The last 10 days have been absolutely crazy! The scary thing is, it’s probably just the beginning! I’ve been preparing for the moving sale for months and suddenly it’s time and I don’t feel ready!! The auction is 2 weeks away. WOW! Are we really doing this?!?! While sad to leave our beloved farm, we still feel convicted so there is a peace. Thinking about our new house in New Plymouth helps and I’m getting excited about getting settled there in December/January.
The first day of the moving sale was okay. The local newspaper apparently did not receive the order for the classified ad so the sale was not advertised until the day of. If tomorrow does not do MUCH better, we’ll run the ad again and have the whole thing again next weekend. JOY! Yes, sarcasm!
God has provided yet again for us in this huge endeavor! In sharing our adventure with a friend, God revealed a furnished house for us to rent for the 2 months before we leave Somerset! I had resigned to the fact that surely we’d be living in a hotel for those 2 months. I mean, who would rent out a furnished house for such a short time? And to a family with 6 children?? Not only did He find us such a place, they will even let us have Pete (our schnoodle) there.
My biggest heartbreak I’m having to cope with is leaving my beloved horses. This may seem silly given I'll be leaving dear friends and family. But I can call them, Facebook, etc. I can't do that with my horses.
I bought Soochie and his mother when he was just 3 months old and Bella, his half sister was born here 4 years ago. I love those two! They are the best trail horses! And they are my babies!!
I finally broke down and called Ray, our barn builder. He had mentioned a couple who may be looking for trail horses and that they would take terrific care of them. He gave me their name and I reluctantly called them. They said they would discuss the possibility but also gave me the name and number of another couple who may be interested. I was thinking, "Great! I don't even know you! Like I'm gonna call another set of strangers to take my babies!" But as it turns out, the wife of this couple is someone I know and think the world of. I spoke with her husband and he said he’d have her give me a call. With a tremendous amount of peace in my heart, I called Billy. I told him that I may have found the perfect place for Bella and Soochie. I then burst into tears and said, “You know we’re going, don’t you?” He laughed and asked why. I told him that the horses were the last thing that I had reservations about and I had been praying that God would not only provide me with someone to take them, but also that He’d give me complete peace about it.
25 September 2010
14 September 2010
God's still working on this!
Praise God!!!! Will's passport arrived Saturday and this morning I received a call from the secretary at Congressman Hal Rogers' office with news that they had received Graham's!!! It took less than ONE WEEK!!!!
All of our papers are now in order and we are just waiting for word from New Zealand Immigration.
We are also very busy preparing for the garage sale of all garage sales! I'm looking to sell close to half the contents of our home, leaving the rest to ship overseas.
The auction of the farm is scheduled and we pray that God's hand is on that in a huge way! I can't imagine that He would lead us this far but not take care of the sale of the farm. The auction company is a little concerned because the bank is requiring us to set a reserve since we owe and this often deters buyers. I assured the auctioneer that God's hand has been on this entire endeavor and I don't expect Him to leave us now. God has shown His faithfulness which has strengthened mine. I no longer pray and hope God will act, I pray and expect it!!
All of our papers are now in order and we are just waiting for word from New Zealand Immigration.
We are also very busy preparing for the garage sale of all garage sales! I'm looking to sell close to half the contents of our home, leaving the rest to ship overseas.
The auction of the farm is scheduled and we pray that God's hand is on that in a huge way! I can't imagine that He would lead us this far but not take care of the sale of the farm. The auction company is a little concerned because the bank is requiring us to set a reserve since we owe and this often deters buyers. I assured the auctioneer that God's hand has been on this entire endeavor and I don't expect Him to leave us now. God has shown His faithfulness which has strengthened mine. I no longer pray and hope God will act, I pray and expect it!!
09 September 2010
The paper chase continues
With Graham's adoption complete, Billy drove to Frankfort to get Graham's certificate of foreign birth. The following day I went to the Social Security Field Office here in Somerset to apply for his social security number. Long, confusing story short... never mind, there is no short story...I was able to get his number ordered, however, it was going to be in his former name until we could get it changed to his new (current) name. To do this we needed proof of citizenship. Foreign children adopted by American parenst become citizens when the adoption is completed in the US. The SSA would not, however, recognize the adoption judgement as proof of citizenship. I was told I'd have to get his passport and that would serve as proof of citizenship. This could be tricky though because he had different names on his Indian passport, his visa, his certificate of foreign birth and now his social security card. If we were even able to get his passport, it would be in his former name. How could we travel through security and immigration with a child with a different name than us? How complicated that would be!?!?
