I just received this email from an adoption agency director:
"I have just learned that the Ethiopian government has initiated a slowdown of approximately 90% in the processing of adoptions from that country. Joint Council on International Children's Services has initiated a campaign, including a petition which they will present to the Ethiopian government encouraging them to explore other alternatives to address the problems, including considering partnerships offered by governments, NGO's and foundations. Please consider lending your support to this petition, as this action will impact many Ethiopian children in orphanages"
On behalf of 2 families I know, that are adopting from Ethiopia, I urge you to please sign the petition to help them bring their babies' home.
I did....it takes less than 2 minutes.
Go to the link here: http://www.gopetition.com/petition/43714.html
Showing posts with label adoption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adoption. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Life on hold....
This is how I'm feeling today!
First, I'm tired of coughing, having pulled a muscle in my back from coughing so much.
Second, I just found out today that we can not update our home study until we are fully residing in Ontario. This means, until we get moved our adoption is completely on HOLD.
Not a great feeling...AT ALL.
The way I thought it was going to happen was that we'd get our home study updated, our file all up-to-date and have our dossier (our pkg of information) all ready to go to Vietnam upon our arrival in Ontario. This way, from the moment we arrived in Ontario we'd be on the official waiting list (I think I have this right??). Having a (possible) couple year wait from this date - possibly less considering we are on the special needs list.
NOW...we will have to start all of our file ONCE we move (which at best will happen in the summer months of 2011, at worst Sept 2011) - which means that we will wait and CAN do nothing for 8-11 months :( Frustrating, to say the least.
I feel a little defeated right about now. I KNOW I am NOT defeated, just ON HOLD. I know much of this feeling probably comes from being under the weather and I just DON'T sit still very well. I have a hard time taking care of me.
So, the newest news in our adoption is that we must WAIT, even longer than originally anticipated :(
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
His sweet voice
You know how sweet the sound is, when my comes to me with an issue that he chose ME to talk about with!
Well, it happened this morning.
He confessed his fears about adopting. Right now there are a few, and rightfully so considering the "sting" left from his only other experience with adoption last year. He was so upset that I had been hurt by that situation. He told me that he hated seeing that happen and he was scared this would happen again. *sigh* What can a mama say to this? Her little boy being protective *double sigh*
And of course the other issue, was the thought of having a baby in 'his things'. He asked again if he could have a lock on his bedroom door and I assured him he could. This seems to be a real big issue for him, considering he's talked to me twice about this now! His fear of having a baby in the house is real, and I told him that it was OK to have these fears. He soon compared it to a friend of mine who has a boy Noah's age and an adopted baby girl (thank goodness for your family "L"). He soon realized that it would be really cool to have a little, little sister! This boy "K", embraces his little sister and is very comfortable with her, including soothing her when she was upset. Noah remembered this from our visit this summer!
Christmas is coming and with us talking about saving money for the adoption, he fears that he won't get a Christmas present because we'll save his Christmas money for the adoption! I put his mind at rest and told him that Mommy & Daddy were giving up OUR Christmas gifts to save money this year, not his!
I shared with him that I, too have big fears about welcoming a baby into our family. He seemed very surprised that I had fears too and was comforted by this fact alone.
We talked for what seemed like forever and in the end, Noah began to talk about how excited he was to have someone to share in our family! I'm even more excited now too that he feels so comfortable to voice his deepest fears with me....and what a sweet voice he has!
Well, it happened this morning.
He confessed his fears about adopting. Right now there are a few, and rightfully so considering the "sting" left from his only other experience with adoption last year. He was so upset that I had been hurt by that situation. He told me that he hated seeing that happen and he was scared this would happen again. *sigh* What can a mama say to this? Her little boy being protective *double sigh*
And of course the other issue, was the thought of having a baby in 'his things'. He asked again if he could have a lock on his bedroom door and I assured him he could. This seems to be a real big issue for him, considering he's talked to me twice about this now! His fear of having a baby in the house is real, and I told him that it was OK to have these fears. He soon compared it to a friend of mine who has a boy Noah's age and an adopted baby girl (thank goodness for your family "L"). He soon realized that it would be really cool to have a little, little sister! This boy "K", embraces his little sister and is very comfortable with her, including soothing her when she was upset. Noah remembered this from our visit this summer!
