Still Here!

Yes, I am still here....just nothing much to report on the adoption front lately. Russia has been busy celebrating with two holidays over the past couple of weeks, May Day and Victory Day, so there has been a slight slow down in processing. Hopefully most people will be back to work Monday with business as usual. I am still waiting to hear whether or not I am registered in my region. Next week will mark the four week time period since my registration paper work was sent in to CHI in St. Louis. That should be about enough time to get everything to Russia and have it translated, at least that's what I was thinking for a time frame. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that I receive a phone call from my adoption rep some time next week. :)

I've been picking up a few extra hours each week with work to keep myself busy and to make a little extra cash. Aside from working at the hospital, I've been busy trying to get the yard back in shape after the long winter. I've cut the lawn twice now, weeded all of the flower beds, fertilized the lawn and just now spent a couple of hours spraying all of the dandelions and thistles that want to keep popping up in the backyard. Everything is starting to shape up and look beautiful again. This next week I hope to purchase a couple of fruit trees to plant in the yard. One for the front and another for the back. I'll have to take pictures when I get them. I'm also looking at new front doors. This house came with a bright red front door when I purchased it a couple of years ago. While it was okay for a while, even though not really my style, the Arctic cold winter this year caused the red paint to peel off. Weird!!! Now I have a half red and half ugly steel front door. I could just strip the paint off the rest of the door and repaint...but then again....forget it. It's time for an update!

Well..that's about it for now. Just wanted everyone to know that I haven't fallen off of the face of the earth. Just trying to keep busy to make the wait go by faster. Thanks to everyone for all of your kind comments and words of encouragement. I really love hearing from everyone! And, yes I know I've been tagged, but I haven't been able to think of six quirky things about myself. I'm too boring, I think, although maybe my friends and family could answer that one better than I could ??? Just be nice...if you decide to participate. :)

Love you all!! Shannon

It's Finally Spring In Michigan!

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post. I apparently needed to just stay home and be quiet for awhile just vegging as I ended up sick again..... This time with bronchitis and laryngitis. Honestly, I believe I got sick because I was feeling totally frustrated, stressed and disheartened about my home study update. It just wasn't getting completed in the time frame that "I had planned". Each time I thought it was done, another piece of missing information would pop up and I'd have to track it down or go and get it done. Once I finally let go of the control and just collapsed, (getting really sick does that sometimes) and just did what I had to do to take care of this missing information, it all fell into place. Amazing sometimes to me that I can't just give it up to God in the first place. Oh I do try, but I always want to take it back for some crazy reason. :)

Long story made short...my home study update, along with a couple of other documents to complete my packet for registration, have now all been completed, notarized, apostilled, sent to CHI and from what I hear, are already on there way to Russia to be translated. Whew!!! Now what happens you may ask??? Well, now I sit back and Wait to hear that I am Registered in the region of Krasnoyarsk. It should take about three weeks for this all to happen if everything goes alright. Once I am officially Registered, then the process of finding a child that fits my adoption profile begins. The referral!

While I am getting very good at the waiting process, I am very ready to have the waiting come to an end. It has been 10 long months since my original dossier was completed and sent to Russia. By normal standards of 9 months..this child is way past due. I am so ready to meet her, see what she looks like, and of course give her all of the love that I have been saving up inside since I made the conscious decision to adopt her back in December of 2006.

In other news...as the title of this post states, spring has finally arrived in Michigan. It has been 70+ degrees and sunny for at least three days now. The grass is turning green. In fact I think I will have to mow it next weekend. My daffodils are blooming. The tulips are growing! Trees are budding! And, all of the birds are back in town. We have lots of Canadian Geese, Ducks and Robins in my neighborhood. I love Michigan in the spring and summer...not so much the winters, but I do love the green and warmth. My spirits are lifting, and I'm beginning to feel rejuvenated.

