Adoption Adventure #3~Taiwan

We have TRAVEL dates!!

2011-10-06T19:14:00.000-04:00

We are going to Taiwan to meet our new son, Kyle! Finally, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter each day!!

We have our Forever Family Day on November 16th and
our AIT appt on the 17th!!!

We are up to finding a hotel which has proven to be a bit of a challenge. All of the hotels I previously looked at will not work for us as a traveling family of four! (that sounded like a circus?? LOL) We need a hotel room that has two double beds in it. This sounds pretty reasonable right? No. Double beds so far have been two twin beds in a room! Nope, that's not going to work. Double beds aren't as common as you would think. I'm being a bit cheap here, but two rooms wasn't in the budget. But THANKS to several other families who have traveled this journey before us, and a post on Facebook, those endlessly supportive and always there for you families, have given me a list of about ten possibilities that I plan on checking tonight! I'm not on Facebook alot, but after my panic set in, I needed help! They were there for me. I am very grateful for all the families and friends I have made there as part of this adoption!!!

I am also checking with two travel agents for comparison pricing on airfare. As the traveling family (circus) of four, this is not going to be cheap! So to get the most for my money, shopping for this is a must! Now I just need the planets to align once more for the prices to come back fair, the hotels to have big beds and good western style breakfast (eggs bacon, bread, fruit and lots of carbs) and then we will book it all!

We are so excited here!! After finishing this huge task of circus trip planning, I'm will be finishing Kyle's room, cleaning the rest of the basement and starting to pack. Pictures will follow of his room. Can't wait for that!

And I know I've mentioned this before, but I still have a few dolls ( Kids (dolls) need a Good Home ) that still need a new family to love them if anyone is still interested. There were a few people interested but I was having trouble responding to them, emails and Google weren't cooperating. So if you were interested and I didn't get back to you, I'm sorry. Due to technology and myself not always getting along, please try to reach me again!!

New Pictures :)

2011-10-03T23:02:00.000-04:00

We received new pictures of Kyle!! He is wearing one of the tee shirts we sent to him in our first care package. So exciting!!! What do you think he's thinking here...? :)

It might just be me, but he looks taller here. Maybe it's just the angle of the camera, I don't know....
It doesn't really matter, we just can't wait to meet him and bring him home! We have been building his library and are looking forward to reading all the books to him, just before tucking him into bed, after giving him a fun bath, making a mess all over the bathroom floor and covering him with lots and lots of good night KISSES!!!! Keep your fingers crossed for travel date confirmations SOON!!!

Summer to Fall and Adoption News

2011-09-26T10:14:00.001-04:00

I can't believe that summer is over and we are now comng into Fall. I enjoy Fall, but I think I love summer more! Our summer was pretty uneventful. We received our final decree, that was the best & most exciting thing to happen. We covered & closed up the pool for the summer. :( Kinda sad, but we are looking forward to next summer chasing a little one around.

Adam & Emily September 2011

Adam started a new job and will continue to work part time while in college. We moved him into his dorm, met his roommate, and stocked the cabinet with plenty of munchies fit for a college freshman. He has a pretty full schedule but he is excited. I think he is most excited about being on his own.   He is close enough to come home on weekends or for dinner if he wanted to. It's enough distance to be out from Mom's
watchful eye, but yet close enough to home if he needs anything. He has been home a few times already and it's only been three weeks, which makes me happy. Yesterday he came home to help cover the pool, brought his laundry (which HE did!) and then everyone went to dinner. A very nice day!!

Emily was in a local youth theater group this summer as well as her AP classes in school, so she kept us busy too. Her AP Bio teacher gave them a test the first "offical" day of school, which I thought was kinda mean. All the kids are excited the first day of school, and I thought it would be really hard to concentrate that day. Haven't seen the test score yet, but I'm sure she did fine. Her theater group put on the show The Sound of Music this year and Emily was Lesil, 16 going on 17. Saturday was the last show night and all the kids did wonderful!!! I wasn't able to sit and watch from the audience this year because I helped backstage changing all the kids with their costumes! There are 7 Von Trapp children and I am thankful I don't have to keep up after that many children every day! God Bless the Big families in the world. I was soooo tired after this year's play. But it was worth all the sticky hair spray, every pin prick, bruise and aching muscle - I wouldn't change a thing!!!! We will have a movie night when the DVD's are released.

My sister-in-law and mother-in-law threw Kyle a Celebration of his (hopefully soon) homecoming! It was an M&M themed party, our favorite candy! All in primary colors, and I thought that was a really cute idea since the "baby" shower theme didn't seem to fit because he is 2yo now. A clever idea! There were loads of good wishes, food, snacks and bundles of Love that day. Kyle received a lot of cute clothes, and many fun toys to play with. I got to wear the funny hat full of bow and ribbons. Sorry, no pictures available. Kyle received a big wagon for pulling or riding in which Chris was looking forward to putting together. Actually, haven't seen it since it came home, I think it's in the garage. Will definitely check on that today. :) Now I can sit and look through all the packages enjoying that day all over again. Then put it all away in his room, reclaiming my dining, catch all, room.

On our adoption, I'm sad to say that we are still waiting on our travel dates to meet Kyle. Seems there is another document and signature required that is taking some time to obtain but necessary for the Visa & Passport application. I think this is the sadest and HARDEST wait EVER!!!! I haven't done too much in his room or even gone shopping. To be honest, I'm afraid to. For Adam & Emily's adoptions I wasn't so worried about them coming home, I knew it would happen. But for this little guy, I can't say I have that confindent feeling now. Too many bumps, and none of the timelines we were given have been on "target" so I'm afraid to get my hopes up. I think our co-ordinator has noticed my "worry" and hasn't given me a timeframe for this latest bump. It's been a month since we received our final decree, and yet it feels like so much longer. I was afraid of the possible timing conflicts for our travel would happen right at the same time as school starting and then the show dates. Since that is all behind us now, maybe, just maybe, with a dash of hope, and lots of prayers, all the cosmic forces will come together for our travel dates soon!!!!!    We are so ready to travel, met him and bring him HOME!!

Gotta get back to doing "work" things this morning! I've also tried to post a comment on my friends blogs, but I keep getting a message that tells me "this Google account doesn't have access" ?? Very weird. Any one else have similar troubles with Blogger? Maybe because Google knows I'm at work and not doing "my work"     :) Makes me wonder if the computer guys here are up to their sneaky things again??   I will try again from home. Please know that I stop by often and enjoy reading the happenings of my Blogger friends, and reading about progress each family is making. I just can't post it right now...?    :)
Blogger = 1      Terry = 0

WE HAVE FINAL DECREE !!!!

2011-08-23T20:52:00.000-04:00

Yes, I said it, out loud for the world to hear and read!! We finally received our final decree from the Taiwan courts! He is legally our son......so here is the cute little face we fell in LOVE with, to go with his spikey hair

This was one of our first pictures of Kyle :)

This was our second update photo

This was our last update photo - He wants the camera I guess or I like to think he is saying HI :)

This is our newest son - Kyle Patrick. We haven't received our travel dates yet, but I am hoping, praying and wishing that we receive them soon! I am soooo ready to meet him!!

To try an pass the waiting (again) time, we are going to finish getting things ready for Adam as he prepares to head off to college. But he will be back soon, both kids will be traveling with us to meet Kyle! Our "priceless" Mastercard moment I call it, and it will be worth it. Emily will be starting school also, but she isn't worried about anything. She is ready to meet her new brother too. Both of them will do fine traveling, (I'm the nervous one) and I'm not worried about them catching up missed classwork. This coming weekend will be devoted to school prep and then we are going to finish Kyle's room. I'm soooo excited - it finally happened!! Can't wait to meet him!!!!

Off to update Facebook next! I'm soooo far behind on "telling the world" our news :) Please forgive me! I have a check list ten pages long, and I wanted to start here. C'mom travel dates!!!!

Our summer, so far & Adoption Update

2011-07-07T20:22:00.002-04:00

Our house is always busy. Most households with children, no matter their ages, are busy! Here is what has been keeping us busy.......

PROM! Everyone looked amazing! And the dresses, boy have they changed since I went to prom. I think the styles and colors are much, much more beautiful!! Here are Adam and his friends.....

A gentlemen.....

Peter, Waling, Sarah, Adam

Miss Emily had her annual Dance recital again - as usual a fun time!!

Emily really gets some height here....

Her Dance Class

Adam also graduated high school this year. Many different emotions come with this milestone, excitement, happiness, sadness, loads of worry, and a LOT of Pride! We are so proud of him!! There were many times we struggled, we didn't agree, and assignments were rough....high school is hard, even from a parents point of view. But he accomplished it and very well too, graduated in the top 20% of the class, Member of the Nat. Honor Society and several other clubs/activities.

This is HALF of the Class....I couldn't get them all in one shot.

Receiving his Diploma!! He did it!!

Traditional Cap Toss - Adam is front row, center

Bianca - another "friend"

Adam & Peter goofing again

One Very PROUD Mom <3

Tiffany & Emily

And yes, we had another birthday for Adam. Boy, I wish I could slow that aging process down a bit! He is now a legal adult!! Yikes. He's 18 years old. And we threw him a party, for both his birthday and graduation. And True to form.....never dull here...........

