I am not sure why a night of of insomnia inspires me to write but it does....If I could make a guess, I would say that AT LEAST half of my blog posts were/are written between the hours of 3am and 5am. It's not like my mind is racing...actually it usually is because of a migraine....Hmmm....I've digressed. LOL!
So let me tell you about my last two weeks....Almost two weeks ago, i woke up with SEVERE tendinitis in my right shoulder. I did not know that at the time. I mean I seriously thought my shoulder was broke AND dislocated. I've had both happen in that shoulder, so trust me, I KNOW what that feels like!! I didn't go to sleep like that and had NO IDEA what I did to make it feel that way. I got through the morning assembly with the church on 6 Advil. The evening assembly i took 3 Aleve and brought a heating pad with me. ( i know, i know....should've gone for ice....but i couldn't stand the thought of shivering and heat sounded SO much nicer, more comfortable....and it was) I took a prescribed narcotic (did you hear that??? did you get that??? a PRESCRIBED NARCOTIC!!!! that's just crazy stuff right there!) to just get to sleep for three nights in a row!!! The point here is that I was in so much pain i could think of nothing else. All I wanted was to make it go away. Have you been like that? It's awful!! Truly!! (Amy, if you every wonder if you have had an influence on me...just take note of ALL the capitalized words! ;-) Love ya!)
Now, anyone who knows me pretty well, will know that I way prefer to treat myself and my family with alternative and holistic ways. So, taking that much medication....even breaking to the point of taking a narcotic was HUGE!!!!!! The Dr put me on a strong anti-inflammatory and a muscle relaxant. I was such in a fog for three days, all I did was camp out on the couch and be a grouch (also thanks to the meds... and well, likely the pain too). Did anyone notice that i went to the Dr??
Then on Tuesday, a friend asked me if i had been to the chiropractor. She said she did something to her shoulder and had gone to a chiropractor and got instant relief. OH YEAH!!! I love chirorpractors!! Unfortunately, she was unable to do anything for me. Wouldn't even touch it due to the extreme restricted mobility of my arm, but was still able to adjust the rest of me, Whew! Then Steve and I got to talking and he started asking what Shaklee supplements i could take, and what oils could i use??? OH YEAH!!! I love Shaklee!!! And I'm really beginning to like DoTerra essential oils!!
I was in SO MUCH PAIN that i could not think about what i could do or what I should do to help myself. Again, all i wanted was the pain gone!! I didn't care how. And here, this is the impetus of this blog post....I couldn't think for myself what i would like to do or how i would like things dealt with. I needed outside input from my friends! And in case you didn't put it together, Steve is my best friend :-) I needed someone, or a couple someones in my case, to remind me what I wanted.
And then i got to thinking...there is a spiritual lesson here...Sometimes we can get ourselves into painful situations, or maybe those painful situations come to us....whatever the case, maybe we need someone from outside to remind us of who we are, or how we want to deal with things. Or maybe...this is a greater possibility...we need to be that friend. That friend to remind someone of who they are when everything is crashing down. That friend who reminds them that they are loved by us and loved even more by the Creator and Savior of the Universe. Or rather, maybe we need to be the one who enters into someones life when they are in pain from the sin in their life and give them hope and way out.
I needed to hear about that chiropractor. I needed to think about what Shaklee and oils could do for me. I needed the options that i wanted anyway, but couldn't think of them for myself. Let's do that. Let's do that for others. Let's give the options to help others out of their sin, out of their pain. Let's be true friends. Let's pray that the response is much like mine.... OH YEAH!!!
*And my story ends well, too...Tuesday night i started taking my Shaklee stuff again (i had just forgotten in my pain) and Wednesday things started getting better. I made special orders for more things to take... both oils and supplements.. and they are working! My mobility is increasing every day, and the pain is gone. ...and I'm really hoping by Monday(two weeks after it all first started) to be back at work!
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Thursday, August 27, 2015
An Adoption Update
Hey all!
