How long have we been waiting????

MONTHS!!!!

Sock Hell and Other Juicy Tidbits

Ok, I'll admit it! I can't stand folding socks!! I hate it! Because of this we have what they boys have nicknamed "Sock Hell". What is it? Its a laundry basket filled with unmatched socks that they must go through each morning. Do you think they would take the initiative to fold them? Hell No! They are boys and teenaged boys on top of that!

I have been totally freaking out the past few weeks. Our fingerprints expired last year and we went and had them taken again in November. I was told that here in our state we have up to one year to get USCIS an updated home study. Cool...or so I thought. At the beginning of this month we received a letter from Homeland Security stating that effective January 3 you must now send in a home study update within 30 days of your fingerprint appointment. Oh shit!! They gave me until February 7th to get them an update. I have to get physicals lined up, new letters of reference, a social worker - total panic mode. This cost us an extra $250 bucks to boot because we have to expedite our home study. Good grief!!

The boys are doing great. Wrestling is starting to wind down. Last weekend they were at a team tournament. T went 4 and 0 and L went 0 and 4. Poor kid, he's so frustrated. He'll do fine, he's just in a very difficult weight class!! Big T is great as usual. This wait hasn't gotten to him at all except for the fact that he says he is getting older!! Ummm....aren't we all???!!!!


Lets see, other than that not much else has been happening. Oh - I ended up cutting my hair earlier than what I originally thought. I've been growing it for Locks of Love, an organization that makes wigs for children suffering from long-term medical hair loss. I was going to wait until we got Little T's referral but it got to the point where I couldn't stand it so I cut it all off!! I think J measured it to be 14 inches in the back. She cut it into a cute style. I've never had my hair this short so its a very big change for me. Poor J, she told me after I left her house she had to take a Zantec before bed because she realized she had cut most of my hair off!! She thought I was going to hate it - but hey - it's just hair!! Actually - I like the cut.




No news on a referral yet. I know my agency is still going through the files and having some translated. It's still a slight possibility we'll hear something from this batch but it will probably be the next one.

New List!!!

Yes! Our agency got their new list on Friday! I'm so excited - this could be the list that Little T is on!! Wow....this actually will happen this year - that is so hard to believe. After waiting for over 19 months and to be so close to our referral, man, I'm jumping up and down!!! Please, please, please let our daughter be on this list!! Everyone, keep your fingers and toes crossed!!!

I swear, I can't concentrate on anything!!!

Gifts and Nomination

Wow!! I got my very first nomination! Yeah!! Jonni over at Journey to Sofia & Samantha nominated me for the "Blogging With a Purpose" award! Wasn't that sweet? Jonnie went to China last August and brought home adorable little Sofia. She and John are paperchasing right now to for a little sister who will be named Samantha. I've met some wonderful people out here in this big cyber world. They have helped me during my loss of my parents and during this long wait for Little T. You are all wonderful! I enjoy sharing in your joy as you each meet your child!!

Here are the guidelines -

AWARD GUIDELINES:
1. Awarded parties must nominate five people who have not received the award.
2. The blogs that receive the award must serve some purpose.
3. In their post about the award they need to link back to the original entry.
4. Awarded parties must post the award banner on their site. The banner must remain linked to site.
Eric Novak's

Here are my nominations:

- Karen over at Living In the Momement. Karen is a mommy of 2 wonderful little boys and used to work with me. She's a no nonsense type of girl who stands for what she believes. I met Karen at work where we were always joking around and bitching to each other!! She is also a cat lover so she can't be half bad...

- Shana over at Waiting For Sophie. I've enjoyed her blog since 2005 when she and her husband adopted their beautiful daughter Sophie Lu. They also adopted handsome Ollie from Guatemala when he was 8 months old. She is a wonderful writer who takes such pride in her family. I know I can go to her blog for a quick fix of cuteness!!

- Mary-Mia at Do They Have Salsa in China?. She and Rod adopted their identical twin girls in 2006. She is very down to earth and keeps us all in stitches over the shanigans of her girls. Go on...go visit her but beware of the cuteness!!!

- Carla at Ladybug-Katie. She and her husband just got back from China a month ago with their beautiful daughter Katie. She also has 2 handsome little boys who are spoiling their little sister. Carla and I met over at RQ and became friends right away. She is a funny writter who has a thing for sales!! (hehe...)


Now, not only did Jonnie nominate me for this award but when I got home Friday there was a package sitting on my counter from her!!! (nice wrap job!!) If felt like Christmas all over again! Here are some pictures:


She also sent some chocolate malt balls that were quickly devoured - God they were good!! (you must send me more!) I just love the little glow worm - when you squeeze the belly it lights up and sings lullabies. The sweet sweater and jeans - I just can't wait to get those on Little T! Look close at the socks - they say "little dancer"...cute!!! Not only did she go crazy with that but she also bought my son and his girlfiend some items for their baby! Jonni - thank you so much. That was very thoughtful!

Pictures !!

Big T has been bugging me to get some pictures of the boys to send to his mom. Here are a few of them. I've also added pictures of T's girlfriend (who is almost 6 months along now) and our dog with her new toy that she got for Christmas!!

T putting his little brother in a head lock! Hey - save that for wrestling!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

L said he wanted to show his belly to so here is a picture of all 3 of them - what a bunch of monkeys!!

 

KaCee and her new Christmas Toy!!

 

5 days

Yep, they referred 5 whole days - didn't even finish December 2005...just wonderful. Wanna know something else? 2 of those days were weekend days....so really, they referred 3 days. Wow...



But - that is 5 less days for the count down!! So now there are 162 days left before our LID! Yah!!

Thoughts of 2007 and beyond

I know, I know, I haven't even wrapped up Christmas yet and I'm already doing a post for 2007 - oh well!!

2007 - what a year! I lost my dad just 6 short months after my mom died, found my friend again, saw other friends become parents for the first time, laughed, and cried. T became conference champ again, contracted MRSA and spent some time in the hospital. L played baseball and thoroughly enjoyed himself over the summer. When my neighbors moved to Iowa I not only lost a good friend but 2 sweet little carpet munchers whom I dearly love and miss. This is the year we were "supposed" to have seen little T's face, the year that we decided to do a special needs adoption and the year that my oldest son announced he was going to be a dad.

2007 - gone in a blink. Yes, it went by fast - too fast! What will I change, what will I do differently this year? One thing I know for sure - I will start living again. I will start doing things and not worry how it will affect our adoption. If a new opportunity presents itself I will not turn it down without even thinking about it. I will enjoy my boys, husband, and new granddaughter. I will trust that God has a plan for me and my family.

Resolutions? Nope, I break those anyways. I'm just going to eat better, exercise more, be more patient, more tolerant, and laugh. Our referral will happen when it's meant to. Life is just too short to sit here and worry about the what if's. Will I still stalk RQ? Of course! But - I won't worry about what is said because there is nothing I can do to change it. Will I bitch about the wait - oh no doubt, bitching is a women's right, isn't it?

2008 is going to be a great year! We WILL meet Little T this year, we will meet our granddaughter this year, T will graduate high school, we WILL travel to China, and L will continue to amaze me with his sense of humor and sense of self. 2008 - an Olympic year for China and a heart-stirring year for our family!!