It is now December 28th and Christmas has passed-let me take the opportunity now to say to everyone we hope you had a very merry Christmas. We had a nice day indeed.
Christmas Eve started off very questionable with a 4 am wake up call due to the police helicopter flying over our house! Still not sure what was going on but it is safe to say that you really can't fall back to sleep with complete confidence knowing there is a law enforcement helicopter just above your head.
Then, knowing the day would be busy and there was still alot of baking and cooking to do, both Patrick and I got out of bed. Patrick went to kitchen and started making a batch of stollen, which is delicious, and gets better each and every year-he placed a pot of sugar and butter on the stove and walked to another part of the house. Well, you guessed it, the sugar and butter came to a boil all over the stove top! Then I walk out into the kitchen to start my baking and step onto the tile floor and it feels like sand all underneath my feet. It appears, the sugar bag had a hole in it and when Patrick was placing the sugar and butter in the pot the sugar spread all over the kitchen floor. We managed to get the stove top and sugar cleaned off the floor and things were going well for about one hour when all of a sudden Patrick yells out "S***!" I asked what was the problem and he says he forgot to put the eggs in the stollen dough that he has just mixed up and is already starting to rise. Complete and utter chaos in our house that morning.
I then went off to work shortly after 7 am and it was also a day to remember. One of the busiest days I have ever had in my work history. As many of you know I am a nurse practitioner and spent Christmas Eve rounding on patients at one of our local hospitals. I work with people who have kidney disease, and absolutely love my job. However, this day was one of the busiest days I have ever worked, and also having to see some of the sickest people I have ever seen in one day. But, I was able to make it out in time to attend Christmas Mass with my inlaws and husband and then a simple, quiet dinner at their home.
Then Christmas morning Patrick and I opened our gifts to each other and then loaded the car and headed to my parents house. My sister and her husband, my mom and dad, Patrick and myself all opened gifts and had a fantastic lunch and then later in the afternoon Patrick's brother who lives about 50 miles from my parents, came up to spend a few hours with us as well. It was a great day and definitely beat out the day before in terms of fun!
Now we are passing the time until New Years. Hoping and praying that 2009 will be "our" year in terms of being able to travel to China and complete our adoption. Neither one of us was in much of the Christmas spirit as this is now 3 Christmas' since we started this process that we don't have our child. I have said in previous post and still feel to this day, that it will all happen in God's time and that when we look back on this time years down the road it will all make perfect sense. However, even with that faith it is still hard to feel "great" or "complete" all the time. This entire process has forced me to be patient, and that is not something I do well, just ask Patrick!
We both want to wish each of you a healthy, happy and prosperous new year and we will continue to keep you posted on the adoption news just as soon as we know anything
Until next time
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
The southern Caribbean and Panama Canal
Hello to all, and a happy late Thanksgiving as well. We have officially been back on US soil now for about 28 hours. We left on Wednesday, November 19th from Fort Lauderdale aboard Holland America's Zuiderdam. We then spent the next 10 days cruising around the Caribbean and the Panama Canal. We visited Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, Aruba, Curucao, then cruised through the Gatun Locks in the Panama Canal. Once we passed through the canal the first time we did pull into Gatun Lake and waited about 4 hours to get clearance to go back through the locks and back into the Caribbean Sea. We then went back through Gatun Locks again and docked in Panama for a few hours. The next day we were on to Costa Rica. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, living a life completely different from the one we lead at home. We both managed to exercise everday (except the day we went through the canal because there was just too much to see and we didn't want to miss a minute!), ate a late breakfast, later lunch and then dinner around 8 pm. I read 5 books, played bingo several times (didn't win a dime), saw several shows, watched a few movies-well you get the picture! ALOT of relaxation and no specific schedule to follow, just living in the moment.
