I Almost FORGOT!

I almost forgot to post the newest endeavor Geoff and I are about to undertake. He's convinced me to take Ballroom dancing at the Y. We will begin on Thursday! The instructors are two of the teachers at my school. I can just see it now, Geoff will laugh the entire time!

One more wish sent out and more BOOKS!

I sent out another wish to a woman in Oregon. We had her email in our inbox this morning, so I added her to the pile. I'm trying my best to keep up with all the requests and get them out as soon as possible.

On another note, I got more books in the mail for Lexi. I'm picking them up now because I'm in the school and can get them at such great prices and get free ones along the way. Besides that... my child will never have too many books! She will be read to every day and night. As an educator, I know that the most important factor a parent can do for their child's education is to read to her. Most of the one's I'm picking out now are board books so they can withstand a baby chewing on them. I do think we are going to have to go ahead and get some kind of bookcase soon though.

And speaking of education, I hope to finish the writing of my dissertation this summer. I want to have it out of the way before the next school year begins as well as BEFORE Lexi comes home. I'm making progress... slowly ... but surely!

And Still More...

This fabric arrived from my Aunt Alice, Cousins Becky, and Barbara. They live in South Carolina. When I was little we often went to visit everyone back home. We called it "up the country" because we moved to Georgia when I was 5 and going back was up the road. Mom gave me the package and said, "you're going to get a kick out of this." Well, I did. One of fabrics is just like Sara's! We were trying to spell out Lexi's name in the blue one but it only had the L and E. I can't wait to take Lexi to visit everyone "up the country" when Lexi arrives.

More Fabric

I'm finally posting the fabric that was sent to my Mom last week. It's from our dear friend Linda, who was my second Mom growing up in Charleston. They were forever together with all of us kids. Some of my fondest memories early in life involve Linda, Mom, and all of us kids. I was big pals with Debbie, her oldest daughter and also Kelly, who being the youngest in the bunch took lots of teasing from Kelly and I. So here's 3 scraps of fabric from three very dear people. (I don't have a wish yet, but believe me I plan to remedy that one day. And/or I'll get some pictures of all of us "back in the day" and put on their page. You know, I'm beginning to see how much this project is bringing together people in our lives. I'm also seeing how much the addition of Lexi to our family and friends lives is having a positive effect. Who knew!

Wishes for you... wishes for me!

Last night, I added one more wish to my list to put in the mail today. It was to a lady in Missouri. Today I got 6 more emails from still more quilters. I've got the packages ready to go out in the morning as well. These will go to women in Kansas, New Jersey, Vermont, Illinois, and to 2 ladies and California. Wow! That's 11 out from me! I can't wait to get theirs in the mail too.

I was over at Mom's today and we were trying to make some matches for the 9 squares that I have received. It's a lot of fun to play around with them but we did decide to wait until we have a few more to work with. Now I wish that I had put a deadline on the when to get fabric to me. I'd hate to miss anyone and we're so ready to get started. But with just 9 I don't think anyone has much to worry about at this point. Send those wishes people! I want to hear from you!! Tonight we went to dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant. My fortune cookie said that I had a way with persuading people when I speak. I laughed and told Geoff that I had the wrong cookie. Maybe it wasn't so wrong. We'll see how many people people I've persuaded with this post!

Wishes and Fabric on its way!

I took some time tonight to get some fabric squares and wishes ready to send out tomorrow to some nice ladies. One is from New Hampshire, and the 3 others are all from Texas. Amazing! I'm so enjoying this quilt project. I'm hoping to connect with some others in our January DTC group. I'm also looking forward to the mail coming tomorrow... will there be more fabric and wishes???

I'm also working on some more letters about the quilt to send out to some of the ladies at church that I have known for a long time, as well as some to friends in town that I was missing addresses. Hopefully, I'll get these out soon as well.

After looking back at the pages I've got in the scrapbook, I really really love the one for Aunt Hilma. I love the pictures! I hope that other family and friends will see how much it adds to the page and send some too. Hint! Hint!! Geoff also pointed out that Sara's page is missing fabric. We'll have to do something about that!

I've been busy !!

Today was a rainy cold day. It literally rained all day. It was a perfect day for scrapbooking! Our group met at my school in my classroom and worked all day. It took me a while but I finally got some pages complete.

The Title Page for Lexi's Quilt Scrapbook ~



The first and second pages ~



Melaine's Page~


This is Geoff's Aunt Barb and Uncle JD's page.


Sara's Page that she gave us last night ~


Then when I got home, we had several more squares waiting for us. This one is from Mary and family from Texas. They are also in the process of adopting from China.



