Child Study Found Near West Coast

Hey, hey, hey. Her study arrived. Much to our surprise, it seems it came through the mail, and not a bobbing bottle.

We were very excited to get this study.

I got an e-mail from our agency coordinator while I was running some errands, and due to me having a 'dumb' phone (vs. smart phone), I could only read that our child study had arrived in their office near the West Coast. I assumed that this meant the child study was attached to the e-mail, but could not be sure. I quickly called Mr. Fly on his 'smart' phone, and said, "Quick! Log into my e-mail, and see if the child study is attached to the e-mail that our agency sent me today!" My words may or may not have sounded clear or precise---all I know is that Mr. Fly got the point of the call, and he was more than happy to investigate.

Do you feel sorry for Mr. Fly yet? You probably already did.

Anyway, he logs into my e-mail, and confirms that, yes, there was an attachment, and I continue to let jumbled and excited words flow out of my mouth about hurrying up and opening up the attachment {like he wasn't already}. It is a little scary, but very exciting feeling to know that what you are about to find out is going to have a huge impact on your life.

So we have it.

She is still real. She exists. She is extra special.

We love her.


A child study is basically a medical, developmental, and social narrative of a child's life. So, you can see why we were eagerly awaiting her study. Due to protecting the adoption process and her privacy, I will not share a lot of the details on here right now since it is so public.


Also, last Saturday we received confirmation that our 1-800A documents had been received by immigration. This is not an approval, but just a 'pat on the back' to let us know we can try to chill out, and know that our paperwork is being processed in some way, shape, or form. Our next step will be to await a notice telling us when we can go give our fingerprints.


Not looking forward to fingerprints again. I apparently have prune-like fingerprints, and the 'fingerprint techs' have a terrible time trying to get good ones. I try not to take it personal as the techs swoon over Mr. Fly's perfectly smooth and easily captured fingerprints.


We are moving forward, and that is a reason for major PRAISE to God.

Until next time. 

1-800A-ON-THE-WAY

Our application for 1-800A approval was mailed out this past Tuesday.

In simple terms: This is progress.

Progress is good. Very Good. Muy Bueno. Sehr Gut.


You get the idea.

{This is progress too. Last year when I tried to grow grass...let's just say-- it didn't look like this. I already gave her a haircut}

 What is this 1-800A all about? According to this USCIS website, it is a "Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country".

 So. If we are deemed, 'suitable', we will be preparing to send off our dossier to her country. Yeah. That's what we're talking about. At least that is what I think we are doing next? I am not quite sure yet if we have to receive her child study report prior to us sending our dossier. Our dossier is pretty much wrapped up besides a few major details nonetheless. Our child study report seems to be having some technical difficulties getting into our hands, so that is a little hiccup right now. Starting to wonder if her study is transiting the mid Atlantic by a bobbing bottle. Surely not. The child study report will tell us much more about her, and the extent of her special needs, etc. We are ready for details.

We like to take the 'Bob Approach' mentality: Baby steps to home study approval, baby steps to I-800A approval, baby steps as we wait for child study, baby steps to send off our dossier...

This is self-discipline for me. I would prefer to ditch the baby steps, and have Simon send us one giant leap forward.

Psa. 27:14 Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.

Hey! Have a  great weekend!

Mama's Gonna Buy You a Mockingbird Princess Dress.

Valley Thrift Store gets me every time. I shouldn't even go there. Not even on half off days.

Unless I am shopping for a princess dress.

I couldn't leave it. My mom was looking at me like, "Are you sure she is going to wear that?". Of course! I may even make myself a matching one.

Or not.

Perfect for a special Princess of the King. Praying she is happy today.

Doing what I don't do best

We can't say we weren't warned. It seems like this past month the international adoption process and foster care process has been out of our hands, and we are having to wait before we can move to the next step in the adoption process (and we are still very, very early in the process). I have not been crowned with the gift of patience---especially when it comes to our desire for children. 

Most of all, we know we have a little girl that needs our love, and she is waiting-- just like us. We do know that her caregivers have a good reputation for the care they provide to their children, and that makes us very thankful, and the wait more bearable. We also know that she is attached to her caregiver, and that means she is getting some lovin'...Keep givin' her all that good lovin', Mrs. Caregiver!

