More waiting....

We "should" have a date this week for a meeting to be scheduled to meet Andre's team and start planning a transition. I am really hoping it will take significantly less time than it took to get the match meeting scheduled. I know transition is going to be difficult, expecially since Andre can not communicate easily, but I don't think delaying longer and longer will make it any easier, not for any of us. We are all very excited to meet him. Ethan wrote him a very sweet letter in school last week and has even learned to say his name and asks about him all the time. He is even more excited about this than he was about his wish trip. I am hoping that there is a possibility of having him come to the Mother's Day Pow Wow so he can meet some of our out of state family....not sure if that is too much to hope for, but I think it would be awesome for us to all be together as a family by then....it is a little over 9 weeks away. Hopefully soon we will have more news to share.

Happy Valentine's Day

I couldn't think of a better day to get the news we have been matched with our new son. Now to contain my excitement until the day we get to meet him!!!!!!

Match Meeting, a wedding and a birthday...

It is going to be busy here (as if it hasn't been the last little while) over the next week and a bit. Our new home study is done and I am very happy with it this time. Our match meeting is just days away (and I am SOOOOOO excited, not nervous) I can not wait! My brother is getting married the day after and it is a renaissance wedding and I need to finish the kids costumes as Helen keeps reminding me ;0) He is the last of eight of us to get married, the one who waited the longest (our two youngest sisters, 11 and 14 years younger! got married last spring) so I am sure it is going to be quite an event. Then next week, my baby, Chloe will be seven years old! I can't believe how much she has grown from the tiny, vulnerable little preemie she was, to this funny bundle of boundless energy and social butterfly. This weekend we will be preparing invitations for her first party where she will get to invite all her friends and she is so excited. She is also excited that for the next two months and a bit she will be "twins" with Mark, as he does not turn eight until the end of April.

We have a date!

Our match meeting is scheduled and in a few weeks we will know the answer that we have been waiting months to hear: If we are selected to be his forever family. For now we are busy with last minute things that we need to take care of, both sorting out a new agency to represent us and getting last minute things ready for if we are chosen and we bring our new little boy home. I am at peace, comfortable knowing we have made our choice already and knowing that there will be an end to the waiting soon and that it is completely out of our hands now. I probably won't have much more to write about until the metting happens in February. I have not even felt like looking at any other available adoption situation, and many have been presented to us. I just feel in my heart that this is the one that is meant for us, no need for a back up plan as I won't be giving up and letting go of this child.

What a year!

Sometimes it is really nice to be the first one up on the first day of a new year, to reflect on what the past year has seen you through...even more amazing to see what an incredible year it has been. I have to say that I am so pleased with what has been accomplished and what we have gotten through together, and that I couldn't have hand picked a better bunch of kids to parent, and I am not just talking about Ethan, though he continues to be my biggest inspiration. As I stood there watering all the newly planted crops in my green house, I thought on the challenges that together we have faced, the heartache we have endured, and the tasks we have conquered. I thought on the two baby boys that found their way into our hearts that we had longed to welcome into our family, the months of rollercoaster emotion, the bitter sweetness of loss mingled with the joy we felt for them as they found their forever families. The difficulty within myself as I reached for what I thought was an imposible dream, putting my heart on the line once again to reach out to a child who I know in my heart is meant to be a part of us, this family. Things have not moved as quickly and smoothly as I had hoped for this journey, but I know in the end it will all have been worth it. And while on this journey I have enjoyed and amazing experience. Watching my children grow, and mature, and accomplish things that at times I did not dare to dream or hope for. I am thankful that I have been able to keep an open heart and mind this year. I feel very blessed to have reconnected with my father, to start to explore my heritage and share that joy with my children. I share the joy with Ethan at accomplishing things that may seem small to other parents, but are tremendous accomplishments for a child with his challenges. I draw incredible strength from my husband, who is my rock, who loves me more than anything, even when we don't see things quite the same way. I feel passion for my kids, who keep me young, full of wonder and keep me motivated and determined. I hope this year will continue as the past with love, joy, hope, and discovery and learning, that we will all continue to not only endure, but challenge and face head on what ever lies ahead.

All I want for Christmas....

Helen has a homework assignment every week to write a story containing her spelling words. This weeks words were all about family ie. brother, sister, uncle, grandma, etc. She wrote a sweet story about how she wanted Andre to be her brother and how she wished he could be here for Christmas. I know that is probably not possible, with the agencies office being remodeled, they have not even been able to set up the match meeting yet. I guess I am not the only one anxiously waiting. What a great Christmas wish even if it happens a little late!

Anxiously waiting....

Adoption seems to be a slow process with it's twists and turns. Waiting is never easy...and when the agencies office is under construction and that is the obsticle between you and the match meeting for the child you KNOW is meant to be yours time seems to pass even slower. This is the reason updates and blog posts have slowed because other than waiting, there is not much new. We are simply waiting for the agency, case workers, and others involved to have a time to get together and meet and deside if they feel we are the right family for this child and then make a plan of how things should move forwards. We have already made our decision, this is our child and we have made things ready for him as much as possible.