Happy Christmas

Happy Christmas everyone!!!
Wishing you a very beautiful holiday!!!!

Brody had fun at the Holiday of Lights - and learned to Ice Skate.....

LinkedIn Christmas

Picture Updates

Thought I'd put a few new pictures of Brody out for all to see.
He's such a beautiful boy. He's got the best laugh - on night I'll have to record him just laughing - and post for you all :-) it's really uplifting. Makes me really think of how innocent kids really are.


Brody getting ready to go to Donca & Papa's
house (Donca is Brody's grandma).














Brody with cousin Ellie and some
other friends for trick-or-treating















Brody on Halloween - SUPERMAN


Family Photo Anyone?
Our visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium (Oct '07)


We are truly so blessed to have this amazing little boy in our lives! Every night as he sleeps I just watch him...... he's so peaceful :-)

what have I been doing?

I can't believe I haven't posted since Oct 9th. I'm so bad...... BUT the truth is:

I'm a new mom - never had a child before - and OMG it's so much. Brody has been home for just over 3 months now - and it's amazing. He was amazing when we first "met" him ~ but to "meet" him today - he's totally different. Really out of his shell. Not as many challenges now as we use to have. He's just really cool (that's his favorite descriptive word).

I'm a full time working mother. So I have 2 jobs. That's right everyone 2!!! I work at the most awesome Internet company in the WORLD. LinkedIn!! www.linkedin.com So I work there M-F from 8 (or before) until 5 (or later).
What is a "typical" day? Is there such a thing?

5:30 AM: wake, shower, dress
6:10 AM: feed Butch and Bella
6:15 AM: wake Brody & start his breakfast. While breakfast is cooking, make lunch for Brody.
6:30 AM: dry hair
6:45 AM: take pugs for their morning walk.
7:15 AM: do make up - finish getting Brody ready.
7:20 AM: out the door to school (sometimes this could be earlier if everyone is quick)
7:35 AM: at the school for drop off.
7:40 AM: in car on way to work
8:00 AM : at work. Did I mention the best Internet Company in the WORLD www.linkedin.com
work work
work work
work work
5:00 PMish: leave work to pick up Brody
5:30 PM: at school for pick up
6:00 PM: home - feed Butch & Bella
6:05 PM: start the dinner
6:15 PM: walk the pugs (with Brody)
6:35 PM: home - Brody in the shower (still making dinner too)
6:45 PM: dinner
7:00 PM: Brody watches TV- I clean up from dinner and shower
7:30 PM: Brody to bed - read story
8:00 PM: Brody is asleep - I take care of the pugs some more, straighten up around the house
9:00 PM: sit and read or watch TV or catch up on emails (Christmas shopping online)
10:00 PM: get clothes out for work tomorrow
11:00 PM: go to bed to watch tv (news)
(so down probably 6 hours of possible sleep - I might get 4)

So where is the hubby during all this? around :-) LOL. Just kidding. For those of you that are new to the blog :) hubby is an amazing police officer. He works hard to keep our communities safe, for our children to grow up in. He is currently working 3 PM to 3 AM - so on his first day off, he'll pick Brody up from school early, around 3 PM. Then he's on duty that night with Brody, and the pugs. So I tend to stay at the office longer those nights (like tonight as an example - stayed until 6, went to the store, etc). Tomorrow morning, I'll sleep in until 6:30 AM - as Scott will take Brody to school. When Scott works weekends - it's long for me, because you must entertain a 4 year old pretty much at all times.
Thanks to my family, and some great friends, it's becoming easier. On weekends - Brody will sleep until almost 9, because I let him stay up until after 9 :-) so I get up around 7:30, clean, laundry, nice long walk with the pugs, etc.

So I'll try and make more posts - but bare with me :-)

Love,

Julz
Mom to Brody :-)

Preschool Picture Day

Today was preschool picture day - don't I look adorable? I picked this shirt out - but brought another one to change into so I did not get dirty - I told mommy that my photo's were cute and I showed her how I smiled - I hope she likes the photos when they come in.

Not a lot of time to update today! but wanted to let everyone know that things are going GREAT!!!!!!

We are all really settling into routines and figuring it out - together.

Lots of Love

Julz, Scott & Brody

Today Brody had his first trip to the zoo. We have a small zoo in San Jose called Happy Hallow. Just a few animals, and some rides. Brody had a blast. Here is the video of him on the Ladybug ride! He loved it. We have some great photos - like this one of Brody feeding the goats. All in all it was a really great day.

Brody's Homecoming continued

So I last left off on the Sunday the 26th. It's so hard to find time to post with motherhood - so thanks everyone for your patients :-)

Monday August 27th ~ well when we got home on Sunday night Brody woke up and of course needed to see everything in the house :-) - We also got the bedrail delivered while we were gone so I was putting it together. I decided to sleep in his room on the trundle bed that first night - so he didn't wake up afraid in the middle of the night. Well he finally went down, and I got to bed about midnight. He woke up at 4 AM - YUCK!!! I told him we needed to stay in bed until the sun came up - he did - but it was like as soon as that sun cracked through those curtains he was up :-) so up around 6:30 - we took care of Butch & Bella who were so excited to see Brody. Butch actually did really well!!! We had breakfast - took a bath - and unpacked our suitcases. Brody was such a help!!!! Off to the park with our big wheel and our soccer ball. Brody had a blast. We came home, had lunch and took a quiet time nap. Then up and off to the pool. Yes we live in Sunny California - but our pool was freezing. He really wanted to stay in it, but his teeth were chattering! It was too cute. Tried the small hot - tub but it was too hot for him. Back home - let's swim in the bath! It's so deep it's totally possible. So we played in the bath for awhile. Out and time for our first family dinner at home. Nothing exciting. Turkey Kelbasa and Mac n'cheese. It was good and I'm pretty sure that Brody liked it. We watched a little of CARS and then it was off to bed. All by himself tonight - but the door was open and so was ours incase he got scared. When he went off to bed - we looked at eachother and said "we can do this".

Tuesday August 28th, Okay so this day - not as rosey as the last :-) we had 5 meltdowns today. Over nothing other than Brody wanting something and not getting it. So it was rough - we didn't do anything but stay in and go for little walks today. I guess the honeymoon is over :-)

Wednesday August 29th, A little better this morning. Donca (my mom - Grandma) was suppose to come down today, but we thought maybe Brody needed a quiet day. It was a bummer - but I think it was for the best. We went to the park, and watched the rest of cars. It's a great movie.

Thursday August 30th, Auntie Lee is here today from LA. She's Brody's GodMother. She flew up with an extra suitcase just of stuff for Brody. I was not home when she got here, just Brody & Scott. I had to take Butch & Bella to the vet. Bella has a bladder infection :-( So when I came home Brody was on a time out - as he hit daddy - it started as play but escalated apparently. He sat in his room for a bit after that - and then we all went to visit Brody's new school and to meet his teachers. He liked the playground - but said that he would not be going to school there LOL - little does he know. After visitation - we came home to put on play clothes and off to the park. Daddy dropped, Brody, Auntie Lee & I off while he went to go pick up lunch for us. Then Auntie Erica came down for a visit too. It was great. Brody always has such a blast at the park! Then we all went home and it was time for quiet time. He went straight down for a nap today - was a miracle. Auntie Erica had to leave to go to work, and soon after Auntie Lee had to go too :-( Oh well I hope she comes back again. Of course right as she was getting ready to leave, Brody finally wanted to play with her! All family gone - and time for dinner & bed.

