The Varn Family

One Year Since Coraline's Referral!!!

2012-01-22T11:27:00.001-05:00

A year ago last night we saw Cori's face for the very 1st time when we reviewed her file. A year ago today we had that file reviewed by an international pediatric specialist who really scared us, but we took the leap of faith anyway and submitted our letter of intent to adopt her because we KNEW she was the daughter God had planned for us! Today we praise our heavenly Father for giving us the courage to say yes to this perfect child who we can not imagine not having our lives!
She is such a special little girl and very sweet!! She has come into our family and made herself such an important part of not only our lives, but Emaline's as well. It is amazing how much these two love each other. They are not only best friends but sisters that God put together for a reason.

We pray for these two girls daily and ask God to let them be Godly women used for him.

Coraline has been home 7 months!!!

2012-01-08T12:05:00.003-05:00

We have never been happier with 2 sweet girls. Last night we were talking and realized that we have had Cori 7 Months now. It is incredible how far she has come. Last night we put her in Sunday School with her big sister, and she made it through without having us paged. We have our daily struggles with security issues and her being upset at abrupt changes in schedules, but it is remarkable how far she has come.

Emaline is doing great with Pre-K and really enjoys going. She goes 3 days a week, and asks each night, do I go to school tomorrow? She does great with her letters and numbers and really seems to enjoy learning, which we are especially proud of!!

We are getting ready for the Vietnamese and Chinese new Year, and hoping to do something special for the girls. We want to keep these holidays as a part of their cultural heritage, and let them know how special these events are in their life. God has been so good and has blessed us so much with these two angels. We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, as we did also. In the New Year, hopefully we can continue blogging and updating how our two girls are doing!!

God Bless!!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-22T17:28:00.009-05:00

Wow!!!! It has been too long since we have posted!! Here it is Thanksgiving and we have had Cori home now 5 months!! Is that possible??? We are so Thankful to have her here with her older sister and we will definitely be celebrating having her home!! We were just discussing that we are also coming up on Emaline's Forever Family Day of 4 years!!! Time flies too fast.
Our two girls are doing wonderful and really enjoying each other. They are both looking forward to Christmas with this being Cori's first one as far as we know.
We are going up to South Carolina in 3 weeks, and looking forward to showing our two beautiful daughters off, and having Cori meet all of her relatives for the 1st time ( amazing and sad huh? ) since being home. Well I certainly am a proud Father and Husband of a House full of Ladies!! I hope to post more often, and this will be a new years resolution!

Summer Days almost over and School Starting

2011-08-06T13:34:00.003-04:00

Well it seems that the summer has quickly flown by with us being so busy. It has been a busy time at the Varn household, but fun. There have been difficulties, but we have learned from them, grown from them and have really had some positive changes with both of our girls. They love playing together, and we just love listening to them as they laugh, play, and sometimes scream (The Joy of little girls). Cori is still adjusting and has more good times than down times. There are little things sometimes that make her really clingy, but we have accepted that and hold her close during those times.

Well the biggest thing now is that Emmi is starting 4 yr old Pre-K. We cannot believe it, but we are excited for her. She is growing up quickly and we know she will learn so much this year. It seems like yesterday we were holding her for the first time.............. Three years can fly!!! With school will hopefully come cooler weather in the next couple months, but I doubt it.

Well Church is tonight, and with it comes another week. This will be Michael's last week of summer vacation...........Hopefully one more beach trip before going back!!

God Bless!!!

Emmi- Good Week, Cori-Bad Week. AKA- How NOT to do VBS

2011-07-23T22:51:00.003-04:00

This was an interesting week. Emmi went to Vacation Bible School for the 1st time. It was Pirate Camp. Or, I should call it a big disorganized mess run by unfriendly thoughtless people(it was NOT at our church just for the record). BUT, all in all Emmi had a good experience and it was good for her and Cori to have a break from each other. They love each other fiercely, but because we have been keeping things so low key for Cori, Emmi was getting cabin fever. Emmi really NEEDED to do this. However, I have never seen a bigger mess at drop off and pick up and no one wanted to help anyone figure out where to go.

On the flip side, Cori was very concerned the 1st day we dropped Emmi off. I think she thought we were getting rid of her Jie Jie ( Big Sister in Chinese ) and wasn't convinced we were coming back for her until we did. After that she was ok with it.

The worst part happened on Thursday. They told the parents the kids were going to have a Family Night presentation/performance Thursday night to show off what they learned, have the kids there by 6:15pm. We thought this was great so we invited my parents and grandmother down to see Emmi on stage and celebrate her finishing her 1st VBS. What this Church neglected to tell people was that it was their Thursday night service that didn't actually start until 7pm, that the regulars get there before 6 and block off the good seats including the handicapped accessible seats, that no one will be helpful and will be rude if you ask for help, oh and that the service would be very dark and very loud and very Charismatic and the kids wouldn't perform until well after 8pm!!!!!!!! So, there I am with my 92 year old grandmother, my older parents, and worst of all Cori who just completely shut down. I had Cori in my mei tai because I know strange settings tend to overwhelm her. About 20 minutes into the service I chased down an usher (literally chased) to find out when the kids were doing their thing and found out it wouldn't be until after 8pm. SERIOUSLY! Needless to say there was no way we could stay that long, so we (me with Cori, My dad and his walker, Michael pushing my grandmother in her wheelchair, and my mom) all headed out and went to get Emmi from the 4 year old room. Praise the Lord Emmi was ok with leaving. But we have felt the effects of this horrible event ever since. The trauma of it set Cori back about a week. We have been having very rough nights, more clingy behavior, and she even wet the bed yesterday. I feel so bad for her and I am furious with these thoughtless people who thought it was ok to trick people into coming to their service.Why could they not have said "The kids are going to do a performance at our Thursday night service to show off what they learned. The service starts at 7pm." That way families could plan accordingly. We would have known this was a bad idea for Cori and just not gone. Let me just say that this week REALLY made us appreciate our church, Generations Christian Church. GCC doesn't feel the need to trick people into coming to our church. Loving and serving people gets them there much more effectively.

So, we're staying in this weekend to help Cori recover and not even going to our church. =( .

Next post will be a picture post. I REALLY need to get my camera unloaded and posted to picasa!

Making Progress Each Day!!

2011-07-21T07:05:00.003-04:00

Coraline is continuing to adjust to her new home and is making so much progress. She has started to put herself to sleep at night on occasion, and continues to sleep through the night as well. She is trying to say more words now and clearly understands a lot of what we are saying even though she cannot verbalize it back. She is so smart and even said a phrase after helping load the dishes into the dishwasher ( Which she decided she wanted to do ).......... The phrase was "Good Girl Cor!" It has been very obvious to us that she was used to helping her foster mom around the house, as she seems to know what she is doing. We find it amazing but kind of sad in the fact that she may have known that responsibility at such a young age. All in all, we know that only God could have placed Cori with us and we see that each day.

In other news, Emaline has been at Vacation Bible School this week, and she has enjoyed it. The camp is Pirate themed, and we have been taking her each morning. Today is "Water Day", and she is really excited. She has been such a good big sister, and really tries to help out with her Mei Mei (Little Sister in Chinese ). Earlier this week we went to the beach and the girls really enjoyed building sand castles. Emmi has really enjoyed having someone to play with and telling exactly how to build them LOL.

Well I will close for now, but I am sure we will have plenty of stories to write about next week!!

A Post From Daddy: One Month with Coraline

2011-07-10T10:08:00.004-04:00

Well I cannot believe it, but we have had Coraline for 1 month now! It is unbelievable how well our family has come together so far! God has been so good through this process!! You have to take it one day at a time and be patient, but God works everything out. It is so amazing to watch our two daughters ( Emaline from Vietnam and of course Cori from China ) get up in the morning and start out the day hugging each other. They have their moments, but you can tell they absolutely love each other! We could not have written it this way, but God designed it! Cori is learning new words each and every day with the newest ones being........... "No"which she uses mainly with certain foods ( No Surprise ), and "Mine" in reference to certain toys. She loves baths, beach time and swimming with her Jei-Jei. Night time can be a little rough for us, but this too shall pass and we will get full nights of sleep. Cori has actually slept all night 4 times but we sleep so lightly waiting for her to wake up, that rest is hard sometimes. Coraline had never slept by herself before, but is adjusting well in her bunk bed and actually likes her bed now.

As a father of two daughters and a wonderful wife, Life could not be better. Thank you Lord for each day to grow, live, experience new things and the opportunities to learn from them.

Home 1 week and 1 day (and the trip home OY VEY)

2011-06-24T06:36:00.011-04:00

This post started out as "home a few days", and then became "Home almost a week, and then became "home 1 week", and now it is "Home 1 week and 1 day." I was starting to think it would never get finished.

So the jet lag is finally starting to wear off. Another couple days and we should be completely back to normal or as close to it as we can get because, well, we are so not normal, lol.

Let me back track and fill you in. Thursday, our last day in Guangzhou we finished our shopping and got everything packed up (only had to buy 1 extra carry on bag to make it all fit AND we stayed under the 44lbs per person checked, yes we are so awesome like that, lol). Got Cori's Visa around 5 pm and had dinner. Then we went swimming on the roof top of the Victory one more time (this is seriously the most peaceful place in Guangzhou) and called it a night.

Friday- got up at 4 am to meet our ride to the airport in the lobby at 5:15 am (not sure what I was smoking when I booked our return flight). Checked out and were given breakfast in a box from the hotel... or shall we say yesterday's left overs. Warm yogurt, green bananas, hard boiled egg, and some other weird things (I should have taken a picture of this, lol). This was totally a fitting start to our trip home.

Got to the airport with our overpriced and way over tipped Lotus guide only to find out that China Air has no record of us at all. The guide suggests we call our travel agent to which I suggest he or the lady behind the counter make the international call or find us in the system. Then he insinuates that we might not have paid for our tickets. Oh ya, I am going to come all the way to China without paying for my return tickets (which he is holding in his hand)??? I pulled out the receipt. After making it clear I was not leaving the counter until she found us in her system she magically finds our Guangzhou to Beijing portion but not the other 2 flights but some how is magically able to still check our bags all the way through to Tampa (hmmmmm???). At this point I ask the Lotus guy to make sure if we need to collect our bags and recheck them in Newark to go through customs and he says no they are checked all the way through.....

So now we are sprinting to get to our plane with no time for breakfast before we get on the plane. We just get there as they are loading the plane. Once on the plane we realize that the lady at the counter changed our confirmed seats and put Cori across the isle from Michael and I. Needless to say Michael and Cori switched. This gave the flight attendant a good laugh when she brought out the children's meal to Michael. Cori did great on the 3 hour flight to Beijing and we finally got some food but it wasn't that good.

We landed in Beijing and because of the lady at the counter and the guy from Lotus in Guangzhou we had to go out of the domestic terminal (instead of just making the simple transfer to the international terminal) and find our way to the correct terminal to check in and get our boarding passes and PRAY that we were in their system. We asked at the 1st info kiosk we found and they told us to go to terminal 2... but didn't tell us how to get there. After a few minutes we found signs towards the bus the terminal 2. We got on and got crammed in like sardines. I had Cori in the Mei Tai on my back (thank God or she would have been trampled because no one cares about anyone else there, not even children or the disabled) and some guy kept whacking her with his backpack. I finally gave him a sharp jab in the back with my elbow and kept my elbow there the rest of the 10 minute ride to terminal 2 to protect Cori. Once inside Terminal 2 we found out that we were supposed to be at terminal 3. So once again we got on another bus/sardine can (at least this one had better a/c) and rode another 10 or so minutes to terminal 3. Finally were were inline to check in and check in we did and we still had our correct seats (this was the highlight of the day). By the time we got through security our 5 hour layover had turned into 30 minutes to get a pizza at Pizza Hut (I cried real tears when I saw the Pizza Hut at this point) and be at the gate for pre-boarding.

NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER again will I fly continental(or now it is United) or any other American Carrier internationally. While at least on this flight our flight attendants were friendly if not slightly stupid (on the way there they were typical american flight attendants, "don't bother us") but the food was inedible, the seats were very cramped and they didn't even have extra blanket to put on the seat when Cori wet the seat (she woke up from sleeping and didn't make it to the potty), they just threw a wad of paper towels at me. The food was DISGUSTING. 2 very small under or over cooked meals and a snack sandwich that was supposed to be Chicken but looked and felt more like really bad rubbery tofu (for the record, I like good tofu) on a 13.5 hour flight. I have an obviously malnourished child and I asked for milk to mix with her formula to make her a protein shake (I figured I can at least give her that since the food was inedible) and was told they only had milk for adults having coffee and not for the children. WHAT THE HECK!?!?!?! So all 3 of us basically starved the entire flight. At least all the bathrooms were in working order on this flight. On the way to China half the bathrooms were broken. Cori was such a trooper though. She slept most of the flight and watched movies the rest of the time. She watched Horton Hears a Who in Cantonese twice and loved it. After that I put on Disney's Cars but they didn't have it in Chinese so I put it on in English. You should have seen her face trying to figure out why she couldn't understand it, lol. Poor thing. So, 13 hours later we were exhausted, starving and really ticked off. Then the pilot comes on and says " we are a half hour early into Newark but due to weather we can not land we will be circling for a while and we only have 30 minutes of extra fuel..." GREAT! Then 20 Minutes later "We will be diverting to Stuart Airport but you won't be allowed off the plane because it is not an international airport we will just refuel and wait to fly back to Newark" Then after over an hour of circling we got good news "Well folks, we hung around up here just long enough and they are going to let us land in Newark." I am telling you I think they ran out of gas on the way down because that was the roughest landing ever. So rough in fact that the dishes and glassware broke free from the business class galley ahead of us and shattered everywhere.

Other than the Beijing to Nanning flight where they kept saying "the aircraft is experiencing trouble, please stay in your seat" I have never been so glad to be off of a plane!!!

Immigration went smoothly and Cori became a US Citizen. (word of advice for future families. do NOT wait in the new immigrants line. grab some one and tell them you are US citizens and your child has an IH-3 visa and you just have his/her visa packet to drop off. They will escort you to the special assistance line and you will zip right through. I am so glad someone told me that.) Then we got fast tracked from Immigration right through customs. We were feeling relieved until we saw the sign AFTER we passed through customs that said "re-check bags here"... Uh what??? We were supposed to collect our bags then go through customs then re-check them but Lotus guide told us not too!!! I ran up to the closest customs person and told them what happened. Thankfully we did have a long layover so she said that they should have enough to time to pass customs on their own and make it to Tampa when we do... We prayed again.

So, we wandered on to the terminal and celebrated Cori's new US Citizenship with a hot dog and hamburgers! However from the jetlag, near starvation on the plane and almost 3 weeks on Chinese food we almost couldn't keep the really yummy smashburgers down. This passed a little time but it seemed our flight kept getting later and later. Finally at 10:50pm our 9pm flight boarded. We touched down in Tampa at 1:40am and went to grab our bags praying they would be there. There has never been a more beautiful site at 1:50am after 30 something hours of travel than our 3 bags riding around on that carousel. We got into the Marriott at 2am and totally crashed. We decided since we were getting in too late for my parents and Emmi to come get us we would stay over and have them come in the morning, We could have gotten a cab home but we didn't want Emmi to think we went home with out her and wonder how long we'd been there.

As you can see from the pictures the girls were thrilled to finally meet in person. It was such a sweet reunion for all of us. We had lunch at the TGIFridays in the airport and then we went home.

While the jet lag has been HORRIBLE the girls have really been doing well. Emmi is really becoming a great big sister and Cori is settling in. It was such a blessing that a few of the girls from my moms group brought us dinner the first few nights home. They will never know how grateful we are. The jet lag was rough and we were also getting very little sleep because we had 1 that was jetlagged and 1 that wasn't. Emmi was so excited we were home that it took until midnight to get her to sleep and then Cori would wake up hungry at 1am (because her stomach was on China time and thought it was lunch time) and then be up for good by 5am. Thankfully, I think we are just about over the jet lag now. Still getting a little tired in the early evening but just about back to normal.