Christmas is coming and with us talking about saving money for the adoption, he fears that he won't get a Christmas present because we'll save his Christmas money for the adoption! I put his mind at rest and told him that Mommy & Daddy were giving up OUR Christmas gifts to save money this year, not his!
I shared with him that I, too have big fears about welcoming a baby into our family. He seemed very surprised that I had fears too and was comforted by this fact alone.
We talked for what seemed like forever and in the end, Noah began to talk about how excited he was to have someone to share in our family! I'm even more excited now too that he feels so comfortable to voice his deepest fears with me....and what a sweet voice he has!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Ramblings copied from Eyes Wide Open
In March, I saw a 6 day old baby in the doctor's office and began crying. Weird thing is, I didn't even know I was crying until the tear hit my hand that was placed in my lap. Then, I didn't even know WHAT I was crying for.
Later that night, I told Jacques about what had happens and explained I had no idea what I was crying for. We talked a bit and I thought 'that, was that'. Then.....God took a grip of our hearts and planted a HUGE seed, a seed that we should possibly consider adopting again. But I had SO many reasons why it wasn't true, that we couldn't be. We played tug-a-war for sometime with the idea, it kinda went like this:
Guilt (over questioning God and what He is asking us to do) while trying to protect my heart, followed by a bunch of scripture and parts of Dangerous Surrender, by Kay Warren came racing through my head. Let me make one point clear:
It was like a merry go round, going faster and faster and faster and faster and faster when we finally just came to a screeching halt. Okay, okay....yes, yes, yes....we will, we will!.
So YES my dear friends and family, you read correctly. We are adopting! We have begun an international adoption from Vietnam. By the grace of God, we will welcome home a baby girl, under 12 months old with minor correctable special needs (like cleft palate, club feet, premature, low birth rate, etc). It is a very LONG process that could take between 2-3 years, possibly less for a special needs.
Noah (for the most part) is absolutely thrilled to be adopting a baby sister in a few years, especially after he got to spend some time with my friend's 18 month old daughter (who is adopted from Vietnam) this summer when their family visited ours (and then we visited theirs). Every now and then he stops me to say 'will she be this small?' while holding his hand up to his waist.
Then once, he actually gave me the list of his demands (so cute!) on whether we 'would' adopt or not!!!
In order, they were:
So BIG gulp...here we go. We are facing a few years living on the BARE minimums and saving every last penny, to afford the cost of our adoption. We are saving, scrimping and doing as much as we can to come up with all the money needed for our adoption. We are absolutely willing to do what ever it takes to make this happen. We are all 100% committed!
Now........I 'get' that some people may not understand or even agree with our intentions or desire to adopt, or may just plain out disagree with our decision. My response to you, is that you have every right to your own opinions. But please respect that we live by God's rules and not yours. God doesn't always ask us to choose the route that is most popular, or do things that are easy and we choose to follow Him and what he wants from us rather than following the crowd. Heck, if we always fit into the status quo, didn't turn heads or had people talking about us, wouldn't that get boring after a while? Would we really grow? We'd just be stuck in the same boring place in our lives? How much fun would THAT be?
Later that night, I told Jacques about what had happens and explained I had no idea what I was crying for. We talked a bit and I thought 'that, was that'. Then.....God took a grip of our hearts and planted a HUGE seed, a seed that we should possibly consider adopting again. But I had SO many reasons why it wasn't true, that we couldn't be. We played tug-a-war for sometime with the idea, it kinda went like this:
I mean, really? A baby? It can't be. Are you kidding me? A baby? Are you sure you have the right family? I mean, life has resumed to normal and relatively stress free after our first attempt at adopting a 12 year old girl (that sadly ended in a breakdown). And I thought that adopting was not ever going to happen in our family again. I thought this wasn't my mission anymore. What about our home schooling adventure that starts this year? Don't ya think this is going to be too much to accomplish? Ha, a baby! It can't be. There was NO way. Are you sure? What about our ages? We're both approaching 40 and Noah's approaching double digits. Life is comfortable now. A baby? It can't be. What about the financial side of an adoption. We don't have an $30,000 just lying around in a bank account, waiting to be spent on an adoption. How are we going to come up with THAT kinda money? Really, a baby? It just can't be. And what about our upcoming move next year? What happens if these two big events happen at the same time? A baby? It just can't be, God, it can't be.
