I am little late posting this, but we have officially been a family of four for 1 year. In some ways it seems like yesterday we were sitting in a Polish court room and in other ways it seems like our daughter has always been with us.
My husband and I have talked many times about how it seems like our children have been with us since birth.
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Sunday, October 5, 2014
And then there was 4
We officially became a family of 4 on September 29th!!! We have been in Warsaw almost 1 week and are anxiously awaiting finishing up the last few steps before we come home. Once the appeal period is up we will be able to get our daughters passport and have the interview at the U.S. Embassy. The Embassy will prepare the documents needed to for our daughter to enter the United States and be issued her citizenship. We will collect those documents which come in a sealed envelope. This envelope can not be opened until we go through passport control at the airport when we arrive home in The States. At that point the envelope that we guard with our lives will be given to a special officer at passport control in the airport. Then we are done! The adoption is official and we are home!
So, what are we doing this time around? We are enjoying the warm weather. We were here in the dead of winter for our son's adoption. We are able to go to the parks and enjoying just walking around. We do get few looks for pushing the kids around in our Sit and Stand Stroller. But we don't care!
We are learning everyday more and more about our daughter. She likes the color purple, she is shy, she can be a tomboy, she likes to boss her big brother(earning her the nickname: The Queen), and she is a good eater. Our son was and still can be a terrible eater. Little man is picky and when first adopted him he would hardly eat anything (especially veggies). We would put in ketchup on everything to get him to eat it and then slowly weened him off of having ketchup with every meal. Little sister will try new foods and has a good appetite. I am always amazed at how children can learn a language. Little sister is using more and more English everyday.
We are counting down the days till we can fly home.
So, what are we doing this time around? We are enjoying the warm weather. We were here in the dead of winter for our son's adoption. We are able to go to the parks and enjoying just walking around. We do get few looks for pushing the kids around in our Sit and Stand Stroller. But we don't care!
We are learning everyday more and more about our daughter. She likes the color purple, she is shy, she can be a tomboy, she likes to boss her big brother(earning her the nickname: The Queen), and she is a good eater. Our son was and still can be a terrible eater. Little man is picky and when first adopted him he would hardly eat anything (especially veggies). We would put in ketchup on everything to get him to eat it and then slowly weened him off of having ketchup with every meal. Little sister will try new foods and has a good appetite. I am always amazed at how children can learn a language. Little sister is using more and more English everyday.
We are counting down the days till we can fly home.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Welcome Back!
We are in Poland!!!!! Yes, we are in Poland!!!! It all happened so quickly, let me recount to you the last few days.
It is Wednesday September 10, 2014. I am sitting discussing lunch options with one of my best friends and coworkers. When my cell rings I notice it is our adoption agency. I figure it is probably a problem with paperwork or maybe, just maybe, it is the call to come get our little girl. The lady from our agency gave us the best news that we can go get our daughter. But, we had to be there on Sunday. Yep, Sunday, September 14, 2014. Wait....WHAT!! I must have repeated "this Sunday" at least six times back to the agency. You want us to be in Poland in 4 days!!!! That means we had to leave no latter than Saturday. Oh My! How am I going to get everything in place to leave the country in just 3 days. I quickly called my husband, who had the same response and then called our families (each one had the same response).
I start panic mode. Must buy plane tickets, must go to store, must find pet sitter, and so the list making started. First, got to get the plane tickets. I called my faithful adoption travel agent, Golden Rule Travel. We love them! They are easy to work with and have always gotten us good prices on our flights. As I am explaining the trip to the travel agent he is looking at the flight schedules. "Mrs. Brady, all the Saturday flights are booked. You will need to leave on Friday to make it there by Sunday". " ***Deep Breath***, OK, we can leave on Friday." So now, we are leaving for Poland on Friday afternoon. That will give me 1 full day of preparation. ONE DAY!!!! There is no way this would have worked except that we have amazing friends and family. They helped us pack, make travel arrangements, get the house ready, and million other things that made this trip possible.
So, it doesn't end there. We are old pro's at this Poland adoption thing. We wanted to stay in the same apartments as before. We like "our" apartments. We knew were the grocery store was, were the mall was, and were playgrounds were. With adoptions from Poland you spend the first part of your trip " in region". Basically, you are staying near where your child is from. Then the second part of the trip you travel to Warsaw and stay there to finish up everything. So at this point we are arriving in Poland on Saturday. But, we find out on Thursday that our first apartment won't be available until Sunday. Now I have to find a hotel for Saturday night. I know what hotel chains I like to stay at, but that all goes out the window when you are looking at hotels in a foreign country. So, after reading reviews and looking at pictures, and discussing this my coworker/best friend, I decided on one. My stomach was in complete knots.
