Happy New Year!!!!

Happy New Year!!!!!

Wishing all my family and friends a great 2012!!!!

2012 will bring many special new things to our family!!!! My sister is expecting her second sweet little boy any day now!!! I am beyond sad that she is so far away in Texas and that I will not be there to welcome the sweet angel into the world. We are also counting the days to hold our sweet girl again!!! We are missing her so much with each passing day!!!

IAC 201

IAC 201 Results
The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 201 which was held on 11/18/11:

1. U.S. dossier from December 2008 referred a female child aged 2 years and 2 months, lags behind in PMR

2. Great Britain/Northern Ireland dossier from January 2009 referred a male child aged 1 year and 7 months with peculiarities in health status, including family history

3. German dossier from March 2009 referred a male child aged 4 years and 8 months

4. Dutch dossier from June 2009 referred male twins, aged 4 years and 6 months

5. Italian dossier from June 2009 referred a male child aged 6 years and 3 months with peculiarities in health status in terms of mental development

6. U.S. dossier from December 2009 referred a female child aged 2 years and 6 months with peculiarities in health status in terms of physical and NDP

7. U.S dossier from March 2010 referred a female child aged 1 year and 8 months with peculiarities in health status, physical, NDP and infectious disease

8. Italian dossier from June 2010 referred a male child aged 8 years and 3 months

9. U.S. dossier from July 2010 referred a waiting child (#591) with a profile on the MOJ site

10. Italin dossier from October 2010 referred a male child aged 9 years and 3 months

11. Italian dossier from May 2011 referred a waiting child (#1656) with a profile on the MOJ site

12. Italian dossier from June 2011 referred a female child aged 9 years and 10 months

13. Italian dossier from July 2011 referred a brother and sister, aged 4 years and 9 months and 6 years and 5 months with peculiarities in health status, lag in FF and NDP

14. Italian dossier from November 2011 referred a waiting child (#1509) with a profile on the MOJ site

15. U.S. dossier from November 2011 referred a waiting child (#1024) with a profile on the MOJ site

16. U.S. dossier from November 2011 referred a waiting child (#1328) with a profile on the MOJ site

17. U.S. dossier from November 2011 referred a waiting child (#994) with a profile on the MOJ site

18. U.S. dossier from November 2011 referred a waiting child (#115) with a profile on the MOJ site

Merry Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!

I hope the New Year brings many blessing to all!!!!

Bittersweet moments this holiday as I witness the happiness and joy on the faces of these special kids and sadness as I think of the sweet precious girl waiting for her FOREVER FAMILY 5000 miles away!!!! As the New Year approaches my heart feels torn to wish the days past as each day is closer to having her home. On the other hand I want to freeze time as my angels at home are growing up too fast!!!!!

Lots of Love at gratitude this holiday season!!!

One Step Closer!!!

Making progress!!!
Each small step is one day closer to bringing our girl home!!!

COMPLETE-Approved 12/9/11
1. Our I800-A renewal has to be approved
(this is a general immigration form from US immigration)
our current clearance expired in November

COMPLETE- Approved
2. I800 form has to approved-
(this is an immigration form specific to T. for US immigration)

COMPLETE-Approval sent on 12/16 /11
3. The I800 approval is forwarded to US Embassy in Bulgaria-time frame 10 days

4. The US Embassy in Bulgaria will issue an Article 5- time frame 4-6 weeks

5. Once the Article 5 is released the case will go to the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice for additional signatures and approvals- time frame 4-6 weeks

6. From the MOJ the file will move to the Bulgarian court system and a court date will be issued-time frame 4-6 weeks

7. After court a few documents have to be prepared before pick-up trip is scheduled- 1-2 weeks

8. PICK-trip scheduled!!!!!!!

Progress

Making progress
Still so many steps before we return to Bulgaria but we are so grateful for having one huge step out of the way!!!! We are still hoping for 4-6 months in between trips!!!!

