Hi All,
I received my second PM approval for the adoption yesterday! Everything is getting closer. It should be about 2-3 months now before I travel to go to court, get Violet, and bring her home. It is still up in the air whether my sister will get to go with me, which would make things easier, but ultimately, either way, I am so excited. The problem is, I cannot sleep tonight and need to work a 12 hour shift in the morning!!
I am very humbled by the generous donations I have received from family, friends, and anonymous sources without which I could never have come this far in this journey. I appreciate the prayers and positive thoughts I have received as well...how much you all have helped my daughter and I has not gone unnoticed, and you are all in my thoughts and prayers. Thank you all so much for all you have done.
I have finally settled on what her name will be...it has been years of back and forth, and I am not revealing what her name will be at this time...I plan to reveal it when the adoption is final, but I may cave before then...I am weak!
Love to you all...
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Friday, October 16, 2015
I am so excited to announce that I received an anonymous $5000 donation to my FSP!! This lifts a huge burden off of me and I am so grateful!!
I expect to travel for my gotcha trip in February, and even though she has a massive fear of flying, my sister has graciously agreed to go with me. This lifts another huge burden, as I was wondering how I was going to navigate airports with a rambunctious little girl and luggage.
I was also able to finally switch off the graveyard shift at work, and feel so much better physically, which will also help greatly when Violet comes home. I feel like everything is falling into place and I am so excited!! Thanks to having a terrific boss, I know that my travel in February will be no issue, and I am excited to go back to the beautiful country my little one currently calls home. I have recently found cookbooks about the food from her country, and plan to learn some recipes to make the transition to the new culture a little easier.
I cannot stress enough how much I appreciate everyone that has helped me get to this place. I never could have done it without your support!! I love you all!
Ali
I expect to travel for my gotcha trip in February, and even though she has a massive fear of flying, my sister has graciously agreed to go with me. This lifts another huge burden, as I was wondering how I was going to navigate airports with a rambunctious little girl and luggage.
I was also able to finally switch off the graveyard shift at work, and feel so much better physically, which will also help greatly when Violet comes home. I feel like everything is falling into place and I am so excited!! Thanks to having a terrific boss, I know that my travel in February will be no issue, and I am excited to go back to the beautiful country my little one currently calls home. I have recently found cookbooks about the food from her country, and plan to learn some recipes to make the transition to the new culture a little easier.
I cannot stress enough how much I appreciate everyone that has helped me get to this place. I never could have done it without your support!! I love you all!
Ali
Saturday, September 19, 2015
Greetings from Eastern Europe!!
I spent a week here in country, and am so excited to announce that Violet and I got along as if we've known each other her whole life!! She is really a remarkable little girl. She has only been walking since she had her heart surgery in December, and she is doing really well. She is a biter!! She likes to pull hair!! But if those are her biggest issues, I think we can get past it!! She really started becoming possessive of me in the last 3 days...she did not want other kids getting any attention from me. We celebrated her 4th birthday on Thursday, and I got to give her the gift of a bunny. Rose, our translator, was kind enough to provide a cake for her and her friends to celebrate! She loved it...she also loved watching me eat cake!! I saw her for the last time this trip this afternoon, and have finally stopped crying long enough to write this. I am in awe of the ladies who care for the kids at her orphanage...with limited resources they provide these kids with love, good nutrition, great care, and education. It is really an amazing place, and I am honored to have met those that work there and provide their services. They truly care about these kids.
Our in country team is amazing...I don't know what I would have done without them.
Please keep us in your prayers, it is going to be difficult to come up with funds to finalize everything. I can expect to travel again likely in February. I wish I could share some of the pics I took, but it is forbidden...but she is beautiful, funny, smart, and perfect!! Thank you all.
I spent a week here in country, and am so excited to announce that Violet and I got along as if we've known each other her whole life!! She is really a remarkable little girl. She has only been walking since she had her heart surgery in December, and she is doing really well. She is a biter!! She likes to pull hair!! But if those are her biggest issues, I think we can get past it!! She really started becoming possessive of me in the last 3 days...she did not want other kids getting any attention from me. We celebrated her 4th birthday on Thursday, and I got to give her the gift of a bunny. Rose, our translator, was kind enough to provide a cake for her and her friends to celebrate! She loved it...she also loved watching me eat cake!! I saw her for the last time this trip this afternoon, and have finally stopped crying long enough to write this. I am in awe of the ladies who care for the kids at her orphanage...with limited resources they provide these kids with love, good nutrition, great care, and education. It is really an amazing place, and I am honored to have met those that work there and provide their services. They truly care about these kids.
Our in country team is amazing...I don't know what I would have done without them.
Please keep us in your prayers, it is going to be difficult to come up with funds to finalize everything. I can expect to travel again likely in February. I wish I could share some of the pics I took, but it is forbidden...but she is beautiful, funny, smart, and perfect!! Thank you all.
