Heather is out of surgery from this morning. They did not find any evidence of major infections so that is great news!
Heather - we love you and are thinking of you!!
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Heather Update!
Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2007 12:09 AM
Everyone,
First off Hebby is doing all right. We recieved a setback in that her injuries are not what we were initially told. Heather's injuries are slightly above the knees instead of below. This is dissappointing news but it does not deter our goal which is to get Hebby better and out of the hospital. Tomorrow morning around 8 she will go into another surgery. This is to clean out her wounds and make sure she is still all right. She will be going through several of these over the next week and each one tells us more and how she is progressing. As they do I will keep everyone posted.
Heather is still the same old Heather and is positive and strong and wonderful. Everyone's support has been overwhelming and I thank everyone from the bottom of my heart. I ask that everyone please continue with your thoughts and prayers for our Hebby so that she can get through this week and on the road to recovery. Thank you.
Love
Ryan
Everyone,
First off Hebby is doing all right. We recieved a setback in that her injuries are not what we were initially told. Heather's injuries are slightly above the knees instead of below. This is dissappointing news but it does not deter our goal which is to get Hebby better and out of the hospital. Tomorrow morning around 8 she will go into another surgery. This is to clean out her wounds and make sure she is still all right. She will be going through several of these over the next week and each one tells us more and how she is progressing. As they do I will keep everyone posted.
Heather is still the same old Heather and is positive and strong and wonderful. Everyone's support has been overwhelming and I thank everyone from the bottom of my heart. I ask that everyone please continue with your thoughts and prayers for our Hebby so that she can get through this week and on the road to recovery. Thank you.
Love
Ryan
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Home Study Complete!
Well.... in all honesty, the FBI clearances aren't back yet and those can take 8-10 weeks.
But.... we passed!! We had about 2 hours of questions about our financial plans, what we expect from the adoption process, our expections about a relationship with the birthparents, our parenting philosophies, a bunch of stuff. Then we gave a tour of our home and went over the "checklist" of items like posted emergency phone numbers, working bathrooms, where the baby is going to sleep, and how we store cleaning chemicals. The last part was individual interviews asking about how we were raised by our parents, our relationship today, my strengths and weaknesses. In all it lasted about 4 hours.
The social worker was making me a little nervous because she pointed out that we don't have any baby furniture and the car seat. Both of her last 2 home studies were completed and the families were placed with an infant within 2 weeks. She doesn't think we will be waiting very long once we get our profile submitted to the agency and are officially "active", although you never know! I guess I better start buying some stuff, but it feels so weird to buy things for someone that you don't know. I hope the baby will like greens and yellows because that's what we're buying!
Right as our social worker was walking out the door, Paula was calling both our cell phones to let us know that cousin Heather was in a very bad accident in Austin. We are praying for her and she is in our thoughts. Heather - we love you!!
So it was a day of good and bad.
But.... we passed!! We had about 2 hours of questions about our financial plans, what we expect from the adoption process, our expections about a relationship with the birthparents, our parenting philosophies, a bunch of stuff. Then we gave a tour of our home and went over the "checklist" of items like posted emergency phone numbers, working bathrooms, where the baby is going to sleep, and how we store cleaning chemicals. The last part was individual interviews asking about how we were raised by our parents, our relationship today, my strengths and weaknesses. In all it lasted about 4 hours.
The social worker was making me a little nervous because she pointed out that we don't have any baby furniture and the car seat. Both of her last 2 home studies were completed and the families were placed with an infant within 2 weeks. She doesn't think we will be waiting very long once we get our profile submitted to the agency and are officially "active", although you never know! I guess I better start buying some stuff, but it feels so weird to buy things for someone that you don't know. I hope the baby will like greens and yellows because that's what we're buying!
Right as our social worker was walking out the door, Paula was calling both our cell phones to let us know that cousin Heather was in a very bad accident in Austin. We are praying for her and she is in our thoughts. Heather - we love you!!
So it was a day of good and bad.
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Home Visit Today!!
The cleaning is done and the paperwork is all signed! The home visit is today right after lunch.
I must say, I'm not nervous. I have listened to everyone's advice that this is not a huge deal. It should be like talking to someone who wants to see what you're like and I think it is obvious that we are NOT crazy people. We have indoor plumbing to at least one bathroom and our child will not be trampled by livestock! I should make a copy of our check list for everyone to see... some of it is very comical.
Thank you to everyone who has been very encouraging with the "good luck" and the "you two will be the best parents to a lucky child" and such. It really helps to have such a support system!!
Congrats to Kristi who brought home her beautiful baby girl on Sunday!
I must say, I'm not nervous. I have listened to everyone's advice that this is not a huge deal. It should be like talking to someone who wants to see what you're like and I think it is obvious that we are NOT crazy people. We have indoor plumbing to at least one bathroom and our child will not be trampled by livestock! I should make a copy of our check list for everyone to see... some of it is very comical.
