Tuesday Tidbits...

18 pages to go!!!

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Lately, it feels more like everyday tidbits, and not just Tuesday tidbits. Hmmm... my life is spinning so fast, I can't hold on!

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I got an email from a blog reader who found me through another blog that I follow. Ha! A friend of a friend of a friend. :-) It's really cool, though. This is another waiting adoptive mom who was just looking for some encouragement, and it brings me such pleasure to be able to share my story. You know, that is one of the reasons why I started this blog in the first place. To share. To encourage. Then, in return, I am finding that I receive far more encouragement than I pass out. What a blessing to me! You know? We just need each other in this life!

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We had another two hour delay today. My goodness, God seems to be chipping away at the Global Warming theory. ;-)

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Can I just say that my sister and I are exactly alike! We say the same things at the same time in the same voice using exactly that same words! Oh. my. goodness. Like, you know when you make a phone call that doesn't go through properly and you hear your own voice bouncing back at you, but it sounds like it is actually her talking to you??? It is all just a little bit creepy. ;-)

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We asked the agency that we were looking at in PA about whether or not we would have to do a new home study. The good news is that they said no. The other good news is that they said we would only have to update our home study. The bad news is that they said that PA requires new criminal background checks, including fingerprints EVERY YEAR. Um, we all know how that turned out for me before. Remember? I don't even want to go there. I'm thinking we move along to some other agencies that are not in the state of PA. I hear Florida is looking nice this time of year.

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Goldie slept in her bed last night with her blanket. Of her own accord. Praise God! It's becoming a habit. :0)

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So... what are some of the tidbits of your life right now? Do share!

Living in His JOY, HOPE, and PEACE...

A promise kept...

I don't really feel very talkative right now. I know... you are probably saying "Yeah, right. She is always talkative." But really, I feel kind of "Blah" right now. Nevertheless, I promised "a longer post tonight" and "more later," so here it is.

My fingerprints came back today, and according to our caseworker, they will be "added to our file." Hmmm... you would think that with as much trouble as they caused, something more should be done with the precious fingerprints than just "adding them to our file."

The agency will work to finish our homestudy this week... or the "draft" of our homestudy, I should say. Next, DoubleT and I have to review the draft of the homestudy to make sure it is accurate and that we agree with what was said.

After that, we will be free to submit our profile and album. Um, yeah. We have a lot of work to do on that. We spent several hours this weekend scanning 88 photos so that we can print copies. Of course, not all will make it in the album, but a girl needs choices, right?

I imagine that the next few months will remain busy and jam packed with life as usual, intermingled with all the holiday parties and travel. Please continue to pray for us as we try to fit this process into the mix.

Oh, I almost forgot. "Week 5" is upon us again. Papers and late nights. I'm glad that DoubleT is taking a few moments to rest right now. Actually, he is out cold on the couch with Ben, and Goldie is sleeping on the chair next to me. Why am I the only one awake right now? Oh yeah... I promised.

Good night.

Living in His JOY, HOPE, and PEACE...

Check in tonight...

for a longer post, but for now...

My fingerprint results came back today. I am officially NOT a criminal.

More later...

Living in His JOY, HOPE, and PEACE...

A little bit of fun...

It doesn't seem like we've made much progress on our album... both of us working all day and then DoubleT grading stuff for classes all evening doesn't really make either of us feel like working for hours on a scrapbook. Knowing that we don't have to turn it in yet because the homestudy can't be finished until my fingerprints come back doesn't help either. Seriously, that is just a recipe for procrastination! :-) Our caseworker reminded me yesterday that at the training we attended in April, the agency gave all us prospective adoptive parents a CD containing a sample album. I had totally forgotten about this! I pulled it out last night and it gave me a LOT of good ideas!! It kind of made the assignment feel a whole lot more concrete for me.

Little by little, inch by inch... We will get it done!

We're at least having fun anyway! We've come across some great pictures, and I thought I would share two of them with you here... The first is DoubleT when he was little in Romania. I'm not sure how old he was, but I'm thinking maybe 3? The second picture was taken quite a few years ago at DoubleT's birthday dinner with my family at Don Pablos. Whatcha think? Was it prophecy? :-)

Living in His JOY, HOPE, and PEACE...

Disappointed... but not defeated!

We just received an email from our caseworker letting us know that my fingerprints were rejected by the FBI for the second time. I have been told that sometimes years of playing the piano can make it difficult to get clear fingerprints. We're guessing that's what my problem is. Who knows? I would be lying if I said I was not disappointed. Today is the last day of September, and we had hoped to have a completed homestudy in our hands by the end of this month.

The agency will request that the FBI do a manual background search for me. I have no idea what the time frame for that is.

In the meantime, we will work on our album, wait on God's timing, and continue to praise Him for His goodness...

