China's Stolen Children

I watched this documentary yesterday called China's Stolen Children. It was eye opening and scary. I cried for part of it and yelled at the TV for another part.

The movie goes through and talks about women and baby trafficking in China. Yes, people steal and sell babies and women in China. It is horrible. There was a statistic at the end of the movie to 70,000 children go missing each year in China. That is nuts.

Anyway, the movie looked at a couple of different viewpoints. First was the married couple whose son was taken from the public market. They searched and searched, called in a detective and still nothing. Their biggest fear was that he would be/was sold to another family and was being mistreated. They then cut to a little boy who had been kidnapped and was found and he told how he was beaten daily by his new family and that he thought that his old family didn't want him anymore. So sad... Unfortunately they never did find the couple's little boy or at least not by the end of the movie.

Next they talked to a young unmarried couple who found themselves pregnant. They were in hiding because they weren't 20 so they couldn't get a marriage permit and without a marriage permit you can't get a birth permit. If they were to publicly have the baby they would have to pay a large fine to the government. They were scared but wanted to do what was best for their little girl. Since you are only allowed to have one child in China, this young couple decided to sell their daughter. They were poor and couldn't afford to pay the fine so they felt that they had no choice. It was awful to watch them struggle through this.

They also talked to a man who was a trafficker. He even sold his own son after his wife died. He has another son that was too old to sell. We saw him talk with couples who wanted to sell their children and to couples who were looking to buy a child. I couldn't believe it. I always have heard that things like this happen but to actually see in was unreal. Saw this man negotiating a price for a baby, more for a boy and less for a girl. It was terrible. Terrible that someone finds nothing morally reprehensible about buying and selling children and terrible that couples find it a necessity to sell their children because they broke the law, were poor or both.

The whole thing was just so sad. At the end of the movie they stated that the One Child Law would remain in effect until at least 2010 and that while they recognize that it is creating some problems like trafficking and an imbalance in society between mere numbers of men versus women there is no definite plan to change it. WOW.

In adoption news: Please send special prayers to some families that did not make it through court before the closure and have been rescheduled for September and October. I pray they find peace in these next months as they wait to go get their little ones. There are also lots of people travelling and more that have made it through court so for the travellers, safe travels and for the new moms and dad, I hope birth certificates come quickly and error free.

Blah...

The title describes my mood pretty accurately right now. It is HOT and HUMID outside which I hate. I am tired and have a 6 day work week and just lack motivation to do anything.

I did spray weed killer and I did get up and go to work but other than that not much. I know I posted not that long ago that all the waiting was going pretty well and I cautioned that that could change. Well, I am having one of those down days.

It has been 6 months and 1 week since we were officially approved but our adoption journey was started in September of 2006 so just under 2 years ago. It has been a long, emotional journey to even get to this point and I know the roller coaster ride is far from over.

My latest obsession is that once we do get our referral and make it through court, that when we get our birth certificate it will have a mistake on it. I know crazy, how can I predict that, well I am trying to prepare myself for delays so if they do come it will be easier to take. I also know that my last name is very often misspelled so I am actually going to be shocked if it is spelled correctly the first time.

We were so hoping to have our baby home with us by Christmas when we started this journey but as the time passes, the courts near closing we know that that is not going to happen. We have known this for awhile so we have started thinking about how neat it would be to celebrate hubby's birthday in Ethiopia. His birthday is in February. I hope we don't have to do that but so much is out of our hands. I know if this is when we are supposed to be there then that is when we will be there.

I am relying on faith to get me through this little rough spot. Next week I am sure I will be in Target looking at cute baby stuff getting all excited again. I also know that someday soon this roller coaster will stop and I will get off and be a very proud mama and will truly appreciate every last minute of this wait that led me to my perfect little one. So to my little one, I know you are out there and when you are ready for me, I will come get you. I know God will put us together when the time is right. In the meantime, hang on and know that we love you so much already.

Cute pictures!

So we had a great weekend up at the lake. Here as promised are pictures of the dogs in their bright orange life vests. They had a great time on the boat and it was a nice day for a boat ride too.

We loved the Farmer's Market. We did get some cheese curds, corn, cheese, tomatoes, green beans, donuts, and the famous Spicy Cheese bread from Stella's bakery. It was great. We were packing up to go to the lake when our friends from Iowa called. They were in town and wanted to go to dinner since they had a baby sitter for the night.