This was our 5th cruise with Holland America and we continue to love this cruise line. This was the biggest ship yet that we have been on, and only fit in the Panama canal by about 2 feet all the way around. At times, if you were at a window you could literally reach out of a window and touch the sides of the canal. It was simply amazing to think that those walls were built almost 100 years ago (first voyage through the canal was in 1914) and how many people have passed between those walls. I think we prefer the smaller ships in the Holland America fleet, this one was just a little too big for our liking, but none the less, this cruise line really knows how to cater to its passengers. We are already wondering if we could squeeze one more cruise in before heading to China. We would love to do Canada/New England or go back to Alaska once more. We have been to Alaska twice already but have only scratched the surface of what there is to see.
We did have some nice photos taken on this cruise of us together-I don't think we have had any good pictures taken of us since our wedding in 1996! I will try to post those here later.
Well the Christmas countdown has begun-since we have only been in civilization a few hours the panic part has not set in yet, however, I know the clock is ticking and there is shopping, christmas cards, baking, etc to be done before the big day! I hope you all had a truly great Thanksgiving and all have something to be thankful for this year. I am thankful for my wonderful family, great friends, a job I love, a beautiful home, our health (both mine and Patrick's), Grady and many, many more things that I don't have space to list!
Wishing you and yours a safe, happy, healthy and peaceful holiday season-
Until next time
This was our 5th cruise with Holland America and we continue to love this cruise line. This was the biggest ship yet that we have been on, and only fit in the Panama canal by about 2 feet all the way around. At times, if you were at a window you could literally reach out of a window and touch the sides of the canal. It was simply amazing to think that those walls were built almost 100 years ago (first voyage through the canal was in 1914) and how many people have passed between those walls. I think we prefer the smaller ships in the Holland America fleet, this one was just a little too big for our liking, but none the less, this cruise line really knows how to cater to its passengers. We are already wondering if we could squeeze one more cruise in before heading to China. We would love to do Canada/New England or go back to Alaska once more. We have been to Alaska twice already but have only scratched the surface of what there is to see.
We did have some nice photos taken on this cruise of us together-I don't think we have had any good pictures taken of us since our wedding in 1996! I will try to post those here later.
Well the Christmas countdown has begun-since we have only been in civilization a few hours the panic part has not set in yet, however, I know the clock is ticking and there is shopping, christmas cards, baking, etc to be done before the big day! I hope you all had a truly great Thanksgiving and all have something to be thankful for this year. I am thankful for my wonderful family, great friends, a job I love, a beautiful home, our health (both mine and Patrick's), Grady and many, many more things that I don't have space to list!
Wishing you and yours a safe, happy, healthy and peaceful holiday season-
Until next time
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Just another update
It has been a couple of weeks since our last post and we both enjoyed a vacation the last few days of September and first couple of days of October. Just did alot of stuff around the house the first few days and then on Wednesday, Oct 1st, we headed to New Jersey to visit with Patrick's brother Michael and enjoy the sites and weather! We stayed with Michael and his family and they are very generous host! We might have to consider a stop at their house every year!
We were able to go into New York City for two days-Thursday just Patrick and myself to do "touristy" things like ride the double decker buses, visit Ground Zero again (our 2nd time)-I just can't explain it exactly but I feel very drawn to that area. This is the second time we have visited that particular area and it is amazing the progress that has been made to build the Freedom Tower on that site. The thoughts that still come to mind when you see the pit that used to be the Twin Towers and surrounding buildings are just undescribable. I still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I saw the plane crash into the second tower. Even though we knew no one personally to have lost their life in that tragedy, the gravity and seriousness of the whole situation is surreal. Sorry-I have digressed.
The next day we went with Mike and Grace (Mike's wife) and Grace's friend, Nang to the Bronx Zoo. It is amazing that such a tranquil place is in the middle of New York City. What a great zoo-fairly easy to walk, great exhibits and the weather was fanstastic. A little overcast and right around 68 degrees-very nice indeed! Saturday took us to Bucks County, Pennsylvania and then on to Doylestown later in the afternoon to attend church at the Catholic Shrine in that area. We also have a shrine close to our home and it is funny how different the two places are. The shrine close to our house is very pretty, ornate and almost opulent. The shrine in Doylestown was not as ornate or opulent but the grounds that the shrine sits on are breathtaking! We attended mass around 5 pm and when mass ended we walked out of the church and looked out over the hills of Pennsylvania while the sun was starting to set and at the same moment we walked out of the church doors 2 hot air ballons rose up over the tree tops. It was spectacular!
