Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Who can wait for bathing suits?
I love you so much Daniel. Scotty cannot wait to build sand castles with you. We never never stop thinking about you and wishing you here. I hope someone gave you more than a million kisses on your birthday, and I promise that we will celebrate your amazing miracle of a life again when you are home forever. I love you so much.Friday, June 27, 2008
2 New Readers This Year
J and G are readers this summer! That is such a cool developmental milestone...a whole new world.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
The Beach!
We are spending a week in my favorite place, and it has been wonderful. All of my siblings (except for amazing A who we are missing so much) are here with their children as well as some of my cousins and their children. The ocean is clear, and we have delighted, as always, in the beauty here. Yesterday, we had a birthday party for Daniel. All of the cousins, aunts, uncles and Scotty decorated a onesie for him. I will post pictures when I can. God bless Daniel, and we hope to bring him here soon to dip his little toes in the water and to bask in all the love this family has to offer.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Thankful Day 139...A Real Challenge
1) water to drink from a sink 2) Wrightsville Beach 3) white sand 4) the funny voices Scotty uses for his different toys 5) a surprise smile from a stranger 6) electricity 7) free boxes 8) sunshine through a thick canopy of leaves
The following cliches:
9) snug as a bug in a rug 10) sharp as a tack 11) cutie patuty 12) ignorance is bliss 13) as smooth as a baby's bottom
The following nicknames given to Scotty:
14) snuggle bug 15) noodle 16) butter bean 17) sugar bear 18) bear bear 19) bo bo 20) love bug 21) bug 22) funny bean 23) squee bunks (my mom's name for him) 24) noodle bear (don't ask me why)
The following nick-names for other family members:
25) meemster 26) pah pah 27) pop pop 28) grammy 29) granny 30) jo bo 31) boo 32) A 33) "Ig Bim"
These funny things:
34) C saying "show me the monies" when he wanted to see Penny, the dog. 35) J calling a delicious chocolate dessert "Happy Thanksgiving" as it has been called ever since.
36) turquoise 37) John Stewart 38) cauliflower 39) iridescent dragonflies 40) chaos 41) calm after chaos 42) imagination 43) (shame) Costco 44) my old friends who I have not seen for a long time 45) the Internet 46) G's ears 47) Willis who took care of Scotty when I went back to work 48) the edge of Folly Beach by the lighthouse 49) my Gran 50) my Granny 51) my Pop 52) my Uncle Henry 53) my Grandaddy 54) opals 55) fog 56) police 57) social workers 58) teachers in general 59) my teachers 60) Scotty's teachers 70) Peter Tosh 71) Paul Simon 72) Beethoven 73) Mozart 74) Van Gogh 75) kangaroos 76) grass 77) curly hair 78) little hands 79) little toes 80) movies at Harris Teeter 81) parks 82) almonds 83) Feta cheese 84) Diet Coke (yuck, I know, it is an addiction) 85) glasses 86) windows 87) the way paint changes a room 88) the day Scotty and I painted an ocean and a sailboat on his wall 89) today 90) yesterday 91) tomorrow
Movies:
92) The Sound of Music 93) A Christmas Story 94) Christmas Vacation 95) Forrest Gump 96) The Matrix 97) Goonies
98) silk 99) satin 100) cotton
Children's Books:
101) If You Give a Mouse a Cookie 102) If You Give a Pig a Pancake 103) Horton Hatches the Egg 104) Where the Wild Things Are (of course) 105) How Does a Dinosaur Say Goodnight? 106) all Curious George 107) all Shell Silverstein 109) Goodnight Moon 110) Stellaluna
111) Are you My Mother?
