Choking Down Melon

I was at a bookstore this week, picked up a diet book and was a bit shocked by the content. It was promoting a vegan lifestyle (I couldn't do it) but it made some really interesting points about the stuff I eat everyday. Anyway, my take away from the three minutes spent skimming this slim volume is eat more fruit and veggies, reduce meat and dairy. Duh, right? Well, I started this morning with some fruit at Perkin's. I have tried to like cantelope and honeydew melon but I just don't. The taste almost makes me gag. Ditto for cucumbers, olives and asparagus. I've given these fruits and veggies a chance. I WANT to like them but if I eat them, I'm really having to choke them down. So, I choked down some melon this morning. It wasn't good but it wasn't as wretched as I thought it would be. I'll keep trying...

No adoption news. We hit the 90 day mark January 11. If we don't have any news by then, I'll call our case manager for an update. We'll be back home Monday. More blogging and maybe some photos then.

Merry Christmas!

We send you our love and wishes for a very Merry Christmas! We had a lovely trip to Tennessee and we're having fun seeing family here. Have a blessed Christmas wherever you are!

Attend the Tale

It's opening day for the film version of Sweeney Todd, starring the delicious Johnny Depp and the creepy Helena Bonham Carter. It's a screen adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical/operetta by director Tim Burton. Chalk it up to a random PBS special, but my sister and I were "fans" of Sweeney Todd when we were little. I think we just caught a song ("The Demon Barber of Fleet Street") on one of those PBS concert specials and became intrigued and amused by the name "Sweeney." We had no idea what the plot of the musical was (yikes!). I finally saw Sweeney Todd on stage this year and it was...well, long. So, I was glad to hear that they had cut a few numbers to trim the run-time of the film. Brad and I want to see the movie while we're on vacation but we suspect no one in our families will be up for it since it's kinda weird and artsy. I have however promised my brother that we will take him to see the new National Treasure movie. I hope my Dad will come with us for that one. (Maybe Mom will too!!)

We leave this afternoon and we're very excited to be heading out! No Zeke news. We will keep you posted! I will do my best to blog while we're away. Have a great weekend and a Merry Christmas!

Light into darkness

There's a lady who does monthly features for my radio station. She lives in a small, rural community in the hills. Some might say she has an accent but her voice sounds like home to me. She's one of the best storytellers I've ever met. She wrote a piece for Christmas that had me laughing and crying. The point was that this time of year is about bringing light into darkness. What a blessed thought. I hope your week has been filled with light, despite the sometimes dreary weather, the crowds at the mall and all that cooking you've still got to get done. Take a minute right now to breathe and let the light in...

Distractions

Christmas and the time away from work will be a welcome distraction from the wait. The time will pass quickly, as it always does when we're with family. We'll hit the 90 day mark on Jan. 11. Once we're back home after our vacation, we'll be a mere 10 days away. So, I really do feel like the match, referral, CFC (child for consideration) is really just around the corner...

Just around the corner,
There's a rainbow in the sky,
So let's have another cup of coffee,
And let's have another piece of pie!

(Bonus points to anyone who knows the song and better yet, a famous black and white movie that featured this tune.)

Cup O' Cheer

We're having our holiday party today at work. There will be loads to eat and drink...lots of fun! I've got to get some more Christmas cards in the mail! I'm always slow...

I hope your pre-Christmas week is a good one. We are just enjoying all the festivities with friends and counting the hours to when we leave for Kingsport! We're really looking forward to seeing everyone. Cheers!

Bust!

The snow storm was a bust but we did get a dusting...enough to look pretty blowing around Saturday afternoon. We had a lovely time with Greg and Laura Friday night. We missed having Misty and Joel along for our Macaroni Grill adventure. Tickets were scarce for I Am Legend so we settled on No Country for Old Men, the latest from the Cohen Brothers (the geniuses behind Fargo and O Brother Where Art Thou). Their latest offering is perhaps their best yet. It's the story about the love of money and the violent, mean things we do for money. There was plenty to be discussed at our post-movie Starbucks visit. In addition to covering a worthwhile topic and raising really important issues, the film is beautifully directed and acted. It also features one of the creepiest bad guys I think I've ever seen on film. The icing on the cake? The amazing ear that the Cohen Brothers have for regional dialects. Here, they perfectly capture west Texas. It's so similar to northeast Tennessee!!

With Christmas a week away (!), we don't really expect to get "the call" this week about Zeke. We think it will be sometime in January. While it's disappointing to not have a photo of his sweet face to pass around to family and friends at Christmastime, we are nonetheless sure that he's alive in Vietnam somewhere. We pray for him everyday. We wonder who is caring for him. We pray that God will comfort him when he cries. Please join with us over the holidays in thinking about and praying for our little guy. That's the best Christmas present you could give us.

Stop at Food City for a loaf of bread and a jug of milk...

Oh wait! Toto, we're not in Kingsport anymore! We're now under a heavy snow warning with up to 10 inches possible. Wowzers! We'll be stocking up at our version of Food City tonight so we don't starve tomorrow.

Party Hardy

Brad and I were asked to help plan the Chinese New Year party for our local adoption group. There's a big group of party planners who met at our friends' house Wednesday night to discuss the party. It's designed to give the China adoptees a chance to celebrate their culture. It's also got a Vietnam angle since the Vietnamese celebrate Tet at the same time as CNY. Brad's volunteered to take photos from past adoption group events and come up with a sweet slideshow highlighting the kids. And my job? Hire this kid to get the party started.

Snow, anyone?

Looks like it's going to snow tonight and all day tomorrow. That will be nice! On the agenda for tomorrow? Cleaning house, wrapping presents and snuggling up with Brad to watch three DVDs: A Mighty Heart (haven't seen it...not sure I want to because I'm not in the mood for sad films), The Namesake (highly recommend this one), and The Science of Sleep (a visually beautiful film from the director who brought you Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).

On tap for tonight: Dinner chez Macaroni Grill and "I Am Legend" with Greg and Laura. Misty and Joel couldn't join us and we'll miss you guys!

For Sunday (I realize I'm going completely out of chronological order here): Missy sings and plays piano at the 9:30AM service in the sanctuary (we lovingly call this service "The Christmas Variety Show" because it's a hodge podge of different groups and soloists as well as really meaningful narrations). Sunday eve, we'll be at Brad's company Christmas party. That's always a fun time.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Welcome Tula Jane!!

I want to give a big hug to my bestest friend Katie who gave birth to daughter Tula Jane last month!! We are SO happy for Katie and Justin and can't wait to meet Tula ourselves! In my official role as Auntie Missy, I have given her a nickname already: Tula-Belle. Belle is French for beautiful and you can see just how beautiful she is by visiting Katie's blog.

(Pardon the delayed post on such a BIG announcement...but I didn't want to post anything here until Katie had a chance to do a post on her own blog.)

60 Days Post-LID

As of today, it's been 60 days since our paperwork was logged in by Vietnam. We had originally been told that we would get matched with a baby 30-60 days after getting logged in but that hasn't happened. It seems many families signed with our agency around the same time we did, making the wait a bit longer than expected. We've waited this long, a few more weeks won't hurt. Anyhoo, it's another milestone in a long list of milestones in our journey to become parents.

The ice storm has moved out of our area. My cold is getting better. I'm being super productive at work, checking off items from my long to-do list that must get completed before we leave for Christmas. It's a good feeling and it helps pass the time as we wait to see Zeke's sweet face for the first time!

On ice...

We have an ice storm in our area today. It's not as bad as the one last January but it's still a pain. I'm sick with a head cold to boot. Blah. On the positive side, I did file two ice storm stories for NPR this morning. Stay warm!

Holiday Survival Guide

If you ever wondered what couples struggling with infertility go through during the holiday season, check out this collection of articles from Resolve. I think you'll find it insightful and/or useful. Resolve is the national support organization for families facing infertility.

Have a wonderful weekend!

China Referrals

Another round of China referrals came out this week. Congrats to those families who got to see their China babes for the first time! Here's a blog with photos of their new baby and their older daughter also from China: http://www.malingerkam.blogspot.com/ Oh, how I love to look at these blogs and share in the joy!!

