We completed the remaining 4.5 hours of adoption training this week! These last few hours seemed more "meaty" than the first 5.5 hours. The first of the classes was "Separation, Loss, and Grief" which taught us the phases that an adopted child goes through and training to help prepare us to help her resolve any intense feelings. I must say that I never imagined a baby who is less than 12 months old could have so many issues!
The other class was "Multicultural and Transracial Adoption." It addressed the unique challenges and rewards of parenting children from different cultures and ethnicities. It gave tips on how parents should handle stereotypes and bigotry. Adoption is truly opening my eyes to many challenges that I never thought I would have to face.
So, now what? We still have a few documents to get for our dossier. Stephen said he will go to get his physical this week (for anyone that talks to him on a regular basis- you might need to offer some encouragement for this task!). We have located someone who knows a County Sheriff to help us with our criminal background checks and police letters. And we still need to get in touch with our accountant to get a letter for Stephen since he is self-employed.
My mom has been shopping again. I haven't seen what she bought this week, but she said there were more clothes and more blankets. Keep checking back-- I hope to have some pictures up soon for some of the recent shopping spree purchases! I wonder what she would do if we could possibly come up with the extra fees to get twins?! Just kidding! Really, I don't think that is an option for us, but a girl can dream can't she? :-)
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
5.5 down, 4.5 to go!
I took last Monday off to do some fun stuff with my friends. Kim is in nursing school and it was her spring break. We decided to have a massage at the Greenhouse Day Spa in the Summit. It was the first massage that I have had-- and believe me, it won't be the last! It was great! After our massage session, we met Tiffany and had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Again, it was great! It has been a long time since we've seen each other and it was fun to get together without the pressure of eating and getting back to the office within an hour!
When I returned home, I was very relaxed and ready to do some adoption training! Well, not really, but that is one of the things that we have put off doing, and it has to get done to move on to the next step. So, I sat for a few hours in front of the computer and learned all kinds of adoption stuff.
The first class that we did was Bonding and Attachment. It gave some suggestions on how to bond with the baby when we meet her. It was interesting. I never knew adopted babies go through so much and have such difficulty trusting and attaching to their new parents.
The next class was Your Child and Emotions. I feel like this class dealt with parents who are adopting older children, rather than babies. But, it is a requirement regardless. It gave suggestions on how to positively address feelings of the adopted child. Most of it seemed like common sense, but I suppose it will be helpful in the long run.
The last class was Medical Issues. It gave some general information on medical issues that are common in orphanages and then specific information for each country. Again, a lot of the information was common to us because that is what helped us make a decision on where to adopt. One reason we chose China was due to the health of the children, but we have to be aware of the conditions that are most common in the country.
All in all, we have completed 5.5 hours of the 10 hours of required training! I have taken today off too, since I had over 25 people at my house for Easter lunch yesterday. I felt like I deserved another day this weekend to clean up and relax. The plan for today also includes completing the other 4.5 hours of training. Aren't you jealous?!
When I returned home, I was very relaxed and ready to do some adoption training! Well, not really, but that is one of the things that we have put off doing, and it has to get done to move on to the next step. So, I sat for a few hours in front of the computer and learned all kinds of adoption stuff.
The first class that we did was Bonding and Attachment. It gave some suggestions on how to bond with the baby when we meet her. It was interesting. I never knew adopted babies go through so much and have such difficulty trusting and attaching to their new parents.
The next class was Your Child and Emotions. I feel like this class dealt with parents who are adopting older children, rather than babies. But, it is a requirement regardless. It gave suggestions on how to positively address feelings of the adopted child. Most of it seemed like common sense, but I suppose it will be helpful in the long run.
The last class was Medical Issues. It gave some general information on medical issues that are common in orphanages and then specific information for each country. Again, a lot of the information was common to us because that is what helped us make a decision on where to adopt. One reason we chose China was due to the health of the children, but we have to be aware of the conditions that are most common in the country.
All in all, we have completed 5.5 hours of the 10 hours of required training! I have taken today off too, since I had over 25 people at my house for Easter lunch yesterday. I felt like I deserved another day this weekend to clean up and relax. The plan for today also includes completing the other 4.5 hours of training. Aren't you jealous?!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Gimme Goes Shopping
My mom- to be known as "Gimme" to Amelia- has been shopping again! She's bought some adorable outfits, lots of blankets, and all kinds of toys! One of the cutest outfits is a little pink and white bubble suit with a matching headband. There are all colors of onesie's and a couple of little dresses. Gimme has already picked out a couple of things she wants to have Amelia's picture made in! I would advise people to buy Kodak and Creative Memories stock-- with as much as we'll be buying, it will be a good investment!!
