Out of review, so NOW what??

This post is for family and non-waiting parent friends who aren't quite sure what it means to be out of review and what comes next.

First, a little adoption terminology lesson:

CCAA - China Center of Adoption Affairs is the government agency in China who oversees the adoption program.

Dossier - Fancy name for our adoption file, which is basically filled with the blood, sweat & tears of six months worth of paperchasing (not to mention all our hopes and dreams).

LID - Log in Date - this is the date our dossier was logged into the database at the CCAA (our LID is 2/17/06).

Review Room - this is were the CCAA reviews all the paperwork in our dossier to make sure everything is in order and complies with their guidelines.

Matching Room - this is were the CCAA actually matches you to an available child in their system (it's a total mystery how they actually do the matching, although there are theories out there).

Referral - this is the paperwork on the child they have matched you with and includes photos and medical information. Referrals are issued once a month.

TA - travel approval - this means that an appointment has been made in China for your adoption to be finalized and they are authorizing you to travel.

Since our dossier has been reviewed already, it is basically in a HUGE stack of files waiting to go into the matching room.

I don't know at what point our dossier goes from the holding area to the matching room, but I suspect that once they are almost done matching January LID's the February dossiers will be heading in.

This is the matching room...the place where all the magic happens and they match us to a precious baby waiting for a family.

How long will it be until we get our referral?? Well, if I had a crystal ball I could answer that for you, but no such luck! The CCAA has been issuing about two weeks of LID's each month and they have issued referrals for LID's up to October 13th. If they maintain this pace, we are likely to see our referral in Sept/Oct. If they speed up, it could be sooner. It's a monthly waiting game to see how many dossiers the CCAA gets through.

Well, that's that in a nutshell. This waiting game has been our life for the past year and it appears we have another eight months or so to go! Fasten your seatbelts, it may be a bumpy ride! ;)

Finally out of REVIEW!!

I'd been checking the CCAA website all day and nothing. Then I get home this evening, log onto my e-mail and I had about six messages from bloggy friends letting me that we're OUT OF REVIEW!!!




I quickly switched over to CCAA and sure enough just when I wasn't looking, it's updated!! They have reviewed through March 22nd, well past our February 17th LID.

I was surprised at my reaction when I saw the update...tears of joy! If I'm already crying over this milestone, I can't imagine my reaction when we finally get our referral.

Congrats to all my bloggy friends with February and March LID's!! We're in the home stretch now!

Keep your fingers crossed...

that the CCAA will update the "reviewed through" date on their web-site when they update the referral date. Rumor is that referrals are on their way and may start arriving at agencies this week.

The CCAA hasn't updated the reviewed through date since NOVEMBER 3RD, when they updated that they had finished the review of dossiers logged in up to January 31, 2006. Since our log in is 2/17/06, we don't even know for sure if our dossier has been reviewed. We can assume it has since it's been SO long since the last update, but who the heck knows.

Gee, it sure would be nice to officially AT LEAST be through review before our one year LID anniversary!!! I don't want to be a downer, but this is SOOOO discouraging!

First shoes for Lauren...

We were at an outlet mall today and picked up these adorable little Nike sandals for Lauren. Since we have about six months of Summer here in Arizona, she should get some good use out of these. They were on clearance for $8.00!












I also picked up these cute (but not so little) Skechers for me.

Life on hold? Not anymore! Care to join me?

Some of you have posted about the wait feeling like life on hold. I totally agree. It seems like life revolves around when we get Lauren. The ironic part is that we have NO idea when that will actually be. To me the hardest part about the waiting is not knowing when it ends. I think some people feel that if they were in our shoes they would just forget about it until the referral comes. Nope, no way. That's just not how it works. Imagine being pregnant, but you just don't know when you'll give birth... might be 9 months, or 12, or maybe 18...you won't know until labor starts.

Well, I've decided to take Christie's advice and LIVE life instead of circling in this holding pattern.

First thing on the agenda is a GIRLS TRIP to Disneyland, the official happiest place on earth (we can all use some happy right about now)!! This includes any waiting mommas, mommas back with their kiddos, and friends. The trip would be this coming Spring...maybe April. So far, Lisa, Heather, and Laura are in. How about you?

If you're interested, leave a comment or e-mail me. I'll add everyone interested to an e-mail list and we can "chat" later about the details.

I think this may be just what the doctor ordered! I've been on two trips already to meet bloggy friends in both Philly and Utah. I'm shy, so I really had to give myself a HUGE push to go, but I'm SO glad I did...both trips were great!

ABC's of me...

