More Updates

We got our fingerprints done on Tuesday, May 28.  This is our last fingerprints in this program.  Not sure where we are headed now.  Hm....

The 2012 Summer Olympics in London are in full force now.  We are having a blast watching them, but having a problem staying awake late to watch the best events.

We are starting to get ready for football season.  We should have a decent team and our first game is against Michigan in Arlington, TX at the big house.  Should be fun.

More later....
Tide Gal

No Concrete, No Fingerprints

The concrete guys came on Monday.  However, the lead guy will be out of town for about a week due to his grandmother's illness.  He turned over the job to another guy and told me he would make sure the new guy knew and understood everything before they left for the day.  I relayed the information to Tide Guy.  Later, Tide Guy spoke with the owner and told him we would like to wait for the lead guy to return before completing the job.  The lead guy is amazing, understands what needs to be done, and runs a tight ship.  This is a one time deal for us.  Once things are done, they can't be redone.  So, we will wait for him.  They did return Tuesday to do some forming and used a bobcat to level some areas.  Unfortunately, Tide Guy realized last night that in the process of leveling, they pushed excess dirt and rock over a sump pump line. Not only did they bury the line, they pushed over the stake marking the pipe.  If we had gotten a lot of rain this pipe could have backed up into the basement and flooded it.  So, last night, Tide Guy had find the buried pipe and dig it out.  Tide Guy was not happy. We hope the lead guy will be back on Monday or early next week to get this job done.  We are ready to have concrete around the pool rather than gravel, dirt and mud.

Our fingerprint appointment was this morning.  Yesterday, Tide Guy mentioned how he wasn't sure how he would be able to break away from work for a few hours for the appointment.  After a few hours of research I was able to contact someone and was told I could mail in the form and get a new appointment at a later time.  It will probably be in a few weeks. 

The Niece graduates from preschool this evening.  She is so excited.  Mostly that she won't have to go there and do "rest time" anymore.  Rest time is putting heads on the table for 15 minutes during the day.  The only problem she ever had at preschool was this rest time.  Last year she got in trouble for not keeping her head down for the whole time or making noises during this time.  I finally got her to admit she was afraid during this time because the lights were off.  With that said, I don't know how she will handle "rest time" at kindergarten which is longer and on a mat on the floor.  She thinks she has it all figured out.  She will tell us she does not have to close her eyes and she can hold her head up.  I have a feeling this may end up with some funny and interesting stories.

Tide Gal

Let's Swim

Saturday afternoon I added all the salt to the pool and a few hours later the pool guy arrived to all the chemicals.  We were ready to swim the next day.  We did not swim as we were preparing for the concrete guys to come today and worked until after 7 pm.  We had to pull wires through conduit for the lights in the steps, clean under the deck, and various other tasks.  The concrete guys are to begin preparing the area underneath the deck.  Unfortunately we are supposed to get a lot of rain tomorrow and possibly today, so the work will stop for a day or so.

We go Thursday to have our fingerprints done for the last update until we travel to China.  We are doing our last free update just in case China changes and allows us to follow the same path we are now on.  If not, in 18 months we will be forced to change to the I-800.  Also on Thursday is The Niece's preschool graduation.

Gas prices are dropping a bit and at our local gas pump, the price is $3.55.

Tide Gal

I-600 Paperwork Mailed for the Last Time

Well, I mailed our China adoption paperwork for our last renewal.  Well, the I-600 renewal.  Once approved, it will be valid for 18 months and we will get an appointment for fingerprinting.  After the 18 months, if we are not matched things will change.  At the current rate of approvals, 18 months will be a few years short!!  So, we will then have to begin approvals in a different way called the I-800.  This process is much more invasive.  We will have to provide more referrals and information on every single place we have lived since birth.  Tide Guy was in the military for 20 years and I was a military spouse for 10 years.  We have no idea how difficult it will be to complete the paperwork with all the moves.  We will have to have contacts for all these places.  Really?  Come on.  In many cases, any contacts have moved on long ago.  I think we also have to confirm through the local sheriff's office that we do not have a criminal record there.  So, I don't know how that will work out.  Luckily, once the 18 months are over, we do not have to renew our paperwork immediately.  This new process only has to be completed just before our referral.  We also will not have to renew fingerprints until that time, too.

So, there we are.

Rain

Well, the gravel was never delivered on Monday....or Tuesday. It is supposed to be delivered today before noon. Okay....we'll see. Oh, and we have had rain for two days. The delivery truck should really tear up our lot. Lovely. The electrician did come on Monday and ground the pool. The bobcat is supposed to be here tomorrow to spread the last load of gravel. Due to the gravel disaster we had to put off the concrete guy a few days. Hopefully he can come and get that done before the rain returns on Friday.

