Adoption Portfolio

We turned in our portfolio the beginning of this month! This assignment ended up taking much longer then we had anticipated and may have been one of the challenging tasks we have had to do thus far. 

A portfolio is what agencies hand to birth parents as a first view option. This is something the adoption parents create that shows pictures and fun details about their lives. Picture a young girl, sitting on the floor of her room with five different booklets (portfolios)...some tossed aside and some opened up to specific pages that resonate with her. She is working through one of the biggest decision of her life and these booklets are her first link into how her future may transform. Ultimately, our portfolio is a glimpse into our life and we hope that the portfolio will give a warm picture of who we are as a family. For us, we pray that our portfolio resonates with our birth family and they easily are able to see a future with us. 

For the design of our portfolio our agency asked for specifics. These were listed neatly on a piece of paper for us to study. Some examples: size needed to be 8x10 and the book could not be bind at the seam. Because of these specifics, we had to get creative with the design. I couldn't use snapfish or other book printing websites because they didn't really offer options to print the pages separately. I was on the hunt for a folder to hold our creation and I wanted something that resembled that thing we used in elementary school to turn in our reports on volcanoes or a book report...do you remember? Below is what we ended up using and I loved how it turned out.  I found these on-line with Office Dept. They were a reasonable price and were delivered to us very quickly. With this folder choice we had the ability to slide pages in and out and move or adjust the layout.

This is our portfolio cover page.

We did hit a small road block, we had to come up with a tool for our page designs. Whenever roadblocks like this emerge, I usually call on Nolan (my computer genius). He put together something through the gmail presentation app. With this option, both of us could log into the application at the same time from different computers. We could work together and see each other typing. It was fantastic! Because the final product needed to reflect our relationship and life...what better way then to work on this thing together like this. It was also a nifty resource because Nolan travels a lot and we could make changes and work together from afar. We would set up date nights to work on our portfolio...he would be sitting in his hotel room and I on our couch and we would work through the details together. 

Questionnaires were provided to us from our agency. These questionnaires prompt responses from us that shed a small spotlight on different topics. Like: Insight into our personalities--are you more of an introvert or extrovert with a number rating scale. 

Questionnaire 

The most difficult addition to our portfolio, was our letter to the birth parents.  This letter had specific requirements from the agency as well. Some of these requirements include: both parents needed to write a separate letter and the note needed to be one complete page normal font. I gotta say that I had such a difficult time writing this letter. Putting my thoughts and emotions into words and writing them down on paper was what made this so difficult. In my mind, I could not process how to begin a letter to someone we have not met yet. Someone who we hope to soon meet. Someone who, through her choice, could dramatically alter our home and hers. Someone who I already have so much love and adoration for that as I would sit to write tears would start to pour down my face and all I would end up doing is praying for her. I did finally write a letter and so did Nolan.

Letter to Birth Parents

The section of the portfolio that took up the most pages consist of our pictures. Here we chose pictures that are a good reflection of us. For example, Nolan had a killer mustache for most ALL of last year. Because its not his normal look we wanted to make sure to choose pictures that reflected his many stylish ways. We also wanted to make sure that pictures were of head shots, that they were clear and told our story. 

Here is what we came up with:

Family Section

For our family section, we would loved to have been able to add pictures of our extended family as well as the immediate family but didn't really have any recent big group pictures to select from. We are happy with the pictures selected here and super excited that the then Miss. Jenny and now Mrs. Jenny could be represented in the family photo.

Friends Section

Nolan and I have a motto: people we just meet quickly become our friends and friends quickly turn into family! So many friends and families that we surround ourselves with here in Nashville, have extended family living in different states. So...when holidays, celebrations or even hard times arise we choose to do life together and love doing so.  The pictures we choose for this section show families that have come to visit from afar and families we do life with every day.

A section on Nolan and I and our Home

For these two sections, we wanted to show some pictures of us giving a little insight into how we met and who we are. Nolan and I really do have big fat crushes on each other. The home section was a portfolio request from the agencies. We needed to show a picture of our home. In these pictures we needed to make sure that our address was not visible. I conveniently placed all of our many pets in the picture to show what all our home has to offer.

