Feelings lately...

So I guess my buzz from the review room has worn off a little bit... I can't believe my 3 weeks of vacation are over and I'm going back to work next Monday. At least it's short days next week, the first week is always the hardest right after the 4th of July, people are still trying to make up their minds what they are doing for the Summer, and some people are still away from the 4th. So it's actually really nice to not have really long days the first week.

Summer is always hard, time to myself which I am always yelling I don't get, and then I get it and don't know how to relax enough sometimes to enjoy it. I have a ton of stuff I want to get done this week, and now the weather is going to be crappy, and may impede on what I want to do. I did get the garden around the tree done yesterday, and the other garden weeded and mulched, and plants transplanted yesterday, so yesterday was a good day. I am going to do the barrel next to the mailbox today and then to Joann Fabrics to pick out fabric to send to a fellow blogger for her daughters quilt-excited about this!

I plan on sending out notices via email for the last of the quilt squares for our quilt, this week. I'm not sure people know they can still send fabric or not, but we've added a few names also. My blogger friend is also going to send fabric for Avery's quilt.

Got all of her quilt squares out last week that we've received so far. We have 92 so far, and will definitely be over 100 for her quilt, so that's really good.

Been noticing a lot of things lately...people mostly.

I've noticed how they act, how they respond, and have seen what's important to them, versus what's important to us. It's funny how different people are...I guess that's a good thing, we wouldn't all want to be the same.

I guess in some instances you get what you give, and no matter how much you think you give it doesn't seem to be enough. It's funny how you can live close to someone and not really know much about them, or assume that you do, but be completely wrong. I don't know these are just ramblings in my head. When people make me mad, or frustrate me, it comes out on this blog. Gary asked me other day, so is this blog just about us now...I said no, but this is our lives and what's going on during this journey it's nothing different than what I've blogged about before. I can't write in a journal, I feel idiotic, and I'm a computer person anyway. I like email over the phone, facebook, and all of that stuff. People say I'm too quiet and hard to read...so read this and you'll know how I feel, and what's going through my head.

I feel like people lately don't want to hear about any progress unless it's the referral. You say progress, and they think, do you have her? I guess I can understand that. Probably sick and tired of us droning on how long the wait is, and has been, and what's left for the wait.

Maybe I'm just stir crazy here at home, because I'm not working. Maybe...if I was working I'd complain I was working...never satisfied. Wish I had the whole Summer off though. Will do when we have Avery...can't wait.

So there's my droning for today...
~Alli

More pictures from our vacation in Indiana...
Enjoy!!:)

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Our Indiana vacation...

So Gary and I took off last Friday evening to go visit my brother, Tom, and his wife Liz, and our nieces Jessica and Jodi. We haven't been to Indiana in the Summer in 8 years. The last time was for Tom and Liz's wedding. We go every other year for Thanksgiving and Easter, and they come home for Christmas, and usually 1 week in the Summer in August, so it was nice to go and catch up with everyone. I love Indiana, it's quiet, and laid back, and so much to do.

We left Friday evening about 9:00PM, and Gary likes to drive through the night because the traffic is light, and you can get there and still not really waste a whole day traveling. We got to Tom and Liz's about 6:00AM. We snoozed til about 10:00AM when we got there, and then visited with everyone for a couple hours and then we took off to Shipshewana. My favorite touristy part of Indiana. It's a little town full of shops, and cafés, and you park in one place and walk the town. Each house is another shop. We had a pretzel, and a cherry coke (the kind where they put the syrup in themselves) at the Mercantile, and unfortunately the chocolate shop that Gary loves had closed down-bummer! But it was nice, and not too busy, and we didn't stay too long. Had dinner with Tom and Liz and the girls at their house, Liz made some tasty lasagna, and we were in bed by 10:00PM. I think the driving all night was catching up to us.

We went to church with them on Sunday (Father's Day). They belong to Fairview Missionary Church. It's a big church, beautiful inside and out, they have a 18 piece band and the pastor is fun and upbeat. We went 2 years ago for their version of the passion play and enjoyed it then. For Father's Day they had a ll the Big Boy Toys in the parking lot- RV's, cars, tractors, etc. for all the Dad's to drool over, and the Father's got chocolate on the way out. After church we had lunch and Gary, Liz, Jessica, and Jodi and I went to Pokagon State Park, so the girls could go swimming. Tommy took a nap in the chair. It was in the high 80's and really humid while we were there. Really pretty park, and we had fun watching the girls in the water, it was a lot cooler near the water. Then we hit the outlets next door, just 4 shops so Gary could get some new work clothes. He's lost 50 pounds and is desperate for some new clothes. He came home with 7 shirts and 5 pairs of pants-cheap!! For our Father's Day I took Gary to Moe's in Fort Wayne. He may not officially be a Dad yet but he is a Dad to a lot of our students, and with the news lately of the review room, we deserved to celebrate a little. We're a cheap date, and Moe's is good food!! Grabbed a shake at Steak and Shake on the way home and that was that for Father's Day.

