Matched!!!

We have confirmation that we have been 'matched' with 'a child'.

 

This means that they have found a child they consider to be a good match for our family. They are now simply waiting on paperwork before they will be able to give us our referral. Likely medical tests etc...

 

We expect to recieve the referral late next week or the following week.

 

EEEK!

 

We are so eager to learn about her, and to lay eyes on her face for the first time... but also so scared and nervous.

ANXIOUS!

 

 

Decompression & Anxiety

Adoption is a challenge, but many people say that all the real work begins when you bring baby home.

This process has been so consuming of our lives for the last 18 months. A battle that we fought every day... and now it has come to an end. Granted, we still have court and visa to contend with, but the process to our daughter is 99% complete.

So after a big deep sigh of relief, you are left saying, "Now what?".

Now enter anxiety.

For 18 months all I had to worry about was getting one step closer to our daughter. One more hurdle, one more piece of paper. Now, I am faced with the reality that this actually going to happen.

We are moving to Kenya.

We are leaving our business here.

We are going to add a new member to our family. A new member who has come from a 'hard place' and requires a lot of work.

Anxiety looks like:

Complete heartbreak at the thought of having to leave our dog who is so attached to me. My shadow. Whom we have not found an absolute 'ideal' foster home for.

Money... trying to scrape up the funds for our next large set of fees, airfare and living expenses.

9 trips to the dentist in a month. Cleanings, fillings.

1 trip to the Orthodontist.

4 trips to the eye Doctor.

2 trips to the family Doctor.

3 trips to the travel clinic. $1000 worth of vaccines.

Trying to start the process of packing, and not really knowing what to bring for Zahra as we don't know her age.

Pulling out closet contents etc. to sort through and pack away... and then having to shove it all back in closets, under beds etc... to show the house to potential renters.

Passport renewals, to which I have left too late and now have to drive 4 hours there and 4 hours back to get 10 day service, so I have enough time to purchase Kenyan visas.

Homeschooling - I have to research and find a program that works for us.

Business... I have to complete this years taxes etc... finalize everything, make sure everyone is paid up etc.

Cancel all of our utilities etc, MSP, insurance, phones etc.

Find a home for our bird and chickens.

Pack up the house and clean it. This is HUGE.

Research and purchase travel insurance.

Book flights - just found out that Sept/Oct is super busy for humanitarian fares which means $$$.

Find a house to rent in Kenya, and not knowing if it will be furnished or not. Do I pack the bed sheets?

Worry about having my hubby gone for weeks at a time to come back for work. Tracy can I come stay with you?? Being alone in a house without at least a dog in the house scares the jeepers out of me.

I need to cleanse, detox and lose some extra pounds.

.. and a million other things that I simply haven't thought about yet - All in 5 weeks.

Soo.

A lump in my throat and and tightened chest, I think this is what anxiety feels like. No worries - I do have a Dr's appointment just to make sure that I am not suffering from high blood pressure, or heart failure. Sheesh...

I am wishing now that I had done many more preparations before - but after 2.5 yrs, I really didn't trust that this would ever happen.

Crunch time.

I feel a bit lost some of the times, not knowing what to do next. Don't be surprised if you don't see a lot of me in the upcoming month.

I will however keep you updated with any news... so keep checking in!. :)

Keep Calm & Carry On.

A doll suited for a Princess

Remember when I told you about my latest obsession?

Well, I have completed her.

Meet Zari... (Swahili meaning beautiful - I'm sure Zahra will rename her)

She was sent to me like this. Well almost - I gave her a belly button.

I also gave her a bum.

And gave her a cap to latch the hair onto.

I had a local lady dye and spin me some fabulous yarns for her hair. Merino Wool, Falkland Wool, and Romney Locks.

I gave her a dress, an updo and blushed her cheeks.

And here she is...

Standing 12" tall, with open arms, she awaits the love of a little girl.

Honey up a Chicken's butt.

Aside from the odd stumbling onto a pile of fresh chicken poop in your bare feet... 

There is one thing I NEVER thought I would do. 

What is that?

Stick my finger up a chicken's butt. 

Yep. 

Let me put the cherry on that by telling you I also inserted honey up that chicken's butt.

Have I lost you? Perhaps you think I've lost it...

Let me back up and explain myself. 

This is May.

 Do you remember when we first got her?

She is an Ameraucana Bantie and lays small green eggs that we love!

She was born on Muffin's bday, and was her birthday gift. 

She is very much loved in this house. 

A few weeks ago, we noticed that she wasn't laying regularly. Shortly after, I noticed that her butt was covered in 'white'. I brought her inside to clean her up and investigate the situation.

