My heart is so full of joy! Today the cutest, sweetest, most awesome 3 year old boy has come to live with us, and we are head over heals in love already. It will be several months before the law catches up and the adoption is finalized, but we've been a family of four since the moment he walked in the door.
Somebody pinch me, I must be dreaming.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
The Book of 2013
Grandparents, your printed books will be available soon! For everyone else, here's a digital version of our book of 2013 adventures. Happy New Year!
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Adoption update
We have completed the Homestudy & Licencing Approval process! Now we wait to be selected as a good fit for a child in need of a family. That could happen in a week or in a year, there's no way to predict it.
It seems like it's been a long wait already, but we have had many, many things to do to get to this point. We decided to pursue adoption in February of 2013, then researched agencies and programs for several months before choosing WACAP's US Kids program and officially applying in May. From June to November we kept busy with our home safety upgrades, home visits, training classes, references, medical and legal clearances, and of course filling out loads of forms. Now all of that is done and the real WAITING begins.
Saturday, November 02, 2013
Halloween
For Halloween this year Conan wanted to be a ninja. Not just ANY ninja, but specifically the character Zane from the Ninjago cartoon (Yes, the Lego ninja toy line has an animated show. It's really pretty good.)
Zane is the white-and-gold-costumed ninja with Ice Power and the ability to talk to birds. Actually, later in the show it turns out he's actually a robot, programmed to think he's a human, but I digress... On to the costume!
I modified a basic kid's halloween ninja costume pattern to incorporate the key elements of Zane's attire: gold trim "kimono" style wrap front, triple golden shoulder armor wings, golden hood ornament, and of course, a golden three-pronged circular shuriken. (You have to add the accompanying ice blast with your imagination.) It turned out great. Conan has been loving wearing it since I finished it, including on Halloween.
Cousin Chloe was a purple fairy princess this year. We met up over at Grandma & Grandpa's house for early trick-or-treating and pictures. Then we headed over to the Ericson's for dinner and trick-or-treating in their neighborhood. Kiah was a princess and Moira was a witch. The three of them made a pretty classic trio as they roamed the streets looking for candy.
The loot was plentiful and everyone had a great time. Conan was completely exhausted, the girls are enough older than he is that the endurance gap was noticeable. There was no way he was going to get left behind and miss out on candy though!
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Homestudy Complete!
It's done! We passed with flying colors, I think. It'll take a couple of weeks for the report to be written up, then we'll get a chance to proofread it, and then it'll be submitted. We have appointments to be fingerprinted next Tuesday, November 5th. And then everything gets sent off to the state for review and licencing. We could have our licence by the first of December, if all goes well!
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Home Study Delayed
Well, today was supposed to be our final homestudy, but our Social Worker is sick and had to cancel. Bummer! We've rescheduled for next Wednesday afternoon, so it's not like we have to wait months and months, although it is still disappointing. The house is super clean, and most of the projects are done: we're ready. The fire extinguishers are hung, the fire-escape ladder is mounted, and the non-skid bathmats are in place. The bedroom is all set up, the closet and dresser cleared of clutter and ready for a new little person's belongings.
Even if the homestudy had been completed today, we'd still have a bit of waiting time left. Once the visit happens, the SW has to write up the report, which takes a couple weeks. When she's finished, we get to take a look at the draft report and have a chance to correct anything that's inaccurate, then it gets submitted to the licensing people. We also still have to get fingerprinted, which is scheduled for Nov. 5th. They are pretty cagey about how long it will take to process the prints and return the clearance, but it seems a week to 10 days is about average.
If all goes well, we could have our foster/adopt license approved by the end of November!
And then... then we will officially join the Prospective Adoptive Parent (PAP) pool, and the real waiting begins. Our file will be sent to social workers around the northwest who are trying to find homes for children whose cases are headed for adoption, rather than reunification with their birth families. These caseworkers will look over our files (and all the other PAPs) and if they think we're a good fit for the child, we'll get a call. It could take a week or it could take months... there's no way to predict it.
