When I was younger I played soccer and played on the competitive/select teams that you had to try out for. I was always the smallest girl trying out for the teams and before a try out when I was worried about being the smallest player on the team, my father would tell me, "Remember, dynamite comes in small packages," trying to remind me that no matter how big the challenge is don't ever give up. That is something that has stuck with me over the years and it's always been a reminder to me that when I want something, I can achieve it no matter what. I like to call that determination, but I think sometimes Randy calls it hard-headed. (ha ha)
With that in mind, I called the doctor's office today and pleaded my case to yet another person and told them my sorry tale of how long our adoption would be held up by waiting until November for our physical. The lady on the other end put me on hold for quite some time and when she came back she said they can get Randy and I in on Sept 17th!!!!!! Yeehaw!! I guess determination or hard-headedness, whatever you would like to call it, pays off!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Kidney's on Ebay
I finally got through to our doctor's office and the good news is they can get us in on Nov. 18th rather than Nov. 24th!! I'm so glad I went to all that effort to get us in earlier. *insert sarcastic tone* I spoke to Randy about it tonight and we have decided to go out of network and pay for a physical on our own dime. I'm not sure what that cost nowadays but I have a left kidney I'm willing to part with in order to raise the funds. We have made so much progress on our paperwork in such a short time and it makes me sick to think we will be put on hold for almost three months just for a general physical. I know everything happens for a reason and timing is not our timing but God's timing, but I would like this adoption to happen before I'm eligible for the Seniors discount at Denny's. Tomorrow I will begin the hunt for a local doctor out of network to give us a general physical. Anyone know how much kidneys go for on Ebay??
Oh and for those of you that asked about my first day in Pre-K...well let's just say there are no longer any brownies in the pan and it is only day two with a room full of four year olds. Heaven help me!
Oh and for those of you that asked about my first day in Pre-K...well let's just say there are no longer any brownies in the pan and it is only day two with a room full of four year olds. Heaven help me!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
From Mrs. Steen to "Mommy"
It's that time again, another school year begins and I no longer have the luxury of sleeping in everyday. I'm really hoping this is my last year to teach. Hopefully by this time next year I'll be a mommy. I switched grade levels this year and will now teach Pre-K. GASP!! What have I gotten myself into? Meet the teacher night was last week and I met all but one of my students and I must say, they are really sweet and there were a couple that I could have taken home, they were so stinking cute. So I look forward to tomorrow but I'm nervous. I'm not sure who is more nervous for tomorrow; me, the kids or their parents. Check back with me in about three weeks and we'll see how I'm holding up.
Randy and I had a nice, lazy, last weekend of freedom and I need to take this moment to brag on my husband. For those of you that can't handle this kind of sticky, sweet, sentiment...turn your heads. For the rest of you, I have the greatest husband!! Last week I worked A LOT of hours trying to get ready for school and trying to complete adoption paperwork. By Friday I was so exhausted from all the long days and late nights that I took a 45 minute nap on the floor of my classroom in our class library. I curled up with the blanket I use for class picnics, turned out the lights, closed the blinds and went to sleep. As the week drew to a close, our house was not looking it's usual neat and tidy self and I came home on Thursday night after open house to find the laundry going and dinner being made by my darling husband. Then yesterday he helped me get the house whipped into shape by vacuuming the floors and cleaning the kitchen. The final icing on the cake was tonight when he washed my car for me after I complained about how dirty it was. I'm a lucky girl and sometimes I feel guilty that God has blessed me this much while others are not so lucky in love. Randy truly took care of me this week when I needed it most.
Last night we took our friend's children to Austin with us for the Red Bull Flugtag. Have you ever seen the commercials on t.v. where the people make their own flying machine and launch it into the water? We've seen it lots of times and said if it ever gets close to town we'll go. Apparently 100,000 other people in the Austin area had the same idea. We had no idea it would be so packed. We didn't see the show and couldn't find a spot to sit all together. Luckily for us, the kids are so easy going and such great kids. It's one of the reasons we love taking them places and always have fun with them. Even though the Flugtag was a "flooptag" we had fun with the kids and stopped on the way home at Chuy's for some awesome Mexican food, something our little town is desperately in need of. It was a nice way to spend my last weekend of summer.
Well I hear the timer going off, I made brownies tonight to take to work tomorrow. The amount of brownies I consume tomorrow will directly correlate with how my day went with a classroom full of four year olds. Let's hope there is something more than just crumbs left over tomorrow afternoon, and let's hope this is my last year teaching for a few years while I make the transistion from Mrs. Steen to Mommy.
