Inching Along

FINALLY

TA!

Well now that was a..a...a record breaking, insanely long time.  And China granted us permission to roll the dice and move our mice outta the travel approval(TA) mousetrap!  Praise GOD!

Typically families travel within 2- 3 weeks after they receive their CA.  CA stands for consulate appointment.  It is the last official adoption appointment and they complete the children's visa to leave China and enter the US as legal citizen's. Now having said that, because of the Chinese trade fair in October and the American Consulate closing for an entire week in October, many families are in line already for the November CA dates.  Our CA date was issued for over a month later. so what does that mean?

MORE

STINKING

WAITING

UGHHHHHHHHHH!

I was so hoping to get this adoption done in a year, not gonna happen now.  We started November 14, 2011.  So much for plans, right????

But, here is our travel itinerary:

8 November- Fly from Little Rock to Chicago.  Board a very LONNNNGGG flight to Hong Kong.  Stay until 11 November to acclimate to time difference and sight see.

11 November- Take train to Guangzhou, China.  This is the city that Tim and Kate live in and we will be there for our entire trip.

12 November- GOTCHA DAY

The official day we finally meet these two cuties for the first time. They finally get a Mama and Baba.

We have our CA(consulate appointment) in the American Consulate in Guangzhou, China on November 20, 2012.  They are officially a Brakman!

November 21- Pick up Tim and Kate's visa's and catch the train out of town for Hong Kong.  

November 22- Leave their homeland China, until we return for a visit in a few years.  Super long flight back to Chicago and then the really bad deal....we can't fly home due to holiday flying schedule. So, we fly to Memphis and drive 3 hours home.  

YEAH.....SO....after all 18 hours, flying, wrestling kiddo's, custom's, bag drag, security check, another flight to Memphis and finally more baggage, bus to rental car and then we are off.  Not to mention Tim and Kate have never been in a car seat, like EVER!  So 3 hours in one, for the first time won't be a challenge...RIGHT?

I'm positive THIS will be an adventure of a life time!  Can't wait to live it...and I'm sure it will generate so many interesting stories for the blog!

CAN U HEAR ME NOW?

Been a long stretch with no blog post 

I know and I'm sorry.  

So what HAS been going on with the Brakman's????  A few pic's to fill you in........

We visited Memphis and saw Elvis.... yeah, really he's alive was spotted!

 

We did a lot of building of fun stuff!

And had a blast for weeks, building this 

contraption!!!!

Megan had her 14th birthday.  I have no idea why she appears stunned by the cake???

Megan had her wisdom teeth pulled.  What a useless and painful part of us!  Now she "may" get the braces off by Christmas.....finger's crossed!

AND

WE

GOT 

NEW 

PIC'S!!!!

So enjoy the cuteness!  And we request prayer that China hear's our plea's to release our travel approval.  We are currently on day 28 of waiting.  This step typically takes 7 to 14 days, we are obviously way over due.  No idea what or why this has dragged on this long?  We just want our children....ummm, yesterday please.

He is changing so much!  

His "little boy" face is nearly gone now....booo:-(

So so so cute! And a tiny bit of hair now!!!!

Forget the cool kitchen, an empty water bottle and dried leaf are awesome!

GRAY HAIR, BIRTHDAYS & ARTICLE 5....OH MY!

                                  Let's just start with the first subject....ummm,

GRAY HAIR 

 Not like I haven't spent a fortune in smoke and mirrors for years now.  But, they have been        


                                                          GROWING LIKE CRAZY


since August.  Why, you ask??

Ok.....You got it now.  

We've done the usual, start simple in the "hood",  then ramp up from there.  Thus far, it's gone well.  Just one MAMED cabinet and some bashed in drywall in the garage......driving well, I think?!!  

Apparently, I sound just like his alarm clock when I say, ever so calmly...

brake now, BRAKE,  BRAKE, BRAKE! 

I, and the alarm clock are both ignored not loud enough???  This is a season I will be in for quite a while with 2 others heading toward 15 too soon.  Truly hope it's an uneventful season!

BIRTHDAYS!!!

Wes got to spend his 12th birthday at his favorite place on EARTH!  My sister's lake house!  He ask's for this EVERY birthday and most times we make his wish come true!  

       We have an abundance of August Birthday Boy's

YES!! Even though he probably doesn't "get " what a birthday is yet....He was included in the Wes, Brad, Jake and Timmy....Boys of August Birthday Bonanza!  Can't WAIT until next August!