Here's the chuckle because my life always has one.......The party planning. Of course all of our family was invited. Big families on both sides. I asked him if he wanted to include any of his friends.....we added a few to the list and sent invites to them too. He then said "let me check Facebook". Ok, I didn't think any more about it, cleaned up the table, got the stack of invites ready for the mail in the morning and moved on to the next project, laundry I think. The next day Emily comes to me and explains that her friend B received an invitation to Adam's party. What is she talking about?? I didn't see her name in the pile?? After seeing the puzzled look I had to be showing, Emily then explained that Adam created an Event on Facebook. Awww, crap!! Now I'm not a Facebook person, only when time permits, maybe I check my page once a week. I have no idea the details and the real workings of Facebook, so imagine the thoughts going on in my head at this point. I asked Emily if she was invited on Facebook and she wasn't !!?!?! What? I checked my page, and I wasn't invited either. OK, what the he11(o) is going on here??? Emily then added that B saw the list, (apparently its on the event page) and he invited 138 people on Facebook. A D A M !!!!!!! (I think our friends in PA could hear me at that point) He strolls into the kitchen with his typical Adam-ish laid back look he is sporting today, with not a care in the world. Of course not, he's not feeding all these people, right?? After catching my breath again, and drinking about a gallon of water, I casually asked him if he had a list of friends for the party. "Oh, yea", was his reply, cool as a cucumber. He told me he sent invites out on FB and made sure to include that there would be no alcohol, plenty of food, the pool is open so bring your appetite and towel. When I asked just how many people did he invite, he shrugged his shoulders, (totally Adam-ish here), said he wasn't sure, but "don't worry Mom, they don't all come anyway". Oh. My. Heavens. Trying to contain myself, I asked him to please check FB, RIGHT NOW!!!! Panicked, he ran to the computer. He confirmed the number, and I thought I was going to pass out, right there, in the kitchen, on the hard, cold, tile floor. Ahhhh, teenagers.

Now there are many things wrong with this picture. First, I take a lot of the blame because as a parent I should have set a limit here. But, he's not 12 yo anymore and I had NO idea that he would do this. Reality check for parents, set limits for everything!! I normally do and I have no idea where my Mom mind was when this happened. Next, it's the techno age, kids today need a computer for just about everything, and they use it for everything. Tidbit.... Many places do not even have paper job applications anymore, you need to fill it out online, so you need a computer. Back to the party. Where in the world were we going to park cars for that many people? We have a decent sized back yard, but this is a LOT of people!! Our pool, can it hold that many people? Oh heavens, what about food for this many people?????

For about a week after this day, I stressed ALOT about this! Adam offered to cancel it but I couldn't do that to him. It wasn't totally his fault, although he did get an ear full after the real panic set in. Chris, my calming husband, tells me, "don't worry, we will make it work". And we did. Our neighbor is building a house next door and said we could use the yard for parking, done. Shopping, we went the next weekend and stocked up on all the paper products we needed, done. Food, family offered to make things to bring, and I took them up on their offer, salads & veggies, done. My brother in law, who loves to cook, owns this huge, professional grill, offered to cook for us, done. Chris & Brother went to Sams Club, picked up all the meat for burgers, hot dogs and chicken, done. We planned for 80 people, thought that would cover it. I borrowed extra tables, chairs and coolers from the local fire company, done. My brother in law also works for a rental place (side job) so a tent was rented, shade was taken care of, done. I put on my hard hat, had lists for everyone. It was all washed, cleaned, put away or set up. By Friday night, we were ready, I think. Saturday, the day of the party, Emily & I head off to my niece's dance recital at noon, of course, because it can't be just one event today, right? The guys have their To Do List, I will be back in an hour. Breathe. Breathe.

Party time rolls around, the places looks great. Balloons, sunshine and food is cooking. At the end of the day, about 50+/- family members showed up and about 15 of the FB friends. Yes, 15. I think there are still hamburgers in the freezer in the basement. We will be having them for the next month. Rolls, I have plenty, still. Salads, I had to give them away, I couldn't eat them all. The deer, squirrels and birds, got the veggies. And I had no place to store it all. We had soooo much food left over, I could've had two more parties!

The lesson, set limits. And the worst part, Bad Parent Award here, I only took one picture for the whole day..... of the cake. It was good too, ice cream cake!!!

Fresh from the Freezer to the Table

That's our summer so far...........

On our adoption, well it's moving, I think, I hope!! Our dossier was submitted into the courts in early April and we are waiting on our final decree!! I wish, I wish, I wish it comes soon!!!! Our agency explained that this wait could be 90-120 days, ugg. This week brings us to the 90 day mark of our paperwork going to Taiwan, so lets hope that is a good sign. Wouldn't be wonderful to hear of our final decree any day now??? I think so!!!!

Package #1

We have sent three care packages to Kyle so far, not very exciting, but its not easy to send things in a gallon zipper bag.....I think we did ok....

Thanks to my friend Cindy for the idea of sending a Build A Bear! We added a recorded message too....Emily said 'I love you' in English and Chinese. And Yes, he did fit into the bag!

Under wraps Teddy Bear

He looks better out of the bag :)

Package #3

Oh, remember Aunt Jemima? (State over charging clerk) Well guess who came through for us? She did!! About a month ago, (I know I'm behind) we received a check from the state for $140.00 !! Can you believe it!!?!? I didn't think we would ever see that refund, especially not for the full amount!!! I put that check right back in the bank - it will cover some shopping in Taiwan! :)

I've been cleaning and sorting and shipping things to friends and family......check the previous post! There are still a few dolls that need to be adopted!!!!!

I haven't done too much in our Little Man's room, I'm kinda afraid to. Please don't hate me for this, but I don't want to jinx anything. All the "what if's" keep popping in my head, delays, problems, etc. We did paint and clean the carpets. Chris is ready to set up the crib, me, I'm chicken. But I think we will set it up this weekend. Here's a peek so far.......Chris picked the color, it's BLUE! His first choice was Texas Longhorn's burnt orange, so I'm happy with the blue.

Work in progress

I have to be honest, this wait is hard!! Most days I can get by with just walking by and peeking in his room, so far, for now. But soon, I hope and pray for SOON, he will be here so I read to him and cuddle! For now, we will keeping working on his room.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing in our summer! Don't forget to think about the dolls! A BIG THANK YOU to those that have adopted several of the dolls !! You are all very special friends!!

These Kids Need a New Home!

2011-06-12T21:23:00.004-04:00

OK, first, let me clarify.....these are NOT real kids! But to my Mom they were her KIDS! While cleaning out & "nesting" as waiting Mom's do, I have been cleaning everything that I can. My cabinets are covered with Post-It Notes as my To-Do list and I hope my friends and family can help me with this note.

This guy has wire to make him bendable!

My mom LOVED Cabbage Patch Kids and had a good collection of them. I would like to find homes for them. Some of them are not in their original boxes but some are. They are all clean. They have been loved and well taken care of all their little lives. I am NOT looking to sell them, they are for FREE TO A GOOD HOME!!! I will ask for about $5 or $10 for shipping. I don't know what it will cost, but that is the only money I will ask for. My biggest request is that you promise to LOVE them just like my Mom did!! She would want "her babies" to go a special little girl or boy who will love them too and she would be soooo happy knowing they were loved and cuddled each day. This is a picture heavy post.......here they are

His tongue is sticking out - Mom did that all the time! :)

This girlie has a lot of hair! Not a flattering picture - I think I will have my photographer re-do this shot

this young chap reminded me of Elvis ?

Mom loved his little glasses!

Mom loved all her blonde hair and dimples!

15th Anniversary
I love her green dress

I also some Boyd's Bears too....same thing - just need lots of LOVE in a good home.....

Holding her Ice Cream

Bunny- very soft

Ballerina Bear

Not Boyds but Cute anyway

Please feel free to send me a note if you are interested in any of these for yourself or your children. You can email directly at ctprivitera@comcast.net It will be first come first choice. Please feel free to share the link with your friends and family. I really would like them to find good homes. We already have so many dolls here we really can not keep them all. Please help share my Mom's love !!!

It's a BOY!!! We have a referral!

2011-05-05T23:17:00.000-04:00

Wow, there, I said it. Yes, it happened! Shew, I have been holding that in for waaaayy too long! But I had to bring the blog "current" to be fair. And a bit for the suspense! :) The OCD email checking paid off huge in February. We received a referral of a baby boy! He is super cute but due to privacy reasons I cannot post any pictures, yet. But believe me, he is CUTE!! We have decided to name him Kyle Patrick. The name game was a huge debate here....I liked Kyle Matthew, but I was vetoed. Chris wanted Kyle Dillon, but I wasn't liking that. We decided, just yesterday that it will be Kyle Patrick. I can tell you this, he is now 20 months old and we just received a couple new pictures since his referral and he is changing so much already. Let's see, what else....besides the obvious, that we can't wait to bring him home, we think he's cute, our family loves his hair and he has a cute smile. One of his baby-ish younger pictures has him with a good amount of thin, baby fine hair growing in, very adorable. The next picture shows he got a hair cut and it's all spikey on top, he doesn't even need any hair gel for that look. The recent pictures show his hair looking alot thicker.

The Spikey look-no gel required :)

Not sure if this counts as a picture, but it's some serious hair. I think his smile is the best, you can even see a few teeth especially when you zoom in about a zillion percent. Chris saw me doing that and couldn't figure out what I was doing, or why, then walked away shaking his head after I told him. He thought I was nuts, but a mom needs to check these things. In one of his more recent pictures, he looks like he is just going to take off running. I have a feeling there will be a lot of cardio in our future chasing him! And our dog will be pretty tired running with him too.

We received his referral on a Friday, and I had a few questions. So it was scrambling to reach a couple of doctors so they could read his paperwork. What a looooong weekend that was. Lots of talking and discussions, but I think we already knew, he was for us! We contacted the agency, we ACCEPT and let's get things started. We had to update our home study, quick one page update, and we waited for orphanage approval. We received approval, and then more agency paperwork and dossier certifications. This is where is got a bit crazy and it was another adventure, again.

