tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57245687014361675452024-02-19T02:45:09.639-08:00Greener Family AdoptionSean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-85724692495409088472013-07-10T21:46:00.000-07:002013-07-10T21:46:50.325-07:00Guess what??? We're still alive and well....So, I know it has been FOREVER since I updated this blog and most people that actually followed it have long since forgotten about it or given up on it. However, I do see that occasionally people still look at it, so I thought I would give a brief update.<br />
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We are doing well! Our lovely and goofball daughter is 6 years old and our hilariously odd son will be 4 before the summer ends. They have acclimated amazingly well to the family and their life here with us. Almost too well at times...making me wonder when the crap's gonna hit the fan - because things can't possibly be THAT easy!! <br />
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Yes, doubling our family in an instant was hard. Being a parent is hard. Remaining constantly busy and losing sleep is hard. Blah blah blah. But, so many of the things (that often come with being an adoptive family/ transracial family/ internationally adoptive family - with language/culture differences etc...) have been only a mild or non-issue so far... at least in comparison to what we <i>expected</i>. We <i>over prepared </i>for a crapload of issues...and they, well... they <i>under delivered</i>. I'm certainly not complaining.<br />
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Our awesome children had pretty much NO problem learning English and catching up (within the first year or so) with most age-appropriate developmental milestones. Our little girl just finished kindergarten with great success - and our little boy has done well in preschool and has mastered many of the "pre-kindergarten" skills expected of him. <br />
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They are amazingly healthy, which has been an awesome blessing. Other than an occasional sniffle and cold they have a near perfect track record. The 6 year old little princess has never missed school (or any other event of any kind) in the past 2 years due to being sick. 3 year old peanut has only been mildly ill a couple times and was quick to recover. I'm amazed at how strong their immune system must be and how healthy they are. They are sturdy and strong kids and I almost feel guilty when hearing other parents talk about how their kids are often sick and miserable and losing sleep over it...as we just haven't experienced that at all yet. <br />
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I guess that's it for now... we are doing well. Only thought to come do the update because Friday marks two years of having physical custody of them. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGr5fqXSb37QPFZ0Eo1BNjNQ-mLgj2fqqpxcD3dSAdM9nm3RwnLVxD-vLtIKumS7OBYCrvDOzDt_Rwit-g7uVIq9qrUHMg5C7jE4r5h3ZUnJbs-6Clo6eF1LQrXmGvNQjCwK9t0n0Uq7Kl/s1600/FamilyPic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGr5fqXSb37QPFZ0Eo1BNjNQ-mLgj2fqqpxcD3dSAdM9nm3RwnLVxD-vLtIKumS7OBYCrvDOzDt_Rwit-g7uVIq9qrUHMg5C7jE4r5h3ZUnJbs-6Clo6eF1LQrXmGvNQjCwK9t0n0Uq7Kl/s320/FamilyPic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I leave you with a pic of our family in Ethiopian clothing we bought on our 2nd trip. <br />
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Who knows when the heck I will update this again.... so, have a nice life everyone!<br />
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SeanSean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-66041402748763772862011-10-12T13:32:00.000-07:002011-10-12T13:32:47.507-07:00Still doing well.....Hello All, <br />
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Well, it has been 3 months since we took custody of our children and they said "goodbye" to the orphanage forever!<br />
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It has been a great few months. Yes, going from 0 kids to 2 has had its difficulties and adjustments...but, we are doing pretty dang well! <br />
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I don't have much to say - other than that we do still exist (even when I don't post on here) and that we are just fine. <br />
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I will try to post a bit more and some pics soon. However, I'm at the point where I am still deciding what to do with this blog. I like writing and showing off pics of our beautiful kids...but, I also don't want too much out there on the internet about them for no reason. Boundaries and privacy are good things... so, we'll see. I am leaning towards making it private and using it mainly to post pics/anecdotes of kids for family and friends. <br />
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That's it for now - have a good one!!<br />
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SeanSean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-59808439497210337632011-08-05T15:41:00.000-07:002011-10-12T13:27:04.551-07:00We're Back!!!! (Revised - with PICS!!)Okay, so I know this is long overdue...but, give us a break: we just doubled our family, we were both ill before leaving for Ethiopia, and STILL (one month later) are feeling gross while trying to get over it. We have seen doctors and are on meds now which is helping.<br />
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The kids are doing great. It has been a long hard last 4 weeks mostly because we felt like crap. For us, all our preparation for scary LOOONG flights home with children that don't know us, attachment issues, constant crying, food issues, kids with illnesses, blah blah blah ...was pointless. Those things worked themselves out just fine. However, even when you have awesome kids that are adjusting amazingly well... you are irritable and cranky (AND miserable) when you feel super yucky and are completely physically exhausted. <br />
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Had our kids actually been difficult and had many of the issues/difficulties with us those first few weeks that people typically say they have.... OMG - we would have died. Seriously. Thank the good Lord for giving us amazing kids! Not just super-stinkin' adorable (which, um...yeah, they are)...but, relatively easy to deal with too. Yes, of course they have had some adjustment issues, sleep issues (with the time change), colds, and some behaviors that were less than desirable due to the "newness" of it all AND the lack of great communication (since they are just barely learning English and we have limited Amharic skills). But, in ALL of those types of things we had definitely mentally prepared ourselves for so much worse. So, the little issues that did manifest themselves, although difficult to deal with when sick, were really no big deal at all. <br />
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Not saying it will be an easy road forever... and it hasn't been "easy," just not NEARLY as difficult as it could have been or as we were expecting. They are super active kids that need constant entertaining - which is new to us, but we are learning to adjust and finding new activities to keep us busy. I just hope that over the next several months they continue to like us, behave as well, and have even just HALF as much of their ability to adapt and easy going personalitities as they have now. We are truly blessed with great kids... that although are still learning the boundaries and our language, are already fitting seemlessly into our family.<br />
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Now, for those that had a difficult time during your first several weeks... do NOT be jealous. I don't mean to be painting a perfect fairy tale picture of our first days together. Because we were so sick, let me tell you... the first bit sucked. Yes, there were sleepness nights, exploding diapers (only for one week), fussiness, tantrums, and the spitting out of food (that wasn't seen as acceptable) on the floor. We were friggin' miserable for a bit. But, all in all... we survived it, the kids aren't doing those things anymore, and we are on (prescribed) drugs - so, all is good. We have transitioned from "so completely emotionally and physically exhausted that I don't know how I'll survive without getting more sleep and having a break from all this"... to: "oh yeah, this is going to be a difficult journey at times, but oh well - we'll get through it like we do everything else. There'll be a new norm for us...but, that's doable."<br />
