New Delay

I received this email on Friday.  “Hi Amy,  CIS called today with a glitch.  It will cause a few weeks delay but is fixable.”

I found out it is because in our home study we were approved to adopt a 24 month old (not a 2 year old).  We will need to update our homestudy because Titus is older than our home study approved us for.  It’s a fixable problem but will add 2-3 weeks to this adoption.

Sad day.

What’s Next

Sorry, more alphabet soup coming up.  Here’s what we have left to do and *rough* time estimates for the adoption process before we can travel…

3 weeks – We sent our “I800 Provisional Approval Application” (the paperwork that allows us to bring home an immigrant) now that we have our “Letter Seeking Confirmation of Acceptance” (LOA or LSCA).  It takes about 3 weeks for this approval to be granted, then the National Benefits Center sends our file to the National Visa Center (NVC).

1 week – Within a week or so, the NVC will send our file electronically to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou.  This is known as being “cabled”.

2 weeks – Two weeks after that, our agency (IFS) can pick up our Article 5 letter, which is then sent to the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs).  The Article 5 letter lets the CCAA know that our immigration file is complete for the adoption.

2-3 weeks – After the Article 5 letter has been sent to the CCAA, we will be officially awaiting travel approval (TA).  It typically takes 2-3 weeks.

2 weeks – After we receive TA we will travel as soon as we can get a consulate appointment in China.  Most families travel about 2 weeks after TA, although some leave the next day.

Total: June 6 + 10-11 weeks = August 1 to August 8

Don’t you just love all the acronyms?  They get a little crazy.  Kudos to you if followed that the first time through.  The important thing is we will **hopefully** be traveling in August (or sooner!!).  Of course, anything can and does happen, but right now we’re hoping for August!  Also, we were able (since we got the “letter”/LOA) to request new pictures and information.  We aren’t guaranteed to get any new information, but I’m hopeful!

Can’t Stop the Tears…

…of joy!!  We got the letter we’ve been waiting for!!  We are moving again!!

(No) Update on the Adoption

We are still waiting on the “Letter Seeking Confirmation of Approval” from China.  We are on day 86 of what was “supposed” to be a 30ish day wait.  Skip ahead if you would prefer not to see a big grown-up tantrum.  We have waited the longest for this approval with our agency, and of the forums I am a part of, we are near the longest current wait times as well.  Why?  I wish I knew.  There is no reason.  People who have waited far less time (20-some days) are getting theirs and, while I am happy for them, I am sad for us.  It is just driving me crazy.  I do know that God has perfect timing and that our family isn’t the one exception, but right now I honestly just don’t care.  I want to go get my boy.  He grows up a little more each day.  He learns a new word.  He says something cute.  He does something goofy.  And I’m missing it.  I don’t like it.  Not one bit. *End big grown up tantrum*.

After this we will submit our I800.  It is all but signed and in the envelope.  I’ve had it ready to go for months.  It will take around 7-30 days to get approved.  Then we will get a letter or email (takes up to a week) that allows us to do the next set of paperwork called Article 5.  Article 5 has been taking 15-30 days to get approved and then we get TRAVEL APPROVAL (TA).  Technically, (I think) we can leave after travel approval – like the next day.  But in reality, we have to get a consulate appointment in China scheduled before we go.   So, we will try for a very close appointment to when we get TA.  But it could be weeks before they can book us.  So as of now, if we get our letter this week (yes please!) then we could travel as early as beginning of July (unlikely) and as late as September (I’d like to say unlikely, but I just can’t right now).

Hooray!!

We were recently blessed to receive a matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans!  Woohoo!!  For every dollar we raise, they will match it up to $2,500.  It is tax-deductible for the giver and a double blessing to us.  They will give the money raised to our adoption agency to help cover our expenses.  We have already paid nearly $12,000 and plan to cover another $12,000, leaving us with a need of around $6,000.  The goal date to have funds received by is June 15, 2011, although we hope to be traveling before that date!

If you would like to support us financially, you can make checks payable to Lifesong for Orphans and put Ocker/#2015 in the memo line, or you can go to their website and use PayPal.  The address is:

Lifesong for Orphans
PO Box 40
Gridley, IL 61744

Thank you all so much for your love, prayers, and support throughout this process!

It’s a Boy!!

But in the words of Sunita, “He not a baby”.  She was a little disappointed but she is warming up to the idea.

We’re overjoyed to introduction our son-to-be.  His name means “Eternal Glory” in Chinese, but we don’t have an American name picked out for him yet.  We struggle with boy names, so pray for us.  We can’t post pictures or any identifying information but we can email it out.

Here is his information:

He currently lives in Kunming, China

He was born on March 6th, 2009 (estimated).  He is two years old, which makes him 15 months younger than Sunita.

He has PFO, a heart condition that about 25% of the population is born with and rarely causes problems.  He also has a “skewed neck”.  We aren’t exactly sure what that means yet, but it doesn’t appear life-threatening.  Otherwise he appears healthy and developmentally normal.  He is walking, talking, and climbing stairs.

He weighs 17.6 pounds and is 29.5 inches tall.

He was reported as abandoned to the police on May 7, 2009.

According to the paperwork he has an extroverted, active personality, likes to play with others and likes toys that make sound and have bright colors.

If all goes smoothly with the rest of the adoption process, we’ll be traveling in 2-3 months to pick him up!

Pantry Challenge Complete!

We ended up spending $52.54 on food for the month of January.  This was all grocery expense since we didn’t eat out at all during the month.  We consider that a smashing success!!  Here’s how the cupboards looked after the challenge and before the shopping trip on February 1st.

The snack cupboard was the first to empty.

The pantry.  It still looks full but we really did make a dent.

The meat drawer also takes a beating.

Eating From the Pantry Recipes

Here are many of the recipes I have been and will be using this month as we eat from the pantry.  I have included links to many of the recipes I use or recipes I have used in the past.  Most of the meals are delicious and we would eat them any day of the week, so we don’t really feel like we are sacrificing much.

Pizza – with whatever toppings you have handy.  We do pizza night every Friday so I always have plenty of cheese.  I also make my own pizza crust (so easy!) and can my own pizza sauce in the summer.  We love BBQ chicken pizza and chicken-artichoke-ranch pizza as well.  I usually go ahead and make two pizzas even though there are only 3 of us, so we can share with friends that sometimes come over or eat it for lunches over the next few days.  We will likely run out of chicken and cheese before the month is over, but I’ll try to stretch it.

French dip (AKA drip beef).  Both versions are excellent.  If you don’t like spice, avoid the one with pepperoncinis.  I make my own sandwich rolls, which are shaped into mini loaves.  We had tots and spinach salad to balance out the meal.  We will get 3 meals (whether dinners or lunches) out of 2-1/2 pounds of chuck steak (cheapo piece of meat).

Salmon with boxed mashed potatoes (forgot we even had them in the pantry), spinach salad, and green beans with sesame seeds.  The green beans were frozen from the garden last summer.  The salmon (frozen) is from Costco, which is usually a pretty good deal.  We can stretch one salmon fillet (with plenty of sides) to feed all of us.

Enchiladas (using leftover meat from the freezer or from one of the previous meals) with corn (from the garden and frozen), refried beans, and Mexican rice.  I’ll add tortilla chips, olives, guacamole, and sour cream if I have them on hand.  For sour cream I have substituted plain yogurt with a splash of lime/lemon juice or vinegar and it is close enough to fool most people.

Chipotle pork posole with cornbread, green beans, spinach salad (with varied homemade dressing) and applesauce (home canned).  Should be lots of leftovers.

Chili with left-over corn bread and pears (home canned).

Cheese and spinach ravioli (from Costco) with a browned butter sage sauce.  Serve with garlic cheese bread (or french bread), spinach salad, and peaches (home canned).

Chili cheese fries with leftover chili.  Serve with green beans and a fruit (applesauce, pears, peaches, or fresh fruit).

Marinated salmon with couscous, whiskey glazed carrots, and salad.

I use up the meat I have and this time I happened to have 3 steaks I froze in marinade.  Served with fries and a Mediterranean chop (spinach) salad.  I should have made some rolls to go with it, but it was the weekend and I didn’t wanna.  The salad is heavy duty on the protein so it will be part of Hubby’s lunches during the work week.

Passover Brisket with caramelized green beans and pine nuts, and a noodle kugel.  This should be a meal with plenty of leftovers for lunches and even a possible rerun.