Some how, some way, we made it on the plane and we are now in Poland. We have settled into our apartment and are getting into our routine.
It is Wednesday September 10, 2014. I am sitting discussing lunch options with one of my best friends and coworkers. When my cell rings I notice it is our adoption agency. I figure it is probably a problem with paperwork or maybe, just maybe, it is the call to come get our little girl. The lady from our agency gave us the best news that we can go get our daughter. But, we had to be there on Sunday. Yep, Sunday, September 14, 2014. Wait....WHAT!! I must have repeated "this Sunday" at least six times back to the agency. You want us to be in Poland in 4 days!!!! That means we had to leave no latter than Saturday. Oh My! How am I going to get everything in place to leave the country in just 3 days. I quickly called my husband, who had the same response and then called our families (each one had the same response).
I start panic mode. Must buy plane tickets, must go to store, must find pet sitter, and so the list making started. First, got to get the plane tickets. I called my faithful adoption travel agent, Golden Rule Travel. We love them! They are easy to work with and have always gotten us good prices on our flights. As I am explaining the trip to the travel agent he is looking at the flight schedules. "Mrs. Brady, all the Saturday flights are booked. You will need to leave on Friday to make it there by Sunday". " ***Deep Breath***, OK, we can leave on Friday." So now, we are leaving for Poland on Friday afternoon. That will give me 1 full day of preparation. ONE DAY!!!! There is no way this would have worked except that we have amazing friends and family. They helped us pack, make travel arrangements, get the house ready, and million other things that made this trip possible.
So, it doesn't end there. We are old pro's at this Poland adoption thing. We wanted to stay in the same apartments as before. We like "our" apartments. We knew were the grocery store was, were the mall was, and were playgrounds were. With adoptions from Poland you spend the first part of your trip " in region". Basically, you are staying near where your child is from. Then the second part of the trip you travel to Warsaw and stay there to finish up everything. So at this point we are arriving in Poland on Saturday. But, we find out on Thursday that our first apartment won't be available until Sunday. Now I have to find a hotel for Saturday night. I know what hotel chains I like to stay at, but that all goes out the window when you are looking at hotels in a foreign country. So, after reading reviews and looking at pictures, and discussing this my coworker/best friend, I decided on one. My stomach was in complete knots.
Some how, some way, we made it on the plane and we are now in Poland. We have settled into our apartment and are getting into our routine.
Monday, July 28, 2014
I800 for our Princess
We finally got the paperwork necessary to submit our I800!! Woohoo! I have spent the evening filling out this form along with a couple supplement forms. I remember this being a big pain and very confusing forms to fill out but it was way worse than I remember. Nevertheless it is ready to be mailed to USCIS in the morning. Hopefully USCIS will be quick with getting the approval back to us(fingers crossed).
If you are new to this journey of International Adoption below is the description of what the I800 form is from the USCIS Website:
"To determine the child's eligibility for classification as a Convention adoptee. The petition is filed by the U.S. Citizen prospective adoptive parent to finalize the immigration process of a child who habitually resides in a Convention country. The petitioner must have an approved, valid Form I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country, in order to file the Form I-800."
If you are new to this journey of International Adoption below is the description of what the I800 form is from the USCIS Website:
"To determine the child's eligibility for classification as a Convention adoptee. The petition is filed by the U.S. Citizen prospective adoptive parent to finalize the immigration process of a child who habitually resides in a Convention country. The petitioner must have an approved, valid Form I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country, in order to file the Form I-800."
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Prepping to file taxes post adoption
The Adoption Tax Credit
Every adoptive parent knows about this! It is for most of us how we hope that we will be able to afford our adoption. It is why we keep every receipt and piece of paper regarding any fees we paid.
I would like to give my readers some of my new helpful hints we learned this past season with filing this tax credit. This year was first time we filed taxes as a mom and dad. More importantly as adoptive parents. The Adoption Tax Credit in my opinion is complicated. I am not good with numbers and all the tax mumbo jumbo makes my head spin. For this reason we chose to use an CPA. We have used a CPA for several years to do our taxes simply because it made my life easier. I just give them all the receipts and W-whatever forms and they call when it is all said and done. I can not imagine trying to file our taxes that include this tax credit on our own! I am not saying that you have to use a CPA but I recommend it.
So with that here are some my helpful hints:
- Use a CPA- like I stated before you don't have to but for me personally it was the best way to go.
