Friday

First off, I want to say thank you to Lannie McKee.... we really appreciate your gift!

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It has been asked recently why my profile pic looks the way it does and why dont I change it to something nicer so more people will respond better to the adoption.

Well, I had a nice, sweet picture during our first adoption, it didnt help... :)

And also, all my blogs are tied to that one profile pic, as far as I know you cant change profile pics for each  blog... and that picture is part of the brand for my photography business and blog (www.talleyimages.blogspot.com) - it helps to attract the clients that I want to work with so it needs to stay for that reason.

Also, I find that very few people actually know about this blog, and those who do know about it, usually know me fairly personally and know how I am and what I look like.

Also, a BIG lesson in our house is that you are loved for who you are and you should never try to be anyone but yourself - and we love ourselves and our kids for exactly who they are.  I think it would be hypocritical to put up a picture that didnt represent who I really am... or rather who I would like to be - I am a goth girl at heart, but no, I do not have any real facial piercings - although I would LOVE that... but out of respect for my mom, I dont. (although I still think she sees me as a hooligan and heathen most days)... but that is who I am, and I dont know if Ive ever felt more beautiful than I did in those pictures (which were inspired by The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, if you were curious).... most of the time, I look like the picture above

Also, I feel a bit upset that someone would refuse to help a child recieve a family just because of a certain picture... that just seems like someone has their priorities all wrong.... also, if you look around this blog, my photography blog or facebook... or you know me in person, then I think its pretty easy to see that Daniel and my kids are my life - and no "weird" picture of me can disprove that

So there you go.... hope that was helpful.

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So far, we have 33 of our puzzle pieces sponsored.... yay, that is awesome, and we appreciate every one.

A little idea that alot of people are doing is buying one piece of the puzzle for each family member... I think that is so cool!

Yall totally rock!

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Ok, back to the actual adoption journey... :)

- yesterday, we went to the dr's office to get our TB test read and pick up our paperwork... it should have taken about 5-10 minutes....

yeah right.... in my dream perhaps...

It took an hour to figure out that they almost lost our paperwork, nothing was filled out and the dr had not even signed it.

Better luck next time.... ha ha... we have already talked to the head nurse this morning and she has all of our stuff ready to, so we will go pick that up this afternoon.... get Daniel fingerprinted.... and then scan it all in.

Whew... :)

We did pick up the kids medical form yesterday, so that is done.

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And you may want to skip this part, but I need it written out for record's sake... :)

If you were following this blog last year when I was blogging about Wallace and our family then you know we had tons of problems with his school.... they called us 2-3x every week wanting us to go pick him up for a runny nose or some such nonsense (no fever, no sickness, just a runny nose).... it all stopped when we met with the principal who had no idea all this had been happening.  (look we know wallace can be difficult - we live with him, but you cant just send him home every day)

So yesterday, I get the following call...
School nurse (SC): Yes, is this the mother of Wallace Talley?
Addie (A):  Yes, it is
SC: Well, Wallace's nose just keeps running, you need to come pick him up
A:  All he has is a runny nose?
SC: yes
A: Well, we just took him to the dr yesterday and the dr said he was fine
SC: Well, it just wont stop running
A: Thats because he has down syndrome, which means his nasal cavity is so shallow that it has nowhere to go but out
SC: Funny, I dont know any other down syndrome kids that have that (yeah, b/c all kids with DS are exactly alike... nothing like making generalizations about kids that mine is one of the only 2 in the school)
A: well, thats the way his is... its just allergies - he is like this every winter and spring
SC: Well, its green, so that means its an infection, not allergies
A: We took him to the dr yesterday and he said he was fine, it was allergies and he wasnt contagious
SC: Well, I just dont think its fair to the other kids
A: He isnt contagious
SC: Well, he is getting snot everywhere
A: (silence, b/c all I want to say is that he is in a kindergarten class - they all get snot everywhere, ask any parent of a kindergartener)
SC: Well, you know if another parent walks in, then they might see his nose and be worried for their own kids health
A: I thought parents werent allowed to visit (b/c when we tried to schedule a visit with our non-verbal child's class so we can see what his day looked like, we were promptly told that parents were only allowed to visit during lunch on Wednesdays, which does us no good)
SC: they can visit during lunch on Wednesdays (hello! its Thursday, you have a whole week before you need to worry about other parents... besides, parents of kindergarteners are pretty understanding when it comes to runny noses)
A: Also, he is adopted.... so his body hasnt quite adjusted to all the trees and environment here yet... he constantly has a runny nose, but he is not sick nor contagious
SC: Well, I just dont think its fair to the other kids
A: Well, he is like this every winter and spring when the weather changes.... we cant exactly keep him home for 3 months out of the year for a runny nose
SC: well, I guess you cant
A: No, we cant
SC: Well, I just dont think he is getting much school work done (have you met Wallace?  He doesnt get much school work done when he doesnt have a runny nose.... plus, do you think he is going to get more school work done at home, really?)
A: ok
SC: well, do you have an excuse from the dr's office
A: no (why would I get an excuse for a healthy child?)
SC: well, can you have them fax one over
A: Ill see what they can do
SC: ok
A: ok, bye

