Stovetop or Homemade?

I always wondered why people would use stovetop dressing when the alternative is sooo much better. Now, I've helped make the dressing for years. But we were always making other things along with it. So I never knew just how much time it took to make the stuff. Well this year, we had Thanksgiving at our house since the Parents had just moved.

It took forever to make the stuffing. I was worried I woudn't get it made in time to stuff the turkey in time for dinner. And that's when I realized why people use stove top. It's much easier. :)

We had a great Thanksgiving.

Apostille? Check!!!!!!

I've always loved this song, although I laughed at myself as I watched the video. It's so cheesy. I used to belt it out when I was a kid. I loved it! *blush, blush* So what's it have to do with the apostille? I had to go downtown of course! I think I walked about 14 blocks, but the whole time I was smiling (but my ears were freezing)! Woohoo! Our documents are apostilled!

Update: I watched the video again and am laughing so hard I'm crying! Her voice is pretty, but her body movements are hysterical! I love the little hip bump in the beginning, and then the "hair sweep" at the end. Oh it's so funny!

Maybe Today

My plan for today is:
Organize and get documents ready for apostilling.
Take 1 doc to clerk of courts for verification
Take all docs to Sec. of State for apostilling
Go to grocery store
Make pumpkin pie, stuffing, sweet potato casserole
Clean whole house
Put another leaf in the dining room table
Probably go back to grocery store for something I forgot

But the most important thing is to get our documents apostilled! I don't have school today, so it's a great day to do it. No worries about beating 5 o'clock.

I'm kinda nervous. It's the last big thing we have to do...and then it's out of our hands. Ok, so the whole thing has been out of our hands the whole time and in God's...But this time it will literally be out of our hands. I don't know if I'll be able to hand it over to the Postal worker!

Oh, they did send us the corrected homestudy. Thankfully they hadn't sent it to CIS yet either, so they were able to correct that one too.

Oh My Heavens

Yesterday we spent the day helping my parents and sisters move to their new house, just a few miles from their previous one. We took a break to come home and let our doggie out and check the mail. Well what should appear, but a homestudy envelope....the day is near! Maybe.

I opened it up and quickly read over it, looking for the "new" information that was added for 4 kids. But one sentence still said "2 children, birth to 6." The other 2 places had been changed, but this one hadn't.

Oh. My. Goodness.

And so I say again...Count it all joy when [I] have various trials. For the trying of [my] faith worketh patience.

On the way back to the moving, I just sat in the truck thinking, why has this been happening the past few weeks? Every single time we've gone to do the paperwork, something has gone awry. However, every single time, it's all worked out too. We found a place that could verify the notary (after driving all over town). We got the one doc renotarized, without any trouble from the person who'd orginally written, the other doc that had to be redone was in the mail the next day.

So it makes me wonder, Is this all one confirmation after another that God is King and Faithful? Is this yet another opportunity to proclaim His goodness and his Reign over my heart?

God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble....
God’s voice thunders,
and the earth melts!

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;
the God of Israel is our fortress.

Come, see the glorious works of the Lord:
See how he brings destruction upon the world.
He causes wars to end throughout the earth.
He breaks the bow and snaps the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.”

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;
the God of Israel is our fortress.

All a jumble

My thoughts have all been a jumble lately. 2 things have contributed to this: adoption and school. First off, though, I have to rejoice in what the Lord is giving us.

On to school. College, in no way, prepared me for what I have dealt with over the past 6 years of teaching. Sure, I had excellent professors who guided us towards excellent teaching practices that serve a wide spectrum of learners. For that I am very, very thankful. We even had volunteer placements at gov housing, headstart, and afterschool care to develop our empathy for children of various backgrounds; different from our own probable middle class ones.

But all of that couldn't prepare me for the enormous amount of hurt my students, and the other 400, come to school with every day. And the hardest part of all is knowing that I can only do so much; and the rest I must leave up to the Lord. So day in and day out I cry with kids, listen to their heartbreaking stories, and encourage them to somehow make a "good" choice even though their life experiences give them no motivation to do so.

And when I go home, I wonder if I have it in me to endure the stories that my own children will tell, and listen to their cries as they react to the deep hurt they have inside them.

But my hope is this: God gives more strength. Daily I ask Him for wisdom on "what should I say to this little boy?" "What do I tell this little one who knows 'everything WON'T be alright'" And through the past 6 years He has sustained me and given me the wisdom I needed at the time I needed it.

And my passionate response to 'do I have it in me' is with Christ in me-Yes! Christ lives in me and is at work in my life. It will be His working through me that will give me the wisdom, patience and understanding I will need with our children. Apart from Him I don't have it in me.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen

And it happened again...

We went to Clerk of Courts #2 today. At the previous one, they had called this one to verify that they had the machine to look up the notaries. We got there, and their machine has been broken!!!! But we had enough time to drive downtown to the courthouse CoC. She looked up the notaries, and one of them was expired, but her stamp said 2012! I guess they can get the stamp, but have to apply in person to be verified in the system. Isn't that odd? So basically people can be notarizing without technically being a notary??!!

So unfortunately, we have to get that one redone....and drive back downtown.

We're still waiting for our homestudy to come too.

Ahhhhh....red tape.

At this point I just have to laugh. Anyway, S had off today and I really wanted us to go to the Clerk of Courts together to get the docs verified (Not that it's unsafe in that area; but I AM carrying VERY important papers). I called to verify that the place we were going could indeed verify our notaries. They said they could. Well we get down there...make our way through the info desks (plural) and end up with a woman who actually knows what in the heck we're talking about. So then after discussing our "plight" with her coworker, informs us that "they" took their microfiche machine. Yeah, the one they need to look up the notaries.

Mercy! For real? So it didn't get done today either. :) Strike 2.

Yippy Skippy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I came home to find a phone message that the agency got their approval today!!! Yay! We should have our homestudy next week!

Building excitement

Since a year ago, my excitement of finally having children has wobbled. Not in a bad way, it just seemed sooooo far away. And of course with Sean's accident, issues at work...it kinda fizzled out. But it's building back. I'm not sure when it happened...maybe when I was putting all the docs together to take to get apostilled and it hit me! Oh my goodness we will have children very soon! Maybe even before spring! I guess part of me wants that impending excitement feeling that other women get when they're pregnant (or what I always imagined it to be anyway). Since adoption has no time frames or timetables, the "air of expectancy" sometimes goes out of it the longer one has to wait.

But excitement is unfurling in my heart again. :)

It's a miraculous thing; being expectant and hopeful. A friend was talking about hope the same way. Hope doesn't stop; even when one is in the midst of trials, there is still a little ember of hope deep down. Thinking one day this trial won't affect me as much, or maybe next fall we'll be able to take our kids to get pumpkins, or maybe the next Mothers day I'll be crying tears of thankfulness and happiness instead.

And so I'm reminded of a poem by Emily Dickinson that I memorized in 6th grade:

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.

And sweetest in the gale is heard
And sore must be the storm,
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I called

I couldn't stand it anymore on Friday early evening. I had to call our SW. I know it had *only* been 5 days since the last time we'd gotten an update from her, but it was the deadline and I just wanted to know. I'm glad I did too. Evidently, on the 5th they are supposed to have their approval. Then it goes to Cincy to the main office, it's then sent to Columbus for approval, and then sent to the branches. At that point, the director will be able to sign off on our homestudy! So, we should, maybe, possibly, don't-hold-your-breath, have our homestudy mailed to us by the end of the week, or beginning of the 3rd week in Nov.

That would allow us to scoot our dossier in right before the courts go on break for Christmas. That's our prayer anyway.