Three days before Christmas I was shopping at Walmart. I thought maybe just maybe we might have Emme in our home before Christmas. I knew I needed a few last minute gifts and food. I saw the most adorable purple dresses and bought three of them. I also bought three headbands and tights.
I thought it was strange that the phone hadn't rang. It ALWAYS rings when the kids aren't with me. I had John's phone because mine has been MIA for weeks now. I figured out that it was turned off and turned it on. Instantly it started ringing. The ICPC paper that we needed to sign had been Fed Exed Overnighted to the ICPC office in San Diego, and we had until 2:30 to pick it up. I don't even remember what time it was but we were cutting it close.
Steve sped from work which wasn't real close to the ICPC office and got the paper. BUT we needed an Adoption Service Provider to witness us signing the paper. What the heck is an Adoption Service Provider and where are we going to find one three days before Christmas?
Steve called our homestudy agency but for reasons they couldn't witness us signing the paper. The ICPC had a few numbers of ASP's so he called one of them and she was able to meet with us. I had just been whizzing down the freeway pondering all that was going on and totally missed the exit I was supposed to take to go home. A minute later Steve calls to tell me to head to Scripps Ranch because we needed to sign this paper. I told him that was weird because I had just missed the exit that I had taken umpteen times and was headed in that direction, like the next exit. Weird. We showed up to the ladies house and went in and signed the paper. I thought it was odd that we needed to sign this paper in front of this lady and she had no idea who we were. It would have made more sense to sign the paper in front of a notary, but whatever. Adoption laws make no sense half the time.
After signing the paper Steve had to go back to Mission Valley to the ICPC office before they closed for the day, and possibly the weekend. I sped home to start making travel plans to fly out the next day. When I got home we had confirmation that we had California ICPC approval which is what we needed to cross Emme across state lines.
My computer was not working for me on the travel plans. I finally gave up and called Southwest to make the arrangements. I was able to fly out the next morning at 7ish but needed to be up and going at 4:30am. I made hotel reservations thinking I wasn't able to fly out until Christmas Eve. Communication between moms was happening and between our lawyer and each mom. So much going on just three days before Christmas. Usually Christmas in and of itself is enough, add instant travel plans and a new family member on top of that. Can I just say that stress would have been an understatement?
Friday, December 30, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
Turkey Noodle Soup
I use a 23+lbs turkey carcass and double or triple this recipe. Today we tripled it. My fourteen year old son was quite excited to see this being prepared as it his favorite soup. It is our day after Thanksgiving tradition to have this soup. We even fix it if we're camping and make it in the big roaster oven.
1 leftover turkey carcass (from a 12-14 lb turkey)
14 cups water
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1 large onion, halved
4 whole peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup uncooked egg noodles
Place the first nine ingredients in a soup pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for at least an hour. Strain broth; discard onion, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Remove carcass and any bones in the broth; allow to cool. Remove turkey from bones and cut into bite-size pieces; set aside.
Add carrots, celery, potatoes, and chopped onion. (I do this after making the broth and place in a big bowl.) Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the veggies are tender.
Add nooldes and reserved turkey. Return to a boil; cook, uncovered for 10 minutes or until noodles are tender.
Yield: 12-14 servings (3-1/2 quarts)
1 leftover turkey carcass (from a 12-14 lb turkey)
14 cups water
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1 large onion, halved
4 whole peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup uncooked egg noodles
Place the first nine ingredients in a soup pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for at least an hour. Strain broth; discard onion, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Remove carcass and any bones in the broth; allow to cool. Remove turkey from bones and cut into bite-size pieces; set aside.
Add carrots, celery, potatoes, and chopped onion. (I do this after making the broth and place in a big bowl.) Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the veggies are tender.
Add nooldes and reserved turkey. Return to a boil; cook, uncovered for 10 minutes or until noodles are tender.
Yield: 12-14 servings (3-1/2 quarts)
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Life update
Lots has been going on here at home, so much so that I can't seem to get here and blog. I'll start with the last two weeks of October.
We had our California Walk-thru with Joel which I mentioned in a previous post. We homeschool and the ISP we belong to offers class days and one of the classes that Joel is taking this year is California history. With the fee of the class he is able to participate in a fun event called the California History Walk-thru. A fun facilitator comes and runs the program for the kids. She asks questions, they pull out a map of California and place different symbols coordinating where events happened in the state. She presented fun facts and the kids really have a great time and learn while they're having fun.
We had make-up pictures for school because a certain son of mine had his head shaved just days before our original school picture date. And we couldn't get into our hair stylist before her wedding and pictures for the other two boys. So what is usually a one-trip deal turned into two-one day for the girls and one for the boys.
The next day Joel had a sixth grade camp event. The sixth graders from our ISP that were going to camp all got together and played Bunco while us moms talked.
John has had his flag football games on Fridays and that has been fun to watch. His shirt was ripped on the first day and he wouldn't let me sew it. I guess it was a trophy?
Pumpkin patch fiasco.....we all five cars of us showed up to our favorite pumpkin patch only to find it was closed on Mondays. Ai yi yi. We headed to a funky little patch that we could at least get some pics in while the three cousins were together. The next day we went to the real one but missed baby Isaiah.
My washing machine decided to break. You can only imagine with a family of ten how the laundry stacks up. We were without for about two weeks and fared okay but we are very grateful to have working washing machine now!
Joe had an interview with the sheriff's explorer program. He's hoping to be accepted and go to the academy in February. They're doing background checks now and some of our friends have received reference requests. The deputy who talked to him told him to pay his bills when he becomes an adult, don't get into drugs, stay out of trouble and if he is going to drink when he is twenty-one then do it responsibly and don't drink and drive. AND best of all!!! He told him this was not his mother's responsibility but HIS!!! I love it!!!!!! It was good for him to hear from someone else that if he desires a career in law enforcement his actions now will have consequences or benefits later.
Joel went to 6th grade camp had a blast with his friends. He liked it a lot better than going to summer camp even though it's the same place. He had more freedom and more "off" time.
