TB test

So apparently a person cannot adopt if they have TB: Turburculosous - I'm pretty sure that I don't have it considering that I can't even spell it! Nevertheless, I went in yesterday to get a TB test so that I can cross off one more thing from the mile long list. Now, you must understand that with Katie being a P.A., I don't pay attention much to the details of my health. Well, that may not be entirely true. A better way to state it is that I trust Katie's judgement 100% when it comes to my own health related issues. What I'm trying to say is that Katie told me to go to her office to get a TB test and I said "OK" and didn't get it a single thought afterword. So, yesterday I showed up at the office to get my test, and the nurse pulls out a needle (which I fully expected) BUT much to my surprise it was full of some chemical. THE NURSE WAS INJECTING SOMETHING INTO ME!!! This freaked me out. Usually, when I think of a test, I think of them taking MY blood and running whatever test they need to do. I don't think I've ever had a test where someone is depositing something into me. What's worse is that when she injected me, the chemical (toxic for all I know) bubbled up under my forearm. It actually looked like someone had shoved a pea under my skin. It was also quite bothersome to see my skin stretch similarly to when you squeeze a waterballon and it bulges out and looks super-thin. I have to admit the room started spinning. I'm sure that in the long run, the kids will be better off from me not having TB. Nevertheless, I would have been happy skipping that part yesterday.

Moving Forward

Well, we can check off another piece today. Katie and I met with Katie (see yesterday's post) for about 2 hours today and discussed our family. Parents, grandparents, kids, brothers, sisters, pets, neighbors, roommates, the list goes on....

I think for the most part we "passed". After reviewing every possible family dynamic in existence, I believe that Katie and I have a healthy family. (Isn't that nice to know)

Next week, we will meet with Katie for our third and final visit. (This seems to be going fast) This meeting will be at our house and will involve a discussion with our children. Naturally, Katie and I have two concerns: 1. A clean house. (This shouldn't be too much of a problem, but naturally it's always a concern). 2. An interview with our children. I'm pretty sure that Jake won't say anything coherant, but Hallie remains a wildcard. I just hope she doesn't say something like "Daddy hits me" or "Mommy locks me in the garage at night when I don't clean the toilets good enough".

Round 2

Tomorrow we have our second meeting with the caseworker for our homestudy. If I didn't mention this, our caseworker's name is also Katie. Obviously, this can create a little confusion when I begin to tell stories. "Katie said this... Then Katie said that.... Then Katie asked Katie about such and such..."

Anyway, Katie (the caseworker) told us that tomorrow we'll spend more time talking about our childhood and our parents. That should be interesting. I get this vision of me laying on a couch, talking about how great life has always been and then suddenly I burst into tears and begin to open up about how my parents never bought me a drum set when I was growing up. Clearly, I'm forever scarred.

World News

I admit that I am not a big "news" guy. I rarely watch the news. Most the time, I skip the "World section" in the newspaper.... more fighting and killing in the middle east. However, I have found this recent story of the Russian spy rather intriguing. Beginning last June, when we committed to officially adopting from Russia, I'm always drawn into "Russian news". I've learned that oil is a major industry in their country. I've learned that their economy has drastically improved sinse their meltdown in 1998. And I've also learned that their is still a lot of political turmoil in terms of the "new guard" vs. the "old guard". Here in the U.S., we take for granted a working, effective government that (for the most part) follows a resonable standard of ethics. - Now before someone goes off here, let me clarify: Our government doesn't regularly kill people for talking out of turn. Our government doesn't flog people in the town square for being a witch. (anymore) Our government doesn't promote children into slavery.... you get my point.

Therefore, I find it interesting to hear that the Russian government supposedly had their hand in poisoning some guy that did some spying. Because of my ignorance, my excitement only exists on a shallow level. To me, this is nothing more than an exciting movie plot. A Tom Clancy book, if you will. Maybe John Grisham.

Nevertheless, this stuff is real. It blows me away that technically, this is the same government that we'll be working with to adopt our children. Come to think of it, writting this post is probablly a very bad idea. I'll have to make sure to keep a close eye on my coffee cup....

