My emotions are incredibly up and down. Today I am feeling overwhelmed and wondering how, if I can barely do the regular day to day stuff, will I ever find energy for this whole process we are undertaking? But then I think of NOT doing it, and my stomach sinks and a place in my heart immediately defaults to "empty". So, we continue to press on. Getting our service plan signed and emailed back to our parent co-ordinator today. Other then that, we can't do much until we go out to our adoption agency for our Home Study intake interview on the 3rd.
Our Hungarian language CD hasn't arrived yet, and we are waiting on it so we can begin learning some words and phrases. Ellie is going to use it as part of her school work. I was blessed by Abigail, a 16 year old who goes to our church, as she told me the other day that she wants to learn it too, so that she can help us when our girl comes. Thank you, Abigail! You are amazing!
Today, we have focused on getting details done to send Anna off to Africa in September. Our hearts keep going back and forth....Hungary, Africa, Hungary, Africa. It gets a bit dizzying.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Today's Phone Call with "A".
We had a phone conference with our parent coordinator ( "A") today! She sounds wonderful and best of all she put many of our "fears" to rest. She, herself, is adopted and is also an adoptive parent. She took us through the first page of the Service Plan...which is the plan of adoption from the moment we contacted our adoption agency all the way through to when we arrive home and file our post placement reports. I can not wait until we are at that point!!! The most precious thing out of the entire phone conversation was when she told us that they have met "our girl" and that she is the "sweetest, most beautiful child" who loves music, dancing, cooking and many of the arts. She just needs a family to love her, accept her and embrace her. I have to smile to myself...could she fit into our family any more perfectly?
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Pressing On
Already slowly wading through the details. We got the next 3 pieces of paperwork filled out and they are ready to be faxed to our parent coordinator tomorrow morning. We also ordered a Hungarian Basics CD so that we can start learning some words and phrases in Hungarian! I think Ellie will pick it up fast. She will be going with us to Hungary and just might end up being our little translator. :-)
We told family yesterday about us adopting our girl and although they were surprised, they were all very supportive and for that we are thankful. Tony's dad started speaking some Slovac and talking about Czechoslovakia. Said he doesn't know any Hungarian though. My mom and dad were like, "What? What?" and it took them some time to process. But this morning, my email in- box was full of links from dad about Hungarian Resources. Thank you, Dad!
So thankful for the couple from Georgia who we are emailing with...they are giving us advice and information especially about the travel part of this journey, which Tony said is going to be the hardest part of this whole thing for him. As for me, it is all these before hand details that we have to do that are going to be the hardest. Once we are on that plane, I feel like I will be able to just collapse and breathe. I guess time will tell.
In the mean time, we press on one step at a time. It is strange to sit at the kitchen table, filling out this paper work for this one specific child, and to think that she does not have a clue yet that our hearts are consumed with her and that we are actively working through all of these details to bring her home. I can barely comprehend it.
We told family yesterday about us adopting our girl and although they were surprised, they were all very supportive and for that we are thankful. Tony's dad started speaking some Slovac and talking about Czechoslovakia. Said he doesn't know any Hungarian though. My mom and dad were like, "What? What?" and it took them some time to process. But this morning, my email in- box was full of links from dad about Hungarian Resources. Thank you, Dad!
So thankful for the couple from Georgia who we are emailing with...they are giving us advice and information especially about the travel part of this journey, which Tony said is going to be the hardest part of this whole thing for him. As for me, it is all these before hand details that we have to do that are going to be the hardest. Once we are on that plane, I feel like I will be able to just collapse and breathe. I guess time will tell.
In the mean time, we press on one step at a time. It is strange to sit at the kitchen table, filling out this paper work for this one specific child, and to think that she does not have a clue yet that our hearts are consumed with her and that we are actively working through all of these details to bring her home. I can barely comprehend it.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Holding Steady
Not much today. I think Tony and I are a little calmer.....at least for the moment. Our Parent Co-ordinator wrote a comforting email to us today, set up an appointment to call us next Tuesday at 2 p.m. and assured us that she will hold our hands every step of the way. She said, "once you talk with me, you will feel great!" I had to smile and again, I am so impressed with our agency. That is huge and I am grateful for God leading us to just the right one. I remember back in March, thinking I was sending for an information packet, and instead I received a warm, personal email. If that hadn't happened, I wonder if we would have pursued anything beyond that point. But I am sure God had it all planned out...and would have found another way to reach our hearts, had we not responded.
Who would have thought that at 49 years old, and during the midst of emptying out our nest, we would also be re-filling it? This is crazy!!! Crazy, exciting, overwhelming, and way bigger than us. WAY bigger then us!