I was able to speak to some younger elementary students about Ethiopia for their social studies class. We bought some sega wat and injera and some other goodies for them to try. Some wouldn't try the food but others loved it. We shared many of our Ethiopian things that we have and read to them about an Ethiopian family.
Addis's soccer team won first place for her division so they go onto the Tournament of Champions.
Joe made varsity at El Cap for their soccer team.
Abi's team came in second place for their division. She was a pretty good goalie this year.
John's flag football season ended and he won Best Defensive Player of the Year so that was exciting.
Our adoptions keep hitting snags. We had a social worker come out on Monday to interview us and see the house. It's all red tape as to why Meskerem isn't here. I could rant and rave about this, but I won't. Just remember that a child is caught in the middle of all the tape, and the two families who want nothing but the best for her.
Our ET adoption is in waiting mode. We sent a care package with some friends who are leaving tomorrow. They'll take some pics for us which will be wonderful. I spent the afternoon last Saturday uploading all the pics we've received so I have them should my computer decide to crash someday soon.
I am into couponing now and have my binder and am now the proud subscriber of ten newspapers a week. I'm starting out slow but that's okay. Yesterday I was able to go to Fresh N' Easy and walk out with 2 turkeys, one was 23+ lbs and one was 21+ lbs, five bunches of celery and three loaves of Italian bread for $1.88. They offer points on items that you buy so last week when I bought three turkeys at .59 a pound I earned about $15. This week the turkeys are on sale for .39 a pound and I had $21 on my card. So that was a pretty good shopping trip in my estimation. I saved 44% on my other shopping trips with store rewards and coupons. I'll get better and the savings will be more. It is a learning curve but more money saved is more towards adoption expenses.
So life goes on at a furious pace and we're just trying to keep up. I did come down with Bell's Palsy three weeks ago and it's getting better. Hopefully another two weeks and I'll be back to normal. Right now I have the goofy grin going on.
Happy Thanksgiving and love to you and your families.
We had our California Walk-thru with Joel which I mentioned in a previous post. We homeschool and the ISP we belong to offers class days and one of the classes that Joel is taking this year is California history. With the fee of the class he is able to participate in a fun event called the California History Walk-thru. A fun facilitator comes and runs the program for the kids. She asks questions, they pull out a map of California and place different symbols coordinating where events happened in the state. She presented fun facts and the kids really have a great time and learn while they're having fun.
We had make-up pictures for school because a certain son of mine had his head shaved just days before our original school picture date. And we couldn't get into our hair stylist before her wedding and pictures for the other two boys. So what is usually a one-trip deal turned into two-one day for the girls and one for the boys.
The next day Joel had a sixth grade camp event. The sixth graders from our ISP that were going to camp all got together and played Bunco while us moms talked.
John has had his flag football games on Fridays and that has been fun to watch. His shirt was ripped on the first day and he wouldn't let me sew it. I guess it was a trophy?
Pumpkin patch fiasco.....we all five cars of us showed up to our favorite pumpkin patch only to find it was closed on Mondays. Ai yi yi. We headed to a funky little patch that we could at least get some pics in while the three cousins were together. The next day we went to the real one but missed baby Isaiah.
My washing machine decided to break. You can only imagine with a family of ten how the laundry stacks up. We were without for about two weeks and fared okay but we are very grateful to have working washing machine now!
Joe had an interview with the sheriff's explorer program. He's hoping to be accepted and go to the academy in February. They're doing background checks now and some of our friends have received reference requests. The deputy who talked to him told him to pay his bills when he becomes an adult, don't get into drugs, stay out of trouble and if he is going to drink when he is twenty-one then do it responsibly and don't drink and drive. AND best of all!!! He told him this was not his mother's responsibility but HIS!!! I love it!!!!!! It was good for him to hear from someone else that if he desires a career in law enforcement his actions now will have consequences or benefits later.
Joel went to 6th grade camp had a blast with his friends. He liked it a lot better than going to summer camp even though it's the same place. He had more freedom and more "off" time.
I was able to speak to some younger elementary students about Ethiopia for their social studies class. We bought some sega wat and injera and some other goodies for them to try. Some wouldn't try the food but others loved it. We shared many of our Ethiopian things that we have and read to them about an Ethiopian family.
Addis's soccer team won first place for her division so they go onto the Tournament of Champions.
Joe made varsity at El Cap for their soccer team.
Abi's team came in second place for their division. She was a pretty good goalie this year.
John's flag football season ended and he won Best Defensive Player of the Year so that was exciting.
Our adoptions keep hitting snags. We had a social worker come out on Monday to interview us and see the house. It's all red tape as to why Meskerem isn't here. I could rant and rave about this, but I won't. Just remember that a child is caught in the middle of all the tape, and the two families who want nothing but the best for her.
Our ET adoption is in waiting mode. We sent a care package with some friends who are leaving tomorrow. They'll take some pics for us which will be wonderful. I spent the afternoon last Saturday uploading all the pics we've received so I have them should my computer decide to crash someday soon.
I am into couponing now and have my binder and am now the proud subscriber of ten newspapers a week. I'm starting out slow but that's okay. Yesterday I was able to go to Fresh N' Easy and walk out with 2 turkeys, one was 23+ lbs and one was 21+ lbs, five bunches of celery and three loaves of Italian bread for $1.88. They offer points on items that you buy so last week when I bought three turkeys at .59 a pound I earned about $15. This week the turkeys are on sale for .39 a pound and I had $21 on my card. So that was a pretty good shopping trip in my estimation. I saved 44% on my other shopping trips with store rewards and coupons. I'll get better and the savings will be more. It is a learning curve but more money saved is more towards adoption expenses.
So life goes on at a furious pace and we're just trying to keep up. I did come down with Bell's Palsy three weeks ago and it's getting better. Hopefully another two weeks and I'll be back to normal. Right now I have the goofy grin going on.
Happy Thanksgiving and love to you and your families.
