I'm Speechless

Did you see the story on the news this morning about the mother who sold her baby for a downpayment on a new car? It just makes me sick. A car? I can't even comment on it more than that. I'm speechless!

OHGWQ Blog

I have finally added some more squishes to Chloe's One hundred good wishes quilt blog. I am still way behind on adding them to the blog though. Chloe has received close to 100 squishes, but so far I only have the Oct 2006 Yahoo Groups squishes on the blog, and I am not done with those either. I have also made Chloe an album to keep her wishes in, and I will post a picture of that soon. I can't wait to have the quilt made. The fabrics we have received so far are beautiful and they will make the most beautiful quilt. Thank You everyone! Check them out at www.chloepaige100.blogspot.com

Mardi Gras Parade Pictures

Yesterday we took Blaine to his first Mardi Gras parade in Thibodaux, LA. You can check out our photos on Blaine's blog at www.blainereed.blogspot.com

It will all work out

If one more person tells me "it will all work out" I am going to hit them! NO ONE WANTS TO HEAR THIS WHEN THEY ARE FACING A POTENTIAL CRISIS!!!!!!
OK, I feel better now.

Heard back from our adoption agency, and as expected, they really were not helpful. I don't know what I expected, but to just sit around, and wait to see what happens, is not what Courtney does best. They don't "think" we will get a referral before Joe gets back from Iraq (we don't even know when or for how long he will be gone exactly), so we just need to wait and see what will happen. They didn't "think" we needed to renew our documents just yet, and that once we get a referral we will have up to 6 months to go to China and get our baby anyway (yeah, like once I see my baby's picture I will be able to wait 6 more months to go and get her).

Of course Joe is the one who talked to them, and I don't think he fully realizes the problem. I guess I will have to talk to them myself before I will feel any better. I need something a little more concrete than "think" to make me feel better. I need to cover all options to all scenarios before I will feel better. This is my (OK,our)daughter we are talking about, and I am not going to wait around and hope "it will all work out".

We just don't know

We still don't know what the effects of Joe having to go to Iraq for a year will have on our adoption. I'm scared to call our agency and find out. I don't think the referral will come before he gets back, but I do know that our documents will expire before he gets back, making it very difficult to renew them. I don't think our Social Worker will travel to Iraq in order to update our homestudy, nor do I think USCIS has an office in Baghdad that Joe can use to get re-fingerprinted. I am sure their is a solution to all of this, but it isn't like me to find out what will happen before I begin speculating on my own what could happen. Oh well, I guess I will call GWCA tomorrow and find out what we have to do.

Worst Week Ever!

This has been one of the worst weeks EVER, On Monday Joe got news that he was probably heading back to Iraq very soon. On Monday night Blaine got very sick with the flu. On Wednesday I got sick with the flu. On Thursday Joe got sick with the flu, and we found out that Joe's grandmother has colon cancer. On Friday my mom had to put my grandmother in a nursing home because her Alzheimer's was making it very difficult to keep caring for her at home.

We were all so very sick this week. I can't even explain it. Just to give you an idea of how sick we were, and still are, I lost 11 lbs. 11! Joe lost 8, and Blaine lost 2. Blaine didn't have 2 lbs to loose.

After almost a whole week of being home bound, I decided to let Blaine go to his first Mardi Gras parade today with his Godmother. She called about 30 minutes ago to say that he had thrown up his Happy Meal. He was fine yesterday. This thing just lingers and will not go away.

Yesterday I was feeling a little better so my sister dragged me kicking and screaming (haha) to the mall (pictures to follow). Today I can't get out of bed. Uuuggghhhhh!

On a happier note, look what I got Chloe!



It says "little stinker" ha ha ha

Thank You Secret Buddy (February Gift)

Our Secret Buddy really outdid herself this month. The theme was "Happy Heads, Hands, and Feet" and Chloe will have the happiest of them all. She received the cutest fluffy bunny hat and mittens, really cute shoes, pink socks, and a book. Blaine received a Valentine cup filled will all kinds of Valentine goodies, and I received a pedicure/manicure set which I will be putting to good use later. Thank You Secret Buddy, your the best!

