August Update

We were told that Cooper is doing well. His chewing functions have improved and he is now chewing with his back teeth.. they were worried.. but maybe it was just his signature chew!! They still have him on a bottle.. which is ODD.. but it will be okay! His speech development is doing great and he imitates the last sentences from the caregivers talking! So he is a comedian!! He can also name objects that he sees! Poor kid is now going to have to learn English!
They said he is a stubborn child emotionally!! He cries and scream when he doesn't get his way.. so I say.. WATCH OUT ALI YOUR BROTHER IS COMING HOME AND YOU MIGHT LOSE YOUR CROWN!! (She went to bed at 7 PM tonight cause I could not take her tantrum any more today!!) And last Cooper puts on his best show (cries and screams) when he gets punished for not cooperating with his physical training staff!! Oh he will fit in so well with this couch potato family!!
I want to get this boy home!!
August Photos:

New Pictures and Update!

I finally got the scanner to work so I can post the photos from July and the photos from August! He is growing so quickly.. he has left that baby look and now looks to me like a little boy! I am so heart sick each day thinking of him not being with us.
I know that God has his plan and that our travel date will come, maybe we are just waiting on me and my state test and job first.. there is always a reason and our time to travel will come soon.
The other family with our agency is leaving Friday! I am so excited for them. I have prayed for their safe travel and to have a wonderful experience in Taiwan. Also I told the mom that she has to document everything so she could tell me every minute of everything that happens! They are also adopting a little boy!!
So just to update my school story for the girls.. Mallory's entire file for school was not found until Tuesday.. this is after I became a crazy woman and was on the phone with three schools and the school board! They finally tracked the file on Tuesday after the superintendent of the schools spent about five hours trying to locate it!! So poor Mallory ended up with weight lifting and PE and Spanish for her electives. It is a sad shame but they told us at the school that they had to cut out all Art classes along with auto mechanics and other things because of the school budgets! Our children don't get to live and learn in the same world we did!
Kara's first day of school in the US went well. She said no one talked to her. This was the same thing Mia said last year. I tried to explain that no one in Florida is from Florida and everyone thinks they are the new guy.. when in fact half the class is the new guy. I told her just to smile and say hi to one person in her class and that she would have friends soon.
Mallory and Kara have lunch at the same time.. but in a school with 1800 students mallory said she could not find Kara.. even after making a spot to wait!!
I think I will run for school board when the next elections come out.. someone has to make a change!! LOL
Okay.. so now for Cooper!! Here he is!!!!!
JULY PICTURES

171 Finally!

Okay we finally received our updated 171 last night. I feel it is now one more thing I can stop worring about with our adoption. I know things seem to be moving at a slower pace then we expected back in April but I do believe this is all for a reason.
I have my state board of nursing test on September 3 which I am very nervous about. I do the practice questions and I seem to know at least 80% but when it comes to the state test.. will they only give me the 20% of questions I don't know??!! That would be my worse nightmare!
So around the house here we are just taking each day as it comes until Cooper comes home. The kids go back to school on Monday. Mallory was very excited until yesterday when we found out that the woman at her middle school that had really given Mallory a problem and hard time about her changing her home address to her dad's house so that she could go to the same high school that her brother and sister graduated from, NEVER changed her papers back in April and as of today Mallory is not enrolled in any school. I have to say I was VERY upset and called the middle school with steam in my voice and told this woman to fix her problem.
Like so many things that our country has become the woman said it wasn't her problem and that we would have to fix it ourselves. Even though she admitted to doing this. This means running back and forth between schools trying to find out where her papers are and then enrolling her in the right school.
This is when I get upset with people. They don't do their job and then cause the next person ten times more work..and they just don't care.
Anyways, I vented! I am going to go back to my studying! and thinking about Cooper!

In the mail!

I finally got the stuff off to get sealed by the state that our agency requested. I had the envelope inside for return made directly to go to Kansas...
BUT then I get a letter from CIS today and I think it is going to be our updated 171 H and it is a request to prove stuff in our home study. They have had five home studies and never asked us to send them any additional information, but now they do??
I am so tired of the paperwork and the circles that adoption families have to run to make paperwork right for ????? Not even sure who gets all of this paperwork or do they really look at it?
So tomorrow Mallory and I with the two little ones are going to drive directly to the CIS office to bring this stuff. It is papers I don't want lost in the mail. I tried to email them to find out why they were asking but now I will just go directly there and find out..
I have also been working on getting my exchange students placed... again with the government workers.. you should have seen this woman looking over a students paperwork.. I mean I had everything she asked for, two copies that she asked for.. and yet she still gave me the run around. People just don't give a crap any more about other people, it is not about getting the job done, it is how much of a jerk can I be and to others!
Okay I am crabby tonight. I just feel that someone has to do something to change our world and make things right, especially for kids.
I did have one neat thing today.. I went for my first nursing job! Well actually I knew I could not get hired as I haven't taken the state boards yet, but I went to the place to talk to the person that hires and she said as soon as I sit and have a PASS on the screen I can go back and start the process.. she was happy to take me!
I can't wait!!!!!!!!
I still haven't gotten my scanner fixed so I can show you all the new pictures of my HANDSOME boy!! He is so cute! And he has such a gleam in his eyes! I can't wait to kiss that face!