Todd's in Asheville today for his project meeting and we were corresponding last night. I thought - since it was all mapped out here - that I'd throw an excerpt into a blog so our few friends who are reading this know what we're up to (in terms of process).
* within next few days: finish the edits to the profile book AND the website, meet with social worker (19th) to begin home study process
* dec 22nd - 29th week: send out 2 - 300 (belated) christmas cards with adoption announcements / networking letters [todd work on card printing & cutting. candice work on christmas cards]..... clean house & finish small projects around house (crown moulding / closet door / repair drywall in closet / paint ceiling infront bedroom) re-assemble art studio, clean out spare bedroom)..... send book to print shop / run one copy as "proof"..... once approved, make multiple copies
* over new year's: assemble 8 - 10 profile books (ask AIS to verify #), continue home study paperwork, begin applications with adoption agencies..... continue with small projects and cleaning. prepare for social worker "surprise" visits! (hopefully no earlier than 1st of Jan)
* january: finish homestudy paperwork, apply with 3-4 adoption agencies..... continue with small projects and cleaning. early january - purchase clothes / diapers / carseat / etc etc. (make a "take on the plane" package of necessities for a baby)
I started to assemble an excel spreadsheet of everything. (homestudy requirements,app fees, agency fees, estimated medical & lodging for birth mother, estimated airfare / lodging / car rental for us for 2 - 3 weeks in another state, and - whatI'm really getting nervous about - getting the necessary goods for maintaining a baby the first few weeks 'til we get back home.
WOW. it's all starting to set in that it could happen soon.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Birthday Weekend...
I meant to blog on Sunday (Dec 9) when we got home from our weekend away but I didn’t – so I’m doing it on the ride down to work Wednesday morning and finally posting Thursday (Todd was driving – don’t worry).
I wanted to say what a nice weekend we had. Todd took me to Chattanooga (about 1 ½ - 2 hours north of where we live). I didn’t know ‘til about an hour away where we were going – so it was a surprise almost all the way to the event. He wanted to take me to see penguins for my birthday. Plus, I like the Tennessee aquarium more than the Georgia aquarium (long story why)… and we haven’t been since the penguins got there. It’s a smaller aquarium and it’s not really that crowded, so you can get more up-close and spend more time in front of particular areas. Plus, they have the most magnificent display of sea dragons and leafy sea dragons…. which are some of my favorites to watch swim. They have a great big puffer. Love him too. And – they have a cool jellyfish exhibit that we’ve seen several times, but always enjoy. (I crawled into this bubble that they have (for kids, probably) that sits inside the aquarium -- we have a photo, too, of us with the penguins, but it's not on my computer / I'll add it to the next blog.)
After we left the aquarium, we walked around the river a bit until it started sprinkling. We hopped in the car and headed to our next excursion – to go to the B&B that he had picked out. The area it was in wasn’t so great, but the B&B itself was very nice. We hung out in their common room (a giant living room with several different seating groups) we chose a space near a fireplace and worked for several hours on the website & the profile book. (Todd worked on one – I worked on the other.) We went to a nice dinner at a restaurant in a giant stone house just down the road. It was a national historic register home and there were placards on the wall with stories of Al Capone / mob money coming through the house.
The next morning, we went downstairs and ate a hearty breakfast, worked on the website and profile book a bit more, then headed to a nearby town. We went there b/c we saw some etchings on the wall of several buildings in this town (which was largely made up of a college campus) and we saw something of interest to check out. We drove around the town and campus a bit, but couldn’t find what we were looking for ‘til we were about to give up, then saw an area for theology buildings…. we headed in the direction and found it: a chapel that looked like it was designed by Faye Jones (famous church & chapel architect). The doors were unlocked. The facility was empty, so we went in. And – a placard on the wall there said, indeed, it was designed by him! We were thrilled b/c we’ve never been in one of his buildings / experienced his architecture. It’s a bit dated (although it’s not old), but the space is quite nice. Todd snapped a ton of photos. Satisfied with our find, we hopped in the car & headed back home.
I ended up going to the top of the street to check in with an event that I was participating in (as a ghost participant). The art event I usually participate in was that same weekend. But, since Todd had planned such a fabulous weekend, I asked that I not work this show. I did not make new products – only repackaged things I had left over from a previous show. I moved a little bit of merchandise, but not much. That’s ok. My priorities were in check this season: work on adoption things… and spend a nice quality weekend with my husband who took the time and effort to plan a great (surprise) event for me.
