Distractions

Waiting for things to move forward with the adoption is clearly one of the hardest things I have had to do. Maybe not the hardest --that would be losing my mother and my stepmother-- but clearly it is beginning to rank pretty high on the list. But I am trying to keep my mind off of things and focus on other things.

Creative things. I've started working on several new projects, including a scrapbook, a blanket and a quilt. I realize that several member of my family are rolling their eyes at my tackling a quilt. You see, I have quite the history of failing to finishing what I start. It took ten years to finish one cross-stitched blanket. But I will say that I knitted four complete blankets so far this year.

The concept behind this quilt is actually pretty cool. Several prospective adoptive parents from one of my email groups are participating in a "Vietnam Culture Quilt Swap." Every person involved picked two topics to research and complete a one page write-up. Then, we choose a fabric that corresponds with the topic and cut a quilt square. Also included in the write up is a wish for the child. So far, we've gotten a few squares in the mail. It has been so much fun. At the end of the swap, I should have enough squares to make a quilt, as well as a scrapbook full of write-up on Vietnamese culture.

Larry and I have also turned to gardening to occupy our minds. Larry constructed a raised bed off of our patio. I planted several varieties of tomatoes, some squash, green peppers and sweet peppers. I didn't think that it would do that well. However, it has virtually exploded. Larry has also been planting some flowers which are starting to bloom. And I picked our first vegetables today, the squash pictured here.

Some green peppers

Roma tomatoes almost ripe

Feeling some Frustration

The last 24 hours have been so frustrating for Larry and I. We've been waiting for awhile for our home study to be completed and on its way to CIS. But in order for the home study to be completed, we needed one more background check/fingerprints to be processed. Yesterday, I got an email from our social worker letting us know that my fingerprints were back, but Larry would have to have his redone. WHAT???? Needless to say, I flipped out a little bit. It took almost a month for the initial fingerprints to come back. So how long will it take for these new ones to come back? And would this hold up our home study?

This bit of news led to a great deal of frustration on my part. I was starting to feel like we were being pushed and pulled in several different directions, yet not accomplishing anything. There were lots of tears last night, which I have come to realize is something that is common in this process.

Twenty-four hours later, things are looking somewhat brighter. Larry contacted the agency this morning and will be reprinted tomorrow. The prints will then be overnighted to Richmond, along with a letter stating that they are a re-do. The first draft of our home study is also going to the agency director for review. Hopefully we will have a copy of it to review by the end of the weekend or early next week. I'm still optimistic that we can start preparing our dossier and receive our I71-H before the summer is over, if not sooner.

I've added a quote to the page from a song by Carolyn Dawn Johnson. My sister-in-law Jilian recommended it a few posts ago when I was feeling frustrated. It has helped me tremendously in the last 24 hours and is my new philosophy in this process. So, Jilian, I may owe my sanity to you this week!

Weekend Adventures

This weekend, while Larry was working, I had the chance to get away for the weekend with some of my girlfriends, affectionately known as the YaYas. We had a great weekend and it was the perfect distraction from work and the adoption process frustration. Usually, I come back from one of these weekends having shopped too much for myself. However, this was the first shopping trip as a prospective parent. I learned a lesson this weekend; that it is now more fun to buy for this new person coming into the family than it is to buy for myself. I wonder how long that sentiment will stick around.

Here's what was added to the baby collection:

Baby's First Stuffed Animal

Maybe we can take this on the airplane

My Daddy Loves Baseball

Dinosaur Pajamas

So these new discoveries have been added to our growing pile of baby items. I just can't wait until we actually have a baby to use them!

Making the right decision

When we started researching adoption agencies, we were literally overwhelmed by the amount of information we received. Ultimately we chose the agency closest to us in proximity, but we also chose this agency because we felt they were able to help us achieve our goals of becoming a family. Our decision to go with this agency was reaffirmed yesterday.

Early yesterday morning, I went to the agency website as I often do. On the homepage, I read a blip about an important announce for the agency's Vietnam program. As of today, the agency was temporarily no longer accepting applications for the Vietnam program. They felt that they had reached the maximum number of clients that the program could handle without having to extend the waiting time for a referral (which is currently 3 to 6 months) . But never fear, we have been in the program for about six weeks. Our program coordinator called yesterday to reassure me that we were okay. I think that it's great they want to focus on keeping their referral times down, which was one of the things that drew us to them in the first place.

Now if we could only get our homestudy completed!!!!!!