I did not call the dr's office b/c the nurse did not give me a fax number and I sure wasnt going to call back for it... Daniel had to go get the kids medical paperwork yesterday afternoon and I asked him to pick up an excuse for Wallace while he was there - the clinic staff was surprised that the nurse needed one for a runny nose... so I sent that back to school with Wallace today.

I find it hard to believe that they call every single parent of a kid with a runny nose.

Also, I refuse to put up with this type of behavior b/c its just unnecessary and we let it go on way too long last year until we actually talked to the principal.... so this time, I went straight to the top and talked to the SPED superintendent of our county.

She set a few things straight... and she was quite appalled that they wanted to send home a child with only a runny nose... she also told me a few things that contradicted what the school has told us prior... and she said that if we need her at an IEP meeting than she would be happy to do that for us.  Man, who knew it could feel this good for someone to have your back... nice.

So we have requested a parent/teacher meeting and also a meeting with the principal (new one this year), so hopefully we can get on the right track.
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Not sure what else to say... hope yall are having a great Friday!
-addie

1st Fundraiser

So we have our first fundraiser for our adoption... we recently bought this 1000 piece fan puzzle... we are asking everyone to sponsor a piece (or two or three) for $5/piece... when you sponsor a piece, we will put your name (or the name of whomever you choose) on the back... once we have all the pieces sponsored, we will put the puzzle together and frame it in a clear backed frame, so we can always see the love and support that brought our daughter home... we hope you will help be a part of the puzzle... :) 

You can donate using the "donate" button on the top right hand side or email me directly at talleyimages@yahoo.com

Wednesday

So yesterday, Daniel and I went to the doctors office for our medicals... we got


-vision test
- tb test
- urinalysis
- drug test
- HIV test
- blood test
- Hep B test


I think that may be it, but Im not totally certain... we go back tomorrow to have our tb tests run and pick up all the paperwork... yippee! And if you were wondering, yes, all those tests came out of our pocket - ouch!


But Daniel and I have a new fundraiser that we are excited about and will be announcing soon... :)


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Yesterday, we were also supposed to get the following, but none of them happened


-last reference letter.... the person keeps making excuses about it, but is supposed to have it to us today, but Im not holding my breath... ugh, we asked her before thanksgiving for it


- police clearance letters.... they were supposed to do one for both Daniel and I, but instead put them on one letter, so those will have to be separated out, so we should have that tomorrow


- self employment letter from the CPA... went by to pick this up, but they were closed early.... already called them and they have it ready today


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Today, I have to go get the kids early from school and take them to the dr so he can write a letter that they are all healthy..


and then we drive straight to our agency (an hour away) for our last home study visit...


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tomorrow we get our tb tests read and pick up our medical paperwork... and then Friday Daniel gets fingerprinted.... and that should be about it for the homestudy


our dossier specialist is looking over all our dossier paperwork now, so once we have everything together, we can send that straight away.


