How can it be, that I am still waiting for our FBI criminal clearance? Since we submitted our fingerprints, we have completed two home study visits. Our immigration application was sent to USCIS, our homestudy was approved, it was then approved by SC DSS, it has made its way over to immigration to be married with our immigration application... and STILL NO CLEARANCE. I have called the office several times, and if I'm lucky enough to get a person on the line, I get several responses. My fingerprints were received on Sept 29th. Ok, great. It is now over a month later. Another time I called, they said they were received on Sept. 29th, and they were entered for processing on October 16th. Can someone tell me what the difference is between being received and being entered for processing? Neither date means that they are being processed, because someone kindly told me that they still have not been processed? This week, a lady told me that she was putting our information up the chain of command to get them done, because they were for an adoption. She said someone would contact me that same day or the following day. That was yesterday. When I called yesterday, they said they didn't know what I was talking about and no one called me because they probably didn't have the information to call me.... What information? My phone number???? Because it's all over the application and the personal letter I wrote them explaining the need to get these done quickly. MULTIPLE modes of contact were given to them. They then asked me if I indicated on my paperwork that it was for an adoption? Ummm.... YES!!! They asked me if I put a deadline on there? Ummm... YES!!! A lot of good that did me. My deadline was 2 weeks. It has been almost 5 weeks. She could only tell me that they were still not processed. BUT... I was welcome to call back and check on them at any time. FOR WHAT???? I don't want to call and check on them. I want them done! I want the whole world to know I am not a criminal and committed no heneous crime. Actually, I don't care if the whole world knows, I just care that I can prove it to my agency who can then prove it to Ethiopia. Then the question... do I have a child waiting? What difference does it make? I would have loved to have lied and told them yes if I thought it would get me my documents sooner, but that would be wrong and I would just encounter some other road block because I'm convinced God is in control of this. So, I did the right thing. I told them the truth. I said I do not have a child waiting at this time, but the child that is waiting for me, is dependent on this document. That truth probably added another two weeks to my wait time :) Oh well. Sometimes I wonder though - am I being impatient, or is this something that I should be pressing and pursuing? I was not rude to the lady.... I probably did sound impatient, but I feel like I'm being given the run around, and at some point I felt like I was lied to... the whole going through the chain of command and helping me get it done. Even that lady said that adoption applications should be handled quicker. But there seems to be no evidence that anything was done on our behalf. So, we continue to wait.
I have two outstanding documents... this and our immigration approval. Should we place a friendly wager on what will come first? My fingerprint appointment for immigration or the fingerprint clearance I sent in over a month ago? One would think the fingerprint clearance. My guess.... the fingerprint appointment for immigration. I truly hope I am wrong!
I guess I am done complaining though. I'm looking forward to this weekend. The kids and I are going to have a weekend of fun activities. Tim is leaving again for a week on Saturday, so we will be having fun on our own again, but still we will be having fun. Cameron has football again on Saturday. After that, in the evening we will head over to the White's for pizza and then trick or treating with the kids! It will be fun to do that with friends. Sunday the kids and I are making a neat project. My friend Charlene is going to come over and make some things with us as well! It should be fun. I'll post pictures when I am done. They are a neat pumpkin project.... late for this year's halloween decorations, but EARLY for next year!!! 364 days early to be exact :)
The kids and I are going to try some new recipes while Tim is gone. We are going to do some baking and who knows what other fun stuff we will do. If our recipes are good, we will try them out on Tim when he gets home :)
Watch for pictures of the kids in their halloween costumes! I really hope they have a good time!
In Christ,
Charity
Friday, October 30, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
USCIS
I'm hopeful that our USCIS (Immigration) fingerprint appointment will be coming soon! I checked on-line today and the check cleared that we had to send in with our application! Whoo-Hoo!!! Hopefully that will mean and invitation for fingerprinting soon! Strange though, that I just sent that out last week and there is already progress with it, however we still do not have our FBI criminal background clearance that was sent in, in September! How frustrating is that!
One small step forward. That is how I have to look at it.
I'm hoping that our fingerprint appointment does not come at a time when either Tim or I are out of town. Tim will be home tomorrow, but then has to leave again for a week next Saturday. Then he comes home and I leave the following week for a week. It'll all work out, I'm sure! God is in control of this and therefore it will all work out perfectly!
Just had to share my exciting news with regard to the Immigration process. I can't wait to get the I171-H. That will be a wonderful day!
We're getting closer and closer Sara!!!
In Christ,
Charity
One small step forward. That is how I have to look at it.
I'm hoping that our fingerprint appointment does not come at a time when either Tim or I are out of town. Tim will be home tomorrow, but then has to leave again for a week next Saturday. Then he comes home and I leave the following week for a week. It'll all work out, I'm sure! God is in control of this and therefore it will all work out perfectly!
Just had to share my exciting news with regard to the Immigration process. I can't wait to get the I171-H. That will be a wonderful day!
We're getting closer and closer Sara!!!
In Christ,
Charity
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Cameron's glasses
Cameron got his new glasses today. They look so good on him, and he looks so handsome in them! Here are some pictures of Cam in his new glasses! 
Anna didn't get glasses, but she still wanted her picture taken... so here she is in her PJ's!