Needless to say, you can tell we had a great time and really need to thank Mike and the entire New Jersey clan for their hospitality. It was just the type of get away we needed!
Now we are back to work, and life as we know as "normal". I love the first couple of weeks after vacation because the total craziness has not returned in full, I am a little more relaxed and less focused on time and what I have to do and how long I have to do it. I know that will come to an end soon, but I enjoy it for now. I am looking forward to visiting my folks next weekend. My poor mom has had to have surgery on her arm after sustaining a fall back in June. She has already done ALOT of therapy and exercises but still ultimately needed surgery and now has to start over at square one. I can't imagine how frustrating that must be. So I am planning a little visit to offer some help for both my mom and dad.
Until next time
We were able to go into New York City for two days-Thursday just Patrick and myself to do "touristy" things like ride the double decker buses, visit Ground Zero again (our 2nd time)-I just can't explain it exactly but I feel very drawn to that area. This is the second time we have visited that particular area and it is amazing the progress that has been made to build the Freedom Tower on that site. The thoughts that still come to mind when you see the pit that used to be the Twin Towers and surrounding buildings are just undescribable. I still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I saw the plane crash into the second tower. Even though we knew no one personally to have lost their life in that tragedy, the gravity and seriousness of the whole situation is surreal. Sorry-I have digressed.
The next day we went with Mike and Grace (Mike's wife) and Grace's friend, Nang to the Bronx Zoo. It is amazing that such a tranquil place is in the middle of New York City. What a great zoo-fairly easy to walk, great exhibits and the weather was fanstastic. A little overcast and right around 68 degrees-very nice indeed! Saturday took us to Bucks County, Pennsylvania and then on to Doylestown later in the afternoon to attend church at the Catholic Shrine in that area. We also have a shrine close to our home and it is funny how different the two places are. The shrine close to our house is very pretty, ornate and almost opulent. The shrine in Doylestown was not as ornate or opulent but the grounds that the shrine sits on are breathtaking! We attended mass around 5 pm and when mass ended we walked out of the church and looked out over the hills of Pennsylvania while the sun was starting to set and at the same moment we walked out of the church doors 2 hot air ballons rose up over the tree tops. It was spectacular!
Needless to say, you can tell we had a great time and really need to thank Mike and the entire New Jersey clan for their hospitality. It was just the type of get away we needed!
Now we are back to work, and life as we know as "normal". I love the first couple of weeks after vacation because the total craziness has not returned in full, I am a little more relaxed and less focused on time and what I have to do and how long I have to do it. I know that will come to an end soon, but I enjoy it for now. I am looking forward to visiting my folks next weekend. My poor mom has had to have surgery on her arm after sustaining a fall back in June. She has already done ALOT of therapy and exercises but still ultimately needed surgery and now has to start over at square one. I can't imagine how frustrating that must be. So I am planning a little visit to offer some help for both my mom and dad.
Until next time
Monday, September 29, 2008
Referral news
Today our adoption agency announced that families who had sent their paperwork to China and were "logged in" in February 13, 2006 have received their babies information today. For those of you who don't understand the terminology surrounding Chinese adoptions it goes a little something like this:
DTC-stands for Date to China-that is the day your paperwork left your adoption agency's office for China. For Patrick and I our date was February 17, 2006 (Jennifer's dad's birthday too)
LID-stand for Log In date-that is the date that the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs acknowledged receipt of your paperwork. This is the date where the official clock starts counting.
Patrick and I have a log in date of March 14, 2006. So that means that the CCAA(chinese center for adoption affairs) has about 4 weeks of referrals to process before it is our turn. In the last 12 months or so the CCAA has been processing 4-7 days worth of referrals each month. In calendar time, that means that Patrick and I are probably looking at another 4-8 months of waiting to get our referral. Sounds like a long time to most people, but when you have been in the process for 2 1/2 to 3 years already-another 4 to 8 months seems like tomorrow.
