We are control freaks.
Of course I've always known on some level. But I really am a control freak. Ryan too.
This little diva has opened our eyes to that!
She is the messiest eater I have ever met! Her things are everywhere, although we can tell for her it is some level or organization and order. Ryan keeps putting her things back where he thinks they should be, and then she moves them again within 22 seconds. She has decided that most of her things should be on the chair in our hotel room. We have already transferred all of her clothes to the carry-on suitcase so that it is her own.
Every day she is opening up more and more, and talking more and more. This also means more meltdowns :)
She LOVES her daddy!! Our new room has two double beds so we cannot all fit in the same bed. For the last two nights she has hopped into bed with daddy without even giving a second glance at me. When we go out and do all of our "adoption obligations" she totally clams up, and only wants her daddy.
This morning we are waiting for daddy to come back from the gym so we can go to the beach, and she keeps faking a cough. I cleared my throat earlier, so now every three minutes she's making a gagging sound, then just giggles. The more she opens up, the more character we see!! She's kind of a funny girl!
Friday, January 25, 2013
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Diva
So much has happened in the last few days. We moved places so we are a bit more comfortable and there is a lot more for E to do here. We have gotten through most of the "bonding process" and our papers should be submitted hopefully today or tomorrow. The adoption process has gone as smooth as we could've asked for.
E is opening up more and more each day. Her poor little heart is hurting, and she's having a hard time processing it all. We have discovered, however, that she is a total diva. While she isn't speaking a whole lot, she has no problem shaking her head NO.
She is in disbelief that this is her clothing. Her shoes. Her toys. She keeps asking "¿Es de miyo?"
She lines her shoes up along the wall and keeps all her small toys in the shoe box from the new shoes we bought her. She will not leave without her mochila (backpack), and she tries to fit as much in there as possible.
We're just taking it day by day, hour by hour :)
E is opening up more and more each day. Her poor little heart is hurting, and she's having a hard time processing it all. We have discovered, however, that she is a total diva. While she isn't speaking a whole lot, she has no problem shaking her head NO.
She is in disbelief that this is her clothing. Her shoes. Her toys. She keeps asking "¿Es de miyo?"
She lines her shoes up along the wall and keeps all her small toys in the shoe box from the new shoes we bought her. She will not leave without her mochila (backpack), and she tries to fit as much in there as possible.
We're just taking it day by day, hour by hour :)
Monday, January 21, 2013
Nuestra Pequeña Niña
We started the day with a nice breakfast at Casa Alianza. Our in-country coordinator (ICC) said she would pick us up at 10:00 a.m., and then we would head over to the Technical Adoptions Unit (TAU) to pick up the social worker, and then finally to Casa Hogar (E's orphanage). When she didn't show up at 10:00 I chalked it up to culture. At ten after I started getting antsy. At 10:15 I started grilling Ryan, making sure I had heard right when she said 10:00 a.m. At 10:20 I gave her a call just to confirm we were still on for "10:00 a.m.". She said, "Yes of course, I will be there in 20 minutes."
When she finally arrived, she was excited and in a good mood. She told us that she could hardly sleep last night because she is so excited for us! We stopped at the TAU to pick up the social worker and went right to the orphanage. Our ICC said that initially we will have some formalities and speak with care givers about E's likes/dislikes, routines and such. However, as we walked around the corner, she also came walking through the front door!
It was a lot for all of us all at once.
She is very shy. And very much attached to her "tía".
We spent a couple hours with her at the orphanage. She continued to be very shy. When the "tía" took out her photo album that we sent a few months ago, you could tell that she was familiar with it. They told us that they have been working very hard with her and telling her that her mamita and papita were coming.
It took everything in me not to pick her up and just squeeze and kiss her like crazy. She was also a bit less shy with Ryan than she was with me, so I really would've scared the pants off her. She let Ryan hold her, and she sat on his lap and let me play ball with her.
Later we took her to the plaza, which is located next door to the orphanage. We were accompanied by our ICC, the TAU social worker, and "tía". Ryan bought lunch for everyone, and E sat on my lap and let me feed her. By now, any time Ryan walked away she was straining her neck to find him. She didn't talk much the entire day. I asked several times if she talked, and they assured us that she did indeed.
After lunch the TAU gal said that she and our ICC were leaving, but she thought it would be a good idea to bring E to Casa Alianza, and that "tía" would accompany us. We were trilled. Once in our room, "tía" was talking to E about all her things that we brought for her. She pulled out all of the books and wanted to sit down and read right away! She also pulled out every single piece of clothing to take a closer look. Then we went for a walk to a nearby park. She did not want to play necessarily, but she wanted to take daddy by the hand and lead him all over the park.
