June 2, 2004

Hi all!

Much, much better day today! First of all we had no official business to do today. Second we didn't have to get on the bus until 10:00 (as opposed to 6, or 8, or 9). Third, Lindsey ate! And she pooped! :-) And I am more rested, even though I didn't sleep well last night, just nervous about would she eat today, I think. We fed her first thing this morning and she took the bottle right away, ate about 4 ounces but threw about 3.5 oz. of that right back up. But it was a start.

We had breakfast then the group went to a beautiful park in Guangzhou. It was HOT. It was hotter than hot, it was humid. But it was nice and then we went to Pizza Hut. It tasted *exactly* like here at home (I had heard differently). It was sooo good. When we got back to the hotel we fed Lindsey 2 ounces and she kept it all down. They say the babies here like their formula hot. But she likes it cold. Right after she finished her bottle, she pooped, first time. :-) I changed her then she pooped again. :-)

She is very happy and content but still no smile from her. I think she is the only baby in our group who hasn't smiled yet, but she is more content then some of the other babies. She seems very happy despite no smiling.

She loves to suck on a cloth diaper. She starts sucking and usually falls right to sleep. She's slept all night both nights, crying a little a few times in the night, but I just pat her head and say some soothing mommy words and she goes right back to sleep.

I forgot to post pictures last night, sorry. We went to another family in our group's room to visit and went straight to bed when we got back. I will hopefully remember to post some when I finish this email. Jay is here and Lindsey just fell asleep so he can help me.

We *think* Lindsey may only be 13 some pounds (note from the present: found out at her medical exam that she was 16 pounds). I weighed myself then weighed myself again holding her and subtracted the difference. The scale is in kg but we got an approximate conversion. She is tiny but I didn't think that tiny. So either the scale is wrong or her referral information was wrong. It said she was 14 pounds at 5 months. The 12 month clothes fit her well. She is so beautiful. I can't wait for you to meet her.

There's tons more to say but I'll go and do the pictures. If I forget remind me to tell you about some of the funny ways our guides say some English words. Quick example: formular (formula) and breakferst. Our guides are AWESOME. Talk to you again soon!

Eileen

Happy Birthday Lindsey!!!!

Before I go back to the past again, I will stay in the present and wish my sweet girl Happy Birthday! Lindsey is 3 years old today! Today is also the 2 year anniversary of the day she legally became our daughter. She had her 3 year checkup at the doctor this morning, where she got her second HepA shot (sorry baby!). She weighs almost 27 pounds and is 1/4 inch shy of 3 feet tall. :-) (10% for weight, 21% for height) Saturday is her Dora themed birthday party with all her family.

We didn't really get to celebrate her first birthday even though she was with us. It was only our second day with her, she wasn't eating, we were busy and exhausted and we didn't do anything special. I thought we would just do something once we got home, but that first summer home was such a blur, a difficult adjustment for us, and we never did get around to throwing her a first birthday party. Sorry again pretty girl! Oh well the important thing is she was part of our family for her first birthday, and she wouldn't remember the party anyway.

A picture of the birthday girl this morning, then back to the past.....



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June 1, 2004

Lindsey HuaWu Kunstman is one year old today!! She is also officially, legally our daughter and Ben's little sister. Ben has a sister, wow, I can't believe I can say that. It is as awesome as us having a daughter. He has been the light of my life for almost 14 years and it is hard to describe my feelings about adding another child to my heart. Ben is staying in a room with Grandma and last night I just missed him so much. He is going to sleep in our room a few nights on the rest of the trip.

Today we had 2 interviews with Chinese notaries and then went to the police station where they did whatever they do :-) while we sat there and then they took our picture. So Amy told us the Chinese part of our adoption is done and Lindsey is our daughter in the eyes of both governments, China and the US. When we were waiting for our turn at the police station I turned to Jay and said can you believe we're in China, in a police station??? This is so wild. :-)

I am sooooo tired and so overwhelmed. No one told me this trip would be so hard. I'm enjoying myself and loving the experience but it is very difficult on me physically and emotionally. The hardest thing at the moment is that Lindsey will not eat! Please pray that she eats soon, I am so worried about her. She did drink some water several times but after the first time threw it all up, all over me. I've been initiated. :-) That happened this morning at the Civil Affairs Office. She's kept it down since and is sleeping right now.

Jay, Ben, and Mum left about 15 minutes ago to walk over to the China Hotel. I just got up from a nap and have to clean up the hotel room, it is a disaster. I have either been too busy or too tired to keep up with it.