I remember the day I got glasses. I was so excited, it was like Christmas and Birthday all wrapped into one! I wanted glasses SO badly. Lucky for me, I get to spend the rest of my life wearing some form of corrective lenses! Cameron is right now telling me about just how clearly he can see everything now "I can see every dot of everything on the floor". Maybe he needs to put that to good use and vacuum :)
Anna didn't get glasses, but she still wanted her picture taken... so here she is in her PJ's!I remember the day I got glasses. I was so excited, it was like Christmas and Birthday all wrapped into one! I wanted glasses SO badly. Lucky for me, I get to spend the rest of my life wearing some form of corrective lenses! Cameron is right now telling me about just how clearly he can see everything now "I can see every dot of everything on the floor". Maybe he needs to put that to good use and vacuum :)We are off for a somewhat restful night. It has been a long week and we are ready for Tim to come home!
In Christ,
Charity
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Crafty???
I don't consider myself very crafty or very creative. I have almost no creative bones in my body. My sister got all of those genes from my parents. She can draw, she can paint, she can "craft". I can do NONE of these things. I can paint a room, but that's about it. In terms of creativeness, I am EXTREMELY lacking. So, I posted the picture the other day of the letters I got for Sara's room and as I stated, when I bought them, they were white. Just plain white. They looked nice being white against her walls, but I think as I mentioned, I wanted to add a little something to them. Her bedspread has a section with polka dots on it. Her sheets are the same polka dots.
By the way, my sister just turned 40 two weeks ago. Last weekend she ran her first marathon ever. She ran the Detroit marathon and after running in it, qualified for the Boston Marathon. My sister ROCKS!!! I'm very proud of her for being able to do something as exhausting as that!!! I know I could never do it. Not only is she creative, she can run too! Congrats sis!
The other day I made the trip to H0me Dep0t to find paint to match the polka dots on the sheets. I came home with three colors - a light blue, a pink and an almost grape purple. I got the little sample containers of paint. They ROCK!!! Anyway, I bought a round paint brush and thought I could make nice little circles out of it.... as long as I practiced for a bit! Well, after trying with the brush, I knew it was not going to work. I had to find something round that I could use to make the circles. First I tried a pencil eraser. I dipped it in the paint and then tried it on a sheet of paper. Not only was it too small, the eraser kind of distorted the shape. So, I set the project aside and thought for awhile. Finally today I came up with a great idea. I used the head of a large nail! It worked PERFECTLY!!! It was almost the same size as the dots on the sheets. Now, that is my kind of crafty. I did two of the letters today. Here is a picture of one of them.... what do you think? I think it turned out perfectly and looks almost like the pillow case it is sitting on! I am so pleased with how it turned out! I'm hoping I can get them all done and have them back up on the wall before Tim comes home.
By the way, my sister just turned 40 two weeks ago. Last weekend she ran her first marathon ever. She ran the Detroit marathon and after running in it, qualified for the Boston Marathon. My sister ROCKS!!! I'm very proud of her for being able to do something as exhausting as that!!! I know I could never do it. Not only is she creative, she can run too! Congrats sis!In Christ,
Charity
While Dad's away, the kids will play
The kids and I have been taking it easy a bit while Tim has been out of town. Normally we have so much on our plates, it is just go, go, go all day long. With Tim out of town, we remain closer to home and have more time just relaxing and playing around together. Normally Tim and I are working on projects, or have sports things to go to, are running around doing errands, things like that. I guess that is one benefit of not being able to drive, we spend much more time at home :)
On Sunday the kids and I carved pumpkins. Well, we carved one and we have two more to do. Actually, it was more like I carved and the kids watched for a bit and then went off to play while I finished. Neither one of them wanted to grab inside the pumpkin and pull out the gutts. I loved doing that when I was a kid... not so much now, but I loved it then! They wanted nothing to do with it. It was "too cold and felt too squishy". So, I ended up doing it. I forgot to get a picture of it though... I'll take one tonight and post it later.
That same day, I was getting the kids' uniforms pressed for school this week. The kids wanted to play around me, so they asked if they could build a fort in the bedroom. I said sure. This is what they came up with. It was a pretty nice fort. I think Pearl even managed to get in there once. Most of the time was spent with her just watching the kids though. They also had a "store" set up in our closet. They lived in the tent and worked at the store. I had to come to the store to buy "treats". The only things they sold were: popcorn, candy and pop. Thank goodness I like all of those things. Here are some pictures of the kids working the store and Cameron and Anna in their tent:
Cameron making sure the store inventory is correct
Anna peeking out of the tent: 
Cameron and the tent:
Pearl overseeing the activities (AKA "sleeping"
The whole tent:
The kids also decided that they wanted to "camp out" Sunday night. Normally I would not let them do that on a school night, but for some reason, I thought "Why Not"? I was planning on camping out in Cameron's room, as the heat is working upstairs and was not working on the main floor. The kids wanted to sleep in our room though, so understanding it might be a bit cooler, they decided this was the place they wanted to be. So, they camped out on Sunday night. Here are some pictures of the kids getting ready for bed:
On Sunday the kids and I carved pumpkins. Well, we carved one and we have two more to do. Actually, it was more like I carved and the kids watched for a bit and then went off to play while I finished. Neither one of them wanted to grab inside the pumpkin and pull out the gutts. I loved doing that when I was a kid... not so much now, but I loved it then! They wanted nothing to do with it. It was "too cold and felt too squishy". So, I ended up doing it. I forgot to get a picture of it though... I'll take one tonight and post it later.