An unexpected visit to the ER

Late last night, Larry and I made an unexpected trip to the Emergency Room. I say unexpected, since I spend most of my time there for work and Larry works in the same hospital. The ER is the last place that we want to head to on our nights off. Alas, a medical catastrophe.

Last night, while working on the computer, my eye felt irritated, so I rubbed it, which is a rather routing event. A few minutes later, I realized my eye felt funny and really hurt. I looked in the mirror and my iris appeared misshapen. My eye was beginning to swell shut. Larry looked at it and almost immediately says "Let's go to the ER." When I hear this, I start to freak! He worked in the ER for 20 years and rarely considers things extreme enough to warrant emergency intervention. I just knew that I was going to be blind before the end of the evening.

By the time we arrived at the ER, my eye was more swollen. And the white of my eye was filling with fluid. Talk about gross. I was sure I had damaged my retina or contracted some rare eye disease. No, nothing that exciting here. Just your average run of the mill...PINK EYE. But pink eye to the point of my eye swelling shut and having to stay out of work for a few days.

Now, you might be asking yourself, "Doesn't she know what pink eye feels like?" The answer is no! I never had pink eye as a child. I had mononucleosis, but not pink eye. But at least now I am prepared should Owen ever come down with a case of it.

Not really much of an update

I know I promised an adoption update, but the truth is that there is not much to update. Right now we are just waiting. Waiting for a background check to be completed so we can wait for our home study to finally be complete.

We did meet with our agency last week and met our program coordinator. She filled us in on the travel aspect of this journey as well as preparing our dossier. We are both anxious to move on towards getting this dossier together.

Hopefully I will have a more substantial update in the next few days.

The newest member of our family...

Today we added a member to our family. No, it is not a baby and it is not from Vietnam. We've added another cat to our brood; this time a tortoiseshell kitten who goes by the name of Josie. We went to PetSmart this afternoon just to look...and Larry fell in love. And truth be told, so did I. The other animals are not too keen on her just yet. That will take some time.

Josie is actually the name she came with. See, I am a bit picky when it comes to names for animals. For some reason, every animal that we have had together has had an "o" as the second letter of their name. And Josie fit beautifully.

I initially did not want to get another cat. I was very set against it. We loved Loba (and still do) so much. To imagine bringing another animal in to the mix so soon was something I didn't think I could do. But the other animals in the house have been moping around all week. They are grieving the loss harder than I expected. And in no way are we trying to replace Loba. But there has been a void in the atmosphere of the house. Josie seems to brighten things just a bit.

And now on to the photos. And I promise to update with some adoption info tomorrow.

Up close

A profile view

We also want to congratulate our niece Hannah, who graduated from high school today. We are very proud of her!

Another year older...

As of yesterday, I officially left my twenties in the dust, entering my thirties in style. What a great few days I've had. I spent Friday with my good friends Taryn and Kyler at Carowinds, riding some of the coolest rides. If you have a chance to get here, be sure to ride Top Gun and The Borg. Both offer thrilling rides. We had a blast. It was really hot that day, but the crowds were minimal. Lots of fun. Even the trip home, which took 6 hours, when it should have only taken 3 and a half hours, was loads of fun.

My actual birthday was Saturday. Larry and I spent the day with family and friends. I got some great gifts and thoughtful cards. We are also spending the weekend in my hometown, relaxing and enjoying time together.

Tomorrow we plan on heading down to Greensboro, NC, to meet with our program coordinator for Vietnam. It will be nice to put faces to names as we go through this process. In adoption news, we are just waiting for our home study to be completed. We're waiting on another background check to come through before this can be completed. I really wish it would hurry up.

Look how cute I was 28 years ago!!!!

Such sadness....

Today was such a sad day at our house. Our beloved Loba died peacefully after a battle with cancer. I was by his side throughout the day and was with him when he died. We are all so sad at the loss of such a great cat. He was beautiful and stoic. He came into our family shortly after Larry and I moved into our house. I went to PetSmart and saw this scrawny little black cat. I knew he belonged in our family. He screamed the entire way home and then proceeded to poop in the back seat of my Geo Prism (I'm sure his cousin Grisman would later go on to do much worse in said car).

He started out scrawny and quickly grew into a massive cat. He weighed close to 17 pounds when he was in his prime. And he ruled the house. He had huge paws and teeth, which would often scratch you if he was smoothing you. He was such a treasure and he will be missed.

We'll miss you, big man!!