Lila's Coming Home (She's HOME now!!)

2011-12-17T10:21:00.001-06:00

Happy Adoption Day to us!

2011-08-22T09:02:00.000-05:00

August 4 was the 2 year anniversary of our Adoption Day! We had dinner at a very authentic and incredibly delicious Chinese restaurant, thank you Gold Mountain! It was so good that we don't even want to go back to the 2 places that are only a couple miles from home.

We started a tradition last year of taking a family photo for Adoption Day. Here is this year's pic.

It doesn't seem possible that it was only 2 years ago that we were in China meeting our baby girl and learning about the place and culture of her heritage.

Easter

2011-04-28T09:59:00.000-05:00

Me & my girls Easter Morning

Easter Baskets!

Easter was a traditional day with church & family. We were up early, I got the ham in the oven (I LOVE my new oven with the delay timer, it's such a luxury to stick your food in there, program it to start, and come home to the aroma of a roasting ham) then got the girls up and got them dressed. After a quick breakfast the girls opened their Easter baskets. We left for Sunday School and a special fun Easter activity. We made pinatas and then had an Easter pinata to break. The message I taught them is that there is a surprise inside the pinata but the best surprise ever was when the women went to the tomb but it was empty! Our surprise is that JESUS LIVES!! After church we came home & the girls had time to find the eggs the Easter Bunny had left all over the house before Gerry's famly got here for Easter dinner. We had a wonderful afternoon with Grandpa & Grandma, Uncle Duane, Aunt Eileen, and Megan.

I thought it was Wednesday all day...

2011-04-14T14:10:00.000-05:00

I was planning to start doing Wordless Wednesday and missed it, it's one of those weeks again!

A rainy day to wear her new monkey rain poncho and pose by my new tulips!

Snuggling with HER new cat, Donut!

American Diabetes Association Type 2 Diabetes Risk Test

2011-03-29T10:52:00.001-06:00

If I can get at least 1 person to take the risk test this post will be worth it. If I can get my friends to share it too, even more worth it!

American Diabetes Association Type 2 Diabetes Risk Test

Spring Break

2011-03-25T11:16:00.000-06:00

We had a longer than usual Spring Break this year. With a whole week and an extra day off we had lots of time for lots of fun.

It started off with Grace's Spring music program at the end of the day Thursday. The little guy in the picture in the suit is our neighbor, he informed us that he was looking very "dapper" in his suit that day! Dallas is always good for a laugh!

Grace had a zoo class on Sunday. Lila and I wandered around a cold & breezy zoo while Gracie learned about beavers. I didn't take any zoo pictures, we're there so often that I am at the point that I don't take the camera. I did take a picture of the project Grace made. I was really impressed by her beaver drawing and lodge building.

Monday was an extra-fun mini vacation day for the famly at Coco Key waterpark!

Our little Queen-of-the-Beach!

And the Splash Princess!

Gerry even had time to get busy on the shower and made a lot of progress. The plumbing, electrical, and duct work are done. We made a trip to Menard's to pick out the vanity, tile, and flooring! We can see enough progress that we are all getting very excited to have this big project DONE!!

Helping Daddy hammer those screws in...

Building an airplane from construction scraps. I laughed when she was doing this because of the memories it brought back. I was in first grade, just like Grace, when my parents started the major remodel of our family farm house. I used to take scraps of wood and nails and nail them together into many creations. I guess she gets it from me. ;-)

Too good to not share

2011-03-17T18:54:00.004-06:00

I joined Weight Watchers in February. Their website has lots of wonderful new recipes that I am trying but this one I had to share! Cordon Bleu is one of Gerry & my favorites this version is much lower calorie than the frozen ones at the grocery store.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

1 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4-oz pieces

1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, divided

1/4 tsp table salt

1 oz Casa Italia Prosciutto, or other brand, very thinly sliced

2 oz low-fat Swiss cheese, or Jarlsberg, thinly sliced

1/3 cup(s) dried bread crumbs, plain-variety

1/3 cup(s) parsley, fresh, minced

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

2 large egg white(s)

2 spray(s) cooking spray

1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 Tbsp olive oil

Place chicken between two sheets of wax paper; using a rolling pin, pound chicken to 1/4-inch thickness.

Rub chicken with 1/4 teaspoon each pepper and salt. Evenly divide prosciutto and cheese over chicken; fold chicken in half to cover prosciutto and cheese and press down to hold shape.

In a shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs, parsley and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place flour on a plate. In another shallow bowl, whip egg whites until soft peaks form.

To coat chicken, dredge each piece of chicken in flour; turn to coat. Then dip each chicken breast in egg whites; turn to coat. Next, dredge chicken in bread crumb-mixture and press down to make sure all sides are covered. Repeat until all four chicken breasts are coated.

Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat; add butter and oil. When they begin to shimmer (about 1 or 2 minutes), place chicken in a single layer in skillet; cook, flipping once, until nicely browned and chicken is completely cooked through, about 6 to 8 minutes. Serve immediately. Yields 1 chicken breast per serving.

I left out the butter, cooking spray, and flour because they seemed unncessary also the parsley because it had been in the frig too long and was in really sorry shape. I covered the skillet for the last 5 minutes of cooking to hold in the heat and cook the chicken completely through. We really enjoyed this meal and hope you will too!

I"m making their peanut butter dip next week when I host Bunko so will share that if it's a success.

Truly surprising day to do nothing!

2011-03-02T16:36:00.000-06:00

For the first time in what seems like months there was nowhere to GO on the to-do list. After picking Lila up from school we had the luxury of going to the library to play and leisurely browse through books for me, books for her, books for Grace (ok, I guess I should have found something for Gerry too). The girls are reading their new books since Gracie got home from school.

We came home & I cleaned the bathroom but ran out of Scrubbing Bubbles about half-way though. I decided that was a sign that I had done enough in there for today. The bathroom had gotten to the point that walls needed to be cleaned, hairspray needed to be scrubbed off all the sufaces, the baseboards needed scrubbing, etc. I looked around, thought, "ICK", and loaded everything out of there and got to work. I'm pretty much done except for the absolutely worst part...the bathtub.

Lila has been playing so nicely all day with her toys while I cleaned and took the time to sit down and do paperwork and computer work that I have been avoiding too. I was sitting here balancing the checkbook when I heard this coming at me from the kitchen!

It is still way too wet & muddy to ride outside. We brought one of the trikes up from the basement yesterday & she has been driving in circles through the house!

Look what I found!

2011-02-22T12:57:00.001-06:00

Inside view, Lila told me her bed was the top, in the middle, by the window.

Look what I found!

2011-02-22T12:56:00.000-06:00

I found some photos today on Picasa of the orphanage. These are dated April 2007, just a month before Lila was born, left at the hospital, found, and brought to the SWI (Social Welfare Institute).

Outside view of the SWI.

Look what I found!

2011-02-22T12:52:00.001-06:00

This is the nanny that cared for Lila. She & her husband live at the SWI.

Still wish I could find her

2011-02-19T10:16:00.000-06:00

When we adopted Lila we were told about her 2 little friends, Bi Sha Sha and Bi Xiao Cai. We found Sha Sha when her mother-to-be joined a Yahoo group for families adopting from Chongqing. We have watched and waited through their adoption process to bring this special little lady home. They are a wonderful family and we hope to get the 2 girls together soon.

I still wish I could find information about the 3rd girl. Bi Xiao Cai. She was adopted before we adopted Lila. They were all the same age and had been together at the orphange the whole time.

Check out Sha Sha's (now Jenna) blog at http://www.beyondthehorizon-miller.blogspot.com/

HELP DIABETES RESEARCH FUNDING!

2011-02-16T17:29:00.002-06:00

Congress is voting this week on a proposed budget that slashes funding for diabetes research and prevention programs.

In all, we're looking at roughly $100 billion in cuts to vital federal public health programs. These cuts will jeopardize research underway and undermine proven prevention programs. Given the magnitude of the diabetes epidemic, we need to make sure Congress knows these cuts are simply unacceptable.

https://donations.diabetes.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2082

There's no time to lose - your Member of Congress needs to hear from you! I already sent mine a letter - it just takes a minute:

Thank you for your support!

Reached her Goal

2011-02-14T20:13:00.000-06:00

Especially proud of these two today!!

I got a call from Lila's special ed teacher today. She has been working with Lila to make sure she is learning at the appropriate level and not being hindered by her lack of speech skills. Holly said she has reached her goals for the year! She will continue to work with her for the rest of the school year but on a very limited basis. Lila continues to work on pronunciation and sentence structure with her speech language pathologist. I think she's speaking more clearly and can see that others are understanding her speech much better too.

Grace also had a great week at school. The kids earn tickets for reaching their expectations. When they earn 10 tickets they receive a little plastic bear paw and their name is included in the Friday morning announcements. Grace earned her 9th bear paw for the year! She only earned 6 in the whole Kindgergarten year. She is such a responsible and dilligent little girl and so proud of herself to get these little awards!

Research China

2011-02-09T14:48:00.001-06:00

China families, have you heard about this service?

http://www.research-china.org/

I first heard of Brian Stuy from a fellow adoptive family while traveling to China in August 2009. I finally contacted him Sunday. Last night I received his response. He is able to provide us with not only a picture of Lila's finding ad, he has an extra copy of the actual newspaper! I got goosebumps when I read that last night. We were given a very poor quality, blurry, grainy, photocopy with our adoption information so this is really an exciting find. This will be the youngest picture we will have of Lila, possibly the first picture ever taken of her. I will post the actual picture as soon as we receive it!

No Cook Candy aka POOP!

2011-02-02T10:50:00.001-06:00

Several friends have posted on FB this morning that they need ideas to keep the kids entertained during the blizzard. I found this recipe on a blog a couple years ago. While they were making it her little girl decided it looked like poop. Thank you Kathleen!

No Cook Candy

1/2 cup peanut butter

4 cups of powdered sugar

1 cup of cocoa

4 tbs milk

1 pinch salt

Mix everything together....MIX A LOT....you may need to add another tbs or so of milk. Take a small amount of the candy and roll in your palms to make balls.....then eat your fresh homemade POOP.

