We're BACK!

Gosh! I took my computer with us to the beach but never took the time to post! We left right after Brennen's birthday party so I have a lot of updates to do!

Brennen was a trooper at his party even if he didn't like putting his hands in the cake! This boy will rub everything else all over his face and hands but not CAKE! Well, maybe next year. Sara and Chris threw a very good birthday party. They cooked hotdogs and hamburgers and even rented one of those blow up jumpy things for the kids to play in. Brennen had a very good time but really was only interested in one toy... the tricycle that his Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Ben gave him. It was the big hit! He wanted to push it all over the place! We gave him a sand and water table. He showed a little interest in it but was just taken by the tricycle.

Then we headed to the beach to our luxury condo. We literally walked across the parking lot and were on the beach. It was so very nice! Carolyn and I hit the beach on Sunday and didn't stop until it rained on Friday. I even coaxed Geoff out on the beach on Monday. He is not a fan of water but is trying very hard to learn since he knows that will be a place that we will want to take Lexi. In fact anyone who lives here needs to be able to swim some. My brother feel off of a dock one time when he was about 5 years old and we had to jump in the get him. And even Brennen is fearless already on the beach! Sara brought him up and stayed a few nights and as soon as his feet hit the sand he made a bee line for the water. He rushed at the waves! If we hadn't had his hands he would have been swept away by waves! He really made me nervous!

We came back last Saturday to find that my milkweed plants at home and at school have just grown immensely! I even have baby Monarch caterpillars on them already. At school the sunflowers are at least 8ft. tall! And the plants that we planted right before I left in the garden are already up and a pretty good size. I'm working to get it in good shape before the students come back to school.

Today I was working outside when two of the custodians came out to check out the garden. They are always helping me do something out there. Well, I was telling them that next summer I would not be out there everyday and would need to get students and their parents more actively involved because I'd have a baby at home. They both looked at me and in shock and then remembered the adoption. They were looking for a baby bump! It was too funny! We've been waiting for so long now that people have actually forgotten that we are adopting! This week on July 16th, will be three years ago that we made the decision to go to China. We named Lexi on the same day. My, that seems just like yesterday but in also it seems forever ago.

Birthday Update

We had Chris, Sara, and Brennen over for dinner so that we could see him on his official birthday. We ordered out Mexican food and after we finished Sara and Chris gave Brennen a tiny little birthday cake. Well, I hope he improves by Saturday because the little munchkin did not take to his cake very well. He was curious.... But then as soon as he touched the cake, he decided that it was yucky!
Sara tried to give him a little taste but that was a no-go too!
In the end, he was reaching for his Grammie to rescue him! It was too funny! The real party is this Saturday. We'll see how he does then!

Tales from the garden...

Remember the Swallowtail caterpillars? Well, this is one that I put in a butterfly tent to watch make his metamorphosis.

This is him after a day. Now we're watching to see when he will hatch.

Well, yesterday I met my Dad up at school to do some planting in the garden. I really really want the kids to see some summer harvest so we replanted corn, zucchini, squash, cucumbers, and green beans. I wanted to learn my Dad's way of planting. I have to say we had a great time! I love to spend time with Daddy learning about his past and how he does things. It also means so much to me that he will come up on a hot summer day to work so hard in the hot sun just because I want to. Times like this are priceless!

After a while my MOM came up to check on us. While we were piddling around I noticed this little lady!

So Mom and I started to watch her. Sure enough, she is my first Monarch of the season who is laying eggs! She laid eggs as long as we watched! It was fascinating! I did my best to get some good pictures!
Now I'm conflicted about going away next week! My principal is supposed to mind the garden while I'm away. I check daily for aphids and signs of disease on my plants and make sure they are watered. I probably will have his number on speed dial next week to make sure everything is properly taken care of!

Attracting Monarch butterflies is pretty much a hobby of mine. I've done it for the past 3 years and have loved every moment of it. I get amazed by nature every time I observe the process. However, this morning while I was out minding the milkweed plants, I leaned over to check out a plant and all of a sudden heard a loud buzzing! I looked up and right in front of me was a wasp stinging on of my Swallowtail cats! I shooed him off but it was too late! Poor thing just died. I was so upset! I know that nature has it's laws but today nature just totally blew my day! The nasty little wasp came back for it later on when I left. They use them to lay eggs in inside of their nests. I have a bunch more cats growing in my little herb garden. I sure hope he will stay away! My brother and Mom are going to be taking care of my plants, dogs and cats, and caterpillars next week. Hopefully, all will be okay!

