Two Showers... check!

Well, summer sure is ticking away. Last Saturday, my family hosted two showers at my house. The first one was for Sara and it began at 1:00. As soon as everyone cleared out, we revamped the food and prepared for a Jack and Jill shower for my niece, Kim. She was going to be in town for Sara's shower and we wanted to do something for her so I just bit the bullet and played host for two! I really did enjoy everything once the day got here but the preparation leadig up to the big day was craziness.

I did have fun making things for the shower. I made my first diaper cake. It turned out so nice!


And while I was at it, Mom helped me make a diaper wreath for the door.


The biggest fun though was making a "Daddy's Dirty Diaper Tool Kit" and a "New Hubby's PMS Survival Tool Kit". I saw the diaper tool kit on the internet and just knew that me and mom could make our own. Sure enough, Mom jumped right on it and had a pattern made up the same afternoon that I showed it to her! I had to get pictures of the kids wearing their kits.












Both Sara and Kim were blessed with a nice turnout and received all kinds of gifts! Kim's wedding is set for July 14th (Sara's due date!). I think this conflict is funny because they came into the world that way. I had Sara on Labor Day in 1982. Just 3 days later my sister had Kim on my Dad's birthday. Sara was my first and only child (for now anyhow!) and I had gotten pregnant ahead of my sister, Shirley. I had already picked out the name Sara and low and behold so did Shirley. This began a race to see who would deliver first and who had a girl. (I had an ultra sound back then but they wouldn't tell me if they could determine the sex). Needless to say, I have the Sara. When Shirley had Kim, she didn't think she looked like a Sara anyhow. It's a funny story to remember. I'm so proud of both of these girls.

School's Out, Summer's In

Well actually school has been out since the 25th of May. I've been on summer break for a week now. I'm staying very busy helping out with Sara's baby shower and with a bridal shower for my niece, Kim. Both showers will be at our house on the 16th. We're doing Sara's shower first and then Kim's. Craziness I know but there was a method behind the madness. We wanted my sister's family to be able to come to Sara's shower and we wanted to throw a shower for Kim. It was too hard to get them here twice. So it was for convenience purposes = to craZiNESS!!

Referrals came out this week. It was another month covering only 6 disappointing days. Well, disappointing for those of us who have waiting so long already. There appears to be no end in sight to the waiting increase. I'm staying up beat and managing to not be depressed or upset but I do have some pet peeves. I'm tired of people telling me that Lexi will be worth the wait. We know this but we're sick of the wait and how many times do we need to hear it??

We were asked the by an acquaintance the other day if we had heard anything about the baby. I think people ask because they are just making conversation but it's old. Had we known that it would take this long, we would have not told anyone of our intentions. The thing is there is more to our life than just this adoption. There has to be other things to talk about. We have to enjoy life for the NOW. Not of the what it WILL become. Being upset about waiting takes away from our enjoyment of the now.

I guess anyone reading this that knows us just needs to know this... the waiting is not fun. Our best guess of when we will get a referral will be sometime between March and November of 2008. We'll keep everyone informed but please let's enjoy our life for the present. We'll get Lexi in God's perfect time.

Pop'in In

Just a quick pop in... I know I've been posting less and less. I think as the wait increases I just seem to want to discuss it less. I've been staying off of the Internet more and spending more time doing things around here. Geoff and I have begun to take the pups for walks after dinner. We need the exercise and so do they! In fact, we've had to ease them into it. We've been increasing the length each day in hopes of preventing Sable from having a heart attack on one of our walks.

On Friday, we are headed to Pawley's Island, SC with Carolyn and John for some R&R. Geoff and John are going to go golfing and Carolyn and I will enjoy the beach. And on Saturday, Chris and Sara will be joining us. This will be the first time, I've been on the beach where Sara's belly will be bigger than mine! LOL!!

This is also my last week with students. I have 5 more days of work and then I'm done until August. I've got lots of things planned for the summer to keep me busy.

Excitement is building!!

I went with Sara for another Dr. appointment yesterday. She was having an ultra sound to determine if she would have to have a c-section or not. She's had placenta previa since the beginning of her pregnancy. At one point (over Christmas) she was on bed rest for 2 weeks. Well, FINALLY her placenta has moved to where it should be for a natural birth. I was getting all excited for her because she wants to do like I did and have her baby with not drugs. Well, even though the placenta has moved, she still may have to have a c-section because Brennan appears as if he is going to be a big little boy! Right now, he is 4 pounds (about 1/2 a pound bigger than average). Sara's doctor says that if he goes over 8.5 lbs. he will not let her have it normally. So I guess we will just have to wait a bit longer to find out. I can't believe my little Sara may have a big baby. I was two weeks overdue and she weighed 7.6. We also learned that he has LOTS of hair. The nurse could actually see his hair. (She showed it to us, but I couldn't tell anything.) She said that normally, she can't find hair until it's closer to the due date. This gets more exciting every day!

After we left the Dr., we spent the rest of the day shopping. Sara is growing so much that she is outgrowing her XS and Small clothes so we went searching for some clothes to get her through these last 9 weeks. I really, really want the baby to come early.... I'm so selfish! I want the entire month of July to spoil my grandson!

Baby Brennen is getting BIGGER!

These were taken last week. Sara is doing so well with her pregnacy and looks so good! Here she is with about 10 weeks to go. She may actually have him sooner. She has placenta previa so unless that changes, she is going to have to have a c-section. I'm being very selfish and hoping for an early delivery so that I can spend more time with them before I have to go back to work. You know a new blog will be coming as soon as the baby arrives. I've got to have a place to brag about our grandson (Wow! That stills sounds weird!).

Chillin' In Atlanta

Time is ticking away. Last week marked our 14th month of waiting. We were in Atlanta though and to be honest, didn't think about it until after we got home. I had to judge at the Ga. Media Festival on Friday. We left last Thursday afternoon. We had Internet that night and I did check my email but after that, I didn't check eMail or read any other adoption related sites all weekend. How nice! We had the best time. We had some wonderful dinners and had a great time seeing some Atlanta sights. On Fridayafter the judging was over, we went to the zoo. I just had to go see the baby Mei Lan. It was a bit of a let down that she was sleeping. It was fun to see her though. Her Mom was eating Bamboo while the baby slept.






We went in the Petting Zoo and got a kick out of the spoiled little pigs who were whining to go back IN their pin. While we were watching them, noticed that Geoff had a nice little lady-friend admirer.

Could this be a sign of good luck?

We also went to the Ga. Aquarium this weekend. It was awesome! I love visiting zoo's and aquariums. This one is just fabulous! We didn't get many pictures there because I forgot to bring the camera charger. After the day at the aquarium we went back to our hotel, parked and then walked to "Dante's Down the Hatch". This was a dining experience for sure! It's fondue style dining (which we had never done before) so we cooked our own dinner at our table. It was delicious. We spent the rest of the night in our room at the fabulous Hotel Intercontinental. Geoff got us a great deal on Priceline. In fact, it was cheaper than the one the county put us in Thursday night but oh so much nicer!

We actually almost made it home without buying anything for Lexi but on the way home we stopped at an outlet mall and just couldn't pass up a $1.34 long sleeve shirt and a $2.67 sleeper from the Gap. It was a very nice weekend!

Whatz'up!

Honestly, there has not been much to blog about lately. As my last post indicated, I'm at peace with the longer wait and am just living life. That's a good thing. The mundane can be nice. So here are a few tidbits of my not so interesting life.

1. Tax Season is over and I have my dear hubby home at the normal times. It was really weird to have him home (and available to help out!) over the weekend!

2. Sara's pregnancy is going fantastic! I saw her today and her "inny" belly button is officially now an "outty"! And did I mention how good she looks! Pregnancy definitely agrees with her! I am so ready for little Brennen to make his appearance in the near future. Some day soon I'll be washing the sheets in Lexi's crib so that Brennen can break in the bed for her. A doating GiGi I will be!

3. Testing is officially over in our school district! Yea!!! I had to proctor in a 5th grade room and just let me say, "IT'S NOT FUN!!". I honestly wondered if I was about to find out if falling asleep while walking was possible. We had to be on the move constantly, watching students to make sure they didn't skip a page or bubble incorrectly. I'm used to walking around all morning but this was just different. I'm so glad that my daily job is not like this!

4. Last weekend, we went into Savannah and met some fellow Savannah Families With Children from China (FCC) families. Only it was mostly the "wait-er's" there. One family (Toni and Mike) was there with their beautiful little Allie who has only been home about 4 months. The other 3 couples were waiting. We finally met Tamara and Michael. They have an LID the day after us so it's very likely that we will be celebrating referrals at the same time. We met at Adele and Dan 's new restaurant (Rustica Pizzeria). We had a very nice time (and the pizza was great too!) and enjoyed the great company.

5. We are heading to Atlanta on Thursday. I am going to be a judge in the state Media Festival so I am dragging Geoff along. (Remember my last trip to Atlanta by myself resulted in a broken toe and a lot of phone calls to get directions??) We are going to stay the weekend for my birthday (even though Mom has given the go ahead to skip the birthday this year. When Geoff and I began thinking of having a child -- 5 years ago-- I told him 45 was my cut off day. So Mom says we are just going to put my birthday on hold until we get Lexi. That's a fine plan if you ask me! This is one time I can say the old saying "Never, say Never" holds true" because I'll wait as long as necessary to get Lexi and once again I am learning that age is not everything. I still have a lot of love to give a child and our plans are to have two to love so ... "take that biological clock!")... Anyhow, we are going to go to the Atlanta Aquarium on Saturday and on Friday my dear hubby (bless his heart!) is going to take me to Archiver's (Wahoo!! My favorite scrapbook store - in - the - whole - wide - world-that I never get to go to!!) We are really looking forward to the weekend!

6. Relay for Life was last weekend. Our county (as of this morning) had rasied around $165,000. I am proud to announce that Jenna (my niece) raised $3000 all by herself and that the company she works for raised $45,000! How great is that! I may just have to join my school's team next year and challenge Jenna to a fund-raising competition. I'll certainly be up against a tough challenger. Seriously, I'm very proud of Jenna. She is a true inspiration!

That's about it. Not much else happening. None of this is especially interesting anyhow but I do feel the need to blog so that Lexi will know what her parents did while waiting to go get her.

My Revelation....

Late last week, the referral rumors heated up all over the Internet. On Thursday I discovered them and just about lost my lunch when I saw that most likely referrals this month will only be for 2 days. Yes. Two. After being upbeat about the wait and feeling good about my patience with the entire thing, my world came crashing down. I had to put in my mouth piece for my TMJ because I was immediately clinching. As hard as I tried, I couldn't stop the tears from seeping from my eyes. I haven't cried about our adoption in quite some time. This time I was just devastated. I questioned whether I was making this God's will or my own in that we adopt from China. I wondered if this newest delay was a sign from God. Yet, I just couldn't imagine our life without Lexi. I went through the weekend grateful that I had invited the whole family over. It was a great diversion. Then today as I sat around by myself because I have the day off and Geoff is at work in high gear for tax season, I ran across this.

SPECIAL SAUCE
I was sitting at the drive-through window at McDonald’s this weekend. I did the usual thing; I drove up to the menu and ordered. I proceeded to the first window and paid, then drove to the second window and waited for the order. After sitting there for a few minutes, the clerk slid back the window and asked, “Will you please pull over to the side; your order is not ready.” I was a little upset and even impatient, but I pulled over and waited. I thought, “How come other folks ordered and drove straight through and I have to wait.” I waited for another two or three minutes. It seemed like hours. Just as I was about to give up and drive away, the clerk finally ran out, tapped on the window, and handed me the order. Of course I asked , Hey, what took so long?” She replied, “You wanted the Special Sauce, which meant that it had to be specially made for the sandwich, it doesn’t usually come with that one.”

This scene is a reflection of our prayer life. We made our request to the Lord. Our menu is his word, where he has listed promise after promise. We stand before Him and request and plead and, sometimes, even beg.

We go to the first window and pay, sometimes with fervent prayer, sometimes with prolonged suffering, sometimes with obedience, and sometimes not at all. We then move to the second window and wait for our order. If God doesn’t answer within a few minutes, we become upset. You know the phrase, “Jesus, it’s 5:00 p.m. Friday; I prayed to You yesterday, and You still haven’t answered. I can’t wait much longer.” Why is it taking Him so long? I’ve seen people drive up before me and they received their orders right away! We even go so far as to tap on the window and ask if He has forgotten our order. We become impatient. We become upset. We become downright mad.

Lord, I asked for a mate ten days ago and I don’t see him/her anywhere.

Lord, I’ve been asking for a new job for two years; others have passed me by!

I’ve been waiting on a financial blessing for ten years; others have passed me by!

Where are You and why haven’t you blessed me?

Just when you think He is giving you the answer, He pulls back the royal curtain of Eternity, and states, “Please pull over to the side and wait a while longer.” This one frustrated me to no end, made mad, made me want to give up, made me want to holler; that is, until the clerk brought out my sandwich...Then, the revelation became clear.

Do you know why the Lord has put you on the side?

Do you know why you have had to wait for this blessing longer than before?

Do you know why He has put you through more this time than ever?

Do you know why it seems like you have had to go through more tears, more pains, and more struggling this time? Because this blessing is a Special Sauce Blessing! This is an Overflowing, Pressed Down, and Shaken Together Blessing! You made a Special Order and God has been putting together a Special Sauce Blessing for you and He has to prepare it for you!

That mate you wanted ... He’s putting together a Special Sauce!
That job you wanted . . . He’s putting together a Special Sauce!
That financial blessing . . . He’s putting together a Special Sauce!
That peace on the job . . . He’s putting together a Special Sauce!
That deeper anointing . . . He’s putting together a Special Sauce!
That promotion . . . . He’s putting together a Special Sauce!
That Baby........................ He’s putting together a Special Sauce!

For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you hope and a future......Jeremiah 29:11. How many people have driven away before the clerk brought their food, and how many people have missed their blessings because they did not wait? Hang on in there. Keep on waiting. You made a Special Order, now wait on God’s Special Sauce! “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.”...Isaiah 40:31.

They who wait shall receive a Special Sauce!

So I've got it... I'm waiting for my "Special Sauce". The 2 day news is bad. It hurts my heart to know we may be waiting even longer than my longest prediction. I'm beginning to appreciate those friends of ours that ask "Have you heard any news?" as opposed to "When are you getting the baby?". I'm sure I'll have more bad days but coming across this today on one of my support groups was very special. I felt that God was indeed sending me a message. So strangely, I feel uplifted rather than down in the dumps over the news today. I hope this post can do the same for anyone else out there feeling down.

Snuggle Bunnies??

Our fur-babies have been acting weird. These two do love each other but haven't actually ever been snuggle bunnies. Lately they've taken to sleeping between us right next to each other (as opposed to Sable at the end of the bed and Patches as close to her daddy as she can get). Well, this morning while I was doing laundry, I threw a load of towels on the couch and left them for later. The next thing I see is this:



I'm a bit confused as to what has gotten into our girls. They stayed this way until I interrupted them to fold the towels. I don't think it's Patches making the change. It's Sable. Patches has always freaked out when she has had to be separated from Sable. When we take them to the groomer, if Sable gets brought out first, Patches throws a fit. Patches also doesn't like to go outside at night without Sable. I think it is hilarious! Now if only we could get the two cats to like each other!

Easter 2007

We are having a cold Easter this year. Last night we had below freezing temperatures. Certainly not our typical Spring weather. We hosted the family gathering this Easter. Senna and Charlie are out of town so we didn't have anyone to got egg hunting. Blah! I really wanted to have an egg hunt. Dinner turned out to be pot luck so to speak. I made a ham, homemade mac and cheese, and lima beans. My sister, Carolyn, brought deviled eggs, Mom made her awesome bacon ranch pasta salad and Chocolate Delight, and Sara's mother in law, Denise, made her delicous potato salad. The best part though was discovering something new about my dear hubby. He has been watching the "Ace of Cakes" on the Food Network so he decided that he would make a cake. He had me buy him some fondant and all the necessary ingredients and then he went to work. He was working on his cake until midnight last night but just look at the results! It turned out to be so CUTE. He's done it now... I'll be expecting him to make all of Lexi's birthday cakes.


This was my creative contribution. I made an edible fruit bouquet. Yesterday, Sara and I went to Glennville to pick fresh strawberries. Well, it was COLD and WINDY so we opted to just buy some that they had picked on Friday. I came home and went to work on creating. The only thing about making something like this is that no one wants to eat it. I had to take it apart after lunch and send some home with everyone.

My Movie of our G.O.L.F. Weekend in Savannah

I've spent the last few days working on a movie of everyone's pictures about the Savannah G.O.L.F. weekend. I finished it today and mailed a copy out to everyone who attended. I'm also posting it here for everyone to enjoy. It ended up being a little shy of 10 minutes. I used music (well, almost all) related to Savannah or Georgia. It turned out pretty good (if I say so myself). I can't wait to be able to make our Journey To Lexi video. Hurry up referrals!!

Fly Ladybug, Fly!

I guess I really needed this weekend because I have literally slept most of it away. Yesterday I just didn't feel right... sleepy, out of energy, and even dizzy. I thought maybe it was my sinus' getting ready to torture me now that we have pollen everywhere. I do feel better today but I surely should after sleepy about 26 hours since Friday at 9:00. I'm not doing much today either except try to get some cleaning done around the house. I wanted to catch up on a few things on the blog too. That doesn't require much energy.


I let the rest of the adult and larva ladybugs go a little while ago. I had one more day of classes at school that had not seen them under the microscope. That was the coolest thing! We've taken photos and short movie clips of them eating aphids. The kids really got into it and now I can't even walk through the school with kids asking me about them. I think I'm going to have to order some caterpillars for them to observe after the Easter holidays.

More Baby Clothes

This time (as usual)it was Geoff who picked out these little outfits for Lexi. We are fairly certain that she will wear most of what we buy because it's all between 18-24 months. We have bought some 12 - 18 months stuff but you never know what season it will be when we go get her. At this point my guess is that it will be winter. Geoff and I were talking about referrals today and our best guess if things continue the way they are that we may get a referral in December. We are hoping for October or November but that is a big HOPE. We're thinking about it like this. . . if CCAA began making referrals for 15 days at a time each month, that would put us at 9 more months of waiting for referral. IF they speed up some, it could be sooner. This guessing is really pointless because it'll happen when the time is right. In the meantime, Lexi is already a huge part of our lives and it gives us pleasure to buy pretty things for her. A lot of people tell us we should wait and see what size she is and my answer there is "you try waiting 2 years + for a baby and see how you deal with it." Everyone has their own way.

This one is too cute. I love the little bloomers! This is definately a Spring and Summer outfit.

I've been eyeing this outfit too waiting for it to go on sale. We bought this one in 12-18 months thinking that it will be an outfit that will go with us to China. She'll probably need long sleeves.

This little overall capri will probably be too big for her in China but will be very functional for living in the south. She'll be able to wear this outfit Spring, Summer, and Fall. Of course, her Daddy bought the matching socks and hairbows!

Baby Clothes from Lexi's GG (Great Granny Nanny)

This little dress was sent to us a few weeks back from Nanny (Geoff's Grandmother) and Maggie (Nanny's housemate and dear family friend). It's very cute and will make a cute church dress. Nanny also sent some little sandals to match. This makes only the second pair of shoes that we have for Lexi. The other is also a pair of sandals that my Secret Pal Carol sent me last summer to go with a bathing suit. I haven't gotten into buying shoes because I have no idea what sizes mean. I guess I was able to do it with Sara but then I had little feet to put in them. So on this we wait. Nanny stuffed the little socks with cotton balls. The socks by the way came off of one of Geoff's childhood stuffed animals (Radar) that Nanny still has. I thought it was a very sweet gesture.

And finally, Nanny and Maggie sent some play clothes. These are perfect for spring and summer and even part of fall here.

Easter Pig??

My sweet friend, Melaine, brought me a present today. It's a chocolate Easter Pig!! When she gave it to me she said that this just HAD to be the year we will get Lexi because if they are making Easter Pigs, it MUST really be the Year of the Pig. Check it out! His name is Pigglesworth! He's way too cute to ever eat!

... counting up???

Yesterday marked the 13th month of official waiting. I sure hope when referrals come out (hopefully next week) that the wait will hold at 18 months. Our agency says it will likely get longer. I'm hoping that it will just stay. Imagine if it would. It would mean a referral in September. That would be nice. Although, I'm kind of thinking our referral will not come until October. I can handle that. We will have lots to be thankful for at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I Hope. At work we have to change our passwords every 90 days. I've been playing with words. I've been "wishful", "hopeful", and was really hoping that by the end of the school year I could be "thankful". With the extended wait, I may have to try out "patiently" or "justdarntiredofwaiting". Oh, the things I do to amuse myself as we wait.

Do you know what this is???

It's a ladybug larva. Yes... a ladybug! I ordered a ladybug land kit from Insectlore.com. It came with a ladybug habitat and live ladybug larva. I had no idea this could turn into a ladybug. The sad news is all of mine died. They never changed into the pupa stage. So last week I called the company and they are supposed to send me replacements.

Let me stop here and just say... I love teaching in the spring. It's so much fun. I like to hatch chicks and ducks, raise butterflies, watch praying mantids hatch, and whatever else I can get my hands on. Teaching computers makes it less likely that I have opportunities to do this kind of thing but I figured I could work it into research.

Last week our praying mantids hatched. These are totally cool insects! They are clean and friendly and love to walk and hop on your hands. However, we turned them loose so they would live withing 24 hours of them hatching. After I let the kids let them go, I discovered that I have a crop of aphids on our day lilies. So I ordered LIVE ladybugs.

We're going to observe them at school for a few days and then I'm going to turn them loose on my day lilies. Of course I hope they make a home here because I really love watching them and they are so good for the plants. My neighbors probably think I'm nuts because I've been outside picking aphids off the lilies two days in a row to feed the ladybugs. I also give them soaked raisins to eat. Tomorrow I'm going to put a ladybug and some aphids in a clear container and put it under a microscope that is connected to the computer and the SmartBoard. We'll take photos and video of the insects. We should be able to get an extra close look at nature. Then we should be able to make a movie about ladybugs. This is fun stuff. I think it's time to order some caterpillars... oh yeah!

Just Ducky Secret Pal!

Wow! Our secret pal struck again. This month is reveal month and the theme was bathtime. First of all . . . Thanks AMY!! for all of the wonderful gifts you have sent over the months. Amy out-did herself this month! The entire package was themed around ducks and then she said she moved into chicks after Easter items began to appear. I love both ducks and chicks. As a teacher, I've hatched both in the classroom with my former 2nd graders. Ducks were always the cutest because they imprint and will follow you anywhere once they see you and think you are their mommy. (Oops, I digress!)

Anyhow, the package was filled with all kinds of ducky, chicky kinds of things. .. two ducky frames, ducky blanket, ducky tag-blanky, rubber ducks, ducky bath scrunchy, jelly beans in a ducked shaped tray, two board books, bath mit, duck hair barettes, ducky bath towel, duck stuffed animal that quacks, bubbles, and all kinds of sweet smelling baby oils, lotions, shampoo, powder, and body wash.

Sable really loves the stuffed duck. Oh, she would so love to play with it. Her favorite dog toy is a duck that she has had for probably 3 years or more. She's loved it to shreads! When I showed her the duck, she went nuts. And the fact that it quacks makes her even more insane. She's got to learn that Lexi's toys aren't her toys so she may as well begin now. :-)

This and That . . .

So what's been going on. Blogging gets boring when the wait last forever. I continue to blog because I want to remember everything we did as we waited for Lexi. How we prepared, how we longed for her, the ups and even the downs because all of it will be a part of how our family begins. Our agency now says that the wait is at 18 months. They also say it is likely to get a bit longer before it's over. We will find our way to her though and hopefully it will be in 2007.

School will get out soon. We have about 43 days to go. Yippie! The sooner summer break comes and goes, the sooner we will be getting closer to going to get Lexi. In the meantime, we're trying to decide on a trip for the summer. We are leaning pretty hard towards heading to New Orleans to meet some more people from our Precious Pandas January DTC Yahoo group. It's so much fun meeting all of these wonderful people. When we first started the adoption, we kept thinking that we couldn't splurge on any trips but now that the wait just gets longer, it gets harder to justify putting everything on hold. We've made so many new friendships and added to our support system. It's really nice and I really love everyone we have met.

Geoff and I have been making some changes as well. I've been getting up early (yes, ME) and while I get ready for work, he cooks breakfast. It's a nice way to start the day and I find that I don't get hungry until it's time for lunch. We enjoy having nice breakfasts on Sunday mornings and now we're doing it every morning. This is just one of the things we can do to help us get used to having a baby in the house.

Every since I went to the dentist last week, I've had so much an easier time sleeping. He made me a stint for my mouth to stop me from clinching. When I feel myself starting to clinch, I put it in and I can't do it. After stopping the vicious clinching cycle, my sleeping is improving. The downside is that when I put it in, I can't enunciate my words completely and end up sounding like a 3 year old. It's particularly hard to say words with the "s" and "sh" sound. Geoff finds this very funny and begs me to say "suffering succotash" all the time. I find the whole thing comforting but annoying at the same time. Whatever it takes to make it better.

Shots and more shots!

It's Spring Break and so far, I've had appointments every day. This is what teachers do... wait until breaks and take care of as much as possible. Yesterday, I went to the dentist and today we went to get shots for the China trip. Shots aren't required but we went ahead and got Hep A and B and tetanus. Geoff also got the Chicken Pox vaccine. He's never had them so he went ahead and got it. The Tetanus shot hurts the worst. Tomorrow I'm going back to the dentist and then to the doctor with Sara. I'll get to hear the Brennan's heart beat. I think finally on Friday, I don't have anything planned. Spring Break goes by way too fast.

A New Blog To Follow

Here's a link for a couple we met at the Savannah FCC Chinese New Year Luncheon that live near us. They are on their way to China today!! They were the first couple we met at the event this year. Dale had his proud daddy brag book with him. I can't wait to follow their journey. Just think, this will be us one day!

http://myadoptionwebsite.com/annagrace/index.html

Grandma... I'm Lovin' it!!

Sara went with me today to an appointment in Savannah. Then we had another mother-daughter day. Just how much time can two future mom's spend shopping? A LOT! I bought Sara lunch and after we finished she went to the restroom. After she had been gone a little too long, I started to worry. When she finally came back her eyes were teared up and her face was red. I knew immediately something was wrong. Apparently, lunch didn't settle well with her and came back up as quickly as I paid for it! :-) Poor thing! She still has days of "morning sickness". I bought Brennen his first complete Gymboree outfit complete with overalls, shirt, socks, bib and hat. Too cute! Then we made the mistake of going by my favorite local scrapbooking store where I purchased his first scrapbook to match his nursery. Now I will find some time to make him his first scrapbook. Finally, on the way home we stopped by Target where I got the biggest chuckle. Sara had to buy a size medium bathing suit! The suits must have been sized wrong because the shorts she got were XS. I think there IS a conspiracy among bathing suit makers to make every single woman in the world feel awful about herself no matter how small she is. How else can an XS woman go to a Medium that quickly? Sara's tummy is getting bigger but she is all tummy. I absolutely love watching her grow and couldn't be more proud. I can't wait until Lexi can meet Brennen. Heck... we can't wait to meet Lexi!

Muffin has a stalker!

Look closely at the mailbox. (front yard)

We think Muffin is being stalked by a Hawk. (minutes later.... backyard)
Muffin is very confused...
She's decided to take on her own prey!
For now, she's staying close to the house!

Pigs, pigs, and more pigs!

I've been meaning to post this picture for a few weeks now. It was a gift from my dear friends Melane and Melissa. They gave me this porcelin Miss Piggy and sweet note for Chinese New Year. I love that they put "It's my year" on the front of the card. I thought it was extra special of them to think of me and care enough to even know it's the Year of the Pig. It's just sweetness. Pure and Simple. Thanks so much M & M!



Speaking of Pigs...



My JanuaryDTC group decided to have a Year of the Pig Swap. I have always loved pigs. I used to have an entire week of pig-themed activities link around books with pig characters. That was before National Child Left Behind and when they let us make decisions as educators as to how we wanted to teach skills. (That's another story.) Anyhow, I gathered all kinds of things to send to my swap partner. I saw some cute onesies and t-shirts on the internet but they were quite expensive so I opted to "borrow" the idea and made my own. I made Lexi some too. I thought they turned out really cute.





Onsie front...
Onsie back...
T-shirt #1 front...
t-shirt #1 back
T-shirt #2

Oh, the fun we have passing the time!

Check!

Okay, we can check off getting re-fingerprinted from the list of things to do before we get our referral. It was a quick uneventful trip. I did briefly meet a fellow China Peach (this is the GA. Yahoo group of people who have or will adopt from China). We didn't get to talk but a minute because I was called to get my prints done. The guy who did my prints had just done hers as well. He asked me if we knew each other. He said he's never seen anyone else come in that knew anyone else there. It was hard to explain how we know each other. :-) For some reason, I had my external hard drive in my purse. That brought up a question from the security guy. He was like, "WHAT is that?". Our appointment was at 8:00 AM and we were back home at 1:00. Now we are back to waiting until about June when we will send for an updated I600.

Fellow Feb. 27, 06 LID'er's

I've found a few other blogs with LID's the same day as us.

* Eggrolls and Chopsticks
* Our Not-So-Patient Wait for Mia From China

Does anyone out there know of any more?? I wonder if it's possible that we will meet up in China. Seems like we should as long as we all stay at the White Swan. Interesting.

Atlanta Bound

Yesterday, we received our fingerprint appointment from Homeland Security. That was faster than I expected! We have to be there at 8:00 AM on Friday. It's not so much a problem for me as it Geoff. It's always hard for him to get away during tax season and after he took off last weekend, it's even harder. It will be a quick trip. Up on Thursday night and home on Friday. I'd really love to have time to make a trip to Archiever's (my FAVORITE scrapbook store in the whole world that is way too far away for frequent visits!).

Last time we were fingerprinted, I had no idea that you could not have cuts on your fingers. The instructions they sent us had been copied so many times that we couldn't read it and frankly, we were just ecstatic to have our appointment. Well, this time I know and I've already had a bad dream. We only got our appointment yesterday, and last night I dreamed that I cut my fingers and they wouldn't let me be fingerprinted. Wouldn't that be awful??

So I guess my brother, Richard, will be coming to dog-sit for us yet again.

Savannah Weekend - A Gathering of Little Friends

Geoff and I had a wonderful whirlwind of a weekend (say that three times as fast as you can)! It began on Friday night at Wendy's house. When Geoff and I got there, the house was full of people, most of whom we were meeting for the first time. Wendy was a great host and was showing everyone how to make Chinese dumplings. The girls were having a great time making them as well. After a delicious Chinese dinner, Wendy lead us all into a Q&A about going to China and adoption. She had invited a doctor(Dr. Jene) from Savannah who has adopted 2 adorable girls (who were there of course!). It was very informative.

On Saturday, we all met at Starbucks in downtown Savannah. Geoff took Andy and Gary golfing and the rest of us headed out for a tour of downtown Savannah. At 2:30 the ladies went for tea at the Gryphon Tea Room, while the guys went out for pizza. Wendy's girls did so great! They so freely share their love. They hung in there with us and were just perfectly behaved. After a long day, we all went to dinner at Paula Dean's Lady and Sons Restaurant. Delicious!! You know, we live so close to Savannah. It's amazing that everything we did today was new for us. It was like we WERE out of town somewhere new.

This morning we all met up again at J. Christopher's for brunch. Again... delicious! The company was even better. It was sad to say good-bye. It's like we were in our own little world over the weekend. Now it's back to reality.

I've said it before, but I have to say it again. Adoption has brought so much to our lives. The internet has made it possible to expand our support group to include some very special people. We'll all be connected by our daughters. It's truly a wonderful thing.

New friends we met this weekend:
Diane and Gary from Michigan, Rhonda and Mike from Alabama, Lori (my Philly roomie) and Andy from Florida, Cheri and Shane from Ohio, Sharon from Florida, Susan and Jonathan from Georgia, and Karen from Georgia

Friends we reconnected with:
Wendy and her girls, and Susan and Riz

We're honored to know you all and share this adoption journey together.

I'm hoping to post some pictures that others took as well. I didn't do the best job capturing the essence of the moment... as usual!

This is LONG... but hey! I'm catchin' up!!

I really have planned to post lately but never made it. I've been pouring myself into all things dissertation. Tonight, I'm taking a much needed break and will watch Survivor. So catching up...

* We were logged in exactly 12 months on Feb. 27th. We didn't exactly celebrate but did feel great satisfaction in that we have reached such a milestone. Our agency's website now says the wait from LID to referral is 16-18 months. I've resigned myself to the fact that we may not be going to China until sometime in the fall. I've come to realize that this whole process is progressive. One.Step.At.A.Time.


* I've reached a milestone in my dissertation as well. I've received an approval for my proposal idea. It's only taken me almost a year to do this. I have to remind myself that this is the second idea that was approved. My first topic was also approved but fell apart just as I reached the proposal stage as the war in Iraq began. My subjects basically all moved away. For those who are wondering... yes, I've been at this quest in my career for a very long time. I should be finished by now. Actually I should have finished a long time ago. However, it was during my studies that Geoff and I made the decision to have a baby. Staying focused on extending a family via IVF, domestic adoption, foster-care/adoption, and finally International adoption has taken its toll on my progress. Not to mention that I've switched jobs 4 times during a process that depends upon my job situation. I hate that it has taken me this long but as they say, "that's life". I hope things are on the upswing again. I hope that chapters 1-3 will be submitted by the end of March. I hope that the actual study will occur in May. I need the better part of this to be finished by referral time. That's a lot of hope situated upon alot of things well beyond my control.

* Something I've not shared on the blog... last December we got a new special needs list from our agency. I happened to discover it during my workday. I immediately saw not just one but two girls that I could see as being Lexi. I sent Geoff an email and then called him to see if he could see Lexi on the list. Amazingly, he identified the same two girls. I know this may sound weird that more than one picture could "feel" like she was our Lexi, but the truth is we don't really know who she is. We just "feel" her. We actually emailed our agency about either of the girls but they were both already spoken for. I did find a great sense of relief in this whole experience because I really got a taste for how it would feel when we finally see our Lexi's face. I felt the immediate love for a child that is only a dream at this point. It was comforting to me to know that once we do receive our referral, my love for our Lexi will be real. It will be confirmed.

* So today, I saw another email from our agency for a little girl whose adoption has fallen through so rather than delay her adoption, they were "offering" her to families who were LID between Jan. and Mar. of 2006. That fits us. I looked at her information and emailed Geoff. Then I called him to make sure he saw my message. I wanted this to be Lexi even though I really didn't "feel" it. Neither did Geoff. And when I allowed myself to really internalize it, I knew that it wasn't our "time"/our Lexi. I even had an internal panic that if we did get this child, I would probably be going to get her by May and "wholly-cow!!!" if we did get her, would I ever have the focus required to finish my dissertation. I guess that says it all. It's not our time. We still have much to do before Lexi. What a realization...

* Movin' on... Tomorrow begins the GOLF weekend... (A Gathering of Little Friends). This time it's close to home. I don't have to fly anywhere. Tomorrow night, a bunch of Dec. and Jan. DTC cyber-friends will meet for the first time. We have a big weekend planned in Savannah. I can't wait to meet some more fellow "adopters" and reunite with some of the ladies (and their hubbies) that I met in Philly. I'll post some weekend details later on. It is sure to be a fantastic weekend.

So basically, I think I'm caught up at least for tonight. Now I'm going to watch Survivor. Whew!!

It's a BOY!

Well, today was the day! And how exciting it was!! Last night Sara dreamed that they were having a boy and she's said all along that it was a boy... and it IS! His name will be Brennin Matthew (not sure of the spelling for Brennin yet) and today he weighed 12 ounces! So tiny!! After Sara's appointment, we went to breakfast. Chris is a very happy daddy-to-be! Then after breakfast, Chris went to work and Sara and I proceeded to shop! There's no danger of this little one going naked. We shopped so much that by the end of the day, we had accidently bought the same outfit twice! I had bought it at the first store we went to and then on the way home Sara bought it again at the Carter's Outlet store! Not to worry though because Chris' brother is also expecting a boy this summer so we just passed it on to them. (And did I mention, the youngest brother found out his girlfriend is pregnant too! How funny is that Sara's mother in law has 3 sons and all of them are expecting babies!!!) I'm so excited... he can call me grandma, granny, gran, mimi,... I don't care. I just can't wait to meet my very first grandson and little nephew to Lexi. Wow!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Of course, I'm a day late but anyhow... Happy Chinese New Year! We really enjoyed attending our local FCC celebration. I ESPECIALLY enjoyed seeing all of the children. There were people there that have had their kids for quite a while to those who returned in January and even just a few weeks ago. There were also people who just got referrals a few weeks ago and some who were just logged in a few weeks ago. We learned so much from listening to others who have already gone through the process. I think when we go, I'll have Wendy on speed dial. By the time we go, she will be back from getting her third child! There was one family there with a boy that they got in late January. He was simply adorable! On our way home, I told Geoff that if we don't get twins, I'll want to go back for a boy. Yes... I would do this again, without a doubt.

On another note, we had our social worker visit today for our homestudy. Everything went fine. She had questions about what we had been doing while waiting. With school, work, and being involved in different groups, that was an easy one. I also showed her the quilt and my scrapbooks. I went to Mom's today and got the quilt. It's all finished except the binding around the edges. Our social worker had never heard of a 100 Good Wishes Quilt. I was amazed but she even more as I told her the story of the legend, the collecting, the stitching, the scrapbooking, and how this quilt has been such a joy for our family. (Mom said tonight that she would wrap Lexi in it without it being finished if we could get her now... ME TOO!)

So one more thing behind us. Tomorrow, I'll probably be posting again. I am going with Sara and Chris to find out what the baby is going to be. I'm so excited. Afterwards, we are going shopping for the baby. I'll get to buy the first baby-specific clothes! My fellow Precious Panda, Lori from the January DTC group, told me that when her daughter in law found out she wore the coordinating color to work the next day. I'm borrowing this idea. So will I wear pink or blue to work on Wedneday?? I'll report tomorrow!

(note this graphic came from cutecolors.com)

Long time no post

I can't believe I've almost let two weeks go by between posts. It has been busy around here. On weekends I've been working with Carolyn and Mom to help finish the quilt and during the week I've been working on the big D. I got really upset with my dissertation chairperson this week. He sent some feedback via my advisor that made me feel like I was dealing with a caveman rather than an education expert. On my document, some of his comments were "GAK", "BAH", and "AH". I'd love to know what "GAK" means. For me, it's too close to "gag" to suit me. I did speak to my advisor though and have as of today sent in a new draft that hopefully will not have "GAK" as a response.

I'm not exactly happy about Valentine's Day this year either. I came home and checked the mail. I was excited for about 2 seconds to find a letter from Homeland Security. I opened the letter to find that Geoff had mailed our request to be refingerprinted without a check. He forgot to put in the $140. Of course, they took a month to tell us this. I was ticked. I know he felt terrible about it but I had to fuss to get it out of my system. So yesterday, a new request was made with a check included. Let's see if it takes another month to get an appointment.

Our homestudy will be this Monday. Thankfully, this is a school holiday. I can dust, clean up and get everything spotless AGAIN before the social worker arrives. Here's a quick story... I've got this Impatien by the door that came up by itself last summer. I've been protecting it from the frost all winter. We've had more cold days this winter than I can remember in the past ten years. Geoff keeps telling me to let it go but I keep covering it up every time the temperature goes down to freezing. I think this plant is our welcome mat and maybe, just maybe I can let it go after our homestudy. Who knows though, we may be past the frost season after this weekend. Afterall, the azaleas are confused and are trying to bloom all over town. My Lady Banks plant is trying to bloom too. Such is life in the southeast. We never truly have four seasons.

On Sunday Geoff and I are planning to attend our first local FCC meeting in celebration of Chinese New Year. I've thought about canceling about three times this week because I feel the pressure to work on my paper but every time something kept me from doing it. I guess I need to connect with others who have been in our situation or ARE waiting just like us. Plus we will get to see Wendy and her girls. I think this is probably something we are needing.

Mom will probably keep working on the quilt without me and Carolyn but there is plenty to be done on it and I'm sure we can all work some more next weekend.

At least things are busy around here. Busy means time goes faster.

What's Up With Our DTC ticker???

Our DTC ticker has been stuck for days on "12 months DTC". Our 12th month DTC was January 30, 2006. However our counter has been stuck for days. What's up with that???? I guess as long as the LID ticker keeps on going, I can deal with it.

I actually had someone ask me today ... very cautiously... how I was doing with the wait. I'm fine. I really am. Every day that ticks on by is one day closer to Lexi. One day until our lives change forever. One more day until my heart explodes with even more love than I ever can imagine. One more day until Geoff and I finally lay eyes on our beautiful daughter.

Quilt Update

Lexi's 100 Good Wishes quilt is all but done. We haven't worked on it since mom came home from SC this past summer. Well, Mom has decided that it is time to finish it and she gathered me and my sister Carolyn at her house today to work on it. The only part left to finish is a heart pattern all around the edges and then the binding on the edges. We have 3 sides to go. I think we must have spent 2 hours this morning making sure the pattern was even and perfectly fit for the length of the quilt. Once we got to stictching, it moved fairly quickly. I can't believe it but I can quilt both left and right handed. I'm actually more comfortable quilting as a lefty. This is totally not my usual choice. Carolyn was quilting today for the first time ever. She is very, very good. All in all, it was good family fun and with every single stitch we anticipate wrapping little Lexi in it. I told mom today that no how hot it may be when she arrives, I want that quilt there at the airport to wrap her in it and take a picture. That moment can't come soon enough.

On a funny note... the other day Sara came to see me at work and was looking at pictures of pregnant women. When she gets near the end of her pregnancy, she wants to have some pregnancy photos made. Well, she pulled up some pictures on about.com. One of the ones she pulled up showed a young woman at 16 weeks with twins. It is totally UNREAL how much this woman looks like my sister Shirley when she was in her late teams/early twenties. It's like someone took Shirley's head and "photoshopped" it onto a pregnant body. The only thing that gives it away that it is NOT Shirley is that Shirley was more petite. Her legs were little sticks. However, the Patriotic bikini the woman is wearing looks like something women around our town would wear. Mom didn't really want me to post it on the blog, so I'm posting a link to it instead. We talked to Shirley today and asked her where her twins are. This is too funny!!

http://pregnancy.about.com/cs/pregnancyphotos/l/blbelly0316c.htm

Today was Great Day For Adoption News!!

Finally some great news! It started today with referrals coming out. Our agency got 10 referrals for babies 7 - 17 months old ... all from the Hunan Provience. Then just a few minutes ago, I checked my yahoo groups to discover that CCAA has finally changed their site to reflect that they have finished reviewing adoption applications through MARCH 22!!! That means we have made it through review. I think the next phase is moving our dossier to the matching room. Now this does not mean that we will be getting a referral soon. I am still hopeful that our referral will come in late spring to early summer. Worse case... last summer.

I can only imagine how excited all of the new referral families are tonight. I am so very excited to see every single batch of referrals go out. I live vicariously through these people. I love following their stories and learning from their experiences. Oh happy day!!