we got "the call"...

We got our referral!  We got "the call" this afternoon. 

We've been on pins and needles waiting for this moment for so long.  I thought I would post something profound, but it's just not happening...I'm still in disbelief we've made it this far!

Believe it or not,  Ed and I had the pleasure of first seeing her lovely face back on 01.04.08, when we were given the opportunity to review her file.  We immediately fell in love with her and said that we would be honored to call her our daughter. Her paperwork wasn't quite ready, so we waited...and waited!  The phone rang this afternoon...it was finally here!

 

Miss Ella has a unilateral cleft lip.  Because we've had some time on our hands waiting for the referral...we've been able to do quite a bit of research on it.   I've also be in touch with a few other PAP's/AP's who have adopted babies with clefts, which has been so helpful.  We think her lip surgery will be a pretty straight forward procedure...of course, we'll find out more once we schedule a meeting with the cleft lip/palate surgical team. 

As for now, we're in love and just focusing on on bringing her home!

To our beautiful girl....

 

the best is yet to be!

(robert browning)

A touching story. Please check out this amazing family who is trying to bring William home. I think their Feb. 13th post is especially touching. They are a great family and it goes to show that every child...no matter how sick or disabled, deserves a loving family!

Their blog

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."

(Einstein)

To the angels looking over us...

As you may or may not know, there has been a terrible virus making it's way through the orphanages in the northern part of Vietnam. Many babies have been suffering from a Rhino virus, which in turn seems to be causing a rather sudden onset of pneumonia. Our agency works in one of the areas that's been hit hard by the virus. One of the last little gems to loose her life as a result of this virus was named Linh. My dear friend Heather and her family had opened their hearts to this little girl (who had Hep. B) and were going through the process to bring her home. I was deeply saddened this morning to receive the call that Linh had lost her battle to pneumonia. She put up a long and hard fight and had an endless amount of people sending their love and prayers her way. I know how much Heather and her family love Linh and how she will always hold a very special place in their hearts. I truly believe that she is already an angel looking over the family that she knew loved her so much. She will hold a very special place in all of our hearts.

Click to read recent article about the virus...

A few of you asked about the birdie stencil. I actually just went online and searched for cute birdies and printed one out...then we traced it onto a blank stencil and cut it out with an x-acto knife. Honestly...it was very easy! Thanks for all of the comments.

I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.

(Joseph Priestley)

it's baaaaack....

I've realized that the longer I wait for Ella...the more time I have to change my mind! While I LOVE her polka dot bedding and walls, I started wanting birdies in her room. So instead of waiting for her next (more "big girl") room, which was my initial plan, I decided to make it work together.

I'd love to say that I'm DONE with her room...but if we don't get our referral soon, time will only tell what may change ;-)

Tagged...

I've been tagged by a few people, but I've been procrastinating (sorry)!

I'm supposed to give 7 facts about myself that may surprise people. I tell ya, the more time I spend on this blog...the fewer secrets I have ;-)... but I'll give it a whirl!

1. I'm only 5 feet tall. Most people know I'm short...but tend to be surprised by how short I really am. Whenever I get asked for my height, I reply "5 feet" and the person recording my info waits for me to finish (as in provide some inches)...I always have to say "that's it, just 5 feet". I've had a lot of people tell me they wish they were shorter...and for the most part, I like being a "squirt" (my nickname since forever)...however, I do sit on a cusion in my car AND when in a crowd of people, my nose is perfectly aligned with everyone else's armpit (gross)! There are times I need to have Ed lift me up for a breath of "fresh" air!

2. Coinsiding with being short...my feet are only a size 5 1/2. Yes, I can and DO wear a lot of kids shoes!

3. I know sign language. Not that unusual these days, but I started learning at a very early age. My great-grandma (who I never had the opportunity to meet) was Deaf. My mom always had an interest in signing and enrolled me in my first class when I was 5. Miss Ella will be a baby signer!

4. As much as I love to read blogs...I hate to read books (for myself). I absolutely love reading and collecting children's books, but I'm way too much of a busy-body and just can't get myself sit down long enough to actually read a good book. The funny thing is that Ed's the same way, but we love to buy books and we have shelves full! I'm determined to have children who LOVE to read so Ella's bookshelves are already stocked!

4. I hate seafood. Shrimp, Lobster, Fish...nope nope nope. I do try it every so often but still have yet to acquire the taste. (Ed is the same way so it works out good when deciding what to eat!)

