I married my best friend!
Happy Anniversary, sweetie...I love you!!!!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Every weekend should be 4 days!!
Anna had a great weekend filled with many firsts...first trip to the zoo, first big hug with Aunt Julie, first time playing in the river, first time petting one of our dogs without our help, and first time playing golf! Here are some shots (click to enlarge) from the weekend, will try to add some video later. Hope you all had a nice weekend too!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
We're still here...
Things have been a little crazy lately, but we are all doing good. We had our first visit with our Parents As Teacher educator...she is WONDERFUL! We were lucky enough to get the name of a PAT lady that is also an international adoption social worker!! We were thrilled to find her! We had put off our first visit because Anna is still pretty leery of most women until she gets to know them...which takes a while! Lisa (PAT teacher) knew just how to interact with Anna and by the end of the visit (she stayed 2 hours), Anna let Lisa hold her and gave her a big hug. If you know Anna, you know that this is huge!
Not only was Lisa able to talk to us about Anna's development, but since she's an international adoption social worker, she also took almost half of her time talking about Anna's adjustment. We appreciated this so, so much!
She reassured us that she thought Anna's attaching and bonding to us was going great. We were pretty sure about this, but there are times when we've questioned it. Lisa was encouraged by Anna's eye contact, her affection to us, her preference for us, and her letting us comfort her when she's upset.
She also reassured us that we've made the right decisions by keeping our circle pretty small. She said it's good that Anna just wants us (and sometimes the grandmas) to hold her and that, over time, she'll feel comfortable going to others, but to certainly not push it. Anna has had many disruptions in her young life and it is very normal for her to be leery around new people and a very good sign that she likes to know we're near.
The only bad part about the PAT visit is that this will be the last visit until the school year starts again in the fall. Lisa did say we could call her any time...we might take her up on that, we don't want Anna to forget her new friend over the summer!
Here are a couple pictures from this week. Anna is finally in all 12 month clothes now...she's growing like crazy, we can't wait to see her measurements next month at the dr! The bottom picture is from this morning and is especially great to see from the girl that 4 months ago didn't want anything to do with touching anything soft and had no idea what to do with a stuffed animal...now she can't sleep without her snugglie and won't get out of bed without bringing her doggy, elephant, blanket, and snugglie with her!
Not only was Lisa able to talk to us about Anna's development, but since she's an international adoption social worker, she also took almost half of her time talking about Anna's adjustment. We appreciated this so, so much!
She reassured us that she thought Anna's attaching and bonding to us was going great. We were pretty sure about this, but there are times when we've questioned it. Lisa was encouraged by Anna's eye contact, her affection to us, her preference for us, and her letting us comfort her when she's upset.
She also reassured us that we've made the right decisions by keeping our circle pretty small. She said it's good that Anna just wants us (and sometimes the grandmas) to hold her and that, over time, she'll feel comfortable going to others, but to certainly not push it. Anna has had many disruptions in her young life and it is very normal for her to be leery around new people and a very good sign that she likes to know we're near.
The only bad part about the PAT visit is that this will be the last visit until the school year starts again in the fall. Lisa did say we could call her any time...we might take her up on that, we don't want Anna to forget her new friend over the summer!
Here are a couple pictures from this week. Anna is finally in all 12 month clothes now...she's growing like crazy, we can't wait to see her measurements next month at the dr! The bottom picture is from this morning and is especially great to see from the girl that 4 months ago didn't want anything to do with touching anything soft and had no idea what to do with a stuffed animal...now she can't sleep without her snugglie and won't get out of bed without bringing her doggy, elephant, blanket, and snugglie with her!
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Happy Mother's Day
I had a wonderful first Mother's Day! Anna got me a beautiful new necklace with 3 small pearls in a pea pod, Greg got me a new Fiestaware pitcher that I had been wanting, and we all went out to eat at one of my favorite places for breakfast. I feel very blessed!
Friday, May 07, 2010
Friday, April 30, 2010
She has arms and legs!
It's been so funny to watch Anna as she has started wearing her summer clothes. The first time I put her in shorts and short sleeves, she just kept looking at me like 'where are the rest of my clothes and why are my legs and arms showing'! They keep the children pretty bundled up in China, so we're pretty sure she hadn't seen her cute little legs and arms too much before!
Anna is doing great. She's cutting teeth like crazy, probably saying at least 15 words and signing double that, learning to climb (found her in the middle of the coffee table last week!), still loves to eat, and really loves to dance!
Anna is doing great. She's cutting teeth like crazy, probably saying at least 15 words and signing double that, learning to climb (found her in the middle of the coffee table last week!), still loves to eat, and really loves to dance!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Friday, April 09, 2010
Adoption travel fix (for you stalkers out there)...
Last October, after we were matched with Anna, I "met" (through an online adoption group) another gal that also had been matched with a little girl in Kunming. Their daughter, Grace is just about a month older than Anna and we believe they were in the same foster care village together the last few months and we know they were in the orphanage together for about 6 months prior to that. Anyway, she and her husband just arrived in Kunming and will meet Grace Sunday night (Monday morning, China time). I checked her blog this morning and got excited to see they have the same, wonderful guide that we had! So, if you all need a blog fix...click here.
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Happy Easter!
We had a wonderful first Easter together ... spent the morning at church and the afternoon with our family ... couldn't ask for a better day!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Good news for those adopting!
The Adoption Tax Credit has been extended and increased! A huge help to those adopting or interested in adopting! Hopefully, for us, it means we can start thinking about a sibling for Anna a little sooner!
From The Christian Alliance for Orphans Blog:
Amidst the intense controversy of the health care bill signed into law by President Obama yesterday, there’s at least one provision every orphan advocate can cheer. The adoption tax credit was preserved for another year…and increased in value!
To encourage and support adoption, the adoption tax credit was expanded by President Bush and Congress in 2001. This increased the value of the credit from $5,000 to $10,000, and indexed it for inflation (meaning the credit would increase each year to keep up with inflation.) For 2010, its value had risen to $12,170. However, the 2001 increase was scheduled to “sunset” at the end of 2010. This would mean that any adoptions finalized after December 31, 2010 would be eligible for—at most—a credit of only $5,000.
This sunset has now been extended one year. That means that it will need to be extended again before the end of 2011. For the present, however, this extension comes as very welcome news for families considering adoption or in the adoption process.
Specifically, the provisions contained in the health care bill include:
•The current adoption tax credit has been extended until the end of 2011;
•The value of the adoption tax credit has been increased from $12,170 to $13,170.
•The increase is “retroactive,” meaning that any adoption occurring after January 1, 2010 is eligible for this higher credit.
•The credit is now refundable. This means that even families that owe zero taxes can receive the full tax credit in the form of a tax refund to help with their adoption-related expenses.
From The Christian Alliance for Orphans Blog:
Amidst the intense controversy of the health care bill signed into law by President Obama yesterday, there’s at least one provision every orphan advocate can cheer. The adoption tax credit was preserved for another year…and increased in value!
To encourage and support adoption, the adoption tax credit was expanded by President Bush and Congress in 2001. This increased the value of the credit from $5,000 to $10,000, and indexed it for inflation (meaning the credit would increase each year to keep up with inflation.) For 2010, its value had risen to $12,170. However, the 2001 increase was scheduled to “sunset” at the end of 2010. This would mean that any adoptions finalized after December 31, 2010 would be eligible for—at most—a credit of only $5,000.
This sunset has now been extended one year. That means that it will need to be extended again before the end of 2011. For the present, however, this extension comes as very welcome news for families considering adoption or in the adoption process.
Specifically, the provisions contained in the health care bill include:
•The current adoption tax credit has been extended until the end of 2011;
•The value of the adoption tax credit has been increased from $12,170 to $13,170.
•The increase is “retroactive,” meaning that any adoption occurring after January 1, 2010 is eligible for this higher credit.
•The credit is now refundable. This means that even families that owe zero taxes can receive the full tax credit in the form of a tax refund to help with their adoption-related expenses.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Those who wait...
