Referrals and life

.

Playing "Tickle Monster"

So happy to hear 3 families from our agency, just received a referral of their new child ! Click ~here to peek at one families story. And here to peek at Karey's family. SO cool to see families being created and GOD's plans in action. Cant wait until we are a bit closer. I know GOD knows our daughters sweet face already :)


Life here has been hectic. (edited ~heehee! :)

Kids have their VBS concert tonite. SO proud of them. They had a ball. For a homeschooling mom, VBS is a treat for me too. A nice break for 3 hrs a day. Boo and I had a little dance party each day :)

Bible, butt, what and pool

Got your attention huh? Those are Boo's 4 new words !! She doesnt say many words , still signs and has noises that I know ,but since she turned 2 she is trying to say more and more. She came up to me the other morning and poked my tush and said "butt" then laughed her head off !! I was so shocked and was laughing with her :) we really dont say "butt" too often , I usually say "tushy" or bottom.

The kids are in VBS this week and they both volunteered to be prayed for yesterday and the church gave them each a new bible. I was so proud of them :) They came home and of course we were reading them and talking about them. Boo goes to the bookcase and brings me a Bible and says "Bible" YAY !!! we all clapped for her :) So in just the last couple days she has added 4 words. Cool.

Got our number

We got our referral list number. It is unofficial as some referrals were made prior to our number so I am waiting for the official number to share :) Maybe you guys can share with me what age and gender you are waiting on ! Me a girl under 18 months :) more tomorrow...

UNITE Campaign info

How cute is this child? :)


Here is the info for Hannahs Hope "Unite Campaign" I love the idea of being there to care for all the kids left behind. Any small amount you can donate will help. If you adopted from Guatemala it is a way to honor your child who is lucky to have a forever family :) This is the ~link





Unite Goals~(from the website)



To care for and bring home the 65 children stuck in the adoption process
To secure financial sustainability through home sponsorship
To create a culture of advocacy amongst our families and friends
To continue in our dedication to the children of Guatemala for years to come

Thoughts~

We received a letter from our current agency AGC,spelling out the dire situation of the orphanges that they operate in various countries. With China taking forever (sort of a shutdown) to receive a referral, and Vietnam closing its doors right on the tail of Guatemala ending adoptions as of Dec 2007, the care of the children left behind is falling on agencies with less and less funds coming in from adoptions. My current agency ( I used a FTC to adopt from Guatemala) is desperately trying to find a way to continue to care for the children that STILL need care but will not be adopted. I am proud to have picked an agency that truly cares about the children. Stop and think for a second....with NO ONE to turn to for care of her new baby in Guatemala, What is a single, scared, mother to do? MANY of the birthmoms who made adoption plans for their children did so out of fear for their own lives if their secret pregnancy should get out. Dads are long gone. UNICEF stopped facilitators and lawyers being close by to help...BUT UNICEF didn't build any homes for the unwed mothers. Or orphanges to care for the babies and children if the moms can not keep the babies at all. Way to go UNICEF :( It terrifies me to think what is happening to all the young moms and children. AGCI has a link I will add tomorrow if you would like to donate to help them keep their orphanges open to care for the children left behind. There are many wonderful groups in Guatemala strugglng to pick up the pieces. If your heart is in Guatemala/China/Vietnam pick any one. The kids really need us..
Ok now PGN. Oye. I hated PGN when I was in process. They suck. Thrilled Ethiopia has a more solid system in place. See what PGN is up to now. Click the link :)

Dossier complete, but..

Well, bummer. My caseworker called last night. She received my dossier safe and sound :) She said it looked awesome and was perfect except for one small thing I have to change. Soooooo....I have fixed it and I am off to Fedex again :) So close....
Enjoy some Boo cuteness. She loves eating tomatoes right off the vine :)

27 DAYS !!!!!!!

Kitty is celebrating for me !
(I dont condone cats and guns..but it is freakin funny !!)


That my friends is the total number of days I worked on my dossier, from opening the box to mailing it out Fedex today !!!! Now...in my defense, I did wait quite a bit on my homestudy to come in. So I would have had it out sooner but I am happy with my progress. OH MY GOSH !! I am soooooo happy to have my dossier
D-O-N-E !!! I think it took me 2 full months to finish my Guatemala Dossier.
Oh, and I am now $67 dollars poorer :) Man fedex is costly ! But well worth it :)

GOT IT !!

Color me EXCITED !!! My homestudy came in the mail Saturday :) :) :) Yes. Funny how something can make you SO happy.

Memo to County worker #1 and #2~

Dear County worker men,
I understand how highly urgent and important your job is to the Nations security.I understand how those signs on street corners that pesty CIVILIANS post stating they will "Buy your house TODAY" truly are decoys for criminal activity. I get that your being a COUNTY employee, you have rights to a snazzy white truck (paid for w/my tax $$) and that really COOL brown uniform. I understand you walk with an air of authority and expect to be respected and I guess....also feared. I get that you THINK you can ignore road safety. I get it. Question for ya~ Why do you feel you can slide lanes, slam on your brakes and pull up on a TINY medium , cause cars behind you to brake dangerously, just so you and your buddy can sit in the truck, w/ your AC running, while you OPEN YOUR DOOR to pull the dangerous, spooky, security threatening sign out of the ground! AND (this really has me puzzled) I don't understand why you & your buddy chased me and my 3 young children down the road. Why did you feel ENTITLED to follow my truck for several blocks just so you could pull up beside me and SCREAM and YELL at me while shaking your little County Employee fists at me? While County worker #2 not to be left out, shook his scary notepad at me. Is it because I honked at you for your foolish (yup I said foolish ;) driving? I guess you didn't get the respect and fear from me you expected.....Hmmmm. Guess you didn't know WHO you were trying to intimidate? I, Sirs, have completed 2 International Dossiers ! I homeschool 3 kids. Guess you and your friend made a bad choice huh?

