Summer 2009

A Summer Collage

Our Ethiopian Journey...

...is in a holding pattern! We've done everything we can to move this process forward and now we wait! We wait for a referral of a baby girl or twins! I know, so you think we're nuts with the whole twin thing! But do you honestly think lightening will strike twice and God will bless us with twins again!?!??! Hehehe!!! Ya never know! We will accept girl-girl or boy-girl twins...or a singleton girl, 0-18 months of age at the time of referral. We are 8th on the list for twins and 16th on the list for a singleton! It's gonna be a long time folks...a long time! And what is a long time do you ask? A year until a referral comes through!?!? At least that's what we are told as an approximation! So be it...we know that it will be our child that is referred to us...one that God intended for US when the call comes. All in due time...all in due time!

Something's Off...

There was a time just a bit ago when I wrote here that I said something to the effect that everything was 'right'...the job was right, Leah's therapy was right, yada, yada, yada...

Well, things change, life changes...my life has changed...something has changed...something is off!

What is it? Leah's therapy is great! We pulled her from public education at Clinton County RESA hasn't been what we expected. We really felt her home programming was providing her more social, academic, emotional, language and overall benefit than any programming RESA would offer. Thus, I am thrilled with what WE are providing Leah...at our expense and at our discretion. This is SOOOOOO RIGHT!

The girls are doing fantastic! Summer treated them like princesses! A trip to Disney World, several trips to Higgins Lake, time in the kiddie pool and out at the swing set on a daily basis, time spent with family and friends, a weekend getaway to Indy, not to mention all of the little things that I fail to mention! The girls and their life is SOOOOO RIGHT!!

So what is off?

Maybe it's my job? Yeah, that's one thing...I resigned from MSU as of this August but will remain to teach one course to interns/grad students in the Deaf Education Program. Life just got too busy with 11 hour days with teaching and supervising interns. I wanted to be a MOM!!! So, I then accepted a position in Livingston County as their Teacher Consultant for the Hearing Impaired. Big Mistake...I don't want to do this...Overworked...there is enough work here for 2-3 people and they expect miracles and most expect them now, but yet they don't trust me in what I do or say! SOOOO, why bother? I don't know...I don't want to. I just want to be a MOM, but who can afford to when we are paying for ABA????

What else is off? That Michigan is NOT the place I want to live any longer. Yep, you read that right. I do not want to endure another MI winter (although I know I will), another road covered in black ice, or another day of negative temperatures! I want to move...

So what are the solutions? Grin and bare it, I guess. I already feel a mild depression settling in regarding the start of school...UGH! I sit at the computer finding the best school districts to live and work in throughout central Florida! Mark my words in this blog post friends and family...it will happen soon....the Knight Family will become Floridians!!!

Anyway, I need to show you what is "right"...I've posted a depressing post tonight...and the past posts haven't had any pics at all!!! Here's some pics of our fantastically "right" girls!

Adoption Update

For those of you that went on the International Adoption journey with us to Guatemala, you know that these kinds of journey's are just that...a long, tedious, bumpy, winding, emotional journey. But in the end, our Guatemalan journey ended in the happiness that we so desired!!! We are praying that our Ethiopian journey will result in the same manner. Let me explain!

We've been rolling along our path of document collection, notary signatures, references, social worker visits and all that jazz. You know, all of the stuff that comes with adoption! We're good with that! Fine and dandy! Naturally, along with all of these time consuming and nit-picky activities, we forked over a few thousand! Also an expected part of the journey!

One hitch...one of the "fees" in these payments was called a "supplemental fee". Yep, like we're not paying enough to build a family, but we get to pay a supplemental fee! So we complained to the executive director, she bit our heads off, la-de-da-de-da, we paid the freaking fee! What's another bill?!?!?!

Definition - "Supplemental fee" = "keep the agency above water during a bad economy" fee!!!!

Well, the state of MI, thanks much in part to the media, feels that the "fee" is not really a fee and it is a contribution...where it is illegal for adoption agencies to accept contributions from families who are in the process of an adoption!!!!

Definition of "fee" by agency does not = definition by state & media!!!! WHOOPS!!!

Result of disagreement of definitions...state of MI investigation and a 6 month license for the agency to conduct regular business and fix their problems.

