It has been a crazy 30 days for us in regards to the adoption. We placed some things in others hands, those that we trusted and the deadlines were not met. For those of you that are considering adoption, make sure you have timelines in all your contracts. We failed to do this for our Home Study and did not receive it until December 22, 2011 when we completed it in August. Additionally while we were away our social worker sent in our packet to HAGUE/USCIS - (Petition to adopt to the US government) and she left out our check.
On 12/29 I opened our mailbox to find a rejection letter from USCIS informing that no check was enclosed. I did not read the document, I only saw that it said rejected. My heart sank, I called our social worker frantically leaving her a message that we were rejected and to call me asap. I called Matthew and asked him to call her as well. She called me right back and I asked what happened to the check. She was adamant that it is was enclosed in the packet she had sent in. I asked her where the folder was that Liz sent to her on our behalf while we were away, it was not enclosed in the envelope that was sent back therefore I was assuming she retained it. She looked around her office and found it, low and behold the check was still in it. I literally wanted to freak out, I just informed her in a calm voice that I would pick it up tomorrow on my way to an interview and that things happen. I called my poor husband and started crying, everyone knows me and knows that I have a controlling personality, in this process we have had some things we can control and there are other great things that we cannot. This process has demonstrated to me that I need to trust people yet set my own boundaries that I am comfortable with, not be totally hands off. I placed in my head that I can count on these folks because we are paying them for a service, unfortunately that has not worked out in this case. The other characteristic that all of you know about me is that I sometimes cannot let things go when people disappoint me. I feel that I try my hardest to uphold my end of the bargain with others, I have high expectations, and when someone fails me it is really hard for me to connect with them again and it is hard for me to trust in them again. In this situation I had to realize that people make mistakes, some unintentional and others intentional, I need to identify the intent and determine if the relationship is worth saving. In this case we have to work with Leah again, she has to do our placement visits once the babes get here. She is a good person and she has done AMAZING things for so many families, I have seen this first hand at the adoption picnics. I have to look past some of her character traits that I dislike and see inside her intentions are to make us a family. This process for Matthew and I has really caused us to look at ourselves and determine what obstacles we face and create ways to overcome them.
Onto the good news:
On January 11, 2012 we received notification that our "Petition to Adopt" has been processed!!!!! Hooray!!!!! We sent all of our dossier pieces (over 87 pages of documents and over 32 pages of photographs) to Children's Hope International on January 9, 2012. Nichole, our case worker, called me on Friday the 13th and asked for five things: Pictures of our children's school and local playgrounds; redone medical statement as the notary did not sign the document correctly; a new passport photo of Matthew; employment verifications for both of us from our CPA and our 1040 form from 2010. She is currently translating all our documents and once she gets these she will send them to Colombia. Timeline is probably first week of February, Happy 30th birthday to me!
So I guess I turn this question back to you, my loyal readers, what things in your life are holding you back? What/How can you change because you know it will add more value to your life?
We only have one life, are you really living it? One of my favorite quotes from my dear Carrie Bradshaw is "Later that day I got to thinking about relationships. There are those that open you up to something new and exotic, those that are old and familiar, those that bring up lots of questions, those that bring you somewhere unexpected, those that bring you far from where you started, and those that bring you back. But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you find someone to love the you, you love, well, that's just fabulous."
