I know it's been about three weeks since I last posted, and my apologies for those of you who are following us. Thing have been pretty hectic here.
First, Chris got really sick. We thought at first that it was just a cold turned into a sinus infection. But after a trip to Urgent Care and a trip to our doctor's office a few days later, we found he actually had the respiratory flu and pneumonia. Although it was too late for Tamaflu for Chris, the doctor put me and Nick on it as a preventative meaure. Poor Chris was sick for almost two weeks. He is better, but it will take him some time to not be exhausted at the end of the day.
Then work got really busy for me so that I was working several nights from home. My role is changing at work and there are some growing pains with the changes. One of my new responsibilities is being the proposal manager for our office. At the start of these changes, we had a couple of major proposals that required some long hours on my behalf. However, it felt good to be given this higher responsibility and get these accomplished.
So, because of the long hours and flu being in our house, I am now sick. I'm no where near as bad as Chris, but still feeling quite blah!.
Between all this, a few exciting things have happened. Chris got nominated for employee of the year at the hospital. Thursday night was the dinner to recognize the nominees, and Chris was one of 25 people who got employee of the year! I'm so proud of him.
On Monday, we finally hit the "Order" button for our portfolios. We kept reviewing the portfolio over and over, and we were so nervous as this book is basically showing us, our life, and how we will raise a child should we be selected by birth parents. We ordered five of them, as the adoption agency needs four, and we wanted an extra one of us and our family. They should arrive sometime this week.
On Thursday, we had our final meeting with the adoption agency, and we signed our home study. The home study is done, and we are officially approved to be adoptive parents!!! Yea and whew! What a process, but we are done. Once we turn in our portfolio, we will be available for selection by birth parents. It is so exciting!
So now the hard part... the wait. Unforunately, we have no idea when we will be selected. Although it will be difficult, one thing we will keep in our minds and hearts is that it is all in God's timing. That being said, there may be extended periods of time when we are not posting anything on the blog or site. One of things that our case workers emphasize is to maintain our normal lifes. Go on vacations, go camping, continue doing the things we normally would. So we will. If we didn't, we would go crazy during the wait.
In the meantime, we ask all our friends and family to continue to pray for patience and hope for us.
We've also updated our "For Birth Parents" link on the site. Here we posted our letter that is in our portfolio.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Thursday, April 4, 2013
A Few Good Things for the Week
A few good things happened this week that I just have to proclaim. First, I won an iPad 2 from the cleaning company we use! Woo hoo! I was so excited because I've been wanting a tablet for quite a while. I originally asked for one for Christmas, but had decided that I'd really like a new digital camera (which my wonderful hubby got me). I'm enjoying my tablet and finding all sorts of uses for it!
Second, we found out that Chris got nominated for employee of the year at the hospital! Another woo hoo! I'm so proud of him. I don't think he realizes how great he is at his job and so many people benefit from what he does. The hospital is hosting an appreciation / award dinner for the nominees later this month, so it's time for me to get a new dress, right? ;)
Third, Chris finished our "Dear Birth Parents" letter for our adoption portfolio. He did an awesome job portraying us so realistically. I was so moved reading it. We will now take a final look at the portfolio and letter, have our caseworkers review it, then submit everything for printing. It feels so good to be finishing these steps toward our adoption.
Fourth, I was given the opportunity this past week to manage the efforts for a $150K proposal effort at work. We turned it in this afternoon on time and I had such a sense of accomplishment being able to fully manage the effort. I felt I gained some trust from some of the engineers as I was even asked to contact subcontractors and get quotes from them for their services on the contract. It felt good to get "Thank yous" from the engineers who were on the proposal team.
I hope you were able to have some good experiences this week. We started a "Good Things" jar. Every time something good happens, we write it down on a slip of paper and put it in the jar. On New Year's eve, we'll go through the slips of paper and remember everything good that happened during the past year. Maybe that's something you can try, too.
Second, we found out that Chris got nominated for employee of the year at the hospital! Another woo hoo! I'm so proud of him. I don't think he realizes how great he is at his job and so many people benefit from what he does. The hospital is hosting an appreciation / award dinner for the nominees later this month, so it's time for me to get a new dress, right? ;)
Third, Chris finished our "Dear Birth Parents" letter for our adoption portfolio. He did an awesome job portraying us so realistically. I was so moved reading it. We will now take a final look at the portfolio and letter, have our caseworkers review it, then submit everything for printing. It feels so good to be finishing these steps toward our adoption.
Fourth, I was given the opportunity this past week to manage the efforts for a $150K proposal effort at work. We turned it in this afternoon on time and I had such a sense of accomplishment being able to fully manage the effort. I felt I gained some trust from some of the engineers as I was even asked to contact subcontractors and get quotes from them for their services on the contract. It felt good to get "Thank yous" from the engineers who were on the proposal team.
