Happy 2008!!

Well...a little under an hour until then! ;D

Mom and Dad are leaving tomorrow night for Chicago with my grandpa and then my other grandpa is driving them to Ohare on Wednesday!!!!!!!!! so 2 days until they leave for China and 1 night until I don't see them again for 2 WHOLE WEEKS!!! I still can't wrap my brain around it!! LOL!

We just got done playing our all night Monopoly game!! Christopher won! Like really won! He owned pretty much the whole board! LOL! It was a lot of fun! We still have a bunch of food and snacks left over! =D Our next all night Monopoly game will be next year (as in the next New Year! =D) and we'll have Sarah!! Although she'll probably be sleeping.....

Open Door: By Crystal Kershaw

Here's a fiction adoption story I found on www.briomag.com! Enjoy!

Emily paused in front of the red door. Her eyes strained to examine its intricate carvings, timeless Chinese symbols for nobility and prosperity. Dragons leaped toward her, their scaly tails whipping around gentle pagodas and lotus trees. "Right," she whispered. "This is the place." Groaning against the door’s thick weight, she went inside.
The Chinese consulate in New York City sprawled out before her. Emily felt an immediate rush of adrenaline as she wandered into its expansive reception hall. Colorful traditional costumes danced among the gleaming glass cases. Chinese faces peered out of the huge photographs scattered among them. Emily was drawn to a small, black-and-white photo peeking through the fog of images. It was of an emperor, surrounded by his royal family. Lost in the photo, Emily was startled at the sound of a voice behind her.
A pretty, petite woman in a red consulate blazer, seated behind a black lacquered reception desk, quietly addressed her. Emily flushed with confusion. "I’m sorry, but I don’t understand Chinese," she said softly. "I have an 11:00 appointment with Mr. San."
"Your name, please?" the receptionist replied in perfect English.
"Emily Hills. Mr. San is expecting me." The receptionist turned to her desk and dialed the phone. After a few minutes of brisk Chinese conversation, she smiled.
"You may be seated, Miss Hills. Mr. San will be here shortly."
Emily sat down. She couldn’t believe she was here. Adopted at the age of 1, she didn’t remember China except in occasional flashbacks. The smell of a spice could trigger a memory, or the slick feel of a silk shirt. Like clouds racing through a sunlit sky, the memories were pleasant, but they passed out of sight quietly and quickly.
Every year around her birthday, Emily pledged to capture one of those clouds. Each of her 12 years had passed without bringing her closer to her goal. Her 13th birthday had brought with it an intensity of longing she hadn’t felt before.
While she was waiting for her mom to get back from the supermarket, Emily stumbled on a National Geographic article about Northwest China. Captivated by the magazine’s shiny spreads, tiny memories began surfacing. Emily felt a knot twist around in her stomach. Seeing this magazine on this day — it had to be a sign of some sort, she thought. She stared in awe at a photo, taken in the province of her birth, of a mountain range surrounded by brilliantly flowering plains. Deep down Emily knew what this meant. The time had come to make a plan — it was time to know more.
Moving Forward"What do you think about me searching for my birth family?" Emily stammered that evening as she and her mother cleaned vegetables for her birthday dinner. "I stumbled on the Web site for the Chinese consulate in New York today during computer lab. There was a listing of consulate appointees, and one of them, Mr. San, is from Xining, too." Emily cautiously surveyed her mom’s reaction.
Emily’s mom put down her paring knife. "I understand your desire to learn more about your birth family, Em, and I’ll do what I can to help. But there are very few solid answers in China. Yes, you’re from Xining, but it’s not a small town. Mr. San is one of more than a million people who call Xining home. The chance he’ll have any knowledge of your birth parents is very slim."
"Slim is better than nothing," Emily answered without hesitation. "I thought I’d send the locket to Mr. San, along with a letter asking about the engraving. Maybe he’ll recognize it."
The locket was Emily’s prize possession, the story behind it her only tangible link to her birth parents. Emily’s mom and dad told her about the locket when they talked with her about adoption. They told her about their trip to China and visiting her orphanage. There, an orphanage worker had slipped them the locket as they walked through the courtyard with infant Emily in their arms. Through translated whispers, she explained it had been with Emily when she arrived. The old woman felt it was rightfully hers and had hidden it away. She wanted Emily’s new parents to have it.
After their discussion, Emily began to understand why she looked different than her parents. She also began keeping the locket in a heart-shaped box in her room. Late at night she’d wake up to see if it was there. After school she’d rush to her room to make sure nothing had happened to it. Emily didn’t have a special blanket . . . she had the locket. The story of how she came to have it, and the hope of what it meant, warmed her.
The locket itself was unremarkable, a style Emily had seen in many Chinese import shops. What set it apart was the intricate engraving on its reverse side. It seemed to be a crest of sorts — elegant Chinese characters surrounded by delicate swirls. Emily had shown it to many people, many times, endlessly searching for a beam of light, a clue — something to hold on to. Again and again the answer came back the same. It wasn’t a motto, so it must be a name. A family name. The name of a family Emily longed to know.
A Royal HeirIn her heart, Emily already knew them. She felt her birth family must be among the elite to have such a crest and locket. In the part of her heart where dreams ran free, she could clearly see who they must be. Forced underground during the communist revolution, they were probably descendants of an ancient Chinese dynasty. Emily had become a voracious student of Chinese history, and for years devoured every book she could find, slowing slowly feeding her growing imagination with stories of who her birth parents were.
Somewhere there was a key, a key that would open up both her heritage and the reason behind her adoption. Perhaps her parents’ noble blood imprisoned them. Perhaps on discovery, they’d been ripped from their home, sent to a prison camp and commanded to part with their infant daughter.
The royal blood Emily felt coursing through her veins colored her life a rosy hue. Racist remarks from kids at school, Chinese eyes being mimicked on the bus . . . nothing could penetrate Emily’s barrier of nobility.
She strove to fulfill her own high expectations. Finishing at the top of her eighth-grade class, she was entering high school with a full slate of accelerated courses. In ballet, she made the graceful bends and twirls of an aristocrat’s daughter. Excelling at art and calligraphy, her work was featured in countless student exhibitions. A noble persona touched her every move, informed her every action.
The night before Emily’s appointment at the Chinese consulate, her mom peeked into her room. "I could use some help with the laundry, kiddo. These clothes don’t fold themselves, you know!" She plopped an overstuffed basket of clothes on Emily’s bed and sat down beside her. "I wanted to talk to you about tomorrow, too, Em. I’m excited you have this opportunity, and hope you find what you’re looking for. Just keep in mind what’s important."
"What’s important is finding out who they are," Emily replied, her eyes filling with tears. "Once I know that, I’ll know how it all fits together. Then I’ll know who I am."
"Hon, who you really are is who you choose to become," her mom replied, softly stroking Emily’s hair. "You have the power to choose, Em, and that power doesn’t come from your birth parents or your real parents. That power comes from God and is given to you. Whether your birth parents were part of the imperial family or rice farmers doesn’t change that."
"But I know they’re special, Mom. I can feel it. They’re royal . . . one of the noble families in China. They . . . they’ve got to be," Emily stuttered through her tears.
"Em, we don’t know if they have a pedigree, but we do know something about them. We know they wanted something better for you than they could give themselves. We know they brought you to the orphanage because they loved you and had hope for your future. That’s nobility, Em. It’s about the quality of your heart. By that standard, you’re already nobility. Consulate or no consulate, I hope you remember that."
True IdentityThis conversation haunted Emily as she waited for Mr. San, her head swimming through waves of emotion. When Mr. San had called, telling her he had information to share with her, she couldn’t wait to meet him. Now as she sat waiting, the dragon of reality was poised. Yes, Mr. San had answers, but were they the answers she longed for? What about my nobility? What did it mean? Emily’s fantasies were as much a part of her as her coal black hair. Would the dragon eat at their core, leaving only the scattered bones of her dreams?
Emily closed her eyes and tried to imagine life as a farmer’s daughter. Would it change who she was, what she did, how hard she tried? Would finding out about her birth parents fill a void or create a larger one? Although her mom and dad had encouraged her search, she also knew on some level it must hurt them. Aren’t my parents enough?
Thoughts circled her mind, slowly forming a whirlpool of confusion and fear. Suddenly Mr. San seemed less like a friend and more like an enemy, a dragon rearing back its head, ready to breathe fire. Quickly rifling through her purse, Emily found a pen and scrap of paper and set to writing.
"Would you please give this to Mr. San?" Emily asked, her hand shaking as she offered the message. "I won’t be able to stay for our meeting." The receptionist nodded politely, accepting the note with a vague smile.
Emily turned, searching through streaming tears for the bright red door. To her surprise, as she opened it to the warm sunlight, it wasn’t nearly as heavy as it had been before.