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blogger is being a butthead today... ugh....

Tuesday

So the dr's office called this morning and said they had to move the kids to tomorrow instead of Thursday...

Got fingerprinted yesterday... Daniel will try to do his on Friday

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We did not get to have Chinese take out for dinner last night... bummed... but yesterday, Daniel found out that he was scheduled to work a basketball game last night, so we decided that we needed to wait until everyone could be there....

... but we still had to celebrate Wallace's 2nd family day... but what to do?

Well, lucky for us, I love World Market, so usually when we go in there, I will pick up one new food item to try... usually of the Asian persuasion b/c I like to incorporate the Asian culture into our lives as much as possible... so we had a few different things to pick from.... so here is what we had last night
- Thai noodles, plain.... they were kind of flavorless and boring
- cantonese style rice... rice with veggies in them... really good (I got them b/c of the cantonese part as that is what Hong Kong speaks, so I thought it might be closer to what Wallace was used to rather than just regular rice)
- coconut curry.... I made this to go over the noodles, but it had a different taste - sweet and spicy that I didnt think the kids would like, so I just served it on the side
- corn.... sorry, we didnt have any Asian veggies, so I just opted for what we had that everyone liked

and of course, we got to use chopsticks.... which you can imagine trying to eat corn with chopsticks.... Wallace and I opted out and used the fork instead, while Gabe and Emma decided it was fun to eat corn and rice one piece at a time

Ok, so here is the fun part.... :)

Gabe, Emma and I ate normally... honestly, the noodles were so bland that they didnt really taste good (I think you are supposed to actually use them in soup), and we didnt really like the curry sauce.... the rice and corn were good, but as mentioned before, Gabe and Emma were eating them one piece at a time so they were taking forever....

Meanwhile... Wallace is gobbling up his plate like its going out of style... so when he gets done, he moves to put his plate in the sink, so I ask him if he is done, but I really expect him to ask for more... but instead he insures me that he is done, so he is allowed to go get a piece of candy (if the kids finish their dinner, they get a piece of candy, it works for us)... so he goes and picks out his candy and comes back to the table to eat it.

I get done, so I move to the living room couch, which is close to the table so I can still see everyone... Gabe gets done, so he gets up, and Emma decided that she needed a break (normally, she doesnt get to get up until she is done, but without Daniel there, I didnt really feel like taking on the battle for myself, and she knows she has to finish before bed)... so Gabe and Emma move to the living room and start playing for a minute.... well, as Wallace gets done with his candy, he slips over to Emma's plate and finishes it off for her..... she soon goes back to her plate to find Wallace there with no food left....

hilarious.... and he has never done that before... sneaky, sneaky.... :)

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I forgot to mention that this past weekend, we got to have lunch with a sweet family that is thinking about adopting from China as well... I love talking to other families who are starting this path... :)

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ok, so thats about it... medical test/drug tests/blood tests and TB tests today... woo hoo!

Monday

Whew... catching up after the holidays can be crazy... I mean...

Good news - a friend donated $100 to our adoption - I was floored... wow... another friend donated some more envelopes so that was awesome too!  Thank you to both!!!

In other news... we had our 3rd home study visit this past Saturday and that went well.... :)

Here is the schedule for this week
Monday: police clearance letters, homestudy fingerprinting, last reference letter, last employment letter

Tuesday: medicals for Daniel and Addie including a bunch of blood tests, TB tests and drug tests... yay

Wednesday: final home study meeting

Thursday: kids well visit appointments, and Daniel and Addie get TB tests read

Friday.... celebrate having everything for the home study done.... now just wait for it to be written, then send it off for approval, then it gets finalized

Next comes the I800A.... yay for the US govt... :)

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In other news... :)

Wallace has been home 2 years today... super excited, and wow, has he come a LONG way in 2 years... actually everyone in our house has.

As a special treat, we will be ordering Chinese take out to celebrate... yummm....

And gotta get the tree up before too long... Ive decided that instead of ornaments this year, we are making a list of things that we are thankful for and taking pictures of them and hanging them on the tree... good stuff.

