Another 800 Approval

My unhealthy stalking of the PO Box has come to an end.  We have our 2nd 800 approval!!

I sent Blake early this morning down to the old post office in town to check once again for envelopes from the National Benefits Center.

When he came home empty handed, I pouted like crazy for at least 5 full minutes while small children patted me on the back and told me it would be okay.

Never one to pout for long (and too neurotic to not chart), I started charting receipt dates and approval dates and made the decision to call immigration and inquire about the status of our request.  No one answered the phone, so I emailed....and I got a response!!  Our 800 was approved on March 1!! This is great news because it means that our case can be transferred to the US consulate in China.

The email response from immigration also said that as soon as our case was transferred to the consulate, we would be notified by email.  I really didn't think that notification would come today, but it did!! We are cabled!! This might sound like mumbo jumbo, but it's good stuff, folks.  It means that the consulate will now begin working on processing all the paperwork necessary to issue entry visas to our children once their adoptions are complete.

Today, March 8th marks the end of the stateside paper-chase!!!  We're celebrating with a walk through the woods and a relaxing evening of tossing rocks into the pond in this gorgeous weather.

I know Wyatt and Jubilee are going to be so loved and have so much fun with all their brothers and sisters.  I can't wait for them to be home with us!  It won't be long now!  Next up Article 5, TA and CA!

Blessings,

Tamara

800 Approval

The minute I saw Blake up and at 'em Saturday morning, I sent him off to the post office to check for mail.  Having a teenager that can drive is SO handy.  Extra driver = extra person to assist you in stalking the PO box while you wait for envelopes from the Department of Homeland Security.

I was not disappointed by Saturday's post office plunder.

Those little envelopes from the National Benefits Center, containing an I-797C, Notice of Action, turn an ordinary day into a milestone celebration.

OUR FIRST 800 APPROVAL HAS ARRIVED!!

I called my sister to share this exciting news, and she kindly reminded me that she has NO idea what an 800 is.  She confessed that, in fact, most of my announcements make no sense at all.  It seems that all the acronyms I've been slinging around aren't used by the average Jane out and about on the town. I must fix this!!

800 Provisional Approval is a BIG Milestone, worthy of a celebratory Chinese dinner.  This approval comes from the US government and it concerns immigration.  We cannot proceed with our adoption without it.  Immigration has determined that we can proceed with our son's adoption!!  Praising God!!

Since we are adopting 2 children, we won't be able to move on in the adoption process until we receive our second 800, but we're hoping we'll have that one by mid-March.  If that does, indeed, happen by mid-March, we will likely be in China around the first week of May.

We greatly appreciate your continued prayers for our two sweet ones as they wait for us and for us as we continue to seek funds to cover some of the adoption costs.  Right now, with orphanage donations and travel expenses, we are $27,200 away from being fully funded.  I'm tempted to worry at times, but we know that God called us to these children and that He will make a way where there seems to be no way.

If you would like to partner with us financially and be a part of giving two children a family, hope and a future, check out our fundraising page by clicking here.  Even if you aren't in a position to help us financially, check out our fundraising page. There's a video about our family posted there that makes me cry every time I watch it. I'm still in awe of all that God has done in our family and in the lives of the children he's brought to us.  Maybe you wouldn't mind sharing it with a friend or two or two-hundred.  We'd be so thankful!!  Please keep praying for us and praying for the children that wait.

Many blessings,

Tamara and Dean

Jubilee

Today is our baby girl's first birthday.  Actually, it's probably not her birthday.  It's the birthday she was given, though.  And so we'll celebrate and dream about the joy and celebration of bringing her home.  

I've been consumed with thinking about her and praying for her tonight.

We finally chose a name.

Jubilee.  

It's different.

I know.

It's perfect, though.

Try it out a few times, and you'll smile when you say it, too.

You just can't help it!!

Our blog banner is no longer accurate now.  It says Wyatt and Josie.  I wish I could find the file where I created said blog banner so that I could edit it.  I'm too lazy to create another one.  It's okay 'cause we're all about confusion around here.

Happy First Birthday, Jubilee!!

Tornados

It's not uncommon for children from hard places to experience fear that might not make sense to the adults or peers around them. Loud noises or voices, quick movements, sudden changes in plans, inability to access food or water and a number of other things can trigger fear responses in children who have experienced trauma.

Some of Team Robinson are known to struggle with fear responses at times. Learning to identify the types of things that trigger fear responses in our children has been life changing for us. Trying not be actually BE a fear trigger is something I'm still working on. It's sad to say, but I might have been responsible for freaking out my little darlings more than a time or two.

You see, questionable weather is my trauma trigger.  If there's a tornado watch, I will be a basket-case for the duration.  It's just a given.  So, last Thursday when storms repeatedly rolled through Georgia, I was determined to remain calm - you know, be the grown-up and all.  Thanks to the National Weather Service's special alert tone, the phone provided the play-by-play as the storms rolled in.

Just to be neurotic, I decided that we should spend the day in the basement. With an ever-so-calm tone of voice, I asked everyone to put on their shoes...and two people to put on their pants....and then I ushered them down the steps to the basement.  I know they thought I was a little weird for piling them all on the sofa in the back corner, safely under the house, but I played it off cool saying, "It's SO fun to watch movies this way, isn't it?"

I think Olivia rolled her eyes.

And Brooklyn started pushing people that touched her.

When I jaunted up the steps to start lunch, I heard someone say, "She's freaked out by the storm, y'all. Bless her heart!" Nice!!

I happily carried big bowls of mac-and-cheese, green peas and rolls down the steps and to the air hockey table with a big grin on my face, holding back the panicky WE'RE GOING TO DIE expression until I was back in the kitchen alone.

About the time the oven timer went off for the chicken nuggets, I heard the phone alert again....this time a tornado warning in our town.  I made the mistake of peeking out the door and snapping a picture of impending doom. Quick as lightening I was down those steps and face-to-face with 8 beautiful little ones looking to my neurotic face for reassurance.  It wasn't 10 seconds before the tears started, and I felt terrible.

As I was mentally bashing myself for being a poor encourager, the real concern for the hysterical sobs of my young ones became clear.

NUGGETS.  It seems I left the nuggets in the oven.  They would burn up.  We would never be able to eat them.  We may never get to eat nuggets again and now we can't eat them now.  (With my crew, fear about food shortages is always stronger than fear for personal safety.)

I knew that I had to do what any of you would do, risk my life to go upstairs during the tornado to retrieve the nuggets from the oven - because the thought of not eating the nuggets is what freaks out my peeps during a tornado!

Well, as the story goes, the tornado bypassed us....Praise God....100 nuggets made their way into 8 hungry bellies, and we all enjoyed a cozy movie together. All in all, it was a crazy fun day.  At least, that's what my little darlings thought of it.

I am almost certain that just I heard the big girls giggling about me from their beds.  Surely I didn't just hear the word "scaredy cat!!"  I am not a scaredy cat!!  Be nice to your mother, girls!

Yes

Y'all might not remember this, but back in July when we announced our plans to adopt Sweet Baby Wyatt, I told all six of my readers (two of whom are my husband) about how we were approved to adopt two children from China.  This is important, folks.  I want the record to show that I did warn you of this possibility. We really didn't know if two more Robinsons was God's plan for us at the time, so we waited and prayed and wondered.

2012 was an interesting year for Team Robinson, a time of much reflection and prayer and seeking God's leading for our lives.  If there is a word that would characterize 2012 for us, it would be YES.  God drew us closer to him as we said "yes" to some pretty exciting things and some pretty hard things, too.  We've experienced His blessing in beautiful ways that I struggle to put into complete sentences. His provision....His grace....His mercy....His LOVE!

There were times in 2012 when the possibilities of what might be captivated us with expectation, anticipation, and excitement.  There were times when we experienced disappointment, loss and frustration, too.  More than once we questioned whether we had heard God correctly.  I've even wondered why some things made the pages of His story in our family.  Ultimately, we experienced a year like many before, where we've found blessing in obedience to Him and peace and joy in saying "yes".  Each "yes" from 2012 brought us to this moment where we are right now - prepared to say "yes" in this New Year to more than just ONE more Robinson.

I've been sitting on big news for over 2 weeks, waiting and waiting for the letters P-A!!  They finally arrived late Sunday night.  We are beyond excited to share the news that we've received Provisional Approval from Ch*na to adopt a second child, a precious little girl we're calling            .  Actually, we just call her the baby.  We're still contemplating her name.  Dean has offered up a few suggestions that are completely unacceptable....Fiona is Shrek's wife, right?  And I'm just not diggin' that for a baby name.  He's also contributed the name Josie Wales.  I can assure you, that will NOT be her name.  I'm not sure baby namin' is Daddy-O's gift.  Josie (from Joseph), however, means "God will increase", and that's oh-so fitting for a member of Team Robinson.  I also like Jubilee, but I've not really strayed that far from the mainstream in baby names before.  I don't know.  We're just not sure yet what her name will be.  Name or no name, I'm sure you'd love to see her now, wouldn't you?

She is ADORED already!!!  Since we have already received Wyatt's LOA (that's adoption mama hipster talk for Letter of Approval), we're hoping that our precious little girl's paperwork will make its rounds through the necessary channels very quickly so that we can travel to pick them both up at the same time.  We expect Spring 2013 to be one wild ride, indeed!

How DO we school so many children?

Alrighty.  It's taken over three months to find the time to write this post - mostly because we're schooling 7 children with two working parents while completing the adoption of another child from China.  There's not a lot of free time around here these days.

School is not one of my favs.  Over the past 12 years, I've tried a million different methods and curriculums and approaches.  Well, not really a million, but you get the point, right?  I've never really found anything that I like right out of the box.  I've tried the whole unschooling thing, but I am WAY too uptight to be successful with this method.  The kids would totally go for not schooling at all, but the fabulous State of Georgia won't let that fly, and neither would I, honestly.  I'm a bit of a high achiever.  I like As and all -- neat little rows of capital As in my tidy little teacher's grade book...7 subjects and 180 days, check!

As much as I like the tidy rows in my teacher's grade book, 7 little pupils and 7 different grade levels have rocked this school house.  I've had to learn to chill, man....let things go.  And you know what?  My little pupils are thriving, even when all the boxes don't get checked.  It's all good and all that jazz.  I get a little freaky every now and then and standardize test everybody just to make sure we're not depriving the little scholars of all the potential that State standards ensure. Our kids are geniuses, and I've got the standardized test scores to prove it!

A typical week day is pretty full around here.  I work full time.  Dean works full time.  The kids have a full day of school.  It's a balancing act, and no two days look just alike.  Both Dean and I work from home, covering for each other when one has to be out of the house.  It sounds like it would be a hassle, but it's not really.  It's no more complicated than figuring out who's picking Suzie up from drill team, and who's dropping Billy off at baseball.  I know many a parent with kids in public school that seem to have more hectic and busy lives than we do, even without two working parents.  Everyone makes choices about how to spend their time, and this is just how we divvy ours up.

We have two littles, two middles and three bigs - not necessarily in order of birthdate.  I group the kids more by ability and need for oversight than I do by age.  The littles require a lot of oversight and a lot of help with academic tasks.  Their schoolwork isn't time intensive, though, and the middles and bigs each help out by taking time to play with a little brother.  The middles are able to complete much of their assignments on their own now, and the bigs are pretty much independent learners, coming to me only when they need help with their schoolwork.

