Forward Progress

Things are moving forward.  We have our Biometrics done for our I-800a and are gathering our paperwork for our Dossier.  Progress is being made!

I am in contact with a family that is travelling on Friday to meet their son who happens to be in Chance's orphanage!  I feel so blessed to know other families in the process, especially ones who can check on our little boy and get us updates!  Hopefully we will get another official update in the next month or so, but it is always good to have an outside perspective (and, let's just say, the more pictures and videos the better!)

Please continue praying for a quick and smooth process for us.

Claudia is doing well, she is picking up small bits of language here and there.  She is better at letting people know her needs and wants, although she can be bossy at times...  what toddler isn't?  Sometimes I think that her stubbornness is what holds her back from making more progress with speech, but she will get there in time.

Here are some pics from our walk last week :)

Chance's Adoption and Current Fundraisers

I wanted to give you all a quick update on our adoption of Chance.  We will be getting our Biometrics for our I-800A completed next week, then we will wait for our I-800a approval.  In the mean time, we are getting the rest of our Dossier documents ready.  Once we have all of them and our I-800a approval in hand, we can submit our Dossier to our agency for review and they will submit it to Chance's country.  From there, we wait a few months before we will be invited to go visit with him and accept his referral.  Those are our next steps.  I am hoping to be able to travel to visit sometime in the late summer/early fall, however, with adoption... you just never know.

I am in contact with another family that has been in country recently and was at Chance's orphanage.  They were able to give me a quick little update and a couple of pics.  He is looking good and doing much better than he was last month.  I am so grateful for the update!

We have a new fundraiser going on from now through May 12th.  We are selling T-shirts through Booster.  Each T-shirt is $25 which includes shipping.  The shirts come in both men's and women's styles.  Please share them with your friends and family.  We must sell at least 20 shirts in order for them to be printed.  You will not be charged for the shirt if we do not sell at least 20.  Here it is:

 

You can order your shirt through this link: https://www.booster.com/chance

 



I am still selling Origami Owl and it is not too late to place your order in time for Mother's Day.  You can order through April 30th for Mother's Day Delivery.  You can order your Origami Owl through this link:
Origami Owl for Chance

 

 

I also have several items for sale on our Chance for Chance Facebook Page here:

A Chance for Chance FabeBook Page

 

Thank you for your support of our adoption of Chance.  We greatly appreciate your prayers and donations.  

 

Play Time!

Last week was spring break for Claudia.  I decided it would be a nice time to have some mommy-daughter time, so I took the week off from work (of course this also meant that I did not have to scramble to try to find a sitter for her).  I had planned on taking her out to various places but the weather was really not all that good and to be honest, I was quite burned out from work and needed some time to recoup.  So, Claudia and I mostly stayed in, went for walks and played outside.  We had some good mommy daughter bonding time.

We had a quiet but wonderful Easter this year.  Jason worked during the second service at Church and took Claudia with him to give me a little break.  I met up with them for the third service.  We heard a beautiful message from our Pastor.  I don't have any cutsie pics of Claudia in her Easter dress, I did not have a chance to get any before she left and she got changed and went down for a nap shortly after coming home.  I did however get some pictures and videos of our day at the park!  The weather was so nice on Easter that Jason, Claudia and I went for a walk to the park after Claudia's nap.  It was so much fun being there as a family, usually it is just Claudia and I.  I love watching her interact with Jason, she loves her daddy so much!  As you will see...

 

 

Check out Claudia's ever-improving walking skills.  It's hard to tell, but she is going up and down a ramp:

 

This one is a fun video of Claudia running and crashing into me...



Yep, she loves her mommy too!

Over her break from school, Claudia started to say "All done"  although she almost screams it.  Claudia only talks when she want to...  She will repeat a word several times over the course of a few weeks and then won't say it again for months.  She is still working on developing her language skills, but I think that we are starting to see some progress.  Claudia has been mimicking our mouth movements as we speak, although she does not produce sounds when she does this.  She has also been babbling to herself a lot.  Right now her favorite sound the the B sound.  We encourage her vocalizations.  Claudia also loves to watch herself in the mirror, so we try to get her to talk while looking into the mirror.  Jason and I are confident that her verbal skills will continue to improve.