So yeah... happy Monday everyone!

Tuesday

I just need to correct something that was implied earlier... Daniel's mom and my sister have always been happy about our adoption, so yes, we did have some family support...

also, we got all of our employment letters and 4 of the 6 reference letters, so hopefully the other 2 will be in soon.... we also have our next home study visit this saturday.

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so this morning has not been a good one...

I just learned that I had been stabbed in the back by two people that I thought were friends.

I cant go into any more detail than that, but its two people that I have supported more than most and they turned around and hurt me immensenly.... and then said they hoped I wasnt mad.

so my heart is bleeding a little bit today.

I am always surprised at how awful human nature really is under the sugar veneers of some people.

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hope yall are having a good week.

Friday... :)

Gotta make this quick.... only have a few minutes!

- yesterday we did our second home study visit and it went great... we even got the house cleaned up in record time

-as of this afternoon, we should have 4 of the 6 reference letters and 2 of the 3 employment letters and the rest should be in soon.

Busy, busy.... and I probably wont be blogging too much next week as the kids and Daniel are out of school so I intend to soak as much of them up as possible.

Hope you have a great weekend!

So it Starts...

I was hoping I wouldnt have to do this, but as of yesterday, it became necessary....

Negative and hurtful comments will not be tolerated on this blog.  Period.

Daniel and I got so burned during our last adoption that we will not give any publicity, attention or credence to anyone who feels that they can call us names, berate us or say ugly things about this adoption.  These kind of comments will automatically be deleted... and if I receive another comment like I got last night, then comment moderation will be turned on, as much as I hate to do that.

Look, we know that not everyone is going to agree with us or be happy for us... we get that... but if you feel the need to comment about it, then at least do it in a civil and adult manner.

And if you are going to be vocal about it, then at least leave your name and dont hide behind that "anonymous" tag...

If you have questions, please feel free to ask... but do not do it in an epicly bad condescending tone.

It will not be tolerated... not a bit.

And yes, I know some of you (and probably the person who left the comment) are thinking that I am overly sensitive and overreacting....

Well, honestly, thats probably true.... but when I say that we were burned last adoption, I mean it.... when I say that we got some hurtful, ugly, mean, nasty comments last time, that is what I mean.

I have never addressed this publicly because I didnt want to give these words any more credence, but I think its time that I told you a few of the things we heard during Wallace's adoption
- That child (meaning Wallace) is just worthless
- His parents didnt even want him, why would you?
- Who cares what happens to him, he doesnt have to be your problem.

And that is just the tip of the iceberg on the comments... never mind the people who completely ignored us, shut us out or pretended like our adoption didnt exist.

So I want you to close your eyes, think of your children, and then imagine someone saying to your face that your child was worthless.

(and if you feel the need to say that Wallace isnt our bio child so its not the same thing, then you can go ahead and leave now)

So yeah... I am overly sensitive and probably overreact... but we learned last time that negative words can hurt and they can stay with you and they can rob you of your joy too easily.

So... like I said... any hurtful or negative comments left on this blog will be deleted instantly.  Period.

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With that being said, we adore comments and questions... so feel free to leave some!

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On another note... someone did ask why we are doing international adoption as opposed to fostering or adopting domestically.

Daniel and I are not made for fostering... we just arent.  We have so much respect and love for people that can do this though - we are in awe.... but there is absolutely no way, we could care for a child and then have them leave - it would cut my heart in two.... and with our children being so small right now, we dont think it would be a good idea to have them saying goodbye often.  Yes, there is a need for this, so if you can do this, that is awesome and we will offer you whatever support you need!

