It's beginning to look a lot like....

We had a great Thanksgiving in Spokane. Steve's mom flew in from Denver on Tuesday, and my parents & Uncle Dave drove over from Seattle on Wednesday. It was the first time our parents had the chance to meet one another since Steve and I have been together, which was kind of nice. We managed to put together the entire Thanksgiving dinner successfully and it actually wasn't as stressful as I thought it might be...hooray!

My parents drove home on Friday, but Steve's mom has stayed thru the weekend and returns home tomorrow. On Sunday we decided to start our Christmas decorating. First, to the tree lot, where we found and gorgeous (and not too $$$) Noble Fir.

It is really fresh and smells amazing!

We enjoyed pulling out all the decorations, some of which have been passed down from our grandparents, through our parents, and now us.

Then we hung our "Candy" lights on the inside of the front window above the garage. Finally, we started on the outside lights. Our house is too tall to take on the whole "outlining the roof" thing - so we settled for decorating our entryway arbor, and two trees near the front porch. I think it looks great! It's been fun to see all of our neighbors out decorating. It's been (relatively) warm the past couple of days (temps in the 40s) so everyone got out to do their lights before the REAL snow and cold are upon us!

Giving Thanks...

(on the fence in our backyard this week...Wild Turkeys!)

This week I give thanks for lots of things...

First and foremost, my health and my family's health - thank you God! Especially that my sister's breast cancer has been in remission for 6 MONTHS now. YAY!

I am so grateful that Steve and I are both employed and able to put food on the table and pay our bills. I know a lot of families have fallen on tough times this year.

I am thankful for all the old friends I have stayed connected with - or reconnected with thru Facebook - and for the new friends I have met in Spokane this year.

I am also thankful for this beautiful house we were able to move into in August, and the two mini-vacations we were able to take to the Oregon Coast this year. I am thankful for our loving pets Luna and Killer (who turned 12 this week!), and for the beautiful spirits who visit our yard daily in the form of deer, turkey, and quail. I am also grateful for finding a terrific aqua class with a great teacher nearby, so I can burn off steam (and calories) every few days. Hooray!

I am thankful for our new social worker "N", and the agency she works for here in Spokane, that helped us complete our new homestudy. Through her diligence and commitment, we were able to complete the process in only three months. I am also thankful to my agency in Colorado, CCAI, who helped step me thru the process of applying for my I-800A. Thank you to my friends Linda, Beth, Megan, and Betsy who provided personal references for me (again!). My I-800A application was mailed out to Texas last week.

I am thankful for so many of my adoption community friends, who met their beautiful children this year, and by sharing their successes, motivated me to submit my Medical Needs Checklist for the Waiting Child Program. Marcy, Amy, Laurie, Kim, and Kris J. - I am thankful for each one of you! Thanks also to Beth, Holly, Dana, Kris F. and Lillian - all adoptive moms themselves - who regularly provide me with the encouragement to keep moving forward and stick with the program, knowing that my daughter IS out there.

I am thankful for all the generous folks out there who - even in this time of economic hardship - are willing to give a few of their own dollars to help out those less fortunate. The generosity I saw at the food bank drive, and at the adoption agency auction last week, renewed my sense of hope in humanity. Thank you.

I am also thankful that Steve's mom will be able to join us in Spokane for Thanksgiving this year...I haven't seen her since March 2008. It will be so good to spend some time with her.

...and of course I am thankful for Steve. He is an amazing daily presence in my life. Even on the toughest days, he helps me remain centered and reminds me of all the good things we are blessed with in our lives...including one another. It only gets better from here baby! :)

FINALLY, I am thankful (in advance) for the rollercoaster ride that sure to ensue over the next 12-18 months, and all the folks who are willing to take this ride with me...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

31 Months

Today marks 31 months since my dossier was logged in over in China... Our new homestudy was approved by my agency this week, so it is soon to be mailed off to the USCIS (immigration dept.) in Texas, where it will undergo another approval process that will likely take several weeks to complete... *sigh*. I saw this quote this morning - and it struck my heart even more than ever today:

"Hold fast to your vision. Do something everyday to bring it into manifestation and watch it unfold"
~Michael Bernard Beckwith

When I updated my homestudy, I also talked with my social worker about special needs kids, and what types of children (and what types of needs) I might be able to parent. This is important as an estimated 85% of the children in China's orphanages have been labeled with some kind of special need, and the wait to adopt a "special needs" child is often much shorter than to adopt a healthy baby. Many of the "needs" these kids have, wouldn't be considered a "special need" in America - or they are issues that would be corrected shortly after birth here in the states. It is rare that you see an American baby with a cleft lip or a club foot...that is because, in America, where we have better prenatal screening, and newborn care services, those issues are often corrected right away. The same with seizure disorders and minor holes in the heart... I know the resiliency of kids. I saw it every single day when I worked at the children's hospital. And now, working for the adoption agency, I continue to see kids who are labeled "special needs" thrive once they are home with their adoptive families. I don't know if Lia will have a special need or not, or what that need might be...but I feel at peace knowing that we have opened up more pathways for her to be matched to us.

Most of my friends in the adoption community have already seen this video, but I thought I would share it here for my friends and family who have not had the chance to see it:

A Happy Halloween!

We had fun decorating our house for the kiddos this year. We didn't get many trick or treaters (maybe 25 total?) but it was still fun. The front porch looked great!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!