Claudia also worked hard at potty training over her break from school.  She even had a whole day without any wet diapers except for over night.  She definitely knows when she has to go and when she is wet.  She also does not enjoy having a wet diaper.  Claudia will tell us when she has to go potty but is not yet telling her teachers or others.  She has not quite figured out that she can use the toilet at other places consistently.  I'm hoping that as she continues to improve at home, that she will be more inclined to use the potty when we are not with her.  We have been very lax with the potty training and do not put much stress on Claudia to use it, she is the one deciding that she is ready for it and we are so proud of her!

Claudia's self help skills continue to improve.  She can mostly dress and undress, brush her teeth and scrub up in the tub.  We are very encouraged by the improvements we have seen in these areas over the last couple of months.  It gives us great hope for her future!

We still struggle with some behaviors, especially in public and in crowds of people.  Claudia still does not like to be picked up by most people, I don't blame her.  She also does not like other kids to be in her personal space unless she needs or wants something from them.  Claudia is getting better at showing people that she is upset instead of lashing out and pulling hair or hitting at first, but this continues to be something we have to work on. 

Overall Claudia is doing great.  Jason and I have been very encouraged by her grown.  We love her so much!

Here are some sweet pics of our playtime today, she was being quite a goofball!

 

Claudia loves to push things down her slide, these things are usually teddy bears and dolls.  Today it was a Lego bus.  It gets even better...

She makes the bus "walk" up the steps before going down the slide :)

 

<3 love="" td="">

Origami Owl and Other Fundraisers

I know that I have mentioned it before, but with Mother's Day coming up, I wanted to post about it again.

In order to help fund our adoption of Chance, I became an Independent Designer for Origami Owl.  Origami Owl is a direct sales company that sells beautiful, unique jewelry that helps you to tell the story of you!  It was started by a 14 year old girl with a dream.  I will let Bella Weems tell you the story for herself:

Taken from the Origami Owl website (www.OrigamiOwl.com/story.ashx):

"I started Origami Owl with $350 and a simple dream in mind—getting a car on my 16th birthday. When I was 14, I asked my parents for a car but they said I needed to work for it. So, with all of my babysitting money and my family’s support, I set out to start my own business and created Origami Owl.
Immediately, people loved creating stories with jewelry and women began asking how they could share Origami Owl with their own family and friends. We were a hit! After hearing stories about how our jewelry touched lives, it only made sense to spread some love across the country. Today, we have more than 60,000 Independent Designers who pursue their own dreams by selling our jewelry at home parties we like to call Jewelry Bars.

OUR MISSION IS TO BE A FORCE FOR GOOD; TO LOVE, INSPIRE

+ MOTIVATE PEOPLE OF ALL AGES TO REACH THEIR DREAMS +

EMPOWER THEM TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS.

But there is something else I want you to know, we’ve always been so much more than just a jewelry company. From the beginning I wanted my company to be different, I wanted it to be a force for good; to help others achieve their dreams like I achieved mine (yes, I finally got my car; a white Jeep I named Alice). It didn’t happen overnight, but with lots of hard work, Origami Owl grew from my after school job to a multimillion dollar company.

It’s been such an incredible journey and I believe our continued success has come from our intention to make a difference in people’s lives, we never put profits before people.
Our story is only just beginning to unfold and I hope it can be a part of your story too. Take a look around to build your own meaningful Living Locket®, or to find out how you can join our family!"

This is a company I can stand behind and I am proud to be an Independent Designer!

A unique, personalized Living Locket from Origami Owl would make a wonderful Mother's Day gift for any mom or grandma.  They are gifts from the heart, they take thought to create.  If you are interested in purchasing, my website is: www.Origami4Orphans.OrigamiOwl.com

Below are a few virtual lockets I have created to give you some idea's for gifts or for yourself.  The lockets look much better in real lie, these are just virtual examples and the proportions may be slightly off. 

 

Contact me for more information. Don't forget to make a wish list for yourself and give it to your significant other :)

We also have a few other fundraisers currently going on.  I have set up a page on Face Book so that I can keep all of our fundraisers in one place.  The page is HERE.  On that page you will find several items available to Buy It Now!  I have several infinity bracelets for sale other jewelry and more.  I also have available my very own Super Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookie recipe available for sale.  Visit the Face Book page for details.  Below are some examples of the goodies you may find:

 

 

 

Yum! 

 

Funny Faces and Progress

I know, I know, it's time for an update!

As far as our adoption of Chance goes, we are now done with our Home Study, our I800a has been submitted and we working on our Dossier.  Once that is completed, it will be shipped off to Chance's country and after it is reviewed and approved, we will be invited there to meet him.  I am hoping this will be sometime in the late summer or early fall, but with adoption, you just never know.

