Yesterday was Easter and a thought came to me (yes-I have a thought once and a while). This will be the last Easter (God willing) that our new little one will spend in an orphange. This time next year we will be teaching her who our Heavenly Father is and why Easter is so important to us.
I put a couple pictures of our nursery on the blog. I am pretty proud of this little room. It only took me 8 days from start to finish-including new carpet, doors, paint and trim.
On Saturday we went out to eat with some new friends. We met with Oscar and Julia from South Bend. They also brought along Owen (16) and little Genevive (2-home for one year from Hunan China). I met her online and we decided to get together. They shared with us their experiences with adoption. They are going back again this year for their 2nd adopted daughter. This time though they have asked for a 3-5 year old. It was fun meeting with them.
Now that our paperwork is done and sent off I spent the weekend "shopping". I signed up for baby registries on the Walmart site and the Target site. What fun that was! I have had a few people ask what things we might be needing so for the fun of it I set up the regestries. I also realized how much more fun a young toddler is going to be and shop for verses an infant. Toys and books etc. A one year old will be the perfect "fun" age.
Thanks for checking in
ChinaMama
Monday, March 28, 2005
Thursday, March 24, 2005
DTC TODAY!
We are DTC today. That means our documents were sent out to China today! They will start translating them next week and then we will get logged in at the CCAA.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Stressful Day
Man what a day I had yesterday. Talk about being reminded that I am not in control but God is. My I-171H was certified on Monday (I took Morgan with me and we had a field trip at the State House). I Fed Ex'd my package to Chicago to a courier. She was then planning on taking the document to the Consulate and having it authenticated. Picking it up today and sending it to my agency so that they got it by Thursday. Then our agency would send it to China on Thursday (they are closed this Friday). Anyway, Fed Ex lost my package and it did not get to Chicago. We made several phone calls yesterday and Fed Ex was trying to locate my package. I was a mess cause that meant my perfectly laid out plan was not going to happen. Well, the package was found last night and it made it to Chicago by this morning. The courier took it to the Consulate and begged and pleaded and they agreed to authenticate it TODAY! They almost never agree to doing it same day. She will pick it up this afternoon and get it sent out to our agency and they should have it by tomorrow morning. Then our precious dossier will be sent to China and our paperchase will be over!
Chinamama
Chinamama
Saturday, March 19, 2005
The now beloved I-171H
Exactly one week to the day of being fingerprinted WE GOT OUR I-171H form that we had been waiting on. I am so excited. Before it was the hated I-171H now it is the beloved I-171H. Now the plans are....
Monday..I will drive to Indianapolis and have the 171 state certified. Then I will drop it in a fed ex box and send it to Denise Hope, a courier in Chicago.
Tuesday...Denise will receive the 171 and take it to the Chicago Consulate for authentication.
Wednesday...Denise will pick up the authenticated 171 and fed ex it to our agency.
Thursday...Grace at A Helping Hand will receive the 171 and hopefully send our Dossier off to China. HOPEFULLY!
Then it is wait time.
Also, today I finished the baby's room. Mike got the trim put up, the closet doors up and the dimmer switch done. The only thing I need to do now is move in the crib. It is really a cute room. I am proud of it. Now I just hope the next six months flies by.
ChinaMama
Monday..I will drive to Indianapolis and have the 171 state certified. Then I will drop it in a fed ex box and send it to Denise Hope, a courier in Chicago.
Tuesday...Denise will receive the 171 and take it to the Chicago Consulate for authentication.
Wednesday...Denise will pick up the authenticated 171 and fed ex it to our agency.
Thursday...Grace at A Helping Hand will receive the 171 and hopefully send our Dossier off to China. HOPEFULLY!
Then it is wait time.
Also, today I finished the baby's room. Mike got the trim put up, the closet doors up and the dimmer switch done. The only thing I need to do now is move in the crib. It is really a cute room. I am proud of it. Now I just hope the next six months flies by.
ChinaMama
Monday, March 14, 2005
FINGERPRINTED!
Finally-we have been fingerprinted! What a joke too. We had a 9:15 am appointment in Hammond on Saturday. We also had a Lake Effect Snow Advisory going on. So we left at 5:30 am just in case. Well we did hit bad weather on the way (40 mile an hour on the toll road). We still made pretty good time and had an hour to kill once we got there. So we went out for breakfast. While sitting in the restaurant I looked up at the clock and about fell off my chair. Stupid me, I forgot that Hammond was an hour behind us, so we in fact had a two hour wait. DUH! So we parked the van and slept. Once we got in there it took 25 minutes to print the three of us and then we were out of there. Now hopefully within two weeks we will get the much anticipated I-171H form that we are needing.
I got the baby's room painted this weekend and Mike got two of our three doors replaced. (The current bedroom doors are painted and I want stained doors). This morning I went in to pick out new hall carpet and carpet for the nursery. I figured it would take a couple weeks to get them out to install it. Nope, she said, "We have an opening tomorrow morning, would that work?" Whoo Hoo. That is cool. Now I have to get my butt in there and get that old carpet cut out. Tomorrow it is off to Millwork to get my trim.
I don't think I have mentioned it yet on here, but Jon and Lisa are expecting again. She is about 10 weeks along. They were not making any announcements to start with because of her miscarriage this winter, but she has been sooo sick this time. The doctor said that is a good sign, but I am not sure she agrees anymore. She has been really miserable. Hopefully it will let up soon as she nears the end of her first trimester. She is due October 7th.
Mom starts her Chemo Therapy tomorrow. That is another new change. The doctors decided it was best to do Chemo along with the radiation. She has been out shopping for wigs and such. I am truly inspired by her upbeat spirit and outlook. I am sure she has her down moments too, but she has really kept a positive outlook on everything and I think that will be to her benefit.
Well that is all for now. Off to rip out carpet.
ChinaMama
I got the baby's room painted this weekend and Mike got two of our three doors replaced. (The current bedroom doors are painted and I want stained doors). This morning I went in to pick out new hall carpet and carpet for the nursery. I figured it would take a couple weeks to get them out to install it. Nope, she said, "We have an opening tomorrow morning, would that work?" Whoo Hoo. That is cool. Now I have to get my butt in there and get that old carpet cut out. Tomorrow it is off to Millwork to get my trim.
I don't think I have mentioned it yet on here, but Jon and Lisa are expecting again. She is about 10 weeks along. They were not making any announcements to start with because of her miscarriage this winter, but she has been sooo sick this time. The doctor said that is a good sign, but I am not sure she agrees anymore. She has been really miserable. Hopefully it will let up soon as she nears the end of her first trimester. She is due October 7th.
Mom starts her Chemo Therapy tomorrow. That is another new change. The doctors decided it was best to do Chemo along with the radiation. She has been out shopping for wigs and such. I am truly inspired by her upbeat spirit and outlook. I am sure she has her down moments too, but she has really kept a positive outlook on everything and I think that will be to her benefit.
Well that is all for now. Off to rip out carpet.
ChinaMama
Monday, March 07, 2005
We're Baaaack...and other good news
We made it back from Cancun this morning at 2 AM (We left the resort at 1:30 PM-12 1/2 hours of travel). That made for a pretty short night and VERY early bus route this morning. The weather was great, the sites were neat and the traveling was waaaay too long. But hey, it was a free trip. Who am I to complain about anything. It was a nice break.
Some of the good news is, on Wednesday before we left I heard from the INS in Indy. She tracked down our fingerprint appointment and when we got home our letter was waiting for us. We go in this Saturday. I was hoping they would let us come in earlier this week, but it doesn't look that way. Oh well, I will take it at this point.
ALSO...the doorbell just rang and our documents that I had sent to the Chinese Consulate were being dropped off by the Fed Ex guy. That is cool. Only 11 days to get those back. I also got Evan's physical from the Secretary Of State, so I will send that off to the Consulate. We are now just waiting on the I-171. That should come within 2 weeks of our fingerprinting (I HOPE).
We might still make it to having a DTC/LID date in April. I am really hoping for that.
Thanks for your prayers,
ChinaMama
Some of the good news is, on Wednesday before we left I heard from the INS in Indy. She tracked down our fingerprint appointment and when we got home our letter was waiting for us. We go in this Saturday. I was hoping they would let us come in earlier this week, but it doesn't look that way. Oh well, I will take it at this point.
ALSO...the doorbell just rang and our documents that I had sent to the Chinese Consulate were being dropped off by the Fed Ex guy. That is cool. Only 11 days to get those back. I also got Evan's physical from the Secretary Of State, so I will send that off to the Consulate. We are now just waiting on the I-171. That should come within 2 weeks of our fingerprinting (I HOPE).
We might still make it to having a DTC/LID date in April. I am really hoping for that.
Thanks for your prayers,
ChinaMama
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Need a Break
Well yesterday we said goodbye to Grandpa. It was a beautiful memorial service. Besides my cousin Beth who was at college and got sick so she couldn't make the trip back, the whole family was together. I don't think that has happened since I was a little girl. It was sad to say goodbye but it was also a joyous occasion knowing that Grandpa is home with Jesus.
We still have not received our fingerprint letter. I am wanting to give up. Ther is a difference between being patient and feeling defeated. I am starting to feel defeated. Someday I will laugh at this but that is hard to believe right now.
Tomorrow Mike and I start our journey to Cancun. Well actually tomorrow night we go to Fort Wayne so we can leave the next morning. After this last month I need a break.
When I get back I get to start decorating. We have the girls moved to their new rooms and I can start tearing Morgan's old room apart and fixing it up. That of course will lead to the hallway and then the living room. Good therapy. HAHA.
ChinaMama
We still have not received our fingerprint letter. I am wanting to give up. Ther is a difference between being patient and feeling defeated. I am starting to feel defeated. Someday I will laugh at this but that is hard to believe right now.
Tomorrow Mike and I start our journey to Cancun. Well actually tomorrow night we go to Fort Wayne so we can leave the next morning. After this last month I need a break.
When I get back I get to start decorating. We have the girls moved to their new rooms and I can start tearing Morgan's old room apart and fixing it up. That of course will lead to the hallway and then the living room. Good therapy. HAHA.
ChinaMama
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Saying Goodbye to Grandpa...
Well nothing new on this front. Still waiting for that fingerprint appointment. With tomorrow being a holiday the next possible day to hear something is Tuesday. I am still trying to be patient. Really I am.
I got about 80% of the stuff moved out of the spare bedroom so Katie can get ready to move her stuff in. Mike is so sweet. He knows I am chomping at the bit to get started on the room make overs so he let me start moving his stuff. I gave him my canning room. That way all of his hunting stuff can stay together.
Bad news in the Yoder family. My grandfather is enduring his last days on this earth. He is 92 and a very strong Christian and more than ready to go home and meet Jesus. Of course this is sad for the family but all the brothers and sisters and grandma have agreed to let nature take its course and no heroic measures should be taken.
Only 1 1/2 weeks until Mike and I head to CanCun. This will be our last vacation before we become parents again later this year. We will be there 4 days. This is a Brooks paid vacation. All inclusive. It should be a fun trip.
Hopefully I will have good news to report in a couple days.
ChinaMama
I got about 80% of the stuff moved out of the spare bedroom so Katie can get ready to move her stuff in. Mike is so sweet. He knows I am chomping at the bit to get started on the room make overs so he let me start moving his stuff. I gave him my canning room. That way all of his hunting stuff can stay together.
Bad news in the Yoder family. My grandfather is enduring his last days on this earth. He is 92 and a very strong Christian and more than ready to go home and meet Jesus. Of course this is sad for the family but all the brothers and sisters and grandma have agreed to let nature take its course and no heroic measures should be taken.
Only 1 1/2 weeks until Mike and I head to CanCun. This will be our last vacation before we become parents again later this year. We will be there 4 days. This is a Brooks paid vacation. All inclusive. It should be a fun trip.
Hopefully I will have good news to report in a couple days.
ChinaMama
Monday, February 14, 2005
Still hanging on
Not much to update. We are still waiting for our fingerprint appointment. It should be coming any day now. They said 3 weeks after they received our homestudy that we would have our fingerprint appointment. I was really hoping that meant we would be getting fingerprinted in 3 weeks. I guess they meant we would get our letter with our appointment date in 3 weeks. They have had our homestudy for two weeks today and we have heard nothing. I just hope they don't set up our appointment during the time Mike and I will be in Cancun.
I am getting antsy to start moving the kids around in their rooms so I can start decorating "her" room. I know it seems early but I would like to do this for several reasons. 1. It will give me something productive to do. 2. I won't be shopping out of boredom. 3. I have lots to do in that room-carpet, paint, trim, decorating, organizing. (That doesn't include moving Mike's stuff out of the spare room, Evan to his new room, Katie to Evan's room & Morgan to Katie's.) 4. I will have a place to store all of the stuff I have bought. 5. I will have a place to go when I want to think about "her".
Well I am pretty sure we have a name for "her" but I am not sharing yet. Everytime I/We throw out a name someone says "yuck". So for now we aren't saying.
Well that's all for now. Hopefully the next time I post I will have USCIS & fingerprint info.
ChinaMama
I am getting antsy to start moving the kids around in their rooms so I can start decorating "her" room. I know it seems early but I would like to do this for several reasons. 1. It will give me something productive to do. 2. I won't be shopping out of boredom. 3. I have lots to do in that room-carpet, paint, trim, decorating, organizing. (That doesn't include moving Mike's stuff out of the spare room, Evan to his new room, Katie to Evan's room & Morgan to Katie's.) 4. I will have a place to store all of the stuff I have bought. 5. I will have a place to go when I want to think about "her".
Well I am pretty sure we have a name for "her" but I am not sharing yet. Everytime I/We throw out a name someone says "yuck". So for now we aren't saying.
Well that's all for now. Hopefully the next time I post I will have USCIS & fingerprint info.
ChinaMama
Monday, February 07, 2005
Rough Week
This last week has been a tough one. On Wednesday my mom found out she had breast cancer. The doctors said it was a rare very aggressive and invasive type. That hit us all very hard. On Thursday she met with the oncologist and surgeon and they told her that they did not think it had spread and they wanted to due another surgery right away to find out. That brings us up to today. She had the second surgery today and the lymph nodes and breast tissue came back negative for cancerous cells. Praise the Lord! That means the cancer had not spread. So, there will not be a need for chemo or radical surgery. They do want her to due a 6 week treatment of radiation, but compared to what she was looking at this is all good news.
As for the adoption front.....no news. We are still waiting for our fingerprinting appointment.
This last weekend we went to visit some new friends in Fort Wayne. The Cramer's are paperchasing for their second daughter from China. They have a three year old that they adopted a year and a half ago. She is a doll. The next day I heard Mike telling several people about the precious little girl he met. I think he fell in love with Kendall. We got to see pictures and a video from their trip to China. It sure makes it seem more real. How cool.
ChinaMama
As for the adoption front.....no news. We are still waiting for our fingerprinting appointment.
This last weekend we went to visit some new friends in Fort Wayne. The Cramer's are paperchasing for their second daughter from China. They have a three year old that they adopted a year and a half ago. She is a doll. The next day I heard Mike telling several people about the precious little girl he met. I think he fell in love with Kendall. We got to see pictures and a video from their trip to China. It sure makes it seem more real. How cool.
ChinaMama
Monday, January 31, 2005
January Referrals
Today is referal day on the chat sights. People who were LID at the end of July or August are starting to get their referrals today. When that starts happening people really go nuts on these sites. They list all the information they have etc. I should be really happy for them, but I only feel depressed because I am not there yet. I know my time will come but it still seems so far away.
Mom will find out tomorrow about her biopsy. We are still crossing our fingers. My aunt (her sister) Trudy is also having some difficulties. She may have to have her thyroid taken out for cancer reasons and they have also found a spot on her lung. The good news is her son Jimmy and his wife Michelle just found out they are expecting their first child. Whoo hoo. Finally some great news.
Last night we had some company over. A couple from our church that came home from China one year ago with their daughter came over with a video, pictures, experiences and advice. It was really nice getting to visit with them.
Well, back to the referral announcements.
ChinaMama
Mom will find out tomorrow about her biopsy. We are still crossing our fingers. My aunt (her sister) Trudy is also having some difficulties. She may have to have her thyroid taken out for cancer reasons and they have also found a spot on her lung. The good news is her son Jimmy and his wife Michelle just found out they are expecting their first child. Whoo hoo. Finally some great news.
Last night we had some company over. A couple from our church that came home from China one year ago with their daughter came over with a video, pictures, experiences and advice. It was really nice getting to visit with them.
Well, back to the referral announcements.
ChinaMama
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Sent off...
Today I received our Homestudy in the mail (actually about 6 copies!!) So, right after my bus route I headed to the post office to priority mail one of the precious copies to USCIS. Now hopefully in about 3 weeks we will be heading to Hammond to get our FBI fingerprints taken. There is a good chance we could have all our documents in by March. I am really excited today. Only one more paper to go and then the leg work of certification and authentication.
ChinaMama
ChinaMama
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
It's In!
Well Fran was good to her word this time. She emailed me the final draft of the home study at 2:30 AM this morning. I just forwarded it to our agency. Now we just wait for the okay from AHH. Once we get that then Fran will mail me several copies and I can get one to USCIS so we can get our fingerprint appointment set up. One more step closer.
For those of you reading this today, please keep my mother in your prayers. Last week during her mammogram the doctors found a lump in her breast. She is having a biopsy done today. She is obviously quite concerned and we just ask for God's peace to be placed on her and for knowledge for the doctor's on how to best handle this.
Today is our Anniversary! Yep that is right 19 years today. I know we had a rocky and unsure start (Evan's arrival 10 weeks early) and some ups and downs but we have endured. Mike remains my best friend and partner to this day. Here is to the next 19 years!!!
ChinaMama
For those of you reading this today, please keep my mother in your prayers. Last week during her mammogram the doctors found a lump in her breast. She is having a biopsy done today. She is obviously quite concerned and we just ask for God's peace to be placed on her and for knowledge for the doctor's on how to best handle this.
Today is our Anniversary! Yep that is right 19 years today. I know we had a rocky and unsure start (Evan's arrival 10 weeks early) and some ups and downs but we have endured. Mike remains my best friend and partner to this day. Here is to the next 19 years!!!
ChinaMama
Sunday, January 23, 2005
It's about time
Well Fran our social worker finally made it to the house today. She said if everything goes well, she may have our homestudy done by the end of the week. YEAH!! Then we can get our fingerprinting appointment set up at USCIS.
This woman is crazy. Mike said she makes me look quiet. LOL. (Yes it is possible to talk more than I do!) Anyway, she was here for about 2 hours. We just went over our draft and made a few changes. Then signed a couple papers and gave her a tour of the house. That was it. She is a really laid back person.
Now here is the kicker-she wanted to know if I would be interested in doing some work for her. She was impressed with my "type A" personality. The same personality that has been driving her nuts for the last month. She said she needs an organized person with computer skills to do computer work for her that is a people person. She said she will contact me in the next couple days and tell me what she is interested in. Mike thinks she would drive me crazy and that I would be mad at her all the time because she is just the opposite of me. I want to hear what she has to say.
Oh well, now if I can just get her to keep her word and have our homestudy done by the end of the week I will be a happy camper.
No news on the name game. I have just about given up. We will just call her "Hey you". I came up with about 5 new names and of course Mike didn't like any of them.
Well that is about it on the home front here. At least my house is starting the week off clean.
ChinaMama
This woman is crazy. Mike said she makes me look quiet. LOL. (Yes it is possible to talk more than I do!) Anyway, she was here for about 2 hours. We just went over our draft and made a few changes. Then signed a couple papers and gave her a tour of the house. That was it. She is a really laid back person.
Now here is the kicker-she wanted to know if I would be interested in doing some work for her. She was impressed with my "type A" personality. The same personality that has been driving her nuts for the last month. She said she needs an organized person with computer skills to do computer work for her that is a people person. She said she will contact me in the next couple days and tell me what she is interested in. Mike thinks she would drive me crazy and that I would be mad at her all the time because she is just the opposite of me. I want to hear what she has to say.
Oh well, now if I can just get her to keep her word and have our homestudy done by the end of the week I will be a happy camper.
No news on the name game. I have just about given up. We will just call her "Hey you". I came up with about 5 new names and of course Mike didn't like any of them.
Well that is about it on the home front here. At least my house is starting the week off clean.
ChinaMama
Monday, January 17, 2005
WOW!
Last night I had enough of my Website done to share it with close friends and family. I got two reponses back from my aunts. WOW! (hence today's title). I hope they don't mind but I am going to post their comments because I want to be able to look back on them someday when I am feeling down.
Hi Rachel...I am sitting here with tears running down my face....I am so happy for you and Mike and your kids. What a blessing you are giving this family! And if you are still looking at names... how about Ronda Sue....after grandpa Yoder and you. Bringing a new little one into your lives is so exciting and giving her a name that connects her to her new family might be very special to her as she grows up. It may give her a sense of really belonging. Oh...I'm just so excited for you....well, I will be following your every step and every day you and Mike and Baby Stahley will be in my prayers. God bless you on your journey......Love, Aunt Sandi
This is fantastic/wonderful/miraculous!!! Can't wait to meet our new little great-niece! Let us know if there is anything we can do to help! Also, when you have a bit more information (age, size, etc.), we need to throw a big ol' baby shower!
Much love,
Aunt Louie and Uncle Jim
These emails just made my day!!! I got one from Uncle Chuck last week and didn't think to save it . Now I wish I would have. These will be so fun to share with our daughter someday.
No news on anything since last post. We are just waiting for our fingerprint appointment and next weekend our homestudy appointment. I am still praying for patience.
ChinaMama
Hi Rachel...I am sitting here with tears running down my face....I am so happy for you and Mike and your kids. What a blessing you are giving this family! And if you are still looking at names... how about Ronda Sue....after grandpa Yoder and you. Bringing a new little one into your lives is so exciting and giving her a name that connects her to her new family might be very special to her as she grows up. It may give her a sense of really belonging. Oh...I'm just so excited for you....well, I will be following your every step and every day you and Mike and Baby Stahley will be in my prayers. God bless you on your journey......Love, Aunt Sandi
This is fantastic/wonderful/miraculous!!! Can't wait to meet our new little great-niece! Let us know if there is anything we can do to help! Also, when you have a bit more information (age, size, etc.), we need to throw a big ol' baby shower!
Much love,
Aunt Louie and Uncle Jim
These emails just made my day!!! I got one from Uncle Chuck last week and didn't think to save it . Now I wish I would have. These will be so fun to share with our daughter someday.
No news on anything since last post. We are just waiting for our fingerprint appointment and next weekend our homestudy appointment. I am still praying for patience.
ChinaMama
Friday, January 14, 2005
Finally The Draft
No....I don't mean Evan got drafted. I mean we finally received the first draft of our homestudy. All I can say it is about time. This has been a very frustrating week for me. We had heard nothing from our social worker for over a week. She was not answering my emails or returning my calls. I finally sent her a "I am getting very frustrated with you...." email. The next day I sent her an apology. (I figured this was not a woman I wanted mad at me). She finally emailed me back and said she understood. Then she changed our first home visit from this Saturday to next Sunday. (Hmmm....maybe she is mad at me). I am praying for patience. I am to the point where there is nothing else I can do. We are just waiting on our homestudy and INS approval.
We did get Mike's passport this week and my last two birth certificates from Allen County.
We are back to working on names again. We had it down to Olivia. Then I read that Olivia was #6 in the nation last year. That means there will be a boat load of Olivia's running around for the next 5 years. Now we are looking at: Lyndsay, Molly, Gabrielle, Julia, Mychelle and Brooke. I really like Sabrina, but Mike shot that one down. He doesn't like anything that I do.
Well, I will sign off for today. Keep praying for us. (Me for calm and patience).
ChinaMama
We did get Mike's passport this week and my last two birth certificates from Allen County.
We are back to working on names again. We had it down to Olivia. Then I read that Olivia was #6 in the nation last year. That means there will be a boat load of Olivia's running around for the next 5 years. Now we are looking at: Lyndsay, Molly, Gabrielle, Julia, Mychelle and Brooke. I really like Sabrina, but Mike shot that one down. He doesn't like anything that I do.
Well, I will sign off for today. Keep praying for us. (Me for calm and patience).
ChinaMama
Friday, January 07, 2005
Makin' progress....a little at a time
Well our application is off to USCIS (formally known at INS). We sent it out yesterday and they got it today. Yeah! Now we just wait. When I talked to the woman there she said we should get our fingerprint appointment for about 3 weeks after our application is received. We are still waiting on our homestudy stuff. She said she would meet with us next Saturday (1 week). I sure hope that goes quickly. I am still unsure of that lady. My goal is to still be DTC by the first of April. If that happens we should be in China in about 11 months.
I have faxed all the documents we have collected so far to Grace at AHH. She has given the okay on them with only minor adjustments. She says we are moving at lightning speed. I hope, but it sure doesn't feel like it.
I am 37 today. No fanfare please. Don't really care. Just another number. Yuck!
ChinaMama
I have faxed all the documents we have collected so far to Grace at AHH. She has given the okay on them with only minor adjustments. She says we are moving at lightning speed. I hope, but it sure doesn't feel like it.
I am 37 today. No fanfare please. Don't really care. Just another number. Yuck!
ChinaMama
Sunday, January 02, 2005
Holidays Are Over
Boy, am I ever glad the holidays are finally over. Now maybe we can get some stuff done. We finally got some papers from Fran our social worker and filled out everything we could and got it all back to her. (We are still waiting on the state police check and CPS check). I hope she will now set up our homestudy interviews.
I know they say the wait after sending your papers to China is the hardest but I don't think I agree. I will feel relief when our papers are sent off and everything is out of our hands. At that point it is just the waiting and the planning. That won't be so bad. This pushing and waiting on other people so I can go to the next step is not any fun.
I bought the decor for her room. I went with Boyd's bears. It is really cute. I found a whole set on ebay and bought it. Now this summer we can tear Morgan's old room apart and decorate.
Michael and I have been discussing names for our new little one. We are leaning towards Olivia.
Michael doesn't like any of the names I have suggested. I like more unusual names and he likes them a little more common. So far we have come up with Olivia and Abigail.
Some of my other favorite names were: Reiley, Payton, Isabelle, Kalina and Delaney.
I want to keep posting because when we get our referral, I want to look back and see what we were doing on her birthday.
Tomorrow we are back to school and work. At least something to keep us busy. Katie was really sick this weekend with the stomache flu, but seems to be back on track today. Thank goodness.
Well, more to post later.
Chinamama
I know they say the wait after sending your papers to China is the hardest but I don't think I agree. I will feel relief when our papers are sent off and everything is out of our hands. At that point it is just the waiting and the planning. That won't be so bad. This pushing and waiting on other people so I can go to the next step is not any fun.
I bought the decor for her room. I went with Boyd's bears. It is really cute. I found a whole set on ebay and bought it. Now this summer we can tear Morgan's old room apart and decorate.
Michael and I have been discussing names for our new little one. We are leaning towards Olivia.
Michael doesn't like any of the names I have suggested. I like more unusual names and he likes them a little more common. So far we have come up with Olivia and Abigail.
Some of my other favorite names were: Reiley, Payton, Isabelle, Kalina and Delaney.
I want to keep posting because when we get our referral, I want to look back and see what we were doing on her birthday.
Tomorrow we are back to school and work. At least something to keep us busy. Katie was really sick this weekend with the stomache flu, but seems to be back on track today. Thank goodness.
Well, more to post later.
Chinamama
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