It's Coming Along...

Not a lot to report lately. Still doing some unpacking and decorating of the house. Steve's been working a ton of hours, and I've been busy with work myself, as well as wading through lots of homestudy paperwork. I'm happy to report it IS coming along!

FBI clearances have been received. All eleven state clearances were requested and are now coming back (slowly). My four personal references were submitted (thanks friends!) Our doctors have completed and submitted our medical releases. We've written our 18-page bio Q&A (that's single-spaced, typed) and have sent it off. Next? We schedule the actual home visit with our social worker. I'm not too stressed about this, as I've been through it before and also I realize it is more to determine that our house is a safe and appropriate environment in which to raise a child more than anything else. Mainly I just want the house to look somewhat organized. We've been in this house almost two months now and there are still a lot of bare walls and unpacked boxes, but each weekend we get a little bit more done.

Our social worker will be on vacation for a week in October, so I'm hoping we can get this appointment scheduled sooner than later. After that, we will be waiting on her written report so we can go get our immigration fingerprints done and then wait for our immigration approval. Again, I've done this all before - it's just been three years. I know everything will get done in it's own time, and when the timing is right. It's just hard for someone like me to not want to control the entire process from beginning to end. But so far I have been able to maintain a respectable level of restraint during the frustration and seemingly endless red tape of the process. I'm learning patience. I know these are the Universe's lessons for me: giving up control and practicing patience. Good lessons for a mom-to-be I suppose.

29 Months!

I'm currently knee deep in paperwork getting my adoption homestudy updated. Since we moved to Washington state in March 2008, I've needed to get a homestudy update. And my I600A (U.S. immigration approval) expired in September '08. With the move into our new house last month, we'd finally saved up enough money (close to $3k) and I was able to get the "paperchase" started again. I won't even get into how complicated all this paperwork is, but just know - it could be a fulltime job by itself! But nose to the grindstone...I WILL get it done. Hopefully a couple of years from now I will be able to look back on all this and laugh...OK, maybe not laugh, but at least look back at these years of waiting with relief and a smile?

In the meantime, for the next two weeks I will read Kris and Laurie and Kim's blogs and remind myself that there IS someone amazing and worth waiting for at the end of all this!

Labor-less Weekend

Steve and I had a great Labor Day Weekend. For me, it was "labor-less". Steve had to work a couple of remote broadcasts from furniture and mattress stores in the area. Doesn't it seem like mattress and furniture stores are ALWAYS having sales? And the number of mattress stores always blows my mind. Now clearly, everyone needs a mattress, but how do all these mattress stores stay in business? Do THAT many people buy new mattresses that often?

Anyway - we headed down to Spokane's "Pig Out in the Park" food festival on Sunday. Had myself some banana nutella crepes - yummy. Also did some shopping for some artwork to hang in a couple of strategic places in our new house. Good times!

This coming week is exciting because THREE of my adoption world friends are reaching milestones this week. Kris and Laurie both leave tomorrow for China - whoo hoo! They will be meeting their girls next Monday. I can hardly believe it. All three of us submitted our applications and dossiers to CCAI during the same time period three years ago. Their girls are so cute, and I can only hope to be following in their footsteps soon! My friend Kim, who has been in Kazakhstan since July has finally had her adoption approved and has gotten permission to take her daughter out of the orphanage on Wednesday, so they will be coming home to Memphis in just a short couple of weeks!

Summer Beach Trip 2009

We arrived home from our week at the beach on Friday night. We had an amazing time, but were also ready to be home for awhile. The last few weeks have been crazy - for us and for the dogs. First our sudden move on the 7th, then a weekend trip to Seattle, then back for one week before heading out to the coast for our beach trip...WHEW!

The house we stayed at in Oregon was right on the cliff above the beach. It was a "round" house, so the sound of the ocean waves would come in the windows and literally bounce off all the walls in the house. So even sleeping in the back bedroom (away from the ocean), you felt like you were sleeping seaside with the window open. It was awesome! We also visited some amazing restaurants on this trip. The Blackfish Cafe in Lincoln City was AMAZING. Pan-seared scallops with pumpkin risotto - followed by a "homemade Ding Dong" for dessert. OMG (aqua sport class here I come!)

We also drove south to Depoe Bay one day and were amazed by the serious waves crashing on the rocky coast down there! All the tourists standing up on the lookout were trying not to get drenched by the huge fans of ocean spray being shot up by the sea. Enjoy the photos!

A lot going on...but not a lot going on...

