China Adoption....Our Journey to Jaden

Pictures for your veiwing enjoyment....

This picture makes me smile and think of spring.  I'm so proud to be her Mom! 

Let me explain...

For Easter we bought Valerie fingernail polish.  Before going out to dinner last night she asked if I would put it on her.  While I was putting it on she said, "Uh oh!"  I asked her what was wrong and she said, "It's old."  What?!  "Mom, it's for older girls, not kids my age.  Its not modest enough."  YES!!  Without jumping out of my skin with excitment, I said, "Yep, I messed up, didn't I?"  She said, "It's okay Mom.  Can we go back and get a modest little girl color?"  Yes, Valerie, we can go back!

Here are our guys horsing around after work one day.  Kevin came home on this day with dry wall mud on his pants.  "MOM, MOM, LOOK!!!  I drywalled today and I got it on my pants.  These are my work pants now. Okay?"  Okay, son!  It turns out that he really did help Scott mud a room.  He has a great time helping his Dad work. 

The other day a friend invited him to come over and play.  It meant that Kevin would have to leave his Dad at work and go.  He was very torn about leaving Dad and said, "But Dad needs me!"  Scott assured him that he had already helped with the hard stuff and that he would try to manage without him for awhile.  So, Kevin was able to work with Dad and have fun with his friend.  On a regular basis Kevin offers up thanks to God for a Dad that teaches him how to work, fix houses "and stuff." 

This is Uncle Robby and Bobbi.  They have decided to share a home and will be adopting a baby this summer!!  Their little one will be home before Jaden.  We are so excited for them.  This picture was taken last night at dinner.  We all came together to celebrate U. Robby's 38th birtday!  Welcome to the family Bobbi, Andrew and Aaron! 

   This is Austin, Aaron and Seth at dinner last night.  Sorry it's so dark!  These are great kids! 

This is A. Sandy and A. Shellie!  Aren't they cute together?  Thanks for following us Sister Bears!  We love your comments and support.

You know the wait is becoming excruciating when Scott starts expressing concerns over it.  Jaden, we are waiting impatiently to bring you home!!  Please know that we have loved you completely for more than fourteen and a half (14 1/2) months now!! 

Love,

Mommy

Maybe these updates are only for Jaden to read someday....

Good Morning! 

It's that time of month again.........we're probably about a week away from referrals.  Scott and I don't expect our referral this month.  The days of dreaming of more than two weeks of referrals at a time are over.  Rumors have it that the next batch will go through June 6th.  (Remember, we're LID 6/16)  We'll see.  I wouldn't be surprised if it only went through June 3rd.

In talking with Sandy last night I found out that she doesn't even follow along with these update posts very closely.  She said, "It's just guesses anyway, you'll call me when you know something."  I can't argue that point!  I thought that I was keeping everyone updated and didn't realize that I was writing for my own benefit.  But there is nothing wrong with writing about it for the kids only.  Some day this entire blog will be on CD and Jaden will have it to read.  Ultimately, that's what I write for anyway.      

We'll let you know if a miracle happens and we receive our referral this month...bahahahahahah!  I crack myself up!

~Traci

Another birthday party invitation arrived.....it's a sleepover!

Hunter and Morgan are turning seven!!!  Now that's reason to celebrate all right!  I just wish it wasn't being celebrated by another sleepover.......(sigh!) 

I think I'll have a few of Valerie's friends over for a fun get together with lots of crafts and games during spring break next week.  Yea, that's what I'll do.

Traci

A Journey to Jaden Classic.....

"Mom?" 

"Yes, Valerie."

"Can I watch Barney?  I think I need to get used to it again before my Sissy comes home." 

"Sure Sweetheart.  Go ahead."  With a smile on my face.

Valerie's spring allergies kicked in this morning and she's having a lot of trouble.  Apprently the antihistamine that they switched her to this winter is failing.  She's been laying around this evening watching TV.  When she asked to watch Barney she was using her pathetic sick voice.  I have to admit......it was adorable!  She and Kevin both talk about Jaden all of the time.  I can't wait to bring their sister home for them very soon!

I love you Valerie!

~Mommy

UPDATE:  Kevin came home while Valerie was watching Barney.  He sat down and finished watching it with her.  (They watched a lot of Barney when they were small.  I love that show.)  Moving on.....before bed Kevin said, "Mom, did you know we watched Barney tonight?"  "Yea Kev', I knew.  Did you like it?"  He said, "Yea, it's a good show.  Kids can learn a lot from Barney.  You just have to listen.  Thanks for buying that DVD for Jaden.  She needs to learn how to be a good friend and stuff."  "You're welcome Kev," was all I could come up with.  I love the smiles that those two put on my face!

Spring has arrived! What a great day for the park!

After school on Monday we headed over to the park with Valerie's best friend Jenny.  Here are some pictures of their fun!

But first they had to have a snack. 

Here's Jenny taking the first shot down the slide!

Kevin against the awesome blue sky that we had yesterday...

Valerie looking beautiful....

Jenny, Valerie and Kevin

I was driving down a country road on the way home from the park.  In my rear view mirror I saw these two girlfriends chatting away.  After determining we were safe, I stopped the car and took this picture of the girls.  They are so adorable together. 

Kevin and Sadie...

Easter Egg Hunt.....

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to help organize an Easter Egg Hunt for our community.  I asked Tonya to take pictures for me and she did a great job.             From looking at the pictures, it looks like I missed a lot as I buzzed around.  I'm grateful for the pictures to help me see it all again.  We couldn't have pulled this off with a LOT of help!  First, our church community came through in a big way with eggs, candy and door prizes.  Second, the youth in our church went out with me before the hunt to help set up!  They did a great job with set up, keeping the kids safe and directing me when my memory failed me from last years event.  Last, I am so grateful to everyone for their help again this year!  Here are some pictures for you (click on the pictures to enlarge them):

There are so many more great pictures.  Pastor Daryl did a great job sharing the true Easter story with all of the kids. 

I look forward to this again next year!!

~Traci

Arkansas in April.....

In just a couple of weeks I will have the opportunity to go to Arkansas to visit a friend that I met months ago.  Okay, so I haven't met her in person, but we've been talking on the phone since June or July.  Believe me, when you go through something like international adoption with a group of people, you really bond. 

Cindy and her family love the Lord.  She has recently stepped down as children's ministry director at her church and I have recently accepted that position at my church.  As I understand it, her church is a large church that has been blessed with a sizeable budget.  Ours?  Well, not so much.  Our budget doesn't allow for fancy curriculum.  We've managed to put together classrooms and lessons that have helped our children grow spritually, but we haven't had the luxury of buying some of the really great resources that are available. 

Cindy came up with the idea of speaking with the leaders of her church about the needs of our church. The leaders of her church have decided to donate a large amount of children's minstry materials and some curriculum to our humble little church in Troy.  Wow!!  I am so incredibly grateful for their genorosity.

My time in Little Rock will be short but I look forward to personally meeting Cindy and her family in just a couple of weeks.  It would be great if this trip would get me away from the computer for a couple of days.  BUT, no such luck.  Cindy has a computer that she is intimately attached to as well.

Oh well!  Just watch, we'll receive our referral call while I'm states away from Scott and the kids.  Wouldn't that be a bummer?  I mean, wouldn't that be great!  That would be tough, wouldn't it?  God has it figured out.

Take care!  Get the couch ready Cindy.....it won't be long now!

Traci

Boredom results in playing with things a little bit....

There's nothing interesting on the computer tonight.  So, I thought I'd change the look of things.  What do you think?  Good night Everyone!  Sleep well.....

Love, Traci ~ Sitting alone at my computer dreaming of Jaden...........again.  God, please hold her again tonight while she sleeps, and richly bless her!

Get your tissues ready....this will either make you laugh or cry!

This is starting to be fairly laughable!  What else can you do but laugh.  The laughing will eventually bring me to tears.  But not today!

Before I start with the latest rumor, here me out!  Today is only the 7th of April.  It's very early in the month for this rumor to have a lot of merit.  With that said, the negative rumors that we've been hearing over the past couple of months have turned out to be true.  So, I'm going to prepare my heart and all of you ~ just in case! 

Ready?  It's bad!  A recent rumor says that the CCAA will only be matching May 31st.  That's it!!  We'll have to wait and see what actually comes about. 

You wouldn't believe the chatter that's out there.  If you remember, I told you that I dropped off all of the yahoo boards except my agency.  Soon after I did that, I discovered this blog:  http://isorumors.blogspot.com/.  It's from a woman that calls herself Rumor Queen.  What's nice about it is that you only have to go to one spot to read all of the rumors that are out there.  She has a big following with folks from many agencies around the world.  They send her scoops from their agencies and she reports them.  CAUTION:  I'm not suggesting that any of this is true.  Remember, it's called "In Search of Rumors."  The blog must be read with caution and a shake of the head sometimes.  But every once in a while something will pop up that will peak my interest.  Like this most recent rumor. 

I received an email from a fellow FTIAer last month.  Early in the month she was warned that the dossiers would only go through the end of May.  I was sad about this news but I didn't really believe it.  I didn't even pass it along to my fellow travel mates.  I didn't want to bring them down the way that it did me.  This month I'm going to believe this current rumor until it's proven wrong.  I need to be prepared for the worse scenario.  This is slowly turning into a nightmare!!

Okay, that's it for now.  Remember, it's only April 7th.  Plenty of time for something else to happen.  I don't know about my travel buddies, but I'm preparing my head and heart for travel in August or September.  I know it sounds impossible.......but anything can happen the way this is going.

Have a great day!  Enjoy the spring days!

Traci

Kari adding the final touches to Jaden's room.....

This is my niece, Kari.  I asked her to finish Jaden's room and she's doing a great job!  I knew that she would be able to do it well.  I thought that she would at least pencil it on first, but she's just freehanding!  Okay, so I know it's not overly complicated, but I certainly couldn't do it!  Thank you Kari!  I really appreciate you taking the time to do this for your cousin.

I've added more pictures below.