I have all the paperwork complete for our extension for the China adoption. I just need to get Tide Guy to sign the papers and mail them. This will be the first time we got them in the mail without having to do some kind of express mailing due to waiting until the last minute.

Tide Gal

Small Update

The trees are all cut down and gone. The pool guy and hardscape guy came and we have basically decided everything and most things are lined up. The electrician came and fix the installation. The Disney trip is in four days and digging begins the day after I return. The vinyl siding guy came and looked at the work he is to do. He will install the gutters soon. The electrician will come and run wiring for lights and fans. Then, the vinyl siding guy will come back and put siding on the ceiling of the lower deck.

Alli came this morning and did our homestudy. So, that is our last international homestudy for a while. Probably a few years unless we move to the special needs line. We have to do another domestic homestudy in September. Ugh. It never ends and it is exactly the same thing every single time. Now, we have to submit a few forms and wait for the fingerprint appointment.

Tide Gal

Not Maybe

So, the last post mentioned a possible change in the pool shape. Turns out we can do a "L" shaped pool. So, that is what we are doing. In fact, we have it drawn out in the back yard.

Yesterday, Tide Guy was sick in the morning and stayed home to work. I sanded the caulk and painted the side boards in the morning. After a nap and lunch, Tide Guy felt somewhat better and got the trim on the upper deck. We plan to install the rest of the rails this weekend. Once that is done, we only need to install the gate and a few trim pieces along steps.

On national side of things, gas prices are soaring. Fast. It seems prices have gone up 25 cents in about a month. Right now prices are about $3.49-$3.59 here. And, we are predicted to hit close to or over $5.00 by summer. That prediction is the "average" nationwide and luckily we are usually a little below average national cost.

China just referred a week. Not bad, but they are so far behind.

Tide Gal

Catching Up....Again!

Ugh. So much has happened since the last post.


Let's start with Bama football. We were undefeated until we played LSU in November. We lost in overtime 9-6. We could have won the game as we missed several field goals. It was just heart breaking. Our hopes for a National Championship were gone. Then, for the next several weeks, things just started happening to put us back into position to play in the big game in January. There were several major upsets in other games and conferences. Suddenly, if the voting went our way, we were back in. And it happened. So now, Bama is playing LSU in New Orleans for the National Championship. There is a lot of controversy surrounding this game. Some saying we should not be in it as we lost a game, even though we lost in over time to the number one team. Some saying there should not be a "rematch" between the two teams. Some saying two SEC teams should not be playing. Some are saying LSU should play Oklahoma St because OSU lost a game a few days after their women's basketball coach was killed in a plane crash. Anyway, since New Orleans is in LSU's backyard and easy driving distance from Alabama, ticket prices are insane. Insane as in over $1,500 EACH!! And that is for the upper endzone tickets. We are hoping prices go down after Christmas. Way down. Regardless, we are going and meeting a lot of friends in New Orleans. We are still hopeful for tickets between now and game time. I have been to the past two National Championship games and I just have to go to this one.

Other big football news surrounds Penn State and a retired assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky. He has been arrested and is being charged with child abuse. It seems the abuse on boys has been going on for many years. Joe Paterno was forced to retire mid-season since he was informed about the alleged abuse about 20 years ago. At first he had a lot of support from some students, but now things have quieted down. And, even worse, since his ousting, Joe Pa now has cancer and is going through treatments.


On a brighter note, Tide Guy put the very last board onto the deck last weekend. Ah!! Love it. Now, we have to have the tub put back onto the tub deck, remove all the railing, add "sides", and put the rails back on. It will be nice to have the whole deck completely done. But, the "sides" are hardy board and will have to be painted. Now, with it with it so cold it will be a problem trying to paint outside.

We also cleaned up a bit in the back yard last weekend. More limbs and trees are gone. I think we are to the point where the tree cutting may be beyond our abilities.

In the adoption world, China is still slow. Nuff said.


Gas prices are actually going down and we paid $2.97 the other day!! Finally.


We just had Christmas at my mom's yesterday. The Niece (turned 5 last month) had a blast. Before eating and opening gifts, she rode her scooter inside the house singing loudly "it's the most wonderful time of the year". It was hilarious. She has finally gotten the opening gifts thing. Now she knows that she gets more than one gift. In times past, she would open a gift and want to play with it at that very moment not realizing there were other gifts. She also got "The Elf on the Shelf" which has been so much fun for her.

Christmas is today at my dad's and Sunday morning we will go to my brother's house since Santa will visit The Niece Saturday night. I think Tide Guy and I will exchange gifts after lunch Sunday.

Well, I hope not, but this may be the last post this year. Maybe I'll have time to get back to update Christmas events!!

Til Then,
Tide Gal

Spring??

