FAVORITE IMAGES OF THIS YEAR

ringing in new years last year-

*playing APPLES TO APPLES at new years eve party

SPRING BREAK - MYRTLE BEACH- GABE AND DALE

GABE ON BEACH

Mothers Day weekens at Great Wolf Lodge (we began our Home study interviews the very day before)

*My parents joined us

*cute husband!

NEW KITTEN FOR MY BIRTHDAY- JUNE

BIRTHDAY TRIP TO FL TO VISIT FRIENDS

*Gianna and Charles (also on FL trip)

GABE AT SUMMER SCICNE CAMP- EDVENTURE

FAMILY TRIP TO THE BEAC H

ROAD TRIP WITH GABE- TO NC AND OH
*TWEETSIE RAILROAD

GRANDFATHER MT 0 1 MILE UP

IN THE HAMMOCK - AUNT SAMS IN OH

AMUSEMENT PARK WITH THE KIDS

ICESKATING

PUPPIES

BOYSCOUTS!

THANKSGIVING (JUST ME AND JOHN!)

 

GABES BDAY

FUNNY FAMILY PICTURES

TREE TIME!

VISIITNG MAMA RUTH IN OH

SMILEY ME

FUN IN THE SNOW

PRESENTS!

SNOW IN SC!!!

retail therapy

I woke up this morning with frustration and unknowing- lack of pictures since July, inaccurate health reports, mishaps with finanicial issues, doubt about when we will get a court date. I felt the need to do some shopping for Little Man S. Although i was encouraged, slightly, by Pat's email but still confused about when we were submitted and along with how many families.
Well after finding the most awesome Nine West red-hobo bag - marked down to $19.99 from $79 , and buying three news outfits for our little guy my heart and spirits were lifted.
WE GOT NEW PICTURES OF S!!!! They are absolutley adorable. Unlike the children many AP's with solemn looking faces, S is smiling and giggling all the time. He is chubby and walking. He has his special shoes on - to help his feet after surgery.
He isnt totally dressed like a girl...pink pants but a more gender neutral shirt hehehe.
I am going to make a new family album on shutterfly- which i do at the end of each year. So these pictures couldnt have come at a better time....now for court dates- please oh please.

Bittersweet Christmas

I have read many blogs of waiting APs who are having a hard time this year being in the festive Christmas mood. Count me in as one of them, in a big way. I really thought by now we would have our court date and/or at least some new pictures of S- yet we have neither. Not only that, but we were called by HOLT on Dec 22 to inform us that there was a problem with a  pretty large check (the very last part of our agency fees). What is really irritating me is that that check was sent in on Dec 3rd (2nd day air), we called on the 9th and the 14th b/c the money remained in our account and we were perplexed as to why. It took them 2 and 1/2 weeks to notify us of a problem- all the while possibly holding up our chance at a court date. It turns out that our bank needed preapproval for checks over $1,800. BUT we already authorized a check for $5,000 for HOLT the month prior...we have no clue why they gave issue to this one and no clue as to why it took 2 and 1/2 weeks for HOLT to call us and ask about it.
Compound our adoption frustrations with a 7 year old boy who is very *present focused* right now, and who feels that if he asks Santa he can get anything....well he is not getting a DSi this year and does not seem to understand why....i am very frustrated to the point that i may as well spill the beans and explain to him that I will not be paying $175 for a new DSi when he already has a DS and access to a camera and computer....i can't help but think he was kinda disappointed with his loads of presents from us and our family....oh well. We did have a couple of discussions and i showed him some videos and pictures of care-centers and of those who are sturggling in ET, and elsewhere.  I told him that I was hoping Santa would visit them this year, and we can wait for a DSi.He is in better spirits now- but just seemd deflated...or it may just be my perception of it. After the check mix up- i emailed HOLT to explain ad John left two messages...no one ever called us back or returned our email- which was upsetting...since it was about 10:30am Pacific time. We at least thought we would have some knowledge of how they wanted to handle this or if it delayed our submission to court.....we haven't heard of court dates being released in over two weeks. February 14th has already been released....nothing after that. I am hoping we are in the next batch, but not sure now.

