Jemama's and Princess' Journey Home

Back in the USA

2010-03-15T22:26:00.005-06:00

Matthew and I arrived in the U.S. late on March 11 after a long but uneventful series of flights. He and the girls are doing very well, get along well and are all adjusting to being back in a routine and working through things together. They have had remarkably few disagreements so far! It's really great to be home with Matthew, Jemama, Princess and all of the animals! Thanks to everyone for all of the wonderful and much-needed support.

What day is it anyway?!?

2010-03-09T13:42:00.003-07:00

I think things went well today. It took getting some pretty high-up people in the Liberian government involved, but the right phone calls were made and the airport officials have been notified that we can travel. It took visiting two offices, many phone calls and sitting in the waiting area of one office for over four hours to get it to happen. Just in case, we have a phone number for one of the government people who said that it's OK to call Wednesday if we have problems. Let's hope and pray that everything works. Tomorrow is a Liberian holiday, so none of the offices are open. Thanks for all of the positive thoughts and prayers, I really appreciate it.

Monday - Still Here

2010-03-08T15:01:00.002-07:00

Well, "the rules changed" is what we heard at the airport. Gotta love when the rules change and nobody knows about it. It has always been the case that we bring the travel letter (the one we waited for) to the airport as a final exit clearance. When I was going through customs, they said that the letter was supposed to have been taken to the Immigration office downtown for approval and a signature. This is the first that the country rep knew of this and the woman who cleared us to get the travel letter written didn't know this either. Since the next flight doesn't leave until Wednesday, that is the soonest I can leave. Pray that everything works for us to get the approval, signature and a flight out on Wednesday. Thanks!

Sunday

2010-03-07T17:48:00.002-07:00

Today we slept late and went to church with the country representative. We went to her church, which is Methodist. It was really a neat experience. The church is big and was packed, even with all of the kids downstairs for their service. There was a lot of singing and everyone joined in. It was really a moving experience.

We went to the beach in the late afternoon - a different beach from the one I went to with the girls. This beach was full of people and it was a lot of fun to walk around. We met some people from the U.S. who were on a mission to renovate a Lutheran church outside of Monrovia. Most of them had been here a month and were going to stay until sometime in May. M was a little afraid of the ocean and eventually got wet up to the bottom of his shorts. We didn't really give him the option of getting completely soaked. "We" means the adoption country representative and myself. She's a wonderful person and is lots of fun. We all had a good time.

We leave tomorrow - I really want to go home, but in many ways I really love this place. The heat would always be a challenge, but even the people who grew up here find the heat difficult at times. M and I will be leaving the country at about 7 pm local time and will arrive in Denver sometime in the evening on Tuesday. I'll post pictures, etc. after I get home.

Saturday - Play Day!

2010-03-06T15:17:00.002-07:00

We went to the foster home this morning and let the kids play. It was really neat to see everyone interact and get the kids laughing. They had lots of fun coloring pictures, running around, playing with toys, playing with my hair (trying to get braids to stay in), having races with their Matchbox cars, etc. One of their favorite things was for me to take their picture and then to look at the picture. This was really cute, except they think they have to be on top of me, which means that (1) I can't get good pictures of anything but their noses and (2) I have to constantly guard the camera! Some of the boys think it's great fun to put their hand in front of the lens - makes it really easy to get good pics!

The weather was much cooler today because it poured last night. It was still really humid, but at least not so hot. It's weird - people here say that you don't ever completely get used to the heat, but sometimes air conditioning feels like walking into a freezer rather than feeling good. Our A/C broke last night and it was pretty warm in the room. It didn't bother me until this morning when I started getting ready and was burning up. They fixed it today and it is much more comfortable tonight.

Tomorrow we're going to church and then planning to go to the beach - will let you know how things progress.

Friday's News

2010-03-05T13:36:00.002-07:00

Today we did more running around - first the Ministry of Justice, then the U.S. Embassy, made copies, did a couple of errands, back to the Ministry of Justice, back to the foster home about 30 minutes away. We then got a wonderful call - M's travel letter was ready! This is the final piece of paperwork needed to bring him home. My trip is still extended until Monday - we got the travel letter at about 4:30, which was after I would have needed to be at the airport (about an hour away). Unfortunately, I won't be escorting the kids I planned on bringing home. The MOJ said that their parents would have to come get them.

We had a long day and I'm going to sleep early tonight. M is already asleep. Tomorrow we will go to the foster home so that the kids can play together for most of the day. Sunday we are going to church and then to the beach! More later when I can think straight! It is SO hot and I'm wondering if our A/C in the hotel is working at all.

"Mechanical" Delays on the trip here

2010-03-04T04:03:00.002-07:00

I realized that the story of why I was so late wasn't really clear. First, the plane that was supposed to fly to Brussels out of Chicago had mechanical problems. They took it away from the gate for awhile, brought it back, and then told us that it couldn't fly and we would have to wait until 9:00 for the plane coming in from London. That plane arrived and we boarded at about 9:20 (flight was originally supposed to leave at 5:00). We stayed on the tarmac for about 1.5 hours without moving. They then announced that there had been a "physical altercation" between two passengers and that they would not be allowed to continue on the flight - and the crew were at the end of their duty day and couldn't fly the plane anyway. That night they put me up in a hotel in Chicago. The next day I flew to London, transferred planes and then went to Brussels and had to stay in a hotel there, since the flight from Brussels to Monrovia only leaves Brussels on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. I was thinking about going to town, but ended up sleeping the rest of the day. Fortunately, the flight to Brussels to Monrovia was uneventful and all of my bags were with me - probably because I had to claim them on every leg of the trip! Anyway, at the time it was frustrating and oddly amusing at the same time. Now it's just in the past.

Wednesday

2010-03-04T03:46:00.002-07:00

We did lots of running around today, but it should pay off by giving the government a little more time to do our exit clearances (final letter before we can leave). I'm still planning on returning on Monday (arriving in the U.S. on Tuesday evening). I took individual pictures of the kids at the foster home yesterday and will get lots more pics before I leave.

It's amazing to see some of the trees - avocado (aka butterbeer) trees that are more than four stories tall, huge rubber trees, palms, etc. There is a very pretty calico cat here that must belong to someone because she's not afraid of people. We haven't touched her - probably not a good idea - but watch her walk through the razor wire on the top of the fence without getting scratched. She's expecting kittens and likes to lay under the shrubs by the restaurant.

Thursday will be more running around and probably time to go the foster home for awhile.

Tuesday

2010-03-02T17:37:00.003-07:00

Today was very productive. My fingerprints are finally at the Embassy - thanks to lots of help from several people. The vice-consular will interview "M" tomorrow and then his visa will be ready on Friday. The last step before we can leave is getting a travel letter from the Liberian government. The time frame for that will likely be too short if I keep my travel plans for Friday, so I'm considering staying until Monday evening. At that point, it will be very likely that I can bring "M" home, along with three other children who need to be escorted to their family.

The kids are all very well behaved and study hard in school. I've been trying various Liberian dishes and have loved all of them. Tomorrow I get to try Pepper Soup, which Jemama has been begging me to make for two years now. I told her I would try to learn how while I am here. It poured last night and then during dinner today. It's still very hot and humid, but I'm trying to grin and bear it - nothing I can do about it anyway!

"M" is reading well. He picked up the Bible last night and just started reading it out loud. He only needed help on the bigger words. Hopefully the school adjustment will be easier for him than I had originally thought.

We didn't get heights/weights done today, but plan to do that tomorrow. There were vehicle problems today that took a lot of time to deal with.

I got to meet M's grandmother and his father today. His father doesn't live with M's grandmother, who raised him. It was really neat to see his former home and meet the friends he had in the neighborhood.

Monday

2010-03-01T14:58:00.003-07:00

Today I went to the AFAA house to see the kids - they were all studying hard and working on writing letters to their parents (at least the older kids - approx 6 on up in age). They are all doing well in school and seem to be learning a lot. The older kids seem to be reading with little difficulty and writing really well. They were all very well behaved - some sad because they aren't coming home yet. Tomorrow before I go to the U.S. Embassy I'll be working to get a lot of pictures, heights/weights and foot sizes (if they'll stay still).

We went to the embassy today to get the visas for the Webb's three kids - much more difficult and time consuming than it was two years ago when I brought my girls home. The consular officer, who was very nice and helpful, agreed to try to get it finished by Friday. My fingerprints, which were taken in November, still weren't at the embassy today (found out later that they will be there tomorrow or the next day). At that point we can apply for the visa for M. After the visas, we need a travel letter, which hopefully won't take long to get. Some of this work may fall on the family coming in after me, which means that I may be coming home alone, with the three siblings, or through some miracle, with all four kids.

The weather is as predicted - beastly hot and humid. There was a really nice breeze at the AFAA house today, which made things much nicer. One of the little boys sees me and cries every time! He hides behind people or tables, looks at me and cries. Maybe by the time I leave he'll be used to me!

There is a lot of new building here, many hotels and new businesses going in on the main street. There are more places with electricity than there were two years ago. Things are definitely more expensive, although some say that prices have gone up and down, which seems better than going steadily up. There aren't as many booths for artisans - for some reason some of them got torn down. The streets aren't filled with as many cars and are filled with many more motorcycles. The people I spoke with said that things are getting better even though it's still hard to find a job.

In Monrovia!!

2010-03-01T01:52:00.003-07:00

I got in last night. The hotel is nice - internet in the rooms now, used to be just in the restaurant downstairs. I'm going to eat breakfast and then go meet M and the other kids - I can't wait!

In Brussels

2010-02-27T11:11:00.002-07:00

It's been an "interesting" trip! I have never experienced such a conglomeration of errors. Needless to say, the Americans look even worse than usual in the eyes of the Europeans who were stuck in the same boat as I was. The interesting part was that on the British Airways flight this morning the pilot actually apologized for being a few minutes late (quite literally a few minutes).

Anyway, I will be leaving tomorrow at noon Brussels time for Monrovia. I can't wait!!

Sharon

Heading back

2010-02-25T22:03:00.003-07:00

So Sharon (my sister) is heading back to Liberia in hopes of bringing 'M' home. She left today with the love and support of many. She called at 10 pm EST to say that due to mechanical delays, she will most likely miss her connection in Brussels and will have to stay a day or two there before being able to get to Monrovia. Stay tuned for updates.

Humming in her sleep...

2009-09-10T23:15:00.003-06:00

Jemama talks in her sleep quite frequently, but this is a new one for me. I'm not sure I would have believed it if I weren't sitting here listening to her. I hope it means that she's having wonderful dreams! We bumped her to 4th grade this year to try to get her caught up to her same-age peers before Jr. High. It's giving us a run for our money right now, but I'm sure she'll do fine and it will be a good move.

Funny

2009-08-16T20:04:00.003-06:00

Shopping for clothes last Sunday - I'm sick of it, they're not. I started pointing out ugly clothes insisting that I wanted them. I guess I asked for this...
Me: (walking by a rack of bras - pointing to really ugly bra) Oooohhh, I want that!
Princess: Mom, why would you need a bra that big?

So cute when they sleep...

2009-07-10T22:52:00.002-06:00

Learning to Skate

2009-07-10T22:46:00.004-06:00

When my brother and I were kids we had these spring, "clip-on" roller skates. When my brother and my mom went through the stuff in her basement they found the and were going to sell them at a garage sale. I rescued them for the girls and their attempts to skate on them were really funny. There was lots of screaming and laughing and they eventually were able to skate a few feet without some catastrophe.

