One Week and Counting!

Yes, it's true! We are leaving in one week and we couldn't be more excited! We have waited so long for this moment and it's hard to believe it is finally here. I have heard some people compare an adoption to a pregnancy and I would have to agree. I remember all too well that feeling you get around the eighth month. I felt that I was done and couldn't wait to hold my little one in my arms. Well, it has been eleven months and I REALLY can't wait to hold Alyona in my arms! I am definitely in the nesting stage, trying to make sure everything is just right for when she comes home.

I am so thankful that my brother will be able to stay with my kiddos at home. I trust my girls, but for their safety and protection (we watch too much Criminal Minds and 24 - something that Alyona won't be watching!), I like knowing that he will be there for them.

Well, I'm off to try to figure out how to pack five suitcases of items into two. Wish me luck!

College and Car Seats

It's been busy around here in more ways than one. In addition to getting ready to bring Alyona home, we got to take our high school senior to another college to look at. How many people get the pleasure of checking out car seats and colleges in the same week?

I can also sleep better tonight knowing that our plane tickets to you-know-where have been purchased. This has been such a long process, but the end is finally in sight. Hang tight little one, we're coming!

We FINALLY Have Our SDA Appointment!

I was enjoying a hot breakfast--lovingly prepared by my daughter--when the phone rang. Well, I don't know about your house, but at our home, 99.9% of the time a ringing phone usually means that it is a solicitor... and yes, we are on the Do Not Call list. As per usual, I ignored the phone. The answering machine kicked on and I realized that it was not just any phone call, it was from our facilitator! She called us with the news that we finally have an SDA appointment for Nov. 30! She told us to book our flights ASAP and to let her know so that she can relay the information to our facilitators in the country-that-shall-not-be-named. I am so excited, we finally get to make our travel arrangements. It looks like we get to have Thanksgiving with our family after all and then be off on our excellent adventure to go get Aly!

SDA Appointment? Not Yet.

I am sorry to inform you that we still have not received a date for our SDA appointment. I know, I am just as surprised as you are. This is a little disappointing, as I really believed we would have had it by the end of this week. Hopefully, this time next week I will have a date to announce. I have been so good by not checking email every three minutes, but instead have been busying myself with errands to get ready for our trip. As soon as I walk in the front door, I'm asking my daughters (ok, maybe it has become pestering) if I received any emails I should know about, but then I follow that up by saying, "Of course not, you would have texted me if there were".

Our state-side facilitator did email me on Nov. 3 to let me know that she has been contacting the facilitators in the country-which-cannot-be-named daily, asking about getting our appointment date and to check to see if anything is wrong with our paperwork (ahhh, that thought never even entered my mind!). I received another email today and the good news is that there is nothing wrong with our dossier or Aly's paperwork, it is just a matter of the SDA scheduling an appointment (or not as the case may be). And so, we continue to wait (I'm getting really good). I did think it was interesting that we were asked if we would be ok if we do not get much notice.... ummmm yes! We want to get there ASAP! If the Browning family had 9 days notice of their appointment, I think we could handle the same. It's amazing how I am beginning to miss this cute little someone I have never even met. It kind of reminds me of when I was expecting my girls. The closer I got to my due date, the more I couldn't wait to meet the latest member of our family. Like waiting for my other girls (which thankfully only lasted nine months) I have prepared a room for Aly, shopped for clothes for her and even have her Christmas presents purchased. Now, I am only missing one thing... Aly!

Good news to report, Brian was able to sell another piece of equipment for $1500 this week, which combined with the other piece of equipment for $700 and another $100 donation from last week, comes to $2300! This is not including the $250 in donations that have been made through the Reece's Rainbow site. Unfortunately, we do not know who made those donations, but we are most appreciative! Every day we are getting a little bit closer to bringing Aly home and we can't wait!

Colorful Cuddle Blankets

This post is for Linny at a Place Called Simplicity.