Remembering You: Steven Curtis Chapman

Freaking Out Now!!!

I am freaking out now! 2 days until Mom and Dad leave! I forgot to add in most of the posts something. Mom and Dad are going home with my Grandpa on Tuesday and then leaving on Wednesday! Anyway, I can't believe it's only 2 days until I don't see my parents again for 2 WHOLE WEEKS!! And the next time Sarah will be with them!! I can't belive it's only 2 days until my life changes forever!! Wow!

4 MORE DAYS!!!

YIKES!!!! I can't believe Mom and Dad are leaving in 4 days!!!!! I am so excited!!!!!!!!!=D

How was everyones Christmas? =D

Merry Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!! Hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

*Sarah,

Your picture haunts my head day and night.

I long for the day that is so close but, yet so far away.

I long to see your beautiful face,

And to hold you in my arms,

And kiss your face

And tell you "I love you, MeiMei."

That day is soon,

And although you don't know it,

You will have a forever family soon!

I love you Sarah,

Love your JieJie,

Caitie

Another Article!

New Year's Again!
By: Bob Smiley

New Year’s is here! Time to make those New Year’s resolutions. Time to write out that list of things you plan to do for the entire year or at least the next day. To help you start your own list, I’ll share a few of my family’s New Year’s resolutions.

• Listen! My wife wants us to work on listening to each other more this year in order to improve something. I didn’t catch the last part of what she was saying because the Texans were about to score! But hey, maybe you could listen to your profs and your parents more.

• Less shopping! My wife has told me that her resolution this year is to only shop on days that end with a “y.” I’m very excited!

• Be nice to your brother or sister! My oldest son, Colter, promises not to use duct tape on his younger brother this year. I overheard him tell another kindergartner he’s sticking with plain rope.

• Get a new hobby! Trenton, my youngest son, vows to learn more about knots and to study escape artistry.

• Exercise! My dad began jogging. He’s resolved to complete two laps around the coffee table every morning.

• Redecorate! My mom wants to buy a bigger coffee table.

These are just a few suggestions. Whatever you choose to do with these new days, be sure to thank God who gave you these days!
Remember that nothing in life is guaranteed . . . except the fact that if one doughnut is left in the room with my dad, there’s no doughnut left in that room. God doesn’t promise us the next day, so make the most of the one He’s given you right now!
If none of the above resolutions sound good to you, I’ll also include my personal New Year’s resolution list for 2005. Maybe one of these will inspire you.

1. I’ve done this before, and I’m going to do it again. I’m resolving to read the Bible through in a year. It’s really not hard at all. You can follow the Brio plan for reading it through in a year or simply read three chapters each day and five on Sunday. In one year, you’ll have read the entire Bible. This is important to me, because I want to spend time every day with my best Friend and Creator, reading the stories He left for me and seeking His guidance.

2. I’ll stop numbering everything.

3. I’ll stop telling people what to do. This is a really good one. In fact, it should be on your list as well! So write it down NOW.

4. I’m not going to be so nosy. My wife says I’m very nosy. Actually, she didn’t tell me that: She wrote it in her diary.

5. I won’t get distracted by other things to the point where I don’t finish what I started working on in the first pla –

The Way I See It - I Resolve To...

By Patrick Dunn

"This year, I will use electricity.”

That’s it. I’ve got my New Year’s resolution.

I know it’s small, but at least it’s a step forward from last year’s:

“In 2007, I promise to allow my liver to work.”

Maybe you’re working on your resolutions. Here’s some help: I heard one reason resolutions fail is that they can be too big, and that’s why I decided to make smaller ones. Plus, now I know why some of my other ones failed!

2006: This year I WILL become a really smart scientist.

2002: I promise to evangelize the Southern Hemisphere.

2000: I’ll stop being afraid of pecans. (OK, maybe only this is a big one for me.)

1999: Become daredevil stunt dude guy.

Another reason resolutions fail is you can set too many. This isn’t really a problem for me—or most guys. If we set them at all, they usually stay simple or all sound alike:

1. Workout more.

2. Go to the gym.

3. Start lifting weights.

4. Get bigger and stronger.

But girls? I’ve seen the list of resolutions some girls come up with, and it can be a recipe for discouragement:

Start exercising, stop snorting when I laugh, begin journaling, drink more water, paint toenails weekly, stop thinking about Josh, no more fast food, help youth leader, give 12 hugs a day, write Grandma, sing in worship band, memorize the Old Testament, no sneezing around guys, start quilting, get straight A’s, no more pony tails, tour with Relient K . . .

And this is just for January through March.

Now honestly, I have a tougher resolution for this year, but I’m afraid to start. It seems too hard.

“I want to start eating better.”

Simple, right? Not for me. There are some major reasons why this resolution will be difficult:

1. My food pyramid has three parts: cookies, foods I like, foods I don’t like.

2. I’m originally from Wisconsin. It’s hard to eat really healthy there—butter is considered a food group. And cheese is considered a vegetable.

3. Media pressure. Did you know guys are actually encouraged to eat bad? Whenever an ad on TV or in a magazine shows a girl and food, they’re usually dancing around eating yogurt, a fruity snack or drinking zero-calorie soda. But guys? They’re 400 pounds and grilling a steak the size of a water heater.

I got it! Maybe I could make a resolution to not make resolutions! Or I could make a list of stuff I WON’T do. That way, by not doing anything, I’d actually succeed!

(Example: I won’t run as fast as a cat. I won’t win the award of “Greek Dancing Champion.”)

Of course, I could just step out in faith, pray that God would help me eat better and remember how the Bible promises that when I am weak, He is strong.

I know that’s the best resolution I can make—although I’m still hoping for that daredevil-stunt-dude-guy one.

It's Getting Even More Real To Me!

Yesterday, our friends came over and brought their extra crib!! Dad and Mr. Winter set it up in my room and then Mom and I put all the decor on it after they left! =D This morning I just stared at it for about a half hour. Half of that half hour I noticed how the dust ruffle (or whatever it's called) was simply crooked and needed to be straightend (which I still need to do!) and the other half I imagined Sarah standing up in it ;).

11 More Days Till Travel! =D

14 DYAS!!!!!

See how excited I am? I spelled probably one of the easiest words wrong! 14 DAYS!!! That's better! But I'll be more specific! 14 days, what? You may be asking yourself. 14 DAYS UNTIL MOM AND DAD LEAVE FOR CHINA!!!! =D Which makes it only 16 or 17 days until I get to see our sweet girls face!!! We're bouncing off the walls and everything is just nuts here!! Mom is everywhere! Packing, packing, packing, shopping for Sarah, packing, and (you guessed it) more packing. So far though, she's only packed all of Sarah's stuff. She's waiting to pack her's and Dad's until, I think, the day before, because they're still using the stuff they need to pack! My room looks so crowded! Her suitcase and carryon bag are right where her crib is going to go.

Speaking of crib! That's coming on Friday! Some friends of ours had two cribs and said that we could have one! I can't wait until that goes up!

We also finally got Sarah's carseat! Turns out she's going to have to be rear facing because of her weight! She's going to be so tiny! I'll post a pic of that when I post one of the crib!=D

Only 6 or 7 days till Christmas!

MERRY EXTRA-EARLY CHRISTMAS!

And The Countdown Begins...Again!

