It's a Boy!

Today Kenneth and I prayerfully decided to accept the referral for Abeti. So, here's the story. Warning!!! It might sound corny! Kenneth saw Abeti's shirt, and it said, "Discount Tire". So, Kenneth says that God is telling him that this is his son. (My husband is a major car fanatic!)
He's a four-year-old boy on paper, but I think that he looks 5-6. He's the exact same size as my six-year-old nephew, and 10 pounds less! He's from Shashemene in Ethiopia which is about 3 hours south of the capital, Addis Ababa. He was relinquished, so I don't have to wait the 3 month waiting period before a court date can be filed. That's about all I know about him. Kenneth and I want to visit Sheshemene to find out as much as we can about Abeti and his family. Sorry I can't post photos of him per Ethiopian law until we've made it through court. We are still waiting on a referral for a girl too. Hopefully that will be soon. We really can't afford to take two trips, but God will provide.

VYBL Pinto Sweetheart

Sheridan won the title of "Vidor Youth Baseball League Pinto Sweetheart" at the Family Day Tournament. They wanted to crown her during the playoff game which was after 9pm... What were they thinking? She's two!

My son also had two RBIs in his first game of coach pitch baseball.

Curran also played in her last soccer game before she starts the President's Cup tournament.

The Easter Bunny didn't leave me a referral, but I got the next best thing...Dove chocolate! Not to mention a great sermon in church and 864 people!



Remember that because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, there is hope!

Easter Picnic

My new church, Turning Point Church, had an Easter picnic today at Claiborne Park. It was so much fun! The kids hunted Easter eggs and played softball with the adults. I bet there were 400 people there! I also bet the Julie Rogers Theater will wreak of Ben Gay tomorrow.

Coppelia

If yesterday wasn't long enough, today was another ballet. Today was excerpts from Coppelia. Coppelia is an adaptation of "The Sandman," a story written by the German Romanticist, E.T.A. Hoffman, almost 200 years ago. This humorous story takes place in the storybook village of Olympia in Southern Poland. It's about a clever young girl named Swanilda, her silly boyfriend (Franz), a beautiful mechanical doll (Coppelia), and a funny old toymaker (Dr. Coppelius), who dreams of making a doll who would come to life.
But don't feel sorry for me being kooked up in a theater all day while the weather outside is fabulous because I received my golden ticket....my I171-H in the mail!

Peter and the Wolf

So, my daughter has to perform in Peter and the Wolf today for area schools, but her own school disctrict doesn't ever support the arts which is sad because there are big companies that will pay these poor schools to attend these events. I'll revise this post later and add pics from the performance after I've gone throught the 500+ pics I took. Just incase anyone was wondering, my dossier is in Frankfurt...

USCIS Call

I received the strangest call today. The phone number on call id came up with some long distance number, and I have decided that I need to answer those calls in case Grace calls me for a referral. Usually it's someone wanting to sell me something or wanting money-like I will have any left after the adoption!-, but it turned out to be a lady from the USCIS office that asked me if I had received the letter in the mail requesting mine and Kenneth's driver's licenses. I said that I had and had sent them out. She said that was good because she has been waiting on that to send out the I171H approval letter! I need that letter to travel to Ethiopia and bring our adopted children into the U.S.! ...Also, I'm tracking my dossier, and it is in Belgium!

Dossier is on it's way!

I just got word a few minutes ago from Laura at Assistant Stork that my Dossier is on it's way to Ethiopia! That's another step forward!

The Four Food Groups

I thought there were only four food groups: Fast, Frozen, Instant, and Chocolate! Well I learned a little about Ethiopian food today. Kenneth and I went to a sub-station of the USCIS for fingerprinting. It took all of 10 minutes! We already drove 2 hours, so we decided to try an Ethiopian restaurant. We went to Addisaba, and here was my first thought...


So, my husband says, "I thought you were trying to stay in shape, and spicy food revs up your metabolism." I told him that I was trying to get in shape, but my shape was a triangle!

