I See Bubbles!

While we STILL have not received our travel approval, our agency called us this morning to let us know that they "believe" our travel approval will arrive next week and in preparation for that have 2 travel scenarios that they would like to run by us.

First question "do you have any plans in the next month that would prevent you from traveling?" Uh - no, our entire life is on hold for this!

Plan A: Depart for China on November 11th
Consulate Appointment on November 23rd
Return home November 26th (Happy Thanksgiving!)

Plan B: Depart for China on November 18th
Consulate Appointment on December 1st
Return home December 4th

Regardless of which of the above dates we depart, we could very well be in China and have Dani with us in 2-3 weeks! Did you hear that? That was me screaming with excitement! Stay tuned for the final travel dates, which hopefully we will know by next week. Oh I hope I didn't just jinx us!!!!!

It's Past my Due Date and Time to Induce!

Now that I have no no Bridal Shower to prepare for, no wedding to distract me, no 16th Birthday party to plan, no cousins to play with, I am once again faced with time on my hands and the anxiety over when we will receive our Travel Approval (TA) is all consuming! This part of the wait is so much more difficult than the previous years now that we have a face, a baby, an actual daughter waiting for us. Granted, she does not know we are coming, but we do, and we can't wait to see her in person, hold her, smell her and show her pictures of her family waiting back home to welcome her.

As I was driving to work this morning, hoping that the TA would have miraculously arrived during my long 10 minute commute to work and if not, wondering if our adoption agency would be mad if I sent them yet another e-mail, asking if they heard of anything, it reminded me of the last 2 weeks of my pregnancy with Dylan. . . I was placed on bed rest and given medication in my 5th month to deter the pre-term labor that I started to have. Fast forward to the 9th month of my pregnancy and 2 weeks prior to my due date, my doctor took me off bed rest and the medication and said get ready, you will probably go into labor within the next 48 hours. Ready I was - bag was packed, room was ready, neighbors were on alert to come and watch Dustin, should I go into labor in the middle of the night, parents were ready and best of all, I would give birth and have Dylan just in time to make our annual trek to Palm Springs with the "Tripoli Group."

Forty-eight hours came and went and no baby. Seventy-two hours came and went and no baby. Ninety-six hours came and went and no baby. You get the point right? An entire week passed and NO baby! Monday I went to my doctor's appointment and begged, cried, pleaded for him to induce me. He promised that I would go into labor "any day" however; IF, I did not go into labor before then, that he would induce me on Friday (my due date). That was not acceptable! Didn't he know I had plans? Didn't he know that we were leaving for Palm Springs on Friday? I had to have this baby before then so that we could be with the rest of the group by the pool relaxing as we had for 15+ years before. Thus started my quest to induce labor myself. I drank caster oil and orange juice, which only made me throw up, but no labor. I went for very long walks around our neighborhood in the Temecula heat, but no labor. I went to see a movie with Dustin and ate every possible thing I could get my hands on, but still no labor. Chris and I had uh, well you know, AND STILL NO LABOR! So despite all of my efforts, I was induced on Friday and gave birth to Dylan at 1:00 p.m. 24 hours later we were in Palm Springs!

So I figure right now I am in the same predicament as before . . .final days of this adoption pregnancy, it is almost over and literally, any day now could receive our TA and be on a plane to China to "give birth" to our daughter. Until then, I'll have a glass of wine, take the dogs for walks, maybe go see Where the Wild Things Are and have uh, well you get the picture!

Happy Birthday to our 1st Born Baby!

Today was a day filled with mixed emotions. It is our oldest son's 16th Birthday and I can hardly believe that he is actually 16 and can legally drive a car! When I reflect on the years leading up to this day, it seems like just yesterday he was a little boy running around with us, fishing with his Dad, graduating from elementary school and then on his way to middle school. Now, he is 6'2", a Sophomore in high school with a girlfriend and though he does not know this yet, has his own car! Where did the time go?

That brings me to the mixed emotions part. Admittedly, I have been obsessing over the blogs! I viewed a hundred blogs (ok, maybe not a hundred, but pretty darn close) trying to gauge how long other families have waited or been waiting for their travel notice and then applying those calculations to our situation. It feels like we have been waiting an eternity for that darn travel notice and if I have to wait one more day, I just might crawl out of my skin!

So, keeping in mind that our oldest son has gone from little boy to 16 year-old, young man in the blink of an eye, I have resolved myself (or at least am going to try) that the travel notice WILL come and that until it does, to enjoy the time I have with my boys, husband and family and STEP AWAY FROM THE BLOGS!

The next few days promise to be filled with activities as my brother is getting married on Friday, so we have family flying in from out of town, rehearsal dinner, the wedding and then a big party for Dustin and his best friend's 16th birthday. Hopefully, these will all keep me pre-occupied and next time you hear from me, it will be to announce that our travel notice has arrived . . .stay tuned!