Article 5

Heck No, this isn't a reference to some law or the Constitution!!!  We are almost to the end now of our "paper pregnancy"!!!  We are officially 

2 STEPS AWAY FROM

This enormous CUTIE and...

This little lady....love the "concentration" tongue!

We will consider some rapid hair growth remedy anyone suggests!!

So from this point.... the visa petition for both Timothy and Kate are in Guangzhou, China. The American Consulate is reviewing them for approval that they may enter the United States as our legal children.  This "Article 5" takes exactly 2 weeks.

NEXT STOP:               

TA 

(TRAVEL APPROVAL)

Timing is EVERYTHING!

                                 LOA


We are finally here...day 78......waited about 20 extra days for it than the average adopting family.  Why?

IDK?????

Many things we are never going to know....and this would be one of them.  Trying to over look the negative and find joy in this hurdle finally being behind me and moving forward for once!  To those I love dearly and have been an absolute bat-cave crazy, insane psychopath to be around....I hearby apologize.  This wait and worry for my two sick kiddos has left me free falling off the end of the sanity rope, but that is no excuse for my behavior.

This late LOA will put us waiting yet again in October, our scheduled month to travel. The month of October is a month long national trade fair in China.  The ENTIRE month of October in Guangzhou, China (the city that we will pick up Tim and Kate), is roughly twice the cost of everything....airfare, hotels, food, sight-seeing, due to this trade fair.  In other heartbreaking news, the American Consulate ALSO shuts down for a 10 day period....which translate's to- no adoptions during that "shut down"period. Most people can count 10 weeks from their LOA date and know within a day or two, when they will finally be on their way to getting their babies.  We will have to wait for our dates and have the pleasure of paying dearly for it.  It's only money, right? 

So, maybe it's the "paper pregnancy" hormones right now, IDK?  Finding my "joy" now, and working on the remaining papers to be filled out and filed.  The end is getting closer and we are aching to get our family completed.  Shaking off the "why us" attitude and looking forward now.  

Timing isn't something we excel at, obviously!

In other news.  Still waiting on Tim's update (2 months and counting).  Kate's blood level (anemia) is too dangerously low to fly home when we are able to get her.  We are in discussion with our agency to persuade the orphanage to update her blood work, find important missing lab results and work toward correcting this either now or the 2 weeks we will be in China, Oct/November(?) to pick them up.  We will keep everyone updated on our sick kids. We would appreciate your prayers for their health and safety while we wait for answers.

Baby Kate Update

Well it isn't LOA.....BUT......the next best thing.......

BABY KATE UPDATE!

TIMOTHY and KATE have met.  Neither were cooperative for photo's and I was not given any idea what they thought of each other??? I can probably guess though:

Timmy:  What in the world??? A smelly baby!!! Eweeeee, gross!

Kate:  I have no idea what you are talking about, brother???....is this kid here to take my toys????

Timmy: (eyes rolling) Wonder how long until they let me back to my room with my peeps....sigh....geez, this is sooooo boooooring!

Kate:  Waaaahhhhh he is scaring me, take me back to the baby room!

Timmy:  Great, I think she's on to the ticket out of here....wait, I gotta listen to that the rest of my life.....UGH!  When is that Ma Ma and Ba Ba coming again????  Maybe I can tunnel outta here before then????

Kate:  Waaaaahhhhhh!!!!

Back to the blog now and what you tuned in for THE PIC'S:

So happy to see my baby smile!

Here, I brought a dead leaf for you. Kate is in the red bear shirt.

I feel sad for the poor child next to her ( Kate in green shirt)

 

Cheeeesssseeee!

I have a gift for you too!

LOVE the tongue!

AWWWWEEEE, my heart melts!

Only In Arkansas

Today we are struggling.  We have lived in AR for 23 days now and 12 of those days we have had 

NO A/C!

I really can't convey what that does to you.  I also know you have to live this misery BEFORE you GET IT what this feels like.  Our local temps reach over 100 each day, and humidity just compounds.  We are mentally, physically and emotionally broke.  As in..... 

completely fallen off the end of the sanity rope.  

I tried yelling at the company charged with fixing this, bargaining and just today pleading with them to resolve this issue.  To no avail.....We sit and bake, fry, sizzle, sweat, and many other un- desirable physical symptoms of heat stress.  We can't leave the house...as we have no idea when the magic part might show up and relieve this misery.  We need prayers....and lots of them!