PS This was fun. We made it earlier today, were silly & gross with it, laughed a lot! This afternoon I was sick of it. It doesn't taste very good, was really dry and really hard to make into balls. I added another 1/2 cup of pb and a lot more milk. It made a wonderful chocolate peanut butter frosting. I made yellow cupcakes and will be spreading it on them soon! I might chop some peanuts for topping too. Enjoy!

Snowy Sunday

2011-01-23T18:16:00.000-06:00

We are having a cozy Sunday afternoon at home. We did a gluey, cutting, glitter craft. There are cookies in the EasyBake oven and I just got done reading an update on http://www.beyondthehorizon-miller.blogspot.com/ They are currently in Guangzhou soon to be heading back to Michigan with their daughter. She is 6 months older than Lila from the same small orphange in Bishan. Sha Sha and Shi Shi (now Lila) were together with the same nanny and 1 other girl their age at the orphanage. We hope to get them together and kep in touch by email & blog! We are so happy that little Jenna has found a happy & loving home. Lila was sitting on my lap this morning in church and I was so happy that she is in a home that will teach her about God and that Jenna now has that opportunity too.

Oh yeah, I can't forget! I put this on Facebook but have to share here too! We were driving over to Gerry's parents yesterday and the WEENIE MOBILE got on the freeway behind us. It passed us and I was able to get a pretty good picture as we exited...

It has been much too long!

2011-01-19T15:01:00.000-06:00

Another picture slideshow by Smilebox

I haven't posted for ages so here are some pictures to let you know what we have been up to. I hope everyone is doing well & I promise to post more often!

2011-01-15T14:35:00.001-06:00

Christmas Card

2010-12-12T16:58:00.000-06:00

This isn't the actual card we sent out but a Christmassy version of the same picture.

We wish everyone a Merry Christmas with those you love and a Happy New Year in 2011!

The Conant Family

Chrissy & Gerry

Grace & Lila

School Pictures

2010-12-10T16:50:00.000-06:00

We finally got Grace's pictures today. She was home with an ear infection on picture day so had to do retakes. I was starting to think they would never get here. I think they both look beautiful and the pictures were worth the wait!

Grace, 1st Grade, 2010

Lila, preschool, 2010

Christmas is Coming!

2010-12-08T22:35:00.000-06:00

Only 16 more days until he gets here!

Trying on the stockings

She wanted her picture taken when she was hugging the dog. Daphne will never look at the camera at the right time.

Lila and I are having a good time lately while Grace is still at school in the afternoons. I recently realized that Lila didn't want to nap in the afternoon then didn't want to go to bed at night, sigh, time for naptime to end. She is falling asleep much more quickly at night now and I love the extra time with her.

We are all looking forward to Santa getting here. Grace keeps changing her list, we're going to see him next week so she needs to have it finalized by then. Lila picked out 2 toys from the TOYS catalog and has stuck with wanting those 2 things. I'm hoping nobody comes up with anything new the week of Christmas like Grace did a couple years ago with the violin.

We have the Santa countdown calendar and have been gluing a cotton ball onto his beard every day so far in December. That beard is filling up quickly.

Christmas is coming!

Mom

2010-11-16T19:45:00.000-06:00

My Mom & Dad

I haven't posted for ages but after losing my mom it seems like a good place to journal some of my thoughts about her and losing her. I cannot believe the funeral was already a week ago or that it was over a week since I spent those last few hours with her. She wasn't talking but was responding by raising her eyebrows or opening her eyes when my sisters talked to her on the phone or those of us there talked to her. I know she knows we were there & we were with her. I don't remember exactly what the last thing I said was before she died, it was just Mom and I when it happened. I got there about 5:30 after Grace's Girl Scout meeting, left about 10:00, and returned about 11:00. I told her I was there and was going to stay all night. She was gone when I checked on her at 11:35. It was so peaceful that I wasn't sure.

I saw a prayer answered that day. I talked to my sister at about 2:30 that afternoon, we needed to decide if we wanted to give Mom a feeding tube to see if she would regain her strength or not do the procedure and start hospice care. I prayed for God to make the decision for us. By the time I got to the hospital she had deteriorated to a stage where the feeding tube was no longer possible. In a few hours time I saw HIS intervention and my prayer answered.

She has had MS for about 25 years. It was diagnosed my senior year of high school. Now after having that disease for so long, 10 years in a nursing home, not being able to walk or have the strength to do all those things she wanted to do when she retired (write children's books, help Grandma get her GED, play with her grandkids) she now can. She is no longer confined to a wheelchair or bed. She can now walk and dance and do anything. She can see us whenever she wants to now not have to wait for a visitor to come to the nursing home.

There are moments when I forget. I think of something I need to tell her, or want to go visit when I'm driving around town. Those are the saddest moments. Gracie is missing her Grandma terribly. I have held her more than one night while she cuddles the toy dog she always played with at Grandma's and cries. Lila misses her too but isn't able to express it as well so she's having nightmares and being very emotional. It's hard to see my little girls hurting.

Other than Mom's death we have been busy with the usual things in life. Lila had 2 teeth crowned, they gave her oral sedation medication so she was really loopy from that for a day.

Halloween was a fun filled weekend of costumes, pumpkin carving, and trick or treaters. We are now preparing for Thanksgiving and more family time.

2 tired little girls with all their loot!

American Diabetes Month

2010-11-02T12:05:00.000-06:00

My sister & I both have Type 1 Diabetes. Please join us and Bret Michaels to raise awareness during November, American Diabetes Month.

rip Mr Monarch

2010-08-27T12:29:00.000-05:00

The butterfly hatched but his wings didn't dry properly so he didn't survive. We read online that only 2% make it in the wild so his chances were pretty low anyway. Even with his withered up little wings he was very pretty.

It was a fun learning experience for Grace. Gerry & I learned a lot of facts about butterflies too. Lila has added butterfly to her vocabulary. These things make it all worthwhile.

Season of Change

2010-08-15T19:07:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting here fascinated by the chrysallis our caterpillar spun today and thinking of all the changes going on around me.

Becky, Natalia, and Connor are flying home as I type. I keep thinking about what we will do together this week and then realize our wonderful summer together is at an end. Thanksgiving seems far, far, away.

Grace starts first grade on Tuesday. I will miss her being home every day but know she will have so much fun and learn so much this year, like she did last year.

Lila starts preschool on Thursday. It's a big change when your baby will be gone every morning. She will do so well and will change and learn so much! What will I do to keep busy when she's not here?

It's a beautiful cool day, only about 80 degrees, with a light breeze. Is this change in the weather the beginning of fall or just a break from the heat of this past summer? I love fall and that peaceful, reminiscent mood it invokes.

Happy Anniversary to us!

2010-08-03T21:26:00.000-05:00

August 4, 2009 was the day we officially adopted our Lila. We met her on August 3 then returned to the adoption center the next day to sign the final papers and take the oath. It doesn't seem possible that it has already been a year. It seems like we were just in China.

Look at the changes in her in the slideshow. It amazes me to see how much she has grown and the happiness in her expression. She was so scared at first but her true happy, outgoing, silly, sweet, loving, affectionate, personality has shone through. Our baby is now a little girl ready to start preschool in a couple weeks. She is all we hoped for during the long, long wait. The perfect little daughter for our family.

Customize your own free slideshow design

Happy Birthday to me!

2010-07-20T14:00:00.000-05:00

Today is my birthday which so far has been a great day but it in no way compares to last year on this very day when we were on the plane on the way to China! It does not seem like a year already.

(self-portrait on the plane or "Lila here we come")

I'm working on my big post for our 1 year Adoption Day anniversary next week.

And before I forget again, who was it that told Gerry her kids read our blog at the CHI reunion? Hi!!

Children's Hope Reunion 2010

2010-07-13T19:44:00.014-05:00

AJ with Lila, Me with Mikayla, Gerry with Grace

The big girls in the hot tub. Christine and the little girls in the pool.

Bec trying to hide from the mosquitos (I'm STILL itching...)

At the zoo (Maryn, Maelyn, Lila, Mikayla, Grace)

How cute is this??? (Lila and Max)

Playing at the huge playground at the reunion.

Have you ever seen a face this sweet? (Mikayla)

We just returned from a long weekend in St Louis. Our adoption agency is based there. They have a reunion every 2 years for ALL the families that have ever adopted through them all around the world. It was a great reason to go to St Louis to see the friends we traveled with. We were able to get together with 5 of the families that were in our travel group of 19 families last August. We were all together at the reunion, then had a smaller gathering at Kevin & Stacy's Saturday evening, Sunday we headed to the zoo then back to the pool at the hotel. So much fun to see the people that we have shared so much with.

3 year portraits

2010-06-25T10:04:00.004-05:00

I like to play with my camera. Lila and I spent about 1/2 an hour taking pictures the other day. These are my favorites of those we took. (Thank you to our wonderful Secret Pal, Jodi, for the darling dress & headband!)

Lila had her 2 week post-surgery appointment this week. They are very pleased with her progress! We return in a month for her next check-up.

We have finally settled into a summer routine since being home from the hospital. The girls are sleeping in, playing outside, watching movies, and having a great time. My sister, niece, and nephew are here from Texas for the whole summer so have been here to play, stay all night, or go see movies. Toy Story 3 was awesome!!!!

The birthday party, the hospital stay, and it's good to be back to normal!

2010-06-16T17:15:00.005-05:00

Grace with her candles on the cake

A couple hard days of recuperating after surgery

Waiting to check into our hospital room

The birthday sisters!

Lila blowing out her #3 candle

Grabbing the pinata loot!

Grace takes a swing

Lila was the first to try

Ladybug pinata!

Surgery

2010-06-11T11:20:00.003-05:00

Lila had surgery Tuesday. We are in the hospital hoping to go home Saturday or Sunday. I would add some pictures but don't have the cable for the camera here at the hospital.

Fun weekend!

2010-05-31T17:55:00.003-05:00

Mikayla, Lila, and Grace at the Children's Museum

Lila being silly at the zoo!

