Adoption Journey!

So, many of you may already know this, but Brian and I have officially started on an adoption journey. We have begun the process to adopt from Russia! We are so excited about it, but also a little daunted, for reasons I'll discuss below. Anyway, we just decided that we'd had enough of trying to have a biological baby. Three miscarriages and fertility treatment since the beginning of the year with no results is enough. It's funny, with the fertility treatment, the more intervention they did, the less pregnant I seemed to get. And it just seemed like the treatment caused a whole other set of problems that needed further treatment, etc. Where does it end? At the end of July, shortly before we went up to the UP, we just decided, nope, no more. And it is a huge weight lifted off our shoulders.

In case you are wondering, here is a brief outline of the process, which is why we feel daunted. There are 3 different sets of paperwork to do. The home study, the dossier, and the USCIS paperwork. The home study is working with a social worker here, having meetings with her, and doing an educational component. We can hopefully get that done in about 2 months. The home study goes in both the dossier, which is the file that gets sent to Russia, and the USCIS paperwork (USCIS is the United States Custom and Immigration). The dossier literally consists of about 20 different documents, like original birth certificates, marriages license, the deed to our house, fingerprint checks, etc that we have to gather, have notarized and some state sealed in Lansing. I am going to be doing A LOT of running around. And the customs paperwork is sort of similar, some the same info, with some additional documents. Yikes!

After all that paperwork is done, our dossier is submitted to Russia to be translated and registered in a region. Then, the waiting begins. We could wait a year for a referral for a child or children (we are thinking of adopting 2 kids at once) that match your criteria as far as age, gender, etc. We hopefully will not wait that long! A referral includes some medical information, and perhaps a photos. Before deciding anything, you take that medical to a doctor who specializes in this stuff, and they give you an assessment whether they think the child has serious health issues. Then you decide if you want to accept the referral. Quickly after that, you travel to Russia for the first time to meet the child. You meet the child at the orphanage, and decide for good if you want them. If you do, you fly home after a week, and wait for a court date in Russia 2-3 months in the future. Then, you go back, have your court hearing, and the kids are yours after a waiting period. You can then go to the Embassy in Moscow, and you get permission from the US government to come home, and paperwork making the kids American citizens. Then, you are home with your child!

So, Brian and I will be making at least 2 trips to Russia in the next year or two. We are kind of hoping we can be done and home by next Christmas, but that's just sort of something we have in our head, nothing is set in stone with any of this. This is clearly not an easy or quick process, but like I said, we are so excited! For those of you to whom we've already told this, thanks for your support and enthusiasm. We appreciate it, and we're going to need your support in the coming months so we don't get discouraged!

Back to School...I Wish

So, it's September, and all the kids (college and younger!) are back in school. I cannot believe how quickly this non-summer summer we had passed. It's completely ridiculous. It's only September 10, and the leaves on the trees are already starting to turn colors. Ugh. I am so not ready for fall. Not that fall is bad, but fall leads to winter, which leads to snow and cold...you see where I'm going with this.

Anyway, back to "back to school." This time of year always makes me nostalgic for school days. It's been 5 years since I graduated law school, but I still feel like I should be going back to school this time of year. I honestly just love school; I'm such a nerd to the core. I love buying school supplies--the pens, pencils, paper and notebooks. Once I hit college and law school, I loved going to the bookstore and buying all my books for class, and all the highlighters and paper flags I would ever need (although I didn't like the bill!). I loved organizing my notebooks for class--in law school I had a very organized system, consisting of a huge 3 ring binder in which I kept all my notes for classes, organized chronologically, i.e., the first class I had Monday morning was first in the book, the second class of the week was next, and on down. At the time, I was very proud of this system, but now I realize it was dangerous--what if I lost that notebook and all my notes were gone? That would have been deadly.

Buying supplies and organizing was just one reason to love back to school--the other reason truly was the school part. I LOVE going and sitting in class (I always went to the front left of the classroom--I still do even when doing my exercise classes). I LOVE listening, taking notes, and raising my hand to talk, even if I am a bit like Horshack from "Welcome Back Kotter." ("Oooh-oooh-oooooh!" while raising hand vigorously.) Or, to give another example for those not familiar with "Welcome Back Kotter," see also Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series. (God, I see so much of myself in that character!) I am such a nerd to the core, and truly in my heart, feel like school is the thing in the world I'm best at. I've never been as good at any job as I am at attending school. Unfortunately, being a professional student does the opposite of providing a pay check, but if I had the money, the first thing I'd do is enroll in classes again. I'd get a Masters in something like Political Science (my undergrad major) or even in English Lit (my minor). And when that was done, I'd move on to something else!