Joel's Lasagna
This is Joel's favorite lasagna so I thought I would name it after him.
Joel's Lasagna
2 lbs ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons basil
1 teaspoon pepper
1 container (16 ounces) cottage cheese
2/3 cups Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
3 cups mozzarella cheese (divided)
12 lasagna noodles
Fry ground beef, onion, and garlic untill beef is browned and onion is tender. Drain the oil (we use a baster). Stir into the beef mixture the tomatoes, tomato paste, and seasonings; simmer about 15 minutes.
In a bowl, combine the cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese and half of the mozzarella cheese.
Spread half of the meat sauce on the bottom of a 13x9 pan/dish. Arrange six of the noodles over the meat sauce.
Spread the cheese mixture over noodles. Top with remaining six noodles. Spread the rest of the meat sauce on top of the noodles.
Cover with foil and bake at 350* for 45 minutes.
Uncover; sprinkle remaining mozzarella making sure your top is nice and cheesy. Return the pan to the oven with the foil off and bake until the cheese is melted.
Yield: 12 servings (so they say)
Joel's Lasagna
2 lbs ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons basil
1 teaspoon pepper
1 container (16 ounces) cottage cheese
2/3 cups Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
3 cups mozzarella cheese (divided)
12 lasagna noodles
Fry ground beef, onion, and garlic untill beef is browned and onion is tender. Drain the oil (we use a baster). Stir into the beef mixture the tomatoes, tomato paste, and seasonings; simmer about 15 minutes.
In a bowl, combine the cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese and half of the mozzarella cheese.
Spread half of the meat sauce on the bottom of a 13x9 pan/dish. Arrange six of the noodles over the meat sauce.
Spread the cheese mixture over noodles. Top with remaining six noodles. Spread the rest of the meat sauce on top of the noodles.
Cover with foil and bake at 350* for 45 minutes.
Uncover; sprinkle remaining mozzarella making sure your top is nice and cheesy. Return the pan to the oven with the foil off and bake until the cheese is melted.
Yield: 12 servings (so they say)
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Organizing adoption notebooks
When we started the process five years ago I kept all papers that came through my hands. After the adoption process itself was over I kept the more personal things in a notebook for each girl, and put thebadoption papers away in a file.
Today I went through the six notebooks and got caught up for now. I could always do more but it was enough for today. I also went through all the monthly updates and pictures for Little A in Ethiopia and uploaded pics to Costco so I have a hard copy should my computer crash. I like to send her pictures of herself too. I can get a long distance smile from her that way.
I have referral information, updates, pictures, pictures of any friends that were in the transition homes with them, maps, emails, post adoption reports and other stuff. It's their history on paper. It's all the history I can give them for now. I'm hoping someday soon to take them all back to see their families. But until then they have their notebooks to look through.
Today I went through the six notebooks and got caught up for now. I could always do more but it was enough for today. I also went through all the monthly updates and pictures for Little A in Ethiopia and uploaded pics to Costco so I have a hard copy should my computer crash. I like to send her pictures of herself too. I can get a long distance smile from her that way.
I have referral information, updates, pictures, pictures of any friends that were in the transition homes with them, maps, emails, post adoption reports and other stuff. It's their history on paper. It's all the history I can give them for now. I'm hoping someday soon to take them all back to see their families. But until then they have their notebooks to look through.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
The Road to Ethiopia Etsy Shop
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Adah Derartu's 5th Birthday
 |
| She looks like she's growling at me. ;-) |
 |
| Birthday Princess! |
 |
| Adah Derartu-5 |
Friday, October 21, 2011
Joel and California History
Monday we went to a California History walk-thru that was hosted by our school. The kids answer questions on California history and have different vocabulary words that they have memorized and share with everyone.
Mom
MARTIN, AGNES A. (GRIESHABER, NEMES) Agnes A. Martin born on June 15, 1933, passed away peacefully in her home on October 13, 2011. She was surrounded by her children Peggy DeNechocea (Tony), Betty Samaniego (Albert), Gene Grieshaber Jr. (Joni), Steve Grieshaber (Vikki), Greg Grieshaber (Debbie) and 22 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. She loved playing the horses at Del Mar, cards with her friends, and watching the Chargers and Padres. Her happiest times were spent with her large family, especially when being teased by them. Her life will be celebrated on October 23rd from 12 to 4 p.mMy mother-in-law passed away last week. It was unexpected and it was quick. Two weeks ago she called Steve and told him she was going to the er by ambulance for shortness of breath. He told her he would meet her there since he was at work and about twenty minutes to a half-hour away from where she was. That was Thursday. They decided to keep her in the hospital because they thought she had pneumonia. Her oxygen saturation level was in the 70's and she needed closer monitoring.
She'd had a lump in her neck but thought it was possibly thyroid cancer like I had years ago. She was going to get a biopsy eventually, it was scheduled, but since she was already in the hospital it was decided to do one there.
On Friday she was diagnosed with cancer. The lump in her neck turned out to be a tumor that had wrapped itself around an artery and the bone in her neck.
On Saturday different family members spent the day with her.
On Sunday Steve went up to spend the whole day with her.
On Monday we both went up and the oncologist came in while we were there and basically told us the cancer was untreatable. Even with chemo it might add three months on to her life. It was decided that she wouldn't do chemo and go home on hospice instead.
On Tuesday we had a meeting with the hospice team and her little studio apt was set up with hospice care equipment and she went home about 6:30 that night. Steve and I went home and our niece, her husband and Steve's sister went to moms to help her get settled and Steve's sister was staying with mom.
On Wednesday about 3:00 in the morning we get a call to come because mom has taken a turn for the worst. This wasn't even twelve hours later! She was pretty unresponsive but I did help her get up one last time to try and use the restroom. We got her back in bed and changed her top since she was damp and clammy.
She would open her eyes and respond if someone spoke to her. I was able to tell her thanks for taking me in when I was only fifteen and for taking me on as a daughter. She told me, "You're welcome." Most of the grandkids who lived in town and all of her kids were able to be there on Tuesday. We had fun together remembering our family times, we would get shushed to be quiet when we got too loud, but most importantly we were there to help mom pass from this world to the next. Every now and then she would ask us to help her sit up so she could look at everyone in the room and then lie back down.
We ended up going home that evening. Thursday I went to home school class day like I do every Thursday and then went to the doctors because of my darn leg. While I was in the drs. office Steve called to say that his mom had died.
She would have wanted it that way. She would have wanted to go quickly. She wouldn't have wanted to linger on needing someone else to take care of her. She was feisty. She told it like it was. She was tolerant of others as much as she could be. If you rubbed her the wrong way well, then, she had no patience for you, but it didn't take much to win her approval. You just had to be nice to her. That was it!
Back in 1976 I moved in with mom when I was only a fifteen year old teenager with a past of running away from home. I lived with her my high school years until we moved out and got an apartment of our own, when I was a senior in high school. She called every birthday and anniversary. Her kids and her grandkids were her pride and joy. They could do nothing wrong.
She was loved. She will be missed. She left quite a legacy. Five children, twenty-two grandchildren, fifteen great-grandchildren.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Hana Williams and Older Child Adoption
I'm sure you have heard of Hana Williams by now. If not just google Larry and Carri Williams or Hanna Williams and you'll find the story. Hana was adopted about the same time Addis and Mulu were adopted. I identify with the story for several reasons. One is when she was adopted which was in 2008 and Addis and Mulu were adopted in 2008. Another reason is that my girls were older as was Hana. ( Which is pronounced hah nuh. ) My girls were also older than we thought, one at least a year and the other at least two years and she aged a year in the process. Addis was supposed to be younger than my youngest son, but when we received her Ethiopian birth certificate her birthdate was stated that she was ten months older than he was. We accepted it and went on. What we didn't know was that she was older than two of our boys, not just one. We also homeschool as did the Williams family and have also read To Train Up a Child by Michael and Debi Pearl. We even sold their books and many other Christian books when we had a Christian bookstore on ebay. We had enough sense not to put into place the child training techniques that the Pearls advocate with our biological children, but especially not with an adopted child.
There is a facebook page in remembrance of Hana: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/156422897766042/ You'll find access to many of the articles that have been published about the case and you might even find the report by the sheriff's or child protection dept. There are pictures as well.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hana's story was being discussed on our adoptive Yahoo group and this is what I wrote about it.
I've been part of the facebook group for a while and have watched this unfold. It is horrible. There are several issues going on that in my mind attributed to all of this.
There are a lot of different dynamics that went on in this family. They were
homeschooling. I have homeschooled for the last twenty-three years so I
know what some of the homeschooling community is like. If you're not careful it's easy to get caught in manipulation and how things should be done by "experts." Many of these "experts" are men. One of them has never even been married and had his own family, Bill Gothard of IBLP. If any of you watch 19 Kids and Counting then you can see Gothard teaching in practice. In their earlier shows everybody all dressed alike.
With homeschooling the parents have to have control of the children so the
training comes in. I have read Pearl books, I have read them all. Since I have
parented for twenty-eight years with seven boys I've had my fair share of
discipline and training issues. With my two older boys who are now 28 and 26. I was too strict and after they turned eighteen and saw how they turned out we changed our parenting methods.
Then I think the Williams home-churched so the children were not in the public eye. No one saw these children on a regular basis. If I don't bring one of my girls people at church ask where they are. They're a visible part of our church family.
Add in that they were older when they were adopted. Hana was years older than her parents thought. This also happened to us. Our oldest Ethiopian daughter is eleven on paper. We thought she was more like fourteen but her ET father believes she is thirteen. She was fifty-six pounds when she arrived here three years ago, and within weeks of proper nutrition she started developing and a year later started her cycle. She has since doubled her weight and sees the dr. regularly for physicals and such.
One thing that needs to be addressed in the adoption community is older child
adoption. There is not enough training for people to know what they are getting into. Many times we have a romantic idea of what it is, and in reality it can be quite different. We have been blessed with our two older girls. They have not been troublesome in any way. Not that we didn't have issues and not that issues don't come up. But had we had not parented through the teens already (x4) our outcome could have been much different.
We did attend the Older Child adoption training that Kingdom Kids offered back in 2007 and that was very helpful. We need to attend Orphan and Adoption Conferences when they are offered. We need hair care training. We need to know how to attach to others when our inclination is to build a wall and turn away. I believe there needs to be more mentoring and in-real-life training. We can read books and do all the online training in the world, but until the rubber meets the road many times parents are not equipped to handle the baggage their children come home with. These kids have a past. They have memories. We need to honor what their past is and help them deal with it good or bad.
We have encouraged our older daughters to correspond with their father in
Ethiopia. If I had known better I would have kept their Ethiopian names, but was counseled otherwise. One of our daughters does have their original name, but three do not. We are active in an Ethiopian church when we can be, and our oldest daughter goes to the youth group with other Ethiopian teens. It's the one place where she can be with other kids who are like her. It also helps her pick up pieces of the language she has lost.
We are in process right now to adopt a girl from a disruption here in the USA.
She was adopted in April 2010 from Ethiopia. We will have to do more work andmore healing with her than our other girls simply because of the disruption. Why didn't the Williams disrupt? According to the group page on fb Carri Williams was a very proud and self-righteous person and wouldn't have admitted failure. All of us have to be open and transparent with one another and help each other through the tough times. They will be there. Who can we turn to? We can't judge one another when another mom comes to you and admits her failures. We need to build one another up and provide respite care if possible. We need to become a family. Each of our communities should be tight knit. We don't want another Hana among us.
