I know it has been quite a while for an update. Basically, there is not much to update on our adoption. Our homestudy and application have been delivered to USCIS, our check has been cashed, and our file is sitting on someone's desk, waiting to rise to the top of the pile so it can be approved. We received our fingerprint appointment, for April 1, and we have not gone down early to try to get printed early. I have called twice, and both times been told that our file has not yet been assigned to an officer, and estimated time to completion, assuming that no additional information is needed, is 90 days from receipt...our official receipt was the end of February. So, we are in a holding pattern...again.
I should say "Jacob" and "Matt" are in a holding pattern. It is easy to focus on our impatience, on our preferred time line. But the REAL tragedy here is that two little boys have been waiting for 5 and 6 YEARS now, to have a mama pick them up, smother them in kisses and love, hugs and tickles. They have been waiting 5 and 6 YEARS to be thrown in the air and expertly caught mid flight by their Daddy, held and cuddled, tickled by a scruffy 5 o'clock shadow. Waiting 5 and 6 years for mama and papa and brothers and sisters. Waiting 5 and 6 years for someone to notice that 15 lbs for a 5 year old is WAY too small and some medical intervention (and nutritional intervention) is desperately needed. Their entire lives have been a "holding pattern" and they don't even cognitively KNOW it.
But, if having our Serbian Jacob here has taught us anything, it is that despite not COGNITIVELY knowing something, his soul knew it, missed it, yearned for it, prayed for it, waited for it. God plants this knowledge of how things SHOULD be deep in our hearts, just as he plants the seeds of a conscience so even those who don't hear His Word know in their hearts the difference between right and wrong. That knowledge that each person is supposed to have a mama and a papa, someone who loves them unconditionally, who is there when they are needed. That knowledge is planted deep in our children's hearts. They do indeed miss us.
OUR BOYS are the focus of our waiting. They need us now. They needed us years ago. We are hurrying as fast as we can, but it is not fast enough for them. It was not fast enough for Jacob, it was not fast enough for Joey, it was not fast enough for Catie and James. Those hurts are there, and all we can do is bandage them up, love them fiercely, and help them get on with life. The rest is up to God.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Finally, Submission to USCIS time!
I've been very quiet here, waiting patiently (well, ok, not really patiently, but waiting all the same) for our homestudy to be complete, correct, and delivered to us. A month and a half after the final clearances came in, we achieved that result, and yesterday our I-800A application, supporting documentation and, of course, our $$$$ was sent on to Texas to begin that process. And the new wait begins.........
Mary
Mary
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Home Study is HERE!......
.....but it is wrong.
And the things that are wrong are not minor things (like how old my sister is when she has very limited contact with us because of age and geographic distance) but fairly major things...like citing the number of children we have, how many live at home, and how many you have interviewed. and those numbers don't add up!
So, we are back to the waiting for the homestudy game.
I hope they can get it corrected, quickly, and we can submit to USCIS before the end of January.
In other news:
Matt is doing fine after his tongue surgery. He seems to be healing just fine. That is so weird that they can do all of these things to his tongue, and it not affect his speech.
Jaoob is about the same. Stomach pain episodes are still down about 75%, but his aggression continues. We are looking into other avenues to help heal the trauma he experienced and help him learn better ways to deal.
Catie turned 21 yesterday. She came home from Ukraine at age 14. What a beautiful young woman she has become. We are very proud of her, and so glad to call her our daughter.
Emily starts her nursing classes in a week or so. In another year and a half we will have 2 nurses in the family.
Marie is busy, busy, busy. Planning, studying, working. Ahhh, to have the energy of youth! Marie and I are both working on our degrees...she on her Bachelor's for teaching, me on my Bachelor's then Master's in Nursing. Both going through WGU, an online, fully accredited school. James is working on his homeschool stuff, Marie on her's, me on mine. At any one time, in our kitchen, James will be making us a super banana bread as he integrates math skills with home ec, I have homemade models of hemoglobin both with and without oxygen (oxygen represented by blueberries) and lysine (an amino acid, which I chose colored marshmallows to demonstrate the various component parts of) and Marie is videotaping her presentation of how a Montessori school differs from more traditional schools. Homeschooling has never been so much fun!
Everyone is healthy, and we are all waiting for silly winter to go away and the warmth of spring to appear. Full blown cabin fever should be about 2 weeks away.
Mary
And the things that are wrong are not minor things (like how old my sister is when she has very limited contact with us because of age and geographic distance) but fairly major things...like citing the number of children we have, how many live at home, and how many you have interviewed. and those numbers don't add up!
So, we are back to the waiting for the homestudy game.
I hope they can get it corrected, quickly, and we can submit to USCIS before the end of January.
In other news:
Matt is doing fine after his tongue surgery. He seems to be healing just fine. That is so weird that they can do all of these things to his tongue, and it not affect his speech.
