THE CALL!!!!!

Monday November 3, 2014 started out like any other day.  Mark left for work and I took Konnor to Preschool.  That is where the day starts to vear off course.  I had no sooner clocked in at work and my phone started ringing.  The school Nurse said I had to pick Konnor up b/c he had fallen (running, imagine that : ) and hit his head.  Let me start out by saying that Konnor was perfectly fine.  So since we were stuck at home that day we decided to go exploring.  It was a perfect fall day so we went to the walkway and started on a beautiful fall walk complete with sticks, mud, leaves and bugs.  Now I should say that I knew our agency was expecting a few files sometime that week, but honestly it was 1100 and I thought they surely would have called by now if they were going to so I put it out of my mind.  At least until my phone started ringing at 1130 am.  In a surprisingly calm voice I answer to hear my caseworker tell me, "this is the call you have been waiting for."

I really can't explain how I felt in that moment.  I swear my heart just stopped.  Something in me just knew this was the file (we have already reviewed 2 files this year only to find they were not our child-but they did find their families so all is good).  I just KNEW!, but with our past experiences this year I just held myself in check.  I couldn't let myself get to excited, b/c then what happens if Mark doesn't feel the same way or something is going on with the medical that we don't think we can handle.  Regardless, Konnor and I piled into the car and drove to Mark's work to show him pictures of what could possibly be his next Son.

Of course we both thought the little was cute as cute can be so we started sending his file off to our medical professionals.  The agency had mentioned that this little guy had a cleft lip/palate and was a little anemic, but what Mama found upon obsessive Nurse Mama reading of the file was that he was also a preemie weighing somewhere between 2.5-3 lbs at birth and he was more than a little bit anemic.  Our first medical reviewer got back to us that night.  We talked a lot about the prematurity and what to expect and where he was based on our given information, but overall things looked pretty good.

Tuesday was a big deal b/c this precious little one who I was obsessively thinking about turned one year old on Tuesday November 4 (Happy Birthday Little Man!!).  Of course the Mama in me wanted to send our letter of intent to adopt on his birthday b/c seriously what better birthday present, but we were still waiting on our International Adoption Dr. to get back to us and it really is best to make sure you have all the informations (says my practical husband : ).  So we waited.

On Wednesday we got 14 more pictures !!!!!!! and 3 more videos!!!!!!!  Ahhhh!!!  The way they do things now is different from when we got Konnors referral and there is a lot more information available.  For Konnor we only had 6 pictures the entire times.  This little guy we already have 20 pictures and 5 videos.  Anywhoo, he looked so much bigger in the new updated pictures.  We also found out that he was moved to Foster Care which is huge b/c he will learn how it is to live in a family setting and get much more one to one attention.  We still hadn't heard back from our IA Dr. but based on the new information we felt comfortable moving forward and as I sat down Wed. night to write an email to our agency explaining that we wanted to proceed with the adoption when we got sucker punched.  We got an email back from our IA Dr. stating that she had a couple concerns with the file and was going to consult a specialist colleague of hers and get back to us.  I will be honest.  I sobbed and sobbed.  Mark tried his best to comfort me, but if what she was suspecting was accurate we would not be able to proceed with the adoption.  It would be way out of our wheel house of needs we would be able to manage.  I just KNEW this was our baby.  I knew without a doubt that this sweet face was our Son.  It was a rough night.  I reached out and found some adoptive Mama's who have children with this need and our agencies advocate was able to contact our agencies in China coordinator to ask a couple key questions about this little guy.  I have to tell you that being apart of the adoption community is like nothing else.  The support from other adoptive parents, some of whom we have never even met except online, is absolutely phenomenal.  I was also able to get in touch with a specialist to review the file separately from our IA Dr.'s colleague.  (yep, I am a little crazy over information gathering anal)

So Thursday dawned and we were blessed to get a some information back from the in China coordinator and from the specialist I had reached out to.  It was all good.  That evening the IA Dr. personally called me to review his file.  How awesome is that!!  She explained in great detail the conclusions they had come to and why they had come to those conclusions.  Once again it was good. Like any child, whether biological or adoptive, there is always the unknown.  There is unknown with our own health.  That being said, with the information we have we feel truly like we are capable of dealing with whatever may happen, but even more importantly we know this is our Son and we would go to the stars for him.  So on November 7, 2014 we sent our Letter of Intent to Adopt to our agency and received Pre-Approval to adopt.  We are now waiting on our paperwork to be translated and final approval so we can proceed with the next steps of the adopt.  We are hoping to travel in March to bring this little guy home.  So without further ado, here is the newest member of the Hendricks family (don't ask me his name b/c just like with Konnor it is probably going to take us months to agree on something).

