FEBRUARY 2006
Received
our first post card from Wisconsin
today, 2/3/06.
Today, 2/4/06 we had a wonderful day! We
drove up to Knoxville and had a
scrumptious lunch at the Apple Cake Tea
Room. We then did some “baby recon”
at Babiesrus and really hit the jack
pot. We found the stroller we have loved for
some time on sale for ½ price. It is a
Peg Perego Venezia and the fabric color is
“Blu Moon”. The stroller is a carriage
and also a stroller, check out the picture
here and more pictures in our photo album.
Marmalade our cat thinks the stroller is
his, as you will see in the photo album.
We also were able to visit the mall where I
found some adorable pajamas in a ladybug
fabric. We then met Abigail, Beverly and
Stan at Calhouns on the river for dinner. We
had such a nice meal and then we went to the
Chinese New Year Celebration. There
were many different performances, from
singing to dancing, some with children and
others with just adults. We were so excited
because at the end, they pulled tickets out
of a hat for a raffle. They read the winning
ticket numbers first in Chinese and then in
English, we actually understood the
Chinese numbers.
After the performance we stopped at
Krispy Kreme for some fresh hot
donuts….it was great at the time, but not
recommended. A “sugar high” is always
followed by a “sugar low.” We made it
home very late but what a wonderful day we
had, we look forward to special days like
this with ladybug…actually we look forward
to every day with ladybug.
When we got home we had a nice surprise, an
email with pictures of a family’s recent
visit to adopt their daughter from China…it
has been 50 days since our paperwork went to
China. We have at least 200 more days of
waiting until our referral.
Today is Sunday, 2/5/06 and we had our
3rd Chinese language class and we are
learning a bit, but to say it is difficult
is a true understatement. We so enjoy it,
but after 2 hours of class, our brains are
just in a fog. We are going to take a few
private lessons beginning this week to catch
up and learn the basics.
After class we went shopping and I found the
cutes romper at Babiesrus….it has red and
white polka dots and ladybugs.
Today 2/6/06 we sent off our postcards…all
55 of them.
Today 2/8/06 we had our first private
Chinese language lesson; we learned the 4
tones and the 6 vowels. On the way home it
began to snow and sleet.
Today 2/9/06 I picked up my new glasses,
they are wonderful…very light and they have
an anti glare coating too. Check out the
pictures in our photo album. I also picked
up 2 outfits I had bought in January for
ladybug, but had forgotten to pick up…that
just shows you how hectic January was, I
forgot to pick up a purchase…or am I just
getting a “Mommy brain” a bit early?
Happy Valentines Day! We feel so
blessed to be on this journey to our
daughter in China. Although we don’t know
who she is or where she lives or even if she
is born yet. We talk about her daily, we
pray for her and those in her life and we
look forward to the day we become a family
of 3.
We had a ladybug sighting today…the
fabricated kind! Mel got me the cutest
ladybug bracelet, it has all different
colored ladybugs on it.
What a beautiful day…2/16/06. I think it was
nearly 70 degrees. Mel is in South Carolina
and I went out for some retail therapy after
work and found a “fleece bunting” for
ladybug’s carriage. With referral times
getting slower and slower, I fully expect us
to be traveling in late fall early winter
which means we will be taking walks in the
cooler months of the year. Still feeling
restless I decided to change the Great Room
around. I feel much better today, yesterday
I had the worst migraine ever…could I be
under too much stress?
WE HAVE A LID DATE!!!!! Our dossier
has been in China for 2 months now, today is
2/17/06 and our paperwork was sent 12/16/05.
I decided to call our agency Holt
International and try to find out if we have
a login date yet as we have not received
anything in the mail and are a bit worried
something has been lost. I spoke to Ellen C.
and our login date is 1/11/06…. RELIEF,
EXCITEMENT…the real wait begins!!!
The Nursery and other home improvements!
Well it is now 2/20/06 and I had hoped to
have a room painted by now…kitty cat
bathroom (Marmalade and Blondie’s bathroom)
or even the nursery. Well deciding on a
paint color is hard. I have had these 2x2
paint swatches for years and just knew they
were the perfect color for each of the
rooms…kitty cat bathroom and nursery. About
2 weeks ago I purchased sample paint and
painted sample areas in each of the rooms. I
have gone through 3-5 different samples in
each room and I am still not sure. The one
thing I know for sure is all this color
really makes me appreciate the neutral color
the majority of our walls are. Maybe I am
just not a “colored walls” type of
person.
Here is the dilemma, in the kitty cat
bathroom, I envisioned a beach type blue on
the wall, which would go with a
nautical/primary color theme we want in
there…very upbeat and colorful eventually. I
am torn between the following colors…White
Satin, which is like a “lite blue”,
Ice Blue, which is a nice “nautical
blue” or Haystack, which is a nice
“lite creamy yellow”. I am starting to lean
toward the Ice Blue as over time I am
getting used to the darker color…check out
the swatches in our photo album under kitty
cat bathroom and if you have an opinion let
me know. I would like to start painting
something soon.
In the nursery I envisioned a pale green and
in the adjoining bathroom a pale pink. Well
the first green I tested Wales Green
looked like a “dill pickle” once on the
wall. I then tried Haystack on the wall and
it looks really nice, but is seems too
energetic for a baby’s bedroom, I just
keep thinking with yellow Ladybug will never
go to sleep. I then tried a light green
called Cabbage and it may just be the one.
In the adjoining bath I have tried Misty
Rose and Pink Peony, which were
both awful. Then I tried Taffy which
is a pale pink with more of a peach
undertone, Autumn Red which is a
bright pink very fun and Secret
Rendezvous, which is more red than pink.
My dilemma is between Taffy which is a
pastel and very soothing or Autumn Red which
is bright and fun. Then I have also
considered the Autumn Red in the
nursery and the Cabbage in the
adjoining bath…but something tells me it
would look great, but again it would not be
very restful…am I over thinking this?
I am participating in the January DTC
group Secret Pal gift exchange. Today is
the last day to mail the package for this
months gift…I will be going to the post
office first thing after work. The theme
this month is the “YEAR OF THE DOG”. |
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Cute ladybug outfit I bought and adorable
ladybug purse gift from Jennifer
Chinese New Year traditional costumes
Taffy or Autumn Red
Postcards we have received
Ladybug sighting
Kitty in a carriage |
Today is Tuesday
2/21/06 and I was just thinking about our
last private Chinese language lesson. Well
first let me just say….I am so thankful Mel
is really into this, because it is VERY hard
for me to commit every Sunday afternoon and
in addition take a private lesson and on top
of that study.
To help us learn a little better we bought a
digital recorder…it is as small as a candy
bar. I think it may also be nice to have it
in China to record voice only messages about
our experience. Anyway I am the technical
person in the family…so I set it up and
tested it out. I finally figured out how to
save the messages on the computer and also
how to copy messages from the computer back
to the recorder. I have not figured out how
to “split” a message so that it will fit on
a CD and we can play it in a car cd player.
However while trying to accomplish this….we
now own just about any kind and every kind
of CDR, CDRW, DVD…you name it we own it and
we still haven’t successfully copied our
Chinese language class to a CD. By the way,
I don’t think CD’s come in any size larger
than 700 mb or 80 min…but if someone is
aware of a larger size…let me know.
Anyway back to Chinese language…Mel has
taken the recorder to work to listen to
during lunch. The other night he came in the
door from work saying, “ah, wuh, uh, ee, oo,
ewe” over and over and over again. For those
of you who don’t know the significance…these
are the 6 vowell sounds in Chinese language.
Well we went to class and for some reason
each time Mel would speak any Chinese he
would use his arms and hands, almost like a
conductor of an orchestra except very big
and exaggerated. It may have been one of
those moments that you just had to be
there…but let me tell you it was funny.
This past Sunday, we had our group lesson
and we are learning phrases that would be
helpful while eating or ordering in a
Chinese restaurant. The teacher asked us in
Chinese what we would like to drink? Well
Mel made the class roar with his response….”chazi”!
The teacher said “I don’t understand your
Chinese”. He meant “Cha” which is tea, but
in some past class he picked up on some rule
about zi and decided it applied to this word
too…the whole class got a good laugh.
Today 2/24/06 I checked the
mailbox and we had our first quilt squares.
We are participating in the 100 Good Wishes
Quilt Swap with our December DTC group. Here
is a letter telling you a little about the
tradition and if you would like to send us a
square and a wish it will be cherished.
Dear Family and Friends,
There is a tradition in the northern part of
China of making a Bai Jia Bei, or "100 Good
Wishes Quilt" to welcome and celebrate a new
life. The quiltmaker invites 100 people to
contribute a single square patch of cloth.
Much of the time, the squares were scraps
from their worn clothing and it is said that
the luck, energy, and good wishes of the
people who wore these clothes now surrounds
the child when he/she is wrapped in the
quilt (for us this quilt will represent the
love, support, and prayers of our friends
and family). The quilt is then passed down
from generation to generation. The squares,
however, do not need to be from old
clothing, but can be scraps or newly
purchased material - anything with special
meaning to you. We would love for you to
send a square to add to “Ladybugs” keepsake
quilt if you are able. If your kids would
like to send separate squares and
wishes/blessings that would be wonderful
too!
If you are interested, here's what we'd
need:
1) (1 - 3) 7" x 7" square(s) of 100% cotton
material (washed and ironed before cutting
the square to allow for shrinkage). If you
send more than one square, they can be
identical or different material.
2) Along with your quilt square(s) please
include a "wish" which could be a prayer,
poem, thoughtful quote, Bible verse,
original thought, or whatever you choose, on
a piece of paper along with your name.
3) On this piece of paper with the wish and
your name, paste a small square of the
fabric (can be about 2"x2") that you're
sending for the quilt. This small swatch
will help us to identify your fabric within
the quilt. The piece of paper can be as
simple or as fancy as you'd like to make it
and will be kept in a scrapbook for
“Ladybug” to read. I know she will love to
read the blessings from each of you and find
the fabric you've contributed within the
quilt. If the fabric has special meaning to
you, please include that information on the
paper as well.
*We will be collecting squares while we wait
for our referral, but would like to have
them all collected by October 1st. If you're
a little late with your square, you may send
it anyway. If we have some extra squares we
may make a pillow or smaller quilt later.
Your help will make this a wonderful
keepsake. Thank you so much!
2/25/06
Fortune cookies...we have been
collecting our fortunes over the last
several months...
Your smile will brighten someone’s
day...Many receive advice, only the wise
profit by it...You see everything that
happens in terms of its larger meaning...The
person who thinks but does not learn is in
great danger...The best way to get credit is
to give it away...You are a gentleman of
outstanding wisdom...Everything will now
come your way...A modest man never talks to
himself...You will be unusually successful
in business...There’s no point to being
grown up if you can’t be childish
sometimes...Share your insights with close
friends...You will conquer obstacles to
achieve success...You are going to have a
very comfortable old age...Life to you is a
dashing and bold adventure...The essential
conditions of everything you do must be
choice, love, and passion...The one who
would be constant in happiness must
frequently change...The man who has no
imagination has no wings...The love of your
life will appear in front of you
unexpectedly!...The joyfulness of a man
prolongs his day...Your example will inspire
others...You will step on the soil of many
countries...
2/26/06
This is the message that was on the CCAA website:
The CCAA has finished the review of the
adoption application documents registered
with our office in June 2005.The CCAA has
finished the placement of children for the
families whose adoption application
documents were registered with our office
before May 25, 2005.
Today 2/26/06 we met our Chinese class for
lunch at a nice Chinese restaurant in
Chattanooga. We had to use what Chinese
language we have learned. After the dinner
we purchased material for the quilt swap we
are participating in. Tonight was the
closing ceremony for the Winter Olympics, we
didn’t really watch a lot of the events but
enjoyed the skating, snow boarding and the
skiing. |
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