For those who keep asking, we still haven't decided if we're going to do
a fundraiser like the Jog for Jordan for Hallie's adoption. The only
fundraiser we have going on right now is through an Adoption Funder page
that one of the grant organizations that helped us with Jordan's
adoption has set up for Hallie. Donations are tax deductible. Here is
the link:
https://www.adoptionfunder.org/projects/andersen-family-hallie-jade/
Monday, February 23, 2015
A Hallie Update
We have finished our home study update and submitted our immigration
paperwork, so for now we are waiting for a fingerprinting appointment
with USCIS... because, I guess we didn't get fingerprinted enough with
Jordan's adoption. Luckily, because we are reusing our dossier, these
will be the only fingerprints we have to do this time around and we
don't have to pay $890 to repeat them. That's how much we paid for
these fingerprints, (yep fingerprints!) a year ago, so even if it's
annoying to have to go through the process again, I am grateful we don't
have to pay for them again.
Since being matched to Hallie, I've made friends with a few families who, when there adopting their own children from Hallie's orphanage, have taken pictures of Hallie. Every picture is a gift. Jordan came with hundreds of pictures. With Hallie, we started with only a handful of pictures and have worked our way up to a few handfuls of pictures. We still haven't seen a smile on her face, but we now have a picture or two with near smiles. From what those who have met her have said, she is a quiet, very observant girl. Some say she seems sad, others say not sad, but very shy and gentle. I really can't wait to meet her for myself! Waiting is hard. Hard because I know she needs a Mama and a Baba. When Jordan came out surgery and went into respiratory distress, machines were beeping and it was a bit chaotic... but when I held him, everything settled down. I was his Mama, and I was able to comfort to him in a way that the nurses couldn't. Since then, I keep thinking about the surgeries, and hospitalizations Hallie has had to face alone. No one was there, just for her, to hold her and comfort her. It makes me terribly sad when I think about it. Waiting is also hard because of where Hallie is. It's no where near as good as the situation Jordan was in. As I read accounts of the punishments and abuse that children from Hallie's orphanage have reported after being adopted, I sat at my computer and cried. Generally the children Hallie's age and younger are spared from abuse, but that doesn't comfort me, because whether or not Hallie has been mistreated, the children around her have been. And there is nothing I can do to undo that and nothing I can do to get Hallie home any sooner. We just pray like crazy for Hallie as well as for her nannies.
Since being matched to Hallie, I've made friends with a few families who, when there adopting their own children from Hallie's orphanage, have taken pictures of Hallie. Every picture is a gift. Jordan came with hundreds of pictures. With Hallie, we started with only a handful of pictures and have worked our way up to a few handfuls of pictures. We still haven't seen a smile on her face, but we now have a picture or two with near smiles. From what those who have met her have said, she is a quiet, very observant girl. Some say she seems sad, others say not sad, but very shy and gentle. I really can't wait to meet her for myself! Waiting is hard. Hard because I know she needs a Mama and a Baba. When Jordan came out surgery and went into respiratory distress, machines were beeping and it was a bit chaotic... but when I held him, everything settled down. I was his Mama, and I was able to comfort to him in a way that the nurses couldn't. Since then, I keep thinking about the surgeries, and hospitalizations Hallie has had to face alone. No one was there, just for her, to hold her and comfort her. It makes me terribly sad when I think about it. Waiting is also hard because of where Hallie is. It's no where near as good as the situation Jordan was in. As I read accounts of the punishments and abuse that children from Hallie's orphanage have reported after being adopted, I sat at my computer and cried. Generally the children Hallie's age and younger are spared from abuse, but that doesn't comfort me, because whether or not Hallie has been mistreated, the children around her have been. And there is nothing I can do to undo that and nothing I can do to get Hallie home any sooner. We just pray like crazy for Hallie as well as for her nannies.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
All Things Considered
Today an adoptive mom said how hard it is to see pictures of adoptive
families polished and gushing while she is completely stressed and
overwhelmed. I hope I'm not guilty of painting a perfect picture for
others. All things considered, I am truly happy. But that doesn't mean
we don't deal with crying, whining, screaming and fighting on a DAILY
basis. Between staying up late to feed Jordan an extra bottle and my
thyroid not wanting to work, I am tired. Really, really tired. I mean,
I fell asleep at my last Girl's Night out. Lame. Doctors appointments
are stressful, especially when you have children with a rare condition
and you have to continually educate them. There is always a huge pile
of clean clothes waiting to be folded while the dirty clothes pile up
and just for good measure, when we're the most behind, someone will wet
the bed or throw up, just to add insult to laundry injury. It's hard to
find the time to cross things off of my never ending "to do" list when
hours a day are spent trying to feed children who struggle to feel
hungry, helping kids with homework and cleaning up the same messes over
and over. But there are so many happy moments amidst all of our
craziness that, most of the time, I don't let it all get to me. And
then there are the times when I do let it get to me and they aren't my
proudest moments, but I do have them. I document our good times because I
treasure them. I love to look back at them knowing we have created
some pretty great memories together. They are what I like to give the
most consideration to.
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