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Well, enough of that. Our time in Ethiopia was smoother this time as far as transportation, lodging, shopping, etc... Visiting our kids, checking them out of orphanage, passing embassy appointment etc. all went relatively well. There was a glitch on the way back with a visa issue - but, it's resolved and done and I don't feel like reliving THAT right now. All in all it was a good trip. It was good to be there a second time to take in and experience our kid's culture. We will definitely have to take them back some day (when they are old enough to remember and enjoy it) to experience their birth country for themselves.<br />
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Okay, well now is the part where I put up some pics and you all oooohhh and aaahhhhh at my beautiful kids. Don't rip pics off of my site please. Now that the kids are here and we are actually allowed to show pics online of them - I will probably in the very near future be making my blog private. I know all y'all aren't weird and crazy - but, with a public site I am just not comfortable leaving everything up for anyone and their dog to see. So, if I know you and/or you have a legitimate reason to want to follow my blog - let me know and I can allow that once I have made it private. Until then, please respect my wishes by not copying pics of my children and or using their names in comments (either their given or new name), as you see I specifically have NOT posted such information in this blog at all. <br />
Thanks, have a good one.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxayNNyttyCCQWWmFDG8FxG8tkL3TzhYxZcx-SlCsMRIBHErr7z_kvHlbcz60iXUflx3ZBtgBeWtQWk1G1og0IcWgMevj9ePhfMgc5L3XFHfm6kcJVPAHPTH_qXA0CtuspDsdWlHAEixiv/s1600/Family+in+ET.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxayNNyttyCCQWWmFDG8FxG8tkL3TzhYxZcx-SlCsMRIBHErr7z_kvHlbcz60iXUflx3ZBtgBeWtQWk1G1og0IcWgMevj9ePhfMgc5L3XFHfm6kcJVPAHPTH_qXA0CtuspDsdWlHAEixiv/s320/Family+in+ET.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></div>This family pic is of us actually in Ethiopia. We are in the courtyard of the guesthouse we stayed in (Ethio Comfort Guesthouse). <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSq6cP7g_27SOWP82AuYZxhYn4Q_JHLx_UBJBjijaaHJFmnBJMTWFC4_jQwXdnj6hQiYc89AnOzB1wmeCDEAmGHTvx8aahYVHa9UbIZJakPWf9iefri7EPHnPW7YVTyohWC2B3kN52tM9C/s1600/Family+Wisconsin+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSq6cP7g_27SOWP82AuYZxhYn4Q_JHLx_UBJBjijaaHJFmnBJMTWFC4_jQwXdnj6hQiYc89AnOzB1wmeCDEAmGHTvx8aahYVHa9UbIZJakPWf9iefri7EPHnPW7YVTyohWC2B3kN52tM9C/s320/Family+Wisconsin+2.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></div>This family pic was taken in Wisconsin on our weeklong stop there before heading all the way home to California. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM6eVZpKFKv2hMOF4WVdY4jjIlrZnGKGv2p_0d9XG8rlq_OaISqrr7pglJ6mKuYa1cphtwIy49plent7vi8kckHL2PGRrH-lptSWXHUUmP4uS2HyUQAfVEGxGpYIUAUDa7TsgVIyVAthFO/s1600/IMG_1282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM6eVZpKFKv2hMOF4WVdY4jjIlrZnGKGv2p_0d9XG8rlq_OaISqrr7pglJ6mKuYa1cphtwIy49plent7vi8kckHL2PGRrH-lptSWXHUUmP4uS2HyUQAfVEGxGpYIUAUDa7TsgVIyVAthFO/s320/IMG_1282.JPG" t$="true" width="320" /></a></div>This was in Ethiopia at the end of our visit with our adorable daughter...before having taken physical custody of her. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHJpc44gWIv4KhJntBNum6WBmvcgUAYgbShiMVe-8pwtMGA2NP5qZTpTyVcx3WHWlmEVwNTp65Hgbko5SobFRsAKbFA6EGr2zgjxpvXvxS0xCSM0uCfLLJWGYpQqgymVBBTljbozwbY_mp/s1600/IMG_1391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHJpc44gWIv4KhJntBNum6WBmvcgUAYgbShiMVe-8pwtMGA2NP5qZTpTyVcx3WHWlmEVwNTp65Hgbko5SobFRsAKbFA6EGr2zgjxpvXvxS0xCSM0uCfLLJWGYpQqgymVBBTljbozwbY_mp/s320/IMG_1391.JPG" t$="true" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This was in Ethiopia at the end of our visit with our adorable son...before having taken physical custody of him.</div><br />
Now for pics of them adjusting to us at home....<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmPxgqHqCT5OqA9GOPJIw_jYV7VQKF7a09Qo90B4U2FO98NVkUwrYziYf_MO_zx29mUaX1iCxSStXn1PVKE6QSIj2n9pH5Dd4fdjGZa7_8BgfBSQ6GVj3jfu7fxPFWCXwDQ70DmEXBbOF/s1600/100MEDIA_IMAG0027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmPxgqHqCT5OqA9GOPJIw_jYV7VQKF7a09Qo90B4U2FO98NVkUwrYziYf_MO_zx29mUaX1iCxSStXn1PVKE6QSIj2n9pH5Dd4fdjGZa7_8BgfBSQ6GVj3jfu7fxPFWCXwDQ70DmEXBbOF/s320/100MEDIA_IMAG0027.jpg" t$="true" width="191" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">My first ketchup!!!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWWGxF2L_W_SWY7Lk0Kom2VXkubeFAQG6_-pUM6pVy_X5ztKFo-Wdv2OgxoNO3G0HcOWc2Jn_gXxQ02-c-nwItyvjH842o2sZODcdutYFCteKqbkvgYnyz37zwkqS-rsgjqQ-Xv90a0ww/s1600/100MEDIA_IMAG0036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWWGxF2L_W_SWY7Lk0Kom2VXkubeFAQG6_-pUM6pVy_X5ztKFo-Wdv2OgxoNO3G0HcOWc2Jn_gXxQ02-c-nwItyvjH842o2sZODcdutYFCteKqbkvgYnyz37zwkqS-rsgjqQ-Xv90a0ww/s320/100MEDIA_IMAG0036.jpg" t$="true" width="191" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Me being silly with a cell phone case hanging from my night shirt!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvtOP43XQVTRTpwWq1KSTwCEe2fuG-260XxoYYBvDpQzMyS6sJE17QSvz6-gYdJlxC7AdOOmtYY2dlTBHvSWkrnjA4D5j-Ohyphenhyphen6kAG-6xQCCAl_NgY0ODxoEoNwY3pPwNSPmAGsFyXOV20w/s1600/100MEDIA_IMAG0043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvtOP43XQVTRTpwWq1KSTwCEe2fuG-260XxoYYBvDpQzMyS6sJE17QSvz6-gYdJlxC7AdOOmtYY2dlTBHvSWkrnjA4D5j-Ohyphenhyphen6kAG-6xQCCAl_NgY0ODxoEoNwY3pPwNSPmAGsFyXOV20w/s320/100MEDIA_IMAG0043.jpg" t$="true" width="191" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">"Yeah, I know I'm cute..."</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZqGNpIeD3eLqCA1kA_1j8Tkt-z10qhMa-y38-eMcBedpbqhy57-s4QCksBggxBubf9JiAZJcXN1AhDvTebMRZGIFnWWleNxFLGLgp6yTGz9XgpNznsMHaaATKYKLaXaU27-NyDvjJEOoG/s1600/100MEDIA_IMAG0047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZqGNpIeD3eLqCA1kA_1j8Tkt-z10qhMa-y38-eMcBedpbqhy57-s4QCksBggxBubf9JiAZJcXN1AhDvTebMRZGIFnWWleNxFLGLgp6yTGz9XgpNznsMHaaATKYKLaXaU27-NyDvjJEOoG/s320/100MEDIA_IMAG0047.jpg" t$="true" width="191" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">"No this is not a commercial head shot. I just look this good straight out of bed in the morning while humoring my father and his little cell phone camera thingy." </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjppeKELWntD3sSEKmnR3EQU7QTrI4-3Foe5Th5mQ-dkLxKqvho9jVbCJMINudhvR05LAPGJE8UMoWT8fdoBs3ER55isJekvhgh0_PcqPUCL6_8z1igt1mRz04c9bfSfMmmzwBVqRAc4zZu/s1600/100MEDIA_IMAG0042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjppeKELWntD3sSEKmnR3EQU7QTrI4-3Foe5Th5mQ-dkLxKqvho9jVbCJMINudhvR05LAPGJE8UMoWT8fdoBs3ER55isJekvhgh0_PcqPUCL6_8z1igt1mRz04c9bfSfMmmzwBVqRAc4zZu/s320/100MEDIA_IMAG0042.jpg" t$="true" width="191" /></a></div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;">See, we can get along when we want to. </div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">Signing off... I'm tired.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Sean</div>Sean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-27658590423102230502011-07-02T23:44:00.000-07:002011-07-02T23:44:26.876-07:00Headed to Ethiopia...<strong>So, we got our flights and guest house booked. We will be leaving on Friday....just a few short days away. Hard to believe - but, it's certainly about time!</strong><br />
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<strong>We will be flying Lufthansa airlines and have just one layover in Frankfurt Germany on the way to Addis Ababa. On the way home we will have layovers in both Frankfurt and Chicago. </strong><br />
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<strong>We will be staying at the same guest house we stayed at in November 2010. We are glad to be staying somewhere that is familiar to us and close to the orphanage (well, at least to one of the two). </strong><br />
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<strong>Our stay will be relatively short (just a week), so our schedule is pretty much planned out. There are certain things we HAVE to do on certain days... so, that pretty much dictated when we will do what and which days we have a little time to shop and/or relax. </strong><br />
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<strong>Saturday evening: Arrive</strong><br />
<strong>Sunday: Shop - rest & get settled/acclimated.</strong><br />
<strong>Monday: Visit our children</strong> (@ two separate locations)<br />
<strong>Tuesday: Take custody of our children</strong> (individually, from different orphanages)<br />
<strong>Wednesday: Embassy appointment/ hang out at guest house with our kids</strong><br />
<strong>Thursday: Hang out at guest house with our kids/ lay low</strong><br />
<strong>Friday: Get kids visas/ leave in the evening. </strong><br />
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<strong>That's about it. We will be back in the states on the 16th of July. </strong><br />
