Summertime...

And the livin' is easy...or so goes the song. I'm one of those weirdos who don't really like summer vacation. It's too long! I like structure and routine. I like school! I wish we had year round school with two week breaks and then a five week break in summer. It's an anachronistic schedule that no longer serves us well, especially the students I serve. I'm a Title I teacher and so I teach reading to struggling students. They would be so much better served in a year round model. It really is better for all the kids. There are some very innovative programs out there and I hope we start moving towards a better model for our kids.

No new news on Elliott/Dimy. Children are coming home from the creche and new babies are being admitted so that means more and more children are moving through the Haitian adoption maze. He is never far from my mind, though.

Life

I am finding it a bit easier to think of "my son". It is starting to feel more natural. I carry pix with me wherever I go and show him off. I am on a forum for families adopting from the same creche (orphanage) and was sent a story about Dimy that just melted my heart. A little girl was in the crib next to him and her parents were leaving and saying goodbye and she was crying. Dimy reached over and patted her on the head as if to say "it's ok". I have heard from quite a few families who have met him and they all say he is so sweet. I can't wait to meet him!

My computer was acting up last night and so this is a continuation of last evening's post. I was on the forum again today (surprise, surprise!) and one of the other moms posted that she was in Haiti right now to pick up her son and she would go and check on Dimy! Then she posted again and said he is WALKING!! Yeah! I was a little worried since he wasn't walking two months ago. Dimy came right up to her and let her hold him and kiss him. She said he sat down next to another baby and was rubbing that baby's back. I love these stories about him. I am so excited. And to hear about him being so caring to the other children, that is so awesome in so many ways. Attachment can be an issue for many of these children and this shows that he can care for others. I also love knowing that he observes the world around him and reacts in a loving way. I feel so very, very blessed. I really just have so much love in my heart for him and it grows every day.

We are a family!

Good, great, exciting, surreal news-baby Dimy is mine and I am his! He is 19 months old and so cute. i got the paperwork last week and its taken me a week or so to write about it because it has taken awhile to sink in. I'm getting more comfortable saying "my son" and I really think he looks like an Elliot so I am calling him that as well. I wish I could go pcik him up tomorrow but it will still be a year or so before I can bring him home. I manot sure if I'll be able to go and meet him this summer or not. My dossier has to be in IBESR (like DSHS here) before I can go. I'm just so anxious to hold him and talk to him and let him know how much I love him and what life will belike for us.

I am rearranging my condo and making a room for him. I've started knitting a baby blanket, just a really simple patterna nd three colors-chocolate, blue, and green. I am also moving and painting all kinds of things here and will probably need a good part of the summer to finish everything I want to accomplish.

So now I wait again but knowing my baby is waiting for me makes it so much better!

And now we wait...

That's the royal we-I'm including all my family and friends. I FINALLY have all the glitches fixed. I had to send five documents to the state to be authenticated (they have to certify that the notary is a real notary) then off to Chicago again so the Haitian consulate can register the documents. This is the same path all of my other documents have gone down. I got them back and sent them to Chances for Children office in Portland, OR. From there they go to Haiti! So I can only pray that they pick me and will let my little boy and I be matched forever.

It's Mother's Day coming up-wouldn't that be a lovely present?I have ignored Mother's Day for about six or so years, ever since my hysterectomy. I am planning to hang out with my family this year. We are going to the zoo, if it doesn't rain, and then to Jennifer and Rob's for dinner. It should be fun! I love the zoo.

Dossier COMPLETED

Wow, I think this has been the most stressful two weeks of my life. My dossier has over 100 pages! I got everything back from the Haitian Consulate in Chicago and then had to copy everything eight times. It all had to be sorted into the perfect order and the copies had to be as well. My friend Cheryl from school went through the originals and the first copy to make sure it was in order. We found three errors! I had looked through those papers so many times. So then I got it sent to my adoption counselor in Montana. Overnight express! She then looked through everything and found two papers I hadn't done correctly and she needed them today! So I scrambled around and again, people were beyond helpful and I got the papers done. I have to send the originals to a different person who will then send the COMPLETED dossier to Haiti. I should know if this little boy is mine within the next two weeks.

