I will save you the pain of attaching The Pointer Sisters video for the above song, just know that it is playing on loop in my head right now! WE GOT OUR HOMESTUDY!!!!!!! Sweet relief! I was being somewhat patient for the first time, and then not so much. I finally broke down and called our agency yesterday thinking that I could find out if there was a problem, if it was in transit, or if I was just being incredibly impatient. Turns out, they mailed it over a week ago. Um, wait--I already told all of you this in a previous post. Ok, well, the darn thing still didn't show up today. I called the woman who now owns our condo to find out if she has seen it, by any chance. WELL, SHE HAD IT! She said she would be home for about 20 minutes, and I hung up and rushed out the door. I was there in just over 5! :) I am starting the ball on state certification, TOMORROW! So, what's next you ask? Well, I need to have a couple of things state certified, and by all accounts, that shouldn't take long. Then, we send off ALL of our paperwork (dossier), which is basically a lengthy application which will go to Ethiopia to support our adoption request. Once it is all sent it and our agency checks it over to make sure everything is in order, we will officially be on the wait list! Wahoo!!!!! We will simultaneously file with US Immigration as an advance petition for our child to be given a visa. So close, I can taste it!
If you think I was impatient now, the real waiting hasn't even begun. Buckle up people, it's going to be a bumpy ride, and I for one, am ok with that fact. Today anyway :P
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Did You WIN???? (Please don't take it out on my dog if you didn't!)
There are certainly bigger problems in life, but I was nervous to do that actual drawing for the FREE t-shirt. I wanted everyone to win, and Kevin is out of town for work, so I couldn't ask him to do it (then I could have let all those who didn't win direct their disappointment at him). So, I did the next best thing...I passed the buck to Diogee (pronounced D.O.G.)
Diogee was at the kennel while we were in Colorado, and when I picked him up this morning, he smelled a little funky (read: he stunk). I gave him a bath first thing, and that went a long way in improving his funk. His breath needed a little work, soooooooo-- I printed off all of the names of those entered in the drawing, and I wrapped each name on an individual "greenies" treat (the treats are suppose to freshen breath--I don't think it worked).
Note: I really am sorry if you didn't win. If you would still like a shirt, you can order one for $20. (Shipping is an added $5). The proceeds are going to sponsor the care center in Ethiopia so that they may continue their amazing work caring for children, just like the precious baby we are working to adopt. Our goal is $500 and we aren't quite half-way. Anything over that amount, and we would like to donate the $ to other families adopting from Ethiopia. The cost is daunting and over-whelming, and we feel called to do anything we can to help connect children with families! Thank you in advance for your generosity, whether it be financial, prayer or positive thoughts. We sincerely appreciate the LOVE.
Next, I put each of them in a circle on the floor, and I placed Diogee in the middle. I thought he would have more trouble staying put, but he stayed better than I imagined. When I told him "good boy" he turned to his left and picked a treat. He did get a 2nd one before I got them all picked up, his lucky day I guess! I took pictures as evidence that we didn't cheat and did this as fairly as possible!
Diogee was at the kennel while we were in Colorado, and when I picked him up this morning, he smelled a little funky (read: he stunk). I gave him a bath first thing, and that went a long way in improving his funk. His breath needed a little work, soooooooo-- I printed off all of the names of those entered in the drawing, and I wrapped each name on an individual "greenies" treat (the treats are suppose to freshen breath--I don't think it worked).
Note: I really am sorry if you didn't win. If you would still like a shirt, you can order one for $20. (Shipping is an added $5). The proceeds are going to sponsor the care center in Ethiopia so that they may continue their amazing work caring for children, just like the precious baby we are working to adopt. Our goal is $500 and we aren't quite half-way. Anything over that amount, and we would like to donate the $ to other families adopting from Ethiopia. The cost is daunting and over-whelming, and we feel called to do anything we can to help connect children with families! Thank you in advance for your generosity, whether it be financial, prayer or positive thoughts. We sincerely appreciate the LOVE.
The individually wrapped "Greenies"
Next, I put each of them in a circle on the floor, and I placed Diogee in the middle. I thought he would have more trouble staying put, but he stayed better than I imagined. When I told him "good boy" he turned to his left and picked a treat. He did get a 2nd one before I got them all picked up, his lucky day I guess! I took pictures as evidence that we didn't cheat and did this as fairly as possible!
