My documents were submitted to the Guatemalan consulate on 2/5/2003. Iris, the Agency Director, immediately contacted me – that very day – about a potential baby. It was hard to believe that the process was truly beginning. I was excited and nervous all at once. I received Alice’s referral picture on 2/10/2003. She was one… Continue reading Adoption – The Referral
After the home study, I completed the dossier. This was a package of notarized documents that I mailed to the Secretary of State for approval and then it would go to the Guatemalan Consulate, before going to Guatemala. This process took me forever. I still remember the day my friend Lee came over to my… Continue reading Adoption – The Dossier
The application, the home study, the dossier...there was so much paperwork to complete! It took me forever to finish the application. I woke up one morning at 6 a.m. sat down and typed out the answers to all of the questions… but two. The first related to my financial information, which I needed to document… Continue reading Adoption – The Paperwork!
The funny thing about adoption is that a series of small decisions made along the way determine the outcome, which child becomes yours. Your choice for the agency and birth country and the timing of the paperwork. It truly is a miracle that it all works out. I had thought about adoption for years. At… Continue reading The Decision To Adopt
Anyone who has experienced loss, knows that we often have to hold onto two opposite emotions at the same time. A dear friend expressed this situation so honestly recently on her Facebook page: "This week my daughter's volleyball team won their state championship. It's been a year and a month since my son took his… Continue reading Capacity For Joy and Sorrow
The following is from guest blogger Christopher Hart. I discovered his gift for analyzing poetry from a blog he posts at work. The day after I posted my blog "The Thorn and a Rose", his analysis of Emily Dickinson's poem appeared on our Intranet at work. The first sentence of his analysis really touched my… Continue reading More Hope…."Hope is the Thing with Feathers"
My Lean In Circle at work starts every meeting with each of us sharing a Rose and Thorn, or as I like to say, a Thorn and a Rose. Almost always someone states a thorn, something tough they are dealing with, and then the flip side of that same situation - the rose, the hope,… Continue reading A Thorn and A Rose
I went to church today and it was one of those days that I felt the homily was just for me, which believe me, doesn’t happen often. It was about the fact that nobody has to make this journey called life alone. As a person who often questions my faith, it was nice to feel… Continue reading A Connections Journal
Oh how I miss the creative process! I used to perform in local theater, mostly in the ensemble, but I did have the honor of performing in a small role or two as well. It was so fun! I sang at church, did some minimal drawing and sketching, and dabbled in doodling and poetry writing.… Continue reading To Be Creative!
Welcome to Finding Abilities first guest blogger - Paula Raulinaitis. Paula has her own amazing blog: SavageNotions. Paula's blog is filled with encouragement, fun stories, and awesome recipes. Check it out! Now, please enjoy Paula's boating update. One miraculous and rainy Sunday morning back in March, my husband and I awoke with no plans for… Continue reading Das Boat….
Finding Abilities 