Forms Completed

I'm off to make copies and send our package to USCIS. Please pray that everything is filled out correctly and will be processed quickly. We are getting used to the idea that we may have to update our homestudy and re-do our fingerprints. BUT....I am not giving up hope yet. We can still make it before our prints expire. Now that we have the documents, I am okay with whatever happens. The longer it took, the more I was afraid he wouldn't be available. Now, it feels real.

Got 'Em!

The documents arrived this morning. Hoping to send out our I-800 tomorrow.

Delete, delete, delete

I think I have removed all the forbidden pictures from my blog. It was fun to go back and read a few of the posts. Wow,am I sappy!

Sadness

My heart is breaking for the loss of a precious little girl I never met. She spent 5 years alone in a crib because of her physical disabilities. I'm trying to be happy knowing Diana is finally receiving the comfort she never had here. She was a beautiful little girl who was created to be cuddled and loved, tickled and played with. I am so sorry she was unable to make it into the arms of the waiting Mama who so wanted to bring her home, but was held up by the rules of men. Please pray for comfort for the family who had already claimed her in their hearts.

DOCUMENTS

The documents we have been waiting on for 7 months are finally on US soil!!!! FedEx is supposed to deliver them to us on Monday! I am so unbelievably happy!!!

A New Blog

Many countries are asking families and adoption agencies to remove photos and identifying information from their blogs and other public, internet forums. We are trying to comply with that request.

Since this is a family blog, we decided to keep it going. Our adoption journey can now be followed on our new blog. Some information will be password protected. Thank you to those who have followed our journey, and supported us this far. It does look like the end is in sight.:)

Go Private?

Well, I need to decide whether to go private or to remove pictures. I HATE signing in, and lots of times I forget to ask to be added, and I can't follow along anyway. I guess I need to figure out why I'm blogging in the first place.

More Forms to fill out, but still no Documents

On Friday, I received a very brief email with 2 new forms attached. We need to sign and send back the forms asap. One of them is related to confidentiality. There is a good chance I will have to remove my pictures and any mention of Little Man by name or country. I immediately sent an email asking if that will be necessary. So far, I haven't gotten a reply. I should probably just do it because I don't want to offend anyone in his country or cause trouble. I almost called today, but didn't for two reasons. First, I don't WANT to have to do that! I love knowing that people see his sweet face, and it helps them remember to pray for him. The second reason is not very nice at all, so I won't share it. Please pray for me. I have a very bad attitude that needs changing. Right now, I am not feeling at all repentant, even though I know it is wrong.

So, take a good, long look at Little Man's pictures because it may be your last chance until he is officially a Crawford. Please pray that the documents come NOW!

On a better note... Sunday, I was grumbling about the wait, and worrying about having to re-do our fingerprints and filing for an extension on our I-800A, and right in the middle of my tirade, I just KNEW that it didn't matter. I don't need to worry. However long it takes, whatever it takes, everything will work out. How can I worry about money, when I have been shown before that it WILL be provided. We can all see how God's timing is perfect-at least, after the fact, or in someone else's life.:) So underneath, I still have assurance. I wish I could say that makes waiting easier, but it doesn't. I wish I could be a better Christian, but I'm not. I could write things that sound wonderful and full of faith, but it would be a lie. The real me is not a pretty sight. My wish was to use this blog to glorify God, to tell of His deeds, to show how He is Sovereign. I hope you can see His glory shining through in spite of my grumbling and complaining. He has been, is, and will be FAITHFUL.

Shyla Has Grown

Here she is.















Shyla has really come out of her shell! She is sweet and smart. On Wednesday, we took her to the vet. I had to carry her into the building, but she had time to sniff around and get comfortable. She actually fell asleep on the exam table while we waited for the doctor. Dr. M believes that Shyla is a true Heinz 57 mix. She does agree with "lab mix" as an official title, though, because of her head, ears, and webbed feet. Shyla is smaller than a typical lab pup, so she will not likely be very big, maybe 40-50 lbs. Dr. M did say there is a chance that she will have a "catch up" growth spurt because her early life in a cage probably kept her from growing normally. Right now, Shy is slightly taller and longer than Kody, and weighs 20 lbs. She is close to being housebroken, and will sit in front of the door when she needs to go out.