Well faithful blog readers - motherhood is crying so I must go again. Hopefully I'll wrap up tonight :-)

Julz

Finally a family

Well I know it's been over 2 weeks since I've posted anything - and it was probably the most exciting 2 weeks of this entire blog :-)

So we'll go back and do a timeline :-)

Thursday August 23rd, Scott and I flew to NY from SF. It was a quick flight - direct just over 5 hours. Checked into our hotel - and gosh I don't recommend anyone staying in Jamaica Plains, NY. There is NOTHING to do there. We ate awful food at the hotel, watched a movie - feel asleep.

Friday August 24th, probably going to be one of the longest days of our lives - Brody's plane wouldn't land until 5:05 - but of course I kept checking the Delta.com site to just see if by chance it would be early. NOPE - going to be a little late..... Got to JFK around 4:30 - tried to talk to Delta about getting through to the gate. They would only allow one of us - and because we both couldn't go - we said no. We waited at the door they would come through from customs. It felt like a really long wait. FINALLY I saw Tim - he was carrying Brody - who apparently fell asleep about 30 minutes before landing. Was awake the rest of the flight though. Tim handed over Brody to me, and I to Scott. He was heavy :-) We stood with Tim just chatting about the trip and everything - Brody slept the whole time...... slept through getting put in the car seat..... slept through being carried into the hotel - being laid on the bed, taking clothes off to change him and wash him a bit. He finally opened his eyes. He smiled!!!! thank God he didn't start crying :-) We got cleaned up - and then were on our way to CT - figured it would be best to drive out that night to get there - and have Saturday with Scott's family. So in the car - watching Finding Nemo - everything is fine - Until: YES I said Until: Projectile vomit. It was awful. I was of course sitting in the back seat with him - GROSS - roll down the windows try and breath. Scott pulled off - it was horrible. We got him out, cleaned up the car - still smelt for days. After that - Brody feel asleep - and we got to CT about 30 minutes later. Checked into our hotel there - got Brody to bed and then just looked at eachother - and said "now what?"

Saturday August 25th, woke up - had room service for breakfast. Figured that would be the easiest for him. Took a bath - dressed, and headed over to Grandpa & Grandma's house. Scott's Dad and wife Nancy live in CT. We arrived to of course a very welcomed home. There was Thomas The Train decorations in the dining room - big bags of toys, it was great. Brody was of course very shy - but about 30 minutes or so into our visit he started playing with his new toys. Not long after we got there Auntie Michelle arrived from MA. She was so excited to be there and finally meet him - she was tickled blue :-) Auntie Michelle bought him a great soccer ball, and of course his first Boston Red Sox t-shirt. Then Freddie, Dawn, Mason & Leo showed up. Mason & Leo bought Brody a truck to hold his hot wheels, then the 3 boys went out to play soccer. It was too cute. Brody is a great soccer player already. There was a little moment during his playing where he got very sad, walked away, and looked as if he could cry. We think he missed his friends at Beacon House. Then Auntie Kathy "Sassy" showed up - here and Auntie Michelle - immediately left for more shopping :-) Gonna have to buy a new suitcase to get all his gifts home. They came back with a lot of Spiderman toys, books, legos, etc. It was so great. He was so happy. Grandma Nancy ordered a beautiful cake with Brody's picture on it. It was very special. So we all went in for cake, Brody got to cut it, of course with Daddy's help. Then Auntie Lisa showed up with her little baby girl Paige. It was a full house to have Brody's homecoming. We left around 6pm, headed back to the hotel for room service dinner - and bedtime. What a great first day.

Sunday August 26th, got ready in the morning - went out for breakfast to the Riverdale Diner in Shelton, CT. Back to the hotel to get our stuff, and head back to NY for the JFK airport. Almost made it - about 10 minutes away and Brody felt sick. Pulled off - got him out, for a walk. He did not vomit this time :-) Finally got to the airport - dropped off the car, took the train to the terminal 4 for Virgin America airlines. Went and checked our luggage - then to line up at security. Thank goodness we got there so early - it took us over 45 minutes to get through security. See Virgin America flies out of the International terminal - and for some reason JFK thought it was OK to only have 2 security screener's open on a Sunday afternoon. Got through - grabbed some sandwiches, and went to our gate. Brody started to cry a bit when he saw the planes, but when we told him we were all going on it together - to go to his new home, he was happy. Brody and I went to get him changed into sweatpants, and a sweatshirt......he "loved" his new pants :-) Got on the plane, pre-boarded, so that was great. Flight was uneventful. Brody feel asleep towards the end, and didn't wake up at landing. My parents, brother, sister-in-law, and their 3 kiddo's were at the airport to meet Brody - unfortunately he slept through it. Alex "Peanut" helped me with all the luggage, she was so excited to meet Brody.

Well that got us through the first few days - will post more later - this mommyhood thing is very time consuming - and I must go!!!

Last post from CA

Well this is the last post from CA - next time it's going to be NY/CT.
We are done - truck is packed - we are just trying to figure out how to go to sleep tonight :-) Up at 4AM - ouch.

tomorrow will be a long day - long in the sense of....is FRIDAY ever going to get here?
Friday will be long......long in the sense of.....is 5:05pm ever going to get here?

We are good - a little nervous - but mostly excited.

Got word today that Brody has accepted that he's flying - he's happy and been smiling. He'll get all his new clothes on Thursday night - and the coloring book - Tim will give him on the plane. He'll take one or two stuffed animals with him as well.
We have a stuffed pug (go figure) packed for him too.

Speaking of pugs - they are going to be so well taken care of. Their Aunt Erica is coming by Thursday afternoon for a walk & hang out. Then Thursday night their Uncle John will take them to his place. He's always really excited to get pug time. We will miss them - and can't wait to see them again Sunday night with Brody!

Heard from my mom tonight (they are on vacation) they wanted to just say good luck and they'll see us at the airport on Sunday night.

Love ya all - and thanks for your support during the last 18+ months!!!

Julz, Scott, Brody, Butch & Bella
xo

2 days and counting....

Okay - so in less than 24 hours we will be on our plane to NY - wonder if we'll get any sleep tonight or Thursday night?!?!?!?!
We think we have it all sorted out - everything is ready - just get off work, finish packing our stuff - load the truck, and try and get at least 5 hours sleep - getting up at 4:00 AM yes that's right folks 4 AM. (Yuck) - out of the house by 4:45 at the airport by 5:30 - park - shuttle to airline - check bags (4 including car seat)......and then wait patiently.....or not so patiently to get on the plane that leaves at 7:00 AM - direct flight to NY via Virgin America Airlines. Can't wait to fly them. It's going to be a great experience.
We land in NY tomorrow at 3:30 their time - hopefully we'll post something that night if we hear anything - otherwise the count down until 5:05 PM Friday when Brody's plane lands in NY!!!!

