Interviews set!

Oh, how much time does it look like I have? An entire rambling post about grammar. Well, someone must fight for it, might as well take on the challenge!

However, I do have actual adoption news!! I spoke with our social worker today and scheduled our individual interviews for this Friday and our home visit for April 22. After that, she said 7-10 days for the report and the home study will be officially DONE! What a process! She is still waiting on Child Protective Services, however, so I can't get too puffed up as they tend to take 10-12 weeks by their own statements, and even longer by my own experiences. We are in the 8th week now, so hopefully by the home visit, it should be in and there will be no hang-ups.

It's my understanding that she sends the report directly to USCIS, and then I'm hoping 1-2 weeks for them to give us our approval. That's all we need to get our dossier documents finished up, authenticated and sent to Adoption ARK. From there, it's all in their hands and we wait. I'm serious--I know everyone says the waiting part is the hardest because at least when you are putting stuff together, you feel like you are doing something. I have to say that I don't think that will be the case for me because I KNOW I can find things to do while waiting! My life is just one big to-do list! Remind me to remember this post when months go by and still no word on anything. Remind me that I asked for not being able to do anything but wait. Remind me about the good old days of feeling as if I was working toward a goal. I'll need that. For today and the next month or two, though, just remind me that this part will be over soon!

HO-LY COW is there some paperwork!!!

Well, friends, snow day. As you know, I am not a huge advocate of those, but in this case, yippee. Our Social Worker called yesterday and told me she had a cancellation for today if we were interested in coming up there (Crofton) for the initial interview!! Worked out perfectly. Although, I will say I was a little grumpy because I did not get the phone call that comes when school is out, got up, complained that today actually SHOULD be a snow day, got dressed, came down for coffee, went back upstairs to do makeup and see on the news that SCHOOL IS CLOSED! Where was my call? I could have slept!! Even better, my call DID come--at 7:53 am. Eight minutes AFTER I am expected at school and seven minutes before kids normally gallop through my door. What organization! Who says education is in trouble?

Anyway, we got the checklist for the dossier for Kyrgyzstan. It is MONSTROUS! Being military, it's even harder because there are some tricky little residency issues. As if the adoption is not costing an arm and a leg, the possibility of John having to be a Maryland resident (thus taking away our cushy Florida residency and tax break) is on the plate and neither of us are happy about that--that's possibly an additional 5-7K A YEAR that we would end up having to pay!! Hopefully our licenses (Florida, but with our Maryland address) will work. We also have to have a million different documents from a trillion different agencies all over the country and then we have to trust those documents in the Maryland State Department office for certification. This is all very overwhelming right now. I don't even think John has A CLUE of what is involved, or what I am looking at getting together. That's why I don't feel ONE BIT BAD about leaving the trash in the can until it flows out the door--trash is his job!!! This, apparently, is mine. Whew.

Hey, and spellcheck works now! Woohoo! Happy Friday!

Another day down, another snow day 'a comin'

Well, a day down, and darn it all if me finding out about early school dismissal if we don't use snow days is coming to haunt me! As I type, big, fluffy snow flakes fall furiously (can we say alliteration?) to the ground and I just know that we will have at the least, a late arrival. There's supposed to be more tomorrow night, too, meaning that Friday may be a loss as well. Friday's an early dismissal day anyway!! WHAT A WASTE! Ah, well...why fret over the uncontrollable when I can fret over the items on my plate as it is...namely, adoption! The age of the Internet is fabulous, but on the same token, there is something to be said about information overload! There is SOOO much out there I feel I should know, and yet, I have to admit that I really just hope this agency tells me what to do, when to do it, and what comes next. We have collectively dished out in one weekend nearly $5000 and there's another 25K or more to go. Not that there's a price on a child, but...my sister-in-law told me she had a friend that adopted a little girl from China (back when it didn't take four years) and was often insulted at some of the questions she got. She said she wanted a t-shirt that had quotes like, "She's priceless, thanks for asking." or "Yes, I think she looks just like me too!" Nanci, I can't remember what your add-on to those quotes was, but if you do, tell me, because I thought it was hilarious! I guess in the big scheme of things, I should just be thankful that the option is available to us, and in truth, I am...it still rubs me as very sad, though--all the rigmarole that goes into (not to mention, the money) giving a child a good life.

Speaking of children and good lives...ha ha. Today was basically as frustrating as the previous 111 school days have been, but a nice quote (again, Nanci, thanks!) helped put it in perspective. It's true, I just need to remember I am not alone and all things are of God's plan. The Lord is my refuge and my strength...an ever-present help in trouble. I have that run through my head often (funny, as it was part of a Sunday choir presentation in Pensacola YEARS ago, and the tune has not left my head!) and I think I just need to hang tighter to His promises. I tell my kids (at least the ones who feel they are above the rules of the classroom) that no one is more special than the other--I love them all just the same. I guess I hear God telling me the same thing..."Lori, you are no better than Job, or Hezekiah, Moses or my beloved Son...they endured their trials, so shall you." So...I guess the better prayer is not for these 69 more school days to end, but that I have the patience and strength to endure them in the way that God wants me to.

And for that, all the adoption info on the Internet sure does help take my mind off my woes!!! KGB, I am very, very, very eagerly anticipating you and hope you don't get mad at me one day for preemptively calling you KGB .... What am I saying? You can't speak English yet...I have a little bit of time to make it up to you!! For the record, the picture attached is a 'sample' of what Kyrgyzstan babies can look like. This is a boy version of what I looked like as a baby. Actually, I DID look like a boy!

Here goes nothing...

Well, in light of several friends' blogs I have recently had the privilege of reading, here's to mine! Several years ago at a reading conference, a wonderful (and insightful) New Zealand educator read some things I had written and told me I should take up journaling--who knew what could turn into a book? While I don't feel that this will go that direction, I agree with the journaling part of her suggestion--it's nice therapy, a great (and easy) way to keep those you love in the loop of your life and considering that I found a blog my mom had published for a few years before she died (keep in mind that I found the blog about a year AFTER she died), who knows of what importance my little old insights will be to someone someday? So, here's to blogging!

Nothing much to report for today except I still have the same darned crud I have had for a while now. My voice is a bit better, but being in the classroom all week has really put a hurt on the whole recovery process. John told me that I got the results of my immunity test and they said I had immunity. Gotta love military health care. DUH. The purpose of the tests was to see just how much immunity I had, not that I had ever had any. In any event, I think stress and the germ factory I work in, married to all my allergies and the Southern Maryland environment, really just makes me a never-ending URI.

Still leaning heavily toward Kyrgyzstan because the baby will be younger, but a couple of people have emailed me with information about the organization we are planning to go with and I am still sorting my feelings out. There are emails from both the pro and con camps, so I just pray that we make the right decision.

Enough rambling. Let's see who even pays attention... :)