They Inspected my Tony Packos!

When I travel to Ohio, there are a few things I just have to have! I think mostly because they remind me of my childhood. Plus, these items are not easily found in Florida. Here is a list of some of my favorites:

• Lake Erie Perch (dinner or sandwich as long as it is from Lake Erie)


• Vernor's Gingerale (now I can get this at my local Publix)


• Ballreich's Potato Chips (the best chips in the world)


• Tony Packo's Pickles (they are spicey and yummy)

This visit, I was able to enjoy all of my favorites and decided to bring home a jar of Tony Packo's Pickles for Don. Suspecting the airlines would not allow me to bring the pickles in my carry-on, I put the jar in a ziploc bag and wrapped a t-shirt around the package to keep the jar from breaking. When I arrived home and removed the t-shirt, I was thrilled to see the jar was still intact. Then I saw it - the TSA Notice of Bag Inspection inside the ziploc bag! No kidding! I died laughing.
I wonder what the TSA agent thought when he/she found those pickles! I hope they got a kick out of it and it made their day!

We are planning for our homestudy visit this Saturday and continuing to pray we move through the paperchase in a timely manner.

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. Matthew 21:22

In Christ,
Elizabeth

Family Time in Ohio

The past few days I've been visiting family in Ohio. It has been great to be home in the spring time. Usually, we visit in December for Christmas and, unless it snows, I find the weather quite dismal. One of my favorite things is to take my shoes of and walk barefoot in the grass. I just love lawns in Ohio. I would never walk barefoot on my lawn in Florida - just the thought makes me cringe!

My Ohio itinerary is jam packed! Last weekend I attended my nephew's birthday party. He is 4 years old and full of energy. I spent the past few days with him and his 6 year old brother. We have been very busy with basketball practice, soccer, and baseball. I think it was good to spend time with them. The experience has helped confirm that, "Yes, I can do this!" That is, keep up with a 6 year old and a 4 year old - we do not know what God has planned for our family. We requested a little girl but we did not want to limit God. So, we completed paperwork for two children and pray that God's will be done.

Today, we will all travel to Erie, PA for my oldest nephew's graduation from Gannon University. I have to admit, the thought of him graduating makes me feel a bit "old" but I'll just wipe that thought right out of my mind!

Sunday, I'll spend the day at my mother's and then head back to Florida on Monday. Once I get home, we will be quite busy preparing for another visit for our homestudy. Things are moving along and we are continuing in faith that God will provide for our adoption.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

God Bless,
Elizabeth

Surprise Tax Return

What a blessing! God is so good! We thought we were going to have to pay taxes this year. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find out that we were going to receive a tax return and it arrived today! We can now move forward with our homestudy update since we have the money to pay the fees - see Financial Woes.
Is this Divine intervention or what? And one more time I am reminded that God will provide.

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Phillipians 4:19

Continuing the paperchase with God in control,
Elizabeth

Everyone's Irish on St. Paddy's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day. We just enjoyed reuben sandwiches because the restaurant was out of corned beef and cabbage. Whatever works! It was still tastey.

Not much new on the adoption front. We are still working on scraping together the money for the fees for our re-evaluation.

Don is going green! One more endeavor to bring home our little girl.

Currently, he is working on distributing a fuel reformulator. This product saves 12%-20% or more on fuel costs, reduces engine wear, and extends time between oil changes. This stuff really works. Not that I am biased, but he put some in my car and I am getting 3 miles/gallon more and that should increase once I get my past due tune-up and oil change! At first, I was hesitant but he won me over. This product does more than increase your gas mileage, it also reduces harmful emissions 30%-50%. If you are interested in saving the earth, visit this website http://www.fuellegacy.com/donaldmurray and if you would like to try the product, click on the PRODUCT tab and click on BUY PRODUCT. Afterall, are we not called to be stewards of the earth?

For the earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Psalm 24:1

In Christ,
Elizabeth

When What Should be a Milestone is a Problem!

I was upset for days. We went to have our medicals and our health care provider was not as cooperative as we needed him to be. I don't want to slam anyone here but I do want to let other adoptive parents know how to avoid the issues we have experienced.

• First, shop around. Interview several health care providers and make sure you can work easily with the one you select.
• Be sure that he/she knows that you may need the forms printed on their letterhead and ask that they will insure the office staff will work with you on this. For us, this was an issue everytime we went to the office. I don't really understand why this had to be such a problem.
• Next, I would stress to your physician that the physicals need to be updated yearly and in some cases, more often. Let him/her know that you may be asking for updated documents and you will not always need to redo bloodwork or other tests at the same time. You may just need the updated document with the previous dates of the tests listed. Our physician required us to repeat our bloodwork and tests each time which became extremely costly. Of course, this may depend on your agency and where you are in the overall process.
• Emphasize that regardless of how often you update the medicals - lab tests and TB tests cannot be older than 3 months for the final document (for Russia this is between trips) and make sure that he/she will work with you if you need an update that is close to the 3 month period. Some insurances are not going to pay for the lab tests at all let alone more than once a year.
• Encourage him/her to be careful when completing the forms. No cross outs or scribbles allowed.
• Next, let him/her know that you will also need a letter addressing any abnormalities listed on the medical form. This letter must be on letter head.
• Finally, make sure he/she will agree to have the documents notarized with his/her signature. In our case, the office manager was a notary when we went for our first two physicals but left before our last physical. If we had known this, we would have made arrangements for a notary to go with us. Our physician kept signing the documents without having the signature notarized. In the end, we went back to the office 3 times and finally took a notary with us. This took almost 3 weeks before everything was the way it should be. This could have been critical if we were close to traveling.

At the time, I was overwhelmed with having to redo everything and felt like our physician was not working with us. Now, as I look back on it, it doesn't seem like such a big deal. Sometimes I think we are just on the edge with the stress of getting everything done, dotting all the i's and crossing all the t's that one little thing can seem like Mount Everest! It all worked out with much prayer. I know now that being prepared and anticipating some of these challenges helps manage the unexpected. I hope this information helps someone avoid a similar situation.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6

Blessings,
Elizabeth