Mayley Birthday Celebration!

Mayley H. born in Florencia, Colombia (same area as our children) celebrates her 10th year birthday. We are lucky enough to get to celebrate with the family and church friends! They are an awesome family who recently relocated from Alaska to South Louisiana.

The party was held in their super rockin' youth room! They had the movie "Tangled" playing through portions of the party.

This is Erika, sister to Mayley, and Mom, Jan.

Mayley with T and D sitting/standing next to her. It is amazing at the instant connections our children have had with other Colombian kiddos... is it the hispanic lovey-dovey nature? Do other adoptive fams see the same thing?

Just beautiful... she is! May God pour down many, many blessings on this family today and forever more. They are currently pastoring a church in Sulphur, Louisiana. It is called Celebration Church. You can catch it streaming online. Check it out. We visited on Sunday, and I must say it was refreshing to visit. The people there were super friendly, and the Word was right on! Check it out if your near Lake Charles or in the area! =)

GOOF-ee-NesS and LoVe!

Memorial Day Weekend (May 29,2011)

Mother's Day Weekend (or there-abouts!)

Siblings... they are wonderful! Wondering what our daughter in Colombia is doing this evening... I recently spoke with another prospective mom who received her referral for a daughter from Florencia! The same region our children are from! That was fun, but sure wished we could hear something soon... Almost two years... I know it won't go by any faster with me reminding myself it's been two years, and there are many other adoptive families waiting for much longer... I just find myself fantasizing lately... What will she look like? What will her personality be like? I look at the above pics and try to draw her in... try to imagine a goofy face! =( There is meaning in this wait time... I believe it.

Yay!!! I'm back!

Ok so Blogger-Google-Hotmail and Operator were having a few conflicts... I wanted to post last night, but couldn't get in...and now, in a rush to get ready for a weekend trip to LA to celebrate pending arrival of a friend's baby and then off to Lake Charles for an overnight stay and church with the Hagerty family!

The Hagertys' adopted three children from Florencia' Colombia. They lived in Alaska, but relocated to Louisiana recently. Barry is pastoring, and we will visit his church! So, now that I can log in... look out for pics later!

apostilles and taxes

just received our apostilled docs in the mail today. tomorrow, i send off to nichole at chi. hopefully, it will be off to colombia by the end of the week!

received notice from irs that they need more info documenting adoption so that we may claim the remaining credit/refund of our previous adoption.... argh!

almost 2 years...

since we started this process... the first adoption seemed to have went at super speed (9 months, 1 week from when we sent out the app to CHI to when the children were signed over to us!)... now, we're getting a taste of what it feels like to wait. knowing our daughter is somewhere in colombia... evokes mixed emotions...

what about you? are you in the process of adopting? waiting? what are your thoughts?

(side note: yesterday, i sat in-between two moms. one had a 3 month old baby in her arms while the other had a 10 month in her arms and one in her belly... i listened as they talked; i even asked questions; more mixed emotions... what is it like to have a baby move inside u? how awesome that must be! oh, but i could definitely do without all that other stuff they talked about- the nausea, tiredness, and pain... but how in many ways, i still yearn to rub my belly and think that something is growing inside of me... yeah, it was awkward, but those two gals are two of the coolest and it was a learning moment, i suppose.)

Fundraising with Photography

(Click on Picture to Enlarge)

I am also looking for some fellow photographers to join with me in this effort. If maybe, they would donate one weekend out of the month of June or July to do mini sessions, our family would be greatly blessed by their generosity. However, I will be open all summer, if you are local and would like to schedule a mini session! I am really excited and nervous about this fundraiser! I think it will be lots of fun, and can't wait to start snapping some beautiful faces!

Email me at wendiacklen@hotmail.com if interested in scheduling an appointment for a session.

USCIS Approval

Wow, that was quick! Our approval was actually printed on 5/11/2011! The day after we got our prints! Awesome!

So, what's next? I will get a photocopy of it with a tail stating this is a true original copy and have it notorized and apostilled, along with our updated home study.

When those items return in the mail, we will forward to Nichole at CHI, along with a letter requesting the age change. Then, it will be forwarded to Colombia!

From there, we wait for approval from them to switch lists, and then wait for a referral...

Our approval is valid until 8/10/2012; I really hope we have our daughter before then!