Julz

Count Down 3 days

Well we have 3 days everyone!!! Finally - doesn't it seem like forever when we all started this journey? My adorable son is finally coming home. The thought of having him in my arms on Friday is almost surreal to us. We have everything ready, I think :-)
His bag is packed, we have a car seat coming with us to NY, we have toys, books, coloring books, play doh, stuffed animals, we are ready.
Food - oh don't forget food. I have snack items ready too!! Even went shopping Sunday at the grocery store and bought a few things that were freezer foods - just to make sure we had food in the house when we came home. Monday morning, I'll probably get up and run to Whole Foods for fruit and veggies - that should keep us going for a bit.
My parents are meeting us at the airport on Sunday night, that will be great!
We have a few other visitors next week, Brody's God-Mother (Auntie Lee) is flying up on Thursday from LA to meet him, and probably spoil him!!!
Especially excited that Brody will get to meet Scott's family when we are in NY/CT. I know his Aunt Michelle, Aunt Sas & Uncle Mike are so excited to meet him and hold him!!!

It's be a great journey LOL - long - but great!!!!

Stay tuned for the first Grosso family photo!!!!

Julz

Visa has been issued!!!!

YIPPY

YIPPY

YIPPY

Can I scream from the roof top?!?!?!?!?

Brody's visa has been issued! It's in his passport - and we have the secret envelope. He was issued an IR3!!!!! AWESOME!!! In California you still have to readopt - but it's just awesome!

This time next week I'll have my little boy in my arms - and probably watching him sleep right around now!!! I hope I can get some sleep between now and then - because I'll probably be in awe over him!!

Thanks to everyone for all your support throughout this journey (you know who you are)!!!

This blog will continue to show Brody and our new family!!!

Cheers ~

Julz, Scott, Brody, Butch & Bella

Come on home......

We bought our tickets....... heading to NY on the 23rd......

We bought Brody's ticket today, including his escorts :-)

Everything is coming together. In less than 13 days we are going to be a family!!!!!

Today we bought a few more video's for Brody's collection!!! Movie nights are going to be huge in our family. Probably going to be Friday nights.

Sunday - family dinner & game night......can't wait to play hungry hippo, chutes and ladders, and don't forget the awesome Disney BINGO!!!!!

We'll keep you updated as our days count down!!!!

Julz, Scott & Brody

Embassy Day....

Today Brody got to go to the US Embassy (yes again)..... he went in at 7:30, and out by 9:00 with a note to come back on the 17th, for his Visa :) YIPPY YIPPY YIPPY YIPPY!!!!
They will probably just call the birth and death registry to verify his bio father's death certificate. We bought tickets tonight!!! Can't wait.
We finally get to meet our son on Friday August 24th.
Hope for all of us that it goes smoothly and that there are no more delays at the Embassy.

Cheers ~
Julz, Scott & Brody

Package in Ghana

Well we found out that our file was at the NVC (national visa center) on the 24th. They told us that the package wouldn't be there long - they like to get those out quickly.
I took a stab at calling this morning - and got through. Our file was sent to Ghana the very next day the 25th!!!!
Romana is going to call the Consulate today (after 3 their time) to see if they have the information.
They should have the teletype - as it only takes a day for those. She has Brody's medical, so maybe she could get in tomorrow for the Interview - maybe the visa could be issued on Friday.
OH MY GOSH - could it really just be a few weeks (or 1 week) away from when I get to hold my little guy in my arms.........
Keep your fingers crossed that we will be able to find someone that can fly him to NY.

Cheers ~
Julz, Scott and Brody

Could it really happen?

Yesterday we finally got in touch with the NVC (National Visa Center), our case just arrived there yesterday. It took about 1.5 weeks to get there. They said the case won't be there for long - maybe Friday it will head off to Ghana.
So they send a teletype to the Consulate in Ghana, then they also send the entire package - our file - to Ghana via Diplomatic Pouch, and it should get there next week.
We let Romana know - and she was so excited.
Romana is calling on Brody's medical today to see if the Doctor wrote it up for the Embassy, it should be ready today or Friday. She then hopes to head to the Embassy on Tuesday (7/31/07) to take Brody to his Visa Interview. What the heck do you interview a 4 year old on? LOL - then maybe Visa will be issued by Friday (8/3/07) Oh my - could it really happen that fast? It would be great - but I'd also be happy with the 10th of August.
We will keep you all posted!!!!
Julz, Scott & Brody

Prepared??? I think so.......

I was talking to a friend the other night. She called to sort of "yell" at me LOL.
She was going to buy Brody his big wheel - but thought she'd check our blog really quick before going to www.target.com and sure enough she saw the picture. She called and said "YOU CAN'T BUY HIM EVERYTHING" heheheh - yes I can - I'm the mummy :-)
So I told her I'd back off (a little) as much as possible. It's so hard- I want to buy him EVERYTHING so he's fully stocked when he get's here. There are a few things that I want him to have that he doesn't yet - but like she said - other's need to buy him things to.
So I've done my diligence and updated our target registry :-) now his Godmother (that's who yelled at me) can go and have some fun.

Other than that I think we are all prepared for his arrival :-)

Just talked to Brody this morning - not very talkative today though - it's more on his terms apparently ;-) But we showed him his big wheel & Butch was next to it, he liked it and smile really big.

We are just waiting for his visa now - then it's time for him to come home.

Julz

they are here

For those of you who followed yesterday - Jeremiah & Maria landed in North Carolina today at 11:25 they landed late because their flight was delayed leaving LG because of Thunderstorms. They are fitting in very well with their families.

On our adoption the update is that it looks like our package didn't got to the National Visa Center. It looks like it went straight to Ghana. If that's the case we could have Brody home so much sooner!!!!

We will keep you all posted.

Cheers ~
Julz

Exciting & Sad Day....

UPDATE 7:05 pm PST
I just got off the phone with Mo, and the kids missed their connecting flight from NY to Atl. so they are staying at a hotel at LaGuardia airport, where they will get a direct flight into North Carolina tomorrow morning. Mo was about 30 minutes away from the airport when she got the call. she's bummed, but knows that they'll be there in the morning.
Apparently while they were at JFK the customs was just crazy -a lot of people I guess. Then they waited outside for a shuttle to take them from JFK to LaGuardia, Felix cried every time a shuttle went by wondering why it wasn't his. Poor kiddos - long day for them.
So Mo will meet her children tomorrow! I'll keep you all posted on the updates :- )

I talked to Kelly today and she says that Brody is doing fine without Felix. SO, that's good - we sent over some more pictures to him of his toys and he's in love with his new Big Wheel!!!!
hopefully he'll be home soon to ride it!!!!
ciao ~
Julz


Hi everyone ~ well today is a very exciting day. Jeremiah Felix & Maria Paulina are coming to America. They landed in JFK about 50 minutes ago :-)
They should be in their mommy's arms in about 5.5 hours. I'm so excited for them and their family!!!
The sad news?
Brody and Jeremiah Felix are best friends. It's going to be a rough few days for him to get use to no seeing Jeremiah Felix every day.
Hopefully Brody is not far behind them with only a couple more weeks before he can go home!
I'll update you all when they arrive with their families!
So excited for their families - and yes jealous :-)

Love,
Julz

A picture worth a thousand tears.......

