Frustration

Last week we received an email from our adoption case worker. It was not good news. She told that starting in 2009, Haiti is raising the age requirements of adoptive parents from 30 to 35. This was a devastating blow, to say the least. Our facilitator in Hait recommended that we write a letter to the Hatian child welfare dept. explaining our situation, and basically beg them to allow us to proceed with the adoption. So that is our only hope, and who knows if it will work or not. Uggghhhh.

Snow is here!

We recently had our first major snow here in Illinois. We have about 5-6 inches on the ground today, so Gavin and I decided to go out and "make a mountain" (the snow wasn't sticky enough for a snowman). So we got our shovels and started piling up the snow. It was't long before Gavin was distracted and began playing in the yard. But I continued on shoveling. I looked up and noticed Gavin digging a little hole in snow, down to the grass. Then he took about 5 steps and dug another hole, again and again. "Gav, what are you doing", I ask. "I'm making holes for Joey to poop in", he explains.
He's so thoughtful.

In adoption news, the paperwork is complete! Well, almost. We decided that pursuing this adoption independently was just more work than we could keep up with. The orphanage that we were working with (COTP)recommended an agency called Love Beyond Borders. So now we have a caseworker handling all of the paperwork and staying on top of all legal changes that take place in Haiti. Which is a huge load off my mind. Looking back, we should have used an agency from the beginning. But, we were trying to save a few bucks by doing it ourselves. Live and learn. Right now all of our documents are being translated into French, and will then be sent to Haiti to go through their legal system. And no, I have absolutely no idea how long that will take. We are optimistic, though. We know God has a plan :)

Slow going

We have finally received our home study and our DCFS license - which basically means we are approved to adopt in the state of Illinois. The next step is to send our home study and license to USCIS (United States Citizenship and Imigration Services), to get approved to adopt internationally. That process should also take 2-3 months. Yippie! More waiting!
While we were waiting on the DCFS (Department of Children and Family Services) license, we received word that the orphanage we are working with in Haiti - Children of the Promise - has hit a few bumps in the road. They are now required to become a licensed adoption agency -according to some new Haitian government rules. So that process could take a while. It may be 2 months or 2 years -who knows. (Oh, the joys of working with a third-world country. ) Until that happens, they can no longer facillitate any adoptions. We will just have to wait and see. We may have to seek out another orphanage/adoption agency in Haiti - which I am sure will add to the waiting time. :)

Cookie Monster

The boys and I decided to make cookies this morning (chocolate peanut butter cookies, to be exact). When we were done Gavin asked to lick the spatula. Reluctantly I said yes. (After all, I was the one who did most of the work. If anyone deserved to lick the spatula it was me) I handed him the spatula, covered in chocolaty peanut butter goodness. He grabbed it and ran out of the kitchen. I went back to work, cleaning up the mess from our adventure in baking. About 20 minutes later he wandered back into the kitchen. "Mom, I finally finished it", he said with a dreamy smile on his face, and held up the squeaky clean spatula for me to admire.
Yep, that's my boy.

First Day

Last week was a bittersweet milestone in the Berry family. Ryder had his first day of kindergarten. Although I have waited anxiously for this day for the last six years, I must admit that when the time came to send my baby off school I was feeling pretty sad. But I'm over it. After all, it is only 1/2 day kindergarten. He had a great first day, but still tells me that he wishes he was in first grade (we held him back a year because of his late summer b-day). Other than that I think he really enjoys being in school.

Gavin, too, had his first day of school yesterday. Preschool that is. He goes 2 mornings a week. I thought it was going to be a big transition for him (since he suffers from severe separation anxiety, and usually freaks out if I am not in his direct line of sight) but he walked right in to school without me and never looked back. He had a great day too, but I think I was the one who was actually more excited for him to be in school.

August

Last week Jeff and I finished our second and final Home Study interview. We still have a little ways to go before the Home Study is completed, though. We have to complete 10 hours of adoption education, pay a visit to a notary, and then send all the completed paperwork in to our caseworker. ( We should be done by mid September) Then we will just be waiting on the state of Illinois to grant us a license to adopt. After the state's approval, we send everything in to US Immigration, where we will wait to be approved for international adoption. And then, we will once again send everything in, this time to the Haitian government, to be approved to adopt from Haiti. So for the next several months we'll spend a lot of time waiting. :)

Last week we also celebrated Ryder's 6th birthday. For his party we had a picnic and did some hiking at Matthessien State Park (same place where we took the sunflower pics) . We had a great time and the kids loved stomping in the puddles and climbing through the caves.

ahh, pretty

The boys and I took a road trip last week (well, a 2 hour road trip, on our way home from visiting friends in Peoria). We stopped at Matthiessen State Park to scope out a good place to have a picnic. As we drove down the winding road that leads you through the park, we came to a clearing. A perfect green patch designated for flying RC airplanes. But the green patch is not what caught our eye. It was what was just beyond that green patch that demanded our attention. A sea of yellow, as far as the eye could see. Sunflowers. It was a breathtaking view. And I was glad I happen to have my camera to capture it.