Domestic adoption... when people ask this, I really want to ask them why arent they adopting domestically since I know that they have know idea what they are asking.  Daniel and I would have a very, very hard time adopting domestically since we have 3 small children in our home.  We dont have the room for siblings and we would need the new child to be 5 years old or younger (b/c Emma is 6).  Younger children like that are usually given to parents without children, have one child or cannot conceive.... we would be waiting a long time if we went the domestic route... also, the only kids available for public domestic adoption in our state right now are either siblings or teenagers - and we would not be approved for either one.  And for note, because each state has its own adoption laws, its almost impossible to adopt across state lines - thats so crazy!  Also, to be honest, Daniel and I cannot stomach the fact that a birth mother could come in over a year after weve adopted a child and decide that they want the child back, and most likely we would lose all rights... we cant even stomach that possibility because it would kill us... absolutely kill us (and no, we dont have a problem with open adoption, just the kind where the parents are deadbeats and dont see their kids for over a year and then all of a sudden want them back)

So even with all the paperwork and money... international adoption is just the best route for us.... and if you know me at all, you know that part of my heart has always been in Asia so I already love the culture, so its not hard to see why that is a good fit for our family.

If you have questions, please feel free to ask!
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So yesterday.... :)

- we had our first home study visit
- we got 2 of background check permission forms in
- we got our bios written for our home study

Today...
- we have our second home study visit... :)

Met our social worker for our home study for the first time yesterday and she isnt much taller than I am, and she was so super sweet and interested in what we had to say... we were both kind of sad that we are going to complete the home study so soon because it means our time together will be so much shorter.

But yeah... we hope to have all the requirements for the home study done before December, and then it will probably take 1-2 weeks for her to get that all typed up, send it off for review and then get it finalized.

After that comes the I800A where we ask the US govt to allow us to bring an orphan into the country.. that process takes 30-60 days.... once we have approval for that, then we send our dossier over.

Not sure what exactly comes after that since we already have pre-approval and have a waiting child in mind, but I know we have to file the I800, and then shortly after that, we travel.

So... us traveling next summer could actually happen.... so, so excited.... wow!

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Yesterday a co-worker gave me 2 boxes of envelopes... I am beyond grateful....

Have a great day... :)

Wednesday

Thanks for joining us on this wild ride... :)

- if you missed it, yesterday we got pre-approval from China on our little girl... :)
- our birth certificates and marriage license copies came in yesterday!

Today, I am working on...
- getting police clearances
- filling out other police/fbi/background check sheets
- doing our autobiography questionnaires
- getting a self employment letter from our CPA
- writing our application letter
- pulling stuff together for our medicals
- hoping some reference letters come in
- hoping our employment letters get completed this week
- work on our financial statement

Also, we have our first home study meeting today... and hopefully our second home study meeting tomorrow so that we can have at least half our visits done by the end of the week.

Yes, this is moving at an incredible rate.  We will still need $25K before we travel.

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Ok, the next part of this post will probably be hard to read, and please know that Im not downing anyone or pointing fingers or trying to make anyone feel guilty... Im just telling you our experience, so please, please dont leave anything hurtful in the comments...

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I put a notice on facebook yesterday about our fundraising starting and got one real response to that.

That honestly leaves me a bit worried.

I am beyond thankful (no words!) for that one family who is going to help us out.... seriously no words.... but I know they cant be the only ones.

With our last adoption, we had so little support - we had alot of backlash and mean comments and ugly speculation... with no family support... so we went through that whole process pretty much alone... I can count on one hand the people who gave towards Wallace's adoption (and our church at the time is not on that list).

I never doubted that God could provide the money.... but it is harder to have faith in His children hearing Him when He says to give it, and even moreso for them to actually do so.

It honestly left Daniel and I very, very jaded against church and Christianity..... and I think its no surprise to anyone that we didnt go to church for a long, long time.

We are just now easing back into church... but I ache (literally, I physically ache) at the thought of going through that process again.  I dont know if I can stand "the church" (as in the body of Christ, not just our physical church) letting us down again.

It is hard to hear people talking about being strapped for cash when they are holding their ipad, while we ate macaroni and cheese and a can of peas for most of our dinners during our adoption period.  It was hard for us to hear "we are praying for yall" from church members and then having to decline their invitation to go out to lunch b/c we were saving every penny.

It was hard.... it was worth it, yes... but it was hard, really, really hard.

