Told you I wouldn't make it back on here before Christmas. We are now entering what I call Birthday Season. Counting our extended family, we have birthdays every month from January through October. For the 4 in our actual household, we run February through May -- one per month. Eli's is next week. He'll be 7. It's hard to believe that we went to our first informational adoption meeting just a little after Eli turned 2.
School is going fine. I'm still working on pacing ourselves and trying to balance school with housework, adoption work, and just-stuff-I-really-wanna-do. The boys are doing well academically. Of course, I'm their mom and teacher, so I think they are brilliant. I must confess that I have to continually remind myself that they are kids and that they are not me. Sometimes they have a different perspective about school than I did at their age. I probably need to cover our school time in more prayer than I do.
I'm still working on that weight loss thing. My contract with Curves is almost up. I wish I could go regularly, but I just can't. We are too crazy busy. So I'll be glad to quit making monthly donations to their company. ; ) But I absolutely MUST find time to exercise on my own and find a way to make sure I stick to it.
The boys are getting restless about the adoption. I can't say I blame them. It must look like we are all talk and no action. They want the girls to hurry up and get here. We actually did get a call recently asking if we would consider a sibling set of 3 instead of 2. Of course, we would consider it! And we did consider it. And it hurt really bad to say that we didn't feel we could support 3. It's not that I don't trust God's provision. I've always trusted that He will provide the funds for our adoption fees, travel expenses, etc. But, Tim's a teacher; I stay home; our income is what it is. To adopt ONE more child than we have right now would not be a huge blow to our budget. To adopt 30, would be a huge blow. It would be insane and impossible. So somewhere in between 1 and 30, is a line where just one more is too many. I don't know how to find that exactly, but right now it feels like that line is between 2 and 3. TWO is okay; THREE is too many. It was tempting to say yes just to make the process finish and go away. When I was pregnant, I tried to "enjoy" every moment of the process...knowing that it was temporary. Now, I'm like the woman who loves her babies but hates everything about being pregnant. I am not enjoying being paper pregnant. I just keep telling myself that this too shall pass.
It does show that our papers are before the MOJ, and they know our names. They are trying to match us. So maybe Keely and Mattie will be here before too much longer! Guess I'd better get back to my fundraising!
Happy Valentine's Day (a little early)
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Back on Track (One Year Later)
Finally, we have our immigration papers updated. Last time I posted (I know, it's been awhile), I was about to head back to Nashville for yet another set of fingerprints. Good or bad, USCIS only makes you re-do them once. So if they were bad again, it really didn't matter.
Since then, we went back for the fingerprints, got our I-797C (immigration approval), printed off another document saying that the I-797C is "True and Accurate", had that notarized, and had the notarization certified. Today, we made the trip back to Nashville to have the certification of the notarization apostilled by the secretary of state. Are you following? The US government issued the I-797C themselves; you'd think that would be official enough. Oh well, I'm learning to just jump through the hoops.
Tomorrow, I make sure I have scanned all parts of this document before mailing it to our agency so they can send it to Bulgaria. Then I will email scanned copies to both of our agencies, and begin focusing again on fundraising. Has anyone done any fundraising near Christmas? My gut instinct is that it is a bad time of year to ask for donations. After all everyone else is also asking, and there are Christmas presents to buy, etc. I know folks are supposed to feel more giving at this time, but still.
I guess this all means we are back on track -- through with updating and back to waiting. By the way, today marks the 1 year anniversary of our being officially registered in Bulgaria. Maybe we are getting close to a referral. At least we are a year closer! LOL My thoughts bounce around from being excited to feeling not ready; I'm scared to go, but I want the process behind me.
Just in case I don't post again before Christmas, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas season.
Since then, we went back for the fingerprints, got our I-797C (immigration approval), printed off another document saying that the I-797C is "True and Accurate", had that notarized, and had the notarization certified. Today, we made the trip back to Nashville to have the certification of the notarization apostilled by the secretary of state. Are you following? The US government issued the I-797C themselves; you'd think that would be official enough. Oh well, I'm learning to just jump through the hoops.
Tomorrow, I make sure I have scanned all parts of this document before mailing it to our agency so they can send it to Bulgaria. Then I will email scanned copies to both of our agencies, and begin focusing again on fundraising. Has anyone done any fundraising near Christmas? My gut instinct is that it is a bad time of year to ask for donations. After all everyone else is also asking, and there are Christmas presents to buy, etc. I know folks are supposed to feel more giving at this time, but still.
