FFF - Lili Likes Socks

For quite some time Lili has gotten excited about socks. She loves to pull them out of her dresser, pull them apart and try to put them on. Of course she hasn't had any success with the putting on part yet, but recently she's discovered that once they are on her feet she can pull them up. Since we weren't leaving the house yesterday, I put her play clothes on her and we started our day. Later that morning she decided that her socks needed to be pulled up and this was the result.

What a fashion statement!!!

I wanted to get a picture of her standing up, but the moment she saw the camera she ran and jumped up on the chair.

I Have a Really Good Life

When I read stories like this, I'm reminded of just how good my life really is. I hope you'll take the time to read this story and consider helping out this family.

http://www.mayanfamilies.org/News.aspx?id=711

You can also check out another story and video posted by my blog friend Emily.

FFF and Family Trips

I'm going to primarily focus on Favorite Foto Friday, but wanted to draw everyone's attention to some additions I made to my blog page. If you'll look on the right hand side of the page you might notice that I've added a section called "Adoptive Family Events." As I get information during the year on different events across the U.S. I'll be adding them to this section and encourage all my adoptive family readers to check them out and consider attending at least one during the year.

Now onto FFF!!!!

Lili recently started doing this little face pose and yesterday I was able to capture it on camera. She usually has a much bigger smile on her face, but sometimes you take what you can get.

Lili loves the guitar or as she would say, "gar." Lately she's been sitting on daddy's lap and he's been teaching her the proper way to finger the chords and strum the guitar.

She actually strums quite well for having such little hands and fingers.

My little rock star!!!

Exciting Week with Adoptions

Some of my blog friends have gotten some exciting news over the last few days. I don't know if any of my readers ever check the blogs that I have posted along the right hand side of my blog page, but there is some exciting news from Bianca Adventures and Grace and Haven. Also, Love Ya More Than Cookies is awaiting some good news as well. If you have time, please check out these blogs.

Now onto what's happening with us . . . . .

If you've been reading my blog over the last few weeks you are all aware that we received some scary news when the company my husband works for announced they were cutting 5,000 positions. As a result of this news we decided to end our Ethiopia adoption and to look into other possibilities for adopting #2. We felt that the foster-to-adopt program would be a good option for us, but as I continued to research this program I was feeling less and less comfortable with the program. Dave and I discussed my findings and both decided this really wasn't the direction we wanted to go.

I then received an email from another adoptive mom who suggested we consider adopting either an AA or bi-racial infant domestically. As I looked into these programs I discovered that there are agencies who have developed programs specifically looking for adoptive families for AA and bi-racial infants because "they are more difficult to place." This was difficult to hear and both Dave and I were sadden to know that the color of a little baby's skin would be cause enough for a family to say "no." I started requesting information from some agencies so we could gather information in an effort to determine if this was a possibility for us.

During this same time Dave received some positive news regarding the security of his job and we were feeling more comfortable about our financial future.

The information I requested regarding AA and bi-racial adoptions started to arrive, so Dave and I began to discuss our options at this point. We were very intrigued and seriously considering that this may be the road to our next child, but there were still a couple problems. The money we would put toward a domestic AA or bi-racial adoption would be the same amount it would cost us to complete our Ethiopia adoption. The second problem was the fact that our hearts were still pulled toward Ethiopia. So after much discussion and the comfort we were feeling that Dave would be keeping his job, we decided to continue our adoption from Ethiopia.

Lili's adoption was certainly a roller coaster ride of emotions and we anticipated that this adoption would be as well. What we didn't anticipate was that the ride would be so intense this early in the game.

So, here is where we are right now . . . .

- Our home study is complete and being approved by our social worker's supervisor. We anticipate having it back sometime within the next week.
- Our dossier documents have all been collected and we will get everything notarized Thursday or Friday of this week.

Here is the remainder of the process and an approximate timeline . . . .

- Once our home study has been approved, our social worker will send us our copy and a copy will go to USCIS. (1 week)
- When we receive our 171H (approval to adopt a child from Ethiopia) from USCIS, I will take all the documents to the Secretary of State's office for notary authentication. (4 weeks)
- Several copies of our dossier will need to be made and then everything is sent off to our agency. (2 days - I'll work very quickly at this point)
- The agency completes some additional paperwork and then sends everything to the Ethiopian consulate for authentication. All the paperwork is translated and sent to Ethiopia. (4 weeks)
- Once the Ethiopian authorities receive our paperwork, we will officially be on the wait list for an infant girl. (5-6 months)
- We receive our referral, complete the necessary paperwork and send it off to the agency accepting our referral. (4 days)
- The wait begins again as we go through the Ethiopian courts to have our adoption finalized in Ethiopia. (2-4 months)
- Our case is complete and we get ready to travel (2-3 months)
- Our baby girl comes home!!!!! (1 week)

As you can see, we still have a long way to go. We don't anticipate getting our referral until sometime in the Fall or Winter of 2009 and will most likely travel sometime Spring of 2010. The bottom line is that the process of completing an adoption from Ethiopia is getting longer all the time, but we are feeling much more confident now that one day we'll bring little Naomi home to her forever family. Let's just hope the rest of our journey has less pot holes and speed bumps.

FFF and Other Stuff

Sorry I haven't posted more this week. Unfortunately, I came down with either a flu bug or had food poisoning. I'm still not quite sure which, but I am feeling better, although not completely back to normal.