I know I'm probably nuts, and most of you reading this could not be more glad to not have to go to class. So, if any of my readers out there ARE actually going back to class, enjoy it and know there's at least one person who'd love to trade places with you. :)

August Update

So, I appear to do a lot of update posts lately. Maybe I'm having trouble with longer posts, or maybe its just a lot of little things are happening, as opposed to big things. that are good for writing long posts. Either way, I guess a short post is better than no post!

1) The weekend we got back from the UP, B-Nutt went on his annual camping sojourn with his buddies. I'm always glad when that's done for the year, because its such a hassle on our end. It shouldn't stress me out, because I have nothing to do with it, but it totally does. Brian cooks every year, and so there's always tons of food and drink laying around, we make numerous trips shopping, etc. Aack! The only reason I tolerate it is because he enjoys doing it so much.

2) The weekend after camping, we and the Meese's went to Chicago to visit the Fontana's. We went for the Air Show (which the girls ended up not going to anyway!), but mainly to attend Erica's "retirement" party. Haha! That made me laugh (Erica "retired" to being a stay at home mom). But it was really good to see John, Erica and the kids, and they are doing tons of great things to their house. And Dominic and Lia are about some of the cutest kids ever. Always a good time and loved the road trip with the Meese's. I think Candace was amazed at how funny Brian is in the car for long periods of time!

3) My work is in full swing again and so is Brian's. So, he's traveling a lot the last few weeks and coming up in the future. I've been in Saginaw a ton, so putting a ton of miles on my car (thank god for mileage reimbursement). But it looks like Thursday Candace and I will be hanging out and having fun, so that's good!

4) Finally, Brian and I are still figuring out what route we want to take, adoption wise. We have a pretty good idea what we'll be doing, but I'm not ready to make any official announcement yet. When I am, I will. :)

Later!

UP Trip Part Two

As the rain falls in buckets outside my window this morning, and before I go to yoga class, I decided to write up Part Two of the UP trip. Here goes!

On Saturday, as the rain was falling in Grand Marais, Brian and I took off to drive to the Keweenaw Peninsula. Drive time was about 4 and a half hours plus time to stop. We drove across US 41, through the edge of Munising, Marquette (looks pretty), Ishpeming and Nagaunee (both nice little towns on the water). We stopped in Ishpeming and had lunch at their brewery there and Brian bought a growler to bring home (of course). We got to our inn in Laurium/Calumet at about 2:30. We stayed at the Laurium Manor Inn, which is this huge old mansion built in 1908 by a copper baron. All the rooms are different, and you learn about the history of your room when you're there. We stayed in the Hecla room, which was the bedroom of the family's oldest son, Calvin. I picked this room out because of the mural of deer and elk on the walls. If you're interested, check it out.

http://www.laurium.info/

I would highly recommend if it you stay up in that area! It was so gorgeous and a full buffet breakfast was included every morning! They also have a B&B across the street, and two weekly rental cottages for groups that do not include breakfast. Totally awesome!

Saturday night, we drove back to Hancock and went to Mary and Ted's house. Brian got to meet them, as he never had before. And he also got to meet their little girl Elaine, who is still cute as a button. We hung out at their house for a while, chatting, and then went to dinner at a place in Houghton (just across the portage from Hancock) called the Library Pub. Again, a brew pub (does it sound like my husband likes beer?). We left Mary and Ted's and went back to the inn and collapsed. It was so nice sleeping in a real bed after sleeping in a tent for 3 days!

Sunday we decided to go to Copper Harbor and Eagle Harbor. We drove up US 41, a twisty, turny road in that area, and made it to Ft. Wilkins at Copper Harbor. Ft. Wilkins is a state park, an old army post from the 1840s that's all redone to be authentic with displays and things. They also have kids from Northern dress up and act the parts of servicemen, etc. It was really neat! After Ft. Wilkins, we headed into Copper Harbor itself and found the infamous Harbor House, which is a German restaurant right on the water where the ladies dress up in outfits and go dance on the dock if the boat from Isle Royale comes in. (We did not see this!) We took pictures of the lighthouse, but didn't actually go to it, because it was an expensive boat ride to get over there.