Scramble with hashbrowns, onions, bacon, cheese, and eggs.  Serve with cinnamon toast and a fruit.

Maple salmon with spicy yam fries and peas.

Coconut-lime turkey and rice soup with crusty bread.  This will feed us about 3 meals I expect.

Tuna melts with pretzels/chips and a fruit.

Soy glazed salmon with maple whipped sweet potatoes and a salad.

I also make a lot of muffins, scones, and bagels, which all work great for Husband’s grab-and-go breakfasts, as well as waffles and pancakes for those of us who eat breakfast at home.  I typically avoid things that take a lot of eggs, meat, or cheese.

For snacks I make deviled (or plain hard-boiled) eggs, pretzels, or I have cut-up carrots/other veggies and make ranch dressing, hummus or spinach artichoke dip.  For sweet snacks I make cookies or other desserts, “poptarts“, pretzels, or granola/granola bars.  Dessert is actually one of the easiest things to make while cleaning out the pantry.  I also canned some cherry pie filling and apple pie filling and have some frozen berries and other fruit.  We tend to have good desserts because I plan ahead better when doing the pantry challenge.

Open Your Heart

A friend of ours gave us a CD by the Laurie Berkner Band.  If you haven’t heard of her, she has a beautiful voice, is very giving and socially conscious, and writes very catchy kids music.  Her songs are wonderful and the munchkin loves them.  I love some of them purely because their content is so rich.  She has one song called “I’m not Perfect” and it ends with “…you aren’t perfect, and I love you that way.”  Not surprising, the song is all about how I’m not perfect, we aren’t perfect, you aren’t perfect, and its okay.

My favorite on this CD is a new song called “Open Your Heart.”  It is perfectly written for adoption.  Laurie wrote the song for The Pajama Program, a not-for-profit organization, that provides new, warm pajamas and new books to children in need in the United States and around the world, many who are waiting and hoping to be adopted. These are youngsters who may not know the comforts of a mother or father to tuck them into a cozy bed and read them a bedtime story.  Too many have been abandoned, most deprived of any love at all.

Open Your Heart
The Laurie Berkner Band

I can use my voice to sing out a song
And use my muscles when I’m feeling strong
I can use my arms for hugging you tight
And use my pillow when I sleep at night

But some things I can’t do
That’s why I need you
To open your heart
My heart is waiting for you
Open your heart
My heart is waiting

I can use my head to say no or yes
I can use my mouth to take in a breath
I can turn a knob to open a door
And I can dance my way across the floor

But some things I can’t do
That’s why I need you
To open your heart
My heart is waiting for you
Open your heart
My heart is waiting

What’s inside when I open my heart?
Turn the wheel, and what do I feel?
I feel love when I open my heart
Do you feel it too?

I can use a key to open a lock
I can listen when the two of us talk
I can taste my salty tears when I cry
Or use my body to jump up high

But some things I can’t do
That’s why I need you
To open your heart
My heart is waiting for you
Open your heart
My heart is waiting

Open your heart
Open your heart
Open your heart
My heart is waiting!

Eating from the Pantry, Year 2

Last year for the month of January we attempted to eat only food from our pantry.  On average, according to Mint, we spend $338 per month on groceries.  Last January we spent 123.68.  I’m ashamed of this (a bit), but $40 of that is coffee.  But (justification coming), we had just gotten a coffee sampler from Just Love Coffee because we wanted to try them out.  We are hoping to do some adoption fund raising through them and wanted to know what to suggest if we did so.  (Of those we tried we liked the Rwandan best, then the Sumatran, Honduran, and finally Guatemalan least of all.  Visit here if you buy coffee, especially fair trade, good quality coffee and want to help us out.) This month we won’t be buying coffee so we are hoping to have a grocery budget of under $75.  We will be buying milk, possibly eggs, and fresh veggies.  Otherwise, we will try to eat only what we already have in the house.  That includes eating out.

The before shots…

Garage freezer:

Pantry:

Kitchen fridge/freezer:

I started by making a list of what we have in our fridge, freezer, and pantry.  Then I designed our meals around that.  It is a great way of focusing on less to have more to help bring Baby #2 home.  And it is always shocking how much extra we have.  We are blessed with plenty and most of the time I don’t notice.  This is a good reminder.

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