All Good Here!

It's been all good here, and here are a few pictures!

Fun at ChristmasTown, Busch Gardens with Uncle Mike, Aunt Carol, Cousin Hailey, and Daddy.
Jack's trampoline is by far his favorite Christmas present!

Just a goofy picture:

Sacked out asleep after a day with Grandma Joyce and family!

There's truth in those recommendations

The adoption literature recommends that the few few weeks at home with your child be low key with no big parties or too many events lest you welcome sleep and attachment problems. I've seen the truth in that. Although Jack seemed to enjoy his trip to Hooters on Thursday night (Chris has the pics on his FB Photos) and a picnic and swimming yesterday (man, does he love swimming - he even went down a slide on his own several times), the past two nights his sleeping has been quite fitful with tossing and whimpering. I think Chris has been able to sleep through most of it though, thankfully!

Today we take our poop in to the doctor's office. I can't say that I will miss scooping the poop. And after all, there's always dog poop to scoop. Speaking of the dogs, Jack, Maxine, and Daisy have been getting along just fine. Jack isn't scared of the dogs, but he doesn't mess with them either (except to put pots in their water bowl and knock it over). He's reached out to touch them a few times, but without sustained interest. His lack of interest in the dogs seems to parallel his lack of interest in stuffed animals/toys.

We are establishing a routine, which other mothers have told me is the key to happiness: wake, stretch, get dressed, have breakfast, go for a walk with Daisy, playtime, lunch, play briefly in his bedroom, read a few books in our room, nap (his crib is in our room), then wake and snack. The after lunch routine is still being figured out, but dinner is to be served by 5:30 or else we have a bit-o-monster on our hands.

We love reading the comments that friends and family have posted on the blog! Thank you so very much!

Goodness! Where does the time go?

With a toddler, apparently it goes to following them around the house, tickling, swinging, a very little bit of coloring, reading animal sound books, walks around the neighborhood and to parks, listening to chit chat and singing, feeding, feeding, changing diapers, and changing diapers.

We've been doing really wonderful. Jack is absolutely incredible and amazes us so very often with his words and actions: from dada, mama, more, please, cracker, bottle (ok, so maybe only mom and dad can fully understand what he's saying) to mimicking noises (mostly bodily and dog barking) and facial expressions (big smiles and squinting eyes) and sharing his food. He also amazes us with his appetite!

We went shopping the other morning for some smaller clothes for him - 12-month sized! I don't think it will be long until he isn't losing his 18-month-sized pants.

Chris and I are fairly tired, of course. And so, goodnight!

Re-enlistment at Ground Zero

My DH, sailor of 18 years, re-enlisted last week at Ground Zero in NYC during Fleet Week. I'm so pround of you, Chief!

Here are some pictures:

With Much Sadness

DH's father passed away unexpectedly the day I wrote the last post. We thank everyone for all their kind words and thoughts at such a very, very sad time.

Two days ago, our agency called us to tell us that CCAA had pulled the files of those two boys off of our agency's list. They pulled the files because they had been with our agency for over 5 months without official word of any interest in them from any families. It's a new thing the CCAA is doing, probably with the intent to get those children exposed to other families looking to adopt.

China's adoption system is government-run. We have no idea where the boys are in the system now. Maybe their files will be sent to some other agency, or maybe they will show up on the next release of the "Shared" list (vs. agency list). Either way, we are thinking about what our next steps might be.

Three year anniversary of LID

Tomorrow, June 19, it will be three years since the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) received and logged in our adoption application. LID=Log In Date. Three years.

I don't really know what to say about this anniversary... sure you all know that when we started the process, we expected to wait about a year and a half to bring our child home... and that we've been quite patient and enjoying our life together in the meanwhile.

Could I say the wait has been tough? You bet. Could I say I've considered whether we should drop out of the China adoption program given that we might be waiting another year and a half, maybe more, maybe less? Yes, I've considered that. Could I say that I've imagined holding our child in our arms and bringing her home? Well, cha, yeah. I am sure I could share a lot more about the wait if I really thought about it. But instead, I'll choose to make an adoption journal entry privately- it has been six months since the last time I wrote in it... maybe my entry will be a short note to our child-to-be.

And I will continue to await rumors on the next batch of referrals...

My CPO

CPO Ezzelle in his dress blues.

WOW.