"Tía" thought the bonding was going so well, she decided to leave her with us and go back to the orphanage. We don't know what that means necessarily, but she's here! She's with us! She's snoozing her little head off right next to me!!!
When she finally arrived, she was excited and in a good mood. She told us that she could hardly sleep last night because she is so excited for us! We stopped at the TAU to pick up the social worker and went right to the orphanage. Our ICC said that initially we will have some formalities and speak with care givers about E's likes/dislikes, routines and such. However, as we walked around the corner, she also came walking through the front door!
It was a lot for all of us all at once.
She is very shy. And very much attached to her "tía".
We spent a couple hours with her at the orphanage. She continued to be very shy. When the "tía" took out her photo album that we sent a few months ago, you could tell that she was familiar with it. They told us that they have been working very hard with her and telling her that her mamita and papita were coming.
It took everything in me not to pick her up and just squeeze and kiss her like crazy. She was also a bit less shy with Ryan than she was with me, so I really would've scared the pants off her. She let Ryan hold her, and she sat on his lap and let me play ball with her.
Later we took her to the plaza, which is located next door to the orphanage. We were accompanied by our ICC, the TAU social worker, and "tía". Ryan bought lunch for everyone, and E sat on my lap and let me feed her. By now, any time Ryan walked away she was straining her neck to find him. She didn't talk much the entire day. I asked several times if she talked, and they assured us that she did indeed.
After lunch the TAU gal said that she and our ICC were leaving, but she thought it would be a good idea to bring E to Casa Alianza, and that "tía" would accompany us. We were trilled. Once in our room, "tía" was talking to E about all her things that we brought for her. She pulled out all of the books and wanted to sit down and read right away! She also pulled out every single piece of clothing to take a closer look. Then we went for a walk to a nearby park. She did not want to play necessarily, but she wanted to take daddy by the hand and lead him all over the park.
"Tía" thought the bonding was going so well, she decided to leave her with us and go back to the orphanage. We don't know what that means necessarily, but she's here! She's with us! She's snoozing her little head off right next to me!!!
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Our Adventure Begins
Saturday we had a long travel day, although our trip was pretty smooth. Everything was on time, and we didn't have any issues. On our last leg in Miami we met a couple who was also adopting and they were on their way to Colombia to also their daughter!! Such a crazy coincidence! Our stories are different, but somehow so much alike. We had a great conversation with them, and were very glad we got to also share in their excitement right before meeting their daughter.
We arrived at Hostal Murali late Friday evening, and didn't do much but get changed and crashed. The place was not what we expected, but we decided on the flight from Miami to Guayaquil that we are going into this as an adventure without any expectations. Therefore I was not able to verbalize my disappointed (although I suppose saying it here is somewhat the same??? Just don't tell Ryan).
Sunday morning we met with Maritza, our in-country coordinator and lawyer. She gave us a drive-by tour of the city, and then brought us to Casa Alianza, which is where we will stay this week. We are hoping to spend the time while we're hear researching about other homes that we may be able to rent, maybe along the beach!! As I said, it's an adventure, and we are going to take in every single experience!!
We stopped at the shopping mall to purchase cellular minutes for the phone we will be using in-country and pick up snacks for our room. We learned earlier that E's orphanage is RIGHT NEXT DOOR to the mall. It was very hard not to run over, jump the giant wall and go searching for her! I kept saying to Ryan, "She's right over there. She's just right over that wall."
Soon, very soon.
We arrived at Hostal Murali late Friday evening, and didn't do much but get changed and crashed. The place was not what we expected, but we decided on the flight from Miami to Guayaquil that we are going into this as an adventure without any expectations. Therefore I was not able to verbalize my disappointed (although I suppose saying it here is somewhat the same??? Just don't tell Ryan).
Sunday morning we met with Maritza, our in-country coordinator and lawyer. She gave us a drive-by tour of the city, and then brought us to Casa Alianza, which is where we will stay this week. We are hoping to spend the time while we're hear researching about other homes that we may be able to rent, maybe along the beach!! As I said, it's an adventure, and we are going to take in every single experience!!
We stopped at the shopping mall to purchase cellular minutes for the phone we will be using in-country and pick up snacks for our room. We learned earlier that E's orphanage is RIGHT NEXT DOOR to the mall. It was very hard not to run over, jump the giant wall and go searching for her! I kept saying to Ryan, "She's right over there. She's just right over that wall."
