Making an Impression

Well, I think our home study agent will definitely remember us.  Hopefully it's for more than just stressing her out, but right now I think we have left an impression in that area!  Lol.  First off, I am grateful because our home study agency has been wonderful from the start.  She has worked hard to get our draft done in a timely manner.  It was submitted to our adoption agency about two weeks ago and I finally heard something back today.  She wrote:  "this will definitely be our longest international home study EVER...".      I think I sense some frustration there (with the all-caps)!  Ha ha.    Thankfully she was gracious about it though, and I personally don't mind if it takes longer because I know Lina (from our adopt. agency)  is a pro when it comes to making it perfect.    It might take a while now, but hopefully that will mean a smoother process later on down the line. 

Friends/family have been asking when we will go to Poland for the first time.  All I can say is perhaps sometime between Christmas and Valentine' Day (?), but that is really just a guess.  I know everyone will understand if that changes, I just want to be able to throw a ballpark time frame out there.   Although, from reading other blogs I know it's just impossible to determine with much accuracy.   If I try, I will go crazy so I just have to trust God's timing is always perfect.   

As of late, I have been thinking about two things a lot.  One is, how many children we should adopt.  At first my husband felt called for us to adopt two.  However, we already have three boys and the more I think about it, the more I apprehensive I am.    I get scared thinking about everything from bonding to the cost, to being in Poland for 6 weeks with 5 children (not to mention the flight back) and then life as a family of 7.  I keep going back and forth.  I always wanted a large family, I am just afraid of the unknowns.    Still praying about it.  Also, we know our daughter's name and have started talking about her with our kids.  I just wonder if it's okay that we have named her before knowing her birth name?  I know some parents keep the child's given name and I don't know the etiquette on that yet.  Well, sorry for the long post. 
P.S. Thanks so much for your great comments.  Not only do I enjoy reading everyone else's blog and posting feedback, but I enjoy my own blog now because of the great advice you leave me too!:)  What a blessing.

First Gift

I saw this journal last week and just had to pick it up.  However, my mom was with me too and and said she would like to present it as our first gift on our adoption journey!   It's a cute little journal that says "Give thanks for the unknown blessings already on their way".  Then in the corner it says "dream".   How fitting.  I was teary eyed on the spot.     My plan is to chronicle little events that happen, and hopefully keep dates and notes in there to show our child.   

It was nice to get something tangible as a reminder that someday this WILL really happen.   The process has been moving so slow that sometimes I wonder if we will ever meet our little girl (?) and it's hard.   Our homestudy review was completed over a week ago so I was hoping to hear some feedback from the agency that we could move forward.  I DID hear from the agency, but only to say that it could take up to 4 weeks for the draft to be reviewed and approved.     I also heard that lately, the FBI prints (stating that we have "no records" for our dossier) has been taking up to 12 weeks.  That puts us all the way into September.     I'm not complaining because we were prepared for this, but it's still hard on a mommy's heart to wait for a child they have been dreaming about and praying for!  Right now it still seems like we are on mile 1 of a marathon.   There are still lots of uphill miles and unexpected turns to come, but I know that anything worth having always takes work, and it's always worth it. :)

Fun Polish Discovery

We learned something new this week!  On our trip, we stopped at "Fort Pulaski" on Tybee Island, GA.    We knew  of the name "Pulaski" because it was also the name of a nearby a city where I lived,  growing up in WI.  Still, I guess I never thought much about the history behind the name, until now!   We were delighted to discover that Casimir Pulaski was of Polish nobility who believed in the cause of freedom and came to America.  He was an American military commander who fought in the Revolutionary war, saved the life of George Washington, and has been called "the father of American cavalry"!
I love this little story in particular, found on his Wikipedia page.:
One of the first tributes to Pulaski was paid when George Washington on November 17, 1779, issued a challenge-and-password set for identifying friend and foe when crossing military lines: "Query: Pulaski, response: Poland".

Anyway, they had this book for sale in the gift shop.  The story and illustrations are captivating!  I would recommend the book for probably ages 6 and up (it's a little long) but worth the read.   An exciting way to celebrate Polish/American history!

On a different note, I had a quick question for those who have already traveled to Poland.  What did you do about your mail for 6 weeks?   Just curious. 

Blissful Break at the Beach

Hello!  It's nice to check in!   We are on vacation to our very first trip to the beach (this was the view during my morning run).    The trip was planned and paid for before our adoption process started, which once again speaks of God's providence because there is no way we could've gone otherwise.  Every penny has been pinched and the only trip we'll be taking for the foreseeable future will be to Poland.  So, I am not taking this vacation for granted, it has been a blessing for our family!      It feels strange to be so "unplugged", I haven't seen the news headlines or hardly checked my e-mail.  I've even felt detached from the next step of our adoption because I've had such limited Internet access.  It's strange.  I wonder if this is how it will be in Poland?!      Speaking of which, we are getting a bit closer, although it's still baby steps.   We received word that our home study agency is almost finished writing up our review and will be sending it to our agency to review any day now.  I'm hoping the agency with approve it right away, but from reading other blogs I see that sometimes corrections need to be made.  So, we are just standing by until we get the "all clear" and then we can move on with our dossier and applying for grants.

Also, today a good friend of my is doing a fundraiser which I wrote about in my last post.  She is taking photos of families, couples, etc. with all proceeds going to our adoption fund.  Although we aren't there right now, we are praying like crazy!   Thanking God for her willingness to help us bring home our child (or children), and asking the Lord to give her a beautiful day for the photos.   She already posted a few sessions on her blog and you can view them here.    Well, I am off to check the other adoption blogs.  I can't wait to read what everyone has been up to!:)