I guess this all means we are back on track -- through with updating and back to waiting. By the way, today marks the 1 year anniversary of our being officially registered in Bulgaria. Maybe we are getting close to a referral. At least we are a year closer! LOL My thoughts bounce around from being excited to feeling not ready; I'm scared to go, but I want the process behind me.
Just in case I don't post again before Christmas, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas season.
- Enjoy your family.
- Don't rush through the holidays.
- Make memories.
- Start a new tradition.
- Focus more on others than on yourself.
- Remember it truly is better to give than to receive.
- And remember that it isn't about the gifts we exchange but about the Gift we were given over 2000 years ago when Jesus Christ was born. (If you don't know Him personally, accept His gift this year above all others.)
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
I Stand Corrected
I stand corrected. Apparently, the fingerprints did NOT go well. I got a letter today from USCIS that they were unable to read my prints, and I will have to do it again. Really? Are you kidding me? The computer said "accepted" or "rejected" as we took each print. What is the point of doing them until they all say "accepted" while I'm standing there, if they are only going to wait two weeks and make me go back?
The lady and computer in Nashville thought they were fine....
Why can't you use the ones taken locally in July for our home study? I believe they went to the SAME place.
Why can't you use the ones you took 18 months ago? They don't REALLY expire, you know. Fingerprints are fingerprints!
I bet there are people in prison who have not been fingerprinted as many times as I have. Next week will make #8.
(Deep breath. Let it out...) : o
Lord, what do you want to teach me? This has not been an easy process...I didn't expect it to be. But I wasn't expecting blatant aggravation--feels almost like harassment at times. Through Your strength, we WILL persevere. We will not give up on our girls. Please show Yourself in this process--despite the process. May You receive all the glory and honor for completing this adoption. For we cannot do this alone but through YOUR power and YOUR provision. We are Your instruments...Your vessels. May we truly be Your hands and feet. Bless our family -- bless those who help us along the way. Amen.
The lady and computer in Nashville thought they were fine....
Why can't you use the ones taken locally in July for our home study? I believe they went to the SAME place.
Why can't you use the ones you took 18 months ago? They don't REALLY expire, you know. Fingerprints are fingerprints!
I bet there are people in prison who have not been fingerprinted as many times as I have. Next week will make #8.
(Deep breath. Let it out...) : o
Lord, what do you want to teach me? This has not been an easy process...I didn't expect it to be. But I wasn't expecting blatant aggravation--feels almost like harassment at times. Through Your strength, we WILL persevere. We will not give up on our girls. Please show Yourself in this process--despite the process. May You receive all the glory and honor for completing this adoption. For we cannot do this alone but through YOUR power and YOUR provision. We are Your instruments...Your vessels. May we truly be Your hands and feet. Bless our family -- bless those who help us along the way. Amen.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
USCIS, Olive Tree, Curves, School
I actually started a post a couple of weeks ago, but I see I never got it finished...much less posted. So let's just start fresh. (HA! This post got put aside too! But I'm just going to finish it as is...)
I made my first sale on Olive Tree -- sent one of my bracelets to Michigan. That was cool. Then we were named the Featured Family, which meant we would get a very small cut of any purchase that supported anyone. THEN we got word that someone we didn't even know had placed a sizable order naming us as the family to support. That was extra cool! I'm now trying to make some baby blankets to see if I can sell those on Olive Tree. (Just today we made two more sales. Don't recognize their names and don't know what they ordered, but they supported us. THANK YOU!)
We did get our second application submitted for immigration. The appointments came and were set for Oct 20. Yeah...not gonna wait that long. We were in Nashville for a couple of doctor's appointments on Oct 4, so we just dropped by and had our fingerprints done. By the way, if you've been reading my blog for a while, you will remember what a TERRIBLE time I had last year with my ink prints (for the FBI clearance letter). 33 WEEKS!! Three trips to the police department! Paid twice! Well, that was ink.. But I also had trouble with the electronic prints. At least with electronic prints you know right away to try again. When we updated our home study this summer, I dreaded the two fingerprintings...even though they were both electronic. At the first, the man started out having trouble with me. He finally stopped and handed me some Corn Huskers Lotion. After that, we got the prints! So, just as we were leaving for Nashville this week, I remembered to check. We had some! I put some on just before going in the fingerprinting place. It worked! She barely had to redo any of my prints. I don't know if that would work with ink prints, but I do remember that I am supposed to ask for Officer Cross if/when I have to do ink prints again.