That same day, I was getting the kids' uniforms pressed for school this week. The kids wanted to play around me, so they asked if they could build a fort in the bedroom. I said sure. This is what they came up with. It was a pretty nice fort. I think Pearl even managed to get in there once. Most of the time was spent with her just watching the kids though. They also had a "store" set up in our closet. They lived in the tent and worked at the store. I had to come to the store to buy "treats". The only things they sold were: popcorn, candy and pop. Thank goodness I like all of those things. Here are some pictures of the kids working the store and Cameron and Anna in their tent:
Cameron making sure the store inventory is correct
Anna peeking out of the tent: Cameron and the tent: Pearl overseeing the activities (AKA "sleeping"
The whole tent:The kids also decided that they wanted to "camp out" Sunday night. Normally I would not let them do that on a school night, but for some reason, I thought "Why Not"? I was planning on camping out in Cameron's room, as the heat is working upstairs and was not working on the main floor. The kids wanted to sleep in our room though, so understanding it might be a bit cooler, they decided this was the place they wanted to be. So, they camped out on Sunday night. Here are some pictures of the kids getting ready for bed:
Cameron all snuggled up:
Anna ready for a good night's sleep:
Pearl wishing she could be snuggled up with one of the kids, but instead sleeping on her mat. Doesn't she look pathetic?
Here's one final picture of the kids enjoying their tent. They really did have a fun time making it, and it kept them occupied while I was getting things ready for the week.
As much as we want Tim to come home, we are enjoying our time together.
Pearl wishing she could be snuggled up with one of the kids, but instead sleeping on her mat. Doesn't she look pathetic?
Here's one final picture of the kids enjoying their tent. They really did have a fun time making it, and it kept them occupied while I was getting things ready for the week.
As much as we want Tim to come home, we are enjoying our time together. As for the adoption, we are getting very, very close. We are still waiting on our FBI clearance and hopefully we will get that soon. All of our other dossier documents are complete. We are awaiting an invitation from USCIS to get fingerprinted for our Immigration approval, but hopefully that will happen soon as well. The good thing is, the immigration approval is not part of the actual dossier, so the dossier can be sent without it. We just can not get a referral until we receive it. I'm sure that will not be the time-limiting step anyway! So, that is where we are now. Hopefully we will get all of this behind us soon and advance to the "waiting" stage.
I am so ready to be in that stage!
In Christ,
Charity
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Family Fun
Our family has really grown to love the White family. Today we had another wonderful afternoon with Heather and Neil. They really are two wonderful friends to both Tim and I. I really do believe that God arranged for our families to meet at this very time for a very specific reason. Heather is a wonderful support and source of relief for me. She is easy to talk to, does not take herself too seriously and has an amazing attitude. She makes me laugh. We just have a really good time together. Neil and Tim I think were somehow separated at birth. They have a whole lot in common. It's actually fun for me to see the relationship that is forming between our families.
Today Cameron and their son Christopher had a football game (lovingly coached by Neil and Tim) and the kids won again. Currently they are undefeated! After the game they came over to our house for dinner. We had a great time. We just sat around chatting, eating and enjoying one another's company. It was nice. The great part is, the kids get along wonderfully! They have a great time together and all get along well. Anna is stuck right between their youngest son and daughter and Cameron and Christopher are really close in age, but truthfully, they all play together well. They seem to have a lot of fun together. I really enjoy our time with them... I'm not sure what we are going to do when football ends :(
Tim leaves for Basel tomorrow. I really do have a wonderful husband. Not only did he help me all morning this morning, getting the house ready for company to come over, but he is out tonight doing some last minute grocery shopping for me, to make sure I have everything I need for me and the kids for the week. He truly puts us before himself, and I love him very much for it. He always makes sure we are good. I have plenty of people here who would be willing to help us out in a pinch, but it is good to know that my husband does his best to make sure our needs are met while he is away.
Speaking of that... funny thing happened this weekend. We needed to turn on the heat (finally) the other night, and surprise of all surprises... no heat came out. Fortunately, it is not too cold here right now because the heating repair person could not make it here until Monday. Tim was not real pleased with that, but what can you do? I was worried how I would manage, trying to get here to meet the repair person and all that good stuff, but as always, when Tim can't meet our needs, God provides someone else willing to step up to the plate and help us out. Hopefully by Monday night we will have heat again!!! It's not really as bad as it sounds, we do have two heating units and the one for the upstairs is working perfectly fine, so none of us would ever freeze to death, it is just pretty uncomfortable to not have heat in the main part of your house. But again, hopefully it will be taken care of on Monday.
Gotta run - going to go spend some more family time with my family before my husband leaves us for a week.
In Christ,
Charity
Today Cameron and their son Christopher had a football game (lovingly coached by Neil and Tim) and the kids won again. Currently they are undefeated! After the game they came over to our house for dinner. We had a great time. We just sat around chatting, eating and enjoying one another's company. It was nice. The great part is, the kids get along wonderfully! They have a great time together and all get along well. Anna is stuck right between their youngest son and daughter and Cameron and Christopher are really close in age, but truthfully, they all play together well. They seem to have a lot of fun together. I really enjoy our time with them... I'm not sure what we are going to do when football ends :(
Tim leaves for Basel tomorrow. I really do have a wonderful husband. Not only did he help me all morning this morning, getting the house ready for company to come over, but he is out tonight doing some last minute grocery shopping for me, to make sure I have everything I need for me and the kids for the week. He truly puts us before himself, and I love him very much for it. He always makes sure we are good. I have plenty of people here who would be willing to help us out in a pinch, but it is good to know that my husband does his best to make sure our needs are met while he is away.
