Weigh In Wednesday's

Based on the comments from my last post, I realized that I am not alone in my dream to be thinner. It sounds like many of you in bloggerland have the very same dream. I have come up with a little plan called Weigh In Wednesday's. I will post how much I lose or gain each Wednesday. I am inviting all of you out there to post how much you lose or gain in the comment's. I want even the lurker's to join along! You guy's Do Not have to put your weight down (unless you are brave or insane) because you aren't going to get mine. If someone is doing really well, we can find out their secret. I want the people in China to say, "Damn, those are some Hot Momma's" when we are there getting our babies!

It's time

I didn't mention that one of the reason's I went to the mall on Monday was because my little boy has out grown all his summer clothing from last year. Now, the reason for the picture of the scale is not because Ian doesn't fit into his short's from last summer. The reason for the picture of the scale is because Mommy has out grown her summer clothing too! I only have a couple pair of summer pants that fit from last year. I REFUSE to buy a bigger size! That would just be like giving in! I'm sure everyone at my office is going to get sick of seeing me wear the same pants over & over again. Why did I give away all my scrubs?????? Sorry. Well folks, the time has come for me to shed the 10 to 15 pounds I have gained during the paperchase! In the past I would do it the quick way and go on the Atkin's diet. I think this time around I am going to try and cut my calories & "maybe" exercise. I think I'll start out slow on the exercise thing. Maybe, I'll just watch one of those exercise shows for awhile and see if that gets me in the mood. I think it will help me out if I report to you all about my progress. It's kind of like joining weight watcher's but you can't see the number on the scale! I'm certainly not going to tell you the weight that I am at right now.....I'd have to kill you! I'm just going to tell you how much weight I lose (or gain)! I really want to get in shape for this trip to China, I've got the Great Wall to climb!

Stork Alert

We have a stork alert! The CCAA has mailed referral's to families that have log in dates from May 31 to June 6th. Congratulation's to all the families that are included in this batch! I can't wait to see all the picture's of all those beautiful babies! "Trying" to stay positive............not really feeling it.

One for my pal, one for me

I joined my agencies Feb/March secret pal exchange and let me tell ya, it's GRRREAT! I went to the mall today to pick up a few gift's for my pal. I found that I would buy my pal something and then buy the same thing for me. If it's appropriate for my pal then it's gotta be appropriate for me, right? Right. My thought's exactly! I never joined any of the other secret pal exchange's because I knew I would never be able to stay with the $10 price limit. I love this exchange because there is no limit for what you can do for your pal, you don't have any set dates that the gift's have to be mailed & you can be totally creative because there are no theme's! Have I mentioned that I LOVE LOVE LOVE it? I sent my pal her 1st gift out today. I sure hope she likes it!

When did it happen?

The other night I went to kindergarten round-up at school. My little boy is heading off to kindergarten next fall. I can't believe how fast time really does fly by. Some day's it seems like I just brought him home from the hospital. I noticed something that night when I was standing in line to register him. When did I become one of the older Mom's? When did it happen? I remember feeling pretty darn cool when I was taking my daughter to pre-school 11 year's ago, when I was definitely one of the young hip Mom's. Sure, I'm still hip (who am I kidding, even the word make's me sound ancient...ugh!) and all but let's just say I look more "experienced" than some of the Mom's at the kindergarten round-up. Then my mind traveled to the day that I register Ava for kindergarten. People are going to think I'm Ava's grandma or something! Sorry folks, I still haven't gotten over turning the big 4-0 in November. Where am I going with all this rambling you ask?
Well, what I am trying to get at is this........Time really does fly by! I really don't know how it's already time to send send my baby to kindergarten. I really don't know how I got to be the "F
word" because I don't feel that old. Time is flying by quickly and you know what that means? Well, it made me realize our Ava will be here before we know it. I'm sure this next year will pass by just a quickly as the one's before it! I think it's a given.

As a girl I had a common dream, to be a mom someday. My baby would have eyes of blue and hair the hue of hay. But now my dreams have been transformed. New visions fill my head. Now the tresses that I long to stroke are raven black instead. And in my dreams those eyes are not so big or blue or round. Now in my dreams they're almond shaped and colored cocoa brown. And in my dreams my arms can stretch across enormous seas. They reach halfway around the world and hold you close to me. As you grown in your mother's womb, carefully knit together, you're also growing in my heart, where you will stay forever. And in my dreams the moment that your mother says good-bye, I'll be right there to comfort your and hold you as you cry. Our features may not look alike: we're different as can be. But still I know the Father has created you for me. And though I've not yet seen your face, or held your tiny hands, and though we're half a world apart in very different lands. I'll be right there to get you just as soon as God allows. But til He says the time is right I give to you this vow. I'll pray for your protection every day on bended knee. For God to hold you in His arms, until you're here with me. ~Author, Gayle Becker


SOMEONE POSTED THIS POEM ON ONE OF MY DTC GROUP'S. I THOUGHT IT WAS PRETTY AMAZING.

Write Your Name In Chinese

This is Ava's name written in Chinese. If you want to have your name written in Chinese click here.

OH PLEASE LET THIS BE TRUE!

According to the Rumor queeen, someone posted to one of the DTC groups that her husband had the opportunity to speak with Director Lu when the CCAA delegation was in Denver last week.He was told that with a LID of 12/9/05 that they could expect a referral between November and January.So, 11 to 13 months. That does sound like they are planning to stay "around 12 months" doesn't it?

I have been tagged!

There is a little game going around in blogville where you tag a fellow blogger and they must reveal 6 weird facts about themselves. Well, Melissa tagged me so here goes my list....................

1. I am a neat freak! I can't even relax while eating dinner if the kitchen is a mess. I hate any kind of clutter. It drive's me crazy if I walk into my house and anything is left on my counter. I will start putting everything away even before I take off my coat.
2. I think I have a phobia of trying new food's. I am totally serious. My diet is very limited and the only vegetable I eat is corn! My diet consists of meat, potatoes, bread, fruit & chocolate! If you want to join me for a meal in China, meet me at McDonald's or Pizza Hut!
3. I can only sleep on my left side and never facing a wall. I decided that I want to be cremated because the thought of laying on my back in a casket drive's me crazy.
4. I can't stand the sound of someone sweeping with a broom or using a toothbrush. I have to get away from it.
5. I don't like to be in big crowd's of people. If I am in a crowded store where people are brushing up against me, I have to leave.
6. I also freak out at the sound of a dog licking themselves. If someone locked me in a room with THAT sound playing over & over.......I would go insane!

Now it is my turn to tag 6 people and they must do their own list and then pick 6 other people to tag. If you have already done this before, you don't need to do it again.

I pick: Lisa, Shannon, Karen, Dawn, Fliss & Angela! Have fun guy's!

Getting Organized!

Alright, I'm going to tell you a dirty little secret of mine. I have not balanced my personal checking account since I opened it almost 5 year's ago. Usually, if it get's really messed up I'll close it and get a new one. This is NOT something that I shared with our social worker so pleeeeez keep this to yourself. Thank goodness our business account is balanced by one of our girl's in our office. I just don't know what my problem is as I am totally capable of balancing the checkbook........I just don't want to deal with it! So anywho, once again my checking account show's less than what I thought it should have in it (like about $500 less). I usually blame my husband since nine times out of ten, it's HIS fault anyway. He alway's hand's me a stack of debit receipt's that are 3 week's old. Then there are the receipt's that get LOST. So, I went to the bank this morning and asked for a print out of the account and like every other time blamed Jeff (hey, he wasn't there and I have to save face as I am overdrawn......AGAIN!). I guess I should have owned up to my part of this mess but, it's easier and much more fun to blame Jeff! The nice lady at the bank told me about online banking! I think she is tired of me asking for print out's of my account. I don't know why I haven't done this sooner. I can check my account daily and head off any problem's before they happen. I can probably pay for my airline ticket's to China with the money I am going to save in NSF fee's...........kidding. So, I am going to spend the rest of the afternoon trying to figure out my "exact" balance. I'm going to get to it as soon as I'm done checking my email's, read some more blogs, hit the rumor site, eat lunch, check to see if anyone updated their blog, check to see if anyone left me any comment's and make a couple phone call's. Hmmm I think I'll just work on it tomorrow as my day seem's quite full. Gosh, I'm so glad I'm finally getting myself organized!

Happy Easter!

Ian woke up at 7:00 excited to search for his basket. He was pleased with all the goodies the Bunny brought him this year.
Ian has another buddy to sleep with at night.
The kid's hunt for Easter eggs as Rylee hunt's for the Bunny!
Griffin is checking out their find.
They discuss what area still need's searching.

A trick or treat bag work's nicely for egg collecting too!
They are pretty excited with the hunt. The only one missing is their teen-age sister who is still sound asleep.

Easter Lily for Grandma
Hmmm. I don't think it had those bite mark's on it when I bought it??!
Gracie is caught in the act! She is one of the three reason's we don't have any plant's in our house. Maxfield & Margo are the other two reason's!

And of course the Easter Bunny thought of Ava this year too! Rumor has it, Ava is ALWAY'S on the Bunny's mind! Happy Easter from our family to your's!

GETTING READY FOR A VISIT FROM THE BUNNY

BEWARE Of Slow Moving Mice!

I'm going to warn everyone right now.....If you have a weak stomach then please don't read any further. If you know it might be bad but are still so curious to hear THE MOST DISGUSTING thing that has EVER happened to me, read on. Most night's my husband and I head outside

to our hot tub. We feel it really help's with all the stress of the day and help's both of us sleep better. It is a nice relaxing time where we can catch up with all the day's gossip. Last night we headed out to the hot tub per usual. About a half and hour later we were getting sleepy and decided it was time to head in to bed. I usually have my favorite fuzzy rob and my favorite Ugg slipper's readily available as I climb out of the tub. Last night I put on my rob and slipper's and took a couple step's and realized I stepped on "something" but because it

was dark, had no clue what it might be. I just "knew" it was bad.....VERY bad. I took off my slipper and there was a lot of gross white stuff all over the bottom. It looked like if you just stepped on the world's biggest zit and popped it. I apologize for being so graphic but I DID WARN YOU. Jeff told me to turn on the light and after I did he said something like, "EWWW"

and I was screaming "WHAT!!!" and he's say's "It was a mouse!" At this point I was screaming so loud that I probably woke up the whole neighborhood. I was yelling, "WAS IT ALREADY DEAD WHEN I STEPPED ON IT?" and he is calmly saying, "It is really hard to determine that." He later informed me that it was a very LARGE mouse. He said it was probably 4 inches long without the tail. It felt HUGE when I stepped on it and I will never get the "feeling" or the "sound" that it made on impact out of my mind. You all are really fortunate that I don't know how to add audio to this blog. I would have been searching for just the right sound clip. I am just so happy that it is a "Jeff job" to clean up the remain's. I haven't looked but I think it is going to take more than a shovel for this job! I think he might have to get out the power sprayer! That poor mouse didn't stand a chance with my size 9 Ugg's and the extra weight I have put on during the paperchase! Jeff said he will clean up my slipper's for me. I just don't know what to think about that. They were kind of expensive however, I don't think I could ever get passed it.

The sad part......It wasn't the only thing I squished that day. I ran over a turtle on my way to work that morning.

Bunny Humor

I Miss ZEUS!

Luna was really excited when I told her that her friend ZEUS finally had internet service.
Then, we checked online and I guess it isn't official yet......hopefully tonight. I think she really
has missed the big guy (that's what she like's to call him) these past two weeks. She has just
been laying around like this everyday......so sad.

What Kind Of Cookie Am I?

You Are a Black and White Cookie

You're often conflicted in life, and you feel pulled in two opposite directions.When you're good, you're sweet as sugar. And when you're bad, you're wicked! What kind of cookie are you quiz?

I found this on Shannon's site. I hate to admit it but the description does fit my personality. Are there any other black & white cookie's out there?

Those Are Some Really Big Bird's

I looked out the window at the bird feeder and saw a nice family of Turkey's. I guess they
must feel pretty relaxed since Easter is the next holiday and Thanksgiving is far far away.
"Hey Turkey's, whoever said we were having ham for Easter???"

Then away they went! "Hey, you guy's I was just kidding." " Hey, come back!"

For Anyone That Is Already Dreaming About The Weekend

IF HAPPINESS IS IN YOUR DESTINY, YOU NEED NOT BE IN A HURRY.

One Month Since LID

Our dossier was logged in exactly one month ago today to the CCAA. This mean's that we are
one month closer to bringing Ava home. I wish more than anything that I would have some
idea how much longer it will take...........it's anyone's guess at this point. When we started the
adoption process back in August, 2005 it was taking about 6 month's from your LID (log-in-date) until you received your referral. I remember hoping that we would travel this August before the kid's started back to school. Then we hit a slowdown with immigration in Detroit.
If ONLY we had started the process a couple week's earlier before they moved the office to Detroit we would be celebrating our 3 month LID instead of our 1st. Then I think if ONLY we
would of started the process in 2004 when I had the application in my hand's we would have Ava home and we would never of had to deal with the new time frame's and the stress of not knowing. I guess I can keep thinking if ONLY but it is what it is. I have to believe that there must be a reason that all this is playing out this way. The child that is meant to be our Ava must not need us yet....she may have not even been born. As disappointing and stressful as this wait has become I must keep reminding myself of this: It is going to happen when it was meant to
happen and not a minute sooner.

I Don't Hear Any Rumor's!

Well, I guess it's that time of the month again.........the rumor's are picking up speed. Time to
insert finger's in ear's and stay in my "happy place" where referral's are taking 10 to 12 month's.

Word Cloud

A couple of week's ago a lot of other blogger's were building their word cloud's. I tried it and
I realized that I must have been doing quite a bit of moaning because the word's in my cloud
were depressing! I thought with my new "up beat" attitude, I would try again! I was quite pleased! If you are interested in building your own word cloud click here.

LEGACY OF AN ADOPTED CHILD

Once there were two women, who never knew each other. One you do not remember, the other you call Mother. Two different lives, shaped to make yours one. One became your guiding star, the other became your sun. The first gave you life and the second taught you to live it. The first gave you need for love and the second was there to give it. One gave you a nationality, the other gave you a name. One gave you the seed of talent, the other gave you an aim. One gave you emotions, the other calmed your fears. One saw your first sweet smile, the other dried your tears. One gave you up ...it was all she could do. The other prayed for a child and God led her straight to you. And now you ask me through your tears, the age-old question through the years, heredity or environment ...which are you a product of? Neither, my Darling ... neither, just two different kinds of love.~Author unknown

Spring?

I'm just sitting here catching up on my blog reading (by the way you people are not updating your sites at the rate of speed I desire) when I take a glance out my window.
No, my camera lens is NOT dirty. It's freakin' snowing again! What is up WITH that? I don't
think the story goes......April Snowshower's Bring May Flower's! Enough already! Bring us spring!

100 Good Wishes Quilt Information

As you probably already know we are in the process of collecting square's for Ava's 100 Good Wishes Quilt. I believe we have received about 30 square's so far and I would like to thank all of you that have sent them to us. I know Ava will alway's cheerish her quilt and the many warm wishes that were sent to her. If any of you are also thinking about doing a quilt for your child or if some of you would like to see sample's of beautiful quilt's, I have a great site for you. They have a gallery of ton's of 100 Good Wishes Quilt's. Now the big question..........How on earth do you decide? Click here and see the beautiful quilt's.

What Happen's Next

This is the Review Room
This is how the dossier's travel to the Matching Room
This is a picture's of all the dossier's. Each agency has their own color. The next two picture's
are of the MATCHING ROOM!




Upon arriving at the CCAA our dossier will go through several department's. First our dossier is logged in (already done). Second, our dossier goes to the Review Room and THEN it is off to the
Matching Room and that is the room where all the magic happen's. That is the room where we will be matched with Ava! The entire process is taking about 10-12 month's from your log-in-date to the time of your referral. Your referral is when you receive your babies picture and information. Travel usually takes 6 to 8 weeks after your referral. The CCAA is separated into 6 distinct departments: Department 1, known as the Administration Department; Department 2, known as the Liaison Department; Department 3, the Document Review Department I, where all documents are thoroughly poured over and all data is placed in the CCAA database; Department 4, the Document Review Department II, known affectionately as the "Matching Room", where families are matched with orphan children; Department 5, the Archive Department, where all files from pre and post- adoption are archived; and Department 6, the Finance Department. Thought this information would help some of you understand the process a little bit better.

LID Cake

This is our cake prepared in celebration of our log-in-date. I told my 5 year old that I was
going to make a LID cake. His response was "I think a chocolate cake would be a little bit better." When
I saw how the cake turned out I realized all the money I have spent over the year's on cake's for my children's birthday's was well worth it! I have to admit that the cake photograph's better than if you saw it in person. Next time, I'll leave it to the professional's! On our local new's they have a segment called "Try It Before You Buy It" and I am here to tell you that I tried Betty Crocker
easy writer's. I don't think there is anything "easy" about them! I'm not going to blame this disaster completely on the easy writer's however, I give them a big thumb's down! They are like using magic marker's that had the cap's left off overnight! My husband is worried we are going to be sued for slander....oops!

Ladybug's & Log-In-Date's

On Thursday morning I had a ladybug sighting. This was the most magical of all because,
within a couple of hour's we found out our LID. Some of you may not know that the ladybug is good luck in Chinese adoption. Was it a quilt square and if so, where is the wish( you might be
thinking)? No, this ladybug sighting is............................................................................................

MARCIA! Marcia work's in our office and this happen's to be her new scrub top! I MADE her wear it on Friday so, I could take a picture of it! She want's all of you to know that she did wash it before wearing it again! I think Marcia's top may be the reason for all the LID's that poured in on Thursday & Friday! THANK YOU MARCIA!!!