In other news, I have not made it back to Curves since school started. It's just been SO busy! I keep hoping that I can work it back in (especially since I'm still paying for it). In the meantime, though, I finally starting losing!! Yay me! I've been trying to get this weight off since Eli was born (6 years ago) and was slowly losing until maybe 2 or 3 years ago when my weight suddenly jumped up and then kept creeping up gradually and consistently. Five months with Curves had not done anything really, but I did use their philosophy to start my own program at home, and I've now officially lost 11 pounds. I know that's not phenomenal, but it is a huge answer to prayer for me. It's been maybe 6 or 7 weeks, and I've gone up and down, but overall I've gone down. Whenever I notice the weight starting to climb back up, I take a couple of days "off" and eat whatever I want -- not binge eating, just not putting a lot of thought into it. Then I jump back in, and it starts slowly falling again.
Back to school talk, we are doing well. I actually bought desks for the boys and have them in the living room..I know it may sound dumb to some, but I'm really liking it, and the boys think they are neat. It does let me tend to both of them at the same time, getting one started on something and then tending to the other without having to leave the room. Did you know that if you leave a first or fourth grader alone with their work, they very often stopping working??? This keeps our day moving forward a lot better. Sometimes I catch myself standing and pacing between them just like when I was in the classroom. Now all I need is a whiteboard on one wall, and our living room will be complete. ; ) Seriously, I think it keeps us from getting too relaxed and informal.
For those of you who may homeschool, I'm also trying a new approach with Colton (4th grade) that kind of goes against my "teacherness". Instead of doing a lesson in each subject every day, we are attacking a subject a week at a time. For example, we may do a week's worth of grammar and reading on Monday and a week's worth of math on Tuesday, etc. He seems to respond well to having the subject over with, and he thinks he has less if he only does 1 or 2 subjects -- even though the number of lessons is the same. My only exception to the all-at-once method is when there is a test. I don't want him to study 4 math lessons and immediately close the book and take the test. Maybe that is fine, but it just feels like short-term memory only to me. So if there is a test this week, we plan 2 days -- one for everything leading up to the test, and one for the test and anything scheduled after it. So far this is working for us. He is staying caught up better and seems to still be comprehending everything as we go.
I made my first sale on Olive Tree -- sent one of my bracelets to Michigan. That was cool. Then we were named the Featured Family, which meant we would get a very small cut of any purchase that supported anyone. THEN we got word that someone we didn't even know had placed a sizable order naming us as the family to support. That was extra cool! I'm now trying to make some baby blankets to see if I can sell those on Olive Tree. (Just today we made two more sales. Don't recognize their names and don't know what they ordered, but they supported us. THANK YOU!)
We did get our second application submitted for immigration. The appointments came and were set for Oct 20. Yeah...not gonna wait that long. We were in Nashville for a couple of doctor's appointments on Oct 4, so we just dropped by and had our fingerprints done. By the way, if you've been reading my blog for a while, you will remember what a TERRIBLE time I had last year with my ink prints (for the FBI clearance letter). 33 WEEKS!! Three trips to the police department! Paid twice! Well, that was ink.. But I also had trouble with the electronic prints. At least with electronic prints you know right away to try again. When we updated our home study this summer, I dreaded the two fingerprintings...even though they were both electronic. At the first, the man started out having trouble with me. He finally stopped and handed me some Corn Huskers Lotion. After that, we got the prints! So, just as we were leaving for Nashville this week, I remembered to check. We had some! I put some on just before going in the fingerprinting place. It worked! She barely had to redo any of my prints. I don't know if that would work with ink prints, but I do remember that I am supposed to ask for Officer Cross if/when I have to do ink prints again.