Those familiar with international adoption know that you must apostle (certify) your notary's signature.
We put together all of our documents, 21 of them, to be certified. Off to Trenton, NJ's state capital we head. I tried to call ahead, to confirm amounts, method of payment, hours, etc.; no one answered the phone. I checked on line to the website for this government office and, it changed since I looked before. Since no one answered the phone I couldn't confirm the change. After an hour of driving, with cash in hand, we arrive and take a number. There were only two 'customers' there, us and another man, taking care of similar things. Big glass window, little peep hole to talk through, and a couple of women behind the counter. It's 9:25 am and I'm thinking, we are good so far, this shouldn't take long. The other gentleman takes care of things and off he goes. Feeling a bit better I relax a minute. Bad idea. Both women walk away from the counter...? Can't be break already could it? Ten minutes later, one woman, Miss J returns and call us to the window, no number checked or needed apparently. I explain what we are doing, what is needed and how many documents we have. She politely asked when we would like to pick them up, I immediately want to say, in 30 minutes, but that wasn't an option. These were our options.......one hour service was the regular fee of $5.00 per document plus the "rush" fee of $1,000.00 per document totaling $1,005.00 per document. Go ahead read it again, slowly, yes, $1,005.00 PER DOCUMENT!! I can not repeat or post the thoughts that were going through my head at this point, it is NOT G-rated!! I'm sure anyone with sticker shock could relate. But if that's too much you could pay $500.00 for the two hour service plus the initial $5.00 per document for the bargain price of $505.00 per document. Holy Smokes, people, are they serious???? Yes, they were. We opted for the basic $5.00 per document with a 24 hour turn around. Miss J must have noticed the color draining from my face because she promised that if we come back tomorrow morning, at about the same time, she would have them finished. We agreed, paid the regular fee, and still in shock, we left. Upon reaching the car and thinking and debating if was really strong enough to take on Miss J, but realizing that's why the glass window with only a peep hole was installed, I thought better of that plan. She was nice enough and reminded me of Aunt Jemima. Then as if I was slapped upside the head, (thanks mom) I realized she over charged me by $100.00!!!! Driving home I'm going down the check list and knew the amount was wrong. I don't have my documents so I can't double check each one, so I had to wait. Oh, man, it's gonna be a loooonnnggg night for me. Every imaginable thought, scenario, or natural disaster went through my mind. I really did check the news that night for anything happening. Overload worry and panic was an understatement. Boy, have things changed since the last time I was in that office. Processing Emily's paperwork was $5 per document, but they did it in a couple of hours. We waited. Oh, and the phones, they didn't have voice mail to leave a message. They were part of the recent cut backs for the state. What?? A couple of people paying those outrageous prices could have covered the cost of voice mail for I guess six months, right? And the web site updates happened on February 1st, 2011. Figures. Conceding to the fact that this could only happen to me and only in New Jersey, I went to bed.

Next morning, up bright and early like a normal day, kids off to school, we set off, back to Trenton. Our plan was to go to Trenton, pick up the papers, fight for our $100, find a Kinkos in that city (I had to have copies before these documents leave my hands again), and head to New York City for our local TECO office. What's that saying about the best set plans??? What a true saying......

Still Catching Up & Moving forward

2011-04-28T21:49:00.000-04:00

Emily graduated in June. Onto July, well July was a horrible month!! I lost my best friend, my Mom. What a sad time for me and our family. It was very hard and some days, it still is. But we aren't going to dwell on sad things, this has a happy ending, I will get to that soon. For now I wanted to share some fun & interesting things about Mom. She loved Asia and everything about it, she had Chinese things all around her home, pictures, stickers, plaques, etc. When cleaning out the spare bedroom, we found a suitcase under the bed. When we opened it, it was full, and I mean, FULL of things she purchased when she went to China for Emily's adoption. Chopsticks, tea sets, paper cut outs, fans, chops, paintings, if you saw it in China, a sampling of it was in this suitcase. I honestly thought she (previously) gave it all away as gifts. Boy, was I wrong. My sister and I gave Christmas gifts to family members from Mom even though she wasn't with us. We got a lot of smiles and tears in return. It was a nice feeling! Mom also liked to collect things. I gave away over 500 cook books, 400 of them went to the local culinary college, and they were so happy to have them for the students and teachers. They sent me a letter of appreciation, and I cried ALOT! I still have a few Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese cookbooks to find homes for.....anyone interested?? I'm still trying to find homes for some Cabbage Patch dolls she collected too. I will have to add a few pictures of those too. Some of them are still in boxes, some are not, but well taken care of. Beanie Babies, she collected those too. Alot of the Beanie Babies, the smaller ones, I gave to the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia. Emily was there are a brief stay after arrival home and they are AWESOME! At her last follow up appointment, I asked about finding a home for them there. They gladly accepted them so they will help share some of Mom's love too. Being in charge of her "estate" has this title of "Executrix" (personally it sounds like a porn star's name) but basically you get to make decisions about all things important to her. What a tough job!!! And without too many details, not everyone will be happy with your decisions. But Mom trusted me with things and I hope I have made her proud.

July also brought another worry for a Mom.....Adam passed his drivers test and got his license!!

Mom got a hair appointment to get more highlights added to hide the grey!! And the higher insurance bill!! I know it's a big car, but we felt safer that way. He thinks he's riding in style and that is fine with me.
August - we were able to sneak away for a few days to Williamsburg VA. We are fans of roller coasters so Busch Gardens was a must! We also went to Water Country and had a blast!

I call this the "Hollywood" shot, everyone's wearing shades

Met another family with a daughter from China, so the mom's chatted about their agencies and experiences while all the kids went down the slides, even the biggest kids - the Dads! The weather was perfect and it was a much needed break!! August also brought us some wonderful news regarding our adoption from Taiwan - we are NUMBER THREE on the wait list!!! Yes, #3! I couldn't beleive it and I was so excited I actually picked up the phone and called Mom's house. When I realized what I did, I just smiled and figured she already knew - she was moving this along from Heaven!!! Thanks Mom!!

The fall months brought us back to school, with two kids now in high school, a freshman and a senior! I felt pretty old. But then we had to bring all of our dossier paperwork current so I had homework too. Fingerprint renewal and home study updates - That is all ready to go.

November came and we were NEXT! Oh. My. Goodness. Next. Wow, we made it. We are there, finally. Oh no! Now I'm not ready to be at this point, here comes the panic! I still have so much to do for Mom's things and the holidays were coming up fast!! But keeping busy got us through it. Our holidays were hard with out Mom and we still hosted family dinner so I made our traditional 10+ pounds of mashed potatoes, 20+ pounds of turkey and loads of veggies for dinner. Memories are wonderful and are great conversations when you miss someone so much! Back to adoption.....If there was such a thing as being addicited to your email, that was me! I think I was checking our email about once every hour, waiting, hoping for that special gift of a referral. What I did receive was a new computer as a gift for New Years! No, I didn't blow it up checking email, but at first I wondered if I did go over board and that's what happened. Turns out it crashed, bad! I lost everything!! 5 years of pictures, documents, home work projects, mom's copies of documents, adoption documents, everything! Luckily I had some pictures on my computer at work, and I am able to share them here. Ta Da & Happy Birthday, Happy NY's, Valentine's Day, happy every holiday to me! We purchased a new computer. A friend who is handy with computers was able to retrive about half of the pictures on the old computer, but nothing else. I backed up the important docs on stick drives, but never did the pictures. Please don't ask me why, I don't have an answer but was upset about it for weeks. I have learned from my mistake and as soon as I put new pictures on the computer I copy them on the stick drive. I have two drives just for pictures and another one for documents. I haven't learned all the tricks on the new computer, but I'm trying and Adam's friend who loves Apple products is my teacher. It figures I have to turn to a teenager for help for electronics and technology.

Trying out the built in web cam

January also brought the first birthday of my great nephew, Colin. I hosted (my niece's) his baby shower surrendering my dining room table to little ducks and everything blue. He has a cute smile!

The above picture is from November and the other one is ready to have his first birthday cupcake!!! He's such a love!!

January was also the freshman/sophomore HOP, similar to Jr. Sr. Prom....that is coming soon! Emily looked way, WAY grown up (sigh, again) and of course, had to have the perfect dress.....as well as each girl did. We met at a friends house, hired a limo bus (cheaper that way), and were able to get some great pictures. Everyone met back here afterward for snacks and catching up. They had a great time!! But did you notice the girl to guy ratio is a bit off here ??? The dads noticed that of course!!

I call this his Movie Star look

A few weeks later Adam was inducted to the National Honor Society and made mom and dad extremely proud!!!! He has worked so hard for this and earned it all. He looks soooo handsome!!!

January also brought us a lot of snow and an even stronger addiction to checking email!! I diagnosed myself as having Email OCD Yes, I am addicted!!!! Just waiting for any news from our agency and or our social worker.........

Catching up, again!

2011-04-10T22:33:00.000-04:00

Yes, we are still here. We have had many, many, things happen in our house, both good and bad. More good than bad. Thank Heaven! I have so much I'd like to say, update on, and just vent about. Where to start is a good question. I guess some the happenings were before Mom passed away and I will try my best to bring our blog current. It will most likely be in a few posts. Several posts from me? That will be a shocker!! :) For those that have reached out to me privately, THANK YOU SOOO MUCH for your support and boat loads of kindness!!!!! If you have peeked at our blog, thanks for hanging in there! I have stopped by several blogs and honestly have found some comfort in reading them and as always have loved seeing pictures. I usually read them from work (via Google reader) but it doesn't let me post a comment. According to my daughter, that is a "stalker like" thing to do. Not my intention, I promise!!! Hopefully I haven't offended anyone.

My last picture was from (gasp!) Christmas 2009! Yes, 2009 so let's get started with 2010.......Snow - we had lots of snow again......so we put it to good use. Don't you just love Adam's 'snow attire'? He didn't want to wear the snow pants I found, they made him sweat. Boys! Em was just tired, and the dog, well I have no idea what he was thinking....... Chris is hiding behind our snow man, he wasn't picture happy that day.

After our spring thaw, the school events kept us very busy......Mini Model Congress, 8th grade dinner cruise, prom, dance recital, and the well earned graduation.