In addition to all of this, we'd still not received Will's passport. We had received a letter after applying for his that requested additional paperwork that we had not known to send. We had sent what was asked but had still not gotten his passport.
I headed to our congressman's office for guidance and possibly influence but they received conflicting information from every office they spoke with. It now appeared that it could take 5 months to get this certificate of citizenship before even applying for a passport!!!! So much for New Zealand in December!!! We couldn't even get through the immigration process without Graham's passport, not to mention get him out of the country!!! And where was Will's? They'd not gotten info back regarding the status of his either.
Panic set in with a breakdown at the high school where I was tending to soccer business (in my spare time!). Prayers started harder than ever, even from the poor bookkeeper whose office I had lost it in. I shared this disaster with my friend, Patty and she began praying too. Within an hour, I received a call from the precious young lady at the SSA office who informed me that after much research and finagling she was able to change Graham's name with social security. Praise God!!!
This news brought some releif but since we'd yet to receive Will's passport, I wasn't sure if we'd conquered the problem yet. Whatever was holding up Will's could also be a problem with Graham's. The nice young girl at the congressman's office was still seeking info.
I joined two of my bffs for a venting session. Unfortunately, they perceived these problems as signs from God not to go. Two other friends as well as myself perceived them as hurdles Satan was throwing at us to discourage and cause us to disobey.
Next I called our adoption case worker to inquire about the certificates of citizenship and how to go about getting passports. She assured me we had all that we needed and that they, themselves had just gotten passports for their 5 adopted children. SSHHEEEEWWWWW!!! I called the girl at the congressman's office and told her what I'd learned. She (though sounding doubtful) said great and that we could bring the passport application to her office ofter the post office had processed and sealed it in an evelope. She said that the congressman's office would expedite it for us!! Again, PRAISE GOD!!!
This morning, Billy received a response to an email to our immigration case worker granting us permission to send the application packet on to him without the boys' passports. We could forward them to him when they arrived to us.
So this morning, Billy, Graham and I went to our 9:30am appointment at the post office to apply for Graham's passport. From there I went to Congressman Hal Rogers' office where Rebecca sent it on, expedited, to be returned to the congressman's office.
After depositing Graham off at school, I had one last order of business to take care of... I went to the Postal Stop location and Fedexed the 4 lbs application to London in the United Kingdom. It is due to arrive in New Zealand's Immigration Office by noon on Friday. Our deadline? Saturday, September 11.
I exited the building and felt an enormous weight lifted off my shoulders and I cried with relief.
I then treated myself to a facial and a massage.
Now we wait...
In addition to all of this, we'd still not received Will's passport. We had received a letter after applying for his that requested additional paperwork that we had not known to send. We had sent what was asked but had still not gotten his passport.
I headed to our congressman's office for guidance and possibly influence but they received conflicting information from every office they spoke with. It now appeared that it could take 5 months to get this certificate of citizenship before even applying for a passport!!!! So much for New Zealand in December!!! We couldn't even get through the immigration process without Graham's passport, not to mention get him out of the country!!! And where was Will's? They'd not gotten info back regarding the status of his either.
Panic set in with a breakdown at the high school where I was tending to soccer business (in my spare time!). Prayers started harder than ever, even from the poor bookkeeper whose office I had lost it in. I shared this disaster with my friend, Patty and she began praying too. Within an hour, I received a call from the precious young lady at the SSA office who informed me that after much research and finagling she was able to change Graham's name with social security. Praise God!!!
This news brought some releif but since we'd yet to receive Will's passport, I wasn't sure if we'd conquered the problem yet. Whatever was holding up Will's could also be a problem with Graham's. The nice young girl at the congressman's office was still seeking info.
I joined two of my bffs for a venting session. Unfortunately, they perceived these problems as signs from God not to go. Two other friends as well as myself perceived them as hurdles Satan was throwing at us to discourage and cause us to disobey.
