Another Wonderful Gift.

We received another wonderful gift from the shower. These bibs were a gift from Verna The Blog Fairy and blog author of Never Too Many or Bigs And Littles. I'm a little confused about the title of her blog, but that seems to be the order of the year. :-) Thank you so much Verna for the wonderful bibs. These bibs are so large and wonderful. I think they will come in very handy especially with Eliana having a cleft palate. When she is too old for bibs I have to say they fit me and might come in handy.



PS. I have fallen quite behind on my e-mails so please bear with me and I hope to get you all written back soon.

Jesus in China

I was so upset when I just found this and realized we missed it, but I found it on PBS online. Click here if you want to see the program.

Eliana's Room

I do plan on painting her bookshelf to match the crib. That is on the to do list if it ever warms up around here so I can do it outside.

Eliana's care package that I'm getting ready to send. The only thing missing is two disposable cameras which I didn't have when I took the picture but now have. I hope she gets the package. I slept with the little blanket and her bunny for several nights.

Gifts and More Gifts

Gifts are starting to arrive from the shower on Saturday. Wow, you ladies are fast. The first three gifts arrived a while ago, but I realized I forgot to put them on my blog. Better late than never right.
This cute little outfit is from my friend Cindy. She is in the process of adopting a little girl from China also. She does not have a blog so I can't share one with you. Thank you Cindy...Eliana will look so cute in this outfit!

I received a box over flowing with clothes from my friend Trish. Her old blog is 'Twin Chatter', but she is no longer blogging. :-( I am truly sad about this, but I am so thankful we have been able to keep in contact. There was so much in this box that I just picked out these two to take a picture of. Thank you so much Trish the clothes are beautiful and I can't wait to dress Eliana in them.

Okay, Paula from 'The Baby Journals' sent this tee. This shirt goes back to the post about the VW Bus. Paula sent it because wouldn't Eliana look so cute in the pink VW wearing this shirt? Thanks Paula...I love it.

On to the shower gifts. I received this gift on Tuesday and I'm sorry that I didn't get it posted until now. I love these books. They were a gift from Sherry at 'That Girl' and her new blog 'Stumbling Toward Ethiopia'. Thank you so much for your giving heart even though we don't know each other. I will be following your journey to Ethiopia.

Well, this is from Paula again. She just keeps giving and giving. As you can see from the picture she sent all sorts of goodies for Eliana. I had to open the coat and put it on Eliana's doll for a picture. I am just a big kid wanting to play with dolls. Oh I so look forward to playing dolls with Eliana. Thank you so much for being my friend and for the wonderful gift for Eliana. I can't wait for the call today to find out if she chose you. If you would like to follow Paula's blog she would love to send you an invite. Just e-mail her at 1mob@sbcglobal.net. She also has an open blog called 'Life in Tahoe'.

Last but not least is a gift I received yesterday from Dannye from 'LayDfrog'. She has been waiting 23 months and counting for their daughter Chynna to come home. Thank you for sharing in our joy and for the wonderful shower gifts. The first thing I did was well, read the card and then the book (Eliana's book) not the mommy books. I have started reading "Toddler Adoption The Weaver's Craft". As you can tell I got two of the same mommy books so I will be sending those to Kimberley at 'The Seventh Diamond'...the mastermind behind the whole shower. Thank you all for the wonderful gifts I love each and every one of them and it makes me look forward to sharing all the wonderful gifts with Eliana soon.

Actually it fits who I am.

What the House Test Says About You

You are happy with who you are, and you don't have an inflated sense of self importance. You do your own thing quietly. You don't take up a lot of space. You can't stand community oriented people and annoying "buy local" campaigns. You prefer to live the best life possible, and that doesn't really involve many other people. You are creative, expressive, and bright. You are always in the middle of some amazing project. You look good in a low maintenance sort of way. You do the minimum required to be attractive. You are moved by the most simple of things. You can find pleasure from a small, perfect moment.

The House Test

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Another family has been united! I love seeing these pictures and reading about these moment. Please visit 'Elizabeth's Travel Blog' to read all about their travels and to see more pictures. Congratulations Kelly, Eric and family!

Alaska is still the dream!

CAMPING IN ALASKA

Why Alaska

Waiting for LOA ~

Don't worry I'm not upset just thought this would be fun to do.

I just wanted to say to everyone that I had a wonderful time at the shower. Thank you for your support and kindness. I can't wait to openly show you our daughter. Lord willing we will travel soon and I will be permitted to share all my wonderful pictures and every speck of information with you. I will be doing posts as the gifts start to arrive and show you all what I got and from whom. I hope everyone includes their blog address with the gift so I can make sure to link these great women so we can all share in their journeys.