- Have your receipts organized - Not just put into a file but separated by type. Agency fees, travel expenses, in-country living expenses and so on. Also, we found out that it helps to scan the receipts into a file and type a brief description of what it was used for and translate it. Most likely the CPA won't be able to translate international receipts so this will help them know if the receipt is for train tickets or groceries.
- Attach a note to the tax forms - I typed a simple note stating everything tax wise that had happened to us over the year and any document that went with it (Yes my OCD kicked in). For us it was busy year; adoption, selling a house, buying a house, and so I wanted our CPA to have a quick reference to what all the forms we dropped off meant. I was so glad I did this because our CPA was able to make sure all the necessary forms and what not was with him. It also helped me to make sure I sent in all these papers.
- Keep all this stuff together - Once you get your completed taxes back keep all the receipts/form/paperwork together. I like the idea of putting it all in a big manilla envelope with the tax year written on the front. This way if you ever need to refer to any of it you can quickly locate all the tax documents in one place.
I hope this helps and please feel free to share in the comments section any other info that may be helpful to other adoptive parents.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Stylin'
Yesterday our little man got glasses! He is so stinkin' cute!!! Little Man is very excited about his "cool" glasses.
When the optometrist said he needed glasses last week I said a silent prayer that he would like this idea. Thank heavens our optometrist is amazing with kids(and grown ups). Because telling a 5 year old that he needs glasses always sounds better when it is done with a Donald Duck voice! So while finished up with my appointment(yep this mama has worn contacts/glasses for years) one of my dear friends helped Little Man pick out his first pair of glasses. Then we had wait a week for them to come in. Oh boy, has this past week been hard! Little Man has asked every morning and evening if his glasses are coming today or did they come today. Then when told no that said little face looked up and said " I know a few more days". I hate to see my little one disappointed. But, yesterday when he was picked up from school by Mama and Grandpa to go get a "surprise" it was so, so worth the look on his face. His eyes lit up and the huge smile on his face melted my heart.
I am overjoyed at his excitement. When I was told I had to get glasses I was one sad teenager. A teenager! Way older than my son and I didn't handle the news of glasses with half of his optimism. I knew it would help my vision(actually I knew that I couldn't see worth a hoot) and allow me to drive. I had put off getting glasses as long as I could. My mom, dad, sister, both aunts, and both sets of grandparents all wear glasses so it only a matter of time before I had to breakdown and accept that I would wear glasses.
I hope that he continues to be excited about his glasses. I hope that as he grows he will face any new challenge or change with the same excitement as he has with getting glasses.
In other news we are still waiting to hear more on dossier. It is in Poland now we continue to wait for the next set of instructions to get our Princess home.
When the optometrist said he needed glasses last week I said a silent prayer that he would like this idea. Thank heavens our optometrist is amazing with kids(and grown ups). Because telling a 5 year old that he needs glasses always sounds better when it is done with a Donald Duck voice! So while finished up with my appointment(yep this mama has worn contacts/glasses for years) one of my dear friends helped Little Man pick out his first pair of glasses. Then we had wait a week for them to come in. Oh boy, has this past week been hard! Little Man has asked every morning and evening if his glasses are coming today or did they come today. Then when told no that said little face looked up and said " I know a few more days". I hate to see my little one disappointed. But, yesterday when he was picked up from school by Mama and Grandpa to go get a "surprise" it was so, so worth the look on his face. His eyes lit up and the huge smile on his face melted my heart.
I am overjoyed at his excitement. When I was told I had to get glasses I was one sad teenager. A teenager! Way older than my son and I didn't handle the news of glasses with half of his optimism. I knew it would help my vision(actually I knew that I couldn't see worth a hoot) and allow me to drive. I had put off getting glasses as long as I could. My mom, dad, sister, both aunts, and both sets of grandparents all wear glasses so it only a matter of time before I had to breakdown and accept that I would wear glasses.
I hope that he continues to be excited about his glasses. I hope that as he grows he will face any new challenge or change with the same excitement as he has with getting glasses.
In other news we are still waiting to hear more on dossier. It is in Poland now we continue to wait for the next set of instructions to get our Princess home.
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Wonderful!
Our dossier is in Poland!!! We are anxiously awaiting to get word on completing the next steps to bring Little Sister Brady home!!.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Dossier is done!
Our dossier for adoption #2 is on its way to our agency! Our agency will review it and if everything is a-OK with the dossier it is sent on to Poland.
If you are new to the process of international adoption let me explain more about what a dossier is and why this so important.
1) A dossier, in abbreviated terms, is a compilation of documents(home study, birth certificates, employment verification, etc.) that will tell the appropriate people in Poland who we are.
