Dinner And A Show

A few months ago, Doug told me he had a surprise evening planned for me for the night before Christmas Eve. I was so excited, I couldn't wait to know. So, about two weeks before the surprise evening, Doug told me he was taking to me to see Cirque du Soleil's Corteo which was playing at Atlantic Station. We are huge fans of Cirque du Soleil.

First, Doug and I dined at Dolce, which was absolutely delicious. I had a "to die for" lobster pasta and Doug had scallops. Then we walked around the shops of Atlantic Station for a little while. In the middle of the Atlantic Station, there is a square which has a huge decorated Christmas tree during the holiday season. At 7PM, there are machines that turn on that blow fake snow. It was really cool, especially for us Atlantans that don't see snow but maybe once a year (and it is usually a dusting). You northerners would be laughing so hard at us because of how neat everyone thought it was!

We walked over to the Cirque tent after the fake snow event. Doug got us tickets in the front row. We could reach out and touch the performers we were so close (of course we weren't allowed to!). The show was phenomenal. We have seen several Cirque shows, and this one was one of the best. I can't thank my sweetie Doug enough for planning such a perfect evening!

And, I want to say a big "Happy New Year" to all of my blog buddies! I hope you all have a wonderful year 2007!

More Meaningful Gifts

I have been so busy the last week and a half that I have not had a chance to blog! I feel like I am going through withdrawl! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and I want to wish all of my friends, family and blog buddies a very happy 2007.

Though I wish more than anything that Briana had been here with me this Christmas, I did manage to enjoy the holiday thanks to my friends and family. I received so many thoughtful gifts the last few weeks and I want to share them with you.

First, this is a doll that I saw with my mother in a doll shop and fell in love with it. She looked so real, and when my parents gave her to me for Christmas, I picked her up and she felt real. Every time I feel like I want Briana here with me, I will pick up this doll and hold her and dream of the day when Briana is with me.

This next gift was from my sister Amy and brother-in-law Andy. This is Ling, and she is one of the Language Littles. She speaks Chinese when you squeeze her hands and her knee. Ling will be wonderful in helping Briana learn several Chinese phrases.



This ornament is from my friend Becky. She just brought home her gorgeous daughter Charis from China right before Christmas. She sent me this ornament that she bought in China. As soon as it arrived in the mail, I placed it on the front of my tree and it made me feel closer to Briana.



These charms came from my cousin Michelle. Michelle just adopted her wonderful son Ethan from Russia in May. She went to a party a few weeks ago with a Chinese theme, and charms with Chinese characters were handed out. She received one charm, and then she went around to her friends to get the other three so she could send all four to me. They say "beauty", "luck", "happiness" and "love".



This adorable ornament came from Kathy. She wrote the nicest note on the back, and everytime I look at it, I know that Briana will be home soon.



These adorable little shoes are from my friend Jennifer (who I have been friends with since middle school). There is Chinese writing on each one. The left shoe is pronounced "fu", which means luck, and the right shoe is pronounced "so", which means longevity.



This beautiful plate was sent to me for Christmas by my sister-in-law Ann and brother-in-law Wes. The plate says "Harmony". I have it proudly displayed on my coffee table!



And last, this is my swap gift from my swap buddy this month, Wanda. Our theme was hair glitz and glamour. She absolutely spoiled Briana with hair goodies and accessories!



Thank you to everyone who gave me such thoughtful gifts for Christmas. It means so much to Doug and me. You all are the best!!!

Ta-da!

I bet you all were wondering when I was going to finish painting Briana's nursery. The room has actually been painted for a while now, but I wanted to show my mom the room first before I posted pictures. When my mom entered the room, she started to cry. My whole family has been waiting for a baby to come into our lives for so many years, the room makes us feel like this will really happen this time. We have no furniture just yet, but we will in the next couple of weeks (if my mom cried at an empty room, what is going to happen when she sees one with furniture? Oh boy!). We have a few pictures on the wall now. The picture next to the closet is of the Chihuahua from "Lady and the Tramp". I have always loved that dog! My mom actually drew the picture and framed it for me years ago. I always told her that when I had a baby the picture would go in the nursery. And here it is...

The wainscoting was quite a job. I painted it two coats of white paint before Doug put the pieces on the wall, but then we realized that could see seams. So, I had to go around the room again painting the wainscoting to get rid of the seams.