Fourth of July

2009-07-10T21:29:00.006-06:00

There is a big party in one of the parks every 4th of July. There are lots of people selling things, people, dogs, food (with outrageously long lines), etc. We went last year and I just couldn't stomach it this year. We took the dogs hiking instead. It has been raining almost every afternoon recently and today was no exception. We hiked in the rain because it wasn't raining all that hard. About 10 steps into our hike I turned around for some reason and saw both kids watching Hershey roll in a BIG, green cow pie. This is nothing new for Hershey, but sometimes she stops if I yell at her soon enough - no such luck today. About another 10 steps into the hike I looked at Jemama and she had cow poop on her forehead. Nobody knows how it got there, but we joked about it a lot. We went a little further and ended up in a standoff with a steer. He wasn't budging to let us pass. Normally, if I were by myself, I would walk slowly around the steer. Today, with one chihuahua and two very giggly girls, I decided that it would be a dumb idea. We went back to where we parked instead, sat on a log and ate lunch. The girls then wanted to climb a tree, so I gave them a boost. Jemama got stuck and was laughing too hard to help me get her unstuck. Eventually she got out - with a few scratches. I didn't have my camera, so we'll just have to remember the funny pictures!

It poured in the afternoon. Jemama was set on playing with her new Barbie pool outside and neither of the girls came inside:

We watched fireworks later. I'm not sure which the girls enjoyed more - the fireworks or getting to sit in the front seat in the van. The fireworks are usually really good, especially since our town is fairly small. This year apparently a bunch of the fireworks were ruined by the big downpour we got around dinner time. Oh well, good for us to realize how spoiled we've become!

Tidbit of news about adoption in Liberia

2009-06-29T21:41:00.002-06:00

The only bit of information I have heard or found about adoption in Liberia is on the Rutledge Family Blog. The official news story is posted on AllAfrica.com. I'm so thankful that there are people who are willing and able to talk with the government officials and be listened to.

Hopefully there will be good news soon. "M" is, at least in theory, ready to come home when the moratorium on adoption is lifted. I would be grateful if you would keep him, and all of the other Liberian children waiting to come home, in your prayers.

Jemama's First Communion

2009-06-29T21:35:00.002-06:00

Jemama received her first communion on May 3, 2009. She was very excited and I was very proud of her. She decided that she wasn't going to be nervous about the church being packed with people, which is normally very difficult for her. She was all smiles the whole time!

Poppy the Chihuahua!

2009-06-29T21:25:00.007-06:00

Introducing our new dog, Poppy. He's about two years old and very snuggly - well, at least with me. It took him awhile to warm up to the kids.

Proof that cats can't read:

Chicken Soup

2009-06-29T21:12:00.003-06:00

For several years I had six chickens. One died before the girls came home and two died over the past winter. One day late this spring - on a Sunday - I went outside before the girls woke up to find that two of the chickens had been killed by something (very likely a raccoon, based on evidence). I decided that since we had 6 baby chicks who would soon need the chicken coop, I would kill the third one and butcher all three. Please understand, I despise killing anything and was a vegetarian before the two obligate carnivores (aka Jemama and Princess) came home. I was very glad that I found the chickens before the girls, but knew that I had to tell them about it. I told Jemama when she woke up and she was, expectedly, very upset. She ran into her room crying and was very angry at the raccoon. I was trying to console Jemama when Princess woke up.

Princess: What's wrong?

Mom: A raccoon killed two of the big chickens.

Princess: (Sad) Did they kill Rosie? (The favorite chicken).

Mom: Yes.

Jemama: Still crying.

Princess: (after a pause) Mom, are we having chicken soup for dinner?

Still waiting....

2009-04-21T14:42:00.004-06:00

Well, we are still waiting for "M" to come home. There has been a moratorium on adoption in Liberia since 1/26/2009. There is word through the grapevine that the moratorium might be lifted when President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf returns to Liberia from her current trip to the U.S. However, only time will tell when the moratorium is lifted. It will also still take some time for "M" to be ready to leave the country - paperwork needs to be reviewed again, etc. I'm really trying to get back in the habit of posting regularly so stay tuned!

Update: J&P Ran a Race!

2008-08-02T22:00:00.008-06:00

There was a 5K/10K race in town recently that was a memorial for a wonderful young man who was killed tragically a couple of years ago. One of the teachers at the girls' school was encouraging the kids to walk or run the race, which supports the school and several worthy causes. Princess and Jemama said that they wanted to do the race and had been practicing by running around the park when they went there in the afternoons. Of course, they were running barefoot, since that is what they were accustomed to in Liberia.

Since they hadn't done anything like this before, I rode my bike and checked on each of them throughout the race. Well, at least through the first half - after that I didn't catch Jemama again until just after she crossed the finish line. Princess walked the whole race with her friend, Derk, and they had a great time talking with people and keeping each other company. Jemama ran the whole race and found a few women to run with for most of the race. Princess finished in ~1:03:19 and Jemama finished in ~33:56. They had fun and were happy to recognize the loss of a great person and to contribute to the charities that will benefit from the race.

Princess and Derk on their way.

Jennifer, the teacher who encouraged the girls to run, pacing Jemama in the beginning of the race.

Princess and Derk hoofin' it.

Jemama and her running partners.

Jemama at the finish - she beat me across the finish line and I was on my bike!

Princess racing for the finish.

Update - First Hike w/ J&P and first w/out Boo

2008-08-02T21:40:00.004-06:00

When we got back from vacation, Boo was having a lot of problems. She was stumbling, bumping into things, falling, losing her balance while standing still, etc. Long story short, she is fine now and a very kind and patient veterinarian determined that she was suffering from an overdose of Potassium Bromide (one medication used to control her occasional seizures). There was a mixup somewhere with dosing instructions and I was giving her more than double what she should have been getting. Since we corrected the dose she has returned to the same Boo we know and love.

In the mean time, in mid-June, the girls and I took Hershey for a hike and the girls got their first experience of hiking in the mountains. We went to a place fairly close to home that is great for playing and letting the dogs run. Boo had to stay home because she was having trouble staying upright in the house and driving and hiking with her were out of the question. Here are some pictures of their short, but fun, adventure.

The girls with Boo-Bug when she wasn't feeling too good.

Hiking through a meadow.

Jemama checking out the log "bridge."

Playing with algae - gross, but really fun!

Hershey checking out the weird humans.

Update - Vacation to Wisconsin in June

2008-08-01T21:03:00.008-06:00

In early June we took a road trip to Wisconsin to visit family. I was adopted as an infant and found my birth mother when I was 27 years old and have had a wonderful relationship with her and the rest of her family. It's hard to believe that we haven't know each other forever. We went to visit Barbara, her husband Wayne, Wayne's daughter (my sister) Lisa, her family, my other sister Claire and her family - who had traveled from Texas - I think that's it. The girls got to meet their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins for the first time. We all had a wonderful time.

Safe way to get an up close and personal view of a bison.

Two little cuties in the Badlands, South Dakota.

Princess jumping rope in Baba's driveway.

Princess and her cousin, Sasha (5).

A local zoo with wild animals and a petting zoo. Princess, Nataliya, Bear, Jemama.

Princess riding a bike and loving it!

McKinzie, Grandpala (Sasha's name for him that stuck), Sasha, Georgia, Jemama, Princess, Baba, Nataliya

Shucking corn for dinner.

Georgia getting in on the action and working hard.

Celebrating McKinzie's 7th birthday!

On the way home - saying hello to past presidents and running off some energy.

Progress - or not

2008-07-16T22:46:00.002-06:00

I am frantically getting the last few pieces of the adoption application put together to officially get things rolling for M's adoption. Since he's a "waiting child" things went backwards from the way they did last time. This time I identified the child first and then filled out paperwork. Once everything is in, the rest of the process is expected to go fairly quickly. Let's hope that proves to be true.

There hasn't been any progress on the construction of M's room in the past two weeks. The foundation walls are finished and the contractor is working on someone's $30K deck and can't start M's room until that's finished - and you did read the $ amount correctly. He hasn't returned my calls and I'm likely to start looking for someone else tomorrow. I'm not sure how to break the contract with him if I need to, but I'll figure that out as I go along.

I'll post pictures soon. I've been doing so much paperwork and catch-up work in the evenings I've been too exhausted to blog. Thanks for your patience!

Too Funny

2008-07-02T17:03:00.001-06:00

Please understand that I am not a "man-basher", I just thought the following was hysterically funny.

Apples and Wine

Women are like apples on trees. The best ones are at the top of the tree. Most men don't want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they sometimes take the apples from the ground that aren't as good, but easy. The apples at the top think something is wrong with them, when in reality, they're amazing. They just have to wait for the right man to come along, the one who is brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree.

Now Men... Men are like a fine wine. They begin as grapes, and it's up to women to stomp the crap out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with.

Sorry for the big lapse - just back from vacation

2008-06-25T12:48:00.002-06:00

We got back from vacation on 6/14/08 and things have been a bit chaotic since then. Construction on M's room started while we were gone and there was a big hole in the back yard when we returned. They had finished the foundation and were scheduled to pour the walls on Monday or Tuesday. Fortunately my pet sitter called me to let me know that we didn't have gas (which I expected) and also didn't have sewer, which I didn't at all expect. I called the contractor and they fixed that before we got home, but had to take it out to pour the foundation walls. We were without sewer for 1.5 days and have been out of gas for a week and a half now. In my house "no gas" means no dryer, no stove and no hot water. It has been interesting. We've been cooking in the microwave, which I hate. The kids have been swimming lots and showering at the rec center. I have been showering at the rec center every morning before work. At least my tub is staying clean this way!

Our vacation was wonderful! I'll post pictures and more details later. Thanks!

Rain, Hail, Tornados and Snow

2008-05-23T23:07:00.002-06:00

OK, in theory, all of those probably shouldn't be able to happen in the same day in the same place. So much for theory - we had all of them yesterday. It is very rare for us to have tornados and yesterday we had three. Fortunately only one did damage and that was relatively minor, considering what they are capable of and what they did in Colorado. Nonetheless, it did do damage, destroyed a few houses, damaged many others, left debris scattered all over the prairie, shook up a bunch of people and scared my kids quite a bit. This was after another tornado from the same storm almost completely leveled a small town in northern Colorado. It defied many of my assumptions about tornados. For example, I assumed that tornados wouldn't form in the relative cold, wouldn't hit in the mountains and certainly couldn't do much damage above 8000 ft., and that there couldn't possibly be a snow storm after a tornado. All of these assumptions were proved false yesterday.

Of course, with everything there is a humorous side. The kids both asked "Mommy, what happen when the tomato come?" It took me longer than it should have to realize that they were referring to the tornado.

I fully admit that I am a total wimp when it comes to natural disasters. I live in a place that rarely experiences any and I love it that way. I lived in Virginia for about two years a long time ago. I got there just after bad tornados had blown through and moved out just after a very near miss by a hurricane. Seeing the bands of the hurricane move so quickly and ominously across the sky was enough to convince me that hurricane-prone areas are great for visiting, but I wouldn't want to live there. I admire the courage of those who live where natural disasters occur frequently. I also pray for them - admittedly more in the past two days, but all of you are still on my prayer list. It's hard to make sense of all of the destruction in Myanmar, China and all of the places in the U.S. hit by tornados over the past few weeks. You are all in my prayers.

