Visit Approved!!!

I got special approval to visit Ahren!!! I am over the moon happy right now. You see, normally you have to reach a certain point in the adoption before you can visit. It is a way of safeguarding things. We, of course, have not reached ANY point in our adoption, so it is strictly forbidden to visit. I wasn't sure I could get permission, but our agency had said they were going to try, since it has been so long. Well, they came through! I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am. All along I had thought we would have him home by now. As each week and month went by, I kept adjusting my mental timeframe. My mental timeframe just finally broke completely and it became urgent (in my heart) that I had to go see him. So in two weeks I fly down to Guatemala City to spend 4 days with my baby. Chris is staying home to take care of everyone else. No, I'm not scared! I am travelling with another, experienced family, and staying at the same hotel. The hotel has a mall attached to it, so it sounds like heaven to me! I will have computer access from the hotel, so hopefully I can keep everyone updated. And maybe, just maybe, things will start moving on our case and we can look forward to bringing Ahren home!

Priceless

Dress: $150.00

Shoes: $35.00

Hair: $30.00

My daughter's first Homecoming dance: Priceless

Ready or not, here I come!

I started to write a post earlier today and to put it mildly, it was a real downer. Wah wah wah, poor me, this adoption is killing me. Absolutely pathetic! So I made up my mind. I am going to visit. We had gone back and forth a hundred times about whether to visit or not, always coming to the conclusion that it would be selfish on our part and too hard on Ahren. We would be strangers to him, stealing him away from everything he knew and was comfortable with, only to send him back once he got used to us. We didn't want to upset his little world like that. Two things have changed my mind. First, we got video recently of him. In it, the lady from our agency (who is also a stranger to him) is holding him. He is smiling and relaxed. This goes along with everything we have been told about him. He is a very easy-going baby, very laid back and happy. That tells me that it shouldn't be too traumatic to visit him. Secondly, we have some friends going who have been there several times before, so know the ropes. Once I get the OK from the agency, I want to book onto the same flight they are on going down. That way I will have experienced people to guide me thru the hardest part of the trip. On the way back, I will be by myself, but that's no big deal.
So everyone say a great big Good Luck to getting the OK from the agency and seeing our son. He will be 9 months old and it will be the first time I will ever have seen or held him. Kind of like a pregnancy without the stretch marks!

Preschool

Levi told us the other day that he is a big boy. He said he 'growed up' so we have enrolled him in preschool 2 days a week. Actually, we had already been thinking about signing him up so that he could begin to learn how to behave in the classroom and get some extra stimulation. We got him a backpack and lunch box, new polo shirts (school uniform) and he was all set. I wasn't sure how he would feel about me leaving him there on the first day. We had visitied the week before for a while, but I didn't leave. We talked about it so he knew I would only stay to get him settled and then I would leave, but be back to pick him up. On Day 1, he looked very worried but didn't cry. He told me bye and I left. The teacher said he was very quiet but didn't seem upset. On Day 2, he began to come out of his shell. He started talking and even sang some. When I picked him up, he was mad that he had to leave! This will be his second week, but I don't expect any problems. He is a total social butterfly. (I don't have any idea where he gets that from ;-)

Ahren

OK, my attempts at techno-wizardry are pathetic, but I did get this one photo onto my computer. We have another one where he is smiling, but I just couldn't get it onto the computer and not all blurry. Need to know the merits of quantitative polymerase chain reaction with multiplex reactions? Can do! Need to put a picture of my son on the computer? Not so much.

Updates on Ahren

I haven't figured out how to get these on this blog yet, but we did receive new photos of Ahren that the agency mailed to us. We also got a short video of him. I am trying to figure out how to turn printed photos into computer images, but not being a techno-geek I have no clue how to do it. So, for now, you have to put up with me describing them! First, it looks like they finally gave him a haircut, which is a good thing. He was beginning to look like he was wearing a bad wig! His hair is still super curly. His cheeks have thinned down a little and he doesn't look quite so babyish. (Wah!) His eyes are huge and dark, with the longest dark lashes. When he smiles, his little cheeks hint at having dimples. He has big hands and a stocky body. They tell us he is over 19 pounds now, and about 27.5 inches tall (at just over 7 months old)
Also, we heard today that they expect our file to be approved soon and then we get the birth certificate and can start the adoption process. My question is what does 'soon' mean in Guatemala time? This month? This year? This lifetime???? Yeah, I will believe it when I see it! Call me a pessimist, but who would have thought it would be dragging on this long and we haven't even started yet? I want to see real progress!!! Come on Guatemala!!!!!!

Chasing my tail

I feel like I have been chasing my tail these past 2 weeks. Between adoption related issues, trying to get the construction of our new house off the ground, work and family responsibilities, I have done nothing but dash from one thing to another. I drive girls to school each morning for early Drill Team practice. Then on Mondays and Thursdays they also have late practice, so have to pick up or make arrangements. Friday nights are football games. Wednesday nights are kids bible study. This Saturday is a dance camp I am working at in the morning, then the golf tournament fundraiser in the afternoon. Tomorrow morning I am taking Levi to go check out a preschool program we are thinking of enrolling him in. Next week is Homecoming, and Katie is on the ballot for 9th grade Princess. If she makes it, then there is dress shopping to be done ASAP. I transferred our home internet over to ATT high speed but have not been able to get it working yet. The refrigerator water line sprung a leak so I bought a new hose yesterday and repaired it. Now the oven quit working. Ashley needs to have her thyroid rescanned to see if the new medication is helping to shrink it, so I need to call the doctor and get it scheduled (but I hate that doctor so I need to find a new one) Someday I will look back on this time and sigh, fondly, remembering it as the best time of my life.

Bubble gum-ectomy

Sunday, after church, we were doing our usual little drive around, swinging by our new land to check on it (Yup, it's still there) I had given Levi a piece of bubble gum to chew to help keep him entertained until we got to the donut shop. Now, this child has been chewing gum for the past 18 months without ever having any problem other than the occasional swallowed piece. As we drove along, I heard him making a snorting sound. I turned around to check on him and realized he was trying to blow his nose. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was trying to get his gum. I asked him where his gum was, and he pointed up his nose. I could see one side was larger than the other, confirming the location of the missing gum. Chris was trying to decide if we needed to pull over while I plugged the other side of his nose and had him blow. Soon a small pink orb poked out of his nose. I grabbed it, and pulled. The gum stretched and stretched and then SNAP popped out of his nose. Chris is trying not to crash the van, I'm laughing and Levi is throwing a fit because I wouldn't give him his gum back. Eeeew! So no more gum for the little guy, at least not for a while. I guess we should be thankful it was up his nose, and not somewhere else. Parenthood requires a great sense of humor!

Not much going on

Another week passes. Ahren turned 8 months old yesterday. I have always loved that age. They begin to discover everything, are very happy, still snuggly, can't get into much yet, and just so much fun. I can only imagine what he must be like. We got a surprise on Monday, a very short video tape of him! He is falling asleep in it, but coos a bit and smiles. Here is a stranger holding him and keeps waking him up, and he is calm and happy. That's my laid-back boy! No news on the adoption front. I think Chris's hope he would be home for Christmas is not going to work out. We'll see. Miracles happen and maybe we will be the lucky ones.
I have toyed with the idea of visiting, but deep down I don't think it is a good idea. He is too little to understand. All he would know is strangers took him for several days, and about the time he got comfortable, gave him back. It would just be an upsetting experience for him. It would be purely selfish on my part to visit. One trauma, when he does come home, is enough for him to have to handle. Patience........