Chloe Paige

New Blog

2007-10-29T14:01:00.000-05:00

Please visit our new Blog at www.blaineandchloe.blogspot.com. This is where I will be posting from now on. Hope to see you there!

More Secret Buddy Gifts

2007-10-18T11:23:00.000-05:00

August "Play and Learn"

September "Safety First"

October "Feed Me"
Two days ago I recieved a huge box in the mail and it was full of gifts for Chloe. My not so secret buddy, Michelle http://www.scrappermg.blogspot.com/ sent gifts for the August, September, and October exchanges.

Michelle also sent these great items for Blaine.
Thanks Michelle, your the best not so secret buddy ever!

One Year

2007-10-10T09:15:00.000-05:00

I just looked at the calender and realized that it has been a year since we sent our completed Dossier to GWCA, and Oct 13th will be our One Year DTC Anniversary as well as our 11 month since we were LID.

Explination for those who have no idea what I just wrote:
Dossier= adoption documents including notarized homestudy, medicals, police checks, FBI checks, passports, marriage liscense, birthcertificates, etc. It's been so long I forgot what all was in it. I do know that it took over 7 months to compile thanks to the super quick trun around at the New Orleans CIS (this is called sarcasm)
GWCA= our adoption agency, Great Wall China Adoptions (cheesy name, I really thought it was a joke at first)
Oct 13, 2006= was actually FRIDAY October the 13th (I should have known)
DTC= Date to China=the date our dossier was sent to China
LID= Log in Date=the date the CCAA logged our dossier into their system with the other 30,000 dossiers they had on hand.

Joe leaves for Kuwait today

2007-09-30T13:19:00.000-05:00

Today Joe leaves WI for Kuwait. Bye honey. We love you and we miss you. Stay safe.
(Joe is the one with the coffee cup)

September Cyber Shower Thank You

2007-09-30T13:11:00.000-05:00

We would like tho thank the Clutter family in WI for the beautiful gifts they sent to Chloe Paige. I have been wanting this CD for the longest time, so thank you so much. I love the soft blanket and cute PJ's, and I can't wait to hold my little girl all wrapped up in them both. Thank You!

2007-09-22T21:01:00.000-05:00

Blaine's school made Joe a Thank You/Welcome Home/Good Luck/We are praying for you card.

Daddy's Home

2007-09-22T21:00:00.001-05:00

Blaine and Chloe's Daddy

2007-09-17T08:53:00.000-05:00

My husband will get to come home for a few days at the end of this week before he heads off to Iraq later this month. He has been in trainig in WI since June, and Blaine and I are looking forward to getting to see him one last time. Here are some pictures of Blaine and Chloe's daddy, preparing to leave for WI in June, and pictures of his BN training.

2007-09-14T18:22:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it has been 10 months since we were logged in at the CCAA, and we still are no closer to referral than were were when we started this journey. One of the reasons we decided on China was that the wait times (at the time) were less than a year. Here we are two months from being logged in for an entire year and we are still about two years away from seing our baby girl's face. The worst part is that I don't think people actually believe we are adopting from China and that we just made it up. No one askes us about our adoption anymore and when they do we get this look of pity. I don't even mention to anyone when I purchase things for our little girl anymore because I just get that same look. We will have a daughter one day people, and I am going to continue to be happy about it and prepare for it because eventually it will happen!
It is beginning to sound like I am losing it a little bit doesn't it? So what if I am?!? (haha, joke, your supposed to laugh)

Just 4 months!