Guilt (over questioning God and what He is asking us to do) while trying to protect my heart, followed by a bunch of scripture and parts of Dangerous Surrender, by Kay Warren came racing through my head. Let me make one point clear:
"I am the Lord's servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants" Luke 1:38 If you love me, you will obey what I command. John 14:15 "What is a litmus test of your surrender and obedience to God is how you treat the least among us." Kay Warren 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Matthew 25:40 "For you to become a seriously disturbed, surrendered person of faith, you will have to be willing to say yes in advance - to give God your answer before you've heard the question." Kay Warren The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 2 Corinthians 2:9 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land. Isaiah 1:19 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, Titus 3:1 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 1 Peter 1:14 If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. John 14:23 To look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27
It was like a merry go round, going faster and faster and faster and faster and faster when we finally just came to a screeching halt. Okay, okay....yes, yes, yes....we will, we will!.
So YES my dear friends and family, you read correctly. We are adopting! We have begun an international adoption from Vietnam. By the grace of God, we will welcome home a baby girl, under 12 months old with minor correctable special needs (like cleft palate, club feet, premature, low birth rate, etc). It is a very LONG process that could take between 2-3 years, possibly less for a special needs.
An exciting day: mailing our application!
It was an exuberant feeling when we finally stopped fighting the call that God has so clearly asked of us. And we are all very excited.
Noah (for the most part) is absolutely thrilled to be adopting a baby sister in a few years, especially after he got to spend some time with my friend's 18 month old daughter (who is adopted from Vietnam) this summer when their family visited ours (and then we visited theirs). Every now and then he stops me to say 'will she be this small?' while holding his hand up to his waist.
Then once, he actually gave me the list of his demands (so cute!) on whether we 'would' adopt or not!!!
In order, they were:
1. She will NOT be allowed in his room. (fair enough, I get that)
2.She will have to pick up all her toys and not leave them lying around the way the cat and dog leave there's around the living room! (LOL, so cute)
3.He will NOT be changing ANY diapers! (surprised this was not his #1 demand)
So BIG gulp...here we go. We are facing a few years living on the BARE minimums and saving every last penny, to afford the cost of our adoption. We are saving, scrimping and doing as much as we can to come up with all the money needed for our adoption. We are absolutely willing to do what ever it takes to make this happen. We are all 100% committed!
"In what ways are you allowing God to rearrange your schedule, your finances, your affections, so that you can regularly interact with those he loves?” Kay Warren
"It really isn't any of my business - or your business - what God does in someone else's life. My only business is to follow him" Kay Warren
"Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd,” Exodus 23:2
So...with all that said, part of our plan to save money for our adoption was to come out with a new line of jewelry that I've been making. New pieces that are JUST for fundraising efforts for our adoption.
- All earrings I make (and any that have already been made), will still be sold to raise money for rice in Haiti.
- All solidarity necklaces I make (and any that have already been made), will still be sold to raise money for income for women in Kenya.
- And...all new pieces will be sold to raise money for our adoption
Once our adoption is complete, my vision is to continue to use any money raised through the sale of my jewelry in 'pay it forward' ways. A few ideas I have in my head are to help others who are adopting internationally, to help the orphanage that our little girl comes from or helping our agency, etc.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Privacy
If you're trying to access our adoption blog and can't - SORRY!
We've decided to go private for a few months..... I've set up this blog as 'invitation only'.
I will be sending out invitations early next week (but don't worry you won't be missing anything as we are going away this weekend - so there will be no new posts)!!
We've decided to go private for a few months..... I've set up this blog as 'invitation only'.
I will be sending out invitations early next week (but don't worry you won't be missing anything as we are going away this weekend - so there will be no new posts)!!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Pinch me....(copied post from adoption blog)
This post written on April 30, but not shared until today for privacy reasons:
....am I dreaming?
I can't even begin to explain the wide range of emotions that I am feeling right now.
Today, the unimaginable happened and a pure miracle (to say the least) took place right in front of me.