So, this is the first time i've written anything for way too long!! I thought that since this was going to be longer i should just write a blog post...nothing more annoying than an crazy long Facebook post! At least when you clicked on the link you were committing to reading it. ;-)
Let me get you all up to speed...Last summer when faced with having to leave Ghana. We, as a family, decided that we would try and adopt Stephen Karikari. We didn't even know if we could...Every step along the way in Ghana was quite a resounding, YES!! It really was AMAZING to see God's hand guiding that whole thing and the SPEED at which things moved. If any of you have ever been to Ghana you would understand that the quickness with which the Social Welfare (a government office) was really more than Extraordinary!!! A God thing, really! When we contacted the USCIS (United States department of Citizenship and Immigration Services) in Ghana they basically told us we would have to follow protocol and nothing could be expedited. With our visas expiring the end of August 2014, we made the tough decision of leaving Stephen with the Boatengs, heading back to America to finish the U.S. paper work side of things. That would mean finding jobs, finding a place to live, setting up house (we came and had only the suitcases we brought with us from Ghana), and beginning the adoption process here. That is what we have done.
Now some of you may be wondering what it takes to get the adoption process going or what we have done. Let me fill you in. :-) First you have to fill out an application...this is no one or two page application...pretty sure the application itself (that we filed with the agency we are working through) was about 10-12 pages long that needed extensive information about our families (close and extended), our references, ourselves, our financial matters, our work history, our personal info, etc....with that application we also filed autobiographies...that was also another 12-15 pages of questions, a LOT of questions that required much more than just one or two word answers....i worked on that part every day for a week...took a break...and then worked on then really had to write an autobiography of my life to date....i don't know how long that took....longer than i wanted. then we had to wait for the references that we listed to be mailed a questionnaire, respond to that, and mail it back. We also had to have medical check-ups...for the entire family. Then we had to do FBI background checks...did you all know that they do digital fingerprinting now??? It makes sense with all the technology we have. Then we had to do a personality test. Then we were finally able to start the home study part ( a process made up of 3 interviews). Pretty much every step we've done has had a cost, the application, the background checks, the doctor's visits, the personality tests, the home study interviews...we've put out a chunk so far and we're not done...
So where does that leave us now...here is what we have left to do to complete the adoption agency we are working through requirements. These must be completed BEFORE we can file with the USCIS. We must take online adoptive parenting classes. There are five of them. We must get a few paperwork items to the agency, and we must finish paying for the home study part. Our last interview is the middle of September. Then when we get the home study report from the agency...THEN we can finally file with the USCIS. What does that mean? That means another application, another FBI background check, submitting the home study report, and any and all accompanying paperwork. I honestly haven't looked at everything for the USCIS for about 6 months, it just seemed like such a huge task, that i've had to break it down basically to what do i need to do this week...or more often...what do i need to do today?
After we submit things to the USCIS, and everything is approved...then we can go get Stephen!!! But what does that mean?? That will mean plane tickets and planning...that will mean a visit to the capital Accra to visit the embassy to get a visa for Stephen so that he can travel. Then when he has a visa....THEN WE CAN COME HOME!!!! I CAN HARDLY WAIT TO TAKE STEPHEN ON HIS FIRST FLIGHT!!!!!!! I can hardly wait for all the firsts that will come on that trip! For all the firsts that will happen when he gets here! For the JOY that our family will have being all together again!!! It is hard for me to think about that as it brings up so much emotion...
What you can pray for... Pray that things will continue to progress as they have the last month so that we can get Stephen by the end of the year...SOONER if possible!!! Pray that Stephen has his passport....pray that we will be able to keep up with the financial needs as they come up.....Pray for Stephen that he feels like he is not forgotten (he isn't, but it has been TOO LONG)....pray for his transition to life here....
So i think this is about as condensed as it gets writing out the adoption process and what we've done, been through, continue to go through, and what we have to look forward to doing. Our love to all!!
