Thursday, August 20, 2009

Preparing for trip#3

We found out this week that the adoption decree is official, so now our coordinator is finalizing all the paperwork and sending off for our son's Kazakhstan passport. Nicholas Roman is officially our son and we will be heading back for him in a couple of weeks!

You may have noticed that we have been calling him Roman, yet named him Nicholas Roman. His given name is Roman, yet I also realized recently that most of the kids called him Roma and we found in some of his paperwork that he was called Roma, the shortened version of his name. We do like his name but also we like Nicholas which is more American. We plan to call him Nicholas Roma and Roma for a while to see if he would like the name Nicholas. It's actually hard to think of calling him Nicholas after all the time we spent with him. If he doesn't take to the name Nicholas then we will probably just stick with Roman or Roma.

As you can see, we have been 'nesting' in preparation for Nicholas' arrival. We still have to paint the trim in his room and finish preparing his room. We have been spring cleaning and trying to organize our house so it's not so cluttered. We really don't want to overstimulate him, so although I would love to buy every truck, ball, and boy toy for him, I know that's not the best. What he really needs is our time and not things.

I've also spent lots of time reading parenting books and communicating with other adoptive parents in hopes of preparing ourselves for an older child. To be honest, I have had my ups and downs about everything. You know, we were open to having an older child, however, we were not prepared. Some days I feel confident and joyous about bringing Nicholas Roman into our family, other days I truly am scared about all the changes about to happen in our family. I am fortunate to communicate with other parents who adopted older children who point out that it is our son who will face the most changes as he is leaving the place that was his home for the last year, he is also leaving his country and his language behind. He is a brave little boy.

Between trips we have also been helping to prepare our girls. First, we have been trying to spend some quality time together as a family, second, we have just been having fun. Also, since we will have friends take care of the girls during this last trip, the girls just had their first sleepovers as a trial run. They had a great time, I can say it was a success. They were so worn out they both took long naps the last 2 days. We are so grateful for our friends for taking care of Olivia and Claire, we know they will be well taken care of and will have the company of their friends, too, in case they become sad.

6 comments:

Julian and Sara said...

Wow! At your point in the process, it must seem very intimidating to be standing on the proverbial ledge.

Congratulations on your "official addition", Nicholas Roman, and best of luck with the completion of the paperwork and the third trip. Hopefully everything will flow smoothly toward a successful conclusion.

Now go ahead, jump! It is where you have wanted to be all along.

Stephanie and Gary said...

Katherine, what a great post. Your honest feelings seem so appropriate while you are at the precipice of this new life change. I have a strong feeling that your little girls will surprise you with how much they acclimate to having a little "big" brother and the experience will be enlightening in many ways.
Always thinking of you!
Steph

Kara said...

So excited for you all! As we tell our 5 year old when he is intimidated by new experiences, "Take a deep breath, say a prayer, and go!" We are all wishing you well!!! Good luck with your final prep! --Kara in KY

Dean and Janie said...

Yeh! So exciting and yes, a little scary. I know it will bring times of joy and struggle, but I just have to believe God's word is true and you won't regret it. We have many of the same moments you mentioned in your post. Thank you for sharing so honestly. Praying for a safe and very blessed trip.

aultfamily said...

Congratulations! I can imagine alll the thoughts and feelings you have running through you right now. My new motto is "day by day" and it helps keep the anxiety down.

You'll do great! The girls will be a huge buffer for him. He'll see that other kids live here and it seems to be working out for them. LOL! Of course, there will be adjustments, but there were bringing your other children into the picture as well.

God will guide you through the hard parts.

Hugs,
MaryAnn

Julie C said...

Katherine,
Your honesty is wonderful, you are fully prepared for anything :-)You have been given lots of good advice above. Just knowing there will be adjustments and where to reach out to if needed is a huge step. Sometimes getting to this stage in the process, which we have all waited so long for, seems like it will never happen - but here it is! Your new normal is about to begin.Congratulation on your family of five! xoxo Julie