Thank you to everyone who has been very encouraging with the "good luck" and the "you two will be the best parents to a lucky child" and such. It really helps to have such a support system!!
Congrats to Kristi who brought home her beautiful baby girl on Sunday!
Friday, January 5, 2007
Let The Cleaning Begin!
Christmas is over - at least it is at our house! The ornaments started coming off the tree last night and we rounded up all the decorations from around the house. We need to get all this stuff packed up and reclaim our space back. We are also interested in getting back to normal so our social worker will see our home how it really is on Tuesday for our home visit. She asked if she could bring another person along that is learning home studies and of course I said "Sure!". The more, the merrier!
I'm not sure what exactly I'm going to be serving. 1. To make sure our house smells yummy and 2. To be the hostess with the mostess! Probably bake up some gluten-free cookies and coffee and iced tea. There's no milk to be found in this house!
I've collected all our pictures for our profile and now we really need to get writing. It is so hard to write about yourselves and not be so critical of everything. I want to say the right thing that will connect with the right birthparents. I guess whatever we decide to say, it will be coming from us. It's just hard to get started! Writer's block??
Still stuck on my choices for a car seat, the Consumer Reports reviews on infant seats that came out yesterday are NOT helping. I was very surprised at the results and when I checked in with my ring of certified child seat technicians, they had some choice things to say about their reviews. Most of all, it was very disappointing to find out that all the installs were done by lab technicians and they did not have a child seat technician verify the seat was even installed properly. I don't see how a "scientific" experiment could be conducted when the seats are not being used properly. Second, most of the seats passed when they were installed with the seatbelts, which strengthens my theory that LATCH is not safer over seat belts.
There is a HUGE backlash from this review and it is popping up already. I saw a review written on the Target website for the Britax Companion and someone said don't buy this because it "Did not pass strict safety test". Puh-leeze. Do your research - this is one of the top rated infant car seats by certified child seat technicians. It concerns me that people (parents) blindly believe something someone tells them because "it was on TV so it must be true." Now people are going to be rushing out to buy a Graco Snugride because "it did so well". I will NEVER put my baby in one of those.
Actually, this might work great for me.... all the safer seats that I am considering, no one will probably want and I won't have to sit on a waiting list to get one! Once I actually decide which way I'm going anyway.... I'm glad I can wait until February to see the new Chicco KeyFit seats that fit up to 30 pounds. I know it has a matching stroller! I'm not exactly sold on a travel system either because a convertible seat works great too. I guess I need to figure out what fits in my truck the best. And I'm doing a belt install in the center position, I only have LATCH on the outboard seats. No question there. And no, you cannot use an anchor from each side seat to connect the child seat in the middle - it is NOT safe to do so!
I don't know why I'm ranting about this. I need to put this kind of passion in our family profile!!! LOL
I'm not sure what exactly I'm going to be serving. 1. To make sure our house smells yummy and 2. To be the hostess with the mostess! Probably bake up some gluten-free cookies and coffee and iced tea. There's no milk to be found in this house!
I've collected all our pictures for our profile and now we really need to get writing. It is so hard to write about yourselves and not be so critical of everything. I want to say the right thing that will connect with the right birthparents. I guess whatever we decide to say, it will be coming from us. It's just hard to get started! Writer's block??
Still stuck on my choices for a car seat, the Consumer Reports reviews on infant seats that came out yesterday are NOT helping. I was very surprised at the results and when I checked in with my ring of certified child seat technicians, they had some choice things to say about their reviews. Most of all, it was very disappointing to find out that all the installs were done by lab technicians and they did not have a child seat technician verify the seat was even installed properly. I don't see how a "scientific" experiment could be conducted when the seats are not being used properly. Second, most of the seats passed when they were installed with the seatbelts, which strengthens my theory that LATCH is not safer over seat belts.
There is a HUGE backlash from this review and it is popping up already. I saw a review written on the Target website for the Britax Companion and someone said don't buy this because it "Did not pass strict safety test". Puh-leeze. Do your research - this is one of the top rated infant car seats by certified child seat technicians. It concerns me that people (parents) blindly believe something someone tells them because "it was on TV so it must be true." Now people are going to be rushing out to buy a Graco Snugride because "it did so well". I will NEVER put my baby in one of those.
Actually, this might work great for me.... all the safer seats that I am considering, no one will probably want and I won't have to sit on a waiting list to get one! Once I actually decide which way I'm going anyway.... I'm glad I can wait until February to see the new Chicco KeyFit seats that fit up to 30 pounds. I know it has a matching stroller! I'm not exactly sold on a travel system either because a convertible seat works great too. I guess I need to figure out what fits in my truck the best. And I'm doing a belt install in the center position, I only have LATCH on the outboard seats. No question there. And no, you cannot use an anchor from each side seat to connect the child seat in the middle - it is NOT safe to do so!
