Day 99....Last of the 2 Digit Days

Tomorrow we officially enter the Century Club....in no way is this an esteemed club to be a member. I remember feeling so bad for those who had to wait over 100 days with Anna's adoption. I thought, "how horrible to wait so long!" Well, you know the saying, "you don't know till you have been there"? Well, I can officially say tomorrow, YES, it is horrible!!!

There was a package delivered to our agency last Friday. We were so hopeful that our LOA would be inside, but it wasn't. There was one lone travel approval. Although I am thrilled for that family, I must admit I was soooo disappointed. I did see a post yesterday for a family with another agency that did get their LOA and they have the same LID as us, 11.18. It may be another week, 2, month...who knows when our agency will get another package, but we surely will be next. I would love for everyone remaining with our agency to all get their LOAs. There is no point in them having to wait this long....plus I would love to travel with them and see their cuties in person ;-)

Sending love & hugs to Elli,

Rodney, Marcy, Carter, Jacob, Parker & Anna

Day 90...

Why do I estimate these thing? Why do I torture myself? Why is this adoption process lasting FOREVER??!!?!??! Obviously, we haven't heard anything YET. I did see a 02.09 LOA for a LID on 11.09...we are LID on 11.18. You can do an estimation if you want - I refuse. However, I will say that Rodney's birthday is on Thursday, so......

There is currently no one at my agency waiting for travel approval and we should be next in line for news. The agency hasn't gotten any packages since the CNY, so it has to be close...it has to.

Sending love & hugs to our Elli,
Rodney, Marcy, Carter, Jacob, Parker & Anna

Day 81...

I wanted to give an update on my mom...she went yesterday afternoon for her post-op visit and the surgeon told her that her decision to have the type of surgery she had was a wise one. He said that there was more cancer in the tissue that was removed and removing another smaller area might have gotten clear margins, but there would have been more cancer left - maybe even undetected. We are so glad that God gave her the wisdom to make the right choice and the courage to follow through with a very hard decision.

She is healing well and feeling better. She will meet with an oncologist for her treatment plan which should consist of some oral meds, but no chemo or radiation! That is just awesome news for all of us.

Yesterday I saw a post for a TA on one of my yahoo groups and usually those things come in waves. So maybe our agency will be getting a package full of goodies soon ;-)

Thankful while sending love and hugs to Elli,
Rodney, Marcy, Carter, Jacob, Parker & Anna

Day 78...

Unintentionally, I have been on a bit of a hiatus. It has been really busy to be sooo not interesting. First, my mom had her surgery last Friday and did wonderfully. She is recovering well and we are so thankful things went as well as they did. She was suppose to go back for her post-op today, but it was cancelled because the surgeon was in surgery....so it is rescheduled for Friday. It is our prayer that the pathology report is good!

No news on the adoption front. We are quickly..as in 2 days...approaching 80 days. I am starting to get into that mode where I check the caller id when the phone rings thinking it "might" be our agency. It kind of does a number on your nerves...but thankfully I am still pretty calm which is a blessing.

On the fundraising front, I have sold 2 card designs and a blog design in my Etsy store - that's a start!

The weather here is crazy cold, warm, then crazy cold again. It hasn't gotten above freezing for the last 2 day, but a warming trend starts tomorrow. Living in this older house, the heating isn't great and I just can't get warm enough.

Rodney and I have been looking here, there and everywhere for the best prices on EVERYTHING! I have lists and lists of prices for the house. The timing of building a house is a bit crazy right now, but when we got an offer on our house, especially in the "then" deteriorating housing market, we didn't feel like we needed to pass on a buyer. And now with the current market - it was the best decision. We were able to get what we wanted out of our house and "thought" we might be able to get the house done before Elli got home - WRONG! So now it is mid-winter, we are just starting on the house, we are expecting our LOA any day and while trying to build a home for our family, we are trying to fundraise and save for our trip to China. I am not complaining about anything, I'm very happy were we are in our family's journey, it's just kind of stressful at times. There honestly doesn't seem to be enough time in the day to get it all done...and I need to do more. This will definitely be one of those "remember when" stories!

Sending love & hugs to our Elli,

Rodney, Marcy, Carter, Jacob, Parker & Anna