At midnight tonight it will be 16 days until Mom and Dad leave for China!!! Which makes it about 30 days (I think) until Sarah comes home!!!! Praise the Lord!=D

I Got It Back!! =D

I went back onto Pyzam to see if the snowflake layout would work again (after about 5 tries for the past few weeks) and it finally worked!!! =D This has to be one of my favorte layouts!

We've Been Bumped

We've been bumped up!!! =( Bethanne called Mom's cell last night and said that our travel dates have changed because of the holidays. Gansu is closed down a whole week for Christmas! Why does China celebrate American holidays????! Mom and Dad will now be OFFICIALLY leaving on January 2nd and coming home on January 17th. No changes can be made! At least I think!!=O

This is Hilarious!

So this is what Dad posted this morning on his and Mom's blog! Its really funny! =D


Thursday, December 13, 2007
I dont do forms!

Dad (Joe) writing:
Yesterday was an experience. I went to the Chinese Consulate, which is at 1 W. Erie, not 100 E. Erie as their website claims. It was supposed to be soooo easy. Just drop off our passports and the forms we filled out for our visas. When I got up to the window the nice man behind the 2” bulletproof glass said “wrong form, fill out these,” and pushed two new forms through the slot.This may have been no big deal for the average adult. But having been on overnight salt spreading duty the past two nights, with a total of six hours sleep in the last 72 hours, I hardly qualified. Every time I’ve picked up a pen to fill in some form in the past two years, my lovely Lisa springs into action, alerting me to all the possible mistakes I could make. I’ve been trained to avoid filling out forms altogether and just allow her to do it. I only provide the all-important signature. (Truth is I hate filling out forms and she seems to actually like it. A perfect marriage.) But here we were Caitie, Jonah, and me with two forms that needed filling out and no qualified person to do so.I panicked. I called Lisa and the atomic transporter was on the fritz, so she wouldn’t be joining us. She was supportive but the reality was those forms were either going to be filled out by me or I’d have to bring them home to her and let her fill them out. I called Bethanne, our social worker, and so much more. She calmed me down and convinced me that I might actually be qualified to do this. (Okay, if anyone thinks I’m starting to sound like a weenie I’d like to remind you: sleep deprived, worried about screwing up the form and derailing the whole process by misspelling a name or something. Oh never mind.)So I went over to the counter where people fill out these forms and found no pens. I turned to my daughter Caitie and asked if she had a pen. She produced a remarkable contraption that she claims I bought for her. This was a long white pen that had large blue heart-shaped crystal on the top. Lovely. When you press the pen tip to paper the blue crystal lights up. Lift it and it shuts off. When you print instead of using cursive the pen blinks with each letter. Now the spring inside the pen has to be compressed so that there is electrical contact made. This makes the tip drag along the paper because it has to be lifted 1/32nd of an inch higher than any other pen. This created a lot of odd markings as I dragged the pen-tip from one letter to the next. But the blinking blue light was a special treat.The first entry on the new form required my “surname”. I never saw the word before. Was that my first name, last name, whole name? Then the next entry was my “given name”. Oh please!Caitie was really helpful. I went with her best guesses.We got through it. I’m sure it’s all fine. Anyway, I realized that I’d better relax. I’m going to China for two weeks and there’s probably going to be more surprises. If I can get bent out of shape over this, what’s it going to be like over there? When this realization hit me, I looked across the elevator we had just boarded and said to Caitie, “I need to relax.”She nodded and said, “God’s in control, Dad.”My cup runneth over.

We've Got TA!!!!!!!!!!!! =D

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!! =D Mom had left earlier to pick up Jonah from band practice when she called! I didn't recognize the number but I picked it up anyway wondering if it was someone I know, just not the number! Mom's talking to her right now! They're definatly leaving on the 26th and coming home on January 9th! Sooner then thought!!!!!!! =D I'm so excited!!!!!!! =D

I just recounted down and I've been giving the wrong countdown! More days until travel but it's only just a little!!!! It's really 17 days, 15 days until Christmas. I think I was mixing countdowns. ;)

I just can't believe we have TA!!! Sarah's so close but so far away!!!

16 More Days until Travel/ Lexi, Your Question

16 more days until Mom and Dad leave for China!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!! Which makes it only 33 more days until I finally get to meet Sarah!!! I can't believe how fast the days are flying by!!!!! =D

In answer to your question, Lexi. Mom is going to email me pics and probably what they did and stuff about Sarah - if that makes sense- and then I'm going to choose so pics and post them on my blog! =D I hope that gave you the answer you were looking for! =D

Candy Cane!

I found it on Matie Kay Creations!

Huh?

Okay so Lexi, you say that you still see snowflakes but I still see Santa? I am so confused!

17.5 Days until China!!!! =D

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????

What happened??????? My blog first had snowflakes on it and now it's Santa!!!!! What happened??? I didn't change it at all!!! =(
I am NOT in the mood to change this right now. I'll do it tomorrow. =(

Song...

I put a new song on the bottom and so far its not working....please let me know if it doesn't work for any of you. Thanks!

*Caitie*

18.5 Days and Counting!! =D

Only 18.5 more days until Mom and Dad leave for China!!!!!! =D

Guess Who Hates Snow...

Yeah, okay, I admit it. I do. But it's not me who I'm talking about. Ruby and Chloe (remember them...the last picture I posted of them the were cute little chicks?) well anyway, they're all grown up now and laying eggs! We only have 2 hens and we get almost 3 eggs a day now! Yum! =D Anyway back to snow. They hate it! It's so adorable though. They lift up they're feet all disgusted when they walk in it! Dad and Jonah were cleaning the coop this morning and the didn't like the snow so they flew up onto the wall and stayed up there until the guys were done cleaning. It was so adorable! They then stayed by the coop the rest of the day. They're pretty cranky now, because they can't dig in the dirt for bugs and they don't like the snow. I went out there just now to put them to bed and they kept tugging on my clothes and looking at the snow and then looking back at me. It was so cute! I don't have any pictures right now, but I'm taking some tomorrow to post.

I can't believe this weather!!! It's so cold out and we've had snow, sleet, and rain! I've decided I like summer the best. I like the heat and the sun and being able to go to the beach.

Have a great weekend!

Last Nights Travel Meeting

Last night Mom and Dad went to the travel meeting! =D Mom said it went really well. They really like Bethanne this time around. Which is really good! Julie isn't our Social Worker anymore. She had some problems with her pregnancy and had to leave. So Bethanne is now our Social Worker. Mom and Dad asked Bethanne when she thinks they'll be leaving and she said the end of 2007!! So that's 3 or 4 weeks away!! I can't believe it! Last year we were thinking 3 or 4 years and now its weeks away!! =D I can't believe Mom and Dad are going to China! =D She so close yet so far away!!! Right now Mom's looking at Plane tickets!! I'm so excited!! Mom was telling me everything last night and I was still going back to 3 weeks from now!! That's so soon!! I'm sooooooooooooooo excited!! =D SO I'm thinking if Mom and Dad leave on December 26th, because - not sure if every agency does this- they have to leave on a Wendesday they'll come home on January 4th,5th,or 6th. Hopefully sooner!! They're going to fly into Bejing and from Bejing into Langhouz(sp?!), Gansu - where they'll pick up Sarah!- and then stay in Langhouz for some amount of days and then Langhouz to Guangzouh (sp?!), to Hong Kong, and then Hong Kong to HOME!!! Bethanne told Mom and Dad that they'll land in Langhouz on Sunday and can either get Sarah on Sunday or Monday or Tuesday! You won't believe this though! The drive from the Institue Sarah is in is 5HOURS away from Langzouh! Bethanne said it's a long and bumpy ride so she'll probably be car sick, not smell to good, and cranky. =(
If I remember more from what Mom told me last night I'll post, but that's really all. SHE"S ALMOST HERE!!! =D

This Proves That I Stink at Math!

LOL! Thanks for the comments! But my math really was wrong! 30 days ends up as January 1st or near there! Today is day 21 until December 20th, not 30. OOPS! =D So its sooner than I thought! YAY! =D

20 Days! O My!

He he....so yesterday when we were on our way home from PetSmart with Jonah's crickets for his slimy, eeeeeeewwww!, salamanders, I made Mom sick to her stomach. Don't get all worried it was in a good way! I was doing some math in my head and figured out how many days it'll be - counting down from December 1st - until Mom and Dad travel. I have this feeling they'll be in China over Christmas. So with the math I was doing I figured, Okay, Mom and Dad would be leaving on the 20th! That makes it only...20 days until Mom and Dad leave for China from December 1st!!!!!!!!! I turned to Mom in my seat and said, "I can't believe it! I counted down from December first and came up with 20 days until you guys leave for China!" to which my replied, "Okay....you just made me sick." She really had gone pale, too.

Later at night when Dad came home, I thought I'd try it on him to. He had eaten Mexican food at lunch and said that it really messed with his stomach, to which I thought that this would be perfect timing to tell him what I figured out! So when he and Mom stopped talking, I went. "Hey Dad! Guess what? You and Mom are leaving for China in 20 days couting down from December 1st!" It was hilarious how he just froze and looked at us so blankly, blinking his eys a couple of times. Mom burst out laughing, the boys and I following. =D

Both of these were one of those "you had to be there" moments. But I thought I'd share them anyway! I can't believe that, if what I've firgured out is right, that it's only 22 more days!! That's travel, though. Probably about 30-35 days until Sarah's actually home! =D

New Blog!

I know...I make so many of these and then delete them. Oh well! This one is a keeper if I stick with what it's about! =D

http://acrylicsaremylife.blogspot.com/

Pirates 3!!!

I am so excited!! Pirates 3 is coming out on DVD December 4th!!! =D POTC 1-3 have to be my favorite movies.

Hard To Read Font? If The Green Font Is Hard to Read, Let Me Know

Black Friday? Not In My Mind

Why call it "Black Friday"? I just don't get it. Anyway. I'm so excited to go shopping!! If shopping was a sport I would defiantly join. Unfortunately, it's not. But technically you do exercise while shopping. Holding all those heavy bags full of stuff, trying on clothes, pushing clothes aside on the racks to find a shirt or whatever, walking around the store....the list goes on and on! I especially love shopping for Sarah! It's going to be so much fun shopping with her and not just for her! =D I can't say I'd be the one who wakes up at 4AM to get to Kohls for their "BIGGEST SALE OF THE YEAR" (as they call it)....that's just plain ridiculous!

HAPPY SHOPPING!

*Caitie*

15 Months Today!

I totally forgot to post that today is Sarah's 15 month birthday!!! Happy 15 months, Kiddo!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Our last Thanksgiving without Sarah!! I hope everyone has a great day!!


I am most thankful for....

The Lord and knowing that He cares about me all the way to the last hair on my head

My Mei Mei and knowing that God has placed her in our home

My mom and dad and the love that they give me

The friends I have who always put a smile on my face

My brothers and the...brotherlyness they add to my life =)

And the life that God has given me and the chance that I have to live it for Him!! =D

Have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy your turkey!!

This Girl is OURS!! =D

She is officially ours!! Mom and Dad went to SR yesterday to sign the LOA and it was sent back to China today, as promised!! Peggy, another worker at SR, said that we should be getting TA on Dec. 11!!! Moma and Dad are going to be traveling alone and since they don't mind traveling during Chistmas, they might be traveling sooner than January!!! The travel meeting with SR is on Dec. 1st. We got the actual photos of Sarah! The ones that were taken by the Institute she's in! You can really see her cleft in it, and in her Visa picture she looks like she was ill! =(
But that was when she was 5 months! I wonder how she's doing now. Things are definatly going to speed up now! =D Unfortunatly we didn't get any updated pictures. But that doesn't matter because she's coming home soon!

Can't wait to put this on...

I can't wait until I can put this in my blinkie collection!

Adorable Little Girl

A few day's ago I was looking for other blogs online. I found this little girl on The Story of You China adoption website. It looks like the family hasn't traveled yet, she so adorable! =D

http://www.thestoryofyou.net/RBTravelFall.html



Happy Birthday Lexi!

Already The Weekend?

Gosh! I can't believe how fast the weeks are going! We're coming so close to Sarah coming home! =D I know that next year she'll definatly be here for Thanksgiving and Christmas! I can't believe that stores are taking down Thanksgiving stuff and putting up Christmas stuff! A few houses by us even have their Christmas lights up! I'm really excited for this Christmas because we might be using a real tree instead of the artificial one that we've used for years. I can't wait until next year and I get to see Sarah's little face when she opens her presents!

We've Got LOA!!! =D

Earlier this afternoon Bethanne called us with our LOA!! Mom and Dad are driving up to SR Monday to sign it and Mom's thinking that it will be sent out on Wednesday. Then Mom and Dad will either be traveling end of Dec. beginning of Jan. TA will be 2-6 weeks from LOA. I'm really tired so I'll give somemore information tomorrow.
Have a great weekend!

New Template! =)

This template is from the courtesy of Matie Kay's Creations! =) Her stuff is really cute! And totally free! And I didn't have to redo all my blinkies and Sarah's picture! =)

http://matiekay.blogspot.com/

Another Update- Really for November 15

So Mom's home now. She's still doing the same but she and Dad talked the hospital out of making her stay. They had already had her room ready for an hour when they were leaving. The nurse couldn't find Mom's file and was looking for it when they ran into her and said that there really was no reason for them to stay. Mom is supposed to call the doctor tonight and let him know how she's doing. We're still waiting for the Infectious Disease place to let us know what's going on. Today Mom has a doctor appointment, she and Dad just left for that. But all morning she's had a 99 temp. Hasn't even hit 100! =) Thanks you all so much for your comments. Mom read them and they made her smile. She say's thank you also. I'll post more when we have information from the doctors appointment.

Mom Update

Last night Mom and Dad went to the hospital because her fever was NOT going away. The doctor thought that she had pneumonia and gave her a prescription. They went to the pharmacy and to pick it up and it turns out that Mom's allergic to the stuff that they put in the antibiotic. Today Dad woke me up at 7 and said that he was taking Mom to the ER. They left at 8:30 am and got checked in at 12:30! Dad called about a half-hour ago and said that the doctors wanted to admit Mom into the hospital. She doesn't have pneumonia. The doctor says that it could be 2 days until she comes home. The doctors are going to do many more tests on her to see whats wrong. Currently they're treating her for a viruse. Please pray for us and pray that she gets well soon. When I have more information, I let everyone know.

Yikes!

Mom's been really sick since the 8th. She's had a fever that goes WAY up and then down to about 100.1. She told me about an hour ago that she hasn't had a really good sleep in 5 DAYS!=(
So on Friday I made dinner, pork chops, but they didn't get cooked all the way through so Dad recooked them. Our Grandma made three different types of soup and they dropped it off. What a blessing! Unfortunatly this weekend was my grandparents birthday weekend. Gram's birthday was on Friday and today is my Grandpa's (which reminds me I have to call him up!) we were supposed to celebrate it on Saturday but with Mom being sick we couldn't. =( Gram say's we'll just celebrate on Thanksgiving but I think if Mom's feeling better this weekend that's when we'll celebrate.

You Make Me Smile Award

I nominate Lexi and Staci for the You Make Me Smile Award. I always love getting your comments and emails! You always make me smile and put me in a really good mood! =)

This Will Work!!! =)

Never Mind =(

Well I love the way this looks, but my pictures aren't showing up right so I'm going to have to change it again. =( What a shame! I really liked this layout!

Enough...

Okay, I think that's enough changing for now. It'll probably change for Christmas, though. Thanks for all the comments!
Have a great weekende everyone!

This would be Jonah's doing. I'm not sure but she looks like she's not enjoying it at all. The only blanket that she really enjoys being wrapped in is the one that Mom and I sewed.
We came home one day and found her like this!
This is what Roxi does when we're away from home. Two of these pictures are of her behind our couch. =)

New Makeover?

As you all have notice I've changed the way the blog looks. It's going to constantly change through out the week, I think.

