Fedex is my new best friend!

I can't explain it, but for some reason 2018 has been the fasted, and the slowest moving year ever.  February was the longest month of my life, followed by march that I think was only one week long.  We still still feel like we spend most of our days in flux.  Trying not to make too many permanent plans for later in the year and being cautious about getting our hopes up and setting time lines, and wanting to make every plan and buy everything that we could for our future family.

This past week, we finally got the news we have been waiting for.  The Pinal county courts have approved our home study! We have spent months waiting for that little stamp on a piece of paper from a judge.  No kidding, it's just a stamp that said "Juvenile courts." We've had a completed home study since January, but now we have a home study that we can actually do something with!  The state has approved us to be adoptive parent's.  Our chance of finding our family will now be put in the hands of the Department of Homeland Security, and the children ministry of Hungary.

On Wednesday we drove into Phoenix to meet with our social worker and pick up our official notarized copies. She told us that the courts actually kicked back our home study twice before they even reviewed it.  She has been so great to work with, and even she didn't understands why every government agency has been against us in getting this finished.  From there, the first thing we did was google "Fedex" and went strait to send copies to to our placement agency so they can send them to be translated, and another copy to USCIS with our I-800a application to get that approval.

In typical google fashion it took us to the most random Fedex ever.  It was actually attached to the airport.  You drove all thew ay around to the shipping side of the airport, and were convinced we were in the wrong place. we timidly walked in, expected to be yelled at by someone official (it shared the same building with boarder patrol, it seemed so official.) only to find the nicest lady ever, and a mostly normal looking Fedex store.  We got everything packaged up, used the Delta shipping discount, and they were both overnighted.  It was the perfect location, because it saved us the travel time from a normal Fedex store to the airport, meaning we were able o overnight for even cheaper! I've never been more excited to hold sealed envelopes.

Both of our packages have already been received.  All of our documents should be getting scanned and sent to Hungary today to be translated, and we're waiting USCIS to generate our fingerprint appointments (for the 3rd time).  We are realistically 6 weeks away from being able to accept a referral for our child or children! We know there is no guarantee of when one will come, but just knowing we're ready for it when the time is right is a huge relief!

My Maw-Maw

Per usual in the Gifford house, we've had a busy two weeks. We're in one of the quiet moments of our adoption. We're waiting for interviews to be scheduled, governments to respond, and paperwork to be accepted.  Despite the quite time, we've still been busy.

Last weekend was an emotional weekend. My grandmother, or Maw-Maw as we called her, passed away September 5th. She lived an incredibly rich life full of handwork, family, and love.  She was and amazing woman, and overcame incredible opposition in her life. She had more fight in her, than any woman I will have have the privileged of knowing.

Mary Magdalene Couvillon Rabalais at 18

Funerals and passing are always hard, but it was the celebration of her life that I loved the most.  One of my favorite stories, is actually the story of her birth.  She was born in August of 1931, prematurely, and weight only 2.5 pounds. From this moment, she started fighting. In a rural parish in southern Louisiana, there was no hospital, and no medical care.  A cow was brought over from the neighboring farm, and her incubator was a box with bricks that had been warmed from the fire placed around it. From that moment she never stopped. There are so many stories of perseverance and resilience in this woman life, I wish I could share them all!

She married my Paw-Paw in 1951, and they had a love story for the ages.  My Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw ran a hog farm, and were a team in every sense of the word.  They had a growing family of 6 children, were active in their church community, raised animals and crops, and in the end had a farm that ran smoothly and efficiently because they worked together. I don't know anyone who could have raised 5 boys, and still manage to do everything she did!  They had a marriage and partnership so wonderful. that I can only hope to emulate it in my own life. 

A young Paw-Paw and Maw-Maw

Every summer of my life, until I was around 16, was spent on their farm with my mother and our Cajun family. By the time I came around the farm was no longer working, the land was mostly leased, and life was slowing day.  Despite that, my time spend in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana are the best of my childhood memories.  The loss of such a strong spirit is always hard, and we will probably always feel that little hole in our heart. I was able to go down to Louisiana for the service, and stayed in my Maw-Maw's home.  At first it was a little weird, I could still see her sitting at the kitchen table, or standing by the stove. I can still her saying "Oh Leah" as she said so many time when I was doing something I probably shouldn't have been doing. (Usually it was high kicks in the kitchen, or trying to bring the farm cats inside.) In the end, it was the best source of comfort I ever could have asked for. That home was a source of safety, comfort, and love for me and all of my siblings.  It was a place we would go and just be loved. From my grandparents, my aunts, my uncles, and cousins, there was so much love in that home. I am so blessed to grow up with such an amazing sanctuary, and such an amazing family.

I learned so much from this woman and my time spent there.  I will always be grateful for the lessons on hard-work, compassion, teamwork, and love that she taught me.  I could never have asked for a better Maw-Maw. Above all, I can't be more grateful to have such an amazing woman to raise my own mother.  I see so many qualities of my Maw-Maw in my mom.  She has the same drive and compassion.  She has a sense of hard-work and service unlike anyone I've ever known. So thank you Maw-Maw, for not only everything you've done for me, but everything you've done for my mother.  I will never know two more beautiful and strong women in my life.  I hope to one day have children as wonderful as you both have, and to have a home so full of love that you just never want to leave it.

As we are starting our own journey to become parents, I've noticed the effect the amazing women in my life have had.  Become a mother is terrifying, no matter the route you take to become one.  I've started to think about it often.  How can I handle this? How can I learn to put someone else before me at all times? How do I change my entire life? They say its mostly instinct, which I sure hope it is. Lucky for me, I have so many people and places to reach for help.  Not only do I have my Maw-Maw and Mother as amazing examples, There are so many others. My sister, my mother-in-law, and my friends who are already mom's are just some of the people I look up to.  No one is perfect, but from someone on the outside, thank you all for being examples and for being kick-butt women. You have no ideas how much your love, support, encouragement, and advice means to me.