X-ray update

Well I went to the doctor today to get my x-ray done. I was amazed at how fast they were able to get the x-ray done, and the doctor was able to view it within 5 minutes as well. He's not a "chest x-ray reader" doctor so I still have to take the x-ray to the health dept, but he looked at it and said he didn't see anything suspicious on it. That definitely made me feel better though, that he didn't see anything on my x-ray. I still don't understand why I have to go through the health dept, but he said as well that even if he had sent the x-ray to another doctor to read, I still would have ended up going to the health dept anyway. He did say though, that if the health dept doctor thought he saw something, I should come back and have him send the x-ray to someone else to get a second opinion. So that made me feel a little better about the whole thing. He also said I should contact the health dept and find out what their protocol was for positive tb reactions, so I could be prepared in case they were going to make me take the 9 months of medicine whether or not my x-ray was negative. I called the health dept and the lady really did NOT want to give me a straight answer. She just kept saying that the doctor would have to read the x-ray, and it would depend on whatever he said. However, I finally got out of her that they couldn't make me take the medicine unless there was something suspicious on my x-ray. I'm not sure what I would do if the "recommended" I take the medicine but I didn't have to. I think it would probably depend on how the medicine would effect me and what the chances were that I could have problems later if I didn't take it. Pray that the health dept thinks my x-ray is negative as well, and they don't see any need for me to take medicine.

In today's issue of adoption adventures...

Well I decided that I would just go to my doctor to get my x-ray because I trust him more and didn't want to have to have a second appointment unless it was necessary for additional treatment. However when I called the health department to tell them I was going to my doctor for my x-ray, they told me that if I wanted to be cleared by the health department then I had to bring in my x-ray to them BEFORE the 10th and go in on the 10th so their x-ray reader guy can read my x-ray. Is my doctor really not able to refer me to someone who can read my x-ray and clear me? Do I really have to have the health department do this? I don't understand. Anyone know anything about the health dept and the perceived influence they have?

P.S. Here are some nursing covers and burp pads I made for my sister and a church friend. I've decided to start taking pictures of the things I make because i forget what they look like!

Good and Bad...

Well today was one of those days that had both really good and really bad things in it. I suppose I will share the bad first. I got a TB test done on Tuesday, and I had to go get it read today. I was so proud of myself for getting it done at Conway's Health Dept so I wouldn't have to miss any school, but I had issues when I got it read today. Of course I had a reaction...I was hoping I wouldn't, but the last TB test I had was a 9mm reaction so I wasn't too surprised about this. It's frustrating though because the workers there really freak out about it and treat me like I have TB, even though there is no way I could because the reaction would be WAY bigger than the tiny red bump on my arm. After measuring it like 5 times, they decided that the reaction was 12mm (even though they went from 9mm to 10mm and then to 12mm). Then they told me I needed to have an x-ray done, and asked if I could stay, and said it would only take about an hour. Well, I had to be back for my class in 30 minutes, but I called my principal and he said to go ahead and do it, and they could get my class covered. So...I sat around for 45 minutes, and when they finally get to me, I find out that they don't actually do the x-rays there, they just made an appointment for me to have it done at a doctor in Conway next week. Then, I have to wait until March 10th and go back to the Health Dept. so their "TB x-ray reader guy" can read the x-ray and let me know if anything else needs to be done. Talk about a hassle! I called my PCP, and they weren't able to get me in until the 26th (after the Conway appt), but my PCP said they should be able to just call me with the results rather than me needing to take another half day off. So I'm trying to decide which route I should go. I definitely trust my PCP (sounds like I'm talking about drugs!) more than the health dept doctor, but if I'm going to have to go for 2 appointments with my doctor, then I might as well just keep the appts the health dept made for me. Wow...that was confusing. So that was definitely a frustrating morning, and since they took so long to SCHEDULE THE APPOINTMENT when I thought I was going to get an x-ray, I was almost late for my next class.

Here are two good things that happened today:
We got our new 1098T's today! Now I have the hassle of filing a correction on my taxes for this year, and requesting an amended 1098T for last year so I can correct those as well, but that will definitely get us some more much needed money once it's all said and done.

This is not adoption related but good. I had a parent leave a message for me that she wanted me to call her. Those things always make me nervous because I'm never sure what they want, and of course they don't give the secretary any indication so it could be about anything. Well I called her back, and all she wanted to do was tell me a music-related story about her son, and it definitely made my day. She said her son was in the car with his dad, and they were listening to a game show sort of thing on the radio. I'm not sure of all the specifics, but I know it involved current composers creating music that sounds like classical music examples. Anyway, when an example was getting played, her son piped up and said, "That's Stravinsky! I know that's Stravinsky!" He proceeded to say that Stravinsky was born in Russia, and the example being played sounded like the Rite of Spring. Then he apparently got impatient when the contestant was taking to long to guess the right answer. When they finally said the answer, she said her husband was amazed because the song was based on Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. She said even though they listen to classical music some, they don't focus on composers or titles of pieces so the only place he could have learned that was in my class. :) Stravinsky was our "composer of the month" for November. So it made me really happy to know that kids were actually remembering things I was teaching them, especially since I don't see them every day.
Pray the TB hassle works out and doesn't cause any problems with our adoption.

