We've been logged in 19 months today. This month the CCAA referred only 5 days - from 1/4/06-1/9/06. Rumors are still out there that things might speed up a bit after the Olympics...we can only hope!! Have a great weekend!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
19 Month LID Anniversary
We've been logged in 19 months today. This month the CCAA referred only 5 days - from 1/4/06-1/9/06. Rumors are still out there that things might speed up a bit after the Olympics...we can only hope!! Have a great weekend!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Shoot for the Clouds!
I guess you could say we have a sort of love-hate relationship with China... a country that is both fascinating - with their rich culture and history - and utterly baffling sometimes in their rationale (thus, why we can't even begin to understand what their logic is with adoptions right now).
If you haven't heard, what we're about to tell you may sound like a punchline to a joke, or perhaps part of the dramatic conclusion to Armageddon II, but no... it's real. Here's the latest head-shaker out of China:
In order to ensure the opening ceremony for the upcoming Beijing Olympics doesn't get rained out, China is apparently readying an arsenal of weapons [clearing throat] to shoot the clouds.
You can't make this stuff up, folks. Go ahead... read the article for yourself.
I guess we should realize by now that with China, anything is within the realm of possibility, however off-the-(great)wall. Kinda makes you wonder what China ISN'T capable of when they put their minds to it.
So, next time you spy a threatening cloud about ready to soak your outdoor gathering... unlock the gun cabinet, grab your favorite rifle loaded with silver iodide bullets (available soon at your local sporting goods store) and open fire on those stinkin' rain clouds. "DIE!! YOU FLUFFY SUCKERS!!"
Oh, China... what will you think of next?
If you haven't heard, what we're about to tell you may sound like a punchline to a joke, or perhaps part of the dramatic conclusion to Armageddon II, but no... it's real. Here's the latest head-shaker out of China:
In order to ensure the opening ceremony for the upcoming Beijing Olympics doesn't get rained out, China is apparently readying an arsenal of weapons [clearing throat] to shoot the clouds.
You can't make this stuff up, folks. Go ahead... read the article for yourself.
I guess we should realize by now that with China, anything is within the realm of possibility, however off-the-(great)wall. Kinda makes you wonder what China ISN'T capable of when they put their minds to it.
So, next time you spy a threatening cloud about ready to soak your outdoor gathering... unlock the gun cabinet, grab your favorite rifle loaded with silver iodide bullets (available soon at your local sporting goods store) and open fire on those stinkin' rain clouds. "DIE!! YOU FLUFFY SUCKERS!!"
Oh, China... what will you think of next?
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
I've been tagged...twice...
My friends Wendy and Alisa have both tagged me! Here's how it works:
-You have to tag 5 people (you can't tag the person that tagged you)
-You leave them a comment on their blog (‘you’re tagged’ and ‘why’)
-Direct them to your blog for instructions…when you get tagged, you post ten fun facts about yourself!
So, here are my ten:
1. I love to cook! I love cookbooks, but more for reading and getting ideas than actually following the recipes. Luckily I have a wonderful husband who will eat pretty much any concoction that I put in front of him!
2. I gave up soda Jan. 1, 2007 - haven't had one since and don't miss it!
3. Summer is my favorite time. I'm a big fan of the outdoors and being in the sun. I even enjoy picking weeds....it's relaxing. I love having the windows open! Poor Greg, the last 5 years it has been almost 4th of July weekend before we've turned on the air. It's kind of a running joke w/ our neighbors.
4. I'm kind of "granola" (as my old supervisor would say). I try to buy as much organic as we can afford - especially fruits and veggies, I juice, I cook with tofu, and I love doing yoga.
5. I hate turtlenecks - too suffocating!
6. I have a love/hate relationship with naps. I enjoy a nap, but it must be cloudy, cool, and/or raining. I can hardly stand to take a nap if the sun is shining and I could be outside instead! Now, napping in a lounge chair...that's a whole different story!
7. I have the best husband in the world - he's my best friend and I have so much fun with him. If we had it our way, we'd have our own business so we could be together all the time...or just move to Kauai and live on the beach (either would work).
8. If I had to do the whole college/career thing over again, I'd probably be a dietitian or nutritionist. I'm very interested in the role our diet has in keeping the body healthy and even healing the body.
9. I love music - pretty much all kinds - we usually have music playing most of the time at our house.
10. I don't particularly like talking about myself, so this was slightly painful for me! :-)
I know I'm supposed to tag 5 more people, but I only know 3 others bloggers out there (besides the 2 that tagged me). So, Mandy, Missy, and Misty - you're it!!
-You have to tag 5 people (you can't tag the person that tagged you)
-You leave them a comment on their blog (‘you’re tagged’ and ‘why’)
-Direct them to your blog for instructions…when you get tagged, you post ten fun facts about yourself!
So, here are my ten:
1. I love to cook! I love cookbooks, but more for reading and getting ideas than actually following the recipes. Luckily I have a wonderful husband who will eat pretty much any concoction that I put in front of him!
2. I gave up soda Jan. 1, 2007 - haven't had one since and don't miss it!
3. Summer is my favorite time. I'm a big fan of the outdoors and being in the sun. I even enjoy picking weeds....it's relaxing. I love having the windows open! Poor Greg, the last 5 years it has been almost 4th of July weekend before we've turned on the air. It's kind of a running joke w/ our neighbors.
4. I'm kind of "granola" (as my old supervisor would say). I try to buy as much organic as we can afford - especially fruits and veggies, I juice, I cook with tofu, and I love doing yoga.
5. I hate turtlenecks - too suffocating!
6. I have a love/hate relationship with naps. I enjoy a nap, but it must be cloudy, cool, and/or raining. I can hardly stand to take a nap if the sun is shining and I could be outside instead! Now, napping in a lounge chair...that's a whole different story!
7. I have the best husband in the world - he's my best friend and I have so much fun with him. If we had it our way, we'd have our own business so we could be together all the time...or just move to Kauai and live on the beach (either would work).
8. If I had to do the whole college/career thing over again, I'd probably be a dietitian or nutritionist. I'm very interested in the role our diet has in keeping the body healthy and even healing the body.
9. I love music - pretty much all kinds - we usually have music playing most of the time at our house.
10. I don't particularly like talking about myself, so this was slightly painful for me! :-)
I know I'm supposed to tag 5 more people, but I only know 3 others bloggers out there (besides the 2 that tagged me). So, Mandy, Missy, and Misty - you're it!!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
One and 1/2 years
Today is our 18 month LID anniversary! This month the CCAA referred another 8 days - making the cutoff 1/4/06, and the current wait 27ish months. Hey, at least they are in our LID year finally!Bragging rights to the first person to figure out the trick to this site!
Have a great Wednesday - enjoy the beautiful weather!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Friday, March 07, 2008
Friday Fun
Check out this link for some laughs...
Warning: there is sound once you click on a horse.
Tip: It's a little tricky getting the timing just right, so here's a tip for some good harmonizing... Click on a horse, then go to the next horse you want to sing and click & hold. Wait until the one(s) singing get to the end of their phrase and then release the mouse to start the next one. You can click the horse again to get them to stop if they miss their cue. We would like to suggest this order (left to right)... 1, 3, 4, 2. Play around and make your own mix. Enjoy!
Warning: there is sound once you click on a horse.
Tip: It's a little tricky getting the timing just right, so here's a tip for some good harmonizing... Click on a horse, then go to the next horse you want to sing and click & hold. Wait until the one(s) singing get to the end of their phrase and then release the mouse to start the next one. You can click the horse again to get them to stop if they miss their cue. We would like to suggest this order (left to right)... 1, 3, 4, 2. Play around and make your own mix. Enjoy!
Garrett is a big brother!!
Congratulations to Joel, Misty, and Garrett on the arrival of Isabel Grace....Isabel was born Feb. 25. and weighed 5 lbs 1 oz. She is getting stronger everyday and it sounds like she'll be home soon!!
Monday, March 03, 2008
There are no coincidences
Did you think we had run off (or for you O'Brother fans, RUNNOFT) to China and forgot to tell you?! I know, it's been a while, not to worry though, we're still here....you're not gonna get rid of us that easy. Guess you could say we've been in a blogging-slump lately. To be honest we've been in an adoption-slump lately. The last few weeks we've been trying to decide once and for all if it would be possible to do a concurrent adoption in enough time to not interfere with our adoption from China. In order for this to work, it would have to be completed in one year. If we've learned one thing on this journey, we've learned that it is unpredictable and there is just not another program out there that is stable/predictable enough to guarantee this timeframe. Had we known at the beginning of 2007 that it would be 2010 before we'd be in China, we would have started a concurrent then, but we just didn't think the wait would continue to this degree. So, we made the decision this week that we would put all thoughts of a concurrent adoption behind us, continue to be faithful in our wait for Anna, and in the meantime start living our lives again.