Emily's 8th grade Honors History Class had to write a Bill and move it through Congress. She wanted to have all children before the age of two years old fingerprinted for ID purposes and to help aid in finding misplaced children. Both Honors classes went to our State Capital, competing against other schools, just as if it was a real, true life Bill. Emily's Bill passed and become law by unanimous vote. (not legally of course, this is just an exercise)

They grow up FAST!

The eighth graders were permitted to go on a Dinner Cruise. And it's all about the dress........I was afraid to let her leave the driveway that afternoon! She was absolutely beautiful!!! She looked like she was about 18 yo. Cherish each day Mom and Dad, every memory, even every little thing like gum forgotten in the pockets of her jeans. When you reach days and events like this, you forget all the other things. She had a wonderful time and I wish I could post all of her pictures.

Adam's Jr-Sr Prom was two weeks after Emily's Cruise, so we were busy as usual. I wish I still had the rest of the pictures, but that's another story for later. He looked soooooo grown up - yep, he actually shaved his little mustache off too. His date was a lot of fun, and her dress was this interesting color, not sure what you would call it, but it looked good on her. I think they looked stunning together!!!

They don't look like Juniors in High School do they??

Dance recital was up next a few weeks after prom.........more fancy clothes!

This was dress rehearsal and they did very well. The show was sold out the first night and almost full house the second day too. That's alot of happy parents and grandparents!!!

A few weeks after dance, we moved on to 8th grade graduation.....this was pretty hard on me. She, so far, is my baby and it seemed like she was growing up soooo fast, especially over the past several months. Were did the time go???? It felt like I was just yesterday putting her on the bus for school, and lately she only wants to buy these really, (I'm not giving in on this one) REALLY high heel shoes. Parents, enjoy it all!!! When my mom told me to soak up every little thing, she wasn't kidding!!!

Yes, she made it!!!! Yep, that's Emily under all her crazy hair that day!

Well I think this post is long enough.........I will try to update more in the next couple of days.

Thanks for reading this far! :)

Sad news.....

2010-07-29T20:30:00.002-04:00

This is not the post I had originally planned. But as we all know God sometimes has other plans for us. It is very hard to type this, write this and even say the words, but I have to vent (of sorts) and I felt like this was a good place to start. It hurts very much to tell people that my Mom, by best friend, passed away recently. Heavy Sigh. Those that have followed along (Thank you for being patient and understanding for my absence!) might remember that Mom meant so much to me and we tried to do almost everything together. Man, she is missed sooooooo MUCH!!! I love you Mom!!

She had been diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and emphysema several years ago and recently she was admitted to the hospital because she was having a hard time breathing. Her heart and lungs were not playing nice together and the medicines were not helping. The doctors recommended hospice care. That was hard to hear. This was unexpected. We thought she was doing pretty good, all things considered. She recently had appointments with her doctors and things were good. Apparently God and Mom had other plans. Looking back, I know now that she was tired of struggling to breathe.

She would always talk about how she was looking forward to another grandbaby (this would be her 11th grandchild) and was so excited we were adopting from Taiwan. She wouldn't wait to see a picture, just like the rest of us are!! (Keep your fingers crossed) She wanted to travel with me to Taiwan like she did when Emily came home from China. Now she can still travel with me as my guardian angel.

My brothers and their families have all gone home (they live in GA & FL) and our Home Hotel, is oddly quiet. I had ten people here, so cleaning and feeding them kept me busy. But now I have other things to keep me busy, because my dining room table that I call my staging area is now covered with flowers, cards and so many memories of all Mom, her life, her kids, grandkids, and great grandkids, three of those too! I can't bring my self to put anything away and since we don't have any school projects going on, what's the rush, right? She trusted me with all her last thoughts and wishes. So much love and support sitting here and occasionally I stop and re-read them with the tissue box in my hand. I will do my best to make her proud.

On a happier note, I recently found out that we have moved up on the list and are a bit closer now, so that was wonderful to hear. I was able to tell Mom about it, because we found out about a week before she went into the hospital. I often wonder if it wasn't a tidbit of news she may have been waiting to hear, knowing she could pass in peace then........   I try to think that she will have a hand in sending us the perfect little baby for our family, a blessing sent right from Heaven!

I am sorry that I haven't stopped by to visit my favorite families in blog world, but I will catch up soon. Plus I have a lot of happenings I'd like to share from our home. Thanks for stopping by and listening. It felt good to "talk" about it. Please keep her wish going with lots of prayers for a blessing from Heaven.
I'm going to get more tissues!   :-)

Still here but not Online Often

2010-05-27T23:40:00.000-04:00

I haven't updated the blog since the holidays and I thought it was time to post a quick note. I received a couple of emails from other blogger friends asking about my absence and was everything OK. Honestly, I haven't had much enthusiasm to update. I've kinda withdrawn and been a bit out of sorts about our adoption. I'm usually a pretty upbeat person but the lack of adoption news, and movement as gotten me very down. I haven't checked in much, but I have left a few comments here and there. I really do enjoy reading about the fun happenings with the families I have "met" in blog world. And I LOVE to see the pictures!! I apologize if I have neglected someone in my absence. It wasn't intentional to be mean.

Our adoption has been the opposite of an adventure. An adventure would mean that something was happening. In our case, nothing has happened. We have updated our fingerprints in the fall, (not that they have changed, but rules are rules) extended our USICS paperwork, we were approved and recently updated/renewed our home study. We look great on paper and I have some good pictures too. We have hit the official two year waiting (for a referral) milestone in April, so as I type this we are going into 26 months waiting for the referral of a precious boy. I never in my wildest night mare thought we would be at this point. It has been so frustrating and worrisome. Will it EVER happen for us??? Some days I am good, focus on the kids, their projects & activities, my great husband Chris, the laundry (that never stops) and my Mom. And other days, I think Ooo, that's a great picture for the blog, or here's a funny happening from our weekend, but then I wonder if I'll ever get to post - It's a referral! Some days I feel like we are the only family still waiting for a referral. :-( So I wind up not posting anything.

This blog was to be about our Taiwan adoption and I feel like I have nothing to contribute. Nothing has happened. Please understand that I don't intend to be sad or absent, the wait is HARD!! I know some other moms have been there and gotten through, so I try to be strong and keep hoping that it will be our turn some day, SOON!

Until that day happens I will try to update the blog with more pictures of the kids. Lately alot has been going on with them and as school winds down (thankfully so does the homework) I can share what they have been doing. My dining room table, our normal staging area for projects and such, has been very busy, as usual, and it's latest project, I am VERY proud of. Our adoption file is still there waiting to be mailed, copied, and put to use, but the kids have kept it full too.

Until then, if you have stopped by, please understand my absence and frustration.
Still trying to be patient.....and hopeful

Happy Holidays!!

2010-01-03T16:53:00.029-05:00

Happy Holidays !!!!

I haven't forgotten my friends and families! I would like to apologize for not leaving a note more often. I have peeked in on alot of my favorite families over the past few months, and I give ALOT of credit to those moms who can squeeze in the time to post a note, and add a comment. Especially those who add the pictures - I always love the pictures! I've seen so many cute pictures in their scariest to the best dressed, or even just the big smiles.

As the holiday season comes to a close and the New Year begins.....I am finally making the time to update our blog. To recap the past few months, our Halloween was frightful, with many ghouls and goblins and way tooo much candy! Fortunately I work with a bunch of great people that don't mind the leftovers. Here's a peek at the girls "group".....the boys weren't waiting for anything. Sorry, no picture.Our Thanksgiving holiday starting off with hosting my niece's baby shower... there were little baby ducks and the color blue everywhere......

Everyone had a great time, Meg received some wonderful gifts and I got some great baby ideas, (now I just need the baby to put them to use, sigh). This will be her first child and we are expecting baby Colin after the first of the year. There weren't as many leftovers from this party, and I was able to clear off the dining room table to get started on Thanksgiving. For Thanksgiving we had the entire family over again. Fed about 20 people. I think I cooked 10-12 lbs of potatoes, this group loves 'em mashed! Our turkey was every bit of 20 lbs, and Chris had enough for his annual week of turkey sandwiches. Two pumpkin pies, gone. My mom was able to be here and that made my day. She doesn't get out and about alot these days, so it was really nice to have her here.

After cleaning off the dining room table again, on to Christmas. It then became the staging area for the gifts to be wrapped, mailed, and cards to be sent. While we were out and about preparing for the special day we received another blessing. One that last for several days. We were blessed to have a White Christmas here in our neck of the woods for the first time, in many, many, years. SNOW, and a lot of it. This was Saturday evening.......

This is our back deck, just before turning in for the night. Chris cleaned it off twice before this picture, and you would never know it!!!

These are taken first thing in the morning.......

The snow was as deep as the swings, almost covered and our pool looked like a giant marshmallow!

Here is an example of the rewards by feeding your leftovers to your co-workers.......

I try to think of it as a perk for working for a construction company! He was a wonderful sight coming up the street, Adam was very happy! He could retire his shovel!! :-)

A week later we STILL had all 27" of snow, making our Christmas the whitest one this area has seen in a long while!

Santa finally arrives filling the space under the tree bringing his bounty of gifts for the house to enjoy for the children have been very good.

I didn't take many pictures of the unwrapping, but no one was disappointed. (except me for not having the camera ready) Adam was blessed with a new sound system as this was a gift that will keep on giving......me a headache! :-) (Mom received a full bottle of Tylenol) The volume wars have already begun! He received a few new video games and many clothes to keep him at this fashion best. Santa was very fashion minded this year as Emily finally was able to wear the coat she spotted several weeks earlier. Santa's elves are the cleverest helpers picking things up when the Big Guy was unavailable. (Thanks to my very special elf named C !)

I tried to capture a few pictures of their gifts in motion, since I missed them that morning...Emily is always ready to smile, and she put on all of her fav's to model....the beret, the scarf, the coat and of course the matching boots.......

Adam was not so willing so, please don't mind the clutter of our basement, it's a "catch all" of things......do I hear a note for spring cleaning?