Speaking of that... funny thing happened this weekend. We needed to turn on the heat (finally) the other night, and surprise of all surprises... no heat came out. Fortunately, it is not too cold here right now because the heating repair person could not make it here until Monday. Tim was not real pleased with that, but what can you do? I was worried how I would manage, trying to get here to meet the repair person and all that good stuff, but as always, when Tim can't meet our needs, God provides someone else willing to step up to the plate and help us out. Hopefully by Monday night we will have heat again!!! It's not really as bad as it sounds, we do have two heating units and the one for the upstairs is working perfectly fine, so none of us would ever freeze to death, it is just pretty uncomfortable to not have heat in the main part of your house. But again, hopefully it will be taken care of on Monday.
Gotta run - going to go spend some more family time with my family before my husband leaves us for a week.
In Christ,
Charity
Thursday, October 15, 2009
From High to Low
Life truly is a roller coaster. I mean seriously. There are times when I feel as though I am on top of the world and nothing could get better, and then the very next day, it all falls out from under me. It's not really all that bad, but it's not the high I was on yesterday and I am a bit nervous with what is to come.
Today Cameron and I both had eye appointments. There was good news and bad news in there. Bad news I guess for Cameron - he needs glasses. So, we picked those out for him today and he will get them in about a week. I'm not surprised he needed them, but glad we got it taken care of. The good news for his eye appointment is that he is showing NO signs of my eye condition. It is thought to be autosomal recessive in me, in which case Cameron is a carrier, but would exhibit no symptoms. (One good gene from his dad, one bad gene from me and you need two bad to have symptoms). I still worry a bit about it because they have not yet identified the gene that causes my form of RP, therefore they can not do conclusive genetic testing to determine exactly how I carry it, and therefore if Cameron will get it. At his age, while I was extremely near sighted, I exhibited no typical symptoms. The doctor said though, that he was not concerned with Cameron as there are no symptoms or retinal changes in his eyes. Good news! I will still have it diagnostically tested later, but will wait until he is a bit older.
As for me, it was not good at all. Six months ago I went and had my eyes examined as it was a year since I had my first cataract surgery. Six months ago I did not need another cataract surgery. Today I was scheduled for surgery in December. I'm not thrilled about it, but in the end I'm hoping it will have some positive impact on my sight. I knew it was coming as I am very in tune with my eyes and knew that there had been changes recently. Cataract surgery is not "risky" for most people. In fact, it is a very common surgery. I however, have a compromised retina, therefore I am at high risk for surgical complications. My right eye is my strong eye and contributes the majority of my visual field. I had my left eye done 18 months ago and was not real worried because it contributes so little to my overall sight. Today though, it was my right eye. I'm very nervous because even though the probability is small of something going wrong, is is slightly increased for me, and the consequences for me are HUGE. Please pray with me that things go well. The surgery will beon December 1st. I'll be a bit nervous between now and then and will be anxious to see after the surgery is complete. God is in control and has given me peace with the decision to move forward with the surgery. Whatever happens is within His will. I will pray for the best but live with whatever outcome.
On a more positive note, I did find out today that are fingerprints for FBI clearance were indeed received by the FBI on the 29th of September. I was told they would be processed in a "timely fashion". I think that has already passed :) No, not really, but I am a bit impatient. Tomorrow will be three weeks since I sent them. I know they got there sooner than the 29th... they probably were just not logged in until then. I'm just glad that I know that they are there and we don't have to get fingerprinted again. I was beginning to wonder.
If I could ask that you pray for me, for the surgery and for peace in the wait, I would really appreciate it.
In Christ,
Charity
Today Cameron and I both had eye appointments. There was good news and bad news in there. Bad news I guess for Cameron - he needs glasses. So, we picked those out for him today and he will get them in about a week. I'm not surprised he needed them, but glad we got it taken care of. The good news for his eye appointment is that he is showing NO signs of my eye condition. It is thought to be autosomal recessive in me, in which case Cameron is a carrier, but would exhibit no symptoms. (One good gene from his dad, one bad gene from me and you need two bad to have symptoms). I still worry a bit about it because they have not yet identified the gene that causes my form of RP, therefore they can not do conclusive genetic testing to determine exactly how I carry it, and therefore if Cameron will get it. At his age, while I was extremely near sighted, I exhibited no typical symptoms. The doctor said though, that he was not concerned with Cameron as there are no symptoms or retinal changes in his eyes. Good news! I will still have it diagnostically tested later, but will wait until he is a bit older.
As for me, it was not good at all. Six months ago I went and had my eyes examined as it was a year since I had my first cataract surgery. Six months ago I did not need another cataract surgery. Today I was scheduled for surgery in December. I'm not thrilled about it, but in the end I'm hoping it will have some positive impact on my sight. I knew it was coming as I am very in tune with my eyes and knew that there had been changes recently. Cataract surgery is not "risky" for most people. In fact, it is a very common surgery. I however, have a compromised retina, therefore I am at high risk for surgical complications. My right eye is my strong eye and contributes the majority of my visual field. I had my left eye done 18 months ago and was not real worried because it contributes so little to my overall sight. Today though, it was my right eye. I'm very nervous because even though the probability is small of something going wrong, is is slightly increased for me, and the consequences for me are HUGE. Please pray with me that things go well. The surgery will beon December 1st. I'll be a bit nervous between now and then and will be anxious to see after the surgery is complete. God is in control and has given me peace with the decision to move forward with the surgery. Whatever happens is within His will. I will pray for the best but live with whatever outcome.
