Christmas Shopping?

Since getting our LOA and the knowledge that we will be traveling between Thanksgiving and Christmas, thus losing 2 weeks MINIMUM of our shopping time, we've been trying to get it all done.

So, it came as no surprise that when Black Friday rolled around, we didn't need to go shopping. It was practically done, and what wasn't done could be done online. We slept in, got up, bemoaned the fact that we had left all the cinnamon rolls at our friend's house, then went shopping online! Sadly, we bought only for the business. While needed stuff, and exciting in a business use kind of way, not as fun as buying...oh a LCD tv, or other such great deal.

Because we didn't need to go shopping, which I despise doing in crowds by the way, we got a head start on Christmas decorations. This only means that it was all drug out of the attic before 5pm. I have been eying some outdoor decorations, sighing over the fact that spending $80 on an air inflatable item is not in this year's budget, and then trying to keep from picking up more miscellaneous tree decorations. You can now imagine how excited I was to find a purchase from the after Christmas sales last year...an air inflatable snow globe! It's about 4 feet tall. JM helped set it up, and the looks on Dh's and JM's faces were priceless. So very proud. The problem is that it looks a little, well, lonesome out there all alone.

Not wanting to overburden Dh, I held my tongue for a good 24 hours. See, along with this snow globe, I also found 7 boxes of indoor/outdoor multi-color lights. Hopefully it will be enough to hang on the house. I remember buying these 2 years ago in the after Christmas sales...for 25 cents a box. I managed 24 hours of NOT asking Dh to please hang these lights so our house looks all festive. He did agree, and seemed really excited to oblige. I even found a "tool" to help hang them. While at Target getting that tool and resisting MORE outdoor decorations, I found stakes to line the driveway. I hope we have enough lights to line the driveway AND to hang on the house. Somehow, I'm thinking 7 boxes just won't be enough. I could take the one strand of multi-color lights on the Jesse Tree and add to the outdoor lights making it 8 boxes worth, but I'm doubting that is enough still. I do have a box of 100 count white mini-lights, which doesn't help except to maybe line the flowerbed which is behind the snowglobe. Or I guess I could put the white mini-lights in the one tree we have in the front yard.

I believe it was at this point that Dh asked if we needed to see National Lampoon's Christmas movie again. I believe that was a hint, don't you?

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

I hope that all of you who read this blog are having had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

We spent the day quietly, at home. I cooked a little, slept a little, cleaned a little, cooked some more, and then we all went to a friend's home. We were graciously welcomed into their home to share with their family this wonderful day. Have I mentioned that we truly have some of the best friends on this planet? She brined a turkey a la Pioneer Woman, and oh my word that was the best turkey I have ever had (and I don't like turkey much at all). No one was particularly crazy about my squash casserole, but that means the leftovers are MINE!!! ALL MINE!!!!*

After dinner, Dh and I took the boys to a local hockey game. My first one ever! Mr. Friend and two of his kids joined us (their kids are older than our boys and their son is completely idolized by the boys as well). While it was the boys first hockey game as well, I'm not sure if they enjoyed it more than I did. I didn't even crack open my book.** Samuel was adorable as he danced during the "in-between periods" parts. See I don't even know hockey lingo and I enjoyed myself. Our team won, but in overtime with a penalty shot! EXCITING!!!!! Okay, I know we'll be going back and I can not wait to dress Katie in the hockey team colors. :)

It's cold here tonight, very cold. So, being the kind of people we are, we decided to drive by Best Buy and just see how long that line was. It wrapped around the building, with tents and fires, and sleeping bags. It's forecasted to be below freezing tonight. Pray for those people. While I like a good deal, I just don't get it. Dh and I talked about how great a "mission" opportunity our church could have. We could pass out hand warmers, hot chocolate or coffee, hand out toboggans, blankets, etc.***

So, I leave you with the thought of "I hope you are all safe and sound and WARM in your homes this evening after having been greatly blessed today!"

-----------------------------
*Squash Casserole is a dish my grandmother always made for Thanksgiving, and when I'm home for Thanksgiving I will make for myself. All the grandkids would race each other to the kitchen late Thanksgiving Day night for the leftovers and clamor over who would get them. Grandma finally started making triple the recipe so we could all get some. I'm taunting my extended family who have to share tonight...I have my own!!! neeener neener neeener!!!!

**Almost all sporting events I go to with Dh I take along a fluffy romance novel. Minor league baseball games? Major league baseball games? College football (okay so we've never done this for an exciting team as our own college football team wasn't that exciting)? Dh's softball games, basketball games, volleyball games....the kids baseball and soccer games...yes, even THOSE. But really only those when it's cold, rainy, and I'm sitting in the van not really able to see with one of the other kids...and I do watch my own child attempt to hit the ball. ;) Anyway, a book ALWAYS goes with me. I almost always read it. Not at the hockey game though!!!

***I can not take credit for this idea. It comes from a great friend of mine, she and her son have a date every Black Friday morning. They get up at 3am, take thermoses full of coffee and hot chocolate. They go to a busy store and hand it out. Stand at the end of the line, then go into the store. They help people get the hard to reach items down. They hold a spot in line for someone needing to go grab something. They'll stand in line, then when they are next in line, give their spot up to someone who looks like they need it (perhaps a Mom with 2 kids who are crying). Around 8-9am when the craziness has died down, they go to IHOP (or other type place) and eat breakfast together, just the two of them. Yes, she's this way throughout the year as well. I love ya KH!

Frustrated

I do not want to hear how this is all in His perfect timing, I really don't. I'm frustrated, upset, and need to grieve first.

It's entirely possible we will not be able to travel until December 13th. Meaning, we will miss Christmas with our boys. We will be in China for Christmas. Our travel will hopefully be completed 6 months after LOI. 6 months!

I'm frustrated because others with our referral group who had later days than our own are HOME with their kids. They get to enjoy the holidays with all their kids, with their extended families, and they know all those little details about their child.

After talking with our agency today, IF, and it's a HUUUUGE if, we get TA by early next week (like say Monday) we might be able to leave 12/6. It will depend on Consulate appointments, but more than likely we'll be leaving 12/13 (if that travel approval gets in by 12/10 that is).

Forgive us, but both Dh and I are cynical about this entire process right now. We are going to miss Christmas with our boys. Miss Christmas with our families. Sure, we know we can celebrate on another day. Honestly though, it's never the same. Why have our luck change now? But honestly, when we got our LOA we were told most likely date of travel would be 11/29. It is just like our luck that we would not make that date.

So, excuse me while I throw a temper tantrum and whine and complain about how unfair it all is. Honestly, I would be okay IF we knew we could leave on 12/6. At least we'd be home in time for Christmas.

Thanksgiving day, 11/22, is 3 weeks since LOA. 11/29 is 4 weeks. 12/6 is 5 weeks. 12/13 is 6 weeks. We were told TA comes in 2-4 weeks. The max I have ever seen is close to 5 weeks. Please, please pray that we get TA on Monday. This whole process is extremely difficult, and to have things fall apart is rough.

Blog for Christmas Music

Michael W. Smith Christmas CD - blog for music

Okay, I will admit it, I love Christmas music. I adore Christmas music. Unfortunately our budget does not include the ability for me to purchase all the CDs of Christmas music I would like. Nor does it include the ability to purchase all the music I would like period.

So, when I saw "Blog for Music" and I could have a chance for a free CD all for just blogging about the experience of listening to this CD while doing a Christmas related activity, I knew I could do that. If you want a copy, hurry, there are only about 150 available!!!

Finding Ad

In order for a child to be placed for international adoption, an ad must be run in the local newspaper. This is called a Finding Ad as it lists the day and place they were found. These photos are usually the youngest photos of our child we will ever see. This is Katie at 1 month old.

Adoption Online Video

I was reading through my agency friends' blogs and came across a link...

This ONE

It's about 10 minutes and details an adoption trip to China. They did not adopt from the same orphanage as Katie is from, but if you want a visual of what our trip will be like it's a great video to watch!

I can not wait until we can go on this trip of a lifetime ourselves. Honestly, I can not wait until I get to hold Katie in my arms! I hope it is very soon, very very soon.

Shaking my head...

This is just wrong.

Okay, I admit, we LOVE Disney. But to have your remains scattered there? Not to mention the entire weirdness I now feel about knowing this info. I mean, water SPLASHES you on the Pirates ride. Now to worry about if that bit of water hitting you in the face a little bit of dear old Uncle Bob.

Yeah. That's just wrong.

Working on the announcement

What do you think of this so far? I feel like it is missing something, just not sure what at this moment.



I'm thinking of sending these with Christmas cards right before Thanksgiving so people can get them prior to us traveling (or right at the beginning of travel).

Obviously, no TA

So, we did not get TA on Tuesday (no big surprise there really). This means that we should not be leaving on Thursday the 15th (yeah tomorrow). LOL It's really a good thing as we are not in any way prepared and it would have been a LONG time staying awake to get ready.

I am very hopeful that we will get TA this week though and possibly leave next Thursday the 22nd. Hopeful, not super positive we'll get it though.

What's funny is that I started scheduling out all I had to do (and yes I'm already behind) and after Thanksgiving day everything pretty much stops. I have a blank empty schedule. It looks quite strange to me. I do not think I've had a blank schedule in close to a year, so either we need to go to China to fill it up, or I'm really not going to know what to do with myself.

For those even mildly interested, we did get most of our Christmas shopping done. Most of it is wrapped. JM has bday gifts all ready to go, and we're in process of scheduling a party in January, a full month after his actual birthday. It's not about the day...right?! He's being so great about possibly not being with us for his birthday. I don't know if it's because he understands, is maturing, or if it's the knowledge he'll be with grandparents who will really make it a big deal.

The boys know we are leaving very soon, and it's taking a little bit of a toll on them. We've had discussions of how they are feeling as well, and so far they seem to be okay. Samuel does tell me he misses me, gives me a big hug and a kiss. I'm a little worried about him.

The confusing apostrophe

In school work JM has been learning about possessives. In particular, he is learning about single possessive and plural possessive. I know it can be confusing as I've run into people online who are confused by it as well. Today JM was studying for his spelling test, which admittedly was full of easy words. Words such as boy's and boys'. He knew the words, but I could see a potential train wreck approaching. I cautioned him to really study where that apostrophe was placed and know why it was placed there as it could be confusing during a spelling test. Being the almost 9 year old that he is, he assured me that he knew where it went.

Since we are now in a portion of schooling where we are expecting JM to take more of the initiative in learning what he needs to learn, and learn to study, we let him "falter" some. This was one of those times. We did not just leave him to study alone, we did some reviewing of it together, we talked about it, but we didn't force him to practice the words over and over and over and over.

He did get confused on the placement of that apostrophe. He did spell the words correctly, but placing that apostrophe got him in the end.

Did he learn a lesson? I have no idea, I hope so. He will be studying the words again, learning about the placement of apostrophes during single possessive and plural possessive...again. He will also take a 2nd spelling test on these words. I am thinking he will do much better on the 2nd test.

One thing is for certain, spelling and grammar are not his strongest subjects.

Packing and Lists

We started looking at what all we were planning on taking with us, started evaluating what was needed and what was not. Dh got online and looked up baggage size limits for carry on and checked luggage for China domestic flights.

We got a bit of a fright.

Our small suitcases, which are carry on for HERE in the USA are too big for carry on China domestic. Yikes. The limits of things are going to get us, and we went to evaluate. Found out that I needed to re-wash many items, and in looking I am beginning to wonder what to pack clothing wise. We are washing the bottles and such, going to fill those with Cheerios. It should be very interesting, and I can not believe we are at the point of truly packing.

I got to thinking, I wonder what weather will be like. That's when I remembered the links over there to the right. Yeah, WEATHER links! So, I clicked on them to see if I could find an "averages" for November. They have 15 day forecasts. 15 days. The days we could possibly travel (unlikely though they may be) are ON the forecast now. Here's what I'm gathering...

Beijing - it's COLD. We'll be there for 2-3 days, touring, need to dress in layers. Dh and I have silk thermals, turtlenecks (one for Dh and two for me), one sweatshirt each, and hats, scarves, and gloves. One sweatshirt for 2-3 days in a row. Guess you'll be seeing that shirt a LOT!

Kunming - it's chilly. We'll be there for 5-6 days. Forecasts show lower 50's as the high when it's raining and lower 60's for when it is sunny. That is NOT shorts, t-shirt, or capris weather. All things I had packed for Katie. My turtlenecks will suffice here again. Dh will be comfortable in t-shirts. Definitely jeans weather.

Guangzhou - it's warm to hot. This next week it said lower 80s, and beyond was upper 70s or lower 70s. I'll be okay in jeans and t-shirts. Dh will probably like one pair of shorts. Guessing I'll take 1-2 t-shirts, Dh will end up with 3-4 t-shirts. Those cute 'spring' clothes will work for Katie here.

I will be checking those links often I think, just to see what we are looking at for a range of temps...it feels odd to know that those forecasts could affect us!

Thanksgiving!

Did you all realize that Thanksgiving is less than 2 weeks away?! How did that happen? I sat down the other day to schedule out when I would do each "item" on my to-do list, and said that I hoped that we would get TA quickly and that we would actually fly out on Thanksgiving. That gave me less than 2 weeks!

Needless to say it kicked me in the rear and got me started on my list. Nothing like seeing how little time I have in black and white. So, this evening, I put in my Christmas CDs and started cleaning. Started wrapping all those Christmas presents I have bought (I was shocked that I could shop for just about everyone in a week). I'm about to start working on the 100 Good Wishes quilt squares tonight, and hopefully I will get those sent out next week.

It's all coming together!!!

but...oh my gosh we are talking WEEKS!!!!!!!

Waiting on that Travel Authorization!

2 families waiting with our agency got their TA this week (they had gotten their LOA in the first half of October). The agency put together the next travel group, they are in it, and it leaves November 15!!

IF, and this is a HUUUUUGE IF, we get TA between now and next Tuesday (November 13th) we could leave with them. When we were skipped on 10/2 (one of the families that got LOA on 10/2 is one of the above families), I told a friend that I was claiming November 15th as our travel date. I knew it would take a God-sized miracle, but I was claiming it as my prayer. That we would leave November 15th and be home before December.

I know, in my head, that it's likely it will not happen. That it is likely that we will not travel until November 29. In fact, most of the plans I am making for business, for the boys, etc. ARE with the thought we will travel November 29th. However, I'm trying to get all that stuff that must be done before we leave together so we could jet out of here on the 15th. :)

In the past, our agency has allowed families who get TA on the day that a group leaves to join that group late in Beijing (meaning they leave Friday or Saturday) and they just end up missing the Beijing portion of the trip. While I want Katie in my arms ASAP, I'm not sure if we would do this or not. Dh and I really want to see the tourist sites of Beijing, and I want to capture that on my camera for Katie.

What goes into a China trip?

Here's a start of our To Do List

1. Pack clothes for dh, me, and Katie.
2. Get meds for all of us.
3. Buy and pack gifts for officials, guides, directors, etc.
4. Make sure we have all the electronic stuff we need.
5. Make a list of documents, how many copies of each thing, check it over and over.
6. Get medical authorization forms filled out for the boys.
7. Investigate either Skype, Panda Phones, or calling cards.
8. Do I have enough memory cards and disk space?
9. Toiletries? What do we need?
10. Get birthday gifts bought for oldest.
11. Get Christmas gifts bought for everyone.
12. Decorate for Christmas?
13. Pay bills for November, set up bill pay for December.
14. Take cat to vet for anti-nausea shot (one or two days prior to leaving)
15. Put a hold on mail (or get friends to check it)
16. Adoption announcements
17. Well child visits for the boys
18. Eye doctor visits for boys and myself (need to use it up prior to end of year)
19. Christmas cards addressed and possibly mailed (guess this means order them?)
20. Work on business stuff
21. Finish quilt square wishes and mail
22. Find Katie's Lifebook stuff, take pages for memories in China
23. Clean house
24. Cook a few casseroles to freeze
25. Laundry
26. Find someone to feed the cat daily
27. Clear off the Tivo recordings so we make sure we catch all of our shows
28. Piano recital
29. Thanksgiving cooking
30. Update blog to include links for travel buddies
31.

I think that's a good start...maybe? What's even worse? what if we get TA next week? We could, conceivably LEAVE in a week!!!!! Not likely, but possible! OMG, we're going to China in less than a month!!!!! A matter of weeks, not months, not years...WEEKS!

Finally got info translated

We got an update in July for Katie. It was from when she was 10-11 months old.

Teeth：two

She can sit stable by herself. She is able to drink milk with one of her hands holding the bottle; she will catch the bottle smiling when she sees it, and to touch the bow when she has meal. She loves the members in her foster family, especially her mother. When she meets familiar people, she will smile to them. She recognizes familiar people. She may laugh happily when other amuse her. She begins to speak and she can walk in the baby walker freely. She can bring building blocks one by one, she can also catch toys far away. Sometimes, she likes to change toys from one hand to the other, and she can catch the moving things. She can shake bells on purpose. She always finds the toys hidden by others. She plays in front of the mirror, and finds it is interesting. She has a good capability of imitation. She learns to do what adults do or the action in the TV set. She shows large interest in many things. She likes to explore new things that she has never met before. She concerns about the changes in the circumstance and between the people.

Xi Xiaolan is outgoing, clever, lively, and cute. She likes to get together with familiar people and likes them to hold her in their arms. Sometimes, she can shake her body forward and backward. She likes walking in her baby walker and playing games. She loves colorful toys and the toys which can make voice. She reacts actively to the stimulation from others.

Closed to the parents in the foster family.
Favorite activity: be held in arms by others, walk in the baby walker, play in the open air, and play water.
Favorite toy: colorful toys and toys with sound

I can not WAIT to meet her!!! Doesn't she sound absolutely perfect? I'm guessing that she will probably be walking when get to China, and I'm guessing that she will attach to Dh first. She will reject me based on loving her foster mother very much, but she WILL come to love me and bond with me. It will take time as she will resist it because of her foster mother. This is actually a VERY good thing as she is attached to someone now. I'm very sad for what she will be going through soon.

We hab colbs

Just what we needed for this week, colds. I'm feeling all stuffy headed, dripping nose and all. JM is sniffling and coughing, and Samuel's voice sounds like it does right before his nose starts dripping.

We are supposed to go to Karate, piano lessons, and such today. However, I think we're going to stay at home and rest. Recover. Keep our germs to ourselves. LOL Samuel is probably okay to go, but JM is just starting his cold and mine is full blown.

Perhaps I can further catch up on my business work, and I might even start trying to clean up the house (again). It's amazing how messy our house can get in one or two days. Absolutely amazing.

Dh is being a GREAT caretaker. He's running to the store for cold meds, he's buying us orange juice, and helping to make sure we have all we need. Gosh I love that man.

Our LOA is headed back!

We got our LOA by Fed Ex Friday, I took photos. We signed, I raced to the Fed Ex store to ship it back "Overnight Priority" so our agency got it first thing Monday Morning. When it had gotten to be the afternoon, and I had not heard from them that they had gotten it, I checked. Sure enough it arrived all safe and sound around 10am. I know that they sent it on back to China today!

So, we are now waiting for Travel Authorization! It typically happens in 2-3 weeks, but can be as long as 8 weeks. There are some people with our agency who have been waiting for roughly 4 or 5 weeks now. There are some who got their TA in 2 weeks. It really all depends on how fast the orphanage gets the information back to CCAA.

I'm now past the excitement of getting that LOA, and fully into the panic mode of trying to get everything done! We could be leaving in just a couple of weeks!!! WOW! When we are headed to Disney World I'm typically complete packed at 2 weeks out. I'm no where near packed for this trip, and I still have to pack for the boys as well.

Introducing Katelyn XiaoLan!

We finally got LOA today, after waiting 126 days from LOI. This means that Katie is officially ours, China approved us to be her parents!



Referral photo, one of the first we saw. Her stats are:

Name: Xi Xiao Lan (Western Morning Orchid)
Birthdate: August 1, 2006
Currently in Yunnan Province, Kunming CWI, fostered in Anning



The one where we exclaimed over her hair! Isn't it adorable just standing STRAIGHT up on end? We estimate that she is 4 months old in this photo.



The frown. Oh the frown breaks my heart. This is an updated photo that we got, she is 10.5 months in this photo. She is in foster care, thus she has darker skin from being outside quite a bit. I love the little "spout" on top of her head, and the building she is in was helped in building by the Yunnan Kids International group. It's the community center in Anning where a good portion of the Kunming CWI children are fostered.



Still frowning. I think it's because she wanted a doll to play. Dh thinks it's because she wants someone to play soccer with her. All I know is that I love her and think she is the CUTEST BABY EVER!!!! (Okay, she ties with her brothers)

Spooky Night!

Here's our family, trick or treating at a friend's home.

This was after we went to church for the "Great Pumpkin Party" and totally got way to much candy. Our candy bowl over-floweth. Greatly.

To amaze you with my "pitcher" taking skills, here's a photo of my witch's shadow...it was dark, so I let the flash light it up some. I think that was like using a hole punch to put "holes" in your hair.* I knew you would all be amazed at the very cool shadow of the witch on the concrete.



In downloading these photos, I found evidence of the boys playing with my camera. They took videos, they took photos, and they did things are not allowed in this house (like jumping off the top bunk bed). As we're watching these I'm thinking to myself, "Why didn't they erase the evidence?" It's quite humorous to see, but I'm not happy. We counted 4 times the camera was dropped. We counted at least 5 times a finger was put on the lens. I saw how nasty the old carpet REALLY was.**




awww, and here's the little camera snatcher now.*** Look, by the mess in the background I know this was the week before our carpet was replaced. Why? Because the boxes in the hall that were lining the hall while we sorted toys from the boys room.


*Yes someone did this for Halloween one year in high school. It was not me, despite my lack of thinking displayed tonight.

**I am refusing to show how nasty that carpet was, and trust, you will will thank for it. It was beyond redemption. I will, at some point in the future show you our lovely NEW carpet.

***That's "gi-gi" and the colors on the wall behind him - Atomic Vomit Green and Stuperpendous Blue. I know you were just dying to know that. Yes, it took quite a long time to do. Yes, I painted it. No, Katie's room isn't that...ummm...creative.

Prepare yourself for overwhelming cuteness!

Since we officially have that PA now, and I asked about it, we can post photos to our personal sites. I'm still nervous. I feel like I'm jinxing ourselves, but I want to show off our little princess. Our baby girl. The sister the boys are thrilled and excited to have. I get asked almost daily by Samuel, "Are you going to get Katie tomorrow?"

I'm getting the post ready, the one with the photos of her adorable cheeks, hair standing straight up, and the sad little frown.



That's a "preview" and as they say, the eyes are the window into the soul.

Change in procedures with our agency

Got an email this morning about how our agency was going to start sending out the actual Pre-Approvals that they get for every family now.

The CCAA has processed the Pre-Approval (PA) for your family’s request to adopt Xi Xiao Lan. The PA is issued once the information from the electronic acceptance has been reviewed and approved. Once the CCAA has fully reviewed your Dossier and application to adopt a specific child, they will issue the Referral Acceptance (RA). As a reminder, this step is currently taking anywhere from 2-5 months from the date of your electronic acceptance. There is no guaranteed timeframe from the CCAA on when your RA will arrive.

This means, that the SN department got our LOI (electronic acceptance) and processed it and reviewed the information.

Our PA date? 7/19/2007!!!

Now, if we could only get that LOA to come!!!!

NOTE: This PA is not the piece of paper we have been waiting on, it's just a piece of paper saying that we initially passed and have been "locked in" with Katie's paperwork. I do believe this gives us the ability to post photos of Katie to our blog though!!! :)

Katie's Christmas Outfit

Do a search for Tralala French Holiday Swing Set...that should get you there.

I just wanted to show off what I found for Katie's Christmas outfit...isn't it the most adorable thing you have ever seen?

I have faith that she will get to wear this for Christmas. Her brothers (oh how I love saying that) both have Christmas red polo shirts to wear (I guess with khaki pants). The good thing about this is that she will also get to wear it for Valentine's Day as well. :)

I survived 120 days

I was not sure I would survive 120 days, but I did. It helped that we spent the time with my parents and the kids. Mom and Dad did great at distracting me, and the kids made me smile. We ended up going to an amusement park on Saturday, and Samuel (being newly just over 42" in height) can now ride lots of "big kid" rides. We got to experience his excitement over each and every ride. He turned those big brown eyes upon Grandma and Grandpa and got them to ride a few with him as well.

The favorite though? I think it has to be the bumper cars. Yes, all 6 of us got on the bumper cars ride (Samuel with Grandma and JM with Dh). Due to low attendance we stayed on the bumper cars through 4 rides. Samuel was laughing the entire time, and who can't smile at that? JM was thrilled at being able to crash into Mommy. JM's ear to ear grin was great to see as well, and the two of them together. Well, who could be down around that? To make it even better, Samuel did a victory jump/dance leaving the bumper cars while saying "I loved that ride!"