Lately, our hopes have been down and our spirits crushed with the long wait for our home study to begin. Though we've been overjoyed with the progress of our friends adoptions & foster plans, we couldn't help but feel a wee bit selfish and sad that ours was not progressing. Though I'm a sure I would have NEVER noted that before now.
Today, our adoption social worker called and I immediately got excited with knowing she MUST be calling to set up appointments for our home study visits to begin - YAY!
How wrong was I?
For the life of me, I can barely remember a word she said (as I was in sheer shock)....but the message was CLEAR! She was calling to give us a referral for a little girl.
She told us that this girl is a really good fit for our family (except for she was older than Noah -11 yrs old) but would we consider. As she told me about this little girl's story, I cried and babbled. I felt complete incoherent. I had no idea what to ask, nor did I know what I wanted to ask or even say. I was in utter SHOCK that this moment was actually happening and that it was happening NOW.
How could this be? Was I dreaming?
I really liked what I learned about this little girl. After a 1/2 day of processing, talking, thinking, writing...I can't even begin to describe how 'right' this feels. I'm really starting to fall for this little girl and I don't even know her name.
How weird is that?
Our SW told me that the little girl wrote a beautiful and detailed letter to her prospective adoptive parents - telling them what she wanted and didn't want in a new family. The letter was absolutely adorable! She was very specific with her 'wish list' and it confirmed that our family matched her criteria almost perfectly (well, maybe not because she did write that she wanted her parents to 'not be too old' and Noah seems to think that we're really old!!! LOL).
Considering we don't have our home study even scheduled to begin and they need this little girl into a permanent home as soon as possible - this could all happen REALLY fast (possibly within the next 2 weeks).
So how do I feel right now....I'll let you in on a few of the raw emotions.
AHHHHHHH..........I could just SCREAM with all of the emotions going through me right now.
We could be welcoming our "daughter" into our hearts & home sooner than we ever dreamed of and yet this moment is something we've dreamed of for so long. And to think, all we were hoping for this year was for our home study to start & be completed. Tonight, I am certainly COUNTING MY BLESSINGS!!!
Until our home study is complete, there has been special approval for our family to be allowed to welcome this little girl into our home as a "Provisional Foster Family". At the completion of our home study, we could then continue on to adopt her (if this was something that she wanted - which they all feel she does).
As soon as I got off the phone, I called Jacques at work and told him to 'CLOSE THE DOOR' to his office. He knew I meant business! He closed the door and immediately came back to the phone and said, "What is going on?" in a very concerned voice. When I told him, naturally he was just as shocked as I was. He got off the phone pretty speechless, naturally!
Later in the night, we talked more and had more questions. I go from feeling excited, to feelings of nervousness, to feelings of being thrilled, to feelings of confusion, then to tears of fear......I just can't describe how excited I am. I guess the big shock of getting 'THE CALL', then to be thinking about an older child than Noah that sounds perfect for our family - in so many ways.
Tonight, I also began a hand written journal. When I think to process, I need to WRITE. I will carry this journal with me for the next several weeks (I am sure) to document all the moments that I am not at my computer as well as to jot down any questions we have (so we don't forget).
Noah's Reaction:
When I told Noah, he seemed genuinely excited. He seemed genuinely excited with the idea of an older sister, especially when he found out that she liked sports (in order of her favourites are soccer, hockey and gymnastics). His one big concern is that she would want the top bunk (of the bunk beds we don't even have!!!). In conversations about adopting, we talked about the possibility of him having to share a room and if this happened we would get bunk beds. I guess we forgot to leave out the important information (assuming he knew) that boys & girls don't share rooms!! (Woops.) Now that this is cleared up, he seems happy that he won't have to share a room!
Once we had this cleared up, he was good to go. Of course, he wanted to know if she was French or English. If she would be going to the same school. His third question asked about her family, why she had to come to live with us? What happened to her parents? I did not tell him anything, I don't think we should share this information - but I thought it was sweet that he even thought about this! He also asked about what her favourite activity was (which I didn't know and can't wait to learn).
Towards the end of our conversation, his concerns were mostly just about the sharing aspect of having a sibling. Will she break my toys? Do I have to share MY DS? Will she be bossy with me? Then he asked many 'what if' questions: "What if she does this....." or "If she does 'that', then what?" Then THAT was it....he was ready to go play again, just like that. Cute!
