Well its the end of August and it is the end of a three month fundraiser for our adoption through our church. They thought of this fundraiser, "Change for a Child" and have collected"change for the past three months. Today they presented the collection to our family. They had posters up with this poem:
"Change for a Child"
Somewhere in Vietnam there is a child who needs things to change
Somewhere in Vietnam there is a child who is going to see things change.
She will become a sister to Tommy, Alex and Anthony.
She will become a daughter to Tom and Ruth.
And everything will change.
Please save your pocket change and bring it to church the last Sunday in each month this summer.
Let's help the Rally's change a child's life.
Use your change for Change!
"The King will answer them, I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you did for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant (they seemed), you did for me."
Matthew 25:40
I thought that this was an awesome idea and am so grateful for everyone who donated time, money and prayers in helping ease the burden of the expenses during this adoption process. We lost count at $840.00...gave up on adding the pennies...but we will bring it to the bank tomorrow. Every little bit of change adds up and I have faith things will work out. So thank you, thank you, thank you.
Someone in my yahoo group who got her referral on the same day as we did from the same orphanage got her travel date on Friday. I am so happy for her and I also hope that means that the rest of us get some travel news too.
Have a great Day
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
We have come a long way, baby
I have been busy with my Mom lately...she has had some issues with her ankle, they think she may have a stress fracture and we are waiting for results from a bone scan. Recently she has had double vision ( not that her regular vision is very good with macular degeneration ). We went to her eye specialist yesterday and he thinks she had a stroke in her eye (not the same as a regular stroke ) in her third cranial nerve in the eye. It should repair itself but it could take three months. So she is hobbling around with an air cast and is dizzy and seeing double, poor Mom. This has been hard for me...adjusting to health issues for mom....knowing that she is 80 and deteriorating health wise. It is always something I have thought about but really didn't want to face or expect to face so soon. But really is it "so soon", she is 80. Not that she is on her death bed....but little things I notice...as she becomes more and more dependent on me for things ( which I gladly do, I am very close to my mom) , however it is sad...her regressing into a child almost...the woman that I looked to for help or advice ...who made me poached eggs on toast and sat by my bed side and patted my arm till I fell asleep (up until I was 14)...who I called everyday when she lived in Florida and she raised 5 children on her own. She was the strong one and now I feel as if she is a child and the tables are turned and I have lost that strong mother in a sense. I do a lot for her and take her out everyday and yet I feel as if I am not doing enough....it is hard to divide the time between my three boys, Tom , work, house work and this adoption process. Sometimes I wonder if God planted the adoption seed in my head to help me when Mom is not here anymore. Not that the boys don't keep me busy but the demands of a baby or toddler require more of your attention and time. As I said, I am hoping Mom gets"better" and by no means do I think she is leaving me anytime soon...but these are just some worries I have had on my mind and thought I would write about them.
As far as our adoption is concerned, no news on travel. But recently have thought about this whole process and am amazed at how far we have come. I am remembering all of the paperwork...the trips to Frankfort...reading and rechecking the paperwork and still screwing things up. I remember thinking that this process will never end or that I would never get my I171H in the mail.....that we would never get our referral ...and here we are 7 wks ago we got our referral. The first two weeks after the referral went fast because you are so excited and showing everyone the picture.....then it drags.....more waiting. Hoping to get an updated picture but it does not come, wishing for a speedy travel date every time the phone rings...checking your email 20 times a day. It is a wonder that I get the stuff done around the house that I do. Of course in the midst of all of this you have people asking you constantly about the adoption. "When are you going...did you hear anything new...why can't you just adopt an American baby...how much does it cost to adopt." You know people are interested but sometimes you just don't want to talk about it.... The best or maybe worst I have heard is...."Well at least it is easier than having your OWN baby" Well first of all she is My Own baby...I already love her as much as my boys and I only have seen her in a picture. Second of all I had three babies and it was much easier than this whole process..the waiting , the unknown, the endless and mostly ridiculous mounds of paper work, the home study and the financial burden. I only had $20.00 copay to have my boys...And I didn't have to prove that my septic system is working properly or send a picture of every room in my house , or collect three years tax returns etc. etc. etc. There is nothing easy about adoption and or parenting for that matter. I know that going through this has taught me a little about patience (or taught me that I have none). I also have learned that things will happen the way they are supposed to and that things are never as bad as they seem. I am very blessed that I have a healthy family and more than I ever deserved ..a great husband and children. There are so many people out there who are dealing with so many bigger problems and issues in their lives....that it puts our lives into perspective. So I wait patiently (as patiently as I can) and trust that God will help us get through this journey when the time comes. We have come a long way, baby and soon we will be bringing you home.
As far as our adoption is concerned, no news on travel. But recently have thought about this whole process and am amazed at how far we have come. I am remembering all of the paperwork...the trips to Frankfort...reading and rechecking the paperwork and still screwing things up. I remember thinking that this process will never end or that I would never get my I171H in the mail.....that we would never get our referral ...and here we are 7 wks ago we got our referral. The first two weeks after the referral went fast because you are so excited and showing everyone the picture.....then it drags.....more waiting. Hoping to get an updated picture but it does not come, wishing for a speedy travel date every time the phone rings...checking your email 20 times a day. It is a wonder that I get the stuff done around the house that I do. Of course in the midst of all of this you have people asking you constantly about the adoption. "When are you going...did you hear anything new...why can't you just adopt an American baby...how much does it cost to adopt." You know people are interested but sometimes you just don't want to talk about it.... The best or maybe worst I have heard is...."Well at least it is easier than having your OWN baby" Well first of all she is My Own baby...I already love her as much as my boys and I only have seen her in a picture. Second of all I had three babies and it was much easier than this whole process..the waiting , the unknown, the endless and mostly ridiculous mounds of paper work, the home study and the financial burden. I only had $20.00 copay to have my boys...And I didn't have to prove that my septic system is working properly or send a picture of every room in my house , or collect three years tax returns etc. etc. etc. There is nothing easy about adoption and or parenting for that matter. I know that going through this has taught me a little about patience (or taught me that I have none). I also have learned that things will happen the way they are supposed to and that things are never as bad as they seem. I am very blessed that I have a healthy family and more than I ever deserved ..a great husband and children. There are so many people out there who are dealing with so many bigger problems and issues in their lives....that it puts our lives into perspective. So I wait patiently (as patiently as I can) and trust that God will help us get through this journey when the time comes. We have come a long way, baby and soon we will be bringing you home.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Back to School
Hello,
Well we are back to our routine....school, homework and decent bedtimes. I think the kids are liking school. Our Wednesday night church started up again and we are all doing well. The heat has been a bit too much....I am on the "countdown" for fall. Fall means cooler weather, awesome leaves, pumpkins, candy apples, crisp air and hopefully soon, a trip to Vietnam. I talked to our caseworker a little over a week ago and she feels we should get our travel call by the end of this month...I hope so. But until I get the "call", I won't get my hopes up too much. The waiting is tough but I do know all of this has really moved along much faster than most so I will not complain. Tom has had a lot of stress at work and it has been very busy that I think he is looking forward to this trip more and more just to get a way for a bit. He is looking forward to the adoption, just not the travel part of it. We are pretty well packed for the most part....a few loose ends to tie up and minor paperwork. not much else I can do until we get the official travel date. I have been keeping very busy cleaning the house (spring cleaning in the summer) washing walls, moving furniture , baseboards etc. Tom thinks I am "nesting", maybe he is right. Although I am one of those strange people who loves to clean. I also have been keeping busy with my mom, we cleaned her house too. Her ankle has been hurting her so the Doctor took an x-ray and thinks she may have a stress fracture although he wants a bone scan too make sure. So he ordered her a "boot" air cast thing and it does make it feel better. After the bone scan I guess he may refer her to a specialist depending on the results. I hope it is not anything major because we are likely to be leaving in September and I hate to leave her if she needs help. We will cross that bridge when we get to it. We did hear back from the place that we applied for an adoption grant but unfortunately we were denied. Oh well, we will survive....I am sure there are people out there that needed it more than us, but it sure would of helped. Sorry I am skipping around here... Well , hopefully soon I will have more news and will update then. Until next time....
Well we are back to our routine....school, homework and decent bedtimes. I think the kids are liking school. Our Wednesday night church started up again and we are all doing well. The heat has been a bit too much....I am on the "countdown" for fall. Fall means cooler weather, awesome leaves, pumpkins, candy apples, crisp air and hopefully soon, a trip to Vietnam. I talked to our caseworker a little over a week ago and she feels we should get our travel call by the end of this month...I hope so. But until I get the "call", I won't get my hopes up too much. The waiting is tough but I do know all of this has really moved along much faster than most so I will not complain. Tom has had a lot of stress at work and it has been very busy that I think he is looking forward to this trip more and more just to get a way for a bit. He is looking forward to the adoption, just not the travel part of it. We are pretty well packed for the most part....a few loose ends to tie up and minor paperwork. not much else I can do until we get the official travel date. I have been keeping very busy cleaning the house (spring cleaning in the summer) washing walls, moving furniture , baseboards etc. Tom thinks I am "nesting", maybe he is right. Although I am one of those strange people who loves to clean. I also have been keeping busy with my mom, we cleaned her house too. Her ankle has been hurting her so the Doctor took an x-ray and thinks she may have a stress fracture although he wants a bone scan too make sure. So he ordered her a "boot" air cast thing and it does make it feel better. After the bone scan I guess he may refer her to a specialist depending on the results. I hope it is not anything major because we are likely to be leaving in September and I hate to leave her if she needs help. We will cross that bridge when we get to it. We did hear back from the place that we applied for an adoption grant but unfortunately we were denied. Oh well, we will survive....I am sure there are people out there that needed it more than us, but it sure would of helped. Sorry I am skipping around here... Well , hopefully soon I will have more news and will update then. Until next time....
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