"Where The Boat Leaves From"

"Take one part sand, and one part sea

One part shade of a banana tree
And the drinks they're cold and the reggae is hot
And I know this is the place for me

So get away to where the boat leaves from
It takes away all of your big problems
You got worries you can drop them in the blue ocean
But you gotta get away to where the boat leaves from"

Remember the trip my wonderful husband surprised me with?

Well, here is where we are going and we leave tomorrow!!

Meet Bella from Bullard, TX

This was right after I found her.  She loves my outdoor love seat!

And this was right after she woke up this morning.  She looks much happier, right?

Here is Bella's story:

Yesterday, I woke up about 8:45am and as I was getting out of bed I heard a dog squeal.  It was a startling cry telling you that something is wrong.  The cries sounded like they were coming from my front yard or at least very close by.  I knew my neighbors dogs were outside, so I quickly jumped up and ran outside to check on them.  Hobby and George were happy and excited to see me and my boys, so I knew it wasn’t them.  Then, Oskar ran to the side of the house and started sniffing in the direction of the front yard.  I thought little about it other than maybe someone was walking by at the time.  We went back inside and I went about my day.  I heard the cries a couple other times, but just thought Jenni had another dog over at her house that day.  I packed up Oskar and George and we left the house around 12:30pm and didn’t get back home until 5:00pm.  As I was driving home, I noticed an old man standing in the center of the cul-de-sac just staring out into the street.  He struck me as very odd and out of place, so as I was driving into my driving way, I was focused on him.  I looked up and saw what I thought was a dog sitting in my front yard.   I had to do a double before I actually realized there was a dog sitting in my front yard.  Then it all clicked – this sweet puppy has been in my front yard since this morning just waiting on me to save her.  I immediately got out of the car and slowly walked over to her.  As I walked up, I gently put my hand out to see if she was afraid of me and she just kissed me! She was weak, so I picked her up and she laid her head on my shoulder as I carried her to the backyard.  This is where she tugged at my heart strings and I realized I have to take care of this precious puppy until I find her home.

It looks like her name tag was removed and all that is left is her rabies vaccination tag.  So, Kris and I realize she was abandoned… Her rabies tag says she is from Bullard, TX and I’ve called twice to get a hold of this animal hospital and no luck so far.  In the meantime, I named her Bella because Kris has always loved the name Bella.  She knows her name now, by the way and it fits her.  She’s just so loving and sweet.  Bella knows me as mom already and doesn’t want to leave my side.  She is not even a year old and is a Labrador mix.  Bella is just a puppy, so full of life and eager to learn.  She is a very gentle and kind soul, ready to please her owner.  She’s a puppy, so she is playful, but she also knows when it’s time to relax and she quickly lies down.  Bella needs a home that can provide lots of TLC and one-on-one attention.  She would make a great companion for someone who is single, but she would also be an amazing family dog.  If you are interested in adopting this sweet puppy or know someone who may be interested, please email me @ ashleydsimpson@gmail.com.  Let's find Bella a forever home!

UPDATE:

I took Bella to the vet on Saturday (after she tore up my carpet), because Kris and the boys were ready for Bella to go home.  I wanted to take her in just to make sure she didn't have a micro chip and if she did, we could easily find her owners.  Well, it turns out she didn't have a chip that the vet could find, but our vet tech was able to finally get a hold of the vet in Bullard, TX that Bella had visited.  Come to find out, Bella was there just a couple of days ago, did get micro chipped and was updated on all of her vaccines.  We then found out Bella's name is Blackie and she is somewhere between 14 weeks and 6 months old.  I still think she is a bit older because all of her adult teeth are in, but no one knows for certain.  Our vet tech got Bella’s owners phone number from the vet, gave them a call and they actually answered.  Wow, what a huge relief at that moment!  We soon learned the owners found Bella abandoned only a week ago (hence why I thought she was abandoned), and they rescued her.  The vet tech proceeded to swap our numbers, the owners and mine and got the owners address so I could drop Bella off later that day.  Here is where the story gets good!  The owner of Bella gave my next door neighbor's address and it was Rusty and Jenni’s!  Rusty and Jenni were out of town at the time and Rusty's sister was house sitting for them.  Turns out, it was Rusty's sister that rescued Bella!  The funny part is, I sent Jenni a photo of Bella as soon as I found her to see if Jenni recognized the dog.  She didn't because she didn't even know Rusty's sister had a dog! SURPRISE! 