COMPLETE-Approved 12/9/11
1. Our I800-A renewal has to be approved
(this is a general immigration form from US immigration)
our current clearance expired in November

COMPLETE- Approved
2. I800 form has to approved-
(this is an immigration form specific to T. for US immigration)

3. The I800 approval is forwarded to US Embassy in Bulgaria-time frame 10 days

4. The US Embassy in Bulgaria will issue an Article 5- time frame 4-6 weeks

5. Once the Article 5 is released the case will go to the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice for additional signatures and approvals- time frame 4-6 weeks

6. From the MOJ the file will move to the Bulgarian court system and a court date will be issued-time frame 4-6 weeks

7. After court a few documents have to be prepared before pick-up trip is scheduled- 1-2 weeks

8. PICK-trip scheduled!!!!!!!

Bulgaria....The Good and the Bad

Just with every place there are always things you love and things you are not fond of. My memory is already bad so I thought I share some of my likes and dislikes.

The Best:
The sweet little girl, that we can not wait to be part of our family

The Good:
Our translator, she was AWESOME!!!
The Pizza
The Shopska Salad
The Chrsitmas lights in Sofia
Victoria Restraunt....NON SMOKING section (3 glorious tables)
The beautiful mountains in the orphanage home
The FREE Walking Tour of Sofia
The Hotel in Center City the second part of trip
The prices on food were GREAT
The walk to the top of the city in orphanage town
The weather was great for December, only a little snow 1 day
Watching another child leave the orphanage for the last time with his family
Discovery that they do have regular coffee in Bulgaria, sadly it was Thursday
Walking everywhere is great on the waistline

The Not so Good:
SMOKERS EVERYWHERE!!!!!!
The time difference
The long airplane rides with people wearing too much PERFUME
Expresso coffee
Bathrooms/Showers
Missed American Milk
Missed wearing my bright colored hoodies and sneakers

Overall the good outweighs the bad by a long shot!!!! For my first European experience I was pleased and enjoyed my time in Bulgaria.

What happens now...

When do we bring her home???

That is the million dollar question... My guess is somewhere between 4-6 months from first trip

There are many things that have to occur before we make the second trip back and bring her home.

1. Our I800-A renewal has to be approved
(this is a general immigration form from US immigration)
our current clearance expired in November

2. I800 form has to approved-
(this is an immigration form specific to T. for US immigration)

3. The I800 approval is forwarded to US Embassy in Bulgaria-time frame 10 days

4. The US Embassy in Bulgaria will issue an Article 5- time frame 4-6 weeks

5. Once the Article 5 is released the case will go to the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice for additional signatures and approvals- time frame 4-6 weeks

6. From the MOJ the file will move to the Bulgarian court system and a court date will be issued-time frame 4-6 weeks

7. After court a few documents have to be prepared before pick-up trip is scheduled- 1-2 weeks

8. PICK-trip scheduled!!!!!!!

IAC 200

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 200 which was held on 11/11/11:

1) Spanish dossier from December 2008 referred a female child, aged 2 years and 10 months

2) French dossier from December 2008 referred a male child, aged 1 year and 10 months

3) French dossier from December 2008 referred a female child, aged 3 years and 9 months

4) Canadian dossier from January 2009 referred a female child, aged 4 years and 8 months

5) U.S. dossier from August 2009 referred a female child aged 5 years and 7 months with features in health status

6) U.S. dossier from August 2010 referred a female child, aged 3 years 9 months with features in health status and data on family history

7) Swedish dossier from November 2009 referred a male child, aged 2 years with features in health status and data on family history

8) French dossier from March 2010 referred a waiting child (#1655) with a profile on the MOJ site

9) Italian dossier from July 2010 referred a male child, aged 5 years and 8 months with features in health status

10) Italian dossier from July 2011 referred a male child, aged 9 years and 2 months

11) Italian dossier from August 2011 referred a male child, aged 9 years 7 months

12) Italian dossier from October 2011 referred a male child, aged 9 years and 5 months

13) Italian dossier from October 2011 referred a male child, aged 9 years and 1 month

Last 2 days in Bulgaria and the trip home

A little delayed and not nearly as exciting as the time spent with T.!!!

