Panda Referrals Are On Their Way!

Finally! After taking nearly 3 years to get through all the LIDs in 2005 CCAA is sending it's first batch of 2006 referrals! Although they still have to finish 2005 in this batch, it is a sure thing that the LID cutoff will be January 4, 2006. This means that our January 2006 Precious Pandas group will begin seeing their first non-special needs referrals after waiting a very long 26 months! By the time we receive Kaelin's referral we will have waited, and even longer, 28/29 months! Congratulations to all of our Panda friends who will finally see their babies for the first time!

Two Years and One Month LID!

I just looked at our ticker and realized today is our LID anniversary! It's hard to even put into words how we feel about these, anymore! LID anniversaries used to be cause for joyous celebration! Woo hoo! One whole month closer to our referral, which we naively thought was only a mere 8-10 months away! The first few months we would even pop a bottle of champagne to celebrate this monumentous occasion! We were truly living in our own little "China world" (before Yahoo groups and Rumor Queen) clueless about the long road ahead! Yes, it is so true that ignorance is bliss!

Well, that was then and this is now, over two years later! Honestly, these last two years have been nothing but a huge learning experience for us. We have come so far in our knowlege of International Adoption and, more specifically, China adoption. Looking back, if we had gotten our referral in the original time frame we had thought, we would have been so ill prepared and totally clueless about everything! In these last two years we have learned more than we ever thought we could about raising an internationally adopted child, both, the good and the bad. We have had time to read, read, and read some more about bonding and attachment. We have taken classes and attended workshops. We have planned and prepared over and over for this new little person who is about to join our family. We have even spent many Friday nights wandering aimlessly through Babies R Us in awe and utter confustion. My how much baby stuff has changed and evolved in the last 19 years since we did this!

The best part of this long wait has been all of the wonderful friends we have made and even had the privilege to meet! Some have become lifelong for sure! You know who you are!
As for how many more LID anniversaries we have until referral, well we are happy and deliriously excited to say only about 3 or 4 more! Our referral has come down to basic math now that CCAA is getting into Jan of '06! Since they are doing about a weeks worth of LID's per month, that puts us getting our referral in May or June!
So now, raising my glass of orange juice, I toast to this long wait and it's true meaning in bringing our little girl home!

Voile!

I decided to give our blog a new look! At first, I was just going to change the header by adding a photo with text! Which turned out to be way too easy, with the help of my good friend, Rhonda, that is! Then I thought, what the heck, I might as well change the background, while I'm at it! (compliments of http://www.addglitter.com/) I just love the Anne Geddes snoozing little ladybugs I stumbled on @ photobucket! As long as I was on a roll, my ticker also got a new look! Finally, I changed that old picture of Gary and I! That picture was from the summer of '05 when we had just signed with our agency and started the famous paperchase! I can't believe how tan we were in that picture! This new photo was taken a few weeks ago while we were in Orlando. No tan, though, it was a tad chilly while we were there! Anyway, there you have it! What do you think?

You Gotta Love This!

I got this off RQ! I always wondered what was the best way to clean my computer screen! Click on this link and it will make you smile, guaranteed! If you view it in full size it is even better! Enjoy!
http://cache.valleywag.com/assets/resources/screenclean.swf

Meet Bruno!

As I have mentioned before, our daughter, Sarah, fosters dogs for an animal rescue league in Memphis. ( In between going to school and working full time!) Sarah got this adorable little guy last week. He is thought to be mostly Boston Terrier, but Sarah thinks he may have some French Bulldog in him too. Bruno has lived a very sad and terrible life, well up until now, that is! Bruno was rescued from an unspeakable existance in a cruel and disgusting puppy mill! He is estimated to be around two years old and has spent those two years locked in a cage surrounded by his own waste! Thank God the authorities found out and put an end to this horrible place. Bruno was considered one of the lucky ones! Sadly, many of the dogs were too sick to help and had to be euthanized. It just breaks my heart to know that places like these exist! It is so disturbing also to know that there are people in the world who do this for a living!

As for Bruno, he is adjusting to his new life with Sarah. He has many issues that she is helping him overcome. Aside from testing positive for heart-worm and a double ear infection, he has severe attachment disorder, sensory issues, and eating issues! Hmmmm, what does this remind you all of? Sarah is working very hard to help him overcome these issues and he is already showing signs that he is responding to her kind and loving touch! The vet feels with proper medication and good care, Bruno should make a full recovery! He will be available for adoption when he is all better, that is if Sarah doesn't keep him!

BTW, Sarah found a wonderful home for her Bassett Hound, Hannah, that she was fostering just before Christmas! Way to go Sarah!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I just couldn't resist!

Whenever I head out to Parisian I always say to myself, "I'm not even going near the little girl's department" it is just too hard and depressing! Although I have bought a lot of stuff for Kaelin, clothes have always been the one thing that are really tough for me to buy! But this last trip was different! Maybe it is because we have Kaelin's room finished or maybe it is because of the big batch of Feb referrals (a whopping 8 days!). Something came over me this time and I just couldn't resist! I didn't even think twice about marching right over to the little girl's section and buying these precious little outfits! After all, they were on the winter sale racks and so incredibly inexpensive! I only paid $7 for the sweet little Osh Kosh overall jumper and the rest were really awesome bargains too ( $27 grand total)! But the little jumper is my fav! I can't tell you how good it felt while I was looking at all of these sweet clothes. I could actually picture our little Kaelin in these outfits! At one point I literally had to compose myself because it actually brought me to tears! I have no idea how old or what size she will be or even if she will be a she! But, I don't care! These little outfits made my day!

Happy 26th Anniversary! (No, not LID!)

Today is our 26th wedding anniversary! Let me just say that being married to my best friend has been amazing! I guess you could say that Gary and I are definitely not the norm! We have known each other for more than 34 years and been married for 26 of them! Oh, now, before you start saying, "Oh come now, it hasn't been a whole bed of roses? Has it?" No! It definitely has not! You can't be married for this long and not have had ups and downs (thankfully way more ups than downs!), especially when you throw 5 kids (born within 6 yrs!) in the mix! I will share a few things that has kept us going despite the downs and they are, appreciation, forgiveness, and, most importantly, unconditional love! Even though we can make each other crazy, we always go back to these three things! Oh my gosh can Gary do things that drive me up a tree! We have lived in our house for over 8 years and he still doesn't know where things are in the kitchen! He'll open 3 drawers before he finds what he is looking for! And I know I can do things that can drive him right up into orbit! I am never ready when I say I will be ready (he has waited in the car for me for probably a year when you add it all up)! But, when we come back down we always get over it and get back to reality! The truth is Gary and I are soulmates! We were so meant for each other it's scary! You know you have been married a long time when you become telepathic with each other! Sometimes we don't even need to speak because we already know what the other one is thinking!

Tonight, I am making him a special dinner starting with champagne! Then I am making him filet mignon, spinach stuffed mushrooms, twice baked potatoes and chocolate mouse with strawberries for dessert! For gifts, we already gave them to each other. This year we decided to take the money we would normally spend on gifts and donated it to the "Little Mouse Emergency Fund" at Half the Sky. I have to tell you, without a doubt, they are the best gifts we have ever given to each other! (Okay, now you can say it, "Awwwwwwwww!")

Situation in China is Catastrophic!

China is experiencing it's worst weather in 50 years! The areas of south and central China are having the hardest time dealing with this disaster because they are not equipped to handle this much snow and ice. Many orphanages are currently without food, water, diapers, and heat! This is so upsetting to us because our little Kaelin might be one of the children, along with thousands of others in these orphanages who is suffering! I am just sick at the thought of her, as well all of the babies, being cold, hungry, and thirsty right at this very moment! The best we can do is pray and donate money! Gary and I have already donated as much as we can and would like you to do the same! If you are unable to donate, then at least pray for all of the little children who are being affected by this. If you would like to donate to this fund go to http://www.halfthesky.org/ and click on the Little Mouse where it says, "Click to Give". Thank you so much!

Woo Hoo!

Referrals are in! Today our agency received 29 referrals! We are so excited that CCAA made it all the way to Dec 27 2005! We are finally seeing a light at the end of this long dark tunnel (and for once it's not a train)! If CCAA keeps up this pace we will see Kaelin's sweet little face the first week in May and travel to China in June or July! We only have two LID groups in front of us! That just gave me goosebumps!