with us, are in the know among our extended family, or attend our church, you probably haven't heard the great news! WE HAVE A SON!!! We got our referral call on Monday, March 22nd (a belated birthday gift for Kevin, whose birthday was March 20th). After exactly a 10 month wait on this waiting list and over 3 years and 3 months, since 1st submitting our application, we receive the news that there was a 5 month old boy who had been selected for us.

The day started out not that hot, liteally. We woke up to a relatively cold house, our furnace turned off over night and it as in the very low 60s when we awoke. Kevin stayed home and waited for the heating guy to make his service call. Since our furnace is only 6 years old, it turned out to be some small piece that broke and needed replacing. So, we got a new part relatively soon and Kevin as able to leave and be at work a little after 10.

We both were at work when we got THE CALL. Kevin got the call first. He was outside with the kids, so a co-worker got him. Then Ashley, our adoption consultant called me. Luckily, I had my cellphone out on the desk and it started to ring. I thought who the heck is calling me on my cell; then I looked down and saw that it was the adoption agency. Once I answered, Ashley put Kevin and I on as a conference call and told us she had our referral and told us all about our son. He was born October 16, 2009, so at the time was just a little over 5 months.

When we will pick him up is not yet known specifically, but we hope to have him home during the first part of the summer. There is talk of requiring two trips, but it now seems to be taking effect later in May. If we can get all of our paperwork translated, etc. and filed with the court before Mother's day weekend, it looks like there is a good chance that we may only have to travel once. This would be so much better financial -wise. Traveling once will be expensive enough. Also, leaving our son after the first trip would be so difficult since it might be 6-8 weeks or more until we travel again. One of the positives of 2 trips would be that he would be an automatic U.S. citizen when we landed back on American soil. So please pray that all the paperwork is submitted to the courts in early May and that we don't have to wait long for a court date. Once we pass court, we have to wait to get assigned an embassy appointment and then we'll learn when we travel.

By the way, we will call him Joshua and his middle name will be his Ethiopian name. We can't post his picture or e-mail any pictures untiil we have passed court and are in the eyes of the Ethiopian government, "Joshua's" legal parents, but if we see you in person, we will be happy to show you his picture.

Nursery Help

2010-03-13T21:40:00.000-06:00

I've been looking at lots of crib bedding and can't quite decide. Here are I think, the top 5 contenders, in no specific order. Please give me your feedback and help me make a decision..

Animal Acres

Fisher Price Ocean Wonders

Fisher Price Precious Planet

Jungle Babies

Modern Sports

The Things People Search

2010-03-05T21:03:00.002-06:00

Oh my, I have a statistics counter on my blog and since starting this blog in late 2006, I have had over 58,000 hits. I can also see what countries, states and cities the people who visit me are from or are near, as well as what people searched on google, yahoo, etc. to land on my blog. Well today when I checked back on February 20th someone from the York, Maine area searched under "somewhrer out there he is training to kill you" He left the instant he got to my blog since it needless to say was not what he was looking for. Thank goodness he left quickly.

But an interesting tidbit is other than the majority of people coming to my blog from the U.S., I've also had visitors from Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Iceland, The Russian Federation and Sweden.

2010-03-04T23:00:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow's Friday, which means it is the last day of this week that we could get our referral call. Monday, we will be at 91/2 months on the waiting list and just shy of 3 years, 9 months since we were approved by our agency to adopt. Please keep all the prayers, good wishes, finger crossings and all other positive thoughts coming our way. We are impatiently trying to be patient, but it is hard when you are so close.

Poll

2010-02-24T22:02:00.002-06:00

I have posted a poll for anyone who is interested to try and guess when we will get the CALL for our referral. Take part and post a comment, so I know who is participating.

Another Referral, Another Step Closer

2010-02-24T21:27:00.003-06:00

There was another referral given out today of a 1 1/2 month old baby boy; this family only waited 10 1/2 months on the waiting list. (The wait time has gone down; hopefully it goes down some more, since we are just over 9 months.) On the master waiting list we are #25, but for a baby boy under a year, I think we are somewhere between #1 and #3. Oh my gosh, we are getting so close! When we'll get the magical call is anyone's guess. Thank goodness I have caller i.d on both my work phone and cell phone. Thankfully, I never get calls from the 314 area code, so when I do see a 314 number, I'll know this is most likely IT!

1st Baby Product Purchase

2010-02-24T06:24:00.001-06:00

This weekend we made our 1st purchase for the baby. Baby's R Us had an awesome sale, where you can trade in a select baby product of any brand and buy a select brand name baby product. We decided on the Graco Pack 'n' Play. We need to research car seats better andd check out cribs more before we make a purchase. It was either a stroller or a pack 'n' play and we decided on this:

We are getting super close! It could be anytime now. Yesterday referrals were given to 6 lucky families. I think a 3 1/2 week old girl and a 3 1/2 month girl and 3 baby boys: 5 weeks, 2 months, and 20 months and a sibling set.

We've been waiting just over 9 months and are probably anywhere from #2 to #5 for a baby boy.

Even Closer

2010-01-27T22:11:00.002-06:00

I had e-mailed my adoption consultant at CHI last night and today when she responded she told me we were not #35 on the waiting list, but #33. Who knows when we'll get our referral, but it may be sometime in the near future. Stay tuned for one day in the not very distant future.

Finally Referrals!

2010-01-26T21:25:00.002-06:00

We started the week with a bang as there were 5 referrals at our agency on Monday: a 3 month baby boy, a 10 month baby boy, 2 1/2 month twin boys, a 2 1/2 year old girl, and a 4 year old girl. Then on Tuesday, there was another referral for a 2 year old girl. So, I'm thinking , we are about #35.

Raining Referrals from Heaven

2010-01-04T22:19:00.003-06:00

Our agency reopened after a 2-week holiday break. We were all hoping for tons of referrals this week. Well the week and the new year got off to a great start. There were 9 children referred, a total of 6 families received. The children referred were: a 5 month old boy - family waited 12 ½ months; a 3 month old boy - family waited just over 11 months; an 8 ½ month old girl - family waited 14 ½ mos; 2 month old twins (girl and boy) - family waited 17 ½ months, 2 siblings (girl and boy) 2 yrs and 3 ½ yrs - family waited 14 mos and 4 yr old twin girls - family waited 15 months. So we have moved 6 more places and are about #40.

My best coupon savings year so far!

2010-01-01T16:09:00.004-06:00

I've been clipping coupons for quite sometime. I always thought I did fairly well, averaging around $200 in savings a year. This year I started following some coupon and sales blogs and in January attended a coupon clkass by this one woman who has been on tv and several radio shows. Following her tips and those from the blogs, the entire year, I've done better and better with my couponing. I ended 2009 saving $748 in just coupons : manufacture and store coupons as well as CVS Extra Value Bucks and Walgreen's Register Rewards. I saved almost 4 times more in the 4th quarter of 2009 than I did in the first quarter of 2009, as well as more in the entire year of 2009 than I did the entire 3 previous years. Wow!!! If I keep it up, the same way this year I should save even more this year than last year. I wasn't going to keep track this year, but I think I will, plus I found a spreadsheet which will take only a minute or so to more to keep up.

2010-01-01T15:57:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year, 2010

Down to Number 46 Now.

2009-12-23T20:50:00.002-06:00

Sorry, I kind of got away from blogging and keeping you updated weekly! We are now down to #46. We have had several more referrals in the past 2 weeks and this week and next our agency is closed for the holiday season. On our Yahoo group, one of the waiting families informed all of us that they were dropping out although they were #1 on the list for a girl. They were given the opportunity to adopt a little boy domestically and felt led to accept the opportunity to welcome this little boy into their family. So although, after the end of last week, we expected to finish the year out at #47, we now moved one more place to #46 and are that much closer to our son.

Yes, we are open to either a boy or girl, but the waiting list is much shorter for those wanting a boy and more people want a girl. Initially when we started this adoption journey with China, we expected to have a girl, but as with pregnancy, you wouldn't really have a choice in the matter and decided to be open to either a boy or girl. And am very excited to have a son, eventually. In fact, we haven't even considered any girl names, but have most likely decided on a boy's name, long ago. At this time though, we aren't sharing the name yet, but will eventually. When, who knows? But am hoping for that referral this spring or sooner. Since we are in the mid-40s and the last little boy referrals went to families in the mid-20s on the waiting list, it all depends on how many families between those #s are open to a baby boy. It's starting to get exciting over here. Let's hope Kevin gets the best birthday or even early-birthday present of his life.

