Merry Christmas!!

We've had a wonderful Christmas but I am a little sad that our daughter isn't home yet. Mike had to work today so we opened all the non-Santa presents last night. We got up at 5:30 to watch Jason open Santa's presents and then Mike went to work, I went to bed and Jason stayed up and played. Next year, Mike's not scheduled to work which is great since it'll be Jessica's first Christmas with us. Christmas day is almost over in China now.

Merry Christmas!!

We've had a wonderful Christmas but I am a little sad that our daughter isn't home yet. Mike had to work today so we opened all the non-Santa presents last night. We got up at 5:30 to watch Jason open Santa's presents and then Mike went to work, I went to bed and Jason stayed up and played. Next year, Mike's not scheduled to work which is great since it'll be Jessica's first Christmas with us. Christmas day is almost over in China now.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We truly have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. On 11/9, our agency got a new list of waiting children. Although we were close to referral, I took a look and fell in love with a little girl. I called Mike to the computer room to see her picture and asked if he thought we should request her file. I called the agency and was emailed her file. We brought her file to our doctor the following week, decided to ask for a match and let our social worker know. The next day (Friday), I got a call at work telling me we'd been matched! It was 2:00 and the OT was leading a group in my class. The secretary asked if I could take a call and I did since no one calls me at work if it's not important. I was so shocked! I knew that they had to have a matching meeting internally so I hadn't thought I'd hear that quickly. I think I said "awesome" and "thankyou" 100 times. Of course, I didn't think of the questions to ask until after we'd hung up*S* I went back into the classroom and told them that I have a baby girl. I went to call Mike and my mom. Mike picked up our paperwork to fill out the LOI (letter of intent) on Monday. I sent it back on Tuesday by UPS. Hopefully, the LOI will be sent to China very, very soon so we can get to the next stage (travel approval!). When I got home from school on Friday after getting the phone call, Jason asked me if he could go to his friend's house. I said that he had to see something first and showed him her picture. He was so excited! I hadn't told him we were asking to be matched before the call in case we weren't matched by our agency. I can't say very much about our daughter until we get TA (or PA but I've heard we may not get an official preapproval since we'd already gone through the review room). All I can say is that I saw this little girl, knew she was our daughter, and thank God for answering our prayers.

We're Next!!
The CCAA page finally was updated last night and the cut-off date is August 25, 2005. We're August 30 so we will get ours next month. Although I wasn't expecting one this month, I am a bit disappointed because I'd really wanted to travel at Christmas. Oh well, that's not really important; what is important is getting there and getting our daughter. There were no referrals in October - we kept waiting and waiting - so I'm thinking ours probably won't come through until December but I'll cross my fingers they'll be a little (lot) quicker. I really need to get working on finishing our projects because time is getting shorter even when it doesn't feel like it.

Chinese Adoption Vocabulary
I've found that the Chinese Adoption Community has its own vocabulary. Here are some of the terms I've come across on blogs, forums, and message boards.

Dossier - The completed certified and notarized documents that are submitted by the prospective adoptive parents to their adoption agency.

Dossier to (DTC) - The day that the adoption agency sends the completed dossier to China. This is an important day because it means that the paperchase is over and you are officially "waiting".

Gotcha Day - The day adoptive parents get to hold their child in their arms for the first time; some families call this Forever Family Day.

Ladybugs - Believed to be good luck by the Chinese adoption community. According to the story, while everyone was waiting for their referrals one spring, there were sightings across teh country of ladybugs and immediately afteward the referrals came.

Log-In Date (LID) - The log-in date is the date that the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) receives your dossier, translates it, and puts you on the wait list.

The Red Thread - An ancient Chinese belief, "An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break”.

Home Study (HS) - A home study is a report that is written by a social worker who meets with the prospective adoptive parents and visits their home to determine if they are qualified to adopt.

100 Good Wishes Quilt - It is a northern China tradition for mothers to make a Bai Jia Bei (aka 100 Good Wishes Qult) from squares of fabric given by friends and family to welcome the child. The friends and family also send a wish for the baby. It is said that the quilt contains the luck and energy from everyone who contributed a piece of fabric. The adoption community has taken on this tradition for our own daughters.

Social Welfare Institute (SWI) - Orphanage

Letter of Intent (LOI) - This is a letter that accepts the referral of their child.

Travel Authorization (TA) - This is received when China approves the family to travel to China.

ACR - Age of Child Requested

AYAP - As Young As Possible

BCIS - Bureau of Citizens and Immigration Services

DOR - Date of Referral

DOT - Date of Travel

NSN - No special needs

SN - Special needs child

SW - Social worker

Referrals

I checked RQ when I got up this morning and the CCAA website has been updated. Referrals have been sent for people with LIDs through 8/9/05. That's 18 days worth so it's more than last month which is great. Of course, I wish they got further but it looks like we should get ours October or November based on this (no guarantees of course). I feel like I'm wishing the months away from referral time to referral time. Given that they're into August and we are getting much closer, I should probably get the nursery finished.

New Friends

Jason and I went to NOAH which is a no-kill shelter that brings cats to the Plymouth Petsmart for adoption. There were so many cute, cute cats and kittens. One was an American Shorthair which I'd never heard of before; they are like the domestic shorthair except they have a face like a persian - all smooshed in. He was adorable but already spoken for. Jason and I spent some time with Beanie and Cecil in a small room and decided that we couldn't choose between them - they were both coming home with us!! They were wrestling and cleaning each other - too cute!! They are 16 weeks old, have all their shots and have already been neutered.

We bought a couple toys, one of which is a fishing rod with a feather on the end. When we got home, Jason started playing with them and the cats were doing backflips trying to get the feather. He keeps saying that these are the coolest cats ever which makes me very happy. We are changing their names. Jason named one (we need to get collars to tell them apart) J.J. which he says stands for Jumbah (boobah) Jr. I prefer to think of it as standing for Jumbo Jr. which is Dumbo's real name and in keeping with our tradition of naming pets after Disney characters. I'm naming the other one but haven't decided on which name yet. I'm going to look up some of the older Disney characters and see if any jump out at me.

Rumors, Rumors, Rumors

Well, it's rumored that referrals were sent out on Friday and should hopefully be arriving at agencies early next week. Having an 8/30 LID, I certainly am not expecting ours but it is hard to resist the cry of AOA (All of August) that is resounding on the message boards. There is no clue to the cutoff date. Some say it could be 7/28 (very bad), some say a few days of August (okay but not great), some say mid-August (pretty good) and some are saying the end of August (best case*S*). 7/28-8/30 is a pretty wide range of estimates so it's anyone's guess. I usually don't wish my weekends away but I am anxious to see how far they match through.

I told Mike that I need to get another cat this morning. He asked if I wasn't sure I wanted to wait until after we go to China. Given the way that referrals have been going, I am positive I do not want to wait. If we were going next month, yes I'd wait. Given that we don't have a referral yet and probably won't have one until October at the earliest, I don't want to put off getting a kitty. Last week was so hard; I miss having a furry friend.

Very Sad - Ariel 2/14/93-9/15/06

Friday morning around 4:15, my kitty, Ariel, got up on the bed and laid down. She wasn't laying the way she usually does and smelled horrible. She was crying an unusual cry. I brought her in the bathroom and she didn't fuss about me carrying her which was very unusual. She kept gagging. I called our animal hospital and was referred to another that had emergency hours. I put her in a tupperware box with a towel just in case she peed. I didn't want to put her in the carrier because she really hates it and I wanted to be able to pet her. I could tell she wouldn't be jumping out. After being at the vets for an hour or so and taking x-rays, we found she had congestive heart failure. Best case scenario - she could live a month, worst - she could die anytime. The doctor said even if she lived the month, she could very well still be in pain all the time. There was no real choice for me; how could I expect her to live in pain? When I went in to see her the last time, she had her back to the room in (she was in an oxygen cage). That was very typical of her because she does not like other people. I said goodbye to her, petted her, and signed the papers for them to put her to sleep. When I was rubbing her chin and ears the last time, she turned her head to look at me and meowed. My heart was breaking but I am very thankful that God had given her the strength to jump up on my bed; otherwise I wouldn't have woken up when I did.

Last night was very tough. When we brought a basket in that I'd gotten from Maureen, my first thought was that we had to put it away so Ariel didn't get in it. Then when I was sleeping last night, I'd reach out thinking she was there since she always slept with me. I felt pressure on my leg right before I fell asleep. I like to think that Ariel was telling me she was okay. When I think back over the past week, I realize she had slowed down a bit although she didn't really seem sick. Goodbye Ariel, I love you.

100 Good Wishes Quilt

What is a 100 wishes quilt? It’s a tradition in northern China for mothers to make a Bai Jia Bei (aka 100 Good Wishes Quilt) from squares of fabric given by friends and family to welcome the child. The friends and family also send a wish for the baby. It is said that the quilt contains the luck and energy from everyone who contributed a piece of fabric. The adoption community has taken on this tradition for our own daughters.

Above are pictures of the quilt I made for the baby. It turned out quite large. It was so much fun getting the squares in the mail and seeing all the different fabrics that were chosen. I ended up with more than 100 so I am planning on making a second quilt. If anyone would like to send a square and wish, please let me know. I'm thinking I may make this second quilt lap-size.

Hard to believe it's been 5 years

Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning? - Alan Jackson

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day

Out in the yard with your wife and children

Or working on some stage in L.A.

Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke

Rising against that blue sky

Did you shout out in anger, in fear for your neighbor

Or did you just sit down and cry

Did you weep for the children who lost there dear loved ones

And pray for the ones who don't know

Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble

And sob for the ones left below

Did you burst out in pride for the red, white and blue

And the heros who died just doin' what they do

Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer

And look at yourself and what really matters

I’m just a singer of simple songs

I’m not a real political man

I watch cnn but I'm not sure I can tell you

The difference in Iraq and Iran

But I know Jesus, and I talk to God

And I remember this from when I was young.

Faith, hope and love are some good things he gave us

And the greatest is love.

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day

Teaching a class full of innocent children

Or driving down some cold interstate

Did you feel guilty cause you’re a survivor

In a crowded room did you feel alone?

Did you call up your mother to tell her you love her

Did you dust off that bible at home

Did you open your eyes in hope it never happened

Close your eyes and not go to sleep

Did you notice the sunset for the first time in ages

Speak to some stranger on the street

Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow

Go out and buy you a gun

Did you turn off that violent home movie your watchin

And turn on I Love Lucy reruns

Did you go to a church and hold hands with some strangers

Or stand in line and give your own blood

Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family

And thank god you had somebody to love

I think this song really touches me, not simply because I love country music, but because one of his lines tells exactly where I was when I heard the news. Five years ago today I was teaching kindergarten. We had just finished circle time and I was standing by the coat closet when one of my paras came and told me the news she'd heard in the office. I remember that when I was driving to work that morning I'd been thinking what a beautiful day it was and how blue the sky was. Who could have known the horror that lay just a couple hours ahead.

To all the families, friends of the victims - you're in my prayers and thoughts. God bless America.

Baby Stuff

I'm in the middle of stenciling Meimei's room (once we decide on a name, I wonder if I'll have a hard time remembering not to call her Meimei). It's a slow process but it's coming along. Here's what it looks like. It's not the best picture but it gives the idea. Mike painted the walls a creamy yellow. The stencil is one of Home Depot's Disney Princess line (of course*S*).

Ladybugs are supposed to be good luck. People in the Chinese adoption community say that when you see a ladybug it means referrals are coming. I think ladybugs are cute and am starting to accumulate a collection of items. In this picture, you can see one of the many dresses I've bought so far (ladybugs are on the collar and hem), a stuffed lady bug, a ladybug wooden clacker (sitting on the yellow blanket), and two of the blankets I've made so far. The red and pink blanket was the second one I made at the sewing class that I took (the first blanket I made was for Jason); the yellow blanket is a fleece blanket that I fringed and tied the edges together. I really like make blankets (new baby shower gift idea to give people*S*).

I've always loved stuffed animals. Growing up, my bed was a jumble of them. Jason takes after me in this. Meimei already has quite the collection going - some of them Jason's, some of them mine, some were Michelle's (my niece), and some bought just for her. The Minnie Mouse and large bear (Felicia from Filenes many years ago) were mine. Donald Duck was Jason's but he said it would go well in her Disney room. I'd bought Marie (the white cat from the Aristocats) for one of Chuck and Sandi's girls before I heard that they didn't want any more stuffed animals given to them so it joined this group. There is a Mother Goose and a bunny rabbit with babies from Michelle. The sheep, ladybug, Raggedy Ann, and Hungry Caterpillar were all part of my retail therapy. On the left wide you can also see another of the fleece blankets I made.

Stop in and Say Hi!

People keep telling me they've checked my blog but no one ever stops in and says hi. Letting me know you were here is really easy - just click on the comment button under the post. You can leave comments anonymously if you don't want to register for an account.

For some reason the clocks from the weather site seem to be off on my blog. I've got three - 1 for Plymouth, 1 for Guangzhou and 1 for Beijing. The other night the one for Plymouth was off by an hour. The ones for Guangzhou and Beijing should have the same time as there is only one time zone in China but they're different on this. I'm going to have to look into that when I have more time to fool around with it.

Referrals came in by surprise

According to the forums, no one expected referrals before next week. Surprise! They came in on Wednesday. Unfortunately they only went through 7/22/05 so my agency didn't receive any. I was very depressed when I first read it but picked myself up and I'm back to normal (with the help of some chocolate*S*).

I had some coupons for Michaels Arts and Crafts so I got some card making supplies and am going to start stamping thank you cards. I won't need them for a while but it gives me something to do that I probably wouldn't have time for later. If I get a chance after I make a sample tonight I'll post a pic. Last year I bought a stamp that had thank you written in Chinese characters so I'm going to use this. I need to finish stenciling the baby's room as well. Maybe I'll go do that now (rather than finish cleaning out my craft room which I am currently taking a break from).

I saw this on someone else's blog and thought it was cool since some people who stop by here don't really know me. On the other person's blog it was supposed to be 100 facts; I don't know that I can think of that many. I may add to the list as I think of things.

All About Me

1. I've lived in MA all of my life except for 11 months I spent in southern CA (and the 2 months I went to school in HI missing the Blizzard of '78).
2. I've been married for a little over 10 years.
3. We have an 8 year old son who is going into third grade. We just found out that he got the teacher I was hoping for!!
4. We had planned on going to Australia for our 10th anniversary; this was before deciding to adopt. Maybe when we hit 25.
5. Growing up, I lived in a Cape Cod style house and swore that I wouldn't live in one when I was old enough to buy a house; that I wanted a Victorian. By the time I was old enough to have a mortgage, reality set in and I knew a Victorian was out of our price range. We have a very nice Cape Cod style house*S*
6. I love, love, love to travel.
7. I love planning vacations and am usually researching the next place I want to go (after China, maybe New Orleanss? But not during Mardi Gras - see number 8)
8. I don't mind going to busy places but I can't stand obsenely huge crowds which is why Mardi Gras and Fan Fest (a week in June in Nashville) are out of the question for me.
9. I am not fond of vacations where we sit on the beach and do nothing. Definitely Type A when it comes to going away - plans, schedules and on the go!
10. Disney World is my favorite place in the world.
11. Nashville is my second favorite vacation place with Vegas pretty close behind.
12. I'd love to retire to Celebration, FL.
13. I am obsessed with anything Disney.
14. Our two cats are named after Disney characters (DH wanted to name them Whitey and Stripes; ended up with Jasmine and Ariel)
15. I rarely wear makeup or earrings.
16. I don't like the color orange.
17. I don't like wearing high heels.
18. My favorite shoes are my birkenstock sandals.
19. I cannot carry a tune although I do sing for my students.
20. I love scrapbooking.
21. I recently learned how to sew.
22. My first sewing project was a blanket for Jason.
23. I've been friends with one of my friends for 34 years. Wow! Kindergarten was such a long time ago!!
24. I don't do well with someone telling me I can't do something. Talk to me and let me know your feelings but don't ever think you can forbid me.
25. I have a brother in California and a sister in MA. My sister spent 10 years in CA before returning home.
26. I'm a cat person. Love me, love my cats (or in Mike's case, tolerate my cats).
27. It drives me crazy when people refer to women who stay at home as full-time moms. There is nothing about my working that makes me a part-time mom. How come no one calls fathers who work part-time dads?

It's Too Quiet!!!

Usually by now there are rumors floating all over the internet; this month - nothing!!! It's driving me crazy. I'm finding that I'm getting much more obsessive as time goes on since we're getting so close now. I bought a magazine yesterday and my horoscope in it said that a long-held dream would finally be realized in September. Since our LID is 8/30, I'm not expecting a referral this month but I would be thrilled/ecstatic/jumping up and down hysterically if we got one in September (hopefully it's not nap time at work when I get the call*S*). I had a dream we named our daughter Lucy. Lucy is a fine name but it's not one we'd been considering. I looked up its meaning and it means "Light" Perhaps the dream means that there really is a light at the end of the tunnel?

Exactly what do people find funny about racial or ethnic jokes? I don't get the humor in them and I'm sure I'm going to ruffle a few feathers with my letting people know this. I was on the Woman's Day forum and someone posted a thread entitled "Want to Learn Chinese?" I opened the thread and clicked on the enclosed link. It was a list of phrases in English and the supposedly humorous Chinese way of saying them. It was offensive and I told the woman who posted it that I didn't think it was funny. I know many people in my life who think ethnic jokes are particularly funny but I just fail to see the humor. I always lose some respect for people when I hear them tell jokes like this.

More Paperwork

On Wednesday, I dropped Jason off at Ruth & Chuck's and went to meet our new social worker (our third!). Our first one was laid off and the second one decided to move to Arizona. She was very nice and we talked for about half an hour about adoption, family, and work. It wasn't required but I thought it'd be nice to have a face to put with the voice that will be calling me to tell me we have a daughter. There were a few things that I knew that she didn't that I'd gotten from Rumor Queen like the increased time if you're adopting from Guangdong province. She said that WHFC is still predicting 15 months from LID to referral which would mean we would get a referral in November. I'm crossing my fingers that it'll be before that. Because our 797 will expire in November, we have to apply again for CIS approval to adopt. More forms to fill out, more documents to copy, more money to pay. It's almost $600 for this approval. There is a legislature to try to extend this approval but I'm too paranoid to wait to see if it passes. I'd rather have it and not need it then not have it and have any more delays in this process. After meeting with our SW, I went to the Cheesecake Factory (yum!!!) and then back to WHFC for the waiting families meeting. One couple is traveling the end of this month, one family is next to get a referral (there are more than one couple in each LID group of course, but not many come to the meetings). There were 2 women who'd been to Russia to get their referral and meet their new sons and they talked about that. The three couples who are adopting from Guatemala are all traveling to see their children soon. The family who adopted the the twins traveled in July and may be at the next meeting with their children; I can't wait to see them! It helps to see that there really is a light at the end of the tunnel.

IGive.com
Fundraising is a big topic on the adoption boards. People have different ideas about what fundraising is. Some consider having yard sales or selling things on Ebay as fundraising. Others consider fundraising sending out letters asking for donations. I've been selling stuff on Ebay for years but I never thought of it as fundraising. I had one yard sale many years ago and swore I'd never have another - too much work, too little $$. As for writing letters and asking for money, I don't think so; unless it's to help a charity like the Walk for Cancer or the Jane Doe Walk Against Domestic Violence, it seems too much like begging to me.

On one of the many adoption groups that I belong to, someone mentioned IGive.com. It's an online shopping mall that includes major stores such as Barnes & Noble, Target.com, and Apple ITunes. I buy a lot of stuff online especially as the Christmas season gets closer (no, I haven't bought anything for Christmas yet). By shopping at the participating stores through IGive, a percentage predetermined by the store is donated to the shopper's favorite group, whether it is a known charity, your child's marching band, or, as we are doing, to help with our fees. The percentage donated is not tacked onto your purchase price. Since I buy online anyway, I figured I might as well join and get some money to help with the expenses.

If you're interested in using IGive, just go to Igive.com and join; it's free to join. If you'd like contribute your percentage to our journey, join through www.igive.com/bringingmeimeihome. If you'd like to support a favorite charity, there is a huge list available when you are on the registration page or you can add your own.

Luggage
Even though we are nowhere near getting our referral, I had to go out and get some retail therapy today. I was so depressed over this morning's news that referrals only went to 7/13 and thought maybe doing something to get ready would help. This morning I finished the 2nd coat on the window in the nursery and the first coat on the baseboards. I'll put a 2nd coat on tonight and then hopefully start with the fun decorating. I'll post pictures once I get it done. Anyway, Jason and I went shopping for luggage. We have two pieces that should be okay but the others are too big considering the luggage restrictions that will be in place. I wanted another 22-24" piece. We went to Kohl's but I really didn't want to spend $200 on a suitcase right now. We went to Target and Jason found one he liked. It's a 4 piece which we didn't really need but the price was right. I'm thinking that we won't have as much trouble telling this one is ours on the luggage carousel as our others.

Referrals through July 13

I got up this morning to check Rumor Queen since I knew referrals were due to come out. There have been so many rumors lately - cutoff 7/13, cutofff 7/27, no referrals due to move, etc. The truth was better than no referrals but not as good as 7/27. They went from 6/29 to 7/13. Our agency's next LID is 7/25 so no one from WHFC will be getting a referral in this batch - disappointing. So, there is still one more group at my agency ahead of us. The chant has been "All July in July" and I think many of us were starting to believe that it might happen. Well, the roller coaster ride continues....

Who knew packing could be a pastime?

I had to look up the spelling of pastime because it looks strange but according to www.dictionary.com, it's correct. I've been searching blogs and adoption websites for months reading people's packing lists and incorporating them into my own. I just found a whole new stash of them on rumor queen's forum and am in the process of sorting through the 13 pages to see if there's anything new. I'd really like to know how anyone can pack for a two week trip to China using carry on only (coo). I'm not even going to bother as I know I'd just get frustrated. There's a suitcase in the baby's room that I've been putting stuff into as I get it. I just bought some TSA locks. I think I'll be picking up an international converter next. We're going to have to get some more luggage. We have 2 decent sized suitcases and 2 huge ones. The huge ones won't qualify for the in-country flights. Target was having a sale, buy 1 suitcase get 1 free but I am leary of spending the money right now. They have these sales periodically so once school is back in session and I'm pulling a paycheck again, I'll grab a couple at the next sale. I think I might get one of the stranger colors (pink, purple) so that our luggage will be easily recognizable. I have a packing list on my website which you can see at www.geocities.com/chinalovejourney but may be updating it again once I get through all the notes and tips I've gotten from the RQ site. Time to go watch Big Brother.

Grrr!

I have heard about ignorant comments that adoptive parents get on all the messageboards and forums that I go to but they're starting up in real life to me now. I'm sure one of Mike's friends and his wife thought they were being helpful when they told me about their friend who adopted from Russia and was able to get not one but two caucasian babies and that the country tried to push a third on them while they were there. First of all, we're adopting from China - obviously the child being caucasian is not a priority with us. Secondly, jokes about "Buy 2, get 1 free" are offensive. Use your brain people!! The majority of people involved in international adoption are not going to be amused by bigoted, racial and cultural jokes like these.

Of course, many myths about international adoption are perpetuated by stories such as the poor journalism that appeared in the LA Times. A writer wrote a supposedly satirical piece pointed at Angelina Jolie but it was written in poor taste and has the potential to harm adoptive families by angering the countries that were being mocked. I wrote a letter to the editor of that paper as did many other parents.

Horoscopes

Normally I'm not too superstitious but I'll choose to believe my horoscope today. I picked up a copy of Women's World to read at the gym (I've been very good about going !!) and checked out my horoscope. 7/6 would be way too early for us to get a referral considering they've only matched families with log in dates up to 6/28/05 and ours is 8/30/05. Still, maybe there could be some good news on the way. As for the out-of-town guests, thankfully I've gotten my house somewhat organized and am not suffering from CHAOS (can't have anyone over syndrome).

Ignorant Comment

I went to Chinese class last night and was talking to two people about our adoption. It was a nice conversation until one guy chimed in. A woman had asked whether we go alone or with a group. I told her we are going with a group and the guy said "Yeah, you don't want to be wandering around alone picking through the leftover babies. Hey, that one looks cute; lets ask the mother to sell her." I was shocked (which after reading through what others on the forums have gone through I probably shouldn't have been). After all, he's in a class to learn to speak Chinese and appears to be an adult; shouldn't he have known that would be offensive both to myself and to the teacher of the class who was sitting next to me and is from Beijing? I told him that was insulting and turned to talk to someone else. Earlier, when I said that we may stop in Hong Kong to go to Disneyland, he acted like that was horrible. He liked the Hong Kong part but not the Disney; oh well, can't please everyone.

On a better note, a girl saw me on the train reading my beginning Chinese book and started talking to me. She's from southern China and was really interested in my learning to speak. She helped me with the different tones and said once I have those, the rest will be easy. Not so sure about that!!

June 24, 2006 (at least for 15 more minutes)

Who knew what fun a blog could be!!

I should be going to bed since I'm going to Sturbridge tomorrow but I discovered Blogthings - all these little quizzes that tell things about you.

Like this:

Your Ideal Pet is a Cat

You're both aloof, introverted, and moody.And your friends secretly wish that you were declawed!

What's" Your Ideal Pet?

Although I have to admit I cheated on this one. The first time I took it, it told me I should have a big dog - I don't think so!

And this:

June 23, 2006

Step by step, day by day

We're one step closer today. The CCAA sent out referrals for everyone up through 6/28/05. I wished that they had gone through the whole month as it makes me nervous being an end of the monther myself (LID 8/30/05). I'm thinking maybe October for our referral (although I greatly wish it would be sooner). If we get a referral in October, we'd probably be traveling December-January. Maybe we'll see Christmas in China. I can't think of a better Christmas present than receiving our baby girl! I've prepared Jason that if we are in China on Christmas, Santa knows we're only allowed one suitcase each so he'll bring the presents to our house and they'll be waiting for him on our return (if this happens, we may need the help of some elves in setting up).


I'm out of work for the summer (yeah!!!!!). On the last day of school, I found the sweetest present on my desk. I love getting good surprises and this was so sweet. My boss left a little suitcase on my desk and inside was a check, a panda, blanket, spoons, book, and photo album. The picture doesn't do it justice. A couple at our adoption agency got a stuffed zebra to be their adoption mascot; maybe the Panda can be ours.

June 17, 2006

Ni hao!

I started Chinese (Mandarin) classes last Tuesday night. The teacher is from Beijing and a bit hard to understand but it's fun. Mama is mother, baba father, gege older brother. The latest rumor is that the CCAA may send out referrals for all of June by the end of the month. That would be awesome since it would mean we were that much closer. The people at WHFC who have June LIDs are 6/23 so I really hope it includes them if it doesn't go all the way to the end.

May 28,2006

Learning something new

I had a website but from what I've been told, it seems that blogging is easier, so I'm trying it out. I'm teaching myself HTML as I go along since I never took it in school. The earlier part of our journey is on the website. You can get to that by clicking on my link on the right of the blog.

Not much happening right now in the waiting game. Referrals have been received for dossiers logged in by June 15, 2005. Our log in date is 8/30/05 so we still have a while to wait. I bought a cute shirt for the baby. Jason didn't think it was quite so cute. I'm not sure why I can't get the picture to post right side up. It looked okay in the file.