How adorable is this picture? This is Brody, Jeremiah Felix & Maria Paulina. Jeremiah and Maria are coming home on Tuesday - they will finally be with their forever family. Who have during all this become an extension of our family. I consider them cousins :-)
Brody and Jeremiah have become so close - we (us & his parents) don't think that they get they aren't going together. It's so sad. They have been together for over a year, these three. During that year they have lived in an orphange (OSU) with a foster family, and now with Romana at Beacon House (www.beaconhousetrust.org) and now Maria & Jeremiah will make the journey from Accra, Ghana to NY, then down to North Carolina where they will meet in person mommy & sister - then the foursome will head out in the car for 3 hours to VA (home) where they will be greated with a huge loving family.
I think it will be hard on Brody, but I know that he's in good hands. Romana & Kelly will make sure that he's couping with it OK, and they should start getting him all excited for his big trip, hopefully just a few weeks out!!!!
Love that photo - just had to share it with everyone. I've also asked Kelly for a few more of the three of them - I want to cherish them forever.
We are going to make sure the boys talk on skype (www.skype.com) so that they stay in touch - and next year, hoping for a big "family" trip to Ghana for a visit!!!!

Cheers ~
Julz

APPROVED I600

This morning I received a pleasant call from our Congresswoman's office *Patty* she informed me that they called her to let her know that our I600 was approved and on it's way to the National Visa Center -

SO WHAT NEXT?
we wait maybe 2-3 weeks for the NVC (New Hampshire) to send it on to Ghana. In Ghana they will decide if they need to do an investigation - if they do - maybe 2 more weeks, if they don't they should issue his visa.

WHEN IS BRODY COMING HOME?
we are keeping our fingers crossed that he'll be home mid -end of August!!! FINALLY

It's been a long road to get us this far - but it is so going to be worth it!!!!

School starts September 4th - so hopefully he's home for the school year!!!!

Julz, Scott & Brody

USCIS strikes again.......

Well it’s been awhile since I posted J but so much has been going on.

Last time I updated everyone we had 2 items on the list from USCIS that we needed.

Yesterday we received the final item!!! YIPPY - this came to us from Ghana, Romana sent the original Death Decree for Brody’s biological father.

I then sent it over night to the USCIS office in San Jose.

Last week I finally got Scott involved with the USCIS officer, because the man was just annoying me.

Well he evidently annoyed Scott as well LOL – not hard to do!

This man has a very condescending tone when he speaks, he told Scott “this is a very long and expensive process.”

Aren’t we glad he told us that – we had no idea (18 months later and $$$$$ out the yingyang).

We were told we were getting another letter from them with additional requests for MORE stuff! And the hits just keep on coming!

It was dated 6/29/2007 apparently – well ironically that came yesterday too (13 days US Mail from San Jose to Sunnyvale – about 12 miles – interesting).

In this letter he referenced for our I600A – what the heck – we did that over a year ago and that was approved. Argh they are just so bloody stupid there!

I called him this morning, and he said “it’s not my fault your husband doesn’t communicate to you properly” WHAT???? “I told him to disregard that letter”. Fine – but do you understand that this application is for I600 – not the I600A – we did that already. “YES” Good news! Finally he’s getting it. Stupid head!

He told me again that he needs the Death Decree – explained that it would be in the hands of the USCIS office by 10:30 this morning an original and a copy per the request. He said that once he has that he will forward our application to Ghana. Does that mean he’s approving it? Probably- but I got so annoyed (yes again) that I had to get off the phone with him!

We sent a letter to our Congresswoman yesterday, and hopefully she will be able to do a little more investigation for us.

It’s frustrating, and yes it’s a long process. But when you deal with people that just don’t seem to get it, or don’t do their own homework, it becomes more frustrating.

It’s like he hadn’t even really read our file. Why would he request a home study? UHHHH you already have one.

Dealing with these people at USCIS are like dealing with the DMV. It is absolutely ridiculous to have such incompetent people working our Federal Agency Departments! Don’t you think? Is there no checks & balances? Friends have applied for their I600’s in different states, and got approvals almost on the spot - what is the difference? Why is some documentation needed for some people, and other’s it’s not? If this is a Federal Agency they should require the same things no matter what state you live in. Not saying that I would want everyone to go through what we have been going through – but seriously – it’s a form of discrimination don’t you think?

We filed our I600 83 days ago (as of today) ~ can you believe that? 83 days - that is way to long to be waiting!!!! They told me when I dropped it off that it takes 30-60 days, okay so we are 23 days beyond their long estimate! It’s all just LAME!

I’ll stop complaining now – I just needed to get it off my chest!

The good news (hopefully) is that the dummy will send it this week, and we will be that much closer to having our Brody come home! FINALLY!!!

Love,

Julz, Scott & Brody

2 down 1 to go

We have received 2 of the items that we needed for the USCIS office, and have 1 more to go. We are awaiting the death decree of Brody's bio dad. Which remember I have said they can be difficult to get - well the wonderful Pastor Andrew has been to 3 different places and is attempting again tomorrow. I sent the other 2 documents to the USCIS today and hopefully they will just approve the dang visa. They want the original death decree - I'm hoping they will allow the copy and have the actual Embassy/Consulate see the original at the time of the interview.
We learned yesterday that Brody is doing very well - and mostly speaking English and not his native language, so that will make it an easier transition to the US.
Not wanting to get our hopes up again, but we think we are finally getting somewhere.

Julz

Time for a swim?

Well remember how earlier this week I told you that Brody went swimming for the first time? Isn't it adorable?
Not much to update - the rainy season has started in Ghana. So what does that mean? Well it means that a lot of the roads can get washed out, and it's a little more stickier than usual. BUT not the 100 degree temps, so at least it keeps it in the 80's. The season will stay for about 6 months.
I have good thoughts about that, and not so good. Good that the weather will be a little more on my side, not though because of the roads - it may impair some of the things I wanted to see.
All the Typhoid stuff is done - thank goodness :-) So next off - I'll get the Hep A&B combo - but not until mid June.
OH - we wrote to our Senator about the issues we've been having with our USCIS office, they of course passed the buck to the Congresswoman. WELL - A worker for the Congresswoman called me on Friday! She said that once we get the paperwork we can get and send it back in that she'll just start calling every day checking on it. She was just as upset as we were that they sat on our file for 5 weeks and it took me going down there to see what they needed.....she thought that was ridiculous. Finally someone on our side. Scott also heard back from the former Ambassador that he worked under. He let us know that if we have problems getting the SW report, he will call down there - he is still friendly with the Mayor of Accra. So seems that we've got a few options here depending on how quickly Pastor Andrew can get the things out in Kosoa that we need. He leaves on Monday to try to retrieve the death decree and the form from Brody's birth mother.
So keep good thoughts going for all the Grosso's :-)
Thanks
Julz, Scott & Brody

little update

Hi Everyone - well today was the 3rd pill for the Typhoid thing....yuck. Today was gross. I felt like I had the flu all day - but knew that I didn't. The 2nd pill on Monday wasn't that bad. The worse part about them is that they just make me so tired. But so worth it.

Brody update: On Tuesday night it was Brody's turn to say the prayer over their dinner. How cute is that?!?!?!?! I'm not sure what he actually said over the meal, but just cute that he did. He also learned how to ride a Tricycle for the first time yesterday. Awesome. Buying a bike for him when he get's home has been something Scott and I think of all the time. It's going to be really fantastic.

Our angel in Ghana is going to try and get some of the items we need for the USCIS next week. They have a pastor that is starting out there, and he will make the journey out to the village Brody is from. Please think quick & good thoughts that they are able to get all this paperwork quickly.

Sorry that's all I have for now - but I'll keep you posted on everything.

Julz

Tyhoid day 1.......

UPDATE: 5 hours since I took my first pill - and doing great. Have not really felt anything. I was able to eat about an hour after I took it, other than that I'm just drinking a lot of water, and even went out and about for an hour. Hopefully the rest of the day and the rest of the pills go like this.




