SNOW DAY! Oh the JOY!
My cutie in her snowman hat ready to make a snowman and play! This has been our best snow of the year. Not quite enough for a snowman or Lily's much desired snow angels (too muddy) but enough for a snow fight!
Bailey enjoyed watching the kids down the hill.
Action shot....get Daddy Lily!
She finally got Mommy and loved it!
There is nothing better than that smile!
Getting ready.....
to throw SNOW! Woo Hoo!!
Our little tiger warrming up inside!
Getting the pictures of Graeme really helped light a fire so we would work on his and Lily's rooms. His room has come quite a ways from a medium green wall with dark green trim (we bought it with these colors...not our doing) I should have taken a before picture. We had referred to the room as Granny's room because it is where she stayed when she visits...Lily is concerned about where Granny will sleep now. Since Lily ends up in our bed every night, I think we will be okay!
The headboard is from Lily's crib and the Mickey's ...well those that know me, know where they are from. That is years of collecting and there are still 4 large bags of Disney beanies in the basement.
Lily went through her books and is sharing with Graeme and many have sent special books for him. We love reading aloud and can't wait to share our favorite stories with him.
Lily picked out his backpack for us to take with toys to China.
This is Lily's room before the big girl remodel.
Here is Lily in the toddler bed...she has come a long way....
Her big girl bed which was a gift from Vesper and Juanita Singleton, my friend Becky's parents. Lily calls them Goondaddy Vesper and Guindi just like their grandchildren. They have really blessed us with this special gift.
My big girl all snuggled up!
We are so happy to have new pictures of Graeme. These were taken on Friday, February 22, 2008 when Donna and Randy went to the orphanage for a visit after adopting their daughter Lainey.
While they were there, they went to visit him and these two little girls who are also about to be adopted. Cassie is in the middle and we may get to travel with her family to bring them home.
He is looking a little serious here like he is taking it all in. Maybe he is not so happy about that pink bib:)
Don't you just love his hair!
I can't even begin to describe the peace of mind that these photos bring to us. We just can't thank Donna and Randy enough for doing this for us. They told us that Graeme went up to Randy and grabbed his finger and gave him a high five. I can't wait to go see him!It is 5:00 a.m. here and I am wide awake and thinking about Graeme. It would be evening for him in China and he will be getting ready for bed. I wonder what it is like for him. I wonder how he goes to sleep each night. Is there a routine and is he warm enough? Did he get enough to eat? Does he sleep peacefully throughout the night? Did he get our package and does he know we are waiting? We are waiting not so patiently for our Letter of Acceptance to bring him home. It will probably come this week since I will leave later this morning to drive 5 hours from home to go to a conference. When the LOA arrives, our agency will overnight it to us and we are supposed to sign it and overnight it back. This week would be the most inconvient time for us so it will probably come now. Wes and I have decided that if it arrives that he will load Lily in the car and we will meet halfway so I can sign it and send it back. We want no delays to bring Graeme home. Of course there is supposed to be a combination of rain, sleet and snow all week between here and the conference. Just another added dimension making me even more sure that the LOA will come this week.
I think I am up so early this morning thinking about Lily as well and having to be gone from her for 2 nights. I used to look forward to the conferences and some time with colleagues. We always manage some girl time and there is the shopping of course. I just think that all of the emotions of these last few months are really getting to me. This wait seems never ending.
There is a family in China right now that are adopting a little girl from Graeme's orphanage. I love to read their blog each day. You can check in on how Lainey is doing by clicking on her name. They are supposed to visit the orphanage on Friday (Thursday night for us) and will try to see Graeme while they are there. We have received word from our agency that he is doing very well but no specific information. The pictures that we have of him are almost a year old at this point and I know he has changed so much. They will try to get pictures of him while they are there. That would be the most amazing gift. They will also get to see first hand where their daughter spent the earliest part of her life. I am sure this will be an emotional journey for the whole family so please keep them in your prayers.
Wes and I have been working on Graeme's room and it is slowly but surely coming together. I wanted to take pictures of it and send another package to him this week with the pictures but we just didn't get it done. Little things just happened to make the project take longer than expected. I am leaving town with my house in utter chaos. There is clutter everywhere. For those that know me, yes, I am a clutterer but it is usually contained to one or two places in my house. Not NOW! We have part of Graeme's furniture in his room and part in ours. Part of the living room furniture in Graeme's room and up until late Sunday we had two very large mattresses in the living room right where you come in the front door. Plus there are odds and ends from each room in various places as we move furniture. You get the picture....Chaos! this makes it even harder to leave. I should probably be straightening instead of typing this but alas, I am trying to rid self of the chaos in my mind.
