Kartchner Caverns

Alright, if you ever have plans to visit Tucson, here is a must-see. Kartchner Caverns is about 50 miles South (?) of downtown Tucson and well worth the drive. Just amazing that something so beautiful could exist inside of such an unassuming (and kind of ugly) mountain. They also have a very well done visitors center with displays that the kids (and the parents) can climb through and a picnic area. Lots of fun-we'll do it again sometime. It's also very close to Tombstone (which was ok). See Xander above posing next to his "bad guy." Nice to have relatives in town-gives us an opportunity to be tourists!

I've Been Tagged!

I've been tagged by Shelli and Angela! I'm supposed to list 6 weird facts about myself...only 6? Actually, after my '100 Random Facts' it may be a little tough to come up with 6 more that are weird. So, here it goes:

1. I should buy stock in whoever makes Q-tips. I am obsessed with their use. I must have the cleanest ears in the west!

2. I can usually share a soda with my kids or husband UNLESS the drink accompanies a meal that involves beans. I think I am scarred by a 'backwashed bean' experience at Taco Bell with my brothers as a child.

3. I gain 10 pounds every winter (Chili and Casseroles?) and lose 10 pounds every spring (Water and Watermelon?) I've lost about 8 pounds in the last 3 weeks which could be part of my 'Spring loss' but it could also be the braces diet. ;o) It takes me so long to eat that I'm full before I get started!

4. When I try on clothes in the store or at home, I always stand on my toes when I look in the mirror. I haven't thoroughly analyzed this one yet. I'm 5' 9" (if I round up) so it's not like I can't see myself in a full length mirror. Maybe there was a mirror I couldn't quite reach when I was a little girl...don't know. I would never have known this if my mother hadn't pointed it out to me. Weird.

5. I think that the ugliest part of my body has got to be my armpits. I'm not saying that they are the only ugly things on me. I know that I am proportioned like a circus freak and I'm aware of my other less than attractive areas but, for some reason, the pits are the most distressing. Even when they are shaved, I've got a '5 o'clock shadow, razor irritation, you name it. Believe me folks, U-G-L-Y. This girl won't be starring in a Dove commercial any time soon.

6. I can't remember a time that I didn't have the desire to adopt a daughter from China. From a very young age, when I would try to imagine what my future family would look like, there were different combinations of children, but always a Chinese little girl in the mix.

I've seen this on lots of blogs so not sure if I'm double-tagging anyone. How about.....

Dana, Shana, Michelle, Shelly, Christie and Karyn

If you have already been tagged then don't worry about it!

Rules of the tag:

1. Now you list 6 weird facts about yourself and post them on your blog and in my comments section. Then tag 6 more people.

2. Leave a comment in their comments section telling then they are tagged and to go to your blog.

Have fun!!

Happy 5th Birthday Noah!!!

I can't believe our boy turns 5 today! I'm still not sure that I can hand him over to the public school system next Fall. He is just too much fun to have around and such a sweetheart. He asked me this morning what time he was born because he didn't want to celebrate his actual birthday until the minute had arrived. I wasn't sure of the time so we got out his scrapbook and looked at the pictures we took on the way to the hospital and shortly after he was born. Can't believe it was 5 years ago... We found out that he was born at 8:18 p.m. but managed to talk him into celebrating before then by having a "pet party" with his preschool friends. It was a lot of fun. The kids each brought their own favorite stuffed pet. They freeze danced to 'Who let the dogs out?,' played 'Drop the Dog Biscuit in the Jar,' Had a dog biscuit relay race, played 'Teach the Dog a New Trick, 'Cat, Cat, Dog' (instead of Duck, Duck, Goose,) and made beaded collars for their pets complete with Shrinky Dink ID tags. We ate hot dogs (of course) and enjoyed eating our ice cream just like a puppy would. Each child took home a doggie dish filled with treats. Fun party and cute kids! Happy Birthday Noah! We love you!!!

Happy Easter 2006!!!

Happy Easter to you and yours! We had a great day that started out with an Easter egg hunt in a backyard that actually had some grass in it this year! Audrey found the golden egg and Xander must have eaten his weight in chocolate. Aunt Jennie, Uncle Joe and cousins Robert, Thorin and Sydney were in town and it was fun to have them around for the festivities. We went to church and enjoyed wonderful meetings, all reminding us of the true reason for the holiday. The kids got a good laugh at church when they realized that Jenn was wearing the same dress as their friends' grandmother...proof that good taste spans generations, right?

Cousins in town!!!

I can't believe I didn't take better pictures. Why didn't I gather up the kids for a group shot? What a bonehead I am!!! Anyway, we had a great time with Uncle Joe (shown stepping out of Kennedy's Airforce One above) Aunt Jennie (mysteriously not photographed all weekend long) and cousins Robert (digging for moonrocks above), Thorin and Sydney(believe me, they were there too). Our trip to the Pima Air and Space Museum was great! There are volunteers there that were pilots in WWII. With many of them getting up there in years, what an opportunity to hear what they had to say. The kids loved seeing the SR-71 Blackbird and riding the tram around the plane yard. So much to see...we bought an annual pass so we can go back and check it out some more. It's a good thing that I was raised on airshows-being a mother of three sons means that there are lots of planes, trains and automobile-themed entertainment in my future

My Word Cloud

These word clouds have been 'floating' around the blogosphere for a while now. Thought I'd try it out. I'm not sure why mine is so blurry??? Anyway, I think it would be neat to wear these shirts in Guangzhou. There are so many of my blog friends out there that I would love to meet in person. I might not recognize your face in China, but I'd recognize your blog!!!

Hmmmm....

Matt mentioned to me that this morning before church he felt like today was the day that Meili was born. I had a feeling yesterday while I was shopping that she would be born soon. Thought I'd post here just to weigh against the facts once we finally have them.

I have always felt like when she was born, I'd know it. Of course, when we started this process 7 months ago, things had been so steady that you could pretty much guess on a birthdate within a few weeks or so based on other people's timelines-not the case now!

The hard thing is the new level of anxiety. I used to be able to think about my daughter, floating in amniotic fluid somewhere on the other side of the world and that was ok. But now, our daughter has some real needs and I'm not there to meet them. She might have a great nanny, but a nanny is not a mother.

The thought of 1.2 million children living in Chinese orphanages is heartbreaking. Knowing that your daughter is one of them is an especially hard one to swallow. I just pray that Meili will be safe, warm, fed and cared for until we can bring her home.

Noah's First Soccer Game

...and it didn't go over too well. Noah has loved practicing for the past few weeks, but froze up when it was time to play a game. Maybe because he was expecting to play on his practice field? Not quite sure but he whined and cried on the sidelines for the ENTIRE game. We don't have high athletic expectations for our children and we blame ourselves-it's just not in the genes. This, however, was a bit ridiculous.

The Camping Trip That Wasn't Meant To Be

It's been a few days since this happened. I needed the time to develop a sense of humor about this...We decided about a week ago that we would try to take our new tent trailer out for its maiden voyage the past Saturday. Plans were underway. Food bought. Car gassed up. Blah, blah, blah.

Saturday morning comes and I am just in a funk. There is a list of things to do around the house that is at least a mile long and I am not in the mood to spend the weekend camping and falling further behind. Matt, once again, is on a mission. He is going camping come hell or high water. I am working on 'the list.' He proceeds to pack for a family of 6 single-handedly while I comment that he is going to a lot of trouble for a family that is NOT going camping this weekend. He just ups his pace and takes off for a moment returning with a Coke and an Almond Snicker bar. What can I say, it was KING SIZE! I asked for minute to change clothes and we were on our way!

Matt hooks the tent trailer to the Suburban. It didn't look secure to me so I ask him about it and he says its fine. Five minutes and 2 blocks later, we hear a repetitive CRASH into the back of the truck. The tent trailer has come loose and the only way that it is going to stop is if we do and let it crash into us. I was screaming like it was the end of the world. We finally stop and get out to survey the damage. The Suburban is amazingly enough only minimally damaged (scraped up plastic bumper coating) but the tent trailer is in bad shape. The battery is on one side of the road and the propane tank is on the other. There's a 2 foot crack in the outer shell for good measure. Matt gets his bearings and patches us up well enough to get us home.

I get straight on the computer for some theraputic blogging and he continues to work on the tent trailer. I feel vindicated that I was right to not want to go camping in the first place. Besides, I knew the darn thing wasn't attached properly! So, I'm off the hook for camping, right? WRONG!!!

About an hour later, Matt exclaims, "I can't let it beat me." So, his masculinity on the line, we set out once again for the camping trip that is not meant to be. Two hours later, we pull into the campsite and find ourselves faced with a sign that says, "NO CHARCOAL OR CAMPFIRES." Great. We have foil dinners in the cooler and plans for a dutch oven breakfast the next morning. Matt says, "we're just going to play stupid" which won't be much of a stretch considering how the rest of the day has gone. We drive through the site and there is nothing but concrete and grass, not even a place to fake a fire ring. Everyone is out there cooking on their wimpy Coleman stoves with thier smug faces, so proud of themselves for being law-abiding campers. We have a propane stove in our trailer. It's just too bad that the propane tank had just met it's doom on the highway and was unusable.

What are we going to do? There was a Taco Bell about 20 minutes back on the highway. We could eat that for dinner and let what we have go to waste. We could eat raw s'mores for breakfast and head home earlier than planned. Nope, it was man against machine and the man was not going to lose.

We had checked out a place a few weeks back that was about another half hour out-that's right, a full 2 1/2 hours from home. When we checked it out a few weeks prior, it was supposedly "just south of downtown." (Another story...) so we head back on the highway and finally get to that campsite. It does have fire rings but it does not have a VACANCY. I'm ready to go home but Matt has a plan. We are going to share a group site with some homeless people who are sleeping in their van. Yep, thats safe! Let's just take our 4 children right on over there and make ourselves comfortable. Just to make things a little more interesting, there are no hookups and our battery is sitting at home in our garage. We ate our "hobo dinners" (new meaning to that considering our campmates) in the dark and found the bathrooms by moonlight. As you can see from the pics, we did end up having a good time afterall.

Man vs. Machine

Guess who won?

OUCH!!!

After a nice farewell Vanilla Coke from Sonic and one last pack of Rolos, I got braces put on yesterday and I'm in PAIN. I forgot how bad this hurts-enough to keep me away from good food-now that's bad. Maybe I've discovered a new diet plan-I'll keep you posted. Between all of the restrictions (no popcorn, soda, sticky, hard or sugary foods), not wanting to eat in public for fear of getting anything lodged in my grill, and the intense pain, cold ice water has become my best friend. It sucks that I can't even chew the ice. The good news is that they are only supposed to be on for 9 months. Hopefully, they'll be off before we meet Meili or I'll scare the the split pants right off of her!

Future Plumber???

Xander's grandfather and great-grandfather were plumbers so it wouldn't surprise us one bit. But, if you ask Xander what he's doing when you pull up his pants, he'll tell you that he's "selling crack."

Red Thread Friends

Over the past year or so that I have been blog-stalking, I have become a bit envious of those of you out there who are part of a large, local China-adoption community. Yep, you know who you are...waiting family dinners, playdates, etc.

We had the pleasure of meeting Shannon T. from our Feb. 2006 DTC group and her cutie-pie son, Camden, today at the park. That's right, our first encounter with real LIVE humans who have the same DTC date as us and they live only about 30 minutes away! I know, not really impressive to someone in, say, Houston where you could probably wolf whistle at any given time and at least 23 China-adoptive families would be within earshot...but we are ecstatic! The great news is that they are wonderful people who are lots of fun to be around. We are looking forward to doing it again!!!

It was just too cute to overhear parts of the conversation that Noah and Camden were having with the other kids in the sandbox. Noah told me later that they were explaining that they were friends because they both have sisters in China! The pic above is of Noah and Camden wearing their new matching red bracelets-official Red Thread Friends!

Here's the Nursery...

If you are wondering why it doesn't look like a nursery, that's because it's actually the master bedroom. However, it is where Meili will spend her first few months home with us-just like our other 4 children. Later, when she is settled, she'll be sharing a room with her sister, Audrey.

Matt has been amazing. He painted and put up the crown moulding and chair-rail, endured months of shopping for bedding and bedroom furniture, then travelled over two hours away to pick the furniture up (twice) not to mention hauling it upstairs and setting it up. What a man!

I can't wait to shop for the finishing touches. This is the first time that we have owned new bedroom furniture in our almost 13 years of marriage. I love it! ...and it's a good thing because it has to last for at least 30 years!

We've Got a LID!!!!!!!

It's official! We received our ladybug letter from Great Wall just a few minutes ago. WE WERE DTC 2/17 AND HAVE A LID OF 3/10!!! The boys thought I was having a heart-attack and ran in the office to see what was going on. How exciting! Almost a month into the wait. It's going to be OK...I think we can do this!!! I just updated our timeline-somebody pinch me!!!

What Next???!!!

Jessica Simpson May Want to Adopt Kids
By Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Jessica Simpson has babies on the brain. The 25-year-old singer filed for divorce from Nick Lachey last December but her publicist says Simpson is looking at adoption.
"Nothing has been finalized yet" as to when and how Simpson will adopt, her publicist, Rob Shuter, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. But he added, "It is true that she's exploring options."


Shuter said Simpson and her family have anonymously contributed funds to a smattering of Mexican orphanages for several years now. The singer started visiting the orphanages with a church group at age 11.

"I want to adopt, and I plan to adopt before I have my own kids," the pop star recently told TV's "Extra." In the interview, Simpson cited a certain high profile mother as an influence.
"I think Angelina Jolie has done amazing, amazing things, and the international adoption rate just since her has skyrocketed," she said. "It's unbelievable."

Simpson is best known for starring in the MTV reality show "Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica" with Lachey, who gained fame as a member of the boy band 98 Degrees.


SO...IS ADOPTION GOING TO BECOME THE NEW CELEBRITY CIRCUS ACT??? I'M SURE SHE HAS AS MUCH A RIGHT AS I DO TO BECOME A MOTHER (OF COURSE, I KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHICKEN AND TUNA, BUT I SHOULDN'T BRAG.) I JUST HOPE THAT SHE HAS THOUGHT IT THROUGH AND HAS REASONS TO ADOPT BEYOND, "BECAUSE ANGELINA JOLIE IS DOING IT." OH...AND YES SHE DID SAY 'MY OWN KIDS.'

The Squares Are Rolling In!!!

Many thanks to those of you who have sent squares! Our family has even started to send some! Pics are posted at the link to the right.

Thank You FebDTC Secret Pal!!!

I went outside to check the mail yesterday and found a package on my doorstep! My two littlest boys 'helped' me open it. What a great gift! The 'Five Little Ladybugs' book has been on my mental wishlist and the plush ladybug book that 'buzzes' is just too cute! The chocolate was icing on the cake-it didn't live long after this picture was snapped! Thank you Secret Pal! You made my day! Can't say this enough...man, this beats stalking the mailbox for that darn I-171H!!!

Okay, This is Just Sad...

Not long ago, we lived in Salt Lake City, Utah. That means that for about 3 months out of the year for 10 years, we lived in snow. We drove our car in snow, we walked in snow, we bundled our babies for the snow, we shoveled snow-sometimes a couple of feet at a time. It was fun, but I was satisfied that I had my fill of the white stuff. Apparently, I was the only one in the family to feel that way.

Here in Tucson, snow is a rarity. Last weekend, Mt. Lemmon got some so we packed up our car and bundled the kids and headed for the mountains. 30 minutes later, we find that the road up the Mt. is closed down. I didn't care too much. The kids were a bit disappointed. My husband looked like someone shot his puppy! He planned the event under the guise that it was for the kids...'to get them out of the house.' Now I know better. I swear I am married to a 6-year-old sometimes. (He reads comic books and can't sleep on Christmas Eve as further evidence.)

But bless his heart, we received more snow this past weekend and my dear husband woke up early on Sunday morning and packed the car up with sleds and gear and began to call the road info hotline. Mt. Lemmon was closed most of the day but he was on a mission. He broke out a map and found a 'back way' to get some altitude and find some snow. Inside I was rolling my eyes but I remembered the shot puppy look from the previous weekend and decided I'd better play along for the sake of my marriage.

35 minutes into the drive the road turns to dirt/mud. We proceed up the mountain at a 45 degree angle just inches away from a sheer dropoff. I see other cars coming down the road which is comforting until I realize that they are covered in mud from top to bottom and most of them are 4 wheel drive-our Suburban is not. What on Earth are we in for??? It was an 'interesting' drive and we did find some snow. To clarify, I should explain that we found patches of snow surrounded by an abundance of cacti. I wasn't about to let the kids get out and play in THAT and the last time my husband was near a cactus, it ended with him needing his arms waxed to remove all of the needles-story for another time!

We went as far as we could and did find some cactus free snow. All in all, just plain sad. Look at the picture...my kids are sledding in straw!!! We had a pretty pitiful snow ball fight the highlight of which was my attempt to gather a snow ball that ended with a fistful of COWPIE!!! Xander got carsick on the way home so the evening was topped off with a lovely load of laundry. The only thing that made it worth it was the smile on my kids' faces-yep, all FIVE of them. (number includes husband)

One Month Since DTC!!!-and Pregnancy vs. Adoption

Well, if the next 10-12 months go by as quickly as this one did for our family, we should be ok for this wait. With four kids and all of their activities, time seems to fly by. That's not to say that there aren't days that every darn song on the radio takes me straight into the "ugly cry." I think that part of me won't believe that I have a daughter in China until I am actually in China and holding her in my arms. Another part of me can't rest until she is home. It just seems so far away.

Let me say that I wouldn't be pregnant again for all the tea in China. But I was thinking that when you're pregnant, you at least know where your baby is at all times. You can do your part by eating those darn veggies, etc. to help your baby to thrive. You feel the kicks from time to time and before that, there's the lovely morning sickness to let you know that things are progressing according to plan. You know that he/she is warm and all of his/her needs are being met. You can estimate within a few weeks, usually, when your baby will arrive. Adoption is so different-I have NO control! And for a type A control freak like myself, that is what is so unnerving. My husband's motto has always been, "there is no use worrying about something that I can't do anything about." He's right-and he's calm as can be about the wait. He says that now I know how he feels when I'm pregnant-a bit detached from the whole process-until the baby arrives of course!

Well, since there would be no stitches or bleeding nipples involved in welcoming this baby to our family, I thought it would be easier. It's not...just different.

100 Random Facts About Me

Thought I would do this, just to see if I could:

1. I am the oldest of 7 children.

2. My first career goal was to be a Solid Gold dancer.

3. I am getting braces (again) in about a month.

4. When I was little, we took in a stray mutt. After a trip to the groomer's, we discovered that we actually had a miniature poodle!

5. I once belly-danced solo for a crowd of 6000 people.

6. I hate the smell of crayons.

7. I love the smell of baby shampoo-not in the bottle, has to be on my freshly-bathed kids' heads.

8. I could eat homemade beef tamales for breakfast, lunch and dinner...for the rest of my life.

9. I believe that chocolate should be the 5th food group.

10. I collect flip-flops.

11. I taught 7th grade English for 2 years-then decided to stay home and do my best to make sure that my kids didn't end up like some of the ones I taught.

12. Because of #11, I have a favorite Backstreet Boy.

13. I attend television show tapings whenever I get the chance. I'm afraid that if I ever got tickets to Oprah, I would have to find another reason to live.

14. I have IBS.

15. I love to take bubble baths.

16. I never have time for bubble baths.

17. Until my MRI results last week, I thought that I had MS or a brain tumor. It turned out to be a weird infection in my sinuses.

18. I had a dream about my daughter in China when I was about 8 years old.

19. Because of #18, I believe that my daughter is/will be in an orphanage in a metal crib. Since not all orphanages have these types of cribs, I believe that I could narrow down her whereabouts with a little research. However, I choose not to do that. I want to be surprised-but I'll check it out after the referral comes and let you know!

20. I am really good at nagging my husband.

21. My husband is a patient man!

22. My husband and I have known each other since I was 12 and he was 13.

23. I eat scabs...just seeing if you're still with me ;o)

24. I hate to fold laundry.

25. I was married at 19.

26. I hate to sing. At church, I mouth the words Milli Vanilli style.

27. I have always wanted to be a news anchor-even used to practice my news-chick hairdo.

28. I spend way too much time on the computer.

29. All parts of my house are cleaned regularly-but never all clean at the same time.

30. I am addicted to shopping clearance racks.

31. I have a degree in Spanish but couldn't hold a conversation in Spanish to save my life.

32. I would like to live in Seattle one day.

33. My scrapbooks will never be caught up.

34. I am obsessed with oral hygiene-I love my tongue cleaner.

35. With a fresh pedicure, I am ready to conquer the world.

36. I rarely engage in any activity regularly without taking it over in some way.

37. I am doing home studies for other adoptive families.

38. I like even numbers. (Hmmm, Meili will be #5...we might have to do something about that.)

39. I once did a cooking segment on a local morning talk show. The kitchen set was beautiful but all I could think about during the show was the Rice Krispies that were in the sink left by the camera crew earlier that morning.

40. When it comes to home decorating, I can't seem to get away from reds and browns.

41. I was the most obsessed Michael Jackson fan on the planet in the 80's...and the 90's.

42. I still have a pair of Michael Jackson LA Gear shoes up in the closet that I can't seem to get rid of.

43. In the future, when nosy people ask me if my daughter is adopted, I plan to respond by asking them if they were born vaginally or by c-section.

44. In beauty school, I gave a perm to an Asian man.

45. In high school, I was on the drill team.

46. I have given birth to 4 children in about 12 hours-total. My brother, James, has made up a sound effect for my birthing process. It sounds like someone hocking a loogie.

47. I am always right-ask my husband; he'll tell you.

48. I had bone tumors removed from my right knee twice as a teenager.

49. I get really excited about "rabbit poop" ice. You know, not the cubes-the stuff that is easy to chew?

50. In high school, I would pass up dates to take babysitting jobs.

51. I love the beach.

52. I would like to visit all of the lighthouses in the country.

53. I am deathly afraid of snakes. I saw 18 of them around town (and 1 in our garage) last year.

54. I am allergic to Sulfa.

55. I like to eat much better than I like to cook.

56. While pregnant with my 4th child, I was victim to some obscenities from some students in a school bus on the freeway. To make a long story short...the story ends with me boarding the bus and demanding apologies from the offenders.

57. I am convinced that there is some sort of emergency alert system connected to my toilet seat. ..as soon as I sit down, there is a child at the door within 5 seconds!

58. I can't have any pets until all of my children are potty trained because it would adversely affect the anus-to-caregiver ratio in my home.

59. I like to organize closets.

60. I used to not be able to drink anything out of a plastic cup.

61. My right leg is 3/4 inch longer than my left.

62. My husband proposed to me in his mother's Hyundai Sonata in a movie theater parking lot.

63. I've been married for 12 1/2 years.

64. I'm 32.

65. Yesterday I put 80 miles on my car even though I was never more than 5 miles from home.

66. I talk a lot.

67. I shave my legs about twice a year. In between times, there are about 6 blond hairs on each leg.

68. I once went on a date with Jerry Supiran-he played Jaime on the 80's t.v. show, "Small Wonder." (Remember? Vicky the robot, red dress...he was the brother...)

69. I feel mildly ill after typing #68.

70. I used to be able to wrap both legs around my neck at the same time.

71. I think that the hormones associated with adoption are equal to if not worse than those associated with pregnancy.

72. The next time I hear "Looks like you've got your hands full!" at the grocery store with my kids- I.AM.GOING.TO.VOMIT.

73. I don't trust health care professionals.

74. I have a low tolerance for stupidity.

75. I never wanted to give birth to any children after 30. When I was young, I thought that it was because 30 was old. Now, I know that it was because then I would be eligible to adopt from China!!!

76. I can replace a garbage disposal by myself.

77. I won a spelling bee in the 6th grade.

78. I've never had a beer in my life. I think it smells like horse pee. In fact, I could say that I have never had alcohol if my grandma hadn't slipped me a daquiri. I didn't think that it had alcohol in it because a) I didn't think she drank and b) I didn't think that a drink with whipped cream on it would contain alcohol.

79. I sleep with my mouth open, waaaay open. Once on a road trip, I woke up with about 25 Tootsie Roll wrappers in my mouth thanks to my brother, James.

80. I had an 8:30 bedtime the night before I got married.

81. I predict that Chris will be the next American Idol.

82. I enjoy racing go-carts. I can beat my husband but he won't admit it.

83. I kill plants.

84. I plan to register at Target, not because I expect anyone to buy anything-I just want to play with the scanner.

85. I can't stand animated characters on children's clothing-especially if they are an iron-on! The fact that my children have a few is a testament to my love for them!

86. I don't take a sip of liquid until I am completely finished with a meal.

87. I've been to the MTV Music Awards.

88. I find President Bush moderately attractive.

89. I sometimes daydream about being an "empty-nester."

90. I love being a mom.

91. I wish that my husband was home more often.

92. I can't seem to keep myself out of Wal-Mart for more than 3 days at a time.

93. I love to see the view of city lights from an airplane.

94. I told my husband that I was going to marry him on our second date.

95. I miss my grandpa. If he were here, he'd call Meili "an oriental" but he would love her!

96. I will write a book one day-just don't know what it will be about yet.

97. It doesn't make sense to me that a person would have bad teeth, yet own a cell phone. Priorities people!

98. I am proud of my husband and children.

99. I can't believe that I am about to finish this list!

100. I am finding the anticipation of the 5th child just as exciting as the first!

Been Busy!!!

I've been away from my blog for a week-and a busy one it has been! Now that the dossier is in China, I'll probably be a weekly blogger instead of a daily-stalker. I've just got too much to do and the wait just seems longer when I dwell on it on a daily basis. So, I'll continue to keep you updated on our adoption wait if anything exciting develops and use my blog as a way to chronicle our family life until we get our referral and are able to go back in time and see what we were up to when Meili was born, etc. Here are some highlights of the past week:

Taylor loves cub scouts-we do too!!! He learns a lot of valuable skills and has a great bunch of friends to meet with each week. He also has some great scout leaders. Last Thursday was the annual Pinewood Derby. Taylor made a "space taxi." It looked much better than it raced-but fun was had by all...

Matt took the day off on Friday and we went to Spring Training-Colorado Rockies vs. Chicago White Sox. The Rockies skunked them (didn't the White Sox just win the World Series last year?) We weren't prepared for the 85 degree temps-it was March 2nd for Pete's sake! Needless to say, most of us are burnt and peeling.

In all the ruckus I managed to send out my first batch of 100 Good Wishes Quilt squares and wishes. I couldn't resist the lady bugs! If you are interested in swapping-check out the link to the right. If you have had your fill of ladybugs, let me know in your e-mail. I bought enough material for about 4 different schemes. I didn't want to get bored either! Many thanks to those of you who have sent squares and wishes to us! I'll post some pics of them on the Quilt link as soon as my husband returns with my camera. It has been so much fun getting squares in the mail-beats the heck out of stalking the mailbox for that darn I-171H!!!

On Saturday night, we had a block party with a "Drive-In Movie" theme. The kids had a blast decorating their "cars" and our neighbors (Thanks Rich and Linda!) set up a projector and showed a movie on their garage door. It was a bit chilly so the kids were bundled up with the movie while the adults huddled around a firepit and roasted marshmallows while we chatted. Lots of fun...way too much food!!!

We have also been painting the master bedroom. Matt's about done with the chair rail and about to do the crown molding. It's looking great! We'll pick up our new furniture on Friday. I'm kicking myself for not taking a before picture. It's already hard to remember what it used to look like.

I've also been working on my first homestudy-so different to be on "the other side" and exciting to play a part in helping families bring their children home.

Well, it's amazing what a person can do when all of their energy isn't focussed on compiling dossier documents! See you next week!

Don't miss Meg Ryan on Oprah today!

Of course, I have a meeting so I'll have to. No Tivo for this family! And sadly, even if I owned a blank video tape, I don't think I'd remember how to set the VCR-it's been so long. It's really a miracle that I can send an email let alone maintain my blog. I expect a full report on the message boards! Click here for the teaser.

Audrey Is Famous!!!

Audrey is so excited to be on the Great Wall Feb DTC Yahoo! group home page. Check her out here. This photo was taken on her 7th birthday, last April. All she wanted for her birthday was the Asian Cabbage Patch doll so she could practice taking care of her Mei Mei. Now, she would much rather have the real thing here instead!

Things I'll Be Doing Between DTC And Referral/Travel

1. Shopping!!! It's been a while since we could shop for little pink girly things!
2. Lots of housework-decorating, painting, getting the yard in shape, etc. (Won't be any time for that with 5 kids!)
3. Losing weight-12 pounds would be good, 17 would be great, and 27 would be amazing!
4. Getting Braces-should help with #3. No sugar, soda, popcorn,etc. for 9 months.
5. Learning some Mandarin.
6. Compiling and revising packing lists.
7. Catching up on scrapbooks.
8. Starting a Scrapbook for Meili.
9. Figuring out where to put her-none of our other kids have had a nursery, Meili will be no exception. I think she'll have a crib in our room when she comes home, then share with Audrey later once she has the whole "family" thing figured out and is secure.
10. Learning more about Chinese history.
11. Reading more about attachment/bonding.
12. Collecting Chinese children's books.
13. 100 Good Wishes Quilt-Curse whoever started this! I better do one or Meili's bound to hear about it one day and wonder where hers is at. Actually, I received our first square in the mail on Saturday (from Jackie, our home study social worker) and was so excited. I think the quilt will be fun afterall.

With all of this to do, there shouldn't be any time to worry about how long referrals might take...right? WRONG!!!

Video Attempts

I am trying to learn how to link video to our blog. If this works, you should be able to click here and see our video from our vacation to Mexico last October.

Noah Loves Meili

Dear China Girl,
I love you
Noah (age 4)

How cute is that? Now if we can just get him to call her 'Meili.'

'Happiness' is...

in Chinese on our car window! I never thought I would be a vinyl-sticker-on-the-back-of-my-car kind of girl but I have succumbed! It kind of looks like Oscar the Grouch peeking out of his garbage can but it is in fact the Chinese symbol for 'happiness'-at least that's what the guy at the mall told me. I really wanted the Chinese symbol for 'family' but they didn't have it. Once I got home, I realized that the Chinese symbol for 'patience' might have been more appropriate!

What's DTC? Is it Contagious???

We had a great time last Friday night celebrating our DTC status. Cake, party blowers, and confetti poppers were in order. Audrey was sick with strep and running a high fever so our plans to blast "China Girl" through the streets of Tucson will have to be postponed.















Since our DTC announcement last Friday, we have received lots of e-mails from family and friends asking questions about our adoption. Do we know who she is? Has she been born yet? What on Earth is DTC? Is it contagious??? All great questions!

For those of you who don't speak adoptionese, D.T.C. stands for "Dossier to China." Our dossier is all of the paperwork that we have been accumulating over the last 5+ months. DTC is such a momentous occasion because it means that our job is done-now we just sit back and wait!

We don't think that Meili has been born yet, but she could be born sometime very soon. It could be 10-12 months before we find out any information about our little girl. At that time, we will learn her Chinese name, her birthdate or estimated birth date, where she is at, and receive a few small photos along with a very brief medical history. We do not choose our daughter from a line-up. Instead, we are matched to her by a government agency in China. This 'match' along with the information that we will recieve about her is called a 'referral.' Don't worry, we'll make sure nobody misses it!

Let the Shopping Begin!!!

We ordered one of these for the whole family to wear while we wait for Meili. Cute, and just $2! Click here for more info. I remember finding these over a year ago and planning to get them once we were DTC. Can't believe we made it!!!

We are DTC!!!

Dear Family, Friends and Blog-Buddies,

Well, after 5 months and 11 days of being poked and prodded and subject to everything short of a full body cavity search, our paperwork is finally on it's way to China! We are pretty excited to finally declare ourselves "paper pregnant." Thank you all for your support and tolerance of Jenn's incessant China-adoption talk. Jenn's brother, James, commented recently that with as much as he has heard about her, it seems like we should have had Meili home for a couple of years by now! We are all just so excited. What a blessing for our family!

We now wait for the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) to register our paperwork and issue us a log-in date. That will be the day that the official countdown begins. Right now referrals are taking about 9 months but the wait is rumored to stretch to 10-12 months with travel happening 6-8 weeks after that. No worries! We have plenty to do to keep us busy in the meantime!!!

Please take a peek at our ultrasound photo. Can you see her in there??? The really weird thing is that this time it's Matt's!!!



Have a great day!

Matt, Jenn, Taylor, Audrey, Noah, and Xander

Here's The Whole Monstrosity!

Since we used our agency's dossier preparation service, we knew that we wouldn't actually get to see the completely certified and authenticated dossier. So, I e-mailed our dossier consultant a few weeks ago and asked her if she would snap a picture of it on her desk and e-mail it to us. (Thanks Cari!) I felt like an idiot asking for it but decided that I would feel like more of one if I didn't fully document the whole process for Meili. There will be so many holes in the story of her first months of life that I don't want there to be any that are my fault. I want her to know that every day that she spent in China without a family, we were thinking of her, loving her and trying to find a way to bring her home as soon as possible. It's been crazy but very, very worth it.

DTC Tomorrow!!!

I sent the kids off to school this morning then sat down at the computer with a plan to e-mail our agency and see if they could light a fire under someone's hiney at the Chinese Consulate in LA. It has been 22 days since our I-171H arrived there for authentication. Their website claims a 4 day turn-around. We once again missed our agency's Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. cut-off time for a Friday DTC so depression was definitely setting in. Instead I found this!:

Mathew and Jennifer,

Great News! Your I-171H is back from the Consulate. Your dossier will be sent to China tomorrow!

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Have a great day!

GWCA

I am still a bit teary as I type this. This is so exciting!!! Party tomorrow night at the Bouton house!!!

No News, No Worries...until the chocolate high wears off at least!!!

I knew that I had to get out of the house today. If I stayed home, I'd just stalk my email all day long. So, I did as much damage at the mall as a woman can do with 2 and 4 year old boys in tow(I think they enjoyed the bra-shopping the best) then buried my stress in a good and cheesy burrito. On the way home, I picked up dessert, just in case. These are pics of my Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory chocolate covered caramel apple-

before checking my e-mail ...

and after...

Needless to say, no news. We'll start crossing our fingers for the 17th-my grandma's birthday. Damn that red thread!!!!

Waaaaaaa!!!

Well, we didn't make the Wednesday at 10:00 am cut-off to be DTC today. Our Dossier Consultant at Great Wall did say that since everything else is in order, if the authenticated I-171H were to show up sometime yesterday or even early today then she could still get it sent out by this afternoon. She is supposed to e-mail if that happens. So far.....nothing.

So, I don't know if we are going to be celebrating DTC tonight as a family or if I am going to go to a scrapbook party with a neighbor. I think if the former doesn't happen, only a chocolate covered caramel apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory will do the trick. I may just do that anyway since I am getting BRACES in a few weeks and won't be able to manage the caramel for at least 9 months. Also, I had a crazy idea about going sugar-free from DTC to referral just to see if that might take care of these pesky 15 pounds that have taken up permanent residence on my hind-quarters-so the apple could be my one last hurrah! It's the Braces/Referral Wait diet plan...hope it works!

Will post later if I get any exciting news. Should have broken down and used the courier, I guess.

Don't Worry, The Bowie is Temporary!

I was so impressed with myself to be able to stick some music code into my blog (with some help from my sister Janine) that I'm going to temporarily let go the fact that it is in the wrong place. The snipit will play everytime you go to another link within the blog-gets pretty annoying. I'll either fix it or take it out...eventually.

Soooo Close!!!

...to being DTC, that is! I noticed this weekend that Matt's passport was not signed which means that the copies of his passport that we sent along with our dossier to our agency are not signed either. I did e-mail new copies today so I'm hoping that we won't find any related problems later on. We received this e-mail from our agency today:

Hi Jenn,

The passport copy should be fine. You can see all of the important information, so it won’t present a problem.
I haven’t received your I 171 H back from the consulate yet, but I am hoping to have it by Wednesday. I think you will be DTC this Friday.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Have a great day!

Cari Brown

So, we are keeping our fingers crossed that the authenticated I-171H makes its way to GWCA by Wednesday morning at 10 am. We are so looking forward to celebrating DTC on Friday night. I think that we are going to decorate our car and drive around town like a bunch of lunatics blasting David Bowie's "China Girl" from the speakers unless we think of something else. (Any ideas?) We just want our daughter/sister to know how excited we were to be one giant step closer to bringing her home!!!

Happy Chinese New Year!!!

I woke up this morning thinking that next year I will have to make up for my lack of enthusiasm about this holiday this year. Right now it just means closures and delays in our dossier finally reaching China! Our I-171H should have arrived at the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles last Friday. It will be closed today and tomorrow. We should be able to have the I-171H authenticated and returned to our agency by Wednesday of next week. That would mean a DTC date of February 10th. Then the celebrating will begin!

Wouldn't Ya Know It!!!

After taking matters into my own hands yesterday and hauling the kids downtown to re-certify our I-171H, the original certified document was mysteriously delivered by FedEx to our agency this morning! The tracking information shows that it was picked up at the AZ Secretary of State's office yesterday morning-8 days after they swear that it had left their building. NICE. To them it's just a piece of paper; to me that's 8 more days that our daughter lays in a crib in an orphanage in a third-world country. THANKS! ;O/

My First Negative Comment! I've arrived!

I have enjoyed reading other people's China-adoption websites and blogs for well over a year now. The process has been educational on many levels...I knew that it was only a matter of time before this happened to me...so hilarious! This comment was left on my post yesterday. The comments from "anonymous" are in italics. My responses are not:

Congratulations on your new addition to the family. (Thank you!) But are you really going to name your kid Meili? (Why, yes! I certainly am.) Most Chinese people consider that name to be very "tu" which means "tacky" or "unrefined". (Great! If she lives up to her name, she'll fit in around here even better than we anticipated!!!) Maybe you should consult with some Chinese friends to come up with a more meaningful name. (Hmm...Did you read my long-winded post entitled "I think she has a name!?" If so, you would see that the name has enough meaning to suit our needs.) Meili is NOT a good name. Actually it's terrible. (So, what's your name? Maybe I'll name her after you!) I'm not trying to be mean. (Really?) I'm just being honest. (Like you were when you signed your name "anonymous?") But then again, my family is Chinese but they're from Taiwan. Maybe they do names differently in China. (Perhaps. Luckily for her in this matter, she will spend most of her time here in U.S. where just about anything goes. I have other children who have names that are far worse and are pulling it off with style. I expect that she will do the same. Just wait... "Meili" will be making a comeback!)

So...if you are currently or soon-to-be processing an adoption from China, consider yourself educated or at least informed of the negative comment inevitability. It's not all rainbows and kittens in cyberspace. To each his own!

The Earth is Back On It's Axis!

Well, at around 3pm today Cari from Great Wall called to say that our certified I-171H is probably permanently MIA. The Sec. of State claims that it was sent out through FedEx on the 17th and FedEx has no record of ever touching it. So, at 3:15 I loaded all 4 kids including 2 sick with the flu into the car and headed out on "Operation I-171H." I was prepared to drive to Phoenix and get the darn thing certified in person but when I called to get directions and office hours I learned that there is a satellite office right here in Tucson! So two stops, three dollars and 1 1/2 hours later...The I-171H is certified.!!!...AGAIN!!!!

It was actually quite easy. I was expecting a DMVesque line and hassle but instead found our way into a very small office with 1 guy at a desk. I was the only dossier-crazed pre-adoptive parent in sight.

I especially enjoyed all of the stupid comments that I received on the way up to the office with 4 kids in tow. We got the usual, "You've got your hands full!!!" and "Wow, you brought the whole tribe!" We also got a handful of that look in people's eyes that says, "Lady, are you nuts?" I refrained from informing anyone that we were there to process paperwork for #5. They may have fainted on the spot. Can't wait to hear the lovely things we will get once Meili joins the brood!

We were in and out of there in about 10 minutes-most of our time was spent in traffic and finding a parking space. It was kind of fun to see the certification process and expose the mystery of it all since our agency has done all of this for us and we had not yet seen what any of it looked like. (Whoop-dee-do!)

Tomorrow, our dossier consultant is going to e-mail to us the cover sheet for the authentication process and we will send it directly to the courier ourselves instead of paying for more FedEx shipping than this UPS-family cares to think about. We are now crossing our fingers for a Feb. 3rd DTC date!

OK, I am officially an IDIOT!

I posted to my DTC group what must have sounded like a raging fit about the AZ Secretary of State losing our I-171H. A few fellow group members kindly reminded me that what is lost is actually a COPY of the I-171H and not the original!!! So it's not the end of the world afterall. If it isn't found by tomorrow, I'll just make another copy, have it notarized and send it off in the mail. We don't have any chance to be DTC before CNY anyway, so whats another few steps in this process??? It's just too bad that I consumed what must have been a 1500 calorie burrito before I figured this out...SHEESH!

Where, Oh Where is My I-171H???

I just got off the phone with the notary department at the Arizona Secretary of State's office in Phoenix. We had anticipated a 1 week turn-around time for our I-171H certification and as of this morning there is no tracking info on the FedEx website. Anyway, the person I spoke with said that it was processed and sent out on the 17th which was a week after it was recieved and almost a week ago at this point. My agency sent a FedEx overnight envelope along with it so where in the heck is that thing??? I have left a message with our dossier consultant. Surely she would have sent an e-mail if they had received it certified and had sent it off for authentication. They know that we care about the details, right?

A few hours later... I came home to a message from the dossier consultant at Great Wall saying that she also contacted the Arizona Secretary of State and confirmed what I already knew but also that they have no record of sending it out. In addition, she is having Fed Ex run a trace. So...basically, the stupid thing is lost. AZ SoS is supposed to be checking their desks and out boxes for it. I hope it turns up. It would suck nuts to have to wait for the I-171H to be resubmitted from USCIS again. AAAHHHHH!!!!! Calgon, take me away!!!!!!!!!

The Snowball's Not Gonna Make It...

My new hobby has become checking my FedEx account for signs that our I-171H has left Phoenix in certified condition and is heading to our agency in San Antonio. How sad is that? I am getting some grief from my UPS-employed husband for "consorting with the enemy." As of right now, it has not "left the building." So...there is no chance that our dossier will go to China in January. In fact, we expect that it will be delayed from being sent when it is ready because there will be no one there to receive it due to the Chinese New Year celebrations. Things will shut down in China from the 29th of Jan. through the 12th of Feb. Realistically, we are looking at a March log in date. Oh, well. It is like Matt says, "No use worrying about something that you have no control over." This patience thing sucks.

I did join the Feb2006DTC yahoo group yesterday. That is a milestone that we are happy to achieve. It should be fun-already sign-ups for a Secret Pal gift exchange. I always love a good reason to shop!

I spent this morning with Jackie (our homestudy social-worker and my new employer.) I am learning about the "other side" of the homestudy process. I am excited to get started. The only problem is that Tucson isn't exactly the hot spot for adoptions right now. We are waiting for a client. In the meantime, I am learning what I can about the adoption requirements and processes for countries like Russia, Guatemala, Vietnam etc. Very interesting...

I am off to seal the tile grout in our kitchen. Whoopee!!!

We've got a snowball's chance in you-know-where...

to be DTC in January!!! I sent an e-mail to our agency today asking about the expected turn-around time for the certification of our I-171H. The reply was that it could take a week. That means it could be done by next Tuesday, the 17th-let's say the 18th because of the holiday. We are hiring a courier to walk the document through the LA Embassy for authentication. Let's pretend that the courier receives the document on the 19th, drops it off on the 20th, picks it up on the 23rd and gets it back to our agency by the 25th. I have read somewhere in my stack of a gazillion papers that if a completed dossier is recieved at GWCA by 10 a.m.? 12 noon? on a Wednesday, then it will be sent to China that Friday. I have read on other blogs that some agencies take a few weeks to review and translate the documents before sending them out. It is my understanding that our documents have been reviewed as they have been received and I am guessing that they are translated by their Beijing office??? Any Great Waller's out there that can confirm or refute my thought process here??? I guess that we may have to just wait and see how the snowball holds up!

Time For Confession...

If you are another pre-adoptive blog stalker like myself, I dare you to leave a comment and confess how many hours you have spent (per day, week, month etc.) sitting in front of your computer and absorbing all the China-adoption info you can find. I do spend quite a bit of time blog-stalking. I'm not sure that I could even quantify the amount of time because it is a bit here and a bit there. It is probably at least an hour each day, but usually spent in conjunction with phone calls, helping my little boys with an "art" project in the office with me, or while eating lunch during their nap, etc. Anyway, its a lot-especially if you take into account that I have been up to this for well over a year! Hopefully, I'm at least being fair to those whose privacy I have invaded by putting my own blog out there. And it is educational, right? How else would I know that I need to take a pair of baby nail-trimming scissors with us to China and that the tool will double as a nipple hole enlarger? Besides, I justify the time spent by telling myself that this is how I can prove that I have the time for a 5th child! Anyway, just curious if I am alone in my obsession...

Also, can somebody tell me why I can't access the people's blogs who are leaving comments on mine? I click on their name and reach the profile information, but under the "Blogs" header, there are no blog titles to access. User error? I holler (first time I've EVER used that word in my life, I swear) for my 10 year old son whenever I need to burn a CD so I wouldn't be surprised...

E-mail From our Agency

Hi Jennifer & Mathew,

Congratulations on receiving your I 171 H! Your pictures are perfect. You have a beautiful family! I am sending your I 171 for certification today. As soon as I get it back I will send it via courier for authentication.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Have a WONDERFUL day!

Sincerely,

GWCA

And They're Off!!!

We did it! Our final dossier documents are in the mail to our agency! I felt like such an idiot getting choked up waiting in line at Fed Ex/Kinko's. I was prepared to ask the person at the counter for a quick snapshot of the process, but decided that the required explanation would have pushed me over the edge into complete melt-down mode and I just wasn't in the mood for that :o) I did snap a quick pic of Xander and Noah holding the envelope on our way, though.