It was perfect. ; - )
I wanted to say what a nice weekend we had. Todd took me to Chattanooga (about 1 ½ - 2 hours north of where we live). I didn’t know ‘til about an hour away where we were going – so it was a surprise almost all the way to the event. He wanted to take me to see penguins for my birthday. Plus, I like the Tennessee aquarium more than the Georgia aquarium (long story why)… and we haven’t been since the penguins got there. It’s a smaller aquarium and it’s not really that crowded, so you can get more up-close and spend more time in front of particular areas. Plus, they have the most magnificent display of sea dragons and leafy sea dragons…. which are some of my favorites to watch swim. They have a great big puffer. Love him too. And – they have a cool jellyfish exhibit that we’ve seen several times, but always enjoy. (I crawled into this bubble that they have (for kids, probably) that sits inside the aquarium -- we have a photo, too, of us with the penguins, but it's not on my computer / I'll add it to the next blog.)
After we left the aquarium, we walked around the river a bit until it started sprinkling. We hopped in the car and headed to our next excursion – to go to the B&B that he had picked out. The area it was in wasn’t so great, but the B&B itself was very nice. We hung out in their common room (a giant living room with several different seating groups) we chose a space near a fireplace and worked for several hours on the website & the profile book. (Todd worked on one – I worked on the other.) We went to a nice dinner at a restaurant in a giant stone house just down the road. It was a national historic register home and there were placards on the wall with stories of Al Capone / mob money coming through the house.
The next morning, we went downstairs and ate a hearty breakfast, worked on the website and profile book a bit more, then headed to a nearby town. We went there b/c we saw some etchings on the wall of several buildings in this town (which was largely made up of a college campus) and we saw something of interest to check out. We drove around the town and campus a bit, but couldn’t find what we were looking for ‘til we were about to give up, then saw an area for theology buildings…. we headed in the direction and found it: a chapel that looked like it was designed by Faye Jones (famous church & chapel architect). The doors were unlocked. The facility was empty, so we went in. And – a placard on the wall there said, indeed, it was designed by him! We were thrilled b/c we’ve never been in one of his buildings / experienced his architecture. It’s a bit dated (although it’s not old), but the space is quite nice. Todd snapped a ton of photos. Satisfied with our find, we hopped in the car & headed back home.
I ended up going to the top of the street to check in with an event that I was participating in (as a ghost participant). The art event I usually participate in was that same weekend. But, since Todd had planned such a fabulous weekend, I asked that I not work this show. I did not make new products – only repackaged things I had left over from a previous show. I moved a little bit of merchandise, but not much. That’s ok. My priorities were in check this season: work on adoption things… and spend a nice quality weekend with my husband who took the time and effort to plan a great (surprise) event for me.
It was perfect. ; - )
Saturday, December 8, 2007
all better?
I know my last blog wasn't the greatest. But - I'm happy to report that I'm feeling a lot better. I had a month or two that was blah. I talked to someone a few times and realized that the process of leaving fertility / moving to adoption felt like a failure to me.... and once I was able to verbalize that -- I realized that was (quite frankly) dumb. There was no reason I should feel that way. So, I snapped out of it. Seriously. It was that easy.
I was talking to someone last month about how they were in a fog when their mom was going through illness and death. And, a few days ago, I looked at how hazy things were for me over the past couple of months -- how I was just going through the motions of work and life.
I feel, now, that I'm back on my game.
Speaking of which - I have a lot of catch-up that I'm doing these days. The art show that I participate in is this weekend. Because of the 2nd job that I feel that I have (working on adoption profile book and website)... I haven't had time to make anything. That's ok, though, because I had a lot of stuff left over from the last show. I ended up re-pricing / merchandising / re-packaging some things and took them to the show site.
I am not actually working at the show 'til Sunday afternoon. Todd planned a trip for us this weekend -- a surprise. (I'm not sure where we are going. I'm thrilled b/c he's never planned a trip before!)
I should get ready. Pack for who knows what?! (It's actually going to be warm here - 70 degrees, I think.) We're oinly going an hour or two away, so it may be quite similar.
Later. C
I was talking to someone last month about how they were in a fog when their mom was going through illness and death. And, a few days ago, I looked at how hazy things were for me over the past couple of months -- how I was just going through the motions of work and life.
I feel, now, that I'm back on my game.