A section sharing things we LOVE

Nolan and I have always enjoyed taking adventures. For us life is one big adventure. With this page we wanted to reflect that the adventure will continue as our family grows. Then there was a music section - most of you already know that this is a huge part of our life. Because this is what Nolan does as a living we needed a page to reflect the uniqueness of what he does.

If any of you are thinking about adoption or are currently going through the adoption process, putting together a portfolio is a very big step.  Here are some tips I learned through this process.

Tips for a successful portfolio:

• Understand all the expectations for portfolio design, needed additions, and overall look from your agency before you start the creation. 
• Choose current pictures or at least several pictures that are within a few years time. The pictures need to reflect what you look like now...not when you were in high school.
• Take the time to stage picture's if you need to.  We live in a different state from most of our family, so getting specific pictures highlighting important people could have been difficult. Planning a trip into town and hosting a small party and inviting all these important people too, was going to be our plan. We were also going to invite our friend/professional photographer to come and snap shots of all who attended the party. Thankfully everyone we requested pictures from sent us so many amazing photo's, that we had more than enough to choose from (thank you)!
• Don't write long captions for your photos! Choose photo's that tell a story and then simply highlight details in the caption. You want the photo to be the highlight, not the caption.
• Ultimately, the portfolio needs to be a reflection of the couple. We wanted to pick subject that we cared about: Family, Friends, Our Relationship/Story, Adventures, Home and Music. Having these subjects helped us when choosing pictures. 
• Choose pictures that DO NOT reveal personal information: addresses, last names, anything that will give too much lead into your life. Guard yourself and those you choose to feature in your story. Many eyes will potentially scan your portfolio pages (its now on the internet for crying out loud) you want it to be intimate but not too revealing. There is a proper place and time to start revealing details of your personal life. 
• Have more then one/two sets of eyes look over your portfolio for spelling, revealing personal information and just advice. Most all agencies, would love to help you with this process and offer services to look over your drafts. It would be horrible to spend the money to print out pages only to realize something was misspelled.
• Save a copy for your own records. Keep one for the books and add it to your futures child's box of resources. This step is very important for us, we want our children to know all of the unique details of their journey.

We are thrilled that this step in our adoption journey has been completed. We are happy with how it turned out. Now we wait patiently and pray for that special someone to choose us. 

let it begin...

 

sewing project

I thought I would share this fun project with y'all. Have you ever heard of a quiet time book? I hadn't either, until the mother I Nanny for began talking about her interest in getting one for her daughter. They are taking a trip within a few weeks and she felt it would be perfect for the plane ride. She was showing me an etsy shop that she loved: SweetJuicyApril. I was checking out the site and thinking...I can totally do this no problem. So I gave it a shot and here is what I came up with.

Please know that I took most of my inspiration and lead from the etsy sight I referenced above, I do however, have to be original and feel the end product was a success.

Here it is:

Cover page

Most all of the book is made out of felt pieces. I have lots of scrap materials such as buttons, ribbon, inlays and other fun options that I used as texture pieces throughout the pages. Above, is the cover page, featuring her name. I used mettle circle clamps to hold the pages together.

Page One

This page I took direction from, SweetJuicyApril. This is the design that was referenced as a favorite from the etsy page, so I had to try to make it. I of course had to make some of it my own design. I added the ability for the mailbox to open. You pull on the black tab and the flap folds down. The fun letter can then be stuffed inside and pulled out. It's held to the page by a fun string detail piece.

Page Two

How cute is this little dinosaur. On this page, the dots can be counted and a little felt piece representing a leaf, can be fed to the dinosaur. The leaf can be stored in a little pocket as part of the tree when not in use.

Page Three

This page is quite simple. I just added some of my fringe detailing I had extra of. These can be touched and or counted.

Page Four

                      Knock...Knock...Knock....

Page Four

I adore this page. The door opens to a sweet girl waving hello.

Page Five

Everyone loves to smell the flowers...even the little bee. The bee is connected by a fun string detail and can be stored in a pocket located in the vase when not using.

Page Six

A little underwater scene! The friendly octopus has fun little balls that can be counted. I used a hot glue gun to attach all of the white fluff balls. This is the only page that I used a hot glue gun.  My sewing machine and some hand stitching did most of the work.

The book consists of six pages total and is tied together by ribbon to keep secure. Because its felt it weighs hardly anything and can be rolled up and crammed into a carry on bag. 

I had so much fun making this book. I believe sweet Abby is going to be very entertained with her quiet book for her first plane flight. 

let it begin...

Starting out 2015 with a CELEBRATION

The month of January has just ended and leaves us with hearts full! Nolan's brother Danny and the girl of his dreams Jenny, were married January 10, 2015.

Weddings are always a special celebration. For the Rossi family this celebrations in particular was a grand release, over the past several years we have had much sorrow in family.  Starting off this new year with the a most wonderful celebration is a way to usher in a season of joy and happiness.

I had the honor of spending the week prior to the wedding with Jenny. She was such a joy to be around and we had so much fun working on each and every tiny detail for her special day. All of the decorations she choose were brightly coordinated and a perfect reflecting her cheerful longing for wedding bliss. The couple choose a Wes Anderson (he is a movie director) themed wedding and decorations had a crafty reflection of his unique style. Guests dressed in character and attire from  favorite movies. Danny had his suit bespoke for him with the charm of a Wes Anderson's style. Jenny looked breath taking in her stunning wedding gown.

The ceremony was designed by Danny. Every special part of the ceremony was craft-fully a reflection of the special love the couple share for each other. He wrote the most amazing song for Jenny and this song played as she walked down the isle. As she entered the room every eye full of happy tears and she walked half way down the isle where Danny met her. He gently kissed and took her hand to walk her the rest of the way to the alter. There were a few very special men in Danny's life who played a part in this ceremony, they brought laughter, tears and the Holy Spirit. Danny's brother Bryon actually married the two and announced them as HUSBAND & WIFE.

The reception was nothing but one big celebration!!! The wedding cake was hand made by Jenny's mother with a soft blue icing color. The cake toper had a porcelain wolf bride and wookie groom and this matched the couples personalities to a tea. The maid of honor, Jenny's best friend gave the most beautiful toast and the wedding party raised juice boxes paying tribute to "The Fantastic Mr. Fox", Jenny's favorite movie.

Danny's bestman (Nolan) may have given the most epic toast ever....EVER (I may be a little bias). He began his toast with a sweat heart felt, hold back the tears, few words and then moved into the most epic display of creativity following the theme of Wes Anderson. Let me just show you and you can decide. Click on this link to watch his video toast.

How epic is that video and that mustache!

Anyway, the reception was filled with love and joy! The couples first dance was sung by one of the bride mades and close friend as another good friend played guitar, it was perfect. Once the dance floor was open guests danced the night away. Danny and Jenny Rossi are loved and adored! It was an
amazing celebration.

To Jenny and Danny....let it begin

eye of the storm

Let me start off by saying that I hope each and every one of you had a very Merry Christmas!! I hope your Christmas season was filled with love, peace and joy.

I believe that Christmas is a time of reflection and rejoicing, the Son of God, our savior, born of the Virgin Mary, was swaddled and laid in a manger.  Jesus came to us as a sweet helpless baby. He stepped into darkness to bring light, hope and peace. I love that each year surrounded by loving family and friends I am able to reflect on this.

I don't know about y'all but my life has been absolutely crazy these last two months before 2014 comes to an end. We have had one crazy adventure after the next. November was a whirlwind with Nolan's tour ending and me traveling for work. As December began, we took on some home renovations in prep for our home study. By the way, our home study was fantastic. We laughed, Baxter made a new friend, we got everything organized and were able to show off our adored home. It was a success and we should have everything completed by the first of the year. Once our report is completed we can adopt anytime!!! Okay back to my crazy life rant: We had a short trip to Texas and then traveled to Michigan for the holiday. The first week of January is Danny and Jenny's big wedding that we are so excited for. One crazy adventure after another wonderful amazing crazy adventure has kept us very busy.

The reason I bring up our craziness, is because I have felt like things have been moving way too fast. It's been moving so fast that I have been unable to truly enjoy each and every adventure. They have each meshed into one colorful blur. I totally understand that we are in a beautiful season of change and expectation...BUT lately I have needed to constantly remind myself to breath and slow down. It's in stillness that I can reflect and send prayers of thanksgiving for each adventure.

I had a very interesting adventure happen to me earlier this month. For many months, I have had an overwhelming desire to slow myself down reflect and study my core belief in God. I have wanted to set aside time each day to journal and read/study. I have crazy cool ideas like this all the time but most ideas come to me hot and ready but fizzle out quickly. Things like, "I should work out each and everyday"...or "maybe I need to start running three miles, three times a week"...or "I should mop my floors twice a week"...or "I should make soup twice a week...okay maybe once a week". My point is that some of these things happen and become a habit, some I make a compromise with myself, and some I forget about the next day. But some tweak at my heart and I can't turn the light bulb off. Wanting to journal and study, setting aside time each day for quiet time, has been one of these thoughts. Okay now that the back story is set let me tell you about the adventure.

Nolan's beautiful Aunt Roberta passed December 7th. This news came suddenly and knocked the family to our knees. Nolan and I flew out to Texas the day after our home study to be with family. At the funeral I meet sweet Jeanne. She is an older woman, probably in her late seventies. I could see right away that she loved following Jesus and served the Church where Nolan's Aunt and Uncle attended. I knew through stories that she had taken Nolan's Aunt and Uncle under her wing and loved them very much. She hunched over when she walked, loved to hug everyone and had the most amazing crystal blue eyes...the kind that could see right through you and tug at your heart. Anyway, her and I got to talking and as she was hugging me she realized I was the niece who was in the midst of adoption. She hugged me tighter and whispered, "I have three adopted children and you are going to be an amazing mother...I can tell." Right then, I felt that tug on my heart as my hair follicles rose at the back of my neck and I hugged her tightly. She ended up coming to the dinner Uncle Al had planned for close family and friends at an Italian restaurant close by. As she walked in (arriving after everyone else) both our eyes locked and she smiled. As she walked behind me she plopped a book into my lap and kept on moving to go give Uncle Al a big hug and find a spot at his table. The title of the book: "My Life with Christ" Spiritual Meditations for the Modern Reader by Anthony J. Paone S.J. What a sweet gift from a sweet woman! I will probably never see her again. We might write however, as I did obey my mothers lesson and sent her a thank you note right away.

Here is the point of sharing this adventure with you: When I met Jeanne, my life was a crazy storm and I could hardly see straight. I felt like this moment...was the calm eye of my storm. It was a silent moment where everything instantly slowed down. I believe God has some things he wants me to mull over and organize in my big brain of mush. I believe he is wanting me to slow down and set aside time with him (just him) everyday. In my craziness, my prayer time becomes quick, as I fall asleep or non-existent. Its almost like life and its craziness has a way of drawing me away from my relationship with God. I have so many changes happening with me and in my life...I want to see God as the author of these things. I want to be able to see him and when life is crazy I sometimes I don't. I crave to be a woman like Jeanne. Someone who can see right into a person and allow God to work through her to help change peoples lives. Her hugs, words of encouragement, and gift was just what I needed in the time that I needed it. The book she plopped on my lap is now something that I hold in my hands. It's tangible and available. It's something I can choose to become dedicated to and I will. I plan to sit down with my journal and read through this book. Each day for the next 183 days, I plan to quietly read a short three paragraphs and maybe journal about how I feel about what I have read. I might even make myself a cup of tea. Most importantly, I will calm my heart...quiet my body and listen. Change is coming and I want to remember and enjoy every detail.

In Peace.

Let it begin...

Stacks of Paperwork

Paperwork is simply a part of the adoption process. The amount of information needed for this process is extensive and can truly be overwhelming both physically and emotionally.  Because we are working with Catholic Charities and Mercy Ministries we happen to have double the amount of paperwork...two stacks instead of one. 

Here are some tips on how I was able to navigate through our stacks of paperwork.

I have an overwhelming desire to organize things. This may be a blessing or a fault and I have yet to decipher which of the two. When it comes to our stacks of paperwork, being organized is very important. To keep myself organized I bought myself a handy portable file case.

 

My little traveling buddy

I like to color code things because it helps my mind easily decipher between important details. As you can see above I have orange and yellow file tabs...no reason behind the color choice other then it was the paper I had available when I was organizing my folders. The orange is associated with Mercy Ministries needs and the yellow references Catholic Charities.

I filed paperwork items based on things for myself to fill out and things Nolan needed fill out. I also filed based on finger prints, Doctors reports, reference letter requests, reading material, financials, fundraising and other topics. Lots of filing!

This little traveling buddy has come with us to all of our meetings with our counselor/agent and will be right by our side during our Homestudy visit. 

When I first started working through this paperwork work it was about five months ago. I remember being a little offended at first. I didn't like that we had to prove that we would be adequate parents. I felt like some of the requests asked a lot of us...blood work, finger prints, background checks. Its not that we have anything to hide...its just that if we were giving birth to a baby most of these things wouldn't need to be looked into. Why couldn't we just be like everyone else looking to start a family.

Thankfully I had years of experience licensing summer day camp programs and after school childcare facilities. With this experience I had stacks and stacks of paperwork as well. I put each and every one of my staff through rigorous interviews, background checks, fingerprinting and trainings. I had the children in my programs in mind when requesting this information from my staff. I wanted to make sure that anyone who worked for me was the best of the best...and they were. Because I had this experience it helped me to see our adoption stacks of paperwork from the perspective of Catholic Charities, Mercy Ministries and the State of Tennessee. They are looking out for the best interest of our future little blessing. They are wanting to find the best of the best...thankfully Nolan and I are just that :)

It has taken me about five months to fully complete our paperwork. Some of the items were more tedious then others (I'll save those details for another blog post). Its nice to look over at my completed paperwork and see that it is nicely organized and easily ready to display during our home study. Our home study is December 10th...only six days from now. I feel confident that we are ready and that our paperwork is completed the best it can be.

I ask now for thoughts and prayer as our home study date approaches. Please pray that we are able to relax and not get too anxious for and during this meeting. Please also pray that we have all of our paperwork completed and that we pass. We have an amazing counselor/agent and she is excited to come visit us and our home. Truly we are not nervous other then the fact that a home study is one of the final steps in the adoption process.

I'll update you on how it goes and talk to you more about what the home study was like and tips to make a home study a good experience.

let it begin

Nicole

National Adoption Awareness Month

 
This video features four woman who have worked with Mercy Ministries. 
Read below for more details as to why this is important to us. 
Francesca Battistelli - He Knows My Name (Official Video)

Do you know that the month of November is National Adoption Awareness Month!!

I'm excited to celebrate Adoption throughout the month by helping to bring awareness to adoption. National Adoption Awareness Month was created to help bring awareness to the Foster Care system. There are tens of thousands of children Nationally hoping for a permanent family.
The theme changes each year regarding a topic to highlight and this year the topic is "Promoting and Supporting Sibling Connections".
I found lots of wonderful information and resources on this website:
https://www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/nam/about/promoting.cfm

We are choosing to take part in a Domestic Adoption. With a Domestic Adoption we hope to be placed with a U.S. born infant by their birth parents, who choose an adoptive family (us) and legally consent to an adoption.

We are working with an Agency. Our agency will support, give resources, do our homestudy and helping to find interested parties. They will walk us through the entire experience.
Our Agency is Catholic Charities: www.cctenn.org

We are also working with Mercy Ministries. We absolutely fell in love with the mission behind Mercy. They have several homes across the country each supported solely by donations. Young girls and woman who are seeking freedom from tough issues, are able to find safety within these homes for a period of time.
Here is a video to watch. It features four woman who have experienced Mercy Ministries; they each tell their story.

Nolan and I are so incredibly excited for the path we are on. We are not sure of our end outcome but are so thankful to be able to Celebrate Adoption along the way. Please join us in Celebrating Adoption this month: I'll be continuing to ask questions, educating myself on proper lingo and preparation, sharing our story and talking about adoption. You can join me in these things as well.

Let it begin



 

The Gift of Creativity

We enjoy being creative with our home, It's a way that we are able to express ourselves. This space is filled with colorful hand sewn pillows, hand knit blankets, hand built furniture, along with many other unique family heirlooms.  Our home is a unique display of us. It makes us happy and we hope it makes guest feel welcomed and loved. It has been described once as something right out of a Wes Anderson film...and I'll take it!

This beautiful doilies was hand stitched by Nolan's Nonna.

