Spending the day with Liv

I've been MIA for a week or so and have some catching up to do. I'm "back dating" the next couple of posts to appear "real time".

Thanks to Hurricane Katrina my brother-in-law Brian (yes, the one with the green behemoth) now enjoys an 8 hour commute nearly every week. So, we get to see him quite a bit these days, but this week he brought a special guest. My niece Olivia had a couple of days off from school so she came along with him. What a treat. They arrived late Sunday night. I was working from home on Monday so she hung out with me in my office. I taught her the fine art of doing expense reports. She was quite helpful - I'm thinking of outsourcing!!! She occupied herself with Zoo Tycoon 2 while I got some work done. She's quite the zoo builder. Later in the day we went on a bike ride. (Jon wasn't with us so I don't have to call it "cycling".) That night, we went to target and did some shopping (including a huge bag of candy from the lovely candy bins at the Super Target.) It was a lot of fun. I had to fly out Tuesday evening for my Uncle's funeral. So for the next couple of days she was at my house while I was at her house.

UPDATE: I just spoke with Brian and he told me that Olivia constantly reminded him not to park too close to my mailbox. Way to go Liv!!!

Uncle Doug

I much prefer happy posts. However, the original reason for this blog was to document our lives as we go through the adoption process. As I've said before that means the happy, the sad, the good and the bad. My Uncle Doug passed away on Sunday, January 15th. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in December. I was planning on visiting him sometime in January before he got too sick. Unfortunately, I missed that chance. His funeral is on Wednesday. My Mom had three brothers. Doug was the youngest. While growing up, they all lived within a 10 minutes drive (or less) of our house. I have lots of fond childhood memories of frequent, often impromptu, get togethers with Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, lots of cousins and all. Uncle Doug, you will be missed.

Shameless Advertising for a blog friend

OK - one of my fellow adoption bloggers Mary- Mia is a finalist in the "best of blogs" contest. Her blog is great - go check it out if you don't believe me - just promise that you'll come back to me every once in a while. She has provided me with so many smiles, chuckles and total belly laughs that she deserves to win on that alone. Her blog is listed as "Do they have Salsa in China." Go here to vote. The adoption category is the last category so scroll down to find it. So go ahead, do it now. Don't wait. This means you too Dad - this is our chance to vote for the same "candidate"!!

Two Happy Couples

Our friend Bill was in town this week and Jon and I had dinner with him Tuesday night. Yes, the cycling has been traded for margaritas and mexican food. Bill was at the same wedding as we were on New Year's Eve night and he shared these pictures with us. One is obviously me and Jon - I am the one with the Happy New Year's tiara. The other is Jon and Bill. I think both couples look pretty happy. I don't know if these were taken just before or after we rang in the New Year. Bill also wore this tux to the Atlanta Falcons game the next day. I hope he doesn't mind me telling that but I think it's hilarious.

Tour de Neighborhood

Jon and I have been threatening to start cycling again for weeks, maybe months. Cycling is a very strong word for my performance but "bike riding" would not be fair to Jon's. So Cycling it is. We rode Saturday but I did not last very long. I don't think I realized just how out of shape I am now. (I've mentioned before that denial is sometimes my happy place.) Seriously, I almost puked - it was ridiculous.
We rode again yesterday and even rode to the store to pick up some milk that we needed. I waited outside with the bikes while Jon went in, bought the milk and put it in is his backpack for the ride home. I waited right under the sign that said no bicycles, skateboards, rollerblades, etc. One man with his kids saw me and said "look kids, they rode their bikes to the store". Like we were some sort of sideshow or something. Like our next trick was going to be walking a tight rope. You see, where we live, you get to the store one way and one way only - in your car like everyone else. Sad, very sad. So we've ridden two out of three days which isn't bad. However,I would be embarassed to tell you how many miles we covered in those two rides. Oh well, it's a start.

