tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400343054700545362024-02-18T18:10:34.502-08:00Journey with the Williams FamilyTroy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.comBlogger247125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-47981331327366978212014-02-20T13:20:00.001-08:002014-02-20T13:20:14.285-08:00Winter 2013-2014I want to blog, I really do! Finding time with 3 children, working full-time and crazy, everyday life just hasn't happened!<br />
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Daniel is still doing well at his new school. He's had a good year so far! He struggles with reading and writing, but flies through math, science and social studies. Surprisingly, I'm okay with it (this coming from a former goody two shoes in school). Daniel has three things going against him:<br />
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1. Reading: He doesn't like to, but he LOVES to listen to audio books. I may have caused this when I gave him a personal CD player and his first books on CD to listen to. <br />
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2. Writing: He's a true lefty, and third, he's a boy. He doesn't have a chance of getting above a C in handwriting!!<br />
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Daniel has grown like a stinkweed! One night he came in our room sobbing about his shins, from his knee to his ankle, saying they hurt so bad. After jumping out of bed and and ascertaining his legs weren't broken, we applied a heating pad, gave him some tylenol and he got to spend the rest of the night in our bed. The next morning he was fine! However, we measured his height a few days later and in the span of two weeks, he grew 1 and 1/4 INCHES!!! Those were some serious growing pains we believe!<br />
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Tic-Tac is still with us. In just a couple of months he will have been with us for two years. We're still waiting, as is he, to be united as a forever family. We pray everyday for this to become our reality, and for the foster care system to work and for his file to be on top of the never ending files that I'm sure they have. I will admit that I'm terribly frustrated that I have not been able to share him with the world, from the precious 9 month old he was to the feisty, wonderful 2 and 1/2 year old he is now. Oh how I wish I could every moment, his first steps, and his innocent wonder at this great big world.<br />
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We also still have our baby girl, but it is with a mixture of sadness and happiness that it appears that she will not be remaining with us. We've been blessed to enjoy the last 6-7 months with a spunky, outgoing, sweet-heart of a toddling girl.<br />
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Troy is awaiting news of whether or not further back surgery is required. He is still uncomfortable two years after his injury and a year after his original back surgery. Tomorrow we head out to Northern Virginia for another test with a new doctor for a second opinion.<br />
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I'm still working full-time. It's hard juggling 3 children, a full-time job and all the extras that Troy can't do anymore with his bad back. I enjoy couponing for our family, but that in itself can also be a full-time job. Most evenings after the kids go to bed, I sort coupons, look up deals and try to figure out how to get the most for our money! I love doing it and can't imagine ever stopping! Some people wonder if I do it because we don't have any money. To those people, I want to say: I do it not because we don't have enough money, but because we want to keep the money we do have!<br />
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I also want to get back to my scrapbooking, but haven't had time. I'm thinking about hiring Merry Maids or something close to help with daily chores so I can spend more time with my family in the evenings versus doing chores etc. myself. I paid some young men to shovel our driveway this year after an almost 2 foot snow fall and I was so glad I did. I was able to relax and it took pressure off of Troy for feeling bad because he couldn't do it himself.<br />
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Here are a few pictures of Daniel from our Winter 2013-2014. Next stop: SPRING!<br />
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<br />Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-76604519952578725152013-08-23T13:12:00.001-07:002013-08-23T13:12:39.936-07:00July, August, 1st Day of 2nd Grade (2013)We had the busiest summer this year of any summer! July started off with a rather large cookout for July 4th at our house! We had neighbors, friends, family and lots of good times. The kids had a ball playing outdoors in water hose. Nothing like a water hose to bring kids from 2-11 together to play!<br />
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Afterwards we did lots of sparklers with the older kids and had a ball.<br />
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During July we also celebrated Tic Tac's 2nd birthday! We made Sesame Street themed fruit pies and just had family over for this one!<br />
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August also brought plenty to do. We took a large shopping trip to some outlets and I got to visit my best friend. <br />
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August also brought our second foster child placement. A little girl this time. We feel so blessed even though she may never be ours to call our own. <br />
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Finally Daniel went to back to school this year as we were finally re-districted to the school we originally wanted. He's had a great first week!<br />
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Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-2025103856258233542013-07-08T07:26:00.000-07:002013-07-08T07:26:18.943-07:00June 2013 - Kick Start To Summer!<div class="MsoNormal">
This June started out with our summer vacation. We ventured north this year to DuBois,
PA. Make sure you pronounce it <i>Doo-BOYS </i>or you will be corrected! We stayed at Treasure Lake in a nice 2
bedroom townhouse. We were able to take
our boat and enjoy the Lake. Tic Tac had
his first boat ride and he loved dipping a fishing rod in and out of the
lake. We had to tie the rod to him
though because we almost lost one when he pitched it overboard! Daniel has become a master fisher. He uses an open face reel and will give you a
lesson if you need one using all the technical terms. (He’s a mini-Troy)!</div>
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One day we rode through the Wilds and took a driving trail
for Elk sightings. We did see 4 Elk and
they have the coolest pull offs where you can follow a trail to a large wooden
blind and look out for Elk in the fields. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The highlight of our trip was heading to Niagara Falls for a
day. We visited the national park on the
American side only, since we don’t have border crossing documents for Tic
Tac. It was wonderful! We had gorgeous weather! For $5.00 the whole family could ride the
trolley around the park all day! I
highly advise it – the kids loved it. I
made a new friend on the trolley (ask Troy), but that’s another story!! We rode the Maid of the Mist – it launches on
both sides of the border and returns you to the same side, so no passports
needed! Tic Tac would have nothing to do
with the rain coats so he and I got soaked together!! We also visited the Observation Deck and the
Aquarium. We ate lunch outside at a
picnic table which an older couple volunteered to share with us. We had a wonderful conversation and in the
midst of it, Daniel asked them to guess where he was born. They were amazed when he said “Russia” and
that kept us talking for some time! <o:p></o:p></div>
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The following weekend my mom rented several campsites at our
local campground. It used to be a KOA,
but is a Good Sam’s park now. It’s local
and since I don’t love camping we travel and “day camp” and go home each
evening. The camp is situated on a river
and there is a little beach, river tubing, a waterfall, pool, hottubs, nice
bathrooms, and gameroom. Yeah, I
know…primitive, right! <o:p></o:p></div>
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We had a ball!! All
the family comes and this year included two of my aunts and uncles, one we
hardly ever get to see!! They helped us
celebrate Daniel’s birthday! We cooked
out, and did all the amenities. River
tubing and visiting the waterfall were our favorites, after getting over the
shock of the cold water!! Daniel was a
wild man in the river and pool. He could
live in water if we let him. Tic Tac
also enjoyed both and is enjoying “jumping” off the side of the pool (with
help) into my arms! We’ve been dunking
him under water ever since our trip to Destin in April. He does just great with it and comes up
laughing!</div>
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Daniel requested key lime pie, so we made it in cups and
handed them out after dinner one night.
I can’t believe my baby boy is 7!!
He also ate about 100 s’mores over the weekend – mother of the year
here!!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Finally, we went to Virginia Beach for the day and got to
meet some blogging celebrities! Those
of you who adopted around the same time we did may know <a href="http://www.2dolphins.com/" target="_blank">Rob, Dede andLiam</a>! They came all the way from Texas
to visit friends of theirs and we got to crash in on everyone for a day! The kids enjoyed staying in the pool for 4+ hours! I love how in the adoption world, you can feel comfortable with people you've never even met! We ended the night with an awesome dinner and two very sleepy boys on the way home!</div>
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In between all this Daniel still finds time for summer camp 2 days a week and karate 3-4 days a week!! Our schedule is nuts!! Next stop - July! Our weekends are crammed this summer and we are loving it!!</div>
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Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-5322061822163461282013-05-05T17:15:00.000-07:002013-05-05T17:15:21.578-07:00Spring Vacation!Wow - I know I sound like a broken record, but I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted. For my peace of mind that I'm not a bad blogger, I will blame it on a very busy tax season this year including brand new software! <br />
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It's also hard to post about life and post photos when I can't share information or photos about Tic Tac. He is such an integral part of our lives and he is in every photo and in every story I want to share. This week marks one year that he has been with us. One whole blessed, amazing, trying, and wonderful year. Oh, how I hope I can share more in the coming months!<br />
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At the end of a busy tax season always comes a few days off. We decided this year to rent a condo in Destin, FL and visit Troy's granny and family. Its been quite a few years since we've been, so it was a real treat. The boys loved the beach. Daniel was fearless running into a chilly surf day after day. I even ventured in with him while Troy stayed ashore with Tic Tac. Tic Tac liked the beach, but he LOVED the pool and most especially he loved a beach ball!<br />
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We realy had a nice time as a family, something I had been needing since I been working so many hours and really had not been able to spend as much time with the boys as I like. <br />
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We visited Gator Land and the boys got to hold a baby gator and we got a cool photo. It wasn't without mishap though - Troy and Daniel both got "gator-peed" on!! Tic Tac and I stayed safely in the back of the photo! Afterwards they got to feed the gators on cane poles and it was lots of fun!<br />
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Troy also ordered oysters at Panama's Joes our last night there and he bit into a real pearl!! It was a natural pearl and a nice size! No one there had ever had that happen before. We had a jeweler look at it and while it wasn't valuable because it wasn't overly shiny or perfectly round it is a still a treasure! Troy is having it set in a silver setting and added to a necklace I have!! <br />
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Without further ado...some photos of our beach week!<br />
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<br />Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-17597971348808194092013-02-16T11:25:00.000-08:002013-02-16T11:25:05.096-08:00School Dealings and Lego Fest<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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We’ve had a lot going lately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Daniel had been having a rough year at school
this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It got the point where we
felt like the teacher was focusing on Daniel and picking at him
constantly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For 2 weeks straight I got
home notes to the effect of:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>he rolled a
pencil on his desk today; he played with his gloves today, today he didn’t read
well; he made a bad choice by not buying lunch today (and he was made to go
back through the line and buy a lunch); and so on and so forth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Most of these issues I felt are issues that were VERY minor
and could have been easily dealt with at school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not that I don’t want to be notified of
things going on at school, but I don’t want my son picked on either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, don’t get me wrong, Daniel DID toilet
paper the bathroom, but I’m still of the opinion that this was something that
took far more than 2-3 minutes considering that he had done a n umber 2 also in
the time period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, folk, look at
the single-ply quality (ha!) toilet he was working with and there isn’t even a
tear!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of my friends and co-workers (who got a
charge out of it) agreed that this was a 3<sup>rd</sup> or 4<sup>th</sup> graders
work and that it took at least 10 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What can I say?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My son is that
talented!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seriously, it means to me