3 More

2009-12-09T20:19:00.002-06:00

3 more referrals were made by or agency and 3 more spots we moved on the list to #51. Our agency is closed the last 2 weeks of the year for the holidays. Last year, there was a downpour of referrals just before they closed for the holidays, so let's hope for a repeat of that. If the # of referrals keep up the way they have been, our agency is saying there is a good chance of wait times decreasing. So lots to pray about.

Sweet Savings

2009-12-03T22:40:00.002-06:00

In the past 2 days, I went to both Walgreen's and CVS and spent only $2.89 , but got Dawn Dish Soap, 2 packages of paper plates and Quilted Northern Toilet Tissue, 9 rolls. Dawn was on sale at CVS usually it is $2.29 and they had it on sale for 99 cents; plus I had a $1 coupon, so I paid only sales tax. Since I bought it in downtown Chicago (which has the nation's highest sales tax, 11.25%, had I gone to the Walgreen's near my house , it would have only been 7% sales tax) I spent a whole 9 cents. Walgreen's had the paper plates, 48 ct. on sale with the store coupon for 2 for $3 and the Quilted Northern was $4.29. I also had Walgreen's Register Reward of $5, so that made the total 2.80. In addition, they were giving $1 Register Rewards for buying the Quilted Northern, which I'll use next shopping trip.

Three Years Ago Today & Now

2009-11-17T21:05:00.004-06:00

It was three years ago today that I mailed our application to C*H*I. I would never have imagined that we would still be waiting after 3 years. But these past few weeks have had lots of referral. Two weeks ago, wethere were 6 referrals, last week, there were 2 referrals given, and yesterday, there were 6 and today one referral. I figured , we were about #59 overall. I just heard back from my adoption worker and she has us at #55. Yesterdays'referrals for baby boys in our same age range went to families who were in the mid 20s. The families who were ahead of those families were requesting either girls or siblings. Not sure though how many people between 55 and the mid-20s are requesting boys in the same age range, though. I'm still guessing that our referral will come sometime this spring. Right now, families who received referrals for baby boys waited a little over 11 months.

Moving, Moving

2009-11-09T20:50:00.003-06:00

This past week there was a downpour of referrals. 6 in all. 5 boys and 1 girl. We are now 66 on the list, I believe. There was also some courtdates that were given. Things finally seem to be moving again in the Ethiopia program.

I had to add the word verification to my comments, since I was getting spam in my comments. Just type the word and then you can post your comment. Hopefully this will help keep the spammers away.

Better than I thought!

2009-10-30T21:20:00.001-05:00

Last week, I got an e-mail from our adoption consultant. Just checking in and updating us on our our position on the list. For a change, the number she gave was less than the number I had figured. I had thought we about #75 and she said we were #71. Almost out of the seventies. We're moving on down! Now we just need a splurge of referrals.

Down 2

2009-10-17T10:57:00.002-05:00

There was a referral of a 7 and a half year old girl and a waiting child was placed. So that brings us down 2 places to about 75. We're all hoping for a referrals to pour in soon. Usually once courts open, there are soon after, but courts are not opened full-time just yet. Their is quite a bit of training going on.

Small Purchase, Big Savings

2009-10-17T10:08:00.006-05:00

Yesterday, I stopped at CVS for just a couple items. If you bought $15 of Energizer batteries, you got $5 in Extra Value Bucks to use in a future purchase. So I bought 2 four packs of Lithium AA batteries. They also had buy one get one free on Almay blush. Without coupons and sales, everything would have come to over $46.00, but with the sales and the $10.00 in coupons, I saved $25.57 and only spent $21.57. Not a bad day for only 4 purchases.

I was looking at the Meijer One Day Sale items and was really excited to see that they have 3 lb. bags of honeycrisp apples for $1.99; I think I usually see honeycrisp apples going for $2.99 a pound.

CVS Savings

2009-10-06T22:00:00.002-05:00

I haven't shared any of my savings lately. Last week, I had a very successful CVS shopping trip. I bought the above, plus one more package of cotton swabs. Had I not bought the items on sale that I did, as well as without coupons it would have come to a little over $70.00. But along with sales, including 3 buy one, get one free items, 1 buy one, get 1 50% off and $15.25 in coupons, I ended up spending only $32.52 and I got $6 in extra value bucks that I can use next time. This week's sale ad looks pretty good and I'll try to put up a post to report my savings.

I'm Back!!!

2009-10-02T20:37:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it's been 2 months since I blogged. Courts were closed for part of August and most of September. due to the rainy season. Courts are now open, but there is training and stuff going on so they aren't totally back to normal yet. During the past couple months referrals were very slow, but the past 2 weeks saw about 6 referrals. Also, a few weeks ago I found out where on the list we were . I had figured we were further down the list than we really were, but there were/are 4 families ahead of us who are on hold, so until they get off hold, my guess of where we were on the list was close. I think we are about #77 on the list. Hopefully with courts having just opened, there will be referrals starting to roll in soon and I'll have more to blog about.

Last Week

2009-08-06T19:56:00.002-05:00

Just realized I forgot to report the good news that three referrals were given out a 4 1/2 month baby boy and 10 week and 4 1/2 month baby girls. So we should be down to about 81 on the list. So we are moving down the list; slowly it seems but surely I guess. We started out 2 1/2 months ago at #98 and as of today, we moved 17.

Weekly Update

2009-07-25T12:20:00.003-05:00

There were 2 referralks this week a 2-month baby girl and a sibling set of a 3 year old boy and his 3-month old sister. The families waited 12 and 16 months, respectively. So we now are about #84 on the waiting list. The family ahead of us in line were told about 10 more months. I think there request is for a 12-24-month old boy, while we are open to eith a girl or boy up to 18 months.

Currently, there are 60 families in Home Study/Dossier stage, 96 families waiting to be matched, 40 families with referrals, waiting to travel, and 7 families in Ethiopia receiving their children right now.

News!

2009-07-13T21:26:00.002-05:00

The investigation into the abandonment cases is over and abandoned children will now be referred and court dates for previously referred children who had been referred will now be getting court dates. But for the next 2 weeks, MOWA (Ministry of Woman Affairs) will be closed for 2 weeks for training; hopefully once this is over, everyone will be well-trained and things will gop smoother. More good news is that court will not be closing for the rainy season this year from August to October. Once MOWA re-opens the backlog of those waiting courtdates should be processed. Also last week, there were 3 referrals. One for a 3 month old baby boy, another for a 9 month old baby girl and a sibling referral of a 3 year old boy and a 5 yr. old girl. These families waited 11, 12, and 5 months. We have moved down the list to about #86

Anyone Say Couponing Doesn't Save One Enough Money

2009-07-02T14:22:00.002-05:00

I just figured out my June coupon savings, which was $60.14. That brings me to half year point of $234.75 on coupons used. That's more than I saved in either 2006 or 2007 and I only need to save about 40 more dollars and I'll have saved even more than I did last year. I thought $303 dollars was good, but I expect that I will blow that amount out of the water. And I am not as compulsive as somepeople about coupons. I don't even count restaurant coupons, but I try to use even them as often as possible. We'll be up in the U.P. and expect that this weekend will probably be sadly a coupon-free weekend. Well better go pack.

Referrals

2009-06-22T21:15:00.002-05:00

Last week there was a sibling set on the waiting child list that was placed and today there was a referral of a sibling set and also an infant boy. So we moved down 3 more spaces and are about #89 on the waiting list.

Basically $2 for John Frieda in Shampoo, Conditioner and Detangler

2009-06-20T23:35:00.007-05:00

Another big sucess today; this time at Walgreen's. They had John Frieda hair products on sale and if you buy 3, you get $5 in Register Rewards. Well last week, I think, the Sunday coupons in the newspaper had coupons for $3 off John Frieda Root Awakening Products. And since my parents and a friend gives me their coupons, I had several, so I was able to use a coupon on each of the 3 coupons, which even with my mediocre math skills comes to $9. The total came to $7.05 and if you count $5 off that I will be using in the next 2 weeks, that would make the purchase like $2.05, about 68 cents each; SWEET! Well, maybe I should actually see how I like the shampoo, etc. after I use it tomorrow. With the month 2/3 over, I have used $43.14 in coupons. That means with the year almost half over, I have saved $217.45 with coupons and am just about $15 dollars shy of my coupon and rebate savings for the entire year of 2006. I am astounded!