I hope you were able to have some good experiences this week. We started a "Good Things" jar. Every time something good happens, we write it down on a slip of paper and put it in the jar. On New Year's eve, we'll go through the slips of paper and remember everything good that happened during the past year. Maybe that's something you can try, too.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Fundraiser and Final Inspection
Whew! The last five days have been a whirlwind of activity!
On Saturday, we hosted a skin care "clinic" on behalf of our friend Lori, who has started a business selling Rodan and Fields products. We had a lot of fun with family and friends and learned all about the products she is selling. I think most everyone purchased something from her, and we are excited to see the results on ourselves. To top it off, Lori is graciously donating all proceeds from the party to our adoption cause! Thank you, Lori!
The days following we spent our time spring cleaning the house. We really went through a lot of our possessions and got a good amount of items set aside for our yard sale next month. I think the next step is to start pricing some of the items. It felt really good to lighten our load, so to speak, and get things cleaned up. I finally got the office / guest room organized and set-up, and I love it! After four years in the house, the curtains are finally up in that room. Now I have a dedicated area for working from home and doing my crafts and sewing. We even have an extra bed for guests if needed (or for me when Chris is snoring too loudly, hee hee). I ended up taking most of Monday off work to help put the final touches on the house to prepare for our home inspection.
Tuesday finally came; the day of our adoption home inspection and final interview! We were so excited to see the caseworkers arrive knowing the interview process was coming to a close. They took a few minutes to interview Nick to basically understand his feelings on the adoption and get to know him a little bit. They then interviewed us about safety in the home (i.e., fire extinguishers, medicine locations, possession of weapons, etc.). Afterward, they toured the home and surrounding property. They seemed satisfied that we are adequately preparing for an infant in the house.
Before they left, we had them take a look at the draft of our adoption portfolio. They provided us some good suggestions, which we'll implement. I think we'll have them take one more look at the portfolio before we print. I'll probably post it online, too, for everyone to see once it is finalized.
So, what's next? In about two weeks, we will meet with the caseworkers to review and sign our home study. At that point, we'll submit our portfolio, and we will officially be "on the market" and available for selection by birth parents. From there, we can get a placement at any time from between two weeks to two years. We are hoping it's more toward the former and closer to six months, but you never know.All in God's timing, right?
The only other thing we have to do, really, is the Core Parenting Class. We will take this in June as it's the earliest they have it again. In the meantime, we'll work on selecting furniture, painting the baby's room, getting all the odds and ends needed for the baby, and saving up the remaining adoption fees. Things have really progressed, and we are so excited to have come this far.
On Saturday, we hosted a skin care "clinic" on behalf of our friend Lori, who has started a business selling Rodan and Fields products. We had a lot of fun with family and friends and learned all about the products she is selling. I think most everyone purchased something from her, and we are excited to see the results on ourselves. To top it off, Lori is graciously donating all proceeds from the party to our adoption cause! Thank you, Lori!
The days following we spent our time spring cleaning the house. We really went through a lot of our possessions and got a good amount of items set aside for our yard sale next month. I think the next step is to start pricing some of the items. It felt really good to lighten our load, so to speak, and get things cleaned up. I finally got the office / guest room organized and set-up, and I love it! After four years in the house, the curtains are finally up in that room. Now I have a dedicated area for working from home and doing my crafts and sewing. We even have an extra bed for guests if needed (or for me when Chris is snoring too loudly, hee hee). I ended up taking most of Monday off work to help put the final touches on the house to prepare for our home inspection.
Tuesday finally came; the day of our adoption home inspection and final interview! We were so excited to see the caseworkers arrive knowing the interview process was coming to a close. They took a few minutes to interview Nick to basically understand his feelings on the adoption and get to know him a little bit. They then interviewed us about safety in the home (i.e., fire extinguishers, medicine locations, possession of weapons, etc.). Afterward, they toured the home and surrounding property. They seemed satisfied that we are adequately preparing for an infant in the house.
Before they left, we had them take a look at the draft of our adoption portfolio. They provided us some good suggestions, which we'll implement. I think we'll have them take one more look at the portfolio before we print. I'll probably post it online, too, for everyone to see once it is finalized.
So, what's next? In about two weeks, we will meet with the caseworkers to review and sign our home study. At that point, we'll submit our portfolio, and we will officially be "on the market" and available for selection by birth parents. From there, we can get a placement at any time from between two weeks to two years. We are hoping it's more toward the former and closer to six months, but you never know.All in God's timing, right?
