2012-11-04
Wow time flies!
It is amazing to me when I read the previous post on my blog of how much my life has changed in the last year and a half.
Even the info has to change.
I am now a mom of three! Yes not just two adopted but also one biological.
We ended up adopting Alida who is now 7 and Elias who is 5. When we came home from Ukraine we found out that I was 9 weeks pregnant with Mikah who is now 8 months old.
Crazy! Yes that is only the first name:) That is also the reason the blogging stopped. It has been the most intense and one of the hardest years of my life. I honestly haven't had words to describe the stuff that I have been through. You who know me on facebook has gotten a small glimpse.
The fact that I now will resurface means that life is finally getting easier. We have figured out a little bit more what it means to be parents and how to juggle work and home.We are still on a pretty steep learning curve and I am very curious on how other mothers deal with work vs family, mother vs wife, 8 months vs 8 years, boys vs girls and so on. I guess you will get to read here how I deal with life's different challenges.
More to come soon!
Blessings,
Daniela
2011-04-17
Looks like we are on track!
Hi!
We got an email today that said that the rumor is that the SDA( state dep of adoption) is shutting down on June 14 so if everything goes according to plan we should be good. Our papers are supposed to be reviewed on Thursday so please help us pray that we will have favor with whoever does it. And that it will be a sped up process if anything.
I will let you know as soon as I know anything new!
Hope you have a blessed day:)
D
Ps did you see on fb my new kidfriendly car that we bought. We thought it might not be a good idea to let the kids ride in the back of my pickup with the dogs;)
We got an email today that said that the rumor is that the SDA( state dep of adoption) is shutting down on June 14 so if everything goes according to plan we should be good. Our papers are supposed to be reviewed on Thursday so please help us pray that we will have favor with whoever does it. And that it will be a sped up process if anything.
I will let you know as soon as I know anything new!
Hope you have a blessed day:)
D
Ps did you see on fb my new kidfriendly car that we bought. We thought it might not be a good idea to let the kids ride in the back of my pickup with the dogs;)
2011-04-13
A roadbump!
Hi my friends!
I am pasting part of an email that we got from our facilitator the other day. Don't know if it really is bad news or not but God is bigger than the Ukrainian government and our kids are in his hands so we are not to worried but please pray that it won't slow our process down. Our little ones have been in their orphanage long enough already and we want them to be able to come home as soon as possible.
Thanks for standing with us! Daniela
The following is an update from the U.S. State department’s website regarding changes in Ukraine. I have mentioned this change previously, but it was precipitated by some organizational structuring that happened within the Ukraine government back months ago. Basically the ministry under which the SDA existed – ceased to exist. Theoretically leaving the SDA reporting to no one. They were kind of in “no mans” land. Finally, on april 8th, the President signed a decree placing them under the Ministry for Social Policy. As the statement below mentions, this won’t be effective until it is “published” which should be any day now. So, for all intents and purposes, in my world – it is a done deal. They are moving. So, what does that mean for families in the process of adoption? Well, we simply don’t know. Once it is “published”, the SDA will begin to look at how they are going to handle this change. We don’t know if it will affect dossiers already filed, dossiers scheduled to be filed, and for sure don’t know what will happen in the next couple of months for people who don’t have their dossier in the hands of the SDA. WHAT THIS DOES NOT MEAN --- it does NOT mean adoptions are shut down. This is not a moratorium. It is simply a restructuring of the internal departments. So policies and procedures will most likely change – but then again might not. What we EXPECT will happen is that they will take some time to get “reorganized” so there may be a delay in filing a dossier, but we don’t know when that will begin or who it will affect. Because, again, technically it isn’t official until it has been posted. But we are expecting the posting any day. WHAT THIS DOES MEAN – don’t stop anything you are doing. We should continue preparing dossiers for filing as we have before – because there may be NO changes, or very little changes. I kind of think of this like “holiday” time. Things don’t stop….they just slow down a bit. For the family in Texas whose dossier is being filed this week, I will know on Wednesday whether the SDA accepted the dossier, but still won’t know if the internal processing time will change. For the family in Colorado whose dossier is slotted for filing later in April, we don’t know yet what will happen to those filing dates. For the rest of you still preparing dossiers, keep going! As a note of encouragement….when I visited Ukraine last year, the facilitator I was with got a frantic phone call from a family that was in country. Some approval was still not done and they didn’t have a court date yet. To them the news was just horrible. When the facilitator got off the phone I asked what was wrong. She told me, and my response was, “Oh, that is such horrible news.” The facilitator said, “No, it is not bad news. BAD news is when you are told you cannot adopt the child you love. Everything else is just a roadbump!” So, don’t fret. This isn’t BAD news! It’s just a speed bump!!!
I am pasting part of an email that we got from our facilitator the other day. Don't know if it really is bad news or not but God is bigger than the Ukrainian government and our kids are in his hands so we are not to worried but please pray that it won't slow our process down. Our little ones have been in their orphanage long enough already and we want them to be able to come home as soon as possible.
Thanks for standing with us! Daniela
The following is an update from the U.S. State department’s website regarding changes in Ukraine. I have mentioned this change previously, but it was precipitated by some organizational structuring that happened within the Ukraine government back months ago. Basically the ministry under which the SDA existed – ceased to exist. Theoretically leaving the SDA reporting to no one. They were kind of in “no mans” land. Finally, on april 8th, the President signed a decree placing them under the Ministry for Social Policy. As the statement below mentions, this won’t be effective until it is “published” which should be any day now. So, for all intents and purposes, in my world – it is a done deal. They are moving. So, what does that mean for families in the process of adoption? Well, we simply don’t know. Once it is “published”, the SDA will begin to look at how they are going to handle this change. We don’t know if it will affect dossiers already filed, dossiers scheduled to be filed, and for sure don’t know what will happen in the next couple of months for people who don’t have their dossier in the hands of the SDA. WHAT THIS DOES NOT MEAN --- it does NOT mean adoptions are shut down. This is not a moratorium. It is simply a restructuring of the internal departments. So policies and procedures will most likely change – but then again might not. What we EXPECT will happen is that they will take some time to get “reorganized” so there may be a delay in filing a dossier, but we don’t know when that will begin or who it will affect. Because, again, technically it isn’t official until it has been posted. But we are expecting the posting any day. WHAT THIS DOES MEAN – don’t stop anything you are doing. We should continue preparing dossiers for filing as we have before – because there may be NO changes, or very little changes. I kind of think of this like “holiday” time. Things don’t stop….they just slow down a bit. For the family in Texas whose dossier is being filed this week, I will know on Wednesday whether the SDA accepted the dossier, but still won’t know if the internal processing time will change. For the family in Colorado whose dossier is slotted for filing later in April, we don’t know yet what will happen to those filing dates. For the rest of you still preparing dossiers, keep going! As a note of encouragement….when I visited Ukraine last year, the facilitator I was with got a frantic phone call from a family that was in country. Some approval was still not done and they didn’t have a court date yet. To them the news was just horrible. When the facilitator got off the phone I asked what was wrong. She told me, and my response was, “Oh, that is such horrible news.” The facilitator said, “No, it is not bad news. BAD news is when you are told you cannot adopt the child you love. Everything else is just a roadbump!” So, don’t fret. This isn’t BAD news! It’s just a speed bump!!!
2011-03-06
A trailer load of stuff
Two days ago I got a text from a friend who asked me if I wanted a dresser for our garage sale.I said, SURE! We'll take almost anything that we think we can sell to make a couple of dollars to help bring home our kids. Yesterday she sent me another text asking if we wanted a vanity and an entertainment center too. Again I said SURE we'll take it. So after church today, to which we had brought our little trailer, we went over to this girls house. We left there with the trailer and the car packed with stuff that we can sell. AWESOME! What a blessing!
That is just one of the stories of how God is blessing us at the moment. A couple of weeks ago I lost one of my clients and was telling God that this was going to make me loose some money( like he didn't know already;) So one day last week I prayed about it and that same afternoon one of my old students called and wanted to start up with her lessons for the season. I got off the phone quite humble knowing that God knows what he is doing and he will provide income enough for us.
