In the mail...

We were not sure if we needed to do our FBI fingerprints over again for travel so to be safe we had them re-done. They arrived in West Virginia on Feb.9 and were returned to us on March 31. 7 weeks and 1 day.

We did find out that we did not have to have them..we only needed our local fingerprints done again.
I am very concerned with the "break" that I am hearing the MOJ takes in the summer. We travel on April 17th for our 1st trip and are hoping to travel back in August...But with this "break" who knows. We might also need to get our local prints and medical done over again. Every time our doctor sees us he just shakes his head at us. Since May 2009 we have seen him 3 times. One for the Home study, one for the dossier, and a re-do for the MOJ. The MOJ requires it to be 6 months or less. It is my understanding that when we get a court date they again want to see it 6 months or less. If anyone knows this for sure please let us know.

We have been busy getting ready for our trip. Working on a family album to take and leave for N. Buying gifts for the caretakers and children. The orphanage is home to kids 3-7.

Prayers to all of us that our in this process no matter what stage!
hugs!

getting closer...

We are 4 weeks away from leaving. Okay, actually 3 weeks and 6 days and feeling all the emotions that go with that. Our medical and local fingerprints that we had to re-do are ready to go. We have been ready since we found out that the MOJ approved us on Feb.3. I know 4 weeks is not that long, but I am ready to meet him. I want to hold him and let him know that we are his mommy and daddy. I have started thinking a lot about having to leave him. I remember when Barry and I first saw that we had to make two trips to Bulgaria. Oh..two trips not a problem! How naive we were. It is going to be tough.
The Bulgaria CD's that we ordered has been great! I listen a lot while I am at work. It came with a sheet that has all the phases on it so you can see them as you listen. That has been the most helpful part to me.
We received an email from our agency telling us that all of our reservations in Bulgaria are set. I was happy to see that we will have an interpreter with us for most of the trip. We spent 9 weeks in VietNam and had an interpreter for maybe 2 of the days. It amazed me how many people spoke English.
About 3 weeks ago Barry got a stomach bug and passed out in the boy's bathroom. When he fell, he crashed through the drywall. He is doing great now, but the wall needed a lot of TLC. The bathroom had wallpaper in it that I have been wanting to change for a long time. So no time like the present. The wallpaper has been torn down, hole fixed, and painted. We put bead-board up on the bottom half of the wall, chair rail, and painted the top blue. We are thinking about a "things in the sky" theme. We want to keep it simple.

Tam and Barry have been battling a cold for the last few days. Last night it got bad for both of them. Tam slept with me and Barry slept in Tam's room.
I am hoping that they will be feeling better in the next couple of days.


xxxooo

7 weeks until....

Chestita Baba Marta!

You have to love a tradition that celebrates the end of winter and welcomes in the spring. I am ready!

We have 7 weeks before we get to meet our little guy. I say little because he was 26 lbs. in September. We have only seen one picture of him and are not expecting to get anymore:(
We have been busy getting his room together. But our biggest challenge...both out laptop and camera decided that they were done. So we have been looking for the right ones with cost being a major factor. We ordered a camera, but Barry is hoping to fix our laptop. He is trying everything he can think of!
I still shake my head and can not believe that we are going to be in Bulgaria in 7 weeks. I just want to hold him and get to know him. I wonder how much they prepare him for?? When we adopted T he was only 11 months old so he went with us no questions asked. From the moment we left the orphanage we never had any issues with bonding. He trusted us completely! With D I have a lot of anxiety about how he will feel. Are the kids prepared at all for meeting us? I would doubt it, but if anyone knows please share your experience.

We ordered the Phases for children CD and got it today! We got it very quickly. I will let you know what we think after we listen to it.
Have a great week!