National Day of Prayer

Just wanted to acknowledge that today is the National Day of Prayer. More info can be found at www.nationaldayofprayer.org
Please take a moment today and everyday and lift someone up in prayer--friends, family, loved ones, our enemies, the elderly, our heroes in the military and their families, precious babies around the world in need of a home. . .

April Showers bring May Flowers

Here are the pictures I promised from my weekend. My aunt has beautiful gardens at her house in North GA and I couldn't resist taking some photos. Enjoy!

Dreaming of my baby

Just a quick post to document that last night was the first time I have dreamed about Sarah. I've dreamed about us being parents before, but this was definitely a Sarah dream! It was sort of a crazy dream so I won't share the details, but wanted to quickly blog about it for future reference. Who knows, maybe yesterday or today is some significant moment in her life?

Sweet Sixteen???

Today marks our 16th month waiting since we got our LID on 12/29/05. Enough about that. . .
I just got back today from a quick trip to North GA to visit my aunt, uncle and grandfather. We had a very nice time visiting together! I enjoyed helping my aunt with her library book sale on Saturday. That evening, we went on a boat ride and this morning I attended their contemporary church service. It was awesome and very uplifting! Very much what I needed today!!!
The drive home was beautiful! I took some great photos of my aunt's flowers and will post them soon.
Steve is in NY for a month doing a big remodeling job and I don't like it one bit! We're one week down, about 3 weeks to go. I sure am missing him tonight! I think I'll add a pic to this post, just so I can see his sweet face. :)

Garage Sale Finds!

I was so thrilled to find these at a garage sale last weekend in my neighborhood!! They were only $25 for all three. I can just imagine Sarah rocking in the rocking chair, getting toys out of the toy chest, or writing at her desk.
When, oh when, will we get to see our baby?!?!?
I will quote a blogger friend, Firegirl, "Some day our princess will come!"

The Good Women of China--**Highly Recommended

I found this book that I had purchased some time ago from a used bookstore and recently started reading it. It's funny because a lady at church (who has 3 adopted granddaughters from China) recommended it to me a while ago and I didn't even realize that I owned it. That tells you how MANY books I own. :) I'm not quite finished, but I thought I'd recommend it especially to those of you adopting from China. It has really opened up my eyes to the secret lives of many women in China. The pain and sorrow so they have had to endure is incomprehensible. If anyone would like to borrow it, please just let me know and I'll send it your way when I'm finished. Below, I've added what the New Yorker says about it.
From The New Yorker
In 1989, Xinran, a Beijing journalist, began broadcasting a nightly program on state radio that was devoted entirely to personal affairs—a radical concept in Communist China. In response, she received thousands of letters from women, many with questions about sexuality; one woman wondered "why her heart beat faster when she accidentally bumped into a man on the bus." Eventually, Xinran persuaded her superiors to let her share some of these letters on the air, and in this groundbreaking book, written after she moved to London, in 1997, she has also included stories that didn't make it past government censors. A teen-ager commits suicide after learning that a neighbor has seen her boyfriend kiss her forehead; a university student speaks casually of becoming a "personal secretary," or mistress, to a rich man; a Kuomintang general's daughter goes mad after witnessing the torture of the family that sheltered her. This intimate record reads like an act of defiance, and the unvarnished prose allows each story to stand as testimony.
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker

I did find on chinaconnectiononline.com a great list of books of special interest to China-adoptive families. I'll have to check off what I already own and see what else I can add to my collection!
http://www.chinaconnectiononline.com/books.htm

We are so very 'fortune'ate!!!

Today is Steve's 35th Birthday! Happy Birthday Baby!
We went to our local Chinese restaurant for dinner and we both got the same fortunes! Hmmm, I guess we shouldn't be wishing our life away and should be enjoying every moment!!
It's so hard to wait for our Sarah, but there is a REASON, whether we like it or not and I have to try very hard to realize this!!

15 months down, how many to go?

Well, tomorrow will be our 15 month LID-Versary! Woo Hoo or Boo Hoo! Not sure whether to shout with joy or cry with sadness! Well, at least we're still here and we're still anxiously awaiting Sarah!!! We'll do whatever it takes to bring our family together! (please don't tell the CCAA, we're REALLY tired of waiting!)

How much longer, you ask? Nobody knows. . . Our agency thinks it could be August when we get her picture, I think maybe Sept, but again, nobody knows. I am just hoping and praying that she'll be home for Christmas!
Please keep us, our Sarah and all the other waiting families in your prayers!!

