Friday, March 28, 2008

Two more years?

Hi Everyone,
As you know, laws and things change almost constantly in Romania. Karen and I just found out two days ago that as of April 1st, a new law goes into effect requiring us to physically live in Romania for two years with our children before we can emigrate to the USA. It has something to do with the Hague Convention, which the USA is joining April 1st. And this issue is on the USA side, not the Romanian law. This new information about the two more years...is devastating!
However, the US Embassy and state department have gotten involved and are working with the immigration people at Homeland Security. It looks like that if we file with the US Embassy in Vienna before April 1st, we should be allowed to emigrate as soon as our adoptions are complete. It is not a 100% guarantee. But it does look promising.
Please continue praying for us that WE WILL RECEIVE GOOD NEWS REGARDING RETURNING TO THE UNITED STATES.
Karen and I are very weary at this point! Yesterday we spent the day running around getting documents together, doing our fingerprinting, and searching for a DHL shipping place....which of course had changed their address and failed to notify anyone. grrr.
It seems though, that all this running around might have been worth it. We found out today that our I-600 forms arrived at the Homeland Security Office in Vienna this morning. Meaning our forms were filed before the April 1st cut off date. God how I pray that they (The US Government) decides to give us the right to come home immediately.
GOD BLESS AND PLEASE KEEP PRAYING!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

We are doing well

Hi all,
Things are going well with the boys. Praise God for Bev and Ann! Nicolae is the most challenging for sure, but it has gotten much, much better. Every day has been better than the last. Nicolae is very smart and is working hard to be a good boy. He so wants to be well behaved. He is learning English and also learning how to get appropriate attention and what doesn't work. It is a process for sure.
Cristian has his moments too, but for the most part he is very sweet and adorable. He is learning English as well and is also quite smart. I love them both so much.
Overall they are doing well at adjusting to a "new life". I am in the adjustment phase as well.
Here are few pictures for you to enjoy!





The boys as Mos Craciun...Old Man Christmas.






"My Super Heros"








Yesterday we went to the Zoo. It was very nice. Here are a few more moments kodak moments.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

I am a mom!

I am a mom!I am a mom!I am a mom!I am a mom!I am a mom!I am a mom!
I was hoping to get Cristian and Nicolae earlier today, but both foster moms begged and pleaded for me not to take them until later on this afternoon.
So instead...Bev, Ann and I went to church this morning. Afterwards we went to Karen and Beti's house and ate homemade pizza.
After that, we headed to Cristian's house. We got there around 3 :45. We stay about 1:30 minutes. Cristian's foster mom, Ani, was having a difficult time saying goodbye. It was so hard . We all cried. Everyone except Cristi. He was like hey let's go! We are going to get to ride the train...right? He was all excited. I don't really think he totally understands, but hey I was happy that is was so excited to come with us.
He was and has been so wonderful all afternoon/evening. So adorable and so well behaved.

We dropped Cristian's things at my apartment and then headed to Nicolae's house. We stayed there about 1 1/2 hrs. as well. Nicolae started off good, but maybe 10 minutes into our walk back to "our" house, he started being mean to Cristi. Making mean comments. When I asked him to apologize he wouldn't. No problem. I just said, "Well I guess Cristian will be taking a bath by himself then and you will go straight to bed." He said he was fine with that . I simply said, "o.k." and continued walking. It took maybe 3 seconds before he started apologizing to Cristian. Mama Debbie 1 Nicolae 0

Well, it wasn't but maybe a few minutes after this that Nicolae "lost it" again. And this time he hit Cristi. Just being a dork.
I ask him again to apologize and of course he didn't want to, but as we continued walking as before(without me saying anything more) Nicolae apologized.
He so thought that this was enough and that he had "won". Well he was singing a whole different tune when we got home. Cristi and I were ahead of Bev, Ann and Nicolae. When they walked in Cristi was already getting ready for his bath. Nicolae was in for a rude awakening when he realized he wasn't getting to take one too. He was actually in shock for a moment. Then when I walked him into the bedroom and said that it was time for him to put his p.j.s on, he realized that what I said is what I meant. He had a crying meltdown and stayed in the bedroom for a while. By the time he "got over himself" Cristian, Bev, Ann and I were on the couch all reading a book together.
We invited Nicolae to join us, but he would need to get his pajamas on first. Again another meltdown. I calmly walked back into the room and shut the door.
He eventually came out again ready to put his pjs on and joined us. Here is the picture of all of us together.
Unfortunately Nicolae didn't last long before he had another melt down. He still couldn't get over the fact that he didn't get to take a bath.
So off to bed he went without Cristian.