I hate to be a Debbie Downer but the number of dates covered by this latest round of referrals was quite low. China has referred babies to families with LIDs through December 14th, 2005. ARGH! When will they get through the 2006 LIDs (Greg and Laura!) and get around to us (April 23, 2007)? Who knows. On a positive note, we got news from the director of our China agency, Great Wall. She doesn't think the wait will reach four years. That's great news but I'm quite skeptical. I mean, it's a simple numbers game. You've got to look at the current rate of referrals and you see that unless there's a significant speed-up, we'll be lucky to travel in 2011 for Lily!! Double ARGH! I do believe it's all part of God's plan for our family and I take so much peace and comfort in that. After all, if we didn't have such a long wait ahead of us for Lily, we probably would not have considered adopting from Vietnam, since China was our first country choice. And this Vietnam adoption has already brought so much excitement and richness to our lives and we haven't even seen our baby yet! So, there are blessings in the journey, often unexpected ones. Any arbitrary turns here or there and we'd be someplace else. We would be different. (yes, that's a paraphrase of Under the Tuscan Sun) We're here for a purpose and we're just trying to enjoy the ride...

Brad and Missy's Tennessee Romance

When we arrived at Second City in Chicago, the usher seated us in the SAME SPOT we had the last time we came to the show. It's a table right up front...our knees were touching the edge of the stage. This is up close and personal theatre, people! As you might expect from a comedy/improv show, the audience gets involved. After intermission, the show resumed and one of the actors came over to me and Brad and asked us our names, what our friends like about us (ha!), what we do for a living, how we met, where we met. They then took the info and proceeded to act out "The Tennessee Romance of Missy and Brad" complete with a graphic on the projection screen that looked like the front of a cheesy harlequin romance novel! We laughed our heads off! "Missy" was practicing the piano while "Brad" was off getting a story about a little boy stuck in a well but alas, they meet and fall in love. It was so, so, so funny! The whole show, entitled The Pratfall of Civilization was really great. We especially liked the sketch featuring two NASCAR fans discussing the intricacies of US foreign policy...the one guy had perfected the northeast Tennessee version of the word "okay" and the phrase "I tell you what."

Another great moment from our trip: Venturing out in the snow and ice to get to Lou's for dinner. Lou Malnatti's deep dish pizza is legendary. And yes, it was worth risking life and limb to get there Saturday night! Brad walked over an icy subway grate and I thought he was going to fall for sure. But, we arrived sans incident. I was so cold on the walk to the restaurant however, that I refused to walk back to the hotel and asked Brad to get us a cab. He hailed a cab and it cost all of $8 (including tip!) to get back to the hotel from Lou's. We laughed about how that was the best $8 we had spent in a long time!

We stuffed ourselves on Garrett's popcorn. If you're unfamiliar with "the mix," it's cheese and carmel popcorn mixed together...a sweet and salty treat!

I felt bad but we ended up skipping out on our plans to attend the BIG Chicago church that pioneered contemporary worship. It was just so cold and yucky Sunday morning that we decided not to go. I'm sure we missed out on a blessing but I do feel that this whole trip was a blessing, an absolute gift. We're so thankful we had this opportunity. We had so much fun getting to spend time together without work. And then we went to the conference (which was "work" time for both of us), it was great to be there together. We are blessed in so many ways!

We now return to our regularly scheduled program

Sorry for the blog hiatus. We had a wonderful, fantastic, magical time in Chicago! A little work, a little snow, a lot of fun. It was just what we needed! I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend! We have many fun stories and photos to share. Once we decompress and get unpacked, we'll be back with more.

A little update on the adoption front...I emailed our case manager before we left. She said she didn't have a time line for us yet for when we would receive our match. Will definitely keep you posted as things progress...

The GoogleEarth Prayer

As part of our prepartion for the arrival of the Baby Zeke, we pray every day and night about our little guy. Brad likes to pray using GoogleEarth. Picture us here in the U.S. doing our thing imagining our baby.. then zoom all the way out from our town to the county to the state to the U.S. then pan the view all the way to the west across the Pacific.. zooming in on Asia.. then Vietnam.. then the province.. and the village and the orphange into the room where he lies waiting for us. You see his caretaker and pray for her. You hope his needs are being met -- his butt wiped, his appetite fed, his thirst quenched. Then you hope God is looking after him.
Amen.

(Posted by Brad)

Ready to head north

Looks like we'll have good weather for our trip to Chicago! There's a chance for some snow over the weekend...how lovely would that be? We leave Thursday and will come back next Tuesday. We're having to play "musical hotels" a bit at the end of the trip but that's ok. We're just glad to get to go! The conference begins Sunday night with a reception and then continues all day Monday. So, until Sunday night, we'll have time to enjoy the city. We have tickets to Second City for Friday night. We used to have a friend who worked in the box office and got us amazing seats (we were practically on stage!) but he's no longer there. We're seeing the e.t.c. show which plays in a smaller venue so there aren't any bad seats in the house.

I'm making plans to call our case worker Dec 5, when we're back in town to get a status check and find out when we might be matched with a baby. She won't be able to give us a precise date but she can tell us if we're really close. Quite exciting, huh?

Greg and Laura-Glad you loved Lars and the Real Girl...I can't wait to see it again!!

Movie Reviews

Recent movies we've seen at the theatre and on DVD (in no particular order):

1. Lars and the Real Girl...One of the best movies I've seen all year. The premise makes it seem like it's going to be a comedy but it's actually quite a poignant film. It shows how people can set aside their small-mindedness and open their hearts to someone who is different and how doing that can ultimately bring healing. I cried. How refreshing to see a movie about how we can be good to each other. Watch the trailer by clicking here. I think it will pique your interest.

2. The Mist...The latest screen adaptation of a Stephen King story by the excellent Mr. Frank Darabont (he also directed The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile). It's creepy and fun but be warned that the ending is terrible (It left me asking Delmar's immortal question: "Where's the happy little tire swing?"). The ending aside, it's a fun ride into the mist. Fog never looked so creepy.

3. Lucky Number Slevin...Just got this one on DVD from the library. There are some fun twists but we found it to be somewhat predictable. Still, we enjoyed it. Ever since Moonlighting, I can't help but like that Bruce Willis.

4. Shrek the Third...Mildly amusing. Love the Puss in Boots character and his kitty eyes trick. Our kitties pull the same thing on us.

5. Someone to Eat Cheese With...Mildly amusing. Kind of funny. It's a rental.

6. King of California...A slow indie pic starring Michael Douglas as someone who's had a little too much spacecake for breakfast. Interesting but not great.

7. King of Kong...GREATEST DOCUMENTARY EVER! If you get a chance to see this, it's definitely worth the price of admission! It's a doc on the battle for the highest score on Donkey Kong. It has lots of heart, loads of nerds, and a strong story. We can't wait for this to come out on DVD so we can buy it!

8. American Gangster...Violent, violent, violent. Would not see this one again. Brad liked it. I didn't. I will give Denzel and Russell props for some great acting. What made it so hard to watch is that it was based on real people and real happenings. Seeing people behave that way toward each other...well, we can just be animals, plain and simple. If you want a good movie about gangsters, check out The Departed. It's a well-crafted story, strong characters, and not a weak actor in the bunch (props to Mark Wahlberg!).

9. Something's Got to Give...Ok, it's been a while since we've seen this one. But we were talking this weekend about how it's a pleasant flick that stands up to repeat viewings. We caught it on TV last winter and enjoyed it very much (it was our second viewing). Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson are enjoyable...Keanu Reeves is the icing on the cake...speaking of Keanu...

10. The Lake House...Wanted to put a plug in for this romantic flick. We own it on DVD. You won't mind suspending your disbelief for these two people who love each other across time. It's a rent-n-cuddle.

11. Scoop...Woody Allen at his Woody Allenest. It's awful. You're actually glad when he runs himself off the road at the end. And people got onto M. Night Shyamalan for casting himself in Lady in the Water...sheesh...Not even the winning Hugh Jackman can redeem this festering film.

12. The Holiday...If you're in the mood for love this Christmas, this is the film for you. When we were leaving the theatre last Christmas after seeing this, I turned to my mom and said, "Weren't those the most beautiful people you've ever seen?" You've got Jude Law, Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet. It's funny, sweet and romantic. You'll enjoy.

What movies have you seen lately?

Touche

Holiday fun! (even without Jingle Bells).

Happy Thanksgiving! (Enjoy the yule log)

Fear the Bug

This is my nightmare.

Best. Movie. Trailer. Ever.

Click here and enjoy.

Moo, the Fashionista

For those who can't get enough of the cuteness that is Moo, check out her photo gallery by clicking on this lovely photo of Moo and Court (Wendy's roomie in Thailand):

Thanksgiving Plans

What are you doing for Thanksgiving? Are you going somewhere? Will you be with family? Friends?