We headed up to the lake and then drove back in to Madison to have dinner with our friends at Flemings. Flemings is a steakhouse that is very yummy and very expensive. They have a deal that for $35 per person you get a choice of one of 3 entrees, salad, a side dish and dessert. It was so much food but a really great deal since some of the steaks on the menu were over $40 and that was just for the steak. Sides, salads and dessert would all be extra. It was good but not a place we would go often. We enjoyed hanging out with our friends since we don't get to see them that often.

In adoption news, still not much to report :( We are so hoping to see the referral word on the message board but we have been cautioned that it may not happen for a few more weeks. I know the waiting is getting really hard for those with October/November dossier dates. I really hope that they get good news soon. I guess we figured that with the whole summer referral thing we might actually see referrals in the summer but so far nothing. We haven't seen the referral word since mid June. I hope we don't make it to mid-August before we see that referral word but that just might be the case. Based on current time lines, if we were to get our referral in Sept/October as we hope to we probably wouldn't travel until January or even February. If we don't get a referral until November then it might be closer to March when we would travel. I am so looking forward to going to get our little one in sunny Ethiopia in the middle of our yucky Wisconsin winters so come on referrals.

Other than that, I joined an email prayer chain with other members of the online forum I participate in. We can just send an email to the coordinator asking for prayers and she will email the rest of the group for us. It is nice to know that when I need it I have a place to ask for prayers whether adoption related or not.

Have a great weekend!

Yeah it is finally Friday. Normally, Fridays aren't a big deal for me because I work on Saturdays but not tomorrow! Yeah!!! I am so excited. In fact, I have two more weekends off in August and I don't have to use any vacation which is awesome since I am trying to save as much of it as possible for maternity leave. We have extra staff before school starts so my boss suggested that I work my schedules out so I can have time off before school starts yet still work my full time hours so I did!

Tomorrow, we are going to the farmers market on the Capital Square in Madison. I haven't been yet this year so I am excited. We are definitely getting at least 2 flavors of cheese curds, pesto sauce, corn and lots of other yummy fresh vegetables.

After the farmers market, there is a Taste of Sun Prairie event downtown where we can sample some of the local restaurants. That should be crowded and fun.

After that we are packing up the dogs, hitting the grocery store and heading up to the lake house. We are spending the weekend there. We plan to grill, go out on the boat a lot and just relax. It should be fun.

The dogs love to go out on the boat in their life jackets. They look really silly in them so I will try and take a picture. We had to get medium size vests even though they are small dogs. They have broad shoulders in Sebastian's case or just a little pudgy in Badger's case. Too cute though.

Well, not much in adoption news but lots of families have confirmed travel dates for August and lots of others have gotten their birth certificates so that is awesome. I wish them all safe travels and happy packing.

Have a great weekend and GO BREWERS!!!

My Wish

Well as promised here is the return of Thursday song day. I have posted a wide variety of songs over the past few months and it occurred to me that I have never posted the one song that I consider to be my adoption theme song. So today, I am going to share that song with you. I have made it the first song on my mini-ipod on the right if you turn up the volume you can hear it. The song is by Rascal Flatts and it is called "My Wish."

"My Wish"

I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,
But more than anything, more than anything,

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.
But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.This is my wish
I hope you know somebody loves you
May all your dreams stay big

So I hope you enjoy the song. I know I do every time I hear it and when I do hear it I always stop and think about my little one. Are they born yet? Is their first mom making a really tough decision? Is the nanny at the care center feeding them right now? I don't know the answers to any of these questions but it has occurred to me lately that my little could possibly be in the care center right now or on their way there shortly. I pray for their first family and promise them that their little one will always know how much they loved them just as they will always know how much we love them.

Post #100

I have managed to be a blogger for 100 posts. Wow, I talk a lot. My dad would call me Chatty Cathy or Motormouth when I was little, hence the name of the blog.

Well, since I did my adoption waiting rant yesterday, I have nothing to say today. I know how boring for my 100th post. So to compensate for my lack of anything relevant to say I have opted to post pics of my two favorite dogs.

Aren't they adorable?? I was trying to fold some laundry when Sebastian decided to take up his post and well Badger was snoring but he is such a ham that he woke up to smile for the camera.

Thanks for reading along and for those who have posted comments, thanks for being so kind and supportive. I know I will meet some of you someday and I am glad that I decided to put myself out there in the blogging world. I have really found it to be a huge release for me and I never would have thought that I would get to encounter some truly amazing women and I did so what an awesome bonus. Let's all do coffee or something real soon so we can all chat in person :)

6 months down and how many more to go??

Nobody knows! Oh, well we are hanging in there. It has been a pretty quick 6 months so far. I have a feeling though since we were given an estimate of 6-9months to wait for a referral that it is going to get a little harder when I hit 7 months and then maybe 8 months with no referral.

We have heard from some people that referrals may not be seen for another couple of weeks so that was kind of a bummer. I feel for the people with October 2007 dossier dates. They are at the top of the list and have gone over the 9 month mark. I really really hope that they get their referrals in August. We don't have much more info than that. The specialists are pretty guarded so as to not get anyone's hopes up. I am not at the stage that I check my caller ID when the phone rings hoping it says CHSFS. Talk to me about that in about a month or so.

I know we are waiting for a very specific baby that will be the perfect fit for our family so I know that once I know who this little one is all of this waiting will be worth it.

Well that is it for today. I hit an adoption milestone today and tomorrow a blogging milestone. I will try and come up with something great for post 100.

Just another Monday....

Mondays are just that Mondays. Not really my favorite day of the week. I wish we had an extra day in the weekend but I just have to keep on trucking.

In adoption news, we hit 6 months tomorrow and are starting to think we may hit month 9 of waiting. There are a few families that have hit the 9+ month mark and more that have hit 8+ month mark so we are expecting that we may too. Kind of a bummer but October will be here before we know it and that will be month 9 for us. We should still get a referral before the end of the year which was what I was hoping for. I have really tried to not get myself too excited for a September referral. I mean, it could happen, but with so many families still waiting ahead of us it is unlikely I think. I could be wrong but I don't want to get my hopes up. I have been down that path before and it leads to disaster.

We haven't seen any referrals in 6 weeks so we will see what happens when things get going again. Everything in International Adoption is so unpredictable. So as I write this saying we may hit the 9 month mark that could all change next week or in a couple of weeks and hopefully it will :)

I think we are all ready to see the Referral word on the message boards. We need to see the referral word on the message boards. Well, it is what it is and we will find a way to cope. We always do.

I am looking for decorations for the nursery to help occupy my time so that is fun. One of my blogging/forum friends posted a link for do it yourself wall murals and I LOVE to paint so I may get one of those to keep me occupied. (Thanks Abby!) Some of them are 6 to 8 feet tall/wide so it would cover most of one wall. I really want animals in nursery and we have an awesome watercolor of Noah's Ark that we got in CA at and Art and Wine Festival that will be framed and hung in there as well. It is all gender neutral so we think it would work and would be really cute.

Relay for Life

This post is for 3 very special women in my life. The Relay for Life in my hometown is this weekend so the first woman I would like to honor with this post is my Mother in Law. She is participating in the event and she is lighting candles for the other 2 women that will be mentioned in this post. I think it is amazing that she will give her time for such a worthy cause. We donated $ in honor of one of the woman on this list and we are wishing her the best during this event and hope it doesn't rain.

So the first woman that will be honored with a candle at this event is my Mom. If you have read my blog you already know how much my Mom means to me. She is a two time breast cancer survivor and one of the strongest women I know. She will be honored by my Mother in Law at the Relay for Life as a survivor.

The second woman that will be honored and that we donated money in remembrance of is my Aunt. My Aunt was my God-mother, Confirmation sponsor and was one of the funniest women I have ever met. She was an amazing woman who loved her family and could always have a good time. I remember staying at her house when we were little and she would let us eat Fruit Loops for breakfast even though my Mom wouldn't. I didn't get to see her often but she was my favorite Aunt for sure. I am lucky to have had her present at some very special times in my life. She was at my wedding and I will forever have her signature on my wedding photo and in my guest book. I see her name every time I walk up the stairs in my house and past the photo. We lost her to uterine cancer well before her time. I know she is greatly missed by her family but I also know that she has left her mark with all of us that still grace this planet.

Sorry I have been MIA...

This week has been long and tiring. It has been tougher than expected to get back on track after vacation. The song of the week will return next week. Today and for now here are some random updates in our crazy busy lives.

We went to our church festival last weekend and entered into a raffle and we won. Actually we won twice. I won a Dine Out basket that had a bunch of gift cards to local restaurants and coffee shops. My DH won a nifty teeth whitening package from a local dentist. I think he is giving that one to me though. :)

I received the onesie I won on the forum in the mail. It is even cuter in person. I can't wait to put it on my baby.