USCIS - New Orleans

On May 10th, Ben and I had our biometric appointment. This was to renew our fingerprints. So, now, we wait for approval. Once that is received, we will get it apostilled, and then send a letter to ICBF requesting change in age of child to 7 years. We will send our updated home study with that to Colombia, and hope for a referral sooner than later... =) Maybe by the end of the summer! Fingers crossed!

School Counseling Praxis - Passed!

I took and passed the school counseling praxis!!! I have a Masters degree in General Guidance & Counseling. However, some states require a specific "School Counseling" degree. In Mississippi, if you have your Masters in an accredited school counseling program, and you take and pass the School Counseling Praxis, then you are eligible for certification to be a counselor in the schools.

So, my job at the hospital has been crazy wild the past few months... and a girl has to keep her options open, right? Well, I told Ben for $130, just for kicks and giggles, I want to take the test. If I pass, great! If I don't well... it was just a hundred and thirty bucks! Not that money is easy to come by here...

Plus, if we were to relocate and I had my certification in Mississippi, I was hoping that the certification might be reciprocal in other states. If not, the minimum, it would look good on my resume'.

So, I've received my scores and passed with higher than expected scores. I should be able to work in most any states that accept the Praxis test as part of their criteria for certification. Right now, I just have to get my transcripts together and fill out the application and submit.

Any other school counselors out there? Those jobs are really hard to come by around here. People usually retire in those positions...

God is good and He is our provider whatever job we may have. We didn't know how we would make it when Ben lost the income of the church, but surprisingly, we have made it. My prayer is that when it is said and done, in the end, God will elevate us and bring us on top again... it has been a difficult place to be in both in the physical and spiritual sense...

SOZO - Salvation

We have a new Dane! We got her November 2010- and yes, just breaking the news to those in the blogland! Ha! Not sure that you care, but she's been lots of fun and aggravation as we got her at about 4 months... She chews shoes, plastic bottles, toys...stuffed animals... I think she thinks our cat, Obba, is a stuffed animal. Poor guy! Well, here are a few pics of our new furry animal...

Sozo

Whether I am on the treadmill or Sozo, we get good use out of it! Ha, ha!

ABC Girls' Tea Party

So blessed by this girl... Love, LOVE, love her!

ABC- Awesome, Beautiful and Confident!

At the Cancer Walk, earlier in the school year, I collaborated with two other moms about possibly doing a Tea for girls at Central Elementary. Unfortunately, with changes at both the hospital and church, I was not able to help out. There were a select group of girls from each home room class. The girls attended afterschool classes regarding table etiquette, hygiene, and modest behavior while building their confidence and self esteem through positive mentoring!

Central Elementary 2010 Cancer Walk

Okay, so I have a little time today and playing with some photos, thought I would update the blog-o... and try to recollect the important things from the previous post that I thought would make super fantabulous posts...ha! Okay... so let's start with the Cancer Walk & Tea!

Tatiana's school had a Cancer Walk in support of women at the school who were either fighting or had beat breast cancer or had members of their family struggling with it. It was a fun time to spend with family and help raise awareness and give support with those who battle cancer!

Tammy Rubenstein, Cancer Survivor!

Tatiana with friend Kennedy (and her adorable brothers)!

Cancer is such an ugly word. I hate it! I absolutely HATE it! It has robbed my family of so many souls... it has threatened and stolen health and joy from them... I absolutely HATE it! Please stand with me AGAINST it in prayer for all the ones in my family and yours who may be struggling with it.

[[This is a new friend God has blessed me with! I met this fun gal on a training workshop in Hattiesburg. She is also a Licensed Professional Counselor in Tupelo, MS. Love, Love Sandy Bruff! We had so much fun, I was determined to be back for the second portion with her! She's a trip! I had a great time and felt like I was in college again... (I'm reminiscing...) Why is her picture here, you ask? Well, she's one of those gals who wears the pink ribbon! Her neice is battling cancer and recently undergoing chemo treatments. I ask you to pray for her family, please. This photo is the second time we met. She bought me a cool watch (which now I see everywhere, Sandy!), and it happened to be the same color as hers and so I had to get a pic 'cause I'm goofy like that! And she also gave me a pink ribbon pin... it is a constant reminder for me to pray and remember those suffering...]]

And... those pink ribbons... they stand for something. Remember those afflicted when you see them. Please pray for them silently, if you will... because someone in their circle, someone who they've been touched by, either their family, friend or self...they need your prayer. You will never know how powerful your prayer just might be!