After my total mad dash to get the pre-approval papers in for China, I took a well-deserved day off Wednesday, and Chrissy came for a nice, long visit. She and two of her adorable girls were able to stay for lunch. I'd lost touch with most people over the past month, and its good to be back in social mode again. God has blessed me wish such wonderful friends in Cincinnati!
While I fielded a few phone calls, there wasn't much typing. My arms were thankful for the rest. The phone calls were all aimed at finding our initial paper packet for the homestudy. These left via certified mail on Thursday, and as of the following Wednesday had not been received. The homestudy office manager was able to find the packet taking a vacation in the local post office. Whew. We are on track again there. She has ordered our criminal background checks with the state of Ohio and sent out yet another list of documents to acquire and things to accomplish. While I don't have that list in hand yet, I know some of the requirements, and will be working on two of them today - a certified copy of our marriage license and my birth certificate. Remember, China requires these documents to have been issued in the last six months? Since both of these events happened in the good ole USA they shouldn't be too complicated, or take long to receive, right?
The only typing of the day was to the "other" agency asking them again to consider transferring Ella's file if their recent newsletter feature of her did not have the desired results of finding her a family. Yes, I ABSOLUTELY plan to keep bugging them until she is placed with someone - whether it is us or another family.
The big deal of the day is to start making big progress on the house. While the main level looks really pretty good, disaster lurks in the upstairs and the basement! We took on a major reorganization project just before we found out how FAST those papers had to be sent in. The piles had to just stay where they fell at that point. I figure I have until the mail comes on Saturday before the next round of paperwork really hits us. Here's hoping the stuff can go back IN the shelves (or better yet, out the door!) nearly as quickly as it came out of the shelves.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Waiting...
I just RE-sent the final document, via e-mail, for our pre-approval. The agency is having mail server issues again tonight. But the very excellent news is that the monster document should be in the caseworker's inbox when she arrives in the morning. I stayed up way late into the night, worked on it all day and evening, and am so, so glad to be done with that one!
Also sent this evening was the "Rehabilitation and Nurturing" document to China, that indeed was allowed to be only one paragraph and a maximum of 1/2 page long. I can't usually even manage to say, "Bless you" in that little amount of space!
Everything that had to be notarized or otherwise signed, and all of the photos went out via express mail today and are to arrive in Washington by noon tomorrow. Now we wait for word from China as to whether they like us or not. The caseworker tells us that China is quite predictable and has only surprised them one time in all of the years they have worked with them. If you get the pre-approval you can pretty much celebrate.
We had a little setback on Ethan's birth certificate. Something was omitted when it was mailed, so the State Department sent it all back to us. We corrected the error, and sent it express back to them - the OTHER Washington - D.C. The certificate isn't needed until a later step, but it takes a really long time to arrive.
Both of these things were pretty urgent to get into the mail today, and Ethan was a bit late getting home. As we were zoom, zoom, zooming towards the post office we noticed that all the stoplights were out, and none of the businesses seemed to have any lights. A thunderstorm came through earlier and knocked out power to some of the areas. Things didn't look good for getting the copies we needed and doing express mail, and there was no time to find another post office branch. BUT when we arrived at the post office, their building was the first thing on that entire stretch of road (probably 3 miles) that had electricity. We thanked God, and got our mailings done just in time for the employee to lock the doors behind us!
While we are waiting on China we can hopefully be making progress with our homestudy. I haven't heard anything from that agency in several days, so its time to make some phone calls.
Oh, and if you have been trying to comment here and haven't been able to, I believe I found the setting that allows comments now. Sorry about that!
Also sent this evening was the "Rehabilitation and Nurturing" document to China, that indeed was allowed to be only one paragraph and a maximum of 1/2 page long. I can't usually even manage to say, "Bless you" in that little amount of space!
Everything that had to be notarized or otherwise signed, and all of the photos went out via express mail today and are to arrive in Washington by noon tomorrow. Now we wait for word from China as to whether they like us or not. The caseworker tells us that China is quite predictable and has only surprised them one time in all of the years they have worked with them. If you get the pre-approval you can pretty much celebrate.
We had a little setback on Ethan's birth certificate. Something was omitted when it was mailed, so the State Department sent it all back to us. We corrected the error, and sent it express back to them - the OTHER Washington - D.C. The certificate isn't needed until a later step, but it takes a really long time to arrive.
Both of these things were pretty urgent to get into the mail today, and Ethan was a bit late getting home. As we were zoom, zoom, zooming towards the post office we noticed that all the stoplights were out, and none of the businesses seemed to have any lights. A thunderstorm came through earlier and knocked out power to some of the areas. Things didn't look good for getting the copies we needed and doing express mail, and there was no time to find another post office branch. BUT when we arrived at the post office, their building was the first thing on that entire stretch of road (probably 3 miles) that had electricity. We thanked God, and got our mailings done just in time for the employee to lock the doors behind us!