Result for the Knight family...Confusion!!!! We are unsure if the agency will be a viable company in 6 months as their license could be revoked after that point! We are unsure if we can get our money back if they go under!! We are unsure if we will bring a child home with this agency because of this silly "supplemental fee"!!!

So now what...
The State has 1 1/2 weeks to respond to the agency regarding their license. At that point in time, we will be nearly ready to send our dossier to Ethiopia and have our named placed on the waiting list to receive a referral of a little girl. We are hoping and PRAYING that this has been blown out of proportion by the media!!!! At this time, we are planning on continuing with the adoption with this agency. We do have an email into the MI A.G. to check on the status of the investigation just to cover our backsides...money is one thing, but bringing home Baby Ella is another!!!!

I'm sure you are all confused as ever right now...sorry...here is the link from the Grand Rapids news to make this as clear as mud!!! :)

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/ottawa_county/Adoption_agency_cited_for_violations

Just hope and pray that this is just one of those bumps in the journey...one of those forks in the road!

Wednesday...

Leotards - Hand-me-downs

Tutus - Hand-me-downs (I'm cheap, who can blame me?)

Somersaults, over and over and over and over on the living room floor? - PRICELESS

Monday...I am grateful for...

Laughter!

I took a late afternoon nap so Josh watched the girls and fed them a wholesome dinner! Then they were outside playing with the neighborhood kids! All in an effort to allow me to rest!! What a guy!!!
I finally awoke to come downstairs to an empty house...silence! :( Sadness! I missed the girls all day because they were at childcare and then I missed them all night because they were outside and I was resting. (You do what you gotta do!)
Eventually everyone came inside and we all sat down for a lovely PBS program of Curious George! It's Kids Week on PBS so there are prime time kids shows this week. We were all sitting together and Leah wanted tickles from Daddy, like she so often wants! So Daddy got his tickle fingers going and the laughter filled our home! Then Logan got to laughing with those two and I sat back and enjoyed the sound of love, fun, and pure bliss!
Remember...it's the little things!

So Much to be Grateful For...

In my time of respite, I've had lots of time to review my blog, organize printed and digital pictures, scrapbook (back from Christmas of 2007, oh my!)!!! Nevertheless, I've had a bit of time to look over my life in a visual format! I've looked, I've read, and I've realized I've got something to be grateful for...No, I've got a lot to be grateful for!
Our family has went through a few losses this summer. My dad's best friend past away unexpectedly, my great aunt passed after a long battle with cancer, and just last week one of my very best friends' mom passed from a long battle pancreatic cancer. When I look at my immediate and extended family, I have so much to be thankful for and to be grateful for! Not only the BIG things like our general health (I say that loosely with all of my idiotic and numerous issues), our general financial stability (again, stating it loosely!!), our happiness as a FAMILY and with MYSELF! But for the little things...
So, if I can continue to find the time when I head back into the swing of life as a full-time everything, and not being a bed-resting, non-cleaning, pill-popping chicka, I want to post little things that I am grateful for.

Like...

Today, Logan came bounding up the stairs after everyone let me sleep in (a regular occurrence on the weekend) and gently tip-toed up to the side my bed and said, "Momma, you're waking up now." Period. *Notice that wasn't a question, rather it was a declarative statement.* So, I lumbered out of bed and loafed downstairs to find two adorned princesses watching their beloved "Tom and Jerry". My Prince was cleaning the kitchen and washing dishes! I poured myself a mug of steaming hot java and my princesses smothered me! AAAHHH!!! We all then decided it's a beautiful day to go outside to enjoy the morning. So we slipped on our shoes and donned our flip-flops and the girls went to dust the world with the sand from their sand box and swirl the fresh morning dew from the slide with their four year old ambition, all while Josh and I sat together sipping coffee on the covered porch, petting Riley! I AM GRATEFUL FOR THIS MORNING! It was a simple morning but something I remember doing as a young girl...I'm grateful to my parents for giving me this memory!
Overall, I just need to look at the small things...that's life, right? I don't want to miss life! It's too short to miss it! It's not always the BIG moments and the LONG trips and the EXPENSIVE things we do is it? It's the little things that add up and I need to capture those!!!!