Geeze-Lu-Wheeze!

Okay! Here's the picture! I can never post picture without having to try again a second time!! UGH! Anyway! Isn't the doll so adorable!! =) I just love her! I was in AWWWWW mode when I saw the doll, booties, and blanket. The blankets are soooooooo soft!

If it works here it is

Baby Doll Pics With Blankets!

I've finally gotten pics or pic for Sarah's doll. She's also on some really soft blankets that we've gotten for Sarah that Mom and Dad are bringing to China. Oh! And a pair of booty's! :D

HOLY COW!! :D

I was just thinking today that I can't believe that it's already November! Only a month or two until Sarah comes home! :D Did any of you JieJie's ever get butterfly's in your stomach and like never stop smiling whenever you thought about your Mei Mei coming home? I'm grinning ear to ear right now just thinking about her!!! I opened my closet this morning and burst into a smile when I saw all her clothes! When I was brushing my hair after my shower I looked at the spot where her crib is going and thought "In a month or two I get to say "Good Morning Sarah."" I can't stop thinking about her now. We should be getting our LOA next Friday according to Mom's calculations. Right now I'm feeling so giddy you'd think I was on caffeine (okay so I had a whole can of Arizona Rasberry Ice Tea, but I think this is mostly baby giddy). :D

Funny Mother-Daughter Thing

So I think this is funny. You guys might think its just plain stupid and think "Why on EARTH did she post this. She's gone mad!" Those of you who have been emailing back and forth with me know that I have a very strange sense of humor. Which I will admit very loudly and clearly I do! I am the girl who laughs out loud at a joke that was said an hour ago that I hadn't understood and then finally figured it out and thought it was funny. Wait...I'm getting off track. Okay, back on. Yesterday Mom brought home our first package of diapers for Miss Sarah Grace. Right away we both wanted to see how small they were (MIGHT I ADD THAT THIS LITTLE GIRL IS GOING TO BE SO TINY!!! :D). Well Mom and I went all "AWW! They're so tiny." or at least that's what I said, I can't remember what Mom said. Well then I had to open my big mouth and say a comment that went like this, "Well they're very cute now but the next time we open these it won't be 'AWW!' it'll be "Ohhhhhh! NO! JONAH IT'S YOUR TURN TO CHANGE SARAH!" Anyway, I have no idea why I'm posting this, but lately I've been lacking in normal posts about what's going on at home.

Tag question

Okay, I have been wondering about this since the first time I was tagged. Who starts a tag? Do you just start a list of questions, answer them, and then say "I tag so and so"? LOL. Anyway, I've just been wondering about that.

We've found a brown haired doll

for Sarah!!! She is so adorable! Mom found her at target and she has no rattle! Now all we need is a carseat and this little munchkin is set!!! :D Right now the file that the picture is on isn't working so I'm going to try again sometime else.

Soap Testers Anyone?

Okay, so I'm starting this new online business and I'm selling homemade soaps. But I need some soap testers. So if any ones interested, email me. It'll be completely free and all you have to do is let me know if it worked, you liked it, or if something was wrong. I'm pretty sure everone has my email address but if not its, meimei4me@gmail.com or luckyroxi@sbcglobal.net. I would rather be emailed at the first one for this particular thing but either one is fine. Anyway, just thought I'd try this out. The website isn't published yet because I haven't tried all of the soaps, but if anyones interested I promise I'll post the URL when it is published.

ARRRGH!!!!

Okay, I know a lot of you use ShabbyPrincess for your blog templates. I have tried so many times to download one of their things and it won't work! It keeps telling me that the program cannot be displayed! Do any of you have this problem? I've tried it everyday and the same thing comes up.

ADDRESS FOR SARAH'S ORPHANAGE!!

Mom got an email from Bethanne with the address to Sarah's orphanage - institute actually!!! Now we can send a care package!! YAY! One step closer!!

HELP!!

Okay. So does anybody know where I can get a soft (like one that Sarah could sleep with without hurting herself) dark haired baby doll that doesn't have rattle?? I keep finding ones that have rattles, but we don't want her rattling away at night. Also, what kind of carseats do you recommend? We'd like one that goes up to 100lbs, but we can't find one that's not on a safety recheck or something like that. One more thing. My mom was wondering what they should do about a carseat for when they're in China. She doesn't want to be carrying one around the whole time. For those of you who have already been to China, what did you do? Thanks!!

Another One

Thanksgiving Is...
by Bob Smiley

Thanksgiving is a time when families come together to embarrass kids everywhere! There’s more eye-rolling at family gatherings during this holiday than at the Optical Olympics.
Last year, we had 33 people to our house for dinner. My dad gave a stirring Thanksgiving Day speech. He said, “Today is about family, love and . . . and throw the ball! He’s wide open!” (We can see our television from the dinner table.)
Mixing my family with my wife’s family is like washing a white T-shirt with red pants. Someone is going to turn pink from embarrassment. Allow me to introduce the main characters that keep it interesting.
Wendy’s grandmother: She doesn’t want to be a bother to anyone — no matter what. Note the following two conversations from last year:
Bob: “Hey, Grandmother, you’ll be sleeping in the guest bedroom upstairs.”
Grandmother: “I don’t need a whole room. I can sleep on the floor. Actually, I can sleep in my car. The seats recline, you know!”
Wendy (right before the feast): “We need one more chair for the table.”
Grandmother: “I can just eat outside on the porch!”
Wendy: “It’s sleeting outside.”
Grandmother: “Then I won’t need a water glass!”
My dad is also an interesting person. If he were Adam, we wouldn’t have had Eve, because I don’t think anyone could take a rib from him. He’ll eat anything. He’ll walk up to someone and say, “Are you going to finish that?” OK, so you’ve heard people ask that question before. But Dad does it while the person is actually chewing on the food!
Uncle Wiley: He knows every cheesy joke ever told. Each year he shakes my hand. I automatically say, “Oh! A hand-buzzer. That’s funny.” He then gives me permission to use that in my comedy act if I wish. I tell him that I don’t shake a lot of hands during my routine. He then starts telling me all the funny “observations” he’s made in the past year in case I want to use any of them on my “next 8-track.” (Yeah, I know. Most of you don’t even know what an 8-track is! Think of it as an ancient and really big CD.)
The cousin’s kid: Wendy’s cousins have the most talented child on this planet. I know this because they tell us every year. They think their son is a genius because he knows how to push the red button on the TV remote. In fact, this kid will probably go on to cure cancer if he has time to spare from his rock ‘n’ roll touring. That’s right. He’s going to be a rock star. I know because I’ve been privileged to hear hours of songs including that classic rock anthem “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”
This kid has diversity, too. You should hear his country version of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” Of course, now that I have two boys, I understand their bragging a bit more. I’m not proud of this, but last year while trying to act amused at the off-key verse of “Merrily, merrily, gently down the stream!” ringing in my ears and simultaneously answering Uncle Wiley’s question of “Knock, Knock” and telling my dad that I do plan on finishing my chewing gum, I actually stopped and shouted, “Hey! My son’s looking out the window! I bet he’ll be an astrologer one day!” Wendy was so embarrassed that she got up, put on her raincoat and went outside to eat with her grandmother.
The cool thing is, though, no matter how strange my family is, Christ still loves us. He proved that on the Cross. And trust me, if He can love my family, He loves you, too! So be thankful this Thanksgiving. And remember, it’s all about family, love and “Throw the ball! He’s wide open!”

Funny Thanksgiving Article

So I was just on Briomag.com and I found this article. It's pretty funny!

The Way I See It — The Lamest Meal Ever by Patrick Dunn

Close your eyes and think about Thanksgiving. I bet you’re thinking of nachos and sandwich meat.
You’re not? Well, here’s proof that guys and girls are very different.
I spent one Thanksgiving with my brother Brian. Neither of us could be part of a family gathering out of town. You do the math:

Two guys + No girls + No mom = Nachos and meat

That’s all we ate. We went to a gas station/mini-mart for our Thanksgiving meal. Certainly if two sisters were in the same situation there would have been at least stuffing, a hot dish or even that canned cranberry glop that stands up by itself.
Despite winning the “Lamest Meal Ever” award, we still enjoyed two other important parts of Thanksgiving: the morning football game and the afternoon football game.
For most guys, Thanksgiving means breaking last year’s pie eating record and watching football.
By the way, girls, if you ever want to know if a guy you’re interested in has an emotional side, secretly watch him during a football game. You will see:

Crying. Disgust. Laughing. Screaming. Possibly yodeling . . . and some type of prehistoric “gut quake” tribal dance. (Most of this occurs before kickoff.)

Some girls do rush to the TV during the day’s football games—but usually during the commercials to see where the best after-Thanksgiving sales will be.
To guys, this is a mysterious annual event. Why? Because this leads to girls getting up when the entire continent is still dark, actually rushing out the door without makeup and racing through a store to find anything marked 50 percent off.
The description of these sales sounds like a football game: people smashing into each other, body parts flying through the air, chasing and tackling.
Shopping at 5 a.m.? Most guys would get up that early only to fish, hunt or do something else that leads to meat sizzling in a pan at the end of the day.
Of course, there is more to Thanksgiving than football or shopping. There’s the gift of family and a chance to eat six days’ worth of food in one meal.
Here again, guys don’t understand girls. Have you ever seen a guy’s plate at Thanksgiving? My brother Mark can stack food to the height of a small car. His plate resembles an explosion at the gravy factory. Scary? Maybe. But Thanksgiving is a day to eat!
While guys race to see who can eat the most without falling through their chair, they curiously watch the girls at the table, who neatly place a few items around their plate.
Guys and girls even cook differently. If mom cooked the turkey, it was probably oven-roasted—traditional and time-tested. If Dad cooked the turkey it may have been deep fried, crammed in the fireplace, thrown under the hood of a pickup or blown up by firecrackers, just to see what happens.
Count your blessings this Thanksgiving; God has surrounded us with so many. And take time to thank Him for never having to spend a Thanksgiving with my brother and me, a pile of cheap ham and a plastic tray of nachos.

Funny!! Must C!

This is hilarious! A must see!!

Way Back When

So I just looked at some of my posts from "way back when" and I have come a long way! It's kind of funny how I didn't know how to do some things, when they were so easy to do and firgure out! :) We STILL haven't gotten anything from SR yet.

It's OFFICIAL!

I think! Anyway! I really, really like it! :D

Thanks for the warning and Jonah's Soccer Game

Thanks for the warning Lexi! But I have to admit, decorating a blog is probably the funnest part! :)

Today Jonah had his second to last soccer game, which they won! YAY! Jonah is an awsome soccer player, probably one of the best on his team. The thing with his team though is that most of the kids don't try! So the games aren't usually that exciting, because I'm guessing their gonna lose. Since Jonah and like only 3 or 4 other boys want to try, they're exhausted! My birthday had to have been the best game they played because Jonah scored like 6 goals! :D After next Saturday's game? The next time we'll be on the field we'll have Sarah!!!!! YAY!!!!

New Bloggy Look!!

So I finally found a website (Thank you Lexi!) to makeover my own blog!! I might change it a couple of times, but I'm not sure. I really like this layout. The only problem is, is that all my blinkies and icons are gone, so I have to redo it all. Oh well! That is probably the funnest part of blogging. At least for me. Have a great weekend everyone!!

Boys Will Be Boys

I found these pictures of the boys! I love the ones of Jonah. The spiky thing on his head is one of those squishy things you can buy at the zoo or the Shed Aquarium. The other ones are of the boys trying out sharpshooting a a family friends farm. They really enjoyed that. Dad shows up in a couple of them. :)

We have a video recorder for China...

and it fits in your pocket!! It's one of those tiny ones. It is really cool! I'm testing a video to see how it works. This is of one of Jonah's soccer games. If anyone watches the video Jonah is #2 on the red team. I hope this works!

LOL!!!

Okay, I just noticed the "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" post that Mom posted. I never went on to blog yesterday, so I never saw the post until now!!! LOL! Mom just told me that she was waiting all day for me to come on and blog, but I only went on to check my email! When I saw it I didn't know who did it until I saw Mom's face and read the post! LOL! Thanks Mom!

Yesterday was soooooo much fun! JCPenny's finally opened in McHenry and my grandparents(on my Mom's side) bought me this really cute and soft pajama set! It's like a sea foam green and feels like those really soft socks. They also got me a pair of those really soft socks! Jonah got me the second Christy Miller Volume and Christopher got me this really cute 3/4 sleeve top! Mom and Dad got me a soap making kit, which I have used pretty much all of the Glycerin up! My grandparents (on my Mom's side) split my laptop with me when I got it so that was supposed to be my present, but then we went shopping and they bought me a whole bunch of clothes! I also got some money from my aunt and uncle, and a half dollar from my grandparents (on my Mom's side). We had Chinese :D for dinner and Sundays for dessert!

This was my last birthday without Sarah!!

Still no LOA yet :(
Have a great rest of your weekend everybody!

HAPPY 14TH BIRTHDAY CAITIE!!!!!

We love you very much and thank the Lord everyday for blessing us with you. HIS love and faithfulness abound! You are a treasure on this earth and we are so very proud to call you our daughter.
With all our love, Mom and Dad
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
"Many daughters have done well, but you excell them all. Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised." Proverbs 31:29-30

We've Got PA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We've got PA!!!! I'm so happy!! Only 2 more steps to go!!!! We didn't get the updated picture with it, though. I'm thinking if we don't get it when Bethanne gets back from China we might get it with LOA. But so far it's looking like we're going to be traveling in December!! YAY!!

We're almost there Missy!!!

Nice Matters Award

Staci has given me the Nice Matters Award!

From what it looks like, this award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. :D

Aww! Thanks so much Staci!

I now nominate, Lexi, Olivia, and Ally.

No email yet...

...for our PA. BUt we are out of the review room!!!! Now Mom's thinking that instead of getting PA we're just going to jump right ahead and get out LOA. We're hoping that's the case because then TA follows right after and then Sarah Grace comes home!!! I am still so frusterated with Sunnyridge. I can't get over what they're doing. Julie (our SW) said that when they get our PA she'll email it right away. *sighs* If we do get LOA instead of PA we'll be traveling in a month-an-a-half!!! Oh well, the only thing we can do right now is pray that Sarah is safe and healthy. And check Mom's email everyday. :D

Liar, Liar, We Just Want Our Daughter (or in my case sister)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! I just want to fly to China, grab Bethanne by the ear and drag her back to the States just so she can gives us everything she's been keeping from us. I'll start from the beginning.

Mom has found the moms of Sarah's adoption "sisters"! Sarah and these two little girls are in the same Institute as she is. Cool, huh? So with one of the families, it turns out their file waited two weeks - as did ours. Bethanne had told this family that they were waiting for someone else to get the paperwork done. They assumed it was us. Remember how in July I posted that Bethanne said we were waiting for another family to finish their paperwork? Well we assumed that it was this family. So it turns out that the family we were thinking we were waiting for another family but it turnes out that their paperwork was already done and at Sunnyridge! So everyones paperwork was held two weeks for no reason!! AAAARRRR!!!!! Bethanne says she cares so much about these children but apparently not enough if she's lying to everyone and holding files longer than they need to be.

Also! Yes there is an also and this also is making me so insane!! SunnyRidge has updated pictures of Sarah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And they won't send them to us until we're PA!! We were supposed
to get these pictures with her Medical Update but they were never sent. Bethanne said she would email the pictures to us with the medical info! Mom has figured out that we should be getting PA on Monday if everything is done right.

Mom has figured out, also that we have 3-4 months until travel. So we'll probably be traveling around the week of Christmas. So far that's the only news thats kept me from screaming.

Have a great weekend, everybody!!

No Posts/ Middle Name Meme

Hey! Sorry about not posting in a while. I've had some problems with my wrist latley and nothings really come up with the adoption. So I haven't been able to post anything for this blog. Anyway, Staci's tagged me for the Middle Name Meme, so here goes nothin.