2) Once all the documents(2 of each document) are gathered together and notarized the Secretary of State must apostille them. Apostille (not Matthew, Luke, John) is basically a fancy French word for certification. It lets Poland know where the documents were issued and that they are authentic.
3) This is big step in the journey of international adoption. Once the dossier is in Poland and translated it means that you are waiting to be matched with child. In our case however, this means that we are waiting for Poland to send us paperwork back to file an I-800 so we can that approval back to them so we can go get our Little Princess.
If you are new to the process of international adoption let me explain more about what a dossier is and why this so important.
1) A dossier, in abbreviated terms, is a compilation of documents(home study, birth certificates, employment verification, etc.) that will tell the appropriate people in Poland who we are.
2) Once all the documents(2 of each document) are gathered together and notarized the Secretary of State must apostille them. Apostille (not Matthew, Luke, John) is basically a fancy French word for certification. It lets Poland know where the documents were issued and that they are authentic.
3) This is big step in the journey of international adoption. Once the dossier is in Poland and translated it means that you are waiting to be matched with child. In our case however, this means that we are waiting for Poland to send us paperwork back to file an I-800 so we can that approval back to them so we can go get our Little Princess.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
This time last year...
One year ago today we boarded an airplane bond for Poland. This airplane would take us on the final steps of the adoption of our son. I can not believe a year has gone by so fast and on Christmas Eve it will have been one year since we were reunited.
As we run about gathering the final things needed for Christmas we have to step back and remember that so many, many years ago God sent His Son to start a journey to "adopted" us.
As we run about gathering the final things needed for Christmas we have to step back and remember that so many, many years ago God sent His Son to start a journey to "adopted" us.
But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman,
subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves
to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And
because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our
hearts, prompting us to call out, "Abba, Father."
Galatians 4: 4-6
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Amazon
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and enjoying the start of the Christmas Season! I just wanted to remind you all that if are going to be ordering anything through Amazon for you Christmas shopping please click on the Amazon banner at the side of this blog before you order. This little step will fund our adoption!
Thank You and Merry Christmas!
Thank You and Merry Christmas!
Sunday, October 27, 2013
End of Summer
We had end of Summer/Start of Fall camping trip, aka-Halloween Camping!!! Little Man loved every minute of his first Halloween Camping. We were also excited to get to really use our remodeled vintage camper. We bought this camper right after Halloween Camping last year and have been remodeling it. My hubby has done an amazing job with this camper since it ended up with more water damage than first thought.
Our weekend started on Friday evening at the camp ground with homemade Brunswick Stew and a campsite outdoor movie. Saturday was even better with fresh donates made onsite, annual family costume dress up and camp ground costume contest(Yes, We WON! Our theme this year was Toy Story), homemade chilli for dinner, and one final outdoor movie to finish the season! It was a great weekend with family and friends!
Tomorrow is a big day! We mail off our I800A for adoption #2! I can not believe we are finally to this step. The end of paperwork is in sight!
We also want to at this important time in the adoption process is remember the cost of adoption. Adoption does not come cheap. Anyone who has been through it or close to someone who has done it knows the financial burden associated with International Adoption. For us it has been hard because we are doing this back to back. We have several fundraisers going.
Our weekend started on Friday evening at the camp ground with homemade Brunswick Stew and a campsite outdoor movie. Saturday was even better with fresh donates made onsite, annual family costume dress up and camp ground costume contest(Yes, We WON! Our theme this year was Toy Story), homemade chilli for dinner, and one final outdoor movie to finish the season! It was a great weekend with family and friends!
Tomorrow is a big day! We mail off our I800A for adoption #2! I can not believe we are finally to this step. The end of paperwork is in sight!
We also want to at this important time in the adoption process is remember the cost of adoption. Adoption does not come cheap. Anyone who has been through it or close to someone who has done it knows the financial burden associated with International Adoption. For us it has been hard because we are doing this back to back. We have several fundraisers going.
- Puzzle Fundraiser-(see the YouCaring link to the right)A donation of $10 will buy 1 puzzle piece. Your name will be written on that piece so that we will always be able to remember the ones that helped "piece our family together"
- Shop on Amazon! This is too easy! Whenever you want to buy something from Amazon come to our blog and click on one of the Amazon links. Amazon in turns pays us for advertising!
- ThredUP-All you have to do is create an account, order a bag, fill it with cloths your children have out grown, mail it back, wait to get paid, then donate to us! This is a great way to help a good cause and clean out closets at the same time!