Randy and I had a nice, lazy, last weekend of freedom and I need to take this moment to brag on my husband. For those of you that can't handle this kind of sticky, sweet, sentiment...turn your heads. For the rest of you, I have the greatest husband!! Last week I worked A LOT of hours trying to get ready for school and trying to complete adoption paperwork. By Friday I was so exhausted from all the long days and late nights that I took a 45 minute nap on the floor of my classroom in our class library. I curled up with the blanket I use for class picnics, turned out the lights, closed the blinds and went to sleep. As the week drew to a close, our house was not looking it's usual neat and tidy self and I came home on Thursday night after open house to find the laundry going and dinner being made by my darling husband. Then yesterday he helped me get the house whipped into shape by vacuuming the floors and cleaning the kitchen. The final icing on the cake was tonight when he washed my car for me after I complained about how dirty it was. I'm a lucky girl and sometimes I feel guilty that God has blessed me this much while others are not so lucky in love. Randy truly took care of me this week when I needed it most.
Last night we took our friend's children to Austin with us for the Red Bull Flugtag. Have you ever seen the commercials on t.v. where the people make their own flying machine and launch it into the water? We've seen it lots of times and said if it ever gets close to town we'll go. Apparently 100,000 other people in the Austin area had the same idea. We had no idea it would be so packed. We didn't see the show and couldn't find a spot to sit all together. Luckily for us, the kids are so easy going and such great kids. It's one of the reasons we love taking them places and always have fun with them. Even though the Flugtag was a "flooptag" we had fun with the kids and stopped on the way home at Chuy's for some awesome Mexican food, something our little town is desperately in need of. It was a nice way to spend my last weekend of summer.
Well I hear the timer going off, I made brownies tonight to take to work tomorrow. The amount of brownies I consume tomorrow will directly correlate with how my day went with a classroom full of four year olds. Let's hope there is something more than just crumbs left over tomorrow afternoon, and let's hope this is my last year teaching for a few years while I make the transistion from Mrs. Steen to Mommy.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Progress!!
Update: 8/23/07
We are continuing to make progress on our paperwork. I found out we do not have to do the FBI check so we can delete that item. We have not had success making a doctors appointment for our physical. Our mega, massive, take-a-number, health care provider said the first available date to get us in for a physical is November 24th!!! I have a personal call in to our doctor but he is out of the office until Friday so we are waiting to see what we can do there. Thank you Melissa for teaching me how to do the line!! I'm half way through my autobiography and I hope to finish it this week. Tonight is meet the teacher night and I can't wait to meet my darling little angels!
We are making good progress on our paperwork. Yahoo! Below is the list of what we have left to do and I think you'll agree compared to the list that I posted last week, we only have a little bit left to complete for our home study.
To Do:
1. Photocopy of I600A
2. General physical from our doctor (appt will be made on 8/21)
3.FBI check
4.Employment letter (my new contract came out today so I was waiting for the updated $ amount)
5. Financial statement (see reason above)
6. Autobiography
7.Country fee (It did not arrive in our paperwork from St. Louis)
That's it!! Progress, sweet progress, in just one week.
We are continuing to make progress on our paperwork. I found out we do not have to do the FBI check so we can delete that item. We have not had success making a doctors appointment for our physical. Our mega, massive, take-a-number, health care provider said the first available date to get us in for a physical is November 24th!!! I have a personal call in to our doctor but he is out of the office until Friday so we are waiting to see what we can do there. Thank you Melissa for teaching me how to do the line!! I'm half way through my autobiography and I hope to finish it this week. Tonight is meet the teacher night and I can't wait to meet my darling little angels!
We are making good progress on our paperwork. Yahoo! Below is the list of what we have left to do and I think you'll agree compared to the list that I posted last week, we only have a little bit left to complete for our home study.
To Do:
1. Photocopy of I600A
2. General physical from our doctor (appt will be made on 8/21)
3.
4.
5. Financial statement (see reason above)
6. Autobiography
7.
That's it!! Progress, sweet progress, in just one week.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
A glimpse into my future
I went shopping yesterday at the Round Rock outlet stores. Now I know this would be torture for some of you, (Randy, cough, cough) but for those of you that don't know, I am a shopper. I love to shop for shoes, clothes, bathroom towels, scented soaps, socks, toaster ovens, you name it, I love to shop for it. I am one of those crazy women that is up at 4:30 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving to be at JCPennys for their door buster sales and I fully support any legislative bill that would deem "Black Friday" as a national holiday. My love for shopping is not just a hobby, but a passion and something I would be proud to list on my resume when applying for a job. I love to shop, period.