Health Update

Well i am struggling through my final paper and procrastinating, dreaming of winter break, hoping for new pictures of S and obsessing about a court date. We did get a health update last week (no new pictures)....S seems to be doing well. The doctors did remark on language delays and mild motor skill delays, but nothing too alarming. Although i did not like the mention of "lacks stimulation for language development" :(

Other HOLT families are already getting February 14th court dates :( We are not one of them....not even sure when we were formally submitted to court.....so we continue to wait. We have the holidays to sidetrack our minds :)

We should have enough $$ for our plane tickets there :) Fundraising has been good, plus school grant overage- woo hoo

*i need to change this chip-in thingy......not sure how

Whats in a name?

Well our little man S has a very Western name that was given to him by either the police officer or nuns at the Mother Theresa Care center. John and I have been debating and discussing if we are going to keep his name, which I think we will. However, he does not have an Ethiopian name as of yet - and we first thought nothing of it...we chose Micah as his middle name and felt fine with that.....until recently. The more we anticipate going to Ethiopia, the more we feel so excited about being connected to his culture. So today we have been looking at Ethiopian names and have come across Yohannes in honor of a wonderful 'hero" of education in Ethiopia and a one time political assylum refugee * check him out here http://www.cnn.com/search/?query=YohannesGebregeorgis&primaryType=mixed&sortBy=date&intl=false
This name also has a connection to John- which is my husbands name....so that may end up being his middle name!
Aside from thinking of names, I have also been thinking of babywearing...in this case- toddler wearing...and found this : This is what I want for xmas
I want the cool leaf/birdie print :)
This has been one of the main reasons I need a health update so I know how much this munchkin is weighing. This carrier goes up to 45 pounds- and my near 7 year old just broke 48 pounds...so i am thinking we can be safe with this one

Waiting for a court date- all documents translated!

Well well last night i emailed and asked Jenn specifically if our dossier had even gotten to Ethiopia yet, since I had not been told anything. Just now I got an email from Jenn (part of the HOLT Africa program)  that said our materials all arrived the first week of November, and it took about two weeks to translate them- and they were all set for court. Which means in 4 to 6 weeks we will be notified of our court date (possibly sooner, since HOLT tends to give the longest possible range). What is odd about this is that we were never officially told our dossier was even in ET, let alone translated, let alone submitted for court...which i think is/will be done this week (since Jenn said we are expecting to know the date in 4-6 weeks)...its great news, and we are moving right along. It seems that the court dates have tended to be about 6 weeks from when the family/agency is notified. So if we get notified of our court date around Xmas, then most likley we will be going to court in Ethiopia in mid-Feb....what a great Valentines gift. Althought i havent gotten a health report in month, this is great news...maybe even better news because it puts us several steps closer

