Wow - The CCAA posted their monthly update and only made about another week of progress (red date). Here is what their site says:
"The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before October 31, 2005.
The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before July 22, 2005."
Keep in mind our date is Jan 27, 2006 (7 months ago). Wow - it is painfully slow. The waiting is, at times, more than I think I can take. I can't imagine how it will feel when we pass the one year mark. Hopefully, they will update the first date (blue) in a few days that will put us closer to the review room. It is all so unreal at times. Lauren asked me the other day, "Does it sometimes seem like we'll never get Ally?" I said, "yes, it does to me, sometimes." It's hard for both of us to be patient and to understand what might be causing these delays, but it is really difficult for the girls to understand. It just seems like something we talk about a lot, but will never happen. A month to progress a week - at this rate, I don't even want to do the math. Seriously, I have given up on guessing when we might go. Everytime I guess, it gets bumped out farther. I'm not really upset, just frustrated.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Tubing Pics
A cool angle - it was pretty hard to tell if the pics I was taking would turn out.
This shot was taken a second too late, but it is still neat! Sara and Lauren are under the green tube; Brittani managed to hold onto her blue one!
A Day at Lake Lanier
Here is Sara skiing - she went a long time!
Lauren getting up on skis!
The "Girlies" - Sara, Brittani, Lauren, and Shelbi
Tubing!What a fun day! We met our friends at the lake after church today. It was a warm, sunny, breezy day and great for the lake! The girls rode the tubes for hours - literally! We skiied - well, Daddy at least got really close! Sara did great and Lauren was so close. She could make it up, but as soon as the boat hesitated and the rope slightly slacked, she crashed. Maybe a few more practices. I could still ski - didn't try to slalom, but did get outside of the wake and made it back in, followed by a crash! Oh well. What fun we had! Randi suggested that it will be Shelbi and Ally on the tube next summer! We'll hope so.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Bargain at Goodwill
I stopped by the Goodwill store to drop off some items, so I decided to breeze through the store to see if anything caught my eye. I found a Peg Perego high chair in great shape for only $12 and some change. These retail well over $100 at stores (I even saw one on ebay for $126). I figure if Ally is too big for a high chair, I'll sell it at a consignment sale for around $40 or so! I whipped up a cover for it out of some of the fabric from our kitchen.
Another CCAA update should be coming soon. I'll post as soon as I see the update. There are no "rumors" out there that I've heard.
The room has been on hold for a few days with little or no progress. I was at yearbook camp and Doug had Lauren at a soccer tourney all weekend (4 games). I did get a little painting on the base boards this afternoon. Every little bit helps!
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Thinking PINK and a Little Zooish
"Thinking Pink" applies to Sara's attic room in which we made great strides today. We began the day with sanding drywall. This made a tremendous mess all over the house, upstairs and downstairs! After sanding, we wiped all the walls with a wet rag and began to paint the pink, which looks really cute, so far. It will need a second coat, thus tomorrow's activity.
"A Little Zooish" is how I describe the fabric I bought today for ALLY's ROOM!!! I am so excited to have made a decision and found something that we like. A coupon from Hobby Lobby helped me purchase the first cut of fabric. There are 2 others that coordinate with this one; I'll wait until another week to use the next 40% off coupon! Since we have her bed, I can make the bedskirt and a spread (either for a crib or toddler bed). Once I have all 3 fabrics, I'll decide what I'll use for the curtains, etc. We are planning to keep the room lavendar. I think it is so cute -- baby or little girl!
I'll post pictures of both tomorrow.
"A Little Zooish" is how I describe the fabric I bought today for ALLY's ROOM!!! I am so excited to have made a decision and found something that we like. A coupon from Hobby Lobby helped me purchase the first cut of fabric. There are 2 others that coordinate with this one; I'll wait until another week to use the next 40% off coupon! Since we have her bed, I can make the bedskirt and a spread (either for a crib or toddler bed). Once I have all 3 fabrics, I'll decide what I'll use for the curtains, etc. We are planning to keep the room lavendar. I think it is so cute -- baby or little girl!
I'll post pictures of both tomorrow.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Do Something
I'm not usually into the sappy little internet stories that circulate, but here is a little quip that caught my eye and touched my heart ... A perfect example of "do something about it"!
On the street I saw a small girl cold and shivering in a thin dress, with little hope of a decent meal. I became angry and said to God: "Why did you permit this? Why don't you do something about this? For a while God said nothing, then he replied: "I certainly did something ... I made you."
