The Journey to Olivia

2007-01-18T23:17:00.000-06:00

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2007-01-18T23:14:00.000-06:00

2007-01-04T23:13:00.000-06:00

This is a picture of Owen, some of his friends, and our dog, Lexie. She went missing this Tuesday afternoon and we are just devastated. We've had her for almost three years and she's really become a part of our family. Say a prayer for our Lexie to find her way back home.

Justin and his Main Squeeze

2007-01-04T23:03:00.000-06:00

Or as Justin has deemed her "the luckiest girl on earth". This is my brother-in-law, Justin, and his girlfriend, Farrah Holmes, on Christmas Day. She has made it into the "Family Christmas Spectacular"- so she must be a keeper.

Christmas 2006

2007-01-01T22:08:00.000-06:00

Our family enjoyed a wonderful, if not very busy, Christmas. My parents and Brian's came over for breakfast at our house to see all the loot Santa left Owen. Owen's favorites were his new portable DVD player and "adult" bicycle- a 24-incher! We left on the 26th for Gatlinburg for a lot of shopping and eating. My favorites!

Meeting Sophie

2007-01-01T21:56:00.000-06:00

Kim, Christie, Roberta, Robin, her family, and I met up at the Bham airport to welcome Sophie Pierce home from China! It was very emotional as one day it'll be me coming home with my little Olivia! Sophie went readily to her grandmother, brother, and Kim (who was very excited about this). Sophie already seemed very comfortable with her parents and venturing out some. We were all so proud to be there along with the Pierce's family!

The Pierce's Finally Have Sophie!

2006-12-11T19:03:00.000-06:00

My new adoption friends, Tina and Bert Pierce, are in China now. They got their new daughter, Sophie, yesterday. Her pictures are soooo cute; Tina and Bert are so proud! I can not wait to see them all at the airport. It's hard to believe that one of "us" is really over there!
I'm delighted for the Pierce's- Sophie is just precious!

2006-11-27T16:20:00.000-06:00

Owen and I on Halloween at school. I'm the clown.
Owen's the rich ER doctor.

2006-11-15T18:35:00.000-06:00

Mr. Incredible x 2- Owen and his best bud Dauton.
They trick-or-treated together on Halloween night.
What is with the kids these days? These two wore out
way too early. Amost couldn't get them around the circle!
And Owen has eaten maybe three pieces of his candy.
Halloween was so much fun for me at this age. Maybe
because I never got candy the rest of the year! I have to
admit- I came home, poured out all of Owen's candy, sorted it-
chocolate, gum, chewy stuff, sweet tarts-smarties, suckers, and
throw away stuff (why do they bother?). Owen was in his room- this was all me. The chocolate earned its own candy bowl on the kitchen counter.

2006-11-14T16:51:00.000-06:00

1) What side of the heart do you draw first? the right
2) Can you dive without plugging your nose? yes, and at least once every summer I do, just to show myself that I can
3) What color is your razor? blue
4) What is your blood-type? O+
5) Who would you want to be tied to for 24 hours? Orlando Bloom or Josh Hartnett
6) What is a rumor someone has spread about you? that I partied in high school, HOW DARE THEY!
7) How do you feel about carrots? our lunchroom gives out little baggies of little baby carrots and they are quite good; actually this phenomenon opened me up to the world of carrots
8) How many chairs at the dining room table? 6 at the table; two standing by
9) Which is the best spice girl? Is there an Asian Spice?
10) Do you know what time it is? about an hour till dinner
11) Do you know all the words to the Fresh Prince song? Yes, I am a slave to the eighties
12) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator? am I alone or with gassy cockeyed guy?
13) What's your favorite kind of gum? green apple Super Bubble, and I like to chew it till all of the sugar is gone then pop in another piece, and so on and so on.... in ways I'm still ten
14)T or F: All's fair in love and war. I'll tell you what is not fair... all of those poor uneducated souls fighting our war against terror, right Brother Kerry?
15) Do you have a crush on anyone? I guess I'm supposed to say my husband of twelve years here... yeah, yeah, it's my husband
16) Do you know how to use some words correctly, but not know the meaning? no
17) Do you like to sleep? in my top five of favorite things to do; I even use devices- a sound machine with white noise
18) Do you know which US states don't use Daylight Savings? no
19) Do you know the song Total Eclipse of the Heart? YES, again the eighties slave here, Bonnie Tyler, big blond hair
20) Do you want a bright yellow '06 mustang? no bright yellow anything
21) What's something you've always wanted? siblings, multiple children, a trust fund
22) Do you have hairy legs? not at the moment
24) Would you rather swim in the ocean or a lake? POOL
25) Do you wear a lot of black? yes
26) Describe your hair. fine, thin, short, sad
27) Do you have Entomophobia? no, I love entos
28) Are you an adult? yes, in some countries I could be considered an adult
29) Where is/are your best friends? my husband is hunting in Illinois, my mom is coming in from work right about now
30) Do you have a tan? most of it has faded and by winter I will be a scary shade of gray
31) Are you a television addict? yes, I have appointment tv- The Bachelor, Grey's Anatomy, and weekday TNT when I'm out of school ....
32) Do you enjoy spending time with your mother? YES! We love to shop together!
33) Are you a sugar freak? I am a carb freak
34) Do you like orange juice? Yes, I have concentrate in the freezer
35) What sign are you? Pisces, but from all that I've read, I'm really an Aquarius
36) What color is your Cell Phone? black
37) Where do you wish you were right now? In China, holding my new baby daughter

Owen's New Room

2006-10-15T19:33:00.000-05:00

We've moved Owen's room into our old guest room. He's got some new stuff and he's very excited about his bigger room. I hope to soon tackle Olivia's room- I've just about bought all the bedding I can from Pottery Barn Kids. Since we have at least another YEAR to wait on our baby, I'll have to move on to buying toys, clothing, other various pink items.....