A very special thanks to Kimberley who was so sweet and asked to give me a shower. Daleea did such a beautiful job on the announcement and header...I loved it, thank you! Last, but not least thank you Paula for being such a great co-host.

I have to say I finally found a place that I belong. For so many years I have wanted to find a group of women who shares the same dreams, fears ,frustrations and joys. When I found blogging I had NO idea what was in store for me. Many years ago a daughter of a lady I worked with blogged and she gave me her address. I read her blog on a regular basis for at least a year. I thought it was really a nice thing, but I didn't connect with it and just felt out of place (nothing really new :-). I really don't know how I found the first adoption blog, but I instantly knew it was going to be great. I had tried twice in the past to start blogging and didn't see the purpose until the first adoption blog. I have been so humbled and blessed by your stories and your lives. You are the most giving and loving community of women (few men) I have ever gotten to know. Blogging has restored so much in me and I am so thankful that you all are with us in the wonderful journey and understand. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Help Bring Eliana Home Raffle

As we near the time of being able to travel to out daughter Eliana we are short the funds needed. Kimberley (The Seventh Diamond) yesterday at the shower said that she and Verna The Blog Fairy were working on a raffle to help us get the money. I tell you those ladies hearts just don't stop. Paula (The Baby Journals), also has a heart that does not stop. She has donated the second prize raffle item the 'Mystery Box of Bows' from No Slippy Hair Clippy (retail value $50). These bows are so awesome from what I have heard. I feel like buying raffle tickets to our own raffle. The car seat is brand new (retail price $180) and was purchased by my parents for an adoption of an infant that never happened. Eliana will be too big to fit in it, although it is such a wonderful car seat. I have checked it out and there are no recalls and I will list the specific information so you can see for yourself before you buy a raffle ticket.

- Chicco Cortina KeyFit Car seat
- Designed to fit babies from 4-22 lbs
- EPS energy-absorbing foam for greater impact protection
- Newborn padded infant insert provides improved fit for babies 4-11 lbs
- Thickly cushioned seat pad
- 5-point safety harness with easy one-hand center pull adjustment
- Comfortable carrying handle
- Adjustable canopy for maximum protection from sun, wind, and cold
- Touted as one of the easiest car seats to install; locks easily and securely onto base
- Seat base is easy to install with "single-pull" LATCH adjustment
- Seat is compatible with the Chicco Cortina, Trevi, and S3 strollers for an instant travel system
- Easy one-hand removal from both stroller and car seat base
- Machine-washable seat padding
- 22"L x 17"W x 24"H
- Weighs 8 lbs. (off the base)

Model Name: KeyFit
Model #05 065245 220070
Serial #0630

If you would like to be part of the raffle there is a 'ChipIn' widget on my sidebar. Each raffle ticket is $10/entry. If you would like to have more than one entry i.e.. 3, you would enter $30 and you will be entered three times even though it shows Quantity 1.

If you would like to put the widget on your side bar please e-mail me and I would love to send you the widget.

We are so grateful to all of you for your friendship and thank you all for your wonderful giving hearts. Never have we been so touched by so many people. The Lord is so good and I know that He has a special plan for ALL of our lives.

!!!!!Eliana's Baby Shower Tomorrow!!!!!

I am so excited about tomorrow. It is our baby shower for Eliana. I want to invite everyone to go to The Seventh Diamond for the shower. This was taken from Kimberley's blog:

"To recap how my baby showers work, it will be an open chat just like the Sat Chat from 10am-2pm, so drop in and talk with us for a while. Of course....there are prizes! Each 5th rsvp comment will receive a shower prize and I will display the winners on the shower post so that you all can see if you have won! If you cannot make it from 10am to 2pm, no problem, just leave an rsvp comment and I will be checking in from time to time and will get April's gift list out to you!
There will also be a fabulous co-host, Paula from 'The Baby Journals'.
Should be a fun morning tomorrow!"

I have the best friends and I am so excited that y'all will be celebrating our daughter with us. We are so excited that the Lord has heard our cries and we have the most wonderful daughter that is coming home soon. I hope to see you all at the shower. If you would like an invite to "The Baby Journals" just write Paula at 1mob at sbcglobal dot net.

I just love this invitation...that is why it is on here so many time. Thanks Daleea for making it so perfect and special.

Travel appointment question.

UPDATE: Called our insurance and they won't cover ANY of the expenses for travel immunizations, but they have a free service that they will call me for an hour appointment and after the appointment they will call in what is needed to the closest Group Health facility. Then we pay out of pocket for what is needed, but don't have to pay for an office visit. The phone call is scheduled and we don't have to do anything if we don't want to after that.

I just got off the phone making an appointment with a travel doctor to go over shots we may need before we travel. I really don't know if we need this appointment or not. I really don't want to go if it is unnecessary, and our insurance will only pay a portion of it. Please advise if you know anything regarding whether or not we need shots. I need a Tetanus shot for sure, but I can get that at the walk-in clinic fast and a lot cheaper. Please leave me a comment. We are going to be in two major cities in China if that helps.

Our Prenatal appointment with Eliana's Pediatrician

Yesterday was an exciting day for me as Patrick and I went to a prenatal appointment for Eliana. The doctor spent almost 1.5 hours with us and was a wealth of information. He speaks fluent Mandarin which will hopefully will be a comfort to Eliana for her first few visits. I was really impressed because as we were talking he looked up a growth chart for children from China and e-mailed it to me and said if we have ANY issues while in China to e-mail him plus told us how to get a hold of him 24 hours a day. WOW! Okay, so the icing on the cake is that I also got three prescriptions to take with us and he put them in my name so I can get them filled here with our insurance. I am astonished and feel so good about bringing our little girl home and knowing that she will have a great Pediatrician. In his practice right now he has 8 Internationally adopted children and in the group that he practice in there are many children from China. On of the other Pediatricians (whom I tried to get in with, but she is the most popular in town and referred us to him) has a girl and a boy (also CL/CP) from China so he said that he can run things past her if the need arises. He is checking on something that has been a question on her referral from the beginning. Eliana has a cleft lip (repaired) and cleft palate un-repaired, but there has been a question regarding her rib cage. We do know that there is some abnormality and what he thinks is that she might have a pointed or bowed rib cage. Because part of her medical was illegible we are only going on a small amount of information. He was not really concerned with it so that makes me feel better. Seeing that we don't have children I have nothing to go on, but this was way more than I expected on a free prenatal. What do you think? Bellow you will find his resume (you really don't have to read it, but want the information if I ever make this into a book for Eliana).

Born in Norway of American parents, Dr. _ moved to the United States at age three, and grew up in Iowa. He received his medical degree and Master of Public Health degree from Yale University School of Medicine and completed his residency in Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. He is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. _ has worked in China and Lesotho (southern Africa) with the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative. As a general pediatrician caring for children afflicted with HIV/AIDS, Dr. Thompson helped increase access to life-saving treatment for this extremely vulnerable population.

“Working with children is a unique privilege because I have the opportunity to make a difference that can last a lifetime,” Dr. _ said. “I believe the role of the pediatrician is to partner with families to make healthy choices and informed decisions which ultimately help a child grow to reach his or her full potential.”

In addition to his medical practice, Dr. _ helped develop the (name removed for our privacy) curriculum for booster-seat education and distribution among immigrant communities. Dr. _ has traveled extensively, and worked or studied in Africa, India, China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Mexico. He speaks Mandarin Chinese and is conversant in Spanish. The father of two girls, Dr. _ enjoys spending time with his family, camping, hiking, bicycling, and cooking.

Practice Experience:

Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative
Maseru, Lesotho (Southern Africa)
Kunming, (Yunnan Province), China
2006 - 2007

Residency and Internship:

Children's Hospital / Regional Medical Center
University of Washington
Seattle, WA, 2003 - 2006

Medical School:

Yale University School of Medicine
New Haven, CT, 1997 - 2003

Yale University School of Medicine
New Haven, CT, 2000 - 2003
Master of Public Health
(concurrent with M.D.)

Undergraduate:

Iowa State University
Ames, IA, 1992-1996
Bachelor of Science (Microbiology)

National Taiwan Normal University
Taipei, Taiwan, 1994 - 1995
Intensive Mandarin Chinese Language Training

Board Certification:

American Board of Pediatrics, 2007

I'm thinking we should move to Minnesota!

Kelly & Baby Elizabeth

I just wanted to remind everyone that Kelly & family leave tomorrow to go get their beautiful daughter Elizabeth. I am so happy to see that they are finally getting to get her. I will say I have seen pictures of her and she is so adorable. She is only 10 days younger than Eliana. I'm sure one day our girls will meet. Please join with me in keeping this family wrapped in prayers. If you would like their prayer list and to follow their journey as the travel to China their travel blog is We've been Truly Blessed! Our Journey to Elizabeth.

Don't forget if you have not sent a quilt square for Elizabeth and (don't forget Katie) please pop it in the mail for them soon. The squares are really quite easy and fun to do, so there is no excuse. Let's shower them with lots of love. I would love for Kelly to get 100 squares for BOTH of the girls can you help make that dream come true? I sent 5 squares for each of the girls what can you do?

This is taken from Kelly's blog Living My Dream (private).

"What's this? I'm so glad you asked...Kimberley, from The Seventh Diamond is organizing a cyber shower for our sweet baby girl! The only thing is, little Elizabeth doesn't need anything! However, there is a tradition with adoptive families to collect quilt squares and good wishes (the goal is 100) to be made into a "100 good wishes quilt" for the new addition.

I did not do this for Katie (and have regretted it ever since), so when Kimberley offered to "throw" me a shower this immediately came to mind as something we don't have, and would greatly appreciate.

But, in order to make a quilt for Elizabeth (or two smaller quilts, one each for Elizabeth and Katie), we need quilt squares.

Would you please consider contributing one (or two?) Here's all you have to do:

Find a fabric that you love, and cut at least a 9" x 9" square of it (it would be very helpful if you washed it before cutting, to minimize shrinkage), and then take a smaller piece of the same fabric, attach it to a note or a letter or a card with a good wish for my beautiful daughter (or daughters). The square of fabric will be made into the quilt/s, and the wishes will be saved in a scrapbook so that when the girls are older, they can find the wishes that correspond with every square on the quilt."

"My hope comes from Him." Psalm 62:5

So often we simply neglect to look for the answers to what we have asked, which shows the lack of earnestness in our petitions. A farmer is never content until he reaps a harvest; a marksman observes whether or not his bullet has hit the target; and a physician examines the effect of the medicine he prescribes. Should a Christian be any less careful regarding the effect of his labor in prayer?

Every prayer of the Christian, Whether for temporal or spiritual blessings, will be fully answered if it meets certain biblical requirements. it must be prayed in faith and in accordance with God's will. It must rely on God's promise, be offered up in the name of Jesus Christ, and be prayed under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

God always answers the general intent of His people's prayers . He does so not only to reveal His own glory but also to provide for the Christian's spiritual and eternal welfare. Since we see in Scripture that Jesus Christ never rejected even a single petitioner who came to Him, we can believe that no prayer made in His name will be in vain.

The answer to our prayer may be coming, although we may not discern its approach. A seed that is underground during winter, although hidden and seemingly dead and lost, is nevertheless taking root for a later spring and harvest. Bickersteth

Delayed answers to prayer are not only trials of faith; they also give us opportunities to honor God through our steadfast confidence in Him even when facing the apparent denial of our request. Charles H. Spurgeon

This devotion was taken from "Streams In The Desert" by: L.B. Cowman

Sporting my new Mummy Do.

Well, other than me looking in my 20s again this new do is really easy. A little mousse, a round brush and about 5 minutes with the hair dryer...and presto, I am one fast Mummy. I'm thinking less maintenance is key in traveling to China and after we come home. I already have the benefit that I wear very very little make-up so I should be able to fly through the shower and bathroom routine everyday...YEA! I really hate "high maintenance" (at least about my hair, make-up and clothes). I better go give my plasma so I can afford to pay the Visa bill when it comes it. It would be a wash if I get get the nerve to do it.

Worthwhile Cause.

You may have seen Kimberley's post about a new blog signature. Well, I jumped on the band wagon and Verna the Blog Fairy just did a signature for me. I will quote her:

Announcing Signatures

It took me a while, but I finally figured out how to do a post signature. I am so happy to be able to make this available.

As an introductory offer, I will make you a personalized signature and install it for a $5.00 donation to Robin at Red Thread Stitches.

Please contact me at my email addy listed in the sidebar. Hope to hear from you!!

This is for such a great cause. Thank you Verna for being so giving and helping Robin.

I start my new job today.

UPDATE: I panicked...I didn't go. I am a flake. I guess I will spend the weekend trying to get my mind over the fright and try it again. Patrick told me I'm too dramatic although he didn't go through either. Well, it isn't that we don't love our daughter -- We really do -- I just HATE needles and the thought that my blood is taken out of my body separated and then put back in. I would be better if they just took it all and didn't put it back in. What if they give me some disease. Oh boy, I have issues and I drug poor Patrick into them. I will let you know if I ever get brave and do it.



Well, you heard me right...I start my new job today. It will only be two days a week and I will get $25/day. Everyone keeps telling me it is easy money, but I'm not so sure. Thankfully Patrick is going to take this on as his second job with me and he will also make $25/day. I'm sure by now you are wondering what in the world I'm talking about. I will first start with the fact that I HATE needles. Okay, enough drama...we are going to start giving plasma to bring in some of the much needed money to complete our adoption. In total if we can do it we should be able to make $400/month. Please pray that I can be strong and that I will not lose me nerve or they tell me I can't give after they shove the log into my arm. I have been trying to think what else I could do to make $50/week that will not be so much like torture. I surly would not do this if it wasn't for my sweet Eliana! I better take her picture with me.