An early Christmas gift!

After months of filling out forms, gathering information, and waiting, we were very excited to receive our completed and approved home studies from our agency on....wait for it....Christmas Eve!  Seriously, at 4pm the mail got here and there that bad boy was!  I took that as a really good sign.  Of course, since it was not only Christmas Eve but also Friday, we had to wait to get that I-800A in the mail until this week.  I have to admit that I wanted to enjoy the beauty of the weekend and not let it stress me.  And I figured what was the rush since government offices might not necessarily be the quickest during this time.  ;)

Instead, we celebrated by going to Christmas Eve mass, making cookies for Santa, getting on our Christmas PJs (Bernard, Santa's elf leaves them for us every year) and enjoying the evening.  The next morning, we continued to celebrate with a great Christmas Day, family safely arriving from up north, a wonderful dinner with our close neighbors, and unbelievably- a white Christmas in SC!  We had at least a couple of inches and it was absolutely beautiful!  All of it just seemed like God saying "Chill out.  Its all going well, so don't worry and just enjoy the birth of My Son."  So we did just that.  

This week, we got back to "work" and got the needed forms and documents together.  We'll get them printed, signed, and by week's end, away they will go!  In between, we'll be enjoying each other, watching college and pro football (especially cheering for Michigan, Clemson, Wisconsin, and the Packers), and relaxing.  Still, it feels good to have yet another task completed and even if there is more waiting, we're ready.   Every bit is progress and we're are getting closer and closer.  As we told our son, next Christmas you will be a big brother.  We can't wait!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and we wish you all many blessings (and children) in the New Year! 

Mary Did You Know?

Merry Christmas everyone!  I haven't written on the blog in a while because for the last month or so, its been basically a back and forth between our social worker and the agency to perfect the home study.  Here I thought it was looking great according to the agency, but our social worker had trouble with some of the ways sections and sentences were worded.  She felt the grammar was thin and took it a little too personal (in my opinion) rather than looking at the reasons behind the wordings (ie ease of translation, not raising red flags or problems in either the US or Polish govt/courts, etc).  I have to admit to a certain amount of frustration because it seemed like the discrepancy was not over content, but how it was expressed.  I can understand both sides (no, really I can!) but while the haggling was going back and forth, I started to feel like this:

When I should have been feeling like this- its Christmas after all! :

So why the added frustration? Well, I have been also clicking off the days before we could get our documentation submitted to the USCIS since our goal was to have that in by the first of the year.  Now, although the home study is done and we should have it in our hot little hands this next week, you know the US govt is going to be moving at a snail's pace during the holidays.  So our overall goal of having the dossier in by the new year with hopefully a referral to follow soon afterwards is pretty much:

 

plllbbbbbbb!!

 

Anyway,  regardless of all that I have been very busy focusing on preparing for Christmas and it has been a happy distraction.  My son, Case, is 9 this year and although he has asked a few questions, he still believes and we are happy he does.  We have talked about the spirit of St Nicholas and are preparing for the transition that will eventually happen, but for now he loves all things Christmas and looking for our elf Eddie (the Elf on the Shelf) to tell Eddie things meant for Santa. 

But most importantly, Case is acutely aware of the reason for the season- the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  He has taken his job of doing our nativity advent calendar very seriously.  It entails reading a part of the Christmas story everyday and hanging the daily wood cutout on the nativity scene.  When all the pieces are in place, it displays the famous scene.  I'm probably not describing it well, but suffice to say he loves it and it gives us a fantastic way to discuss the Nativity every year. 

Which leads me to the title of this blog- "Mary Did You Know?"  By far, this is one of my favorite Christmas songs (that and "My Grown-up Christmas List).  It is the most poignant, beautiful, and emotional songs I have ever heard.  As a mother, especially a mother of a son, it truly speaks to my soul.  Here is the link:

 

Think about these verses in the song: "When you kissed your little baby, you kissed the face of God"; "This child that you delivered will soon deliver you".  Wow.  When I hear this, I feel the depth and breadth of emotion throughout my soul.