Here is my updated to-do list:

-fill out the application for adoption including 5 references
-Get Affidavits notarized
-contact a social worker about a home study
-get fingerprinted for a criminal background check
-get child maltreatment forms notarized and submitted
-get a physical done
-get a TB test done (half done)
-Write a Letter to Birthparents
-Write an autobiography about each of our backgrounds
-Create SIX-TEN copies of a photo booklet (the book is just about completed, but I didn't know we would have to have so many copies of it!)
-Fill out a Profile of the Adoptive Family
-Read Dear Birthmother and fill out a book report on it
-Read The Open Adoption Experience and fill out a book report on it
-Read another book about adoption and fill out a book report on it
-Fill out a questionnaire about our preferred level of openness
-Fill out a profile of the child we would consider adopting
-Fill out a budget
-Get our bank to fill out a reference letter
-Fill out a financial statement
-Copy our driver's licenses, social security cards, and birth certificates
-obtain verification of employment letters which note when our employment began, current position, and salary earned
-set up and complete home study with social worker

President's Day

So I was off today...a little frustrating because Conway won't take away any holidays when we are out for snow days, they just add days on to the end of the school year. But, I did get a lot done with this adoption stuff. I'm exhausted and just want to lay on the couch and watch TV, but I feel like I accomplished something. I wish the health dept had been open so we could have gotten TB tests today-that's the only other thing I really wanted to get done. Don't even get me started on TB tests, I'm just not going to stress about it until I have a reason to. However, the Health Dept closes at 4:30, so unless I can get one done in Conway somewhere, I am going to have to take off TWO half-days for one TB test (because Conway will only let you have a sub for a minimum of half a day). I hate to miss more school, especially for something that will take 2 minutes each time, but I don't know that I really have a choice. Bolded things still need to be done. Pray I get them done quickly and don't have to miss too much school.

-fill out the application for adoption including 5 references
-Get Affidavits notarized
-contact a social worker about a home study
-get fingerprinted for a criminal background check
-get child maltreatment forms notarized and submitted
-get a physical done
-get a TB test done
-Write a Letter to Birthparents
-Write an autobiography about each of our backgrounds
-Create SIX-TEN copies of a photo booklet (the book is just about completed, but I didn't know we would have to have so many copies of it!)
-Fill out a Profile of the Adoptive Family
-Read Dear Birthmother and fill out a book report on it
-Read The Open Adoption Experience and fill out a book report on it
-Read another book about adoption and fill out a book report on it
-Fill out a questionnaire about our preferred level of openness
-Fill out a profile of the child we would consider adopting
-Fill out a budget
-Get our bank to fill out a reference letter
-Fill out a financial statement
-Copy our driver's licenses, social security cards, and birth certificates
-obtain verification of employment letters which note when our employment began, current position, and salary earned
-set up and complete home study with social worker

Update on our To-Do List

Here are the things I got completed this weekend. I wish that I could do the strike-through in this to cross out the things I've completed (help anyone?), but since I can't do that, the things I have finished are in italics. Unfortunately I also found something else we had to do that was hiding in one of the forms, so I added that to the end. Hope that makes sense!

-fill out the application for adoption including 5 references
-Get Affidavits notarized
-contact a social worker about a home study
-get fingerprinted for a criminal background check
-get child maltreatment forms notarized and submitted
-get a physical done
-get a TB test done
-Write a Letter to Birthparents
-Write an autobiography about each of our backgrounds
-Create SIX-TEN copies of a photo booklet (the book is just about completed, but I didn't know we would have to have so many copies of it!)
-Fill out a Profile of the Adoptive Family
-Read Dear Birthmother and fill out a book report on it
-Read The Open Adoption Experience and fill out a book report on it
-Read another book about adoption and fill out a book report on it
-Fill out a questionnaire about our preferred level of openness
-Fill out a profile of the child we would consider adopting
-Fill out a budget
-Get our bank to fill out a reference letter
-Fill out a financial statement
-Copy our driver's licenses, social security cards, and birth certificates
-obtain verification of employment letters which note when our employment began, current position, and salary earned

We're back

Well me made it back from Kansas City, and overall I think we had a successful trip. I guess if you want to get specific we didn't really go to Kansas City, we went to Overland Park, Kansas which is a suburb or Kansas City. Here are some good things that happened. We got to spend time with our friends Jon and Amber who live in Fayetteville. I hadn't even realized that Fayetteville was on the way to Kansas City until Amber pointed it out, but we really appreciated them for letting us stay there. Thanks to a Red Lobster gift card we had gotten from my parents, we ate lunch at Red Lobster before going to the adoption agency. Yum! We got a lot of good information from the adoption agency, got a lot of questions answered, and are one step further in our process.

