11 months, 1 week, 2 days since I started this adoption journey
4 months, 1 week, 4 days since I was DTV
2 months, 3 days until September 1st
Yes, I am counting, each.and.every.day. Can't help it. I sure hope I can count on good news being right around the corner.....
When the going gets tough, the tough get ice cream. Thursday afternoon was rough. I had my conference- it was absolutely horrific. The worst conference I have attended in my 8 years of teaching. I can't go into details, but it was 3 hours long and NOTHING was accomplished. My dreams of this case being resolved were quickly shattered. It was tough and I was tough- for the most part. But I decided I needed some comfort food. Yes, I jumped off of that darn wagon and fell off right in the middle of the Dairy Queen drive-through. How convenient. It was worth every calorie and I decided to share the love on a hot summer day. Grace, Max and Sam loved their kiddie cup surprises (after a healthy dinner, of course)! And it goes without saying, that seeing these precious kiddos and their sister Lucy was a great way to forget about my terrible Thursday!
So many of my faithful blog readers suggested I stay busy to keep my mind off the adoption. Busy I am. I can't say it is taking my mind off the adoption, but the days are jam packed which helps me stay off of the computer! I got out with some friends last Friday night and finally got to see Sex in the City last night. It was so worth the wait! Unfortunately, most of the busy-ness is job and school related so it isn't that much fun. I have been trying to fit in some pool time and workout time in between all of the other stuff going on- it is summer after all.
I was so excited last week because the court case I have been involved with since last August finally looked like it was going to be over (at least to me). We had a conference call this morning and I think the lawyer thought I was joking when I mentioned this to him (hard to tell over the phone with 4 other people on the line). Oh well, wishful thinking. At least it looks like it won't go to the federal level so I won't have to testify again. We'll see how the conference goes this Thursday. I also have about 4 hours of interviews set up for the rest of the week. No fun, but I am doing the interviewing so I don't really have to prepare. I also have a paper due tomorrow and another due a week from tomorrow so I am trying to stay on top of that.
With being so busy, one would think I would fall asleep fast and stay asleep until my alarm goes off at 6:45. Not so much. I have been having dreams- vivid dreams- about my son. For the past 3 nights I keep having these dreams. I can't see the baby, but I am in the orphanage and I can hear him. Most of the time, I am sleeping on the floor. Sometimes I am in another room (still asleep). He is crying and the nannies can't comfort him. They are so vivid that the "crying" wakes me up each time, usually in a panic. It happened once last night and three times the night before. It is a strange yet wonderful feeling. Even though I wish I could see his face or "see" him in my arms, each night I wonder if I will dream about him again. I have to think this is a sign...
...brought to you on a Saturday. Why? Because I forgot my camera when Tracy, Noah and Zoe came to hang out with me at the pool (so this photo is courtesy of Tracy..who had the same Fav Friday Photo). Now, those of you that follow Tracy's blog know that Zoe is quite fond of pool bars. I warned her in advance that she might have to lay off the drinking since my pool has no bar...hmmm...now there's an idea I might need to propose to the homeowners association. Anyway, Zoe did belly up to the side of the baby pool with a refreshing juice box. I am sure it didn't come close to the fancy apple juice she had in Cabo, but was still very cute!
that make my day. I got a call from my US representative's office today. He has signed the letter in support of the Child's Right Campaign. Love ya Dan!
Hoping and praying my senators do the same. I called their Indiana offices AND their DC offices today. Just covering all my bases!
Before I direct you to the PW post, please read the following:
In addition to the petition I posted about a couple of days ago, JCICS is now asking everyone to call their senators and representatives on June 19th and June 20th. The Child's Right Campaign letter was distributed to Congress, so now they should have all had a chance to read it and make a decision about whether to sign or not. The details are on the JCICS site.
Now. my friends, you may read the actual post!
It's been a while since I have posted about my weight loss. Perhaps because it was lacking...big time. I didn't just fall off of the wagon, I took a flying leap and landed head first in a vat of fat and calories. It wasn't pretty. I stopped writing down what I was eating. I stopped caring. Well, I don't know if I stopped caring. See, I am an emotional eater. When I am stressed I turn to food. And I didn't quite factor in waiting for a referral and the whole September 1st deadline with this weight loss goal. It's been rough. In the past week, I can't even count the number of times I sat in front of my computer and hit refresh on my email. I guess watching email is no different than watching a pot- it doesn't work, no matter how much you will a new email from your agency to pop up! And I didn't burn many calories doing it.
So, today I decided I need to get back to business. Yesterday I gave up time at the pool to walk 4 miles with a friend. For those who know me, that is a big deal! I didn't make it to the gym today, but did get to the grocery store to stock up on fruits and veggies.
So, if you recall, my goal is to lose 22 pounds (that is where I started off on the waiting list for a referral). As of today, my total loss is 12 pounds. Exactly 10 pounds left. At least I am more than half-way there!
