Home from Indiana...

We are home from Indiana. We went over Easter to spend time with Tommy, Liz and the girls. We had a great time. I love to go shopping in Shipshewana, it's one of my most favorite things. They have such neat shops there and you can always find something unique and different.

It snowed really hard in Indiana on Friday and it was cold and miserable, so we only did half of Shipshe that day. Shipshe is a little Amish town where just about every house is a shop-the food is always good and the people friendly. We did buy some stuff for Avery and the house. We bought this unique chime that has a gong on it. We also found a toy that is a soft play camera, and it's green and pink and when you push the button it makes the sound as if you took a picture. Very fitting since Gary takes pictures all the time and is interested in photography. We can see Avery following him around with her camera taking pictures next to Daddy. We also found a panda that had been made to look old and he was 50% off so we got him for her room. We also got some more fabric squares for her quilt and we found the quilt pattern we are going to use for her quilt. So all in all good shopping.

We had a small Easter dinner just Tom, Liz, Jessica, Jodi, Gary & myself. Really good dinner though!!! Then everyone fell asleep watching movies the rest of the day. We went to church with Tom & Liz and the girls early Sunday morning and they were putting on a musical at the church called, "The Promise"-it's their version of the passion play. It was very good!!!

We left early Monday morning and on the way home we got the phone call that we were an Aunt & an Uncle again. Steve & Beth had their 3rd child-another boy-Samuel Elliott-7 lbs. and 14 ounces, 21 inches long. He arrived at 2:51AM on Monday-Steve's birthday!! We wish all of them CONGRATULATIONS!! We can't wait to see our new nephew!!

Hope everyone had a nice Easter and Happy Spring-Hope it warms up SOON!!!

Love to all~
Alli

Fu Huo Jie Kuai Le

Happy Easter!!!

Wanted to get this in here before we left for our Easter trip to Indiana. This is our year to go to my brother's for Easter, and I know I'll be busy the rest of the week, so I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter!!!

Take care & God bless!!!

Fu Huo Jie Kuai Le-Happy Easter!!

Love~
Alli & Gary

Sheng pa te li ke jie

St. Patrick's Day in Chinese- Sheng pa te li ke jie

The chinese don't typically celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

In 2007 though they had their first St. Patrick's Day parade in Shanghai.

Just some fun facts!!

Hope you have a great St. Patty's Day!!!

Feel free to ask...

Even though we've said that being asked about the adoption is hard, it doesn't mean never ask. Please feel free to ask as many questions as you want.

Also, leave us comments, or poems, or thoughts of your own if you are here reading the site. We love it when we get an email saying that someone has left a comment...it makes our day:)

Thank you to everyone that does leave a comment, and thank you to everyone that does read our blog. This is our only way to vent our frustrations during this process. We are a little crazy these days so bear with us.

Love to all~
Alli

Her crib set is here...

Avery's crib set is here. The quilt and bumper and bed skirt are all here now. They are very cute and very fitting.

I finally put her clothes and things from Christmas away over the weekend. The stuffed animals sit in a chair in our bedroom.

Looking forward to starting the nursery this Spring and Summer...little by little.

March is going fast...as far as we're concerned the next 12 months could go by like a wink. At least then we would be at 20 months.

There are new squares posted on the other blog. Check them out!

Love to all,
~Alli

We should be used to this...

So it's another month and there is always another email from the adoption agency...never with good news. And again the time has been pushed out. We should be used to this by now but it's never easy. It makes me mad, and sad, and frustrated beyond belief. I can't understand why the time keeps pushing out, and pushing out, and pushing out. It's definitely going to be in 2009, but probably now not until the fall of 2009, at the earliest. We are now pushed out 7-8 months past what they told us it was going to be. We knew this could happen, but you always want to think positively.

Got Avery's crib skirt this week, and the rest of her crib set will be here next week. We'll just have to put it away for a little while longer.

I hope to God that the time frame will shorten at some point.

~Alli

A Red Thread To China...

A red thread to China was cast today

From us to a child so far away.

This thread symbolizes an attachment of hearts

That distance alone can’t keep us apart.


Her mother and I are caught in a chase

That time alone will bring us to face.
This loving young child we want so much to greet
With love in our hearts before we did meet.

This tiny, thin thread may stretch, tangle or fray
But our love for her grows stronger each day.
Through the test of time it won’t break or sever
She’ll be part of us forever and ever.

With oceans between us, the distance is spanned
By a love that is greater than man could have planned.
For God in His mercy loved her and us
And decided our family would be a great plus.

So for now we’ll just love her and pray every day
That God keeps her and loves her for us till we may
Travel to China, that land of great past,
To the side of our daughter, to hold her at last.

8 Months!!!

Happy 8 months to us!!

We are at 8 months- out of many more and too many I want to think about today. But almost to double digits.

We received the crib skirt yesterday for Avery's nursery. It's very cute. I thought we were going to have to send it back because it was looking like we weren't going to be able to get the quilt or the bumper. But, we are, the quilt and bumper are just backordered farther. Her set has lady bugs, butterfies, and grasshoppers on it. It's very cute.

Our house is full of lady bugs right now. We have a ton. I like having them around though, it's comforting.

I went and got some more fabric for the quilt. One piece for one of my friends. She sent Avery a blanket that her child used...Avery's first hand me down. It's very cute. I found fabric that would represent the blanket and the story behind it to put in the quilt. I also got some fabric for our cats and we will put that in the quilt. I'm trying to find dance fabric but haven't found any I like yet.

I also bought a Feng Shui book. It's really very interesting...now I have to do the whole house.

I watched the new show on Nick Jr. today called Ni Hao -Kai Lan. It's like Dora but it's a little Asian girl named Kai Lan and her and all her friends and her Grandfather, Ye Ye, teach you how to say things in Chinese. It's very cute. I hope it stays on for quite awhile. If not I'm sure there will be dvd's to buy from the series. Can't wait to have Avery running around the livingroom shouting, "Ni Hao...Ni Hao...Ni Hao"!!! (Which means -hello)

So that's it from the adoption front. 8 months and counting, and counting, and counting...

Love to everyone~
~Alli