Introducing Zofia Lynn Weyers!

Court went very well and the end result was definitely in our Favor! We feel so blessed to be able to announce that the "Gem" is now apart of the
Weyers Family Forever!

We traveled to Warsaw immediately after court and have arrived into our new apartment. It has two bedrooms, a great big bathtub, a washing machine/sort of dryer, Internet, is in the heart of Old Town and was last rented by another adopting couple. The apartment is directly above a wonderful bakery and the thought did cross my mind…..I wonder if they deliver? But I couldn't bring my self to ask…..In reality, I didn't know how!

Some things have changed in Warsaw from the last time we were here, and at the same time many things have remained the same. We have planned for a 2.5 hour private walking tour of historic Warsaw and look forward to the fresh reminder of all the monuments. We have already walked to the Hard Rock Cafe and seen the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown solider, so we are definitely getting settled.

There is still so much to do!     Spring is trying to emerge and we look forward to seeing the sun more and enjoying the warmer weather.   Here are a couple more of my favorite pictures from the last few weeks!

A Little Cabin Fever in an apartment in Poland

During the last week we have developed a little cabin fever for good reason.   We had to take the Gem to a pediatrician because a cough developed that worsened and had me very concerned.  The outcome?
 Bronchitis and a severe inflamed throat and a lot of different medications which we  had to look up on the Internet to know the active ingredient and how to administer!    I yearn to call our pediatrician at home and talk so she can work her magic with the Gem and help put me at ease.   I trust those who are helping us to provide care for the Gem are doing everything  they can and everything I have since read on the Internet says Bronchitis needs TLC the most.   Lee and I can provide this and we will with all our heart.

The High for the week was tonight.   The Gem was unusually active at bed time (which I thought was a good sign) and reached out to Lee and I and grabbed our pointer fingers and tugged.   We both got up and walked.   Really, we followed and went on this magical  trip through the apartment. The bond for  me, at least increased by 100 times  and I felt such honor to hold her trust in my hand.   What a moment and what a memory.  As my brother-in-law would say.......Enjoy making Memories!!   Oh, we are!

Our First Social Worker Visit and More.....

We survived our first social worker visit ….and it really wasn’t all that bad! I had visions of Adam and Aggie fighting or pushing our Gem down and general kid craziness…….But I thought it went really well! We answered some basic questions about our bonding period thus far, our routine, and if we were happy. The last question was an obvious yes.

We have really been blessed with our arrangement in Ostroda. It is a beautiful, picturesque vacation town that surrounds a huge lake with a brick boardwalk that runs about ½ of the lake. Right now there are often about 20 men ice fishing in the morning and by afternoon we always see at least one windsurfer. We did see someone biking across the lake and thought that was a little strange. We discovered the BEST pastry shop that serves fabulous donuts in the morning and cookies in the afternoon. It tops Starbucks with some incredible frothy latte’s. One day we had two in one day and the women behind the counter just smiled at Lee and I as if to say…..the two of you deserve it with three! LOL! I was extremely happy that day because I was very WIDE awake.  This might be our little secret to success.

We take two walks a day in the morning and afternoon to feed the ducks and swans and to go the Sklep for supplies. Our refrigerator is the size of a college dorm appliance and holds just enough for one day of rations. I always wait outside the Sklep  with Adam and Aggie in our Kid SUV and Lee goes in and purchases the groceries with the Gem on his back in our Kelty Kid backpack. He says the people who work there are finally warming up to him and smiling because they are getting down his routine. I wonder what they will think when one day ….the American with the Gem on his back all of sudden stopped coming?

In the afternoon we  work on Adam and Aggie’s lesson plans from school and watch at Doc McStuffin at least once a day. If any of you know the TV show, it comes in DVD form and  is about the cutest thing ever. I have all the songs memorized. “Time for a checkup!”