Other than Lindsey not eating she is doing great. She is very quiet and reserved, still taking it all in I suppose. She hasn't really smiled yet. I'm sure she will open up in the next few days. She just LOVES to scratch at things with her little fingers (and her LONG fingernails, we haven't had a chance to cut them yet). She scratches at every texture. She just sits quietly and scratches at her toys and books. She has started to suck on a cloth diaper to soothe herself. She is taking her nap with her diaper in her mouth.

She cried for her bath this morning. The nannies said she loves her bath so I don't know if that's not true or it's just that she is getting used to us. She sure smells good now. :-)

Since Jay is gone right now I can't upload any pictures right now. I'm not sure where they are on this computer. I will do that tonight for sure so check back soon. I am starting to recognize the little girl from the referral pictures but let me tell you she looks SO different. She is so so so so sweet and cute. You will love her little face.

I'll write more soon!

Eileen and family

Lindsey with her cloth diaper (she still loves these to this day!)

Lindsey and her big brother Ben

Our wonderful guides, Lineker and Amy

Gotcha Day!! (5/31/04)

(More from 2004)

Lindsey is sleeping in her crib behind me. We got her a few hours ago. She is precious, beautiful, and sweet.

She didn't cry at all when they gave her to me or since. She was very inquisitive, looking all around and banging the toy keys I gave her. She loves to scratch at things including Jay's neck. :-) Her fingernails are long and dirty but otherwise she is very clean and smells good, although very sweaty. It is HOT here! She has on a really cute outfit. I can't tell you much more about her right now because she has been sleeping so long.

The hotel we're in here in Guangzhou, Dong Fang, is awesome. We're staying here until Friday and then moving to the China Hotel which is supposed to be even nicer.

It's hard to write everything I want to say but I just don't have time. I'm so tired. :-) I will try to write every day.

Eileen (and Jay, Ben, Lindsey, and Mum)

Ben getting ready to video the big moment

"Gotcha" moment

Oh sooo sweet!

With Lindsey's nannies

May 30, 2004

(Still reliving trip 2 years ago - post from 2nd full day, a Sunday)

Our last day in Beijing! Tomorrow morning we fly to Guangzhou at 8:00 a.m. That means we have to be out of our rooms by 6:00 a.m. I didn't sleep very good last night. I woke up several times, the last time at 4:30 and that's when I got up for the day. Very unlike me. :-)

We started the day again with the breakfast buffet. Then we went to a church service-Beijing International Christian Fellowship. It was so awesome. Only foreigners can attend the service. You must show your passport proving you are a foreigner. We didn't have to do this, however, it is obvious from our appearance that we are not Chinese. :-) The service was in both English and Chinese. They would sing a song through in English then in Mandarin. The sermon was by a preacher from Hong Kong, and he had an interpreter. The interpreter was so good! She did such a good job reflecting the tone of what the preacher was saying.

From there we went to the jade factory. I had chops made for Ben and Lindsey. It's like a stamp, with the animal from the year of their birth on top (Ben was born in the year of the horse, and Lindsey the sheep). Then their name is carved on the bottom and that's the stamp. The salespeople are soooo pushy. You cannot "just look". They hover over you and tell you things about the merchandise. I don't like that at all. Then we went to lunch, another lazy susan on the table type of meal. I found enough to eat but I didn't exactly stuff myself. :-) The restaurant was attached to a Friendship Store, a government run shop that sells all sorts of things.

After lunch we went to the Great Wall. It was pretty incredible. We didn't climb very far though because it is very steep and we are all very tired. Jay wasn't feeling good by the end and hasn't felt good all night. I've been pretty queasy all day myself. Next we went for a Peking Duck dinner. Of course I didn't eat any duck but Ben did. He really likes the food and has become a pro at using chopsticks. There wasn't much there I liked but I wasn't really hungry anyway.

When we got back I had to repack all of our things and have our checked luggage outside our door by 10 p.m. They are going to pick it all up tonight so that is taken care of since we have such an early flight. I'm not so sure I'm ready to fly again but I have to if I want to get Lindsey! I can't believe that our lives are going to change so much tomorrow. It's still really hard to believe. I am feeling soooo nervous about tomorrow-about another flight and getting Lindsey. Very excited of course but very nervous. They just came to pick up our luggage. I need to get to bed. I'll write again after Lindsey is with us. Good night!