What else can I say?

Very nice, Chief.

Loving the green

Below is Lunch, Part II. Seaweed salad. And a bit spicy, I might add. I love green.

I only peeled back half of the plastic wrap so I would refrain from eating it all.

And if you are wondering what are those crumbs underneath the green on the plate, that would be remnants of the infamous Radish Sandwich.

Yes, we adopted (a dog)

If you haven't already heard, we adopted the last dog we were fostering. Her name is Daisy (she is just learning it), and she is a 6-year old, 44 pound Walker hound mix that was picked up in Southwest Virginia in January. Before we got her, she had 4 teeth pulled, a mastectomy, and was spayed -- even has a tattoo to indicate it! She's VERY quiet for a hound and mostly likes to sleep all day in a corner.

Here's a picture of her riding home from the vet today; the little bugger got into the front seat. And another picture of her as my office mate (smushed in between the filing cabinet and garbage can).

Maxine tolerates her, just like she did Sammy. As with Sammy, they really don't bother with each other.

In the Toilet

I just pulled a a dear coworker's ID badge out of the toilet at work. Is that SO bad? Of course the toilet had been flushed.

Should I have been a plumber instead of a psychometrician? Would that have helped me with my overwhelming fear of toilets overflowing?

All sorts of updates

Here it is, another rainy weekend in Northern Virginia. My husband is home for the weekend, and we are preparing for the our move. Packing starts in two weeks, and I am SO VERY HAPPY the military takes care of the packing and moving!

I am still fostering Daisy and got her medical records yesterday when I took her to an adoption event (there were two shoppers that liked her and her "polite" behavior, but alas, they weren't looking to adopt that day). She was spayed on January 30 and that's not all that happened during that surgery: she also had 4 teeth extracted and a mastectomy. She's listed as being potentially hard-of-hearing on the LDCRF website, and I am continue with hand training.

Perhaps this week we'll hear rumors of how far the CCAA got in matching applications to prospective adoptive parents in March.

Daisy, foster dog #3: An enigma

Honestly, I was just going to buy Maxine more dog food yesterday, and I ended up bringing home another dog to foster. Daisy is a six year old hound mix... what kind of hound, I don't know... maybe a sight hound breed. She doesn't respond to any commands -in English or in Spanish- and has been very slow to learn any on day one. Yet she walks pretty good on a leash, sometimes quite slow. I haven't heard a peep out of her except for sometimes when she yawns. She's been exposed to a tick-borne disease or two and treated for them. Hmmmm. Hey, at least she's housetrained.

Any thoughts?

Did I tell you?

It's been nearly two months since DH returned from Afghanistan where supposedly he was working an office/desk job ... and he was. In addition -did I tell you?- after being promoted to Chief, he was in charge of a personal security driving team, driving through Kabul and/or up to Bagram every day in up-armored Toyota Land Cruisers! He didn't tell a soul back here so as not worry our pretty little heads. Me? Worry? Nahhhhh.

And if I didn't tell you this, too: DH's next "sea duty" assignment is at COMDESRON 22 in Norfolk, VA. We'll complete the move in April, and I will come to my DC office 2x month and work remotely the rest of the time.

Ezzelle Fun at Google Maps

My-oh-my, where does the time for blogging go? Surely not to silly fun stuff like this:

For those of you who know our address, type it into Google Maps and then click on street view. Pan to the right and you will see Chris and I sitting on the porch and Maxine and dearly departed Sammy at the front gate!

I figure this view must have been snapped in fall of 2007 given the presence of Sammy & all those leaves.

We made the paper!

Operation Welcome Home was at BWI airport to welcome home the troops as many of them transferred to other flights. But not my DH -- this was his final destination! A journalist and photographer from the Washington Post were there to document the homecoming, and the following photo made page one of the Metro section on December 24. The article, "Cheers, All Around" didn't mention any of our story we told them (drats!) and sadly they got DH's branch and rank incorrect in the photo caption. But, hey, HE'S HOME!


Currently, we are traveling in NC to see his family. Let me be exact: currently, DH is watching the UNC Tar Heels after having Mama's barbeque chicken and red potatoes.

You have heard this before! (and before, and before...)

Today marks 2 & 1/2 years since our dossier/application was logged in the CCAA. And yes, at this rate, we probably still have at least 1 & 1/2 years to wait, just like we told you a year ago.