She has asked that everyone who reads her blog write a little post about what they are making to raise money for their adoption, so we can all do some Christmas shopping and help make a difference at the same time.

We are a family of 4, soon to be 5 and we couldn't be more excited! We are adopting Alyona from Eastern Europe and will get to meet her hopefully in November. Our dossier has already been submitted and we are currently waiting for our SDA appointment and travel date. We need to raise money to cover the expenses of our second trip so we can bring Aly home.

- - - -

Any child would love one of these cozy blankets. Made from super-soft fleece and featuring colorful patterns and characters that are sure to please, all blankets are pre-washed and crafted in a smoke free home. Each blanket measures approximately 42” x 56” and is made to last. No child to give a blanket to? You can donate a blanket on Aly's behalf and we will be happy to take a blanket to our local children's hospital or donate a blanket to children living in a motel.

Purchase knowing you are helping to get this precious girl home to America!

Blankets ship from southern California
Blankets = $35
+ US shipping = $14.50 (USPS Priority 2-3 days)

** SOLD ** Butterflies

Hawaiian

** SOLD ** Tinkerbell

** SOLD ** Toy cars

Mickey Mouse

Owls

Minnie Mouse

** SOLD ** Cars

Camoflauge

Floral

Pink and Brown Dots

Blue and Brown Dots

** SOLD ** Brown with Multicolor Dots

Ladybugs

** SOLD ** Bees

Not Yet... But Soon

Well, we are still waiting for our SDA appointment. Each day I check my email for what seems like a million times a day, but unfortunately, we haven't heard anything yet. This past week I have heard of two families whose dossier was submitted the same day as ours (Oct. 14), and they now have their SDA appointments (Nov. 15 and Nov. 22). I am sure that by this time next week, we will also know when our SDA appointment will be and then we can make our travel plans. In the meantime, I am going to remind myself that God's timing is perfect.

The Cost

Yay, today we have another $800 to help bring Aly home! Between donations, our garage sale, and Brian selling several items he no longer uses, our Help Bring Aly Home Fund is growing! More great news is that friends of Brian have donated their airline points, which completely covers the price of our flights!

We have had several people comment on the price of adoption. They wonder why international adoption is so expensive, so I thought I would share the breakdown of the cost of our adoption. Please keep in mind that other than the homestudy and USCIS, this does not cover the cost of our compiling our dossier (doctor's appointments, notaries, apostilles, etc.)

Here is the cost breakdown for the country we are adopting from and the organization that we are working with.

Estimated costs of our adoption:
$2000.00 - Homestudy
$1000.00 - USCIS, i-600a and fingerprinting
$5000.00 - approximate cost of flights
$8600.00 - facilitator fees
$1700.00 - first trip lodging ($80/night 3 weeks)
$1100.00 - second trip lodging ($80/night 2 weeks)
$450.00 - first trip food/other supplies ($20/day 3 weeks)
$250.00 - second trip food/other supplies ($20/day 2 weeks)
$600.00 - passport for Aly
$550.00 - visa and medical for Aly
$2000.00 - transportation (in country)
$1000.00 - orphanage donation/dossier preparation costs

Total $24,250

I look at this amount and realize it is a large dollar amount. I have heard other adoptive parents consider the cost of adoption as more of a ransom. If any of our children at home were kidnapped, we would pay the ransom, no matter what the dollar amount, to bring our children back home. We are willing to pay this ransom to bring Aly home. We are willing to pay the cost to keep Aly out of an institution and bring her into a loving family, where every child deserves to be. When God put it on our heart to adopt Aly we didn't know how we would come up with the money, we just knew we had to be obedient. It is amazing to see how God is providing for this sweet little girl.

It's not to late to help bring Aly home. Tax deductible donations can still be made through Reece's Rainbow at
http://reecesrainbow.org/alyona-for-the-swerdfeger-family-laguna-hills-ca

Our Dossier was Submitted!