Prolapsed vent. (I will spare you the photos of that.)

This can sometimes be remedied, but often times not. It can cause infection, egg binding and will eventually lead to death.

I know... she is just a chicken, and we eat chicken. I can't tell you the irony of treating a chicken by bathing it with tender love in a giant roaster while a chicken roasts over my BBQ. One gets a medicated finger up the butt, and the other a beer can. I get how silly that all is... and perhaps it sounds naive. However, she is our pet and we need to give her a good shot at overcoming this.

The remedy? (Honestly, this may not be of any interest to you at all - so please do not read any further, unless you are interested in the gruesome details. ;)

Well we first put her in quarantine. A large dog kennel with clean shavings and a blanket to cover her at night. This kennel restricts the amount of sunlight... keeping her in the dark so she doesn't get the urge to lay anymore eggs.

Then we give her a good long warm water soak (yes, a roasting pan works perfectly! lol). We follow that up giving her a bum a good scrubbing to get all that poop off. Then I spray her with an expensive vet spray antibiotic.

Here comes the good part... are you ready?

This is wear I put on my latex gloves and gently smear her prolapse with Preparation H... yes, hemorrhoid cream to encourage shrinking. Then even more gently... push her rectum back inside while Muffin keeps her in a trance by softly stroking her head. We then follow that up by applying Preparation H inside her vent.

Then, we get up in the morning and do it all over - because it's hanging out again.

One week, and we have not been able to fix her. I have now moved on to using honey instead of Preparation H. Don't ask... I don't know why honey - it is just what 'they' recommend.

I fear that this is not going to work. I believe what she really needs is a stitch. I think she may have torn her vent a little somewhere along the line and that is what is causing her butt to fall out. (Very technical terminology)

But what adopting parents can afford a couple hundred dollar vet bill? Ugh... Dan and I have seriously spoken about how or if we could do it ourselves... but I don't think there is a youtube tutorial for that one.

( One more week of treatment before we abandoned hope. Well wishes appreciated - as I have a little girl who has had two hamsters die of cancer, dog die of cancer... replaced with a bird for her (thinking  long life span, low chance of cancer), to have the bird bond with her brother only... she can't get near him without him biting her. So she is very sad. Out of the 3 chickens we have... hers was the one who gets ill. )

Diapers have landed in Kenya!

A couple weeks ago, I sorted out the best AIO's and Motherease cloth diapers (about 50) from the stash that you all have kindly donated.

We boxed them up...

Drove them across the border into the US.

And shipped them off the Kenya via USPS. Sorry Canada Post - you are way too expensive! $55 priority is what it cost for 20lbs, and they were there within a week! Next time I will ship Regular Parcel for $25.

Metaline Falls is about an hour away from us. Apparently, you can drive a golf cart to work, ...  while the rest of the town sleeps or is just completely vacant. A ghost town... or Twilight Zone... There were vehicles, but not a soul in sight.

So, we figured since the entire town (with the exception of the lady at the Post Office) was gobbled up by aliens, that no one would mind if we just moved on in to this cute little cottage that was for sale.

But, as it appears, the aliens took the keys too! ;)

KEEP SENDING THOSE DIAPERS!

I have many more to ship, and have been in contact with a few orphanages who are very much in need.

AIO's or fitteds is what will work best for these homes. So if you have some that are in good shape to spare, please send them our way so we can at least help keep a baby dry at night.

NAC meet today!

I had originally posted that the NAC meet was on the 16th.... but we have found out that they met this morning in Kenya - the 15th.

Hardly any files were seen during the last meet. We seem to have won the lottery by being approved last month... I don't personally know of anyone else that was. So blessed by this, and it is true what they say... that just as you reach your breaking point - you are lifted.

Good luck to all of you waiting to be seen! I hope they sat extra long to clear up this back log!

Just when I thought I was busted...

The Tooth Fairy doesn't exactly have the greatest repuation in this house... in fact many complaints have been made.

Yet, despite her attendance or lack thereof, teeth continue to come out.

She is currently 2 teeth behind.

Tonight, after asking Muffin to put something away in my jewelry box, she discovered the stash hidden secretly in the back corner. All the baby teeth that I had been saving... (just couldn't bare to chuck them!).

'Mom! Why are there teeth hidden in your jewelry box??'

'Never mind, and let the dog in...'

So I played the game of distraction, because I just didn't know what to say. She is 9 after all, and this charade will not last too long.

A few minutes later, I overheard her telling her brother....

The verdict? (according to them)

I stole the teeth from the Tooth Fairy.

Yes, I am officially known as the "Teeth Thief"...

(go ahead and say that 3 times fast!)