that he was gone from class too long and no one noticed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> For the record, he punished at home by being on kitty litter duty for a week. </span></div>
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We went to the teacher, guidance counselor and assistant principal,
then to the principal herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It did
not go well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I asked for something
positive about my son to come home in the next couple of weeks and we got
nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No follow up, no phone call,
nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Daniel’s never had a show and
tell day ALL YEAR – I sent a note asking why, got no response.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s never been the star student.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There hasn’t been much good for him this
year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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He said himself that he felt like the teachers were always
in his ears saying do this, do that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
got yelled at by a teacher one day and when he calmly said “I don’t like your
noisy voice”, he got in trouble again for that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I really don’t like that a teacher was yelling at my 6 year old.</div>
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It’s been a rough year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There are more examples, like a nasty skin abrasion that didn’t even rank
a visit to the office or school nurse, but instead got a tissue handed to him
to wipe the blood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sigh….</div>
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Finally over the last 8 weeks or so we noticed a change in
attitude, crying the morning, and wetting pants (the wetting we had been
controlling well all year due to his medical condition).</div>
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Soooo, after much unhappiness. (on our part and Daniel’s)
and after much research and exhausting our options, we felt like it was time to
move out of the public school system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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We delivered our NOI (Notice of Intent) to homeschool, along
with proper documents for teaching at home yesterday morning and we went to the
school and removed him mid day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Probably
not the best time, but we did it quickly and I couldn’t stand the thought of
him there a minute longer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Troy
was brave and went to the classroom and grabbed belongings at mock speed and
Daniel was non the wiser.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will tell
him tonight after Tic-Tac is in bed.</div>
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I won’t lie, I was so happy when I saw him coming toward the
truck, but I cried anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cried
because I’m upset about what happened, I’m upset that my child can’t attend
school like the majority of the kids can, I’m upset for the friends he may not
see again, and I’m upset that there are other children who may be undergoing
some of the same treatment.</div>
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Sorry – that turned out much longer than I expected!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Now on to the good stuff!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After picking Daniel up we rushed ourselves to Lego Fest!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We took our 4 year old nephew and Daniel and
my mom took care of Tic Tac for the evening!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We had such a ball playing in piles of Legos!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were awesome Lego sculptures, tons of
places to build, Chima races, shows, monochromatic Lego builds and loads of
activities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We came home with free posters, Lego
magazines and we may have spent a little more than planned in the Lego
shop!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Here are just a few photos of our good time!! Oh, and I couldn't resist taking a picture with the Harry Potter gang - Hagrid was HUGE!!!</div>
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<br />Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-50521792653743320472013-01-18T11:53:00.004-08:002013-01-18T11:53:58.576-08:00Christmas - 2012 (Where does time go?)Wow - I had no idea how far behind I was on this blog. Well, maybe I did, but was too afraid to look!<br />
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Things are same old, same in our world. We are enjoying every precious moment we have with Tic-Tac and wondering how many more we may be able to hold his precious life in our hands, hoping forever, but not daring to accept it yet. <br />
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Daniel has blossomed into a great older brother. He is patient and kind and loving towards Tic-Tac. Yes he gets frustrated with him, yes he tattles on him and yes he feels he gets ignored sometimes, but we make every effort to spend one on one time with Daniel when we can.<br />
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This year Christmas brought sickness to our house and I ended up in the ER two days before Christmas. I had a stomach bug and just couldn't eat. I went 7 days with no food and trying to get drink down and by the seventh day I couldn't even swallow drink. I went to my family doctor early in the week and got medicine for nausea, but it didn't help. Once I checked into the ER, I received some different meds and within a few hours, felt much better and was finally able to swallow drink and then move to soft foods. <br />
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We celebrated Santa gifts with the kids on Christmas and our gifts to them. Daniel was a trooper when we told him we'd be having the rest of Christmas the following Sunday which is when we moved our annual Christmas Eve dinner to. It worked out wonderfully as since it was after Christmas my sister-in-law and her family (from Iowa!!) and my very best friend of 20 years and counting and her hubby were also able to join us, along with the rest of both sides of our families! We had a blast and all the children were spoiled rotten!!<br />
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Hoping this New Year brings lots of happiness and more children into the lives of those that want them! The news out of Russia has saddened me, but I know there are many children right here and all over the world that still need homes. If anyone has any questions about adoption or fostering, please email me. <br />
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<br />Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-1140297083216898872012-10-15T06:33:00.001-07:002012-10-15T06:33:57.252-07:00Family UpdateSigh...Where does time go?<br />
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We've had even more changes around here and life is so much busier that I don't have time for my blogs the way I used to. I went back to work full time and am still trying to get a morning and afternoon routine together. My mornings are extremely rushed getting Daniel on the bus on time and Tic-Tac to daycare 3 days a week, then over the mountain to work, all by 8:45. Two days a week Troy now stays home with Tic-Tac since his back injury. Troy is no longer working pending back surgery. We have an appointment with the surgeon for a final consult before they schedule surgery December 10th. I'm nervous the surgery is going to make Christmas a mess so I've already started ordering gifts so that we (or just me) are not out trying to get everything done while Troy is in the hospital.<br />
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Troy is an enormous help around the house doing the things he is able to do and the role reversals are suiting us for the moment. Daniel is flourishing under his dad's care all the time, so much so that I've become second best and Daniel is always looking for his dad!! I don't mind, I think it's actually a pretty natural progression and Troy assures me he was the same way when he was a kid and my husband ADORES his mother, so I'm enjoying the bit of freedom that comes with this as far as Daniel goes. Don't worry, Daniel and I are getting plenty of one on one time together. We're reading before bed "Mickey See the USA" a VERY OLD book my dad read with me as a child. We just finished the Piratepedia and now Daniel and I know way more about pirates than we ever needed to know!! <br />
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Tic-Tac is also flourishing and coming into his own. We're thanking God everyday that Tic-Tac remains with us. We love him so. Things are not always easy, but we know they are worth it even if Tic-Tac goes home. He's gained weight, learned many new skills and knows he's constantly loved and cared for. We have some minor medical questions, and lots of developmental questions about him, but nothing we can't overcome or would prevent us from becoming permanent to him. Oh how I wish I could share his story and get advice from all the great friends I have since all of us have dealt with so many different situations with how our children came to us.<br />
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We could really use prayers for all of us right now. We've been juggling and making changes in the family with everything that has been going on. Mostly we need prayers for Troy's back. We were hoping for a much quicker surgery date but our hospital is way behind. We're also hoping that after surgery he finally gets some relief and can eventually go back to work. <br />
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Other than those things, we're plugging along like any normal family, enjoying our weekends, playing outside, going to birthday parties and otherwise keeping ourselves entertained!<br />
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Oh yeah - the infamous first tooth finally came out thanks to the adult tooth that was almost all the way in as you can see!!<br />
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<br />Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-79477157555615307752012-08-28T18:45:00.001-07:002012-08-28T18:45:52.081-07:00An Overdue Update<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I realized a few days ago that I was long overdue for a
post! So much has been going on and having
two children has really changed our lives.<o:p></o:p></div>
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An update on Daniel:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Daniel has been doing well.
We do feel like we are <i>finally </i>seeing
some reaction to adding Tic-Tac to our family.
It’s been little in a big way.
Small remarks here and there, like just the other day when I told Daniel
I couldn’t Beyblade battle right then because I had to lay Tic-Tac down and he
commented “Yeah…because mom’s <b><i>always </i></b>have to take care of the
babies.” Remarks like those, let me know
that he is being effected and that we need to be sure he is getting what he
needs from us.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Daniel started school and while he loves school, we’ve had
so many snafus in just the first week.
He fell off the bus, tripped over a friend in gym and smashed his face
and smeared it across the gym floor (all in one day), fell asleep on the bus
after school and missed his stop, and the teacher told me he seems to be more
interested in everything else except packing his bag up at the end of the
day. Just yesterday we packed his lunch
(at HIS request) and then he bought a lunch and brought home the ruined
food. I’m hoping this is just all part
of the getting back to school routine and that this won’t last. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Daniel has also entered the world of video games. We limit his time, and when his time is up,
he’s none too happy with us. This is a
very new phase for him, but I hope he gets over his attitude soon!! On the other hand, we’re teaching him Super
Mario Brothers (yes, the really OLD version!) and I’m enjoying it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Finally, if you didn’t see it already on Facebook, Daniel’s
kidney has almost completely healed.
This is truly a miracle as even the urologist was speechless when he
reviewed the scans!! He said “You’re
obviously doing something right,” to
which I responded with, “Prayer”. We do
still have to deal with the wetting (leaking), but now we know why – I’ll save
the medical terminology for another post.
The good news is that he goes to the bathroom, because if he doesn’t he
could blow his kidney back up. So, for
now we have yearly scans (non-invasive) and follow up appointments with the urologist
and nephrologist, just to be sure everything is safe!! The nephrologist even said she’d like to
study Daniel for education purposes, because she was thrilled with the kidney
healing, but even she admitted it wasn’t worth it to put him through any more
invasive tests, to which we totally agreed!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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An update on Tic-Tac:<o:p></o:p></div>
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He’s doing well! We
know at this point, that he will remain a member of our family until at least
January. Things are complicated, but at
the same time easy. I can’t explain
further, but maybe one day I will be able to.<o:p></o:p></div>
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He is still cutting teeth and always gets congested when he
does. We’ve been to the doctor numerous
times, been on several antibiotics and have been up late at night snuggling
with a baby that feels bad. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In the interim, he’s stopped combat crawling and now crawls
on all fours. Thump, thump and he’s
quick! I love it!! He’s pulling up and now trying to walk around
things by holding on. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Food is going better.
We’ve quit all baby food and are just feeding regular food. I’m a pro at smashing everything. He loves potatos, bread, and peant butter
crackers. He is not a fruit or vegetable
eater, but we keep trying. He’s gained 7
pounds in 3 short months! Noone can
believe he’s the same boy. I wish I
could show some photos of his hair. It
used to be straight and short, now it’s all come in and it’s curly and long and
Troy says he looks like a mini Einstein!!
