More crafty goodness

I made this scrapbook for my personal trainer (yes, I have one although I know you can't tell). He had a baby girl a month ago. Each page is a holiday in the next coming year and a space for a photo.

I'm back!

Wow, time flies! But, I am back and ready to blog. It has been a very busy few weeks. I finished the semester at UOP and we began our state standardized testing at the school. Also, one of our kindergartners passed away in a drowning accident. He had been at school on a Thursday, went home and drowned in his pool. The next day we had to tell his fellow classmates and our staff. The following week was just as tough with funeral services and continuing to work with the students in his classroom.
On top of this, we've been dealing with the financial struggles of our district and multiple layoffs. I received a pink slip and had it rescinded just this last Thursday. It was many weeks of waiting.
Very emotional last few weeks. Glad to finally have a bit more order.
I have started my first summer session of classes. Statistics for 4.5 hours two nights a week...it's about as intense as you can imagine.
Not much with the adoption...still working on paperwork. Reference forms went out to our list of people we hope will say nothing but nice things about us! :)
Will blog again soon this week...

Tell It Like It Is Shaila!

Yesterday Mark and I spend a 10 hour day in one of our required adoption classes. This one focused on international adoptions. Shaila is the international adoption guru with our home study agency. She took us through a day of things to think about that Mark and I had not honestly even thought about. She held nothing back and definitely told it like it is! By 10 our brains were exhausted, by 1 we were overwhelmed and by 5 we were wondering what we have gotten ourselves into. It didn't change our mind, if anything we felt like a unified team even more ready to commit.

I considered Shaila a sign, more of an angel actually. Shaila is an Indian woman that has two Indian children she adopted over 17 years ago (domestiaclly, which I still can't believe!). She not only knows the legalities of just about every country, but she can relate to how it feels to be an Indian woman going through the adoption process. See...an angel to help me through this.

Shaila spent some time talking about the reactions of adoption from different perspectives. I very much connected with what she was saying. Since telling folks we are adopting, it's not always the same reaction you get as if you say, "I'm pregnant!" You don't get asked about your emotions, physical state, planning for baby, etc.... as you do when you are physically pregnant. It makes you worried about how your child will be treated/viewed when they arrive home. This is such a difficult journey that is very misunderstood. So, yes, we are pregnant! It just may take longer than 9 months to deliver our baby. :)

Hague Accredited

Another snag in this wonderful process called International Adoption. So, we are contracted with one agency for our adoption. They do their international adoptions under another agency name (that is Hague Accredited). In order to get the home study completed, we had to find an agency close to home. Well, we had our intake interview on Thursday and found out that the adoption agency is about the expire with their accredited status. Not a big deal, they can just renew...but the homestudy agency won't know this until the renewal actually happens. Seems like a small snag, of course a much bigger one if there is no renewal....but it's all about positive thoughts right now. The bigger concern is the agency they do the international adoptions with is not accredited to do India adoptions...WHAT?!!! Something must be wrong, right? I emailed the agency on Thursday and have yet to hear back. Yep, a bit worried here. Lots of time and money already invested...not to mention all the emotions invested.

I am hoping to hear good news this week. It's been difficult to want to get more paperwork done until we have an answer. Could use all the prayers out there to get us through this one....

The best thing about Sunday evenings....

The Amazing Race! Mark continues to believe we will be racing one day. Until then, we watch in comfort on our sofas and root on our teams. This season, I absolutely love Tammy and Victor!

Adoption Class #1

Part of the home study process is attending adoption classes. Mark and I attended the first one on Thursday night. It was hosted by a couple that adopted four children from the same home study agency we are working with. There were three other couples attending class. We were the only couple doing an international adoption.

During the class, we heard from the hosting couple tell their story. Then, the husbands and wives were separated so they could ask us about the joys and strengths of adopting different types of children. Then we had to take a questionnaire about our personal histories. I'm assuming they will compare it with our spouses to ensure we are "on the same page."

Our next class will be specifically for international adoptions. Until then, we will be required to do an intake interview at the home study agency's office which we plan to do this week. And guess what the best part of the adoption class was.....more paperwork :)

Tough Week!

I guess I have a hard time dealing with bad things when it could have been prevented. My wallet was stolen from my office on Wednesday. Long story made short....someone went right into my office (with two clerical staff people that are supposed to be right outside) and into my purse and took out my very big wallet. Walked right back out. Saw a surveillance video of two guys using the card, but know they probably got the card from the actual person that took it. My good friend Tiff stayed with me the whole time as I dealt with the shock and she traveled with me to look at the video. Police are passing me to Sheriff and vice versa. Credit cards and my drivers license...home info and all. Been rough this week. Has created some distrust with folks. So, tough week....

Veggie tales....

We have started our veggie garden for the year. We love this time where we can go crazy and plant lots of things!

We've started with tomatoes, jalapenos, squash, strawberries, and cucumbers. We'll be adding more as the month rolls on. Any ideas?

What a Process

We knew stepping into the adoption world that this would be a process. A process it is. Frustration is already setting in and we are only beginning. The amount of paperwork is overwhelming. I feel like I have bugged our agency beyond belief with the amount of questions I ask. My "type A" self wants a simple checklist to just do. So, of course I have created one with color coding and all. :)

I joined an online group of other families adopting from India. Many of which are so much farther along than we are. They use acronyms that make me clueless, but I suppose we need to know at one point in this process. The group truly is so helpful and one family has already shared some organization support for the paperwork. The trouble comes in when I read their experiences and second guess how we have approached some things. But, I guess I need to remember processes have changed since their time....international laws seem to change on a daily basis.

In emailing my agency last night, they shared that this time is really a time for me to gather docs and secure a home study agency. In my educator way, I had to make a connection and call this the "independent study" portion. Makes it a bit more concrete for me. (Tiff and Sean, you'll understand when I say there have been limited phases of direct instruction here).

So, I'm working through this low point. I'm sure there are many more to come. But, I see the pictures of families that recently received their children and I can only hope that one day soon that will be Mark and I.

Mark was home today nursing me from some minor surgery. We used his "day off" to go get our fingerprinting done.


I literally try to use every opportunity we have to get another piece done. Before the surgery this morning, I ran over to my primary doctor to drop off her piece of documentation, ran to get blood work for the process and then off the surgery. Yes, I get a thrill from checking things off the list!

Home Study

We are pretty confident we found our home study agency!

We attended an information session for a home study agency on Wednesday. While we were there, we looked through all the pictures of children adopted from India. What a gorgeous sight!

If we go with the agency, we will attend a few more meetings, engage in an intake interview and have them visit our home. They have a director that works specifically with folks doing an international adoption. I only spoke with her once, but she seems to know a lot about Indian laws, which will be helpful to navigate the abyss of paperwork.

Now that I'm on Spring Break, it will be a lot of adoption stuff while working on dissertation work. When did I ever say I would actually be taking a real break?