Another Christmas finshed...

and still no where near close to having Alison home.

Michael went to Mass last night and told me to pay attention to the readings when I went to Mass this morning. Well...I went to the Children's Mass and they alter the readings so that the Children can understand. I read the reading for the later Mass and it was, in a nut shell, about praying for a family and children and that if you're faithful, it will happen.

I want to believe that it will happen, and that will be when our Alison comes home...it's not going to happen any other way, miracle or not...our family will be formed when she comes home...there is no other way for this to happen.

I'm trying to stay faithful...I really am, but it is so hard sometimes to keep being positive about our adoption and the holiday's are tough...it's no ones fault...it is what it is and people truly are well meaning, but I guess that they just really don't understand what we are going through. I wouldn't understand it myself if I weren't living it every day.

I want a puppy

No...she isn't ours, but I want one! We have two cats and I know that they will both hate the thought of having a puppy in the house. But I told Michael that we need a new baby in the house and it looks like a new puppy will fit the bill...for now.

I would like a small dog, but Michael said if we ever get a dog it's going to be a Blond Lab...these are more work, but I think that if I can convince Michael...I want to get one now, or for his birthday in January.

Once Alison comes home you know that she is going to want a puppy...it's better to get our dog now so that he is all settled and trained before Alison come home.

Maybe I'll ask Santa to see if he can fit a little lab on his sleigh.

First Snow

I love the first real snow of the season. It's so pretty and clean! We are expected to get between 6-12" before the night is over.



I had today off so that is a blessing...the first snow is pretty, but I really hate driving in the snow. Now that my company has moved further west I know that my commute is going to be a nightmare in this weather...but today, it's just beautiful.

The only thing missing from my perfect, beautiful day is having Alison home to enjoy this first snow with me.

Fortune Cookie

So we stopped for some Chinese food on the way home from the birthday party and I just have to save my fortune from my cookie.

Here is what it said: "You will step on the soil of many countries"

I like that fortune and I'm going to save it. Now I just need a fortune that tells me when.

Happy Birthday Aunties Girl

Today was my great nieces birthday...she is two. Happy birthday aunties girl!!

Look at the dress up trunk! What a hit and so much jewelery inside...she definitely is a fashionista! Here is birthday girl Gabrielle and her cousin Abby.


Here is Gumpy again...he isn't wearing his fairy wings this time, but he has his pretty princess bows in!


Here is the new kitchen being put together...oh boy, make me some pancakes!


Here is Jody, Kayden and Nana waiting for those pancakes.


Playing in the new kitchen:

Ice Storms

We got our first real bad storm for 2008...all ice...here is a picture from a newspaper in NH which got hit really bad.



Michael and I really were not affected by the storm, but mom and dad are spending the weekend with us because they are without power and the talk was that it would take at least a week to get it all back up and running. My brother called tonight and said that his in-laws have their power back and they are just down the street from mom and dad so they are going home tomorrow. It was nice to have them come and visit though.

My brother lost power and my nice lost power. Hopefully, they can get home soon too.

And so it begins...

We have been talking about opening up a wall between our dining room and kitchen for quite a while now...we finally did it today. I was a little apprehensive at first, but I really love what we have now. We are far from being done and this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as renovations go, but little by little we will get to where we need to be...here are some before, during and after pictures...

Here is the wall in the dining room before demo:




Here are a couple of pictures of the kitchen wall that was removed...




Michael removed all the woodwork in the dining room so that we could use it later...we lost the corner cabinet, our hardwood floors were not under the cabinet so we have a big section of floor without cabinet or pretty hardwood and now we have to re-paint the dining room...I loved that room and there is no way that we would be able to duplicate the faux paint job that we had in there...




Demo...






This is what we have now...




There is no escaping our kitchen now!! With the wall gone you can see our 1950's kitchen with the white and gold cabinets...pretty huh...those are next.

Now we have to wait for the building inspector to come and then we can put up the sheet rock and close everything off.

Thank You Secret Buddy!

What a nice surprise I found on my doorstep today! I've been home sick all day and I gained .6 lbs this week so it was such a nice surprise to see that my Secret Buddy sent me a gift for Alison...perfect timing!

