Happy Birthday to Me

Happy Birthday to Me. Today I'm 38! Geez...that's getting very close to 40! Yikes! Oh, to be young again! No worries! Happy Day!

We got an update on Caleigh today. She now weighs 13.4 pounds & has had pneumonia. The note said that she has recovered. Wish I had a picture....maybe I should wish for that as well when I blow out the candles on the cake; Of course, you all know what my Big Wish will be :)

The Last Day of 1st Grade

Today is the last day of 1st Grade! It has really been a good year. I'm off to celebrate Summer Birthdays with cupcakes in tow to the school. I'll be taking the kids out early after parties & weather permitting (looks like rain), we're headed to the pool with friends to celebrate! SUMMER IS OFFICIALLY HERE! Thank Goodness. We are all ready for summer break! I've been so emotional this week. The mixture of the kids finishing up school and they'll be big 2nd graders next year along with the wait for travel approval for our daughter has gotten me all out of whack! I hope that next week I can settle.....Here's to a great summer.

Follow Our "Blogging Buddies" To Vietnam!

Three of my Dillon Forum Blogging Buddies have received a Giving & Receiving Date of June 19th!!! You can follow Shelley, Paula & Tricia on their trips to meet their children by using the list at the right of my blog. They're the ones with the big GOING TO VIETNAM!!!! beside their names. You can't miss it. Hoping we aren't far behind!

Step 11 Is Finished!

We just received an update that we have completed Step 11 on the VN side of the process. All that is left is to set the Giving & Receiving Ceremony Date which will happen after our pre-approval from the U.S.Consulate. Once we receive our I600 Pre-Approval, we are good to go!
Waiting on Pins & Needles and without much sleep....I hope the Golden E-Mail from HCMAdoptions Unit comes soon.

Getting Caleigh's things together:

Caleigh's Cross

One of my friends gave me this beautiful cross a couple of weeks ago for Caleigh's room. It's so sweet with the touch of pink & pink ribbon. I took a photo of it on top of her life book after I came home with it....I have since hung it on the wall right next to her closet. After church today I was just thinking that I am so glad God never gets tired of hearing from me, because I sure have been talking a lot lately!!!

Miss Bella

Miss Bella thinks she's a cat. She loves to lay on the top of our couch in the TV Room. She's so sweet....she was my gift at Christmas from my hubby. A girl in the house finally! Now I'm praying that little girl Caleigh home! Praying without ceasing for our I600 approval. They're coming in now for some other Dillon Families & it is really so exciting! I Just have to be patient and wait our turn :) It's so hard, but I know it will be in God's perfect timing.

Have a good weekend everyone. I'm off to First Monday Weekend Trade Days in Canton with several of my good friends in the morning. It's our girls day out & I really need one!

Right Now....

Right now the lady who holds our Pre-approval for Caleigh's Visa & ultimately our travel plans in her hands, should be about to wake up in Vietnam and get ready for work. Maybe she'll be in the mood to hand out a few approvals today. Someone please move ours to the top of the stack! And yes, if you're wondering, I'm always keeping track of what time it is in Vietnam. It's just become natural to me these days... I know, wierd!

Bryce Lost a Front Tooth!

Bryce is very excited! On Sunday at the Pool, with the help of a friend, he finally got his front tooth out! It had been loose for a couple of weeks and he was determined to have it out before back to school this Tuesday. He's very excited. Blake's front teeth have been out since last summer & Bryce was waiting impatiently for his turn!! The tooth fairy came and all is well.

Adoption News: Sorry, nothing to report. Our homestudy update visit was supposed to be tomorrow, but it got canceled due to a new policy: Homestudy updates must be completed within 30 days of travel. (It used to be 6 months prior). As soon as we receive our I600 Pre-Approval, we are to call our social worker for her to come over & do a quick update.

I did have my doctor's appointment today & the doctor gave James & me prescriptions for Typhoid & Malaria prevention. I will pick them up at the pharmacy in the next day or two. He is also going to do an updated physician's letter for the both of us as well. So, check, check & check some more things off the list to do! :)

Now, if I could just see a picture of my little girl & hear a steps update & get an I600 Pre-Approval e-mail, I would be one very happy camper! I don't think that's asking for too much :)

This Little Girl

This little girl is all I can think about! This is an older photo, but I just needed to be able to post a picture of her today. Hope you have a Happy Memorial Day Weekend. We have people due at our house any minute for golf, swimming & jump house partying, cooking out, etc. all day & all I can think of is this little girl....we all have our priorities right?!?!

Well, I haven't seen a new picture of my girl in 7 weeks. This has surely gotten me a little bummed. I guess I was spoiled when we adopted our boys; we got pictures in the mail about every 2-3 weeks. The thing is, they were in CanTho too, so I know it's possible to get photos more frequently if asked. I did ask last week & was told "soon". "Soon" can mean today or a couple of weeks. I was hoping my favorite picture of the day would be a new one of Caleigh. Not so....as of this morning anyway. If one magically appears in my in-box, I'll post it later.

For all of you who live for time lines:

We've been LID in VN for over a year now.
As of today, We've officially had our referral for 4 months.
As of today, USCIS/INS has had our I600 application for 30 days. I think the woman at CIS who holds our future travel date in her hands returns on May 27th. I hope to see some approvals shortly after.....who knows.....

So, without further ado, the picture of the day: This is one of my favorite photos of Bryce. Taken the summer we adopted the boys....almost 2 years old. He's my little engineer...always stacking things, taking non-toy items & making things to entertain himself. I just love this little guy.
Here's one of my favorite photos of Blake when he was little: "Mowing" Our kitchen floor in Alabama.

My Favorite Thing In Caleigh's Room

My photo of the day is my favorite new thing in Caleigh's room! Given to me by my friend & neighbor, this soft ride-on lamb is super cute! I can just see her holding on to the handles with her little feet on the 'steps'. The little bell rings when rocked....oh, it's definately my favorite!

On the adoption front, I am mailing our completed parenting education requirements to Dillon in the morning. We completed our CPR class over the weekend & got our cards in today. So, we can save a life or two now!!! :)

Oh, & just for fun, here's what our lady Bella looks like after catching a mole in our backyard. She's such a tomboy!

My Favorites of the Day!

I have 2 favorite pictures from this morning....one is my fabulous flower pot that I found on Clearance for $9.99, Originally $59.99, that I love! The other is the first watermelon of the season that we cut up last night! It's my favorite because watermelon is Bryce's absolute favorite food of all time...he lives for the frist watermelon of summer! Summer's here! It was a whopping 95 degrees yesterday already!

My Sleeping Doberman Duke & The Bloom

I have two favorite photos for today! I just couldn't choose one. Here's my big sleepy doberman, Duke, on the couch. He's a good boy! Also, I love the Hyacinth that is finally blooming this year on the side of our house. I planted it two years ago....this year it has 6 blooms already!

Until I have something Earth Shattering....

....I think I'll post my favorite photo of the day each day this week. I love this time of year & maybe practicing my photo skills will pay off some day when we travel to bring home Caleigh!

My photo of the day today is: The nest of baby red birds I'm watching in our back yard....

(You can click on each photo on my blog if you would like to enlarge them. This one you will need to enlarge for sure :)

A Question for You!

I know there are many of you who read, but choose not to leave a comment...normally, I don't care, but I would like your input on this one! :) I have to make a decision quick about letting our boys be in the same class together next year for 2nd grade or not. The past two years they have been in seperate classrooms, but right across the hall in K & next~door in 1st. One has struggled a bit with being apart from his brother, but, all in all they do fine. I mainly did it so they would branch out, make their own friends, become more social, yada yada yada.....Well, it hasn't changed anything. They're still joined at the hip & each others' best friend, which is fine...and thus my dilemna. 2nd Grade is going to be harder...more homework, spelling tests, math tests, more reading/writing etc. I'm truly thinking about letting them be in the same classroom. The school is letting me decide...yikes! If it doesn't work, we can split them after school starts....I'm just wondering if with all of the changes coming up with the addition of baby sister....it may be easier on me. Seriously, I know it sounds selfish. But, I can spend more time with 2 on the same things that splitting my time between homeworks, etc. What do you think???? Anyone a teacher? Had twins in your classroom before??? I need to let the Asst. Principal know this week...no pressure.

Good Times....

We had some Lobsters flown in from Maine the other day....yum! The kids weren't too sure about it at first, but in the end, I have Lobster Lovers! Trying to focus on the good times while we wait for word of travel...got the kids taken care of for our trip. James' family and my family are going to split the time with them & we have a plan of action! So, at lest I've gotten that lined out. Also talked to the place that will be taking care of our dogs...It's called Bed, Bath & Bonz. How cute is that?!!! Our Dobie, Duke, has stayed there before, but Bella our Boxer baby hasn't, so we're going to do a trial run over one weekend for her & make sure she's ok! All the 'children' have to be taken care of so I can focus on Caleigh!!! Can't wait! Gotta Wait! UGH!
Well, here's some cute lobster pics....

Today Is Our 14th Wedding Anniversary!

Wow! I cannot believe we have been married for 14 years!!! We dated for a year, then we were engaged for another year before the big day. So, I am lucky enough to say that James & I have been together for 16 years. I'm so glad I married such a great man who has lived up to our vows & stuck it out through the good & bad, happy & sad.... Here's to many more happy years!

More Cuteness

Here's Caleigh's high-chair....I was very excited to find this one....my mom & I searched several stores & tried out a lot! This one is perfect for her. We will be able to get her in & out so easily & it also lowers down to be at eye level with our boys so they can "help" with her! They love that part....They also think she will really like the toys that attach to "keep her busy while I fix her a plate" they said.
Even though it's not too girly, I am really happy with it.

Time Flies When You're Having "Fun"?

Baby Girl turns 7 months old today. I'm really starting to miss her...it's a weird feeling.

We have been in the adoption process with Dillon now for 1 year & 7 months. We mailed our Application Part 1 in October of 2006. Our kids had just started Kindergarten...now they are finishing the 1st grade.

We have been Logged In VN for 351 days....a very long time.

Ready to go now....

Happy 7 month B~Day Caleigh. Maybe your 8th month Birthday will be home with us...time is flying....Summer is almost here.

What I Love About Mother's Day

I love the cheesy gifts the boys make & bring home from school. I keep them all, but for some reason the Friday they come out before Mother's Day with their little hand~made gift & yell "Happy Mother's Day Mom!" is the Ultimate! So, here are my precious Mother's Day Gifts...A basket decorated & full of candy with Paper Flowers & a Zenia in a painted Koozie...what more could a mommy want?

Whether you're a Mommy to children at home, a Mommy to a child waiting half~way around the world, or a Mommy in your heart still waiting for that precious someone.....I wish you all a Happy Mother's Day. Have a Great Weekend~

Homestudy Update Set

Our Homestudy Update will be on May 29th. It will be a quick visit at our home...Texas requires an updated homestudy within 6 months of travel. I should probably go ahead & start cleaning because my May Calendar is packed!!! :)

Blake's Golf Day

Each Sunday afternoon James is taking one of the boys to the Club to practice their golf. They used to both go together, but they really do make more of an effort when it's just one~on~one with Daddy. Here are some shots that James took last Sunday of Blake....

The Cuteness

The cuteness is just too much. I've bought lots of cute little girl things, but for some reason, these pajamas just make me want to see her & snuggle!

I would love a new picture for Mother's Day....it's been about a month since our last updated photo. She will be 7 months old next week. I wonder how she's changed, how she feels today, what she's doing....

Children's Park

Here are a few of my favorite photos from Saturday at Children's Park.

Little Bitty

Baby Girl weighs 12.7 pounds now at 6 1/2 months old. 1/2 of the things in her closet will be way too big if we travel anytime in the near future. It was noted that she's had a virus....EEEEKKK...My baby's been sick :(

Hoping for new pictures soon.
Here's an older photo just because....

Updated I171H Received

We received our updated I171H today in the mail. It reflects our new fingerprints expiration date of July 9, 2009. That is great because our old fingerprints expire on May 10th; this way, there will be no gap....We are in the process of setting a date with our social worker for an updated homestudy. (It will be one day during the last week of May) Texas requires an updated homestudy within 6 months of travel for your child. When our homestudy is complete, I will go ahead & file for the I171H Extension just in case...our approval does not expire until August 26th of this year, but I don't want anything to lapse. OK, I'm doing our part...come on USCIS HCMC...I would love to see approval someday in the very near future :)

One Day At A Time....

Three months ago today, I saw this sweet face! Oh, I do hope we get to meet her in person soon!
Today I completed the pre-adoption on-line courses that I've been working on this week.
Oh, and my kids came home from school today & informed me that Santa is dead...seriously! I hate elementary school! Santa can't be dead. I look forward to him bringing me something every year!!!

God hath not promised
Skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways
All our lives through;
God hath not promised
Sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow,
Peace without pain.

But God hath promised
Strength for the day,
Rest for the labor,
Light for the trials,
Help from above.
Unfailing sympathy,
Undying love....

And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes (and mine)

Revelation 21:4

Vietnam Adoptions to U.S. Will End.

As of September 1, 2008, there will be no more referrals for children in Vietnam orphanages matched with prospective U.S. adoptive parents. This is the news that comes on the heels of a very long investigative report released by the U.S. Embassy last week. If you would like to read more, you can find it here : http://vietnam.usembassy.gov/adoption_warning0408.html The report has been rebuked by VN Officials....they say it is all untrue. The U.S. Embassy is standing by the report. Thus, the MOU Agreement will not be renewed & will end on September 1st. There are many families caught in many stages of adoption from Vietnam...this will affect so many people in different ways. It will affect the children most of all....

For our situation: Vietnam has said that they are committed to completing adoptions for children in process with a referral. The United States has said the same. We are moving forward & we hope that there will not be delays in process due to the announcements made last week. We'll see....and we'll keep you posted.

For those of you that are facing changes in your adoption plans, please know that I am thinking of you all and praying for the best of outcomes for your families.

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

Documenting....request for documents

I will be documenting our steps through the final phases of our adoption...for my friends that are not 100% vested in a VN Adoption at this time, feel free to skip these posts. I promise, it won't hurt my feelings! :) But, this is my journal for our adoption, and if I don't take a quick minute to document things here, they don't get written down.

So, overnight we received a request for a document from the USCIS in HCMC. For privacy, I will not go into details on our blog, but noted: Request #1 for "missing" document. Request forwarded to Dillon. This is something the Dillon Staff in VN will have to provide as it is a request from the Orphanage Staff. So....I'll followup when Document #1 is proven to be "received" via an e-mail back from the USCIS. Confused yet??? Good!
My prayer is "Sooner Than Later"

Dillon has already contacted their in-country staff with the request from USCIS. USCIS HCMC will be closed on April 30th & May 1st for VN Holidays. I will update this post when I hear more...

Update: Our "missing document" has been located & is being/has been (due to the time difference) delivered by Dillon in-country staff to the Embassy on our behalf.