It brings me joy to talk about our home---it's a reflection of us. My husband bleeds creativity. He can play most any instrument he decides on and can write a song in a snap. I on the other hand, only sing in the shower (for good reason) and can barely hold a guitar correctly, let alone get my fingers to work properly. What I can do is craft. I can paint, draw, sew, knit, cook...play...and in these things I can be creative. Creativity has truly gotten me through the last several years of my journey. Keeping my hands busy helps my mind relax. Being creative helps me to see Gods' beauty.

I worked for the YMCA for many years and loved every minute of it. At this job, I was able to be creative, have fun and work with children. When I was 18 years old and thought of my future career, all I wanted to be was a mother. Because this was my dream, most every job I picked was with this purpose in mind. In each of these jobs, I'd study skills for my future children and get creative in doing so.

We lived in Atlanta for a quick few years. During these years we made a few friends, learned how to live in a city and turned a chapter in our lives with the pursuit of our dreams: Nolan's dream as a producer and sound engineer, and mine as a mother. We moved to Nashville right as our dreams started to transform into reality. Like I said, Atlanta was just a quick visit. It helped us get our feet wet when it came to living outside of Michigan and family. Once we moved to Nashville, we were sure we could make it on our own, bought a home and put our roots down.

I love our red door.

Turning thirty was that magic number...the year I thought I should be a mom. I was so very sure then...I had a plan. Nolan and I got married when I was twenty seven, give us a few years to enjoy being married, then start a family. When I say it like this, it sounds like a perfect plan...right?! The thing is, my plans for life never quite work out the way I think they should. God had something completely different planned for me, but at thirty I just couldn't see it yet.

I have come so far these last several years. My views and expectations have completely changed. For a very long time, I lived in a constant state of longing. All I ever knew was the desire to have a child and to be a mother. I wanted this so badly my body ached for it.  Months...years...more years passed---the longing started penetrating and snuffing out my HOPE. I started to loose who I was...truly...my identity was wrapped up in my dream of motherhood. I would be on my knees screaming to God, asking why? Why did I have such a strong desire? What was I to do if being a mother was not the plan for me? I was so confused, I wanted so badly to be in His will...but wasn't I? Hadn't I been all along? I started doubting me, doubting my foundation and doubting Him. I craved so deeply to experience Gods' miracle of pregnancy. Every month I hoped for this. As time passed I became numb to this hope.  It was a cold numb...an ache.  I leaned on my husband unlike I have ever done before through these years. He truly helped me hold onto my hope, my desires, and me. So many times he got down on his knees to pray with me, pray for me and help me stand back up again.

I saw in black and white that I was to be a mother. This black and white picture that I saw had me with a big belly, happy as can be. However, God had a colorful picture waiting for me, that was there all along.  I couldn't see this picture until I was ready and truly until His plan was ready to unfold.

One day my expectations changed, my plan changed and my heart changed. God has always had adoption written on my heart and His plan became my reality. I began to see in color again, life wasn't so gray.

It's not as if Nolan and I had not thought of adoption, even when we were dating we discussed this as a possibility. But a possibility is very different from a reality. I began to understand motherhood in new light and with that light came clarity. I had to be able to give up my desire for the miracle of conception, pregnancy and birth and except God's plan for my future. Motherhood took on so much more for me. I understand now that I am uniquely created in a way that I can love so deeply unconditionally; that my journey all along, through upbringing, work choices, friends, situations, have all been His creative plan. All these years I wasn't broken or on the wrong pursuit. I simply misunderstood that deep desire to be a mother with the reality that I have been a mother all along! I have had the privilege to work with more children in my lifetime---I can't even count or give a rough estimate how many. I have adored each of these children and loved them unconditionally as though they were my own. Those around me, friends, family, strangers...I show motherly qualities by being protective, giving advice, hugging/loving on, going out of my way to do things for...adoring and loving unconditionally. Motherhood is a gift and I believe I have it.

The last several years were hard for me mostly because I was unsure of our path, but this gray overcast time gave me a deeper understanding that I am able to love unconditionally. Regardless of a genetic connection to a child--I am able to love unconditionally. I believe that Gods' unique plan for Nolan and I experiencing adoption is the gift that I get to "carry" - in my heart. I long for this gift that He has for us. We WILL be parents! I have confidence knowing that Gods' gift is the perfect plan and our miracle!