(This was edited for things that did not apply or were too personal.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, October 10, 2011
Adoption Update
It has been a year now that we've been in process with Ethiopia. We accepted our referral back in March and had our dossier to Ethopia in June. The reality is that we're no further along than we were a year ago. We received a phone call the end of September saying it could be another 2-6 months and that didn't include court or embassy. Others have accepted their referrals months after we did and turned in their dossier months after we did, but they have court dates. We don't. I can't wait until she is legally ours so I can tell her story.
I have been a bit frustrated with our domestic adoption process. We have been told from the beginning that we could use our international homestudy for the purpose of placing M in our home. This has been going on since August. It has gone to the state level and now back to the local level and no decision has been made. We are forging ahead with a domestic homestudy but could have had it done by now. I have paid two different agencies and backed out for various reasons and today I drove over an hour each way to hand deliver our agreement and a hefty check. They don't know if they will accept our case or not. The policy this agency has is that they only place one unrelated child per year in a home. They didn't know we were still in process with ET. That is why we have an international homestudy. We're ready to parent M, we want her home, yet red tape slows the process.
The best thing would be for San Diego County Adoptions to pop up and say YES!!! you can use the international homestudy to place her and then for the adoption finalization you will have to do a domestic homestudy. We're okay with that! We want her home as quick as possible and it seems like it is dragging on f.o.r.e.v.e.r.
Yesterday we had other adoptive families over for the afternoon. All the families have adopted from Ethiopia and we all lived in San Diego County except for my friend B. We the parents had a great time visiting and learning and sharing stories while the kids played and ran and had a great time.
I have been a bit frustrated with our domestic adoption process. We have been told from the beginning that we could use our international homestudy for the purpose of placing M in our home. This has been going on since August. It has gone to the state level and now back to the local level and no decision has been made. We are forging ahead with a domestic homestudy but could have had it done by now. I have paid two different agencies and backed out for various reasons and today I drove over an hour each way to hand deliver our agreement and a hefty check. They don't know if they will accept our case or not. The policy this agency has is that they only place one unrelated child per year in a home. They didn't know we were still in process with ET. That is why we have an international homestudy. We're ready to parent M, we want her home, yet red tape slows the process.
The best thing would be for San Diego County Adoptions to pop up and say YES!!! you can use the international homestudy to place her and then for the adoption finalization you will have to do a domestic homestudy. We're okay with that! We want her home as quick as possible and it seems like it is dragging on f.o.r.e.v.e.r.
Yesterday we had other adoptive families over for the afternoon. All the families have adopted from Ethiopia and we all lived in San Diego County except for my friend B. We the parents had a great time visiting and learning and sharing stories while the kids played and ran and had a great time.
Missionary Biographies for kids
One of the classes I teach for our local homeschool group is Christian Missionaries and Heroes. Last week there were only four students in the class but they they enjoyed what we studied. We learned about Adoniram and Ann Judson, the first foreign bound Missionaries from America. I will teach again this week and there are about fifteen students in that class.
The books we base our lessons are are from YWAM (Youth With a Mission) and then From Jerusalem to Irian Jira usually sums it up for us and has pictures included in the pages. Christian Heroes: Then and Now I have an atlas with me so we can look at what part of the world they ministered to. In Adorniram and Ann's case it was Burma which is now Myanmar which is east of India next to Thailand.
I just received some of the unit study books by the same company. With my
busy schedule I needed something to help me bring some cohesiveness to the
lesson.
This is the description of the biography on their page:
As America's first foreign missionary, Adoniram Judson spent thirty-eight years working in Burma, then one of the most hostile countries on earth. Judson was ignored, mocked, beaten, and tortured, yet he never lost sight of his goal to translate the Bible into the Burmese language. Today, over 150 years after his death, his remains the only translation of the Bible in Burmese. (1788-1850)
This best-selling, missionary biography series - Christian Heroes: Then & Now - chronicles the exciting, challenging, and deeply touching true stories of ordinary men and women whose trust in God accomplished extraordinary exploits for His kingdom and glory.
The books we base our lessons are are from YWAM (Youth With a Mission) and then From Jerusalem to Irian Jira usually sums it up for us and has pictures included in the pages. Christian Heroes: Then and Now I have an atlas with me so we can look at what part of the world they ministered to. In Adorniram and Ann's case it was Burma which is now Myanmar which is east of India next to Thailand.
I just received some of the unit study books by the same company. With my
busy schedule I needed something to help me bring some cohesiveness to the
lesson.
This is the description of the biography on their page:
As America's first foreign missionary, Adoniram Judson spent thirty-eight years working in Burma, then one of the most hostile countries on earth. Judson was ignored, mocked, beaten, and tortured, yet he never lost sight of his goal to translate the Bible into the Burmese language. Today, over 150 years after his death, his remains the only translation of the Bible in Burmese. (1788-1850)
This best-selling, missionary biography series - Christian Heroes: Then & Now - chronicles the exciting, challenging, and deeply touching true stories of ordinary men and women whose trust in God accomplished extraordinary exploits for His kingdom and glory.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Subject: Fight the Famine, Feed the Future
Drought is inevitable, but famine is not. The current crisis in the Horn of Africa is the result of a tragic combination of factors that are man-made, including abnormally high food prices, lack of governance and security in Somalia, and a historic lack of investment in long-term agricultural development in the Horn. Over the past few years, we lost the political will and public support necessary to prevent the famine – and its causes. As a consequence, tens of thousands of children have died.
We have also missed the opportunity to help 200 million people from poor farming families lift themselves out of poverty. Communities in Africa can cope with droughts and natural disasters. But we need donors to put resources toward seeds, irrigation and teaching farmers new growing techniques. We need leaders to invest in early warning systems and national social safety net programs.
Congress can help keep our commitment to farmers in developing countries by fully funding Feed the Future— a life-changing USAID initiative that is investing in long-term agricultural development and could help put an end to famine for good.
Please sign our petition to Congress calling on them to fund this vital program:
http://act.one.org/sign/hungry_no_more_us?referring_akid=.5593850.FVTptI
Thank you!
Friday, September 9, 2011
Blackout!
Yesterday about 3:30 pm all our power went out. That's not uncommon where we live because we are about a mile from a casino, and people drive so fast to get there to lose their money that they crash on our windy two land road. Or they're so distracted from losing all their money that they crash on the way down. If it rains...forget about it.
Talked to Steve who works about forty-five minutes away and he told me the power was out all over San Diego County. Turns out it was from Arizona to Mexico to Orange County, CA, which included all of San Diego County. We busily started finding our alternate lighting sources like flashlights, lanterns, and candles. Found all the matches, lighters, batteries, and radios.
We had an advantage since it was late afternoon and it wasn't nighttime already. It was blazing hot here though but quickly cooled off on our patio where we spent the evening once the sun went down.
We didn't know how long the power would be out so I would only let the kids use the bread for peanut butter sandwiches. If they wanted a ham sandwich had to be on a bun. Who wants a pb bun sandwich? I even allowed us to devour our lunch items like the little chip packs, cookies, applesauce.
We sat out on the patio and listened to radio reports. Cut the watermelon and we all stood on the edge of the patio so we our watermelon drippings would drip into the dirt and not on the patio where it would have to be washed off. I finished my book about Harriett Tubman and the kids had fun playing in the dark. We transferred cold foods around to keep them good, we have a generator in our toy hauler so before we went to bed Steve hooked up our garage freezer and fridge to the toy hauler generator.
I was thankful that we have four acres to live on. We have a water storage tank that holds 10,000 gallons (I think), the only problem is our well is on electricity so that was all the water we had, but we did have water. Our toilet tanks have to be manually filled with water when the power goes out, we have about three flushes or so per toilet.
All of our kids were home so we didn't have to worry about them. Once Steve got home we stayed put. The traffic lights weren't working so the roads were a mess. Everyone left work at once so that put a bottleneck on all the roads.
Our power came back on about 12:30 am. Our hall light came on to tell us that all was well again. I think a lot of people were a little sad that they got their power back because while it was out they talked to their neighbors, played with the kids, and enjoyed the night time sky. Things we should be doing everyday but we don't.
Talked to Steve who works about forty-five minutes away and he told me the power was out all over San Diego County. Turns out it was from Arizona to Mexico to Orange County, CA, which included all of San Diego County. We busily started finding our alternate lighting sources like flashlights, lanterns, and candles. Found all the matches, lighters, batteries, and radios.
We had an advantage since it was late afternoon and it wasn't nighttime already. It was blazing hot here though but quickly cooled off on our patio where we spent the evening once the sun went down.
We didn't know how long the power would be out so I would only let the kids use the bread for peanut butter sandwiches. If they wanted a ham sandwich had to be on a bun. Who wants a pb bun sandwich? I even allowed us to devour our lunch items like the little chip packs, cookies, applesauce.
We sat out on the patio and listened to radio reports. Cut the watermelon and we all stood on the edge of the patio so we our watermelon drippings would drip into the dirt and not on the patio where it would have to be washed off. I finished my book about Harriett Tubman and the kids had fun playing in the dark. We transferred cold foods around to keep them good, we have a generator in our toy hauler so before we went to bed Steve hooked up our garage freezer and fridge to the toy hauler generator.
I was thankful that we have four acres to live on. We have a water storage tank that holds 10,000 gallons (I think), the only problem is our well is on electricity so that was all the water we had, but we did have water. Our toilet tanks have to be manually filled with water when the power goes out, we have about three flushes or so per toilet.
All of our kids were home so we didn't have to worry about them. Once Steve got home we stayed put. The traffic lights weren't working so the roads were a mess. Everyone left work at once so that put a bottleneck on all the roads.
Our power came back on about 12:30 am. Our hall light came on to tell us that all was well again. I think a lot of people were a little sad that they got their power back because while it was out they talked to their neighbors, played with the kids, and enjoyed the night time sky. Things we should be doing everyday but we don't.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Another school year
Yesterday marked the start of my 23rd year of homeschooling. It didn't go as smoothly as it could have, but we did okay. Anna & Adah started Kindergarten and we're using My Father's World. I usually use A Beka for phonics and math but I'm mixing it up and trying something different. Our first lesson was on Creation: Day 1 and the letters A & B.
For the older kids 3rd grade & up (academically) we're using Teaching Textbooks for math. They love it, I love it. It takes the stress off me needing to sit and teach four different students math. Abi Mulu is using Horizons Math which is new to us too. Teaching Textbooks is a software program that they use on the computer and it teaches the lesson, gives them practice using what they've learned, grades it for them, and shows them how to do it correctly if asked. Can't beat that! I did have a problem with the 5th grade because we borrowed it and the activation code wasn't working. Apparently each program is alloted so much usage and when that is used up the user needs to call and get a new code. Because it's an older program I wasn't able to set the program up on one computer for two users. One has to use the laptop and one uses the main house computer. The number was busy all morning which put us behind, but the boys each did two lessons and love it. Yay!!!
I did get a little frazzled when teaching phonics and my 14 year old son said, "Mom, are there __ digits in 20,000,000,000? I look at him like he has a third eyeball because really?! Like I know that off the top of my head?! I had to write it down and then count. One of the hardest things for me with homeschooling is switching my brain from Kindergarten or First grade work to Jr. High or High School and do it in such a way as to make it believable. I'm getting older and my brain just isn't that quick, never was and never will be. I know my limitations and accept them, so I look at my older kids as though they're weird when they ask me such questions when teaching Kindergarten.
We're trying Lifepacs for Language Arts this year, but unfortunately one was in tears on the first day so not sure how long this will last. I really wish there were a language arts program like there is for math with Teaching Textbooks. Abi's first Lifepac was backordered and is on it's way, but it's not here so we had to improvise and do something else. Her first math book wasn't here either, but it came in the mail later in the day.
After all that was done we got together and learned some Bible and Science with My Father's World Countries & Cultures curriculum. For Bible it had us look at the book Windows on the World and talk about prayer. Science we used a great book called Properties of Ecosystems from Answers In Genesis. Great book from a Christian perspective. Since we live on four acres we have lots of ecosystems. It will be good for me too as I'm very non-scientific and I look forward to learning with them.