And that is it for today........We are holding on to the promise that He will work out all the details according to His purpose and in His perfect time.
Who would have thought that at 49 years old, and during the midst of emptying out our nest, we would also be re-filling it? This is crazy!!! Crazy, exciting, overwhelming, and way bigger than us. WAY bigger then us!
And that is it for today........We are holding on to the promise that He will work out all the details according to His purpose and in His perfect time.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
A Hard Day
A hard day of doubting, worrying, wondering how this is all going to work out. I have to remember that God will give light enough for the next step, and most likely the light will not shine beyond that. It seems to be His way. And I have to trust that He knows best.
An email with 11 attachments from our adoption agency. So much to get done. I panicked and started sweating bullets when that came through last night. Our parent co-ordinator emailed us today and told us just to do the first 3 things on the list....all three of those are just simple forms. Everything else, we will go over in our intake interview on August 3rd. I can not believe we are doing this!!!!!
The rest of life continues on here. We are getting Anna ready to leave for Africa on Sept 8th. She goes downtown to file for a background check tomorrow. Her ears are still not doing super great, although they aren't any worse then they were when it all started last December. We aren't quite sure where to turn next. The Dr. last week said she should be seeing improvement with the allergy meds and the do's and don'ts he gave her for the TMJ. But she isn't noticing a big difference.
Ellie changed her room around today.....she is getting ready to share it with our girl when she arrives from Hungary. That will be months from now.....but Ellie is having a good time "dreaming" about it.
That's it for tonight. I have the forms in my folder to bring to work with me tomorrow and will start filling them out on my break time. For now, it's off to bed to give my brain a rest.
An email with 11 attachments from our adoption agency. So much to get done. I panicked and started sweating bullets when that came through last night. Our parent co-ordinator emailed us today and told us just to do the first 3 things on the list....all three of those are just simple forms. Everything else, we will go over in our intake interview on August 3rd. I can not believe we are doing this!!!!!
The rest of life continues on here. We are getting Anna ready to leave for Africa on Sept 8th. She goes downtown to file for a background check tomorrow. Her ears are still not doing super great, although they aren't any worse then they were when it all started last December. We aren't quite sure where to turn next. The Dr. last week said she should be seeing improvement with the allergy meds and the do's and don'ts he gave her for the TMJ. But she isn't noticing a big difference.
Ellie changed her room around today.....she is getting ready to share it with our girl when she arrives from Hungary. That will be months from now.....but Ellie is having a good time "dreaming" about it.
That's it for tonight. I have the forms in my folder to bring to work with me tomorrow and will start filling them out on my break time. For now, it's off to bed to give my brain a rest.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
JUST BREATHE !!!
This is all moving so fast! Just last week, we officially submitted our paperwork and now we are talking Immigration Forms, Home Studies, Passports, a 6 week stay in Hungary.....on and on and on. I am thankful for our incredible adoption agency who cares as much about our emotional health as our adoption process. Many, many thanks to M. for her support these past few months and her patience with us as we prayed and discussed as a family and prayed some more and drug our feet and then finally decided to go forward with this. I will write an "our story" soon, to let everyone know how we came to this decision. But wanted to get this blog started because so much is happening so fast.
We got hooked up through our adoption agency with a yahoo group formed specifically for parents who have adopted through them, and we were befriended through email by a couple in that group who just got back from adopting an 8 year old boy from Hungary. What a incredible story they have! Anyway, no coincidence that they are strong Christians and that the mother's name is Karen. Her mantra through their year long adoption process, she said, was "Breathe. Just Breathe." and I think I have adopted that mantra as well. But my lifeline is in this statement that she wrote to me. She said that "when there seems to be no way, God will make a way." I believe that with all of my heart. As crazy as this all seems, Tony and I are compelled to move forward on this fast moving train (although I must confess we have already considered jumping), and our wonderful kids have assured us that they also are wholeheartedly on board for this wild, incredible ride!
We got hooked up through our adoption agency with a yahoo group formed specifically for parents who have adopted through them, and we were befriended through email by a couple in that group who just got back from adopting an 8 year old boy from Hungary. What a incredible story they have! Anyway, no coincidence that they are strong Christians and that the mother's name is Karen. Her mantra through their year long adoption process, she said, was "Breathe. Just Breathe." and I think I have adopted that mantra as well. But my lifeline is in this statement that she wrote to me. She said that "when there seems to be no way, God will make a way." I believe that with all of my heart. As crazy as this all seems, Tony and I are compelled to move forward on this fast moving train (although I must confess we have already considered jumping), and our wonderful kids have assured us that they also are wholeheartedly on board for this wild, incredible ride!
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