While we are waiting on China we can hopefully be making progress with our homestudy. I haven't heard anything from that agency in several days, so its time to make some phone calls.
Oh, and if you have been trying to comment here and haven't been able to, I believe I found the setting that allows comments now. Sorry about that!
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
I took a break this afternoon for lunch and a nice, long visit with my good friend, Cindy. She was gone much of the summer, and it was so good to have her in our home again. I'm always encouraged after spending time with her. Thanks, friend!
One thing she did was to help us work on those family photos. Just in time too! My oldest daughter, Sarah, described the "walk in the woods" photo from yesterday like this. "That walking in the yard picture is hilarious and kind of terrible. It
looks like, "We go for walks in the woods. And a random supermodel
comes with us." I totally laughed out loud, REALLY loud when I read that! So, here are a couple more tries that I think are going in our packet:
After this package is mailed, there are only two things remaining to send for the Pre-Approval from China.
1. The "Rehabilitation and Nurture Plan" aka "The Letter of Intent." This consists of eight specific and rather detailed questions we must answer to convince the Chinese authorities that we would be a good placement. Um...then it states "Your plan should be one typed paragraph and no longer
than half a page." Whaaaaaaat? Looks like I need to CALL (since the e-mail isn't working!) and make sure that is accurate.
2. The Parenting Resource Plan. Yes, still working on THE dreaded document. It is thirty-six pages so far. I have only a couple more sections, so hopefully we'll top out at forty pages and be done. This has seriously been grueling brain work.
We registered for our first of several required classes today. This first one is called, "Coming Home: Adopting the Older Child."
I'll close with a link that I've gone back to many times. I love what this guy has to say. He sums it up well for us, but much better than I could have said it. A little investigating, and what do I find? This guy is an orthopedist right here in Cincinnati! Amazing! He and his wife are in China RIGHT NOW and have just gotten the two children he talks about here. I have followed their journey through their blog. Amazing.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
The end of the week is coming quickly
It is the beginning of a new week. I am seriously scrambling now to get paperwork finished. We have until the end of this week to mail anything that needs to be paper instead of electronic based. Last week was very productive, but we aren't there yet. I'd appreciate prayers this week that things would run smoothly, we'd find the answers we need, be able to focus, and ultimately for favor with the agency, social worker and the powers that be in the Chinese government.
Today we got some more required photos for China.
This one cracks me up. It looks like we were photoshopped in. We were walking out of the woods in our back yard. Too funny! We may need to keep trying...
Today we got some more required photos for China.
This one cracks me up. It looks like we were photoshopped in. We were walking out of the woods in our back yard. Too funny! We may need to keep trying...
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Ella is featured in newsletter
Sometimes I don't get it. We THOUGHT we were waiting to hear if the other agency would release Ella's file so we could adopt her. We talked to someone face to face and asked them. They know we are serious.
I just now got an e-mailed newsletter from said agency, and guess who they are featuring in a big "Help Ella find a family" article? As if no one has shown any interest in her at all! I'm guessing that is our answer as to whether they will release her file. I am very sad for us, but praying that Ella finds a good home soon. That is what really matters.
I just now got an e-mailed newsletter from said agency, and guess who they are featuring in a big "Help Ella find a family" article? As if no one has shown any interest in her at all! I'm guessing that is our answer as to whether they will release her file. I am very sad for us, but praying that Ella finds a good home soon. That is what really matters.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Dr. Staat is wonderful!
I heard from Dr. Staat, the director of the International Adoption Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. She was so caring and encouraging. We learned quite a few things about what is going to be available to help with whatever situation we find ourselves facing once Abigail comes home.
The bottom line with the diagnosis? Yes, the CT shows an area of brain damage. It seems to be caused from a trauma of some sort, she thought likely in utero. It seems to be in the area of the brain where the communication center is located. This could mean a couple of things.
1. Abigail doesn't talk because she can't. She simply cannot perform the physical act of speech. It could mean that learning sign language will be more important than learning some Chinese!
OR
2. Her intelligence is affected, and thus speech is delayed. If this is the case, we really have no way of knowing at this time how much it will affect her learning or IQ.
Otherwise she looks healthy, like she is receiving adequate nutrition, and has a good growth rate -even though she is a little on the small side. All of our kids have been!
Dr. Staat was impressed in the video with how sweet Abigail is and what a good disposition she has. We likewise think she is a doll! If God will grant us favor with the caseworkers and with China, we will happily and joyfully bring her home.
On a totally different vein of thought... Dr. Staat's office sent five pages of precautionary information and a vaccine list for tourists of China. There were stories of diseases we don't have here (just from eating the food???) and rabid monkeys on the streets. (insert the image of me shrieking and running!) In the course of the conversation, I told Dr. Staat that I was quite surprised at the travel information they sent me because it sounded as if we would die the minute we stepped off the plane. "How bad is it REALLY in China??" She said that we need to be sure our routine vaccinations are up to date, then it was the Hepatitis A and Typhoid that we really needed to get vaccinated against. She added that we should not be "too adventurous" with what we ate. I replied, "Oh and we shouldn't play with the monkeys." Her reply? "Its never a good idea to play with monkeys, no matter where they are."