Cristian is sleeping in the hallway by the kitchen. Nicolae is sleeping in the bedroom by himself. They were both asleep shortly after 10, which is an hour before they normally go to bed and about 2 hrs earlier than they fell asleep the last time they were here. Ding...Ding ...another round...and I am still ahead.

I have to say it has been a wonderful day, afternoon and evening.

Cristian was amazingly wonderful and Nicolae is figuring out how things are going to be.
Overall, I am thrilled. I am a mom with two very special little boys.
Praise God for these two wonderful blessings. Praise God too for Bev and Ann. They are two more blessings that have certainly helped today go so well.
Love,
Debbie

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Mom

As I am sitting in my apartment waiting for Bev and Ann I am overcome with the thought that after today, I will have a new name.....forever....Mom.
I am so excited and yes, I am nervous too. I have to wonder and believe that this is what all new moms go through. It is just that not all new moms get their children when the children are 5 and 6 years old. And...not all moms have children who don't speak their same language.
On the other hand, not all children get moms when they are 5 and 6 years of age or have moms who don't understand everything they are trying to say.
So, for this soon to be mom, I am asking you to pray. Pray for Nicolae and Cristian, pray for me, pray for us... and all that it involved in being a family.
God grant me the strength, the energy, the patience and the wisdom needed in raising these two boys. May they become all that God intends them to be.
Love,
Debbie aka...Mom

Friday, March 21, 2008

The Court says "YES"

Yes!Yes!Yes!Yes!Yes!
I went to the court house again yesterday, March 20, 2008 and picked up "the official document" that gives me the right to have the boys placed in my home, with the intention to adopt. After 90 days of having the boys, including at least 6 home visits from the DPC, then I can finally apply to adopt.

I asked the DPC and Mr. Mocanu about how much longer everything will take and I learned that it is actually feasible ...a stretch...but feasible for me to be home sometime this summer. I will certainly be doing all that I can to help make this happen.

Thanks to all of you AGAIN for all your PRAYERS, ENCOURAGEMENT, EMAILS, FINANCIAL SUPPORT and LOVE. I appreciate all of you so much.

Please continue praying for Nicolae, Cristian and me. God willing we will be heading back to the states as a family SOON!
Love,
Debbie


Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Today's Court Date!

So today was the big court date. Elena, the translator and I got to the court at nine in the morning. We sat on the benches and waited forMr. Mocanu to arrive. He got there at 10. When he got there he asked me what number we were in the courts. I had no idea. How would I know that? Where is the court room we are suppose to be in? Heck, Elena and I are just sitting here waiting for YOU.
Anyway, he then raced around for a bit and found out we were number 4. When we all walked into the courtroom they were on case number 8. I was thinking "great, I am doomed."

However, everything was fine. The DPC lawyer was sitting right in front of us. Her name is Adina. She explained that we would be seen after the judge dealt with most of the cases because the judge would see us by ourselves. So finally about 11:15 they cleared the court room and began seeing cases on an individual basis.

We were the second case to be seen. It went by very fast. Maybe 10 minutes. Adina from the DPC told the judge I was here in order to adopt the boys. Then Adina handed the judge my file. The judge then skimmed through the file. The only thing the judge questioned was my residency status. I guess the document in the file still stated I had temporary status. Thankfully Mr. Mocanu was there. He jumped in and shared that I did indeed have permanent residency and provided the two documents the judge needed. He even gave her a third document from the Romanian Office of Adoption that also stated I had permanent residency. Mr. Mocanu later told me that he wanted the judge to know that we were prepared and that we had every document she would ask for and then some. Sort of like putting a staple over tape.

During this whole time Elena was translating for me...whispering just to me. Mr. Mocanu shared that Elena was my translator because I was an American. The judge didn't seemed concerned. She just asked Elena if she had her official certificate for translating and Elena presented it to the court reporter.

After this the judge asked me if I was willing to take responsibility for the boys. I said "Da" and that is all I said. She didn't ask me anything else.

The judge looked through the file again and then asked the DPC lawyer and the court prosecutor if they approved the documents. They both said yes...and that was it.

I mean THAT WAS IT. No, hey congratulations. No...yes, we approve you to adopt ...nothing.
The simply stated that the court summary will be ready tomorrow....Next.