We have had our ups and downs comforting the Gem. The first couple of days were a  little tough. Lots and Lots of crying. We have a child who only stops crying if held. I know some of you have commented about your arms being so sore…. I get it now! I wake up in the morning like you with oh, so, sore arms!! We had to make a trip to the ER  also because of a violent vomit attack (all over Lee) We were fearful it was the flu because of a low grade fever, however, I think I knew …..and my mommy gut was telling me it was a lot of emotion coming out   We have been better for few days and there are more smiles now than stone faces.   Even though nights can still be very scary for the Gem, we  drink formula at bedtime (which surprised me at age 2 the Gem was still doing this but I am not making any changes) and go fast to sleep soon thereafter.

We had prepared Adam and Aggie for this adventure prior to leaving by talking about the adoption whenever we could, With that being said we are still seeing a bit of regression in behavior . Aggie will occasionally retreat until Lee can sit with her for awhile and reassure her that mommy and daddy love her very much. Adam has occasionally says.. “can we go home now?” and gets sort of mad when we explain as gently as we can why we can’t.

No one really smiles here, but that is not new to us.   Just a difficult adjustment for someone like me who say Hello to all.   And they are still as pushy as ever in the grocery stores!

Other than that, we are plugging along and trying to eat as many delicious pierogies as possible!!

A few more weeks to go!   Hope all is well at home and with you!

The first 5 days...or so.

The first 5 days .... or so... .and I have completely lost track of what day it is.

We got into Warsaw  Friday on a foggy afternoon, both outside and internally.    Adam and Aggie slept about 8 hours of the 9 hour flight, Lee slept about 4 hours, and I slept what felt like about 2.   There was quite a bit of turbulence about 1/2 way through the flight and  the kids and Lee were sitting in a row of three and I was in front of them  in between two men who did not offer their arms to me to grip tight every time the plane bounced around!  LOL!

On Saturday, we had the wonderful pleasure of meeting Sean and Margaret and their very, very  sweet boy, from Match Made in Heaven.   Let me assure you it truly is a Match!  They have a wonderful apartment in the heart of Old Town  in Warsaw and  we have made arrangements to rent it as well.   The best part is it is only one block from COFFEE HEAVEN! Most will remember our routine last time around ALWAYS started off with a 25  minute morning  walk to Coffee Heaven.  Now it will be a 2 minute walk! 

On Sunday our favorite driver, Grzegorz  drove us the three hours to Olstzyn and we settled in at the  Warminski Hotel.   We walked to the completely packed  KFC at the mall and got dinner.  We stuck out like a sore thumb the minute we opened our mouths!!

On Monday we connected with Magda and went to the Adoption Center to meet the director and psychologist and then FINALLY we drove 40 minutes to Ostrada to meet the sweetest little gem in the whole world.  Adam and Aggie introduced themselves just as we had rehearsed.  "Hi, My name is Aggie, I am your big sister, do you want to play with me?"   and Adam likewise.  I was so proud of him when he got the "big brother" part correct, because we had been struggling getting that right!

We spent a wonderful afternoon with the Foster Family and were treated to a very yummy lunch.   We learned a lot and I took tons of notes.   What an incredibly, loving family and Lee and I feel so blessed to have them a part of this story.  

At the end of the day, we checked into our apartment, exhausted and still battling jet lag, however, we made a run to the grocery store for supplies and unpacked the rest of the evening.  

Now what day is it??   On Tuesday we had another fabulous visit and explored the town a bit.

Wednesday was Court day.  Thank you to all my friends and family for praying for calmness at 6 am in the morning.   I truly felt the power as we stepped into court at 1:00 pm.   It lasted 2 hours and I was on the stand for 40 minutes.  The Lawyer commented that I did a really good job!   Lee was on the stand for the same amount of time.

Following court we came back to the apartment, the foster mom tenderly hugged the precious gem and left. Let the Bonding begin!  We will be back in court on March 6th !

Oh, and it has snowed EVERY day we have been here :)

 

T - 8 Hours

On February 25, 2010 I wrote:
 We are ready. Not "ready as we will ever be" or "it's as good as it's going to get". We are ready. I even had a little "Nesting" time this morning and vacuumed the whole house! We will walk out the door today prepared for the journey ahead, encouraged by family and friends and blessed by God. There has been an amazing amount of symbolism this past week which has left Lee and I taking turns giving each other a wink and a squeeze of the hand as if to say....."Wow, God was really speaking to us right then and I am with you, honey, we can do this!" Thank you. Thank you to all our family and friends for your willingness to handle last minute errands, to pray for us, and to love and support us. It takes a village. 
We are ready and We Are On Our Way to Poland!

Funny how 3 years later it still hold true…….Our bags are packed, I have vaccumed, Lee is  squeezing my hand, and God is still speaking to us. 

We are ready and We Are On Our Way to Poland…..Again!! 

The Latest News

FAA grounds Boeing 787s to address battery fires

Go figure that we are booked on a 787.   Does everyone remember the last time we were booked on a flight out of  Poland?.. a Volcano stopped us and all of Europe! 

(we were delayed  one week due a no flying restriction becuase of air quality and an Erupting Volcano in Iceland)

Well, …It will all be okay.  Everything will be fine.  :)

It will all be fine. Everything will be okay.

It will all be fine. Everything will be okay.

We are down to the home stretch and somehow I find myself in the uncomfortable spot of becoming overwhelmed with everything that needs to be done.      How can that be? I’ve been through this before, I should be ready!     I try so hard to constantly think ahead and when I do I just think of more that needs to be done.       We will be in Poland for 9 weeks. We have been given the opportunity for one trip, but a long one at that. 9 weeks!

It will all be fine. Everything will be okay. 

Thursday after work I went to get groceries for the basics… milk, eggs, and couple of other dairy products, after which I ran into the house and started dinner, kindergarten homework, baths, bed time stories, prayers, oh and then laundry. The next morning I had a quick doctor appointment before work and hopped into my car at 7am.  As I turned the corner I heard something fall over in the back of my car……What was that? Oh, No………I forgot to take my GROCERIES into the house last night!!! Are you kidding me? Someone please tell me they have done this! LOL!!

It will all be fine. Everything will be okay.

We had our travel call last night and are very pleased with our accommodations for the first 4 weeks. We haven’t nailed down where we will be in Warsaw, but

It will all be fine. Everything will be okay. 

Lee & I  elected to work up until the day before we leave to save accrued time for our longer trip. My new piece of advice to couples in this process is TAKE MORE THAN ONE DAY Off before leaving. You need to have a couple of days to “take it all in, re-group, and rest” .

It will all be fine. Everything will be okay.

Have you figured out what my Mantra is yet? And What do you say when you talk to yourself?

It was Adam’s 6th birthday last week!   We had a good time!

Best Christmas Present Ever…Travel Dates!

We received wonderful Christmas news…... Travel dates! The frenzy pace prior to travel will begin tomorrow consumed with long To-Do lists and crazy rushes after work to complete tasks.   I am up for the challenge and looking forward to moving this journey again.  I am always at my best when I have more than enough to do.    For the rest of this beautiful Christmas Night, however, I am going to relax, sip my last glass of wine (children are asleep) and accept the quiet as a gift. For tommorrow……the tree comes down, the decorations get put away, we check airfare, call the pediatrician, work on FMLA paperwork, make arrangements for the dog and cat etc. etc.….and the list goes on!   Merry Christmas Everyone!

USCIS Approved!

From original call at the end of May to Mid September for USCIS Approval..3.months, numerous trips to Fed Ex, mounds of copies, and 4 vacation days from work to accomplish it all. Not bad, however, in the grand scheme of things I know we all believe this process could benefit from a major reform. In such an electronic world, WHY are we still dealing with so much original paper? I will admit the second time around everything was easier (except for our small homestudy snafu and oh, yeah, when we left our appostilled documents on the porch overnight and it rained LOL) becuase we knew what to do, but….. there is a still a child Waiting for governments to say You are Approved! There are days when I am motivated to "take on the system" and build better efficiencies in this process and then there are days when it's just overwhelming. But above all else, I truly believe the best resources we have are with each other. Together we can "take on the system" by sharing best practices and secrets with each other! It's a joy to read each of our stories, to help celebrate our triumphs and offer support in our defeats. Hang in there everyone in Adoption Blog World! In my opinion we are ALL already approved becuase a child awaits and our hearts and home are wide open.

