Steps

Mr Sweetness and Light took his very first steps with two legs! He got to try it out for about 15 to 20 minutes. This first leg is a rough one so changes can be made to suit his uniqueness.  More work will be done on it since it couldn't be adjusted any further for him. Our prosthetist said to expect more adjustments as he learns to walk because his gait and stance will change over time. At his next appointment, the leg will get fine-tuned even more and then he will meet with the physical therapist who will help learn to use it.





I cannot begin to describe the joy I felt watching his first few steps. Since I didn't have any of my children as infants, this is the first 'first step' experience I've had with any of my kids. I wasn't sure whether to make a fuss--after all he is 15 years old and boys that age don't really want that kind of fussing since they're 'grown up now!'

Firsts...

When I began the journey to adopt my children there were many things I never imagined: Telling nine year old Miracle Man to come down from 25 feet up a fir tree the day before major surgery; Explaining to 14 year old Mr. Sweetness and Light why he shouldn't climb on top of our roof at 10 p.m. to look at the stars (never mind how he got himself up there in the first place!); Learning about hair--how MM didn't like it--never mind that he was using the clippers to shave the dreaded stuff off the tops of his arms; Spending 1 1/2 hours curling Miss Sunshine's hair for photo day.

The past year has been full of all sorts of firsts: Mr. Sweetness and Light played sports for the first time: baseball, soccer, swimming. His first P.E. class. First trip to the beach. First time going to church. Miracle Man graduated from middle school and started high school. (And boy have I gotten short! Every time I turn around I'm getting shorter!) He drummed up his first job--on his own, might I add. I can't believe what a man he has started to become! He's showing initiative, working hard, growing into himself. Miss Sunshine sang in choir and joined track team. She's set her sails and looks toward the stars.

Last month,  we attended a clinic for challenged athletes. SL learned how he could swim. Learning how he can as opposed to how he can not. That mindset became so important during his adoption. It is a good life lesson. Figure out how you can do something rather than looking for all the ways and reasons you can't. Over my life I have watched so many people do the latter rather than the former.

Tomorrow SL will get fitted with a rough prosthetic leg and begin the journey toward walking on two legs--something he could only dream of 18 months ago. The road ahead won't necessarily be easy. He will have to use muscles in ways he has never done before. Just the motion of walking will be so alien for him. There will be socks and liners and medications none of us has experience with yet. Eventually, there will be an operation--but the folks at our hospital want to get him on the road to walking before that occurs because it will give him a positive mindset when things are hard and not working just right. He will get to know what it is to walk before any other changes get made. What freedom he will experience by not having to have a crutch to lug around all the time! He dreams of new firsts now:  riding a bicycle, driving, running in track. I've cautioned him that this first leg is a walking leg, not a running leg. "Why can't I have a running let?! I don't want a walking leg! I want to run! I hate walking legs!" How does one answer that? I did give an answer. It feels so much like holding him back--something I never want to do. We have to apply for a running leg. Prosthetics aren't cheap. A first prosthetic runs about $9,000 and subsequent ones could go up to $50,000. I will figure out how we can get him his running leg.

Sleepless Mama calls out to the universe

Recently, I have dwelled on the children I was not able to bring home. Over this past weekend, I checked on the other young men I had been considering when I started the process to adopt my son over a year and a half ago; Four boys still wait. One ages out next month. I don't want that young man's future to be one of marginalization and that feeling will not let me sleep. I cannot believe no one will scoop him up and give him all that he needs in life! Can you make room for one more child in your life? He's healthy, does all right in school, is an athlete, plays well with the other children and has a big heart. Act now. Contact me for more details and contact an adoption agency. He doesn't have time to wait.

This article appeared on one of the boards I subscribe to. It was the first thing I read this morning. Do you think it was chance that it fell into my hands to read on a night when my heart burns so much to find a young man a family that I cannot sleep? It is a long article. My heart broke all over again.

http://aeon.co/magazine/world-views/whats-it-like-to-be-disabled-in-china/

Immanuel Needs a Miracle

When I started this journey three years ago, I called this my faith adoption thinking I would name the little girl I would adopt something that meant faith. Boy, was I wrong. Pun intended. This has been an adoption testing my faith at every turn. Folks who've been on this journey with me  know the long hours I have put in to raise funds via work, selling Tupperware, making crafts to sell at bazaars, and my fundraising efforts through organizations such as Reece's Rainbow, Go Fund Me, and Bonfire funds. People have graciously donated to both of the first two funds for which I am forever grateful. I've applied for foundation grants and was very, very grateful to receive one grant which will cover a third of the mandatory orphanage donation fee.

