Baby girl info

I received a reply to our request for records of the sweet baby girl I mentioned yesterday.  It seems many families are interested in her and there is already a family who is reviewing the records.  If they decline, the information will then be sent on to the next person who requested it.  This baby girl is just so special and wonderful, I'm sure she will find her forever family very soon and the reality is, it probably won't be us.  That's okay.  God's timing is perfect.  Not just right, but perfect.

Some great news is that we have been on the waiting list for 7 days now and there have been 6 referrals!  Congrats to all of the new families!  It puts us at #48 already and I'm really trying to not get my hopes up and be too confident that everything will be quick and smooth.  Praying it happens that way anyways!

First day of MDO

Cooper had a WONDERFUL time at Mother's Day Out today!  He ate all of his lunch from his fire truck lunchbox, played with new friends, napped, and made a wind sock that got hung up in his bedroom this afternoon.  He has no idea when "Tuesday" is, but he can't wait for it so he can go back again!

I got to leave school for a few minutes to meet him and Granny there so I could walk him in on his very first day!  And once again, if you couldn't tell, he hates getting his picture made.

Some more crazy ideas!

Cooper starts Mother's Day Out tomorrow and he's super pumped about getting to go to school.  We had to pack up extra clothes, a blanket, etc. for him to take and leave there.  While we were picking out his green blanket that he wanted so badly at Wally World, we decided to get him a little travel pillow as well.  Do they make tiny pillow cases for these things?  I have no idea.  That leads me to crazy idea #1 of the evening...I'll go home and sew up a quick little pillow case and Cooper can pick out what kind of fabric he wants!  I got the usual eye roll from the husband, ignored it, and told Coop how much fun it would be.  Heeheehee.  He "shopped" in my wall o' fabric and picked the blue puppies.  Isn't it cute?  Don't worry, it didn't take long but it also didn't get ironed before cut and sewn so it's a little wrinkled.

Crazy idea #2...I saw that there is a 2 month old baby girl on the waiting child list for our agency.  She has some somewhat unknown special needs and is SO beautiful and SO tiny!  Still not quite 7 lbs. yet and 2 mo. old.   We are approved for special needs to some extent but the past week (since being on the waiting list) I have thought long and hard about expanding our preferences to include other, maybe long term special needs.  This baby has a very interesting story and she is in NEED of a loving home.  We requested her information and more medical records that weren't posted on the website.  She was just posted this evening and I know of at least 2 families for sure who have requested her information before us.  We'll see what happens.  If we are able to review her records, I'll request to have someone at Arkansas Children's Hospital check them out and see what all she may need.  I'm so excited to think that there's even a possibility of getting this teeny tiny beauty!  Please pray!  I'll update with more as soon as I find out anything.

First Purchase

Isn't it cute?  Cooper got a frog lovey just like this from some good friends of ours as a shower gift and he sleeps with it EVERY night so I wanted something similar for the new baby.  Since we're official I can start buying a few things now...right?  I have just about decided on the nursery colors (yellow and gray) and figured a giraffe would work for either gender, especially from Africa.  So here it is in all of its squishy goodness.

Waiting For...Something Beautiful!!

I got a much anticipated email today from Ashley....we are officially a Waiting Family!!  We're number 54 on the waiting list and the estimated wait time will be 9 months for a baby of either gender and a few months longer for siblings.  We have specified that we would be open to all of this.  From now, it really is all in God's hands.  There are no more forms to fill out or phone calls to make.  We just wait and see what he provides!