Greg, AJ, and Mikayla at the zoo butterfly house.

Our family at the zoo butterfly house.

Greg, AJ, and Mikayla were here for Memorial Day weekend. We went to the zoo on Saturday then had a barbecue while the kids played outside. Sunday we met for lunch, went to the new Clifford the Big Red Dog exhibit at our children's museum, then ended the day with dinner at our house. It was a fun weekend with good friends, getting caught up, watching the girls play together, and just hanging out.

Happy Birthday Dear Lila!

2010-05-26T17:44:00.005-05:00

My baby girl is 3! She had a wonderful "first" birthday with presents, ice cream cupcakes, and her favorite meal for dinner (fried rice). We will have a big party for both girls on June 5. We are waiting until my sister & her family are home from Texas to celebrate with us!

Tearing into her first present at breakfast to start the day off!

Birthday girl with her yummy ice cream treats! She was a pro at blowing the candles out. I'm not sure if they celebrated birthdays at the orphanage or not. We think this was her first real celebration ever but definitely her first full of love and joy, at home, with her family. It was a day that made me think of her birth family and know they are missing her & wondering where their little girl is on this special day.

Today Grace is 6!

2010-05-21T08:49:00.006-05:00

Her new big girl bike!

Ladybug cookies for her Kindergarten class! The party theme this year is ladybugs.

What is it about a birthday that makes you remember the first time you held that tiny little baby? I can remember every detail of what I told her and her tiny little face peeking out from the tightly swaddled blankets. She'll always be my little angel.

My first real haircut

2010-05-19T09:07:00.003-05:00

Lila had her head shaved in typical orphange style in China. She had a lot of growth since we got home and it was time to get it shaped up. She wasn't scared at all, climbed right into the chair, was silly & squirmy for the cut, and came out looking much better. Delores evened it all up and cut it into a cute little layered bob.

Update

2010-05-05T22:10:00.010-05:00

Grace in her soccer uniform singing for Mother's Day at church, this was about 10:25, her game was at 11:00! I am so glad we stayed to sing, they did a great job. Very well enunciated, nice volume (not yelling but loud enough to hear), very melodic. Aunt Andrea was so proud of Grace she got tears in her eyes. The 2 bigger kids on the left are the 2 in my class.

The Tigers with Andy and their trophies! Mother's Day tournament 2010

Jessica called me last Saturday to tell me that due to a change in his dad's work schedule Wyatt is going to a daycare much closer to home. I'm happy that he will be at home with Billy more now than being here 10 hours a day. We missed him horribly these first few days but know it's what is best for him. He will have more time at his own home with his Mommy and Daddy! It was wonderful though to get to see him this weekend and rock him to sleep, I needed some time with my Mr Muffin Man.

We are getting back into our normal routine and enjoying our family time together. As much as we loved having Wyatt here, I was worrying about the effects of sharing Mama with a new baby. Lila did start having some sleep issues and nightmares. She also started referring to herself and Shishi again instead of Lila, avoiding eye contact, speech progress slowed, just several little things that made me feel that she was feeling insecure. I'm trying to do a lot of holding, loving, bonding time this week to get us back to the strong security we had.

So far the Mary Kay venture is not going well. I only have a couple people interested in facials. I'll do those in May and June and see if they lead to any more. I am calling and emailing but the market seems saturated with Mary Kay consultants but if you're interested in a facial or some products, let me know or go to my site www.marykay.com/chrissyc

Our backyard has become the neighborhood gathering place this spring. I usually can count on the doorbell ringing about 4:00 to find someone asking "can I come over and play???" We have several kids raning from Lila to about 4th grade. They really play well together and it's fun to have them here. I must stock up on popsicles and juice boxes for the summer!

Grace's team was in an annual soccer tournament this weekend. I don't know who decided that mothers want to sit at the soccer field all day on Mother's Day... They played well today, Grace got in some really good passes.

Lila's second surgery is in 3 weeks. We check into the hospital on June 7 then surgery is the next day at 10:00. This will be a longer surgery and a longer hospital stay than the December surgery. Before then we have my niece's graduation, both girls' birthdays, birthday party, end of school, Kindergarten graduation, friends coming from out of town (cannot wait!!), my sister and the kids arriving from Texas for the whole summer, Gerry's family arriving in June for a week (hoping some of them get to stay with us!), plus all the usual appointments and events. It's easy to get stressed over all this stuff but when you step back and appreciate it they are all really blessings!

Happy Mother's Day! It's my first with both my little girls!

Wyatt's first week & the new appliances

2010-04-09T14:03:00.006-05:00

The new refrigerator. The old one was from 1987. It was time.

My new stove!

The old one was from approximately 1972. We kept using it because it still worked. It was dying a slow death, was making strange noises and I think I was smelling gas leaks. So this is our beautiful new one!

His funky tie-dyed onesie

Lila's first Easter!

Baby Boy

Harry on the neighbor's garage roof

Easter dresses and baskets!

Just a few pictures

2010-04-01T11:53:00.005-06:00

Here are a few pictures. Wyatt came over for the afternoon on Tuesday as a trial run for Monday when Jessica goes back to work and he starts coming every day.

Challenging special-needs cases make up growing share of adoptions from China - latimes.com

2010-03-29T07:38:00.001-06:00

Challenging special-needs cases make up growing share of adoptions from China - latimes.com

Posted using ShareThis

Happy Easter

2010-03-25T15:50:00.003-06:00

No, I didn't make them but add 2 little girls and they could be us.

A Day at the Museum

2010-03-15T22:23:00.004-06:00

Grace had a 4 day weekend so Gerry also took the days off and we took a mini vacation. We went to the Nebraska State Museum in Lincoln which is only about 1 hour from home. The museum houses a collection of mammoth and mastadon skeletons that were found in Nebraska. It also has dinosaur skeletons, numerous other modern animal skeletons, and other living history type displays. Grace really enjoyed the museum especially the dig site in the children's education area. Lila also enjoyed the dig area and the animals.

Our future archaeologists

Running away from the Allosaur so he can't eat them!

Lila's Favorite Show from China

2010-03-02T15:16:00.002-06:00

I'm trying to post a You Tube video of Lila's favorite show from China but it's just not working.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2zWZkX1oFg

Xi Yang Yang merchandise was everywhere, the show was always on the TV, Lila and several of the other little girls were crazy about it.

Wyatt Pictures

2010-03-01T21:32:00.007-06:00

Grace and Wyatt (this is the littlest baby she has ever held, such a big girl!)

Sleepy on the couch

Close-up of his tiny little face and hands.

Grace, Jessica, Wyatt, and Lila. Lila was very gentle with the baby.

Jessica and Wyatt

Lila wanted to see Wyatt as soon as we arrived.

Wyatt

2010-02-25T12:37:00.009-06:00

Introducing my newest great-nephew, Wyatt Downie Jay, 8 pounds 3 ounces, 21 inches long, born February 24 about 11:00 pm.

My niece and my sister with Baby Wyatt

Me, checking out baby toes (I LOVE baby toes).

Baby Wyatt and me

Jessica and Baby Wyatt (I didn't get any pictures of Billy because he was watching Lila for me in the waiting room, they wouldn't let her into the room.)

Precious Baby Boy! We love you!

Wyatt is my 8th great nephew/niece but the first time that any of my sisters has become a grandma. We're all a little over-excited! He even shares his birthday with Nich & Erin's Bridget who is getting a new baby brother/sister in about a month then the count will be up to 9. Wyatt will be spending his days at our house, we're babysitting him once Jessica goes back to work. We're busy getting things infant-ready here. Lila will be moving to a big-girl bed in the next few weeks so Wyatt can use the crib. I'm excited for her but a little scared that MY baby is growing up so fast. Will Wyatt be moving to a big-boy bed before we know it?

Happy New Year

2010-02-20T13:48:00.006-06:00

We celebrated Chinese New Year today. Gerry was out of town last week so luckily our FCC chapter held their annual Chinese New Year banquet this weekend. We were able to go as a family. It was held at China Buffet restaurant in Omaha. The food was wonderful and the restaurant was packed with the FCC families. China Buffet brought in Lion dancers to entertain while we ate. There were 3 lions and a buddha performing. 1 lion danced up to Grace and Gerry then the next danced right up to Lila. They were moving so fast that I wasn't able to get a picture of them interacting with our girls. After the dance Sue and Melissa sat with us. Melissa and Grace tried to join the little ones dancing in the lion costume but they were all full. I thanked Lila for bringing these beautiful customs from her birth culture into our lives.

Grace and Lila with their CNY and Valentine surprises.

One of the lions dancing in the aisles. The costumes are ornate and beautiful up close.

Gerry & Grace, she is wearing her tiger hat we made yesterday.

Lila and Mama (Stacie this is one of the dresses you got for us, we love it!)

Grace's Art Work

2010-02-18T12:04:00.004-06:00

Grace is our artist. She drew this monkey to go with the new blog theme.

6 months

2010-02-03T23:11:00.004-06:00

Happy anniversary to our family!

Today is the 6 month anniversary of the day we met our Lila.

We are so lucky to have this beautiful little angel in our lives.

In those first moments she was so scared and confused by all that was going on.

We already loved you and together we became a family.

It's a great day to play!

2010-01-30T09:45:00.004-06:00

Lila and I dropped Grace off at school on Wednesday and hit the road! We drove 2 hours to St Joe Missouri to see our friends from China. Greg, AJ, and Mikayla were with us the entire trip. Mikayla is from Chongqing too but a different orphange than Lila. They are from St Louis but were in St Joe visiting family.