Take a look...her name is Silvermist and she comes with her own pixie dust...she is a Porcelain Disney Fairy...she is just beautiful!!



We are designing Alison's room with Fairies, butterflies, and flowers. Alison won't be able to play with this doll...but she will look perfect on the shelf or if I can find that perfect glass cabinet that I've been looking for I will put her in there.

We also received a real cute snowman decoration, a purple journal and starter chopsticks...these are perfect for me!!





Secret Buddy, you have outdone yourself...thank you so much for the good thoughts and the wonderful gifts!

I hope that you and your family have a great holiday season! I can't wait to find out who you are so that I can thank you properly!

Two More Holidays to go...

Thanksgiving went well, we had a house full and no leftovers!! Now we have Christmas and New Years...I find that the holidays make time fly faster for me because I'm so busy I don't' have time to think about the wait!

I had Nicole's kids overnight on Thursday, that's always fun. My little princess wasn't feeling well with a running nose...whatever she had I think that she gave it to me...it started on Sunday. I woke up with a soar throat and a stuffed head and it just got worse throughout the day...I didn't go to work today (after being off since last Wednesday) and I've been home self medicating all day.

I have to go to work tomorrow, sick or not. My company is moving on Friday and the movers brought all the packing materials on Wednesday of last week and I was home cooking all day. I should be okay, I cleaned out a lot of stuff over the last couple of weeks and most of what I have to pack are binders from my bookshelves and my personal stuff in my desk. It's going to be nice moving to a nice brand new home...a little bit longer commute each day, but it shouldn't be to bad.

Now I need to concentrate on my Christmas Shopping...this should be a snap this year...the kids are done so I just have to concentrate on the adults. Michael wanted a new Big Flat Screen TV...I told him Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday (his birthday is January 3!)

Getting Ready for the Holiday...

I always take the day before Thanksgiving off so that I can start cooking and getting the house ready for Thanksgiving.

Since I've married my darling husband, I don't make one dinner for Thanksgiving, I make three dinners for Thanksgiving!! I am making a 20lbs Turkey with a sausage stuffing, a 10lb Ham and a large pan of lasagna and homemade meatballs and gravy (for all you non-Italians like me...the gravy is sauce...that's what I always called it anyway) and of course we will have all the fixings too.

Today I did a lot of pre-cooking so I won't have to worry to much tomorrow. I'm very excited this year...we are going to be eating early at 3:00 instead of 6:30!! You have to eat early for the holiday...I think that Michael will finally see the light this year!!

I have the kids for the night tomorrow and that will be nice...it's going to give my niece and her husband a chance to go shopping for all the early bird specials. Maybe when Alison comes home I'll be doing the black Friday shopping, but right now you couldn't pay me to go out and deal with the crowds that will be out on Friday.

I'm planning on having the kids help me pull out all the Christmas decorations to make sure they are all in working order. We usually look like the Griswold's at Christmas time, but I haven't decorated for the past two years...this year we are coming back full throttle baby...

Stay tuned for pictures!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The Numbers Speak Volumes...

*NOTE: All statistics given correspond with the U.S. Government fiscal year, which begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. For example: Adoption statistics for 2008 = Number of adoptions from October 1, 2007 – September 30, 2008.

Detailed Adoption Information From CHINA To The United State:

The Total Adoptions from CHINA from 1998 to 2008 is: 60236

Fiscal Year Total Adoptions
1998 4243
1999 4108
2000 5058
2001 4705
2002 4677
2003 6857
2004 7038
2005 7903
2006 6492
2007 5453
2008 3254

We had the "Talk"

It's been a weird week...nothing new except the never ending slowness of referrals and that really isn't new.

We had the "talk" about possibly switching out of China...that's a real hard talk to have when you picture your child almost every day in your minds eye.

There are so many questions that you ask yourself:

**are we going to miss our opportunity to become a family of three by waiting in this very slow moving line
**are we going to age out of the program
**should we try a concurrent adoption and if so, where
**do we take the chance domestically and have our heart's broken...I couldn't bear that and that is one of the reasons why we decided on China
**are we going to be to old...will we still be able to do EVERYTHING with Alison
**what if we get sick...this thought just never goes away

One thing that I have learned in our adoption process is Patience...it's hard to come by, but very necessary and that NOTHING is guaranteed.

