Kansas Thanksgiving: Day 2 - Post Tour

So, was it worth it to take an entire day to drive to Kansas?  Yep...

After enjoying a leisurely morning while Jeb was at work, which included inducting Emi into the Christmas Vacation club, we set off to Fort Riley.  We had lunch, visited the PX, then got a driving tour of post once Jeb got off work.  The oddest part was when he took us to the simulator and we witnessed lower-ranking soldiers "sir'ing" him.  Jeb, Emi and Elliott all participated in the simulator.  Mom and I were unable to even watch due to our equilibrium issues.  We took the opportunity to get in some exercise walking around parking lots.

Next up, we went to the Blackhawk hangar:

 Uncle Jeb gave Elliott the full rundown.

We finished up our day with our Thanksgiving grocery shopping at the Commissary.  Elliott had reached his limit by this point.

My hunt for cornmeal will be important for Day 3...

Kansas Thanksgiving: Day 1 - Drive Time

Better late than never...
 
On Tuesday, Nov. 22, we set out for Ogen, Kansas, to have Thanksgiving with Jeb and Emi.  We left at 5 am on my sweet boy's 6th birthday.  He was a great rider, keeping himself entertained with his Leapster, new TAG, coloring books, and of course, his trusty DVD player*.

Burger King birthday lunch

Me: Elliott, we are going to stop at a cheese store.

Elliott: Do they sell cheesecake?

Me and Mom: hahahahahaha

The only difficult part of the trip was driving through Kansas City.  This heavy traffic coincided with it getting dark and the DVD player dying, the combination of which led to an Elliott meltdown.  Thank goodness for the books on tape, wisely suggested by Aunt Kathy.

We finally arrived 14 hours later!

Uncle Jeb and Aunt Emi had a birthday surprise (and spaghetti) waiting on us!

I'm Alive...and Well

Dear Friends,

No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth.  The last 8 weeks at work have been so insane that I've just been a bit off kilter.  I have lots of tidbits to share with you, but today I'll stick to the most exciting ones.

Our last papers made it to the agency Tuesday!  
Our dossier was shipped TODAY to China!!!

As if that is not exciting enough, today is the 6th anniversary of Elliott's referral.  Wow, talk about a great day for the packet to go!

I am very anxious for us to get our Log In Date (LID) in China because then we will be eligible for a referral.  I'm tired of waiting! (said in my best cry baby voice)

If you don't really "get" me, then you won't realize how hard it was for me to go ahead and hang baby girl's stocking:

But I did...

Red Thread T-Shirts; Pre Sales Are Open!

We are so excited to announce that our Red Thread fundraiser t-shirts (2 styles) are now available for pre sale! We are selling them to help with the cost of our adoption and, just as importantly, to raise awareness for adoption!

If you feel so called, please share with your friends!  I can email you the PDF order form if interested and to distribute.

Thank you all for your support!

I am extremely thankful for the amazing help of Leigh-Ann, who has been vital in her leadership role!

Gordon Family Fundraiser! November 15 - Cold Stone Creamery

My new friend Meagan Gordon needs your help!  She needs you to eat ice cream! :)

They are having an awesome fundraiser at Cold Stone Creamery in Starkville on November 15 from 5-8 pm.  Read all about it here!

What a simple way you can help bring home their son Max from Ethiopia!

Dossier (nearly) Done!

After finishing the Turkey Trot Saturday, Vanessa, Madison, Elliott and I headed off to finish my dossier copies and assemble the package.  After Vanessa and I's assembly line package organization, it was off to the UPS store to spend $60 in order to get it to Oregon by Monday morning.  Was that crazy?  Yes it was.  However, that gave the agency all this week to review it.  Allow me to share some great news:

I just wanted to let you know that I was able to read and review your dossier ... Everything looks perfect! I prepared your dossier so that it is all set for shipment the moment I receive your certified and authenticated photocopy of your 797 approval notice. Well done! You have done a great job compiling your dossier. I look forward to shipping it on your behalf once I receive this final document.

