Merry Christmas

Kylie Grace,

Your gift to your daddy was perfect, and he loved it. We can't wait for you to come home. Your room is waiting and we still have lots of shopping to do to get prepared for your arrival, but we are taking it slowly and enjoying the journey. Zoe, Casey, and Josie are excited, too. They received all their squeaky toys and treats - we can't wait to see you with them!

Daddy is going skiing in a few weeks, so you'll see in the video later that Santa brought him new skis and ski boots. There were a few other tricks up mommy's sleeve, too - like a new beard trimmer, some clothes, and a subsciption to XM radio for his love of sports. Santa brought mommy a new planner with matching tote bag, some clothes, perfume and a new Wok she's wanted for a long time. Your Mimi, Aunt Julie, and Cole were over for the morning and we had a nice lunch - a casual one this year.

We hung another Christmas ornament in honor of you and of Baby Collins. We aren't sure which one of you will be here first, but you can be sure you are loved just the same. We prayed for both of you at the candlelight service at Church last night. It was beautiful - I only wish I could have taken pictures for you to see, but you'll be here soon enough with us... we love you.

Christmas with Tracy

WE MADE IT, WE MADE IT!!

"The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before October 31, 2006.
The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before December 14, 2005."

Whew... This is the info posted on the CCAA's website. Basically, we made it through "review" without any further questions or clarification. This is a HUGE milestone, in our eyes. We are "clear" to adopt our baby girl (or twins!!) in China. Woohoo!!

Perfect timing. A few days ago, we decided NOT to move forward with in-vitro again. And, if Baby Collins (our domestic attempt at adoption) doesn't come before KGC, that is ok, too.

We're making lemonade out of the lemons.

What Christmas Ornament are YOU?

You Are an Angel

A truly giving soul, you understand the spirit of Christmas.

What Christmas Ornament Are You?

Birthday Wishes

Of course, if anyone asks, I say " a baby" to the question ... " What do you want for your birthday?" It is actually the same answer for Christmas - and it will be until... well, you know.

Today was a great day. The day started with lots of "Happy Birthday to You" songs from Tiffany, Julie and Cole, Tracy and the girls, Lane, Jane, and Kathy. My mom, Anne, Paula (mom in law), and Pam from my office called with birthday wishes. Paula and I went to a sewing class and we created these great purses/diaper bags/laptop bags - whatever your fancy. The fabric is from the Amy Butler line, which I love..its lots of fun. It really wasn't too hard, and I think I'll make it again. Very versatile, about 11x17, and I can make them with any fabric we want! maybe I should consider them for fundraisers? What do you think?

Front and a pic of the inside with pockets (oh yeah, I have to finish putting buttons on)

and the back with another pocket...

We went to lunch with Tracy at Donny's. Ok, not the best food I remember, but the company was the best. Tracy "surprised" me with a pair of shoes she knew I wanted (haha, actually, she had them in her car last week and I saw them, so I knew they were coming, but I was still really excited - it was an inside joke), and Paula surprised me with a briefcase, purse, and charm bracelet. Brad surprised me with a new bluetooth headset for my cell ( no, honey, I will not take yours tomorrow now). Julie and Cole brought me a beautiful arrangement of flowers and a BBB gift card (which will totally go to great use asap). AND, we went to eat Mexican tonight... my favorite.

Last night I finished Amber's quilt for Christmas...

And, here is a better picture of Kylie's

It really was a perfect birthday. I am so thankful for all of my friends and family.

"Waiting for Kylie Grace"

I made ornaments again this year for our family - "Waiting for KGC", and on the back is "2007". I never thought in a million years we wouldn't be sharing our referral around this time, and we'd be making the ornaments a tradition!

I've been out of the loop for while, but here's the latest update:

We are patiently waiting for KGC, as best we can. I went through quite a slump - from anger to resentment, sadness, and even hopelessness..something I know most of my friends out there understand first hand.

As most of you know, I am in the real estate business - our local market isn't as bad as the press is making it out to be, so I am relatively busy. Busy enough, I should say. The press has hurt us, so this also hasn't been a real positive area of our lives either. And remember Hubby is also in the industry. No stress there, right? Ha!

I've really enjoyed decorating the new house ("new house" - I'll get to that), and have been keeping busy outside of work with the house, quilting, photography, spending time with friends, and babysitting. Here is one that I am making for my best friend's daughter who just turned 13. You can't really see it here, but there are shoes, purses, and keyboards - all things she loves. Along with lots of flowers and bright colors. I hope she loves it. I am making one for her sister, too, but it's not ready.

I've enjoyed meeting a few of the Moms that blog in our new state. I followed their blogs for so long while we were in FL, so it is nice to actually get to know them in person. I've decided not to say what state we've moved to since we have also decided a few other things... I'll get to that.

Oh, right, I haven't really talked about moving. So much has happened since my last significant post in March of this year. We decided to relocate just after that post, and moved into our new home in June/July. We sold our previous house in record time considering the market change. I love our new house and we are staying put for a long time.

What else are we up to? DH is working more than lots of hours. He is also traveling, which is very interesting to him right now, so I am all for it. I'm glad he isn't going anywhere this week since its my BDAY!!

Ok, the new decisions we've made. We are going to pursue another adoption. And just a few minutes ago, we also decided to POSSIBLY pursue IVF again. Do you think the birthday coming up has anything at all to do with all these new decisions?? Time is flying. (Except for of course with the wait for KGC). We know we want to build our family with atleast two children. The reality is KGC won't be here for another 2 years - maybe longer, so we can't just continue to float around with our heads in clouds. AND, before you ask, yes, we are still adopting from China. KGC may not even be thought about at this point, but we will not let her go!

Enough for tonight - one step at a time.

Halloween Party 2007

Slowly ticking...

5 years, 54 months and 9 days. It feels like our match day is that far away.

When we started the process, the timeline was 12-14 months for the wait time between our LID and match day. 12 months is only 9 days away, and if the referrals remain on the track they are on today, that would mean a wait of 10 years. Nope, not a typo - TEN years.

So, this is why I haven't posted to our blog for several months. I have remained hopeful for change in the amount of time it is taking the CCAA to match waiting families to their children. Today, I am having a pity party. What caused this sudden reaction? I've been distracted with so much since March - some intentional, some not... and yesterday, I received an email from our agency with what they call "Family Support Packets". There is a lot of information regarding what we should expect on Match Day, travel etc... and I realized that our timeline is so extremely indefinite, that I, too, have become detached from the reality that we will have our child at the end of this long journey.

Tomorrow will be a better day - I won't allow myself to stay in "this place" for long. Tonight, I think I will go into our baby girl's nursery (which by the way hasn't been set up since our recent move - that is another story for another day) and spend some time there. I almost feel like I am experiencing grief for a loss ... again.

Tomorrow will be a better day.

Wish You Were Here...

Yep, seeing is believing - that is me on the left...Tiffany on the right. This was taken on the slopes at Boulder Lodge at Lake Tahoe, our first day out. This was my first attempt at snowboarding. I decided to give it a whirl with Tiffany. It really was a lot more fun than I expected, since I am not really the athletic one. Tiffany and I both took private lessons, and after almost 3 hours of lessons, I could actually make it down what they called "the magic carpet" without falling - and I learned how to do this "falling leaf" stuff, where I basically went down turning to the right, back to the middle, and to the left! About 3/4 of the way through my lesson, I was determined to keep going even though my body was quite exhausted, and twisted my arm. Joel, the instructor, helped me determine it wasn't broken, so I kept going. I think I either sprained the area around my elbow, or pulled a muscle. Brad stopped in every once in a while to check in, and of course when he did, and I tried to show off, it didn't work out too well. I do have witnesses, though - Tiffany's husband, Warren, took a rest at the bottom of the mountain where I was practicing, and he saw me. That's our story, and I am sticking to it. I really did do better than I ever thought I would be able to! In fact, I really am interested in learning how to ski so Brad and I can go together - and bring little Kylie with us..there were lots of little kids bundled up, having a blast out in the snow, on one of the most beautiful mountains I have ever seen.

Tiff, who is much more experienced, collided with a skiier during her lesson, and we ended up at the emergency clinic - we really thought she broke her collar bone or something, but thank goodness, she "jammed" it, so we will both be recovering for a few days.

This picture was taken at the top of the mountain at Heavenly, on our second day. Tiff and I took the Gondola up to meet Brad. More pictures to come.. I am off to enjoy another day..

Quilt #2

My nephew, Cole, loves lions and tigers - I finished the quilt top last week, put the border on Wednesday night, backing together yesterday, and I pinned it together tonight. Cole is 8, so this quilt is almost the size of a twin, rather than the crib sized quilt I made for Lila.