Minimalistic

It's amazing how fast time can go while doing very little.  Our days have been spent waking up late, watching football and doing lots of eating.  Eventually, we muster the energy to take the pups out for a long walk.  Mattie loves the outdoors and darts from one side of the road to another.  It's been super nice not to worry about a thing and slowing down our pace.  I think that is why I love this place so much:  my family and the fact that it forces us to slow down. 

Last night, my Aunt Leta came over for a nice chicken dinner.  A little later really good family friends, Chris and Vince, stopped by to say hello.  Once again we ended up in the kitchen and talked to ten.  It is a little quieter here today, my brother left for home.  We drove down to Columbus this morning to bid him farewell.  Tomorrow, we head home early.   

Until then, I'm hoping to get one more Pisannello's Pizza....our third outing!     

Wordless Wednesday: Pizza Joy

Wordless Wednesday: Pizza

Wordless Wednesday: Santa Puzzle

The Holiday Season

Time flies when you are having fun.  We have had a great start to the holiday season.  We celebrated Christmas with Mike's family a little early and then headed to my parents.  Christmas Eve was spent with my extended family at my Aunt Margie's.  It was cute to see how excited the kids were for Santa to come.  On Christmas, my Uncle Dick, Uncle Larry and Aunt Leta came over.  The day was spent with laughter re-telling old stories and was gone in a blink of a moment.

We spent the last few days putting a puzzle together--insanely hard with a mirage of different Santas (picture coming soon).  Tonight, we are headed to our favorite pizza shop with lots of friends and family.  We almost fill the joint all by ourselves.

I miss this magical world, but know that Philly awaits us.  Thankfully, we managed to miss the blizzard that hit home a few days ago.  It sounds like we got over 8 inches of snow.  Hopefully, it will all be gone when we get home.

Wordless Wednesday: Betty

Yes, Virginia There is a Santa Claus

Back when we first started this process, Mike and I made the decision to wait to tell people about our plans to adopt.  We wanted to make sure that the dream could become a reality.  As time has gone on, it has been harder and harder to keep this secret.  I will say that Mike held out much longer than me.

I immediately told my brother, the one person that I can count on to give great advice.  He was so supportive and continues to be my rock.  His only thought is that with a child we would live a full-filled life.  Honestly, I think he was already scheming on how to make this kid a future SC homer!  I then told my mom during my birthday weekend with the promise not to tell others.  To say that she was happy would be an understatement (she started to cry with joy).  I plan to tell the rest of my family at Christmas.

Last night, we broke the news to Mike's family.  During Mike hemming and hawing his way to telling them, you could literally see the wheels in motion to his mom figuring it out.  His dad was even funnier:  "are you getting another dog".    It was really neat to watch their shock and unbridled excitement.  His mom's parting words--this will take a few days to sink in.   It looks like his grandmom will be next in line to learn the news.  The rest will learn when we get the referral.

Christmas Rush

We've spent the last few days finalizing our holiday plans.  It looks like we are getting very close to having all of our presents in place.  Just need to decide on a joint gift for my parents from my brother and I.  I'm really looking forward to just relaxing with our family.

Today was a big day.  We got our fingerprint appointment for the I600-A.  I've read on the board that some families just crash their site to speed up the process.  Mike and I won't have this luxury due to the holiday.  We'll have to stick with our appointed time of January 3.  I keep having to remind myself that is worth the wait.  It is not about the sprint to the finish but the journey.

How do you know when it is windy outside?  When the pups want to abort their walk to get back to the house.  We preserved through 40 mph wind gust and made it home.  Our weather went from a rainy 60 degrees yesterday to 29 degrees today.  Parts of the midwest have been stuck in blizzard conditions.  Old Man Winter, please be kind to us!

Wordless Wednesday: Beautiful Boy

Wordless Wednesday: Imagine Lennon at 70

Winter Like Day

The weather has slowly been turning colder over the last few weeks.  Today, we woke to a very cold start (29 degrees) and high wind.  Unfortunate for Mike as he is running Brian's Run as I write.  Brian's Run is a charity 5 mile run that benefits Brian who was paralyzed playing football many years ago.  Mike originally ran the event as a high school student.  Now (a few years later) he has begun to run it again.  I'm really proud of him.  It's hard enough to run the hilly course while the weather is perfect.  Today, with the wind, it will be insanely hard.  This goes to one of Mike's greatest strength: his will and determination.