We are now "pending review"

We received a "places everyone" e-mail today from our agency showing us where we are in the process, and it appears we are done with translation and on to the review room. The CCAA is currently reviewing April and May 2006 Dossiers so we still have a long way to go, but at least our Dossier is moving in the right direction.

Bad News

Well, I finally found something to take my mind off the long wait for my daughter. My husband was just informed this afternoon that his National Guard unit has been put on alert for possible deployment. He served in Iraq from Feb. 2003-March 2004 when our son was just a baby, and now it looks like he may be going back. The last time his unit was put on alert, he was gone in less than a month, and with the way things have been going in Iraq, and with all of Irans recent crap, I am pretty sure he will be leaving soon. So, I am off to my pitty party. Don't worry, I'll be OK, I've been through this before, it is my son I am worried about.

I WENT SHOPPING, AGAIN!

I had to go to my Gastro Doc this morning, and he is kind of near Babies R Us, so I went to check things out after my appointment. I wanted to get a gift for my friend Nicole who is due with her second baby (a girl) next month. Well, I didn't find anything for her little girl, but I did find some things for my little girl. They have so many things with lady bugs right now. Not all of them are cute, so I left most of them at the store. I am happy with the two little outfits I did pick up. Aren't they cute? I also got Chloe a "Taggies" book. It already has her nickname on it, "Princess".

Blaine is going to be a great big brother

Yesterday I had to baby sit, and Blaine was home from school. I had to go to the bathroom so I asked Blaine to keep and eye on the baby for me. While I was gone, the baby started to cry a little bit, and Blaine yelled out to me "mom, the baby's crying". I assured him that the baby was fine, and that he should just try to keep her occupied until I was done. When I walked into the living room, Blaine was kneeling next to the carrier, rocking it, and singing rock-a-bye baby. It was so sweet it brought tears to my eyes. I told him that he was going to make a great big brother and he asked me, yet again, "Can we go pick up Chloe now?" No, sorry honey, she isn't quite ready yet.

Why China?

That is an easy one. Because that is where our daughter is.
Coming to the decision to adopt from China was an easy one. When we decided in 2002 that we were ready to try adoption as a way to build our family, I did tons of research. We wanted a baby, boy, girl, purple or green, it didn't matter to us, we just wanted a child. China was one of the first places I looked into because I had heard for years about China's once child policy, and how baby girls were abandoned by the tens of thousands every year. At the time I was only 27, and was considered too young by the China Center for Adoption Affairs to adopt a Chinese baby. So, for our first child we decided to go domestic, expecting a two year wait and a long and bumpy road. Much to our surprise, we were matched with a birth mom right away, and on July 6, 2002, our son was born. In January of 2006, we decided we were ready to adopt another child. We immediately turned to China. We had known through our research that the process was straightforward, the costs regulated, and the children were fairly healthy. We wouldn't be competing with other families for a baby, and more than likely we would get a girl. While we had an easy time with the adoption of our son, it was EXPENSIVE (well worth every penny, but it felt wrong, like we were buying a baby), and there was always the lingering thought that someone would try to take him away from us (I mean, who wouldn't want him). My cousin and some very good friends of ours had had horrible experiences trying to adopt domestically, and we knew that the second time around we wanted to try an international adoption. When I started the paper work for an adoption from China, there was a 9 month wait from LID to referral. While that time frame has increased significantly, we are still comfortable with our decision to adopt from China. We feel we were led to China for a reason..... because that is where our daughter is.

Referrals Are In!

Our adoption agency (GWCA) just reported that today they received referrals for their families who were LID by Oct.10 and 11, 2005. They received 39 referrals. 36 were girls, and 3 were boys.
I am starting to get worried that we may get referred a boy. We asked for a girl because we know most of the babies are girls, but the way things usually work out for us, I bet we get a referral for a boy. I have nothing against a boy. I love boys. My son is my pride and joy. It is just that I have been preparing for a little girl. I would hate to have to name my son Chloe and dress him in dresses for the first two years of his life! Ha Ha Ha!