Thanksgiving 2009

3 Bodger generations

Bekah likes this one

Grandpa John with Jordan and Bekah

The kids at what's becoming our annual after-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving. Us and Mansfields.

1st Home Study visit scheduled!

In just a few days we will be welcoming our case manager/social worker, Chelsea, into our home for our first home visit. The date is Friday, 12/11 and we’ve been told it will be a minimum of 3 hours. Because of the large time commitment, we’re still negotiating the time. Willie’s Christmas party for Laplink is at 6:30 in south Bellevue so we’re limited on our afternoon hours. Do we need to schedule FOUR hours?!

Appreciate your prayers!

The kids who are here will be talked to some and then whoever isn’t here will get picked up on the next visit.

Black Friday Shopping

The painful memories of crowds, lines and not finding what I wanted had faded since I attempted Black Friday 2 years ago. And with the fading memories, came another mission of finding the deals and joining the masses of crazy people out, basically, for a good time and a story. One big difference between the previous trip and this year was that Ashley wanted to go this year.
Didn’t know if she was serious or not but when we got home from John and Mary’s on Thanksgiving night at 11:10, we unloaded and then got back in the car and headed to Toys R Us for their midnight sale.
Not really expecting they’d do a store opening at midnight, I planned on getting to the store, doing my shopping, and then going to the cash registers at midnight to make my purchases. Easy squeezy. Couldn’t have been further from the truth.
Upon entering the parking lot at 11:20, a line of people was already evident. The question was whether to sit in the car until the doors opened at midnight or to go stand in the line. After 5 minutes, we headed out to join the masses.
However, we weren’t anywhere near prepared for this. As we walked toward the doors and began to follow the line to it’s end, we rounded one corner of the building, grabbing a cart on our way, kept walking, and rounded a second corner. We were now on the complete opposite side of the building from the doors and still had to walk half the distance of the building to even reach the end of the line. Thankfully it wasn’t raining, but the wind was blowing and it was chilly.
It only took a few minutes before we were both cold. A quick text to Willie and he was on his way with gloves, coats, and a blanket. Whew!
When midnight finally arrived, we started moving and entered the building – clueless as to what awaited us. It’s almost impossible to describe. I thought we’d make a bee-line for electronics. But they had blocked the path off so you had to go all the way around the store to attempt to enter the skinny little detector doors where people with carts were attempting to go in, out, and every other possible (or impossible) direction. It was a traffic jam of carts if I ever saw one.
After about 45 minutes of trying to find the items listed in the ad, which I’d carefully studied and listed out by department on my shopping list, we hit the line – frustrated by the fact that we’d found only ONE of the items we’d come for. (We did find a couple more as the line wove through every single aisle along the back and left side of the store on its way to the register.) We were in line for over an hour. The bonus of having a shopping buddy was having a place holder who could switch off if we saw or remember something else we wanted to check on. Being able to roam just a little while we waited broke up the monotony quite a bit. I recommend shopping with a buddy!
By 2:15 we were out of the store, and by 2:30 we were in the house and our ‘morning’ plans were made. Ashley went to bed.
I shopped online – disappointed that even though it was only 2 – 1/2 hours into Black Friday, several of the best deals were sold out online at Best Buy. I did however make several purchases at Target that I figured I’d never get my hands on in the store after having seen what we’d just endured at Toys ‘R Us. I shopped online until 3:45, and finally shut my eyes a little after 4:00AM.
The alarm went off at 6:30 and by 6:50 Ashley and I were back out the door and on our way to Best Buy.
The items I couldn’t find online were actually in stock in the store! So exciting! On a $150 purchase, I saved $90! Sweet! And the gifts will be such hits.
Next target? Target – ugh. I’d done this one before and knew the line would wrap through the entire huge store. We did find most of what we were looking for before spending another hour + standing in line.
After quick trips to REI for snow socks and Walgreens for their Webkinz deal (Ashley’s friends’ gifts), we finally made it home about 11:45. I was so exhausted that it didn’t seem right that the sun was up and people were up and moving around.
Thankfully, I got a couple hour nap before my amazing husband put a gorgeous Thanksgiving Day round 2 meal on the table for us and our friends.
After a good night’s sleep, I’m happy with the purchases and the deals, and most happy that I had a partner in crime to enjoy it with. Ashley was a wonderful addition to the mayhem.
You’ll see the results when Christmas Day pictures are posted!

Adoption homework is turned in! Now what?

(Lots of detail. I’ve bolded some of the key points.)

With our homework turned in, we are now in waiting mode for Antioch Adoptions social workers to write it up. After some preliminary writing, home visits will be scheduled (2-3 different times at about 2 hours each). Once all visits are completed, the home study will be written and we will acquire our foster license. Estimated length of time is 6 weeks to 3 months to complete this phase of the process. During this time, I am working on creating a picture profile of our family that will represent us to the birth parent or social worker for the child. (Appreciate your prayers for this tender subject.)

Once we are licensed, we WAIT for a call from Antioch that they have a potential child match.

When the call comes, get some info and then hang up and pray. We won’t call back for 2-24 hours with our answer.

Then, our caseworker, Chelsea, will present our case and picture profile to the birthparent or social worker on behalf of the child. The birth parent or social worker may have up to 4 profiles to look at along with ours, and then we are either chosen us or not. We receive a 2nd phone call giving us the ‘verdict’. If not chosen, we await another child match and begin that part of the process again.

If chosen, (WOW!) we make an appointment to read the child’s records.

Next, a transition plan is formulated which includes our first visit with the child (adults only) where we also get to meet the current foster parents. This visit is typically a couple hours long, and since the kids can’t come we may bring a special toy on behalf of them to present to the child.