Immanuel needs a miracle now.  Funding fell through for my plane tickets--there's a long story there of what happened and didn't happen while I was dealing with a crisis due to actions of a bus driver at my kids' school. Airplane tickets now are $2700 and above, and rising.  I have to get to China by December 28th. There's no budge room, not even a little. I have to get Immanuel on December 30th or he loses his chance for a family forever. This weekend, when I should be making final preparations, cleaning house, and finishing up stuff from work,  I am now in crisis for this child. I am his last hope. I cannot, will not, let him down.

Donations to either Reece's Rainbow or Go Fund Me are needed now. Word needs to be spread beyond the base of folks following the journey here and on FB. Make Immanuel's dream of a family come true this Christmas.

Closing out Go Fund Me fundraiser

Hello everyone! Just a quick note that I will be closing out the Go Fund Me fundraiser this coming week to fund our visas. Thank you all for your kind support, it has been greatly appreciated! After this week, donations can still be made to our family support page on Reece's Rainbow, bids made on the Facebook auctions, and t-shirts ordered via Bonfire Funds (more on that one later in the weekend, so check back!). We will travel in the next couple weeks to bring HH/Immanuel home. I can't wait to post his picture so you can see this wonderful young man!

Links to Reece's and Go Fund Me are on the sides of this page. Here's the link to the current auction on FB:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bring-Immanuel-Home-Fundraiser/1395942303981634

We need it now, Chihuahuas in the street, and a wild ride

If you've been following my blog for a while, you have already come to the conclusion that I will get my elbow stuck in a tuba case once in a while. Okay that one really didn't happen to me. I just heard about it. But it could have happened to me.

You see Janet, it's this way (time to run and hide this signals long, impossible or headshake producing stories that actually happened-- to me.):

 Just before work a little over a week ago, I got notice of LSC receipt--early (And hooray too, the folks over in China rock! Very grateful to them. Very.). Only problem was, I was just going in the door to work, 15 miles away from my computer and the needed paperwork with no way to extricate it or get to it in anything resembling the near future. Paperwork needed now. Now. And by the by, can you get it notarized? Cleared my schedule to get the needed paperwork out the door and on its way. Almost. Meanwhile, there were Chihuahuas running in the street, bicyclists jumping out from between moving cars and one and all trying to get me to hit them. Didn't work. I made it through the gauntlet. Docs out the door and overnighted, hah!

Or so I thought. Phone call the next day: you forgot the I-864. Horrors! No, really.  The I-800 can't go in without the I-864. It just can't. It's a permission and the I-800 will just sit there, smiling on someone's desk just as if it had good sense. Or worse. It will sit in the lock box. No one really knows what the lock box is. Well, it's probably a box and has a lock on it...or maybe not. Your assigned officer cannot go get documents out of the lock box. Not even if you beg and promise to be good or say pretty please with sugar on top. I'm not sure if the supervisors can either. This is a Fort Knox kind of thing. Procedures have to be followed. I imagine a kind of Mission Impossible sort of scenario.

Phone call continues: The signed LSC copy sent back immediately--we need the original signed and dated, not just a photocopy as you'd been told.  Send both back together. A day's delay. Not good. Not good at all. There's so little time. That was Friday. Saturday, no document. Okay, it will still get there in time if sent next-day delivery on Monday. No document Monday morning. No document Monday noon, Monday afternoon, and no document Monday evening. I'm going bonkers at this point.  I call and email my case manager even though I know she won't get the messages until the next day.

I can't sleep. I'm eating chocolate nuked with peanut butter like there's no tomorrow. Try it!! It is way better than a chocolate confection made with those ingredients from the store. Make sure to use dark chocolate and don't burn it. The pieces will still have their shape, they don't have to be liquid. Add Adams peanut butter about two huge spoonfuls. After nuking, not before. About one minute in the microwave. And you'll have bliss. As long as the pyrex measuring cup doesn't explode. That didn't happen--this time.

(Note: Nothing worse than burned chocolate....well, maybe cat pee in the toaster or on a hot stove top. That is truly awful. Truly. Toaster cat exhibited either great talent or sneakiness and cunning beyond belief or maybe total insensitivity. No clues left behind to alert an unsuspecting human who can't smell.)

 Anyway, just after midnight: delivery attempted over the weekend but no one home. ARgh! They knew I wouldn't be home and it had to be sent so it could be left! Livid. And what's with sending it via USPS? Wasn't it supposed to come FedEx? Water over the dam. USPS dated the notice for February, not November. It almost got shredded. More chocolate. Try to sleep. Get up, race to post office for the document so it can get out and I can get to work. Only, there's no way they can return it same day. Not even at this early hour. No way. No way. No way. Kind of like a bad dream. FedEx can't perform the deed either. UPS? No. Suggestions? Hiring a private jet. Are you kidding me?!! You're not kidding. You leave me no option. Mama's gotta do what Mama's gotta do: Cancel work. Like I don't need the money. Immanuel's life is worth more than anything. And I'm not going down. He's coming home. That's IT!

Grab the kids. Grab the dog. At least he's happy. He gets a ride. Rides = good to him. Call and email the agency, I'm coming. Adrenaline combined with prayer and purpose carried me almost the entire way to Seattle, despite the lack of sleep. As I drove, I practiced controlled breathing, prayed, reminded myself how lucky I was to be able to take off to do something so vitally important. I counted my blessings and admired the beautiful scenery and tried to enjoy the sunshine. The original LSC got signed and submitted. The I864 had to be redone anyway to conform to new instructions which we wouldn't have been able to do without the delay and drive. Lots of times these things happen for a reason. Best of all, we got provisional I800 approval and can look forward to the official approval starting Monday (which actually, technically is today).  "Fast away the old year passes..." "Time is slippin' slippin' into the future..."

Wrong turns can be good too--especially if you end up at Ikea and get items you needed anyway plus a yummy lunch.

LSC!

We received our letter seeking confirmation on Thursday! Now we wait for the I800 approval (not to be confused with the I800a). Only three more weeks until travel. Please pray there are no hiccups, road blocks, or difficulties of any kind. HH can't afford for there to be any.

How many times must a woman go to get a document notarized....

before she actually can find
someone who will do the stamp?
Not the bank!
And not the other bank!
FedEx doesn't do anymore
The realtor? No!

Yes, how many trips must a woman make
before she can drive
to the secretary of state
to get a stamp, to get a seal, to send the thing
to the consulate?


It's not as easy as you think
It should have been, but it wasn't.
They'd never seen...
They didn't know...Shouldn't there be somewhere to sign?
Shouldn't there be a typed line?

How many trips must a woman make
So the courier can take the approval
from the feds to the consulate
How many trips must it take!

The answer my friend, you will hear
The answer my friend, you will hear

But give me your guess
give me your guess

Three articles on church support of international adoption families

Christianity Today article on how churches can support adoptive parents

These are really good--especially the last one. If you're not Christian, please don't let it deter you from reading the articles; they can be applied to your own center of faith too.

Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back

The totals came out today and I made more than I thought from consigning at Superkids! Oh, happy day! During Superkids, I came down with 'the bug' and have been out sick from work all week so far--not much of it left!!

At the beginning of the week, my adoption worker informed me we do not have until December 30th to finalize HH's adoption; We have until December 23rd. I know, you're thinking. "big deal." Well,  each part of the process takes x amount of time and without any expedition the whole thing should take 5-6 months, not three. Right now, we're waiting to be assigned a caseworker with the National Benefits Center who will hopefully approve our I800a on the first go round. Next week, it will be 60 days since the old I800a hit the lockbox at NBC. I was updated today by one of the officers there that we should expect to be assigned our worker during the coming week. That is slightly longer than the average has been over the last year and if all goes well. The paperwork has to get sent to me, then go to the Chinese Consulate, back to me, then to our agency who has to have it and all of our other documents translated. That part should take about a month to six weeks. Then everything gets sent over to China for an approval which takes a few weeks. That puts us at the end of November. We then have to file the I800, get article 5, arrange to travel, get to China, spend two whirl wind weeks there while stuff gets processed there and come home. Do you see why I'm so concerned?