We are hosting a Chinese couple (Wenping and Lisa), their teenage son and Lisa's parents at our house on Thursday. We are very much looking forward to having company, especially since Lisa's parents have probably never been to a Thanksgiving dinner (they'll be visiting from China). I think Brad is planning to run in the Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning. My knee won't allow me to participate (argh!). So, our day will be filled with good food and good friends. We're looking forward to it! Of course, we miss our families but we'll be seeing them before too long for Christmas. I hope your Thanksgiving is absolutely lovely!

Snow?

Yes, there's a slight chance of snow in the area Wednesday night. As long as we don't get buried under ice and lots of snow, I'm ok with that. I really like seeing snow flurries!

It's a three day week for me at work. I'm really excited about that. Brad did get accepted to the conference so we're both heading to Chicago next week (which also makes that a three day work week). We're going a few days before the conference starts so we can enjoy being in Chicago. What a treat!

I hope you had a fabulous weekend!!

Fish out of water

Since my doc has told me to lay off heavy exercise for a while so my knee can heal, I've taken up swimming. So, I went to a local sports shop and bought some gear. When I got in the pool this week, it was the first time I had been swimming in a long, long time. Let me tell you that running a half marathon is one thing...swimming 40 links is another! Swimming is HARD! It will take me some time to build up my endurance but I'm glad I still have this workout option even with my bum knee.

No big plans for the weekend. I found out yesterday that I've been invited to Chicago the first weekend in December for a journalism conference. Sweet!! I'm planning to go. Brad might be able to come too. We'll see. It's so funny because a couple of weekends ago, we'd been talking about how much we'd LOVE to visit Chicagoland so we could eat at our favorite restaurant, shop the Magnificent Mile and catch a show at Second City.

I hope all of you have a great Friday and doing something fun and exciting this weekend!

Adoption Article

I've only had a chance to skim through this but it looks interesting:
Click here.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed a Bible verse for Zeke. It's not too late to add yours!!

All gussied up!

Is that how you spell gussied? I reckon so!

Brad and Missy at a recent fundraiser where we helped check in the guests who bought the high dollar tickets.

Peanut Butter in the Fridge?!?!

At the urging of a recent issue of Prevention magazine, I purchased some "natural" peanut butter. Supposedly, it's rich in good fat and protein and lacking in the nasty hydrogenated fats. If you look at the jars of natural PB in the store, you'll see that oil collects at the top of the jar. So, I got it home and was reading on the jar...It says it's normal for oil to collect on the top. It says to stir it up and then put it in the refrigerator. Huh?!?! Well, I did and it tastes good. It's definitely missing a certain "je ne sais quoi"...Actually, I know exactly what it's missing: tons o' sugar. It's still good though.

Brad has taken issue with my proclamation that we could get matched with our child "any day now." While it's true that we are inside the window when we would expect to get the call and it could come any day now, it also might not happen until well into December (hey, December 1 is only 2 weeks and 2 days away). So, I just wanted to make sure that you guys understand where we are in the wait. We won't be shocked if the call doesn't come until December. We want you guys to understand that we'll just have to wait and see...this is fun, isn't it?!?!

A Fun Project to Show Zeke Some Love!!

Our church is doing a fun project for the children. They're asking families to write down their favorite Bible verses and a brief explanation of why it's their favorite. They're going to compile all the verses and explanations in a book for the kids. Great idea, huh?!?!

I thought it would be fun and meaningful to ask you guys to submit your favorite verse and an explanation for Zeke. You can post it here under the comments section OR you can email it to me at zekeandlilysmom@gmail.com I look forward to hearing from you!!

Rainy Days and Mondays...

If they always get you down, then today is a double punch!! It's Monday and it's rainy. Yuck!

We have officially crossed the 30 day mark with our dossier being logged in for Vietnam. It's very exciting!!

Continue to pray for our baby (wherever he is!) and for the people who will be matching us with our baby.

Katie Baby!!

My bestest friend since kindergarten, Katie is ready to have her baby girl at any moment. It's so exciting!! So, c'mon baby, we're all ready for your big debut!! Katie, I love you and am praying for you, Justin and the baby as this new adventure begins!! Can't wait for that phone call!!! Check out Katie's blog under our links section.

Yesterday, our church nursery had an open house. It was great to visit the facilities and meet the workers. For all the years we've been going to our church, we had NEVER set foot in the nursery. We never really had a reason to visit. I had to chuckle because Brad and I were grilling the workers a little..."What's the child to worker ratio?" "Do you check the toys when there's a recall?" "Do you conduct background checks on the workers and volunteers?" Everyone was so nice and kindly answered all our questions. The best part, however was getting to hold Baby Emma (thanks, Mandy)!!! She's absolute perfection. You can read about Baby Emma, her mom, Mandy and her dad, Kevin on their blog. It's also under the links section.

I hope everyone has had a great weekend. We saw "Someone to Eat Cheese With" Friday night and "American Gangster" last night. I really wouldn't recommend either of them. If you like gangster movies, "The Departed" is infinitely better because the story is so much more interesting. "Someone...Cheese With" was cute and light but probably a rental. Still, we enjoy visiting our local arthouse cinema so we had a good time watching it.

TGIF!

FRIDAY ROCKS! I've got lots to do today so the afternoon should pass quickly. So, what's on tap for the weekend? We're thinking a trip to the movies is in order. Brad is eager to see American Gangster. It's gotten rave reviews and there's a lot of Oscar buzz.

I've got a fun gig. I've been asked to judge a short film competition by our local independent theatre. I'm so honored! I'd love to be a film critic and I guess this is the closest I can get for now. I'll let you know how if the shorts are any good!

Have a super weekend!!

Life Book

Yesterday, I went out and bought the binder that will become Zeke's life book. What is a life book, you ask? Here's some info from adoptionlifebooks.com:

"An Adoption Life Book is a record of a foster/adoptee’s life that uses words, photos, graphics, the child’s artwork, and memorabilia. An Adoption Life Book includes information about the child’s birth parents and reason for leaving them. It always starts at the child’s birth. Plus the fun part of when the adopted child first joined the family. An Adoption Life Book is more than a life story. It is a unique opportunity for parents to honor every minute of their children’s lives."

So, while we wait to see his sweet face for the first time, we're going to work on some "waiting for you" pages to show what we're doing to get ready for his arrival. When I get them done, I'll snap some pics and post them!

Sonic Boom!

I camped out for about half an hour on the roof of a parking garage today, waiting to hear and see the space shuttle as it re-entered earth's atmosphere. I heard and felt a sonic boom and its echo a few minutes before noon. Very cool!! Of course, I had my recorder with me and we're going to use the sound on our newscast this afternoon. I never did see the shuttle...just lots of airplanes. It was a beautiful blue sky, no clouds but it was quite cold.

Well, I keep saying that we could get Zeke's photo any day now and that's true. But I'm also trying to remind myself that we may not get a baby matched to us until December. I know that when it happens, it will be the child who is meant to be ours so that's why I'm not getting all worked up about the wait (plus, this is a cake walk compared to the wait for Lily). For anyone who's keeping track, it's been 26 days since our dossier was logged in by Vietnam. Zeke has surely been born and we just pray that he's doing well, wherever he is!!

Kitty on my lap!

I've said it before but let me say it again...I'm so glad I have two kitties to fill my arms. My lap is seldom empty. Even as I type, Little Buddy is perched on my lap, watching my fingers. He reaches up every now and then to "kiss" my chin.

We had a busy weekend. Friday night, there was the fundraiser for public TV and a visit to the photo exhibit on adoptive families. Saturday was aerobics (for Brad), adoption fair, visiting with journalism students from our alma mater, then my guest spot on a monthly late night show at the local improv club. Sunday was church, then volunteering at another public TV fundraiser. We wrapped the day up with the youth at church. Whew! I had to go to work today just to catch my breath!

Here's to a busy week with lots of distractions (for the record, it's been 24 days as of today since our LID!)...

Worth more than words...

Late Friday night, Brad and I went to a local art gallery that featured an exhibit of black and white photos of local families who have adopted. There were domestic and international adoptive families. There were stories accompanying each photo. Almost every single story included a word of praise to God for uniting these parents and children. What a moving display of love and a wonderful illustration of the purpose we each have here on earth. Brad said he was glad we left when we did because he was getting choked up. The words were wonderful but the photos said it all...

What Kind of Father will Brad be?

Three weeks today!

