There has been a lot going on around here. We finished our end of the homestudy! Woot woot! We've completed some online training. Yeahhh! And we're doing more paperwork! Hooray!
We're also trying to learn a little bit of Russian. This week we are working on 3 basic phrases:
Yes - sounds like "dah"
No - sounds like "nyit"
Hi - sounds like "priviet"
Bye - sounds like "paka" or "paka paka" (my favorite)
Please/You're Welcome - sounds like "pah-zhal-sta"
Thank You - sounds like "spa-see-bah"
Then I found this Youtube video of the Russian (cryllic) alphabet song and about laughed until I cried.
Sing along, everyone! Does that make anyone else's head want to explode?
Monday, October 10, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
The Mysterouis Egg
I love my job. Like "have to drag myself out of bed every morning still because I hate waking up... but once I'm there can't wipe the smile off my face" - love my job. Kids are so much more creative than adults, and I love that I get to see into their worlds every day. Sounds hokey, but they inspire me. Okay, that sounded just as hokey on computer screen as it did in my head.
Here is a piece of writing by one of my third graders. He approached me today with this piece of paper cut in an oval shape and said,
"Hey Mrs. S. I just cut this out, now what should I do with it?"
Seeing as he was supposed to be writing, not cutting his writer's notebook into random shapes I said,
"How about you write about a mysterious egg found by scientists, and that's the egg they found." How's that for a consequence? Way to go, teach. : )
Well, this is the product. I think it speaks for itself. I present to you....The Mysterouis Egg. (Oh come on, he had the right letters just in the wrong odre. You know what he means!) (Did you catch my joke?) (Is a joke really good if you have to point it out?) (Do I overuse parenthesis?)
Nobody knows. : )
Here is a piece of writing by one of my third graders. He approached me today with this piece of paper cut in an oval shape and said,
"Hey Mrs. S. I just cut this out, now what should I do with it?"
Seeing as he was supposed to be writing, not cutting his writer's notebook into random shapes I said,
"How about you write about a mysterious egg found by scientists, and that's the egg they found." How's that for a consequence? Way to go, teach. : )
Well, this is the product. I think it speaks for itself. I present to you....The Mysterouis Egg. (Oh come on, he had the right letters just in the wrong odre. You know what he means!) (Did you catch my joke?) (Is a joke really good if you have to point it out?) (Do I overuse parenthesis?)
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Progress, Progress, Progress!
It seems like we've been checking a lot of things off our to-do list lately and it.feels.great. I know I'm not the only one who is feeling this way when Jay sends me emails with exclamation marks in them! Gosh it feels good to be making progress!
So what's new? Here's a quick photo-phone-dump to give you an idea.
These two mugs have had to go get our fingerprints done, send in some immigration forms, and get our background checks started. All things to get the ball rolling, rolling, rolling.
Our kitchen table has officially turned into paper-chase central. It looks like this at all times, and we just eat in the opposite corner of the paperwork. See the salt and pepper, they prove my point. If our dinner has any spilling potential, Jay makes us eat at the table in the basement. We spent a lot of time on these documents, and would hate to mess one up with a pizza sauce splatter!
This week marked the start of Cyclone football! We get really geeked out to be back in the town of our alma mater, and although the Clones aren't the best team ever, it's a nice excuse to tailgate and get that "college" feeling again!
I couldn't resist having a crib in a box in my house. That is too much for this girl to handle! So we spent all day Sunday taking EVERYTHING out of the two upstairs bedrooms we currently use as a guest room and as an office and repurposing the spaces. We now have a kids room (Holy cow I have a kids room at my house!!!) and a guest room that also works as an office space.
Here is the kid's room with the crib up and the day bed in it. It is not decorated and you can bet big money the wall color will change - but it makes me feel like we've made a lot more room for the little ones in our life. The closet is empty and ready to be kidafied. My newest itch I need to scratch is decorating. Ohhhh how I love decorating! I know these things are not important, but they are fun, and I'm enjoying it right now!
I realize this room could sit kidless for over a year easy, and I'm okay with that, this is part of the process for me. It helps me to slowly picture these little people that are going to enter our lives.
This week felt like bigtime progress and left a big ole smile on my face. This is the first week we've really felt like we made substantial movement, as most weeks are full of waiting on something or another. In the meantime, Jay and I are enjoying every moment of being DINKS (double income no kids), but also excitedly preparing for our kids. Next week: home visit!