Speaking of which - I have a lot of catch-up that I'm doing these days. The art show that I participate in is this weekend. Because of the 2nd job that I feel that I have (working on adoption profile book and website)... I haven't had time to make anything. That's ok, though, because I had a lot of stuff left over from the last show. I ended up re-pricing / merchandising / re-packaging some things and took them to the show site.
I am not actually working at the show 'til Sunday afternoon. Todd planned a trip for us this weekend -- a surprise. (I'm not sure where we are going. I'm thrilled b/c he's never planned a trip before!)
I should get ready. Pack for who knows what?! (It's actually going to be warm here - 70 degrees, I think.) We're oinly going an hour or two away, so it may be quite similar.
Later. C
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Tryin' to get through
well, i haven't written about this before... but i am having a bit of a hard time making the transition from the fertility treatments to the adoption process. books / literature / etc says that this is a sort of loss - grieving an unborn child. i felt this at first, then suppressed it with diving into work and stuff (even adoption stuff -- throwing my self right into it). but, for some reason (even though i'm still busy with work) i'm having a hard time with it again.
i started to see a counselor to talk to about it. never been to a counselor before. it's my yoga teacher who i'm seeing. i think her "real" profession is counseling (she's got all sorts of letters & titles behind her name) but i've always liked her from yoga (moreso than other yoga teachers who's classes i've taken) and i'm comfortable with her.
i may not write too much here b/c it's not private. i do have a positive attitude for the most part, but when i'm down... i'm down... and i don't want to convey that in my blog b/c it's not representative of how i feel. just know that -- sometimes -- it's tough.
c
i started to see a counselor to talk to about it. never been to a counselor before. it's my yoga teacher who i'm seeing. i think her "real" profession is counseling (she's got all sorts of letters & titles behind her name) but i've always liked her from yoga (moreso than other yoga teachers who's classes i've taken) and i'm comfortable with her.
i may not write too much here b/c it's not private. i do have a positive attitude for the most part, but when i'm down... i'm down... and i don't want to convey that in my blog b/c it's not representative of how i feel. just know that -- sometimes -- it's tough.
c
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
last weekend's post... MAJOR website progress!
I didn’t get a chance to blog after the last two weekends, but I need to. We’ve made SO much progress! Todd built a fire in the fireplace and we worked on adoption stuff ALL day Sunday (11th). We watched a tutorial on the website program we were going to use. We then tinkered around with a web template that I had found the previous weekend and we actually made 2 pages! It took a long time, but that’s ok…. After we figured out how to get it from the computer to the world wide web, we then stopped in that effort and focused on some homework that we had from the adoption consultant: making our profile book.
We wrote an opening statement. Next: a blurb about our lives together. I wrote down how I feel about Todd. He wrote down how he feels about me. We continued with how we envisioned life with a child. We wrote a blurb about family and friends. Then we wrote a blurb on our parenting philosophy, why were we live is a great place, and closed with a statement back to the birth mother. That took us into the night & we crashed shortly after.
All-in-all… it was a great day. We made a lot of progress and we got to do a little soul-searching to boot. Once the website is ready to roll, I’ll post it. An official “launch” party of sorts.
We wrote an opening statement. Next: a blurb about our lives together. I wrote down how I feel about Todd. He wrote down how he feels about me. We continued with how we envisioned life with a child. We wrote a blurb about family and friends. Then we wrote a blurb on our parenting philosophy, why were we live is a great place, and closed with a statement back to the birth mother. That took us into the night & we crashed shortly after.
All-in-all… it was a great day. We made a lot of progress and we got to do a little soul-searching to boot. Once the website is ready to roll, I’ll post it. An official “launch” party of sorts.
And -- since I didn't post this earlier - I should go ahead & report on what I did last weekend. Fri & Sat (16th - 17th) I was at my mom's after a work trip in NC. There were 20 pages worth of text that we had for the website... but I actually put it into pages. Todd & I designed & made the first two pages. After that, it was a breeze to make the others.
Granted -- there will need to be edits and photos -- but it is such a relief to have work to show for all that we've been thinking about doing! yay.
Gotta run. We're headed down to my dad's for Thanksgiving.
