She still seems to have a little bit of a rash on her forehead & some discoloration on her top lip. I'm thinking it's eczema or infant acne. Should I worry???
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Update Photos!!!!
Well, Tessa Jane is NOT going hungry!!! Aren't those cheeks hilarious??? She's definitely smiley now which makes me sad that we're missing so much :(
She still seems to have a little bit of a rash on her forehead & some discoloration on her top lip. I'm thinking it's eczema or infant acne. Should I worry???
She still seems to have a little bit of a rash on her forehead & some discoloration on her top lip. I'm thinking it's eczema or infant acne. Should I worry???
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Hearing Date!!!!
Good news!! We found out yesterday our court hearing will be held August 20. This is fantastic news as this is much sooner than a lot of other families ahead of us. We're hoping this means we got the "fast" judge but there's really no way to tell.
Everyone keeps asking what the process is at this point and it's hard to explain because there are so many different scenarios. Basically three things have to happen: 1) Hearing 2) Civil Ruling 3) Final Ruling. Unfortunately, the timing of these three events varies widely from case to case. There are a few cases where the judge gone ahead and issued the civil ruling at the hearing. In this case, the final ruling would be issued around two weeks after the hearing/ruling. This is VERY rare. More likely, the judge will look over the paperwork at the hearing and schedule a date for the civil ruling. The timing of it all completely depends on the schedules of the judge, attorneys and birthmother - so there are cases where it all came together very quickly (a little over a month) and cases where it seemed to take forever (4 months). After the civil, the final ruling will be issued at least 10 business days after the civil or when the judge has time. Clear as mud???? Yeah I know!!! We're just happy to have gotten news at all! Every little tid bit keeps us going!!
Hopefully we'll get update photos this week so stay tuned!
Everyone keeps asking what the process is at this point and it's hard to explain because there are so many different scenarios. Basically three things have to happen: 1) Hearing 2) Civil Ruling 3) Final Ruling. Unfortunately, the timing of these three events varies widely from case to case. There are a few cases where the judge gone ahead and issued the civil ruling at the hearing. In this case, the final ruling would be issued around two weeks after the hearing/ruling. This is VERY rare. More likely, the judge will look over the paperwork at the hearing and schedule a date for the civil ruling. The timing of it all completely depends on the schedules of the judge, attorneys and birthmother - so there are cases where it all came together very quickly (a little over a month) and cases where it seemed to take forever (4 months). After the civil, the final ruling will be issued at least 10 business days after the civil or when the judge has time. Clear as mud???? Yeah I know!!! We're just happy to have gotten news at all! Every little tid bit keeps us going!!
Hopefully we'll get update photos this week so stay tuned!
Friday, August 3, 2007
Big brother & the tattoo mom
NO news to report :( We're hoping to get new update photos of TJ next week and possibly (pretty please) word of a hearing date. In the meantime, I've been furiously working on getting her room together. My mom did an AWESOME job on the crib skirt and I found a great seamstress to put together her crib quilt and twin size quilt for her big girl bed. It's really looking precious!!! I'm also almost done paiting her room - 13 ft. ceilings - what was I thinking!!!! I don't want to post photos until everything is done but I can tell you my idea of theming the room around vintage, shabby handkerchiefs is coming out better than I'd imagined... :)
Also, I decided to tinker around with the blog. I've been trying to install a counter to see how many people are popping by but apparently blogger didn't like any of the ones I tried to install. Well, I found a great alternative. The map ---------------> over there is a counter AND it tracks the location of my visitors. Nifty huh? I suspect my map will not be as exciting as some the more prolific bloggers out there but it'll still be fun to see where everyone's from. The only bummer is it requires several days of data before it will generate the map :(
As an aside, if anyone out there has any advice on how to handle this I could use some help. Here's the situation: So I pick up Emma from Day Camp today & ask her the usual questions about her day. Usually I hear cute stories about what they did, etc. But today she tells me she got in a fight with "Shelby." It appears "Shelby" told Emma she no longer wanted to be friends because she knows "Your mom doesn't like my mom!" I ask Emma if I've EVER said anything about Shelby's mom & she says "No! I told her you NEVER said anything about her mom. But she says I'm lying and doesn't want to be my friend."