The Break is coming! I am Thankful

****JOB/SCHOOL HIGH-JACK OF THREAD***
As I have mentioned before, I am in grad school for my doctorate in Education Curriculum and Iinstruction. I am enjoying my work so far, and am pondering research realms and paper topics. I am interested in examining student apathy/motivation in "failing" schools. We are one such school- but we do not have a long history of "failing" per say, we are in rebound mode and have been for the past 4 years- and are making ok progress. We made big gains in 2008, but our principal left (to work for the district) and there seems to be some issues with test scores specifically now. Although i adore our *new* principal. I absolutely, with all my being, can not stand standardized testing as the end-all-be-all for determining if a school (students and teachers progress depend on this) is "failing" or not. We have nine months in school, do not judge our 9 months of progress on less than three days of tests. PLUS this style of testing only applies to one learning style, and is generally only prepped well for one learning style. So of course our students have apathy and little motivation when they do well in a class only to have the test shut them down. I have seen it year after year with my 10th and 11th graders, and I teach advanced students (as well as regular/on grade level)-
Students see most teachers as only being focused on the test, teaching with just "drill" notes/ and work sheets and book work, and nothing engaging,- that leads to apathy and lack of motivation....plus the teachers feel stunted as well- thus more apathy and lack of motivation on their part.
I am in the midst of a large literature review/meta analysis of curriculum & teaching techniques that have been identified as helping end student apathy and motivate/engage them more......
i could study this all day, read and ponder...write and evaluate. I can tell you , I have changed my style of teaching over the years- and it has done me wonders.... i had some of the highest US History EOC scores last year and very rarely gave notes for the test and such- but we did have practice quizzes online, games done with test questions from the practice benchmarks- use of essential vocabulary in their projects/papers and analysis of several primary source historical documents....this year I am starting with 9th grade, some of the hardest students to engage and motivate. It does seem like a circus some days- with the antics my students bring in with them...but i have 7 to 10  kids stay for tutoring twice a week, more come in at lunch. My activities are mixed with traditional and more complex- my desks are in a big U and i sit with my students 90% of the time as they do their work.....i have all these little stools and hidden chairs around the room, so i can actually just sit by any desk in my class to discuss what they are doing- see progress, answer questions or just be the *presence* near them to keep them on track. I think we are doing well
 I am having to deal with several that just don't seem to give a damn....so i show up at their practices, where they hangout at lunch and call home *on the weekends* when I can engage both them and their parent/guardian....it feels like extra work some days- and I am lucky to have a TA and an intern..... so that's where i am diverting my attention while we wait on more info about S and the adoption

anxious and distracted

Maybe I do too much....i rarely take a day off just for me....so i tried to take off 24 hours from 5pm Saturday to 5pm today (Sunday) to just do stuff fun for me. I wanted to watch a show with John, have brunch, maybe lounge around the house some, go to the mall and maybe even buy S and Gabe something (early xmas?) but the more i tried to turn my mind *off* from work, and school and adoption stuff the more i just felt uneasy. I am just so anxious about money and grades and work and the house...and how much could this stress out my marriage. We aren't having any issues, so don't get worried, i just know that at some point its gotta give. Not to mention the 12 pounds if have gained....well maybe like 10....it WAS 20+ but i have lost 10....whew....but still.
I still am too scared about trying to take off next year, like i wanted to. I want more time with my boys and doggies and for school work towards my doctorate....but i fear the lack of $ will stress me out more than the lack of time with family will stress me out should I work.... its a catch 22.
Maybe I will get an adjunct position or PT at the university- thats what I am hoping for....so i will have some money coming in.
There is also a possibility, actually a pretty good one, that john will be getting a promotion/raise- but not until after the first of the year. That would be so amazing...and i hope he will like his job/new responsibilities more.
So i tried to take time for me...wandered around the mall...that just makes me more annoyed and frustrated- with all the crowds. But i did go to the newish Bareminerals store and get my face done and get a starter kit. I have always wanted to get their line- I already get the knock off stuff at Target (probably just as good?) But i had a little promo card for $10 off the starter kit....still $55 is expensive...but i did get new brushes, and can use all three products for foundation, concealer and bronzer/blush.
Yet here it is, not even 5pm (remember it was supposed to be 24 hours for ME)   I am at Panera Bread grading papers- which very much need to be done. Tomorrow i will have my intern and TA help me with more grading and catch up with all that....i am not too far backed up. I think i will feel less anxious when we get Johns $ from his 401K (we are borrowing a little from that) and we get an update on S.
Actually making the trips to Ethiopia and finally having him here just feels so far removed from reality- that its upsetting me. It just feels like we have so far to go and we are stuck in neutral.

The waiting game

I can be frustrated and annoyed but I wont (its been since July that any medical check-up was done and the doctor is now "on leave")....since its November and the time to be thankful, (well, thats really any time)- I am going to be thankful- Thankful we have already seen little man S's face and never spent a day on the wait list (we went right through the WC program), thankful our dossier has been been sent to Ethiopia, thankful that the prices I am researching for February flights are cheap (really, this looks to be a great time to fly, even if its 2 months later than I thought we would go), thankful that I have an amazing husband that does so much around the house so I can work two jobs and go to school (this will change when S gets here....but its my reality right now), thankful I have an amazing 6 year old who will be 7 in just three weeks- and he is just the smartest, most inquisitive child i have yet to meet (and I am a teacher), thankful that the money is almost all together- after a grant I get in January we will have all our travel money; thankful for Thanksgiving break and Winterbreak coming up- of which i never have to worry about taking time off b/c I am in education !