Check out my Slide Show!

Cades Cove with friends

I'm so behind on blogging. . .
A few weeks ago, I took the day off to spend with Kristi, Kaylene and Peggy. We took a trip up to Gatlinburg for donuts, Cades Cove for a picnic and drive, and Pigeon Forge for a little shopping. It was a beautiful, fun-filled day!

Back-tracking a little--March 2nd Dr. Seuss's Birthday

On Friday, March 2nd, we celebrated Dr. Seuss's Birthday and Read Across America at the library. We had two celebrations, one with the school across the street and one for the general public. Of course, I HAD to dress up as Cat in the Hat! Both were very successful and here are the pictures to prove it!

Slide Show

The Many Faces of Miss Kaylene

I spent the evening tonight playing with Kaylene and Kristi and what fun I had! Miss Kaylene is always moving! She has many faces--silly, giggly, totally serious, devious, bored--some of which I caught on film tonight. She can totally ignore you if you have a camera in your hand!!!
I had so much fun and wanted to share some of the precious pictures I got! Enjoy!
P.S. If you look to the left of Kaylene in the third picture, you can see her referral picture. Oh, how she's changed!

Chinese New Year 2007

Saturday, we celebrated Chinese New Year in Maryville with the local chapter of Families with Children from China. We got to meet a lot of families, most that have already adopted from China and also some fellow waiting families. I really enjoying making some new friends! Our friends, Angela and Brant brought their nephew, Andrew, and we sat with them. I am the new Volunteer Coordinator for this group, so it was helpful to put faces with some of the names I knew from the FCC yahoo group.

There were lots of activties--Chinese food for lunch, crafts for kids, Chinese songs and dances performed by girls in traditional Chinese costumes, and a Dragon Dance at the end with the children stomping on bubble wrap, instead of the traditional fireworks.

Happy Valentine's Day 2007

Steve and I had our Valentine's dinner at Mandarin House, appropriate, don't you think? We had a nice dinner, got dessert at Starbucks and watched a movie at home. It was a nice relaxing evening together.

16 days of referrals!

YEA!!!!
Referrals arrived yesterday for people with LID's from Sept 28, 2005 to Oct 13, 2005. As many of you know, we have a LID of 12/29/05, which is 77 days from Oct 13th. So hopefully, if China continues at the same pace, about 2 weeks at a time, we're looking for a referral in June/July. Now, they could speed up or slow down, but nobody knows!

Tomorrow, I plan on going to the International Festival at the Oak Ridge Children's Museum. Some of the girls from our local FCC will be performing a dragon dance, it should be fun! I'm meeting my brother and his family and hopefully Kristi and Kaylene will be there too!
I'll try and post some pics.

Please keep our sweet Sarah in your prayers that she is healthy and cared for and that God wraps her in His arms until we can hold her in ours.

13+ Months Waiting

Will it ever end? I sure hope so!
On Jan 29th, we hit the 13 month waiting mark. Can you believe it? I've been having a hard time lately realizing that it's actually going to happen and it could be in the next 6-8 months!!

I am so ready to see our baby's face! Steve and I have really been enjoying seeing pictures of and visiting with Kaylene and seeing pictures of Emma Grace. We're getting closer to Sarah each day and I think it's beginning to set in for both of us!s

We got 2 convertible carseats from a member of the local Families with Children from China. How wonderful! We are very thankful to Elizabeth for this grateful donation!!

Emma Grace is a part of the Cook family!

Here she is! We'll be greeting her at the airport next Friday, Feb. 9th.
Congratulations to Ginger, Jeff, and new brother Caleb!

Kaylene is Home!

Isn't she just precious?!?!? We were all in awe at the airport meeting sweet Kaylene. There were 8 of our ChinaMoms waiting to meet them when they arrived along with Kristi and John's families.

They had a wonderful trip to China and said they could have spent a little more time there. Afterward a few of us went out to eat at Applebees and enjoyed each other's company and of course, talked about Kaylene!

I can't wait to get over there and play with her!

Happy 2007!!!

This has GOT to be our year!! According to the Chinese Zodiac, this is either the Year of the Pig or Boar, I've seen both mentioned. I think I like Pig better. Too bad it isn't the Year of the Rubber Ducky. Here's a sweet little 2007 ducky I got Steve for his stocking to represent the year we'll bring Sarah home.