2007-09-02T17:53:00.000-05:00

I was just reading the Rumor Queen site to see if referrals were on their way, and her latest post just made me very sad. The CCAA has only referred 4 months worth of LID's within the past year. As of Sept. 1st, 2006, the CCAA had referred through July 22nd 2005, and as of Sept. 1st, 2007, the CCAA had referred through Nov. 21st, 2005. That is only 4 months. At this rate, we will be waiting another 3 years for Chloe, on top of the time we have already waited for her (see bottom of page for total wait time). If Joe were not going to Iraq at the end of this month we would be redoing all of our paperwork right now and just adopt domestically again, or just switch countries. Something, anything, I can't just sit around waiting for things to happen anymore. Why is it so hard for us to expand our family? I am a damn good mom, Joe is a damn good dad, and all we want is to have more children. Why is that so damn difficult? We have been trying to add a child to our family since Blaine was 6 months old. 4.5 years we have been waiting for a second child. It isn't supposed to be this hard. I guess I should just be happy to have been blessed with Blaine. I have no idea how those first time waiting parents do it. I would never consider waiting around on China if I were waiting for my first child. I had been so positive my daughter was in China. I felt so drawn to China, and was positive that our next child was waiting for us there. Oh, I'm not complaining about not being able to have biological children. Biology means nothing to me. I could care less that I need medical intervention to conceive. I love Blaine more than anything, and I couldn't love him more if he came from me. I just want another child. We have room in our hearts and in our lives for another child, and we have so much to offer another child. Poor Blaine is so smothered by my love and attention, he could use a sibling to offset all of those kisses and love and attention that he gets.
OK, I am done with my rant and I feel better now. There is nothing I can do until Joe gets home, so I will just wait and see how things go between now and July 2008. If there is not a speed up in the process by then, we are jumping ship (oh, by the way, Joe and I have already discussed it, and he is totally on board, he wants another child as much as I do).

9 months!

2007-08-17T07:37:00.000-05:00

Oh look, we passed the nine month mark and I didn't even notice. We were supposed to have our baby girl by now, but it looks like two more years, at least, before we get our referral.

I won't be posting a lot here (because there isn't much to report on the adoption front) until we get closer to referral, or until we have some BIG news. I will be posting mainly on our son's blog for now.

www.blainreed.blogspot.com

I will post here just as soon as I have anything adoption related to share.

Oh, we would like to thank our Secret Buddy for the wonderful July gifts, and I will post those, and other pictures soon, on this blog.

Taggie Blanket

2007-07-13T17:54:00.000-05:00

OK, I have now completed my first sewing project. Thanks to all of my fellow adoptive moms and moms to be for the great selection of ribbon. I made it a little larger than the instructions and I added some extra ribbons, but I think it came out OK.

2007-07-13T17:52:00.001-05:00

- Get Your Own

Happy Birthday to my Baby!

2007-07-06T19:10:00.000-05:00

Then

Now

Today is Blaine's 5th birthday. It seems like just yesterday that we got the phone call that his birthmom had gone into labor. The hospital was only three hours away but it seemed like 30. I thought we would never get there. We finally arrived at around 11pm and Blaine had already been born. We walked into the hospital room and his birthmom handed him to me and said "Here is your baby" That moment is still the happiest moment of my life. Happy Birthday Peanut! I love you! www.blainereed.blogspot.com

July Hair Bows

2007-07-05T13:30:00.001-05:00

Thank You Gail Clutter for the beautiful panda bows and the red, white and blue headband bow. We love them!

10 Wonderful Years!

2007-07-05T13:28:00.000-05:00

Today is our 10th wedding anniversary!
Thank You sweetheart for the flowers and the ring! I love you and I miss you terribly.

New Pet

2007-06-25T12:26:00.000-05:00

This is our son Blaine's new pet. It's an Ostrich! He has two. One boy and one girl, which my father named George and Laura. Shown here with Blaine is baby George. These are actually Blaine's grandfather's new pets, but Blaine thinks everything is his, so there you go. Don't worry. They don't live at my house.

Thank You for the Hairbows

2007-06-23T16:02:00.000-05:00

Thank you Marie VanPatten of our November Nightingales Yahoo Group for the cute hairbows. We love tham and can't wait to put them in Chloe's hair, one day, in the far, far off future.