Christmas Day we had the family over again but the crowd was a bit lighter, Mom wasn't feeling her best and the weather had gotten very cold, so my requests for mashed potatoes was a little lighter. It was a fun day with the little ones running around. My youngest niece discovered that a few of Auntie Terry's stuffed animals sing! She just kept playing with them and didn't have any desire to open any gifts -

she is so cute!!

Our New Year's Eve was a very quiet day and evening. We both had to work part of the day, so we just enjoyed dinner out with my brother and sister in law and their children. As of tomorrow morning, it's back to the normal routine.....school, work, dance, bowling, homework and the busyiness that our house thrives on.

On our adoption story, we are still in wait mode. Ugg. Our I-600A renewal will be sent out tomorrow to the new address in Texas. In another couple of months, I will be updating all of our documents. In April it will be the two year mark waiting for a referral of a precious baby for our family. I am wishing and praying that we do not hit that anniversary date and we hear some wonderful news sooner!!! I have all these new baby ideas I'd like to try! Please keep us in your thoughts and maybe the new year will bring us some good news! I will be doing all of the spring cleaning earlier this year to help pass the time.

I'd like to wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year! Wishing and praying that good things come to everyone, from our house to yours!!!

Catching up.....Again

2009-10-21T19:42:00.018-04:00

WHO gets the award for the least amount of posts....? Umm, that would be ME! I have a million things I would love to update here, but time is my biggest enemy. Or I should say, the lack of time is my biggest enemy. Our days are very busy as I am sure most parents, would agree. It seems when I would like some extra time, it eludes me, but when I would like the time to pass faster, it just drags on, and on, and on, and on. So let's start there, time dragging on. Yes, we are still waiting and hoping for a referral of our sweet baby boy. It's been eighteen months now and we recently had to renew our fingerprints for USCIS. Made me wonder......my fingerprints haven't changed, and if I was going to change something, it certainly wouldn't be my fingerprints! Maybe a tummy tuck, cheek lift, something to improve, kinda thing, but hey, rules are rules so we made the trek to their office, and we have been updated. After the holidays I will submit for the I600A renewal. I never thought we would have to renew that paperwork, so I will add it to the list to update with our homestudy, dossier, and pictures. The hubby will just love that idea....(insert sarcasm) ....he doesn't like his picture taken. I'll think of some bribery tool to get it done.

Let's move on to pictures.....I love taking them, they are not always the best, but it's fun! I have a boatload of them from our trip this summer to Lake George NY and to Lake DuBay in Wisconsin. This one is at Lake George, Adam was our photographer for this shot. Beautiful place, met up with some old friends. Awesome fireworks that echoed through the mountains, really neat. Our next summer adventure took us to Wisconsin. And we drove, all the way, one and half days. Our kids are great travelers and sleepers, what a blessing. Here we spent a few days at the Wisconsin Dells, what a fun place with something for everyone. The weather wasn't the best, but we still had fun. We then headed north to Lake DuBay for our annual China Families Reunion. We have been meeting with them each year since the girls were adopted. We all met in Hong Kong as new parents to our little girls. To this day we still talk, catch up and see how much all the girls have grown. For 12 yrs now each family takes a turn hosting in or near their hometown.....we have been all over! Columbus Ohio, Wisconsin x2, Myrtle Beach SC, Memphis and Gatlinburg TN, New York City, Cape May NJ, Kansas City Missouri, Niagara Falls Canada, just to name a few. Not each family can make it each year, but we all try. There were 12 baby girls that trip to Nanchang China, and it is so much fun to see the similarities. Of the 12 girls, 9 of them are left handed, 7 participate in sports, dance or gymnastics, 5 play a musical instrument, most like to read, and 8 of the families have adopted again. Pretty Awesome, very

LARGE Group! Can you say reservations for 40 please? Heaven help the Chinese restaurant we go to at a reunion with everyone and their entire families in attendance. Some even bring the grandparents too. Here are the few that attended this year, five of the original girls, and their two little sisters. Even if some families can't make it, we still talk through the year, birthdays, holidays, or just catching up. This year all the kids got to try some fun lake sports..... Emily, her turn water skiing.

I love this smile! Not sure what he said or was saying, but he loves the water! Adam skied like a pro, until he got a little too over confident and he tried to jump the boat wake, practically split his bathing suit right up the middle and almost landed in the lake. He complained of a slight thigh/groin strain, so I told him to stay in the lake, float around for a bit, and the cool water will keep any swelling down. He was good after some rest. Ahh, boys! Gotta love 'em! We had so many great times... this is how we started our evenings.......the sun setting while we started the campfire for stories, games and roasting marshmallows.

As summer ended, we closed the season with a 70th birthday party for my mom, including my brother and his family from down south. About 35 friends and family came to celebrate Mom on her speical day. Every once in a while I still find a piece of the curling ribbon that held the balloons on the deck, needing to be cut. Chris finished the pool deck and he did a fantastic job! I called it Chris's Ark as he doubled checked each screw and measured and RE-measured each board, I don't think Noah took as much time as Chris did, LOL! :-) Adam says his dad can fix anything and I think Adam is right! We had a few parties to celebrate summer and I think I have enough plastic silverware to last two summers. Note to self ~ Buying bulk isn't always the best idea. Then it was time to head back to school. So we did all the shopping for just the right binder, shoes, so many shoes, and cool pencils. My kids think it's un-Cool to let Mom take your picture on the first day, so sorry no pictures. But I did get to watch them walk to the bus stop, only permitted if I stay on the front porch. The only one that everyone agreed on is this one.....oh my, they are growing up fast!

Next up, lots of projects for school (already finished four), plenty of driving practice, dance, concert band, and Halloween !! Oooh, spooky fun! Fall is alot of fun and there is always something going on! Finally the weather cleared up here after three days of rain, just in time to go back to work. Go figure, right? Well this weekend, we will try to find some pumpkins to decorate the front porch. Enjoy the Fall !

Busyness Keeps (us) Going ......

2009-07-28T19:28:00.035-04:00

Our June had a lot of running around, mostly the winding down of activities, and we even squeezed in a birthday with Father's Day. Emily finished up dance classes for the summer but not without a stumble this year. When you send your daughter to dance you imagine that she is learning grace, poise, and balance. This year Emily tested all those things, being over eager going to class one day, only a couple of weeks before the recital, this is what I was greeted with when I picked her up two hours later......not smiling though.

She was running up the concrete steps, tripped and scrapped both shins! Big Ouch! (Did I mention grace and balance?) She was trying not to limp when she walked, being very brave. It was worse than it looks and but Sp*ngeBob helps! She needed about 5 of those little strips to cover each scrape! Thankfully her tights covered them nicely as part of her costume. Here is one of her costumes for the show,
Pardon the background.....It was the best place to show off the costume. She is trying to be serious here; in this dance routine, the girls were to be serious, and not smile, but I kept making her giggle. She wore another outfit, totally black, very sequined and looked great on her, those pictures didn't turn out so well. I have helped out as a backstage mom for several years. So loaded with my bag of tricks, hairspray, every color of bobbie pins known to mankind, double sided tape, more bandaids, snacks and juice, I help the girls change costumes, hair pieces, and help keep them in the right order for the show. It is absolutely amazing! These girls dance in several numbers, having to change multiple times, and remember all the steps for each one. The best part is watching the younger girls look up to and learn from the older ones, and watch each one grow with confidence in them selves. I love being back there!! So much and energy and FUN !!

Dress rehearsal before the show. The theme was All Creatures Big and Small, so alot of animal prints. Reviewing places with our teacher. And this was her other teacher for jazz class - they could be sisters! Teacher M was also adopted from Korea as a little girl - another great connection! Needless to say the show was wonderful and all the girls, even the littlest ones who are sooo cute in their little tu-tu's had a great time. We start that all over again in September!

I can't forget my bestest guys..........Adam finished up his last year of baseball and tennis (for school). Adam is my hardest person to take a picture of, he doesn't like it. But while he was on the field I got him!

He looks very grown up and professional here. Oh my. It's hard to admit, but I have to look UP to see him eye to eye! He will always be my little boy playing with hotwheels on the kitchen floor, panicked when they roll under the refrigerator! Ahhh, memories. Here's my drama, lately he's looking at another type of car, this time ALOT bigger. I can't believe this part......driver's permit !! I want the hotwheels back !! (heavy sigh)

I had to face facts when his birthday came and he proudly reminded me of his new right of passage. Adam can get his driver's permit this summer. I'm still in denial!!! Probably will be until he comes home from the motor vehicle agency with the permit in hand. I know those hotwheels are in the attic somewhere, I might need them! Therapy. We had family and friends over for his favorite, ice cream cake. Mmmm, it was good too!

June brings Father's Day so I had Emily grab Chris, hoping for a group shot but Adam darted away again. Boys. I just love this picture.........
Our June ended in a very special way, compliments of the owner of the company I work for. He owns a very large boat, 70 feet of largeness. Each summer he has a few 'employee trips' and we get to bring spouses or friends along for the ride. Our evening takes place in New York Harbor. The whole night you are waited on by the crew and the staff, serving awesome food and drinks. I haven't been on this trip for many, many years and it is awesome each time! The weather was perfect, so was the company and no complaints were heard.

New York Harbor, just before the sun was setting. The captain actually took us right up to Ellis Island and the Statute of Liberty. It was sad not seeing the Twin Towers, but said a prayer for the lives lost that sad day.

Yep, going UNDER the Brooklyn Bridge as we head up the East River.

Looking down from the tower, taking a picture of Chris.......it was so cool to be up that high, the view was great!!

This was probably my favorite picture of the evening...........

Terry and Chris caught having a great time!!

In July we took a few road trips for vacation - More fun !!

Busyness Overload!

2009-07-09T22:43:00.012-04:00

I promised myself that I would do my chores before I went online tonight, and well, I just couldn't wait......I can mop the kitchen floor and clean bathrooms tomorrow, right ? Who's looking anyway? Right now everyone is in bed! I have been a good parent, good cleaning lady, cook and chauffeur but a very bad blogger. I checked a couple of blogs and found so much good news ~ I can't stay away too long ever again!