As Dooce is famous for saying, I want to be the Valedictorian (or at least the Salutatorian, wink) of dossier preparation.  I think that this success, combined with last time, might just get me in the running! ;)

In all seriousness, my mailbox stalking will increase tenfold now.  That piece of paper is all that is standing in the way of us getting on that waiting list.  AAAHHH!  But I am so thankful that I do not have to redo any documents.  I pray when it reaches the CCCWA down the road that they too will think it's perfect.

I mean, look at all this hard work!

One more step complete...

 

November is National Adoption Awareness Month!

Friends, I have so many unwritten posts to share with you, including but not limited to:

• Turkey Trot 5k
• Dossier
• Red Thread Fundraising!

Keep checking back!

Happy Halloween 2011

 

 Thank goodness the Dougster is a great carver!

 

 

 

 

(The jar is part of an incomplete project; maybe next year!)

Happy Halloween!

 

In Transit

I have been losing my mind waiting for the majority of our dossier to come back from the Embassy in Houston AND also waiting for USCIS approval, which, again, is the final piece of the dossier.  I have been plugging my dossier tracking number in over and over and over, and finally today it was good news!

Come on I-797!  

 

Note to Self

Trust

Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” 
(NIV)

Consulate Bound!

Our dossier is Houston, TX, bound for authentication today!  Hope to have it back in a week or two!

Hurry up immigration approval!!!  PLEASE!!!

Also, in all fairness, I would like to report that the UPS store gave me a really nice discount today to make up for the error that occurred yesterday (see below).  It's nice to see good customer service still in place somewhere!

Fundraisers

We are about THIS CLOSE to launching pre-sales for 2 t-shirts and then also for bracelets.  Get ready, info to be posted here soon!

Return to SENDER

My head almost exploded about 30 minutes ago.  I began to wonder why it was taking so long for our packet to come back with certifications from Jackson. Last time, I remember that the SoS is super fast at returning those.  So I tracked the package.  And lo and behold, my package has been sitting at the MSU UPS office since Monday...THREE BUSINESS DAYS MY PACKAGE HAS BEEN SITTING THERE.  Seems the clerk and/or computer put in the return address wrong.  Then they opened the package, but they didn't bother to call me (name and number clearly on cover page).  I very strongly let them know that they wasted three days of my time, and that every day counts.

Erica, I think my BP and HR might have matched Doug's just this once ;)

In My Shoes

At the 1st 5k in April, Elliott saw the other kids participating in the 1 mile Fun Run.  His interest was piqued.  Then in May at my 2nd 5k, I randomly won that medal.  That really hooked him! So I've been trying to find a time that it would work for him to do his first Fun Run.  Thanks to the help of Anna, today was the day!

Doug took this unauthorized picture of me about to cross the finish line. 

Since I look semi-decent, I decided to publish it for posterity.

I hope to see many "double" shirts in my future with Elliott!

This race was a mixed bag for me: 

• Elliott's 1st Fun Run! :)
• Vanessa was unable to attend; this is the first time one of us has raced without the other. :(
• Katie V was my running buddy! :)
• Around 2.5 miles, I started gagging.  Two sips of water instead of one did me in?  Who knows what happened.  Anyhoo, I had to walk a few yards to get myself back under control. :(
• My time was 30:34, shaving nearly 3 minutes off my 3rd 5k time! :) [no wonder I almost puked!]
• The first time Doug has ever been present for a race. :)

 I am so proud of my boy.  And I am so proud that I inspired him in this endeavor.  +1 for Mami!


The end of every race is the beginning of a new one.
  --T-shirt of a kid I passed

Right Now

 So, where are we right now in our journey? 

1. We were federally fingerprinted (aka had our biometrics taken) in Birmingham on Tuesday.*
2. The majority of our dossier left this morning on the first leg of its journey to the Secretary of State to get certified.

The manilla envelope that UPS sent it in looked so unofficial, disturbingly so.  Don't they know that weeks and weeks worth of paper chasing is in that envelope?  I felt like it should be decorated with markers and glitter and ribbon.  It needed a proper send off.