A - available or taken: Taken and very happy
B- best friend: Two closest friends...Linda Marie and Jennifer
C- cake or pie: Cake, chocolate please!
D- drink of choice: Starbucks cinnamon mocha...yum!
E-essential item you use everyday: Laptop computer
F-favorite color: Warm colors...cranberry red, mossy green, buttery yellow
G-gummy bears or worms: Neither, but if they were dipped in chocolate, then maybe.
H-hometown: Queens, NY
I-indulgence: Pedicures
J-January or February: February, since our LID is Feb. 17th!
K-kid's names: Only furbabies right now - Addy & Lucy
L-life incomplete without: My hubby, friends and family
M-marriage date: March 12, 1993
N-number of siblings: One younger, but much taller brother, Jim
O-oranges or apples: Love fresh squeezed orange juice
P-phobias or fears: Fear of flying and I HATE roaches...EWWW!
Q-favorite quote: A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference...Winnie the Pooh
R-reason to smile: My furbabies ALWAYS make me smile
S-season: Spring...everything is new.
T-tag 3 people: Anyone who wants to play, add a note in the comments
U-unknown fact about me: I let my cereal get mushy in the bowl before I eat it, especially raisin bran
V-veggie I don't like: Eggplant
W-worst habit: I worry excessively
X-xrays: Ultrasounds and CTscans...more than I want to count over the past 5 years
Y-your favorite food: Duh...chocolate
Z-zodiac: Leo

11 months today and a new blog look...

We have been LID for 11 months today!

It's hard to believe we've been waiting almost a year now and it's been 17 months since we submitted our adoption application.

I converted to the new version of Blogger and finished my new blog look this afternoon. The only major problem I have since the conversion is that a lot of my post comments are now showing as anonymous when they weren't anonymous before! This bothers me because now when I look back I can't tell who said what.

I'm hoping this problem won't continue from this point forward and that it only affected past comments. I'll be finding out soon enough!

Make the switch...

I guess the switch over to the new version of Blogger is inevitable, but I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has already made the switch. Did the conversion go smoothly? Did you have any problems with your template formatting? Are the new features worth making the switch now?

Oh happy day!!

Nancy and Brian have Lily!!!

Check out their family of three photo...they couldn't look any happier or prouder to be Lily's momma and baba. I love the photo of Nancy resting with Lily sleeping on her chest...how sweet is that! I can't wait for them to get back home with Lily so we can meet her!

Congratulations, you three make a beautiful family!!

Lauren's First Toy!

Joe and I were at HomeGoods this morning, which is basically like TJ Maxx's home decor section on steroids. They have a great little section with kid's stuff...mostly bedding and cool nursery decor.

Tucked in behind some other stuff we spotted this. It's just the perfect height for a toddler to stand at and play. This is the very first toy we've purchased for Lauren and I think it's pretty darn cool.

I'm not totally sure kids still like to play with these, but I was having fun with it. We can give it a test run when Nancy comes home with Lily.

Lots of visitors...

Oh my gosh, I just noticed today that I have over 50,000 hits on my little adoption blog!

Back in August 2005 when Joe and I first sat down to complete our application for adoption, I started surfing the web figuring I might be able to get a few questions answered. I had absolutely no idea what I would find. I got my questions answered and SO much more!

I saw a post on a discussion board about an adoption "blog" and I had no clue what the heck it was, but a couple of clicks later I was hooked and not long after I had this blog up and running. I figured it would be a great way to keep out of state family updated on what's going on with the adoption. I figured I'd make occasional updates over the next 6-8 months (ha,ha) and then we'd be traveling to China to bring Lauren home.

It's hard to believe that was 17 months ago and even harder to believe that we have at least 8 more months of waiting if the monthly CCAA batches don't increase.

I am so thankful for the friendships I've started since I've been blogging. It has been incredible watching friends go off to China and being able to follow along on their journey...us waiting parents live for this stuff because it makes this experience seem all the more real until we are able to bring our child home.

This and that...

Our friends and local FCC family, Nancy and Brian, are leaving early tomorrow morning for China! It's hard to believe that by tomorrow night they will be in Hong Kong. They will hold Lily for the very first time on Monday. Their dream of being parents is finally coming true...and they will make the most incredible parents! Nancy and Brian, our prayers will be with you and Lily over the next two weeks. I can't wait to see the first photo of the three of you as a family!

I've been a little lazy about posting lately, but I have a few photos I wanted to share. First, over Christmas I got a couple of cute ladybug things. My friend, Linda Marie, gave me this adorable pin set...


and this cute little lady made of almond paste.


