Wow - I missed some important dates this year. Of course it didn't help that this week both Daniel and I got the stomach flu within about 4 hours of each other. And so ends my debate on whether or not to keep the monitor on in his bedroom. I'm glad I did. Even though the sounds weren't pleasant, I was woken from sleep and managed to lunge into his room and rescue the floor from disaster. Only the bed had to be stripped. Then 4 hours later I was up and sick as a dog. We made it - hopefully safe for a couple of years!!
I digress - On February 22, 2008, we received the call that would change our lives forever for the better. On March 8, 2008, we left, giddy with excitement, on a pretty amazing trip and on March 11, 2008, we met our son!! I can't believe it's been two years since we first laid eyes on him. It's also important to point out that he's been home longer now than anywhere else!! It feels like forever at this point and at times I almost feel like the process never took place.
I been thinking a lot about that.
Of course we'll never forget his roots and certainly he will grow up understanding where he is from and how he came to us - he'll tell you he was born in Russia if you ask him - but we're at the point where it just isn't something we spend a lot of time on now. I don't introduce as being adopted, I don't tell everyone we meet he is adopted and sometimes if someone comments how much he looks like Troy (that we don't know) we just smile and nod and don't bother explaining how impossible that is. It feels good to move beyond all that because for a while I felt a bit stuck, almost like I had to correct everyone. We do have a sweet adoption book that we read occasionally, and we work on Russia words and if we hear the word Russia we cheer, but as a family we're moving beyond and just enjoying life.
And life has been busy! I can't believe it's been a month since I've updated! We're actively invloved in our Playgroup and this month we're supporting Soles 4 Souls. We can specify where we want the shoes we collect to go so the warm weather shoes are heading to Ethiopia where Daniel's friend Mari is from and the winter shoes will be heading to Russia! We've also recently joined a new orphan ministry at a local church and we are excited to see where it leads us!
We did petition the courts last year (as in October, I think) for Daniel's Re-adoption and finally in December after a mild panic when I called to check on the final order and the secretary told me there was an issue with the paperwork - there wasn't - it just wasn't signed yet and instead of telling me that she said there was an issue that she couldn't tell me about and then 5 days later the order was signed, sealed and delivered to our door - the re-adoption was complete - we did it all on our own for less than $75.00! And the best part - we just finally received Daniel's Virginia Certificate of Foreign Birth! YAY!
That being done I filed a form to USCIS for the return of original documents from the embassy packet we handed in to the airport officials, in the hopes of possibly receiving a piece of anything that we didn't already have, but we only received an extra original of the court decree. I was hoping for more information, but I've heard it's spotty what you get back at best, but I figured it was worth a try!
At this point we have our 2 year post placement visit on the 26th of this month and then one more next year and we can finally put the crate of paperwork away. I told Troy we're going to have to rent a small warehouse space for the crate. I'll be glad when the paperwork chase is completely over.
That being said, while we had and still have every intention to adopt again, for now it is on the back burner. We have decided just to sit back and enjoy Daniel for a while. We're clearing his medical slowly (still with follow ups and we still have another large test to do) but the doctor has hopes of releasing him within a year or two to regular checkups. We feel as if we need to fully walk this road before looking toward another especially since we've realized that we may be open to the same type of issue in the future (although we're hazy on the degree at the moment).
The best news - DANIEL IS FINALLY POTTY TRAINED!! We've gone 6 days with no accidents - not even a spot in his underwear. Remember we were initially told he would most likely have to have a permanent catheter so we're just amazed, relieved and so thankful to God for this miracle!! And my washing machine thanks Daniel too!
Daniel's doing great. He changes every day. Each day it's something new. Some new funny phrase, some new word, some new question. He's been questioning me a lot lately about whether or not I have to go to work and if I can take days off (I only work 3!) He also expressed a fear that I may not pick him up one day and I believe this was not related to his past but his age so we quickly squelched that fear.
He's a loving child, a kind child, a sharing child, he's stubborn, hard headed, silly, a little crazy (he gets that from us) and a genuine joy.
We're so thankful for him and we're so happy he's ours forever!!
I think that's where we are right now!