The only other thing we have to do, really, is the Core Parenting Class. We will take this in June as it's the earliest they have it again. In the meantime, we'll work on selecting furniture, painting the baby's room, getting all the odds and ends needed for the baby, and saving up the remaining adoption fees. Things have really progressed, and we are so excited to have come this far.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Our Portfolio is in Progress
I finished the first draft of our portfolio tonight. Yea! I think I have all the pictures in place. Chris will need to look at it next and give his input on it. Though I have the lead on the portfolio, Chris has the lead on the "Dear Birthmother" letter. We used the "divide and conquer" philosophy, so to speak. We'll each review and give our voice on the other's project.
I think the portfolio is looking good. Chris and I picked out pictures together. We picked out some pictures from our wedding, family pictures, pictures of us doing our hobbies, and some goofy pictures. I took in a lot of advice from the caseworkers and tried to not overload the pages with too many pictures or make them look too busy. We also wanted to make sure that we showed our "real" selves and have no more than a few poised pictures.
On a sad note, I've been stricken with hearing news about a recent shaken baby case.
Chesterfield police: dad shook severely injured 6-week-old boy
It is so sad to hear news like this as someone who has had the joy of holding a precious child of her own, who has tried for many years to have another, and who is now in the process of adopting a little one. I understand that sometimes a crying baby is the hardest thing to hear. Nick was colicky and cried so much during his first three or four months. Sometimes it seemed that every time I tried to sit down to eat or laid down to sleep, he would have a crying spell that wouldn't stop. It was trying to be honest. I learned, though, that sometimes I had to just put him in his crib, make sure he was safe, walk away for a few minutes, and let him cry. That in itself was hard, but it was the best thing as I knew that he could feel my stress.
I remember seeing commercials about Shaken Baby Syndrome and how they said to tell your baby's caregivers to "Never shake the baby." I always thought that it would be awkward to that tell someone you trust and never thought I would have to say it. But if a father can do something like that to his own baby, anyone can get in a stressful enough situation to shake a baby. I will definitely have that written on any babysitter's instructions and verbally tell them to "never shake a baby."
Please say a quick pray for God to be with all babies who are suffering from Shaken Baby Syndrome and with their parents.
I think the portfolio is looking good. Chris and I picked out pictures together. We picked out some pictures from our wedding, family pictures, pictures of us doing our hobbies, and some goofy pictures. I took in a lot of advice from the caseworkers and tried to not overload the pages with too many pictures or make them look too busy. We also wanted to make sure that we showed our "real" selves and have no more than a few poised pictures.
On a sad note, I've been stricken with hearing news about a recent shaken baby case.
Chesterfield police: dad shook severely injured 6-week-old boy
It is so sad to hear news like this as someone who has had the joy of holding a precious child of her own, who has tried for many years to have another, and who is now in the process of adopting a little one. I understand that sometimes a crying baby is the hardest thing to hear. Nick was colicky and cried so much during his first three or four months. Sometimes it seemed that every time I tried to sit down to eat or laid down to sleep, he would have a crying spell that wouldn't stop. It was trying to be honest. I learned, though, that sometimes I had to just put him in his crib, make sure he was safe, walk away for a few minutes, and let him cry. That in itself was hard, but it was the best thing as I knew that he could feel my stress.
I remember seeing commercials about Shaken Baby Syndrome and how they said to tell your baby's caregivers to "Never shake the baby." I always thought that it would be awkward to that tell someone you trust and never thought I would have to say it. But if a father can do something like that to his own baby, anyone can get in a stressful enough situation to shake a baby. I will definitely have that written on any babysitter's instructions and verbally tell them to "never shake a baby."
Please say a quick pray for God to be with all babies who are suffering from Shaken Baby Syndrome and with their parents.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Monday came too fast!
On Saturday, we had our CPR/First Aid/AED class, which we are required to take to adopt. It was a long day in class, but at least it was snowing outside, so I wasn't longing to be outdoors. It was good to take the class too as the last time I was certified was almost 20 years ago, and procedures have changed. For instance, you no longer perform CPR with two people with one doing compressions and the other doing breaths. Now one person performs compressions and breaths for two minutes and then switches out with the other person. We also got to learn how to use an AED, which is pretty cool.
Unfortunately, being in the class all day left us with little time to do anything else. Sunday ended up not working too well either to get stuff done as Chris had to meet with a client, then drive down past Longmont to meet with the Cairn Terrier Club of Denver. Nevertheless, we both got our certification cards and feel a little more prepared to have a new little one in the house.
Unfortunately, being in the class all day left us with little time to do anything else. Sunday ended up not working too well either to get stuff done as Chris had to meet with a client, then drive down past Longmont to meet with the Cairn Terrier Club of Denver. Nevertheless, we both got our certification cards and feel a little more prepared to have a new little one in the house.
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