Waiting for life to happen

This weekend has been Thanksgiving weekend. It's always easy to view life as a series of holidays. With the exception of August, we tend to move from one holiday to the next. "I can't wait till Thanksgiving. I can't wait till Christmas. I can't wait till New Years. I can't wait till Presidents Day. (OK, that last one may be a stretch). I heard once that life is what happens as we're waiting for something else to happen. For example, a person waits in line for an hour on the day after Thanksgiving to be one of the first 100 customers that receives a portable DVD player for $29.99. The shopping trip itself only takes 10 minutes but the entire experience lasts an hour and a half. (Drive time included) Most people view this as a waste. The reality is that the whole experience was indeed life itself! If we embrace our "down time" as life, we may discover that it's what we do during life's meaningless moments that define our character. Do we grumble as we stand in line? Do we yell when we're driving on our way to work? (A personal character flaw of my own) Do we glare at the people in the restaurant?

Here's my point to this rambling: Katie and I will wait quite a bit before we get Molly and Zac. (Yes, we've already picked the names) We could choose to think of this as "wasted time" waiting. Or we can embrace it as a life experience in and of itself and enjoy the lessons learned along the way.

Quick post

As the kids are running around the kitchen, I'm attempting to write a quick one today.

First, I wanted to let everyone know that you can now successfully add a comment without having to sign in. I added a feature that allows you to add a comment annonymously. I'd appreciate it if you sign it with your first name, just for fun. Truthfully, you all can do as you wish.

Second, I wanted to put a picture in today's entry just to see if I can do it.

Here I go:

Homestudy

Now that I got the first post out of the way, I wanted to note that Katie and I met with the homestudy caseworker today. This was our first of three meetings. Our caseworker (if that's what you call them) was extremely nice. It was actually a ton easier that what I thought it would be. Basically, we just chit-chatted for 2 hours. Katie and I both felt very positive when we left. Katie said, "That was fun! We just got to talk about ourselves the whole time. Who wouldn't enjoy that?"

I'm also psyched because I feel like I can legitamately tell people that we're "in the middle" of adopting children now. Before, I'd tell people "We're adopting!" And they would say "Wow! What all have you done?" And I'd say, "... nothing.... yet."

Now, I won't have to deliver that lame response.

First Post

Well,

This is my first blog (I wonder how many blogs start with that sentence). I remember hearing about blogs for the first time a few years ago and thinking to myself, "What's the point? Why would anyone want to start a blog? Why would anyone want to READ a blog?"

Most importantly, I'm usually against anything in writting. It seems to only get us into trouble. Nevertheless, here I am.... typing a blog..... at work.

Here's the point of this whole thing. Katie and I are adopting 2 children from Russia. For those that want to, we want a place where people can check in on our journey. I suppose additionally, we would like to provide hope, support and education for those who also choose the adventure of adoption. Last, we want to be a voice to the voiceless. I have learned that there are 143 million orphans worldwide. 143,000,000 !!!!! Omaha is 600,000. Nebraska is about 1.7 million. Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri are 10.2 million. But worldwide there are 143 million orphans.

When I heard this number, I had to stop and think about that. First of all, when it comes to population numbers, I'm always amazed at how different the world really is from what I think it is. Most people live in Asia. Most poor people live in Africa. These are 2 continents that I have yet to step foot into. For the most part, I'm clueless. It's not that we Americans are being greedy as we clutch onto our money. It's just that we don't really realize that there is a such a huge problem out there.

And one of the major reasons for this state of unawareness, is that these people (and especially the children) have no voice. They don't have money to buy an advertisement slot. They don't have an educated plan to organize their thoughts and efforts. They don't have "friends in high places" to help them with their cause. They are voiceless.

And thus, I am calling myself the Voice of the Voiceless. (Although, I understand that this phrase has been used a few times. It's a song by Rage Against the Machine... whatever. It's a website about Animal Rights... whatever.)

I may not be a loud voice. I may not be a smart voice. I may not be a smooth voice. But I'm a voice. A voice of the voiceless.