5. I've been to the Oprah show twice. The first episode...not so good. Dr. Phill was there (before he got his own show). The second was great...it was the cast of Grey's Anatomy, which is my favorite show and Uma Thurman was there for the second half of the show. And we were in the second row.

6. I've never ever seen an episode of Star Trek or any of the Star Wars movies. Sci-fi and I are not friends.

7. My blog is the first "journal" I've ever stuck with. I've started journals/diaries in the past, but always got bored and ended up tossing them aside. This is my first successful attempt at journaling. I plan to keep the blog going for Ella and then I'll have it printed and bound for her to keep as a book.

Ok...I hope I didn't repeat anything that may have been in a previous tag! I think pretty much everyone else has been tagged, but if you haven't been...I'm tagging you!

nothing but a little blog face lift...

happy weekend!

[thanks for the cookies aunt kate]

Happy Valentine's Day

"life is short. eat dessert first."

(jacques torres)

I've posted before about this company, but they've impressed me yet again...

Brian, the owner of Modern Expressions emailed today to let me know about a new promotion he is kicking off. He is designing these images:

Better yet...20% of all sales from this image/promotion will be donated to Shaohannah's Hope, an adoption organization comitted to caring for orphans & helping families financially to realize their dreams of adoption.

The cost for a 8x10 framed print (with unlimited names) is $40. I just ordered ours!

Go check it out!

"life does not put things in front of you that you are unable to handle."

(unknown)

"dwell in possibility"

(dickinson)

time to celebrate

Today is a special day for two reasons...

Reason #1...It's Ed's [29th] birthday! I must say that at times I think he deserves a medal of honor for putting up with me during this adoption! We've been through a lot ups and downs and everything in between and he's always my rock. He even puts up (ok, tolerates) my obsessive blogging! He's the best. Thanks for being the best husband ever Eddie!

Reason #2...today is the first day of Tet (Vietnamese New Year). Tet is the most important holiday to the Vietnamese. Although it starts today, the celebrations have already begun and will continue to go for several more days. The Vietnamese usually return to their families during this time. Some return to worship at the family altar or visit the graves of their ancestors. Others return to where they grew up. Although Tet is a universal holiday among all Vietnamese, each region and religion has its own customs. 2008 (on the Vietnamese/Chinese calendar) means that we are now entering the year of the Rat. Those born in Rat years tend to be leaders, pioneers, and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking. Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Affleck, Samuel L. Jackson, William Shakespeare, and Mozart were all born in the year of the rat.

Happy Birthday Ed...Happy New Year to you all.

Off to celebrate!

Cheers!

what a pleasant surprise

We had a SNOW DAY today!  I was feeling like garbage yesterday so I had decided I would probably call in sick today anyway, but I woke up feeling so much better...and very happy to see that my district FINALLY had a snow day.  We've had probably 16 inches of snow since last night (and it's still coming down)!  Ed got up to watch the news this morning for the school closings and I got to sleep in , what a pal!  I lounged in my pj's for a ridiculous amount of time and then finally started cleaning and arranging Ella's room.  I've been stashing all of the clothes I've been buying her in her crib or a laundry basket, but today they finally hit the armoire!  They still have to be de-tagged and washed so they'll be out and back in again before she's here, but it's a start and was a good chance for me to see what she has and what we need we have too much of!

The results:

[recently painted armoire]    [the stash of clothes]

       

[antique rocker]                    [new radiator cover]

       

With that all done...we went out to play!

[front of our house]

[happy emma in her coat]   [almost up to my knees]

       

[so glad this isn't my car!]

[that's me hiding behind the the probably 4 foot high pile of snow in front of our house]

[just before he did the next picture]

[oh yeah...it was cold...and wet]

 

I also noticed yesterday that I had 149 blog posts...so this one makes happy 150!  Thanks for being such loyal readers!!  Here's to 150 more+baby pictures!

i was needing some inspiration...

so I'm back to the quotes... I couldn't decide on just one, so here are a few of my daily favorites!

____________________

“Life is all about timing... the unreachable becomes reachable, the unavailable become available, the unattainable... attainable. Have the patience, wait it out. It's all about timing.”

(Stacy Charter)

______________________________

“Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow - that is patience.”

(unknown)

___________________

“Patience is not passive; on the contrary, it is active; it is concentrated strength”

(Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton)

can you get a feel for my mood today? ;-)