In light of that, waiting one more week for our homestudy to happen is probably just good practice.
Even if the homestudy had been completed today, we'd still have a bit of waiting time left. Once the visit happens, the SW has to write up the report, which takes a couple weeks. When she's finished, we get to take a look at the draft report and have a chance to correct anything that's inaccurate, then it gets submitted to the licensing people. We also still have to get fingerprinted, which is scheduled for Nov. 5th. They are pretty cagey about how long it will take to process the prints and return the clearance, but it seems a week to 10 days is about average.
If all goes well, we could have our foster/adopt license approved by the end of November!
And then... then we will officially join the Prospective Adoptive Parent (PAP) pool, and the real waiting begins. Our file will be sent to social workers around the northwest who are trying to find homes for children whose cases are headed for adoption, rather than reunification with their birth families. These caseworkers will look over our files (and all the other PAPs) and if they think we're a good fit for the child, we'll get a call. It could take a week or it could take months... there's no way to predict it.
In light of that, waiting one more week for our homestudy to happen is probably just good practice.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
I just called to tell you...
Last night while I was making dinner, Conan asked me if he could call his Grandma Anita and Grandpa Dave. I readily agreed (it was definitely preferable to his continuing to be underfoot in the kitchen, begging for snacks and/or whining that he wanted to watch a show), so I told him their number and he dialed the phone.
I'm not sure which of them picked up the phone, but listening to Conan's side of the conversation had me alternating between suppressed laughter and blushing in embarrassment. It went like this...
Hi, it's Conan!
Good.
Well, I just called to tell you about this morning, when we were driving to preschool, and we got pulled over by a police car! With flashing lights and everything!
Mama was driving too fast.
Yeah. We were only s'posed to be going 50, but we were actually going 66!
We got a ticket. It's like a consequence.
It was 144! That's a lot.
Mama didn't like it but I did. The police car was cool.
Yeah, Mama's making dinner now. It's going to be macaroni and cheese.
Yeah, it's my favorite. I'm going to eat it all up.
Ok, Goodbye.
He hung up the phone and asked me for GG's phone number. I stifled my laughter and embarrassment long enough to give it to him. He called her up and after a little small talk about the pumpkin she gave him to carve into a jack-o-lantern, reported the whole incident to her as well. I have to admit, I'm impressed that he remembered the specifics of the speeds and the amount of the ticket.
Luckily, by the time he had finished reporting the exciting news of my speeding ticket to his great grandma, I had finished cooking dinner. Otherwise, I think he would have kept calling until the whole family knew! (I suppose I've just finished the job with this post, haven't I? Oh well.)
I'm not sure which of them picked up the phone, but listening to Conan's side of the conversation had me alternating between suppressed laughter and blushing in embarrassment. It went like this...
Hi, it's Conan!
Good.
Well, I just called to tell you about this morning, when we were driving to preschool, and we got pulled over by a police car! With flashing lights and everything!
Mama was driving too fast.
Yeah. We were only s'posed to be going 50, but we were actually going 66!
We got a ticket. It's like a consequence.
It was 144! That's a lot.
Mama didn't like it but I did. The police car was cool.
Yeah, Mama's making dinner now. It's going to be macaroni and cheese.
Yeah, it's my favorite. I'm going to eat it all up.
Ok, Goodbye.
He hung up the phone and asked me for GG's phone number. I stifled my laughter and embarrassment long enough to give it to him. He called her up and after a little small talk about the pumpkin she gave him to carve into a jack-o-lantern, reported the whole incident to her as well. I have to admit, I'm impressed that he remembered the specifics of the speeds and the amount of the ticket.
Luckily, by the time he had finished reporting the exciting news of my speeding ticket to his great grandma, I had finished cooking dinner. Otherwise, I think he would have kept calling until the whole family knew! (I suppose I've just finished the job with this post, haven't I? Oh well.)
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