Sleepover

Erin and C.J. had a sleepover with Aunt Jenny last night. We had a good time going out to dinner then watching movies before they went to bed. Thank's guys for loaning me Polar Express since we didn't have time to watch it. The three of us usually all sleep together in my spacious double bed. It makes for a tight squeeze and last night it just wasn't happening. Aunt Jenny ended up moving to the couch around 4 am. I am going to definitely have to get a new bigger bed before Abby gets here....

More Christmas

Christmas came and a GREAT time was had by all! Abby raked in also! I will post pictures of some of her loot (sp?) later.

Zachary thought his First Christmas was Great!

Christopher telling Zachary, "Wait till next year!!!"

Virginia and Erin absolutely LOVED spending Christmas together this year! Their panda bears are great. They are made by FurReal and do all kinds of neat things. Aunt Jenny wants to get one for Abby but so far they are sold out everywhere!

Jack (AKA BATMAN) enjoyed spending Christmas in Virginia this year and had such a good time that he fell asleep in his Batman outfit clutching some of the new clothes that Santa had given him. ......

Christmas Morning

Merry Christmas Christopher!

Maddie opens her stocking

My niece Erin with my Christmas present to her. She loved it. I also got her a From China With Love calendar. She had seen mine from last year and has asked for one all year since.

And To All A Goodnight!

It's Christmas Eve and I am off to spend the night with my sisters family. My brother and I spend the night every Christmas so we can watch the kids wake and open their presents. Next year I hope to do the same but also with Abby. I gave Quackers and Cassie their Christmas Presents right before I left. Kitty mobiles and new catnip scratching pads! HO HO HO !!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

I want to take a moment to tell all of my family and friends how grateful I am to have all of your love and support as I continue my journey to Abby. It means the world to me and I am THANKFUL to have each and everyone of you in my life. I hope your holiday season is as special as you all are to me. (click on Happy Holidays to link to Mandy's Moon where I found this beautiful Christmas card)

Ready For Christmas!

My Christmas tree is up, shopping done, presents wrapped and out of town gifts mailed. (IM trying not to think about the small fortune I paid after waiting in line 45 minutes at the UPS store so that my gifts would be delivered in time for Christmas) Pretty good though with 8 days left to spare! Now I can sit back and enjoy the holiday.



Cassie and Quackers are also ready for Christmas. Still not the best of buds but I forced them to hang out together while I decorated my tree. No hissing but lots of stink eyes. Maybe these 2 will decide it is finally time to be friends. That would be a great gift for me! That and a log in date!!!!

ABBY'S NAME IN CHINESE

Adoption Stalker

My name is Jenny (hand raised) and I am a "Adoption Stalker". I am. I admit it. Today on my daily quest to find any adoption related material on the internet I stumbled across this blog entry. Wow I'm not alone...I mean I knew I wasn't but it was nice to see this validation in print. I hope the author of this entry won't mind me posting it?? See for a while now I have thought about posting on just this subject but I wasn't sure I would be able to explain it. Okay I don't do this at work but with a few exceptions she describes my routine pretty well. I wanted my non-adopter readers to get a feel for what my life has become. Click above on today's blog entry title Adoption Stalker and read her entry. Make sure you read the comments she received also.

Eating For Two???

Okay So tonight I went to a Christmas party. While trying to find something to wear it seems that things I was wearing last year around this time have become pretty tight.
Unfortunately I have gone up a size since my paperchase journey. Maybe even eating for two even though only one of us is benefiting from the calories and sadly its not Abby. So for all you other stressed out people in " Adoption Land" anyone else have this problem???

Nothing To Report

No log in date yet.......

Still growing

Little Tai Shan is really growing. He now weighs 21 pounds. Tai Shan made his first public appearance on Tuesday November 29'th at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington D.C. Click on the above title Still growing to see a video update on his progress and just how cute he really Is!

??????