Well got up this morning at 7:30 - poured a fresh glass of ice water - opened the fridge, opened the box of the Typhoid pills - took 1 out, and gulp down the hatch. So it's been about 25 minutes since I've take it, and so far so good. Apparently you can throw up from them and if you do in the first hour you must take again........ here is hoping I don't throw up - i hate that.......

Nothing else new to report...... just going to see how these make me feel today to see what I'll do with a 3 day weekend.

Ciao
Julz

Wish I had better luck with the USCIS

I think that title says it all :-)

So I meet with USCIS on Wednesday, and it was NOT GOOD!

So for the last 5 weeks I have been trying to contact them - I sent them the birth certificate via email, fax & US Mail. However there was no reply from them, that they needed anything else.
So (lots of so's here ) I go there - I wait patiently, and then get told that I can't go upstairs. I didn't argue - but I was FIRM that I needed to see them. So they asked me to sit again, and I did. I waited (probably tapping my foot). Then they called me up again, and provided me with the "pass" to go upstairs. I smiled and thanked them.
I go upstairs, and wait there - but thankfully not for too long. The Orphan Officer came out, and invited me to her office - ohhhhhh never been there before.
I sit, she has my file on her desk. She let's me know she hasn't looked at it. WHAT THE????? 5 weeks and you haven't looked at it? What the heck?
She did have ALL the b/c's that I had sent - funny how she couldn't have responded before that she had them and if we needed anything else.
She gave me back the original Adoption Decree - thank goodness - I really wanted that back.
THEN......
We can't complete your request at this time. We need more information and originals.
So they wrote up the list of the things they need - and then on the same letter it states - you have 87 days to provide these things, or your file will be rejected.
WHAT????? Rejected - because you just sat on my file for 5 weeks (35 days) so I could have had 122 days - but NOOOOOO they are too busy............
So what do they need?
Original Death Decree of Brody's father - okay education time. Getting a death decree in Ghana can be very difficult if not impossible. Someone needs to go out to the village where his mother lives, have her go with them to the courts to get the decree done. that could take days, if she's even at the same address that Osu had for her.
Letter from the social worker - stating that his mother can not provide for him according to Ghana Standards.
Letter from the mother that she understands that he's being adopted (which we have) but also that he is going to the US.

FREAK OUT -
So what did we do next? Everything we could.
I emailed the wonderful Romana - told her what we needed, and asked if she could help. I emailed the attorney that processed our adoption to see if he would be of any help. We emailed our senator again, who replied that because it is a federal thing - that Congress would have to take it - they will be forwarding the request over to our Congress rep. Good grief.
Scott emailed the former Ambassador to Ghana - whom he served under. We hope to hear from him.
Today Romana was able to reach the Social Worker that did our case. He will be able to help with the documents. But we had to provide her with a letter and the suit case. So I gave that to her, and then I wrote a letter signed it, and scanned it.
Romana also found someone that can go out to the area Brody's mother lives and will work on getting the Death Decree for Fredrick (father).

Yesterday I felt that it was the end - i felt defeat.
Today I feel hope. I feel that we have so many wonderful people supporting us and doing everything they can to get Brody home with us to his family.

I first want to publicly thank Romana. Romana - you have become our Guardian Angel. Brody has done so well in your care, and I really think he is becoming a little more comfortable, not as shy. You gave me a gift that nobody could possibly imagine what it was worth. Talking & seeing my Brody was the most amazing thing. Thank you. Thank you for stepping up once again and helping us.

Today we mailed a package to Kelly who is leaving on Saturday to go stay in Ghana with her two beautiful twins that she is adopting. Kelly is courageous for her trip - she is planning on being there for 6 months. You go Kelly. Kelly is bringing Brody's passport and birth certificate over to Romana. Yes you heard me right - we are sending it back. LOL. Romana is going to start on all the visa requirements for us, like the medical, etc, so she needs those. I also sent over the visa application - the DS230.

Please send good thoughts to Ghana with everyone there and going soon.

Anita is still there -she has been trying so hard to get Bright's visa this week, but today she found out that they won't for about 2 more weeks. She's suppose to only be there for another week, so she's trying to decide on staying - or coming home, but then she doesn't think she'll be able to fly back so soon to get Bright. Please send good thoughts her way.

Well that's about it - I will keep everyone very up to date on our progress.

Julz, Scott & Brody

Where is my LOLLIPOP?

So when did they stop giving out lollipops for getting shots?

So today I went down to get my Travel Consultation at the doctors. For those of you that really know me, know that this is HUGE! I hate shots :-)
So I got Yellow Fever - well I didn't get the fever, I got the vaccine against it. So this is what the doctor says to me:
Dr: The side effects of the Yellow Fever Vaccine can be, Death or Sever Organ Failure.
Me: Now, Doc, is that something you really want to say to someone who already is having a panic attack about the shot?
So then she went on to talk about the other precautions. Typhoid - okay fine I'll take that. It's an oral form though - so 4 pills, 1 every other day - I'll start on Saturday - side effects can be sever abdominal cramping - GREAT! Malaria pills - got the prescription and will turn that in to the pharmacy tomorrow. I start that the day before we leave, then every day there and 7 days after we return - got a total of 18 of them, that should be enough. At $7 a pill, I know that doesn't sound bad - but that's $126 for all 18 pills. On top of the $225 for the Yellow Fever. crazy - especially since our insurance doesn't cover you on these things. They don't view travel outside the US necessary :-) LOL - got to love it.
So I was good during the shot, I laid down, he told me he was going to pinch my skin, I'd feel a slight poke (ouch) and a burn (argh) and it was over. All while this was happening I was digging my nails on my right hand into my palm - a bit of a distraction - but it seemed to work.
They wanted me to do the Hep A&B combo - but do you people really see me eating while there? I'll think about it......... but I'm thinking Granola Bars & Trail Mix - Bottle Water - I'm good to go.
So seriously when did they stop giving you a lollipop when you get your shot?
After the technician gave it, he said "we'd like you to stay for 15 minutes to make sure that you are OK, and have no side effects!"
Me: so after 15 minutes if I don't die or have complete organ failure - you think I'm in the clear :-) LOL
these people have a twisted idea of OK :-) hehehehe

Okay so that's my update!
I think we are getting closer. Today we scanned a copy of our I171H and sent it to the wonderful Romana and she is going to take it to the Embassy next week to get Part I of the Visa Application, then she'll turn that in, and get Part II -(medical) she'll do that for us, and then we wait for our invitation to come for the Visa Interview :-) I'm so excited I think this is the first time, I've actually been able to see that light at the end of the tunnel.

