Fingerprints

This morning, Steve and I went to the Kansas City office of Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) to file our pre-application (I-600A) with the Department of Homeland Security and to get our fingerprints taken. For Sophie's adoption, we did these things separately, but now our KC office wants you to do them both at the same time. We are relieved to report that it was smooth sailing this morning as we were in and out of there in just under an hour! Hooray!

Just an FYI...once our pre-app is approved and our fingerprints clear the FBI, we'll receive our official Notice of Pre-Approval (I-171H) ...this just makes it all the easier to file with our government once we get our kiddo's referral. Such a process, huh? We're so glad to have one more step completed on our journey.

Pictures...lots of 'em!

Celebrating summer...




Watching cartoons at the Gymboree store...

Spending time at the Deanna Rose Farmstead Petting Zoo...


With friends, Quinn and Dylan...


Relaxing with mommy...

Holding hands with her stroller buddy, Chase...

Musical Sunshine

I just adore this version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" mixed with a little "What a Wonderful World" and thought it might bring a smile to your face and sunshine to your day! It's performed by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - a Hawaiian musician whom I think passed away not all that long ago. However, his version of these songs will always bring peace to my days. Cheers!

One.

One year ago today, we faced our hardest challenge as a little family...Sophie's cleft palate surgery. I still remember just how difficult it was to hand our angel over to the nurses - it was the worst thing I've had to do thus far. I even recall making the nurses cry when they saw how upset I was...it was gut-wrenching. I remember trying to keep ourselves occupied in the waiting room with lots of food, Diet Coke and pacing the halls for the 4-5 hours she was in the operating room. I remember being incredibly scared, yet having to remain calm and strong when we first saw her in recovery. My poor baby looked so beat up and helpless. However, she quickly taught us all so much about strength and courage as she healed from her surgery with a great "warrior" spirit.

Seems like so long ago when we look at what great strides she has made in this past year. She now receives speech therapy once a week and is really beginning to show improvements in her articulation. Coincidentally, we were at Children's Mercy again this morning for her routine ENT check-up. Her ears and tubes look just fine and we were content to leave the hospital with stickers and animal crackers - SO much different from one year ago!


"One" more thing...it has been one month since we were placed on the waiting list for baby #2. My, how time flies! Steve and I are now awaiting an appointment to get our fingerprints taken with the Citizenship office - a required element for pre-approval to bring our baby home.

It's a Wait List Tradition...

...to pose with our letter! You know us, we document EVERYTHING!


Official Waiting List Date: May 12, 2008


Our Very First Waiting List Date: October 10, 2005

Our Homestudy Has Been Approved!!!

Hip, hip hooray! We are paper-pregnant for the second time! Just got the e-mail from our agency that now, we are officially on that wait list for our baby - oh, happy day! Timelines are still being projected at 12 months wait for a referral, however the latest referrals are coming in at 3-5 months. We are hoping for the shorter end of the wait, but are completely prepared to wait a year before knowing who our next child will be.

It truly boggles our minds to think that our baby could already have been born at this time or could be born very, very soon! Most likely, he or she would be about 5-6 months old when we receive the referral.

Please pray for our future baby's birthfamily as they prepare to make one of the toughest decisions they will ever have to make...pray for a healthy pregnancy and birth...pray for all those who will take care of our baby for the first months of their life...pray for our own sanity and patience as we wait for our blessed new addition to be revealed to us.

As always, we'll keep you posted.

Screeching halt.

We still have no news to report on the adoption process and I have to say that the wait for our homestudy approval letter is beginning to take its toll. Overall, the process for baby number 2 has been much more gentle on our emotions because we have our Sophie to keep us occupied (and boy, she DOES keep us busy!) and the timeline has been looking very encouraging for a quick process.

That still doesn't mean that we are void of any anxiety around this adoption! I finally had to break this morning and call our agency just to make sure we hadn't missed anything and they assured me that due to an onslaught of applications, our approval is taking a bit longer. No worries...we just have to exercise more patience. After talking with our case manager, I feel a sense of relief. I'm also a bit embarrassed that I let myself get so emotional. I guess those "pregnancy" hormones are back in force!

Please pray that our homestudy approval happens within the next couple of weeks so that we can officially state that we're expecting and pray for peace as we prepare to enter into the "real" waiting period. Sigh.