The girls took to eachother immediately and played with toys until we went to lunch. They held hands for the walk to the restaurant (each squeaking along in her squeaky shoes). They were so cute together. Of course their cuteness impressed everyone at Applebee's! Even the little boy at the next table, our girls were flirts. Mikayla was too distracted with everything going on to eat. Lila kept telling her she needs to eat and finally decided to feed Mikayla her applesauce. It was darling, watch the video. (I can't get the video to download, I"ll add it later)

We got back to their hotel and got the girls changed into their suits and headed to the "heated" pool. It was ok oncce you got used to it but could have been much warmer. The little girls were shivering after about 45 minutes so we got them dried off and warmed up. Went back to the room to change. Played a little more and left for home. Lila and I stopped to get gas then while I was getting on the freeway I realized I had left my phone in AJ's room. That was a quick detour back then we got home in time to have dinner with Daddy and Jiejie.

It was so great to see them. AJ and I talked and talked and talked and the girls played so well together. It was a wonderful day with the girls.

Lila's Orphanage

2010-01-16T12:49:00.005-06:00

I just found a blog of a woman who adopted from Lila's orphange in 2007. They were there in April so Lila was not there yet. Here's her description of the orphange.

"C' is a small orphanage, it has 20 beds and at present there are 7 children. The nanny and her husband live with the children in l' orphanage to make like true a family. There is a course external where they leave the children regularly. We also visited the places where the children were found. We bought a book of the city in remembering."

They're Canadian so the blog is in French, I translated this on Babel Fish.

So now I know who that guy is in the pictures, why Lila had such good care, that there was someone there at night, why she was so attached to Nanny and missed her so much at first. These little insights into her past are so precious.

What's going on

2010-01-12T17:30:00.000-06:00

Christmas Morning

Grace & Kyle in the snow

Someone asked me the other day how Lila is other than medical news. Ok, I guess we have been so into health issues I haven't shared much else.

We had a speech therapist evaluate Lila because I was concerned that she's not speaking very much. The testing showed that she understands at a 30-36 month old level but is only at 18-21 months verbally. We are starting speech therapy in January. The therapist really thinks she will do well once she starts working with her. She really amused the speech therapist and case worker by dropping trou, shaking her booty, and laughing hysterically (such a proud Mommy moment).

She is into everything, VERY much the terrible 2. The problem is that she has this smile when she gets caught that makes it almost impossible to not laugh. She crawled under the guest room bed all the way to the wall to drag out an old toy I had stuck under there to sell on Ebay. It made me laugh because it was something Grace wouldn't have even considered but Miss Lila is full speed ahead, if she can do it, she will! I think that incredibly, hmm, shall we say, WILLFUL, streak is what she needed to get through the orphanage years and now the medical procedures. My sister noted that God has a sick sense of humor. I believe I was being compared to my daughter and rightfully so. My poor mother.

Anyway, Christmas was wonderful. Santa brought both girls loads of gifts. We had lots of snow and ice so it was a cozy Christmas day at home. The Sunday after we went to Gerry's sister's and spent the day with Grandpa & Grandma, aunts, uncles, and cousins. My family postponed our celebration until January 2nd so my sisters didn't have to drive from Kansas City in the blizzard. I was happy that they chose to stay home where it was safe & warm then make the trip at a better time. When they did get here Grace spent the night with Kyle at the farm. We had so much fun with him here at Thanksgiving that the kids planned another sleepover for Christmas.

Brandon spent 2 days here during Christmas break. He is really enjoying playing with Lila while he & Grace will always be the best of buddies.

The zhu zhu pet seems to be the best gift of the season. Both girls are crazy about Pipsqueak and we have managed to find her every time they have lost her. Lila's new cell phone is missing, I have decided it is somewhere in this house and maybe I'll find it if I ever get all the Christmas decorations put away. That's what I should be working on right now.

After just 2 days back at school Grace had 3 snowdays last week. It was so cold we couldn't even play outside to enjoy all the snow. Brandon was back for 2 of the 3 days so they all 3 played really nicely together. I was incredibly stir-crazy so Saturday's trip to Coco Key with my girlfriends and their kids was a welcome escape. Grace and I needed some one-on-one quality time and have a fantastic and fun day together.

So that's what's up for now. What's new with all my blog friends?

Santa

2009-12-24T11:11:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas to all!

2009-12-22T12:04:00.005-06:00

We cannot possibly sum up this past year.

It brought love, wonder, and joy to our family.

Thank you all for joining us here on our journeys.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year,

The Conant Family

Chrissy & Gerry

Grace & Lila

Daphne, Harry, Oscar, Snakey, and Raymond

Lila's Surgery

2009-12-10T21:44:00.006-06:00

Snuggling with Grace after surgery on Wednesday.

In her hospital jammies shortly after arriving on Monday.

I was very surprised this morning when the surgery team did rounds.

Dr C's partner says, "So, my question for you is, when do you want to go home?"

I say, "Today." thinking he'll say that we should wait until tomorrow but he agreed!

So we were released about 12:30 and got home about 1:00 pm. Lila got a big smile on her face when we walked in the door. We were only there Monday through Thursday but it seemed like a long stay.

When we checked in on Monday they started an over-night clean out process for the surgery Tuesday afternoon. It was a long night, up every couple hours with the nurses checking on her, putting her on the potty, poking and prodding, etc. Tuesday's surgery was about an hour earlier than planned. It was done in about 2 hours, everything looked good, and Dr C was very happy with the results. That evening we had a complication that required going back to the OR Wednesday morning. He did an excellent job fixing it, Lila spent the rest of the day drugged and sleeping. She started eating a little last night and a lot this morning. The eating provided the desired results in the tummy and the ostomy bag. The nurse practitioner trained me on how to care for the ostomy. We signed some papers and came home.

I'm relieved this first part of the surgery is over. The next round will be in June (5-7 months from now).

We had a blizzard this week while Lila and I were tucked away in the hospital. Grace had 3 days off of school because of the cold and snow. She and Gerry were able to come visit in spite of the awful weather. It did Lila and me both a world of good to get to see them.

Getting Caught Up

2009-12-06T12:45:00.004-06:00

It's been so hectic around here that I haven't posted so here are pictures from Lila's baptism, Thanksgiving, and a few early Christmas pictures. Enjoy!

The first ornament that was hung on the tree this year.

Another one of Mama's silly poses!

Pilgrim and turkey, Grace made both costumes this year in Kindergarten.

Tony presenting Lila to our congregation. Our wonderful congregation is just crazy about our new Little Miss.

Family portrait on baptism day.

We check into the hospital tomorrow for colostomy surgery. I hope we're home by Thursday, Friday at the latest. I have a schedule for Grace and Gerry next week that includes coming to visit us at Children's. Luckily, it's only a 20 minute drive. I will post Tuesday when surgery is over.

Jesus's Christmas List

2009-12-05T10:11:00.002-06:00

I received this list today in an email. I edited it a little to share with you here. I try to teach my Sunday school class how to live in the real world as Christians so this really spoke to me and I hope it will inspire someone else.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, for they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3.Write the president and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up. It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.

7. Be patient with the people who work in retail during this season. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christ mas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Stop shopping on Sunday. If the stores didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary-- especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name.

9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no Christmas tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.

10. Behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

Baptism

2009-11-22T20:06:00.003-06:00

Today was Lila's baptism. It was also confirmation at our church. It was a busy happy service with lots to celebrate! We waited until now for the baptism so my sister, Becky, could be here. Her kids have all week off school so they were able to fly up for Lila's special day. 2 of my sisters, Becky and Jennifer, are Lila's godparents. Our whole family joined us at home for brunch following the service.

Grace had a rough week. A week ago today her fever returned and went up to 104 degreess. I called the doctor Monday morning. He was able to see her late in the day. He was concerened about her, even saying he "was a little freaked out" because her fever was gone for a couple days then returned. He did a chest xray and some bloodwork. It was the beginning of pneumonia so shot in the little butt and 10 days of antibiotics have her on the mend. She returned to Kindergarten on Friday feeling much more like her normal self.

Lila's next surgery is scheduled for December 8. We check into the hospital on the 7th and will stay about 3 days. I hope they have wireless internet!

Update

2009-11-13T20:50:00.002-06:00

This was one of those weeks.

Grace had to stay home from school 4 days with a fever. She went to the doctor, they thought it might be strep but it wasn't so they think it was viral. They never said H1N1 but I'm guessing that's what it was.

Meanwhile Lila had surgery on Tuesday. It was a biopsy that confirmed that she has a condition called Hirschprung's Disease in which part of the colon does not have the nerve cells required for normal function. She will have 2 for sure, possibly 3 surgeries in the next 6-8 months. The first will be after Thanksgiving, probably early December.

My babies are sick! Luckily we have a big fat cat to keep them warm. Isn't Oscar the sweetest little guy to take care of his Grace when she's sick on the couch?

BOOOOO

2009-11-04T17:08:00.004-06:00

Scooby and the Fuzzy Pink Unicorn waiting for the trick-0r-treaters to arrive!

Fall Slide Show

2009-10-29T09:46:00.000-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Just some pictures (for Aunt Becky especially)

2009-10-21T21:42:00.004-05:00

Note to Travel Group

2009-10-12T17:58:00.004-05:00

Here's a note I sent to our travel group. I thought I would share it here too to bring my blog buddies up to date.

I am glad to hear from everyone too. I have been following the few blogs that I know, Jadyn is one of those so I have been seeing all of her great pictures. Melissa and Alyssa both look very healthy and happy. I can tell they have both gained weight and their hair is growing out! I can finally get a little ponytail holder in Lila's to attach a bow so it will stay in.

Lila is doing really well. People keep commenting on how well adjusted she seems. She STILL wants Daddy when she's tired or scared but she knows she has to put up with me too! We really have a great bond now. She's funny and goofy and we were just saying again how she's the perfect match for us.

Gerry's still on family leave, he goes back next Monday. That will be a big change for all of us but we're ready.

Lila and Grace are sisters so we have a lot of drama but a lot of love, hugs, and giggles too.

We had x-rays of her colon on Friday, it was awful. They strapped her to a board so they could position her during the process so she was terrified. I can only imagine the memories of having the same x-rays done in China coming back to her. I was so thankful that I was there with her this time so she didn't have to go through it alone. They said our next step in the diagnostic/treatment process will be a biopsy of the lining of her colon. I have to talk to the doctor's office in a couple days about that.

TTYS
Chrissy

One giant leap...