I have seen lots of forum friends get Birth Certificates and travel dates so that is awesome. I feel for them though as flight availability and price is a little nuts. We thought we had saved enough for plane fare but if prices stay at what they are we are a little short. I hope everyone gets the flights they need at a somewhat reasonable price and don't have to make 4 connections on the way home.

In Secret Pal news, I got word that my Secret Pal made a donation in my name for a local triathlete who is trying to raise a bunch of money to help Doctor's Without Borders get more PlumyNut. PlumyNut is a super food based on peanuts, chock full of vitamins and minerals that they use to feed children in developing country. It can help "cure" malnutrition. In return, I made a donation in honor of my Secret Pal.

Also, in Secret Pal news, I still don't know who is sending me these amazing gifts but the person I send gifts to knows who I am. She has volunteered to help coordinate the Secret Pals endeavor so she saw the list. We have been in touch and all is well. I will still continue to send her gifts each month. She lives far away so unless we were to travel at the same time or she happened to be at a CHSFS event we probably won't meet in person.

Other than that, all is well. We are going to my parents house this weekend which will be nice since I feel like I haven't seen them in forever. Summer is going by quickly which is good and bad. Good because it brings us that much closer to our referral and bad because we are that much closer to yucky weather.

MLB All-Star game!

If you knew me growing up I wasn't really a baseball fan. I will admit that I grew up a football fan, namely a San Francisco 49er fan (I know kinda sad but back then there was Steve Young and Joe Montana and Jerry Rice). I was also a huge basketball fan. I started with college basketball and the Final Four. I remember the Fab Five of Michigan and DUKE!!! I am still to this day a HUGE Duke fan. Why I can't really tell you other then that was the team I have rooted for ever since I was like 11 so over 20 years. I also liked the NBA and the Chicago Bulls. People in CA tend not to root for the Golden State Warriors (they are pretty awful) and I didn't live in SoCal so the Bulls it was.

Fast forward to present day and I really like baseball, football and college basketball. I have dropped the NBA as I feel it is kind of a joke now with a bunch of young kids who aren't even all that good. Since we live in WI, I am convinced that if you aren't a Packer fan then you have to move. I never hated the Packers growing up and I have become a fan. I sort of pay attention to the 49ers but they are pretty awful and we don't get to see a lot of their games here in WI. So Go Pack Go. I even now play at least 2 if not 3 teams in fantasy football. My husband jokes that I might have a problem...

I still love college basketball and March Madness. I was fortunate enough to go to college with Steve Nash at Santa Clara University. He graduated 2 years before me but made for some great basketball for a small private school. I still love Duke. I get a ton of crap for that from my hubby but I can't help it. I will always root for Duke. I don't always pick them to win the tourney when I do my brackets but since I do multiple brackets each year at least one of mine will have Duke winning it all.

Baseball is a sport that I am fairly new too. I always liked going to a SF Giants game especially at the new ball park affectionately referred to as the Phone Booth. I went to a Brewers game in the old County Stadium and that was fun but I LOVE Miller Park. We get a 9 game pack and sit in the first level just off the third base line in left field. I get to see very well some of my favorite players like JJ Hardy and Ryan Braun. I am learning how to explain the in field fly rule and I know what a balk is and from our seats we can usually see (if someone isn't standing) the pitches cross the plate. I have a good grasp for the game thanks to my hubby. I actually pay attention where as a few years ago I would read a magazine or chat with a friend. It really is a lot of fun. I don't always like to watch baseball on TV as it just isn't the same as being there. And for the first time this year I am in a Home Run Derby league with some friends and I am only .5 games out of first place.

Well, tonight while my hubby is off playing a concert, I am watching the MLB baseball All-Star game. I am so excited as there are 2 Brewers starting in the game and one on the bench. Not too shabby for a small market team. I can't wait to see Ben Sheets throw the first pitch of the game. He is awesome and so deserves to start the game. I hope Ryan Braun and Corey Hart step up and play well and just maybe someone on ESPN's Baseball Tonight will start respecting the Brewers.

This time next year...

As we approach the 6 months of waiting mark, I have been thinking a lot about this time next year. This time next year I will be a Mom and I can't wait!

Even while we were on vacation, I kept thinking about what our vacation next year will be like with our little one. We were at our church festival this weekend and I was thinking how great it would be to bring our baby to that next year.

