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MARCH 2006

March madness...begins 3/1/06! This is absolutely my favorite time of the year...basketball tournament time and Spring is arriving. What more could you ask for...a referral?
 
Today is March 3, 2006 and Mel and I had our first date 10 years ago today! Today is also Dad’s birthday. We babysat Lily today and oh my goodness....what a treat!
 
So 10 years ago today Mel and I had our first “date”. Where do I start, back in 1992 when I was single and working for the law firm in Knoxville a co-worker friend of mine Susan mentioned, “I am dating this guy and he is perfect for you”! Now how odd is that, she was dating a guy who was perfect for me. Well time passed and I moved to Overland Park, Kansas and did not meet this “perfect guy” until June 26, 1993 after my 10 year high school reunion. After my reunion, I met Susan and another former co-worker Jennifer at a local club “Desperados” for some country dancing. We had not been there very long when this “gentleman” came up and asked me to dance...you guessed it... the gentleman was Mel. We danced a couple’s dance called the “Sweetheart Schottische”. We had never met much less danced together, but it seemed as if we had known each other for years and the dancing was the same. Well at the time I thought Mel was still dating my co-worker friend Susan, so there were no thoughts other than friendship.

I traveled to Knoxville quite a bit over the next year to visit family and to dance on Club Dance and Mel joined me several times. We continued to keep in touch and would occasionally run into each other when I was in Knoxville. Christmas 1995 was a very special Christmas...I received a Christmas card from Mel that “hinted” of his feelings for me. We continued to keep in touch and when I mentioned to him I would be coming home for my father’s birthday; he suggested we should go out. At this point we had been friends for nearly 3 years so I really didn’t know what to expect. Long story...short that date was the beginning of a very special relationship that has continued to grow over the last 10 years. We were lucky to have found each other and to have our friendship turn into love.

Today is Saturday March 4, 2006 and we are both still “glowing” from babysitting Lily. Mel had to work late, so I arrived first with the take out Chinese from Imperial Garden. I began reading to Lily her Dora book and it wasn’t long until we heard a knock on the door...she said “Mel’s here”! We then prepared the table for dinner and let me tell you...she knows where everything and I mean everything is. I would say Lily where is your cup...”in the pantry” and she would show me. She is amazing!

While we were eating I took off my glasses and she said, “why you take off your glasses...can you see me”? I explained to her that my glasses were for things far away and she seemed to understand. She then found a toy that needed the batteries changing; once again she knew where the batteries were and knew where finger nail clippers were.

We then settled in to watch “Big Bird Goes to China”...oh my word we all were amazed. We now have it on our wishlist! You just can’t imagine how much we enjoyed this evening with Lily. at one point the cat Sunny was on Mel’s lap, Lily was leaning on me, I was leaning on Mel and the dog Lucky was laying on Mel’s feet and we were all just watching the video.

At some point in the evening I asked Lily if her diaper was wet...she replied “no”. I asked her if she would tell me if it was wet...she replied “no”. Of course I laughed and laughed. She heard me tell Mel he wasn’t too old to get in the floor and play with us and she said, “come on Mel, you aren’t too old to play in the floor.” Of course we both laughed pretty hard at that too. We also played Dora cards and read many more books and by the end of the evening, we were all tired but boy did we have a GREAT time. What a special little girl...we can’t wait for her and “ladybug” to meet.

Today 3/5/06 we had our Chinese class and we reviewed our lesson books and began doing phrases and things you might say in conversation. After class we went to a new restaurant, the “Boathouse” which is on the river in Chattanooga. There is a park where people walk and bike and the activity of the river. We look forward to bringing “ladybug” here for a walk for a bike ride.

3/6/06
This is the message that was on the CCAA website today:

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before July 31, 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.

