I feel like I should have something to say today. So, I'm going to start writing and then see if it is post worthy.
I feel like I got a lot done this week. Well, I didn't get it done, but others got it done for me. Our doc handed me all the medical forms that we need yesterday. It was a stack. He was so gracious about it.
I received my Maryland birth certificate back from the Secretary of State's office. It is apostilled now. I received our Texas marriage license too this week. I am still waiting for our older two kids' and my husband's birth certificates from the Lone Star State so I can send those off to be apostilled. I have scanned all of that in and emailed it to AWAA to make sure it all looks good.
We meet with our social worker, Heather, again on Monday. She is coming back to the house. She will talk to both of us separately and then spend some time with the kids, just her and them. I love that I am not worried a bit about that visit. Then we head to Albuquerque on Tuesday night for a training Heather's agency is putting on. That will be our final "face-to-face" visit. She said she will have our home study done by the next day. When she finishes it, she has to email it to our AWAA contact, Johnna. Then when Johnna approves it, we can send it off to the USCIS (Citizenship and Immigration Services). USCIS says that it takes up to 3 months for approval but I am hoping it won't take that long. Of coarse that is my hope. Don't all people hope for a short wait time?
Anyway, my goal is to have all of our paperwork ready so that when we get notice back from the USCIS we will be able to send it off to AWAA. Then AWAA will make sure everything is spot on. And when it is perfect, we send it to Honduras.
I've been having trouble getting to sleep at night. When I lay down I make a point to pray specifically for the adoption and our children there. My mind starts swirling and it keeps me up. Oh well.
Our "here" kids are doing great. Anderson keeps asking me when we are going to get our other children. The girls are hoping for girls and the boys are hoping for boys. :) Only God knows.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
He Calls us to Him
There is a difference in knowing something is going to happen and actually experiencing it happening.
I know God has asked us to do this. I know He is going to provide the strength, the finished paperwork, the emotional support and the funds. I know this because of verses in the Bible that tell me so.
Isaiah 40: 31 "..yet those who hope in the Lord will gain new strength; he will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary." He promises not to leave us. In Proverbs He promises if we trust in Him and lean not on our own understanding (even when His plan doesn't make sense...like a family of four young children having more) He will make our paths straight. I know these things because by the grace of God, I've been shown His Word and I trust it.
But back to actually experiencing it. Today as I was leaving for town to get the kids TB tests checked, I stopped to check the mail. There were two small envelopes in the box. Two small envelopes that contained God's blessing. I knew that God was going to provide, but when it happens it continues to blow me away. It is a humbling experience for others to want to be apart of what God is doing in our little family. Tears came to my eyes and I didn't know what to do. I wanted to shout it from the mountain tops. I wanted to just hold the envelopes to my chest and smile. I wanted to cry. And I wanted to sing. I wanted to say thank you to the Lord. I wanted to say thank you to the senders. My mind was whirling. It was another confirmation of God's direction for us.
As I drove, I was listening to my iPod. When I Survey The Wonderful Cross came on, actually it was the new version The Wonderous Cross I guess. I was kind of listening and kind of thinking. But the song had my full attention when it got to this verse:
Each time God provides another piece, whether a good home study visit, or a doctor willing and smiling through 6 physicals, blood tests, and forms, or funds coming in, or a Pyschologist (that my mother-in-law called for me) calling to confirm a quickly coming date for an appointment...any of these pieces that are just falling together so perfectly, I want to celebrate. I think "we should go out to dinner!" But, gosh, they are happening too often to celebrate like that. So, instead of dining out, we pray. We pray as a family and thank God for His provisions. We marvel at His goodness and honestly, sometimes we question His willingness to use us in this way. But we trust Him through those doubts and will continue to seek Him.
I know God has asked us to do this. I know He is going to provide the strength, the finished paperwork, the emotional support and the funds. I know this because of verses in the Bible that tell me so.
Isaiah 40: 31 "..yet those who hope in the Lord will gain new strength; he will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary." He promises not to leave us. In Proverbs He promises if we trust in Him and lean not on our own understanding (even when His plan doesn't make sense...like a family of four young children having more) He will make our paths straight. I know these things because by the grace of God, I've been shown His Word and I trust it.