Then, after that fun-filled day we played games that night. JM played with us adults, hung in there, and did GREAT. I won, which made it fun for me. I beat my father and Dh at a strategy/luck game. Good times. Next time we play, I'm sure I will lose. They will gang up on me. I just know it. It happens all the time in Risk.

Can you believe it? I did not cry a single tear the entire day. Nor did I cry on day 121. That's proof that all those prayers are working!!! Now, if we could only hear those magic words "Your LOA is here."

Haven't I learned the lesson of patience yet?!

The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. Ecclesiastes 7:8

It's hard to remember that at the end of this horrid wait, we will have Katie. We will. The agency has told us that our file is locked in with her file. The CCAA KNOWS we want to adopt her. We even have Pre-Approval. Found that out today, we got it a LOOOONG time ago. Basically it doesn't mean a whole lot for us, but it does mean that we are officially connected to Katie's file.

September 2006 is still officially in review, and I know of someone who was questioned recently (something minor that will not cause them to be kicked out...just a paperwork correction). Their LID is at the end of September. This means, that we should be through review. GREAT news is that there were no questions (well so far and assuming that CCAA did go in date order like they typically do). As of Wednesday they were within 5 LID days of finishing September (and it's possible some of those were weekend days).

Soon. We have to have good news soon.

Anyone who has ever known me, knows that I am not very patient. I like to make a decision, then act on it. I like for things to fall into place and proceed according to plan. My plan. Ever since I started college, I have been learning patience. I have been learning that my plans are not always going to work out. I've learned that I can not control everything, but some things I want answers to.

When we first started this process I remember our homestudy agency telling me that in International Adoption things often go awry, that things don't happen logically, that I must have patience and be willing to go with the flow. I understood mentally. I really did. I know that I am at the mercy of others who are in charge of this process. I had a major problem with accepting the length of time to get official word on my denied fingerprints for our state background check. The homestudy agency reminded me of things not going to a set scheduled plan. When the USCIS office became so backed up during our paperchase, I was reminded again by the agency that things don't run smoothly.

This waiting for the LOA is much like that waiting for the 171h approval. We needed that "golden ticket" that allowed us to send our dossier to China...to get our place in line. I knew I would calm down once we were there, once we were DTC. I was right. I did. I had done all I could and it was now in the hands of the CCAA. I had my LID. I had my place in line. All was well in my logical world. :)

When we accepted a SN referral I was prepared for a 4-5 month wait to travel. I really was. Only I started seeing others, with similar statistics as my own get LOA in 55 days. I started dreaming. Dreaming that I would have her in my arms for Halloween. Hmmm...what could I dress her in for Halloween? She would be almost 15 months old. Still quite a baby. I anxiously watched for that LOA, but I wasn't stressed about it. I was hopeful. I was excited.

Then, we were skipped. It is such a cruel blow to dreams. I had to come to terms with the fact that I would not have her in my arms for Halloween. But I thought for sure it would be resolved within a week or two. We could still possibly travel Nov 1 or really Nov 15th. I got to the point where I was okay with Nov 15th, she would be 15.5 months olds. What's an additional 2 weeks?

Here it is, Thursday October 25th. The day that I had planned on traveling, since July. I thought this would be THE day I could travel. That it was easily understood we would have her home by Thanksgiving. I had a baby shower planned for October 18th and one for Thanksgiving weekend. Both were rescheduled after we were skipped. I want that official word that Katie is indeed ours.

I am now trying to resolve myself that it has been 3.5 weeks since we were skipped. 3.5 weeks of trying to live during a time that I need to be able to go with the flow. Those words from my homestudy agency almost 2 years ago come back to me. I understand them in my heart now. I get what she was trying to explain. I'm better at going with this flow because I know I have done all I can on my end.

Right now we are not even sure if we will have Katie in our arms for Thanksgiving, it's looking like we might not even be on our way to China by Thanksgiving. We have had the talk with our oldest son, and he's showing great maturity by being flexible with his birthday plans.

Will we have Katie home by Christmas? It seems like it should be a foregone conclusion. But time is really running short on making it. The processing time for paperwork is what will slow us down.

I feel like I need to explain that paperwork again...

We are currently waiting on LOA or RA (same thing). Once we get that paper, which is in Chinese and is the official document that asks us if we want to continue with the adoption of Xi Xiao Lan. Of course we do. It's really a formality, but paperwork is important. Because we have to sign this, our agency will Fed Ex (priority) this letter to us. We will then Fed Ex it back to them. This will take 2-3 days. They will then turn around and Fed Ex it to China, priority overnight which takes roughly 2 days to get there (international dateline and all). Once China gets that LOA/RA paper back, they then have to contact the orphanage to make sure that the child is still available (again a formality, but in a few rare instances things have happened...mostly in the NSN line I think). Once the orphanage responds, then the CCAA will issue TA (Travel Approval). Once our agency gets this (and I think it might be electronic now). They will then call us, give us possible travel dates and then immediately contact the US Consulate and request a consulate appointment (CA). Once we get that CA we will then book tickets (well pay and get them officially as the agency puts them on 24 hour hold while they wait on the CA).

The time from when our LOA/RA gets to China until we get that TA can take as little as 2 weeks or as much as 6 weeks. Normal, average time is 2-3 weeks.

So, go out 4 weeks from NOW, and that is the earliest we will probably be traveling.

See why patience is needed? I want to go at my pace. I want to have Katie in my arms now. But it's not working out that way. We are very near the end of our adoption paperchasing part, and very close to traveling to China. Honestly, we should be getting that LOA any day (well as soon as September leaves review room).

I just need to remember that Katie is the end result of all this paperwork and we all know she is more than worth any stress I am currently feeling. Patience. Faith. Hope.

Today is 119 days. Will Katie smile for us that first day?

I just love his smile!

Just had to share this one of Samuel. I just LOVE his smile. It makes me want to smile. I can hear his little giggle.

Fall is definitely here!

It's amazing to me to see how much the trees have changed, how cool it is outside, how I see signs of fall and the approaching winter everywhere. It's amazing to think that next week is Halloween.

That in typical years I am all done with Christmas shopping. Have my tree all planned out. Typically I'm going through all the Christmas decorations and getting them out and ready to put up. Usually the 2nd week of November since we typically visit relatives for Thanksgiving.

This year? It's all snuck up on me. I was planning to go Christmas shopping tomorrow, but Fed Ex is coming (not for adoption stuff). So, I guess I'll be cleaning. It does need to be done. I've not thought of Christmas at all. I don't even have my card planned, and it's typically done by Halloween.

I feel all out of sorts. I know it's because my focus has been on the adoption. I'm making a to-do list for my Christmas planning! I'm going to get it done, and hopefully before we ever make it to China.

I did make my first purchase last night...an outfit for Katie. But does that really count?

Today is 118 days. What is our thought for today? I wonder how Katie will look in her Christmas outfit? Will it fit?

day 117...still waiting!

today's thought comes from the kids "I wonder what Katie's face will look like when she sees her toys?"

with us not getting that elusive LOA today, that means we have pretty much lost all chance of travel by November 15th. I'm tired of guessing when we may travel. If you are curious, take each of the next weeks and if we get LOA by Wednesday then we have a chance to travel 4 weeks later (that's if everything processes smoothly).

day 116

I wonder how long her eye lashes are? What do they look like when her eyes are shut and she's sleeping? How far on her cheek do they fall?

Still no news, and we've not left the review room officially yet. What is good is that we have company on this long wait, and as they say, misery LOVES company. It's nice to have someone who understands to vent and complain to. We know there is nothing we can do but wait, but it helps to talk to others who are in the same position.

115 days of waiting

1. Katie is so beautiful.
2. Look at her big eyes.
3. What does her smile look like?
4. How firm is her grip when she holds your finger?
5. Which toy is her favorite?
6. Was she held a lot as a baby?
7. Attached to Foster Mom? really attached or slightly attached?
8. Does she have foster siblings?
9. Where is she living while in foster care?
10. Is she getting enough to eat?
11. Is she picked up when she cries?
12. WOW look how much she's grown!
13. Is her hair more filled in now?
14. How big are her feet?
15. What do her toes look like?
16. Does she have any teeth?
17. Is she crawling?
18. What is her favorite toy now?
19. What is the building she's in for the photo?
20. Does she like hair bows in her hair?
21. Is she trying to talk?
22. What is her sad cry?
23. What is her whining tired cry?
24. What is her angry cry?
25. What does her laugh sound like?
26. What does her hair feel like when you lay your cheek on her head?
27. What does she smell like?
28. Does she like baths?
29. Does she like to be outside?
30. Does she have any pets in her foster home?
31. Do her foster parents smoke?
32. Does she like to listen to music?
33. Is she celebrating her 1st birthday?
34. Can she walk?
35. Does she like her foster Mom or her foster Dad best?
36. What does she like to the most?
37. Does she like to play with balls?
38. Does she like baby dolls?
39. Are her feet ticklish?
40. What does her belly laugh sound like?
41. Does she have that baby fat roll on her wrist?
42. Does she have baby fat rolls on her legs?
43. What does her heart beat sound like?
44. Does she have dimples?
45. Is her hair all grown out now?
46. What color is her hair in the sun?
47. Does she have any friends?
48. What does she do all day?
49. Does she go out to the fields with her foster parents?
50. Do her foster parents even farm?
51. Does she have mosquito bites?
52. What about getting any scratches?
53. Do her foster parents know about endocarditis?
54. How much does she weigh now?
55. How tall is she now?
56. Does she like flowers?
57. What do her ears look like?
58. What does her belly button look like?
59. Are her feet skinny or fat?
60. What color looks best on her?
61. Has her foster Mom been informed she's being adopted?
62. What is she eating now?
63. What is her favorite food?
64. Does she have a favorite color?
65. Does she have a television in her foster home?
66. Is she being read to?
67. Is she being played with?
68. Where does she sleep?
69. Is she attached to anything?
70. How does she soothe herself?
71. Does she throw temper tantrums?
72. Is she spoiled?
73. Is she neglected?
74. Is she loved?
75. Do her eyes light up when she sees her foster Mom?
76. Does her foster Mom sing her lullabies?
77. Is she protected from the sun when outside?
78. Is she happy most of the time?
79. What illnesses has she had?
80. Is she mostly healthy?
81. What size clothes does she wear
82. How does she feel to the person holding her?
83. Does she cuddle with her foster parents?
84. Is she affectionate?
85. Does she like playing tickle games?
86. Does she like playing games on the floor with her parents?
87. Can she feed herself?
88. Is she still on a bottle?
89. How much is she eating each day?
90. How long does she sleep at night?
91. How long does she nap for during the day?
92. Does she like to go shopping?
93. Does she squeal when she sees an animal?
94. What does her voice sound like?
95. What does her squeal of excitement sound like?
96. What words is she saying?
97. How did she spend the Chinese holiday?
98. Does she have big brothers around her?
99. Is her heart okay?
100. What does her giggle sound like?
101. Does she get car sick?
102. Will she tolerate wearing a bracelet?
103. Is she being taught any English?
104. Is she being potty trained?
105. Is she smart?
106. Does she have toys at her foster home?
107. What are her favorite toys now?
108. How often has she seen the doctors?
109. Have they checked her heart again?
110. Has she completely lost her baby smell?
111. Does she have any marks on her body?
112. Is she scared of thunderstorms?
113. Is she cold or warm natured?
114. What noises scare her?
115. How many more days will I wait until I hold her?

Karate Tournament!

Here is JM doing his Kata. He placed 2nd in his division (all those kids standing on the side of the blue box where he is doing the kata). It's 10M. I've got to figure out how to make these things smaller!



This is Samuel doing his Kata (same division as JM). He placed 3rd.



and finally, both did sparring. JM did not place, but he did do better. Although he did not win a match, he was against someone TOUGH. Very impressive to watch two young kids spar. JM did get kicked (with a padded foot) in the face. He kept going though. I was so proud of how he handled the frustration of not winning his match, being against someone who was so tough to spar against (that one ended up winning the sparring division), and cheering others on from his Dojo.

Samuel, on the other hand, was in a 4 person division. Just not that many kids that size and rank. :) Here's a short video of his first match. He won with the kick in this video. Watch closely, and you will see that foot stretch up high and get the other little boy in the side of the head. When the judges award him the points Samuel exclaims "I kicked him in the head!!" Sensei says "You sure did!" It was really cute. Guess I should say that Samuel is the one with his back to us in this video.

Okay, I promise we're not all into the "fighting" and such, but Karate has been great for our family. The discipline learned, the respect they are being taught, respect for other people and the respect for what they know now. They know they are not allowed to use the techniques they learn in karate outside of class unless they are being kidnapped, or "worse" which is what he tells the girls.

What am I going to do?

This morning we drove to the pediatrician for flu vaccine (the entire family), and in the car before pulling out of the driveway, Samuel asked a question.

"Mommy, how do you make the van go in reverse? Do you pull back on the steering wheel?"

I answered him, "No, I pull this lever here and put it the gear for reverse. Then I go backward." I was impressed that at 8am he was alert enough to try to figure out HOW I make the car go. Then I was impressed that he had come up with a possible explanation. See, at 8am, I'm impressed that I was awake enough to be able to stick the key in the ignition!

JM, obviously did not think my answer was good enough, replied, "See Samuel, when Mom puts the gear in reverse, which is marked by R on her dash, the gear moves to a specific spot on the drive shaft. This spot determines how the drive shaft turns. For the R spot, it actually turns the drive shaft the opposite way that it does for the drive spots. The drive shaft spins and this rotates the axles that the tires are on. When the drive shaft spins in this way, the tires are rotated going backward. When the drive shaft is in Drive, then it spins the tires forward. When you can read and we go to the science museum I'll show you the exhibit that has all the parts of the car then you can see it for yourself."

yeah...umm...he's 8. What am I going to do?! Obviously he wakes up more alert than anyone I know.

Then, I'm reminded again that he is only 8. He needs to write out his punishment for his homeschool classes - "I will not be disruptive in chapel." 50 times.

I ask again, "What am I going to do?!"

We've been working on multiplication tables with JM, and he has a quiz on Friday evening on the 2-4 tables. Now, randomly throughout the day I'll shout out, "What's 4x6?" JM will sometimes answer, "24!" Or other times "I don't want to do this!!!!" Because this has been going on all week, Samuel has finally picked up on things. Samuel is now randomly shouting out, "JM, what's the number between 50 and 52?" Or He'll say, "JM, what's 15+4?" I've had to explain to Samuel that it is not his place to quiz JM on math problems.

We've also been working on "th" sounds in speech for the past year. Really concentrate on how you say "th" (go on do it). Did you notice that you put your tongue between your teeth? Well, both of the boys did not do this. Ever. They would curl their bottom lip under their top teeth and say it (go on try it...). Yes, it was the "fuh" or the "vuh" sound. JM is probably 99% accurate these days. Samuel, well, we are working on it as it has been age appropriate until now. JM had a spelling test this past week, one we were behind on, and I asked him to spell "fought."

JM spelled it "t-h-o-u-g-h-t."

I had to explain, that no, I did mean the fought as used in a sentence like "I know you fought with your brother over the game today." That if I meant thought I would use a sentence like "I thought you knew that fighting with your brother is forbidden." Don't you like my sentences?!

Without telling him how to correctly spell it, he got it right. I, in testing him the next day for the official test, managed to remember to use the sentences to define the words.

Samuel and his "th" sounds? Well, we finally got him to say "th" correctly by itself. It's not in his everyday speech, but we are working on words by themselves. He can say "thumb" correctly if you remind him, and he's almost go "thinking" down. Although I will miss "finking" a little bit! He's so proud of himself too. Our speech pathologist would be so proud.

Yes, bad news continues

We basically found out today that we are not even in the match room yet. Of course this doesn't surprise me given what I believe to be happening. This means, that yes, it's going to be still longer.

Our agency is basically at the point now where they can do nothing more except wait.

What I think is going on is that our LID group is still in NSN review room. For some reason, our dossier and LOI and all the rest of our paperwork will leave review and go to the match room whenever Sept 2006 leaves review.

China is currently saying they are through August 31, 2006. It's almost been 4 weeks since they finished that set. Therefore, I'm hopeful that we will move out of review soon.

We are still hoping, and praying, for November 15th travel. It's still possible as long as we get LOA by 10/23 or 10/24 at the latest. After that, it basically becomes an impossibility.

I'm trying hard to stay optimistic, I'm trying hard to stay hopeful. However, I'm finding that the whole adoption doesn't seem or feel like it is ever going to happen. That I'm going to live in this limbo land for the rest of my life. Yes, I'm getting mighty discouraged.

No call again

alas, no call for us. Again.

3 other agencies did get LOA, 3 other families I know of did get their LOA...all with dates after mine. Oh well.

We hope to hear from the agency tomorrow with more detailed info on what is going on...or perhaps Wednesday?

so, in an effort to distract us all from the never ending wait....here's more photos!


JM and myself, right after he promoted to Orange belt in Karate (he's now over halfway to Yellow on the Orange with Black stripe belt).


then Samuel's cheese puff smile! LOL



and isn't this the CUTEST clipboard ever?!

Sometimes they melt your heart

Samuel spent his birthday money tonight and bought 2 Wii games. He and JM had poured over the list online, looked at different ones, looked at previews. Dh spent time last night looking up parent reviews on the ones they had picked out. We finally took Samuel to the store and he was just so excited to see that they had the two games he wanted!

Now, unfortunately, JM had not studied for his spelling test. Nor had he finished his math work. Not to mention the History and Geography test he needed to study for as well. So, we sat JM down to do learning work, and I went upstairs with Samuel and opened his new games. They are his after all. I told him he could play his new games if he wanted to play them.

He, excitedly, took out the game that was in the Wii. He opened both new games and looked at the game disks. He looked at the books that come with them. Then, he shut the games, walked to his bedroom, found his DS and sat on the bed and played DS.

HUH?

So, after a good hour of this I was more than confused. I told Samuel, "You can play your new games you know." He said, "I know." But, he kept playing DS.

JM worked on his work. It was getting later and later. I went downstairs to read, and then Samuel came and cuddled next to me. JM finished up, with a promise to study spelling words again tomorrow. I then told them they could go upstairs and play the new games for a little bit.

Samuel lit up like a Christmas tree and excitedly jumped off the couch and ran upstairs, exclaiming, "Let's play Sonic, JM!!!"

Samuel waited to play his brand new games until his brother could play with him. If JM couldn't play, then he was not going to start playing without him.

*sniff* Doesn't that just melt your heart?


okay, this one is a little old...January 2006, so it's almost 2 years old now.


Okay, while these aren't terribly recent, at least more recent than Jan 2006! These are from March 2007 at our favorite vacation destination. ;)

Working down my to-do list

I have this big master to-do list, and on it I have many things I need to get accomplished in order to be able to actually leave on our adoption trip. I've been procrastinating something fierce, and today I get to mark at least 2 off.

1. I'm shipping a camera lens in to be repaired, hopefully under warranty. I want...need this lens for our China trip.

2. I paid for and sent in the paperwork to get our Visas processed! I guess these are quite important in order to be able to go to China. ;)

We're working our way down the list. Slowly, ever so slowly...but things are getting marked off.

Update on the LOA, part 3

Due to super internet sleuthing (mainly that means I read way too many blogs, emails with complete strangers, and chatted in an online forum full of China adoptive parents), I found out that our situation is not without precedent.

Yes, that is right, this exact situation happened to another family with a different agency in September. Yes, last month. Their LID was August though, which was currently in review. Oh goody. What does this tell us?

Well, we will probably have to wait until the CCAA finishes reviewing all of September 2006 LID before we get our LOA. Yes, it bites.

When will that happen? We're not sure. However, it's good news in that we've not gotten questioned. It's happened in the recent past, and we have something to go on. Best guess is that September 2006 will be out of review by the end of October. Yeah. THAT long.

We, of course, have lots of hope that our agency can find out more information, information that is not "guesswork" and perhaps we will get that LOA before the end of October. Maybe.

Good news is that we SHOULD be able to travel to get Katie before Christmas. Whether that means we are home for Christmas or not is the question. I'm personally still holding out hope for November 15th as our travel date.

Update on the LOA, part 2

We heard from the agency today, and as we were expecting it was very vague. I think perhaps even more vague than they were expecting. To basically quote them, this is our information:

The CCAA processes files in order with regards to Log In Date, acceptance Date (what we term LOI), and then other factors.

That's all the information we have at this point. We've obviously fallen under the other factors, so who knows. The agency is checking on our case specifically and hopefully we'll hear something a little less vague by Friday.

I did ask what the "other factors" could mean. It could mean we were pulled for detailed medical review (but all 4 families from our agency? especially when one had no issues to speak of), it could mean we were being reviewed, it could mean our file was put at the bottom of a stack for some unknown reason. I was told that we did not hear that our file had been misplaced, nor did we hear that the file had been separated. Both things have been told to the agency before, so not hearing them is good. We were not told that anything was specifically wrong with our file. Another good thing. Whatever "other factor" involved means that it happened to 4 families together. Of course any of these things are still possible to be wrong with our file, but they are becoming less likely.

You can interpret that yourselves, I am personally leaning more toward something happened and the CCAA will correct it as soon as they possibly able to.

BTW, 2 different agencies told their SN clients who were skipped last week that the person who signs off on the LOA is out of the office until Friday. This means, that our paperwork could not be signed until Friday, then we would get it Monday the 15th at the earliest. I told this to our agency, told her where I had heard it, and they seemed to think it is probably true.

What this means to us as far as travel:

LOA this week, we *might* make the Nov 1st group, but unlikely.
LOA next week (the 15th), we should make a November 15th group (if they have one)
LOA the week of 21st, we might make November 15th, but possibly the 22nd (if they had one)
LOA the week of the 28th, November 15th is out, 22 is a maybe, but more than likely Nov 29th (if they have one)
LOA the first week of November, then travel would be in December...moving the LOA out by each week pushes travel out by a week each time.

Have I mentioned that I do not wait well at all? Really do not wait well.

and now he is 5!

Samuel is a very happy 5 years old now. He had a wonderful birthday party, a wonderful birthday, and is happily learning how to play his Wii.

Yes, it is HIS Wii. He, of course, must share with the other boys in the house. We are waiting to add to our Wii games though, and they are currently playing lots and lots of sports games. I think Samuel loves creating Mii people though. If he knows your name, then you more than likely have a Mii.

Dh has a beard and mustache for his Mii. I have sunglasses. (We have neither, BTW.) I helped him create Katie (she's as short as he could make her and as skinny as he could make her. I helped him find the black hair, the darker eyes, and a more "girl" hairstyle. So, now, my life is punctuated by "Katie hit a homerun!" Then a little later "MOM! You made a great catch!" I hear lots of little boy giggling, and not so much whining. In addition to this wonderful new pastime, I also have the pleasure of seeing them play with all their new toys. Lots of new pirate gear and swords, Star Wars toys, remote control cars, and foam rockets. Both boys are loving the new toys. I'm loving the relative peace and quiet.

This is Fall Break week for all of our school friends, and as such, we have lots of playdate opportunities, lots of pumpkin patch invitations, and even invites to go to the zoo or the science museums. The kids do have Karate on Thursday and homeschool science classes on Wednesday. But, alas, I do not have the joy of dropping them off at Friday classes this week. Luckily, due to Fall Break, we have a slower week scheduled. I also have fewer work obligations other than computer work at home. I'm looking forward to the pace of our life slowing down somewhat.

I am hoping to get papers and things shipped this week, so that I'm ready for when we do get that all important LOA. We still have not heard what happened, but I'm encouraged by the fact that it seems other agencies are seeing a "slow LOA" for their Sept 2006 LID people. Here's hoping that we get that LOA tomorrow on day 102.

I can not believe that we passed 100 days of waiting for LOA. Never thought we would wait this long. Never.

What an exciting day

For those not in the know, if we had stayed on our NSN track, we would not be looking at a late 2009 or early 2010 referral timeframe at current paces. However, in much better news, after I think a record breaking 6 months China has finally finished referring out November 2005 LID group. A huge collective sigh of relief was definitely heard around the world.

We learned this week that they once again had a fairly small referral batch, making it a rough week of news for many China prospective adoptive parents (or PAP). Many of these families have been waiting for over 2 years, or close to 3 years just to get to this point from applying with their agency. When we all signed that disclaimer that nothing is guaranteed in international adoption and we are taking a risk, they were not joking.

I found out that there 4 families skipped with our agency, and I found out that another agency had a skipped family (only one out of all of the SN PAP). Her situation, would be scarier to me as she was the only one. However, she was also the only one in her own "batch" as well. Then, there is a family who was anticipating their NSN referral and did not get it. That has got to be awful!

On a joyful note, to end the week, our agency did start making new SN referral calls today. So many families saw their daughter or son's face for the first time today. It is such a special wonderful feeling. I hope they have an awesome weekend basking in the glow of their new child.

It is amazing to me how much of my current life revolves around this adoption, how excited for perfect strangers I am, how sad I am for others when they get bad news. Isn't the internet grand?

We've made it to Friday

Fridays are a great day in our lives, it's Co-op day! This means, that my kids both go off to school from 9-1, and JM continues on until 3. We made it.

Of course we forgot to memorize Samuel's poem, guess I"ll work on that in the morning.

I made it halfway through to when we *might* hear something, our agency will be asking questions on Monday (China time) and we might hear something back on Wednesday from them. Oh how I hope so. I guess, honestly, we're only 1/3 of the way there...but it feels like a long time ago that we heard the bad news.

I have a busy weekend, it's birthday weekend. Samuel has his party, with 10 friends coming! We have family coming in to helps us celebrate, which means game nights and card playing, and food...lots of food. The boys get to have their cousin spend the night...in their room with them!

Then, Monday, we'll do our special "family celebration" with Samuel and as is our tradition he will choose where we eat. Anywhere we wishes to go, we go without complaint. I predict we'll either be eating Burger King or Jason's Deli! Now, for my birthday I choose someplace like Macaroni Grill, Outback, or Japanese steakhouse. Not Samuel though! He's still young enough that Burger King seems like a treat. Just hope he doesn't choose Chuck E. Cheese's. OH PLEASE don't let him choose that!

So, you see, Tuesday will be here before we know it. Hopefully we'll have some news between now and then.

Update on the LOA

We have officially been skipped, in every meaning of the word in relation to China SN adoption. Yes, it's frustrating. No, there is nothing we can do about it.

What does this mean exactly? Well, others at our agency with LID after ours (but in 2006 still) and LOI dates the same or after ours did get their LOA today. We did not. Nor did other families who were LID September 2006.

Okay, now what? Since China is closed for national holidays our agency has to wait until Monday to contact them to find out exactly what is going on. They will ask nicely for the liaison to check on each of our paperwork stuff. I know of at least one other family in this situation, and I was led to believe there are more than 2 of us. The liaison will get back to our agency, and we should know something by Wednesday of next week (October 10th). We've been told to be prepared for vague answers like "we are processing the paperwork."

What is the best case scenario? Best case is that there was just a paperwork snafu and our LOA is sitting in China just waiting to be mailed. We'd get it next week. Or for some reason they prepared things out of LID order which is not normal for them, but who knows.


What is worst case?This one is hard for me to swallow. Worst case is that our dossier was never matched with our LOI. This means that we are no further along than we were June 29, 2007 when we sent the LOI. This could have happened because the dossier was probably sitting in the review room waiting to be reviewed when we sent the LOI. It may have never been pulled. If this is the case, our agency is going to ask nicely for expedite on our paperwork. If they do expedite it could be another month to get the LOA. If they don't, then we are looking at another 90+ days.

When will we travel?We honestly do not know. We can tell you with certainty that October 25th is out, as is November 1st. It's possible IF we got that LOA next week that we could make the November 8th time...but more than likely it will be November 15th. We really hope, at this point, that we are able to travel and have her home by Christmas.

I'm very upset with the knowledge that paperwork is keeping us from holding our baby girl in our arms. It's been so long already, almost 100 days. As soon as I have that LOA I can post her photo to this blog. If you are interested in seeing her photos now, email me.

Day 94.

We did not hear anything. We do not have any idea when we will hear something. We just hope it comes very very soon!

*sigh*

Have-A-Kelly

We spent much of today preparing for birthday season and Christmas. This means we took the kids "window shopping" at various toy stores. We came away from this with loads of new toy ideas, many of which we hope never make it into our home.

"Have-A-Kelly" is what I heard when JM was telling me about one particular toy. "HUH," I said. "Have-A-Kelly? What's a Kelly?" JM would reply, "No Mom, Have-a-Kelly." I swear that is what I heard. After 5 minutes, during which he got progressively frustrated with me, he finally pronounced it in such a way that I could understand. "Havoc Heli" and then he talked about the battle set and how it had a red heli and a blue heli. He also told me that it doesn't break easily when it crashes.

Later on he wanted to know exactly why he could not get this set of Star Trek micro machine ships. We explained that they don't make them anymore. He said, "Well, I'll ask for them for Christmas." To which we explained that he wouldn't get them because they don't make them anymore and we couldn't find them. He got a little more frustrated with us and exclaimed, "But I'll ask for them for Christmas MORNING."

Ah-ha! He's thinking Santa will bring them, but can't remember that it is Santa. He knows someone brings "gifts" for Christmas morning. But since we don't make a big deal out of it being Santa he must not remember very well. Hmmm...I think we might have a problem. He's going to figure out this year that the person (or persons) are Mom and Dad. See, when I was near his age I asked for something completely unattainable to see if Santa was real or not. JM is going to ask for something completely thinking he can get it and then be totally disappointed. OR NOT! Micro Machines Star Trek

*hint Grandparents JM and Samuel want some of those!*

Do you even want to know the price Dh paid for the 2 sets (#1 and #2) when he was in college? Huh? I think it was like $5 each.

Oh look! MORE

anyone want to help us out in finding the Lego Minifigs? You know, the people? The boys really only want all the little people to play with, and they only want the Star Wars, Harry Potter, or Pirate ones. Yeah, the popular ones! Never mind, search engines to the rescue.

and that is the list we are currently up to. Helicopters that don't break easily when crashed (yeah right), special collector's edition Star Trek micro machines, and Lego Minifigs.

Guess it's a good thing we started NOW!

Busy busy Saturday

We had games this morning, bright and early in the nice cool fall morning weather!

Samuel's game started at 8:30 with Dh as a coach to the 5 little soccer players. JM's game, which started at 9am, only ended up being a practice as our team only had 4 players. I was chosen to sit with JM since Dh had to coach. I don't do mornings, so the thinking skills at that time left a little to be desired, which is why I made the mistake I did.

I saw JM bat twice between 9 and 9:30. During that time JM hit the ball down the first base line, but got out at first. This was HUGE. Remember, he's playing his first ever kid pitch league and had gotten hit early in the season. Lately, he's been "running from the ball" and not staying at the plate to actually try and hit a ball. His 2nd at bat he once again hit down the 1st base side, but more between 2nd and 1st base positions. 2nd baseman picked it up and overthrew to first (JM would have beaten it there btw). JM ran on to 2nd, then on to 3rd narrowly missing a tag out at 3rd. He was all smiles, and so was I. I was now awake enough to realize something...the coach that I thought was coach of our team was not acting like he was overly confident. In fact he mentioned he would be thrilled when Dh made it down to take over. OOPS. Dh is, umm...about the 4th assistant coach and I thought the parent helping out was one of the assistant coaches. No biggie, I figured it was close to the end of Samuel's game and I would walk up there to meet with Dh so I could walk Samuel down to the field where JM was and Dh could run ahead. Told you I was starting to think. I get up to the soccer field and tell Dh about the situation down on JM's field. Dh finishes refereeing the soccer game in about 1 minute and then takes off for the baseball game.

I walk with Samuel back to the baseball field after doing our "celebration tunnel" and getting Samuel's snack (which I ended up carrying). On the walk back I got to hear all about how Samuel sort of scored a goal. He "deflected" the soccer ball with his legs while standing next to the goal and the ball went in. Hey, in my book, that's a goal! He was all smiles, and so was I. I was also much more awake now. We sit and watch the rest of JM's game/practice/scrimmage and I see JM make some awesome catches at catcher position and he even managed to learn a little more about playing that position!

All that, and we were home by 10:30am.

We do some housework, try to make sense of where we should be with our homeschooling work, and then work on some of the lessons and study for upcoming tests...and then I go to work and Dh took the kids to a friend's house. I meet up with them at the friend's house for some great fellowship...and now it's time for bed.

We have another early morning tomorrow! Perhaps one day soon life will slow down? Maybe?

More ladybugs

We heard nothing this week, despite the hopefulness brought from ladybug sightings. But the week's showing dwindled...

Monday night there was 1 ladybug.

Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday nights there were no ladybugs. *so sad*

Tonight...there were 4! and 2 were needing to be censored from the kids eyes (if you know what I mean). LOL

So, perhaps, these 4 little ladybugs might mean something? Hmmm....we know that China is probably working this weekend before their big national holiday week, and we know that in the past they have liked to clear out the work load as much as possible. So, here's hoping that Monday or Tuesday we have some GREAT news to share.

