Fun with Blogging Mama Andrea

I created this design for Blogging Mama Andrea this weekend. I'm happy with the soft color palate, and I hope she'll like it too.

presents from Jia

The journaling on this page reads: There were some surprises in a box waiting for me when I arrived home from work tonight. I opened it up to discover a present from Jia to Hannah Claire. Jia, with the help of her mommy Jane, sent Hannah Claire some of their favorite baby items. We're now proud owners of a pair of Baby Legs (in pink and brown!), stacking cups, and a no spill snack cup. Kevin was pretty impressed with the snack cup. In typical Kevin fashion, he tested out the snack cup with one of his own snacks. I wonder where we can get some adult sized no spill snack cups? Haha!

Dear Jane and Jia, thanks so much for the baby goodies! They're very sweet. I'm very much looking forward to kissing little feet while pulling on pink and brown babylegs.

The tips for new bloggers blog

I wish I had found this blogging reference a year ago: Tips for New Bloggers. I used this as a guide to figure out how to give Tiffany's blog the black polka dot background.

looking at the calendar towards the nine month mark

I'm looking at the calendar thinking... "Let's see what day nine months on the waiting list falls on. I'll be paper pregnant and overdue that day!" The 22nd of this month falls on Thanksgiving Day. I'd sure like to have something extra special to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. My mother's due date with me surely wasn't calculated correctly, as I was born 28 days after the due date!

Added 11/7/07: Right from the source... my mom posts that her due date really was calculated correctly and I truly came into this world a month late. I'm sure that being 9 months pregnant for an extra 28 days wasn't comfortable. Sorry, Mom!

Fun with Sweet N Sassy Sophia

Today I created this header for Tiffany's new blog Sweet N Sassy Sophia. Sophia is such a little beauty, and her mommy hears that she's going to be quite a little sassy handful. If we lived closer, I'm sure that Tiffany and I could be great shopping buddies! Thank you for your donation, Tiffany.

Four day 30% off sale at Gymboree

November 8-11 save 30% off at Gymboree using online code: GYMFRIEND. If shopping in-store, e-mail me and I'll e-mail you a printable coupon. Yes, it's hard for me to hold back... so I'll shop vicariously with you. Oh, wait a minute! Maybe my cutie niece needs some Gymboree for Christmas?

Speaking of shopping, here's a line of stores owned by Gymboree called Crazy8. I haven't bought anything from them yet, but their lines are lower priced and very cute as well.

Happy National Digital Scrapbooking Day

Yesterday was National Digital Scrapbooking Day. My favorite digiscrappin' shop Peppermint Creative is having a 30% off sale this week. They have a new autumn kit titled October Rust with leaves, browns, and greens that is my favorite kit ever. If you are looking for something to scrapbook your Halloween photos with, their Witches Brew kit is just adorable.

grouchy: need retail therapy

Yes, I've been quiet here. I apologise to the people around me in real life that read this blog. I'm grouchy and get emotional very easily right now. I've raised my voice with people at work too. The girls at work and my husband all need medals for putting up with me and my ever changing mood swings. Working nearly 60 hours this week out of necessity to cover a coworker's vacation doesn't help either.

I bought a pink tote and some perfume for a little retail therapy to perk myself up. It is from an Asian retro line titled "Miso Pretty." Cute stuff!

Reed's missing toys

Dear Baby Reed,

I'm sorry little one. Hannah Claire didn't take your toys. She's still in Taiwan. And yes, please see if your daddy will let you use Skype to video conference some adoption phone calls for us. Hannah Claire's mommy is getting quite anxious.

Watch out for that big kid Kobi. He's pretty wild with his toys lately... especially with his baseball gear!

Hannah Claire's Mommy

Tadpole Soup

If you haven't already read this family's Taiwan adoption blog, you need to. Check out the exciting things that they ate this weekend. Kevin and I draw the line at tadpole soup. No thank you. I'd try the squid, but I have a feeling I'd rather have the sausage and pineapple on a stick.

Thank you

I just wanted to say thank you to all of the support I've gotten from other adoptive families. I've received several uplifting e-mails in my in-box lately, along with good tips from mommas who've been there, done that.

I've been asked a few of the same questions lately, so I figured that I'd reply to all.

Question: Will you let us know about your referral right away?
Answer: We may need to take a few days to look over the referral information. If there are any medical questions, we'll use the Riley International Adoption Clinic to evaluate the medical information before we accept the referral. We'll share the good news with everyone once we make a decision to accept the referral.

