Bags are all packed.
Denise had a pre trip pedi.
Al had his back shaved and he said it feels strange to feel his shirt on his back.
That means the Ricks are ready to leave! It is our regular pre warm weather trip ritual :)
We are off early tomorrow am and we will update from Hawaii!
The kids are sooo excited, they are all camping out in Gretta's room. I am thinking I may not sleep well tonight...keep wondering what I am forgetting. For anyone who has traveled with me...my friends play a game where they try to outpack me...I pack every.darn.thing.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Pack a Little, Eat a Lot
Pack a little and Eat a lot is pretty much what I have been doing every night. I stress eat.
Two days until we leave. It has been a whirlwind week trying to get flights, hotel in Hawaii (we are doing a 3 day layover) and the Marshall Islands. We had 2 hotels to choose from in the Marshall Islands and really with 6 of us the only one that really had room for us all was the Marshall Island's resort. They have joined rooms that are set up with a room to sleep and a living/makeshift kitchen area. They only could keep us for part of the trip since there is a Mirconesian Fish Preservation Conference there end of July. So we will be staying there from arrival unitl the 20th and then moving to Robert Reimers Resort on the 20th. Al and the boys can help us move before they leave to come home on the 21st. RRE is very nice but they did not have an area big enough for all of us- but a single room will be good for us 3 girls. I hope to fly back about August 1st with Gretta and the baby.
Nolan has had a fever all week and after visits to the dr on Tue and Fri they finally put him on an antibiotic. Hope he feels better before we leave.
We are almost packed- packing for 5 people, a baby and brining enough snacks, things to keep kids busy on flights and in hotel is challenging.
Two days until we leave. It has been a whirlwind week trying to get flights, hotel in Hawaii (we are doing a 3 day layover) and the Marshall Islands. We had 2 hotels to choose from in the Marshall Islands and really with 6 of us the only one that really had room for us all was the Marshall Island's resort. They have joined rooms that are set up with a room to sleep and a living/makeshift kitchen area. They only could keep us for part of the trip since there is a Mirconesian Fish Preservation Conference there end of July. So we will be staying there from arrival unitl the 20th and then moving to Robert Reimers Resort on the 20th. Al and the boys can help us move before they leave to come home on the 21st. RRE is very nice but they did not have an area big enough for all of us- but a single room will be good for us 3 girls. I hope to fly back about August 1st with Gretta and the baby.
Nolan has had a fever all week and after visits to the dr on Tue and Fri they finally put him on an antibiotic. Hope he feels better before we leave.
We are almost packed- packing for 5 people, a baby and brining enough snacks, things to keep kids busy on flights and in hotel is challenging.
Monday, June 23, 2014
Court Date
We finally have a court date. On July 8th 2005 we had our 1st child Nolan and on July 8th 2014 our last child will join our family. Nolan is very excited- what do you get the child who already has everything for his birthday? How about a little sister.
We will be leaving July 1st and spending 3 nights in Hawaii. We then fly to Majuro Marshall Islands on July 4th- and will land 4 hours later in RMI on July 5th. So it will be the year we did not have a 4th of July. Sound like there will be some fireworks in Hawaii on the 3rd that we can catch though.
We will meet Hazel when we get there and have some appointments to go to with her mom or grandma...I am unsure. We have to take her to the doctor and for passport pics and I am unsure if anything else. We then have court on the 8th, which is the 7th in the US and the next day we have an appointment at the US Embassy to get her Visa paperwork sent off to Manila for processing. Then we just hang out and wait I guess.
We are very excited to have a court date. I have flights booked, and now we are working on hotels and lots of other little things. It feels good to know when we are traveling.
We will be leaving July 1st and spending 3 nights in Hawaii. We then fly to Majuro Marshall Islands on July 4th- and will land 4 hours later in RMI on July 5th. So it will be the year we did not have a 4th of July. Sound like there will be some fireworks in Hawaii on the 3rd that we can catch though.
We will meet Hazel when we get there and have some appointments to go to with her mom or grandma...I am unsure. We have to take her to the doctor and for passport pics and I am unsure if anything else. We then have court on the 8th, which is the 7th in the US and the next day we have an appointment at the US Embassy to get her Visa paperwork sent off to Manila for processing. Then we just hang out and wait I guess.
We are very excited to have a court date. I have flights booked, and now we are working on hotels and lots of other little things. It feels good to know when we are traveling.
Friday, June 20, 2014
A little News
All people who know me (Denise) know I have little patience and plan everything. The adoption process has been my arch nemesis. We still do not have a set court date...but our adoption coordinator told me today that our lawyer is shooting for a date the first or second week of July. We hope to find out next week. We have to meet our girl 24 hours before court for legal purposes and get her a pre-adoption physical and visa pictures before too, plus the Marshall Islands are one day ahead of us. We also hope to spend 3 nights in Hawaii on the way...so we will need to leave about 5 days before court. So we will be buying some last minute tickets!
Here are a few things we know about our baby to be named Hazel at an unknown date:
Born 4/6/14...she will share birthday parties for life with her sister Gretta who's birthday is 4/7. (Yes..that means TWO diamond birthstones in a mothers ring for me. Score.) It also means all 3 girls in our house are Aries (stubborn rams- ohoh!)
She was 6lbs 3 oz at birth and 20 inches
She is a very passive baby. She will not know what has hit her when she meets her family!
She is the 7th child born to her mom. So we are filling our bags with clothes and gifts for her siblings.. We hope to keep in contact with her family as she grows so she can know them.
Her family is originally from Ailinglaplap Atoll about 170 miles west of Majuro where we are staying. It's where Kelly Slater goes to prep for his surf tours ;)
I am posting a pic of a picture we had painted for her room. Yokwe is the greeting used in the Marshall Islands similar to Aloha. The walls are blue like the ocean water and we did tropical colors. She will have her own room- the boys will be sharing a room and the girls each get their own. Gretta wants to share when Hazel is old enough but we will see if that changes in a few years.
Here are a few things we know about our baby to be named Hazel at an unknown date:
Born 4/6/14...she will share birthday parties for life with her sister Gretta who's birthday is 4/7. (Yes..that means TWO diamond birthstones in a mothers ring for me. Score.) It also means all 3 girls in our house are Aries (stubborn rams- ohoh!)
She was 6lbs 3 oz at birth and 20 inches
She is a very passive baby. She will not know what has hit her when she meets her family!
She is the 7th child born to her mom. So we are filling our bags with clothes and gifts for her siblings.. We hope to keep in contact with her family as she grows so she can know them.
Her family is originally from Ailinglaplap Atoll about 170 miles west of Majuro where we are staying. It's where Kelly Slater goes to prep for his surf tours ;)
I am posting a pic of a picture we had painted for her room. Yokwe is the greeting used in the Marshall Islands similar to Aloha. The walls are blue like the ocean water and we did tropical colors. She will have her own room- the boys will be sharing a room and the girls each get their own. Gretta wants to share when Hazel is old enough but we will see if that changes in a few years.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Hazel Lynn
Our petition to request to adopt baby Lynn was drawn up by our attorney and was submitted to the Marshallese Court today. Now we just sit by and wait for our court date. We had to officially name her on the court document- we decided on Hazel Lynn.
Here is one more pic of her we got with her referral. Her grandma is taking care of her until we arrive to adopt her, I cropped out grandma for her privacy. Hazel has more hair than Nolan, Gretta or Emmitt did at 3 years old. She is about 7 week old in this picture. She was 6lbs 3oz when born and 20 inches.
Emmitt asked me last night what island he came from...looks like I have some explaining to do!
Here is one more pic of her we got with her referral. Her grandma is taking care of her until we arrive to adopt her, I cropped out grandma for her privacy. Hazel has more hair than Nolan, Gretta or Emmitt did at 3 years old. She is about 7 week old in this picture. She was 6lbs 3oz when born and 20 inches.
Emmitt asked me last night what island he came from...looks like I have some explaining to do!
Sunday, June 8, 2014
The Referral Call !!!
Our pediatrician was working the night shift that night and was kind enough to review her file immediately . We accepted the next day. The kids are all super excited.
We are now waiting to sign the petition which will be handed into court to secure court date. We hope to find out our court date within the next week....but who knows ;) Our agency says the average time between referral and court is about four weeks total...so I am a packing machine!
We will update this blog when we have any further news and also as we travel. Per agency requirements this blog has to be password-protected. Denise will probably do most of the blogging since Al falls asleep at night when he sits down...hehe.
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