We checked into our hotel in center city Sofia Thursday around 7. We were stressing about the name we were to give T and had to know by 9am the next morning. We decided to clear our heads and go for a walk and enjoy the beauty of the city decorated with Christmas lights!!! We walked for nearly an hour and loved the lights of hustle of the Sofia.

Friday morning we walked a little and met a VESTA rep around lunch time to go to the notary office. We enjoyed the afternoon with some shopping and a nice meal at a pizza place with 3 non-smoking tables!!!! It was early to bed that evening

Our driver picked us up at the hotel at 5:15am and we started our journey back to the USA. The flights were sooooooooooooo long and 4pm EST we landed in Charlotte and by 6pm by babies were in my arms!!!!

I thank my parents for taking such wonderful care of the kids while we were gone. There are so many other people to thank (Kim, Jane, teachers, soccer family, adoption friends, and the numerous other friends/family/strangers praying for our family). We are blessed in so many ways!!! It has been an amazing roller coaster of a journey.

IAC 199

Many thanks to my dear friend Viviane!!!
The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 199 which was held on 11/04/11:

1) Spanish dossier from December 2008 referred a female child aged 1 year and 10 months with peculiarities in health status

2) Canadian dossier from March 2009 referred a male child, aged 5 years and 5 months

3) French dossier from December 2009 referred a male child aged 7 years 1 month

4) U.S. dossier from December 2009 referred a male child aged 7 years and 7 months

5) U.S. dossier from December 2009 referred two female children/ biological sisters / aged respectively: 2 years and 11 months and 4 years and 11 months with physical characteristics and NP development

6) Spanish dossier from October 2010 referred a female child, aged 9 years 2 months

7) Italian dossier from October 2010 referred two children female and male / biological sister and brother / aged respectively: 6 years and 7 months and 7 years and 6 months with physical characteristics and NP development

8) U.S. dossier from May 2011 referred a female child aged 2 years and 7 months, data on family history

9) U.S. dossier from October 2011 referred a waiting child (#653) with a profile on the MOJ site

10) Italian dossier from November 2011 referred two waiting children (#1646 & #1647) with profiles on the MOJ site

A Temporary Goodbye

We knew the last day would be bittersweet. It was a cold snowy day in Bulgaria. We made the short walk to the orphange with gift bags and donations in hand. We were able to have 2 visits the last day which was a pleasant unexpected surprise. She was still a little tentative when the caregivers dropped her off but she warmed up quickly the last day. It was clear she starting to feel a little more relaxed with us. She loved the music and danced a sang a little with us. The afternoon visits were in a larger room and it was wonderful to see her run around and play a little more freely. She came to love the bag we carried full of toys and snacks. This tiny little girl LOVED to snack. We brought her banannas, goldfish, animal crackers, and juice and when the times got tense the snacks always did the trick!!! When it was time to say goodbye we were both tearful as she waved goodbye to us and blew us kisses and was wisked away up the stairs of the orphanage. The nurse took extra care of all the items we brought for her and made sure they would be used and separated from the community goods.

We know this was not goodbye forever but it was still a moment that stung my heart. I will never forget walking through the gates of her orphanage knowing we were meant to be her family yet still apart.

Our driver brought us back to Sofia and dropped us off at a hotel. We decided we were both a little on edge and enjoyed a nice walk through the center of Sofia. It was beautiful to see the Christmas decorations!!!

One more day of business and then we are on our way back HOME!!!!

Wednesday..Day 3 with T.

