I have a dream...

Yesterday was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day.  After watching a video clip about Dr. King and reading through parts of his "I have a dream" speech, I had my students complete their own short "I have a dream" statement.  I didn't realize how much thought my students would put into writing their 'speeches,' however it was one little girl's writing that touched me deeply.

It reads...

"I have a dream that one day everybody would have happiness in their lives so the world would live in peace with others caring for each other.  Also that one day children from the orphanage would get adopted and have a family so they could be happy like everyone else in the world."

We've been busy!

Last week was a CRAZY week! On Monday school was cancelled due to the weather so Allie and I were able to spend the whole day together...priceless! School was 2 hours late on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday due to the cold weather and to top it off we weren't able to have outdoor recess due to the temperature. I am as serious as can be when I say that my students were NUTS all week. I think by Friday, everyone was in need of a weekend!

On Friday, we ended up taking the day off and taking Allie to an ENT specialist in Sioux Falls. We've struggled with ear infections since the end of September and she doesn't respond to antibiotics. So...they decided that the best thing for us to do would be to have tubes put in her ears. Even though it's hard to have any kind of procedure done to your child, I'm okay with it because I've worked with children who didn't have tubes and had hearing loss because of it. Allie's surgery is scheduled for next Tuesday (2/27) at 8 am.

Other than that, Cory and I have just been busy muddling through the initial adoption paperwork we need to complete prior to our home study. It's funny, even though it wasn't that long ago that we filled out these papers for the first time I seem to have forgotten how much paperwork we have to fill out and how many hoops we have to jump through. I have about 1/2 of the paperwork filled out, we have our physicals scheduled for next week, and we are going to go get fingerprinted on Friday. Hopefully we can have all of our paperwork sent off by next Friday. We'll see how that goes....

Here's a picture of my sister and Allie that my sister sent me tonight...I already posted this picture once, but I thought it was awesome how she tinted the picture. Have a great week everyone!

9 months!

At Allie's nine month appointment, she was off the charts in both height and weight again! Allie is 32 1/2 inches long and is 25 pounds 2 ounces! She's meeting all of her benchmarks and is right on target developmentally for her age. She just had another slight ear infection. We have another check-up this Friday to make sure that it's gone. We'll keep our fingers crossed!
She's now pulling herself up to a standing position and she'll "walk" all the way down the couch as long as she's holding on! The other night she even went from a plastic tub with toys in it to the couch! She's also developed quite a personality. If you know Cory at all, you'll understand when I say that she has his personality. She loves to make people laugh and when she does, she has this fake little giggle that she does. It's adorable (insert mommy biased here) and it makes everyone laugh!!!
All in all, Allie's doing great and we are loving every minute of it!!!

Difficult Decisions...

This time last year, Cory and I had already submitted our profile to our adoption agency and on the 8th we were officially a "waiting family." I can remember the excitement, nervousness, joy, and the fear that we felt. I wrote in a journal throughout our entire adoption process. Looking back, I can see the emotions that I felt and it brings back so many memories. I kept my cell phone on vibrate on my desk every day. I think that I probably checked both my cell phone and the agency web site at least twenty times a day. It was a crazy time, but it was also amazing when we did actually receive "the call."

Fast-forward one year and we are once again beginning the adoption process. Last time we started the process, we chose to enter the domestic infant program. That decision was made (not lightly I might add) partly because we wanted to experience having an infant and partly because we felt the domestic program fit us better at the time.

This time around, things don't seem so cut and dry. We are trying extremely hard to determine which program we want to pursue. I know that at some point we will be adopting internationally, but I'm just not sure if we should do one more domestic adoption first. One day I think we are going to enter the domestic program again and the next day I am convinced that international adoption is the way we should go. How do we decide?!?!

On one hand, with domestic adoption we know the process. We understand that there is no timeline, birth parents can change their mind for a certain amount of time, and that you put your heart out there and it can be hurt. We also remember the joy that it can bring. We remember being the first people to hold our new little baby, calling family and friends to exclaim that it's a girl, and we remember bringing her home from the hospital. We know who Allie's birth mom (T) is. We met her 2 days prior to her birth and then she visited 10 day after Allie's birth to meet Allie for the first time. We have pictures of all 4 of us together and we even have that picture in Allie's bedroom. We will always be able to talk about T to Allie and she will know how much we love and respect her for the difficult decisions she had to make. Allie will have the opportunity to know and love T. I thank God that we do know who T is and why she chose adoption.