James my high schooler is using Apologia's Physical Science, Teaching Textbooks, A Beka Geography and Themes in Literarture and Easy Grammar Plus. He's taking Physical Science Lab with our co-op, Biblical Manhood, Geography, and Volleyball. My other high schooler goes to our local public high school (gasp!). He does well but doesn't recommend it for his brothers or sisters.
On co-op days I'm teaching Geography and Christian Missionaries and Heroes. My students will be 7th & 8th graders with some 9th graders sprinkled in there. This week for geography we'll learn about Maps and how they work. Missionaries & Heroes finds us learning about Harriett Tubman. We have 18 class days for each class day and there are two so I'm teaching every week but repeating the second week what I taught the first week. I'll post what we're doing each week and the resources we used.
Some of the classes the other kids are taking are chess, cooking, scrapbooking, Boys Adventure, PE, and Nutrition.
For the older kids 3rd grade & up (academically) we're using Teaching Textbooks for math. They love it, I love it. It takes the stress off me needing to sit and teach four different students math. Abi Mulu is using Horizons Math which is new to us too. Teaching Textbooks is a software program that they use on the computer and it teaches the lesson, gives them practice using what they've learned, grades it for them, and shows them how to do it correctly if asked. Can't beat that! I did have a problem with the 5th grade because we borrowed it and the activation code wasn't working. Apparently each program is alloted so much usage and when that is used up the user needs to call and get a new code. Because it's an older program I wasn't able to set the program up on one computer for two users. One has to use the laptop and one uses the main house computer. The number was busy all morning which put us behind, but the boys each did two lessons and love it. Yay!!!
I did get a little frazzled when teaching phonics and my 14 year old son said, "Mom, are there __ digits in 20,000,000,000? I look at him like he has a third eyeball because really?! Like I know that off the top of my head?! I had to write it down and then count. One of the hardest things for me with homeschooling is switching my brain from Kindergarten or First grade work to Jr. High or High School and do it in such a way as to make it believable. I'm getting older and my brain just isn't that quick, never was and never will be. I know my limitations and accept them, so I look at my older kids as though they're weird when they ask me such questions when teaching Kindergarten.
We're trying Lifepacs for Language Arts this year, but unfortunately one was in tears on the first day so not sure how long this will last. I really wish there were a language arts program like there is for math with Teaching Textbooks. Abi's first Lifepac was backordered and is on it's way, but it's not here so we had to improvise and do something else. Her first math book wasn't here either, but it came in the mail later in the day.
After all that was done we got together and learned some Bible and Science with My Father's World Countries & Cultures curriculum. For Bible it had us look at the book Windows on the World and talk about prayer. Science we used a great book called Properties of Ecosystems from Answers In Genesis. Great book from a Christian perspective. Since we live on four acres we have lots of ecosystems. It will be good for me too as I'm very non-scientific and I look forward to learning with them.
James my high schooler is using Apologia's Physical Science, Teaching Textbooks, A Beka Geography and Themes in Literarture and Easy Grammar Plus. He's taking Physical Science Lab with our co-op, Biblical Manhood, Geography, and Volleyball. My other high schooler goes to our local public high school (gasp!). He does well but doesn't recommend it for his brothers or sisters.
On co-op days I'm teaching Geography and Christian Missionaries and Heroes. My students will be 7th & 8th graders with some 9th graders sprinkled in there. This week for geography we'll learn about Maps and how they work. Missionaries & Heroes finds us learning about Harriett Tubman. We have 18 class days for each class day and there are two so I'm teaching every week but repeating the second week what I taught the first week. I'll post what we're doing each week and the resources we used.
Some of the classes the other kids are taking are chess, cooking, scrapbooking, Boys Adventure, PE, and Nutrition.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Grandbabies!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Documents, Documents, Documents!
We are moving forward with a little gal here in the USA. To do that since she lives in another state we had to retain an adoption lawyer, filled out a formal acceptance with the support agency, and found an agency that will help us with a domestic homestudy for the adoption finalization, which is a ways off.
Our lawyer is spectactular. He was referred to us by the support agency. Since this is new to us (the domestic part of adoption) it's wonderful to have someone who really knows his stuff. He'll keep us on the straight and narrow road whether we like it or not!
I had to research agencies that would just do a homestudy and post-placement reports for us. We need the homestudy to present to the judge at the appropriate time. We can use our international homestudy for the ICPC, but it won't suffice for the finalization. We sent off our initial application and payment and we were accepted yesterday. So...another 34 pages of paper to fill out. I'm thinking we can reuse a lot of what has already been done. Example: our ten hour online training. We did that for our Ethiopian adoption and it is still valid. So I'm hoping that this won't actually be as hard as the international homestudy because some of the players are already in the game, so to speak.
We're very excited about our little gal. She'll fit in perfectly and hopefully it won't be too long before we can meet her.
Our lawyer is spectactular. He was referred to us by the support agency. Since this is new to us (the domestic part of adoption) it's wonderful to have someone who really knows his stuff. He'll keep us on the straight and narrow road whether we like it or not!
I had to research agencies that would just do a homestudy and post-placement reports for us. We need the homestudy to present to the judge at the appropriate time. We can use our international homestudy for the ICPC, but it won't suffice for the finalization. We sent off our initial application and payment and we were accepted yesterday. So...another 34 pages of paper to fill out. I'm thinking we can reuse a lot of what has already been done. Example: our ten hour online training. We did that for our Ethiopian adoption and it is still valid. So I'm hoping that this won't actually be as hard as the international homestudy because some of the players are already in the game, so to speak.
We're very excited about our little gal. She'll fit in perfectly and hopefully it won't be too long before we can meet her.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Meet Alvena
Adoption & Life Update
This week has found us doing a joint telephone conference call with an agency about a little one here in the USA. That took over an hour and many questions were asked and answered.
