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.
 

USCIS Receipt Received!

Saturdays have been great for us for adoption mail!  Today we received our USCIS receipt letter.  NO, not our fingerprinting appointment letter.  It's a good thing I had done some Googling a few days ago because I didn't remember a receipt letter coming first.  Then again, it does seem like a lot of steps have been organized and streamlined since our last USCIS experience.  This time, there was no sending that form off before Renae 100% said so! :)  Plus, this time it required a letter from the international agency to accompany it.  Thank you, government, for showing me you can make a process function more smoothly!

I love this image; it looks so official!

I'm super glad to know that this time -- unlike that disaster that happened last time -- that our home study is where it's supposed to be.  I heart Renae.

So for the record, that's approximately 10 days since sending it on August 30, just like the nice Internet ladies said.

That Horrid P Word

Well actually, it's 2 P words: Paper Pregnant

I was exposed to that horrible phrase the first go round, and I had put it firmly out of my mind in the following years.  But when I was having the below amusing IM conversation a few weeks ago, that memory slammed back into me.

Mari: Do you have pictures yet?
Me: No, we're not that far along yet.

Yesterday I wrote the application letter for the dossier (a new one for me), requested both of our employment letters, asked for a correction from one of the reference letters, and today I ordered our vital record copies.  Next up, ANOTHER round of medical letters (GRR) and police clearance.  I think that leaves the financial statement and photos before getting the entire packet state certified then authenticated by the Embassy.  Oh yeah, and 9 more hours of online training.

While trying to find a clue online as to how long to expect the immigration results, I came across another P word from years past: Paperchasing.  Though lame, this one makes me giggle and accurately describes this part of the journey.

Emotional Traffic

Title credit: Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, The Band Perry tour

This is what my brain sees right now...but I am struggling.  I have mentioned before about how awesome I was at compiling Elliott's dossier.  So I'm not sure if I've put too much pressure on myself this time or if it's the fact that I have multiple points of contact or if I do not like how the planner is laid out this time.  Let's be honest, we all have different learning styles, and this planner seems to shut down my brain.  It's probably a combination of all these things.  The good news is that since we are waiting on the letter from USCIS to even be fingerprinted, at this point I am not holding us up.  But I need to be moving!

It also doesn't help that I have to fit in the online training at this time too (12 hours).  I completed the first module last night, and it took me 1.5 hours.  When I finished it, I noticed "Evaluation" up under it.  The directions were very much like a test...but wait!  I didn't have time to study!  Do you get a great mental picture of this?  Me freaking out about the module test?  :)  And I didn't get notice of its approval until lunchtime today. 

So, my current freakouts are (1) find time to compile dossier, (2) finish 8 modules of online training, and (3) find $. 

GO!

Labor Day Recap

As my great but exhausting weekend was playing out, I realized it resembled last year's 3-day weekend.  So for simplicity, I edited last year's list to show once again how I spend my holiday weekends.

Saturday:

Prairie Arts Festival

• RAN my 3rd 5k!

 

 

• (Doug worked dove hunts)
• (Part of a) Funnel cake as breakfast (a PAF tradition)
• Strategies for keeping Elliott from being whiny failed, even with his new gun, but I was granted a reprieve when Jero agreed to take the 2 little ones back early for the 2nd year in a row! :)
  
  
• Chicken on a stick for lunch (another PAF tradition, and it must be purchased from a particular vendor)
• Bought 1 gift and 1 item (frame) for the nursery
• Kitty won 2nd prize in her age category in the art contest

Post-Dove Hunt Cookout in Artesia

• A fairly new tradition, but very worth it b/c the people who put it on are golden...you are going to want to click on the below pic to see Corgan wearing her Rapunzle hat :)
  
  
• (Doug still working)

Sunday:

Family Lunch 

• Crazily, Elliott and I went swimming even though the temperatures had already started dropping
• Played Contact

Another Post-Dove Hunt Cookout

• A delicious meal of BBQ beef sandwiches at Jero & Penny's house
• 2nd game of Contact in one day

Monday:

• Chilled at the house the grand majority of the day with the front door open, enjoying the rain and breeze through the screen door
• Read a book
• Umi for supper

So excited to FINALLY be able to say I kicked PAF off by running!  I hope to be able to write that every year from here on out!

Simple Shock

I was trying to regroup and redo my To Do list today.  I had to give myself a pep talk about getting moving on completing the online training.  So I went to the site, found what I needed, then stared at the screen in disbelief...

Of all people it should have occurred to me that nothing is free.  But there I sat like a complete idiot starting at the $179 fee for the 12-hour training package.  After a few minutes, I just started laughing.  Silly Emily...

Now is a good time to remember once again how blessed I am that to date all* fees have been financed by my parents.  {melt}

*One amazing exception, story to come.

They'rrrrre Baaaack!

Remember this?

The mushrooms made a reappearance - in the front yard, no less - a few weeks ago, and now the mutant grasshoppers are back!  Geez...