First day of school

Kilaharee was so excited about starting school today. She was still awake when I checked on her last night shortly after 9:00 and she was up bright and early (TOO EARLY) this morning.

When I asked her how school was, she said, "School went fabulous. I didn't have to go to the principal's office. The best thing was the media center, but we didn't get to take out any books because Miss Lotane was going to be back in a 'jippy' (jiffy)." She said she didn't make any friends, but she remembers Gabrielle, Sonu (sp?), and Samantha. The principal said she was a little teary this morning, but she pulled it together. I asked K.K. about it and she said she wanted to be at home. I told her that I wasn't at home, that I was at work and she would have more fun at school. (Although, I must admit that I did have fun at work...it was nice to talk to and be around adults!)

Miss Lotane

K.K. and I met her teacher, Miss Lotane, today. She, too, is an adoptive mom -- and her daughter's nickname is K.K.! They have been together for 2 1/2 years. They also met one week and were together the next. It is so cool to see God's hand even in these details.

Love and Hurt

I was unpacking one of K.K.'s suitcases with her yesterday. We found a heart shaped box with some coins in it. One of her necklaces was inside as well. I just had the opportunity to look at it...on one side it says "Love", on the other "like you've never been hurt". Please pray with me that this statement will be true in her life.

Today's phone calls

My social worker called to tell me that my homestudy was approved by her supervisor and everything looks good.

Kilaharee's social worker called and arranged to visit us on Thursday morning to make sure we're all set and K.K. is settling in.

I called Kilaharee this evening to say goodnight. She said she is very excited about moving home!

Wow! I can hardly believe that I am bringing my daughter home tomorrow! God is so good!!!

Kilaharee :)

I had dinner with my daughter last night and tonight. I arrived at her daycamp at 4:00 yesterday. Her social worker met me there. We worked on a puzzle together. Before the puzzle was half done she was sitting on my lap doing it with me. It was precious. At dinner, I mentioned that there were a lot of people praying for her and talking to Jesus about her. She started singing "Jesus loves me" to her own little tune.

She is a sweet, endearing little girl. I can't wait for everyone to meet her. I bring her home next Wednesday!

Interesting facts:
* nickname - K.K.
* favorite colors - red, pink, purple
* wants to play soccer
* likes Disney princesses and Dora
* likes animals, broccoli, and shrimp (I'm in trouble - she tried to encourage me to eat some shrimp by saying "try it, you might like it")

Meetings

I met with the little girl's social worker tonight. I will be meeting her on Wednesday and Thursdsay afternoons. If all goes well, she will be with me on August 13th!

It's (possibly) a girl!

I spoke to my social worker between Backyard Clubs this afternoon. There is a 6 year old little girl in need of permanent placement. She is LEGALLY FREE for adoption! I am going to speak with her social worker later tonight to find out more information. If it looks like we would be a good "match", she could be placed with me by mid-August! (I have to point out that this would be 9 months from the time the process began...too funny!)

Signs of life

My social worker just called. She was working on my home study and had wondered if my brother and his girlfriend had their baby yet so she decided to call. That's all. It seemed like a strange thing for her to call about (at least to me), but it's nice to know she was working on the home study!

Still waiting

For those of you checking in and wondering what's happening, I'm still waiting.

It has been 5 weeks since MAPP training ended...my social worker officially has one more week to finish my home study. I don't know how much I should push. Does the "squeaky wheel" really get the grease or just annoy the mechanic? I will wait until BYCs are over. If I still haven't heard anything, I will try contacting the social worker for an update.

Waiting...again

So, I'm in the "waiting room" of this journey again. 3 weeks have gone by and I am waiting for my social worker to finish my home study. My understanding was that she wanted to talk to me one more time before she completed the home study. I haven't heard from her at all. I have to remind myself that one of those weeks was a holiday week. She did say she had 6 weeks from our last class to finish the paperwork...so, I need patience as I wait out these next 3 weeks.

Pray for wisdom

A friend asked me if I would be interested in adopting a teenage girl. Before that phone call, I had not even considered adopting an older child. Please pray for God's guidance as I make this decision.

UPDATE: When my friend told her husband that she mentioned adopting this young lady to me, he asked her if she wanted me to hate her. I guess that is a pretty clear sign this is probably not a good match for me.

Applying MAPP training to real life

There is a family in our church that does foster care. They are on vacation this week and needed someone that has been CORI'ed by the state to watch a couple of their foster children. (This is known as respite care.) Since I have been CORI'ed and have completed the MAPP training (and with my social worker's approval), I was able to help them out. As I have been getting to know these two precious little boys, I am amazed that so many of the things we learned in MAPP training apply to them. The first thing I noticed is that the oldest one has been "parentified". His brother always asks him questions before he'll ask me. When the younger one doesn't know how to do something, the older one steps right in to show him how to do it or does it for him. The younger one won't get out of bed in the mornings until his brother tells him it's okay...even after I try to coax him out. Secondly, despite the older one being parentified, they are both emotionally very young.

Getting ready

Now that MAPP training is done and the home study will be completed in a few weeks, I need to prepare the apartment for placement before the craziness of my summer begins. Here's the preliminary "to do" list:

1) Move the desktop computer out of the "kids' room" into a public area
2) Get beds and dressers
3) Make room in the closets (a daunting task!)

I know there will be more to do...most of which I will not be able to do until I know who the child is (or children are).

I can't wait to meet him/her/them!

MAPP graduation

I officially completed MAPP training!

I received my certificate from MAPP trainers, Deb and Sharon, tonight. My social worker will have the home study done in 6 weeks (or less).

Legal mumbo-jumbo

Tonight, one of the DSS attorneys spoke to us about the legal part of this journey. There is so much that has to take place for an adoption to be finalized. There is so much to take into consideration...legally free, legal risk, open adoption, closed adoption,...legal, legal, legal.

Things I learned...
1) Once a child is in my care AND is legally free for adoption, the child has to reside with me for at least 6 months before the adoption can be finalized.

2) Open adoptions can be negotiated to help birth parents make the decision to sever parental rights. It can be used like a settlement to avoid the final ruling by a trial judge. As in any court case, the "deal" may be placed on the table at any time and a decision will need to be made quickly.

3) Open adoption scenarios can run the gamut from the adoptive parent sending a picture and an update to the birth parents on an annual basis to the child and birth parents having supervised visits 3-4 times per year.

Please pray for God's wisdom when the time comes to make these legal decisions.