Celebrations

I have many many fond memories of the holidays with my family from age two and up. I cannot wait until we start our own traditions with Amelie. In addition to Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter (and the all popular Groundhogs Day, ha, ha), we will have the opportunity to celebrate several Chinese holidays as well. Many FCC families feel strongly about incorporating Chinese culture into our children's lives, but not shove it down their their throats. It's a very delicate balance. We intend to introduce the Chinese Holidays to Amelie and gently encourage her to take Mandarin language classes. If she becomes more or less interested in all of these things, we will allow her to delve into them more, or steer away from them, whatever her choice is.

One of the big Chinese holidays that just passed is the Harvest Moon Festival. The Moon festival (also called the Mooncake or Mid-Autumn festival) falls on October 6 in the year 2006. What is the Moon festival? Every year on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, when the moon is at its maximum brightness for the entire year, the Chinese celebrate "zhong qiu jie." Children are told the story of the moon fairy living in a crystal palace, who comes out to dance on the moon's shadowed surface. The legend surrounding the "lady living in the moon" dates back to ancient times, to a day when ten suns appeared at once in the sky. The Emperor ordered a famous archer to shoot down the nine extra suns. Once the task was accomplished, Goddess of Western Heaven rewarded the archer with a pill that would make him immortal. However, his wife found the pill, took it, and was banished to the moon as a result.

Luckily for us, we don't have to try to create this festival by ourselves. The FCC community does a fantatic job recreating this event in Palm Beach County. I am very much looking forward to attending with our daughter!

Dave's blog

David started his very own blog. His is a little more heartfelt, a little less sarcastic and a not full of much-ado-about-nothings like this site! It's deep man. Hey-ya gotta have balance. Check it out! www.ouryangnu.com Like mine, except leave out the blogspot part

dog days

After another night of sneezing, itchy red eyes and a runny nose, we decided to let Henry to go another family this morning. A freind of the previous owner who has a few kids and a fenced in yard just lost their boxer to a car accident last week. We decided to give him to their family. I miss him and his big beautiful blue eyes, but he will be much happier there. After all that drama begging David for a dog. We are wheaten people anyhow, it'll happen again : (

Welcome home Sammi!

Last night our good friends Ed and Wendy and their baby Samantha returned home to the US from China. Several of us crazy FCC families went down to the airport to greet them with big signs and alot of noise. We are planning on making this a tradition. We are so happy for them...finally, a family at last! Congrats!

Almost home!

We saw the puppies today! We saw the puppies today! I think I decided to name our new little monster after my grandfather Henrico and call him Henry. It just seems more fitting than Finnegan but the jury is still out. What do you think? All 9 of the puppies were outside running around, but ours would take just a step or two then fall asleep on the grass. I hope he just has narcolepsy and isn't unhealthy! We'll go see him one more time Saturday before he comes home with us next Wednesday.

Here are a few pics of him. In the last one, he was drinking some water when one of his sisters came and sat on his head. Too cute!

As the world turns

I can't believe it's been a year since we turned in our application to our agency. My life seems like a soap opera in one very peculiar way. No, my husband is not having an affair with my evil twin sister, nor did I just come back from the dead and find my best friend married to my father, who it turns out is not really my father but my brother or perhaps my uncle. You know how if you watch a soap opera once a year, it's like the same thing is happening, nothing is really moving forward? It's like the writers drag out a story line for like, years at a time. Anyhow, I do lately feel just like that. Any progress with your adoption? Nope. Is your file in the review room? Nope. Any word as to how long it will be? Nope.

Ah well, maybe my life is more like the movie Groundhog's Day.

Well, starting next week I'll have another distraction from the wait. A soon to be 70 pound drolling shedding panting smelly lovable distraction. Can't wait!

CCAA Roller Coaster

Good news this morning, the CCAA referred/matched 18 days worth of LID's this month. Over the last 6 months, the days referred ranged from 5-9 days. So, maybe it won't take 2-3 years. If they keep this up, it will take 19-20 months. Yesterday was month #5 in the waiting game for us. If I was pregnant pregnant and not paper pregnant, I'd have a big belly and be more than halfway through. So, we still have a long way to go, but at least temporarily there is a little brighter outlook.

The CCAA just finished reviewing December 2005 LID files and word has it they are already looking at some March 2006's. Ours is April 2006 and I can breathe out, just a little, when we are past that stage. (In case you are confused, your file goes through two stages over there, the review room and then the matching room). David was never able to obtain the elusive "certification and authentication" stamps from his home country. I have a bad feeling the CCAA is going to demand this, and it will be back to South America for David so he can get that done. Keep your toes and fingers and everything else crossable, well, crossed!

Happy couple

This weekend I had the honor of co-hosting an engagement party for our good friends Wendy and Claus. It was luau themed and it was a success! Too much food, but never too many laughs were had by all. They are getting hitched on the same yacht that D and I had our reception on 5 1/2 years ago, so I will actually get to enjoy the wedding from a guest's point of view! Ours was such a whirlwind, that as much work as I put into it, I barely had time to sit back and completely take everything in. I can't wait until thiers. Hopefully the way our dance lessons are going, we'll be pretty good by then!

Speaking of dancing, I am totally hooked to Dancing with the Stars! I loved it last year, but now that I know the basics(and maybe a little more) of the Tango, Foxtrot, Cha Cha, Rhumba, Salsa, Waltz and as of today's lesson the beginning of the Hustle(stop laughing, really stop now, you are hurting my feelings : ) ), I really appreciate the moves the celebrities make. Plus, have you seen the legs on these dancers? Holy moly! Of course, that is their life and since no one is paying me to dance and I can only spend a few hours a week in the studio, the weight isn't exactly dropping off. Probably doesn't help that I come home with the munchies and eat half a bag of lime tortilla chips. I am sure those dancers satisfy their hunger with a tic tac and a half a grape. Whatever!

Itsy bitsy bits of hopeful news?/ I heart Clay

If you have wandered over to the Rumor Queen website(and why would you unless you are adopting), for the first time in a very long time, there is an aire of optimism regarding the wait. Many people are hearing through the grapevine that the wait is going to stabalize from 14-18 months. That would mean at 18 months, we would have a referral next October and travel in December. THAT would be fan-friggin-tastic. Eighteen months sounds like heaven compared to the 2-3 year wait. Not getting my hopes up yet, but at the least the woah-is-me syndrome has subsided a bit.

Then there's this, a letter I received from House of Representatives member Clay Shaw:

Thank you for contacting me with your support for the Helping Families Adopt Orphans Act (H.R.5888). You will be pleased to know that I am a consponsor of this bill.

H.R. 5888 was introduced by Rep Heather Wilson of NM on 07/25/06. As you know, the bill would direct the Secretary of the U.S. Dept of Homeland Security to ensure that an individual may file an orphan petition for at least two years after approval of an advanced processing application.

H.R. 5888 was referred to the full House Judiciary Committee. Please know that I support H.R. 5888 should it come before the full U.S. House of Representatives for consideration.

Thank you again for contacting me.

Sincerely, E. Clay Shaw, Jr Member of Congress

New puppy pic

Here is my little man at just 3 weeks. I just want to eat him up!

Houston we have a problem

Finally! Here are a few pics from the trip : )

Greetings from Margaritaville

As promised, I would share some rather unflattering pictures of David from this weekend in Key West. Ok, so he won't let me in case he runs for President, but I am sharing a few of all of us from our wonderful weekend. We first stopped at Robbie's in Islamorada on the way down-in case you've never been stop on the way down to KW-it's mile marker 75.5. You pay a few bucks to go out on the docks and feed these ginormous tarpon-I'm talking 6-7 feet long and 150 pounds. I had a great video of David trying to feed them, a few of them jumped out of the water and D squeeled like a 6 year old school girl. At least he got close to them, I was a total chicken.

The rest of the weekend was a whirlwind, it was our friend Ty's first time in KW, so we wanted to show him every inch (of the island you naughty fools-although it is KW and we did try to go to one clothing optional bar but it was empty). We rented bikes and cycled to all of the mandatory historical spots. We were dying of heat, and most of our stops were of the National Lampoon's Vacation type (take a picture and run). I won't bore you dear people with every detail, but there were some highlights: we went to this great shack by the water called Bo's Fish House-it looked like it was falling down and held together with chewing gum, there was a dirt floor, cats running around a few manaquins (sp?) laying around too. Note the picture of David sitting by the one that looks like a giant Ken doll. During the sunset at Mallory Square that evening, Ty somehow ended up in a Straight Jacket briefly in a part of one of the sideshows. I took a few pictures of the gorgeous sunset right after, not a bad job, is it?