We do need to get it cut, but I love those baby curls. I brush the curls up and back and Troy smoothes
them down. It’s a fun competition we
have ging on!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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An Update on Troy: <o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s looking like back surgery may be in the future. I’m really worried and I would appreciate some
prayers. <o:p></o:p></div>
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An Update on Me:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hmmm…see above for everyone else!! I have no idea what I’m doing most days
anymore, I just take it as it comes!!<br />
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Finally a few photos to break up the monotony of my
updates!!</div>
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Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-35881796209928698262012-07-19T18:44:00.004-07:002012-07-19T18:44:53.848-07:00Daniel Turned Six!I blinked and Daniel turned 6 in June!! I'm late posting this, and it seems like I barely have time to turn around much lately. Between swimming lessons, karate, and Tic-Tac, things are non-stop!! Daniel tests for his yellow belt this coming Monday!!<br />
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Here are some fun photos from his birthday party!!<br />
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In other news, Tic-Tac is doing wonderfully!! We now have top teeth pushing through, he can sit up on his own, he has started pulling up (only a few times) and he "talks" non-stop!! We even see some personality coming out now!!Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-88266370217388119822012-06-28T11:46:00.000-07:002012-06-28T11:46:19.701-07:00Foster-To-Adopt Timeline<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I thought I would share a very loose, generic look at a
typical foster-to-adopt timeline for those that aren't familiar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is our basic understanding and this is
most likely not exact or perfect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are
also in Virginia,
and I'm sure it varies from state to state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some acronyms:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
DSS - Department of Social Services</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
CPS - Child Protective Services</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Step 1:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Receive phone
call from DSS asking if you are willing to accept a particular child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not much information is given at this time
and you have to make an almost immediate decision.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Step 2:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>CPS Officer
arrives with child (sometimes within minutes of the initial phone call)!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Step 3:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Court Hearing
within the first week to determine that child should remain in foster
care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Case is still a CPS case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the earliest a child usually would be
removed from foster and given back to their birthparents.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Step 4:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Court Hearing
within 30 days of removal to determine that child should remain in foster care,
(at this point the case is handled by a foster care worker and is no longer a
CPS case) or be returned to the birthparents.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Step 5:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Court hearing
at the 75 day mark or 45 days from the Step 4 Court Hearing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This hearing puts a plan in motion and is an
order to the birthparents and foster parents on what they need to be
doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Foster parents are ordered to
continue to provide a safe, loving home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Birthparents may be ordered to do many things like take a parenting
class, get a job, clean the home, and/or go to rehab.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Step 6:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Within 6
months of the Step 5 Court Hearing a Foster Care Review Hearing should be set
up to report the progress of the birthparents.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Step 7:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Within 5 months
of the Foster Care Review Hearing a Permanency Review Hearing will be
held.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This hearing can be held sooner if
the plan can be reached sooner.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Step 8:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If the
permanency plan is for adoption then foster parents may move forward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There may be additional review hearings until
adoption is complete (every 6 months)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In order to adopt, the child must have been in the adoptive
parents home for at least 6 months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
are of the understanding that this back-dates to the date of the initial
placement of the child in our home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So
even if parental rights are terminated in the final steps, the 6 month goal
would have been met at this point and you can petition for adoption.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span>Next up: What we've been up to, including Daniel's 6th Birthday!! </span></div>Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-33963724648997523952012-04-30T10:30:00.004-07:002012-04-30T10:30:43.555-07:00Disney World, Sea World, Islands of Adventure - 2012 Vacation!We had an amazing time on vacation!! We headed to Kissimmee, FL and stayed the week with plans to visit all the parks we really wanted to see!<br />
<br />
We started with a long, long drive Saturday, followed by a visit to Downtown Disney on Sunday!! Here we enjoyed eating at the Rainforest Cafe, playing and purchasing at the Lego Store (can we say AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and having a good time!!<br />
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Monday we headed to Sea World and we had a blast!! Daniel loved the dolphins and the whales the most! We even sat in the splash zone during the Shamu show and got soaked!! Daniel rode the Shamu coaster and Cassandra (my sis) and I rode the Cracken!! We saw plenty of other shows and had a great time. I highly recommend Sea World as a must see for the kids!!<br />
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Tuesday we headed to the Magic Kingdom and had a magic day! Daniel did
great - he walked from 8:45 am to about 9:00 pm. He refused a stroller
and insisted on keeping up with us. We rode everything in sight, except
Space Mountain, which I wasn't comfortable putting him on just yet,
even though he meets the height requirement. He especially LOVED the
Haunted Mansion and the Pirates ride!! We never waited more than 20
minutes for a ride!! We watched the electrical parade and made it back
to a porch of a building to watch the night time castle show and the
fireworks. It was here I noticed Daniel could barely control his body
movements and he was saying silly things we couldn't understand. I
picked him up and he fell sound asleep in the matter of an instant on my
shoulder. I sat on the porch and Troy laid a blanket over us and
Daniel slept through the fireworks. He never even budged during the
loud booms!! Troy took lots of pictures to show Daniel the next day!!</div>
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Do you see how tired he is!!!! He tends to hold my hair when he's exhausted!!<br />
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Wednesday was an easy day for us and we visited my mom at her campground and old friends came to visit. It was great to see them, including a very old friend of mine that I used to play with when I was young and when we lived in Orlando. I got to take my family by my old house and show them my elementary and middle schools. Daniel spent the night with my mom while we headed back to the condo.<br />
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Thursday Troy, Cassandra, Brett and I headed to Islands of Adventure to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!! Cassandra is 13 years younger than I am and when she read Harry Potter as a young teen she begged me to read it with her. I did and got hooked so this was great fun for the two of us to experience together! We rode the rides, drank butterbeer and had a great time. Cassandra and I also braved all the other coasters in the park, including the Hulk and one that shoots you straight up and back down!! I came home with Luna's second wand and a Gryffindor keychain!!<br />
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During our trip we were called by dss and asked to accept 2 little boys into our home. We said yes and my in-laws were helping to do some final preparations for us at home, while we were away. It didn't pan out, so we're hoping for the best for the little ones and waiting for the next call.<br />
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I'll be posting on my <a href="http://www.fromdimestodollars.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">other blog</a>, some tips and tricks for a frugal trip to some of the places we went in a few days!!!Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-1720232289763504212012-04-16T09:04:00.004-07:002012-04-16T09:13:50.660-07:004 Years a Family!Yesterday marks the fourth anniversary of our court date in Russia and when the Judge said yes, entrusting to us one special little boy! Since it was so late in the afternoon, we could not pick him up that day (our 10 days were waived), so we had to wait one more day!<br /><br />Troy and I were so tired from our long day and 4 hours in court (that were pleasant, but long) and we celebrated with an exciting PB&J for dinner in our room!! We laughed that Daniel was already on a sleepover and then we barely slept anticipating and packing our things to pick up Daniel and fly back to Moscow.<br /><br />Oh how I miss that sweet little baby boy we picked up. But oh how I love the little man he's grown into!<br /><br />Then....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhex9osk9BRO1ZCmtKWrHt7Zq7NqM7jgWZLOft04lEUddqT1IEss7FR9HrPgMrEqWkVqi3GgTNmjQhVTKdziJCfWNn9BMsVMrA71jG_u_EhP53zSkGPLJ6UYlQkR1KvgXE323INr7myv70/s1600/Russia+Trip+second+008.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhex9osk9BRO1ZCmtKWrHt7Zq7NqM7jgWZLOft04lEUddqT1IEss7FR9HrPgMrEqWkVqi3GgTNmjQhVTKdziJCfWNn9BMsVMrA71jG_u_EhP53zSkGPLJ6UYlQkR1KvgXE323INr7myv70/s320/Russia+Trip+second+008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732032169980295874" border="0" /></a><br /><br />and Now....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8gUDjxFFdjjOEGGqANDgm85fkRIFaaIYM5EepbNbOlcvs5cbmsMOHN1SnkKLV4BKc7qK6Q5JJna5gMrvmyRIJCiXAVHxSq78VFdurjPJRJVmThoKqCoaXxni7eHkphfyKyqcaWSf1bvA/s1600/Daniel+easter-legos+003.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8gUDjxFFdjjOEGGqANDgm85fkRIFaaIYM5EepbNbOlcvs5cbmsMOHN1SnkKLV4BKc7qK6Q5JJna5gMrvmyRIJCiXAVHxSq78VFdurjPJRJVmThoKqCoaXxni7eHkphfyKyqcaWSf1bvA/s320/Daniel+easter-legos+003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732032178587694930" border="0" /></a>Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-17271644445824479232012-04-06T11:04:00.002-07:002012-04-06T11:14:00.237-07:00Introducing "The Furious Eleven"This was too fun not to share!! <br /><br />I came home from work yesterday and was introduced to "The Furious Eleven". Daniel and Troy worked hard making a crime fighting crew and Daniel named them appropriately!!<br /><br />Alas, I shall make you wait no longer....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXP28gOiIxpdtrfFE1aWyMob_YBPvZSNXyfhZigFtVfLgU-S2evB0-DKnJ1aZtFetcc-vWjEWBnQmjbAPZMMhBHAAw66CiSQF7TQTGGn-PxciVIxF0-bc2NJNZhIb6d37j8j-8Ba3E46g/s1600/Daniel+easter-legos+007.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXP28gOiIxpdtrfFE1aWyMob_YBPvZSNXyfhZigFtVfLgU-S2evB0-DKnJ1aZtFetcc-vWjEWBnQmjbAPZMMhBHAAw66CiSQF7TQTGGn-PxciVIxF0-bc2NJNZhIb6d37j8j-8Ba3E46g/s320/Daniel+easter-legos+007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728351587091441490" border="0" /></a>This neat guy below, Daniel created all his own and is named Duckie Dodo - he is the fixer of all the machines of "The Furious Eleven"!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfdbS_Rgs0l0Q3ajphby4i0KZflQRtcPfBc9aKMfX6QusDBBqE9A_aQl1V4RT63Ae_isa3RId19lWtuCqII3QSCXYq4ucfJyI4mXR5pQePA35VlZLUFM1fhTls_Jsd9CwMVHy_-sKYiQA/s1600/Daniel+easter-legos+004.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfdbS_Rgs0l0Q3ajphby4i0KZflQRtcPfBc9aKMfX6QusDBBqE9A_aQl1V4RT63Ae_isa3RId19lWtuCqII3QSCXYq4ucfJyI4mXR5pQePA35VlZLUFM1fhTls_Jsd9CwMVHy_-sKYiQA/s320/Daniel+easter-legos+004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728351594391091554" border="0" /></a>This fellow below is Spider and he is a "guard" in the words of Daniel and "protects" "The Furious Eleven"!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6u_jv7siWBaaLi2b9pIFRRjzoRahbNAaH-MqbQtJNe0iiKgxy_E5FmYmCQ-7xOshzxunU39qF72ARJ_7pA3vPKmpjBXGdf28Qacv0qCv6JC6kKWjRHDfUdTZnK7oV0anlG6oXwkL6zHY/s1600/Daniel+easter-legos+008.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6u_jv7siWBaaLi2b9pIFRRjzoRahbNAaH-MqbQtJNe0iiKgxy_E5FmYmCQ-7xOshzxunU39qF72ARJ_7pA3vPKmpjBXGdf28Qacv0qCv6JC6kKWjRHDfUdTZnK7oV0anlG6oXwkL6zHY/s320/Daniel+easter-legos+008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728351600554962434" border="0" /></a>No name yet for this guy - any suggestions?!?!?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkkg41UJluD1f6SucJ9ySP5SPTUEFmF_PkdD_eajP1mVkmMBCPQby4zP55_xj7hiX3R-vH9OHpshkZWedtN-fktaqPr0wSX63XN_jg8uJp1XGHM08Isb2trx1ESasZh7N_5fyxXmNygcE/s1600/Daniel+easter-legos+009.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkkg41UJluD1f6SucJ9ySP5SPTUEFmF_PkdD_eajP1mVkmMBCPQby4zP55_xj7hiX3R-vH9OHpshkZWedtN-fktaqPr0wSX63XN_jg8uJp1XGHM08Isb2trx1ESasZh7N_5fyxXmNygcE/s320/Daniel+easter-legos+009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728351613597031810" border="0" /></a>Daniel is quite the builder and can play for hours building blocks quietly. I'm one lucky mom, in more ways than one!!Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-27602818088106236762012-04-01T18:00:00.004-07:002012-04-01T18:17:58.101-07:00Catching UpNo time to post when tax season rolls around. So in order to catch you up with our lives here is what we've been up to:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Daniel learns how to put brakes on my car. He officially knows more than I do about cars at this point!</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWPLnnvlDdil59feHfRLItlrZLy5iDuXCYGX_zdfZva7LMVPoPwlNJitnns0YWhzYQV7ctRT1I2ScLniaUEeFY3Z3ItLiXVcQLaYQ3sR8zwkNs-2jt969kU2VsHX7L6n9VilX_IQA51WI/s1600/114.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWPLnnvlDdil59feHfRLItlrZLy5iDuXCYGX_zdfZva7LMVPoPwlNJitnns0YWhzYQV7ctRT1I2ScLniaUEeFY3Z3ItLiXVcQLaYQ3sR8zwkNs-2jt969kU2VsHX7L6n9VilX_IQA51WI/s320/114.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726603598329352418" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Daniel learns how to check and change my car's oil. He now officially knows twice as much as I do about cars.<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVbRvUCAQ6gMUuQ4T7g3JGStPlZuPibvvr1XcfzxjCtNHDOMlWXltDxNhfcK1FXTLDLvR_GvtsSD7kC8hrPpncvZFKccIkc2kxuu61qZ6HgyFzrwp4gam4Li2l9iEs1OKpttCbT8IKq_U/s1600/112.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVbRvUCAQ6gMUuQ4T7g3JGStPlZuPibvvr1XcfzxjCtNHDOMlWXltDxNhfcK1FXTLDLvR_GvtsSD7kC8hrPpncvZFKccIkc2kxuu61qZ6HgyFzrwp4gam4Li2l9iEs1OKpttCbT8IKq_U/s320/112.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726603591295876610" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Daniel grows like a stink weed in March and April. He ate two PB&Js for lunch and rounded his day out with a whole can of Chicken and Stars soup.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Is it wrong to wish you had your child's genes?</span>!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnUm4uClu78-Y-CdMJuG0Fixb9XS_WM2gLFXOEge814VhnLz3txylWxFPW0LjfbQqlGJVEABrPDuV4wClJQuEmnHUftlXoWjPohY6qhiwe_IVTPbNyL88aFdMNnhtXun4KJzjoGz3vD04/s1600/004.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnUm4uClu78-Y-CdMJuG0Fixb9XS_WM2gLFXOEge814VhnLz3txylWxFPW0LjfbQqlGJVEABrPDuV4wClJQuEmnHUftlXoWjPohY6qhiwe_IVTPbNyL88aFdMNnhtXun4KJzjoGz3vD04/s320/004.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726603607710336258" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">We went and saw Monster Jam complete with taking a friend of Daniels' from Kindergarten who was excellently behaved. I think we proved to ourselves that we can handle more than one child at a time, which is a good thing since our foster care social worker called and wanted to know EXACTLY when we were returning from our upcoming vacation. </span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0E29jKYqW6W4IU6BkcECtDNEfKI0M107n1P9tCq6vOCdaibQzrSriA-mkdiKN5i5qw2tF2geAFAGsfuJXmQMy3wCQBkC2pa5UZ_LQmjqkAIgkTCQnjJ0L5ONUAAIYMMtqcoRabwftK3s/s1600/059.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0E29jKYqW6W4IU6BkcECtDNEfKI0M107n1P9tCq6vOCdaibQzrSriA-mkdiKN5i5qw2tF2geAFAGsfuJXmQMy3wCQBkC2pa5UZ_LQmjqkAIgkTCQnjJ0L5ONUAAIYMMtqcoRabwftK3s/s320/059.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726603161602539490" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgxSyd2JFZJSNNP3Hns-kVLaaU79DqTUk49OlfiGwiZ_eihZtV02V52NaFm5qlFRAW5bfX4APo9OIs9v6-tv7klBd3zzfPUuR58YNKi9FSHUSf5PYEJuSwI6wJerkQXz3FP2CQfFMBzYo/s1600/070.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgxSyd2JFZJSNNP3Hns-kVLaaU79DqTUk49OlfiGwiZ_eihZtV02V52NaFm5qlFRAW5bfX4APo9OIs9v6-tv7klBd3zzfPUuR58YNKi9FSHUSf5PYEJuSwI6wJerkQXz3FP2CQfFMBzYo/s320/070.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726603171289228290" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Troy found this completely awesome stuff for the bath called Squishy Baff. You add powder to the tub and it turns it to beads of goo and then you add a second powder to turn it back to liquid. Daniel loved it. I took a few photos and stayed out of the bathroom, claiming that Squishy Baff was a dad thing only, complete with a dad cleanup time!</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiybrcRUOUwRqvyFxld3WnddB3TZ9-Lq2_CyJbz-KzpXcenOPBUFjucGBlCIk7XPWAoSluxheRe9rF0fu3uXEV_aJ6CXKnqY0_V127d9a7ZrjVZomWlxRoYjgdDUNNorKYmjuZsh_PQzsk/s1600/026.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiybrcRUOUwRqvyFxld3WnddB3TZ9-Lq2_CyJbz-KzpXcenOPBUFjucGBlCIk7XPWAoSluxheRe9rF0fu3uXEV_aJ6CXKnqY0_V127d9a7ZrjVZomWlxRoYjgdDUNNorKYmjuZsh_PQzsk/s320/026.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726603157989053250" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxnbCqg03z7JKaRoOfP-NdbSDujqEYY3sVe-FAdOLGTdpkpqkZ09R6T2iqav_4N57TGZbVTYb85tRX9eVK4ziP3icpU2WMgejs5_YnVph1oByywrNPzrMWnsYq2NfkLI-MDbzp5cPDwDY/s1600/025.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxnbCqg03z7JKaRoOfP-NdbSDujqEYY3sVe-FAdOLGTdpkpqkZ09R6T2iqav_4N57TGZbVTYb85tRX9eVK4ziP3icpU2WMgejs5_YnVph1oByywrNPzrMWnsYq2NfkLI-MDbzp5cPDwDY/s320/025.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726603151001847778" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Daniel is rocking out Kindergarten. He's aced all his Friday spelling tests and he's reading short books to us. Of course he's also reading everything else and we can't spell anything to each other anymore because Daniel sounds it all out. No more hiding the fact that we might go to the "p-o-o-l later". Daniel quickly yells "Pool".</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSywj6DDOEbeGZTC-XwliLatkAyd3NOHW47RTwYecFLOS-SNBAp4Dxn6Wi-0MbtLuUNtndZ2uZs9231GhTwhQY6ff40_gRGHSw41198Z3fRR84jDKg0toJe7qk1r7TgC6RfHKvbFZdw2Q/s1600/ONION+SOUP+-+GOOD+GRADES+012.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSywj6DDOEbeGZTC-XwliLatkAyd3NOHW47RTwYecFLOS-SNBAp4Dxn6Wi-0MbtLuUNtndZ2uZs9231GhTwhQY6ff40_gRGHSw41198Z3fRR84jDKg0toJe7qk1r7TgC6RfHKvbFZdw2Q/s320/ONION+SOUP+-+GOOD+GRADES+012.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726603142157271010" border="0" /></a>We've had a great couple of months and are looking forward to the end of tax season and a trip to Florida! When we return, it sounds like we'll have a foster placement right away. We'll keep everyone updated!!Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-63545364349544768332012-02-13T09:26:00.000-08:002012-02-13T09:49:31.742-08:00Wow - Another Month Gone By! (Growing Boy & Bedroom Update)I can't believe yet another month has gone by! Time sure is flying, which is good and bad at the same time. I need to remember to slow down and savor each moment a little more!<br /><br />Daniel is still doing fabulous in Kindergarten! He's reading more and more and sounding out words on his own now. They are already doing addition and subtraction! Daniel's catching on quickly and while we have parent/teacher conferences next week, the teacher sent me a note home saying Daniel was doing just fine and she really didn't need to me at all, unless I wanted to come in. Since she's great with email, we are skipping the conference!