Pictures at the Great Wall:

May 29, 2004

(Reliving our first trip, 2nd day in China, Saturday 5/29/04)

Hello from China!!! We are in Beijing! We are TIRED but enjoying ourselves very much. We flew and flew and flew to get here:

(Local airport) to Chicago: 55 minutes
Chicago to Los Angeles: 4 hours, 12 minutes
Los Angeles to Shanghai: 13 hours
Shanghai to Beijing: 1 hour, 40 minutes

The flights were pretty good although the last 5 hours of our flight to Shanghai was mostly turbulence. I felt pretty sick the last 2 hours or so, and was starting to feel very warm. That made me very nervous as they take your temperature in Shanghai and I didn't want to think about what would happen if mine was too high. I took 4 Motrin and I started to cool off and passed through Shanghai with no problems. I guess I could go on and on about our flights but I'll spare you that. I'll just say that my first time flying went fine and I can say I do like to fly. Ben did great too. It was so awesome to get through customs in Beijing and see our AWAA guides, Sherry and Lineker, holding up the AWAA sign.

We got to our hotel at about 12:30 p.m. last night, China time. We got to bed around 2:30 and slept until 6:30. At 9:00 we left for a full day of touring, and didn't get back until after 8:00 p.m. We went to Tianenman Square, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, a pearl factory/shop, a silk factory/shop, and a restaurant for lunch and again for supper. I found a little to eat at the lunch buffet but didn't eat much for supper.

Supper was an interesting experience. :-) The restaurant was pretty fancy and very large. The waiters and waitresses were on roller skates. Jay got up to take a picture of something and almost ran into one speeding by. The guy had to brake a little. :-) They put the food on a large lazy susan in the middle of the table. There was nothing there that I liked, it was all meat including squid. (side note: I'm a vegetarian.) I took a little rice and put a few vegetables from one of the meat dishes on top. I couldn't master the chopsticks so I used a little fork. Ben and Jay used the chopsticks. They had entertainment, girls doing different dances in different costumes. It was interesting.

We take a bus to and from each place and while we are driving along Sherry stands at the front with a microphone and tells us about the city and China, and some about herself. She is so nice and very funny. She's very interesting to listen to. She said she talks Chinglish. :-) Lineker is the same, very nice and funny. I don't think we could ask for 2 better guides.

Driving in Beijing is just as people tell you it is -- crazy! Our bus driver is always honking as he maneuvers around people or tells people to get out of the way. Lineker said he is the best bus driver in Beijing.

Now we're back at the hotel and ready for bed! Good night!!!!

Can you read the name of the restaurant? :-)

Outside our hotel

Me and MIL at pearl shop

More from 2 years ago...

Since our second trip to China is taking longer to happen than we hoped, I am reliving our first trip, 2 years ago, and will be posting the emails that I wrote to the Yahoo group I started to document the experience.

May 28, 2004

I wasn't able to write from China right away - there was no internet in our room and we got in much too late. We got in to the Beijing airport at 11:30 pm China time Friday night so by the time we got to our hotel it was bedtime! I wrote my first post the next day. Watch for it tomorrow. Here is the view from our hotel that first night (Yu Yang, our guide said that was the first and last time AWAA would ever use that hotel! The one AWAA normally uses, the Radisson, was booked.)



And again, back to the present, here is Lindsey in an adorable outfit I got from the Children's Place outlet. I took the picture this morning after church.



And finally a scripture read by our pastor this morning that really spoke to me about the wait:

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Colossians 3:15

2 years ago....

May 27, 2004 - Got up about 3:30 am and got ready to go to the airport, going to China! The night before we watched Fantasia win American Idol as we packed our bags. We left for the aiport about 5:00 am and I felt like I was going to throw up the whole way there. My sister took us (she's coming with us this time, I can't wait!) and she and Ben were talking on the way there, to my ears all I heard was "wahh waaahhh, wahh waaahhhh" like on Charlie Brown. :-) I had never flown on a jet before and here I was going halfway around the world! I'm getting that feeling in the pit of my stomach as I remember it. Now even though I've done it before, I know I'm going to have that same "I'm going to throw up" feeling on the way to the airport again.

So for my first flights, we flew from our local airport to O'Hare, then to LAX, then to Shanghai, then to Beijing! I think it took about 28 hours start to finish, something like that.

We only have a few pictures of the trip over (have to change that next time!) but here's one of me and my mother-in-law at O'Hare, then a view out our plane window somewhere between Chicago and LAX.





And back to the present day, here's a picture of Lindsey I took yesterday:

Getting on with it

Okay, pity party over, time to get back to life. From the start I've been committed to enjoying the journey - but sometimes it feels like there is no journey! We are just spinning in circles it seems. But we ARE moving forward, inch by inch, and I'm going to try to enjoy things again.

Here are the latest 2 bibs I've received in the October DTC group bib swap. One more month to go with that. Next month we are starting a sock swap in the September group. That will run for 4 months and should be fun, easy, and inexpensive.





Tomorrow is the 2 year anniversary of the day we left for China to adopt Lindsey. I had a Yahoo group for our trip (will do that again for this one when it gets closer, whenever that might be!). I'm going to post the messages I sent to that group each day along with a picture or two from our trip. If I can't go on this journey yet, I might as well relive the first one. Hope you enjoy!