Cori has a few more English words now including "bubble" which is her favorite word right now. The fun thing with English is that so many of our words sound the same but mean different things. I can't remember which word we had that problem with the other day. I was telling her what something was and she just looked at me confused like "didn't you just tell me that other thing was called that too"

Bonding and attachment is going well too. We are in the extremely clingy phase right now. This (and pure exhaustion) has been why this post has taken me so long to write. We can not be out of her sight. Heck, we can't be out of arms reach most of the time. She also gets very quiet and concerned anytime we put her in the car. I think she thinks she is going to a new home (considering the last couple times she has been in a car that is what happened I can see why she would think that). She did sleep through the night last night for the 1st time since we got home and she hasn't had a wet pull up in days (she started wetting the bed in Guangzhou a little) so we think that might have just been an emotional thing during her transition. While things are very very text book and she seems to be attaching quickly, we are realistic and realize it is going to take a very long time (6-12 mo or more in reality) to prove we are forever. We found out that a month before we got to China her foster mom who she was very attached to was diagnosed with cancer and after she had surgery she realized she could not take care of Cori and she was moved to a different foster home for the final weeks before we got there. A 3rd home for her before her forever family.

Thursday we took the girls to the doctor. It was Emmi's 4yr old check up and shots and Cori's 1st visit. Emmi did great and got 4 shots (my poor little pin cushion). She is currently 38 and 3/4 inches tall (25% percentile) and 37.6 lbs (60th percentile... I blame this on almost 3 weeks being spoiled by her grandparents). Cori, got a good bill of health except that she is very malnourished, and has poor gross motor skills in her legs. So, we are having to supplement her with those expensive kiddie protein shakes (pediasure, boost) and work with her on her gross motor. If that does not improve by late August she may be going for physical therapy. Please pray that she improves on her own. That being said her measurements were 35 and 3/4 inches tall (15th percentile so not too too bad) and a shocking weight of only 24.5 lbs (10th percentile). Apparently, Michael did not get as good a look at the scale at her visa medical as we thought. No wonder we can't find panties to fit her. It really is funny in a very pathetic way to see her running and her panties falling down. Anyone know where to find panties in an 18month size??? (update: JCPenney's had tiny panties! YIPPY!)

Yesterday we took Cori on her 1st big outing. This might not have been so well thought out, lol. But then again, I am the same person that agreed to that cockamaymee route home. Anywho, we took the girls to a Splash Bash at church to celebrate the new playground. I thought by the time we got there all the slides would be up but they weren't all up apparently... We were sitting on a blanket eating pizza when I looked over at Cori who was sitting there frozen with this look of shear fascination and fear all rolled together. Then I saw what she was looking at... the backside of one of those gianormous slides being inflated and two men holding ropes trying to tie it down. I can only imagine what had to be going through her mind, lol. It's so not funny, but it is, lol. Thankfully they also had a bunch of little kiddie pools and that is where Cori and I played for most of the evening. Emmi went on all of the big water slides though of course. Cori did get up the courage to ask (ok well, grunt)for me to take her on the little slide. She LOVED it but had no desire to do it again, lol. I am just proud of her for trying it (she will attempt just about anything big sister does)

So, we have been home a week and we are shockingly more settled in and more bonded then I thought we would be at this point. I am going to try to continue to blog at least once a week. Before these pictures though I want to give a little disclaimer and my heartfelt thoughts.

I want to be clear for those who are waiting to travel for their children or are considering adoption. While we are all happy and optimistic and have really had the best case scenario so far it is not pretty and it is hard. I recently read the blog of a family who had just come home from their 1st adoption and was very resentful and negative because it wasn't all sugary sweet and instant bonding and easy and the story book that they thought it would be. Future families, PLEASE do your home work. Read the books, do the online courses and talk with lots of families about their experiences and be prepared. Adoption is wonderful, and beautiful, but it is hard, and attachment takes work (even for the parents a lot of times. Do not expect to be instantly connected to the child). It starts with wanting to be connected, and being committed to being connected, and working at that connection and then that connection and attachment will come. And one day you will find yourself thinking "wow, I could not love this child more than if she/he came out of me" and realize that it is the same and that God designed this child just for you and designed you just for this child... That you were meant to be! That day will most likely hit you by surprise, but in the mean time there is grieving (sometimes the parents too), rejection, confusion, and other surprises that can and most likely will come up. Adoption isn'tt pretty and it isn't for the weak, but it is magical and beautiful and natural and one of the greatest blessing God can lead you to!

Ok, so now for the fun part... the pictures! You know what to do. Just click the picture to go to the album =).

2011-06-25 Final China pics and 1st week home

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday in Guangzhou

2011-06-15T03:19:00.004-04:00

When we went to Vietnam to adopt Emmi I said I would blog everyday and didn't even come close. I said this time I would for sure blog everyday and well, at least I am doing about every other day or so.

I forgot to mention in my last post that we got to go to church here Sunday morning. The government allows for so many churches for foreigners and this was one of them. It was really amazing to get to worship here but it was sad too because it was obvious how much goverment control was at play.

A little Emmi update. Thank you for praying for her. She is doing great. I think she just had a brief moment where she really missed us. but now she is back to having fun with her grandparents and skyping with us in the evenings.

Cori update. We have now had her 1 week and 1 day and you just would not believe how well she has adjusted and how well she is doing in general. We think she may have even gained a little weight already. She has bonded even more with me and even though she is still overly friendly to other women she is starting to realize we are mom and dad and they are not. Also, no more grieving in the morning or evening. She now knows her eyes, nose, mouth, hair and toes in English, along with a few other words.

Monday morning we walked over to the clinic and had Cori's TB test checked and thankfully it was negative. Then we and 2 other families from our agency went to the Safari Park. This was so much fun! We were amazed at just how close you can get to the Animals. It sure isn't Lowery Park Zoo, lol. We 1st did the safari on wheels (tram/train thingy) and it was hilarious because Cori was telling us what most of the animals were in Chinese. She really is talking a lot more. Though we still haven't heard anything that sounds like a sentence.

Tuesday, the rest of the families had their consulate appointments so we had a free day to sleep in and shop. And shop we did! Shopping is super fun and holy cow super cheap on Shamian Island! Got the girls matching silk dresses, got Cori a traditional Chinese Dress (one of the nice ones), tea set, jade chop sticks, squeaky shoes, a couple outfits for Cori since nothing we actually brought fits her right, Xi Yang Yang toys, Mother/Daughter pendant, and other special souvenirs. We even did a lot of our Christmas shopping, but since those people read this blog I won't be listing those items ;). We have tomorrow free too, so I will finish my shopping then. And then, I will figure out how I am going to get it all home. Cori is LOVING going shopping. The girl is a natural born shopper. We have found that her favorite color is pink and everything she wears must have some pink on it, lol. Also, super cute is watching her talk with the shopkeepers. She clearly understands them (and looks relieved to actually understand someone lol), and it is cute to hear her talk. Almost as cute as hearing her name her body parts in English but with a VERY thick Chinese accent or her Chinglish version of the word Flower "Flowe-hua." emphasis on the Hua (she sounds like she is doing kung fu). In all seriousness though, she is an AMAZING child. What a Trooper! She is so happy and handles everything so well. (except baths, still scared to death of the bath so we have a slightly dirty child because we are only making her take one when she absolutely can not wait any longer)

Tuesday night we, and 2 other families from our agency, went on a cruise on the Pearl River on a Dragon Ship. Guangzhou at night is breathtakingly beautiful. The lights on the bridges and the buildings are simply stunning. While we waited at the dock for our boat we ate Papa John's Pizza. Until then I had not missed American food. Now I can't wait to get home and have a burger. Our 1st stop when we leave the airport will be at Five Guys in Trinity! Seriously, it will.

This morning we had our Consulate Appointment. Due to last week being Dragonboat festival there were not a lot of families here (about 8 families at our consulate appointment) so it was very fast. We went through security, they swore us all in, and then we were the 1st ones called up to the window. We handed the lady our paperwork, she looked it over, gave us back our passports and a receipt and sent us on our way. As a matter of fact it was so fast that when we came out we had to wait for our guide because she had gone for a walk. She was shocked to see us standing their when she got back.

So then when we got back we continued our shopping, had lunch at the deli shop (I am trying to figure out how many of those ham and cheese buns I can stick in my carry on, lol), and then went swimming.

So, now Michael and Cori are napping and I am trying to decide where we will go for dinner tonight. If for some reason you are up and feel like making a dinner suggestion, please be my guest. Now for your Viewing pleasure not 1 but 2 sets of pictures! Click the picture to go to the album. Then click a picture to go to the slide show.

2011-06-13 Guangzhou Sunday and Monday

2011-06-15 Monday and Tuesday Guangzhou

In Guangzhou

2011-06-12T10:03:00.003-04:00

I am so behind on updating. Forgive me. So much has happened in the past few days. We got to Guangzhou on Friday afternoon and we are loving it!

Well, we didn't get to see a lot in Nanning. Not very happy about that either. We felt like our guide was way over protective and like we were on house arrest at the hotel. She did take us out very briefly on Thursday to a Zhuang Village about 20 minutes away in the countryside. The countryside is BEAUTIFUL. HOWEVER, we would have liked to have gotten to enjoy it it more. You will notice all the pictures were taken from a moving car except for the few taken the 20 minutes we were allowed out of the car at the Zhuang Village. We were right by the Yiling Caves and the botanical garden but did not get to see them (along with any of the other beautiful sites in Guangxi province). We are so disappointed about this. But the Zhuang Village was really neat to see. Jane, our guide, got one of the ladies to take us into her home for a tea.

So needless to say our free time in Nanning was almost a total waste. I wish I had more to share with Cori about our experience in her province.

That afternoon, Cori did have some more grieving and it was pretty rough. Once we got her calmed down we took her to the Park (around the corner from the hotel) and let her feed the fish. She LOVED it! We also went swimming to keep her out of the room where she was more likely to grieve.

Friday morning a lady from Hope & Grace for Children stopped by with a CD with all of Cori's foster care records on it. So now we have a little more history on her, at least dating back to around her 2nd birthday when she went into foster care.

At 10am Jane and the driver picked us up and took us to the Airport for our 12noon flight that we barely made. I have decided that the Chinese fly their planes the same way they drive their cars =0 !!!!! Holy Cow!!!! At least on this flight we didn't have to hear every 20 minutes for 3 hours "ladies and gentlemen, our aircraft is experiencing trouble. please stay seated and do not use the lavatory."

So we are now in Guangzhou and this has been our favorite place so far.

Cori is doing great. I think we are just about through the grieving (at least the hard grieving). She is too cute. She is talking a lot more... too bad we have no idea what she is saying, lol. But she has picked up a couple english words like YoYo (for CheeriO), nose, eye, mouth, and Flower (which is coming out very Chinese and is just really really funny to hear).

We had her Visa Medical Appointment yesterday morning and she was a trooper about it. The nurses couldn't get over her. They all said that she was so pretty and she had fun talking to them. Then, in the afternoon we had our paperwork meeting and I think we are now done with paperwork, AMEN!!!

Poor thing is so skinny and malnourished that we have to watch how much she eats. She over did it yesterday and it all came back up... all over her father. YUCK! But, oddly enough it made her want me and she and I bonded a little more through it. She still prefers Michael, but now I have to be there too or she cries.

Speaking of food, the food here is AMAZING!!! We are finding new, yummy things to try each day (even though I think Holt would prefer we stay in our room and just order Papa John's lol) . I read a blog recently about a family who only ate at the Thai restaurant because they were afraid or something of all the other food here. Seriously, the food here is EXCELLENT! Ok, except at the many 7Eleven's. But then again food at American 7Eleven's is gross and generally unidentifiable too.

Can't wait to get out and shop around the island. Today we went to the Pearl and Jade Markets and got some great deals on Jade and Pearls for Cori and me (we got Emmi hers in Vietnam). I wish we could have stayed longer. Holt only gave us 45 minutes for each. This is so not enough time. you could spent an entire day there and not see it all. But, it did keep me from spending too much.

We have been wearing Cori in the Mei Tai (We are big advocates of baby/toddler wearing for adoption bonding). Well, today she decided she was going to "wear" her bunny. So she took her rag that she sleeps with and had me tie it around her waist and then she stuck her bunny in it and said it was her baby (in Chinese of course).

Tomorrow we will be going to the Safari Park with some of our travel group. I do hope Holt/Lotus let's us stay for more than 45 minutes.

Please say a little prayer for Emmi. We have been skyping with her, and while she has missed us and we have missed her it hasn't really gotten to her until now. Only a few days left and we'll be back but 18 days is a long time for her (and us). But, we still stand that while it hasn't been easy it was the best decision to leave her with my parents and not bring her. Please pray for her to have fun and not think about us too much these last few days before we get home.

As usual click the picture below to see the album =)

2011-06-11 Nanning to Guangzhou

WE'VE GOT CORI!!!!!!!!!!

2011-06-08T05:41:00.003-04:00

We met her yesterday and made it official this morning!!! We had a free day Monday due to Dragon Boat festival (sadly the dragon boat races here were on Saturday before we got Nanning) so our Holt escort Jane, who is wonderful, took us to the minority museum (well part of it, we'll see the rest tomorrow or Friday before we leave). Guangxi is 95% Zhuang minority unlike the rest of China that is over 90% Han Chinese.

Ok so now all about Gotcha day. We prayed and we know many of you prayed for peace for Cori during this transition and for it to go well. We could not have asked for a smoother transition so far. Her foster moms (apparently she had 2) REALLY prepared her well. She knew exactly who we were.

When we got to the civil affairs office we were taken to a room with toys in it to wait and were told that the people bringing Cori were late. About 5 minutes after that we heard talking in the hall. Jane peeked out and told us they were there. Within seconds a lady escorted Cori into the room. She was a little overwhelmed by it all when she saw us and almost cried but didn't. We told here in cantonese that we are her mama and baba but she already knew that clearly. She also knew about her sister. I gave her a ring pop and sat with her with a picture book to break the ice. Once she warmed up, Michael put his arms out and she called out "Ba Ba" (Daddy in chinese) and ran to him. It was amazing! You can tell in the picture of the 3 of us that she was totally fine with us. There was only 1 other family there (from Italy I think) and their child was also older so it was nice and peaceful, not the room full of screaming babies you usually see when adopting from China.

We went back to the room and she has been doing great ever since! We had some crying last night before bed but she has been very happy for the most part other than a few quiet moments(all part of the grieving process). I know it is likely that some harder grieving is coming and we are just waiting for it. She clearly knows who we are. It is amazing! While she is fonder of Michael right now she likes me too, so I am happy =). She was very loved. You would not believe the amount of stuff she came with. We were expecting the clothes on her back and maybe a small bag. She came with 6 bags!!! All total including: Large bag of sponge cakes, a dozen gel snacks, 3 hard boiled eggs, purse full of candy, 3 boxes of milk drink, bottle of tea, extra dress, basket of blocks, brand new blocks set, doll, blankie, 3 books, the things we sent, more pictures, the flat ball from the video, another toy, the jade necklace, and then today we were given another bag of clothes, and an album of pictures of her from the past year or so.

AS for her SNs, the scar is a big nothing, it may need to be revised later but right now it is fine. She is talking and I do not think she is that speech delayed at all. She already has 2 English words. Flower and Yo.. as in CheeriYOs lol!!! Her Gross motor is a bit off. She is very wobbly and her legs are not very strong. But, this could be because she is soooooooooooo skinny. She is seriously tiny. She looks about 2 not 3. We had to gasp the 1st time we undressed her. We think the reason she is so skinny still is because she eats very slowly. She eats a lot but very slowly and tiny bites at meals and I wonder if anyone let her take her time and eat or just decided she had been eating long enough and so she wasn't able to get enough. We may never know. But for now we are letting her eat anything she wants and for as long as she wants.

Tomorrow we will be getting to go sight see and get to know GuangXi a little better =) As always, click the picture below to see the album including the pictures of Cori!

2011-06-08 Nanning Day 1 and 2 1st 24 hours with Cori

Days 2 & 3 in Beijing.

2011-06-06T00:10:00.002-04:00

We got to Nanning yesterday but here are the pictures from Day 1 the Night Market, Day 2 (Tienanmen Square, Forbidden City and the Silk Factory) and Day 3 the morning before we flew to Nanning.

Let me just tell you about the flight to Nanning. SCAREY! We were the ONLY westerners on the plane. There was 1 flight attendant who spoke about 10 words in English. This was not what was scarey though. We were obviously flying low and slow (got in about 35 minutes late to Nanning) and about every 20 minutes they came on and said "ladies and gentlemen our aircraft is experiencing trouble, please fasten your seat belts and do not go to the lavatory." We think now she meant Turbulence not Trouble, but it got lost in translation. We say that because no one else on the flight was white knuckling the whole 3 hours but us, lol. OY!