In other good news, NBC, and other bodies affecting adoptions are not impacted by the government shut down. I was sooo relieved to learn that! I have a bunch of necklaces almost completed for Friday's fundraising tent at First Friday but no knitted hats finished. I also have the preliminary application for the first grant just about completed. I should be able to send that in tomorrow.

Children in Families First 2013

When I created this post there wasn't a badge I could use to set up a connecting link to the CHIFF website so I shared their infographic regarding orphans and adoption which turned out to be much larger than I wanted on the front page of my blog roll.

In a nutshell, CHIFF or Children in Families First looks to improve children's lives world-wide by focusing on reducing the number of children world-wide who live without families. It's aim will be to build child welfare systems that reunify children with their biological families or see them adopted into extend family, their community of origin, domestically, or internationally. You'll find news and information on legislation, impact of living without a family, stories about orphans and other vital information.  I'm including the badge here and in the sidebar so it doesn't get lost in the archives.

Last call!! Scentsy fundraiser ends tonight!

All proceeds will go toward HH's adoption fund! If you love Scentsy and want to contribute to a great cause, now is the time!


https://scentswithadele.scentsy.us/Scentsy/Buy

A father's love

The decisions the father in this story has to make on behalf of his daughter will touch you to the core. The story is both heart-wrenching and warming.  Many parents around the globe must make these tough decisions. No parent should have to.

http://www.chinasmack.com/2009/stories/impoverished-farmer-father-abandoned-girl-daughter.html

Silver Lininings

It's been quite a week so far. I started the week with a couple cancellations at work and will be ending with one more. As a result, I thought I would take the kids to a movie on Tuesday morning. No such luck. I was expecting a call from our China program coordinator and she called while we were en route to the theater. I pulled over for what I thought would be a quick conversation. Turned out to be over an hour. Needless to say, the kids were bummed out about not seeing the show. We learned our I800a had been sent to the USCIS for their process and approval, we only needed to get one more referral in and the guardianship letter.

Oh, by the way....we have two more brand new documents we need you to submit along with the other stuff. Local police clearance. Whoa, whoa, whoa! Weren't the state and FBI clearances we already submitted sufficient? Nope. Thanks to being off work, I was able to get the document, get it down to the secretary of state's office for their stamp, over to FedEx and off to San Francisco. The second document won't get done until week after next, sigh.

On the other hand, USCIS has received the I800a, woo hoo!

Mom always said to look for silver linings in dark clouds. Sometimes, it has been really hard to see them. Lots of silver linings this week!

First we scurried, then we hurried, melted a little, and, now, we wait.

By afternoon, the San Francisco Chinese consulate will have our dossier documents to authenticate. It feels so good to be at this point! Most of the paper-chasing finished! Getting that last document on Friday after so many challenges, delays, stops and starts. Thus is the adoption journey.

We traveled to Salem to get the documents verified on Monday with the plan of sending them off for authentication on the same day. We didn't count on being pointed in the wrong direction in 90 degree heat to get a money order to pay the consulate to look at and approve the docs. (Anyone hear, "I'm melting, oh what a world!"? After trudging several looonggg blocks flanked by a pair of 12-year-olds who were trying very hard to be patient, I learned we had to back track and go the other way. More trudging.

Upon reaching the cool oasis of Safeway and basking in its refreshing air while waiting for the clerk to alight from her backroom haven, she informs me: cash only for money orders. Trudge to car dragging said 12-year-olds behind with promises of McDonald's on the race home. To drop them off. To head to work. Too late to get to the store with cash. Cash. Who knew? Mffff...well, I knew--about ten years ago! But that was then, this is now. Sorry. I forgot. Like, I've only bought money orders maybe three times in my life!

Off too late from work Tuesday to get docs off.

Wednesday. Off early. Traffic. Too late to get money from bank. Think. Think. Think. Solution found. Off to get money. Off to copy and FedEx docs priority or express or whatever they call it. Docs checked twice. Return envelope inside. Money inside. Whew!

The docs should come back next week so I can turn around and send them to our agency. If all goes well. It must. Clock is ticking. I hear it reverberating in my sleep. Waking. He must come home. He must. Must.

Good news from the agency: They've almost finished the written part of the homestudy. That gets to go to the consulate as well. But they will have the adventure of sending it.