One Day

Have you ever thought about what a difference a day can make?  I mean really thought about it.  One moment you are a daughter/son/friend/girlfriend/boyfriend/coworker just going about your daily life and then suddenly you are a Wife/Husband/Mother/Father/In-Law/Boss, etc...  and all of a sudden your entire life course is taking a turn.  Maybe a good turn, maybe a less desired turned, but you are altered regardless.  It isn't always the big monumental moments that will change your course either.  Sometimes it is the little things.  The patient that hugs you and says "I Will Miss You" that makes you realize that it's not just a job.  Holding the door for an older couple and being reminded to be grateful for every day with your spouse.  These may be small moments, but they can have big impacts just the same.

In our house there were a lot of moments this week.  Giant Big Ones and small ones.  It has been a week that truly brings new meaning to "What A Difference A Day Can Make."  So I encourage you to embrace today.  Love every single moment of it.  I know I will.

LID LID LID!!!!

Our caseworker emailed that as of today we are LID (Log In Date)!!!  Yay!!!  That means that as of today China officially has our paperwork and will begin the translation process.  We are officially just waiting on The Call about our little one.

In celebration of this huge step we are going to up the stakes on our Polar Express Ticket giveaway (please see below post for specific details, visit the Bringing Home Baby Hendricks Facebook page or email at hendricksadoption@hotmail.com )  From now until 8 pm tomorrow 10/28/14 we are offering double entries for anyone who purchases tickets!!!!   That means:
$5 = 6 entries
$10 = 14 entries
$20 = 30 entries
$30 = 60 entries
$50 = 120 entries (That is crazy!!)

Ready........Set.......Go..........

http://www.mrym.org

ALL ABOARD!!!!

Polar Express Tickets!!

A raffle will take place on Thursday November 6 at 7 pm with the winner to receive 4 Polar Express Tickets. These tickets are for the Saturday, November 29, 2014 6 pm Polar Express Ride at the Monticello Railway Museum. (value $120).

**A second place winner will receive a NEW 50 piece Thomas the Train TrackMaster set with one TrackMaster train. A perfect Christmas gift for your little train enthusiast. (value $45)

-Chances may be bought in the following increments with Cash, Check (bounced checks will result in a forfeit of chances), or Paypal-email us for address as it is different from the address below.
$5 = 3 entries
$10= 7 entries 
$20 = 15 entries 
$30= 30 entries 
$50= 60 entries

ALL PROCEEDS from this raffle will benefit the Hendricks Family Adoption fund. Please contact us at hendrickadoption@hotmail.com  for entry information, you can also visit our FB page Bringing Home Baby Hendricks.  When emailing please include first and last name, phone number and email so that we may contact you if you win.  We can email you payment information once you have contacted us.  

We Are DTC!!!!!

My caseworker emailed me this morning and right at this very second our documents are on their way to China!!!!  Yay!!!!  This has been 10 months in the making, but it all feels like a blink right now.  I can't believe we are finally Dossier To China (DTC).  Our agency anticipates that China will give them confirmation of receiving our documents in about a week which is called a Log In Date (LID).  Yes, there are a lot of acronyms in the adoption world : )  Getting a LID is exciting, but essentially right now we are just waiting on THE CALL, I mean the one where my caseworker says she has pictures of the future baby Hendricks.  We have had so many setbacks along that way that I was starting to lose my excitement for this whole process, but now it is back in full swing and I am mentally decorating a baby room.  I will keep everyone posted.  Keep an eye out b/c we have a very exciting fundraiser starting later this week!

It's Out Of My Hands, EEK!