We had a good day yesterday. She finally tolerates us without fear and is comfortable approaching us, not jumping in our arms but better than Monday. They also took her for her visa picture yesterday. The visits are long in a small room 8 x 8 and about 90 degress!!!! We also discovered the 12 month clothes are too short, they fit her around the waist. It will be interesting to see what the 18 month clothes are like this morning. The nurses dress her in the clothes we bring which is a nice gesture. We will get 2 visits today then head back to Sofia. We also discovered she loves music!!!! She likes twinkle twinkle little star and patti cake but she lit up when I asked the translator to sing a childrens song in Bulgarian, she even sang along!!!!! We bought a childrens cd last night and downloaded it to my iphone for today. Our driver will pick us up around 4:30. We are checking out of the hotel this AM.

I will say that the children in this orphanage are VERY well cared for and loved. There is plenty of warmth, food, and clothes. We did notice that she wore shoes about 1-1.5 sizes to big which could be the reason she is a little wobbly on her feet. We also found out the biggest need the home has is for diapers. We were able to make a small diaper donation this time and hope to have more for the second trip.

Once again thanks for all the love and support!!!!

Tuesday

Day 5, starting to get homesick for my babies at home and American coffee!!!!

Tuesday went pretty well. She is still kind of leary of us. We were in this insanely small room Tuesday morning from 9:30-12:30!! Se cried when the caregivers dropped her off for a while. I know she felt overpowered by the 3 adults in the room, two of which sounded nothing like what she was used to. We finally gave her a snack and she calmed down. She really does not like to play a lot more interested in holding objects. She needed a diaper change around 10:30 and the auntie came and got her and brought her back. Of course she was upset again. Another snack calmed her down and she actually played with blocks for a good while. She was getting sleepy at the end and she allowed me to hold her and put her head on my shoulder. We returned her to the director around 12:30 and left for lunch. In the afternoon, we were in the bigger room and when the auntie dropped her off she was upset but we placed her in a swing for a moment and she calmed right down. We had a good visit in the afternoon. She liked coloring, loved the family photos (she loved Audrey), we sang, taught her patty-cakes, and high- five. She is VERY receptive and only has to be shown things 1time but is still very quiet. We only heard her speak 1-2 words yesterday.

It is kind of like babysitting a kid for the first time, go through a milllion things to find out what she likes. The difference is in a few short months she will ours FOREVER!!! I think she will find lots of comfort with the kids especially Audrey once home.

Monday....Meeting T.

Kind of a surreal day.....kinds of happens fast and before you know it the day is over, still a great day. Keep in mind I am day 4 sans coffee (not a fan of the coffee "shots" here) and on a messed up time schedule (currently 1:41 in US but 8:41 Am in Bulgaria) so forgive my typos.

Our driver picked us up from our apartment in Sofia at 7:30 Monday morning. Us along with 2 families on second trip made the 2 hour journey to the orphanage town.It was a scenic ride through the mountains of Bulgaria. Once we arrived at the orphanage the other family picked up their son as we waited and was through the gates FOREVER!!! It was kind of neat to witness a child's last walk out the doors on the same day we met ours!!

We had 2 visits today. The first visit she was very nervous and scared and cried a little. The director of the orphanage was there with us and answered questions for us. We found out she loves animal crackers, our secret weapon during that first short visit. The first visit was very short since it was close to lunch time. We returned at about 2:30 and we were in a larger room. They dropped her off and left her with us and our translator. We had a good visit in the afternoon. She played with bubbles, playdoh, rode a little ride-on toy. We left around 4:00pm. We go back tomorrow from 9:30-12 and 2:30-4. She is very quiet and shy but very responsive to commands and directions. We heard her speak 2 words but for the most part she clapped when she was pleased. She seems to be in good health, just very small.The orphanage is very clean on the inside. The kids are very well cared and it was clear to see she has attachment to caregivers. She loves her "granny" (a local lady from the town) that visits her every day for a few hours. The staff only will let us in the 2 rooms of the home and it is too windy to take her outside so it is a little claustrophobic. Overall, we think she is great!! She was able to giggle, wave bye, and blow kises.

The orphanage town is kind of rual and has a very nice center square area. Our hotel is simple but nice with limited internet. We will be here until Thursday, then head back to Sophia, to complete some paperwork and tour around.