Ok, so what's in the envelope?
Our application letter to China, birth certificates, marriage certificate, letters of employment, medical forms (UGH), financial information, the home study, and police clearance.

Where is it headed?
The packet is headed to the Secretary of State's office first.  Each of those forms/letters was notarized here, and now the SoS has to attach a certification that verifies that the notary is legit.

Then what?
When the packet comes back from Jackson, I make copies of all the certification sheets.  Then it goes to the Chinese Embassy in Houston, TX, for authentication.  Yep, that's another piece of paper that gets added.  Then I make copies of those sheets.  THEN, I add passport copies, photos of us and our home, and letters of reference to the packet, and the entire packet then goes to the agency in Oregon.  The agency reviews it and holds it.

*Once the fingerprints are processed with our immigration application, we will receive the I-797 approval via mail.  This will be the final piece of the dossier.  But it too will have to be state certified and embassy authenticated.

When that piece of paper is sent to Oregon, and prayerfully crossing fingers that all documents pass muster, THEN AND ONLY THEN will the dossier go to China.  Shew! 

At that point I will turn my attention to two things: (1) working on her room and (2) FUNDRAISERS!  Get ready, we will need your help!

Many of you have done some calculating and have, probably accurately, come to the conclusion that our daughter has likely already been born.  I ask that you pray specifically for her health, that she is being well cared for, for her care givers, and for her adjustment when the time comes.  I also ask, very selfishly, that you not say to me, "How exciting!  She's (probably) already been born!"  It hurts my heart for every second that I am not with her.  And though, yes, down the road it will be exciting that she is probably close in age to babies in my life, right now all I hear is, "You are with your baby, and I am not."


When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start right now.
-When Harry Met Sally but as used in adoption context by Jillian Michaels

  

Positive Patty

So I promised you a more positive post.  Here goes.  What have I been up to other than paper chasing and real life?  Couponing and running! :)

Here is my teeny tiny stockpile.

 

I still have LOTS to learn about couponing and deals, but I'm already addicted to what I have accomplished.  I actually get all antsy on Sunday mornings to go get my deals!

As for running, Van and I have now been running for SEVEN MONTHS!  It was only at the very end of August that we ran 3.1 miles without stopping.  We've now done so a handful of times, so we just keep setting new goals for ourselves!  Our next 5k together is Saturday, Oct. 29 (Turkey Trot at MSU).  However, in a week I'm going to run my first solo 5k (while Elliott attempts his 1st 1 mile fun run!).  I am scared to death.

A few months ago someone asked me how I liked running.  And sometimes that answer is "I hate it."  But it's a very complicated relationship.  Well, lo and behold, Dooce summed it up perfectly: http://www.dooce.com/2011/09/20/its-going-so-well

And the choir says, "AMEN!"

Platter Up

Erica has grown fond of saying I have so much going on that I no longer have a plate, I have a PLATTER.  That seemed like the perfect transition into a pity party.

As I've been collecting dossier documents I've been sending them to the agency for review.  There is no reason on earth to get a document state certified and authenticated only to have your agency tell you there is something wrong with it.  HAVE EVERYTHING REVIEWED.  I mentioned just days ago that doctors' offices are by far the hardest people to get adoption paperwork from.  And I know they are busy, I get that.  But by gosh how hard is it to read directions?  If their staff is incapable of following simple directions, how am I to trust them with my health and records?  Just give that some thought while I explain how they are making this process difficult.

Prior to starting down this road again, neither Doug nor I had a primary care physician.  I have a GYN, and he has an endocrinologist.  If we get say, a sore throat, we see a nurse practitioner.  Well nurse practitioners can't do adoption paperwork.  So we found Doug a primary care physician.  And I was all set to say HE did everything right on Doug's checklist.  And then the agency told me that it's not adequate for the doctor to note that Doug's vision is 20/13, it must be noted CORRECTED (i.e., he wears glasses). 

Did you just notice that there is a VISION component to the medical checklist?  Wait, it gets better.

