New Pics

I love getting new pictures of our girl. I really do, but boy they just make me miss her even more! This newest set is pretty cute though. She makes some of the funniest little faces and I know she will fit right in with this crew of silly folk.

Don't even try to tell me that's not beautiful right there.

Look, she's trying to call me!

I can just imagine she's saying, "Mom! WHAT is taking so long?!"All bundled up in September? Is it really that cold over there?

And there's that silly face again :)

Ahh, the sweetness! It is almost too much :) Oh, and any Mama's want to take a guess at what size she looks like she'd wear?

Please keep praying that things would start to move at lightning speed. We are having interviews with Dr. Psychologist on Friday and then we want to interview with Ms. Social Worker right after that so we can officially be DONE! Oh, please Jesus.

Liza Update: Psychologist

Where are we at with the whole psychologist thing? I've been asked that a couple of times the past few days and figured it was time to update.

We did finally settle on a psychologist to go to. He was suggested to us by a counselor friend and turned out that he is an adoptive parent himself and was very interested in helping us get to the bottom of this. He is charging us a little more than the one mentioned here but I think he may be a little more thorough and is definitely understanding that this is a strange situation. He also agreed to hold off on collecting his fees until we actually meet with him for the interviews, so that helped.

We have met with him once already and we filled out all the psycho whatever-you-call-em tests he felt were appropriate. He now has been filled in on the super secret "negative comments" that were made about us and said that he plans to fit us into his schedule this week. I am really hoping it will be much sooner in the week than later. The better for him to wrote his report, get it to the agency, and let us get this show on the road again.

I'm hoping and praying for meetings with our SW in the next two weeks and then everything being submitted to USCIS right after that. I finally convinced the agency to go ahead and send our background checks off to be done. Well, they are sent off now that they finally sent me the correct form for one of them, and then I still had to send the entire thing back to them because they didn't have the director's signature notarized. Aye YI YI! They wanted to wait until all this was resolved so that they didn't expire according to VA law. But, if it takes another 90 days to get this resolved I may seriously go postal on someone.

So, that's where we are now. Hopefully in the next week or so we will be further along and then in the weeks after that we can be waiting for our I-171H to come. I have been given an email address for the USCIS office our HS will go to and plan to email them in the hopes that explaining the need for a rush will cause them to have compassion on us and get our approval QUICKLY. November is coming on WAY too fast!

If you're looking for ways to pray for us I would ask that you:

• openings in the Doc's schedule so we can get the interviews done
• for everyone (psychologist, SW, agency) to get on board and get their part out of the way ASAP
• for all of this to come together so we can get submitted before November
• that we will get approval from USCIS in record time
• and that once it's all in Liza's country we will have no issues and get a travel date so we can finally BRING HER HOME

Oh, I can't wait for that day to finally come! Did you see those eyes in the picture above? Don't they look like they're just looking for her Mama to come?

Knuckleheadedness: Noah's Turn

Remember when I talked about Austin's Knuckleheadedness? Can't have you thinking he's the only one. Noah is every bit as much a Knucklehead as his brother is.

Where do these kids get this from, by the way? Did Austin teach Noah or were they born like this? I am pretty sure I had nothing to do with it. *cough, cough*

We are sitting at the kitchen counter looking up a recipe for something on the Internet. One of them we run across calls for lard. After I explained what lard was Austin asked why the recipe called for it and not say....butter.

This is what happened after that:

ME: "Well, the lard is supposed to....."
(and there goes ADD Mom's attention caught by something on the Internet)

(So Noah being his helpful little self finishes my sentence for me)
NOAH: "help block your arteries?" *GRIN*

ME: "Um, yeah that's what it's supposed to do."
(heavy on the dramatic eye rolling and sarcasm)

ME: "Knucklehead!"

I'm beginning to think I'm outnumbered around here.

Conversations With Rick: Is that Aretha Good?

Rick and I have some hilarious conversations at times. He is one of the funniest people I know and is very quick. He snaps come-backs out of nowhere sometimes that make me laugh out loud even when I'm trying to be mad at him. I'm contemplating trying to remember some of them and feature them right here on the little ole blog for memories, or blackmail..... whichever I feel the need for at the moment.

Here's one from yesterday. Poor hubby is sharp as a tack but pronunciation (or as he says, "prunciation") is not his forte.

A little background, we're talking about how things can always be improved on.

Rick:
"so, a Good thing can be Better!"
"And a Better thing can become Great!"
"And a Great thing can be Fantastic!"
"And a Fantastic thing can be Arethrile!"

ME: (thinking)
"Did he say Arethrile? What's that, Aretha Franklin good?"
"I guess that could be pretty good"

ME: (out loud)
"What?" "What did you say?"

Rick:
"Arethrile"
"E.t.h.e.r.e.a.l."
"Arethrile"

ME: (laughing my head off)
"That's Ethereal"

Rick: (laughing in spite of himself)
"Oh"

Music and Life: Tearing Up

Ok, so I am NOT "gonna keep drinking till I'm petrified" or "lost my mind", and half the time I "can't even think" sober. After last night's post I had to cheer myself up and for some reason the title made me think of this song. I thought it was appropriate cause Liza is constantly on my mind and the constant tearing up is because I am lonely for her, right? So, if I had a beer right about now it would most likely have a tear in it!

Well, anyway. I thought it was funny! Going to check the fridge....... ;o)

Tearing Up

That's what I have been doing ALL day most days! Everything is making me cry. Songs on the radio, stories on facebook, and videos on blogs. I'm not usually an overly emotional person, in fact sometimes I think I'm not emotional enough. But, this latest road block is really getting to me and I am starting to feel defeated which is showing up in daily life as crying at pretty much the drop of a hat.

I am just so sick of being held up. I am so tired of waiting for everything to come together and work out for us and for Liza. I guess I am just growing weary all together. I'm not ready to give up but I just feel like this ride is never going to end. November is getting closer and closer and the closer it gets the more I am afraid that we will not be ready to submit our dossier. Who knows what that will mean for Liza. Will she be sent to an institution before we can get to her? If so, will we still be able to adopt her?

I am just so ready to be at the other end of this and holding my sweet girl. Hearing her laugh, which I have been told is tremendously cute! I know this is a lame post. I'm just keepin' it real folks. I am worried but praying hard all day every day. Trying to believe that we will be ready before they take that Winter break. My little sweety has waited long enough. Dontcha think?