So, what's been happening on our lives?

First of all, we're going to be vehicle shopping. Our youngest son, Ben, borrowed my van and was in a little accident. He hit a patch of ice and the vehicle slid into a parked pick-up truck. He's okay, the van is not. The repairs were enough that it totalled the vehicle. Of course that's what happens when a newer model vehicle hits an older model truck.

We're living life with one vehicle right now, which works out okay since I don't work outside the home. Still we would like to have two vehicles as I do need one from time to time during the week. I'm not really sad about the van. It's was just a vehicle after all. What's makes me sad is that we actually have to start shopping for another vehicle. I really dislike vehicle shopping. For a matter-of-fact, I would have to say I "hate" shopping for vehicles. Not that I don't enjoy having a new vehicle to drive around, but the entire process of getting that vehicle is a horrible experience for me. We probably won't be looking for another week or two since we still have some things to settle on the van, so I have a little time before we start the entire process.

On a brighter note, we've had a couple memory milestones. It was one year ago on February 8th that I called PGN and was told "You're approved." It took another week, but on February 14th our file was finally released to our attorney and we were officially out of PGN. That was one of the most awesome feelings in the world. We had no idea that less than 5 weeks later we would be in Guatemala picking up our beautiful baby girl. Wow!!! The past year has really flown by.

Earlier today I took some pictures of Little Miss Lili. She wasn't being the most cooperative subject, but once again they show some of the many sides of her personality.

Lastly, things are still moving in a positive direction with adoption #2. I still can't give any details because there are a couple things that need to happen before I feel comfortable saying anything. However, I also don't have any reasons to believe this isn't going to happen.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

Changes and the Roller Coast Ride of Adoption

Sometimes I look around my house and the changes that have occurred over the last year are very apparent.

- Children's books on the floor
- Toys on the furniture
- Pieces of crayon paper on the floor
- Cute little crayon scribbles on paper now hang on the refrigerator door
- A high chair added to the kitchen furnishings
- Fingerprints on the t.v. screen
- Fingerprints on the lower part of windows
- Sippy cups in the dishwasher, on the end table, in the refrigerator
- Little pink and purple outfits in the laundry
- Dolls in the house
- Play room in the basement
- Pink coats in the closet

This are just a few of the changes I've noticed and although it's been almost a year since Lili came home, I still find myself amazed at times that she is actually here. Even more amazing at times is that Dave and I actually started this new chapter in the book of our lives. When we started our journey together 23 years ago, we didn't have plans of adopting and certainly didn't have plans of adding another child to our lives in our 40's. However, it's an amazing journey, full of ups and downs. We wouldn't change a thing and I can't wait to see what the next chapter will look like.

While I'm not going to post any details at this time, I do want everyone to know that our adoption journey to Lili's little sister has become quite the roller coaster ride. Just when we think we should go one direction, we're jerked to the left. Then we think we're going another direction and we're jerked to the right. We've felt the thrill of riding up the hill and felt our stomachs turn as we've plummeted down the hill. At this point I'm not quite sure which part of the ride we're on, but I think we might be approaching the loop-d-loop. I hope to have some good news to share in the next few days or weeks, but for now let's just say that we're feeling good about this part of the ride and may actually be at the end of this ride and able to move onto to the next.

Cause A Kid Will Eat The Middle

of an Oreo first and save the chocolate cookie outside for last.

Notice the more serious face in the first few photos.

I wonder if sugar has any effect on Lili? LOL!!!

Exciting Milestone

Today we hit a huge milestone.

"Lili has officially been with us longer than anyone else."

I don't have time to post pictures right now, but I'll get some "milestone" photos posted within the next couple of days.

Re-Union '09

As an adoptive family, we are always looking for opportunities to interact with other adoptive families. I was lucky enough to have found a wonderful group of families who have adopted from Latin American countries (most from Guatemala) and we make every effort to regularly get together with each other. The primary purpose is to keep our children connected with each other, thus keeping them connected to their birth country.

In addition to our local group, I've had the privilege of connecting with other families via forums and my blog. Many have also adopted from Guatemala, others from Ethiopia, China, Colombia, etc. Last year we attended Guatoberfest in Myrtle Beach, SC. It was a wonderful trip that allowed us to reconnect with friends we had not seen in a year or more and to make some new friends. This year Guatoberfest is going to be held on the Atlantic and Caribbean Oceans, via Carnival Cruise Lines. It sounds like a wonderful trip, but financially a bit more than we feel comfortable spending this year. However, we have an opportunity to attend a couple other gatherings this year. One in St. Louis this spring and the other in Tulsa, OK this summer. The St. Louis get-together is still being planned, but the Tulsa get-together plans were completed a few months ago. As of this morning, our hotel reservations have officially been made and we'll be traveling to Tulsa this summer for a fun-filled weekend with other adoptive families from around the U.S. The nice thing about this get-together is that it is open to "all" adoptive families. If any of you are interested in getting more information about the event, please visit the blog at http://re-union09.blogspot.com/. I have made many blog friends and hope to finally have the opportunity to meet some of you in person at Re-Union '09 in Tulsa.

Also, if there are any families who are interested in attending the St. Louis get together this spring, please keep checking my blog for more information.

I hope all adoptive families are regularly interacting with other adoptive families. Our children need these connections and so do we.