Three weeks ago today, we became a part of the "pool" of prospective parents who are ready to receive their child for consideration. I spoke with our case worker today and she says to just plan on a 60 day wait from October 12 just to be safe. I'm still hopeful it will be sooner than that. We'll see!!

A favorite quotation...

"They say they built the train tracks over the Alps before there was a train that could make the trip. They built it anyway. They knew one day the train would come. Any arbitrary turning along the way, and I would be elsewhere. I would be different. What are four walls, anyway? They are what they contain. The house protects the dreamer. Unthinkably good things can happen, even late in the game. It's such a surprise."

Can you name the movie? (...without googling part of the quotation?)

Baby, it's cold outside!

Wow! What happened to the weather? It's suddenly very, very cold outside. I guess that means it really is November 1. It's hard to believe it's November already. We'll be looking at Zeke's smiling face before you know it!

All Hallow's Eve

Hope you are having a spooky evening! It occurred to me today that this will be our last Halloween without having a child of our own (I hope and pray!). Next year, we'll be getting Zeke decked out in some ridiculous costume for his first trick-or-treating adventure! What fun! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

See the baby!

Another family with our agency is in Vietnam to get their beautiful baby boy. Check out the lovely photos of their cutie by clicking here.

I can't decide if it feels like we'll get the call/email about Zeke very, very soon or if it's still a ways off. If you look at the 30-60 day range for baby boy referrals, we have 12 days on the short end or 42 days on the long end. Brad likes to say, "The train is coming!"

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I'm going to get serious about decorating Zeke's room. We've got the bedding but it's still tucked away (mainly so the cats don't transform it into their "nest"). I have been thinking about ways to decorate the walls but I'm going to get serious about doing it while I have a couple of days off.

Hope you're having a lovely Tuesday!

This weekend

We had a wonderful time this weekend at the Heart of the Matter Seminar. We received some excellent information to prepare us to be the best parents we can be for Zeke and Lily. We hope to share some of the info with you in the coming days and weeks.

Brad had a lovely birthday and he was glad we went to the seminar. Afterwards, we hit a local arcade that has games from the 1980's and then we had a very nice dinner at one of our local favorites. Then it was back to the arcade for more gaming and then home.

I hope you had a lovely weekend!

Fright Night

So, what do you find scary? I didn't really see "scary movies" when I was growing up (unless Disney's "Watcher in the Woods" counts). I got my chills and thrills in much better ways. Growing up, I LOVED to hear someone tell a good ghost story. Many of our relatives told excellent spook tales, many of them supposedly true or at least, supposedly happened to someone in the family. There was the writing that appeared on the wall of a family house, the coke bottle that came floating through the living room, or the sound of footsteps that prompted my grandmother and my uncle to run out of the house, sure that someone was there besides them. What made these stories so great was that they were based in reality (we can always debate if they were "real"). It wasn't like someone came face to face with a ghost. It was always better and creepier that they didn't actually see the source of the mysterious happenings. So, for me, scary movies have to be based in reality and the minute you actually reveal the monster or ghost or whatever, the illusion is gone because you've crossed from the realm of "could it really happen?" to "that's so ridiculous!" Witness "The Exorcist." The scariest part of the movie is not the little girl going nuts in the final scene. It's much more frightening when a character walks into the kitchen. Everything seems normal. She turns her back. When she turns back around, absolute fear registers on her face. Then the camera pans and we see what she saw. All the cabinet doors and drawers are open. Creepy!! So, if you have high standards like me when it comes to scary tales and scary movies, let me recommend "The Others." It's a most excellent and creepy movie for this time of year. Brad and I are watching that tonight (we own it!) because we couldn't find anything at the video store that wouldn't include the final dramatic scenes, the big reveal, which ultimately is a big let down for ghost story connoisseurs like me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BRAD!!

Today is Brad's 32nd birthday! I had set my alarm to go off at 7:05AM but we didn't wake up until Trav called at 7:40AM. Thank goodness you called, Trav! I think both of us were dead to the world! So, we didn't get to do our big breakfast before the seminar and I feel just terrible that the radio on the alarm was set too low to wake us up. BLAH! So, it's oatmeal at home and then off to the adoption seminar, which will take up the bulk of the day. I gave Brad his gift this morning...a snazzy new jacket. I hope he likes it. He's wearing it today so that's nice! I have a lovely evening planned with dinner at one of his favorite restaurants and then plans to see Ring of Fire, the Johnny Cash musical. Here's to a happy birthday for the best husband in the world!

Will it Bark?

If this is where babies come from, I'm glad I'm not pregnant!

A change in the process

We just found out today that the US government will be requiring us to file paperwork verifying the baby is an orphan before we travel to Vietnam. This is mostly good news. It means there's virtually no chance we could get to Vietnam and have the US government decide at that time there's a problem with the baby's paperwork and he can't come home with us. (I can't even imagine how horrible that would be.) The potential downside is a delay from the time we get his photo and other info to the time we travel to get him. The delay is not a sure thing. Our agency is reviewing this new process and will let us know what impact, if any, it will have on the wait to travel (now, it's typically 2-3 months). Again, it sounds to me like a good thing to get the paperwork all cleared up before you get there. The change takes effect almost immediately so by the time we get our referral in the next month or two, maybe the kinks will all be worked out. Thank you for your continued prayers through this journey!

6 months and 1 day

We hit the 6 month LID anniversary yesterday for China. It's hard to imagine but we will be home with Zeke (keep praying!) in less than 6 months. The wait for China is just abysmal. The Chinese government just finished referring babies to families who were logged in November 2005. ARGH! Unless there's a major turn around, I don't expect to travel until 2011. It will all work out though...Zeke should be four by then and Lily will be 1 year old so they'll be 3 years apart, which is nice spacing for siblings.

Update on the Zeke wait...I heard yesterday through the grapevine that the wait for baby boy referrals is two months or 60 days. So, as of Saturday, we'll be one quarter of the way through our wait. How exciting! Will keep you posted!!

Birthday/Seminar Saturday

Saturday is Brad's birthday (YAY!). He has graciously agreed to forgo b-day activities for the bulk of the day so we can attend "The Heart of the Matter" seminar for couples preparing to adopt internationally. It's supposed to be a GREAT seminar with very practical advice for how to parent kids who spent their first months in an orphanage. I just found out some friends of ours who already have two girls from China and are adopting a baby boy from Vietnam will be there Saturday. So, I think it will be fun and informative!

Thanks to everyone for posting in response to our great news yesterday! If you count from the 12th, that means that by Brad's birthday this Saturday, we will have been in line 15 days out of 30-60 days! The time is ticking by fast and I feel like we will get our first peek at Zeke's sweet face VERY soon! Of course, we will keep you posted!

Blessed with some excellent news!

We found out today that our dossier got logged in by Vietnam on October 12th. That's when our official wait began for our baby (like we haven't been waiting our whole lives for this!). That's a full week earlier than I expected so this is excellent news. We expect to get our Child for Consideration (his photo, medical reports, etc.) within the next month or two, definitely by Christmas. We believe Zeke has been born and we pray for him everyday, that God will watch over him and keep him safe, healthy and happy until we get there.

This weekend, we finally made it to the theatre to see King of Kong. This was by far the most entertaining documentary I've ever seen. (That's not to say it was the best, just the most entertaining.) The uninhibited display of sheer nerd-dom throughout the movie was great fun. If you get a chance to see this doc, be sure to watch it. I'm sure you'll get a kick out of it just like we did!

We had a lovely weekend, recouping from a very, very busy week. We're both taking off work this Thursday and Friday. We may just hang out in town and not do much. Wouldn't that be a little piece of heaven?!?!

31 Years, 11 months, and 23 days later..

Hilarity ensues

Watch the clip from The Office on Greg and Laura's blog. You won't be sorry!

FRIDAY!!

I will collapse after I finish my public TV call-in show tonight. It ends at 8:30PM. This has been a marathon week with public radio fundraising, a visiting journalist from Germany and filing a story for NPR. All these fun things have come together to make for an exciting but exhausting week. We hope to do NOTHING this weekend!

Busy Week

Just a quick hello! It's been a very busy week. We had a really fun time at the football game Sunday. Also, the pageant was a lot of fun. Brad might have a different take. *smile* Hope you're having a great week. More to come when things slow down.