So we are in Nanning. It is Wonderful! So different the Beijing. This is real Asia! We are loving the Majestic hotel. We had heard mixed reviews but it is beautiful. Very clean, nice pool, wonderful breakfast buffet, great location, humongous bed (seriously, it's like 8 ft wide). Yes, the bed is a little hard but our plan is to wear ourselves out so we just don't care. Our Holt guide, Jane, is FABULOUS! I think she finds it refreshing that we are so eager to go and see and experience her city. This morning she was going to take us to the Dragon Boat races (today is Dragon Boat Festival) but when we got there we found out that the races were 2 days ago. Oh well. We missed the one in Tampa on Apr. 29th too. This is not our year for Dragon Boat races. We did get to go to the Minority Museum (well half of it, they are in the process of moving it so we'll see the rest at the new location in couple days) and learned about the Zhuang people who, while a minority in all of China, make up the majority by 95% in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Zone. There is a good chance that Cori is Zhuang.

We get Cori tomorrow at 3:30pm!

Well, we are off to go do some exploring. Click the link for Pictures!

2011-06-04 Day 2 and 3 Beijing

Day 1 the Summer Palace & the Great Wall

2011-06-03T07:42:00.002-04:00

I am in total shock today. I fully expected to be jetlagged but I am not at all (Michael on the other hand is still in his own little time zone). I will give all the credit to Continental Airlines as I was only able to sleep for maybe an hour of the 13.5 hour flight from Houston to Tokyo because it was so ridiculously uncomfortable. Seriously, we had more leg room on our domestic flight. There could not have been more than maybe 8 inches between the seat and the seatback in front of me. The seats are like rocks and our butts hurt (along with the rest of us) by the time we got to Tokyo, and the attendants act like it is a bother to do their job. The only thing that saved that flight from being the worst flight ever was the fact that we did have an empty seat in our row so we were able to stretch out that way since our legs barely fit in front of us. The Flight from Tokyo to Beijing was on ANA and was MUCH better. Asian carriers normally are better though.

But we are here and Beijing is fascinating! It's like a Chinese version of New York on steroids with a futuristic twist ( I can't get over the giant video signs on a LOT of the buildings). Today we took a private tour with Tour Beijing and I can not say enough good things about them. Great tour guide, great tour, very nice car and driver too.

1st we went to the Summer Palace (on the way we saw the Birds Nest, which is ginormous and the Water Cube, which is very um blue). It was much different and much bigger than I thought it would be. Very Beautiful. I think we were the only westerners there. The weather was perfect. Cool with a nice breeze.

After the Summer Palace we went to the Cloisonnes factory, took the tour and did come shopping.

Then we had an authentic Chinese lunch which had 6 yummy courses.

Then the highlight of the tour we went to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. I almost cried it was such an amazing experience to actually be there. Word cannot describe it and pictures do not do it justice. It is just something you have to experience. We took the cable car up so we could save our legs for walking the wall. And we walked as far as we could almost the very top.

After the Great Wall rode about and hour and half back to the city and had tea and a tea house and then we were dropped back off at our Hotel.

We stopped by the night market tonight briefly and plan to go back tomorrow. We did find a children's store where I got a stuffed Mei Yang Yang (google it) for Cori. We know she loves this character so we wanted to make sure to have one for her when we meet her on Tuesday.

Tomorrow we have orientation with Holt in the morning and then they will take us for lunch and a tour of the Forbidden City and Tienanmen Square.

Click the picture below to see all the pictures from our trip so far!

2011-06-03 Day 1 China

Made it to Beijing!

2011-06-02T11:21:00.003-04:00

After about 30 hours of travel we arrived in Beijing a few hours ago. We are EXHAUSTED. Tomorrow we will climb the great wall and visit the summer palace. I am going to bed now but I will tell you all about our flights tomorrow.

Butterflies the size of Helocopters!!!

2011-05-31T20:49:00.003-04:00

That is what is in my stomach right now. All the bags are packed, the house is SPOTLESS and we are only 7 hours away from being picked up and taken to the airport. I still can't believe we are less than a week away from holding our new daughter. Thank you to those who have followed our journey so far and encouraged us along the way. Please continue to pray for us for travel mercies, for Emmi that she won't miss us too much, and for Cori as everything in her little life is about to change DRAMATICALLY.

Well, I am now off to try to get a few hours of sleep fore our ride arrives.

Picture Post

2011-05-28T09:29:00.002-04:00

Click the Picture below to see my April-May Album.

2011-05-28 April-May 2011

Puzzle & Itinerary

2011-05-26T08:59:00.003-04:00

I just realized in the midst of all the craziness I never gave a final fundraising update. We came within 23 Pieces of finishing the puzzle for a whopping $5270 (minus PayPal fees) AND we received 2 last minute grants from Gift of Adoption and Katelyn's Fund. Literally, the Katelyn's fund grant came 2 hours before we got our TA and the GOA grant came right before we got our bill for our in country expenses (which was more than we anticipated it being). God doesn't always pay on Friday, but He ALWAYS pays on time!!! We are Praising God for these miracles and saying THANK YOU to those who have been a part of our journey to Cori!!! So we are humbled and excited to tell you WE ARE FULLY FUNDED!!!!!

He has made it abundantly clear that he has a special plan for this little girl (it has been really amazing how many times we have been told those exact words by the most random people who would have no way of knowing each other).

We have had several people ask us what our itinerary is so here it is (oh, and yes we will blog from China, hopefully daily):

6/1-Fly Tampa-Houston-Tokyo-Beijing (is it me or does that sound like something out of the amazing race)

6/2-Arrive Beijing 8:10pm

6/3-Tour the Great Wall and the Summer Palace (and pretend we aren't jetlagged)

6/4-Orientation w/ Holt, and tour Tienanmen Square & the Forbidden City with Holt

6/5-Fly to Nanning, GuangXi

6/6-Free Day in Province

6/7-GET CORI!!!!!!! (Emmi's Birthday)

6/8- Back to civil affairs office to sign the papers and make it official and then apply for her passport

6/9-Free Day in Province

6/10-Fly to Guangzhou (Our 11th Wedding Anniversary)

6/11-Medical Appointment for Visa

6/12-Free Day

6/13-Get TB test checked

6/14-Free Day

6/15-Consulate Appointment

6/16-Get Visa

6/17- Fly Home Guangzhou-Beijing-Newark-Tampa

6/18- HOME!!!

Please keep us and Cori and Emmi in your prayers while we are gone. Please pray that the Lord will prepare Cori's heart for this transition. We know it is going to be hardest on her. Pray for us for health, safety and a smooth trip. Pray for Emmi that she will be happy and not miss us too much while we are gone and that her heart will truly be ready to be a big sister!

Thank you for following our adoption journey!

Got a CA and we are on our way!

2011-05-16T13:30:00.003-04:00

We got an email from Holt this morning that we have a confirmed consulate appointment of June 15th! So, now we can get our plane tickets and start travel planning! WOOHOO!! We will have Cori in our arms 3 weeks from tomorrow!!! Now, how are we going to last 3 more weeks?

Now we are just waiting for a little more good news that should come either today or tomorrow. Say a little prayer =)

Almost official!

2011-05-12T12:04:00.000-04:00

WOW! Thank you for all the prayers and encouragement the past few days!!! What a miracle! We just found out that we will be able to travel during the time we need to travel and if all goes well we will only have to stay 1 extra day! Very long story short. Yesterday Holt was talking about an extended stay in province and then a crazy risky schedule in Guangzhou and it was a slim chance it would work out due to how much has to happen during that time... By this morning they had miraculously figured out how to work around the delay in Cori's passport due to the Dragon Boat Festival and keep us on our original schedule and only move the consulate appointment by 1 (possibly 2) days!!! Please just say a little prayer that we get confirmation of our consulate appointment tomorrow morning.

We are ALMOST there Cori!!!! Ma ma and Ba ba are coming!!!

When are we going???

2011-05-11T18:34:00.000-04:00

I am having a very down day today. We had hoped to have confirmation of our travel dates by today and have our plane tickets purchased but unfortunately we are having scheduling issues due to Dragon Boat Festival. Please say a little prayer tonight (tomorrow China time) that the Holt staff in China can work things out so we can be on our way to Cori in 3 weeks (due to things beyond our control we can't go earlier and we can't go later so we NEED these dates to work). I have to go make dinner now but I really do not feel like eating. This is going to be a looooooooooong night.

New Widget

2011-05-09T22:11:00.002-04:00

OOPS! I let the chipin expire with only 59 pieces left. So, now we have a brand new chipin widget on the right side for the remaining 59 puzzle pieces. I God is so Good and we will see this puzzle completed before the end of the month (or the end of the week). I truly believe that! It is amazing to me how He is using people from all over the country (and 1 from Canada) to bring our little girl home! Several people have all said it and it must be true "God has a special plan for this little girl!"

So, for more info on the puzzle and how you can be a piece (or pieces) of it CLICK HERE

TRAVEL APPROVAL!!!!! We're Coming Cori!!!

2011-05-06T22:29:00.003-04:00

WE GOT OUR TRAVEL APPROVAL!!! We will get confirmation of our travel dates early next week but it looks like we are leaving on June 1st!!!!

Cori is Coming home!!!!!

She Got the Album & We Got PICTURES!!!

2011-05-05T13:25:00.004-04:00

Ok, so now we are down to waiting for our TA, a Grant, and the remaining 59 Puzzle Pieces!

We just got an email from Holt with 3 new pictures of Cori, 2 of which are with the Album. And Guess what... She DID get the bracelets (see the picture where she is standing with the album) AND the Stickers (see her forehead , lol)!!! Her hair has grown too. We didn't ask them to not cut it but we are so happy that they haven't. Notice the continuing trend of Pleasant Goat. I think we will need to get her some Pleasant Goat stuff while in China. Anyone know where here in the states we can get Pleasant Goat on DVD?

Puzzle Info CLICK HERE

Facebook Necklace Giveaway CLICK HERE

Yes that is the same picture that we have here on our blog. No, it is NOT the only picture we have of the 2 of us together. It just happens to be a pretty good one, lol. She actually got 3 or 4 pictures of us together.
Doesn't she just look like "oh please tell me THAT is not my father?" HAHAHA

61 PIECES LEFT!

2011-05-04T14:27:00.003-04:00

Getting SOOO Close! We are down to 61 pieces left to finish the puzzle and 296 LIKEs needed for the Facebook Giveaway! However no news on any of the other things from the May 1st Post that we are waiting on. =( We still NEED a grant, Need our TA, and would REALLY LIKE an update on Cori!

CLICK HERE for Puzzle Info

CLICK HERE for Facebook GiveAway info

Oh, I want to make a special shout out to our Niece, Hannah Varn , who I know has been excitedly reading our blog waiting for her new cousin to come home and even sponsored a bunch of puzzle pieces. We love you Hannah!!!

83 Pieces Left!

2011-05-03T22:42:00.002-04:00

Almost there! We are down to 83 pieces left to finish the puzzle and 301 LIKEs needed for the Facebook Giveaway! However no news on any of the other things in the post below that we are waiting on. =(

CLICK HERE for Puzzle Info

CLICK HERE for Facebook GiveAway info

Is it really May???

2011-05-01T09:40:00.004-04:00

I can not believe it is May 1st! We could be leaving to bring our daughter home in a month! This such a HUGE week too. Please keep us in your prayers! This week we are waiting:

*for a possible update on Cori

*to hear about a grant that we REALLY REALLY REALLY NEED!

*Possibly for our Travel Approval

*And to complete the Puzzle. Late Friday I figured out how to extend the chip in. Since we are so close we have extended it until Sunday the 8th, Mother's Day. We are now only 91 pieces from completing the puzzle!! While I was able to edit the end date for the chip in I was not able to change the number on it. It only counts pieces sponsored through paypal and we have had several people who have sponsored their pieces via check or cash. So, please disregard the total on there. I will post periodically this week to keep you updated on the TRUE total (currently 459 pieces sold). For more info CLICK HERE !

=),

jess

God is Good! We are So Close!!!

2011-04-27T12:01:00.004-04:00

Just a quick update to let you know that GOD IS SO GOOD!!! We are now only 95 Pieces away from Finishing the Puzzle!!!! When we started this puzzle we knew it would take a miracle to finish it and now I can not wait to see this puzzle finished so we can show off what our God has done through so many people!!! Please CLICK HERE and consider being a piece of the puzzle! And CLICK HERE to see our Necklace Giveaway!

So here is where stand at this moment. We are 1 week into our wait for travel approval. My best guess is that it will come the end of next week or the beginning of the following week (at least that is what I am praying for) and hopefully we will be on a plane to China the 1st of June. As far as the finances go we NEED to finish the puzzle and get a grant that we should be hearing from the beginning of May. Our God is Good and He will provide so we are just waiting on a Miracle! We are amazingly calm at this point. Please keep this in your prayers.

We are also hopeful that we might get an update on Cori this week or next since we have now confirmed that she did get the photo album we sent. However, the stickers and bracelets never made it to her =(.

So here is what we are waiting on and praying for:

*Travel Approval

*a Grant

*an Update

*95 Pieces

Uh, you think God might be trying to teach us patience??? That, and Faith!

Article 5! One step Closer to Cori!

2011-04-21T13:24:00.010-04:00

We received word from our agency today that our final document needed for travel approval has been picked up from the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China and forwarded to Beijing. So now the only thing left to wait for is travel Approval.... and the rest of the money we need to actually travel!

Praise the Lord it looks like we might be in China by the 1st week of June!!!

FUNDRAISING UPDATE:

As of today we have only 182 puzzle pieces left (out of 550) and only 10 DAYS LEFT TO GET THEM SPONSORED!!! Please consider being a piece of the puzzle that will help bring Cori home! For more information on the Puzzle CLICK HERE ! Then, for more information on how you can win a beautiful necklace for Mother's Day for helping us spread the word, GO HERE . =)

4/26 UPDATE 160 pieces left!!!! GOD is SO GOOD! He will Provide!!! (the counter to the right is not accurate because some have sponsored their pieces with cash or checks. but we are NOT complaining)

Speaking of fundraising... here is a list of everything we have done over the past year to raise the money to adopt our daughter and bring her home. If God is calling you to adopt (or anything for that matter that you think is way bigger than you can do yourself) know that if He leads you to it He WILL lead you through it. It had never rained before when God called Noah to build the Ark. Stand firm on Phil. 4:13! Now, back to that list (I hope I remember it all):

*Saved part of 2009 tax refund

*Huge Yard Sale

*Tutored

*mowed lawns

*networking expo

*t-shirts (that was a total flop though)

*Saved some of 2010 Tax Refund

*Made and sold Hair Clips and Pens at local craft fairs

*Another Yard Sale

*Sold Books on Half.com

*Sold stuff on Craigslist

*Sold Banana Plants (we grow them in our backyard)

*Filled out online surveys

*Concert & Testimony at FBC Ozona

*Final yard sale where I sold off my old Mary Kay inventory (closed up shop in Nov.)

*the Puzzle and the incredible people who have (and will) sponsored it's pieces.

GIVEAWAY!!! It takes a Village.............

2011-04-11T10:15:00.011-04:00

Not to raise a child but to bring one home! We have approximately 5 weeks to raise the remaining $4800 we NEED to bring Cori home and we NEED your help! We need your help to drive as much traffic to this blog as it can possibly handle so we can finish Cori's puzzle. We Currently have 218 pieces left to go. That will be almost half of the $4800 we need and we have a few small fundraiser projects in the works to make the rest. but we MUST complete this puzzle! If everyone who reads this sponsors 1 or more pieces at only $10 each we WILL have this done! For more info on the puzzle and to sponsor your pieces CLICK HERE

Did I mention that the chipin on the right ----> EXPIRES ON APRIL 30th!!!! This means we only have 20 DAYS LEFT TO FINISH THE PUZZLE!!! (EXTENDED UNTIL MAY 8th)

HERE IS HOW YOU CAN HELP GET THE WORD OUT AND WIN THIS BEAUTIFUL JADE, SWAROVSKI CRYSTAL AND HILL TRIBE SILVER HAND MADE NECKLACE VALUED AT OVER $50!

When our Facebook fan page (CLICK HERE) reaches 500 fans by April 30th, NOW MAY 8TH! (so doable)we will randomly pick a winner to receive this BEAUTIFUL necklace just in time for mother's day! How do you get entered you ask...

* 1 Entry for Liking Our Fan Page

* 1 Entry for Clicking "Share" and posting the fan page on your Facebook page

* 1 entry for Each Friend you get to "like" our fan page and leave a post either there or on this blog post with your name.

* 2 Entries for Putting the button to the right on your blog AND posting on your blog about our giveaway and our puzzle! (leave a comment on this blog post so I will know)

A Little bit about our Little one!

For those who are new to our blog here is a little bit about Cori. She is 3 years old and living in foster care in Yulin, Guangxi, China. She was found on the steps of the hospital when she was estimated to be about a month old. She was taken to the Yulin 1st Social Welfare institute (aka orphanage) and found to have a large tumor growing on her neck. At 8 months old the tumor had grown so large that it had to be removed. Praise the Lord it was benign and all she is left with is a big scar on the right side of her neck. Due to being in an orphanage for 2 years and possibly due to the tumor other issues, she was delayed in growth, gross motor and speech so she was moved to foster care right around her 2nd birthday thanks to a sponsor through and organization in Scotland who is paying for her care. She has greatly improved over the last year but she is still delayed somewhat according to the update we got in February. We can not wait to get our little peanut home so we can get her assessed and get her the help that she needs.

PLEASE consider being a piece of the puzzle to bring Cori home and sponsoring a piece or pieces of the puzzle via the chip in on the right.

Where do we go from here....

2011-04-07T10:45:00.003-04:00

Ok, well, let me get one thing straight in case anyone wondered... we ARE bringing Cori home no matter what happens! God has called us to this and HE will get her home! As some one told me the other day "Gods Will=God's Bill." And HE is providing. Little by little. Inch by Inch. Like, a week and half ago we did a concert at 1st Baptist Ozona-Palm Harbor and they took up a love offering and gave us $433. WOW!!!! We currently need a little over $5000 to travel to China and bring Cori home(we have started pricing plane tickets and realized it is going to cost more than we 1st estimated)!

So here is what fundraisers we have on the table and how you can help:

*The Puzzle! As of this moment 328 pieces have been sponsored with 222 left to go and only 3 WEEKS LEFT UNTIL THE PUZZLE FUNDRAISER ENDS!!!!!!!! CLICK HERE for more information on the puzzle and to find out how YOU can be a piece of the puzzle to bring Cori home (the number on the chip in is off due to cash and check donations. Only paypal donations show upon there). If everyone who read this sponsored a piece or pieces we would have this puzzle completed THIS WEEK! Please pray about how the Lord would lead you to help.

*PINK GARAGE SALE -This Saturday (and Possibly Sunday if we don't sell out) from 8-2 we will be having a PINK Garage Sale. This is a not your typical garage sale. We will only have the finer and more feminine things =). The remainder of my Mary Kay Inventory marked down 60-90%OFF!, Jewelry, Collectibles, Handmade Hair Clips and Pens, Bags, Luggage, and more! Email me at jmvarn@gmail.com for my address.

*CraigsList- We have been selling all kinds of things on craigslist including banana plants! Yes, money DOES grow in our backyard (just not enough of it lol) . We have a grove in our backyard and we have been selling the new ones (2-4 ft tall, will grow to 15ft) for $10 each. So, if you are local and would like to grow your own bananas get in touch with me =)

*Mini Concerts- We would like to find a few more churches to do concerts so please pass our info along if you know of anyone who would like to have us come sing a few songs and give our testimony at one of your services.

Also, a HUGE thank you to those who have been praying for us and for Cori!! That is the most important thing right now. We sent her a photo album and some little gifts this week. So, sometime this month she will see our pictures for the 1st time and we are praying that her foster mom will do what she can to prepare her for the transition.

Another Prayer request. Please pray that the Government does NOT shut down or that if it does it is only for the weekend. If the government shuts down, the US Consulate Guangzhou, China also shuts down and so does our adoption process because we are currently waiting for a document from the consulate so that the Chinese Government will be able to issue us our Travel Approval.

No News....

2011-04-05T18:05:00.003-04:00

My head is reeling and I am on the verge of tears. Just got an email from Gift of Adoption stating that they decided to review our application in May. MAY??? Now, if they give a us a grant, depending on how long it takes them to disperse the funds, it may be too late. I am so in shock, I just don't know what to think. We are expecting to get our travel approval around the beginning to the middle of May and at that point we will need to purchase our plane tickets and pay for our in-country travel expenses ASAP. I just don't know what to think right now. On one hand at least it wasn't a no, but it wasn't a guarantee of a yes either. We've come so far, all of the adoption fees (agency, immigration, etc.) have been paid. We just need help bringing Cori home. I just keep praying that email was an error and that we'll get another one stating that we got a grant.

Gift of Adoption Grant Application Review Tuesday!

2011-03-30T18:10:00.002-04:00

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers, especially on Tuesday, April 5th (that's is next Tuesday). We have applied for a grant from Gift of Adoption and they will be reviewing our application and will make a decision on Tuesday. As exciting as it is to be getting so close to bringing Cori home, unfortunately, June is peak season for China and our airfare will be way more than we expected it to be so we NEED this grant to make it happen. Once we get our Travel Approval (expected in early May) we will have a short window of time that we must travel in so there is no holding off until we raise the money. Please pray that GOA will see that we are fully and completely invested in this adoption and all the fundraising we have done and that their grant will make all the difference.

I will post an update as soon as we hear something. Until then if you would like to help bring Cori home CLICK HERE

I-800 APPROVAL!

2011-03-26T16:46:00.002-04:00

One step closer! We found out that our I-800 (Cori's Visa Application) was approved Wednesday night! We are still on target to travel in June!

CLICK HERE to be a piece of the puzzle that will bring Cori Home!!!

Fundraising update and a little R&R

2011-03-21T17:10:00.009-04:00

1st the VERY overdue fundraising update!

YARD SALE! on March 12th(my birthday) and 13th we had a HUGE yard sale/ bake sale fundraiser and raised $1360, PRAISE THE LORD and a HUGE thank you to those who donated stuff or came and shopped! Despite the thieves who stole several of our more expensive items Saturday night we still made a decent profit!

PUZZLE! The counter to the Right is a little off because we have a had a few cash or check donations (We are NOT complaining lol), so the actual current total is 254 pieces sponsored so far ($2540 raised some of which was used for our fees)! We are now only 21 pieces from the half way mark! We have about 5 weeks left to finish it up! For more information on the Puzzle and how you can be a piece of the puzzle that will bring Cori Home! Click Here ! Won't it be incredible to see it all completed?

We are now down to needing approximately $5000 to bring Cori home!!!

We cannot say thank you enough to those who have stepped up to help bring Cori home by sponsoring pieces so far. May the Lord bless you!

Pieces of Cori's Puzzle belong to:

*Caroyl Hollis, CO

*Linda Crowson, FL

*Rachel O'Brien, FL

*Earl & Debbie Deen, FL

*Bob & Bobbie Varn, SC

*Nancy Roberson, SC

*Sharon Fowler, FL

*Pt. Jason Pollock, FL

*The Magana Family, MO

*Penny Sharp, SC

*Marie Rushlo, FL

*Emily Thornton , SC

*Heather Murphy, TX

*Connie & Tommy Covington, SC

*Beth Kinsinger, GA

*Susan Munsinger, MT

*Dory Corbett, SC

*Christine Graham-Herring, CO

*David Ortega, NY

*Leanne Hawken, UT

*Nancy Grigg, Quebec, Canada (Yep, this puzzle has gone international now!)

*Anne Hambach, FL

*Desert River Labrador Retrievers, AZ

*Dina Good, FL

*Matthew, Heather, & Nathan Varn, SC

*Mary Hall, FL

*Suzanne Altare, FL

*Michelle Pratt, FL

*Laura Lamirand, FL

*Isabelle, Matthew, Ethan, Craig & Jeanne Rupe

(I hope included everyone. If I missed you please let me know)

R&R! Vacation!

My bestest friend, Christina, whisked us away for a weekend at her parent's condo on New Smyrna Beach. It was sooooooooooooo what we needed right now to escape everything for a few days. I feel like a new person (and a slightly tanner one too)! Here are a few pictures from the weekend... (click the Picture to see the whole album)

2011-03-21 march 2011 New Smyrna

On a side note. While at the beach I saw not 1 but 2 lady bugs! Could that mean our I800 approval will come this week???

A Precious Surprise - Video!!!

2011-03-02T22:26:00.006-05:00

GOD is so GOOD! HE knew we would need something to help us keep our faith and focus on this journey when we got denied for that grant yesterday(Scroll down to see yesterdays post). We got the sweetest surprise. A CD with 6 short videos of our Cori!!!! We are so in shock that we got this! What makes them even more special is that her foster mother is in them. Here are a couple of the clips... (SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM TO SHUT OFF THE MUSIC BEFORE LAYING THE VIDEOS)

A future rock star??

Is this not the cutest laugh you have ever heard??? Emmi has truly the best belly laugh but Cori has the cutest giggle I have ever heard! Who knew a flat bouncy ball could be that hilarious?

To help bring Cori home CLICK HERE

Roller Coaster Day- From Super High to Super Low!

2011-03-01T18:11:00.003-05:00

A lot of tears have been shed today.

First were tears of joy as we got a surprise package from Holt with a DVD of Cori in it. This was such a blessing to see and hear her sweet voice and see her dancing and playing!

Then came the other tears. We received an email from Gift of Adoption saying they were turning us down for a grant. I will be very honest and tell you I have NO idea how in the world we will raise the rest of the approximately $6800 needed for our travel costs to bring her home. BUT, I know God will provide. Something will happen. I am just not sure what.

Please continue to pray and if you feel led to help bring Cori home Click Here

LOA!!!!!!

2011-02-28T17:22:00.004-05:00

We got the call Friday afternoon that Holt had received our LOA (Letter of Acceptance) after only 29 days!!!! (It usually takes 45-60 or more days). This means that China has approved us to adopt Cori and when we signed the LOA today (It was delivered to us today by the big square stork on wheels, aka FedEx) that we were officially accepting her! Emmi was so excited when I told her the paper with the Chinese writing said that China said Cori could be her sister! Now onto Submitting our 1-800 and getting immigration approval for our itty bitty empress!

This now puts a month ahead of schedule and makes the ability to travel in May a big possibility (June at the latest now). While this is crazy exciting it is also crazy scary because we have a ways to go with raising the money needed to travel, About $6800! Please be praying for us as our application is being reviewed this week by Gift of Adoption and we NEED that grant to happen. Please also share our blog with anyone you know who has a heart for orphans and spread the word about our Puzzle CLICK HERE FOR INFO ON HOW TO BE A PIECE OF THE PUZZLE THAT WILL BRING CORI HOME

On a funny note. The FedEx guy thought I was nuts (he might be right). He said in 19 years with FedEx I was the 1st person to ask to take his picture delivering my package! I told him he was my stork so of course I had to take his picture. He was a great sport and thought it was cool.

Puzzle Progress and Prayer Please

2011-02-20T17:29:00.003-05:00

As of right now we have sold 140 pieces of the puzzle and have 410 left to go! A HUGE thank you to those people who have come along side us to support this adoption and bring Cori home!!!. I will be posting a list of February Puzzle Sponsors next week. Let's see if we can make it to 151 sold and break that 400 mark by the end of February (8 DAYS LEFT)! If everyone that reads this blog purchases at least 1 piece we will do it!

PRAYER REQUEST! We have applied for a grant from Gift of Adoption and we REALLY need this grant! They will be reviewing our application the 1st week of March (next week). Please pray that they will see our need and give us a grant! We will post an update on this next week.

=),

jess

Cori Update!!!!

2011-02-16T12:16:00.007-05:00

Yesterday we got a short update on her development and today we got new measurements and PICTURES!!! She has made improvements developmentally and she is growing (still itty bitty though. Yes that is an almost 3 year old) and well the pictures speak for themselves. I LOVE her little smile!!!! We even got a picture of her with her foster mom!

Please consider help in us bring Cori Home by sponsoring a piece or pieces of her puzzle! Each piece is just $10. Your name will go on it so Cori will know who helped bring her home. When you purchase 2 or more you will get a postcard from us while we are in China. Also, when the puzzle is finished we will pick a donor to receive a gift especially purchased just for them in China. For more details See http://thevarnfamily.blogspot.com/2011/01/be-piece-of-puzzle-that-helps-bring.html

Puzzle Update! God is Good!

2011-02-07T13:59:00.006-05:00

So far 116 pieces have been purchased(including cash donations not shown on the chip in) which is AMAZING! A huge thank you to those who have bought their pieces so far. We only have 434 left to go! Please consider buying a piece or two (or more, however the Lord leads you) and being a piece of the puzzle God is using to bring our daughter home! See the bottom of this post for how to get your pieces!

Today as I took the puzzle out of the box to assemble the pieces that have been purchased so far, I realized how much it is like this adoption and for that matter sometimes how much it is like God's plan for our lives. There are all these pieces. The instructions(Bible) say it is this beautiful piece of art, but just look at this jumbled mess. It looks as if their is no way their could ever be a beautiful picture in there. Some of the pieces are weird looking, it's a complex mess, at 1st glance nothing looks like it fits, and at one point I didn't think it had enough pieces. But God called us to this and if we just stay focused on HIS plan, HIS will for our lives... piece by piece it will come together. And before we know it, we can see HIS masterpiece! HIS plan is perfect!

Each piece is just $10. Your name will go on it so Cori will know who helped bring her home. When you purchase 2 or more you will get a postcard from us while we are in China. Also, when the puzzle is finished we will pick a donor to receive a gift especially purchased just for them in China.

=),

Jess

Be a Piece of the Puzzle that helps bring Cori Home!!!!

2011-01-24T14:26:00.006-05:00

We are taking a "Flying Leap of Faith" and we invite you to join us! We still need to raise over $10,000 to bring Cori Home!!! We know that it is God's plan for this child to no longer be an orphan and to be our daughter and that HE will provide the funds to make it happen, PIECE BY PIECE!!! We are selling pieces to a puzzle, and to the vision God gave us, that will be sealed and framed when completed as a reminder of how faithful our Father is and of those who have supported us on this journey. Each piece is just $10! For each piece you purchase your name will go on the back so some day Cori can look at it and see the names of the people who love her! All who purchase 2 or more will get a postcard from China and 1 piece will be picked and the purchaser will receive a very special gift purchased just for them while we are in China. You may purchase your pieces by check, cash, or securely via the ChipIn on the right side of the page. Thank you for all of your support and prayers!!!

its funny how God works His plan out sometimes.

2011-01-24T12:41:00.002-05:00

We have been in this holding pattern in the adoption for the past few months while we work working on fundraising and God was working on our hearts. When we started this process we wanted a child as young as possible (or AYAP in adoption lingo) under 14 months old at referral. Then as time went on we moved it to 16 months and then 18 months. But, we really felt the Lord was calling us to something bigger... so we finally embraced His leading and told our agency we were open to up to 2 years old and by 2 we meant under 3 and we were ready to take the leap of faith and accept a referral. The list of waiting Children in China was updated last Monday night so by Friday afternoon we had accepted that we were not getting matched this month and we would wait until next month. Then Friday night at 7pm we got a call from Holt (our agency) and they asked how flexible we really were about age, to which I replied we were flexible up to what we were approved for (3yrs) and we wanted to be open to the child God was calling us to. And then she presented us with the info on a little girl who will be 3 on march 7th and was living in foster care in Yulin, Guangxi. She had a giant hemangioma removed from her neck 2 years ago. So, here she is... Our Cori!

New Fundraiser & a Giveaway!!!!

2011-01-19T10:12:00.003-05:00

Ok, so you who know me know that I am not crafty at all so this is totally a God-is-stretching-me kind of thing. I need some opinions on a new fundraiser I am about to launch. Sorry the picture isn't too great. It is a pot full of PENS. Yes, those daisies are pens. Pretty nifty huh? I am planning on making them with several kinds of flowers and selling them for possibly 1 for $2.50, a pot with 3 for $6 or a pot with 6 for $10. it will depend on how cheaply I can get the pots and glass beads to go in the pots. (yes I am taking pre-orders and flower requests)

I am also going to be making jeweled flower hair clips for little girls for $5-$8.

Here's where the Giveaway comes in. I need a name for this little venture! SO, leave a comment with the cutest name you can think of and my favorite will win a free pen or hair clip! I will also have a drawing for a 2nd freebie and you can get more entires by sharing my blog. Post this Giveaway on your blog and leave a comment that you did it for 3 extra entries. Anyone that leaves a comment that they came from your blog will get you another entry! I will pick winners on February 1st!!!

Cori's List! Like Craigslist with out the "adult" services lol

2010-12-06T14:15:00.003-05:00

Its our newest fundraiser! Since so far our yard sale has been our best fundraiser at $1800 profit, we thought why not keep it going? So, we have been selling the remnants (and a few new items) from the yard sale on Craigslist. Then the other day it hit me. Why not make our OWN List. So, Cori's List was born! This is going to be our online Yard Sale/Craft Fair/Online Store/Etc. Fundraising page for Cori! In the next day or so we will get the rest of our current items listed for your shopping pleasure. Also, if you have any items (crafts, furniture, merchandise of any kind really) you would like to donate please let us know! I will be posting this link like crazy so it would be a great way to get some cheap advertising for your business too!

www.CorisList.blogspot.com Check it out and let me know what you think?

Bet you never saw this coming.....

2010-11-12T14:55:00.005-05:00

Well maybe you did if you have known me for a few years.

Before I say this, let me make it clear that I am NOT quiting Mary Kay. I love Mary Kay the product and the business, and will always be a consultant and take care of my customers and team members. HOWEVER, the Lord has been nudging me to start something new for quite sometime and when He allowed me to have peace in stepping down from Directorship I could no longer ignore the call.

(drum rollllllll)

I AM STARTING A DOSSIER PREP & ADOPTION FUNDRAISING CONSULTING SERVICE! What are the 2 biggest stressers for Adopting Families? The Paperwork and the Money! I will be your relief for both! You can call me MY ADOPTION ASSISTANT!

DOSSIER PREP: You collect the documents that I can't and I will take it from there. I will look over all of your documents and check for errors. The I will send everything for state certified and authenticated correctly the 1st time. I will then email you a copy and send the original on to your agency (or to you if you would like). By January I will even be able to notarize your documents for Tampa Bay area families, making me your complete dossier 1 stop shop! I am running a Pre-Grand Opening Special for November and December of $300 for couples and $250 for Singles with docs. originating in 3 or fewer states(email for prices on extra states). This includes everything except Certification fees, Authentication fees, and courier fees. Once I have looked over your documents I will email you a list of checks and money orders needed for the Secretariesof States and Consulates. (FYI-I can use your fedex account # for shipping fees). My goal is to make it easy on you and get it done Fast and get it done RIGHT so you can get to your child!

FUNDRAISNG CONSULTING (coming in January): I am still working out the details but I will offer consultations to families to help them build a fundraising strategy and give them the tools and contacts that need to make it happen. I will also offer a grant application review service to help you have confidence in your request for assistance. (FYI- I will NOT write grant letters for families because I feel this is unethical and that it really needs to come from you but I will be your editor and suggest changes to make your application stand out.

Check me out at my future home on the web (at least until I get a fancy site) www.MyAdoptionAssistant.webs.com

So, what do you think?

Progress and Rip My Heart Out!

2010-10-19T22:01:00.001-04:00

Well,I guess I am a bit overdue in the update department so here it goes. We were logged in with the CCAA (China Central Adoption Authority or something like that, I forget) on 9/7 and therefore we are eligible to be matched from the list of waiting children. We need to get a few more fundraisers (and hopefully a grant) in 1st but we have been told that most likely when we are ready our agency will match us that month. For some reason this whole time I have thought we will get our referral for Christmas.

As for Fundraising we are now up to $1700 of the $11,360 for the Program Fee and Orphanage Donation. We raised over $1100 at our Yard Sale/Bake Sale this past weekend and plan to raise another 400-600 at our next yard sale on Nov. 6th (we have a bunch of great stuff left over and hope to find some more before then). Also, We are running a Huge Networking/Expo event called the Power Players Happy Hour Expo on the 4th and We are praying that could raise between $1000-$2000 (I could have done more if I had started earlier). And of Course we have Mary Kay going full speed ahead! Please consider hosting a live or virtual party. Not only will it help us but I can help you do all your Christmas shopping free or half off!

Now for the "rip my heart out" part of this post... At the Yard Sale Sunday morning Emmi looked up, saw a plane fly overhead and yelled to me "mommy, a plane mommy. Let's get on the plane and go see Cori!" It was all I could do to keep from crying. She is so sweet and is really looking forward to having a little sister.

=),

Jess

The Story of Our Adoption and Dimes

2010-08-15T17:57:00.000-04:00

Many of you have asked about our adoption story and collecting dimes. I want to share with you a very personal, yet very real story of faith and courage, and how God Blessed us in our adoption.
When Jessica and I started our Adoption with our Daughter Emaline, We went through many emotions. We were Happy, Nervous, Excited and also wondering how we would be able to do it. We knew from the beginning that we were going to adopt a little girl, and that we would name her Emaline after her Grandmother (Jessica's Mom). We also knew that we were going though this journey with faith in God that he would make this happen for us.
One day while out shopping, we found a dime in the parking lot. As I picked it up, we commented and joked that we found " A Dime for Emaline". Little did we know that this would be our rallying cry and theme throughout our adoption. We found that this dime became the first of many we would "find" and place in our jar that was designated for our adoption fund. We soon began to believe and realize that God was planting this seed of faith for us to keep going, and keep moving through this journey. The dime became our symbol of hope and love, and we knew God was with it each time.
After completing this first adoption, we did not seem to find as many dimes as we had during the journey to Vietnam to get Emaline. We knew the reason, but I want you to know that our story does not end there.
After almost 4 years from the time we started our 1st adoption, God began to lay on our hearts the thought of going through this process again. Being the stubborn person I am, I was not sure I wanted to go through this journey again, and mainly because of selfish reasons. I wondered if I wanted to share the love I was giving Emaline with another child ( I know that is crazy ), and I wondered if I wanted to go through the process again. Well one day right before Easter, Jessica asked if I had given anymore more thought to adopting again. I told her yes, but was not sure I wanted to do that yet. After some conversation, she asked If I could I run out to the car to retrieve something she needed and had left. As I walked outside, I had that conversation in my head about adopting again when I saw IT!!!!! The IT was a burning bush of sorts for me. Just ahead of me about 15 yards away was a very Bright and Shiny Object that was reflecting off of the sun. As I walked closer, I said to myself "No, No, No Way!!!" Sitting in front of me very brightly lit, was a Brand New......... You Guessed it.... a Dime. I almost hit my knees right there. I truly believe that God gave me the message right there that he wanted us to adopt a Sister for Emaline................. This little Girl will be named Coraline, and she will be from China. In James 1 :27, God says "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world". We really focus on this verse and use this daily. We really want to thank those who are taking the time to help us and pray for us. Please continue to keep us in your prayers, and use this story to share and reference........... Thank you and God Bless!!

Excitement of the Week!

2010-07-27T14:25:00.002-04:00

I Flew back from Mary Kay Seminar in Dallas late Saturday night, which was AMAZING, and on Monday I FINALLY got our USCIS officer on the phone again and found out that we should be getting approved today!!! However, I won't post it to our timeline until i have that paper in my hand(hopefully by the weekend). Now, we are getting the last of our dossier papers together so we can send it all off to the secretary of state to get certified and then on to the Chinese Embassy in DC for authentication(with a short stop at the State Dept. for some extra stamp it needs). We are looking at actually being able to send our dossier to our agency from there on to China by Early September. This means some SERIOUS fundraising time! I will be announcing a NEW HOT fundraiser tomorrow so stay tuned!!! We still have about $1400 to go by Sept 1. So doable. We thank all of you who have been helping by supporting by Dimes 4 Coraline Bottles, Mary Kay, and of course PRAYER!

And now for some pictures!

Bubble Burst =(

2010-07-08T15:47:00.002-04:00

Just as we were getting all excited about progress we found out we were going in reverse! Right after my last post I called USCIS to find out who our officer was and to let them know we did our fingerprints early only to find out that we will be receiving an RFE in the next couple days. RFE stands for Request For Evidence, in other words something is missing. To make me even sicker about it she wouldn't tell me what exactly they needed only something about either the last 2 pages of our homestudy being missing or something being missing from the last 2 pages of our homestudy. PLEASE PRAY that it is something simple like they lost the last two pages or something and not that our Social Worker needs to rewrite them and that it can be fixed quickly and not hold us up too too much.

=,,(,

jess

One More Step Towards our Chinese Dumpling!

2010-07-08T14:11:00.003-04:00

Last week we got our letter from USCIS( US Citizenship & Immigration Services) with our fingerprint appointment. Only one problem, the appointment was for the 22nd which is while I will be in Dallas at Mary Kay Seminar!!!! SO, we took a leap of faith and drove an hour to the USCIS Tampa Office and walked in without an appointment. They were very nice and were totally fine with us coming in ahead of our appointment by 2 weeks. We were in and out in under 30 minutes! So, now we are just waiting on our approval letter (is it still called the I-171h when you file I-800a???) which hopefully will come by the end of the month. Then we just have to get everything State Certified in Tallahassee and then Authenticated at the Chinese Embassy in DC and THEN it will finally all go to China and we will be eligible to receive a referral off of the CC@@'s Shared List!!! One more step down and just a couple left to go.... for now.

Fundraising Update: We are a little behind where we need to be right now but God WILL Provide!

=),

Jess

Homestudy DONE!!!

2010-06-09T11:35:00.002-04:00

Donna, our Social Worker, just delivered our homestudy about 5 minutes ago! Now we can file our I-800a (a ridiculously over priced application for preapproval from USCIS to bring our future adopted daughter into the US). It is all filled out and when Michael gets home we will sign it and take it to the post office. This step should now take about 30-45 days. Meanwhile, we will finish getting the rest of our Dossier documents together and State Certified (all of our out of state docs already are) and ready for authentication. WooHoo, we are making progress! Slower than we had planned but progress none the less!

FUNDRAISING UPDATE:
As we have said before we have broken down the expense into bite size fundraising goals. The 1st is $3000 by June 30th and we are over half way there. We know God will provide! We still have a few bottles left (out of state bottles will go in the mail this Friday), and we are Blessed to have Amber Krug of God's Glory Photography doing Portraits for a Purpose (call 727-277-3759 or email amber42588@yahoo.com to book your shoot), and of course you can always book a Mary Kay party with me. I am doing Summer Trend Parties, Pedi Parties, AND Virtual Online Parties with our super fun Virtual Makeover!

=),
Jess

It takes a village.......

2010-04-13T21:28:00.004-04:00

While I don't think it takes a village to raise a child it DOES take a village to adopt one.

Some of you have asked how you can help raise money for Coraline's Adoption. Here are 3 ways you can help.

1. (the best way)Get a few girlfriends together to have an MK Party w/a Purpose. If you aren't in the Tampa Bay Area or just don't have a free hour you can be a Silent Hostess or a Web Hostess (Great Option for those who aren't local). Contact me for details. jvarn@marykay.com

2. Collect DIMES 4 CORALINE in a baby bottle(contact us for a bottle)

3. Donate using the Chip In on our Blog(top right).

We still have about $20k to raise with our first immediate need being $3000 by the beginning of June.

Our other need, our greatest need, is Prayer.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your help and support.

God Bless,
Jessica & Michael

How does it look?

2010-04-10T17:13:00.003-04:00

I have spent the last hour or so doing a little redecorating on my blog. What do you think?

It crossed my mind that, given the timeline Holt is giving us and the age expect our new daughter to be when she comes home, she may already be born or at the very least her birth mother is pregnant right now. Either way, as we are getting all nervous and excited as we start this journey to our baby girl, a woman in China is making the hardest decision of her life. Though I will probably never meet her I will pray for her every night.

Make sure to turn off the music at the bottom of the page before you play the video.

Details

2010-04-09T14:19:00.003-04:00

1st of all here are the pics of the car and a few others (click the pic to go to our Picasa albums). There are lots of other albums from the past year on Picasa as well.

2010-02-25 Feb 2010 Car Pick Up

Now the details about our current adoption process. We are adopting through Holt International's Child of Promise Program. It is a minor/correctable special needs program. Things like: Cleft lip, birthmarks, club feet, extra toes, rickets, partial hearing loss, and other things like that. It is a separate program from the waiting children program. The process is about 18 months from application to placement(shorter for boys) which is very different from the NSN program which is currently about 4 years from LID. We expect that our daughter will be about 18 months old when she comes home. Yes, we get to choose which SNs we are open to. We have a list that we check off yes no or maybe and that is what they go by. We are currently working on our homestudy paperwork and should have that scheduled soon. Praying to be DTC by the end of next month. Pray for speedy paperwork!

And I am sure you are wondering why another girl. I personally would love to have a boy but Michael wanted Emmi to have a sister and they will need to share a room for a while so It's going to be a girl =).

Thanks for following our new journey. We'll keep you posted!

=),
jess

Here we go again!

2010-04-03T23:25:00.003-04:00

It's been a loooooooooong time since I posted to this blog so let me catch you up! God has blessed us soooooooooo very much in the past year! Michael is now teaching 3rd grade drop out prevention and surprise, surprise he is LOVING IT! Also, when he got the boot last year it gave me the courage to take my Mary Kay business to the next level and within 6 months I earned my 1st FREE CAR (the Chevy Malibu) and became an Independent Sales Director. So, now we have more time together as a family and we make more money. AND I am about to go on target for my 2nd FREE CAR(Chevy Equinox)! Talk about Beauty from Ashes! GOD is SOOOOO GOOD!!!

Emaline is AMAZING! She will be 3 in just 2 short months! As of this week she is Potty Trained HALLELUJAH!!! I still have her home with me full time but next year she will got to preschool 2 days a week for 4 hours a day. We are also considering getting her into gymnastics because she is really athletic. She is also really good with her numbers (can we say stereotypical Asian girl, lol). The sweetest thing about Emmi is she recently started giving us unsolicited "I Love Yous." Nuthin sweeter than that!

Now for the future of the Varn family. After much prayer we officially started the process for baby number 2 tonight. We applied to Holt International for the China Child of Promise program. Please keep us in your prayers as we move forward in this journey. I will post more info soon.

Well, I really should get to bed. Have a Happy and Blessed Resurrection Sunday!!! HE IS RISEN!!!

=), Jess

The Ax has fallen

2009-03-27T09:41:00.005-04:00

Well, Michael got his non-reappointment letter yesterday. It really disgusts me that someone can be as vindictive and evil as his current principal. The man has been out to ruin Michael all year and he finally succeeded. Michael has never received a less than stellar evaluation but this guy came in determined to clean house of anyone who was there before him and gave Michael the worst evaluation ever and then fired him. He didn't even have the decency to just ask that Michael be transferred to a different school. he went for the jugular and killed Michael's career as an Assistant Principal. SICK!

On a positive note we know that God has a better plan and will take care of us. Michael, will stay on until June 30th so he has some time. The scary part is that if he does get a teaching job closer to home(he is not going to stay up in the other county, what's the point) it will be a $21,000 pay cut and also mean 4-8 weeks with no pay between when his current contract ends and his 1st pay day. So, I am having to step it up with my Mary Kay business to cover that. But God is good and we trust Him!

Please pray for us. This is a very tough time to find a job in education (well, any job for that matter). Right now we are just making plans and considering all options.

Oh, and on top of this we are all sick with some horrible virus. It's been a great week!

God bless,
Jess

Pictures

2009-03-23T21:53:00.001-04:00

Here are some pics from January, February, and early March. Captions on these and SeaWorld Pics coming soon.

2009-03-14 19-20 Months

Update

2009-03-19T07:54:00.003-04:00

well, we survived the 1st round of budgets cuts in the district but more are coming next month because as I think we have all figured out by now A. Obama's stimulus package is a very expensive joke and B. Charlie Crist (our Governor) has no clue what he is doing either. On top of that it is evaluation time and the superintendent is looking to "mix things up" and switch around administrators again. We are just praying that if Michael moves that it is NOT to a High School. If it happens we will be thankful he has a job still and we know the Lord will get us through it but we will never see each other. HS Admins. have to be at everything and it tends to end up a 7 day a week job. I truly believe Michael will have a job next year and we are just praying the go for a 2 or 3 day furlow instead of pay cuts if necessary. We had been praying (still are really) about doing Mission work for a year or 2 in Vietnam but the Lord has not opened that door as yet so we will just keep praying and if it is His will He will make that path clear in His time.

So, in short we have been praying a LOT... Evaluations, Budget Cuts, Missions, etc. But we have a LOT to be thankful for as well... Michael has a job, Emaline is growing, happy and healthy, we are healthy, we have a home, we have each other, we have a great church family, we have great family, We are just so blessed!

Well, gotta run, but pictures are coming soon.

=),
Jess

PLEASE PRAY!!!

2009-01-27T13:41:00.003-05:00

We got some scary news that his County may be laying off several Assistant Principals in a very unethical way (I can not go into details at this time but it would shock and horrify you). Please pray for the Superintendent and the School board to be diligent and find the best ways to cut spending without hurting people. Unfortunately, this district is run by very unqualified people.

We know that no matter what God will take care of us and that He has a plan for us and we have peace in. Just please pray for the Lord to have His hand in what the school board is doing and for them to actually do what is right for the students and employees.

=0,
Jess

My kid is Bi-Lingual!

2009-01-05T10:59:00.003-05:00

One other thing I forgot to mention yesterday. Apparently Emaline IS speaking in Vietnamese. She says Daddy instead of DaDa BUT 3 out of 4 times she leaves out the "dd" and always puts an accent on the "Y". Our pediatrician (who is Vietnamese) had a good laugh because apparently she is saying " đẩy " perfectly, which means "push". So now we call Michael push push. lol. So, I guess the morons that asked me when she was 6 months old if she spoke Vietnamese weren't so far off. lol Who knew!

Ok, you can go back down to the pictures now

=),
Jess

You want pictures... I got your pictures.

2009-01-04T17:06:00.005-05:00

The pictures and update you have been harrassing me for are here at last. Thank you for being so patient with me =)

I even captioned the pictures for your viewing pleasure. I recommend using the slide show so you can read what is going on. Think of it like a Varn Family Comic book.

Here is a brief update on the kidlit. Emaline will be 19 months old on the 8th. She is a whopping almost 26lbs and 31.5 inches tall. The recent discussion on APV about all these itty bitty undersized babies has made me feel like I have this gigantic child, but really she is average on the growth chart. She has gained over almost 9 lbs and 5.5 inches in the past year and she is MUCH thinner then she was then too. INSANE right? This kid is eating us out of house and home but at least she eats only healthy stuff!

She is running and talking. She has about 10 words right now and 1 phrase.... "TV on", I am so embarrassed, blame her daddy for that one.

As for us we are doing great too. Can't believe it has been over a year now since our little poodle(ya, not sure how a straight haired Asian kid got the nickname poodle) became ours. Still unsure if we will adopt again. We are also praying about other ways the Lord can use us in Vietnam like part time missions and such. We are just waiting on HIS leading.

Ok, so now for the pictures. Yes, its a lot but worth the slide show I promise. =). remember to click on each album.

God bless,
Jess =)

2008-10-02 15 months

2008-10-28 16 Months

2008-11-02 16 Months(the rest)

2008-11-17 17 months part 1

2008-12-08 17 months part 2

2009-01-03 18 months

PS-If you are looking for Forever Family Day pics.... I forgot my camera. OOPS. We went to St. Pete to the Vietnamese Restaraunt that we always go to.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2008-12-28T20:45:00.003-05:00

Hope Everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. It has been one year since we brought Emaline Home! What a difference a Year Makes!

New Pictures coming soon

2008-10-16T15:31:00.002-04:00

My schedule just suddenly and drastically lightened up. Today Emaline and I are taking a girls day. We went swimming, took and nap and now we are getting ready to go to the mall for shopping(the window kind), playing in the play area, and dinner at the food court.

Tomorrow I will post last months pics and what we have been up to the past month. I really need to committ to posting at least once a week so I don't get bogged down with so much stuff it takes me an hour to type it all up.

=),
Jessica

1 out of 7 isn't tooo bad.....

2008-10-10T13:38:00.003-04:00

Ok, so I haven't poseted every day like Leigh challenged everyone but I am getting one out and hoping to do another tomorrow.

Here are the answers to Erin's Survery.

Whats your favorite color? Used to be blue but now that I have a little girl I am leaning towards pink and purple.

How late did you stay up last night and why? 11pm watching ER

If you could move somewhere else, would you? We love it here in Trinity Florida but we have wondered what it would be like to be missionaries in Vietnam.

What would you do if someone told your biggest secret? Tell theirs. Just kidding, but I would know not to trust them anymore.

Do you think relationships are ever really worth it? Yes

Where do you wish you were right now? Vietnam. or Peru.

Is anything bothering you right now? Not really, just really busy.

Do you like your life right now? Life is good. I am so blessed!

Who was the last person you hung out one-on-one with? My mom. Beign an only child we have a special relationship. I wonder if Emaline and I will have a similiar one when she is older. (Yes, the itch is gone, just a temporary rash a guess lol)

What car do you want? I miss my mustang

What’s the best way to tell someone you love them? Show them!

Have you ever flirted with someone just to get something? God didn't give me this rack for nothing... just kidding, I am so just kidding. But seriously. Of course.

What are you looking forward to this weekend? Monthly lunch get together with Tampa Bay International Adoptive Families

Have you ever done something you told yourself you wouldn’t do? I have lost track of how many times. I make plans and God laughs.

How have you been feeling today? WAAAAAAAAY Behind the 8ball! And yet I am on here blogging.

Last thing you broke? hmmmm, not sure, but I just fixed the reclaimed water pipe that Michael weedwacked.

Last food you ate? Quiche Lorraine for breakfast.... crap its 2 pm and I haven't had lunch!

Is there anybody that you trust 100%?Absolutely - God and my husband.

Does love scare you? Nope.

Do you believe ex’s can be friends? Nope. If they are friends why are they ex's... hmmmmm =)

What would you do if you won the lottery? Pay off everything (cars, mortgage, etc.) Donate a huge chunk to my favorite chartiies and save the rest in a high interest account. I have it all planned out and that is why I will never win. That, and I rarely buy a ticket.

Night out or night in? OUT!!! I am a full time mom. Are you kidding me?

Last time you were confused? Huh?

Do you cry easily? No. But I bawled like a blubbering idiot when the nanny handed me my baby.

Are you hurt easily? Haha. No. Life is too short.

Are you proud of the person you’ve become? Darn Tootin'! I am a wife and mom that strives daily to follow the Lord. I'm not perfect but I am definitly content with who I am.

Ok, more pictures and fun stuff coming soon.

=),
Jessica

15 Month Check up and "Gettin' the Itch"

2008-09-16T15:59:00.004-04:00

We went for Emaline's 15 month (can you believe she is 15 months old already)check up the other day and all is well. She is 29 3/4 inches long and 23 lbs.. Needless to say our Vietnamese Pediatrician can not get over how tall she is. On the American chart she is average but on the Vietnamese chart apparently she is TALL. What can I say, the girl likes her veggies! Speaking of eating, her molars on the top are taking their time but are almost finished coming in and all the rest are in.. So glad the days of orajel and teething tabs are over.

Happy Mid-Autumn Moon Festival (a little late)! As many of you know, I run the Tampa Bay International Adoptive Families Association. This past weekend we tagged along with Tampa Bay Families with Children from China for a Mid-Autumn Moon Festival Party. Basically, a big Asian themed potluck with games, face painting and bounce house. They also had a lantern parade but Emaline couldn't hack the heat and we had to take her home when she fell asleep in her dinner.

Ok, so we are "gettin the itch". We went into adoption with the intention that Emaline would be our only child. Well, we are getting the itch for a #2. I always said our #2 would be a boy but Michael and I are both feeling very compelled toward China (3 year wait and all) so we are re-thinking that and Emaline might get a sister. As of this past Friday I'm officially old enough to start the paperwork(29.5) but we are not even thinking about starting anything (if we do at all) until 2009. Right now we are praying about it and you will be the first to know if and when we scratch that itch. In the mean time if you could keep us in your prayers about whether or not and when to start would be great.

Oh, and in case you are wondering, I did email Dillon all of the adoption docs and other stuff that could be emailed. I am waiting on a few copies of our 1 month PP (since I apparently misplaced it) and I will be sending off our PPs as is and the photos that go with them by next week. My theory is that all of our info in on the adoption docs, so I guess it is ok that it is on the PP. When we do our annual reports we will just be careful how much personal info in in them. But I did want you all to know that we are complying. We would never want to do anything to jeopardize the future of ethical adoptions in Vietnam. I just pray that someday they can find a way to proceed with adoptions and insure that they are done ethically.

Well, Emaline is waking up from her afternoon nap (yes she still takes 2. lucky me). Pictures will be coming soon.

=),

Jess

Summer Vacation and Procrastination

2008-08-22T16:57:00.003-04:00

No, I have not been trying to set a record for how long I can neglect my blog. It has been a wonderfully busy summer.
In June we went to Orlando(just outside of Disney) for 3 days for a reading conference(as mentioned before, Michael had a conference... Emaline & I had a vacation). I didn't get any pictures there though as my camera batteries died and I was not about to pay Orlando prices. But Emaline and I did get to spend some quality time with my best friend, who lives out that way, at Downtown Disney.
In July we spent a week in Naples(FL not not Italy) for the Florida Association of School Administrators Conference. Michael is the President Elect of the FL Assistant Principals Association, and thus a Board member for FASA so we had all our expenses taken care of, very nice. We stayed at the Naples Grande Beach Resort. We also dined at the finest restaurants because the board members and families we taken out by the conferences business sponsors. The nice people from Leap Frog even gave Emaline a Tad puppet. Very Fun, however the 3 best descriptions of Naples are as follows: Very Pretty, Very Expensive, and there is no place to change a diaper. I mean no place. I had to get creative a couple of times. Once in a very nice restaurant I had to change the baby on a little table that was maybe 20 inches long and 8 inches wide. Another time I had to clear off a restaurants awards and a huge vase of flowers off of what was clearly supposed to be a changing counter. Emaline loves the beach so it was fun to be right on the beach for a week (as opposed to 10 minutes away like we are at home lol).
We have also been here and there enjoying our summer. As many of you know we founded a social and support group for local families who have adopted internationally or are in the process. This group has now grown to 72 families and meets up twice a month. So that keeps me on my toes. We went to the aquarium last month and tomorrow we are having a pool party. Fun times!
Now to the procrastination part of this post. I have a confession to make and I am anxious to know if any of you have done this. We still haven't sent in our post placement reports. We had them done and we finally have them(our SW was kind of a procrastinator too) but we have yet to print pictures and send it all to Dillon. The funny part is that Dillon doesn't seem to care. How odd is that? Part of this has been just plain procrastination(which I do not feel bad about at all because of how Dillon held up our paper work so many times). BUT, part of it is that we recently found out that birthmothers have access to the post placement reports. A little fact that Dillon neglected to tell us and we didn't find out about until around when we had scheduled our 6 month PP. We don't mind her knowing that the child she gave up is doing well. After all, we did sign that form that says we would send periodic reports. What we mind is that Dillon is insisting that we put our child's American name, our names, and address in that report(when we know agencies allow this info to be omitted). This is personal info and in light of all that is happening in Vietnam we do not want to risk down the road this woman making contact with Emaline before she is ready. We know that chances of this happening are slim but as a mother and father we have to protect our child. On a positive note we are soooooooo thankful that so far none of the recent arrests in recent crack down in Vietnam have been in any of the provinces that Dillon works in. Even though we have not always been 100% thrilled with some things at Dillon we know that they really are one of the best and if we had it all to do over we would totally work with Dillon again. Oh, and we will get those post placements sent in once we decide what to do about the personal info.

One last thing. I actually took the time to put captions on the photos, so enjoy! Remember to click the pictures to go to the albums

2008-08-05 12-13 months

2008-08-23 14 Months (August 08)

A Year Ago Today

2008-07-03T15:02:00.004-04:00

We received our referral after 9 months on the waiting list (and like 8 months of applications, homestudy, I-600a, Dossier Prep, etc.). I will never forget that day. I was driving down the road when I got the call on my other line. I hung up on Michael and switched over. Then I thought my phone was cutting out when Jynger was said she was born June 8, 2007. I figured there was no way she could be that young. I called Michael and we both raced home. I sat there with the email open waiting 45 minutes to click on the pictures until Michael got home. We will never forget seeing our daughter's beautiful face for the first time and how that moment took our breath away. We still have this picture in our living room.

On a funny note. That night I was took excited to cook so we went to Chick-fil-A. We are starting a tradition and going to Chick-Fil-A to celebrate =)

=),

Jessica

1 Year, 1 Week, 1 Day

2008-06-16T21:05:00.002-04:00

That is how old Emaline is today =). Here are the pictures from her first birthday weekend(blurbs to come soon).

2008-06-13 1st Birthday

Here is how it all went. Saturday the 7th(day before her birthday) we went to a Sunday School picnic at the park. Had fun and Emaline mutalated a burger(as I said before the kid eats ANYTHING)... that is until we left. We got in the mini van and started out of the park. By the time we got to the entrance of the park we realized the AC wasn't getting cold. A few blocks later is was getting hotter... and hotter. Did I meantion that the motor on my driver side power window had recently died too. So there we are, it is 97 degrees out, 100% humidity, and only 1 window will go down, trying to get home as fast as possible. After we all took showers & a nap we had to take the rolling sauna to go get the birthday cake. It was so hot in there that when we were walking back to the van the baby was crying because she didn't want to get back in. SOOOO, The next morning (the 8th, Emaline's Birthday), instead of going to church, Michael took the van to get check out. As he was leaving I was flicking and MTV Sweet 16 was on and some girl was getting a hummer for her 16th. We informed Emaline not to get any ideas. Anywho, Michael took the van in and I stayed home with the baby and prayed it just needed freon. No dice. My van that only had 3 more payments needed a compressor that cost more than those 3 payments. So, needless to say Emaline got a new(to us) 2007 Toyota Seinna for her 1st birthday. How are we going to top this next year, I guess we will ahve to save up for that hummer, lol.

Back to the Birthday, So we got started a bit later than planned with the birthday festivities. We kept it small, my parents and grandmother came down and we had planned to go to the pool at the Y but this is summer in Florida and it rained all afternoon. So we just stayed home, open presents, fed the baby her favorites (ribs, carrotts, and mashed potatoes) and let her bath in birthday cake. All in all it was fun.

**UPDATE** The day before Emaline's Big 01 she started walking and today started trying to run, but her head is faster than her feet... TIIIMBER. She has now had her 12 month check up. She is officially up to date with her shots now and is measuring in at 20lbs 11oz & 28 3/4 inches long. The carseat has been turned around and we transitioned to milk in a record 1 day. No kidding, she went from bottled formula to milk in a sippy over night. This kid is amazing. She really has to be the easiest baby EVER. I don't think I can really take any credit so please don't hate me.

This Saturday (the 14th) was 6 months since we became a family. We celebrated by, what else, going to the beach to swim and watch the sunset. You would think Michael and I would be much darker for the amount of time we spend at the beach. We also took Emaline to get her picture taken again. Emaline was great but the photographer was horrible. SO, My parents and I took her back today and we had a different photographer who was phenomenal. She was so good that it took me over 2 hours to decide what I wanted to buy. I am going to attempt to post a link soon.

Father's Day. Emaline started her first food fight. We were up at my parents house for dinner and swimming and I am not sure what got into her. She just started flinging hamburger and laughing hysterically. I told her her "No, we do not do that, understand me" and she flung a chunk at my head. I know we shouldn't have but we all cracked up laughing.

Well, that is about all for now. We are going to Orlando for a reading conference (ok, Michael is going for the conference and Emaline and I are going for a free vacation) the end of next week so I will have more to post then.

=),
Jessica

How Cute is This Little Girl!!!

2008-06-14T08:40:00.005-04:00

Emaline is so Cute and It is amazing how much she learns each and every day! We have recently taught her that when we ask her "Show Me Cheese" she gives this silly grin that is so adorable. I never knew just how happy this little girl would make us! I race home everyday to see my "Two Girls" Jessica and Emaline and it makes it all worthwhile to go to work just knowing at the end of the day I can see them! Emaline is really growing up and it so amazing to just see the Changes in her. Today marks the 6th month of officially having her! That seems unreal but they have been 6 of the happiest months ever! More Posts on "Daddy's Little Girl" later on!

Almost 1

2008-06-05T12:36:00.006-04:00

WOW! Emaline is going to be 1 on Sunday(June 8th)! Even more shocking is the fact that I haven't posted in a month. WOW WOW! Here are some more pictures from the past month or two. Remember to click on the picture to go to the album.

2008-05-07 10 Months

2008-06-03 11 Months Old

Updates:

Emaline's 1st big road trip was as success! We went up to SC(Michael's side of the family) for the big Mother's Day Family Reunion. Thankfully, Emaline started getting over the whole stranger anxiety just in time. While it took her a few days to warm up to everyone(especially her uncle Craig), she did finally and it was wonderful. As for her Uncle Craig, we didn't think he was ever going to ever even be in the same room with her. He would walk in the room and she would start screaming bloody murder. While she is most definitely her parents little girl, she has NEVER had that reaction to anyone. But, by the end of the trip she decided he was pretty cool. All in all, it was a great time and I couldn't imagine a better mother's day.

Emaline is ALMOST walking independently. We gave her a push toy for an early birthday present and she runs all over with it.

We are so done with baby food. This kid eats ANYTHING! She absolutely amazes me. Her favorite foods consist of pork ribs, sweet potatoes, bananas, watermelon, hamburgers(yes, if you hold it she will eat it, lol), all vegetables known to man, you name it.

She is holding steady at 8 teeth. It has been nice to have a break from teething for a while.

I think that is about it. I will post again next week after her little birthday party.

=),

Jessica
ps-I guess it is a good idea to hit post. I wrote this 2 days ago and just realized I never hit post. better late than never I guess.

My deepest Sympathies and a little Clarification

2008-05-05T15:51:00.002-04:00

My deepest Sympathies to those effected by the up coming shutdown of adoptions between the US and Vietnam. My heart breaks for those families who will not get their referrals that they have waited so long for and of course for the true orphans in Vietnam who have the most to lose by this horrific turn of events.

In a nutshell, for those that do not know, as of Sept. 1, 2008 adoptions between Vietnam and the US will cease. This is due to Vietnam not keeping up their end of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two countries in 2005 and the US not wanting to clean up the mess created by this. While the majority of Vietnam adoptions have been legitimate there have been cases where certain agencies and/or orphanages have been buying babies, coercing mothers to give up their babies, stealing babies and other horrific things. the DIA (dept. of International Adoptions) in Hanoi refuses to take any action to cut down on this so the US has been put in the horrible position of having to say "no more. until the DIA straightens this out we will not issue Visas for children adopted in Vietnam." Very Very Sad times. for more info click here

Let me clarify something, especially for our family and friends outside of the adoption community. We know for a fact that Emaline was indeed legitimately relinquished. At the time we were furious that USCIS changed their I600 policy right before we were to travel and delayed us. But, now we could not be more thankful. At that time they decided that all Visa applications(form I600) were to be processed prior to travel so they could take their time to go over the child's paperwork and investigate to make sure everything was kosher, taking up to 60 days or longer. We are so grateful to USCIS for taking the time to make sure that Emaline was not stolen, bought, or otherwise wrongly offered for adoption. That peace of mind is priceless and was well worth the wait.

Again, we offer our deepest sympathies to those families whose journey to Vietnam has ended and we will continue to pray that the Lord makes the path to your child clear, wherever he or she is.

=''(,
Jess

I Love This Little Girl!

2008-04-26T21:20:00.002-04:00

I Love This Little Girl! She has been such a Blessing to Us! I cannot wait everyday to come home from work to see Emaline and Her Mama at the end of a hard day at school. I am greeted by their two smiling faces and of course JoDee and Toby Keith our two dogs. I am doing so much better than I deserve and I thank the Lord everyday. I cannot believe how far she has come since we brought her home, but she is doing so good. I will close for now but I will write soon and give you more of Daddy's perspective on things! God Bless and Good Night!

The rest of the pics

2008-04-22T17:20:00.003-04:00

Here are the rest of the pics that I promised.

2008-04-22 9-10 months old

Note at the end the pics with my new mei tai. To those that are waiting to get get their babies I highly recommend you check out Baby Hawk Mei Tais . As far as Mei Tais go they are the best. My first one is a freehand but since I couldn't find another (they went out of business) I did some research and got a babyhawk I am still wearing Emaline and will continue to do so until I can't anymore. I highly recommend it to any mom, but especially those adopting. The closeness is wonderful and it is so convenient and extremely comfortable. As far as carriers go, well you all know how much I love my mei tai. So, of course after checking out all the others I still swear by the mei tai (just make sure its a good one a babyhawk or freehand)

=),
Jessica

Very Long Overdue Update

2008-04-17T14:57:00.003-04:00

Wow, I can't believe it has been over a month since I updated. Where to start?

Not a lot going on here. Emaline is hitting new milestones everyday. She is now 10 months old. 18 lbs 14oz., 27 inches long. She eats anything we give her. We recently started table foods and she is doing really well. We haven't found a food yet that she doesn't like. She is crawling now(no more army scoot, I miss that). She is standing up without holding on to anything and doing a little cruising around the coffee table. So, the 1st steps are probably not too far away. She is saying Dada... A LOT. She did say Mama first but now she says dada all the time. She also says "I-laf-uh" (translation: I love you). She can High Five and clap and just started making fish faces and kissy faces. Oh, we did figure out who her birth father must be.... Gene Simmons. No kidding, the kid has a tongue a mile long. She stuck it out and touched her chin the other day. Sleeping is getting better to. We are down to only waking up once a night on average (occasionally twice and rarely not at all). She is also putting herself to sleep for naps which is nice too (I just put her in the crib with toys and 5 minutes she is out). She is becoming less and less of a baby every day =(

We have been so busy lately. I have gotten back to the way I was before the adoption started. I am running a fundraiser for my fraternity, beginning to plan the trinity Holiday Expo & Taste of Trinity 2008, Running the Tampa Bay International Adoption Families Group (up to 57 families and growing), working my Mary Kay business, going to playdates, church stuff, etc. I love to be busy.

This is also a busy time of year because it is packed with family birthdays. I think once we get past June there are only 2 the rest of the year. Our nieces and nephews are all January or February, My best friend is in Feb., Me and my F.I.L. are in March, Michael is April, My dad is May, the Emalines (the baby and my mom) are both in June. And, one of Michael's brothers B-days is stuck in there somewhere too. It's no wonder I am notorious for belated birthday cards and presents.

On a sickening note. My Mei Tai went missing yesterday. I dropped it while chasing my mothers dog down the road(we are petsitting right now) and did not notice it until 11:15pm last night. It is more then a carrier to me. It was part of how we bonded with Emaline. I put out fliers on my block about 1am this morning and I am just praying that one of my neighbors has it ans will return it. I even offered a reward. We are going to go knocking on doors this evening so please be praying for a miracle.

Anywho, Here are some pictures for you to enjoy. I still haven't gotten the ones out of my camera though, so be expecting them soon. remember to click on the picture to go to the album.

Pictures From Mom

3-29 Picnic Pics

UPDATE: THE MEI TAI HAS BEEN FOUND!!!!! It was all the way down at the end of my block at a neighbors house! Needless to say that one will NEVER leave the house again. I'll have to post a pic of the new one.

=),
Jessica

I Promise...

2008-04-16T16:32:00.002-04:00

I will update my blog tomorrow. I having been fighting with my lap top all day to get pictures from my moms web album to mine. They are FINALLY uploading as I type. Now I just have to get batteries so I can get the pics out of my camera.

Now, lets see if I can post this (got some weird error the first try)

=0,
Jess

Really overdue pictures

2008-03-09T11:38:00.001-04:00

Ok, these are so over due but here they are. Emaline is finally getting better about smiling for the camera, WOOHOO!!!

8 Months Old

Updates: She now has 5 teeth and in a day or so will have 6 (4 on top, 2 on bottom). She finally had her blood work done (no results yet) but it was not half as traumatic as getting shots was. Actually, I don't think she minded the needle, just the tourniquet.

As for sleeping in her room. We tried for 2 nights, she started teething again and it was all downhill from there. Sooooooooooooooo, she is back in our room but we took the shelf out of the sleeper so she can't fall out and now she is sleeping in the bottom of it(kinda like a pack n play with one side lowered(see pictures). We'll try again in another month or so. No rush at this point. As long as she is upstairs by a year.

We went to our monthly Tampa Bay International Adoption Families Lunch yesterday. It was small again but right now we have a lot of our members out of the country or just returning with new children. If the other little girl in the pictures looks familiar that's because that is Nicki & Bobby's Sarah . It was really great to meet Joseph Vinh's mommy and sister Nicki and Sarah and hopefully soon we will meet Bobby as well. What a small world it is that 2 kids from the same orphanage in Vietnam will grow up on the other side of the world less then an hour apart. We are so excited for the Mills' and can't wait to see them bring that little guy home!

Well, Wednesday is my birthday, 29 the last of my 20s. Tonight we are all going to the Cheesecake factory and then on Wednesday we are going to the zoo. I'll post pics of that adventure soon!

Have a great week everyone!

<=), (that's me wearing a birthday hat)
Jess

Overdue Weekend Recap

2008-02-22T16:43:00.004-05:00

Ok, so the Picture People thing freaked Emaline out. I have never seen that child cry that much (well, when she got 4 shots doesn't count). I totally did not think there was going to be a decent shot in the bunch but the poor thing eventually fell asleep and we got some very cute sleeping pictures. So, however traumatic it was for all of us it was a success and Emaline slept really good that night.

The State Fair... We Came, We Ate, We Conquered. This year we had such delicacies as a Walking Taco (a bag of fritos with all the taco stuff mixed into it), Cactus Potato (lookedlike a big fried cabbage with cheese, sour cream, and chives, and of course FRIED OREOS!!!! YUMMY! Emaline had a great time too.

The playgroup.... well, it was raining so we moved it indoors to a McDonalds. However Emaline took her nap later then usual so we had to miss it.

Found a mommy group. We are joining Growing Great Moms, a very active local group for Christian Stay at Home Moms. I am so excited about this. There seem to be a lot of great women with babies between 8-9 months.

Now for this weekends adventure. Emaline is officially moving into her room. She has been sleeping in our room in a bedside sleeper but now that she is pulling up it is no longer safe. Plus I think we all might sleep better with her upstairs. She has been taking her naps up there since we got home 2 months ago so it should not be that difficult a transition. But, I am expecting Michael and I to be running up the stairs a few times tonight. I will give you an update in a few days after we see how this is going to work.

Well, I better get to sleep, this might be a long night!

=),
Jess

PS-I'll add pictures over the weekend

Forever Family for 2 months and 1 day

2008-02-15T10:51:00.005-05:00

2008-02-15 7-8 months

Yesterday we not only celebrated Valentines Day but we celebrated our 2 month anniversary of of being a family of 3. So much has changed, especially Emaline's hair, since the day she was placed in our arms forever(and yet I still have not gotten the baby announcements done). As you can see in the latest set of pictures Emaline is now pulling up on anything she can get a good grip on. This means she will not be sleeping in the bedside co-sleeper in our room much longer. That's ok because she already takes her naps in her crib so the transition shouldn't be difficult. But, I will miss her silly little grin in the morning when she wakes me up.

We have a big weekend ahead of us. Tomorrow we are going to the Picture People and Emaline will have her first professional pictures taken (I'll let you know how that goes). Then on Sunday we are going to Redneck Disney World, um, I mean the State Fair (its FL so of course our state fair is in the middle of winter, it's in the 80's here ). Then, on Monday our International Adoption Families Group is having our first Picnic and Playdate. Busy, Busy, Busy!

I am totally getting into the full-time mommy thing. I can not even begin to imagine having to share raising her with a day care center or nanny. We(Emaline and I) are now looking to join a mommy n me group, in addition to the International Adoption Families group that we founded. We have a get together with the Growing Great Moms group on Wednesday at Chic-Fil-A. I'll keep you posted on how that goes. On the flip side I am anxious so start building my Mary Kay business again. I have an awesome customer base. I am truely blessed to serve these women. However, I miss meeting new women and doing facials and skincare classes. So, it's time to get some appointments on my books. For those who do not know, I do all my appointments here in home in my MK studio(the very first picture in the trip album is my studio which we used as a packing room prior to our trip) across the hall from the nursery. So, I plan to start doing appointments 2 days a week (Mondays and Saturdays) to get my MK fix, lol. I am sooooo truely BLESSED beyond belief to be able to be home with my baby girl and still get to have an income doing something I love. WOW!

Well, speaking of my baby girl she just woke up from her nap so I think it is time for a fresh diaper and some play time.

=),
Jess

ps-click on the picture above to go to our web album ot see the rest, this time with captions =)

8 Months Old Today

2008-02-08T06:55:00.000-05:00

I can not believe it. Emaline is getting so big. I mean really. I read about how these other Vietnamese babies are so tiny and then I have little buddah at 26inches and a whopping 18.3 lbs. I love her chunky thighs and itty bitty feet, they are so funny looking. You know you have a chunky baby when the skin in her fat rolls is lighted then the rest of her. Yes, she has fat tan lines. LOVE IT!

We are all doing great! We had our first post placement a week ago (yes we are running a bit late on that but oh well) and all went well. Not sure who was the bigger show off, Emaline or the dogs. Then when my 100lb portuguese water dog tried to get in front of her to get to the Social worker she grabbed both back legs and tried to pull up. Thank goodness the dogs love her so much.

We had our first play date the other day as well. Emaline and I went over and visited our friend Eleanor and her 3 years old Hannah and 3 month old Hudson. hannah was facinated with Emaline and Emaline was fascinated by Hannah. I forgot to take pictures and now I am kicking myself. Oh Well.

For those that don't know, we run the Tampa Bay International Adoption families group. I am so excitied we are having our first lunch social tomorrow since we got back from Vietnam. Can't wait to see everyone. It's so much fun. When we all show up we look like the miniture united nations. Hopefully next month Nicki and Bobby (Vinh's parents) will get to come too.

Well, I need to go get washed and dressed before the baby wakes up but her are some more pictures for your viewing pleasure. Remmeber to click the picture to got to the album. Check out the the faux hawk, lol. Nuthin else you can do with that hair. Bows don't even stay in it yet. Grow hair, grow!!!

2008-02-05 First 6 weeks home

Home 1 Month!

2008-01-25T14:04:00.000-05:00

2008-01-08 Vietnam Very Last and Home

One month ago exactly (to the hour actually) we arrived home a family of 3. It’s amazing the attachment that has formed in the past 6 weeks and all the changes and milestones Emaline has hit. She now Army crawls (on her belly so more of a scoot then a crawl), She is eating solids (baby carrots, bananas, sweet potatoes, apple sauce, and of course rice cereal), she can stay in up right when we sit her now, She has sprouted 4 teeth since we adopted her, She now loves to play in her ducky bath tub and many other wonderful changes since got back.

Now for more about our trip that has been way over due.

For those that asked... no we did not eat the sand lizards in Ninh Thuan. I just had to take a picture of them though.

I am hesitant to post this next part as I know that for some reason it is taboo to say anything less than glowing about your agency's staff but these are things families after us should know and be prepared for. Ok, so once we got back to HCMC we checked into the REX and got our schedule for the next few days. We were very upset, and still are, that the staff did not give us a single day to relax and see HCMC. The staff does not care that you are new parents, jetlagged, waited an eternity and spent an arm and a leg to be there. Even the day that was supposed to be a rest day they had us get plane tickets in the middle of the day so all we could do that day was stick around the hotel. The least they could have done was have us do it in the morning so we could have had the day to ourselves. We needed a day to catch up with ourselves and they refused to let us (even though we did ask). I was really disappointed in them. There priority is not you and your child. It is simply to get the job done and get you out of their hair. Thomas is the only one who really spoke decent English and we rarely saw him. Minh almost had us do the I-600 wrong because he doesn't speak enough English to understand it. Don't get me wrong they were friendly people but not the caring professionals I thought they would be. Oh, and be prepared they that will invite you out to dinner, order for everyone and stick you with the bill. They didn't even seem to appreciate the gifts we gave them. Then the rush continued as instead of a Wednesday morning flight (like the families from CHI had) they had us checkout at 2 pm from the REX and wait around all afternoon with babies and take a 7pm flight that we barely made (they had to get the Visa Medical reports back before we could leave and it almost didn't happen in time which is another reason we should have flown to Hanoi the next morning). So here we are being rushed around like cattle with tired, hungry babies late at night. We did not get to the Somerset grand until after 10pm. So note to future families: educate yourself well so that you will know how to do your own paperwork correctly and be prepared that you and your child are not the priority even though you are paying the bill.