Hormones...

2008-05-20T20:57:00.006-06:00

Well, they're here, like it or not. Jemama is full of those pre-teen hormones! She's goofy, cranky and her moods change quickly and are really unpredictable - sound familiar?!? She is still wonderful, funny, smart, beautiful, a joy to be around and a bunch of other really wonderful things - just getting a little more challenging at times! I know that I was miserable to be around when I was a teenager and I don't remember much before then. Of course, any memories would be skewed by my own perception anyway. If paybacks happen, I'm certainly deserving!

The girls are enjoying the warmer weather and are learning to play outside. I practically had to push them out the door over the weekend. Then they discovered cooking with dirt/mud. They think that this is good fun!

On Saturday we were lucky enough to meet up with Grandma, my cousin Kara, Uncle Joe and Aunt Bobbi as they were on their way to have a fun vacation. We enjoyed each others' company and had a really great lunch. The weather was beautiful as well.

Funny kids!

2008-05-15T21:44:00.005-06:00

We've had a fair bit of pouting, arguing and tantrums lately, but most of the time the kids are wonderful. Princess has created her own terms for a few things - first is what most of us would call it, then her term.

glue - gloop
goggles - gobbles
flip flops - flipper-flips

The last one totally cracks me up for some reason!

Mother's Day was wonderful. We went to my mom's house and spent Saturday and Sunday with my mom and cousin, Kara. We also visited our friends, Auntie Leanne, et al.

The following pictures were from the weekend before Mother's Day. Rare moments of true cooperation caught on film!!

This is a picture of the girls wearing the BEAUTIFUL, hand-knit sweaters that Uncle Chef's mother, Sue, made for the girls. They LOVE them!

Boo "helping" me with the mounds of laundry!

Awesome Post

2008-05-05T23:10:00.003-06:00

From a wise young woman - check out Jocelyn's post.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Some people have commented on how difficult certain things will be when I bring M home. My answer - SO WHAT? No matter how difficult my life gets with three kids, it's not at all likely to be even a tenth as difficult as the lives of any one of my three kids has been to date. Three kids is certainly the limit - at some point over that then I couldn't provide the stable home that they need. Maybe if we could all worry a little more about how others are doing than we do about keeping ourselves comfortable and content, then the world would be a better place. Fortunately, I am surrounded by people who reach out to others, take risks to help others and love the whole process.

Kitchen Mishaps

2008-05-05T22:52:00.004-06:00

OK, for your daily dose of humor read on. Tonight I was making one of those "quick and easy", but very tasty prepackaged meals - Black beans and rice. We had errands to run after work/school, so I didn't get started cooking until about 6:30. Even though I had soaked the beans, it was going to be awhile. I opted for cooking the beans in the pressure cooker. Then I read the directions - add seasonings and rice and cook for another 30-40 minutes! That was way too long. When the beans were finished, I put everything in the pressure cooker and got it up to pressure to cook the rice. When it was finished, in about 12 minutes, I had to get the pressure down to open the lid. There were too many dishes in the sink to put it in there and run cold water on it, so I opted for pushing the little button that releases pressure. Keep in mind that I'm in a hurry, the kids are hungry and bedtime is approaching. The pressure was going down, but slowly. When the pressure was almost out, I decided that it couldn't hurt to open the lid slowly. It didn't - that let more steam out without a problem. The problem came when I took the lid off completely. The biggest boil-over ever! I filled three of the burner pans with water and a good bit of the underneath part of the stove-top! All I could do was laugh because it was a really dumb move. The girls thought it was pretty funny that mom exploded the soup all over the stove! Fortunately, there was plenty of soup that didn't get on the stove, so we still had dinner and have plenty of leftovers.

New News

2008-04-27T23:05:00.004-06:00

When I was in Liberia picking up my girls, I spent a lot of time at the foster home (more like what we would picture as an orphanage, but with stable and caring foster moms). I met a lot of wonderful kids. I can honestly say that I would have been thrilled to have had a referral for any of them. However, one boy stood out and I liked him more each time I visited. My first thought was to try to find an adoptive family for him. Of course, Jessica seemed like a logical choice. I figured that with seven kids already, she wouldn't mind (or likely notice) an eighth. Seven kids is a LOT to manage, so I kept thinking.

I couldn't get this boy out of my mind even three months after I was home. I decided to investigate what it would take to adopt a third child. I decided that if I hit a brick wall, then I shouldn't do it. If I could find a way to adopt him, then I would be thrilled to go with that option. Well, I have found a way to do it! The process of adopting him is underway!

There are many things that need to happen to bring him home. I have to add a room onto the house, we need a different vehicle and I need to go through the adoption process again - minus the wait for a referral. My son, M, is almost 10 years old (4 months older than Jemama) and doesn't have any siblings. He has three cousins (2 from one family and 1 from another) in the foster home with him at this time. My girls were very excited when I told them about adopting M and bring it up often.

Why no pictures or name? Many countries strongly object to pictures of waiting children, or their names, being posted on the internet. Recently, a family who was waiting to adopt their child lost the referral for their child shortly before they were supposed to travel because the Ethiopian government found out about their blog, which posted pictures and name of this child. I can't even imagine how devastating that was for that family or the child. So far there have been no problems with Liberia doing this, but I'm not taking any chances.

Certain parts of the adoption paperwork process have become more challenging recently - more corruption in Liberia, more regulations in the U.S. Can you believe that U.S. Immigration is insisting on processing things through regular mail when they used to do it electronically? So much for technology. It takes days to send things through U.S. Mail and they cannot be tracked. The packets that have to be sent to Liberia take at least a week to get there (via DHL) and anywhere from a day to a week or more to be delivered to the correct department at the U.S. Embassy there. This used to be possible in minutes - before the new rules. Because of these changes it is difficult to predict how long it will take to get M home. I'm guessing about 9 months, but that's just a guess based on the 7 months it took (from referral) to get the girls home. I'll keep you updated on the progress!

Fun in the Sun

2008-04-27T22:57:00.005-06:00

Princess & Jemama making BIG bubbles on a recent gorgeous day!

Poor Boo-Bug!!!

Jemama writing and enjoying the sun in the window.

Look out Hollywood! No, she's not playing dress-up, I just let her pick out whatever she wanted to wear.

What do they know?

2008-04-16T21:15:00.005-06:00

It is so hard to know what my kids know about and what they don't. It's also a huge cultural lesson. My daughters have many experiences and much knowledge that very few American kids have. They can easily carry many different things on their head, they have sold things in a market so their family could have food, they have experienced being displaced by a fiercely violent civil war, they have had the joy of being part of a huge extended family, they have been orphans, they have moved halfway across the world with a virtual stranger and have done a remarkable job adapting to this very different culture.

My youngest daughter brought home a small backpack of school materials yesterday. The materials were focused on learning about the solar system. I think I figured that since they were raised in a culture where things really don't start happening until the sun goes down (because of the intense heat) that they would be familiar with stars, planets, etc. They knew what a star was, along with the sun and moon. They had no concept of other planets, orbits, the name of our own planet and had never seen a picture of our Earth from space. It is so humbling to see these two kids, ages 7 and 9, launch into all of this learning and to do so with such grace.

We certainly have days where they get really frustrated with their homework, and days where I get really frustrated with their difficulties with their homework. However, overall they are completely remarkable. Jemama is starting to read and starting to get the concept of sounding out words. She loves math, loves reading, adores her teacher and is thrilled to be in school. Princess has made huge progress in understanding directions, recognizing numbers and letters and understanding why they are both useful. It's hard to want to learn the alphabet when you don't know that reading is fun. When we went to the library they would have brought home every book if they could have carried them. They have learned to work on the computer and use the mouse and Princess can hardly be kept away from anything electronic. The one standard "American" experience they are seriously lacking, by their mother's design, is watching television - I don't think they're missing much there. To see their changes makes me wish that I could learn as much about their culture as they have learned about American culture. Maybe someday.

April in Wyoming and other recent pictures

2008-04-10T22:37:00.006-06:00

Jemama and Princess playing in the spring snow we got last night and all day today.

Jemama being goofy!

Jemama after figuring out that the snow will get your pants wet and is really cold!

Princess copying her sister.

OOHHH! It really is cold!

Jemama with her godmother, Carol

Jemama and Princess playing with their GelGems window stickers.

Jemama receiving an award for being helpful and respectful to others at school.

J & P Dancing

2008-04-09T21:44:00.003-06:00

This video was taken on January 9, 2008. I'm just figuring out how to post these on my blog, so hopefully there will be more soon!

More Firsts

2008-04-05T22:50:00.003-06:00

The girls had several more first experiences today. They were invited to a birthday party (first one since coming home) and it was at the roller skating rink. The girls were really excited to try skating and we tightened up their wheels so it was easier for them. I discovered that helping two kids learn to roller skate while I'm on skates was a dumb idea. Jemama fell, knocked my skate out from under me, I landed on her skate and my elbow and took Princess down with me. They were both pretty much done at that point!

We went to the public library for the first time since they've been home. They kept asking me what a library was. I finally told them they'd just have to wait and see. When I told them we could check out the books and take them home they picked out a bunch! We also got two books on tape so that they can practice listening skills!

I was thinking about the first experiences they have had since we left the orphanage. This is the list of what I can think of:

airplane

stairs (not a first, but they were nowhere near comfortable with them)

escalator

elevator

seatbelt

airplane food - yuk!

running water

flushing toilets

warm water (without "putting it on the fire")

lights that you can switch on and off

having their own things (probably happened before the orphanage as well)

car seats

all kinds of food

dogs and cats in the house

fish tank

SNOW!

temperatures below about 65 degrees

sledding

winter coats, hats, gloves, boots, snow pants, etc.

beach (they had only been one time in Liberia before I took them to the beach there)

swimming pool

washing machine, dryer, dishwasher - household machines in general

computer - knew what they were and had never used one

I'm sure there's more - I'll update as I think of them.

Easter Car

2008-04-03T22:23:00.002-06:00

We were pulling into the Recreation Center tonight and Princess became very excited, saying Mommy, Mommy, look at the Easter car!!! After we parked she couldn't wait to show it to me. When I looked I saw an old van with a vintage 60's graffiti paint job with lots of pink and of course, a peace sign. I couldn't stop laughing!

Cornrow Progress

2008-03-28T21:21:00.004-06:00

I have been working on cornrows for awhile and thought I'd show some pictures so far. I saw the ease with which the Liberian women did this and thought I could learn. I knew it would be difficult and it is. It's worth the practice though! It is getting easier for me to do their hair, although it still takes a lot of time and more patience from them than I thought possible.

Funny Lyrics from the Girls:

Row, row, row your boat

Gently down the street

Merily, merily, merily, merily

Life is coming soon!

Also...

My Baba is over the ocean

Bring back my Baba to me, to me!

Bring back, bring back, bring back my Baba to me!

(Especially funny, since they have a grandma we call Baba and she's Irish!)