<br /><br />Daniel is also growing like crazy. Just this past month, he shot up another 1/2 inch! We told him last month, he needed to grow 3 inches by the time we went to Disney (he really doesn't - I think there is only one ride he can't ride). Apparently he took the request to heart and has been eating and growing to beat the band!! We are also dealing with growing pains in his legs, but not so severe, that often times he just needs the break of bed time and feels better in the morning.<br /><br />In foster-to-adopt news, we attended our first PRIDE meeting, which stands for<span style="font-size:78%;"> <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">PARENT </span></span></span><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">RESOURCES FOR INFORMATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND EDUCATION. </span></span></span><br /><br />We learned a lot of things at the first meeting, including the conditions of some children when they are taken into care. It is truly heartbreaking to know how many children are neglected and mistreated and how severely. This path is not easy and I have to admit that we are a bit scared. Please pray for us as we continue through the classes. There are 7 in all and each week we have homework. Since all our paperwork is done, this week we had to create genograms of our families. Genograms are a little more complicated than family trees, but I think we did a good job.<br /><br />Here is a recent picture of our growing boy - he LOVES tortellini with broccoli, chicken and cheese sauce. So much that he picked out the gigantic serving fork to eat with! Did we let him eat with it? You betcha - because I figure a silly dinner every now and then won't hurt!!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-9I2v_o4qGGe-Nz2hhYl3LeD67QRFWtYbhE0El39gKJHqlIJSxsDwQgN1NyanbFmLYfdWDqSIYpu7c6nbsDblEc71IcAZI1t3ua3rsYu-GIMJG2vksiuV5ir_hT-kAXvfw6Sn84Wtzk/s1600/more+cvs+008.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-9I2v_o4qGGe-Nz2hhYl3LeD67QRFWtYbhE0El39gKJHqlIJSxsDwQgN1NyanbFmLYfdWDqSIYpu7c6nbsDblEc71IcAZI1t3ua3rsYu-GIMJG2vksiuV5ir_hT-kAXvfw6Sn84Wtzk/s320/more+cvs+008.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708676847253560242" border="0" /></a>Lastly, here is the mostly completed bedroom for our special child/children. I really don't like saying "foster" child all the time because I don't want to label a child as such in our home. I need to come up with some other way! I still have a few things a corner of the room to go through and to wash the baby bedding (in case) and then we're finished.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbFXz70ikvqurE7xAySD0LbSVxqbdA2q4WxiDj7k_jjXx10nvCkdAvFSzMrecIgYH88ngb1w4HXjoO0DmpxlF9ZKt8cn2HsVSSkrlDdK6SLVQRcTrNbHA-cL-UZ6_1ZlG0NNZCWlrw_rA/s1600/room+005.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbFXz70ikvqurE7xAySD0LbSVxqbdA2q4WxiDj7k_jjXx10nvCkdAvFSzMrecIgYH88ngb1w4HXjoO0DmpxlF9ZKt8cn2HsVSSkrlDdK6SLVQRcTrNbHA-cL-UZ6_1ZlG0NNZCWlrw_rA/s320/room+005.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708678215795198594" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuwEvm4BmVn-xFi3Ebh6FdFE_V2roq4-fxiG5eA_UUtl9F25gMSAsmVAjyBYLaMI2dA6jTwkeDidRAJPcjMTz0qsd8CPOtz_Y9lxxam7QQ-BQKqUTg5_GcP-VXI_1y-ceVXKhAogVfZvw/s1600/room+008.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuwEvm4BmVn-xFi3Ebh6FdFE_V2roq4-fxiG5eA_UUtl9F25gMSAsmVAjyBYLaMI2dA6jTwkeDidRAJPcjMTz0qsd8CPOtz_Y9lxxam7QQ-BQKqUTg5_GcP-VXI_1y-ceVXKhAogVfZvw/s320/room+008.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708678231620544130" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNN616FlCqedQ2LA8HCAu2IrjsDAUsZqa_Oyi72SqEvavlEgEVYg3DcVUDjUFUM7I1KKyqt5mfP0HqrDlaowFZQF3R343uulXCOI_HKdnfcMNFUH55W2nww02DpUQY0yAvWp6XdtZOXSs/s1600/room+007.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNN616FlCqedQ2LA8HCAu2IrjsDAUsZqa_Oyi72SqEvavlEgEVYg3DcVUDjUFUM7I1KKyqt5mfP0HqrDlaowFZQF3R343uulXCOI_HKdnfcMNFUH55W2nww02DpUQY0yAvWp6XdtZOXSs/s320/room+007.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708678220452014674" border="0" /></a>Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-67331733674053467222012-01-06T09:50:00.000-08:002012-01-06T09:52:21.337-08:00Moving Forward - Update on Timing & A BedroomWe have decided to sit back, relax and let the road to becoming licensed to foster wind it's way in front of us. Those of you who know me best, must know how <span style="font-style: italic;">hard</span> this is on me. It's not that I have to have a placement right away, it's just that once I start something, I want to finish it right away. It also makes me crazy to hurry up...and then wait. However, I should be familiar with that concept after Daniel's adoption!!<br /><br />However, at this point, I'll be heading into tax season at work and then right after (as in the week after it ends) we are headed to Florida for a trip to Disney World, Islands of Adventure and Sea World.<br /><br />Since initially we thought we would be done and possibly have a placement as early as December or this month, we were preparing to take an additional child to Disney. Since it's not going to happen, we are prepared to tell our workers (should they decide to move forward suddenly) that while we would love to finish the licensing requirements ASAP, that we will not take a placement until after my busiest work season and our trip to Disney.<br /><br />A new child coming into your care is enough of an uproar without taking said child immediately on a trip. I can't even imagine the setback that could do with forming bonds and a safe and secure environment for them. Plus, we don't want them to think the we go to Disney all the time!!<br /><br />This means when we return we can settle back down into our regular routine. I won't be working all five days and weekends and will be able to focus better on a new child and on adjusting our family to the new routines that we will undoubtedly have to fall into.<br /><br />That being said, we are moving forward on fixing our guest/extra storage bedroom and turning it into a child's bedroom.<br /><br />Since we don't know age (we specified 0-4) and since we don't know how many (we specified up to 2 children), we are keeping the double bed in the room and adding our crib (which can be converted to a toddler bed as well. If we find we don't need the crib, we'll remove it.<br /><br />We'll be using Daniel's baby bedding and other saved items to finish the room off.<br /><br />I've been sorting Daniel's toys and keeping some things in bins so I can easily pull them out and use them. We've even picked up some girl toys and sorted them into bins as well. Since my older sister has a 6 month old, she has promised to be on call and to "set me up" should we get an infant within hours of placement with things like bottles, etc. I've already received some cans of formula (not sure how long they last-will have to check on that) and one or two bottles to get started right away should we get an infant.<br /><br />Here is a "before" picture of the room we'll be working on. Keep in mind, I've been using it to sort toys etc., so I have some work to do!! I'll update with a picture of the finished room soon!<br /><br />Oh and in case you are wondering, Daniel wants a brother AND a sister! Oh boy!!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha1fg8KlNR1ERnalCAfqvVRpDMSd4ve3cenJaXpB_6bGAiiENzno3lqybnXuB-8fBO-sySfoYOhpuLKIfZHNTZbfhEx-0Ou1UJlNRw5Xc3J2pKaaKd8wacDlIMcwONmab5CR2gxLZOnxE/s1600/cvs+003.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha1fg8KlNR1ERnalCAfqvVRpDMSd4ve3cenJaXpB_6bGAiiENzno3lqybnXuB-8fBO-sySfoYOhpuLKIfZHNTZbfhEx-0Ou1UJlNRw5Xc3J2pKaaKd8wacDlIMcwONmab5CR2gxLZOnxE/s320/cvs+003.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694578050298282002" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SD73slA7twfC6N3pkHydQxqY7pTTAJkPhYI9vffmJNV4EBwFQ0Ep_s1900EkzKlaHacjy_q-cXLYMYvMeUVa6ENd5s1LPp5t4aG2-pbak9oLkL5l1QImIQS1Z2ZWdsnlmP7Pt5TbUZk/s1600/cvs+002.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SD73slA7twfC6N3pkHydQxqY7pTTAJkPhYI9vffmJNV4EBwFQ0Ep_s1900EkzKlaHacjy_q-cXLYMYvMeUVa6ENd5s1LPp5t4aG2-pbak9oLkL5l1QImIQS1Z2ZWdsnlmP7Pt5TbUZk/s320/cvs+002.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694578043971206450" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrb5YAKtk2Yebg9eaOJOyOzQSy2qHAwphQ-O6tHkFGDXe1isThyphenhyphenq-leKcXe0Coa5K2u36ZqKjjLF6Ks9dCC9zdbv-uIKhzokTa85BXfKBtctp9qxBdveKd558mzfDAdBPMaCahqEckj_0/s1600/cvs+004.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrb5YAKtk2Yebg9eaOJOyOzQSy2qHAwphQ-O6tHkFGDXe1isThyphenhyphenq-leKcXe0Coa5K2u36ZqKjjLF6Ks9dCC9zdbv-uIKhzokTa85BXfKBtctp9qxBdveKd558mzfDAdBPMaCahqEckj_0/s320/cvs+004.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694578057236733442" border="0" /></a>Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-57204805875737199532011-12-29T11:50:00.000-08:002011-12-29T19:18:25.907-08:00Happy Holidays!Our days were Merry & Bright, as I hope yours have been!<br /><br />We started off the holidays with a trip to see none other than Alvin & the Chipmunks, Chipwrecked! Daniel loved it!<br /><br />Christmas Eve we had our annual dinner and survivor style auction! We had 21 total people, 7 of them were ages 6 and under and they were all EXCELLENT!!! We cooked a 22 pound turkey for the occasion and had all the trimmings. Good food, great family and lots of fun!<br /><br />The auction was the highlight as always. I auctioned off my CVS stash from the year, instead of hoarding it like you see on Extreme Couponing!! (If you haven't check out my other blog <a href="http://fromdimestodollars.blogspot.com/">From Dimes to Dollars</a> - I'm sharing more hot coupons and deals this year in an effort to lower our monthly grocery budget, and maybe yours as well!!) I keep enough of the auction items to get through a few months and the rest goes to my family! You should see them outbid each other for items like toothpaste and shower gel! The funniest thing to happen - my niece's new boyfriend buying her a toothbrush because she said she needed it! The second funniest, my brother-in-law buying my father-in-law (and they are no relation) vitamins for his eye and brain health!! Always a load of fun and laughter!!<br /><br />Christmas Day Daniel was in heaven. He counted his gifts this year from Santa and then woke us up!! Some of the items he received from everyone including Santa were Leapster games, a personal CD player and his first books on CD, a science lab kit, the Joker House, Star Wars items, including a clock, and a Bop It!! Awesome!!!!<br /><br />We spent hours mixing colors for a food coloring experiment with his science kit! I have great photos below to share!! I also have great photos of Daniel listening to his book on CD. Santa got him a <a href="http://www.magictreehouse.com/#about_the_series">Magic Tree House Books</a> 1-4 audio book and at first Daniel wasn't interested. Then when I said he couldn't run around with the CD player, that it was for music or books only, he sat down and gave it another try.<br /><br />Within about 2 minutes he was hooked!! I couldn't have pried it out of his hands if I had wanted!! Since I love audio CD's I was thrilled that he took to it also! He's listened to the stories several times now!! I wasn't sure how he would do without having an actual book to follow since our other short CDs have books and are only one story lasting about 10 minutes. These stories last about half an hour each. I have to say again how thrilled I am that he really likes them!!<br /><br />We had an awesome holiday and are looking forward to a New Year's dinner at my mom's house with a big game of Tripoly to follow (we bet with pennies) so if you lose, you lose about a buck, but you can win 4 or 5 bucks!!<br /><br />I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays as well!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSSZ0sODVZh_2X4ZQpD0FQtGdLsZcc_pc0GLH-TjtHiJtJ9M_yzzYbANNGdv87mLHjSmA7wciQ1-T8Pfmybu60B3MqxZeEg60TmDxPVMigID9nL_W2SI14ny99YEfPAEt1VFB6MFTGWGo/s1600/christmas+2011+125.JPG"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyiTK86LD68OjV3AjEwvEmD8psBMDnSgiNX3nh0ASlCRnjOxSf92OmexgTQAFbsNlK14Gqn3g1kxCn4wIy8PPKmLFRWyqiI5YkXG1ypT-xsdn4ZMx2tLhftc8pk11QuP1AriOP_TD-oXo/s1600/christmas+2011+110.JPG"><img style="display:block; 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mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]-->Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-26135806920648882672011-12-12T06:29:00.000-08:002011-12-12T06:41:45.627-08:00Troy's Medical AppointmentTroy finally got his medical appointment done and with that the last of our end of the foster-to-adopt paperwork chase!<br /><br />You may remember how well <a href="http://journeywiththewilliamsfamily.blogspot.com/2011/11/timing.html">my medical appointment</a> went and how I left the office in tears. Well, Troy saw the same doctor and said he was perfectly nice to him. Marked all his papers as excellent, never said a word about the fact that we were going to be fostering, and got him in and out in no time at all.<br /><br />I cried again (I know think BIG baby) when Troy came home and said the doctor said nothing to him and marked everything as excellent.<br /><br />I guess I'll never know why he chose that particular day to be so ugly towards me.<br /><br />Moving on - at least it's done!! I'll be sending those in tomorrow, along with a strongly worded email and letter that we are ready to move forward with the process at this time.<br /><br />In other news, well, there really isn't any. Other than getting ready for Christmas, things are moving along smoothly! Daniel and I are working on handmaking gifts (from Daniel ) to each family member and I rolled and dipped 480 chocolate covered peanut butter balls with my best friend this weekend for family as well!! Looking forward to Christmas!Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-29797332603038314872011-12-07T06:15:00.000-08:002011-12-07T06:20:41.634-08:00Wait No More Book Review<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDO8YsRsrOF0OagINtu_wDu79qmonmkfxU8sT71CVsterhI_g5jY5QtKejBvNcB_s2MlNQQ5ESs58g-e8y1mnoKFhdcWO_f-cHqos3H1sgoncqH6cFlHWthH_CXRIjGZ8wqZOam4Dx9zI/s1600/wait+no+more.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 133px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 128px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5683390429752838498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDO8YsRsrOF0OagINtu_wDu79qmonmkfxU8sT71CVsterhI_g5jY5QtKejBvNcB_s2MlNQQ5ESs58g-e8y1mnoKFhdcWO_f-cHqos3H1sgoncqH6cFlHWthH_CXRIjGZ8wqZOam4Dx9zI/s320/wait+no+more.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div>I was chosen to read and review the book <em>Wait No More</em>. <em>Wait No More</em> is written by Kelly and John Rosati and is a true story of a family of six formed by foster care. Since we are beginning our journey through the foster care system in our state, I was so excited to receive this book to read.<br /><br />I'm going to cut to the chase. I LOVED this book. I thought it was extremely easy to read and I was engrossed in the story as soon as I started.<br /><br />I particularly like how real the story is. There was no sugar coating. There was heartbreak and worry, but also joy and a never ending faith in God. There was even a placement that did not work out. <br /><br />In the book I was able to follow four separate and very different adoption stories through the foster care system. Each story was unique. The problems faced included medical issues, birthparent issues, and attachments issues. I felt like I was right beside them sharing in the moments. <br /><br />There is one particular chapter that really hit home with me. It is a chapter when the family thought that they were being led to adopt from Africa only to find out every door was being slammed shut for them. In the midst of their wondering why this happening, they realized that they were being nudged gently by God to continue with foster care. Troy and I are in much the same position. We feel the urge and calling to return to Russia, but felt like the doors were being slammed on us. It was during this time that we re-discovered our faith in God by finding a new church and that we felt like we were being nudged to pursue adoption through foster care right here.<br /><br />I feel like this book opened my eyes to what we will soon be facing and I know that with our faith in God, we will be able to withstand the heartaches and come out joyous in the end, no matter how long it may take.<br /><br />Anyone considering foster care, or adoption through foster care should read this book. </div>Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-22613921919901847032011-11-14T19:14:00.000-08:002011-11-14T19:27:10.374-08:00TimingIt seems like our timing is a bit off for the foster program at this point. Initially it sounded like we could move pretty quickly and Troy and I do best when we jump right in. Give us time to think more and more about something and we inevitably find another way or change our path. <br /><br />That being said, we're on the same path, but it may take a little longer to go down. Apparently the social services in our area is swamped and they have now told us they can't even schedule us for our first homestudy visit until after the New Year. I realize the New Year isn't that far away. but it's also <em>that far away</em> to us.<br /><br />I completed my medical examination this past Friday and that went well, even though I shed some tears. I went to my family doctor's office, but my doctor wasn't available so I agreed to see another doctor in the practice (one I haven't seen before). He started off by telling me he had four adopted children and would love to help with the paperwork and so I thought everything would be great. Then he went off on a spirl about how we were in for devastation and that we should go directly to an adoption agency. When I told him we had one adopted son already from Russia he then proceeded to tell us we should not and probably couldn't ever go back to Russia because the window was closing on Russian adoptions.<br /><br />At that point, I was trying to keep my eyes opened HUGE so I wouldn't cry and I managed to point to the paperwork and ask him if he would please fill it out. He finally did with quite a few more hurtful comments and I left out of there gripping my documents and hurrying home.<br /><br />The poor doctor doesn't know it, but he's going to be seeing Troy next week and Troy can't wait to meet him. I made him swear to be nice and go with the goal of getting the paperwork and getting out. <br /><br />The good news is that once his medical is done, we are completely done with the paperwork portion of the program on our end!<br /><br />I suppose after that we'll wait. Hurry up and wait. Sound familiar fellow adoptive parents?!?!?!Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-30976372031582882572011-10-31T18:28:00.000-07:002011-10-31T18:57:29.700-07:00Batman, Spiderman, Thing, Oh My!!This year Daniel took dressing up to the extreme! We were lucky to find a box of costumes at a yard sale this summer for a buck! In it were the title costumes as well as several others!<br /><br />We started the season off right with a trip to the pumpkin patch! We took a hayride, picked out the perfect pumpkins, took a horse ride, and had Daniel's face painted! It was a great day!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifQSjmcwCOgLHIcTHHOThZFoedTIP4ItFpLompvl2FwoWyLR-2jn3n708Tp_9semMUtI4e088p6KQ3uQbmHEbRxRu7NYvrPN3KkBZX110OIuSp1hZkeg07i_00kUdohpdssLOJ-CKUs1k/s1600/pumpkin+029.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifQSjmcwCOgLHIcTHHOThZFoedTIP4ItFpLompvl2FwoWyLR-2jn3n708Tp_9semMUtI4e088p6KQ3uQbmHEbRxRu7NYvrPN3KkBZX110OIuSp1hZkeg07i_00kUdohpdssLOJ-CKUs1k/s320/pumpkin+029.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669838549027500434" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgejt0fTbEN_rg3bDCaTuVt89P8RLfclVFvVHFN9wZ4J3IsFxvR5KEBOeCN8BwZCwRm5-opm8PB0VRcDzbGy1X7V4elwHEYvKPbxSvr0ItibxQiAC2zOlMYN7nbmnSMi4_9u8FFTll8UrA/s1600/pumpkin+043.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgejt0fTbEN_rg3bDCaTuVt89P8RLfclVFvVHFN9wZ4J3IsFxvR5KEBOeCN8BwZCwRm5-opm8PB0VRcDzbGy1X7V4elwHEYvKPbxSvr0ItibxQiAC2zOlMYN7nbmnSMi4_9u8FFTll8UrA/s320/pumpkin+043.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669839842558629890" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoRu2XWfot0Us-oAmPzLir2d5XXgnF72-_8Q1g3KZqxPZz6E1UhHZMSX6NKtIXDGQEol97Z_N_jrFxalM2PCkYSP_8O1PGl541zTcfhmnlIy6E_gp_m9yaoz0FMgN6dD49hJK4t9MMF9Q/s1600/pumpkin+045.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoRu2XWfot0Us-oAmPzLir2d5XXgnF72-_8Q1g3KZqxPZz6E1UhHZMSX6NKtIXDGQEol97Z_N_jrFxalM2PCkYSP_8O1PGl541zTcfhmnlIy6E_gp_m9yaoz0FMgN6dD49hJK4t9MMF9Q/s320/pumpkin+045.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669838558283130914" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhoCv79TtAxlyppbbAnQTyJ-zIX7HYbz60UJ3NiObrJ4EmuUigPLZ-GaI6U8_qOc1q5oniM2nCvILj6pnJgnueGDbPaUo9qCDEDj8ipx-O51M9OQk15h0P2lSdrN0xDBtfp1-zujnJHlU/s1600/pumpkin+055.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhoCv79TtAxlyppbbAnQTyJ-zIX7HYbz60UJ3NiObrJ4EmuUigPLZ-GaI6U8_qOc1q5oniM2nCvILj6pnJgnueGDbPaUo9qCDEDj8ipx-O51M9OQk15h0P2lSdrN0xDBtfp1-zujnJHlU/s320/pumpkin+055.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669839829280416994" border="0" /></a><br />Then we headed to CVS for there kids event Halloween party where we got a free 5x7 photo and a bag with glo-sticks and candy! We had a good time there! Daniel chose his Spiderman costume and then we followed with a great outdoors photo shoot at home!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicGeWJZWTzxMUmSwvob2-eK9xhn2h2CMVtvuL6Fiep6iehH2Y156iaT57utKeizhFeFcz6eOBRTJNsvi20AqM5htwie2dUV3mlpiRGl2mnDFUDKZbhDB0UPAvWlTQZe5l-U_M1lJ6NNEU/s1600/pumpkin+063.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicGeWJZWTzxMUmSwvob2-eK9xhn2h2CMVtvuL6Fiep6iehH2Y156iaT57utKeizhFeFcz6eOBRTJNsvi20AqM5htwie2dUV3mlpiRGl2mnDFUDKZbhDB0UPAvWlTQZe5l-U_M1lJ6NNEU/s320/pumpkin+063.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669838536950425330" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg40gdMewUBqfBx3p7YzlI6zEfGSak3GuyLZd5KfuRMnDp-zPgINHlS0ZN1xeD4NDgxh6n_7VX2IKfdBnofS2WCOmSDsIwer9H6Zk2x725l3tYBff8BaYodA5Wf0Je7LFl39QTF-8ktdyA/s1600/pumpkin+072.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg40gdMewUBqfBx3p7YzlI6zEfGSak3GuyLZd5KfuRMnDp-zPgINHlS0ZN1xeD4NDgxh6n_7VX2IKfdBnofS2WCOmSDsIwer9H6Zk2x725l3tYBff8BaYodA5Wf0Je7LFl39QTF-8ktdyA/s320/pumpkin+072.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669838518848924770" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3v6Q6VM0ajuMA8bi30CXKcGUgYCyHcyupw9AmasGpV-n92cLn-YLE-zatWE5KikukrRNDkFrCAtisbNrT2CpR8COzUHKeONkQ7Y3Q4mO3l58f2n8r-r7fDC0F-y1ZF3zr7ABdVIKVvM/s1600/pumpkin+069.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3v6Q6VM0ajuMA8bi30CXKcGUgYCyHcyupw9AmasGpV-n92cLn-YLE-zatWE5KikukrRNDkFrCAtisbNrT2CpR8COzUHKeONkQ7Y3Q4mO3l58f2n8r-r7fDC0F-y1ZF3zr7ABdVIKVvM/s320/pumpkin+069.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669838520653946770" border="0" /></a><br />Next we had Daniel's Halloween party at school. I got to help numerous boys in and out of their costumes! I think I dressed about 10 Spidermans and then other assorted costumes! Daniel chose his Batman costume that day! I just love Daniel's Kindergarten teacher and class and can't say how thankful I am that he got that particular class!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVByPujgalD_j0wMHGzhChGYG7wYfs9spMYPaozKgLd1icYkWPXK7zrFNwTO3PE7x30y44iP39At9lqv_vPK28fs7rvHSKuF6linW67NKvj11wqF0VBPW49JgVVwc-eTQD8fgOGR3TO0/s1600/pumpkin+075.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVByPujgalD_j0wMHGzhChGYG7wYfs9spMYPaozKgLd1icYkWPXK7zrFNwTO3PE7x30y44iP39At9lqv_vPK28fs7rvHSKuF6linW67NKvj11wqF0VBPW49JgVVwc-eTQD8fgOGR3TO0/s320/pumpkin+075.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669839822526284946" border="0" /></a><br />We carved our pumpkin a few days ago and Daniel totally chose the template we used. I think it turned out pretty well!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJyLwsbf5p11V0_oyd1lkNYKABhVV1oNGuvhZKQSNstS-C_hxew0b_VwTWILeRg0favRLmd101BP1YXTKnyG5rvyIpr8TKUmwzp_dUAD912FphCJPBDXvYcMfYrJjJ5Xr6p-wbB1iLZmI/s1600/pumpkin+109.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJyLwsbf5p11V0_oyd1lkNYKABhVV1oNGuvhZKQSNstS-C_hxew0b_VwTWILeRg0favRLmd101BP1YXTKnyG5rvyIpr8TKUmwzp_dUAD912FphCJPBDXvYcMfYrJjJ5Xr6p-wbB1iLZmI/s320/pumpkin+109.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669837633647734242" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvfxlVZwt3HvEbaeCQWB1ydP_Ywubjpip8I0IC6hs3PF59fLnQ3TJNHla0gt9RAk4vMSMEvKv8wpPqu_isMxOxHMKucpuWSwd9OtXDBBx7j9h3TXiqS6pSCy0gboOVBV7QznzD6-fKik0/s1600/pumpkin+117.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvfxlVZwt3HvEbaeCQWB1ydP_Ywubjpip8I0IC6hs3PF59fLnQ3TJNHla0gt9RAk4vMSMEvKv8wpPqu_isMxOxHMKucpuWSwd9OtXDBBx7j9h3TXiqS6pSCy0gboOVBV7QznzD6-fKik0/s320/pumpkin+117.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669837621078031650" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs3VCj_zne5cFUokmkc6NlYgPlJfLDjtydEYElXQGKN5cKUmzsodgfGHZu-kC4_vU6jy1nAbSUeY3xb1qYazH72XdaOE3X5CcE4h8nplV9xGMFx2zX91WfpJYtVYm5BJUak6bP8B7lfHA/s1600/pumpkin+105.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs3VCj_zne5cFUokmkc6NlYgPlJfLDjtydEYElXQGKN5cKUmzsodgfGHZu-kC4_vU6jy1nAbSUeY3xb1qYazH72XdaOE3X5CcE4h8nplV9xGMFx2zX91WfpJYtVYm5BJUak6bP8B7lfHA/s320/pumpkin+105.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669837616708022834" border="0" /></a><br />Finally we trick or treated with my sister, her son, my niece and her two girls. Trying to get a photo of all 4 didn't go as planned but i happen to think they are all pretty adorable! Daniel of course chose to be Thing for the main event!!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAuT7Iso9SHTnkRQFC2JMG7o3VYX1nqy2qWae6-tNeM-yACjk05RciRqYhUZZWcstS5zEp-MtgXs12l96h1XpUTjFVj53i5zXAeWelSRuDWseTemxrF7hazO9WXt2sCGJgjwkZMbp3kCw/s1600/pumpkin+095.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAuT7Iso9SHTnkRQFC2JMG7o3VYX1nqy2qWae6-tNeM-yACjk05RciRqYhUZZWcstS5zEp-MtgXs12l96h1XpUTjFVj53i5zXAeWelSRuDWseTemxrF7hazO9WXt2sCGJgjwkZMbp3kCw/s320/pumpkin+095.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669837598542757538" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_dmv1zJwWEuoAmr-R28rDL7Rn8VPKj5rzrRRG95qOEB9HqXYUlRxbgV1KdRIW6SmbGP94SRPJNsSDHlRTABbDJt3IihXZYn8J3jDGQzKS0O-TOBZnxn30iKYQQvQbX-7DOQouU9WyntY/s1600/pumpkin+103.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_dmv1zJwWEuoAmr-R28rDL7Rn8VPKj5rzrRRG95qOEB9HqXYUlRxbgV1KdRIW6SmbGP94SRPJNsSDHlRTABbDJt3IihXZYn8J3jDGQzKS0O-TOBZnxn30iKYQQvQbX-7DOQouU9WyntY/s320/pumpkin+103.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669839803171318706" border="0" /></a><br />Oh and a little surprise came our way this past weekend --- can you believe it -- snow!! I hope we're not in for a tough winter!! Troy tends to shovel the driveway chanting "Florida, Florida, Florida!!"<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_iq7ajnjyGxsvGSN32DFQ_7s5MHbcqwIINhNOMaMI7c_uN3k4ymZVozFCyBc8Hjz-rMSDuoUXKnryaJVc-woiT-LBzAYsUBq7KHKWPdGVUiykeC_kWbjJr5HZ8xpuqlk2NTBZh1RabI/s1600/pumpkin+093.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_iq7ajnjyGxsvGSN32DFQ_7s5MHbcqwIINhNOMaMI7c_uN3k4ymZVozFCyBc8Hjz-rMSDuoUXKnryaJVc-woiT-LBzAYsUBq7KHKWPdGVUiykeC_kWbjJr5HZ8xpuqlk2NTBZh1RabI/s320/pumpkin+093.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669837589985025618" border="0" /></a><br />Happy Fall!Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-10448024575937991082011-10-25T09:32:00.000-07:002011-10-25T13:25:15.646-07:00The Process and Progress We've MadeFirst of all I want to say a huge <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">THANK YOU</span></span> to all my friends and family who have showed us so much support and been so happy for us since we shared our latest news. It means so much to us to have each of you in our lives and to know you are praying for us.<br /><br />We've completed all the initial paperwork (with the exception of our medical reports). We're simply waiting for Troy's new insurance to go into effect November 1st. Daniel's medical form was completed today!! We turned in all of our paperwork last Friday and had our first initial safety visit to our house. This visit doesn't really count towards the homestudy, but it's a way to do a preliminary check on an inquiry family.<br /><br />We were also able to knock out our fingerprint cards because they were able to bring the fingerprinting equipment to our home and do them right on our kitchen counter!!<br /><br />The initial visit was a simple walk-through of our house, checking for fire alarms, and other safety issues. We passed the initial phase just fine. We were also given a sample of a foster agreement to hold on to and review because often times a placement happens quickly and when they bring the child they want your signature right away on a form and it can be a bit over-whelming at the time to try to read it. This way we know what it says in advance.<br /><br />The paperwork was much easier than the international version of adoption paperwork. It was pretty much the standard documents (budget sheet, background check) and then several more localized papers.<br /><br />We were told the fingerprints and background checks would take approximately 3 weeks to come back. During this time we can set up appointments for the homestudy meetings or we can wait until after they come back. Since Troy is in his training program we are waiting to see how tough the training he is in is before we try to schedule any evening meetings.<br /><br />We do get to "drive" this time around which is completely different from international adoption. In other words the timing belongs to us. We can go as fast or as slow as we want.<br /><br />I can't lie - I would love to speed right on through, but I know we have to be patient and let Troy finish the training (and yes - this is serious training involving written tests and all the physical training stuff as well). So while I would love to move forward I'm trusting that God is in control of the situation and we'll become ready when He is ready.<br /><br />We have at least 3 other meetings and then we'll have to wait until the homestudy is completed. At that point, I'm not sure when we would actually become licensed, but I believe it doesn't take long. There is training involved also, so we will be taking care of that as well in the interim. We do have prior training from Daniel's adoption also and it is comparable to what they teach.<br /><br />I feel good about what has been completed and we were told we were off to a great start! I know these next few weeks will fly by and with the holidays coming, we'll be very busy!!<br /><br />I'll be updating soon about our pumpkin patch visit and the costumes Daniel keeps showing up in in all the photos!! I'm helping with his Kindergarten "Fall" Party (they get to dress up!) on Friday so that should be loads of fun!!Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-7203971614338723042011-10-24T08:00:00.000-07:002011-10-24T08:04:30.352-07:00A New Journey To Another Child!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVUo3DOHkCa9MjBC8TvLyvGQ0Edk5RGEjVssANrZH3jHcCP_oytdxnED5I6OrWa2_COhtrgcnnmk9dxKCzouX2vZ8nET1el_FLSP-bMplIdOJN_CuMttSxGFlYdL2d2cvqQQz2dOh_R0/s1600/pumpkin+024.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667074256855283858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVUo3DOHkCa9MjBC8TvLyvGQ0Edk5RGEjVssANrZH3jHcCP_oytdxnED5I6OrWa2_COhtrgcnnmk9dxKCzouX2vZ8nET1el_FLSP-bMplIdOJN_CuMttSxGFlYdL2d2cvqQQz2dOh_R0/s320/pumpkin+024.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">CHANGE</span> defined means to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of something different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">CHANGE </span>is hard. <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">CHANGE </span>is unknown. <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">CHANGE </span>is scary.