Sigh

NO COMMENT

Another week

So I woke up this morning thinking "It's Monday, let the rumors begin!" LOL Then I go read RQ's blog (yes I read it, every day, but never post) and read the clarification of the "June 15" rumor - the CCAA thinks they will get to the 15th this month, maybe the 18th or 20th, but that would be difficult. So at this point this is still a RUMOR but it certainly isn't out of line with the way things have been going. So I am SO DISCOURAGED and wonder when this is ever going to end. Are they ever going to start referring full months again? 3/4 months? 1/2 months for pete's sake? We're going to have to reapply for our I-171H, I just know it (it expires 2/17/06). So any financial benefit from waiting longer than we planned is totally OUT the window. Not to mention the hassle of doing that all again. Did I ever mention how much I hated paperchasing????? I don't enjoy the thought of reliving any of that over again.

BOY AM I CRABBY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Half the Sky

http://www.halfthesky.org

We've been giving to Half the Sky for almost 3 years now - to their Baby Sisters Infant Nurture Program. Our sponsored baby has a nanny assigned to her, to help her grow and develop and give her love. We get an initial photo and report about our baby, and then quarterly reports and a picture after that. We are sponsoring our 4th baby! The first one was adopted, the second one went into foster care, and the third one was also recently adopted so we just received information on our newest sponsored child. She's only about 6 months old and she is quite young in the picture we just got. All 4 children are adorable! It's not quite the same as getting a referral, but it is so special to get the updates and pictures. I love it!

Half the Sky is just one of several wonderful programs helping children in China. Love Without Boundaries is another great one http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com.

It has been so rewarding knowing we are helping these children. If you are looking for a way to help, check out these wonderful organizations!

DTC Pins

I belong to both the September and October DTC groups. We were DTC 9/9 so I joined the September group, never dreaming we wouldn't get logged in until 10/12! With Lindsey's adoption we were logged in in 7 days. Anyway, I love both groups, and both groups have pins. I bought 2 of each - September Moongazers and October Autumn Dreams.

At the farm

7 months!

We've been logged in for 7 months today. A milestone - yes, but who would have thought that at this point we wouldn't have our referral yet. The worst part is that there is no end in sight. I'm trying not to be too pessimistic but who knows if we will even go to China by the end of the year.

It's cold and rainy and we're off to a field trip to a farm! We'll be wearing hats, mittens, and our winter coats! Not what I envisioned when I signed up for this field trip. Oh well, I think Lindsey will love it no matter what the weather.

Have a good day!

CCAA Website

Hope I'm not being too snarky here, but I need to say something:

JUST BECAUSE THE CCAA WEBSITE IS DOWN DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE UPDATING IT! IT DOES NOT MEAN REFERRALS ARE COMING! IT'S JUST DOWN, THAT'S ALL!

There, I feel better now. If I had a dollar for every time I've read someone say the website is down, must mean something, I could fully fund this adoption (okay not quite!) You do not need to take a website down in order to update it. Besides, referrals just came out not quite 2 weeks ago, and the CCAA was off last week - I doubt more are coming this week. (I know it's happened before, in June 2004 a batch came out just one week after the previous batch, but that scenario seems unlikely to be repeated with the way things have been going.)

Sunday Encouragement

It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in man.
It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in princes.

This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:8-9, 24

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My 5 year old Westie, Chester

He just got a really short haircut and looks nothing like this right now! He's so cute and sweet, he's the best dog!

DRAFT DAY!!!!!

With the 5th pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers select....


********Outside Linebacker AJ Hawk from Ohio State********

Woo hoo! It's so exciting! I'm bummed that I'm not watching it on TV but I'm listening to the radio and watching "NFL DraftCast" on the internet. I love this stuff!

I LOVE football. Too bad it isn't football season, it could take my mind off "the wait". Of course, last year, "the wait" took my mind off the awful year the Packers had! LOL

My agency, AWAA, got 24 referrals on Thursday, LIDs of 6/3 and 6/6. There were 18 groups ahead of us; now there are 15. Getting closer inch by inch.

With that, I'm going to be taking an approximate 2 week break from "all things adoption" on the internet. I'm going nomail on my DTC groups, will not check the RumorQueen site, etc. Of course I'll still be thinking about it *all the time* but I need to take a break from obsessing about it via the computer. If I post to my blog it won't be adoption related, unless there's breaking news about the wait. I don't know how this is going to go, we'll see!

I've been tagged....

