PH update

On a side note, my appointment yesterday went very well. I just love my doctor. She did cringe a little when I proudly told her about the 5k I did last month. But all of my tests look great and she's happy with everything. 


She went over my echo and the heart looks normal (ventricle size, ejection fraction, etc...). I've always loved a good report card, especially when it comes to this.


We were talking about some current clinical trials and I asked about their success. We also discussed how much she likes IV meds. She pointed out that if a patient needs them, she is a huge proponent as they work so well. She went on to say that IF, not when, but IF I ever progressed to that point, that she feels I'd do very well on them. 


5 years ago, the information and treatments available were so different. I was told by the experts that the PH would progress...it was just a matter of time. Now the experts talk about "if" it progresses. Music to my ears. 


I'm so thankful for my medical care, the treatments available, and my response to them. The fact that my life revolves around my family, the adoption, and dealing with bird-eating dogs is a testament to how well I'm doing. What a blessing!

Staple-gate update # 2

The county has agreed to remove the staples and then write a statement saying they removed it, not us. The supervisor was very apologetic and I almost laughed out loud when she looked so puzzled and said "we NEVER attach the certifications like this...this is so strange." Of COURSE they don't! and of COURSE it happened to us! Oh well...at least it's almost over. We are praying TECO accepts the documents now!


To add to my last post, Nathan was a little off today and then suddenly spiked a fever this afternoon. After a trip to urgent care, an attempt at blood work (where 4 adults were unable to hold him still enough to get the blood draw), a urine test (where he decided it was actually pretty amusing to make his mother hold a cup that he peed into), and a shot of antibiotics (where the 6'4" tech holding him down had trouble doing so), we are home and he will be on the mend soon. Never a dull moment!

Out of town = guaranteed mishaps

As many of my military wife friends can attest, when your husband leaves town, things happen. Weird things. Things that never happen any other time. 


My garage door went up half way one day and stuck. It was as if my house had kidnapped me and we couldn't leave until our landlord arrived to fix it. Staple-gate 2012 happened. Delays and mishaps happen in the adoption process but our agency had never seen anything like this one. Our smallest dog rolled in ahem...something very pungent, and then routed around on my living room carpet. So gross and I just wanted to bleach it all..including the dog. I was gagging so hard my eyes were watering the entire time I bathed her. A toilet back-up of all toilet back-ups happened just yesterday..and again I gagged.


Today I got a two-fer. I had to get up early and take my 6 month old car into the dealership. The brake system warning light appeared on my dash (of my new car) this weekend...multiple times. It would light up then go out with no rhyme or reason (on my new car). Today was also my regular doctor appointment down in Mobile and I needed to have it checked before driving 2.5 hours away (in my reliable, no mechanical problems possible, new car). 


In the end, the dealership checked it, found that it's just a sensor and will fix it when the part comes in. They expect it to arrive tomorrow and the way today went, I'm betting that means next Monday. At least I can drive it in the meantime.


I ran by the post office, got stuff for breakfast for the boys, and ran home just in time to get them up and dressed. This was all by 8:45am. 


I wanted to leave by 9:30 so I could take the boys to a sitter for the day. As we were packing up their stuff, I asked Matt to put the dogs into their kennels. 


He suddenly appeared in the garage (where I was oh so patiently waiting and not yelling at him to hurry up....ahem..) and he said "MOM Murphy brought a bird into his kennel!" 


I asked him to repeat this because..well, I had an appointment to get to and I didn't have time for a freaking bird in the kennel. I came in to check and sure enough, there was a youngish bird, injured, oozing stuff I'd rather not think about, and chirping for it's life. It was injured and every time it chirped, Murphy would pick it up and mouth it, then drop it back to the floor. 


Nathan's eyes were as big as saucers, Matthew was giggling/asking me what to do, and I was asking HIM what to do (I swear I need mom of the year award). Our two little dogs wanted so badly to get into that kennel and get the bird. Murphy kept looking at me as if to say "what..see this bird I got..isn't it cool?" 