It was so much work, but I think it turned out really nice in the end. Time to go furniture shopping!!!

Happy Chanukah

Growing up, I was lucky enough to celebrate both Christmas and Chanukah. My dad is Jewish and my mom is Catholic. As kids, my sister and I couldn't wait to light the menorah each night during Chanukah.

Happy Chanukah to my dad, family and friends who are celebrating the festival of lights!

Christmas At Home

I have had my house decorated since the beginning of December, and I wanted to share a few pictures!

This is my Christmas tree lit up at night. It's a real tree, and it is filled with ornaments that tell the story of my life.

This is the view of my tree from my family room. As you can see, my kitty Asia loves to sit in front of the fireplace.

This is actually a picture of my house from last year. I haven't taken a picture of the outside of my house yet this year, and I really like this shot. My house is decorated the same way this year, except we added a cute little light up snowman in the front.

Holiday Potluck

Saturday afternoon, our Atlanta waiting families group got together at Mick and James's house for food, drink, gift giving and holiday cheer! We had a great time. Toward the end of the night, we had a white elephant gift exchange, and I went home with the cutest book called "Shaoey and Dot". I can't wait to read it to Briana. Thanks so much again Mick and James for hosting a great party!

Trip To Minnesota

Finally! I have time to blog about my trip to Minnesota!

When Doug and I got into Minnesota on Friday, and it was cold. I mean really cold. When I asked Doug what he thought the temperature was, he said "one". He was probably right. So to keep warm, we decided to hit the Mall of America. It was unbelievable. I can't believe there is an amusement park inside the mall - it was amazing! And when Doug spotted the Lego store, he was in heaven!

Here are a few pics...

The next day we got up bright and early and headed to CHSFS for our travel orientation. For 2005 LIDers, CHSFS assigned each LID group a letter starting with group "A". My group is Group GG (Nov 3 LID). Year 2005 is the first year that CHSFS assigned groups double letters - that is how much the China program has increased in number.

Here is a picture of my agency...

We had already met one of our travel mates (who is a single mom-to-be!) last May when she came to Atlanta for a conference. So we got to see her again, which was really great. Then we met another woman who is in our group who will be traveling with her adult daughter. And that's it. That is all of Group GG - just three families. Now Group HH (Nov 14 LID) had about 15 families, so that was a large group. Depending how matching goes, we may or may not travel with Group HH. And it's possible we could travel with Group FF (LID Oct 27), but again, it all depends on where the matching room cuts off. This meeting was only for November LIDers, so we didn't get to meet any October LID families.

We were flooded with information for over four hours, and our heads were spinning when we were done. Toward the end of the meeting, a panel of parents who had already traveled to China came in the room with their children (who were absolutely adorable) to give us important travel tips.

Here are a just few of the things that I learned:

1. There are three important items to bring to China with you because they may be hard to find...sunscreen, dental floss and deodorant.

2. Pack very light. You can pretty much find everything you need in China. One of the dads on the panel jokingly said, "Remember, everything is made in China."

3. Casual dress is fine to wear, including dresses and shorts. Do not wear flip-flops because they are considered to be house shoes.

4. Feeding tips...babies from orphanages often like to sit up and drink bottles on their own rather than being fed. Cheerios are a must! And the Chinese like warm and hot water - no ice.

5. Sensitive topics for the Chinese are politics and religion, Tibet and Taiwan and personal opinion. Non-sensitive topics are income, age, marital status and appearance. (Someone in the room asked if there was anything besides flip flops that might be inappropriate to wear in China. One of the China program coordinators - who is from Hunan province - joked "don't wear a shirt that says "Free Tibet". Ha!)

6. Preparation before travel: try to learn phrases in Mandarin, call a medical office to ask about immunizations, obtain medications needed for travel, contact health care provider for overseas health coverage and consider traveler's insurance, purchase a money belt and purchase gifts.

7. The biggest thing to remember is to try to have patience and expect the unexpected.

There are about a thousand more things to learn and remember, but I don't have all night to write about them! I am so glad we went to not only meet members of our group, but to meet the China program coordinators. It is so nice to be able to put faces with names now.

Well, I have a few more months to prepare for China, and now I have the notes and knowledge to help me do just that!

Two Items Down, One To Go

Well, we are on our way to renewing our I-600A. I just got my copy of my updated home study from my social worker today in the mail, and she mailed a copy to the CIS on Tuesday. Also in the mail today I received an updated I-797 (I-171H) with my new fingerprint expirations - good through February 14, 2008. All I need to do now is fill out a new I-600A application form and send with a check which I will do next week - and that is gonna hurt. Hopefully, I will get my brand spankin' new I-797 in the mail in a couple of months. Fingers crossed!

And I promise to blog about my trip to Minnesota in the next few days! I have been so swamped since I got home I haven't had time to write about it yet. I need to sort my notes! :)

Thirteen Months

Doug and I got back from Minnesota this afternoon, and we are really tired! The travel orientation was really great, and I am so glad I got to meet the CHSFS China program staff and my fellow travel mates. I will write more about our trip this week.

As we were flying home, I realized today is our 13 month LIDiversary. I can't believe we have been in the adoption process for 18 months - that is including the 5 months we spent paperchasing!

We're Off To Minnesota

This Friday, Doug and I are flying up to Minnesota for the weekend to attend a travel orientation meeting at our agency, Children's Home Society and Family Services. Everyone logged in November of 2005 is invited to attend.

Doug and I always figured that we would fly to Minnesota for a travel orientation, but we thought we would go right before we traveled. We didn't know the orientation would be scheduled this soon. And we didn't think we would be going to Minnesota in December - and the weather forecast says it is going to be freakin' cold!

The e-mail invitation from our agency said...
We'll prepare you for answers to these questions and more:
What should I pack?
What documents will I need?
Who will arrange my flights?
What can I expect when I receive my child?
What are some cultural tips I should know?

I am going to take very detailed notes. I want to know everything! And I am looking forward to meeting other members of my adoption group as well as everyone who works in the China program at my agency.

I'll give all the details when we get back!

A Night At The Symphony

Saturday evening, Doug and I, along with my sister Amy and brother-in-law Andy, went to a special screening of the classic movie The Wizard of Oz with live accompaniment by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. It was so great! It was amazing how the orchestra played the entire score of the movie without missing a beat. Incredible...

Before we headed to the movie/symphony, we all ate at a restaurant in Midtown Atlanta called South City Kitchen. I got their specialty - buttermilk fried chicken - delicious!

What a fun evening!




Doug and Me










Amy and Andy

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and though Briana is not home with me this year to celebrate like I had hoped, I do have a lot to be thankful for.

I am thankful for my wonderful husband Doug. I am truly blessed to have my soul mate and best friend by my side through thick and thin. I am also so thankful for my wonderful family (including my mom, dad, sister Amy, both my grandmas and the list goes on and on) and friends (old friends and new friends). I am thankful for my kitty Asia because right now she is my only child, and I love that I get to hug and cuddle her every day.

I am also thankful for what this China adoption process has brought to my life. Though this process is long and frustrating, it has been a completely different experience for Doug and me. The infertility process was terribly isolating, but through the adoptiong process, Doug and I found a community that is so supportive and friendly. I have really enjoyed meeting new people at adoption gatherings and also meeting new blog buddies online. And I am so grateful that I met and became friends with Kathy and Mick this year. They are both amazing women who are so much fun, and I am lucky to know them. I am also glad that I got to have lunch with Georgia on Monday, and after our three and a half hour marathon chat, I am happy I got to know her better. I look forward to more lunches in the future! (And luckily we were not kicked out of the Longhorn!)

So for everyone celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow, I hope you all have a very happy one.

Just For Fun #2

Here is another video from the "Back Dormitory Boys". This was the first video I ever saw from them and it's my favorite one. Gosh I love their passion!

Fingerprint Renewals

First thing Tuesday morning, Doug and I left the house at the crack of dawn to head down to the immigration office in rush hour Atlanta traffic to renew our fingerprints. Traffic was nasty, but we managed to get to the area where the office was in about an hour. Our appointment was at nine, and we were just under an hour early.

We were going to meet friends Kathy and Matt at the immigration office because we had the same appointment time, but on the way Kathy called me on my cell saying she forgot her ID, they had to go back home to get it and they would be late for their appointment. Doug was hungry, so we decided to stop at Chick-fil-A for breakfast and hang out a little. We then headed down the street to the office and got there about 15 minutes early. They let us in the building, but only after we brought our cell phones back to the car because they are not allowed inside. The whole thing (including wait time and fingerprinting) took about an hour.