Another Referral

2009-06-19T19:00:00.002-05:00

This week a family on the list accepted a referral of siblings from the waiting child list. So we moved up one on the waiting list to about #92.

Another reason I Love CVS

2009-06-17T22:07:00.004-05:00

During lunch today, I went to CVS and bought the above, plus some lotion which isn't shown. Everything I bought was on sale; had it not been on sale it would of cost $72.78, but since it was on sale it $51.16, plus tax, but Kevin doesn't call me the coupon queen for nothing. I used $23.25 in coupons, so the everything came to $29.96 with tax. Plus since CVS gives store coupons and extra value bucks, I received $13.00 in extra value bucks. plus $15 worth of store coupons. Wow, I can't wait to see what is on sale next week.

2009-06-06T12:18:00.003-05:00

This week there was a referral of 7 week old twin girls. The lucky family waited a record-breaking 15 months. The wait for siblings is the longest of the waits. I think the wait for a baby girl is about 11-12 months and for a baby boy about 10-11 months. There were also 2 families who accepted referrals of waiting children, a boy age 5 and a 7 year-old girl. So we should have moved down three more places on the list and be about #94.

Officially Added to the Waiting List

2009-05-31T07:22:00.002-05:00

This post is long overdue.In fact, I thought I posted here, but I must have done it on Facebook only. On May 22nd, our dossier returned to our agency from D.C. all authenticated. That means we were added to the waiting list. We started out approximately as #98 on the waiting list and since there was one referral this week of a baby boy, we are now down to #97. This waiting list is all-inclusive and includes everyone, regardless if they are waiting for a baby boy or girl, toddler boy or girl, older child, special needs child or siblings; so our waiting list # does not represent exactly how long we will wait. When I was sent the e-mail that we are on the list, I was told the wait can be anywhere from 6-13 months. Based on what the waiting has been lately for a baby boy, it should be about a 10 1/2 month wait. Could of course be sooner or even later. The wait for a baby girl is about 11 1/2 months, but many more people are requesting girls, so I'm guessing, we'll have a son, but who knows!

2009-05-15T14:59:00.001-05:00

Our dossier was sent to Washington D.C. for authenication. It should get back to our agency in 2 weeks!

Happy day!

2009-05-13T20:30:00.002-05:00

Today was a really good day for alot of us in the Ethiopian program. There were 4 referrals at our agency 2 infant girls and 2 infant boys. Other good news is our dossier arrived at our agency, this morning. They will review it and then it will be sent to Washington D.C. for authentication. This whole process is expected to take 2 and a half to 3 weeks and once the dossier is returned to our agency, we will be added to the waiting list.

Here are 2 updates regarding the aband children issue in Addis Ababa. The first one is from a couple days ago and this one is from today.

St. Louis Bound

2009-05-12T20:23:00.002-05:00

The last few documents for our dossier were state certified today and at lunch, I FedExed the whole dossier to our agency in St Louis. It should arrive Wednesday morning and they will ready it to be authenicated and send it to D.C. for authentication. It is such a relief to have this part out of the way. Now let's all keep our fingers crossed and pray for no more problems.

Getting close

2009-04-24T23:16:00.002-05:00

Most of the documents for our dossier have been notarized and all we need is our police clearance letters. We will be stopping in at our police department in the morning and hopefully, we will receive the letters early in the week. Also, I need to get the pictures developed that we may use in our dossier. Hopefully by the end of the week, I'll be able to get everything certified. I need to first e-mail copies of all the notarized docs to my adoption consultant at the agency.

But I Do Love CVS

2009-04-18T20:06:00.002-05:00

My last post was more-or-less about hate, but this one is about love, my love for how much I can save at CVS. This week I made 3 shopping trips to CVS (that's a record for me) but even better I saved $54.00. Last Sunday, after having to chuck all my make-up and buy new stuff, because I became allergic to something in my current make up, I noticed they had a buy one get one free sale on Almay Cosmetics (which is hypo-allergenic, which my doctor recommended)I bought Almay Foundation, Blush, Mascara, Eyeliner, and Eye Shadow. I had 4 $1 Almay coupons, I had a CVS coupon of $4 0ff $20 and another CVS coupon of $10 . I saved 30.00 on that shopping trip, plus I got a couple CVS coupons back to use later. Friday, I bought some mouthwash and some personal female products. It should have cost $24 plus tax, but I had 2 $2 coupons and $1 coupon, also I had a $4 off $20 CVS coupon and a $3 CVS coupon, so I saved $12 and paid just 13.82 and also got a few CVS coupons, including $8 extracare bucks that you can use on anything. But I had really wanted to buy some Neutrogena face powder, which was advertised as being 40% off, so I decided to stop at another CVS a block away (I was in downtown Chicago, so there's a CVS or Walgreen's, it seems on every other block) So, I got the Neutrogrena powder, which is usually $10.99 , but was 40% off . Since I wanted to use that $8 off coupon, before it expired and I knew I'd be a buck or so under $8, I grabbed some breathmints (always comes in handy) for 1.99 and went to the cashier. It came up before coupons $8.59, so after the $8 extracare coupon, I spent only 59 cents. I wish I would have had a Neutrogena coupon, but I had not clipped any coupons for this before, because I was happy with my brands of make-up, but that was before I developed a makeup allergy and needed to splurge on all new makeup , but I am extremely happy with my savings. At this pace, I am going to beat last years record on money saved on coupons and rebates (I don't count store sale price differences or anything, like some do. Maybe I should but that would be too time-consuming and it is much easier to just jot down savings from coupons and rebates.

Another Reason to Hat*e My Employer

2009-04-18T19:26:00.004-05:00

My company was bought late last year and this year when those of us who kept our jobs started working at the new company, we were all in consensus that we were not a bit happy and if it wasn't for the economy, we'd have been out of there. Well, I like the others are hanging in there and was in fact having a surprisingly good work week. Well, WAS is the operative word. Since Kevin and I have decided to move forward and continue our adoption to Ethiopia with the same agency, were also told that us having to re-do our entire home study was a misunderstanding; it would not need to be redone. We could just get a new employment letter discussing that the current company I work for is "the company" that bought my "old company" and my salary as of 2007-2008 was "X" and my benefits included such and such. Well, with the old company, the office manager and later the managing attorney signed the letter stating my income and benefits, but this time when I talked to the office manager. She said she'd have to check what the company policy is regarding this (okay). I gave her a copy of the actual letter that was everything that must be included in the letter. Well, she came back to me the next day (Friday) and gave me a letter. All she could provide me was my salary and my current salary. My agency says the salary in the employment letter must match the home study EXACTLY. Doesn't matter that it is more, it has to match to a "T". She said that since I am no longer with "the old company", she does not have access to such information. In addition, she also said she is not able to include benefit information, because she does not have access to that information. I did say I could provide her with that information and she still said she couldn't do it, because my benefits are none of her business. After I called my husband (who luckily was on his way to work since he started work late that day), I totally ranted and raved to him. Of course, I went out of the building, where no one could hear me from work and to get a signal for my cellphone. Now, of course, Kevin said we'll work everything out, and that we've had so many hurdles and this is just one more we'll get over. I have no idea what we'll do, I've got to send my adoption consultant as well as my home study social worker an e-mail about this major problem. I so cannot wait for the economy and especially, the job market to improve, so I can get out of where I am. What's a shame is before the company I was working for was bought, I was extremely happy with my job. Nowadays, my co-workers who were also my former co-workers realize that our complaints we had before with the old company were nothing compared to our complaints now. We really had it good before.

Things Are Looking Up

2009-04-14T22:49:00.001-05:00

Somewhere Out There

2009-03-28T23:27:00.001-05:00

Somewhere Out There

performed by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram

Somewhere out there beneath the pale moonlight
Someone's thinking of me and loving me tonight

Somewhere out there someone's saying a prayer
That we'll find one another in that big somewhere out there

And even though I know how very far apart we are
It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star

And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby
It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky

Somewhere out there if love can see us through
Then we'll be together somewhere out there
Out where dreams come true

And even though I know how very far apart we are
It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star

And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby
It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky

Somewhere out there if love can see us through
Then we'll be together somewhere out there
Out where dreams come true

It's Me; Can You Believe It? Anyone Still Out There?