...i am just hoping for a court date and update soon......
Little Man S has club feet and has had at least two surgeries and is supposed to be in casts/braces. I have yet to see these braces in any picture which has me concerned. So during the holiday break I shall be researching this big time, and hope to have some sort of medical update to go from. The one I got in August (which was actually done in July) says he is walking and such...mentions the "pop-casts" he is wearing, but no pictures show those....I did get actual pictures of his feet in September (her was sitting on a baby potty- yay, potty training).... so those are what we are going with now....
I have found a OT therapy place, that also helps with sensory issues and Autism/aspergers etc - so its a great place for motor as well as some emotional/social issues

A long weekend

We have been busy...the last of our agency fees are due this month so that we can get submitted to court after the translation of all our documents. We also got a letter stating that all our visa materials were already sent to Ethiopia....fun fun
I went to Washington DC for the Rally for Sanity and had a blast. I ate Ethiopian foodin Adams Morgan at the very same place I first ate ET food nearly 10 years ago....how amazing what 10 years does!
We are still waiting more updates on S, Its been over 3 months and it has becone upsetting. Gabe and John hit the neighborhood and had a great time tirck or treating...i think there were some tricks!

IMMIGRATION FORMS ARE ALLIN!

Just when i was starting to scour my emails tofind the immigration case worker- we got our I17H! Our dossier was officially accepted by Holt on October 12th and now this completes everything! All we do now is wait, work , plan, save and get one more round of shots....oh wait, and buy airline tickets (of course that wont be until we get the email/call about a court date)
Whew....it feels like such a long time, but really its just been since May- 6 months of compiling paperwork,interviews, committee meetings and forms upon forms to be notarized. I am hiping for an update on S soon. We havent seen new pictures since mid July...ugh

Dossier is on its way!!!

This evening we finally got the dossier, and copy off to HOLT. I finally feel like we have everything we need in...whew....now we just wait and wait...and plan :) Our family book will, hopefully, soon get to Little Man S. We haven't gotten any updates since mid July though :( I am hoping for one any day now. School and work has been busy and stressful. However, I did get a 97.5% on my first paper this semester! Gabe and John have been doing cubscout stuff, very cute.

progress and more!

Well well in the last two weeks we have made progress...fingerprints in, immunizations started, dossier set to go- and it shall be sent out tomorrow/Monday. I am waiting for my social workers notarized liscense...they gave me unnotarized copies which did me no good- I was told i could not get them notarized as pertaining to me b/c my signature wasn't on them. Ugh....needless to say the agency is an hour and a half away. They are being overnighted to me...so once they are here (tomorrow) they shall be copies and then put in our big dossier package and OFF IT WILL GO!! sosos happy finally to get it out...HAPPY OCTOBER! Its my favorite month of the year, and not ponly because of my name heheh.
Also our fundraising shirts are on the way :) plus more coffee....the next thing we are getting ready for is our Halloweenie Roast!

PRE-ORDER YOUR SIMPLY LOVE T-SHIRTS NOW!

Hi all and happy FRIDAY! We are kicking off the weekend with our t-shirt fundraiser
We are having a t-shirt sale to fundraise for the newly required 2nd trip to Ethiopia, additional airefare aint cheap!!!. Shirts come in S, M ,L, XL and in one of three designs- one is more manly (but i still like it) and one is kinda more femine, the blue.teal is in the middle :)


There is Simply Love Choc/Teal (womens vintage fit)

Simply Love Black/Teal (more unisex)

Simply Love "Man Up" in a darker army/muted green and red

I am attaching the three designs. Prices are $25 and I accept pay pal. My pay pal account is through "autumnperkins@gmail.com" or you can link to it though the donate button on my blog- over there to the right!!!. In the comments make sure to tell me what size and design.