Hooray, the Chinese Consulate in Chicago accepted and authenticated all of our documents.  Whew!  So our documents were to be returned to us on Wed.  I am so thankful that I have recently adjusted my work schedule so that I can take Konnor to Preschool or there would have been a major catastrophe waiting when I got home that day.  So as Konnor and I walk out the door for Preschool at 755 I see our newly delivered documents on our front stoop.  Our wet, b/c it has rained for 2 days and is going to rain all day, front stoop.  Thankfully only the package was wet and a little crinkling to the tops of the documents, but no water stains.  Can you imagine if they had sat on our front step all day (mind you if the delivery person had walked another foot the documents would have been on our large covered front porch).  I just can't even think about it.

So Wed. night I copied and stapled until 11 pm.  This morning I handed 10 months of blood (ok maybe just a few paper cuts), sweat and many, many tears over to a nice man at the post office.  Side Note: you may spend to much time at the post office when the staff notices that you are anxious when sending documents away.  I mean I was seriously shaking.  Unless you have been through the process it is hard to understand, but at this point in time that pile of paperwork is my family.  That pile of paperwork will be my next child.  I am not carrying them around inside me protecting them, and so I have to hand over these life altering documents to a stranger and pray that they take care with them.  IT IS HARD!  I really just want to drive them to my agency myself, then fly them personally to China and put them directly in the hands of the person that will translate them and give the thumbs up.  Instead I put my faith in God to prepare the way for our next child to come home.

What is next??  Our agency will get our all completed documents on Monday, probably Tuesday or Wed.  they will be on their way to China.  Once China accepts our documents we will be issued an LID (Log In Date) and our agency will officially be given permission to match us will a child.  Our agency is hoping that they will have a match for us within a month so fingers crossed.  Until then I will just jump every time my phone rings so don't be offended if I sound disappointed when I answer the phone : )

Don't forget to stop by our fundraiser for organic coffee and hot chocolate, mugs and shirts   www.justlovecoffee.com/hendricksadoption    and stay tuned b/c we have a great fundraiser that will be starting very soon for all those train lovers out there.

Authentications

Now that we have our Immigration approval we need to get our paperwork authenticated by the Chinese Consulate in Chicago.  This is the last step prior to being Dossier to China.  So last Thursday, like every other adoptive parent to be, I was quadruple checking my paperwork before sending it off to Chicago on Friday, you know, like checking that notary dates match the dates on the letter, there are no smudges on the notary stamps, notary names are spelled correctly, etc, etc, etc....  Yes, we really do have to triple check this stuff.  Don't ask me how I missed this the first 800 times I checked my paperwork, but I realized at 9 pm that night that some our of documents were close to expiring.  I mean like days away from expiring!  The Chinese Consulate in Chicago requires that certain forms, ex: medical forms, marriage certificates, etc..., be less than 6 months old.  HOW DID I MISS THIS!!!  Had all our paperwork gone as planned (or even remotely close to as planned) we would have been Dossier to China in August.  Most of our forms were done prior to our first home study visit the first two weeks of April, which means they will be expiring the first two weeks of October.  I just had the August dates stuck in my head and didn't factor in all the paperwork delays we have experienced.  AHHHHHH!!!!

So I raced to ask the question on a Facebook group, "will they still accept my documents or do I need to completely redo them?"  Just thinking about having to redo about half our paperwork had me more than a little upset.  I got some very good advice and promptly emailed the courier we use in Chicago. I detailed what each document was and the date it was issued.  She responded quickly on Friday morning and said if I could get her the documents by Saturday (don't even ask me how much that shipping fee was--Yikes), then she could submit them on Monday and she felt like we would be okay with the forms.  So Friday morning I raced to get the last two forms certified, then made copies, then Mr. UPS was so helpful when I said "this HAS to be in Chicago tomorrow."  Mind you it was about 1230 on Friday already.  Bless his sweet heart, he looked at the stack of paperwork, then at this harried Mama and said " adoption paperwork?"  YES!!!  Someone who gets it, Thank You Lord for this small miracle.  So he took care of stuffing my 1.3 lbs of paperwork (yes that is how much it weighed : ) into a small little envelope and getting everything ready so all I had to do, besides corral a 3 year old who was not amused that Mama wouldn't let him play on the conveyor belt, was sign on the dotted line.  Phew!  And you know what???  Our package was delivered to the courier at 810 am on Saturday.  Worth every stinkin penny!  She emailed me this evening and said she dropped everything off at the Consulate and will pick it up on October 13th.  So now we are just offering up some prayer that they will in fact accept all our almost expired documents.  Almost there, almost there, almost there.....