Weekend Fun

Tonight, we're going to our independent movie theatre to see King of Kong, a documentary about two guys who compete for the Guiness World Record on the arcade game Donkey Kong. Just the sort of nerdy thing that Brad and I will enjoy! Saturday, I'm judging a local pageant. (Yes, I was once a pageant girl myself in the Miss America system.) This weekend's pageant is a prelim to Miss Missouri, which is a prelim to Miss America. I've become very, very disappointed with the Miss America pageant in recent years as it's lost its network TV slot and has been bumped around second rate cable channels. But I still enjoy the local pageants. I always had fun being in them. So, that should be interesting! Then, Brad got FREE tix to a pro football game this weekend. So, we'll be heading out of town Sunday for that. It's a packed weekend but should be loads of fun. Hope you have some fun things planned!!

Look at the babies!

One of my favorite things to do as we wait for our CFC (Child For Consideration...the term referral is no longer used for Vietnam adoptions) is look at the blogs of our agency families who are in Vietnam now or just recently returned. Check out a few of my favorites:

Journey to Christopher
Cookie Is in Vietnam
Max Homecoming

Some of them haven't been updated in a while but since most of you haven't looked at them before, you'll still enjoy the photos and videos that are on there. I'm especially partial to the blogs of families who have adopted baby boys. What cuties! Of course, the girls are adorable too!

Missy's Latest Brush with Rock and Roll History

You might recall that earlier this year, I had the privilege of interviewing Mary Wilson of the Supremes. Today, I engineered an interview for NPR with Bill Medley (that means he came to our station to talk to the host in D.C.). Ok, I admit it. I'm an idiot. I didn't know he was one half of the Righteous Brothers until I googled him. (In the way of a disclaimer, I don't know the names of the members of those 50's and 60's acts except Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.) He was the nicest, coolest guy ever. His son came with him. The three of us sat for about 15 minutes in the studio, waiting for the host in D.C. to come on the line. So, we chatted. By the time he left, he gave me a hug, took my address and promised to send me an autographed copy of his new CD!! WOW!!

Requisite question: "Did you have the time of your life?"
Requisite answer: "Yes. I've had the time of my life. I've never felt this way before. I swear. It's the truth." (You know you're humming along!)

Happy Friday Dance!

Yay! It's Friday! The whole blessed weekend is sprawled out before us. We want to go see a movie this weekend but we're not sure what to see. Our independent cinema has some cool flicks showing so we might go there. Last weekend, I rented Music and Lyrics. It's such a great, fun romantic comedy. Light and bubbly!

Is it really October?

It sure doesn't feel like it. The weather was lovely and fall-like yesterday but it's back up to 85 degrees today. I'm totally ready for fall to get here and stay! We've been burning pumpkin-scented candles this week. Very nice. Is it warm where you are?

Bookworm

I met one of coolest librarians in the world today. Her name is Nancy Pearl. You might have heard her on Morning Edition doing an interview with Steve Inskeep. It's not often that you hear something on a national program that impacts your life and get to tell that person about it. I told her today that when she read the first line of Ahab's Wife on Morning Edition a year ago, I went out and got that book and devoured it. I thanked her for introducing me to an amazing author.

Nancy Pearl says we shouldn't feel guilty about starting a book and not finishing it. I laughed and told her that was liberating! I always feel bad if I don't finish a book but you know, sometimes, a certain book just doesn't click for a particular reader. Anyway, I had a great time visiting with her. I feel like a nerd...getting excited about meeting a "famous" librarian!

I found a quotation on another blog today that I just love. French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery is a fave of mine. So, check this out:

Antoine de Saint-Exupery:

If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.

Jazz Hot Baby

I hope you all had a wonderful Monday. Mine went by a little too quick. I've got a lot going right now...Many things to do, not enough time. That's ok because I want to see the time zip right by so we can get our referral!

I'm absolutely addicted to our new smooth jazz station. It's my station's second channel and I got a free HD radio to take home so I can monitor the second channel. What a great assignment! Having smooth jazz floating through the house is a delight. There are limited interruptions so it's just great...

Welcome to our World Child Friends!

I have shared our blog address with the World Child yahoo group and I want to say hello to everyone who may be checking us out for the first time. The group consists exclusively of families working with our agency on Vietnam adoptions. I've been a member for a few months now and it's an amazing support system. There are many BTDT (been there, done that) families who can give advice on everything from how to finish your paperwork to the best formula to take to Vietnam! And it's a group of caring people. Several women have organized and/or participated in donation drives for the orphanages in Vietnam. How inspiring! I absolutely love looking at the blogs of those who are waiting and those who are in Vietnam now and those who have come back. It's just a lot of fun to see the process play out before your eyes. So, welcome and thank you for sharing this journey with us!

We've had a lovely weekend. The weather has been divine. Here's a photo of the finished crib. We just love it!!!



















I've had fun changing some of my decor over to fall. I wanted to do it this weekend because next weekend, we're having a Chinese family over for dinner. They had us over to their home a few weeks ago and we had a most lovely time. We got to know them when I went to China in 2004. The husband traveled with our group. He has a wonderful wife and their son is a very nice young man who will head off to college next year. They are very active in working with the exchange students from China. They often host them in their home for a meal and Bible study. They are so happy for us as we pursue two adoptions. We are blessed to have so many wonderful people (including all of you!) in our lives.

Ummm...we missed our LID anniversary...

It was last Sunday. It's kind of wild to think we've passed the five month mark already. The time has gone by quickly. Even though we missed marking the anniversary, it doesn't mean we're any less eager for Lily to get here. It's just going to be quite a while and we need to put our energy into getting Zeke here first. Trust me, I can't wait to get our baby girl!!

I want to give a shout out to Greg and Laura because their dossier is now moving into the review room. That's where the Chinese officials review their paperwork and make sure everything is in order. I'm confident they won't have any problems. It's always a relief for families to discover their dossier has passed out of the review room. That means they're just waiting for their referral. I pray that your little Anna will be here next year!!

Some rumors to report...

I got a rumor from a very good source today that the wait for a baby boy referral from Vietnam is about two months now for our agency. That means we can expect to get our baby's photo, name and other info in December. Not as soon as I had hoped but good grief, it's such an improvement over China that there's no way I can be sad about that! Once our case worker is back in town, we ought to get a better idea of what to expect. But even the information from our case worker is subject to change...welcome to the roller coaster that is international adoption!

My Guess

Thanks to everyone who participated in the poll! It was really fun and exciting to see everyone's guess as to when we'd get our referral. I didn't want to disclose my guess until the poll had closed. So, I think we'll get our referral the week of Thanksgiving. I have absolutely no rhyme or reason for this guess...It's just a gut feeling. I have long prayed that we would get it in time for Brad's birthday, October 27. That would be so exciting! We'll see what happens!

Happy Wednesday!

Nothing new to report. Our dossier arrived Monday at our agency. Our case worker is in Vietnam right now. She returns to work in the States next week so we should get an update on our expected DTV (Dossier To Vietnam) date from her.

We have the crib up (I need to take a photo!) and it is so cute. The other night, our kitty Little Buddy was camped out underneath the crib. We don't have a mattress yet so it's all slats and bars. He looked like he was in prison!

Hope you're having a great week!

Got Pretzel?

Oktoberfest is just around the corner...Please party responsibly!


















(Photo credit: AP Photo/Diether Endlicher)

Crib and other fun baby stuff

We were very fortunate that the crib we just had delivered this week is NOT included in the re-call. You might have heard about the major crib recall yesterday. So, you can see Brad in the midst of his crib-building adventure. While he worked on that, I cleaned. I also wanted to show you some of Zeke's loot. The tan overalls might be his Giving and Receiving outfit. We're supposed to bring something cute for him to wear. Of course, we'll have a better idea of what size and all that once we get his photo...which should be in a month or two!! The reality is setting in and it's so exciting! As you can see, we have lots of Daddy stuff for baby but you may not see that one of the onesies says "Mommy's nuts about me!" Too cute!

The Dossier Has Left the Building!

YES! When we sent our dossier to the consulate to be authenticated, we enclosed a pre-paid FedEx envelope. I wrote down the tracking number. Each night, I've been checking to see if FedEx had picked up the envelope, knowing that that would tell me the dossier is on its way to our agency. Well, I checked tonight and LO AND BEHOLD the envelope had left the consulate. Whoo-hoo! So, the dossier is on its way to our agency and will arrive Monday. From the agency, it's off to Vietnam. I just pray that all our documents look good and there aren't any problems. What a great way to start the weekend!

Immunity...Back up for grabs!

