"doctor visit" sounds wonderful

The girl we think may be ours is headed to a doctor visit this week or next. that will help her caregivers and us make sure she's healthy, answer some questions, and work towards getting her birth certificate and visa. fingers crossed and holding our breath. We're not sure but we're getting closer. This is so slow but like a glacier, once it moves forward, it really doesn't move backwards. More news soon!

not much

We've moved on, now working on adoption ourselves. That sounds small and a little scary in the big adoption world but we're doing it. We'll give it a few months, see where we get, then go looking in the highways and byways for the Kid. I heard someone earlier inthe week say that if it doesn't happen, it means your Kid isn't ready yet, and it's not supposed to be your Kid. Sounds nice and a little loopy if you ask me.

maybe baby

It's been a while since I posted but honestly, not that much to report until recently. We received a photo of a little girl we've been very interested in learning more about. She's cuter than cute. We're not sure if she'll be our girl and if she is, when that would take place. On the slim side, another 4-6 months of paperwork, that's if all goes well and our dear government official folks continue to process at least some immigration paperwork. Who knows! We're hopeful, but like Elizabeth said, one foot off the ground and one foot on the ground. Still, I can't even begin to explain how we're feeling- a swirl of emotions, some we can not name. This is the strangest sort of pregnancy ever!

finally! (part 1)

Yes, part 1 because there will be more to come. After postponing three times, the first part is completed - yeah! We've completed all of our US paperwork and our social worker made her visit to our home. (pop quiz: Do you know how many working smoke detectors your house needs? answer: one on each floor!)Yes, we have that. So now our social worker writes up the report (called a homestudy) and forwards a rough copy to a whole bunch of people to make sure it will pass inspection so to speak. Then we (actually, our papers) go to Ghana. Our other adoption lady, Anita at AAI http://www.adoptionadvocates.org/ travels next month and may return with a referral. We're getting closer bit by bit. (or a cra cra cra cra- little by little in Ghanian- speak). To celebrate, we ate ground nut soup. Only Hubby made it a bit too spicy but he says he's just making me tough for spicy Ghanian food. With any luck, we'll travel sometime later this year to get the Kiddo! Finally. (part 1)

rollin' one step at a time in 2008

Phew! We made it to the new year. We received a letter from immigration (also known as UCSIS aka US Citizenship and Immigration Services)a couple of weeks ago to let us know we got to come in to be fingerprinted. We arrived this morning at a small office near Midway in sub-zero weather only to get to wait in the car. Why is that private businesses usually let you in the building if you arrive early but not government offices? Just wondering. We gave our fingerprints to the nice ladies. Mine asked where we were adopting from and how far along in the process we were. I told her we only started in September so she said she might see me again since fingerprints expire after 18 months. I asked very professionally, "Huh?" She said if you get a cut or blister your fingerprints can actually change. So I very politely said, "No offense, but I really hope I don't see you again!" D and I are really hoping that this adoption gets finalized in 2008. That said, our social worker comes tomorrow to check out our home for space and safety- to make sure Kiddo has some place to eat, sleep, hot water (but as we've learned, not TOO hot)! We've been cleaning for a week now. Our friends came to visit yesterday and we had an impromptu party. I don't know if it was their intention but it was a great distraction to watch the kids run around and eat pizza all together! So we keep plugging along (what exactly does it mean to plug along?) and we're glad you're with us. Our adoption lady is traveling to Ghana, hopefully to the Upper West region, in February and can hopefully take us (meaning our paperwork) along. So we'll see what happens next!

Proud Mary keep on turnin'

cuz we're rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river. Okay, not an actual river but the adoption river if you will. We got a filing date! Yeah, that means they took our letter and check and opened a file for our "petition to adopt an orphan." Okay, now were talking. We also received clearance on all our background checks including the FBI and have a date to give our fingerprints. I know, it doesn't sound too glamorous but it's music to our ears. We've been filling up our brains with medical info and learning about all the adjustments that may need to take place in the Kenshol household. What do you feed a kid who's used to eating Ghanian porridge and who has goat for christmas dinner? How do you comfort Kiddo when they may not want to be touched? Imagine coming to your new home to nothing familiar- nothing smells, tastes, sounds, or looks like it's supposed. Of course, you might go a little off the wall, too. We take turns being nervous and excited! We're doing the "it's great" dance around the kitchen. So we're ready for Christmas, thinking and hoping this might be the last one as a couple.

Making a federal case out of it

Some days it seems like nothing actually happenings but over the past month a few things have. We've got the Ghana agency working on our behalf, and someone hopefully visiting an orphanage in the area where D used to live within a month or two. And we are making it federal- we just sent off our I 600 (a) form- that's where you pay the government to start a file for you and your to-be-adopted kiddo. Oh, and you get to give them money. And have yourself fingerprinted.

Kiddo #1 has been named A Jr. for a shortcut. But we should probably stop that... soon.
Would be glad to hear other "in the meantime" names if you've got suggestions.
A.