Traveling with Toddlers

Lee and I plan to bring Adam and Aggie along on the big trip and have been trying to discover as many "best practices" for Traveling with Toddlers. On our last trip we Walked everywhere and I mean Everywhere, so We recently purchased a Toddler Carrier Backpack that we will use for our newest addition:

We purchased a KSUV "Kid SUV" at a neighbors garage sale a couple of years ago and will use this for Adam and Aggie:

I welcome any other ideas to make life a little easier while traveling with toddlers. Ideas to keep them busy? happy? I have been secretly stashing new movies, coloring books and puzzles to pack with us. We will have Lesson plans from Adam's teachers, and I suppose we will again find every playground within a 5 mile raddius of where ever we are. Additional suggestions? On the paperwork front, Our I-800A was re-submitted with little trouble and we have finger print appointments this Wednesday so we are moving right along! Hope everyone has a nice Labor Day Weekend!

The Infamous Pink Slip

Oh, bother. We got a pink slip. It's such a pretty color, but you know it is never good news. Always means a ripple erupted in the processing of your I-800A. Our home study needs a correction, however I am pretty sure it will be handled with a quick addendum and then turned around and sent back to Lee's Summit, MO pronto. Good 'ol Fed Ex profits again! LOL! Also, we are learning that two trips may not be as hard of a rule as we thought. We are keeping our fingers crossed and hoping to get good news regarding only having to make one trip. There is consideration being discussed to bring us in 3 days prior to the start of our bonding period inorder to meet the director. Which of course we have already met, but sure! Two trips for us with someone in Kindergarten and another in pre-school along with OT appointments, etc. etc. just gets alittle complicated to schedule. Pray for one Trip! Over Christmas would be cool!!! :) …and let me tell you the hike to the top of this sand dune was very hard, but the view was incredible. Running down the sand dune was much better!! Attached is a picture from our recent vacation to the Oregon Coast. It was wonderful!

Paper Work Complete

A quick note to document that we sent all our dossier paper work into our NY Agency, mailed the I-800A and filed the paper work for Adam & Aggie's US passports. Whew! It took two months and it wasn't all that bad the second time becuase I had made copies of everything from the first go around and didn't have to spend a week trying to figure out how to Apostille documents. Our one hick up was our apostilled documents from the state of Wisconsin sat over night on our porch after the Fed Ex man delivered them while we were at work and well…..it rained. Re-Do! Clearly, that would have NEVER happened the first time around because I would have been watching like a hawk, but it is what it is. There were no short cuts to take that we discovered and I laugh becuase we will even have to get our finger prints taken again. As far as I know they are still the same……..except they expired! LOL! We have requested (although we haven't received confirmation) one trip vs. two and plan to take Adam and Aggie with us. The challenges will be great, but the rewards will be too so we decided to go for it and plan accordingly. Everynight we include our baby sister in our bedtime prayers and ask God to watch over her and ensure she knows we are ALL coming soon!

On Our Way to Poland ~ Again

Yes, it's true. We are On Our Way to Poland ~ Again. We may be crazy and out of our minds to some, but for us God is sending us to Poland to complete a family. Months ago my heart was really speaking and tugging with the thought…"what would Lee and I do if Adam and Aggie had a sibling". I ignored it multiple times because I was sure others would think I was crazy. When I finally spoke with Lee, I was surprised he was open to having a heartfelt conversation about it. I think our discussion may have lasted about a week, but we finally decided that we would not adopt again. However, if we were presented with a referral for a sibling we would proceed immediately to keep the family together. Meanwhile, fast forward to the end of May when a call came in from our previous agency. "There is another child, a sibling, are you interested?" A burst of tears proceeded an overwhelming and enthusiastic Yes! I have never been so sure of an answer as I was at that moment. In retrospect, I am sure God was whispering months ago… "Be Ready, Be Prepared I am taking you on another journey". I don't have all the answers as to how we are going to manage this; traveling with 2 toddlers, financially affording this outrageous process, and mentally entering the "waiting" game again. But we have already seen Him working in our lives and bringing us all together. So, today we officially announce we are back in the game!