And then this one from my Aunt Hilma. She sent several pictures for me to choose from for the scrapbook. I was so happy to hear from her! I haven't seen her in YEARS! She is my father's sister. I was really taken aback when I saw pictures! There were pictures of my grandparents taken back on Father's Day in 1968! I do not have any pictures of my grandparents together. This was an extra special surprise! And then there was a picture of my father with Aunt Hilma taken in 1983! It really convinced me that this quilt will be a family heirloom! Here is everything Aunt Hilma sent me and then the finished page.



When I sent out the invitations, it said that if someone wanted to make a page for us that 8 1/2 X 11 was okay. I'm really making a 12 X 12 scrapbook. I just figured that if anyone wanted to make a page to mail, the smaller size would be easier to mail. So anyone wanting to send a page, send either size you want. I'm just so pleased that everyone is helping make this treasure for our Lexi.

Lexi's First Scrapbook Page!

My niece, Jenna, brought me her fabric and the scrapbook page today. I just love it!! Her fabric has butterflies on it and her wish correlates with it beautifully. It's a prayer that connects the wish to a the beauty of a butterfly. I'm so glad that she decided to make her page. I couldn't of done it nearly as nice.


And after that treat at work today. I came home and found a package from Geoff's Aunt Barb and Uncle J.D. It's just perfect! I'm just loving this! I can't wait to see how the quilt turns out! Now Mom has enough fabric to start working on it and in the meantime, we get to have so much fun checking the mail everyday!

I Love Surprises!

My Dear Hubby sent me roses today at work! How sweet of him!! Everyone kept asking me if we had gotten in a fight (NO), or if he had made me mad and was trying to make up...(NO). Then someone asked me if he gave seminars to other husbands. :) He has always given me flowers for no reason. These are just beautiful! I sure appreciated it as I've had a stressful week to the point that I have a stiff neck and sore shoulders. I came right home after work and can just feel the stress melting away. I just wonder... will the flowers continue after Lexi arrives???

One More Square!

This square came in the mail today from none other than Sara! It says that the wish will be coming but she wanted to get the fabric to me in hopes she would be the first scrapbook page. (Hate to break it to you sweetie, but I need the wish before I make the page.) This weekend, we are having a "scrapbooking crop" and I plan to begin with Melaine's. It's the only one I have all of the pieces for so far.

Geoff said that Mom called today while he was home for lunch. She had received 3 squares at her address. I don't know who they are from yet, but I will keep everyone posted. Yea!!! Squares are coming!

A 2nd Surprise today!

Today was the day for surprises. Another friend at work, Mrs. Main, brought me this book. It is for families who are adopting. It's a beautiful book and I'm sure it will be another treasure for Lexi. It's so nice to be surrounded by such thoughtful people!

Lexi's First Wish

I got a very special surprise at work today. Melaine brought me her fabric, a wish for Lexi, AND a quilting journal. It was so sweet! Her fabric turned out to be perfect for us. It's actually from the Charleston Collection. Imagine Melaine's surprise when I told her that I was born in Charleston and our adoption agency is located there also. I really love her wish. I'm sure she won't mind me sharing it with everyone.


For weeks I have searched for a piece of material that would be perfect for Lexi. I finally found it. The material is from the Charleston Collection. Therefore may she be raised with the sunshine on her face, love in her heart and mud between her toes. May she always be proud of the Southern heritage as well as her Chinese heritage. May she grow with grace and strength and southern charm.

Thanks Melaine for such a lovely gift to Lexi.

A New Dress of Lexi

I went to Flordia this weekend with my sister (Carolyn), her boss (Jennifer) and her sister (Leighanne). Every so often we all take a few days and go somewhere for female bonding. This weekend, we went to St. Augustine. We had a really good time regardless of the fact that we had to change places to stay. We orginally had reservations at a "Condo" (this is a very gracious use of the word condo) in Cresent Beach. It was right on the beach but had the feel of a very, very old mobile home. Some of the beds actually rolled out from under the kitchen! No kidding!! The one bedroom was at the top of one of those spiral staircases that you buy in the back of a magazine. This place had so many levels, someone would have fallen and broke something before the weekend was out,not to mention the old stale smell would have caused my allergies to rebel. Long story short, we managed to get out of the rental agreement without losing very much money and Jennifer's husband managed to find us a new condo that was actually $5 less than what we were paying. It wasn't on the beach, but it was very very nice! The great part was that it was one exit from a great Outlet Mall! Of course, we had to go shopping! Now I have a new favorite store to shop for dresses for Lexi. The name of the store is Hartstrings. I bought this beautiful dress for about $20! I also got the matching sweater. This outfit is just too cute!!

First Quilt Fabric

Carolyn wins the prize! She gave me the fabric she picked out for Lexi's quilt. Her's is the lavender one. It's so precious. It has little stars and moons on it. Now she needs to give me the wish. She says that the wish is the hard part because it will become an heirloom. Actually, several people have said this to me. Please don't worry, whatever your wish will be, it will be wonderful.

The other fabric in the picture is mine and Geoff's. I also ordered this in pink but I really love the green. I actually found a place on the internet with all kinds of ladybug fabric. I ordered several hoping that one would work. I am going to use the others that I ordered to send to some of the ladies in my Yahoo January DTC group.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope by this time next year, we'll be settling in with our very own little luv bug from China! I joined a Yahoo Group last night of others who are DTC as of January. I think it will be very nice to have a group of others who are also going through the same process. I even enrolled in their secret pal program. This month the theme is "The Year of the Dog". I've got to figure out something to send my secret pal within this theme. Of course, I'm racking my brain for ideas!

I'm still awaiting the arrival of the first swatch of fabric for the quilt. One of the ladies from work told me today that they were working on their idea. I taught her son a few years ago and he has ideas for their page. I can't wait to see it. Another teacher at work told me that she would be going through fabric and "things" they have as a family looking for a piece of fabric that has significance for them. I'm so happy to see that our friends and family are as excited about this project as we are.

On a funny note... today was, of course, Valentine's Day. It was my first Valentine's Day without a class. I still had a few students bring me a card. Well, at the end of the day one of my sweeties from last year brought me a surprise. He made me close my eyes and when he was ready, he presented me with a special cupcake. Well, his father is a great baker so I just assumed that his father had made the cupcake that I was being presented and that it was okay to eat. (no disrespect intended but as a teacher, you learn to know who prepares the food you eat and that IF you don't know who prepared a treat... don't eat it!) I started to pinch off a bite of cupcake as I asked him if he had helped bake the cupcakes. Afterall, he had told me exactly what kind of icing it had (buttercream) and the kind of red sprinkles (cherry flavored). But about the time I put the cupcake in my mouth (already a bit worried because it had a really stale feeling texture to the cake), he informed me that some kid in his class brought in the cupcakes. Lesson #1.... don't attempt to eat a cupcake of which you have no idea who prepared it, UNTIL you DO KNOW. Needless to say, after my dear former student left, the rest of the cupcake went into the trash and all I can do is await the time that a virus will come over me. Alas... Happy Valentine's Day! (ha...ha!!)

Newest Salt and Pepper Shakers

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Sara and Chris brought us these salt and pepper shakers as souvenirs from their latest cruise. We've decided that the one on the left must be "Geoff" because it is the least "girly" of the two (although it has the biggest lips! ) They are adorable! I've been looking for something to take the place of my winter snowman. I guess this is it! Thanks for thinking of us Sara and Chris!

Books, Books and More Books!

Last Friday, we got a package in the mail. Of course our first thought was that someone had sent us the first piece of fabric and a wish for Lexi. So Geoff opens it. It was from his Aunt Neaners who is very dear to us. Well, inside was a sweetest book! It is entitled Why I Chose You and was written by Gregory E. Lang. We love it! Thank you so much Neaners for thinking of us!


And today at work, I noticed I had a few packages in the office. I had ordered some books a week or so ago for Lexi. It totally was a fun diversion from work. At the time I discovered them I had been at my computer reading lesson plans of teachers for about 3 hours... and my eyes were killing me! So I happily opened up the books and dreamed for a few minutes about one day reading these books with Lexi. I know it is silly, but these kinds of things keep us going. Of course, the teacher in me drives me to buy her books. Most of these are perfect for a baby or toddler because they are board books. We really must begin thinking about a book shelf for her room. As a teacher, I had many "bonus" points saved up from ordering books with students last year through Scholastic. So many of these books were free... which is even better!! I especially love My First Chinese New Year and this one is unavailable to the general public. They really need to do something about that!




Geoff's mother is collecting books for Lexi too. And even better, she's collecting the stuffed animal to go with them. Through a program called Kohl's Cares of Kids they have books throughout the year for $5 (what a deal!) with matching stuffed animals. The best part is that 100% of the net profits from the sale of these items benefit health and educational opportunities for children. For Christmas, Geoff's parents bought her a book with a Snoopy and another with with Woodstock. This time, I'm especially excited because the books are by Eric Carle' who is one my favorite children's book authors. I'm sure Lexi will love them!

Lexi's First Church Dress

I love little baby clothes and every since we began the adoption process, when we go shopping we end up in the baby department. I've been wanting to hang a dress in Lexi's closet for the longest time but yet, finding a really cute church dress has been disappointing. Well, yesterday I had to go to Jesup to get Sable some meds so I went to a children's shop called "Klassy Kid's". Sure enough, I found dresses! After much deliberation, I chose this one. It's a Feltman Brother's dress. I still have the one Sara wore home from the hospital that my mother bought her. These dresses are just classic... they never go out of style. In fact, the lady in the store told me that if the size was wrong I could return it (even a year later!).