Thank You SB and June Cybershower Pal

2007-06-20T17:56:00.000-05:00

June Cybershower gift from the Moseman's "Fun in the Sun"

June SB gift "Natures Creations"

Today Chloe received two gifts in the mail. The first one was from our June Cybershower Pal. We are not supposed to open this one until June 30th with the rest of the group so I will write more about it later and post pics. The second gift was from our Secret Buddy. June's theme was "Nature's Blessings" and Chloe received a cute plush watering can filled with little stuffed "bugs" inside that each sing a little song when squeezed. I will have to post pics later, because I really don't feel like going to find my camera right now and taking pics. My husband leaves Sat. for training before his scheduled deployment to Iraq, and we are busy having family time. I just wanted to say Thanks to our SB and Cybershower Pal. More later.

Will Referrals Speed Up Soon?

2007-06-20T16:01:00.000-05:00

Design Your Crystal Ball

7 Months

2007-06-13T10:27:00.000-05:00

We have now been logged in at the CCAA for 7 months, woo hoo.

Thank You SB for our May Gift

2007-06-10T19:32:00.000-05:00

We want to thank our Oct2006DTCYahoo Group Secret Buddy for our May gift. The theme for May was "Ladybugs, Pandas, and Dragons". We recieved a Dragon book, panda barettes, panda toy, ladybug votive holder, ladybug frame, ladybug yard stake, and Blaine got a large container full of forest animals. Thank You SB. We will post photos soon.

Update

2007-06-10T09:10:00.000-05:00

I told everyone I would let them know what we decided to do about Kindergarten and we have decided. First of all, I would like to thank everyone for all of their insight and personal experiences concerning this issue. We recieved a few comments and A LOT of emails from concerned family and friends. We have decided that instead of sending Blaine on to Kindergarten that he should spend another year in Pre-Kindergarten. He will remain at the same school, but will have a different teacher. With his dad leaving for Iraq, we thought it would be best to keep him in a familiar environment. We also thought he could use another year to mature, and work on his social skills. Those seem to be more important at his age than what he knows. Thanks again everyone for your insight.

Nov. 7, 2005? Are you kidding me?

2007-06-08T13:12:00.000-05:00

Well, the CCAA sent referrals this week. Congratulations to those families who waited 19 months to see their precious children's faces. November 7, 2005 was the cutoff date, which means a little over 1 weeks worth of referrals were made this month. If things continue at this rate, we will get our referral in about 4 years.

When? and Are you trying to be like Angelina Joli?

2007-05-20T18:56:00.000-05:00

I will start with the second one first.
No, we are not trying to be like Angelina Joli. Unlike Angelina Joli, I can not have biological children(the easy way, anyway) and I want to be a mom, so I adopt. I applaud her for bringing international adoption into the spotlight so that more orphans around the world can find a home, but I am not adopting to be like her. We are adopting because we want to grow our family, and China has a very good program.

When? We don't know exactly. Our Dossier (all of our paperwork and legal documents) was sent to China in October of 2006, that is why we have a DTC date of Oct. 13, 2006. The China Center for Adoption Affairs Logged our Dossier in at their offices on Nov. 13, 2006 (our LID). Our Dossier then went to Translation, and is currently Pending Review. The Review Room is where they will look at all of our documents to make sure everything is the way it is supposed to be. If they have any questions about any of our paperwork, they will ask it while it is in Review. We are currently hoping that we make it through the Review Room with no problems or else our Dossier could get held back, and our Referral could be delayed. The CCAA is currently reviewing documents that were registered with their office in April 2006. The CCAA goes in the order that they receive the Dossiers. After we get through the Review Room, our Dossier will go to the Referral Room where our Dossier will be matched with a babies file. Currently there are about 20,000 people in front of us waiting for a referral, so we are expecting it to take awhile. Probably close to three years. The baby will still be between 6-12 months, because we won't be matched until we get to the Referral phase.

Nov. 2006 LID Hair Bow Exchange

2007-05-20T18:27:00.000-05:00

These are the hair bows from our Nov. 2006 LID yahoo group's hair bow exchange (the November Nightingales)

This hair bow is from the LeMaster's family in Ohio. May's theme was "rainbow" I love the corker style hair bows, and can't wait to put it in Chloe's hair.