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<strong>Hopefully everything will go smoothly and we won't have any random issues with the process and change the above plan. But, ya just never now...</strong><br />
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<strong>Have a good 4th of July weekend everyone!</strong><br />
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<strong>Sean</strong>Sean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-6858101262311856212011-06-23T19:10:00.000-07:002011-06-23T19:10:23.945-07:00We Got An Embassy Date!!!!<strong>Hello All, </strong><br />
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<strong>Well, our season of waiting is FINALLY coming to an end!!! We received word that our embassy date is going to be July 13th. Now, that's not as soon as we'd hoped (after hearing earlier in the week we'd likely be cleared to travel soon)...but, we'll certainly take it. We are definitely used to waiting - that's for sure. So, what's another couple of weeks?</strong><br />
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<strong>Anyhow, we have sent off some information to a travel agent that is looking into our flight possibilities at this moment. Hopefully we will have our itinerary ironed out within the next day or so. </strong><br />
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<strong>Oh yeah, I also have to get my butt in gear and contact the guest house we stayed at in November and see if they have any vacancies as well! If not, there's more research for me to do.... </strong><br />
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<strong>Well, just wanted to give a quick update! Will be writing on here more often now that there is actually something happening and something to say. There wasn't much need to post on this adoption blog during those months that the process was in (what felt like) a stand still. But now, before you know it, we'll be allowed to post pictures of our beautiful kids and can also post about our time in Ethiopia. </strong><br />
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<strong>That's it for now!</strong><br />
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<strong>Sean</strong>Sean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-86120647857017773602011-03-27T16:40:00.000-07:002011-03-27T16:40:13.744-07:00Waiting...seems like we've done this before.Hello All,<br />
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Well, here is another (long over-due) update. Unfortunately, we don't have news of travel plans coming quickly or anything. It is what it is. <br />
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Anyhow, for those of you that aren't aware of what's going on and that we've experienced some delays - I'll give you a quick run-down. <br />
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We passed court (in Ethiopia) in November when we met our two children. Since then we have been doing finishing touches on our apartment and the kids room while waiting to get clearance from the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia to go pick up our kids and bring them back to the U.S. <br />
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We are still waiting at this point. Things are just taking longer than expected ... and in the meantime our I-171H expired (the form that allows us to bring two children into U.S.). Sooooo, we had to update our home study. We just finalized that and sent it in to immigration services Friday. At this point we are delayed on two ends of it... here in the U.S. (trying to get our I-171H extended) and in Ethiopia (with the U.S. Embassy gathering all the documentation they need to ensure that the proper channels have been gone through and all parts of the process have been done ethically). <br />
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So, we are trying to deal gracefully with the wait. Hopefully everything will be resolved soon. When it is resolved you will surely see this blog updated with several pictures of our amazingly beautiful children. We aren't allowed to post any until we are granted physical custody in Ethiopia. We have many pictures of them from our first trip and we also get updated pictures of them each month. <br />
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Anyhow, I am finally posting pictures of some of the projects that have kept us busy these past few months. <br />
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Enjoy.... or don't, I can't really pretend to care at this point, I have more important things on my mind. :-)<br />
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Below is our new dining area. Previously, there was a bar height table and backless stools that just wouldn't work great for family dinners with two little ones. Oh, and yes... I did pick up a random branch off of the ground after a windstorm, paint it red, and hang it on the wall.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBHOxWQejs5wpNXkHbs8hLIBh5hNA_Lu34CLYr4cjYdl3U3HADbacfvW4t_HpvyC3Vby_f6bv2kVIIXnFiZLeEevjOwEdEPwwXaWSkiggNiSfUnHAs2mnynkQdn7ndMRyKhq8ovemu7yFW/s1600/2010+Christmas+and+Such+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBHOxWQejs5wpNXkHbs8hLIBh5hNA_Lu34CLYr4cjYdl3U3HADbacfvW4t_HpvyC3Vby_f6bv2kVIIXnFiZLeEevjOwEdEPwwXaWSkiggNiSfUnHAs2mnynkQdn7ndMRyKhq8ovemu7yFW/s320/2010+Christmas+and+Such+011.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Next, is the "before" picture of our kids room. Well, not really all that accurate of a before picture...considering that before we began transitioning it to a kids room it was an "everything" spare room/office. Pictures of it in that state are really not necessary (and are not in existence anyhow).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4tXCxUkZfUYJNH7EyzaUq5vNvMK8fmmGV8uNVY9yJauY4lGIw6KQhOdmIyA7HGGrmCp231ovQyQ_yvF9v8Z7da09c1CbnOfqMqlrH_ZBu56zRntF3GU3C_7o46k6JgZzY9lskbRR1Exme/s1600/2010+Christmas+and+Such+202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4tXCxUkZfUYJNH7EyzaUq5vNvMK8fmmGV8uNVY9yJauY4lGIw6KQhOdmIyA7HGGrmCp231ovQyQ_yvF9v8Z7da09c1CbnOfqMqlrH_ZBu56zRntF3GU3C_7o46k6JgZzY9lskbRR1Exme/s320/2010+Christmas+and+Such+202.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Here is a pic of their dressers and bookshelf. Notice the paintings. I (Sean) painted the brown one on the left (you can't really tell...but, the circles are all different colors - but it didn't show up well in pic) and Jaime painted the one on the right. We decided to do custom paintings for our kids with the extra paint from the furniture and such that was used in their room. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLfNRtqyaB-5y9dxCfLBMVctLxRE0A0p3PgjdpRYBiSg2rITrxBffQJOudDvqehwwcYxwg9Hcz8TLNNrFpWe5WYxU-oqAhlp0egP-wryP0QMU4639RtNBL5xttW3inHLxZmAx-CvWJVCPP/s1600/2010+Christmas+and+Such+019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLfNRtqyaB-5y9dxCfLBMVctLxRE0A0p3PgjdpRYBiSg2rITrxBffQJOudDvqehwwcYxwg9Hcz8TLNNrFpWe5WYxU-oqAhlp0egP-wryP0QMU4639RtNBL5xttW3inHLxZmAx-CvWJVCPP/s320/2010+Christmas+and+Such+019.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Below is a couple pictures of Selah's corner of the room. In the second picture, near the corner of the wall, you see a straight line of butterflies. That is a mobile made in Ethiopia that we purchased on our trip in November. Kaleb has one also has one (that is rhinoceri) that you can kind of see a little in pic above to left (right next to white curtain). The "headboard" tree and butterfly/flower swirls are wall decals.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjSUjIFHnvp0GwcogvRzYGRiUqz2zF3cAIxwbdB9qITMHktRRDxeD-XMwzbpzqoBMmD0-uukZ3K_Up8BX23dVJRCn3LcWyPyqqemHT6Q6xtBF-FLUjMoftQPyfnqCUE3jnoMQEqL6-a-Wj/s1600/2010+Christmas+and+Such+028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjSUjIFHnvp0GwcogvRzYGRiUqz2zF3cAIxwbdB9qITMHktRRDxeD-XMwzbpzqoBMmD0-uukZ3K_Up8BX23dVJRCn3LcWyPyqqemHT6Q6xtBF-FLUjMoftQPyfnqCUE3jnoMQEqL6-a-Wj/s320/2010+Christmas+and+Such+028.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt0c2813YW_k7DJAksYhfAnyq1V4MRiazd4WjG8OE0XGuQN6jJXfEjARUzNSATWFS2FHcSkVvWqloEtMiAtn6q1J5yOH-V2Hibm2JbGW14OZD0hqnspDnnV0yHUlAgR3o3-wkPpXDaoC4k/s1600/2010+Christmas+and+Such+029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt0c2813YW_k7DJAksYhfAnyq1V4MRiazd4WjG8OE0XGuQN6jJXfEjARUzNSATWFS2FHcSkVvWqloEtMiAtn6q1J5yOH-V2Hibm2JbGW14OZD0hqnspDnnV0yHUlAgR3o3-wkPpXDaoC4k/s320/2010+Christmas+and+Such+029.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The next two pics are of Kaleb's area...showing his bed and toy shelf. The doll in the blue and white striped outfit on the toy shelf was also purchased in Ethiopia. There is one for Selah on her shelf as well. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIHfJ0mCUOm1PSa3jabX2JqYFRVpjS-ddJY3CjdedQnHj8wU78ufv7VlY9jt6WaA6x4N_VwxPdwHKF1CmZY-7FL5L_2s68yC6MIXtDk-Rlr8D2Yo-_PJlAOg0Lsyzljxt3w8P-gSlicJkm/s1600/2010+Christmas+and+Such+032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIHfJ0mCUOm1PSa3jabX2JqYFRVpjS-ddJY3CjdedQnHj8wU78ufv7VlY9jt6WaA6x4N_VwxPdwHKF1CmZY-7FL5L_2s68yC6MIXtDk-Rlr8D2Yo-_PJlAOg0Lsyzljxt3w8P-gSlicJkm/s320/2010+Christmas+and+Such+032.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOodAfRFZZl2HgvchDeIMzcoCLgxzLIzOjoqq5Wrh7ckF_a5YK8zI4DfD4i-u7e3e0AM210-v2SFLDtblWcnMwRcwau4fIZIrGBHY8OKSH5MZFHY46fZiTDecT5z9fo-FtEcPUeYW5gunM/s1600/2010+Christmas+and+Such+033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOodAfRFZZl2HgvchDeIMzcoCLgxzLIzOjoqq5Wrh7ckF_a5YK8zI4DfD4i-u7e3e0AM210-v2SFLDtblWcnMwRcwau4fIZIrGBHY8OKSH5MZFHY46fZiTDecT5z9fo-FtEcPUeYW5gunM/s320/2010+Christmas+and+Such+033.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This last one is a painting that Jaime did. You can see it a bit in the pic above as well (in the corner)...but, here's a better view of it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSupXiKlpNg28AwqzngROTxAXXEa05DEk-8XtEulJ24sL8lzZe7JKKMljgKDZS6Q3kytZR4TXHVIyw2uZ1SRQy0pmvsU06bOiSbNeDeQIOWyMT9mO0qgtvZEW-gk-NAvw-8zNL15PVNz_S/s1600/2010+Christmas+and+Such+034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSupXiKlpNg28AwqzngROTxAXXEa05DEk-8XtEulJ24sL8lzZe7JKKMljgKDZS6Q3kytZR4TXHVIyw2uZ1SRQy0pmvsU06bOiSbNeDeQIOWyMT9mO0qgtvZEW-gk-NAvw-8zNL15PVNz_S/s320/2010+Christmas+and+Such+034.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Well, that's it for now. Have a good one everyone! Hopefully we'll be heading to Ethiopia again soon to pick up our children... an then we'll get some pics of them up on here too. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Bye for now,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sean</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div align="left"></div>Sean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-6149471602722417782011-02-02T13:40:00.000-08:002011-02-02T13:40:07.360-08:00Still waiting....<strong>No news to report. Still awaiting "the call" for our embassy appointment that lets us know we can hop on a plane and go pick up our kids. </strong><br />
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<strong>Getting a little anxious and antsy with all the waiting...but trying to deal with it somewhat gracefully. </strong><br />
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<strong>That's it for now. Will update this once we get news of our travel dates/plans...which will hopefully be soon. </strong><br />
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<strong>Sean</strong>Sean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-41549527415843607222011-01-12T15:02:00.000-08:002011-01-12T15:02:23.417-08:00Awaiting Embassy Appointment....Hello All! I guess it's time for a quick update. <br />
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We are currently just awaiting an embassy appointment so we can go pick up our two beautiful children. As mentioned earlier (by my sisters updates while we were actually IN Ethiopia) we passed court on our last trip and they are officially "our" children as far as Ethiopia is concerned. Now, at this point, we're just waiting on the U.S. side of things. <br />
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Embassy appointments are given out on certain days/times of the month according to ones agency. Our agency has embassy dates every other Thursday. Our paperwork was turned in to the U.S. embassy (in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) on the 23rd of December. So, it is looking like the SOONEST we would get an appointment at this point is February 3rd. Now, there is plenty of opportunity for delay in this... so, while we are "hoping" for a Feb. 3rd appointment, we aren't expecting it. <br />
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That's all the news for now. We are in the ending stages of "Operation Re-organization." We decided to not <u>just</u> fix up the kids room - but to also use this opportunity to go through EVERYTHING we own. We have sorted until we are blue in the face. We are not only making room in our lives and apartment for two small children - but we are also getting rid of much of the unnecessary "stuff" /clutter that is so easy to hang on to. It is quite freeing actually. It is nice to go through things and "remember when"... and keep some things you just can't part with - and to other things say "why the crap have I held on to this for 25 years???" and promptly find a better home for it. <br />
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As we reorganize things, rearrange exisiting (or get new) furniture, and paint/decorate our place we are seeing it develop into something entirely different right before our eyes. We used to wonder how in the world we were going to fit all of our stuff PLUS 2 kids (and all their stuff) in our apartment. Now, we are amazed at how much space we had previously wasted and how going through and revamping a couple walk-in closets and hallway storage can make a HUGE difference. Things are shaping up nicely. Gone is the 1950's style round bar height table and bar stools. A real (red!) dining room table and chairs take its place. We're ready for family dinners with the kids... no more eating dinner on the couch while watching the CSI's or Criminal Minds. It's kind of disturbing eating during some of those shows anyhow! ;-)<br />
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Well, I'll stop rambling for now. Hope to be updating this again soon with news of our embassy date. <br />
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Have a great week everyone!<br />
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SeanSean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-22816738586516997172010-11-24T08:39:00.000-08:002010-11-24T08:39:04.421-08:00Final Update Before They Come HOME!For those of you who have been watching FaceBook you know that Sean and Jaime passed court! Yay! Prayers have been answered in that respect. They should be getting on a flight as I type this and headed for home. The next time they do this flight they will be bringing their beautiful babies home too! More prayers that this will happen soon and without a hitch. Happy Thanksgiving!<br />
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Sean's SisterSean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-66668559062792205902010-11-20T21:16:00.000-08:002010-11-20T21:16:43.604-08:00UpdateThis is just a very basic update for those who are wondering how Sean and Jaime are doing in Ethiopia. They do not have internet access as they expected so our contact with them is very limited. They have arrived safely and have seen both of their beautiful children. Please continue to pray for the hearing which is Sunday night our time.Sean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-70823456227062531652010-11-13T18:31:00.000-08:002010-11-13T18:31:55.193-08:00Two days!!!<strong>We leave to meet our kids in two days!!! How crazy is that??</strong><br />
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<strong>Still packing... but, I am pretty sure we have everything we need and won't need to be doing any last minute Target or Walmart runs. Finishing up the laundry at the moment... then will move on to the clothing portion of the packing. </strong><br />
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<strong>Well, that's it for now... will update you as soon as I can. If we have a chance to go online we will e-mail some updates to my sister who will update this blog for us while we're gone. </strong><br />
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<strong>Have a good one!</strong><br />
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<strong>Sean</strong>Sean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-54037387663738747862010-11-08T21:11:00.000-08:002010-11-08T21:11:43.987-08:00The Count Down...One week from right now we will be in the sky - flying to visit our kids and go to court. <br />
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There's a lot to do... so no time for a long drawn out post. But, just wanted to say "Yay! We will meet our children in 9 days!"<br />
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SeanSean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-64555762920624235302010-09-19T22:02:00.000-07:002010-09-19T22:02:23.513-07:00We Received A Court Date!!!!So, we got the call... we have a travel date (for Trip 1)!! <br />
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We are excited to have found out that we have a November 22nd court date. We will be heading out to Ethiopia on the 15th of November. We are impatiently awaiting this trip as it will be the first time we get to meet our children. Well, they are "our" children in our hearts... not quite so legally - hence the trip to Ethiopia for a court date. Der. Keep up, guys! :-)<br />
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Anyhow, all sarcasm aside (well, probably not for long... I can only go 5 or so seconds at a time without it), we are thrilled to be heading to Ethiopia and having an opportunity to meet these beautiful blessings in the flesh. Not that (occasionally and obsessively) staring at their pictures is not great and all... but we'd kind of like to see the live action 3-D version... with sound included! <br />
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Also, we have known their sweet faces for 3 months now and already have grown attached to them and have fully integrated/"pictured" them into our lives (in our minds/hearts). But to them, we are nothing at this point. Not a picture. Not a thought. Not even a figment of their imagination. How sad is that? We've got to meet these kiddos already... I mean, we have to get those weird "who the crap are these random strangers and why are they in my personal space?" moments out of the way. I mean, we can't expect to move immediately into a close parent-child relationship without going through some awkward stages first. <br />
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We'll be: strangers, visitors, playmates, irritants, those silly pale people who speak gibberish, and even those people who took me away from everything I've ever known AND much more. All this BEFORE we even get close to becoming: the people who comfort me, the people who take care of me, the people I trust, the people who will always be around, the people that have got my back, the people that provide my every need, the people that make me laugh, the people who read me stories and tuck me in, the people that love me and I maybe love too etc... mom.. dad... <br />
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There's quite a road ahead of us, we are more than aware. At this point, with our children not even knowing of our existence, it just feels like it's a road we can't even begin to travel... not <em>really</em>. Yes, we are on track with our adoption agency, immigration, the Ethiopian court, and the U.S. embassy etc.. to make these children <em>legally </em>ours. But, until the children are actually IN our lives - we can't begin to bond, form a relationship, and begin learning <em>together </em>how to BE a family. Agencies, courts, and governments can't really begin to touch that. That's up to <em>us</em> ... and we are ready for that phase and challenge. So, November... get your butt here already!!!<br />
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Well, on a lighter note: we also recently received updated pictures of our cuties. They are growing fast and looking good. Our one year old boy is sitting up in a chair and looking beyond adorable with his gorgeous eyes. He seems a bit hesitant with this whole sit there for a picture idea...but, is not visibly irritated as in one of the last updates Our 3 year old girl is looking cute as ever as well. She is striking some fierce little poses that make me giggle just a bit. She has awesomely expressive eyebrows - that in previous pictures have shown her laughter and mischief... and are now showing a little attitude. She's already a true Greener... even if she doesn't yet know it! <br />
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Well, that's all I've got. You can breathe a sigh of relief... this update is finally over. Sorry, but since I update so infrequently I have to squeeze in a lot of stuff each time!<br />
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Have a good one!<br />
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SeanSean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-29761055713260694622010-08-17T21:02:00.000-07:002010-08-17T21:02:21.798-07:00Update From Our Agency...<strong>So, it's been a while... I know, I know - we are evil for not updating this more often. Sue us. </strong><br />
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<strong>Anyways, earlier this month we received an e-mail from our agency with a bit of an update and current pictures of our beautiful children. </strong><br />
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<strong>They are both doing well and looking as adorable as ever. We can already see that they have grown some since their referral pictures. This just makes us more anxious to travel to Ethiopia and meet them so we don't continue to miss out on their growth and development...and childhood in general! </strong><br />
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<strong>We did not get a court date before the court closure, which generally happens in August and September during the rainy season, so we are hoping for an October court date. We will see...</strong><br />
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<strong>Otherwise things are going well and moving along. Our fingerprints expired with the immigration office (we've had like 3 sets/levels of clearance of livescan/electronic fingerprinting during this whole process) - so we have sent in for another appointment to get that done. </strong><br />
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<strong>Let's see...what else? Oh, Jaime began a new position at World Vision International in mid-July. There's a bit of travel involved in this new role and it has already taken her to Madrid for one week. Everything is going well so far as she makes this transition. </strong><br />
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<strong>Now that we know the age/sex of our children we have been working on their bedroom more and purchasing items for specific children. That last part might sound weird... "for specific children".. but, it really does change things and is sometimes interesting to get used to. </strong><br />
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<strong>Previously, we purchased clothing and other baby/toddler items without knowing the age and sex of our children OR anything about them really. It is very "different" purchasing items for a child that is only <em>imagined </em>and/or <em>anticipated </em>in your head. In reality, you don't even know if the cute clothes you just bought will EVER be used... because it could very well be a smaller size than you'll need. </strong><br />
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<strong>So, it is DEFINITELY more fun knowing who our kids are, having a real picture of them in our minds, and purchasing items for them personally as an individual that we have seen (at least a picture of) and know some stuff (their age/development etc...) about. </strong><br />
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<strong>What is really odd is going back through purchases we had made prior to the referral. Because, before it was just: "wow, this is a cute outfit." Now, it is "ahhhhh, this will look so cute on him/ her...." OR "Ah crap! This is adorable and will NEVER fit either of our children... whoops, should've left the shopping until we had the referral." :-)</strong><br />
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<strong>We have also received quite a few outfits from family and friends that seem to be enjoying making purchases now that they know who and what size is going to be joining the family! </strong><br />
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<strong>So, that's it for now. Since we can't post any pictures of our (beautiful and nauseatingly adorable) children online (due to Ethiopian guidelines... which makes perfect sense, after all they are not even legally our children at this point...) I will at least try to post some pics in a few weeks with the progress we are making in the kids bedroom. </strong><br />
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<strong>We have already purchased bedding for both of the kiddos and made sure we have an over-arching color scheme that works well for both kids (since they will be sharing a room for the time being). Translation of that last sentence: "Sean is being psycho-anal, painting furniture like a mad man, carrying around paint color cards and swatches to make sure every item purchased passes his unrealistic perfectionist expectations, all while driving Jaime crazy in the process." </strong><br />
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<strong>Okay, I'm done. If I don't stop now - I'll just ramble on forever...which I've already kind of done!</strong><br />
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<strong>Sean</strong>Sean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-86338896286944178712010-06-27T19:04:00.000-07:002010-06-27T19:04:42.641-07:00We got our referrals!!<strong>Hello All, </strong><br />