So what's new? Here's a quick photo-phone-dump to give you an idea.
These two mugs have had to go get our fingerprints done, send in some immigration forms, and get our background checks started. All things to get the ball rolling, rolling, rolling.
Our kitchen table has officially turned into paper-chase central. It looks like this at all times, and we just eat in the opposite corner of the paperwork. See the salt and pepper, they prove my point. If our dinner has any spilling potential, Jay makes us eat at the table in the basement. We spent a lot of time on these documents, and would hate to mess one up with a pizza sauce splatter!
This week marked the start of Cyclone football! We get really geeked out to be back in the town of our alma mater, and although the Clones aren't the best team ever, it's a nice excuse to tailgate and get that "college" feeling again!
We took a detour on our way to Ames and bought a crib. Yikes! Our homestudy has started and we were told we need to begin getting our house "kid ready". Well, kids need a place to sleep, and I had a coupon. So...check! Another thing off the list.
This week felt like bigtime progress and left a big ole smile on my face. This is the first week we've really felt like we made substantial movement, as most weeks are full of waiting on something or another. In the meantime, Jay and I are enjoying every moment of being DINKS (double income no kids), but also excitedly preparing for our kids. Next week: home visit!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Top 10 Questions We've Been Asked So Far...
Since announcing to our friends and family that we've decided to adopt, we've definitely been bombarded with a bunch of questions. Which is totally normal. Most people haven't been close to someone who has adopted internationally, so they have little to no experience on the subject. They have many of the same questions I had when I began researching adoption. But many apologies have been exchanged from worried friends who think that they are "asking too many questions." No worries, I really don't mind answering them!
I thought it'd be fun to compile the top 10 questions we've been asked so far about our decision.
Q: How did you choose your country?
A: This is probably the hardest answer to condense in a short conversation. It's hard to explain that after a year of researching countries, agencies, and programs - this is just the one that "felt right." There were a lot of factors that weighed into our decision; age of children, speed of process, travel requirements. But in the end, it was something Jay and I looked at each other and said "this is it."
Q. Do you know the kids yet? When will you know them?
A: Unfortunately, no we don't know them yet. It's kind of like we just found out we're pregnant, and we've yet to have an ultrasound. We already love them, but we can only imagine who they are and how they'll change us. Many people choose to share their news of adoption once they've received a referral (meaning, when they know their child) but we kinda wear things on our sleeve, and we're going to need a heap-load of prayers.
Q: When do you bring them home?
A: We don't know. International adoption is very unpredictable. Our agency has told us right now that things are "typically" taking around a year. But when you're dealing with another country, things can change drastically on the turn of a dime. It's out of our hands, so we're going to keep up with what we need to do on our end, and give up the need to be in control.
Q: Will you have to travel?
A: Yes. Our first trip will be after we verbally accept our referral. The trip will last about a week, and we'll spend the majority of our time meeting and bonding with our kids. Then I'm certain my heart will be ripped from my body when we return to the states without them and wait to be assigned a court date. Our second trip will include a court date, and then they are legally ours. We then wait for visas to be processed. We're hoping to stay in Russia for the duration of the wait, but we'll have to see.
Q: What about their names?
A: They will have Russian names given to them by their birth mother. We haven't quite decided how we're going to handle this yet. They might keep their Russian names and we give them American middle names, we might give them American first names and keep their given names as middle names. There are a lot of American equivalents to their Russian names - and we might just do that. This is another thing that falls into the 'we're going to have to wait and see' category. There is a LOT in this category. Ha!
Q: Why two?
A: This was another gut feeling Jay and I instantly agreed on. Siblings often have a harder time getting adopted because bringing two children into a home at once is a lot to handle. We know it's going to have its ups and downs, but giving these kids the opportunity to have a loving home and stay with their sibling is something we want to do. They have lost everything, but they still have each other. We have such a wonderful support system surrounding us that we know we're not in this alone.
Q: No seriously, two? Are you crazy?
A: Yes. : ) But we're ready for our lives to be completely turned upside down for these kids.
Q: So...what's happening right now? Any news to report?
A: We're beginning our homestudy, and a LOT of paperwork. We probably won't have much excitement to report for quite some time, other than "we finished this mound of paperwork - woo hoo!" Although this will probably THRILL us, you will more than likely not find it newsworthy. We know you're excited, but you're going to get the answer of "paperwork" for the next many months.