I need to place an order of at least 25, so I will probably go ahead and pre-oder mainly mediums, larges and XLs. Let me know what "man" size you may need (I will probably preorder alot of XLs) AND of course let me know which of the 3 designs you would like



ALSO- On Oct 23rd, a Saturday, we plan on having a fall family festival "Halloweenie Roast" (plus maybe marshmallows and a haunted candy trail)- an EVITE will follow. I will have shirts by then, as well as some more information about the adoption process in general (we are going to a conference in Atlanta the week prior and will have a good deal of information for people interested in a variety of countires), information on possible court dates and Ethiopian coffee for sale too. BRING THE KIDS! It will be 5-9pm, with dinner-snacky foods and other things.

Thanks for all your support in this huge endevor

16 days til finger prints

Hi hi- i have been going through dossier materials this morning and realized I need a new copy of my employment letter, and can pick that up next week. Otherwise, its time to get it all notaorized, copied and packaged up. I think I am going to follow what another family who is doing the WC child program with Holt and send in the dossier right after we get our finger prints so they can review and we will send the 171H as soon as we get it.
Other siwe we are just waiting...i am folloiwng one awesome blog with a new little 2 year old who just got home last week...and now realize that we must have a plan for our "wooshas" (dogs) since our Little Man S will most likley be afraid of them.
I am not sure we have mentioned this, but we plan on using the name Micah. Not sure if it will be a middle name or his first name. His S name was not given to him by his family or even the nuns who love him so. It wasgiven to him by the police officer who found him. It is important b/c it is what his caretakers know him as- but we want him to have a name from his *family*. We will see how it goes. For today WE ARE GOING TO GET ETHIOPIAN FOOD!! mmmmm mmmmm good!

finger print dates- finally

September 20th at 10am in Charleston SC...i am looking forward to a fun trip to Charleston with John :)
and another big hurdle crossed for the adoption. I got some older medican reports fo Little Man S- I requested anything they could find from the Mother Teresa Care Center....so we have a better sense of his history
TGIF!!

teacher-student-mother-wife-petowner- SCATTER BRAINED

This past week school started for me times three. Gabe is now a first grader, I am back teaching at Columbia High School and I am also back in grad school- this time in pursuit of my Ed. D in Curriculum and Instruction. Go Gamecocks! (the real "Carolina") hehehe
I am taking two courses online and one at USC on Thursday evenings when Gabe is with his dad.
Gabe has moved up to a new montessori class with 1st-2nd and 3rd grades. I thought he would feel weird about being the youngest grade. However, he is strutting around like a BMOC because he is friends with 3rd graders. Hehehe its too cute. He is also starting soccer this year. His friends play but this has been the first year he has asked to play...he has tended to shy away from team sports.
So its been quite easy to put the adoption in the back of my mind (whats left of my mind)...but we are still awaiting finger print dates. We got confirmation from Fedex and DSS that our homestudy was sent to the NBC and received Aug 14th- ...we have not been contacted yet requesting any further information....so we wait...
We are also in grant application mode...and currently are working on three.... i  need an assistant or there needs to be more hours added to the day.

spinning and going too many directions at once

Yay for mid-August its the beginning of school- new curriculum to develop, new students to get to know, new requirements of my time (damn being the "learning team leader" for Geography), service-learning projects to develop, Gabe is starting 1st grade, I am resuming grad- work, and we are waiting on finger print dates for finalizing our immigration forms!! After this, all we really do is wait for our case to be submitted to court. I guess its good to have so many things to side track my mind from obsessing over adoption- and i am excited about my new projects...but i already feel exhausted and overwhelmed. Mind you, once S is honme it will be FMLA time- and I am using all of it (most likley)- so that could mean - no more teaching after February/March- but for right now i am buzzing around like the craziest worker-bee....ugh and i just forgot that Gabe is also starting back at soccer and karate...ok, thats it, there really needs to be 2 of me.

