New Cleaning Crew in Town

Move over Rosa, your competition has arrived!

Tomorrow is First Friday

I am really looking forward to tomorrow's First Friday meeting. Here are the details for anyone interested in attending. Hoping to really learn some scream free parenting tips tomorrow. I am sure my kids are hoping I learn something too ;) Oh and I really hope to see Mr. Micah live and in person!

~MEETING~ Friday, March 7, 2008 @ 7:00 PM

North Metro Church
2305 Barrett
Parkway, NW
Marietta, GA 30064

Click Here for Directions www.northmetro.org (678) 574-9596

www.firstfridayschina.com or email chapmansk@bellsouth.net

Vision Statement : Our vision is to make sure that every family who wants to adopt embrace the thought that "every child is worth the wait!"

Hal Runkel, March guest speaker, will appear on NBC's Today Show, Friday, March 7, 2008

Award-winning author and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Hal Runkel is quickly becoming America's greatest expert on human relationships. With an impressive academic and social science background, he has taken the most advanced approaches to relationship theory and, through thousands of hours of family therapy, organizational consulting, and professional coaching in churches, family businesses, and schools, has developed the revolutionary ScreamFree Living methodology.

Click for More Information on Hal and Scream Free

Finally into 2006

For those of you not in the daily life of China Adoptions, the CCAA (gov't people in China adoptions) have finally matched kids with their parents this month. Well yes they match them with parents once a month every month, but this time it was special because they finally started matching parents who sent their paperwork in January 2006. Yep that's right they are just now matching kids to parents who have a LID (logged into China) of 12/28/05 through 01/04/06. It took China 32 months to get through everyone who requested a non-special needs child in 2005. At that rate if we were to have asked for a NSN child we would be waiting about another 6 years for our daughter. So glad we didn't have to wait that long! Congratulations to the following who are just now seeing their babies pictures for the first time...

The following blogs have pictures:
Ellie Morris Journey
Countdown to Aubriana
Journey to Double Happiness
Finally A Family
Nathan Dewitt
Lily Rolaine
Koss Family
Voyage to Karson

The following families in the SN program would like to share their news as well:
Gracie
Our Journey of Love
She Burbles at Happy
Little Latham
East and West Kids
Blessings from China

RosaLess

I knew this sad sad day would eventually come. With my new working arrangements and all of our unexpected expenses these days, I had to finally make the termination call to Rosa. Heaven help my children since the cleanliness of our home is now up to good ole mom. It wasn't like she came every day or even every week, but it sure was nice not having to deep scrub the showers and such. I guess all good things must come to an end. Not really thrilled about the new arrangements, but I am up for the challenge. I have to admit that Rosa was the best birthday present my hubby has ever gotten for me. Little did he know it that it was the gift that kept on giving :)

FCCA Potluck

Here are some pics from the weekend. We had a great time at Liz's house at the FCCA Potluck dinner. There were alot of people there that I had never met. I love expanding my adoption network of friends. Liz was so nice that she had even baked CJ a cake and let the kids help decorate it for dad (see why adoption friends rule)! Michelle was kind enough to share all her toys in her room which Shelby still needs some work in the sharing department. I love watching her play with other little girls. It was a great ending to a terrific day.

We spent some time on Sunday cleaning up from the storm last week. Well at least CJ and the kids did as I am not much of a yard cleaning (or any kind of cleaning for that matter) person. CJ told the kids that if they would help pick up the yard then he would put together their new trampoline. My man completed his task all by himself and the kids-well let's just say there are still a few more pinecones in the yard ;) I will have to get some pics of the new trampoline in action. I am sure it will get some use this afternoon.

China may scrap one-child policy

China may scrap one-child policy:

China, worried about an ageing population, is studying scrapping its controversial one-child policy but will not do away with family-planning policies altogether, a senior official said on Thursday. With the world’s biggest population straining scarce land, water and energy resources, China has enforced rules to restrict family size since the 1970s. Rules vary but usually limit families to one child, or two in the countryside.

“We want incrementally to have this change,” Vice Minister of the National Population and Family Planning Commission Zhao Baige told reporters in Beijing. “I cannot answer at what time or how, but this has become a big issue among decision makers,” Zhao said. She added that the current plan was to study the issue seriously and responsibly, but avoid sudden changes that might cause a spike in births.

“Minority groups already have two children, even three, and in the cities like Shanghai and Beijing, a lot of only children are already released (to have two), but the most important is those in the middle like in Henan… nearly a hundred million people, but strongly influenced by the classical way, they want a son, and they are already very fragile environmentally.”

Teams studying the issue would have to consider the strain of China’s huge population on its scarce resources, popular attitudes, and how much of a social net China can afford to provide without the traditional reliance on large families to care for the aged, she said. Surveys show that 60 percent of Chinese younger than 30 want a maximum of two children, and only a “very small” number want more than three, Zhao said.

The average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime has decreased to 1.8 in China today, from 5.8 in the 1970s, and below the replacement rate of 2.1.

RELAXATION
In recent years, China has sought to soften its draconian and often controversial family control policies, which have included forced abortions and other punitive measures.
But local officials remain under intense pressure to keep numbers down, leading to skewed statistics and sometimes brutality.

The country is now relying more on education, especially about contraception, said Zhao, in charge of international cooperation, education and communication at the ministry.
China says its policies have prevented several hundred million births and boosted prosperity, but experts have warned of a looming social time-bomb from an ageing population and widening gender disparity stemming from a traditional preference for boys.

Normally, between 103 and 107 boys are born for every 100 girl infants, but in China, 118 boys are born for every 100 girls, Zhao said. Experimental policies include trying to improve women’s welfare and girls’ access to schooling. Still, the government has previously expressed concern that too many people are flouting the rules. State media said in December that China’s population would grow to 1.5 billion people by 2033, with birth rates set to soar over the next five years.

Officials have also cautioned that population controls are being unraveled by the increased mobility of China’s 150 million-odd migrant workers, who travel from poor rural areas to work in more affluent eastern cities.

China has vowed to slap heavier fines on wealthy citizens who flout family planning laws, in response to the emergence of an upper class willing to pay standard fines to have more children.

source

Playdates are the best

Shelby and I had a great playdate yesterday with Lily and Emily at the Playroom. We even topped it off with Mexican lunch-yummy! I am really enjoying my new schedule having one day off a week to enjoy doing whatever. Looking forward to tomorrow's FCCA Potluck dinner at Liz's house at 5PM. Oh and tomorrow is my favorite person's birthday tomorrow. My sweetie is such a great husband and father and I wish him the best birthday ever!! I gave him his big flat birthday present already since we found such a good deal at Costco. He had to install it himself, but hey you can't have everything for your birthday right ;) It looks great and the kids think it is supercool. My man deserves it and much much more. I had been saving my little bonus bucks for a long time to produce such a glamorous gift. Don't think all our birthdays come with such exstravegence! So please join me in wishing CJ a happy happy birthday!!

Here are some pics of the last few days for your enjoyment or maybe just for mine :) Shelby got to hang out with Papa and Grandma on Wednesday and of course she was filled with Easter candy already. Oh and here are a few pics from this morning as I was dropping her off at school. She thinks it is great that she gets to "drive" with me as we wait in carpool line. As you can see she has really come around to finally enjoy going to school and she doesn't even cry at drop off anymore-definate progress. She was talking to her daddy on the phone this morning telling him about everything she was going to do at school today. I am one blessed woman.

Crazy Weather

Well yesterday was quite a crazy day for us. We were awaken by a freight train (at least the sound of one) rushed the kids to the hallway. We sat there and were pounded by hail and debris hitting the house and then just as quick as it came- it was gone. Here are some shots from what the lovely little storm left us in our front and back yards. Of course all the kids were very concerned- but really just about their trampoline! Our trampoline was completely removed from our yard and we have a big yard. We finally found it over a couple of fences and placed on a tree in a neighbor's yard-crazy.

Well fortunately no one was hurt anywhere in our subdivision. There was alot of damage in our little subdivision including my mom's house. Here is a quick shot of her house along with some of the other damage just in our neighborhood:

I tried to get me and Shelby on the news, but we didn't make the cut I guess. All 3 channels had our neighborhood on there last night though. We spent the day yesterday cleaning up (well CJ did) and just assessing all the damages. Shelby and I strolled through the neighborhood back and forth from my house to my moms about 50 times. Everything is back to normal today and we were off to work and school. Thank God no one was injured and that we had minimal damage. Hug your kids a little tighter today! Can't end a post without of a shot of my cutie pie...

Informative Weekend

Well the weekend is over so here is a quick recap. Friday night was spent at Monkey Joes hanging out with some friends. Shelby loves to go to Moneee Ohs! Then Saturday mom went to the seminar to hear some HARD facts about my little girl. This wasn't a touchy feely sugar coated seminar. It was definately some hard bare bones stuff to take in about Shelby and some of the thoughts and feelings she may experience in her lifetime. I was very glad that I went and hopefully I will be able to attend more things like this in the future. Knowledge is power, and everyone knows I like the power ;)
Well I also got to hang out with Susan and Darcy all day so that was great too. Big thanks to Darcy who guided me right to the church for the seminar since I had been lost in Decatur for 45 minutes Saturday morning trying to find the place.

So here are a few things from the book that the speaker wrote:

Twenty Things I Wish Adoptive Parents Knew(an excerpt from the book by Sherri S Herrie Eldridge)
1. I suffered a profound loss before I was adopted. You are not responsible.
2. I need to be taught that I have special needs arising from adoption loss, of which I need not be ashamed.
3. If I don't grieve my loss, my ability to receive love from you and others will be hindered.
4. My unresolved grief may surface in anger toward you.
5. I need your help in grieving my loss. Teach me to get in touch with my feelings about my adoption and then validate them.
6. Just because I don't talk about my birth family doesn't mean I don't think about them.
7. I want you to take the initiative in opening conversations about my birth family
8. I need to know the truth about my conception, birth, and family history, no matter how painful the details my be.
9. I am afraid I was given away by my birth mother because I was a bad baby. I need you to help me dump my toxic shame.
10. I am afraid you will abandon me.
11. I may appear more whole than I actually am. I need your help to uncover the parts of myself that I keep hidden, so I can integrate all the elements of my identity.
12. I need to gain a sense of personal power.
13. Please don't say I look or act just like you. I need you to acknowledge and celebrate our differences.
14. Let me be my own person but don't let me cut myself off from you.
15. Please respect my privacy regarding my adoption. Don't tell other people without my consent.
16. Birthdays may be difficult for me.
17. Not knowing my full medical history can be distressing at times.
18. I am afraid I will be too much for you to handle.
19. When I act out my fears in obnoxious ways, please hang in therewith me, and respond wisely
20. Even if I decide to search for my birth family, I will always want you to be my parents.

Sherrie Eldridge in town

It's apparently not too late to still register and attend this seminar on Saturday. It is from teh author of Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew. I am going so if you don't have plans you should join me. See the link below to register and get more info:

From author Sherrie Eldridge:AN INVITATION FOR PARENTS AND PROFESSIONALS—ATLANTA AREA : I would love to meet you! I’m doing a speaking event in the Atlanta area. If you are a professional, there are two days of events at beautiful Lake Lanier (February 21-22). For parents (and teens, age 14 and up), there is a parent conference in Decatur (February 23). Click here for contact information and details. It’s not too late to register!


here the link for the conference:http://www.sherrieeldridge.com/upcomingevents.htm

Great mom-no not me

Well the kids have been out of school for the last couple of days-lovin life! They spent all day Monday at their Nana's or Nanwaaas as Shelby says. She spoiled them rotten and let them do whatever they wanted and of course fed them her famous Chicken n Dumplins. They even got to hang out with their favorite cousin Austin all day over there as well. The boys actually spent the night over there Sunday night and Shelby was very concerned as to why they were not home that night. Each time she woke up in the middle of the night she would ask where they were. I know it sounds cute and all for her to be concerned, but she did not sleep well knowing they weren't there. Needless to say she was very excited to go to her Nana's the next morning to see them there waiting for her to play. Nana has been a blessing straight from Heaven to help me with Shelby. I don't know how I would be able to get through my working days without my mom's help these days. We are so fortunate to have Nanwaaa live so close by and be officially retired. I bet she had no idea that she would go from babysitting the postal employees to now babysitting her grandchildren ;) So a big fat thanks to mom for taking such good care of me and my babies!