Soon, very soon.
We're On Our Way!
We are finally on our way!We are going to get our little girl!
We're going to get her!
No more checking my email 10,000 times a day to see if my agency has any updates.
No more wondering where my daughter is.
No more spending hours and hours on paperwork.
No. More.
We're coming baby girl. Hold on tight, we're coming!
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
¡Vamos a Ecuador!
Our bags are packed (almost) and this Saturday we're headed to Ecuador to finally meet our daughter!! We learned last week Friday that we could begin our bonding period on Monday, January 21st, and they were wondering if we could get flights there for the weekend. We had absolutely no hesitation.
We have spent the last week getting ourselves organized and getting the house in order. It's incredibly difficult to plan to be gone for 2 months!!! Even small things like getting all your tax documents together, because you won't be returning until March. I hope that I've not forgotten anything. Ryan will be returning mid-February, but so many of the small things around the house are things that I do, and he won't even think of them.
We will fly in late evening Saturday, meet with our coordinator Sunday morning and hopefully plan out the week. On Monday, we can go to the orphanage to meet E.
IT
IS
HAPPENING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We have spent the last week getting ourselves organized and getting the house in order. It's incredibly difficult to plan to be gone for 2 months!!! Even small things like getting all your tax documents together, because you won't be returning until March. I hope that I've not forgotten anything. Ryan will be returning mid-February, but so many of the small things around the house are things that I do, and he won't even think of them.
We will fly in late evening Saturday, meet with our coordinator Sunday morning and hopefully plan out the week. On Monday, we can go to the orphanage to meet E.
IT
IS
HAPPENING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Packer Pool Fundraiser!!
UPDATE:
Congratulations Winners: Shelli, Pam, Karissa, Tom, Silas, Bob, Don and Shannon!
Thank you so much for your participation!
Way to go Pack!
The next play-off game is Saturday, January 12th. We are doing a 100 Square Football Pool in hopes to raise a few extra dollars before we leave for Ecuador.
What you need to know:
Congratulations Winners: Shelli, Pam, Karissa, Tom, Silas, Bob, Don and Shannon!
Thank you so much for your participation!
Way to go Pack!
The next play-off game is Saturday, January 12th. We are doing a 100 Square Football Pool in hopes to raise a few extra dollars before we leave for Ecuador.
What you need to know:
- Cost is $10 per square
- Once the square is full, we will draw random numbers
- Once all 100 squares are filled, I will post the grid here and on FB so that you can see your numbers (blogger wouldn't let me upload photos, sorry!)
- Packers are on the horizontal axis
- 49ers on the vertical axis
- Payout will be $100 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarter, and $200 for final score
- 100 square board filled, so we started a 50 square grid
- Payout will be $50 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarter, and $100 for final score
- You can make a tax deductible donation by writing a check to: LifeSong for Orphans, and including Scheel #2448 Adoption in the memo of your check.
- Leave a wish on our 100 Buenos Deseos (100 Good Wishes) page.
- Make a donation through Paypal via the donate button along the right side of the blog.
Go Pack Go!!
Saturday, January 5, 2013
I-800 Approval
We have finally received I-800 Approval!!!!!
There is still one more step before we can actually travel -- we need to wait to receive the Article 5 Letter from the Consulate in Ecuador. But I have a feeling the next few weeks or going to be incredibly hectic and before we know it, we'll be on a plane to sunny Ecuador!
We have so much to do, and now I'm afraid we'll have such little time to do it!! It's a good thing I work so good under pressure. Please bear with me over the next few weeks, I might be on hyper-sensitive freak-out mode. But it'll surely be with a smile!!!
There is still one more step before we can actually travel -- we need to wait to receive the Article 5 Letter from the Consulate in Ecuador. But I have a feeling the next few weeks or going to be incredibly hectic and before we know it, we'll be on a plane to sunny Ecuador!
We have so much to do, and now I'm afraid we'll have such little time to do it!! It's a good thing I work so good under pressure. Please bear with me over the next few weeks, I might be on hyper-sensitive freak-out mode. But it'll surely be with a smile!!!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Another Day, Another Year
Welcome, 2013.
Last night Ryan and I rung in the New Year with good friends, good food, and good conversation. We're looking forward to good things happening this year. We've been so bummed that we haven't gone to Ecuador yet, but last night I got to thinking ... 2012 couldn't possibly have been the worst and the best year for us, right??