(older)
112) Anne of Green Gables (series) 113) The Giver 114) The Giving Tree 115) Tuck Everlasting 116) Little House Books
117) eyelashes 118) Santa Claus 119) moonbeams 120) onomatopoeia 121) hats 122) flip flops 123) polar bears 124) flamingos 125) light up shoes (Scotty loves them) 126) glow sticks 127) hoolahoops 128) HGTV 129) stars 130) courage 131) hope 132) love 133) faith 134) truth 135) strength 136) friends 137) family 138) democracy 139) Daniel's Life Mother
Daniel is going to be 1 this Wednesday. I can't bring myself to hope that we will hold him by then, but I do pray that we will. I know that someone else is longing to hold him, too. I hope she will find peace, and I hope that we can honor her by bringing him home. I don't need to say how much I am baffled by this eternal wait to give this baby a home. I struggle to remain hopeful and to avoid bitterness. The time we have lost is small compared to the important developmental time Daniel has lost. Studies reveal that negative effects of institutionalization include psychological problems, delays and problems in physical development, and lower IQ. The extent of those negative effects is directly correlated to amount of time spent in institutionalized care. Why do people continue to try to justify this child's institutionalization? He has a home waiting and parents who want to give him everything good for his health and his development. We love him so much. I want to avoid bitterness towards the powers that are committing this injustice that harms my child, but how does one do that? Any advice would be appreciated.
Tonight is 139 (Over 4 and 1/2 months in the life of an innocent child) waiting for an I600 determination.
The following cliches:
9) snug as a bug in a rug 10) sharp as a tack 11) cutie patuty 12) ignorance is bliss 13) as smooth as a baby's bottom
The following nicknames given to Scotty:
14) snuggle bug 15) noodle 16) butter bean 17) sugar bear 18) bear bear 19) bo bo 20) love bug 21) bug 22) funny bean 23) squee bunks (my mom's name for him) 24) noodle bear (don't ask me why)
The following nick-names for other family members:
25) meemster 26) pah pah 27) pop pop 28) grammy 29) granny 30) jo bo 31) boo 32) A 33) "Ig Bim"
These funny things:
34) C saying "show me the monies" when he wanted to see Penny, the dog. 35) J calling a delicious chocolate dessert "Happy Thanksgiving" as it has been called ever since.
36) turquoise 37) John Stewart 38) cauliflower 39) iridescent dragonflies 40) chaos 41) calm after chaos 42) imagination 43) (shame) Costco 44) my old friends who I have not seen for a long time 45) the Internet 46) G's ears 47) Willis who took care of Scotty when I went back to work 48) the edge of Folly Beach by the lighthouse 49) my Gran 50) my Granny 51) my Pop 52) my Uncle Henry 53) my Grandaddy 54) opals 55) fog 56) police 57) social workers 58) teachers in general 59) my teachers 60) Scotty's teachers 70) Peter Tosh 71) Paul Simon 72) Beethoven 73) Mozart 74) Van Gogh 75) kangaroos 76) grass 77) curly hair 78) little hands 79) little toes 80) movies at Harris Teeter 81) parks 82) almonds 83) Feta cheese 84) Diet Coke (yuck, I know, it is an addiction) 85) glasses 86) windows 87) the way paint changes a room 88) the day Scotty and I painted an ocean and a sailboat on his wall 89) today 90) yesterday 91) tomorrow
Movies:
92) The Sound of Music 93) A Christmas Story 94) Christmas Vacation 95) Forrest Gump 96) The Matrix 97) Goonies
98) silk 99) satin 100) cotton
Children's Books:
101) If You Give a Mouse a Cookie 102) If You Give a Pig a Pancake 103) Horton Hatches the Egg 104) Where the Wild Things Are (of course) 105) How Does a Dinosaur Say Goodnight? 106) all Curious George 107) all Shell Silverstein 109) Goodnight Moon 110) Stellaluna
111) Are you My Mother?
(older)
112) Anne of Green Gables (series) 113) The Giver 114) The Giving Tree 115) Tuck Everlasting 116) Little House Books
117) eyelashes 118) Santa Claus 119) moonbeams 120) onomatopoeia 121) hats 122) flip flops 123) polar bears 124) flamingos 125) light up shoes (Scotty loves them) 126) glow sticks 127) hoolahoops 128) HGTV 129) stars 130) courage 131) hope 132) love 133) faith 134) truth 135) strength 136) friends 137) family 138) democracy 139) Daniel's Life Mother
Daniel is going to be 1 this Wednesday. I can't bring myself to hope that we will hold him by then, but I do pray that we will. I know that someone else is longing to hold him, too. I hope she will find peace, and I hope that we can honor her by bringing him home. I don't need to say how much I am baffled by this eternal wait to give this baby a home. I struggle to remain hopeful and to avoid bitterness. The time we have lost is small compared to the important developmental time Daniel has lost. Studies reveal that negative effects of institutionalization include psychological problems, delays and problems in physical development, and lower IQ. The extent of those negative effects is directly correlated to amount of time spent in institutionalized care. Why do people continue to try to justify this child's institutionalization? He has a home waiting and parents who want to give him everything good for his health and his development. We love him so much. I want to avoid bitterness towards the powers that are committing this injustice that harms my child, but how does one do that? Any advice would be appreciated.