On the other hand, my heart has always been drawn to international adoption. After much research, we have fallen in love with Ethiopian adoption. The process is beautiful, the children are deeply loved and often quite young, and there are thousands upon thousands of orphans who need homes. The wait for a typical Ethiopian adoption for us would be about 15 months. It would be nice to have an actual time line for our adoption, but after our last adoption 15 months seems like a long wait. There are also many other things we need to consider with international adoption. We would have to travel to Ethiopia for about two weeks and we'd have to leave Allie here. That would be extremely tough and then on top of that, that's two more weeks that I'd have to take off of work. Between the infertility treatments, the adoption process, the failed adoption, and then Allie's adoption I'm running short on sick days. With international adoption (because the children are older when they are placed in your home), sometimes there are attachement issues in which I'd want to spend an extended period of time home.

As you can see, we've weighed the pros and cons of each program and still haven't been able to come to some kind of conclusion. I just wish this decision was easier for us. I'm not really sure who all reads our blog, but I'd love to hear others thoughts on this topic!!!

Pictures from Christmas

Allie's first Christmas was filled with family, fun, and lots of love! Cory and I both agreed that we have never really experienced a true Christmas until this year. Christmas is always an awesome time of year, but when you are able to see it through your child's eyes...it's priceless. We continue to thank God for the gift that he has given us!

Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks!

Thoughts of the day

As Christmas is inching closer, we are all receiving cards/yearly update letters in the mail. Some of them I glance at before placing in the same old "card basket," while others I am thoroughly touched by. Today we received three cards/letters that touched both Cory and myself.
One letter was from a couple we went through our adoption classes with. They are an amazing couple who have three biological boys and are in the process of bringing home their little princess (Sophie) from Korea. On the card was a picture of the five of them and then there was one other picture of their little Sophie...what an amazing Christmas present for them!
The next card we received was from a couple that we met in the hospital the day that Allie was born. This couple was quite possibly the sweetest couple I've ever met. We met early in the day and spent the rest of the day waiting and chatting together. They were waiting for their first granddaughter (fourth grand baby at the time) to be born. It was nice to have someone there for us on that day and even though they were strangers, they were incredibly comforting. We still have the little stuffed bunny (it was 3 days after Easter) they gave Allie that day in her crib. The card they sent had a picture of them with all six of their grand babies. I'm sure their Christmas is going to be amazingly busy!
The last card we received was from Cory's aunt & uncle. What touched me about this card is what they wrote inside the card. It said, "Isn't it amazing how much of a difference a year can make?" It really is amazing how much of a difference a year can make. When I think back to last year, I remember the longing for a child. I can remember how I thought that the Christmas holiday is all about children, and as much as we adore and love our nieces and nephews...that longing was always there.
It makes we wonder what next year will bring to us. Allie will be one and will be walking around everywhere. Ray and Nancy will have their beautiful little baby boy (we can't wait for that). Jen & Jason will have little Addison home from China and hopefully we'll be having play dates with our little girls. Shallyn will have another little one running around (I think it's a girl). We'll be going through the adoption process again, praying for yet another miracle.
This last year has been amazing and we are looking forward to a very special Christmas and I'm sure a busy, exciting, and fun-filled new year!

33 months...

In previous posts I talked about my friend and coworker, Jen and her husband Jason. They are in the process of adopting their first child (Addison) from China. I had asked for prayers in hopes that they would be given strength to muddle through the last few weeks/months of their wait.

At last, the phone call came! Jen and Jason are the proud (excited) parents of a little girl! This precious little angel was born on March 24, 2008 (2 days before Allie)! Tomorrow Jen and Jason will finally be able to see a picture of their new little blessing! How are they going to sleep tonight?!?! And so begins the sleepless nights!! : )

Throughout this journey, Jen's strength has amazed me. I have a hard time waiting for my toast to get done in the morning, let alone waiting 33 1/2 months to find out who my little girl is! God is great and he helps us to get through the tough times. I truly believe that this little girl is a miracle and even though she is half a world away, she was meant to be Jen and Jason's. Congratulations!

Here's their website if you'd like to follow their journey;
http://www.myadoptionwebsite.com/addison/index.htm