We drove to Fort Wayne on Monday and took Liz, and the girls shopping. Had a lot of fun, and Tommy grilled chicken for dinner, it was great. It was great to spend time with my brother and his family. the girls are growing up so quick, and we miss so much of their lives because we live so far away. I picked out fabric for a purse. Liz makes these amazing purses. She is a sewing genius!! We went for bike rides, and played badminton, played with the kittens, and watched movies.

On Tuesday we went to the big Shipshewana Flea Market. There are over 400 vendors at this flea market, and all sorts of deals. Jessica and Uncle Gary made shirts, I bought some what Gary would call, "happy crap". Liz and Jodi met us there a little later, and we had lunch together. A good time was had by all. It was HOT though. I forgot to put on suntan lotion like an idiot. I burn in 3 seconds when it's hot like that, but Liz had some in her bag and I bought a scarf to put around my shoulders and neck, and then I was fine. I got a little burned but not too bad. We got through 3/4 of the flea market and I had had enough-too hot !! So they continued and we went and got a pretzel and cherry coke from the Mercantile in the village-YAY!

Gary took a 3 hour nap when we got back from the flea market, and I packed up all our findings and goodies. We had dinner with all of them and we left to come home at about 8:00PM that evening. Again, Gary likes to drive through the night-less traffic. We got home about 5:00AM on Wednesday and had the rest of the day to chill out and relax.

We had a great time in Indiana visiting with my brother's family!!

I'll try to post some pictures we took when we were there!!

Have a great day!
~Alli


Uncle Gary and Jessica and Jodi


Jodi at the Pokagon State Park Playground


Jessica!

Oh Happy Day!!!...week!!

So happy everything came back clear for a family member-Oh Happy Day!!! What a week, great news on the adoption, and great, great news in the family!!

We really should count our blessings everyday, and be grateful for the people in our lives, and tell them everyday that we love them!!

Goodness all around!!

Love to all,
~Alli

We are off to Indiana for 4 days to frolic with the nieces and the brother and sister in law!!:)

Want to say Happy Father's Day to my Dad and Gary's Dad. We will be in Indiana for Father's Day this year. We celebrated Father's Day with my Dad last Sunday-we made breakfast for him. Had Father's Day with Gary's Dad last night-made dinner for him. We love you both and will call you on Sunday-Happy Father's Day!!

Clarification...& other note

Review room means they are or have looked at your dossier. The dossier is the huge packet of information we sent to China, our criminal records, finger prints, statement of intent to adopt, all agency paperwork, the homestudy, the medical documents, the pictures, and all the other notarized, exemplified, and whatever else we were when we had to get all of that stuff together. So we've gone from one pile to essentially another pile, but the difference is they have reviewed our dossier now, and we should be moving on to the matching room here shortly. So in that room we again are put into another pile. Lots of moving from one pile to another, to another. But after so many months of waiting to get this far, the news yesterday was great to hear.

The last time I checked on the update (last week) they were still on April 30th 2007, and they have gone up almost 2 months in this last update (yesterday). So that's good! Now they are at June 30th, 2007. I know for some people it's a small step, we are still waiting. But let me tell ya, yesterday was such a happy day for us, and any amount of progress, of feeling like this adoption has gone forward is BIG for us, and we need to celebrate the little things along the way. Because if we don't, we just get bogged down on the negative side of the waiting. Had a glass of wine last night to celebrate w/ Gary.

So I am going to wait until next month to start the countdown, and the time for that may freeze at times, and it may also have times where it goes along as scheduled, but right now we can "plan" on at least 10 months until our referral. The other couples that just got their referrals waited 34 months from their LID, so we are almost at 24 months, in 14 days we will be 24 months. Then we will start at 11 months and countdown. I know I may be ahead of myself a little, but smaller numbers are good, and that's what we've been waiting to hear about, and we're here...maybe off a little here or there.

But we're HERE!!

Thank you to everyone that have left comments here and on facebook and sent emails about our news yesterday. We
appreciate all the support, and love, more than you know!!!

Love to all,
~Alli:)

PS~

Thank you to our nephew Noah who gave us one of his art projects from school. It was a picture of a chinese coat drawn on silk, it's very cool. When I get a chance I will post a picture of it up here to everyone. Thank you Noah!!!
Love,
~Aunt Alli