Jaoob is about the same. Stomach pain episodes are still down about 75%, but his aggression continues. We are looking into other avenues to help heal the trauma he experienced and help him learn better ways to deal.
Catie turned 21 yesterday. She came home from Ukraine at age 14. What a beautiful young woman she has become. We are very proud of her, and so glad to call her our daughter.
Emily starts her nursing classes in a week or so. In another year and a half we will have 2 nurses in the family.
Marie is busy, busy, busy. Planning, studying, working. Ahhh, to have the energy of youth! Marie and I are both working on our degrees...she on her Bachelor's for teaching, me on my Bachelor's then Master's in Nursing. Both going through WGU, an online, fully accredited school. James is working on his homeschool stuff, Marie on her's, me on mine. At any one time, in our kitchen, James will be making us a super banana bread as he integrates math skills with home ec, I have homemade models of hemoglobin both with and without oxygen (oxygen represented by blueberries) and lysine (an amino acid, which I chose colored marshmallows to demonstrate the various component parts of) and Marie is videotaping her presentation of how a Montessori school differs from more traditional schools. Homeschooling has never been so much fun!
Everyone is healthy, and we are all waiting for silly winter to go away and the warmth of spring to appear. Full blown cabin fever should be about 2 weeks away.
Mary
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
More Waiting
I have not posted because there is not much to post on the adoption front. Since this is our 4th adoption, one would think we would be used to this by now....waiting, and waiting, and more waiti.ng. I guess we are accustomed to waiting, but still don't like it much.
Our homestudy agency received clearance from the oversight agency more than a week ago, that the homstudy was fine the way it was, and to release it to us. Mail came and went today, still no homestudy. We need that to submit to USCIS. I have emailed the homestudy agency, so hopefully it is in the mail now.
Matt did well after his surgery. We knew it would be a difficult procedure to recover from, but he has been a trooper. He is back to school, eating and drinking, and talking with no ill effects of someone pulling his tongue forward and tying it off that way!
Thursday, Jacob goes for his airway scope. Hoping that shows that his airway has firmed up, and no more scopes (or repairs) are necessary.
I'm trying to use this time to get as much of my MSN completed.
And, I'm tired of cold weather!
Done complaining, back to Biochem!
Mary
Our homestudy agency received clearance from the oversight agency more than a week ago, that the homstudy was fine the way it was, and to release it to us. Mail came and went today, still no homestudy. We need that to submit to USCIS. I have emailed the homestudy agency, so hopefully it is in the mail now.
Matt did well after his surgery. We knew it would be a difficult procedure to recover from, but he has been a trooper. He is back to school, eating and drinking, and talking with no ill effects of someone pulling his tongue forward and tying it off that way!
Thursday, Jacob goes for his airway scope. Hoping that shows that his airway has firmed up, and no more scopes (or repairs) are necessary.
I'm trying to use this time to get as much of my MSN completed.
And, I'm tired of cold weather!
Done complaining, back to Biochem!
Mary
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Back at the Hospital with Matthew
Today Matthew (20 years old, bio son, DS and autism) had surgery, and we are back in the hospital at least overnight, probably for another couple of days. Matt has severe sleep apnea, which is much more common in children with Down syndrome. We have been working on this for years.
He had C-Pap at home, and tolerated it well for a while, then got a rash from the mask, and ever since then has not tolerated it at all.
Almost 2 years ago he had a "midline posterior glossectomy'...basically they cut a fairly substantial chunk out of the middle, back part of his tongue. After that healed (had to be rehospitalized twice for dehydration, it took much longer for this to heal than they were expecting) his sleep study showed that before the surgery he had severe sleep apnea. After the surgery, although the number, duration and severity of the apnic episodes had been cut in half, he STILL has severe sleep apnea. We have been trying, without success, to get him to wear his Bi-Pap.
This surgery is the next step. It is genioglossal advancement and repose procedure. They bring his tongue forward and tie it forward.
He came through the surgery well, the doc saying that his tongue is HUGE. She said this tends to be the more difficult of the two surgeries, and probably will require 2-3 days to stay. He is somewhat uncomfortable right now as we are waiting for the nurse to come in with more pain meds.
Please say a prayer for Matt's speedy, complete recovery, and that his surgery will reduce his sleep apnea to a point that it is no longer dangerous to him.
Mary
He had C-Pap at home, and tolerated it well for a while, then got a rash from the mask, and ever since then has not tolerated it at all.
Almost 2 years ago he had a "midline posterior glossectomy'...basically they cut a fairly substantial chunk out of the middle, back part of his tongue. After that healed (had to be rehospitalized twice for dehydration, it took much longer for this to heal than they were expecting) his sleep study showed that before the surgery he had severe sleep apnea. After the surgery, although the number, duration and severity of the apnic episodes had been cut in half, he STILL has severe sleep apnea. We have been trying, without success, to get him to wear his Bi-Pap.
