New Videos of Madi Walking

I just realized I never updated any videos, nor had I started including Ramya's walking videos.  I will start posting those below this post.  Look for the posts at the bottom in red :)

I just thought I'd share a few new videos of Madi walking.  She got her new HKFOs not too long ago, and she's adjusting quite well.  She has less stability in them, but also more movement.  She is able to kick her legs out a lot better now.  She got her first pair of HKFOs at about 22 months, but outgrew those pretty quickly!

This video was taken last week.  You can tell when she started getting tired because she started jumping.  Jumping in her HKFOs is one of her favorite things to do, though! 



This video is from today.  You can tell she has a lot more energy.  Towards the end she starts getting bored of her walker and tired, so we switched her to her shopping cart (which is the last video), which she had fun with.  The goal is to keep her up standing and practicing, but not to the point she gets frustrated and doesn't want to be up.  We change up her activities pretty often to keep her happy and engaged.



... and with her cart...



~~~~

Here's a video of Madi walking at 6 years old, using HKFOs and arm cruches....

http://www.aworthyjourney.com/2015/04/an-updated-video-of-madi-walking-in-her.html


~~~~

Ramya walking with her HKFOs and walker at 8 years old...

http://www.aworthyjourney.com/2015/04/a-video-of-ramya-walking.html
 

I Love Seeing Her Name Written That Way

Today wasn't the best day ever.  While we were out to pick up my car from the mechanic, we were involved in a minor accident.  A car ran a red light going about 45 and t-boned another car that had the green light.  The car that got hit ran in to our car (we were stopped at the light) twice.  No one was hurt, but it did scare the kids.  We had David's moon roof open and glass from the windshield of the car that hit us came in through it, which frightened the kids (but thankfully did not hurt them!!).  Anyhow, obviously not the funnest morning.  When we got home later this afternoon, however, we came home to this...

(I crossed out some of our last name and the orphanage name, just in case, since I'm not sure what the adoption agency's rules are on sharing information)



What a great thing to come home to!  I love seeing her name written with our last name, it makes it seem so much more real.  The CD contained a new video of Ramya.  We all watched it and it was awesome getting to see how she is doing.  They had her AFO's on her, which is great, and she was speaking some English words to them.  She is a smart little cookie!  We can't wait to bring her home!



Well, that stinks :(

Today I found out there was a miscommunication, and our paperwork is not actually in India.  Our i-800a approval just means that we are approved to adopt Internationally.  Now we have to wait on our i-800 approval, which approves us to adopt Ramya specifically.  This takes about 1 to 1 1/2 months, before it gets approved.  I'm so bummed!!  Here's the timeline we are looking at...


1. USCIS issues I-800 provisional approval (you’ll get notice in the mail and possibly by email): takes about 1 ½ months

2. USCIS will send your file to the US embassy in Delhi: takes about 2 weeks
3. The embassy will send you an email asking for your DS230. When you receive this, forward it to me and I will reply to them for you: takes about a week to get the email and I can reply the same day
4. The embassy will issue your Article 5 as their approval for you to move forward: takes about 2 weeks after I reply to the email
5. We notify Vathsalya that you received your Article 5 so they can move your dossier through the local authorities to review and send to CARA. At the same time the embassy will forward your Article 5 to CARA. When CARA has both, they will issue your NOC (no objection certificate): takes about one month
6. The court process can begin; Vathsalya and their lawyers handle it from here. Typically there are three court proceedings which occur over a span of about 3-6 months. At the end you’ll get your guardianship court order.
7. Then the orphanage will obtain a passport application appointment and apply for Ramya’s passport: about a month

8. We wait for the passport: about two months

9. Once the passport is received, you can move forward with travel plans to pick her up!



So if anyone has any connections at the USCIS (United States Citizen Immigration Services) and can get that paperwork through faster, I will love you FOREVER!!

We Are Guest Bloggers... Come Read Our Story

There are so many cool stories on this site, and we are so excited to be part of it!  Today they featured Madi.  Go read!

http://www.spinabifidastories.com/2012/02/madi-child-with-spina-bifida.html

We Have A Ramp!

My dad built Madi a ramp going outside (at the back door), thanks to the money Madi gets from her Amazon Associate's link!  A big THANK YOU to everyone who purchases through our link, this ramp is all because of you!  It works out really well, and she has so much more independence because of it.  YEAH!

It's here!!!!!!

Today we got notice that our i-800a was approved!  That means that the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) has approved us as adoptive parents for an internationally adopted child, specifically one child from India. 

The next step for us is getting approved in India, which can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months.  Our paperwork has been in India for some time now, but we couldn't get approval there until this cleared.

We are so excited for this progress!  Thanks for cheering us on and walking this journey with us! 

A Sweet Little Book I Thought of Tonight

One of my favorite things to do is to rock Madi to sleep (yes, even at 3).  She doesn't always let me, but any time she does, I enjoy every second with her.  She is growing up way too fast, and soon moments like these will be few and far between.  I don't ever want to look back and say that I wish I had cherished more of these moments with her, so I rock her, and I cuddle her, and I sing to her, and I appreciate and enjoy every last minute of it :).  Every time I rock her, I think of this sweet little book that we love to read.  It's called I Will Hold You Till You Sleep.  My kids love the book, and it always makes me teary-eyed.  I just thought I'd share!

"Dearest baby, child of mine, I will hold you till you sleep."