Benefit Variety Show

We have put together a fundraising show. It will be pretty exciting for sure! We've got some wonderful friends who are going to be performing. Thanks guys! Of course we'll have some yummy treats to eat as well.

You are invited to a benefit Variety Show!

Come for entertainment and dessert.
There will be several items up for silent auction.
All proceeds will benefit S & A's adoption from Colombia.

July 18, 2008

7:45 pm

$10

Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park
1775 Darby Creek Drive, Galloway, OH 43119
Shagbark Pavilion

There is a parking lot, but you may want to carpool. This will be a casual, outdoor event.

RSVP before July 15, 2008

Visit www.rejoicewithjoy.blogspot.com for news on the adoption.

The first book we read: Attaching in Adoption

Attaching in Adoption by Deborah Gray
This is one of the books our SW recommended to us. It took a while to get through, as it was our first experience with attachment. There were so many terms to learn, and issues to ponder and discuss. Gray has a wonderful way of writing this technical information but conveying it in a warm way.

She defines attachment, how it happens, and different kinds of attachment. She discusses the impact of trauma, grief and loss. Also, she brings up how the parents' issues, ones we think we may have dealt with, can come suddenly bubbling to the surface in the middle of a situation with our children.

This book was very educational. Gray gives a thorough explanation of a myriad of subjects related to attachment, trauma, grief, and loss. She gives many suggestions for parents and the biological/psychological/physiological reasons for the behavior. I recommend this book as a "first read" or an at "least this book" for adoption.

(Gray also has a new book out: Nurturing Adoptions. I didn't buy it, so I don't have it here to review. :(

Furniture and Fun

The past two days I've spent cleaning out the tan bedroom and actually setting up the beds that have been stored in there since last summer. Now the green room looks like a bedroom and the tan room is slowly looking like one.

And sis and I went on a mega shopping adventure today. The JCPenney outlet is on the other side of town. There is a regular outlet and a furniture outlet. The furniture outlet is awesome!!! Rock bottom prices for nearly perfect furniture. We oohed and ahhed.

Then we went over to the main outlet. It's huge and our big reason for going was shirts for 2.99. Also, sis needed to look for a sofa slipcover for mom. We found one that is perfect! We went to the back of the store, which happens to be my fav place: catalog returns. Now some of the stuff has been used (gross) but others are just waaaayyyy marked down. We found a 2 piece loveseat slipcover for 9.99 and a chair slipcover for 7.99. Pretty good! I don't actually have a loveseat, or a chair, but craigslist does! ;)

Book Reviews

I've decided I need to start doing book reviews. During our homestudy, many moons ago, our SW suggested 3 books. Well of course being the D family, we read them. And they were great. But, I wanted more. I felt like I had a surface understanding on attachment, trauma, neglect, and basic child brain development. However I knew that wasn't going to get me very far. And, at the same time, I was dealing with some pretty tough issues with kids at school. So I started reading more and more.

So that brings me to why I'm doing reviews. I've read some really great books (Thanks library! :) But a lot of them were quite a while ago and they've started to mush together. So when i think, "Where did I read about _?" I sometimes can't remember which book it was. Also, a few of the more "pop" books were pretty pointless to read after the "psychology/physiology" ones.

So the reviews will be my humble opinion; and my opinions are formed from what I've read and thought about. I'm no expert and just want to be prepared for whatever my children will need. :)

Confirmation

We received confirmation that the State Department had recieved our I-600a and was forwarding it to La Embajade de Los Estados Unidos, Visa Unit in Bogota. Ooh, that little paper nearly made me cry (and no, not because it was boring white). I thought, "we're getting so close". And yet we seem so far. It's hard to hope while at the same time reign myself in. But to think that something is in Colombia at least is exciting.

I spent yesterday driving back and forth to Advance Auto and Napa as S fixed an oil leak on his truck. He got it fixed, thankfully.

First day of summer...

Ah, the wonderful sunshine and heat! I packed up my classroom yesterday and today began summer. Yeehaw!

And, as a last day of school surprise, we received our I171-H form. Now if we could just get our dossier together. I keep praying for "everything" to work together, knowing it's really all in the Lord's hands. But now that I'm done working for the summer, I'm ready to do what needs done!!