Our Journey For Cole: August 2007

Friday, August 31, 2007

We Are Now Cole's Legal Parents!

As of today our adoption has been legally finalized, and we will be traveling in October to bring our son home!!

Our agency will apply for Cole's new birth certificate and passport, our Letter of Invitation, and finally our visas.

We look forward to having Cole home in time to celebrate his 1st Halloween, and wear this adorable little dragon costume we just purchased for him:)

This news couldn't have come at a better time, and now we can really enjoy our 3-day weekend!

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Cole's Video Link

The video is about 18 minutes long, and was taped a couple of months ago. Cole is pretty quiet during the majority of the clip, too busy stuffing his little face, but you can hear a few giggles here & there.

The nanny is speaking in Uzbek, which is Cole's native language, and the coordinator is speaking in Russian. I could really only understand our names being said a few times, along with mama & papa.

BTW, the box that is shown at the end is an iron supplement that he has been receiving, because I pitched a fit about him not getting it, and now they have proved to us that he is:)

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the show! Just click on the word "video" above to be taken to the site.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Tuesday

I just got home from a lovely trip to CA, where I helped my papa celebrate his 70th birthday, and got some much needed R & R! It was really nice to hang out with the family for a few days.

I spoke with our agency today, and they finally received the video of Cole! We should have it in a couple of days. Also, I was told that our petition has officially reached the Mayor's office, and that we may have a timeline to travel here shortly.

Last, but not least....Cole turned 18 months old today, and now has 12 teeth. That's all for now!

P.S. Sorry I changed the blog to a private setting, without telling everyone first...I just didn't like the fact that everyone on the planet had viewing access, ya know.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Our Wait Just Got Longer

Unfortunately, I just found out from our agency today that we should no longer plan on traveling in September. In fact, at this point we are realistically looking at traveling a lot closer to November. It's not the kind of news I was hoping to hear, and I'm sorry I don't have better news for everyone right now, but I'll be sure to let you know if anything changes.

Adoptive Mothers Poem

Being an adoptive mother is not for every woman. She must possess not only the natural mother instinct but an understanding and appreciation of the situation that brought a child into her arms making her a mother.

The adoptive family comes to be by choices made, choices made by the first parents and by the adoptive parents. This bond the adoptive mother has with her child grows over time, like the child did within his first mother's womb. Day by day, touch by touch, with each tear, kiss, and memory made they became a family. Adoptive mothers have that special knack to let love grow.

The adoptive mother knows that she is a mender of wounds, not just of the physical skinned knees with a band-aid and a kiss, but of the heart. She gives love, acceptance, and permission to ask and talk about the day he was born and of his first parents. Adoptive mothers are embracers, not only of the child with many hugs and kisses, but of the child's heritage and history.

She embraces the facts of her child's past with strength for herself and the child. She's not only a memory maker planning family vacations, activities, and birthday parties, but also a memorykeeper. She's a tier of shoelaces and of hearts. She weaves lives together into a tapestry of a new family, with many different brightly, colored threads showcasing their individualities and family origins. Together they create one unit attached to each other.

Adoptive mothers are experts at finding lost objects, but understand and validate the profound, deep loss left by adoption. She allows the tears to fall and grief to be felt, allowing the mourning of the mom not there. She is secure in knowing that she's not a replacement, but a finisher of a race for someone who, for whatever reason, could not run any longer.

This role is not for the weak of spirit, or the easily wounded. Loving a child not born to her but calling him her own, but this is what she does, it is her calling. She is a mother.

Quick Facts

Uzbekistan, in the ancient cradle between the Amu-Darya and Syr-Darya rivers, is the most historically fascinating of the Central Asian republics. Within it are some of the oldest towns in the world, some of the Silk Road's main centres and most of the region's architectural splendours. When To Go The best time to visit is in spring from May until the end of June, and in autumn from September until November. The weather is mild and in April the desert blooms briefly. In autumn it's harvest time, and the markets are full of fresh fruit. If you're interested in trekking the mountains, summer (July and August) is a better time to visit; at all other times the weather is unpredictable and there can be snow in the passes from Christmas to February. You may wish to remain in the mountains to stay cool, as the rest of the country will be sizzling at this time. But remember, whilst the mountains are pleasantly cool in summer, they are freezing in winter.