In other news, I have not made it back to Curves since school started. It's just been SO busy! I keep hoping that I can work it back in (especially since I'm still paying for it). In the meantime, though, I finally starting losing!! Yay me! I've been trying to get this weight off since Eli was born (6 years ago) and was slowly losing until maybe 2 or 3 years ago when my weight suddenly jumped up and then kept creeping up gradually and consistently. Five months with Curves had not done anything really, but I did use their philosophy to start my own program at home, and I've now officially lost 11 pounds. I know that's not phenomenal, but it is a huge answer to prayer for me. It's been maybe 6 or 7 weeks, and I've gone up and down, but overall I've gone down. Whenever I notice the weight starting to climb back up, I take a couple of days "off" and eat whatever I want -- not binge eating, just not putting a lot of thought into it. Then I jump back in, and it starts slowly falling again.
Back to school talk, we are doing well. I actually bought desks for the boys and have them in the living room..I know it may sound dumb to some, but I'm really liking it, and the boys think they are neat. It does let me tend to both of them at the same time, getting one started on something and then tending to the other without having to leave the room. Did you know that if you leave a first or fourth grader alone with their work, they very often stopping working??? This keeps our day moving forward a lot better. Sometimes I catch myself standing and pacing between them just like when I was in the classroom. Now all I need is a whiteboard on one wall, and our living room will be complete. ; ) Seriously, I think it keeps us from getting too relaxed and informal.
For those of you who may homeschool, I'm also trying a new approach with Colton (4th grade) that kind of goes against my "teacherness". Instead of doing a lesson in each subject every day, we are attacking a subject a week at a time. For example, we may do a week's worth of grammar and reading on Monday and a week's worth of math on Tuesday, etc. He seems to respond well to having the subject over with, and he thinks he has less if he only does 1 or 2 subjects -- even though the number of lessons is the same. My only exception to the all-at-once method is when there is a test. I don't want him to study 4 math lessons and immediately close the book and take the test. Maybe that is fine, but it just feels like short-term memory only to me. So if there is a test this week, we plan 2 days -- one for everything leading up to the test, and one for the test and anything scheduled after it. So far this is working for us. He is staying caught up better and seems to still be comprehending everything as we go.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Olive Tree Promise
I wanted to tell EVERYONE about a website that is designed to help families who are adopting. Whether you are an adopting family or someone who is trying to support an adopting family, you need to know about this site. It's called Olive Tree Promise (OTP), and you can click on it on the right side of my blog.
I'll explain, but let me define a few terms first. (Hang with me. I may get wordy!)
Vendor - the person selling an item
Buyer - the person buying an item
Family - the family fundraising for an adoption
Cost - the amount the vendor receives
Retail - the amount the buyer pays
Family Cut - the amount left over between the cost and the retail prices
Example (I'm making up these prices!)
1. A Vendor lists a t-shirt for sale. He sets the cost at $7. Then he sets the retail price at $12. The vendor has already included a little for shipping in the cost. That way shipping is included for the buyer. The difference is the Family Cut (12-7= $5).
2. Next, a buyer comes to the website. They see the t-shirt and put it in their cart.
3. During checkout, they are asked to choose a family. They can pick the family who told them they were on here, or they can pick someone at random. (You can even browse the families by country and read their profiles. Remember, we are Bulgaria!) The buyer pays $12 for the t-shirt and receives it later in the mail.
4. OTP processes the payment (usually sending out checks once a month). They send $7 to the vendor and $5 to the family.
5. The vendor receives his $7. Out of this he pays for shipping and his cost for making/buying the product. Then he ships the t-shirt directly to the buyer.
6. The family receives a check for $5 and deposits it into their adoption fund.
It doesn't get much easier than that!!
Now, here's the icing on the cake. Listen up, you adoptive families! If you have something you have created to sell as your own fundraiser, sell it here! I designed and made bracelets to sell for our adoption. Sales went fine for a while but have now slowed down a lot. After I registered with OTP as a family, I registered again as a vendor. Then I began adding new products. I listed my bracelets as well as some large and small American flag magnets. (We had a ton of these magnets donated to us.) So, let's pretend for a moment that I am selling that t-shirt up above for $12.
Scenario 1) Someone buys the t-shirt AND chooses our family. I get $7 for being the vendor and $5 for being the family. I get the whole $12 (minus shipping and my original investment in the t-shirt).
Scenario 2) Someone buys the t-shirt I am selling but supports a different family. Now, I get the $7 as the vendor, and the other family gets the $5. I'm cool with that because I might not have sold the t-shirt at all on my own. If your friends buy it while supporting you, at least I get a little something out of it for MY adoption. And I get to help you too!