....by Cindy to list 6 weird things about me so here you go. (Someone - Jacquie? - tagged me a long time ago with a much longer list of things about me, and I started it but never finished and then so much time went by that I just scrapped it - I didn't purposely ignore your tag I just couldn't seem to get it finished!)

Anyway, here's why I'm weird:

1. I've eaten Quaker Quakes, cheddar cheese flavor, for *breakfast* almost every day for oh, probably about 4 years. I LOVE them! I just never get sick of them! It could be the one and only thing I ever snacked on if I could afford it! :-) I wrote Quaker once and asked for a coupon since I spend so much money on them - they said there are plenty of coupons in Sunday papers, etc. and wouldn't give me one. Well I've never seen one anywhere, ever. Grrrr.

2. I don't like anyone to walk on the carpet right after I vacuum, I want to keep the “just vacuumed” look as long as possible. I used to be much more fanatical about this than I am now but I still do this.

3. I LOVE to watch the NFL draft (along with this I love to listen to sports talk radio, only when they're talking football though). My sister and I used to make a day of it - we made special snacks and put on our sweats and sat in front of the TV *all day* making notes, guessing who would be picked next, etc. I can't do this anymore as a certain little 2 year old wouldn't stand for it, not to mention we had to cut ESPN along with everything but basic cable to save money for the adoption so I don't get it anyway. SOMEDAY I am going to do this again, when the girls are older. This year's draft is this weekend! I am so bummed that I'm going to miss it. The Packers have the 5th pick after their horrendous season last year. (Related news flash: Brett Favre is coming back to the Packers for one more year.)

4. I love putting on a brand new pair of socks. If I had a ton of money I'd have a new pair for every day of the year.

5. When I start a new book (I love to read, mostly fiction but non-fiction too) I check to see how many pages it is, then I watch as I'm reading to see when I'm half done. Sometimes I even put a post-it note in the back of the book with the total number of pages, what page I need to be on to be halfway done, 1/3 of the way done, etc. Is this nuts?

6. I only like a certain kind of clothes hanger - those colored plastic kind. I put my jeans and other pants on the blue and purple ones and other clothes on any other color.

Hope you're not laughing too hard!

(I'm not going to tag anyone, I think probably most bloggers have already been tagged; but if you haven't and want to list 6 weird things about yourself, go ahead, I'd love to read it!)

Another inch closer

Everyone in the adoption world already knows this, but this morning the CCAA's website was updated to say that they have finished reviewing September LIDs and have matched up to June 6. So they did one week's worth of LIDs this month. Woopee! I'm happy for the families included in this batch (which should get here any day now?) - for them this is HUGE news! For me, I feel like I took one tiny baby step forward in line. Better than no step I guess! But I'd like to take a giant LEAP one of these days!

I guess the good news is that even though we were already pretty sure of this, now it's confirmed that October is officially in the Review Room. Our LID is 10/12/05. I don't know of any reason why we wouldn't make it through, but one never knows these days! So I'll be happy when the CCAA website says they've finished reviewing October.

Gotta go - the No More Diapers video is done and it's naptime!

I love my new nightgown so much........

I'm jumping for joy!

Weekly Encouragement

The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands. Psalm 138:8

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She cracks me up!

Lindsey is so funny. Yesterday I was quickly cleaning up the kitchen after lunch so I could get her down for her nap (naptime = peace and quiet!). I finished up and went to get her, here is what I found....

.....she was sitting on the floor on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper, with her legs out in front of her and her stuffed doggie between them, holding a wire whisk, singing Row Row Row Your Boat while pushing herself forward with her feet! "We're riding in a boat mommy! Follow us!" I wish I could have gotten it on video or at least a picture but I know by the time I got that out she would be on to something else.

This morning I was getting her out of the van at church before Bible study and she was saying something about was my favorite job taking her coat off (I had told her she could take it off and leave it in the van, it was warmer out than I thought it would be) and I asked her if it was her favorite job. Her answer: "No, my favorite job is taking care of Daddy and taking care of you and taking care of Ben."

Then when I was picking her up from the nursery afterward one of the helpers told me that Lindsey told her that her mommy and daddy are both astronauts and she wants to be one when she grows up! WHAT? LOL Then tonight she told me when she grows up she wants to be an astronaut and a snack helper.

I told you, she cracks me up!!!!

Thanks!

Thanks everyone for your kind comments about Lindsey! She truly is a beautiful little girl. Even when she's throwing fits! (I think, LOL)

I was really getting caught up in the rumors and talk about the increased wait, and then I came across this at the bottom of an email, on an email group totally unrelated to adoption. I really needed it this morning!

"Do not lose your inward peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. Commend all to God, and then lie still and be at rest in God's bosom... Whatever happens, abide steadfast in a determination to cling simply to God; trusting to God's eternal love for you." St. Francis de Sales

Have a great day!