We also decided that we were due a vacation. We haven't really had a nice one since our honeymoon almost 8 years ago, so after talking to Joel & Misty a couple weeks ago about their trips to Cancun, we heard the ocean calling! So, we've spent the week planning a trip to the Riviera Maya for May!!
Now, as for the title of this post.... We had an amazing, faith-building day at church yesterday!! The day started with a great sermon followed by communion. Then, in Sunday school we had a great lesson from the Purpose Driven Life video series and then at the end of class our friends Kevin and Mandy reminded us that there are no coincidences. We were just getting ready to finish class when Mandy said that she had something for the class, but mainly for us. She went on to say some wonderful things about adoption and how they think about us and our wait for Anna everyday. And then, she begins to pass around a gift bag filled with bracelets that she had made for us and anyone who wanted one!! They are those "livestrong" type bracelets, but they're red and say "Waiting for Anna" on them!! What an amazing, thoughtful gift!!
The timing of this was just - well, not coincidence. After just deciding that a concurrent adoption wasn't possible and that we would continue to faithfully wait for Anna and then to be given this thoughtful gift and to feel this circle of support around us as everyone put these bracelets on.....it was truly amazing and overwhelming. To know that we are waiting for Anna, but that we're not alone, that there are a lot of amazing people here waiting with us, is an awesome feeling. We can't wait for her to meet all of you! Thank you Kevin & Mandy - we just can't tell you what this meant to us and how perfect the timing was. Thank you to everyone for your continued support, thoughts, and prayers....it means so much.
We also decided that we were due a vacation. We haven't really had a nice one since our honeymoon almost 8 years ago, so after talking to Joel & Misty a couple weeks ago about their trips to Cancun, we heard the ocean calling! So, we've spent the week planning a trip to the Riviera Maya for May!!
Now, as for the title of this post.... We had an amazing, faith-building day at church yesterday!! The day started with a great sermon followed by communion. Then, in Sunday school we had a great lesson from the Purpose Driven Life video series and then at the end of class our friends Kevin and Mandy reminded us that there are no coincidences. We were just getting ready to finish class when Mandy said that she had something for the class, but mainly for us. She went on to say some wonderful things about adoption and how they think about us and our wait for Anna everyday. And then, she begins to pass around a gift bag filled with bracelets that she had made for us and anyone who wanted one!! They are those "livestrong" type bracelets, but they're red and say "Waiting for Anna" on them!! What an amazing, thoughtful gift!!
The timing of this was just - well, not coincidence. After just deciding that a concurrent adoption wasn't possible and that we would continue to faithfully wait for Anna and then to be given this thoughtful gift and to feel this circle of support around us as everyone put these bracelets on.....it was truly amazing and overwhelming. To know that we are waiting for Anna, but that we're not alone, that there are a lot of amazing people here waiting with us, is an awesome feeling. We can't wait for her to meet all of you! Thank you Kevin & Mandy - we just can't tell you what this meant to us and how perfect the timing was. Thank you to everyone for your continued support, thoughts, and prayers....it means so much.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Happy 17 Month LID...
Isn't "happy" and "17 Month" an oxymoron?!? :-)The last group of referrals the CCAA sent were for families logged in from Dec 20 - Dec 27, 2005. The current wait from LID to referral is approximately 26 months...and climbing.
In other news, I am sure most people have seen the news about the storms in China. For those who are unaware, China has been battered by extremely cold weather and snow in some of the warmer regions that normally do not see cold weather. This is the worst weather the region has seen in over 50 years so they are not equipped to deal with it. Unfortunatly some of the orphanages are without power and heat. Others have sick babies, are runnning out of supplies, and have had equipment break down. Half the Sky is doing all they can to help, if you'd like to help - just visit their website to learn how. Thanks.
Monday, February 11, 2008
This is pretty much how we spent the day...
Hope you all are surviving the ice storm and staying warm!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
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