NEEDTOBREATHE:  Something Beautiful

In your ocean I'm ankle deep
I feel the waves crashing on my feet
It's like I know where I need to be
I can't figure out
No, I can't figure out
Just how much air I will need to breathe
When your wave crashes over me
There's only one way to figure out
Will you let me drown
Will you let me drown

Hey now, this is my desire
Consume me like a fire
Cause I just want
Something beautiful to touch me
I know that I'm in reach
I am down on my knees
And waiting for
Something beautiful

And the water is rising quick
And for years I was scared of it
We can't be sure when it will subside
So I won't leave your side
No I can't leave your side

Hey now, this is my desire
Consume me like a fire
Cause I just want
Something beautiful to touch me
I know that I'm in reach
I am down on my knees
And waiting for
Something beautiful

Mother's Day 2010

Cooper picked it out all by himself...so fitting.  I love this kid!  He makes me so proud to be his Mommy.  Someday he won't be the sweet, cuddly toddler he is today so I really try to make the most of those precious moments when he grabs my face, looks straight at me and says, "I love you, Mommy!  I missed you today, Mommy!" and gives me the sweetest kisses and hugs.  Totally melts my heart.

Today was not only Mother's Day, but Senior Sunday at church.  As we all watched the slide show and teared up to Mama's Rocking Song, I thought about the pictures we will one day submit for when our kids graduate high school.  We have a TON of Cooper, so that's no issue.  I wondered what kinds of pictures we will have to show for our next child.  No fresh headed newborn shots from a hospital bed.  No clever, professional poses.  The list could go on.  I started to get a little sad...I felt a little cheated.  Those are moments I will never be able to have with this next baby.  Then all of the opposite thoughts came to my mind.  Photo opportunities our family will have that most don't.  A referral picture--the very first glimpse of who we will someday hold in our arms.  Airport pictures of us finally becoming a family of four for the first time.  Maybe...just maybe, we would be able to include a picture of the birthfamily!  Yes, our family will look very different on the outside than the rest, but a mother's love for her children-no matter who they are or where they come from-is the same.

Every night at bedtime, we pray with Cooper for his baby brother or sister to come home quickly and safely.  He puts his head down, covers his eyes and concentrates.  When we're finished, we hear a big, "A-men!"  Although he doesn't understand the concept of a sibling, much less international adoption, I feel like he really is excited to have a baby brother or sister in the house.  I think he really wants to understand what we're talking about.

Today, much more than any other day, I'm thinking about our baby's birthmom.  I doubt anyone will celebrate her, buy her a sentimental card, bring her flowers, or take her to dinner.  I'm choosing to celebrate her and her selflessness.  I want to celebrate the fact that she's going to have to make a decision to relinquish a child that has grown inside of her, made her sick, brought her sleepless nights, and will look deep into her eyes with love and helplessness.  I want to honor her courage.  I want to celebrate her.  I've said this a few times before, but we have no idea who she is or what circumstances she is or will be facing in the future.  Please continue to pray for her health and safety in the coming months as God's plan is revealed to all of us.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And it's off!

The dossier has been sent to CHI!  I held that stack of paper and prayed everything was correct and it arrives to every destination over the next few weeks safely and quickly.  Once I left FedEx, I felt a little naked without all of those documents I've been toting around for so long.  I felt scared that I forgot something or that something is incorrect.  I felt content.  Content that all of the hard work is over for now and we will just be waiting.  I know that any kind of waiting process doesn't exactly scream contentment, but I know this is exactly what we have prayed for all these months and this is exactly where we are supposed to be.  

So, the hurry up ends and the wait begins!

Crazy Weekend

My thoughts have been a whirlwind the past few days and I feel like I need to "write" it all down or it will be gone.  This might get long-be forewarned.

Friday:  I got a call from Justin at about 1:30 pm saying the 171-H wasn't in the mail that day either.  I was super sad and was upset that I had to now stay at school and work.  I had planned on leaving early to get the dossier certified and mailed off to the agency.

That night, storms started ripping though Arkansas.  I can NOT handle tornado storms.  :::It takes me back to when Cooper was 7 months old, a tornado was coming, the sirens were going off, hail was beating against the house, we heard that it would be coming down some streets close to us, the power went out, I was rocking him (asleep) hunched on the floor with Justin hovered over us, and we heard it go over our house.  That's a sound I never want to hear again.  Never, will I ever, be able to keep my sanity during a tornado storm after this day.:::  We got the bathroom ready, Cooper flipped out because I was taking all of his toys out of the bathtub, we all put shoes and socks on (just in case), unplugged the computer, packed all of the dossier documents into the bathroom cabinet.  You know, all of the normal things you do when you think a tornado is about to destroy your home.  This IS normal, right?