Diogee in his very own, "heaven on earth" aka "treat circle"
The Winning Pick!
I think this is actually treat #2 that he is enjoying...I was busy trying to take pics, and find out the winner, and he took FULL advantage :)
And the WINNER IS...
 | ||||
| Yay, Cari! E-mail or message me your shirt size and address! Congratulations and thank you for participating! |
Vacay and Elusive Homestudy
We made it to and fro Colorado and had an awesome time seeing the sights and spending time with family! We went whitewater rafting, swam in the natural hot springs (smell stinky, but was fun nonetheless) did a little shopping, lots of driving in the mountains, checked out the Boulder, CO culture. Whew. I am glad I am home recovering and getting things done and feel badly that Kevin is already on a flight to Kansas for work.
My patience was GONE today when I checked the mail and the homestudy still wasn't there :( --I called our agency to make sure everything was okay. I had promised myself I wasn't going to do that, but I just couldn't take it anymore! Well, the good news is the homestudy had been mailed out. The bad news is, it was mailed to the wrong address! I know mistakes happen, and nobody is to blame, but I felt so disappointed anyway. I am better now! The wrong address happens to be our old address, and we do have our mail forwarded, sooooooo- we are hoping that it will still show up SOON! If it doesn't come in the next couple of days, the agency will start the process of getting signatures and notarization done again. I can do this...just a little longer!
My patience was GONE today when I checked the mail and the homestudy still wasn't there :( --I called our agency to make sure everything was okay. I had promised myself I wasn't going to do that, but I just couldn't take it anymore! Well, the good news is the homestudy had been mailed out. The bad news is, it was mailed to the wrong address! I know mistakes happen, and nobody is to blame, but I felt so disappointed anyway. I am better now! The wrong address happens to be our old address, and we do have our mail forwarded, sooooooo- we are hoping that it will still show up SOON! If it doesn't come in the next couple of days, the agency will start the process of getting signatures and notarization done again. I can do this...just a little longer!
A pic inside the Fairy Cave...My mom and sister are a little timid when it comes to heights, and the only way to the caves was a gondola ride up the side of a mountain. They went mini-golfing instead :)
Can't you tell that my brother is so excited to visit the Fairy Caves?!
We're goin down!
They call this one Ol' Faceful--it sure was!
Friday, July 16, 2010
"5 Million Children" T-shirt Giveaway
I am doing a little bit of copy-cat action here, but when someone comes up with such a great idea, you have to jump on that action! We are still waiting for our notarized homestudy, and I needed something to keep me occupied. Hopefully that prized piece of mail comes by early next week as we are leaving town for a few days late next week.
So, here is how you can enter the drawing for one of the funky green t-shirts.
1. Post about this giveaway (with the site name) on your blog and leave a comment here to tell us about it.
2. Post about this giveaway on twitter (with the site name) and leave a comment here to tell us about it.
3. Post about this giveaway on facebook (with the site name) and leave a comment here to tell us about it.
**The idea here is to spread the word about our t-shirts, raise awareness about orphans/adoption.
~The $ raised by the t-shirts is going toward helping us make a donation to the care center/orphanage that will support our baby so that they can continue their amazing work and ministry for other children. Let's be honest--after 2 trips to Ethiopia, we won't be able to afford a donation of any type on our own :S (If we can raise enough $ to make a decent donation, we would LOVE to use the contributions in order to help other adopting families meet their financial goals to bring their little ones home!!!!!!)
We will draw for he giveaway on Tuesday, July 27th--so you have plenty of time to get in on the action! Don't worry, if you don't win the giveaway, you can purchase one for $20...I just placed a new order :)
Thanks in advance for participating!
So, here is how you can enter the drawing for one of the funky green t-shirts.