We kenneled the little dogs and got Murphy outside. I got a shovel from the garage (it was that or tongs and well, I didn't want bird bleck on my kitchen tongs). I scooped up the bird...chirping the whole time, and headed for the garage door. 


The injured, oozing, nearly gone bird hopped off of the shovel and started to hop away from me on the kitchen floor. I actually thought about how ridiculous this entire thing was while I chased the bird across the kitchen with the shovel. Somewhere in the back of my mind I imagined telling this story to Andy and knew that he'd find it humorous..which meant I was now mad at him for laughing (and yes I know he hadn't laughed YET, but he did, trust me).


Nathan's eyes were bigger and bigger. I loudly calmly instructed Nathan to get into the car and buckle..and not to move. I ran out of the house with the bird on the shovel, tossed it into the bushes knowing it was not long for this world, put the shovel away, and got into the car to leave. Nathan asked what I'd done with the bird and I told him the bird would be looking for its mother. 


Ho-ly cow. 


Life is never dull around here and fortunately, the mishaps are never anything life altering. But when you find yourself chasing an injured bird across your kitchen with a shovel, irritated that your husband will laugh, yelling at your kids to get in the new car that has to have repairs done...you know your husband is indeed, out of town.

New Skype session planned

While we wait for the document issues to be resolved, we learned today that we are scheduled to Skype with K again on Friday the 3rd. The beauty is that we will be visiting Andy for a few days at that time so we'll Skype all together for the first time. I can't wait to see her little face again!

I took the boys bowling today. They are ahem...a little competitive (nooooo idea where that comes from...ahem). Nathan was getting a good 10 feet of air on each throw so I had to shut that down. Matt was obsessed with the speed of each throw (thanks to the score screen..he could see how many mph each ball was). They bickered at the speed, how to throw the ball, who bounced it off the bumpers the most, etc...eventually I suggested they just look at the score and try to improve their own.

For the first time (that I've actually witnessed it), I saw them turn and look at me...mouths sort of gaping open, then they looked at each other, busted up laughing, and proceeded to discuss the speed of the last ball thrown. I'm pretty sure they just shared a "mom is so old and not in the know" moment. Part of me was happy that as brothers they have moments like that, just between them. The other part of me was horrified that they pretty much made fun of me with each other and didn't even have to speak one word. Just isn't right!

Staple-gate Update

So the latest is that we are sending the documents in question back to the county in question (Montgomery) and the adoption agency is going to be in communication with them. The agency will explain to the county why TECO refused the documents. They will ask the county to remove the staple on the right side (x9 documents)  and then write a statement explaining that they are the ones who "altered" the documents. Then we pray TECO will accept them.


Holy smokes it makes me tired just thinking about it.


However, if this works, then we can  move forward. Praying the county cooperates!!

Staple-gate

As I stated before, we finally completed the last leg of the great paper chase. We had things signed, notarized, validated at the county level, then authenticated by the Secretary of State...and sent it all off to TECO (Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office). They authenticate it all and sign off on it saying it's all set for the court process. It's the last big push on our end and I was thrilled to mail it on Wednesday.

Now when you talk to others or read blogs about Taiwan adoption, you usually hear about roadblocks in AIT (similar to a Taiwan embassy), or bumps in the road during the court process. From what I've read, you don't often have problems at TECO.

Then we came along.

Good ol' Cecilia at TECO happened to receive our package. Someone must have really ticked her off on the way to work because by the time she got to me, she was in quite a mood.

According to her, our documents (9 of the 21) were "validated incorrectly" by one of the counties here. By that she means this. When Montgomery County certifies that a Notary is valid, they attach a little half sheet of paper to the document. They place it over the Notary's seal/signature, and they staple it to the document...twice. One staple on the left, one on the right.

Before sending all of the authenticated documents to TECO, you have to make copies of at least one of each item for the TECO files (4 powers of attorney, make a copy of one of them...3 contracts with the orphanage...copy one of them). Imagine copying a notarized, authenticated document that has a piece of paper stapled to it and since it's stapled on the left and right, you can't fold that paper over. Thus, the signatures and the notary are covered up on the copy.

