Chen Chronicles

So, Aaron celebrated his 29th birthday on April 16th and my 30th is fast approaching on August 26th of this year.  But today is a special day because we actually received our completed and approved home study documents.  I scheduled the pick up from Fed Ex and it should be on its way to immigration tomorrow when Fed Ex picks it up.  Yay!  Also, another note of interest...though I don't often talk about the military on here.  Aaron was accepted to the Air Force Institute of Technology so if all goes well with this, we might be here another 18 months from when he starts next August 2011.   Now, we're just praying that the program stays open as the meetings with the U.S. and Russia happen this Thursday and Friday.  Please pray with us.  

So, today was one heck of a day!  I was down in the dirt and worried about what that woman in Tennessee did with sending her child back unaccompanied to Russia.  And, we got a call and our home study was approved by Beacon House!!!  We are SO happy!!!  So, from here, we just have to wait for the home study to be sent back to us, notarized and certified then we can send it on to immigrations.  We have to wait for our I-171H approval before we can officially submit our first set of dossier documents!!!  We are half way there, according to our agency!!!  I can't believe it!  This is one of those "small victories" that life sends us on days when we really, really need it!  

I found an article online while researching adjustment periods post-adoption and thought it quite interesting because it makes a very pivotal point in saying that adoptive parents are not the only ones who are abusive to their children....or to the extreme even kill their children.  I was researching this because I did not understand WHY someone who go to such great lengths to adopt a child (emotionally, financially, etc) and then allow these things to happen.  This article explains a lot.  It also interested me because in college (yes, I studied a particular area of Sociology) and that was Sociology of Childhood.   I guess it saddens me to think that other prospective adoptive parents may never get the chance to love a Russian baby because of a handful of people's actions.  Should Russia close adoptions to the U.S., Aaron and I will choose another country.  We don't plan on waiting for them to iron everything out because that could take a long time.  However, it is positive

So, I was looking at another couple's blog about their adoption experience and their infertility and came across this video.  I thought I would share it with you.  It is so moving....even IF you are blessed enough to have your own biological children.  Hopefully, we'll have more to tell next week once Beacon House gets our Home Study with the changes/edits. http://www.tearsandhope.com/emptyarms_video.html

Well, we heard from our agency Friday that our home study needed a few changes.  I asked why and she said "clarifications," and that 9 out of 10 home studies had to be edited before they could be approved by Beacon House.  Apparently, it's not as easy to translate from English to Russian and that was the main reason for these edits.  We're praying and hoping that these are the only changes that have to be made because we are SO ready to move forward with sending this thing to immigration and getting dossier #1 done!  When motivated, I can move through paperwork like Speedy Gonzales.  If this gets us one more step to getting our Katie, then it is ALL worth it.  Please continue to pray with us as we work with the paperwork and everything that is required to bring our princess home.  And, she's probably already been born, so wherever she is, please pray for her safety, care and love!!! 

We are still in the "waiting" part of this adoption.  We are waiting on our home study to be approved by Beacon House (the Russian agency that works here in the U.S.).  They are located in Iberville Parish in Louisiana and they work with adoption agencies like ours (Building Blocks Adoption Service) here in Ohio.  We chose Building Blocks because of their Christian facilitation of adoptions and because they were a "one stop shop," where we could be guided and provided home study services as well as help and guidance through forming the paperwork (called dossiers) for Russia.  Two of these packets are required for Russia.  One of them is submitted before we meet our little Katie Allison and the second is submitted after our first trip to the region in order to schedule a court date.  We wanted the process to be as simple as possible and though there is A LOT of paperwork, they are awesome at guiding us through it and are always there when we need to talk to them

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36312713/ns/world_news-europe/ Okay, so this has all of us awaiting adoptions in Russia a little on edge.  For the record, our agency was not involved in the placement of this young boy and we're being informed that it's a "wait and see" to see how things turn out with Russian adoptions.  We just don't want to see them put a moratorium on Russian adoptions because of some parents' neglectful and selfish choices.  Please pray for all families (and us) who are adopting from Russia as all of this is ironed out.  We all know there are cases of child maltreatment here and abroad, but I guess your awareness of these things is definitely heightened when it has the potential to directly affect your family. Our agency assures us that there is nothing to worry about at the moment.  If Russia did, at any time, shut down adoptions from the U.S., there would be months of notice so that those families who have gotten so far into the process co

The latest information as of today (April 6th) is that the representative who has to approve our home study is on vacation until next week, so it will probably be next week before we can expect an approval or at least some feedback from Beacon House (that's the agency who does the "search" for our adoptive child in Russia and decides what region has children coming available). The good news is that once our home study is done and sent to immigration, we are essentially half way finished.  Aaron made that comment last night and I thought, really....it just doesn't feel like it, I guess.  But also, that was what I heard from our adoption coordinator today.  So, that is a piece of good news at least. I also feel fortunate to have been able to connect with a wonderful lady today by email and learned of a group of other adoptive parents who meet near our home once a month.  I'm going next Wednesday and think it will be a good thing to do....to be able to hear others

I write about this because it doesn't directly pertain to adopting our little Katie, but it is relevant to our feelings about having a child. It's been 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days since we started our adoption process and this feels like an eternity.   Tonight, we went to have dinner at Red Lobster and then to see the movie in theaters called The Last Song .  It made us realize, as if we didn't already know, the fragility of life.  I love the quote from Lisa Beamer (wife of Todd Beamer--who perished in Flight 93) which states, " Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."   There was also a quote in tonight's movie that struck me and completely applies to our adoption scenario.  "Sometimes you have to be apart from the people you love, but that doesn't make you love them any less. Sometimes it makes you love them more." ~ Quote from The Last Song~ I ask myself, how is it possible to