We recently got a short update on Chance telling us that he is doing OK but has been fighting bronchitis.  If you think of it, please say a prayer that our lil man will get healthy and stay healthy.  He is continuing to grow at a steady pace, so that is encouraging!

Claudia is doing so well!  I swear she grew overnight.  We went from a size 18 months to a 24month-2T all of a sudden.  Claudia is definitely getting heavier and looks so much taller.  She has gained about 6lbs and grown 3 inches since  coming home, and I think most of that has been over the last 2 months!  Where did my little girl go?

Claudia recently got new glasses as her Miraflex were too tight against her eyelashes and she wanted nothing to do with them.  She now has a regular, metal frame pair of glasses that she like much better.  They stay on better and make her look so grown up!

Our sweet girl went in for a laryngoscopy recently and they found that she has chronic laryngitis which is likely the cause of her deep voice.  At this time, there is not much to be done about it but hopefully her Speech Therapist can work with this.  Claudia also had an ear tube placed in one ear (the other ear canal is still too small).  The ENT drained a significant amount of fluid from behind both ear drums, so hopefully Claudia is hearing better now.  Our hope is that she will soon start using her voice to speak instead of her sign language and Dynavox.  I long for the day when she consistently calls me mommy <3 p="">
Claudia is much more steady on her feet and is starting to move much faster, she will be running in no time!  She is very active and loves to climb all over Jason and I.  She loves to play, do puzzles and read books.  She also loves to eat!  There are few foods that she won't eat after trying them.  Transitions between foods (at one sitting) can sometimes cause her frustration and she does not always want to switch but once she tries the new food she is usually OK.

I have said it before and I will say it again, Claudia is one smart cookie!  She is very good at watching someone do something and then copying that behavior later (when she wants).  Some examples are putting the napkin on her plate when she is done eating, brushing her tray off into the garbage and putting dishes into the sink.  She also is into imitating the dog lately.  Whenever the dog starts barking, Claudia starts making her dog sounds.  One day while Claudia was eating, the dog was licking her lips in anticipation.  Claudia saw this and started sticking her tongue out and licking her own lips!  She cracks me up! 

Claudia has always liked to make people laugh.  Even when we first got her she made this strange sound that would always make people laugh, so she kept on doing it.  She has long since grown out of that particular behavior but still likes to make people laugh.  One day while riding in the car, I looked in my rear view mirror and saw Claudia making faces.  I started laughing, so she kept on making the face.  I told her it was a "funny face" and now anytime we tell her (if she is in the mood) to show us her funny face she does it.  I have some pics of it below!

Enjoys some pics from the last couple of months:

Crazy Hair Day at school :)

Looking grown up in her new glasses!

 

Funny Face!



Funny Face!

Funny Face!



Happy girl :)

Sleepy girl

Happy (Belated Valentine's Day, Happy 1 Year Home

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

Today marks the ONE YEAR anniversary of Claudia's homecoming.  It has been an amazing year with so many changes, ups and downs.  It has been full of learning experiences, trials and errors.  I can't wait to see what the next year brings us and I can't wait to be celebrating our homecoming of Chance.

These next two pics were taken yesterday:

 

 

These three were taken shortly after Claudia came home:

 

 

Love her!

New Fund Raiser

Hi everyone, I have a unique way that we are now fundraising for Chance's adoption.  I have started making colored rice!  What is colored rice?  What can it be used for?  Well...

Colored rice is simply rice that is hand dyed by me.  It is edible, I do not use any non-edible product to create it but if you have children who put things in their mouths I would suggest strict supervision, especially if they have a sensitivity to dyes.  As with anything else with small parts, keep a close eye on small children who are playing with it.

My colored rice can be used for many different things.  It can be used in sensory bins for hours for fun.  It can also be used in the place of sand/glitter for art projects, just add glue to paper and sprinkle the rice onto it, much easier clean up than sand or glitter!  It can also be used as a decoration in glass jars or sprinkled on tables (please do not sprinkle or throw it outside where animals and birds can get to it).  Color coordinate for weddings, graduations or other parties.  Use it in your business to hold pens...  I am sure you can think of other ideas as well.

I can make your rice to order.  I am selling it for $5/lb plus shipping.  You can choose one color per pound, multiple colors (mixed) or a mix of several colors. To order, click the tab at the top of the blog (under the blog picture) or use this link: http://followingourcallingdaily.blogspot.com/p/dyed-rice-and-more.html

Below are some examples of colors I have made: