living in fast forward....temporarily

Before I get started... notice the pink barbie shirt.  Boy do we need to get him home!  My poor boys spent there first years dressed as girls! :)

Wow, just thinking about this week is making me sleepy!  This mamma needs some rest... (so duh, why am I blogging and not in bed??  good question!)

So we've been in hyperdrive this week....
-getting all the last minute documentation finished for our homestudy visit on friday,
-finishing the painting downstairs,
-preparing for our "work day" on saturday
 (thanks to some wonderful friends The Wood family and a church they belong to)
- living life with Simon and Danielle who are keeping us hopping!
-and oh yeah....going to work.... my time to rest! :)

So this week Simon's belly has been doing well, finally!  I hope it can continue like this.  As many of you know he did fall asleep on the toilet this week....what a boy!  He's been enjoying his tent, and falling asleep in there as well....hmmm kulp men....they love their rest that's for sure!  (But that's because the Kulp women keep them so busy when they're awake!)  He smothered me in kisses tonight...sheer bliss for this mom.

Danielle had a very good hearing test, and a good eye exam recently.  No pressure changes from her skull closure so that is a very good thing!  She has been hamming it up putting on dance shows for us.  Her new favorite food this week is oranges!  We need to buy stock in the produce section of wegmans I think.

As for Shea.... much more paperwork has been done this week.  Our homestudy visit is friday.  Our passport renewals are back, we have our fingerprint appnt for NYS (not the uscis yet) scheduled for tuesday, UPS security called us wanting to know why we were mailing documents to Eastern Europe!  Good grief!  ....and a bazillion other little things that I'm too tired to write about now.

But all is well....we are surviving the snow storm, and the kids are both snuggled up in their beds.  Dearest Dan is being quite the trooper doing all the URGENT assignments I have been giving him.  Have I mentioned what a good husband I have...putting up with such a type A, semi OCD wifey poo?

I'm off to bed now, I hope :) ...thanks for checking in....hugs from the Kulp Family

Dear God, our prayer tonight is that you protect our family, our health, and our finances as we move forward in this journey toward Shea.  We thank you for all your little "surprises" in life, you sure do have a sense of humor.  Help us to cherish the moments even as we are in a phase of "fast forward living"....and give us a sense of peace that we are closing in on the paperwork....and there will be rest from this cross eyed craziness someday soon.  Protect our Shea, please close any doors that would lead to his transfer....and bless those who have been blessing us as we bring Shea home to his "peeps"!  Oh and dear God, I almost forgot - please let a minivan miraculously appear in our driveway....cause I can't smoosh any more kids in my honda civic!  AMEN

Today for Shea...

I had a few hours this afternoon when the kiddies were still at school to press forward on the paperchase.  Dear Shea, we are a bit closer today...
-marriage license arrived
-home owner decree notarized
-homestudy update documents so close to being done
-passport renewals have arrived for processing
-"creatively budgeted" to be able to pay for homestudy update so we can now set the date
- and much more....

Don't worry all, I did feed and bathe my children, read them bedtime stories and keep them from bodily harm....I'm just super skilled at multi tasking...but will be soooo pleased when the paper pregnancy is over!

On a personal note...prayers for my health would be appreciated...I'm fighting a nasty cold.  Thanks all -

All Things Are Possible With God...

Mark 10:27

All - big and small, simple and insurmountable

Things - adoption, special needs, keeping up your home, work duties, paperwork....

Are Possible - doable, tangible, likely, promised

With - walking with me, tugging me, carrying me, cheering us on

God - Abba Father, Love above all Loves I can comprehend....

Gods twists and turns are orchestrated and perfect.....

The Paper Pregnancy, We're working on it Shea! Hang in there....

So far...

-We've initiated our homestudy update and the million forms that go along with it.
-Sent lots of green to the US gov to renew our passports
-Have our CSP's and POA's on the way to Albany, which will hopefully prevent his transfer, (pray)
-Sent out forms for our background checks
-Ordered our new marraige liscense
-Worked on financial statements
-Scheduled our physicals....
-Trying to plug along on that basement!!!
-chuggin along on all the dossier forms
-Paid our promise trust deposit
-And about a million other things that I'm too tired to write about right now! 
-And I always said I would never do the paperchase again!  Good grief....never say never!

