Oh well.....it's ok

Okay, well, things didn't work out with the match. Like I said earlier, I didn't get my hopes up and things are fine. I am however throwing myself into having a really great profile, which I want to put together myself. It seems so impersonal to have someone else do it. I know that there is a baby out there for us. I am not hopeless. I know that the timing is just not right yet, but it will happen! :)

A ray of hope

Well, we were contacted to day with a possible match! I'm NOT getting my hopes up but it seems really hopeful! The mother is from Alabama and is due May 4th. The baby is 1/2 cau and 1/2 hispanic and it's a boy! It seems too good to be true and probably is! They are presenting us to her so please, please pray for us. We also were presented with a few other situations so that just incase this doesn't work out that there are other options which were all the same race. I am so nervous that I could puke. It seems so quick that it's almost hard to imagine. That's probably why it seems so unreal. Do people really match this quick?????

A whole new world

I just had to share this, I I luv the way that Coco crosses her feet. Matty looks so old with her gray beard!!!!

The past week has been very interesting as we explore our options for domestic adoption. We are still very excited and I'm more anxious than EVER! We have found several options for agencies/facilitators. I really want to research before we decide. I kinda feel like I'm test driving cars, lol. Jeremy said the other day, what if its a girl?!? We are totally unprepared for a girl, lol. We have a nursery full of little boys things! We will manage I can assure you!!!!!

A tough decision

After much prayer, thought, consideration, we have made a decision that I want to share with everyone. We have decided to change our adoption plans and do a domestic adoption. With everything that has been going on and the new changes that have to be made to home studies and dossiers, we are feeling less and less comfortable with the situation. We have found a wonderful organization called Lifetime Adoptions that we had a phone interview with on Friday that we may sign with. They aren't actually an agency, they're a facilitator, matching birth mothers with adoptive families. Because we aren't race or gender specific, they said that it is highly likely that we may be matched with a birth mother within 3 to 6 months. (But, I'm not going to get my hopes up.) It's hard to change our game plan so late in the game, I feel like I'm leaving my heart in Kaz. Please pray for us and the decision we have to make. Hugs and Kisses!!!!!

Fun with immigration

Whew, 1 more thing done! We drove 2 hours to get to Birmingham to get fingerprinted at Immigration and were finished in like 10 minutes! It was totally worth it though. While we were in town we decided to go "sight-see", if you can call it that. See, there is this HUGE iron statue called the Vulcan (I tried to post pictures and couldn't, you'll have to google him, his butt is bare from behind, lol)and they have made this cool park there anyway....You can go up in this glass elevator to the top and look at the observatory and it has a breathtaking view. After that we decided to make it a day and go out to eat. After careful consideration we decided to try Landry's Seafood. All I have to say is yummmmmy. If you ever go there have the Red Beans and Rice and add a skewer of grilled shrimp. Jeremy has been home all week since his truck is in the shop and I have to say, I'm spoiled. While he is gone I don't eat near as much, it's going to take me a month to lose the weight I've gained! Well, sleep calls!

The suspension is lifted!!!!!!

The suspension is lifted!!!!!! I think those are the best words I've heard all week.
This is what was posted today re: Kaz adoptions....

----------
March 25, 2008

On Monday, March 24th, Joint Council met with Kazakhstan Ambassador to the United States Erlan Idrissov and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Michelle Bond. The meeting addressed the Ambassador’s concerns regarding adoptions between the United States and Kazakhstan and confirmed the ongoing review of all adoptions cases currently at the Kazakhstan Embassy in Washington D.C. The Ambassador kindly detailed Kazakhstan’s efforts to ensure that intercountry adoptions are in the best interest of each child and conducted within an ethical and legal framework. He also expressed Kazakhstan’s efforts to utilize the tenets of the Hague Convention in both current and future laws.

Joint Council is pleased to report that at the conclusion of the meeting, the Ambassador confirmed that the temporary suspension of dossier processing by the Embassy is lifted and dossier’s meeting all necessary criteria will be processed. Dossiers not meeting the criteria will be held at the Embassy until all issues and concerns are successfully resolved. The Ambassador also confirmed that a review of all adoption service providers and family dossiers is ongoing and will remain in effect until further notice. During this review period, adoption service providers and potential adoptive parents should expect ongoing delays in processing times. No specific time line for the processing of dossiers is currently available.

It remains Joint Council’s understanding that in adoption cases where the dossier has already been processed by the Kazakhstan Embassy and forward to Astana are not affected by the review process noted above.

The Kazakhstan Embassy, U.S. Department of State and Joint Council have agreed to work collaboratively over the coming weeks to ensure that the goal of ethical, legal adoptions under the tenets of the Hague Convention are met in a timely fashion and in the best interest of each child. Joint Council hopes to meet with Consular Chief Almat Aidarbekov in the coming days to discuss specific issues related to child welfare in the U.S. and Kazakhstan.

Joint Council extends our sincere thanks and appreciation to Ambassador Idrissov and Deputy Assistant Secretary Bond for their efforts on behalf of the children we serve. We also applaud Ambassador Idrissov’s commitment to ethical child welfare and to ensuring a safe, loving and permanent family for every child.

----------

I guess that means business as usual. We had talked to Maeven yesterday about the situation and decided that we were headed in a positive direction and she seemed like the situation was no big deal so...... Anyway we go to Birmingham on Friday to be fingerprinted for our I-171. Progress, I guess!

Looking back

I think alot about where I was exactly one year ago today. I try to remember if I saw my Daddy or not. I can't remember the last time I saw him exactly. I know that really sounds strange. I can remember the exact last words he told me and the tone of his voice, but I can't remember the last time I saw his face. One year ago tomorrow he will have been gone for one year and it seems like an eternity. I miss him so very much and I was really trying to hold it together and be strong but, when I saw his picture staring back at me earlier today I just kept trying to remember and I can't. I have moments when I'm mad and hurt that he took himself away from us and I know it sounds selfish. He wanted me to adopt so bad and now here we are, knee deep and I just really wish he was here to share all the ups and downs with us. I will teach Garrett all about his "Pawdad" (that's what my nieces call him) and tell him all the stories I can about him. It's still just really hard though.