so I thought that I would give you all alittle run down of how our morning went. We were told by our facilitator that we needed to be in the lobby by 7:30am ready to go, so we had a wake up call set for 6am. At 6am I got up and went into the shower and when I got out started to wake "Sleeping Beauty" (ie. Joey). Note to self, he is not a morning person! To say that he was pissed would be an enormous understatement. He was irate and covered in poop so a bath was in order. John started filling the tub and I put Joey in, but he was is such a tizzy that he projectile vomitted into the bath water! OMG, I just wanted to die at this point it was 6:30! I decided that he would just have to get a shower with one of us so while John was cleaning the puke out of the shower (which clogs ever so easily) Joey peed ALL OVER ME. Guess who ended up getting another shower. He basically screamed for an hour until he was dressed and chugging bottle number two. Poor John had approximately 10 minutes to get showered, shaved, dressed, make two bottles for the morning and meet me in the hotel restaruant. We ate an omelet at record pace and made it to the lobby at 7:29am where Karla (our facilitator) was waiting.
The ride over to the US embassy was uneventful until I realized that I in my haste to leave the hotel room I forgot our tax returns. Karla was sympathetic and told me that it should not be a problem and that if it was she would come back and get them. Thank God the embassy officials never asked for them. The embassy is a rather ugly utilitarian building in Guatemala city, not at all the regal white building with handsome marines guarding the front door that I envisioned at all. So that was alittle disappointing, but everyone there was SO nice and the waiting area was actually fun because we got to meet a ton of adoptive moms and dads from all over the country and everyone there is in a REALLY great mood.
The actual interview process is two parts, the first part is to validate and approve the I600A immigration paperwork. For this part we were led into a small closet (literally) where we were asked our names and if we had visited Joey before. The gentleman examined our passports, smiled and told us we were done. I could not believe it, we hardly said anything. The second interview takes place at a teller window (like the bank). We had to raise our right hand and take an oath that all of the information in our documents was true to the best of our knowledge. Then the woman smiled and said "Congratulations, you are all set, your visa will be ready on Monday". It took everything in me not to bawl...it felt like a million tons were lifted off of me. And with that we are done! John and I feel so blessed to have been able to complete this process and bring our son home, it has been one crazy and hellish ride, but totally worth it. So guys what do you think, you up for another one??
Just kidding :)
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7 comments:
I am so incredibly happy for you all. He is breathtaking. I've been following your blog for a while. I'm just trudging through some I171H mess so it sure is nice to read some good news! You are a beautiful family! Congrats!
We can't wait to meet grandson and give you all a BIG hug. He is a very lucky little boy to be blessed with such love. We were so happy to hear the joy and relief in your voice. Happy Birthday Lee!!!!!!!
We Love you all,
Mom and Dad
I realized earlier today that I was a day off when I posted before about your embassy appointment.
So now I'm laughing in your general direction about the pre-embassy events and getting a little teary-eyed about the embassy appt. It's so overwhelming when they finally say "Congrats" and that's it.
Love the pics! Ergo carriers are the best things ever invented!
Yippee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kerri and Ruby
Congratulations! I have been following for a long time and I am so very excited for you and your family. What an amazing day, one you will never forget.
Congrats and Best Wishes,
Shelby Ronan (friend of Lisa and Ryan Snyder)
Hi Lee Anne! Congrats again. I'm so happy for you. I can't wait for you guys to get home. Awesome song- "sign, sealed, delivered. I'm yours!"
Heather =)
Hi Lee Anne,
We are all very happy and excited for all of you. More tears of joy are flowing down my face. I remember those words with Ava. What an incredible feeling! When you land in the US and you are all welcomed home by the US Immigration officers and they announce..'Welcome home little boy, you are a US Citizen' These words will stay with you a lifetime!
Congratulations and Hugs,
Monica, Jim & Ava
Hi LeeAnne- I wanted to pass this along from my friends the Hoppes. I hope you do not find it out of line. I just wanted to pass this on in case you are looking for info out there. It's from thehappyhoppes.blogspot.com
Somewhere out there....
In a country of 1.3 Billion (although the non-official count says 2 billion) is a little girl who has no idea that a family in the United States is anxious to see her face. I wonder what province she will be from? Will she be from the South like Piper, who is Cantonese and comes from Guangdong Province?