I didn't always want to be a Mom. When I was around 18 or so I thought I really didn't want kids. Well, not that long after I thought that I met my husband and that all changed. I wanted nothing more than to have a family. Not right away since we were so young when we got married but eventually. Well, come the year 2003, we decided it was time to realize our dream. I am in no way going to rehash that crazy path that led us to where we are now but I finally feel like I have entered my third trimester in my own way.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. I know I still have a few months before I get a referral and then 8-12 weeks after that to travel but we are getting so close. Today is a good day. I feel like I can manage this wait. After all we started this in 2003, over 5 years ago so having a few months left feels like nothing. I know that could all change next week and I could be struggling with the wait but right now I am allowing myself to get excited.

I keep dreaming about being a Mom and sometimes I see myself with a little girl since that is all I have known but other times I have seen myself with a little boy. In my heart when I first decided I wanted to be a Mom, I thought for sure that I wanted a little boy and then we were blessed with the twin girls last summer and my heart just melted and I really really wanted a little girl. I still do want a little girl at some point but I know that if i am meant to be the Mom to a little boy too then I will be and I will be just as happy.

So this was our last couples vacation for awhile. We will be a family next year and having thoughts of trips to Disneyworld, the Dells and CA and IL to see our friends.

We're Back!!!

We survived our road trip vacation and had a great time. It was nice to be home and see my pugs and sleep in my own bed though. We were off to our church festival today and then back to work tomorrow :( Too tired to really write much but here are some pictures. Will post tomorrow. Here are a few pics from vacation. We have the Mackinac Straits Bridge as seen from the ferry, the Grand Hotel on Mackinac island, Arch Rock were we stopped to hike, us being oh so cute, and the waves on Lake Huron.

Vacation update

Ok so as I promised I said I would blog while gone so here it goes. Here are the top 5 things so far in order...


1) Mackinac Island Bike tour: We took an 8 mile bike ride around all of Mackinac Island Michigan. Yes, we actually biked the whole 8.2 miles around the island. We stopped to hike up to Arch Rock and then three more times to take video,photos, etc and to rest our butts as the bike seats on the rental bikes were VERY uncomfortable. We had a blast.


2) Main Street, Mackinac island: We walked around, tried some fudge, ate lunch, tried some fudge, walked some more, tried some fudge, had a beer, shopped and bought LOTS of fudge. Did I mention that we tried some fudge...


3) Lake Michigan: Being an ocean girl I was actually impressed with Lake Michigan. I love hearing waves crash against the shore and rocks and I thought for sure that I would have to go to the ocean to hear and see those sounds and I was wrong. I was in awe of the Lake. It was awesome to see the waves, listen and watch them crash, stick my feet in the water and avoid the seagulls.

4) The White Chicken Chili at the Minerva Restaurant at the Park Place hotel in Traverse City, Michigan: No seriously, this was hands down one of the most amazing things I have ever eaten. It was incredible. We arrived a little after 7:30pm in Traverse City and were tired from our bike ride so we thought we would eat at the restaurant in the hotel. Not only were bottles of wine 1/2 off but the food was good and the chicken chili was AMAZING!!! We are here for a few more days and I plan on eating that at least 1 more time.

5)The vacation: I know this sounds weird but this is the first vacation in a few years that we haven't brought a lot of emotional baggage with us. In 2006, we went to CA and were hoping to find out that we were pregnant after our already decided last round of fertility treatments. Well, we weren't pregnant so we decided to move forward with our adoption plan and grieve the loss of not having a child of our own biologically anyway. Last year, we again went to CA on a spontaneous trip after we lost the twins we were hoping to adopt domestically. It was on this trip that we agreed to move forward with an international adoption. So for the last few years our vacations came with some emotional baggage, but not this year. We are on a clear path to a family and couldn't be happier so we can actually relax and enjoy.

Well it is late here in the eastern time zone so off to bed and then the Cherry Festival were I have already discovered that I love ALMOND BUTTER! Pictures to come later!

Road Trip

Tomorrow we are off on our summer road trip. We are heading for Mackinac Island and Traverse City Michigan. I have never been to Michigan unless you count the Detroit airport but I don't think that really counts. I am excited to g some place new.

I have only been on 2 road trips in my life. One was in college to visit my roommate in Portland, Oregon. So my friend and I drove for twelve hours or so and it was less than fun. In fact at times it was miserable because we took her car and it was a stick shift and I don't drive a stick shift.

My second road trip came when we moved from California to Wisconsin. It was me, my hubby and our dog Sebastian. We had to plan out ahead where we would stop because of Sebastian. We had to make sure that we found dog friendly hotels along the way. We were told to check out www.petswelcome.com and it was awesome. We could look up cities and then pet friendly accommodations in those cities. Because we had Sebastian, it took us a little longer than it should have but we wanted to stop and see things on the way.

We stopped in Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota, and Minnesota. We went to Rocky Mountain National Park and we got to walk around at the Mormon temple in Salt Lake City. They let us bring Sebastian inside the grounds but I had to carry him. Unfortunately at Rocky Mountain National Park, we weren't allowed to let him out of the car so we just drove around.

This will be my third road and this time it is just me and the husband. I am excited and hope I don't get too bored in the car. I bought snacks for the road and am trying to get packed. I still have to get the dogs packed up for their mini vacation at the vets office. They will be well taken care of but we will miss them for sure. I am hoping to blog some while gone and will try and post some pics too.

In adoption news: Some of my forum family received word today that they made it through court. YEAH!! Now we just need to see some birth certificates and travel dates.

Crazy weekend

Sorry I have been gone for a few days but with the holiday weekend things were a little nuts. It started on Friday with the 4th. After I got home from work, we packed up the dogs and headed to the lake (Wisconsin). We cooked out with the family and went out on the boat and then anchored the boat to watch fireworks. It was really fun.

We spent the night on Friday up there and then headed back home on Saturday but only for a little while as we were headed to Summerfest in Milwaukee. We left home about 2pm for Milwaukee and by 4pm were had parked the car and were heading in. Our goal was to enjoy some music, food and beer. We also wanted to catch Cheap Trick who was scheduled to go on at 10pm. So we ate lots of yummy food. I had Cajun food and Dave went for Greek and then we split some Chinese food. And of course we sampled lots of local beers. By 8pm we headed to the stage to catch Cheap Trick and boy are we glad we did. It was packed! We wound up sitting with some really nice people from Texas that were around our age. They had a couple of spaces at the end of their table and were gracious enough to allow us to join them.

We have seen Cheap Trick 5 times now and every time they have been amazing. It was fun to be with other fans singing and dancing. In order for little old me to see anything I along with a lot of others wound up standing on the table.

We thought for sure we were going to get stuck in the parking lot for hours as we have in the past. We didn't though we got right out and were on our way until.... we got to Johnson Creek area. Then we came to a complete stop. I mean we turned off the car stopped along with the miles of other cars. There was a car accident ahead that was pretty terrible. There were 2 Med Flight helicopters that arrived at the scene. It was pretty scary. We couldn't really see anything but we were totally stuck there. We hoped and prayed that the parties involved would be ok and thankfully it appears that they will be. I slept in the car but made the mistake of rolling the window down a little and now I have a mosquito bite and I really had to use the bathroom. So I "practiced" my technique for when we travel to Hossana. Not my finest moment but a necessity all the same. Well we left Milwaukee at about 11:30pm and we arrived home about 2:30am and it should have only taken us about an hour. Long night for sure.

Then today, we headed back to Milwaukee to watch the Brewers sweep the Pittsburgh Pirates. I watched my favorite Brewer, JJ Hardy hit 2 home runs and I got a little sun burned but it was a fun game all the same. I am thoroughly exhausted and I have to work tomorrow and then we leave Tuesday for vacation!

American Soldier

Today in honor of the 4th of July, I have chosen for my weekly song, "American Soldier" by Toby Keith. I have had family in the military and have friends whose husbands were in Iraq and were blessed to come home and I have another friend whose husband has to go back. So to honor all of the men and women who fight for our freedom, this one is for you. I couldn't be the modern woman I am with out them. They keep this country safe and fight to protect us and our freedom. May all those who in the military or part of a military family find peace in their hearts and know that this family honors, respects and admires you. There is a personal update after the lyrics.

"American Soldier"

I'm just trying to be a father,
Raise a daughter and a son,
Be a lover to their mother,
Everything to everyone.