Great news! Our dossier was submitted today! I checked my email this morning... nothing. I checked the RR forum... nothing. I checked the RR website... nothing. I assumed that we were not submitted today and would have to wait until next Thursday to check again. So, I decided to take our dog for a walk. I thought I'm going to have to stay busy this next week to pass the time until next Thursday (it's what we live for, right ladies?). When I got home, I told the girls I was heading to the shower and my oldest said I needed to check my email first.

I had an email from our facilitator saying we had been submitted!!!! (happy dance!)

Any idea how long until we find out our SDA appointment date?

Alyona, we are coming!!!

What a Gift!

Today I received an email with a wonderful surprise. I had been busy with paperwork and was intentionally avoiding email and internet so that I could get my work done. Well my girls told me that Nancy (our facilitator) had sent an email and that I HAD TO LOOK!!! What should I find but not one but three new pictures of my beautiful little sweetie. It was totally unexpected and it totally made my day. Just to be able to see her precious little face is so amazing.



I know I'm a proud mama, but seriously, is that just melt-your-heart cute or what?



I can't describe the feeling when I first saw these photos. I'm not usually a crier, but I have been so emotional lately, I just can't help myself. I can't wait to scoop her up. This gift of current photos of Aly is so wonderful!

Our Dossier Has Been Delivered!

Thank you UPS! Once again, UPS has come through for us. I have been tracking its every move across the world and our dossier has been delivered!

Aliso Viejo, CA
Long Beach, CA
Kentucky
Philadelphia
Cologne, Germany
Warsaw, Poland
Final Destination!!!

It is so exciting to know that it finally made it and now will be translated and submitted to their State Department of Adoptions.

Please continue to pray that all of our paperwork will be accepted, that none of it will need to be redone and we get an SDA appointment soon. Also, please pray for our little sweetheart's health. I can't imagine a precious little one being sick with no mama to cuddle with. I remember last year a family was at the orphanage to visit their little one and being turned away because something was going around the orphanage. That reminds me of something else I need to add to my packing list, I better buy some masks just in case.

Our Dossier Has Left the Building

Our dossier, lovingly known as "The Beast", has been sent. Yep, it is finally on its way. I have spent so much time gathering documents, signatures, notaries, apostilles, etc., that it feels weird not to have it in my possession. When I pulled into the driveway after dropping of the dossier at UPS, I felt as if I had forgotten my child accidentally behind at the store. Of course, I wouldn't know that personally, but one time one of my girls had an end of season party at a pizza place and then everyone drove over to the gym for the awards. One mom got to the gym and realized she left one of her kids at the pizza place. Oops!

I'm not quite sure of the rest of the timeline. Often once the dossier arrives, it can be submitted two weeks later. Unfortunately, I have heard that the State Dept. of Adoptions will be closing for two weeks in October (I do not know which two) and that may affect when we will be submitted.

Well, I have been told to hang on, that it's all downhill from here. You better believe I'll be hanging on, and praying the whole time.

A Message From My Mom

Even though you called me today and told me the wonderful news, I still broke down and cried when I read the words of the I-171H stating "It has been determined that you are able to provide proper care to an orphan/s....."! Little do they know you've been caring for her in your heart for many, many months now. My grand-baby is closer still to being with her forever family, praise God!

I can't believe it, I mean, I really can't believe it. We finally have our I-171H, in our possession. I could not believe how nervous I was opening the envelope. I was actually sweating. We have waited for this moment since we began this process back in January. In fact, it was on January 2, that Brian and I had contacted Reece's Rainbow regarding being Alyona's forever family. It has been a long experience. We have learned so much. We have completed a mountain of paperwork... twice! It is going to be such a great feeling to be able to send our dossier (some families lovingly call it The Beast) off on Monday! Yet, we are fully aware that our journey is far from over. Some have even said that this is only the halfway point. Fortunately, once we are in Aly's country, we will have a facilitator there to help us with the paperwork.