Cheers & Love

Julz, Scott, Brody & pugs :-)

Seriously - you have to love technology

Today was probably one of the most amazing days every.
I spoke to my son today!
Yes you heard me I spoke to my son.
I called him, he answered "hello mummy"
it was so adorable. We both had webcam, so we were able to see each other.
Scott came over, he saw him and said "daddy"!!!
I held Butchy Boy up to the camera and he smiled and said "Butch"
then Bella's turn - he said "Bella"
Which only means that he's really been looking at the pictures of them, and of us.
He loves the colors Blue & Green. He's excited about coming to America to live with us.
Can you believe I spoke with my son today - it was seriously awesome. Who would have thought we'd have that kind of ability.
When Romana told him that he was going to talk to his mommy - he went with her to her office, walked in and pointed at the computer and said "mummy". How funny that he thinks that mummy is in the computer. He's going to be surprised when we finally get there.
So that's still the big question. When will we get to go pick up our adorable little son?
Well June is a lost month. The US Embassy in Ghana is closed for 19 days as they are moving to a new building. So that is 19 days of NOTHING happening, and also 19 days of backlog in their office. Our file with the USCIS is still????? Pending - I think. I've been trying to reach them for the last 2 weeks. When I got Brody's birth certificate and passport, I emailed them copies, then I faxed them copies and still nothing. They claim to respond to emails within 48 hours - well today makes a lot more than 48 hours - so I'm bumming. I think I'm going to try and post mail them to them. They can't ignore me forever. The USCIS office said we'd hear soon - they process the I600 within 30 - 60 days but say it happens much faster. So I checked out our local office's pending list - according to it (updated on 4/18) they are processing I600's that were filed in Jan - so that's not good for us. When I called their customer service number they were so UNHELPFUL - it's a little crazy to think that they have no way of getting through to the local offices. So off our additional information will go - and then maybe off I go to the office to sit there for a few more hours again - hoping to get somewhere.
A question dawned on me today - why wouldn't I be able to get him a visitor visa? He has a passport??? I'm going to try and look a little more info up on that.
Well I think that I've gone on enough.
Today was one of the most amazing days AND I really wanted to share it with all of you.
Please pray that our I600 gets processed and approved soon - so that we can go pick up our son!

Love
Julz, Scott, Brody, Butch & Bella
xo
(picture above is of Brody sitting at the computer after we spoke - look at that smile!)

Wow I did not realize that it has been almost a month since I posted. sorry to keep all of you waiting.
We have had a lot of ups and downs over the past month with the adoption process. the waiting and no real answers was becoming unbearable. Just when you think it could not become any worse - we received an email this morning from Lois at LVI stating that we needed to move Brody immediately out of his current foster care, because we terminated our contract. Even though - when we did terminate our contract we discussed with her, them staying there and just us taking over the payments. Apparently she's off her rocker, and even though she's in this for the children, still finds in her sick mind that it is OK to move them yet again, only a few short months from when we can go pick him up.
But - of course we acted on it quickly and with the help of the other family, who's 2 children are with Brody (they were told to move the children as well) - we have found a home for them to stay together. There is a wonderful woman by the name of Romana that is helping us out. She has a school at her home for children too, and they use mostly US School Text and have a focus on Phonics. So that is great news. She is going to pick them up tomorrow.
It is all so fast - but it had to be.
I'm sure now that LVI/Lois and Edward (LVI Ghana) have the email stating that Romana will be picking the children up tomorrow made her head spinning (backwards probably) that we did it that quickly.

So is there good news in any of this?
YES YES YES

we got the passport - and the birth certificate.
Well I have copies of them now. They were given to another family that is there currently, for them to hand carry back to the states for us. We should have the originals next week. YIPPY YIPPY.

So we emailed that to the local USCIS office and hopefully they will turn around with a quick approval of our I600 - some families have received approval in just 1 day. WOW.

So other news: the US Embassy in Accra, Ghana is moving to a new building - that means no visas will be issued from June 6th - June 25 - I hope that we can get our approval ASAP and have it approved again in Ghana prior. Please keep your fingers crossed for that!!


Well that's all for now :-)

Finally Something To Report

Well it's not much - but we got new photo's today :-) he sure is growing....... I hope he stays little boyish for another 2 years or so though...... I want to enjoy it.

It's certain that he is wearing 3T pants right now (even though he's 4).

We asked Lois (LVI) to get some answers for us, we got most of them. There were 2 big questions:

What is his favorite color (colour) - he got so frustrated when they asked him, because everyone was asking him, so the poor little guy had about 10 people asking him the same question that he clammed up - so that will remain a secret.

Does he know he's being adopted - YES and he's very excited to come to America and have a family that will love him!!! - thought that was too cute an answer.

Apparently at the school they get a lot of volunteers all who ADORE Brody, Jeremiah & Paulina. The three kids are their favorites :=)

Well I can't give you all the info in 1 night - so you'll have to wait for more ----- there is other exciting info.

NO we are not making our trip yet......but in the future.....I can almost see it....

Julz, Scott & Brody

with love

NTR

Nothing To Report (NTR).....

I wish I had something to report..... but I don't........

Things are in a stand still waiting on the passports still!!! We keep hearing every day that they'll be ready, but they aren't......frustrated.... concerned....... desperate....... all the emotions.....

Spoke with Lois today, she's heading out on Friday to Ghana. She is hoping to meet with some Government Employees, so we can only keep our fingers crossed and hope that she get's somewhere with them. Somewhere - like bringing Brody home.

I found out today that when the paperwork finally goes to the Embassy, that will also include the Field Investigation that was done prior to the adoption being finalized..... so when the Embassy gets this paperwork they will review the report and if it suffices their need for an investigation then the paperwork will move forward (quicker) to the Consulate to get the Visa processed.....I'm hoping that it's suffice to the Embassy ~ that would mean getting our boy home FASTER!!!

Please keep your fingers crossed for us!!!

Cheers ~

Julz, Scott & Brody (wanting to come home)

Some traveling to Ghana

Well today I went out and bought a new outfit for Brody and some adorable Elmo sandals :-) I picked up a cute Easter Toy - stuffed Lion with Bunny Ears & Jelly Beans. 2 packets of Flinstone Vitamins, toothbrush & toothpaste. Tomorrow I may throw in a book or two.

Mo is traveling very soon to Ghana to file her I600 in person. She'll travel once we know that the passports are ready!!! I'm so jealous of her to be able to go and meet Jeremiah & Maria. She's also going to meet our Brody!!!! We joked and said that if things move at the Embassy while she's there and they get her visas, she's to give them Brody's paperwork too, and just bring him home with her :-) LOL. Since Jeremiah & Maria are in the same foster home as Brody, she'll be able to spend some good time with him. I've asked only a few things. New photos & measurements :-)

Anita is also traveling to Ghana. She actually is on a plane now. She left this afternoon. Apparently her Pediatrician was very nervous about Bright's medical exam, especially his anemia. She believes he needs to be hospitalized, and possibly have a blood transfusion. How scary. So Anita is making that long journey all on her own. She's had her Dr & Senator write letters to the Embassy to expedite the Visa investigation for Bright, so she can hopefully bring him home.

While I'm THRILLED that Anita may be able to bring Bright home, it does raise some concerns for me. I'm worried that she may "push" the Embassy workers too much, and that will raise Red Flags for anyone else coming through from LVI. I'm worried that the Embassy will see this as a way around the system.......
Embassy workers are not always Americans believe it or not. In Ghana they actually are Ghanaian people that process all of our paperwork. So if someone is new or may not be as familiar with the types of Visas we need they may not be as likely to help out.
I guess we'll just have to wait and see how things go :-) Patients!! LOL - that's not me as you all know.

Well that's all for now ~ I know I haven't posted much lately, but we are kind of in a "waiting pattern"..... hope to have the passports early next week!!

Cheers,
Julz, Scott & Brody

Ghana Independence

Well today is the 50th Anniversary of Ghana's Independence. It's a beautiful thing. In 1957 Ghana was the first black African country to gain Independence, and many to follow.

The BBC has created a web page for African History: http://www.bbc.co.uk/africabeyond/ Lots of great information on here.

