A Step Closer

We heard from our agency yesterday that our dossier was to be mailed overseas either yesterday or today. Yippee!!! A step closer to being officially matched. They also told us that a volunteer at the orphanage said that he has Cerebral Palsy, which is what I suspected from watching him on the video. Clearly it's mild and he gets around quite well. We should get his "Child History" file once we're matched then we'll get a professional medical opinion of a prognosis. So, my day was made yesterday. With adoption, you can go weeks without hearing anything new so to get 2 pieces of information in one day was huge.

Last Friday we had to drive up to Yakima to get our Fingerprints done for immigration. When we adopted the girls, we had all kinds of troubles with scheduling and grumpy government workers. This time was difficult getting a computer generated appointment that we could attend. Finally after speaking with a live human being we were told to just walk in. Seriously? After our previous experiences I doubted that this would be anything short of a nightmare. We were all prepared as we drove to fight the battle. Well, when we arrived we were welcomed in and ushered directly to the fingerprint window. No questions asked. In and out in 15 minutes. We were even given an evaluation form to fill out. Seriously?! Wow, what a change. I should have known then that good things were going to happen this week.

The more I think about this little guy, the more I wonder if he isn't just meant for us. He appears so gentle and sweet in the video. It that's so, he would be such a balm for my heart after the struggles we've gone through with Twiggy Two and Three. Life has given them each challenges that we've had to put in a lot of energy figuring out and dealing with. It's not that our Twiggys aren't sweet, I love each of my children dearly and I can't breathe when I think about one of them getting hurt. It's just that the last few years have been really hard. Now that we have some answers, life feels much more positive. A sweet little guy would be the frosting on the already scrumpscious cake (is that spelled right?!).

We're very busy with fun, summer activities. Free lunches in town, free movies, swim lessons, piano practice, spring cleaning chores for pay, and a little bit of homeschooling keeps us all busy and tuckered out at night. I collected several projects to keep interest, so I haven't heard the "b" word yet.

Twiggy One got registered this morning to take Algebra I this summer. The school was slow in getting it all set up...I've been asking about it for 3 months now. She'll have to hustle, but she says she's ready to do it. I think she'll do fine since she got an A in Algebra 1/2 last year. It's just that she's a year younger than her classmates and here she is taking a 9th grade class at age 12. It's fun to get ahead, we'll just keep a close eye on her. Any sign of it being too much and we'll take a break.

Twiggy Three has overcome his very large fear of putting his face in water. A special swim teacher has worked her magic the last three weeks and he now wants to have a competition to see who can pop up out of the water first. After lesson this morning he got some noodles and wanted to float around the pool. Amazing!!! Last summer he would scream if a drop of water was splashed on his face and would claw my arms as I held him and walked around the pool. I cried on Monday when he dunked for the first time all by himself. I love these moments as a mother...seeing your child accomplish a task that was difficult.

My sister and her family are here with us this week then on Sunday we'll head to Family Camp. Our favorite event of the year. Well, it was our favorite event last year and I'm just positive we'll come home ready to start planning for next year. I always wanted to take my family to Family Camp so last year we felt we were ready to tackle it. It was such a huge success. Can you tell I like Family Camp?! It's just so fun having the kids get to extend their freedom a bit and for us parents to set aside our responsibilities. Also, I don't have to even think about cooking for 6 whole days!!! I take limited snacks and tell the twigs that they better eat when the dinner bell rings. I am not in charge of their tummies. I can't do laundry so they just run around dirty. And the cabin doesn't get too messy since we're busy playing all the time. Wow! Can't get much better than that.

Mama Branch

Trying Again

Our agency went overseas at the end of April and brought back info on one little guy. They told us that his info did not match our criteria, however, a couple of weeks ago they sent us the video of him out of the blue. What a cutie pie he is! This is how they describe him:

***** dresses himself, tells when he has to go potty. He came first of April from another Baby Home. He has a weakness on his right side but seems to get along quite well. He is friendly and has a warm and easy smile.

He looks directly into the camera and flashes an adorable grin. Just because of that, I feel like he could be a good fit for our family. As the 4th twig, he would need to be easygoing.

We are unable to get a child history that includes medical diagnosis (hopefully) until we are in process with him so, after much thought and prayer, we have decided to move forward until God closes the door. We look forward to seeing what God has in store for us.

Thanks for being patient with no update for awhile. I'll keep you posted. (And sorry this is brief, I have a busy day ahead but wanted to get this out there).

Mama Branch

Sad News

Well, I was going to update on what we got accomplished today and announce that we would have the dossier complete tomorrow. We were hurrying to get our dossier overseas so that a "hold" could be placed on our little guy. Well, we weren't quick enough. We received an email this afternoon he is no longer available for adoption. Heavy sigh! We're not sure why. If it's that he got adopted within his own country, I'm happy for him. Ultimately we want his best, right?! It's hard, though.

Twiggy Three seems to be the most disappointed. He really wants a brother to play with.

I'm not sure where this leaves us. There are no other boys on the waiting list that seem to be a fit for our family (age or health wise). There were 3 right off the bat that we looked in to but they had already found homes. Then we started looking at "*****". I think our agency will be getting a new waiting list in May. Should we have our agency proceed with the items that take a couple of months to process in hopes there's a little guy on that list? Or do we quit now and maybe get some money reimbursed? I must be tired tonight; the easy way out seems enticing tonight. Hmmm... things to think about on a better day.