Next, we headed to Eagle Harbor, but went the long way around. We drove to the top of Brockway Mountain and took awesome pictures of Copper Harbor from up there. On the mountain, we ran into Mary and Ted, a big coincidence and planned again to meet for dinner! Brian kept saying at the top of the mountain that it didn't seem to him we were in Michigan, and that this was as pretty as anything he'd seen in Europe. I agree.

We then went to Eagle Harbor, which has a lighthouse and a little museum, but all in all, we think it wasn't what it was cracked up to be. Then, we went to the old Quincy Copper Mine and did the full tour, including underground. The Keweenaw used to be big mining country, and there are tons of old mines that you can tour. It was really neat, but a little unnerving to be 374 feet underground, especially when the tour kid turned off the lights and showed us how the miners worked by candlelight. Yikes!

That night, we had dinner with Mary, Ted, and Elaine at the Hut Inn, a local landmark. A nice time was had by all, I think. Monday morning, we got up, had breakfast, and headed out at about 8:45. We got home at about 6:30 and stopped for only 45 minutes--a total of 9 hours of driving time! What a long day! But it was a great trip!

Here are some more pictures. This one is of the snow stick on the way to Copper Harbor. Yes, that does read a record snowfall of over 30 feet the year I was born. If you can read it, the average is about 20 feet! We get about an average of 4 feet and complain about it!

Next, we have a view of the Copper Harbor lighthouse. We took this from a scenic overlook that's part of the State Park. Maybe next time we'll take the boat ride over.

Finally, we have a pic of Brian on the top of Brockway Mountain. It is gorgeous up there, and you can see all the old growth forest below.

UP Trip Part One

So, we are back from our trip to the UP. We left last Wednesday and got home Monday night. We had so much to do yesterday to catch up! But today I have a few minutes to sit down and post some stuff here about the trip. I'll do the first part today and then the second part in the next few days!

Wednesday morning we left and headed up to Grand Marais to camp with my aunt and uncle, Marty and Margaret, and my cousins Nolan and Emma. Margaret's mom Jan was also there, and a whole bunch of friends of Marty and Margarets'. After a 6 hour drive (plus stopping time), we got to the campground late in the afternoon and set up the tent. It was my first time tent camping, and it was fine for 3 nights. I could maybe handle one more night and that's about it! And we were lucky not to have any true inclement weather! Anyway, the campground was right on Lake Superior, and the views were awesome. What a pretty place!

On Thursday, we traveled around with Margaret and the kids and her mom and friends to 4 different sets of falls in the area, and got great pictures. We also had pasties at Muldoon's in Munising. Pasties are good, but I've had my fill of them for awhile! Friday, Brian and I went on a trip to Whitefish Point/Paradise to go to the Shipwreck Museum. We saw the bell off the Edmund Fitzgerald and spoke to a man who was on board the Arthur Anderson (the ship right behind the Fitz) that day. He said it was the worst storms he's ever seen in his life, and talked a lot with Brian about that terrible day. Then, we had fish and chips lunch at the Fish Haus in Paradise. Best fish I've ever had, fresh caught out of the lake that day! Then, we headed to both Upper and Lower Tahquamenon Falls. Totally awesome! We had dinner that night at the brew pub in Grand Marais, which has good pizza and beer.

Here are some pics. The first one is of the sunset off the break wall in Grand Marais. Margaret took this picture with our camera. Amazing.



This picture is of Wagner Falls, outside of Munising. There are tons of neat falls in that general area if you go. Also, Pictured Rocks are there, which we were not able to see. So, we've decided we must go back!



Finally, we have a picture Brian took at Lower Tahquamenon Falls. Both the upper and lower are awesome and you can actually hike the 4 miles in between the two parks! Of course, you either have to then hike back to your car, have someone there to pick you up, or pay an outrageous $9 a person for a shuttle that takes you back. Someday!

Latest Happenings, and Happenings to be...

Man, I haven't written here very much lately! So sorry to anyone who actually reads this thing! The thing is that I just haven't had a ton going on lately. Here's a rundown of things that have happened and things to come.

1) Got the carpets cleaned on Monday. Not exciting, I know, but I was happy. And they weren't nearly as bad as I thought, and some big yucky stains in the dining room came up great. Now I know when they've been done, and we hired a local Howell company to do it, which makes me feel good. The tech was very nice and he was in and out in 2 and a half hours for the whole house. Not bad! And the price wasn't too bad either!