2009-03-28T22:31:00.002-05:00

I know I all, but disappeared it seems. Just totally was not in a blogging mood. In the neanwhile I discovered Facebook and followed some blogs. In a nutshell, here is a little of what's been happening or not happening.

We're kind of in a holding pattern trying to decide what we want to do. We filed our paperwork with USCIS for the country change, plus the change in our homestudy agency and waited and waited to hear something and then last month, I finally e-mailed USCIS to see if they received the paperwork and what the status of things were and they e-mailed back that they processed the paperwork end of December, but they don't send a new 171-H. I'm thinking, well, how the heck were we suppose to know this when you didn't send any kind of letter or e-mail or anything. Then, we were working on our dossier and getting it pretty close to done when I found out that our employment letters did not match the homestudy, we had done a few months ago. We were told to just have our employers issue new employment letters with our old salary figures. That would have been no problem for Kevin since his employer is the same, but with my company was bought by another company and at the beginning of this year, we are now employees of the other company, so I couldn't have my employer do a new employment letter, since the employer is now a different company and the current employer would be different than in the homestudy, . Our other option was to get a new homestudy, which would need to be approved by DCFS, which would have taken a lot of time, since DCFS is often so slow. By the time, we were re-approved by DCFS, a lot of our dossier paperwork would have expired. So, we decided that between these problems, the uncertainty of my job, our growing discontent with our placement agency, etc., we decided it was best we decide which way we wanted to take things. We knew we would change placement agencies and we were unsure if we would switch countries yet again, Nepal or a domestic - an African American/biracial adoption. Nepal is out, since the government is only allowing each approved agency to submit 10 applications a year and the agency we got info from has met their quota for 2009 and 2010. 2011 is too far off and in that time, they could end up closing down again just as they did for 18 months to revamp their adoption system and just as Vietnam did this past summer. We're still not sure if we want to stay with Ethiopia or go with an AA/biracial domestic adoption. No matter, which we choose, things will be unpredictable; adoption always is, it seems.

What A Month

2008-12-19T20:28:00.003-06:00

There has been a downpour of referrals this month. 16 referrals since the beginning of the month. 10 just this week. This is such exciting news and the best Chritmas presents all these soon-to-be- parents could have received. Our agency will be closed for the next 2 weeks, but will reopen on Monday, January 5th. Hopefully, with even more referrals waiting!

Also, just this week, I mailed our official country change to CIS (Immigration), received my birth certificate, and sent for our marriage certificate.

2008-12-04T23:50:00.003-06:00

It's been awhile. I haven't really been into blogging or the adoption thing at all lately, but today, I just got an e-mail sayiong that DCFS endorsed our homestudy. Now, we have to wait for the letter from our home study agency with the approval and instructions for the next step, sending in for the country change with USCIS. We have a ton to do. We need to work like crazy on our dossier and watch the DVDs, from our agency, "Because They Waited". Now there is only 3 days left of vacation and I feel I haven't accomplished much. I relaxed a lot (the cold and infected finger I had did not help anything. I did get a little cleaning done, but adoption stuff is now priority. Guess I should have worked on Christmas cards and that Christmas letter already. And oh, yeah, I have to bake a bundt cake tomorrow, for an Ethiopian adopted kids get-together. Well, I better get to bed, so I won't sleep too late tomorrow, well actually by now today!

A Taste of Fall

2008-11-01T17:21:00.000-05:00

I decided the blog needed a little change. I actually need to do more, but this will do for now.

On Wednesday, we had our home visit with our new homestudy agency. We really, really liked our social worker. Everything went well, but everything is going to take longer than I had hoped for. Home study update should be written up by the end of this month and hopefully before. Then it needs to be approved by our adoption consultant at CHI and then it can be sent to DCFS for their approval, which may take about a month. Once we have their letter of endorsement, we can send it on to USCIS for our free country change and that will probably take another month, so it will probably be February before we can send in our dossier to Ethiopia. This means we will probably need to redo the couple documents that we already have had notarized and/or certified.

In good news, our agency received 6 referrals this week: 3 girls and 3 boys. The girls were 13 months, 20 months, and 6 years and the boys were 6 months, 11 months, and 21 months. These families waited between 3 and 7 months for their referrals.

2008-10-19T16:40:00.002-05:00

Two years ago today, we first went to our agency's informational meeting. At that time who would think that 2 years later, we'd still not have a child. The good news is that we have our home visit for our home study update scheduled for October 29th.

I Love CVS

2008-10-18T21:25:00.000-05:00

My family calls me the coupon queen. I love using coupons to save money and I always surprise my mother with how much I save. Yesterday was my best coupon days. My main things I planned to purchase were a Swiffer Sweeper Starter Kit as well as a Sweeper Duster Starter Kit, which were on sale and by buying both of them, I'd receive 5 Extra Care Bucks. I had a CVS coupon for $3 off $15 or more; actually, the cost of these 2 items were just under 15, so I ended up buying 2 containers of Icebreakers mints, which I of course had a $1 off coupon for. All in all just with different coupons, I saved $15.99: that includes the $3 off a 15.00 purchase, $1 off the Icebreakers, $2off from a previous Extra Care Bucks coupon I received from a previous purchase, $1 off for buying a Swiffer Sweeper, $1 off for buying a Swiffer Duster, and lastly a coupon calling for a free Swiffer Duster when you buy a Swiffer Sweeper. I noticed when I got home that she gave me the Swiffer Sweeper free, but since both items were on sale; the Sweeper was only $1 more. Had I paid full price with no coupons or sale, which I wouldn't have done in the first place, I'd have paid about $25 before tax plus 10% tax since I was in chicago, but with all the coupons and sale prices I only paid $4.08. I have to admit, I was excited over that. And this was only a week after paying only about 44 cents for a bottle of Afrin the week before at Walgreens. There they had $2 store coupon in the sale ad that week and I had found a manufacturers coupon previously. Well I better go. I need to figure out my shopping list for tomorrow and get my coupons in order.

IF LOOKS COULD KILL

2008-10-16T23:06:00.004-05:00

I just about died with hysterical laughter when my friend sent me the following picture with the caption "When I get Out Someone Is Going to Die"

Good News for a Change

2008-10-01T20:03:00.002-05:00

Last week, the wait for our renewed 171-H finally ended when we received the long awaited document. We now are officially in the Ethiopia program. We now have the paperwork for our new homestudy agency, since the CHI branch offices are offices are officially closed. They have since reopened the Yahoo groups; they were closed down for a while due to spreading of rumours being spread and some groups were having people say not-so nice things about certain people.

Some other good news is that the Ethiopian courts, which close for a couple months each year during the rainy season, opened a little bit ahead of schedule. In additio, there were three referrals this week; all young babies, an 8-week baby boy, a 1-month baby girl and a 5-month baby girl. Very exciting, let the referrals start pouring in

2008-09-23T20:46:00.003-05:00

I want to thank Melissa who nominated me for The Smile Award. I haven't been that great of a blogger for the past several months and I really haven;t been in the smiling mood too much lately. But here are the rules for this award.

Characteristics for the Smile Award:

1. Must display a cheerful attitude.

2. Must love one another.

3. Must make mistakes.

4. Must learn from others.

5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world.

6. Must love life.

7. Must love kids.

These are the rules for The Smile Award:

1. The recipient must link back the the award’s creator

2. You must post these rules if you receive the award.

3. You must chose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself

4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award, as posted by Mere

5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient.

6. You must create a post sharing your win with others.

7. You must thank your giver.

Now, I have to pass this award on to 5 other bloggers. This has been going on around awhile now, so I may be naming some one who has already been nominated, but oh well...

#1 Melanie - She has been on this journey to her Kaylee longer than most people and is still waiting to find her. In all this, she has always kept positive and is now going to find Kaylee in Taiwan. Her great love of God is what has helped to keep her sane and positive in the past 24+ months.

#2 Tara - he is the 1st person I met at the local FCVN Tet Party in 2007. At the time, she and her husband just received their referral of their son. I have been following their journey ever since.

#3 Megan - Another CHI blogger pal and one I expect I'll be meeting in person. We just recently "met", but she has especially been helpful and supportive in the past couple weeks as we go through all the changes with our agency. We'll hopefully be adopting from Ethiopia about the same time.

#4 Amber - She was my first internet friend, that I met when I went to her son's 1st birthday. She has the cutest little boy and girl and one on the way.I may not keep in touch the way I should, but I really enjoy following the adventures of Payton and Ashleigh.

Now I have to decide who to put as #5; there's so many whom I enjoy following and help cheer me up on a less than sunny day and there have been many of those lately. #5 for The Smile Award goes to Jess. I can't post the link to her blog, since it is semi private, but I met her through Amber #4 and love watching as Caleb grows.

Depressing Thought

2008-09-19T09:57:00.002-05:00

Our local radio station has a segment called "The Impossible Question of the Day" and earlier the question was this:

Q: According to recent figures the average person experiences this for the first time when they are 47.

A: Become a Grandparent

How depressing is that for those of either over 40 or nearing it. My parents are 74 and 80 and they have yet to be grandparents and if we get a child in the next year, we won't see ourselves as being grandparents until we are in our 60's or 70's.

Major Changes Again!

2008-09-15T22:52:00.000-05:00

More news and changes have been announced and this time it was from our agency. Friday, I got an e-mail from our social worker - SW that it was urgent that she talk to me. So, I e-mailed and left a voice mail message with the best phone number to call me at. She called me back on my cell and of course, I just happened to be outside at the moment, so I told her I'd call her back in 15 minutes, so I could take notes on what she said. I called her back again and was told that CHI was closing the branch offices and only the main office in St. Louis would stay open as a placement agency. What this means is that since they will no longer have a Chicago office, they will be unable to do our home study update for Ethiopia as well as any of our post-placement reports. So we would have to find a home study agency, they had spoken to 2 local agencies and they offered to accept CHI clients. I ended up calling and leaving voice mail messages at both of these agencies; one called me back a couple hours later and the other called me back that evening. We finally decided which agency after some feedback and just a general feeling and things we knew had occurred lately with one of the agencies.

Now after all of this happened, we also all found out that all of CHI Yahoo groups have been closed. For those who aren't familiar with Yahoo groups;. they are like mailing lists, a kind of chat group exclusively for CHI clients. We all feel a great sense of community and offer each other a great deal of support. We are there for each other in good times and bad. Thank goodness a couple people received the news that the Yahoo groups were closing ahead of the time they were actually closed and were able to create their own Yahoo groups for CHI families and then were able to post the group, just before the group was closed and one was no longer able to post. So, I have joined both the general and Ethiopia groups and hopefully we will get back most everyone, who was in the specific groups.

Happy New Year!!

2008-09-11T16:10:00.002-05:00

In Ethiopia that is!

September 11th is Ethiopia's New Year, the new year is 2001 (Enkutatash.)Ethiopia still retains the Julian calendar, in which the year is divided into 12 months of 30 days each and a 13th month of 5 days and 6 days inleap year. The Ethiopian calendar is 8 years behind the Gregorian calendar from January to September and 7 years behind between September11 and January 8.

The Amharic word for New Year's Day is "Enkutatash" which means the gift of jewels. History tells us, when the Queen of Sheba returned from her jaunt to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem, her chiefs welcomed her by replenishing her treasury with "inku" or jewels.

The Enkutatash spring festival has been celebrated since the Queen's historic return. As the rainy season comes to its abrupt end, dancing and singing can beheard at every village in the verdent green countryside. Meskerem (the first month of the year) is seen as a month of transition from the old year to the new. Like many Ethiopian holidays, Enkutatash is not exclusively a religious holiday. Modern Enkutatash is also the season for exchanging formal new year greetings and cards among the urban sophisticated - in lieu of the traditional bouquet of flowers (which is now seen as a more rural custom.) It is a time to express hopes and dreams for the future.

Back and in a better place

2008-09-10T22:01:00.002-05:00

I'm back and doing much better than I have been in quite awhile. These past few months have been really rough, but I feel as if I'm now ready to get on with my life. Back at the beginning of August I sent in for the renewal of our 171-H and on the 29th, we finally were able to get fingerprinted. Hopefully, it won't take too much longer until we get our renewal in the mail. Last week, I sent for Kevin's birth certificate; it's suppose to take 3 or 4 weeks, since they send it to get state certified also. Actually, I think that it shouldn't really take that long. Last time I got my birth certificate, I took only an hour or less and then when I went to get all my documents state certified, it only took an hour. I'm waiting to hear from my agency's social worker, but next week we should get our home study updated to get ready for when we will be able to formally switch to Ethiopia. Hopefully, things won't take too long.

Frustrated, but it's not what you think

2008-09-10T21:29:00.003-05:00

No, not with the adoption, but with clothes shopping. This evening, I went to buy new black dress pants for work. I must have tried at least 6 different styles in 2 different sizes each and I left Kohl's with absolutely nothing, except a feeling of being frustrated. What the heck ever happened with normal trouser dress pants with a high-cut waist. Now, I can't be the only one who does not want low cut hip huggers. Maybe 15 or 20 years ago, I would have worn them, but I no longer have the 20-something body that I used to have; now that I'm quickly approaching 40 later this year. I always have great luck at Kohl's, which is what made tonight even more frustrating then ever.

2008-08-08T13:05:00.002-05:00

I'm still so frustrated and I'm really getting frustrated with CHI. One they should have limited their waiting list. Other agencies had temporarily stopped accepting new applications when they felt their waiting list was getting too big. Also, they allowed way too many people to send in dossiers. Had we not sent in our dossier at the beginning of April to Vietnam and spent all that additional money, we probably would have been more likely to switch countries right away, but we already had even more money invested than we did before submitting the dossier. Others who are working on Ethiopia can work on their dossier while they are working on their homestudy and waiting for CIS approval, but we have to wait!!! We've been waiting over a year and a half from when we first started this adoption and they've had no problem accepting our money, but now when we and they know without a doubt that Vietnam will close, even if it is temporarily and we will be switching countries no matter, since everything is moving at a snail's pace anyway, they just want us to sit and do nothing when there is so much we caould do, if we knew exactly what it was we needed to do. No wonder there atre many people who would love to adopt, but don't one because of the cost and two because they make it so difficult to do so. Well, I'm getting off my soapbox and doing some work, since lunch is now over.

The End and the Beginning

2008-08-05T21:49:00.005-05:00

This post should have been posted over a week ago, when I wrote it but I don't really want to rewrite it. It is now pretty much definite our Vietnam adoption wont be happening. Our agency got its last 3 referrals this past week. As of a couple weeks ago, we were down to #78 on the list and now are probably 2-3 positions further down the list, but that probably doesn't make much difference anymore. As of 9/1/08, the dossiers with all the documents we gathered and had notarized, certified, and authenicated, will be sent to our agencies. We've known for over a month or so that we would pursue an adoption from Ethiopia, if Vietnam didn't work, but since we needed to renew some paperwork, we decided to hold off, so we could get our free renewal. We currently are waiting for DCFS to approve our homestudy update, which our social worker did in June. Once our homestudy update gets approved, we can send in for our free renewal with CIS (the former INS). Then we have to wait for an invitation to get our fingerprints retaken (Like they've changed in the past year and a half.) Once we get our renewal approved, we will finally be able to send in for a country change for the adoption. . This should also be free since we renewed the 171-H paperwork first.

Hopefully, once we have the renewal, we will be able to start our Ethiopian dossier. I wish I could start on gathering the paperwork, but they do not want to provide us that information until we are formally in the new program. We want to start on this as soon as possible, because although our agency has had an Ethiopian program for only over a year, it has become very popular and with the closure of Vietnam, it will be even more so. Plus our agency has not yet been Hague-certified. Ethiopia is not a Hague country, so they can work with agencies that are not Hague-approved. (The Hague Treaty is pretty hard to explain, so I won't even try for those of you who have no idea what it is, but as long as our agency isn't Hague-certified the only country new prospective adoptive parents can adopt from are Ethiopia and Russia. Technically, we will be considered new since we will have to start over with another country. Russia is a more expensive country to adopt from with 2-3 trips to Russia that needs to be taken before you finally can bring your child home.