April's theme was "pink and purple". These are from the Williams family, also in Ohio. They have already adopted one little girl from China, and are waiting for their second daughter from China. They also sent some really cool Chinese stickers and tattoos for Blaine that he just loves! Thanks to both families for some really cute hair stuff.

I tried to put the hair bow in Blaine's hair just to see what it would look like, and he was not having any of it, BOYS!

Oct 2006 DTC Secret Buddy Gift for April

2007-05-20T18:23:00.001-05:00

April's Theme "April Showers Bring May Flowers" Didn't my Secret Buddy do a great job?

Thank You Secret Buddy! Once again we loved everything!

Pictures of my "Baby"

2007-05-20T16:14:00.000-05:00

We went to my mom and dad's today for lunch, and I decided to take my camera. They live in the swamps of Louisiana and my son Blaine loves going over there for a visit. He had so much fun. Here is is "posing" for the camera. I didn't tell him to do this. All I said was "Blaine, stand over there and let me take your picture", and this is what he did. I love my little peanut head.

2007-05-18T19:11:00.000-05:00

We went out to dinner the other night at P.F. Changs and this was my husbands fortune. (click on the cookie)

Create your custom cookie at bigoo.ws

I don't think anyone would consider Iraq "Wonderful"

Not much to report

2007-05-18T11:54:00.000-05:00

OK, I haven't posted here in awhile, nothing of substance anyway. I want to keep this Blog specifically for Chloe stuff, and right now, there is not much going on as far as our adoption is concerned. I also try not to think about it too much because it is still such a long way off. Believe it or not, I haven't even bought anything for Chloe in about a month! I am trying to pace myself.

We have applied for a waiting child off of our agency's waiting child list, but we are not putting much hope into that. This is the 4th on we have applied for since beginning our journey, and we haven't been "chosen" to be parents yet.

My grandmother died about three weeks ago. She was suffering from Alzheimer's, so I am happy she no longer has to live like she had been living. I miss her, but as far as I am concerned she "died" a long time ago when she stopped recognizing any of us anymore. I know it sounds horrible to say the word "happy" but if you have ever had a loved one suffer from Alzheimer's you know what I mean. I know I wouldn't want to "live" like that.

I think I forgot to post a picture and thank our Secret Buddy for our April gift. April's theme was "April Showers Bring May Flowers" and our Secret Buddy did a great job. Chloe got a rain jacket and outfit, Blaine got a paint splatter type toy (which he loved!) and I got a flowered latte mug which I drink my coffee out of every morning. I didn't get any pictures yet, but I will probably post some eventually. I know our Secret Buddy really works hard on the gifts she sends us every month and I want to give her the recognition she deserves. Thanks Secret Buddy!

Let's see, anything else? Oh, today is my baby's (Blaine age 4 www.blainereed.blogspot.com) last day of preschool. On Monday he has to have his tonsils out. He is so upset about school being over, having to have his tonsils out, and knowing that his daddy will be leaving next month for training before his deployment to Iraq. I am also still torn about him going to Kindergarten. He is definitely smart enough to go on the Kindergarten, but I am not sure he is mature enough for Kindergarten. His teachers are no help, they say it is up to Joe and I. I am no good at making decisions, so I don't know what we are going to do. His speech is still kind of babyish and the kids and teachers have a hard time understanding him sometimes but I don't know if that is reason enough to hold him back. He goes to Speech therapy twice a week, but I don't think it really helps that much. I guess we will wait until August to make a final decision. I may just keep him back because of all that he will have to go through next year with his dad being gone and everything. Anyone out there have any advice?

Have to go and get my baby now. They are having an ice cream party at school to celebrate their last day. Do you think it would help if I stopped referring to him as my baby? By the way I have not read through this post, so if it makes no sense, sorry. It is also important for me to note that I can't spell.

6 Months!

2007-05-13T15:47:00.000-05:00

We have officially been LID at the CCAA for 6 months today!
Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers and waiting mothers!

Easter 2007 in Disney World

2007-04-23T15:39:00.000-05:00

5 Months!

2007-04-13T12:40:00.000-05:00

- Get Your Own

We have been logged in with the CCAA for 5 months, and to be honest, it has gone by rather quickly for me. Only 19 or more months left to go!

