Emma and Nana

Well the kids and I had a pretty good few days. I worked all day Monday, we went grocery shopping Tuesday, and I once again worked today. The kids slept with me but we all slept great so I did not mind. Jeremy got back this afternoon from his trip to Knoxville. He said it was pretty boring but he got to know the teachers he will be working with this coming school year. 

Well I had a pretty frustrating day. We met this afternoon for Emma's third post placement visit. Our new social worker is nice but I am VERY nervous about our case. After we were done with Emma's questions I asked her about our homestudy and she said that she had not finished it yet. I was pretty mad because we were told two weeks ago that they received all the paper work and that it was finished. She then said something about we had to wait the 6 months (which would be August) before we could do the referral. We stated that AIAA said we could do it after the visit and after our homestudy was finished. I left really frustrated because no one seems to know what is going on. She then called me on the way home and said that she found our homestudy on her desk and that she thinks it is finished. She is meeting with the director tomorrow to make sure everything is correct. We were also told that another social worker would be doing our referral because it would be difficult for the new social worker but we were told today that the new social worker would be doing the referral. We are already getting a dozen different answers from different people. I was also aggravated because when I talked to her on the phone today she said something about a family that is adopting from Korea got their referral two weeks ago and that they were told that there was some sort of delay in their child coming home. Of course I started to panic and I asked her what the delay was and of course she did not know. So why even mention it! Not very encouraging to a family that has just suffered through a horrible delay in getting their child home. I just do not know why they are being so secretive about Chloe's information. I understand about the paperwork being submitted at certain times but I do not know why they will not tell us anything about her. I think Jeremy might call AIAA tomorrow to see if they can give us some answers and maybe they will know if there are any current delays with Korean adoptions.

Well we are going to try and get Sam and Emma to sleep in Sam's bed together tonight. They seem to sleep great when they know someone else is in the room. We are willing to try anything to get them out of our bed. Well I do not have any pictures to post tonight but I will try to put some on tomorrow. I know those of you that read this blog pray for our family but please say a special prayer for me and this adoption process. I know that my life is crazy right now and I know that having three kids is going to be hard and I still cannot believe that all this is happening, but at the end of the day my child is across the world and I do not know anything about her. I also do not want to spend the rest of this year feeling like I did this time last year. I just need special grace during these uncertain times. 

The kids slept good last night. It was storming so everyone was in our bed, but oh well. Sam and Emma and myself are about to take a nap. Jeremy is leaving for Knoxville today for a teachers clinic and he is taking the computer so I will not be blogging the next few days. Hopefully I will have some more news about Chloe after our meeting on Wednesday. 

Well we got back about 5 PM. We had a great trip. We worked hard all week and we are exhausted but it was worth every minute. We took 12 amazing teenagers on this trip. It is still amazing that these kids pay money to work themselves to death. We left OK yesterday and stayed in Memphis last night. Sam and Emma slept until almost 9 AM so I was thankful for the much needed rest. The kids also did great staying with Nana. Sam and Isabel had a ball. They played outside, swam in a little pool and watched cows that somehow escaped into Kristy's backyard. Emma fell on the front steps so she had a few scratches on her face but she is doing good. Sam and Emma both were happy to see me. We went and got the kids Thursday night and they stayed with us at the church we were staying at for the night. They both will not let me out of their sight. Friday morning Sam was with Jeremy and I was packing up and for some reason they did not know where I was, Sam asked Jeremy, "Did mommy leave me again?"Emma will not let any one else hold her for more than a few minutes. She also had a pretty rough ride home today. She had several breakdowns. She also had a rough morning. I was getting ready this morning and I had my straightener up high enough where see had to work pretty hard to get to it. Well I caught her a few times going towards it so I was very firm and told her not to touch it. I even spanked her hand. Well I was getting Sam dressed and I turned around and she somehow got the straightener and burned her hand. She has a pretty nasty blister. I put some cream on it and she does not act like it is bothering her. Well it is getting late so I better et everyone to bed. We have not downloaded the pictures yet so I will post them tomorrow or later tonight.  Here are few from last Saturday.

Well we have arrived in Clarksville, Arkansas. We are staying the night here and then on to Oklahoma tomorrow. We are staying at a really nice hotel. It is a Holiday Inn Express and it has only been opened a month. The kids (my kids that is) have our own room so I should get some good sleep tonight. Sam and Emma did great on the trip. Emma was not fussy at all and she did sleep a little bit. Sam also did good on the trip but he did not nap at all. We got to our hotel around 5:30, we ordered pizza, and swam for a few minutes. A big storm came through so the teens are just hanging out in the common area. Emma and I are back in the room. It is just about Emma's bedtime. Well I was reminded this morning of something Emma did yesterday. In the mornings when I am getting ready Emma likes to be in the bathroom with me but I have to really watch her because I have caught her trying to put something in the toilet. If the lid is down she does not bother the toilet. Well she also likes to go into the bathroom while Sam is in there so we try to keep her out of the bathroom because my dear Sam has a bad habit of not flushing the toilet. Yesterday I was in the kitchen and I heard Sam say to Jeremy "I have to go potty". I then heard him using the bathroom and then I heard him at the sink washing his hands. Then I hear sam say, "Emma, no no". Then I hear, "Emma, your in big trouble!" So I come out of the kitchen and Sam is walking down the hallway with my favorite hairbrush dripping wet from being dropped in the toilet (dirty water may I remind you). Jeremy was laughing but I did not think it was very funny. I washed the hairbrush in the dishwasher so I am hoping all the germs have been washed off. Have I mentioned that Emma is a mess!

We had a good day. We woke up around 8:00 and then I made a big breakfast. We ate around 9:30 and then Emma and I went down for a nap at about 10. I did not mean to sleep so long, but we woke up 3 hours later! I guess my body knows that it will not be getting much sleep the next week. After we woke up we went to Wal-Mart for a couple of items and then we went to the church to get one of the vans for our trip. When we got home I took the kids car seats out to wash the covers on them. Well the kids thought it was so neat to have their seats in the house. They sat in them while they watched TV and ate some chips. They played in the seats for over an hour. Well I think I am all packed. We are leaving at 9 in morning. I am very excited to see my sister. My brother-in-law, Aaron, has not met Emma yet so he is in for a treat. We are taking 12 teenagers with us. We will be working at a Homeless Shelter next week . These trips are very tiring but very rewarding and fun. We are only going 6 hours tomorrow and then stopping to stay the night and finish the trip on Sunday. Sam and Emma are staying at my sister's house with Aaron's mom while we are staying at a local church in Oklahoma City. Well I will not be able to post while I am gone but