It's been one of those weeks. I've been sick, trying to wrap up at one job and start another job that will allow flexible hours between now and the time we travel to get the kids. Then I got the most amazing phone call. Our case worker called today to tell us that not only is our paperwork moving steadily through the red tape but...WE HAVE BEEN INVITED TO TRAVEL TO KAZAKHSTAN TO MEET OUR BABIES!
Yea, I'm floored...literally. I feel like my feet are nailed to the ground. My heart is racing and I'm sick to my stomach. Is this how mommys feel when they find out their babies are coming? To make things even better, we are expected to be in the country on April 11th and we will meet Kristina and Vladimir on Monday, April 12th.
Between now and then you can't even imagine how much we have to do. More paperwork, airline tickets, visa applications just to name a few. It will all work out. GOD HAS THIS! Please keep us in your prayers. Pray specifically that the judge will allow us to bring Krissy and Vlad home in May and we won't have to make a second trip. It would be so awesome to have them home at the start of summer.
Stay tuned. We will be posting pictures and videos really soon.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Homeschool vs mainstream
Every day is a day closer to meeting our Kaz Kiddos! It has dawned on me that the 2009-10 school year is coming to an end. LeeAnn will be graduating and enrolling in Maryville College. Shout out to LeeAnn as she is graduating in the top 10 of her class! Amy will be moving into her Senior year and Hannah will be in 7th grade. Boy do they grow up fast!!! In the near future I will have to enroll Kristina in school. So, I've been doing lots and lots of research and praying really hard that we will make the right decision. This is a little complicated by the fact that around the time I register her for school, Glenn will be deployed with the Air National Guard for about 30 days. So I will be diving into motherhood as a single parent for about 1 month. I know lots of people do this all the time but...with 2 children that don't speak English...YIKES! Luckily for us, I pre-registered Vladimir in Stepping Stones daycare last summer. I actually registered him for classes Pre-K 3, and 4. I was lucky, that when we found out who our adopted children would be and how old they are, that there was an opening in the Pre-K 5 year old class and I grabbed it.
Well, as all good Beams do, I have spent countless hours researching our county school system and ESL program. What I have found out is that if Kristina is enrolled in our public school system, she would start a 2 hour a day, 5 day a week English as a Second Language (ESL) program that would require her to be bussed about 20 minutes from her home school to another school in the district. Unfortunately, the information on our county's website indicates that she could possibly be the only child being bussed from her school for this program. Add on the fact that this program starts a week after school starts.
So I've put myself in her shoes...after only being in America, as an 8 year old girl, for only a few weeks, would I be able to communicate my basic needs? Would I be afraid to be surrounded be even more strangers that could not communicate with me much less me communicate with them? Would I be afraid that my new 'Mommy' has dropped me off at some strange location and may not remember to pick me up? I know what you're thinking. I'm probably putting to much into this but can you imagine? My next project was to research homeschooling. This actually was the original plan. We've talked to other families that have adopted internationally who recommend the children start mainstream school because they are used to being around children. In Krissy and Vlad's case that may not be true. You see, they have only been in the orphanage a little over 1 year. Back to homeschooling...after countless hours of research I can find almost nothing on incorporating ESL in a homeschool curriculum. I did however run across several websites that have been most helpful in regards to basic information on homeschooling in Tennessee. My favorite was Smoky Mountian Home Education Association which led me to the Blount Home Education Association (BHEA). Their information contact person, Laurie, was sooooo incredibly helpful and supportive. By the way, I will be taking a class to learn to teach ESL starting in April. Whoo Hoo!
So, for today, we are focusing more on the homeschooling possibility. My hope is that by homeschooling not only will Kristina and I have valuable time together learning and catching up but the one-on-one time bonding is probably going to prove very important. She will still have opportunities to be with other children as BHEA has many opportunities for activities with other homeschool children. After she and I feel comfortable with her ability to communicate her needs and if she has a desire for a more mainstreamed education experiences then we will back up and punt towards mainstream school.
