A proud mommy

So I think its very possible that I get more joy out of teaching my two year old son something and seeing him demonstrate that he has grasped new knowledge than I do teaching a classroom full of elementary students. I mean, I love teaching in general and having that connection with kids and seeing them learn, but its really different when its my own [almost] kid. 

Within the last two weeks, Daniel learned to say most of the letters of the ABCs. But today as we were saying them, I realized that he now knows what letter comes NEXT and says that one, instead of repeating what letter I've just said. Not for all the letters, but there are about 10 that he knows are next.

With about 80% accuraccy (yep, there's the teacher-training in me), Daniel is identifying capital O, E, and A in print. Seriously, I didn't mean for him to do that yet!

Today he counted to 6, without repeating after me. Except that he hates the number 1, so I have to force him to start with it by repeating it over and over. He loves 2...its his favorite number. He can repeat count up to 10.

He can now respond properly to the questions, "What's your name?" (Dan dal) and "How old are you?"  (Twoooo). I know, he's not quite two yet, so its not entirely true, but I think we're close enough and, well, see the above paragraph about the number 1.

Well, that's the latest on my side of the ocean. Its school break for the next week, so instead of going to the beach as I have for every other break since I've lived in the Philippines, we're checking out some local stuff, like the aquarium and the zoo. Pre-birthday presents, I'll call them!

Don't Tagalog me; I'm nosebleed!!!

I know that for most of you, the title of this post makes no sense. But, if by chance you are Filipino, you are probably laughing outloud. It's a common phrase (substitute "English" for "Tagalog") around here when a Filipino has to engage in too much English conversation. It might also go something like, "Don't English me; I'm panic!"

But in real news (and the reason for the title), I attended a pre-adoption seminar on Sept 24 (or somewhere around that date), a requirement for anyone going through domestic adoption in the Philippines. The seminar was held in a tiny little room, maybe 7x12 feet, with a large table in the center, and about 25 attendees. Unfortunately for me, the majority of the seminar was conducted in Tagalog...I don't really speak or understand much, even after living here for 9 years. Fortunately, I know enough plus the bits that were in English to have come out of the seminar with a bit of understanding of what's to come.

The good news:

• One requirement in the process is a six month "pre-trial placement", when the child is placed in the prospective parent's home and monitored by supervised visits from the social worker. I found out that my foster placement with Daniel counts as that placement, knocking off 6 months of the process in the future.
• My primary social worker through this will continue to be the one I've already been working with through Gentle Hands. Hurray!
• My government-assigned social worker was one of two conducting the seminar. Fortunately, she was the nice one that smiled and me and spoke to me in English (the other lady would make a point to speak to me in Tagalog, then turn to someone else and speak in English. Grrr.)
• There were at least 3 other single women in the room, and we were assured that there was no bias against singles adopting.

The bad news:

• I still have no idea on timing of the whole process. In theory (and with LOTS of prayer), its possible it could be completed by the end of the school year or summer, which would be ideal, as I'd like to furlough. However, I'm not putting any bets on that timing.
• I was told not to even start the application process until six months of fostering is completed. It will officially be 6 months in December. Which means, of course, that nothing will happen until at least mid-January with the Christmas holidays.
• We still have not been officially matched. I supposed this isn't really bad news, but it isn't good news yet either. Daniel's paperwork was finally submitted last week, and matching should happen within the month. Actually, the fact that its been this long before his paperwork was sent in goes in my favor, as we've had longer to bond and demonstrate results of the bond and his thriving in my care.

So that's the "where we are in the process" update. Sorry its been so terribly long since the last post. I'm sure you were all on pins and needles waiting to hear what was happening. ;-)

Thanks for praying!

Just to make you smile...

Here are a few short videos taken recently. They aren't anything amazing, but they give a peek into Daniel's personality!

I just love the shrieking and running  =)

 

Daniel vs. Orajel

 

Swimming in the kiddie pool @ staff retreat. He LOVED that he could touch the bottom and repeatedly did this move!

Baby Steps in the Right Direction

This afternoon Daniel and I stopped by Gentle Hands on our way home from church, to visit for a bit and the to take two of the older girls home with us. Krystal & Angelika were pretty excited to come to my house for a sleepover, and spent about 1/2 an hour packing a bag for the night.

And yes, they forgot their toothbrushes.

While they packed, I had a chance to talk with Charity about the direction of the adoption. When I last talked with Charity, she was waiting to set up a meeting with the director of the DS*D. Well, it finally happened! She presented Daniel's case and I now have a NEXT STEP. Wahoo! At some point in the not too distant future, I will need to attend a mandatory adoption forum seminar thing, where I will learn the requirements of adoption. Maybe after that I'll be able to answer the myriads questions everyone asks, which I currently have NO idea about!

On a side-note, I think its rather funny that this gorgeous little boy has grabbed a hold of my heart. I always envisioned daughters, yet figured God would be funny enough to give me sons. Voila...enter Daniel!

Entertaining the crowds with his buddy Ezra and their amazing piano playing, Daniel can't resist flashing a smile at the camera.

Crazy Love...Again!

In March, I posted in response to Linny at A Place Called Simplicity when she challenged readers to share their needs with the world regarding adoption and other pressing circumstances. Well, another challenge has been issued, this time specifically about orphans, either people in the midst of an adoption (oh how I WISH I was there now - but since I don't know if anything has been started, well...), or a ministry that serves orphans.

So, its option B that I'm posting about today. Gentle Hands, which currently houses around 60+ orphans or kids with unlivable home situations, is building a new building to expand their facility. Believe me, all those people do NOT fit so well in the space they're in, so this building is a HUMOUNGOUS blessing. However, there is a serious deficit in the finances to pay for this building, which, by the way, is currently under construction with the 3rd floor in progress. The need is around $100,000 to finish the project. Wow, that really is a lot of money! But the number of lives that can be saved with the ability to house more kids is totally worth it. Gentle Hands is one of very few children's homes in the Philippines that is willing to take in children with special needs or compromised health. Babies and children are rescued from hospitals, dropped off at the door, and pulled from the dark recesses of abuse and suffering. This is a place where God does HUGE healing miracles, of health and hearts, and a place for life to start again.

On the right of the page, there is a link to give to Gentle Hands. If you have any questions, please comment and I'll get back to you.

Jumping

Yep, Daniel jumped - both feet off the ground. Look out world.

Other recent highlights in the Life of Daniel:

• says: ball, dog, & door while pointing at aforementioned objects (without prompting)
• knows that a sheep says "baa baa" and will share that important information when asked
• is NOT afraid of very large cats (aka: tigers)
• has two new bottom teeth erupting
• can swim 5-7 feet underwater and still come up smiling
• does a beautiful backfloat (while wearing arm floaties)
• jumps off the diving board

I'm sure there's more, but perhaps I'm going a bit overboard with the achievements. But, I figure, I missed out on the first half of his life accomplishements, so I can share my joy in watching his growth and development for a while.

In not so great news, I'm finding myself rather frustrated at a lot of things, and rather worried about how they will turn out. School starts in a week & a half and I'm greatly concerned about Daniel's transition into this. He has extreme separation anxiety at the moment, and is terrified of me leaving him. Yes, I know its kind of normal for this age, but the whole issue is greatly compounded by the fact that I haven't had a whole lot of time to build trust and that he's been "returned" or "rejected" a number of times in his life. And that's hard. How can he know that I'll come back and truly get it? Its not the pattern he's known. Oh, and no one seems to understand the added adoption/fostering attachment issue. That doesn't help.

Secondly, I still don't have a housemate. That's bad news. No one to share the rent or the bills. And the rent was raised when I re-signed the lease, so I'm paying 140% MORE rent now than I was two months ago. Plus, you know, the expenses of a small child. Sigh. Please pray for a housemate or two.

Finally, my other big stressor is the fact that I still know nothing about the adoption process or what I need to be doing. I did find out that DS*WD (government child welfare agency) is fussed that agencies are using the foster-to-adopt program. Apparently they think agencies are using it to make adoption easier. Um, hello? Why is this a problem? It was made completely legal last year.

I don't get it.

A Month Into It

Ok, I've been at this parenting thing for a month now, and I'm a pretty big fan so far. Yes, it's hard (as any of you parents already know, duh), and yes there have been a whole lot of challenges, but overall, my life has been changed for the better, for sure.

Daniel keeps me laughing most of his awake hours. He has two funny faces he does upon request to entertain the crowds. Yesterday he did a rain dance before bed. This week he's been trying his hardest to jump (still hasn't made both feet off the ground). More and more, he's copying everything I do, from facial expressions to tones I use (not actually talking much). He says (verbally) "hot" all the time, using that particular adjective for anything that is cold, bright, soft...and sometimes things that are ACTUALLY hot!

Two weeks ago we went to the beach, and this weekend we're headed to the beach again (definite perk of living here and having a summer break). Daniel doesn't mind the sand at all (even on his watermelon), and after a few unfortunate incidents, learned to shut his eyes when going under water in the ocean. Yep, pretty sure he'll be a diver as soon as he's old enough!

Last week I started putting him on the toilet when he wakes up and after meals. Its pretty exciting (yes, it HAS come to this) to report that he really "gets it" - pretty much every time I put him on, he actually poos in the potty! In fact, yesterday, after dinner, he went into the bathroom on his own. We're spending some quality time in there with Brown Bear, Brown Bear, and (in slightly unrelated news), Daniel is starting to point at things in books, actually acknowledging the pictures.

So, those are just a few highlights from the past month. Challenges have included some biting & hitting , and recently, screeching. I'm so NOT a fan of the screeching - it really makes me cringe every time. Definitely working on eliminating that. I've found its definitely harder to spend time at other's houses, especially those without small children. It's just exhausting chasing him around, making sure he's not breaking something or messing something up. My hang-out time in the evenings is much shorter, as bedtime is generally about 7pm for Daniel. We can push it a bit later, but the results aren't always so great.

BUT, even with the challenges, I think I could get used to this! Please pray with me for the next steps in the process of making this a permanent thing. I don't even know what the steps are at this point, but I'll update the blog with them as I figure stuff out. It hasn't taken long to fall in love with this little boy, and I am just pleading with God that we can be a family forever.

Thanks for your prayers and support!