I can only thank God for the blessings I have been given these last two weeks. I have been abundantly blessed by the kindness of strangers and friends these last two weeks. I have often joked with God that I don't need a brick upside the head to pay attention and listen, but sometimes God still has to whack me a time or two. If I ever had any doubts about adoption or this baby, they are completely gone. When God makes everything go so smoothly it is up to me to give thanks and understand the messages God is sending. Faith has gotten me through these weeks and months and I am grateful to be able to rely on my faith to get me through whatever is to come.

Some big thank you's to:
Cheryl, Jessica, Debbie, and Jennifer for listening and encouraging me.
The people in Washington state's Apostile office for returning my documents the next day.
The Haitian Consulate.
Pam and Lorraine at the ISD admin office.
My adoption counselor Cyndi.

A Boy? A BOY!

This must be what it feels to find out you are pregnant but it's very early and you don't know if the baby will be OK. I MAY have a baby! A baby boy! I know, I've always wanted a girl but when my adoption counselor called and told me about a two month old baby boy it just seemed right. The first orphanage I was going through remembered me and asked for me. I had switched orphanages because my adoption counselor recommended I try Foyer de Sion because Chances 4 Children had all their children matched and it would take much longer to get a match through them. I hustled and sent papers off and the papers came back super fast and the dossier is complete! I am sending a slew of papers to the Haitian consulate in Chicago. I am sending the I-600a form off soon as well.

So back to the baby boy...I cannot believe how wonderfully right this feels. I believe God has made this happen for me for a reason and I was supposed to be open and ready for a child, boy or girl. I am absolutely over the moon happy! I can't wait to be a mom. This makes it feel even more real. I won't know for a week or two if this baby boy is definitely mine. Once he is I am going to be planning a trip to Haiti as soon as I can. I've got names and colors to think about and my cousin gave me her changing table. I will have to get some boy color yarn to make a blanket! Please keep me and my baby boy in your thoughts and prayers.

I can't wait to be matched! ALL the documents are completely done. I am so anxious to have a picture! I have dreamt about her for so long and really wonder what she will look like.

School is great but I've noticed that it is a much more fun now when other people have babies at school (you know what I mean!). When I first came back I couldn't even go to a baby shower. I would just buy a gift. Now I can actually go and have fun! There are so many cute babies from our staff. I love listening to the moms talk and just soaking up all the wisdom and the funny stories.

I am going to try posting some pix of me and the kitties. More later!

Just waiting

I now have every piece of paperwork except for one. I am dying to get this show on the road! I want a baby so much. I have bought a few things to keep my spirits up in anticipation of getting the baby. Oddly enough, they are for me. I bought a chest of drawers and a queen headboard from a wonderful unfinished furniture shop that went out of business so had some great deals. I will buy a queen mattress as soon as the kids move out. I want to have a big bed so the baby can sleep with me at the beginning. I was planning to paint them but the wood is so beautiful I think I'm just going to put a finish coat on it. I also bought a 7 ft bookcase. I will use my other bookcase that is long and very open to put in the baby's room and use baskets for her clothes and stuff. It really does help to be making plans and creating spaces for her.

I plan to get some pix up of the kitties and the condo soon.

The process to adopt is quite lengthy and complex. I have two sets of paperwork to get through, my home study and my dossier. As I said before, the home study is nearing completion and I now have only three more items for the dossier. Feels great to be moving along again!

In other news, I bought my first baby girl outfit yesterday. I have some really pretty things my cousin/best friend Debbie gave me but this was my first actual purchase. It is an adorable sleeveless dress with matching shoes. If its cold when she can wear it I can put a long sleeve shirt underneath. It was so much fun to buy something! It takes little things like this to keep my hopes up as the process can be disheartening. So I bought a little outfit and worked on my blog.

I finally have all the paperwork for my home study done. Now the social worker and the adoption counselor have to review everything and then it goes to Haiti! I am so anxious to be matched to my little girl. I just know she's out there waiting for me to find her.