When making the copies I had a feeling this wasn't right, but I checked with our agency and they agreed that while this was strange (the other counties didn't do it this way) it was okay to complete the copies and send them in.

Cecilia didn't care for this one bit. She also insisted that since I can't read Mandarin, we should have attached an english translation of the contracts (contracts with the orphanage and written in Mandarin) and that translation needed to be signed, notarized and authenticated. She expressed concern that we knew what we had signed.

She then said we needed to make copies of alllll the documents...all 4 powers of attorney, all 3 contracts, etc... I explained that I followed the instructions of the TECO website. She later said that the website was wrong and she'd have to see about changing it. She really got to me when she said "So I'm going to have to stand here and make all of these copies for you and it's going to take a long, long time to process this paperwork."

I asked her to send it back to me and I'd make the copies but she passive-aggressively said she would do it herself. I was upset and she kept insisting our agency doesn't know what they're doing.

She suggested removing the staple and I about had a heart attack. You can't verify a document and authenticate it and then remove staples and re-attach it. That's tampering with it and the Taiwan courts don't like that. It could stop the whole process if she did that!

Redoing these documents, notarizing them, authenticating them, etc....while Andy is in another state would be a nightmare. I pray we don't have to do this.

I hung up and called our agency.

The exec director Laura immediately called Cecilia. From what I understand they had quite a conversation. Cecilia kept saying "what the family SHOULD have done was..." and she argued about how many copies, and the contract in Mandarin. Laura tried to get to her supervisor and discovered he is on vacation.

The topper was that she wants to change the TECO website (regarding the copies) but she stated she can't make a decision about the copies. Laura pushed further and learned Cecilia doesn't even do the authentications. Her boss does! She's an admin person!!!

Of course, Laura has helped over 300 families adopt from Taiwan and NEVER, not one time has something like this happened. Apparently TECO is always a pretty easy part of the process in her experience. Someone should have warned her the Shanahan's always make it interesting.

In the end, Cecilia overnighted all of the papers to our agency. Laura is working on a solution and sounded like maybe she had some trick up her sleeve. I know she has some idea about resolving this and had a call in to her own Sec of State to see if her idea might fix this by working with the county who did this.

This is all because of a document that TECO keeps a copy of in their files. The originals all go to Taiwan! I keep brainstorming ways around it but for now I'm trying to be patient.

What a high we were on Tuesday after our Skype session. A good, wise friend described it tonight as a scene where it's all going perfectly and you get a glimpse, a taste of what it will be like, and you feel closer to K...then Cecilia jumps in front of you and says, whoa, hold on...not just yet. It feels exactly like that.

I am reminding myself that for whatever reason (I may never know why), this delay is happening and it's because God's timing is perfect and I need to trust it. I was JUST reading in my Bible last night and was comforted and reminded of one of my favorite verses.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. Prov 3:5-6

Praying that we get good news tomorrow!

What an intro to Skype!

Our agency contacted us at 3:30. The orphanage in Taiwan said they were going to have a translator available and they wanted to know if we'd like to Skype tonight with our daughter. As if it was even a question! More later!


UPDATE:
I can't put into words how awesome that felt! We got to speak to her (and a translator) for almost an entire hour. She is sweet and beautiful and everything I would hope for. She was excited to "meet" us and was very engaged. It was SO awesome to hear her voice and ask her questions. She referred to us as her "new mommy and daddy" and asked a lot about "my brothers." It was surreal actually. 


Our agency had prepped us (in the 2 seconds we had to prepare) that we shouldn't assume she knows a whole lot about us, or that we are to be her new family. We had to be careful not to insult the foster mom or overwhelm K with too much information. But man, she didn't hesitate to jump right in with family labels. She's obviously being prepped and that is something we pray for nearly every day. It was heartwarming to see. 