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<strong>Well, drumroll please..........</strong><br />
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<strong>Monday, June 21st, we got the referral call for a beautiful little 3 year old girl. We were told then that we would be hearing (within a week or so) about our 2nd child. Paperwork was still being processed in Ethiopia regarding him, so we would not be receiving their referrals at the same time. </strong><br />
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<strong>So, after much joy and celebration...we finally calmed ourselves down a bit over the next few days. </strong><br />
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<strong>Then comes Friday... we were both in an all day work function. We had just been dismissed for a break when we received the call for our little boy!! He is 10 months old. Boy was it hard to pretend to care about work after the break was over and remain there until 3p.m. I probably didn't pretend very well, and quite frankly - I don't even care... I had other things on my mind and I'm not making any apologies. :-)</strong><br />
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<strong>Anyhow, we still have quite a process ahead of us. We still have to wait our turn to GET a court date, then TRAVEL TO the court hearing, PASS court, LEAVE for approximately two months (while waiting for an embassy appointment), then FINALLY - travel back to Ethiopia for the embassy appointment and to pick up our children. So, although this is a joyous time for us... we are not quite done with the waiting. But, we knew that was going to be the case when we started this remarkable journey. </strong><br />
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<strong>Well, that's it for now. Thanks for all the support and kindness we have received - it has been amazing. </strong><br />
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<strong>More updates to come..... </strong><br />
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<strong>Sean</strong>Sean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-8001756406578528132010-05-07T21:01:00.000-07:002010-06-27T19:05:38.811-07:00Waiting....Same Old Same Old<strong>Hello all, no new news really. We are continuing to wait, and trying to do it as gracefully (and patiently) as possible. So, for those of you that actually know us... yeah, patience isn't our forte. </strong><br />
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</strong><br />
<strong>We've been waiting about 6 1/2 months now... not the longest time that people tend to wait for a referral, certainly. But, feels like forever and a half to us nonetheless. </strong><br />
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</strong><br />
<strong>Just wanted to give a quick update, that's all for now. </strong><br />
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<strong>Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there. I'm a little early, but I'm sure you'll get over it!</strong><br />
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<strong>Sean</strong>Sean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-78386657330940468082010-04-17T21:31:00.000-07:002010-04-17T21:31:03.284-07:00Happy Easter!!<strong>Hello and Happy Easter (okay, a bit late... deal with it gracefully please)!!!</strong><br />
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<strong>So, I hope you all had a great Easter and all that jazz. Jaime and I had a good one. We ended up attending church at Angel Stadium, it was Saddleback church's 30th anniversary celebration and Easter service all in one. We went with some family who attend the church regularly in Lake Forest. The pic below is the view we had from where we were seated. It was a good service, although we had to miss the Easter service at our own church to go. </strong><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFeqOpY0R0MEDEjPCey_Vg-7QTlkID0w_RfKpJut93EyhQ_2NqrW20reR9N7-bAPSJljdWSMgSiqjrPbGvAAd669o83_l_QsSRtJBqw87Oy2zbm8TXFz9AZqR0hew-LKRsd3827HeLNbLX/s1600/IMG_0423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFeqOpY0R0MEDEjPCey_Vg-7QTlkID0w_RfKpJut93EyhQ_2NqrW20reR9N7-bAPSJljdWSMgSiqjrPbGvAAd669o83_l_QsSRtJBqw87Oy2zbm8TXFz9AZqR0hew-LKRsd3827HeLNbLX/s320/IMG_0423.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>We went to lunch with a LARGE group of family members and then headed to my grandfather's place to hide Easter eggs for the kids. But, before we hid eggs some family members gave Jaime and I some Easter gifts that they had gotten for our children. We are still waiting for our referral call, so at this point we don't even know who our children are...but, they have plenty of gifts waiting for them when we finally get to bring them home!</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>The lighting in the pic below isn't great...apparently my halo was shining too bright - which really distorted it. It's actually quite a common occurence. :-) </strong></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihUVGm08k0StkoDqeoKbMC9UsKWHMgMXl6OmMhejf7eidZKJupGLMjARXUHQbzeD2x8z3CPz81pRmQrwU9c_wLvssh76gCZZPC8xQvTxqC1uW1Dt-C36bpsUYPhoqzUM_quaxoVfFw53HO/s1600/IMG_0437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihUVGm08k0StkoDqeoKbMC9UsKWHMgMXl6OmMhejf7eidZKJupGLMjARXUHQbzeD2x8z3CPz81pRmQrwU9c_wLvssh76gCZZPC8xQvTxqC1uW1Dt-C36bpsUYPhoqzUM_quaxoVfFw53HO/s200/IMG_0437.JPG" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Last year we didn't seem to have all that many eggs to hide, so this year everyone overcompensated (by bringing too many) and we had way more eggs to hide than we had places to hide them. That led us to some more artistic (and not so "hidden") places to <em>hide</em> eggs. Once our creativity waned we just started throwing them on the grass. Below is some of our more interesting hiding places.</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Someone decorated my car...</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWrb6LXYKQha6L7EPOc_BWe-Q2goUJU0eCnf6hlMp4GbTacJfRutKpkdlC2gNSiKN0r1ikEa3Xil8G9Zs_S1DHCzlrND0G4p6WrgjS5mNPWZh14szYHxvTm7fRPkA3EAjn40gch3TAwXi7/s1600/IMG_0442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWrb6LXYKQha6L7EPOc_BWe-Q2goUJU0eCnf6hlMp4GbTacJfRutKpkdlC2gNSiKN0r1ikEa3Xil8G9Zs_S1DHCzlrND0G4p6WrgjS5mNPWZh14szYHxvTm7fRPkA3EAjn40gch3TAwXi7/s320/IMG_0442.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>So, I took the liberty of creating a "wheel of many colors" out of my sister's car.</strong> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDPDzkWAbuLfKQQhXSi1QWMU59okv9HitcsgkeCUwofYW2Gi90SmWA5LTxzlC7bSy73dgkkFfbgPftCmRtO9lRCqEzlKiWMwqd0mPYAqLkHC7qyuoQKXXwPfaryiFz23M76Y7XjMiHJU6n/s1600/IMG_0443.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDPDzkWAbuLfKQQhXSi1QWMU59okv9HitcsgkeCUwofYW2Gi90SmWA5LTxzlC7bSy73dgkkFfbgPftCmRtO9lRCqEzlKiWMwqd0mPYAqLkHC7qyuoQKXXwPfaryiFz23M76Y7XjMiHJU6n/s200/IMG_0443.JPG" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>At least the <em>hidden </em>egg matches the wiseman's ring and collar of his robe. Yes, there is one of the wisemen out in the yard, and no I don't know why. Thanks for asking.</strong> <strong> ;-)</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4YUcf-H-H6LkIO31ppxMayDH4-Vi-VUMmvcDv_KfbiBtSBH7mv1kT7XPPkc7iVWn8QdEUxJJX7uoR3wnpvPGOMYpgT_6xSjnYrQ32HlYQDDld_t4I0PMMyx-O315RFwd-tKC_i0Q1mpD/s1600/IMG_0444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4YUcf-H-H6LkIO31ppxMayDH4-Vi-VUMmvcDv_KfbiBtSBH7mv1kT7XPPkc7iVWn8QdEUxJJX7uoR3wnpvPGOMYpgT_6xSjnYrQ32HlYQDDld_t4I0PMMyx-O315RFwd-tKC_i0Q1mpD/s320/IMG_0444.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Well, that's it for the egg hiding.</strong> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Now, to the update portion of the post. It's been 5 months and 3 weeks since we have been awaiting our referral. We have no news yet....we are still waiting. Hopefully we will hear something soon. Guess that's it for now.</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Have a good week everyone!</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Sean</strong></div>Sean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-15834438508117516922010-03-12T11:53:00.000-08:002010-03-12T11:56:04.044-08:00Adoption Alert Information<strong>Hello Everyone!</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong>Thank you for your continued prayers relative to Sean’s and my adoption journey. The latest change to the Ethiopian adoption process (effective Wednesday, March 10, 2010) is that Ethiopia is now a two-trip country meaning that Sean and I will both have to travel to Ethiopia to attend the court hearing for our children. We will probably be there about a week, and we will get to meet our children, but we will not be able to bring them home with us. Then, depending upon when we pass court, we will travel there again (possibly 2-3 months later) to pick them up and bring them home.</strong><br />