Now for the nitty gritty of this story. Okay, this lady is definitely not your typical suburban soccer mom. Her arms covered from wrist to shoulder in tattoos (I don't mean neat artistic stuff either - they're rather crude and almost "home made" looking), she has eyebrow, nose and lip piercings, wears concert T-Shirts circa 1980-1985 and drives an old Firebird. To make things more interesting, we often hear about this little girl's daddy (the parents are not separated or divorced) who works away from home for months at a time and can only see his daughter for two or three days every several months. Of course, we've never seen this man. In fact, we've ONLY seen her mother with a YOUNG woman (early 20s) and they are always holding hands. I had assumed she had an older daughter but the little girl says she is her mommy's friend.
Now.. I AM NOT a judgemental person. Anyone who grew up with me remembers the crowd I hung with and our rather interesting clothes and hair colors. I have made small talk with this woman on numerous occasions. We've joked with one another about our kids' funny behaviour, waved as we left the parking lot, etc. I have NEVER given this woman any reason to be upset with me in any way. So unless I'm completely socially inept, I'm pretty sure this isn't coming from the mom... it's coming from the kid. I'm thinking this kid is insecure about her mom and is telling other kids these things to see if anyone will fess up & admit the girl's mom's a bit freaky.
So, what do I do??? Tell Emma to tell the little girl AGAIN that I do not dislike her mommy? Do I tell the little girl I do not dislike her mommy? Do I tell the teacher? Do I tell the mom, "Sweetie, I'm sure you're a great mom and a genuinely nice person but you *really* do look like you could be running a meth lab or maybe a chop shop down the county road. Your daughter is clearly insecure about your appearance and it is affecting her friendships." Do I ignore it and hope it will go away? I have to do something because Emma had a situation at another day camp earlier this Summer with a kid making stuff up & being catty (a genuine bully/brat) - and we ended up moving her to a new camp because of this kid. Emma takes these things very personally and does not understand why someone would lie just to hurt someone's feelings.
Arrgh!!!
Also, I decided to tinker around with the blog. I've been trying to install a counter to see how many people are popping by but apparently blogger didn't like any of the ones I tried to install. Well, I found a great alternative. The map ---------------> over there is a counter AND it tracks the location of my visitors. Nifty huh? I suspect my map will not be as exciting as some the more prolific bloggers out there but it'll still be fun to see where everyone's from. The only bummer is it requires several days of data before it will generate the map :(
As an aside, if anyone out there has any advice on how to handle this I could use some help. Here's the situation: So I pick up Emma from Day Camp today & ask her the usual questions about her day. Usually I hear cute stories about what they did, etc. But today she tells me she got in a fight with "Shelby." It appears "Shelby" told Emma she no longer wanted to be friends because she knows "Your mom doesn't like my mom!" I ask Emma if I've EVER said anything about Shelby's mom & she says "No! I told her you NEVER said anything about her mom. But she says I'm lying and doesn't want to be my friend."
Now for the nitty gritty of this story. Okay, this lady is definitely not your typical suburban soccer mom. Her arms covered from wrist to shoulder in tattoos (I don't mean neat artistic stuff either - they're rather crude and almost "home made" looking), she has eyebrow, nose and lip piercings, wears concert T-Shirts circa 1980-1985 and drives an old Firebird. To make things more interesting, we often hear about this little girl's daddy (the parents are not separated or divorced) who works away from home for months at a time and can only see his daughter for two or three days every several months. Of course, we've never seen this man. In fact, we've ONLY seen her mother with a YOUNG woman (early 20s) and they are always holding hands. I had assumed she had an older daughter but the little girl says she is her mommy's friend.
Now.. I AM NOT a judgemental person. Anyone who grew up with me remembers the crowd I hung with and our rather interesting clothes and hair colors. I have made small talk with this woman on numerous occasions. We've joked with one another about our kids' funny behaviour, waved as we left the parking lot, etc. I have NEVER given this woman any reason to be upset with me in any way. So unless I'm completely socially inept, I'm pretty sure this isn't coming from the mom... it's coming from the kid. I'm thinking this kid is insecure about her mom and is telling other kids these things to see if anyone will fess up & admit the girl's mom's a bit freaky.
So, what do I do??? Tell Emma to tell the little girl AGAIN that I do not dislike her mommy? Do I tell the little girl I do not dislike her mommy? Do I tell the teacher? Do I tell the mom, "Sweetie, I'm sure you're a great mom and a genuinely nice person but you *really* do look like you could be running a meth lab or maybe a chop shop down the county road. Your daughter is clearly insecure about your appearance and it is affecting her friendships." Do I ignore it and hope it will go away? I have to do something because Emma had a situation at another day camp earlier this Summer with a kid making stuff up & being catty (a genuine bully/brat) - and we ended up moving her to a new camp because of this kid. Emma takes these things very personally and does not understand why someone would lie just to hurt someone's feelings.
Arrgh!!!
Friday, July 13, 2007
That was fast!!
We got an email from our caseworker Wednesday (7/11) that our case has been logged into the court system in Taiwan!!! That means our dossier made it halfway around in the world and into the courts in less than a week!!! Now we wait to get a hearing date. That could take anywhere from 3 weeks to 2 months. After the hearing we'll wait for the Civil Ruling (first ruling) and then the Final Ruling. The whole process takes 3 - 7 months. It all depends on the judge, his schedule and getting everyone to court that needs to be there (lawyers, birthfamily, etc.). Let's just hope they'll keep up the fast pace!
We also got updated measurements on TJ... she has gained 4 pounds and grown 2 inches since birth. That makes her 11 pounds and 22 inches long. Seems tiny but she's bigger than Emma was at her age. How funny would it be if TJ is the "tall" one in our height-challenged family???
We also got updated measurements on TJ... she has gained 4 pounds and grown 2 inches since birth. That makes her 11 pounds and 22 inches long. Seems tiny but she's bigger than Emma was at her age. How funny would it be if TJ is the "tall" one in our height-challenged family???
Thursday, July 5, 2007
July update & other good news!!
Today we got new pictures of Tessa Jane & a new video. Yes, I find it strange that she's wearing the same outfit. At first I thought maybe they'd gotten confused. But then I noticed she's not wearing the "hospital" bracelet, the blanket is different and her hair has GROWN!!! I need a crash course in fixing hair STAT! Emma's has always been thin and fine... easy to plaster to her head with hair goo.
In other news, we got word that our dossier was sent to Taiwan today! We expected our docs to take 3 weeks to translate but it only took a week and a half - woooooot!!! To those outside of the adoption world that may seem a little ho-hum but for those of us who have put our blood, sweat, tears and $$ into these few documents that summarize your life, prove you're fit to parent and that you're willing to do so by signing all kinds of agreements and top that off with THREE different government entities approving them... it is HUGE!!! Now we wait to be "logged in" to the courts.
How long after that??? Geez. Wish I knew. Some families travel in 3 months others have waited as long as six. In the meantime, Tessa Jane will stay at the nursery for another month. Then she'll go to her foster family. We don't know how much info we'll get about the family (if any) but we know she'll get more one-on-one attention and hopefully be dressed in some of the clothes we have sent... as much as we love the "Puku Petit" shirt :)
Enjoy!
In other news, we got word that our dossier was sent to Taiwan today! We expected our docs to take 3 weeks to translate but it only took a week and a half - woooooot!!! To those outside of the adoption world that may seem a little ho-hum but for those of us who have put our blood, sweat, tears and $$ into these few documents that summarize your life, prove you're fit to parent and that you're willing to do so by signing all kinds of agreements and top that off with THREE different government entities approving them... it is HUGE!!! Now we wait to be "logged in" to the courts.
How long after that??? Geez. Wish I knew. Some families travel in 3 months others have waited as long as six. In the meantime, Tessa Jane will stay at the nursery for another month. Then she'll go to her foster family. We don't know how much info we'll get about the family (if any) but we know she'll get more one-on-one attention and hopefully be dressed in some of the clothes we have sent... as much as we love the "Puku Petit" shirt :)
Enjoy!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Stick a fork in it... it's done!!!!
Two minutes ago I received an email from FedEx notifying me that our dossier was delivered to our agency!!! BIG sigh of relief!!! Amazingly, dotting all those i's and crossing those t's was pretty simple.
We received the paperwork from Taiwan last Thursday. On Friday we went to the bank & had everything notarized. On Monday, I went to the Secretary of State's office to have it all certified. I was worried about this step but it turned out to be a piece of cake. I simply went in, filled out a form and wrote out a $90 check. As I was about to leave, the lady said "Wait a minute. I'm going to go ahead and enter your payment in the computer. The state of Texas has a law that no family will have to pay more than $100 for an adoption. Once I enter it in the computer I can give you your account number. That way, when you need documents certified for the re-adoption, all you'll have to pay is $10."
Cool. So I wait a few minutes and she says "Did you try to adopt another child?" I'm thinking noooo. Then she says we've got an account number & have already met the $100 limit. Then it hits me. The agency we were going through for the China adoption must have had some documents certified for us. We never saw them (probably never will) so I had no idea. Anyway, she tore up the check and sent me on my way!!!
That afternoon I called the TECO office (kind of like the Taiwan Consulate) to find out what I need to do to get the documents authenticated. The lady I spoke to was very confused. Somehow she thought she had to authenticate AND translate them. She wanted to charge $45 a pop! That would have been $405!! After a half an hour on the phone trying to explain what I needed, she said to just send her $15 for each document. Whew. So I put everything in the FedEx envelope (including a return FedEx)and added the secret weapon... a picture of Tessa! It worked. I got the package back yesterday morning & shipped it off to our agency last night.
Now everything will have to be translated before it goes to Taiwan and that will take a few weeks but what a relief to have this step done!
Now if we can just get the Department of State to issue our renewed passports... but that's another post!
For the other waiting families who want to know what went in the package here goes:
Homestudy - 1 original, notarized, certified and authenticated
Adoption Agreement - 3 originals notarized, certified and authenticated
Power of Attorney - 5 originals notarized, certified and authenticated
Color Copies of Passports - 1 for each parent
Copy of our State Adoption Laws - 1 copy (over 90 pages!!!)
Photos - 8 photos of us, 8 photos of our home (including one of the baby's room)
We received the paperwork from Taiwan last Thursday. On Friday we went to the bank & had everything notarized. On Monday, I went to the Secretary of State's office to have it all certified. I was worried about this step but it turned out to be a piece of cake. I simply went in, filled out a form and wrote out a $90 check. As I was about to leave, the lady said "Wait a minute. I'm going to go ahead and enter your payment in the computer. The state of Texas has a law that no family will have to pay more than $100 for an adoption. Once I enter it in the computer I can give you your account number. That way, when you need documents certified for the re-adoption, all you'll have to pay is $10."
Cool. So I wait a few minutes and she says "Did you try to adopt another child?" I'm thinking noooo. Then she says we've got an account number & have already met the $100 limit. Then it hits me. The agency we were going through for the China adoption must have had some documents certified for us. We never saw them (probably never will) so I had no idea. Anyway, she tore up the check and sent me on my way!!!
That afternoon I called the TECO office (kind of like the Taiwan Consulate) to find out what I need to do to get the documents authenticated. The lady I spoke to was very confused. Somehow she thought she had to authenticate AND translate them. She wanted to charge $45 a pop! That would have been $405!! After a half an hour on the phone trying to explain what I needed, she said to just send her $15 for each document. Whew. So I put everything in the FedEx envelope (including a return FedEx)and added the secret weapon... a picture of Tessa! It worked. I got the package back yesterday morning & shipped it off to our agency last night.
Now everything will have to be translated before it goes to Taiwan and that will take a few weeks but what a relief to have this step done!
Now if we can just get the Department of State to issue our renewed passports... but that's another post!
For the other waiting families who want to know what went in the package here goes:
Homestudy - 1 original, notarized, certified and authenticated
Adoption Agreement - 3 originals notarized, certified and authenticated
Power of Attorney - 5 originals notarized, certified and authenticated
Color Copies of Passports - 1 for each parent
Copy of our State Adoption Laws - 1 copy (over 90 pages!!!)
Photos - 8 photos of us, 8 photos of our home (including one of the baby's room)
Friday, June 15, 2007
First Update!!!
We received our first update photos & video this morning! It came as a surprise because our caseworker had told us yesterday not to expect an update until next month. We think she's about six weeks old in these photos.
The other good news is we received all of our paperwork from Taiwan yesterday. Now we just have to get everything signed, notarized, certified, authenticated and translated... doesn't sound too difficult huh :) Actually it's pretty straightforward. And I'm glad I'll have something to keep me busy for the next week or so.
Is she a cutie or what????
BTW, apologies in advance for the neck-craning video. It came that way & we can't figure out how to rotate it. Anyone know?
The other good news is we received all of our paperwork from Taiwan yesterday. Now we just have to get everything signed, notarized, certified, authenticated and translated... doesn't sound too difficult huh :) Actually it's pretty straightforward. And I'm glad I'll have something to keep me busy for the next week or so.
Is she a cutie or what????
BTW, apologies in advance for the neck-craning video. It came that way & we can't figure out how to rotate it. Anyone know?
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