Maybe we better get working on the nursery in the next couple of months! Now that is exciting-
Until next time-
DTC-stands for Date to China-that is the day your paperwork left your adoption agency's office for China. For Patrick and I our date was February 17, 2006 (Jennifer's dad's birthday too)
LID-stand for Log In date-that is the date that the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs acknowledged receipt of your paperwork. This is the date where the official clock starts counting.
Patrick and I have a log in date of March 14, 2006. So that means that the CCAA(chinese center for adoption affairs) has about 4 weeks of referrals to process before it is our turn. In the last 12 months or so the CCAA has been processing 4-7 days worth of referrals each month. In calendar time, that means that Patrick and I are probably looking at another 4-8 months of waiting to get our referral. Sounds like a long time to most people, but when you have been in the process for 2 1/2 to 3 years already-another 4 to 8 months seems like tomorrow.
Maybe we better get working on the nursery in the next couple of months! Now that is exciting-
Until next time-
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Great weekend so far
Hello, just checking in after a couple of weeks since our last post. All the water in our yard from Tropical Storm Fay has finally gone away. Took about one week after the rain stopped for the water to recede and the grass not be like a squishy sponge. Have to admit every time we flushed the toilet you closed your eyes and hoped it was just clear water filling the toilet again! When you have a septic tank that has been maxed out with water you just never know what will happen. We didn't do laundry for one week, washed our dishes and glasses in the sink and did not run the dishwasher for almost 10 days. It is nice to get back to normal!
Friday night was "date" night for us. We haven't done a true "date" in such a long time I forgot what it was all about. We started with dinner at Houston's in Winter Park for an early dinner. What a beautiful location-sits on a lake, and we had a table right by the window that overlooked the terrace and lake. Then we moved on the a great show by Toxic Audio. Toxic Audio is a group that formed 10 years ago, in fact this was a 10 year anniversary show. There are 3 men, 2 women and they are an acapella group that makes just fabulous sound and music. I had heard about them probably 9 years ago and have wanted to go to a show ever since. Let me tell you, they did not disappoint! What a fabulous show-it was a mix of songs- both well known songs, and songs that they made up on the spot, jokes and humor, and what sounded like a full band accompanying them was really just their 5 voices. I was truly impressed.
Here is a short sample of one of their songs -take a listen I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. (you may have to copy and paste the link below)
http://toxicaudio.com/sounds/routemixedit.mp3
Then today I decided I was going to check out Ikea, the home furnishings store. It has been open now for about 10 months and I have wanted to go ever since it opened. I thought it would be up Patrick's alley with cooking/kitchen things but I couldn't convince him to go with me. Oh well, I had a great time anyway. I love that store!!!!! I know what you people from other parts of the country say-what is the big deal??? But, it just so happens we have been talking of sprucing up our kitchen now for the last six months and I wasn't really sure what to do or how to do it, but after going to Ikea I have alot of new ideas and was VERY impressed with their kitchen cabinetry, arrangements, options, organization components, etc. I have already been playing around with their 3D kitchen designer since I got home. I think I could get into some serious trouble in there. Plus all the cute kid things too-I don't stand a chance once we get a baby or babies!
Overall, it has been a fairly great weekend. The only thing that would have made it more perfect was Carolina pulling out a win against Georgia-but you can't have everything!
Til next time-
Friday night was "date" night for us. We haven't done a true "date" in such a long time I forgot what it was all about. We started with dinner at Houston's in Winter Park for an early dinner. What a beautiful location-sits on a lake, and we had a table right by the window that overlooked the terrace and lake. Then we moved on the a great show by Toxic Audio. Toxic Audio is a group that formed 10 years ago, in fact this was a 10 year anniversary show. There are 3 men, 2 women and they are an acapella group that makes just fabulous sound and music. I had heard about them probably 9 years ago and have wanted to go to a show ever since. Let me tell you, they did not disappoint! What a fabulous show-it was a mix of songs- both well known songs, and songs that they made up on the spot, jokes and humor, and what sounded like a full band accompanying them was really just their 5 voices. I was truly impressed.