Later.
c
Saturday, November 10, 2007
saturday morning
i'm determined to have a great day today... last saturday - i was in a funk.
not much is progressing, honestly, as i've been working a lot. but, last night: a little glimmer of hope. todd watched some of the website tutorial with me. he's way more into computer stuff than i am - so i'm really going to be relying on him to help. i surfed a lot last saturday looking at sample websites. i downloaded the template for one i liked. now - with the software that our neighbor eric has loaned us - we need to learn how to modify it... then go one step further and actually upload it. i've got the content pretty much ready to go!
stay tuned. hopefully you'll hear screams of joy soon with the successful making of our site.
ps - a little more progress, i suppose: got a few more pics together. dinner out with friends last friday night & dinner out with a couple of girls this past wednesday. todd w/ pigg on the couch and todd playing golf (yesterday - his structural engineer that he hangs out with took him to play and took pics of him in his backswing!) ahhhh.... the photos are coming together.
over and out. c
not much is progressing, honestly, as i've been working a lot. but, last night: a little glimmer of hope. todd watched some of the website tutorial with me. he's way more into computer stuff than i am - so i'm really going to be relying on him to help. i surfed a lot last saturday looking at sample websites. i downloaded the template for one i liked. now - with the software that our neighbor eric has loaned us - we need to learn how to modify it... then go one step further and actually upload it. i've got the content pretty much ready to go!
stay tuned. hopefully you'll hear screams of joy soon with the successful making of our site.
ps - a little more progress, i suppose: got a few more pics together. dinner out with friends last friday night & dinner out with a couple of girls this past wednesday. todd w/ pigg on the couch and todd playing golf (yesterday - his structural engineer that he hangs out with took him to play and took pics of him in his backswing!) ahhhh.... the photos are coming together.
over and out. c
Thursday, November 1, 2007
The meeting went well
We were over-prepared for our meeting with the adoption consultant. Todd & I completed all sorts of forms -- which aren't due yet. That's ok. It will come in handy. Our instructions weren't clear, so I was stressed about filling out all of the forms we were instructed to download.
Some of the pictures that we liked -- they weren't so into. Some of the pictures they were into weren't our favorites, but that's ok. We'll still make the book our own. I really want to use excerpts from the great letters that we've received so far. One of the profile books we looked through had letters included. The adoption consultant said that was because it was a single person and that they needed a little something extra. We're going to pick a sentence or two from a few of them and find a place to include them.
We've paid the consultant a bit of money... but we'll save some bucks by designing the book & doing all of the photoshop stuff ourselves. Our schedule: get some more photographs of my family (I'll be in NC in two weeks and in Fla the following, so I should round it out). Write the verbiage & email it back / forth to the consultant so that they can edit it. Once we're done -- she will go ahead & put us in the pool of candidates! I think we can finish the book by the end of November!
Our next step: start the home study. This is something that you HAVE to do to work through an agency. She gave us a folder of information on a social worker that she likes and thought it would be a good fit because she just moved her office to Marietta from Douglasville. We'll begin that at the beginning of December. The consultant said that was good b/c we'd get a jump on the slew of people who want to start it in the new year.
We learned something by reading through all of the materials: to go with independent adoption, you don't have to have a home study done. We're going to pursue both -- just to see what yields faster results.
I guess that's all for now. 1 - work on Lifestyle Profile. 2 - complete Home Study. We'll have a handle on both by the end of the year. yay!
I'm going to crash (early). We were up late last night / early this morning to work on this stuff. G'night.
Some of the pictures that we liked -- they weren't so into. Some of the pictures they were into weren't our favorites, but that's ok. We'll still make the book our own. I really want to use excerpts from the great letters that we've received so far. One of the profile books we looked through had letters included. The adoption consultant said that was because it was a single person and that they needed a little something extra. We're going to pick a sentence or two from a few of them and find a place to include them.
We've paid the consultant a bit of money... but we'll save some bucks by designing the book & doing all of the photoshop stuff ourselves. Our schedule: get some more photographs of my family (I'll be in NC in two weeks and in Fla the following, so I should round it out). Write the verbiage & email it back / forth to the consultant so that they can edit it. Once we're done -- she will go ahead & put us in the pool of candidates! I think we can finish the book by the end of November!
Our next step: start the home study. This is something that you HAVE to do to work through an agency. She gave us a folder of information on a social worker that she likes and thought it would be a good fit because she just moved her office to Marietta from Douglasville. We'll begin that at the beginning of December. The consultant said that was good b/c we'd get a jump on the slew of people who want to start it in the new year.
We learned something by reading through all of the materials: to go with independent adoption, you don't have to have a home study done. We're going to pursue both -- just to see what yields faster results.
I guess that's all for now. 1 - work on Lifestyle Profile. 2 - complete Home Study. We'll have a handle on both by the end of the year. yay!
I'm going to crash (early). We were up late last night / early this morning to work on this stuff. G'night.
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