Like I said, it's all happening SO fast (like I always said it would).
So THAT is our wonderful, exciting, unexpected and happy news.
Please, please, please, if I am dreaming, PINCH ME!
I wrote the initial post with the intention of waiting to share the information, but since then I have had to write for myself. All that has happened since the original post is below, listed in date order!
Saturday, May 2:
Had a little overnight get away with Jacques (Noah stayed with Jacques sister and we got a room). We talked and talked and talked.....in the end, we are both 100% a YES!
Monday, May 4:
(around 8:30 am):
Wednesday, May 6:
Nerves are shot
Wait, wait, wait
Found out they will be meeting with Isabelle on Thursday after school and will contact us on Friday morning
Wait, worry, wait, fret, wait, worry.....get my drift.
Thursday, May 7:
First full night sleep since last Wednesday night
Feeling relatively calm today
Begin praying at3:30 pm (the suspected time the SW's are talking with Isabelle
Ask God to be with her and comfort her little heart as she hears the news
3:57 pm
Phone rings and it's our SW to advise they spoke with Isabelle who is REALLY excited to come to our family FOREVER!!! Then asks if I want to talk to her.....*waaaaah*....I was SO nervous, mumbled and babbled and chatted. She said she was as excited and nervous as I was.
5:00 pm
Began spreading our great news....
8:45 pm
Posting our great news...
Next steps:
....am I dreaming?
I can't even begin to explain the wide range of emotions that I am feeling right now.
Today, the unimaginable happened and a pure miracle (to say the least) took place right in front of me.
Lately, our hopes have been down and our spirits crushed with the long wait for our home study to begin. Though we've been overjoyed with the progress of our friends adoptions & foster plans, we couldn't help but feel a wee bit selfish and sad that ours was not progressing. Though I'm a sure I would have NEVER noted that before now.
Today, our adoption social worker called and I immediately got excited with knowing she MUST be calling to set up appointments for our home study visits to begin - YAY!
How wrong was I?
For the life of me, I can barely remember a word she said (as I was in sheer shock)....but the message was CLEAR! She was calling to give us a referral for a little girl.
She told us that this girl is a really good fit for our family (except for she was older than Noah -11 yrs old) but would we consider. As she told me about this little girl's story, I cried and babbled. I felt complete incoherent. I had no idea what to ask, nor did I know what I wanted to ask or even say. I was in utter SHOCK that this moment was actually happening and that it was happening NOW.
How could this be? Was I dreaming?
I really liked what I learned about this little girl. After a 1/2 day of processing, talking, thinking, writing...I can't even begin to describe how 'right' this feels. I'm really starting to fall for this little girl and I don't even know her name.
How weird is that?
Our SW told me that the little girl wrote a beautiful and detailed letter to her prospective adoptive parents - telling them what she wanted and didn't want in a new family. The letter was absolutely adorable! She was very specific with her 'wish list' and it confirmed that our family matched her criteria almost perfectly (well, maybe not because she did write that she wanted her parents to 'not be too old' and Noah seems to think that we're really old!!! LOL).
Considering we don't have our home study even scheduled to begin and they need this little girl into a permanent home as soon as possible - this could all happen REALLY fast (possibly within the next 2 weeks).
So how do I feel right now....I'll let you in on a few of the raw emotions.
- Confused - how could this be happening so soon (or is it soon considering in a few weeks - Mother's Day to be exact - we'll be celebrating 2 years since the day we sent in our application to adopt)
- Shocked - that we are considering an older child. By this I mean, accepting an older child than Noah. It had NEVER even entered our conversations because this was (up until now) a complete NON-ISSUE for us. We just always said that Noah needed to remain the oldest in the family. But now that we are considering this little girl, I see SO many positives with Noah being the younger sibling.
- Excited - for our family to be expanding.
- Excited - for me to have a 'daughter'.
- Excited - for Noah to have a sister.
- Excited - to learn so much about this little girl.
- Excited - my belly is in flops. You know that feeling you get when you're going down a big hill on a roller coaster where you feel like you have a baby moving in side of you - THIS is how my insides feel right now.