Question: Will you share referral pictures with us?
Answer: Yes yes yes.

Until then... I carry my camera with me and look for help from Psalm 27:14. Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord.

Fun with Love is a Place

I have just finished installing a new blog header for Jane at Love is a Place. This just might be my favorite thing I've ever made while digiscrapping. Jia's so cute that it's pretty easy to be inspired!

Here is a site that I'm playing around with. Picnik is a web based free photo editor that is very easy to use. I'm anti-Photoshop because it's just so complicated... but Picnik is user friendly and allows me to edit photos easily and quickly. For Love is a Place I made some photos sepia tone and used the vignette function to make the edges of the photo darker. They have premium features that you can subscribe to for $24.95 a year. For now I'm very happy with the free features.

Blog Headers with Love

I've had a little fun making blog headers for some other blogging adopting parents lately. If anyone else would like a new blog header, I'd be happy to make one for you in exchange for a free will donation to help with projects for the St. Lucy's Center and Chung Yi orphanages in Taiwan. Right now funds are needed to pay for shipping costs for the donated Christmas presents for children at Chung Yi.

Click on the graphic below to read about the details:

Stork Alert Downgraded from Red to Orange

It now sounds like those referrals have already been matched with other families, but I hear more are on the way. This is wonderful news, as these little girls join families that are surely just over the moon with excitement. This also bumps us up in line on the pink list, so we're happy things are movin' right along after being delayed months with no infant girl referrals. I'll downgrade this stork alert from red high alert to orange. Whew! One can only check phone's dial tone and junk e-mail box so many times in one day! Hee hee! I've started carrying my camera in my purse everywhere I go just in case we get the call, and told the girls at work to make sure that my camera is out and that someone is taking video or pictures if this all goes down when I'm at work.

American Girl Dolls

My mother told me a few weeks ago that she's looking forward to shopping for American Girl Dolls. I think that's so sweet! Today I got an American Girl Doll catalog in the mail with a beautiful Chinese-American doll on the cover. While Mom was at work, I brought over the catalog and put it on the kitchen table with a note about the girl referral rumors... and that I hope she gets to start shopping for her Hannah very soon.

Stork Alert for the "Pink Line"

A friend just e-mailed me that another family posts our agency has three infant girl referrals from Chung Yi. I'm all shakey excited. Not sure what this means for me, but I'm so glad that that there are more referrals for the "pink line" because these families have anticipated these referrals "any day now" for so long. YAY YAY YAY!

Woah... What Happened?

Yes, this is the right place. Yes, the blog design looks way different. Nope, I'm not done. There may by some tweaks here and there.

I still really love this "Are We There Yet?!" onesie and have it in a couple of sizes, as I think it will be funny to have our daughter wear it on the long trip home.

Fun with Adopting Families

Kevin has accused me (jokingly of course) of becoming a blogaholic. Here's a test one can take to find out your status.

My score was 56 percent. A score in the 51 through 80 present ranks me as a dedicated blogger. The site states, "You post frequently because you enjoy weblogging a lot, yet you still manage to have a social life. You're the best kind of weblogger. Way to go!"

Yesterday's gathering of Indiana Taiwan adoption families was really great time, but Kevin joked that I couldn't wait to get home to blog about it. See, honey. I waited until the next day. I'm just a dedicated blogger, not a blogaholic. Haha.

Due to babysitter difficulties, we ended up meeting in a home rather than at the restaurant. I think we had an even better time because we had more time to just hang out, relax, and get to know eachother. We had 6 adults and 7 kiddos, and it was amazing that the kids played so well together. It was a beautiful October day, and the sand and swingset kept them entertained for hours. We joked that the family's recycling bin made it look like there had been a frat party. At the end of the night there were many empty bottles of wine, beer bottles, pop cans (Yep, I'm a Hoosier and I say "pop"), three pizza boxes, and one jug of milk.

I took some parenting notes from these supermommies. Here's my favorite. When your older child is crying too long and isn't really hurt, pretend to be overly interested in their owie. "Oh no, this really looks serious! If this isn't better in a few minutes we're going to have to go to doctor and get a shot to fix it." Amazing! Whimpering stopped immediately. Gotta write this stuff down!

Someone asked me yesterday when Chinese New Year would be in 2008. I googled the answer:
New Year's Day - Thursday, February 7th
Lantern Festival (15th day) - Thursday, February 21st

8 months

invitation to lunch

Dear families adopting from Taiwan,
You are invited to join three (or more?) couples adopting from Taiwan meeting for lunch at an Italian restaurant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, this Sunday, October 21st, at 1:00pm. If you are interested in joining us for food, fun, and a glass of wine... e-mail me at journeytohannahclaire@gmail.com. I just might need two glasses to mark 8 months on the waiting list!

baby coupons

Tonight at CVS I had an Extra Care coupon to get $2 off a Playskool baby item. When I get these coupons it makes me kinda sad. I want to spend them because I get good deals, but it'd hard to pick something out. I don't want to choose a pacifier, bottle, or nipple product because babies are picky and I have no idea what kind she'll like. So... baby got some $3.99 - $2 = $1.99 heat sensitive spoons tonight. I've previously had a CVS Extra Care coupon for one free Playskool baby item up to $5! Hannah Claire has a bowl and spoon too in our kitchen cabinet. They've been lonely, sitting there all by themselves with no other baby items. Someone tipped me up to sign up with diaper companies and they've started sending me coupons in the mail. Pampers knows my name and address and wants my business. If anyone has some baby coupons scoop to share let me know where I can sign up.

Sigh. No news. Believe, me... you'd know if there was any.

Tuesday Baby Quiz

Which mammal has the longest gestation period? No cheating and googling for the right answer! I'll post the answers in 48 hours. Hint: The correct answer is not an adoptive parent, although it feels like it when you're +12 months "paper pregnant."

Answer posted 10/18. You're a bunch of smart mommas!

Gestation is the period of time between fertilization and birth of mammals—in other words, the time spent in the mother's uterus. The shortest known gestation period is 12 to 13 days. This record is shared by three marsupials (mammals in which the young are born prematurely and finish developing in a pouch located near the mother's abdomen): the American or Virginian opossum (Didelphis marsupialis); the rare water opossum, or yapok (Chironectes minimus), of central and northern South America; and the eastern native cat (Dasyurus viverrinus) of Australia. The longest gestation period for a mammal is that of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) with an average of 660 days, and a maximum of 760 days.

Chung Yi Christmas Presents - Part 5

I had so much fun shopping for Christmas presents for a baby girl at Chung Yi that we took on shopping for a boy aged 8-11. I left the toy selection all up to Kevin, and he got excited about Matchbox cars that are off-road vehicles. I'll add some art supplies and toiletries and we'll be all set.

Happy 6th Anniversary to Us!

Looking back six years ago:

We were married on October 13, 2001 in my home church. It was a cloudy fall day with a few sprinkles, but inside the church everything was beautiful. The fresh flowers were especially stunning. My favorite flowers included bridesmaids' rose bouquets with fall nuts and acorns nestled in them and a burgundy ribbons with leaves attached to them that ran down the center isle of the church. Kevin and I were both misty eyed during the ceremony, and he squeezed my hand to try to be funny so I wouldn't cry. Our guests were given handfuls of freshly fallen leaves to throw at us as we left the church and it looked so pretty to have all of the leaves in the air at one time. The reception was a lot of fun, but went by so fast! We spent the night at a local bed and breakfast. My sister (little sneak!) had decorated the room with silk fall leaves and candles, and left us a basket of snacks. Kevin really appreciated the snacks! The reception was so busy that we didn't get to eat much of our dinner or drink more than a few sips of champagne.

The happy couple honeymooned in New Orleans the following week. Just one month after 9/11, New Orleans seemed very quiet. Many people were scared to travel. We went on with our honeymoon as planned, as we felt that the terrorists win if we stay home in fear. There were very few people in the hotels we stayed in, eating at restaurants where we experienced Cajun and Creole cooking, as well as exploring with us on cemetary tours. Now we feel forunate to have experienced the flavor of New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina.

Updated 10/14/07:

We spent our anniversary celebrating my grandparents' 80th birthdays. Our family had dinner at an Amish farm with all of my aunts, uncles, and most of the cousins. We had salads and rolls with apple butter, pan fried chicken, Swiss steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, noodles, stuffing, green beans, and a selection of pies to choose from. Mmmm. Delicious carbohydrate overload! I sat under a gas lamp and was surprised at how much light and heat it let out. I liked watching a little blond Amish schoolgirl peek out and enjoy listening to us tell stories. My grandfather retold the story about how he stood up my grandmother on their first date. It was V-J day, and he went out celebrating with his buddies. I'm sure they just went out to clink glasses over a few rounds of milk. Ha ha! Anyway, I'm glad that she decided to give him another chance! Kevin gave me a new photo printer for our anniversary. It prints my photos and scrapbooking pages out much nicer than the regular ink jet printer we have.