Well..we have decided to sit tight and wait for our Alison. When I asked Michael if he was prepared to wait another two years, he immediately answered YES. When I asked him if he was ready to be a father at 50 for the first time, he immediately answered YES and then reminded me that he has quite a way to go before he turns 50...sorry husband!

I can just keep saying my prayers each night that things do speed up and we get our girl home with us sooner rather than later.

We are still waiting for you baby...and missing you every day.

Staying Positive

So today I figured that it was about time that I started to actually do something in Alison's room...Michael was happy about that too. I have been holding off for the past 20 months because I didn't want to have a completed nursery and no Alison.

Today I needed to feel closer to my daughter and I needed to be able to go into her room and think about her and getting her home. I haven't done much, but it's better than the empty room with the supplies for fixing up the room that have been sitting there for months now.

It was very therapeutic today...I had a good cry and I talked to my girl.

My dad painted the walls over the summer a light purple. I got my rug at Walmart 1 1/2 years ago, and got the table and Chairs last year and the two bookcases and little hutch this year...I love that they all go together.

Next up for the nursery...I need to pick up some shelving for the walls and put up the curtains.

The room is still quite empty and it looks more like a play room than a nursery...I don't plan on buying a crib/bed until we get our referral and I have my sewing tables in front of the windows.

I went through a lot of my secret buddy presents and found a bunch of books that I put in the bookcase, purses of ladybugs and a ladybug wall hangings that I need to hang...I also pulled out my purple Hippopotamus that I named Ladybug on our first LID Anniversary...she is dressed just like Tinkerbell and she is sitting with all the Tinkerbell books.

We are still waiting Alison...now I can go into your room and see you all around. I wish you were home.

Here are a couple of pictures of the nursery...just wait until I get the shelves and curtains up...it's going to look fabulous!

NEW RULES?!?!?!?!?

There are some rumors that China is/may be coming up with new rules to possibly get things to speed up for International Adoption...but they are just rumors and there was nothing specific said as far as what may change with these new rules and nothing specific as far as who these new rules would affect.

I read this the other day and boy, did it knock the wind out of my sails. I understand that we need to take rumors with a grain of salt and that they are only rumors, but the site where I read the rumor has been right on top of things and I've found in the 20+ months that we have been officially waiting for Alison to come home that this site is usually right if it's posted.

I just wonder how long we can wait and hope that we will still be safe to still be able to adopt Alison and bring her home. Are we going to wait 2-3-4 more years and then be told that we can't complete our adoption?

I'm trying very hard to stay positive and believe what the CCAA has been saying...if we stay in line we will have a child...they can't say when, just that we will have a child.

I think that my biggest fear is that I will age myself out...I'm now 44 years old and I'm asking myself now what is more important? To wait possibly another 3-4 years and be told that we are to old to adopt from China or look elsewhere to start our family sooner.

My whole heart is with China right now...I've always wanted to have more than one child, but if we continue to wait in China, if we get a referral for Alison...she will be our one and only child...but China isn't the safe bet for a successful adoption that it was just two short years ago.

I have a lot of soul searching to do...my Alison is real and the thought of pulling out of China is feeling like I'm abandoning my child, but what I would really be abandoning is my hope of Alison.

There are over 15,000 family's still waiting to adopt from China and people are dropping out every day. This is really so sad for both the children and the parents who have dreamed of starting their family. I've read of people who have lost their dreams of becoming parents and I wonder if this is going to be us some day! I've read of family's changing their adoption plan and have received referral already for their child.

So now the question is...do we wait...or do we make another plan...I don't have an answer yet.

Fall Festival

We had our Fall Festival last weekend and it was a lot of fun. The kids had a blast and I didn't have to yell to much when they were getting rough in the Bouncy House...you have to watch out for the little one! This year I had my sister bring her little bouncy house for the babies.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I THINK WE WON

First off I want to thank everyone who signed the petition...you don't know what that means to us...Thank you!