- Anxious - my natural instinct is to get 'our daughter' home and start protecting her, start getting to know her, get on with our new life we've dreamed of for so long.
- Nervous - the question 'AM I ENOUGH?', 'ARE WE ENOUGH?' keeps playing over and over in my head. I want to be the BEST family, parents for this little girl. I want her to trust us and feel comfortable with us. I want her to know that we may be far from perfect and we WILL make mistakes, but that she will ALWAYS have a soft place to fall and a loving place to land when she falls.
- Blessed - that this is finally happening with 'relatively' no wait. By this I mean, finishing our home study and waiting for a child to match our family. It JUST happened.
AHHHHHHH..........I could just SCREAM with all of the emotions going through me right now.
We could be welcoming our "daughter" into our hearts & home sooner than we ever dreamed of and yet this moment is something we've dreamed of for so long. And to think, all we were hoping for this year was for our home study to start & be completed. Tonight, I am certainly COUNTING MY BLESSINGS!!!
Until our home study is complete, there has been special approval for our family to be allowed to welcome this little girl into our home as a "Provisional Foster Family". At the completion of our home study, we could then continue on to adopt her (if this was something that she wanted - which they all feel she does).
As soon as I got off the phone, I called Jacques at work and told him to 'CLOSE THE DOOR' to his office. He knew I meant business! He closed the door and immediately came back to the phone and said, "What is going on?" in a very concerned voice. When I told him, naturally he was just as shocked as I was. He got off the phone pretty speechless, naturally!
Later in the night, we talked more and had more questions. I go from feeling excited, to feelings of nervousness, to feelings of being thrilled, to feelings of confusion, then to tears of fear......I just can't describe how excited I am. I guess the big shock of getting 'THE CALL', then to be thinking about an older child than Noah that sounds perfect for our family - in so many ways.
Tonight, I also began a hand written journal. When I think to process, I need to WRITE. I will carry this journal with me for the next several weeks (I am sure) to document all the moments that I am not at my computer as well as to jot down any questions we have (so we don't forget).
Noah's Reaction:
When I told Noah, he seemed genuinely excited. He seemed genuinely excited with the idea of an older sister, especially when he found out that she liked sports (in order of her favourites are soccer, hockey and gymnastics). His one big concern is that she would want the top bunk (of the bunk beds we don't even have!!!). In conversations about adopting, we talked about the possibility of him having to share a room and if this happened we would get bunk beds. I guess we forgot to leave out the important information (assuming he knew) that boys & girls don't share rooms!! (Woops.) Now that this is cleared up, he seems happy that he won't have to share a room!
Once we had this cleared up, he was good to go. Of course, he wanted to know if she was French or English. If she would be going to the same school. His third question asked about her family, why she had to come to live with us? What happened to her parents? I did not tell him anything, I don't think we should share this information - but I thought it was sweet that he even thought about this! He also asked about what her favourite activity was (which I didn't know and can't wait to learn).
Towards the end of our conversation, his concerns were mostly just about the sharing aspect of having a sibling. Will she break my toys? Do I have to share MY DS? Will she be bossy with me? Then he asked many 'what if' questions: "What if she does this....." or "If she does 'that', then what?" Then THAT was it....he was ready to go play again, just like that. Cute!
Like I said, it's all happening SO fast (like I always said it would).
So THAT is our wonderful, exciting, unexpected and happy news.
Please, please, please, if I am dreaming, PINCH ME!
I wrote the initial post with the intention of waiting to share the information, but since then I have had to write for myself. All that has happened since the original post is below, listed in date order!
Saturday, May 2:
Had a little overnight get away with Jacques (Noah stayed with Jacques sister and we got a room). We talked and talked and talked.....in the end, we are both 100% a YES!
Monday, May 4:
(around 8:30 am):
- Spoke with the little girls SW to have many questions answered. First question: What is the 'little girls' name? " ISABELLE" I LOVE her name - so sweet! We received a lot of background from Isabelle's SW and nothing stood out as alarming or deal breaking for us! We communicated that we wanted to proceed, pending how Noah's visit with our SW goes. We found out there was another family approached and they were waiting to get an answer from them as well. I thought I was going to PUKE when I found this out. It was a rough morning.
