Craziness abounds!

As is usual - it is crazy in our household - we are preparing for school...

Jacob will be a sophomore this year:
getting his driver's license - so he drives everywhere - we have to keep track of his hours...ugh
basketball just ended, football will be starting in the next two weeks and then we are off on the never ending - except for two weeks in the summer - sports seasons
he just went in for his physical - he is 6' tall and weighs 153.2 pounds - he was very concerned because he lost 2 pounds...again, ugh!

Nathan will be in 8th grade this year:
he just finished his rocket for 4H, we shot it off yesterday, this is the fourth year he has done a rocket and it was by far the best launch he has ever done
Nathan just finished softball - they got 2nd, now he waits until the first day of school to start junior high football - there will be a new coach this year :( so he is a little concerned about that...
Nathan is about 5'4" so he is starting to be able to look me eye to eye - you can tell he is liking that.
Kylie will be in preschool this year, or pretty school as she calls it
We bought her her PE tennis shoes - anyone who is from out here understands what this is all about - and she is so excited. But she can't figure out why she cannot wear them...so she just carries them around.
John will be in preschool too - just not as long.
He could really care less about the whole thing. Preschool to John is just a word, although he does love to play with other little ones that aren't his sisters. He probably does need the influence of other little boys - he wears a lot of high heels, pushes strollers, and likes pink...you get the picture
Kaycee will also be in preschool - we just haven't figured out where yet...To make a REALLY long story short - I would like to have her in a program with other deaf and hard of hearing kids...but we aren't getting there yet - with the resources we have - not to mention the nearest one is about 1 1/2 away from us....
Leonard is going to be starting his graduate degree on September 2. He is nervous and excited. He will actually be getting a dual masters - organizational management and project management. Sounds impressive, doesn't it? I am very proud of him.
And of course, me - I will be in my 9th year of teaching - ugh 9 years. Anyway, I am still in grad school too - I have 19 credits to go...39 down...I am tired, VERY tired!!! But oh well......

It is kind of funny actually - we are ALL getting ready for school this fall, we will all be in school from 2 years old to, well, me who is somewhere around 29-39 years old.

continued

Computers...uugghh!

Anyway, now with the I800 - it takes up to 2 or 3 months to get the appointment for fingerprints, get our fingerprints, then wait about 2 months to get approved.

THEN we send all of our dossier to our agency (after it has all been notarized) then they send it to our state to get it certified, then to the Chinese consulate to get it authenticated. All of that can take maybe 1 or 2 months, depending.

SO - when will we have our paperwork to China? I thought maybe it would November - now I think that is hopeful! Our LOI went in May - really we only have until August to have few problems. If we take until November, we could have a "bumpy road" according to our agency. After November? Who knows, it would be horrible to think about...

All while a little boy sits in China, no language, no hearing, and no family.

Worried...

So it has been a really long time since I last wrote. It isn't because there isn't anything going on, it is just that well, you know, we have been busy!

We finished up the home visits part of the home study, all but one child has their physicals- the last one is Monday and Leonard and I have ours done.

We are in a stand still with the adoption. It is crazy, sickening, worrisome, and long. And really, it is hard to explain, but let me try!

There are 24 hours of parenting classes required by the federal government for adopters. We have taken 30 with social services, and 22 through our homestudy agency = even though I didn't major in math, I think that comes out to 52 credits taken...I would say that is more than enough, but no. It isn't.

Ok, here comes the complicated part...some of it is our fault, some of it isn't.

Since we adopted Kaycee, something new has been implemented by our government - it is called the Hague. In the adoption community, this really is not a pleasent word.

All agencies must become Hague accredited - meaning they have to jump through a lot of hoops, fill out a lot of paperwork and be approved. HHMMM, does that sound like international adoption?

Ok, with the Hague, they are requiring all parents to take 6 classes, each 4 hours long. We have taken 3, been given credit from our 30 hours for 1 and have 2 left.

These are not offered again until the middle of August.

Supposedly, we cannot complete our homestudy and apply for our I800 until these are done. I have spent many sleepless nights, many times on the phone and many emails to our agency. FINALLY! The immigration specialist stated that we could put a note in our homestudy that states we understand these classes need to be taken before we travel - ok, no problem! Got that under control.

Some people, including my husband ask why one month would make sure a huge difference. Why was I worried so much...here goes the explanation:

Noah's file came to our agency late last year. It was under the old system - where China sent an actual paper file to the agencies, and each agency got their own list of SN children.
We didn't decide to adopt Noah until February. We were NOT ready in the least - finacially or paper ready. So we knew it would take a long time to get done.

Fast forward a couple of months - China has now changed their system - it is all electronic - and all agencies share the same list of SN children. Noah's file had to be completed, with a Letter of Intent, by the middle of May.

When China was on the paper system, they would let families have at least 6 months to get their paperwork completed, now that they are on the electronic system, they only have 3 months.

Go back to the I800- with the old system, the I600, we could apply for fingerprints before our homestudy was completed, wait for our appointment, get fingerprinted, send in our homestudy, wait to be approved ,then be completly done. It took us 5 months - and that was pretty quick with Kaycee.

Now with the I800 - we have to have our parenting classes completed, then finish our homestudy (because the homestudy cannot be completed without the parenting classes done), then apply for our fingerprints

Another "Kreation!"