And Im aching that we are looking at going down that road again.

I am trying to stay optimistic, especially when I announced it on facebook and there were so many wonderful replies and congratulations.... but the fundraising post didnt even get a small percentage of that.

I know that God has the money... and I know that He will provide.... I just really hope its more through His children this time.

Tuesday

So alot has been happening.... :)

- our LOI was translated and sent in yesterday

- I talked to our social worker on the phone and she was super sweet and eager to help us get our home study done right and fast.... excited!

- Daniel and I both asked our employers to do their required letters yesterday, so those should be done before the end of the week

- hoping all the reference letters will be in before the end of the week as well

- just completed our 10 hours of hague training today, so I will be turning in those certificates soon

- birth certificates and marriage license will be delivered today or tomorrow

- getting our background check permissions signed and witnessed today and will get those in today or tomorrow

- got our medical appointments scheduled for Nov 27th, and the kids sheet has been turned into the dr - but they may need well child visits to complete it



Yeah, so like I said, I am on the ball and trying to get as much done as possible... and hope to have everything done before December... :)

The home study requires 4 visits, so we have to get those done as well, but since our social worker is on board, those can be done quickly.

Once our home study is done...
- we file for the I800A, and once we get approval for that
- we turn in the dossier
- we get matched with our girl
- file for the I800
- travel

Like I said, I am busting my butt to get us in China next summer, but each step takes time.... and oh, lots of money... yeah, if anything, the money is going to be the hang up.... (if you are curious, this adoption is going to be about $25,000 and we have to have all of it before we can travel)

well, it will all work out, Im sure of it... :)


Edited to add: we just got our pre-approval from China to adopt the girl we wanted... woo hoo!  And our first home study meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow!

Monday

So Friday, I worked myself into a frenzy trying to get a list of everything we need.... and it is alot!!!

Going to try to get as much done this week before the holidays hit... and its even remotely possible, I will have everything from the homestudy and the dossier ready before December.

Now, that still means we have to complete the actual homestudy, but its a good start.

So yes, we could use some prayers!!!

We are also about to kickoff our fundraising efforts... which I will show you soon.... but one of the things we plan to do is send out letters to area churches...

If anyone has any envelopes or stamps that they would like to donate, we would really appreciate it!

Mondays are always busy, so gotta get back to work... hope yall had a great weekend!

The Fighter

This is a fake tattoo I gave myself in college... it took 2-3 hours or so... I still love it... :)

So if you were looking for a happy, sunny adoption blog when you came here, then you are probably going to be disappointed.  Thats just not me and thats not what adoption is about.  Adoption is hard.  It takes work and fighting and endurance.... and honestly, I get so irritated with all those blogs out there that make it look like a cake walk... b/c it isnt.

Today I am putting on my armor b/c Im about to go into battle.

I once read "If you want to run head on into your enemy and meet him in his territory, then adopt."

Its true, adoption is a spiritual battle.  I learned that the last time... it left me quite jaded.  But I still believe in adoption with all my heart.  And no, I dont think adoption is for everyone... but I do think everyone should do something - whatever it is you know you should be doing, then do it.

But this doesnt mean that Daniel and I are saints... I promise you we arent.  We are human and we make alot of mistakes and we hurt each other and other people.  If we have hurt you in any way, then we are sorry.  I know people mean well, but when they say things like "yall are so awesome for doing this" or "I so admire you", it makes us feel conflicted b/c we really, really appreciate the support and encouragement, but we dont feel like we are doing anything out of the ordinary.  If someone else had your child, wouldnt you do everything in your power to get them to you?  (and feel a little weird when someone told you they admired you for doing it?)

But we are not clueless or naive either.... the battle is just starting.... but believe you me (I love that saying), I am ready to fight.  I already know we will fall and come out of this bruised and battered... but we will come out on other side.... :)

I hope you join us on this journey... we will take all the company we can get... :)

Ok, enough with the philosophical this morning (and if you havent had your fill, check out my other blog, www.talleyimages.blogspot.com)

Yesterday, late afternoon, I got the instructions for the dossier... wow, its going to be a booger-bear... and for you not raised in the south, that means its tough and huge and super overwhelming.  (like 1-2" thick of paperwork to read and gather).... but dang it, I am going to get it done.  And in record time....