So, this is the first time i've written anything for way too long!! I thought that since this was going to be longer i should just write a blog post...nothing more annoying than an crazy long Facebook post! At least when you clicked on the link you were committing to reading it. ;-)
Let me get you all up to speed...Last summer when faced with having to leave Ghana. We, as a family, decided that we would try and adopt Stephen Karikari. We didn't even know if we could...Every step along the way in Ghana was quite a resounding, YES!! It really was AMAZING to see God's hand guiding that whole thing and the SPEED at which things moved. If any of you have ever been to Ghana you would understand that the quickness with which the Social Welfare (a government office) was really more than Extraordinary!!! A God thing, really! When we contacted the USCIS (United States department of Citizenship and Immigration Services) in Ghana they basically told us we would have to follow protocol and nothing could be expedited. With our visas expiring the end of August 2014, we made the tough decision of leaving Stephen with the Boatengs, heading back to America to finish the U.S. paper work side of things. That would mean finding jobs, finding a place to live, setting up house (we came and had only the suitcases we brought with us from Ghana), and beginning the adoption process here. That is what we have done.
Now some of you may be wondering what it takes to get the adoption process going or what we have done. Let me fill you in. :-) First you have to fill out an application...this is no one or two page application...pretty sure the application itself (that we filed with the agency we are working through) was about 10-12 pages long that needed extensive information about our families (close and extended), our references, ourselves, our financial matters, our work history, our personal info, etc....with that application we also filed autobiographies...that was also another 12-15 pages of questions, a LOT of questions that required much more than just one or two word answers....i worked on that part every day for a week...took a break...and then worked on then really had to write an autobiography of my life to date....i don't know how long that took....longer than i wanted. then we had to wait for the references that we listed to be mailed a questionnaire, respond to that, and mail it back. We also had to have medical check-ups...for the entire family. Then we had to do FBI background checks...did you all know that they do digital fingerprinting now??? It makes sense with all the technology we have. Then we had to do a personality test. Then we were finally able to start the home study part ( a process made up of 3 interviews). Pretty much every step we've done has had a cost, the application, the background checks, the doctor's visits, the personality tests, the home study interviews...we've put out a chunk so far and we're not done...
So where does that leave us now...here is what we have left to do to complete the adoption agency we are working through requirements. These must be completed BEFORE we can file with the USCIS. We must take online adoptive parenting classes. There are five of them. We must get a few paperwork items to the agency, and we must finish paying for the home study part. Our last interview is the middle of September. Then when we get the home study report from the agency...THEN we can finally file with the USCIS. What does that mean? That means another application, another FBI background check, submitting the home study report, and any and all accompanying paperwork. I honestly haven't looked at everything for the USCIS for about 6 months, it just seemed like such a huge task, that i've had to break it down basically to what do i need to do this week...or more often...what do i need to do today?
After we submit things to the USCIS, and everything is approved...then we can go get Stephen!!! But what does that mean?? That will mean plane tickets and planning...that will mean a visit to the capital Accra to visit the embassy to get a visa for Stephen so that he can travel. Then when he has a visa....THEN WE CAN COME HOME!!!! I CAN HARDLY WAIT TO TAKE STEPHEN ON HIS FIRST FLIGHT!!!!!!! I can hardly wait for all the firsts that will come on that trip! For all the firsts that will happen when he gets here! For the JOY that our family will have being all together again!!! It is hard for me to think about that as it brings up so much emotion...
What you can pray for... Pray that things will continue to progress as they have the last month so that we can get Stephen by the end of the year...SOONER if possible!!! Pray that Stephen has his passport....pray that we will be able to keep up with the financial needs as they come up.....Pray for Stephen that he feels like he is not forgotten (he isn't, but it has been TOO LONG)....pray for his transition to life here....
So i think this is about as condensed as it gets writing out the adoption process and what we've done, been through, continue to go through, and what we have to look forward to doing. Our love to all!!
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