Stuff for Chloe

2007-04-05T07:38:00.000-05:00

This top would look cute with Chloe's name embroidered on it in pink, don't ya think?

Imagine my surprise when I was going through my son's firefly book order and saw this book. Don't worry, Blaine got plenty of books too.

Another trip to Gymboree

2007-04-05T07:32:00.000-05:00

I found these pajamas on clearance!

I had to go to Gymboree to get some things for Blaine for our trip to Disney World (we leave tomorrow, yeah!), and I couldn't pass up the ladybug stuff.

Lots of new stuff

2007-04-05T07:25:00.000-05:00

Remember back in January I ordered some stuff from this little boutique online? Well, it finally came in yesterday. I am very pleased with the way everything turned out.

Our new Dog, Smokey

2007-03-25T09:54:00.000-05:00

Lots of new stuff

2007-03-13T13:54:00.000-05:00

My sister-in-law, Sara, bought these cute PJ's for Chloe.

I found this Asian baby doll at Big Lots of all places. I bought all the ones they had in stock (only 3). I figured I could give one to my Secret Buddy, and to the person who has us, when we find out who she is. I hope they aren't reading this LOL.

My sister, Lindsay, bought this for Chloe when she was in Washington DC last month.

Blaine begged me to buy these toys for his baby sister. Little did I know that was just the excuse he gave because he wanted them for himself.

Blaine also asked me to buy this for his sister. He wanted to know if he could open it and play with it until she came home. I asked him if he would like it if someone played with all of his toys before he got them. Guess what he said? Yes. Anyway, I didn't let him open it, but it does look like fun.

Allie, Audrey and Katie Beth

2007-03-13T13:20:00.000-05:00

Some of our nieces came to visit this weekend. We have a total of 10 nieces and nephews plus numerous Godchildren between Joe and I, and we love to have them come and visit us. All of them live out of state, so we don't get to see them very often, but when we do, it is a lot of fun.

Allie (age 4, just 10 days younger than Blaine), Audrey (age 6) and Blaine (age 4)

A big hug goodbye! Blaine loves his cousins!

Katie Beth (7 months) is the happiest baby on the planet. I didn't hear her cry the entire weekend. All she ever did was smile.

Wainscoting, Fans and New Shutters, FINALLY

2007-03-13T13:03:00.000-05:00

My brothers-in-law came this weekend, and helped Joe get a lot done around the house. They installed wainscoting in Chloe's nursery, installed fans under the carport, and made custom shutters for my windows for hurricane season. We survived hurricanes Katrina and Rita without them, but it wasn't fun. The new shutters will give me a bit of stress relief when Joe is in Iraq this hurricane season. Just one less thing for me to worry about.

I still have to paint, but it still looks nice.

These new fans will provide much needed heat relief this summer.

Finally, working storm shutters for my house! They still need to be painted, along with the front door, but you get the idea. Oh, we pulled out three huge bushes in front of the bench on the front porch as well, and we will need to plant something else there. I will post more pictures when everything is complete.

Thank You Secret Buddy

2007-03-13T10:08:00.000-05:00

Last week we received our March secret buddy gift. Look at all the stuff we got. Thank you secret buddy.

4 months down, 20 more to go?

2007-03-13T09:15:00.000-05:00

Today marks our 4 month LID anniversary! It has actually gone by pretty quick. I am guessing we have something like 20 or so more months to go before we get a referral. If it comes before that, great, but I am preparing for the long haul just in case. There is still so much to do before we get a referral, sometimes I wonder if we will ever finish, even with the extended wait times.

We should be OK

2007-03-05T12:09:00.000-06:00

I finally talked to our agency about Joe's deployment, and I feel a lot better now. I was worried about our documents expiring before we got a referral. Once our Dossier was Logged in at the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) our documents stopped "aging" We will need to fill out a I-600A and re-take our fingerprints for the US consulate when we get close to referral, and not before. It is OK if those documents expire, as long as we have new ones when we travel to China to pick up Chloe.
With the arrival of referrals today, it looks like we won't get Chloe until sometime in 2009, and Joe will be home by then, so we are good to go.