All of our precious documentation, months of work, needed to stay safe.  After all, besides the three of us, it's the most important 'belonging' of the household.  After many hours of literally shaking while watching the weather, the storms finally went on through the state and we were able to sleep.

Saturday:  We all slept in a little so that was nice and Cheeburger Cheeburger it was for lunch!  We stayed around that shopping center for a bit, looking for a lovey for the baby.  I really want one just like Cooper's, just a yellow giraffe.  Who knows if such thing exists, but I want one.  :)  After no luck we decided to head home.

Oh, yeah!  That's exactly what you think it is!  Our GOLDEN TICKET!!!  The 171-H has arrived!  We will be on the waiting list soon.  Monday will be the day to get the dossier state certified at the Secretary of State's office and then FedExed to CHI.  I can't believe it!

More tornado storms and back in the bathroom cabinet went the dossier...this time, an even more important piece of paper went in there with it all.

Sunday:  We woke up to this...

Oh, how he loves his Handy Manny!  After church we had to finish up taking pictures for the dossier.

Eh, it's okay, I guess.  I like these MUCH better!  We were having fun reading/singing Old McDonald before changing from church clothes to play clothes.

Then it was off to go play outside!  It's been way to wet and stormy to do that this weekend.  On go the Monkey Boots!

He has no idea the ground is way too wet to be watering those weeds!

I guess playing outside was hard work........isn't he sweet?

Well, tomorrow will be filled with good stress and excitement as I get the dossier sent off.  The "hurry up" is now over and the looong "wait" begins.  Please pray for our baby and it's health and safety, along with his/her mommy.  I know I've said this before, but I have no idea what circumstances this birthmom will have to face within the next year.  I can't imagine.  Please pray for her comfort, hope, understanding.  I've had her on my mind a lot lately.

Puddle Jumping!

My sister has offered to do a fundraiser for us!  Contact her if you want to book an appointment.  If you have any questions, please let one of us know.

Want to know more information about this exciting event?  More details can

    be found at:  www.amykeltonphotography.com/puddlejumping.pdf

Our mailbox

did not contain the 171-H today... (poking out my pouty lip)

An interesting call

After being in the car for 4 hours for a 10 minute fingerprinting appointment with USCIS on Friday, I was curious how long it would take to get our 171-H (immigration approval) form in the mail.  I started doing searches on the Yahoo! group I belong to and I was finding that people consistently waited about 6 weeks to get this form.  

Today marks the second business day since fingerprinting and I was a little discouraged when I realized I missed a call.  Who was it?  An officer from the Department of Homeland Security.  She wanted me to call her back.  What?  I will actually get to talk to a REAL person on the phone?  This has got to be a joke.  I called her back and apparently I forgot to put in a copy of our home study agency's license.  She said it was fine if I faxed or emailed it to her.  Seriously?  I was just sent an electronic copy of the document yesterday and it was in my inbox.  No problem.  I ask how long it will take to get word of approval (171-H) after she receives the agency license.  She said it would be put in the mail TODAY!!  And you know what?  She replied to my email later in the afternoon saying that we should get it in the mail shortly.  So not only did a real person call me, answer my call back to her direct line, allow me to directly email her, but she replied to my message.  I have not ever had anyone get this kind of service and I'll tell you I stalk a lot of adoption blogs!  

This is just one more way that I know God has this whole thing orchestrated perfectly.

Oh, and the "golden ticket" should be here on Thursday.  Friday I will be going to the Secretary of State's office to get each document of the dossier certified.  And what do you know?  We have club time at the end of the school day Friday so I will be able to leave early and not really miss any teaching time at work.  Tally one more for God's perfect timing!

DONE!!!

Just a quick note to say I'm DONE with my last grad school project!!  Now it's time to get some much needed sleep.

:heart:

Several weeks ago I acquired two new loves.

I :heart: my new favorite song by Leeland and Brandon Heath, Follow You.