I will get the official answer tomorrow. I am assuming since the DPC lawyer and the prosecutor both approved the file and the judge didn't reschedule for another court date....the answer is yes.
Radu said not to worry and the DPC lawyer also said it will be fine.
So for now I am going with the idea that I got a favorable response.
However, I will feel better once I know for sure and actually have the document that places the boys with me.

Afterward, I met up with Karen at the mall and had lunch to "celebrate". It wasn't "woo hoo they said yes" type celebration. It was more of a "I am going with it is a yes, but I we will know for sure tomorrow" type celebration.

Anyway...It was a long morning and a sleepless night last night. I am tired.
Thanks again for all of you who have been so diligent in praying. Thanks too for those who have taken time to email. It means more than you know.
Love,
Debbie
p.s. The picture was taken today after we got out of court. Mr. Mocanu is wearing the official lawyer robe that all lawyers wear when they are in court.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Karen gets Beti today!

As of 9 am this morning, Thursday, March 13th, Karen will have guardianship of Beti. She will bring her to Bucharest and has already started her 3 months waiting period. What wonderful news for the both of them.
Thanks to all of you who have been praying for the situation.
Love,
Debbie

PLEASE PRAY!

As most of you know I have my court date this next Wednesday. I just got home from Bible Study and my lawyer sent me an email asking:
Do you have the original by your cazier(police report), medical certificate, monthly incomes? They are not in your file.
$#@!!#@! NO, NO I DON'T I turned them all in to the DPC...on several different occasions. grrr.

I am already at my breaking point to be honest. Please pray that this gets resolved.
Thanks,
Debbie


Saturday, March 8, 2008

Mother's Day in Romania

Today was Mother's day in Romania. I got these flowers from Nicolae and his family...with the vase. So adorable. It is setting on top of my dinky refrigerator with some fave pics of the boys.
Very sweet.


We spent some time today at a new park. Nicolae and Cristian loved the slide. They were both very well behaved for pretty much the whole the day . What a huge difference from the last time.


They loved their new little tables. Each one has their name on it. They really have no idea what their names look like. They tell their tables apart by the color. But at least they are being exposed to their names and have pointed and tried to read their names several times. It is a beginning anyway.



We talked with Bev and Mai....Teri and Jack via skype tonight. Bev could tell it was going much better than the first time too.

Another huge difference this time was that Nicolae and Cristian were actually able to take a bath together and it went very well. Toys and all.


Unfortunately, this evening, Nicolae has some meltdowns and well bedtime?Hmmmm... let's just say I will be glad when we are able to do this much more successfully. Oh well. It isn't where I want things to be as of yet, but it is a huge improvement.
Hey...thanks again Super Nanny and Bev. It took several times, but not talking and just putting them back in bed together worked. They talked forever and called to me probably 20 times, but I just ignored them. They finally just stayed in bed and eventually fell asleep. It is 12:20 in the wee hours of the morning, but I am thrilled that they actually fell asleep together.This is a very first for both of them. A definite success!
And...the fact it is just me by myself... I would have to count this day as pretty darn successful day.
Noapte Buna...I am exhausted.
Love,
Debbie

Friday, March 7, 2008

March 19th is my Court Date

I am sorry that it has been a while since I have blogged, but it just wasn't within me.

I wanted to share with all of you that March 19th is my court date. I just found out today! This will be the day when they decide whether or not to place the boys in my home. If it is a yes, then I have 3 months from this day before I can apply to adopt. I would appreciate all your prayers.


Here are a few photos of when Teri was still here. These photos were
taken on the day we spent with just
Cristian....February 17th.

As you can see, we did much of the same things we had done with Nicolae the day before. Cristian enjoyed playing at the park in the snow. He also loved getting the chance to bake some chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies with Auntie Teri. I think his most favorite part was eating them.


I wanted to also let you know that I get the boys this weekend! Yay....
I saw both Nicolae and Cristian yesterday. It was great seeing them again. I spent about 2 1/2 hrs. with each of them. When you include travel time back and forth and in between both of their apts. it totals up to approximately 8 hrs. It is a bit exhausting to be honest, but in a very short time, they will be living with me. Then I will be exhausted for a whole bunch of other reasons. Smiles.


Thanks again to all of you who continue to pray and help support my efforts here in Romania. I am so fortunate to have such great friends and such an amazing family.
Love,
Debbie