"All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:16

Living in His JOY, HOPE, and PEACE...

What's wrong with this picture?

You would think I could read simple instructions. Black. Not blue.



Oh, well. My over-eagerness to fill out the form ahead of time in the wrong color ink was corrected easily enough with yet another new card...

So, the 2nd set of fingerprints are now turned in, soon to be on their way back to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The officer that took them this time said (with emphasis) "THESE will NOT be rejected." We'll see what the FBI says. :-)

While the last day or two has produced a few bumps - some that I am not free to share here, I want you to know that we have felt your prayers and we know that God is faithful. We would be ever so grateful if you would continue to pray that God's will would be accomplished in our lives through this process, and that nothing would stand in His way...

Living in His JOY, HOPE, and PEACE...

Pray...

Ok, I know this might not be a big thing, but I really think Satan is doing his best to mess with the small details of this adoption.

I just received word that my fingerprints were rejected by the FBI, and so I have to have them redone right away. No, this does not mean that I am a criminal. :-) I hear that this happens very frequently in the adoption process, but I didn't think it would happen to us... well, maybe I thought it might happen to DoubleT's because of the accident with his finger when he was little, but I didn't think mine would get rejected.

I will try to get them redone ASAP, so please pray specifically for the officer who takes them... it is required that a different officer take them the second time so that, if they are rejected again, the agency can request a "manual scan," whatever that is... I think that means that I would have to have them done on a computer, which would mean traveling somewhere... **sigh*** I hope that's not the case.

Trusting God, Who is in control of ALL things!

Living in His JOY, HOPE, and PEACE...



****UPDATE****
We picked up a new, blank fingerprint card from the agency at lunch time and I asked if a "manual scan" would require us to travel somewhere.... the answer was "no." Praise God! Apparently, it just means that if the prints are rejected twice, and as long as they were done by different officers, then the agency can fax in a form to the FBI requesting that the fingerprints be verified manually by a person, rather than by a machine.

So, new fingerprints are scheduled for tomorrow, and there will be no charge since the first ones were rejected! Yaayyyy!!!

Identity...

Have you ever stopped to look at the intricacy of your fingerprints or the markings on the palms of your hands? Every line and curve was uniquely set in place by the God who created you, and each one tells who you are and has the potential to record what you have done. Your very identity rests in this pattern on your skin, at least on the surface. The Bible also tells us that the eyes of our Father saw our unformed bodies. He knows how many hairs are on our heads, and all the days of our lives were written in His book before we even existed! Praise God! Oh, if only we would be diligent to seek His guidance to follow HIS plan for each of these days... After all, He knows who you are, what you will do, and what you will become.

Yesterday, DoubleT and I had our fingerprints taken for our adoption paperwork. We had to wait a few minutes, but once the officer taking the fingerprints arrived, it did not take long. It was actually a fun experience for me. I haven't had my fingerprints done since I was a little girl, unlike my international, now proud U.S. citizen husband who has had them done more times than he would like to count! LoL!! The first picture is him having his fingerprints done, and the second picture is me on my way to the sink to wash my hands without getting ink on my white shirt :-).

That is one baby step in the process done, one partly done (medical forms), and lots more left to do. So, what's next? Reference letters! We will send the forms out to the people who have agreed to tell what they know about us and wait to get their letters back.

You know, this process can be quite overwhelming, which is just part of the reason I backed off so much for a few months. At times, it can also seem a little unfair, but I don't want to dwell on that because those thoughts are just a pit which leads to depression. Instead, I have asked God to use each experience to teach me something and to continue to mold me to be more like Him.

So, what did I learn from being fingerprinted? Well, after completely covering my fingers with black ink, which again, I thought was a BLAST, I washed my hands. The officer said it should all come right off, and on my left hand, he was correct. On the other hand (pun intended :-)), the ink on my right hand was not so cooperative. I scrubbed and scrubbed, but a few light stains remained. As I looked at my hand, I thought about how similar sin can be in our lives. We try to scrub it off, but it just won't go. We work at it as hard as we can, but the spots are still there. You see, we can't do it on our own. Only Jesus blood contains the right formula to remove the sin from our lives.

You might have to click on the following picture to see the details, but my thumb just didn't want to let go of all the ink. Throughout the day, I washed my hands several more times, and eventually the marks faded and went away completely. Thinking back, though, it still occurred to me that, even when we have been forgiven and covered with the blood of the Lamb, sin can still cause us trouble. Others might not see it, but it does its damage beneath the surface. It might not be a big sin, but not giving it the proper attention only makes us more used to its presence in our lives and less sensitive to the destruction it can cause. We must continually be alert to completely "wash our hands" with the soap of confession so that the grip sin has on us fades away and becomes less and less... just like the ink on my hands. Only then can our daily identity in Christ be unhindered, as we become more and more like Him!

Preparing our fields...