Just a little tid bit.....

Because my life is all about potty training at the moment, I have to share a little tid bit to those out there that are also enjoying these exciting times. Aggie is progressing very well in the potty training department, in fact, we played the "no more diapers" game last Tuesday and have been in big girl underwear ever since. Exciting, right? Well, my tid bit is...... when you embark on this adventure be sure to tell your day care provider that it is NOT necessary to return poopy underwear to you. When there are messy accidents, and there will be messy accidents it is OKAY to just throw the soiled underwear away! Literally, off the body and into the garbage. Okay? This is very important to remember because there is nothing more gross than carrying home stinky underwear!! :) and that is all I have to say about that! Have a Fabulous Day!

It was a Big Day

I just had to post .......ADAM IS FINALLY POTTY TRAINED! Seems like a very personal thing to write about, but somehow I know we are not the only ones who have had challenges with this topic so I have to share. Lee and I have tried EVERYTHING since we returned home from the Cheerios trick to "showing" him how to do it. We have encouraged, praised, and have spent countless hours sitting in the bathroom explaining exactly "how it is done". Let me tell you that listening to Lee explain peeing to a 4.5 year old has been hysterical! I bet we have even logged OVER 100 hours watching potty videos. (Favorite is Potty Power - very catchy tunes, be careful!) I had resolved a while ago that our little guy was holding on to his diaper because it was one thing he could control in his life. Can't blame him really. If my world had been Topsy Turvey since it began, I think I would enjoy the luxury of just allowing someone else to clean my butt for a while too!! Well, what finally did it was this.....A couple of weeks ago I bought tablets that turn your bath water colors. These colors meant everything to Adam - he loved them. If Adam "sat on the potty and tried", he got to pick out a color to throw into the tub and watch the water turn. We decided to change the rules a bit a couple of days ago and told him he could only pick a color if he actually WENT. That evoked a lot of drama, so the next day we simply said "No more Diapers!" (another song in the Potty Power Video). He ran around the house naked having a lot of fun for about the first 2 hours. Then he really started to agonize because he really need "to go". There were tears, there was "mommy, please!", he even sat on his diaper changing mat with his legs in the air and yelled "diaper!". It absolutely broke my heart to say No. Then, in the crying mess, he couldn't hold it any longer and went! Lee rushed him to toilet! We were cautious it was a fluke, but 5 minutes later he stood up and pee'd all by him self again into the toilet! I can't begin to explain how proud he looked. As if something finally clicked and it registered "I CAN DO THIS and IT's OKAY!". "I'M A BIG KID NOW" (another song on the Potty Power Video) It was relief on Lee's face that warmed my heart too. Lee has been trying so hard to help Adam and his patience and hard work finally paid off. Let's not forget that I had been also praying so hard recently asking for major guidance for me and encouragement for Adam. I love the power of prayer - it's amazing. Ever since that BIG DAY, Adam will jump up from whatever he is doing, run to the bathroom, and go! aaahhhh, I think I see a manicure in my future with the diaper $$$ Saved. One child down, and a Aggie to go! Literally! Good Luck to everyone out there in the midst of potty training. It WILL happen, just be patient. :)

Happy 3rd Birthday, Aggie!

This is Mini-Mouse...ahem..I mean Aggie! She turned 3 today, and all I can say is...She is growing up so fast!

Ecard generated with Smilebox

First and foremost, Lee, I, Aggie and Adam want to thank all our family members for joining us for a wonderful Birthday Celebration for Aggie. Even Grandpa John! who skyped with us earlier in the day! This was her first birthday in the USA and it really was a fun time. It warmed up just enough that Lee didn't entirely freeze while BBQing, however, it wasn't quite warm enough to sit outside. Soon - Spring will be here soon! As with Adam's birthday and a Weyer's tradition, we read the story "On the Night You Were Born" by Nancy Tillman. Mommy got choked up as usual and had to stop on occasion to keep from completely breaking down in tears. We got through the story with only a few of Aggie's hands in her cake but not before we had to feed Adam a cupcake to keep his hands out of the cake too! There were presents galore. Everyone was so generous!

On a little side note, there is a birth-mother and father out there somewhere whom my mind was thinking of today. I prayed they could feel the joy and happiness Aggie felt inside and I prayed they knew how lucky Lee and I felt about their "Gift of Aggie".

Family Day!

A Love letter to Adam & Agnieszka


Dear Adam and Aggie,

FAMILY DAY. I doubt you understand the magnitude of this day at this time; however as time passes you will grow to learn how significant it really is. You will marvel at how it all came together and you will feel the warmth it brings your heart.

It’s bigger than any Hallmark holiday or snow day from school. It’s surpasses a trip to Monkey Joe’s or even Disney World. It’s larger than the largest ice cream and brownie sundae with hot fudge sauce and sprinkles, combined!

Family Day is a gift from God! Do you realize He orchestrated it all? From all different pathways, He brought the 4 of us together at the exact moment the judge said “Congratulations!”. (well, it was Magda our translator who actually said it…te, he, he!☺).

Throughout our journey, life had to happen “just right” for it all to come together so magically. We had to have a lot of faith and trust to keep going even though it felt really hard at times. We had to believe in something much larger than ourselves!

We will cherish this day every year with you, and every year we will share our story of how this day came to be. Through laughter and joy, we will celebrate the gift of family, count all our blessings, and thank those who have loved and supported us. But Mostly,….. we will pray. We will pray the gift of family is bestowed unto every little boy and every little girl around the world……and then we will hug! ☺

Happy Family Day!
Love always, Tata and Mommy

Our little fish....

So, I made them hold hands..."Come on Adam, hold Aggie's hand" Click, Click, Click went my camera. They are not always this sweet with each other so I figured I had better document the event! Aggie looks leery which is probably smart because the two of them have a very typical brother-sister relationship. Full of Love, yet they pester each other all day long!

We had a fabulous weekend at the Wisconsin Dells. The Weyers family goes skiing every winter, however, Lee and I didn't feel Adam and Aggie were quite ready for skiing. We spent our time at the water park instead and had an absolute blast.



Adam was OUT at 6:00pm which made us pretty nervous. He wakes at 5:00am when he goes down at 7:30pm, so if he falls asleep at 6:00pm! EECK! Unbelievably, though I was the first to wake the next morning and nearly jumped for joy when I read the clock.....7:30am! Wow! Do you know how long it has been since Lee or I slept in till 7:30am?! It was quite the gift and if I could go back to the Wisconsin Dells EVERY weekend, I would!

It was a good day.

Go Packers!

48 to 21 Packers vs. Falcons. Go Packers!

Is it okay to use your children's adoption journey blog for your own agenda?

It was a good game and we enjoyed it....and well, Aggie's enthusiasm should not be contained!

Go Packers!

Happy 4th Birthday Adam!

There is really something magical about celebrating a little boys 4th birthday. Their eyes just open wide when the lights are dimmed, and candles are lit and everyone starts to sing. "Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday to You!" The excitement can't be contained! After singing we dove directly into the cake and ice cream and licked our bowls clean! On birthdays in my family the parent always shares the story of the day the child was born from morning till dusk and all the details in between. For Adam, we read from the book "On the Night You Were Born" by Nancy Tillman. I especially like the first page which reads...

On the night you were born, the moon smiled with such wonder that the stars peeked in to see you and the night wind whispered, "Life will never be the same." Because there had never been anyone like you...ever in the world.

Lee and I embraced this moment with all our heart and it was so wonderful. To celebrate with Adam was such an honor. We think you are the greatest!!