Q: Oh hey, I know so-and-so who adopted from such-and-such - do you want me to give your their contact info?
A: Yes! Every situation is different, but I still somehow manage to take some nugget of valuable information from every person I speak to. We're all about educating ourselves as much as we can. Sometimes the best experts aren't the ones who write the books - but the ones who've just lived it.
Q: You know you're going to get pregnant now that you've decided to adopt, right?
A: Oh goodness, am I not showing? The glow about me didn't already give it away? Thank you for your kind thoughts, but I AM pregnant. With two babies from Russia. : )
I thought it'd be fun to compile the top 10 questions we've been asked so far about our decision.
Q: How did you choose your country?
A: This is probably the hardest answer to condense in a short conversation. It's hard to explain that after a year of researching countries, agencies, and programs - this is just the one that "felt right." There were a lot of factors that weighed into our decision; age of children, speed of process, travel requirements. But in the end, it was something Jay and I looked at each other and said "this is it."
Q. Do you know the kids yet? When will you know them?
A: Unfortunately, no we don't know them yet. It's kind of like we just found out we're pregnant, and we've yet to have an ultrasound. We already love them, but we can only imagine who they are and how they'll change us. Many people choose to share their news of adoption once they've received a referral (meaning, when they know their child) but we kinda wear things on our sleeve, and we're going to need a heap-load of prayers.
Q: When do you bring them home?
A: We don't know. International adoption is very unpredictable. Our agency has told us right now that things are "typically" taking around a year. But when you're dealing with another country, things can change drastically on the turn of a dime. It's out of our hands, so we're going to keep up with what we need to do on our end, and give up the need to be in control.
Q: Will you have to travel?
A: Yes. Our first trip will be after we verbally accept our referral. The trip will last about a week, and we'll spend the majority of our time meeting and bonding with our kids. Then I'm certain my heart will be ripped from my body when we return to the states without them and wait to be assigned a court date. Our second trip will include a court date, and then they are legally ours. We then wait for visas to be processed. We're hoping to stay in Russia for the duration of the wait, but we'll have to see.
Q: What about their names?
A: They will have Russian names given to them by their birth mother. We haven't quite decided how we're going to handle this yet. They might keep their Russian names and we give them American middle names, we might give them American first names and keep their given names as middle names. There are a lot of American equivalents to their Russian names - and we might just do that. This is another thing that falls into the 'we're going to have to wait and see' category. There is a LOT in this category. Ha!
Q: Why two?
A: This was another gut feeling Jay and I instantly agreed on. Siblings often have a harder time getting adopted because bringing two children into a home at once is a lot to handle. We know it's going to have its ups and downs, but giving these kids the opportunity to have a loving home and stay with their sibling is something we want to do. They have lost everything, but they still have each other. We have such a wonderful support system surrounding us that we know we're not in this alone.
Q: No seriously, two? Are you crazy?
A: Yes. : ) But we're ready for our lives to be completely turned upside down for these kids.
Q: So...what's happening right now? Any news to report?
A: We're beginning our homestudy, and a LOT of paperwork. We probably won't have much excitement to report for quite some time, other than "we finished this mound of paperwork - woo hoo!" Although this will probably THRILL us, you will more than likely not find it newsworthy. We know you're excited, but you're going to get the answer of "paperwork" for the next many months.
Q: Oh hey, I know so-and-so who adopted from such-and-such - do you want me to give your their contact info?
A: Yes! Every situation is different, but I still somehow manage to take some nugget of valuable information from every person I speak to. We're all about educating ourselves as much as we can. Sometimes the best experts aren't the ones who write the books - but the ones who've just lived it.
Q: You know you're going to get pregnant now that you've decided to adopt, right?
A: Oh goodness, am I not showing? The glow about me didn't already give it away? Thank you for your kind thoughts, but I AM pregnant. With two babies from Russia. : )
 |
| That is one special pee stick. : ) |
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Big News наша семья растет!
We've been noticeably absent from the blogosphere lately, but that doesn't mean that nothing noteworthy has been happening. We visited a zoo, we bought a chair, oh yeah, and...
WE'RE ADOPTING!!! (and we couldn't be more excited)
Yep, we're adopting. Not one, but two babies. Read that sentence again. The number two is not a typo.
Yep, we're adopting two babies.
From Russia.
(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
P.S. Lots more details to come! We know this adoption stuff is new for most of you, too. : )
Thursday, July 14, 2011
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