Just as Doug and I were about to leave, Kathy and Matt entered the building. From across the room, we waved, wished them luck and headed out. I am SOOOO happy to have fingerprints done. It stinks that we had to spend another $140 to get them done though.

Neat Things We Have Done Since LID #2

As promised, here is the second neat thing we did back in January.

Neat Thing Number #2
BON JOVI CONCERT!

All I can say is that it was awesome! We had great seats. We were in the first row behind the floor seats, so there was a wide aisle between us and the floor. Before the show started, we noticed that security was gathering near our seats, and we weren't really sure why. A security guard came up to our row and told us that Jon Bon Jovi was going to pass right by us. Basically he was letting us know that if we decided to lunge at Mr. Bon Jovi that we would be taken down...

The guy sitting next to me was so excited by the news I thought he was going to pee his pants. The concert started, and there was Jon Bon Jovi literally about 20 or 25 feet away from us performing on a tiny stage in the middle of the venue. He sang two songs and then he started to head toward the main stage - which is why he had to pass by us. Doug had the camera and tried to take a picture. He was so excited (Doug's got a slight "man-crush" on Jon - LOL!) he only got a "torso" shot. Here it is...


Yep - he only got him from the neck down. But right after this picture was taken, Jon Bon Jovi did walk right past us, he reached out his hand and Doug and I both reached out ours to shake his. I actually touched Jon Bon Jovi's left hand with my left hand. Doug got to shake his hand too. Wow - that was SO cool!
Jon Bon Jovi reached the main stage, and the whole group put on the best performance! And Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland surprised the audience by coming out and performing two songs with the group. I have been a Bon Jovi fan for 20 years and I am so glad I got to see them in person!

Bedtime Traditions Swap

These are the items I received from my great gal pal Mick for our bedtime traditions swap! Briana will have many sweet dreams in her cute pajamas! Thank you so much Mick! I love everything!

Clothes And More Clothes

This is the adorable outfit my Aunt Gail gave me for Briana last week. It is from Gymboree - and of course everything matches and is absolutely precious! I can't wait for Briana to wear it! Thank you Aunt Gail!


And speaking of outfits, this is a picture my mom took of me at her house few weeks ago when I brought over all the clothes that I bought at my first consignment shopping spree. I had so much stuff she couldn't resist snapping a pic!

Referral, Rescheduling & Registering

It is Monday morning, and so much has happened since my last post!

First, a big congrats to Lisa and Eammon on the referral of daughter Maisie Maio on Friday! Here is her picture - what a cutie pie!

Second, after almost 4 weeks of anxiously waiting for rescheduled fingerprint appointments for Doug and myself, the notices finally came in the mail on Saturday. Major relief. And I found out that our friends Kathy and Matt, who also had to reschedule their fingerprint appointments, got their notices in the mail on Saturday as well - for the same date and time as Doug and me (November 14th at 9AM). I was so happy to hear that they would be there too!

And last, I finally registered at Babies R Us and Target on Sunday! After one Margarita and a delicious lunch at Bahama Breeze with Kathy and Mick, they helped me create registries at both stores, and I unfortunately went a little crazy with the scanner!

One Year Anniversary

Well - today is the day...one whole year since our LID. I thought our daughter would be home with us by now, but we are still waiting. Hope we won't be waiting too much longer...

The good news is that 16 days of matching occured this month and January is through review! It is so nice to see so many beautiful babies on the anniversary of my LID!

Neat Things We Have Done Since LID

I've noticed that most China adoption blogs are created by adoptive parents either when they are paperchasing or when they get DTC or LID. Well, I started mine kind of late. I randomly started this blog at the very end of July 2006 which was almost nine months after my LID. Doug and I have done some pretty neat things (at least we think they are!) since we got our LID that I never got a chance to write about. Since we are just about to hit our one year LID anniversary, over the next couple of weeks, I am going to share the top ten neat things that Doug and I have done from LID to blog start date.

Neat Thing Number One...
LAS VEGAS!