Since you last heard from me we have also done another ad0ption class. It was interesting and gave us some more food for thought but maybe not as good as the last one. Mostly because it was geared more towards foster parenting. The great thing was that we only had to go to Ignacio to take it which is a 30 min drive.
One thing that we did decide from what we learned that day is that we are going to make our kiddos room as ready as possible. We will be painting it and get some beds and other neutral stuff. Our thoughts are that we will bring pictures of their room so that when they come home they have seen it before. I am also going to try to find stuffed animals that resembles our pets so that they can be introduced even before they meet in person.
All just little details but makes it more real for us to prepare.
Paperwork wise we are doing fine. Just need some redone and some collected. But soon we should be able to send them off to the next place.
It is coming closer which is awesome but still a little scary. A couple of prayer requests are that we still need to sell Scotts motorcycle, that we will have favour with the people we meet in Ukranie, that we will know who are kids are when we see them and that they will feel good about us and that the rest of the paperwork will go smooth.
Thanks for being our friends!
D
That is just one of the stories of how God is blessing us at the moment. A couple of weeks ago I lost one of my clients and was telling God that this was going to make me loose some money( like he didn't know already;) So one day last week I prayed about it and that same afternoon one of my old students called and wanted to start up with her lessons for the season. I got off the phone quite humble knowing that God knows what he is doing and he will provide income enough for us.
Since you last heard from me we have also done another ad0ption class. It was interesting and gave us some more food for thought but maybe not as good as the last one. Mostly because it was geared more towards foster parenting. The great thing was that we only had to go to Ignacio to take it which is a 30 min drive.
One thing that we did decide from what we learned that day is that we are going to make our kiddos room as ready as possible. We will be painting it and get some beds and other neutral stuff. Our thoughts are that we will bring pictures of their room so that when they come home they have seen it before. I am also going to try to find stuffed animals that resembles our pets so that they can be introduced even before they meet in person.
All just little details but makes it more real for us to prepare.
Paperwork wise we are doing fine. Just need some redone and some collected. But soon we should be able to send them off to the next place.
It is coming closer which is awesome but still a little scary. A couple of prayer requests are that we still need to sell Scotts motorcycle, that we will have favour with the people we meet in Ukranie, that we will know who are kids are when we see them and that they will feel good about us and that the rest of the paperwork will go smooth.
Thanks for being our friends!
D
2011-01-23
A little update!
Since I last wrote here a couple of things have happened with our adoption. The biggest thing was our miracle with the IRS. If you want to read the story click on last blogs comment from Scott.
We also spent a couple of hours on the phone earlier this the week with the lady in Dallas that is our helper in this process. We went through all the paperwork that we now have to do for the State Department of Adoption in Ukranie. It seemed a little overwelming at first but when we had gone throught it all it didn't seem as bad. Lots of paper to get hold of but hopefully it will all work out pretty fast.
The other big deal in my life is that the same day that we found out about the IRS I also found out that my grandpa Tyko had passed away in a heartattack. He was 87 and had had a heartattack before Christmas that he survived but which had left his heart hurting. So eventhough it was suspected it always comes with lots of sorrow and loss. For me it made me feel pretty vulnerable since I don't have my dad. And it made the distance to home feel greater. It makes me sad that I can't be with my family and I won't be able to be at the funeral. It is hard to grieve when it feels so unreal.
I did have an ok relationship with my grandpa. I was able to have an evening meal with him before I left Sweden last time. We had a good conversation and once again he showered me with his generosity. My grandpa was a very very generous man. He is my big role model when it comes to giving. Growing up he made sure we had everything we needed, candy and bikes, clothes and food especially when finances where tight for mom and dad.
Through the years he has brought us many laughter's and lots of joy. He was a great Santa when we where little.
Life wasn't always nice to him. He lost his wife, my grandma, when she was only 69, his son, my dad, when he was only 46 and his grandson, my cousin, when he was only 36. It gave grandpa lots of heartache that showed up in joint pain. It didn't stop him from helping the people around him. When I was home in October he was waiting for hip surgery and could barely walk and even less up and down stairs, but every night he took the time to slowly make his way to his neighbour two flights down so they could eat an eveningmeal together and watch a show on TV. Just so she didn't have to be alone:)
I am honored that he was the one who gave me away at my wedding. A great man in many ways!
