Monday, June 21, 2010

Hungry Hippos

I feel like there is so much to blog about and I like everything nice and organized, but, I'm thinking this is going to have to be a modge podge of stuff.
1. Father's Day Celebrations: Gary got himself a snazzy new pair of hiking boots. Of course he had to get the top of the line ones, even after I pointed out a pair that was on sale:) We went to Aldergrove Lake with my family and then off to Gary's parents for a pizza dinner. I am blessed with a wonderful husband, father (who is heading out on a wild adventure on Friday) and father in law.
(How could I not buy Hungry, Hungry Hippos from the garage sale?)
2. The kids are doing really well. Koen has a cold (boooooo) but is handling it okay so far. He is repeating all words and is so fun. He'll play with my belly and say `Belwy! Belwy!' He likes pointing out body parts. The other day I said, `Koen, don't touch the blinds or you'll have to go to time out!' (kind of jokingly). Koen ran off to time out and sat there fake crying. It was pretty hilarious. He sounded just like Kai. Kai is a biking machine and a puzzle lover. He is becoming more and more helpful all the time with his little brother and it's beautiful to see.
(Opi and Nana Jo with the kiddos)
3. We had our first (of 6) social worker visits today. We have to go out to Abbotsford, without the kids, to go to these meetings. She will come to our house for one of those meetings to make sure that our house is a safe and loving home. She is nice and organized and easy to talk to. I didn't feel nervous but I did feel a bit awkward going over the `checklist' of what we were open to. We will have about one meeting per week (although she has a week of holidays and so do we) so we should finish mid August. The big and daunting task it to make our `Dear Birth Parent' letter. It is what the birth mother sees to pick their top choices of adoptive parents. It needs to include all we want to share about our family (who's in it, what we do together, our marriage etc) and parenting philosophy etc. Included are photos throughout and a photo portfolio, scrapbook style. Gary might even make a slideshow. I want to be honest but also show what kind of family we are, quite the task! There are a ton of waiting adoptive parents right now so I feel two different feelings about this. There is a lot of `competition' out there which could mean our wait will be sooooo long. Please don't take that term the wrong way, I don't know how else to say it. Secondly, I feel a bit of guilt about `taking' an opportunity away from another family to be parents for the first time. Lots of stuff. I also will be struggling with how much information to share with others. Whether we get picked, a child placed with us etc. There is a 30 day period in which the mother could choose to parent the child herself. That means we could have the baby in our home for a month and then the child would be returned to her birth momma. So, I will cross that bridge when we get to it but I'm not sure how much I will be sharing during that time!
(Jani, Doug and Sami)

I hope you have a wonderful day. It's nice to have Gary home a lot more now while the school is in the exam period!!
Love, Louise


5 comments:

  1. boy, this adoption process has a lot to it. i'm not saying that out of surprise, but more of an affirmation towards the fact it is at LEAST an equal amount (though very different) to getting pregnant and going through those 9 months.

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  2. Well, at least kai does not have to wait to come to our house to play hungry hippos anymore:o) Glad he is helping out more, ani definately at that point too, sooo nice!

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  3. Wow! You're on to the home studies! My least favorite part so far was definitely that check list. I did not feel good about that one at all either - knowing that a simple checked box would exclude a child who too needs a home. Ouch. We just prayed about it, filled it out the best way we knew how, and took comfort in knowing that God is much bigger than that little check list and would ultimately match us with just the right child regardless.

    As for the letter. I agree, that's huge! It's a big deal and will require lots of thought/prayer/preparation to decide what to include and how detailed you want to be. But if anyone is up for that challenge, it's you guys! You are quite good at sharing your family with others via your blog and so I think once you decide on how much you want to share, the rest will come easy - just apply the same authenticity as you do here. You don't have to be anything you are not. You guys are a pretty fantastic, loving family and that is going to come through regardless.

    I don't think you will have to work hard to "sell yourself" and therefore there should be no reason for you to feel like your "competing." Just do your part and rest in knowing someone greater has the rest already worked out.

    What a mixed bag this whole adoption thing is. I can so relate on so many levels so know that we support you and are praying for you and the little one God will bring to your family in exactly the right time. I look forward to hearing how the rest of the home studies goes. I'm so glad to hear you like your social worker!

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  4. wow...praying for you guys as your prepare that letter...that it would speak to just the right birth mom. love "opi's" expression in that pic with the grandparents...and hungry hippos? blast from the past!!!! awesome!

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  5. cute picture of the gola's!
    Kai is a great kid - did I mention he informed me that Koen speaks fluent french? Very cute.

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