I am trying to learn the art of not being pesky to those that I work with on this adoption journey. Oh, I have so been crowned to have the potential to be very pesky {I am sure they have me flagged--like 2 months ago} when it comes to getting our paperwork turned around quickly. I have Grant screen my each and every e-mail before I send them to "important adoption make things happen people" to make sure I don't sound too pushy, bossy, or just plain annoying.  

...although, I have been starting to question his 'annoying scale' credibility.

I liken our "important adoption make things happen people" to an OB physician...They deliver. They have to deal with paper hormonal adoption moms that throw up immigration paperwork. Personally, I would prefer to be induced to I*d*a six months early, but I can't find that option in our "birth plan". Just give me the epidural now.

We truly do have a great team we are working with. They are such kind ladies that have a heart for children that need families, and have taken orphan children into their homes, and made them sons and daughters. 

To get through this current episode of 'wait' this week, I have been cleaning out my fabric stash, and sewing my heart out. Sewing burp cloths. I don't need them right now, but maybe we will have a foster babe that needs some lovin' and burpin' before too long. That is a whole other wait.


This, my friend, is a "spit-up" survival kit.

Now wipe that drool off your mouth. They're mine. 
{you wouldn't want them anyway--you ought to see the ghastly seams on these things, and the fabric is terribly 2009ish}

Happy Thursday! Make it count. Sew some burp cloths.

I wouldn't if I were you!

Today was a desperate for chocolate kind of day. We all have those days, right?

With a gluten/dairy free diet, my options get a bit limited. Then--I remembered one of my friends sending me a "black bean brownie" recipe.

Hmmm..... I scanned the recipe, and sure enough, I had all the required ingredients.

So into the food processor went about 1 lb. of black beans, sucanat, vanilla, cocoa, oil, and eggs. The food processor pureed it all nicely, and it appeared delish as I prepared the brownie mixture to put in the oven:

{I sprinkled some cocoa on top for extra "flavor"-ha}

Baked those guys for 30 minutes, and wahlah! Here we have the delightful black bean brownies.

{Can you tell I was excited about these brownies?}

Unfortunately, if you think they actually look scrumptious, they weren't.

Needless to say, the extra pinches of cocoa on top didn't salvage those poor guys.

I would compare the experience of eating black bean brownies to eating a sponge. Insert {gag}. I tried to put some powdered sugar on them to doctor them up, but, alas, they just weren't all that tasty. :( So sad. I was looking forward to many fixins' of black bean brownies.

The recipe called for instant coffee and chocolate chips as optional, but I omitted them because I am avoiding coffee too, and of course, the chocolate chips have dairy in them so they are no-go.

It was worth a try anyway. I may try it again sometime and try to put more cocoa in or something. I'll see. :D

I *still* need my chocolate fix for the day! Brainstorm time.

What he doesn't tell me...

Mr. Fly made a round trip to North Carolina yesterday.

I try not to think about Mr. Fly + airplanes when he is flying. Keeps me more sane {a little}. Of course, he is well aware of my paranoia {{of a plane crash}}, and is cautious with how many details he tells me about his flights.

More details=more wild imagination for me.

I'm weird like that.

So yeah, last night, Mr. Fly was flying on the leg back home, and he sends me a brief text simply stating, "strong headwinds, I will be landing around midnight". ...And I didn't second guess him {Note to self: always ask for elaboration when you receive texts that say, "I'll be home at midnight"---3 hours later than originally planned}. I figured it wasn't too serious since he didn't text me, "I love you" or something that would insinuate life/death situation... ha. The only thing I asked him when I text back was, "Do you have enough fuel?" That seemed like the most important thing to a rookie-wannabe-backseat-naive pilot like me. He said, "yes"--I am assuming if he could have inserted an emotional tone for this text, he would have chosen "annoyance". {I just thought he might want a reminder to check the fuel) ;)

Anyway. He finally arrives home at 1 a.m. to a happy wife happily sewing my newest craft project and happy to see my husband. He comes upstairs, and looking very tired he says, "Oh yeah, the other reason the flight took so long is because I kept having to re-route my flight due to multiple thunderstorms along the flight path." Hmmm, that is interesting. I sure didn't remember him mentioning thunderstorms in the earlier text.

Thunderstorms rip airplanes apart.

Enough said.


Mr. Fly coming out of the sky a couple of months ago: