Another one bites the dust...

The Womble family computer has gone on to take its place in PC heaven among the elite desktops of the century. She is survived by one sad family who misses her already. Each of us will miss her in our own way but I think I will miss her most. We spent many MANY late nights (and days) together reading emails, creating invitations, consulting our friend google, visiting bloggy pals and our latest partnership, creating blog designs. I'm pretty sure that's what sent her over the edge. In hindsight, she's probably not so happy I began that little venture. I am so sorry old friend. You were awesome and thanks for a great four years...

***I'm on Daddy's laptop at the moment. Not quite the same but it will have to do. I just checked my email for the first time in 36 hrs. If you have sent me an email any time between Sunday PM and Tuesday @ 4 pm, I didn't receive it. Any recommendations for a new computer? Need one, liiiikkkkkkeeeee, YESTERDAY***

Take two...

I received this last week when my computer was on vacation. :-) The ole scanner wouldn't work either so this is the best I could do...a picture of a picture. I'll take Pose 2, please. Thankfully retake day proved to be better than the first.

B-I-O-M-E-T-R-I-C-S...

One step closer...our fingerprinting appointment arrived today. Yahooooo! November 4th at 10 AM...be there or be square. They have our social security numbers wrong on the form so I'll have to call them on Monday to correct that information. According to my calculations (I love to say that), it took USCIS 20 days to issue our fingerprinting appointment and 24 days for us to receive it.

**UPDATE: I talked to USCIS on Monday. Apparently there is a glitch in the system rounding all SS#'s up to the nearest thousandth. Hmmmm...rounding my SS# up would be a different person considering we are identified by our 10 digit number. Once again I'm trying to figure out how this process is HELPING us bring home our daughter. This is mistake #3 in one month. Let's just hope they get all of their mistakes out of their system before they actually review our petition.

Fall Walk...

Our second field trip was the Fall Walk. J's class made tie dyed pumpkin t-shirts for the occasion. I helped make them on my volunteer day and they turned out very cute! He didn't get to ride a bus this time because the park is across the street from his school. We spent the day looking for all things fall...leaves, acorns, etc. Can you see who our ladies man was "helping" find their treasure?

I have a lot of pictures but they all have other little people in them. This one really doesn't show any of them up close but I'm posting it so you can see their shirts. Aren't they too cute?

Birds of a Feather...

My Sunday began with an early alarm, a quick stop at Starbucks and a road trip to meet two super cool friends (though we have never met until today). Today I had the privilege of meeting Emily and the Nester in real life. For those who know them, I'm pretty sure I just heard you say SHUT-UP! For those who don't know them...go ahead...click the links...I'll wait...(insert Jeopardy music here)...Do you see why I was so excited?

My new friends in real life (because I can call them that now) happened to be passing through so Kim, Rachel and I made a short little roadtrip to meet them. Can I tell you it was great? You know how you wonder about meeting new people...will it be awkward? The answer for today was NOPE. Not one second of our two hours was remotely awkward. It was like five old friends gabbing it up over sour dough french toast and more bacon than we knew what to do with. Can I tell you it was great?

OK, so here's the part you want to know. They are the same ladies in real life as they are on their blogs. They are not 89 year old bald men from Canada and I have the pictures to prove it. Sweet, funny, genuine kind of girls. Girls I would be friends with at playdates, Bible study or Mom's night out if miles didn't separate us. Through months of emails and of course, her blog, I knew Emily and I shared many of the same traits. At one point she got a little teary when she talked about our adoption and that pretty much confirmed it. She's a big ole mush bucket like me. I informed her of my long standing rule...no one cries alone. Rachel quickly confirmed that I was SERIOUS so we diverted the conversation before tears fell (from someone other than myself if you can believe that). :-) I am still stoked about our morning. Perhaps we'll have an opportunity to do it again soon. If not, I am proud to say that they are now real life friends. Hopefully this week I'll be moving out of the "friends I'd like to meet" category into the "people I know in real life" column. I think I'm going to like it there.

Here is the obligatory group photo. I hate to have my picture taken but I didn't want to be a party pooper. I wanted the photo but without me in it. :-) We humored Emily as she dug out her tripod and attempted to find the perfect spot. The best we could find was in the blinding sun in front of the barbed wire fence. Our options were slim in the parking lot of the Cracker Barrell so this was the best we could do.

Rachel, me, Emily, the Nester, Kim

A little history...back in February I won a gift from the Nester. She posted about my business on her blog which brought a few clients my way. One client happened to be her sister Emily. Emily and I became friends while we were creating her blog and have kept in touch.
Anyway, Kim arranged this little breakfast date and knew I would be HACKED OFF if she went without me. I would also like to state for the record that Kim, in her desperate attempt to keep the surprise, told me "God will forgive you for missing church for this one". LOL! I was having a day when she called. The ONLY way she was going to persuade me to go was to answer this question. Where are you taking me at 8 AM on Sunday morning that I might need forgiveness? Kim, you'll be happy to know I made it to the 11:00 service, Todd Agnew was awesome and I made it home to see my kiddos before nap. What a great day! Thanks Kim for making sure I was present for the festivities. I would have had to hurt you if you had gone without me. :-)to Emily and the Nester...let's do it again soon...

Father Son Camp-out...

Instead of being snuggled in their warm beds, Daddy and J spent last night in a tent in 44 degree weather. They attended the annual Father Son Camp-out sponsored by the Children's Ministry at our church. Sounds like torture to me but J thought it was the best thing EVER! We are not exactly the outdoorsy kind of family so before they could attend Daddy had to make a little trip to the camping store. You know, for necessites like a tent, sleeping bags, lanterns, etc. I guess most families already have that stuff but not the Womble 4. Did I mention we are not the outdoorsy type? Anyway, I threatened life and limb if someone didn't come home with pictures for the scrapbook (AKA blog). This time someone took my threats seriously. :-)

According to J, this is a photo of "me standing in front of the tent REALLY REALLY REALLY LATE at night. It was AWESOME!" Obviously the bedtime police force members were still at home. To recap the evening, the boy's grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, made smores, played football, went on a flashlight hike and took a hayride before calling it a night at 10:30 pm. This picture was taken right before bed and you can see how tired he was by his eyes. Do not ask me why he doesn't have his hat and gloves on when it is 40ish degrees outside. You'll need to ask my husband. :-l

This picture made me laugh. From the look on his face, it must of been a rough night. No, that is not Starbuck's in his cup...just hot chocolate.
After breakfast, the boys spent the morning playing more football. Daddy said J ran and ran and RAN . He had no idea what he was doing but he hung in there with all the big boys.
I have several random pictures of the field they camped and the row of trucks and tents. Clearly there was a man behind the camera but beggars can't be choosers. Considering this is the first time he has actually taken the camera out of the case I'll take what I can get. This photo is noteworthy for the content. We will not discuss the boys burning sticks around a camp fire without an adult in sight. We will not discuss the hayride they took...on a country road...driven by a tractor WITHOUT LIGHTS. We will not discuss the beebee guns and archery lessons on Saturday morning. Thankfully my boys left before the guns and arrows came out. Thankfully.

Daddy and J had THE BEST TIME so I'm pretty sure there are more camping weekends in our future. We no longer have the "no tent...no camping stuff" excuse and a little boy I know is not going to let us forget. I think they had a wonderful Father-Son weekend...hopefully a new tradition they will enjoy for many years to come.

Ever wonder if God has a sense of humor?

I'm pretty sure today confirms it for me. The man upstairs is a real comedian.

Rewind: yesterday I was all in a panic that our government had lost our I-800A petition. HACKED OFF would be more like it. You remember the story...tracking number confirmed, check cashed, petition...no where to be found...notified by USCIS that they were "looking in to the matter". I was supposed to get a call and/or email back by the end of the day yesterday but it never came. HACKED OFF AGAIN.

Fast forward: Lo and behold what was in my mailbox today? Our "Notice of Action" confirming that they have indeed received our application and it has been logged in to their system. That's right. Yesterday they tell me my petition is missing and today I receive our "Notice of Action" post marked Wed 10-15-08. Now get this...my receipt date is listed as 9-23-08. Our homestudy was not even complete on that day. Our petition was still laying on my desk. Shhhhh...don't tell them...I don't think the receipt date actually makes a difference but I'M not going to tell them they received it 8 days later on 10-1-08. The date that counts, the Notice date, is listed as 10-10-08. That is when our 90-120 days begins. I guess that means 8 down...112 days to go. I'm going for the 120 plan. If it happens to come earlier I'll be one happy Mommy. As for the miscommunication at USCIS, I'll be calling my friend N. on Monday. I figure she needs to know that the petition she told me was lost on Friday was indeed logged in seven days prior.

So, all that to say I think THE MAN upstairs is trying to do one of two things: a) drive me completely insane or b) send me a friendly reminder that He's got it all under control. No worries folks...I already know the answer.

Oh where---Oh where---has our petition gone...

This morning I received an email from USCIS as a follow up from Tuesday. It appears our "friends" at USCIS have no idea where our petition is. We know they received it in Chicago on 10-1-08. We know they drafted our FAT CHECK on 10-3-08. That's all we know. They are "looking into the matter". Are you comforted by that statement because I AM NOT! There are literally millions of children in the world without families. If our government didn't make this process so DIFFICULT more of them might have homes. I don't even know what else to say...

UPDATE @ 4pm: It is 4pm and the end of the work day at USCIS. No update before the weekend as USCIS assured I would have. UGH! Looks like it's going to be a long weekend.

UPDATE @ 6pm: I just got a huge chuckle from my 9-29-08 post. And I quote, "I will sleep well tonight knowing our envelope is safe in the hands of Chicago Lockbox. Any department with the last name "Lockbox" makes me feel like they have their ducks in a row. So long I-800A..."

Grrrrrr...

I just talked to our "friends" at the USCIS Haque Unit. This the office that will process our I-800A. Well, guess what? Nearly two weeks after our petition was submitted it is still not in the system. Translation: these life changing documents have been sitting on someone's desk for the past 13 days. She could not give me a timeline though she said they are TRYING to get them out in 90 days once they are logged in. Did you note the word TRYING! That also means that our countdown clock is still set to ZERO. Our petition does not exist to them until it is logged into their system. Two more weeks up in smoke...

Pumpkin Patch in pictures...

A few hours at the Pumpkin Patch and a little family dinner at Chik-fil-A made for a fun evening. Thanks for going with us Womble 6. Hopefully we've started a new tradition. We love you guys!

Daydreaming...

Do you ever find yourself daydreaming about a place you've never been? A deserted beach in Hawaii? An Alaskan cruise? A castle in England? I know I have in the past. These days I find myself daydreaming about one of those places. A country that will soon allow us the privilege of parenting one of it's daughters.

I find myself staring intently at the Asian man in the checkout line at Publix. I've restrained myself from stopping a complete stranger in Target to ask 21 questions about the child in the buggy. Every Sunday at church I pass a little girl adopted from China and resist the temptation to grab her and never let her go. She brings tears to my eyes every time I pass her in the hallway. I know this probably sounds strange to most of you but through them I find a connection to our daughter.

More than daydreaming about China, I find myself daydreaming about us IN China. I think about how amazing it will feel to land in the birth country of our daughter. How majestic it will be to climb the Great Wall. How strange it will feel to experience the culture shock of the language, the food, etc. It will be an experience I know we will never forget.

More than any of these things, I daydream most about the day I will hold MH in my arms. I remember the first moment I held J and MG as if it happened only seconds ago. I know the day MH joins our family will be equally as glorious. I believe at this very moment we have a daughter living in an orphanage on the other side of the world. I knew that would be a difficult reality. As we grow closer to referral I find myself daydreaming most about who is loving her. When she is hungry, who feeds her? When she is happy, who praises her giggles? When she cries in the night, does anyone hear her? Do they rush to calm her fears or do they turn a deaf ear.

I was up last night comforting MG in the wee hours of the morning. As I swayed in the darkness holding her tightly, I whispered the words I have always whispered to my children... "Shhhh, Mommy's here". I desperately wish the next time our daughter cries in that lonely orphanage in rural China, I could be the one to whisper those words in her ear. "Shhhh MH, Mommy's here. Everything is going to be OK." By next fall, it is our hope that my daydreams are no longer dreams but reality. Please, God, let them be our reality.

To my precious MH...

There will come a day when you read the words I have written about our family. I want you to know so many things but for now this is the most important. While your life goes on without us, before we know the shape of your face or the sound of your laugh, before I hold you in my arms and whisper in your ear, you are our daughter. You have always been our daughter. From the very beginning of time. Just as I waited for your brother and sister to join our family, I wait for you. Just as I prayed for their future over an ever growing tummy, I pray for yours with hand over heart. Just as I daydreamed about their smile and their personalities, I daydream of yours. For now I will love you from afar until the time comes for me to hold you in my arms. Once that amazing day arrives I promise you I will never be far from your side.

love,
your Mommy

This is what two looks like...

Too bad you can't hear the hands and feet banging on the floor. The sound effects make it even more authentic...

MG's First Haircut...

MG has never had a haircut. That's not to say she hasn't needed one but I just couldn't bring myself to chop off the baby hair. All that pretty hair on top feels original...
The sides fell out (just like her brother) but the pretty hair on top that I clip in a hairbow every day remained. Considering it is so thin and gets stuck in just about anything on her face (syrup, ketchup, boogies, etc.) it was time for a trim. She was not thrilled about the whole experience. J went first and she watched intently to see if it was going to hurt. Then she climbed up in the chair...reluctantly. She never uttered one word in the chair. She did not cry. She did not whine. She just sat there with the most solemn look on her face.

Before...

During...

Discovering the hair glitter...
Getting some "pretty curls in my hair"...

Thank goodness I had a DumDum in my purse or Mr. Patience was going to lose it...

Hannah tried everything to get her to talk to her but she wouldn't say a word...

All done...

Two little people...two haircuts...two dumdums...no smiles...

I discovered after we washed out the "pretty curls in my hair" that she will soon need haircut #2. Next time I won't say "just a little bit" (apparently that means 3 mm). I'm holding out for Main Street Barber Shoppe in a few weeks. Authentic pixie dust is much better than the generic.

Monkey See--Monkey Do...

My new favorite quote...

I have concluded that the accumulation of wealth, even if I could achieve it, is an insufficient reason for living. When I reach the end of my days, a moment or two from now, I must look backward on something more meaningful than the pursuit of houses and land and machines and stocks and bonds. Nor is fame of any lasting benefit. I will consider my earthly existence to have been wasted unless I can recall a loving family, a consistent investment in the lives of people, and an earnest attempt to serve the God who made me. Nothing else makes much sense.

~Dr. James Dobson

Look who's making breakfast again...

October Family Project...

This month our project was to dress the gingerbread man in J's Halloween costume. I helped him draw the outline and he did the rest.


Our example...

The Invisible Woman...

In December, I shared the text version of this discussion. Today my sweet friend K sent me the live version via you*tube so I thought I would share it again. It has been one of those days for me too K. Funny how things like this pop up when you need them most.



and another from today in my Inbox. You think someone is talking to me today?

Top 10 reasons why I am officially OLD...

1. I have developed a liking for coffee. Well, not REAL coffee as Daddy would like to point out. I've always liked the smell of coffee but not the taste. Then I discovered FLAVORED creamers and syrups. I like a little coffee in my mug of yummy flavored goodness. The point: I am now a coffee drinker even if only 1/3 of my cup is coffee. I'm old.

2. I am truly interested in the presidential election this year. Last week, I anticipated the debate days before, watched the ENTIRE viewing intently and critiqued each of the candidates along the way. Yep, that's old.

3. I found a gray hair on my head and promptly scheduled an appointment for a cut and COLOR. Definitely old.

4. I drive a mini-van. No longer do I jump out and walk away quickly before someone notices that it belongs to me. I've actually started to appreciate it for the family vehicle it truly is. No denying it--I'm old.

6. I went on my first official Kindergarten field trip as a chaperon. Old again.

7. My cholesterol panel is high so I've taken to oatmeal, Cheerios or anything else high fiber to naturally reduce my level. I'm REALLY old.

8. We have a recycling center in the garage and our own reusable grocery bags. I think that makes me old AND granola.

9. Recently I said to my son, "When I was your age we didn't even HAVE computers". Ugghhh...I'm soooo old.

10. Daddy found a hair on my neck. It was long enough that he could pull it out without tweezers. Gross. I think that constitutes more than old.

I don't know how or when it happened but I know it's true. All I need to do now is sign up for water aerobics and dye my hair blue. Anyone care to join me?

Confirmation...

• Delivered, October 01, 2008, 6:43 am, CHICAGO, IL 60680

• Arrival at Unit, October 01, 2008, 5:14 am, CHICAGO, IL 60680

• Acceptance, September 29, 2008, 11:30 am, MY CITY
  

I love you smart person who invented the technology to track packages online. I will sleep well tonight knowing our envelope is safe in the hands of Chicago Lockbox. Any department with the last name "Lockbox" makes me feel like they have their ducks in a row. So long I-800A...