Yesterday at the outlet mall, I had a moment in which I was able to see into the future and I think I may have scared myself. It was the tax-free weekend here in TX, again I could support that being a national holiday, and the mall was packed. But unlike shopping during the holidays when the malls are just full of people, yesterday was packed with families shopping for their children, something I've never been able to do. Kids were every where, crying babies abounded, three year old children screaming to go on the motorized pony one more time, and I was constantly dodging and weaving strollers. Single strollers, double side-by-side strollers, umbrella strollers...I had never seen so many strollers in my life. And it dawned on me as I tried to weave my way through the Tommy Hilfiger store and I watched these families try to squeeze those double strollers through the aisles that having children puts a serious crimp on shopping. It suddenly became clear to me that in only a few months I'm going to be one of those tired, glassy eyed women that I saw yesterday trying to get their children to hold on for one more store so they could finish their shopping.
Then it happened, my saving grace in a pair of pink Crocs...a little girl with a bouncing pony tail who looked about three years old yelling for her mama to come look at all the pretty jewelry. Every time her mother would pull another pair of earrings off the rack the little girl would ooh and aah and clap her hands at how pretty they were. She cheered for necklaces and head bands and told her mother the pink flowered belt she saw hanging up would "match my Crocs perfectly" and I realized that maybe, just maybe God would give me a little pint sized shopper that I could pass along my passion for shopping, like Yoda to a young Jedi, and I would have someone to second my motion enacting "Black Friday" as a nationally observed holiday, someone to agree with me that if done correctly, white shoes past Labor day are okay, and someone to cheer and clap over her new pretty earrings that match her pink Crocs "perfectly".
Yesterday at the outlet mall, I had a moment in which I was able to see into the future and I think I may have scared myself. It was the tax-free weekend here in TX, again I could support that being a national holiday, and the mall was packed. But unlike shopping during the holidays when the malls are just full of people, yesterday was packed with families shopping for their children, something I've never been able to do. Kids were every where, crying babies abounded, three year old children screaming to go on the motorized pony one more time, and I was constantly dodging and weaving strollers. Single strollers, double side-by-side strollers, umbrella strollers...I had never seen so many strollers in my life. And it dawned on me as I tried to weave my way through the Tommy Hilfiger store and I watched these families try to squeeze those double strollers through the aisles that having children puts a serious crimp on shopping. It suddenly became clear to me that in only a few months I'm going to be one of those tired, glassy eyed women that I saw yesterday trying to get their children to hold on for one more store so they could finish their shopping.
Then it happened, my saving grace in a pair of pink Crocs...a little girl with a bouncing pony tail who looked about three years old yelling for her mama to come look at all the pretty jewelry. Every time her mother would pull another pair of earrings off the rack the little girl would ooh and aah and clap her hands at how pretty they were. She cheered for necklaces and head bands and told her mother the pink flowered belt she saw hanging up would "match my Crocs perfectly" and I realized that maybe, just maybe God would give me a little pint sized shopper that I could pass along my passion for shopping, like Yoda to a young Jedi, and I would have someone to second my motion enacting "Black Friday" as a nationally observed holiday, someone to agree with me that if done correctly, white shoes past Labor day are okay, and someone to cheer and clap over her new pretty earrings that match her pink Crocs "perfectly".
Friday, August 17, 2007
Not for the faint of heart
Updated 8/17/07
We printed off quite a bit of paperwork today and will get it notarized tomorrow. Luckily, my school secretary is a notary and she said she'd be happy to notarize everything for us for the low, low price of a Gin and Tonic. I've bolded and italicized everything that we've completed since I don't know how to draw lines through it like my friend Melissa can do on her blog.
Several people have asked me about the amount of paperwork we have to fill out and what kind of forms they require, etc. I think I've finally got enough strength to type out the list of what they require for the home study. Keep in mind this is just the home study list and the dossier will be a separate issue that we will have to collect information for. Here goes...
