I swear, now that the computer and the camera are finally talking to each other again, there will be a proper update with lots of baby candy very, very soon. Rest assured, all is well.
Meanwhile, I wanted to wish my adorable husband a happy 1st Father's Day. Annabelle has a great dad who loves her more than she could possibly know.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Day Whatever - Coming Home
Everything's fine, I've just completely lost track of the date and time. In many ways it feels like we've been in China much longer than we have (in a good way) and in many other ways it feels like we're totally ready to be home. Since we won't have another chance to come to China for a very long time and because we've loved so much about Annabelle's homeland it seems a shame to waste any of our precious time here wanting to be elsewhere. But home, sucky weather and all, is starting to sound pretty damn good. Aside from the comforts found in not living out of suitcases on the road, we want everyone we love to meet this girl we adore.
Here is Annabelle doing her baby bird impression. Girlfriend loves her some noodles and is a champion noodle slurper.
Finally, gratuitous, random cute kid pic. 
Those will have to hold you until we're home, which barring natural disaster or international incident, will be Thursday afternoon. See you then!
Bonding and attachment continue to progress. We've had a few more episodes of deep grieving where she just refuses to let me comfort her. She cries out for mama and I'm obviously not the mama she's looking for when that happens, which since Annabelle was in foster care for most of her life, is perfectly understandable. Greg has been a rock star dadddy, especially in these instances. He walks her, holds her and talks softly to her until she calms. I'm so grateful their relationship has grown so that she allows it.
Most of the time, she is absolutely a joy to be around. She's bright, clever and funnier than I knew babies could be. Her newest game is "Where's Annabelle", our version of Peek-a-Boo. She started playing it with Greg a few days ago, right out of the blue. I sat around the corner and watched them laugh like loons at each other and my heart just melted. Now, everyone she meets is fair game for a session of "Where's Annabelle". She's completely charming.
We've also discovered that the CCAA wasn't kidding when they checked that "Sometimes Obstinate" box on her referral information. Grandma is a goner.
Now for the part you've been waiting for - a few last bites of baby candy before we pack it in. The first is courtosy of Aunt Marilyn, who gave her the much loved bunny lovey.
The next three were taken at the TengWeng Pavilion in Nanchang. It was beautiful and peaceful. We could have happily stayed there all day.
Here is Annabelle doing her baby bird impression. Girlfriend loves her some noodles and is a champion noodle slurper.
A (most of the) group picture from our visit to the Six Banyan Tree Temple. We didn't get to do the blessing which I was very much looking forward to, but the temple was lovely.
The next three are from today's infamous red couch photo session. It was chaotic and funny, as I'm sure it usually is. And, as you usually see, there were a couple of girls trying to make their escape. Our girls are (back L-R), Meilee, Lisette, Cora, Eva, Vivian, (front, L-R) Meilinn, Annabelle, Sarah and Olivia. Going just by the names you would think we adopted a bunch of little old ladies.
Finally, gratuitous, random cute kid pic.
Those will have to hold you until we're home, which barring natural disaster or international incident, will be Thursday afternoon. See you then!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Day 4 - The Legend of Day 3
While waiting for our adoption to finally happen, I can't begin to tell you how many times I heard parents say that the first couple of days with their new child were really, really tough...but day three seemed to be a turning point. The kids seem to accept their new normal and begin the processes of bonding and attaching.
Let me tell you, when your in the trenches of their grief, the magical Day 3 seems like nothing more than a mean-spirited urban myth, repeated over and over again just to tease you. It's hard to believe that a baby who is grieving that intensly can make that kind of turn around in such a short time.
While day three wasn't a magically cure-all for what ails us, definite progress was obviously being made. Annabelle woke up happy, and after a bottle and some breakfast we decided to visit the hotel playroom where she discovered that going full tilt boogie - backwards - in the exersaucer was much fun indeed. In fact, we got to witness some baby belly laughs, and let me tell you, there is nothing sweeter. 
That went so well that after lunch we decided to brave the local Walmart. We were certainly the center of attention in every department we visited, but the staff and other customers were very patient with us and helped us find the girl some new shoes and clothing. Annabelle started to get fussy in her stroller and so I put her in the mei tai and she immediately fell asleep in the cab on the way home. Unfortunately, the cab ride was only about 20 minutes and everything went downhill from there. No afternoon nap = extremely cranky girl and a frazzled momma. After a long protest, she finally went to sleep about 9pm and Greg stood watch while I headed downstairs for a much needed rum and coke and to decompress. Tip # whatever (this one's for the dads): if you are not the one baby is clinging to, do pretty much everything else (lug, wash, pack, etc.) You're wife will consider you a hero and even though I know it is hard to not be able to lavish all your love on this new baby, know that you are enabling your wife to lay the foundation that will make it possible for you both later.
The biggest improvement of the day was the Greg was finally able to look at her (and hold her once while she was asleep!) and I was even allowed to leave her immediate line of sight without bringing out her inner howler monkey.
She's been a good eater and sleeper since the first, and remarkably, has been very brave with her eye contact from the beginning. If all of that continues and the rest continues to improve, we might even have a happy baby on our hands in a few more days. I don't believe for even a second that everything will now be rainbows and kittens, but it does seem we've turned an important corner together.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Day 2 - The Myth of Rainbows and Kittens
Those of you who've already been here probably have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to be writing about today. Those of you waiting may not enjoy reading this, but you should, even though I'm not sure it will help all that much should you find yourself where we are right now. If you're family or friends who are cheering us on, we appreciate it more than you know and we need all the support we can get right now.
We're having a really hard day today. Annabelle's grieving. Really deeply grieving. I'm pretty sure she was recently removed from her foster home and the loss of that family, whoever they are, is hitting her hard. And there is nothing we can do to ease her hurt except meet her basic physical needs, babble to her in our very limited Mandarin and a language she doesn't understand, hold her close and pat her, and try to get her through this period.
The kicker to all of this is that we were prepared for it (we thought.) We read all the books, talked with a hugely supportive no sugarcoating type of BTDT crowd, and made a plan as to how we were going to help her should she be upset. I even hoped she would grieve as that it is a very good sign that the babies have learned to form attachments before and can learn to do it again. Pffft. We've walked, we've rocked, we've strollered, we've fed, we've changed, we've had skin to skin contact, we've sang, we've played Chinese lullabies, we've given oragel and Motrin and done every damn thing we can do. The one thing she wants most right now is the one thing we are unable to do anything about for her. It's absolutely breaking my heart to hear her scream for her mama for hours and to know that she is only reluctantly accepting my comforting because she is exhausted and I am all that is available. Intellectually, I knew it would be hard, but my heart had no idea how much pain her pain would cause.
We'll get through this, most likely in a day or two and the girl I know is in there will emerge. I know she's there because once every couple of hours we have had a smiling, laughing baby for about 10 minutes when she forgets to be sad. Then she remembers and the inconsolable crying starts again. But those few moments have been little pockets of joy and I know there are many many more of them in our futures.
I want to end this by saying that I don't think we're having a much rougher of a time than most new families and I don't think Annabelle's feelings right now are especially different than most babies in her situation. It just not a part of adoption that most people (in and out of the adoption community) want to know about. I guess my point is that no matter how well you plan and prepare, they may times that the emotional stuff is going to hit you like a ton of bricks and it's going to hurt more than you imagined. I just thought you should know.
We're having a really hard day today. Annabelle's grieving. Really deeply grieving. I'm pretty sure she was recently removed from her foster home and the loss of that family, whoever they are, is hitting her hard. And there is nothing we can do to ease her hurt except meet her basic physical needs, babble to her in our very limited Mandarin and a language she doesn't understand, hold her close and pat her, and try to get her through this period.
The kicker to all of this is that we were prepared for it (we thought.) We read all the books, talked with a hugely supportive no sugarcoating type of BTDT crowd, and made a plan as to how we were going to help her should she be upset. I even hoped she would grieve as that it is a very good sign that the babies have learned to form attachments before and can learn to do it again. Pffft. We've walked, we've rocked, we've strollered, we've fed, we've changed, we've had skin to skin contact, we've sang, we've played Chinese lullabies, we've given oragel and Motrin and done every damn thing we can do. The one thing she wants most right now is the one thing we are unable to do anything about for her. It's absolutely breaking my heart to hear her scream for her mama for hours and to know that she is only reluctantly accepting my comforting because she is exhausted and I am all that is available. Intellectually, I knew it would be hard, but my heart had no idea how much pain her pain would cause.
We'll get through this, most likely in a day or two and the girl I know is in there will emerge. I know she's there because once every couple of hours we have had a smiling, laughing baby for about 10 minutes when she forgets to be sad. Then she remembers and the inconsolable crying starts again. But those few moments have been little pockets of joy and I know there are many many more of them in our futures.
I want to end this by saying that I don't think we're having a much rougher of a time than most new families and I don't think Annabelle's feelings right now are especially different than most babies in her situation. It just not a part of adoption that most people (in and out of the adoption community) want to know about. I guess my point is that no matter how well you plan and prepare, they may times that the emotional stuff is going to hit you like a ton of bricks and it's going to hurt more than you imagined. I just thought you should know.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Travelling to Beijing and Day One of Touring
Hi everyone! Being in Beijing has been a blast so far, but getting to Beijing -- not so much fun. Nothing went wrong but 30 or so hours of travel makes for a couple of very tired, cranky parents to be. We arrived at the airport in St. Louis for our 5pm flight to LA and arrived there at 7:15pm. Imagine my surprise to hear someone yelling my name as we walked into the international terminal there. It was M., a mom-to-be in our travel group and her husband H. They live in California and were just starting their trip. We were pretty much instant friends and we travelled the rest of the way to Beijing together. They are funny and warm so darn cute I just want to tuck them in a pocket and bring them home with me. We left LA at midnight and arrived in Guangzhou almost 16 hours later. There's no way to sugar coat it, that was one long, tough plane ride. Even in the "good seats." If we had travelled in economy seating, I'm pretty sure there would have been bloodshed. For those waiting to travel, here's tip #1 - Spring for premium economy if at all possible. It made the ride bearable, just barely. Tip #2 - do whatever it takes to sleep through most of the trip. Make friends with Mr. Xanax or Benedryl. We arrived in Guangzhou about 6:30am local time and had although we had to scurry to catch our connecting flight to Beijing, we made it. Our guide Elsie was waiting for us at the airport and shuffled us off the to hotel right away.
We were determined not to sleep right away so as to try and adjust to the time change, so we freshened up a bit and headed off to the local Carrefours (think Super Mega Walmart on steroids) and browsed their overwhelming array of everything. We picked up some potables and snacks before heading to the hotel health club for a full body massage. Tip #3- do this. Being pummeled into bonelessness for 45 minutes was just what we needed to relieve the travel knots and went a long way towards making us feel human again. After a quick drink in the hotel bar, we joined M. and H. for a lovely meal and then headed up to our rooms...
Where I promptly freaked out because I realized I hadn't packed a two dollar piece of plastic that was supposed to allow me to connect to the rest of the world during this trip. Once that problem was solved (the plastic bit turned out not to even be necessary) I made a couple of quick calls home, and we fell into bed, utterly exhausted, but excited about the days to come.
I have no idea why we woke up at 4:30, but I popped out of bed bright-eyed and raring to go. For those of you who know me personally, try to pick your jaws up off the floor. After a nice breakfast with M. and H. we met with our local guide, Cindy and one other family, D. and D., and headed out into the big city (17M people). Tip #4 - Beijing traffic is every bit as crazy as everyone says it is. See example A below which was taken just outside our hotel, on a not typically busy intersection.
We were determined not to sleep right away so as to try and adjust to the time change, so we freshened up a bit and headed off to the local Carrefours (think Super Mega Walmart on steroids) and browsed their overwhelming array of everything. We picked up some potables and snacks before heading to the hotel health club for a full body massage. Tip #3- do this. Being pummeled into bonelessness for 45 minutes was just what we needed to relieve the travel knots and went a long way towards making us feel human again. After a quick drink in the hotel bar, we joined M. and H. for a lovely meal and then headed up to our rooms...
