2014 - Our Year in Review - Part 1

I know.  I've been very negligent when it comes to updates.  It's certainly not because there aren't things going on.  Maybe it's because there is too much going on.  Here's a summary of our 2014:

January:

We rang in the New Year in Maine with my Dad and my brother.  Our actual New Years Eve was not very exciting.

However, I got to spend New Years Day with my grandmother, aunts, uncles, and many of my cousins.  We picked my Uncle up to take him to see my grandmother.  He himself had been in the hospital since the fall.  It was fun to be with him while he experienced life outside of those four walls for the first time in months.  Sadly, my grandmother passed away two days later.  

On the 14th, we celebrated one year together.  

We went to Disney Princesses on Ice.  It's possible that Tia and Mommy enjoyed it a little more than Sara.  

The rest of the month was cold, snowy, and uneventful.  

February:  

February was more cold and snow.  

March:

In March, we got to meet our friends the Aschoffs in real life.  They also have a daughter from Colombia.  We met up with them at the IDSC's meet up at Great Wolf Lodge.  Sara was in her glory!  

We rocked our socks for World Down Syndrome Day! 

April:

We drove to Cincinnati and  NY for Spring Break.  Sara is a serious road trip warrior.  

We got to hang out with the Allison family in Cincinnati and meet their newest additions.  They adopted their son around the same time that I adopted Sara. 

A few days later, we flew to Maine for my grandmother's memorial service.  

Sara started swimming lessons.  

We had a quiet Easter with just the two of us.  

And then my poor baby got pneumonia.  

Sara took a tumbling class.  

May:

Sara rode a pony at her school's Family Fun Night.  This was something she refused to do in the fall.  

We did a 5k for my work.  She ran some, walked some, and rode some.

She loved the Memorial Day parade.

June:  

She was in her first ever school program!

My baby finished Kindergarten.

We were both in Tia Anna's wedding.  

I officially finished my 14th year of teaching.  

Sara went to summer school in the mornings for a few weeks while I tried to remember what I used to do before she consumed every minute of my life.

We made a quick trip back to New York to see my brother George graduate from high school.

I love her confidence.  

Check back soon for the rest of the year!

Update--Here's How the Adoption's Going

I know it's been way too long since I updated. I always feel like I'm letting people down if I don't have something to say. (Maybe no one cares. Maybe it's all in my head.) So, here's the update that you've all been waiting for.....

I mailed my I800A into USCIS (I didn't know what any of that meant a few months ago) last week. I received confirmation on Friday that they have received my paperwork and they cashed my check. (That has to be progress, right?) Then, on Friday night, I heard about two families that had received their USCIS approval. Both families received approval in just under a month!!! This is HUGE! The official line from USCIS is that approval takes 90 days. These two families both sent theirs in a month ahead of mine and got approval in a month!!! So, what does that mean for me?

It means that Sara will probably be here sooner, rather than later! (Lots of exclamation points today. I'm excited!!!) I have said all along that I wanted to work summer school (I need the money)and travel during my August break. It would give me 3 extra weeks of my leave and allow me to save some of my sick time for appointments, etc. when Sara got back. Well, I've doubted for quite a while that that was going to happen. Now it looks like it's more than likely!!

Here's the breakdown as I currently understand it:

1. It will take USCIS about 3 weeks to assign me an appointment to get my fingerprints done. The appointment they assign me will be about a month after that. BUT, I have learned that you can go in before your appointment date. So, I'm hoping and praying that I have an appointment assigned when I get back from vacation. Then, I can use one of my last two days of break to go get my prints done. I'll have them done long before the appointment and I'll get to do them without taking off any work. (I'm hoarding every minute of sick time.)

2. Within a week of getting my prints done, I should have my approval from USCIS. This will hopefully be the last week of June.

3. As soon as I have that form in my hand, I can send the dossier into the country for approval. The director of the orphanage has already given me his approval. So, it really shouldn't take too long to get the dossier approved. (The director says 2 weeks!)

4. When that is approved, I will be granted a court date. (Probably about 2 weeks after approval.)

5. So, if you are following all the time lines, this puts me in the last week of July!!! Summer school ends August 2nd. How perfect is that? (And how soon!!!)

Obviously, international adoptions are very fickle and there is no guarantee that everything will go smoothly or quickly. BUT, this timeline gives me hope. (A LOT of hope!)

So, I will be spending this Memorial Day getting all the dossier paperwork in order to get finished this week. (I also am finishing up one more grant application.) I want everything done and ready to go before I go on vacation. (I've said all along that things may delay this adoption but I won't delay it.) I am playing phone tag with a psychologist and hope to get that evaluation done sometime in the next two weeks. I also have to get a letter written and notarized by my doctor. (Remember how fun she was the first time around?) The rest of the stuff is pretty small and I should be able to get that all done today.

Now, if I could just get an updated height and weight and a shoe size, I'd be almost ready for my little girl to come home...