Silly Boy

I may not have kids but I do have a spoiled baby - our dog! I was just saying yesterday how you can't see dogs' personalities in pictures and then I took this one today that is as close as I can get. Here is Harman. Harman loves his toys. So much so that he often walks around with more than one in his mouth but today I witnessed as he wandered around the house collecting not one, not two, not three, but four toys to carry around. It was very tricky for him to pick up each one without dropping the others but he succeeded. What a silly boy!


After collecting them, he sat over them like a hunter with his prey, licking his lips!

I'm buying stuff like I have a baby on the way!

I have made a couple of fun purchases in the last few days - as if we were preparing for a baby. First, I bought a trio of baby carriers from a lady I met online. She used them with her two from China. One is a baby bjorn, one is a sling type carrier and the third, a seat to use on the plane. I will post pictures when I get them!

Next I bought a crib at a garage sale. Now this one freaked me out a little because that is for the nursery - the non-existing nursery. I purposely have not started the nursery because that would be too hard to look at with a probable two years to go. Clothes, toys, books are one thing, but a crib?! That's a bit more real. But it was too beautiful and too good of a deal to pass up. It is a beautiful cherry wood convertible crib but it will have to live in the garage for awhile.

10 months (& considering an additional adoption)

This week we pasted our 10 month mark since our LID - and it's looking like it will be another 20-26 months wait. Unbelievable. I really never thought it would come to this but that's what all the signs are pointing to. Because of that, we are looking into another adoption while we wait. I am gathering a lot of information and making a lot of contacts. I'm not sure what path God will lead us but keep watching! Wouldn't it be fun to have a brother or sister waiting for Mia with us!

Cool photo

This is my favorite photo that I took while in the Keys. We were watching the sunset on the bay while a storm was brewing south over near the island. We watched this water funnel grow and if you look closely you can see the funnel all the way down to the water.

Vacation, the 4th of July and Referrals!

We had a great vacation at my favorite spot - the Florida Keys; specifically Key Colony off of Marathon. It was beautiful - not too hot, a few light showers, flat seas, good visibility (for snorkeling & scuba diving), the boys caught fish and loads of family fun. What else can you ask for?!

We had a great 4th of July on the boat under the fireworks. We had another family & some friends that went with us so we had a total of 14 people in two boats tied up eating BBQ, watching the sunset, listening to Jimmy Buffett, as we waited for some of the best fireworks I ever seen. What fun!

We didn't have any internet connection either so an entire week of no RQ (Rumor Queen-a website that watches "the wait") or my Yahoo groups, which was a good thing - a vacation from the wait! But I did see referrals have come out - a whopping 7 days taking referrals thru November 14, 2005. But it's about what I expected and it's bigger than the last 3 months, so not too much to complain about.

Neat email and Vacation bound!

I got such a great surprise the other day when I opened my email - it was a email from a boyfriend of mine in college! Someone I haven't had any contact with for 15 years - wow, I'm getting old! In a conversation with a family member of his, my name came up, so he Googled me and found this blog! Google is amazing! He sent me the sweetest email, about how he was moved by our journey and that his prayers are with us! When I started this blog it was mostly to keep family members and friends up to date with what was going on. Little did I know how many others I would meet, or be reunited with, through this little hobby of mine! Danny, it is so great to be in contact with you again!

Now Mike and I are off to vacation in the Keys for a week. A long awaited escape. We didn't go on vacation at all last year because we were saving our money and vacation time off of work for our China trip - this year - HA! I wish we were going to China but the Keys will do!

Why?

The last couple of weeks have been pretty tough - my office has experience two unexpected deaths of associates of our office in the span of 10 days. Both were unusual events; both made the local news. I find myself searching the internet, the newspaper, watching the news to learn about what happened. When did it happen? How did it happen? What were the circumstances that lead to both of their deaths? Both men in their early 40's. One, a bizarre car accident - sitting still at a stop sign and another driver, stone sober, took his eyes off the road for a second, ran off the road and t-boned our friend, killing him instantly. The other, an unbelievable shooting incident. I scan the newspaper for answers, as the stories literally went from headline news to the back page of the metro section in a day and I realized my questions were not going to be answered. I knew now when, pretty much how, but the answer I don't have, and won't find on First Coast News or in the Times Union is WHY. Why did both these men die in such freak incidents so suddenly. I'm not usually a why person. I believe God has a plan and things happen for a reason but sometimes you can't help but to ask, "why?" Larry & Tim, you will be missed.

Too cute to pass up!

My mom went to a garage sale yesterday and just couldn't leave this there! For a total of $3, Mia has her first bike!

God Said NO!

This poem was on my ladybug yahoo group board (the BEST group around) and I thought it went along very nicely with my post from June 8th. Enjoy.

I asked God to take away my habit.
God said, No. It is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up.

I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.
God said, No. His spirit is whole, his body is only temporary.

I asked God to grant me patience.
God said, No. Patience is a byproduct of tribulations; it isn't granted, it is learned.

I asked God to give me happiness.
God said, No. I give you blessings; Happiness is up to you.

I asked God to spare me pain.
God said, No. Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me.

I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said, No. You must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful.

I asked God for all things that I might enjoy life.
God said, No. I will give you life, so that you may enjoy all things.

One step forward - two steps back = 9 Months!

We are at the 9 month mark since our LID. 9 months - the same time as a pregnancy. Just thought I'd point that out. There is a song by the Beatles called "Revolution 9" on The White Album - their drug days for sure. 9 is considered lucky in China, unlucky in Japan. Our solar system has 9 planets. Oh, yeah, I think they kicked Pluto out, so that makes 8 - never mind. Kasey Kahne drives the #9 car in NASCAR. And I love Nine West shoes!

Are we half way done - doubtful. A third done - possible. Only time will tell. With each month down, it seems the wait is another 1/2 month or longer than the month before, thus the one step forward, two steps back. Anyway, another month down!

I sure wanted a kid this weekend!

This was such a beautiful weekend here in Florida. As Sunday is coming to an end all I can think is how much fun a kid would have been this weekend. I didn't do anything fun the past two days. A few things around the house, grocery shopping, a trip to Home Depot, but nothing really fun. I want a kid to play with! One of the things I really look forward to is waking up on a Saturday and going out to have fun with my kid!

Thank God for Unanswered Prayers

Infertility is a difficult road. Not the toughest of roads for sure but a rocky one none the less. I don't know how many times I begged, prayed, asked why, but I don't anymore. Now I can see the amazing road infertilty has taken us on. Most obvious, we wouldn't be adopting from China and, even with the wait, I am loving the journey. I have learned so much, met amazing people and done some very cool stuff. I am getting more and more involved with Grace & Hope, which is the foster care program that I've spoken of before. We have sponsored a girl for a year, watched her grow in a loving home and I have encouraged at least 4 others to do the same. I love the work we are doing for A Heart for China, the group that brought JinMei to Jacksonville for heart surgery and planning to bring XianBi in November. I've had a blast collecting for Mia's 100 good wish quilt, attending my first Chinese New Year celebration, have made some of the best friends I've ever had and are meeting more all the time. How would I have known that I would be thankful for our infertility. Don't get me wrong, I have bad days and I won't be a 100% good until we have our child but this path is pretty cool. I know I have talked about some of this before but sometimes something happens that makes you reflect and you thank God for unanswered prayers. He IS listening, just sometimes He says "no, I got something else in store for you"!

Happy Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day and I am so very thankful for the country that I was born and live in. We are so lucky for the freedoms that we have and so many good men and women protect and have lost their lives for our freedoms. As Mia gets older I plan to expose her to her Chinese heritage but I also will teach her the value of being American. She will be American and she will have freedoms that she will not have had in China. I love this country - thank you to all who have, do and will serve America.

Happy Mothers Day

I look forward to being a mom on Mother's Day but until then I celebrate the wonderful woman that I have as a my mom, my role model and my best friend. I pray that I will be half the mom that she is and has been to me. I also am fortunate to have a wonderful mother-in-law (here with our nephew) that I want to celebrate. Mia is going to be a lucky girl to have two wonderful women for her grandmoms! Until then, I celebrate being the lucky one to have them as my mom and mom-in-law and the fact that I'm one more Mother's Day closer to being a mom! And to all you moms and waiting moms out there, I want to wish you a Happy Mother's Day.

I feel healed... mostly

Yesterday I went to my best friend from college's baby shower. She lives in NC and came down to have her shower where her parents live in Florida. It was so good to see her and to see her pregnant, that it brought tears to my eyes! There was not even a tinge of jealousy or depression. Sadly I'm guilty of those feelings over the past few years at other baby showers. (It is expecially difficult when you are going to a second (or third) shower for the same person during the same period of just trying to become a parent once) and it's still hard with the long wait but I am so happy and satisfied with our path - even though long. I feel healthier than I have been over the past - I feel healed.

7 months - so excited I could burst - not!

I know we should be excited that 7 months since our LID is behind us but I'm just not getting the giddy feeling. Gee, could it be because the last batch was all of 2 days? I don't have many down days but when word got out that the most recent batch only covered 2 days, I burst into tears. It felt like a stab in the heart. I don't doubt our path but come on, 2 days? When we started the wait was 7-8 months meaning I thought we'd be looking at a photo of our daughter about now. And now I'm not sure we'll get a referral before Christmas 2008. How can this be? I guess the good news is that we have passed 7 months and some are just logging in, so we're ahead of someone. I feel like I'm in line at Disney and the sign says "1 1/2 years from this point" and yet people are still getting in line behind me - this must be a good ride!

Happy Easter!

It's a chilly, cloudy day here in Florida but the SON has risen anyway! We sure wish Mia was here with us but it didn't stop my mom from bringing a beautiful Easter basket with a ton of stuff for her. She will know she was loved long before she joined us.

A Heart for China

Great news! Two days after JinMei went home, Matthew (the translator) was contacted about another little girl named Xianbei ("Che-in-bay" - on the right) who also needs heart surgery. Well we received word yesterday that the medical group that did JinMei's surgery, Patrons of the Hearts, has agreed to take on Xianbei's surgery! We have A LOT of work to do because they have her slated for a September surgery. We are also working on turning our group "A Heart for China" into a real incorporated 501(c)(3) charity! How amazing! So keep our charity (and Xianbei of course) in your prayers that we will continue to grow and find ways to do this kind of work! Who knew God had this work lined up for me - He is awesome!

10 YEARS!!

Today is Mike and my 10 year wedding anniversary! I can't believe we've been married for 10 years! I'm actually very proud of ourselves! It has not always been easy and the difficulty of infertility certainly did not help but in a way I almost think it has made us stronger. It really put us on the same page of wanting a child so badly to jump through all the hoops to adopt. Six years ago when we first started to try to get pregnant, it was a conversation kind of like "are we ready to try?" "sure" and then off we went. But with adoption you really need to be together and then show your social worker you are united on the issue and then she has to writes to China and tell them how you are on the same page! Talk about unity! Anyway, the first 10 years have been about ourselves and we look forward to the next 10 years being about parents!

Cyber Shower Gifts!

In the past few days I have gotten 2 cyber shower gifts - one from my Ladybugs & Red Thread Believers group, from Karmen and the other from my August 2006 DTC group, Kelly. They are both so cute - I have finally posted a photo! Thank you so much to both of you guys! I had skipped the last cyber showers because they were right after Chistmas but I forgot how much fun it was to get a surprise in the mail! Thanks again guys!!

New Horizons

I have been so bad about blogging! Things have been crazy since the "China Crew", JinMei, her mom and Matthew the translator, went back home to China on Feb 28th. Within 4 days of them leaving we got an email that a 17 year old girl went to Matthew to tell him that her sister needs heart surgery and she had heard he had helped JinMei! We are now gaining medical records and working on bringing her here too! The group that did the surgery, Patrons of the Heart, said they would do one surgery a year for a child from China (they do about 4-5 free surgeries a year for kids from all over the world)! This is all very exciting! We are working on turning our group "A Heart for China" into a real charity! God works in amazing ways!

The other big "news" is that we passed our 6 month anniversary of being logged in yesterday. The day came and went with mixed feelings - happy that it's already been 6 months and it seemed pretty quick, sad that it could be another 18 months. Oh well, it is what it is! Mike and I did go out to dinner to "celebrate" the milestone. And we move on....

Chinese New Year!

Last night was my local FCC group's Chinese New Year celebration with almost 500 people - 150 of them kids! It was so much fun! Some of the highlights included JinMei signing a song to the whole group, ribbon dancers, fan dancers and the lion dance to finish the night. We had a silent auction, raffle prizes, kids crafts (which I was in charge of!), photographers and a sit down dinner.

I won a great raffle prize - the "waiting family" basket. It has a bunch of stuff for our travel to China including packing vacuum bags, diaper rash creme, bottle opener, a thermos, a flash light, a book light, a travel journal and it goes on and on.



I also got a beautiful gift from Matthew, the translator with JinMei. (The photo here is me, Matthew and JinMei). It's called a love ball and it's shown here. He says where he is from they do not do arranged marriages like most of China but allow the girl to choose a husband. At a certain festival at a certain time of the year everyone gets together and the girl throws the ball to the man she wants to marry. He can choose to catch it or not. It is so beautiful and a gift I will cherish forever!


I am so sad that JinMei, her mom and Matthew will be leaving on Tuesday but I know they are all ready to be home again. It has been an AMAZING experience. I am so blessed to have been a part of their trip here - I pray our paths will cross again! Have a good start! which is how Matthew says they say Happy New Year in China!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Today is Chinese New Year and welcoming the Year of the Pig! If my calculations and expectations are right, Mia Jade should be born in the Year of the Pig and that's suppose to be very good luck! So here's to our pig baby! I hope this new year brings a turn around in referral times. I still think we will see an increase until they get through 2005 LID's which will probably be July but then I hope we will see a turn around at that point. I am very excited about our FCC group's celebration next Saturday where we have RSVP's for almost 500 people! I will be sure to post pictures of that! Until then, Happy New Year!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mike and I both took the day off of work to spend Valentine's Day together. We went to the zoo and it was a beautiful day - sunny and in the 60's! A very nice way to spend the day with my husband. Hope everyone else had an equally nice day!

Isn't this a cool picture - this giraffe was right up at the observation deck!

5 months since LID - almost 1 year from start

Today marks 5 months from our LID - very exciting. If "the wait" can settle around 20 months, then we'd be 25% through. Pretty good. We are also approaching the 1 year mark from when we started this journey. We mailed our application on Feb. 20, 2006 and got our approval notice on Feb. 24th, 2006. What a year! I did think we would be much closer to our Mia Jade by now when we started but I have accepted reality and am okay with the longer wait. I think the main reason is because I still know we are on our path to our baby where as a year ago, before we agreed on the adoption, I was lost and sad. Everyday now I know Mia is in my heart and she grows everyday - she's just taking longer to cook than I originally planned! But I know she's coming! I love the journey we are on. The wonderful people I have met, the things I have learned and the culture I am experiencing. I love this journey.

JinMei's doing great!

JinMei is continuing to rebound like only a kid can! I visited her yesterday and I think I impressed her by asking her in Chinese how she was doing. (That's one of about four phases I've learned so far in my attempt to learn some Chinese before our trip next year!) What she said in response I'm not sure but she smiled and nodded so I guess that's good! She then showed me a toy she was playing with that asks "show me a B" and then you push the "B" and it goes on to other letters. She was doing it! This is a kid that did not know a word of English two weeks ago! She is so smart. I was amazed! We also had a tricycle race - she beat me. The translator said there was not way she could have done that kind of activity level before her surgery. Now she looks like a regular kid just one week after open heart surgery! This has been such a cool thing to be a part of!

JinMei's surgery

JinMei had her surgery yesterday and everything went as planned. She is a brave, tough little girl, as well as her mom. It is so wonderful that Patrons of the Hearts did this surgery for free. Thank you for all the prayers - keep them coming during her recovery!

It's Worth the Wait!

What a Gotcha Day photo!! This is my friend Laureen who just got her baby Isabel a few hours ago. I've never seen a happier pair! Laureen has already posted on her blog that every painful moment of the wait was worth it and has been washed away! I am so happy for her and Isabel!!

JinMei is Here!

She arrived Thursday morning (1-18-07) and she is even more beautiful in real life. (If you're not sure what I'm talking about, I spoke of her in a previous post on 12-8-06). She is so tiny - she looks like she's 6 or 7 instead of 9! They went to work right away - she had a 3 hour doctor appointment on Thursday (after a flight from China!) where they determined her heart condition was not as bad as they feared, which is very good news, but it is a condition that still does need surgery. Yesterday she had a cardiac cath so they could gather more information on her condition and her surgery is scheduled for next Tuesday (1-23-07). It's an amazing thing to bring a little girl half way around the world for a life saving surgery! The group doing the surgery called Patrons of the Heart said something about doing a child a year from China! Wouldn't that be incredible! Back to JinMei, there is a website and blog created that has more photos of her, updates on her progress and ways you can help; please visit A Heart for China. Please keep her in your prayers!

4 Months down - now we're talkin!

So, today is 4 months since our LID and it's really gone by pretty quickly. The current wait is at 16 months. If it could stay there (or even go up and come back down to 16 months), then we are 25% through our wait. That sounds pretty good. Unfortunately the wait has been continuing to grow. I think (hope) the worst case scenario would be 20 months, which would put us at May 2008 and that would mean we are 20% through - I can handle that! So we will continue to wait and watch the wait and count the months. 4 down, ? to go! Congrats to my fellow 9/06'ers for 4 successful waiting months!

P.S. We got our 25th square & wish for our "100 good wish quilt" today which means we have 25% of our squares - could it be a good luck sign that we are 25 % through our wait - that would be nice!

I have a HAPPY husband!

As you may know, we are big football fans - Mike a huge Florida Gator fan (and me a Florida State Nole). Well, last night the Florida Gators won the National Championship! I did NOT enjoy the last time, 1996, the Gators won the National Championship because they beat the Noles to do it. But last night I actually enjoyed watching the Gators prove the nation wrong, that they DID deserve to play in the championship game and they destroyed the Buckeyes! Mike is SO excited. Congrats to all you in the Gator Nation!

Goodbye 2006 - Hello 2007

There is only 6 hours left in 2006 and it's been an interesting year to say the least. One year ago Mike and I had not yet agreed on adoption from China, my brother had just revealed that he was facing a major personal struggle, my cousin was anxiously waiting the birth of her first child and was devastated in January when he was born and diagnosed as having Downs Syndrome and my best friend was having major marital problems - and my mom was worrying about all of us! A year later, Mike and I are logged in with China, my brother is doing great, my cousin loves her baby and he is very healthy, and my friend is getting divorced and flourishing - and mom still is worrying about us! All of us still have bad days but it's been a year of growth. Looking back, 2005 was the bad year, 2006 has been the year of crawling out of the hole we all found ourselves in for different reasons.

I have also met amazing families locally and on-line who have adopted or are in the same process of adopting as we are. We've become involved with our local Families with Children from China group, with Grace and Hope to foster a little girl in China so she is cared for by a family instead of waiting for her "forever family" in an orphanage and I am helping to bring JinMei to Jacksonville for heart surgery. I also know what LID, DTC, CCAA, and DH mean, what a Yahoo group is and how to blog! I love the process we are in - I just wish they would speed up! Oh yeah, we have a room full a toys with a closet full of little girl clothes. Something I didn't even think about when we were struggling with infertility.

Thank you to all of my new on-line friends, my great Ladybug & Red Thread Believers group, my local friends, my FCC group, my family and my husband for all the support in our wonderful journey! (Sounds like I won an Oscar!)

Happy New Year to you all! And prayers for quicker referrals! I expect 2007 to be the birth year of Mia Jade and it would be even better if it was the year of her referral! Goodbye 2006, Hello 2007!!

Merry Christmas!

Today was a wonderful day with my family. We never expected Mia to with us this year so, as much as we thought of her, gave her presents and even gave presents from her, we are comfortable with the idea that she is most likely not even born yet. With that being said, we pray for her mother to be warm and healthy. We also pray for all of the children without families this Christmas. Next Christmas may be hard for us - at the referral rate next December she should be born but most likely still not with us. The good news is that 2007 should be the last Chrismas without her. But we have so much to be thankful for this Christmas - this has been a trying year for our entire family and our trust in God has brought us all a long way this year. Most to be thankful for this Christmas though is of course the gift of Christ. Merry Christmas to all!

Kelly the Elf

Maybe you've seen this going around but it's so funny. So here's mine - presenting Kelly the elf

Secret Santa Gift and New Addition to my Blog

I got my gift from my Secret Santa in my "Ladybugs & Red Thread Believers" Yahoo group. I will post a picture as soon as my camera battery recharges :) It's an adorable Ladybug outfit for Mia, a musical "puzzle bug" and a bracelet with, you guessed it, a ladybug (and flowers) on it. It comes from Terri (A Gift of Ruth) in Texas. Thank you Terri! My "Ladybug" group has become very special to me.

Also, I added a feature called Feed Blitz that will email you each time this blog is updated. It's a nice feature if anyone is interested. I hope I did it right! If you are interested, you can find the link on the right toolbar beneath the "Archives" section. Just enter you email address and it will take you to the Feed Blitz site. A few simple steps and you will get an email each time I add a post. And it's easy to cancel at anytime.

Living Ladybug!

I finally got around to posting a picture of our niece Annie who dressed as a ladybug for Halloween! Nothing's cuter than a living ladybug!

Okay, Pitty Party is over (for now at least)

I am feeling much better today (maybe it's the passing of the wicked PMS - sorry to say but it true!! That or the fact that I left work early yesterday and went Christmas shopping!) Either way, that is part of the ebb and flow of this crazy path.

I got a call Tuesday from a lady named Trish at our agency(CCAI)who is writing a story about our cookbook to publish in their newsletter! So cool! This cookbook project has really been a fun deal. I can't thank everyone enough for all your participation, purchases and well wishes for the cookbook and the adoption. When the story comes out, I will post a link.

3 Months since our LID

Today is bitter sweet. It's been three months since we were logged in but each month the wait is getting longer and word from CCAA (adoption HQ of China) is that the wait is not going to get shorter anytime soon. They stated at their annual meeting that they have twice as many dossiers (want-to-be parents) than they have "paper-ready" children. What does that mean? It means we will most likely have another Christmas (2007) without a referral. 2008 is now looking like when we'll actually get a child. What a long gestation period! It's agonizing as postive as I try to be over the whole thing. If anyone knows me or even only knows me from my blog, you know I am always the one who looks at things from the bright side. I'm not sure what the bright side of this wait is yet. I guess I am having a weak moment. It is so hard, so painful to want something so basic as to be a parent and it's just so difficult to do so. And I know we are not the only ones. I have met so many others in the same boat; slow boat to China that is. I know God has a plan, I know I trust in God, I know we will have the perfect child for us, I know friends who have "survived" the 15 month wait. The funny thing is that I decided I could "survive" a 15 month wait, that would mean we were 20% done with the wait, and we would have a referral in December of 2007. But 18-24 months sounds so much longer because that mean 2008.

I didn't mention last post that I was so happy to meet Donna of Handsful last week, one of my favorite people that I have met online since the start of this journey. She is also in Jacksonville and we met at our local FCC (Families with Children from China) group of waiting families. I look forward to knowing her, her family and her Laniey more.

Here's JinMei - Isn't she beautiful!

This is the little girl that some volunteers from my local FCC (Families with Children from China) group are working to bring here to Jacksonville, Florida to have heart surgery for a condition called Tetralogy of Fallot. She lives with her family (she is not an orphan) outside Nanning, China. It's been a great project and a great way to keep my mind off of "the wait". She is scheduled to come January 2nd (As of 12/9/06, her arrival has been rescheduled to Jan 17th). Patrons of Heart, a local organization, are doing her surgery for free!!! She will stay, at least for part of the stay, at the Ronald McDonald House, there are a few schools that have this project as their service project for the year and the local news is even covering the story. It is all so exciting. I can't wait to meet her! Please visit the site A Heart for China.

New Referrals!

I'm so excited for this batch of referrals because for the first time I know two people who got their referrals!! Congratulations to my friends Laureen and Tonya!

Laureen lives here in Jacksonville and I met her through our local Familes with Children for China in the waiting families group. This is her first child and she is beautiful! Her name is Isabel. She is waiting in the province of Jianxi and was born 12/8/2005.




Tonya is the sister of a friend of mine. We have "talked" via email. Tonya lives in Tampa and she and her husband's new daughter Arwen is their second daughter from China. Look at that precious face! Arwan is waiting for them in Hunan. She was born 11/2/2005.

I'm so excited for both of you - this adoption thing really does work!!!

Happy Birthday to me!

Yesterday was my birthday (ugh, 37!!) and I wanted to share some of the kind gifts given to me.

First, my big present from Mike. If you have followed my blog at all you know I'm a huge NASCAR and Jimmie Johnson fan. So all you ladies out there don't get too jealous but I got a J.J. signed #48 car door!! Yes sheet metal and I couldn't love it more! I know it's weird but my husband knows me well! If you are wondering where you put such an item, we are working on our gameroom and it will be a very cool addition!

Next, my parents got me a beautiful picture book about China and a Precious Moment that I've never seen before - it's the little girl with a ladybug on her bow! If you look closely, she also has ladybugs printed on her dress! They also gave me some warm golf clothes since this is the first winter I've played golf - am I spoiled or what!



From my in-laws I got a ladybug bracelet - very precious.

And Mike's sister and her family gave me a memory book where you take a hand print of your child on a regular basis, like every birthday and note some of your child's favorites at that time. The entire website called Once Upon a Family has some pretty neat keepsake stuff. Also I got the new Carl Haissen book from them.

And just in time for yesterday's Florida State (my team) vs. Florida (Mike's team) game, a "house divided" flag from my wonderful brother! Perfect timing! It will also probably live in the gameroom.

I love my birthdays, except for the getting older part. I'm still such a kid, but the hardest part is another birthday without being a mother. I pray so hard that I will have a photo by next birthday!

Jimmy/ie News!!

We just got back from seeing Jimmy Buffett Thursday in Tampa! We had a great time! Jimmy always puts on a great show - this was show #4 for us. We went with Mike's sister Jenn (next to Mike) and her husband Steve as well as a couple friends of theirs, Jill and Mac. The show was at the outdoor amphitheater and it was a beautiful night. Even though the temperature was a little cool, with all the people, it got so comfortable we kicked off our shoes and danced under the stars! Thanks for a great night Jimmy!



The other "Jimmy News" is that my favorite NASCAR driver, Jimmie Johnson #48 just won the NASCAR Championship! Yeah Jimmie!!!

Our First Testimonial!

We have our first public testimonial for our cookbook! Theresa from Expecting from China bought our cookbook at the CCAI Reunion in Orlando last week and posted on her blog about our book - thank you Theresa! It turns out that we are in a common Yahoo group, the Red Thread and Ladybug believers! If you are interested in learning more about our cookbook, please go to our blog Cookbook for Mia Jade or email me. Thank your for all your support!

2 Months!

Today we celebrate our 2 month anniversary since our LID!
Baby steps and milestones!

100 Good Wishes Quilt

I decided to participate in a Northern China tradition to make a Bai Jia Bei or 100 Good Wishes Quilt. It is a quilt made up of fabric squares from friends and family. They also are asked to give a card with a wish or prayer for the baby with a small piece of the fabric attached so the square on the quilt can be linked those who gave that piece. The quilt is a culmination of good wishes and prayers. I hope Mia has it for years to come and passes it down through generations.

I have signed up for an exchange of quilt squares with two of my Yahoo groups and here are Mia's first four squares along with their wish cards. They are from to four wonderful ladies/families from my Ladybug and Red Thread Believers group (I love this group)! I will post more as I get them.



(If you are interested in participating, I would love your square! The minor rule besides what is mentioned above is that the fabric should be 8"x8" after being washed and dried. Thank you!)

Cyber Baby Shower

I have joined a few Yahoo chat groups since the start of our adoption process to connect with others who are also going through the crazy world of Chinese adoption. One of my groups is called Ladybugs and Red Thread Believers and we had our first cyber baby shower where we each sent another person of the group a baby shower gift. The theme of our first shower was ladybugs so here is my first baby shower gift, thanks to Melinda who is also waiting for a Mia! Thank you Melinda!

A little about me...

While we wait for this month's referrals that were suppose to come out last week and now have been so delayed that it looks like we are not going to have any referrals in October, I came up with some things you may not know about me (Kelly). I say that like you may want to know, but you're here and there are no new referral pictures to look at, so what the heck!

1. I'm the nurse manager/surgery center administrator for a group of 4 plastic surgeons - that one always gets people talking.


2. I was in Alpha Chi Omega at the University of North Florida.


3. We are big football fans. Mike is a University of Florida Gator fan and I'm a Florida State Seminole fan - big rivals. (And they play on my birthday this year!) But we agree in pro football - this is our seventh year of being season ticket holders to the Jacksonville Jaguars.


4. We're big NASCAR fans. I love Jimmie Johnson #48. Mike likes Ryan Newman #12. Mike and I even got to drive a NASCAR car at Talladega with the Dale Jarrett Driving Experience - very cool.


5. I just started playing golf for the first time this summer. Mike is a golf course superintendent and I figure after almost 10 years of marriage, I'd give it a try!


6. I did Ironman Florida twice (in 1999 & 2000). That's a triathlon where you do a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2mile/marathon run. My best time was 13 hours and 22 minutes. I definatley not in that kind of shape now.


7. I'm a beach person - I love to surf (even though I'm not very good at it), we live 3 blocks from the Atlantic Ocean, we are both Florida natives, and my favorite place to vacation is the Florida Keys - a family vaction spot since I was a kid.


8. I told my mom when I was in middle school that I would not be able to have children but it was okay because I was going to adopt from China - weird huh.


9. I'm a Christian and attend a Methodist Church


10. I love all kinds of music, but my favorites are The Beatle, U2 and Jimmy Buffett.

So that's a little bit about me...bring on the referrals!!

Salsa Girls!

My favorite blog, Salsa in China by Mary Mia & Rod, got their twins yesterday! It's crazy - when I started following her blog earlier this year they had already been waiting a long time and were frustrated about their long wait. Then when referrals came out in July, they missed their log in date by one day. She was devastated, so upset to have to wait again. Then a month later we watched as their referral finally came and they found out they had twins! Now we watch their trip to China to get them! It's amazing to follow their story and their story is our story, just fast forward (probably not the twins but it's possible!). Congratulations to the beautiful Salsa family and thank you for letting us follow your journey!

It's fall and it's busy

I can't believe it's been over a week since I have written. So much is going on! Besides being busy at work (what' new) I've been so busy with so many other things. It always seems like the fall is such a busy time. The cookbook sales are going great and we are about to place a second order with the publisher for another 400 books! I can't believe we have sold almost 400 in 4 weeks! Mom is working a booth at a church fall festival tomorrow to sell books while I am helping a friend at another church fall festival where we are raising money to help a little girl in China come to Jacksonville for heart surgery. It's a really neat project that I have gotten involved in with a lady I met in our local Familes with Children from China chapter. On top of that I have found a speaker for our next Waiting Families meeting - a pediatrician that has done mission trips all over the world and puts together medical travel packets for families traveling to adopt internationally. Plus I received (and mailed) my first cyber baby shower gift! I can't wait for shower day - October 30. I have gotten involved with a couple Yahoo groups that are made up of people at the same stage of adoption from China as we are. To make the wait a little more fun we are each going to be assigned a person every other month to send a present to like a baby shower and each shower will have a theme - the first theme is LADYBUGS! It will be a lot of fun. I'll post pictures when I get to open my present. And on top of all of that, Mike and I are finally getting around to finishing our game room. When we built our house a few years ago we left one room unfinished, basically a basement (yes a basement in Florida!) that we could not afford to finish out. And when I say unfinished, I mean concrete floors and walls and nothing else. It was the one room Mike was most looking forward to - a place for him to go play! Well, we are finally working on it with the wonderful help of my brother. It will be awesome and should be done by Thanksgiving - just in time for the Florida (Mike's team) vs Florida State (my team - even though they're awful this year) game. Wow - that's a lot going on! No wonder I'm tired!

1 Month Anniversary!

So during "the wait" you don't have many milestones like during the paper-chase so I'm going to celebrate monthly anniversaries and today is one month since our LID! Only ??? many more months! All of the "experts" and "recreational experts" all have different opinions on how long the wait from log in to referral will be. Some say, including mom who reads everything she can find on the internet, says that CCAA will speed up (the current wait is 14 months), then others say it's only going to get worse, as bad as 24 months. Whatever it takes, we will wait - because that's how long it will take to bring Mia home to us! So for now, one month down now matter how long! And it was pretty painless so far - Yeah us!

Thank you!

I've been so busy this past week that I haven't had a chance to post any messages, read other blogs and I've barely checked my email. The good news is that our cookbooks are a big hit - I'm so excited. Thank you to everyone who has helped us by giving a recipes, telling a friend, buying a book. It's been great fun, financially helpful for our goal to get daughter home and a great thing to keep and show Mia when she is older. It's really been a lot of fun. We have plenty left so don't forget about us when it comes time to get Christmas presents!

Our Cookbooks are Here!

Our cookbooks are here! - I'm so excited! (For those of you lost, it is a fundraiser my mom and I have been working on to help offset some of the cost of our adoption). It's been a lot of work but we created a great product. It has 400 recipes from over 150 people - thank you to all who contributed your very best yummies! The categories include appetizer, soups and salads, breads and rolls, main dishes (which include breakfast items, seafood, chicken, beef, pork and even some vegetarian goodies), side dishes and desserts/cookies/candies.

Now the fun part - selling them! They are $15 each plus shipping. Email me to set up payment and delivery. Check and credit card accepted. Kelly's email. If you're local, I'll deliver your book in person so you don't need to pay shipping.

Thank you for your order and support!! Does this mean I have to start cooking?

Yipee!

The new referrals are out for LID's of 7/23/05-8/9/05 - that's 18 days worth! That's the biggest batch since September '05 except for January '06 which was also 18 days. That puts us 399 referral days away so let's pray for the trend to increase! Congrats to all the new mommy and daddies!!!
Salsa has new referrals posted

Lucky Ladybugs

Today we are proud to introduce our renowned guest writer and future proud grandmom, my mom, Sandy, speaking on the topic of ladybugs! Take it away mom!



One quick cursory view of Chinese adoption blogs show that there are ladybugs in the air. Ladybugs are dancing across the timelines, found in blog names, animated on blog banners, flitting through broadcasted music, displayed in nursery photos, and when an adopting mom is fortunate to find clothing with a ladybug, it is quickly snatched off the rack.

I am a gardener in Florida. You would think that I would see many ladybugs; but I could not even remember the last time I had seen a ladybug. In a rush to leave the house, I stacked the clean dishes on the countertop instead of putting them in the cabinet. When I returned home, I found smack dab in the middle of the clean dishes, a lovely ladybug awaiting my return. I was ecstatic! But then I got to thinking. What are the ladybug rules? Does my sighting count? I am going to be the grandmother – not the mother. Are sightings by grandmothers judged null and void? Is there a self-appointed ladybug judge who will yell, “foul play”! Are there guidelines here? How did the ladybug come to be a logo for Chinese adoption? Exactly what is the lore? Is there a foundation for the beliefs?

Here is what we know. The ladybug is a symbol of good luck in most countries. In Sweden, it is believed if a ladybug lands on a young lady’s hand she is measuring for wedding gloves; and the maiden will soon be married. In England, finding a ladybug means that you will have a good harvest. In France, if you are sick and a ladybug lands on you, it will take with her the sickness when she flies away. As a child who grew up in the US, I was taught if a ladybug lands on you, make a wish and blow her away saying “fly away home”. And, among the adoption community, a sighting of a ladybug means your child was born or perhaps the referral stork is in his flight. Either way, a sighting of that spotted beetle is lucky.

That is right. The ladybug is a beetle. (OK – Animalia, Arthropoda, Insecta, Coleoptera, Coccinellidae, Hippodamia) There are nearly 5,000 different kinds of ladybugs worldwide and 400 in the US. A female lays more than 1000 eggs in her life. She flaps her wings 85 times a second. She chews from side to side – not up and down. A gallon jar will hold 72,000 to 80,000 ladybugs. Ladybugs protect themselves by an offensive chemical smell and sour taste. (Don't eat one.) ; Her spots fade when she gets older. The Asian ladybug lives the longest – up to 2 or 3 years. And, yes, there are male ladybugs. They are smaller than females.

Most important to our interest is this fact: THE LADYBUG WILL NOT FLY IF TEMPERATURE IS BELOW 55 DEGREES. Therefore, do not be disheartened if you don’t see a ladybug during your ‘wait’. There is a valid reason. On the other hand, if you do see one when it is cold outside, REJOICE! It has to be the real thing! Your babe’s on her way for sure!

Even though I found the word ladybug in 23 languages, I did not find it in Chinese; but there is evidence that the beetle which helped the farmers in the Middle Ages was the Asian beetle. In Europe insects were destroying the crops. The Catholic farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary for help. Soon the Asian beetle came and ate the aphids. The farmers began calling the insect ‘Beetles of Our Lady’. Eventually known as ‘Lady Beetles’, then ‘Lady Bugs’. (It is recorded that the red wings represented the Virgin’s cloak and the black spots represented her joys and sorrows.)

It was a much later invasion that forever connected the ladybug to the Chinese adoption community. In 1998, there was a delay in referrals. That was the summer that much of the US had an invasion of ladybugs. Immediately after, referrals poured in with larger numbers than ever. So, there is a solid foundation for the lore.

Fortunately, I did not find any ‘ladybug rules’ in my research. We are free to make the rules up as we go. (Aren’t they the best kind of rules?) Therefore, in my rule book, sightings by grandmoms count! In my rule book, the ladybug lives as a sign that a child was born or the stork is in the sky. It is a fun symbol of the Chinese adoption community; and the lore will thrive.

The little spotted beetle will be forever endeared by those of us who sleep with dreams of a child in China.

PS: IT’S FOR REAL!! Both Kelly and Mike have had recent ladybug sightings! Now it does not matter if my sighting is ‘null and void’!

My sweet husband

I was telling Mike about a conversation I had yesterday with an adoption mama who said to get her husband to agree to adopt included a full month of fights. He did give in eventually (and they also have a second so she won for sure). When Mike and I first talked adoption I knew I wanted to go to China but wanted to fair to Mike in his opinion so I didn't really share my true feelings at first. Just like my dorky self, I made a pros and cons list for domestic vs international (international never included anything but China) and presented them to Mike. He seemed to lean toward domestic mostly because of the need to actually travel to China - he's worried about leaving work for 2+weeks. Anyway, one day Mike came home and found me a bit weepy. He asked what was wrong and I burst into tears and they flowed like a break in the Hoover Dam. I mumbled through my hysteria that I only wanted to adopt from China and that I couldn't explain it but I knew in my heart that it is where our daughter waits for us. After my episode, Mike hugged me and said simply "okay". That was it; we filled out the application that day. So back to yesterday. I was sharing the conversation about my friend's difficultly convincing her husband and I had said, once I shared my true feelings with Mike, he was all onboard.

Now the sweet part - Mike told me that when people ask him why we chose China, he explains to them that he feels women have a mother's intuition and even though I don't have bio kids that my mother's intuition kicked in and told me the right path for us. It's as simple as that and he trusts in that. Thank you for trusting me Mike!

Shopping for me!

I've already been shopping to annouce to the world that I'm "pregnant" - bring on the questions strangers! I figure if I start practicing answering questions about adoption from China now with strangers, when Mia comes I will have my answers down pat! These came from Adoption Mama.com - link to the right under shopping if you're interested. The shirts came with a nice hand written note congratulating us on our "pregnancy".
Internet shopping is the best!

So Much Fun!

Jags beat Steelers 9 - 0! We had such an awesome time at the football game!! My mom, dad, brother and Mike all go to the games and it's such a great family time. Mom surprised us with a cake for celebration of our LID - Mia's first Publix birthday cake! Any excuse for a cake! And on top of getting our LID, having fun tailgating, it was one of the most exciting football game I've ever been to. The stadium was just filled with electricity. The fans were great, no one ever sat down and the Jags played great, especially our defense. It was the first time in 25 years that a defending Superbowl Champ was held to a shut out. Wow, it was great! What a day, what a night!

YEAH!!!! We're officially paperwork pregnant!!!

33 days it's been since our DTC.
How much longer can it be?

Not a lot longer should it take,
To get our precious log in date.

Wait! What is this on my email I see?
Oh my goodness, it's our LID!

Finally the referral clock ticks,
Starting with September 12, 2006!!!

Another big step we have made,
Closer to our sweet Mia Jade!

Is it Monday yet?

If you watch ESPN at all you may have seen their new catch phrase "Is it Monday Yet?" advertising Monday Night Football that is being shown on ESPN for the first time. Well tomorrow night Monday Night Football is right here in Jacksonville! My entire family has season tickets so we will be there; cheering, yelling and even a little drinking! I love football and Monday night football is even better! GO JAGS!!

Oh yeah; and I hope to get our LID!

To my fellow DTC/LID'ers - time really does fly

Those of us with a DTC or LID associated with our name (yes I think my name is Kelly DTC 8/16/06 - like a sci-fi movie) are looking at a year plus until we see the face of our angel. A bit disappointing since the wait was 7-8 months (LID to referral) when we started our process. So it got me thinking, what were we doing a year ago - how long does a year feel? And it hit me - a year ago this week we tried our second invitro. It seems like yesterday. The day I went for my bloodwork to check if I was pregnant was one of the most difficult days of my life. I knew before I went that it didn't work and after the blood draw, before we knew the results, I sat in my car and cried like I have never cried. I called Mike sobbing uncontrollably. He tried to be positive, "Kelly you don't know it didn't work - just wait until we get the results". But I knew - I can't explain it. He was so sweet, telling the office to call him and leave a message on his voicemail so we could listen together like we did the first time. We felt either way, we wanted to be together when we got the results. This time, they didn't leave a message but kept calling until he picked up and before he could say our request to have it on voicemail, they told him "I'm sorry to tell you, the results were negative - no pregnancy". Mike came home, looked at me and melted into tears. I had already had my meltdown so I was able to comfort him now.

The next day I announced to Mike that I couldn't do invitro again without adopting first. We still have embryos frozen (again like a sci-fi movie) but I can't do it again, not until we already have a child. The pressure, stress, it's so difficult. I'm not sharing all of this so anyone feels sad for us - many of you have been in the same exact situation. My point to all of this is that it was a year ago! Is seems like yesterday. Time really does fly. And now we're paperwork pregnant, pregnant for the first time - I even think I'm glowing! So our gestation period is a little longer than a normal pregnancy.

Think about where you were a year ago. If you have a DTC or LID associated with your name, chances are some part of adoption was in your life at this time last year. In September 2005, we were closing one door and investigating another. We took a little time to "mourn" the failure of our invitro, enjoyed the holidays, looked into adoption options (I actually read "Adoption for Dummies"), started investigating agencies, talked to adoptive families and discussed our financial situation (our invitos were all out of pocket - no insurance help). So yes, we're just waiting for our LID but the way I look at it, we are a year into this adoption process and have a little over a year to go - so we're half way there, not just starting at our LID. And if you count since we started trying to get pregnant, we're actually 5 1/2 years into it and only a year to go. At least this time I KNOW it will happen - we WILL have a child!

Maybe this is just a pep talk to myself but thought I'd share my own pep talk with you guys. So hang in there, time really does fly!

LID any day now - didn't I already say that??

Okay, I haven't posted since Monday because I was hoping our next entry would be the announcement of our LID and as you may have figured, we still don't have it. I am always the "look at things on the bright side" kind of person so I didn't want to write being in a bummed mood, which I have been especially today, but man, come on CCAA. It's just a log in date. You're not actually giving us a baby yet or anything like that. Just write in your little log "Kelly & Mike Wilson 9/15/06". That's all I ask - it would really make my weekend. By law of math I predicted we would hear this week. The 8/14/06 DTC'ers got their on 9/11, so add two days to 8/14 and you get 8/16 (our DTC in case you are new) and add two days to 9/11 and you get....9/13 - that was 2 days ago. I guess math doesn't work in this scenerio. Anyway, gotta go check the email again for the 400th time in the past two days!

The Accidental Adoption

I can't take credit for this - it was posted on a Yahoo group board but too funny!

Thanks to Mark and Rebecca R.:

Have you ever noticed that you hear all the time about "accidental" pregnancies, but never about couples who experience "accidental" adoptions?

Can you imagine:

Honey, sit down. I have some news for you.

What is it?

Well, I don't know how to say this, so I'll just come out with it. I went out to the mailbox today and ... well, we got an I-171H.

A what?!? An I-171H? As in, we're going to have a baby?!?

It looks that way.

But how? We've been so careful! I put away all the blank I-600A forms. Didn't you hide our homestudy update?

Of course I did. But don't forget, there was that one night...

What night? (pauses) Ohhh, that night. But it was only once. We were just messing around. I didn't print clearly. I didn't even use ink! (pauses again) But it was kind of fun.

(giggles)

It was, wasn't it? I'll never forget how cute you looked getting your fingerprints.

So now we've got our I-171H, eh? But that doesn't always mean you'll adopt, does it? I mean, shouldn't you see the agency or something, make sure everything's okay?

I already did.

And?

I'm five documents along.

Five documents! And they're all notarized, certified and authenticated okay?

Just great. There was one small scare when the agency couldn't see the Notary's middle initial, but it showed up just fine under the magnifying glass.

Thank God. And you, honey? Are you feeling okay?

I'm feeling fine. As long as I know you're happy about this.

Happy? I'm thrilled! It's always a shock at first when something like
this happens, but of course I'm happy.

10 Reasons Why Adoption is better than Pregnancy

Don't fret if you are following the path of adoption after the road of infertility; here are 10 reasons I have come up with that adoption is better than pregnancy - feel free to comment on your reasons!

Here it goes.....
10. No morning sickness
9. No stretch marks
8. No one can give you a hard time for not breast feeding
7. No need to spend all that money on maternity clothes only to wear them for a few months
6. No weight gain (that is as long as you don't sit around eating chocolate & moping about the long wait - stay active!)
5. My daughter won't have my family thighs! (insert your family curse here)
4. No need for a tummy tuck when it's over
3. You don't have to stop drinking - have a beer!
2. Your shoes still fit
and best of all...
1. You will still get the child God made for you!!

LID any day now

Well, our dossier was sent 21 days ago and received 17 days ago so hopefully we'll have our LID (log in date) any day now. That is our official "start date" to our wait and the date used during referral batches. Several people on the Yahoo groups I follow have just gotten their LID and had DTCs date just days before us so it really should be anytime. I can not think of it as the start though, just the next phase, it just happens to be a the longest phase. Until then, I'm so excited to watch Salsa & Naked Ovary (favorite blogs-see links) go get their beautiful girls to keep reminding me how it's all worth it. They survived it, so can I!

Did you see Funshine...times two?

You may have noticed on my links a blog called Salsa in China. This has been one of my favorite places to visit on the web the last few months and she was so sad last month when they missed the referral batch by one day. Well they got their referral last week and I'm sure it was worth the wait of one more month....they got twin girls! Check out the site - they are over the moon! Congrats to Mary-Mia & Rod and all the new moms & dads out there!

6 months down & ?? to go

I realized that we recently pasted our 6 month mark from when we started our adoption process. We sent our application on February 20, got our call that we were approved on February 24 and got our home study packet on March 3, so somewhere in there is our official start date. So with that being said, 6 months have gone by and it seems like a blink of an eye. I remember Mike and my discussion about adoption from China vs. domestic adoption. I felt from the start that our daughter was going to be from China and expressed this to Mike - he saw my resolve and said okay, if that's what you think we should do. Within 2 days I had the application completed and on the way to CCAI (I had already done my research and was ready to go!). So 6 months seems like nothing now. Does that mean the next 6 months will be just as easy. I'm not sure about that; I've already had a few pitty party days but the good news is that it's football season! Football season always flies by so in no time 6 more months will have passed! I know it will be much longer than 6 months until our referral but I'm going to look at it in 6 month increments, not an overwhelming 14 months. Baby steps! So for now Go 'Noles and Go Jags!