Signs of Spring

Not a lot of news to report this week. After last year's 7+ FEET of snowfall, we have had a warmer than normal winter in Spokane this year. So much so in fact, that when I was out in the garden yesterday, I saw new growth starting to pop up in the perennial beds. Hooray! The weather folks are saying we can expect some temps into the 60s this week, so I am excited about that. Daytime temps have been in the 50s for several weeks now. I am ready for spring!

In dieting news, Steve and I are stilling working toward our goals. Month #2 has been easier. Less sugar/carb cravings for sure, and finding out what makes sense in terms of meal prep. Subw@y has still played a major role in our weekly diet, as has salmon, chicken, a variety of turkey products - many, many veggies - and rice. Steve has lost 20 lbs and I have lost 15 lbs total since January 1. I'm making it to my aqua sport class at the gym 2-3x/week, and trying to be more active in general. We were pleased to see that IH0P has added healthier options to their breakfast menu, allowing us to still enjoy the occasional brunch out for eggbeaters, turkey bacon and multi-grain blueberry pancakes...yummy!

My beloved blackberry cr@pped out on me last week. Not good when you rely on it as much as I do, particularly when you work remotely. So I sucked it up and got the new iphone on Friday. It's taking me some time to figure out the whole "touchscreen" typing thing, but I'm getting there. I believe I am one of the few people on earth that has never owned an ipod, so I was kind of excited to get my music loaded onto my phone this weekend as well.

No news on the adoption front. The Chinese gov't offices typically shut down for a couple of weeks during the New Year festival and should be back to work this week. So hopefully my agency will be getting files on new children needing homes in the coming weeks. It could still be several months before I receive a referral, but I am ready to meet Lia whenever her file is presented to me! Meanwhile, I am praying for my friend Bonnie, who is leaving for China this week to go get her baby girl. Bonnie and I are with the same agency and both sent our dossiers to China the same month, so we have been on the same chatboards and gift exchange groups for several years now. Her daughter NiNi has a fairly serious heart issue and needs to get back to the U.S. asap for heart surgery - so please keep Bonnie and NiNi in your prayers this week! In fact, my agency has several families traveling to meet their little ones this week, so please keep them all in your thoughts and prayers over the next couple of weeks.

Valentine's Day & Happy Lunar New Year!

Today marks Valentine's Day, and also the beginning of the Lunar New Year festival in Asia. 2010 is the Year of the Tiger - Happy New Year! (Gong Hay Fat Choy!)

No big V-day plans this year...again, saving money for what I hope to be a BIG trip sometime in the coming year, so keeping things low-key. Also trying to avoid the food, candy and sweets that plague this holiday typically. Last year I was headed out to San Diego at this time (where I got to meet my 30-year crush - Rick Springfield - LOL).

In China, the Lunar New Year is the biggest holiday of the year. It is when families come together from near and far to celebrate and spend time with one another - much like our Christmas here in America. A friend of mine posted this YouTube video and I thought it was so happy and really captured the joy and celebration of this special holiday in China:

34 Months

Maybe I should start taking bets on how many months this is going to go - now that it seems there might actually be an end in sight? Will I reach 40 months before receiving a referral? Will I reach 40 years old before getting a referral? Who knows (only God at this point).

I was happy to receive a call from the Waiting Child Dept. at my agency last week. They were wanting to go over some of the special needs I had checked on my list and discuss my spectrum of "openness" to varying issues. They hinted to the fact that I may not wait as long as originally predicted due to my openness to certain issues. So hopefully that is a good sign. Of course, it all depends on what kinds of children they receive files on from China in the coming months. There are no guarantees...so until then, I continue to wait not-so-patiently...

I also realize there will be even more weeks and months of paperwork and waiting once I know who Lia is...and even more time will pass before I get to hold her in my arms...

...and I suspect that will be the hardest "wait" of all.

1800A APPROVAL!

YES!!! Friday I received my 1800A approval from the US Immigration Dept. (USCIS) - HOORAY! This is what the past 5 months of paperwork, fingerprinting appointments, homestudy addendums, (and $3k+ in fees!) was working toward.

As most of you know, the USCIS originally approved me to adopt from China in March 2007. But immigration approvals expire after a certain number of months, and mine expired in Sept. 2008. When we moved from Colorado to Washington in 2008, it meant we had to get a new homestudy done anyway, and my agency recommended that I wait until I was closer to a referral to get that done. So last summer when I decided to enter the Waiting Child program with my agency, I moved ahead with renewing the paperwork. So I now have re-approval from the US gov't to bring an orphaned Chinese child into the U.S. as an adopted citizen (at least until March 2011, when the paperwork will expire again!). So let's keep our fingers crossed that we get some good news this year!