Weekly Encouragement

Psalm 145: 15-16

The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
And You give them their food in due season.
You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

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

Happy Easter!

6 months

My ladybug is back! We've been logged in for 6 months today. Halfway there? I hope so!

Here's another referral pic of Lindsey:

Two years ago today...........



...........we received the referral of our beautiful daughter, Lindsey HuaWu. The call didn't come until almost 6 pm after a long day of wondering if we would get our referral that day (lots of confusion, long story). Our LID was 7/25/03 and the previous month referrals came for all of June and July....up to 7/20. So we had to wait an extra month but it was so worth it! When I got off the phone with my family coordinator I just sobbed. I couldn't believe my dream of another child had finally come true. Exactly seven weeks later we left the US for China to be united with our daughter.

Here is the referral announcement I sent to my email groups:

*********

"Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our
salvation!" Psalm 68:19

Got the call at 6 pm central time!

We are so blessed and thankful to share our referral news with you:

Chinese Name: Chun Hua Wu
Soon to be Lindsey Hua Wu!!!
Date of Birth: June 1, 2003 (10 mo. 1 week old!)
Height: 64 cm
Weight: 6.5 kg
Province: Guangdong
SWI: Yangchun SWI

DTC: 7/25/03
DOR: 4/8/04
ACR: 6-12 mos., AYAP
AWAA - the BEST who stayed late tonight to get us our referrals

We're not sure when those measurements were done but we think way back in
October. It was too late for our agency to email us a pic, BUT they did get the
FedEx package out and we will have pictures tomorrow morning!

Eileen, Jay, and Ben Kunstman

"The goodness of God endures continually." Psalm 52:1

*********

The above picture was my favorite of the 4 we received. I will post the other 3 in the coming days.

It was also one year ago today that we decided to adopt again! After a hard adjustment (ours, not Lindsey's, she did great from the start) we didn't know if we could handle doing it all again. But it just took some time and then we knew we wanted one more child and wanted Lindsey to have a sister.

The sun is shining and it's a blue sky - it's a great day today!

Bib Swap

Look at this cute bib that I got last month for my OctoberDTC group's bib swap. Thanks Danielle!



Tomorow is a very special anniversary day for me.......stay tuned!

Weekly Encouragement

You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
Isaiah 26:3

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What is up with my ticker? Is my ladybug gone forever? I thought when it got up to the 5 months shown it would automatically move over to 6 months and beyond. I tried to do a new ticker and it did the same thing. Anyone know how to extend it?

Lindsey

These pics do not do Lindsey justice - I think she looked even better in person. She looks just stunning in black! This is actually the very first time she wore a black top. I need to buy her more black clothes, she looks so great in them! Her pants are falling down a bit :-) but she still looks cute.

New Dress

It's time to put away the winter clothes! Well I know better than to put them away and lock them up :-) but I am so sick of Lindsey's winter wardrobe (and mine too!). So I bought Lindsey this new dress last week. The first pic is her sitting watching TV waiting to go to an adoption seminar (given by my agency, AWAA) and the second is afterward.

Thanks Cindy!

Thanks again Cindy for my March Secret Pal gift! Here it is minus the purse which was in Lindsey's room when I took the picture (and she was napping). The outfit is so cute!

Can you believe we ended the swap with March because when we started we thought we'd be getting our referrals soon? Now we are most likely not even halfway there. We WILL get there though! Yes one day I will be posting a picture of my sweet Allison dressed up in this cute little jumper!

Weekly Encouragement

Since there is SO much negativity going around, especially in my DTC groups (and I won't even GO there right now, maybe I'll give my thoughts on that another time but let's just say I'm not participating in the doom and gloom), I thought I would post a scripture on Sundays to encourage us during the wait.

Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
WEEPING MAY ENDURE FOR A NIGHT,
BUT JOY COMES IN THE MORNING.
~Psalm 30:4-5

I know there is great JOY at the end of this long wait!

Amen!

States I've been to

World (or US) traveler I am NOT obviously! The only place I was actually at in California was LAX on our way to and from China in 2004. We just passed through Kentucky on our way to Georgia in 1994, so I was only there for a few hours. I think I have slept overnight at least once in all the other states shown in red.

HOWEVER, how many people can say they've been to China in their lifetime? Twice. Hah! So there!



create your own visited states map

Bye bye ladybug???

The ladybug in my ticker is almost falling off the edge! OH NO!!! What does that mean? It must have heard that the cutoff for this batch of referrals is May 30.

Ramblings (what else is there to do during this long wait?)

There are 2 pieces of what I think is misinformation floating around and it drives me nuts when I hear them!