Double Ten Day

Today is the national celebration day for the government of Taiwan, called the Republic of China. It celebrates the start of the Wuchang uprising on October 10, 1911. Traditionally, the celebration starts in front of the presidential building with flag raising, public singing of their national anthem, and a military parade. Fireworks displays in the evening are head throughout major cities across the island. This symbol is often used for Double Ten Day because it is the combination of two characters for 10.

Until TODAY, military parades had on Double Ten Day not been held since 1991 because of tensions with China. Taiwan has been flexing it's muscles recently trying once again to gain United Nations recognition, and used today's Double Ten Day parade to show their stuff. Today's parade was complete with tanks rolling down the street, fighter planes streaking across the sky in formation, and marching by military honor guards.

This holiday sounds a lot like Fourth of July celebrations here in the US, minus the tanks and tensions with China.

Referral Request Form

Kevin called me at work tonight to tell me we had a package from our adoption agency. I got the shivers, but stopped and thought... surely we didn't get a referral by mail! Nope, no referral. It's an information request form that helps the agency know what special needs or situations that we would be open to when considering a referral. Of course we'd like to "request" for that referral to come any day now, so we sat down over dinner and talked through our decisions. It's all done, and we'll mail it back tomorrow. My sweetheart of a husband even held my hand during some of the tough ones. I married such a great guy.

my recent reads

Vignettes of Taiwan by Joshua Samuel Brown

This book was great for me because I could read 1-2 little short vignettes a day on topics such as Taiwanese history, betel nut girls, night markets with stinky tofu, dating, gambling, and the lantern festival. Yes, that's right! They even have a vingnette on my stinky tofu!

Until I read this book, I had no idea that the romanization of Chinese names is steeped in politics. The author states, "Prior to the late 1990s, Taiwan used the Wade-Giles system, allowing names of places to be read by people unfamiliar with Chinese characters. The Wade-Giles system was also likely politically acceptable, being different from the Janyu Pinyin used in China. In recent years, the Taiwanese government has attempted to switch to a third system, called Tongyong. However, not all cities and counties in Taiwan agree with this change, resulting in a confusing set of circumstances in which the romanized spellings of certain place names may be spelled differently on signs and maps around the island, depending on the political leanings of the sign painters or map makers at the time." This is a recent publication, with a copyright of 2006.

Peony in Love by Lisa See

I started reading this book on vacation after finishing Lisa See's bestseller Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. I had to stop halfway through because it got kind of strange. I'm not giving away the book by telling you that most of the book is an after death experience. Bad things happen when your family doesn't burn enough ghost money money so you don't have resources in the afterlife... but I really don't want to read about a fictional afterlife. Sorry.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Excellent. I found it at my local library, but it's good enough to buy. I read the whole book over about two days while we were in Texas. I had heard of the ancient practice of foot binding before but really didn't know much about it until reading this novel. Perfect foot binding was a necessity to marry well and have good relationships with your husband's family. The novel stated that one in ten girls would die from foot binding infections, and it would take a couple of years to recover fully from the ordeal. The Chinese government ordered footbinding to stop in 1912, but it takes a long time for traditions so steeped in culture to end. There are some old women in Taiwan who have bound feet. I'm not posting pictures to this blog because they can be a little shocking the first time you see them. If you would like to know more about what foot binding looks like, go to this link. There is a foot binding culture museum in Taipei County, by the way.

Chung Yi English Website Updated

Chung Yi has been working on the English portion of their website. It still says under construction, but you can read a lot about Chung Yi under the tabs. Thanks to Vonne for the tip!

Chung Yi Christmas presents - part 4

I went to Wal-mart today just to get one item. I should have known better. I wanted to include a paci clip as a last minute item in my gift bag to a child at Chung Yi. Well, you know what happens when you get me in a baby section? I can't resist looking at baby clothes. It all started so innocently. I picked up the clip, and then was drawn to the baby clothes. I found two very soft darling outfits to send in the Christmas package to Chung Yi, one 3-6 months and one 6-9 months. Pictures are of them below. (Sedona was a being a stinker tonight and wanted attention and barked at me and danced on top of the baby clothes. Bad, babydog. When I told her to go sit in her crate to get out of the way, she ran to her travel bag that was out on the floor. I think she wants to deliver the gifts to Chung Yi herself.)