I don't even want to think of what we have spent and much of it has been more or less flushed away. What a waste of money, not too mention time. We started well over 18 months on this, 14 months of which was on the waiting list and for what? NOTHING! We are not getting any younger and I will be turning the big 4-0 in a few months and Kevin is 45. Our parents do not yet have any grandchildren and most likely any child we adopt will be the only grandchild they have. Yes, I am feeling very cynical tonight. I truly feel our agency should not only allow us to switch countries, but but should allow us to get in line ahead of people who have only been waiting a short time. The longest some people waiting to adopt from Ethiopia is 6 or maybe 7 months at the most; that is nothing compared to 14 months and there are many others who have been on the waiting list for much longer. It is one thing if you chose voluntarily to change months ago, when there were first rumors, but now pretty much everyone has to either switch to another country or just wait it out and hope Vietnam allows for American adoptions again in the future. Last time the country closed to the U.S. that wait was almost 3 years, so making us have to wait that long is crazy and is not an option with us either in or about to be in our 40's.

UPDATE: We did get our letter of endorsement from DCFS and I sent for our free renewal on Saturday. We are now waiting for our return receipt notification that it was received and then for the dates of our fingerprinting. And yes, we are now #75 as of 7/24/08, for whatever that's worth!!

Blogger Problems

2008-08-03T22:10:00.002-05:00

I guess blogger had problems, where they had a large amount of blogs that were shown to be spam blogs and they had all of them lockied until the blog owner asked them to investigate. They found out it was a bug in there progrem and are fixing that bug and have also since unlocked those blogs. Since mine was only recently unlocked, I haven't had a chance to post, but hope to soon!

DCFS Letter of Endorsement

2008-07-28T08:47:00.002-05:00

We had our home study update done in June and were waiting for DCFS to issue a letter of endorsement, so we could file for our free renewal of the 171-H. Well, our agency, finally received the letter of endorsement and will mail it to us along with the instructions so we can file for our renewal. The renewal can't be filed any earlier than 90 days before the expiration of the 171-H and today marks the 90th day before expiration. So hopefully, we will receive the letter from CHI in the next day or 2 and I'll be able to immediately send for the renewal to CIS. Then our social worker says it takes CIS 2-3 weeks to process it and then a week later, we should get it in the mail. We'll also need to get our fingerprints redone (like they've changed!!!) I will be posting an update soon about our adoption. I wrote it out the other day on the way home from work and just need to find the time top type it.

Weird Dream

2008-06-30T06:58:00.000-05:00

I had the weirdest dream last night. I was pregnant with twins and then I gave birth to one twin and then the doctor said the other one is not ready, yet and that I cango home. When I asked how long until the other one? The doctor said it could be a day or 2, a week, maybe a month. Weird, huh? No wonder I was so tired this morning; I had a hard night of labor.

Second-Guessing Myself?

2008-06-22T19:51:00.004-05:00

Should we stay with Vietnam and hope for a miracle? Should we switch to Ethiopia right away and risk not getting a free renewal? Should we go with a domestic adoption; most likely a transracial adoption? Or even should we try infertility treatments? (We know we are, but we never underwent any fertility treatments) and at just about 40years of age, should I and do I really want to be pregnant? Where is this coming from?? Well, in the past month(s), there have been so many other prospective adoptive parents that have either become pregnant (I don't think I can name overyone, but congratulations to all of you and several who have adopted domestically (congratulation to the latest new parents, Megan and Larry)

Your Support Is Needed

2008-06-17T21:57:00.001-05:00

Please go to the link I've attached and sign this petition. It directly affects us, because our dossier is logged in to the DIA. You can read the details, sign the petition, and then log out. You do not have to give a donation for your "signature" to be recorded. Thanks in advance!http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Grandfather_All_Dossiers/index.html

Child Of The 80s

2008-06-14T23:12:00.001-05:00

Oh memories!

Early Morning Meeting

2008-06-03T20:33:00.003-05:00

This morning, we met with our new social worker to discuss our 171-H renewal, changing to Ethiopia and home study update. Our 171-H needs to be renewed this fall and we can renew it up to 90 days before, but the orphan officer has recently changed at our local USCIS office and many families who are changing countries and then trying for a free renewal of their old 171-H are being denied. Therefore, the best option was to stay in the Vietnam program and just updating our home study and getting our free renewal , which will be sent at the very end of July and then once we have received an updated and renewed 171-H, we will then file a change of country form and add an addendum to our homestudy for Ethiopia. This really allows us the best of both worlds, since if by chance Vietnam adoptions do continue we will still be in the Vietnam program and we will be able to just continue with it, but if it turns out that Vietnam will not be continuing adoptions with the United States, we will be already approved for Ethiopia. Since we already have our dossier in Vietnam, we will be able to continue the process to adopt, but at the same time once we have filed for a renewal, it will take some time for it to get through the reapproval process (hopefully, we'll get our approval at about the same time we find out if adoptions and the giving of referrals will continue after September 1st.) In the meantime, we might be able to start getting our paperwork together for an Ethiopian dossier. If we won't be able to continue with Vietnam, then at least we may have somewhat of a headstart when it comes to getting our new dossier ready and hopefully, it won't be very long thereafter until we can send off our dossier to our agency and then Ethiopia. In reality, this is the perfect option; more or less, it is a win-win opportunity. If Vietnam continues, we win in that we have not totally dropped out of the program, but if it closes for certain, we still win because we are ahead of the game on the road to Ethiopia. Not everyone will have this option, but since our immigration paperwork needs renewal and our USCIS office is so finicky about the order of renewals and country changes, it works on our behalf.

Also, since our home study was done in March, another home visit is needed and that is scheduled for Monday June 16th. Only one of us needs to meet with our SW at our home, so since I have a couple floating holidays that I must use up at work, I'll be the one to stay home. Plus it is easier since I work in an office to get a day off, then Kevin who works in a child care environment. They need people to cover and one of his co-workers is getting married around that time, so coverage will be limited and they'll need all the people they can get. Well, I've really babbled on and on, so I'll just end this post until next time.

Status

2008-06-02T21:21:00.000-05:00

We actually are meeting with our new social worker tomorrow morning at 7AM!!! We have been approved, but are for the time being still with the Vietnam program, because our 171-H is going to need to be renewed. Nicky from the Vietnam program had said if we want the free extension, we will need to renew it while still in the Vietnam program and then submit a change of country form to switch to Ethiopia. We're meeting tomorrow to discuss the different options for renewing and changing countries. Hopefully, I'll have more information tomorrow.

Changing Directions, New Look

2008-05-23T21:45:00.004-05:00

A new look is called for since we are changing directions. We are still adopting, but after the past few weeks, we've weighed our various options and don't see much of a likelihood that Vietnam will continue adoptions after September 1st and since there is no chance that we will get a referral before that time, we have decided that we must change countries. Our two best options were Ethiopia and domestic here in the United States.

With domestic, you are chosen by the birth mother to parent the child. The waiting list for a healthy white infant could be 2 years or more, it really depends on the birth mother if they choose you or not and there are so many other adoptive parents hoping to be chosen. We would be open to a child of any race or mixture of races; now the expected wait there maybe a year or so (much less than for a Caucasian infant), but the birth mother still has to choose you. There's so many legal loopholes, too; although the agency that we looked at has never had a birth parent take the child back after the child was living in your home, there's always a first time for everything.

With Ethiopia, the current wait is expected to be 6 to 11 months. At this time many people are getting referrals at our agency at about 5-6 months after sending in the dossier. Our current agency works with Ethiopia and gets referrals quite often. Just in the past week there were 8 referrals. Some of our money would transfer over to the new program, not a lot but some of it would. The cost for each of the programs would be similar, since the domestic agency is on a sliding scale when it comes to family. All in all though, they really aren't that expensive compared to some other domestic adoption programs.

So what have we decided, you're asking. Well, we are still waiting for approval from the agency, but we've decided to go with Ethiopia and to stay with CHI as our adoption agency. I'm not sure what is taking so long for approval, but it looks like everything will be a go. We'll need to have our homestudy updated, change over our 171-H to Ethiopia with the Citizenship and Immigration and work on a new dossier.