On a more positive note, I did find out today that are fingerprints for FBI clearance were indeed received by the FBI on the 29th of September. I was told they would be processed in a "timely fashion". I think that has already passed :) No, not really, but I am a bit impatient. Tomorrow will be three weeks since I sent them. I know they got there sooner than the 29th... they probably were just not logged in until then. I'm just glad that I know that they are there and we don't have to get fingerprinted again. I was beginning to wonder.
If I could ask that you pray for me, for the surgery and for peace in the wait, I would really appreciate it.
In Christ,
Charity
Monday, October 12, 2009
More Good News....
Man, I am just full of good news today. First, we get to go on Wednesday to meet with our social worker and review our final homestudy draft! Then, as I was inquiring about something else, I asked our social worker about immigration approval. Come to find out, I don't have to wait for the final approval of the home study to submit the immigration application! This saves me (and my daughter!!!) some time! I was going to have to wait for it to be approved (signed) by the agency, and then sent to SC DSS for approval, and then it is forwarded to immigration. BUT, this way, I can do the immigration application and get a fingerprint appointment scheduled. In the meantime the home study can be getting approved locally. Also in the mean time I can get the FBI to figure out if Tim and I ever committed any henious crime and approve us!!! I'm a bit irked with them right now.
Speaking of fingerprints and criminal background checks... all that good stuff. I am all for making sure parents have a suitable background before handing them over a child. I mean, it is one thing to be able to biologically produce a child, the parents make that choice. But to voluntarily turn a child over to someone, you should be sure that they are not going to harm the child and can provide for them. I am ALL for that. But is there really any reason that I need to pay a TON of money for immigration approval (which will expire...why???) and even more needlessly, once I get fingerprinted ONCE, why do I need to do it again???? SEVERAL TIMES at SEVERAL DIFFERENT AGENCIES??? Can't they all just work together and agree somehow that 18 months from now my fingerprints will remain the same? I mean, unless I cut off my fingertips, or burn them with acid or something like that...they are going to be the same. And I have bigger issues if they happen to be different. I mean, I have a degree in science, but even if I didn't... I know that your fingerprints do not change. You can identify me with the ones that I had as a baby. Oh well.... it's all part of the fun (and expense!!!) of international adoption. And since I've done it at least 5 times now, and have only successfully adopted one child - I must have determined that it is VERY well worth it. With Anna I had to be re-printed once. We then had to be fingerprinted two times (once for Vietnam and then once again because our fingerprints expired while waiting to adopt from Kyrgyzstan). Neither of which led to a child. Now here we are at fingerprint session number 5. Hopefully this one will result in our daughter. That is not to mention all of the fingerprint appointments we have had locally... the police station knows us by name and we have no criminal record. I'm not even sure they check anymore because we have them write us letters so often :)
I am praying, praying, praying that things continue to move slowly. Tim and I really do deserve a break with regard to the adoption. I am so dying to meet my daughter!!! Maybe tomorrow I will tell the story of the emotional rollercoaster of today. For now though, I have kids that need their mom!!!
In Christ! (Keep praying for us in HIS name!!!)
Charity
Speaking of fingerprints and criminal background checks... all that good stuff. I am all for making sure parents have a suitable background before handing them over a child. I mean, it is one thing to be able to biologically produce a child, the parents make that choice. But to voluntarily turn a child over to someone, you should be sure that they are not going to harm the child and can provide for them. I am ALL for that. But is there really any reason that I need to pay a TON of money for immigration approval (which will expire...why???) and even more needlessly, once I get fingerprinted ONCE, why do I need to do it again???? SEVERAL TIMES at SEVERAL DIFFERENT AGENCIES??? Can't they all just work together and agree somehow that 18 months from now my fingerprints will remain the same? I mean, unless I cut off my fingertips, or burn them with acid or something like that...they are going to be the same. And I have bigger issues if they happen to be different. I mean, I have a degree in science, but even if I didn't... I know that your fingerprints do not change. You can identify me with the ones that I had as a baby. Oh well.... it's all part of the fun (and expense!!!) of international adoption. And since I've done it at least 5 times now, and have only successfully adopted one child - I must have determined that it is VERY well worth it. With Anna I had to be re-printed once. We then had to be fingerprinted two times (once for Vietnam and then once again because our fingerprints expired while waiting to adopt from Kyrgyzstan). Neither of which led to a child. Now here we are at fingerprint session number 5. Hopefully this one will result in our daughter. That is not to mention all of the fingerprint appointments we have had locally... the police station knows us by name and we have no criminal record. I'm not even sure they check anymore because we have them write us letters so often :)
I am praying, praying, praying that things continue to move slowly. Tim and I really do deserve a break with regard to the adoption. I am so dying to meet my daughter!!! Maybe tomorrow I will tell the story of the emotional rollercoaster of today. For now though, I have kids that need their mom!!!
In Christ! (Keep praying for us in HIS name!!!)
Charity
Whoo-Hoo!!!
