20 Years and counting....

I forgot to mention that Mike and I celebrated our 20th anniversary this last week. WOW! 20 years-it blows my mind. We decided our gift to each other this year would be a trip to China. Cool huh?

Mike and I married very young. I was 18 and he was 19. It was a pretty crazy time. I was finishing up my senior year in high school. He was going to trade school an hour away.

I remember it was a cold wintery day that we got married on. I remember being worried that the weather would get really bad and no one would be able to come. But they came. About 300 of them.

We honeymooned in Fort Wayne (couldn't afford a honeymoon so a few friends of my mom's went together and got us a hotel room for a couple nights). It was Super Bowl weekend. We got a pizza and sat on the bed with our pizza and watched the Super Bowl.

It hasn't always been easy, pretty tough at times actually, but in our case getting married young was a good thing. We finished growing up together. I can't imagine being married to anyone else. I can't imagine anyone else being the father to my children. Mike is my best friend and I thank God for him every day. Here is to 20 more babe!

Okay I am a nerd. But I just found this site. It is pretty cool. Just had to post it. Sorry if you have already seen it.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8524684692908021783

Some people just have too much time on their hands. If you have not seen this yet, watch it clear through. :)

Long slow wait

Well this wait will be fairly uneventful. While waiting for TA's there is not the rumor mill to follow and the ups and downs that there are with referrals. It is basically turn your letter in and wait for CCAA to do something with it. So the next six weeks is gonna be slow.

We did get a call from our Pastor's wife on Friday. The church would like to do a fundraiser for us to help bring Olivia home. Probably something like a dinner. I am so excited. I think it is awesome because it is a way for the church to get involved in our adoption, share in our excitement and a way to bring everyone together for a purpose. Of course, Mike sees it as a charity thing. He is not real excited. I gave him many arguments as to why we should agree to it. I finally won him over but it is grudingly. It does not bother me at all. We are always one of the first to step up and help people and everytime we do so we feel blessed. Sometimes you have to be able to recieve. Besides, this adoption and trip is going to happen no matter what. so it is not like we are asking for it.

I bought paint for the living room. I figured that is something I can work on while waiting. (Knowing me it will take about a week to get it done). But that will be one more week down.

I have one suitcase completely packed and three others half packed. I am down to mostly things that we are still using and can't pack until the last couple days before we leave.

The stork alert has just been alerted for the next batch of referrals. This last week has been a roller coaster ride for those waiting. I am SOOO glad to not be in that stage of the game anymore. ;)

We Got An Update Today

Today we received an update on Olivia. It is dated January 11th. She now has 16 teeth. But she is still only 19.8 pounds and 30 inches tall so she has not grown much in the last few months.

She is walking and running freely. She can say Mama, meimei (sister) and Ayi (auntie). She can follow simple orders. She is lively and a little shy before strangers. She likes to sleep on her belly. She drinks milk and eats rice cakes.

That means she will probably still be in 12 month clothing when we go get her. She is still a little peanut but is growing up while we are sitting here waiting on paperwork. How frustrating.

I have been tagged

I've been tagged by To China For Holly.
Here are the Question's I was asked!

What were you doing 10 year's ago: I had a newborn at home. (My baby is now 10!)

What were you doing one year ago: We had made the decision one month earlier to adopt so I was in the middle of a massive paperchase!

Five snacks I enjoy:
1. Ice cream
2. Milk duds
3. Caramel Corn
4. Strawberry Smoothies
5.

Five things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Adopt again
2. Buy my husband his dream farm
3. Buy a new vehicle
4. Put money away for my kids college
5. Donate

Five things I like doing:
1. Reading
2. Eating
3. Reading blogs on the computer
4. Sewing/cross stitch
5. Meditating

Five things I would never wear, buy, or get new again:
1. Brand new vehicle
2. Stretchy pants (stirup)
3. Tank tops
4.
5.

Five bad habits:
1. Snacking
2. Obsessing about our adoption
3. Being On The Computer way to much.
4. Listening to gossip
5. Talking To Much!

Five favorite toys/games (I can only think of 3):
1. My Mp3 player
2. Maj Jong
3. My Cell Phone.
4.
5.

So, here's how you do it. Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and then add YOUR BLOG to the bottom spot.

