While we wait

Well, this post is sooooo late that I'm almost too embarrassed to post it :(

I first want to say "to God be the glory, great things He hath done..." Without Him, there is no way that we could be here...

I had so many grand dreams of making more posts along the "paperwork trail" that just never materialized. BUT - the long story short for those of you who do not choose to or cannot read further - WE ARE APPROVED - TO WAIT...

For the rest of you who are choosing to keep reading, please indulge me as I attempt to recreate in short manner (no pun intended on my height here please) what we've been through the last several months in our adoption journey.

When I have attempted to share the experience with friends and family who have been through this or similar experiences with paperwork, red tape and even their own perfectionism, I feel somewhat normal or at least relieved that others can somewhat relate. The problem comes when I try to vent my frustrations with those that haven't... and so my dilemma. What to share. That is until I remembered a conversation I once had with a friend in college discussing how much I disliked having asthma and how no one seemed to understand how scary it can be. They recommended that I tell others to run a mile around the track and then stick a drinking straw in their mouth and attempt to breathe... yes, that made quite a lot of sense. So - here is my drinking straw for you.

Paperwork - sit and attempt to remember every address you have ever resided at since the year 1980 and not only years, but months! (I shall not take the time to recount conversations that I had with some of you that weren't even born then...) That shouldn't have been too hard, right? But then mix in the fact that you ALSO have to remember EVERYONE that might have EVER lived with you AND their full names and dates of birth! Hmmm.... all done. Next - tell me a little about yourself. Remember you have to look attractive and honest as you describe your personality, a great achievement, a personal disappointment and three things that you want most to be said about you if you died today! Now, think about your childhood and tell about some memories you have about yourself and your parents. And what about your marriage? How has it changed since your honeymoon - 14 years ago! Oh, and how about your relationship with your in-laws... how is that going, and how have they affected your marriage? REMEMBER - honest and yet attractive! And finally - for those of you who are not bound by the medical anomaly that is Western NY, you won't understand - schedule (or try to) an appointment with your doctor to obtain a physical to show that you are healthy enough to not drop dead while attempting to put together baby furniture or put out a knee crawling on the floor. OH - and you also have to have them fill out a form that says you are healthy and get them to give EACH of you one. I highly recommend having extra copies of the form handy... again, for those of you in other places this won't make sense - but here it's crucial information!

The Profile Video and Book- ok - now at least on paper we are good to go... now for the easy part. Write a letter to our potential birthparent explaining our feelings and saying who we are, and yet keeping it short. For those of you who know us well, that was not an easy task. But, after hours and days.... check, we managed to get our feelings down in a legible format in an appropriate length. We thought we were home free.... only a short video and picture album to put together. Your assignment - assemble all the photos of you as a child along with any that might possibly contain any part of your story together. You may even want to schedule an informal photo session at your local library to look smart! Now, scan those "pre-digital" photos in (the majority for us) and get them ready. For me and my desire for perfection, that will mean hours of photoshopping the "issues" out, especially those that have shirts that refer to the "Kristoffersen Family Reunion" and other such identifying marks. And then copy these pictures in triplicate to files on the computer corresponding to the sections of said video and put in order. Now, pick the perfect songs to accompany your video and obtain proper permission from the artist, or record company to use the perfect songs. But, then toss the one perfect song out because the label doesn't return phone calls or emails and just stretch and replay the one song you do have permission to use over and over and over again until it fills the entire video. In order to do that though, you first have to quickly learn a whole new bunch of software that will allow the needed audio and visual manipulation. On back burner - going to ITT Tech for that graphic design/programming degree. And then - click SEND and get it out of your hands before you ruin it by making it more perfect! Then turn your attention the profile books and again learn any other new software that does not cost $1 million to do what it is you envision your perfect scrapbook album to look like. Hours and hours, days and days, weeks and weeks... Then pay a really nice friend to take your digital copy to work and print the pages out on a laser printer and have his nice wife help to send the assembled books (6 in all) via overnight UPS in a Priority USPS box that was the only one that would fit then all. AND.... Now take time to completely repent of your perfectionism and remember only HE is perfect...

Your last assignment - go out to dinner when it's all accomplished with wonderful friends who can completely understand what you have been through and WAIT.

We want to thank all of you for friendship and prayers. We are now waiting for THE PHONE CALL. It could be in 2 days or 2 years. At this moment our profile could be being looked at by a birthparent and either chosen or not, we won't know. Thankfully we do know who knows... and that is our biggest comfort. We have incredible peace that we have been brought here through much to welcome the child that He has for us... in HIS timing.