I do plan to continue to keep my little hobby intact when I have Lexi. I think showing her things like this will bring very educational experiences to her and stimulate her curiosity. Maybe she will grow to be a nature girl just like her mom. I know I have picked up a lot this from my wonderful parents.

And yes, I am choosing to pretty much ignore the disappointing news that we got yesterday that referrals only made it through Jan. 25 of '06. I guess some progress is better than no progress. We now have 31 days between where CCAA is and where we WANT them to be!

Happy 1st Birthday Brennen!

One year ago today, we were blessed with the birth of this beautiful boy! Today we celebrate Brennen! We had dinner with Sara, Chris and Brennen tonight and gave him a pre-birthday party present. Saturday, he will have the birthday bash. Anyhow, here are some of the pictures from the photo shoot from last Friday. Needless to say, this boy melts our hearts!

Beginning Planning...

I know we still have a way to go until we get our referral but I just can't help but get more and more excited every day. Today is really the first day that I have been home since summer school got out. Friday, I had a Dr. appt. and then Sara and I took Brennen for his FIRST birthday photo shoot. (I'll post those soon!) I've been checking email and catching up and just can't believe how fast the day is going by. I'm so use to being in "high-gear" that this has been very nice.

Today I set up a Skype account. We still need to get a web cam and headset. I want to get our families and friends who are interested set up now before the referral. That will be one less thing to do from referral to travel. It really is simple though. I'm posting this here to let family and friends know what we are up to and if you decide to join us on Skype, just let us know.

I found these at Wal Mart yesterday and picked them up for the trip. They were 97 cents and have a $1 coupon on the back for Hefty bags so really they will end up being free. I am sure we need these for packing.

There are so many details to think about. When I talked to Mei, she suggested doing some of the stuff now. So here we are. We are going to go ahead and talk to our bank about how much notice they need to exchange our money for new money for the trip. I'm also beginning to make a packing list. She said that our guide will be able to help us find a local person to do our laundry that will be tons cheaper than using the hotel.

She also said that we will be staying at the White Swan because that is one of the agency's traditions. We were told that the hotel was closing in 2008 for renovations but so far they have not. I am really glad they make all the travel arrangements for us. Our travel fee includes all meals as well. Of course, if we chose to eat other than the arrangements we will have to pay for it.

Susan, Riz and Sophia are back from China and she has been filling us with great advice! Scott and Hope are in China now! They have Izabella already! I just LOVE watching the magic happen! I can't wait until it is our turn. I find myself emotional over the whole process. I tear up often and just know I'll be a wreck when it is our turn. Mei told me that she would waiting patiently if I cried when she calls! I just went ahead and told her to expect it! I've never been a great list person but I'm about to change that!

Progress

I can't believe a week has already gone by since my last post. I was pretty upset last Monday. Well, a lot has happened since and I'm feeling better. We got all the details in order and our application was sent to Atlanta last Thursday. Our check has cleared the bank and today we got a receipt from USCIS. This is progress.

I also talked to Mei at our agency last Wednesday and she was uplifting! We talked about the paperwork issues and she assured me things would work out and that if we didn't have the approval back before we leave for China that there is an expedition process. Then we talked about all kinds of stuff about the adoption for almost an hour! She was awesome. It is getting to be very exciting now as I watch fellow Precious Pandas get their babies and listen to everyone's excitement on the eve of referrals. I am so praying that CCAA will get all the way through January and give us Feb. 1st as a cherry on top!

Annoyed... Annoyed... ANNOYED!!

I haven't posted about this topic before because I guess I thought it would all work out and I could avoid some aggravation. Well, I'm totally ANNOYED! I'm so tired of people that show for work and then don't do their jobs. Last summer we reapplied to UCIS for the immigration approval for Lexi. The paperwork was lost and after months of first waiting for the new approval, we began the process of trying to find it. It was never to be found and we were due for a new home study so we began that process. It has taken FOREVER to get things done with the new home study! It took forever to get the appointment (every time you called, someone was always "out of the office" and then took forever to get back to us). We finally had the home study visit in April (and at that time were told that they had all the paperwork they needed from us) and within a few weeks approved the document, sent out our check for UCIS for the new application and for new fingerprints since ours will expire before we get the chance to go to China. So then we began the wait for the new approval letter. I wasn't really worried because I felt that we had plenty of time.

This is where I get CRAZY! Sometime since Geoff mailed them our check, he realized that the check had never been cashed so he began calling the home study agency. He called every day for over a week and FINALLY last Thursday got a call from them. At this time, he was told that they were missing the local DFACS clearance form. I hit the roof because we were told earlier that they had EVERYTHING. I could have done as I have done the previous 2 times and hand carried the document to them. I've even become quite friendly with the lady who does it. I called her in tears on Friday but she was out of the office and I just cried through my whole message. Part of my tears was frustration and the other was not feeling so well (I've been fighting some kind of virus I think). But persistence paid off and late Friday we hand carried the form and another supervisor filled out the form for us.

Now today, Geoff goes to work and faxes in the form to the agency in Atlanta. I went to work and on the way got a terrible case of chills and became so sick to my stomach I just couldn't stand up straight. So came back home, took Tylenol and went to bed. Then guess who calls????? The HS agency! Then she proceeds to tell me that they are now missing the I800 form from us. Our paperwork that we began for this update began in the winter and since then the Hague Convention has taken effect which meant a whole new set of forms. You know, you would THINK last Thursday as the woman goes through our information that had been sitting ON HER DESK for over a MONTH would have noticed!!!!!!! But no, the only thing missing then was the DFACS forms. Ugh!!!! And besides that don't you think that in April when they were drawing up the new homestudy report and looking over our paperwork they would have noticed that the once 2 page application that is now about 12 was the wrong one?? But you can bet they have cashed our check for their services a LONG time ago!

So I call Geoff and drag my sickly self out of bed and meet him half-way from his office to sign the papers so that he can now overnight them to Atlanta. I told her that we would be overnighting it because it is possible that by late summer we will have a referral. (The crazy lady just says "oh, that's really good"... as if she has no idea that we won't be ready if the paperwork issues aren't settled!) The Atlanta website says the processing time is 90 days. So let's do the math... if we were to be utterly surprised with an August referral, we won't have our paperwork at that time. If we get a Sept. referral and actually get to travel in October the ink will barely be dry on the document. This is a nightmare! After all this waiting, to be delayed going because of other people's inability to do their jobs is just like pouring salt in the wounds. We've been too patient in dealing with this agency. We accepted their excuses and just thought that time was on our side. I don't necessarily feel like we have a lot of time at this point. I'm VERY hopeful for a September referral... and of course would feel as if a miracle had occurred if it came in August. This is stressing me out and I'm very angry with all of these people (whoever they are) that have done their jobs half-way! We are checking to see if there is any way to expedite the paperwork in Atlanta but I'm not counting on it. I guess it is a good thing I did get sick this morning because otherwise I wouldn't have gotten a message from her until late this afternoon. I was planning on working in the school garden after work today. And that's another thing... she was supposed to be calling Geoff at work because he is more reachable than I am. He says she never calls the same number twice.

Okay, I guess I'm done venting... but you know you can't make this kind of crap up and I think I'm going back to bed.

Confused Zucchini!

Okay... so do these two veggies look alike? No. Well, believe it or not they both came from the same zucchini plant. Geoff just swore that there was no way. The round one looks amazing like the baby pumpkins that I am growing on the row next to it. I figure that I grew the zucchini that wanted to be a pumpkin!

By the way, we ate it and it tasted just like it was supposed to!

Another Butterfly Adventure

It's that time again. I've been working at home and at school growing plants for the butterflies. My plan is to have the school butterfly garden full of Milkweed plants in full bloom when the kids arrive in August. It will be just in time for the Monarch Butterflies! I've got over 100 plants at my house and at school and I check on them and take care of them every day. Well last Thursday I popped in at the Outdoor Classroom and as I was walking up to feed the fish, I noticed something on the Dill Weed that I had planted. I have planted Dill, Fennel, and Basil in hopes of maybe attracting Swallowtails to lay their eggs on these plants. The Swallowtails are all over the place around here but I have never seen a caterpillar before so I thought it would be fun to see if attracting the larva is as easy as it is to attract Monarchs. I came right home and began researching this caterpillar! Low and behold it IS Swallowtail caterpillars! Of course, I'm going nuts because there are no kids to share this experience with! But I am documenting it and will show them in the lab as soon as they come back. (To see a close-up, click on each picture)


This picture shows just how small they were! Geoff came home from work that day and I had the pictures up on the computer blown up so I could see them easily. So when we went to look at them again, he just busted out laughing that he had no idea how small they really were!

So here's a blow by blow of the progress so far...

Friday ~
Still pretty small!

Saturday ~
Finally starting to look like a Swallowtail caterpillar!











Sunday ~
Much bigger!












And when I came back to look at them this afternoon... they had 2 new neighbors and about 6 eggs waiting to hatch!















And just imagine, all this excitement is going on in this little clump of Dill Weed! I really enjoy watching Nature at work. I have ordered a Butterfly tent to hopefully transfer the caterpillars into before they finish their development. Swallowtails tend to wander off before they turn into a chrysalis and I really want to see the whole process!

Father's Day!

Wow! Another Father's Day in waiting! The difference is this year we really do see the light at the end of the tunnel. I've been a teary-eyed mess on and off all day just thinking that next year we will have Lexi. I know that Geoff is already a father to Sara and Grandfather to Brennen and nothing can ever take away from that but it will be different for him to have his very own baby to love and feel the joy of watching her grow before our eyes.

Well, this year we had a very nice Father's Day celebration with my family. We all went to my sister's house to cook out and play in the pool. It was so nice having everyone there and we all had such a nice time. We had a feast!!! To make the day even more special my mom had a GREAT surprise for Geoff and me! She finished the 100 Good Wishes Quilt!!! It's been mostly finished for over a year now but still had a few stitches to be completed. Mom finished them yesterday morning and wrapped the quilt in the most precious baby girl paper and put the most perfect card in the box for us. As things started to wind down, they called my Dad to come inside and I followed to find everyone gathered in the living room. (Sneaky Geoff hid behind the camera so that is why he is not the pictures!) I had no idea what was in the box and was quite confused as to why I was opening a present on Father's Day. Needless to say, tears welled up in my eyes as I began to realize what was in the box! I did complain about the fact that I was in my bathing suit, no makeup and hair all messed up for the pictures... some warning would have been nice! Apparently mom has been waiting for quite some time to put the finishing stiches in the quilt and for a family gathering. I can't even begin to express how happy this quilt has made me. It started out as something to do to help pass the time and it was a huge request to make of Mom. It turned out to be a very special "event" over time where I bonded with family, friends, and strangers over the making of this precious quilt. It is time with my Mom and a memory I will treasure for the rest of my life.

I can't wait to meet everyone at the airport with my Mom and Dad there waiting with the quilt. Lexi will get wrapped in it at the air port even if it is hot! The pictures below show that she most likely won't mind because Brennen sure loved playing in it! We've really had a great time looking at the fabric in the quilt and remembering who sent the scraps. I used to know almost all of them but have gotten a bit rusty during the wait. I love the star fabric on the back as it reminds me of the many wishes in the quilt and of our very own wish to bring our daughter home. Mom has made me promise not to put it on my bed and sleep with it to make sure it stays clean and fresh for Lexi ... but I know that every so often I'll be cuddling with it dreaming of the near future and the little bundle that will be wrapped inside!

Enjoying the summer...

Tomorrow marks two things in my mind... Most importantly~ Susan and Riz head to China join Sophia and then non-remarkfully - - - the end of the 2nd week of summer school (2 weeks to go!) I can only imagine how the Susan and Riz must feel! I can't wait until it is our turn! I also can't wait to meet little Sophia! This is so exciting!

I can't remember a more busy summer than this one. I am not sure if I just have packed it full of business or what! Today I told one of the custodians at work that I would NOT be back at work getting dirty in the garden. Well, after lunch with Sara and Brennen what did I do but head BACK to school and work in the butterfly garden until almost 6 o'clock! I counted the number of milkweed in the garden before I left and have a little over 100 plants to work with! I have about the same number at home! I am making sure that the Monarch butterflies that come my way this summer find a plenty of milkweed to lay their eggs on. This is my "mission" for the summer!

On another note... a few weeks ago I was just venting about not having a "vacation" over the last 3 years. We DID book a condo on the beach just one hour away for July! It made it easier that my sister and her husband split the cost. She loves the beach as much as I do and we will gladly soak up some sun in our nearby habitat! With the cost of gas, we really didn't want to go too far away. Afterall, a beach is a beach... is a beach, if you really love the beach! Both of us have invited our daughters and their husbands and children to come up for a few days. We will have plenty of room and I'm sure we will have an awesome time. I actually had a DR. appointment tomorrow but postponed because every day I teach Summer school pays for about one day that we will be there. After tomorrow, just two more weeks!

And speaking of July, on July 2nd Brennen will be one year old! I can't believe that last year this time we were awaiting his arrival! If I had not witnessed his development over the past year, I could not be certain that he is ours! I do think that in December he will welcome a baby sister! I just have a "feeling". Sara's pregnancy has been so different this time! I just think a baby girl would be perfect but who knows... our heavenly father knows what is best for all of us! But you never know.... my feelings about a baby girl could just be a sign for our Baby Lexi! The time is near..... we still patiently wait.

Summer Fun With Brennen

What fun summer is through the eyes of a child! Especially when that child is experiencing things for the first time! Sara and Brennen came to see me today to play in his little pool. These are some of my favorite shots of him that we took today. By the way, he now has another tooth coming through up top and the two bottom two are on their way. Before his first birthday next month he will have 4 teeth! I just can't believe how that little black haired infant has morphed into this sandy blonde boy!

This is Brennen's cheese ball grin!

A Cute Little Ladybug Just in time for Referrals

Last Saturday we were working in the yard and I came across this beautiful ladybug on one of my Milkweed plants. I know there are hundreds of kinds of ladybugs but I've never seen one like this. She looks very Asian don't you think? (Click on the picture to see a great close up!) She hung around for awhile and then left. So far we have no aphids for her to eat (and hopefully it will stay that way!)

Ahh.... now that's better!

I can't believe after my long winded "vent" last night that this evening we got an email from our agency informing us that the official "cut-off" date for referrals this month is Jan. 22! That's really good! I'm happy with that! Now there are 36 days between where they are and US! I know in the world of Chinese adoption 36 days could take a long time still but I am hopeful that this trend will continue. If and that's a BIG IF, they were to continue to this kind of progress each month we very well could have a referral in the fall! I know too well though to get my hopes up too high. Patience, Wanda... Patience.

Things were better at work today too. I had to ease up on myself and just realize that it is okay to not have things PERFECT. My brother has been helping me at school too. He is always a terrific help! Before we left today, I checked on the garden and low and behold I had 3 zucchinis ready to pick! I'm like a kid in a candy store! I had to take them to the office and show everyone and of course, we had one of them tonight! I love watching things grow! Especially things that I planted, nurtured and picked! I know sometimes it takes so little to amuse me!

It's June 3rd... What is going on?? Time to get real!

Ahhh.... I'm frustrated!!! Normally by now referrals would be out or at least RUMORED to be out but this month nothing concrete so far!!! It's driving me a little nuts. ME.. the one who has grown accustomed to WAITING with PATIENCE! Don't get me wrong, I still have patience and I still will wait but I just need to know SOMETHING!

Maybe it is just TODAY that is bothering me so badly. I am in my 3rd day of Summer School. I had one day to prepare and did not get my list of 450 students until the last three hours of work time on our "preplanning day". I didn't have kids on Monday but began with ever bit of effort in my body today. I'm working with teachers from all around the county that think I am also a trouble shooting technician... NOT!!!!! I was coping fairly well today until about mid-morning when a "group" of teachers decided to rearrange my schedule WITHOUT telling me. This in my #1 pet-peeve! I AM an educator who PLANS for her class as much as ANY OTHER TEACHER and this threw a curve ball in my plan. I had stayed late... worked at home for 2 hours to plan to TODAY'S classes. Needless to say, I was NOT a happy camper! I did make sure the teacher knew that I was irritated with THEM... and as professionally as possible let the kids know that this was NOT my normal routine. .... TIMEOUT... I'm teaching Summer School not because I need something to do but because I don't want some random teacher in my room messing with my stuff!!! I've been teaching 21 years and this is my 3rd summer school class with the first two being my FIRST TWO years of teaching.

I know I'm venting! Bear with me.

So after another hard day at work, I came home and laid in bed for a few hours just trying to relax. Tomorrow will be better... tomorrow will be better.... yes! And referrals WILL come soon!

As I laid in bed today I began to think about the YEARS we have waited. We have not taken a vacation since we began. Can I tell you how many vacation days Geoff has LOST in the name of "our referral will come THIS year"???? I don't need a fancy vacation... I just want to not plan our entire life around WHEN the referral will come. At this point, I'm REALLY thinking we should brace ourselves for a December referral and the dreaded trip DURING tax season. (The best thing here is that Geoff's new employers totally get it and will not balk if he is gone during the height of tax season... God bless them!!) This does hurt a lot. At this point, I'll be happy if I'm wrong.

So my thinking is that all of this AGGRAVATION of teaching summer school should fuel a much delayed vacation for us. I don't need a fancy long vacation.. just something beyond our pitiful little town and not a visit to relatives (no offense intended!). So we are on the look out for a place not too far from us but not too close either. Gas prices are KILLING everyone! I like the beach... Geoff likes the golf course. So where oh, where do we go??? Maybe a vacation and spending money that we SHOULD be saving for our adoption expenses will turn things around. We shall see.... and please CCAA PLEASE send some referrals!!! I am ready for some news. I don't care if it is ONE day of referrals as long as we see that progress is being made.

On another note... Sara, Chris and Brennen returned home yesterday from a week long trip to visit his family. Let me just say... Brennen IS NOT allowed to go away for another whole week EVER again. I missed the little guy so much!! He even cut his first tooth last week while away. Sara brought him to see me today at work during the height of the frustration of my day and I must say I now truly know what it is like to be ADD. All I wanted to do was scoup him up and kiss him all over! To my dear grandson's credit though, when I did have a "moment" for him, he gave me a KISS! He melts my heart like no other!

Some Miscellaneous stuff...

One of my newest passions has been working with the kids at school on our school garden. I'll have to take a new picture and post it because it has grown so much more since this picture was taken. I now have a pretty good farmers tan and had some really great experiences with the kids. Sadly, the school year is over now and I won't have any help weeding and harvesting anymore! Today my friend Melaine and I picked some radishes, tomatoes and snow peas. Everyday is fun watching the plants in the garden grow.

The picture of me and Brennen below is at school too near the garden. My brother and I put the pond in one day and thought it was really nice until a few tornadoes came through and ruined it. So later that week, my dear parents came to school and pretty much redid it for me. Here is the finished pond complete with Brennen. Geoff and I brought him to see it a few weekends ago because we were babysitting and now that he is walking, we need LOTS of things for him to do! He absolutely LOVED the pond and wanted to get into it so bad!
I soooooo love this picture of Geoff and Brennen. A proud Grandpa and his Grandson. Of course, Brennen thinks he needs no help walking!
We took these pictures at my parents house. Brennen had a great time visiting them! He really loved the backyard. One funny thing was that mom tried to give him a flower but he had nothing to do with it. Instead he wanted to play with some dried leaves. Now that's our grandson!

I love this picture! We framed it and gave it to mom for Mother's Day. My mom is so great with kids! She and Daddy just can't wait to get their hands on Lexi.
This is one that same day with Geoff. Brennen was pretty interested in Molly but Molly was more interested in who the little guy was that was taking my attention off of her. Molly is the dog that my sister rescued from a dumpster and I nursed her back to health. Mom fell in love with her and she ended up with her but Molly still claims me as her own any time I visit.
Finally, I doctored this photo with Picasa. I love this little guy so much! I can't believe how much he has grown! He will be 11 months old in just a few days!

Congratulations Friends!!

Referrals are in! I've watched referral days come and go now for a long time. I've always read blogs and viewed pictures in wonder and anticipation of ours. I have toadmit though that for at least the last six months I wasn't nearly as excited and just felt like this process is never going to end. Well, I have a new found anticipation and excitment after this month's referrals. Several of the people that we know just got their referrals!!! And if my reaction to their referrals is anything close, we better just go ahead now and stock up on Klenex. This time there are three couples that I have met at least the new mom and it really personalizes things so much more. I am sooooooo happy for these new families! The babies are precious! I opened my email yesterday after Brennen went home (we kept him Friday night) and immediately I knew that something had happened from the number of messages in my box. As soon as I saw Susan and Riz's message I began to cry and scream for Geoff to come look at pictures. Sophia is just beautiful! Take a peek!

http://wwwchinaladybug.blogspot.com/

Then I found Hope and Scott's message about Isabella and did the same thing all over again!!! Poor Geoff, he just kept running in and out of the kitchen to look! Isabella looks like a little princess to me! She is beautiful!

http://www.babyizabella.blogspot.com/

Then we found a message about Susan and Jonathan's referral. TWINS!!! I couldn't believe it! They were waiting for LilyKate and got Elenanor too!! I guess they, like us also said they would take twins! I can only imagine how they must feel! And again, the babies are beautiful!!!

http://waitforlilykate.blogspot.com/

We are so happy for everyone who got referrals this month! It's so awesome and we now have a new anticipation and excitment for the process. We know that the wait is worth it!

This month, they only got through 3 days. They are now up to January 12,2006. Our LID is February 27th. It will take many months to get to us but we are not complaining... we are patiently waiting for OUR DAY. A day that will be like none other and it will be worth every single day that we have endured.

Wow! Time Flies!

I just can't believe that I've gone almost 3 months with no posts to the blog. I don't even have an excuse. We stay busy with just life in general. I did think about posting around our 2 year LID "anniversary". But the day came and went and I really didn't think about it until it had pasted.

Tax season is over THANKFULLY! I really hate it when Geoff has to work late all the time and weekends were lonely too. He survived another one though and is still loving his new job. The only drawback is the drive especially now that gas is so expensive!

In the time that has passed, Brennen has started walking! He is a little over 9 1/2 months now. He's so cute walking around! And he is so tall. He's already 31 inches tall and according to the pediatrician he is in the 98 percentile in height. His hair has turned light light brown and he still melts my heart every time I think of him. I'll post some pictures soon.

And I have other news! We found out about 2 weeks ago that Sara is pregnant again! She is due in mid December! I am so excited for her and Chris! I can't wait for Christmas this year. We'll have two grandbabies and hopefully, we will have Lexi too! Imagine how much fun that will be!!!

Next week we are having our THIRD homestudy. Our other one expired in March. We also have to resubmit our I600 form again! We thought we had that covered this summer but our paperwork got lost somewhere. So it expired in August. I was freaked out about that but not now. Chances are with the wait lengthening we would of had to resubmit before we go to China anyhow. So at least all of our paperwork will be up to date and won't expire until after we come back.

This evening we are heading to Atlanta. I am judging in the Ga. Media Festival again this year. Geoff is driving me up and since it is my birthday weekend, we are going to stay an extra day. We really don't have any plans but to spend some time together.

Last weekend we went to Virginia on a quick trip to visit Geoff's grandmother. She has been very ill and we hoped that going to see her would lift her spirits. I don't know if that is what did it but she is doing much better. I talked to her last night and she sounded like her old self. I love her so much! I don't have any living Grandparents so I just took Geoff's as my own. Nanny has always made me feel very special and she calls me her Granddaughter. I love that! She is very special to both of us. Seeing her so ill really scared us both. It also made us realize that our time with those we love is really precious and we should not take one moment for granted. We plan to go back up next month for another quick trip. I hope she will be home this time. She is having to go to a rehabilitation center from the hospital. She has become so weak that she can't walk so they will be working with her to gain her strength back. I just pray that she will fully recover.

I'm going to try to do better with my blogging and I will post some Brennen pictures soon.

My first Voice Thread

The conference in FL was awesome! I learned so much that my head is still spinning with things to investigate. Here is one of the sites I learned about after researching some of the material. It's so cool. I'm learing to use it to see all the ways it can be used in school. However, I couldn't resist learning about it with my favorite photography subject!



http://voicethread.com/share/49798/

Use this link to go to the site and add your comments by typing text or recording your voice! I'm not exactly sure how it works when posted on a blog so I posted it here to see. This site is WAY cool!

Heading to Florida!

I'm leaving tomorrow for a technology conference in Orlando. *** By MYSElF!!*** Geoff has printed out all of my directions for me AND emailed them to himself as well. :-) I am very excited because I have heard of this conference for YEARS! It's supposed to be one of the best in our area. The funny thing is I AM going alone even AFTER last year's broken toe traffic nightmare of a fiasco in Atlanta when Geoff had to constantly give me directions and swore I couldn't travel alone EVER again. I'll be leaving tomorrow morning and arriving in time to listen to the opening session where the speaker is Discovery Channel's Jeff Corwin. Why do I think this may be interesting??? I don't know but I'll be there! Then I plan to go to the vendor's hall opening which is sponsored by Hewlett Packard before I head to my hotel and exercise and crash. (I've graduated from walking to running and am proud to say that I can now run 2 miles without stopping OR Dying and haven't done that much since college 20 years ago!... I'm very determined to be in shape to meet Lexi!) HOWEVER!!! The highlight of the trip will come on Friday night after it is over when I drive to see Lori and Andy!!! I can't wait to be reunited with my Philly roommate and her dear hubby (that we met last Spring). They are gracious enough to open their home to me and spend some much needed Panda time together. I'll come home on Saturday. Now for the KICKER... Geoff keeps telling me that he is going to babysit Brennen while I'm away on Friday. I even called Sara last week and asked her if she would let Brennen stay the night without me here and she said YES!!! (much to Geoff's amusement!) Sara just said, "I trust him with Brennen!". This is so sweet because there's no way in the world she would leave him with her bio-dad! She recognizes the great dad Geoff will be and already knows the fantastic Papa he already is. I don't think Brennen will really be here but if so, that's just fun for both baby and Pop! Of course, I'll try to get some pictures of Lori and Andy on Friday. I'm very excited even though I will miss being here with Geoff very much!

Glimpse into the future???

Yesterday morning I was working with 3 students in my computer lab when one of my dear friends (who is a county techie that helps me all the time) popped in for the first time this week. I was working with the students on a Media Festival project during a free class period. It so happened that one of the students was a Vietnamese girl. Well, when she popped her head in I immediately started asking her where she had been and that I missed seeing her this week. She didn't really respond. She just stood there looking at us and then finally said, "I'm sorry, I just had a glimpse of the future." I was confused of course but then it dawned on me. I looked at the little girl and told her I understood. She saw me with the student and was thinking of me with Lexi in the future. What a sweet thought! I explained to the student what we were talking about and she told me that she would still be at our school this year when we get Lexi. I'll certainly have to show her a picture of Lexi. This child by the way is so sweet and smart. She is 8 years old and can type with both hands as well as I can and yet she has had no formal typing training. It's amazing! Anyhow, it was a nice thought and a nice sentiment by my friend. Lexi is in our future... it's just a matter of time. (((*sigh* )))

Another slow year???

Of course, we keep getting asked about our progress in the adoption process so here is an update.

Our 1-600A has expired. (This is the form we need that gives up permission from the US to adoption an orphan from a foreign county.) We actually sent the renewal paperwork off during the summer but somehow it is lost. So we are back tracking trying to get the new one taken care of.

Our homestudy for GA. will expire soon. Remember last February we had our 2nd homestudy. They are only good for one year in Ga. So we are about to work on that again too.

However, after receiving an email from our agency I'm not in any hurry. I think waiting until after tax season might be a good idea. Seems that the slow in referrals is likely to continue. At one point the information we were getting indicated that after CCAA gets through November and December of 2005, things would speed back up. We did get a glimmer of hope the last few referral months as they had two months where they got through 7 days of dossiers. This month, referrals went through 5 days. So as of now, CCAA has made referrals for Dossiers logged in through December 19. There are 70 days between the 19th and our LID of 2/27/06. So do the math... if it continues even at a pace of 7 days we are looking at the END of 2008 and possibly this time next year. Ugh! It's frustrating but we STILL have hope of a fall referral. Hope and faith is all we have to help us through this process. (And a lot of little Brennen doesn't hurt either!)

So why rush the paperwork renewal? It all expires so quickly (if you can call a year and 18 months quickly!) and each time we have to renew, it's MORE MONEY! Waiting a little on the homestudy just may be the thing to do and the lost I-600 could be a blessing since it is only good for 18 months.

So as we wait... everyone will have to endure more Brennen. He is our Sunshine in a very bleak process. So MORE BRENNEN PLEASE!

Brennen At 6 Months

Brennen got his 6 months shots last week along with a flu shot. He didn't like it too much and neither did his Mommy and Daddy because the shots made him sick. So after a couple of days of being fussy, feverish, and not sleeping he got well enough for Sara and Chris to let us keep him and give them a break. We had a blast. I just got a new camera from writing a grant at school so I figured what better way to learn to use it than do a photo shoot of Brennen! We only took about 230 pictures of him that day! The slide show below shows some of the better ones and I thought it would be fun to put them up as his 6 months pictures. This monthly slide show just may become a habit!

The pictures of him eating the cookie show him having his VERY FIRST cookie (biter biscuits). His peditrican said that he could have them since he is eating so well. It was so funny but afterward we just put the little guy in the sink! What a drooling nightmare!!! He also saw his first fire in the fireplace. He was really into it and wanted to get closer! We really have to watch EVERY SINGLE move he makes now as he crawls all over the house. We are finding that the hardwood floors are really tough on the little guy's head. I sometimes wish he had a helmet!

Lexi's things are getting broken in with Brennen. We took him for a walk in her pink stroller and just hoped no one would ask us why we had a boy in a pink stroller! LOL! One day he will grow up and ask us why he had everything pink over here! Aside from the 3 hard wacks of his head on the hardwood floor, the most challenging thing was NIGHTTIME! Having conjestion he couldn't stay asleep very long and we literally were up with him EVERY HOUR ALL NIGHT LONG!! Geoff is so fantastic with him. He doesn't shy away from anything and just jumps in to help all the time. It gives me a great preview of the wonderful father I have always known he will be. Sleep or no sleep we are looking forward to the next sleepover!

Brennen's Music Video Debut

When's Santa Coming??

Brennen on Christmas eve after a nap... ready for presents!

Yea! Presents!!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone! This is a picture of Lexi's Christmas tree. We decided to decorate it with some of her cloth alphabet pieces, and linking chains and then top it with one of her books. I even spelled out her name in the middle of the tree. Last year we said we would have her this year... and now once again, we say we WILL have her next year. The good news is that we really believe 2008 is our year. CCAA has made referrals for dossiers logged in through Dec. 14, 2005. Our log in date is Feb. 27, 2006. I just can't imagine that it will take longer 12 more months for them to make referrals for 75 more days. We will wait as long as necessary of course but in our hearts hope by late summer or early fall. It's harder to wait during the holidays. Especially since this is the 3rd Christmas we have had since we began the process. Geoff bought Lexi another Christmas present this year which we will have for her when she gets here. I'll admit I've teared up a few times thinking about her but try very hard to just put it out of my mind and look forward to the blessing we will eventually experience. So Merry Christmas everyone! (Of course, I'll be putting some Brennen pictures up soon. I've got to collect pictures first!)