Tragedy strikes the Stephen Curtis Chapman Family

2008-05-22T09:15:00.002-05:00

Click here.

MIA No More

2008-05-11T21:09:00.002-05:00

I want to thank all of those who left comments on this blog or e-mailed me, I apologize if I didn't reply to everyone this has been a very emotional and confusing time. I really appreciate your concern and friendship during this time. Those of you with blogs, I have been following along, although I may not have commented often, if at all.

Those of you in the Vietnam adoption community know what I'm talking about, but for those of you, not involved in Vietnam adoptions, I'll let you know what is going on. Over the past few weeks, Vietnam has announced that they will not be continuing adoptions with the United States. They will continue to accept applications up to July 1st, but anyone who has not received a referral by September 1st will have their dossier returned to their agency. Just before this announcement the U.S. Embassy released a long report on corruption involving Vietnamese adoption. The report makes it appear that corruption is rampant. Yes, there is corruption, but it is nowhere near as prevalent as they make it out to be. It is mainly isolated to a few provinces, a few orphanages and involving possibly a few agencies. The vast majority of adoptions are believed to be ethical and not corrupt. The U.S. is also trying to force Vietnamese parents who gave up their child willingly to take DNA tests in order to prove that they are the biological parents of the relinquished child. Plus there are several other areas that the U.S. government is trying to take control of things that if a foreign government was trying to do in the U.S., they would object to it just the same as the Vietnamese government is doing. Vietnam has just gotten fed up with the U.S. and refuses to work with them anymore. This is leaving many hundreds of families in limbo.

Where does this leave us? If you remember, at the beginning of April, we did send our dossier to Vietnam. But our agency has a very long waiting list and earlier in the year, they were told that whatever dossiers were in the country by September 1st when the current agreement between the U.S. and Vietnam expired, they would still give referrals to any of those families, even if it was after September 1st. But that was then, and this is now. And with how long our agency's waiting list is and the fact that we are #86 on that list, as well as that the number of referrals, our agency is getting is down greatly, we stand no chance at all of getting a referral by September 1st. It has been several weeks, since our agency has even gotten any referrals at all. So the past few weeks, we have been thinking, talking and praying on what to do and researching what our other options are. We are hoping very soon to make that announcement, but until it has happened, we will keep it quiet for now. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers and we promise to share things with you soon!

2008-05-08T13:00:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to let you all know, we're alive. But after the news the past couple weeks, I just could not get myself to post. I'm working on a post and just need to find the time to type it out.

Has Spring Really Sprung For Good?

2008-04-18T20:48:00.002-05:00

It sure has felt like spring with highs in the 60s and maybe in the 70s the past few days. The grass is starting to turn green and some plants have even started growing. After a cold and very snowy winter, we are definitely ready, here in NE Illinois for the weather to warm and for spring to be here to stay.

There has still been no news by USCIS about the new DNA policy for the biological parents of relinquished children. After over 2 weeks, one would think they would make some official announcement. Also, rumors have been rampant about the future of adoption. Many are saying the future looks dim and there's uncertainty about whether there may be a deadline of June 1st; the question is that is that for a referral to be given or for a dossier to be in the country? Our agency has been very good about providing us information, but nothing has been said about the new rumours that have just materialized this week about June 1st. Until I hear something from our agency, I really am not going to worry much about it.

Things have been pretty quiet lately; at least in blogsville. People are just not blogging as much as usual, me included. A lot of the Yahoo groups and message boards discussing Vietnam adoption have been pretty quiet, also. A lot of my blogging buddies and those from the Yahoo groups are taking a little hiatus. I have pretty much unsubscribed at least temporarily from getting any mail from several of the Yahoo groups, except for ones from our agency and local FCV (Families with Children from Vietnam) group and these groups have been quieter than usual or even totally silent.

Last Friday, our agency reported 2 referrals: a 13 month old girl and a 8 1/2 year old boy. Also, another family received I-600 approval and ended up traveling this week with 4 other families to Vietnam, where they were united with their children. One family included one of the Vietnam adoption consultants at our agency, also you can follow Katherine and Drew's blog of their journey to pick up their daughter, Tori. There were no referrals this week though at our agency.

Upon reading this week's agency update, I realize they did mention the June 1st rumour. They are saying that it is merely a rumour and they feel people are confusing referrals with the acceptance of dossiers and that there has not been any statements made by either of the governments. A couple of my blogging buddies have found out their dossier was logged in by Vietnam on April 8th after having been sent and then translated. Their dossier was sent over to Vietnam a little less than a week and a half before ours was, so hopefully we will hear something soon that our was logged in hopefully this past week.

Thanks to everyone who has been praying for us; please continue to do so and also for the future of Vietnam adoptions continuing, as well as for a speed up in the process. Things have been really slowing down, especially in relation to adoptions between Vietnam and the United States, compared to other foreign countries, who work with Vietnam. This post is much longer than I expected; I really haven't written this much in a while.

Ever have one of these days? Well, it could be worse!!!

2008-04-11T21:38:00.003-05:00

Before and After

2008-04-09T19:46:00.004-05:00

Several of you have been waiting to see my before and after haircut pictures. And although, I believe I liked the before haircut pictures better and will be allowing my hair to grow again, I will post the after picture; although I kind of cringe doing so. Remember this picture is also a self portrait which I took. I may be able to take some pretty good photographs of other things, but the photographs are not very good when I take them of myself. Well here goes nothing.

Before

After

Next time, I think of cutting my hair short, remind me of either this time or even better the short hair disaster of the late 90's. No photo of this awful event will be posted. It is too horrible to see. The memory of this still haunts me. There's a reason I've almost always had long hair (or at least shoulder-length) and hopefully will be able to continue wearing as long as possible.

This weekend was gorgeous. The temperatures were in the 60s or close to it. Being that it was this warm also in the U.P of Michigan, while we were there was quite a treat. I expected it to be in the 30s and was pleasantly surprised. We didn't do much, but it was nice to get away and just relax. Hopefully spring comes back real soon, so I can pull or dig up some of the stuff, I didn't get to before winter set in.

I'm just feeling a little overloaded with all the adoption-related news that has been going on the past month or so. I have pretty much either unsubscribed or gone no mail from most of the Yahoo groups that I belonged to, except for some from our agency and the Chicago Families with Children from Vietnam group. I'll continue to read the many blogs I've been following, but I may not be posting comments as often, but I am reading and following along.

Good News, Good News and Uncertain News

2008-04-04T09:18:00.004-05:00

It is almost our 11 month anniversary on the waiting list and over 15 months since we were approved to adopt from Vietnam, as well as a little over a year since we signed on with our agency. We originally had been going to adopt from China, but that is another story that you have probably already heard and is found on our old blog, Journey to Our Chinese Princess.

I'll start with the uncertain news and end with the good news. As many of you know there was an internal USCIS that was leaked or publicly posted or whatever, by another website. The memo from USCIS (Citizenship & Immigration) said that Vietnamese adoptions would now require DNA testing for all children who were abandoned by there parents. This was posted on April 1st, so many of us were hoping this was some sort of cruel April Fools' joke. It since has been announced to be true by our agency, as well as many others. How this will impact future adoptions is not fully known, but children whose parents gave them up willingly for adoption, will now need to be DNA-tested (both the child and the parent (s)). This will probably lengthen the already lengthen the already long wait between referral and travel. The parents will need to be located and flown to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City to get tested along with the child. This extra cost will probably be the responsibility of the prospective adoptive parents.

But on to some good news and luckily there is quite a bit to share this week. As of April 2nd, Kevin's and my dossier was sent to Vietnam. It will take several days for our agency representatives in Ho Chi Minh City to receive our dossier, as well as the 11 others that were sent out at the same time. Once it has been received in HCMC, it will be sent out for translation (into Vietnamese) and then will be sent to the DIA (Dept. of International Adoption, I think its called) to be logged in. They expect this process to take a couple weeks. So hopefully, we will hear by the end of the month or sooner that we have been logged in. This is very exciting news, but unfortunately does not mean we are anywhere close to receiving a referral. Just got to stay positive and keep us and the process in prayer.