- Our SW came to visit us. As soon as she walked in, she saw my distressed look. Asked me what was wrong and I told her of our concerns about this other family and I broke down. She was SO consoling and great news: the other family had called our SW just before she left to come to our house and advised that they could not accept the referral. So we are the ONLY family with a referral - which makes the chances of us having Isabelle move in with us a pretty sure thing!!!
- At lunch, our SW went to Noah's school to meet with him and take him out for lunch. According to our SW, it went GREAT. She felt that Noah is very well adjusted about our plan to welcome Isabelle permanently. Though he has some concerns (mostly about the sharing of his love & attention from us) they are 'completely' normal. We did change the vocabulary from adopting to having her come and live us permanently. When she came back to our place to tell us how it went, she walked in and immediately said "Noah is officially the cutest boy I have EVER spent time with"!!!
- Wait, wait, wait
- Now feeling a little hesitant with the wait, like is something going wrong? Will she come to live with us for sure?
- Find out we may have 2 additional family members - a hamster & a beta fish that are her babies!
- Clean, purge, clean, purge....in preparation for Isabelle's arrival
- No new news by the end of the day.....AHHHH
- Going crazy with this wait
Wednesday, May 6:
Nerves are shot
Wait, wait, wait
Found out they will be meeting with Isabelle on Thursday after school and will contact us on Friday morning
Wait, worry, wait, fret, wait, worry.....get my drift.
Thursday, May 7:
First full night sleep since last Wednesday night
Feeling relatively calm today
Begin praying at3:30 pm (the suspected time the SW's are talking with Isabelle
Ask God to be with her and comfort her little heart as she hears the news
3:57 pm
Phone rings and it's our SW to advise they spoke with Isabelle who is REALLY excited to come to our family FOREVER!!! Then asks if I want to talk to her.....*waaaaah*....I was SO nervous, mumbled and babbled and chatted. She said she was as excited and nervous as I was.
5:00 pm
Began spreading our great news....
8:45 pm
Posting our great news...
Next steps:
- Meeting Isabelle (Friday after school at our house) for a short visit)
- Spending Mother's Day with her
- Moving her in (by the beginning of the week) - she asked if she could move in before her birthday on Sat. May 16 so she wouldn't have to be in her temporary home for her birthday
- Celebrating our 'new' family and her birthday on May 16
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Won't you please....HELP?
My dear friend Leslie is adopting from Vietnam. They recently received their referral (finally - after a long 22 months of waiting) of 'their' baby girl, Meg and she is a little beauty! They should be traveling by May or June and have asked for support. On her blog, she asked her blog buddies for some help with Donations to the Orphanage.
When I emailed her the other day to see how I could help, this is the response I received from her (of course, she did not know that I would be posting the response on my blog!!!):
When I emailed her the other day to see how I could help, this is the response I received from her (of course, she did not know that I would be posting the response on my blog!!!):
Tara, this orphanage is so sad. there is VERY little to feed and care for the kids. I have heard from a few different families that finally were able to go pick up their children and they were extremely malnourished (11lbs at 1 yr old). Meg should be fine because our agency has a fierce and passionate woman (our agency director) that advocates for their care. The rest of the children are not faring as well :( it breaks my heart.
Now after reading this email and chatting with her on the phone about the state of the orphanage that their daughter has called home since she was born, I felt compelled to do something. Anything to try and help. I feel SO completely comfortable helping her because I KNOW (and have her guarantee) that 100% of what I send/donate will go directly to those sweet innocent babies in Meg's orphanage.
She also told me that when she is in Vietnam she will be buying items that are not easily transported (most importantly - FORMULA and food for the children of the orphanage).
NOW......she has told me that she does not feel right asking for a monetary donation and I can completely understand because I wouldn't feel right either. HOWEVER, I don't have any issues asking for her:
Crayons, toothbrushes, medicines for scabies, Tylenol for young babies, stimulating baby toys like link chains that are non fabric (because of scabies), coloring books, mild soaps.
So that's where I am asking you for your help - would you consider donating some items or possibly a small cash donation?
I will be sending a care package with a cash donation from our family at the beginning of April, so please have your items to me by April 6.
Email me for more information: tara.morin@hotmail.com
THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart (and the bottom of those poor baby's bellies)!!!
