Well, it's that time again! Our agency is expecting to receive referrals for families logged in through December 8th, '05 this week. Why does it seem that every month referrals come, we still have about a 6 month wait? I think, this time, we can honestly say, "6 more months!" If CCAA stays consistent in doing 1 week's worth of LID's per month, then it will take them at least 6 more months to make it to our LID of January 23, '06. 
Today is our babygirl's birthday! I woke up this morning thinking how could this be? How in the heck is our little girl 22 already?! Sarah, better known as "Bunny" (nickname given to her when she was a week old by her big brother, Adam) was such a beautiful baby when she was born! She actually looked Asian! She had (and still does) gorgeous dark brown (almost black) shiny hair, big brown eyes! What a beauty! Sarah has brought so much joy to our lives and is such an exceptional daughter! I wish she could be home on her birthday, but she is in Memphis working hard on her Master's degree in Dietetics. We miss her so much and can't wait to see her on Thanksgiving. WE LOVE YOU, BUNNY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
I love this picture of my mom and dad (taken last year)! I know it's been a while since my last post, but my focus has been on my mom this last month. She is now out of the hospital and in a nursing home. I go there every day to see her and make sure she is getting what she needs. Even though, she appears to be getting good care, it is still such a depressing and sobering place. Nothing makes you think about your own mortality like a visit to a nursing home. It is so hard to see my mom in this condition. This is not the mom I once knew. I wish her doctors and nurses could have known her before she became this way! I wish they could know what a wonderful, intelligent, and talented woman she was/is! At least she is still so beautiful ! So many times her nurses comment on what a beautiful woman she is! The good thing is that she still recognizes her family and we are so thankful for that! But, she has lost her ability to walk or even sit up, and only stays awake for short periods. One thing she has not lost is her ability to hear! Yesterday, I said something funny to her nurse and mom laughed right out loud! We thought she was asleep! That brought such joy to my heart! No one really knows, except God, how much time my mom has, but she sure is fighting to hang on and we are so glad for that! 
Sorry that I have not posted in a while. My mom is very sick. She has a weak heart along with serious liver and thyroid problems too. I have been spending most of my time sitting by her hospital bed. We are hopeful that the treatments her doctors are trying will help. We are praying that she will come out of this and survive, but we just don't know and neither do the doctors, really. Only time will tell. 
Sarah planted a pepper plant last spring and this is what it produced; just this one little grouchy red pepper! Sometimes I know just how he feels!
Back in May of 2006 I started a paperclip chain. Each paperclip represented a family with an LID before ours waiting for referral with our adoption agency. My chain has now gone from 649 paperclips/families down to only 119 paperclips! We are definitely getting there! Since our agency received 22 referrals, I was able to take off that many paperclips this month! 
Yesterday, (I'm a little behind posting) our agency received 22 referrals, all girls! This time CCAA made it to November 25, '05! Considering Nov 22 and 23 were big LID days this is sort of good! December of '05 is said to be smaller than November so, hopefully, things will move a little faster once they are completely out of November. Here is my prediction or WAG:
Our daughter, Marie, adopted this adorable kitty a couple of weeks ago! She is such a sweet little furball and so full of boundless energy! I guess this kind of makes me a grandma! He He!
