Bringing Home a Son!

Congratulations to my cousin Jenny and her husband Dave on their newborn son David Kenneth! They suffered through their first sleepless night last night! =) Luckily they have lots of baby stuff to start off with from the baby shower last month!
Although of course they're not going to announce him as their "adopted son," I think it is important for us in the process of adopting to hear about a successful adoption! Domestic adoption at that! Long time readers remember D & J have been disappointed before and just the news of a child being united with loving parents tends to make all of our day!
By the way, DK (now the first & oldest grandchild) came just in time as Jenny's sister Amanda is due in about a month!

Beautiful!

My Mom's friend Nancy made this beautiful quilt for Elena. Nancy is a skilled quilter and you can see a bit of the quilting design in this picture. The fabric is perfect! I guess now I don't really have to do the One Hundred Good Wishes Quilt, right?! Thank you very much, Nancy. Elena is going to love it!

Memorial Day

"Respectfully"
© 2001 Corey Rehberg

Mail with no Male =)

Besides bills, this is one of the most dreaded pieces of mail that a single/non-dating person can get. It is, of course, the Wedding Invitation. The one beautifully scripted with your name & Guest. As much as you adore the couple getting married, this envelope along with the cute little RSVP card( _____# will be attending) causes distress and anguish. And get this, I was the one who set up the couple after I was set up with guy! Ahh, well. At least knowing I'll be attending alone means I don't have to try and goad someone else to go! =)

Happy Birthday to you!

Today is Mom/Giggy's birthday. I think her birthday wish is to be left alone (the whole family lives very close by!) so we'll be celebrating with cake and ice cream (my niece K's request) tomorrow.
Happy Birthday, Mom. I love you!



P.S. Notice I didn't use the picture with the blinding candle glow!! =)

What a Sweetie!

Meet Emerson Olivia ChuanYao! She is simply beautiful! What a great reminder that as crazy as this journey is, the end result is priceless! =) Your mommy is coming to get you soon, Emerson!

My Secret Pal Reminds Me "Safety First!"

My very cool February DTC Secret Pal rocked on the "Safety" theme this month! Just look at this cute Hippo Cold Pack Pouch and the Dora band-aids. Dora is quite the celebrity with my kids at school and Ellie is sure to be a Dora fan! Is it bad to say I can't wait to use them on Ellie?! =) My SP wrote that the book, Your Child's Health is "very highly recommended" and I've already started leafing through it! What an excellent gift for a first time mother-to-be! Thank you SP, for your great gifts and generosity. Your note is truly appreciated, too. =)
A great frontporch find after a truly hectic day of Standards Testing at school. Thank you!

Something Pretty

to improve my mood.
"Captivating Crocus" by Tracey Allyn Greene.***

If this doesn't work I'll have to try something sweet & salty...


***The Chinese writing on the side is my favorite quote, "Center your heart and cultivate your spirit." I send that quote on all my wishes for the OHGW quilt swap.

Stork Sighting

Stork sighting for those with an LID 6/7-6/15!!

Feeling Blue

This is from the "rumor clearinghouse" site. It just exemplifies how crazy this whole wait is getting.

If they make it through 6/15 LID's (this next week) then our polls show that the coming months will look something like this:
Referral Date LID Cut-Off
End of June 6/22
End of July 6/30
End of August 7/18
End of September 7/27
End of October 8/23
End of November 8/29

Remember that my dossier LID is 2/16/2006. Is there a senior citizen flight discount available for when I finally get to bring Elena home?

******Update******** For the "real" rumors check out Holly's site. Who knew she (and her comment posse) were the ones with all the connections?! =)

Slow Day

Your Hillbilly Name Is...

Leanne Lou Clementine

Hillbilly Name Generator

Still Waiting...

for that elusive Brown Envelope. The B.E. acknowledges that the American Embassy in Guangzhou knows I'm coming there to adopt a child. There has been a deluge of BE sightings in my DTC group. I hope I'm next!

Cruisin'

Next month, my friend Mary and I are going to take a cruise!! It's a short, fairly inexpensive Western Caribbean trip and a great chance to get away before teaching summer school! We've both never been on a cruise before so advice/suggestions are welcome.
Today I received my Service Recognition Pin for 5 years within this school system. I've never stayed in one place so long before. I've always moved jobs, if not cities, every two years or so. And now with Elena on the way, I guess I'm here for awhile longer! Scary!
Think I'll re-focus on that cruise again...=)

Finding Inner Peace =)

With "good chocolates" indeed! Thank you Lisa for letting me indulge in my favorite chocs See's! What an tasty surprise...and what timing! CHoColateS (sorry, I'm...licking my fingers...as I ...type...)go with both hot tea *and* wine so I am good for a relaxing evening tonight!!!


On a side note, unfortunately there's no McDreamy to round out the fantasy, ...but I was a goner for Denny last night...sadly he was a goner too! (Oh, that wasn't funny!)

Anyway, so today is the second time I get to celebrate 3 months down for my LID. Who-hoo. Oops, I typed that a bit sarcastically... I'd better start the "stress relief" soon...(yum!) Thanks again to my "dealer" for providing a way to to soothe my nerves and celebrate my 'new' LID! =)

Funny. I just noticed that my "Ode to See's" blog was written Feb 15th...the 16th in China...my LID date...interesting...

And it's only Monday...