However, as successful at the trip was, Nate and I both got very overwhelmed at the meeting when we found out everything we would have to get finished before we could even be considered by a birthmother. Here is the LONG list we have to complete, in no particular order. Keep checking back, I will be crossing things off as we get them completed.

-fill out the application for adoption including 5 references
-Get Affidavits notarized
-contact a social worker about a home study
-get fingerprinted for a criminal background check
-get child maltreatment forms notarized and submitted
-get a physical done
-get a TB test done
-Write a Letter to Birthparents
-Write an autobiography about each of our backgrounds
-Create SIX-TEN copies of a photo booklet (the book is just about completed, but I didn't know we would have to have so many copies of it!)
-Fill out a Profile of the Adoptive Family
-Read Dear Birthmother and fill out a book report on it
-Read The Open Adoption Experience and fill out a book report on it
-Read another book about adoption and fill out a book report on it
-Fill out a questionnaire about our preferred level of openness
-Fill out a profile of the child we would consider adopting
-Fill out a budget
-Get our bank to fill out a reference letter
-Fill out a financial statement
-Copy our driver's licenses, social security cards, and birth certificates

Pray this doesn't get too overwhelming, and we are able to complete all these steps quickly.

Update on our meeting

Well...I have been out of school since Monday, and I am definitely getting cabin fever. It's pretty sad when you get so bored that you WANT to go back to work! Anyway, once my principal and I found out we were going to be out Wednesday, there was no way my program was going to get ready in time so it had to be postponed. I called the adoption agency to let them know the situation and see if there was another day we could come since it was looking like we wouldn't be able to go on the 19th, and we found out that we could go up there this Friday, February 12th at 1:30. I went ahead and tentatively scheduled this day, and now as long as everything is still set with the agency, we are planning on going then.

I'm actually excited about this because it's a week earlier than it was supposed to be, but I know it has been difficult on Nate trying to get work and rehearsals re-arranged with such short notice. To make matters worse, after he got all that done, I found out from my principal that even though the auditorium director said the only other available date was February 19th, he was able to find 2 more open dates on April 19th and May 2nd. So, I have a feeling my program is going to get moved to one of those instead. This means Nate didn't have to reschedule everything because we could have gone on the 19th after all. Wow...that was confusing. Anyway...as long as the adoption agency is a go then we will be going this Friday since we have both already requested off of work and gotten things shuffled around. Please pray that we have a successful meeting (and it doesn't get snowed out or anything like that!), we are able to ask the right questions, and we are able to proceed quickly afterward.

Waiting...

We still have 2 weeks until our orientation meeting, and I feel like I have been waiting forever for this to come. I can't even imagine what's going to happen in a few months once we have completed the paperwork, completed the home study, and are just waiting to be "chosen" by birth parents. At least when I have things I have to get done I can feel like I am moving forward and accomplishing something, but right now I feel like we should be a lot farther along than we are, there is nothing I can do about it, and that is really frustrating. How do you make it through months and months of wondering if birth parents will ever think you are "good enough" to be the parents of their child? Pray God settles my soul and provides me with outlets to keep my mind off the waiting and keep me feeling like we are moving forward.

And now for something completely different. The snow gods apparently didn't bother to check with me and see what I thought about them sending 6 inches of snow and closing my school for at least 2 days. Normally I wouldn't mind except Conway has this weird policy where they don't have any built in snow days, we just add on days at the end of the year...so now we are already into June. More importantly, my 3rd and 4th grade program is scheduled for this Thursday, and we were supposed to have 2 long rehearsals today and tomorrow, and then practice in the auditorium Wednesday and Thursday. However...I'm not sure what's going to happen now, since we won't be in school until at least Wednesday, and they are calling for more snow on Thursday. I talked to my principal today about the situation, but because Conway only has one auditorium for the entire district, the only other open day was February 19th....sound familiar anyone? Yeah...we are supposed to be in Kansas on that day. Luckily I had already told my principal about that so when I reminded him of it I wasn't springing something new on him, but that's still frustrating as well. I don't think he will ask me to try to reschedule the meeting, but I'm still feeling the pressure anyway. I think we are still going to try to have it on Thursday and see if we can schedule any extra rehearsal time...but who knows if that will pan out or not. Luckily the kids have been doing pretty well, but they will have to read their lines off of cards because I doubt they can get them memorized in 2 days.