Wherever she is, she is probably not expecting three strangers that don't speak her language or look like her (okay, one might look like her!), to come and scoop her up and spirit her off to an unkown land, filled with sights, sounds and smells that she does not know or understand. She will be scared and will without doubt grieve the loss of the life she knows. When I talk to parents about adoption, I often get a 'look' when I start to talk about attachment..it's like people either dont want to believe or understand the implications, they just want to see the 'Happily ever after's'. If the people have children of their own I often turn it around by asking how old their child is...imagine this scenario
"how old is your child?"
"20 months next Friday"
"oh he is a handsome little boy,...how do you thing little Johnny would react if you bought him to a big office building, handed him to a couple with a different skin color that didn't speak English and they took him away to their home to raise? Do you think he'd remember you? Do you think he'd grieve for his family, his surroundings, all that he has grown to understand as permanent or would he just hit the ground running??"
most people are appauled at the suggestion but, quite often I get a wide eyed look of sudden understanding...I'm no 'shock jock' but seriously people...THINK!
Paisley WILL have issues to deal with in the 'immediate', and I'm pretty convinced she will need a lot of time and patience and understanding to get through the loss, and to recognize that we are her 'soft place to fall', it wont be a fairy tale of her being placed in our arms and looking into our eyes and saying "oh finally, the family I always wanted" there will no doubt be kicking screaming biting or even worse, silence...a sign of shock and a coping mechanism. It will be tough, Mike & I will be pushed to the limit I'm sure...but, if we listen to our hearts and follow some well worn advice from those who came before us and read some of the great books available then the rewards are...PRICELESS!
Today I am going to post about attachment...and link to a great site for you to take a look at Attach-China is a website set up for families with adopted children from China (although the resources are applicable to any adopted child)
Please take a moment to look at the 'subtle signs' section, it is really vital that adoptive parents and for that matter anyone who is going to be in an adopted child's life to understand the basic issues that many children have to deal with in regard to loss, grief anger and healing. This is not just parents over diagnosing their children, this is getting society at large to understand that being adopted means so much more than finding a forever family and living happily ever after.
This is a list of subtle signs of attachment sensitivities, not all adopted children have RAD (reactive attachment disorder), but many of not most of them have some 'sensitivities', and it is a good thing to be proactive. Watch, listen and learn from your child...it took us a while to get in-sync with Pipers sensitivities, we deal with them as part of our daily life.
What are the subtle signs?
1. Sensitivity to rejection and to disruptions in the normally attuned connection between mother and child.
2. Avoiding comfort when the child's feelings are hurt, although the child will turn to the parent for comfort when physically hurt.
3. Difficulty discussing angry feelings or hurt feelings.
4. Over valuing looks, appearances, and clothes.
5. Sleep disturbances. Not wanting to sleep alone.
6. Precocious independence. A level of independence that is more frequently seen in slightly older children.
7. Reticence and anxiety about changes.
8. Picking at scabs and sores.
My advice is communicate, communicate, communicate...with your child, with your spouse, with your family, with your school or daycare. Awareness & communication will make this generation of adopted children healthier, happier and better adjusted...if we just talk about it!
Mike & I have also been reading and re-reading some very important books, these will help us build a healthy, healing and loving environment for our daughters. I am currently working on 'Adopting the Hurt Child' and can also highly recommend 'Parenting with Love & logic' by Foster Cline & Jim Fay.
Adopting the Hurt Child: Hope for Families with Special-Needs Kids by Gregory C. Keck, PhD and Regina M. Kupecky, LSW
Holding Time by Martha G. Welch, MD
Building the Bonds of Attachment by Daniel A. Hughes
Attaching in Adoption: Practical Tools for Today's Parents by Deborah D. Gray
How to Talk so Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish
Raising a Happy, Unspoiled Child by Burton L. White
The Out of Sync Child, Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Integration Dysfunction by Carol Stock Kranowitz, M.A.
I haven't read all these books, I have chosen the ones that fit our parenting style and our ideals, no fancy schmancey parenting book will help if it asks you or your family to alter it's beliefs, or change so drastically that it causes upheaval! Find the books that suit your family's dynamic, we have made small changes in the way we parent, and some of the advice is dramatically beneficial!
Posted by Mike, Hayley & Piper at 9:28 AM 3 comments
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