 

I admire and love Mary beyond words.  She has been my "mother" since mine went to heaven and for me, she is the role model I look to in my parenting decisions.  And sometimes- actually often- I marvel at the mystery of how she was able to do everything she did.  I love my son with my whole being and I know she did the same; yet, she knew what it meant to bring Jesus into the world and what must happen down the road.  How did she do it?  Mary, did you know?  There was all the circumstances surrounding her pregnancy, not to mention the strain it might have caused her and Joseph, and yet, she accepted it and her motherhood without question and wholeheartedly.  And at one time, she was like me- a new mother looking down at her newborn son fill of love and wonder and hope.  I wonder, although Mary knew what Jesus' life meant, did she truly grasp the magnitude of important things he would do when she held him as a newborn?   Maybe she did, and how completely wonderful it must have been for her.   She never looked at Jesus as anything other than her son, although she knew he was destined for great things.  But more importantly, she knew she was destined to be his mother, end of story.   She loved him because God brought him to her- even if it was unconventional, to say the least. 

And that's why this song speaks to me.  Not just because of the son I have and gave birth to, but also for the son we are destined to have that will be brought to us by God.   So, as we are finishing this (often frustrating) paperwork, I have to look to Mary.  There is a little boy out there that will need me as a mama and I will need guidance and support to help me be the mother God intends me to be.  Did Mary know?  We'll never know.  What we do know is she handled herself with grace, loved Jesus beyond measure, and ultimately gave the world our Savior.  And I know when my time comes, I will look to Mother Mary for guidance and support and never, ever forget the lessons she taught us- a mother's love is infinite and can make all the difference. 

Blessings to you all during this beautiful Christmas season!

Home study- small step forward, ho!

We got an email yesterday from Erin, the agency social worker reviewing our home study that she was forwarding it on to Lina for review and approval! We are really happy! We are also glad because we needed to do a few revisions ourselves since Ann, who did our home study, is on vacation and apparently we did ok. Ann did a great job and changes consisted mainly of re-formatting, spelling corrections, and eliminating redundancies. Still, it was pretty time consuming. I definitely have a renewed appreciation for what social workers do when preparing a home study!

I also appreciate the meticulousness of our agency in finding any discrepancies, suggesting additions/subtractions, and overall thoroughness. Their commitment to helping us through the process smoothly has been amazing. Lina will now look at it, hopefully approve it, and then forward to Ann for her approval of the changes. The best part is we were able to accomplish the corrections while Ann was away so we didn't lose precious weeks in between.

We are definitely getting closer to having that vital piece of the puzzle done so we can move on to getting USCIS approval. A small step, but we'll take it!

One of the many benefits of being a US citizen

Yep, I got out there and exercised my constitutional right! And since he had the day off school ( a SC thing, I guess), I again took my son with me. It was relatively painless and hardly any wait at 12:30pm- the last name grouping we are in (R-T) is usually one of the worse so I was glad we were in and out in about 15 minutes.

I absolutely love taking Case with me when I vote. It is such a prime time for learning the hows and whys of choosing our government. I also take the opportunity to reinforce why it is each citizen's civic obligation to vote. Being in 3rd grade, he is totally into it now and has been paying attention to the (ungodly amount of) political ads out there. We have talked about why some can be misleading and the need to read the issues and where the candidate stands for ourselves.

While in line, we saw other people we knew- neighbors, teachers, friends- and it was such a prime time to talk about why we vote and how blessed we are in the US to have the right to vote. We talked about what "government for the people, by the people" means and how other countries have to wait for days in line to cast their vote. He remembered a little bit about voting for President 2 years ago, but that time he was more fascinated by the electronic ballot and thought it was kinda a game (thanks alot Leapster- lol). Thus, unfortunately the one point that stuck was that he couldn't vote because he wasn't an adult. This time was very different. He has studied SC history and we are voting for governor so he really was interested. We went to the electronic voting booth together and I went down each candidate and the job they were running for. I did have to be brief since we had that 3 min limit, but he understood it for the most part. We then talked about the proposed amendments to the SC State Constitution, their importance, and what it actually means to "amend" something. He was completely captivated by the process and said he "loved voting". What more can a US mommy ask for?