Most people who are adopting would be sending a completed dossier to their agency and be days away from having their paperwork sent off to China. That is not the case for us since we are utilizing our agency's dossier preparation service. They will see that the I-171H is certified and authenticated for us. Once that is done (3-5weeks?-I'm tired of guessing at these things and being disappointed!) then our completely certified and authenticated dossier will go to China on the following Friday. It is very nice not to have to worry about that part of it all, but now that I have a better understanding of the process, I would never pay for the service (we won a free package at an adoption conference so we didn't have to.) The main reason is because I am a control freak and would have loved to track the documents through myself and see what the end result looks like. It really is not a difficult process-especially for type A's like myself. And I would have loved to have a picture of the completed monstrosity for Meili's scrapbook-I know that she will get over it sooner than I will...

So...as far as we are concerned, THE PAPERCHASE IS OVER!!! I did hear a cyber-rumor that the wait time is expected to jump to 13 months. So, don't worry-there will be plenty for me to gripe about in upcoming posts!

Halle-freakin'-luia!!!!

It FINALLY came! The I-171H arrived in the mail today-Happy Birthday to me!!! If you are following along, you may have noticed that I have been out of the blogging loop lately. That is partially because we were busy with the holidays and out of town visiting family in California and partially because I had nothing on my mind but the fact that that piece of paper had not yet arrived. I received a few e-mails after my last post that put my woes in perspective so I just couldn't continue with my rant-I just couldn't think of anything else to post either...


Anyway, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas this year. I was so proud of my children. In an effort to simplify life and concentrate on the true meaning of the holiday, we scaled things down quite a bit from last year. The kids were happy and so thankful for what they received. Taylor said, "Man, we're spoiled!" and Audrey couldn't stop saying thank you. That evening was spent cleaning, doing laundry and packing for the trip to CA the next day. I don't think that we will plan to leave on a trip the day after Christmas ever again!

We had a great time in CA. We went to the beach and walked around and had lunch- even though it was overcast and had been raining. We visited the Pacific Asia Museum, went to the LDS temple in Newport Beach, visited Matt's brother Todd and family and had dinner with Jenn's brother James and family. We brought Audrey's Karaoke along and sang probably more than we should have. Debbie got us all hooked on fresh ground, whole grain flour and fresh rolled oats (Did you know that oats don't come the way we see them in the Quaker container?; they look like rice until they are rolled flat.) It looks like my birthday money will go toward purchasing a grain mill, oat roller and a Bosch for making bread dough. It is pricey but a good investment for our family. We had turkey for New Year's Eve and Matt and I creamed the pants off of everyone at "Tribond" at Jennie's house. Of course, we also ate our way through Southern
California as usual.


The past week has been spent readjusting to reality. Last night we had a babysitter and Matt took me to Pei Wei(an asian diner) for my birthday. While we were eating, we noticed a family walk in-a grandma and a grandpa and a mom and dad with their newborn Chinese daughter. She was adorable but watching them made me sad-sad that Meili will not be raised in family where she would physically "blend in" and for the feelings that she may or may not have about that. Also sad that I will never see her or hold her when she is that young. We will both miss out on so much. But, we will have so much as well and that is what to focus on, I suppose. We joked that someday we will bring "Mei-mei to eat at Pei Wei"...oh well, it was funny last night. We also went to see Memoirs of a Geisha, which turned out to be better than reviews had led me to believe.

Today's highlight was of course receiving the I-171H. It arrived at 1:01 p.m. and our bank closed at 1:00, of course. I did find a branch a bit further away that stayed open until 4:00 on Saturdays so I was able to rush off and have a copy notarized. We are going to add a few photos to our dossier documents (realized that the pictures need to each have at least one adoptive parent in them and a few that we had set aside just had the kids) and send them all off to our agency on Monday. The I-171H is the only document in the current mailing that will need to be certified and authenticated. That could be done in just a few weeks-we plan to hire a courier to walk it through the last stop at the Chinese Embassy in LA. A January DTC is still possible, but a February DTC is much more likely-especially if Chinese New Year means a shut-down at the embassy.

So those will be the next few (and last few) hurdles until our paperwork goes to China. After that, I wasn't sure what or if I would continue to blog. However, since the referral wait times are fluctuating so much, I thought it would be a good thing to journal our daily happenings to be able to look back and see what we were up to at the time of our daughter's birth.

Another thing that I will be doing to pass the time while we wait for our daughter is training to become an Adoption Home Study Case Manager. Can you believe it??? I have gone from dreading my own home study to getting ready to provide them for other people! How weird is that??? I am actually very excited about being involved in helping other families prepare to bring their children home. Besides, I think and talk about adoption all day long. I might as well put the effort to good use and earn a little while doing it. We could use the extra $ as we prepare to travel. Know anyone in the Tucson area that needs a homestudy???

This Is What I Am Asking Santa For This Year...

A friend at church who is a huge advocate for orphans of the world (2 now call her "mom") let me know about this very worthwhile charitable organization: www.angelcovers.org Please go to this website and see how little money it takes to provide things like formula, blankets, vitamins, bouncers, cribs, wheelchairs, chickens!, surgeries, and education to children in orphanages across the world. Maybe not every family out there can bring a child home, but everybody could send $10 to keep an orphan warm. Donations actually begin at as little as $5!.

The organization also provides a way to turn gift-giving into a truly amazing act of love. You can make a donation in someone's name and they will receive a card with information about the donation that has been made in their behalf and a message from you. So, instead of buying those boxes of chocolate (they just make us fat anyway ;o/) give a gift that is meaningful and serves to improve the lives of children who may never find permanent homes. I think it would be a great way to honor the babies and children who are waiting for some of us in China. What a perfect way to focus on the true meaning of Christmas!

....And Waiting.....

Nope, no I-171H yet. I am convinced that they are carving it into a stone tablet! It seems to be taking FOREVER. On a lighter note, we did receive an e-mail from our agency stating that all of our other documents have been successfully certified and authenticated. That is exciting but means that USCIS is officially holding us up. I need that form to come so I can do something besides stalk my own mail box for a change!

Still Waiting...

Well, it has been more than 2 weeks since we were fingerprinted and we have yet to recieve our I-171H. If I am having this much trouble waiting 2 weeks for a piece of paper, I can't imagine what it will be like to wait the rumored 10-12 months for our referral!

Last week we had an I-171H false alarm. I went to the mailbox and found an envelope with a USCIS return address on it. I ran in the house and scared the kids to death with my hyperventilating and yelling, "It came! It came!" I opened it to find somebody else's fingerprinting instructions. What a let down!!! Then the joy continued while I tried to contact someone to fix the problem. Since my address was attached to somebody else's name, I knew it had to be fixed in the USCIS computer system so that they could get their appointment and so we could get our I-171H. Anyway...problem solved.

I guess I am glad to have Christmas preparations to keep my busy while I wait. In fact I should check the calendar and find the day that I am most busy in the near future. That would be a great indicator of when the I-171H is sure to arrive-the day that I have absolutely no time to get it copied, notarized and sent off with Mailing #2 to our agency....Okay, I checked and that day would be either tomorrow or next Tuesday. Let's see if Murphy's Law prevails.