Show me the Money

well we all know adoption is expensive (duh) and all those crafty sista's out there who make jewlery and clothes and bibs and pottery, beads, crochet- I have to hand it to you...i admire and appreciate craftiness but have little ability for it. So i am putting my talents to use and tutoring athletes at USC (go gamecocks) and working at an afterschool program three evenings a week for a middle school...i may not do both of these jobs- it matters what hours they can give me. The USC gig only pays $10 an hour (work study $ i am eleigible for) But the middle school tutoring job pays like $25 an hour. So thats how i am earning some extra $. We are also getting a small grant, and I personally have a large amount of my financial aid grant $ left over from grad school. I elected to take as much $ as i could - so that after S comes home (bascially after next Easter) i can work/study part time and have April-August home with him. So i am not fretting about $ too much...not like I was last April when it kept me awake at night. I seriosuly had ulcers about it.... i am happy to be able to get those extra jobs though- and it keeps me in my field :)

if its not one thing- its another

Well i was hoping to get to court by the end of the year...who knows if it will happen. The new snafu is that HOLT doesnt want our dossier until 17H/immigration is done...this is per the email yesterday to the ET families. What the heck? if its not one thing, its another. We were planning on sending our dossier out Monday. I emailed Pat about it....so lets see what happens. I at least want them to have the dossier and review it b/c god knows I will have left somethign out or done something wrong.... why wait to submit?!

any warrants?

apparently neither john nor i have any active warrants in Columbia SC and we now have documentation stating as much. We both got our police clearance letters yesterday....Monday I make a trip to our state's sec of state office to get the homestudy certified....then we have a notary party later next week (with johns friend or our local banker guy) and this dossier should be ready to set sail!!!!

In funner news (yes, i just said funner) gabe and i are going to the water park this week....the small one at ft jackson and then on to better amusement parks and water parks next weekend :)
Odds/Ins:I finally got to go to a doggy adoption day today- i am no longer working on Saturdays. I brought my two fosters with me. I hope Tipper and Sally get homes soon...they are both very very sweet.
John made dinner tonight- it was great! Time for a movie....date night is in :)
The rescue i help with :)
http://www.caretoadopt.org/

HOUSTON- WE HAVE HOLT COURT DATES!!!!!

I am so thrilled for today,...seriously at 4am last night i woke up (due to dog craziness)- but i was not able to go back to sleep. I kept thinking "Ethiopia, Holt, court dates" over and over...it was like i was counting sheep. And then today i find out that the first two groups of 2 trippers have their court dates!!! woo hooo I want/need/am so anxious to see how ths new system will work. It seems these families got thier dates about 3 months after submitting the request to the courrt. Soooo if we submit mid-September then mid Dec or early Jan is when we will get to go for our first trip (i hope)...amazing...its getting much more real for me now. All the official paperwork this week, new pictures, immigration, and now court dates! Wow!!!! I just want Little Man S here for spring break for our huge easter brunch and neighborhood egg hunt (i have a super big yard and lots of flowering trees so we always have a hunt here, with brunch and such)...i know many hope for their kids to be here by the end of the year or xmas ...i just hope for easter .

FEDEX

Yesterday i sent out the I 600A - FEDEX and today my friend FEDEX worker delivered my big package from HOLT with the travle disclosure, dossier invoice, programinvoice and placement agreement...this has , by far, made it feel the most formal and "real"- we also got some more medical updates for S- i totally did not get thier notes from June, but everything else has been emailed.
We got our bank letters and doctors letter waiting, along with the MOWA letter, pass port copies, and well..i need to check the list. I am trying to remember off the top of my head......so much stuff...
Oh i need to get the new letters of reference....grrr...
ok well i am planning a big notary trip soon- i have some local notary helpers i mind. I hope by this time next week I can put this dossier and check in the mail.....ugh

Homestudy out now I 600 A out!

