The twins and I just fulfilled one of our favorite annual traditions, yesterday:  going to watch the Blue Angels’ air show at the U.S. Naval Academy.

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Just received word from our agency today that our kickout from OPA (Oficina para Adopciones) was a formality about “how some papers were presented,” but that “the prevention has been taken care of.” 

MORE to the point – for us – having been kicked out and resubmitted does not boot us to the back of the line.  We’re still in the queue, based on our original submission date.  (We read that:  “The last 10 months have not been completely wasted,” and we’re happy about that!)

Welcome to Salvadoran adoption.  Months of no news, a bit of excitement, and then back to the waiting.  This time, though, our agency has simultaneously given me a better understanding of how the process is looking, now that the new Child’s Law went into effect in April.  So I’ll post that soon!

I was feeling a little bad that I hadn’t had time to post for the past several days, but actually, this IS what it’s like… the waiting.  And so now my blog reflects it, too.

Thanks for all the kind thoughts and support this past couple of weeks!  You do make it easier on us, knowing we have friends and prayer behind us.

-Kim

A week after our previo notice, all I know is that it’s “an internal thing,” meaning that Fred and I don’t need to add or re-do any paperwork.  Sort of comforting, but sort of not.  Since we can’t possibly know when the “internal things” will stop happening and our file will be approved and actually eligible for a match referral.

Still waiting for a REAL answer from our agency.

I just heard from our agency today that our attorney is looking into a “previo” (or “prevention”) to our case in El Salvador.  It’s basically a reason to interrupt processing our file at OPA (La Oficina Para Adopciones – The Office for Adoptions).  Sometimes a prevention happens when paperwork is missing or not completed (I promise this isn’t it), sometimes it’s because of a request for additional information.  Sometimes it’s just one person at OPA wanting to review another’s work.

And as OPA fired two of their staff psychologists a few months back, it’s possible that one of them was part of our review process, and so now someone else wants to double check that screening.

Sigh. Read the rest of this entry

When Fred and I started this second adoption, we opened it wide to all the options, including doing Foster-to-Adopt care here in the U.S.  The ONLY reasons we decided not to were 1) it might be too much loss for the twins to absorb, having children pass in and out of our home after they’ve already lost their birth and foster moms, and 2) because we don’t want to adopt out of birth order, there’s not as much of a need for us here.  We didn’t feel right potentially bumping a childless couple out of line so that we could parent #’s 3 and 4 for our family.

However, did you know that you can SEE who needs a home here in the U.S.? Read the rest of this entry

Just ahead of Mother’s Day, Fred took the boys out to dinner to decide on a gift for me (YES! MAJOR POINTS FOR HIM!). As they ate, he asked them to think of things I like, and he wrote them down as they rattled them off. He said he started to filter what they were saying but then thought better of it and just wrote it all, so I could see the list and enjoy it later.

He was right. I got as much enjoyment out of the list as I did out of the actual gifts (a cappucino maker and some coffee – Guatemalan, of course!):

Gonna have to go with “Windex” as my personal favorite.  What?!

School’s winding down for the year, just in time for me to busy myself with the gardens and some home-improvement plans we have for the summer. And as soon as I step OUT of the learning picture, all of a sudden our kids can ride two-wheelers with no training wheels! In one afternoon of no-help-from-me (other than “you’ve gotta stay balanced, like you do on your scooters” – as I edge our front garden beds), they’e taking off on their own! Read the rest of this entry

It’s May, so that means our adoption home study report is expiring.  They’re good for one year, and then you have to go through an updating process.  What’s included in the update? Read the rest of this entry

My friend Mary sent me this link, and I liked the post so well I want to share it.  I don’t know if this philosophy toward adoption is new or if I’m just finding more people who agree with it:

“God and Adoption” – by Tonggu Momma

Please DO read it.  But I’ll summarize a bit here.  Basically, she says that adoption is a redemptive response to a tragic event (that being that a child could not have been or just was not raised by loving biological parents). 

There are many adoptive parents who do agree with T.M.’s philosophy.  I am one of them.  But there are also a bunch who “forget” the deep loss to the child that is requisite for an adoption even to happen.  In their desire to have a child, they view it as what was simply “meant to be.”  And I agree with T.M. that that does a disservice to our kids.

So no more from me – go read her post!

-Kim