Here is a short sample of one of their songs -take a listen I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. (you may have to copy and paste the link below)
http://toxicaudio.com/sounds/routemixedit.mp3
Then today I decided I was going to check out Ikea, the home furnishings store. It has been open now for about 10 months and I have wanted to go ever since it opened. I thought it would be up Patrick's alley with cooking/kitchen things but I couldn't convince him to go with me. Oh well, I had a great time anyway. I love that store!!!!! I know what you people from other parts of the country say-what is the big deal??? But, it just so happens we have been talking of sprucing up our kitchen now for the last six months and I wasn't really sure what to do or how to do it, but after going to Ikea I have alot of new ideas and was VERY impressed with their kitchen cabinetry, arrangements, options, organization components, etc. I have already been playing around with their 3D kitchen designer since I got home. I think I could get into some serious trouble in there. Plus all the cute kid things too-I don't stand a chance once we get a baby or babies!
Overall, it has been a fairly great weekend. The only thing that would have made it more perfect was Carolina pulling out a win against Georgia-but you can't have everything!
Til next time-
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Tropical Storm Fay
Well it has been a few weeks since our first post here so I thought it was time to say hello and bring you all up to date on the last few weeks.
We are now considering asking China for twins. Like we said before, when we started the adoption process the time from paperwork submitted to travel to China to get your baby was running around 6-8 months. Now it looks like we may travel sometime in 2009, maybe the spring or early summer. Maybe we're crazy, but since our wait has now extended to over 2.5 years, and will likely go past a 3 year wait, and with the new rules in China for adoptions we would not be able to go back to China to adopt again. China has now instituted an age limit for adoptive parents and neither parent can be over the age of 50. Well, Patrick turns 50 on November 26th this year, so this is our one and only chance to go to China and give our children a chance for a sibling of the same heritage. Our agency tells us to many people ask for twins but very few twins are actually referred. Again, we have faith that God will provide us with the child or children that he has intended for us.
On to other news-we have been dealing with Tropical Storm Fay now for 5 days. What was forecasted to impact us on Tuesday and Wednesday did not actually start to hit us until Thursday evening. We did have rain showers and some light winds on Tuesday and Wednesday but the brunt of the storm hit Thursday evening and has pretty much stayed with us off and on since then. Patrick has been religiously monitoring our rain gauges and since Monday afternoon we have had almost 25 inches of rain! WOW! I do have a short video showing the standing water in our backyard that you can see below. Do you think if we sell our home we could advertise as waterfront property?????
Until next time
We are now considering asking China for twins. Like we said before, when we started the adoption process the time from paperwork submitted to travel to China to get your baby was running around 6-8 months. Now it looks like we may travel sometime in 2009, maybe the spring or early summer. Maybe we're crazy, but since our wait has now extended to over 2.5 years, and will likely go past a 3 year wait, and with the new rules in China for adoptions we would not be able to go back to China to adopt again. China has now instituted an age limit for adoptive parents and neither parent can be over the age of 50. Well, Patrick turns 50 on November 26th this year, so this is our one and only chance to go to China and give our children a chance for a sibling of the same heritage. Our agency tells us to many people ask for twins but very few twins are actually referred. Again, we have faith that God will provide us with the child or children that he has intended for us.
On to other news-we have been dealing with Tropical Storm Fay now for 5 days. What was forecasted to impact us on Tuesday and Wednesday did not actually start to hit us until Thursday evening. We did have rain showers and some light winds on Tuesday and Wednesday but the brunt of the storm hit Thursday evening and has pretty much stayed with us off and on since then. Patrick has been religiously monitoring our rain gauges and since Monday afternoon we have had almost 25 inches of rain! WOW! I do have a short video showing the standing water in our backyard that you can see below. Do you think if we sell our home we could advertise as waterfront property?????
Until next time
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Giving Blogger a try for the first time! YIKES!
Well, here we go! I have been encouraged by a few family members and friends to blog or journal our wait and impending trip for the adoption of our first child. I have followed many, many, many blogs over the last 2 years and have read where people said they had no idea what they were doing when they started, but now have beautiful blogs for everyone to enjoy.