Referrals are in!

2007-03-05T12:05:00.000-06:00

Today our agency received referrals for families who's Dossiers were LID before and including October 24, 2005. Congratulations to these families. Every batch of referrals puts us one step closer to Chloe Paige.

I'm Speechless

2007-02-28T07:40:00.000-06:00

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

2007-02-19T09:45:00.000-06:00

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

2007-02-19T09:24:00.000-06:00

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

2007-02-16T07:27:00.000-06:00

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

2007-02-11T13:38:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-02-11T13:14:00.000-06:00

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)

2007-02-11T13:06:00.000-06:00

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"

2007-02-06T19:03:00.000-06:00

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

2007-02-05T17:48:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-02-02T14:21:00.000-06:00

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

2007-02-01T14:16:00.000-06:00

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?

2007-02-01T13:52:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-02-01T13:41:00.000-06:00

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!

Oct 2006 DTC Secret Buddy Gift for January

2007-01-29T18:03:00.000-06:00

Thank You Secret Buddy! Now Chloe is ready for her bath.

But I did buy this!

2007-01-24T19:08:00.000-06:00

I didn't buy it!

2007-01-24T18:46:00.000-06:00

These were presents from some very dear friends. Missy got Chloe the book, and her sister Cindy got Chloe the cute ladybug and Lily dolls. Thank you so much! Cindy remains very optomistic and thinks that Chloe will be here by next Christmas (even though I told her it was impossible)

New Favorite Internet Store

2007-01-24T09:24:00.000-06:00

I know I said I wasn't going to buy anything else, but who am I kidding, I shop, it is what I do. I found a new store (new to me anyway) called Little Misty's Boutique and it has the cutest, most adorable little girl (little boy stuff too) things. I bought Chloe some hair bows (with headbands since she probably won't have any hair when we get her) a cute little dress with a ladybug and her name, a personalized ladybug backpack/diaperbag and some other things I won't mention just in case my husband is reading this! Check it out! http://www.littlemistysboutique.com I will post pictures when it all comes in.

Ladybugs Galore

2007-01-09T20:34:00.000-06:00

This is the last thing I am going to buy. It was so cute, I couldn't help myself.

I Had to buy it!

2007-01-09T14:21:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I am looking at the stuff in the baby girls section, trying really hard not to buy anything, when I happened upon this t-shirt. I had to buy it.

Picture of December Secret Buddy Gift

2007-01-04T10:39:00.000-06:00

Blaine had already opened up his gift when I finally got a chance to take the picture, so it is not included. Thanks again secret buddy!

Thank You Secret Buddy

2007-01-03T14:58:00.000-06:00

A special thanks to our October 2006 DTC Yahoo group Secret Buddy for all of the wonderful items for the Dec. 2006 exchange. We love the little outfit for Chloe, as well as the hat, mittens, cocoa, cookies and special gift for Blaine. Thanks so much!

Congratulations

2007-01-03T14:56:00.000-06:00

Congratulations to all of the September 2005 families who received their referrals today!

100 Good Wishes Quilt

2007-01-03T14:34:00.000-06:00

These are some of the "SQUISHES" we have received so far for Chloe's quilt. For those of you who do not know, we are making a traditional Chinese "100 Good Wishes Quilt" for Chloe. We are collecting 8x8 scissor cut or 7x7 rotary cut squares of pre-washed, 100% cotton fabric for a quilt for Chloe. Along with the fabric, friends and family, as well as other China adoptive parents, are sending special good wishes for Chloe that have the same pieces of the fabric attached to them. We will put these good wishes and fabric swatches in a scrapbook so that she can match the quilt squares with the wishes when she gets older. The idea is that she will have an heirloom quilt with the good wishes of family and friends to wrap around herself. If you haven't taken part in Chloe's quilt yet, there is still time. We are only about 50%of the way there. Thanks to everyone who has contributed squares and wishes "SQUISHES" to Chloe's quilt so far. Her quilt will be beautiful. If anyone out there would like to contribute a fabric square and wish or maybe trade fabric squares and wishes for your own 100 Good Wishes Quilt, please contact me at Courtisme@aol.com

Some of Chloe's New Toys

2007-01-03T14:29:00.000-06:00

These are some of the items we have purchased for Chloe so far. I am trying to stop myself from making purchases, but when I see something that is a ladybug, panda bear, or an Asian doll, I can't help myself.