Scenario 3) Someone buys a CD (that I am not selling), but they DO choose my family to support. I still get the Family Cut for this product even though it's not mine! So ordering ANY product while supporting us will help us raise funds for our adoption.
Right now there are only a few families and a few products. But they have t-shirts, CDs, necklaces, burp cloths, and more. You can even purchase a Donation like baby formula for Ethiopia or mosquito nets for Zambia. Of course, you can ALWAYS just buy up my bracelets and magnets, though! (Is it too early to push these a great Christmas gifts? Well, they are!)
So, go to Olive Tree Promise if you want to support us, if you are fundraising for your own adoption, or if could list items for sell and give a portion of the proceeds to an adopting family.
By the way, I'm always open to other ideas of something I could make and sell on here. I would love to continue selling things here for other families even after our adoption is completed.
(Whew! I hope that made sense...)
I'll explain, but let me define a few terms first. (Hang with me. I may get wordy!)
Vendor - the person selling an item
Buyer - the person buying an item
Family - the family fundraising for an adoption
Cost - the amount the vendor receives
Retail - the amount the buyer pays
Family Cut - the amount left over between the cost and the retail prices
Example (I'm making up these prices!)
1. A Vendor lists a t-shirt for sale. He sets the cost at $7. Then he sets the retail price at $12. The vendor has already included a little for shipping in the cost. That way shipping is included for the buyer. The difference is the Family Cut (12-7= $5).
2. Next, a buyer comes to the website. They see the t-shirt and put it in their cart.
3. During checkout, they are asked to choose a family. They can pick the family who told them they were on here, or they can pick someone at random. (You can even browse the families by country and read their profiles. Remember, we are Bulgaria!) The buyer pays $12 for the t-shirt and receives it later in the mail.
4. OTP processes the payment (usually sending out checks once a month). They send $7 to the vendor and $5 to the family.
5. The vendor receives his $7. Out of this he pays for shipping and his cost for making/buying the product. Then he ships the t-shirt directly to the buyer.
6. The family receives a check for $5 and deposits it into their adoption fund.
It doesn't get much easier than that!!
Now, here's the icing on the cake. Listen up, you adoptive families! If you have something you have created to sell as your own fundraiser, sell it here! I designed and made bracelets to sell for our adoption. Sales went fine for a while but have now slowed down a lot. After I registered with OTP as a family, I registered again as a vendor. Then I began adding new products. I listed my bracelets as well as some large and small American flag magnets. (We had a ton of these magnets donated to us.) So, let's pretend for a moment that I am selling that t-shirt up above for $12.
Scenario 1) Someone buys the t-shirt AND chooses our family. I get $7 for being the vendor and $5 for being the family. I get the whole $12 (minus shipping and my original investment in the t-shirt).
Scenario 2) Someone buys the t-shirt I am selling but supports a different family. Now, I get the $7 as the vendor, and the other family gets the $5. I'm cool with that because I might not have sold the t-shirt at all on my own. If your friends buy it while supporting you, at least I get a little something out of it for MY adoption. And I get to help you too!
Scenario 3) Someone buys a CD (that I am not selling), but they DO choose my family to support. I still get the Family Cut for this product even though it's not mine! So ordering ANY product while supporting us will help us raise funds for our adoption.
Right now there are only a few families and a few products. But they have t-shirts, CDs, necklaces, burp cloths, and more. You can even purchase a Donation like baby formula for Ethiopia or mosquito nets for Zambia. Of course, you can ALWAYS just buy up my bracelets and magnets, though! (Is it too early to push these a great Christmas gifts? Well, they are!)
So, go to Olive Tree Promise if you want to support us, if you are fundraising for your own adoption, or if could list items for sell and give a portion of the proceeds to an adopting family.
By the way, I'm always open to other ideas of something I could make and sell on here. I would love to continue selling things here for other families even after our adoption is completed.
(Whew! I hope that made sense...)
Friday, September 2, 2011
Time's Up!!
Remember when I said we were rushing around trying to get our immigration clearance updated? Well, I rushed as much as I could, but I couldn't control others and whether they felt our sense of urgency. I also couldn't turn back the clock and start sooner. We didn't make it. On my last post, I mentioned making a couple of changes on our home study and the fact that those changes would cost us $360 to renew our application rather than the $0 for no changes. Remember that? Well, since we missed the deadline, we now have to re-file from scratch and pay the $890 for a first time filing. Don't you just love bureaucracy? Why must they make this difficult!
At first I wanted to throw my hands in the air: We're having a hard enough time raising the money with out throwing away part of it. Why do I keep messing everything up!? Are You trying to tell us to quit?
Then I looked for someone to blame: I know I was supposed to keep up with expiration dates...and I was! It was far off to me. Doesn't everyone know I've never done this before and could use a little guidance??
I worried about how much we might be set back: We're out extra money...Will the MOJ throw us out of line and cost us our registration date which is now almost 9 months old? Will they deem us unfit parents if we don't care enough to keep everything up-to-date?
Then I thought about why I had hesitated to make the changes in gender and age. It was partly because I did NOT want to make the trip again into downtown Nashville to have the changes apostilled. 1) Find someone to keep the kids because they are not allowed in the building. 2) Find someone to go with me to help me watch for the right exit while I'm watching 4 or 5 lanes of same-direction traffic (not used to that). 3) Drive around endlessly looking for one of the few coveted parking places within a block of the place. 4) Go to the umpteenth floor where I can barely look out the window from across the waiting area because the height makes me dizzy. 5) Find my way out of there because you can't leave the way you came for all the one-way streets.
I know. That entire paragraph is pretty lame. I didn't mind it too much the first time around. It was one of those "necessary evils" to be endured. And at least I had 30-something papers to have apostilled. I did NOT want to make the trip for just one or two papers and just for a couple of wording changes.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that having to redo our USCIS application was certainly NOT optional like our change in parameters. Now, we HAD to go back to Nashville. May as well make those other changes and get those papers apostilled while we are there. Perhaps this is God's way of making sure we make those changes. Perhaps our daughters are not in the age range we originally set. Perhaps he DOES want to us to adopt boys instead. OR perhaps he just wants us to prove that we are willing. I mean look at Abraham and his almost-sacrifice of Isaac. God was looking at his willingness to obey, not that he went through with the original plan. Can you imagine Abraham arguing and saying, "No, Lord, I have to do this thing. You SAID...." Perhaps we will make these changes and still end up adopting girls in the original age range...no changes needed. Now that I think about it, I can also see now that we are making the changes for free after all. It's the reapplication we are paying for, not the changes. I guess it's all a matter of perspective.
One bright spot...our registration with the MOJ is still valid because our USCIS papers were valid when we registered. Now, I'm sure they wouldn't leave it that way indefinitely, but maybe this won't turn into a problem. I have the new application and check in the mail. Pray that it will go through quickly and smoothly.
At first I wanted to throw my hands in the air: We're having a hard enough time raising the money with out throwing away part of it. Why do I keep messing everything up!? Are You trying to tell us to quit?
Then I looked for someone to blame: I know I was supposed to keep up with expiration dates...and I was! It was far off to me. Doesn't everyone know I've never done this before and could use a little guidance??
I worried about how much we might be set back: We're out extra money...Will the MOJ throw us out of line and cost us our registration date which is now almost 9 months old? Will they deem us unfit parents if we don't care enough to keep everything up-to-date?
Then I thought about why I had hesitated to make the changes in gender and age. It was partly because I did NOT want to make the trip again into downtown Nashville to have the changes apostilled. 1) Find someone to keep the kids because they are not allowed in the building. 2) Find someone to go with me to help me watch for the right exit while I'm watching 4 or 5 lanes of same-direction traffic (not used to that). 3) Drive around endlessly looking for one of the few coveted parking places within a block of the place. 4) Go to the umpteenth floor where I can barely look out the window from across the waiting area because the height makes me dizzy. 5) Find my way out of there because you can't leave the way you came for all the one-way streets.
I know. That entire paragraph is pretty lame. I didn't mind it too much the first time around. It was one of those "necessary evils" to be endured. And at least I had 30-something papers to have apostilled. I did NOT want to make the trip for just one or two papers and just for a couple of wording changes.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that having to redo our USCIS application was certainly NOT optional like our change in parameters. Now, we HAD to go back to Nashville. May as well make those other changes and get those papers apostilled while we are there. Perhaps this is God's way of making sure we make those changes. Perhaps our daughters are not in the age range we originally set. Perhaps he DOES want to us to adopt boys instead. OR perhaps he just wants us to prove that we are willing. I mean look at Abraham and his almost-sacrifice of Isaac. God was looking at his willingness to obey, not that he went through with the original plan. Can you imagine Abraham arguing and saying, "No, Lord, I have to do this thing. You SAID...." Perhaps we will make these changes and still end up adopting girls in the original age range...no changes needed. Now that I think about it, I can also see now that we are making the changes for free after all. It's the reapplication we are paying for, not the changes. I guess it's all a matter of perspective.
One bright spot...our registration with the MOJ is still valid because our USCIS papers were valid when we registered. Now, I'm sure they wouldn't leave it that way indefinitely, but maybe this won't turn into a problem. I have the new application and check in the mail. Pray that it will go through quickly and smoothly.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Update Complete
Summer is over. School is back in session. I am thankful for being back in a routine, but I catch myself often seeing something I need to do and thinking, "I'll do that this summer when I have more time." Then I realize summer just ended and it will be quite a while until the next one. Oh well.
Let's start with the adoption. We have done our home study update, and we changed two things. First we re-worded the age. When we started, we had said we wanted the girls to be between the ages of 2 and 7. Well, at that time our boys were 4 and 7, so that put them all about the same age. Now the boys are 6 and 9, so we felt we could stretch the age a little bit. But how much? That was the question. So we decided to try something perhaps a little unusual and set a date that they needed to be born after. We just picked a date 6 months younger than Colton and said that they should be born after this date. The other thing we tweaked was to say we are open to either gender. I still lean more toward girls at this time, but I have seen some awfully cute little boys' pictures go by as well, and we often hear that there are more boys available than girls. We figured it is better to make these changes now than to fall in love with two little guys and have to rush around making those changes later.
Of course, those two little changes in the homestudy means that renewing our USCIS forms will cost $360 instead of being free. While that seems like a lot of money to us, in the scope of the cost of the entire adoption, it is nothing...and it will bring us one step closer to the children God has intended for us.
We were not able to have as many yard sales this summer as we had hoped. We have now had 28 yard sales total and might get a few more in before we pack up for winter. I had thought we might at least make it to 30, but right now I feel like someone who has eaten the entire Thanksgiving meal alone and just can't choke down those last two bites. We went to an adoption support group meeting this week and listened to an adoptive mom talk about different fundraising options. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I saw how many of her ideas we had already tried. I've said it before...we have two big obstacles in fundraising--no, three. 1) We aren't in jobs or large circles of people where we can promote our fundraisers. 2) Neither one of us are "salesmen". I don't think I could give away water during a drought! 3) We don't have rich friends or long-lost relatives; they are pretty much the same as us. I do have a few ideas for things we've not done thus far, but I really need to get back on the trail of grants. (Please pray for me to find the time to get these applications completed!)
In other news, school has been back in session for a while. We are in week 4 now. Colton is in 4th grade and doing more of his work on his own. Eli has stepped up his game with 1st grade...much more to do than in kindergarten. Colton just completed Level 3 swimming lessons and will be belt testing again later this week for taekwondo. This will be belt #8 (red); 3 more until black. Eli is trying out PE class. I thought he would be so excited to participate after being on the sidelines for 3 years, but he was very afraid of being in the class. I'm praying we can get this obstacle behind us before he faces another new situation. Like I told him, life is full of changes and new situations, and he just has to learn to deal with them.
Couponing did NOT work out for me. On the one hand, I think I overdid it. I worked WAY too much on it and overspent every month. I'm done. Kudos to those of you who save hundreds each month! The first month we quit, we came very close to budget--but that month included a lot of eating out on the road for vacation! The second month we came in under budget for the first time in over a year. That reminds me. I failed to mention that we also quit playing the "Rewards" game on the credit card. We had started buying groceries and such on the credit card to earn the rewards. We DID earn them, but overspent each month more than the value of the rewards. When I gave up couponing, I also went back to the envelope system and came in under budget. I think I'll stay here for a while.
Curves has gotten majorly interrupted. Trips during the summer, 2 weeks of intense planning before school started, chaos of the first week of school, and weeks 2 and 3 spent babysitting and going to swimming lessons...all of these have kept me from going to Curves. I even have a doctor's appointment today about my wrist. Remember the ganglion cyst I had removed last year? It's ba-aack! When that hurts, I can't push on the weight machines anyway. I'm trying to my own program here at home with protein drinks/snacks, portion control, and Wii Fit Plus. We'll see the results when I go back.
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