1. Copy of any previous home study
2. Reference letters (5-7)
3. Pre-adoption questionnaire (part complete together, part completed individually, Randy finished his and it is 23 pages long)
4. Written directions to our home
5. Photocopies of birth certificates
6. Photocopies of marriage certificates
7. Photocopies of divorce decrees
8. Photocopy of I600A (this goes to Immigration services)
9. Medical report for each of us from our doctor
10. Letter from local police checking our police record
11. Central child abuse registry clearance
12. FBI check
13. TX Dept of Public Safety check
14. Employment letters
15. Financial statements
16. Photocopies of insurance cards
17. Copy of recent 1040
18. Photocopies of passport pictures
19. Autobiography for each parent (detailed as possible, should be at least 5 pages)
20. Cultural questionnaires
21. Guardianship form
22. Pictures of us together and specific pictures of our home
23. Psychological evaluation
24. Press release
25. CIS release of information (I'm forgetting at the moment what CIS stands for)
26. List of references
27. Adoption agreement
28. Country fee schedule
29. Commitment to Excellence form
30. Grievance policy
31. Home Study agreement form
32. Floor plan of our house with room sizes and what each room is used for
Not to bad huh?? And that is just to get someone out to the house to complete our home study. The good news is we have about 10 things completed from that list. It's progress! We worked the other night on it and I just sat at the computer scanning documents and printing them from the printer while Randy ran from room to room collecting all the items for me. We had a good system going and got a lot done even though compared to the list it doesn't seem like much. I have one more question to answer on my questionnaire and then I'm done. Today we are meeting up at my school to get a bunch of documents notarized (our school secretary is a notary thank goodness) and then we can cross a bunch of other stuff off the list.
I better cut this off here. I need to get to the police department this morning to get my fingerprints taken so we can cross some more things off the list.
We printed off quite a bit of paperwork today and will get it notarized tomorrow. Luckily, my school secretary is a notary and she said she'd be happy to notarize everything for us for the low, low price of a Gin and Tonic. I've bolded and italicized everything that we've completed since I don't know how to draw lines through it like my friend Melissa can do on her blog.
Several people have asked me about the amount of paperwork we have to fill out and what kind of forms they require, etc. I think I've finally got enough strength to type out the list of what they require for the home study. Keep in mind this is just the home study list and the dossier will be a separate issue that we will have to collect information for. Here goes...
1. Copy of any previous home study
2. Reference letters (5-7)
3. Pre-adoption questionnaire (part complete together, part completed individually, Randy finished his and it is 23 pages long)
4. Written directions to our home
5. Photocopies of birth certificates
6. Photocopies of marriage certificates
7. Photocopies of divorce decrees
8. Photocopy of I600A (this goes to Immigration services)
9. Medical report for each of us from our doctor
10. Letter from local police checking our police record
11. Central child abuse registry clearance
12. FBI check
13. TX Dept of Public Safety check
14. Employment letters
15. Financial statements
16. Photocopies of insurance cards
17. Copy of recent 1040
18. Photocopies of passport pictures
19. Autobiography for each parent (detailed as possible, should be at least 5 pages)
20. Cultural questionnaires
21. Guardianship form
22. Pictures of us together and specific pictures of our home
23. Psychological evaluation
24. Press release
25. CIS release of information (I'm forgetting at the moment what CIS stands for)
26. List of references
27. Adoption agreement
28. Country fee schedule
29. Commitment to Excellence form
30. Grievance policy
31. Home Study agreement form
32. Floor plan of our house with room sizes and what each room is used for
Not to bad huh?? And that is just to get someone out to the house to complete our home study. The good news is we have about 10 things completed from that list. It's progress! We worked the other night on it and I just sat at the computer scanning documents and printing them from the printer while Randy ran from room to room collecting all the items for me. We had a good system going and got a lot done even though compared to the list it doesn't seem like much. I have one more question to answer on my questionnaire and then I'm done. Today we are meeting up at my school to get a bunch of documents notarized (our school secretary is a notary thank goodness) and then we can cross a bunch of other stuff off the list.
I better cut this off here. I need to get to the police department this morning to get my fingerprints taken so we can cross some more things off the list.
Friday, August 10, 2007
I think we just demolished a small forest!
Our paperwork arrived today! In it was our official letter of acceptance which was exciting and reason to take a ceremonial picture but completely overwhelming at the sheer amount of paperwork that is going to be needed to adopt. Fortunately I have Randy to keep me focussed and tell me that we will just take it one step at a time, which is all you really can do. But let me have my omi-good-ness freak-out moment...there is so much to do!!! We need to do everything from financial statements to finger printing, to background checks, to submitting the floorplan of our house with room measurements and uses for each room, to medical checks, to letters of references from friends and family, to our autobiography. Like I said in the title, I think we may have wiped out a small forest today with all the paper we are using. That all aside, this is really such an exciting time for us and we are thrilled to be overwhelmed with paperwork at the moment b/c it means we are moving forward. Also, on a positive note, our agency rep requires a 45-60 minute meeting with us to help explain all the paperwork and help us get it all started. It makes me feel good to know that we have someone looking out for us and wanting everything to go as smoothly as possible.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
It's on, it's off, it's on...We're approved!
