Home Visit Complete

Another milestone on the exciting road to adopting our bambina in Georgia... We put the home visit behind us! Yahoo!

We have a new social worker, because our old social worker has retired. Although this is merely a home study update (not a brand-new home study), a home visit must still take place. (Thankfully, the multiple office visits and education are not required anew, so this is all much-simplified this time.)

The visit by Lynn, our social worker, took place on Monday, and also served as our first time meeting her. Needless to say, having a stranger come into one's home and ask personal questions about the children and parenting styles is not the most relaxing of visits. However, Lynn was friendly and kind and made the visit relatively comfortable—as comfortable as such stressful visits can be with six children.

For the first couple hours, the kids were on their best behavior. They chatted, they showed Lynn their rooms, they even showed off a little. And, they had a total field day, eating pumpkin bread with Lynn [gasp!] in the family room—something that's usually verbotten in our household. However, by Hour Three of the visit, things got a bit crazy. On the tour of the basement, I thought Lynn was going to have her toes run over by the whipping scooters. And on one additional trip upstairs, kids started jumping off their bunk beds! Crash, bang, DANGER! No, the kids aren't supposed to jump off their bunk beds, but how was Lynn to know? Talk about stressing me out! However, Lynn was extremely family-friendly and didn't seem daunted by the chaos that defines our household. Even so, by the time all was said and done, I was very happy to have the home study behind us.

Lynn closed her visit by stating that we clearly have "enough love and enough energy" to take on another baby.

Love, yes!
Energy...some days more so than others.

Nice to know we made a decent impression—despite the kids-hanging-on-chandeliers behavior by the end of the visit. (We don't actually have chandeliers, but you know what I mean.)

With the home visit behind us, we need only wait now for Lynn's written home study update. All our paperwork is complete, including fingerprints and references. So it's all in the hands of our capable social worker to complete the paperwork and send it off to An Open Door in Georgia. Once An Open Door has that paperwork in their hands, hopefully within the next week, we will be in a position to cruise down to Georgia and pick up Bambina at a moment's notice.

Last we heard, May 17th is the due date, and T and baby are both doing well. Nothing has changed on the Georgia front. If T desires that we do so, we will try to be present at roughly the time of birth or shortly thereafter. That will depend, of course, on how much notice we receive. But if an induction is scheduled, as was the case last time, an early arrival is very possible. With T's blessing, we do hope to be there within at least two days of the birth, so that the baby does not have to spend time in a foster home. All of that remains to be determined though as we wait for word from Georgia.

We are now the proud owners of a new van to replace the totaled Red Behemoth.  The new van could aptly be named the Black Behemouth in the fine tradition of its predecessor, but we prefer to call it The Secret Service Van. The SS Van will carry us in fine style to Georgia and back. If you spy a sleek black van, loaded with kids and far too much luggage, headed down the interstate between Wisconsin and Georgia in May, give us a wave.

It's hard to believe this due date is only three weeks away... Considering how long it takes me to pack for a week+ vacation for this family of eight/nine, I'd better get crackin'...

x2

And here I thought this blog was closed... Check out the new blog title...

We have amazing, exciting news:  Marguerite's birthmother is pregnant and is expecting a baby girl on May 17th. She has asked us to adopt the baby. Unbelievable! So exciting!

We learned this wonderful news several weeks ago, and we've been putting together our paperwork ever since then. All paperwork is now in the hands of both our local agency and the Georgia agency. Our home-study re-visit takes place a week from Monday. After that, we wait for the completed home study, and then we should be all set.

So, it looks like we will soon be Georgia-bound again, and Marguerite will have a biological sibling. Lucky Marguerite! Lucky Leones!

We are absolutely thrilled. What a blessing for all of us.

Final Post

I always intended for this blog to serve as a baby book for Marguerite, depicting the process that brought her to us and the milestones that took place on her road to becoming a Leone. This blog provides a story of Marguerite's adoption, the wonderful gift that we received when Marguerite was placed with us, and the great joy that we felt upon the finalization of her adoption.

With finalization behind us, it's now time to close this blog. From this point forward, Marguerite's milestones and smiles and adventures will be chronicled, together with those of her parents and siblings, at our family blog, Munchkins on the Path.

As for this blog, I am printing it in hardcover book format for Marguerite to cherish and enjoy as she grows older.

As I type this, Marguerite is eight months old and is standing unassisted. She has taken one step on her own, and she is "cruising" all over the place. She is bound to be an early walker! Marguerite has just popped her first tooth, and she eats solid finger-foods like there is no tomorrow. She entertains us and fills our lives with joy. I can't wait to see all the adventures life with Marguerite brings in the coming years.

We love you, dear daughter, Marguerite! This blog-book is a our gift to you.