While Mike is busy torturing himself, I went for a walk in the park. I bundled up the pups and headed into the gale force winds.  Amazing how a little cold wind can calm the mind.  Just me and the pups.  About half way around, we were blessed with a visit from a red-tailed hawk.  I watched as it gracefully sliced its way through the wind.  

It has been quiet on the adoption front.  Our home study went to Korea last week.  Still waiting on the I600-A.  To keep our minds off of it, we've been busy preparing ourselves for the great Christmas rush.    And, we couldn't resist picking up our first official gift for our child.  Kohl's was selling stuffed animals for charity based on the characters from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.  I couldn't resist Max, the pup who pulled the sleigh.  

All I need is a reindeer! The Grinch looked around, but since reindeer are scarce, there was none to be found. Did that stop the Grinch? Ha! He simply said: If I can't *find* a reindeer, I'll *make* one instead. So he took his dog Max, and he took some black thread, and he tied a big horn on the top of his head. 

Snuggle Time

Windy & Cold

Brian's Run

Wordless Wednesday: Trojan's Double

Will There Be War?!?

There have been developments since my last post.  The good:  we received word that our home study went to Korea on November 24.  The bad:  Will there be war?  Last week, while the South was doing military drills, the North fired missles, killing 2 soldiers and several civilians.  The South considers it an act of war.  The North is saying that they are on the brink of war.  We are just hoping that diplomacy prevails.

On better news, we had an amazing Thanksgiving.  My parents and two uncles arrived on Tuesday night.  We spent all day Wednesday preparing.  On Thursday, Mike's parents and grandmother came for Thanksgiving.  Good food, easy conversations and help all around made the day special.  I also got a special gift of Betty, Jack and Pat coming for dinner.  And did I mention that Mike's grandmother makes a killer gravy.  

We had talked about telling everyone about the adoption, but decided to wait for the referral.  It is killing me not to tell them.  So far, just my mom and brother know about it.  Mike thought it was best to wait for the referral based on everything that is going on. We are hoping to make the exciting announcement at Christmas time.

Gluttoned from turkey day

My amazing family

 My family ready to head home.  Thanks Dad and Uncle Dick for helping with the Christmas Lights.  They look great.  I always hate to see you go.

12 Things To Be Thankful For

In this week of Thanksgiving, I wanted to list a few things that I am thankful for:

1.   I'm thankful for a loving husband who is the perfect match for me.
2.   I'm thankful for great parents who are truly my heart n soul.
3.   I'm thankful for a supportive brother who I get closer to with each passing year.
4.   I'm thankful for my LA sister-in-law who puts up with my brother at SC games.
5.   I'm thankful for an incredible sister whose family rounds out my Ohio family.
6.   I'm thankful for my amazing in-laws who provide the local support system.
7.   I'm thankful for my two awesome pups without which my life would not be the same.
8.   I'm thankful for my family in Ohio who were such a key ingredient to a wonderful childhood.
9.   I'm thankful that my family is healthy.
10. I'm thankful that I believe in a loving and forgiving God.
11. I'm thankful that God has blessed us in so many ways.
12. I'm thankful that I had such supportive grandparents and I hope to always live up to their legacy.

Wordless Wednesday: Royal Engagement

Britain's Prince William and his fiancee Kate Middleton pose for a photograph in St James's Palace, in central London, November 16, 2010. (Reuters: Suzanne Plunkett)

Close Image

I600-A

We received our completed home study from Oregon on Friday.  Boy, were we excited to get that part finally finished.  We now need to file our Form I600-A to start the visa process.  Mike is working on the form right now and will send it off tomorrow.  We then will need to get another set of fingerprints done for immigration.  Our agency said that this process typically takes 30-45 days---something tells me that it will be longer with the holidays around the corner.

Our joy with having the home study process done and one step closer to a referral was squashed on Saturday.  We received notice from the Korea Program that they have over-extended their home study request to get December referrals.  So, it now looks like we are on the outside looking in---to get a December referral.  Something tells me that it's going to be a longer wait.  Disappointing, yes, but not much that we can do.