I know there is a big time difference from my last post until now but I've been waiting to get the good news that we are approved with CHI and post this exciting news to everyone. Unfortunately, I was not able to do this. Approval with the agency should take two weeks and at the two week mark we had not heard anything. I called to see what was going on and found out that we qualified to be approved but we were on hold indefinitely because the Russian govt was reconfiguring some laws and policies. No surprise there, its kind of how our luck has been over the past 6 1/2 years that we've been trying to start a family.
Yesterday I received a phone call at work. I have already gone back to get my classroom set up because the district has asked me to be a district level mentor and teach a week of New Teacher Induction (NTI) to the over 500 new teachers coming to our district this school year. So I am missing out on a week of prep time for my classroom and I've had to go in early and work. Anyway, back to the phone call...it's me and the crickets up at school b/c no sane person has returned this early and the secretary calls over the loudspeaker that if I'm at school to buzz the office b/c I have a phone call. I NEVER get calls at school and I knew Randy was flying so of course my stomach sinks. I call the office and the secretary tells me, "Some lady from a Children's something or other is on the phone, do you want to take it?" Uh, YES!! I think I set a new speed record for fastest time to the office and it was Stella on the phone from CHI calling to let me know that we are no longer on hold and that she is mailing the paperwork out today for us to start our home study. She said the bad news is the Russian govt did say they will no longer adopt out any girls younger than 16 months and that the referral time might take up to a year after our dossier is submitted but the good news is they are still accepting adoptions.
Finally we can post and let everyone know that it is official, we are adopting from Russia!! It will be about 2-3 months for us to get our dossier complete and submitted mainly b/c of the sheer amount of paperwork and getting everything notarized and apostilled by the state. After that its another couple of months to get it translated into Russian and then we wait for a referral. We are requesting either a boy or girl, no special needs, under the age of two at the time of referral. We have no medical conditions or criminal backgrounds that make it harder for couples to adopt and limit the regions in Russia they can adopt from so hopefully it won't be hard for them to match us with a child. Feel free to put us on your prayer lists and pray that things will move smoothly and quickly for us.
I guess that is about it for now. I will be updating everyone through this blog so you may want to bookmark it on your favorites ;-) and check in every so often for news on our progress. We are so excited to get started and hopefully about this time next year we will be close to being a family!
I also wanted to tell you to leave us comments and questions and we'll do our best to answer them.
Yesterday I received a phone call at work. I have already gone back to get my classroom set up because the district has asked me to be a district level mentor and teach a week of New Teacher Induction (NTI) to the over 500 new teachers coming to our district this school year. So I am missing out on a week of prep time for my classroom and I've had to go in early and work. Anyway, back to the phone call...it's me and the crickets up at school b/c no sane person has returned this early and the secretary calls over the loudspeaker that if I'm at school to buzz the office b/c I have a phone call. I NEVER get calls at school and I knew Randy was flying so of course my stomach sinks. I call the office and the secretary tells me, "Some lady from a Children's something or other is on the phone, do you want to take it?" Uh, YES!! I think I set a new speed record for fastest time to the office and it was Stella on the phone from CHI calling to let me know that we are no longer on hold and that she is mailing the paperwork out today for us to start our home study. She said the bad news is the Russian govt did say they will no longer adopt out any girls younger than 16 months and that the referral time might take up to a year after our dossier is submitted but the good news is they are still accepting adoptions.
Finally we can post and let everyone know that it is official, we are adopting from Russia!! It will be about 2-3 months for us to get our dossier complete and submitted mainly b/c of the sheer amount of paperwork and getting everything notarized and apostilled by the state. After that its another couple of months to get it translated into Russian and then we wait for a referral. We are requesting either a boy or girl, no special needs, under the age of two at the time of referral. We have no medical conditions or criminal backgrounds that make it harder for couples to adopt and limit the regions in Russia they can adopt from so hopefully it won't be hard for them to match us with a child. Feel free to put us on your prayer lists and pray that things will move smoothly and quickly for us.
I guess that is about it for now. I will be updating everyone through this blog so you may want to bookmark it on your favorites ;-) and check in every so often for news on our progress. We are so excited to get started and hopefully about this time next year we will be close to being a family!
I also wanted to tell you to leave us comments and questions and we'll do our best to answer them.
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