The first is the statement that the reason the wait is taking longer is "things slowed down around Chinese New Year". Things slowed down well before that. I believe September was the last time a full month's worth of LIDs got referrals *until* January when the CCAA got a second batch of referrals out just before the CNY break, resulting in about a month's worth of LIDs referred in January. How is that a slowdown around the CNY? If anything it sped up just for that month, then went right back to the snail's pace that began in October 2005.

The other statement is that the CCAA moved their offices and that is why things slowed down. According to Jane Liedtke, CEO of OCDF (Our Chinese Daughters Foundation) and resident of Beijing, they have not moved yet and plan to move in April. She had lunch with the director of the CCAA himself. I got this information from her email list that I have mentioned here before http://groups.yahoo.com/group/askjaneinchina I trust that her information is correct.

Then there is the latest rumor out of Spain that the next batch of referrals will only contain LIDs up to May 30. How depressing is that? They were wrong last month when they said the last referrals would contain about half of June, so hopefully they are wrong again. But it seems that other than last month usually they are right. I'm trying not to get too depressed about that. They could always send out another batch in a short period of time. They did in June 2004 when they sent referrals just one week after a batch had come out. I know this because my neighbor got a surprise referral that time!

Please I just do not want to travel in winter! Maybe it sounds dumb but I can handle waiting longer (I have my hands full with Lindsey, crazy lady that she is!) but I can't handle the thought of lugging all our winter gear to China and freezing our buns off during the Beijing touring.

Note to self: " He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end." Trust God's plan for you, and in HIS timing!

Snow be gone!

My latest obsession is finding the unmelted piles of snow around here and willing them to go away! Most of the snow has melted except for places that are very shaded or where a lot of snow was piled up (parking lots, etc.) I have even gone to the few piles left in our yard and kicked them so the snow was spread out so it would melt faster. I guess I just feel like when the snow melts and spring gets here (not just on the calendar but weather wise) then we will be that much closer to our daughter and the time will go faster! I love winter but it gets long and by this time of the year I am just so ready for it to be over.

I was freezing my buns off today taking my dog for a walk (it was about 30 degrees and very windy) and I saw my first robin! On the first day of spring, how fitting.

Okay so this was the dumbest, most boring entry I have made for awhile. LOL I really need some good referral news I think!

Pre-Referral Stress....

....no, not now. I'm feeling very excited and antsy, but not stressed...yet. The title of this entry is the title of an email message I sent to my agency group shortly before we received Lindsey's referral. We knew we were definitely next but at the time I wrote this I didn't know when we'd get our referral. The last batch came out on March 9, I posted this message on March 30, and our referral came on April 8 (2004).

Here's what I wrote:

Over this last year I've read many posts from people who were next for referrals who seemed a little, ah, crazed--couldn't sleep, posting weird things, obsessed.:-) And I thought, what's the big thing--your referral will be here any day now and everything will be fine. Why can't you sleep? Ha Ha.

Now it's my turn and it's sooo hard! I can't concentrate on much, I check my mail every hour, I had to force myself to do some housework earlier instead of sitting here at the computer. Sometimes I think if I press Send/Receive Mail enough times something good will show up! :-)

So I've been following the paperchasing sagas and reading about Shelly's dad and other things and not really saying anything because I just can't focus! I don't want to be me-centered but I can't think about much else other than when is my referral coming. So forgive me and know that I care about each of you and hope that the paperchase will soon be over for some of you, that those waiting to turn 30 will be able to handle the wait, that new members will find love and support here. I love reading about the recent China trips too!

What a ride this is!

Eileen
Group 142
Going nuts

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Isn't that funny? I can't wait to get to that point again!

I've been reading more posts that I wrote right before and after our referral of Lindsey. I'll post a few more of them here in the coming days. It's so fun reliving our last adoption while we just wait, wait, wait for our second referral.

5 Months!

I can't believe my ticker says 5 months since our LID. It's a big chunk of time! Then again it's not so big compared to the possible total wait. (And to think we'd be just a month or two from referral if the timeline would have stayed as it was when we first started paperchasing!) BUT, I'm happy that we made it this far, and think the rest of the time will go pretty fast. It's been in the upper 40's this weekend (but 30's again the rest of the week with possible snow showers, phooey) and much if not most of the snow has melted. Hooray! As spring comes and then summer the time will go really fast.

Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the Lord! Ps. 27:14

I bought something!

I'm not buying any (or many) clothes for Allison until after referral when I have a better idea how big she is, and what time of year we'll be traveling. But this outfit has a ladybug on it! AND it has a "red thread" (okay it's pink) from the ladybug going down to the pocket. You know how much I am into ladybugs and red threads!!!