Elizabeth & Marguerite

Julie Dahlen, our adoption social worker, with Marguerite.

Marguerite lookin' cool.

The Leone Family

Marguerite Jane Leone

Yesterday morning, Marguerite Jane's adoption was finalized. I can't tell you how blissfully happy we are.

The court date yesterday made legal what has been in our hearts for seven-and-a-half months:  Marguerite Jane is a Leone!

Marguerite is an integral part of our family, our beloved daughter, our adorable sister, and person without whom life would be terribly incomplete. Yesterday's court date just made all of that official.

Following the finalization in downtown Madison, we walked across the Capitol Square to enjoy a celebratory breakfast open house with bagels and fruit at Joe's firm. Marguerite was a little put off by all the unfamiliar faces oohing and ahhing over her. But she held her own in the presence of all those lawyers and finally fell asleep in my arms toward the end of the party.

Yesterday evening, we topped off our adoption celebration with a delicious dinner at a nearby Thai restaurant where we created something of a spectacle. Marguerite enjoyed gumming scallops and pad thai (and littering the floor with rice), while Joe and I busied ourselves catching water glasses bumped by little elbows. A memorable night, to be sure.

While Marguerite has been our baby daughter for more than seven months, there is nothing like the supreme satisfaction of knowing that no one can ever change that.

We love you, Marguerite Jane Leone! And we are so blessed to have you in our lives.

We were on the very top floor of the courthouse building.
The kids loved the view of the Madison isthmus.

This photo was snapped by the bailiff just moments after
Marguerite's adoption was finalized.
Pictured with us is Judge Fiedler, who gave teddy bears to all the kids.

Marguerite is all smiles after her important court date.

Look at me, Mom and Dad! I'm a Leone!

Getting ready to head across the Square to celebrate with Joe's colleagues.

Almost There!

Big news...

This Friday, we finalize Miss Marguerite Jane's adoption in court.

All eight Leones will be there with bells on. We're planning a celebratory day.

Counting down the hours until our sweet daughter is legally ensconced in her forever family...

Update from Our Social Worker

This is the email we received from our local (Wisconsin) social worker today.

We are getting so close to making Marguerite a legal Leone! As soon as Open Door in Georgia sends the below-mentioned documents, we can set the court date for finalization! Woo-hoo! 

In order to petition the court for an adoption date, I need two documents
from your agency: Marguerite's birth certificate and the termination of
parental rights (TPR) court paper work. I contacted your agency social
worker on Tuesday and let her know I'll be needing those documents. She said
a court hearing had been scheduled this week (I think for today) regarding
the birth father. After that court hearing is completed, she said she will
be able to send me the TPR court documents.

So please hold off scheduling the court date until I get those documents.
I'll let you know as soon as I receive them.

Post-Placement Visit #2

On Tuesday, we had our second (and presumably last) post-placement visit. Little Marguerite was wide awake and perky for the visit, crawling around on the floor and showing social worker David her stuff. It was a laid-back meeting where we sat and talked about Marguerite's development and her perfect fit in our family. David was impressed with her crawling and sitting skills. Miss Marguerite impresses us all!

At the end of the visit, David gave us the paperwork necessary to get the adoption finalized. We are legally eligible to finalize anytime after June 13th, although we have to wait for the paperwork shuffle between Georgia and Wisconsin. Once the paperwork is out of the way, we schedule a court date. On that day, Marguerite will be a Leone 100% officially. We cannot wait! She's been a Leone in our hearts, but it will be so nice for her to be a Leone on paper too.

Stay tuned for the announcement of the finalization date. So exciting!

Post-Placement Visit #1

Our first post-placement visit on Tuesday brought us one exciting step closer to legal finalization of Marguerite's adoption which should occur this summer.

The post-placement visit occurred over family breakfast while David, our new social worker (our old, much-loved social worker has left the practice—boo-hoo) asked us questions about bonding, attachment, and how Marguerite is fitting into our family. Of course, we had nothing but positive things to say as we gushed about our sweet Marguerite and how she's truly the perfect fit in our family.

Marguerite was quite smiley and content throughout the meeting. I think she liked David, and perhaps she even sensed the importance of this next milestone on her path to becoming legally a little Leone. Meanwhile, the five older kids kids ate their yogurt and granola. Thankfully, breakfast kept them all fairly occupied, thus preventing any major bounces-off-the-ceiling or heated debates over favorite Star Wars characters during our all-important meeting.

Joy of joys, we learned from David that, despite the "legal risk" situation surrounding Marguerite's adoption, we will be able to finalize in Wisconsin. Up to this point, we knew there was a chance that Georgia would require us to head back down there for finalization. Georgia is lovely, but there is no place like home.

Just one more post-placement visit, and then we get to schedule the court finalization date.

Three cheers for crossing off one more adoption milestone on our way to legal adoption of our sweetie!

From the Mouths of Babes

Five-year-old Andrew came up to me the other day and said he wanted to write a letter to Marguerite's birth mother. He asked if I'd please help him with the spelling.

This is his letter, straight from his lips to the page.

I cried.

And I couldn't have said it any better.

 

 

We have received so many wonderful, thoughtful, beautiful cards, sentiments, and gifts since Marguerite's arrival. We are ever so grateful.

However, one card that arrived in yesterday's mail bears special mention.

It was a card from Elizabeth Cavanaugh, the dear woman who cared for our children in Georgia while we were busy meeting Marguerite and Temple at the hospital. When we "came home" with Marguerite and introduced her to her siblings, it was the Cavanaugh home that we "came home" to.

The Cavanaughs will always hold an incredibly special place in our hearts for providing not only a home away from home, but a real sense of family in Georgia during a very special time in our lives.

Elizabeth's card read as follows:

Dear Marguerite, 

I hope and pray that you may always know how much God loves you. He has blessed you with two mothers, that you may have life and have it abundantly as He promised. May you always seek to know, love, and serve God. 

It has been such an honor to have gotten to meet you at the beginning of your wonderful journey. I made this rosary for you in honor of your Baptism and initiation into the Catholic Faith. May it remind you of the love of your Georgia family.

God bless,
Elizabeth & family

The note brought tears to my eyes, thinking of the family in Georgia who opened their hearts, giving us the loving space of their home for our first "homecoming" moments with Marguerite.

Enclosed in the package was the most beautiful white rosary, handmade by Elizabeth.

God bless the Cavanaughs. We'll always consider them our (and especially Marguerite's!) Georgia family.

Marguerite's Adoption Video

I created a fifteen-minute video, chronicling Marguerite's adoption.

If you would like to view it, you can do so by clicking on the following link.

The video is password-protected for friends and family only. Please email me for the password.


You can choose to download the video to your desktop and view it using quicktime at a later time.

Or you can stream the video. To do so, you'll need to wait until the video fully loads before you can stream it without pauses in the video. This could take a little while, depending on your connection.

When you're ready to view it, be sure to turn up your speakers!

Enjoy!

From Georgia to Wisconsin: A Love Story

Dear Sweet Marguerite

The following poem was written by eleven-year-old Kathleen, Marguerite's big sister:

Marguerite
By Kathleen Leone

I have a baby sister,
Her name is Marguerite,
Her middle name is Jane,
And she’s very, very sweet.

I love her when she’s happy,
I love her when she’s sad,
I even love her when
She’s very, very, very mad.

I love her when she eats,
I love her when she sleeps,
I love her when she spits up,
In great, big heaps.

All together she is wonderful,
She’s very, very sweet,
I love her greatly day and night,
Dear, sweet Marguerite.

I Baptize You in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...

Marguerite Jane was baptized today...

-- on her sixteenth day of life
-- on her fourteenth day with the Leones
-- on her seventh day in Wisconsin
-- and after already having made one long journey from Georgia to Wisconsin

Marguerite's Godparents are our wonderful friends—the couple who inspired us to adopt domestically.

Marguerite and her Godparents' son also have a special connection: They both came to their forever families through An Open Door adoption agency in Georgia.

Marguerite couldn't have done better in the Godparent department.

Another Milestone, Just in Time for Christmas

Last night, Joe and I were up late watching the hours and minutes move us ever closer to midnight, Georgia time. The reason? Last night at midnight marked the end of the adoption revocation period. Translation: Marguerite is now a little Leone!

Okay, so the "Leone" part is not quite legal yet. We have two more post-placement visits by our social worker, and the finalization paperwork still has to be completed. But we are assured there is nothing now that is going to prevent Marguerite from growing up a little Leone.

Now that's what I call one great Christmas! A little happy dance at the Leone house on Christmas Eve...

Marguerite herself looks pretty happy to boot! :)

Home Sweet Home

As of about 5:00 pm last night, Baby Marguerite and her tired, but adoring Leone fan club arrived home in good ol' Wisconsin. Marguerite slept well last night, and so did we. Okay, let me rephrase: We collapsed. So much uncertainty initially, then so much joy, and then a long trek with a newborn took it's toll. We were quite emotional as we drove down the driveway last night to start a new life with Marguerite here at home, and sleep was a very, very good thing.

I think Marguerite is going to like being a Wisconsin girl. And we are very pleased to have our peanut home on time for Christmas.

And now we gear up for the birthday of Baby Jesus. We have so many reasons to celebrate during this joyous season...

Going Home!

I am thrilled to report that the Leones received ICPC clearance today and are headed home to Wisconsin. Say it with me: WOO-HOO!