Quick thank you to Jamie and Ted who were great hosts! They live in a fabulous house right north of Key West and let us stay there for a few nights. You are the best!

Sept 11th

Today marks the 5 year anniversary of a very horrible day in our country's history. It is one that I pray we will never see the likes of again. Everyone, in their lifetime experiences at least one moment in time so shocking, they forever define the moment by where they were, what they saw, what they felt... where were you when Kennedy was shot, or when the shuttle exploded , Pearl Harbor... every generation has at least one. I was not yet born when the JFK assasination occured, I came along decades after D-day, and barely remember the Challenger tradgedy. I am just grateful my child did not have to witness the 09/11 event. She is probably not even born yet.

I will always remember exactly where I was on that Tuesday. I was working at NCCI and the whole office, like every other one across the country, stopped. When I heard that a plane hit that building, I went numb. I have never been so terrified in my life. The office and everyone in it grinded to a halt as we all crowded around computer screens watching live video streams from the twin towers, the silence and gasps as the first tower crashed to the ground. We were all too stunned to continue to work. My brother was working at the Pentagon at that time. My manager let me go home so I could get in touch with my family. Because cell phones were virtually down that day, it took at least 6 hours for my brother to finally be able to contact my mother. Yes, many people died at the Pentagon that day, just over 200, but I thank God that the plane hit a section of the building that was all but unoccupied. It could have been much worse for them, and for my family. My old manager had a brother who was a NYC police officer, he died in the WTC that day. My family was blessed. My brother and I are much closer now I think, and a part of me believes it has to do with this day. I don't think he reads my blog, but if you do, I love you Bo Bo.

On this 5th Anniversay, may each of the surviving family members and friends of the victims of 9/11 find peace in their life and the ability to truly survive and continue on with life.

Margaritaville Bound

Gosh, my little blog has been so boring and un-funny, I can't even bear to read it lately! Really nothing new and interesting to report-adoption or elsewise. Time for a quick vacation (sans family, although I love them all...um yes sans family would be nice). We are headed to Key West aka Cayo Hueso in a few days. It will be so nice to shop-eat-drink-tan-sleep-repeat(not necessarily in that order) for three whole days! If I'm lucky I'll have a few pictures of D is some comprimising situations to post.

After this trip, we'll have to stay put for a bit because our little one will be home soon. No, not that little one. The dog-little one. Well, he'll only be little for a few weeks. I forgot to mention to D that labs can get to be 100 pounds. Shhhhh.......

Till next week!

Ernie was a big wuss

If you listened to the local media, Ernesto was a cat 5 monster. I have plenty of friends who put up shutters and are no doubt spending the day in their little caves. I am so glad, and so is D, that we decided to leave the shutters to collect at least a few more weeks of dust and cobwebs in the garage. Ernie didn't pack much of a punch, wind or rain-wise, but we still had a small hurricane, I mean tropical storm, I mean tropical depression, ok... passing shower gathering at our neighbors. They all played a card game and I played a few rounds, but mostly I passed the time stalking the new puppies. Here are a few of the now week old pups. They are starting to resemble some sort of canine. If you want to see what Finnigan will look like, there is a picture of proud papa Kiro(yellow in Japanese). Notice they all have pinkish brown noses just like their daddy. I think that is really cool because almost every yellow lab has a black nose, so Finni will be different. I hope the next 5 weeks fly by, I can't wait to bring him home!

The good, the bad, and the ugly

First the good: Meet Finnigan, the newest member of our family. Well, he will be in 6 more weeks. He is a yellow lab pup, but right now he looks like the cross between a guinea pig and a chihuahua. He's only 5 days old right now. Oh yeah, David caved. And I can't rotate the picture, I am a dummy. The little girl is our neighbor Shiori-one of the little girl's who are the owners of Finnigan's mom and dad. I can't wait to watch him grow! Of course, I already stocked up on toys, fancy bowls and other stuff. I've gotta spoil him, he's gotta follow in the footsteps of Quincy, the best dog ever...

