Training Time

Done.  The adoption training is complete, certificate is in hand.  It was a gruiling two days but at the end  there was a number of speakers; parents with kids Internationally adopted and domestically adopted.  It was very interesting to hear their stories and experiences.  One of them brought over a five year old boy last year and he's not having any trouble adjusting and when he walked out of that orphanage he was very ready to go with his parents, he never even looked back. 

I read that as of September of this year for adopting from Russia more training will be required, training that is to be provided by the agency and hopefully is all online.  We're not there yet.  We will have to complete our home study before anything else because if we cannot go through with it nothing else will happen.  Time will be of the essence.

LILLY - special little girl

Just waiting to get the second part of the adoption trainig done so that we have this part under our belts.  There are so many steps to adoption that it's a miracle anyone gets it all done and some of you in record time.  If it were up to me the home study and the training would've been done by last Christmas  as it is I will be so very lucky if it was done by this Christmas.  One can only hope.  Right now I just want to get through Saturday and Sunday without any hiccups.  I will close my eyes and pray that my hubby is as understanding as he was the last time.

In the meantime I received a letter from the volunteer in EE who told me that little L. may be going to Moscow in the winter for medical examinations.  This what I have been working for all this time but with that comes the next hurdle; Moscow Ministry agreeing to work on her file and report back to L's region.  That is still all up in the air, I have no proof of anything right now.  L is doing good otherwise but I see from her orphanage website most of her friends there have been placed in families and she has not.  I wonder how it must feel for one orphan to watch her friends leave with a mom and dad, one after the other but not them.  It must be devestating, I'm heartsick just thinking about it.

Lilly's grant is reaching ten thousand and that is wonderful news.  I'm so happy for her.  She is one special little girl who wasn't suppose to live but she did and she deserves a family more than ever.  It really is her turn.  Lily may be somewhere in the back of an orphanage in the laying down room due to heart condition which she was born with.  She could be a very sick little girl.  Little is known about her; if she had any surgery or not to help her live a more fuller life.  Does she ever get out and play in the courtyard?  It's hard to tell but more than likely chances of that are slim. 

I am praying for her as are Rachel and Sarah over at " Handiwork for Lilly ", who are doing great things to benefit this little girl and some other orphans around the world.  I congratulate them on being so wonderfully dedicated to their cause to bring awarness to the plight of orphans.

               Please pray for Lilly and advocate for Lilly and Donate to Lilly so her Family can find her ASAP.

                                                           She has waited long enough !!
                                                       
                                                             Lilly needs a Family now.

Adoption Training

The adoption training weekend went good.  No major disasters.  Two days down, two to go.  We got a lot of information and many questions answered.  Hubby even participated, looked interested, keyword being looked.  He did make comments and posed questions; says he was helping the other people.  There were about ten other couples, one single female and two same sex couples, males.  They seem to be having trouble being considered.  For domestic adoption the  children's aid society is looking for mixed race couples so many of us do not qualify.  This is how then people turn to International adoption.  Right now most of them are looking to do domestic private adoption and a couple of them are very specific about the sex of the child.  One of the instructors adopted a boy from EE and would do it again.  We got a thick binder with a lot of reading material and homework to do.  I didn't know there was that much information to be had.  Looking forward to completing this.

Precious Child

I sit here and wonder what this weekend will be like.  Two days this weekend of adoption training and two days in two weeks.  Are we going to hear horror stories about adoption, about the detachment problems, the meltdowns, the institution/orphanage habits.  I know it won't be a bed of roses but I'm sure there are many wonderful moments with your new child.  I can see it when I read the stories across the web, the smiles, the hugs and sheer happiness of both parents and child.  There must be trying times; life would not be life without those times.  It's the happy times and the trying times that solidify your relationship with the child.

I have not heard anything more about Lilly.  I just hope that someone holds that precious girl close to their heartonce in a while.  And my sweet Leah remains unreachable.  I have exhausted all avenue s and I've tried many. 

As for the training, it starts on Saturday at 9 am sharp. Will it change anythihg or will it be a complete disaster, that is yet to be seen.

Giving Thanks

Canadian Thanksgiving is coming up this weekend; inviting family and friends; having  a big dinner.  Over the years the dinners have become largers as we have more than our fill of meat, salads and desserts.  This year I think a little of those who don't have as much if anything at all.  If it's Thanksgiving or their Birthday it's just another day at the orphanage, day in and day out, all the same.  No special treats, no baloons or birthday cake. I've seen some orphanges have started to celebrate a child's birthday but I wonder if it will last, as  children come and go, moving on as they get older from their baby house to the Internat or grown up institutions where their days will become gray.  I await patiently another week and a half to go by until our adoption training course.  What will we find out? Will it be the end of this journey?  Or just the beginning?

Here is a little one who keeps me on my toes as he nears seventeen months and shows sure signs that soon he will enter an age of bliss for him and panic for us, 2.  He is gearing up pretty nicely but I love him so much and would not trade the T2s for anything.