I'm getting off track. Anyway... so I found these two cute outfits for the Christmas bag. I'm starting to depart the baby section without major purchases until a lady says to me, "What age is your daughter? There's whole section of summer that is only $1-2." That sent me into a little emotional roller coaster. What age is my daughter? Humm. I didn't know what to say. I don't know how old my daughter is. But then I jerked right into retail therapy mode. "Did you say $1 outfits???" I thanked the woman for the shopping tip and made a bee line to the clearance rack. I found a whole bunch of cute outfits, 12 in number to be exact, most for $1, all going to the children of Chung Yi.

Chung Yi Christmas presents - part 3

I've finished the Christmas present package tonight. I tried to stuff everything into a gallon ziplock bag, but everything doesn't fit! Luckly my mom had some two gallon ziplock bags at work! I didn't even know that there were two gallon bags until this project. Even when you're 30, mom still comes to the rescue!

The last thing to do was write a letter to the child at Chung Yi that will get this gift. Obviously, the 0-1 year old little girl won't be able to understand this letter, even after translation... but maybe someone will save it for her.

Dear little girl 0-1 years old

We are Kevin and Sarah, a couple in the United States adopting from Taiwan with the help of the Families for Children agency. We have been waiting for nearly a year to be matched with a child just like you in Taiwan.

Even though you are too young to understand the words of this letter, we want you to know that half way around the world, there is a family in the United States that is thinking of you. We pray for your health, happiness, and development as you learn about the world around you. We also pray that the good people at Chung Yi will find a mother and a father for you, to make a family that will love you forever.

We are Christians, and celebrate the birth of our savior Jesus on December 25th each year. Our family gives gifts to each other at Christmas to celebrate God’s gift to the world, his son Jesus. At Christmas time we decorate a Christmas evergreen tree with white lights, silk flowers, ribbon, and ornaments that are special to us. We also decorate the outside of our home with evergreen, white lights, and red ribbon. It looks very pretty, especially when it snows. The day before Christmas we eat large delicious meal at Sarah’s mother’s home, and then go to church together late at night. At church we have special music with singers, English handbells, trumpets, and drums. Christmas day we travel to Sarah’s grandparents’ home on a lake where all of the aunts, uncles, and cousins, and their children gather together for food and fun with family. Sometimes the lake freezes solid and we can walk on top of the lake. Kevin’s family lives far away, and we spend an entire week with them every year right after Christmas.

This year, thinking of you and praying for your future will be an important part of our Christmas experience. We have sent some Christmas gifts to help you explore and grow. There’s a camera too so that when you are older, you can look back on more pictures of yourself when you were a little baby at Chung Yi. Merry Christmas, little one!

With love,
Kevin and Sarah

Happy Birthday to my Mother

Your birthday brings to mind
the thousands of things you did for me
that helped make me
happier, stronger and wiser,
because I had you as a role model.

I'm grateful for all the times
you healed my hurts
and calmed my fears,
so that I could face the world
feeling safe and secure.

I'm thankful for all you showed me
about how to love and give
lessons that now bring
so many blessings to me
each and every day.

Your sacrifices and unselfishness
did not go unnoticed, Mom.
I admire and respect you.
I love you.
And I'm so glad you're my mother!

Chung Yi Christmas presents - part 2

Oh! Duh! I'm including a disposable camera for this Christmas present to a Chung Yi baby girl in hopes that the nannies will take more pictures of her as she grows up. These pictures will be her pictures, and hopefully something she will take with her when she leaves Chung Yi to join a family.

Chung Yi Christmas presents

A group of adopting parents using our agency Families for Children is working on providing Christmas presents for all of the children at the Chung Yi orphanage in Taiwan. Chung Yi has infants, toddlers and several older children too, many of which will never be adopted for various reasons. I've been assigned to create a Christmas package for a little girl, 0-1 year old. Someone must think I know how to shop for a baby girl! Now where would they get that idea from? My package contains a dog with lots of textures and sounds, and it shakes when you pull on a cord on top his head. There's a clip on rattle with lots of textures, sounds, and a mirror. She'll have some pastel onesies, socks, and a lovey blanket. Depending on space and weight, I'll add some extra items from the drug store as well.

ready for the referral with photo buttons

I've been saving this photo button for the last eight months. I plan on wearing this little girl's photo, keeping her close to my heart every day until we can make her part of our family.

We're ready! I've even made list of family and close friends to call on the phone. I've lined up a international adoption clinic to take a look at our medical information with the referral just to make sure everything is how it should be, and if we need to ask any more questions before accepting the referral. Funds are in the bank ready to pay our agency fees due at referral. And of course, the photo button is out of the package and ready for a photo to be popped right in!