I just received the following e-mail from my adoption agency and it looks like we will be grandfathered with our immigration paperwork, but the way that I'm reading the letter is that because we have already had our one free extension, that we can pay for one more extension and if our adoption is not completed before 2014 then we are out of luck, we have to file the new I-800 immigration approval.

Call me crazy, but is this good or bad? I don't know...to be told in 6 months that we are not now eligible or a year and a half from now?? Let's just pray that Alison is home before 2014 and we can let the nightmare just fade away.

Here is the letter:

Joint Council Update
Program International Relations Initiative
Date October 14, 2008
Regarding I-600A Renewals

Dear Colleagues,

After advocating on behalf of adoptive families for the past 6 months, Joint Council is very pleased to confirm that USCIS has formally announced on their website a very positive ruling concerning the I-600A process.

In summary, it is our understanding that, effective immediately, families who filed Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, prior to April 1, 2008 and whose USCIS approval of that petition (aka the I-171H) has not expired, will be able to proceed with their adoption under the I-600A process if they take certain steps while their approval remain valid. This means that families with valid Form I-600A approvals will not be required to transition to The Hague process via Form I-800A. In order to maintain their status as ‘grandfathered’ cases, families with non-expired Form I-600A approvals must request a one-time free extension. Then, prior to the expiration of the one-time free extension, families must file a new Form I-600A and pay the appropriate fee. Families with a Form I-600A approval that has expired and who have not obtained an extension or filed a new Form I-600A, will need to undertake the Hague process.

It is also our understanding that the extension and subsequent filing of a new I-600A may only be completed once. Families who have not completed their adoption prior to 2014 will be required to undertake the Hague process.

On behalf of over 10,000 adoptive families and Joint Council Member Organizations, Joint Council extends its appreciation to the following individuals and organizations for their tireless efforts.

· Diane Kunz, Executive Director of the Center for Adoption Policy

· Dianne Pearce, Waiting Parent and Co-Organizer of the Fairness for Families Petition

· Debbie Reynolds, Joint Council China Caucus Co-Chairperson

· Kathleen Strottman, Executive Director of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute

· David Yurkovich, Waiting Parent and Co-Organizer of the Fairness for Families Petition

· Members of the United States Congress

· United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

We offer our collective congratulations to everyone who participated in the Joint Council Call-To-Action and the Adoption for All: Fairness for Families petition. And we also send our congratulations to all who participated in the countless meetings, conference calls and emails over the past 6-months. Joint Council is built on a principle of collaboration and this very successful effort clearly demonstrates this principle in action. Our collective voice is definitely stronger than any singular organization or individual.

Joint Council notes that our interpretation of the ruling is offered as a courtesy only and should not be used in making determinations or decisions. Please refer to the full text of the announcements by USCIS which can be found at USCIS Announcement and USCIS Q&A in making any decisions.

Joint Council will provide more specifics as they become available and asks you to visit our website for the latest news and updates.

Sincerely,
Tom

TOM DIFILIPO | President & CEO | Joint Council

We need your help!

Hi Everyone,

As many of you reading this blog may know, Michael and I are in the process of adopting a child...we have hit the two year mark in our process this past August (the first meeting with our adoption agency). Our wait for a child could take another year or more.

In the meantime, we are about to deal with a crisis with the United States Immigration Services and I am asking you for your help.

I’m attaching a link that pretty much sums up what is happening in the adoption community and the United States Immigration.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/adoption-for-all.html

I would like to have all of you to sign this petition…If you feel that you can’t that is okay too, but the more signatures that we get will help to get our Alison home.

If you have followed our blog you know that Michael and I have just gone through the review process in China with no questions about our dossier or medical records…it has taken 19 months for us to get to the review process and we are now waiting in line for the “matching process” where we will be matched up with Alison. When we initially started this process we were told that the wait to referral of a child was up to 18 months!!

It is very scary and disheartening to know that after all of the emotional hits we have taken in the past two years that it could all be over six months from now when we have to renew our immigration paperwork…it’s just to sad and scary for words! We need to do what ever it takes to get our baby girl home.

I would also ask that you forward this onto family and friends that you think would like to help.

