The Adoption Process (Part 2)

Since the last time I updated you guys on our adoption proceedings, I have to admit, it's felt like it's moving slowly. We went ahead and completed our online orientation, filled out our Worker Registration to foster/adopt, completed an assessment of our home (to figure out what we need to update and change to accommodate a child), and registered to have our fingerprints done. We still have to make copies of some documents and actually have our fingerprints done, but with our work schedules, finding that time has been a bit challenging. I plan to get them done next week.

Anyway, with that in mind, I got an e-mail today from the organization we're going through for this process basically asking why we hadn't submitted the paperwork yet. I replied and explained that we had everything done but the fingerprinting, and I asked if we should just turn everything in together when those are done. She responded by telling me to go ahead and submit everything else and she would confirm the background checks when they arrived so that we may get the ball rolling on everything sooner!

When I read this I was immediately excited. Is it too early to be excited? I interpreted her e-mail as saying they want to get the process started with US because we are good candidates. I hope that's true. I went to talk to my principal, who ironically is going through the process of adopting through the foster system as well, and I asked him what he thought it meant for us! He asked what age we were interested in and when I told him older he assured me that we're good candidates and that because we want older the process will probably be pushed through for us.

I don't know if that means LIGHTNING FAST. Will we be placed by the end of summer? By this time next year? I don't know! What I do know is that I am unbelievably excited to be a mom, and receiving that e-mail today really reminded me of how exciting all of this is.

Breakfast in KC (Stop 2/13)

Last month, I posted a blog about Ben and me trying all 13 brunch spots on the Breakfast in KC list, including our first stop. This month we went ahead and ventured out to try Genessee Royale down in the Stockyard District. Genessee Royale is located within walking distance of Kemper Arena in an old, converted gas station.

To be honest, I hadn't ever even heart of this place until we picked a spot off of the list to go. My family used to have season tickets to the Attack/Comets when they played at Kemper, and I really don't remember Genessee Royale being there - maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. When we got there, we were put on a list behind a couple of other groups. Luckily, we didn't have to wait more than 10 minutes to sit.

The entire venue was really precious. With a combination of garden furniture, old chairs, and antiques on the walls, it definitely had a really laid-back vibe. On top of that, the coffee was a local brew and DELICIOUS. You know me and my coffee.

 

   

For our meals, Ben and I ordered The Freemont and Steak Frites respectively. They are also pictured in that order below. The Freemont was a gorgeous breakfast that included a runny egg, fried chicken, spiral cut ham, red eye gravy (coffee based), and a biscuit. The Steak Frites included perfectly-cooked skirt steak, homemade fries, sunny-side-up eggs, lettuce, and parsley-shallot butter. Naturally, we tried each other's meals and both were amazing.

 

There are two major things that I want to comment on about Genessee Royale before I wrap this up. First, the portion sizes were absolutely perfect. Both Ben and I left the restaurant feeling full, but not TOO full. Second, the service we had was incredible. I think at smaller places like this, a lot of the times, they try to turn tables quickly to get everyone in and out. I thought this would be especially true here since they only serve breakfast or lunch, not both, due to kitchen size... BUT everyone was so nice, so attentive. Even servers who weren't our server were getting us coffee refills, asking about our food, and chatting with us! I would definitely go back!!

My rating for Genessee Royale: 9/10.

Cups of Coffee

As I sit here drinking coffee, I can't help but think about all of things happening around me. On Wednesday I witnessed a horrific accident on my way home from work. The driver ran off the road, struck a gravel overpass, and was ejected from his car while it rolled over numerous times. I didn't know it at the time, but he was 70 years old. I saw this stranger be taken from the earth. The whole situation really struck a nerve with me, making me realize that I really need to get my act together.