So not much news on the Adoption front. I heard from Lois today, no passport yet. Edwards guy says that he's doing everything possible to get them done quickly. A friend is over in Ghana right now (Hi Darren) visiting his son Justice. Because Darren is over there, Edward is with him until Sunday out in HoHoe. Therefore, we won't hear anything until next week :-( BUMMER! Good for Darren & Justice though.
So if you've been following you know that there are 2 other kids with Brody at the foster home. Maria & Jeremiah. Well Mom & Dad of these two is planning a trip to Ghana next week!! That's awesome for them. They are going to take tons of photo's of Brody for me, hopefully a carepackage for him too, and get measurements for me!!!! They are waiting for the passports to be done, and then they want to file their I600 themselves at the Embassy. That is so awesome. I just don't have the time to take off work right now to make that trip. IT would be so amazing if when at the Embassy, they just granted the Visa........ I'd want them to get Brody's stuff in for us to then......anything to make this go faster!!!

Okay well thanks for checking in, sorry not too much to report!

Julz, Scott & Brody (waiting to come home as a family from Ghana)

Not much, but it's something.....

Well not much to post about..... but felt that I needed to give you all a little update.
So the Brody's birth certificate: It's DONE!! Yippy..... there was some mix up in the past, so they had to request a new one. Did you know that in Ghana they still hand write their BC's. Isn't that crazy to think of?!?!?!?! Well with the BC done, that means that the Passport Application is in, we hear maybe a couple of weeks...... so I'll keep you all posted on that.
Once the Passport is ready, Edward will go and file the I600 application at the US Embassy. We are hoping for a quick turn around, but apparently the time line is 1 week to 6 months. I think I've said it before, not much of a time line LOL. We are hoping maybe for 6 weeks LOL ~ wishful thinking I'm sure.
It's getting into HOT season over there. Yes they have a hot and cooler season. Cool to them in high 80's LOL. that bloody hot to me...... HOT to them is in the 100's with 100% humidty....should be fun.
I was going to get my Yellow Fever shot last week, but I was so sick, I didn't think that would be wise. I read a few stat's on the YF vacine. 1 in 4 get sick from it..... good odds?

Anyways ~ you all have a wonderful weekend, and thanks for checking in!

Julz, Scott & Brody
STILL WAITING!!!!

Akwaaba

Getting ready for Independence Day, March 6th. I wish we could be in country during all the festivities surrounding the 50th anniversary of Ghana's Independence, but maybe we'll be there shortly after.

Today I created our wreath to hang at the door in honor of this wonderful day. I'm sure the neighbours will all wonder what the heck it is!!!

I hope when we are in Ghana (soon!!) that I'll be able to find some traditional items for the house, instead of some home made one..... It was all I could think of though.

Well nothing else new on our adoption front. Still no idea when we'll be heading out. I heard from another family (Anita) that she was told 4-12 weeks from when the papers are filed, I'd love that to be the case!!! I'm just getting so anxious.

Well I hope to have something to report soon!!!

Akwaaba~

Julz, Scott & Brody

Well ........Everyone keeps asking me what's going on? Are you too busy to post these days..... the answer is I WISH..... I haven't posted because, well there is nothing to post.

I think we are in the most silent part of the adoption so far.

We are waiting, yes again, but this time on our government. Our 1600 was filed in Ghana at the US Embassy. So we wait for them to do all their stuff. It is funny to me though.... time line at the embassy is 1 week to 6 months. What kind of time frame is that? So we wait. It's also funny that to get as far as we have so far - way back when....remember we had to do the pre-approval for the I600. Why do they make you do that if you still end up having to wait? They should just do the pre approval, pretty much have your file at the embassy with a fill in the blanks for the name, birthday, etc......and then off we go. That would make sense to me. But not our government. Let's make people get pre-approval during their adoption, and then when they think they are almost done, we'll make them wait. Sorry I seem to be venting. I didn't start out in a venting mood.

So where are we? READY!!!

Brody's room is totally done! I bought the curtains last weekend and a new lamp for his nightstand. We got a new backpack for his journey, and his suitcase is packed!!! I'm just waiting on a piece of paper to tell me I can go and pick him up!! i tell you - it's awful. Brody has been our son "legally" for 6 weeks now.....and we can't even pick him up!

I'm hoping that we'll have some sort of update in the next week or so..... I'm going to try and reach the embassy myself to see what's going on!

Brody is ready too ~ he's got a passport and everything......... just waiting for Mommy & Daddy to come bring him home.

Cheers ~

Julz, Scott & Brody

Food For Thought......

Hi Everyone ~ so this is a random post with not that much to do about the adoption, but in line with Africa in general.
Yesterday I went grocery shopping for the week, and actually planned out a few meals. That's huge for me, I usually go to the store each night or have something "frozen" LOL. So here I am at the store, spending $187.73 for 2 people for a week......not to mention the food that was already in the freezer & pantry etc.....

So where am I going with this?

We went out to my niece "Peanut's" 4th birthday party yesterday around 4:30, before we left we noticed the fridge had a lot of water....it was weird, we put a towel under it and left. When we came home around 9ish, the stupid thing was not even cold....... we have appliance insurance so we called them, they said they'd have the fridge guy come monday (today). So the fridge guys called today, saying they probably couldn't come until Wed...what was the point in the insurance if they can't do anything? So they gave us the 2-7 window. When I came home at 10 minutes until 2 - not even the bottles of water were cold, and all the frozen (including ice cream) was melted.... the guy came around 3:30, did some stuff and said "your compressor is broken" like I know what a compressor is....how fast can that be fixed? Min of a week....well it's hard to go without a fridge for a week, and that was just to order the part? He left, we called the insurance company about the time frame. If we bought a new fridge they would give us the cost of the part, labor and tax and we could put that towards a new fridge.....so to Lowes, Best Buy, Sears and then back to Best Buy we went. We bought a new fridge - stayed with the white so we didn't have to replace all the appliance, though Stainless Steel would be nice :-)
We came home around 6:30 and had to through 5 garbage bags worth of food out. Can you believe that. It made us both so sad to think of all that food gone to waste, and how there are people all over the world that need that food......but we couldn't do anything about it........

Food for thought........

Julz & Scott

Adoption Decree

Well this morning we had a nice surprise in our email!!! The paperwork was there!!!! It was really exciting! We are just trying to make sure that THIS IS IT!!! there was also one other little problem. My name was spelt wrong on the paperwork. It was most likely an oversight, but they put Juliana instead of Julie. Lois and I spoke about it, and we are hoping that the Embassy let's this go, because it was so just a typo. I also emailed our contact there to inquire.
But how exciting is it that we got the paperwork. It says that we are his legal parents!!!! YIPPY!!!! We feel we are finally getting somewhere.
Shopping: well went shopping again tonight after work. We were going through his clothes the other night to check out if everything would fit in the suitcase :-) ANXIOUS - we need a few more pairs a shorts, and some TShirts. So I picked up a few Polo Shirts, some "summer" PJs and a few toys for the plane. Play-Doh & a Doodle Pro(travel). It's so much fun......
Preschool: We checked out a few preschools yesterday via phone and web. Most of them you need to go to visit only on certain days (first Thursday of the Month)....so we'll get there. There is a really nice one by my new office, and there is one by Scott's work too.
Well that's all for now.....
Cheers,
Julz, Scott & Brody

Waiting on a piece of paper

Hey everyone~ well today I sent out our paperwork to Lois with the Power of Attorney for Edward to sign on our behalf at the Embassy, etc. We completed and sent our I600 as well. Now.....we are waiting on a piece of paper from Ghana. This paper is SOOOOO IMPORTANT it's the Adoption Decree. Edward is trying to get scanned copies of the other paperwork that was completed at the court on 12/22/06......He mentioned ALL the court papers?!?!?!??! Does that mean ALL? REALLY ALL?? or is it just the judges ruling?

