Happy Heart

My brother is an excellent photographer and he is coming with me to China! Here are some pic's he took recently. 

Coming Monday...

Abbey's dollhouse bookshelf! 

I did it again!

Between being an early childhood educator and adopting it seems like I get fingerprinted all the time! Today I spent several hours with many slight complications trying to get my fingerprints redone, they expire in July. As with the last many times I've had it done, they had great difficulty trying to get clear prints. I've been told that I have gardener's hands. After they exhausted themselves with the computer version they tried ink - over and over and finally called in the big boss. He tried several times and said "it's the best we can do." Hopefully it will be good enough. I couldn't help thinking of all the criminals running around that never get fingerprinted while all the teachers and adoptive parents do it over and over. I also sent in my $ today to refile my child abuse index check which will also be expiring. I am so thankful that it looks like I will get my referral before all the massive paperwork expires! 

In Celebration....

I cried alot today, I think it the good referral news was like taking the cap off my overheated engine. I was pretty emotional. Hope in our hearts is a powerful force. Anyway, after dealing with a very yucky and costly plumbing emergency I decided splurge on the Hello Kitty shoes and some wallies for the nursery. I have to get busy on all that now that it looks like I really will be getting a baby!
 

It's True, It's True!

They did it! They finally picked up the pace and covered more dates and more babies this time. They have placed babies with families whose papers were logged in up until 6-28-05. What does this mean for me? With my log in date of 7-20-05 it means they they 16 more business days to cover until they get to me. They should be able to do that by the end of August. This would save me from redoing all my paperwork which would be in danger of expiring. Oh my goodness, this is the best news we've had in a loooooooooooooooooong time!!! 

Secret Pal Strikes Again!

Wow! I am amazed with all the wonderful books my secret pal sent. There were 5 big books that are very sturdy and laminated. They are nursery rhymes and songs with very cute illustrations. There are 3 board books with slider pages that open to reveal different animals. And then there are 2 very cute pop-up books that have adorable yarn and colors as you open each page. In one the yarn pieces become a birds nest and in the other they become a blanket for kitties to play with. The amazing thing is that I didn't already have any of these books. After teaching for 15 years I have almost every children's book out there...but none of these, and I love every one of them. Abbey and I will have so much fun reading and singing with these. 

It's a Small World

Today I was treated to a lovely lunch with fellow blogger Joannah. It was wonderful to meet another courageous woman who is walking the same pathway. We are both teachers and share our faith and our love for our future Chinese daughters. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory (yum) and shopped at Pottery Barn Kids, Janie and Jack, and the American Girl doll store.
Sadly, I missed a call from Citizenship and Immigration about getting refingerprinted and Joannah arrived two minutes late to the Chinese consulate where she was picking up all her papers and they closed. Aaah, such is life.
Now here is my VERY small world story.
I recently emailed Heather from SAC (single adopt china) who posted that she was in my state. I told her where I was and got an email back that she was in my town. We met for coffee and it turns out that we live in the same housing complex!! She was just beginning her paperchase but found a waiting child and will be going to China soon. She and Joannah are both naming their daughters Jillian. Tonight I am meeting with her to watch a video from her daughter's province that she got from Research China. I am also going to see her new nursery furniture, yea!

Dr. Jane Aronson

I was laughing this week over an article in People Magazine with Angelina and Brad's new baby stating that Dr. Aronson was a good friend of theirs. It turns out that Dr. A has been the pediatrician for Maddox and Zahara but there relationship has grown into a friendship that includes play dates with their children. I LOVE Dr. Aronson. I heard her speak at the East Meets West conference on Chinese adoption. She was absolutely fascinating. She gave us so much helpful information about the medical needs of babies adopted from China. I was so impressed with her as a person and how adopting her own children led her into a whole new profession of orphan expertise. Check her out at Orphan Doctor.
When I went to meet with my own pediatrician who has quite a bit of experience in international adoption I brought him an article from her website. I was then a little embarrassed when he mentioned that he had read everything on her website but would be happy to look over what I had brought. This is pretty typical for me, trying to bring articles for the Dr. to read - it's embarrassing! 

Hallelujah!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! HAL -LE -LU - JAH!!

I think I tried to do to much in the past week...We had two field trips, did report cards, had an end of the year ice cream party, painted a 120 foot mural outside my classroom, and all the usual end of the year wrap up. I am stumbling around my house like a drunken sailor, only I've had no drink, just a few fudgesicles.

In addition to it being the last day of school, there are some very good referral rumors floating around the internet. Now, I am trying to be guarded until they prove true, but they do give a girl reason to hope. It won't be that I'm next, but it could be that I am a whole lot closer. 

Princess Baby Mulan

Well, since I mentioned it I decided I better post a picture too. This doll is just the cutest things ever! If she doesn't play with it I will. Bring on the tea parties!
And speaking of Mulan...At my parent/child Mandarian class there were several gorgeous Chinese moms. My instructor had mentioned to me that one of them was an actress and I thought "yeah, just like so many people in LA are actresses."
Well, a few weeks after my class ended I was watching the Style channel with a show about celebrity moms and it dawned on me that the commentator was a mom from my class. I googled Ming-Na and found that she starred in the Joy Luck Club (which I love) and had been the voice for the Mulan movies. She really is an actress!! Another positive role model for my daughter too.

Mirrors and Windows

Since I began this journey I have had a strong sense of wanting to provide my daughter with reflections of her ethnicity in her surroundings. The best would be Chinese friends, teachers, and mentors, but I also want her to see faces like hers in her books and toys. As pointed out in a booklet from PACT, our children need mirrors and windows. The mirrors are insights into others who share their ethnic and cultural background. The windows are the opportunities to learn about other ethnicities and cultures. It was very important to me that my daughter have a doll with almond eyes and dark hair. But I also want her to know that it's fine if she loves a baby doll with blonde hair and blue eyes too. I always thought this Fisher Price asian doll was really sweet, but then found out through Tiffany that she was on sale for $5 at Amazon! Since Bobbi and Stephe are loading up on dolls, I figured I would too. This baby will be in addition to the Disney Baby Princess Mulan, which is the cutest asian baby doll ever!