PS: A 'DONATE' button will be set up on the top corner of my blog. Click to donate and follow the directions to complete transaction.
She also told me that when she is in Vietnam she will be buying items that are not easily transported (most importantly - FORMULA and food for the children of the orphanage).
NOW......she has told me that she does not feel right asking for a monetary donation and I can completely understand because I wouldn't feel right either. HOWEVER, I don't have any issues asking for her:
- Would you consider donating a few bucks to such a worthy cause, as well as her daughter's only home she's ever known and the country of her birth. Skip your coffee for a few days and donate even just $5.00 every little bit will help buy formula & food to feed those innocent babies.
Crayons, toothbrushes, medicines for scabies, Tylenol for young babies, stimulating baby toys like link chains that are non fabric (because of scabies), coloring books, mild soaps.
So that's where I am asking you for your help - would you consider donating some items or possibly a small cash donation?
I will be sending a care package with a cash donation from our family at the beginning of April, so please have your items to me by April 6.
Email me for more information: tara.morin@hotmail.com
THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart (and the bottom of those poor baby's bellies)!!!
PS: A 'DONATE' button will be set up on the top corner of my blog. Click to donate and follow the directions to complete transaction.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Congratulations...
I can't even tell how excited I am to share this. A friend of mine whose family has been waiting 22 months for their referral from Vietnam, just received it yesterday. I am BEYOND excited for their family. I even lost sleep last night in sheer joy for her family. When I woke up early, I immediately came to the computer in hopes to find a photo of their little beauty on their blog (unfortunately, that didn't happen so I guess I'll just have to be patient).
I love what one of her blog readers said "I am so enjoying your joy" and this SO describes what I am feeling! "L" - you know who you are and just know that your little beauty is in my prayers until she is safely in your arms.
Congratulations!
I love what one of her blog readers said "I am so enjoying your joy" and this SO describes what I am feeling! "L" - you know who you are and just know that your little beauty is in my prayers until she is safely in your arms.
Congratulations!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Exciting news...
Read the post 'How come?' on our adoption blog to read more!!!
As well, bookmark, subscribe to this blog to find out what's going on in our adoption....because I have a feeling we're at the top of a BIG slide ready for the excitement of sliding down. Climbing the slide was hard, but from here out I think the process will be fun! Or at least there will be action and not just 'waiting'!!!
As well, bookmark, subscribe to this blog to find out what's going on in our adoption....because I have a feeling we're at the top of a BIG slide ready for the excitement of sliding down. Climbing the slide was hard, but from here out I think the process will be fun! Or at least there will be action and not just 'waiting'!!!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Life seems to be on hold...
I'm still alive & kicking, HONEST! Though, I have been somewhat down in the dumps over our adoption/foster care. More delays on our PRIDE training is not making me a happy camper - hopefully by the end of the week we'll have some answers (and answers that we WANT to hear)!
So my blogging has been kinda been put to the side because we received a 49 page questionnaire from the Foster Care Social Services Department. YES, you read correctly - 49 pages. Each question (at least many of them) have 3 or 4 part's to each question. Right now, I am on page 6 of 20 of MY questionnaire and I have typed 6 full pages of answers. WHAT THE HECK - these questions are DEEP and considering we are talking about my childhood I have to break it down into MOM & STEP DAD and DAD & STEP MOM - eeeeesh.
I'm assuming we'll be here for a while (or not updating the blog with anything too intense). THEN after this round of paperwork, I told Jacques that I would type his answers as well - grrrr!
See you later alligator.
So my blogging has been kinda been put to the side because we received a 49 page questionnaire from the Foster Care Social Services Department. YES, you read correctly - 49 pages. Each question (at least many of them) have 3 or 4 part's to each question. Right now, I am on page 6 of 20 of MY questionnaire and I have typed 6 full pages of answers. WHAT THE HECK - these questions are DEEP and considering we are talking about my childhood I have to break it down into MOM & STEP DAD and DAD & STEP MOM - eeeeesh.
I'm assuming we'll be here for a while (or not updating the blog with anything too intense). THEN after this round of paperwork, I told Jacques that I would type his answers as well - grrrr!
See you later alligator.
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