During each weekday morning, the kids work through their daily tasks, chores and independent schoolwork.  They have a folder that I prepare ahead of time with certain assignments that they should be able to complete on their own.  These are skills they've learned before that they can practice and reading assignments that will prepare them for our afternoon lessons.  The littles usually need help, and there is nothing a kindergardener has to learn that a 5th-11th grader cannot teach him.

Developing talents is also part of our morning.  Some play the piano.  Some play the guitar.  One likes computer programming. They like to sew and draw and cook.  They play and build and color and cut and paste.  They feed the cats and chickens and race each other to the barn and back.  By the time 1:00 rolls around, there's a guaranteed solid hour of clean up that occupies littles and middles alike.  Lunch is loud and I usually miss it.  I'd love to sit at the table with them, but mostly I don't.  Food is a big time babysitter for me.  I can get a lot of work done during that lunch hour.  And yes, they eat for an hour.  I don't know about your kids, but mine can pack away the PB&J!

From 2:00 - 6:00, it's school house rock.  We knock out the geography, social studies, science and math.   We read about people and places and talk about God's word.  We conjugate up some Spanish verbs.  We discuss injustice and chickens and whether twins will be allergic to the same things.  We take placement tests when I start to feel insecure about how much they're learning.

Some days we have guitar, piano, art lessons, 4H or baseball.  We love loving on extras and often have more than our own children here.  We love visiting with friends and neighbors and driving to town for Chick-fil-a.  We can fit a whole lot more into our lives, even with two working parents, than we could if Team Robinson made the daily trek to three different schools.

So why do we go to all the trouble?  Why not just let someone else fill their little noggins with all that knowledge?  The truth is, we like it, y'all.  It's our beat.  It's our thing.  It's what we do.  We're buckin' the system...changing the way it's done....making academic strides.  It's an amazing life, really.

If you're thinking about homeschooling, and you're thinking it might just be a bit too much, drop in on Team Robinson for a visit.  This little gig we've got going is truly a blessing!

Math Camp

I'm not sure if any of you other parents get a kick out of messing with your kids, but Dean and I live for it!!  Back around the end of December, we broke the news to them that we had signed them up for  math camp - five days of mathematic fun with homeschoolers from around the nation.  Pack yo bags, peeps!!  It's going to be a blast!!!!

The news brought mixed reviews from Team Robinson.  The teens were less than happy.  What kind of homeschoolers wouldn't want to go to math camp?!?  One of my peeps asked me what math is, which concerned me a bit since we work the numbers every.single.day.  There were several excited shouts and an abundance of bouncing at the word camp, but overall I didn't get the response I thought we would.  Bahahahahahah!!!!

The funny thing is, we really weren't going to math camp.  We only told the kids we were to mess with their heads.  Hee hee.  That's just the way we roll!!  The plan was really to take the team here.  And it was AWESOME!

Our little campers had matching t-shirts and everything, thanks to Uncle Larry.  Our master trickery was really a joint effort with our faves, Larry and Laura Lea.  It was a hoot!   We packed the pencils and notebook paper and made it all the way to the front of the hotel without a one of them suspecting a thing.  Well, one of theirs suspected something since this isn't the first time Larry and Laura Lea have pulled a fast one on their little scholar, but it was fun just the same.

I love this little video clip, although I hate that you can hear my voice laughing like a goofy goober.....The audio isn't great....oh, and Tate is totally not listening because he's changing out of his math camp t-shirt the whole time.

So, the moral of the story is, if you want to spend several weeks messing with your kids' heads followed by five days of amazing fun, tell them you're taking them to math camp and then take them to Wilderness at the Smokies instead.  Wavepooling, body surfing, water sliding, and Sky hiking beats math camp any ole day!! Oh, and then - because your kids are all out for the night by 7:30 - you get to spend hours talking, laughing, sharing, drinking coffee, dreaming and casting visions with some of your favorite people in the whole wide world.  Math camp is AMAZING fun!!