First Post-Placement Report

2008-03-26T21:45:00.003-06:00

Tonight we had our first post-placement interview for the post-placement reports. These are reports that are sent to our international agency and to the Liberian government. Liberia requests a post-placement report at 3, 6 and 12 months after placement and every year after that until the children are 18. The first one went pretty well - aside from me obsessing over getting the house clean. The girls had fun talking with our social worker, who is wonderful. They were tired and were getting really silly, but we got through it!

Now we are on to re-adoption. The state requires that we wait 6 months after placement to do the re-adoption. The only problem with this is that the girls have Liberian passports with US visas (that expire in June) and don't have US birth certificates. I want to take a big road trip this summer that would involve going through Canada. The girls can't get US passports until they have US birth certificates (and are US citizens) and that can't happen until the re-adoption, which can't happen until July. I'm hoping that there is a way to get all of this to work! Any ideas would be welcome!

Pictures and funnies

2008-03-25T22:57:00.009-06:00

At their baptism at the Easter Vigil service.

Jemama after successful Easter egg hunt.

Princess after her success with finding Easter eggs

Princess enjoying the swing.

Jemama seeing how high she can swing.

Grandma and girls in their Easter dresses.

Princess combing my brother's hair.

Jemama and Kevin with a hair clip in his hair.

Mom and girls (with hair half-done)

Jemama and Sergei - the big lovey kitty!

Girls in their Easter dresses

Princess in her Christmas hat and gloves.

We were driving to Denver a few weeks ago and practicing animal identification, since cows are foreign and all horses are donkeys! I pointed to a group of animals that I initially thought were cows (they were far away).

Mommy: What are those?

Princess: Cow!

Mommy: I don't think they're cows, they're too little, I think they're goats.

Princess: Small-small cow!

The girls were baptized at the Easter vigil service and both looked so cute in their Easter dresses! They were really well behaved and enjoyed helping with the service after the baptism was finished. They seem to enjoy church and haven't complained at all about going to mass at their school - they are going to Catholic school. They are enjoying their school, have small classes, are making friends and are enjoying getting to know kids in other grades during the aftercare program the school offers. They are catching up in their classes and have started learning how to "play on the computer". So far, all they are doing is educational CDs and they have a blast with them.

Teeth and the Tooth Fairy

2008-03-19T21:42:00.005-06:00

Picture is of the girls with their grandma.

Princess and Jemama have each lost a tooth since we came home, so we got two shots at the tooth fairy. When Princess lost a tooth she was very skeptical about the Tooth Fairy. She put her tooth under her pillow as instructed and the next morning she dutifully checked it and.... it was still there. Oops! I told her that the tooth fairy must have been in Africa getting all of the teeth off of the roof of the foster home. (It is tradition in Africa to throw your teeth on top of the roof when you lose them). She looked at me like I was from Mars. The next night all worked as planned!

When Jemama lost her tooth she was in bed with it and was holding it. I let her know that she needed to put it under her pillow. She said "I don't want the woman to take it." I explained that if there was no tooth for the tooth fairy, she wouldn't leave money. Then a conversation ensued:

Jemama: "Mommy, what the woman do with the tooth?"

Mommy: "I don't know - what do you think she does with it?"

Jemama: (enthusiastically) "I think the woman break it and suck all the blood out of it!"

Princess and Mommy: (simultaneously) GROSS!!!

Princess: (very seriously) "Mommy, I know what the woman do with the tooth. She take the tooth and she put it in a big box - all the teeth in the big box - then she put the lid on it. Yeah."

I've told them about the Easter Bunny and they are very excited about finding eggs! They'll get the hang of all of these myths just in time to stop believing in them!

180 Degrees

2008-01-04T23:51:00.000-07:00

This is a slide show of pictures from the first beach we visited - aptly named Poo Poo Beach. There aren't words to describe the experience. The juxtaposition between the wealth they have in community and environment and the poverty they have in terms of living conditions is striking. They smile through most of it.

Sorry for the long delay..

2008-01-03T23:04:00.000-07:00

This "mom" thing is a bit to adjust to, but mostly we're doing fine. I just got internet at my house yesterday, so it should be a little easier to keep things updated.

The girls love to help cook and have been pretty good about eating - only minor difficulties. Tonight we made enchiladas and both girls were very excited about trying their creation. Jemama grated cheese while Princess ate it or squished it in her hands - until I saw what she was doing and put a stop to that. Jemama also stirred the enchilada sauce and Princess handed me tortillas while I was assembling them.

I dished up Jemama's first and she really wanted to eat. I told her that she had to wait until we prayed because if we didn't thank God for the food today we might not have any tomorrow. She said "Thank you God for the food, Amen." I just about lost it I was laughing so hard! She did manage to wait until we were all at the table, but it just about killed her!

I'll do my best to get a big update done tomorrow - with pictures!

Saturday

2007-12-22T15:40:00.000-07:00

The internet was out yesterday, sorry for the missed post. Today we went to buy African clothes and I can honestly say I have never been as hot, sweaty and stinky in my entire life. We went to an area of town where there are many textile stores, along with shoe stores, etc. It's the last shopping day before Christmas here and the number of people was staggering. The streets were FULL of people - so many that it was overwhelming even though we were in the car. We couldn't go very quickly because there were people all around the car. We didn't stop in that area, which was fine by me. It would have been a nightmare trying to keep track of all of the kids.

I got African clothes for the kids and myself for the plane ride. It is an considered an honor to leave the country wearing native clothing.

I am exhausted, so I'm going to leave you w/ a few funny things we've said to the kids:

To all of the kids - Please don't use the shampoo, hair conditioner or toothpaste to wash your hands.

Princess - swimsuits are for the beach, not for under your pajamas.

We had leftover chicken after dinner tonight and they put it in a to-go box. Princess was carrying it on her head part of the way home. I couldn't figure out why Jemama was laughing so hard and then heard Princess say "Buy my chicken! Buy my chicken!" loudly as we were walking down a crowded street.

Hopefully I'll have energy to send more tomorrow.

Thursday

2007-12-20T15:08:00.000-07:00

We started the day today with a really good breakfast that the kids just loved. They all ate most of their pancakes, eggs, cereal and papaya. We decided to take them to the beach to play. Most of the kids have been pretty afraid of the ocean, so we didn't bother with swimming suits. The waves were amazing - much like the Pacific Ocean in the U.S. There are really strong rip tides all along the coast, so swimming is not an option. We let the kids explore the beach and they were initially terrified to get their feet wet. It didn't take long for them to get over that, except for Princess. It took much longer for her to even get her feet wet than the others.

By about 20 minutes after we got there, they were laying on their stomachs, facing the waves and waiting to see if the water would reach them. They were totally soaked and full of sand.

Wednesday

2007-12-19T14:24:00.000-07:00

We had another busy day and it was very productive. Jess got approved for visas for both kids today - although by the skin of her teeth. There is paperwork that needs to be redone, but the consular said that Jess could take the kids home and then submit corrected paperwork. The changes came about as a result of the DNA testing that showed that her two kids aren't biological siblings. This means that her daughter's birth certificate needs to be redone, they need new relinquishment papers, etc. This likely wouldn't have happened if Jess hadn't come on this trip. We were both very relieved today.

We spent most of the morning enjoying the last bits of quiet and preparing the room for four active kids. Jess' kids came to the meeting today at the Embassy at 2:00. Nadime, the agency rep, said that she would go get my kids later and bring them to the guest house. When she left, she said she'd be back with them about 4:00. Jess and I brought the kids back to the Guest House, opened our door and the room looked perfect - no sign of anything we had left out. Just after we opened the door, one of the employees, who is really nice, said that the proprietor - one of the most difficult women I've ever met - had photographers who were coming over to take pictures of the hotel, so they cleaned up our room to get ready for the photographers. We were both more than a little irritated, but since the employees are so nice and the photographers showed up just after we got back, we just took the kids outside to play for awhile until they were done.

It was really fun to see just how excited a 4 and 6-year old got about getting backpacks and clothes. Florence tried on several outfits, then posed in front of the mirror that sits on the floor and flaunted her new clothes for us. Diamond was thrilled to have a T.V., but quickly became too distracted by a toilet that flushes, running water and computers.

By 5:30 I hadn't heard from Nadime, so I called her and asked her where she was and when she was bringing my kids. She was very irritated and said she'd call back. We walked with the kids to a local restaurant and by the time we got there she still hadn't called back. I called her again and she was again really irritated, saying that she had things to do first for her job and would bring them later. It gets dark by about 6:15 here. We got into an argument and I said that I was going to get a cab and go get them myself. Staff at the hotel associated w/ the restaurant got me a cab driver who was very nice. He drove me to the AFAA house, waited while I got the kids and took me back to the guest house. It's a good thing I have been paying attention to my surroundings, since he didn't know exactly where I wanted him to go. Esther, the girls' mom was concerned about me taking them and was afraid that I wasn't going to let her see them again. I assured her that she would see them again several times and she was OK with that. She is very devoted to the kids and really wants to make sure that they're OK.

The girls were also enthralled with the flushing toilet, sink with running water, light switches and the shower. They first wanted to take a shower and were excited about their new clothes and pajamas. Jemama took most of the clothes and put them in her drawer, so we'll have to try on clothes tomorrow and try to split things a little more equitably!

It took some work to get them to sleep, but they are all crashed now. Tomorrow we get visas at about 3:00 and before that we can play. I am taking the girls back to the AFAA house on Friday and probably Saturday as well to see their friends and so that the kids there can say goodbye. Their mother wants to talk w/ me, but we need Nadime to interpret since we can barely understand each other.

More tomorrow - I'm exhausted and smell lovely! It's shower time!

Tuesday

2007-12-18T13:50:00.000-07:00

OK, today is really Tuesday - just trying to keep track! We went to the Embassy today and waited for about an hour before the AFAA rep told us what was going on - the Embassy couldn't find any of our files! This was a bit disconcerting and after a little longer they found the files. Jessica, her two kids, their grandmother and her son's mother went to talk to the consular. Because her daughter's mother didn't come today (for unknown reasons) the consular asked them to come back tomorrow with her daughter's mother and then she would review their case. We are really praying that the grandmother can bring the mother in tomorrow.

My girls were cleared quickly, after the consular determined that another child's paperwork was in Jemama's chart (the kid's name was Jeremiah and his parents' last name started w/ an "S"). This helped explain why everything here takes so long - even in the U.S. Embassy - but didn't ease my concerns about the entire process at all. The consular originally said that we could pick up the visa's on Friday, then changed it to Thursday afternoon because they were having a Christmas party on Friday. She knows that I'm leaving on Sunday, so she should have it by Friday at the latest.

It was great to meet the girls' mother, Esther. It was difficult to communicate because her accent is very heavy. One of the older girls here translated for me this afternoon so that I could get some information from Esther for the girls. She will be here until we leave, so I will have more chances to talk with her. She said that she was sad to see the girls go, but didn't appear sad - such different ways of expression here - many are very subtle. It's interesting to notice non-verbal communication in another culture, and very hard to decipher meaning at times.

We spent a lot of time with the kids today, played, had them write letters to their American parents for us to take back, let them draw, etc. It was especially hard with one little boy who is about 10 years old. He doesn't have an American family yet and desperately wants one. He was sad because he didn't have anyone to write a letter to. He wrote a letter to whomever will be his parent(s) saying that he loved them and wanted to come to America. He drew a bunch of pictures with his letter and we said that we would send it to his parents when he got a referral. It's hard to see kids so sad and in need of a family - he and his little sister are so cute, loving and fun to be around.