Last but certainly not least.....Congratulations to Troy and Rachel and Wendy and Slade, just to name a couple of families who have just completed their adoptions, or are just about ready to come home with there new little ones. Congratulations to those of you who are on your first trips, or about to embark on your first trips(Keith and Becky), and to those of you who finally have gotten court dates. While I haven't posted much lately...I have been reading most of your blogs, and have been sending up prayers for all of you. God Bless you all!!

Praise The Lord For Answered Prayers

First of all....I must say" Thank You!", to all of you who have been wishing me well over the past couple of weeks when I was under the weather. I am feeling much better now, physically and mentally!

Secondly, No, I didn't get "The Call" yet, but I finally got a return call from the Supervisor for the Child Protection Unit in California, where my clearance letter has been sitting. She found my paperwork! Thank you God!!!! She will mail the completed letter back to Michigan to my Home study agency today. I am doing a small happy dance again...yippee!!

Now I will just have to wait a few days for my HS agency to receive the letter and put the finishing touches on my Home Study brief before I can pick it up. Once I pick it up from them, I will have to get it apostilled and then shipped of to CHI in St. Louis. They will then add it to my pile of paperwork that I completed last month for my registration packet. This is the packet of information that then goes to Russia and my region Krasnoyarsk. As stated in previous posts, you must be registered with the Ministry of Education in your region before they will find a referral that matches your families adoption application. So, in other words, this last document is what has been needed in order to receive a referral, and "The Call".

Since my last post, two weeks ago....besides re-cooperating from the flu/cold, I've done a little bit of Retail Therapy. Mostly, window shopping with my new and fellow adoptive friend Kyley. With my Mom yesterday, we stopped at Babies 'R'Us and I found an excellent light weight stroller on sale at half off the original price. I have a stroller on my registry waiting for the time to have my baby shower, but this was too good of a deal to pass up. ( I'm sorry Jill, there are still lots of other things left to buy). :0)

Here's a picture of it. It's made by Peg-Perego, and is the Aria. It only weighs 8lbs, so it shouldn't be too heavy to carry and lift into cars and load on the plane.Does anyone have any advice to offer regarding strollers in Russia. Has anyone taken a stroller with them? If so, how did you manage? and Was it worth it? I'd like to take this one with me on trip two, but if this is a bad idea, someone please tell me.

Laying Low

Just laying low this week trying to recover from the cold/ flu bug that is going around. It really knocked me for a loop last week, but I'm starting to feel almost human again today. I did make it through work yesterday too, provided I carried my glass of water around wherever I went to prevent a coughing attack. I also had to make sure that I didn't bend over too much so my poor nose wouldn't run. Try not bending over and taking care of patients. That was a major accomplishment. Just had to do a lot of deep knee bends instead.

No news on the adoption front. I am still waiting on the completion of my home study brief. I have an e-mail out to my HS agency to see if it is almost ready for pick up. I am hoping to have it by the end of the week. Stay tuned for news possibly later today on this important piece of papers progress.

On a totally different note...can you believe it is almost spring!! Yippee. Just a couple of more days. St. Patrick's Day yesterday...Spring on Thursday and Easter on Sunday. March is flying by.

Aarrghhh...just got an e-mail back from my HS agency. They are waiting on the state of CA to send back information on my background check. Everything else is ready to go. There is a new procedure this year where Michigan has to check backgrounds in every state you lived in over the past ten years. I hope this doesn't mean another month or two before I can get the last of the new documents done in order to become Registered with my region in Russia. Please pray for the government officials in CA to finish up the paperwork and send it back to Michigan this week.

I think that about does it.....

I think I have just about gotten everything updated that can possibly be updated document wise. My SW (social worker) from my Home Study agency came over today for her scheduled visit so that she could prepare my Home Study Brief. As I had mentioned previously, my home study report expires at the end of this week. One of the required documents for Registration is the new update. Once my SW has a chance to write the update, and the last of the reference letters and background check information arrives at the HS agency, I should be able to get the new update apostilled and then to CHI to forward to Russia. (Does this part sound familiar?)