OWEN

2006-10-15T19:19:00.000-05:00

Just a few pics of Owen and his friends acting goofy,

what 8 year olds are known best for. My son is the

one with the dark Joe Dirt mullet.

China Mom Get Together

2006-10-15T19:02:00.000-05:00

My fellow adoptive mom friends had another great time together this Saturday. We ate ( a requisite) at Cheesecake Factory. After hearing our common bond, our sweet waitress had written in chocolate "Congratulations to you" on all of our plates of cheesecake. ( You know it's a law that you have to order Cheesecake at the Factory.) Our friend, Roberta, shared with us her new picture of her beautiful son, Matthew, that is waiting for her in China. Hurry, 797! Or Atlanta will be facing the wrath of Roberta! Also, attempting to work off our lunch, we shopped a little. There's always something to buy at Pottery Barn Kids! We planned our next adventure in November... I'm already looking forward to it.

2006-10-10T21:52:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in a while, not much going on. I'm in the last hours of our very short Fall Break. We haven't gotten our LID yet. This is another very important acronymn in the international adoption process. I have been spending a lot of my time fixing up Owen's new room, our former guest room. Soon I will be buying some pink paint for Olivia's room!!! Brian is drowning his sorrows by hunting in as many states as possible. He's off to Illinois in a few weeks. I'm so proud of my man, providing meat for the family! More when I actually have something to say.....

Practicing for being "Big Brother"

2006-09-28T17:07:00.000-05:00

Owen and his little cousin, Brayson Hayes. I thought it was so cute how Brayson laid his head over on Owen's shoulder!

2006-09-25T21:05:00.000-05:00

Brian and I got back Sunday night from a five day stay in Destin, Fla. Brian had a work conference there and he was sweet enough to bring me along! Hello Second Honeymoon! The weather was great and it was a very restful trip, ie. - we were lazy!!! Owen split his time between two sets of grandparents. This was the longest that I've ever been away from him. It gave me a little taste of how it's going to be while I'm in China. Two whole weeks without my little man-- that's going to be tough for both of us. Owen talks about Olivia all the time, making plans for when she's finally with us. His plans are-- he is going to be the boss.

2006-09-16T00:04:00.000-05:00

We witness a miracle every time a child enters into life.But those who make their journey home across time & miles, growing within the hearts of those who wait to love them, are carried on the wings of destiny and placed among us by God's very own hands.--- Kristi Larson

HERE WE ARE!!

2006-09-15T22:03:00.000-05:00

Just Kidding! This is really Disney World!!

And you may all know Brian is too scared to

fly to China anyway.

If I Could Be Where You Are

2006-09-12T23:29:00.000-05:00

Where are you this moment?
only in my dreams.
You're missing,
but you're always a heartbeat from me.
I'm lost now without you,
I don't know where you are.
I keep watching, I keep hoping,
but time keeps us apart
Is there a way I can find you,
is there a sign I should know,
is there a road I could follow
to bring you back home?
Winter lies before me now
you're so far away.
In the darkness of my dreaming
the light of you will stay
If I could be close beside you
If I could be where you are
If I could reach out and touch you
and bring you back home
Is there a way I can find you
Is there a sign I should know
Is there a road I could follow
to bring you back home to me

(by Enya)

My Fingers Are Crossed.....

2006-09-11T22:41:00.000-05:00

It's Monday, September 11, 2006 - 10:35 pm. My dossier is completed, signed, sealed and delivered to Justin (my brother in law) who will hand it over to the Fed Ex guy tomorrow. Hopefully, all will go according to plan, and our dossier will arrive at Great Wall on Wednesday. After NINE months of handling these documents-- I am SSSOOO ready to put them in the hands of the powers that be. The word on the street (my NEA Great Wall Rep) is that the wait time may go up before it comes down. This is not exactly uplifting news, but I'm ready for the next phase of this process.

Still Waiting.....

2006-09-06T20:33:00.000-05:00

We got our I797 in the mail just a few days ago, the document that we've been impatiently waiting on for 12 (yes, twelve!) weeks. Today it should have arrived at the Chinese Consulate in Houston to be Authenticated. (Praise Jesus and FedEx!) Hopefully, by next week, for the love of all things good and right, we will be -- DTC. Then finally a LID! Maybe some PMS and an IUD.......I just love acronyms.
The paperchase that we began in January will soon be done. Then all we'll have to do is WAIT. Some more.

Family Photo

2006-09-06T20:24:00.000-05:00

I made Brian and Owen sit for so many family photographs for our dossier, they wanted to cause me bodily harm. In this one, Brian's eyes are actually open and Owen is actually smiling, but it still didn't make the cut. Owen's also sporting a lovely red Kool-aid moustache.

Summer 2006

2006-09-06T16:52:00.000-05:00

"The Summer Of Owen" carried our family to Fort Morgan at the end of July. Owen brought along his best friend, Dauton. I had to bring Brian.
It was a nice relaxing trip- enjoyed by all.
School started within days of our return back home.

Summer 2006

2006-09-06T16:15:00.000-05:00

Early on, we dubbed the summer of 2006-- "The Summer Of Owen". Originally, we had high hopes of being a two-kid family by next summer! Chinese officials do not seem to share our hopes.
We began this said "Summer Of Owen" with a June trip to Disney World with the inlaws. There was a lot of sweating and standing in line. But we did have a great time! Our Disney motto became "We're going to have fun- even if it kills us!" I would like to experience it all again- but maybe in February!

This is ME!!

2006-06-10T19:58:00.000-05:00

This is me at Villa Fiesta. I am happy because I am full- and surrounded by my "forever friends".