A Special Day

Well, I am back to catching up again. In August we celebrated my grandfather's (Paw Paw as we call him) 84th birthday. If that wasn't special enough, it was the first time I got to see my new cousin Ryder. He's a cutie for sure. Lucy was enamored with him! The surprise of the night, however, was my sister's engagement announcement!!! I am so excited and happy for her. We can't wait to welcome Danial officially into the family.

My sister just glows with excitement!

Lu is so excited about all that happened on this special day!

Happiness

Happiness is ...

1. spending the day with your two children doing errands (crazy, I know but it worked today!).

2. seeing your son's bare arm for the first time after having a cast on for 4 weeks.

3. feeling the soft skin of your son's hand as he grasps your hand while telling you all about video game strategies while walking into K-Mart.

4. realizing that 5 months ago today your daughter was placed into your arms for the first time in a foreign country over 18,000 miles away.

5. feeling as if your daughter had been placed in your arms so much longer than a mere 5 months ago.

6. seeing your daughter laugh with her daddy after not wanting to have much to do with him for the first few months.

7. seeing your daughter sit in her big brother's lap while he plays video games.

8. seeing your husband when he comes home from work.

9. hearing the excitement in your daughter's voice when she hears her daddy coming in the door.

10. watching your children sleep.

11. watching your children play Guitar Hero in Wal-Mart.

I was overwhelmed with happiness this morning. I am not sure what made it so, but the day just clicked for me. I allowed Z to stay home from school because he had to go this morning to get his cast off. I decided to let him take the rest of the day off also. We had a really good day. We didn't do anything spectacular -- like I mentioned before we just did errands, but it was good! I am posting some pictures of our day!

I will post more catch-ups later.

My son will not take a picture without some sort of goofiness to save his life! That is part of his charm I guess.

Can you believe that parts of this cast used to be white?? Even Lucy wonders if it will ever be clean again.

This is Zachary so excited when he knows for sure that his cast is coming off.

Lucy is watching to make sure that the nurse does not hurt her Ge Ge.

These are two of the most precious (if not THE most) precious children in the world, and I am proud to be their mama!

I love you Lu and Z!

Crazy? Probably.

I really need to have my head examined. No really. I need to have my head examined. You see, a couple of weeks ago I had a few cysts removed from my scalp. Not a big deal except that my hair had stopped growing in that spot. So my hairdresser/friend said it was time. The procedure was not as bad as I had expected, really. The stitches in my head were the pits, though. They itched and pulled and were terribly uncomfortable. This is also the first time that I have ever had stitches that did not relate to an incision in my lower abdomen. I guess the other pain surpassed the stitches, so I did not notice. I digress. Anyway... I was due to have the stitches out today. Whoo! Hooo!! I could not wait. The doctor that I see is in Zachary, LA which for those of you unfamiliar with the area is right outside of Baton Rouge (almost 2 hours away). Normally I love going with my friend to Baton Rouge to shop after the appointment, and I thought that might be what we could do today. She, however, had things to do, so she could not accompany me. That left Lu and I to venture on our own. Well, I don't know B.R. well enough to drive there and shop on my own, so I decided that I would cancel the appt (driving almost 2 hours with a 2 yr old only to have a few stitches removed and drive almost 2 hours back did not sound like my idea of fun!). I told the receptionist that I would have a nurse here in town take out the stitches.

Well, last night the stitches were really bothering me, so I decided to get Brandt to take them out for me. I mean how hard could it be right? I sterilized a pair of scissors and tweezers. I don't want infections, you know! I broached the subject with my dear sweet husband. Here is how the conversation went:

Me: "Brandt, do you feel like doing a little surgery?" I figured he'd jump at the opportunity. BTW he was watching some animated show when I asked.

B: "What?" I repeated the question. "I thought you were doing that tomorrow." I gave him my rationale for needing it done now. "Can't Janee (my friend) do that for you?"

Me: "She said she would but not until tomorrow, and I want them out now."

B: "Wait until this is over. I have been waiting a week to watch this show."

Me: I happily and patiently wait for the show to end and try not to think about the fact that I have offered my husband a chance to be intimately close to my head with scissors and tweezers. I suppose I really do trust him. The show finally finished and he suggested that we go to the bathroom where the light was better. I sat myself on the toilet and said, "Try not to hurt me or cut too much hair."

B: "You really want me to do this?"

Me: "Yes!"

He begins to work, but is having a hard time with the scissors that I had given him. After a few minutes he gives up and tells me to wait until tomorrow. Well, those of you that know me know that I don't give up too easily. I proceeded to find him another pair of scissors, sterilized them and got him back into the bathroom.

B: "I can't do this. It is harder than it looks."

Me: "How hard can it be. You snip the stitch and pull out the thread -- easy!"

B: "It's not that simple. The stitches are tied on like you tie up a roast."

Me: "What??!! How do you know?"

B: "Because I watch Alton (Brown off of Good Eats -- B's favorite cooking show). "

Me: "You're crazy. It is not."

B: "I'm serious. Your head looks just like a piece of meat that has been tied up."

Me: "Well, how would Alton remove the string from the meat?" At this point I think that he went on to explain how it all worked while I sat there holding my hand out to catch the stitches that he was pulling out of my head and the small clumps of hair that came with them. He finally finished and said.

"Ok, that's all I can do. This is really grossing me out. I think that I left one or two in, but I did what I could."

I really could not feel anymore stitches. It was very tender, but the pulling that I was feeling was relieved. I went to see my friend Janee today who was going to finish what Brandt could not get to, but surprisingly, there was only one little piece of thread that she found. She said that he'd done a really good job and that it did not look like there was too much hair lost in the process.

I guess that all he really needed to do was to relate it to something that he knew about. I really do have a wonderful husband. He is a great teacher, priest, cook, and now nurse. What more could a girl ask for! Thanks, honey-- Love you!

A Few More Pictures from the Birthday

This picture was taken on Lu's actual birthday. She just looked so sweet napping!

A sweet lady from church sent Lu some balloons on her birthday. This was Lu's first experience with balloons, I think. She played with them for well over 30 minutes. She kept trying to get them to the floor, but they just wouldn't cooperate!

A friend of my mom sent Lu this sweet bear for her birthday. When Lu opened the present, she hugged it tightly and said, "Ooooooooh!"

Lucy's First and Second Birthdays

I was looking back at all of the pictures that I have on this computer (as opposed to our old computer- got a new tower a few months ago and have yet to transfer pictures from that computer to this computer, because I am not sure how to do it and Brandt hasn't had a free weekend in like forever, blah, blah, blah!). Anyway, I think that the first event that I have pics from is Lu's birthday. We celebrated here at home with Na Na and Jessa on her birthday (Aug. 14th), then celebrated with family the following Saturday in McComb. I will insert some of the cutest pictures. Enjoy!

This first picture was taken as we were finishing up supper. Daddy cooked us steak and baked potatoes, and Lu loves a baked potato! Yum!

Here you see Lu looking at the beautiful cake that daddy made for his sweet Lu's birthday! She was very curious about it all.+This is Lu and Z after daddy dabbed pretty green icing on their noses. I think that she liked it actually!Lucy's family birthday was on Saturday. She wasted no time in diving into the icing. She remembered what to do.I think she is looking to see which finger had most of the delicious icing on it.

Getting Started Again!

I am back again after a long absence. So much has happened that it will probably take weeks to blog about it all. I thought about skipping all of it and just starting anew, but you'd miss out on so much. Thus, I will try to begin where I left off. (That is I will begin where the other blog that we had during our trip to China left off. If I come across some things that I did not cover on that blog, I will add it in here!) So the 2 of you that read this, keep me honest and nag - I mean brag on how wonderful this is so that I will keep on a postin'! e

An exciting few weeks

Well, once again, it has been a few weeks since I have updated this blog. So much has happened. We were fingerprinted on May 2. It was the easiest 10 minutes of our lives. We were really happy during that day also b/c we found out the night before that we'd gotten our Letter of Acceptance from China. YEA!! We could plan to travel in 5-8 weeks. Wow that's quick!! Here it is a few weeks later and we find out that the group will probably travel on June 4 or 5. We, however will probably not be able to go with the group because we have not received our I 171-H. That is the piece of paper that you get after USCIS (the fingerprinting people) check our fingerprints and our home study. I have absolutely no idea when we will get that piece of paper. If we don't have it by next week, we will not be able to travel with our group. Boo, hoo! It is not the end of the world, however, because we will be able to go as soon as we get the piece of paper and the final travel plans are made. So, long story short, we could travel to get Lucy as early as 3 weeks and 3 days from now otherwise, it will be sometime later in June or even July before we can travel. I just hate the not knowing of it all.

On a sad note, there was a massive earthquake in China today. There was lots of devastation throughout the region of Sichuan. Luckily, it was not near Lucy's orphanage and rumor has it that the other orphanages in China were spared the devastation. So, while I am extremely relieved that my daughter is safe and sound tonight, I am also saddened that it will be many more nights before I can see her safe and sound here with me. Erica

I am most thankful today for the well being of the children of China who do not have parents with them.

Catching Up

If anyone actually read my blog, I would apologize for not keeping it up to date, but because this is mostly for my benefit I will just recap all that has happened in the last week.

Regarding the Snafu -- We got to N.O. almost late - so panic mode had begun. I went in before Brandt (he let me out and went to park). You have to put all items through the x-ray machine -- just before doing so, I remembered the camera in my purse. I took it out and was told that it could not be in there. They would not hold it either. Had to take the camera to Brandt and get him to put it in the car. In the meantime, I went to the first window for processing. The lady at the window, told me that she was the one who called me. I played ignorant. She took my paperwork, and asked where my letter was requesting a renewal. What?? Where is the copy of your 171 - H? What? I was told that I had to have both of these things before she could take my paperwork. She also informed me that they do not make copies there. I was close to tears, but asked if we could get fingerprinted when we returned with these things. No - we will make an appointment for you. What??? Last time we were able to do all of this on one day. We left, found a Kinkos, wrote a letter, made a copy, went back turned it all in, and did not get finger printed. They did, however, give us a fingerprint appointment for May 2. ARGH!! We were not able to go to the zoo as there were 5,000 school children there on a field trip. (slight exaggeration - maybe). We went to the aquarium instead. I did take pictures, but they have not been downloaded to the computer yet. I will add them one day.

Working - I have decreased my work hours, so that I may spend more time doing the things that I want to do. See earlier posts. I have gone back and begun to work on Zachary's quilt, even.

Lucy - Still waiting to hear the next steps in our journey.

The best thing about the past week has been spending more time with Zachary and finding bedding that will match Lucy's room decor.

Snafu??

The week has been progressing well until today. I will recap it all quickly. Monday was a fun day of perusing plant nurseries with Janee for the Mayfair plant sale. Tuesday -- thought I had to work, but did not so I did some errands for Janee, had lunch with Brandt, got a hair cut, and prepared to go to N.O. on Thursday to be re-fingerprinted for our 171-H (Petition to Adopt an Orphan). I got lots of forms ready, spent a lot of time on the phone in the past week with the social worker to make sure that our HS would be finished and ready. Everything was working out beautifully until about an hour ago. We were planning to go to McComb tonight so that the drive would not be as long in the morning (our appt is for 8:20 am -- my thinking is that we will wait less time the earlier we are there). I came home from work early to get ready to go. I stopped to listen to the messages. There was a message from a very unprofessional sounding woman that said, "Erica Dick. We'd be appreciative if you would cancel or change your appointment for USCIS tomorrow. I will call you back if I get a chance." That was it!! There was not a name given, not a telephone number given, nothing!!!!! Brandt thinks that someone hacked into the system and got our phone number and is trying to get us to cancel so that they can have our appt. time. : ) Not sure if that is the case, but this is CRAZY! On the caller ID the phone number says US Government, but if you try to call it, you get a disconnect message. I am so frustrated. We are still going to go tomorrow. We have taken off of work, and all is planned. I hope and pray that it works out!

The best thing about today is the hug from my sweet son and the hope of soon getting one from my daughter.