In all the seasons that Survivor has been on the air, host Jeff Probst still says the same, unoriginal thing when the teams compete for immunity. Oh well. The cool thing about Survivor this season is that they're in CHINA! I didn't find last night's show particularly exciting except for seeing the shots of the countryside. It's so beautiful! The opening sequence for the show was quite cool too. I'm sure I'll grow to enjoy the people who are competing but the first few episodes are usually annoying as they weed out the people who really shouldn't have been there in the first place. Yes, I secretly want to be on Survivor. I'm sure I wouldn't make it past the first "eat this bug" challenge but I still love the idea of the show.

I'm glad it's Friday. The week went by quickly but I'm ready for the weekend. Our crib and changer arrived yesterday. They're in boxes and we'll have to assemble them. That will be our fun project for tomorrow. Once we get it up, we'll take some photos and post them.

No movement yet on the dossier. It's still in San Francisco at the consulate getting authenticated. It's been there a week as of today. It will probably move on to our agency the early part of next week. Then it's on to Vietnam! So many steps in this process...but everyone I've talked to says we won't even remember the wait once we get little Zeke in our arms...

Have a great weekend!

For the Napoleon Dynamite fan in each of us...

Babies Everywhere!

(First! Don't forget to vote in the new poll!)

I've added a link to Mandy and Kevin's blog. They're two of the sweetest people you could ever meet and they go to our church. Mandy's on the verge of giving birth to Emma (yay!)...maybe even today! I'm sure they'll post photos so you'll enjoy visiting their corner of the web. My bestest friend in the world, Katie is also getting close to having her little darling! I've got a link to her blog and I'm sure you'll notice she has impeccable taste in nursery decor. Our dear friends Misty and Joel just heard the heartbeat of their little one. They'll find out the gender soon!! You can read more about their rapidly expanding family on their blog. Greg and Laura continue to anticipate the arrival of their beloved Anna who will come to them from China. They are our fellow travelers on the international adoption journey and we're so thankful for them! They have a DARLING video on their blog that will absolutely make you smile!

(Hey Laura and James! Do you guys have a blog?!?! I'd love to add you to my links!)

A poll

I thought it would be fun to take a poll of our blog readers to see when you think we might get our referral (the photo, name and other info on our baby!!). The poll closes in a week so you have time to vote. I'd love for you to comment too on how you made your pick...a gut feeling, a random guess, reading the tea leaves...

Miss (Half) Marathon!!

I came, I ran, I conquered!! I've got the medal to prove it! And it was only thanks to a lot of prayers! My knee held up just fine, though it started hurting a little around mile 9. I told myself, "Don't think about it" and proceeded to think about something else. The pain went away. The hardest part was mile 10. I had to dig deep to pull out the last 3.1 miles. I ran for the entire race. Toward the end, there were some people who had run and walked and still managed to stay a little ahead of me, even though I ran the whole time. So, I gave one big burst of energy and sprinted ahead of them and finished ahead of them! I finished in 2 hours and 23 minutes. That's a hair under 11 minutes/mile. I'm proud of that pace, given the length of the race. I run a good bit faster when I do shorter races. I had estimated it would take me 2h30m-3h to finish. My dear friend from work, Tina went with me. She was my encourager and photographer! She took these great photos. We got up at 4:30AM so we could get a good parking space. So, I'm exhausted and I'm going to nap now...

Missy and Tina

Brad sends his support by including this photo on the digital camera I took with me.

Play By Play

I feel like I'm doing play by play at a ball game. The dossier made it safely to the consulate, so says the FedEx website. I will be watching to see when the packet leaves there and heads to our agency's office in California.

Tonight is opening night for Gypsy. I'll be on the third row, cheering Brad on! I can't wait to see the show and I've had several people tell me he has a very funny bit that I'll really enjoy.

I'm heading out tomorrow for the half marathon, which I'll run on Sunday. I'll give it my best shot!

Being Authentic

Our documents got on the last FedEx flight out of town tonight. They're headed to San Francisco to be authenticated by the Vietnam Consulate. After that, the consulate will ship them off to our agency. World Child will give them one more look and then translation begins. We'll be able to "see" when our documents get to World Child because I have the FedEx number for the package. Once the documents arrive at World Child, you count two weeks forward and that is your DTV or Dossier to Vietnam...same as the LID or Log In Date for China. So, if it takes a week or so at the consulate then another day or so to get to World Child, I'm guessing our DTV will be sometime the second week of October. Just a guess. So what does all that mean?!?! It means we can expect to get Zeke's photo and medical info within 30 to 60 days of our DTV. HOW EXCITING!! He's within reach!!

I've got a golden ticket!!!

THE I-171H ARRIVED!!! It's like our golden ticket that lets us get our dossier shipped off to Vietnam!!! We will have to do a few notary things tomorrow morning but then our paperwork is off to the Vietnamese Consulate for authentication. Then, on to our agency for one final look and after that, Good Morning, Vietnam!! PRAISE THE LORD!! When I pulled up to the house tonight, the neighborhood cat, Max was sitting in the driveway. He rolled around and I rubbed his belly. He walked with me out to the mailbox. He was there to share in the good news!! We both were literally dancing around in the street and cheering! This quick turnaround is an answer to many prayers...YES!

Hot and Cold

It's finally getting cool here...but it was perhaps ambitious of me to go running at 5:30PM before I had to cover an event. I got quite hot and yucky. Oh well. I need to get in some good running this week so that I'll be ready to go the distance Sunday morning. For those who might have forgotten *smile*, I'm running a half marathon this weekend. Brad will not get to come with me. After I show myself that I can run a half marathon, I think I'm going to concentrate on shorter runs...5Ks and 10Ks. These long distance runs are a little boring, to be honest. I may change my mind after doing this as part of a group (there are supposedly 4000+ people running the half marathon!). Anyway, I thought it might be fun to focus more on shorter races and improve my speed. We'll see. I'm trying to get in this good running while I can. I know it will be hard once Zeke arrives.

Hope you're having a great day...Tomorrow's Thursday...whoo-hoo!

Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince)

It's one of my favorite children's books. I read it in French in high school. I love it and it has so much to teach children and adults. I had thought about doing Zeke's room with a Little Prince theme but I was having a hard time tracking down Le Petit Prince items...anyway, a thought from this book to get me through the days of waiting:

What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well.

Cribz...

Here's a sneak peek at the crib/changer combo we've got coming our way for Zeke!!

Sweet Day

We had a wonderful anniversary last week. Brad wrote me a love letter, one of the best gifts I've ever gotten! I got him some "daddy" stuff: a couple of "daddy and me" books to share with Zeke and a t-shirt that says "Ba" which is daddy in Vietnamese.

Our weekend was good. We had a delicious and romantic dinner Friday night. That was fun! Brad had to work Saturday and Sunday so that was a bummer. I went to church last night to be a small group leader for the youth. It was a lot of fun. Brad will be doing this too but he had to be at work last night. Anyway, I worked with 7th and 8th grade girls. They were attentive and engaged in our discussion. I really had a great time!

We continue to wait on the federal paperwork. It will be 3 weeks tomorrow since the request arrived at the USCIS office. I kind of wish the bar had not been set so high in March (we got it in 13 days!) because now it's harder to wait. If you're wondering what this "federal paperwork" is all about...We are merely asking them to switch countries for us. Back in March, the US government approved us to adopt from China and sent notice of our approval to us and Guangzhou. Now, we're asking them to let us adopt from Vietnam. They'll send approval notices to Hanoi and to us. We can't send our paperwork to Vietnam until we get our copy of the approval. We would not expect to have any problems since we've already been approved once and we know we meet the qualifications to adopt from Vietnam. So, the wait continues...

Have a great week!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Why it just seems like yesterday that we were standing on the steps of Allendale Mansion, picking the moths out from under the tulle of Missy's wedding dress. Or using paper towels to dry off the chairs in the garden before the ceremony because it had rained that morning. Or driven through Mickey D's for an egg mcmuffin because everyone knows the bride and groom never get to eat much on their wedding day. Or saw QB dressed up as "best boy." Or heard Trav read a great passage from the Lewis and Clark journal. Or listened to Weed's funny poem about our first date. Or hugged KT on the happiest day of my life. Or saw sweet Suebee in her bridesmaid dress. Or shared the joy of that day in the garden with all our friends and family.

From our wedding invitation:

Come to My Garden
COME TO MY GARDEN NESTLED IN THE HILL
THERE I'LL KEEP YOU SAFE BESIDE ME
COME TO MY GARDEN
REST THERE IN MY ARMS
THERE I'LL SEE YOU SAFELY GROWN AND ON YOUR WAY
STAY THERE IN MY GARDEN
WHERE LOVE GROWS FREE AND WILD
COME TO MY GARDEN
COME, SWEET CHILD

LIFT ME UP AND LEAD ME TO THE GARDEN
WHERE LIFE BEGINS ANEW
WHERE I'LL FIND YOU AND I'LL FIND YOU LOVE ME TOO
LIFT ME UP AND LEAD ME TO THE GARDEN
WHERE LOVE GROWS DEEP AND TRUE
WHERE I'LL TELL YOU
WHERE I'LL SHOW YOU MY NEW LIFE I WILL LIVE FOR YOU

I SHALL SEE YOU IN THE GARDEN
AND SPRING WILL COME AND STAY
LIFT ME UP AND LEAD ME TO THE GARDEN
COME, SWEET DAY

-From The Secret Garden, The Musical

7 years and 364 days

That's how long Brad and I have been married. We'll hit 8 years tomorrow. I was cleaning the kitchen floor the other day and remembered the advice someone (Terry, wasn't that you?) gave us: a good marriage requires 100/100, not 50/50. True dat! Brad does give 100% and often more...what a guy!

And Now For Somthing Completely Different

In honor of Cate Blanchett's turn as the androgynous Bob Dylan in the upcoming bio-pic on the folk singer's life, we present Androgynous Travis.

Ever feel this way?

On the Job

Thought you might get a kick out of this "action shot" of me from last week. I was interviewing a bridge engineer about some of the reasons Missouri's bridges are in bad shape. This is for the NPR story that should air this week. I look so serious!

Happy Labor Day!

Hope you're enjoying a day free of labor. Brad just went off to work and I will be at work soon too. But I'm going to get in a workout first! I'm working today because I'm doing another story for NPR and it can't wait because I want to edit it tomorrow and be done with it!

Get outside and enjoy the day...soak it up because summer is winding down. That's good news for me because fall is my favorite season. Spiced cider, falling leaves, crisp mornings, pumpkins, candles burning in the evening with soft jazz playing in the background...yes, fall is when you live the good life...

I'm happy to report that my sister and her roomie, Court got back from their trip just fine. Sounds like they had an interesting and fun time. Thanks for the prayers for them! I've added a link to Court's blog under links. Check it out and give her a shout!

I'm glad the bedding is getting rave reviews. Now, I feel like I can go wild with the underwater theme. I like to think I'm creative but I'm really not when it comes to decorating and that sort of thing. Any suggestions?!?!

Random cool things:
We got an invite to an anniversary celebration at our alma mater for next September. It was so cool to see how Brad filled out the RSVP: 2 adults and one child. (Right! We've got to start thinking that way!) And he sent me a text message last week and signed it "Zeke's Dad." Awwwwwww!

Here are the signs!

Thought you'd enjoy seeing those signs I wrote about last Sunday...

One other thing. My sister will be going out of Thailand tomorrow as part of her visa renewal process. Just pray that all goes well and that she doesn't encounter any problems.

Baby shopping!

We (finally!) decided on a crib bedding set and bought it this afternoon. A baby store in town had the 8 piece (yes! 8 piece!) set on sale and it was a deal you couldn't beat. More importantly, I love the underwater theme. Tons of fun and great colors too! This ends weeks of obsessing by me over what theme and bedding set we'd use for the nursery. I'm completely thrilled with this choice. We also bought Zeke his first outfit (proudly displayed here by the dad-to-be). It's made to fit a six month old so we hope he'll be able to wear it when we get him (it might be a smidge too big but we'll see).

Apparently, ragweed is doing its thang: stirring up my allergies. My whole face itches. Blah.

After an intense workout this morning, some serious house cleaning, mowing, cooking and shopping, we're chilling tonight with root beer floats and Batman Returns.

What's G&R all about?

In China, your baby may be placed in your arms for the very first time in your hotel room...or in a small government office...or at the orphanage. Based on what I've read, there usually isn't a lot of ceremony (who cares, really...all that matters is that you get your sweet baby). But in Vietnam, there's a ceremony called Giving and Receiving (G&R for short). I thought you might enjoy reading about G&R from another family who's been there, done that:

G&Rs vary greatly from province to province. Some ceremonies are short and matter of fact; others are more elaborate and emotional. The overwhelming consensus that I have found, though, is that regardless of your style of G&R, it is an extremely unique and unforgettable experience. Parents sign their name in the big adoption book, official papers are signed and many words are spoken.

We were the only family at our G&R and were made to feel very welcome. Refreshments (beer, Fanta, fruit and candies) were put out for us on this occasion. Regardless of how weak a stomach you have, please partake in what they offer; it would be rude to refuse, especially at such an important and official event.

Our G&R went smoothly except for one little hiccup. The man leading our ceremony asked us a question through our translator and we couldn’t understand her, so our agency director repeated the question very softly so as not to be rude. He was asking us if we wanted to change our minds about the adoption! Of course we quickly and loudly replied “NO!” He asked us to return to Viet Nam one day with our daughter; which I truly hope that we will.

It was a very quick, overwhelming experience that was over before we even realized what was happening. It was not the emotional experience that I was expecting. This was probably due to the fast pace of the whole day, the language/translation barrier and the pure shock that we actually were given this sweet little baby and we were getting to take her home!

The Giving and Receiving Ceremony is something that binds us Viet Nam adoptive parents. It is an experience unlike any other and really helps to cement you to the country. I appreciate that fact that the country of Viet Nam makes a point to take the time and formality to officially wish each of their children well and celebrate their new families.

Sounds pretty amazing, huh?!?!

Weekend Warriors

We actually don't have plans for the weekend except the usual assortment of aerobics and church. We might go see a flick at the cheap theatre tonight...The Stephen King movie about the haunted hotel room is playing. I read the short story on which the movie is based several years ago and really enjoyed it. John Cusack stars (he'll never top his role in Being John Malkovich).

I emailed some friends involved in China adoption and asked if they had heard anything about the processing time for paperwork in KC. Just trying to adjust my expectations for the wait on the new I-171H. They hadn't heard anything. With the new, tighter restrictions for China adoptions and some other info I'm gathering, it seems like they shouldn't be too busy at the KC office...but one never knows. Will continue to keep you posted. It will be hard going TWO days without mail: Sunday and Labor Day. At least I'm supposed to be off on Labor Day. I might end up working though as I'm trying to get another story ready for NPR. We'll see...

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

Faithful...

One of my favorite hymns is Great is Thy Faithfulness. Some recent examples of God's faithfulness:

*The husband of my cyber friend Crystal got a new job...and a better one to boot!

*My bestest friend, Katie and I had prayed a year and a half ago that we would have babies at the same time. Katie is set to deliver a gorgeous baby girl in November and we're praying we'll be in Vietnam this winter to get Zeke. (We already have decided our children will be bestest friends!)

*God has made a way for the Vietnam adoption to happen!

I hope you all are doing well. Is it me or has this week flown by? Since you haven't heard me scream, you know the I-171H hasn't arrived. I was on the phone with Katie last night when I checked the mailbox and she held the phone away from her ear...just in case...

The Truthiness of her Queeniness

This gives all us pageant girls a bad name...

The Waiting Game

And so we wait. It's been one week since we sent off for our new I-171H. I pray that it comes quickly (i.e. this week or next). When it does come, you'll probably hear me scream, no matter where you live (this goes for Thailand residents too!). To begin to prepare and pass the time, we started a registry at Target this weekend. Lots of fun but we realized we needed to do some more research before we decided on a crib, bedding, stroller, car seat, etc. Thanks to Misty for some great recommendations on a stroller/car seat combo! As we were pointing our Target "gun" at the items we wanted to scan, we had to keep in mind that Zeke will probably be 5 months old when we get him. So anything made for a six month old will have a short shelf life. On the other hand, Asian babies in general tend to be smaller so maybe he could get some mileage out of six month old clothes. We'll just have to wait until we get the photos and measurements of our little guy!

One great thing about Vietnam adoptions is that families who go to your baby's orphanage before you do to get their child will take a care package to your baby. How wonderful to know that you can send clothes, pacifiers, etc. to your sweet babe weeks before you arrive to get him! For China, it's very hard to get care packages to your baby so being able to get something to Zeke before we arrive is a blessing!

We've been reminded by several people who are home with their baby to savor this time...our lives will soon change. I guess that's why we went out of town a couple of weeks ago for one final "escape" and why we're renting a lot of movies...speaking of which...