Something that has been weighing heavy on my heart since returning home from China is all of the children that are still in there ... waiting.
Most of you know that Greg and I switched from the non-special needs China program to the waiting child China program at the end of last May. The wait for the non-special needs (NSN) program is around 4 years right now and still growing.
This time last year we began looking into the special needs (SN) program in China. What we found was that this program had changed a lot since we were first logged in in 2006...there are now many, many children with very minor, correctable special needs ... such as heart murmurs and other minor heart conditions, cleft lip and palate, missing or extra digits and skin conditions such as birth marks, to name a few. In the SN program you are allowed to specify what needs, age, and gender you are open to. China releases a monthly list of available children and there are also agencies that have lists of children waiting to be adopted. Once you are matched the time frame to travel to bring your child home is anywhere from 3-5 months.
We don't talk a lot about Anna's "need", but she had a diaphragmatic hernia and it was already repaired in China when she was 6 months old. We are very blessed that she was able to have surgery in China and she is now a healthy, happy girl!!
While Greg and I aren't yet in the position to adopt again (praying that this day will come soon though), the one thing we can to do now is advocate for those children that still wait for their forever family.
Maybe you are interesting in adoption or maybe you would just like to sponsor a child waiting to be adopted. I'm going to start working on a list of agencies and organizations that can help you do either or both! Also, if you have any questions about the China SN program, please feel free to email me!
Most of you know that Greg and I switched from the non-special needs China program to the waiting child China program at the end of last May. The wait for the non-special needs (NSN) program is around 4 years right now and still growing.
This time last year we began looking into the special needs (SN) program in China. What we found was that this program had changed a lot since we were first logged in in 2006...there are now many, many children with very minor, correctable special needs ... such as heart murmurs and other minor heart conditions, cleft lip and palate, missing or extra digits and skin conditions such as birth marks, to name a few. In the SN program you are allowed to specify what needs, age, and gender you are open to. China releases a monthly list of available children and there are also agencies that have lists of children waiting to be adopted. Once you are matched the time frame to travel to bring your child home is anywhere from 3-5 months.
We don't talk a lot about Anna's "need", but she had a diaphragmatic hernia and it was already repaired in China when she was 6 months old. We are very blessed that she was able to have surgery in China and she is now a healthy, happy girl!!
While Greg and I aren't yet in the position to adopt again (praying that this day will come soon though), the one thing we can to do now is advocate for those children that still wait for their forever family.
Maybe you are interesting in adoption or maybe you would just like to sponsor a child waiting to be adopted. I'm going to start working on a list of agencies and organizations that can help you do either or both! Also, if you have any questions about the China SN program, please feel free to email me!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
15 Months
Anna turned 15 months old today! The poor little thing had a rough week last week - she had a nasty cold, but she is starting to feel much better now. Last week was also my (Laura) last week before returning to work - BAH!
Now for a little more about Anna ... She is a real crack-up. She loves to mimic, which is pretty funny! She has learned to say kitty, doggy, hi, dada, mama, more (which sounds a lot like mama), and ball. She is also a signing fool - we're doing the Baby Signing Times dvd's with her and she loves them! We are totally amazed by all she has learned, I'm pretty sure she knows more signs than we do! We still haven't met a food that she doesn't like. She loves books...in particular Brown Bear, Brown Bear. She also loves music - any time we have music on, she'll stop what she is doing and put her hands in the air and start swaying ... very cute! We'll try to get it on video soon.
Didn't take a whole lot of pictures this week with her being sick, but here are a few.
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Spring Fever
We are getting spring fever around here! It's been so nice to be able to get outside a little lately! Today we are going to walk to the park with Anna and the dogs. Anna had a great week ... she is now sleeping through the night without the 2:30am wake-up! We can tell she is feeling more content and secure around us and in her home. We have taken her swimming about 4 times now and this girl LOVES the water!
Here are a few shots from the week:
Here are a few shots from the week:
Anna reading to Minnie in the house the Dada built
She has learned to tell the kitty "no-no"
Mid-wink
Morning fun
Deep thoughts
The bib says it all...
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