This surgery is the next step. It is genioglossal advancement and repose procedure. They bring his tongue forward and tie it forward.
He came through the surgery well, the doc saying that his tongue is HUGE. She said this tends to be the more difficult of the two surgeries, and probably will require 2-3 days to stay. He is somewhat uncomfortable right now as we are waiting for the nurse to come in with more pain meds.
Please say a prayer for Matt's speedy, complete recovery, and that his surgery will reduce his sleep apnea to a point that it is no longer dangerous to him.
Mary
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Slowly Moving Along
Tuesday of the first week of January and we have movement on our progress...I heard from our homestudy agency that they are waiting on the oversight letter from the placing agency, and then we will have our homestudy to submit to USCIS.
What this means is that we will have additional fees dues very soon. USCIS recently raised their fees for the I 8000A applications, and we have 5 adults living in the house requiring fingerprinting!
However, having more money due is a positive sign that we are moving forward with this adoption! So exciting.
Additionally exciting is checking our Reecesrainbow Family Sponsorship page to see that someone(s) has been donating to our journey, and is helping us bring these boys home. Our major fundraiser efforts will be kicking in soon, as soon as I get a handle on a few more things here.
On the homefront...Matt (20, with DS and Autism) has surgery on Thursday to hopefully help his severe sleep apnea. This is the 2nd tongue surgery he has endured over the past 3 years. We are not rushing into these, but his apnea is severe, and he does not tolerate the high pressures needed on his BiPap. So, he has surgery scheduled. He will stay in the hospital overnight Thursday night, possibly missing his favorite basketball game of the year...the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout...two rival Cincinnati universities, University of Cincinnati, and Xavier University. I hope they carry ESPN 2 at the hospital!
Jacob has continued to feel better stomach-wise. I say about 80% improvement in his GI symptoms, which is fantastic. We still are dealing with a lot of aggression. Next week, he is scheduled for a scope of his airway. He has moderate to severe tracheomalcia, or softening of his trachea. We are hoping that with his growth and improved nutrition, this is reversing. We shall see next week.
Mary
What this means is that we will have additional fees dues very soon. USCIS recently raised their fees for the I 8000A applications, and we have 5 adults living in the house requiring fingerprinting!
However, having more money due is a positive sign that we are moving forward with this adoption! So exciting.
Additionally exciting is checking our Reecesrainbow Family Sponsorship page to see that someone(s) has been donating to our journey, and is helping us bring these boys home. Our major fundraiser efforts will be kicking in soon, as soon as I get a handle on a few more things here.
On the homefront...Matt (20, with DS and Autism) has surgery on Thursday to hopefully help his severe sleep apnea. This is the 2nd tongue surgery he has endured over the past 3 years. We are not rushing into these, but his apnea is severe, and he does not tolerate the high pressures needed on his BiPap. So, he has surgery scheduled. He will stay in the hospital overnight Thursday night, possibly missing his favorite basketball game of the year...the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout...two rival Cincinnati universities, University of Cincinnati, and Xavier University. I hope they carry ESPN 2 at the hospital!
Jacob has continued to feel better stomach-wise. I say about 80% improvement in his GI symptoms, which is fantastic. We still are dealing with a lot of aggression. Next week, he is scheduled for a scope of his airway. He has moderate to severe tracheomalcia, or softening of his trachea. We are hoping that with his growth and improved nutrition, this is reversing. We shall see next week.
Mary
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Winding down from Christmas, ramping up on adoption
We got word yesterday that our homestudy copies should be to us VERY soon...they are complete, and just awaiting signatures and notarization. I am hoping that by the beginning of next week, we can file with USCIS.
I filled out the I800A last night and this morning. Boy, it is much more in depth than the I600A!
Let's get these boys home by the late summer/early fall!
Mary
I filled out the I800A last night and this morning. Boy, it is much more in depth than the I600A!
Let's get these boys home by the late summer/early fall!
Mary
Thursday, December 23, 2010
The Clearances are IN
YIPEE
Our Ohio state child abuse clearances are here, with all of our names, DOB, and SS#'s correct on them! (Last time, my name was completely wrong, and I had to get them to run it again with the right name)
I emailed our homestudy agency. I hope they did get the other clearances from Nevada and Idaho. There was some mix up there, and the agency felt certain they would have them well before Ohio's come in, so I hope that is the case. If so, we COULD get this out to USCIS next week, as I had originally hoped.
YIPEE
Mary
Our Ohio state child abuse clearances are here, with all of our names, DOB, and SS#'s correct on them! (Last time, my name was completely wrong, and I had to get them to run it again with the right name)
I emailed our homestudy agency. I hope they did get the other clearances from Nevada and Idaho. There was some mix up there, and the agency felt certain they would have them well before Ohio's come in, so I hope that is the case. If so, we COULD get this out to USCIS next week, as I had originally hoped.
