did you know?

I was just on Jennifer's blog and was reminded of something I had learned when we began our adoption over a year ago (at that time we thought we were going to adopt from Guatemala), but it had unfortunately fallen off my radar until now. I think this may come as a surprise to many to know that the very popular and widely supported organization UNICEF is not a supporter of international adoption. While I commend their efforts to bring resources to developing countries in an effort to better their lives and livelihood, I feel that they are way off base by being an obstacle for international adoption. There is no doubt that the world would be another place...a great place, if all children could be raised by their birth parents in their birth country, but we live in a world that is far from perfect and there are millions of orphans who need a family. I personally find it terribly disheartening that a globally known and respected organization would take such a stance against helping orphans find families....

Here is the link to a Newsweek article that goes into further detail.

Decisions Decisions

Ok, so with me "expecting" along with a good handful of my co-workers (who are expecting in the the more conventional way), the bottle/plastic/BPA topic has been a hot one in the staff lounge (exciting for everyone else in there, I know)!

I don't really know anything about bottles, except that omitting potentially toxic chemicals is a good thing... So,I'm curious to know if people have recommendations. We are going to go with the BPA-Free bottles, but I can't decide. Any suggestions?

Option 1: Born Free

Option 2: Green to Grow

Option 3: Glass (aren't these cute...a little spendy, so probably not something I will invest in, but how cute are they?)

Any suggestions? Her little cabinet looks so lonely with only one bottle...

Take a look...

Autism is something that fascinates me and always keeps my wondering. I currently work with a few children who are on the PDD/ASD spectrum (Pervasive Developmental Disorder/Autism Specturm Disorder- which is the more commonly used wording to include many degrees of Autism and Autistic-like behaviors).

One of the therapy companies I receive materials from just sent this video out. Some of you may have seen it before. For each click on the video, the band Five for Fighting will donate $.40 to the amazing organization Autism Speaks. I have seen first hand what powerful early intervention can mean to these kids...please take a moment to click on the link so that more money can be put towards such a worthwhile cause!

Thanks!

I've been tagged by Jennifer over at This is Now!

I am supposed to provide some interesting little facts about me... here goes nothin'!

4 jobs I’ve had:
1. Sales person at Maurices (through high school)
2. Tour guide for a Harley-Davidson engine manufacturing plant (only for 1 summer, but how a large bearded Harley rider could take me seriously while I was talking about how cam gears are made still kills me!)
3. Dept. intern at Harley-Davidson (headquarters office) - much better than giving tours! (summers and winters for the rest of college)
4. Speech Language-Pathologist at a public Elementary School (currently)

4 movies watched over and over:
1. The Cutting Edge (ice skating movie circa 1992) -man, I've gotta go find that now ;-)
2. Jerry Maquire
3. Good Will Hunting
4. 10 Things I Hate About You (in college my roommate and I we were in love with Heath Ledger (such a sad day to hear about him) )

4 places I’ve lived:
1. my parents house
2. the dorms
3. a few shady college apartments (I was totally overcharged)
4. My house (Milwaukee)

4 shows I watch:
1. Grey's Anatomy!!!!
2. Brothers and Sisters
3. Extreme Makeover -HOME edition
4. Any decorating show on HGTV (I'm hooked)

4 places I’ve been:
1. Australia
2. The Caribbean
3. Mexico
4. Most of the US of A

4 people who e-mail me regularly:
1. Heather
2. Julie
3. My mom
4. The people who run the websites for the stores I've purchased from!

4 favorite things to eat:
this is hard...I love to eat!
1. Gyro or Spanikopita (it's a tie) - (it's the Greek in me)
2. Donuts!
3. Asian food (Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese etc.)
4. Fettuccine Alfredo with mushrooms

4 places I’d rather be:
1. On an airplane to Vietnam
2. Hanoi
3. Ella's orphanage
4. Someplace a little warmer than WI (although I do love winter)!

4 things I look forward to this year:
1. Meeting my baby girl!
2. Taking 12 weeks off of work!
3. Celebrating our first Christmas as a family of 3
4. Hopefully meeting a few very special PAP's in Vietnam (there is a special group of ladies out there, scattered across the country that I am dying to meet in person. We've been through a lot together and it would be absolute heaven if we got to meet in Vietnam while we're all picking up our babies)!

OK, now I get to tag 4 other people!
1. Julie
2. Heather
3. Kerryanne
4. Lee

Have fun ladies!

Homemade vegetarian chili ingredients - $35

6-pack of our favorite microbrew - $7

Cornbread mix - $4

Dry (non-snow covered) firewood to stay warm - $23

Watching Brett and the Packers on Sunday night - Priceless PAINFUL!

Sorry, I've been hibernating! It's cold. And I don't mean "typical" Midwest chilly. I mean, it's flipping cold! The high tomorrow is supposed to be 3. T-H-R-E-E tiny little degrees...and that's a high. Low of -4 degrees, but when you factor in that fun thing meteorologists call "windchill"...folks, we're talking 30 below zero. I would venture to say that some of you reading this have yet to see temps that cold. ;-)

I am very thankful that I will be pleasantly distracted from the cold as I watch Brett and the team take to the field on Sunday! I fully intend to hunker down in front of the fire to watch the game. I heard on the radio today that the actual temperature in Green Bay at kickoff is going to be 3 below zero! Can you imagine running around in essentially tights and a shiny short sleeved shirt in that? Let alone running into a very large dude that could essentially snap your bones like chow mein noodles? Crazy, but I love it! And the fans sitting on metal bleachers...I get chills just thinking about it!

Anyway, I hope to have something actually important, like an adoption update soon! TGIF!

I just received this email from a dear blog buddy who is waiting to pick up her son in Vietnam. In an effort to raise awareness and get a lot of signatures, am happy to post this letter and petition link here. This will not only help her bring her son home, but all of the other adoptive parents waiting or who will be waiting in the future. Please help! Thank you!

Dear friends, family and fellow Prospective Adoptive Parents,

In September 2007, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced plans for their new process related to I-600 filings and determinations. All I-600 petitions to Classify Orphans as an Immediate Relative are now processed exclusively via the USCIS office in Ho Chi Minh City. Prior to the rollout of the new processing rules, USCIS was encouraged to have a comprehensive transition plan of at least 21 days from formal publication of the initiative to effective date, to ensure that potential adoptive parents (PAPs) who were expecting to travel to meet their children at the time or soon after the changes would not be adversely affected. This was not done.

While we support the change in process and believe it will ultimately be better for Vietnamese adoptions, we are asking USCIS to take care of the backlog of applications as mentioned above.

Please consider signing the petition below by clicking the link. It was drafted by myself and another PAP, Rah Bickley, and will be presented to Michael Valverde, Chief, Children's Issues, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the next few weeks. We would appreciate it if you would pass it on to anyone you know who has an interest in adoption.

http://www.petitiononline.com/1600/petition.html

***The authors of the petition have asked that people do not contact USCIS directly. They are terribly understaffed already, and while we want to stress our point of the backlog, we don't want them busy responding to individual emails instead of approving more cases*** thanks!

life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.
- anonymous

happy new year!

2008!

happy new year!

************************

I can honestly say that I didn't think I would see 2006, 2007 and now 2008 on my blog and that I wouldn't be posting pictures of Miss Ella yet and despite the little tug at the heart, I have a renewed sense of hope and excitement for a new year! I know that this is our year and that our Ella is on her way! Here's wishing you all a great 2008...full of memories, hope, adventure, and bright tomorrows!

today is the first day of the rest of your life!

-american proverb-