So I realize we are on the right track with one US citizen and look forward to teaching our other son-to-be about the whole process here as well. And while I used to wonder if we could really help a child from another democratic country "get it", I now realize through my own experience that he will be too little to really have learned about one system over another. There will be many opportunities to teach the lessons of electing our government (and how it is similar and different from others) and like Case, he will probably first be interested in the video screens and electronics and then love the system. And I am SO looking forward to sharing it all again with our second child.

Make new friends, but keep the old...

One is silver, and the gold. This has been something we have had to talk to our 9 yr old Case about recently since he just found out one of his best friends in school, Davis, is moving to Charleston (about 4 hours away). He is understandably sad and although he understands that Davis' dad got a new and better job, it breaks my heart for him. We have talked about how they can email and how we can see them when they come up for Clemson games to tailgate, but having that one great friend in school just seems to be slipping from his grasp. It makes me sad too because Davis and his family are wonderful. I truly could have seen Case and Davis being lifelong friends, hanging out throughout their entire schooling and even longer. They are different in complementary ways but similar enough to make it work well.

People may ask- what about other boys and other friends? Now, Case is a great kid (I know, not biased at all, right? lol) and has always excelled academically and socially. He makes friends easily, is very sweet and considerate of feelings, and generally happy to be around. And there are some kids that he gets along with; just none that he shares any special bond with. Also, currently, there are not alot of choices for what I would call desirable kids (especially boys) for him to hang out with in his grade. Not that they are awful kids; its more that they are just not remotely like him, generally either act up in class, and they have little in common. They aren't into the same sports, purposely try to not excel academically, and can be very cliquey (in 3rd grade- can you believe it??). And there are alot of them in his particular grade this year. Add into that the fact that there have been alot of kids (good, sweet kids) moving lately due to the economy and parents' new jobs, and it makes this loss even more poignant.

So, although he has school friends and acquaintances from different activities (club soccer, church, etc), he is dreading coming back to school after the holidays when Davis will have moved. We talk about the value of friendship, its importance, and look for more opportunities to let him meet other boys, but I can still see the loss in his eyes.

So what can we do? Well, we have planned to have sleepovers including Davis and schedule fun activities so they can make the most of the time left. We talk and continue to pray for Davis and his family and the big change they will go through. We also ask God for strength and thank him for the blessings of a good friend. Case continues to make new friends all the time and I hope one or more of them can just as special for him in the future.

For this, and so many other reasons, I am so happy that this adoption is happening and he can focus on that after the holidays. The idea of having a little brother makes him over the moon and I know he will simply be the best big brother ever. And now, more than ever, I want them to be much more than brothers. If they are the lifelong "gold" friends to each other we all need, they can give each other support as they search out and make those new "silver" friends.

We're officially not criminals!

Just being silly. Of course we already knew this but its always nice to get that official acknowledgment. Yes, as you may have guessed, our FBI clearances did indeed arrive yesterday with the lovely words "No Arrest Records Found"! Woohoo! It only took about 8 weeks which is AMAZING based on other horror stories I read. Boy am I glad now that I went and got my fingerprints re-done because I just had that "feeling".




And HOLY COW!! We also got word today from our social worker that our home study is completed (Ann is FABULOUS!) She actually forwarded it to us to check before sending it to the agency and except for a few minor suggestions/corrections, she did an exceptional job. She plans on sending it to the agency by the beginning of next week and hopefully they will review it and not find too many things wrong. :)

So, things have been moving crazily forward in this phase of the journey and although we might meet challenges done the road, for tonight I think we'll enjoy this!

Grateful for Naomi and the lessons I learned when dealing with the federal government

Well, as they say- this whole adoption is both a journey and a learning process. I have definitely found that true and especially when dealing with the federal government. Now, I know what everyone is thinking (oh geez, what now?!).....but actually- and unbelievably- we recently had a fantastic experience with them! Here's the scoop and the three lessons I learned:

My husband was born abroad to US parents (back in the day- lol) so we had to take his old birth certificate (that was written in German no less) and have it converted to a DS-1350 or "Certification of Report of Birth". Pretty easy actually. It arrived back here promptly and we sent it off again to have it apostilled. Here is where the adventure began. We used the address supplied by our adoption agency, but it was wrong because it eventually got sent back to us with a non-descript letter and of course, without the notarized form we sent in with it. So, after some detective work, I found the number of the actual office that handles these things (it was buried within the Passport Office and not easy to find) and called to find out what was the problem. I talked to perfectly lovely lady named Naomi who gave me the correct address and told me that not only do they issue the certificates, but they would do apostilles there for free if the document was issued there. That's Lesson #1- always call the office directly (even if it means searching for the number); and Lesson #2- the Vital Records office will apostille for free if they issued the document.

So we sent the documents back- to the correct address this time- with another notarized request and another pre-paid return envelope. What could go wrong, right? Well, turns out we shouldn't ask that question. After about 3 weeks of waiting for the apostille, that should have taken 8 business days, we called to find out the deal. My husband talked to Naomi again and she said she was officer of the day that day and she knew it had already been sent out. I thought "Uh oh....where are these things??" "Did someone take them?". However, as many other questions and scenarios began to form in my head and before pure panic could set in, Naomi called us back (I know, that in itself is amazing!). She told us that her assistant had mistakenly seen our return UPS Ground envelope and re-opened it and put it back in Naomi's to-do pile! lol Naomi explained that they usually use Fed Ex and hence the mix-up. She apologized profusely and assured us she would send it asap. That was yesterday.....it arrived this morning first thing, Fed Ex overnight. So Lesson #3- always use Fed Ex when sending things to the government.

So let's review lessons learned:
Lesson #1- always call the office directly (even if it means searching for the number)

Lesson #2- the Vital Records office will apostille for free if they issued the document.

Lesson #3- Always use Fed Ex for the government.

Needless to say, we will be sending a letter praising Naomi and the Vital records office to her supervisor, Sec of State Clinton, and even the White House! What the heck, how often do they hear about great employees? Thanks Naomi!!

A slideshow of some great moms

Just when not much had been happening, I saw this on msnbc.com this morning- isn't this the epitome of full-hearted adoption? Yay for all these animal mommies for being such good role models in this slide show :)

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38989220/displaymode/1247?beginSlide=1

Hurray for barking dogs!

Usually when our dogs see either the UPS guy or the Fed Ex guy, its bark city. If its in the house, its quite raucous. If they are outside, I cringe the neighbors will be upset- it's not really that bad and doesn't last long, but you know how people are at times. Regardless, I am very thankful we have such good little companions that alert us to people coming to the house- especially today. In the late morning, the Fed Ex truck pulled up and brought us the first of the apostilled documents to come back! Hurray!

It was great seeing what they actually looked like. In a way, I thought the whole apostille thing was basically a do over of the notary and a bunch of government whooey, so I was pleased to see it was much more than that. Those beautiful gold seals were actually kinda cool and definitely feels like another step has been achieved on our journey. So now I'm kinda looking forward to the next "barkfest" and what treasures may come. Woof!


One of my sweet babies

Back to School- check! First Home Study Visit- check!

Well, another big step in the process yesterday as we had our first home study meeting with our social worker, Ann. She is so great that we spent hours here at the house and most of it was just talking about life- lol! Its so great to have another major hurdle cleared and since Ann wrote a favorable home study for us when we thought about pursuing domestic adoption (and not much has changed thank goodness), it should be fairly painless.

By far though I have to say one of the most frustrating aspects of this whole journey so far has been getting the child abuse clearances from states we have lived in. Has anyone else experienced this lunacy and even more reason for a master central registry nationwide?? Now, our home state (SC) isn't hard at all and neither was MI, whose online services and information are very user friendly and tell you exactly what you need to complete etc. WI was ok, if not a little unorthodox and odd, but still helpful once we reached the person in charge. A little phone/email tag and finally, success. But MN? Simply awful! Not only did they NEVER answer their phones or return left messages, the time allotment required to decipher their website and find the correct forms is unreal. We asked for help via mail and they sent us back a sticky note with white out on it- I mean, seriously? In the amount of time it probably took to find the white out the person could have emailed us- duh. Our social worker said she had done international adoptions before and they were real bad (but not as bad as VA- boy did she have a story for that!). Still, I think we've got it all figured out and all those silly forms are in the mail or finished, so we're on our way.

Question though about these- did you all have the originals returned to you after the social worker received them and then have them notarized etc OR did the originals get put in the home study and then that whole thing was notarized by the social worker before sent to you? Does that make sense? I know we need at least one set of 12 original documents per Lina for the dossier (and a second set with copies of the clearances and affidavits), but I can't figure out if these clearance forms are separate entities or included in the home study. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

You may remember my little "gossiping" situation I had at the police department? Well, as much as I wanted to, I opted to not say anything since I guess it was an innocent thing and never meant to go far. Granted, it still left me very distrustful and disgusted, but I did decide to get another set of prints done at the same place. My first set looked a little smudged to send to the FBI and rather than wait for them to just reject them, I had them done again. So with trepidation, cynacism, and a little chip on my shoulder I walked into the PD. Well, God must have heard my pleas because the officer that helped me out was the sweetest man who took special care when I told him it was for adoption. Ok, I admit it, I had "practiced" rolling my prints at home, but this set came out great and even he said it was one of his best ever. We'll see if the FBI agree, but for now a big "Phew!"and brow wipe.

We also started to school this week! My son (a 3rd grader- I can't believe it!) was thrilled and so excited! I was too, not because he'll be gone (I miss him during the day) but because this should be a fantastic grade and he'll learn so much. I love seeing what sponges kids are at this age! I spoke with both his principal (awesome man) and his teacher and kinda broke the ground for the potential regarding the trips. They were both super about it and I feel much better already (see my freakout post- lol). That and everything else made it a much better adoption-related week. I know the Holy Mother and our Heavenly Father are supporting and loving us all the way!

Late Night Freakout

So, last night about 2:00am my son had a bad dream and I went up to comfort him. I decided to sleep with him for a bit, but I had a hard time falling asleep- my mind was racing for some reason. As I watched him snoring peacefully, I started thinking about how much his life will change this next year and also how much I love him. He will be a phenomenal big brother- that I'm not worried in the least about. What kept me up was that I started freaking out about the details and logistics of the trips to Poland. We haven't even submitted the dossier or gotten half the things apostilled yet and still I am being plagued by the "hows and whats".

I had all sort of questions, scenarios, and emotions leaping in and out of my brain:

Home-related:
How and what we have to do to secure the house for the long trip?

What about mail, papers, bills?

What about our dogs- do we board them or do we have someone stay here with them?

How much I would miss them, especially my 12 year old schnauzer, my first baby.

The plants? Our fish? The yard?

Would we need to fly family down or would someone here help us out (since we have no family nearby)?

AAAHHHH! The Craziness! Well, I thought about each and every one and when I finally had worked these out enough to feel ok about it, the real panic set in.

What about my son missing school? Should he? Would the absences be excused? I mean, I think so but, would they?

Should he come on both trips or one? What time of year would it be? He has testing this year and can't miss it. How will we coordinate that? Is there a better time to submit the dossier (yes, I went back and looked at other blogs that had adopted already to get an idea on time frames)?

Oh no, the testing. What about that required standardized state testing? (I actually got on the computer to check that out at 4:30am- at least I know the dates he HAS to be there but it still worries me). I mean, his principal is phenomenal but would this be expecting too much? Will we be able to have him here for those 3 days or will we have to work something else out? Can we?

No solution was clear cut and freaked me out even more. So, as I continued to run through solutions and possibilities, I also prayed and prayed for God to settle my mind and bring me peace and calm so I could sleep. Although I struggled until about 6:00am, I eventually did. Thank you God and thank you Motrin.