In an attempt to boost my mood, I will blog about some of the thing's uniquely Arkansas.  Each time I pass this on the highway I have to smile.....Because it's true.  And I'm not picking on AR here.  Each place we have lived has had it uniqueness.

Yes, some things fall into the category of ONLY IN ARKANSAS!

For example, Target the mega chain store.  LOVE them! But, can only find 2 in a 50 mile radius of our home.  The closet actually open just before we left AR, for our first time assigned at Little Rock AFB.  I will show what it looked like then, 14 years ago.

Ok, I told a little fib, it did not have the bullseye symbol on it in 1998.

Yes, aside from the addition of the bullseye...same store inside and out...nothing changes here apparently?  Because Mr.Walton has a chock hold on this market.  He has a popular chain of stores.....I don't want to share the name of the store, as I think only WE in AR have access to them:-)!  Not bragging or nothing....

But.... moving on to the category of....Hmmmm what were you thinking.... choosing that as the name of their store????

I wonder if people willingly want to sit in the "The Electric Chair" for a haircut?  It begs the question of course, if one still has hair after electrocution?

And some things really leave me speechless?  My teenage son laughed until tears came at this gas station name.  

In other NOT related news, I met my neighbors pet, well through the fence a few nights ago.  Betcha can't guess it's name?  Maybe a pic will help, this is what Wes and I saw through the fence.

Any Guesses yet?  Need another pic to help? OK, here ya go!

MMMMM HMMMMMM THAT my friends is a pet PIG!

Some things you just can't make up....really!  

We are calling "it" piglet.  No idea what it's real name is yet.  Everyone hibernates this time of year here.  Just too dang hot to go outdoors, unless it's 3 am when we get a break from the heat.  So this neighborhood is a ghost town, never see people coming or going....much less just hanging outside!

In adoption news......We are still awaiting our LOA any day now.  I know, I'm sick of saying it, typing it and referring to it as such.  Can not wait to be passed this hurdle.  Already have all my paperwork ready for immediately following getting LOA!

By the way, I'm completely certain!  NOTHING can make you question your own intelligence, then filling out repeated government forms for immigrations and visa applications.  

Took me 2 stinking days to get 8 forms ( 4 per kiddo) completed correctly!  I am now questioning whether or not I completed any schooling growing up???!!!!  Today, I still put my education in the "No,  I don't recall a thing"category.  

Still hoping for A/C, sanity, LOA, and updates on our Timmy and Kate any day now.

Housewife of the POSH Cabot, AR

After 6 days of unpacking boxes and finding a home for the hoarding.....ummm, material possession a plenty....We took a field trip into "town",  Little Rock to be exact.  We had a very SLOWLY baked chicago style pizza.  I agree, maybe should have ordered "native" food.  BUT, the opportunity to people watch was almost too good to be true.  Best gem....A 40 something gal in a casual "cami" (t-shirt) type shirt with pearls and an up-do?  Hmmmmm, should have got a pic I know!

We found the name sake of the city.... 

"The" Little Rock (or so they say?)

And a very cool park near the Clinton Presidential Library (Yeah, he was Governor once here).

But really it's the playground in our backyard that's the BIGGEST hit.  An indicator that best states it's popularity and completely eliminates my ballot for mother of the year.  I just did laundry yesterday.

No,  NOT for the first time since arriving,

BUT close 8-).

Megan's pile of folded clothes, when all was completed:

4 Swimsuits

3 pair of PJ's

1 outfit

Not that I NEED to obsess over what my kids wear, BUT HMMMMM?

Did she wear that one outfit ALL week and I missed that lack of variety in wardrobe selection?

AND MUCH WORSE.... Ummmm, one word....shhhhh, clean panties????

Don't even want to think another thought about it!  Moving forward to pics of mandatory family fun we had today.  We have a teen boy, not exactly enthusiastic about the pool. CRAZY I know!  WARNING Please put sunglasses on NOW!  

We STILL lack pool toys, but at least that is not a sled anymore, but a bogey board!

Send Bryce a txt or email....."Hey Bryce, when is that stupid canoe getting moved OFF the pool deck?" Please send soon, I would appreciate it!

The first jump in!

In adoption news:  We had our Supplement 3 to our home study interview on Tuesday (long winded for address change for US Immigrations!).  Paperwork processing and getting some details fine tuned.  Hoping this DOES NOT slow our paperwork down a bit!  We are expecting an update on our cuties any day now.  We will share any pics we get at that time.