Where I promptly freaked out because I realized I hadn't packed a two dollar piece of plastic that was supposed to allow me to connect to the rest of the world during this trip. Once that problem was solved (the plastic bit turned out not to even be necessary) I made a couple of quick calls home, and we fell into bed, utterly exhausted, but excited about the days to come.
I have no idea why we woke up at 4:30, but I popped out of bed bright-eyed and raring to go. For those of you who know me personally, try to pick your jaws up off the floor. After a nice breakfast with M. and H. we met with our local guide, Cindy and one other family, D. and D., and headed out into the big city (17M people). Tip #4 - Beijing traffic is every bit as crazy as everyone says it is. See example A below which was taken just outside our hotel, on a not typically busy intersection.
We headed straight for the Temple of Heaven, which is located in a large park full of folks dancing, practicing tai chi and sidewalk calligraphy. The temple and surrounding buildings had some of the most beautiful architecture and porcelain tiles I've ever seen. The colors were especially vibrant as this area was recently restored in anticipation of the 2008 Olympics.
After the temple, our guide Cindy, took us to a restaurant for a delicious lunch. It was served family style on a lazy susan and the staff just kept bringing dish after tasty dish. Everything was good and I even ate and enjoyed the fish! After lunch it was off the the bell tower, which apparently is the training ground for the Great Wall. Then a new guide and a brave rickshaw driver took us on a tour of a local neighborhood called a hutong. We learned about this type of traditional community, visited with a family, and pet their sweet dogs. (Hi Ollie and Greta. We miss you!) Next, we visited a local kindergarten and played with the kids, who were mostly a little shy because they had just woken up from a nap. After dinner (Tip #5 - skip the KFC), we ended the evening with the Chinese Acrobats show. It was loud, colorful and amazing. I had no ideas bodies could bend those ways.
Blogger is giving me trouble uploading photos but you should be able to see the whole day's worth here.
More later tonight!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
We've Arrived!
We've made it to Beijing safe and sound. We will post more details after we get some sleep.
posted by guest blogger Amy
posted by guest blogger Amy
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
And Away We Go!
Sorry for the complete radio silence. These last few weeks have been an absolute whirlwind of activity around here and they've left me with little energy for anything but the basic necessities. On the good side, there have been lovely baby showers thrown by both my friends at work and our families, shopping, decorating, planning and dreaming. On the down side, my mom had some fairly major surgery (from which she is recovering nicely, but still) and the powers that be at my job realized I really was going to leave and take over 2 months off so they decided to try and kill me first with several huge projects and many very long days. Oh, and there were also about 3 million projects at home to finish up. You know, the ones we just hadn't had time to squeeze in during the last 3 1/2 years. Yeah, those.
But all craziness aside, the day has finally come to head off into the wide blue yonder to meet our daughter. We leave today. We meet Annabelle on March 22, less than a week from this moment. Surreal doesn't begin to cover it.
Here's our schedule:
03/17 - Leave St. Louis
03/19 - Arrive Beijing
03/20-3/21 - Tour Beijing
03/22 - Fly to Nanchang, meet Annabelle
03/23 - Complete adoption
03/24-03/26 - Sightseeing in Nanchang
03/27 - pick up passport, do paperwork
03/28 - Fly to Guangzhou
03/29 - Free day
03/30 - Medical appointment
03/31 - Consulate appointment
04/01 - Pick up Visa, leave Guangzhou
04/02 - Arrive St. Louis
We are both a huge tangled knot of excitement and nerves. I feel like we are as prepared as we can be, and yet I know we can't possibly anticipate what's to come.
I can't wait to find out.
But all craziness aside, the day has finally come to head off into the wide blue yonder to meet our daughter. We leave today. We meet Annabelle on March 22, less than a week from this moment. Surreal doesn't begin to cover it.
Here's our schedule:
03/17 - Leave St. Louis
03/19 - Arrive Beijing
03/20-3/21 - Tour Beijing
03/22 - Fly to Nanchang, meet Annabelle
03/23 - Complete adoption
03/24-03/26 - Sightseeing in Nanchang
03/27 - pick up passport, do paperwork
03/28 - Fly to Guangzhou
03/29 - Free day
03/30 - Medical appointment
03/31 - Consulate appointment
04/01 - Pick up Visa, leave Guangzhou
04/02 - Arrive St. Louis
We are both a huge tangled knot of excitement and nerves. I feel like we are as prepared as we can be, and yet I know we can't possibly anticipate what's to come.
I can't wait to find out.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Love Child
Digiscraping elements from the "Someone to Love" collection by Amber LaBau at Stolen Moments Designs.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Signed, Sealed, Delivered
Out of the approximately 7000 pieces of paper we've had to fill out so far with this adoption, this was easily my favorite so far:
Officially, it's called a Letter Of Seeking Confirmation From Adopter. It our confirmation to the CCAA that we wish to accept our referral. Unofficially, I think we'll call it the "Abso-freakin'-lutely Letter."
Many thanks to my dearest hubby Greg for happily volunteering to be the one to head out into the continued sleet and snow today to deliver our acceptance documents to our agency. Already he's risking life and limb for his little girl. Awww...
Officially, it's called a Letter Of Seeking Confirmation From Adopter. It our confirmation to the CCAA that we wish to accept our referral. Unofficially, I think we'll call it the "Abso-freakin'-lutely Letter."
Many thanks to my dearest hubby Greg for happily volunteering to be the one to head out into the continued sleet and snow today to deliver our acceptance documents to our agency. Already he's risking life and limb for his little girl. Awww...
Xin Nian Kwai Le
Happy New Year of the Ox, everybody.
In spite of dropping temps, freezing rain, sleet and snow we happily marched ourselves out to dinner at a wonderful Chinese restaurant tonight with agency staff and friends. I'd show you pictures from the event, but someone (I'm not naming names) forgot to bring the camera and the restaurant's website won't let me steal their pictures. We both tried some new dishes and I gotta give a big thumbs up to the Walnut Shrimp. It totally rocked. And it was pretty. If only we'd had a camera...
It was great to see some of the friends we've met over the years of waiting. I know they are hurting right now, and I continue to hope that the coming months will see them united with their children in China. Some new friends, still in that so close but yet so far stage (an April 06 LID), were even kind enough to bring Annabelle a few gifts, including an awesome bib that says "My daddy is a HOTTIE!" Mommy thinks so too. Daddy continues to insist that Mommy is insane.
After dinner, we skedaddled (isn't that a great word? I just love it!) on home and tried (successfully) not to crash into anything on the increasingly slippery streets.
On that note, I'd like to wish everyone a safe and happy new year. May this year bring your families closer in every way.
In spite of dropping temps, freezing rain, sleet and snow we happily marched ourselves out to dinner at a wonderful Chinese restaurant tonight with agency staff and friends. I'd show you pictures from the event, but someone (I'm not naming names) forgot to bring the camera and the restaurant's website won't let me steal their pictures. We both tried some new dishes and I gotta give a big thumbs up to the Walnut Shrimp. It totally rocked. And it was pretty. If only we'd had a camera...
It was great to see some of the friends we've met over the years of waiting. I know they are hurting right now, and I continue to hope that the coming months will see them united with their children in China. Some new friends, still in that so close but yet so far stage (an April 06 LID), were even kind enough to bring Annabelle a few gifts, including an awesome bib that says "My daddy is a HOTTIE!" Mommy thinks so too. Daddy continues to insist that Mommy is insane.
After dinner, we skedaddled (isn't that a great word? I just love it!) on home and tried (successfully) not to crash into anything on the increasingly slippery streets.
On that note, I'd like to wish everyone a safe and happy new year. May this year bring your families closer in every way.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
At last!
Sorry for the all day wait folks, but Greg and I are thrilled and tickled to get to announce the addition of Annabelle Grace to our family at long last.
Her name is Ling Cha Tao (we have no idea what that means) and she was born February 14, 2008 in the Jiangxi Province. She's currently living at the Shangrao SWI in the city of Shangrao. All of medical info checks and well and she looks like a firecracker!
Did I mention she is possibly the cutest baby on the planet with the most munchable toes I've ever seen? See for yourself!
According to the referral packet we received she laughs a lot, is very active, and is sometimes obstinate. She sounds just like her dad.
We couldn't be happier!
Her name is Ling Cha Tao (we have no idea what that means) and she was born February 14, 2008 in the Jiangxi Province. She's currently living at the Shangrao SWI in the city of Shangrao. All of medical info checks and well and she looks like a firecracker!
Did I mention she is possibly the cutest baby on the planet with the most munchable toes I've ever seen? See for yourself!
According to the referral packet we received she laughs a lot, is very active, and is sometimes obstinate. She sounds just like her dad.
We couldn't be happier!
Jumping Out of My Skin!
The calls are starting to trickle in for this batch of referrals, but we've heard nothing from our agency yet. I'm going out of my mind and I'm not getting a damn thing done here at work today. I have so much excess energy and nowhere to go with all. I feel like jumping rope, or doing laps around my office building (which, if you've ever seen me run...just no.) Since our agency is right here in town, Greg and I have agreed to not find out anything over the phone and go into their office so that we can receive our referral, and see our daughter for the first time, together. I had the presence of mind to bring the camera to work with me today, just in case. And I have my list of questions to ask all printed out and ready to go, too.
RING PHONE RING!
RING PHONE RING!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Nothing New to Post HERE, but...
Head on over to Stephe's place and ogle the cuteness that is Giorgia. They just met a couple of days ago and seem to be getting along swimmingly. Actually, I can't imagine anyone NOT getting along with Stephe. She's been a huge cheerleader for our DTC (dossier to China) group and I'm so glad it's finally her and Gigi's turn to come together.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Packing it in
No, you're not getting rid of me that easily.
A certain upcoming trip and all the quirks of international travel have been a bit on my mind of late (oh, say, for the last 1,084 days since DTC). I've looked at baggage weight limits for both domestic travel, international travel, and in-China travel (all different), linear size baggage limits for way too many different airlines, and various packing lists which vary from BRING EVERYTHING! to Pfft! Why Would You Need More Than a Carry-on, You Silly Girl? from those who've gone before. When I try to smoosh all of that together in my brain, I end of with a lot less hair than I used to have.
What it boils down to is this: we get one 44lb bag each and an 11lb carry-on each to pack for two adults and one baby of unknown size for two weeks in up to three cities with possibly wildly different climates in a foreign country whose language we don't speak (oh, and brain bleed from that run on sentence). Obviously, it's been done before and so is do-able. But not by me. And not with the current luggage that we own. What's a girl to do?
Shop!
I found a great deal on Christmas day at http://www.ebags.com/ and took full advantage and scored the following, which arrived this week:
We got two 30" drop bottom rolling duffel bags and two 19" rolling backpacks. For the price I paid, I don't expect them to be the highest quality luggage in all the land, but if they'll get us to China and back, I'll be tickled all the same.
Now, internets, share your best packing tips. Just 'cause I have the luggage doesn't mean I know how to use it. Must haves? Neato tricks? Don't bothers? Let me know.
A certain upcoming trip and all the quirks of international travel have been a bit on my mind of late (oh, say, for the last 1,084 days since DTC). I've looked at baggage weight limits for both domestic travel, international travel, and in-China travel (all different), linear size baggage limits for way too many different airlines, and various packing lists which vary from BRING EVERYTHING! to Pfft! Why Would You Need More Than a Carry-on, You Silly Girl? from those who've gone before. When I try to smoosh all of that together in my brain, I end of with a lot less hair than I used to have.
What it boils down to is this: we get one 44lb bag each and an 11lb carry-on each to pack for two adults and one baby of unknown size for two weeks in up to three cities with possibly wildly different climates in a foreign country whose language we don't speak (oh, and brain bleed from that run on sentence). Obviously, it's been done before and so is do-able. But not by me. And not with the current luggage that we own. What's a girl to do?
