Seriously. It's free. For everyone. And they'll be lined up out the door. We went last year and took the whole crew. I felt kind of guilty walking out of there with 8 free Italian ices...but I shouldn't have. They people at Rita's are GENIUSES! I never would have gone into Rita's had they not that had that promotion but once I had one of their ices, I had to go back for more. Many times. :) If you have a Rita's nearby check it out.
We headed out bright and early yesterday to make the 3+ hour drive to Charlotte. Our fingerprint appointment wasn't until March 26, but we had been told we could walk in at the Charlotte office. Our schedules worked out to go the 17th so we decided to give it a shot. We walked right in, handed them our fingerprint appointment letters and she gave us the forms to fill out. She never even looked at the appointment date. Big sigh of relief! I was ready to plead my case if they tried to turn us away, but thankfully that wasn't necessary. We were in and out in under 30 minutes and they assured us (insisted) that our fingerprints looked good. I was worried they'd get rejected and we'd have to trek back to Charlotte in a few weeks. When we returned home, I called the NBC (National Benefits Center) to tell them we had gotten fingerprinted early and was disappointed to hear that we haven't even been assigned a case officer yet. Then I called the Illinois Secretary of State to ask about processing time and found out there is a 2 week wait right now. Jeff's birth certificate has been there since the 12th. They said it wouldn't get sent out until late next week. In a matter of minutes, the euphoria of getting fingerprinted was snuffed out by the reality that my timeline isn't going to be met. So I did what I always do and started crunching the numbers estimating our timeline under a thousand different scenarios all the while getting more and more discouraged. I even went to bed early, which I never do. I was pouting. Big time. And feeling really sorry for myself. When I woke up this morning, the first thing on my mind was my timeline. I started to think of the scenarios again and trying to figure out what I could do to speed things up. Then I thought, 'WHY am I wasting all this time trying to control things that I have no control over and not truly trusting the One who IS in control?' Duh! Then when I was in the car this morning, I heard this verse on the radio...Matthew 10:37 Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Wow. I was totally putting Coralie and my desire to get her home in MY time before God and His plan and His timing. If I trust Him enough to adopt a child when I feel He has led me to do it, why am I not trusting that it will happen in His time? So I let it go. For real this time. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted. Every day I have on this earth is a gift-even the ones before she comes home. I don't intend to waste those days trying to control things I can't when I have family and responsibilities here that need my attention. Thank you God for being a God that I can trust completely. A God who loves my little girl even more than I do and will do things for her good. I trust you, Lord!
I was talking to a friend about this and she shared this with me...
A friend of mine at church has two sons that are in the military. Last year both of them were overseas fighting. I asked her how she did it and didn't she wish they would just stay home. Her response to me touched me and had really put me at peace with our wait. She said she would rather have her sons overseas in God's will that here in the states in her will.
I love that. Don't we all want our children to be in God's will?
It just occurred to me that today Coralie is 27 months old. Another month without us. Another month without her. :( It's just the way it is and I have to trust that God will unite us in His perfect timing. I really try not to dwell on it like I did when we were waiting for Brady. I think I have done a pretty good job of it so far (probably because I have been too busy with the homestudy and the I-800A application and the dossier and the PA wait, etc.) but when a day like today comes around and you almost miss it before you realize it's a special day...it's just hard. Okay, enough pity party stuff. Let's talk fun stuff. Like care packages. :) This is Coralie's care package that I got through Ann at Red Thread.
Ann has tried to contact the orphanage for updates and pictures but so far they haven't responded. I know some families have gotten pictures in the past from this orphanage so I am hopeful we'll get something.
Also, we got our fingerprint letters today! Our appointments are for 8:00 am Friday, March 26 in Charlotte, NC. No way can we be in Charlotte at 8:00 am-we'd have to leave our house at 4:30 in the morning. Several people have had success with walking in so that's what we plan to do. Stay tuned to see if we are successful.
Twenty one years ago Jeff and I were married. Hard to believe since we're both still so young. ;)
He took me to dinner tonight. Actually, I met him for dinner. I snuck out of the house since the littles were playing nicely together. We I got back home I had this exchange with Brady...
Brady: Why'd you left us? Me: We went out to dinner because it's Mommy & Daddy's anniversary. Do you know what that is? Brady: No Me: It's like a birthday for when you are married. Brady: But you can't dance!
All this happened after he whispered, 'Mommy, mommy, mommy....I missed you super super much.'
Lucy was sent to a foster family in 2007 where she got along well with the other children in the family. In the summer of 2009 she was moved to the China Care Home, which is managed by Half the Sky Foundation. Lucy has a very serious heart condition and needs a family that can provide all the necessary medical resources for her. In addition to her heart condition, Lucy has an incompletely-formed left arm and hand with only two fingers. Despite this, she is adept at manipulating even the smallest objects and is very focused when working with tiny spoons, small balls or puzzles. She is fond of books. She doesn’t like a noisy environment. If she listens to music for a while, she will then ask her foster mom to turn it off. Lucy has a large vocabulary for her age. She knows the names of fruits and animals and can count basic numbers. She recognizes pictures of her friends and speaks their names. She is quite attached to her China Care mom but is also friendly with others. She has two best friends and happily plays with them as long as her foster mom is still in sight.