We knew that at the end of the paperwork trail in this country, we would be receiving USCIS approval, the I-171H. I honestly wasn't expecting it today. I don't know about you, but in our neighborhood, we only receive junk mail on Saturdays. Earlier in the day, I had dropped off a roll of film to be developed. They said it would be ready to be picked up in 30 minutes. I returned for the photos, anxiously waiting to see the memories from a once in a lifetime event, only to be told that they had problems with the machine and the film had been ruined. I was crushed, but it was my daughter, who reminded me that once again we were being spiritually attacked. I have heard that often families who are making a difference, who are in the process of international adoptions have been going through their own spiritual battles. With us it has been mostly with our appliances, so of course when we needed a roll of film developed, they would have problems with their machine. We had not one but two vacuums break (in one week), a dryer that wouldn't dry, a dishwasher that wouldn't wash, sprinklers that wouldn't sprinkle, and currently a washing machine that will not clean. But God is so good. To come home without the photos (sorry honey) and to not even be expecting the I-171H, but finding it in there waiting for my in my mailbox was like God saying, focus on the REAL things that matter. Focus on finishing this task that I have called you to do. Focus on getting Aly home. And that is exactly what we will do.

Yay!!!!! We have our Golden Ticket!!!

When we went out to the mailbox today, we were expecting to find the usual junk mail that comes on Saturdays. But, we found an envelope from USCIS with our I-171H! We are soooooo excited!!! (Can you tell?) We plan on going to LA on Monday to get it apostilled. After that, we will send our dossier to Eastern Europe!

We're coming to get you Aly!

xoxo

Kira

Yay, We're Approved... but Still Waiting

YAY! I just found out today from our "adopted" congressman's office down in El Cajon, CA (Duncan D. Hunter is the best!) that our USCIS officer approved us on Saturday, Sept. 18. She sent our file to her supervisor on Monday, Sept. 20 and then snail mailed it to the National Visa Center in New Hampshire. We still have not received anything by mail and the National Visa Center does not have us in their system yet (hopefully in a day or two), but at least we were approved! Still waiting for the Golden Ticket... I mean the I-171H. I would have never known we were approved if it weren't for Holly at Duncan Hunter's office. Thanks Holly for all your hard work!

Ten Weeks and Waiting

Please continue to pray for our I-171H to arrive. We have been waiting (and waiting and waiting) for over ten weeks now. I just received an email from our congressman's office asking if we had heard anything. It seems that last week the fine folks at the USCIS told our congressman's office "that an officer would be adjudicating the petition this week". Well, it's Thursday and we still have not heard anything. The week is not over, so we will continue to pray for us as well as all of the other Reece's Rainbow families that are also adopting. There are so many families that are also waiting. Waiting to finish home studies and dossiers, to receive I-171H's, for dossiers to be submitted (and accepted), for travel dates, for court dates, etc. Oh, and don't forget waiting to raise all of the $$ to bring these beautiful children home. If you would like to help us bust Aly out of the joint, we would greatly appreciate it (Aly would appreciate it even more). Tax-deductible donations can be made directly through Reece's Rainbow at:
http://www.reecesrainbow.org/sponsorSwerdfeger.html

or, you can mail your donation to:
Reece's Rainbow, PO Box 4024, Gaithersburg, MD 20885

I have had several friends mail or drop of the checks to me and I will send them in for them (checks made payable to Reece's Rainbow). Remember, no amount is too small, it all adds up. Would you please consider giving up your coffee at Starbucks for a day, a movie night, or a dinner out. Aly thanks you!

Happy Birthday Aly!

Aly turned four at the beginning of the month and we were so sad that we weren't able to be with her to celebrate her special day. My heart just breaks thinking of her without a mama to kiss her owies, hug her when she is scared, rock her when she is tired, and to cuddle her all the other times of the day. Oh, this little girl has no idea how so spoiled and loved she will be.