I contacted our home study / adoption agency today and our home study is written. Tim and I are heading up Wednesday morning to meet with the social worker one more time and go over the final home study!!! That will be so wonderful when that part is behind us! When our home study is done, we can submit our immigration application. We will then only be waiting on the immigration approval and our FBI criminal clearance for dossier completion!!!! I have this massive checklist - one for home study requirements and one for dossier requirements and when I get something completed, I highlight it in green. Both are nearly completely GREEN!!! How exciting is that???!!!???
Now if only the FBI would respond to my pleas BEGGING them for information!!!
I so enjoy clearing each one of the hurdles that brings me closer to my daughter.
In Christ,
Charity
Now if only the FBI would respond to my pleas BEGGING them for information!!!
I so enjoy clearing each one of the hurdles that brings me closer to my daughter.
In Christ,
Charity
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Sara's room and football
Our family had quite the busy weekend this weekend. We had Cameron's football game Saturday morning - but before that, we tried to get a little shopping in. We made it to Kohl's and Target looking for a bedspread for Sara's room. We were having a very difficult time, seeing as how I decided to paint the room prior to finding a bedspread for it. Again, if anyone would like some room decorating advice, NEVER - I repeat NEVER paint a room prior to finding a bedspread that matches it. I don't care how much you love the paint :) What a chore that was! Not only that, but I had it in my mind that I wanted a bedspread with dragonflies on it. When I told Tim that, I think he doubled over in laughter. We would be lucky to find something that matched the walls period - not to mention narrowing our selection even further because I wanted DRAGONFLIES on it. Needless to say, the dragonflies did not happen! But we did find a nice bedspread for Sara's room. I also wanted to put her name up over her bed. We found these letters and I thought they were just perfect for a little girl's room. Sara's bedspread has polka dots on it, on one part, in various colors, and I'm contemplating putting polka dots on the letters. I may just do one, see how it looks, and if I don't like it, then I will just replace that one letter. I think it might be cute though. I've still got LOTS more room decorating to do, but here is our start of the room. We are picking up a lamp tonight, and a mirror for above the short dresser (which is not in any of these pictures). In the end it will turn out very nice. I'm not decided as of yet what I'm going to do about curtains. It will take me some time to decide on a color, or to go with just white.
Cameron had a flag football game on Saturday, so we were all out at that. They don't really keep score during flag football (although Tim and Neil who are helping coach report a score each week and have declared the team undefeated). Cameron's team won again this week. Cameron is really developing some good football skills from playing both regular tackle for "B" team at school and playing flag football as well. Plus, it is a lot of good exercise. I didn't get any really good pictures of the game, but here is a great picture of Pearl watching the game. She looks thrilled, doesn't she?
Tim leaves for Basel this weekend, so we will be spending some time this week getting ready for him to leave. He is there for a week, home for a week, back to Basel for a week, home for a week and then I leave for Basel for a week. Fun travels at the Roach household! Tim doesn't mind the travel.....personally, I could do without it!
This weekend we are having Neil and Heather over after the kids' football game. It should be a lot of fun. We always have a good time with them!
I contacted our social worker today to see where we are with our home study. I'm getting very anxious with the holidays coming up, and the delays that will cause - I'd really like to get everything done soon! I know we will have to wait on immigration approval, but I'd just like one more thing to check off of our list to get done! Hopefully I will hear some positive news back from her today! Please keep us in your prayers as we try our way through this process again!
In Christ,
Charity
Cameron had a flag football game on Saturday, so we were all out at that. They don't really keep score during flag football (although Tim and Neil who are helping coach report a score each week and have declared the team undefeated). Cameron's team won again this week. Cameron is really developing some good football skills from playing both regular tackle for "B" team at school and playing flag football as well. Plus, it is a lot of good exercise. I didn't get any really good pictures of the game, but here is a great picture of Pearl watching the game. She looks thrilled, doesn't she?Tim leaves for Basel this weekend, so we will be spending some time this week getting ready for him to leave. He is there for a week, home for a week, back to Basel for a week, home for a week and then I leave for Basel for a week. Fun travels at the Roach household! Tim doesn't mind the travel.....personally, I could do without it!This weekend we are having Neil and Heather over after the kids' football game. It should be a lot of fun. We always have a good time with them!
I contacted our social worker today to see where we are with our home study. I'm getting very anxious with the holidays coming up, and the delays that will cause - I'd really like to get everything done soon! I know we will have to wait on immigration approval, but I'd just like one more thing to check off of our list to get done! Hopefully I will hear some positive news back from her today! Please keep us in your prayers as we try our way through this process again!
In Christ,
Charity
Saturday, October 10, 2009
A Sweet Surprise
I got a surprise yesterday that I thought was very sweet. Tim and I were at work and it got to the end of the day, and I was right in the middle of a project, so I called Tim and asked him if he would mind picking up the kids and bringing them back out to work. We don't bring the kids out there often, but I needed just a little extra time to get some things done. Plus, part of my "project" was cleaning out old files out of my file cabinets, making room for new stuff. I must have had about 150 binders that I needed the papers pulled out of and put into recycle, and the binders thrown away. I thought it was something that the kids would be thrilled to help me with. They usually like coming into work if I give them a project to help me with.