I keep looking at the pictures below. There ready, were ready I don't get it...........

WAITING

That's all I can do right now. Wait for my log in date, Wait for my referral and Wait to go get Abby. When I started this process the wait time for referral was only 6 to 7 months. Currently the CCAA has increased the wait time to 8 months and possibly longer. Rumors abound on the message boards and the blogs that I read from the informal China adoption community I have become a part of....... The CCAA has received too many dossiers at one time so they are backed up, The CCAA office is moving/has moved resulting in a slow down, The holidays with time off equals a slow down, There just are not as many Chinese babies available for adoption as before, There are not as many Chinese babies that are "paper ready" for adoption just to name a few. I don't think anyone really knows for sure but we all suffer the wait together. Only time will tell and I continue to have faith in the CCAA and that I will receive Abby when the time is right for both of us.....

Meanwhile I found these pictures on the blog of another LUCKY family who are currently in China now after their long wait and now have a beautiful daughter they are in love with and who also loves them. These pictures show that the wait (which really STINKS!!!) is not just endured by future parents........

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!!!

This should be my last Thanksgiving without ABBY!

GOOD PEOPLE

This is a ladybug charm that was made especially for me as a surprise. Geneva And I are both fortunate ( or unfortunate, depending on how you look at it.) enough to work in the ICU as nurses. She and her husband Dave (I am trying to post their picture but it won't upload for some reason) have become good friends of mine. Dave makes dental crowns and also jewelry. One day after a usual stressful day at work Dave appeared near the end of our shift and gave me this charm he had made. He and Geneva have been very enthusiastic (and patent) listening to my China adoption plans and as a result were well aware that ladybugs are seen as good luck in the China adoption community. I wish you were able to see the detail he has put into this little ladybug. The picture does not do it justice. LadyAbby has been engraved on the underside of the ladybug by Dave making it even more special. Thanks you guys for being so supportive and also for being such great friends. I can't wait for Abby to meet you both!

YAHOO!!!!!

(PICK ANY CATCHY TUNE) I'm DTC, I'm DTC, I'm DTC Yes-sereee! I'm DTC, I'm DTC, I'm DTC HOORAY FOR ME!!!!

My Dossier went to China today! Now I wait for my log in date. That is the day my dossier is officially logged in to China and when my Wait officially begins. My Agency tells me It may take up to a month or more to find out my log in date. They also tell me that just because I may not hear right away does not mean that I am not already logged in. The way I see it once I actually know my official log in date then the time I spent waiting for it means that much less time that I have to wait afterwards for Abby's referral......

I'M PAPER PREGNANT!!!!!

I have been waiting a LOOOONG time to post this sonogram. Isn't it cute? As of tonight I am done and officially "PAPER PREGNANT". Below is a picture of all my documents, passport photos (2 extra required by China), my passport and my dossier photos. This people is my COMPLETED dossier! I will be sending it to my agency tomorrow (early am ). If they are able to get it translated into Chinese in time I may be DTC (dossier to China) this Friday. I know it's a long shot. My agency only sends out their dossiers on Fridays and I am a little concerned about next weeks timing because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Maybe they will be closed next Friday? Who knows but I will ask tomorrow. In the mean time please cross your fingers for me.

AS IF I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TO WORRY ABOUT

http://beijing.usembassy.gov/110905u.html

Click on this link!

UPDATE November 10th : I feel better now ! The warning was deemed NOT credible.

Meet Zachary !

I was in Atlanta Georgia this past weekend for the Baptism of My Nephew and 2nd Godson Zachary Hugh. Isn't he adorable?

I also got to hang out with Niece & Big Sis Virginia and Nephew & Big Brother Jack. Thank's Virginia for letting me sleep in your comfortable bed!

This is Christopher my first Godson and Nephew Then.......

And Now! Boy does time fly........ I feel very fortunate to be the Aunt of 5 great kids!

Update

My documents are now on their way to DC for authentication By the State Department and LAST by The Embassy of China. I am getting closer to DTC status!!

Snake Wine Anyone???

Yep it's REALLY snake wine. I plan on being pretty open minded and ready to experience new things when I FINALLY get to go to China BUUUUUTTTTT........... SO now that I have your ATTENTION. I found out today that people have been trying to leave me comments without success. (Thank's Barb!) WHOOPS I accidently had my blog set to take comments from registered blog members only. That is no longer the case and anyone can leave me a comment. So again I invite you to leave me comments if you would like...You will still have to do the word verification thing so computer spamers won't be able to get on. My wait for Abby is going to be long. Any comments (Especially from those I don't get to see often!)
They would really lift my spirits and also help pass the time. Plus I get to see who is out there actually reading my blog. I know my blog is pretty exciting but do try to contain yourselves
And look out because I just learned how to add SMILEYS.

Happy Halloween

Wow, This time next year I should be a Mom with a tired little Trick-Or-Treater snug in her bed!
Click on this link http://wilstar.com/holidays/hallown.htm and read all about the history of halloween and it's customs.

Where are my documents?

My documents are no longer in my possession. They are on their way to Richmond for authentication by the Secretary of State. Next step D.C. where they will be authenticated by the D.C. Secretary of State and finally by the Chinese embassy. It feels very strange to have my documents out of my hands. I have been guarding them for so long. People I am almost DONE!!!

One Of My Favorite Guy's

George was on Oprah today. Look at his picture. Need I say more??? Hope you didn't miss todays show. It was Great. What a funny guy.

Meema's chinese dress

My niece Erin stayed home from school today because she has been sick. She stayed at Meema's because Mommy and Daddy had to work today. Meema brought out a old Chinese dress that was hers when she was a child. This dress had been made for her by a old Chinese friend of Meema's Grandmother (My Great Grandmother Robinson). Meema says this dress is at least 50 years old. We put it on Erin today and it fit perfectly making her look so pretty and grown up at 8 years old. Erin is very excited about her new cousin Abby. She talks about her all the time and has been saving some of her things especially for her. I Love You Sissy! I know you are going to be a great cousin!!!

Hang in there guys!

Finally!

My Homestudy is okay! Just needs a couple minor wording changes. If all goes well I hope to be DTC as early as the week after next. YEAHHHHH!!!

Update

So today I find out that the person who I am waiting for to review my homestudy is out sick. My adoption cordinator tell's me she is unable to tell me when my homestudy will be reviewed but that she is sure this person will review it as soon as she gets a chance! And still I wait........

Enough Already!

My Red Thread Bracelet

I need some good luck. The adoption paperchase can be very frustrating at times. I am waiting for my Adoption agency to review and approve my homestudy. I sent it to them last week and of course the person in charge of reviewing it was on vacation untill yesterday. So today I e-mail my cordinator to find out if this person has my homestudy because I will meet with my social worker tomorrow morning for the last time. She replies that she has it and that it will be reviewed SOON??? I don't understand. Seems like all she would have to do is read it. They know this is the last thing that I need and then I will be done with my paperwork. AAAAAAAGGG! I have already had to redo all my documents and physical to be sure that they won't expire as a result of this delay. So anyway-I have a red thread bracelet that I purchased at the begining of my paperchase. It broke a while back and I have been meaning to fix it. Tonight I did so hopefully the tangles in my "Red Thread" to Abby will straighten out. Untill then I will take a deep breath and remind myself that I will get the baby that was meant for me.....

Panda Cub gets a Name!

Finally at 14 weeks of age the little cub gets a name. The cubs new name is TAI SHAN meaning "peaceful mountain". 202,000 people voted for the babies name. Votes were received not just from the United States, but also from China, Poland, Brazil and New Zealand. The Smithsonian National Zoo website also reports the cub made his first attempts at play yesterday by playfully swatting at Mom repeatedly.