We are on the interstate somewhere between Savannah and Macon, heading north. It's time to introduce our Georgia peach, Marguerite, to the land of cows and cheese. We are excited to return to a normal rhythm back home. And, amazingly, we are going to celebrate Marguerite's first Christmas in Wisconsin. Somehow, we weren't so sure it was going to all work out that way. What a bonus!

Since this blog was created as something of a baby book, chronicling the adoption journey and the many ups, downs, and important dates on the way to adopting Marguerite, I will keep it active until finalization of the adoption (about six months from now). But as we return home, most of our regular non-adoption-specific blog updates will take place on our Munchkin Family blog (where there will eventually be a few cross-posts regarding Marguerite's birth and adoption). With any luck, I'll have our regular family blog back up-to-date within a week or so.

Homeward-bound is a very good orientation for this tired, happy family of eight.

Where We Are (Paperwork-Wise) and When We Can Go Home

Many have asked why we are still in Georgia and not already Wisconsin-bound. I thought it would be a good idea to answer that question and document the ICPC process for this blog-style baby book.

Marguerite was born on Friday, December 11th. Her birthmother signed surrenders, and we received placement on Sunday, December 13th. ICPC paperwork generally begins on the first business day after the adoptive parents take placement. So that means our ICPC paperwork started on Monday, December 14th.

Here is a description of the ICPC process from adoption.com:
Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC): An interstate compact, or agreement, that has been enacted into law by all 50 states in the United States, and the District of Columbia, which controls the lawful movement of children from one state to another for the purposes of adoption. Both the originating state, where the child is born, and the receiving state, where the adoptive parents live and where the adoption of the child will take place, must approve the child's movement in writing before the child can legally leave the originating state. This Compact regulates the interstate movement of both foster children and adoptive children.

Until we are cleared by both the originating state (Georgia) and the receiving state (Wisconsin), we cannot leave the state of Marguerite's birth. Thus, we can travel anywhere within Georgia, but we cannot cross the state line. (To do so, could result in felony and kidnapping charges.)

This afteroon, we received a call from the adoption agency, stating that our Georgia paperwork had cleared, and it was overnighted today to the Wisconsin ICPC office. That means that Wisconsin will be in receipt of our paperwork tomorrow (Friday) morning. It is not out of the realm of possibility that Wisconsin could start and finish their end of the paperwork in one day, and we could get the green light to start heading home tomorrow night. In that event, the earliest we'd likely be home would be Sunday, as we are driving the big ol' van with SIX kids.

If we have to wait until Monday for clearance (fairly likely, I think), we'll be driving Tuesday and maybe Wednesday, but we still should make it home before Christmas, barring any bad weather.

If we get clearance tomorrow (Friday, the 18th), the ICPC process will have taken just five days which would be amazing. If it takes until Monday or Tuesday, I think that would be more typical. I commonly hear people say that you should expect to be in the state for 7-14 days after an adoption. But we're fortunate in that Georgia and Wisconsin have reputations for being fast ICPC states.

I can't tell you how antsy we all are to get home, lovely as Georgia is.

One other thing that bears mentioning: The birth mother has a ten-day revocation window. Those ten days begin to run from the day that she signed surrenders (Sunday). Counting it out, that means that next Wednesday, December 23, we are free and clear, knowing she cannot change her mind. We have received reassuring phone calls from the social worker over the last couple days, stating that all is well and that she feels comfortable advising us to start for home, even before the ten day revocation period is up. Even so, it'll be a little nerve-wracking for the next few days until Wednesday comes and goes. I can't begin to tell you how attached we already are to Sweet Marguerite.

And now, for some cutie-patootie photos of Marguerite on her sixth day of life...

Thanks to Marguerite...

We're vacationing in a big way, and it's all thanks to our little Georgia peach, Marguerite.

Marguerite helped William celebrate his 9th birthday in Savannah, complete with magic kit:


Marguerite is responsible for the Leones' magical tour of Savannah yesterday:



Marguerite is the reason that William ended up at Leopold's (ice cream shop) of Savannah for birthday treats:




Marguerite's presence gave Joe the excuse he needed to learn how to wear a moby wrap. That's one cool dad with the cozy baby:



Marguerite led us across the causeway for a visit to Fort Pulaski today:



Marguerite accompanied us to Tybee Island today where we visited the ocean (and where Elizabeth broke out her winter coat - brrr!):




And Sweet Marguerite is the reason that tonight's dinner consisted of a mound of shellfish at the Tybee Island Crab Shack:


Thanks, Marguerite! You can escort us down to the state of your birth any time!

Vacationing in Savannah

The arrival of Marguerite brings the opportunity for the Leones to enjoy a balmy winter vacation in Savannah, Georgia.