“My friends, adoption is redemption. It’s costly, exhausting, expensive, and outrageous. Buying back lives costs so much. When God set out to redeem us, it killed Him.”-- Derek Loux
Friday, August 30, 2013
Kindergarten
My little boy is growing up too fast!!! He started kindergarten this week and I was so excited for him until the moment he got in the car with his TaTa to drive off to school. I was anxious all day at work to know how his day went and couldn't wait to get home. He had good first week and is excited each day to go. I have to brag on him because his teacher is amazed at how well his language skills are. She can't believe he has only been speaking English for 8 months.
In other news...We did finally move into our new house(YAY!!). It is so so nice having more space, especially for toys! We also had our last home study visit for Adoption #2. This process is moving right along. We so bad want our new little one home with us and the closer it gets to getting them home the more we feel it. It is a little sad to walk past their room that is all ready for them and not see a smiling little face looking back at you.
We are winding down the summer with a few more weekend trips to the lake before the cold weather hits. But we are looking forward to the Fall and our Annual Halloween Camping Trip!
In other news...We did finally move into our new house(YAY!!). It is so so nice having more space, especially for toys! We also had our last home study visit for Adoption #2. This process is moving right along. We so bad want our new little one home with us and the closer it gets to getting them home the more we feel it. It is a little sad to walk past their room that is all ready for them and not see a smiling little face looking back at you.
We are winding down the summer with a few more weekend trips to the lake before the cold weather hits. But we are looking forward to the Fall and our Annual Halloween Camping Trip!
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
A Few Crazy Weeks
Our world has been kinda crazy for a few weeks. We sold our house and bought a new one. This should have gone fairly simply(well as simple as home buying goes) right? Move out of old house, move into new house, TA-DA everyone lives happily ever after. Yeah Right! We moved out of our old house(I moved out the old house because dear hubby was out of town...how did he manage that?), then moved in with my parents because we couldn't close on our new house for 3 weeks. Well we are still at my parents! Our new house needs some TLC and decided to just get it all done before me move. So our short 3 week stay has now turned into a 5 week stay and counting. BUT...the end is in sight! We should be in our house in 2 weeks!!!!!!!
In other news we have been doing paper work for our home study and dossier for little siblings adoption. I am amazed at how much simpler and less stressful it seems this time around.
Little man has been enjoying his summer even in all this craziness! He rode his first roller coaster and loved it, and has been swimming every chance he gets. We starting to get ready for kindergarten(I am really not ready for my baby to go to "big school")
I can not believe summer is almost over and the cold weather will be coming. I want more summer!!!!!
In other news we have been doing paper work for our home study and dossier for little siblings adoption. I am amazed at how much simpler and less stressful it seems this time around.
Little man has been enjoying his summer even in all this craziness! He rode his first roller coaster and loved it, and has been swimming every chance he gets. We starting to get ready for kindergarten(I am really not ready for my baby to go to "big school")
I can not believe summer is almost over and the cold weather will be coming. I want more summer!!!!!
Monday, June 3, 2013
Diving into Paperwork and Fundraising
We are diving back into the mounds of paperwork that is needed for international adoption. This time around it all seem so much simpler and less overwhelming partly because we know what we are doing this time.
In the previous post I lamented on how we would pay for this adoption. We have already been so blessed by donations from so so so many generous people. However we still are far from having this funds needed to complete this adoption. We are having several fundraisers to help come up with these funds:
1. Puzzle Fundraiser-you can purchase a piece of our puzzle for $10 using the donate link to the right. Your name will be put on the puzzle piece(s) and the completed puzzle with hang in our home as a reminder of the love people have shown us. If you are interested in this fundraiser just click on the Paypal donate link to the right of your screen and donate $10 for each puzzle piece and include the name you want of the puzzle piece.
2. Join our ThredUp Group-join the ThredUp Group to the left of the screen and donate like new children's clothes to our fundraiser. You can order a shipping bag through the group, fill it with like-new children's clothes, send it back to ThredUp where it is processed and you are paid for the clothing, then log-in to your ThredUp Account and click on the contribute to groups button and specify the amount you want to donate to our fundraiser.
3. Order through Amazon-as you can see there are several links to Amazon on the blog now. When you make a purchase when you have gone through one of these links we earn a money.
Again thank you to everyone who is supporting us in growing our family.
In the previous post I lamented on how we would pay for this adoption. We have already been so blessed by donations from so so so many generous people. However we still are far from having this funds needed to complete this adoption. We are having several fundraisers to help come up with these funds:
1. Puzzle Fundraiser-you can purchase a piece of our puzzle for $10 using the donate link to the right. Your name will be put on the puzzle piece(s) and the completed puzzle with hang in our home as a reminder of the love people have shown us. If you are interested in this fundraiser just click on the Paypal donate link to the right of your screen and donate $10 for each puzzle piece and include the name you want of the puzzle piece.