Tomorrow Jessica goes back to the Embassy to try again with the consular - please pray that her daughter's mother shows up tomorrow.

What a Wonderful Day!

2007-12-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

So, at dinner I asked Jessica if it was still Tuesday. She said very straight faced - "It's Monday" - that's how full today was. We started by going to the AFAA house and I met my kids! It was so so wonderful to see them and give them hugs. They both mobbed me when I got out of the car, were giggling and just held on like I would disappear if they let go. They are wonderful and really full of energy. All of the kids at the AFAA house are great and so in need of attention and stability. They were working hard at school when we arrived and we got to help with some of their school work.

After the AFAA house, we went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get a passport for one of the other kids. His passport was applied for 5 months ago and still hadn't been completed. The woman who takes care of a lot of the paperwork here, Nadime, worked some miracle today and we left with his passport. We also stopped by the U.S. Embassy to get more paperwork, bought water and some lunch, went back to the Embassy, then went back to the AFAA house for play time with the kids. They were pretty wild and had a blast learning ballet moves (from Jessica), playing games and singing.

We came back to the guest house, which is about a block from the beach, and decided to go for a walk on the beach and then go to dinner. The walk on the beach was fantastic. There are many, many people who live in very run-down conditions on the beach. There were lots of kids and two weird white ladies with cameras were more than they could resist. They all wanted their picture taken and wanted to see themselves in the picture on the screen. When they saw their picture, they would shriek and giggle. The challenge was to get them to back up more than a foot from the camera! We entertained each other for almost an hour. It was wonderful to hear so many kids laughing in such poor, difficult conditions. The adults were more standoffish, but would wave occasionally and seemed to like that we were entertaining their kids. For more info and better writing about this, see the link for "Diamond and Florence" - that's Jessica's blog.

This was absolutely the best day of my life. I became a mom today when I met my kids - it doesn't get better than that! I also got to bring some joy into the lives of the kids at the foster home and those who live on the beach.

We're Here!

2007-12-16T15:33:00.000-07:00

We haven't been to see the kids yet. I'm about to go to sleep - I'm exhausted! It's not as hot as I expected and extremely humid. It will take a bit to get used to, but getting rid of the jeans and wearing hot weather clothes will be a great start. The flights were really long, but certainly not unbearable. Jessica and I will get to meet each of our kids tomorrow and will get started on paperwork.

We are staying in a guest house. So far it seems to be good, except that they wanted to charge us more than they said they would and that "you can afford it" - to which I replied that it wasn't for the cranky proprietor to decide what I could and could not afford. We're going to see how things go and may move to a different hotel if needed.

OK, I'm falling asleep - more later.

New Pics of the Girls

2007-12-15T09:17:00.001-07:00

The agency director travelled to Liberia in late November to escort kids to the U.S. She took a lot of pictures - hope you enjoy these!

I'm on my way!

2007-12-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

I'm in the Denver airport waiting to board my flight to DC. I connect with Jessica (mom to Diamond and Florence) there and then we're off to Brussels! I didn't think that it was actually possible to have two 50 lb. bags, but I did it - that is an enormous amount of stuff to haul through the airport! I also managed to pack a backpack and a really heavy computer bag - hopefully I can pack more of what's I'm carrying on the way back.

I'll do the best I can to keep you updated!

It's Really Happening!

2007-12-12T17:44:00.000-07:00

I'm really leavnig for Liberia on the 15th and have officially reached the freak-out point! I'm getting packed, which is interesting because I'm usually a last minute packer. Fortunately one of the other moms, Jessica (mom to Diamond and Florence) is traveling at the same time and we will meet up along the way. I'm planning on keeping my blog updated while I'm gone if the internet in Monrovia is working and if it's working quickly enough to be worthwhile! Hopefully I can post pictures too.

If that doesn't work, then I will at least be posting when I get back. Later!

Travel Plans!

2007-11-30T16:52:00.000-07:00

Weather: It has been cold at night - down into the teens. We haven't had much snow to speak of and the wind hasn't been bad the past few days. It is supposed to snow over the weekend.

I paid for my ticket today! It's looking very likely that I will be traveling on December 15 to get my kids. I have been working to straighten the house and get things as ready as I can for their arrival. Of course, I haven't started packing yet and I don't plan to do my usual last minute packing.

This all feels like such a whirlwind! The livingroom furniture is out of the girls' bedroom - except for the aquarium and misc. other small things. It shouldn't take much time to finish organizing in there.

DNA Results!!

2007-11-28T16:47:00.000-07:00

The results are in and the girls' mom is really their mom! This means that when the results are back in Liberia, I should be cleared to travel. I have plane reservations to leave on December 15 and return on December 24. Hopefully that will really happen that way!

The other family that is having DNA testing doesn't have their results yet, but should by Friday evening, so hopefully we can still travel together.

DNA samples arrived at the lab

2007-11-26T19:32:00.001-07:00

Well, the heading says most of it. The samples arrived at the lab for analysis, which was started immediately. We could get results by this Friday or may have to wait another week.

Cheryl is returning from Liberia on Thursday with several of the kids, so they will be home for Christmas!!! Karen leaves tomorrow to bring back Ishamel and possibly other kids if there are any ready while she's there. Soon lots of the AFAA kids will be home!

DNA Update and some HUMOR!!!

2007-11-23T11:55:00.001-07:00

The DNA samples are on their way back to the U.S.! They should be here on about Tuesday and will be analyzed when they get back to the lab. The analysis will take between 5 and 10 days, depending on how complicated it ends up being. I have tentative reservations to travel from December 15 through the 24th if everything goes well!

Here's a little humor to occupy you in the meantime.

DNA testing scheduled!

2007-11-18T19:19:00.000-07:00

We got an e-mail from the director of the agency, who is in Liberia now. She said that the girls and their mother will be going to the embassy on Monday to do the DNA testing. Once that's done, then the test kit should be sent back to the U.S.

The other family who needs to get testing done (Florence and Diamond) has run into a snag - hopefully a temporary one. The birthmother of those kids couldn't be found on Thursday or Friday. We are all hoping that she returns to do the DNA testing so that the kids can go home soon.

We aren't likely to get another update soon, since the agency director has had many difficulties w/ computers and internet connections this trip.

Test Kits Arrived in Monrovia

2007-11-16T11:37:00.000-07:00

You gotta love FedEx tracking! The DNA test kits arrived in Monrovia on 11/13/2007. The next step is for the U.S. Embassy there to coordinate getting the samples (cheek swabs) done at a clinic, with the girls, their mother and an embassy representative all present. After the samples are taken they are sealed and given to the embassy representative, who sends them back to the testing company in the U.S. The length of time that this takes depends entirely on the embassy and there's no way of knowing when they'll get it done.

The agency director left for Liberia a couple of days ago and should be there by now. She may be able to help speed things up. She's there to escort several kids who have been issued visas and can come home! She'll be back in the U.S. toward the end of November and Karen, one of the traveling moms, will be going there to pick up her son Ishamel. His visa was approved recently when the consular agreed to hear his case again. His mother hasn't been seen for 4 years, he doesn't remember her at all, and initially the consular demanded that the mother be found so she could talk to her. It was a huge relief when she agreed to approve his visa and now he gets to come home!

DNA Test Kits Sent Out

2007-11-09T12:37:00.000-07:00

The DNA testing kits have been sent from the company in Missouri and should be in Monrovia in a week. Hopefully things will go smoothly from there.

There were three more kids approved on Thursday, so there will be many Liberian kids that will get to spend Christmas home with their families. Ishamel's case was heard again by the consular and she changed her mind, so he will be coming home soon too.

We Have Case Numbers!!

2007-11-06T15:14:00.000-07:00

Weather: Cool to cold at night (last night was about 25) and warm, beautiful, sunny, fall weather during the days. I'm not sure how long this is going to last, but I'm enjoying it for now!

I have called the U.S. Embassy in Liberia several times over the past two days and finally got through to a real person, then the right real person and got the girls' case numbers today. This means that the DNA test kits can be sent to Monrovia tomorrow so that the DNA testing can be done. Since it takes about a week for each piece of this process - sending the kits, doing the sampling and returning the kits to the U.S., running the test and sending the results back to the Embassy - it is likely to be at least a month before the results are back in Monrovia at the consular's office.

If the test shows that their mother is indeed their mother, then there is still a chance that the kids could be home by Christmas - although it is a pretty slim chance. I'm still hoping!

Other great news is that there have been a total of five children whose cases have been approved. The agency director is traveling to Liberia in about a week to escort them home. It is so encouraging to see progress in these cases. Two of these kids have been in the foster home a very long time and all are very anxious to get home.

On a Happier Note - Pictures!

2007-11-02T16:39:00.000-06:00

Jemama's Bed

Princess' Bed

See DVD that is being sent to the kids at the foster home by clicking on this link to Sue's Blog.

New Requests of the Consular at the U.S. Embassy in Liberia

2007-11-02T16:28:00.000-06:00

Well, I didn't think that I would need to keep my congress people involved in my adoption anymore and I was wrong. Here's the letter I sent them yesterday. I'll let you know when I hear anything.

Dear Senator Enzi and Representative Cubin,

I sincerely appreciate all of the help that you and your respective office have offered me to date. I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to ask for your help again, but the progress in my adoption has stalled again and I am hoping that you can help me. The contact information for my agency is listed below – you have my permission to contact the director of my agency if you have any questions for her about my adoption.

The paperwork for my girls’ adoptions was submitted to the Consular of the U.S. Embassy in Liberia on October 25, 2007. The Consular at that time requested DNA testing to prove that the girls’ mother was really their mother and not their grandmother or aunt. While it is perfectly reasonable for her to request DNA testing, this has happened rarely in Liberia to date and happened without any warning in my children’s case. Before the DNA testing can be started, the Consular has to send a case number to my agency so that they can send the DNA test kit with the appropriate information. It has been a week since the Consular requested the testing and my agency still doesn’t have a case number. The testing and transportation of the kit and results will take about a month from the time my agency receives the case number.

· Please ask the Consular to send the case number(s) and any other necessary information to my agency so that the DNA tests can be sent out as soon as possible.
· While waiting for the DNA test results, is there anything else that can be done to make the visa interview go more smoothly?
· Is there any other information that the Consular wants to have for the visa interview?
· What are the criteria for abandonment? What is the process for documenting abandonment? Exactly what documentation or written record would the Consular want to see to accept that a child had been abandoned?
· Would it help my case if I traveled to Liberia before the visa interview (on a separate trip) to visit with the Consular? What information would she want from me under these circumstances?

Your help would be greatly appreciated. If you have any ideas about additional questions to ask or if you have additional ideas on how you could help my adoption proceed more quickly, please let me know.

Thank you again for all of your help.

One Step Forward, ? Steps Back

2007-10-26T16:28:00.000-06:00

Jemama's and Princess' paperwork was submitted to the U.S. Embassy in Liberia yesterday. That means that the consular at that embassy looked at the paperwork, met with the girls and their mother (biological mother in Liberia)in an effort to make a decision about whether the girls are legitimate orphans. The field investigation will be started when the consular orders it - basically they review all of the information again and may check with relatives, may visit the girls, etc. This is the information I got from the adoption agency today:

---
JEMAMA & PRINCESS - this adopting mother will be coming to Monrovia, to file the girl's I-600's after the Embassy reviews and approves all documentation and the field investigation. These are two girls who were brought to the Embassy yesterday with their biological mother and you now want DNA testing to verify that the mother is in fact the biological mother and not the grandmother or aunt.
---

The agency director wrote a letter to the consular pleading with her to consider the hardship of people in Liberia and the dire situations there and to avoid further delaying this adoption to do DNA testing. I don't know yet how long the DNA testing might delay the adoption, but it doesn't seem that anything moves quickly in this process.