New Name and New Foods

Yep it was finally time to change the name of the blog. What do think??

Oh and I am on this quest to feed my family more often at home and actually have them eat what I make. I was given this great website from Kraft and it looks to have some great ideas. So tell me what is your favorite dinner that you make and your kids actually eat??

New Kid on the Block

I would like to say Congratulations to Karen and Bruce! Micah's Gotcha Day is today!! I am so happy for them to have their new little one. I love to read the blogs and stalk others while they are in China. It brings back so many memories :)

We had a great weekend and it even included a visit from Sheridan on Friday night. The kids actually played together this time around going from one room to the next on their "shopping sprees". It was a lot of fun hearing them giggle together.

We enjoyed a Boy Scout dinner on Saturday and that is where we discovered that our little girl LOVES ribs! It was too funny to see her chowing down on the rib bones and asking for more. This was the most meat I have ever seen her eat. I was quick to bring home a doggy bag of more ribs as she has enjoyed them for breakfast each day-yum. Oh and of course a piece of the giant chocolate fish mom got the boys for Valentine's day makes a great breakfast too.

Oh and we did receive our $2K grant from the lovely state of GA-yeah! I have also completed my taxes and I never knew I would be so excited to file something with the IRS than I was this year :) Now with Michael's wonderful assistance, I am working on Shelby's readoption here in GA. Will the paperwork ever end...

SMILE the weekend is here

Had to post this cute as can be pic that I stole from Ellen. Just makes you smile doesn't it?!?!

Happy Heart Day!!

Hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day today! You will be happy to know that Shelby did come home without HER Valentines and she had all of the ones from her friends :) Not sure how her teachers talked her into that, but it was a success. Oh and speaking of hearts today. Just so you know that CJ has finally won over Shelby's heart 100%. All last weekend Dad was the one that she preffered to do everything for her-even diaper changes (yeah for mom). Even yesterday when I told her that I would be picking her up from Nana's house, she told me no that she wanted her Daddy to pick her up! I guess my full time in the spotlight is over and I have to move over and make room for Daddy. Heaven knows CJ is lovin it!!

PS: Please Click here to vote for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta to win a new playground for FREE from Colgate. You can actually vote once a day and it is simple to do. Just click here and then click on the pic of GA, then choose Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and hit submit. They don't ask for any other info. Easy to do and you just may help make a child's surgery or hospital stay a little bit easier!

My Valentine

Today is Shelby's Valentine Party at her school so she was looking too cute this morning so I had to take pics. Shelby and I get to do the dishes together on the mornings she has school since we get to spend an extra hour together at home. She is so proud of herself when she gets to help mom. Shelby even makes doing dishes fun at our house!

Anyway, I knew that some things would be tough you know doing this adoption thing. BUT, who knew that making Valentines for the kids in her class would be tough. Shelby has had the hardest time grasping the fact that she is supposed to give away HER valentines?!?! She and I have had the conversation over and over again and trust me she is not excited at all about giving away these valentine cards she has colored and worked on and pur HER name on. I sure hope her teachers can do a better job at convincing her that this is a fun thing to do. I guess we will see tonight if she returns home still holding on to all of HER original valentines or not ;)

Oh and I am off to the post office today to mail my package of gloves and hats and of course pictures of Shelby to her orphanage. Thanks again to Tymm and Laura and Kim and Michael for contributing to my package. I was able to squeeze about 60 pairs of gloves in this one little box. I am sure that they will be well received and enjoyed by many on the other side of the world.

30 SN Adoption Agencies

I have found someone who is compiling the list of the 30 agencies that are still in the China Waiting Child new program. Click here to see her list she has going and please let her know if you know of another agency name to add to the list. Thanks.

Chinese New Year Party

We had a great weekend full of friends and fun. It started out Friday night where our friends Ellen and Frannie, Tymm and Laura, Kim and Sheridan, and Lori and Alex all met us for dinner and a playdate. The best part was that they brought me lots and lots of gloves to send to China-YEAH! I am going to mail the package this week along with some recent pics of Shelby to her orphanage. Thank you so much for contributing to my little project. It was alot of fun to get to talk to everyone over Mexican dinner and of course the playing. I think the big "kids" had just as much fun as the little ones.

Saturday we attended Hope for Children's annual New Year Party. It was fun and of course great to see alot of the people we have met along this journey. I really enjoyed seeing all the children who have come home to be with their forever families. Of course I particularly enjoyed seeing Ally, Frannie, Michelle, Lily, and Danielle all dressed up for the occassion. We all have some beautiful children! Enjoy the pics as I was catching up for you all.

China Slowing Down SN

Well it looks like China is also starting to slow down their special needs adoptions as well as their non-special needs adoptions. It is very disheartening to hear that China is not going to allow more children into loving homes that are ready and waiting on a child. I really don't understand why they are not letting the children be adopted. Yes, they are still doing some adoptions but not near as many as they could be doing. I learned yesterday that my agency, Hope for Children, was just cut from doing any special needs adoptions. Here is what was posted on their website:

As many of you know, HOPE for Children has been approved to do adoptions of children with special needs for the past six (6) years through the CCAA. Traditionally, we have always received a list of “Waiting Children” with full medical reports and photographs in the mail approximately every four (4) months. Over the last several months, the CCAA has been developing an online system for agencies to view available Waiting Children. The first stage of implementation of this program has begun, and the CCAA has randomly selected 30 agencies to be in the first trial group. Unfortunately, HFC was not included in this first group though we were approved to be included in the online system in 2007. We are hopeful that we will be included in the new program at a later date. The CCAA is testing this new system to make sure that it is running smoothly before they grant access to additional agencies. We have not been given a timeframe as to when this will happen. The CCAA did inform us recently that the postal mail budget for the Waiting Child Department has been cut, thus the CCAA will no longer be sending out paper referrals of Waiting Children to any agencies during this interim or in the future. HFC, along with many other agencies, will not be able to participate in the Waiting Child Program until we are told by the CCAA that we can begin utilizing the new online system. We will continue to work to obtain further information and keep you informed as we learn of new developments regarding this process.