A Busy Weekend

I felt I needed to let the world in on our weekend -- such as it was. We stayed very busy! Friday, Brandt had to be at a wedding rehearsal for his brother's wife's sister (aka Roni). I went with him to the dinner. Although they are from Birmingham and her family lives in McComb, they wanted to have their wedding here in Natchez. They booked Dunleith for the occasion.
Nice place for a wedding, eh?! The dinner was wonderful, and it also gave us a chance to spend some time with Ken and Kim (Brandt's brother and his wife.) Saturday morning, we got up at the crack of dawn and went to Jackson for MS Chinese Cultural School. Z has been attending this once a month for the entire school year. This month was especially fun b/c we were able to take pictures of Lucy to show off. There was another mother there that has just recently received a referral and PA as well. I had the opportunity to meet her and share in her excitement as well. Several of the families are giving us (us as in my family and the other recently referred family) a shower next month after Cultural School. That will be soooo much fun. It has been quite a long time since I had a shower!! (Ok, you know what I mean!!) We rushed home from Jackson to go to the wedding and reception. Brandt did a fabulous job officiating the service. The wedding was beautiful. (See the above picture -- the bride even arrived in a horse drawn carriage.) The reception was fantastic -- great food, great band, and open bar! Since it had been such a long day for us we retired early -- I think we were home before 9. Today was our church's day to cook for Stewpot -- a place for people to come get a hot meal -- kinda like a soup kitchen. We served spaghetti. I always enjoy doing it, but often leave not wanting the meal that we served 100+ plates of. This afternoon, I bummed around with Janee and Jessa. I shopped, watched 3 week old goslings swim in a bathtub, and watched a documentary called China's Lost Girls. It is about the journey to adopt a daughter in China. It was really well done, and it helped to make the reality of our lives a little more real. Tonight I have been reading other blogs of families that are either in China as we speak or have just returned home. It still is a very surreal experience. I pray that Lucy (Fu Ni Hua) finds a bit of peace and comfort today and that she has a smooth transition into our family. ~Erica

The best part of today was imagining our "Gotcha Day" with Lucy as I watched the film and watching 3 week old goslings swim in a bathtub (that was awesome!!).

A Quiet Day

It was a fairly quiet day. It's beginnings were not so quiet, however. I was awakened oh about 4 minutes after dosing off last night. Z had an earache. It was pretty painful according to his tears and moans. About an hour and a half later (and Tylenol and ear drops and going downstairs to sleep in recliners - yes both of us), we finally were able to get some rest. Poor thing was just miserable. He was so sweet though. He apologized for waking me up and thanked me for taking care of him. I told him that was my job, and I was happy to do it. After an early morning visit to the pediatrician, we were able to spend the day together at home. He even kicked my butt at Leggo Star Wars! (He always does though!)

While at the ped. office I asked about immunizations for our trip to China. It turns out that he only needed one shot, and we were able to get that done today!!! I don't think Brandt and I will be so lucky, however.

On a sad note, my friend's cat died this afternoon. She had been sick after eating three colored pom poms that her daughter had been using to decorate a project. What made the cat eat these pom poms I will never know. Kitty will be truly missed.

I still haven't figured out all there is to know about this blogging. I have tried for the last hour almost to replace the map of China or Lucy's province on here, but it keeps turning out way too small. I will have to check into the issue again tomorrow. It has been a long day. Good night!

PS -- I have decided to have a best thing about the day post attached to each one.

The best thing about today was my sweet son thanking me for taking care of him and the spontaneous "I love you, Mommy" he gave me! I love that kid!!

A visit to Guatemala

It has been a busy day! The day began with countries day at Z's school. His country was Guatemala. Thankfully a church member has family who lives there, so Z was able to get lots of "things" from Guatemala for his presentation. I will try to post some pics of the morning. Other accomplishments today... we applied for Z's passport, I made an appointment for Lucy with a pediatric ophthalmologist (will explain this later on as I post more details about Lucy), I called the Health Dept to check to see which vaccines we will need to travel to China, and more stuff I am sure. I like having things like this to do, so the wait won't seem as long. Gotta go pick Z up from school.

