#1: "Go ahead and process these two."
#2: "Great! Thank you."
#3: "Enjoy the island."
#4: "THIS is American Idol."
Let me explain......
#1: "Go ahead and process these two."
Part of the wonderful paperwork involved in the adoption experience is filling out an "I800A". The REAL name of that document is "Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country." Geesh. Part of the process for this little puppy is to have your biometric fingerprints taken at an immigration office. Here's how it goes: WAIT for your application to be received at a Lockbox in Texas. WAIT for your application to then be sent to Missouri for initial screening. WAIT for them to send you a letter of receipt. WAIT for them to send you an appointment to have your biometric fingerprints taken. WAIT for your biometrics date to arrive. Have your fingerprints taken. WAIT for them to approve your fingerprints. WAIT on your final Immigration Approval.
Yep. Fun stuff. You see all that waiting? Yuck. Timeline estimation: 2-3 MONTHS. Mega yuck.
So, I was elated when our waiting time began to evaporate as things started showing up in our mailbox VERY quickly. Our fingerprint appointment letter came on July 30. Date of appointment given to us by Homeland Security: August 9. Problem was, we were going to be slightly out of town on that date (see number 3 above).... so we decided to try our luck and show up at the Office of Immigration in Birmingham 10 days early.
They don't like that.
The guard (who was actually very sweet) was EXTREMELY perplexed about whether or not to let us in. I told Joe not to worry.... let me do all the talking..... so I started talking..... and the guard..... got up and walked off. I did not have a good feeling and am fairly certain that I started to cry. And I knew that since we couldn't make the August 9 date, they would give us one even later.... and that would run into school starting and I'd have to get an even LATER fingerprint date so I wouldn't miss a day in the first week of school....and all of that would put us a WHOLE MONTH behind on our process. I'm pretty sure I mentioned most of this to the guard. Anyhoo..... he quietly handed us each a clipboard and told us to sit down and fill it out. I WAS SO HAPPY!
BUT... then the guy who runs the office came over and demanded to know from the security guard if any of these people (there were about three people total in that office) were WALK-INS??? Joe and I tucked our heads and started writing faster. The security guard just pointed at us. Joe quickly jumped up, grabbed my clipboard, and announced that we were done (I don't think I was....) with our paperwork and ready for fingerprints. And then the office manager said it.... SIX of the loveliest words ever spoken.....
GO AHEAD AND PROCESS THESE TWO.
Yes. Thank you, sir. You just brought us a month closer to Mary Powell!!!! Immigration Approval. CHECK.
#2: "Great. Thank you."
Have I mentioned that I met and had a conversation with Barry Manilow? Indeed. Since many of you have already seen the now-infamous video (see previous blog post), I'll give you the short version:
1. Joe forgets to book a hotel room in Nashville for our weekend seeing Barry Manilow.
2. Mikki hops on Expedia and snags a room at the Hutton Hotel. Never heard of it. Cheap room. Don't care.
3. We arrive at the Hutton. SWANKY. Score one for Expedia.
4. We hop in the complimentary shuttle to the Barry Manilow concert. The driver asks who we're in town to see. The driver has never heard of Barry Manilow. I decide now to tune out anything else the driver says because I realize that we can never be friends if he doesn't know Barry. But I do hear him mention something about BARRY MANILOW STAYING IN OUR HOTEL!!!
5. I beg Joe to let us come back immediately after the concert and wait in the lobby for the small chance that we might catch a glimpse of Barry.
6. Joe says no.
7. We enjoy a wonderful concert.....really..... WONDERFUL.... Barry's totally still got it. Then we go eat at Merchant's in downtown Nashville.
8. We hop in a cab around 10:15 and head back to our swanky digs.
ALERT: IT IS ABOUT TO GET GOOD.
9. I begin to notice things: There are SEVERAL guys in black suits with earpieces scattered around the area, the elevator door to the PENTHOUSE is open with a guard standing in the doorway, all of the hotel staff are standing and silent, there is NO ONE else anywhere around. You could cut the tension with a knife.
10. I tell Joe that Barry is near.
11. We parade right in that lobby (where is is absolutely SILENT) and sit down on the couches near the elevator. (We are the only people not standing and the only people not dressed totally in black.) (We are also the only people who are unbelievably giddy with the thought that they're about to meet Barry Manilow.) (The black suits MIGHT have been staring at us.)
12. I tell Joe to get ready.
13. And then, as if in a dream, Barry Manilow walks into the Hutton Hotel. I get very nervous. I don't know what to do! Should I run up to him to get my picture made? Should I hug him? Should I ask for an autograph? What does one do when they encounter Barry Manilow?
14. I opt for the calm scenario. I stay in my seat, but quietly applaud him as he walks through. I want him to know that I'm a fan, so I wave my Barry Manilow cup at him (it has my new Copacabana shirt rolled up in it and my hot pink glowsticks from the concert are hanging out the top). I tell him how we enjoyed the concert SO MUCH.
And then Barry speaks. He says..... "Great. Thank you."
Three words. So fabulous.
Here is the moment again, in case you missed it..... and because it's soooo goooood......
Here is the moment again, in case you missed it..... and because it's soooo goooood......
#3: "Enjoy the island."
The Powell family enjoys Disney. Not just Disney WORLD or Disney MOVIES or Disney ON ICE or Disney CHANNEL..... We enjoy ALL THINGS DISNEY.
So, before little Mary comes to join us and we all hunker down at 6 Hickory Forest and work on bonding/attachment and other adoption-related issues and possibly not leave the house for months, we decided to take one final BIG trip as a family of four.
We went on a DISNEY CRUISE, baby!
And. It. Was. Magical.
The food.
The shows.
The ocean.
The Aqua-Duck.
The 24 hour coke station.
The all-day showings of classic Disney films on the big screen outside.
The bedtime turn-down service.
The characters roaming about.
The ice cream station.
The Disney trivia.
We had a marvelous time. It was good for us all to be unplugged (from Facebook, Internet, email, etc.) and to just enjoy spending time together. We had the boys all checked in at the teenagery spot where they could go and "hang out", but they preferred to be with us..... and we liked that just fine.
The service on the Disney Dream is absolutely impeccable. From the cruise director to the room hosts to the servers at dinner to the entertainment gurus..... they took BE OUR GUEST to a whole new level.
And it couldn't have come at a better time. This August we find ourselves plugging along through the adoption process (sigh...) and preparing for another person to join our family (can't wait!), beginning another year of school, continuing the daily commute to Birmingham, participating in multiple orchestras or private music lessons...... along with all the other pressures and expectations and responsibilities of life.
So, it was SO NICE to just relax and have fun.
My three new favorite magical words, which we heard every day for a week: "Enjoy the island."
#4: "THIS is American Idol."
As a final "squeeze every single moment you can out of summer" event, the boys and I went with Mudger, Aunt Paige, and cousins Will and Josh to the American Idol Top Ten Concert in Nashville. This was the boys' first concert ever and it was GREAT! All of our favorite idols sang all of our favorite songs.... Phillip Phillips: HOME. Jessica Sanches: PROUD MARY. Joshua Ledet: RUNAWAY BABY. Plus there was Heidi, Colton, Skylar, Elise, Heejun..... really great night.
And FREE with our American Idol admission was the little show going on right in front of us. More people were videoing this guy more than they were the concert itself. I bet it's fun to be his friend.
Well, that about sums it up. Summer. Goooooooood. We have now officially entered the scheduled days of another school year. And that's good, too.
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