Here are the October guesses for the guess our referral date contest:

October 1st: Rob and Karin

October 3rd: r... (Island Boy's parents)

October 13th: SARAH AND KEVIN'S 6th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!

October 15th: Shelley

October 18th: Sandy

October 19th: Grandma Chapman

October 20th: Marina

October 30th: Andrea

What kind of American English do you speak?

I've always thought that my Hoosier speech was pretty "normal" American English. Now I've got proof! I'll never bring myself to call a Coke a soda... it will forever be a "pop" in my vobabulary.

Sarah's Linguistic Profile:

65% General American English 10% Dixie 10% Midwestern 10% Upper Midwestern 0% Yankee

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

After taking the survery, feel free to post your results in the comments.

Got Shots?

Yeah, we never have any of our own adoption news. I'm just always happy for other people with good news. I know. I'd like some too. How about this? Kevin and I got our last shots today in our series of Hepatitis A and B vaccinations. With our immune systems building up a defense against Hepatitis and little Cipro on hand just in case, we're ready to taste test street vendor foods with no worries. I think there's some stinky tofu somewhere out there fermenting just for me.

Baby boy for Mel!

Mel (also using my agency) has announced she and her husband have accepted the referral of a baby boy at St. Lucy's Center in Taiwan! He's beautiful! Congratulations!

Why we only put "1 child" on our immigration paperwork

Biological or adopted, twins are pretty cute to read about as we watch them grow up. But can you imagine adopting TRIPLETS FROM TAIWAN?!?! Oh. My. Gosh. This is why we only put a "1 child" on our immigration paperwork. We don't want to be tempted by double or triple cuteness!

Travel Approval for Ti!

I'm so excited for my bloggy friend Nicole and family who learned last night that they have travel approval to bring home their daughter Ti. Nicole lives near Kevin's parents' home, and I hope to meet them when we travel to visit family after Christmas.

Goodnight Mooncake

I knew that the Mid-Autumn Festival was coming up tonight and I really wish I could try a mooncake. I gave up too quickly, knowing that there won't be any bakeries around here catering to Asians. I should have thought, "Sarah, you know you can buy anything online these days!" but it didn't click in my head until now. Tonight I'm having a google buffet of images of mooncakes. It's really neat to look at their beautiful designs and all sort of different fillings inside. Some have egg yolks inside that look like little yellow moons. There's a lot less calories and cholesterol in virtual mooncakes than the real thing! It appears that people buy them from bakeries because of their complex designs and really don't make them at home. They sound a lot like fruitcake, very rich and you only eat a few bites. Like fruitcakes, some people like them, and some people really don't! Well if the mooncakes are icky, there's always American Moonpies! If I had a young child at home, I think it would be fun to eat mooncakes, read stories about the moon like Goodnight Moon, have a long daytime nap so we could stay up late and look at the moon. The optimist in me has all sort of great ideas. We'll see how this works out three years from now after working a whole day and doing four loads of laundry at night. My favorite link to read about the Mid-Autumn festival and buy mooncakes online is at the Boston bookshop. Dear Mooncake, my sweettooth and desire for culture both want you but my hips are glad you didn't make an appearance in our home. Goodnight, Mooncake.

TX vacation: Fort Worth Japanese Gardens

TX vacation: Misc. Pictures

TX vacation: Boba Tea House (Anyone for boba tea, fried tofu, or pot stickers?

Those of you who have read this blog for awhile know that I've very interested in trying popular Taiwanese food, including boba tea and stinky tofu. This was one of the highlights of my trip to Fort Worth to visit Kevin's sister and her daughter. Be sure to read the links to boba tea and stinky tofu to understand why I'm so excited about this.

Kevin and I were out running errands around town with his sister Karen in Fort Worth one day. We just went through a drive-thru bank when I spied this restaurant across the parking lot. "Does that say boba tea? Ohmygosh, we have to go!!!"



I took a photo of our receipt so I can remember what we all ordered. They had a special that day, buy three specialty drinks and get one free. Kevin and I shared three flavors of boba tea between us. Watermelon flavor was our favorite.

Karen ordered a smoothie with boba.

The boba tea cups were sealed with a plastic wrapper. One pokes through the seal with your big straw. The straw is huge to allow you to suck up the black "boba" tapioca balls into your mouth.