Lots of catching up to do

As usual it has been quite a while since I have posted an update. I just reread my previous posts and realized how much I have to catch you up on. First of all -- I did not return to teaching or even Title 1 Tutoring. It did not work the way that I thought it would. It was ok, though. I was able to be the stay at home mom that I wanted to be for a while. The end of October I began working at a local jewelry store. What a change. I have never worked retail, and I started this job just in time for the Christmas rush! I survived, and had fun, too.

Let's see.... other changes... Oh yeah, we have a DAUGHTER!!!!! I called our agency late Jan. or early Feb. to "make sure we were still on the list". We were and were told that we were a little better than half way to the top. I did some quick calculations and decided that it would be June or July before we got our "call". Imagine my surprise when we got a call on March 19. ( I will do a separate post on the details of "the call". Her name is Fu Ni Hua, and she was born on August 14, 2006. That is just 2 months after we were approved to begin the adoption process! We are so in love with her. We were told that we could expect to travel in 3-4 months. I am hoping sooner rather than later.

It has been a wonderful few weeks, but the time has reverted to an absolute crawl. We received our Pre-approval from China today. That means that the Chinese government has received our Letter of Intent (LOI) saying that we want to adopt this child. They will now move our dossier to the match room so that we can be officially matched with her. This step usually takes several weeks. More waiting.... will it ever end??? Enjoy these pictures of our beautiful daughter!

New Additions

Once again it has been several weeks since I have posted. The latest happenings around our house include adding music to this blog (scroll down to activate the controls) and filling out a Medical Conditions Checklist for our agency. This will put us in the pile of files of families that will accept a waiting child from China. We also have increased the age limit to 0 -2. I still wish for an infant just because I already mourn the time that I will miss of her life. I really do not want to miss any more than I have to. However with the increased waiting period, the gap between Z and her grows daily. I want desperately for my children to be close and have as loving of a relationship as possible. (You know for a brother and his little sister.) I feel that the closer they are in age, the more they will have in common and thus the closer they will be.

I may have already mentioned that we have another new addition in our family. We rescued a kitten at the end of the school year. We have finally decided on a name for him. Padre. He is solid black except for a tiny patch of white at his neck. Z said that he looked like a priest. So... he is now Padre. He has grown, and he is a typical crazy kitten. He is a far cry from the frightened, hissing, spitting, mess that we found him as. He is quite sweet and lovable. He comes up to us and sits on our chests and purrs and purrs.

That is about it for this latest posting. Once again I will try to post again soon! E

As time goes by...

As usual much time has gone by since my last post. Just a brief catch-up. We successfully completed the 2006-2007 school year! YEA! Zachary (after a brief bit of May-itis) got his report card saying that he finished the year with all A's! We are so proud of him. I decided that I would not return to teaching full time in the fall. Instead I offered to do the Title I tutoring for the school - during school hours. I am very excited about this. I will be able to leave school at 3:00 when Zachary is finished. I will be able to help him with homework, and spend time with him in the afternoons. Brandt has agreed to teach an additional class at the school. He will be teaching Algebra II in addition to the Pre-Calculus, Trig, and Senior Religion. He will also be back at the church in the afternoons. I have also decided to become a consultant for The Pampered Chef. I think that it will be a good thing for me. I will be able to meet new people, have fun, and bring in a few bucks to make up for any that I will be short from full time teaching. I am very excited about this new venture. Now for the really big news!! For the first time in our almost 9 years of marriage, WE ARE A TWO CAR FAMILY!!!! We purchased a second car about a month ago. It is a used Ford Focus wagon, and I love my new sense of independence. It has been a busy few months, but it has helped to make the wait for Lucy a pass by a little quicker!

You're Invited!

(This is a copy of the letter that we are sending to our friends and family. Please feel free to join us if you are so moved to do so.)

As many of you are aware, Brandt, Zachary, and I began the process last summer to adopt a baby girl from China. I recently ran across the tradition of the “Bai Jia Bei” or “100 Good Wishes Quilt.” To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in some parts of Northern China, to make a Bai Jia Bei. When a baby was born, family and friends would donate to the child's mother fabric scraps from old clothing with a wish for the baby. She would make a quilt for the child from the scraps. It is said that the luck, energy and good wishes from all of the families and friends who contributed the fabric surrounds the child when she is wrapped in the quilt. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation.