Oh, and for Addy and Lucy, doggie fortune snookies. I especially like the one that says cats are not chew toys...that one's for Lucy. ;)


I was having lunch out at a Chinese restaurant with a friend and some of her family and the waiter gave her granddaughter these chopstick helpers.


You attach them to your chopsticks to make giant tweezers which are really easy to use. I think I need these for China! ;)

CNN show...

Joe and I watched Paul Zahn's Now on CNN this past Friday evening and were totally disgusted with her coverage of the CCAA's guideline changes and the discussion she lead with her panel of three. I'm not sure if you happened the catch the show, but if you did you were probably equally insulted by it. I found myself actually yelling at the TV screen...that's how worked up I was listening to the panel discussion.

They showed a short video piece with a CNN correspondent in China talking about the recent changes. They focused on just certain changes including the body mass index limit of 40, no more singles, no anti-depressant drugs, the income level change, and that prospective parents can't have facial deformities (which they twisted into sounding that only beautiful people need apply). After the video piece, they spoke to a female attorney who works on weight-discrimination cases and wrote a book on this topic. She spoke about how unfair the new body mass index limit is and made absolutely no valid points.

At this point, Paula Zahn turns it over to the panel including one female (Maldonado) and two men (Cenk Uygur and Roland Martin) who turn the entire idea of Chinese adoption into a sickening racial debate. Here's the transcript of the panel discussion from CNN's website.

ZAHN: Obviously the Chinese government is making it clear it wants to be more selective will prospective parents, it wants to place these children in the best family environment it can. Isn't that justified?

MALDONADO: Absolutely. I think we all know that China is a sovereign country. It has the right to place whatever restrictions on foreigners who are seeking to adopt their children that it wants. And adoption is really about supply and demand, and the reality is that there are many more Americans, many more Westerners seeking to adopt children from China than there are children available so the Chinese government can decide to do whatever it wants.

MARTIN: OK, why? What's the big deal with Chinese children? Enlighten me, please, help me out.

ZAHN: You understand this better than anybody. Why don't we see more Americans adopting black foster children?

MARTIN: That's my point. What's the big deal with Chinese children? Why the infatuation?

ZAHN: You think it's something with the color of their skin? Is that what you're driving at?

MARTIN: Maybe they think they can adopt a smart kid that is going to grow up to be a doctor? I don't know. They need to realize that's called training, not just inherent, it will happen when they're born.

Angel, help me out.

MALDONADO: Absolutely. This is something I've been looking into for a long time. Americans have this love affair with girls from China. There is this belief, this perception, irrational as it might be that if you adopt a little girl from China, she's going to be intelligent, she's going to be more lovable.

MARTIN: Like the porcelain doll.

MALDONADO: We definitely see that idea of the beautiful Chinese little girl, as compared to do, they really want to adopt a black boy.

ZAHN: What difference does it make if the prospective parent has a facial deformity and the prospective parent weighs 70 more pounds than the scale says they should weigh.

UYGUR: I love the idea of them weighing people. All right. So you know, first of all, okay, so gay parents are out. That's a clear rule, but then also Dennis Hastert's out because he's way too fat. They put him on the scale, sorry. But I'd probably be out.

I don't know, maybe I'd have to go on an exercise regimen, to do the body mass indexes they pinch you in all of these different places.

ZAHN: You can fake it, suck it in.

UYGUR: Not me.

MARTIN: Paula, you raise the question - China, first of all, they do have the right to do it, but the flipside is what is the infatuation by Americans and other foreigners when it comes to adopting Chinese children? That is a real issue there, and why do we avoid other children and not just -- children who are here in America, who are looking for homes, and who just like Chinese orphans want a nice place to live.

ZAHN: But realistically, how are you ever going to change that bias?

UYGUR: I think a lot of people are looking for Muslim children these days.

ZAHN: Yeah, right.

UYGUR: Because we started the Iraq war and there's so many orphans. I'm sure they're getting a lot of Iraqi children, right? No, of course, they think it's cute and they're smart and it's really dumb, actually, of course. Roland's right, it's all in the training and it's a shame because all over the world there's other kids that need to be adopted especially in Africa, but for once, the celebrities are doing the right thing there trying to foster that.

MARTIN: Call the queen of Africa, Angelina Jolie. She can hook you up.

MALDONADO: I think what we need to do is we need to break down some of the misconceptions. For example, people believe if they're adopting a child from China, the child is going to be healthier than a child they adopt in the United States and that is just not true. Even if the child is born ...

ZAHN: It defies logic. The quality of the medical care many of these kids have suffered through the first several months of life.

MARTIN: What also ignores logic is that China is having an explosion when it comes to obesity as well so maybe they should start their own million pound challenge like we started in Chicago to deal with Chinese folks who don't want to have overweight kids.

ZAHN: What are some of the other assumptions you think people in America make about the native intelligence of children based on whether you're Hispanic - We had a guest on the other night when you were with us suggesting that Hispanic parents don't take education as seriously as some other sets of our population. There's a very complicated picture here.

UYGUR: And America is changing and some of the assumptions are going to change because of that. What really happens isn't of course that Asians are smarter. Immigrant families foster a culture where they work hard and emphasize education so Jewish families went through that, Asian families went through that. But now Eastern European families are coming and doing the same thing and African families are coming and doing the same thing. So I can't wait for 10, 20 years down the line, everybody's like I've got to have an African child. Because they're all geniuses.

MARTIN: Remember, those are learned traits that you learn based upon how you have been raised.

UYGUR: Of course.

MARTIN: You are simply not born, hey that, kid will have a great work ethic because they were born to an immigrant family. It simply doesn't work that way because you got some lazy immigrant families. What do you think the assumptions Americans make about kids of Asian descent even here in America, they'll work hard, they'll own their store someday.

UYGUR: They'll be brilliant.

ZAHN: All right. Hispanic ...

MALDONADO: Well the idea about Hispanic kids, it's sort of mixed. I think the stereotypes about Hispanic kids are both positive and negative. They believe that Hispanic kids are likely to work harder than black kids, but they also believe that they're not going to be as intelligent as Asian kids.

ZAHN: Muslim kids.

UYGUR: They're going to grow up to be violent.

Who is adopting a Muslim kid? Has anyone adopted a Muslim kid in the last 20 years in America?

MARTIN: You've got somebody sitting there saying, keep the Muslim kid out of chemistry class. Keep them away.

ZAHN: How about black kids?

Do you think the average American out there makes the assumption they'll be lazy and never make it through high school?

MARTIN: I think they probably assume they're going to sing for them like Jay Z and play like in the NBC.

ZAHN: Anybody would love to have Jay Z's career.

MARTIN: I'd rather have Bob Johnson's. He's a billionaire and Jay Z isn't.

ZAHN: Thank you, Roland Martin, Solangel Maldonado. Thank you, all. Appreciate your time.

From what I understand, CNN received an outpouring of e-mail from the adoption community after this show aired and for this reason they are revisiting this subject again this evening. This time they are supposed to have actual adoption experts to discuss the subject...what a novel idea! Why they didn't have a panel of adoption experts to begin with is beyond me.

I'll be watching this evening and I really hope that they set the record straight. As a waiting adoptive parent, I am sickened by the idea that Americans would adopt from China so that we can have a super smart, extra beautiful child. Talk about racial profiling!! This thought NEVER crossed our minds. We are adopting from China for many reasons, but this is NOT one of them! CNN...you've done a HUGE disservice to the China adoption community!

Congratulations!

Michele, a BIG congratulations on your referral today! Ava is absolutely beautiful! Her photos are just too sweet and she looks so happy and healthy. I am SO thrilled that your dream of becoming a momma has finally come true. You are going to be a fantastic mom and Ava is one lucky little girl!


I can't wait for Lauren to meet Ava and Lily later this year. It's so great that she'll have local adopted, Chinese friends!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all my Bloggy friends!! I hope that 2007 brings you many happy surprises!

Joe and I had a very nice and relaxing holiday weekend. We spent some time at home just hanging out with our furbabies and being just plain lazy (needless to say, the x-mas decorations aren't down yet). We hadn't been to the movies in a LONG time, so we saw The Good Shepard, with Matt Damon & Angelina Jolie, on Saturday night. We spent New Year's Eve with a good friend of ours, Linda Marie, and she made us a fabulous dinner of baked salmon, asparagus & carrots, and yummy mashed potatoes. We topped that off with coffee & Baileys and chocolate cake. We hung out, chatted, played with her furbabies and rang in the New Year with the ball drop at Times Square.

My friend, Miyoung, has been trying to expose me to Asian culture, so this morning we met for brunch at a local Chinese restaurant that serves dim sum. I had no idea what dim sum was, but Miyoung said she would go easy on me and wouldn't order the chicken feet or tripe. This got me a little nervous since I'm not an adventurous eater, but I went this morning ready for a new experience to start the new year. For those of you, like me, who don't know what dim sum is...it's basically a meal served at brunch time where the servers wheel around carts of various dishes served in small portions, so you kind of get a taste of lots of different things. We had calamari, pork dumplings, shrimp dumplings, shrimp stuffed eggplant, chow mein, and sticky rice with bacon. The carts keep coming along and you can sit there and eat for hours! There was a cart that came by with tripe, but as Miyoung promised she passed on that for my sake....thank goodness!