The troubling thing about this is that the information known about my girls' family and situation is simpler and more clear-cut than for some of the other kids. I worry about how much other families will be delayed as well. Hopefully Monday will bring positive news.

A Little Bit of News

2007-10-23T15:29:00.000-06:00

I heard from Representative Cubin's office and have some information on my immigration paperwork. My I-600A approval and immigration file were sent to the National Visa Center by USCIS in Denver and were received on 9/21/2007. The NVC sent them to Liberia on 9/25/2007 and everything arrived at the consular's office at the U.S. Embassy in Liberia on 10/11/2007. This means that whenever my agency submits paperwork to continue this process, everything will be ready for the next step.

The next step is for the U.S. Embassy in Liberia to do a field investigation to check over everything again. Also, the consular will look over the paperwork and decide if she intends to approve visas for the girls. Some other things need to happen before I could travel and I don't know what all of them are, but I hope they don't take much time!

If everything gets submitted this week and the remaining steps go smoothly, then traveling at the end of November or beginning of December might be possible. Not much has gone smoothly so far, but I'm still hoping for the best!

Great video clip

2007-10-21T16:34:00.000-06:00

This was on Sue's blog and it's wonderful and funny!

October 8 - Happy Birthday Jemama!

2007-10-10T11:59:00.000-06:00

Monday was a tough day - Jemama's birthday and she's not home yet. I'm still working to find out the status of my immigration paperwork so that things with their adoption can continue to move forward.

Jemama, we'll have a birthday celebration when I bring you and Princess home. Love you, Mom

Letter to my Senator

2007-10-05T15:53:00.000-06:00

Weather Update: Beautiful fall weather, occasionally cold and windy.

I sent a letter to my senator last night. I'm at the point where I didn't know how else to get things moving. Here's what I sent to Senator Enzi's office.

------
Dear Senator Enzi,

I am writing to ask for your assistance in helping me get past a roadblock in my adoption. I have been in the process of adopting two children from Liberia, West Africa for almost a year and a half. My children are 6 and 9 years old sisters who have been in an orphanage in Liberia for over a year.

Currently there is a holdup with immigration that I have not been able to resolve, even with the help of my adoption agency. My first I-600A form was scheduled to expire in late September of this year. In mid-July I filed a second I-600A form through the Denver USCIS office and it was approved in mid-September. I just received notification from my adoption agency that the U.S. Embassy in Liberia has no record of the approval of my I-600A application. There is still some work that needs to be done by the U.S. Embassy in Liberia before I can travel to pick up my girls and that cannot be started until the embassy has my complete file from USCIS in Denver. I have tried to contact them and have not received a response.

If it’s not too much trouble, I would like to ask you to request two things from the Denver USCIS office. If you would ask them to send e-mail notification of the approval of my I-600A application (even if they have already sent it once) to the U.S. Embassy in Liberia AND ALSO to send my entire immigration file to the National Visa Center in New Hampshire with instructions to then send it to the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia, Liberia. My adoption cannot be completed without the complete file from the immigration office.

Your help in this is greatly appreciated. I have waited a very long time to be a mother to these girls and they have waited a very long time to be safe, well fed, cared for and loved. Thank you very much for your time and assistance.
------

I forgot to ask him to have USCIS send me confirmation that they had done this, but I'm hoping that happens without my asking - otherwise I might have to send another letter.

Hopefully this gets something moving in a positive direction so I can get my kids!

Liberian English Lessons - courtesy of the Reeds

2007-10-02T17:19:00.000-06:00

Weather Update: Chilly and really windy!

Many people have asked if the girls speak English and I get a puzzled look when I reply "Yes, but it is heavily accented and very difficult to understand." The Reeds, whose blog you can get to from the right column of my blog, are missionaries in Liberia and have been there for two years. Here is Bob's commentary on Liberian English.

The delays (and frustration) continue...

2007-10-01T20:28:00.000-06:00

Weather Update: There was light snow in the mountains to the east of here on Saturday night and the hiking on Sunday was wonderful. The days are in the mid-60s to mid-70s and nights mid-30s to mid-40s. It's gorgeous in the mountains with all of the Aspen changing. Tomatoes are still growing in the greenhouse.

This will probably describe the latest delays - it's an e-mail from today from the director of the adoption agency (minus info on other families):

-----
The US Embassy in Liberia has now responded with partial information to the Department of State with information about AFAA families. My e-mails to the consular officer in Monrovia have not been answered since I started e-mailing directly on August 28. It appears to have needed several e-mails from the DOS to the Embassy for DOS to receive any response.

The Embassy has either not received or they are still looking for information on the following families:
STEWART, Sharon

I urge each family to please contact their USCIS office to request a status update on what paperwork went to the Embassy. Please remember that as of 8/1/07 the entire file must be mailed via regular mail to the National Visa Center in New Hampshire; the NVC must process and then courier via DHL the entire file to the US Embassy. The Embassy consular section must then log in the file before they can start their end of the process.The changes made on 8/1/07 are adding considerable time to the entire USCIS and US Embassy process. The changes were made in preparation for the Hague Treaty. Entire files, not just an approval, must now go via regular mail and courier through the NVC and to the involved Embassy. E-mailed approvals are no longer allowed.
-----

What does this mean? The U.S. Embassy in Liberia has no information about the approval of my immigration paperwork. The USCIS office in Denver supposedly sent an e-mail approval, but the embassy is requiring hard copy approval notification. This would have to be mailed to the National Visa Center (NVC) in New Hampshire and sit in line with those of who knows how many other adoptive parents. From there, once they review it, it has to be sent via DHL to Monrovia, Liberia, which takes at least a week. So, best case is that the Embassy will have notification of my approval in 2 weeks. My experience so far has shown that doubling any time estimate ends up being a reasonable (or still short) estimate. After the Embassy gets the paperwork, they still have to order a field investigation where the U.S. Embassy visits people associated with my kids and reviews everything. They also have to have a pre-Visa interview, in which they review my paperwork and decide whether to grant me an appointment to get the girls' visas. If that appointment is granted (which is very likely) then I will be able to travel.

Needless to say, I'm disappointed - and still hopeful. I really believe that my kids will come home, I just need to be patient awhile longer.

I-600A Approved!

2007-09-20T17:51:00.000-06:00

Weather update: We have had wonderful fall weather during the day, along with cool nights. No garden news - a few more tomatoes and that's it. Chickens continue to get more new feathers and egg production is going back up slowly now that they're almost done molting. There are lots of neat birds around - vireos, tons of Turkey Vultures, some that I can't identify, since it's migrating season.

I received my I-171H form last night in the mail, which is the form stating that my I-600A immigration form has been approved! It said that notification of approval has been e-mailed to Monrovia, Liberia and sent to the National Visa Center. Hopefully the U.S. Embassy in Liberia receives this without any problems so that the girls can get their visa appointment.

I wish I knew what this meant for my travel date, but I don't. I plan to call the adoption agency tomorrow - hopefully they will have more information.

Back to Work!

2007-09-17T17:43:00.000-06:00

Garden Update: Everything outside except the flowers, chard and beets bit it on the evening of 9/10 because it frosted. The outside garden now looks pretty pathetic! Good news is that the tomatoes, one mini-pumpkin (the only one that grew) and all of the herbs are happy, as is the chicken! It's cold enough at night that I've been closing up the chicken coop and the greenhouse.

I added pictures to previous posts - check them out! I think I finally figured out most of the glitches with my camera, so there should be more pictures from now on. I also added an estimated travel date at the top to keep you updated.

I got many things finished on my vacation - washed all of the girls' new bedding and made their beds (pics coming), took apart and cleaned Princess' car seat and actually got it back together, finished deck stairs, did lots of cleaning, spent time with friends and started the girls' scrapbooks. The scrapbooks were more fun than I could have guessed! I still have a few pages to make before they get home. I'm keeping it pretty simple so that I have a chance of actually finishing it!

It's sounding like two other waiting parents, myself and the agency director might all be going to Liberia at the same time. I'm trying to get more information on this and will update you when I know more. There are still problems with the U.S. Embassy in Liberia and no news yet on my I-600A. I'll let you know when I have more info.

Deck Stairs are FINISHED!!!

2007-09-10T18:56:00.000-06:00

Weather/Garden News: We were supposed to get snow last night - didn't happen. It got down into the low 40s last night and the night before. It was cold enough to close up the greenhouse, close up the house and the chicken coop and cover the zucchini - even though I have enough to feed a small country! The tomatoes keep on cooking! If I quit eating so many and if I can get enough ripe at the same time I'll start canning.

The deck stairs are done. I built the deck several years ago - well built the platform part one year, added the rails the next year and tacked the old stairs to it because I didn't feel like messing w/ stairs. They have legitimately been a safety hazard all along, but I ignored it until recently, when I (1) finished critical projects for the girls' room and (2) pictured them running up and down them! One of my other projects for the week is to figure out the glitches with my camera/printer/computer combo and get some pictures posted.

Boo looking disapprovingly at the old stairs.

New stairs get Hershey and Boo's approval! The posts and top rails are long because I won't know where they need to be cut until I build the stair rails.

That is the happy news. The not so great news is that I'm not at all likely to be traveling by September 25. My I-600A wasn't approved on Thursday - they needed another bit of paper from my home study agency (the local one in Wyoming). The man reviewing everything said that it will be finished at the latest Friday 9/14 and that he will try to sneak it through earlier than that. There are more hangups to be anticipated, including:
1 - notification of I-600A approval. This has to go through the National Visa Center and then to Liberia. There is reason to believe that they may do this by snail mail. This means U.S. mail to the east coast, then DHL to Liberia. Just the DHL part usually takes about a week.
2 - The "field investigation" can't happen until Liberia has notification of approval of my I-600A (also know there as a Visa-37). The field investigation has been reported to be fairly simple, but getting it scheduled has not been too simple.
3 - Getting all of the paperwork perfect before requesting the visa interview (the appointment in Liberia where the girls get their visa).
4 - Getting an appointment for the visa interview has been a major and recent hangup. I will need to be in Liberia for that appointment, but it needs to be scheduled before I leave here.

Your prayers that things keep moving in a positive direction would be great. I'm not one to ask God for too many specifics - I figure He knows best. Maybe I've just finally learned by getting what I ask for too many times!

Thanks for your support!

Vacation!

2007-09-06T20:20:00.000-06:00

Garden update: It rained again last night - it seems like we've had more rain this summer than the past three combined! My sick chicken still doesn't look great, but is hanging in there.

Chi-Chi jus' hangin'!

I start my vacation tomorrow (Friday) and will be home all of next week. I'll be working on the house and getting ready for the girls. I can't wait! I love being at home doing projects and it's so exciting to prepare for my kids to come home. I have to work a little first thing in the morning, get my hair cut, cook for a benefit bake sale and get some freshly roasted green chilis from a local restaurant in the afternoon. I will also see if I can get any information on whether my I-600A was approved and whether approval notice was sent to the proper places. Saturday I start work on the deck stairs!