Once we have the Adoption Decree - Edward can file our I600 at the Embassy.....then we'll wait again, this time for a stamp, and our baby boy!!!

We are still hopefully that we'll have some sort of news over the next few week!!!

It's so far been a great 2007, and getting Brody home would just make it so much better!!!

Sorry for the short post, but just not too much to say right now :-)

Cheers,

Julz, Scott & Brody

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY

I just wanted to say a special HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our little boy today. I'm so sad that we are not with him!!!! But soon......soon....soon......
Do I keep saying that?

Cheers,

Julz, Scott & Brody

Brody's Birthday Party

Hi All,
Well the most amazing thing happened today. I was thinking to myself, I wonder if Edward sent Lois the photo's yet of Brody's birthday party, and if he did.....has Lois checked her email and forwarded to

us??? Sure thing....she did!!! YIPPY!!!

I've been thinking about it all day. Would have loved to be there. There is a new little girl you may see in some of the photo's that I will post. She is from a Liberian Refugee camp and is now staying with Brody's foster family - her adoptive parents are in Canada.

Looks like they had a good time opening the presents. Soccer ball was a big hit, and so were the books. He's dressed up for the day, in matching outfits to Felix & Paulina. It's too cute.

Wishing you all a wondeful day,

Julz, Scott & Brody

What's a Mom to do?

Well it is Sunday in Ghana right now. I was just sitting here thinking that soon Brody will wake up, go to Church, come home for his Birthday celebration. He's going to have the wonderful meal, be with people that care for him, have a party with his Foster Family & Friends, and lastly open the presents we sent over. It makes me so sad that we are not there with him for his 4th birthday (1/16)...... BUT I must say that I am so relieved that he is loved by his foster family & Edward of course. I can't wait to get the photos of the event and share them with all of you. So what's a Mom to do......but just be grateful!!!
Next year we'll have the biggest party a child has ever seen!!!!! It will probably overwhelm him......but.......it will be so worth it to see his face light up.

Well I'm off.....not a lot to say......just a little thought about his birthday......

Cheers ~
Julz, Scott & Brody

Presents have arrived

The presents we sent over to Brody arrived at Edwards house on Thursday 1/11. Edward has let us know that they are having a birthday party for Brody on Sunday after church. There is a special meal that they are going to be serving called "OTOR". What is "OTOR"? It is made from mashed yam, palm oil and boiled eggs. The significant of this asking the Almighty for more blessing and longer life. I think that is too adorable that they have this special meal for him. Edward will be taking lots of photo's for us of Brody opening presents, etc. Remember in the box we also sent some party favors for all the kids.

Other Updates: I had a great conversation with Lois (2 hours) on Wednesday night. We covers everything. It was really great. Lois lives in WA, and I'm not sure if you all know but WA was hit with a bad blizzard on Wed night. We talked about that, and waited for her husband to make it home, and her son to call that he got home too. It was just really great to chat with her about everything. We are sending over our Power of Attorney to Edward so he can go to the US Embassy to apply for the Visa for us. We will also be sending our I600 Application over with it, that way as soon as Daniel provides Edward with the Adoption Decree, he can start with the Visa. Edward is now a full time employee of Life's Vision - in Ghana they are called LVI-Ghana. He has truly been a great addition to the team, and having someone in country is great progress. Edward is going to take the children to get their Passports very soon! It's awesome!!!! Travel: not sure of dates yet....but we are thinking mid-March. Some things need to get worked out before we can just up and leave!!! I'd like to just up and leave, but it's not likely! I have called the Travel Clinic about the shots that I need. For those of you that really know me, you know that I'm not that good with needles LOL. So I'll be going for my consultation next week to start with all that fun! The great thing is that I may only need 3 or 4 shots, and the malaria I can probably just take the pill! FOOD: The topic of food came up with Lois the other night. I'm probably one of the worlds pickiest eaters :-) I'm packing granola bars, granola cereal(have any of you tried the new Nature Valley Crunch 100% Natural Cereal? It's awesome), I will probably bring other "dry" snack's. But I do want to try some of the more traditional food. We'll see how well that goes over!
Well that's about it for now!

Till next time.

Cheers,
Julz, Scott, Brody, Butch & Bella

Birthday Presents....

Well I know this is the first post of the year.....I thought of posting on New Year's Day to reflect on the year - but now seriously - who needs me to recap it when you can just read the last year's worth of Julz Blogging - or Julz Blabber :-)

So Brody's birthday is coming up January 16th. I'm so happy, but so sad at the same time. We aren't going to be with him when he turns 4. 4, can't believe he's 4!!! I'm happy because at least our adoption is "final" in Ghana, so he's our boy...... now for the fun. We've sent a few gifts :-) Big question - has he ever celebrated his birthday before? Who reallly knows the answer. So what did we get him? A soccer ball & pump incase it loses some air on it's way over, 2 new Disney Books ~ Finding Nemo & The Jungle Book, a coloring book of Dora The Explore & Diego pictures with crayons to go with it. We also sent a couple of party flavors - blowers & big ball balloons for the kids. In our card to him I wrote "We Love You" in Twi :-). I also sent a letter to Edward (the kind man whom has been so helpful) asking him to take photo's of Brody opening the gifts & that I hope what I wrote in Twi makes sense!!! I included a photo of the 3 of us, I added an adorable photo of Brody to a picture of Scott & I from last year!!! It's adorable. I wrote on it "Abusua" which means "Family" in Twi.
Brody understands English, and speaks some, but he's of course more comfortable with Twi, as that is what is spoken more around him. Granted English is the main language in Ghana, Twi is still a strong language there. I've found a great "Learn Twi" CD that the Department Of State uses when they send workers to Ghana. I'm going to get that soon.
Well soon I hope to post photo's of his birthday!!!! Stay tuned. Lois received the package today and will be sending it on Monday to Edward for delivery!!!! I'm so excited to see what he thinks of everything!!! It's so much fun.

Update: Still waiting for the decree. We did find out that Edward can file the I600 Application for us. That is a huge win. Scott has been making some headway with his contacts in other African countries ~ they were all in Ghana together, but have moved on to other countries ~ we are really hoping that we can get some sort of real time line on them processing the visa. Once the visa is approved we will receive a notification via email apparently from the US Embassy in Ghana, with an open invitation to come get the VISA!!! OH MY GOSH ~ how awesome will that be. Once we have that we sort things out here with work, the pugs & get our travel arrangements done! Then we head to Ghana (probably on Delta - new direct flight from NYC to Accra just over 10 hours)we meet our boy ~ we go to the US Embassy and they finish the paperwork. Somewhere in the middle of all that, I think while we are there, they complete the medical (yes again) and a field investigation on his family. Then we come home, and all of our family & friends will be at SFO to great us.....yes that's an open invite!!!! We want everyone there!!!

Cheers for now!!

Julz, Scott, Brody, Butch & Bella