You have to post these rules before you post the facts:
1. Players, you must list some fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don't have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
2. When you are tagged you need yo write your own blog post containing your own middle name facts.
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged.

N is for Not able to do this very well because I can't think of anything good for N.
I is for Interested in adoption.
C is for Caitie, because that's my name.
O is for Opinionated. I like to give my opinion. But only when the time feels right.
L is for Laughs. I love to laugh.
E is for Elegant. At least that's what my mom says.

I never knew that characterizing myself would be so hard! Anyway, I now tag Lexi, Olivia, Holly, Ally, and Emmie. I can't think of another person so whoever I missed who hasn't done it yet? Go for it!

NEW MEDICAL INFO!!

YAY!!! Sarah's medical info is here!! All I understand with these numbers is that she's 17.1 lbs. :D My little micheline (SP?) baby. No updated pics though. Darn. Maybe with the LOA or PA?

Another Picture Malfunction

Okay so it looks like this pic didn't come up the first time so here it is. :D

Quick post!

Hey! Okay. I have made another blog. http://www.diaryofacountrygirl.blogspot.com/ !! :D Please visit it and also tell other bloggers about it?! I also need some help finding a good song to put on it so if anyone could help me, that would be just great. You all have my email address so you could just email the title to me. Also, I just realized I write so so much on here and no one (sorry Staci I'm going to have to remove you from this category:D) knows what I look like! So here is our family adoption picture (the one that we sent to CHina with our dossier -sp?-) I really hope it comes up, I've notice that some of the pictures I want to show up don't.

Happy Birthday Dearest Sarah.............

Happy Birthday To YOU!!!:D Today is Sarah's 1'st birthday!! Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

OOPS....

sorry about about not posting even though I said I would. I was really busy this weekend. On Friday Christopher and Dad left for Wisconsin, leaving Mom, Jonah, and I home without a car. :D The day before Mom and I had gone to the video store to get a bunch of movies for Friday and Saturday night. We really actually only got three movies, Around The World in 80 Days (Jonah and I had already seen it when it came out but thought it was so funny we had to get it again), Unaccompanied Minors (which I may say was pretty funny), and Kicking and Screaming (WORST MOVIE I HAVE EVER SEEN! okay there were a few funny parts but other than that? Never again will I see that movie.) So on Friday night we watched ATWI80D and UM. I also must add that we had one whole back of chocolate covered raisins, Twizzlers (SP?). We had to be up until about midnight watching movies. On Saturday? It was pretty much like every Saturday. My grandparents came up from Chicago and spent the day with us. We went to Sears and Michaels and found some really cute outfits for Sarah, but we didn't get them since we're still waiting for her medical info. Okay, I'm actually going to have to take a pause in telling about the weekend to explain. As you all know we've been waiting for Sarah's medical info -which we still haven't gotten yet. Mom said that we're not going to buy anymore clothes until we get her info because we don't know how much she weighs now and if she's still in the 18 months sizes or if now she's all the way in the 24 months. Bummer. Especially since it's already been a week and still no info.

Anyway, back to my weekend. So after we went shopping we came home and ordered Chinese. Yum!! After Gram and Papa left, we popped K&S in. I won't say anything more about that movie. We went straight to bed after the movie. ON Sunday, Mom let us sleep in later than usual. I think I slept until like 11 or something :D. Christopher and Dad came home at 1:30 PM and we had Tacos for dinner. Then Mom, Jonah, and I went to PetsMart and I got four fish and a snail and Jonah got some filters for his tank. Today we went back and Jonah got 2 snails. :D

Congratulations to Olivia and Trent!! I can't wait to see your little girls face!! I'm sure you're a lot more anxious than I am. :) We're all praying for you guys.

YADA, YADA, YA,

Yeah I know. I haven't been posting much and when I do their "nice" and short. And I dedicate the-slowest-moving-adoption-center award to....take a wild guess, I'll give you a hint. It starts with Sunny and ends with ridge. Put it all together and you get Sunnyridge (I think I just ruined the Pattycake Song). Sorry. I've suddenly got to stop writting so I'll continue later or tomorrow.

One Big Sad Face Comin Up :(

Yeah I know, it's not that big, but whatever. The point is, is that Bethanne still hasn't emailed us the new medical info on Sarah!!!! Mom goes online everday to check her mail and still no email. We're not sure if Bethanne is just taking her sweet old time like she usually does, or if she just hasn't gotten the info yet. :(

New Medical Info!!

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a while!! There hasn't been much to post about lately. Still no PA or LOA, but Bethanne did email Mom two days ago and told us that some new medical information on Sarah has come in!!! YAY!!!! We're hoping to be getting that around next week and we're also thinking that PA might come with all of this also. But China must be looking at our files if info is being sent out to us! HURRAY!! We're getting closer!!!

I just realized

that today is my 101st post! YAY!!!! I can't wait until 1 year anneversary!! *Gasp* Sarah will definatley be here for that!!! *Sigh* I can't wait!! YAY!! :D Have a great weekend everybody!!!

PS: If anyone has noticed I'm a little hyper right now!!! And we're going out for ice cream in a little bit so that should really calm me down. ;D Haha!

Her Cleft Lip/ Palate....

...is not so bad!! Yesterday Mom took Christopher to get his sports physical and she ended up showing our doctor Sarah's picture. She (dr.) told Mom that she didn't think we have to worry about Sarah's nutritan. She said that her face had a lot of color and that her cleft lip looks minor, she said that it looks like it didn't go through her gum. She also said that since Sarah is so chubby, she doesn't think that her palate is that bad. She said that since her picture is of her at 5 months, Sarah has to suck on her bottle or whatever way she feeds and it looks like she's doing a pretty good job if she's this chubby. :D So it looks like surgery isn't going to be as major as we had thought!! I'm so happy! I really didn't want to put little Sarah through so much.

(I just can't get enough of that face!!!:D)

Thanks so much, Ally! It looks great!

Thanks Ally!!

Thanks so much, Ally!! It's so cute!

Day At The Beach (No Pics)

Sorry. No pics. The camera was out of battery's and we didn't have any extra ones. But the beach was so fun. COLD!! But fun. Two of Christopher's friends, Mike and Justin, came and they were a hoot! Three sixteen year old guys singing (let me rephrase that. Trying to sing) on the way home will make you laugh so hard you're crying, especially when one of them doesn't know the words to most of the songs and just adds in his own. :D We first went to Lake Geneva but the beach was so crowded and you had to pay $5 to get in. Dad was like no way. So we ended up driving about an hour (it was actually only 4o minutes away from Lake Geneva but Dad took a wrong turn and we had to drive an extra 20 minutes) to another beach connected to Lake Michigan that was free and a lot less crowded. The boys, including Jonah, all brought there skateboards and left me to go in the water alone. :( After about ten minutes, the boys finally got really hot and came over to the water. Except they took forever (just Christopher and his friends) to get in because it was so cold! Finally Mike gave the go ahead by tackling Justin into the water. LOL!!! It was hilarious! We all waded out and had a blast whenever the waves came. We swam for about an hour and then the boys went over by the rocks to climb. I didn't want to climb so I went over by Mom, who was on the blanket, and asked her if she could put the tanning lotion on my back. She did and we both relaxed on the blanket. To bad the sun only stayed out for a little while and then hid behind a cloud the rest of the day. After about 20 minutes of that the boys climbed off of the rocks and back into the water. It took about 10 minutes for us to wade to the sand and then about another 10-20 minutes for us to dry off and get into the car. We were all very thirsty, so Dad found a little store and we all got something to drink. About halfway home Christopher, Mike, and Justin started singing songs that they well...sort of knew. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life!!! It was to hilarious!!!! Well that was Dad's birthday! I hope everyone else had a great day.

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

Today's Dad's birthday!!! He took off work and we're going to the beach!! I'll post picures either when we get back or tomorrow. Last night Jonah and I stayed up really late decorating the house and there were like 3 times that Dad came out of his room and we were almost seen. Even though we decorated his door and when he came out there was a bunch of streamers and stuff. That kind of gave away the whole surprise. Oh well. Have a grreat day everyone!!