I sent our "story" to Oprah tonight. She had an option on her website to share how a guest on the show had influenced a decision in our life. I told her (well, her people) about seeing the feature on a National Geographic documentary done by Lisa Ling (formerly of "The View") called "China's Lost Girls". I basically said that her story had partially influenced our decision to go forward with international adoption. I doubt anything will come from it, but I thought, "Why not?"
On the street I saw a small girl cold and shivering in a thin dress, with little hope of a decent meal. I became angry and said to God: "Why did you permit this? Why don't you do something about this? For a while God said nothing, then he replied: "I certainly did something ... I made you."
I sent our "story" to Oprah tonight. She had an option on her website to share how a guest on the show had influenced a decision in our life. I told her (well, her people) about seeing the feature on a National Geographic documentary done by Lisa Ling (formerly of "The View") called "China's Lost Girls". I basically said that her story had partially influenced our decision to go forward with international adoption. I doubt anything will come from it, but I thought, "Why not?"
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Has it really been a year?
That is, since we made the big decision! I will never forget the feeling of my breath being "taken away" as I sat on the sofa with a stunned look on my face, as Doug said, "I'm ready to do this," very matter-of-factly. I couldn't believe it. I'm glad, that at that time, I had no idea it would take as long as it has taken. We really thought we would have gone to China and been home by now with Ally (actually, at that time she wasn't named - at least by us!). We also thought we could finish our dossier and be DTC by Nov. Again, little did we know! Oh well, so our wait continues.
The girls go for registration tomorrow at school; classes start on Monday. It has been so hot here lately, I can't imagine having to deal with homework! Not that heat and academics don't mix, but it is still summer! Personally, my favorite season; fall is second favorite, then winter and spring -- I guess my favorites go in order! Anyway...
Thinking about Ally a lot today. I walked/jogged at the track around the soccer field and listened to my song "Swept Away" and thought of her - what it will be like to first hold her (assuming she will let us!), what it will be like when it's perfectly normal to hold her. I wonder if we will ever look at her and not think of what a miracle she is! Every little Chinese girl we see with her family is a reminder of what we are waiting for. And, yes, the wait will be so worth it. Not that it is easy, just worth it.
I heard something on one of the movies that the girls recently watched that struck me. The actor said, "Sometimes the heart does things for reasons that reason doesn't understand." I had to listen to it a couple of times to get it. To me, it explains so very well what we are doing. We still have friends that probably think we are crazy - honestly, I'm sure they do, even though they don't say it to us! So that phrase reaffirms that it doesn't have to make sense to anyone else!
We got a little more done on the upstairs room -- one coat of paint on the ceiling with the tempermental sprayer, the other door installed, all the base board and base cap installed and primed, and even a little sweeping (or should I say 'dust stirring'?). I think Sara will move in around her b'day at the end of September. Room stuff would make a great present since she is changing "her colors." The progress has slowed a little (which doesn't really mean much, since it was pretty slow all summer) because of band and yearbooks getting geared up! Once we get into the regular groove of school and work, we will try to make a little progress each week/weekend!
Here's to Ally -- who has "officially" been in OUR hearts for one year! In mine a little longer. I remember how excited Sara and Lauren were when we told them -- "yes, we really are doing this" we said over and over to convince them it was real!
The girls go for registration tomorrow at school; classes start on Monday. It has been so hot here lately, I can't imagine having to deal with homework! Not that heat and academics don't mix, but it is still summer! Personally, my favorite season; fall is second favorite, then winter and spring -- I guess my favorites go in order! Anyway...
Thinking about Ally a lot today. I walked/jogged at the track around the soccer field and listened to my song "Swept Away" and thought of her - what it will be like to first hold her (assuming she will let us!), what it will be like when it's perfectly normal to hold her. I wonder if we will ever look at her and not think of what a miracle she is! Every little Chinese girl we see with her family is a reminder of what we are waiting for. And, yes, the wait will be so worth it. Not that it is easy, just worth it.
I heard something on one of the movies that the girls recently watched that struck me. The actor said, "Sometimes the heart does things for reasons that reason doesn't understand." I had to listen to it a couple of times to get it. To me, it explains so very well what we are doing. We still have friends that probably think we are crazy - honestly, I'm sure they do, even though they don't say it to us! So that phrase reaffirms that it doesn't have to make sense to anyone else!
We got a little more done on the upstairs room -- one coat of paint on the ceiling with the tempermental sprayer, the other door installed, all the base board and base cap installed and primed, and even a little sweeping (or should I say 'dust stirring'?). I think Sara will move in around her b'day at the end of September. Room stuff would make a great present since she is changing "her colors." The progress has slowed a little (which doesn't really mean much, since it was pretty slow all summer) because of band and yearbooks getting geared up! Once we get into the regular groove of school and work, we will try to make a little progress each week/weekend!
