I was recently lucky enough to find a fantastic sale for Emma...sunglasses! And of course I had to buy two, it was a 2fer deal! They're still a little big, but Matt and I chuckled when we put them on her.
Which ones do you like best? Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Pardon my Rant
I'm a little frustrated. Well, more than a little.
Almost three years ago, Matt and I started on this little adventure we call adoption. We filled out more paperwork than is necessary to buy ten houses, let people inspect our home, impose on friends and family to write reference letters, submit to medical examinations, wrote autobiographies with very personal information, shelled out cash, and basically put our lives on display in an adoption profile that anyone and their dog could view.
We were willing to do all of this.
And then we waited. And waited. And waited.
Finally, Emma came along in a whirlwind of plane tickets and last minute documents and agency swapping. We were so excited (and we'd absolutely do it again!) that we didn't take time to really see what switching agencies meant.
We lost our amazing case worker, Rachel, who had been with us since the beginning. And we lost most of the paperwork because it doesn't transfer between agencies. Boo!
We didn't realize this until after we'd had Emma for about a month and the new agency started calling and requesting documents that we thought we had already taken care of. At one point, we had three different people from the agency calling for different reasons. It was a bit confusing, to say the least. In the end, we've had to redo every piece of paper known to man, and more that were just invented. We've had to redo doctor visits, ask friends for more reference letters ("Pretend we don't already have a baby and write about our potential as parents."), take CPR classes, redo financial forms and resend tax statements, pay for more in-home visits (can you say "nerve-wracking?"), complete packets that say that we realize we're switching agencies, and retake adoption classes. Double boo!
Not that Emma isn't worth every bit of it. I'm not saying that at all. I just think it is absolutely RIDICULOUS that we have to complete so much paperwork that is supposedly required by the state, but doesn't transfer. Why don't medical forms and tax statements transfer? Someone needs to rethink that!
Plus, I have to get my house ready for a home visit by tomorrow night. Maybe that's why I could hold out until this moment to rant. My house is definitely not visit worthy right now. Keep your fingers crossed that our post-placement coordinator is blind!
Almost three years ago, Matt and I started on this little adventure we call adoption. We filled out more paperwork than is necessary to buy ten houses, let people inspect our home, impose on friends and family to write reference letters, submit to medical examinations, wrote autobiographies with very personal information, shelled out cash, and basically put our lives on display in an adoption profile that anyone and their dog could view.
We were willing to do all of this.
And then we waited. And waited. And waited.
Finally, Emma came along in a whirlwind of plane tickets and last minute documents and agency swapping. We were so excited (and we'd absolutely do it again!) that we didn't take time to really see what switching agencies meant.
We lost our amazing case worker, Rachel, who had been with us since the beginning. And we lost most of the paperwork because it doesn't transfer between agencies. Boo!
We didn't realize this until after we'd had Emma for about a month and the new agency started calling and requesting documents that we thought we had already taken care of. At one point, we had three different people from the agency calling for different reasons. It was a bit confusing, to say the least. In the end, we've had to redo every piece of paper known to man, and more that were just invented. We've had to redo doctor visits, ask friends for more reference letters ("Pretend we don't already have a baby and write about our potential as parents."), take CPR classes, redo financial forms and resend tax statements, pay for more in-home visits (can you say "nerve-wracking?"), complete packets that say that we realize we're switching agencies, and retake adoption classes. Double boo!
Not that Emma isn't worth every bit of it. I'm not saying that at all. I just think it is absolutely RIDICULOUS that we have to complete so much paperwork that is supposedly required by the state, but doesn't transfer. Why don't medical forms and tax statements transfer? Someone needs to rethink that!
Plus, I have to get my house ready for a home visit by tomorrow night. Maybe that's why I could hold out until this moment to rant. My house is definitely not visit worthy right now. Keep your fingers crossed that our post-placement coordinator is blind!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
New Family Pictures
A while ago I wrote about the sad timing of our last family photo session. After waiting more than 7 years, we ended up getting pictures taken just 3 weeks before Emma joined our family. So I begged my sister-in-law, Gretchen, to take some pictures of the New and Improved Holgate Family.
"Mom and Dad, this is just cheesy."
The pictures are definitely improved with Emma in them. Even when she's had enough and just wants to take a nap. I giggle every time I see this picture. (I really was trying to get a picture of the Easter dress I made Emma. My mom always made us an Easter dress, so I wanted to carry on that tradition. I'm pretty proud of myself.)
Ta-da! A picture with ALL THREE of us smiling. It's hard enough to get both me and Matt smiling, let alone a 2-month old!
We also wanted a picture of Emma with the sweater and blanket that Matt's Mom made for her. Too cute!
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