Friday, July 25, 2008

Oh Happy Adoption Day!

Today was a both a big day and nothing big at all!  In order to get Paige an American birth certificate we were required to re-adopt her.  The adoption was legal and recognized by both countries November 13, 2006, but again we had to do this to get a birth certificate.  Had we chosen not to do this we would have had to take her abandonment papers and adoption papers simply to sign her up for school or soccer.  We felt that was a bit too much information for the general public!  So, today was the big day.  2:00 Judge Poyfair's courtroom.  Unfortunately the docket was full today and one family had over 30 people with them and another had 25!  We were packed into this tiny waiting area with at least 75 people and 1/3 of them were probably children!  Talk about noise!  We waited until 3:30 before being called in for our 10 minutes with the judge.  The kids were great under the circumstances and our attorney complimented them for it.  Paige of course was quite a hit and obviously the cutest one there!
Our little girly-girl!  Or as someone waiting in line at the courthouse said, "Miss Hollywood".  Paige arrived for her first (and let's hope only) court date dressed to kill.  She wanted "two ponies" she informed me as we were getting dressed, and insisted on three bracelets (two were the ones Rick chose for her in China so were extra special).  Before we left she gathered her purse complete with cell phone, toy car, toy bottle (you just never know), and sunglasses.  Oh the attitude!
After the proceedings were finished we all headed out to celebrate!  Rick and I were celebrating the fact that we are totally, completely, unquestionably DONE!  We chose to try out the Claim Jumper and were not disappointed - just stuffed!  With us are my parents and sister, Chris (one of Paige's favorites!).  It was a long day, but I am so relieved it is over!

China or bust!

The girls left for China today!  Yesterday the media found out about the cleft bottles they are taking and wanted to talk to them.  Next week they will all be in our local (weekly) paper.  All kinds of excitement!  
We finally made it to a parade!  The boys have such fond memories of going to several each summer.  We never found any in Illinois so it was fun to go back to our old stomping grounds.  It was Paige's first parade and she was mainly excited about the candy.  We also had our newest nephew/cousin , Carson, with us for his first Parade!
Paige and I went to the bank and I asked for three suckers so she could bring one back for each of her brothers.  She ate hers on the way home and shortly after getting home this is how I found her!  Little stinker.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!

I just wanted to let you all know that I so appreciated the gifts toward cleft bottles! I got anywhere from $5-$50 and believe me EVERY dollar made a difference. The total reached $200!! Since one case came to about $156 with tax I was also able to order 2 more boxes of 6 for $19 each + tax. With time running out (the girls leave this friday) I had to pay $14 to expedite shipping (on me!). So we were able to get a total of 84 bottles!! As I mentioned to many of you, each bottle has the potential to save a life so that is 84 precious little lives that will have a chance. I never could have made such an impact without all of you - Thank you!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Lazy days of summer



We are trying to venture out to a new park each week but so far we've only made it twice. This particular trip we wound up at an elementery school because all of the actual parks were too uninteresting for for the boys! It was awfully hot though with no shade so we didn't end up staying too long. In the bottom picture of Paige and Trace I just love the contrast in size! Holy Cow! Trace is about 5 inches shorter than me at the moment. Yes, he does have one sock pulled all the way up and one down - that isn't a new fashion trend he had some bug bites that he kept itching so I told him to pull his sock up to keep from scratching.
As usual, not much else going on! Rick has a really awful schedule this month which is keeping him away the majority of the time. The kids and I are just trying to stay sane together! We are always up for company, or free outings though, so give us a call if you find yourself bored!

Monday, July 07, 2008

The 4th in words - slide show below

We spent last weekend at the beach with family and friends. Rick had taken it off which made it extra special for all of us! On Friday night we went down on the beach to see the show and set off a few of our own. The smoke from fires and fireworks was so think you couldn't see very far at times. The best entertainment (see slide below with same title) though was watching the rednecks get their truck out of the sand. It was an old purple Ford, a bunch of rednecks who'd been partying too long, and two newer Fords. In the end it took both newer trucks and about ten or more people pushing to get the truck unstuck. We sat and laughed the whole time (aren't we nice?). On the fifth after roaming around the little town with their cousins the boys joined us at an open house. We only intended to stay a brief time but it turned into 9-10 hours! More fireworks, lots of happy people and just a good ole time. The "what not to do" picture below is courtesy of RICK. He threw a bunch of spent fireworks and cakes into the roaring bonfire we had going. 'Supposedly' he knew there were a couple of live ones in the bunch but it scared the you-know-what out of the rest of us when they started shooting out of the fire! Sunday was nice so we spent a few hours on the beach. Trace was feeling a little bored and left out so I took him for a walk. On the way back I told him how we used to jump over the waves and it entertained us for hours when we were kids. He gave me that typical 'you really are nuts' look. So I grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the waves. Now, for those who don't know, the idea is to HOP over the little ripples of foam as the come onto the beach. There is generally a bit of splashing and wetness up to the knees. Well, the tide was coming in and I think we had wandered closer to the water but suddenly a wave came at us that couldn't be hopped! We were shrieking and laughing and soaked up to the nether regions! After that it didn't matter anymore. Caden joined us and we spent a good half hour numb in the surf. Trace told me today that he was really surprised how much fun it was because according to him most of my ideas are just weird. Gee thanks!

4th of July Weekend!

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Cleft Bottles

I'm looking for a little help. Some teenage cousins are going to Beijing to perofrm in the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. They are willing to transport special cleft bottles to a woman there who is willing to pick them up where the girls are and deliver them to the babies in desperate need. These bottles are not available in China and must be brought in by caring people. Each bottle can literally save a life. Cleft affected babies are three times as likely to be born into an Asian family and without these bottles they have little more than a 10% chance of survival. Most are abandoned because their families can't afford the necessary surgery. Many never grow or gain enough strength to be candidates for surgery due to an inability to form a suction and get nutrition from a bottle. I could go on and on but the bottom line is that I would really like to send a case of these bottles with the girls to Beijing in a few weeks. They cost $17 for 6 bottles or $144 for a case of 72. Really, such a little thing and really not that much money but it would literally save lives. I am looking for anyone who might be willing to donate a couple of dollars. I plan to pitch in what I can but on our present income that isn't much. Even if I could just raise $100 it would so awsome! Please won't you consider it? You can leave me your e-mail address if you want me to send you my address or if you already know it and want to send something please feel free. Seriously, I'm not looking for more than maybe $5 from any one individual ever dollar will help! I do have to get on this quickly though in order to get the bottles here and to the girls before they leave at the end of the month. Thank you!