Hello, my name is Karen and my husband has a Chia Pet

I'm sure there are support groups that I could talk to about this. Yes, despite my pleading and shameless begging, Jon is actually growing the lovely creature that my dear Mom sent him for Christmas. I didn't want him to grow it for two reasons. One, I have to agree with my Mom on the "tackiness" factor. More importantly, I had BIG plans for this thing. My brother Paul was going to be the next lucky recipient of the prized Chia. With our family, this could have gone on for years!! No sooner had Jon opened it, I could picture Paul's face when he opened it next year for Christmas. Priceless. So Paul, you can go ahead and let out a big sigh of relief. It is Jon's Chia, not mine, so he gets to do what he wants. Within 24 hours, he began "Operation Chia". I was secretly hoping it wouldn't make it while we were gone a few days for our Atlanta New Year's trip. He is quite proud of his progress so far. Stay tuned.

Note: No Chias were actually harmed for this post. However, I can not promise the same for Jon should he continue this new hobby.

Double the mail

Yep, just as I thought I missed a whole day's worth of mail due to Brian's parking faux pas. No, I am not going to contact the city about placing a "No Parking Sign" near my mailbox but don't think the thought didn't cross my mind. Hey, you never know when that 171H might show up!!OK, sure, maybe it's possible that we didn't get any mail one day, lots of mail the next day and the green behemoth had nothing to do with it.
Of course the double dose of mail consisted of several credit card offers, random junk mail and several catalogues. Catalogues? Are you kidding me? Am I the only one broke after Christmas?

Don't Park Near My Mailbox

Now that I know my fingerprints are usable - I have officially started stalking the mailman in search of the 171H. As you can see, nothing today.
Whoa - wait just one minute, what is this green behemoth? The mailman can't even get to our mailbox!! My brother-in-law (soon to be Uncle) Brian had his truck parked in front of our house and way too close to the mailbox for my comfort. (Of course, this has NEVER been an issue until today - I'm sure I would not have even noticed prior to my current obsession.)
Well this situation had to be fixed. I interrupted his roast beef sandwich lunch to promptly get him to move the truck. Luckily he is very good natured, knows me well and even helped snap the photos. No, I did not get out the tape measure but I did supervise the whole truck moving operation. Now that's more like it....

I actually DO have fingerprints

Whoo Hoo!!!! I was just about to post that there were no adoption updates when I received a great email today. It seems that my fingerprints were actually clear enough to be used!!! I emailed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services about two weeks after the fingerprinting fiasco in an effort to find out if my fingerprints were clear enough to be used for the immigration clearance. The people that took my fingerprints felt that they would be rejected. Also, my Dad recently told me that when he was in the Navy, they had trouble getting clear prints on him. Great. Therefore, I was preparing myself for fingerprint rejection. Anyway, I really didn't know if I would get a response from the email but thought it wouldn't hurt to try. If I was going to have to be fingerprinted again, fine but I didn't want to wait 6-8 weeks to find out that I needed to be fingerprinted again. It's been a couple of weeks since I sent the email but today I received the following response:
Your fingerprints were accepted. Your case is currently pending. You should receive a decision shortly.
So the "net" is that we still have to wait for the elusive 171H document, aka "The Golden Ticket" (approval from the U.S. Government to bring an orphan into the country.) But at least my "poor" fingerprints were good enough for the FBI check that they will do. Now as long as my "poor" fingerprints don't happen to match those of some scary criminal, we just might see that 171H in a few weeks!!!
Also, I can go back to using hand lotion. A few people gave me advice to lay off the lotion in case I needed to be fingerprinted again. Until I stopped "using" I didn't realize that I might actually be addicted to the stuff. It was driving me crazy. I kid you not, the first thing I did after reading the email was hit the bottle (of lotion).

Happy 2006!!

I've been without my laptop the last few days so catching up on posts. Jon and I spent a GREAT New Year's in Atlanta this year. We left last Friday afternoon (very tired from the celebration with Jon's sister and brother-in-law Thursday night.)
My parents also happened to be in Atlanta for the Peach Bowl. My parents are huge LSU fans (as in fanatics). We were able to catch up with them for lunch on Saturday which was an added bonus.
The original reason for traveling to Atlanta for New Year's is that our good friends Kimberley and Jason got married New Year's Eve!!!! Congratulations Kimberley and Jason!!!!
It was a great evening for a wedding. I've always thought that New Year's Eve was a very over-rated Holiday. It always seemed that I should have something fancy and fabulous to do but honestly rarely did. How nice of Kimberley and Jason to give me something to do this New Year's Eve!! It was a beautiful ceremony and we wouldn't have missed it for the world. The reception was a blast. We got to see lots of friends that we don't see nearly enough. We danced until our feet hurt and then took our shoes off and danced some more. The reception went until 1:00am so we all rang in the New Year's together.

Welcome Home Paul and Jennifer!!!!

This post is several days overdue but so are most of my posts. Anyway, last week my brother Paul and his girlfriend packed up and traded L.A. for La. They moved to the Los Angeles area a couple of years ago. Earlier this year they decided that for them, there is no place like home. They actually made the decision before that winch Katrina visited but didn't let that stop them. They left Los Angeles the day after Christmas and arrived in the New Orleans area last Thursday.

Another Excited Aunt and Uncle

We had Jon's sister and brother-in-law over last night to celebrate the holidays with them since we did not see them on Christmas day. We also told them about the adoption. Yeah, I have a blog and some family members had not been officially told. We never intended it to go that way but it did. We just really wanted to tell them in person and due to logistics it didn't happen until now. We also told other members of Jon's side of the family on Christmas Day. Anyway, they were super excited for us and Jon's sister asked permission to spoil her rotten. Permission granted. I stayed up way past my bedtime but we had a great time with lots to celebrate last night.

Christmas Lemons

Last Christmas, my MIL gave me a really cool Christmas present - a lemon tree. It's one of the "patio size" Meyer's lemon trees. Although I was thrilled with it, I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about keeping the thing alive much less producing any fruit. My first goal, keep it alive. Second, I would figure out how to get it to grow some lemons. I am a wanna-be gardener but really have no clue. It stayed inside until last spring and then moved onto our patio. Recently, we brought it back it for the winter. I present to you, my lemon crop of 2005. I picked the biggest lemon on Christmas morning and gave it to my MIL that day. We intended to enjoy it together but with all the festivities of the day never got around to it. I'm going to try one tonight.

Christmas Play

My nieces and nephew all had starring roles in the Christmas Eve service at Church this year. Mary, a shephard and an angel. Unfortunately we weren't there in person since we typically alternate Christmas between my family and Jon's. However, my brother-in-law was kind enough to capture it for us. I spoke to the kids Christmas Eve night after their performance. The angel told me (and I quote) that she "wishes they would have put a wire on her and let her fly into the Church - that would be cool." Considering this angel was already sporting a cast on her right arm under that sweet angel costume (she broke her wrist about a month ago), that is quite the statement.

Paybacks

Actually this story begins last year when Jon bought my mom a Chia pet for Christmas. This was hilarious because since the beginning of the Chia pet, that commercial has driven my mom absolutely NUTS. "Cha Cha Cha Chia!!!!" Not to mention that she thinks they are the tackiest thing ever. My apologies to any Chia pet fans out there - you can take that up with my mom. Anyway, my siblings and I have threatened for years to get my mom a Chia pet for Christmas. None of us had the nerve to pull it off. Jon comes along and last year actually gave my mom the prized Chia.

So Christmas morning, Jon opens the first present from my parents and you guessed it. He got the Chia - the same exact one. Still in the plastic - untouched. I wish I could have caught his initial reaction - it was hilarious. However, since his body was convulsing with laughter, it made the shot impossible. My mom gave him some sob story about not being able to give the Chia a proper home. I have a feeling this is not the end of the Chia.

Her first NEW dress

Once again, my parents went way overboard on Christmas. However, there was one present that literally took my breath away. My mom MADE this beautiful dress for our daughter. Just click on the picture to see the details. Oh my gosh, it caught me totally of guard. (Which I'm sure makes my parents extra happy since they are BIG on no one knowing what they are getting for Christmas.) I wasn't expecting this at all. I have watched my mom sew dozens of beautiful dresses for my nieces over the years. (Some of which my sister has recently shared with me - another post I haven't gotten around to yet but will soon.) And I admit that for some time now, I hoped that one day I would have a daughter that she would sew for.
To say that I am touched would be the understatement of the year. Finally, we have something to represent our daughter besides missing fingerprints and a huge stack of documents authenticated by everyone under the sun. The moment I saw that dress, it just seemed "real". Not sure I can explain it any other way. Also, for your viewing pleasure, Jon caught my reaction on camera. Yeah, I cried. Big time. I'm sure I'll cry again the first she wears this dress. I'm just that way.

Thank you Jon

Luckily, Jon didn't listen to a word of my bah humbug, no Christmas spirit, "we don't need to bother with a tree" attitude this year. He knows me well enough to know that I would have regretted it on Christmas morning. He made sure we put up an awesome tree and even put lights outside. Sure, I helped decorate the tree and enjoyed every minute of it. I just did not have the motivation to get it all going this year. He made sure it happened. He also did most of the shopping this year which I will try hard not to get used to. Thanks Babe, I Love You.

"Father" Christmas

Yep, here he is - The REAL Santa and yes, I personally know him . I've known him all my life in fact. If you are curious how I know him, click here. That's right, the rest of the year he is disguised as my Dad. Then each fall, he begins his transformation. Come to think of it, I guess when Dad stops shaving it is actually the first sign of the coming Holiday Season. I think at first, "Mrs. Claus" wasn't a big fan of the extra beard. However, over the years, she's been converted. He even has elves, there's one elf named "Leo" that kept an eye on us as kids and now keeps a close eye on the grandkids. Some of us have even gotten personal phone calls from "Leo" - usually not a good sign.

Here's a picture from a school party with another of his elves Jackson.
He has been the Santa for many school parties for his kids and now grandkids. And, sometimes he's done it without being recognized. Just goes to show you, all you have to do is believe. Now don't bother writing me to tell me to put in a good word for you. He already knows if you've have been Naughty or Nice.

One Step Closer

Yeah, I said the next post would be about Christmas but it's my blog and I get to change my mind. I got home last night around 8:30 dead tired from a "day trip" to Houston. "Day trip" is the term that is used by your boss to try and disguise an out of town business trip as no big deal. You get up at 4:00am and get home by 8:00pm - yeah, that's a day. Actually I like my boss, it's not his fault, I get to do quite a few of these. Anyway, back to the story -I got home to find that my new best friend (the fed ex man) had delivered our dossier documents authenticated by the Chinese Consulate!!!! I was surprised because of course I had been obsessively tracking the return mailer that I included and didn't realize it was on it's way. I really wasn't expecting to get it back until after Christmas. Come to think of it, I guess it was a little like Christmas so there you go - this is a Christmas post after all. Of course we still don't know if I have fingerprints and still have to wait on the elusive 171H from immigration but at least I can put more X's in my oh so beautiful spreadsheet!!!

Trying to get it out of my system

Note - this is not a happy post so if you are looking for happy - don't read.

I have to admit - I haven't been into the "swing of Christmas" this year. Not for reasons that you might expect. It has nothing to do w/ the adoption. Ever since we returned from visiting my family for Thanksgiving, I've just been sad. I don't want to be a "Christmas downer" but it really threw me for a loop. Other than that one post, I haven't said much about Katrina and I don't really know why. This blog was intended to capture our lives as we move through the adoption process. Believe me, Katrina has been part of this. Much of my immediate family evacuated here and were here when we were working on the initial adoption application. For a couple of weeks, we didn't know if many family members and friends were even ok or not. My sister put her kids in school here and they were here for about 6 weeks until schools opened again in their town. I haven't had a conversation with a family member for the last 4 months where "it" didn't come up. It's interesting to me that as I go back and read through my entries on this blog, it doesn't show up more. It's been such a part of our everyday. Unfortunately, I've decided to talk about it a few days before Christmas. Oh well, timing never was my strong point.

I knew it was bad. However, seeing the town you grew up in reduced to scraps of lumber, seeing your Grandmother's house destroyed by 3 feet of water and an oak tree through the middle, seeing your Aunt that lost EVERYTHING stinks. It's four months now after the storm and people are still living in tents. My sister is friends with many school teachers and they have students that are still in tents. My Aunt that lost everything hasn't heard a thing about getting a FEMA trailer. Yet, my sister's next door neighbor whose house is FINE, gets offered one. It's a mess.

Even the "lucky ones" that still have a roof over their head have it pretty hard. Jobs are gone or seriously affected, they watch their friends and family try to rebuild their lives from scratch. Nothing is easy there, going to the bank, going to the grocery store, to the Doctor, ordering Pizza, nothing. There was even an unfortunate incident with my sister in Walmart over a frozen chicken which I will not go into out of respect for her.

Anyway, if this blog is really going to document our lives as we move through this process it had to be said. I promise the next post will be about Christmas.