On Sunday evening, Wes and I were exhausted from work and bickered. Not a fight just bickering and both sharing our frustration over the little things. We are both tightly coiled and waiting to spring emotionally. The wait is getting to us all. It does not take much to bring those emotions to the surface.... a look, comment or the tone of his (oops ones) voice. We are all suspended in the place of knowing but not knowing. We know we have a son but don't KNOW him. We know we will travel soon but not when we will travel. We know we have lots to prepare but don't necessarily have all of the information needed to prepare. We continue to wait and not so patiently. So back to Sunday night...after the heat of the moment. Wes was reading to Lily. I secretly love listening to him read to her and hearing her giggle:) I was checking out different blogs when I came across this video of Eliot.
I am posting the link but if I were you, I would grab the tissue before you click on his name here. Eliot was here for such a short time but left some profound lessons for us. So I will embrace this day with all of the Emotions and Chaos, Laughter and Tears and Joys. I am trully blessed beyond words. Thank you sweet Eliot for the reminder.
Our secret pal has done it again!!! I love all of the things to scrapbook with for Valentines Day. Lily loved her shirt, socks and pony tail holders and insisted on wearing the outfit to a basketball game last night. Of course she did wear it all and got lots of compliments. I was just happy that our opposing teams colors were not red! I love the Heart frame and can't wait to make cookies with Lily and Graeme with our heart cookie cutter and sprinkles. Shortly after the above picture was taken, Gus, our new Bassett Hound puppy jumped up on the table and dove for the sprinkles. Luckily I caught him before he cracked the container and decorated our living room with red sprinkles. He is such a puppy.....a very big puppy!!!! Thanks again Secret Pal...you are the best!
Lily has her own sense of style!
we are so ready to bring Graeme home
My Secret Pal has perfect timing. I was really down with no LOA and Lily being so sick. We go to a pediatrician that is over an hour from our home...life in rural Appalachia...anyway, Lily and I get home and there is a package in our driveway. I didn't even have to open it and I was already smiling. We love the sweater and cords, the Chinese New Year stamps and Dr. Suess book. Oh and you made Lily smile for the first time today. She loves her lip gloss. I love my secret pal. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
She is definitely a girly girl!
Update, we have been having trouble getting Lily to eat and especially to drink today. I bribed her with this flavor ice. I told her that if she ate the whole thing that her tongue would be really blue. Then we could take a picture and put it on the blog. When your baby doesn't feel good, you will do anything to get liquids in her.
Success!!!Half the Sky is an organization that sponsors programs at many of the orphanages. They are currently providing emergency relief to many of the orphanages. Many orphanages are having difficulty due to the worst storms and cold weather that parts of China have experienced in 50 years. The areas are simply not equipped to handle this type of weather. If you are able to make a donation to help the children, please visit http://www.halfthsky.org/ . Since seeing the first reports, I have been very concerned about Graeme's orphanage.
Yesterday, I contacted Jeff at Packages of Hope. This is an organization that has done some things specifically for the Bengbu Children Welfare Institute. They recently sent warm clothes and fruit to the orphanage for the Chinese New Year. This is the response that I received from Jeff today:
All,I JUST now heard from the volunteer. There is snow in Bengbu, but the children are doing very well in the orphanage. The heat is on, and their supplies are good. Packages of Hope has made a donation for the Chinese New Year to the orphanage, and the children are receiving some new clothes and some fruit. Our volunteer Sun Lele says that Ms. Wan and the other ayi's are giving fruit to the children every day. Best regards,Jeff Kircik (http://www.packagesofhope.org/)
This was such a relief that I started to cry as I read the information today. I know that Graeme is in God's hands until we can bring him home.
Now for the not so good news, LOAs came out today. Many people got theirs including people with the same PA date as us. I was very hopeful throughout the day. It appears that we did not get ours and agency does not anticipate receiving any more until after the Chinese New Year. I am happy for the other families but really bummed for Graeme and us. This wait is so much harder!!!
Bad news, well Lily's fever spiked again last night. We went back to the pediatrician and had more tests done. We were just there last Thursday. She has a confirmed case of Influenza. Ugh! She told me that she feels "Puny Patoonie"....Bless her little heart. She has also lost a pound since last Thursday. She really doesn't need to lose any weight. I hope she feels better soon.
"Worser News" - We think Wes is coming down with the flu too!