After our meal, we went to a local Chinese grocery store, which was quite an experience! This isn't a small mom and pop store...it's a full-scale large grocery store with a big butcher and seafood counter. From the moment you walk in, the pungent aroma tells you that you're definitely NOT in your local American grocery store. The place was packed (although Miyoung said they get a lot busier) and people were going in all different directions at once making it hard to even maneuver the cart. Besides the produce section, with quite a few bizarre fruits and strange veggies (including a strange, hairy looking thing) they have isles and isles of Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and Indian foods. Some of the items at the butcher counter were a little stomach churning and then as we approached the seafood counter, we see this guy pulling these large fish out of a tank and putting them on the counter...next thing we know, he's whacking them with a rubber mallet as they were flopping around! Now, that's something I could have done without!


As you can see by my purchases, which didn't include the strange hairy fruit, I kept to a few safe items to start with, but I definitely plan on going back before we have another Chinese food cooking night to get the ingredients for our dishes.

Thanks, Miyoung, for a GREAT new experience today and a fun way to start off the year!

A few Christmas Day photos...

Joe and I hosted Christmas dinner this year. It was a really nice day and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. I wanted to share a few photos...

Addy taking a little snooze under the tree before everyone arrives

Joe helping the "girls" open one of their gifts

Emily showing off her pretty dress


Getting ready to dig into the presents


Emily in the middle of her pile


Josh picked out a doll for Katie, but HE was more interested in it


There was a present under the tree for Lauren from my brother and his family, which really touched me. This is Lauren's very first Christmas present. The box looks a little worn because the kids picked this out on their Manhattan trip at FAO Schwartz and ended up carting in all around for the day in the rain. This doll will ALWAYS be very special to me.

Happy Holidays...

One of my favorite things at Christmas is the sight of the tree with all the gifts under it. I can't wait until Christmas day when my nieces and nephew tear into everything. There's nothing like watching kids open their gifts.

Merry Christmas to all my bloggy friends! You all have made such a positive impact on my life over the past year. I can't imagine going through this adoption process without you. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday with your families this year.

This is such a special holiday for many of you who are back from China with your beautiful children. Please hold them tight and know how very blessed you are.

For the rest of us still waiting to travel, my hope this Christmas is that we continue to move closer to our dream come true...and it sure would be nice if that movement was faster, rather than slower!

It slipped right by...

It slipped right by without any notice, but this past Sunday we have been logged in for 10 months! Wow, that sounds like a long time when I say it.

I am anxiously awaiting this month's batch to see how far they get. I still haven't given up all hope that they could start matching a month's worth of LID's each month at any time (a girl CAN dream). I also can't wait to be out of review. I know the new guidelines aren't supposed to be in effect until May 2007, but I will still feel a lot better when I see the CCAA's website updated to reviewed through February.

I wish it was that easy...

I'm the proud owner of my very own "easy button" just like in the Staples commercials. When you press it, it says "now that was easy".

I tried already, and it doesn't seem to work for the adoption process. Our dossier is still in review and nothing has changed.

If it did work, I'd forward it onto a blogger buddy, have them use it and then pass it on. We'd have quite a chain going in no time! ;)

Referral Party...

Yesterday evening we had some friends over from our local FCC Waiting Families group to celebrate Nancy's and Brian's referral to their beautiful daughter Lily. Most of us met over the past year at our monthly meetings and have been getting together as a smaller group once in a while. It's really nice to have a local group of friends who are all going through the same thing and who truly understand the ups and downs of the adoption process.

From left to right we have Kim & Scott and their daughters Jenna and Jadyn, Nancy & Brian, me and Joe, Laura & Dan, Michele, and Heather & Damon. We have a great group!

Check out this beautiful cake that Heather brought. It's designed to match Nancy's nursery decor. Besides looking great, this cake tasted great too! The Chinese characters say "forever family".

I was so glad that Kim & Scott were able to make the party with Jenna & Jadyn. They have only been home for a couple of weeks and the girls are doing SO well. They are totally adorable and as sweet as they are cute.

Here's Jadyn...

and Jenna...

It was so much fun to see the girls....it always give me hope when I get to see a family who has been to China and back. Maybe this really will happen for us!

Michele is next up in our group for her referral. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will come with the next batch. If she doesn't make this one, she's definitely up next month. I can't wait to see Ava.