Friday, September 11, 2015
Off I Go!!
Hello All!!
I am leaving on Saturday just before 12:30 pm to go on my referral trip and to meet my little one for the first time ever. I feel as though I know her well already, and I am excited to introduce myself to her as her mama. I have never traveled internationally before, and the furthest I have traveled without a companion in the past was about 200 miles...I am extremely nervous. I will travel first to Chicago, then Frankfurt, then Vienna, then I will land in country about 4:00 am. I am so excited to be able to see her in person, hold her, and spend some of her birthday with her!! I thought on many occasions that this time would never come. I was only given a few days notice that I had to be there...found out last Tuesday that I needed to be there Monday. I was totally freaked out at the time, and somewhat irritated that I wasn't given more time, but now I think that perhaps this way was better. Not as much time to freak out. Airfare cost a lot more than I expected for one person ($2200) but I believe Eldon at Golden Rule ultimately got me a good deal. Once again, I want to say how grateful I am for all who have helped me along the way. I am fully aware that I could not have done this alone. I still owe quite a bit on this journey, and I was hoping to ask again the favor of donations for Violet's fourth birthday. Several $4 donations would add up quickly!! Most of all, prayers would be greatly appreciated. I am waiting to hear from grants, and I have some fundraiser ideas for after my return. I appreciate all the good thoughts and support. Thank you!
I am leaving on Saturday just before 12:30 pm to go on my referral trip and to meet my little one for the first time ever. I feel as though I know her well already, and I am excited to introduce myself to her as her mama. I have never traveled internationally before, and the furthest I have traveled without a companion in the past was about 200 miles...I am extremely nervous. I will travel first to Chicago, then Frankfurt, then Vienna, then I will land in country about 4:00 am. I am so excited to be able to see her in person, hold her, and spend some of her birthday with her!! I thought on many occasions that this time would never come. I was only given a few days notice that I had to be there...found out last Tuesday that I needed to be there Monday. I was totally freaked out at the time, and somewhat irritated that I wasn't given more time, but now I think that perhaps this way was better. Not as much time to freak out. Airfare cost a lot more than I expected for one person ($2200) but I believe Eldon at Golden Rule ultimately got me a good deal. Once again, I want to say how grateful I am for all who have helped me along the way. I am fully aware that I could not have done this alone. I still owe quite a bit on this journey, and I was hoping to ask again the favor of donations for Violet's fourth birthday. Several $4 donations would add up quickly!! Most of all, prayers would be greatly appreciated. I am waiting to hear from grants, and I have some fundraiser ideas for after my return. I appreciate all the good thoughts and support. Thank you!
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Hi All!!
I am traveling!!! Leaving on Saturday, to arrive on Monday. The great news is that I get to be with Violet on her fourth birthday!! I am so very excited about this fact. I luckily have the funds I need for travel, very luckily since they only gave me 4 days notice before I had to leave. I am also lucky that my boss is very understanding and excited for me. The scary thing is that I don't have any of what I need to pay my agency upon my return, so I am again asking for help. I will be posting an online auction tomorrow, which will hopefully generate some interest. My FSP will need to read $6576 for me to be able to make this payment! I specifically request that, if so led, people could donate $4.00 on September 17th in honor of Violet's fourth birthday! I appreciate all the help, prayers and donations I have received from the RR community, because I could not have come this far without all of you!!
I AM SO EXCITED TO FINALLY MEET MY LITTLE ANGEL!!!
I am traveling!!! Leaving on Saturday, to arrive on Monday. The great news is that I get to be with Violet on her fourth birthday!! I am so very excited about this fact. I luckily have the funds I need for travel, very luckily since they only gave me 4 days notice before I had to leave. I am also lucky that my boss is very understanding and excited for me. The scary thing is that I don't have any of what I need to pay my agency upon my return, so I am again asking for help. I will be posting an online auction tomorrow, which will hopefully generate some interest. My FSP will need to read $6576 for me to be able to make this payment! I specifically request that, if so led, people could donate $4.00 on September 17th in honor of Violet's fourth birthday! I appreciate all the help, prayers and donations I have received from the RR community, because I could not have come this far without all of you!!
I AM SO EXCITED TO FINALLY MEET MY LITTLE ANGEL!!!
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Hello! I was able to get my dossier off in time due to a small miracle!! Thanks to all who helped out. I am working on updating my thermometer, but I am having some difficulty...
I am attempting to get a final tally on fees that I will need and when they will be due from my placing agency, but have yet to receive this estimate. But let me tell you a little bit about how I was only barely able to get the dossier off in time!
