Friday, November 26, 2010
Thanksgiving
This Thanksgiving I worked hard to give thanks to all that I have - including the promise of this beautiful little girl. I am anxious to meet her and to start our lives together. And I am thankful for the support I get from all my family and friends as this journey continues. The road ahead may continue to be unknown - but I will face it with many people cheering me on. And for that, I am truly thankful.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Some news
Today, there is some excitement and raising of hope. Another woman who has a child in Tara's same children's home received notice that her investigation has been approved. This means she has been given the green light by the US Embassy in Kathmandu to come and adopt her child. This means she does not have her file sent to USCIS in New Delhi and does not have to continue to wonder and wait.
I am trying so very hard to keep my hopes tempered, since the vast majority of families (now 36 out of 40) have had their files sent to New Delhi. But because she was the only other family who had a child from the same home, this gives me hope!
I am trying so very hard to keep my hopes tempered, since the vast majority of families (now 36 out of 40) have had their files sent to New Delhi. But because she was the only other family who had a child from the same home, this gives me hope!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Planning
The last week or so has been all about planning. I finally decided on the date I would come out to meet Tara - December 21st will the day. My sister Debbie will be joining for this stage of the journey and we got our tickets last week - leaving on Qatar Airways on the 18th of December from JFK. I had originally thought of going alone and then having family and friends come over after I had met and adopted Tara, to help support me if I have to stay in country for awhile. But then I woke up one morning thinking about who would be there to take the pictures of when I first meet my daughter, who would be there to give me a hug when I left her in the orphanage at the end of our first meeting, who would be there to help welcome her into the full realm of family and friends that await her arrival. And my sister Debbie is the one I am so honored to have join me for this first step - I couldn't ask for anyone more supportive or loving to be with me. So this is the first of many many shout outs of Thanks to her. And I'm sure I will be thanking many more of you all in the short terms and throughout my life as a mom to Tara.
So the time is set - we have a plan. And since I am all about planning, I moved further on other aspects of the trip as well. I have contacted my work colleagues in Kathmandu and am currently working on finding us a place to stay at least for the first couple weeks. I have a friend/colleague who may be heading home to Europe for the Christmas/New Years holidays and if he goes, he has generously offered up his home for my sister and I - and Tara when she joins us. This will allow me time to find a more suitable, longer term home if I have to stay longer.
And then there's the question of staying longer and how long this will be. I found out last week Tara's orphan investigation case was officially opened on Friday, November 12th. According to the US Embassy in Nepal, this means that an investigator has been officially assigned her case to investigate whether she meets the US requirements for being an orphan (i.e. her case is approvable) or whether they cannot find enough evidence and need to send her file on to USCIS in New Delhi (i.e. her case is not clearly approvable). If the former, I'll get to bring her home early in the new year. If the latter, there's no information yet on how long I will be there. It's nerve-wracking and anxiety-provoking and although I try to be realistic and accept that most probably I'll be one of the ~90% that is sent to New Delhi, I can't help but keep up the hope that I could be one of the lucky few where enough evidence is found for me to fully adopt her and bring her home. I do know that I will know at least whether or now her case is clearly approvable before I go to Kathmandu, so that's all I can work off for now.
So now I wait. Not my best strength, being patient, but one that I am developing and hopefully will serve me well later!
So the time is set - we have a plan. And since I am all about planning, I moved further on other aspects of the trip as well. I have contacted my work colleagues in Kathmandu and am currently working on finding us a place to stay at least for the first couple weeks. I have a friend/colleague who may be heading home to Europe for the Christmas/New Years holidays and if he goes, he has generously offered up his home for my sister and I - and Tara when she joins us. This will allow me time to find a more suitable, longer term home if I have to stay longer.
And then there's the question of staying longer and how long this will be. I found out last week Tara's orphan investigation case was officially opened on Friday, November 12th. According to the US Embassy in Nepal, this means that an investigator has been officially assigned her case to investigate whether she meets the US requirements for being an orphan (i.e. her case is approvable) or whether they cannot find enough evidence and need to send her file on to USCIS in New Delhi (i.e. her case is not clearly approvable). If the former, I'll get to bring her home early in the new year. If the latter, there's no information yet on how long I will be there. It's nerve-wracking and anxiety-provoking and although I try to be realistic and accept that most probably I'll be one of the ~90% that is sent to New Delhi, I can't help but keep up the hope that I could be one of the lucky few where enough evidence is found for me to fully adopt her and bring her home. I do know that I will know at least whether or now her case is clearly approvable before I go to Kathmandu, so that's all I can work off for now.
So now I wait. Not my best strength, being patient, but one that I am developing and hopefully will serve me well later!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Starting the Journey
Hi Everyone -
This is my blog to keep you up to date on the journey I am about to take to meet my daughter Tara and bring her home for the rest of you to meet. Thank you for all the support you've provided up to this point.
Let the adventure begin!