Well, as the year draws to a close we still have no Adoption date on our Calendar. It seems the possibility of finalizing in 2007 is very remote.
I did get a call yesterday from her Colorado Caseworker. She wanted to know her new name and the spelling. Something that I've already given her coworkers too many times to count in the last few weeks.
I never will understand how they can possibly all work together yet not share a single piece of information.
We continue to wait patiently and try not to think about her 3rd birthday quickly approaching. It will be kind of sad if we're not finalized before then.
Regardless, we had a wonderful Christmas and look forward to the New Year!
Don't get too excited. It's not what you think.
We didn't awaken to the sweet sounds of Christmas joys. Instead, we hear a knocking on our door. Not ready to get up yet, we ignored it assuming the boys were just anxious to get to the presents. Again, knock knock knock, followed by, "Ummm.... Dad? (pause) Dad?!? Your car rolled down the street!"
Wha??
We jumped out of bed, and rush around to get dressed. A quick peek outside and this is what we found:
That is our car, that is our NEIGHBORS house!!!!!
This is the note that was found under the windshield wiper:
heeheehee
At least they have a sense of humor eh?
Note: The car did not crash into the house, it stopped just short of the brick. We are extremely lucky!!!
I read an article on Yahoo yesterday that made me burn inside.
Can an Adopted Child be returned?
As the day progressed, the fire inside me grew bigger and bigger. It's Adoptive parents such as these that give Adoptive parents all over the world a bad name. What they did was inexcusable. It's straight and simple... they abandoned their 8 year old daughter. In essence, returning her like a gallon of spoiled milk.
I understand from the Article that she probably suffered from Attachment Disorder. I acknowledge Attachment Disorder is often very difficult to work with, it is probably the single biggest cause of disrupted Adoptions here in the United States.
So what's my problem? Well, this child was Adopted at the age of 4 months. The family "claims" she never adapted to their culture, food or home. WTH??? Come on!!!! She was a tiny little baby. I don't believe that EXCUSE for one minute. 4 month olds will eat what you give them. If there were signs of Attachment Disorder, I want to know what they did to overcome it!?
When you have a biological child that gets into trouble, that becomes difficult... do parents just throw up their hands and give them back?? NO!!!!! So what's the difference? Once Adopted, the child becomes YOUR CHILD. There is no turning back, there is no changing your mind.
I wish there was someway to prevent this from happening. It's just not fair to the children.
A Digital Camera perhaps?
Last year, Digital Cameras were the #1 requested electronics gift for the holiday season. Odds are that you either own a digital camera or it's high on the top of your want list.
I'm actually on my 3rd Digital Camera now. Each one has been better and better. It's a Nikon D40, a Digital SLR.
I was sick and tired of my "slow" camera and desperately wanted a Digital SLR. Being the spoiled queen that I am, my husband lovingly purchased me one for my 29th birthday. I haven't looked back since.
I wonder if I could talk hubby into a Nikon D3 one of these days?
There is only one word that can sum up my newest Nikon...AMAZING. Out of the box it took gorgeous photos. The images were crisp and clear. Even inside the house, in poor lighting! It's so fast, there is no lag at all when snapping pictures. (A must when taking photos of busy children who don't like to sit still!) I use it everywhere I go. I drag it to play dates with 'The Princess', the boys sporting events, grandmas house, the park... like I said, everywhere!!
One of my favorite photos taken with my D40 is this one...
My best tip for using a Digital Camera is take LOTS of pictures. I often use the "Countinuous Shooting Mode" option. It allows me to take many pictures very quickly. (Especially useful when you're chasing after an active 2 yr old!) That way, I am sure to catch the very best possible shot.
I heard one of my all time favorite Christmas Songs on the radio today. I wanted to share it with you, it's so beautiful! I could listen to it over and over. Here you have it, Christmas Canon (Trans-Siberian Orchestra)
What songs do you listen too around the Holidays that cause you to feel the spirit of the season?
We've been talking about what to do for 'The Princess' in honor of her Adoption Day. I've been browsing the Internet and found there are many online stores that offer a multitude of choices. Pendants, Bracelets, Books, Stuffed Animals, clothing you name it!
We were thinking on her special day we'd take her to Build a bear.
We will let her choose her favorite stuffed animal and then as an *official* family, stuff it together! Making the bear *extra* special, I thought we might put a photo of her birth mom inside. Do you think that's a bad idea? I'm not sure why, but I seem to have such a strong feelings for her birth mom. I'm so thankful that she chose to give our little girl life. Sure she made many mistakes. I've gone through all of the emotions.. Trust me, the anger I've felt inside because of the things this woman did while she was pregnant.... but in the end, our daughter is bright and beautiful. She is alive. Her birth mother could have chosen abortion after all.
