Saturday, June 21, 2008

FAQs

We have been getting so many questions, I thought it might be fun and helpful to do a "frequently asked questions" post. So here goes:

Q: Is your house ready for three little ones?
A: Umm...nowhere near, but we are working on it!

Q: How's your Spanish?
A: Probably not much better than the boys English, but we are working on that too. No seriously, we aren't fluent, but we do know some. Just how much will truly be put to the test upon our arrival in Bogota!

Q: Are you registered anywhere?
A: Yes. Target.

Q: What size clothes do the boys wear?
A: They are teeny tiny for their age (overcoming severe neglect, malnutrition and sicknesses when they were infants), so we are estimating that the twins (Luis and Daniel) are about a 3T and Carlos is probably about a 4/5 or XS - even that may be baggy.

Q: How are you all feeling?
A: Elated and freaked out at the same time.

Q: How can we help?
A: This is the best question of all, and we might finally have an answer. We are contemplating having a work day next Saturday to wrap up some house and yard projects that need to be done. If you are interested in helping out, please email me at andrealwe@yahoo.com. Oh and we need a fish sitter - any takers?

Q: How can we pray for you?
A: Keep praying for "shalom in the home". Stress makes me nuts and there is a lot of pressure to prepare the house, prepare to leave our jobs, our dogs, etc... But most of all, please pray for the boys. We know that our lives are about to be flipped upside down and in many ways have been preparing for this for four years, but our boys did not ask for any of this. And though the paperwork says that they sort of understand what is about to happen to them, there is no way that they can truly be prepared for the fact that we are about to take them away from all that they have known for the last three years (for good or for bad). Although our intentions are good, I am still feeling incredibly selfish that we are putting them through the trauma of completely changing their lives. Pray that we will bond as a family and that their transition will be as smooth as possible.

Again, I want to say thank you to everyone who has supported us and continues to support us. I also want to give a HUGE shout out to the "family" we have made through others' adoption experiences and experiences to come. It has made the wait more bearable to know that we are not alone in this journey. I look forward to now sharing the parenting experiences that we will all have as adoptive parents. Oh and that brings me to the best story of all...When we were purchasing our plane tickets at the airport, the rep called me "Mom" and that melted my heart! Finally, I have wanted that title for so long...

5 comments:

Genece said...

Andrea,
You just wait... when you first hear those special little voices call to you, "Mom", or "Mami", or "Mama", it'll bring life completely into focus! It's one of life's treasures worth hearing over and over! My 16-month old waited a long time to say "Mama" but nowadays, that's all he says. It puts a smile on my face everytime I hear his sweet voice, but he seems to be making up for the months he would only say "Dad". When he does call for me, there's a series of about 10 "Mom" callouts in a row, even if I answer him. It's just priceless.

I'm sure looking forward to sharing in your upcoming joys that motherhood will certainly bring to you! May you continue to be blessed!
Genece

Nicole said...

Nice to know what you need! Send me an email so I can write you without posting everything. Jnarp7@yahoo.com

Laura S said...

Deep breaths! Let the stress go. Everything will work out in the end. The most important thing is to show the boys love. That is probably the biggest thing missing in their lives and the biggest hole you can fill.

I highly recommend only having a limited amount of toys available when they first get home (stash the others away somewhere to bring out later when they get bored with those) as it may be overwhelming to them to have too much. They may get overstimulated and also think the can have anything they want since everything is so plentiful.

Wish we were closer and could come help but I am sure you have lots of geat friends and family that will help you. Good luck with all the last minute preparations.

Nicole said...

I'm slightly irritated with Delta. Our original tickets (adoption fare) are set for Monday the 30th. We are thinking we can go home this weekend. Do you know that it's an extra $650-850 extra each????? I think you should check into the adoption fare. I don't think it's that great of a deal now that I'm kinda stuck here. Nice. It has something to do with the types of ticket classes they have. Just look into it...

Dan and Karen said...

All the stress of preparation you are going through now will be so worth it. Boys are fabulous - but busy! It will be so much fun, but don't forget you need some rest too.
I second what someone else said - limit the toys for awhile. Having a very few choices is great for them and less to clean up at the end of the day. :)
Looking forward to following your travels.