Sunday, May 31, 2015

Matthew West Inspired Shirt

I LOVE the song, Do Something, by Matthew West.  I knew when we started out adoption that if we did a t-shirt fundraiser, I really wanted it to have something to do with that song. We will be taking orders through June 18th. I will place the big order and mail them out to each person who orders one. We hope to have the shirts in by July 1st.

Shirts are $20 + $5 for shipping for sizes S, M, L, XL  (2XL and 3XL are $22) and youth medium - XL  If you order more than one shirt only $5 is needed for the shipping for the whole order.

If you are a Great Lakes IL person, or a Saranac/Ionia/Lowell MI person you don't have to include shipping, I'll deliver them to you.

Payment can be made 3 ways:   (Great Lakes friends, I can come pick up the money from you)

1. Mail a Check to us. Just please remember to let us know sizes , how many you're ordering, and where we should send it.

3191A Meridian Ct
Great Lakes IL 60088

2. If you would rather use paypal that is fine also. The paypal email address to use is:

cmaescheid@gmail.com  Don't forget to include a note letting me know size, and where to send it.

3. You can also send the payment to our adoption fund account we have set up through Reece's Rainbow. That link is:

http://reecesrainbow.org/88194/sponsorscheid





Thursday, May 14, 2015

Home Study Is Goin On A Roadtrip

Our home study is written, and our placing agency, and home study agency feel that it says what it needs to say. So, now it's off to Springfield, IL to be approved by DCFS.  This can take about a month, but I've been hearing recently that it's been taking about two weeks. I'm hoping, and praying our's is the second of the two. As soon as our home study is approved, I can submit our I800a application and once we get that approval our dossier can be processed in Bulgaria. Luckily, while I'm waiting, our agency has told us to go ahead and send our dossier paperwork early to be translated while we are waiting on the I800a approval. This will help speed things up for things in Bulgaria.

I'll post as soon as I know the home study has been approved.

Friday, May 8, 2015

Much Needed Update

I don't even know where to start with this one, so I'm just going to go in order of events.

Last Friday, May 1st, we had our last home study meeting with our social worker. She has been so great to work with. If we ever do another adoption, I doubt the home study could possibly go as smoothly as it did with her.  She was just great!  She had already sent the rough draft to Madison's headquarters to be reviewed and they returned it to her on May 6th.  The very same day, she sent it off to our placing agency to review. We love Shelley with our placing agency. She is so quick to get back to us with any questions or concerns we have. She didn't disappoint here either. Shelley had our home study back to our home study agency the very same day. If things keep going like they are, I'm hoping that Madison, sends our home study to the State of IL for final approval next Monday.  Sometimes this part can take a while.  :( Up to a month, but I'm praying for 2 weeks max!!!!!

While we've been doing all of the home study paperwork, I've also been getting together our dossier paperwork that will need to go to Bulgaria. I am just waiting on our FBI appistile copy of our fingerprints and I will have everything we need for that. I'll then send off the I800a application and we will wait for that approval to come in. The second we get that, our dossier paperwork will shoot off across the ocean to Bulgaria. We hope to travel on trip 1 about 8 weeks later. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Once you travel for trip 1 and come back home, it usually takes 4-5 months to be invited back for trip 2 which is pick up trip. We are hoping, praying, that this all goes as fast as possible because we are running against a time clock here.

We found out this week that we will pcs outta here, (yayyyyy for the end of recruiting duty) on Feb 1st 2016.  We really need to be done with trip 2 before Feb 1st. For so many reasons we need this to happen. Here are a few of those:

  1. ticket prices from Hawaii to Bulgaria are over DOUBLE the price
  2. Nate doesn't want to check into a new squadron just to have to ask for an extended amount of time off.
  3. we will have to find a new home study agency and redo a bunch of paperwork and resend it to Bulgaria to have translated and processed if we have to move before Teddy comes home. What a MESS that will be. Not to even mention the added cost to the adoption.
  4. It will be so much easier for Grandparents to come to Chicago, IL or the grandkids and grand-pups to go to Grandparents than it will be if we have to move to Hawaii before trip 2
  5. PCS'ing in the middle of an adoption......ummmmm....no, thanks, but no
  6. my Sanity, I think it'll be gone if this all plays out how we fear it may.
So, please, please, keep praying with us that things keep going smoothly like they are. We are so excited for him to come home!!!!! 

****As soon as our home study goes to Springfield, IL to be looked over and approved I'll post an updated blog post so you all can be praying with us.