But back to actually experiencing it. Today as I was leaving for town to get the kids TB tests checked, I stopped to check the mail. There were two small envelopes in the box. Two small envelopes that contained God's blessing. I knew that God was going to provide, but when it happens it continues to blow me away. It is a humbling experience for others to want to be apart of what God is doing in our little family. Tears came to my eyes and I didn't know what to do. I wanted to shout it from the mountain tops. I wanted to just hold the envelopes to my chest and smile. I wanted to cry. And I wanted to sing. I wanted to say thank you to the Lord. I wanted to say thank you to the senders. My mind was whirling. It was another confirmation of God's direction for us.
As I drove, I was listening to my iPod. When I Survey The Wonderful Cross came on, actually it was the new version The Wonderous Cross I guess. I was kind of listening and kind of thinking. But the song had my full attention when it got to this verse:
Were the whole realm of nature mineAnd then the first part of the Chorus:
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all
O the wonderful cross, O the wonderful crossAfter Jonathan told me that it was time to start this I was excited. But I'd be lying if didn't admit to doubts. The thought "Why are we going to chance messing up a good thing? We have a good thing going." But Jonathan's wise reply was that God didn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to Him. I don't have that doubt near as much, but I don't know if on this side of this adoption if it will go away completely. This song though, erased the doubt for today. Issac Watts (the writer of the verse above) expressed that if we could give back all of the world to God, that it would not even begin to be enough of a thanks offering to God. I can't offer the whole realm of nature, but I can offer my life. My comfortable, lovely, amazing life to Him who gave it to me. His love, His divine love demands my soul, my life. All of it. The cross of Jesus is asking me to come and die so that I may live. Live the full, abundant life. It is a risk I have taken in the past and a risk I will take again. And He never stops amazing me.
Bids me come and die and find that I may truly live
Each time God provides another piece, whether a good home study visit, or a doctor willing and smiling through 6 physicals, blood tests, and forms, or funds coming in, or a Pyschologist (that my mother-in-law called for me) calling to confirm a quickly coming date for an appointment...any of these pieces that are just falling together so perfectly, I want to celebrate. I think "we should go out to dinner!" But, gosh, they are happening too often to celebrate like that. So, instead of dining out, we pray. We pray as a family and thank God for His provisions. We marvel at His goodness and honestly, sometimes we question His willingness to use us in this way. But we trust Him through those doubts and will continue to seek Him.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Bring It
Well, in the past 14 days each of our six existing family members has been to the doctor for a physical for the adoption. We had our hearing and vision checked. Our heart and lungs and lymph nodes checked. And we have all together filled 14 viles of blood. Jonathan and I have had our TB tests and the kids are getting inoculated with it today. Jonathan just told me he has been to Dr. Press's office 5 times in the past 2 weeks. And I think I have too. Honduras requires that everyone living in the house has to have an HIV test and Heb B test along with everything else I've mentioned. And we are almost done. The kids TB test will be looked at on Monday and then the doc will give us all six forms with his medical license stapled to the back of each, a letter describing the drugs I take and his opinion stating that I will be a great adoptive parent, and 6 lab reports....all notarized and filled out in black ink. Whew.
Plus, this week I have been working on another background check for us, one that is notarized. A bank letter that states we are in good standing with the bank that has to be signed by the branch manager, not a personal banker. Because I got a letter from the bank last week that was signed by a personal banker. :) And, I'm trying to schedule psychological evaluations with a guy that my mother-in-law so graciously found for us. I sent off my newly issued MD birth certificate that I received last week back to MD to the secretary of state to be apostilled. I've registered for an adoption conference that is in February which I am looking forward to. And I have reviewed one of the reference letters that was written for us.
We are trucking. I am so glad that I love lists and paperwork and checking things off.
Bring it.
Plus, this week I have been working on another background check for us, one that is notarized. A bank letter that states we are in good standing with the bank that has to be signed by the branch manager, not a personal banker. Because I got a letter from the bank last week that was signed by a personal banker. :) And, I'm trying to schedule psychological evaluations with a guy that my mother-in-law so graciously found for us. I sent off my newly issued MD birth certificate that I received last week back to MD to the secretary of state to be apostilled. I've registered for an adoption conference that is in February which I am looking forward to. And I have reviewed one of the reference letters that was written for us.
We are trucking. I am so glad that I love lists and paperwork and checking things off.
Bring it.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Easy Good
I'm almost speechless....almost. Our first home study visit was AMAZING. Amazing.