Holt emailed me and said they have recieved our homestudy and now is the time to  get out our immigration packet- well duh!. I had to wait on a copy of my social workers liscense, i got that today and we are ready to roll. Grrrr my check for $830 is also rolling right on with it. At least adoption costs are sectioned out, and not all at once.... i average spending an extra $1,000 every other month. Coming up soon will be the dossier fee...ugh. But its all a sign of progress. What i am dreading more about is returning to school- both to teach and starting my PhD work. My ideal situation is to teach full time this last year (except after S arrives- then its FMLA leave time). Then the following shcool year work more on research/ teach part time. This way S can go to the half day Montessori and I can pick him up. We may do a homnecare situation here, should I have evening classes. I am way too much of a planner....in college i used to never be this way.

I still hope/wonder if we will get to court before the end of the year...its so very discouraging when i have yet to see any 2-trippers get thieir travel/court dates...i really do not want to doubt my agency- but i am just confused as to what is being done over in ET to push the 2-trippers court cases forward. Our agency really does focus on optimal care for thew children, i think the admin side of our staff is kinda underwater. Why are other agencies getting thier two-trippers out? Will HOLT still just focus on all the one-trippers who have to go pick up kids before they have 2-trippers go? This is the downside of such a huge agency, I fear.

In other news Gabe got a large package of books and a cd of all his pictures while in Ms. Ancone's class (4k and 5k monetssori)- it was so sweet. I hope Ms. Ancone has S. She is not your avegerage lovey-fuzzy kindergarden teacher, but i think thats what makes her class work so well. Shes all about establishing independence and routine at the same time.

Ok gotta get this bad boy in the mail and get some other work done. I think THURSDAY will be my Charlotte/ET lunch day :)

Houston we have a HOME STUDY!

Well I am excited to say that Sharon from our home study agency is doe with the small amount of edits and currently homestudies are in the mail...one to HOLT and two to moi. One of the ones coming to me will be the one to be included in our dossier...next week: Bank letters, police letters, letter to MOWA- amended letters of reference, contact doctors regarding needing their reports on letter- head and then a mass notary visit once again....lordy lordy
I hope that by the 2nd week of August the dossier will be at HOLTS office.

then we wait for court....

Mission of Charity Center- guinea pigs

Well it has come to my attention that we are possibly the 3rd or 4th family to be matched with a child from the Sister's Mission of Charity care Center. The first family has put in their request for a court date, but nothing yet. So no actual adoption has been completed from this center. We got an email today stating that there was a meeting with HOLT staff and those at the Mission Center last week, along with some evaluations. At this point HOLT -Eugene is waiting on the fed-ex package of pictures and documents. I hope and pray that by next week we have more pictures/evaluations on Little-Man S. In more interesting news, our adoption procedures will differ than the usual Holt families- in that our child will not be moved to the transition center. As per the guidelines of the Mission Center- children stay with them until everything is finalized. We will visit him there, and assume custody at this center, not at the HOLT center. So no Durame home visit (S is totally abandoned- know family is known)- and possibly no farewell ceremony, since we will not be at the HOLT Transition Center.  However, I am happy to be able to visit this historic place- it was opened by Mother Theresa, after all! I will be more than happy to take donations to this historic center, who also helps with the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Ethiopia. Plus little-man S will be with those he knows best, in his comfortable surroundings- of course until we come and take him away from all he has ever known!!! (yikes- makes me feel so sad for him, but know its for the best).
Other news- we are still awaiting the ok from HOLT on our home-study to have it formalized and start our immigration process....ugh more paper work..more waiting...of course MORE MONEY!!
happy happy, joy joy

pictures- North Carolina

TWEETSIE RAIL ROAD AMUSEMENT PARK

WE ARE REALLY HIGH IN THE CHAIR LIFT!

His smile is so adorable! We were onthe ferris wheel

NEXT STOP- A MILE IN THE SKY, AT GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN!

WILL WE BRAVE THE BRIDGE?










IT WAS REALLY WINDY:
*Gabe took this picture :)

ON THE BIRDGE!!

on the other side: