What's going on now and in August...

A ton of stuff!

1. I'm learning how to knit...break out the rocking chair
2. I'm taking a TON of vacation time in August
3. I'm planning on taking my nieces kids for a couple of days
4. I'm going to Maine this weekend for the RQ weekend
4. I'm going gambling with Dad on Monday down in CT
5. I had a birthday this week...never mind about the number!
6. I'm learning how to use my new camera--thanks Michael!
7. I'm going back up to mom and dads for another visit and cooking session
8. I'm going to the N.E. Aquarium with the kids and my sister
9. I'm going to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston with my niece Samantha
10. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a large batch of referrals
11. I'm going to watch the Olympics and their coverage of China
12. I've started looking at hospitals for volunteer activities with children
13. I need to shop for my secret buddy swap and get that mailed out

That's a lot of stuff and I know that I'm forgetting something...

Mom Update...

I just wanted to give a quick update on Mom. She is doing really great...the medicine that made her shaky is getting better. She takes it at night before she goes to bed and sleeps through the bad parts.

We had a big scare on Thursday...I was driving home listening to the news on the radio and they said that Alton NH looked like a war zone on Route 28. Mom and Dad live on Route 28A about 7 miles up the road from the war zone.

NH had a tornado hit and it created quite a bit of damage along the way. Thankfully Mom & Dad are fine...they didn't have any of the reported damage. My heart goes out to all who suffered a loss...there were some fatalities and over 200 homes that were destroyed.

Boat Trip

We had the annual boat trip out of Boston Harbor yesterday for the guys at the shop. What a beautiful day!! It was sunny and 88. I used a kids 50 sunblock and now I'm as brown as a berry!

Frank takes us out on the boat each year...he used to work for Michael and Michael's grand father way back when...some day when Alison comes home she will be the new super cute mascot for the trip and maybe we can turn the "booze cruz" into a family trip...but then again, maybe not. Me and Alison may just have to stay home for the day and that's okay too.

I didn't take any pictures of the trip...I'm so bad at taking pictures and I need to get better at that. I told Michael that I wanted a new camera for my birthday, the one I have now is old (four years) and it takes really dark pictures.

I'll just have to wait and see what he gets me. Once Alison comes home I want to be at the ready to snap those adorable pictures...she is going to feel like the paparazzi is following her around (poor girl) hahaha.

Review Room

The review room is where the CCAA reviews adoptive parents dossiers that were submitted. Our dossier was logged in on February 15, 2007. Our paperwork is FINALLY in review...17 months after submitting the applications. This is a HUGE step in getting us closer to Alison.

Now the true nail biting is starting! I've met some people on line that just happen to be with our adoption agency and they are in the same travel group as Michael and I with a February 15, 2007 LID date. They received a call yesterday from the adoption agency stating that the CCAA is asking question about their dossier. This person is a little freaked out by the questions and is advising everyone to be prepared. This is her second adoption from China and she had the same issues the first time and they were never questioned, but now everything is being questioned.

So this can only mean that Michael and I are next to be reviews or have already been reviewed without getting any additional questions. I'm thinking that we are next. I contacted my agency and was told that there are 8 families in our group. Please keep us in your prayers that we get through this very important stage of review without any questions...depending on the questions asked, this could change our place in line for Alison and make it even longer...depending on how fast we get the additional information to them.

C.O.P.D.

This is one acronym that I'd rather not know about. It stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. This is a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe. The most common cause of COPD is cigarette smoking.

Mom has been diagnosed with COPD...it's been a crazy couple of days, but I think she is going to be okay. She came home from the hospital on Friday and she was full of piss and vinegar. Saturday and Sunday, not so much. I think that we have to try another medication...what they sent her home with wasn't working to well. Mom is 70, but she is a very young 70 and she doesn't take any medication...the nurses at the hospital couldn't believe that a woman her age wasn't on any medications...people half her age take medications...me included!

I believe in my heart of hearts that Mom is going to be okay for now and that we can manage this terrible disease...she has to...Nana has to be hear to meet Alison when she finally comes home from China...when ever that may be.

The disease can be managed if you stop smoking and she has...for 14 days now. The good news is that they didn't send her home with oxygen, just an inhaler. At some point we may have to look at that, but not today.

TWO MORE MILESTONES...

WOW...I can't believe it! On July 10, 2008 we hit our two year anniversary of the date that we went to Wide Horizons For Children for our introductory meeting about adoption...It's been Two Years!! That's a hard number to look at considering we were told that the wait was between 12-14 months when we went to that meeting. When you go to WHFCs web site the wait is now listed at 30-34 months wait.

The second milestone for today marks 17 months since our paperwork was logged in the the CCAA.

When you look at what we were told two years ago and where we currently stand in line, it's a little mind blowing...we should be home with Alison right now...what is it they say...patience is a virtue--right?

We are still waiting for you Alison and will continue to wait.

Nothing much going on...

in the adoption community. The CCAA has made referrals up to January 25, 2006, 5 full days from last month, but if you consider the weekend, it's really only 3 full days worth of dossiers.

Everything is quiet on the boards and yahoo groups...just trying to enjoy the summer. The Olympics are to start on August 8, 2008 (the number 8 is very luck in China) and we are all just waiting to see what will happen after the Olympics...will things start to pick up on the referral front? A lot of people are thinking yes, but I just don't think that they will.

I find that the long wait is making me more of a pessimist than an optimist. We just have to wait and see...and I definitely would love to be proven wrong.

Cape Cod...

I went to the cape with my friend Lori for a day...I went on Monday, sat on the beach all day and got fried to a crisp and came home Tuesday morning (I couldn't go back on the beach after Monday).

Lori rents the same place each year right on the ocean...beautiful.

Here are a couple of pictures:





Here are a couple of pictures of her kids Dylan and Molly:

This is Dylan...he is just adorable and a big love bug:



And this is Molly...she is 18 years old, still a love and blind as a bat:



Thanks for sharing Lori!!