My agency had told me they needed it in hand by May 25th, and since I knew that was a holiday, I contacted them to make sure someone would be there on Friday, May 22nd to receive it. They said someone would be available, so off to work I went. I went to the office of the Secretary of State in Boise, Idaho (about 25 miles from home, not bad) and dropped off the documents to be apostilled. I dropped them off about 0815, about 15 minutes after they opened. I was assured that they would be ready by early afternoon, so I went home to await the phone call. The lady called at 1015 to say she was about done, but there was a problem with a few of the documents. I ran up there to see what the problem was...it turns out I had forgotten to get two of the documents notarized (I still don't know how I screwed this up), and 3 of the other documents needed a different kind of notary...and they could be fixed, but I would have to go to the people who had notarized them and have them fixed. It was easy enough to get the non notarized documents notarized and apostilled, but there was a problem. The lady at the bank had done one of the documents for me...and she was in Caldwell about 30 miles away. The other lady who did the other two documents, a wonderful friend of my cousin's, was at work...and I was unsure if I would be able to get a hold of her in time (I had to have everything to FEDEX by 1700, and my cousin's friend would be unreachable until she got off work at 1730). I was in a panic, but I did everything I knew I could get done, and said a little prayer about the other notary!! My cousin, Jennifer, got in touch with me and told me that her friend was actually going to get off work at 1630, and we could meet her up at her place of employment and have her finish off the documents. We ran up there, met with her (her name is Renee, and I now love her). She did the documents the way they asked, and off to the FEDEX store we raced...I got the documents sent at 1656...only 4 minutes to spare!! I am so grateful to everyone who made this a possibility...I received confirmation on Friday afternoon that my agency had received the documents!!
I thought this story was somewhat amusing now that all is said and done...it sure wasn't funny at the time!! Thanks to all who donated monetarily, by notarizing, and by sending positive thoughts and prayers. I could not have done it without you!!
I am attempting to get a final tally on fees that I will need and when they will be due from my placing agency, but have yet to receive this estimate. But let me tell you a little bit about how I was only barely able to get the dossier off in time!
My agency had told me they needed it in hand by May 25th, and since I knew that was a holiday, I contacted them to make sure someone would be there on Friday, May 22nd to receive it. They said someone would be available, so off to work I went. I went to the office of the Secretary of State in Boise, Idaho (about 25 miles from home, not bad) and dropped off the documents to be apostilled. I dropped them off about 0815, about 15 minutes after they opened. I was assured that they would be ready by early afternoon, so I went home to await the phone call. The lady called at 1015 to say she was about done, but there was a problem with a few of the documents. I ran up there to see what the problem was...it turns out I had forgotten to get two of the documents notarized (I still don't know how I screwed this up), and 3 of the other documents needed a different kind of notary...and they could be fixed, but I would have to go to the people who had notarized them and have them fixed. It was easy enough to get the non notarized documents notarized and apostilled, but there was a problem. The lady at the bank had done one of the documents for me...and she was in Caldwell about 30 miles away. The other lady who did the other two documents, a wonderful friend of my cousin's, was at work...and I was unsure if I would be able to get a hold of her in time (I had to have everything to FEDEX by 1700, and my cousin's friend would be unreachable until she got off work at 1730). I was in a panic, but I did everything I knew I could get done, and said a little prayer about the other notary!! My cousin, Jennifer, got in touch with me and told me that her friend was actually going to get off work at 1630, and we could meet her up at her place of employment and have her finish off the documents. We ran up there, met with her (her name is Renee, and I now love her). She did the documents the way they asked, and off to the FEDEX store we raced...I got the documents sent at 1656...only 4 minutes to spare!! I am so grateful to everyone who made this a possibility...I received confirmation on Friday afternoon that my agency had received the documents!!
I thought this story was somewhat amusing now that all is said and done...it sure wasn't funny at the time!! Thanks to all who donated monetarily, by notarizing, and by sending positive thoughts and prayers. I could not have done it without you!!
Monday, May 11, 2015
Hello!! I was so excited to see a $20 donation to my paypal account, lorialicat@aol.com. I am so appreciative, and I want to let all know, that if I am unable to reach my goal and send my dossier, I will refund all money donated to my paypal account. I found out in my latest update that Violet had heart surgery in December, when I had been told previously that she had no heart defects...I am so grateful that she received the surgery she needs, and it makes me more desperate to get to her. I greatly appreciate any donations and prayers...thank you all so much!!
Friday, May 8, 2015
I need help!!
I was excited to get an update on her Monday! She is walking and potty trained and had heart surgery in December...they sent me a video (unfortunately, I am unable to share it...country rules) and she is looking so terrific!! I cannot wait until I can get to her beautiful home country and learn about her...I am so in love!!
If you are able to make donations...please make them to my paypal account lorialicat@aol.com.
Blessings to all and thank you for any help you can offer!
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