Doug and I went to the massive CES convention in Vegas for a few days in early January. Well, I actually went to the convention just one day. It was really cool, but one day was good for me. Doug and his "Gizmos for Geeks" business partner Khalid went to the show everyday, so for two of the days, I did my own site seeing. I had been to Vegas once before, so I wanted to hit several of the hotels that I did not get to see the first time. This trip, Doug and I stayed at the MGM hotel. And, we did go see Cirque du Soleil's "O" - which was absolutely amazing.

Here are a few pictures of the trip!

Happy Halloween

Doug and I carved our pumpkins on Sunday. I did the basic pumpkin face while Doug got creative and did the "evil eye".

Every year Asia watches and wonders why the heck we are mutilating the pumpkins!

Tonight we plan on giving out candy. Last year we had about 35 kids come to the door. I hope we get that many this year because I have two big bowls of candy ready!

Hope everyone has a very happy Halloween!

Halloween Party

Doug and I went to a super fun Halloween costume party on Saturday! It was put together by Lisa S. and hosted by Kathy and Matt. The decorations were awesome and the food delish! We had a costume contest, and Kathy handed out prizes. Doug won for funniest costume, and I won cutest costume (but only after Kathy disqualified herself because she bought the prizes! Ha!) Thanks so much Kathy and Matt for hosting a wonderful party!

My Swap Gift

Look at my great goodies from my swap partner Michaela in Orlando! This month's theme was "Bibs for a Princess". Michaela was so generous! I can't wait for Briana to drool and spill all over this stuff! :)

Yes - Another Consignment Sale

I just made a promise to myself that this will be my last consignment shopping spree for a little while. But boy did I get some great stuff! I actually went on my spree a week ago Saturday, but I haven't had a chance to post anything about it. I have been so busy this week that I haven't really been able to concentrate on blogging. Between work, updating adoption documents and doing the final paint touch ups on the nursery, I am behind.

I was supposed to meet Kathy at 8AM at the church that was sponsoring the sale. I pulled into the parking lot and got a call from Kathy who was stuck on a closed interstate due to an accident and being forced to go on a very out of the way detour. She decided it would be best to turn around and go home because there was no way of knowing when she could actually get there. I totally understood, but I realized at that moment I lost my "wingman". There was no one to go into the sale with me to help me monitor my spending!

I stood in front of the door to the church, took a deep breath and walked in. When I first walked in the door, there was the cutest ladybug backpack just waiting on a table for me to pick up (which I did). Then I saw rows and rows of little girl clothing - pajamas, overalls and dresses - oh my! I bought a bunch of really cute items, yet I managed to walk out of the church with money left in my wallet! I would say it was a successful morning!

Just For Fun

I am posting this video because I absolutely love these guys! They are the "Back Dormitory Boys", and they are so funny. They have a number of videos, but I think this is one of their newer ones. They are lip syncing to "A Public Affair" by Jessica Simpson.

Out To Lunch

I went out to lunch Thursday with my gal pals and fellow waiting China moms Kathy and Randi (and Randi's adorable son Jack) to La Parrilla Mexican Restaurant. We chatted about all sorts of things but really focused on the TV shows of the fall season! Lunch was delish! See you next month girls! Here is a picture of me, Randi and Jack (Kathy is taking the picture).

The Art Auction

Friday evening, Doug and I headed down to the Sheraton Buckhead Hotel to meet Kathy, Matt and Anna for a VIP art auction. Neither Doug nor I had ever been to an art auction before, so we were excited and slightly nervous at the same time. We were not sure if we would actually bid on anything, but we wanted to go to the auction because one, we wanted to spend time with our friends, and two, there were free drinks and a free steak and lobster dinner (which was absolutely delicious by the way). How can you pass that up? Ha!

After dinner, we browsed around the room and picked two items that we really wanted to bid on. Since we had never done this before, we figured that we could watch "the pros" at work before our paintings were featured for bid. Of course, the first picture put up for bid (even though there were a ton of pictures in the room) was one of the paintings that Doug and I were interested in. So the auctioneer starts the bidding. We had a piece of paper with a number on it that we were supposed to put in the air to bid on the painting. After Doug and I do the "You do it. No, you do it" number, Doug put the paper in the air. No one else bid after us, so the painting was ours! It is called "String Trio" by Steve Bloom. It is now hanging over our piano in our living room. We won our second piece as well called "Jazz Lane" by Misha Lenn which is now also hanging in our living room.

Thanks so much Kathy and Matt for inviting us! We had a great time and now we have some great art!