I :heart: Bono.  I know, I should have figured out the Bono one a long time ago but my brain has been a little slow the past few years it seems.  :)

Confused?  Let me explain.

I'm a pretty big fan of KLOVE and for the past month or so, I've been loving, Follow You, every time I hear it.  It's brought me to tears on several occasions, including today.  Enjoy...

After watching that video countless times, I saw this.

So I was moved by the hearts of these guys.  I wanted to know more.  I did a handy-dandy YouTube search for the Bono NAACP speech they were talking about..........in tears and speechless.

I was encouraged and challenged by what I had seen and heard. Very convicting.  So, remember when I said I had prayed the words of another Brandon Heath song, "Give me your love for humanity," many, many times?  Yeah, me too.

It's a big week for us.  Tuesday I'm taking the day off so I can finish up my LAST grad school project, a research proposal.  Friday we go to our USCIS fingerprinting appointment.  Saturday I take the Praxis II, PLT.  I'll be done with grad school and the only thing between us and the CHI Ethiopia waiting list will be our "Golden Ticket" known as the 171-H approval form from USCIS and our dossier certified at the Secretary of State.  I'm a little nervous and excited all at the same time.  Right now, time for some sleep.

You can't make this stuff up

At dinner yesterday, Cooper looked at Justin and said, "Thank you!"  Justin asked why and Cooper told him, "Daddy and Mommy and Cooper."

Last night I asked Cooper if he could pray for his baby brother or sister when Daddy put him to bed.  Right then, standing in front of me, he put his hands over his eyes and prayed, "Baby brother, baby sister."  He looked up at me and just grinned.

Today at dinner...

J:  Ask Cooper what happened with his riding horse today.  (toy horse on a pole)

E:  What happened to your horse, Cooper?

C:  It got mad!  It got mad and layed down.

E:  The horse got mad so it had to go lay down?  (Looks at J, confused.)

J:  He came up with this all on his own.

E:  Cooper, what made your horsey mad?

C:  MONKEYS!!

E:  Soooo, monkeys made the horsey mad and he had to go lay down, right?

C:  Uuhh, Huh!  (Grins)

Keeping my mind busy

We sent off immigration papers a week ago and I just KNEW I would have some kind of confirmation from then that they had gotten it on Monday or even that they'd scheduled our fingerprinting appointment...nope.  This week has thankfully gone by quickly.

I was able to get my grad class finished up on Wednesday....woo hoo!!  All I have left is to finish a research proposal in a little over 2 weeks and take the Praxis II PLT.  That's it!  Almost done with grad school.  I'm starting to breathe a little easier.

Spring means time for change, right?  Well, Cooper is certainly changing quickly into a big boy!  He's pretty much daytime potty trained and so proud of himself.  Last night we finally converted his crib into a toddler bed.  He wasn't quite sure about it but then he slept late this morning and never moved.  I'm so proud of him.  I'm so sad he's not a baby anymore but I think this is a really cool age, getting to see him accomplish bigger things.  Sadly, he hates to get his picture taken so I don't have many of those these days but here's one from last night in his bed with the 'baby' parts taken away and the new 'big boy' parts put on.

Last year I had a small garden but I didn't get much out of it.  Halfway through the summer, I decided not to keep going with it so I just let it go.  This year I'm doing it right and going big.  Also, I'm going to try a homemade rainwater drip irrigation system.  Here are some preliminary pictures.

You know I love a good project, right?  Well, Easter is tomorrow and I decided to get crafty.  My mom and my sister's family came over for dinner and Easter eggs.  I had blown out the centers of some eggs (the most disgusting thing I have EVER done in my life!  eeeww!) to be decorated and made into an Easter egg tree and then we dyed others to be hunted with the plastic ones.  I can't wait to see Cooper hunt these eggs tomorrow!

We're still collecting garage sale items from friends for our sale one week from today that will benefit the adoption fund.  Uh, I think we have enough.  :)

So far, I've done a good job at keeping my mind off of waiting on USCIS info.  I'll be better once I get notification of when our next appointment will be.  Throughout the years, I have reminded myself that God's timing isn't our timing to help me cope with being impatient or frustrated about whatever is going on and that God is in control.  There's so much more to it than that, though.  I have been reminded this week that God's timing is perfect.  Perfect.  Always.  That brings peace to my heart.

UPDATES

There's so much to say today.  

It's the end of Spring Break and I'm not done with all of the work I set out to finish this week.  A few more assignments and a project and then I'll be done with one more grad class.  This must be done by Wednesday.  Before I get to those things, I need to get ready for the school week ahead so that will be my focus for my day today.  I'm just so tired but I keep reminding myself that it's a means to an end.  I only have about another month of grad school and I'll be done.  Shortly thereafter, our dossier should be sent off, and then the school year should be ending.  I'm longing for summer right now...especially since I didn't get much of a Spring Break!

When we went to Memphis on Friday, we weren't able to submit our papers in person.  That's what I was afraid of but at least we gave it a try.  We went ahead and shipped everything to Texas (it will get processed and sent back to Memphis...go figure) so it will be on someone's desk in the morning when they get to work.  Hopefully, we will receive a receipt this week saying they got our paperwork.   I asked the lady in Memphis how long the I-600A background check and fingerprinting process should take and she said 8 weeks from beginning to end.  Please pray that it won't take that long!  We have 4 minor things to do to finish our part of the dossier and that won't take us any time at all but waiting another 2 months on something that is out of our control is going to be really disappointing.  So far, we have worked on paperwork, etc. for about 2 1/2 months.  We were initially told it would take 3-6 months to complete so they were exactly right but I was hoping we would be closer to the three than the 6.  I think I will rest a little easier once we ever get on the waiting list.

Good news!  Six or seven families got referrals this past week!  All were boys and one girl.  Most families waited about 10 months and most of the babies ranged in age from 7 weeks to 7 months. I believe there were two older toddlers in the mix as well.  How exciting!

Even more good news!  The adoption tax credit has been extended for another year, through 2011 and they upped the amount to over $13,000 and made it refundable.  I don't fully understand all of this but I'm excited to know that this will significantly help in the finances department!  I guess I should be thankful today for Obama's new healthcare law.

I feel like a lot has been accomplished this week and although even more needs to get done within the next several hours, I'm thankful.  I'm thankful for the time off of work to get homework done, I'm thankful for a husband who works around the house even while working two jobs when all I have time to do is sit with the laptop and work in the evenings, I'm thankful for the generosity of friends and family who have been collecting their change and donating stuff for our garage sale, I'm thankful for the sweetness an innocence of a two year old's heart, and I'm thankful that we have the ability to work hard to accomplish our goals and we will soon be able to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Happy Birthday to me!

I should have posted this last night but I was tired.

Yesterday was my birthday and I got one of the best presents ever....a completed home study!  I was so excited to hear from the social worker!  We are going now to pick up our copies and then off to Memphis to the immigration office.  I know that there is a huge chance that we will not be able to file in person, but if we have this day to try, why not?  If they refuse us, we'll go ahead and send it in the mail.  No matter what, the immigration portion of this whole process begins today!

I love this kid

Potty training is hard work...

Seriously though, all peepees have been in the potty today!  WooHoo!!

He calls us his "Buddy", he snuggled with me while watching TV this afternoon for about half an hour (I miss snuggling with a baby so much!!), he has the sweetest disposition and loves the "Jesus" around my neck.  What's not to love about him?  Oh, and the other day he told me that he wants baby bruhdooorss.  Too cute.

I'm a little cautious in posting this but...

...our social worker just called and said we are ready to finalize a few pieces of information and the home study will be complete!!!!  What does that mean?  Once our adoption agency looks it over, we are ready to send it in to USCIS (immigration).  YAY!!  I can't believe it!  Immigration is another frustrating process in itself but once it's over and we get approval from them, the dossier will be on its way! 

Prayer Request

Please read this news story.

One of the boys was active at the Silver City Church and was in the mentoring program with some friends of ours.  Here is a quote from an email I just received, "He was a great kid, faithful, and just got accepted into Harding."  Pray for all of these families.