A glimpse into the life of an eccentric!

2007-09-05T20:12:00.000-06:00

Weather and Chickens: Cloudy most of the day and rainy tonight with lots of lightening and thunder. OK, birds are so weird. By the time you know they're sick they are almost gone. I thought everything was fine with the chickens and today one is puffing her feathers up and closing her eyes during the middle of the day - not good. The only sign before this was that she didn't seem to be picking on the other chickens as much.

Adoption Update: It looks like hoping to travel on September 25 is likely a pipe dream, but I'm still hoping! The agency director hasn't gotten responses to many e-mail messages to the embassy in Liberia.

I keep referring to my "to do" list and thought it might be humorous to post it. This is the list on the side of the fridge - the longer term, bigger project list. It changes over time but never gets shorter - to wish for such a thing would be silly. Here goes:
build deck stairs
repaint living room floor
repaint living room walls
attach thermostat to wall
finish cabinets
tile backsplash in kitchen
make pot rack
fix transition btwn kitchen and living room
fix transition btwn kitchen and bathroom
replace windows in kids' room
paint door jambs
replace kitchen window
hang coat hook
replace living room window
rewire my bedroom
replace bedroom window
replace carpet in cubby
fix trap door to open over carpet
make stained glass for octagon window
fix shed windows
plant front courtesy strip
fix front foundation (I'm hiring someone to do this)
more rocks in dog run
plant trees in back courtesy strip
rebuild stairsteps on side of house
grey-water system?
rain-catcher barrels?

The list on the front of the fridge - the more short-term, simpler list:
clean car
clean house
hang quilts
apply for visa
pay bills
hang cabinets
build deck stairs
dig out crab grass
plant lawn
frame picture
finish brother's present

So, last night I balanced my checkbook and cleaned out the car. How long do you suppose it's going to take me to get to the bottom of my lists? Well, at least it doesn't bother me to have so many things on them!

Things are Happening!

2007-09-04T14:21:00.000-06:00

Garden news: Bunches of zucchini, some summer squash and the tomatoes are ripening! It has been warm again, although definitely fall. The starlings are forming big flocks and the turkey vultures are grouping together more as well - not sure if they migrate or not. The little sparrow babies are growing and the sunflowers are blooming. One of my five chickens is almost done molting, the others are still looking pretty ragged.

Garden outside the greenhouse (zucchini and summer squash, corn and flowers)

Garden inside the greenhouse (tomatoes, mini-pumpkins, cucumbers and herbs)

On August 31 I got the following info from my adoption agency:

The following children have completed documents including Liberian passports. We are waiting to receive the documents for review before giving the approval to submit to the US Embassy for their review and field investigation so the Embassy will schedule a visa interview for the families planning to travel to Liberia.
1. JEMAMA - for Sharon - WY
2. PRINCESS - for Sharon - WY

The imigration paperwork (I-600A mentioned last time) is scheduled to be reviewed this Thursday, which will be the last bit of paperwork to complete on my end - other than my visa, which is a simple quick process. The adoption decree in Liberia is done, as are the birth certificates and passport, so hopefully this time it's real!

My daughters' two cousins were also on this list, so hopefully I can travel at the same time as their mother so we can all meet. Right now I have plans to leave on September 25 and return sometime around 10/4-10/6. I am really hoping that I can keep these reservations!

Just when my house project list was huge I need to prioritize again to make sure that I'm ready to go on 9/25. I am currently working on rebuilding the deck stairs, along with miscellaneous other smaller projects, like getting rid of all of the junk in my house and cleaning! I tore the stairs apart yesterday and dug post holes for the two posts at the bottom of the stairs. I should be able to finish it next weekend.

My bedroom after I finished painting - Chi-Chi on the ladder as usual!

Screen door on the girls' bedroom to keep cats out and let heat in. Weird, but works in a weird house!

In three weeks I could be a mom for real and in person!

Current Delays

2007-08-16T13:31:00.000-06:00

Seasonal Update: Currently there are many zucchini and summer squash, lots of green tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, basil and other herbs in my garden. My corn is tasseling, but it is less than 4' high, so who knows what will happen with that. The chickens are molting and being de-wormed at the moment. The wind started again about a week ago - meaning that fall is creeping in. We had a wonderful thunderstorm last night that I watched for awhile.

Some of you also follow the Reed's blog, in which he gives a weather update with most posts. I like reading that for Liberia and thought I'd do my own version w/ a seasonal update - hope you enjoy.

Most of you know that I was hoping to travel to get my girls in early-mid September and am now hoping to go sometime in October. There are two current delays affecting my adoption. One is the result of changes in how the U.S. Embassy in Liberia processes visa applications. They used to allow walk-in appointments to get visas for the children who were being adopted. Now, with the new changes, appointment requests must be made in advance, in writing on agency letterhead and only by certain people. Appointments are granted only one day per week and only for a certain number of kids in total. This has slowed down the rate that visas are granted, but doesn't appear to be as big a delay as was originally feared.

The second delay I'm experiencing right now is with my I-600A application. This is an application from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service that approves me to be an adoptive parent. I did this originally when I started this process, but it is only good for 18 months. Mine is due to expire at the end of September, so I filed another one (and switched countries from Ethiopia to Libera and from one child to two). It arrived at USCIS in Denver on July 16, 2007 and still hasn't been reviewed. There are new employees in the office in Denver and the processing of these applications has been slow as a result. I just got notification today that my application should be reviewed within two weeks - hopefully that will actually happen. The other USCIS delay is that instead of each state notifying the foreign country of approval of the I-600A, they notify the National Visa Center (in the U.S.), who in turn notifies the foreign country - just another step that probably isn't really needed and will result in some delay.

This was just to update you on some of the nitty-gritty details of what's going on now. I'm still hoping to travel in October - I'll keep you updated!

Catching Up

2007-08-15T17:37:00.000-06:00

I haven't posted in awhile and lots has happened. The girls both have their passports, which is great. The U.S. Embassy in Liberia recently tightened their procedure for issuing visas for children leaving Liberia, which has slowed things down. In addition, USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Sevice) has changed their procedure for notifying foreign countries of approval of adoptive parents. I was approved way back when I started this process, but the paperwork will expire in September, so I applied again - so I'm stuck in that delay as well. The current estimate is that I will travel sometime in October.

Please stay tuned for more frequent updates!

Referral ACCEPTED!!

2007-05-14T19:29:00.000-06:00

On May 9, 2007 I officially accepted the referral for two sisters from Liberia! My 9-year-old daughter is named Jemama (or Jema) and my 6-year-old daughter is named Princess. I'm guessing that it will be several months before I can go to get them, since passports from Liberia take awhile to get (for the girls). I am SO excited! This makes this process feel real. I'm no longer waiting to get to the top of some list, I'm waiting to bring my girls home!

When I originally started this process, I wanted to adopt from Liberia. The agency convinced me to adopt from Ethiopia, since I was asking for a young child and they don't often have young kids available for adoption in Liberia. I also started the process asking for a 2.5-year-old, since I was concerned about attachment issues. Later, after talking with the agency and other adoptive parents, I became less concerned about attachment issues - most of the kids have been raised in a family and have an early attachment experience. I have always had it in the back of my mind that I wanted two kids eventually and kept thinking about how I could make that happen. I think my original instincts were right - adopt an older child from Liberia. After examining some of my thoughts on what I needed to support a child, I realized that I could afford two as long as they were both in school (daycare is really expensive). God has a way of getting us to make the decisions we are supposed to!

I have been talking to people and gathering various things - bed frames and a bike - and looking for things like a dresser and toys. I have some work to do on their room and around the house to get ready. Some of those things really need to be done before they come home and some I would just like to have done. I suppose I should start by getting laundry done and my stuff picked up!

Some pictures finally!

2007-05-07T17:58:00.000-06:00

These are my dogs, Boo (top) and Hershey (bottom). They are my hiking buddies and love to run. Fortunately I live close to many areas where I can let them run without people getting upset. Boo (named that because she's deaf) is a blue heeler and Hershey (I didn't name her) is an Australian Shepherd.

Forgive the weird formatting, I'm still getting used to posting pictures!

One Year of Waiting

2007-05-05T16:08:00.000-06:00

Well, as of today I have "officially" been waiting a year for my kids. I woke up this morning and decided that I refused to be sad today - lots has happened toward the goal of bringing my kids home and people are still working toward that goal.

Today my work included cleaning the house and taking a bunch of stuff to the Salvation Army. There is more room to work in the girls' room and I am hoping to sort through more things so that, soon, I can make that room theirs. I'm hoping to get more information about them this coming week - keep your fingers crossed!

Not much news yet

2007-05-01T12:39:00.000-06:00

The only new information is that the girls are definitely HIV negative - they have had both of the required tests. My agency is still waiting for more information and pictures from Liberia, which I need before I officially accept the referral. I have resisted buying anything (except some cute hair clips) in case something doesn't work out. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have more to post.

I started work on their closet floor, which had really nasty carpet with two layers of really old padding under it. There is something that looks like really old paint on part of the floor, only it's really thick in places, like it got spilled. My house was built in the late 1800's, so it is undoubtedly lead-based. I may just chip it off and sand the wood - haven't decided yet. I have a friend who has some small pieces of cherry flooring that I may use instead. I'm trying not to spend too much time on it since it's just the closet! Of course, the first project is to get all of my junk out of their room, but I have been ignoring it.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to really enjoy sleeping in!

Referal - Maybe?!?!

2007-04-20T14:27:00.000-06:00

I may actually have a referral! I have asked about two sisters who are 5 and 9 years old and just have to wait until they get pictures and more info. I'm so excited I don't even know what to write. I'm supposed to call back in a week if I haven't heard anything yet. Now I really have motivation to clean out their room, get curtains made, fix the closet floor, paint, buy beds.... This is too cool!

Coffee & Chocolate

2007-03-31T19:19:00.000-06:00

One of the blogs I keep up with, http://theisaacsliberia.blogspot.com/, recently posted about fair trade, specifically about chocolate. I just got the Winter, 2007 issue of Co-op America and the issue focuses on "Economic Action for Africa". The article starts off stating "Every time you drink coffee, put on a gold necklace or diamond ring, enjoy a chocolate treat, drive your car with rubber tires, or even fill up the gas tank, you are connected to African countries - and through your purchases of these items, you may be unwittingly exacerbating African problems." It maps the locations in Africa that are involved with each of those products, talks about the problems and current status of those products in those countries. It also gives Fair Trade alternatives for many of these products and suggests actions that we can all do to stop the human rights abuses and environmental abuses. If you're interested in reading more, check out Co-op America at www.coopamerica.org. The link for information specific to fair trade chocolate is: http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/fairtrade/products/chocolate.cfm and coffee information can be found at: http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/fairtrade/products/coffee.cfm. Check out the "Green Pages" while you're there.

We can change many things through the choices we make as consumers, just look at how much more common it is to find organic food in chain grocery stores now. That happened because people wanted healthier choices and made their voices heard. Have fun shopping for fair trade products!

Pictures not coming so fast...