<br /><br />But we're getting ready to do just that.<br /><br />Troy and I have been talking for some time (upwards of two years now) about adding another child to our family. We've considered fertility shots (again), but decided (again) that it wasn't worth it when there are children already out there waiting.<br /><br />We've wanted to go back to Russia for some time, but it's no secret that international adoption is expensive and we haven't been able to work out the finances without taking out significant loans, something we do not want to do.<br /><br />We've talked about domestic infant adoption. Again, something we considered before but decided we were open to parenting an older child a child more than a year old.<br /><br />We talked about foster to adopt. We're terrified of that. The thought of losing a child after caring for him/her for any length of time, whether it be a month or a year is heartbreaking.<br /><br />We've talked and talked and talked. And talked some more.<br /><br />Then we went to church. We haven't gone to church in a long time. We've made excuses, we've been busy, we've avoided the commitment of the time it takes out of our weekend. We were both guilty. I'd started asking Troy about church again, but we just couldn't seem to get ourselves together.<br /><br />Troy went to the rifle range for the day and sat down next to a gentleman who was also sighting in some rifles (here comes hunting season!) They got to talking and guess what? That particular gentleman is the pastor of a church. Not just any church, but a church less than 10 minutes from our house. Here they sit at a rifle range almost an hour away and he preaches at a church almost in our neighborhood.<br /><br />So we went and we listened and we learned. We loved the church. The people were friendly and a little girl took Daniel by the hand and led him to children's church for me. The pastor remembered Troy by name and was glad to see us. The message was inspiring. He mentioned that life wasn't always fair, but that the rewards in heaven would be. He mentioned that God doesn't always answer our prayers the way we want him to. But God does listen and He does not forsake us.<br /><br />I needed to hear that. I've been wallowing a bit in my sorrow of not beginning another international adoption.<br /><br />Then Troy and I realized something. Here we sit with the means to care for another child, the heart to do it, an open home, and we're doing nothing about it.<br /><br />We realized it was time for a <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">CHANGE</span>. A change not only in our thoughts, but our hearts. Could we, should we? Is this the way God wants us to go?<br /><br />We contacted our local Department of Social Services a few weeks ago. We've been emailing with the family recruiter and we're getting ready to embark on a pretty amazing and a bit scary (for us) journey.<br /><br />We're going to get licensed to foster with the intention to adopt through Virginia's foster care system.<br /><br />Virginia does believe in reunification of the child with their birth parents or a member of the family, so Troy and I have to open our hearts to supporting the reunification, but also loving and forming what may become permanent attachments to the child in our care.<br /><br />I'm scared. I'm excited. <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">I'm hopeful</span>.<br /><br />I read that many of children do eventually become available for adoption, but it still scares me that we will get a child that won't. However, since we are willing and prepared to adopt, they will take that into consideration when choosing a child to place with us.<br /><br />Surprisingly things can happen very quickly. We could be placed with a child within about 6-8 weeks aftercompleting all the requirements. Because we will be specifying a child younger than Daniel, it may take a bit longer.<br /><br />Troy has started a new job which entails a training session that would make the timeline more like in the New Year for a placement. We're very excited about this change also, because it means he is home much more than he is now, and is part of what made our decision to foster-to-adopt that much more clear.<br /><br />This weekend we will be working around the house to add a few safety features, ones we haven't had to worry about since Daniel is a bit older. We'll also be discussing changing our furniture and our guest bedroom around a bit to accommodate another child.<br /><br />I hope you'll follow along, and pray for us and for the children we come in contact with, as we get ready to head on a new Journey right here in Virginia to find our second child, and love any child that may cross through our doorway, even if only for a little while. </div>Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-10700934409916172992011-10-19T11:01:00.001-07:002011-10-19T11:20:44.567-07:00First Report Card and Parent/Teacher Conference!We're having a great week! Today Troy and I are celebrating 15 years of marriage and we've sort of come full circle - he's at his new job which is actually what he used to be doing early in our marriage and he's home each day now!! After so much time apart, we're so thrilled!!<br /><br />We received Daniel's first report card last week! He had all "M"'s in his regular classes (reading, writing, math, science). M stands for "Meets Expections" and he had all + signs in his specials (art, music, library). Since you get either a + or -, I was thrilled!!<br /><br />Troy escorted me to Daniel's first parent/teacher conference last night. I went in a little nervous because, even though Daniel has done extremely well in Kindergarten, it's no secret that I had to move him from one daycare to another and then from that daycare to another. Turns out I was making the right decisions!<br /><br />His teacher RAVED about him! She said his vocabulary was almost better than hers! She also said that even though he received all "M"'s in his report card, he deserved all "E"'s for "Exceeds Expectations", but that they are not allowed to give "E"'s to any Kindergartners until the end of the year!<br /><br />Futhermore, she said she had to move him to the HIGHEST reading level (with only two other children)! She said she could tell the difference already in his reading class and that she realizes that Daniel is going to have to be challenged constantly all year!! <br /><br />We also had another teacher stop by who said she just had to meet the parents of Daniel because "he was so bright, smart and obviously happy"!! She went on to tell us that she sat down beside him one day when he was coloring and he looked over at her and said "Who are you?" So she gave her name and said "Who are you?" Of course he gave her his FULL name - he LOVES to use his middle name! She said "well then I'm going to work with you for a few minutes on…" (whatever the assignment was) and Daniel held up his thumb and first finger (measuring time) and said "You have this much time (about 2 inches) and then we're done here!" Apparently it's now the classroom joke between the teachers!<br /><br />The funny thing is I never use that - he started that with negotiating bedtime. When I would tell him 10 minutes, he would hold about 3 inches and ask "Is it this much time?" so we would negotiate a span of inches for bedtime!!<br /><br />I did warn her that I taught Daniel the time out sign the day before when we needed a break from playing or wrestling (with Troy!). I won't be surprised if she gets the time out sign from him next!!<br /><br />She said he can do every task that is required and more!! She said she would never had known he had no English language or anything until almost two years old.<br /><br />We left out of the conference just beaming!! Troy even gave me a high five!! <br /><br />We're so proud of our son!!Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140034305470054536.post-30169820882411925132011-09-28T12:00:00.000-07:002011-09-28T12:42:12.399-07:00Quick Update!We have some great news to share - Troy got a new job offer, one that keeps him at home during the week! A certain little somebody and a certain wife are really, really happy! This is the first of several new things coming our way...more on that later!!<br /><br />Things are busy here! Between Kindergarten, homework and life in general, we're always on the move.<br /><br />We had a great Labor Day and enjoyed hanging out at home! We were even able to pull out the old Slip 'n Slide and have a little fun!!<br /><br />The past few days we've been doing more small home repairs including a protective grate over our screen door since, not only animals, but our son, has decided to try to go through it more than once!! We've also been re-screening screens and replacing ceiling fans around the house. Small repairs but they make you feel good!!<br /><br />I'll be posting more soon, but for now - some fun photos from Labor Day!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmV3L4h8PDp8lfDqU_UD5pkazQDOo_w8gs3mQXEXom9LB33WhmWZ6Gwq8lGLW0d-9U3aB2ba3oNv0H4QtkJ8yBhSSoOb9flC6ky1MUNKWMyz5lz151nnpwXKF5sUYxNBc-H17XMcqzshs/s1600/labor+day+2011+004.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 319px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmV3L4h8PDp8lfDqU_UD5pkazQDOo_w8gs3mQXEXom9LB33WhmWZ6Gwq8lGLW0d-9U3aB2ba3oNv0H4QtkJ8yBhSSoOb9flC6ky1MUNKWMyz5lz151nnpwXKF5sUYxNBc-H17XMcqzshs/s320/labor+day+2011+004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657496896183080482" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQlqxf0zLVPUA95oz_NGy8F_7uqhdwCxdFFF-gIRA3bYKYE-L1-YyyUdMFgLd9NLF0-XQRP906tUAJQxoOXFxu8NhIJ7M2CVJwKb6avVsUCW1pRM69fc-jpSQ7-Vh-1KyRyNwLQFa9Zm4/s1600/labor+day+2011+006.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQlqxf0zLVPUA95oz_NGy8F_7uqhdwCxdFFF-gIRA3bYKYE-L1-YyyUdMFgLd9NLF0-XQRP906tUAJQxoOXFxu8NhIJ7M2CVJwKb6avVsUCW1pRM69fc-jpSQ7-Vh-1KyRyNwLQFa9Zm4/s320/labor+day+2011+006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657496897232292210" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFAXXthJWA-KuiJTm7eU6bZolJPLbjvzkDZQnzIctyS-vjI3HGMMJjZKUHRxs1j-IVP32juN40Hqu6ACi1JfSC0fXRZgEeSEjBJwnSFGcCUfTWVWWg0HEjT6aBFZ2639HyNi-fKLwWIow/s1600/labor+day+2011+009.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFAXXthJWA-KuiJTm7eU6bZolJPLbjvzkDZQnzIctyS-vjI3HGMMJjZKUHRxs1j-IVP32juN40Hqu6ACi1JfSC0fXRZgEeSEjBJwnSFGcCUfTWVWWg0HEjT6aBFZ2639HyNi-fKLwWIow/s320/labor+day+2011+009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657496903654178226" border="0" /></a>Troy and Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02303492439704685544noreply@blogger.com1