We highly recommend "The Lives of Others." Yes, it's in German but there's a reason it won the Oscar for best foreign film. I was moved to tears at the end. I think I was so moved because it's about the Stasi, the secret police who struck fear and terror in the hearts of East Germans and I have visited the Stasi building in Berlin that's featured in the film. I've looked at those files. I've walked those hallways. I've interviewed people who were victimized by the Stasi. The ending is so poignant. I highly recommend this movie. Another from the foreign film category that is a close second to "The Lives of Others" is "Pan's Labyrinth." An excellent film from Spain that's in the same vein as "Life is Beautiful." It's about the stories we tell ourselves and children to cope with unspeakable violence in the world.

A Couple of Signs

Our Sunday School classroom doubles as a prep school classroom during the week. So, we sit in our "grown-up" chairs on Sunday morning, surrounded by colorful posters highlighting the months, the days of the week and the alphabet. Anyway, it's the start of the school year for the prep school and so, the names of the students in this particular class are written on individual pieces of poster board shaped like big crayons. Brad nudged me shortly after we sat down in class this morning. He pointed to the chalk board where the name placards were hanging. The first one was Lily. I smiled. I had actually noticed the week before that there was a child in the class named Lily. Then, he said, "Look at the one below it." It was Ezekiel!! So, there were the names of our two children Lily and Ezekiel, hanging on the chalk board in our Sunday School classroom together. The spelling was the same as we'll use for our children. And there were many other name placards on the board but those two were placed together and at the top of the list. How cool is that?!?! It just confirmed something I've believed in my heart...that we're absolutely on the right path to finding our children.

A Little Piece of Heaven

That's what our aerobics instructor said when we finally got around to stretching this morning after an intense weight routine. This gal is a "substitute" aerobics instructor and she's da bomb! She has the best mix of music-from Credence Clearwater Revival (Travelin' Band) and Patti LaBelle to Avril Levigne and Black-Eyes Peas. Sweet! We were rocking out and sweating like crazy!

It's rainy here so Brad can't mow as he normally does on Saturday. We may go out and look at baby stuff. Fun! Have a great weekend!

4 Month LID Anniversary...

...was yesterday. I was so busy, I didn't get to post. Anyway, it's a little hard to believe that 4 months have gone by already. Our dossier has been translated and is pending review. The Chinese officials are reviewing dossiers that were logged in July, 2006 so we'll be "pending review" for a while.

In other news, school started back this week. The students in my classes seem especially sharp and eager to learn. That's the opposite of what it was like last fall so I'm quite pleased! We'll see how long the enthusiasm lasts as the semester progresses.

Any big plans for the weekend? I think we may rent the movie "The Lives of Others," which won the Oscar for best foreign film earlier this year. It's supposed to be about a Stasi spy whose views change as he eavesdrops on other East Germans. I've heard nothing but rave reviews. A couple of weekends ago, we watched Chris Cooper in Breach. An excellent film and Cooper is fabulous, as usual (he's a Mizzou alum, I might add). It's the TRUE story of Robert Hanson, the American who spied on the US government for the Russians. It's a chilling character study of a movie. (Mom, I think you'd like this one too! You dig true stories!)

(For those who may wonder why I always mention my mom when I talk about movies...she can count on one hand the number of movies she likes so she doesn't give very many movies a chance...she is right that there's a lot of schlock out there...But I'm always trying to get her to see more, confident that there are great films out there waiting to be discovered if she'll just give them a chance...The Way We Were is her top pick and nothing has ever measured up to Robert Redford's Hubble...though she and I did get a lot of enjoyment out of last year's Holiday with the gorgeous scoundrel Jude Law, the hilarious Jack Black, the fashionable Cameron Diaz and the endearing Kate Winslet...anyway, I enjoy the quest to get mom to see some more good flicks because if mama likes it, you KNOW it's good.)

The Half Marathon is Officially On!

I just registered for the half marathon I'm going to run on Sunday morning, September 16th! I'm pumped and a bit scared that they'll have to carry me over the finish line! The really bad part is that Brad won't get to be there. He's in Gypsy and has a performance the night before and that afternoon. Wah-wah. Anyway, maybe I can still figure out a way to get a photo taken when I finish the race. I don't run quite as religiously as my sister but I'm trying! I feel like I'm ready...Should be fun!!

USCIS has our paperwork!

I got confirmation from FedEx that our package arrived at the USCIS office this morning to be processed. WHOO-HOO! In March, I got our I-171H form in 13 calendar days. I was in SHOCK! I had been told to expect a 6 week wait. It was GREAT to get the form so quickly. I would LOVE to see another fast turnaround this time. Of course, we will keep you posted. I'm hoping to get all our other dossier documents certified this morning. That's done here in town and takes about 30 minutes. No big deal. Once that's done, we'll just be waiting on our new federal form. What happens after that? We send our papers to San Francisco for authentication, a much easier process than getting authentication from the China embassies. We had to send documents to two different embassies and had to use couriers to take them there and pick them up. No couriers this time and the Vietnam embassy doesn't charge a premium for expedited requests like the China embassy does. Then, the documents are translated and two weeks later, we actually get our LID (log-in-date). That's when the official wait begins! For both China and Vietnam adoptions, you don't officially count the paperchase phase as part of the wait. I guess they figure you are so busy with all that, you don't really feel like you're just waiting. Sending off your paperwork and waiting with nothing else to do is the really hard part. The people who are receiving referrals now through our Vietnam agency were LID in June! So, it's a really fast process. Our wait time will be busy as we will spend the time getting our home and lives ready for Zeke!

And we're baaaaack!

We had an amazing time on our trip. We didn't do much, which was the whole point. We did get some good eats at one of my all-time favorite Italian places. They give you warm, olive oil-y garlic cloves to smear on the homemade bread. Then, I had the gnocchi with gorgonzola cheese sauce. Hey, a half-marathon runner's gotta eat! The portions are actually quite reasonable (and the prices are too!) so you don't feel stuffed afterward. We walked around and saw the sites...we watched movies in our tree-top suite. (Sweet Home Alabama was sweet and better than I expected and Mona Lisa Smile was very enjoyable...Consider renting them...Mom, this means you! You might like them!)

We bought a hat for Zeke! Oops! Did I just say, "Zeke?!?!" I did indeed. Brad calls this name our "working title" for the baby. For now, we're calling him Zeke and that's short for Ezekiel Buu. Buu is Vietnamese for "leader." It's pronounced Boo. We love the name Ezekiel Buu. Plus, Travis rightly pointed out that "Lily and Zeke" make a darling combination. (Ok, Travis didn't use the word "darling.")

Anyway, here are some photos of a little reversible hat we bought for Zeke while we were on our trip. Too cute! I've also included some kitty photos. Enjoy!

PS Yes, the last post referenced Big Business (Mom and Weedy get a prize!). A while back, I had "Run, Freedom, Run!" as the title of a post. That's a song from the fabulously hilarious musical "Urinetown." Definitely see this musical if you get the chance and you'll LOVE this song!!

And we're off...

We're off this afternoon for a fun long weekend at one of our favorite hideaways...a last hurrah, if you will before it becomes all baby, all the time.

I hope it will cool off, even a little so that we can enjoy some front-porch sitting while we're away...you know, when the mountain casts a shadow that comes up on your porch like an old friend coming for a visit...(name that movie, anyone?)

A Shout Out to Joel, Misty, Garrett and Baby Makes 4!

I've updated the link to Joel and Misty's new blog. If you haven't heard...THEY'RE EXPECTING! We are so, so happy for them!! When God blesses, God blesses richly!

HOME STUDY IS APPROVED!!

Can you see me turning back flips?!?! Now that World Child has approved our updated home study, we should be able to get the federal paperwork filed later this week or early next week...depends on when we get the actual notarized copies in our hot little hands!! Now, we just pray, pray, pray that the federal paperwork gets back quickly. In March, it only took 13 calendar days to get our approval. Amazing! It was so surprising to get it that quickly. So, I know they can work fast!!

On a completely unrelated note...check out the music of Randall Goodgame. Thanks to the Mattson boys from church, I've discovered a fabulous singer/songwriter. His music is like the soundtrack of O Brother Where Art Thou, Ben Folds Five, Hem, and your bluegrass faves all rolled into one. Excellent piano, great melodies.

By the way, Little Buddy and Pierre Clovis wanted me to post these photos to remind everyone that they are the original babies in our family!