Heather, our social worker, couldn't have been more perfect. She is a christian, homeschooling, New Mexican mom. I'll start from the latter of that list and elaborate. She is a New Mexican. This means that she knows that while, not the only option for schooling, home schooling is a good option here. And she basically pinky swore us that she is going to talk about our children's education in a detailed but not specific way, if you know what I mean. She is going to talk about what grades they are in and what they are involved in, and state that they are receiving a great education. But she isn't going to name the school, which means that a huge sigh of relief is in order. (Remember from my previous post that Honduras doesn't consider home schooling a valid form of education.) We can all do it together....that big sigh of relief. Right now. One, two, SIGH!
Second, she is a home schooling mom herself. So she understands the above point, but more than just understanding homeschooling because of the lack of options in my school district (which isn't Santa Fe, FYI) she understands us and our routine on a deeper level. She gets that we can flex as needed. She gets that once home, our new children will be able to learn at their own pace and we can let it take some time. She gets us. Whew.
And most importantly, she is a christian. She understands being lost and then found, which is a major part of my story. She understands that we can't even begin to comprehend what we are doing, but that we have been asked by One that is going to make a way. She understands our discipline methods now and she has great, personal knowledge of how it should be different with adopted children.Oh, and did I mention that she said our home study, which is said to take up to 3 months to complete, will be ready by February 1. Two weeks. I just breathed in deep again.
It's hard to take all of this in. I have conflicted feelings because I knew that if Heather showed up today and said that we had to enroll our children in public school, I was going to have to say God was good. And even though that didn't happen, I really do believe I would have KNOWN still that God is good. But that didn't happen. The best, easiest thing happened. I know that God prepares hard ways and prepares easy ways, and both are good. He gave us the easy good way this time and I am so grateful. Some of you might not understand some of the intricacies of New Mexico. We live near Santa Fe which is probably only second to San Fransisco in liberal, non-family ways of life. But some how we are finding like-minded people to walk with through this journey. And while this is amazing, it is not too amazing. We are talking about the Creator God, the Raiser-of-the-Dead God, the Water-into-Wine God, the Part-the-Red-Sea God, the I-Give-You-My Holy-Spirit God, and the Save-Me-MELISSA-From-My-Sins God, .
Make sure, friends, to remind me of this when the hard good comes.
Heather, our social worker, couldn't have been more perfect. She is a christian, homeschooling, New Mexican mom. I'll start from the latter of that list and elaborate. She is a New Mexican. This means that she knows that while, not the only option for schooling, home schooling is a good option here. And she basically pinky swore us that she is going to talk about our children's education in a detailed but not specific way, if you know what I mean. She is going to talk about what grades they are in and what they are involved in, and state that they are receiving a great education. But she isn't going to name the school, which means that a huge sigh of relief is in order. (Remember from my previous post that Honduras doesn't consider home schooling a valid form of education.) We can all do it together....that big sigh of relief. Right now. One, two, SIGH!
Second, she is a home schooling mom herself. So she understands the above point, but more than just understanding homeschooling because of the lack of options in my school district (which isn't Santa Fe, FYI) she understands us and our routine on a deeper level. She gets that we can flex as needed. She gets that once home, our new children will be able to learn at their own pace and we can let it take some time. She gets us. Whew.
And most importantly, she is a christian. She understands being lost and then found, which is a major part of my story. She understands that we can't even begin to comprehend what we are doing, but that we have been asked by One that is going to make a way. She understands our discipline methods now and she has great, personal knowledge of how it should be different with adopted children.Oh, and did I mention that she said our home study, which is said to take up to 3 months to complete, will be ready by February 1. Two weeks. I just breathed in deep again.
It's hard to take all of this in. I have conflicted feelings because I knew that if Heather showed up today and said that we had to enroll our children in public school, I was going to have to say God was good. And even though that didn't happen, I really do believe I would have KNOWN still that God is good. But that didn't happen. The best, easiest thing happened. I know that God prepares hard ways and prepares easy ways, and both are good. He gave us the easy good way this time and I am so grateful. Some of you might not understand some of the intricacies of New Mexico. We live near Santa Fe which is probably only second to San Fransisco in liberal, non-family ways of life. But some how we are finding like-minded people to walk with through this journey. And while this is amazing, it is not too amazing. We are talking about the Creator God, the Raiser-of-the-Dead God, the Water-into-Wine God, the Part-the-Red-Sea God, the I-Give-You-My Holy-Spirit God, and the Save-Me-MELISSA-From-My-Sins God, .