~Anyway, sorry I'm getting way deeper than I ever intended too when I started this post.~
We'll also be getting her ears pierced. Something I've wanted to do for sooooo long now. I joke with the hubby that they'll never know. We should just go ahead and do it now. It's not like the caseworkers would notice! But no, the hubby insists we wait. So we will, and it will be that much more special on Adoption Day.
Do you have any ideas for us? Did you give your child anything special on Adoption Day?
Ice Storms are a fairly new concept to me. Growing up in Denver, we had snow of course. It wasn't until we moved to Oklahoma last year, that we were introduced to Ice Storms. In fact, the kids missed nearly a week of school due to the storms last year! Our school district cancelled a large portion on their Spring Break in order to make up days. I am currently having dejavu....
The news stations have been covering this storm for several days now and it's hit us in full force. Once again, the kids are home from school. I don't see them going tomorrow either as it just continues to worsen as the day goes by. More and more people are without power. (So far so good for us! I'll keep my fingers crossed)
I spoke to my sister a few minutes ago and the extremeley large tree in the front of her yard has has split down the middle. Part of it has fallen onto her front porch, blocking her in. The rest of it is ready to fall and crash through her front window. The powerlines that run behind her house have fallen into her yard. She's shut up in her own home. She's trapped inside with her 13 month old daughter. Police told her unless the powerlines start a fire, they cannot come and help her out of her house!! I just can't understand that. They must really be in over thier heads in order to tell a single woman they they can't help her and her baby daughter out of thier home when I tree is about to fall on it!
Send your thought and prayers to all of the people in Oklahoma City who are without power, stranded or injured.
... well, I spoke too soon. Not long after submitting that last blog post I got a call from the Subsidy worker. Apparently, it was a good thing I had called her Supervisor. She tells me that she and her Supervisor had just finished a meeting and she had an offer to present to me. Right then and there! I listened carefully and quickly agreed to accept the terms they were offering us. I didn't even ask my husband. It's a full package though, just what we were hoping for!!! The meeting for late next week is cancelled and we are now *simply waiting for a court date*. We're FINALLY almost there. It's nearly over. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm told it will be a few weeks until they can squeeze us into court. I've also heard of people getting a court date for thier Foster-Adoption in just a few days. I guess we'll have to wait and see. Wouldn't that be a fantastic Christmas present!?
...No, I'm not talking about 'The Princess' throwing a tantrum. ME, I'M THROWING THE TANTRUM!!!
So, of course there has been yet another delay. I should come to expect it. We were to meet via teleconference with Denver to finalize our Adoption Subsidy Wednesday. After sitting by the phone for over an hour we realized that no one was going to call. So, we began calling them. Called the Subsidy worker, the Adoption worker, our regular Caseworker, the Caseworkers Supervisor.... not a single one would pick up the phone. (of course!) I am beyond pissed at this point.
Hours later when we finally got a hold of the Subsidy worker, I was told she had been sick. That we would need to reschedule the meeting. She was very short with me and I returned the attitude. I've never really done that before. I've always been afraid they are going to take my daughter away if I'm mean to them. Well, it's been nearly 3 years now, I'd like to see them try! No judge in his right mind would allow that to happen so I am strapping my balls on. (giggle... what a mental picture eh?)
Is it SO HARD to pick up the phone and make a call to say you won't be able to hold the meeting because of illness? We would have totally understood. Of course, we wouldn't have been happy about it, but these things do happen. People do get sick. It's the disrespect and inconsideration that this woman showed us by making us wait by the telephone for over an hour.
In the meantime, I have paperwork sitting on my counter for the courts. They are waiting to be signed and notarized. One of them, specifically says we've negotiated and finalized on the Subsidy. Earlier in the week, the Adoption worker told me to go ahead sign and mail it to her even though the Subsidy negotiations were not complete. It would help us to get a court date that much sooner. .....Um, excuse me? Do you think I am retarded? There is no way I am going to do that. That's just asking to be screwed over. Ugh, uh. No way!
Do you think it's just a coincidence that the Subsidy meeting was pushed back at the same time the Adoption worker told me to go ahead and sign paperwork saying we'd already finalized the Subsidy?
Hmmmm, I'm really starting to wonder...
In the spirit of the season, I wanted to share an easy way to help children's charities.
All you have to do is click and a donation will be made!
To donate to one of the following charities today, simply visit:
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