Guess you didn't expect me to call the County office and your Supervisor either huh? Heeheehee....
Guess I had the last laugh :) Thanks. I needed it.

Sometimes it is overwhelming

I am sure most of you know about the awful drought and famine facing Ethiopia and most parts of Africa. It is so hard to imagine families going DAYS without something to eat or drink. I can not imagine the pain and stress a parent faces seeing their child hungry. Starving. It is happening all over the world. Guatemala, Ethiopia, Haiti, and right here I imagine there are children who go hungry, although help is close by. In Ethiopia families walk and walk with no help in sight. It is really overwhelming to think about the need out there. Pick ONE way you feel comfortable helping. Someone or something. Just ONE small way. It will make a difference.

Click here for the photo story~
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.voanews.com/english/images/Save_the_Children_Ethiopia_baby_190.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-05-18-voa15.cfm&h=190&w=190&sz=11&hl=en&start=172&tbnid=jatPWamFeHQSAM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=103&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dethiopia%2Bchildren%26start%3D162%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

Changes

Another proud homeschool moment..





Second shelf unit~Love Dora dolls~



I took the leap and changed my blogger background. I like it. It is hard to find a background that pictures still look good on. Hope everyone likes it. I have to add my items back to the sidebar though. I will work on it :)






Well we went to the county offices and got my last documents !! After 3 hrs hunting down a lost document and driving home, I found out I probably DONT need it after all ! Figures no ? Love Christy my case manager though, she calls me right back everytime.






Some GREAT NEWS~my sw called and said my HS is IN THE MAIL !!! Now barring any freak US Mail accidents ;) I should have it today/tomorrow the lastest and I can get my docs off to my agency !!! That will be nice.






I read some peeps in Blogland received referrals this past week ! How wonderful and exciting is that? Very cool to see families being created :)

Getting closer

Cute shelf unit~

Well I feel a bit better. Cootie is some kind of cold I guess. Boo is doing better too, she didnt seem to get the awful cough part too bad :)


STILL no HS. Can you hear me groaning???? My sw is waiting for her new license to come in. Should be anyday now :( I only have my errand at the county bldg tomorrow and I will have everything IN HAND and just have to put it all together and make copies !!! I am getting sooooooo close to ............waiting. And waiting.


I hope I handle it ok. Right now I think I will. My hubby said the cutest thing yesterday - He said " it doesnt matter how long paperwork or waiting takes, GOD has already picked out our baby girl." Wow. He GETS it ;) And I believe it completly.





I copied this from my friend Kendra's blog. Thought it was neat.








1. Faith is the ability to not panic.


2. If you worry, you didn't pray. If you prayed, don't worry.


3. As a child of God, prayer is kind of like calling home every day.


4. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.


5. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still. God wants us to be still so He can untangle the knot.


6. Do the math. Count your blessings.


7. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.


8. Dear God: I have a problem. It's me.


9. Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.


10. Laugh every day - it's like inner jogging.


11. The most important things in your home are the people.


12. Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional. (Preach it!)


13. There is no key to happiness. The door is always open-Come on in.


14. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.


1 5. He who dies with the most toys is still dead.


16. We do not remember days but moments. Life moves too fast so enjoy your precious moments.


17. Nothing is real to you until you experience it; otherwise it's just hearsay.


18. It's all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again. Just be sure to flush when you are done.


19. Surviving and living your life successfully requires courage. The goals and dreams you're seeking require courage and risk-taking. Learn from the turtle, it only makes progress when it sticks out its neck.


20. Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are .

Cooties

I hate cooties. I have this awful cootie that is causing me to have many very unattractive coughing/hacking/eyes tearing fits. My husband says I cough like a bull frog. It is really not fun. I had a drs appt for friday, but felt so much better I cancelled it. You know being a mommy we dont really have time for dr appts for US. Well...last night I was up again 4 times coughing my head off. It is awful. Today I have a pounding headache too. Now my sweet Boo is coughing and her nose is all kinds of runny :( Fun stuff.

I have been working on organizing my Boo's room. I bought her the cute storage cubbies Target had on sale. With the little pastel baskets it is SO cute. The pictures are of Boo falling asleep in the baskets while I put the storage unit together with Peanuts help. My son is SO helpful with projects ! It cleaned all her toys up and looks great. I will attach pictures of the finished room soon. I am trying to set her room up in such a way that adding another crib down the road will not be that big a deal. It will be a sweet baby girl room for 2 princesses !! :)

Got Em !!!

I got my letters from our Dr. !!!!!!!! Now all I have to do is run to the county building and get my marriage certi. That is just a project so I am putting it off until last. OH AND my sw has my final homestudy and it is notarized and on its way to me :) Things are coming together.

Off topic~I am bummed Hillary Clinton lost the nomination. It has nothing to do with her being a woman. I really believed her and her husband (lets face it they ran the country together last time ;) would have been the POSITIVE change our country needs right now. We were much better off when Bill Clinton was President. Yes I know he had some moral issues but that is between his wife and himself IMHO. Our country was in much better shape. Every block in my area has atleast 2 houses on it that have just been left empty and over grown. Families have not been able to sell so they have gone into foreclosure and just left :( Not good.... Gas prices ? OYE. Groceries? Everyone is tight. Really tight. I think Obama has many good qualities also but Hillary is proven strong. I am just really bummed.