So, Tim was going to go pick up the kids. He said he needed to stop and drop something off in my office before he went though. Probably just another qualification book for me to review over the weekend :( It was not that at all... instead it was a beautiful pearl necklace and earrings :) I have been wanting a pearl necklace and earrings for quite some time. Tim said that I would get them when I least expected it. I really did not expect them yesterday! They are beautiful. I have a beautiful black dress that I wore to a wedding some time ago, and I had commented on how a pearl necklace and earrings would look great with that dress. I will wear it to church tomorrow and will post a picture. They are really nice! That was my sweet surprise. It was a nice pick me up to end a very tiring week.
Nothing new right now on the adoption front. We are waiting for our fingerprint clearance for FBI criminal background check. We are two weeks into our home study report wait. Hopefully we will get that soon. Tim leaves next weekend for Basel and then he is gone one week, home a week, gone a week again to Basel, he is home a week and then I leave for Basel for a week. So, there is not a whole lot of time in there for us to get things done. Uuuggghhh! I have to keep reminding myself that this is GOD'S timing, and not mine!
Today we are headed out to Cameron's football game. We are also going to go shopping for a bedspread for Sara's room. Hopefully I will find something that matches the paint I put on the walls :) Mental note... as much as you like a paint color, it might be nice to find matching bedding before you put it on the walls! Live and learn. I have never done that before where I had to find bedding to match paint - I normally do it the other way around... but this time I just feel in love with the fresh guacamole paint color. Now I just hope I can find the bedspread! I'm also getting "Sara Joy" letters to put over her bed. I really want to do the room in dragonflies. We'll see what I am able to find. Wish me luck!
It'll be a busy day today, but hopefully we will get lots accomplished!
In Christ,
Charity
So, Tim was going to go pick up the kids. He said he needed to stop and drop something off in my office before he went though. Probably just another qualification book for me to review over the weekend :( It was not that at all... instead it was a beautiful pearl necklace and earrings :) I have been wanting a pearl necklace and earrings for quite some time. Tim said that I would get them when I least expected it. I really did not expect them yesterday! They are beautiful. I have a beautiful black dress that I wore to a wedding some time ago, and I had commented on how a pearl necklace and earrings would look great with that dress. I will wear it to church tomorrow and will post a picture. They are really nice! That was my sweet surprise. It was a nice pick me up to end a very tiring week.
Nothing new right now on the adoption front. We are waiting for our fingerprint clearance for FBI criminal background check. We are two weeks into our home study report wait. Hopefully we will get that soon. Tim leaves next weekend for Basel and then he is gone one week, home a week, gone a week again to Basel, he is home a week and then I leave for Basel for a week. So, there is not a whole lot of time in there for us to get things done. Uuuggghhh! I have to keep reminding myself that this is GOD'S timing, and not mine!
Today we are headed out to Cameron's football game. We are also going to go shopping for a bedspread for Sara's room. Hopefully I will find something that matches the paint I put on the walls :) Mental note... as much as you like a paint color, it might be nice to find matching bedding before you put it on the walls! Live and learn. I have never done that before where I had to find bedding to match paint - I normally do it the other way around... but this time I just feel in love with the fresh guacamole paint color. Now I just hope I can find the bedspread! I'm also getting "Sara Joy" letters to put over her bed. I really want to do the room in dragonflies. We'll see what I am able to find. Wish me luck!
It'll be a busy day today, but hopefully we will get lots accomplished!
In Christ,
Charity
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Knocked out!!!
I thought I would share these pictures with you. I thought it was so cute. Anna came home from school last night and fell asleep on my bedroom floor. I looked back and there they were... Anna and Pearl resting together. Anna was completely out of it. Pearl was just joining her for the rest.
An update on Cameron - his little virus (aka HIGH fever) only lasted 24 hours. He had no other symptoms associated with it, and was back to himself by Monday. Strange, but I'm glad it was not something more serious.
Adoption: We are waiting on our home study completion. Hopefully we will hear something about that soon! Pray we make it through this phase of the process quickly! We are also waiting on our FBI criminal background clearance. I called on Monday and they didn't have a record of our fingerprint application in the system. Let's hope it is there and they are just backlogged. Maybe I will call again today.
Please pray as I contemplate some other areas of how I can be of service - how I can minister to others. There is a particular area that won't leave my mind. As I was talking to Tim about it today and said "I just can't get this out of my head!!!". He said that there was a reason for that. I'll spend some more time praying about it and asking God to lead where He wants me to serve.
In Christ,
Charity
Monday, October 5, 2009
Strange virus???
Cameron woke up feeling terrible yesterday. We were getting ready for church and he came downstairs and said that his head hurt really bad. So, I got him some tylenol and mucinex and while I was giving that to him, I felt his back. He felt very warm. I checked his temperature and sure enough, he was running a temp of 101.5. The tylenol kicked in for awhile, but then wore off and the fever shot up to 103. More tylenol... most of the day he ran a fever of 101.5 even with the tylenol in him. I'm not sure what he had, but he was miserable. He wasn't complaining of anything, except the fever. He was very tired and slept most of the day (probably due to running the high fever) and ate next to nothing all day. The only thing he wanted was strawberries. So, we got him some of those, but he didn't even eat many of those.
This morning he is doing well. His fever appears to be gone and his appetite seems to be back. Not sure what was running though him, but I am glad it appears to be gone, and I hope it doesn't come back! I guess this is a great opportunity in disguise for Cameron and I to spend some time home alone, just me and him!