After the call we headed over to the notary's store where we had to have our annual post-adoption reports notarized for the four girls. Every year we have to do an update on how they're doing, how much weight they've gained, pictures, and other updates. It takes me a while to get them all done, but at least now they're all due in the summer. They used to be due in April and July and doing them during the school year was challenging.
We received a generous donation from a family with eleven children. Some months back we didn't know if we could continue because of finances. These children saved from their allowance and hard earned money to help us with our adoption expenses. Can you believe it?! I'm updating the giving thermometer on the side to show the donation. Thank you children!!! You are such a blessing!
I've taken a break from selling books on ebay while I organize the rest of my life. The little girls are starting Kindergarten this year and I'm using My Father's World Kindergarten curriculum. They have their letter puzzles, dinosaur book, butterfly farm, and all their notebook pages ready to go. Today I spend HOURS putting contac paper on the items we will be using time and again.
After doing that I went through the paperwork of our current Ethiopian adoption and organized that. I told my husband I need a secretary! Next I have Class Day planning to do and school work for my older kids.
At Class Day I'm teaching Geography: Countries & Cultures and then a Christian Missionaries & Heroes Class. The missionaries & heroes will be from the countries we're studying.
At home we're using My Father's World for the kids adding in Language and Math. Usually I can't get this to work because I get bogged down teaching those who need the most help that I can't get to the point of everyone working together (think Duggars at the table). I don't have the older girls that Mrs. Duggar has to help! My girl got married, moved to another state, and had a baby.
All I can do is organize the best I can and know that it's not about the academics, but it's about being together, working on getting along and enjoying each day as it comes. BTW, Joe came home from Brazil or Brasil with reddish purpley hair. Ummmm.........obviously mom was not around..............
After the call we headed over to the notary's store where we had to have our annual post-adoption reports notarized for the four girls. Every year we have to do an update on how they're doing, how much weight they've gained, pictures, and other updates. It takes me a while to get them all done, but at least now they're all due in the summer. They used to be due in April and July and doing them during the school year was challenging.
We received a generous donation from a family with eleven children. Some months back we didn't know if we could continue because of finances. These children saved from their allowance and hard earned money to help us with our adoption expenses. Can you believe it?! I'm updating the giving thermometer on the side to show the donation. Thank you children!!! You are such a blessing!
I've taken a break from selling books on ebay while I organize the rest of my life. The little girls are starting Kindergarten this year and I'm using My Father's World Kindergarten curriculum. They have their letter puzzles, dinosaur book, butterfly farm, and all their notebook pages ready to go. Today I spend HOURS putting contac paper on the items we will be using time and again.
After doing that I went through the paperwork of our current Ethiopian adoption and organized that. I told my husband I need a secretary! Next I have Class Day planning to do and school work for my older kids.
At Class Day I'm teaching Geography: Countries & Cultures and then a Christian Missionaries & Heroes Class. The missionaries & heroes will be from the countries we're studying.
At home we're using My Father's World for the kids adding in Language and Math. Usually I can't get this to work because I get bogged down teaching those who need the most help that I can't get to the point of everyone working together (think Duggars at the table). I don't have the older girls that Mrs. Duggar has to help! My girl got married, moved to another state, and had a baby.
All I can do is organize the best I can and know that it's not about the academics, but it's about being together, working on getting along and enjoying each day as it comes. BTW, Joe came home from Brazil or Brasil with reddish purpley hair. Ummmm.........obviously mom was not around..............
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Joe-Joe boards the plane today!
 |
| Joe & Frankie |
 |
| The Brazil team |
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Ever google your name?
I just did and found this. The Mother's Companion and this Maxine Ferebee.
Helen was the first one to teach me that children are a blessing and Maxine is my grandmother. I used to spend teenage summers at her home in Parkdale, Oregon to stay out of trouble while my mom was at work. She was instrumental in my walk with the Lord in that time period. I didn't know I was mentioned in her obituary, I had never seen it until now. The wonder of the internet!
Helen was the first one to teach me that children are a blessing and Maxine is my grandmother. I used to spend teenage summers at her home in Parkdale, Oregon to stay out of trouble while my mom was at work. She was instrumental in my walk with the Lord in that time period. I didn't know I was mentioned in her obituary, I had never seen it until now. The wonder of the internet!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Grandpa & Grandma came to visit
 |
| Grandma Val & Scott |
 |
| Grandma Val & Scott |
 |
| Grandpa chose to eat with the girls |
 |
| Grandpa with his great grandson |
 |
| Jake & Scott |
 |
| Four generations of Grieshaber men |
 |
| Four generations together |
 |
| Jared, Grandpa, Makenna & Steve |
 |
| All the Grieshaber guys who happened to be here. |
 |
| Grandpa & Adah |
 |
| Grandpa & Joel |
Family pics done back in April
Our son Jesse surprised us with a visit from all the way across the country. I had won a photoshoot with Sarah Tolson Photograph and decided to redeem it when Jesse came home. We had all twelve children and their spouses together as well as the two current grandbabies. Hope you enjoyed them!
 |
| Our whole family! |
 |
| Makenna |
 |
| Jake & Arianne- Jake is our second son |
 |
| Jared, Miranda & Makenna-Jared is our first son |
 |
| Our current family at home. |
 |
| Mom with Addis & Abi Mulu. I usually have a picture taken with two of my children at a time. I didn't have one with the older girls. |
 |
| Sarah, Nathan & Isaiah-Sarah is our oldest and only bio daugher |
 |
| Grandpa & Grandma with Isaiah & Makenna |
 |
| Jesse & Sage-Jesse is our third son and he is serving in the military. |
 |
| Adah Derartu |
 |
| Anna Mihret |
Our son Jesse surprised us with a visit from all the way across the country. I had won a photoshoot with Sarah Tolson Photograph and decided to redeem it when Jesse came home. We had all twelve children and their spouses together as well as the two current grandbabies. Hope you enjoyed them!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)