Sarah's 11 Months Old Today!!!

I can't believe that it's been a month since we've known about Sarah!!! It's going by so fast!!! Anyway!! Today Sarah is 11 months old!! It's a shame I can't put quotes around it since it's not really her Birthday. Hope everyone has a great rest of their weekend!!

Quizes for Fun While Waiting For TA

So I guess for now all we're doing is waiting. I may not post for a few days since nothing big has been happening. Here's a quiz that I just took, to pass the time.

You Should Have Been Born Under:

You are totally loyal, faithful, and honest. However, you don't trust others to be as ethical as you are! Straight forward and direct, you really aren't one for small talk. You are a great listener - and an agreeable companion when you're in a good mood! You are most compatible with a Tiger or Horse.

What Year Should You Have Been Born Under?

Totally Figures!!

So yesterday I tried posting Missy's picture and apparently it didn't turn out!!! Figures!!! I finally get to post it and it doesn't work!!

Anyway. I have another picture of Chloe and Ruby.

(Ruby is the black and white one.)

They love having the run outside. :D

Here She Is!

Problem Solved! Here is beautiful Sarah!!!

Miss Sarah Grace!!!!

Miss Sarah Grace: 5 months old!!!

Here is our precious little girl!!! I love all the little fuzz on the top of her head!!! She looks like Baba!!!!

Homestudy Went Great

First off, the home study went great!!! Julie came at around 3:30 and she stayed for 2 hours. We showed her around the house again and Mom and Dad asked questions on travel and stuff like that. She also told us that she's getting married this Saturday!!!! Congratulations Julie!!! Other than all of that though, everything went just fine! We're thinking we're going to be getting our LOA in about 2 weeks at the least to 120 days at the most. Mom told me that it looks like it's just like the LIDs. It takes about 2 weeks to get it. I can't believe how fast everything is going!!!

Second. Mom's trying to make it so that I only post one of Sarah's pictures instead of all 4. There are only 2 that turned out the best. One of them is her visa picture and the other is a close up on her face.

And thirdly. I can give all of Sarah's information out now!!! Sarah's Chinese name is Peiyu Qing and she's from the Ginsu province and is in the Qingyang Welfare Institute. She's 10 months old and the pictures we have of her are from when she was 5 months. She was born on August 22, 2006. She wore a red flower coat and was found with a piece of red cloth. She was found by a Security Guard the day she was born.

New Blogger!!!!!

Hey everyone!! Jonah has made a blog on our journey to Miss Sarah!! It doesn't have a password yet, but it will very soon. Please visit his blog and welcome him!!!!

http://sarahmakes6.blogspot.com/

Social Worker/ LOI/ Crib/ So Much Information

HEY!!! Okay I have a lot to catch everyone up on!! First off on July 12th our LOI was sent out to China!!!! So today Julie (our Social Worker) is coming at 3:00!!! It's been a hectic morning, trying to get the house cleaned up and ready for her. Also a family that we know is giving us one of their cribs!!! So on Sunday we'll have a crib!! The longest we have to wait for our LOA is 120 days, November 9th, which is on my grandma's birthday!!! The shortest is 55 days which is on September 10th!! I'm guessing we're probably going to be getting Sarah the same time Staci and her family got Sarah Lu!!! We've also been figuring that since we're already logged into China that things might go a little faster!!! I hope so!!!! Rumor Queen is saying that June is currently being reviewed in the review room and that July is in it too, but we're not entirely sure if it's been reviewed. If we were still doing NSN we probably wouldn't be getting Sarah until 2010!!! Which is completely insaine. I hope everyone had a good weekend!!!

Beautiful Day & Cool Blog Thing

First off, today has been the coolest and sunniest day we've had for two weeks!! Lately its been humid and in the high 90s!!! Yesterday and the day before it stormed like crazy!! Today its 70 out!!! Great day for the cousins to come!!!! Not to hot and not to cold!!

Second, about a month ago I found this really cool blog/myspace website. It has a bunch of stuff to decorate you blog or myspace page!! I got my cursor and the sparkly Sarah and Caitie off of it.

www.webfetti.com

STILL NO BETHANNE!!! :(

NO BETHANNE!!!!! And Possibly No Posts Until Saturday

Still no Bethanne!!! We're all getting kind of upset right now!!

Also, let me explain the other half of the title. My cousins are in from Florida and they're coming over tomorrow and spending the night until Friday.

About an hour ago it was raining cat's and dogs!!!! Thunder, lightning, and lots and lots of wind and rain!! I can't believe how fast it ended!

(You can't see them really well but this picture is of when we first got Chloe(left) and Ruby)

It was actually a lot darker, but this is how it turned out

~Rylee Beth~

I'm so happy that Rylee Betth is in a home that will take good care of her until she's adopted!!! We're praying that her Dr. Appointment goes well, Ally!

Bethanne's Some-What Disappointing Information

So Bethanne emailed Mom back and said that she's right now waiting for another LOI to come and at the soonest our LOI will be sent out on Monday. Here's the thing. Bethanne promised Mom she wouldn't wait for any other LOIs!! I really am hoping that the other family will hurry up. Do we really need a travel mate????????

Picture Malfunction

I know I posted two days ago that I would post pictures of Sarah's wardrobe, but the computer has been freezing up whenever I download pictures. I'll try and do it sometime, if I don't ever post them, you'll probably end up seeing them on Sarah. Have a great weekend!

What's In My Purse?

Holly tagged me! What's In My Purse? Okay I have like 3 purses so I'll just do the one I use the most.

• My wallet
• Sarah's Picture ~Can't post it. ;)~
• 2 things of lip gloss
• A brush
• $48
• 2 Pens
• Sunglasses

My purse is pretty much empty! I tag......Staci, Ally, Olivia, and anyone else who wants to do it!

Changes And China's 7 Days of Referrals

Okay. I was wrong on my post yesterday. Sarah is actually in the 3% height and in the 50% weight. Her head is actually in the 50% also! LOL!

Also Mom was looking at the CCAA and China has only done 7 days of referrals!!! If we were sitll doing NSN then we wouldn't have our baby until 2009!! I really hope things speed up for all of you other families! This is totally insane!

Shopacholics!

Shopaholics! That's what I am! I think I'm baby drunk. LOL. Anyway, we finally went baby shopping and I think Miss Sarah has more clothes than I do! We went to Childrens Place and they were having a great sale! Everything was $1.99! I got Sarah two packs of socks for $.99!! I'll post pictures tomorrow of all her little outfits.

Mom was also doing some math today and this is really hilarious.

At 5 months ~ Sarah was 13.2 lbs and 23" ~

At 15 months Sarah will (approx.) be~ 20 lbs and 28"~

This all means that she is 13% in height and..........50% in weight!!! Our little Sarah is a very short and chubby baby!! LOL!! Her information did say she loves to eat. Mom says she's just like me when I was a baby! The sizes we've been getting in clothes are 18-24 months. The problem is, is that she's so short and these clothes are so long! We want to get her those footy-pajamas for after her surgery so she's comfortable in the hospital, but they're so long she'll trip! We're also trying to find her those little, really soft, brown haired baby dolls, but all everyone has are the blonde haired ones! Does anyone know where I can find one? I also have a question for Emily. Where do you guys get AnnaClaire's dresses? They are so adorable!!! Anyway, I hope you all had a great 4th of July!!

Password Protected!!

Okay. I did it! It's password protected. Now all I need is the PA and then Sarah Grace can be introduced to you guys!!!!

Butterflies

Who doesn't love butterflies? Not moths! Butterflies. I think they are one of the most beautiful bugs that God has made! All the colors and designs on their wings? It's amazing. It truly is.

Butterfly Poem
I caught a little wormy

a crawling up a tree.

He wiggled here

he wiggled there

he wiggled right at me.

I put him in a shoebox

and told him STAY RIGHT THERE.

But when I opened up the box

a butterfly was there.

I don't know how it happened

I couldn't if I tried

cause only the great Lord above

can make a butterfly. Author Unknown