YIPEE
Mary
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Adoption Update...finally
Jacob has been home for a few days now, has improved greatly in his complaints of stomach pain, and has picked up a cold/cough. Today he felt puny from that, but overall, the change in him is nothing short of miraculous. I hope it holds.
On to the adoption news: We are still in the homestudy update phase. We have had our update interview, have sent off for all of the various clearances necessary and are waiting for those to come back. They are taking a while. We know the state of Ohio takes MONTHS to return the child abuse clearances. I have called and emailed, and I did receive a nice email back from the person who runs the checks, that she will do them this week, and mail them out on Monday. Then the disclaimer...she will let me know if these plans change. So, hopefully, next week, we will have the Ohio clearances.
Nevada and Idaho turn theirs around in 24 hours or less. I wonder why it takes Ohio 2-4 MONTHS to do the same thing??? I know there are more people in Ohio than in Nevada and in Idaho, but come on! The agency has confirmed that they have Nevada's, and a glitch in communication was solved, I faxed our signed and notarized consent for Idaho to run and release these to our agency. So they should be in by sometime next week as well.
Dare I hope that by the end of next week we could have the homestudy in hand and be ready to submit to USCIS by the first week in Jan?
From our home to yours, we wish everyone following along a truly blessed, peaceful, and holy Christmas, celebrating the birth of Our Savior. Merry Christmas!
On to the adoption news: We are still in the homestudy update phase. We have had our update interview, have sent off for all of the various clearances necessary and are waiting for those to come back. They are taking a while. We know the state of Ohio takes MONTHS to return the child abuse clearances. I have called and emailed, and I did receive a nice email back from the person who runs the checks, that she will do them this week, and mail them out on Monday. Then the disclaimer...she will let me know if these plans change. So, hopefully, next week, we will have the Ohio clearances.
Nevada and Idaho turn theirs around in 24 hours or less. I wonder why it takes Ohio 2-4 MONTHS to do the same thing??? I know there are more people in Ohio than in Nevada and in Idaho, but come on! The agency has confirmed that they have Nevada's, and a glitch in communication was solved, I faxed our signed and notarized consent for Idaho to run and release these to our agency. So they should be in by sometime next week as well.
Dare I hope that by the end of next week we could have the homestudy in hand and be ready to submit to USCIS by the first week in Jan?
From our home to yours, we wish everyone following along a truly blessed, peaceful, and holy Christmas, celebrating the birth of Our Savior. Merry Christmas!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Home Update
We've been home a few days now, and I'm so happy to report that Jacob seems to be feeling better. In fact, I'd say at least 80% of the complaints have completely disappeared, and of the remaining 20%, most are easily redirect-able, and only one time did he really cry and insist he was in pain. And that was right after he refluxed, so I understand that one!
We are really beginning to address the aggressive behavior, and hope to have that well under control after a couple of weeks of being home with us 100% of the time, and we have everyone reacting the same way to his aggression. I will say that the aggression has dramatically dropped off, too, as I'm sure a big part of that was reacting to pain. We always knew that his aggression skyrocketed when he was in pain.
So, hopefully this new medication will be the one that helps, and we can move on from this episode!
Adoption news: No word on Ohio child abuse clearances, but I called, left a message, and emailed two people for update requests. Let's see if any of those actually produce an answer. I'm not holding my breath. We have pending clearances from other states. I spoke to one person today and she said they faxed the clearances to our homestudy agency. They are refaxing to them. For the other state, I'm waiting on a return phone call. Both of these states (Idaho and Nevada) were VERY speedy last year with the clearances. Ohio is the only slowpoke of those we need. I still hope to maybe be ready to submit to USCIS by the end of the month. Let's hope.
Mary
We are really beginning to address the aggressive behavior, and hope to have that well under control after a couple of weeks of being home with us 100% of the time, and we have everyone reacting the same way to his aggression. I will say that the aggression has dramatically dropped off, too, as I'm sure a big part of that was reacting to pain. We always knew that his aggression skyrocketed when he was in pain.
So, hopefully this new medication will be the one that helps, and we can move on from this episode!
Adoption news: No word on Ohio child abuse clearances, but I called, left a message, and emailed two people for update requests. Let's see if any of those actually produce an answer. I'm not holding my breath. We have pending clearances from other states. I spoke to one person today and she said they faxed the clearances to our homestudy agency. They are refaxing to them. For the other state, I'm waiting on a return phone call. Both of these states (Idaho and Nevada) were VERY speedy last year with the clearances. Ohio is the only slowpoke of those we need. I still hope to maybe be ready to submit to USCIS by the end of the month. Let's hope.
Mary
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