First, lets update our adoption.........ummm, sorry , no news. We are still waiting. Some days are easier than others, the kids keep me busy, but there are a few days that hit kinda hard. My only way to look at it is that I am holding the winning lottery ticket with just the right numbers on it, but no one calls my numbers yet. I am still holding my ticket, check my numbers (email) everyday and wait. It's just not our turn yet. But when they do call that magic set of numbers (preferably my cell phone) I'm sure any one west of the Delaware River will know!!

On to our busyness.......I can honestly say that I am very glad that summer is here! The end of the school year just about kicked my butt and I'm not in school anymore. The kids got a couple of big projects (each) and I felt like I was at the craft store every couple of days. But I can say proudly (yep, I'm gonna brag abit) that both kids finished with all A's in all their classes. Emily is in enrichment classes and they follow the same course line, but more in depth. Adam took three honors classes and really worked hard the past two marking periods for finals. This is a picture of Emily's 3-D plant cell, ariel view. Lots of clay (no playdough permitted), Styrofoam and each part labeled, yes, her grade was an A. This is seventh grade science class. I can tell you that as a parent, projects are a lot more fun!

OK, it's still late May, for the purpose of this post anyway and we also had three band concerts (all in two weeks), and anniversary, and a few birthdays. Emily had one concert, at school, and she plays the clarinet in the school band. I couldn't get the camera to cooperate that night, but it was good. Catchy tunes, current songs, and a cool slide show of the graduating 8th graders.

Our anniversary fell on a Thursday this year, so my wonderful husband wanted to take me out to dinner and a show. He is soo thoughtful, and an awesome Dad. who could turn him down, right ?

Well here is dinner .........

And here was our show........ Although he had the best intentions, the family and kids took priority. We did go out later that weekend for an awesome meal, grownup talk and indulged in too much dessert, so we walked it off in a kid free (no 'I'm bored' stories) trip to L*wes, talking about more outside plans. Not very romantic, but it works for us.

Our next concert was for Adam at the high school and that was .....interesting. I'm not a music buff, but the music they played was involved, and seemed hard. But it was good, really good!!
Adam plays the French Horn and the Alto Sax. Doesn't he look handsome ?? I'm a little partial, I know, Mom's privilege! :-)

Our next concert was at the Camden Riversharks game - the middle school band had the honor to play the National Anthem at opening ceremonies. Parents weren't permitted on this trip, (I would have loved to watch too ) and the school will not publicly release the pictures. I tried to add the link for the Riversharks, but it is not working for me tonight. Our band director said the kids did a fantastic job and maybe invited to play again at another game.

To wrap up our running, my neice and nephew (twins) celebrated their 4th birthday with a chilly pool party and cake! On Memorial Day ! Cool birthday huh ?

All of this fun combined with the regular Mom jobs. And June was jumping even more than May.......... :-)

I've been Surf Controlled

2009-05-15T22:27:00.020-04:00

One day last week , I get to work, normal day... go through the morning routine, getting ready to enjoy my morning cup of hot chocolate.......cautionary note: no coffee -caffeine and Terry are not a good combination; as those who know me can testify, caffeine puts me into overdrive and you would never be able to get me to stop talking...... back to the warm coco, it's quiet at work, which in itself is a true blessing. I work for a busy construction company and people are always in and out. Anywaaaay, (no, I haven't had any caffeine LOL) as I am settled in my office, I attempt to check in to Taiwan Adoption Blog world, my favorite thing to do in the morning.....I really enjoy the stories and see how other families are doing, new happenings, funny things kids do, any new adoption information or new updates with pictures ~ I really like those posts! Open the Internet, go to my Fav's and there it is.........ACCESS DENIED!!! OK, Wait, don't panic, let's try again, right ? Maybe something is just not connecting.........ACCESS DENIED AGAIN!!!! Several attempts and nothing. Same blah, tan screen. I really didn't like that screen.

It seems that while we were all snug, sleeping the night away, the IT Dept in the main office was very busy installing new surf control software!! Darn those geek guys. Although our IT guys are not really 'geeks', they are very helpful and genuinely nice guys. That day, they were getting the Stink Eye from one very disappointed adoptive mom!!! It's a good thing that their office is two and half hours away in north Jersey.

It seems that Taiwan Adoption Blogs are "Social Networking" and (in their eyes) rank right next too Facebo*k and MySp*ce. I think Taiwan Adoption Sites are better but now they are not permited on the work network.

I lost my therapy! I have been DENIED! I know what some of you might be thinking - I was at work, I am not supposed to be catching up on my personal web surfing at work. And you are right. I was taking some time to catch up. I admit it. I know that this is not a very good excuse, but with our adoption going at a snail's pace, reading other stories is therapeutic. It gives me hope and something to look forward to. I can read about hotel stays, the places to see, and as always ~ PICTURES! Thank you to the other families for allowing me to share & enjoy your stories. I wish the IT guys and the bosses felt the same way.

Another intuitive and wonderful mom, Riza, (and very supportive too) recently posted about how Moms' needs often take a back seat to the needs of their children. I am no different. Kids come first. The kids get to the computer first so I don't get a lot of computer time at home. I have "Mom things" to take care of and the evening just slips away so fast. I am guilty of sneaking a quick peek from work. And now I have been Surf Controlled!! Ugg !!

I would like to apologize in advance if I miss a new update, happy surprise, referrals or travels dates (yes, recently almost missed that post, sorry Sara). I will get to them, I promise. I have adjusted some settings on my blog, hopefully I have got them set right, and I can check them quickly. Any tips for blogs updates would be great~please share.

I am trying to look a this positively, that I will be a better employee, maybe read more news, and even try to be a better mom by asking to share the computer.

PS ~ I couldn't find a construction sign for Surf Control LOL I'll look tomorrow

55 mph or weeks ??

2009-04-29T18:48:00.021-04:00

When people see this sign they think about how fast or slow they can go, setting a pace to follow, keeping within the guide lines set...... in our case it symbolizes how many weeks we have been waiting for a referral. 55 weeks. It's certainly not speeding along. I was keeping track of the number of weeks on my desk calendar and I remember hitting 40 weeks thinking that we should be at our "due date" for being pregnant on paper. That number went by with no referral news. Now anyone involved with an international adoption will tell you to expect a few of these along the way, and we have had a couple......social worker changes, paperwork chases, etc. Hoping we would not see #50, but watched it go by, I was dreading the 52 week mark as it meant a FULL YEAR has gone by. As of this post, we are at 55 weeks of waiting for a referral. The last update I had from our agency, we were told it could take longer, (hope you are sitting) maybe as much as another 12 months, Yes, twelve, months!! Go ahead pick your jaw up, I still can't believe it. I am trying to stay up beat and positive, but some days are really hard. REALLY hard. I keep trying to tell myself I have done this before and our labor pains blessed us with two of the most wonderful children any parent could ask for. This wait is longer than theirs was. I keep telling myself "OK, I can get through this". But it's hard. I have done very, very little retail therapy because I am not sure what to buy. We haven't set up the crib yet, Christopher said it would be too hard to see it empty for now. I have to agree with him.

To explain that I am really trying to be positive, here is a chuckle for you........

The other day, Emily asked me why I looked so down, noticing the frown on my face and the fact I was so quiet. (Those that know me, quiet is not my strong suit, I'm a talker LOL) I explained about the extended time, and she asked me if I wanted any popcorn - my ultimate favorite snack!! Ahh, Comfort food. I told her no thanks, (I'm cooking dinner) and she gave me a hug. Awww, isn't she sweet? Now they say timing is everything.........Christopher and Adam walked in the door, tennis practice finished, and looking for dinner. Emily was setting the table and they asked her what was going on. With out ANY hesitation, she simply replied, "Mom needs Cymbal ta, she's down". The two of them looked at me, total shock on my face.....and then bust out laughing. They already knew about the wait time but she hadn't yet. Emily pulled a classic 'out of the mouths of babes' and Christopher, my dear husband couldn't hold it in. Adam followed. They weren't being insensitive, it was all about the timing and the interpretation of a kid. I told her she wasn't allowed to watch television anymore! Even though I am down about the time frame, I can reassure you that things like this make the day so much better, and easier so that Yes, I can get through this. With out Cymbal ta!!!!!!

On a happy note......Tomorrow I am sending our updated & now current dossier paperwork, including our approved home study (Yea!) to our agency. You never know and Just in case, maybe our newest blessing could be ready for us soon. I want to be (paperwork) ready. And unless our agency gives us a sign like this..........

I will continue to be hopeful that I will see a sign like this really, really soon ............

Thanks for listening to my venting and pity party.......sometimes those that have 'been there and did that' are the ones that can truly understand!!!!

Little girl.... not so Little anymore !