If not, then it will be at least another week, and we will fly right by that 100 day mark.

and there was much wailing and nashing of teeth

no, not from me for not getting a phone call today (on day 89....tomorrow is day 90 of a 70-90 average wait).

but from the kids when I finally broke down and picked up their Lego pile of bricks. I've told them all day to clean it up. Multiple times. Did it get picked up? No. They must not care for them or they would have picked them up. So, "bye bye Lego bricks"

I'm sure they will get more for birthdays and Christmas so I'm not concerned at all. Plus it wasn't all of them.

Okay, enough with the whining and complaining!

Exciting things have been happening in our family, yet I've focused on the "no phone call with LOA" through most of it here. I need to share the "fun" things we've been up to.

First off, I decided that our nasty stained carpet (it was light creme and NOT scotch guarded for those of you with children) needed to be cleaned REALLY well or replaced. After about 1 hour of trying to clean, we opted to replace. Perfect distraction during this wait...right? Oh my word has it been exhausting. We have new carpet in, it's lovely. We are so tired though. Tired of packing up junk, tired of moving furniture, and tired of sitting at the table to be on the computer. But man oh man that carpet is so pretty. It's "flecked" but mostly a dark khaki (color of wet sand). It has brown, black, and creme pieces in it. I was also smart and got the special pad, the moisture blocking pad, so future stains won't soak in and come back to haunt us.

Secondly, JM pitched a baseball game and actually struck some kids out! After his first outing where he walked 4 batters in a row, we were so proud. He's also doing a great job with the catcher position as well.

Third, Samuel is now an orange with black stripe belt in Karate like his brother. He passed his test, and he is just about always kicking at least waist high these days. Not bad for a 4 year old (okay, he's really ALMOST 5).

The boys also got new gameboy games for helping us move furniture and take out the old carpet (well, Samuel helped us out by staying out of the way and away from the dust so we didn't have to administer any breathing treatments). The games have really helped them stay busy during the long hours we've needed to get things back to rights, shopping for organizing things (be still my beating heart), and time for us to be on the computer...like now. ;)

See, I told you, EXCITING times!

We have not heard anything yet

87 days down, tomorrow is 88 days.

We've heard nothing on our approvals, and it is supposed to be 70-90 days. I think we will pass the 90 days mark personally. So, that is our "no news" day.

Do I *really* need to tell you how I feel right now?

Something is going on outside...

there are now 6 ladybugs. Hmmm..."double lucky" perhaps?

But honestly, WHERE did they come from? All are attracted to our outside light on the front porch (along with about a gazillion other little flying insects). We're having to go in and out the front door since our garage is full of furniture. Why? We're getting new carpet upstairs tomorrow! :) We've worked really hard to get it ready to go, and now, tomorrow I entertain two boys while the installers do their work. I can't wait for it to all be done though.

I hope, really really really hope, that we hear from the agency tomorrow.

3 ladybugs outside tonight

Dh saw 3 ladybugs this evening!!! Since ladybug sightings are considered "lucky" in China adoption and since many of our own "ladybug sightings" do seem to have significance to our adoption situation, I'm hoping this means good things on Monday. If we do not get our LOA next week, it is doubtful we could travel October 25th. That breaks my heart to think about. I'm just so ready to go and get her.

3 ladybugs...for our 3 kids? Or for Dh, myself, and Katie traveling? I like the 3 kids idea, especially since 2 were bigger and close together and one was little bitty and about a foot or so away from the other two.

Today we were cleaning out our computer area, and I found a picture that Samuel had colored last September. It was an outline of China and he had colored sections, then he drew a smiley face on it. I remember saying to a friend, "I'm going to keep this. When we get our referral I want to check and see if she is from the province where Samuel drew the smiley face." Guess what? She is! How is that for another "red thread" connection?

One more thing checked off the list!

Our homestudy addendum for the SN adoption is just about done (emailing between the SW and my agency is happening today). :) Then, once that is done, we will have the finalized versions of it!

I have to say our Social Worker rocks! She's one of the fastest people I've ever heard of getting done with the homestudy and the addendums. She contacted me Tuesday to get started, Thursday it is basically done.

Phew! One of the major stresses of this process is lifted. Now, we just need to get that LOA/RA!!!

Just keep waiting.

That's what we are doing. Waiting. Thursday marks day 83 since LOI (not that we're counting or anything). The average time for someone LID before LOI (which we were) is 70-90 days.

We're at 83 days. Mighty close to that 90 don't you think?

We did see movement at our agency this week though, someone LID 7/06 (we're LID 9/14/06) with a LOI of 7/13/07 (we're LOI 6/29/07) got their LOA/RA. How's that for lots of numbers and letters? What this means is that their dossier was definitely translated and was being reviewed for NSN when they sent in their LOI. It was pulled and processed faster than our own as it was in the midst of review to start with.

What does this mean for us? Well, we have to be getting closer right? It means that they are working on things, and it does not appear that we have been skipped in any way...yet. :) We have to trust that it will shop up soon, and who knows, it might show up by the end of this week. I am not sure, but I think our agency will inquire about it after 90 days. However, they may wait to 120 days.

At this point, I want it. Plain and simple. We are hoping to travel with the October 25th group. Please please please let us travel with them!!!

Will it be this week?

That is what all my agency friends are wondering along with me? Will we finally see our LOA/RA this week? Could the end of our wait for our daughter be almost over? Maybe?

I've decided it is hard to wait, even when you are trying ever so hard to find peace and knowledge that this is really out of your control. The timing will be perfect whenever it happens, I know that. But this waiting. This not knowing. This uncertainty of when we will travel is really starting to get old.

We have developed some rather expensive "coping" techniques this past week. Too many more weeks of not getting that important piece of paperwork might see us more broke than we ever seem to be. We are finally replacing carpets upstairs (yes, all those who have been in our home can breathe with relief that we addressing that problem finally). I've also started shopping for our trip more. This typically means Katie gets yet another outfit. This past weekend I found her a bib for the trip. Then I saw the cutest hairbrush for her...it's a ladybug.

So, I'm really hoping we hear this week. Not too sure how much longer I can keep shopping. ;)

He says the cutest things!

I sent Samuel to the bathroom to clean his face, wash his hands, and brush his teeth. After a good long while of hearing the water running, Samuel calls out "Moooom! Where's my....where's my....where's my tooth soap?"

awwww....Tooth SOAP! I love it.

I had to go help him find his tooth paste, and I told him "Here's your tooth paste, be sure to brush your teeth really well." I'll check of course.

Love Without Boundaries

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceAmyu1FpBc

Katie, luckily, has not needed surgery while in China for her heart condition (and we're hopeful she won't need it once home). However, she has benefited from Love Without Boundaries through the medical fund. She was able to have 2 heart ultrasounds. While her orphanage is not one of the poorer ones, I know medical checkups like she had are not cheap.

Love Without Boundaries also has a great foster care support for the Yunnan province

the diving video

Here's the one of him diving. Just kindly ignore my voice. Does anyone EVER like their own voice?

Note to self, when videoing in China do NOT talk! LOL

OH, and isn't that little foot kicking up at the end of the dive just adorable or what?

Testing out video

What we learned with this "test" is that videos in low light are not great. :) 2nd, I think Samuel is just about the cutest little diving board jumper in history. I'm going to see if I have the video of him diving, it's even better than this one. Of course it was in daylight.

We bought the little Flip Video for our trip to China, and tested it out last weekend. It's not too bad, it's extremely easy to use. It's tiny so taking it to China will be easy, and it runs on AA batteries (which is even better as all my various cameras have different size batteries!).

Not looking good for this week!

While some of the much anticipated and longed for LOA's for our agency did arrive, ours was not one of them. Since today (Thursday) marks 69 days since we sent our LOI, I was not totally expecting it. I think we are getting close though as others near our date out there in "internet-land" have gotten theirs, especially since they have similar "dates" to go along with their LOI.

So many of you have asked when we might travel, and after this week we are pretty much assured that travel before the end of October is out. Our new "hope for date" is October 25. In order to make this date we will really need to get our LOA in the next couple of weeks.

I am really hoping to have Katie home by Thanksgiving! I really hope we do!!

What did you do Labor Day weekend?

We visited family, and went to Dollywood. The boys had a great time swimming daily in grandma's pool, playing with cousins, and riding rides in Dollywood. Samuel was finally tall enough to ride the "big boy" rides (not to be confused with being tall enough to ride roller coasters).

Samuel also learned how to dive into the pool, and loved showing off his new skill to all. It was so cute. He is not afraid to go under the water at all anymore.