Sigh of Relief

Today I took a deep breath because I have officially finished my home study. Now all I have to do is wait for Gwyn to write it up. Oh! my nerves will be shot before this is all done. Good thing I had my physical early on. I will probably develop high blood pressure.

Another One Bites the Dust!

Another one down. Another one down. Another one bites the dust! I met personally met with the social worker today for over 2 hours!

Physically Fit?

Today my husband and I got our physicals. The ironic thing was that the doctor had to look down at his chart after I attempted to speak....I have laryngitis!

Home Study!

So our social worker came this afternoon and stayed for over 3hours! I don't know if that's good or bad? At first I didn't get such a great feeling with all the questions about transracial adoption. Don't get me wrong, I know it's not going to be easy, but I'll do my best to make sure my children have proper role models regardless of their race! The culture that they will bring to our household won't be forgotten. I think she was pleasantly surprised that I had done a lot of research. I also have purchased items to try and learn the language. That's a BIG task!!!

Well, we will meet again Tuesday. That's when I personally get grilled... :(


No matter what, just as my pastor George said in a sermon today... If you want something, keep knocking!

2008 Overall Escapade Winner!

Talk about an eventful day! I signed my son up for baseball this morning, then he went to a hitting camp. My oldest daughter had ballet practice. She is getting ready for her Peter and the Wolf performance. Curran had practice for the talent show. We decided to change the ending back to the original way. I guess we are perfectionists... I will admit that the number was great no matter which ending! Then it was off to the talent show. Let me first explain this talent show. It's called The Escapades. It is a beauty/talent show. The "beauties" are teacher-nominated high school girls, and the talent show participants are any school-aged children. They compete in two different age divisions with each division having 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places. The coveted award is the "Overall Award". This show has been going on since my mother was in school! Well, I think all us parents thought our children would place, but we never expected the top award!!! What a night! They were so good! I'm getting chills just remembering their performance. Each girl stepped up to the plate. Move over Broadway, there's a new group of kid's in town!

Bad Mom

I am such a bad Mom right now. My son had an awards program today at school, and I forgot about it! I never miss any of my children's events. My mind has been so engrossed in this adoption that I feel like I'm losing it at times. Hopefully after Sunday, I'll be a little more at ease. (He made all A's and received a Perfect Attendance Award)

My How They've Grown

I took my puppies for their last shots. They now have their rabies tag. Scout gained 10 lb. and Aggie gained 7, so respectively they weigh 33lb and 23lb. I didn't need to go to the gym after that!

Annie Practice

Here's some pics from the dress rehearsal.

Happy MLK Day!

I received a call from Grace today. She helped ease my mind about this adoption process. When you contract with a smaller agency, I think I'm finding out that you do a lot of the work yourself. That could be bad for a "first-timer" like me. I have no idea if I'm doing the right thing at the right time. (Deep breath...) I never have taken the "easy" way though. Kenneth and I have prayed about what agency to work with, and he had an instantaneous reaction to Hope Adoption Agency. So time will tell...

BRRRR!

Since all of soccer games were today, I had to re-schedule our home study. :( Great news was that my daughter's team placed 2nd in the Winter Heatwave Classic. What a name! We had no heatwave! It was so cold!!! Our kids played great considering that they had taken the last month off.

When It Rains, It Pours!

Okay. So we drive two hours, and then we get to sleep in, right? WRONG! I just got a text that says ALL of our games today are cancelled. I just hate wasting money, and we were the only ones on our team that drove in last night. What luck! Sure, we could stay and shop, but we have to save for this adoption so tha'ts out of the question.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

So, it's pouring cats and dogs! Our coach said the games were still on for Saturday, so Kenneth, Curran, and I drove to Houston , so we wouldn't have to get up at 4 AM. We get a text message on the way stating that our 7:30 AM game was post-poned. We thought that was great because we will just sleep in.

Home Study Scheduled!

My home study is scheduled for Sunday afternoon. We have a soccer tournament this weekend in Houston, so we will be overloaded!

Paperwork!

My! I'm tired of paperwork! I think I have it under control, however. I have got to get my brain straight! My child made the Escapades Talent Show and the tickets went on sale Monday morning, but I forgot. Now I have to sit in the back of the auditorium.

Super Bowl Blues

How could my Cowboys have lost! Woe is me! I don't have time to mourn today because I received this huge packet in the mail that my husband and I have to fill out for our home study. Yikes! I have all the paperwork that they need, and lucky for me, it's just all copies---not notarized or certified. Hooray! My husband completed the hardest part, which was preparing a financial statement.

Family Time

There's nothing I can do for the adoption today, so we relaxed with my in-laws, parents, and my sister. My husband's family is leaving tomorrow. They come for about one month every year. I guess they don't like all that snow. BRRRRRR!

Croupy "crappy" day.

What a night! Sheridan (my baby) has the croup! My husband and I didn't get much sleep. We wanted her to sleep with us in order to watch her breathing during the night. She's as busy in her sleep as she is while awake!

I took her to the pediatrician this morning. She has what we thought..."the croup". She does not like breathing treatments!


My 10 year-old tried out for a school wide talent show that the school district puts on every year. Her and some of our neighbors performed "Hard-Knock Life" from the musical Annie. They did this same number for their elementary talent show last May. I still get chills when I see it! It's so cute!!! Hopefully I can get a tape of it, and put it on this blog.

Day Two

Today has been a strange experience. I have most of my paperwork ready to be put into my dossier, my INS forms, and for travel...I think! I didn't have a color copy of my driver's license. I'm not sure at this point what that is used for or if it's required, but I decided to get it. Only one problem...I went to several copy shops, and all claimed they either didn't make color copies when their sign stated they did, or they weren't able to copy my license because it would get stuck in the machine?!!? Finally, when I went to OfficeMax, the employee told me that it was against the law to make copies of your driver's license. No wonder I had gotten all of these strange looks! So, my husband calls one of his "police" friends, and he offered to take and copy them for us. At least he knew we weren't trying to defraud anyone!!!

January 8, 2008- My First Day!

Well, for those who thought they knew me, and those who might want to get to know me, I'll tell you where this journey began... It was during my high school years that I thought I wanted to adopt a child. I never thought of the number of children I would have, nor did I have a timeline for this. Maybe this is my "God-given" gift-the ability to parent. If this isn't it, then I have no idea what it could be because I KNOW that it is not singing, acting, or art. Anyway, I knew adopting would never happen with my first husband. I don't recall ever sharing my dream with him. However when that disasterous marriage ended, and I met my new husband who adopted my girls almost 8 years ago, I started entertaining those thoughts again. I had two more children thinking that would fill that gap...and I have two entertaining, beautiful children. I still had that need, however. So, for the last year, I have been researching companies and talking to people I have met on message boards. The hardest thing for me right now is to take the plunge, and go with that one company. I have heard so many horror stories about agencies! My husband and I finally have decided to contract with Hope Adoption Agency. The reason I chose this agency is the number of people who have talked highly of Shimeless. He's Ethiopian, so he knows first-hand the plight of his native country. I completed the initial application, and wrote that check for the fee. I dove in head first! Please pray for me...