2009-10-01T22:02:00.002-05:00

The tiny things are so important in this adoption journey. She came running to me today with her arms up to be picked up. I was filled with joy that she has come so far from the scared child in China who only wanted Gerry. I looked at her today and said "Lila" she then put her hand on her chest and said "yiya". She said her name! She has only said mama and tai jien up to this point. She also said "yummy" this week when it was time to eat. This all sounds like normal developmental steps for children but when you've only been together only 8 weeks you are struck with each little moment how amazing this little person is.

Megacolon

2009-09-25T23:29:00.004-05:00

I just responded to a comment from a family considering a child from China with megacolon. I hope adding what I told her might help others looking for some basic, first-hand, information.

Our information said Lila was found at 2 days old with a swollen abdomen so she has had problems since birth. The research I originally did led me to some sites about Hirschprung's disease. It was hard to find any definite information on-line with the limited info we received from China. Even so, we decided right away to accept our referral because my sister has worked for a colon-rectal specialist for over 30 years. They referred us to a pediatric internist.

When we got Lila the orphanage said the only treatment they have been using is glycerin suppositories. That's what we used (sometimes twice a day) in China and until we had her doctor's appointment after we got home. I felt so bad having to give a child that didn't even know me a suppository (no wonder she bonded with my husband first, poor baby..) If she doesn't go she gets uncomfortable, cranky, her tummy gets swollen, and I can feel hardness on her right side if it's bad.

We were given the xrays that had been done in China. From what she could see, our specialist here does not think Lila has Hirschprung's disease. Hirschprung's is surgically treated by removing the section of the colon where the nerves are not functioning. During the healing stage they have to have an ostomy to give the colon time to heal. Lucklily Lila won't have to have surgery. We use Miralax which is a stool softener daily. I adjust the dose depending on if she went the day before, what we ate, activity level, how much liquids she drank, etc. Usually 2 1/2 to 3 teaspoons mixed into a little juice or milk. It's a flavorless powder so she doesn't even know she's getting anything.

Our doctor here also said if babies are constipated when they are very little they learn that it hurts to poop so they don't. This holding it in causes the colon to stretch then the muscles can't contract properly which adds to the already existing congenital problem.

We didn't know for sure how severe her condition was until we got there, I guess we're still learning. If you are not afraid of a lot of poop coming out of a little child, I would go for it! We had colic/constipation problems wtih our bio daughter when she was an infant so it's not much worse than that was. We have added a lot more whole grains, fruit, veggies, to our diet that we all should be eating anyway.

Only in the midwest...

2009-09-24T22:10:00.002-05:00

We took a day trip to Des Moines to get Lila's birth certificate. Somewhere in the middle of Iowa this passes us, just driving down the freeway to her next destination like it's totally a normal vehicle. So Grace asks, "Is that a real cow head?"

Sisters

2009-09-12T17:28:00.006-05:00

A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost.

Marion C Garretty

Our first doctor appointment

2009-09-01T14:58:00.002-05:00

Lila had her first appointment today with the pediatric internist. She agrees with the megacolon diagnosis from China. She does not at this point think it is the more serious Hirschprung's disease that would require surgery. They did x-rays in China that we took along today, from what the doctor could see she doesn't want to do any more x-rays or biopsies at this point. She will have a radiologist review the x-rays also. We have started a stool softener, 3 times a day for the next 3 days, to get everything cleaned out. Then only once a day for 4 weeks. We will go back to reevaluate at that time. When we accepted Lila's referral there were a lot of unknowns about her medical condition. We weren't sure if she would require surgery or medication or dietary management. We feel really lucky and very relieved that she won't be having surgery at this point.

Say a prayer for little Jadyn from our travel group, she undergoes open-heart surgery on Wednesday. http://ourjadynpanda.blogspot.com/

Chrissy

My little girl

2009-08-28T12:02:00.003-05:00

I am watching a miracle every day. To watch Lila change from a confused and scared child to a laughing, snuggling, happy child is amazing. We still have a long way to go until we are completely bonded together as a family but there is now love where before there was fear. She is giving kisses, calling me Mama and calling Gerry Baba. To hear that babbling little voice say it over and over gives all of us big smiles. Hearing my girls laugh together and play together is a gift.

Slide show

2009-08-22T23:47:00.003-05:00

I added a slide show of when we got Lila. It was one of the most emotional afternoons of my entire life. It's almost impossible to express.

It's dated August 3 which is our Family Day!

Working on it

2009-08-18T01:40:00.001-05:00

I now have the text for the blog all updated. I have added several journal entries about the trip, see earlier posts.

I'll be adding videos & pictures in the next few days.

Keep checking back!

Sleep baby sleep...

2009-08-15T23:22:00.002-05:00

I am awestruck. I am content. I love my family. The most precious thing happened this evening. Lila let me rock her to sleep for the first time since August 5. The girls had their bath together, Lila looked at Grace a little perplexed like, "Why aren't you crying??" then was quiet for about a minute. I think it was the first time she had ever stopped crying during a bath. So I got her out and into jammies. Grace stayed in and splashed around then Lila joined us in Grace's room while Grace got into jammies. We went down for a snack, Lila doesn't like pear yogurt so she started screaming, I wouldn't give in so we switched to grapes, she ate one but still wasn't happy. On a whim I picked her up and took her outside. She quieted down. We went back into the kitchen, picked up her grapes, and her drink, and headed out to the porch swing. She loved it!! We ate all her grapes then sat and swang and rocked. She was out pretty quickly. I tried to take her inside but she woke up so we continued to rock in the rocking chair in her room. I tried to lay her down but she woke up so I went back to the swing. She woke up when I tried to come back in. I had to finish a couple things before going to bed so I gave her to Gerry who was asleep in our bed with Grace. They are all asleep now. I feel so blessed that she let me have this precious quiet snuggly time with her. Every day brings us closer.

I added the slide show to our first post from Beijing. Enjoy it!!

Chrissy

We're Home

2009-08-15T15:41:00.003-05:00

Hi, I'm so sorry I didn't post. It was so difficult from China that I gave up. I journaled while we were there and will be posting those with pictures in the next few days. Keep checking back!

We had a once-in-a-lifetime journey!

Chrissy

The flight home

2009-08-14T14:00:00.000-05:00

It's midnight in China but 11:00 am at home. I have already moved my watch ahead to home time so I know how much longer until we get there. Lila is sleeping on Gerry while he watches the in-flight movies and tv. Right now, it's Mythbusters. Lila has slept a lot on the flight, both her nap and bedtime. She had a happy, awake, playing & eating time for a couple hours. She and Gerry also walked up and down the aisles a few times.

We still have to have lunch, land in Chicago, go through immigration, customs, and then wait for our evening flight to Omaha. I wish we were on an earlier flight. I want to get home to my Gracie. I miss her so much.

It was hard to say goodbye to all our friends when we left Guangzhou. Mary promised to organize a reunion, if she doesn't I will. Hopefully we will all stay members of our travel group Yahoo group and can keep in touch and keep the kids in touch. We will especially miss the 4 families in our Chongqing group since we were together the entire time.

I hope all goes smoothly with immigration. All they really have to do is stamp her paperwork and she's home so I don't foresee any issues. I was surprised that I had to show it at check-in this morning and the airport in Hong Kong, I hadn't heard of anyone having to do that before.

Have I mentioned how much I miss Grace? I cannot wait to hold her close and give her a thousand kisses, all the kisses we didn't get to share while we were apart. I miss her smile, her laugh, and the joy that she spreads.

This flight seems eternal, I originally thought we arrived in Chicago at 12:30 then realized it's 2:30 so I have an extra 2 hours that I had forgotten about. With those 2 sleeping in the aisle seat, I'm trapped in the window seat. Creepy guy in front of me actually reached back and closed MY window. You know I immediately opened it back up and gave him one of those looks when he looked back at me. GET OUT OF MY SPACE! Somebody else smells like chewing tobacco which is totally making me want to gag. It's probably him or the chick next to him who has her purse under her seat so it's where my bag should be...can you tell I'm in one of those moods??

I need to mail my left-over yuan to Stacey and have her buy the girls a couple more qipaos or chongsams or whatever they're called I would like a few more ornaments too. I loved my little shop. I hope Stacey enjoys her time in China. They should have a great trip but I know she will desperately miss Lily. I can't wait for her to experience the joys of those first days with Ella.

Chris, Mike, and Meilyn left Hong Kong this morning through SFO to Chicago. We thought we were on the same flight but we're not. They were so much fun. The similarities were hysterical, she was a travel agent, I worked in travel, Mike was in the Navy stationed in Norfolk, so was Gerry, they are now both electronics technicians, our names are almost the same, we both have polka dotted glasses, we have beautiful little girls from China, and she is my SEASTAR! (insert hysterical laughter that nobody else will even kinda understand here) I wonder if she's on Facebook...

We'll be home soon, my family will be complete!

We're on Our Way Home

2009-08-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

We're ready to go and waiting for our in-room breakfast to arrive. It's 8:45 now, we leave for the airport at 10:20. This room has a beautiful view of the harbor, Lila and Gerry liked to watch the ships and boats sailing by. There are a few fishing boats lazily floating by in the grey drizzly morning. The clouds hang low over the mountains in the background.

Lila is enjoying watching Disney channel with her daddy. It's nice to be back to normal children's tv too. The popular show for little ones in China is Xu Yang Yang, the main character is a goat. The orphanage told us Lila really likes the show but she showed little interest in watching it or playing with any of the toys. She really loves her soft dolly we got at Jordon's on Shamian Island and her Legos. She is very intelligent and wants to know how things work. Gerry is incredibly excited about that trait!

Just a quick note to say we're on our way home.

Chrissy
Aug 14
Gerry's 42nd birthday

Hong Kong, Train Ride, Consulate Appointment, Shopping, and so on...

2009-08-13T10:00:00.004-05:00

We just arrived in Hong Kong. We are checked into the hotel. Lila is supposed to be napping but she appears to be wide awake. It's about 3:30 pm and we haven't eaten since breakfast so we had a Toblerone from the mini-bar. Lila is a chocaholic in training. We all know I already am...