In times like this, I also pray for Holy Mother Mary's intercession and blessing (how ironic that it would be today, the day of Mary's assumption). Since losing my own mother, I have often turned to Mary to give me strength, guidance, and motherly affection and I have not been disappointed. I feel I will need her ALOT this next year and pray she stands beside me and us as we become parents again. The sacrifices we may have to make are nothing compared to the one she made and if I keep perspective, it should make it easier. Still the same questions seem ever present in my mind today and I'm pretty sure it will continue until our referral is received and the logistics are worked out.

Also ironically, the ONE thing that I didn't worry about last night was the fact that our child IS waiting for us. I know God is leading us down the path to him/her and I trust in Him completely. We just have to figure out the logistics and my motivation will have to be that our child is waiting for us to do just that. So I know I may have nights like this (hopefully not too many), I just need to keep my eye on the prize and do whatever is needed to bring our child home, without too much stress and compromise to my current family.

Lord, give me strength!

Fingerprints and some real annoyance!

Ok, so we are in the process of gathering documents for the dossier, getting our clearances, and completing fingerprints etc. Happy time,right? Last week I went in to our local police department and had my prints done, followed closely that afternoon by my husband once he finished work. It seemed to go smooth and my 8 yr old thought it was "cool"- of course, there was no one actually in holding at the time thank goodness! lol Anyway, after I got home and compared our cards, I decided that my fingerprints are not as clear as Brian's so I'm going to go back and have them re-done, rather than wait for the FBI to kick them out. Just one of those adoption related things in making it all perfect I know, so no biggie.

But that's not the annoying thing. Even though our town is rather small (about 6000), the police department has always seemed professional etc. I really had no problems going in for the first set of prints and was actually quite impressed they were so efficient and nice. That is until yesterday. The notary we have helping us in my husband's office told him that she heard some of the women talking about our adoption. Hmmmm, interesting since we had decided to not tell anyone the specifics yet because we just got the dossier requirements and didn't want Brian's partners to freak out about him being gone and leaving his patients etc etc- they tend to overreact at times but are good guys). Still, it seemed the whole office knew and rather than us breaking/sharing the news, gossip took care of that. Now, this woman is totally honest and was quite annoyed herself because she had not told anyone and I believe her. Of course, people thought we were leaving, like, tomorrow (not the sharpest tools in the shed) and there was a little bit of damage control to be done- not much, but some without a doubt.

So needless to say, I'm a bit miffed and couldn't figure out where the info came from. And here's the kicker- someone at the POLICE DEPARTMENT saw we came in for fingerprinting for adoption and told their sister-in-law, who works in the office, and she took it upon herself to spread the word!! Can you believe that??! She didn't come up to Brian and say "Congratulations" "I just heard. Are you telling people?" NOTHING! I know gossip has always been a problem in the office and I fully expected that once the news got out, and it is a small town, but still! I never would have thought the info would have come from the police themselves! I purposely went to the city police instead of the county to avoid this kind of thing, and now I wonder if I change and go to the county, if even MORE people will find out our plans and gossip! UGH!

Needless to say, I am stymied by what to do- I don't want to cause an issue at the police department but I mean, what else gets told around that is confidential? Does the post office tell people we stopped our mail for vacations? What about newspapers? I know I sound like a paranoid, but I'm starting to worry about little things like that and I worry about when we go on the trips and people know. Now we are going to have to get someone to stay at our house while we are gone just to be sure (no family near us).

We tried to keep it on a need-to-know basis initially and wanted to break the news ourselves. It thoroughly ticks me off and I wonder who we can trust! Here we are, Brian and I professionally sworn to confidentiality oaths (through medicine) and yet others would violate ours in a heartbeat. It makes me very sad, mad, and wondering what my next step should be since I still have to walk back in there for another set of prints. Wish me luck!

We got "WYO'ed", but are finally home again!

Well, we just returned from a wonderful vacation at a ranch in Wyoming. There is nothing like the peace and solitude of being in a cell-free zone for an entire week. Couple that with the beauty of the Big Horn Mountains, fantastic horses, fly-fishing, and friendly people and well, its as near to paradise as I can imagine. This is the second oldest dude ranch int he country and it has hosted and continues to host loads of famous people, who are just seeking rest and peace like all of us.

