Travel Approval!!!!!

Today we got those two little letters that we have been waiting for a really, and I mean really long time... TA!!!! In celebration of the moment I am sharing some photos of the boys! The fall foliage one is the one we used for our holiday card this year. I love it!

Looks like I will be flying to China in January! I am very happy to report my friend Angie will be accompanying me. As luck (or fate) would have it, Angie's sister just had a baby and is on maternity leave. Apparently she has taken to motherhood like a fish to water because she has offered to leave her home and husband, fly to Angie's house with her young baby and watch Angie's two girls, ages 7 & 4, for 2 weeks while Angie is in China with me & Celia. Now, Angie's husband will be home too but he will be busy bringing home the bacon.

Back at my ranch, Dave will be staying home earning some bacon too. My dear in-laws will be helping out with our boys in the morning and all three will be in school or at friends in the afternoons. Late afternoons will be covered by our neighbor until Dave gets home from work.

All these people, working in unison to bring our daughter home. Talk about it "taking a village". We are grateful and humbled to have so much love and support.

For all you Notre Dame Fans!

Play like a champion today... and everyday!

Celia's wardrobe

I have been abundantly blessed to have friends that have daughters older than mine, good taste and exceeding generousity. My one friend Peggy gave me 5, count 'em, 5 FULL trash bags full of clothes a couple of years ago. I peeked around one bag and then because they were so big and heavy put them right into storage in our basement. Well once we got matched with Celia I brought them up to check everything out. I would say 80% of the clothes (that's 5 larger trash bags full) were for 18 to 24 mos.!!! The remaining 10% were for 12 mos and under and the other 10% were for 2T - 3T. Cha-ching! I felt like I hit the jack pot! The photos above are just clothes given to me by 2 friends! 95% being from one friend!

With a jam packed closet like this (plus drawers that were full too!) I really couldn't justify doing MUCH shopping because I really had more than enough clothes for her. I mean, the girl has over 60 dresses! That being said, one day a couple weeks ago, I was strolling through the gap and I passed the sales rack with these adorable clothes. And wait, these adorable clothes that were on sale were also being marked down an additional 40%. Plus since it was Tuesday and I had a Gap card I could take off another 10%! So you see I really HAD to indulge just a little bit! Plus I had all three of my boys with me and they were being perfect angels and actually letting me shop! So it really wasn't my fault that I came back with the clothes in the photos below. I had to! And I bought the the cute little hats with flowers on them from a friend because she was selling them and I didn't want to hurt her feelings by not buying something from her ;)

Evan's first penance

Today we celebrated Evan's first penance at church. He looked so handsome and so much like Dave dressed in his dark pants and pinstripe oxford. Despite the fact that I see him every day, I am sometimes taken by surprise by how much he has grown up and is maturing.

When it was his turn for confession we watched as he sat there for a while. I mean a long while. Probably only a couple of minutes but other kids breezed in and breezed out pretty quick. Dave and I sat watching from the pew, wondering if he was suddenly reluctant to share any of his misgivings with the priest or if he was dishing a whole months worth. We asked him about it on the car ride home and apparently he just got a little nervous. Understandably so. So Evan told us the priest just told him to be really nice to his Mom all day. Sage advice if ever I heard any :)

Charmed by my husband!

This charm bracelet has been aching for another little charm for quite some time! Luckily Dave surprised me with another one for Celia! I can't tell you how happy it makes me to hear all that jingling coming from my wrist :) It's the sound of a big happy family!

We made it to Rumor Queen!

For years I have been watching people post their referrals on Rumor Queen! Well our time has finally come! Even though I have been keeping my blog private, I decided to go public just for a bit to see our blog up on RQ's homepage. It felt like seeing our names up in lights on Broadway! Woo-hoo!

Finally an update!

We are thrilled to finally receive an update on Celia! This was no easy task considering how strict they are in her area about giving out information. But thanks to Kelly & Angela at Ladybugs and Love we received an update and photos today! We think she looks absolutely adorable!!!

1. What name does she answer to?
Dan Dan.

2. What is her personality like?
Her personality is like more neutral. She likes to go shopping, to go some
where there are many people. She likes to play with toys.

3. What makes her happy?
When she sees toys or animals she likes.

4. What makes her upset?
When she doesn’t get what she wants or when she is hungry.

5. What are her favorite foods?
Puffed cracker and fruit.

6. Is she in the orphanage or with a foster family?
Foster family.

7. What are her sleeping arrangements?
She goes to bed at 9:00pm and gets up at 8:00am. Takes a nap at 11:30am –
12:30pm.

8.Is she talking and walking?
She can walk by assistance or hold onto sofa. She can say Ba Ba (dad), Ma Ma
(mom), Jie Jie (big sister), Ge Ge (big brother), Na Lai (give it to me,
bring it here), Zou (go), etc.

9. How does she react to strangers?
She is stubborn with strangers.

10. Is she potty trained and if so how will I know when she has to use the
potty?
She is not potty trained. She is wearing diaper.

11. Her updated measurements: height: 78cm; Weight: 10kg; Head: 45cm; Chest:
46cm; Teeth: 12; Foot: 12cm.