I've done a pretty terrible job keeping in touch with people who have meant the most to my life. Seeing and talking to a handful of people I hadn't seen in a while this week, and then seeing that accident, has really opened my eyes to the fact that I need to do some reconnecting. I need to be in a happy, healthy place for when we bring a child into our family (whenever that may be). I need to be in a happy, healthy place for my husband who chooses to put up with me every day. I need to be in a happy, healthy place for me.

I was supposed to go to Oklahoma to visit a long-time friend this weekend, but when the person who was supposed to drive with me pulled out, I was hesitant to drive so far by myself. Since falling asleep at the wheel and wrecking my car just FOUR MILES from where that man died on Wednesday, I'm afraid to drive every time I get in the car. Four hours to Tulsa seemed like a long way to be afraid, so I'm postponing my trip for a month or two and using this day off of work to re-center. Coffee and binge watching Parenthood (aka crying every episode) is helping me to feel cleansed.

Lucky for me, like I mentioned, I've had some reminders of how fantastic life really is in the past week or so. I got to go to Chillicothe and see some of the people who have really shaped my life over the past couple of years. It probably makes me sound crazy, but some of my best friends live out of state... and some of them are still in high school. My life really started when I got to start teaching... when I met these people... and for that reason, I think Chillicothe will always kind of feel like home.

  

  

Ben and I also had a really fantastic Valentine's Day together - I can't believe it's already our 5th. He surprised me by having a BEAUTIFUL bouquet delivered to me at school on Friday; they were perfect. I got him a copper mule mug and some treats. I also got Evvy a few little things just because she's our child.

  

  

I hope you all had Valentine's Days full of love, no matter who it was from.

Until next time!

The Adoption Process (Part 1)

If you and I are friends on Facebook, you may have noticed a status update about my husband, Ben, getting new position with his bank/transferring branches. He's moving to high-volume branch, will be working 40-hour weeks, and we're both relieved to have a TINY bit of financial wiggle room. If you saw this status update, you also read that we are hoping to adopt a child within the next year or so.

I've been asked by a number of people if we are trying to adopt because we (or I) can't have children. NO, that is not the answer. I've been asked why we don't just have our own, if we "SERIOUSLY" think we want to handle the system or the wait time. I've been asked a lot of questions about why we might go through this process instead of trying to get pregnant. Let me clear this up.

Ben and I do WANT and PLAN TO have our own biological child(ren). That has always been the plan. What has also always been the plan is to adopt a child as well. Over the past five years when he and I have talked about our lives, our futures, our family... an adoption has always been on the table. Why? Because there are thousands of children in the state of Missouri that need loving, happy homes and we feel like we could provide that for them.

We are early in the process. We filed an application with the local Children's Division office last week - we mailed it on February 5th. On February 10th we received a call from Healthy Families, which is a division of Cornerstones of Care, asking us for a bit more information before they sent us the steps to take to set up our initial home visit/interview. It's a small step, but we're headed in the right direction. Ahead of us are many interviews, medical exams, background checks, reference checks, and almost 50 hours of training sessions before we can even be licensed to foster - a step you must take to adopt through the state.

I must say, I wasn't sure if I was going to share this journey with everyone. We initially didn't know if we would tell anyone until things were more serious down the road. In the end, I decided that I would regret it if I didn't document these events. Buckle up for the ride; we're trying to be parents!

 

An Anniversary of Sorts:

February 10th is a strange day for me. It's one of those anniversaries that you're not sure if you should actually commemorate or not. Two years ago today, I was in a valley of my skin problem fight. My hair was about 60% gone, and I was struggling to understand why this was happening and what I could do about it.

Two years ago today, I went to a Sports Clips and had the woman who was working shave the rest of my hair off. Two years ago, I became bald.

It has been a long two years. Growing my hair out has been a tedious, and sometimes embarrassing process. It's been a process of learning that femininity isn't about how long your hair is. It has been a process of learning to love myself despite my diseases. It has been a process of learning to allow others to hold me up when I couldn't do it myself.

Two years ago today, my life changed dramatically, but it was for the better. We've come a long way.