So my doctor, being as he is an OB/GYN, put "NE" (which I can only assume means "no exam") on my form.  That will not fly.  Why?  "... will need to see that you don't have any vision issues, since this directly relates to eligibility." 

Ok, so Doug also has to have a letter from his endocrinologist b/c of his RTA.  That letter is being reviewed now.  Even if that letter gets the seal of approval, that doctor doesn't have a notary on staff.  Neither does my doctor.  This is where I would like to insert a clip of myself having a Chevy Chase/Clark W. Griswold fit.

Sigh...

Stay tuned for a more positive post to come.  Hopefully.

Let's go fly a kite!

FINGERPRINTING APPOINTMENT LETTER RECEIVED!

GETTING INKED WATER FINGERPRINTED ON OCT 4!

Faith

Faith is exactly what it takes to get through uncertainty. 

Faith is not necessary when you know how things are going to work out, that's knowledge. It's in the time of unknowing that having faith is what sees you through to the other side. 

Faith is what gives you strength. 

Faith is that light in your heart that keeps on shining even when it's all darkness outside. Now is the time to keep that faith alive!

--Source Unknown

I'm THAT Student

The primary role I have at work is to communicate with distance students.  Obviously, since they are not local, I communicate with them via email and phone.  And there's always THAT student who has an unending list of questions.  In the adoption world, I'm THAT student :)

I email my dossier specialist approximately every three days with a new question or document to review.  Lucky her. 

So, what have I been up to?

Paper...paper...paper...paper...paper cuts...paper...paper...paper...paper...you get the idea.

It doesn't sound that hard, I'll give you that.  But when doctors' offices (the hardest people to get dossier documents from, I'm going on the record with that) cannot follow simple instructions, bleck.  We're still waiting on the fingerprinting appointment, so we're still quite a ways from the dossier being anywhere near complete [reminder: the approval from USCIS is the final document in the dossier, so it isn't complete until that is complete].  So, there is plenty of time to get documents corrected, but if you know me you know I have no patience, especially for people not following directions.

Training is complete!

I moaned.  I groaned.  I huffed and puffed.  And then I finally did the grownup thing and made myself a schedule for completing the 12 hours of online adoptive parent training.  And guess what.  It did suck.  You know why?  Because you have to hear ALL THE SCARY STUFF.  There were times I was nearly in tears from the pain.  But, having now turned in my certificates to both agencies, I can now say it was beneficial.  And the best thing I can say about it?  I wish I had been required to do it before Elliott's adoption.

In other news, I've now collected 75% of our dossier documents.  I'm now watching the mailbox like a hawk for our USCIS fingerprinting appointment!

Like Manna from Heaven

On Monday, August 15, 2011, we had a division meeting at work.  For the record, it was not a good meeting, and we had an email alerting us to another meeting after the division meeting.  That meeting was also not a good one.  However, right slap in the middle of those two bad meetings, something amazing happened.

My co-coordinator got up, and to my complete bafflement, started talking about me.  She finally mentioned the adoption, and that's when I started to catch a clue.

Apparently a covert operation had been going on for two months.  The masterminds, THS and HS, remembered me talking about our "Pennies and Prayers" fundraiser for Elliott's adoption and organized a similar collection from the division.  O.M.G.  Check out that collection of containers.

 

 

I was so very overwhelmed and humbled by this show of love and support.  Boy did I cry.  Then my favorite work girls took charge and decided we would have a massive rolling effort during lunches.  Check out all my wonderful helpers!

All sorted by denomination!

After the first day rolling

How blessed am I?  VERY.  And how appreciative I am to be a testament of God's timing.  You see, the very next thing that was due was the I800A and the accompanying $720 payment (plus $170 for more fingerprints). 

Dirty penny fingers - well worth it!

One month later, the last of the rolling...nearly $100 worth of pennies alone!  

It was so heavy that the MSU Cheer Coach was called in for the carry!

And now for the grand total, which surpassed the USCIS payment...

$748.25

But my God shall supply all your need

according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 

-- Philippians 4:19


I will never be able to fully express my thankfulness to my coworkers.