The horseback riding is the central activity and we went out wrangler-free alot this year since we are familiar with the trails from having come a number of times. Our son rode even better than last year and we had 3 fabulous horses: Russia (my American Bashir- think dreadlocks for a mane and a curly coat); Scotty for my son (about the most trustworthy animal alive); and Miller for my Wisconsin-bred husband (could that be any more appropriate? lol). We met wonderful people from all over the world and saw some friends from previous years as well.

We even went to a professional rodeo while there- awesome! Of course, again, we found ourselves thinking and talking about how great it will be to take this annual trip with our second child waiting for us in Poland. We can't wait to share this beautiful state and awesome ranch with him/her too!

As for the nitty-gritty of the adoption process, we have happily completed our references and medical exams and have sent away or received our passports and birth/marriage certificate copies. We were so happy and blessed our priest that is leaving took the time to fill this out because we just adore him and really wanted to have him as a part of this. But better yet, we just found out that the agency is "all in" for us to use Ann, the social worker we used previously for a domestic adoption (that quest ended because of the birth mother flat out lying to us and our adoption attorney etc we just decided to go another route- loooong story). Anyway, we are thrilled to be able to work with Ann since she won't have to update much on us and we won't be starting over fresh with someone that doesn't know us. If only everything else in life worked as smooth .

As we start looking down the road, I am seriously contemplating getting a credit card that will allow us to start securing miles for upgrades etc. Even if we keep it for a year or two, I think it could help and why not, right? Anyone with suggestions out there please feel free to share. :) Also, for those who have traveled to Poland already- what airlines did you use from the US and would you use it again? We would be flying out of either Charlotte or Atlanta, but can adjust as necessary obviously.

So as we continue to decompress from a va-ca at 5300 ft (the altitude change is challenging!) we look forward to the next couple of months preparing our dossier etc. School starts up soon again for us, so we are in those last precious weeks of summer. Hope everyone's is going great as well!

-L

Some sad news and exciting steps. But still, getting closer!

So this last week was a little sad when we found out our priest was transferring to another parish. We love Father and he was excellent with my son when he did his first reconciliation and first communion this year. Still, he requested the move because his parents are getting older and he wanted to be closer to them- can't fault him for that. It does prove rather challenging though since we need him to fill our one of the references we need before he leaves at the end of July. He's got alot on his plate and although I'm sure he'll happily do it, I just want to make sure its done before he goes. Can you say control freak? Yep, I do have that tendency- lol.

On a brighter note, we received our pack from Lina with the reference and medical forms so that is exciting! Since we are both in the medical profession, getting the tests and exams done will be pretty easy and the references are going out to reliable friends. So I'm not worried about that part at all. I actually kinda like this busy work stuff and filling out forms (I know, freak!! lol). Also, our new passports arrived- yay! And holy cow are those things ultra-cool now or what?! The electronic chip thing is pretty awesome and the way they are more counterfeit-proof is funky! Still, a major relief to have them in our possession in such a short time. One step closer, one step closer!

Happy 4th of July!!

Far and away, one of my fave holidays! I mean Christmas and the others are great, but for some reason I have always LOVED celebrating the 4th! The flags, fireworks, bands, parades, and overall celebration of FREEDOM- I totally love it! Add in a little breakfast at Wimbledon (I know, English but still a part of the day) and a baseball game and it is perfect!

It also seems to be more exciting this year since we have started our adoption journey. I now find myself looking at the different elements and part of our history and thinking about what we will teach our new son/daughter about US history. I loved a video link another adoption blogger posted that listed the Polish Constitution of 1791 as the second most important such act in the world- right behind the US! There is such a rich history from Poland and I feel like I want to absorb it like a sponge; yet, I also look forward to the day I can teach my other child about his/her new country and the attributes that make us unique and special. But since I can't teach that lesson yet, today I will celebrate the awesome heritage we have as Americans and all the events that led to the formation of our great country- Happy 4th of July everyone!!