I am about to wage war and jump into the middle of this fight.... lets see where it takes us... :)

Hi

So Im sure most of you reading probably know us, but I figured it would be a good idea to introduce us for all the newbies here.... :)

We are the Talleys... Daniel and I (Addie) have been married for almost 11 years... we have two bio children, Gabe and Emma, and one adopted son, Wallace.  We live in Mississippi and have 2 dogs and 1 cat.

Me... my name is Addie.... I work 40 hours in a cubicle desk job, and I also am a photographer on the side, which is my love (www.addietalley.com, www.talleyimages.blogspot.com) - I want to go full time, but havent had the means to yet.  I am kind of a punk/goth girl and yeah, I dye my hair red and have half of my head shaved... Id love to have some piercings but my mom would kill me and Id probably get fired, so maybe later... :)

Daniel is my husband.  He teaches 8th grade English and this is his second year of teaching... he is a great husband and father and my best friend.

Gabe is our oldest kid.  He just turned 8 and is an exact-mini-replica of me... he looks like I did at 8 (minus the long hair I had) and acts the same way I do... he is my brain child that loves numbers and is super sensitive and has the sweetest heart.

Emma is our youngest kid.  She is a girly girl except hates to wear dresses... she loves Hello Kitty, pink and My Little Pony - I have trained her well.  She is tiny-tiny and turns 6 on Tuesday.  She wants to be a cheerleader when she grows up, so Ive definitely had some influence there.... she also is my social butterfly, her daddy's influence there.... and she takes no crap from anyone... :)

Wallace is our middle kid.  He turns 8 on Sunday.  He was adopted right after he turned 6 in 2010 (thanksgiving week!).  He was adopted from Hong Kong.  He has down syndrome and a host of other serious medical needs, but right now, he is doing really well.  Wallace is usually happy and LOVES attention.... he can also be super stubborn.

We had a hard time when we adopted Wallace b/c it felt like we didnt have alot of support, and also because Wallace was super spoiled in HK so his behaviors were awful.... it took a long time to get everyone in our family to a place where we felt like a family... but now we are in a really good place.

ok, so there you go... thats us in a nutshell... :)

As for the adoption.... Im trying to remain optimistic, but our home study agency was supposed to get us into the online system yesterday, but there was a glitch and we couldnt get in... they were supposed to let us know something today, but so far no word, so I will email them around lunch and give a friendly reminder. 

We had so many problems and setbacks during Wallace's adoption and our social worker and agency acted like they could care less.... if something could go wrong, it did - and not just once, but over and over and over.... so you will have to forgive me if Im a little jaded about adoption agencies and such... Im trying to keep positive but its always there in the back of my mind... and as I said in the last post, in order for us to travel next summer, everything has to run smoothly and quickly - I hope thats the case.

Edited to add: got the online stuff fixed, next is getting physicals and background checks... crossing our fingers we can do this ASAP!

Up and going!

So yes, its true, we are adopting again... :)

We have found a little one year old girl in China that we are trying to pursue... we put the paperwork and first agency fee and homestudy application in last week.

So now we are just in a mountain of paperwork trying to sift through it all.

We are really hoping to travel next summer b/c we will have to be over there 2 weeks, and since Daniel is a teacher, it means that he wouldnt have to take vacation.... in order for that to happen, everyone involved has to work quickly and efficiently and everything has to go smoothly....

Honestly, Im a bit jaded from our last adoption experience where if something could go wrong, then it did - multiple times... we also had people working with us that werent in a hurry or didnt really care about things... so it was very frustrating!

Also, we are in the big money stages... already weve paid some big money... and some more big money is expected soon... we hope you will partner with us in our fundraising efforts to bring this little girl home!

Ok, I cant think of anything else, but feel free to ask questions... :)