2. Join our ThredUp Group-join the ThredUp Group to the left of the screen and donate like new children's clothes to our fundraiser. You can order a shipping bag through the group, fill it with like-new children's clothes, send it back to ThredUp where it is processed and you are paid for the clothing, then log-in to your ThredUp Account and click on the contribute to groups button and specify the amount you want to donate to our fundraiser.
3. Order through Amazon-as you can see there are several links to Amazon on the blog now. When you make a purchase when you have gone through one of these links we earn a money.
Again thank you to everyone who is supporting us in growing our family.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Here We Go Again...
Are we crazy?
We have just completed our international adoption and have been home with our son for just a few months. However, another child waits for us!!! We have known that this child existed for over a year. Actually we have know about them from our first trip to Poland. Our son has a younger sibling. They have just recently become available for adoption and we are going to bring them home.
We(well I) have always wanted 4 children. Who knows if that will ever happen but I do know that right now we are going to be a family of 4. This means lots of things are going to be happening. First, we have to get a bigger house. Our little 2 bedroom home that we have literally put blood, sweat, and tears into remodeling will not fit a family of 4. So we are moving! Second, we are diving back into the paperwork of international adoption. I feel so much better this time around having already done this before and knowing the process. Third, we are trying to wrap our head around how we are going to pay for this again. We fundraised so much last time and so many people donated money. How do you do it all again? There is so much more that is going to happen it all can't be put into writing.
So are we crazy? Many people I am sure think we are, but this is were God is leading us. That means that this plan is perfect even if it seems crazy.
We have just completed our international adoption and have been home with our son for just a few months. However, another child waits for us!!! We have known that this child existed for over a year. Actually we have know about them from our first trip to Poland. Our son has a younger sibling. They have just recently become available for adoption and we are going to bring them home.
We(well I) have always wanted 4 children. Who knows if that will ever happen but I do know that right now we are going to be a family of 4. This means lots of things are going to be happening. First, we have to get a bigger house. Our little 2 bedroom home that we have literally put blood, sweat, and tears into remodeling will not fit a family of 4. So we are moving! Second, we are diving back into the paperwork of international adoption. I feel so much better this time around having already done this before and knowing the process. Third, we are trying to wrap our head around how we are going to pay for this again. We fundraised so much last time and so many people donated money. How do you do it all again? There is so much more that is going to happen it all can't be put into writing.
So are we crazy? Many people I am sure think we are, but this is were God is leading us. That means that this plan is perfect even if it seems crazy.
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV
Monday, May 20, 2013
6 Months Together
In just a few day we will have been reunited for 6 months and home for 3 months. Wow time flies! I can not believe how much our little man brightens our lives. When we have had a bad day at work that simple hug when you come home makes it all go away.
We truly can not imagine life without him. We waited so long for him I still sometimes can't believe he is ours. I have said before that it all has been worth it.
We truly can not imagine life without him. We waited so long for him I still sometimes can't believe he is ours. I have said before that it all has been worth it.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Easter
We had a great first Easter with our son! Little man loved waking up to a basket full of goodies! However the night before we had a lengthy discussion about how it was ok that the Easter Bunny comes in the house to leave the basket.
I have returned to work and Little Man is going to preschool. He loves preschool which makes this momma very happy and going to work each day so much easier. I still wish I could be home with him everyday and miss him all day while I am at work.
Little Mans English improves so much each day it amazes us! He is a truly amazing little boy and we couldn't be more proud of him. Each day I still can not believe that he is my son and that we are blessed to be his parents.
Adoption is truly a miracle as each child is. The process is long and hard but worth it. Things are not always a perfect fairytale but the good outweighs the bad 3,000 to 1.
I have returned to work and Little Man is going to preschool. He loves preschool which makes this momma very happy and going to work each day so much easier. I still wish I could be home with him everyday and miss him all day while I am at work.
Little Mans English improves so much each day it amazes us! He is a truly amazing little boy and we couldn't be more proud of him. Each day I still can not believe that he is my son and that we are blessed to be his parents.
Adoption is truly a miracle as each child is. The process is long and hard but worth it. Things are not always a perfect fairytale but the good outweighs the bad 3,000 to 1.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Snow In March
We have SNOW!! To tell the truth I have seen enough snow this year. We had snow almost everyday that we were in Poland. Little Man has enjoyed getting to really be able to play in the snow this time.
We had our first post-placement visit and it went very smoothly! After having all the other the social worker visits it is now a piece of cake. She asked how Little Man was transitioning and adjusting as well as how we are doing.