Thank you so much for your support!
Kathy, Michael and baby Alison

Topsfield Fair

Today I went to the Topsfield Fair with my sister Lisa, her two daughters Nicole and Jody and there two beautiful babies...Kayden and Gabrielle...I can't believe it...I'm a GREAT AUNTIE...it just blows my mind...I'm trying to have a baby and I'm a GREAT AUNTIE!! I can take consolation in the fact that my family is so big and I was an Aunt for the first time at age 16...my niece Nicole was my very first niece. Nicole is the mommy to Gabrielle and Jody is the mommy to Kayden.

I love the Topsfield Fair, I've been going to this fair since I was a small child and it's so much fun to see the kids having a great time with all the animal. Gabrielle loved feeding the goats this year at the petting zoo, but Kayden didn't want anything to do with them.

We had a great sunny day...it was supposed to rain. Everyone had a good time and it was time to go as our little princess what becoming a little to royal and wasn't having any part of her carriage. Hopefully, she slept on her way home. Kayden took a nap during the fair...I don't know how he could sleep with all the noise, and he woke up just as we were heading back to the car.

Enjoy the pictures...these two babies just make me melt!! I can't wait for Alison to come and enjoy the fair and hopefully, her two favorite cousins won't be too much older than she is when we finally get her home.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Pancake Puffs

They sound good don't they? You can use any mix; cake, brownie, pancake, corn muffing etc. AND you can fill them with all kinds of stuff like whipped cream, jam, nuts, fruit...you get the idea.

I saw this pan on the Hungry Girl website...for all you dieters out there she (Hungry Girl) has some great tips and you can sign up for a daily newsletter with tips at hungrygirl.com

But anyway, I ordered the pan and tried my hand at making "Puffs" tonight...I definitely need to practice more before I can present them to the general public...Michael is one thing, but company is quite a different story.

Once I get the hang of it they will be nice to make for party.

Black Cloud Weekend...

I think that I have one following me this weekend! Really I do.

First we had the fiasco with the fence on Friday and then Saturday I went to go shopping and my car was acting real funny.

Michael took it for a spin today because I was afraid to drive it and it died down the street from our house...thank goodness that I wasn't driving to work and hour away when it happened...

Let's hope that the car is fixable and that this little black cloud floats away...

So I have an unwanted extended weekend to deal with the fence claim and hope that we don't have to go car shopping...I'm not ready for that yet, I haven't done all me research yet on what will be the best car to buy and frankly, I just don't want a car payment right now!!

Happy Friday....

Look at what I came home to!! We just planted that tree!!!

It's raining and it's Friday Night and the insurance company can't be reached until Monday!! So I figured I would take some pictures now so that when we have the tree guy come back and try to fix the tree (hopefully, it can be saved) the insurance company won't think that I'm trying to pull a fast one over on them.






This is the third time that our fence has been hit. I love our house, but I absolutely HATE the location...we are on the busiest street in our town. I have written to the town asking about getting some barriers put up on the corner as well as in the front on the sidewalk (we have a large yard) and they have completely ignored my request...that is just not right...there could have been a child in our yard (the boys do play around these trees)!!!

What does it take...seriously!!

UPDATE
It is not looking good for the tree! I'm upset by that because it was a perfectly good tree. The tree guy came by and gave us an estimate for a replacement tree. Apparently the roots were severed and it will be unlikely that the tree will survive if replanted, plus all the branches are broken from where it fell.

Now I'm awaiting an estimate from the fence guy and the sprinkler guy.

Oh yeah...the tree is still laying on the lawn...today is day 7 and I can't wait to see what is underneth after a week.

It's Official...

We are OUT OF REVIEW!!

This is cause for CELEBRATION!!

The CCAA has reviewed ALL Dossiers thru February 28, 2007. This is huge, this means that our file has now moved into the matching room where we will be matched up with Alison!!

I know that we are still at the end of the line as far as the matching room goes, BUT, WE ARE MOVED INTO THE MATCHING ROOM AFTER 19 MONTHS OF WAITING!! THIS IS HUGE!!

I'm starting to see it...can you see it?

It's that little itty bitty light way down there at the end of the tunnel...it's very dim, but I can see that little point of light and it's going to get bigger and brighter every month, wait, you will see it soon.

