Bringing Home Emily

Fun at Chuck E Cheese

2009-08-12T16:26:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday Mom!

2009-08-06T14:19:00.002-05:00

Brother & Sister

2009-08-05T11:41:00.004-05:00

Happy Monday

2009-08-03T10:29:00.005-05:00

Emily is really coming out of her shell. Everyday she lets us see more of her personality & smiles. She is jabbering away and will carry a conversation on with you....and you better pay attention to her while she's talking to you! She is even starting to enjoy Koda. When Koda is next to her, she will close her eyes and lean in so the dog can kiss her. She'll let the dog do this several times. She's even getting a little smarter when it comes to protecting her food when the dog is around. Eric & Emily continue to bond. She was happy to see Daddy when he came home from the dentist this morning.

Catching Up

2009-07-26T07:52:00.007-05:00

We've now been home just over a week and I still feel like I'm running in circles. My mom was sweet enough to clean our house while we were gone and its been trashed ever since we walked in the door and I can't seem to get it clean again. We are able to sleep through the night again... jet lag is so brutal. It took pretty much an entire week both times to get our days and nights sorted out. One of my friends mentioned that I have a lot of people upset with me because I didn't let everyone know we were home. I'm sorry if anyone feels that way....its definitely nothing personal.

Emily and Daddy are starting to have a relationship, but its still very distant. She doesn't cry as long when he holds her. I know this has been a very difficult time for Eric. Please keep them in your thoughts. I keep hoping that one day when we wake up, Emily will just shower her Daddy with all the hugs & kisses that he has been missing out on.

Nathan has been having some major jealousy issues. I know he loves his sister. He is constantly trying to carry her all over the place and do everything for her, but she's not diggin' his constant attention. She likes her space. Which is turn is upsetting Nathan and he just starts being mean. We were driving home from Grandma's the other day and Nathan told me that I am being over-protective of Emily. I asked him where he heard that and he said he just thought of that. I assured Nathan that I was just as protective of him when he was that age and still am. Nathan has been crying a lot lately and saying we don't have time for him anymore. It just kills me to see my baby boy so upset. We have been trying to spend one on one time with him and I've heard a couple of his friends with younger siblings trying to console him. Hopefully with time he will get back to his old self!

A little about Miss Emily........she doesn't smile that much. Even when I look back at the photos we got from the orphanage director, no smiles. She's so serious. She's not into getting her picture taken either, but she does enjoy to look at her own picture or even look at herself in the mirror. She puffs out her upper lip. She will definitely let ya know when she doesn't want to be touched or if your in her space. She is content to play by herself. She is grumpy when she first wakes up. She is happy to lay in her crib and play with her toys. She likes flipping the pages of anything. When she is playing with her kitchen set, he is always pretending to feed herself. She loves to get dressed and change clothes and shoes. She's not crazy about the pool, but would rather play in the tub. She doesn't drink much and we've had problems finding something that she will drink out of. We've settled with a cup with a lid and straw. When Emily tries a new food she usually spits it out the first time. She loves the slide. She's even starting to warm up to the dog!

Well, that's a short glimpse about what's been going on the past week. I'll leave you with a few pictures from the day we got home.

Home Sweet Home

2009-07-20T06:29:00.003-05:00

We safely made it home on Friday, July 17th. It is so nice to sleep in your own bed after being gone for so long. Nathan has spent the weekend with Grandma & Grandpa. Poor Emily has been running a fever. So far she's not too crazy about the dog, but Koda sure loves her. Koda has realized that Emily is an easy target to steal her food!

Once life returns to normal I'll post more....

Hong Kong

2009-07-16T10:25:00.002-05:00

We took the train from Guangzhou to Hong Kong tonight. We are at the Novotel Citygate. The hotel is so modern looking. The beds are even wayyy soft & when you are served a drink there is ice in your glass!! The beverages are cold for a change. Those were probably the 2 hardest things we had to adapt to. I really wish we were going to be here for more than one night! I think I could dig Hong Kong!

Emily & Eric are still working on their relationship. While on the train she let him hold her and rock her to sleep. Nathan seems to be very jealous of Emily. He likes to pick on her just to upset her. She doesn't like Nathan picking her up like he did the first few days and that is upsetting to Nathan. I think his reaction is to just be mean. I know deep down he loves his little sister!

I better get some sleep since morning will be here before we know it! This will be my last post until we are Home Sweet Home!

Red Couch

2009-07-15T04:26:00.001-05:00

Red Couch
Originally uploaded by marehare7

I think the red couch photo was about as tramatic as the medical exams!

Friends

2009-07-15T04:22:00.001-05:00

Friends
Originally uploaded by marehare7

Our Family

2009-07-15T04:21:00.001-05:00

Our Family
Originally uploaded by marehare7

Bath time

2009-07-15T04:20:00.001-05:00

Bath time
Originally uploaded by marehare7

Nanning Group

2009-07-12T09:13:00.003-05:00

Nanning Group
Originally uploaded by marehare7

Looking Pretty

2009-07-12T09:13:00.001-05:00

Looking Pretty
Originally uploaded by marehare7

Twins!

2009-07-12T09:12:00.001-05:00

Twins!
Originally uploaded by marehare7

First Plane Ride

2009-07-12T09:11:00.003-05:00

First Plane Ride
Originally uploaded by marehare7

Sitting by the river

2009-07-12T09:11:00.001-05:00

100_0079[1]
Originally uploaded by marehare7

Sleeping Beauty

2009-07-12T09:10:00.001-05:00

Sleeping Beauty
Originally uploaded by marehare7

Big Kids

2009-07-12T09:09:00.001-05:00

Big Kids
Originally uploaded by marehare7

Nathan with his new girlfriend.....LOL

Washing Clothes & Bathtime

2009-07-12T09:08:00.001-05:00

Washing Clothes & Bathtime
Originally uploaded by marehare7

Swan Room

2009-07-12T04:54:00.001-05:00

100_0050[1]
Originally uploaded by marehare7

Last Leg

2009-07-11T17:24:00.001-05:00

We've made it to the last leg of our trip. We are now in Guangzhou and staying at the White Swan. The hotel is located on the historical Shamian Island, overlooking the famed Pearl River. We are actually going on our second day here. The flight from Nanning was only one hour and all the babies seemed to do well. It was still a long day for traveling...our flight didn't arrive until about 10 pm and we still had a 40 minute drive to the hotel.

This Shamian Island is by far my favorite area of the trip, even though it seems to be the most humid. There isn't as much of a language barrier, everyone seems to speak English. The island looks to be geared towards all the Americans that come. The hotel itself is very beautiful. There is a waterfall and fish pond on the main level. That first morning we went down and had the breakfast buffet you'd think we'd died and gone to heaven. The food itself was okay, but getting to eat something other than noodles for breakfast was a treat! Eric went and took care of some paperwork this morning while Nathan, Emily & I ventured out. We found the Swan Room, which is a playroom at the hotel. We also did some window shopping. We ate Subway for lunch.

This evening we met up with the other Holt families. Everyone seems so nice. I'd say there are about 16 families total. There are so many beautiful babies and children. We had a group dinner at an Italian restaurant. Walking back to the hotel we stopped and watched some people playing badminton.

These last few days have been especially hard. We've had a few meltdowns with both kids. Heck, the entire family! Emily still isn't bonding with Eric. She will look at his picture in her photo album we sent before we arrived and will kiss his photo, but she screams if he looks at her. She isn't even going to Nathan like she did in the beginning which in turn is upsetting Nathan. So for now we have a Mamma's Girl.

What a ride....

2009-07-08T16:21:00.001-05:00

I know we haven't posted for a few days.....we've been spending that time bonding with our daughter. I can't believe I just typed that....I have a daughter!

We are at the Majestic hotel in Nanning which is the capital of Guangxi Provence. We are in the southern end of China. Guangxi shares the border with Vietman. It is very beautiful here. When we were landing you could see all the green covered mountains. We landed just after 5pm on Tuesday, July 7th. It was about a forty minute drive to the hotel. We arrived just as the rest of our group was sitting down to eat. We were told that they would be bringing Emily to our room at 7:30 pm so we decided to join our group for dinner. There are 2 other families that have brought children with them, both are right around Nathan's age. Everyone is so friendly and welcoming. They have all heard about our adventure already.

We headed back to the room early to get ready for Emily's arrival. You could hear a baby crying in the hall and then the doorbell rang. I could feel my stomach drop. The moment we have been waiting for has finally arrived. As they enter the room Emily is still upset and crying. We try talking to her and showing her toys before she is handed off to settle her down, but nothing works. I finally hold her in my arms. What a wonderful feeling! I have my daughter!

For about the first 30 minutes she only wants me and not interested in Eric or Nathan at all. Finally after Nathan is acting silly and playing with her toys does she start to warm up to him. Over the next hour she has Nathan wrapped around her little finger. She learned very quickly that if she wanted Nathan especially to pick her up, all she does it outstretch her arms and wiggle those fingers and he's there in a flash. Nathan loves carrying around his sister. He has been so loving and caring with her.

Emily is so very tiny. The outfits I brought are too big, but most are dresses so we should get by okay. Our guide took us to Walmart yesterday and I picked up an outfit that was 9-12 and it seems to fit her good. We bought small size diapers and they fit perfect. I had even brought one pair of shoes that are size 5 and they are way to big for her.

We were sitting out in the hallway with some of the other families and letting the children play. Nathan was running around with the older kids and Emily was sitting down on blankets with the babies. Within a couple minutes Emily was running up and down the halls with the older kids too. Whenever she is around Nathan she is laughing and giggling, it is music to my ears. We also took her to the baby play room they have set up. Not much of a play room, but there is a toddler slide and teeter totter. Emily must have been exposed to a slide with her foster family. She knew exactly what to do. She was climbing up the stairs and sliding down. Emily also seems to love music. Her eyes just seem to light up and body moves to the music.

We went to the civil affairs office & the notary yesterday. Emily is officially our daughter. They gave you a brief interview at both places. With all the running around Emily feel asleep. I was able to hand her off to Eric while she was sleeping. This was the first time he has been able to hold her. Later in the afternoon she was back to not wanting Daddy around.

I feel so bad that right now she wants nothing to do with Eric. They warned us that the child will pick one parent usually to bond to at first. I took Nathan to the pool while she was napping hoping that if she woke up while we were gone it would give the two of them the quiet time they needed together, needless to say both were upset by the time we got back to the room.

The pool at the hotel has some strict rules. I think the reason for which is to make money. All swimmers must wear a swim cap ($20 yuan). All male swimmers must wear a speedo style swim suit ($20-$50 yuan). The cheaper suits are very girly looking too, but Nathan wore it anyways. Another one of the pool rules is no swimming if you have hypertension. All these rules, yet there was a little boy about 2 years old swimming completely naked in the pool....go figure!

Everyone in the group is getting tired of Chinese food by now so we got some taxis and decided to venture out for some western food. The hotel had some business cards written in both English/Chinese with some of the tourist spots and the hotel info so we could just show the driver where we wanted to go. I thought it would be an uneventful ride....WRONG! Most of you know the drivers are crazy here.......as we were driving in traffic a moped hit the taxi. The taxi driver stopped in the middle of the street and grabbed the moped. We are all just sitting in he taxi watching our driver yell at the moped driver. Our driver gets back in the taxi and is yelling, but in Chinese of course. Eric just looks at him and shakes his head since we have no clue what he said. We get pulled over to the side of the road along with the moped and the driver again gets out. Eventually our taxi driver hails down a new taxi for us and tells him where we want to go. We meet the rest of our group and the first thing they say is....."This could only happen to you guys." We found a Pizza Hut and had a great dinner. Eric ordered a kimchi pizza. Every since we traveled to Korea to get Nathan, Eric has been a fan of kimchi. He really enjoyed the pizza, but Nathan & I stuck to the American classics.

Emily is such a good eater and tries to be very independent. She wants to feed herself, but for the sake of bonding, I have been feeding her instead. You would have never thought the girl ate before. I was feeding her some rice and some was falling on plate. She kept picking up the place to get the rice we dropped. I brought a sippy cup from home, but she doesn't seem too keen on it. When we were at the store I picked up a different kind with a softer spout, but she doesn't really like that either. While we were at the restaurant I was filling her sippy with water. The lid was off of the sippy and she grabbed it to take a drink and did perfect with it. I think she must have been drinking straight out of a cup with her foster mom.

Since we have finally caught up with our paperwork, we get to join our group today for our first outing. We are going to see the countryside.

I'll try to get some pics loaded!

By the way......Facebook doesn't seem to work in this area.

We have Emily!

2009-07-07T17:16:00.001-05:00

100_0254[1]
Originally uploaded by marehare7

Last Full Day

2009-07-05T23:59:00.001-05:00

I'm happy to report that today is our last full day of quarantine. We are scheduled to be released tomorrow ( Tuesday - July 7th ). The other families in our group made the journey today to meet their little ones. We will fly directly to the Guangxi and get our girl! On a side note, Guangxi has been on the news a lot these last few days due to the flooding. I don't think its the area we are going to, but heck it would be another adventure to add to what we've already experienced!

Our adoption agency & travel agency have us scheduled for a flight at 2 pm which is the same time we are supposed to be released. Our agency had us write a letter requesting to be released early to make our flights, but we haven't heard anything yet. We did get paperwork today officially indicating that we will be released tomorrow, but it still indicates the 2 pm time.

We got a phone call from the U.S. Embassy in China today. They were checking on us to make sure everyone was okay and see if we needed anything. The U.S. Embassy also dropped off a care package for the Americans in quarantine. They brought some books & toys.

The air condition has really kicked in. They have continued to work on it and I think they finally got it right. We woke up this morning cold. We had to turn the fans off and cover up with blankets.

This will be my last post before we get our girl.............

P.S. Nathan had something to say:

thank you for the birthday wishes

A Typical Day

2009-07-04T14:28:00.001-05:00

We've had some people asking what our day consists of. It's not much, but here we go.

A little bit about the hotel itself. We are staying at the Yanxiang Hotel in Beijing.

http://www.yanxianghotel.com/index_en.html

The website makes it look a lot better than what it is. I can see this hotel having better days. Also keep in mind that many of the amenities that may be mentioned on the website, we don't have access to. Before entering any public areas you are required to wear masks. We have free local calls, room Internet, business center Internet, mini bar & self service laundry.

We've been waking up about 4am and will go sit outside by the fish pond to get some cool air while Nathan feeds the fish.

Breakfast is served from 7:30 am until 9:00 am. There is a buffet set up downstairs and they will fill your dish for you, but you have to take it back upstairs to eat in your room. Different things they have offered at breakfast are: scrambled eggs, french toast, bacon, congee, toast, cereal and rice.

We are allowed to leave the room and wander around a limited space. There is a barricade around the hotel and police guarding the hotel.

We have to be back in the room at 9:00 am for our first temperature check of the day. They don't really monitor the temperature check very well. They drop off a thermometer and come back about 10 minutes later to read it.

Lunch is served from 11:30 am until 1:00 pm. Same deal, go downstairs to get it and bring it back to your room to eat. Some items they have served are rice, noodles, soup, french fries, vegetable, chicken wings, sweet and sour pork.

The second temperature check is at 4:00 pm

Dinner is served from 6:00 pm until 7:30 pm

If you don't like the food that is provided, you can place an order for Pizza Hut, but this would be something you have to pay for. We ordered it the other night and it was served with ketchup. I didn't try it that way, but thought it was a strange combination. The meals do vary from day to day. I think my favorite thing I've eaten here was the smoked duck, but there were just so many bones. I'd say the daily staples you can count on are the rice, soup, bread, apples and french fries.

The hotel staff is very nice and as helpful as they can be. There are some language barriers as may be expected. The hotel staff is also under quarantine and haven't left the hotel since May 1st.

It's definitely not unbearable, but we'd rather be out seeing the sites and getting our little girl.

What a difference a day makes...

2009-07-03T17:12:00.001-05:00

Thank you so much to everyone for all the emails,comments, thoughts and prayers. We are all doing good! Nobody has any signs of the flu. We did get some relief, they turned on the air conditioner late last evening. The hotel has AC, but they had all the air vents tapped off and the thermostats disabled. Yesterday they came into our room and just said they had some work to do. We had no clue what they were doing. My eyes got so big when I saw them uncovering the vents and messing with the thermostat. Eric & I were both in awe. Watching them work it looks like they have placed styrofoam over the part of the vent so the air won't recycle, but still letting the air to come out. After they left we went and checked the vents, but you couldn't feel anything. We figured we were wrong and just got our hopes up about the AC.

Throughout the day staff was working with AC for all the other rooms, but we still felt no relief. Someone finally came to our door and said they were going to move us to another room that was cooler. We packed up and were ready for the move, but they never came back. As I sat on the bed watching the room temp get up to 94 degrees, I felt a slight cool breeze. I climbed up on a table and placed my hands over the vent....it was COLD AIR!!! All your cool thoughts worked! When we woke up this morning the temp had only dropped to the 80's, but it does make a big difference. Last night I slept about 5 or 6 hours which is the longest since we've been in China. I wasn't up all night taking cold showers every couple hours. Lets just hope the room temp keeps dropping since the outside temp is expected to reach 107 degrees today.

I had always heard everyone say the beds are so hard in China. Sitting on them I did feel the difference, but didn't think they were all that bad, just like an extra firm mattress. After getting some sleep last night I can now feel the effects of the hard mattress. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to complain, but I now agree 100 percent, sleeping on the mattress is like sleeping on a cement floor.

Nathan & his new pal Christopher

2009-07-03T02:12:00.001-05:00

Nathan & his new pal Christopher
Originally uploaded by marehare7

Your right...we are one candle short!

Birthday Boy

2009-07-03T02:10:00.001-05:00

Birthday Boy
Originally uploaded by marehare7

This is the Mack Daddy birthday boy....LOL

Pink princess birthday crown.....check
PENS cup T-shirt......check
Face Mask....check
Birthday Ribbon....check

Mom's blackmail photo in 10 years....CHECK!!!

Thank you Korber family for the t-shirt! Nathan packed it in his suitcase as soon as he got it and wanted to save it for the trip!

Nathan's birthday cake @ hotel

2009-07-03T02:06:00.001-05:00

Nathan's birthday cake @ hotel
Originally uploaded by marehare7

The hotel delivered this birthday cake for Nathan's birthday.

Nathan

2009-07-02T13:14:00.001-05:00

Today my little fella will celebrate his 9th birthday! Happy Birthday sweetie....Mommy & Daddy love you very much! I bet this will be one birthday that you'll never forget!

On a side note, we did get word that we'll leave quarantine on July 7th. We'll fly directly to the province where Emily is from and that will be our new gotcha day! I guess it could be worse, its only being pushed back by one day. All the other families in our group will have their children on the 6th. Maybe the agency will just bring Emily to our hotel, we haven't heard yet. If so, that may be less traumatic for her so she won't hear all the other babies crying.

Our agency did arrange another little treat for us yesterday. We were sitting in the room and next thing you know there is a knock at the door and they say its Room Service. I'm thinking to myself...who ordered that? It wasn't us. Our agency had the hotel deliver two plastic shopping bags filled with ice cubes! We were all in heaven! Those little things really make a difference.

Updated Emily info

2009-07-02T12:45:00.001-05:00

Updated Emily info
Originally uploaded by marehare7

Time to get serious

2009-07-02T12:44:00.001-05:00

100_0088
Originally uploaded by marehare7

This was after it was determined the passenger had a temp.

First officials taking temps on plane.

2009-07-02T12:43:00.001-05:00

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Originally uploaded by marehare7

Leaving the DFW airport to start our journey to China.

2009-07-02T12:42:00.001-05:00

Leaving the DFW airport to start our journey to China.
Originally uploaded by marehare7

Beijing, Day Two

2009-07-01T13:30:00.001-05:00

We started off our morning going down to the hotel breakfast buffet. Who knew for the last time. We decided to venture out of the hotel and do some shopping. Who knew for the last time. All the locals tried to speak to Nathan in Chinese or would ask if he was adopted from China.

On our way back to the hotel we stocked up on bottled water and snacks. Who knew for the last time. When we got back to our hotel room, the phone rang. The hotel general manager had asked for Eric to come down to talk. Bet you can guess what this is leading to... Eric thought he was going to talk to him about buying a time share. Eric is greeted by the hotel manager and was then offered something to drink. Eric replied, "No thank you, I just bought a case of water and some diet coke." The manager paused and paused again....see where we are going with this? The manager finally says, "The gentleman three rows in front of you on the plane had a fever and was taken to the hospital for further tests.....and he has the H1N1 flu. Now would you like a drink?" Eric replies, "ya a bottle of Patron." Eric drops his head and in disbelief covers his face. The manager graciously offers him some Kleenex and he said, "no, just the Patron."

We are advised that we have to be ready by 4:30 pm to pack up our belongings because the ambulance will be here to pick us up...you guessed it...WE ARE NOW QUARANTINED (Thanks a lot David)!!! The hotel manager mentioned that they would be discrete and take us out the back of the hotel, which was actually the side of the hotel and a crowd had gathered to see what was going on because of the flashing lights.

Our adoption agency had sent a staff member over to see us before we departed. Since we will be in quarantine for SEVEN DAYS, this means that we won't get to see Emily on our scheduled day. The agency presented us a lovely binder with some updated pictures & measurements of Emily. My precious little girl is wearing a strawberry outfit and pink sandals in the picture. It also mentions that she now has nine teeth.

The agency staff also found out that Nathan will be spending his 9th birthday in quarantine and she decides to go buy him a birthday cake that we can take it with us.

We put on our happy faces and tried to make the most of everything. How often do you get to ride in an ambulance with the lights flashing in Beijing, China? The ride was definitely an adventure. The locals don't seem to care that there is an ambulance racing down the road. As we are being carted across town, Mary is waving to the tour bus of folks and they return the wave with this strange puzzled look on their faces. The ride takes about 30 minutes, take in mind its about 90 degrees outside and there is no air conditioning, at least not where we are sitting. They did allow us to open up a window.

We finally exit the ambulance after some questions and are given our face masks and handed a thermometer to check our temperature. Everyone passed......except Mary that is. She is given a bottle of water and told to relax as we sit in the hotel parking lot. The ambulance still waiting until being told to leave. There was even a photographer outside the barricades taking pictures. So this is how the famous live? Mary's temp is taken again, but it was still high. This continued several times. Eric is given a clipboard to fan Mary. Mary is drinking water trying to cool often and eventually pouring it over her head. Finally, the ambulance driver gets the wave that its okay to leave.

Welcome to Camp Quarantine! It's just like an all inclusive hotel, free food, free mini bar fridge (no alcohol), free face mask....oh and NO AIR!!! (Thanks a lot David) We are given 3 separate rooms, but told that Nathan could stay with one of the adults. As the family sits in the hotel business center, we can't connect to our room Internet access, it's just after 2 am and our hotel room was 90 degrees.

Who knows what tomorrow may hold....please keep your thoughts and prayers coming! We'll be bored, send some emails our way

Mary - Marehare7@gmail.com

Eric - Ecooper76248@yahoo.com

Have a Great Day!

P.S. One last parting thought......Don't take your air container for granted!

P.S.S. We're coming Emily!!!

Greetings from Beijing

2009-06-30T13:23:00.001-05:00

I'm happy to report we made it to Beijing! Boy, that was a long flight. Nathan slept on the DFW/SFO flight, but only about 30 minutes on our flight to Beijing. I think he watched about 7 or 8 movies on the way over. The flight attendant also invited him to play with some other children on the flight so he played with his DS with the other kids. For the most part, he did very well.

After landing in Beijing, the heath inspectors had to come on board the plane and scan everyone forehead to check our temperatures. They boarded in official uniforms with face masks & goggles. There was a man on the plane that was running a fever. After checking the rest of the plane they came back to the person with a temp and checked it again, but this time under his armpit and then with an oral thermometer. It was still high so a different group of officials boarded the plane wearing the full protective outfit and checked his temp a few more times. Needless to say he was then escorted off the aircraft wearing a mask and had to go to quarantine. When someone is running a temp, they take the 3 rows in front and back of that passenger and document those passengers in case it is later determined that he has the flu and they can call those rows of people back to quarantine. Yep, you guessed it.....THAT'S US! Please say that extra prayer that they don't contact us. On top of the other official forms you had to fill out to enter the country, we had even more forms now.

We were finally allowed to get off the plan you had to walk through several check points where your temperature was being scanned. We finally made it out of customs and our guide was waiting for us. It was about a 30 minute drive to the hotel. We are having computer issues in our room, so I'm standing in the hotel lobby @ 2:15 am as I type this. I don't know if I'll be able to upload any pictures on this leg of the trip. You know the hotel staff is looking at me and thinking what a crazy American.

Our plan was to stay awake all day since our flight landed about 2pm. Nathan fell asleep once we got to the room and was in such a deep sleep we could not wake him up. Not even to go to the pool. I guess I should try to head back and get some sleep so I can wake up with the locals!

All Packed!

2009-06-28T23:50:00.006-05:00

As I sit and type this, it's about ten minutes till midnight and I'm happy to report we are all packed! At least I hope so. We had to shuffle around the contents a little to make sure we were under the weight limits. I really did try to pack light, but I'm afraid it didn't work out very well. Our flight leaves at 6 am, so it seems pointless to even try and get some sleep. We'll have plenty of time for that on the airplane. Nathan says he's gonna stay up too, we'll see how that goes.

We are ready for......

One

2009-06-28T11:41:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow at this time we will be on an airplane headed to China. It still seems unreal even as I type the words. We are still not completely packed. Eric has yet to start. The last few days my stomach has been in knots and I haven't felt good. I hope its just the stress of everything and that I'm not getting sick.

My parents finally made it back to town last night. They pretty much drove straight through from IN to TX to make sure they would be back before we left. That's a good thing since they are driving us to the airport.

I don't think I've ever been so anxious to have the weekend over. Who would have ever thought I would be looking forward to Monday morning! We've been trying to keep busy to help pass the time. I did do something I've been meaning to. I got our trip home to IN booked this weekend. We'll be heading up north for a wedding and Eric & Nate have already bought their tickets to see the Notre Dame home opener. It will also give us a chance to introduce Emily to our family & friends.

Bye for now......

Message for Emily

2009-06-28T10:08:00.001-05:00

100_0067
Originally uploaded by marehare7

We are trying to get all the kinks worked out so we can upload pics & videos and have them post directly on the blog. We'll see how this works!

Two

2009-06-27T09:06:00.001-05:00

3 Days!

2009-06-26T08:58:00.003-05:00

I don't know how on earth I'm going to make it through this weekend! Nathan typically would have his sports that would keep us busy and on the go, but no such luck this weekend. Eric officially started his vacation today. I started packing for Nathan, Emily & I about a week ago, but Eric hasn't even started. We still have to go to the bank to get our travelers' checks, but pretty much we are ready to go.

We had a conference call with our agency & other families traveling the other day. I didn't realize how strict China was in accepting American dollars. I've heard the stories where some families have to take cash to China for some of the adoption fees and need to make sure they are new bills. Luckily, our agency takes care of that and we don't have to worry about it, but they said even just for your spending money if you are going to try and exchange that it has to be in mint condition. No torn corners or anything.

Package for Princess Emily

2009-06-25T14:15:00.005-05:00

Princess Emily got a couple packages today. She got some outfits & handmade hair bows! Aren't they adorable??? Be sure to check out her Etsy shop!

Thank you Amy!!! You ROCK!!! Be sure to give your Korean Prince & Princess a big ole hug from us also!!!

While I'm posting some pics, I thought I'd leave you with one more...

Five Days

2009-06-24T09:35:00.002-05:00

I can't believe we are only five days away! I had to steal the picture from Kim's blog since it was fitting for today! Kim actually just started her journey to China today! I will definitely be following along her journey, as least while I can until we leave ourselves!

Schedule

2009-06-18T08:36:00.008-05:00

Jun 30 - Arrive in Beijing
Staying @ Beijing Novotel Peace Hotel

Jul 01 - Free day in the morning and afternoon. Watch Acrobatic Show at night.

Jul 02 - Visit the Olympic venues (Bird’s Nest and Water Cube). At night, you will have Peking Duck Dinner.

Jul 03 - Nathan's 9th Birthday!!! Visit Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven

Jun 04 -Explore Great Wall and Hutong Lane.

Jul 05 - Orientation at the Hotel Meeting Room. Half day tour of Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City.

Jul 06 - Fly from Beijing toNanning arrive 11:00 AM
3:30PM-4:30PM – Meet Emily in the Civil Affair Office (Gotcha Day)
Staying @ Nanning Majestic Hotel

Jul 07 - In the morning – Adoption registration and notarization at C/A Office
In the afternoon – shopping for children’s supplement
In the evening – Group dinner at the hotel restaurant

Jul 08 - Optional activity arranged by Holt. Schedule to be given by Holt escort

Jul 09 -Optional activity (city tour – visit a village) arranged by Holt. Schedule to be given by Holt escort

Jul 10 - Fly from Nanning to Guangzhou
Staying @ White Swan Hotel

Jul 11 - Medical check

Jul 12 - Free day

Jul 13 - Paper work checking

Jul 14 - Free day

Jul 15 - Visa appointment

Jul 16 - Oath-taking ceremony

Jul 17 - Start journey home!!!

New Ticker

2009-06-16T13:29:00.004-05:00

You may have noticed a new ticker I added in the upper right hand corner. That is because we have:

BOUGHT OUR TICKETS

for China!

We are still working on our inter-country travel and what tours we want to go on, but we are officially leaving June 29th and returning July 17th! Below are some of the sights they are offering. Any recommendations?

Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven

Great Wall (Badaling section) and Hutong Lane

Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square after Orientation

Lama Temple and Prince Gong Mansion

Temple of the Sleeping Buddha, Xiangshan Park

Olympic sites (Bird’s Nest and Water Cube)

Mutianyu Great Wall

Night Options : Beijing opera, Peking Duck Dinner or Acrobatic Show

Finding Ad

2009-06-15T18:31:00.005-05:00

With the help of Brian at Research-China.org, we were able to get a copy of Emily's finding ad.

The orphanages in China are required to run a provincial newspaper advertisement for children that are found and brought to their orphanage. We call them "Finding Ads." These ads contain information about where and when the children were found and which orphanage is caring for them. Originally these were text-only ads, but most provinces now include photographs in their ads. These photographs are usually the earliest available pictures of the children, some from as young as a few weeks old.

It's heartbreaking to see so many other children also having finding ads posted the same time as our Emily. We had the ad translated and it states basically the same thing we got from our agency. One ironic thing, we were also given the date and name of the paper this was run and talk about fate...it was on Eric & my Dad's birthday!!!

Emily is......

2009-06-13T09:08:00.001-05:00

We love you baby girl! Mommy, Daddy & your big Brother will be there soon!!!

Tentative Travel Dates...yea!!!

2009-06-11T13:45:00.008-05:00

This has been such a hectic week! It's been a week of filling out forms and such! I dread all these forms!!! I don't remember it being as bad when we adopted Nathan from Korea. Each country has a different process of doing things. I think I'm finally all caught up on the paperwork. I also heard from our agency and they gave us a tentative travel schedule!!!!

3 July - Nathan's 9th Birthday!

4 July - Beijing Arrival

5 July - Holt orientation

6 July - Date to province: Emily Gottcha Day!!!

Nanning - Provincial city where you will stay

10 July - Guangzhou Arrival

15 July - U.S. consulate visa appointment

16 July - Visa issued

17 July - First recommended U.S. return date

We would really like to try and start our travel earlier and maybe visit Korea so Nathan can visit his homeland, but we'll have to wait and see how things work out. Wouldn't it be too cool if we could be in Korea on Nathan's birthday?

As you can see by the previous post, I've got Grandpa set up to blog for me if I need him while we are gone. I've been told that while in China there is no access to the blogs. He was given a crash course at blogging so I'm sure he'll do fine!

Now that we have dates the thoughts of packing and getting everything we need for our trip come to mind....yikes! That is pretty scary! Any "must-have" reccomendations for China???

Grandpa practicing posting

2009-06-10T20:03:00.001-05:00

Nathan Age 3

A Familiar Face

2009-06-09T20:19:00.002-05:00

You may remember this smiling face. He was gracious enough to let me take his picture when he dropped off Emily's picture.

Today the doorbell rang and I opened the door to find his smiling face there again! He had the biggest grin on his face and held out another FedEx package for me. I was surprised to see him. The first thing he said to me was, "What, your not taking my picture today?" What a sweet man that he would remember us and the precious delivery from last time!

I've been working all day on getting our Visa paperwork in order and bugging the USCIS for an updated I-171H. Our paperwork is all still valid, but the last time our I-600A was renewed they just sent me more of a general letter stating the new expiration date and not a new I-171H. I've been told they can't schedule our consulate appointment until we get the updated form......grrrrrrr.

TA.....wow that was fast!

2009-06-08T19:22:00.005-05:00

We got a call this evening from our adoption agency that they received our TA: Travel Approval (sent by the CCAA indicating an invitation to come to China to adopt the referred child). It only took 19 days for TA!! I'm not sure what the average wait is running, but that seems awful fast. I'm not complaining though. It's one step closer to Emily & another item we can check off our list as we wait!!

Our next big hurdle will be CA: Consulate Appointment (the date a family is scheduled to be at the U.S.: Consulate in Guangzhou to receive the child's U.S. Visa).

I'm hoping we will be able to travel sooner than our agency originally estimated. At the time of referral they said late July or early August. When I spoke to the agency tonight after news of the TA they were saying maybe early July!!

This summer is moving awfully fast after 3 long years of waiting!

What to do while we wait....

2009-06-05T10:00:00.004-05:00

I need to keep busy while we await our TA. At the time of referral our agency said it would be 8-10 weeks before travel, but I'm anxious to have actual travel dates. So what better way to pass time....CLEANING!! Nathan's bedroom always seems to be in dire need of a good cleaning. It never ceases to amaze me what trash & treasures can be found under an 8 year old boy's bed. Below is some of my findings along with the crumpled paper and other trash.

1 small backpack
5 hockey cards
1 lanyard
1 CD
2 broken DVD
1 pillowcase
2 micro matchbox cars
1 matchbox van
3 smashed pennies
1 band-aide
4 books
1 baggie of goldfish crackers
1 stapler
1 box staples
1 Korean flag
1 manicure set
1 kitchen timer
1 clock
4 hangers
1 travel pillow
1 electronic math game
1 game cartridge
1 build-a-bear soccer shin guard

Another thing I plan on doing is watch some bloggy pals as they travel to China! I'm so happy for Luna & Pug Mama that they are finally getting close to hold those sweet babies! Safe travels my friends!

Have car seat, can travel...

2009-06-02T21:34:00.003-05:00

I got the last of my necessity items today and decided on the Britax Marathon. Eric still wasn't too thrilled because of the price, but I'm happy with the choice. I went out and played with it in my car to make sure I remembered how to use these things. I really like the LATCH connectors, they make the seat stay so snug. We didn't have that with Nathan. Things change so much!

I also hung up the baby gate and Nathan helped me put in the electric outlet covers. Just these little things are getting me so excited. I still can't believe its finally happening!

Now all I need is my travel call so I can go and pick up my baby!

Gifts

2009-06-01T20:54:00.010-05:00

Miss Emily got her first gift since we got our referral. Our dear friends, the "S" family got Miss Emily the cutest outfits! She also got a white floppy hat so she can be adorable out in the sun along with her first makeup kit! Nail polish, lip gloss & lip stick! She's gonna be one styling little girl! Thank you "S" family!

I also wanted to let you know we are so sad to see y'all moving away! You will be missed! I know Nathan is gonna miss the boys terribly! Can't wait to introduce you to Miss Eme!

Stupid people PISS ME OFF!

2009-05-31T21:19:00.013-05:00

We decided to round out our family fun weekend by going to the local festival.

It was a very hot day, the high was 94 degrees. As we are are walking back to our car I hear the car next to ours running, but I didn't notice anyone in the car. After taking a closer look there is a baby in the backseat all buckled up! I was so pissed! I don't care that the car is left running, the baby was still all by himself. He had to have been about 1 1/2 or 2 yrs old and sound asleep (or so I hope). What if the car ran out of gas? Someone took off with the car? Someone rammed the car?

We were parked in a grocery store parking lot so I went into the store to get help. The people looked at me like I was crazy, needless to say I never got any help from them. I just called 9-1-1 to see if I could get the cops out there to check on the baby. Time seemed to drag and still no cops, but one of those high school age "cops in training" I think they are called "explorers" starts walking over. I tell him the situation and show him the baby in the car. Just then the jerk that left his baby alone comes out of the store and gets in his car. I tell the explorer dude to make sure he stays there because I've already called the cops and they are on the way. The jerk says he left the baby in the car because he didn't want to wake him up while he went into the grocery store. Explorer dude tries to keep him there, but the jerk ends up driving away. The cops finally show up and I again explain the situation. When I first called 9-1-1 I gave them the jerk's make/model of car along with the license plate so the officer said they would try and locate him that way. I hope that little boy was okay, I never did see him move.

Thinking back I wish I would have done so many things differently like calling the police first, busting his window open, blocking the path so he couldn't drive away, following him home. Too bad we can't go back in time.

People like that make me so angry. Nathan was even upset about the situation and hopefully learned a lesson he will never forget. It is people like that jerk that does not deserve to have a child!!!!

Busy Weekend

2009-05-29T21:57:00.017-05:00

We had a busy weekend. Nathan had 3 football games. They ended up with 1 tie and 2 wins! Way to go Vikings!

Even with the football games, I found some time for shopping....

Thanks for all the advice and comments about what I would need to buy for Emily. My top concerns were high chair vs. booster, stroller and car seat. I finally made some decisions on some items.

I decided not to get a high chair and just go with a booster seat. I figured we'd get more use out of it and it was cheaper to say the least. It's The Fisher-Price® Healthy Care™ Deluxe Booster Seat. It has a feeding tray you can sanitize right in the dishwasher just like with some of the newer high chairs.
No need for a big monster stroller at this age. We'd use it for trips to the mall, park and traveling so lightweight was more what I was interested in. The Volo is lightweight at 8.4 pounds and has a handy carry strap. Maclaren is also noted as having the "5-Second Fold". I'm not there yet, but give me some practice time and I'll have it down to 4 seconds!

I also got a baby gate for our stairs, sippy cups, divided plates, toddler spoons, knives, forks, outlet covers, a couple outfits, pj's, socks, tights and about a gazillion headbands! Okay, maybe only about 20 headbands, but I found a great bargain at Children's Place and got them for $0.18 each!!!

I think I've decided which car seat I want, but I still need to convince Eric that is the way to go. We'll see what happens, but that is definitely a necessity!

My kiddos!

2009-05-28T07:50:00.005-05:00

Nathan was so excited to see the pictures of Emily. He brought some of the neighborhood kids over to the house so he could show off her picture. He is also taking a couple of her pictures to school today for show-n-tell. He wouldn't even put the pictures in his backpack, he had to carry them in his hands. Already a proud big brother!

Here she is.........Emily Jian Dan

2009-05-27T15:02:00.004-05:00

Look who showed up

2009-05-26T20:29:00.002-05:00

Stalking the FedEx Man

2009-05-26T12:04:00.002-05:00

Today is the day we get our hard copy, color pictures of Emily. Eric thinks I'm crazy as I sit by the front window waiting to see the truck coming down our street. I can't wait to see her little face and fall in love again.

Stay Tuned....

Time for some SHOPPING!

2009-05-24T21:00:00.006-05:00

This weekend we made our first family shopping trip to pick up some items for Emily! Our main purpose was to pick up get stuff for her care package that we are going to be sending to her. Of course we ended up with some clothes and toys too! Over the past 3 years I have picked up some items, mostly clothes, but this is the first time Eric has bought anything for her. He has been very reserved during this waiting process. I guess one of us had to be the sensible one!

By the time we travel to China to pick up Emily she will be about 21 months. What types of items do I still need for my pre-toddler?? Highchair? Stroller? What size clothes are y'all thinking too? I was thinking 18-24 months for the clothes. I've also heard people say that dresses are a better choice because they are more forgiving if its a little big or small. After shopping today I forgot how expensive it all was. Eric didn't like the $300 car seat I put on my wish list.

It just seems like ages since I was around a child that young. I have a hard time remembering what Nathan was like at that age.

I can't wait until Tuesday gets here, we'll be getting the hard copy, color pictures of our sweet Emily. We were emailed a couple scanned pics. The one picture that looks to be a clear picture was cut off and we could only see about a 1/4 of her body. Darn holiday weekend!

More about Emily....

2009-05-23T09:47:00.002-05:00

We finally got the translated report about Emily, but won't get any of the hard copies or color pictures until Tuesday. I've waited over 3 years for my daughter...what's a few more days!

Name: Gong Jian Dan

DOB: 2007-10-13

Birth place: Pingnan County, Guangxi province

Number of teeth: 8

Get up: 6:30-7:00

Nap: 12:00-14:00

Go to bed: 22:00

"12 months, she was able to walk freely, she liked outdoor activities and observing the environment around her. "

When she turned 13 months, she was placed with a foster family.

"She likes watching TV, listening music. She could dancing following music. Every body likes her and thinks she is a lovely girl."

There is no mention of what her name means, but in searching the web it looks like everyone from from Pingnan, Guangxi Province has the surname Gong and that Jian Dan means "Simple".

Love at first sight

2009-05-22T08:11:00.003-05:00

That's my girl!!!

THE CALL

2009-05-21T16:46:00.005-05:00

Today at 3:40 pm, CST we got the call.......

We are proud to announce the news of our daughter

Gong Jian Dan

Born October 13, 2007 (19 months)

Social Welfare Institute of Pingnan

Currently in foster care in Guangxi

Stats as of January 12, 2009

weight 8.2 kg (18 pounds)

length 71.5 cm (28.1 inches)

head & chest 44 cm (17.3 inches)

I've been told that in her picture she is walking!!!

should be getting pics in a few hours.....congrats to all the other families!!!

Letting down my guard...

2009-05-21T10:24:00.002-05:00

I finally feel like I can let down my guard. Per RQ, Two agencies are reporting that the CCAA site has changed to show referrals through March 14th. This means we ARE in! We'll be finding out soon about our lil' Emily that we have been dreaming of for 3 years, 2 months and 1 week!!!

Stay Tuned....

Could it be?? The Stork is Flying???

2009-05-20T11:26:00.003-05:00

That is the latest rumor......and the cut off is supposed to be March 14th. THAT'S US! The last few weeks have been so emotional with all the rumor talk of no referrals until September due to the swine flu. I'm still a little guarded, but there is talk that tomorrow could be the day!

Nathan's Artwork

2009-04-28T16:01:00.009-05:00

As you can tell, Nathan is very anxious to have his little sister. He was outside playing yesterday with the neighbor girls. They are a lot younger than him and when I asked why he was playing with them, his response was "I'm practicing on being a big brother." That about made my heart melt.

I don't think I've followed RQ as closely as I have this past month. The possibility of the 14th (that's our day) being included in the upcoming referrals have made it to an R2 rumor rating! I so hope it happens for us as well as all the other families, but I'm also safeguarding my heart.....again.

Can I count Nathan's pictures as a ladybug sighting?

Easter over the years

2009-04-13T11:14:00.005-05:00

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T17:19:00.007-05:00

LID

2009-03-14T11:03:00.003-05:00

I wish I wasn't posting this.......but today marks our 3 YEAR LID anniversary!

....enough said

Weekend Ramblings

2009-03-01T21:34:00.011-06:00

We had a fun filled family weekend! Saturday marked the start of soccer season for Nathan. It was sure cold! My cheeks are all wind burned and I feel like I'm catching a cold. Those poor kiddos were all bundled up with sweat pants, long shirts, hats and then had to put their soccer uniform on top of all the layers. Nathan's team came in first place last season so they moved up a division this year. That along with getting a lot of new players and loosing some of the older seasoned players turned into them getting their butts kicked at game time! This season should be interesting, the kids aren't used to loosing, but I'm afraid this will be a common outcome.

We have turned into a hockey family. Eric & Nathan have always been on board with the hockey bandwagon and I've finally joined them. I've got my own Stars jersey to prove it!! Just haven't gotten it personalized because I can't make up my mind what player's name & number I want on it. I'm leaning towards James Neal #18. I've also thought about just be-dazzling it to add some bling, but Eric says I can't deface my jersey! When it comes to the Dallas Stars, united we stand, except for today....the PENS came to town. Nathan is a big "Sid the Kid" fan, so he decided to wear his PENS jersey. Sid didn't make the trip, but they didn't need him, they handed the Stars the 5th straight loss. Fun was had by all, just a little more by Nathan since he got to rub it in! Feel free to rub it in also Ron! :)

Since the LID rumors of March 6th seem to be moving up the rumor ranking we decided to take those days off our paper chain. We're coming Emily........eventually!!!

Catching Up

2009-02-26T11:04:00.004-06:00

Seeing that I haven't posted since the beginning of the year, I should let folks know I'm still alive and well. We've recently had to renew our home study & get fingerprinted for a third time. Our 3 year LID anniversary is right around the corner. Who would have ever thought it would get to be this long.

It seems that these hard economic times are effecting everyone I know. I also became a victim of the recession and was laid off a couple weeks ago. I've been enjoying my time at home and trying to re-learn those domestic duties. I volunteer at Nathan's school at least once a week so I don't go insane. I was able to take part in the class Valentine party...had a blast filling those kids up with all the sugary sweets!

Since there has been the lack of the adoption rumors.....I decided to finally go into Emily's room. Its been probably over 2 1/2 years since I really spent any time there. It has become the junk room where everything was tossed. Some may call it nesting, but I decided it was time to face my fears and make it livable again! As I was cleaning up Emily's room I found some travel sizes of baby shampoo, lotion, oil etc.......it had an expiration date of 2007! I didn't know that stuff even expired!

I didn't realize how much stuff I had actually acquired for Emily packed away in drawers and closets. Nathan also helped me put up some finishing touches on the walls. We had some Little Suzy Zoo items that had once graced the walls of Nathan's nursery that he wanted to pass on to Emily.

Happy 2009!

2009-01-01T20:42:00.007-06:00

Happy New Year to All!!

We survived another holiday season without Emily. Do I dare say that will be the LAST? I found it hard to be in the holiday mood this year and barely got a tree up & some cards out. For Nathan's sake we did make the most out of it.

With the latest batch of referrals, I have a hint of hope in my heart! It's awesome to see all these folks that I've been following their blogs for the past three years finally bringing home babies or at least getting to see a picture of their angel! I hope 2009 brings health & happiness to your family & mine!

Holiday Season 2008

2008-12-19T18:02:00.007-06:00

The holiday season is upon us. When I think purely in the aspect of time....days, weeks, months.... it seems to be flying by. When I associate it to the adoption wait....that is a different story! lol

Nathan had his holiday party at school today. He was so proud of his gingerbread house. I think this is the first he's ever made. He called me at work to tell me all about it. I asked him not to eat it so I could at least see what it looks like and take some pics. He requested that I post the pictures on the blog & Facebook...so here it is! He wanted me to point out that the single red M&M is the door knob and the chocolate squares are the windows. He was anxious for me to take the pictures of it so he could start eating it!

I remember after Eric & I first got married, I would easily send out a hundred Christmas cards. As the years have passed, it became more of a chore. I haven't even sent out cards the last couple of years, but this year I decided to give it another go. Now that Nathan can write and its somewhat legible....what a perfect way to spend some Mother/Son time together making holiday memories! Ok, it was really Nathan helping mom out....he wrote on the inside of every card and signed our names! He actually seemed to enjoy it to my surprise.

Just in case I don't post again before the holiday......we'd like to wish our friends a family a Happy & Safe Holiday Season! Merry Christmas! May this be the last Christmas without our China Angels!

Breaking News

2008-11-07T23:29:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

This is a pretty cute site....simple & free! I can't ask for much more!

2008-11-05T18:57:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Happy Grandparents Day

2008-09-05T10:21:00.005-05:00

I know its not till Sunday and we are a little early, but Happy Grandparents Day! At Nathan's school this morning they had a special Grandparents breakfast. We got to eat & play games together. What a better way to start a morning off right!

Back to School!

2008-08-25T21:17:00.003-05:00

To say the least, Nathan was not thrilled that summer vacation was over. He is not a morning person at all, he takes after Eric & I. I had a hard enough time trying to wake him up to get dressed, but as you can see he got in a little more sleep time at the breakfast table.

Our school district did some boundary changes and Nathan is attending a new school. That in itself was something that none of us were thrilled with, but the school board always seems to win. Even the bus stop was in a different place.

Nathan is now in the 3rd grade. They are even changing classrooms thru the day. I remember it being about middle school when I started changing classrooms. After school I asked Nathan how his day was and all I hear is I hate this, I hate that.....I hate everything about my new school. I tried telling him its just the change that he's not used to and asked him to name 3 specific items he disliked. Well to start with they got homework the first day, his lunch hour is later than it was and they don't serve breakfast at school.

I sure hope it doesn't take him long to adapt to the new school and new routines or else we're gonna have one cranky household!

As Eric stops smoking...I take it up...kinda

2008-08-23T18:09:00.004-05:00

Last year for Father's Day I got Eric a smoker. I think its a guy thing, that's what he wanted so I got it for him. It has been sitting in our garage ever since then and not used once. The other day at work the guys were talking about their big weekend plans to use their smokers. Hearing them talk, it sounded easy so I told Eric we were gonna try his out finally!

I'm not much of a cook, but listening to the guys talk about how easy it was, it reminded me of cooking in the slow cooker just on a larger scale and outdoors. That's exactly what it was. Slow and low is what they told me and that's exactly how it worked. We first started with baby back ribs. That was pretty easy so the next night I made brisket and finished off my smoker weekend with chicken wings. Everything tasted good, but I liked the ribs best. I'm very proud of my first attempt and see it getting more use as time goes by.

Tax Free Weekend

2008-08-15T08:31:00.002-05:00

If your not from Texas, your probably not familiar with this busy shopping weekend. Every year before school starts I look forward to the Tax Free Weekend. Since this is geared towards back to school, you'd think they would include school supplies like pens, paper, notebooks, etc....but no such luck. You do get a break on diapers...go figure!

Clothing Sales Tax Holiday
August 15-17, 2008

Texas shoppers get a break from state and local sales taxes on August 15, 16 and 17 - the state’s annual tax holiday. Lay-away plans can be used again this year to take advantage of the sales tax holiday.

During the tax-free weekend, clothing and shoes priced less than $100 are exempt from sales tax. Backpacks with price tags less than $100 have also been added to the list.

Catching Up

2008-08-10T14:59:00.014-05:00

I guess it's time again for a little catching up. It seems like that's all I am ever doing these days....at work, at home, with friends. I guess I just need to get more organized so I can keep up with the pace.

Last weekend we were invited by our adoption agency to attend a Korean Adoptee gathering in Houston, TX. Since that is only a few hours from home and figured it would be a good experience for Nathan we decided to go. I'm really glad we went as we all enjoyed it. Since going, Nathan seems to have more pride about his Korean heritage. He's really gotten into watching the Olympics this year and cheering on South Korea.

The adoption gathering was at a local Houston Korean church. We were warmly welcomed as soon as we walked in the door. When we registered Nathan was handed a very large gift bag filled with toys, key chains, bubbles, socks and other miscellaneous items. Gifts galore seemed to be a common theme of the evening. They did have activities for the kids where they could make the South Korean flag & decorative masks. Nathan watched as his name was written for him in Korean. There were several different types of Korean dances demonstrations along with a Taekwondo demonstration. The kids were loosing interest because of the guest speakers, but as soon as the Taekwondo demonstration started, they were all sitting on the edges of their seats. Nathan met another boy, just a few months age difference, and they were like two peas in a pod. I'm not really sure if that is good or bad, but they both had the same very strong personality. You would of thought they were brothers. The night ended with lots of yummy Korean food like:

Bulgogi
불고기 (bulgogi)
Thin slices of beef marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, green onions, garlic, black pepper, sesame seeds, and sesame oil and grilled at the table. Bulgogi is one of Korea’s most popular beef dishes.

Buchu-jeon
부추전 (buchu-jeon)
Pancakes mixed with chives and sliced green chili peppers.

Mandu
만두 (mandu)
Dumplings consisting of thin, flat pieces of dough filled with vegetables, meat, and spices. These dumplings are either cooked in boiling water, steamed, or fried in oil.

Buchu-kimchi
부추김치 (buchu-kimchi)
Kimchi consisting of chives, mixed with red pepper paste and garlic.

Since we were in Houston we decided to make a weekend out of it and took in some of the local sights also like the Aquarium. It's a pretty cool story, they took 2 local landmarks (a fire station & waterworks building) and redeveloped it into an entertainment/dining area. As your eating it almost feels like your underwater because of all the surrounding aquariums.

This summer we haven't gone far from home for any vacations. Just a few weekend trips. We did celebrate Nathan's 8th birthday in July. My baby is growing up too fast. We decided to take Nate to the Great Wolf Lodge for his birthday and let him invite 3 of his friends to join along. It's an indoor water park. They kids spent so much time in the water I think they were sick of it by the end of the stay.

We normally get a break from soccer over the summer, but this year Nathan has expressed an interest and keeping busy with Soccer Academy, British Soccer Camp, MLS Soccer Camp and now its time for the regular soccer team to start practicing. Thank you Eric for those countless hours with Nathan in the heat! Way to go Dad!

Eric & I have been struggeling with our weight watchers journey. The last couple month have been a constant battle. We keep falling off the ship. I'm trying to get myself motivated and do good for a week and then I'm back to my bad habits. It's been a rollercoaster. Any modivational sugguestions to keep us on track?

Lastly, as you've noticed I'm not posting on much these days...but If there are any Facebook folks out there....that's where you can find me! Look up me and say hi!

Happy Birthday!!!

2008-07-04T11:11:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Nathan!

Mommy & Daddy love you very much!

27 Months

2008-06-14T14:56:00.004-05:00

months since LID

Another Milestone

2008-05-09T19:09:00.010-05:00

Eric & I have hit another milestone on our weight loss journey. I am happy to report that we have both lost just over 50 pounds!!! When I look in the mirror I still don't see the difference, but I've gone down 3 sizes in clothing! It's been so fun to go shopping and to be able to fit into things!

I've even decided to step out of the box and get a new haircut & color. What do you think of it?

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

2 Years

2008-03-14T07:58:00.006-05:00

Today marks out 2 year LID anniversary! I was hoping we'd never hit this anniversary and still be awaiting Emily, but thus is life and we just need to make the most out of it!

I started my vacation today and were not doing anything special. Nathan starts his spring break Monday so we'll just have a week of Mothers & Son bonding! Maybe a couple day trips even. Nathan told me last night he wants me to go buy a pair of roller skates so we can go skating. Then later I heard him telling Eric that he wanted me to get skates so he could watch me fall on my butt! Kids, gotta love 'em.

Another good thing about today is that it's also the 1 year anniversary of having Koda as part of our family. This coming from someone who never wanted a dog. Us girls have to stick together, so she of course likes me best.

To sum up the week, Eric & I also hit our first 10% Weight Watchers goals. Based on our starting weights, that is a nice little milestone and took a lot of work. WW gives your these comparisons of everyday items that are equivalent to weight loss and lets just say that me hitting my 10% goal was like carrying around 32 medium cantaloupes!!! I've still got a long road ahead of me, but if this adoption has only taught me one thing, it's to take life one day at a time and never lose the faith!

Before & After

2008-03-03T20:22:00.014-06:00

As some of you may know, my family started its road to a healthier life this January. Eric & I are only a few months into it and going strong. We've both lost over 30 pounds so far. My Dad on the other hand has been working at it for just over a year! Today marks a very important milestone for Dad. He hasn't hit his goal weight, it's right around the corner, but he just passed the big 100 pound mark!!!!! One hundred pounds of weight loss! Isn't that just awesome! Think of how many years he added to life. He asked me in the beginning to start it with him and all I could say was "No". Look at him now! I'm so proud of my Dad. Seeing his strength and dedication gives me the encouragement and will power I need to keep on working at it!

Check out the hot dude yourself...before & after!! Way to go Dad! I love you!!!

Look at those smiles!

Catching Up

2008-02-09T18:08:00.000-06:00

Okay, its February and I've just removed the Christmas music from my blog. Don't worry, I wasn't quit as tardy with my Christmas tree...not by much though. :)

Work has been hectic. I've been feeling more confident about my position, but still have lots to learn. We've been short handed at work because everyone is going out on medical leave. It seems like as soon as someone is heathly and back to work, another one leaves. Eric has also started a new position, but we hope its only temporary. He is working one of those screwy schedules so we don't see as much of each other. While Nathan & I are enjoying our weekend, Dad is off at work. I know Nathan misses having Eric around on the weekend.

Eric & I stared 2008 like the rest of the world making our New Year Resolutions. Our family resolution is to loose weight. We were the family that was always going out to eat. I'm happy to report we are still chugging along. We've joined Weight Watchers and watching what we are eating, exercising and going to our weekly meetings. After our last weigh-in I'm still beating Eric overall. He's lost 20 pounds since January and I'm down 23 pounds! It's been a real challange. I'm still waiting to feel all this extra energy that comes with weight loss. They say that doing something for 28 days straght will cause it to be a habit. We are past the 28 days so I hope we can continue on this health track. I went to the doctor about a week ago for a meds check up and the doctor noticed the weight loss. They even said my blood pressure is down and maybe next time It's time for a refill I may be able to get off some of my meds! Thats exciting since I hate to take medicine. A year ago my Dad started his weight loss journey and he's down 90 pounds so its encouraging to see it working and know that we are on the same track. I could just kick myself in the butt for not starting when Dad origionally did. I know I wasn't mentally ready to though at that time, so I probably wouldn't have been sucessful.

Nathan has been another real challenge. It seems like we've been butting heads about everything. Everyone keeps telling me its the age that he's at, but I don't think so. We haven't had any problems with him at school, but it just seems to be when he's with me. When he's done something wrong, I've tried various ways of deciplline and nothing seems to work. It's like he gets a thrill out of pushing Mom's buttons. Maybe when Eric gets back to a normal schedule things will impove.

Sorry it's taken so long to post and I'll try not to wait so long next time!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T16:46:00.000-06:00

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

Happy Birthday!!!

2007-11-30T06:51:00.000-06:00

Hope you enjoy your "guys trip" for your birthday to Pittsburgh to see the Stars VS Penguins! Don't have too much fun without us! We love you!

14 Years Ago

2007-11-27T09:28:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to wish my best friend a Happy Anniversary! We've had 14 great years together! No matter how hard times got, we always had each other to lean on. I may not tell you often enough, but I love you and feel very fortunate to have you in my life.

All My Love,

xoxo

Holiday Greetings

2007-11-25T09:24:00.000-06:00

Someone sent this to me and it was so cute that I just had to make one myself. Enjoy!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9600310537

This elfin' greeting brought to you by OfficeMax®.

Six Flags Adventure

2007-11-12T13:01:00.000-06:00

I'm sure everyone remembers these old fashioned cars. There is only one pedal. You push down to go and let off the pedal to stop. Between the 2 boys (Nathan & friend) in the front seat we kept starting and stopping and they seemed to be struggling and we had bumper to bumper traffic because we kept stopping. I finally decided to help them and when we were stopped I told them to wait and I'd get up front. I'm halfway out of the car and the stepped down on the pedal and got the car moving again and I went tumbling out of the car and onto the pavement!!!! They even kept on going and left me there. I've got road rash on one leg and a bruised up thigh. Luckily the car behind me was another friend and they picked me up. We finally caught up with the boys because they kept starting and stopping again. The adult that was in the car with me decided to go help they boys. Come to find out the pedal had broke off!!! The boys were waiting for me at the station when the ride was over and with a straight face asked me, "Why did you get out of the car." They had no clue what happened or how it happened. Nathan's last comment to me about the situation was, "the ride operator told everyone not to stand up on the ride."

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T21:58:00.001-05:00

New Look

2007-09-18T09:47:00.001-05:00

As you may have noticed...we have a new look going on here. It wasn't by choice really. Just one day I noticed the blog wasn't formatted correctly and I lost all my background color. I've been playing with it trying to get a look I like.

In the process I've lost all my links again as well my timeline info. I forgot to again save my template before messing with it. I can guarantee ya that I do now! :) Slowly, but surely we'll get everything back in place.

I've had the extra time to mess with the blog this week because I decided to take the week off before starting my new position. So far its been a week of playing catch up for everything I've been putting off.

This past weekend Eric & I finished our 10 hour adoption training class. When we adopted Nathan it was seven years ago so it was a nice refresher as well as bringing up topics we didn't go through with Nathan. The class was sponsored by the group that is doing our home study so we all were adopting from different countries like Korea, Vietnam & India. Only one other couple was adopting from China and everyone else was very shocked about the length of the wait.

Another One Bites The Dust

2007-09-12T20:10:00.000-05:00

Okay Eric.....this is for you! You've been dying to see me post this picture. See, I can be a good sport! :)

As you may have noticed by the picture, I celebrated another birthday this past week. I wish I could say the day was full of all sorts of fun, but I had to to get my first colonoscopy! They even gave me a picture of the inside of my colon, but to Eric's dismay I refuse to post that picture!

I am happy to announce that I was just offered a new job today! I'm so excited, it feel like I've been searching forever! I'm still with the same company, but I will be back to having all my benefits again!

I went to "Meet the Teacher" last week. We were informed that our children will be learning to blog and getting their own email addresses!!!! I can't believe it, Nate is only in 2nd grade! It's not as bad as it sounds though. It will be through the school and only with his immediate classmates and the teacher will be approving everything. Times have really changed!

Koda is getting so big! She's definitely not the little "pocket puppy" they told me she would be. I guess I should have done my homework to realize that wasn't true anyways. She's a 'Momma's Girl" though following me everywhere I go. She's not a lap dog either, she has to sit right on my chest and loves to give kisses.

Back to School!

2007-08-27T17:37:00.001-05:00

Where has the summer gone??? This is the first year that the state of Texas decided to have all the schools start at the same time. For our family this will work out nice because Grandma works for a different school system than where Nathan goes and now they'll have breaks at the same time.

Nathan headed back to school today. My son is now a second grader!!! Boy does that make me feel old! I decided to take the day off so I could make him a special breakfast, take him to school and be waiting for him at the bus stop of his first day!

I know I've been awful about updating the blog these days. This adoption wait is just to much for me. I've had to change my way of thinking to try and get through it without losing my sanity. I had to adopt the old adage, "Out of sight. Out of mind." When Eric saw me break the camera out this morning he made a comment that maybe the blog would finally get an update. We did have a visit with our social worker last week to get our home study updated. We also got scheduled for our "International Adoption Training" class which is in a couple weeks. I don't remember ever having to do anything like this before with Nathan. It's a 2 day class that they said were required to go through, but didn't provide any background as far as what to expect. Anyone else having to do this?

My job situation hasn't gotten any better. I've been holding off on doing anything this summer in hopes of getting settled with a new position. I even had to miss my 20th high school class reunion, the blogger bash of the year and even vacation time with my family. I still technically have a job, just no benefits. They decided to let me stay on where I am for now, but as a contract position. I have applied with countless positions within the company, but it still no job leads.

Eric & Nathan did have a little weekend getaway.
They went down to Houston to see a preseason football game to see the Bears vs Texans. Nathan is turning into such a big sports junkie like his dad. They've got me outnumbered, I guess I'll just have to give into this 'sports' thing. I can't wait till Emily gets here so we can even the score! Girls Rule! :)

A Day of Birthday Fun!!

2007-07-07T09:59:00.001-05:00

Looking Back

2007-07-03T09:09:00.001-05:00

Birthday Boy!

2007-07-03T08:51:00.001-05:00

My little guy is growing up so fast! Today we celebrate Nathan's 7th birthday! Previous birthdays we've always had a big bash with lots of kids over to celebrate. This year we are going to have 2 boys over to spend the day with us and have a sleep over. I took a vacation day so we could spend the entire day together. I asked Nathan where he wants to go for lunch and his response was hibachi. I was expecting Chuck E Cheese or something along those lines. A few days ago I was asking Nathan what he wanted for his birthday. He put on this very sincere look and say, "Maybe you could just get me a card. That would be fine or if you want you could put a check in the card for maybe twenty bucks or even just five." I'm thinking to myself, is this really my son????

Happy 7th Birthday Nathan!!!

Mom & Dad love you very much!

Black Cloud

2007-06-26T07:19:00.000-05:00

For the last week or so, I've felt like this big black cloud is hovering over me and following me with everything I do.

About three months ago we applied for Nathan's passport. It seems like you need one anywhere you go these days. Plus we'd have it if we decided to take him to China with us. A few days ago I get a letter from them requesting more information and they have given me about 30 days to reply or I loose all my application fees! If anyone is applying for a passport for the first time, I hope your in no hurry!!! I hope my renewal process doesn't take as long!!!

A couple days later we get this nice thick envelope from the IRS. Just looking at the package I knew it wasn't good. Yep... you guessed it, we've been audited for 2005 and now owe the IRS a nice chunk of money!!! Wait, it gets better.....and its due the middle of next month!!!! We would never purposely leave something off our taxes and we take all our info to our tax preparer.

Over the weekend we finally got around to cleaning the hot tub so we could open it up. I had been rinsing it off just before getting inside to start scrubbing. As I was stepping in I slipped and fell hitting my arm on one of the edges. I thought for sure I broke my arm, but luckily not. I've just got this big ole bruise on my arm!

Another weekend project Nathan was helping me with the garbage disposal. Something was jammed in the disposal and I was on the floor under the sink trying to clear it. Nathan had climbed up on the kitchen counter so he could easily flip the switch to turn the disposal off and on for me when needed. When we finished I was still on the floor and Nathan jumped off the counter and landed right on my ankle! He felt really bad....but boy did that smart.

Lastly, I decided to hang up some decorations on our front porch. I got out the ladder and to put up the decorations and when I was finished I headed down. Thinking I had reached the bottom of the ladder I took my final step and sadly found out I was a couple steps away and fell to the ground!

All these occurrences have happened in the past week. The last three items were ALL on Saturday!!! I have to admit, I'm a superstitious person and always have been and if this is not a sign for something...I don't know what to think!!! You've now been warned....don't stand to close to me!