Make sure, friends, to remind me of this when the hard good comes.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Get'r Done
Right after I scheduled our first home study visit last Thursday, I received an email from our newly assigned Family Coordinator from our agency. After the long break of the holidays, things are rolling again. I'm guessing that you might hear a lot about Johnna (pronounced Jonah), our Family Coordinator, in the coming months as she is going to help us with our Dossier. Our Dossier is our complete paperwork put together into one packet and this is what will be sent to Honduras.
Anyway, when I opened the email from Johnna, there were 11 attachments and over 60 pages of material to read. I was pretty overwhelmed all weekend by the thought of it all. We were busy this weekend so I put it off until last night to break it open. I'm glad I waited until I had enough time to sit and process it all at once. I can't think of exactly how to describe what was there. The closest I can get, I think, is shocking. We will have to gather around 40 documents and 32 of those have to be notarized and apostilled....wait, what? What was that? Apostilled? For those of you like me who couldn't even begin to pronounce that word, it is when you have to turn all notarized documents into the Secretary of State so that she can verify that the notaries are real notaries. Wow. Also each document has to be an original. So, you have to add a "Notarized Copy of an Original" to those documents, which of course have to be notarized and also apostilled. Hmm. Okay.
So last night I hunkered down in the bedroom to get away from kids and daddy's tv noise and got down to business. Did I mention that I couldn't use the birth certificates and marriage certificate that we already had? We have to get newly issued, certified certificates. That was the one area where I felt like I had it together. Silly me. So, I got online and ordered 6 new shiny birth certificates and got the written request for our marriage licenses ready to send into the Dallas County Clerk. I sent out several emails to get some things rolling and I made a list of things Jonathan has to get done. It felt good to get those things done and familiarize myself with all the paperwork. Jonathan checked on me a couple of times and made sure I ate dinner. He told me how this might be the very reason God led us to be married. :) God led Jonathan to adopt and knew he needed me to get'r done. I went to sleep at a decent hour after finishing the book I've been reading: The Help (which was fabulous, by the way). And woke up today ready to go. I made oatmeal for the kids, taught them some Anatomy and Physiology, and got them started on their other school work. The day was off to a good start. And then the phone rang.
There are a few things that we really need wisdom about, so if you think about it, we'd love your prayers.
I read last night that Honduras does not accept home schooling as a valid form of education. No exceptions. So, we have to figure out what we can do about this. I was researching this online earlier and found out that a lot of states have public schooling online now! What? Awesome! Oh, but New Mexico is at least a decade behind, so no such thing here. I looked at some private schools in Santa Fe and geez, do they really cost that much EVERY YEAR? Or is that a one-time payment? And online private schools are just as expensive as local ones. We don't live close enough to Santa Fe to go to a little public school in a small community (El Dorado). Or Santa Fe for that matter. I don't know if we are in the Pecos or Las Vegas school district. But, we just aren't really ready to go there. So, pray that we will figure this one out. We have our first home study visit next week and our social worker might be able to help us with this.
Also, one of the most important documents that goes in the Dossier is our acceptance by the USCIS (US Citizenship & Immigration Services). We need to apply for our future children to be granted citizenship with our government. They process this application for up to three months. But, we can't apply until our home study is done, which can take up to 3 months. So, we are praying that we can finish our home study quickly. I haven't spoken with our family coordinator, Johnna, yet, but my goal is to submit our Dossier to Honduras by the first of May. It is a lofty goal. And lots of things are going to have to run very smoothly for that to happen. But, as He has proven, God is in the business of making the impossible a reality.
Sorry for such a long post. I want to get a lot of this in writing so we can clearly see God's hand at work.
PS. So, I told you about my lack of interested in answering the phone and my new found motivation for doing so, right? Well, about an hour after I got the Austin, TX call, my phone rang again. And so I answered it. And guess who it was. The Washington Nationals. Yep. They were calling to see how my trip was to their stadium this past summer.