I don't know why I'm ranting about this. I need to put this kind of passion in our family profile!!! LOL
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
What Do You Say To Someone....
... who is about to place their child for adoption? What would you put in a letter to them that would leave no doubt that we are the best parents for their child?
As our home study process is moving along over the next few weeks, our next big task is to write our "Dear Birthparent" letter and family profile. I am grateful that our agency has enlisted professional help to complete this phase. We could drive ourselves crazy with "do we look fun enough?" or "is this picture of me good enough?" and we would never get anything done! We know that our adoption questionnaire could be very open and inviting to several situations, but if our profile is not that interesting, we might not even be considered.
I have ordered the following reference that has come highly recommended. I hope that it will help us to put in paper what we feel in our hearts. "Reaching Out: The Guide to Writing a Terrific Dear Birthmother Letter" by Nelson Handel
I am trying to put myself in the other shoes and what would I think is a good parent if I got to choose anyone I wanted. What motivates one to choose adoption for their child? I'm glad they do! On the other hand, it is so important for us to be ourselves and the right child will be placed with us when it is meant to be. We want to connect with the right birthparents. It's hard to let go and let God work His plan. This is what I will have absolutely no control over and it's so important to remember that a birthparent will pick us for us. We are going to have to rely on faith and the ultimate plan.
Our paperwork for the home study is completed and now we are collecting the reference letters from our friends. We have every reason to believe that we will be recommended for adoption by our social worker unless we really do something crazy to mess that up. I am actually looking forward to meeting our social worker and talking about our dreams of a family. We have exchanged phone calls and emails since the beginning of December and she has graciously answered all my wacky questions. I can only imagine the craziness that will go into action this weekend as we take down all our holiday decorations and start cleaning like we are expecting the Queen of England. Home studies are NOT white glove tests, but everyone feels compelled to treat them that way. It is a special time and it will keep me busy!
As our home study process is moving along over the next few weeks, our next big task is to write our "Dear Birthparent" letter and family profile. I am grateful that our agency has enlisted professional help to complete this phase. We could drive ourselves crazy with "do we look fun enough?" or "is this picture of me good enough?" and we would never get anything done! We know that our adoption questionnaire could be very open and inviting to several situations, but if our profile is not that interesting, we might not even be considered.
I have ordered the following reference that has come highly recommended. I hope that it will help us to put in paper what we feel in our hearts. "Reaching Out: The Guide to Writing a Terrific Dear Birthmother Letter" by Nelson Handel
I am trying to put myself in the other shoes and what would I think is a good parent if I got to choose anyone I wanted. What motivates one to choose adoption for their child? I'm glad they do! On the other hand, it is so important for us to be ourselves and the right child will be placed with us when it is meant to be. We want to connect with the right birthparents. It's hard to let go and let God work His plan. This is what I will have absolutely no control over and it's so important to remember that a birthparent will pick us for us. We are going to have to rely on faith and the ultimate plan.
Our paperwork for the home study is completed and now we are collecting the reference letters from our friends. We have every reason to believe that we will be recommended for adoption by our social worker unless we really do something crazy to mess that up. I am actually looking forward to meeting our social worker and talking about our dreams of a family. We have exchanged phone calls and emails since the beginning of December and she has graciously answered all my wacky questions. I can only imagine the craziness that will go into action this weekend as we take down all our holiday decorations and start cleaning like we are expecting the Queen of England. Home studies are NOT white glove tests, but everyone feels compelled to treat them that way. It is a special time and it will keep me busy!
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Happy 2007!
Yay - a brand new year! I'm a whole year older.... hahaha big deal! I'm now an officially a "30 something"? Hopefully soon I'll be a 30 something parent.
We have scheduled our home visit with our social worker! She is coming to our home next Tuesday on the 9th at 1:30pm. I have to send her directions to our house and will have that done today. We have lots of Christmas decorations to take down and get put away but I will do a little bit each night. I know this weekend I will be going nuts with cleaning and making everything just so. I'm sure I'll be home that day and I'll have to make something yummy in the oven so our house smells nice and invititing! So between our home visit and our cruise that leaves on the 21st, it's going to be a busy January!
I am so glad that Bill is not running the marathon at Disney this year, it is this coming weekend. We have done too much driving around over the last few weeks that it would be the straw that breaks the camel's back. I have pager the next two weekends and then it is the weekend of our cruise leaving.
I have started throwing some items in my suitcase of things I need to remember for our cruise. I've also ordered a few fun things to take with me....
I ordered a new sarong to wear on the boat with a lotus pattern on it from http://www.pareoisland.com/
They are handmade in Hawaii and I hope it will show up on my doorstep soon!
Bill's parents gave us snorkel equipment to take on our cruise with us. Check this out..... it's pink from http://www.tusa.com/! It is so me!! I can't wait to use it! Bill's set is blue and black.... boring! :)
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