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<strong>Please pray for the extra finances as this extra trip will cost us more than we had “budgeted.” We will also both miss an extra week of work which will take up more of our vacation time and lessen the time we will have to bond with them when we bring them home on the second trip.</strong><br />
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<strong>Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support! Sean and I greatly appreciate it!</strong><br />
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<strong>Jaime</strong>Sean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-69866503134199082602010-01-01T23:50:00.000-08:002010-01-01T23:55:42.232-08:00Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!<div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><strong>Hello All, </strong><br />
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<strong>Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and All That Jazz! </strong><br />
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<strong>We have been horrible about updating this blog, but we have been pretty busy. </strong><br />
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</strong><br />
<strong>First, Adoption Process Update:</strong><br />
<strong> Our dossier has been in Ethiopia for nearly 10 weeks! We are awaiting our referrals. The referral call could still be a few (or several) months away...or it could come this week - ya just never know!</strong><br />
<strong> On December 9th we had another conference call/ "training" session with our agency. This was to go over a sample of the referral form we will receive for each of our children (just so we know what information we can expect... medical and social history etc.) and to give us an introduction to traveling to Ethiopia. This was just an overview, but it certainly does get our minds prepared for when we do actually get our referrals and then get to the point where we have to think about traveling and all that entails. </strong><br />
<strong> I have been working some in the kids room over the holiday break, so although there is much to do.... progress is being made and it doesn't feel so overwhelming now. That is a good thing!</strong><br />
<strong> I guess that's it for news in the adoption... I am (of course): still reading adoption books and magazines, researching online, a part of several (Ethiopian adoption specific) yahoo groups, blog-stalking multiple families who have adopted from Ethiopia or are in the process of it, and chatting with new friends (who have adopted or are in process) I have met since we began our own adoption journey. I can never seem to have enough information... I'm always looking somewhere else or talking to someone different. I have to, in order to feel somewhat prepared. </strong><br />
<strong> One last adoption-related thing!! We asked my sister (Stacy) if she would like to go with us to Ethiopia when we travel to pick up our children... she said yes, is thrilled to do so - and has already gotten a passport and taken steps to be ready for the trip when the time comes. That will be such a blessing for Jaime and I....as having another adult with us in the airport, in country, in flight etc.. (with two children that don't really know us or speak our language!) will be a great help indeed!!</strong><br />
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<strong>What's been going on in our lives....</strong><br />
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<strong> Well, on December 19th (one of my nephew's birthday) - Jaime and I participated in our graduation ceremony. I have completed a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership, and Jaime has completed (well, has a few weeks of class left, but has just about completed...) a Master of Arts in Human Resources and Organizational Development. It is nice to have that over with!</strong><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7SIAZGS4pVFmNxC9HYih35tpdHI7bZvh1Bw0aslVg31cIxQxHC3xGy2Mexgd8QCvyLhCetQIvqBVsBL6jNf7U6PoMnr22J2JcyH41dLoE04fni37jgmR_kb8cBI4r-uA6RPX1eX9jR2y0/s1600-h/IMG_0118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7SIAZGS4pVFmNxC9HYih35tpdHI7bZvh1Bw0aslVg31cIxQxHC3xGy2Mexgd8QCvyLhCetQIvqBVsBL6jNf7U6PoMnr22J2JcyH41dLoE04fni37jgmR_kb8cBI4r-uA6RPX1eX9jR2y0/s400/IMG_0118.JPG" /></strong></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong> Then there was the holidays to keep us busy! The picture below if Jaime and I with one of my adorable nephews at Thanksgiving. I actually meant to put a Christmas picture here...and totally didn't realize, until after the fact, that I had put one in from Thanksgiving. Oh well, it was a better picture than the Christmas ones...so, deal with it gracefully! :-)</strong><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdosuKa18g3EtMLVDTv2fTUAldQDuVMXr64m2HCJ4Axnn-O49iwNBsJmPcD6G8NjhdhUR1fV_utub5nbwDHMHPd46AttoHwcKn_7tlcCEP9yQxM4pGnOY7Dg3JhmTgbNDUSaSq_Oh7xGSY/s1600-h/Jaime+December+2009+071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdosuKa18g3EtMLVDTv2fTUAldQDuVMXr64m2HCJ4Axnn-O49iwNBsJmPcD6G8NjhdhUR1fV_utub5nbwDHMHPd46AttoHwcKn_7tlcCEP9yQxM4pGnOY7Dg3JhmTgbNDUSaSq_Oh7xGSY/s400/Jaime+December+2009+071.JPG" /></strong></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong> We had a good Christmas. We stayed in California this year, which means we did not get to see Jaime's family :-( and Jaime had to pretend it felt like Christmas with no snow (and it being 80 degrees here)! But she managed, and our plan is to visit her family on the way back from Ethiopia (at an unknown date...hopefully soon!!). </strong><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong> We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my family. There's lots of them! We ate, exchanged gifts, ate, played games, and ate some more.... I think we're all still full even a week later!! </strong><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong> We haven't even been referred children yet, and therefore don't know their ages/sex etc... but they still raked in quite a bit of stuff from my family for Christmas! There is a pic below of some of what they have received thus far. </strong><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSXb6rnSwP8o1mZnFm5mDV6ioliKgjCRZ5Rrv8mndK9ZWhvm7u0mPsm4WHTAKFGKXzzvD7nxE1nUEs4JeZqvu-OC38DEsSvWvCLh9L6egixB4ybuTQtSWLIEdWr6UP2u09-kCYSOnIfCv1/s1600-h/Jaime+December+2009+284.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSXb6rnSwP8o1mZnFm5mDV6ioliKgjCRZ5Rrv8mndK9ZWhvm7u0mPsm4WHTAKFGKXzzvD7nxE1nUEs4JeZqvu-OC38DEsSvWvCLh9L6egixB4ybuTQtSWLIEdWr6UP2u09-kCYSOnIfCv1/s320/Jaime+December+2009+284.JPG" /></strong></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong> We didn't have any guests over (to our place) for the holidays this year... well, except for Santa of course. We tried to wait up for him so we could have a chat, but he's a sneaky little buggar! Anyhow, he did seem to enjoy the milk and cookies we laid out ... </strong><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong> Jaime thought it odd that he makes his "S"s similar to mine. But, I think it's just a pretty common way to write them... no biggie! :-)</strong><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBxZ_pf9GS2ugRe_QL-1HJW5HN3J-g9SlVe_1uT2v8VxJCeYtzqTxCmFxqZEHrdO-94h3JLlbdgV07iSpVnMnh9HwARFuTsvCaRtYj8ygOQ7z2KJNRC6E2v9TSacKNwLIu9u0T2f-u-uLG/s1600-h/Jaime+December+2009+217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBxZ_pf9GS2ugRe_QL-1HJW5HN3J-g9SlVe_1uT2v8VxJCeYtzqTxCmFxqZEHrdO-94h3JLlbdgV07iSpVnMnh9HwARFuTsvCaRtYj8ygOQ7z2KJNRC6E2v9TSacKNwLIu9u0T2f-u-uLG/s320/Jaime+December+2009+217.JPG" /></strong></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong> That's All Folks! Happy New Year!! Hope it's a great one for you all! </strong><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Sean</strong><br />
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</div>Sean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-8193275762020261512009-11-18T20:05:00.000-08:002009-11-18T20:07:59.168-08:00No New News...<strong>Hello Again,</strong><br />
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<strong>Well, just wanted to give an update...which isn't much. Our dossier has been in Ethiopia for three weeks as of yesterday. No real news. We will have a phone training/conference call with our agency the 2nd week of December to go over referral and travel information - so we are prepared when the time comes. </strong><br />
