update time, want to hear from everyone!

Looks like I am the first to post that we are still in the process. Out dossier was mailed to Poland on 2/5. We are eagerly awaiting a call!

Hi everyone - Jennifer, you're not alone in the waiting stage! We're living in Poland and waiting since April 07 (when our dossier was approved). We can't help but feel a referral must be around the corner. It's great to hear the stories/see photos of all of you who have your children home. Best wishes for speedy referrals to all still waiting!

We are also still waiting.... our dossier was submitted and approved in April 2006. The paper chase seems so long ago at this point, but we are still cautiously optimistic that a referral is right around the corner!~Sarah

[FONT=Times New Roman]We have been home with our (now) 8 year old twin boys for almost 6 months. We went from physical restraining and concern over what we had done to our family, to not believing that we ever lived without them in a very short period of time. [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman] [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman]They have settled in beautifully and have even survived an unexpected move a few months ago. 80% of the big bad scary issues they had on their referral turned out to be non-issues that disappeared with a family who loves them, a home, consistency, and a ton of hugs and kisses. We did find that they needed dental/orthodontic, vision, and neuro-transmitter care, all of which has been easily managed. (8 cavities, 8 pulled teeth, 4 sets of orthodontic spacers, 2 pairs of glasses, and supplements. Whew!)[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman] [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman]Piotr reads to them from their story bible, and they love doing science (astronomy this year) with him. Their copy work is getting better and better all the time, as is their use of English. While we were counting, sorting, classifying, adding and subtracting legos for a long time, theyve got that down and are starting formal math as soon as the books arrive, probably next week.[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman] [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman]Both the boys love going to church, playing with the dogs (of whom they were terrified at first) studying, reading, and spending part of each afternoon trying to kill each other with their light-sabers. Playing football is also a huge delight. They are in awe of how hot it is here. (Wroclaw to Phoenix is quite a difference!) Although we are long way off from completely characterizing them as such, they are getting better and better about their obedience, honesty, and making wise decisions in general.[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman] [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman]What a long hard road, but how worth the effort and heartache![/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT] [FONT=Times New Roman]For those of you waiting - we pray for you often, and hope you stay strong.[/FONT]

We have brought our now 10 yr old son and 5.5 yr old daughter home 1.5 yr ago. They also survived a major change, a move from MN to AK less than a year after their arrival to the U.S.! They have settled in beautifully. Our children were listed as completely healthy, but extremely sensitive when we got the referral. Our son was indeed extremely sensitive and threw major tantrums (keep in mind, he is a 10 yr old) when he arrived to the U.S. (and during bonding). These behavior started diminishing in the U.S. The main issues we had at the beginning had to do with their refusal to eat what we put in front of them, just general disobedience. We feel lucky that we had NO major health issues (minor fillings as for dental work), in fact our son has not had a cold since he came! Our son had a diagnosis of heart murmur but it was determined to be non-threatening. An annoying issue with our daughter has been ... toilet training. We are finally having success after month of success and relapse. Both kids are doing well socially and academically. Son is in the 3rd grade, he spent the first semester in a public school, which was great (good ESL resources). In AK, we put him in a Catholic school, and it has been a blessing, since this is also our parish and community. Our daughter started attending pre-school part-time in MN, and will go to kindergarten in the fall, the same Catholic school. Our son is very good at math and art, and also a very good athlete. He attended art classes the first year, and now is playing soccer and baseball. He is a server at church and likes to go to church very much (both of them in fact). Our daughter did not attend any additional activities the first year, but now attends swim lessons and pre-ballet. She seems to be interested in music and dance, has good singing voice as far as I can tell. Despite the lack of major issues the first year was .... exhausting for my husband and I! (while we think and write about our kids we must not remember about us parents and our adjustment!). We went from 0 to 2 kids, and had very little prior experience with children on a daily basis. I personally put on a few pounds and felt very very tired all the time. My advice to new adoptive parents is to try to take care of themselves during this process as much as possible. I am back to walking and swimming again after the initial period with the children - being in control of one's own health and well-being is important in not only feeling stronger as parents, but as an example to the children as well. :)We still of course experience some regular childhood misbehaviors, especially attempts to manipulate, lie in little things, test how far they can go. Our son is working on being less talkative and not interrupting the teacher. He still occasionally tries to be the parent to our daughter in a school situation, for example (e.g. tells her not to play with someone, etc.). I found this from St. Catherine of Siena, it is a valuable thought (we have loved and been affectionate with our children but think it is advisable not to overindulge -- seems to be working pretty well!):Children should be loved for the love of Him who created them, and not for the love of self nor of the children.-- St Catherine of Sienap.s. I will try to find some pictures to attach

Here are our kids. To be honest, I enjoy the ballet part much more. :) Have no clue about baseball and not much desire to learn (I tried!), but my husband loves it, so we are all happy.

Beautiful children!!

Thank you, Kelly :).

Your children are indeed lovely Kama! Amy K, NJ

Thank you, Amy :).

[FONT=Verdana]We have been home 2 months. Life continues to be busy but very good. Here are some of the girls’ highlights by week:[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]1. Recover from traveling and meet a large dog face to face (oh -- and we need to live with it!)[/FONT][FONT=Verdana]2. Get shots! Skin scrapped -- yeah no allergies.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana]3. Blood work -- now what are they sticking me with! Why is this lady signing and flashing crazy toys -- yeah right, she only wants to look at my eyes -- we bet she has a needle![/FONT][FONT=Verdana]4. More needles -- AHHHH---OOOO-- I'm sleepy, what is this crazy stuff (Mommy gets to listen to the banging MRI for 2 hours while I sleep). Okay, now you want me to wake up -- fine I'll scream for 5 hours just to get you back for sticking me.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana]5. Happy what? Why does our brother get all the presents? Cake -- okay, we're happy we have cake![/FONT][FONT=Verdana]6. We may be short, but we're tough. More bloodwork -- what are you people, vampires?[/FONT][FONT=Verdana]7. Cioca has a sandbox INSIDE her house, can we live here! Cool presents from all these crazy Irish/Lithuanian people -- but we prefer to be spoiled by our Polish Wujeck.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana]8. We don't want to be upside down while this guy in a robe dumps water on our heads, we would much prefer to be playing in this holy water.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana]9. Okay, so this lady with the flashy toys isn't so bad, maybe I'll let her look at my eyes again, just for kicks.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]Oh and we forgot to tell you, that our parents go crazy several times a week and mess up our carefully constructed road hazard obstacle course, put in all back in boxes and drag us for a walk while they let complete strangers into our house for 30 minutes at a time -- can someone explain this unusual behavior? One day they repeated this behavior 4 times![/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]We are definitely falling in love with our daughters, but we're not sure what their opinion of us is yet[/FONT]:love:

They are so cute! Things will get easier with time. Enjoy the newness of everything with them. How is brother handling it?

Hi, Still waiting since dossier registration in 10/07. Worried about the Hague accreditation with our agency. Hopefully soon we will hear something.

Our three boys are doing great. 8 months at home and talking up a storm...all the time talking...working on the reading and school part, that isn't the easiest part for sure!Our son did meet the standards to pass Kinder.Looking forward to summer, although 2 of them have summer school!That is it...You can see pictures on jessilane.typepad.com

Hi, We picked our trio of Polonia on June 12, 2004. When I read about folks who have come home with their kids more recently, it reminds me of those early hetic and crazy days. Life is very busy with 4 kids. It was a very interesting experiance to go overnight from 1 child :prop: to 4 children :prop: :rockband: to say the least. Never dull or quiet here! :grouphug: