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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”.

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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