The weekend

First, our social worker went on vacation until the 4th which means that if the CPS paperwork comes in this week she won't get it until next week. That means the court certification won't get started until next week which means it won't be back to us until maybe the 17th of July which means if we go over on our 171H we could have problems. Our 171H expires on August 25. We have to be back from China by August 25. Not in China coming home but back. I'm a little stressed because it takes at least 1 month for CIS to process the paperwork if we get the update by July 20 and get it mailed to them we MAY have it back by August 20. I'm praying and hoping we are home by then with Sarah.

We went camping this weekend up north. Brent was looking for cooler temperatures. There have been some monsoon storms in the past week so I was worried about getting rained on. Both of the kids and the dog are afraid of thunder. Can you see us all huddled in a tent awake because it is thundering? Yup, me either.

We left home at about 4:00 and headed up the mountain. At 7:00 we finally found a place close to go. It took us another 20 minutes or so on a dirt road to get to the campground. Skies were clear - good sign. Sun hadn't set all the way - another good sign because we still had the tent to put up.

Brent pulls the tent out and it is our old one - prekids (well at least pre-Hannah) We did go camping once or twice in the same tent when Brandon was a baby and we could fit him in between us. The tent fits a full air mattress with about 12-15 inches on one side. We also brought the kids play tents. I'm sure they can be used for sleeping in. We have used them in the house and in the backyard. We aren't exactly sure where our bigger - family friendly tent is.

Tents go up, kids play, we attempt to make s'mores. While in theory the kids LOVE the idea - it doesn't work well. Brent - in charge of packing - did not bring a BBQ fork. The kids were looking for sticks to toast marshmellows. They kept bringing me sticks that were about 10 inches long and twice the size of a pencil. First, too fat. Second, if you think I'm going to let you lean over a fire with a too short stick you are crazy! I wasn't very popular at that point. Finally, Hannah found a stick that was skinny enough but not nearly long enough for my comfort to let them toast the marshmellow themselves. Still not popular as I roast marshmellows. Brandon wants his on fire but he won't eat the burned part. Okay! Hannah will take a bite out of a lightly browned marshmellow but doesn't want it anymore after that.

H: Can you do another one for me please, Mommy?
M: But you didn't eat the one I just did!
H: That's okay, Daddy can eat that one. (it is sitting on a picnic table that probably has only been "clean" the day it was put there)

Hannah wants to tell stories. It is now 8:30 and dark - finally. Prior to the darkness it is still "morning-time" and Hannah fights going to bed. They tell silly stories.

Bed-time 9:00. There is not much room in the tent. It is decided that Mommy will sleep in the tent with the kids and Brent will squeeze himself into one of the play tents - hehehe! I get the kids settled, Brent banks the fire for the night and I call out to him "Are you bringing the dog in with you?" He says "There isn't room for the dog, he will be fine just outside the tent." I let it go for a little bit but my guilt gets the better of me at about midnight and bring Kodi in the tent with me. It is so cold! I keep checking to make sure the kids are covered and warm. Brent is snoring away and has been since he laid down.

Fast forward about 4 hours. The sun starts coming up, lightening the sky so the birds start chirping. It is 4:30 and Hannah wakes up. It is "morning-time" and she is not tired anymore. Her talking - she has one volume = loud - wakes Brandon who says he is ready to get up too. Nice. The dog won't get out of the tent to go to the bathroom (the smart one in the bunch). Brent doesn't make any noise - I'm not sure if he is listening to us or still asleep - he can sleep through just about anything. I get up to start the fire. It is damp. It is cold. I'm not very happy to be away at 4:30! I get Brent to get up because the kids are loud, I need him to help get them dressed warmer and to the bathroom.

By 5:30 the kids are fed and they are running around the campsite. It is really difficult to keep them quiet. I cleaned up the tent - wrapped up the sleeping bags because we aren't spending a second night. Then I climbed in the front seat of the car and slept for about 2 hours while Brent went on a "hike" with the kids and dog. Anything to get them away from other campers since we didn't want to wake anyone up.

The kids played all morning in a field by our campsite. They wandered around without a care in the world. Hannah was laying in the middle of the field, completely hidden by the tall grasses. I wish they would play in our backyard like they played in the meadow. It was so nice not to have to "worry" so much about them. Sort-of like it was when Brent and I were kids and wandered our respective neighborhoods. You just can't do that anymore.

On the drive home Hannah slept for 3 hours! She was exhausted and filthy! Brandon didn't sleep but he was equally as filthy. They went to bed at 7:00 Saturday evening and were out like little lights. I cleaned up the shower from the "mud" that came off of them.

I think they had fun.

Just wanted this saved - CCAA "box'

CCAA Status


Reviewed through:
January 31, 2007

Placed through:
January 20, 2006

TA somewhere in our future?

I just received an email regarding our TA. Apparently we will hear in 2 weeks when we will travel. All acceptances for our group are finally in (we were waiting for one family) and they are on their way to China. Please pray for a quick travel date!

We are heading to the mountains overnight for a quick camping trip. Pray for no thunderstorms either! The kids and dog are afraid of thunder and it may be a looong night in a tent with the 3 of them if it thundering and raining. Not to mention not very fun if we can't have a small fire and maybe make s'mores.

I'm having a pity party day...

I'm tired of waiting for our travel approval. We sent our Visa information earlier in the week and should have our Visas on Monday-Wednesday.
People are starting to get their travel approvals but not our group. I feel like I was the last person in the world to receive a picture of Sarah and now I feel like we may be on the back end of travel approval.
I know I got an email last week saying our window was July 20 back by August 13 however I talked with our agency the other day and they want us to get our 171H updated "just in case". It expires on the 25th of August and I can't do anything until our homestudy is finished in the courts.
I am frustrated. I am tired of waiting. I am sad. I want to know when we are going to be able to hold her.

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting

this has felt like the longest 2 weeks! We got an email with tentative travel dates (somewhere between July 20 and August 13) I just want to get confirmation now so that we can start making plans to go. I imagine it will cost even more (aside from the Olympics) if we have to purchase airline tickets without notice. I'm feeling very pessimistic right now.
I want to hold Sarah instead of just staring at her picture.

New Ticker

EXCELLENCE

We got back the translation of her medical forms. She is very healthy and was in FOSTER CARE! Yeah!

Can you guess what Jianjia means? (hint: check out the title of this post!)

Almost 880 days

879 days, 23 hours, 27 minutes and 0 seconds

Or 2 years, 4 months, 28 days, 23 hours, 27 minutes
879 days, 23 hours, 27 minutes and 0 seconds can be converted to one of these units:
76,030,020 seconds
1,267,167 minutes
21,119 hours (rounded down)
125 weeks (rounded down)

is how long we waited to see this beautiful face!

Do you believe in angels?

We do! Another beautiful angel just joined our family!

For this child I prayed and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him. - 1 Samuel 1:27

Chinese Name: Fu Jian Jia (For those that don't know - Fu is her last name. We should be able to find out the characters for her name tomorrow so we can translate it!)
Date of Birth: a Cinco de Mayo baby! May 5, 2007 - 13 months old

We missed her first birthday but all others will be celebrated in style!

I'm not sure when she was measured and such but she is a peanut like Hannah - 8.5 kg which my dad says is about 19 pounds! But I think she may be taller than Hannah was 71 cm. I don't know what that converts to - I need to check later! edited: at 12 months Hannah was 19 lbs, 29 1/4" tall and had a head circumference of 18". I just did the conversion and Sarah is 19 lbs, 28" tall and has a head circumference of 17" so she is shorter than Hannah was but about the same weight. However, they weigh the children fully dressed and by looking at the pictures it looks like she had quite a bit of clothing on. My guess is that she weighs a little less than 19 lbs. Of course we won't know until we get the paperwork and find someone who can translate it for us as to when she was measured.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away. - Unknown

Edited to add 2 more pictures!

I should be doing laundry

but instead I'm sitting here refreshing different pages - none that will tell me anything about our referral - encouraging Brandon to take his shower and waiting for Hannah to get up so I can get breakfast finished.

Yup, it is going to be a productive day!

The poll results

looks like the majority think she will be older than a year. We should find out soon!

It is midnight and I'm still up. I can't sleep. I'm anxious, nervous, excited...

My email:
Janice -
Referrals are arriving according to some of the yahoo groups - have you heard anything?
Carolyn

The reply:
YES!!!!!! Your referral is in!!!! I don't have it in hand, but Adam emailed today after your email came in to let me know and to verify AHO's address! I asked him to send it and email it!!!! I'll keep you posted tonight and tomorrow if I hear or get anything!


Janice

This is a test

This is a test to see if I can email information to our blog.

Tuesday, June 10, 11:15 a.m.

still nothing... trying to keep busy and off the computer! I've had a few phone calls this morning and every time the phone rings I jump. Unfortunately, it is has been a morning of calls from parents of my former students trying to deal with some other things. At least it is keeping my mind on other things at the moment....

It is 5:35 p.m

and nothing today. :(

It is 9:00 a.m.

referrals are arriving in the U.S. Breathe!

It is 8:30 a.m.

and referrals are arriving in Europe! Yeah! That means we are a little closer to seeing our Sarah!

Storks are flying!

According to someone on the rumor site an agency is reporting that referrals are on the way! We likely won't hear anything for another week after people start posting their referrals and pictures. But that does mean pictures of other babies should be up by Monday!

Still "nothing"

Well, not really nothing as someone posted on the rumor site they "Got the Call" and there was a flurry of activity only to discover that the person got a call saying that they are "matched" and that they should receive their referral next week.

At this point I'm hoping for the end of the month or at least to have SOME information prior to the shower - like the 20th.

I keep refreshing the rumor site to see if there is anything new...

Nothing

There is nothing out there. Nothing. The rumors of matching seemed to have switched to say they weren't but now they are. There is nothing out there.

My sister is having a referral/baby shower for Sarah. She sent out the invitations because we were supposed to have some news in the next few days. I'm thinking next week at the earliest we will hear something. The shower is on the 21st. I hope we have a picture and an age to tell everyone about her. I registered for some onesies in smaller sizes - I have lots of 12 month things but nothing smaller and with some of the ages of babies in the last few months I figured I should be ready. The plan is to take off the sizes on the registry that definitely won't fit her. It isn't like we really "need" anything for her. We have quite a few things left from Hannah because we started the process when she was 6 months old.

I just want to see her.

The plus side is that my house if getting very clean. (We moved a few weeks ago and I only have our room to do!) The closet has become a storage for the boxes that aren't unpacked yet so the first thing I need to do is get them out of there and hang the clothes. Then I can start putting away craft things and making a pile to get rid of. I got rid of a lot before we moved but I know I'll find more things I just don't need cluttering the house.

We are heading to the library today to return some books and get some new ones. Brandon is a reading fiend right now.