Nothing like a good melt-down once in a while....

Lately I've been really stressed about the adoption. According to our agency, all dossiers in China that haven't been reviewed yet are subject to the new CCAA guidelines. Since they have reviewed dossiers through January 2006, ours is being reviewed right now after almost 10 months of being logged in.

The official announcement from the CCAA on the new guidelines is expected next week, but our agency has already given us a heads up on a couple of changes, one of which will effect our dossier. Also, the Rumor Queen has listed lots of other possible changes and there may be another strike against us if she is right.

I have hardly complained about the adoption process. Instead of sitting around whining about the wait, I've been keeping myself busy and focusing on the positive things about waiting (there actually is lots of positive things). Actually, the waiting to me is nothing compared to the uncertainty of this whole thing....that's what REALLY gets to me.

Earlier this week, I let the negative thoughts take over and I had my first full-scale, cry-fest, melt-down because I was just absolutely sure that the CCAA would take a big red "reject" stamp to our dossier. Why, oh why, does the big annual CCAA meeting HAVE to be right at the time they are reviewing OUR dossier after 10 months of it sitting on a shelf some where gathering dust!!!!!!!!! It sickens me to think that they could actually hold already logged in dossiers up to a brand new standard. Don't they know that when you change a rule, it's only supposed to be for the newbies?? Don't they know this in China??

I feel now that I will not rest until the CCAA's website is updated to say they have reviewed dossiers through February 2006. Please tell me that I'm not alone in this total frustration and that I'm not the only one in melt-down mode. I'm assuming one day I'll look back on all this and won't believe I was so stressed out, but right now I just can't help myself. Joe and I so want to be parents and we've just been through enough already...please send good vibes to China on our behalf so they let our dossier go on through to the next step.

Who could resist this face?

We are still working on our master bedroom and bath. You would think that with the four day weekend we had, that we would be all done and kicking back right now. Nope, that's just not the case.

We were off to a great start on Thursday and by the end of the day we had the bed torn down, all the furniture moved into the center of the room and the bedroom painted. On Friday, we were off to IKEA to buy the bed frame and then Sam's Club to pick up the box spring and mattress. We have nicknamed our Mazda MPV mini-van...SUPER van, since we some how managed to fit in a king sized headboard and footboard completely assembled and flat packed from IKEA...that box was HUGE. I had to drive home since Joe couldn't even fit into the drivers seat because we had the seat pushed up as far as possible. Poor Joe had to ride home in the passenger seat slouched forward almost laying on the dash. By the time we got home with everything and set it up, we were done for the day.

We are still working on painting the master bath. The amount of tape up prep work is just crazy....now I know why painters cost so much. When we actually get our project done, I'll get some photos posted.


Addy was so exhausted while we were working on the bedroom that she just had to lay down. I thought she looked so cute with her face between her paws, that I had to snap this shot.

Our Addy is just an amazing old girl. She was diagnosed with cancer (a tumor in her upper jaw) in June 2005 and she is still going strong. Back in May 2005, I noticed some swelling on the right side of her nose (where that dark mark is) and after some testing by our vet, she diagnosed the cancer and off we went to a cancer specialist. I swear, this place was like the Mayo clinic for animals.

After lots of tests to verify the type of cancer and whether it had spread, she was scheduled for surgery to try and remove the tumor. Before the surgery they did a scan to determine the margins of the tumor so they could get it all. This is when they decided they could not proceed with the surgery since the tumor had gone past the center line of her top jaw, which would mean her entire top jaw would have to be removed. They felt she wouldn't be able to function after the surgery and recommended that we do not proceed. That was such a difficult conversation and so hard to hear and deal with.

Without removing the tumor, they gave Addy just a few months. Well, that was 17 months ago and she's still hanging in there. She eats two full meals a day and goes on two 1/2 hour walks a day! I think she's just amazing, plus she's just about the sweetest thing you've ever met.

Izzie with Santa....

My friend Colleen adopted a furbaby back in June. Izzie is so smart he's had his own blog from almost day one. Check out his recent photo with Santa....isn't he darn cute??

Izzie, I can't wait to finally meet you later this month!

It's beginning to look...

a lot like Christmas! We had a very productive weekend. We've been slacking off and had kind of let the house go a little, so Saturday we cleaned the house from top to bottom. Once the house was clean, I was motivated to put up the Christmas decorations. Here are some shots from around the house. As you can see, I'm not into fancy decorations...I'm more into the natural, woodsy type of decorations like pine cones and greenery.