The other good news was that 2 referrals were received this week, both were infant boys, one was 7 months and the other was 11 months. It has been a couple weeks since any referral was received, so this is news we should all rejoice too for the lucky parents of these little ones. Also, later next week, there will be 4 families flying to Vietnam to adopt their children.

I will be away this weekend in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan visiting Kevin's family, so I will not have any computer access. Last weekend, I also got my haircut, and have a different hairstyle, so next week, I will post before after photographs. Have a great weekend and hopefully, spring will start springing forth very soon.

April Fools!??!

2008-04-01T12:45:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, I received a message that our dossier would be going out on Wednesday. Sounds good? Sure, but Friday, I got an e-mail telling me it would be sent out on Tuesday. Was anyone else from CHI told Tuesday and then it changed to Wednesday?

Soon To Be Vietnam-Bound

2008-03-30T20:42:00.002-05:00

The dossier that is, not us. The Fed Ex package was re-delivered the same day. I was then able to scan and copy it and send it FedEx the next to CHI. It arrived at CHI on Friday, but unfortunately, it was not able to go out with the shipment of dossiers that afternoon. I did receive an e-mail that it would be reviewed and sent out on Tuesday, which by the way is April 1st (April Fools Day)! I'm already feeling so relieved that I don't have the dossier to worry about anymore. We've finished our part and now it's totally out of our hands.

Another snafu, we had in this process to complete our dossier was when I took everything to be state certified. I had one of the secretaries in my office notarize my employment letter. That sounds simple enough right? Well when I took it to the secretary of State to be state-certified. I was told that it had to be re-notarized, because the stamp she had, had the wrong expiration date on it. Had she not gone on medical leave for a few weeks, I probably would have had her notarize all of my documents and would have had to start over pretty much. Thank goodness, it happened on my employment letter and not Kevin's, that had taken forever to get. Also, thank goodness, it had happened before the office manager took his week-long vacation.

Delivery Problems

2008-03-26T09:48:00.002-05:00

When I sent the dossier to The Assistant Stork, I included a return package that was to be sent to the FedEx/Kinkos facility a block away from me down at work. I didn't want it shipped to my home and be susceptible to the weather. When I checked the tracing number soon after I got to work, it was in Chicago and out on the truck to be delivered. About an hour later, I checked and there was a delivery exception listed for an incorrec t address - apartment/suite no. I ran down to Fed Ex/Kinko's and they gave me the Fed Ex toll-free phone number and said they couldn't do anything without the waybill receipt, but to call them. I never had the waybill receipt, it was attached to the packaging I sent for the Assistant Stork to return the dossier to me. So I called the 800 number and they said that usually Fed Ex/Kinko's don't hold package. It also turns out that the Fed Ex/Kinko's had me incorrectly fill out the waybill for address, I should have put Fed Ex/Kinko's and to the attention of "me" instead of just putting my name and their address. But even though, I had put their address, the employees at Fed Ex/Kinko's said they had never even seen a Fed Ex delivery person. They have left a message at the Fed Ex location that delivers the package and that I should call back at noon and that they hopefully will hear back by then. They also said they could not guarentee if another delivery will be made today or tomorrow to get me the package. Aarrgghh!!

It's on Its Way Back to Chicago

2008-03-25T21:06:00.004-05:00

Our dossier was taken to the Vietnamese Embassy last Thursday and the tentative date for pick up was this Wednesday. I decided just to check the Fed Ex tracking number and lo and behold, I discovered that it just left VA and should arrive by 10:30 tomorrow. I never thought it would be here early. If things work out right, we might be able to get it to CHI by Friday. I just have to scan/photocopy the authentication sheet on each of the documents and then after work tomorrow get passport photos taken of us to include in our dossier package. I also have to decide on a photo of us and of the house. There should be some in our file at CHI headquarters, but our adoption consultant said to be on the safe side to include these pictures again. I am so excited. It really feels like we have a good chance on getting a referral even if the MOU is not signed. Now let's just keep hoping and praying that Vietnam will give referrals to everyone, who has a dossier in country, as well as the U.S. doing everything they need to do.

2008-03-19T14:05:00.003-05:00

Our dossier arrived yesterday at The Assistant Stork and was brought to the Embassy today with a tentative pick-up date of March 26th. Please pray that nothing is found to be wrong with it and that it is ready then.

D.C. Bound

2008-03-17T13:13:00.002-05:00

Our dossier has been safely (hopefully) been sent Fed Ex. It should arrive actually in Stafford, VA at the Assistant Stork's tomorrow around noon. I have to agree with people who said once you send that dossier, it feels like you are sending your baby away to college or his/her first summer camp. It feels like a big part of me is gone , that I took such good care of, even if it was for only a brief time. Now, I'll probably have that darn tracking number memorized in no time, since I'll be checking its progress fatefully until it is delivered to Laura's capable hands. Well, I guess I should get some work donesince there is only 2 and a 1/2 hours left of the work day. IO doubt I'll get a chance to post tonight, but you never know! Good luck to anyone else, who's about to ship off a package to Laura or even directly to the Embassy of Vietnam. What a weird feeling it was to write out that money order to0 the Embassy. At least, I can relax somewhat, but until everything is back in my hands and has been sent to our agency and then logged into Vietnam, I won't be TRULY relaxed!!!

Part 2!

2008-03-17T09:52:00.002-05:00

All documents have finally been certified!!!! I will post a more detailed post of my experience when I get a chance. One more step 2 go for now!

Part 1 of Our Dossier is Done!!! Only 2 more parts to go!

2008-03-13T22:35:00.003-05:00

We have all of our dossier documents and they have all been notarized; next step is to have them state certified at the Secretary of State. They can only be certified at the offices in Chicago and Springfield; thank goodness I work in downtown Chicago, only about 1/2 a mile or so from the Chicago office. I will take my lunch and get them certified, so hopefully, it will only take an hour.

40 Tips for an Exceptional, Superb & Powerful Life for 2008!

2008-03-12T08:57:00.003-05:00

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. Buy a DVR, tape your late night shows and get more sleep.

4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.'

5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

6. Watch more movies, play more games and read more books than you did in 2007.

7. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, tai chi, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.

8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.

9. Dream more while you are awake.

10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.

14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.

18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

22. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

23. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words:
'In five years, will this matter?'

26. Forgive everyone for everything.

27. What other people think of you is none of your business.

28. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.

29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

30. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

31. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

33. The best is yet to come.

34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

35. Do the right thing!

36. Call your family often. (Or email them to death!!!) Hey, I’m thinkin’ of ya!

37. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements:
I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.

38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

39. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.

40. Please share this to everyone you care about.

During times like this, these are all things that we need to remember!!! For me, this came at just the perfect time!

2008-03-06T20:27:00.002-06:00

Sorry if I had any of you worrying about me. In reality, I have been healthy, minus an earache. But for the most part, I've been mainly in a real funk about how long everything has been taking. It has been 10 months since we were added to the waiting list and according to Mindee's blog (she is one place ahead of us on the list), we should be sbout #94. I don't know how many ahead of us only want girls or who want toddlers, instead of babies. Referrals are coming in very slowly, so the soonest may be somewhere near the end of the year and then travel has usually been 4-6 months later, although there have been some who have had to wait much longer. But now that it is March and spting doesn't seem so far away, since the sun is shining more often, I am feeling somewhat more upbeat and happier. The weather is still quite cold, but we have seen a day or two in the 40s and it has been over a week since we had any new snow. It's suppose to be very cold over the next couple days, but a slight warm-up is possible next week. I think maybe even in the 50s, which after this winter sounds almost tropical. Sunday, we start Daylight's saving time, so although we lose an hour of sleep, we will be staying light longer in the evening . It'll be so nice to have more daylight again, after getting off work.

February is always a bad money month with car insurance due and several other big bills. Usually, I have the March work bonus to look forward to and then the April pay raise. But this year they aren't as good as past years and with the adoption, I was really expecting it to help with things. We still have a bonus, but it's just not as generous as any of us were expecting it to be, nor was the pay raise up to the same caliber.. Works has also been extremely busy and hectic and with the bonus/pay raise issue, it's really disappointing and depressing. In the past, the generous bonus was our motivation to work harder, but now that we have and we aren't being rewarded like we have in the past, well need I really say more.

Hopefully, tomorrow we will be getting a positive update from our agency. Hopefully, there will be some referrals to report and other happy news.