Danielle, Simon, and Shea.... I like the sound of that....

The little hairs on the back of your neck....

Do you ever get so moved by something that it raises the little hairs on the back of your neck?  This has happened to our family.  I recently began reading about and then actively researching the orphanage system in Eastern Europe.  There is a specific country that has a gut wrenching reality.  When orphans who have physical or mental disabilities turn 4 years old, the government starts the process to have them transferred out of the "baby homes".  They are moved to mental institutions right along with adults.  Many reports describe children isolated, left in beds with no stimulation, and even locked away.  I know things like this happened even in our country years ago, but I cry to think of it still happening anywhere in the world today.  Thank God in some places reform has happened, but to think of the places where it has not....

My Simon is 6, my Danielle is 8, they would have been in these mental institutions for 2 and 4 years by now if they were born in this particular country and orphaned....I can't imagine this for one moment....my heart is ripped into shreds thinking about it.

So, our plates are full, our lifes are crazy, our house is too small, our bank account is even smaller....but our hearts have been broken for the least of these.  Guess what friends?  One of these boys will be ours!!  The Kulp family will expand by one in about 7 months.  We are actively in the process of adopting Shea.  He is a four year old with good cognitive health, but he was born with Spina Bifida, so he has some physical challenges.

Simon and Danielle have another sibling to welcome to the tribe.  Our heads are spinning, but our hearts are full!  Dear Lord, bless our new child, protect him from transfers, and give our paperwork wings like eagles!

Saving Shea...

This isnt just any bracelet! This bracelet is fighting for a little boy named Shea. Shea is a little boy who is an orphan and because of his age and his diagnosis of Spina Bifida will be institutionalized very soon if a family doesn't adopt him. 5.00 of every bracelet purchased will go to helping save Shea. So this Christmas give a gift that truly makes a difference. Every "Saving Shea" bracelet will come with a small card explaining to the recipient where the money is going and the difference it is making.

urbanupcycling.blogspot.com

catch up!

Well this will just need to be a catch up of the last few weeks as I have neglected my new blogging hobby lately.  So much has happened since the last time I wrote....and by the way, it took simon all of 24 hours to figure out how to get those boots off of his feet....so much for my victory!
As most of you know our Danielle had a stay at Strong Hospital...you could never tell by looking at her now!  She needed to have appendicitis ruled out, and ended up with a nasty pneumonia, oxygen needed, high fever and all of that fun that comes with it.  She was a trooper though.  Daddy was out of town, and I am so thankful for all the help I got from people with juggling my crazy life:)

We've started our Christmas decorating, but no tree yet....I'm building up the courage.

Simon is healthy other than the ongoing journey of trying to keep his GI system in balance....I wish I had a magic window into his intestines.  His mood can be directly related to his "belly comfort" and it is such a fine line to keep him....shall we say "just right".  I hope someday we will master this skill for our guy.  He has a new fascinating hobby of balancing all of his toys on the corner of anything he can find....4 animals on the 4 corners of his bed, 4 cars on the 4 corners of the table etc etc....quite cute.  He has been showing us a bit of...hmmm shall we say "stong willedness" lately that we are trying to nip, but he still dishes out plenty of sweet and cute and lovable each day too.

I am happy to report that my cardiac symptoms have been much better since the week before thanksgiving...I'm feeling like a normal 33 year old woman again...almost.  I'm praying that it will continue to improve, or at least hold steady. 

I'm looking forward to Christmas time....Danielle's second with us now...last year was a bit overstimulating and difficult for her, so I am happy to think of how special this one should be for her.  I have also been plugged into the 9p- parents network and have learned a few new things about danielle's diagnosis....knowledge is power, and that makes my feel a little more in control of our zany life....but the Big Guy in the sky knows all so I'll just try to "take a chill pill" and not be so ocd about things....(or at least I'll try!)