No More Bianca

Because of the adoption process, we had to submit paperwork on our kitten, which meant taking her to the vet for shots.  We hoped we wouldn't have to do this since she is a garage kitty, but it's still required.  After calling to find out exactly how much that will cost us, we found ourselves in a dilemma, and started looking for ways to find her a new home.

However, that didn't pan out, and after a couple of days of the boys asking what we could do to keep her, we made the Deal-of-the-Year with them:  All three boys agreed that keeping Bianca and taking her to the vet for all the required shots and check-ups would be their one and only Christmas present from us this year!  Easy as that.  Everyone's happy.  (Smart move, huh?)  And don't worry - the grandparents will make sure they have something to open for Christmas.

(Note:  A couple of days later, Luke said, "Mom, I know we don't get any presents this year . . .but will we get presents NEXT year?)

BUT, As everything seems to go in my household, our first vet visit revealed that we do NOT have a Bianca after all; we have a BiancO.  Yes, in the masculine form.  Sigh!

So, "Bianca" is no more, and we all took several weeks to get used to saying "he" instead of "she". . .

The feisty little guy gave the vet tech a run for her money at his appointment, which helped us choose his new MASCULINE name:  Manny.  He's named after Manny Pacquiao, the Filipino boxer.  Of course, this is a nod to our new son's heritage, so everything fits.

Yea, though, I am still the lone female in this household.  Do you feel bad for me, or for all the boys who have to put up with me trying to put up with them?

Waiting. Our new game.

It seems like we've done so much toward the adoption already, but there is so much left to do!

This week, the first week of December, I am optimistically expecting our Illinois Home Study approval to come through.  We are SO ready to check off Step 1 (which has been a 4 month process, yes, just for Step 1)!

When we get Illinois' approval of our Home Study, then we can send out paperwork to conquer Steps 2 and 3 at once:

Step 2:  Submit an application to USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services)
Step 3:  Submit our dossier (foreign paperwork) to the Philippines

We understand that it will take about 2 - 3 months for both Steps 2 and 3 to be completed.  After that, we will be closer to getting travel dates.

We are still looking at late spring or early summer to make the big trip across the ocean to for our new son!

Another boy?

We recently found out . . .God has been up to something for some time now, and it's all starting to make sense!

He is blessing us with the opportunity to grow our family through adoption!  On August 3, 2013, we met a young man who was here on an Orphan Hosting trip from the Philippines.  He hadn't been matched with a family yet, and his 3-week trip to America would be over in 4 days.  At 8:00 that Saturday morning, we got an email from a friend that knew about his situation.  He was letting us know about an open picnic all the host families were having in Rochester, Illinois that very same day - "just in case" we were interested in meeting him.

You see, the DAY BEFORE we received our friend's email, I - once again - checked out an adoption website.  Not having a particular connection to any certain place in the world, I saw the drop-down menu that said "Pick a Country."

"Pick a Country?"  I thought.  "How do we just randomly pick a country?  God, if this is truly your plan for us, then YOU are gonna' have to pick a country for us!"

At 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, he showed us the country he picked for us!  And never were we drawn to the  Philippines for any reason!  But oh, are we drawn to it now!!

We have had our foster care license for 3 1/2 years now, and have found that we just weren't as available to that ministry as we hoped we would be.  We only accepted two placements in that amount of time.  Several times, Derrick and I both said it seemed like it would be more fitting for our family to go ahead and adopt.

This was all part of the plan, too, because . . .since we already had our foster license, this sweet Filipino boy was able to stay with us for two days before he left!  That was such a gift!  He fit right in, and the boys all love him.  And we do, too.  The hardest part, though, was that we weren't allowed to tell him we wanted to adopt him!  The kids are just told they are on a cultural trip to America.  He isn't supposed to know anything until the process has us "approved" as adoptive parents and "matched" with him. 

For this reason, we also have to speak in vague terms on this blog.  We do have some pictures from when he was here, but we can't post them yet until we are "official."

For now, we will call him "J." . . .(he has a Filipino name that is uncommon to us Englishers anyway.)  He is 11 years old and fits right in between Josiah and Nathanael.  He has a wonderful smile and loves to laugh and tease and joke.  He sang along with Christian radio in our van and loves Bible stories.  J. also showed us a few magic tricks he learned from older friends at the orphanage!  He often wore a jacket - in AUGUST - especially in the AC, because he thought it was too cold.  Uh, oh for our Illinois weather!

If you are interested in following us on this amazing journey, we will try really hard to keep our blog updated - admist the tons of paperwork we have to prepare, check, organize, etc.

And, of course, prayers for this process and for this new chapter in the life of our family are appreciated!

****Karen

Yes, Mom totally caved!

For the past few years, my family has made occasional subtle comments about adding some kind of pet to our family.  When we go to friends' houses, the boys always love their pets and tell others that "mom won't let us have one."  They have never said it to be vindictive; they have just stated the truth.  The ultimate comment came from Derrick who said, "You would win Mother of the Year if the boys got a puppy for Christmas."  Guilt.  Shame.  But, NO, there are so many reasons why we should not get a pet.  And the boys knew all of them.

One evening, we were at the park for a friend's birthday party.  A mom approached with her kids and a box of four four-week-old kittens for whom they were trying to find homes.  I saw the boys' eyes light up.  Their faces were all smile and laughter when they  played with them.  Then, once again I heard, "but our mom won't let us have one."  Up until this point, reason and logic held the upper hand, and I knew they would get over it, just as they have many times before.

What happened?  Why did I even consider this?  I have no idea, but somehow I said, "Yes, we'll take one.  Thank you."  Imagine the shock and disbelief!  They were SOOOO excited and kept asking if I really meant it.

So, sweet kitty is now a part of our lives.  The kitten is an outdoor/garage cat, and it's been the source of great entertainment for us, especially for the boys.

On the way home from the park, we threw out several ideas for names.  There wasn't one name we agreed upon, so I decided that, since there were no other girls in the house, that I would get to name her.  "Bianca" came to mind from the movies The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under.  (The irony is that Bianca was actually a mouse.  Oh, well.)

Isn't Miss Bianca sweet?

Back in Blogland

After a few years of inactivity, we decided to see if our blog was still alive.  It is!!

So, we will try to start posting and updating occasionally, just in case you are interested in our life.  Stay tuned . . .

Luke turns 2.

Josiah & Nathanael's
Snowman in Feb. 2010