The bad: We may have another guest, well, I am certain of it. His name is Ernesto and he is, or will be by tomorrow, a hurricane.

The ugly: I know, I know, stop reading Rumor Queen. The newest, most horrifying word is the the CCAA may impose new restrictions, and strict ones at that, immediately. By immediately I mean no grandfathering in those with log-in-dates. Some of the restrictions that are rumored about would kick us, and 50% of everyone else right out of the program. Like the soup nazi, NO BABY FOR YOU. Seriously, you can just lock me up right now if that happens. So, please, say a little prayer, wish on a rainbow, even rub your voodoo doll if you must, but just send good wishes this way. I need it.

August referrals are here

Well, the CCAA manages to get through a whole 9 days this time. Woo-hoo. They have been averaging this for the last 6 months. At this pace, we are looking at a 3 year wait. Ay-carrumba. I just opened a fortune cookie from the restaurant last night-it says "You will soon be crossing the great waters"-yeah, whatever.

Adoption for Dummies

Last night we met a few other FCC couples at Pei Wei for our bi-monthly dinner. After we finished eating, us gals decided to surprise out hubbies with a "Adoption for Dummies" trivia game. I was very proud of David, he came in a tie second place. Ed, who is traveling to get their little Samantha next month with his wife Wendy, won the game with a tie breaker question. His grand prize was a 6 pack of beer. The other boys good booby prizes-candy and slim jims. It was a riot. I think Pei Wei staff hates us, one of the girls went to the bathroom and came back and said "dear Lord, I can hear you guys from inside the stall", nice. Well, I guess since we are such a rowdy crowd we'll have to go to Chucky Cheese, but I am trying hard to never step foot in there, kid or not! I think the boys are threatening to give us their version of a trivia game, it'll probably involve questions on playboy centerfolds, NASCAR and computer parts.

Here is a picture of the boys after the game with their prizes. It looks like they have been drinking, but all we had was tea and sodas! The girls picture wasn't so flattering, my hair was all frizzy from the rain, so I'll pass on posting it.

One thing that came out of our dinner...we decided we are going to the airport at midnight when the Spector's come back from China with their baby and we are wearing our pj's and slippers (that is slippers, not strippers, Ron). We'll do it again in September when Ed and Wendy come back. It'll be so nice to see friendly faces when you get off of that 20 plus hour flight!

Happy 4 month anniversary

Ok, so I haven't celebrated monthly anniversaries since David and I's first year of dating back in college. I haven't eaten ramen noodles or drank nickle beers since then either. Alas, here I am looking forward to the 24th of each month, counting the days sloooowly, sloooowly. For everyone who promised the time would fly by I have one thing to say to you...Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire! Tomorrow will mark 4 months since the day we were LID (reminder for those of you international adoption for dummy readers-LOG IN DATE). I am in my second of probably eight trimesters-or octomesters more like it. I look pretty damn good for being 4 months (paper) pergnant, not even a pound have I gained! Of course, this is partially an effort by (shameless plug warning)-the detox treatment I got at my friend Amy's new spa Radiance (it's on the corner of Congress and Boynton Bch Blvd by the Pier One-tell her Kristen sent you : ) ).

We will celebrate with our fellow FCC gang at Pei Wei tomorrow night. The wives thought we'd make a trivia game for the guys since they are pretty much clueless abut the whole process. I am far from the only one who did 99% of the research and the paperwork and just said "sign here". People ask D what our LID is and he gives them a deer in the headlights expression. I think I'll start with the Jeapordy $100 questions for him-Ok, David-This is the country we are adopting from . Um, what is um, um, shut. I'll pass. More later on who won.

Sun, sand and boogies

D and I headed to Sanibel during the past weekend. It's a very quiet little island on the west side of Florida and it reminds me alot of what the Keys looked like when I grew up there. Not alot to do, just some island shopping, sunning and not much else. It was nice! We stayed with my brother, sis in law and their munchkins (3 now, 2 more on the way). We rented bikes and mozzied(am I spelling that correctly?) around the island. Here is a picture of the lighthouse and the beach. Had to include a few pics of baby Micheal from this morning, I caught a few candids of him on the other side of the patio door. What a cutie!