Quilt Squares - good wishes we have received so far


Emily's baby picture with both dresses


Ladybug's books


Emily and Mel - Cades Cove


Happy Birthday little brother


Great finds from Prospect School sale
 
Today 3/9/06 I went by and visited the First United Methodist Child Development Center and met the Director, Lana. I updated “Ladybug’s” estimated time of arrival so that we can maintain our place on the waiting list. When I initially contacted Lana back in August of 2005 the wait times were still 6 months and we thought we would be home and possibly needing child care in late summer of 2006. Now with the wait time increase, we probably won’t need child care until late 2006 or early 2007.

Today 3/10/06 we are expecting company. My little brother Kevin is coming up and bringing 2 of his children Hunter and Rachael.

Kevin and the kids arrived in time for dinner, we had Chinese take-out from Imperial Garden. The funniest thing happened just after they arrived. Kevin asked Mel a question and when Mel responded both Kevin and Hunter thought Mel was speaking Chinese...we all got a big laugh out of it. We laughed so hard we couldn’t remember what the question was or even what Mel had said.

3/11/06
We traveled up to Maryville and took Hunter and Rachael to see Kevin (their Dad) in a bike race. We staked out a nice little spot along the race course and took in the beauty of the mountains while watching the race. We also visited a nice Garden Center where Hunter looked at plants and flowers. We then met up with Kevin for lunch. After lunch we drove through Cade’s Cove and just were overwhelmed with the beauty of the mountains and nature. We must have seen over 50 deer as well as many birds and other livestock.

After our trip through Cade’s Cove, we took Hunter and Rachael to Dad and Purcey’s and we all had one of Purcey’s well known “meals”. Of course there was Purcey’s infamous cream corn as well as cornbread and roast beef and just about anything else you can imagine and desert, yes cheese cake.

We had our Chinese class today 3/12/06 and we learned numbers and also reviewed phrases. We really are beginning to recognize words and phrases. This evening Kevin arrived with Rachael who is staying with us for the week.

3/13/06 Today I was surprised by Rachael. I was at my desk working and she passed me a note...”Aunt Emmie do you want a bagel? Yes or No or maybe later”. This may not seem like anything special, but oh my word, what 9 year old have you met that thinks of others like this. While I worked Rachael was my secretary...today was the day to call in for Oprah tickets in April. We had high hopes but after getting a busy signal hundreds of times or the message “all circuits are busy”, we have no tickets to Oprah, but we do have a phone named the “Oprah phone”.
We had our private Chinese lesson tonight and Rachael went with us. Lina was very kind and said we were doing very well. She shared with us some cultural information and as always we are just amazed at all we learn. After the lesson I watched the NCAA selection show with Rachael and explained the tournament and the brackets with her. I just LOVE this time of year...Tennessee got a #2 seed for the first time in several years.

Today is Tuesday 3/14/06 and me and Rachael cut out quilt squares for the quilt swap. We cut out about 25 squares, I have about 50-60 more squares to cut. This evening we went to my Chinese exercise class and Rachael learned to count to 10 in Chinese. After class we went to dinner and then to Hobby Lobby where we bought lots of stickers and some goodies to go on the wishes for the quilt swap. We then drove to Chattanooga to pick up Mel at the airport...it was a very late night, but not too late to watch American Idol when we got home.

3/15/06 Today is “hump day” and we are all tired. We made dinner together and cooked hamburgers. Rachael made turnovers all by herself too. Rachael has made some of the cutest things, she drew ladybugs and wrote “waiting for ladybug”. On another piece of paper she drew and she wrote, “welcome to China”. She is just so talented and thoughtful. She also made cookies all by herself today and I taught her oven safety.
 
Today 3/16/06 our dossier has been in China for 90 days now. We went to a second hand children’s sale at Prospect school. We found something so special...a pink sailor dress. I have a picture of me in a blue sailor dress that my Grandmother painted. A few years ago my sister Teri gave me the actual dress I had on in the picture and it was a pink sailor dress. Check out the picture of the dress purchased for “ladybug” with my picture. After the sale we met Mel for dinner and then afterward we stopped at Lily’s and gave her some cookies Rachael made and a “Mickey Mouse” puppet Rachael made. They had so much fun playing and Lily loved her puppet.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! (3/17/06) and Happy Birthday little brothers Colin and Kevin.
 
One of our special moments in March was volunteering at a Christian concert put on by the group NewSong. I took part of the day off and my niece Rachael and I drove up to Loudon and picked up a friend of mine from high school and we drove up to Knoxville. NewSong has teamed up with Holt International, our agency, to work with their Sponsorship program. That means that at each of the stops on the tour they have children available to sponsor for only $25 a month. It is called a “Bridge of Hope” to help support these children until they are adopted. They encourage these sponsorships by telling the story of Bertha and Harry Holt who adopted 8 children from Korea 50 years ago and founded this agency. Harry Holt believed that “every child deserves a home.”

As of Intermission, 110 children had been sponsored and by the end of the show I believe we reached our goal of 150 sponsors. Interacting with people who were very emotional as they looked at the packets of children who needed sponsorship was incredibly moving and held special significance to each of us. To be part of something that is helping some of “ladybug’s” sisters and brothers in China as they wait for their families to come get them was very moving.

As we were waiting for intermission, I began to look at some of the packets of the children waiting for sponsorship. There were hundreds if not thousands of packets, stacked neatly in piles on long tables. One packet seemed to be larger than the rest as my eyes focused in on it. I picked it up and the darling little girl was named Pei Fu. My heart felt an immediate connection...as I read through the information my heart stopped when I saw her birth date 11/25/04...Thanksgiving day...the day before we lost Martin. I then noticed packet of another little girl from China Qun Fu and her birthday was October 11, 2004 which also had significance for us. I just could not sponsor one without sponsoring the other...so I filled out the paperwork for us to sponsor both Pei Fu and Qun Fu.

3/18/06
We had a lazy morning since we didn’t get home from the concert until 2:15 am this morning. Mel decided that me and Rachael should have a “girl’s day out”, well we did and we shopped til we dropped. We found the cutest lime green tennis shoes for her and some pink ones for me. We also found her a few cute outfits and we found some goodies for “ladybug” too. We found 3 cute dresses for Lily and a Dora outfit too. What a fun day! We dropped by Lily’s to visit and gave her the new dresses and Dora outfit. Rachael and Lily had fun playing together. Jill and Robert gave us the cutest “Baby Gap” dress in my favorite color bright pink for “ladybug”.
 
In the evening Tina, Hunter and Audrey(Kevin’s wife, son and daughter) arrived. We visited awhile and then Tina showed me the scrapbook she had done for me and Mel. Oh my word...the tears were flowing then...she captured family memories over the last few years with nice captions. The bonus was a nice bag with ladybugs all over it.

Speaking of ladybugs....yesterday when Rachael and I picked up my friend Dee Dee, she gave me some really cute things...ladybug house slippers, a scarf with ladybugs on it, a ladybug charm and the cutest ladybug bag.

Today 3/19/06 is Sunday and we went to our Chinese class. Afterward we came home and prepared dinner for birthday celebration for Kevin. Rachael had made the cake and I decorated it. We had a nice meal together...”Aunt Emmie’s famous spaghetti” and then birthday cake.

Today is March 20, 2006 and I am just tired...tired, tired, tired. I guess when you burn the candle at both ends eventually you have to rest. Our company left and we caught up on our zzzzzz’ss.

Today 3/21/06 is Tuesday and did I mention all the “ladybug loot”. Check out the pictures...I think we have purchased nearly 40 books for her and these are just a few of the outfits purchased recently. We have also received goodies from others who know how fond we are of “ladybugs”.

My quote for today 3/22/06:
Life is not a matter of milestones, but of moments. Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

Today is Friday 3/24/06 and we received a call from Kate Morgan from our agency. She just called to check in with us and remind us of things to do while we are waiting. She did say she doesn’t expect us to get a referral until December of this year and then not travel until February of 2007. As much as you hear the rumors and as positive as I have tried to be...this hit me like a ton of bricks. When I think about it I just can’t imagine another 8 months until we see a picture of “ladybug” and then 2 more months until we travel. For the first time...I am feeling this wait is hard and that life is not fair. Why is family building so hard? Everyone says it will be worth it and we are ready to find out. We just need to focus on the moment and on what we have, because we do have many blessings.

Kevin and Rachael stopped by on their way home. Rachael had made me a ladybug bracelet and some beaded earrings. She also made a box for the goodies that had a kitty cat on it. She is just so thoughtful. I made her favorite macaroni and cheese and they enjoyed a quick sandwich before leaving for home.

It is Saturday 3/25/06 and both Mel and I feel a little under the weather, but it didn’t keep me from yard work. I love to garden, plant flowers, mow, rake, fertilize. Just about anything to do with the yard or flowers I love. Once basketball season is over, I pretty much spend all my free time in the yard. Today I fertilized, seeded and limed the yard. I also pulled weeds and raked the woods. Since this was the first time I had been in the yard since late Fall, I feel like I am 80. I ache all over...even my fingers hurt. After a few Saturdays like this...I will be in yard shape.

Today 3/26/06 is Sunday and Mel is really feeling bad. I went to class on my own and then did some shopping. In class we learned some key phrases in Chinese for shopping, we also reviewed quite a bit too. The news of the day is...the Tennessee Lady Vols won....they are now in the “elite eight” and play North Carolina on Tuesday.

Today 3/27/06 is Monday and I am in a referral funk. I have so much to be thankful for yet I am only thinking of what I don’t have. This quote pretty much sums it up and I need to focus on what is says.

Patience with others is love,

Patience with self is hope,

Patience with God is faith.


Adel Bestarros

Today is March 28, 2006 and I am looking forward to tonight’s game between The University of Tennessee Lady Vols and The University of North Carolina Lady Tar Heels. Well it wasn’t the best game...so as you can imagine blue beat our orange this time around. The Final Four teams are set...Duke, North Carolina, LSU and Maryland. I think I am pulling for LSU...go tigers.

Today 3/29/06 I found this saying in our Holt International magazine that came yesterday. “Adoption is like a journey. You travel beautiful mountains and valleys, but sometimes it’s hard too.” Each day of this journey we are learning how hard it can be...some rumors even suggest the wait could extend to 18-20 months. Right now all we can do is wait...so wait we will even if it is hard.

Today is March 30, 2006 and my Mother would have been 75 today. I always try to do something on her birthday to remember her, whether it be working in my flowers...as she loved to do or just spending some time thinking about her and the woman she was. There wasn’t much my Mother couldn’t do, she was way before her time...she could make beautiful things with a little bit of fabric and some thread. She made Barbie Doll clothes before there were patterns to do so. She could look at a picture and then draw a pattern and make just about anything. She was also very handy, once I remember when I was small she finished our "unfinished" basement and she actually hung drywall, if she wanted something done she didn’t wait around...she would just do it. She loved to go shopping and she treasured her friends many of which were long distance. She was an avid painter and created many "treasures" that we display in our home. 

When my Mother passed away, my sister in law Christi’s Mom Libby gave me a writing of things Mom had shared with her. This is what she said about me.

Your Mother said to me..."You were her socialite. Your Mom said you kept her in touch with the real world. Wilma called you her special child. The one that would sneak into bed just so you could have her all to yourself. She loved going shopping with you. Wilma said you would show her things that she might otherwise have missed. She appreciated you for enjoying hearing the stories of when she was a little girl." Libby Morris 



This is the message on the CCAA website today 3/31/06:

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before August 31, 2005.The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before
May 30, 2005.

 

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