2007-03-31T18:55:00.000-06:00

I've got to be the laziest blogger! I've been spending far more time getting my house ready for this child - and goofing around - that I have been spending with my camera or this blog. There is more adoption news. I have been told that I'm first on the list for a boy, fourth on the list for a girl and fourth on the "either" list - I'm not sure how it works, but I'm hopeful that I'll get a referral soon. In the meantime, I have moved my bedroom into the bedroom with the dog door and am trying to sort through and get rid of things in the other bedroom. I'm not a pack rat and I still have an amazing amount of junk. It is sad to me to think of people who go without food and I'm overloaded with unnecessary crap.

I'm reading a really good book about transcultural adoption called "I'm Chocolate, You're Vanilla". I'm not very far in the book and it has already offered a lot that I think I will find helpful. I also found an Ethiopian cookbook that is good - it's called Exotic Ethiopian Cooking. I have only tried a few things and they have turned out well.

When I ask my adoption agency about referrals, they keep telling me "soon", so I hope to have more information soon!

Pictures are coming!

2006-12-29T15:01:00.000-07:00

My brother and his partner, Chef, gave me a digital camera and printer for Christmas - in anticipation of my child coming home! This means that I will be able to post pictures of dogs, cats, chickens and, hopefully soon, my son or daughter. We had a great Christmas together in Durango with friends. We had to leave a day later than planned due to the two feet of snow in Denver. My brother and his partner flew into Phoenix and drove six hours to meet us in Durango, since their flight from NYC to Denver was cancelled and all of the other flights were full. We had a great time, everyone had safe travels and we got caught up on everyone's lives.

There has been slight progress on the adoption - the paperwork that is needed for the license to be renewed has been sent to Ethiopia. The license won't be renewed until sometime after January 7, since the offices are closed until then for their Christmas holiday. I keep working on little projects and hoping and praying that things will move quickly.

Happy New Year! May it bring peace, hope and love to all!

More Delays

2006-12-20T11:34:00.000-07:00

Our agency's license to process adoptions in Ethiopia has been expired for some time and, hopefully, will be renewed within the next two weeks. In the mean time nothing could happen, no court dates, no referrals, nothing. I was told in October that I was about second on the list, and two weeks ago I was told that I was about seventh - big difference and not in the right direction! I don't mind the wait nearly as much as I mind the conflicting information. I was told in July that I should have a referral in 1.5 months and travel in another 1.5 months. That was almost 6 months ago and I still don't have a referral. I'm told to keep hanging in there. What are my choices? If I switch agencies I have to start all over, loose the 7+ months I've been waiting and a substantial amount of money, since a bunch of paperwork will need to be redone.

I am still working on getting house projects done and enjoying the rest of my life. I have had to disengage from this process somewhat in order to preserve my sanity! I could be optimistic and say that the wait has given me the opportunity to do other things, but I'm not feeling very optimistic at the moment. OK, it's not quite that bad, I have been making some feeble attempts to learn Amharic and am dangerously close to having time to take it seriously - like after Christmas - how's that for a goal? Oh, and I have managed to make passable injera and some pretty good Ethiopian food. I continue to work on improving the injera and have been having fun with that!

Injera Adventures

2006-11-01T17:41:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago I made injera - sort of. I have a teff starter that's bubbling away. I combined that with some white flour and water and let it sit for a day. In hindsight, I probably let it sit for too long. The recipe I have says to mix some of the injera with club soda, stir a little and cook on a lightly greased skillet. Sounds easy, huh! The dough didn't really want to mix with the club soda (or the water - I tried that too) and it didn't cook very well. At least the dogs liked it! If I could see and eat some injera before I tried to make it at least I'd know what I was aiming for!

I'll try again soon, the starter keeps bubbling away and is just waiting for next time. It will be fun to be able to cook Ethiopian food for my child!

Delays

2006-10-27T13:48:00.000-06:00

Several families adoptions were scheduled to be heard in the court in Ethiopia yesterday. Yesterday they were cancelled. One of these families has waited over a year for that court date and they have to wait more and renew their paperwork and change flight plans and deal with the heartache of not knowing when their kids will be able to come home. My heart aches mostly for them at this point and part of that ache is fear for my own adoption case - fear that I will have to go through the same heartwrenching waiting, uncertainty and delays upon delays. I knew that this would be part of the process when I started and knew that it would be difficult. Of course, I didn't realize just how difficult it would be - and probably won't until it's my turn to be in the middle of it all.

My projects for the weekend are to get rid of the STUFF that clutters my house so that I can move my bedroom to another room and get my kid's bedroom ready. This won't be complete by the end of the weekend, but I hope to make significant progress. I am very thankful for Freecycle (www.freecycle.org), our Clothing Cottage and other places that provide me a way to keep all of this STUFF out of the landfill.

The chickens have been laying 4-5 eggs a day recently, so I have started selling them. Who knows what great things may be accomplished with egg money! I'll have to be pretty disciplined though, since $2.50 can disappear pretty easily! Maybe if I save it and invest it wisely (and have chickens for the next 20 year) it might put my child through college - you never know.

House problems

2006-10-03T09:41:00.000-06:00

As I have mentioned, I have an old, crooked house. It is crooked because the foundation isn't so great - very old stone with crumbling mortar, cement in places, some places supported w/ cinder block pillars - you get the picture. Well, recently the dogs and cats started obsessing over the furnace vents in the floor. The were sniffing, sniffing, sniffing every chance they got. Since it's fall, I figured I probably had mice under the house. Then I noticed that the small hole between the foundation and the siding (that is really dry-rotted) was a lot bigger and that if I got the right look at it I could see under the house and realized that whatever was under there was lots bigger than a mouse.

I talked w/ Game and Fish and ended up borrowing a live trap. I baited it first with peanut butter and millet. The next morning the trap was sprung, but no critter and one end of the trap hadn't latched properly. The next night, since I was out of peanut butter, I baited it with tuna. The next morning the tuna was gone, but the trap hadn't sprung. Being fairly persistent, I tried again and put tuna in it again. Saturday morning I woke up, looked outside and was excited to see that the trap had sprung - until I saw a mad animal rolling around in it trying to get out and saw that it was a skunk.

I wasn't sure what to do and it didn't occur to me to call animal control. I figured out where to take it, deciding that I wanted to release it on the other side of the nearby river, away from major roads and away from other houses. My strategy was to be as quiet as possible and pray that it didn't spray me! I would love to have a week off of work, but having to take a week off to let the smell of skunk dissipate didn't sound so great. I got the trap into the back of the truck without any problem and drove to a place about 1.5 miles away. It took about three tries to get the skunk to come out of the trap, but it finally did and didn't spray me! It wandered down to the river, drank some water and rambled off. Whew!

Now I get to call contractors to figure out what's involved with fixing the foundation. I'm really not looking forward to the repair estimates!

Chickens!

2006-09-12T23:45:00.000-06:00

Just a quick note to say that I got my first egg from my six chickens last night. It was a small, pale green egg from my Americauna chicken. The color and size is normal for this kind of chicken, which has eggs that are either pink, blue or green. It's such a simple thing, but I was really excited. After all, I spent the better part of two weekends building the coop and enclosure and have been feeding them and taking care of them for almost five months now. I'm glad I'm so easy to please!

Camping

2006-09-10T13:34:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago I realized that I hadn't gone camping all summer, so I decided that I would go on 9/8/06 and stay out for a day or two. Of course, when the weather report said rain for much of the weekend, I didn't change my plans. I haven't done much camping because I grew up in a family that didn't camp and most of my friends either camp w/ just their family or they backpack. The one time I tried backpacking it felt like I was grinding all of the cartilage out of my hip sockets and I haven't done it since.

One of my biggest joys when camping or hiking is seeing the enjoyment my dogs get from being able to run around and be wild. With this in mind, I usually seek places where others aren't likely to be, or go at times when others aren't likely to go - like early fall when it's raining! First I went to a fairly high altitude place west of town and it was pouring rain. I had a debate with myself with one voice saying that it didn't make sense to stay and the other voice calling myself names like "wimp". Eventually I realized that if I set up camp here, by the time it was all done I would have two soaking wet and freezing dogs. Rather than give up, I decided to go back through town and go to a place east of town. This was still damp, but not as rainy. It took some time to get through this process and it was getting late in the afternoon. I wanted to get camp set up before it rained again and wanted some time for the dogs to run around, so I picked a camping spot that I was familiar with.

One thing I forgot about this place was that there are cows in this part of the forest (on a grazing lease). There were several fresh cow pies near the camp site, so I burried them and went on setting things up. We went for a short walk before it started raining again - there were more fresh cow pies. I didn't bother to make a fire, partially because I was realizing that camping would be much more fun with my child (who I don't have yet) and because it was raining intermitently and I didn't want to mess with it. We stayed overnight, despite the strong eau du cow in the tent (from the dogs). It rained most of the night, so we went home early on Saturday morning. After rinsing out the tent, washing the dog blankets and bathing the dogs, washing my clothes, etc. the house smells a lot less like cows. Lesson - cows and camping don't mix! I guess I'm glad I learned this before dragging a child through all of that!

The wait for this child has been hard this week. I have resolved to start exercising daily, partly as a distraction and partly because I would be embarassed to get into a swimming suit without losing some weight, and I WILL take my child swimming. I have also agreed to participate in a short-term book discussion group on spirituality and building a "life plan". Hopefully these will provide some positive distractions from the indeterminate waiting - and none of them involve cows!

How to Start?

2006-09-06T18:31:00.000-06:00

After a lot of time, soul searching, agency searching, information searching, etc. I have decided to adopt a child (boy or girl), age 5 or under from Ethiopia. My journey to get to that decision, fill out the paperwork, get the home study done and submit everything to the international agency took much longer than I expected. This was mostly due to my reluctance to write my "self-statement". Simple, right? Apparently not for me. My dossier was sent to Ethiopia on May 5, 2006, so I haven't been waiting all that long, just seems like forever.

I originally started this process requesting a child 2.5 years or under, but changed my mind in recently. First I heard that the entire wait would be 6-9 months (until I had my child). After my paperwork went to Ethiopia I heard that the entire wait would be more like a year, then I heard more like a year and a half. At that point I changed my age range because (1) adopting an older child was my original plan way in the beginning, (2) since Ethiopian orphans have had attachment experiences in their family of origin, there are fewer potential attachment issues than I expected and (3) I was told that I would wait about 1.5 months for a referral and about another 1.5 months until I could travel. Since that time I have heard (in July) that I should get a referral by the end of September. In August I was told that I might get a referral anytime between September and January, 07. At this point, I'm just along for the ride. This will lead me wherever God decides it's going to go.

I'm not irritated with the agency. I keep hearing different information because they keep getting different information and things in Ethiopia change all of the time. I wish that things were more consistent, but I guess this is my lesson in patience and flexibility. Nonetheless, I struggle on many days with the patience.

I have been occupying my time (for the past 8 years) remodeling my very crooked, very old house. This certainly keeps me out of trouble, as does chasing around my many animals, like the chickens that got out of their pen yesterday. They had the run of the entire yard until they decided that it was time to go back into the coop. They are interesting and weird birds! I'm hoping they start laying eggs sometime soon. They should be old enough by the end of this month. One of my big fears is that I won't have anywhere near enough completed by the time I get my child and my other fear is that everything will be done and that I'll have his or her (most likely his) room completely done and not have him home.

On that note, I think I'll go home and clean up after the mess I made last weekend.