Little Man is doing very well meeting all these new people. He has taken everything in stride thanks in part to his outgoing personality. We just can't imagine life without him and it seems like he has always been part of our family.
We had our first post-placement visit and it went very smoothly! After having all the other the social worker visits it is now a piece of cake. She asked how Little Man was transitioning and adjusting as well as how we are doing.
Little Man is doing very well meeting all these new people. He has taken everything in stride thanks in part to his outgoing personality. We just can't imagine life without him and it seems like he has always been part of our family.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Welcom Home!!
We have been home 1 week and I cant hardly believe it! I have done a terrible job keeping up with blogging during our second trip. But I will try catch everybody up.
We moved to Warsaw and stayed in an apartment that was great! It is very central to everything and close to the bus stops. We visited lots of museums (Warsaw Uprising, Copernicus Science Center, Polish Army, Museum of Technology, Palace of Science and Culture Viewing Terrace). We also walked all over New and Old Town. My hubby took thousands of pictures( I am not kidding). Warsaw is a beautiful city and full of so much history. Magda took us to this wonderful doughnut shop and it is must while staying in Warsaw. The doughnuts are warm, fresh and put Krispy Kreme to shame. We went several times during our stay. We also got to spend some time with another adoptive family! It was so nice to get to talk with them and share experiences. The last two weeks of our stay both grandmothers came to stay with us. We took a three day trip to Krakow to see the salt mine and Auschwitz. Auschwitz was an experience I think everyone should do. It is so so so sad and horrible but I think it is important that the world not forget that this happened. The salt mine is really a wonderful tour. But be prepared to walk and go down lots of stairs! Our son loved the salt mine! He wanted to run to each new section of the mine and since he was the only child on the tour the tour guide gave him extra attention. After our trip to Krakow my hubby went home a few days early to get our house back in order. So the grandma's, little man, and myself explored Warsaw some more, ate at some great little local restaurants, and started packing to come home. We also had to make two trips to the US Embassy to get the paperwork for little man to enter the United States. The first visit there was for the Embassy interview and to drop off paperwork and the second was to pick up the paperwork(the wonderful packet that you hear so much about that is the ticket to getting your child into the USA)(Remember to keep the packet completely intact just how it was given to you by the US Embassy).
That was our stay in Warsaw. The trip home started out with a bang. Our first flight was cancelled. This was supposedly announced but since we don't speak Polish we didn't know until we noticed that there was no plane at the gate. We then had to wait in line for 2 1/2 hours with our luggage and a very active 4 year old. Little man handled the wait better than the 3 adults with him. So once we got all the new tickets for our new flights we had to rush back through all of check-in and airport security. But after that the rest of day went smoothly. Little man slept for 5 of the 9 hour flight from Germany which made this momma very happy. We went through customs without a hitch and welcomed the newest citizen of the USA.
This first week home has gone unexpectedly well. We prepared for a little boy who was going to be jet-lagged, cranky, and just plain out of sorts from such a big change. Little man has been jet-lagged but he still our happy little boy. He has adjusted wonderfully!! He is going to bed without crying or a fight(which never happened while we were in Poland). We are still having trouble with him not wanting to eat a full meal at times but this has improved greatly since we first got him.
Little man went for a check-up with our pediatrician this week too. I wanted him to get a full check-up as soon as possible with my own pediatrician. He also went to the dentist and eye doctor. He did very well with each visit and the concerns we have had have been looked at and are now being monitored. Yes, it is a lot for a little one in one week but we wanted to make sure everything was fine since we did not really have any record of a dentist or eye check up and we had concerns in each of these areas we wanted looked at. I am very glad that we got it all over with and our minds are at ease. Little man does have a follow up appointment with the pediatrician in about a month but the other doctors will see him for regular check ups.
We are so, so, so, so, so, so, so glad to be home. We still can't believe that after all this time we are finally parents. It was worth every blood draw, hormone injection, ultrasound, paper cut, stamp, social worker visit, form, fingerprint, phone call, plane ride, train ride, step, and dollar.