Maybe its the endless typing of this "Parenting Resource Plan" that has gotten to me, but I've been giggling about this advice off and on for hours!
The bottom line with the diagnosis? Yes, the CT shows an area of brain damage. It seems to be caused from a trauma of some sort, she thought likely in utero. It seems to be in the area of the brain where the communication center is located. This could mean a couple of things.
1. Abigail doesn't talk because she can't. She simply cannot perform the physical act of speech. It could mean that learning sign language will be more important than learning some Chinese!
OR
2. Her intelligence is affected, and thus speech is delayed. If this is the case, we really have no way of knowing at this time how much it will affect her learning or IQ.
Otherwise she looks healthy, like she is receiving adequate nutrition, and has a good growth rate -even though she is a little on the small side. All of our kids have been!
Dr. Staat was impressed in the video with how sweet Abigail is and what a good disposition she has. We likewise think she is a doll! If God will grant us favor with the caseworkers and with China, we will happily and joyfully bring her home.
On a totally different vein of thought... Dr. Staat's office sent five pages of precautionary information and a vaccine list for tourists of China. There were stories of diseases we don't have here (just from eating the food???) and rabid monkeys on the streets. (insert the image of me shrieking and running!) In the course of the conversation, I told Dr. Staat that I was quite surprised at the travel information they sent me because it sounded as if we would die the minute we stepped off the plane. "How bad is it REALLY in China??" She said that we need to be sure our routine vaccinations are up to date, then it was the Hepatitis A and Typhoid that we really needed to get vaccinated against. She added that we should not be "too adventurous" with what we ate. I replied, "Oh and we shouldn't play with the monkeys." Her reply? "Its never a good idea to play with monkeys, no matter where they are."
Maybe its the endless typing of this "Parenting Resource Plan" that has gotten to me, but I've been giggling about this advice off and on for hours!
Check, check, check, check, and check!
Yesterday was one in which I got to check off a few things on my "to do" for the China pre-approval. We are down to 7 business days to accomplish this rather large list of things.
I drove to downtown Cincinnati to drop off a video to the International Adoption Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Check.
The IAC is one of only twelve such centers in the country. Wow! And I questioned the move to Cincinnati...The IAC will use the video, along with medical records, photos, and images from a CT scan that I sent prior, to give us a better picture of Abigail's health needs. I am totally sitting here waiting for the doctor to call me with the details this morning. Those of you who know me well, know that I often leave my cell phone in some random place around the house, and often can't get to it in time to answer when it rings. This morning the cell phone, a pen, and a notebook are accompanying me EVERYWHERE. Besides giving us valuable information that we can use to prepare for Abigail's homecoming, this call will give us the information needed to proceed with some required information on these forms for China AND the "Parenting Resource Plan". I really, really, REALLY want to be done with that particular document. My brain is tired!
The initial paperwork for the homestudy was sent via certified mail. Check.
We got our passport photos taken AGAIN. Turns out that we need additional ones for visas and also for various files with the agency and with China. We wish we had known to get the extras the first time we had them taken! In any case, its done. Check.
We went to Sarah's house so she could take a photo of everyone who lives here. Check.
Ethan got the form notarized and sent overnight express to Washington, D.C. in order to get a certified copy of his birth certificate. Check.
Now if the phone would just ring...
I drove to downtown Cincinnati to drop off a video to the International Adoption Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Check.
The IAC is one of only twelve such centers in the country. Wow! And I questioned the move to Cincinnati...The IAC will use the video, along with medical records, photos, and images from a CT scan that I sent prior, to give us a better picture of Abigail's health needs. I am totally sitting here waiting for the doctor to call me with the details this morning. Those of you who know me well, know that I often leave my cell phone in some random place around the house, and often can't get to it in time to answer when it rings. This morning the cell phone, a pen, and a notebook are accompanying me EVERYWHERE. Besides giving us valuable information that we can use to prepare for Abigail's homecoming, this call will give us the information needed to proceed with some required information on these forms for China AND the "Parenting Resource Plan". I really, really, REALLY want to be done with that particular document. My brain is tired!
The initial paperwork for the homestudy was sent via certified mail. Check.
We got our passport photos taken AGAIN. Turns out that we need additional ones for visas and also for various files with the agency and with China. We wish we had known to get the extras the first time we had them taken! In any case, its done. Check.
We went to Sarah's house so she could take a photo of everyone who lives here. Check.
Ethan got the form notarized and sent overnight express to Washington, D.C. in order to get a certified copy of his birth certificate. Check.
Now if the phone would just ring...
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