Checking In

I'm having trouble uploading photos right now. I have a few I'd like to share. Things have been going well. Three weeks ago, I ordered a poster collage of several of the pictures Charlotte took of Andreas. It was supposed to print out at our local Staples the next day, but it didn't. They had no record of it. I made a phone call, and was told it would be there the next day, but it wasn't. That night, I made several phone calls. In the end, a very helpful, very nice customer service rep. told me I probably wouldn't get it, and I should start over. Well,I was bummed. I just put it out of my mind. A few days ago, I got a not-so-nice call from Staples asking if I planned to pick up my poster. Supposedly, they had called me several times and this was my last chance to pick it up before they threw it away. We picked it up as soon as possible. The poster is amazing!! Everyone thinks it is framed photographs, but it is just a printed poster. It is mounted on the wall in our dining room, where it will stay until we bring home the "real thing" to share our table.

My friend, Shea, just got her court date. It is November 2!!! That is so close!! She will finally have her little boy home, and just in time for Thanksgiving! I am so excited for her. We started this process at almost the same time. She was able to complete her homestudy and dossier sooner than we were, but she had many additional challenges. I am just so,so,so,so,so happy for them all!

I would love to buy clothes and toys for Andreas, but something keeps stopping me. First of all, I have no idea what size to buy, especially shoes! Maybe when the promised documents finally arrive I will go buy something. It will be 2 weeks on Tuesday from the phone call saying our documents were done being translated and on the way here. I am beginning to get impatient.

Last week, my sweet Meredith was invited to the Homecoming dance. She is a Freshman, and she was asked by another Freshman. I shouldn't have been shocked, but I was! We also had very little time to pull together an outfit. I have a cute picture of her that I also wanted to post. She was able to borrow a dress, and she had shoes, so we just needed a necklace and something to cover her shoulders. The dress was much more shocking than the invitation! Meredith picked out a cute cover-up that tamed the outfit enough to make it acceptable.

Shyla is doing well. She has certainly come out of her shell. She is no longer skittish, and she loves people. I brought her to the soccer field today. She was a big hit! Everyone asked if she was one of the rescue pups. Our paper had done a front-page article on the puppies. They all oohed and ahhed while Shyla sat sweetly and licked their hands and faces. She certainly isn't growing as fast as Gracie did, and she doesn't have those enormous paws, so we don't expect her to be very big. I can't wait to hear what the vet has to say about her.

Hopefully, I will have good news soon! I will try to post some pictures, too.

Meet our new pup

This is Shyla in her new favorite place.:) Shyla is around 4 months old. She was rescued from a kill shelter in Alabama along with 11 other puppies. Most of her life was spent in a dirty crate or a wire cage. Every one of her footpads had open sores when we met her 2 days ago. She is healing up quickly, but her feet are still red and tender between her toes. Poor baby.





Shyla is believed to be a lab/shepherd cross. I think she looks shepherd in this picture.






Okay, she does look a bit like Sadie.








This one shows her little tail. No one knows why, but Shyla only has 1/2 of her tail. We love it!







Alright, she looks ALOT like Sadie.:)




This was Shyla's welcome when we arrived at the shelter today.Is that a Sadie face, or what?
She and her puppy friends all managed to step in that nice plop of dog poop there. Then they all jumped on each other. Shyla got a bath almost as soon as she got home. The pictures do not show her beautiful colors very well. Underneath she is a creamy, buff color. The rest of her is honey-gold with a "blanket" of red-gold from the top of her head down her back.
Kody seems to like her a little better than Gracie. She just loves him!!

Happy Thoughts

First, our documents have been sent from Estonia!!! Soon we will be one step closer to our boy. My friend, Shea, another wonderful Estonia group(and RR) friend, has offered to help us fill out our I-800. I love the support we get in our Adopting from Estonia group.

Second, tomorrow we pick up our new puppy. She is a sweet, little rescued Alabama girl. More info. with pics tomorrow. Right now, she is not sure what humans are all about. Hopefully, a weekend with the Crawfords will help her to start coming out of her shell. Anyone who has known us for a while will know why we picked her as soon as you see her.:)

Third, I think I have a permanent, 2 day/week position at a great office about 1 mile from home. We haven't worked out all the details yet.