Just a quick update on the adoption process: we received our passports, I've had my physical, we are working on the adoption training, and we've got most of our financial statement done. So, I think there are just a few more things to do and we can get our dossier completed-- Stephen's physical, police reports for both of us, and employment letters.
A quick update on the remodel: we found someone to do the taping and mudding for the drywall! It was done this week. The handiman- Mike- also painted our stairwell for us (Stephen didn't want to be up that high on a ladder!). We picked a color called Jungle Chameleon- a fresh green shade- for the stairwell and office. Stephen is supposed to paint the office this week, but I have a ton of things for him on my honey-do list for this week. For those of you who don't know, I have Easter for our families at my house- so I am expecting over 20 for dinner on Sunday. He is always very helpful to me during this time of the year!
Just a quick update on the adoption process: we received our passports, I've had my physical, we are working on the adoption training, and we've got most of our financial statement done. So, I think there are just a few more things to do and we can get our dossier completed-- Stephen's physical, police reports for both of us, and employment letters.
A quick update on the remodel: we found someone to do the taping and mudding for the drywall! It was done this week. The handiman- Mike- also painted our stairwell for us (Stephen didn't want to be up that high on a ladder!). We picked a color called Jungle Chameleon- a fresh green shade- for the stairwell and office. Stephen is supposed to paint the office this week, but I have a ton of things for him on my honey-do list for this week. For those of you who don't know, I have Easter for our families at my house- so I am expecting over 20 for dinner on Sunday. He is always very helpful to me during this time of the year!
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Make Room for Baby
We bought our home two years ago. It has three bedrooms and two baths with an open floor plan. The house is on a basement- which was one of the things that drew us to it. The basement was unfinished when we purchased it. At the time we bought, we never dreamed we'd be doing a remodel-- but we are!
One of our extra bedrooms is currently used for our home office. With Stephen's job, it is a must! But, the room with the office is the one that I want to use for the nursery. And our other bedroom is a guest bedroom (not that we have a lot of guests, but you never know when you'll need it). So, we decided to build out a couple of rooms in the basement. We started with the office.
We ordered the materials at the end of January and construction started three weeks ago. Stephen and our neighbor, Roger, is doing most of the work. Roger is awesome- I don't know anything that he can't do! The first week of construction, they put in all of the studs and had to extend the steps. The second weekend, Roger wired the room and put in one of the doors. This weekend, all of the drywall was installed, as was the second door. So, now, we just need to find someone who can tape, mud, and finish the drywall. If anyone knows someone that can do this, please let me know.
The second room is placed on hold for the moment. We need to have room to get around and work and we need to have the office completed first. The second room will be my scrapbooking room! I am anxiously awaiting the construction of it!
Last week, we also picked up the baby furniture for the nursery. We got a convertible baby bed, chest of drawers, and a changing table. The color is honey maple. I know we may be a bit premature in buying the furniture, but it was too good of a deal to pass up. Plus, we have plenty of room for storage until we need it.
Lastly, my mom is super excited about the adoption. We haven't had a baby in our family for almost 14 years! This week, she found a sale and, of course, she bought the baby an outfit. It is adorable- mostly yellow with pink and purple flowers (it is a winter set-- 24months). She also picked up some headbands to match. Amelia is going to be spoiled before we even get our dossier completed!
One of our extra bedrooms is currently used for our home office. With Stephen's job, it is a must! But, the room with the office is the one that I want to use for the nursery. And our other bedroom is a guest bedroom (not that we have a lot of guests, but you never know when you'll need it). So, we decided to build out a couple of rooms in the basement. We started with the office.
We ordered the materials at the end of January and construction started three weeks ago. Stephen and our neighbor, Roger, is doing most of the work. Roger is awesome- I don't know anything that he can't do! The first week of construction, they put in all of the studs and had to extend the steps. The second weekend, Roger wired the room and put in one of the doors. This weekend, all of the drywall was installed, as was the second door. So, now, we just need to find someone who can tape, mud, and finish the drywall. If anyone knows someone that can do this, please let me know.
The second room is placed on hold for the moment. We need to have room to get around and work and we need to have the office completed first. The second room will be my scrapbooking room! I am anxiously awaiting the construction of it!
Last week, we also picked up the baby furniture for the nursery. We got a convertible baby bed, chest of drawers, and a changing table. The color is honey maple. I know we may be a bit premature in buying the furniture, but it was too good of a deal to pass up. Plus, we have plenty of room for storage until we need it.
Lastly, my mom is super excited about the adoption. We haven't had a baby in our family for almost 14 years! This week, she found a sale and, of course, she bought the baby an outfit. It is adorable- mostly yellow with pink and purple flowers (it is a winter set-- 24months). She also picked up some headbands to match. Amelia is going to be spoiled before we even get our dossier completed!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)