We moved to Warsaw and stayed in an apartment that was great! It is very central to everything and close to the bus stops. We visited lots of museums (Warsaw Uprising, Copernicus Science Center, Polish Army, Museum of Technology, Palace of Science and Culture Viewing Terrace). We also walked all over New and Old Town. My hubby took thousands of pictures( I am not kidding). Warsaw is a beautiful city and full of so much history. Magda took us to this wonderful doughnut shop and it is must while staying in Warsaw. The doughnuts are warm, fresh and put Krispy Kreme to shame. We went several times during our stay. We also got to spend some time with another adoptive family! It was so nice to get to talk with them and share experiences. The last two weeks of our stay both grandmothers came to stay with us. We took a three day trip to Krakow to see the salt mine and Auschwitz. Auschwitz was an experience I think everyone should do. It is so so so sad and horrible but I think it is important that the world not forget that this happened. The salt mine is really a wonderful tour. But be prepared to walk and go down lots of stairs! Our son loved the salt mine! He wanted to run to each new section of the mine and since he was the only child on the tour the tour guide gave him extra attention. After our trip to Krakow my hubby went home a few days early to get our house back in order. So the grandma's, little man, and myself explored Warsaw some more, ate at some great little local restaurants, and started packing to come home. We also had to make two trips to the US Embassy to get the paperwork for little man to enter the United States. The first visit there was for the Embassy interview and to drop off paperwork and the second was to pick up the paperwork(the wonderful packet that you hear so much about that is the ticket to getting your child into the USA)(Remember to keep the packet completely intact just how it was given to you by the US Embassy).
That was our stay in Warsaw. The trip home started out with a bang. Our first flight was cancelled. This was supposedly announced but since we don't speak Polish we didn't know until we noticed that there was no plane at the gate. We then had to wait in line for 2 1/2 hours with our luggage and a very active 4 year old. Little man handled the wait better than the 3 adults with him. So once we got all the new tickets for our new flights we had to rush back through all of check-in and airport security. But after that the rest of day went smoothly. Little man slept for 5 of the 9 hour flight from Germany which made this momma very happy. We went through customs without a hitch and welcomed the newest citizen of the USA.
This first week home has gone unexpectedly well. We prepared for a little boy who was going to be jet-lagged, cranky, and just plain out of sorts from such a big change. Little man has been jet-lagged but he still our happy little boy. He has adjusted wonderfully!! He is going to bed without crying or a fight(which never happened while we were in Poland). We are still having trouble with him not wanting to eat a full meal at times but this has improved greatly since we first got him.
Little man went for a check-up with our pediatrician this week too. I wanted him to get a full check-up as soon as possible with my own pediatrician. He also went to the dentist and eye doctor. He did very well with each visit and the concerns we have had have been looked at and are now being monitored. Yes, it is a lot for a little one in one week but we wanted to make sure everything was fine since we did not really have any record of a dentist or eye check up and we had concerns in each of these areas we wanted looked at. I am very glad that we got it all over with and our minds are at ease. Little man does have a follow up appointment with the pediatrician in about a month but the other doctors will see him for regular check ups.
We are so, so, so, so, so, so, so glad to be home. We still can't believe that after all this time we are finally parents. It was worth every blood draw, hormone injection, ultrasound, paper cut, stamp, social worker visit, form, fingerprint, phone call, plane ride, train ride, step, and dollar.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
WARSAW!!!
We are in Warsaw and officially of a family of 3! The trip to Warsaw was stressful with 2 huge suitcases and 4 year old active little boy. The train car we reserved to sit in had heating issues so we were moved to another and to search for a seat! By the end of the train ride (4hours due to train being behind and then slow) we had to maneuver our luggage and child out the train. I thought we packed pretty light but not light enough for the train. Everyone stared at our suitcases and us(probably because we were talking in English and our child in Polish). Actually on the second part of that, anywhere we go people question why Conor speaks Polish and we don't.
Our apartment is very nice and close to pretty much everything. I highly recommend this apartment(there is link under my travel tips section). The owner is extremely nice and gone out of the way to accommodate us. It is also a plus that a bakery is just below our apartment and it is wonderful!
The court hearing went very smoothly. The judge was very very nice. I was pretty sure I might throw up from my nervousness. The hearing is pretty straight forward they mainly ask questions about how bonding has gone, if feel we feel an attachment to our son, can we provide for him, etc? But we were very prepared for the court hearing from Magda and the lawyer.
Thank you to everyone who has been with us through this journey. Your prayers, hugs, and support has gotten us through this.
Our apartment is very nice and close to pretty much everything. I highly recommend this apartment(there is link under my travel tips section). The owner is extremely nice and gone out of the way to accommodate us. It is also a plus that a bakery is just below our apartment and it is wonderful!
The court hearing went very smoothly. The judge was very very nice. I was pretty sure I might throw up from my nervousness. The hearing is pretty straight forward they mainly ask questions about how bonding has gone, if feel we feel an attachment to our son, can we provide for him, etc? But we were very prepared for the court hearing from Magda and the lawyer.
Thank you to everyone who has been with us through this journey. Your prayers, hugs, and support has gotten us through this.
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