Now he has joined the rest of our family in the heavenly choir and one day we will meet again!
Take care of your close ones and give somebody a call that you haven't talked to in a while, you never know if you have another chance.
Blessings,
D
We also spent a couple of hours on the phone earlier this the week with the lady in Dallas that is our helper in this process. We went through all the paperwork that we now have to do for the State Department of Adoption in Ukranie. It seemed a little overwelming at first but when we had gone throught it all it didn't seem as bad. Lots of paper to get hold of but hopefully it will all work out pretty fast.
The other big deal in my life is that the same day that we found out about the IRS I also found out that my grandpa Tyko had passed away in a heartattack. He was 87 and had had a heartattack before Christmas that he survived but which had left his heart hurting. So eventhough it was suspected it always comes with lots of sorrow and loss. For me it made me feel pretty vulnerable since I don't have my dad. And it made the distance to home feel greater. It makes me sad that I can't be with my family and I won't be able to be at the funeral. It is hard to grieve when it feels so unreal.
I did have an ok relationship with my grandpa. I was able to have an evening meal with him before I left Sweden last time. We had a good conversation and once again he showered me with his generosity. My grandpa was a very very generous man. He is my big role model when it comes to giving. Growing up he made sure we had everything we needed, candy and bikes, clothes and food especially when finances where tight for mom and dad.
Through the years he has brought us many laughter's and lots of joy. He was a great Santa when we where little.
Life wasn't always nice to him. He lost his wife, my grandma, when she was only 69, his son, my dad, when he was only 46 and his grandson, my cousin, when he was only 36. It gave grandpa lots of heartache that showed up in joint pain. It didn't stop him from helping the people around him. When I was home in October he was waiting for hip surgery and could barely walk and even less up and down stairs, but every night he took the time to slowly make his way to his neighbour two flights down so they could eat an eveningmeal together and watch a show on TV. Just so she didn't have to be alone:)
I am honored that he was the one who gave me away at my wedding. A great man in many ways!
Now he has joined the rest of our family in the heavenly choir and one day we will meet again!
Take care of your close ones and give somebody a call that you haven't talked to in a while, you never know if you have another chance.
Blessings,
D
2011-01-02
2011 is here!
Christmas came and went in a hurry. I was blessed to have my sister and 2 of her friends with me for 5 days and we spent the holidays with parts of Scott's family outside of Albuquerque. We had a great time.
4 days ago I went out to bring in a couple of our horses and slipped and fell on the new snow we where getting. Kinda hurt a little right away but nothing bad. So I thought. The longer the day went the weirder my hand felt. Not as much power to grip and grab stuff so I was wondering what I was going to feel like the next morning. My suspicion was right. I woke up and the pain I felt when I tried to use my left arm was BAD:( Went to the doctor and once more in my life my left biceps tendon had gotten hurt. They told me to keep my arm in a sling for three days.
I was not excited! And on top of that our weather turned bad so my horses needed extra attention to stay warm but it had to be done by someone else. Hard for me to just accept and trust that they where in good hands.
3 days of being still and letting Scott take care of me has been very hard but good. ( He does a great job:) I talked to one of my dear friends the day before I got hurt that earlier this fall broke her foot. She is like me a person that always is on her way to the next thing. Also very self sufficient. And she told me about her experience of needing help. Not knowing I would be in a similar situation just 2 days later I was feeling for her. But today I really feel for her. I also do think it is good for us busy bodies to have to sit for a while and have time to reflect on life and accept help from others.
So as you probably understand a lot of my thoughts has gone to my kids. How are they doing? What do they look like? How much and how is our life going to change when they get here? How is the process going to be in Ukraine? One day I felt really sad for the biological parents of our babies. What has been going on in their lives that they had to give up the rights to their kids? What has our kids been through before they come to us?
Lost of speculation that has led to more prayer. Cause no matter how much I speculate I won't know till later but I can always pray. And I pray that God will send his angels around them, that they will know that HE is their father and that they will experience his love this very moment.