Okay so I'm not into those things. I bought this outfit because it is cute and it was FIVE BUCKS! Jeans, short sleeved shirt, and jacket. The jeans might actually fit Lindsey but the tops are a bit too small. I might just have Lindsey wear the jeans and save the rest for Allison.

FYI, if your new daughter is anything like Lindsey - she wears a bigger size shirt than pants. So I don't normally buy 2 piece outfits like this. Just a thought when you're out there buying 2 piece outfits for your child, one piece might fit but not the other. I buy everything separate (right now usually 24 months pants and 3T tops).

Have a great weekend!

Thanks Secret Pal!

My February gift arrived a bit late but that's okay! It just stretched out Valentine's Day a bit longer. Look at all that pink! Two pair of pink jammies, pink socks, a pink purse, pink candies, some pink on the bear (which plays music) and a pink sticker book. She sent many more chocolate kisses and suckers also. Thank you!

I put everything in the "Allison tub" except for the sticker book - hope you don't mind I'm going to give that to Lindsey.

Psalm 113

Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, Praise the name of the Lord.
Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forever.
From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised.
The Lord is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens.
Who is like the Lord our God, Who is enthroned on high,
Who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
To make them sit with princes, with the princes of His people.
He makes the barren woman abide in the house as a joyful mother of children. Praise the LORD!

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

Almost 18 years ago Jay and I decided we wanted to start our family (after almost a year of marriage). My sister was going through infertility problems so the thought was in my head but I didn't really think it would happen to me. Guess again. After over a year of trying I was of course getting very discouraged. At the same time, we had been searching for a church home for awhile and finally found one we loved. The problem was, there were SO many pregnant women at that church! I remember sitting there one Sunday morning thinking "It figures, we finally found a church and I have to see so many pregnant women." Almost immediately after I thought that, they had a time where anyone could share a scripture, a testimony, or anything they wanted. Someone right behind me shared Psalm 113 and that last line stood out to me of course. It turns out, as I sat there that morning, I was a few weeks pregnant with Ben and just didn't know it yet! I will never ever forget how God gave me that scripture to encourage me that morning.

Shortly after Ben was born (8/13/90) I started longing for another child. We had some minor medical intervention to conceive him so I thought, well we'll just do that again and we'll have more children. But it was not to be. We went through many many years of tears and prayers and I finally came to the place where I was content with the one child I had. I kept adoption in my heart though until God finally brought it to pass (I will share more on our journey to adoption in another post - this one is long enough!). I had told God many times over those painful years that if He ever blessed us with more children, I would be sure to give Him all the glory and praise for answering my prayers and giving me the longing of my heart.

So today I just want to publically praise and thank God for His MANY many blessings to me especially the blessing of my 2 and soon to be 3 children!

She's so funny!

I hope you will put up with me sharing more funny things about my daughter Lindsey. This morning we were driving to church for Bible study and she said,

"I smell something! It smells like.......air!"

(after some conversation I realized she meant the air was getting warm in the van and she wanted it cooler)

Afterward we were walking out to our van. It rained/snowed last night and this morning was sunny so it all turned to slush. She had a blast splashing in the puddles and her pants and shoes/socks were soaked. So anyway right now she just has on her shirt and undershirt, no pants no socks. We just finished lunch and she still had her bib on, but the bib part was on her back. I leaned over her to wipe her mouth and she said "I'm Super Map!" (she meant Super Man)

One other thing, yesterday was Jay's birthday and we went out for dinner. When we got home I was going to get Lindsey out of her carseat and she reacted as she usually does and wanted daddy to get her out. That's fine. So as he's getting her out, she said to him "I love my mommy but I don't want her to get me out."

Life is a continual adventure with this child! We are always laughing (when we're not pulling our hair out!) I've sure been blessed!

*********

(edited to add:)

In the 10 minutes after I wrote that entry, Lindsey did a few more funny things! First of all she said to me "Come and see my DDDs!" She was talking about her DVDs, her movies from the library. She had taken them out of their cases and stacked them on top of each other. Sorry library!

Then it was time to change her diaper before her nap. She always likes to "be an animal" to me - she starts aways from me then either roars like a lion while walking toward me, or hops like a bunny or frog, or acts like a monkey, etc. So this time she wants to hop on one foot. "This is how you do it mommy. You put your one leg up here.....and hop!" (She couldn't do it very well but she tried!) So she says "I'm epersizing!" (exercising)

I had cupcakes in the oven and had to wait until they were done before I could put her down for her nap - I told her this. So a few minutes later she asks me if the "muffin cakes" are done.

This girl is a hoot! And now she's sleeping, I'm off to do the same! YAWN! I love naps!!!!!!