I got really excited when I saw fried tofu as an appetizer. Unfortunately, it wasn't stinky tofu. I'll have to wait until we go to night markets in Taiwan for the stinky variety. Darn. It was alright, and served with a soy dipping sauce. The scallions added to the flavor. Four years ago on a family vacation to Germany, Austria, and the Czech republic, my mother took beautiful pictures of the foods we ate on our trip. Thanks mom for this great idea!

My dinner. Very yummy, shaken beef with sticky rice and salad. The lettuce didn't have a dressing. Karen and I ordered the same thing. We figured it was meant to eat together with the beef and sticky rice at the same time.

Kevin's dinner. These "combination soft noodles" were great! I helped myself. Thanks for sharing, sweetie.

On our second trip to the Boba Tea House, we brought the little munchkin Isobella with us. She wasn't too keen on the idea of black tapioca balls in her banana smoothie. If one of the balls started going up her straw, she stopped sucking so it would go back down. Isobella must have liked the looks of Uncle Kevin's "combination soup," and we heard repeatedly, "I want combination soup!"

This was the first time that I've ever had pot stickers. They were alright, kind of a simple food. Here's Isobella finishing off a pot sticker.
Kevin's combination noodle soup looked yummy.

My glazed pork wasn't so great. It wasn't bad, but I didn't enjoy it.

TX vacation: Fort Worth Stockyards

Here are some of our pictures from the Fort Worth Stockyards last week with our niece Isobella. Anyone wanna take a close look and guess what I'm holding in my hand here? Never seen these for sale before in Indiana!

7 months

Although we've been on our agency's waiting list for 7 months, we've been working on this paper pregnancy for even longer than that. One year ago we'd just announced to parents and siblings that we hoped to adopt internationally, we'd chosen China, and figured that the timeline would have us going to China about the time of the August 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and we were e-mailing them links to read about international adoption. I'd read all kinds of adoption stories and thought that we could have a referral from China in only 6 months after LID (log in date when the Chinese government gets your documents to get ready to adopt). Boy, were we off!

This week has been non-stop go-go-go returning from vacation and working on projects for our community's fair. My pictures from Texas are still on my camera and I haven't even had a chance to take a good look at them yet!

UN Secretary General declares Taiwan's application for UN membership "legally impossible"

The heat has been rising lately around Taiwan's application for membership in the UN under the name "Taiwan" this time, and not the "Republic of China." About 250,000 people demonstrated in two cities in Taiwan on Saturday, even though their efforts were doomed. China has once again threatened to attack Taiwan if they formally declare independence. Most of the world just isn't willing to tick off the People's Republic of China. Former Senate majority leader Bob Dole wrote a great article in The Wall Street Journal yesterday calling for the UN to recognise Taiwan. I highly encourage you to follow the link to read it on Michael Turnton's blog. Then today the UN Secretary General declared that it was "legally impossible" for Taiwan to join the UN. Keep it up, Taiwan! Laws change. Political alliances change. Nothing is "legally impossible" as the definition of what's legal changes like a pair of socks.

AGENCY UPDATE: We'll temporarily stop accepting appications for healthy infant placement

Our agency will temporarily stop accepting applications for healthy infant placement starting October 15th. After six months they will re-evaluate the situation. For new families starting now, the waiting list is already plus 24 months for healthy infants. This doesn't affect the time lines for families waiting for referrals, but will allow them so spend more time with their waiting families. I'm pleased that they arrived at this decision. No complaints here, obviously!

AGENCY UPDATE: 30-60 days

When we arrived home today, Kevin checked my e-mail first thing. I had over 100 messages in my in-box! We quickly searched through them for anything from our adoption agency, and I got all nervous when I saw a message. Nope, not a referral of course... but a really nice update. 30-60 more days. Hopefully September referrals will bring more girls. Our sixth wedding anniversary is October 13th. Information and pictures of our daughter would make such a nice present! Hannah Claire got some really cute bibs this month. She needs to come home and mess them up. Bring on the congee, formula, and baby food peas!

Will be back to blogging soon...

I read an adoption message board tonight where someone asked where I was. Haha! This picture is a little taste of what I've been up to. I'll be back to blogging later this week with oodles of pictures when things settle down a little bit. WE HAD BOBA/BUBBLE TEA THIS WEEK!!! And pot sticker dumplings, and fried tofu... but it wasn't stinky tofu. I'm not sure if that was a good or bad thing. Man, Texans sure do like their Dr. Pepper.