The Teague Family
AdoptionJourney to Sarah
twoladybugs
Lindsey's Mei Mei
ChinaMama

YOU HAVE BEEN TAGGED!!!

Where will our trip take us......

Here is a map of China. We will be starting out in Beijing. You will find that in the northern section in green surrounded by blue. We will be in Beijing for about two days visiting the Great Wall, Forbidden City and Tiennamen Square. We will also use this time to get accustomed to the 13 hour time difference. Next we will travel to Guangxi. That is in the southern part of China. You will see it in the teal color. This is the province that Olivia is from. We will spend about 5-6 days in this area doing the adoption paperwork on the China end and getting aquainted to our new daughter. We will get to do some sightseeing and shopping while here also. From there we will travel southeast to Guangzhou which is located in the Guandong province (in yellow right next to Guangxi). We will be very close to Hong Kong. While here we will finish the US side of the adoption and receive Olivia's visa to travel home. We will be here for about 3-4 days. From there we will travel home. The whole trip should take about 12 days.

Here is another map. This also shows the province where Olivia is from. We will be very close to Vietnam while staying in Guangxi.

One week

Well one week ago today we got to see the pictures of littel Olivia. Now we are once again back in the waiting game. Our agency should be sending our acceptance letters back this week. Then we have to wait for TA (travel apporval). That normally takes about 4 weeks to get back but I am figuring 5 weeks because of CNY. Once we get that back we will travel about 2 weeks after that. It can't be soon enough for me.

I have sent a care package to Olivia and I am hoping to come up with a letter to the orphanage in Chinese with several questions for them. I would love to know what they call her in the Orphanage. Is she potty trained? Does she still take a bottle? Is she still in the orphanage or has she been moved to a foster family? The list goes on.

Anyway, like I said we are back to waiting.

WOW! She is so sweet

Okay-after having a couple days to let it sink in I cannot wait to get my hands on my little girl.

We got our report on Olivia on Thursday. She is walking and learned to say Mama on May 13, 2005. She has 10 teeth. She loves music, is affectionate and likes to help. The report says "when a younger sister falls down, Guo Guan will go to them and try to pull them up. Sometimes she will grab them in the wrong position and it makes us to laugh." She is a moderate sleeper, fairly extroverted but cautious of strangers. She likes to try to feed herself and her food is all over the place.

I went through her closet and drawers last night and pulled out all the 6-9 month stuff. Man, I have no sleepers/pajamas for her and very few other 12 month clothes. I thought I would be sad, but instead I thought, "Yeah, I get to go shopping!"

I have learned that her orphanage only adopts out toddlers. I don't know why though. I also got pictures of the orphanage. It looks to be very clean and well taken care of. It seems it is a showcase orphanage and they have even allowed tourists in. That makes me feel good. Also, Half the Sky Foundation is in there. This is an organization that was developed by adoptive parents. They raise money and work with some of the orphanages to improve them. They also train the pre school teachers to do a better job. They build playgrounds and add things to the orphanage. Good information.

Here are a couple links to see her orphanage:
http://www.halfthesky.org/02CentersPrograms/centers/guilin.html
http://www.guangxifamilies.com/Guilin/

We Have A Little Girl!

OUR REFERRAL IS HERE!!!
This afternoon after being told by our agency that the package was not coming today we got a phone call saying "It's Here!"

Here is the important stuff so far.

Name: Yang Guo Guan (pronounced Yang (like long) Gwa Gwan)
Birthday: May 20, 2004 (estimated)
On Sept 26th she weighed 18 pounds and was 29 inches long (she is just a little peanut!)

She was abandoned when she was about 3 months old without a note, so her age was estimated-thus the May 20th birthdate.

I have to admit I was shocked and initially bummed with an older referral. We got the oldest one in the group. But she is so adorable in her pictures and we know that God desires her to be part of our family if she cannot be with her birth family.

Okay....Meet Miss Olivia Stahley....

Trying to stay cool.....bad news

Well our package has been delayed in New York due to the New Year holiday. It is suppose to be at our agency by 12 noon tomorrow. There are other agencies that recieved their packages and people are posting their referrals. It is really hard to read the other referrals and know we are still waiting. Well, another 24 hours to go.