There are so many good reasons to make this quilt for our “Little Sister” (Lucy as Zachary lovingly named her), tradition being one of them. We are hoping to find many ways to keep Lucy connected to Chinese culture. Another great reason is that our daughter will someday be able to see how much she was wanted and thought about even before she came into our family. (It also helps that I have been obsessed with making quilts for the past year or so.)

I am hoping you will be able to participate in my goal to make a Bai Jei Bei. If possible, please send me a piece of fabric, at least 8”x8”, and on a separate piece of paper your good wish with your name on it. Most quilts are made with 100% cotton fabrics; however flannel, decorator fabrics (tightly woven), silks, or pieces of old clothes are all good choices. Fabrics that stretch, such as T-shirt cottons, are very difficult to work with and I ask that you avoid these. I am hoping you will be able to find a piece of fabric in your craft supplies, old decorating projects, or among old clothes you no longer wear. Please do not go to a lot of trouble. If you do not have a piece of fabric suitable, just send back your good wish (es). I would really love it if those of you who are in possession of belongings of people who are no longer with us, would send us some reminder of that person. I want to be able to tell Lucy about all of the people she missed. More than one wish or square from a family would be great too, and especially sweet would be a wish from other children. Our plan is to show Lucy how much she was loved and cared for before she came into our family.

Please do not forget to add your good wishes for each square. The wish may be a prayer, poem, quote, or just wishes from your heart to Lucy. Some good wish examples (silly is okay):

May you have an abundance of hugs and kisses.

May you pass your driver’s test on the first try.

May your big brother always watch out after you.

The good wishes will be incorporated either into the quilt or into our adoption memory book. I will happily share pictures of the completed quilt.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and your wishes for Lucy.

Love, Erica

(Hopefully now that it is Spring Break, I will have some time to post pictures of the wishes and squares that we have already received.)

A little about me

We have two cats and one dog. I use the term dog lightly as she does not realize that she is in fact a dog. Her name is Honey. We inherited her after my grandmother died.

I work a lot, so I rarely have time to do the fun crafty things that I like to do. I want to be a scrap booker, sewer, quilter, a knitter, and a crocheter. At one time I thought God was calling me to minister to persons who are ill. But life has gotten in the way and I don't know what God wants me to do anymore. Right now, I am a teacher who really wants to be a full time mom, but I am working so that we can go to China to pick up our daughter. My family is my life. I love my husband and son with all my heart, and now I love Lucy even though I don’t know if she has even been born yet. My heart aches for her, and I can't wait to get her. So for now, I wait and enjoy the moments I have with my precious family.

Lots has happened

Well, obviously learning does take time because it has been eight months since I have updated this blog. So what is new, you ask? We finished paper chasing for our daughter, we became DTC on 12/5/06, and we became LID 12/31/06. Almost two months has passed since we were officially logged in with CCAA. Zachary lovingly named "our baby sister" Lucy Claire. I was skeptical at first. It was a name that was neither on my or Brandt's list, but he was so sure that was her name that we soon became as sure as he was. We have met and become friends with two families in MS who are in the China adoptive families network. One of the families, the Mintons, have already adopted a beautiful daughter from China. The other family is in the process like we are. Both of these families logged in just a few weeks after we did. It is wonderful to have people who are right where you are in parts of their lives. I have also re-begun to work on quilting. I got half of a quilt done for Zachary two summers ago. Now I have joined several swaps to collect and make a 100 Good Wishes Quilt for Lucy. I have received 6 squares so far. I mailed out about 40 today. The squares should come flooding in soon! I am also going to send a letter to friends and family asking for squares. So, lots has happened in the past eight months. Hopefully it won't be eight months before I visit here again!

Learning takes time

I am discovering how much time it takes to learn something new. In the past 4 -5 weeks I have learned many new things. I have learned a great deal about adoption, yahoo groups, quilts and now blogging. I don't think that I am very good at many or any of these, but I am trying to learn!