1. Post about this giveaway (with the site name) on your blog and leave a comment here to tell us about it.
2. Post about this giveaway on twitter (with the site name) and leave a comment here to tell us about it.
3. Post about this giveaway on facebook (with the site name) and leave a comment here to tell us about it.
**The idea here is to spread the word about our t-shirts, raise awareness about orphans/adoption.
~The $ raised by the t-shirts is going toward helping us make a donation to the care center/orphanage that will support our baby so that they can continue their amazing work and ministry for other children. Let's be honest--after 2 trips to Ethiopia, we won't be able to afford a donation of any type on our own :S (If we can raise enough $ to make a decent donation, we would LOVE to use the contributions in order to help other adopting families meet their financial goals to bring their little ones home!!!!!!)
We will draw for he giveaway on Tuesday, July 27th--so you have plenty of time to get in on the action! Don't worry, if you don't win the giveaway, you can purchase one for $20...I just placed a new order :)
Thanks in advance for participating!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
The Mailbox is Not My Friend
Friday marks 1 month since we completed our home study visits. So, it is entirely possible that this post is premature, but I'm not so good with the waiting. We moved and so we have a new postal carrier. I wonder if I should explain why I sprint out to the mailbox as soon as I see him? Nah! I was kind of hoping that our notarized home study would be here by today so that we can get it State Certified and then send in our Dossier and get on that wait list. Guess I will just have to play peek-a-boo with the US Postal Service a little longer...
In other news: Remember the pic of the $20 lawn mower that my thrifty husband purchased??? It has been replaced :) It made it 2.5 mows before having issues. Kevin's dear, sweet grandparents donated a nice lawn mower to the cause of the first time backyard owners. THANK YOU!!! I'm looking at my freshly mowed lawn, and it is beautiful! Speaking of which, lawn care talk cracks me up. I think it is a middle class conversation only. Maybe I just don't get it, but it's just grass, right? I like it mowed, but other than that, I don't so much care. I think the weeds we have growing all over the place are sort of pretty :)
Wow, I guess this is what my life has come to in the absence of work and lack of adoption news. I am thinking about the weirdness of lawn care. My apologies to blog world.
The only other things going on: Kevin's mouth is healing nicely from having his 4 wisdom teeth removed, and I ordered more adoption shirts! If you want in, let me know! You can see them to the right. Just order one via paypal or shoot me an e-mail. Have a wonderful week. Hopefully, I have more exciting news soon!
In other news: Remember the pic of the $20 lawn mower that my thrifty husband purchased??? It has been replaced :) It made it 2.5 mows before having issues. Kevin's dear, sweet grandparents donated a nice lawn mower to the cause of the first time backyard owners. THANK YOU!!! I'm looking at my freshly mowed lawn, and it is beautiful! Speaking of which, lawn care talk cracks me up. I think it is a middle class conversation only. Maybe I just don't get it, but it's just grass, right? I like it mowed, but other than that, I don't so much care. I think the weeds we have growing all over the place are sort of pretty :)
Wow, I guess this is what my life has come to in the absence of work and lack of adoption news. I am thinking about the weirdness of lawn care. My apologies to blog world.
The only other things going on: Kevin's mouth is healing nicely from having his 4 wisdom teeth removed, and I ordered more adoption shirts! If you want in, let me know! You can see them to the right. Just order one via paypal or shoot me an e-mail. Have a wonderful week. Hopefully, I have more exciting news soon!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
4th of July in NoDak
It was a great, extended weekend in the homeland, but boy am I glad to be home after that drive! Just catching up on the Bachelorette (what can I say...I'm a sucker for a possible fairy tale).
In other news: We received the preliminary home study report while we were away!!!! We were able to make the tiny revisions and it has already been sent back to our agency. We are getting so close to being on the official wait list. Next up, we will wait for the home study to be notarized and then we will quickly have it state certified. We are done with dossier paperwork (the dossier is essentially the accumulation of all of the paperwork to this point which will go to Ethiopia as our official application for adoption). With the dossier, we also work on immigration paperwork to secure proper status for our baby here in the US. We are so close, I can taste it!
We were able to tell Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins about the adoption. We sold them all a bunch of t-shirts! We now have about $200 to make a donation! Wahoo! We also need to order more shirt sizes! Crazy! I thought we'd be lucky to sell 1/2 of the shirts we did!!! Thanks to everyone who made a purchase! :) Feelin the love!
I am way way too tired to walk to my purse and get my camera out to post pics from the weekend. I'm so tired, I can't remember if I even took any good pictures! So, instead, I thought I'd post some highlights via verbage...
*My nieces went to the World's Largest Buffalo (you have to be from J-town to know what that really means). While there, they rode horses...you know, the live horses that go in a circle). EGW (who is 5) had the horse that was nipping at the behind of the horse in front of it. She exclaimed, "Hey, stay in your own space!" --am thinking she might have heard this somewhere before...as in, "Please keep hands and feet to yourself."
*Watching MRV's face (who is 6) score points when she scored a point in the Washer's backyard game--priceless
*My sister-in-law made me a beautiful scrapbook. Her 3 beautiful 5 year old daughters helped. All I have to do is insert our baby's pictures. Precious!!!!!!!
*Same sister-in-law teared up with me when we talked about how hard it will be in between trips 1 and 2 to Ethiopia. It feels so nice when someone shares your heart and just "gets it"
*MJW (age 5) coming in from the backyard every 30 seconds to check in Nana's chocolate chip cookies were ready for eating. Ahhh, a girl after my own heart :)
*My nieces exclaiming that Aunt Kara (age 19) is a "good cook" after they visited her at work (Dairy Queen) and had ice cream treats
*GFW(age 5) clamping down so hard on my finger in her "knee pit" when I was trying to tickle her, that I couldn't get my finger back! Ha!
*Seeing that my other sister-in-law (pregnant with twins) is past the sick phase of pregnancy. I can't wait to meet the lil buggers, but until then...I'll settle for finding out the gender(s) in a week or so :)
*Just feeling the LOVE....
I hope your family time was as blessed as ours! Happy 4th!
In other news: We received the preliminary home study report while we were away!!!! We were able to make the tiny revisions and it has already been sent back to our agency. We are getting so close to being on the official wait list. Next up, we will wait for the home study to be notarized and then we will quickly have it state certified. We are done with dossier paperwork (the dossier is essentially the accumulation of all of the paperwork to this point which will go to Ethiopia as our official application for adoption). With the dossier, we also work on immigration paperwork to secure proper status for our baby here in the US. We are so close, I can taste it!
We were able to tell Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins about the adoption. We sold them all a bunch of t-shirts! We now have about $200 to make a donation! Wahoo! We also need to order more shirt sizes! Crazy! I thought we'd be lucky to sell 1/2 of the shirts we did!!! Thanks to everyone who made a purchase! :) Feelin the love!
I am way way too tired to walk to my purse and get my camera out to post pics from the weekend. I'm so tired, I can't remember if I even took any good pictures! So, instead, I thought I'd post some highlights via verbage...
*My nieces went to the World's Largest Buffalo (you have to be from J-town to know what that really means). While there, they rode horses...you know, the live horses that go in a circle). EGW (who is 5) had the horse that was nipping at the behind of the horse in front of it. She exclaimed, "Hey, stay in your own space!" --am thinking she might have heard this somewhere before...as in, "Please keep hands and feet to yourself."
*Watching MRV's face (who is 6) score points when she scored a point in the Washer's backyard game--priceless
*My sister-in-law made me a beautiful scrapbook. Her 3 beautiful 5 year old daughters helped. All I have to do is insert our baby's pictures. Precious!!!!!!!
*Same sister-in-law teared up with me when we talked about how hard it will be in between trips 1 and 2 to Ethiopia. It feels so nice when someone shares your heart and just "gets it"
*MJW (age 5) coming in from the backyard every 30 seconds to check in Nana's chocolate chip cookies were ready for eating. Ahhh, a girl after my own heart :)
*My nieces exclaiming that Aunt Kara (age 19) is a "good cook" after they visited her at work (Dairy Queen) and had ice cream treats
*GFW(age 5) clamping down so hard on my finger in her "knee pit" when I was trying to tickle her, that I couldn't get my finger back! Ha!
*Seeing that my other sister-in-law (pregnant with twins) is past the sick phase of pregnancy. I can't wait to meet the lil buggers, but until then...I'll settle for finding out the gender(s) in a week or so :)
*Just feeling the LOVE....
I hope your family time was as blessed as ours! Happy 4th!
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