We have had more snow this winter than anyone can remember. It is amazing. We have built snowmen, schools have added 5-6 days to the school year, and it has been cold. However, all of a sudden, plants are popping out of the ground and we have buttercups and other bulb plants beginning to bloom. It is a sign that warmer weather is on the way. I love seeing my favorite flower (buttercups) coming out of the ground. And when my favorite trees (red buds) start blooming I know the warmth is on the way.

In national news, there are huge problems in the middle east and gas prices are soaring, jumping 25 cents in a day or two. Citizens are protesting so that their dictator leaders will resign. All this uneasiness is causing the gas prices to go up very fast.

It looks like Alabama basketball could do well this season. We are going to a game next weekend to see UA play Georgia. Should be a fun game.

It also looks like Tide Guy's job is a bit more secure right this minute. This could change, but we feel safe for about a year. Boeing just got a $32 billion dollar contract with the Air Force. Tide Guy has been moved to a different program, but in a few months is expected to move back to his original program. He is very excited about the move back. I'm still holding out for a pool this season. However, we are going to Kauai this summer. I can't wait.

In the adoption world, China surprised everyone with an early referral. This action has raised some spirits, but we are all still cautious. We never know what causes fast referrals or causes the slow downs. I read on someones blog that the CCAA has said the referrals will not exceed 5 years. Well, we are at 3 years and 3 months and we have a very long ways to go. I don't see how the CCAA can go through the referrals to keep us in a 5 year window. The coming months will be interesting, but it still will be no indication of what is to come.

Well, we are headed to Nashville today to see Brad Paisley and Darius Rucker. We love going to Nashville.

Ready for Spring!!
Tide Gal

Landscaping

We finally finished the landscaping in the largest bed and it looks great! It took a while because we had a lot of rocks in the bed. Big red rocks. And clay. And gravel. The ground was very hard and took a while to dig some of the holes. We used red lava rock in the bed. We were first going to use mulch, but was concerned it might wash away after rain. It is now complete and we love it.

We are looking for someone to do some edging around the smaller bed on the north side of the porch. After we get that installed, we can complete that bed. It won't take long, but finding someone to put in the edging is proving to be hard. One guy had a minimum of 100 feet and we only need about 30-35 feet. We have someone else to check with today.

We received the flag, flag pole, and parts for the bed at the end of the drive. The pole is 20 feet and really looks massive lying at the end of the drive. We would love to have it up by Monday, which is Memorial Day. Once the pole is up, we can easily complete that bed.

I saw three hummingbirds yesterday, but they were not close to our feeder! I need to get more out to attract them.

In national news, oil is still spewing into the Gulf. It has been well over a month and a few attempts to stop the spill have failed. There will be a new attempt today. It looks as if Louisiana's fishing industry is severely affected. The oil slick is spreading to the Florida panhandle and may go down around the Keys & up the east coast. And, now hurricane season is just around the corner. A hurricane will "mix up" and disperse all the oil that is sitting underwater. A hurricane will also stop attempts to stop the attempts to control the leak. It could cause much more problems. Right now, the slick doesn't appear to be on the Alabama beaches.

In the adoption process, something interesting is happening. There was a couple who was approved a few years ago to adopt from China. Since that time, they have divorced. The lady notified her agency and provided an update and request to continue the adoption. Other than being single, she still meet all the medical, financial, and other requirements. Since their original approval, China has stopped single person adoptions. After receiving her request to continue with the adoption as a single parent, China approved her request since the original approval was before the more strict guidelines. Fast forward almost two years, she is a few months from receiving her referral. China has now decided she cannot adopt since she is single. Basically, she is appealing this decision through her agency. But China owes no one an explanation, is "self governed", and the US has no say-so in their decisions. If this decision holds, China may go back and review applicants as they get closer to their referral time. Not long ago, China became more strict with their qualifications: better financial status, better medical reviews (especially weight issues), etc. With the number of people "in line" for Chinese adoptions, China can now pick families that are more healthy, reliable, and more financial. If China re-reviews each case, many families will no longer qualify for adoption. The economy has caused some families to lose jobs, have lower incomes, move into smaller homes, etc. Also, some couples are now divorced and some spouses have died. In reality, many things could happen to eliminate a family. This has caused quite a stir in the Chinese adoption world since many families have waited patiently for 3-4 years and are concerned they will be denied close to referral time. This is a lot of time to NOT KNOW what is going to happen. Plus, all the money already spent, with more that will be needed.

So, what does this mean for us? Well, we don't know. If China does decide not to "grandfather in" those couples that no longer meet their qualifications, our wait should decrease. But, there is no way to know how many people "in line" no longer qualify. I feel there are many, but that is just a guess. And, there is no way to know how much it will decrease our wait.

If China does disqualify people, we will know. More people will provide information if they are no longer qualified and we will probably be notified by our agency.

Bad news for others....but good news for us.

Tide Gal