We made 4th of July Bald Eagle Marshmallow Treats to celebrate!!

How many times can I sign my name and not make a mistake?

Turns out...a bunch! :) So, today we finished our agency contract and got it all notarized (and yes, we are buying our notary dinner for all her hard work!). Half way through the 80 some odd pages, I began to wonder whether I would mess up signing my name. Why you ask? I mean, of course I know how to spell it, but writing it over and over repetitively felt like I was setting myself up for a major gaff on these important papers. And, well, the concerns were valid since about 4 months ago I signed my maiden name on a check out of the blue (and we have been married 12 years!)! Why? I have no idea! At least I spelled it right- lol! Happily, none of us made spelling mistakes and we got it completed and ready to mail. At this point, and a bit of money later, we become officially on the agency's grid and one step closer to our waiting child. I'm excited to finish yet another step in the journey and move on to finishing the home study etc. Here we come!

A Sign?

So this weekend we went to Philadelphia for two reasons: 1) because I was graduating with my master's degree in nursing; and 2) to see the cool historical stuff. . Ok, so anyway, while we were waiting in line for our tour of Independence Hall (awesome!) this gi-normous foreign tour group of about 60 people comes up and literally surrounds us. We were basically encircled! They were speaking a foreign language and it was rather chaotic and confusing (with them all talking on top of each other in the group). It was also very hard to tell where they were from UNTIL..... a woman said "excuse me" in POLISH! That's right: Przepraszam! Right when she said it and stepped behind me, I looked immediately at my husband and said with wide eyes "Oh my goodness, they're Polish." He said "No way, seriously?" I was, and realized I knew this from the one and only Polish lesson I have taken so far! Weird, huh?! Then another woman behind us said "Do you know Polish?" and I told her no but we were learning. They totally loved that! They were the nicest people (a Polish tour group from Toronto of all places) and so very interested in our country's history, I was really touched. But when the tour was over, I looked at my husband and he looked at me and we both realized we had just had a Bill Engvall moment- Here's your sign! Isn't life funny? lol

Passports, away!

Today we are getting our passport renewals together and also filling out a new one for our son, who will be traveling with us. It is something we have needed to take care of anyway, but this new decision has pushed us to actually do it (we tend to procrastinate on some things...lol). The sad thing is that as I look at the passport forms, I just know that the upcoming adoption forms in the near future will be even more intricate, complicated, and...well... you know. Still, I feel like we are taking a step in the right direction and that in itself is exciting! Passports, away!

Its happening!

Well, we've made our decision and we are definitely going ahead full steam. Today we officially filled out our agency application and have gathered all the documents they require. It didn't take too long since we still had alot of them in a folder. We also have contacted our fantastic friends who have agreed to serve as our references. We are so blessed to have all these people in our lives! They are such wonderful parents and we love raising our children together. Tomorrow, we get the documents notarized (easy, since work has a notary on site), write the check (ok- I'll do that tonight actuallly, lol), and then put it all in the mail!

Are we really doing this?

Welcome to our blog!

I keep asking myself "Are we really doing this?" "Is this the real time?" "Is it right?" and so many others. However, the answer this time, unlike other times, seems to be coming back "yes". We are so blessed to have the most wonderful son already that we weren't sure we even needed to expand our family; however something kept pulling at our hearts. Although I gave birth to our son, other pregnancies didn't follow- not because I couldn't, but it just didn't happen. So as life progressed on, we simply concentrated on raising the most amazing child. But we felt the pull, the gentle tug at our hearts to again become parents.

We have been on the adoption journey in a way for a few years now. Adoption has always been something we were interested in but for different reasons we just had not pursued it vigorously. We have investigated various strategies- should we try domestic or international, single child vs siblings, etc- and have generally waited to be shown the way by God. The light however may have finally been turned on as we may make a decision to adopt from Poland in the next couple of days.

So, the adventure of a lifetime appears to be starting but as Confucius said "The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step". I guess that applies to those of over 5000 miles too. Wish us luck and thank you for joining us on our journey!

Laura and Brian