Blackie is home now to her new family and with the help of some obedience training; she will make a wonderful family dog.  I just hope she lives a happy, healthy life and that her family truly loves her.  

Facts and FAQ's!

We are in a bit of a lull right now in the adoption process, so I thought I would provide some adoption facts specific to Gladney as well as answer some FAQ’s. 

The Facts:

·         The average age for a birth mom is 21-26.  Older than you thought, right?

·         As of last month Gladney had 120 waiting families and 40 birth moms.  That’s a 3:1 ratio with 3 waiting families for every 1 birth mom.  Not bad considering our society’s view on adoption. 

·         Gladney places approximately 350 babies each year through the domestic and international programs.  Roughly 250 of those placements are in the Agency Assisted Program (the program we were accepted into).

·         The average waiting period for placement of baby is 13.9 months.  The waiting period begins after you are officially approved and that’s after your home study is completed.   Just to give you an idea of where we are, our home study should be completed next month.

Here is a step-by-step look at the entire process:

Step 1: Attend Orientation – We attended orientation on June 17^th.

Step 2: Submit Application – Our application was submitted by June 23^rd!

Step 3: Complete Home study – We have our office interview scheduled for August 9^th, but are still waiting to schedule our in-home visit.  Hence the lull in excited news…

Step 4: Complete Trainings – We will have to complete certain classes and continually educate ourselves on all aspects of adoption. 

Step 5: Match with Birth Mother – In the coming weeks, I will work on a profile book that will capture exactly who we are in all facets of our life.  This book will be shared with birth moms and is the tool they use to choose the right adoptive parents for the baby.  Once the birth parent/s have requested to be matched with us, we will hear the background and if acceptable, we will agree to be matched.  At this point, we may meet the birth parent/s face-to-face.  Also, prior to being matched, we will most likely have spoken to the birth parent/s on the phone to answer any questions either of us may have and to get to know one another better.    

Step 6: Receive Placement of Baby – Placement, in case you don’t know, is where we finally meet the baby and bring him/her home.  Placement takes place in most cases, 48 hours after the baby is born.  The majority of placements occur where the child is born.  If the baby is born in a state other than Texas, our placement will fall under Interstate Compact Regulations, and we will not be able to return home with our baby until approval is received from the appropriate state.  This may mean our new family will be bonding in a hotel room for a couple of weeks, but from what I’ve read, this is not a bad thing.  It would just be Kris and I bonding with our baby and getting a routine down before family and friends come to celebrate with us. 

Step 7: Complete Supervisory Period – After we bring our baby home, there is a 6 month period where Gladney supervises placement.  Technically at this point, Gladney is the Managing Conservator of the baby, but we are responsible medically and financially.  We will be expected to submit monthly progress reports and at least 4 doctors’ reports prior to finalization.  During this period, a caseworker will also visit our home twice to conduct supervisory visits.  This is just to make sure the baby and our family are thriving.

Step 8: Attend Finalization – This is the last and final step in the process.  The step when the baby legally becomes ours!  Since Gladney has been the Managing Conservator of the baby for the last 6 months, we will file a ‘friendly’ lawsuit against Gladney to terminate their Managing Conservatorship and we will become the legal parents at this point.  This will be a momentous occasion and I’m sure we will host a celebration!

Most Frequently Asked Questions:

1.       When does the birth mother relinquish her rights to the agency?

·         Anytime after the child is 48 hours old.

·         Also applies to the legal husband if he is the father of the baby.

2.       When does the birth father sign his legal document in an agency adoption?

·         A birth father that is not married to the birth mother, may sign an Affidavit of Waiver of Interest in Child either prior to birth or after birth of the child.

·         A birth father that is not married to the birth mother, may sign an Affidavit of Relinquishment of Parental Rights after the child is 48 hours old.

·         If the birth father is unknown, he has 31 days to place his name on the Birth Father Registry.  If he does not do this, rights are relinquished at this point.  The case will still have to go to court to terminate parental rights, but in this circumstance, the judge sides with the adoptive parents.  

3.       What does “open” adoption mean?

·         “Open” adoption means, only first names and the state in which we live will be shared with the birth parent/s.  All other information is shared only if we are comfortable.  We will be expected to share letters and photos with Gladney and they will forward them on to the birth parent/s.  If we are comfortable and the relationship progresses naturally overtime, Kris and I are open to remove Gladney from the relationship and communicate directly with the birth parent/s.

