Here is of my growing belly! I had a checkup last week, and everything is going well! We scheduled our ultrasound for March 6th. We will know boy or girl in two weeks! :) I can't wait!
Monday, February 25, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Life continues...
Well, not too much exciting is going on, but I am updating for all of you avid blog-readers our there. (As an avid blog-reader myself, I know how frustrating it is to visit a blog and see the same post at the top for weeks in a row. To all of you who visit our blog, I apologize for the lengthy periods of inactivity; I'll try to be more prompy with my posts!) In the adoption arena, we are SO close to sending our paperwork to Colombia. I am picking up the last piece of the puzzle (our physician's letters) tomorrow, and am taking all of our paperwork to Montgomery to get apostilled on Tuesday. For those of you not familiar with the terminology, an apostille is a verification of a notarization. Then, we can send it all to Sarah, our case worker in Tampa, who will forward it to Colombia! I will be so excited to get all of it sent off and get on "the list." The Colombian officials could ask for more papers or clarification of papers we send, but we are praying for a quick approval. Once we are approved, the wait is estimated at 2.5 years. And then baby Ryle #2 will be able to join us! :) It's very exciting.
Other than that, life continues as normal. I am 16 weeks now, and am starting to actually "show;" I'll have to post pics sometime. Hopefully we will find out in coming weeks if Baby is a girl or a boy, which we can't wait for. I need to start shopping! :)
Other than that, life continues as normal. I am 16 weeks now, and am starting to actually "show;" I'll have to post pics sometime. Hopefully we will find out in coming weeks if Baby is a girl or a boy, which we can't wait for. I need to start shopping! :)
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Our News!
Well, if you haven't heard yet, we're pregnant! Just shy of twelve weeks. So here's the story...
As you know, we decided last March to begin the process of adopting an infant from Colombia. Well, this summer, as we were busily taking part in the adoption paper chase, we were informed that the process in Colombia has lengthened to 30 months from dossier approval. That meant that we would probably not be referred a child until the latter part of 2010. While we were still convinced that this adoption was part of God's plan for the Ryle family, we realized that He had now given us an opportunity to add another child to our family! So, after contacting our social worker first to make sure that this pregnancy would not hinder or change the adoption, we decided to go for it! Now we are expecting our first child July 31, and an adopted sibling a couple of years later. It is such a blessing to know that we have two children on the way.
As for where we stand in the adoption process...some of our paperwork had expired, and we are currently updating it now. We were re-fingerprinted (for the fourth time) in December, and now we need to see the MD so he can sign a letter that says we are "physically able to adopt." Then, after we get all of the paperwork apostilled in Montgomery, we can send it on down to Colombia for translation and hopefully approval shortly after that! (It should take a couple of months, unless they ask for more information from us). Once we are approved, we are officially on the waiting list, and our 30 month wait begins. Yippee!
As you know, we decided last March to begin the process of adopting an infant from Colombia. Well, this summer, as we were busily taking part in the adoption paper chase, we were informed that the process in Colombia has lengthened to 30 months from dossier approval. That meant that we would probably not be referred a child until the latter part of 2010. While we were still convinced that this adoption was part of God's plan for the Ryle family, we realized that He had now given us an opportunity to add another child to our family! So, after contacting our social worker first to make sure that this pregnancy would not hinder or change the adoption, we decided to go for it! Now we are expecting our first child July 31, and an adopted sibling a couple of years later. It is such a blessing to know that we have two children on the way.
As for where we stand in the adoption process...some of our paperwork had expired, and we are currently updating it now. We were re-fingerprinted (for the fourth time) in December, and now we need to see the MD so he can sign a letter that says we are "physically able to adopt." Then, after we get all of the paperwork apostilled in Montgomery, we can send it on down to Colombia for translation and hopefully approval shortly after that! (It should take a couple of months, unless they ask for more information from us). Once we are approved, we are officially on the waiting list, and our 30 month wait begins. Yippee!
Saturday, October 20, 2007
I've been tagged!
Jobs I have had:
West Mobile Baptist Child Development Center - HS/undergrad
Goody's (I lasted one day) -HS
University of Mobile Learning Center - undergrad
And now as a GTA at The University of Alabama...Roll Tide!
Places I have lived:
Mobile
Tuscaloosa
Birmingham
Foods I love:
Anything chocolate
any fruit
hence, choloclate-covered strawberries
pasta
Mexican
fried rice at Stix
fried cookie dough eggrolls
Places I'd rather be:
vacation pretty much anywhere, especially in the mountains or on a cruise
Books I love:
Bible
Harry Potter
Mere Christianity
I am Tagging:
Shelley K
Liz K
West Mobile Baptist Child Development Center - HS/undergrad
Goody's (I lasted one day) -HS
University of Mobile Learning Center - undergrad
And now as a GTA at The University of Alabama...Roll Tide!
Places I have lived:
Mobile
Tuscaloosa
Birmingham
Foods I love:
Anything chocolate
any fruit
hence, choloclate-covered strawberries
pasta
Mexican
fried rice at Stix
fried cookie dough eggrolls
Places I'd rather be:
vacation pretty much anywhere, especially in the mountains or on a cruise
Books I love:
Bible
Harry Potter
Mere Christianity
I am Tagging:
Shelley K
Liz K
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Suitey Reunion!