2) I do not have an update on the 19 year old marrying the 75 year old guy situation. I asked my parents when we were up there for Tim Brown's open house last weekend, and they haven't heard anything. I am dying of curiosity!

3) I've been working and working again, which is fine. Money is nice. I was supposed to have two weeks off at the beginning of the month, and it ended up being shortened. There's not much in August yet from what I hear. Miss April, I want to come out and see you or have you come and visit the house again! I know you didn't get to see much when you came for my party! And thanks again for coming, I'm so glad you did.

4) We leave on Wednesday for our trip up north. Very excited! I got Brian a new camera for our anniversary/his birthday, so there may be good pics to post! And the campsite and inn both have wi-fi, so they may be up quickly, if we get around to it!

5) I've also had a request to take pics of the house for my friend Miss Laura (Newly engaged! Congrats!) out in California so she can see the house. She's asked me to post them here. I'll try to do that, so sorry I haven't yet!

6) Finally, just a quick update on baby stuff. In a nutshell, there is no update. The more intervention we try, the less pregnant I get. I do not expect that I can put myself through this crap much longer. Brian is getting tired of it too, and he's not even the one getting poked and prodded and on medicine all the time. So, we may stop this pursuit soon and move on to building our family in another way. I am very excited about that prospect!

Fourth of July Weirdness

So, I know I posted this a little on FB, but I must elaborate on the the weirdness at my parents' house on the Fourth of July.

First off, its really true that Brian and I were REALLY out of place. We were completely surrounded by 17 year olds and 70 year olds. Grant had a ton of people there, probably 20 teenage kids, some who seemed nice and some who were annoying, as many teenagers are! I can't get over how old these teenage girls look now--is 15 the new 25? Good lord, those girls are more made up and put together than I am now at 30. What happened to braces and pimply faces? For those of you who read this who knew me in high school, we DID NOT look like that 12 or so years ago.

As for the 70 year olds, my parents friends seem to be aging at a rapid rate of acceleration--a few short years ago, it seems their friends were their age. Now, it seems that they have about 2 friends their own age, and the rest are all literally senior citizens, which my parents are not. So, Brian ended up hanging out with my cousin Cory all night (age 21, and he even felt old next to the kids) and I talked to my mom and grandma, and hung out with Brian and Cory. And Holly and Denny later when they came over! Holly did not bring the kids, which was probably for the best, and so Emily got to stay at home with her Grandpa Jim (Holly's dad), who she proudly informed her mother is her "BFF." Where the heck does a 3 and a half year old learn BFF???

Finally, we get to the part I know many of you are wondering about....the 75 year old marrying the 19 year old. Here is the story. This guy Ron has been a friend of my parents for a long time. He's also done a ton of carpentry/building work for them, which is his forte and he's very good at it. I guess a few years ago he bought a house in the UP up by the Soo and began spending summers up there, working and enjoying himself (For a 75 year old, this guy looks like a healthy 60 year old and could outwork any of his reading or writing this blog!). Across the street lived this family of a single dad with 3 kids, mom took off to Ohio. I guess they are kind of wacky religious, and the kids, especially the 2 girls, are not allowed to talk to anybody not approved by the dad. They've been homeschooled, haven't had jobs, etc. These people are also really poor, and Ron would frequently raid my mother's garden for all sorts of stuff to take up to them so they'd have food. Well, this girl starting hanging around Ron, and dad let it go, probably thinking he was harmless. When he came back down to Mayville for the winter, she kept calling him and calling him. He would pick and talk to her, partially to not be rude but I'm also sure he enjoyed the attention. He claims that he told her repeatedly to go get a boyfriend her own age, to no avail. Well, the absent mom comes in the picture and tells Ron to quit talking to her daughter, etc, and his response is "She's been calling ME, all I do is pick up the phone." Fast forward to this summer, and they are apparently getting married this week, and might be already as I write this blog. When I saw them at the party, I seriously thought it was his cute little granddaughter, until Jim tells us all otherwise, and my Mom confirmed the story. We totally thought he was pulling our leg, but no. Obviously, this girl sees this as her way out, and I'm sure Ron enjoys having a cute young girl on his arm. If everyone is going into it with eyes open, not my business.....but I was grossed out a second time when Jim wondered out loud if the girl might be pregnant.....