Wow, we have been busy around here lately. I want to thank all of your for your kind words about finally finding a home study agency. There is only one person in town that can do international home studies; I guess living 900 miles from civilization has its down points. Will was on a mission trying to find anyone who could help us. It was fun to watch him get so involved in the process. He really tapped into his hunter/gatherer genes on this one. I half expected him to arrive home one day in camouflage with a social worker tied to the hood of his car.

Now we are not so patiently waiting for all the paperwork to arrive from the agency so we can get our fingerprints taken for the first of many times. Heidi, our SW, told us to get the fingerprints done as soon as we get the paperwork because they are taking up to 3 months to come back and we don’t want them to hold us up. 3 months! I can’t believe it’ll take that long. We can’t even apply to the USCIS until the HS is completed and we can’t complete the HS without the stupid fingerprints. This seems to be stretching out longer than I thought it would; my first lesson in the realities of international adoption.

We are keeping busy doing other things besides obsessively checking the mailbox. Will’s parents are here for a visit, so we get to do our yearly tour of the tourist traps. We also went sailing and have plans for a float plane trip later in the week if the weather cooperates. So far, it has rained non-stop since their arrival and we are stuck inside more than is good for so many people under one roof. We don’t even have a TV to take up some of the straining silence. We are starting to circle each other like caged bears. Rain or shine, we are going out when I get home from work today!

Princess started 1st grade yesterday. It’s bittersweet to say goodbye to the summer and say hello to old friends we haven’t seen for months. Princess is enrolled in the local arts based charter school and we love every part of it. They only have 66 students and we are all so involved in the school that it has become more of a large family than a school. As we stood out in the rain with our arms linked and sang songs of welcome I couldn’t imagine anywhere else I’d rather be!

The start of school also means the start of my “second job”. The charter school is run mostly by parent volunteers and my “job” is to be a member of the board that makes all executive decisions about the running of the school. I also chair the committee in charge of all curriculum for the school. Emails have been flying over the last two weeks as we worked desperately to get everything read for the first day.

Just to keep things interesting, (cause it’s SO boring around here!), I’m also leaving next Wednesday to travel across the entire US continent to South Carolina to attend my baby brother’s graduation from boot camp. With the probability of him being shipped over seas to war, I really wanted to see him again first. This will be my first trip away from the girls. I’m excited but nervous about how they will do while I’m gone. Z-Man is staying here with them so I know they will be safe and well cared for, but it’s so hard to go. I keep thinking of it as a rehearsal for our Ethiopian trip. I hope we all live through it. Wish me luck, this is the first time I’ve traveled with out children since Princess was born. I don’t know what I’ll do with myself.

posted at 12:59 PM  
Labels: Adoption, Kids