dtc presents

Go White Sox!!!!!

Ladybug, Ladybug....

Today my friend Kelly and I went shopping. We were celebrating the fact that I am finally dtc and also her dossier is finished being reviewed by the CCAA (Chinese side of the the adoption process). She got a really cool diaper bag and some pjs for her baby-to-be Hannah. I got a Swarovski crystal ladybug for me and then I got Diana a White Sox outfit. For those of you who don't know my husband he is a diehard Sox fan. I have been keeping an eye out for something Sox for Diana so today was the day. It is white with pink stripes and the Sox emblem and then it has a pink skirt. It is too cute!!

DTC

Well everyone we are one step closer to getting our baby girl!! Our dossier has been sent to China as of 9-19-06. I expected to get an email from my agency but happened on our parent access page and there it was in black and white!!!! Now we wait for it to be logged into China and our wait will offically begin.

Diana....Mommy and Daddy are getting closer to you. I don't think that you have been born yet but are already alive in our hearts. We love you and can't wait to meet you baby girl.

One Hundred Good Wish Quilt

For those of you who got this letter in the mail it is just another reminder of what we are doing for Diana. Those of you who did not get a hard copy of this please read on and you can go to the link in order to see some samples of the way these quilts are made. Currently we have not decided on a style. We will keep you updated though.

http://members.cox.net/~joannanorman/quilt/index.html

Dear Family and Friends,

There is a tradition in the northern part of China of making a "100 Good Wishes Quilt" to welcome and celebrate a new life. The quilt maker invites 100 people to contribute a single square patch of cloth. Historically, the squares were scraps from their worn clothing and it is said that the luck, energy, and good wishes of the people who wore these clothes now surrounds the child when he/she is wrapped in the quilt.

We would like to follow the tradition of the 100 Good Wishes Quilt for our daughter-to-be. We would love for you to send a square of new fabric to add to Diana’s quilt. Any fabric that is beautiful to you will be beautiful to us, and to her. If you are interested, here's what we'd need: 1) 7" x 7" square(s) of material that has mostly cotton content (washed and ironed before cutting the square to allow for shrinkage). If more than one square is sent from your family please make sure you include a “wish” for each square.2) Along with your quilt square(s) please include a "wish" which could be a, poem, thoughtful quote, original thought, or whatever you choose, on a piece of paper along with your name. Please no larger than an 8x8 sheet! 3) On this piece of paper with the wish and your name, paste a small square of the fabric that you're sending for the quilt. This small swatch will help us to identify your fabric within the quilt. The piece of paper can be as simple or as fancy as you'd like to make it: you can handwrite it, print it out, scrapbook it, fancy it up anyway that you would like. These will be kept in a scrapbook for Diana to read.

If you would like to contribute, we respectfully ask that we would receive the squares by January 30th so that we have plenty of time to have it and the book made before we travel to China.
Your help will make this a wonderful keepsake. Thank you so much!

Lisa, Dave, Bailey and Matthew

Update

Completed dossier papers!
Matthew getting big!

Apple picking 2006

Bailey getting big!

Sorry its been so long since I posted but things have been a little crazy around here. I will recap as best as I can in a not too boring way (I hope). While Dave was off he painted and re-tiled the kids' bathroom. We put in new towel bars, tp holder and hooks. I will show off his handy work once my cousin Jeff comes to install the new light fixture.

Also while dave was off we took the boys apple picking. We have been doing this every year as a family since the boys were 3. Dave and I have been doing it almost yearly since we began dating. We really have a good time. It is a family tradition that I look forward to every year. I will be making at least one apple pie and a few crisps.

One the adoption front we are out of critical review and on to translation. It is good to know we made it out of the review room with no errors. We should be out of translation and off to China (our documents that is) by the end ofthe week. We still have a slight chance of having a LID (log in date) in Sept. This is the date that our wait truely begins. I will not make any predictions on the wait other than I really hope that we will be able to travel to China sometime next summer. If not then it is all in God's hands and when our daughter is ready for us we will be there to get her.

Dossier to CCAI

Well I got the confirmation that CCAI received my dossier. They are saying they will have it for 9-11 business days providing there aren't any problems. If it is problem free it will be sent off to China. I will definitely be DTC in Sept. I will have to see what my LID is....boy am I getting ahead of myself...LOL. Oh well.

To all my adoption friends out there who got their LIDs this week congratulations!!! I hope you will all go celebrate and enjoy knowing that you are on your way. I may be bringing up the rear but I'm glad to know I am in good company.

Mission Accomplished....

Well believe it or not our paperwork is FINALLY on its way to our agency. Actually according to fedex it was just picked up from the drop off box at 4:19pm. YEA!! CCAI will have it by tomorrow afternoon. Of course you know I have a story to go along with this right?

Yesterday Dave and I dropped off the boys at school and headed downtown to the secretary of States office and the Chinese Consulate. Well Dave drops me off in front of the SOS and I go up there and fill out the form. The lady asks for the $4 and I give her a $20 bill. She asks if I have anything smaller (this after I just told her I didn't) she then asks me "don't you have a check?" I say no. She takes my money and begins to go on to something else. I ask her for my change and she says I will get it when I get my forms.....Last time they didn't even collect my money until the end so how should I know?????

Off to the Consulate and things there went a lot smoother. I told her we would pick them up tomorrow and asked what time they would be available. Her exact words were "anytime tomorrow." So we go back this morning and its roughly 24 hours later, I wait in line and the woman takes my receipt and looks for my papers. They are not in the bin. She goes in the back and finds out they aren't ready yet. She says come back in 10 minutes. 10 minutes later I get my forms and we're on our way. Oh well these are little problems but still part of our story in the journey to get Diana.

Hopefully CCAI won't find any errors and we will be dtc by the end of the month.....getting closer Diana.....

Tagged Again??????

Actually this one is great! Thanks Jessica for coming up with this!!

10 ways to stay positive during the wait!

1. Paint and decorate our "kids" bathroom.
2. Decorate and put together Diana's room.
3. Read adoption related books.
4. Read books just for fun.
5. Work on Diana's lifebook and her 100 Good Wishes scrapbook.
6. Attend my HS agency's waiting moms support group.
7. Attend get togethers with my Fox Valley FCC group.
8. Spend time with friends and family.
9. Participate in activities from dtc/lid groups.
10. Did I mention buying cute girly things????????

Now I will tag Kym, Marjorie and Tina....not to mention anyone who is reading this and has a blog consider yourself tagged!!

Nostalgia

For those of you who knew me pre-adoption you all know what a HUGE "90210" fan I was. I even watch it if I'm home on soap network in the afternoon. Anyway today was a whole back to school blast off with a bunch of old episodes. I was able to watch the majority of them because we stayed in all day. It was so fun to watch them and have forgotten certain things from that episode or think to myself "Oh yeah....I remember that." I know it sounds goofy but it is the one show that I absolutely still miss after it being off the air for 6 years already. It is driving me nuts that they still haven't released it to DVD yet.

It also makes me wonder what shows will have that much of an impact on my children. I know that Dave was a big Miami Vice and MacGyver fan. Right now the boys are into so many different things like typical 5 year olds but what shows when they are in their 30's will have the best memories for them. What will Diana watch that will leave her with those memories. When I first started watching 90210 I would watch it with my mom. So when I think of that show I always remember me running home from work and Mom having it on so we could watch it together. I hope that Dave and the boys will have special memories like that and that Diana and I will be able to watch something that she will have memories of us like I do with my mom.

Thursday news...

Well today started out kinda crazy. Matthew woke up at 6:30 wanting to cuddle with me. I told him he had to go back to bed since it was before 7am. What I think is 5 minutes later Dave asks me when I want to wake up to get ready for work. I tell him 7am. He says its 7:25am. "Oh S***!!" I have to take a shower and get ready super quick. By some grace of God I made it to work on time and that was stopping for much needed coffee.

Later in the morning Dave calls to tell me that he is waiting for a tow truck to come get his truck. He later informs me that the car needs a new computer and and two new sensors. Our neighborhood mechanics of course can't do this so they call the dealership to find out how much it will cost to replace it. WOW!!!! It will be over $4000.!!! On top of this it will only be warranteed for a year. For those of you who don't know Dave does a lot of driving for work. He needs to be in a safe car. We have decided to trade this truck in and get him brand new car with a warranty. He will get it tomorrow.

Ok, so my day is going pretty bad huh? Well actually I was still in a decent mood. It got even better when Dave called to say that our I-171H was actually in the mail this afternoon!!!!! I almost started dancing in my office!! My co-workers were excited for me and I was on Cloud 9 the rest of the day. I also went to WW today and have now lost a total of 20lbs!!! Life is GOOD!!!