The train ride was an adventure. We had to drag all our luggage up 2 escalators, through chinese immigration, down an escalator, onto the train, and then into the overhead luggage racks. It was a lot of work! Other than that the ride was interesting. I expected more countryside than city between Guangzhou and HK. There was a small section that was rural but not much. The train went close to 100 mph so it was only a 2 hour ride. Hong Kong is just what I expected. It is a beautiful modern city fabulous views of the mountains and harbor surrounded by lush greenery.

Yesterday we went to the American Consulate in Guangzhou. Lila received her visa to travel to the USA. She will become a citizen as soon as her immigration paperwork is stamped in Chicago. It was a very emotional moment for me (all of us) when the consulate employee announced that this was the last step in our adoption. Our little girl is OURS. She has stolen both our hearts and has a big sister waiting to love just as much. She is amazingly happy. Just 10 days have changed her from a shy, scared, little girl to a silly, laughing, ticklish imp. I'm watching her now play with the remote and trying as hard as she can to NOT give it back to Daddy. Those huge brown eyes are sparkly with mischief and silliness! The lines of chinese citizens lined up to try to become US citizens made me realize how lucky we are to be born into it, how lucky Lila is to be adopted into it, and how hard it is for them to go through the process.

The three of us returned to Shamian Island last night to pick up the chops I ordered for the girls, buy a few more gifts, and have a final dinner together in China. We had American food but it was really a good meal. The food in Guangzhou was much more what we consider Chinese back home. The dishes were much milder than in Chongqing with sauces such as sweet-and-sour and barbecue versus the spicy szechuan and kungpao sauces. The shop we went to last night was my favorite, Craft and Artist shop. I bought most of the things I wanted from China there, tea set, dresses for the girls, a blouse for me, bracelets for gifts, assorted silk gifts, chops (the chops are a stamp with the girls english and chinese names, these are commonly used in China for stamping documents instead of signing), tea, teapots, squeaky shoes, chinese zodiac figures, cloissone Christmas ornaments, and t-shirts, basically if you wanted it, they had it and they were really nice, bargained well, and gave me lots of free stuff too! If you're going soon, you need to stop there. They will give you the price of $8.00 per pair of squeakies which was about the best anyone could find. They are across the street from Starbucks, right on the corner.

We did have to buy another suitcase to get all the souvenirs home. The suitcase is also a souvenir for Hillary since she'll need it soon for college.

Tuesday we had breakfast then had to stay in our rooms from 10:00 to 11:30. Elsie and Simon took our paperwork to the consulate, we had to be in our rooms in case they had any questions. The last group from CHI had 4 people who did not have the correct information to obtain their child's visa. We only had 1 close call but it was a consulate error that they caught so our little Jadyn was able to leave with the rest of us. We went to the island with Jenny and Anna on the subway. It was fun, it had been a while since any of us had been on a subway so we had fun swapping stories about our previous rides. It was very clean and very safe. We shopped a little and then returned to the hotel in time for Jenny and Anna to go on the river cruise. We decided not to go. Those that did go, wished they hadn't. The food was horrible but the views of Guangzhou were beautiful. We ordered Papa John's which Lila LOVED! She also made skipping the cruise very worthwhile. She was laughing and laughing while we tickled her. It was the most beautiful sound I had heard in a long time. I can't wait to get home and hear both my little ones' silly, happy, laughter.

Grace had a birthday party Monday. She, Emma, and Steph had a blast being princesses for a day to celebrate Emma turning 5! The only problem was that Emma had just come down with foot and mouth disease but her mom didn't know. She now has it so has to miss the first 2 days of Kindergarten. I'm not too upset about it since I can now take her for her first day on Monday. It's far more important for her to be healthy and not risk it spreading to the other kids than to be there for that first day. So my Boo-Boo is sick and I'm not there to take care of her. I really really want to go home.

I don't remember when I journaled last. I think I'm caught up. I truly at this point don't remember what we did Monday without looking at the schedule. The past few days have been a whirlwind!

The map shows our train route from Guangzhou to Kowloon.

Monday in Guangzhou

2009-08-10T10:00:00.003-05:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Today is Monday. Sunday was a slow day. We walked to a nearby park in the morning, it was unbelievably hot but a beautiful park.

We had a group dinner last night for the families that wanted to go. We walked to a Cantonese restaurant near the hotel. The food was wonderful, the Chinese beer was refreshing, and Lila was really funny. She decided to feed herself so she & Daddy were covered with noddles and fried rice. She was trying to feed him and that smile was melting the whole table. This is a wonderful group of families all with beautiful babies.

This morning we slept until about 8 and took our time getting ready. Lila and I went to breakfast about 9:15. Gerry came down about 1/2 an hour later. We have been doing this the past few days to give him a break and so she & I can spend some calm time together. She cries when we leave and all the way down in the elevator (we're on the 15th floor) but once we get off, she's quiet and we have a nice breakfast. I have switched her from congee made with white rice to Raisin Bran hoping that the whole grains will help with the constipation caused by her megacolon. I really really am anxious to get her to Dr Prestridge, our pediatric gastroenterologist. She has her appointment in September.

After breakfast we went with Jenny and Mary to the nearby grocery store. We needed some water, juice, and pop. Lila is crazy about pop. Grace won't touch it so we're not used to keeping it out of reach of little hands. She's good at grabbing things. This afternoon we go back to the clinic to have her TB test checked then to the pearl & jade markets. I already told Gerry I plan to spend a lot of money. I love the cool, smooth, feeling of jade and want to get something fabulous for me, my girls,and for some gifts.

We were able to rent a stroller from the hotel for 20 yuan (about 3 dollars) per day from the front desk. Lila enjoyed her ride with no fussing at all. We were both scared it would bring on a tantrum. She is really warming up each day. I even got a big laugh and smile from tickles this morning instead of her cringing when I tickled. I am getting smiles and eye contact more and more unless she's tired then it's all about her Daddy. I am so relieved to be seeing the happy side of her personality bloom.

TTYS
Chrissy

Saturday August 8

2009-08-08T10:00:00.000-05:00

We are now in Guangzhou. We're happy to be one step closer to getting our little one home. I will miss China. It is still a little unreal to actually be here.

We went to Shamian Island this morning to have the Visa photos taken and have the kids' medical exams. There were 10 families in the group this morning. After the exams we were free to shop for a couple hours. We went in groups and kept running into others, switching groups. trying out different shops, and really enjoying the island. I bought a pair of silk pajamas for Lila, matching squeaky shoes, and a beautiful chongsam for Grace. We browsed some more and then got 2 green marble pigs, 1 for Lila, 1 for Jessica and a tshirt for Gerry. Jessica has always collected pigs and Lila was born in the year of the pig. Lila is now asleep with Gerry clutching her little green pig in her hand.

She is doing better today. I am slowly getting some eye contact and a few smiles. I have been taking her to breakfast without Gerry to give him some time without her clinging to him and to give she & I some time together. She is very calm and lets me feed her breakfast. We actually enjoy our time together but as soon as she sees Daddy she's DONE with Mama. I'm cherishing the little moments when she does connect with me and continuing to be there for her needs. She will soon learn how much I love her and that I will never leave her.

I'm including the email I sent to Becky to show how we were doing a few days ago which was not good...

> She still wants nothing to do with me. Yesterday sucked. She screams whenever Gerry is out of sight. I know it's a waiting game but it still hurts. I am getting more smiles and more eye contact today. >

I also emailed Stacey. She is an amazing friend and sent me some excellent advice given to her when she was going through the same thing with Lily. Christina, our SW from CHI, traveled with her and told her, "She told me I should be the only one to full fill her needs, Eating, bathing, diapers. Sometimes it was ugly. Eating out was the worst. Really embarrassing sometimes. Have Gerry encourage her to look to you for those needs. If it causes more problems him being there have him leave. Marvin would get Lily to sleep in/by my bed (we always had twin beds?) and then we would switch so Lily would wake up to me. Lila is older than Lily was so she can be a bit stronger. There was someone else in our group with a 2 year old and the mom pretty much gave up and stayed away. That is NO good. I told her to talk to Christina. Not sure what Christina told her. I'm sure the same as me. Within 2 days - HUGE change.

Take Grace down to the lobby for some one on one time. Gerry is probably spent and needs a break. At least my husband did. It's really hard on a person when you can't go to the bathroom without a screaming baby. Lily did better with me alone if were out of the room than alone in the room. I remember spending the 2 or the 3? night in the lobby for with a crying baby. Did you get a stoller? Start taking her for a walk around the hotel to give Gerry a break and for you and Lila time. Lily like that better I think because she didn't have to look at me the whole time."

At first it seemed really cruel to have Lily so upset with me full filling her needs but I was at my wits end and took the advice from Christina. You do what you have to do and what seems to work for you. Lila WILL be coming around soon. Tomorrow (it's 10:00pm there now) could even be the day it clicks for her.

So it is a trying time but she is so worth it. Each little smile and each little peek into what her personality really is, is precious.

The flight from CQ to GZ was short and it is nice to be here. Chongqing is Lila's birthplace and will always hold a special place in our hearts. Guangzhou is more enjoyable because it's a much more western and much cleaner city. Also the rest of the group is here and it has been so much fun to see everyone from Beijing with their new little ones.

Wednesday August 5

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

Sorry for the delay in posting, it's a pain to blog from here. You have to find a site that will allow you access to Blogger then find one that will allow you to post what you write to your blog. I decided to type it in word first then I at least have a copy when doing the rest of the steps. It's even more impossible to post pictures and videos.

We had a kind of rough day. Lila decided she wants to be with Gerry and that I need to stay away. This is very normal and very expected but it's so hard to love this little one so much and she doesn't realize the depth of a mother's love. I know I need to be patient and continue to be there for her every need but it's hard when she's just not cooperating. It will improve as she learns that I'm here, no matter what, and NEVER GOING ANYWHERE...She's already lost her birth mother and her nanny from the orphange, it's hard to trust another woman when you're only 2 and they seem to keep leaving you. It also got worse after seeing the adoption coordinator from her orphanage at the adoption center yesterday.

Whlie at the adoption center we took our oath to become Lila's parents. We signed all the papers and then the 4 families went into a different room where we each went through a short ceremony in turn. Mary took pictures and video for us then Gerry did the same for them, we were all snapping pictures for eachother! We didn't realize it would be such a formal event but it is something I will never forget, a laughing, teary, moment.

We had a great time sightseeing. Today was supposed to be the zoo. If anyone has been following Chongqing weather on-line, it has rained almost non-stop since we got here. Since the pandas don't like the rain and the old town area is flooded we went to some Chongqing historic sites, the Great Hall of the People and a home from the Qing dynasty. The Qinq dynasty was the final Chinese dynasty, ending in 1911. Much more beautiful chinese architecure and intricate decor. The state run gift shop at the Qing museum is the only place where you can purchase banyan leaf paintings. These are a local art form from Chongqing. The Banyan tree is the city tree. There are only 2 artists in China, a father and son, that can do this type of painting at any given time. I bought 1 painting for each of my daughters and 4 others (can anyone guess who those are for??) So tomorrow morning we will go to the zoo to see the pandas, yeah. For some reason several of our guides put yeah and at the end of all their sentences, yeah. I got interrupted posting this. It's now Aug 17 and we are home. I'll post what I have along with some of the Chongqing pictures and the panda video. It was so exciting to see the pandas, in China, eating bamboo, I have never seen ours in the US so the first time was amazing!

The day we became a family

2009-08-03T23:14:00.000-05:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Today's the Day!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-08-03T21:06:00.000-05:00

It's 7:00 am. We will meet Lila this afternoon at 3:00. I cannot believe she will be in my arms. The past few days have been a whirlwind of unforgettable events. Saturday was a full day of sightseeing at Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall. The square is immense with the smiling face of Chairman Mao always watching you from the front of the Forbidden City. As soon as you enter the gates to the Forbidden City you can see the grandeur of China's imperial era. The size of the forbidden city was a surprise to me. You go through one set of gates to a huge courtyard, then another, another, another, another, another, keep in mind there are 9,999 rooms in the palace. We at last saw the "Way Out" signs in the gardens. We were all getting a little grumpy, hot, hungry, thirsty, and whiny. Ok, I was...but you guys that were with me know what I mean. It was beautiful and I shouldn't complain. It was like the Temple of Heaven in that it showed the intricacy and grandeur of the era.

We had Peking Duck for lunch, I took a video of the chef carving. I can barely hack up a turkey at Thanksgiving so I was impressed by his skill. Each piece is carved to include meat and skin and be uniform in shape and size. I hope to find a recipe to try it at home.

The final stop of the day was the Great Wall. Gerry climbed from where we started to 3 high towers. I stopped at the first low tower. I did it, but I'm scared of heights. Jenny and I looked around the lower areas and had a great time while Gerry and Joe and Anna climbed to the higher towers. He took some amazing pictures of the scenery however it was a dreary day so the view was not spectacular. It POURED down rain as we were on the way back to the bus, we were soaked. Truly as amazing an experience as the pyramids in Mexico. We also drove by the Bird's Nest and Water Cube and took pictures

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We were up EARLY yesterday morning and all 33 people headed to the airport. 2 families got to sleep in as they had afternoon flights. We arrived in Chongqing about 10. Jessi called the local guide and he picked us up out front. Andy told us the history and trivia of Chongqing. We all got checked in, had a break, and met back at Jessi's room to do our first round of paperwork in preparation for today. We had another short break then headed to Walmart to get necessities, a great toy for Lila, and we were running low on chocolate. When we returned we were exhausted and ready to relax. We decided on room service. I had my first taste of spicy Chongqing food. Fabulous fried noodles, lots of chili paste, and a little friend. One of the prawns on my plate still had his eyes attached. We took a picture together. He was kinda cute and tasted great! We woke up early this morning and are taking it easy until we leave to get our new little one.

Mama's here my little one, mama's here.

We're here

2009-07-31T18:41:00.006-05:00

I just typed this, clicked a link and lost it all...aaaauuuugggghhh

Ok, here it goes again...

We are here. It is truly amazing to finally, actually be IN China. I haven't been able to post until now because there are restrictions on what sites you can access in China. We thought we had a site that can be used to avoid the restrictions but it didn't work. Gerry chatted with his brother who found a new site for us. Thank you Uncle Jim!!!!

3 of my previous coworkers were on our flight from Omaha. I heard someone calling my name at the airport gate in Omaha. It was Jane Johnson! She, Tad, Stephanie, and a new guy named Eric were headed to Summer AAD in Boston. They were even seated behind us on the plane.

The flight was long and we were both too excited to really sleep so we were exhausted when we got here. We arrived in Bejing, found our guide, got to the hotel, met Tom & Rebecca in the lobby, came up to the room about 4:30 pm (3:30 am at home) and took a 4 hour nap. We woke up, had room service, called home, and went back to bed. The only problem with that was we were wide awake at 4:00 am.

Yesterday was a full day of sight-seeing in Beijing. There are only 2 couples that came early so we had an enjoyable day with the Lazars. They are adopting an 8 year-old from Anhui province.

Our fist destination was the Temple of Heaven. This park was built by the Ming emperor 500 years ago. It has 2 main areas for worshipping the gods of heaven and the gods of harbest. The intricate, delicate, architecture is preserved as it was when built. The area for worshipping the gods of heaven burned in the 80's but has been rebuilt exactly as it originally was. There are Juniper trees in the park over 500 years old planted at the time it was built. It is now a gathering place for the residents of Beijing. We saw them playing many games, dancing, ethnic dancing, and greatly enjoying themselves.

We had lunch at a restaurant with ethnic performers. We enjoyed dancing and musical instruments while dining on traditional Chinese foods. It reminded me a little of Tazo in Kansas City for those of you who have been there.

Our next stop was the traditional hutong neighborhood of Beijing. These areas have been mostly destroyed to accommodate the growth of Bejing. They have been replaced by office buildings and high-rise apartment buildings. The remaining hutongs are now privately owned but preserved as a historical area. They are small residences in sets of 4 surrounding a central courtyard. We were allowed to tour a home to see how the residents of this area live. We took a rickshaw ride around the hutongs because the streets are too narrow for cars. The narrow, winding streets are as they were when built during the Ming era. The hutongs were residences of the government officials of the time. The home we visited has been in this man's family for 4 generations (anyone see why I liked this area yet). The biggest problem for the residents now is public toilets. There is no sewer system so no private flush toilets.

There is a drum tower and bell tower in the hutong that orginally told the residents the time. The bell tower has 62 steps straight up at about an 80 degree angle. The guides told us it was practice for Great Wall climbing today. We all made it but it was hot and stuffy in there. The view and breeze from the top along with the drum performance was well worth it. We also visited an area nearby that is preserved as it was during empirical times. It is now filled with tiny shops selling souvenirs, and lots of bars.

The final destination of the day was the chinese acrobat show. The performers' skill, strength, and flexibility were awe-inspiring. It was a first of many incredible days in beautiful China.

Gerry took over 100 pictures so I selected a few of the best for the slide show. (It's not working, I don't know why, giving up for now.)

TTYS,
Chrissy
(Stacey, email me, I don't have your address along. OMG OMG OMG, I'm gonna get her in a couple days, yep, you KNOW I'm crying again)

OK FINALLY I THINK THE SLIDE SHOW WILL WORK!!!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Packing

2009-07-05T16:31:00.003-05:00

I have one suitcase officially packed, zipped shut, and ready to go. The wonderful ladies from our church quilting group donated their latest batch of quilts to us to take to China. The Holmes girls, Mikayla and Melissa, were adopted from China. They and their parents are in China on a homeland tour. We hope to return some day with Lila too and Grace so they can see where Lila is from. Ok, I know I'm rambling again...So Kayla got 1/3 of the quilts, Meliss got 1/3, and Lila got 1/3 to take along as donations. We will give ours to our Children's Hope International coordinator in China. Children's Hope has a foster home where children with special needs can stay after surgery. It's important to us to help the other special needs children because our Lila was one of them. Thanks to our sweet church ladies we can do a little something to make them feel safe & warm. The quilts and Lila's clothes and couple of the gifts we are taking along are packed in our smaller suitcase. It's even under the 44 pound weight limit! YEAH!

We're Going to China!

2009-06-19T21:41:00.002-05:00

We received our Travel Approval today. Here's our travel schedule.

Thurs, July 30-leave the US
Fri, July 31-arrive in BeiJing-Renaissance Beijing Hotel
Sat, August 1- sightseeing in BeiJing TianAnMen Square, Forbidden City and the Great Wall, lunch is included; CHI orientation
Sun, August 2- Travel to province (Chongqing)
Mon, August 3-receive children at the adoption center (you will not be permitted to visit your child’s orphanage due the H1N1 flu)
Tues, August 4-adoption process
Wed-Fri, August 5-7-sightseeing and free days
Fri, August 7-fly to Guangzhou in the evening – China Hotel in Guangzhou
Sat: August 8-Medical exam for children in Guangzhou
Sun: August 9 – free day
Mon: August 10-free day
Tues, August 11-visa appt
Wed, August 12- take oath at the US Consulate and get child’s visa late in the day
Thurs, August 13, families can return to the US
Fri, August 14, home at last!!

I can't believe it's finally happening. I feel a little like I did the day they told me when they would induce labor with Grace, overwhelmed, awestruck, but a feeling of joy that can't be explained.

New PIctures!!

2009-06-04T11:16:00.003-05:00

I logged into my email this morning to find quite a surprise. 3 new pictures and new height & weight for Lila. She is now 31.5 inches tall and 21 pounds. Can you believe how much my new little miss has changed since her last pictures? Isn't she the cutest little thing?!?!

Our agency told me yesterday that they are working on our appointments with the consulate and orphange and the estimate travel in late July.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOO exciting!