Adoption Timeline

2007-01-02T14:04:00.003-06:00

January 2006 - We decide that we are ready to add to our family again and begin looking into our adoption options. We decide on international adoption, and the country of China, and begin looking for agencies dealing in adoptions from China.
January 27, 2006 - We mail in our application to GWCA.
February 3, 2006 - While in a cab on our way to the Hard Rock hotel in Orlando for a fun weekend we get a call from GWCA saying that out application had been accepted. We start to think of names, and stare lovingly at every little Asian child we see the entire weekend.
February 7, 2006 - Begin collecting documents for our Dossier.
February 9, 2006 - Joe has his physical and I order Joe's birth certificate from TX, mine from LA, and Blaine's from AR.
February 22, 2006 - Courtney's physical
February 27, 2006 - Joe and Courtney have their blood work done.
Also in February - have police checks done and ask 5 friends for personal reference letters for the home study.
March - receive birth certificates, prepare home for home study, make sure all police checks are done, get back results of physicals and blood work, get employment letters, insurance letters, financial statements and letter from doctors saying that my Crohn's disease won't interfere with my ability to parent a child, and get everything notarized at the Dr.s office because the physicals have to be signed by the doctor in the presence of a notary. I am sure I left something out.
April 7, 2006 - First home study visit with just Joe and I - 3hrs.
April 14, 2006 - Second home study visit with just Joe - 1hr
April 17, 2006 - Third home study visit with just Courtney - 1 hr
April 27, 2006 - Fourth and final home study visit with the whole family and walk through of our home
May 11, 2006 - Receive draft of our glowing home study to proofread. Everything looks great! Thanks Paula (our social worker was awesome)
May 18, 2006 - Mail first part of our Dossier to GWCA for them to have everything authenticated by the Secretary of States in TX, LA and AR, and by the Chinese consulate in Houston.
June 5, 2006 - Finally mail in I-600A to the CIS office in New Orleans. They are finally open and have finally returned to Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina.
June 28, 2006 - Receive fingerprint appointment letter. Would leave right away to be fingerprinted but husband is away on business and we are leaving for Disney World on July 2nd for Blaine's 4th birthday.
July 10th - get fingerprinted for our FBI check. All we need now is for it to come back OK and for BCIS to issue us our 171 saying that we are pre approved to bring an orphan from another country into the US to be our child.
August - Didn't hear anything
September 23, 3006- WE GOT OUR 171 YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 25, 2006 - After getting the last of our documents notarized we mail the rest of our Dossier to GWCA for review.
October 13, 2006 - GWCA informs us that this is our DTC date.
November 13, 2006 - GWCA informs us that this is our LID date, now we officially can start waiting. Current time frame from LID to referral - 15 months with an expected increase to at least 18 months to 2 years, possibly more:(

Nursery

2007-01-02T13:51:00.000-06:00

We chose Ladybugs as the theme for Chloe's nursery. In many cultures, ladybugs are a symbol of luck. In the China adoption community, ladybugs are considered lucky, and many swear that ladybug sightings mean that referrals are on their way.

Chloe Paige

2007-01-02T12:37:00.000-06:00

This blog is dedicated to our journey to our baby girl in China. In January 2006 we started this journey with Great Wall China Adoptions. On October 13, 2006 our Dossier was finally sent to China, and on November 13, 2006, our Dossier was received and logged in at the China Center for Adoption Affairs. We hope to travel in 2008, at the latest, to pick up our daughter, whom we will name Chloe Paige.