So maybe that's why we haven't traveled yet. But now that it's officially 2013, let's get a move on people! WE ARE READY!!!
Looking over past blog posts regarding the New Year, it's interesting to see what I had to say (or lack thereof):
Some of you have asked about end of year giving towards our adoption fund. We can definitely still send tax-deductible checks into LifeSong. Just date your check for 12/31/2012, make it payable to LifeSong for Orphans, and write Scheel/#2448 in the memo. You can mail directly to them (PO Box 40, Gridley, IL 61744), or you can mail it to us, and we can send them in for you (1512 Fairlawn Avenue, N. Fond du Lac, WI 54937). Thank you so, so much for your support.
At this point, we've paid all of our fees, except the 2nd in-country fee of $5,000. This fee is required before they allow us to travel and begin our in-country process. A few months ago I added a tab to log all of our Adoption Expenses. Feel free to take a look, and prepare to have your mind blown. It's absolutely ridiculous, and sometimes hurts to look at.
In addition to the Adoption Expenses tab, we also added an Adoption Timeline page so that you can follow along. Soon, hopefully very soon, we will be adding I-800 Approval, Article 5 letter, and Take-Off for Ecuador!!!
Many blessings to you in 2013!
Last night Ryan and I rung in the New Year with good friends, good food, and good conversation. We're looking forward to good things happening this year. We've been so bummed that we haven't gone to Ecuador yet, but last night I got to thinking ... 2012 couldn't possibly have been the worst and the best year for us, right??
So maybe that's why we haven't traveled yet. But now that it's officially 2013, let's get a move on people! WE ARE READY!!!
Looking over past blog posts regarding the New Year, it's interesting to see what I had to say (or lack thereof):
- 2009
- For 2010, I didn't even bother writing a New Year's post. The closest thing was this post in February.
- 2011 was even worse -- I didn't post until April!
- The beginning of 2012 was filled with mixed emotions. We learned that several parents had already lost their children in Kyrgyztan and we were absolutely devastated. We also had a small glimpse of hope that the remaining children would be coming home soon. Such naivete.
Some of you have asked about end of year giving towards our adoption fund. We can definitely still send tax-deductible checks into LifeSong. Just date your check for 12/31/2012, make it payable to LifeSong for Orphans, and write Scheel/#2448 in the memo. You can mail directly to them (PO Box 40, Gridley, IL 61744), or you can mail it to us, and we can send them in for you (1512 Fairlawn Avenue, N. Fond du Lac, WI 54937). Thank you so, so much for your support.
At this point, we've paid all of our fees, except the 2nd in-country fee of $5,000. This fee is required before they allow us to travel and begin our in-country process. A few months ago I added a tab to log all of our Adoption Expenses. Feel free to take a look, and prepare to have your mind blown. It's absolutely ridiculous, and sometimes hurts to look at.
In addition to the Adoption Expenses tab, we also added an Adoption Timeline page so that you can follow along. Soon, hopefully very soon, we will be adding I-800 Approval, Article 5 letter, and Take-Off for Ecuador!!!
Many blessings to you in 2013!
Sunday, December 16, 2012
E's 4th Birthday
Today is E's 4th birthday. While she has not been in the orphanage since birth, she has spent all 4 of her precious birthdays there. Can you imagine spending your birthday in an orphanage? I'm comforted (in an extremely small way) by the fact that she doesn't know much outside of the world in which she lives in. She doesn't realize what she's missing (hopefully). Her heart (God willing) isn't aching for a mommy and daddy to wake her up on the morning of her birthday with hugs and kisses.
Will they remember it's her birthday? Will they celebrate with the other children? We can only hope that someone there remembers it's her special day, and that today she is made to feel extraordinary -- because of course she is.
Thank you so much to everyone for reaching out to us on her birthday. In lieu of any birthday gifts, please consider leaving a wish for her: 100 Buenos Deseos
Her wishes will help fund her plane ticket HOME!!
The days continue to go by, and we are still not with our little girl. Today makes it that much harder for us. We do have some good news though ...
Our I-800 application should have finally gone out in the mail on Thursday. Yippee!
If everything goes as planned (ha!) we should receive approval in 2-3 weeks. Not sure how the holidays will play into that, but we're hoping it's not an issue. After receiving I-800 approval, USCIS will send notice to the Consulate in Ecuador. In about 10ish days, the Consulate will issue the Article 5 Letter, which is what we need to be able to travel and officially begin our in-country process. That should put us at about mid-January, which is a fine time for us to leave this chilly climate, and head on down to hot Ecuador!
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