Adoption update: I am going to contact the FBI today to see where our fingerpriints are for our criminal background check. This is the only thing I have left to complete. I have everything else done! Hopefully our homestudy will be done soon and we can then send off for our I-171H. A special thank you to everyone who has helped us get all of our paperwork done so quickly. From our ever-present notary, to friends who wrote reference letters, to our guardians, to work people who filled out employment documents.... thank you all for helping us get moving so quickly! Hopefully Tim and I will get immigration approval quickly and we can be on our way!!!
In Christ,
Charity
This morning he is doing well. His fever appears to be gone and his appetite seems to be back. Not sure what was running though him, but I am glad it appears to be gone, and I hope it doesn't come back! I guess this is a great opportunity in disguise for Cameron and I to spend some time home alone, just me and him!
Adoption update: I am going to contact the FBI today to see where our fingerpriints are for our criminal background check. This is the only thing I have left to complete. I have everything else done! Hopefully our homestudy will be done soon and we can then send off for our I-171H. A special thank you to everyone who has helped us get all of our paperwork done so quickly. From our ever-present notary, to friends who wrote reference letters, to our guardians, to work people who filled out employment documents.... thank you all for helping us get moving so quickly! Hopefully Tim and I will get immigration approval quickly and we can be on our way!!!
In Christ,
Charity
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Why not???
Before I get into the reason for this title, I want to share about the glorious day we had today. I blogged earlier about our friends Heather and Neil. (well, I think I called them H and N before, but they wouldn't care if I named them now, I'm sure). Anyway, their son plays football with Cameron and we decided that we would get together the two families for a cookout after today's game.
So, we had a jam-packed morning. I said I would bring a fresh baked apple pie for dessert. So, I got up at about 5:30 this morning to make it. It tasted delicious and was well worth the early hour of getting up to make it. Tim took Anna to cheerleading and I took Cameron and Hamilton up the road with me to take Pearl to the Vet. After that, we came home, waited for Tim to come back, and then Tim and I ran up to CVS to get passport pictures for our dossier. Then it was time to go to Cameron's game.
I met up with Heather at the game and we had a great time watching the game and chatting. We always have a good laugh! The boys won their game and then we headed over to Heather and Neil's house. We had a wonderful time. (if you ever read this Heather, know that we had a blast and have quickly grown to love your family :) We had a great dinner together and had fun watching the kids play and just getting to know one another better. Next time, it is at our home.
On the way home from their home though, I was thinking about Sara and how I wished that she was there with us. I wondered what she was doing right now..... or if she even IS right now. She could not even be born yet for all I know. Anyway, I was thinking about her. I think about all the kids in orphanages often. Tim and I will go and will love and care for one more, but we can't love and care for them all. What about the rest?
Lots of churches have orphan ministries, and I always wondered why ours could not have one. I wished someone would do something... put something together - if for nothing more than to raise awareness of all of the orphans in the world... knowing darn well we can't adopt them all... what more can we do. In my mind, there is so much more we can do, I just need to find an avenue to do it. How I wish someone would start something at our church. I wish someone would raise the idea. I wish someone would start an organization. I wish I could contribute... then for a fleeting second, I thought "Why can't that person be me?" Someone has to do it. Why am I waiting for someone else? Maybe there are a lot of someone's waiting for me.
I am not sure if I have it in me right now, but maybe I do. I don't know. It will definitely be something that I pray about. I will pray that God clearly shows my heart what needs to be done... what more I could do. I'm just glad I finally got to the point of questioning myself.... why wait for others? Why not me?
In Christ,
Charity
So, we had a jam-packed morning. I said I would bring a fresh baked apple pie for dessert. So, I got up at about 5:30 this morning to make it. It tasted delicious and was well worth the early hour of getting up to make it. Tim took Anna to cheerleading and I took Cameron and Hamilton up the road with me to take Pearl to the Vet. After that, we came home, waited for Tim to come back, and then Tim and I ran up to CVS to get passport pictures for our dossier. Then it was time to go to Cameron's game.
I met up with Heather at the game and we had a great time watching the game and chatting. We always have a good laugh! The boys won their game and then we headed over to Heather and Neil's house. We had a wonderful time. (if you ever read this Heather, know that we had a blast and have quickly grown to love your family :) We had a great dinner together and had fun watching the kids play and just getting to know one another better. Next time, it is at our home.
On the way home from their home though, I was thinking about Sara and how I wished that she was there with us. I wondered what she was doing right now..... or if she even IS right now. She could not even be born yet for all I know. Anyway, I was thinking about her. I think about all the kids in orphanages often. Tim and I will go and will love and care for one more, but we can't love and care for them all. What about the rest?
Lots of churches have orphan ministries, and I always wondered why ours could not have one. I wished someone would do something... put something together - if for nothing more than to raise awareness of all of the orphans in the world... knowing darn well we can't adopt them all... what more can we do. In my mind, there is so much more we can do, I just need to find an avenue to do it. How I wish someone would start something at our church. I wish someone would raise the idea. I wish someone would start an organization. I wish I could contribute... then for a fleeting second, I thought "Why can't that person be me?" Someone has to do it. Why am I waiting for someone else? Maybe there are a lot of someone's waiting for me.
I am not sure if I have it in me right now, but maybe I do. I don't know. It will definitely be something that I pray about. I will pray that God clearly shows my heart what needs to be done... what more I could do. I'm just glad I finally got to the point of questioning myself.... why wait for others? Why not me?
In Christ,
Charity
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