Tonight is 139 (Over 4 and 1/2 months in the life of an innocent child) waiting for an I600 determination.
Friday, June 13, 2008
"O is for Ocean" and 1st Annual Preschool Graduation
The letter parade was fantastic, and today, Scotty graduated from preschool for the first time! He will graduate again next year since he misses the kindergarten cut-off by three days. Still, when they sang "We go together like shoo be doo be doo whap..." I laughed, and I cried when they signed "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Well, I am easy to cry. How many times do kids actually graduate these days? Wow. He is going to think this is an every year kind of thing. Meanwhile, my mom has been making the grandchild circuit: 1 1st annual preschool graduation, 1 kindergarten graduation, 1 middle school awards ceremony, 1 elementary school graduation, and tomorrow she is attending the beautiful dance recital where my precious nieces will wind up the season of ceremonies and performances. My mom is a great MiMi.
Here is the song (and one version I have long loved) the kids used to drag tears out of tens of preschool parents...
God Bless Daniel.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Thankful
I am thankful for another year with my students. What a great job I have! Every day I teach, I am exposed to new ideas and amazing people I would meet no where else. I have passionate colleagues, and creative, positive energy is what makes education happen. Plus, I LOVE BOOKS! Every person should be able to be a high school English teacher for a day; it is such a riot. (The summers are a pretty fantastic perk, too.)
Friday, June 6, 2008
So Sad Tonight
Tonight when I was putting Scott to bed, he wanted to know "who is taking care of Daniel?" I said that Daniel has people who love him to take care of him tonight. I have been crying ever since. I told Scotty that we take care of Daniel by loving him and getting ready to be his family, and Scotty said, "but why is it taking so long, mom?" I just don't know. I don't understand this at all. I cannot understand why this little baby has to stay in an orphanage when we have been waiting for over six months to give him a home. We have been waiting over 4 months for an I600 determination. I am so terrified about what this will all mean to him when he gets older, because if I cannot answer Scott's questions now, how will I be able to answer the much more difficult ones from Daniel later? I have truly exhausted my resources, and I am no farther than when this journey began to knowing one single fact about problems with his specific case and what is taking so many months to allow him to have a home. I have been in regular contact with my senators and congressman (and other people's senators and congressmen, etc.). What can I do now? I cannot explain to anyone who is not experiencing this how much I love him. He belongs with a family. God, please let this end.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Double Plus
123 days waiting for I600 determination. Our acknowledgement letter, February 1 read:
Dear Mr/Ms. [thegregs],
This office is in receipt of your Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative. Your petition and supporting evidence will be reviewed by USCIS to determine whether the child named qualifies as an orphan. In certain cases it may be concluded that an administrative field inquiry or a request for evidence is necessary to make that determination. Most determinations will be completed in 60 days.
You will be notified by mail as soon as this determination has been completed.
We have waited more than double the time that "most determinations will be completed". We have waited almost 80 days longer than the "average" stated in the notes from the ASP meeting last week (which happens to be the exact same average stated in a letter to David Price two months ago. Is the average number of days a stable number?). Are these (at least) 30 cases over 100 days included in this average? Can we please see a ratio of cases approved vs. cases denied to understand why our children are being relegated to institutionalized care? No, I do not believe that my child should be collateral damage to the larger cause. He will be a year old on the 25th of this month. This is NUTS. I am exhausted, and I am sad.
You will be notified by mail as soon as this determination has been completed.
We have waited more than double the time that "most determinations will be completed". We have waited almost 80 days longer than the "average" stated in the notes from the ASP meeting last week (which happens to be the exact same average stated in a letter to David Price two months ago. Is the average number of days a stable number?). Are these (at least) 30 cases over 100 days included in this average? Can we please see a ratio of cases approved vs. cases denied to understand why our children are being relegated to institutionalized care? No, I do not believe that my child should be collateral damage to the larger cause. He will be a year old on the 25th of this month. This is NUTS. I am exhausted, and I am sad.
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