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<strong>We are both keeping busy with work and school. We will both complete graduate degrees mid-December, so we have plenty to do and keep our minds occupied while in this stage of "waiting." There are lots of unknowns in international adoption, but if our particular case ends up falling into the "typical" category for our agency...we may receive our referrals in the next 3-5 months (since we have nearly 1 month down already). We could get referrals much earlier than that time frame...or later, but that's at least a rough idea of what we are expecting. </strong><br />
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<strong>I guess that's it for now. I should really get to my final project for my M.A., which is on coaching others through procrastination. Hmmmm... as I sit here writing this post, procrastinating from finishing up my research ON procrastination. Guess I picked a good topic...something that resonates with me! </strong><br />
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<strong>Anyhow, I hope everyone is doing well. Have a great Thanksgiving if I don't get back on here and write anything further before then!</strong><br />
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<strong>Oh yeah, almost forgot... I think I fixed the comments thing on this blog. It wasn't working for a while, I apparently messed it up a while back when I changed to this new background and was fiddling with all the settings. It <em>should </em>work now. :-)</strong><br />
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<strong>Sean</strong>Sean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-80535674964606858872009-10-27T13:43:00.000-07:002009-11-19T12:15:41.920-08:00Our Dossier is in Ethiopia!!<a href="http://track.dhl-usa.com/TrackByNbr.asp?nav=Tracknbr"></a><strong>Yay! Our dossier arrived in Ethiopia today and was signed for at 7:59am by Tilahun!!</strong><br />
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<strong>Jaime</strong>Sean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-79465441913420465592009-10-25T15:43:00.000-07:002009-11-23T22:25:28.201-08:00We are awaiting our Referrals!!!<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sean and I are VERY excited to announce that we are now awaiting our referrals! We just got an email from our agency on Friday, 10/23, and they informed us that they just mailed our completed dossier to Ethiopia! They gave us the DHL tracking number so that we can track our dossier's trip and rest assured once it arrives at its final destination. We are so very thrilled to tell you that we are currently waiting to see who God blesses us with to increase our family. In case we haven't already mentioned, we are "requesting" a baby boy, age 0-18 months and a second child, age 0-3 1/2 years. Yes, you heard right! We are doubling our family! Sean may have already mentioned that, but it bears repeating. We will soon be welcoming two children into our family, and we could not be more excited. There is plenty to do to get ready, but we are counting down until we make the long and much-anticipated journey to eastern Africa! Thank you for your continued support and prayers! We are very grateful, and we will continue to keep you posted!!</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Jaime </b><br />
</span>Sean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-38694639715946945602009-10-09T16:52:00.000-07:002009-10-25T16:09:11.682-07:00Dossier Delivered!<strong><span style="color: #660000;">Today we received a confirmation (via e-mail) from FedEx that our dossier has been delivered to our adoption agency! So, now we wait to see if we turned in everything and did it correctly...... Will keep y'all updated once we actually know something!<br />
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Have a good weekend everyone! We will be resting and trying to get over this cold/flu...or whatever it is we have had for about a week.<br />
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Sean</span></strong>Sean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-46457832079963668202009-10-06T21:52:00.000-07:002009-10-11T20:52:22.415-07:00Moving Right Along...<div><strong><span style="color: #660000;">Happy Tuesday Everyone! Well, I suppose it'd be a lot happier (for most) if it were a Friday...but, whatever - just have a good stinkin' night and get on to reading the rest of the post already! ;-) </span></strong><br />
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</div><div><strong><span style="color: #660000;">Just wanted to let anyone that is following this blog know that we received our last two documents (with State Authentication) in the mail today! This means, that as of this evening, our dossier is complete! WooHoo!! </span></strong><br />
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</div><div><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>I spent a good portion of the evening psychotically pouring over the dossier requirements and our documents to make sure that everything was in order. I've checked, re-checked, verified, and then confirmed that everything is ready to go to the adoption agency. Yeah, I know - I'm anal... not really a newsflash for most of ya. I will be taking the completed dossier in to the local FedEx</strong><strong> tomorrow during lunch. Yay! Hopefully, it will arrive to them safely (and quickly) and as they audit our file they will find everything done correctly. I really don't like do-overs. Having to do something (you've already put quite a bit of effort into) over is lame...like making more than one trip with your grocery bags from the car!! How USELESS is that? Just suck it up, put 20 bags on each arm, walk fast, and get it over with!! The 2 minutes of pain is worth it...and the little marks on your arms/wrists where the bag dug into you and cut off your circulation will quickly go away! I'm just saying...</strong></span><br />
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</div><strong><span style="color: #660000;">Anyhow, if everything goes as planned, our dossier will arrive at our agency on Friday morning. This is good news... the paperchase is coming to a close! </span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #660000;">Now, before we received these last few documents in the mail we had to have my aunt come over and notarize the last bit of documents (this time last week). Thanks aunt Glee for being a notary public and being willing to travel all over creation to get a zillion documents taken care of -- a blessing indeed! Anyways...we took some pictures of us signing our last bit of paperwork. </span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #660000;">Here is one of them:</span></strong><br />
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</div><span style="color: #660000;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389725193358313890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi42YZp7V53y3oFtHvPA0NlawLU5wXzxCQaNrehUGb7ZHNMAiOHStrgiIdHYdaWdXvDGbV4AvYsoAGs6xF9r1pr99dWDlsmBNvd0dtdQokEmrZVqUk9FcNPbcP_s9TZWfX_Buwk4FqSXOJD/s320/2.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 223px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 274px;" /></span><br />
<div><strong><span style="color: #660000;">That's it for now! Have a good one....</span></strong><br />
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</div><div><strong><span style="color: #660000;">Sean</span></strong><br />
</div>Sean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724568701436167545.post-31723997050057109682009-09-25T10:04:00.001-07:002009-10-11T20:50:36.322-07:00Hallelujah!!!<strong><span style="color: #660000;">Another quick update!!<br />
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Jaime and I got back from the fair last night and got the mail on the way in. To our surprise we had received something from the Department of Homeland Security. It was the I171H approval!! We were not anticipating receiving that for another couple of weeks or so... So, we are thrilled that it came only 9 business days after I filed our home study report at the Los Angeles USCIS office.<br />
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Anyhow, now I have to scramble up some paperwork real quick and have it notarized and send in some documents to Sacramento. By the end of next week we should be sending our dossier off to our agency in Oregon....<br />
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That's it for now... oh yeah, yes - we did have fun at the L.A. County Fair! Just looked at the exhibit halls and did some shopping. We don't care about the games, rides, concerts, food and all that - so we were just there a few hours which was plenty!<br />
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Sean</span></strong>Sean and Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167614154855006340noreply@blogger.com3