In subsequent visits, Ashley, Jordan, and Bekah will be able to come and meet their new sibling. We could go do something fun together. We may also have a weekend visit where the child comes and stays for the weekend. When all involved think the child is ready, the child moves into our home. (Typically a month-long transition process.)

During the next few weeks, Antioch social workers and foster care social workers will be coming out to the house just to check in and make sure all is going well. These are called post-placement visits and are carried out as a help during the transition. These social workers are also always just a phone call away.

How long this entire process takes is only in God’s wisdom. Our job is to stay following Him. Only by staying close and intentionally letting him lead (not asking him to hop on board with US), will we be in the right place when the calls come. It will be an emotional rollercoaster. We appreciate knowing you are praying for us.

BAHA surgery went great!

Wow – time flies!

Jordan’s Stage II surgery for the BAHA went great and the doctor was very pleased with how the posts had osseointegrated. The soft tissue work was done at this last surgery as well as adding the abutment. He’s had his post-operative appointment and is scheduled to receive his processor (hearing aid box) on MONDAY!

Here are a couple photos…

This is what Jordan's head looked like the day after surgery - 10/24. There is a disc covering the surgical site which is wrapped with a strip of Vaseline gauze.

 

This is what the site looked like the day after the post-op appointment when the disc was removed. (The disc snaps on and off, and stays in place except for times when we add ointment to the site.)

The site is healing very well. The biggest issue seems to be a disturbance to his balance for some reason. His aid at school, therapist at horse riding, and also a volunteer at riding therapy all noted some atypical instability in Jordan. Not sure what that’s all about. Appreciate your prayers.

BAHA surgery Phase II is here!

Jordan’s check-in time at Children’s is at 8:45 Friday morning. Surgery will start about an hour and a half after that and will last about an hour fifteen minutes. Recovery will be 1-2 hours and then we head home. Jordan is very ready to have his BAHA! (We’re trying to help him understand that this process still isn’t over. He still has to heal for 2 weeks before the actual amplification box delivery appointment occurs.)
We much appreciate your prayers for Jordan’s safety, our peace, and the girls as they will be home (and are both fighting the flu).

PRIDE training class

Willie and I survived our 3-day state training this past weekend. Most of the time this class is offered over about 7 different meeting times, so ours was very intense. We also had family speakers who had previously adopted, sessions on multi-cultural families, and special needs. It was, well, boring a lot of the time, but it did give us the opportunity to meet 11 other couples also going through the process of adopting. Of these, 8 already had biological children – that surprised me, I thought we’d be the odd-balls.

Willie and Stephanie with our Antioch Case Worker, Chelsea

Our PRIDE class on a quick break Sunday afternoon - this was about the only sunshine we saw all day (all sessions were held in a windowless room!!)

I will update again soon as to the next steps in our process!

Ashley’s 14th

Our first baby is FOURTEEN!

On Friday, 10/2, Ashley got a Mom and Dad date where we went and picked out her first cell phone followed up by the movie FAME with us and her friend Rachel. It was a fun night. The phone has changed her life, but we haven’t had to take it away… YET.

On her actual birthday, 10/5, we opened presents together at home and then headed out to a special family dinner at Red Robin. Embarrassing her with the Red Robin birthday song was very fun.

Ashley got a phone call from Uncle Wes and Aunt Kara the morning of her birthday. They announced to her that for her birthday they were going to fly her down for the weekend in January or February.

Celebrating with the family is always special, but celebrating as a teenager the party with friends is always a highlight. It was a ‘party year’ for her (up through 10 they get yearly parties and then it goes to 13, 16 and then 18 years) but between Ashley and her friends there are 4 birthdays within 44 days. These good friends got together and planned a birthday bash they called “B.R.A.M.’s 14th B’day Celebration”. B.R.A.M. are the girls’ initials: Bekah Russell, Rachel Mansfield, Ashley, and McKenna Welch.

Enjoy the pictures of her big day(s)!

Birthday Card from Gramma & Grampa

The Girls

Ashley and Jordan

Tearing up over a note from Gammy

Special memory album of Ashley's first years from Gammy and Pa

Lamp and iPod doc from Grandma Yogi

Red Robin sings for Ashley

McKenna, Bekah, Rachel and Ashley

Friends!

Beautiful Birthday Girl

Slow, but sure, adoption progress

Ready for the FBI

It’s September 23, seven months since our introduction class (2/23) with Antioch Adoptions, and I’ve finally gotten the last of the preliminary paperwork taken care of. These fingerprint cards, money orders, and a notarized letter were mailed to the FBI today for our federal background checks.

Where are we at right now? I explained to someone that it feels like being on a log ride at an amusement park. We’ve been sailing along, occasionally bumping the side and questioning, but for the most part it has been smooth sailing. Well now, the big, you-know-it’s-coming drop is just around the corner and we’re about to plummet. Things will be picking up speed very quickly and we’ll be that much busier as we complete classes which allow us to be licensed as foster parents.

In just a little over 2 weeks, Willie and I will spend 34 hours over the course of 3 days in special training called PRIDE (Antioch Adoptions’ adoptive family preparation training and also fulfills State requirements for foster licensing). At this weekend training we also receive PRIDE Homework and Adoptive Homestudy Homework which must be completed before a caseworker can be assigned to complete our homestudy. Once we have our piles of homework and the weekend is completed, we’ll still have 21 hours of individual classes to attend. BUT, once this is all done, the homestudy can be scheduled and completed… and then we just WAIT (prayerfully!).

Thank you for praying with us!

A favorite video – for the kids