So basically what this means is that China is now only allowing 30 agencies to handle special needs adoptions, and Hope for Children wasn't on that list. It makes me sad to know that I won't be able to use Hope again if/when we decide to adopt again from China. I really liked the way Hope posted and matched their SN kids. It was straight forward and no big mystery in the way they did it. The really sad part is that fewer and fewer children in China are going to get to find homes and parents who love them. Please pray for the children and for the officials that are making these life impacting decisions in China!

Happy Chinese New Year

Welcome the the Year of the Rat. The best part of the Year of the Rat is that CJ and I are both Rats!! We are attending a New Year celebration with our agency Hope for Children on Saturday night and are looking forward to seeing all of the families we have come to know through our agency. Here are some facts about the China traditions surrounding their new year:

Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The Chinese year 4706 begins on Feb. 7, 2008. Chinese months are reckoned by the lunar calendar, with each month beginning on the darkest day. New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest. In China, people may take weeks of holiday from work to prepare for and celebrate the New Year.
A Ratty Year
Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality. Those born in rat years tend to be leaders, pioneers, and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking. Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Affleck, Samuel L. Jackson, William Shakespeare, and Mozart were all born in the year of the rat.

Fireworks and Family Feasts
At Chinese New Year celebrations people wear red clothes, decorate with poems on red paper, and give children "lucky money" in red envelopes. Red symbolizes fire, which according to legend can drive away bad luck. The fireworks that shower the festivities are rooted in a similar ancient custom. Long ago, people in China lit bamboo stalks, believing that the crackling flames would frighten evil spirits.

3 months ago today...

Our lives changed forever! Click here to see what we were doing 3 months ago today! I can't believe how much our daughter has "grown" and attached to us in just 3 short months-only 90 days ago. She is absolutely wonderful (and challenging of course) but we wouldn't have it any other way :) She is such a perfect fit for our family. The scared little girl on the left is from Gotcha Day, and the happy little girl on the right is today. We are truly blessed to have her in our lives forever. Oh and as you can see below she is truly "Moma's Baby" and she knows it!!

Dos and Don'ts for Palate Surgery

Here was some great information that someone just posted on my cleft board. I am already starting to get nervous about Shelby's palate surgery on April 7! I pray everyday that her surgery will be successful and as painless as possible. This little girl has already been through so much, the thought of putting her through more pain is heartbreaking. I realize that the surgery is necessary and is of course going to make her life easier in terms of long term speech. But it still makes me sad that she is going to have to endure another surgery. I have heard alot about the surgeries that are done in China and about the non-use of pain medications after surgery. When I think about Shelby sitting in a hospital bed for 2 weeks by herself without her foster mom or pain medication- it just breaks my heart :( I really hope that her surgery did not take place that way, but I guess I will never really know what she had to endure during her first surgery. I so pray that this upcoming surgery will be as painless as possible!

Here was the post of dos and don'ts for palate surgery moms:

It always makes me feel better to write and hope my experiences will help others so here's what I've recently learned (we're on day four post-op)


Do: Right after surgery expect a lot of mucus with blood coming from nose and mouth, think of wearing a dark colored older shirt to be able to hold your child for hours in

Do: Expect your child's face, feet and hands to be swollen for a few days

Do: Expect your child's body weight to feel as if it has tripled during surgery when they are in recovery

Do: Expect night terror behavior when they are still waking up (I knew to expect this and even though Kaylee didn't experience it, I heard other children around us doing it and parents scared and not knowing how to deal with it)

Do: Expect a cranky child for days, even with pain meds

Do: Plan ahead to have every possible food to put in the blender and/or soft foods (for example, puddings, yogurts, jello, soups) and plan for your child to turn their nose up at most of themExpect TONS of drooling, get ready with extra bibs; Kaylee is going through 4+ shirt and bib changes daily right now

Do: Expect to feel as if you were physically the one in surgery, full time care of a child after surgery is exhausting

Do: Expect your child to have the most foul smelling breath you've ever smelled in your life!

Do: Expect your child to act like they haven't napped in days..Remember your sweet child is still there, they've just undergone a surgery that's going to have them not feeling themselves for a little while but you'll both be happy after it's all said and done

Don't:Expect your child to be themselves quickly, they are dealing with a lot of pain, the overwhelming concept of a liquid diet, wearing no-no's and not knowing quite how to deal with any of it; plus pain meds can affect your child's personality

Don't: Be afraid to ask for pain meds that you feel your child needs, they wanted to give Kaylee pain meds orally several hours after surgery but the taste of it made her not want to drink so the next time we were due for meds, I requested it be put in her IV, she started drinking again soon after

Don't: Forget to keep yourself fed, even when your child cries wanting real food with you (if you aren't able to eat out of their sight), you have to keep yourself fed to be able to keep your energy up

Don't: Forget to stock up on groceries for the house before surgery so you don't have to leave the house with your little one, the less exposure to outside cold air and/or possible flu/cold germs immediately after surgery the better, pneumonia is easy to get after the body has undergone surgery

Don't: Worry about bringing pj's from home for the hospital, frequent changes might be needed due to all the drainage and drooling, don't worry about the extra laundry for yourself to do

Don't: Expect your child to let you put them down or them to want to sleep outside your arms, get comfortable in the rocking chair and rock that baby for hours; trust me, you don't want to let go of them any more than they want you to let go anyway!!

Good Video

Here is a neat video I came across tonight. Wanted to share with everyone:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeKEqsd2-xA

WANTED-Gloves!

As I was just reading about all of the bad cold weather that has hit China, I decided what I can do to help in some little way. I actually read about someone else doing this and it sounded like a great idea. First, stop and read this article and report about the how the current weather conditions have affected the orphanages in China. The weather is so bad and most of the orphanages are unprepared for such cold temps. It is even too cold to dry the diapers that the babies wear so that is why they are asking for disposable ones. As I sit here in my nice warm living room under my electric throw blanket, I can't help but feel guilty thinking about these little ones in China who are wearing about 5 layers of clothing each just to stay above freezing. It really puts things into perspective about how good we have it. The pics are of Shelby and this was in "normal" weather conditions in South China. Can you imagine how these kids are having to dress right now in the current conditions?!

Well back to what I started to talk about, instead of just doing nothing I am going to start collecting gloves of all shapes and sizes to send over to Shelby's orphanage. I am choosing gloves/mittens because they aren't very big and they don't weigh much. So I am thinking that maybe I could fit about 50 pair all shrunk down in a spacesaver bag in a relatively small box and get that over to China for about $25 shipping. I think that 50 pairs of gloves for the nannies and foster moms and for the kids would help them fight the bitter cold and hopefully help keep some babies fingers from freezing. So I asking for some help from you all to please contribute some gloves for the cause. Please visit your local Walmart or $1 store and buy up some cheap simple gloves/mittens and give them to me soon! I would like to send this box off to China by say February 14. What a great way to show some love this Valentine's Day by sending some babies on the other side of the world a small token of warmth. I will be happy to come by wherever and pick up the gloves if you just call me. Thank you so much for helping me make this winter a little more bearable for these wonderful nannies/foster moms and of course these beautiful children!

Ni Hao, Kai-lan

The show will premier on Nick Jr. on February 7th, 2008 at 11am. I hear that you can get a sneek peek if you have Comcast on Demand. I am personally hoping and waiting that we will have some Kai-lan dolls and accessories available in the stores soon. It is very hard to find Chinese/Asian dolls in a regular store.

Ni Hao, Kai-lan is a play-along, think-along series that weaves together Chinese language and culture, preschool-relatable stories, and interactivity, with Kai-lan as your intimate friend and playmate!

Ni Hao, Kai-lan is the next generation of preschool television programmingthat introduces the psychology of biculturalism. If Dora and Diegopopularized bilingualism, Kai-lan will weave together being bilingual and bicultural. Ni Hao, Kai-lan reinforces the idea that being bicultural and bilingual is being American.The show will familiarize the viewing audience with elements of Chinese andChinese American cultures to promote multicultural understanding in the nextgeneration and goes beyond featuring "culture" as only ethnic food and festivals. Instead, it celebrates growing up in an intergenerational family, having friends from diverse backgrounds, and "habits of the heart" that are Chinese American.

Being a good member of the group Ni Hao, Kai-lan also emphasizes the Chineseand Chinese American value of being a good member of a group.Social & Emotional Goals Highlight cause-and-effect thinking about social and emotional issues to preschoolers and to support preschooler' s social and emotional development.

Yeah She Failed

Yep, you read that right. We are happy to say that Shelby failed her Babies Can't Wait speech evaluation. So now she has been approved for the program in the speech category. She excelled in all the other areas (which we already knew how advanced she was ;), so all we need to start now is her speech therapy. I will probably be a slow go at getting it all started since I don't think the therapy is really "necessary" right now before her surgery. However, I did want her set up and in the program before her surgery so that she could start getting used to her therapist and feel comfortable during her sessions. I was also really hoping this would be free through the state but it turns out that we will still have to pay for half of the charged amounts. Oh well, I guess nothing in life is ever really free. Hopefully my insurance will pick up some these as well, we will have to wait and see. So now I get to pick a therapist and set up her sessions accordingly. I will let you know how that goes.

Good news for the day is that Shelby went off to school with only one little tear in her eye this morning. No real crying or complaining. We are making progress for sure in this area!

Fun with Uncle Scott

Well I am feeling a little better today. Even though I didn't feel great yesterday, we ventured out to our favorite mall. But this time, we took Sheila, Scott, and Austin to hang out at Discover Mills with us. The boys had fun on their trampoline jumpy thing and while we were waiting forever to do that, Uncle Scott took Shelby into one of those jumpy places to play. Not sure who had more fun-Scott or Shelby!

Shelby and I are off this afternoon to our big Babies Can't Wait evaluation for Shelby's speech therapy. Even though she doesn't have a closed palate yet, we are hoping to go ahead and start the speech sessions so she can get used to having them since she will probably require them for a long time. This is the first step in her speech therapies so I am looking forward to getting things rolling along. I am very grateful that she does try to talk now. She even sang me the Happy Birthday song over and over again this weekend. Of course I knew what she was saying but unfortunately I don't think anyone else would have known. I am looking forward to the day when she will be physically equipped to make her thoughts known through clear speech :)

Princess Dress

Saturday is almost done and over with and actually I am really looking forward to hitting the hay tonight. I feel awful all of a sudden with some crazy sinus stuff. You know that feeling that you will sneeze any minute, but you rarely do-yuck. Benadryl will be my best friend tonight and hopefully Shelby will have a good night. She still doesn't sleep solid all night since she wakes up every couple of hours calling for me. I lay with her to put her down to sleep and then I usually wind up sleeping half the night in her bed once I go in there in the middle of the night. The bad part is she and I share the twin bed she is in and she doesn't like to sleep on her side ;) Oh well, I know that this too shall pass and soon enough she will be kicking me out her room telling me to give her her privacy. Yep one day she will be a teenager and so I will not rush the days when I can still sleep close to her.

Today we went to the FCCA New Year Event at the Civic Center. I saw alot of people that I know in the adoption world so it was nice to chat with everyone. I also met a couple of new folks and that is always fun, especially the waiting families. Let me just say that there were lots and lots of cutie pie little girls running around in Chinese dresses. I can't imagine attending this event and not actually having your own little one from China yet. Not that it is a bad thing to go when you are still waiting. It just must be so HARD to see all of those kids running around knowing how much those families are longing to have their own little one at home with them NOW. I was so thankful to have my Shelby baby in person in her stroller hanging out with me. So just to all you waiting familes out there, the wait is SO WORTH IT! And yes keep attending these great events so you don't forget what all this waiting, paperwork, money, more paperwork, and tears are all about. You too will one day have your China Dream come true :)

Now your little one may not be quite as cute and precious as my Shelby, but yes your little one will be just as much as a miracle ;) You have to admit that Shelby was just looking pretty as a princess today in her cute as can be Chinese attire!

Oh and this morning Shelby and the boys ventured out for breakfast together while mom attended her WW meeting. No problems with her going with dad so that was nice. After CJ spent the day with the boys, and mom spent the day with Shelby, I took all the kids to Alex's birthday party at Monster Golf. It was fun and even Miss Shelby was a great golfer.

Signing Times

I found the deal of the day for sure. Signing Times is having a great sale on their VHS tapes at http://www.signingtime.com/index.php?cPath=32 . These videos are raved about especially on my cleft boards. I had not purchased any yet because the DVDs were 20 bucks each. I was almost ready to just suck it up and pay that since Shelby is getting so good at signing. We only know a few signs and she uses ALL of them that I have been able to learn myself. So I knew it was time to broaden our signing knowledge. Well wouldn't you know it, someone on the boards posted about this great deal. So of course I bought 4 of the videos and hope to have us all up to speed on learning lots of new signs. It really really helps for us to know what Shelby is thinking and wanting to tell us by using sign language. Just wanted to share the deal with everyone. Also if you don't have this other great website marked, click here to visit and see how to sign any word you want. Great website for me since I only seem to pick up a sign a week when I find me telling Shelby something over and over and want her to understand. This week we learned the sign for work and last week we learned the sign for school. So now in the morning she will tell me that Travis and Caleb go to school and Mommy and Daddy go to work , and then she will look at me to tell her where she is going that day. Too cute!

Blood Finally

Yes, today we finally succeeded at having blood drawn from Shelby. It took two nurses, two sticks, two arms, two trips, and four vials-but we did it! We were unsuccessful at our last attempt from the Kennestone people. So this time I went straight to the experts at CHOA. I am sure my insurance company won't like that, but I didn't care as she needed the best of the best to get her tiny little veins. So now we have that behind us. I am praying for strength for the both of us when we do her surgery in April. I feel so bad for her just when she is having blood drawn, so I have no idea how to get her through the trauma of real surgery?!

Anyway she is back to normal and off to Carol's, which by the way, she is tolerating better now. She is getting used to mom working and she is doing better at the sitter's house and at school. And she is definitely doing better with dad these days. She was so excited that he picked her up yesterday and had a dad's day out without mom- no problems at all! So we have definitely made progress in that department. It is truly amazing at how fast she has adapted to everything.

Oh I wanted to ask you if you were going to the FCCA annual Lunar New Year Celebration on Saturday, January 26, 2008, from 10 am – 2 pm at the Cobb County Civic Center in Marietta?? I couldn't decide early on, but I have decided that just Shelby and I will attend this year to see what it is all about. (Really I just couldn't pass up my first opportunity to get her all dressed up in Chinese attire again :) So let me know if you are going so I can look for you at the event.

Snowy Weekend

Well even though we had to cancel Travis' planned birthday party due to the big snow storm (or at least that what Georgia calls it), we still managed to have a make shift party on Saturday thanks to all my close by friends and family. Travis had a great time and even got 2 cakes! He was just as happy with that since what he really loves is all the attention on him. He even got to to go to the store and pick out "anything he wanted" which mom really loved since it was a whopping 5 bucks ;) When then all enjoyed hot chocolate and had a great day. Yesterday we went to that big toy store to spend some of that birthday money that was burning a whole in his pocket. According to Travis he had a "credit card" (ie: giftcard) that he could buy anything in the store with. So he decided on a grownup MP3 player and Caleb used some of his own money for a new drum set (yeah-not). Shelby spent some of mom's money and bought her very own grocery cart that she loves to push around the house. It was a very fun weekend spent with family and friends all weekend long!

OH and is it just me or does my baby girl looking more and more like a preschooler these days instead of a toddler??!!

The Difference in a Year

Exactly one year ago I was getting nervous and ready for the "big meeting". That is the meeting that would change our lives forever. CJ and I attended our very first adoption information meeting exactly one year ago. I can still remember all the details of that day as I was so excited to finally get to to talk openly to someone who could confirm/deny all of the research I had been doing on my own. This was also the first time that CJ could talk to someone "who knew the facts" about what adopting from China was all about. Not that he didn't believe me, but as you know husband/wives usually need to hear from a 3rd party in order to make something believable ;) It was there in the library, that our lives were forever changed. It was no mistake that the person giving the meeting also already had 2 boys before adopting a little girl. It was no mistake that we were the only people to attend the meeting that day so we had Ms. Stasko's undivided attention. It was no mistake that Christy talked to us alot about China's so called "special needs" kids. It was no mistake that CJ and I were both open minded and having a great day that day. It was no mistake that after that meeting, over a Subway lunch, our lives and hearts were sent to China to find our daughter. OH what a difference a year can make!

The Gift of Life

I didn't give you the gift of life, But in my heart I know

The love I feel is deep and real, As if it had been so.

For us to have each other Is like a dream come true!

No, I didn't give you the gift of life, Life gave me the gift of YOU.

-Author Unknown-

Let it Snow Let it Snow

Let it snow! Yep, the big state of Georgia actually received some snow yesterday. I know for all you northerners out there, that doesn't sound like a big deal, but for us Georgians it is a big deal. The boys loved going outside and making the best snowball possible with the wet icky stuff. Shelby wasn't too thrilled about it getting on her or her shoes, but she loved watching it from the windows. It was very disappointing for the boys this morning to wake up and find out that they DID have to go to school. Come on as little as our kids get to see snow, you would have thought even Cobb County would have taken advantage of a snow day. But no dice, we were up and at em bright and early. Shelby was off to Carol's today and it wasn't too bad at drop off since she is learning her new routine. I have talked to her about 5 times on the phone already and that seems to calm her down and reassure her that mommy is still around and coming back soon to get her. I still miss her though knowing that she is still just sitting around waiting on me to come pick her up. She doesn't get down and play yet, or even eat/drink while she is away. I so hope she warms up to being at Carol's and at her new school soon...

2nd Day of School

So we were off to Shelby's second day of school today, and as you can see she wasn't too happy about it. However, she wasn't terrified about it either. I will have to say that she was terrified on Monday since she wasn't sure about the whole situation and if we were coming back to get her. If you think about, the scenario was very similar to her from when she was whisked away from foster mom. I am sure she was taken from her foster mom, put into the orphanage (familiar to her), and then whisked from there into a car never to see her foster mom again. Well we kind of did the same thing to her Monday. She was taken from me, put into the school/church (familiar to her), then bundled up and put into a car again- fortunately this time it was her Nana driving the car. So needless to say she was STRESSED and confused the whole day.

But today was different since I was able to talk to her about what was going to happen. We talked about school and her wonderful teacher, Ms. Vicki. I told her about Nana picking her up after school and then mommy coming home from work to get her. Shelby is very smart and she really did seem to understand what was happening today. So no she wasn't thrilled about leaving me this morning, but she was crying just normal 2 year old separation tears today instead of the terrified tears. This is progress!

5 years ago...

this was my little baby boy:

Happy Happy Happy Birthday to my favorite TRAVIS! My baby boy is getting all grown up and it just seems like yesterday when he was all warm and snuggly. Now look at him, the big

brother. He hasn't been too crazy about his new role, but he has lived up to being her hero :) Can't believe it has already been 5 whole years since I was blessed with such a wonderful child. How boring it would be to not have my Travis in my life! Happy Birthday Baby!!

Daddy's First Kiss

Yep, that's right-CJ finally received his official real first kiss from Miss Shelby last night before going to bed. He was on Cloud 9 for sure! She was even happy to see him today when he went and picked her up from her Nana's house. That was a first as well since she typically would prefer Nana over Dad, but not today :) Hopefully CJ has passed her tests and is now on her good side.

Now for the bad today...well she left the car screaming her head off at preschool this morning. She was not happy at all! I called about every 30 minutes, and she was still pretty upset every time I called, so we all decided that we should cut her day a little short today. So my mom went to pick her up about an hour early from school. She was THRILLED to see Nana and of course was fine the rest of the afternoon. It is definately going to be a long road to peaceful seperations-I'm sure. Hopefully things will get a little better each day. Here are some of those pics I have promised but not posted lately:

It's Official...

Shelby is the cutest little Chinese Redneck there ever was! Yep, she was officially introduced into her new southern world she lives in. She attended her first Monster Truck show last night and had a great time. She even had her first (of many) visit to the Varsity! Yes, we all had some rednecking good time fun yesterday. She did really well through the whole event that lasted until 11PM! She finally had enough around 10PM and after each truck would do its thing, she would sign over and over again-all done all done all done. She wasn't upset or anything she had just had enough and was over tired by that point. She drifted off to sleep and was a perfect little trooper for the whole event. So it looks like she is truly a Straight :0) I did take a quick pic of her in her little overalls before we left, so I will have to post it tomorrow.

PS: Please send up an extra prayer for us tomorrow as Shelby starts her first day of preschool tomorrow morning. I will let you all know how it goes.

It's tough to be a mom

Well today was really really tough for us both this morning. My intent was to take Shelby to her regular sitter today after dropping off Caleb at school. Well since Miss Shelby was spoiled rotten yesterday at her Nana's house, things didn't go well at all. I told Shelby that we were going to Carol's and she went into a complete meltdown crying and crying...Nanwa, Nanwa, Nanwa, Nanwa over and over again. Well I just couldn't handle it, and I turned around and took her right back to her Nanwa's house for the day.

Realizing how much she enjoys her Nana and how much she enjoys structure, I made the decision to put Shelby in a preschool 3 days a week where her Nana will be able to pick her up and spend the afternoons with her. So tomorrow we are going to her new school to check it out and show her where she is going to be going to school next week. So next week she will be going to school 3 days for half the day and then Nana will get her the rest of those days. She will still be going to Carol's house for the other 2 days and she will eventually get used to that. Carol is good to my kids and besides Shelby gets to be with her brother on those days she is at Carol's once he is out of school. Now dropping her off at Carol's house is another story.

This has got to get easier for both of us. Now it isn't like I am a first time mom and never been down this road before. I have already done this twice, and it was difficult for both of my boys, but I survived and so did they. So I have faith that all of this is going to get better, but right now it is TOUGH! I do know that I miss her terribly all day and that apparently she misses me. So I realize that on the attachment issues, that is probably a good thing. However on the heartbreaking issue, it is really bad. And now I am going to add the preschool element on top of all of her adjustments, and I am nervous about that too. I believe I am doing the right thing though by giving her some structured learning/play time with a preschool setting. She does enjoy playing with others too (once she gets to know them), so I feel like she will have fun at school once she is used to it.

So as you can see, Shelby and I are really struggling with letting go of each other during the day. I really really hope things get better SOON. I know they will eventually get better and strongly feel like I am giving her the best opportunities to thrive while I am away at work. My heart still breaks for her when I have to leave her crying though. So here's hoping for an easy transition next week into her new school and her full 2 days at Carol's house. Heaven knows all of this has to make us stronger. I certainly know that it makes for tighter hugs and sweeter kisses when I pick all my babies up in the evenings :)

Missing Brighton

I just found out about the Hoffman's baby boy in Ethiopia. I am so saddened to hear this heart breaking news for them. They are such a young radiant couple who always have great smiles every time I get to see them at First Friday. Tymm and Laura are going to be such great parents one day. I was so hoping that their day was coming soon to finally hold their little one. Apparently God has different plans for them right now. Adoption is such a roller coaster ride for your emotions; however, I can't possibly imagine how tough this must be for them. Please send up some extra prayers for this great family.

Tough to be 2

Well well, yes we are actually back in full swing of work, school, and daycare. Shelby isn't too thrilled with this "new" arrangement of all of us leaving her during the day. Mom isn't too happy about leaving her either :( Yesterday was her first day to spend time at the sitter without her brothers and it was a tough day to be 2. We started the morning off with a strange fever so I took her to the doctor and he just said he thought she had a cold. Well he gave me a script for antibiotics to use in a couple of days in case she doesn't get better on her own. I personally think she does have an ear infection, since she seems to be pulling at her right ear alot.