A Sample of the Quilt Pattern

This is the sample Mom made me of the quilt pattern. To get 100 fabric swatches from everyone, we are actually counting each 5X5 square as two swatches. For example, the pink square would be from 2 people. So when we get everyone's fabric, we will be cutting it down into small pieces. I'll use whatever anyone picks out, but just wanted to let everyone know that large prints may not be the best choice.

70 More Quilt Letters!

Does this look like 70 cards? I sat at the table last night and got every single one ready. I still need to do a few more but as of now, by the end of the week 100 cards will have been given to our friends and family. I've begun looking for my fabric but haven't found just the right one.

I discovered the following post on Yvonne's site. (she is a woman who has ran across our blog and reads it every now and then... her site address is http://whyamiymi.blogspot.com/ ) When I read this post, I just laughed and laughed! I decided to post it here in hopes that everyone reading our blog will find humor in it as well.

Classes for Men
WINTER CLASSES FOR MEN AT THE LEARNING CENTER FOR ADULTS REGISTRATION MUST BE COMPLETED BY
Monday, Feb 6, 2005
NOTE: DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY AND DIFFICULTY LEVEL OF THEIR CONTENTS, CLASS SIZES WILL BE LIMITED TO
8 PARTICIPANTS MAXIMUM.

Class 1
How To Fill Up The Ice Cube Trays ---
Step by Step, with Slide Presentation.
Meets 4 weeks, Monday and Wednesday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM.

Class 2
The Toilet Paper Roll --- Does It Change Itself?
Round Table Discussion.
Meets 2 weeks, Saturday 12:00 for 2 hours.

Class 3
Is It Possible To Urinate Using The Technique Of Lifting The Seat and Avoiding The Floor, Walls and Nearby Bathtub? ---Group Practice.
Meets 4 weeks, Saturday 10:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 4
Fundamental Differences Between The Laundry Hamper and The Floor --- Pictures and Explanatory Graphics.
Meets Saturdays at 2:00 PM for 3 weeks.

Class 5
After Dinner Dishes --- Can They Levitate and Fly Into The Kitchen Sink?
Examples on Video.
Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM

Class 6
Loss Of Identity --- Losing The Remote To Your Significant Other.
Help Line Support and Support Groups.
Meets 4 Weeks, Friday and Sunday 7:00 PM

Class 7
Learning How To Find Things --- Starting With Looking In The Right Places And Not Turning The House Upside Down While Screaming.
Open Forum . Monday at 8:00 PM, 2 hours.

Class 8
Health Watch --- Bringing Her Flowers Is Not Harmful To Your Health.
Graphics and Audio Tapes.
Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 9 Real Men Ask For Directions When Lost ---Real Life Testimonials.
Tuesdays at 6:00 PM Location to be determined.

Class 10 Is It Genetically Impossible To Sit Quietly While She Parallel Parks? Driving Simulations.
4 weeks, Saturday's noon, 2 hours.

Class 11
Learning to Live --- Basic Differences Between Mother and Wife.
Online Classes and role-playing .
Tuesdays at 7:00 PM, location to be determined

Class 12
How to be the Ideal Shopping Companion Relaxation Exercises, Meditation and Breathing Techniques.
Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM.

Class 13
How to Fight Cerebral Atrophy --- Remembering Birthdays, Anniversaries and Other Important Dates and Calling When You're Going To Be Late.
Cerebral Shock Therapy Sessions and Full Lobotomies Offered.
Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 14
The Stove/Oven --- What It Is and How It Is Used.
Live Demonstration.
Tuesdays at 6:00 PM, location to be determined.

Upon completion of any of the above courses, diplomas will be issued to the survivors.

Not that my DEAR HUSBAND WOULD EVER BE GUILTY OF ANY OF THESE IMPERFECTIONS! :) Like my father in law always says.... what's life without laughter! I'll have to negotiate which classes Geoff must enroll in first!

A New Look For the Blog

If you've been following the blog, you will notice the new look. I've changed the look to accommodate our new ticker. I thought it would be fun to keep up with how long it takes to get our referral. Of course, this could prove painful for us too. We're looking at approximately 8 - 9 months until referral day. There is lots to do in the meantime, the Good Wishes Quilt is just one thing. To date, I've sent out 30 invitations. 70 to go (could be more if some people don't sent swatches of fabric). I'll have more ready to go out by the end of the week. Tonight, instead of working on the invitations or working on my dissertation, I worked on adding the ticker and changing the look of the blog.... isn't it just amazing how much time one can spend "wasting" time? Hope that becomes a special talent as we await our dear Lexi. :)