Out of the Blues....

For the past week or so I hate to admit that I have had the blues about the adoption process. We were notified our coordinator left our agency and were assigned another very nice coordinator. She and I talked for a while and it appears that we still have quite a wait on our hands. I think Troy and I really hoped we would travel for the first trip before the end of the year. Now it sounds as if we may be waiting until January at the very earliest. I know I should have been prepared for that and compared other countries - 10 months isn’t that big a deal, but I wasn’t prepared at all. A very special thanks to Becky who has put up with my whining all week long!!

After being initially shocked and then mad and then just plain sad, I emailed both of my jobs and said I was taking an impromptu vacation in September. I went home, cleared it with Troy, who also had to let both of his jobs know (obviously we are working way too much) that we are in fact going on vacation, something we missed this summer in the hopes of traveling to Russia.

So.......between last night and today I booked our vacation in St. Lucia!!! Now, Troy has never flown before so I figured why not go all out and have him fly now. Plus we will leave out of the same airport we will leave out of when we travel to Russia. So technically, we are still getting ready for the adoption—right!?!? This way we’ll know where the airport is and how to get around.

Unfortunately, I have never booked airline tickets so close to a travel date and we had a time trying to get tickets without 8 plus hours of layovers and arriving on the island before midnight so in the end we paid a little more, got decent hours, but we can’t sit next to each other on Troy’s very first flight. However, I CAN sit directly behind him and hit him over the head if I need to!!!

So, off we will go mid-September. We are staying in a sea house that overlooks Marigot Bay. They have tons of activities from day sailings to fishing excursions to snorkeling etc. Oh, I can’t wait.

The pink houses/condos on the right side of the picture is where we will be. This is an acutaly photo from an attorney at work who was there on a cruise about a month ago!! At least we know it is as pretty as the pictures on the internet.

Oh yeah – I did have about an hour of pure panic after booking everything about vacation days left at work (hardly any) and of course funds for the adoption (there is a reason we are each working two jobs) and I called my husband and told him I was going to go throw up. In his usual calm way, with his usual 'calm down Rachel' voice, he says, “Why are you worried about it now? It’s done, it’s paid for, there’s nothing you can do about it and either we go or we stay and I don’t know about you, but I’m going and I hope you’re coming with me.” Ahhhh, now I remember why I love this man so much!!

IAD Appointment

Today Troy and I had a chance to meet with an International Adoption Doctor (IAD) to ask some general questions and get a feel for whether or not we were comfortable sending a medical report and photos to him for review while we are in Russia. The doctor put us right at ease and answered most of our questions without us even asking them. We were very pleased. Some things we learned were that:

• The very best photo to send to a doctor of the child is a head-on, straight view of the child’s face when they are not smiling (relaxed facial features);
• Profile shots are helpful as they can look at the shape and development of the head;
• Pay attention to their muscles. Many times they will be limper than expected due to their lack of stimulation. However, if they are stiff or tight, this can be because of an underlying issue; and
• Pay attention to their hands. A child who is 6 months should have open hands and be able to transfer an object from one hand to the other. A 12 month old child who keeps their hands in a fist may have underlying issues.

We also talked about taking toys and watching them and noting as much as possible. He said not to be shy when we email and even if we think something we observed may not be that important we should email it anyway as it could raise a red flag to a doctor. He also gave us permission to call him anytime day or night while we are there if there is an issue that just can’t wait. He also had no problem writing a letter for court and prescribing some medications before the second trip of items to take with us in need be (general children’s antibiotic, cream for scabies and such).

All in all, we are very happy we went and hope that some of this information benefits others.

In saying all this we have reached what Becky coined a “Baby Milestone” during our waiting. Each time we reach a baby milestone more of the waiting has passed and we are closer to bringing our son home!! Our next baby milestone is the local pediatrician appointment on September 7th. We are now looking forward to that one!!

Don’t Quit My Day Job

Why? Well, let me tell you. This weekend we had a Pajama Party at the SPCA. It was an event to help promote the adoption of cats and kittens as we have tons!! We had face painters and hair stylists and karaoke. Have you figured it out yet?

Yes, I got talked into singing since I was staff member and I’m pretty good sport considering I know I can’t sing. So up I go with another staff member and we belted out Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats”. The kids loved it, and the cats loved it (of course). I think I even might have heard a dog howling in the background, but it was worth it!! We were even asked to do an encore and sang Rascal Flatts “I’m Moving On.” Not a good choice for us, as you can probably imagine!! We had a great time and moved over 20 cats out into great homes!! Even a couple of dogs found good homes as well!!

Nothing new to report on the adoption today. We do have our appointment with the International Adoption Doctor this Friday morning which I am looking forward to. We plan to ask lots of questions so that when we do travel we can email or fax the right information to them for a review of the child’s records. I’ll let everyone know how that goes.

Great News

I checked in with our Agency this morning and there has been more movement in Vlad!! This is so exciting to us as any movement means things are coming along. We don’t know exactly where we are in line, but we know each day is another day closer to our son!! Thank you to everyone for their prayers on this journey and please continue to pray for more referrals, not just in our region but all regions as well.

As you have probably noticed I changed our blog around a bit. The other blog wasn’t jumping out at me anymore, so I hope everyone likes this style.

Here's hoping for more good news soon!!

I'm It...

I was tagged by Becky with this questionairre - so here we go!!

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:

1. Enjoying being married almost a year
2. Bought a Mustang Convertible – I miss that car!!
3. Working for Afterthoughts piercing ears (which isn’t around anymore)
4. Going to school part-time for my legal certificate
5. Living in the smallest one bedroom apartment there ever was!!

5 snacks I enjoy:

1. Wheat Thins
2. Honey Mustard Pretzel Pieces
3. Pickles
4. M&M McFlurry
5. Coconut Doughnuts

5 songs I know all the lyrics to:

1. Baby Got Back – Sir Mix Alot
2. Raspberry Beret - Prince
3. Sweet Child of Mine – Guns N Roses
4. These Dreams - Heart
5. Keep It Between The Lines – Ricky Van Shelton

5 things I would do if I were a Millionaire

1. Pay off debt
2. Travel
3. Buy our families houses – or pay off their debt
4. Buy a Yacht
5. Adopt another child or adopt siblings now

5 bad habits:

1. Biting my fingernails
2. Hitting snooze on the alarm clock
3. Never knowing when to let go especially when I am trying to make a point!
4. Talking too much
5. Worrying about EVERYTHING!!

5 things I like to do:

1. Scrapbook
2. Read
3. Fish
4. Cross-Stitch
5. Swim

5 things I would never wear again:

1. 3 headbands all at once alternating colors
2. Bikini (Me too ladies!!)
3. Tube Top
4. Biker Shorts
5. Slouch Socks

5 favorite toys:

1. My Pets
2. Scrapbook Items
3. Laptop
4. My Little Pony (I collect them from the ‘80s)
5. Hot-tub

I'm going to pass this on to Amy!! Lucky you!!