Shawn, Elizabeth, Bill, Erin, Matt, Bethany, Philip, and Julie
Labor Day weekend, Philip and I met up with my three college suitemates and their significant others. This is our second annual such get-together, and (according to Philip) our last one that will occur on Labor Day weekend. Who travels out of town to a city that doesn't even carry the Alabama game on opening weekend? Especially for Saban's first game? I know, I know, I've heard all about it. :) I think Memorial Day trips may be the way to go from now on.
THE CHIMNEYS
Anyway, we had a blast on our trip. We went to The Chimneys, where you can climb all over a bunch of boulders in the middle of a river. Fun, huh? And thanks to the magic of the cortisone shot I got the day before we left, I was able to participate! We did have a bit of excitement at The Chimneys. Right when it started thundering, we headed toward the cars. It was then that Philip and I realized that we had both left our keys in the car. For the many of you who know my very careful and deliberate husband, this may come as a schock to you, as it did to me. Nevertheless, it happened. We found a park ranger, who radioed another park ranger. And then, Walker, Tennessee Ranger showed up. As the storm clouds continued rolling in, Ranger Walker worked tirelessly with his locksmith kit to get our car open. Apparently, my car is difficult to break into, because this took quite awhile. We were all soaked to the bone by the end of the episode, but Walker, Tennessee Ranger came through for us.
WALKER, TENNESSEE RANGER
Also, we (of course) ate alot. The Pancake Pantry was absolutely wonderful (I highly recommend it if you've never been there before). Also, we made fried cookie dough eggrolls! Absolutley divine. I don't know why we've never thought of frying cookie dough before.
It was a great trip! It was fun to get to spend time with the three girls with whom I laughed, cried, gossiped, and rarely studied all through college. I am already looking forward to next year. Love ya, girls!
Monday, September 10, 2007
Chattanooga, TN
OK, I've been told that I'm not blogging frequently enough, so I am trying to catch up on some posting. I will then strive to stay up-to-date! (Anything to avoid doing math research!)
Philip and I went to Chattanooga in August. I didn't realize that it was only two hours away! It was just a quick one-night trip, but was a lot of fun. We went up Friday night and went to a murder mystery dinner theatre. We tried too late to get a reservation for the dinner cruise on the river there, so we had to settle. Let's just say that it was extremely cheesy at best. On Saturday, we met a few people from our photography class there to photograph the aquarium. We got some great shots in the butterfly house!
Our new photography classes start this week. I am taking (with my friend Stephanie) a portrait class, so if you want to be one of my test subjects, let me know! :) Philip is taking an infrared photography/pinhole camera class. You'll have to ask him if you want to know what that's all about. :)
Adoption update: Apparently Alabama DHR lost our homestudy, but magically found it when our social worker called to nag them. So hopefully we can finally get approval from them this week, and our HS can get sent to CIS. We'll keep you posted!
Philip and I went to Chattanooga in August. I didn't realize that it was only two hours away! It was just a quick one-night trip, but was a lot of fun. We went up Friday night and went to a murder mystery dinner theatre. We tried too late to get a reservation for the dinner cruise on the river there, so we had to settle. Let's just say that it was extremely cheesy at best. On Saturday, we met a few people from our photography class there to photograph the aquarium. We got some great shots in the butterfly house!
Our new photography classes start this week. I am taking (with my friend Stephanie) a portrait class, so if you want to be one of my test subjects, let me know! :) Philip is taking an infrared photography/pinhole camera class. You'll have to ask him if you want to know what that's all about. :)
Adoption update: Apparently Alabama DHR lost our homestudy, but magically found it when our social worker called to nag them. So hopefully we can finally get approval from them this week, and our HS can get sent to CIS. We'll keep you posted!
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Pensacola Visit
After I had spent a week in Mobile, Philip came down and met me in Pensacola to spend the weekend with his family. His brother Daniel only gets to come home from Miami once a year, so it was good to spend time with him. He brought along his friend, Natalia, and her two sons, Sebastian (8) and Carlos (3). They were both just too cute! Although Carlos was a little wary of having 3 poodles around (my mom-in-law also has one), he eventually warmed up to them. He had fun learning their names and saying over and over, "Ellie, black! Maggie, yellow!" followed by some stuff in Spanish. Sebastian was a great translator for us. :)
We went to the Naval Aviation Museum, where you can climb in some cool planes and buy astronaut ice cream. According to Philip, the latter is something that must be done when visiting the museum, or else the trip is a bust. I think there must need to be some nostalgia behind the experience in order to enjoy it fully, because I thought it was mostly just gross.
According to the museum, it is one of the top ten tourist attractions in the state of Florida. I thought that was pretty impressive, considering the number of amusement parks there. Then that got me thinking, what would be in the top ten tourist spots in Alabama? Definitely Bryant Denny stadium! Yea, football season is here! I guess that's another post.
Adoption Update: Our homestudy is still at Alabama DHR. Then it will be forwarded to USCIS. After we get approval from both of these agencies, we will be able to send it to Colombia!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