Mama Branch

Happy 3rd Birthday Twiggy Four!

"Happy Birthday dear son of my heart! I am praying so hard that you become my son in name as well. I wish I could hold you today and tell you how special you are."

What we know about Twiggy Four: he was placed into care at 3 months of age, has an underdeveloped left arm that he's had some surgeries on, gets bronchitis when he gets sick and needs an inhaler, and has a solid build. In the video we have he's very intent on kicking a ball around and the videographer states that he's "a very active little boy". The first thing that stood out to us was his name (sorry I can't mention it). Part of his name is a nickname that Twiggy Three had from a man in our church when he was a baby due to his solid build. We keep calling Twiggy Four by the nickname and I'm not sure if we'll give him an English name or keep his Asian name. It's just too cute. It would probably be confusing for him down the road in school and such so we should give him an easier name, but he's "(insert nickname)" in our hearts. We kept the girls Chinese names as a second middle name so we may do the same for Twiggy Four.

Dossier update: We had the formal family picture taken yesterday at church and I just downloaded it to Walmart along with the photos of the house and each twiggy. Will pick those up tomorrow. Today's task is to call the CPA contact I was given on Saturday. Please pray for ease. It seems like this financial statement has the potential to be difficult, but it doesn't have to be. Later this afternoon I will call the doctor's office to ensure that the letter is ready for the notary to sign tomorrow when she's back in the office. I don't want to be a nag, but I also know better than to sit back and wait for things to happen. There's a little boy in an orphanage who needs his mom and dad. I will do whatever I can do shorten the wait, be it a week, day or even an hour!

Mama Branch

Saturday progress

Today's progress: people lined up to do reference letters on letterhead, photos of house taken, passport renewal mailed, and a couple of contacts recommended for a CPA.

Will get formal family photo tomorrow when we're dressed up for church.

The girls and I did a service project this morning planting flowers and pulling weeds at a retirement home. Mr. Branch and Twiggy Three are at grandma's house doing yardwork. I think I'm about ready for a nap...

Mama Branch

Home Study Done, Dossier Here We Come

The social worker emailed Wednesday night with just one question, then finalized our home study and sent it to our agency. We haven't heard if it's been approved yet, but we were able to start on our dossier paperwork. The dossier is the packet of papers that go overseas. There are a bunch of letters/certificates that need to be notarized then several miscellaneous items.

Notarized: Letters from Physician, Letter of Employment, Two reference letters on letterhead, Financial Statement by a CPA or bank, Official country Application Form, Copy of Marriage Certificate, Copies of Birth Certificates, and Police Reports on letterhead.

Misc: Statement of medical plan for child, four passport photos of each parent, passport size photo of each child, formal family portrait, and 4-6 photos of the inside and out of home.

My goal is to have this completed by next Friday. Here's what we accomplished today:

1. Mr. Branch dropped off sample letter at our doctor's office while he was there for his allergy shot. Will pick up on Tuesday after notary returns.
2. I attempted to have our credit union do the financial statement. They would not do it. Made some phone calls to try to find a CPA who would do what we need. No luck yet.
3. Retrieved birth and marriage certificates from safe deposit box.
4. Visited police station and got both letters.
5. Retrieved passports from safe deposit box and realized my passport will expire in July. Printed and completed passport renewal form. Will mail tomorrow.
6. Went to Costco and got 4 passport photos of each of us plus 2 extra for my passport renewal.
7. Completed our adoption training DVD's and answered required questions.
8. Completed I-800A immigration form, got certified check from bank, and mailed back to agency.

Not a bad day's work!

Mama Branch

Doubt and fear

I'm not usually one to be overcome with fear, but last night I was overcome. The social worker had been here for three hours questioning us to expose any reasons we are not good parents. OK, that's a bit harsh, but thats the purpose of a home study, isn't it? She was very kind, in fact, reminded us of a family member. We're pretty sure she'll write up a good home study, however, for the rest of the day I felt an overwhelming sense of inadequacy... as spouses, parents, providers, etc. I know I'm not perfect, but it's no fun having to face your flaws. Then the devil threw another punch as Mr. Branch and I were in our van last night. We were discussing it's developing squeaks and rattles and I realized our van is 13 years old and the vehicle replacement fund tends to be spent repairing instead of building up to replace. Fear started to creep in. Doubt had arrived earlier in the day. The devil then reminded me of Twiggy Three's hospital bill waiting for me to call and make arrangements to pay... And Twiggy One's braces bill due in a couple of weeks... Suddenly I was laid flat. I couldn't be a good parent. I don't have the money for an adoption. I can't do this!!! I'm scared.

Well, I was right. I can't do this. Some good sleep helped my perspective, but this morning I was listening to a Focus on the Family broadcast of Ken Davis when I came to a decision. He was speaking about the Apostle Paul being persecuted for speaking about Jesus' love and he told his persecutors that he would willingly give his life. It was not a loss to him but a gain. I choose to go through this process even if it lays me flat, time and time again. If it brings glory to my Savior, I'm willing.

Stay tuned for Twiggy Four's brithday post on Monday...his 3rd birthday!

Mama Branch