The tree is also up, but we still need to decorate it. That is next on the agenda.

This coming week Joe and I have Thursday and Friday off to start our master bedroom and bath project. I'll be off to Lowes soon to pick out the paint color and we'll finally have some color on our bedroom walls! I'm really looking forward to the completed project.

Meet Miss Lily...

Congratulations to Nancy & Brian who are the proud new parents of this little cutie pie, Lily!!!! You guys are such a warm and loving couple and will make fabulous parents.

Since we live so close, we hope that Lauren and Lily will develop a special friendship and that Lily will have a positive, big sister influence over Lauren someday.

Lily, we can't wait to meet you!!

Congrats and a little pity party...

Congratulations to Nancy & Brian who are now awaiting the first glimpse of their precious daughter, Lily! I can't wait to see what she looks like.

For the rest of us waiting, I'm bummed that they only got through 14 days this month. I keep hoping for a speed up, but it's just not happening.









If they were to actually keep up this pathetic 14 day pace, check out this really ugly scenario:

LID Sept. 9-22 - December referrals
thru Oct. 6 - January
thru Oct. 20 - February
thru Nov. 3 - March
thru Nov. 17 - April
thru Dec. 1 - May
thru Dec. 15 - June
thru Dec. 29 - July
thru Jan. 12 - August
thru Jan. 26 - September
thru Feb. 9 - October
thru Feb. 23 - November (our LID 2/17)

At the current pace, it would mean a referral for us an entire year from now!! That would be a 21 month wait from LID!

Although I'm happy for everyone getting their referral this month, I just can't help but throw a little pity party for the rest of us.

They just have to speed it up, right? It can't actually be a 21 month wait, right?

The suspense is killing me!

For some reason, waiting for this month's referral batch is just killing me! I think part of it is because Nancy will have her referral to Lily and I'm just so anxious for her to see her daughter's face. Also, if you following Rumor Queen, there's been some rumors that the batch may contain a big chunk of September, which would mean Michele could get Ava's referral.

I'm so anxious you would think it was my turn! Doesn't the CCAA know that I've already bitten my fingernails down to the nubs and just can't stand it anymore?

Bring on those beautiful babies!! I sure hope I'm not going to be like this every time a friend is up for their referral....it's not good for my nails or my hips, for that matter!

Time for some changes...

I started with a new look for my blog. The header image is a scan of the wallpaper border and paint colors we'll be using for Lauren's room. We'll be starting the nursery after Christmas and I thought this new blog look would get me motivated and keep me on track. ;)

Before the nursery, we'll be painting and decorating our master bedroom and bath. We have a couple of use or loose vacation days, so we're going to take them early next month to finally get our master bedroom done. We've lived in our house for three years this coming April and that's the one room we haven't done a darn thing too yet. Plus, we want to get rid of our queen size bed and upgrade to a king so there is room for us and Lauren.

Today I stopped in to TJ Maxx and I found exactly what I've been looking for...a king size quilt for our bedroom at an awesome price! I wasn't sure about the color, but I picked it up figuring I could return it. We bought drapery panels at IKEA months ago and I wasn't sure the quilt would match.

Well, check out this perfect match! The drapery panels are the solid red brick color and I think they go great together.

I love when things just click without too much effort. I couldn't have found a better match if I tried!

Christmas is right around the corner...

When Starbucks starts cranking out their yummy peppermint mochas and gingerbread lattes and their Christmas merchandise is in the store, then it's the official start of the Christmas season for me! It doesn't matter that the temperature here in AZ is still in the mid 80's and we're still in short sleeves.

Check out this year's bear couple all decked out in their parkas, scarves and furry boots.

I'm a sucker for their collectible bears and the peppermint mochas.

By the way, do you realize there are only 35 days until Christmas!

Nine months down...

Tomorrow will be nine months since our February 17th LID. I think it's finally safe to say that we are more than half way there now, which feels really good!

Since we've been pretty busy lately, this past month has gone by in a flash. With the holidays right around the corner and referral excitement to come very soon for our friends, Nancy & Brian, I have a feeling it will be our 12-month anniversary before we know it.

I just read Chrisi's post "Reflections of a new Mom" about her wonderful experiences with Abbey during their first week together. It is such a very sweet post and makes me so anxious for our time to come. Sometimes I wish I could just fast forward to our referral call and be on our way to get our sweet, long awaited baby.

On their way!

One of our local FCC families, Kim and Scott, are on their way to China today! They will be meeting their twins, Jadyn and Jenna, on Sunday. I can't wait to see a gotcha day photo of them with their precious baby girls!!