2009-04-16T18:23:00.008-04:00

Recently my little girl is trying some new things, and as a mom, you have to let them go and try, learning some life lessons along the way. Not always easy to do. Emily has graduated from things like jumping off the bed, or hanging upside down on the swing set to more "tween" things. I've gotten past the pierced ears, and lately some interesting jewelry. Nothing too crazy, just everything needs to be color coordinated and has to match the color of the day. OK, I'm good so far, remembering this from my own 'growing up'. A few weeks ago I went upstairs to put laundry away, walked past the bathroom and found her trying different shades of eye shadow - they were really bright too. Her explanation for the array of vivid colors, "so people can see them". (My first thought was from space ?? But I kept quiet) I explained that less is usually better with makeup...she was alright with that idea, washed her face and went on to try more colors, browns and tans. OK, still good after that. Mental note to my sister - NO more eye shadow kits for Emily. Her latest idea was all her own and I caught some grief about this, but this was something she wanted to do. Again, letting her try something new.............here is the before shot

She has ALOT of hair and has been growing it like this since she came home, so other than, small trims here and there, this is how long it's gotten in 13 yrs. Absolutely beautiful hair!!!! I always envied her because I loved her long, dark, thick, beautiful hair.......me, I'm the TOTAL opposite of her, blonde hair and blue eyes. Well, HOLD on to your seat, this is what she wanted to try.............not for the weak at heart

My little girl doesn't look so little here !!!! She cut off 11 inches of her hair. She donated it to an organization that uses donated hair to make hair pieces and wigs for cancer patients called Locks of Love. This was all her idea, and as her mom, I can't say enough how proud I am of her. She told me when I asked repeatedly 'Are you sure?" (I guess I needed to be sure more than she did) She told me that she wanted to help someone else, more than she wanted the hair, and her hair would always grow back. All I could do was smile, hold back my tears, hug her and make an appointment to cut her hair. Grandmom wasn't as pleased with Emily's decision, but as a parent, you have to let them try. She looks so grown up !! Christopher and I decided that she cannot combine the eye shadow and this new cut until she is about 25 yrs old. :-) I know this was not an easy decision for her and was tough on me too. So other moms and dads, cherish your little girls while you can ~ because while you are doing laundry, they are growing up really, really, really fast!!!! Hide the make up!!

She has a birthday coming up and has decided she wants a Chinese themed party - so now I am off to search for ideas for a group of girls, just becoming teenagers.....Open to suggestions and ideas.

Catching up !

2009-04-05T19:30:00.010-04:00

Ahhh, allergy season. I have been out of blog world for several days....read a few, not much else. I've been sick and really only the 'have to' things were finished. Well, I'm feeling better, so I sent everyone outside to play basketball, even sent the dog outside too, so I could update our blog. Mom took over the computer ! :-)
First, I am feeling better, and Mom is still doing well too. Knock on wood!!
Second, On the Adoption front, we had our last visit with our super awesome SW, she was here last Sunday morning for several hours! Yes, on Sunday. I still can't believe she was here on Sunday. She completed the rough draft and it was emailed to me for review by Monday afternoon. Here's where I dropped the ball....I wasn't feeling well, trying to proof read, and cold medicine kicking in wasn't a good a combination. I did get it finished, and emailed her back. As of Friday afternoon, it was going to the agency for their approval. Yes!! Now if we could only get a referral .......(heavy sigh)
Finally, and I think will really show my age, (don't laugh) but while I was looking for information for the HS & the SW, I came across some dates that I thought were interesting.......so I thought I would share and we could all enjoy a chuckle or gasp.

This is for Adam's adoption ~ adoption application sent in to agency 10-09-93

accepted referral of our handsome little boy 09-13-94

picked up at LaGuardia Airport, NYC HOME!! 01-12-95

adoption finalized in NJ 10-16-95

Cost of I-600A filing with INS (USCIS now) $ 140.00 gasp LOL

and your fingerprints were done at the local police dpt.

*** We waited almost a year for his referral and only 4 months for him to come home. This program was really new when we did this so we were pioneers for Vietnam and still send in yearly updates & pictures via the agency to reassure the government the children are doing well. That is a fun letter to write, free reign to brag

as a proud mom! LOL ***

This is for Emily's adoption ~ adoption application sent in to agency 11-10-95

dossier to China, total of seven sets of everything 08-25-96

letter of delay- restructure of the process 10-05-96

accepted referral of our beautiful daughter 08-12-97

leave for China (normal 4-6 weeks after referral) 09-17-97

placed in my arms in Nanchang, Jiangxi Prov., China 09-23-97

go through customs in WA, fly to PA/NJ HOME !! 10-23-97

adoption finalized in NJ 10-15-98

cost of I-6ooA filing with INS $ 155.00 (not bad increase)

*** We waited 50 weeks for her referral and had only 4 weeks to get packed and last minute things completed. We were delayed in processing of our referral because of the system was beginning to send everything to Beijing for processing. The local government processed your paperwork until this change. The "normal" referral time was "few months" based on what babies were available. I'm not sure how things are processed now. ***

My, how the time lines and the costs have changed!!! We have been waiting for ONE YEAR now and still have nothing to report for update regarding the timeline. Honestly, some days I feel like it is NEVER going to happen. The kids remind me in subtle ways that "when the baby comes home" this or that will change. I try to be positive, but once in a while, it gets hard. I know other families have been waiting as long or longer that we have, I give you credit. Maybe I need a new hobby to help pass the time.

One visit complete - One more to Go!

2009-03-26T10:18:00.008-04:00

We had out first visit with our new social worker and she is GREAT!! (Why didn't I call them in the first place 16 months ago I'll never know?? ) It went very well.....we answered all of her questions, including the kids. She answered a few of our own questions. She took notes and added them to the folder she had, full of our life on paper and in pictures. Here's the best part - she makes weekend visits!!! I have never heard of that before. Has anyone ever had weekend visits?? Yes, she will be back over the weekend for our last visit to wrap this up, and hopes to have the first draft sent to our agency by early next week. Someone pinch me! I've found my social worker angel, sent from Heaven and Holt. Thank you !!!

Now if we could only receive a referral.......wishing for a referral, wishing for a referral!

Home Study & Update

2009-03-23T14:13:00.009-04:00

It has been a very busy two weeks!! I wasn't sure if I could really get this all finished, but I have addressed or completed every form that our new social worker has asked for, and proudly, in record time! Our biggest hang up was with the doctor's offices - they took the longest to complete their forms. I have already spoken to our social worker (she called over the weekend-can you believe that?) and our first meeting is on Wednesday, in two days! They are moving at an awesome pace to help us get this completed and submitted to our placement agency so we do not skip a beat with Taiwan! I still can't believe that all this happened, and but it is working out so well. I knock on every piece of wood I touch these days! I'm not leaving anything to chance.

Now if we could just get a referral, that would be icing on the cake !!!
Speaking of cake, tomorrow is my husband's birthday.....wouldn't that be an awesome gift if I could tell him,

"Happy Birthday Honey, & Congratulations ~ It's a Boy!"

Ahhh..... to Dream (and hope and pray and cross your fingers and toes and wish on every star)! Imagine the different ways to tell him, on the cake, in a card, on a note wrapped in a box......hmmm.....???? :-)

Homestudy Update~NO! Homestudy DO OVER!

2009-03-12T10:29:00.016-04:00

We have some adoption news, not the best, but thankfully we have turned it around, and hopefully this does not affect any other families. I wanted to give a heads up, just in case anyone else is using this agency for a social worker. Now that I've panicked, cried and calmed down, this is long, (sorry about that), but here goes.....

We are waiting for a referral, it has been 48 weeks, or 11 months since we were added to the "Wait List", officially Pregnant on Paper. Our placing (adoption) agency sent an email a few weeks ago, saying it was time to get the home study updated. Figured this was coming because of the extended wait time. No problem. Started calling the social worker. After 6+ messages and several emails, over about two weeks time, I still hadn't gotten any reply, in any form. Worry, panic and a few other emotions started to creep in. I left every possible phone number, and email address I have and still NOTHING! What could be going on ??? Was she on vacation, were her kids sick?? No answer was more stress being added to the existing stressful & bad week I was having....my mom was admitted to the hospital again (emphysema & pneumonia), dealing with the doctors and family updates for her, then two lengthy and involved projects due (a day apart) for the kids, and to make it even more fun, the construction company I work for started to remodel the office, with no place quiet to hide, talk or make calls. I just wanted the SW to call me back and something to go as planned. Nope. Nada. Zip. (heavy sigh)

Our social worker works from a satellite office in NJ but the main office is in Maryland. At the time we used them last year, she took every bit of SIX months to complete our homestudy. (no joke) Comparing other agencies this should have only taken about 6-8 weeks. When I was given this agency's name, I was "cautioned" to 'keep after her, she needs reminders'. This office worked with Taiwan and the placing agency, OK, great. Thought no problem, I work with accounts receivable for a living, so I'm always reminding some one to pay, I can do that. Boy, I had noooo idea how many reminders she needed until it was happening or not happening. So when we were asked to provide an update, I knew I'd better get after her, hoping this doesn't take a long time again. (note: she is a nice person but had outside issues to 'deal ' with that had nothing to do with our homestudy, at that time, once committed & paid, we were at her mercy) After no replies, and a stressful week, I kicked into collection mode and called their main office located in Maryland. I left at least three messages for their executive director. On the last message I think the overload & stress came out by telling them how unprofessional this organization was and I couldn't believe I haven't heard anything back. I also left a desperate, but stern message for the social worker in NJ. Good or bad, please just call me back!! The NJ SW finally called me back, two days after the mean message to the director, telling me she received a call from her boss (about my call). Finally, I thought, progress. The SW proceeded to tell me that she was laid off from her agency approx. 4 weeks ago, but she didn't get to finish or send a list of other agencies to help or to contact. She offered to do a "quickie update, shouldn't take but more than a couple of weeks" if I'd like. Translation, I'm thinking I'm looking at least a month for an update (based on last year).....I didn't think an update should take too long, swell, nothing changed. Here's the best part, then she explained that the main office has decided NOT to renew their license, expiring in June 2008, in NJ. Tears building fast........

So even if I accepted her offer, the homestudy wouldn't be valid for long, nor would she be able to do the post placements once we received a referral. All I wanted to do at this point was cry!!! Tears are coming big time.....So I hid in the conference room, closed the door and cried. Overload set in and it all caught up. About half an hour later, I washed my face, grabbed pen and pencil, and back to the conference room I headed. I called our adoption agency, explained the drama and asked the 'what now?' question. They were great, very supportive and helpful. Home Study DO OVER!