Up and at 'em bright and early,
I'm all business in my suit,
Yeah, I'm dressed for success from my head down to my boots,
I don't do it for money, there's still bills that I can't pay,
I don't do it for the glory, I just do it anyway,

Providing for our future's my responsibility,
Yeah I'm real good under pressure, being all that I can be,
And I can't call in sick on Mondays when the weekends been to strong,
I just work straight through the holidays,
And sometimes all night long.
You can bet that I stand ready when the wolf growls at the door
Hey, I'm solid, hey I'm steady, hey I'm true down to the core,

And I will always do my duty, no matter what the price,
I've counted up the cost,
I know the sacrifice,
Oh, and I don't want to die for you,
But if dying's asked of me,
I'll bear that cross with an honor,
'Cause freedom don't come free.

I'm an American soldier, an American,
Beside my brothers and my sisters I will proudly take a stand,
When liberty's in jeopardy I will always do what's right,
I'm out here on the front lines, so sleep in peace tonight.
American soldier, I'm an American,
An American,
An American Soldier

Update: Well, I have touched base with my friend and she is in fact moving. She is moving to St. Louis. It is a great opportunity for her and her family but selfishly, I am bummed that she is leaving. I wish her all the best and will work hard to make sure we stay in touch. Happy 4th of July everyone.

Change in my blog

So if you have speakers you may have noticed that I have added music to my blog. There are 10 songs that have touched my soul on my mini- Ipod. Everything from a Celine Dion song to a couple of Rascal Flatts songs or some Garth Brooks and one of my all time favorites, Josh Groban. If you don't like them you can turn the volume down or there is a pause button that will stop it from playing.

I chose these 10 songs because when I listen to music, I listen to the lyrics. Lyrics mean a lot to me and these particular songs have tremendous meaning for me personally so I have decided to share them with you.

Please enjoy.

In other news, I am having some mixed emotions today. I saw a for sale sign on one of my friends' houses and I am so upset. She and I are neighbors and we just get each other. We have only know each other for a few years and I really hope she isn't moving far away. I don't want to pry because she is a private person and I want to respect that. I know she will tell me what is going on when she is ready. So I am sad at the possible moving of a close friend and confused as to why now and hopeful that she still stays in the area.

Adoption wise, we have had confirmation that there probably won't be any referrals this week for sure. We are all hopeful that we start seeing some come the middle of July or end of July. We know that these families won't make it through court before it closes but they would be blessed with a picture of their child to get them through the summer.

Lastly, I will be on vacation next week but will try and keep up the blog as best I can but may not be as frequent.

What a wonderful day...

Today, when I got up I thought I wasn't going to have a very good day. Normally, Tuesday's are my day off but I had to work today and I didn't get nearly enough sleep last night. So alarm goes off at 4:30am and I hit snooze a few times and off to work I go (no worries, I did shower).

Well, I get to work and check my email and I have an email from my bestest friend. She had sent me an e-card. I didn't have time to check it then but it brought a smile to my face. I thought, just maybe today wouldn't be so bad.

I then signed in to check my message boards. (I did stop and do actual work to, this is the abridged version as work stuff is boring). Well, a truly amazing woman and mom that I have never met, sponsored a giveaway for this totally adorable onesie. All we had to do was enter by June 30th and say what one of our wishes was for our little one. I figured why not enter, I would love to see what everyone wishes for. My wish was that our little one knows how much they are loved here in the US and in Ethiopia. Well, according to the random drawing, I won.

I was shocked and super happy. I can't wait to put this one my baby!

Thanks super mom out west. I hope someday my little one can say thanks to you for being so incredibly generous.

Okay ,back to work. No wait, I want to see the e-card. So I go back to me email and click the link. Have I told you that I have an amazing best friend? Well, she is fabulous. She wrote me the sweetest little note. It brought tears to my eyes. I so wish we didn't live 2000 miles away from each other. I miss her like crazy. I know she is always a phone call or email away but sometimes I just wish we could go grab coffee like we used to or eat chips and salsa or make lasagna. I could go on but I might cry. We have been friends for so long, I don't know what I would do without her. We have both hit bumpy roads in our life (I mean who hasn't between the ages of 14-32??) but we have always been there for each other.

I usually get to see her about 1 time per year when we travel for vacation to California aka my home sweet home. This year though, we can't go. We are saving money and vacation days for our trip to Ethiopia. We are going to Michigan but we can drive there. I know that she understands and is super happy for us but it still stinks. I want to see her and hug my adorable little nieces. They are getting so big and have always been cute but I miss their sweet little faces.

So as you can see my what I thought would be terrible day turned out to be not half bad.