We survived the weekend!

Well, my brother and sister-in-law are back from San Diego and Joe and I have a quite house once again. We survived two soccer games, two parties, bowling and golf land...actually, I can say now that you haven't truly experienced mini-golf until you've played with a four year old boy and his two sisters. It was fun and challenging all at the same time...a real test of patience. ;)

I must say, after three complete days with three kids, that I have a new respect for parents of multiple children. HOW in the heck do you do it day in and day out?? Dawn, how do you do it with four boys?? My goodness, you have your hands full!

All in all, Joe and I had a great time with the kids and we feel lucky to have them living close by enough so that we can spend time with them. They are great kids and will be amazing cousins to Lauren. By the way, they are so excited about Lauren and talk about her a lot. They have so many questions about her, and love looking through the books I have on China.

Saturday afternoon, my Mother picked up the kids for a trip to Chuck e Cheese so that I could visit with Julie, here from Minneapolis. Nancy and I met Julie for lunch, then stopped by Nancy's place so Julie could see her totally adorable nursery. After that we went scrapbook shopping...a huge store I haven't been to yet, but will definitely be back.

Here we are at Nancy & Brian's place (left to right...Julie, me and Nancy)...


and here's Max looking so cute on the top step...

Bedtime Friend...

Well it looks like Lucy found some new bedtime friends. She's very comfortable on the air mattress with Emily and Josh.

Gee, I guess the kids won't be going to sleep anytime soon!

Whirlwind Weekend Ahead...

My brother and sister-in-law are heading off to San Diego on a well deserved weekend of fun and Joe and I are taking care of our nieces and nephew. Since I have Friday off for the Veteran's Day holiday, my official call of duty starts after work tomorrow and ends Sunday night. Between the three kids, they have two soccer games, three parties, piano practice, and homework that needs to be done during the time we have them! Gee, life was SO much simpler when I was a kid! We would spend the weekend outside playing with friends each day until we were called in for dinner.

In the middle of certain chaos this weekend, I get to take a break and visit with Julie who will be in town on a family visit. Nancy, Heather and I will get to meet up with her for lunch and some scrapbook shopping. I met Julie on my Utah Waiting Momma's Summit and I'm looking forward to seeing her again.

All in all, in should be a fun, but very busy, weekend with the kids. I almost wish I would have taken Monday off though, because I have a feeling I'm REALLY going to need it! I'm sure I'll be ready to drop by then!

New Momma!

Christi finally has Abbey!!! Click here to see a photo of the proud momma and Abbey's beautiful little face! What a great day!

Fun Costco Find...

Yesterday Joe and I were in the Costco Christmas toy aisles and look what they had.

Isn't she pretty? She's made of porcelain and comes with a little snow globe with a panda bear. We just had to get her to put away for Lauren. Someday when she can appreciate collectable dolls we'll give it to her as a Christmas or birthday gift.

They had them themed for several other countries too...Russia, Germany, Ireland, Africa.

Referrals & Halloween Fun...

Referrals are on their way and the CCAA actually made it through August 25th!! Can this be an indication of a slight speed up??? I sure hope so. Congrats to my bloggy friends Julie and Lisa who made the cut-off this month. It was nice to move them on my sidebar from Patiently Waiting to Waiting to Travel...soooo cool! I can't wait to see what Tess and Baby S look like!

On the flip side, my heart goes out to my friends Nancy and Brian, who missed the cut off by one darn day! Nancy was so hoping that this would be the month, but was also trying not to get her hopes up too much. But, how can you help it?? This wait is so dang long, that it much be just torture towards the end. Nancy, I know you are going to get totally sick and tired of hearing this one, but at least you KNOW you are next and I can't wait to see Lily's face next month!

My friend, Jennifer, had her annual Halloween pumpkin carving party again this year and it's tradition that the night before we get together and make caramel apples and treats for the party. This year we got together at my place. The first task was unwrapping bags and bags of caramel. As you can imagine, not all the caramels made it into the bowl!


Here's my niece, Katie, and nephew, Joshua, dipping the apples...


The best part is eating the left over caramel after all the apples are dipped!!


Next we made these adorable little marshmallow witches made with chocolate wafer cookies, mini peanut putter cups, and Hershey kisses as the hats. We had an assembly line going...


On Sunday, it was off to the park for the pumpkin carving party. The weather was beautiful and everyone had a great time. Here's some of my favorite pumpkins...


One of the party guests happened to be a balloon artist and he created this monkey in a tree hat for my niece, Emily. That's one talent you need to keep to yourself unless you want a long line of kids by your side!