What an afternoon. I came home to discover that I had unintentionally left a non-anonymous secret pal message on my secret pals blogsite! I can't believe it! What a goof. She had written such a compelling blog that I responded right away, didn't even realize what I had done. I outed myself! So anyway, Holly, now I can add your blog to my list of favorites! (Sorry!)
Then I found out through the Feb DTC Yahoo site that a couple also using my agency had recently received their LID. Our agency previously swore up and down that we didn't get one. Even started quite a stir on the groups (Why do they not wait to get logged in? Why is your agency so special?!) So I emailed my agency and found out that LID's aren't usually "significant" (!!!!!) but now with the piecemeal referrals... I just want to say that I think that I understand the agencies don't have a lot of info, particularly about this wait, but when you have *real* info, it would be nice to pass it on, y'know? Now I have to change my little ticker at the top of my blog...(I guess now I get to celebrate 3 months down again tomorrow)...
AND...three schools nearby us went on lock-down due to gunshots this afternoon. Good grief. I'm exhausted with all this news! I might have to tape Gray's Anatomy finale and head to bed early!! =)

To My Mom

Happy Mother's Day, Mom/Giggy,
You're my BFF (Best Friend Forever)!
Love, Shannon

Strawberry Pickin' in Pungo

This is the only strawberry K picked!

Lovin' Life!

This video of Lily and Kate will brighten your day!



What is up with my blog template??! This might be an all day project!

Happy Mother's Day to ME!

Thank you, February Secret Pal, for my gorgeous Mother's Day gift! What a wonderful surprise!! My Secret Pal wrote that she hoped this was my final Mother's Day as an "expectant" Mom and that the pendant means "Mother and Daughter Joined by the Heart." What a lovely, heartfelt sentiment. I feel my Mom and I are joined this way, and hope my daughter will one day feel the same.
Like some of the other bloggers, it is weird to think that I will have the title of "Mom." My Mom gave me a picture frame the other day with Mom & Me engraved on it and I immediately searched my mind for a recent picture of my Mom and me, not grasping it would be me and Elena! This long wait does make it seem like the whole dossier/homestudy process was a dream. Thankfully with my meaningful, shiny pendant, Secret Pal gifts and this OHGW quilt to make, I know I'm not in dreamland! Yes, this *will* be the last Mother's Day I get a consolation carnation when we ladies go to lunch! =) Thank you again for your thoughtfulness, Secret Pal!

Rumor Site Addict

For all of you not in the adoption from China mode, China Adopt Talk/In Search of Rumors is the infamous website that we all flock to in order to try and gain some sense of control over the adoption process. (Control? Yeah, right!) It is somewhat of a rumor clearinghouse. Unfortunately the rumors have not been so good for the last few months. Matching a child with a family has slowed down considerably. Instead of an 8-9 month wait, the time has increased to at least 12-18 months according to some agencies. It is amazing how I am compelled to check this site not once, but several, even numerous times a day when there is *NO* way I can even be in the matching room for at least another 8 months! Help, I'm a Rumor Queen addict! =)

EVERYONE at School is Counting...

more days until Summer Vacation!!

Been Tagged for Non-Chain Sock/Book Exchange

Lisa "invited" me to be part of the funky sock and book exchange. (Cute return address stickers with pix of you, Tate and Mesa by the way!) Sooooooo, it's my turn to mail out six of each...watch for the letter arriving in your mailboxes, my friends! =) And if anyone is super interested in being involved in this, drop me an e-mail. Please!

3 Months Down...? to Go!!!

THREE months since LID!! Does that mean I'm only 9 months "paper pregnant" now?!
I can't even begin to guesstimate if Ellie has been born yet. Here's hoping the referrals get back to full months so we can start focusing on when and not if our babies will be in our arms!=)
This quote was found in one of my Feb DTC Group posts. It is today's thought of the day:
"Sometimes you have to go a very long way out of your way to come back a very short distance correctly."
Edward Albee - from A Zoo Story

I Need a Vacation!

Any ideas on where to take a relatively inexpensive vacation where I can sit by the pool and/or beach and relax?! (Spa availablity a plus!) I've been looking up various options but then I read about the places on tripadvisor and get discouraged. Any personal recommendations would be greatly appreciated! I need something to focus on besides the long wait ahead for Ellie.

Ellie's Personal Shoppers Go Wild!

After the last few emotional posts, I figure I'd post some more of the really cool and beautiful gifts that my aunts have given Ellie. I am so ready for Ellie to start using all these wonderful gifts! Thank you so much Karen & Jude!

A gorgeous Vera Bradley bag from. The colors match Ellie's room! How cool is that?! Of course, it might have to *stay* in her room as I'm afraid of getting it dirty! =)


A huge pink carousel horse. What fun! Ellie's cousin K got a brown horsie. Funny aside, K calls all horses "Mo" or "Peanut"...I guess Pinkie here is a
"Mo-ette"? Mo-ette is relaxing in the crib right now until my dog Bernie stops trying to drag her down the hall! I'll try and get a picture of that!

Unfortunate News & a Vent on my Part

After spending the afternoon with the baby, birthmom, birthdad and his mom chatting about the infant and determining when to "hand over" the child, J&D got a call from the birthparents lawyer. They want to keep the baby. Which is understandable, but these people LIED about it during that whole meet and greet session!! It is not just that they changed their minds right after the visit as attested by numerous medical decisions and phone calls now coming to light. I understand that I feel J&D would be the best parents for this child (due to facts I haven't elaborated on here) and I understand that after giving birth a woman can change her mind although it was "set in stone" previously. But for the birthdad and his mom to act like J&D are the "bad guys" (seriously) and then for all of them to lie straight to J&Ds faces...it's just cruel and wrong.
Jenny & Dave, your dream of a family will come true. Don't give up.

Baby Update

Things have gotten a little shaky and soap-opera-y for Jenny and Dave and the planned adoption. A healthy baby boy was born early this morning and everyone is extremely anxious, waiting for time to pass and any possible plan-altering decisions to be made. Sending our love and prayers that things work out the best way possible for the baby, birthmom and adoptive parents.