The Knight's Love SMB

Many of you don't know but I was almost a SMB member...for those of you who don't know "SMB"...that's insider talk for Spartan Marching Band! Yep, I tried out, made the band and they said, "Okay show up and you'll just do one more try out for a chair." But in between both try outs, the first of my many heart procedures took place and we all know that the first procedure didn't go as planned! So, I was a "no-show" to the chair try-outs for the SMB! Regrets? No, just a passion for the band to this day!

And then there's Josh who is a percussionist through-and-through! So much that I have to ask him to stop the toe-tapping or finger jiving at least a few times a week! That drum line gives us all goose bumps! We're both trying to convince Leah and Logan that playing drums is the only option in life, per music standards!

So we had no plans for our weekend and there was a home MSU game...for us that means CHEAP ENTERTAINMENT! We drive ourselves over to campus, pay an arm and a leg for parking, then go watch the band! This is the third season we've done it and the girls love it!!! Both seem to plug their ears at first, as that is always their first reaction to anything with sound, but after some time, we're all clapping and marching with the SMB! After we watch the warm up, we dash down the street to catch the March to the Stadium! The girls caught their first glimpse of Sparty today...or the first one that they seem to remember! We all joined in on the chanting of The Series as they grimaced in straight rank and file right in front of our eyes!

After the band entered the stadium, we went to the children's area and found the ever-loved inflatables! Oh yeah...if we would have found those first the girls would have never allowed us to walk the campus and hang out listening to the band play scales and warm-up!

It was a great day to see the SMB...so on any given home football day, we'll be cheering GO GREEN, but it's not necessarily for the helmeted and padded boys on the field...it's for those highly skilled musicians who brought our family so much enjoyment today!

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!