For those interested, I will put the homeschool websites in our favorite resources section.
If you are getting this via email you might want to take a quick look at our blog. We've added a few more pictures. I'm so excited...I can't wait to meet them.
Disclaimer: We are still not going to be 100% sure that Krissy and Vlad are 'our children' until we see them in Kazakhstan but we are getting only positive vibes from our adoption case worker.
Well, as all good Beams do, I have spent countless hours researching our county school system and ESL program. What I have found out is that if Kristina is enrolled in our public school system, she would start a 2 hour a day, 5 day a week English as a Second Language (ESL) program that would require her to be bussed about 20 minutes from her home school to another school in the district. Unfortunately, the information on our county's website indicates that she could possibly be the only child being bussed from her school for this program. Add on the fact that this program starts a week after school starts.
So I've put myself in her shoes...after only being in America, as an 8 year old girl, for only a few weeks, would I be able to communicate my basic needs? Would I be afraid to be surrounded be even more strangers that could not communicate with me much less me communicate with them? Would I be afraid that my new 'Mommy' has dropped me off at some strange location and may not remember to pick me up? I know what you're thinking. I'm probably putting to much into this but can you imagine? My next project was to research homeschooling. This actually was the original plan. We've talked to other families that have adopted internationally who recommend the children start mainstream school because they are used to being around children. In Krissy and Vlad's case that may not be true. You see, they have only been in the orphanage a little over 1 year. Back to homeschooling...after countless hours of research I can find almost nothing on incorporating ESL in a homeschool curriculum. I did however run across several websites that have been most helpful in regards to basic information on homeschooling in Tennessee. My favorite was Smoky Mountian Home Education Association which led me to the Blount Home Education Association (BHEA). Their information contact person, Laurie, was sooooo incredibly helpful and supportive. By the way, I will be taking a class to learn to teach ESL starting in April. Whoo Hoo!
So, for today, we are focusing more on the homeschooling possibility. My hope is that by homeschooling not only will Kristina and I have valuable time together learning and catching up but the one-on-one time bonding is probably going to prove very important. She will still have opportunities to be with other children as BHEA has many opportunities for activities with other homeschool children. After she and I feel comfortable with her ability to communicate her needs and if she has a desire for a more mainstreamed education experiences then we will back up and punt towards mainstream school.
For those interested, I will put the homeschool websites in our favorite resources section.
If you are getting this via email you might want to take a quick look at our blog. We've added a few more pictures. I'm so excited...I can't wait to meet them.
Disclaimer: We are still not going to be 100% sure that Krissy and Vlad are 'our children' until we see them in Kazakhstan but we are getting only positive vibes from our adoption case worker.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Things are looking good...
Today we heard from our social worker. We were told about a month ago that the preschool orphanage where the children are living may close and the children relocated. That meant that there was a possiblity that the children would be seperated which would have made adopting them more difficult. We remained hopeful. Well, today we heard that the orphange may not close after all. She said it was looking good for us to adopt Kristina and Vlad.
Later today she sent us more pictures of Kristina. These were a big surprise. I don't think she would have sent them to us if she wasn't sure this was going to work out.
March 21 is the holiday Navruz. Navruz is the Persian New Year celebrated in countries such as Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Kristina is dressed up for the orphanage celebration of the new year. It's quite the costume. Says alot about her personality especially if she helped pick out her costume. For those wondering, she is wearing a blonde wig. I think her hair may be light brown based on previous pictures.
Enjoy!
Later today she sent us more pictures of Kristina. These were a big surprise. I don't think she would have sent them to us if she wasn't sure this was going to work out.
March 21 is the holiday Navruz. Navruz is the Persian New Year celebrated in countries such as Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Kristina is dressed up for the orphanage celebration of the new year. It's quite the costume. Says alot about her personality especially if she helped pick out her costume. For those wondering, she is wearing a blonde wig. I think her hair may be light brown based on previous pictures.
Enjoy!
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