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to ask and I can add them to this post!

Practice in Parenting

Last Saturday morning, Kris and I had the pleasure of watching Jenni’s son Ben and let me tell you – we loved every second of it.  He’s such a good baby and super sweet and cute too.  We enjoyed lots of tickles and giggles and he even watched a little Thomas the Train with Kris (although I think Kris enjoyed it more!).  Thank you Jenni for letting us love on Ben for a few hours and for giving us an idea of what it may be like with a newborn of our own.  If he or she is anything like Ben, we will be two very blessed parents.

Here are a couple of photos from the day:

This could have been so cute. If only I didn't cut off his elbow... Oh well, I was trying to catch a moment and QUICK!

Who do you think is more interested in Thomas? ;-)

Told you he was super cute!  Thanks again Jenni!

Just a batch of positivity!

I just have to say, I LOVE GLADNEY!  Or better yet, I love our Program Assistant!  I got an email on Tuesday morning saying she received our package and she was so impressed with my organization skills.  She said I was, “a woman after her own heart” – perfect!  Apparently, my skills were the talk of the office that morning and all the other program assistants were jealous that Kris and I were her family.  Yep, it only took one week for us to make a name for ourselves at Gladney.  This doesn’t surprise me one bit! 

I must have made her job tremendously easier, because I got an email this morning saying she processed all of our documents in ONE DAY and we can move forward with our caseworker!  This means we can go ahead and schedule our interviews and home study in the coming weeks.  Ideally, you are supposed to wait 6-8 weeks for your FBI clearances to come in before you can proceed with anything else, but since I asked ever-so-politely, she’s pushing us right along.  We won’t be officially approved until our FBI clearances come in, but at least we can keep crossing things off of our never-ending to-do list in the meantime.  Once we are approved and have our profile book completed, birthmothers can start to see who we are!

We have a very busy month of July, but my hope is that we can at least schedule our interviews in Fort Worth sometime in between:

1.       Our 4^th annual Simpson/Wilhelm July 4^th weekend extravaganza

2.       Kris’ friend Braden coming to visit July 6^th

3.       Our photo shoot with Forever Photography July 13^th

4.       THEN our trip to the Caribbean July 26^th (that’s right, Kris gave me a hint!)

If you can’t tell, I’m VERY happy with where life is taking us.  Once we chose adoption, things have been falling into place so perfectly that it amazes me every day.  This just feels so right…

Submit Application - CHECK!



OUR LIFE IN A BOX

 We have officially accomplished step two of the adoption process – submitting our application!  This is HUGE!  Kris and I have been working diligently since Saturday to complete the never-ending application checklist.  Our entire life and everything you could possibly want to know about us resides in this little accordion file.  And now at the ripe old age of 28, we even have an autobiography!    

Gladney should receive our application today and in the coming weeks we will be scheduled to complete our interviews in Fort Worth.  And following the interviews, someone will come to our house to complete a home study.  Then the fun part begins!  Kris and I will make a profile book that birthmothers will use to make their decision (I’ll expand on this later).  And then - we will officially be expecting a baby!  No, we won’t be matched with a birthmother yet, but they tell you to spend your waiting period doing all the things women do during their pregnancy.  After we create our profile book, Kris and I will start planning a gender neutral nursery, register, and when the time gets closer, throw a baby shower. 

If you have a question (and I know my family has many), don’t hesitate to leave a comment.  Kris and I are very open about our adoption plan and as we’ve realized, there are many myths about adoption.  I’d be more than happy to clear those up!  In the meantime, I’ll continue to document our progress and keep you up-to-date on what’s next.

Going Public!

"Their story, yours and mine - it's what we all carry with us on this trip we take, and we owe it to each other to respect our stories and learn from them".


I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and have decided to share our story with the world - or better yet, whoever is interested in reading! I believe it is only by sharing our stories that we can truly learn from one another. Maybe I will touch someone, maybe I won't, but I would love the opportunity to share our story and meet others along the way traveling the same course we are. So, here's to the endless possibilities that may come from opening our hearts to those who care to listen.

This blog is now public!

P.S. And yes Mom and Kris, you may send to whomever you would like!