Here she is...isn't she cute? Minnie Mouse purse, with a Princess Kreations tutu. I think they are cute...Anyone want one? Just email me...vkrise2002@yahoo.com

Best friends are we...

We have had the pleasure of having some little "extra" people running around our house for the past two days. This little people are our nieces and nephews. Anyway, we have had a lot of fun the last couple of days but probably the best time was when Kaycee and Ellie (both have bilateral microtia) were talking.


Both of them have a moderate hearing loss, both of them had just gotten up from their naps, and neither of them had their hearing aids on.

Here is the scenario:

"Blah, blah, blah..." says Ellie - very loudly.

"Blah, blah, blah..." says Kaycee - also very loudly.

Kaycee: "Yeah!"

Ellie: "Yeah!"

This went on for about 30 minutes - both talking very loudly, a lot of nodding, a lot of "yeah", a lot of jibber jabber. It was adorable!

Kaycee has been home for almost a year, and is 2 - China.

Ellie has been home for less than four months, and is 4 - Ukraine.

Nathan said it was like having the United Nations in our home this weekend...Russia, Ukraine, China and the United States. (I am not completely sure, but I don't think some of these countries are part of the United Nations, but I get what he was saying...)

It felt really good...

...to be back behind the camera again. I have been so busy the last couple of months, I don't think I have even reached for the camera. So today was beautiful and we headed for the park!

Could they be ANY cuter????? I don't think so!

The earthquake -

It is very sad. Last night, as I was putting my three little ones to bed, I thought about how lucky I was to be able to put them into bed.

I realized how lucky I was that we had blankets for all of our kids, beds for them, food for them, and a roof for them.

We have a car to take them to 4H, to pick them up from practice.

The biggest thing we have to worry about is who is going to get them and at what time.

I have read stories about people sleeping in tents with five other families. Living under a plastic canvas

Some people have just started walking, not really knowing where they are going, just walking.

I know that Noah is fine, the earthquake was not close to his province - Thank God. But I think about those other little ones who maybe weren't so lucky. There are many parents out there that are waiting and wanting some news about their children.

Here is a list of the orphanages that have been affected some how:

• Abazhou CWI: Unknown (52 children according to HTS)
• Baoji, Shaanxi: No injuries reported. Minor damage to the building but they are able to remain inside. (LWB)
• Chengdu: Safe, children are outside of the building during the day due to aftershocks. When it rains they go into the institution’s buses. At night they are on the first floor of the Children’s Building. There are cracks in some (but not all) buildings. (HTS and Agency). OCDF reports there is no electricity, water, or gas. They need diapers since they cannot wash. HTS reports they are having trouble finding supplies of milk and formula.
• Chongqing: Safe (HTS, OCDF, and an agency)
• *Deyang: Children are safe, minor damage to building (LWB OCDF)
• Dianjiang, Chongqing: Children are safe, no damage to building (Parent)
• *Dujiangyan: Children are safe. Children have been evacuated. Their temporary shelter has no tap water or electricity. They urgently need food, clean water, diapers, and powdered milk. (HTS)
• Fuling, Chongqing: Children are okay, no damage to current building. New building that is still under construction and not occupied sustained structural damage. (Parent and Agency) LWB and OCDF report damage to the building and are not clear if it is the new building or the one currently occupied. An agency reports cracks in the buildings currently occupied.
• Fungdu: Safe, no damage to building. (OCDF and Parent)
• *Guanghan: Unknown
• Guangyuan : Safe, staying in tents outdoors for now. (Parent)
• Ganzizhou: Unknown
• Hanzhong City SWI, Shaanxi Province: Children are safe, staying outside of building due to aftershocks. There are reports that the buildings sustained significant damage, and other reports the building sustained minor damage. There are tents set up for now. (Parent) Water pipes burst, water tower has cracks. Children have been evacuated and they need more tents, bedding, and clean water. (HTS)
• Liangping SWI : Children are Safe (OCDF, Parent, and agency). Reports of serious structural damage. (2 Agencies)
• Mama’s Wish: Teachers and students safe (LWB)
• *Mianyang CWI: Children are Safe. (Parent and HTS) Severely damaged walls, children have been moved to a military base. They have an urgent need for diapers, bedding, powdered milk, and clean water. (HTS)
• Mianzhu SWI: Unknown.
• Nanbu: Children are safe. Building has cracks. (Agency)
• Nanchong #1: Safe (Agency and OCDF).
• Nanchong #2: Children are safe (Agency, OCDF, HTS). Damage to buildings (OCDF and HTS) They need tents (HTS)
• Nanchuan, Chongqing: Safe, no damage reported. (LWB and Agency)
• Neijiang: Children are safe. Some structural damage to possibly several buildings. (HTS and Parent)
• Panzhihua: Unknown
• Rongxian: Unknown
• Santai County: Unknown
• Suining: Unknown
• Wanzhou: Children are safe. Building has cracks (Agency)
• Wenjiang County: Unknown
• Xiushan, Chongqing: Safe, no damage reported. (LWB and Agency)
• Yibin: Safe (HTS and OCDF)
• Yunyang, Chongqing: Safe. (LWB and Agency) LWB reports there is no damage to the building, but an agency reports there is some damage to the building.
• Zhaotong Foster Care program, Yunnan: Safe (LWB and Agency)
• Zigong CWI: Children are safe. They need bedding, powdered milk, crackers and disposable diapers (HTS)
• *Zitong County: Unknown