We have a new number!
Our number is now down to 11!!!
Not much news from the agency in the email, just our new number she added in to an email replying to a question about paperwork I had sent to her, but the number has gone down 4 in a month. If it was to continue at that pace, then we have a chance.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Need Prayers
Ok, there has been another snag in our adoption process. As you remember, we started our homestudy to adopt from Guatemala way back in March of 2007, then we got onto the waiting list in September, only to be told in October that the program was closing and we weren't going to get a referral before the closing date. Then we changed to Vietnam and we finally got on the waiting list a few weeks ago.
Back in January or so, when I was working on our dossier, our agency told us that Vietnam might be closing it's adoption program in September, but as long as our dossier was registered before April something, I don't remember, then they would honor that and even if the program closed in September, they would still let people adopt. As long as their paperwork had been registered.
Got an email Friday night from our agency stating that now, Vietnam has decided that unless you have a referral by September 1st, then they will send your dossier back and no adoption. We were told last month that it would probably be at least 12 months before we get a referral, and as anyone can count, there is only 4 months to September. We are awaiting a personal email or call from our agency this week to let us know our status and get more info. So, it has been a depressing weekend for sure. Aaron and I are running out of countries to adopt from and we would like to stay with our agency since we have a lot of money invested with them. It is not our agencie's fault, this has to do with the countries and Aaron and my having picked countries right before they closed. (unknowingly)
So, right now, Aaron and I are praying for a ton of referrals and maybe we can actually get a referral before September 1. If we don't get a referral, I don't know where we will go from there. I won't give up, I know God told us to adopt and I know that it is all in His plan. I have gone back and forth. from Is God using this all for His timing so that we will adopt from another country? Is our child in another country other than Guatemala and Vietnam and that these two countries were just distractions so that we would end up in the right country at the right time? Or, Is God wanting to show His power here and He wants us to pray like crazy that we get to the top of the referral list by September, just to show how even though it is against the odds, that He is in control? I don't know except for now, I am just going to keep going like we will get a referral by September, and pray that God's will be done.
The thought of starting over again with a 3rd dossier for a 3rd country with no baby yet is sooooo depressing and overwhelming and irritating, but I have to look at the end result. If it brings our child into our home, then it will be worth it, and we will be thankful that things turned out they way it did.
Back in January or so, when I was working on our dossier, our agency told us that Vietnam might be closing it's adoption program in September, but as long as our dossier was registered before April something, I don't remember, then they would honor that and even if the program closed in September, they would still let people adopt. As long as their paperwork had been registered.
Got an email Friday night from our agency stating that now, Vietnam has decided that unless you have a referral by September 1st, then they will send your dossier back and no adoption. We were told last month that it would probably be at least 12 months before we get a referral, and as anyone can count, there is only 4 months to September. We are awaiting a personal email or call from our agency this week to let us know our status and get more info. So, it has been a depressing weekend for sure. Aaron and I are running out of countries to adopt from and we would like to stay with our agency since we have a lot of money invested with them. It is not our agencie's fault, this has to do with the countries and Aaron and my having picked countries right before they closed. (unknowingly)
So, right now, Aaron and I are praying for a ton of referrals and maybe we can actually get a referral before September 1. If we don't get a referral, I don't know where we will go from there. I won't give up, I know God told us to adopt and I know that it is all in His plan. I have gone back and forth. from Is God using this all for His timing so that we will adopt from another country? Is our child in another country other than Guatemala and Vietnam and that these two countries were just distractions so that we would end up in the right country at the right time? Or, Is God wanting to show His power here and He wants us to pray like crazy that we get to the top of the referral list by September, just to show how even though it is against the odds, that He is in control? I don't know except for now, I am just going to keep going like we will get a referral by September, and pray that God's will be done.
The thought of starting over again with a 3rd dossier for a 3rd country with no baby yet is sooooo depressing and overwhelming and irritating, but I have to look at the end result. If it brings our child into our home, then it will be worth it, and we will be thankful that things turned out they way it did.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Perk Tests and other things
About 2 weeks ago, I spoke with an older man - 70 to be exact - about doing a perk test for us at the acreage we are wanting to buy. So, he agrees to do it and says it will be the next week (last week) before he can do it. Aaron speaks to him before meeting him out there last Monday evening after work and the man expresses how old he is, and how his knees are bad and if you can't just drive up to where we want the perk test, he didn't know if he could haul water that far to do it. By then, we had already set up an appt. Now I had given him a map of the property, told him where it was, he had driven by and I had shown him were I wanted it on the map. The owner of the property (realtor's dad) showed up on his 4 wheeler with a water tank to help the old man, but he wasn't ready to do it Monday. Long story short, I didn't hear from him all last week, so I called and left a message Saturday. Called back Monday morning, and the guy hadn't even been back to the property. I truly think he forgot. He said again "If I can find the property again, I just don't know if I could get back there so far into the property with all that water" We were waiting for the perk test to see if we would buy the property. So, I told the realtor, who had given me his name. She called him and then called me with a new perk test person. I talked to him yesterday and he seemed nice (young- which is definately a perk when doing a perk test!) I told Aaron that he mentioned having a two year old and Aaron said "let's just hope it's not his grandson" Anyway, this guy is supposed to get it done this week.
I know it may seem like a conflict of interests to be buying land from our realtor's father, but in this small town, we have learned that you can't really avoid family connections. Pretty much every patient that comes into the hospital here is related to someone who works there. And it is strange, but about half the land or houses for sale aren't listed. When we first moved, people would tell us about houses for sale and where they were. I would ask if there was a sign in the yard, and the person would say "oh it's not listed" there wouldn't even be a for sale by owner sign. This is how we found this land. It isn't listed, and neither was the 20 acres we were looking at a few months ago. We were looking at a listed house with our realtor, mentioned that we would love acreage and she brought up the 20 acres, then this 18 her dad had. Her dad has a friend with a bulldozer who was close to the land last night, so he had him bulldoze us out a driveway to get to where we want to build. He did a really good job, and it is more exciting to see it a little more livable.
Still haven't heard from our adoption agency about our new number. Maybe she will call today. I was looking at prices for trips to Vietnam and back last night, just to check. We may not be able to afford taking the girls. The prices for a year from now were about $1200 each, but in a few months from now over $2000 - Yikes!!!
I know it may seem like a conflict of interests to be buying land from our realtor's father, but in this small town, we have learned that you can't really avoid family connections. Pretty much every patient that comes into the hospital here is related to someone who works there. And it is strange, but about half the land or houses for sale aren't listed. When we first moved, people would tell us about houses for sale and where they were. I would ask if there was a sign in the yard, and the person would say "oh it's not listed" there wouldn't even be a for sale by owner sign. This is how we found this land. It isn't listed, and neither was the 20 acres we were looking at a few months ago. We were looking at a listed house with our realtor, mentioned that we would love acreage and she brought up the 20 acres, then this 18 her dad had. Her dad has a friend with a bulldozer who was close to the land last night, so he had him bulldoze us out a driveway to get to where we want to build. He did a really good job, and it is more exciting to see it a little more livable.
Still haven't heard from our adoption agency about our new number. Maybe she will call today. I was looking at prices for trips to Vietnam and back last night, just to check. We may not be able to afford taking the girls. The prices for a year from now were about $1200 each, but in a few months from now over $2000 - Yikes!!!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
More good news
Got an email from our adoption agency stating that there have been 3 girl referals this week!! So that unofficially puts our number down to 12. I am so excited, and trying to calm myself, knowing that it may be 3 months before another referral. Two referrals were of 10 month old girls, including the one in my previous blog, and the other one was of a 2 year old. Just in case it keeps going at this pace, and I hope it does, I hate waiting, I need to start working on the girls' passports. I also have to get a letter from our police department stating that we haven't been arrested since we got our fingerprints done a year ago. I hope we don't have to do fingerprints again. I hate going to the jail. I can't take the kids in (not that I would want to), and the police, although very nice, are not really into adoptions, more into criminals, and in a small town with 3500 people, they probably don't do much adoption paperwork. Ohhhh, just when you think the paperwork is done,here comes more, and I think that when we accept a referral someday that we will have more paperwork. I don't mind filling out papers too much, the real pain comes when I have to get it notarized, then I have to go to the courthouse to get the notary - county certified, then finally send that to the state to have it state certified.
In other news. We are still waiting for a man to do the perk test on the 18 acres we are trying to buy. I'll spare you the long story. Anyway, I think he will be able to get it done and if the perk test is satisfactory to us then we will buy the land. In other words, if we don't have to put in an engineered septic tank, which I hear is really expensive. I am planning on calling him tomorrow to see how it is going.
I worked 7-11 Tuesday and Wednesday night, so I am a little tired. I got home last night around 11:30, not sleepy at all. I got on the internet, took a bath, went to bed around 1am. Still awake around 2am, and probably woke up 4 times during the night. I got up around 7:15, 10 min. before the alarm was set. I dropped Madelyn and Natalie off with a lady from church who was taking them, along with her 5 hear old granddaughter to the nursing home where her daughter works. They sang songs for the residents at the nursing home. Hannah and I went to the store and then went to church and prepared for our every other week ladie's dinner at church. (Cathy B. if you are reading this, would that be biweekly, or does biweekly mean twice a week. What word means every other week? )I thought we would have more show up, but actually had less. I changed it from Tuesday to Thursday, because a few people have stated that Tuesdays are bad for them, but none of them showed up today either, so I think I may change it back to Tuesdays.
After 4 weeks off, we are finally going back to coop tomorrow for a few more weeks before then end of the semester. The coop took a 3 week break and then last week, Natalie had strep throat, and the thing about the coop is that a parent has to stay or make arrangements with another parent to be responsible for their kid, so I couldn't just drop Madelyn off. But I never told the girls that we were missing coop. What they don't know will save my ears from a lot of complaining and whining. I am trying to decide if I want to teach a class next year. I have gotten some info for a Dave Ramsey class for teens that would last all year and it would be mostly watching the video, then projects. If it is as easy as leading a regular Dave Ramsey class, then I may do it. If I don't actually teach a class I will at least be a classroom helper. Right now, all I do is sit in the gym reading on the bleachers, which I love to read, bu 3 hours on the bleachers is a pain in the rear. Sometimes, I have been asked to sit in when a teacher's assistant called in and one time I actually taught the 4-6th grade PE.
In other news. We are still waiting for a man to do the perk test on the 18 acres we are trying to buy. I'll spare you the long story. Anyway, I think he will be able to get it done and if the perk test is satisfactory to us then we will buy the land. In other words, if we don't have to put in an engineered septic tank, which I hear is really expensive. I am planning on calling him tomorrow to see how it is going.
I worked 7-11 Tuesday and Wednesday night, so I am a little tired. I got home last night around 11:30, not sleepy at all. I got on the internet, took a bath, went to bed around 1am. Still awake around 2am, and probably woke up 4 times during the night. I got up around 7:15, 10 min. before the alarm was set. I dropped Madelyn and Natalie off with a lady from church who was taking them, along with her 5 hear old granddaughter to the nursing home where her daughter works. They sang songs for the residents at the nursing home. Hannah and I went to the store and then went to church and prepared for our every other week ladie's dinner at church. (Cathy B. if you are reading this, would that be biweekly, or does biweekly mean twice a week. What word means every other week? )I thought we would have more show up, but actually had less. I changed it from Tuesday to Thursday, because a few people have stated that Tuesdays are bad for them, but none of them showed up today either, so I think I may change it back to Tuesdays.
After 4 weeks off, we are finally going back to coop tomorrow for a few more weeks before then end of the semester. The coop took a 3 week break and then last week, Natalie had strep throat, and the thing about the coop is that a parent has to stay or make arrangements with another parent to be responsible for their kid, so I couldn't just drop Madelyn off. But I never told the girls that we were missing coop. What they don't know will save my ears from a lot of complaining and whining. I am trying to decide if I want to teach a class next year. I have gotten some info for a Dave Ramsey class for teens that would last all year and it would be mostly watching the video, then projects. If it is as easy as leading a regular Dave Ramsey class, then I may do it. If I don't actually teach a class I will at least be a classroom helper. Right now, all I do is sit in the gym reading on the bleachers, which I love to read, bu 3 hours on the bleachers is a pain in the rear. Sometimes, I have been asked to sit in when a teacher's assistant called in and one time I actually taught the 4-6th grade PE.
Waiting List
About two weeks ago, our dossier was translated and we finally got on the waiting list for our little girl. We were number 15 and told it would probably by 12 -15 months before we get a referral. I am hoping for sooner though. We got an email from someone saying that they got their referral of their baby girl. They waited 15 months for their referral, and the baby is 10 months old. That means we should be moving up on the list soon. Can't wait to hear our new number in a few weeks!!!! I will do better keeping it posted on the blog.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Happy Birthday to Natalie
Hard to believe, but Natalie turned 6 last Wednesday. Yesterday we had a birthday party for her at the skating rink here in town. We had a great turnout and I am including some highlights of the party. After the fun, of course, Madelyn and Hannah want their birthday party there too in September. It was so nice to have the party at a place other than our house. We didn't have to clean before to be presentable, or afterward to be livable. We bought the cake and ice cream and coke came with the party for 10 kids.
All in all a good, but exhausting day. Hannah didn't take a nap on Saturday and she actually did pretty well without one, but then we had to wake her up for church Sunday morning. We didn't have enough time to take a nap between church services and the party, and then after the party, we didn't have much time before church services again. At one point, Hannah was lying on her belly on one of the skate table/bench/octagonal things at all skate rinks, in the sleep position. So, at church last night, I made her sit with us instead of going to class. She wasn't too happy about it, but we had a dinner to stay for and she was already cranky. She ended up falling asleep around the first song and slept until church was over. For her first time in real skates she did really good. They had the wheels tightened to where they hardly spun, so really it was like walking arond with heavy boots, but she was real proud of herself.
Natalie goes all out when she skates. She got her skates tied and took off running on the skates. She falls a lot and gets up and keeps on going. There is no slow skating for her.
Madelyn, as always, is a little more cautious, and after a few minutes of warming up, I think that she was faster than Natalie. She did really good too, and it is amazing to see how much better they get each time we skate even though we only go about twice a year. Hannah found a few friends and I thought it was so cute seeing them skating together.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
You learn something new every day
Madelyn learned a new lesson yesterday. I have posted a picture of the brick wall I am talking about. Last night, Madelyn came in with tears in her eyes and whining because she had gotten hurt. And I must say that I am proud of her for how much she has toughened up. These wounds didn't get near as much crying as I would have expected.
She said she turned a flip off of the brick wall, and I just assumed that she was lying on it and flipped off, but we learned the rest of the story when Natalie came in to check on her. Matter of factly, Natalie told us how Madelyn was running across the yard with her eyes closed and that is how she got on the other side of the wall. Madelyn's response to us laughing that she would run across the yard with her eyes closed and not expect to get hurt?"I thought I was going in the other direction."
This is one of those common sense lessons that you don't think to tell your kids ahead of time. Like - don't go up to a kid at church that you didn't invite to your birthday party and tell them about your upcoming birthday party and oh by the way, sorry your not invited because mom is only letting me invite kids in my Sunday school class (Natalie last night) I wish I could think of more lessons like that, but my mind has went blank.
We are going to look at a house with 29 acres tonight that is not finished yet. I have been trying to call around today and find out how much it would cost to make it livable, and it may be beyond our means. I hope not, but I am really trying not to get my hopes up. Tomorrow morning we are going to look at a 17 acre piece of land that does not have a house on it, so maybe if the house doesn't work out, we can at least by the 17 acres and eventually build a house on it.
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