It has been a year since I wrote in my journal for this adoption. Amazing how time flies. Amazing what we thought back then.

Also amazing is the friends and connections we've made through the adoption process and this blog, and the good things that have happened.

Thanks for tuning in.

Introducing "The Harley"

Here she is, DH's Harley Davidson Street Bob. Let me tell you, the picture does not do it justice. I got to see it in person today and it is HOT! The guys at the dealership perked up when they knew I was "the wife" and had to show me every purty detail. Clearly I will have to take a back seat to her when DH comes home. Did I mention he is coming home soon?!?!

Yard work still?!?

Here it is, nearly December, and I am still doing hard labor yard work. Six hours of stacking firewood, snapping kindling, mowing (leaves mostly), raking (more leaves), and cleaning flowerbeds. Sure, research to-date hasn't shown that a girl can give herself arthritis, but allow me to present to you the first case study: me. My sister - Happy Birthday, JoAnne (that's her on the right in the picture and her oldest daughter on the left of me) - tells me I simply need to elicit additional help when I need to open jars - the handle of a knife, a knock on the counter top, grab some young 'en off the street.

But that's OK because DH is going to be home soon!

My vet, my love

That's "vet" for veteran, my sailor, my DH, my love. A few days have passed since Veteran's Day, but I still wanted to post.

Seven years and seven months ago my DH and I first met. We spent a total of five days together before he deployed on the USS Enterprise for six months. At some point during those six months he sent me a ratty, time-yellowed poster with a poem titled "Loving a Sailor" on it. The poem reads as follows:

Loving a Sailor is not always gay,
and loving a Sailor is a high price to pay.
It's mostly living with nothing to hold,
it's being young but feeling old.
It's having him whisper his love for you,
it's whispering back that you love him, too.
Then comes a kiss, a promise of of love,
knowing you're watched, approved from above.

Reluctantly, painfully, letting him go,
while you're dying inside from wanting him so.
Watching him leave with eyes full of tears,
standing alone with your hopes, dreams, and fears.
It's sending a letter with the stamp upside down
to a faraway love in a faraway town.
It's going to church to kneel and to pray,
and really meaning the things that you say.

And though you know that he's far away,
you just keep loving him more each day.
Being in love will merit your dreams,
with thoughts of heaven where love's light gleams.

Days go by and no mail for a spell,
you wait for a word bearing he's well.
The letter comes and you're filled with joy,
you're like a small child with a new shiny toy.
With fingers that tremble, and heart beating fast,
you tear open the letter and read it so fast.
Yes, he's doing well and he misses you so,
and it's filled with the love you want to know.

Weeks are a month, and months are a year,
you're waiting for the day that you will have no more fear.
Time passes slowly, yet it's gone very fast,
you're barely aware it's here until it's past.

Yes, loving a sailor brings bitterness and tears,
loneliness, sadness and dependent years.
Loving a Sailor isn't much fun
but it's worth the price when his time is done.
Remember he's thinking of you everyday,
he's sad and he's lonely for being away.
So love him, miss him, and try to be braver,
and always be proud of loving a Sailor.

Yeah, pretty corny. But the sentiment was not so corny that I would not reply with a poem of my own for him!

And loving a sailor and “promises” of things to come
May be the certain fate of some;
For deep in your heart you dream of the fun
Removing the injustice time apart has done.

Who would have thought that "Five Day Chris" and I would have come this far? To my vet, my sailor, my love, I say that I am so proud of you for so many reasons. And I can't wait for you to freaking be back home already.

Dory

This is Dory. I picked her up to foster her last Saturday, wrote a glowing (and truthful) review of her on the Lost Dog Rescue website, took her to an adoption event yesterday, and today she is going home with her new owner. She is a sweetheart and will be a wonderful companion for her owner and her other lab.

I approached fostering a dog as kind of like applying Bondo to a dog-chewed window frame, to temporarily fill the hole in my life created when Sammy died. (I am still working on that window frame, Sammy.) Of course I knew no dog would be all that Sammy was to me, but I needed something, and I knew I didn't need it for too long. I saw only a very little bit of Sammy in Dory. And I saw Sammy more easily in my daydreams.

Gosh, I still miss Sammy something bad. And I miss my DH something real bad, too. Thankfully, he will be home soon.