We are getting closer Alison...

Perceptions

It's funny how we perceive ourselves. Michael and I got married 5 years ago in March and since then I have gained a "little bit" of weight (four sizes worth). I've tried diets over the course of the 5 years, but nothing worked. But then again, I only gained a "little bit" of weight so it wasn't a big deal.

Well...I decided that with Alison coming home someday that I really needed to try to lose some of this added weight before she gets here. I don't want to be a mom that can't do anything with her because I get winded or just that I can't DO what she wants to do. That is not fun for her or me. I want to feel better in my cloths and I want to feel better about myself and most importantly, I need to stay as healthy as I can for Alison, especially since I will be an older mom.

Well...I got some pictures from a weekend getaway that Michael and I had up in Maine and boy my perceptions of me are way out of whack!! These pictures are now on my refrigerator and on the cabinet doors with some notes saying "Go ahead, have another snack" and "Eat some more"...these pictures are in profile...you never see yourself in profile except for maybe a fleeting 10 sections when you are checking yourself out in a mirror (and then you are sucking everything in)...usually you see yourself dead on straight.

I'm hoping that these pictures can help motivate me to stick to the Weight Watchers Diet plan that I started last Monday. I know that so far I've lost 3lbs so I'm excited to see the total number on Monday when I go to my meeting...yes, the first 5 lbs are water weigh and it gets tougher after the first 5, and they say that if you lose 2 lbs. per week you're doing great...2 lbs sound so small but it adds up quickly...but I have a long way to go and a long wait for Alison to come home...what better goal to have than to get healthy for me and my child.

Wish me luck and I'm hoping that by this time next year I will be able to post a before and after picture of my success as well as a picture of Alison...that would be a total blowout post...don't you think.

So many pictures!

I had a pretty busy August and a ton of pictures with my new camera that I got for my birthday! Here are some of our trip to the USS Cassin Young Battle Ship and the USS Constitution (Olde Ironsides). The Constitution was close for training so we didn't get a to tour that boat, but the boys and Ellie loved the battleship...take a look:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The Tall Ships are coming to Boston in 2009...I'll have to bring the boys in to see them.

Then we went to the Children's Museum and Boston Common and took a Swan Boat ride...I think that I had more fun than the kids:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The last couple of pictures of the kids at the park they are sitting on brass sculptures of ducks and they represent the book "Make Way For Duckling" real cute picture!

And lastly, we met friends over the summer, we had Steve's Birthday, Friends in from Texas and dinner at Morton's in Boston:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Fall in New England

If you know me, you know that Fall in New England is my favorite time time of year and it doesn't get any better than here!

I love the change of seasons...everything is just so CRISP and fresh.

It's getting cold at night and you actually need a jacket in the morning on your way to work. Yesterday was raining and I ALMOST turned on some heat, but a sweater worked just fine. (I put off turning on the heat as long as possible).

The afternoons are sunny and in the 70's and it's starting to get dark around 6:30 p.m.

WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS FALL
This month is my dad's birthday...he is going to be 76 years old...this man does not take ANY medications and is very active for his age...he just built a wall at his house pretty much by himself with 75 lb. blocks. My brothers and nephews helped out when they could (mom and dad live 2 hours away), but dad pretty much did it on his own and he is very proud of that wall.

My nephew John is turning 21 this month (two days after dad) and that is special. John is my sisters youngest child and I was in labor and delivery when he was born. John wasn't an easy delivery and it scared the crap out of me to have a child after that so I wasn't in any rush to go down that road...now look at where I am!

Work is busy for both of us. I'm trying to plan our annual fall gathering here at the house. I was shooting for October 18, but the weekend's are pretty booked up for Michael and it's just to much to try and fit it into September...we will have to wait an see how this plays out. I love the fall gatherings...we get a moon bounce for the kids, a cotton candy machine and I usually have a pinata, games and pumpkins for the kids to decorate...and they get to preview their Halloween costumes at the party. So, hopefully we can works things out and still have the party...I'll miss it if we can't do it this year!

So to wrap up, Happy Birthday to Dad and John!