USCIS so far has been silent on the I-800a but then they may have just gotten it. It had to go through the agency first. Praying for a miracle there. Usually, it takes them 55 or more days to send back the approval. God moved the mountains for Miracle Man. God, please move them for HH!

Can you believe? I still have not heard back from anyone at my agency about the I800a! I just filled it out the best I could and should be sending it and the $830 payment out tomorrow. Guess that's all I can do for now.

On the flip side, the financial statement has been taken care of and I should have it either tomorrow or Monday. So very thankful for that! Once that is in hand and everything had been verified with the secretary of state's office, they will go to the Chinese consulate in San Francisco for authentication. After that, I get to send the whole kit and caboodle to my agency so they can send that bundle along with a bunch of other stuff over to China's CCCWA so that body can work on things.

Then there was the required class that I was supposed to take via webinar this evening. Only they were having problems with it not working right. Which means I either have to race home from work early again next week or try to do it later in the month on the day Miracle Man has his next surgery.

"And another one's gone and another one's gone and another one bites the dust!"

Magic Chef waved it's wand for the last time this morning. Lights on, nobody home...we killed another microwave today. It just couldn't take the strain of daily use. One year and one week since purchase, don't ya know! So thankful I bought the extended warranty this time! It  is the fourth or fifth microwave in six years. I've lost count. I think it is fifth. I bought a pricier one last year in hopes that it would last longer.

Kind of disgusting the way they don't last. Mom's microwave bought in the late 70s worked fine when I sold it ten years ago. Probably still working for whomever bought it.

Home Depot will credit me the purchase price of my latest kill before the weekend is out and I'll be able to get number six. They were really great about it and asked me to dispose of the deceased  responsibly. The county recycling center is right across the street from the  Home D location nearest us but the guy in customer service at the 1-800 number has no idea.

Any recommendations on microwave brands? I've killed Panasonic, Sunbeam, Samsung and now Magic Chef. Who should I try next? Think I should get an extended warranty again?

We will not give up!

While it could have been worse, it couldn't have happened at a worse time. A few hours ago I was rear-ended by another driver. The car in front of me had stopped and I had stopped as well. Thankfully, there were no broken bones or life-threatening injuries. I am hurting and will  see the doctor tomorrow. The trunk of the car can't be opened because the fender is crumpled up over part of it. The lock is unoperable and to my dismay, the trunk light was on. I called the car company after discovering this and while playing answer all their questions, repeatedly telling the lady on the other end of the line that I couldn't understand her  and to speak more clearly, the car's battery went dead. In my driveway. Nose in. When towing this vehicle you're supposed to do it from the front.

My plans for this evening had been to finish installing the vinyl plank floor in my living room and to do some painting. I don't know how that will happen now. I'm going to delegate as much to Miracle Man but he, after all, is still a boy. The final home study visit is this week and we have no more budge room to finish repairs on the house. I am down. I am not out. I will find a way to get everything done. I will not let HH's future go into darkness because of this or any other roadblock. I will go over, under, around, break through or blast to smithereens the difficulties in the way. I will break on through to the other side. HH will know a family. My family. We are coming HH. We will not give up!

2/4/2013 And they're off and running and running....

Both sinks and toilet plus blackberries slain, that's thanks to DS1 aka Miracle Man. Honestly, I don't know what I would do without him. He is sooo very talented in figuring out how to do things! While he worked on aforementioned projects, which had taken one look at me and cackled, I took on fixing his dresser. I have tweaked it repeatedly over the years without great success--since he used it as a ladder when he was little. I adjusted runners, put in washers, got longer screws, and on and on. I finally realized the bloody thing was bowed in the middle--hence the top and bottom drawers worked just fine, thank you very much! But the middle two wouldn't ever get even close to staying in their tracks. Two trips to Ace, 24 screws (all but six shredded, yes they were steel), several drill bits and drivers later, plus a couple hunks of wood and nails thrown in for good measure, and it all works--no slipping, no dreaded ka-chunk, squeal, falling stuff. Just nice gliding like it is supposed to be. Whew! I sure did enjoy hitting the thing with the hammer, though, made me feel lots better.  The parts for the 1-year-old fridge--with the warrantee that doesn't cover handles and shelves--should be in tomorrow and easy to put in, yeah, right. But that's tomorrow. Anyone need some car tires? A shed cum chicken coop? A really old king bed?