I'm hoping to have all of this completed by the end of next week. Then I just wait for the e-mail to say that I'm finally "Registered" with the MOE (Ministry of Education). For those that don't quite understand the international adoption process in Russia just yet, you must be registered with the MOE before you can be assigned a referral. By the way, if you don't understand the process yet, don't feel bad....it seems like it is forever changing anyway. Just when you think you have it, another step is added. It does get easier to complete the steps and the paperwork the more you do it though. The only thing that doesn't get any easier is the "Wait". It just seems to get harder. As I told my SW today, I am so ready for the wait to be over. The Nursery is ready, the playroom downstairs is nearly complete, I've read every book that I can think of on adoption, I'm ready to be a Mama, now all I need is my daughter. :) Hopefully this isn't sounding too negative, I'm just very anxious, and READY for "The Call" to come. I'm still praying that I will hear something by March 28th, 2008. I know travel is coming soon, I can just feel it. It is the not knowing exactly when I will be travelling that is driving me crazy.

On a lighter note, a have really enjoyed reading all of the blogs of those families who are now traveling in Russia for trips one and two. Congratulations! It is truly exciting to see so much movement now in Russia. I gives me Hope, and continued Faith that my turn is coming soon.

More Paper Work

I found out last week that Russia is requesting more updates to documents. This time mainly from my Home Study Agency. My understanding to all the paperwork lately is that since the new year and re accreditation process completion, verbiage changes have been made to the old documents to standardize the format to make it easier to read and process. ( Or something to that nature). I totally understand making things easier. I just hope that I am getting closer to finishing all of the re dos. I can't think of very many pages that I haven't redone, so it must be close, right? Next week I hope to have my Home study update/ brief finished since my original Home Study report expires March 14th. That should about do it.

In order to make the paper chase today more fun, I decide to document all of my stops in photos. I am also going to put these in "T"s Life Book so that she can look at them and see some of the people that have helped to bring her home, and the places her Mom went to get the paperwork completed.

First Stop today was to pick up my Mom so she could keep me company and meet some of the people at my Home study Agency who have helped in a big way to make this dream all possible.

Next stop, Ann Arbor, an hour and 15 minute drive from my house to the Hands Across the Water Office to pick up the documents and say "Hi" to all of the people that have helped me out with my Home Study Reports. Unfortunately my Social Worker Alanna was sick, so I'll have to catch up with her next week for a photo op.

Once all the documents were picked up, and notarized at the HATW office, it was off to Detroit to get them Apostilled. Thirteen documents this time. Here I am in front of the Secretary of States Office in Detroit after receiving the golden seals. Long line again today... 1 1/2 hour wait.

Once the Great Seal was affixed, we headed back up north toward home in Chesterfield and New Baltimore, to the Staples store where I always make copies of everything before I send them off.

Then.....to my favorite Post Office in New Baltimore to Express Mail my precious documents off to Children's Hope International. So, Marti, if you are reading this blog today, be on the look out for my package. :0)

Whew!!! Now I'm a little tired and think I'll relax and see what everyone else has been up to today.

P.S. No phone call today regarding travel or a referall, darn.... Maybe all of these papers will help.

It's March 1st....

Today I'm feeling blue and optimistic all at the same time. Is that possible? Blue because I have no news of a referral yet, but optimistic because I had a nice long conversation with my regional rep from CHI. (Thanks Pam!! You seem to know just when I need to hear from you the most.) Things are starting to move quickly for many families with my adoption agency. 18 families have/are travelling in February. My agency hopes to have 40 families traveling each month from now on. Thus the optimism. I am still optimistic that I will hear something about my referral by the end of March. Since today is the first day of March....that means there are only a few more weeks of waiting...hopefully. :)

On a lighter note...we had more snow on and off all day yesterday. This morning I awoke to a beautiful sunny day with a new white covering of snow all over. While I am ready for winter to be over any day now, at least if it has to be cold I like it a lot more with snow rather than dreary brown and grey yuckness everywhere. Is "yuckness" a word? Hopeful you get my point with that description anyway.