Does that make sense? I'm feeling overwhelmed. Lots of stuff going on...but really nothing interesting to report here. Just tackling one project at a time. This weekend we were over in Seattle for my company's picnic, which was fun. Of course we also packed in back-to-back visits with all my family members while over there. Adding in the four-hour drive there and back (each way) and you've got a fairly action-packed weekend! And now here I am back at the new house. Which currently is a MESS. Not fun to come home to complete disarray - UGH. Here's a photo of my office:

...and here's one from the kitchen/dining area:

Can you tell the difference? Not really? Neither can I. That's the problem...and I'm surrounded by this...

I know it will get there eventually. I want to enjoy this house more, but right now it is somewhat out of control. I'm also trying to get into my routine of going to the gym 2-3 times/weeks again for Aqua Sport class. So far in the past two weeks I've made it four time...baby steps.

Also trying to get started on renewing my USCIS (immigration) paperwork for the adoption - which by itself could be a full time job with all the new hoops and bureaucracy that is involved.

On a positive note - we did fit in a quick trip to IKEA over the weekend in Seattle. We went in looking for a desk for Steve, and possible some framed artwork for the house...but I fell IN LOVE with this little girl's room they had mocked up:

Isn't it cute? The way it is designed reminds me of what it would be like to live inside a cartoon like Kai Lan or Dora...very anime-ish...but adorable - and very reasonably priced! I love IKEA.

28 Months...and a New House!

So yesterday came and went in a blur. I missed my 28 Month mark! The last week has been crazy. We literally got approved for the house on Monday, signed the lease Wednesday, and moved Friday! Because of some upcoming events out of town, we needed to either get moved now, or wait until September...and neither of us wanted to spend another three weeks w/out A/C (though the weather has cooled down somewhat this week).

We hired some folks to help us pack Thursday, and spent 11 hours on Friday getting moved. LONG DAY! But overall it was SO worth it, because the house we are in now is just amazing. We are a bit further from downtown, and Steve has to add about 10-15 min. on to his commute, but the space - as well as the peace and quiet of this neighborhood - have won us over!

The new house:

"The Sweet Life" (plaque above the front door):

Moving Day!:

Terraced backyard w/patio...our private oasis!:

Steve and Killer - taking a break from moving on the front porch:

It's a Sunshine Day!

Have I mentioned it's been hot? REAL HOT. The temps here have been over 90 for about two weeks straight. Of course, the weather on the east side of the state is more stable than it is over in Seattle, where they had temperature spikes of up to 103 this past week (yikes!) The problem is, for most folks in Washington state, it doesn't make sense to install central A/C in their homes. We just don't get a LOT of hot weather this far north - and thankfully we don't deal with the humidity of the midwest and south U.S. Believe me, after six years living in Iowa, and "enjoying" summer temps of 95 degrees with 95% humidity... I am GRATEFUL to live somewhere that cools off at night!

Unfortunately, our 1939 brick house with no A/C is very slow to cool down, especially the 2nd floor (where the bedrooms are - of course). We had hoped the huge pine trees that surround the house would keep it shady and cool and it does - up to about 80 degrees. I guess we can be thankful for the shade they DO provide, but I can tell you - it is still toasty inside the house - our thermostat reads 79 degrees most nights when I go to bed (and that's on the main floor).

The other issue is that our landlord decided to put the house back on the market in June. She is a retired lady who is trying to pay two mortgages every month (our rent only covers about half the mortgage on this house). Although it is priced pretty high, and less likely to sell in the current market (not to mention the current weather), we've had to show it half a dozen times, and of course keep it in "show" condition at all times. Showing it requires me leaving the house with the dogs (so they don't have barking fits at strangers coming in the house)...so it's quite an ordeal. The bottom line is, even if she doesn't sell the house by October, she plans to put it back on the market again next spring. So it makes sense for us to be considering other options at this point.

So we saw a house this past weekend that we REALLY like! It has been up for sale, but the owners are also open to renting it. They recently relocated to California and are using a property management company here in Spokane to handle the rental. So we submitted the rental paperwork on Wednesday and have our fingers crossed. It is about ten minutes further south of downtown, but a much larger, newer (1979) home with A/C. It is perched on the side of a hill and looks west out over the city to the surrounding mountains. I can't imagine how beautiful the sunsets will be!

Yes - this will be my FIFTH move since I started this blog (in November 2006)...crazy, huh? The negative part is that moving always sucks - things get broken, and it's a lot of work. But in this case, the postives FAR outweigh the negatives! Hope to be able to share more details (and photos) very soon. Looks like August is going to be even busier than I had first thought!