Anyway, when I opened the email from Johnna, there were 11 attachments and over 60 pages of material to read. I was pretty overwhelmed all weekend by the thought of it all. We were busy this weekend so I put it off until last night to break it open. I'm glad I waited until I had enough time to sit and process it all at once. I can't think of exactly how to describe what was there. The closest I can get, I think, is shocking. We will have to gather around 40 documents and 32 of those have to be notarized and apostilled....wait, what? What was that? Apostilled? For those of you like me who couldn't even begin to pronounce that word, it is when you have to turn all notarized documents into the Secretary of State so that she can verify that the notaries are real notaries. Wow. Also each document has to be an original. So, you have to add a "Notarized Copy of an Original" to those documents, which of course have to be notarized and also apostilled. Hmm. Okay.
So last night I hunkered down in the bedroom to get away from kids and daddy's tv noise and got down to business. Did I mention that I couldn't use the birth certificates and marriage certificate that we already had? We have to get newly issued, certified certificates. That was the one area where I felt like I had it together. Silly me. So, I got online and ordered 6 new shiny birth certificates and got the written request for our marriage licenses ready to send into the Dallas County Clerk. I sent out several emails to get some things rolling and I made a list of things Jonathan has to get done. It felt good to get those things done and familiarize myself with all the paperwork. Jonathan checked on me a couple of times and made sure I ate dinner. He told me how this might be the very reason God led us to be married. :) God led Jonathan to adopt and knew he needed me to get'r done. I went to sleep at a decent hour after finishing the book I've been reading: The Help (which was fabulous, by the way). And woke up today ready to go. I made oatmeal for the kids, taught them some Anatomy and Physiology, and got them started on their other school work. The day was off to a good start. And then the phone rang.
(Side story: Most of you know I am NOT a phone talker. I will avoid the phone if I can and sometimes even when I shouldn't. I am working on this and the adoption process is just what might kick this bad habit. This is my opinion because I have a good friend who WAS just like me when it came to the phone. She would put off phone calls as long as she could. But, it all changed when last spring they started the adoption process. I guess it is because you put so much into all the work and when the phone rings you are hoping that it is a call that is going to move you one step closer to your kids.)Okay, back to the phone ringing. I picked up and it was Austin, TX calling saying that the birth certificates I ordered can't be processed through their office. :) Thank goodness I had had a good night's sleep and the morning was rocking along. And it didn't hurt that the lady on the other end was so helpful and kind. She gave me the correct website and phone numbers and talked me through the whole process. Lord, You are good.That, along with several other things, have been crossed off the list, at the least the "I've Started It" list.
There are a few things that we really need wisdom about, so if you think about it, we'd love your prayers.
I read last night that Honduras does not accept home schooling as a valid form of education. No exceptions. So, we have to figure out what we can do about this. I was researching this online earlier and found out that a lot of states have public schooling online now! What? Awesome! Oh, but New Mexico is at least a decade behind, so no such thing here. I looked at some private schools in Santa Fe and geez, do they really cost that much EVERY YEAR? Or is that a one-time payment? And online private schools are just as expensive as local ones. We don't live close enough to Santa Fe to go to a little public school in a small community (El Dorado). Or Santa Fe for that matter. I don't know if we are in the Pecos or Las Vegas school district. But, we just aren't really ready to go there. So, pray that we will figure this one out. We have our first home study visit next week and our social worker might be able to help us with this.
Also, one of the most important documents that goes in the Dossier is our acceptance by the USCIS (US Citizenship & Immigration Services). We need to apply for our future children to be granted citizenship with our government. They process this application for up to three months. But, we can't apply until our home study is done, which can take up to 3 months. So, we are praying that we can finish our home study quickly. I haven't spoken with our family coordinator, Johnna, yet, but my goal is to submit our Dossier to Honduras by the first of May. It is a lofty goal. And lots of things are going to have to run very smoothly for that to happen. But, as He has proven, God is in the business of making the impossible a reality.
Sorry for such a long post. I want to get a lot of this in writing so we can clearly see God's hand at work.
PS. So, I told you about my lack of interested in answering the phone and my new found motivation for doing so, right? Well, about an hour after I got the Austin, TX call, my phone rang again. And so I answered it. And guess who it was. The Washington Nationals. Yep. They were calling to see how my trip was to their stadium this past summer.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Hot dog
Hot dog. We have our first home study visit scheduled. I talked to Heather on the phone from our home study agency and she is coming Monday, January 16! So, I've gotta get busy getting the house ready. Good thing I've got a trip to town scheduled for today. I need to pick up some fire extinguishers and a couple child safety locks. Where do you buy fire extinguishers?
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