Well, it has been 9 weeks since we have sent in our I-600A Petition to Adopt and our waiting continues. As one who does not like to wait, this is killing me. My kids say I sigh all the time. They'll ask why and I'll say it's because I don't have my I-171H yet. We have continued contacting our officer and each time we get a different, generic email reply. It must be a form letter/email as it never addresses any of our specific questions that we asked. We just want a status update, but obviously there is nothing to update us on, if it hasn't even been looked at. On the positive side, the longest wait that I know of to receive a confirmation was 12 weeks. Everyone in the adoption world was shocked that it could take 12 weeks to receive the I-171H (some families take only one month), but it looks like we may follow suit. In that case, we are looking at three weeks or less!!!

Question of the Day

Q. Do you know other families who have been where you'll be going to get Aly?

A. As far as I know, there have not been any other families (at least through Reece's Rainbow) who have adopted from our orphanage or from our region. However, there are two other families that are also currently in the process of adopting from the same orphanage.

The Rugg family is in the final stages of adopting Joy. They were able to send their dossier at the beginning of July and are currently waiting to see when their dossier will be submitted. They had to redo one of their documents, which is why it is taking so long. You can read about their experiences at Bring Makayla Home.

The Brown family are in the process of becoming Matthew and Ivanna's forever family. They too are also nearing the end of this "paperwork pregnancy". I believe they are waiting for their home study to be completed so that they can send in their application to the USCIS. You can read their adventures at An Extra Leaf.

Cheesecake and Fingerprints

Good news! Kira and I were able to get our fingerprints for USCIS taken today. We sent our I-600A application on July 10, so it has taken exactly one month to get all three of our fingerprints completed (Brian was able to get his done on July 30). It is such a huge relief to have this checked off our list. Now we will wait for the I-171H (aka "The Golden Ticket") to arrive. I'm not sure exactly how long this usually takes to arrive, but I think I am going to give my mail carrier two weeks off before I begin stalking again. Just between you and me, I am secretly hoping it arrives sooner. I can't imagine the stack of applications our USCIS officer has on her desk that need to be processed before us and she did inform us that they are handled in the order they are received.

When we went to get our fingerprints taken this morning, there was a man at the door checking to make sure you had a form with your appointment date on it and ID before he would let you in. First, he wanted to know why we were there ahead of our appointment. I explained about our adoption and that my husband had already had his prints taken (I'm so glad I had his form to show the stamp they put on it to show that it was completed). Then he was concerned because Kira's middle name was not on her form, but is on her driver's license (and all of her other forms of ID). What was her legal name? What name is listed on her birth certificate? He sent her to a separate line to get that cleared up. First they asked for her work permit. What? No, that's not why we were there. Then they assumed she was adopting. Again, no. After she explained her parents were the ones adopting, everyone was finally on the same page. Fortunately they didn't think her name was all that common and wouldn't be a problem. They did however make her add her full name under the "also known as" which was surprising. I always thought that was for things like maiden names, previous married names, I legally changed my name because I could not go through life as Adolf Hitler, etc. Once the name thing was all settled, Kira was finally able to get her prints taken. After that we were off to celebrate my mom's birthday with a little cheesecake (my sister got to celebrate her actual birthday with her last week with pie). Mmmm I just love birthdays. Please pray for my mom as she is having surgery August 13.

Oops... and Yay!

As I was double-checking all of our paperwork to make sure everything was accounted for last night, I realized that I had forgotten to take our marriage certificates to get apostilled last week (oops!). Saturday, we received our new state police clearances. Thankfully, this time the form had a signature from someone that is already in the system. I had thought about waiting until we receive the I-171H from USCIS and getting them all done then, but we all decided that once we receive the I-171H I will probably be too excited and forget to take the marriage certificates again. Not wanting to risk that, and wanting to have more documents in my completed file, off to Los Angeles I went again. It's amazing, no matter what time of day I go, there is always traffic. What is that about?

Yay, Kira's USCIS appointment for her fingerprints finally arrived today! Her actual appointment is for September 1, but we are planning on going first thing in the morning. It is so exciting to be yet another step closer to bringing Alyona home.