Her American name in school (something they commonly do) is Linda. She wrote out "Linda" several times, colored it, showed us a picture she'd drawn for us, and even sang a couple of songs. Part of me wished I could reach through the computer and hug her and explain that she didn't have to "perform" for us. But I know that she's being prompted on their end and she's just trying to engage us. It was sweet and it just melted me!


She told us she likes to talk (just my kinda girl!), that her favorite foods include hotdogs, french fries, broccoli, sausage, chicken, and rice. Her favorite color is pink, and her favorite toys are dolls and Barbie. I almost jumped for joy..I can SO do Barbie and dolls! We showed her the bedroom that we've prepared and she seemed to really like that. She then asked where she would sleep. Through more conversation we learned she sleeps alone in her own room now and I explained that she had her own room here. She said okay, and then asked if she could sleep with me instead. Um, YEAH!


I'm not even remembering it all, but it seemed to fly by and they called a little earlier than we anticipated so I didn't have a video set up. I'm bummed about that but it's why I want to note it here. I don't want to forget anything!


Andy in Louisiana was able to be part of the whole thing. I'm SO thankful for that too! As we signed off, she blew kisses, said she loved us, and asked how long it would be until we'll be there. Oh how I wanted to say "I'm headed there now!"


One last bit. She specifically asked to speak more to her brothers. The boys, funny beings that they think they are, proceeded to introduce her to "the guys." It's this (and forgive my undignified, motherly, girly response), but it's this stupid thing they do with their hands. It's almost like a puppet but their "guys" talk, do prat falls, shoot things, fly, make jokes, pass gas, etc... It's lovely. So the first conversation they have with her, they show her "the guys." The best part was that as they raised their little hands and started to show her "the guys" I heard Andy quietly say "oh no..." Lol. So funny!


What an amazing day. I'm so thankful for the technology that enabled us to spend time with her. Most importantly, it was tangible evidence of our prayers being answered. She's happy. She seems well taken care of. She knows about us. She's excited about the adoption, and is as ready as any 6 year old could be at this point. I pray about all of that constantly...I'm just elated at all of it and so thankful tonight. 

Louisiana or bust!!

I've never been so happy to head south!


Oklahoma was awesome. I can't think of a better place to be (with or without Andy!). It was all I hoped it would be. We were even there to celebrate my parents' 51st anniversary. What an amazing legacy! One of my favorite parts was getting to see our friends and their newly adopted little boys from Haiti. They are an awesome family and their two new additions are just miracles. I LOVED seeing them and spending time with them.


The boys swam, ate crap my sister kept in stock for them, shot BB guns, drove an electric car, ate more crap in the house, swam some more, watched movies, played games, ate more crap in the house, swam some more, and well, you get the idea. They saw grandparents, cousins, Aunts, Uncles, and more cousins. We really missed my brother's family but all in all, it was a great visit.


And THEN, we got to head to Louisiana. That's where Andy has been stationed for his deployment. He's in the middle of no where. Literally. The big talk on post was the alligator that showed up in the golf course pond. It's an hour drive to civilization, but we headed there and spent a week with Andy. It was a small hotel room, with old plumbing, and it rained stormed the entire week we were there. But none of it mattered. The boys and I stayed busy each day, kinda went stir crazy, but every day at 5:00 when Andy came into the room, none of that mattered! I miss him so very much and I'm so thankful we got to spend a week with him. 


I am constantly reminded of the many blessings that God has bestowed on us. Our paperwork with the adoption is nearly complete. We got to see and spend time with Andy even while he's stationed somewhere else. And I got to sleep in my own bed last night for the first time in a month. That right there is a blessing in and of itself! Ha! 

the iGame

The petition requesting permission from Homeland Security to allow us to adopt  internationally is done! We submitted an I-600A (see last post) and a few weeks ago we received the golden ticket...the I-171H.


iPod: $125
iPhone: $199
I-171H stating the magic words: "Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition: PRICELESS!


I've heard a few stories about obtaining the I-171H so we're REALLY happy to have that in our hands!


Another step closer.... :)