We don't have any news at this point. Pretty soon we will have to start gathering all the papers all over again. Just tedious work but nothing hard.
Tomorrow I'll be going back to work and please pray that I will have no lingering pain from this accident.
Stay warm out there!
Blessings D
4 days ago I went out to bring in a couple of our horses and slipped and fell on the new snow we where getting. Kinda hurt a little right away but nothing bad. So I thought. The longer the day went the weirder my hand felt. Not as much power to grip and grab stuff so I was wondering what I was going to feel like the next morning. My suspicion was right. I woke up and the pain I felt when I tried to use my left arm was BAD:( Went to the doctor and once more in my life my left biceps tendon had gotten hurt. They told me to keep my arm in a sling for three days.
I was not excited! And on top of that our weather turned bad so my horses needed extra attention to stay warm but it had to be done by someone else. Hard for me to just accept and trust that they where in good hands.
3 days of being still and letting Scott take care of me has been very hard but good. ( He does a great job:) I talked to one of my dear friends the day before I got hurt that earlier this fall broke her foot. She is like me a person that always is on her way to the next thing. Also very self sufficient. And she told me about her experience of needing help. Not knowing I would be in a similar situation just 2 days later I was feeling for her. But today I really feel for her. I also do think it is good for us busy bodies to have to sit for a while and have time to reflect on life and accept help from others.
So as you probably understand a lot of my thoughts has gone to my kids. How are they doing? What do they look like? How much and how is our life going to change when they get here? How is the process going to be in Ukraine? One day I felt really sad for the biological parents of our babies. What has been going on in their lives that they had to give up the rights to their kids? What has our kids been through before they come to us?
Lost of speculation that has led to more prayer. Cause no matter how much I speculate I won't know till later but I can always pray. And I pray that God will send his angels around them, that they will know that HE is their father and that they will experience his love this very moment.
We don't have any news at this point. Pretty soon we will have to start gathering all the papers all over again. Just tedious work but nothing hard.
Tomorrow I'll be going back to work and please pray that I will have no lingering pain from this accident.
Stay warm out there!
Blessings D
2010-11-20
Another step on our journey!
Wow, amazing, huge, emotional, scary, concerned, excited, priviliged, thankful, thoughtful and the list can go on when it comes to our adoption.
Today we spent the morning in class in Denver at the adoptionagency which we have done our homestudy through. It was about developmental issues. What happens to a kid that doesn't get fed enough at a young age? And then all of a sudden have access to all this food. How are they going to cope with the language switch?Will they be able to go from Ukrainian to English and Swedish? How do you help them to improve their motor skills. What does cognitive learning mean? And a whole bunch of other topics. Very interesting and it gave us many new things to discuss, which we also did during our 6 hour drive home.
This morning made us feel a little more prepared for what we are in for. It gave a whole bunch of new thoughts and questions. But most of all I think it made us more excited about the journey we are on. The thoughts became more real and guesses turned into facts.
A feeling that came over me very strongly and that has been growing in me lately is that I feel so blessed that we are able to go through this. Feels like a privilge! I can't wait to get to go and pick those kiddos up.
Wishing all you americans a Happy Thanksgiving and to all you swedes I wish you an amazing Advent.
D
Today we spent the morning in class in Denver at the adoptionagency which we have done our homestudy through. It was about developmental issues. What happens to a kid that doesn't get fed enough at a young age? And then all of a sudden have access to all this food. How are they going to cope with the language switch?Will they be able to go from Ukrainian to English and Swedish? How do you help them to improve their motor skills. What does cognitive learning mean? And a whole bunch of other topics. Very interesting and it gave us many new things to discuss, which we also did during our 6 hour drive home.
This morning made us feel a little more prepared for what we are in for. It gave a whole bunch of new thoughts and questions. But most of all I think it made us more excited about the journey we are on. The thoughts became more real and guesses turned into facts.
A feeling that came over me very strongly and that has been growing in me lately is that I feel so blessed that we are able to go through this. Feels like a privilge! I can't wait to get to go and pick those kiddos up.
Wishing all you americans a Happy Thanksgiving and to all you swedes I wish you an amazing Advent.
D
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