This weekend we also spent Saturday listening to Mike's dad sing at The Kimmel Center.  He has an amazing singing voice---too bad, Mike didn't inherit that skill set.  It was quiet the honor and the choir sounded incredible.  Afterward, we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant in South Philly where the waiters sing.  It was nice to spend a night out with the family---including Toni's parents.  Toni is expecting their second.  Will it be a little boy that can play with our baby boy during family outings?  Stay tuned.

Veteran's Day

Today, I wanted to say thanks to all of the veterans.  It is through their sacrifices that we are able to live in a free democracy.  I spent the day with my pups.  Two separate walks on a beautiful fall day.  With the hectic pace of work, it was so nice just to relax.

All quiet on the adoption front.  Our homestudy is now in Oregon.  We were told in two weeks we'll receive a package and will then need to start the I600-A process.  Onto the next stage...

Wordless Wednesday: Sunset

Whew!

It's been a very hectic past couple of weeks.  We arrived home on monday from a great trip to LA.  I then entered the eye of the storm at work.  To be honest, the past couple of days have been a blur.  Who knew work could get so crazy so quickly!  TGIF

With another curveball, the Korean program emailed everyone to say that they have run out of EPs for this year.  What does that mean for us:  not the best of news.  We are now looking at 6-8 months from acceptance of the child to travel.  We still might get a December referral---but will have to wait for travel.

With better news, our home study is complete!  We are now officially on the waiting list in Oregon. And so, the long wait begins.

Beat the Ducks

We arrived in LA last night to visit my brother and, of course, go to the SC-Oregon game.  Oregon is #2 in the country and it would be just wonderful to knock them out with a loss.  There is no love lost between these two football programs.  Fight On for Ol SC.

Looks like we are headed to the beach today.  Mike has never seen Santa Monica, Venice and some of the other LA beaches.  He really has only been to my personal favorite, Hermosa Beach, several times and he wants to flavor some others. The weather is a perfect 80 degrees.

We are staying with my brother, who just recently bought his first house.  It is perfect.  They did a great job of decorating and the location is ideal. How can you go wrong with Ralph's on one side and the Beverly Center on the other.  Not to mention the shops on Robertson where all of the stars like to go.  Who knows maybe we'll get lucky and see someone.   Off we go!

Wordless Wednesday: Trojan's New Toy

Where does the time go?

Next week I celebrate a milestone birthday.  Happy 29th Birthday to me.  Amazing how quickly life goes racing by.  To help us celebrate, my parents are arriving in town.  I always love having them at the house and really wish that I could see them way more often than I do.  It will be really nice to have them here on my birthday.  It sounds like Mike's parents and grandmom will be over as well.  To be honest, that is all I really need for my birthday:  my family and of course, the pups.

Tomorrow, we have our second visit with our social worker.  Hard to imagine, that she will then be starting the home study that will be sent to Eugene, Oregon.  This morning we also made a stop at the post office to  start the passport process.  Seems like someone misplaced our passport somewhere in the house!  Who could that be?

Wordless Wednesday: Sushi

A Day in Lancaster

Home Study Part I

We met with our social worker on Saturday.  She was great and we were able to get comfortable with her right away.  She asked both of us questions about our upbringing including our parents, siblings and school history.  She also wanted a little information about our personality types and wanted to see the house.  Her comment:  white carpet: wow, that will be hard to keep clean.

We are meeting with her next Sunday on a more individual basis to discuss our marriage and philosophy toward raising children. Mike and I were raised very similarly: core family principles with a strong emphasis on values.  We plan to raise our child much the same way.  We both were extremely lucky to have such wonderful parents.

The latest update from the Korea program within our agency left us breathless.  If we can get our home study finished by early November, we have a good chance of getting a referral by the end of the year.  Of course, we then have the wait for travel.  We were told that Korea is really looking to build a domestic adoption program (and is even flirting with closing international adoption by 2012).  In anticipation of this phase, Korea has been decreasing EPs for international adoption.  Our agency, in turn, decided to scale back their program.  Due to blind luck or God's intervention, we got lucky.  Korea was not as successful as it anticipated in its domestic program and there are kids available (mainly boys).
Our social worker emphasized that we really should get everything in by mid-November.  Hard not to get excited, but the realistic side of me still believes it will be longer.  Our goal is to just keep moving forward.

I Made It Home

This past week I've been attending work training down in D.C.  It is part of successful leadership program and I found that I'm not that bad of a leader (at least according to my wonderful staff).  Upon arriving home, I was quickly reminded of the real leader in our house: Little Miss Mattie.  As we made our way around the park, she quickly went to the lead and visited with every pup, child and adult.

Cesar Milan would really be frightened with my inner pack leading abilities, especially since half way through the walk the girls had pretty much tied me up with their leashes.  Can't a girl dream of having two well behaving pets instead of the dogs that everyone sees coming a mile away!

On Saturday, we have our first home study visit.  We are excited but a little nervous with what this will entail.  On the bright side, I have used this as an opportunity to finally get Mike to clean his share of the bedroom closet (who says that women have more junk).  AND, I'm really thinking that the garage should be cleaned for her next visit.  I may have to invite her over to the house---even after our home study is completed.  I'm seeing results on this end.

Wordless Wednesday

What do you mean that it's raining?  We're ready for our walk. This is completely unacceptable!

Home Study

We received a voice mail from our social work to call in order to schedule our first home study session.   It is now officially set for next Saturday at 3:00.  Wow, I can't believe how quickly we made it through the initial paperwork.  We are so excited to start the home study process.  One step closer:  I consider this to be Phase II.  We got word from our agency that there are lots of boys available, with a wait time for a referral around 6 months (18 months for a girl).  They are really encouraging us to get our act together quickly.  Fine by us.  So, we'll hurry up and then wait!

Tomorrow, we are also scheduled to attend our PIP classes, Session I and II.  We are actually working backward, we've already done Session III and IV.  It really is interesting to interact with other families going through the process.  After this class, we'll have one more to do, but that doesn't occur until after we receive our referral.

Mike is a little bummed today.  We had heavy rain overnight from a tropical storm. So, no golf for him today.  He'll be home early---just in time to help clean.  

Lazy Afternoon

Not really!  We have been busy.  Our initial package is almost finished.  We just did our fingerprint appointment at noon time.  Sent the bulk of our package to our agency on Thursday.  Up next:  the Home Study.

First thing this morning-Mike and I ran a 5K to benefit a local high school student who died of brain cancer.  His family has set up a scholarship in his honor.  Neat event.  Mike ran 7/minute miles while I came in at 9/minute miles.  Clearly, I am not a track star.

Beautiful day.  High of 85.  Hoping to get in the pool for one last swim.  Next Friday, the pool is scheduled to be closed.  I guess I have to give in to the fact that summer is officially over!  Where did it go?

Nothing like a lazy afternoon.  
I love my daddy!

Making Progress

We are getting very close to submitting our initial package to our agency.  Just need to do the fingerprints next weekend.  We buckled down last weekend to complete the Personal Data Forms.  The questions were extensive, but really made you think about things.  The conclusion: we are ready to adopt.

This Saturday we also attended our first adoption class.  We actually started with Module III and IV and in two weeks will take Module I and II.  There were 4 other couples in that group that are adopting from Korea.  We had a great time and the class was very helpful.

The weather was perfect today: low 80s, no humidity and sunny.  Absolutely glorious fall day.  I started my morning with a 4 mile run in the park.   Mike ran a little while ago while I walked the pups.  Boy, I wish these types of days could last forever.    

Finding a Work Life Balance

Yesterday, I had my first melt down.  I became really worried that I wouldn't be able to balance work and motherhood. Would I have the energy to do both?   Granted, this challenge is awhile off, but nonetheless, I hope that I can handle it.

After a good talk with my brother, who always knows how to redirect my energy, I feel much better.  I also talked to an attorney in my office who is a working mother.  She said those thoughts are normal.  With a wonderful husband (which I have), she didn't see why I couldn't do it.  After all, she's doing it.

As I arrived home from work, the storm clouds had gather.  But we were treated to an amazing sunset.  That's what I have to focus on:  getting through the storm isn't always easy, but the sunset at the end--priceless.

And we're off

After much waiting and research, we decided to take the plunge. A few weeks ago, we received an email notifying us that the South Korea program had re-open.  After several calls to our adoption agency, we sent in our application.

It's been a very busy couple of days.  We received our adoption package and have set off to complete it.  I have a feeling that this is going to keep us busy.  Luckily, Mike and I are both task masters. 

It hasn't been all about adoption.  We were up late into the night watching my Trojan football team and Mike just headed to the Eagles game with his dad.  I'm content to cuddle up on the sofa with my two pups.  Now, where did the Personal Data Form go?