I miss my family and friends so much and appreciate all the support and love from EVERYONE!!!!

Sunday; Walking in Sophia

We had a free day Sunday and set out to explore Sofia on foot!

Thanks to a suggestion from a fellow adoption friend we took the Free Walking Tour of Sofia. This is 2-3 hour tour highlights the major parts of the City Center. The tour is in English and provided great background on the history of the city. After the tour around 2Pm we located a nice restraunt and enjoyed yet another Bulgarian Pizza and Shopksa salad. Both were very yummy. We enjoyed the warmth (it was a chilly day) of the restraunt for a while and set back out on foot once again to explore the busy streets and storefronts. We ate a treat from a bakery and decided the evening was nice and that the long walk back to the apartment would be nice. We had a great map and found all the roads easily, thanks to Howie's fine map reading skills. We stopped at the market and picked up some water and soda. It was another early night to bed, as tomorrow is a big day!!!!!

We are starting our adventure to the orphanage town around 7:30 AM Monday! The ride is about 90 minutes and we will be making the trip with 2 other families both on the second trip!!! We are soooooo excited to finally meet her :)

The Apartment and Saturday Night

We arrived at our apartment after our long day(s) of travel and found it a clean, simple, modern apartment. The apartment is located very far outside the city center ( 45+ minute walk) which is a little disappointing. There is a nice kitchen, living room, bedroom, computer desk area, a bathroom with shower (aka wet room, standing water on the floor that will not drain), and a small toliet room. There is a small market close and a good restraunt with in .25 mile.

After we got situated into the apartment we walked down the road to a close restraunt and enjoyed some great pizza! The pizza is very light and thin and taste great! I plan on eating it as many days as possible!!! Our menu was in English and our waiter did a great job talking to us in English and telling us about Bulgaria. We stopped at the market on the way home and picked up some snacks and drinks and headed back the apartment for a much needed shower and bedtime!!!!

We had a free day Sunday and took a Free Walking Tour of Sofia, will post more about that.

The flights!!! Fri/Sat

I'll start the post to say we made it SAFELY to Bulgaria and are snuggled into our apartment

Whew!!! Overseas travel is NOT easy on the body!! My eyes, nose, and throat feel like sandpaper, depsite massive hydration!!!

We started our journey in Charlotte and arrived at the airport around 1pm. Our first leg took us to DC. We arrived in DC around 4:15PM and departed for Munich around 6:50PM. We flew Lufthansa to Munich and was very pleased with the level of service! They were awesome and very attentive to all our needs. Despite a disorderly passenger that had a little too much ETHOH we had a great flight and caught a few hours of rest and watched a movie. We arrived in Munich around 8Am Saturday and had a LONG layover before our flight to Sofia. We were grumpy and sleepy and there was little to entertain us in the Munich airport. We managed to grab some food, freshen up and sleep a little. Finally we boarded at our flight to Sofia at 12:45PM and arrived right on time at 4:00Pm Saturday. Our luggage arrived quick (my hot pink flower luggage was easy to spot among the wave of black luggage, a very popular color in Europe) and as we left the baggage claim we quickly spotted our driver from VESTA!!! Our driver took us to exchange money and showed us a few places to eat and shop and showed us into our apartment.

I will try to post more about the apartment and the first night in Sofia this evening. Right now we are enjoying our free day and about to see the sights of Sofia!!!

Tomorrow!!!!

Flight leaves at 2:49pm TOMORROW!!!

We connect in Dulles and Munich and arrive in Sofia at 4pm on Sat!!! Whew long day ahead

Laundry finishing up, bags packed, kids schedule printed!!!!

My heart is heavy to leave my babies (although they are in the best hands possible)!!!

My heart is happy to meet the little girl we have waited NEARLY 3 years for. We commited to adoption on Christmas Eve 2008!!!!

Still need to pack my carry-on/back pack and make a grocery run!!!!

Thanks for all the well wishes!!!!