I haven't had access to my e-mail, just internet... so I'm sorry if you've tried to call me or e-mail me and I haven't replied.

No referral that I know of. Until then, just thinking happy thoughts of a future "Rodeo Princess."

Poem: Dear Sweet Daughter

Thanks to Rebecca for finding this poem. It's a rare gem.

Dear Sweet Daughter
Author: Gayle Leubecker

Dear Sweet Daughter,

As a girl I had a common dream, to be a mom someday.
My baby would have eyes of blue and hair the hue of hay.
But now my dreams have been transformed. New visions fill my head.
Now the tresses that I long to stroke are raven black instead.

And in my dreams those eyes are not so big or blue or round.
Now in my dreams they're almond shaped and colored cocoa brown.
And in my dreams my arms can stretch across enormous seas.
They reach half-way around the world and hold you close to me.

As you grow in your mother's womb, carefully knit together,
You're also growing in my heart, where you will stay forever.
And in my dreams the moment that your mother says good-bye,
I'll be right there to comfort you and hold you as you cry.

Our features may not look alike; we're different as can be.
But still I know the Father has created you for me.
And though I've not yet seen your face, or held your tiny hands,
And though we're half a world apart in very different lands...

I'll be right there to get you just as soon as God allows.
But til He says the time is right I give to you this vow:
I'll pray for your protection every night on bended knee.
For God will hold you in His arms, until you're here with me.

Gotcha day for the Reeds

I'm so happy for my bloggy friends the Reeds who met their son today. Their gotcha story is beautiful and tugs on my heart. This family was meant to be, that's for sure. Congratulations, Jeff and Abbey. What a beautiful beginning!

two adults, no kids, watching PBS children's programming

Kevin and I watched the TIVOed Arthur episode today where Binky's mom and dad adopted a daughter from China. Wow, can you believe that they got a referral only a year after their homestudy started? (That's a joke, as people starting now will most likely wait three years, possibly longer.) Anyway, we think they did a good job telling a believable story with positive adoption language... except that Binky's mom didn't look very excited when they got their referral. I mean... heck. I full expect to be an emotional mess when we find out about our referral, complete with lots of screaming, crying, and laughing. Maybe Binky's mom had other problems (schizophrenia or was she heavily medicated???) because she announced the referral to Binky with flat affect. But then how did she qualify to adopt from China with those problems? I'm glad that some cuties enjoyed the show for it's entertainment value a lot more than we did. If anyone local wants to watch the show... well, wants their children to watch the show, we'd be more than happy to burn it to a DVD for you. Overall I think this Arthur episode would be a great way to introduce a child to the the idea of international adoption.

Newspaper Article: American girls revisit their roots in China

I really enjoyed this article on 5 families with daughters adopted from China returning to learn more about their birth country. I definitely plan on returning to Taiwan with our daughter for this kind of trip. I think that 12 sounds like a good age to do something like this. Interesting to note that the parents of 4 out of 5 of these girls would not have qualified to adopt from China today because they are single, obese, have taken antidepressants, are homosexual, or over 50.

Labor Day Weekend 2007

Here are some pics from this weekend's activities with my family at the lake. Here's some highlights:

• Perfect weather in the low 80s, light breeze, and not a cloud in the sky.
• Holding baby Ella with strict instructions from baby Ella's grandma that that you'd better not let a mosquito bite her granddaughter on your watch. Well, that's when Ella's grandmother would let anyone else hold her.
• Watching my animated mother recount stories from this summer's fishing trip.
• Kevin hung out with the high schoolers and twentysomethings playing Guitar Hero until 1:30am Sunday night! I was fast asleep in bed with the babydog long before that.
• Traditional pontoon rides doing laps around the lake. Sedona goes on the pontoon boat too, but wants to be held for most of the ride.

What I'm Reading: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

My mother-in-law just finished reading this book, and I'm picking it up at the library tomorrow to bring on vacation with me. The book is Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. Here's a link to Amazon and the author's web site if you'd like to check it out. I'm very pleased that my local library not only has this book, but four books from this author!

PBS Kids TV: Binky's family adopts from China

Arthur's friend Binky Barnes is getting a little sister. Binky's family is adopting from China. My local PBS station will air the episode "Big Brother Binky" Parts I and II on Friday, September 7th. I'm so excited that this has gotten rave reviews from Adoptive Families magazine, and that PBS has put a lot of research into doing this just right with positive adoption language. Way to go PBS! I'll have Kevin set the TIVO to record. I'm excited to be able to share this episode with children in our lives.