If you haven't done so, please sign this petition. There are currently 1500 signatures. With all of the families who have dossiers in Vietnam, there could easily be 3000 signatures on the petition. It may look like you have to make a donation for your signature to be counted, however, NO DONATION IS REQUIRED TO SUBMIT YOUR SIGNATURE!! The signature is already recorded by the time you see the donation page. if you choose to make a donation it will go to support the petition administration site and WILL NOT go toward any type of adoption related humanitarian aide. Thank you!
June 2008
Dear CCAI Co-Chairs Landrieu, Coleman, Oberstar, and Brown-Waite:
Thousands of families have been in the process of adopting a child from Vietnam for as long as 2 years. Please help them complete their adoptions and give a child an opportunity to be raised in a family environment. With the recent studies on the effects of institutionalization on children, there should be no question that a family environment is an optimal one, which every child should have the opportunity to experience.
We implore you to use your influence to procure a letter from the Dept of State and USCIS, addressed to Dr. Long, Director of the Vietnamese DIA (Dept of International Adoption). On April 25th 2008, he announced that dossiers of American families received by July 1st, 2008, and matched with a child by September 1st, 2008, will be allowed to be processed to completion. All dossiers not matched with a child will be returned to adoption service providers, dashing hopes of raising a child for the 1500-3000 American families who are in the process of adopting a child from Vietnam.
Please ask the Dept of State and the USCIS to request that Dr. Long allow all dossiers submitted by July 1,2008 to be “grand fathered” by allowing these families to receive a child referral even after Sept 1. He has indicated that he is agreeable to this request IF the Dept of State and USCIS agencies will state that they will honor this change by continuing to approve qualified I-600 (orphan petition) and I-234 (visa) applications for families matched after September 1st. Vietnamese law requires a current bilateral agreement between sending and receiving countries; the one between Vietnam and the United States will expire on September 1st, 2008. Dr Long has indicated that Vietnam would waive this requirement for the remaining dossiers, if asked to do so by the Dept of State and USCIS.
Thousands of prospective parents applied to USCIS to adopt a child from Vietnam, believing in good faith that the US and Vietnam would continue to work together to complete ethical adoptions.
Since November 2007, USCIS has implemented DNA testing and the Orphans First program. These steps should help improve confidence in the adoption process, and allow the US and Vietnam to negotiate a new MOU with the goal of becoming a Hague country. Closing the program at this point will leave 1500-3000 families and orphans in limbo for as long as two years, while Vietnam makes necessary steps towards acceptance of the Hague Convention. As the JCICS Children's Rights Campaign of June 2008 has pointed out, if adoptions stop between the US and Vietnam, so will the backbone of humanitarian support that has helped tens of thousands of orphans who will never have the opportunity to be raised in a family environment.
We urge you to act upon this request without delay, by ensuring that the Dept of State and USCIS write this letter to Dr Long. This is a very trying time for the many families who wait month after month with little word, and we hope that their dreams of raising an orphaned child does not end in sadness.
I am the queen of procrastination. That is why I am blogging instead of writing my paper. It's not due until Wednesday- not enough pressure yet. If you've noticed, I don't have a lot of adoption news either. So, I need something to occupy my time. Thanks to two wonderful bloggers, my summer has been full of online entertainment.
What would we do without Tasha? She brings us the latest and greatest for our babyluvs. She also provides public service announcements that every future mommy needs to pay attention to. Heck, she's solved my maternity/adoption leave dilemma in her most recent post. But Tasha also led me to this site: I Saw Your Nanny. Now mind you, I will never have my own nanny, but I used to be a nanny. Nanny or not, this site is entertainment at it's finest. No, not the horrible nanny sightings (some of them blow my mind and are so sad). The comments. The comments on this blog are so entertaining. Cat fights and petty debates that usually end up having nothing to do with the original post. I'd post some examples, but you really need to read the whole post and all of the comments (sometimes well over 100) to get the full picture. Anyhoo, it really keeps my mind off of the adoption. It's almost better than soap operas and reality television.
Then tonight, when I was taking a break from my paper (yes, it's actually started), I read Kristin's most recent post. Check this out. Talk about Saturday night entertainment! You have to admit, these babies and their momma are pretty cute. I have been checking in on them for the past 78 minutes. No excitement yet, but I am sure it will happen....if I keep checking...and checking.....ooh, 2 of the babies are waking up and the mommy is stretching.
OMG, what has happened to me? I need my baby, NOW!
The final stop of the day, Pompeii
Summer is here! As I mentioned in a previous post, I went straight from school to...summer school. I am working both sessions this summer and am hoping next summer I will be at home with my son!
This first session, I am working as an instructional assistant in the early childhood program. I have done this for the past 8 years, with the exception of last summer when I was on our family cruise to Italy. It is such a refreshing change! It's only 4 days a week from 8-12. No IEPs to worry about, just fun enrichment!
These kiddos have their own set of challenges, but I love my time with 3, 4 and 5 year olds. I go from a world of unmotivated students who call me old lady K and many more not so nice names (you imagine it, I have been called it), to a world where the students love their teachers. Instead of dealing with potty mouths, I take kids to the potty and change diapers. When these little ones run, I don't have to call the school resource officer ("seriously Kelli, again?"). Heck, I can catch them on my own, pick them up and carry them back to the classroom!
And, just so you don't think all of my high school students are unmotivated and behavior problems, let me tell you about one of my success students (OK, eventually, they are all success students- with time, lots and lots of time). A. came to me as a junior 2 years ago. We were working on just making it to school, one day at a time. We were not sure if she would graduate due to her extreme anxiety and social phobia issues. Not only did she graduate, she is going away to college to work on her early childhood/special education degree! I am so proud of her, and bring her up because she is volunteering in the classroom I am in this summer. I helped her get involved with our school's childcare program this past year and she wanted to continue to get some experience this summer. Can I just tell you how awesome it is to work side by side with a former student?!? It is so fun to watch her interact with the little ones- I am one proud teacher!
An update on my funk: I am pulling myself out of it. This laid back schedule is good because it keeps me busy, but doesn't add any stress to my day. I have spent 2 afternoons lounging by the pool. A little sun and a dip in the pool does wonders for my heart, mind and soul!
This time last year, my whole family was preparing for the trip of a lifetime to Italy. Our plane was delayed. We waited....And waited some more (like 3 hours) on the airplane
We got to Atlanta and, hey, guess what? We missed our flight to Barcelona. Once we finally found a hotel that could accommodate our group of 11, we waited some more. We decided that if we were going to miss our ship, we might as well drink!
After a short night's sleep, we waited some more at the airport. Hundreds of stranded passengers- all trying to get flights on Delta- it was not a pretty sight. Oh, did I mention we didn't get our luggage until we got back to the airport the following morning? I am suprised I haven't burned the outfit I wore for 3 days.
After about 8 (it felt like at least 12) hours waiting in the airport, we all finally made it to Nice, France (we had to split up on 3 different flights) via Frankfurt and Paris.
We finally caught our cruise ship 
And had a great time! Truly the trip of a lifetime. I'd tell you about the trip home (which involves me getting fully searched at Heathrow), but I don't want to ruin the happy memories that are running through my mind! 
I could have titled this post, Yesterday I Almost Died, but Nicki almost died before I almost died, so she beat me to the title! As I posted last night, we had another round of bad storms. Just as I was finishing up my post and sending an email I heard hail/rain. I decided that my flowers on my deck needed to be moved closer to the house. This is where common sense left the building. If I would have stopped and thought about it for a minute, I probably would have realized that one should not go outside when there is thunder, lightning and torrential rain coming down sideways. I was moving my second planter when I saw it and heard it- lightning.... no more than 40 feet...okay, maybe 100 feet, away from me. It was close! It was so loud, my ears started to ring. I swear I felt it. That or I was so scared my entire body was shaking and tingling. I could have used some depends at that moment. But besides taking 10 years off of my life, I am fine. I am exhausted- we had at least 2 more rounds of storms in the middle of the night- but fine. My flowers are fine too- although, next time, I guess I should be more concerned with my life, not my flowers' lives. Lesson learned.
I thought we were out of danger from Spring storms. Guess I was wrong. Usually we have bad storms in April and May. Friday night we had a horrible storm. I was up until 1 am, watching my window shake from straight line winds of 70 mph, hoping my screens wouldn't be shred into pieces. There was a tornado about 10 miles south of me. As I was out and about Saturday, I couldn't believe all of the damage- tress uprooted, debris everywhere. Today there was a tornado east of me around 3:00. Now I am watching the news as at least 2 possible tornadoes (could be straight line winds) are ripping through counties southeast of me. As Erica said a few days ago, I don't think we are in Kansas?!?!?
It could be a long night- I am not liking what the radar is showing east of me. They are saying most of the storms coming are going to move southeast, but I can hear the thunder now.... oh good, here comes the hail...
Still no nursery decision. I never thought about the color of the furniture- that will make a big difference. I am glad several people pointed that out! I also started looking on several different sights and realized the colors in the pictures vary significantly, especially for choice #1:
But then I changed my mind and decided I liked this one, choice 2, better:
The problem is, I really wanted some giraffes in the nursery, so I went back to choice one. However, I really like choice 2 and I could always add giraffe touches elsewhere in the room....those monkeys are awfully cute though!
I made the mistake of looking some more and now this one is choice 3:
I have to say I am leaning towards choices 2 and 3. Actually, now that I look at all 3 pictures, choice 1 is not really a choice anymore...I think. So, faithful blog readers, lurkers and people just stopping by, I need your help. I know you all have an opinion :)! Which one do you like???
Hanoi |
Indianapolis |