Next I called our adoption case worker to inquire about the certificates of citizenship and how to go about getting passports. She assured me we had all that we needed and that they, themselves had just gotten passports for their 5 adopted children. SSHHEEEEWWWWW!!! I called the girl at the congressman's office and told her what I'd learned. She (though sounding doubtful) said great and that we could bring the passport application to her office ofter the post office had processed and sealed it in an evelope. She said that the congressman's office would expedite it for us!! Again, PRAISE GOD!!!
This morning, Billy received a response to an email to our immigration case worker granting us permission to send the application packet on to him without the boys' passports. We could forward them to him when they arrived to us.
So this morning, Billy, Graham and I went to our 9:30am appointment at the post office to apply for Graham's passport. From there I went to Congressman Hal Rogers' office where Rebecca sent it on, expedited, to be returned to the congressman's office.
After depositing Graham off at school, I had one last order of business to take care of... I went to the Postal Stop location and Fedexed the 4 lbs application to London in the United Kingdom. It is due to arrive in New Zealand's Immigration Office by noon on Friday. Our deadline? Saturday, September 11.
I exited the building and felt an enormous weight lifted off my shoulders and I cried with relief.
I then treated myself to a facial and a massage.
Now we wait...
04 September 2010
Not quite the adoption day we had planned
We had been anxiously awaiting September 1st for many months. It was to be Graham's big day, the day he was to officially become a Viner! However, at around 12am that morning, I heard him come down the stairs and to the bathroom. This may not sound unusual but Graham is a nearly nightly bedwetter. He NEVER gets up to pee! I went in to check on him and found him doubled over on the toilet. He said his belly hurt. He tried to pee but was only able to squeeze out a couple drops. I began to suspect a UTI or even stones. He laid on the couch, writhing in pain and then the vomitting started. Now I also feared appendicitis. I called Billy who was... you guessed it... at work!! He said to head to the hospital.
At the hospital, after some pain and anti-nausia meds, a CT scan showed 2 large kidney stones, too big to pass. Graham would have to have them broken up by laser. The urologist was ready but was unable to find an anesthesiologist willing to anesthetize him with his heart history. Now 5am, we were headed to UK in Lexington. I had to keep slapping my face to stay awake.
At 8:30am, I called our attorney to let him know that Graham and I would not be in court and to ask if Billy could go before the judge without us. He said that the child had to be there and that the judge can be a stickler. We'd have to reschedule. I managed to maintain composure and told him we could not wait for another court date, as our immigration packet was due in London, England the following week. Doubtful, our attorney agreed to meet Billy at the courthouse to see what the judge would do. I urged Billy to go ahead and bring the rest of the kids. They had been so looking forward to going to court as a family and officially welcoming Graham as their legal brother. So at 1pm, as Billy and the rest of the children were in the courtroom watching the judge sign the adoption judgement, Graham was in the OR having his kidney stones blasted and getting circumcised!!
Graham did great!! Such a trooper! He and I got home Wednesday night while the rest of the family were at church. They were so happy to see him when they got home. After a hug from Brylie, Graham proudly asked, "Wanna see my weiner?!?" Needless to say, we had a discussion about what's appropriate to talk about at school.
At the hospital, after some pain and anti-nausia meds, a CT scan showed 2 large kidney stones, too big to pass. Graham would have to have them broken up by laser. The urologist was ready but was unable to find an anesthesiologist willing to anesthetize him with his heart history. Now 5am, we were headed to UK in Lexington. I had to keep slapping my face to stay awake.
At 8:30am, I called our attorney to let him know that Graham and I would not be in court and to ask if Billy could go before the judge without us. He said that the child had to be there and that the judge can be a stickler. We'd have to reschedule. I managed to maintain composure and told him we could not wait for another court date, as our immigration packet was due in London, England the following week. Doubtful, our attorney agreed to meet Billy at the courthouse to see what the judge would do. I urged Billy to go ahead and bring the rest of the kids. They had been so looking forward to going to court as a family and officially welcoming Graham as their legal brother. So at 1pm, as Billy and the rest of the children were in the courtroom watching the judge sign the adoption judgement, Graham was in the OR having his kidney stones blasted and getting circumcised!!
Graham did great!! Such a trooper! He and I got home Wednesday night while the rest of the family were at church. They were so happy to see him when they got home. After a hug from Brylie, Graham proudly asked, "Wanna see my weiner?!?" Needless to say, we had a discussion about what's appropriate to talk about at school.
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