Here's to Ally -- who has "officially" been in OUR hearts for one year! In mine a little longer. I remember how excited Sara and Lauren were when we told them -- "yes, we really are doing this" we said over and over to convince them it was real!
Saturday, August 05, 2006
August First Friday Gathering
We had so much fun at the gathering called "First Friday" in Dacula last night. As you can see from the picture, lots of little Chinese girls! Lauren is on the sofa (far right, in a white shirt) holding a new friend; Sara is right in front of Lauren on the floor (in green shirt, with criss-cross legs) also holding a new friend. As always, it is so encouraging to see families that have their girls already and that "our day" will come! Scott and Sharon (the hosts) have 4 daughters, their youngest from China. We enjoyed looking at their scrapbook from their China trip (March/April 2006), but the cutest thing was their daughter, Ella Kate, kissing her own pictures in the book!
A few days ago, I got an email from a friend, Marie (Lauren's friend Galina's mom) saying that they were getting rid of their youngest daughter's crib/toddler bed. She asked me if we wanted it for Ally! Sure! So, now she has a bed, too. It's really pretty -- white, kind of a Jenny Lind look with the spindles. I will hopefully make the skirt and bedding from some cute fabric I found at Hobby Lobby. There is something about being able to sew, that makes me feel obligated to make things like this. Sort of like I would be cheating if I bought something pre-made. Don't know why, but that is how I feel! I enjoy sewing things like that, but don't do it very much.
Sara's room update -- Got the bathroom door installed, base boards and base cap installed. We may pull out the paint and try to get the ceiling white done tonight or tomorrow. It's really taking shape - Sara is getting ready; she has started packing up her stuff! Today we went back to school shopping. Now we have to clean the leaves out of the pool from last night's storm.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
CCAA update for July came
This AM the update was finally posted. They "matched" dossiers logged in last June 29- July 13, 2005 (15 days, counting weekends). So a little better than the previous month. I think they will update again in a few days that more have made it out of the review room. This month was a little unusual (if you can even have a "usual" in the 4 months that I have been tracking this), in that the referrals actually arrived before the update was posted.
Yesterday, the girls and I met Debbie, Ian and LiLi for lunch at the mall. It's always nice to see them - I wish they weren't on the other side of Atlanta! If you know Atlanta, you know what I mean! LiLi has grown and gotten lots of teeth. She really smiled a lot at Sara (which made her day). I also noticed that Lauren and Ian were actually talking a little more - they are the same age. I know, I know - he is a boy. They discussed the pros and cons of wearing "Crocs". Debbie gave us some shopping advice that will come in handy when we go to China -- always enjoy talking to her!
Our friends, the Langfords, moved back from SC this past week and closed on their house in the same neighborhood they used to live in. You may know them better as Amelia's family - Lauren's best buddy. She is so happy to have them back here again - and especially at the same school!
We have been actually doing some work in Sara's new room. With the heat (keep in mind it's in the attic) we have spent a lot of time maintaining the yard and the pool, so we haven't gotten as much done as we had initially hoped. She has been amazingly patient. We (mainly Doug) finished the tile and grout. Today we (again, mainly he) installed the closet door. We are trying to figure out the best way to paint the room because some of the angles at the ceiling are a little funky! She wants the room pink (various shades) and orange. I think it will be cute -- once we get our act together!
Yesterday, the girls and I met Debbie, Ian and LiLi for lunch at the mall. It's always nice to see them - I wish they weren't on the other side of Atlanta! If you know Atlanta, you know what I mean! LiLi has grown and gotten lots of teeth. She really smiled a lot at Sara (which made her day). I also noticed that Lauren and Ian were actually talking a little more - they are the same age. I know, I know - he is a boy. They discussed the pros and cons of wearing "Crocs". Debbie gave us some shopping advice that will come in handy when we go to China -- always enjoy talking to her!
Our friends, the Langfords, moved back from SC this past week and closed on their house in the same neighborhood they used to live in. You may know them better as Amelia's family - Lauren's best buddy. She is so happy to have them back here again - and especially at the same school!
We have been actually doing some work in Sara's new room. With the heat (keep in mind it's in the attic) we have spent a lot of time maintaining the yard and the pool, so we haven't gotten as much done as we had initially hoped. She has been amazingly patient. We (mainly Doug) finished the tile and grout. Today we (again, mainly he) installed the closet door. We are trying to figure out the best way to paint the room because some of the angles at the ceiling are a little funky! She wants the room pink (various shades) and orange. I think it will be cute -- once we get our act together!
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