Oh Lizzie and Enzo. I am so thankful that God chose me to be your Mommy. I know it’s still hard to understand why you couldn’t grow in my belly. You both are even more special than that. You grew not just in my heart, but in your Daddy’s and Kuya Ethan’s too. You’ve made our family complete.
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Click here to view the Ormeo’s Thank-full 2011 edition
Click here to view the Ormeo’s Thanksgiving Challenge 2009 edition
Six years ago this month we embarked on a journey that we couldn’t even begin to imagine. It’s been a crazy and sometimes disheartening road, but in the end…God is good!
It’s been 4 years since Enzo’s been official. Happy ‘Ormeo’ Day!
Repost from July 5th, 2007:
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Today is a new beginning for the Ormeo Family. Enzo is officially an Ormeo!
We’re done! woohoo! *yay* Thank for you Lord, I can’t believe we’re done and we can just be a normal family. No more workers, no more home visits, no more paper work…at least until the next one. *wink*
It’s been a long time since we started praying for another child. Nine years. But it’s been two years since we first told our families about our desire to adopt. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined my family this way.
When we first got married I always said I wanted to adopt, but I never thought it would happen. I remember searching on the internet about adoptions and it would always be about international adoptions and high costs and no guarantees. There was no way in my mind that we would even get close to that. Years later, here we are. When God has plans, He just drops them in your lap.
The actual court hearing was so short but being put on the spot and having to answer a bunch of questions, made it feel like it was never gonna end. The attorney and the judge were both really nice, and it was very laid back. It wasn’t as intimidating as I had imagined. But what was I expecting? They wanted the finalization to happen just as much as we did.
People say Enzo’s lucky to have a family like us. But really it’s the other way around, we’re lucky to have another son. We’ve been tremendously blessed with Enzo and we all know we don’t deserve him. But God is good, and gives good things to his children…
So here we are…welcome to the family, Enzo Jacob Ormeo.
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Click the 10 links above to follow our journey leading to Enzo or just click on the “adoption” tag on the top right side of the blog to read about adoption journey.
[2008]
Lizzie was telling someone about Mama Michele today. They asked her about missing her foster mom…Lizzie had this confused look on her face and she said “She’s not my foster mom, she’s my Mama Michele.”
We don’t usually do the whole ‘New Year Resolution’ spill because why wait till Jan 1st to make goals for your family when you can do it whenever? This year we decided to be a rebel and actually came up with one. Just one. Before I go into my…our…only resolution for 2010, let me just say that adoption has been one of the greatest blessings in our family.
In 2005 and 2006, we started the tedious and roller coaster process of adoption. Since then, it has been a crazy journey!
In 2007, we were blessed with the second addition to our family. While the waiting and visiting process was long, 92 days after Enzo moved in, we finalized his adoption!
A few months after finalizing Enzo’s adoption, we started all over again, this time with the third addition to our family, Lizzie, in 2008. To our surprise, even though there were so many more details to attend to, she was ready to come home! Lizzie’s waiting and visitation process only lasted a month or so. But then came the nurses, social workers, phone calls, doctor visits, therapies, social workers, adoption subsidy negotiations, medical equipment/supplies and just too many adults in my home that took away from our privacy. the road has been LONG. It took 11 (LONG) months till we finalized Lizzie’s adoption. Did I mention it took forever???
With all that said, our one and only resolution for 2010 is…
…to stay off the adoption circuit and away from social workers. Hope that doesn’t come out wrong. But this will be the first year we can focus on just being a family without all the ‘stuff’ in between.
2010 New Year’s Resolution: No paperwork. No social workers. No out of town visitations. Just be a normal family. =)
If you read this post before then, please pray…God knows our needs (and wants) in this situation and He already knows how it will play out. Pray that we look past what’s in front of us because it really doesn’t matter how large or small the hurdles or impossiblities look, God will move them regardless. Yes, no, maybe so…
But even knowing that, I’m still nervous. I shouldn’t be, so this worry is crazy anyway. So, 10am EST just pray…don’t ask just pray please.
Oooh that reminds me of that FFH song (it’s by FFH right?)
Lord move in the way, that I’ve never seen before
Cause there’s a mountain in the way and a lock on the door
I’m drifting away, waves are crashing on the shore
So Lord move (move), or move me.
***Update: Time has been changed to 2:30pm EST
As we’re driving down Normandy Blvd on Saturday night, I spot a church sign in passing:
“If God leads you to it, He’ll get you through it”
C’mon now, 9:30pm on a Saturday night, just as I am stressing and worrying about things I can’t figure out. Guess God just needs me to stop trying to figure things out.
You know how when you’re much much younger (esp in the rebellious teen years, don’t deny it because you know you’ve had that moment at least once), mainly in the most heated and stubborn times, you think how different you will do things and how you’re not going to be like your mother (or father).
I never imagined how God would work out my family dynamics and how our lives are so different than what we envision it to be when we first got married almost 12 years ago. I never imagined how God would change my heart on issues that affect our family dynamics (trust me, if God would have showed me this picture 12 years ago, I really would have laughed – or maybe be mad, I don’t know).
Really, I’m still in shock at the possibilities I’m actually open to and how excited (but yet terrified) I am at how much God has changed our family and the anticipation of what lies beyond what I can see for my family.
This weekend has been an eye opener for me. I’ve come to the realization that I’ve turned into my mother, and it’s not such a bad thing =)
PS. Now that I’m much older (and wiser, I hope) and well out of my teenage rebellion years, I can only hope that I can even come remotely close to becoming like my Mom.
Almost there Lizzy! Enzo, just hold tight sweet boy, I promise it will be ok…
Yes Lizzy, 2 more sleeps… =)
PS…I stole this picture from Anna. She still looks small even though this is from January 2009.
This photo is from March 2008, my how much she has grown! Everyday after school, as soon as she walks in the door, she counts how many sleeps till she’s officially an Ormeo.
3 more sleeps! She’s so unbelievably excited.
We really have under estimated what she understands about adoption and how much she really thinks about. She knows that the worker visits are for her (and has a tainted view of why they come). She’s very cautious about ‘forever’ and is still trying to figure out how permanent ‘forever’ is.
Don’t worry Lizzie, Friday – 8:45am is almost here!