Shop!
I found a great deal on Christmas day at http://www.ebags.com/ and took full advantage and scored the following, which arrived this week:
We got two 30" drop bottom rolling duffel bags and two 19" rolling backpacks. For the price I paid, I don't expect them to be the highest quality luggage in all the land, but if they'll get us to China and back, I'll be tickled all the same.
Now, internets, share your best packing tips. Just 'cause I have the luggage doesn't mean I know how to use it. Must haves? Neato tricks? Don't bothers? Let me know.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The Ladies Who Lunch
So, how was your weekend?
I was lucky enough to get a visit with an old friend, Amy, and her adorable Martina, on Saturday. She was in town visiting family and we arranged a lunch get together. My mom even came along after her chiropractor's visit and was, of course, charmed by them both. Martina was a little shy at first (she was tired and missing her daddy, but quickly warmed up and was soon a typical giggly, smiling and thoroughly enchanting four year old. See for yourself:
How Amy and I reconnected is a funny story. We knew each other in high school, had many of the same classes, and were friendly. We didn't hang out together outside of school much, though. We graduated and went merrily on our separate ways. Then, about 3 1/2 years ago, as Greg and I were just starting to pursue this adoption, I joined an yahoo chat group, the infamous APC (Adoptive Parents - China), where on any given day you'll be lucky if a bar fight doesn't break out over the color of the sky. There are over 19,000 members to the group world wide, so some of that is to be expected. If you can weed through it all, there really can be some good info there, especially from the "been there, done that" parents. Anyhow, I had been reading the posts from this group for a few months, but I hadn't yet posted anything. When I finally did, it was to take exception to a really cruelly worded statement from another long time member of the group. I sat back and waited for the hate mail to come rolling in.
Imagine my surprise when the very first reply I received was from Amy. She figured there couldn't be that many people in my town with my name (for those that don't know me personally, it's unusual). She and her husband now live in another state, and were preparing to leave for China to go get Martina. We've been chatting through e-mail and visiting when we can ever since. They were even kind enough to invite us for dinner one night when we were in their area. Amy is quite the cook, and I've been enamoured of Martina since she bravely climbed right up into my lap that night. Amy and her family are currently waiting for the referral of their second child from China, so if you go visit her blog send them good wishes and tell them to come back and visit soon.
Seeing Amy and Martina on Saturday also gave me an excuse to take a few pictures and play with my new obsession, digital scrap booking. I've been downloading tons of free kits from the Internets lately and I really wanted to put a few of them to use. How did I do?
scrap booking credits: QP from the Shabby Mommy collection by Shabby Princess Designs of www.shabbyprincess.com, frames from the A Little Bird Told Me collection by Shannon M. Glick-Howington at www.angelwingsnthings.blogspot.com, butterfly and green flower from the Petit Bonheur collection by Claire7799 at http://claire7799.canalblog.com, orange flower from the Hearts & Flowers collection by Vicki at http://vicki20.blogspot.com and buttons from the Swanky collection by Michelle at www.shelbellescraps.blogspot.com. Whew!
Friday, January 2, 2009
Firsts
It's a good day for beginnings.
This is the first writing I've done in a very long while. After so many months of having nothing new to say, or at least thinking I had nothing new to say, it feels good to share again. It feels good to want to share again.
It's the first day of the first month of a brand new year. Everything is possible all over again. Especially hope. As we endured this unforeseeable wait, I almost forgot that hope was possible.
It's the first day of the month that will most likely bring us our daughter's face. That day will be the best first yet.
This is the first writing I've done in a very long while. After so many months of having nothing new to say, or at least thinking I had nothing new to say, it feels good to share again. It feels good to want to share again.
It's the first day of the first month of a brand new year. Everything is possible all over again. Especially hope. As we endured this unforeseeable wait, I almost forgot that hope was possible.
It's the first day of the month that will most likely bring us our daughter's face. That day will be the best first yet.
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