Anyway once her fever broke, she was back to her regular cheery self. So I decided to go ahead and take her to Carol's house around lunch time, that way she only had to be there a couple of hours before Travis would arrive. Well needless to say she was very upset when I left her. I called and checked on her about every 15 minutes. She finally stopped crying after about 30 minutes and then she went to sleep after an hour of fussing. I know it will get better, but it is still tough to know that she is so sad without us. Of course she was thrilled when Travis was there once she woke up and she played the rest of the afternoon.

I am happy to know that she does understand that I will always come back to pick her up though. Before we got her and I used to think about dropping her off, I was so afraid that she would think I had "left" her forever. She seems to really understand though that I am just going off to work and that I will be back to get her. She just wishes I would come back a lot sooner though ;) Well today my mom is watching her for me. Shelby cried her big crocodile tears for me when I left, but my mom soon left and took her to her old work to show off her new granddaughter. My mom said Shelby was fine and of course everyone was happy to finally meet her. She is awfully cute ya know, so I am sure she was a big hit! So hopefully Shelby will have a good day without me today, and I know she loves to greet Caleb off the school bus so that will make her day. It still sure is tough to be 2 though!

China Driving

I stole this link from another blog today and just had to post it for everyone. This is a real life video of a typical intersection in China. Now this should explain why Shelby freaks out and covers her eyes whenever she sees a car coming at her!

Are you committed?

Here is a very powerful statement made by Rick Warren. Can you make the same commitment? Pretty powerful!

A Call to Radical Commitment By Rick Warren
Today I am stepping across the line. I'm tired of waffling, and I'm finished with wavering. I've made my choice; the verdict is in; and my decision is irrevocable. I'm going God's way. There's no turning back now!
I will live the rest of my life serving God's purposes with God's people on God's planet for God's glory. I will use my life to celebrate his presence, cultivate his character, participate in his family, demonstrate his love, and communicate his Word. Since my past has been forgiven, and I have a purpose for living and a home awaiting in heaven, I refuse to waste any more time or energy on shallow living, petty thinking, trivial talking, thoughtless doing, useless regretting, hurtful resenting, or faithless worrying. Instead I will magnify God, grow to maturity, serve in ministry, and fulfill my mission in the membership of his family.
Because this life is preparation for the next, I will value worship over wealth, “we” over “me,” character over comfort, service over status, and people over possessions, position, and pleasures. I know what matters most, and I'll give it all I've got. I'll do the best I can with what I have for Jesus Christ today.
I won't be captivated by culture, manipulated by critics, motivated by praise, frustrated by problems, debilitated by temptation, or intimidated by the devil. I'll keep running my race with my eyes on the goal, not the sidelines or those running by me.
When times get tough, and I get tired, I won't back up, back off, back down, back out, or backslide. I'll just keep moving forward by God's grace. I'm Spirit-led, purpose-driven and mission-focused, so I cannot be bought, I will not be compromised, and I shall not quit until I finish the race. I'm a trophy of God's amazing grace, so I will be gracious to everyone, grateful for everyday, and generous with everything that God entrusts to me.
To my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I say: However, whenever, wherever, and whatever you ask me to do, my answer in advance is yes! Wherever you lead and whatever the cost, I'm ready. Anytime. Anywhere. Anyway. Whatever it takes Lord; whatever it takes!
I want to be used by you in such a way, that on that final day I'll hear you say, "Well done, thou good and faithful one. Come on in, and let the eternal party begin!"
What does this mean? Today, I affirm this commitment to God and submit to his plans and purposes for my life, no matter what it takes!

Life Changing Video

First Friday was awesome as usual. This month was very special to me because the evening was centered around a special video called China's Lost Girls. The "stars" in the video, Denise and her family, were live and in person at First Friday. We watched pieces of the video and then Denise would get up and tell about some of the behind the scene parts that took place. It was great and terrible all at the same time. It was great to get to hear from Denise in person about the experience she had with National Geographic and all the great details about her trip. Well it was terrible to watch this video after finally experiencing all the emotions of actually completing our adoption. I had watched this video probably over 20 times (no kidding) before we left for China. This was used as my "guide" to learn about what we were about to experience. Well I had not watched this video since we have returned home with our angel. Needless to say, I was brought to tears during the video and after just thinking about how much I had learned from the video prior to going and now how much more the video means to our family after experiencing this journey.

I shared the video with all of my personal friends and family as soon as we started telling people that we were going to adopt from China. This video gives a clear picture of China adoptions and tells the story in a way that everyone can understand. A lot of my friends and family were completely ignorant about China adoption until I was at least able to share this video with them. I can't thank Denise and her family enough for opening up their lives with the rest of the world by sharing her story. She has truly been instrumental in my quest to share my story with others as well. I always say that you never know whose life you may change just by sharing your story. Denise helped changed the views of Chinese adoption in the eyes of many many people out there, especially for my friends and family. So I plan to continue to share our journey with as many people who want to hear it!

Year of the Rat

I am starting to get some invites to celebrate our first Chinese New Year with Shelby. Here is one from FCCA:

It's the Year of the Rat! Join FCCA for our annual Lunar New Year Celebration on Saturday, January 26, 2008, from 10 am – 2 pm at the Cobb County Civic Center in Marietta. Meet up with other FCCA families for a fun-filled celebration, including:
- Adorable red t-shirts for sale- Crafts for kids!- New food vendor!- Wide selection of products from Chinese vendors - list coming!- Traditional Lion Dance and popular Chinese entertainment
Register by Wednesday, January 16, athttp://www.lny2008.eventbrite.com Password "ratyear"

Please let me know if your family has attended before and what you thought about it. Sounds like fun, but kind of pricey so wanted to make sure it was worth the money. We are also going to be attending our agency's Chinese New Year event as well, so I was wondering if we should do both or not. Your thoughts...

Back to Work

Well today I finally committed to going back to work full-time. I dropped the kids off at Carol's without a tear from anyone :) I am so glad Shelby has her brothers around for these first few days at the sitter's house. The boys are back at school on Tuesday and she will have to be dropped off ALONE, so we will see what that brings next week. It has actually been kind of nice to finally get back together with me and my Daytimer. I have been so unorganized and scattered without my regular schedules. So I will continue to dig out from under my desk and get Tridia back in order this week. Looking forward to seeing all my First Friday friends again on Friday.