If I Could Talk, Here's What I'd Say

Today was a good day, actually no, it was a great day. I didn't obsess too much over our travel notice and only checked our adoption agency's website and the China "blogs" once today. Then I received an e-mail from Ann with Red Thread China, confirming that Dani and her foster family received our care package. I am hopeful that they are enjoying their moon cakes and showing Dani the photo album of her Mommy, Daddy, and brothers who are patiently (ok well not patiently) waiting for her. I hope that when the time does come that she recognizes us even a little bit and the whole experience is a little less scary for her. Then I received another e-mail from my Auntie Hazel in Honolulu titled "If I Could Talk, Here's What I'd Say". As I was reading this at work, I found myself yet again in tears, but they were happy tears and I am so blessed to have a woman like Auntie Hazel in my life. Though we rarely get to see her, she is, as Chris put it "an amazing woman". With her permission, I have posted her e-mail below . . . enjoy!

Dear Mommy...I know that you are just as anxious as I am to meet. I can hardly wait! I long for someone to really call me their own little girl, and when I found out that a very special family will allow me to be their daughter & sister, I was overjoyed. I will even have a set of grannys & grandpas too! How cool is that? I can hardly wait. In the meantime, I hope you and Daddy (am trying to get used to these loving words) will get a lot of rest, because when I arrive, I will need a lot of special care. It's not that I want to burden you, but there will be a big adjustment period for me seeing new people, hearing new voices & even getting accustomed to a beautifully decorated pink room. So if I turn out to be a little cry baby, please understand and bear with me. I will be so awed that I will not want to close my eyes for fear that it will all disappear! I am so looking forward to a new life and am so grateful to you, Mommy, and Daddy for giving someone like me a chance in a wonderful new world . I never thought anyone would want me with my defective lip, but even that will be corrected, all thanks to you. Will I ever be able to repay the love you are already sending to me? I CAN HARDLY WAIT! God is good. He sent you to me. I love you, I love you, I love you.
Your daughter Dani. Someone referred to me as a dumpling, and you
know what? I think I do look like a little Chinese dumpling.

Dani's Room

The room is not 100% done, but it's pretty close, so I thought I would post a few of the pictures. The infamous chandelier and ceiling fan should be here by Wednesday and I am stll in need of a chair and some artwork for the walls . .all in due time. For now I am just happy to have pink room in the house!

Why Sleep is Evading Me . . .

I have finally figured out why sleep is evading me and more recently, why I am running to the bathroom every 10 minutes . . . . here is a typical night inside my head:

I wonder what Dani is doing right now?
When is our Travel Notice going to arrive?
Are the travel notices mailed or sent electronically?
What else do we need to pack?
Should I take a backpack and a carry on?
Where can I get a converter?
I wonder if I should get the flu shot?
I wonder if Dani will cry when she is handed to us?
Who’s going to hold Dani first, Chris or me?
Who is going to video?
Does Chris know how to use the video feature on our camera?
I wonder what Dani is doing right now?
I hope the boys will be ok while we are gone
I hope my Mom will be ok
I need to finish the spreadsheet of the boys schedule
I need to start cooking meals for while we are away
I need to make a master calendar for the boys activities
I wonder if Dani will like Duke and Roxy?
I wonder if Duke and Roxy will like Dani?
I wonder if Karen will be able to come out?
I need to go get Dustin shoes for the wedding
I need to go get Dylan shoes for the wedding
I need to make a list of what I need for Allison’s shower
I need to wash the dogs before the shower
I need to clean the house
I need to order Dustin’s cake
I wonder what Dani is doing right now?
I need to get the drinks for Dustin’s party
I need to be sure Dylan finishes his book report before we go
I need to make flash cards for Dylan
Has Dustin bought his Homecoming ticket?
What is Dustin going to where for Homecoming?
I wonder if we will be here for Homecoming?
I wonder what Dani is doing right now?
I need to get a book on baby signs
I wonder if the clothes and shoes I packed will fit Dani?
I need to go buy Dani more white socks
I wonder if there will be an H1N1 outbreak before we go?
When is our Travel Notice going to arrive?
I wonder if we will be able to use our miles to upgrade to business class?
I wonder when I'm going to fall asleep?
If I fall asleep now, how many hours will I get?
I wonder what Dani is doing right now?

Showered with Love

This past weekend our friends and family gathered and threw a baby shower for myself and baby Dani. It's been 16 years since my last baby shower and it was wonderful and surreal at the same time. There are moments when I feel like all of this is "pretend" and that we are painting the room and buying all these cute, pink clothes just because. Having everyone gathered together in celebration of bringing our daughter home made it feel more real. It is difficult to put into words how appreciative Chris and I are for the outpouring of love, support and of course those great gifts. Adding a daughter to our family was something we wanted to do and to see our family and friends as excited as we are, truly touches our hearts. We are blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives and hope you all know how much you mean to us.






I wanted to say a special thanks to my good friend Kim for planning and organizing the shower. She, like many of us has a crazy busy life and the fact that she took on yet another task in the midst of a wedding and flying out of town means so much to me. Thanks also to Renee for helping out and Arles for not only a beautiful cake, but delicious too! Thank you also to my Mom and Allison for bringing yummy food as well.