Let me first introduce ourselves. We are Patrick and Jennifer, and we live in central Florida. That means you are 30 minutes to the beach and 40 minutes to Disney World! Ha! We have been married for almost 12 years and are in the process of adopting our first child who will be from China. We have both wanted children for a long time and after failed fertility treatments decided we needed a "guarantee." We wanted to start a process and be sure that the end product was a baby. Now I know what most people say "there are no guarantees in life." However, once you find an adoption agency for China, do all of their paperwork, get clearance from the Dept of Homeland Security, spend hours in the immigration office getting your fingerprints done, and thousands of dollars later, you will come home with a baby-GUARANTEED! We like this alot and started our journey 2.5 years ago to bring a baby from China. Now the time line may not be for some one else's liking-it has taken us 2.5 years so far, and we really don't expect to have a referral for another 6-10 months.
A referral is when you get your baby's information, date of birth, where they live, what their likes and dislikes are, developmental update and all the medical information they have. You then have about a week to review the information and accept the referral. Once you accept the referral then you can expect to travel about 4-8 weeks after that. We will be in China for 2-3 weeks time meeting our baby, completing the Chinese side of the adoption paperwork, and bonding and getting to know our baby. When we leave China, we will come home with our baby and as soon as we step ground on American soil-the baby will be a US citizen as well.
Notice I keep referencing "baby" in this post, I did not say baby girl specifically. The reason for this is Patrick and I decided it didn't matter whether we have a boy or girl, we want to be parents, period. We just want a child that is healthy, and hopefully younger than 12 months of age. But, we have faith that no matter which child is chosen for us it will be the child that God intended to be with us. Just as the time line has been expanded, and expanded, and expanded since we started this process-2.5 years ago the wait was 6-8 months, now the wait is around 3 years-yet, we still know that when it happens the timing could not be more perfect.
I hope you will enjoy following along this journey with us. We have had many words of support so far and the end product of this particular blog will be much cuter than Patrick or I that is for sure! Until next time-
Let me first introduce ourselves. We are Patrick and Jennifer, and we live in central Florida. That means you are 30 minutes to the beach and 40 minutes to Disney World! Ha! We have been married for almost 12 years and are in the process of adopting our first child who will be from China. We have both wanted children for a long time and after failed fertility treatments decided we needed a "guarantee." We wanted to start a process and be sure that the end product was a baby. Now I know what most people say "there are no guarantees in life." However, once you find an adoption agency for China, do all of their paperwork, get clearance from the Dept of Homeland Security, spend hours in the immigration office getting your fingerprints done, and thousands of dollars later, you will come home with a baby-GUARANTEED! We like this alot and started our journey 2.5 years ago to bring a baby from China. Now the time line may not be for some one else's liking-it has taken us 2.5 years so far, and we really don't expect to have a referral for another 6-10 months.
A referral is when you get your baby's information, date of birth, where they live, what their likes and dislikes are, developmental update and all the medical information they have. You then have about a week to review the information and accept the referral. Once you accept the referral then you can expect to travel about 4-8 weeks after that. We will be in China for 2-3 weeks time meeting our baby, completing the Chinese side of the adoption paperwork, and bonding and getting to know our baby. When we leave China, we will come home with our baby and as soon as we step ground on American soil-the baby will be a US citizen as well.
Notice I keep referencing "baby" in this post, I did not say baby girl specifically. The reason for this is Patrick and I decided it didn't matter whether we have a boy or girl, we want to be parents, period. We just want a child that is healthy, and hopefully younger than 12 months of age. But, we have faith that no matter which child is chosen for us it will be the child that God intended to be with us. Just as the time line has been expanded, and expanded, and expanded since we started this process-2.5 years ago the wait was 6-8 months, now the wait is around 3 years-yet, we still know that when it happens the timing could not be more perfect.
I hope you will enjoy following along this journey with us. We have had many words of support so far and the end product of this particular blog will be much cuter than Patrick or I that is for sure! Until next time-
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