HH!

Happy Halloween, everyone. I finally stopped on my way home to get some candy in case we get any TorTeers - our neighborhood doesn't have sidewalks so I think parents cart their kids somewhere else. I bought a 50-piece M&M bag and I'll let you know at the end of the night or the a.m. if we gave any, some or all away!

I'm trying not to think about possibilities for next Halloween. It's tough, though. My brain goes to images of Bri and me crunching through the leaves with our own little ghost or goblin...

By George...we have heat! And it's from our OLD heater!

Yippee! Hooray! Yahoo!

We didn't have to put a new heater in! We will need to soon, more than likely, but not tomorrow, so we can actually try to plan for it and do it on our time and not its! An old friend who owns a heating business came over tonight and was able to work his magic on the pilot light - it apparently was partially blocked and had a "retarded" flame. He was able to get it unblocked and all is well with the world. I can deal with getting a new heater - just not right now, at this instant!

4 weeks today on our US federal government fingerprinting. We continue to wait...

A cold update

No adoption news to update. Zero. Nothing. We're totally stalled waiting for our I171H from the feds. Tomorrow marks 4 weeks, so at least the calendar's turning...

Heater update! Brr! A service person is coming out tomorrow evening since the pilot keeps going out. Brian was just going to rip it out and put a new one in but decided we might as well have a professional look at it to make sure that's what we should do at this juncture. Keep your fingers crossed that it's an easy fix and maybe we don't have to replace the beast for a year or two...

Of course we discovered that the pilot is going out because we need the heater - it's down to 27 degrees in KC right now. It's not that we can't get the heat ON; we just can't keep it on since the pilot goes out. Not bad when you're cuddling in bed but right now it's a bit chilly in here since Brian left for work early and I don't want the unlit pilot "leaking" gas into the house (even though, apparently, it did that all summer!).

Oh woe is me. Or us. Or our heater.

Brian is in lighting the pilot on the heater.

For the third time today.

Why do I not have a good feeling about this?

What's in a name...and an I171H update

I've gotten so used to using our chosen names in conversation and with my I-see-you-everyday friends that I'd forgotten that we hadn't made a grand reveal to those we aren't lucky enough to see every day!

As my previous post indicates, our boy's name is Jackson and our girl's name is Hope. They both have stories behind them. Both were picked what seems like long ago - as we started trying to get pregnant naturally (which, of course, led to a fertility treatments and our it's-a-bust IVF last winter).

Jackson is my mother's maiden name, and I have always been extraordinarily close to that side of my family. I've ALWAYS wanted to use it as my boy's name, as a way to honor that side of the family. When the name became somewhat popular I thought it was funny, because to me the name has such MEANING and emotion attached to it.

But, there's more. On that same side of the family, the Jackson side, we have a history of the initials JC (although they didn't start out as initials, they started out as an actual name, but over the years and generations they have turned into initials). When Brian and I became serious and started having the "children talks" I floated the name Jackson, with my heart close to breaking in fear that he wouldn't like it. Thankfully, he did like the name Jackson, especially when he realized how important it was to me.

Then the kicker...his grandfather went by Carl, so if we combined "my" Jackson with "his" Carl, we'd have Jackson Carl...or our very own JC. So, that's our boy's name.

On to our girl's name...Hope Elizabeth. We floated a few girl's names, and both of us really, really liked Hope. Instantly Brian said, "Hope Elizabeth." I smiled and said, "Do you know who else has a middle name of Elizabeth?" My goddaughter's middle name is Elizabeth and it's also the middle name of another one of the flower girls from our wedding, a little girl who we've known since birth who we used to live next door to, to whom we're very close. I LOVE that Brian instantly chose Elizabeth for our girl's middle name and that its a name shared by two other girls we love, love, love.

During the infertility, the name Hope took on special significance. The name became more than a name, but a sentiment, a talisman, a remembrance of...well...hope. Before the IVF my mother bought me a Pandora bracelet with letter beads spelling "HOPE", not as an in-advance-mother's bracelet but as that talisman that was intended to remind us of the meaning behind the name we love so much. Through the IVF and now through the adoption, the name gives me comfort at every turn.

The hard thing for me is to give one of the names up, as they are both so special to me! I never dreamed of having a baby when we were trying to get pregnant. Not once. That means something to me now, but I didn't think anything odd at the time. Now, of course, I know it's because we weren't ever supposed to have a baby that way, but through adoption.

But, twice during our adoption journey so far, I've dreamed of our baby and of our adoption story. The first dream we learned that our baby was our Jackson. I was elated, but then heartbroken that we didn't also have our Hope. Then, a week or so ago, I dreamed of getting a call that our baby was a girl...Hope...and I was so sad to not have our Jackson!

I know we'll have the child we're supposed to have, but we love both names so much!

Our I171H update is this: Yes, our agency requires that we have our federal government approval (aka the I171H) in hand to send copies in with our basic Russia registration paperwork. So, that's what we'll do. Wednesday marks three weeks, which definitely isn't into the complaining-is-OK stage.

Our kiddo's first new book

I have lots of books from my childhood that will soon be in our child's room, but this last week I bought our first new book, just for Jackson or Hope. It's called "I Wished for You...An Adoption Story" by Marianne Richmond. I had read about it on one of the online adoption boards I frequent.

Brian and I read it last night and I got goosebumps. I can't wait to be able to write an inscription inside, once we know if this is Hope's book or if it's Jackson's.

Here are some of my favorite lines - I'm not plagiarizing; full credit goes to the author, Marianne Richmond:

• "Mama," said Barley. "Tell me again how I'm your wish come true."
• "Did you wish for me all day, Mama?" Barley asked. "Or only when the stars were out?" "All the time," said Mama softly. "I wished for you with my morning coffee, and when I made my bed. I couldn't get my wish for you out from in my head."
• "Did you imagine me to look exactly like I do?" asked Barley. "You, Barley, are more beautiful than I ever dreamed," said Mama.

There are more wonderful words in this book...and Brian and I cannot wait until we tuck our little one between us and tell him or her about how they are our wish come true.

Day-to-day days

We continue to wait for the all-important I171H approval from the federal government. Until then, there isn't much adoption-wise we can do. So, we go to our day jobs each day, I go to my second job some evenings and weekends and Brian helps a friend with a home remodel. I'm enjoying my favorite season and dreading turning on the heat for the first time. The house is getting a bit...brisk...but the doggies are troopers and we're getting out the blankets for the beds - human and canine.

My fall siggie

Nothing adoption-wise to report...we're more than a week into the wait for the I171H and I fully expect at least 3 to 5 more. But, keep those fingers (toes, eyes) crossed on our behalf!

One of the ladies on one of the adoption boards I frequent made me this great new fall siggie for my posts there...just thought I'd share!

We're just hanging out...

Nothing new to update...tomorrow marks the one-week date for our federal fingerprinting. My fingers remain crossed for a 4-week wait (or, preferably, UNDER!) for our I71H, so wish us luck!

Don't forget to vote once a day for our "nephew" Roscoe - the link is in the post below. Brian's brother and his wife entered him in a contest and we want him to win!

I'll update as soon as there is news!

Vote for our "nephew" Roscoe in this online vote!

http://popartpet.com/contest/

Pick Roscoe! He's my brother- and sister-in-law's doggie...and he should win this contest!

Wanted: Your Crock-Pot recipes!

Since I've picked up a second job to earn money for the adoption (I'm back working part-time at the locally owned children's toy, book and gift store where I was the manager from 2000 to 2002), I'm in search of easy recipes to make on the days I work there (which can either be after my "day" job during the week or on Saturdays and/or Sundays). For any online or blogger friends who might be curious, my weekday full-time job is in marketing communications for a global biological sciences company.

Do you have a favorite Crock-Pot recipe, or more than one? I'd love for you to share! Slow cooker cooking is an easy way for me to feel like we're actually having a meal and helps me resist the temptation to just order pizza or eat something really horrible at any time, but especially on week nights when I've worked or on a weekend day when I just want to come home and veg after being on my feet!

So, share away, please! Or direct me to your favorite slow cooker online recipe sites!

And, on a special note to my goddaughter, Brooke, and her mom, Lori: I can't believe Brooke is going to be Tinkerbell for Halloween and I got her Tinkerbell necklace on my business trip at Disney! I can't wait to see pics! I love you both and I'm sorry that life is so crazy that we haven't had a chance to catch up on the phone. I do love you!

Printed fingers, minimal fuss!

Our fingerprints are now in the feds' database! Brian and I journeyed up by KCI to the Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services for our "biometric" appointment - aka fingerprinting. We had no trouble getting there, walked in the door just after 8 and then went through security - which, you'd think I would have thought about at, hello, Homeland Security! One of the guards asked from where we were adopting and then started speaking some Russian phrases. I asked where he learned Russian and he said, "Here!"

By the time we got to the window, we were numbers 15 and 16 and they were on 4 or 5. It didn't take long to get called back (me first). I found two favorite things while in the fingerprint room. The first was a sign on the door that was obviously for when the door was closed while the staff was on a break. It read: "We will return in a few minutes. Thanks for your patients." Ah, the US education system. The second favorite was a picture of a random man who I couldn't place. On our way back to the truck I finally realized it was probably the director of homeland security!

So, now we wait for the background check and for the coveted approval letter, the I171H.

I took the day off, not knowing how long the appointment would take, so now I'm taking this afternoon to work on getting some of our registration docs in order. Then when we get the I171H we combine it with our Russia reg documents and our home study - this all gets translated and sent to Russia for a region assignment - and then we do more paperwork!