USCIS Letter

I opened the mail today and had a letter from USCIS. At first I'm jumping up and down because I could tell by the size that my documents weren't sent back again, but upon opening it, I found a letter saying that my application wasn't complete because I had not included a copy of our driver's licenses. The crazy thing is that it is not in the list of needed items per the directions? I think they are just testing my patience. No, as adoptive parents will soon learn, each state is different, as well as the sub-offices in each state.

What a day!

First this...



Then as I'm cleaning up "Laughing Cow" cheese, she finds a red marker...

Adoption Fog

Yes, I thought I had all my paperwork done, and I was just waiting for my fingerprint letter from immigration. I some how got it in my head that I needed my I-171H before I sent my documents to Assistant Stork. [For those of you that don't know what that is, it is a courier service that we at Hope Adoption use. After we receive our documents back from the Secretary of State, we put all our documents in order by the dossier cover sheet list. There are more items that we had to have authenticated than what's stated on the dossier cover page, so you just add the extra documents behind similar ones listed. You also have to add birth, marriage, death, and divorce certified copies if applicable. Don't forget to put your passport photos in a separate envelop and label them "passport photos." Then you contact Laura at Asst. Stork and let her know that you are sending your dossier and give her your contact info in case there is a problem. Then you send the appropriate fees with your dossier via DHL, FedEX or UPS to her. My fees were: a personal check to her for $80, a personal check to "US Department of State" for $16, and a certified check to "The Embassy of Ethiopia" for $189.60. I also sent a self-addressed, stamped envelope to her, so she will send me my receipts. She then checks that I have everything and in the correct order. Then she takes it to the State Department in Washington, then to the Ethiopian Embassy...] Now that I've put you to sleep, the whole point of the post was to mention that I did NOT have to wait to send my dossier, and I sent it today!!!!

Happy Dance

Make a free ecard - it's easy!

I took my soon-to-be two-year-old daughter to the grocery store today. She is so vocal. People always ask me how old she is because she talks so well. She also commands attention and will get louder if you ignore her. So, we are on the frozen isle and she is having a conversation with the manager who was stocking. Well, he asks her if she wants a cookie. Like how many kids turn that one down? Duh! Anyway, I pick up my mail from the mailbox when I get home, and there sits a giant envelope on top. The first thought that crossed my mind was, "What did I screw up on USCIS's paperwork this time?" I was bummed until I realized that the packet was from the SOS! Of course the groceries waited in the car until I found out what was in the packet! And today I'm doing the Happy Dance! I received all my documents with authentications from the Texas Scretary of State's office. Now I am just waiting until immigration contacts us for fingerprinting...

Everything sent off!

Today I sent everthng off. I sent in my completed I600A with a certified check, so hopefully it won't get kicked back. I also sent all my notarized dossier documents to the Secretary of State for authentication with another certified check because eventhough the directions state that checks are accepted, I don't want any more avoidable hold-ups. Now I just hold my breath and hope that everything is as it is supposed to be. So, I'll be waiting for a fingerprinting appointment with INS, and authenticated documents so I can send my completed dossier to Assistant Stork to have re-authenticated at the State Department in Washington.

Another one

My husband's fingerprint report came in today. I forgot that yesterday was President's Day, so the mail doesn't come.

Fingerprint report

Today I received my TXDPS fingprint clearance. Hopefully my husband's will come soon.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Make a free ecard - it's easy!

Joffery Tryouts

I guess this is Cullen's weekend. I took her to Houston today for an audition for a summer intensive dance program given by Joffery. After she finished, she told me on the 2 hour drive home that she'd rather go to Big Stuf church camp this summer. ....She could've have told me sooner!

Cullen's Band Contest

Today my 12 year old went to Lumberton for a band contest. She played a solo piece and an four-person clarinet ensemble. She received "1'S" on both entries! I don't know where she got that talent. I tried to talk her out of band last year. I thought she was just doing something her friends were doing, but the band director called me on the first day of school last year and said Cullen came to his office crying. She really wanted to play the clarinet. Now, she's in Symphonic and Marching band.

Police Clearance

I went today to get an official police clearance. That was uneventful, but now I found out that I have to have a state one too, so I scheduled my fingerprints to be taken. Texas is great in that you can schedule fingerprinting online at a location near you.