Chongqing Videos

2009-05-25T08:36:00.002-05:00

This is a series of videos shot from a helicopter in Chongqing. It has given me an idea of the area we will be in and where our little one is.

http://chongqing.spicycity.cn/index.php/nkxcq2008series/

SCL arrived today

2009-05-21T21:36:00.002-05:00

Christina from our agency called this afternoon. I was sitting by the phone and didn't even check caller id so had no idea who it was. I was happily surprised that it was her with very good news. Our packet with all of Lila's official information and the letter we will sign saying "Yes, we want to adopt her" will arrive tomorrow. We sign that & send it back to our agency then start waiting for them to tell us when we can travel. Hoping, hoping, hoping, it's July. I have a major birthday in July so it would be amazing to get my little girl for my birthday. This is another big milestone and it's a huge relief to have reached it.

Our Girls

2009-05-02T13:51:00.003-05:00

I have been waiting over 2 years to take a picture of Grace holding Lila's referral picture. What a blessing to finally be able to take that picture. Don't you love that posed look on Grace's face? She is my drama queen.

Details

2009-04-18T09:23:00.004-05:00

I was so excited to post Lila's pictures that I forgot to add any details.

In December she was 29 inches tall and 17.6 lbs

She is in the Bishan County Social Welfare Institute in the province of Chongqing. Chongqing is the largest city in China, so large that it is a province in itself. This wikipedia link gives a lot of information about the area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chongqing

Her birthday is May 25, 2007 so she is 3 years younger than Grace. I wanted my girls to be close in age like Carol Ann and I so they can be as close as we are, we're almost 2 years apart.

Her Chinese name Bi Si Shi means she is a beautiful cute girl and full of oriental temperament. Her nannies at the orphange wrote that when asked to make another little girl stop crying, Sishi would pat her back or hold her hands. Sishi is clever and has a ready smile. she has white skin and long eyelash which make her adorable. We all love this beautiful little angel. I know they are caring for her as best they can until we can start caring for OUR newest little angel.

Here she is!

2009-04-16T09:46:00.003-05:00

We got our preapproval (PA) late last night which was early this morning in China!! We are very excited & relieved to have reached this step. Our next step is the official approval called the seeking confirmation letter (SCL) after that we receive travel approval (TA)then we go get her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were slightly delayed getting our PA but Christina (our social worker) kept reassuring me that it would come. She said there is truly no rhyme or reason as to how quickly approvals are coming right now, it's different for every case. ANYWAY we are incredibly happy, totally in love, and more impatient than I have ever been to get my baby!

We found her!

2009-03-26T20:08:00.007-06:00

What an amazing, exciting, overwhelming day! I took Grace to the eye doctor this morning, as we were getting ready to leave Gerry called to tell me that Christina with CHI had just called and they had a baby for us to review. As soon as I got home Gerry & I sat down with her paperwork, without a doubt we decided that THIS IS LILA! We immediately called Christina back, left a message, she called, then we told her YES! We then sent in our Letter of Intent to Adopt. Now we wait for China to respond with our Seeking Confirmation Letter. At that point I can offically post her name, location in China, and pictures on the blog.

Snoopy totally sums up our feelings!!

Penguins

2009-01-17T23:47:00.007-06:00

We went to the zoo today with Lisa & Hudson for a class about penguins. When we arrived the teacher told Grace that there was also a Gracie in the class. We all laughed about that then got seated. I had to ask Gracie's mom, "I'm sorry, I'm going to be horribly rude, but is she from China?" I quickly followed that with "we're a waiting family." It was a great experience to talk to another local mom with a daughter from China. We had a nice chat about their experiences, the wait, and the overall joys of adoption.

Grace & Hudson had a great time. They learned all kinds of penguin facts, learned how to balance eggs on their feet like penguins do when hatching, went to the aquarium to watch the penguins in their habitat, then came back to the classroom for a snack, craft, and story. The best part by far was getting to meet & pet a real penguin. One of the zoo keepers brought in a small, South African, penguin to meet the kids. The adults got to pet her too! Her name is Louis, yes, Louis is a girl. Her boyfriend's name is Lisa. I guess the only way to find out a penguin's sex is an exam by a veterinarian. They had already been named before their keepers knew their sex. They differentiate the sexes of the birds for zoo purposes with a black wingband for boys & a white wingband for the girls. Grace & I will have fun on our next zoo visit finding the girl & boy penguins.

There is an adorable children's book about penguins. The title is "And Tango Makes Three." It's the story of 2 male penguins at the Central Park Zoo that fall in love. They try to hatch a rock so the zookeepers decide to give them a fertilized egg. They proceed to hatch the egg and are wonderful parents to their little chick Tango.

A bright spot in a long week

2009-01-09T21:51:00.005-06:00

This was one of those weeks then today brought a couple tidbits of exciting news. We have at long last received our immigration reapproval. It took over 6 months but it finally came today. What a truly wonderful surprise in the mailbox!! This afternoon we received an email from Children's Hope that they have received their official accreditation & submitted it to CCAA. We should know soon when we will be able to review waiting children again. It feels like we are back on track!

Adoption News!

2008-12-18T11:53:00.002-06:00

We had our final visit for our 2008 homestudy update today. It was pretty easy. We filled out some paperwork then today Sarah, our social worker with Lutheran Family Services, our local agency, came over and went over everything.

We are through the review room. When our paperwork went to China it was placed in line to be reviewed by the China Center for Adoption Affairs. They make sure everything was done properly and if they see any situations where they might need more info. I was convinced that they would want more information from my doctor since I have had diabetes for 30 years. We went through without a hitch so now we are in the matching room. In the matching room they go through our file and match us with our Lila! It's a big step to make it into the matching room. We still have a long wait ahead but are relieved to have made it to this milestone.

Still waiting for our immigration approval. Last time I emailed Des Moines they needed more information from Lutheran Family then she would mail our approval right away. LFS faxed what she needed in November so we know it will be soon. I feel for the lady at Citizenship/Immigraton, I have been at that point at work where you can't get 1 thing done before 10 more come in the door. That overwhelmed, drowning, feeling is not fun.

Also our main agency, Children's Hope, had some delays with their approval for the Hague Treaty. They were reviewed again and have now received their accreditation. We were concerened for a few months that we would have to be transferred to a different agency. We are happy & excited for them & for us to be back on track.

So we are still waiting and praying that Lila is being cared for as best as can be, wherever she is, in China. I hope she will be home for the holidays next year.

Finally pictures of the parade!

2008-12-17T17:41:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

An answer to that really annoying question

2008-12-16T17:10:00.002-06:00

We live in Iowa but are only a few miles from the Nebraska border. So often I have been asked, "What do you DO there for fun?"

http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Butt-Bandit-of-Valentine--Nebraska

This made my husband, sister, brother-in-law, and I laugh hysterically. I had to share.

Chrissy

Parade

2008-12-06T19:43:00.003-06:00

The parade was this morning. We had fabulous seats right on the curb by Neiman Marcus. I'll post pictures when we get home!

We are really in the Christmas spirit now.

Over the river &

2008-11-20T15:25:00.002-06:00

through Kansas! We are leaving in 2 weeks to go to Dallas! We are so excited to go to my sister's house, see her family, and go to the Neiman-Marcus Christmas parade. I have to survive hosting Bunko here Friday, Thanksgiving with Gerry's family here next Thursday, and helping my dad get the house ready for Thanksgiving Friday. I hate dusting and have dusted more in the past couple days than in my whole life. We went to the grocery store yesterday with 3 lists, stuff for home, stuff for Thanksgiving, and stuff for Bunko.

Here's a link to the Neiman-Marcus parade. Grace & I looked at all the pictures and can't wait to see it all in person.

http://www.childrens.com/parade/index.cfm

Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween Pictures

2008-11-06T23:38:00.003-06:00

It was a fun, busy, weekend as predicted and as you can see from the photo. I'm the green witch.

I applied for a few work-from-home positions this week. My hours conflicted with the one that seemed the most promising. The others seem like they might not be legit so we'll see.

We're ready!

2008-10-30T20:29:00.003-06:00

The costumes are ready, the pumpkins are carved (Gerry always does the intricate carvings, I stick to the traditional), the cookies are decorated. We're ready for Halloween!

Grace will be in fairy-garb all day tomorrow. I'll be wearing my jack-o-lantern t-shirt. Saturday I'll be a witch and Gerry will be Jason for our friends' adult Halloween party. This will be a great weekend!

Hope you all enjoy it too.

!BOO!

Chrissy

Trick-or-Treat already?

2008-10-28T20:42:00.005-06:00

I love trick-or-treating, I love Halloween. We used to sing pumpkin carols in elementary school, I still remember the words. I really get Linus's obsession with the Great Pumpkin. I live for that sugar-enhanced state of consciousness that can only come once a year. I seriously used to eat so much junk on Halloween that I would spend the next day getting sick. We lived on a farm so trick-or-treating usually meant we spent the day at our aunt's house because she lived in town. We would trick-or-treat to a few places then the fun was dressing up to hand out and EAT candy at her house. She lived on a main street so it was always busy. It's the same house we live in now but we don't have the constant stream of kids coming to the door. Some years we have 70, some years only about 10. I'm guessing this year will be busy on a weekend but we won't be home since Grace can't wait to go this year.

We have already started our trick-or-treating. Friday, the 24th, a local mall had their safe trick-or-treat so we went with a group of friends. It was ok, not as much candy as we got there last year but not all the stores were participating. It was good candy in the eyes of a 4-year-old (Dum Dums and Tootsie Rolls) so she was happy and best-0f-all had fun.

This Friday, the big day, will be a blast. She will have her preschool party in the morning, a toy store costume contest, an activity at the library, pictures taken with the scarecrow at Walgreen's, visiting Grandma Dorothy and also Papa Wes to show off her costume, safe trick-or-treat at another mall, then at a few safe friends' houses, ending the night at Aunt Andrea & Uncle Bill's. I think the little pink fairy will be a little tired & grumpy by the time we get home.

Here's a picture of the kids Friday at the mall.

Have a safe & HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!