Squishy 97

Adoption is a special family blessing.  Whenever we have friends, family, and strangers for that matter tell us that whatever child comes into our home will be so lucky- we have to take a pause and remind them that our family would be incomplete without this kiddo coming to join us.  We are the lucky ones by far!

Thank you Sindy for adding this wish/reminder.  We are the lucky ones in this deal!

Squishy 96

If this just isn’t the most appropriate fabric for a little boy I don’t know what is!  The soft blue with the dainty little kiddo items just screams boy to me.  I have a good feeling about the placement of this fabric!  Thank you Kristi!

Squishy 95

Jeannine also sent this awesome ladybug fabric.  It will go perfect with the other ladybugs that have made their way into my home.  I can feel all of the good luck accumulating as I type this post!

Squishy 94

This fabric is a rich deep purple that is accented by beautiful gold thread.  This is what I imagine that royalty would have included in their wardrobe!  Thank you Jeannine for this beautiful addition to the quilt!  I LOVE IT!

A Wonderful Birthday!

On June 22nd I turned 30 years old!  I am absolutely thrilled to announce this age in relation to my birthday.  I couldn’t be more thrilled about a birthday and I guess this is supposed to be one to dread.

Ray and I have been trying for a child for some time now (married 7 years in March).  We had discussed the option of adoption before we ever started trying to conceive “one of our own”.  It is amazing how God prepares you for your calling in life.  When we were told that we couldn’t have our own biological kiddos- we were starting the adoption paperwork within the month.  By the time we decided to look into China as an option I was already 29 1/2 which is the exact age that you can start the process with China. 

Now we are in this whirlwind of paperwork and abbreviations.  This letter soup needs its own post!  I have learned so much about the common abbreviations (LOI-letter of intent, LID-logged in date, DTC- dossier to China, PA- pre-approval, LOA- letter of approval (which by the way we will have 2 of since we are a Hague family), TA- travel approval, CA- consulate appointment….) and the not so common abbreviations (ZZ- Zhengzhou).

The biggest thing is knowing that from now on- we are official to be eligible to adopt at any time from China!  That alone is worth celebrating! 

Am I really the only person this excited to be 30? Nah

Off to California!

Today we are getting on a plane to head to Southern California!  We get to celebrate my 30th birthday with “THE MOUSE” at Disneyland!  All of my sisters (all 4 of us) are meeting up for a small family reunion  of sorts for this happy occasion.  We will miss you Mark :(

This birthday is beyond exciting for me.  Turning 30 for me means that our paperwork can go to China.  On Monday we will be official in the eyes of China! This is a big milestone!

My husband and sister Julie have been concocting plans for this joyous event and I can’t wait to see what is in store. 

We are on our way! 

Squishy 93

This squishy is from the “your choice” swap which meant you could pick whatever you wanted to send.  No real theme.  This definitely added to the eclectic nature of the project which just makes it that much more fun!  Now that I have my project in mind- this will have a great place in with the other greens.  Thank you Reena!

Squishy 92

This very Asian fabric is just amazing!  I love the detail of the scenery and the cranes.  I love this wish as well.  I am all about dreams coming true!  So far I have married my soul mate and have a great job.  Now for the little one to come along and change this quiet house for the better ;-)

Thank you Nathalie!

Squishies from the mouths of babes 87-91 (part 3)

I am feeling a theme with the dancing.  Absolutely we will support our kiddo in anything they want to do.  Dancing can be so beautiful and expressive.  The blue dragonflies are so very fun!

The parasols are fun.  It makes me want to run out in the rain just so I can use one ;)

Red is such an important color in Chinese culture.  It is hard to see the gold leaf effect that is present on the fabric.  It makes a stunning glitter effect in the sun shine!  The wish really speaks for itself- hard to argue with a child’s logic.

I may need to make a section on the quilt that is just for animal inspired fabrics.  I love them all, and I really hope that our little one learns to live peacefully with our first babies- Belle and Coco.  The wish is short, sweet, and to the point!

 

I left Kathy’s square and wish last on purpose.  All of this would not have been possible without her kindness and hard work!  I will not ever be able to express how meaningful these wishes are to me.  You are an amazing person and friend!  Thank you so very much!!!!!!

The ups and the downs- a long day

So we got our invitation to fingerprint for the I800A on Wednesday (yesterday) with an appointment day for the 30th of this month.  We decided that with all that we have going on in our preparations that this date was incredibly far away.  My husband called the number at the bottom of the invitation (that is only for Hague families) and explained our situation.  He was informed that we needed to go to the local office, find a staff member, explain our “special situation” and see if they would take mercy on us and allow us to fingerprint early.

This is where I have to insert that all of the prayers that you guys have been sending up for us must have worked to soften the hearts at the immigration department.

When we arrived, the security guard was a little short with us- very quick to point out that our appointment was not until the 30th.  We explained that we had been in contact with the customer support number and they suggested that we come down to speak with someone in person.  He mumbled something about them trying to tell the local offices how to do their jobs and made a phone call to “the back”.  Soon a supervisor came to talk to us and allowed us to tell her our “situation”.  After a glance at a couple of pictures (wink) and a few minutes of explanation- we were allowed to “sit right there in these chairs and we will see if we can fit you in”.  I happily told her that we had brought provisions to camp out the whole day if necessary, and that we would do whatever she needed us to.

After only an hour and a half wait- we were getting our fingerprints done!  They had someone reschedule and had no problem working us in! –AS A SIDE NOTE- While waiting Ray and I distinctly heard Disney music coming from the direction of the finger printing office.  I can pick out the music from Cinderella almost anywhere.  How can you not take that as a good sign ;-)

Once we arrived home I was able to finish putting the remaining documents (minus the 797) in the mail for Colorado.  All of our dossier (minus the 797) is now in the hands (almost) of CCAI.  This again was a huge relief.  Every time we can check something off the list- it feels like one step closer to our big journey!

After lunch I gave the customer service number a call to see if our fingerprints had been processed already.  This was the suggestion given to my husband yesterday when he originally called.  He was told to call back to see if our case could be expedited due to our “special situation”.  The nice lady on the other end of the phone asked if I could get a letter from a doctor to support our need which I informed her wouldn’t be a problem.

They had the letter faxed to them within the hour.  I was then told that our situation wasn’t special enough and we would have to wait like everyone else.  I was heart broken!  This is where the day got longer.  We had been trying so very hard to make sure that all of the paperwork would be ready to go to China on my birthday (if not a couple days later).  Ray had even planned to fly down to Houston to get the 797 finished same day to speed things up.  Now we are looking at the 797 not being ready for 2 to 2 1/2 weeks.

I know that I should be ecstatic over the fact that the kindness of our local office shaved about that much time off of the wait (fingerprints done today instead of June 30th), but I can’t help but feel frustrated that the time line is still so long.  I know that in the bigger scheme of things- 2 weeks is not that big of a deal, but today it feels like it.  After all of the set backs with the home study- we wanted something to go smoothly.  I know that is a lot to ask for when so many government agencies are involved, but a girl can dream can’t she.

I do have to give a big thanks for all of the prayers and well wishes right now!  We would not be doing as well as we are without them!  I do believe with all of my heart that we were able to get our fingerprints done today because of all of the prayers.  Thank you and keep them coming!  I believe in the power of prayer and I am sending lots up for you guys as well. 

I try to remind myself just how incredibly blessed I am.  I know that without a doubt!  I have an awesome supportive husband that is there for me every step of this journey.  I have an awesome family that is there to listen to me and provide constant support.  I have an amazing support system in the Freshwater ladies (I could never say enough about this group of women!)  My blessings are what get me through this emotional roller coaster called adoption.  Thank you a million times over!

Squishies from the mouths of babes 81-86 (part 2)

I love the blue stars fabric!  Again the wish for Xiao Hai to love music- there is definitely a trend here.  There is also a glitter element to this fabric that did not scan well but it adds a lot to the overall effect. 

This fabric has two things that i love- it’s blue (my favorite color) and it has lady bugs!  I am feeling the good luck with this one ;-) The card makes me feel like the lady bug is actually flying with all of the swirls.  I can’t wait to welcome the baby home as well!

 

I am pretty sure that this young lady is showing me her family and how happy they are.  The cherry fabric looks somehow familiar ;-) Of all of the fabric out there I am glad that this one is one of the duplicates.  I LOVE it!

 

This artistic representation of the lady bug is one of my favorites.  It is really close- GREAT JOB!  Again more good luck for my week- I feel that good luck is coming!

This fabric definitely loses something in the scan.  It is very glittery and eye catching (and blue!).  I really wish for joyful times with our baby too- and soon!

 

I can totally see our first children in this fabric (our baby dogs).  Belle and Coco are our first babies and I can’t wait until they have a little one chasing them around.  I am sure that they can do without for a bit longer but I am ready. 

Squishies from the mouths of babes, 76-80 (to be continued)

  

Squishies 76-90 are from a kindness project that we were selected to be part of.  I was contacted by a friend from the Disney community about this idea and was extremely honored to receive these beautiful wishes.  Three other wish swappers from the OHGWQ (one hundred good wishes quilt) Yahoo group were selected as well for a total of 4 ladies with 15 squishies each.  That is a large under taking- 60 wishes!

Each of the fabrics are very different and the wishes are absolutely “one of a kind”.  Truly these wishes are from the innocent mouths (or crayons) of babes.  When I read each card, the emotion was overwhelming.  How precious and simple these wishes from one child to another are.  Most of them can certainly speak for themselves. 

I hope that  our child has the opportunity to ride his bike as well.  The patriotic fabric is a great combination for this particular wish.  Our child will have the freedom to choose to do whatever he wishes.  I can’t wait to see that first- Daddy running after the bike and little one taking off down the street.

I hope that our kiddo also learns an appreciation for music and the joy that it can bring.  What a better wish than to have a happy life.  I know that my life will be a lot more complete when we are finally +1!

 

Catching frogs is probably not at the top of my list for things to do with our little one, but I know that Ray will have a blast with this one.  I will be there for the mud pies and splashing in puddles- hoping squishy things- Daddy can help out there.  I do love the wish though.  It shows you were these kids priorities are! (right where they should be)

I can’t wait for family game nights.  Growing up we tried to have a regular night (sometimes not so regularly) that we would get together and play games as a family.  I LOVED THAT!  This will be a priority for me as we work to make our own family traditions.  It looks like Emma is ready to play cowboys and Indians in her picture. ;-)

 

If my family and friends have any say over this wish then all of the toys will light up, make noise, and require batteries.  I guess pay backs are fair.  I should have known that would come back to get me.  

The rest of the wishes will be coming soon.  This would be a giant post with all of the 15 squishies.