Now armed with the decision that it would be best to find another agency for the homestudy and post placements, and re-assured that we wouldn't loose any time with them for a referral, I made several calls. I couldn't trust this SW anymore and my gut was telling me to RUN! We decided to use Holt International, (the same agency we used for Adam & Emily's adoptions), and felt very good that they weren't going to be closing any time soon. Holt sent me documents to complete via email that afternoon and they were completed and returned ASAP. Don't you just love Fedex!! Our fingerprints (yes, we have to do them over too, they are non-transferable) are updated and submitted too. Hopefully the State of NJ doesn't get too concerned as to WHY we are in the system again and again ! :-) Holt didn't think that getting an update done in a few weeks was a problem, we plan to meet our new social worker, next week. My prayers were answered, Thank you God and Double Amen!!!

My first call to the unreliable SW was on February 16th and I only rec'd ONE return call from her and that was on March 5th. As of today I still haven't gotten a call back from the Executive Director (boss) in Maryland. I'm not expecting to at this point, probably because I put it out there due to overload or honesty. I am shocked that they do business like that. I would have gotten fired if I didn't follow up with my customers !! Who is the wonderful agency you ask (sorry for the sarcasm) ........We used World Child International Adoption, based in Maryland. I am not the kind of person to talk bad about anyone, but I felt that there maybe other families would want to know. An agency cutting back while you are waiting is a horrible thing to deal with. I hope that anyone who is currently using them has a better situation that we did. I cannot speak for everyone associated with this agency, but I feel better that we will not be using this office or SW in NJ.

Now that my tears have dried, my blood pressure has come back down, our new homestudy is underway, my mom is home, doing much better, and the kids projects both received A's, (Awesome job kids!!!) I can honestly say that I have the best husband and family.... they put up with my grumpiness and tears, helped with my mom and helped around the house so together we got through this tough couple of weeks. God answered my prayers by giving me strength and a great family!! I hope that I haven't upset anyone by posting this, because I try not to post anything negative, I guess it was an awareness and venting moment!

I am trying to be optimistic for a referral soon and for final rulings for some other waiting families, saying my prayers, crossing my fingers and toes for Good News Soon!!!

Thanks for listening :-)

PS - At work, the construction is still going strong, up to remodeling the bathrooms now, Dust is everywhere !
Ahhhh, Spring cleaning :-)

Snow ~ 10" of snow !

2009-03-08T22:43:00.005-04:00

On a previous post, I talked about the little bit of snow we recently had.......

we really don't get alot of snow here so I thought that was our dose for the season,

Ummmm, NO !

Well I spoke too soon or jinxed myself because this is what we got last Sunday

into Monday morning!

10" of the fluffy white stuff ~ EVERYWHERE!!!

Emily is layered up to stay warm and dry under all those clothes!

I think I will stick to WISHING for SPRING !!

Someone must have heard me because we had a wonderful warm weekend,

perfect tease for SPRING !!!

Hope there are many more warm days ahead!!

Suggestions Wanted Please

2009-02-13T19:28:00.007-05:00

I am asking for your suggestions, opinions and experiences.....good and/or bad! While we are still waiting for a referral, I have taken to cleaning; cleaning out closets and basements. I ran out of closet's here and did the basement after the holidays so I've moved on to Mom's house. She's got a lot too! I've become a regular at our local Goodwill donations center, so much that my accountant now gives me the stink eye when I hand over the receipts - I'm not worried, he's young, he will get past this.
Here's my question....Does anyone have any experience or preference to using EBay or Craig's List for selling bigger items? A few people have suggested selling some things on line. I have a computer desk, a couple of pieces of exercise equipment, an air hockey table, a lot of out door holiday decorations, things like that. It's too cold here to have a yard sale and I'm running of room to 'store' things waiting for the weather to get warmer. I have gotten raised eye brows from Chris because I have taken up a corner in the garage. I have been to each site but wanted some other input. I thought some blogger input would help. Please let me know what you think, if you have ever used these sites, which do you like better, etc. Both of my B-I-L's use EBay, but Craig's comes recommended by some co-workers too.
If we don't get a referral soon, I might have to post an ad for basement & closet cleaning! LOL

SNOW!

2009-02-04T10:20:00.004-05:00

Our back yard

Neighbor down the street - his vineyard

We have SNOW! Actually measurable in inches this time!! Some of you are thinking "it's just snow", right ? Well snow doesn't always happen or even stick to the ground where we live, we are too close to the coast and it usually turns to rain. So I'm a little excited about that. I took some pictures early this morning - so peaceful outside, just the puppy and myself. Chris already left for work and the kids were still sleeping. The kids had a 2 hour delay for school to start so they got to sleep in a little extra.

Our puppy ~ Sanford

Which turns out very well because we were up late finishing another project with Emily. She had to make a college brochure~ started as each student picked a college, then had to research it, gathering a boatload of facts, course studies, costs, campus, etc. and then had to make a brochure, using pictures, school colors and facts to "sell" your college in an oral presentation. Sounds like fun, but it was a lot of work (and not a lot of notice, less than a week) and she did a great job, I hope she gets a good grade. All of this for seventh grade honors English class, I hope I survive this class, but Emily does really well.

My heavy sleeper Adam woke in a panic this morning thinking he over slept. When he realized how much snow there was, he was disappointed he didn't go out side last night to play, he went to bed early. Ahh, the priorities of a teenager ! Sleep, play and food. He was tired and needed the rest because he started high school baseball training last week so I guess he needed to catch up on sleep. But baseball season is upon us and that means spring is on the way !! YES!!!

Gottcha Day 14 mos. to 14 yrs. ...... 01-12-95 !!

2009-01-12T22:02:00.009-05:00

This is Adam's assignment picture given to our social worker from his orphanage director.

He is fourteen months old here. Fourteen months to fourteen years...........

Gottcha Day fourteen years ago.........I was in LaGuardia Airport in New York, waiting for the delayed arrival of my son, Adam, coming in from Hanoi, Vietnam. His plane was delayed due to fog, coming from the west coast where he went through immigration, so we went anyway and waitied for over 5 hours. Some of our family in the New York City region brought us deli sandwiches and we had an airport picnic. Things were different then...we were permitted to wait at the gate with our greeter and family. Today families have to travel to Vietnam, a couple of times I believe.

As I write this tonight, it is so different as our family is waiting again. This time for a referral for another son from Taiwan. I know that some of your are probably scratching your heads thinking that is a huge span in age, yes, you are right, but we love kids and the time is right!!

This is Adam one week after he came home on January 12, 1995. Today he is still a happy kid, very tall, and into computers & baseball. Below is my handsome young man, going to the sophmore (HOP, equal to the Jr./Sr. prom for underclassmen). We are very proud of him, even though he is typical teenage boy soild through!!

We Love Him !!

Since we don't have our referral to talk about, I thought I would share a glimpse into our current family as we wait. Helps pass the time.

Our daughter's Gottcha Day isn't until September...maybe I can squeak that in early :-)

We would love to hear from other waiting families too !

Catching up.....Finally !!

2009-01-06T18:04:00.005-05:00

The kids are doing homework, all the appliances are fed & running, my husband is out taking care of a couple errands, even the dog is sleeping ~ it's my turn to catch up!!! Finally !! I started this blog at a very busy time of year (poor planning there) and hosting the holidays for two large families took up a lot of time. Everything is cleaned up and tucked away until next year. It's kinda sad to pack up the decorations, but I know, that we will take them back out in less than a year! The holidays are one of our favorite times of the year, and a great excuse to bake & indulge in lots of cookies! Our holiday was filled with a lot of love and fun times. My mom, even did pretty good. (Note: My mom can't get around like she used to and is on oxygen 24/7---emphysema. She has her good days and her struggle days, but still holds her own.) My niece had her baby about a month ago so it was her first Christmas, and of course her Great Aunt Terry (yes, I'm a GREAT Aunt already ugg!) bought her the cutest outfit. I didn't have time to take a picture, the ham needed my attention, then she fell asleep. :-( But Emily got to feed her a bottle.

On the adoption front, nothing new. Big frown here. We are still waiting. When we started this journey, I really had hoped that we would have received a referral by now. I was given the impression (in not so many words) that things were moving along 'pretty good'. We have been on the "official" waiting list since April 2008. I know that some other families have been waiting longer than that. I give all of you a boatload of credit ~ what 's your secret ??? I'm not trying to sound worse off than anyone else in our position, but this adoption, (#3) seems to really be a test of paitence!?!?! Some days are easier than others and as the new year begins, I am really trying to turn my paitence into a stronger Faith. In a weird twist, I had to return a few things for Mom the other day....while waiting my turn, being patient of course, I looked around and saw a display of wall plaques, the one that caught my eye, read like this.....

Faith.....is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

Is that a sign or WHAT !???!?!?! I was on the right road!! Guess who bought that sign and another titled Family .....yep, that was ME !!! I proudly hung them on the wall in my kitchen that evening, when in doubt I can look there, and then check the adoption blogs of course! :-) I feel better now! Gotta go check some homework........

Our New Blog !

2008-12-07T22:00:00.003-05:00

Hi, My name is Terry and this is our new blog. Ta Da !! We are a busy family of four, in the process of adopting from Taiwan, to be five !! I explain to others that I have three children, my smallest child, Emily, (12) adopted from China, my medium child, Adam, (15) adopted from Vietnam, and my largest child, Christopher, my husband. :-) We are patiently waiting for a baby boy from Taiwan. We have been on the waiting list for about eight months now. Based on some other blogs I've read, it looks like we have a few more months to go, and go and go and go!! (heavy sigh) Well if that's God's plan, that's what will be.

We are a waiting family with For Every Child (our agency) and if there are any other waiting families, I'd love to hear from you. Some days it feels like you are afloat at sea, with no land in sight, so to find another ship at sea would be great !! Feel free to comment and share your story or blog.

I am really new at this "blogging" thing, so I am open to comments, updates, and suggestions. This blog is very basic and as I read and learn (and when mom can get her computer time in) I try to catch up on the happenings for a few other blogs and sites to revise, update and expand. I'm not even sure I have all the settings right or flagged correctly, so if something is not readable - just let me know. Thanks for reading about us - I hope to update more this week.