Lucy needs a family that is already DTC, if possible. If not, she will need to come on a medical visa and get the treatment she needs for her heart. Lucy would benefit most from a forever family, no matter how long her forever might be. If you think you would be interested or know someone who would be please contact Marci at 503-224-1860 or marcisk@asiadopt.org
It's hard to believe that 5 years have passed since we were logged in for our angel girl. It's even harder to believe that in the 4+ years that she's been home, the CCAA has only sent referrals for 13 months past that LID. I am so thankful that the winding road that we took during AnnaClaire's adoption led to her. She's such a blessing to us!
we first saw the face of the little girl that we hope will be our new daughter. Jeff and I had both realized that God was burdening our hearts for adoption once again. We decided it was God's will for us, but we weren't sure when. Since the process has changed so much since we last adopted, I started emailing agencies and asking questions to try and figure out the timing and the new process and how any of it might affect our timing of when to start. Along the way, I saw some children on Rainbow Kids and some agency lists but they were all dead ends. On December 2, I was sitting at my computer when I received and email from an agency that they had received a new list. Jeff happened to be playing pool with Brandon and standing right next to me. I immediately went to the site and saw an adorable little girl. I called Jeff over and asked if he was interested in inquiring about her. He said yes (to my amazement, actually) and I typed a short and sweet email as fast as I could. Then I scrolled down and saw another precious little girl. Jeff was interested in her too (maybe he should play pool more often!). I shot off another quick email. Both girls were already under review, but we were second in line for both files. The first families had a week to decide-though it seemed like a year if you ask me (and probably even longer to Jeff, who had to live with my emotional frailty that week and Brandee, my adoption friend, who had to listen to all my hopes and fears). When the week was up, we didn't get either girl. Jeff took pity on me, and taking into account the the adoption tax credit was set to expire in December 2010 decided that we could start the process at the end of December. We planned to request to be agency matched. On December 17, I picked up the homestudy packet from our social worker and started filling out the paperwork. Then on Monday, December 21, I got an email that one of the little girls had become available and it asked if we still wanted to review the file. It took about a millisecond to email them back with a YES! A week later we told the agency we wanted her and then we had our first homestudy appointment the next day. Our agency didn't want us to send our LOI (letter of intent, telling China we want this child) until they had our homestudy rough draft. They received our rough draft on 2/15 which was during Chinese New Year so they didn't send our LOI until 2/19. Recently, China has decided that they won't be sending agencies designated lists of children any more and they are taking back files of children that agencies already have. Some files that they have taken back were files that families were reviewing, some had families ready to proceed and some even had families that had sent LOI (like us). As far as we know, our daughter's file has not yet been pulled, but until we receive PA (pre-approval from China) we aren't sure if she'll be ours. We ask that you please pray for God's will in this situation. We are emotionally invested in this child and are looking forward to making her a part of our family.
I've recently been burdened by the plight of older children who need homes. There is an excellent post about Older Child Adoption on the Love Without Boundaries blog today.
I am looking forward to this documentary. Wo Ai Ni Mommy will have its World Premiere at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. The film will be screened on Sunday, March 14th at 3pm and again on Wednesday, March 17th at 7pm.
Mom of the year here. Tonight Jeff had a business dinner, Cameron was working, and Brandon & Ryan had their small group meetings. I have to take Ryan over to the church which is about 25 minutes away from our house, so the little kids and I need to kill about an hour while he is there. Tonight it is snowing and cold. I decided to take the littles to a Mexican restaurant near our church. We couldn't find a close parking spot so I carried Brady into the restaurant while the girls held my hand. When we walked in to the restaurant there was a small area to stand and we waited for the host to seat us. It was really tight in the restaurant and I was trying to push the kids along to the table. When we got back to the table the host points at Brady and said something I didn't understand. I look down at Brady and there he is...BAREFOOT. In the restaurant. So while I am thinking 'um, Jesus, this would be a real good time to come back' the man at the table next to us is laughing so hard that I think he's going to pee himself. At least someone enjoyed it because I was mortified. When the laughing man left, he told me 'Good Luck'. Oh boy.
We went to IHOP tonight (everyone but Cameron) and had FREE pancakes. Then we donated to a great cause-The Children's Miracle Network. It was fun family time and I recommend it. They do it every year. After we had eaten, Allie turned to me and said, 'Mama, what are you making for dinner?' DUH!
Another photograph to wrestle in my head Another sleepless night on concrete featherbed These thoughts of you like bullets to my soul We’ve got to find a way to get you home
I’ll find a way to get you here If it takes my fleeting breath Another sunrise hits the ground And it’s a dark lonely sight Lightyears away I hope you know There is somebody searching For the way to get you here I will get you here
Throw the clocks away and run out to the street We’ll fly to distant clouds where it’s just you and me A day will come when all of this is gone You’ve got to find a way to believe
I’ll find a way to get you here If it takes my fleeting breath Another sunrise hits the ground And it’s a dark lonely sight Lightyears away I hope you know There is somebody searching For the way to get you here I will get you here
Close your eyes and dream of a better day with me As angels hold you tight, may you sleep in peace tonight
So dream, dream, dream my child Hear the whisperings of hope It’s a song that you can sing, as you sleep in peace tonight