On to a happy note about HCMC. What we did see we really enjoyed. We never made it to anything other than the Tax Center really but it was so neat how it was all decorated for Christmas. We were so pleasantly shocked that it was Merry Christmas everywhere and not Happy Holidays. So refreshing. The room at the Rex was really nice too and they did not charge extra for a crib (or baby cot as they call it). The room service was really cheap and really good too. The funniest thing was when Michael ordered a hamburger. If you saw the picture you know they brought new meaning to HAMburger. The breakfast buffet and the REX is everything and more that they say it is. You would have to stay at least a week to try everything. The fruit and the juices anywhere in Vietnam were amazing. They whip their juices, yummy.

The Visa Medical appointment was an experience. No AC in the waiting room. Total opposite of hospitals here where typically you freeze your fanny off in the waiting room. Anywho, no AC and not very clean either. It really made you appreciate the USA. Then, we were shuffled into a small room to pay the fee ($50 for a less than $50 value check up) and then back out to the hot waiting room. Then we were shuffled into another small room with a doctor and a nurse, who weighed, measured, asked a few questions, smiled a lot and listened to their hearts and lungs. That was it. Then it was back to the van to brave the HCMC traffic.

Oh, speaking of the traffic. Once you are used to it it actually becomes fun to cross the road in HCMC.... or maybe we are just nuts.

I also want to dispel the myth that you can find baby clothes and toys very easily and cheaply in HCMC. NOT! It is impossible to find anything for under a year old. The few toys you find even at the tax center are really toddler toys not infant toys and are way over priced. They had this moving musical ball thing I have at home that got for around $8 for around $20. That was our mission until almost the end of our trip to find another toy or two for the plane ride home. Thank goodness for the laundry service at the REX because we had very little clothing with us that fit Emaline (half was too big and half was too small). We had not brought much for her because Jynger said that you could find lots of cheap baby stuff at the tax center. Toddler stuff yes, baby stuff no.

I pray someday that we will have the funds to go back and actually get to see HCMC since we got robbed of that this time. It really seemed to be an amazing place the few blocks we got to see the short time we were there.

Ok, so after the HORRIBLE flight to Hanoi (would not have been so bad if it had been in the morning and we hadn't had a nasty flight attendant. Then again it is hard to compare flight attendants after the service we had on Thai Airways) we got to the Somerset Grand where the Dillon staff had only booked us through that Friday. Thank goodness they were able to extend our stay for us. Lok(the Dillon staff person in Hanoi) is very very sweet but doesn't know a whole lot and is really just a glorified tour guide. Not sure why Dillon doesn't send Thomas up to Hanoi with the families anymore. God forbid you get into a bind like that last group. You have no representation with you at all. Kinda scary. Anywho, the somerset grand is really nice. We loved having a whole big apartment. The view was amazing too from the 12th floor. We looked down on the old prison and the Ambassadors Pagoda. We actually got to relax a bit in Hanoi. Ate lots of good food (You gotta eat at Cha Ca La Vong!), did lots of shopping (though still not as much as I would have liked to, the shopping is better in HCMC from what I have heard), Visited the Old District, the water puppet show (the only time the entire trip that Emaline got fussy but it was hot and we were packed in and she did not like that at all), and temple on the lake in the Hoan Kiem Distrist, Temple of Literature, the Prison, the Ambassadors Pagoda and a few other places. Looking back I wish we had gone to the Museum of Ethnology (sp?). I brought my tour book but forgot I wanted to see that lol. I highly recommend taking a cyclo ride, it is the best way to see Hanoi. We actually had this one driver that took us everywhere for 2 days. It was great. As for food, it is not as cheap in Hanoi as it is in HCMC. Watch out at Jaspa's in the evenings. If the owner is in you get great service but when the cat's away the mice screw up. That being said they do have the BEST French toast I have ever had and their Pizzas are really good. But, you have to find Cha Ca La Vong. It is sooooooooo good.

Ha long Bay. We got the baby's Visa on that Friday and then we went to celebrate by going to Ha Long Bay on that Saturday. Ha Long bay is breath taking! You can book a private tour for you your spouse (or travel buddy) and your baby for $200 at the travel agent in the shopping center on the first floor of the Somerset Grande. This tour includes private van to take you there and back with your personal tour guide who spoke really good English and doubled as a baby sitter while we ate lunch, 3-4 hour private boat ride (see pictures), 6 course lunch and tour of caves. This is a must do!

That Sunday (Our last full day in Vietnam) we spent roaming around the old district doing some last minute shopping and just enjoying and soaking up as much of Vietnam as we could. This was also the day we ate at Cha Ca La Vong. I wish we had found it sooner. If you watched Bizarre Foods on the Travel channel then you have seen this place before. It is Hanoi's oldest eatery.

The day we left and the Trip home... We paid and extra $70 and kept our room until 4 pm as our flight was not until 8pm. Lok met us in the lobby and paid for our cab an off we went. I was a bit shocked he did not come with us to make sure we ended up in the right place but oh well. The driver dropped us off and drove away. There we were with no clue as to where to go. We eventually figured out where we had to go after we got ripped off when changing our money back. The exchange rate was 16036 dong to $1 but the chick at the airport in Hanoi was trying to convince me that it was 17000 to $1. I decided not to make an international incident about it and we lost about $21in the exchange, oh well.

Ok, so Flight 1 Hanoi to Bangkok... Of course they fed us again lol. We had the bulk head with a bassinet and the baby slept the Bangkok. Ok, the flight is just about empty but there is this older guy sitting across the isle from me. He is giving me the "I can't believe she brought a baby on this plane" look. I am thinking, oh I hope she has a really foul poop right about now. Well, unfortunately my wish was granted and we had an incredible explosion down below. SO I darted down the aisle all the way to the back of the plane trying to keep it from shooting out the side of the Mei Tai. So, there I am in the bathroom as we are going down the runway trying to contain the poop and get an American diaper and a new outfit on the baby as fast as I can. Then I had to wash the mei tai and thankfully Thai airways has lovely perfume in their bathrooms that I used to freshen up the mei tai. No sooner did my butt hit the seat did we take off. After that though it was a very smooth 2 hour flight and a great meal

Flight 2 Bangkok to NYC... Not bad at. Had the bulk head with bassinet in premium economy. If you can find the money to do it I highly recommend Thai Airways premium economy. It made the 17 hours actually pleasant. The coolest part of the return flight was it was Christmas Eve and we flew over the North Pole. How cool is that! No sleigh sightings though =(. Any who, again a really empty flight. Not even half full. We all slept the first 5 hours straight through and then we ate and the baby played and then we slept and then we ate and the baby played and then we... well you get the point, it was nice. You gotta see the picture of the bassinet. It is higher than other airlines which is nice because it puts the baby on eye level and doesn't take away from your leg room at all.

Flight 3 NYC to Tampa... The take off could only have been more steep if we were shot off at Cape Canaveral. This was the bumpiest, loudest flight ever. We were in the very last row and the flight crew were obnoxious (they and a few passengers were just hanging out back there, where is a air marshal when you need one) and people saw me with a sleeping baby and kept slamming the bathroom doors and bumping into me. She was only sleeping because she wore herself out on takeoff. She screamed until I was able to stand up. Not sure why but she didn't like when you sit down with her. She still doesn't love it but she is much much better about it. Anyways, I have never been so glad to be off of a plane in my life.

It was Christmas day when we arrived home and my Parents and my Grandmother were at the airport to pick us up. My mom had already brought Christmas dinner to my house so we got home opened presents, ate dinner and then completely collapsed. No kidding, my parents had to clean up and show themselves out because we could no longer stay awake. Emaline had pass out about an hour after we got home and we made it about 4 hours lol. Oh, our Sunday school class had come by on Christmas Eve and decorated the front of our house to welcome us home which was a HUGE surprise. Then the next day when we got our mail we got another huge surprise Shaohannahs Hope has given us a $4000 grant. WOW!!!!! Can you say blessing! This will cover the rest of our travel expenses and our post placements and re-finalization. However, Dillon is working at their usual slow pace and we still have not seen our refund even though Shaohannah's Hope paid them weeks ago (note I just found out it was finally sent out Wednesday). Hopefully it has been sent and will arrive tomorrow.

The first week or so is the roughest you will ever experience. Nothing can prepare you for the combination of being home with the baby and the jetlag. But now a month later we are pretty much into a new pattern of life and feeling very much adjusted. I know I am attached to this baby because I already wonder "if we did this again could a love another child as much as her?" We are so so VERY BLESSED.

Note to those who are waiting for referrals or waiting to bring their children home. I know some times it feels like everything is going wrong and no one has yours or even your child’s best interest as top priority (and this is true a lot of the time in the adoption industry) and you will never hold your child. Been there done that and I still hold to it that if things had been done right we would have been in Vietnam early November. Just know that God does have a hand in it and you will get through this. This process has taught me a lot about faith and letting go and letting God. Even though it would have been nice to have Emaline home 6 weeks sooner there were blessings that came from the waiting. We got 2 grants that we might not have received had we traveled sooner and I am not sure how we would have financed the travel without them. Since we came home on Christmas Michael got to spend 2 weeks at home with the baby before going back to work because he is an Assistant Principal and it was Christmas Break. Also, it worked better for our insurance and our budget as a whole for her to come home right before the end of the year. So in the end it all worked out for the best. So hang in there! You will get through this and it IS sooooo worth it!

And now for the last set of trip pictures and some from home including Emaline's Dedication.

Eating Well!!!

2008-01-20T09:36:00.000-05:00

Emaline is continuing to do very well, and she is eating well as you can see from the picture. Actually during one of the times we were feeding her, She grabbed this loaf of bread and put it on her High Chair. She really is attaching well to her Mommy and Daddy, and we are getting closer and closer each day. We went yesterday to an international adoption luncheon with familes in Tampa who have adopted from China, and she did great. We are the only ones who have adopted from Vietnam, although one family just received a referral for a boy from somewhere just outside of Ho Chih Minh City.

Jessica is doing wonderful as a Stay At Home Mom, and we are just so blessed that she is being able to do that. It is really helping out in the bonding process and I am just loving the big smile on her face when I come home from Work. I never knew how much fun and work it could be raising a little one but it is a life changing experience for the better. Well I promise to blog more soon, and I know her Mommy will be also.

Having Emaline Home

2008-01-13T08:18:00.000-05:00

It has been so Life Changingly Wonderful having our little girl home. It has been a learning process and challenging finding out exactly what makes her happy and what kind of cry means I am sad, bored, hurting, etc. We are adjusting well and just loving having her. We seem to learn something new everyday and it is fun watching her find out new things everyday. Not a day goes by that we don't laugh at something she does. The Lord has just been wonderful through everything and not a minute goes by that we don't thank him. In the process, we have also found out how wonderful friends and family can be in your life. For those who have prayed for us, called us, emailed us, brought meals by, and have just simply asked how we were, it means more than you can ever imagine, and we love you!

Home

2007-12-26T05:36:00.000-05:00

Wow that was a quick trip. too quick almost. Well, we are home. We arrived on Christmas day to a very sweet surprise from our Sunday school class. Banners and balloons everywhere (I'll post pics soon). My parents had brought Christmas dinner to our house before coming to pick us up too so it was just a wonderful day even with a jet lagged 6 month old. Around 3:30pm Emaline decided she had enough and fell asleep. Around 6pm after we ate dinner we had had enough and fell asleep. Felt bad for my parents and my grandmother because we barely stayed on our feet to say goodbye (actually I think I might have been in bed before they left, it's all a blur now). I will warn future families the jet lag is worse coming home. Anywho, I WILL post the rest of the details about our trip in the coming days(or nights if they are like last night).

:I zzzzzzzzz,
Jessica

Last batch untl we get home!

2007-12-23T08:56:00.000-05:00

2007-12-23 Vietnam Last

All Clear!!!

2007-12-21T04:54:00.000-05:00

Today we had our Visa interviews and received the baby visas less then an hour later. We are now all clear to come home in a few days!

OK, so back to our trip. For future families, the hotel in Ninh Thuan has very very poor internet(but really cheap yummy room service). We actually couldn't get the signal in our room so we had to come downstairs and sit in the lobby to email. None of us could blog and the internet is far too slow for skype or google talk(we have been using google talk and it is great).

The 7 hour ride really is 7 hours but it's not as bad as you would think. The scenery is amazing and I never had to use a squatti potty(saw a few but never had to use one). It is amazing how diverse this country is. The peaceful majestic beauty of Ninh Thuan... the fun, busy, loud, distinctly Vietnamese Ho Chi Minh City... the layed back yet still bustling, chinese infulenced Hanoi. It turely is amazing. Next Stop we are going to Ha Long Bay tomorrow.

Well, we are getting ready to go eat so I will tell you more about HCMC tomorrow.

=,
Jessica

Finally something other than pictures.

2007-12-20T22:04:00.000-05:00

What a whirl wind adventure this has been. Thank Goodness we are finally getting some time to relax and have fun. The Dillon staff really rushed us in HCMC and I was not to happy about that as we only got to the the imidiate couple of blocks around the hotel. Would havebeen nice to have atleast 1 free day there. For future families I reallllllllly reccomend that you arrive atleast 2 days before you head the the childs province so you can catch up with yourself first.

Ninh Thuan is the most beautiful place I have ever been. Absolutely amazing.

As you know we were delayed by a day on the way here so we did not get to see Emaline until the morning of the G&R. We drove up the front of the orphange and got out of the van and stood there looking up at the balcony. The moment they brought her out was the most emotionally overwhelming moment of my life. All this waiting and then there she was, about to beours forever. We rushed up the stairs, and Michael video taped all of this, I dropped my bags and balled like a baby. Amazingly here nanny still let hold her even though I was a total mess. Emaline did not cry at all. She looked a bit confused but not upset. We both held her and took pictures and then we had to give her back to thenanny so we cold go meet with the director. He was very nice and asked all the single moms questions but didn't really say anything to us. We took pictures and dolled out the gifts and donations. And then we were taken back upstairs to get the babies and off to the G&R.

The G&R was very nice. we signed papers, took pictures, spoke a few words, everyone applauded and we were done. (actually that all took over an hour)

Ok, well I a running out of battery (I keep forgeting to bring my power cord withme when I go to blog). Note:if you are that somerset grand you can get free wifi at the highlands coffee (or sitting right out side of it in the lobby like I am right now) instead of paying $10 a night for it in your room.

We are getting the baby's visa today and will be flying home on monday and arriving home Christmas mornin =). see you soon!

=),
Jessica

Batch #5

2007-12-19T23:47:00.000-05:00

2007-12-19 Vietnam 4

More Pics (remember to click on the pic to go to the album)

2007-12-19T23:46:00.001-05:00

2007-12-18 Vietnam 3

More Pics

2007-12-17T09:01:00.000-05:00

2007-12-16 Vietnam 2

2007-12-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

2007-12-16 Vietnam 2

here are some more pictures. I promise we will post details soon.

From Daddy

2007-12-16T17:55:00.000-05:00

I am soooo Happy! Having a little girl is sooooooooo incredible! Emaline is soooo beautiful and I am already in Love with her. Her Mama and I cannot keep our eyes off of her!!!

Today, we have several things we have to do. At 8:00 a.m., we have the to get her passport and dossier. At 9:00 a.m., we get her photos, and at 1:00 we get her health check. It is all moving sooo fast. Everything is beautiful here, and waiting families have a lot to look forward to!!! Let me go for now, and we will post later today.

Walking on Sunshine...

2007-12-15T08:07:00.000-05:00

And don't it feel good, hey! ok enough with 80s references lol. We have had a very eventful past few days. We are tired so I will give you more details later but I want you all to know that we are officially Emaline's parents and we are back in Ho Chi Minh City

Click the Picture below for the pictures. More to come soon.

Vietnam Home-Ninh Thuan

=),
Jessica (Emaline's Mommy)

One Night in Bangkok

2007-12-12T10:48:00.000-05:00

Got a call Monday afternoon on the way to the airport that our flight out of New York (JFK) on Thai Airways to Bangkok was being delayed by 4 hours. SOOOOOOO, we missed our flight from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City and are staying over in Bangkok tonight and will get in to Ho Chi Minh City (only an hour and half flight) tomorrow at 10:20am. Thai took care of us though. We got a $30 meal voucher in NY and they are paying for us to stay in a VERY NICE hotel tonight (this room is amazing) and dinner at the hotel as well. They even had some one waiting for us when we got off the plane to help us out with the hotel/meal/transportation vouchers. Other than the random schedule change we cannot rave highly enough about Thai Airways. We splurged for the premium economy and it was worth the extra cost. If you have to fly 17 hours in 1 shot that is the way to do it. Everything about Thai airways was wonderful. The flight crew had been waiting in the terminal and they were wearing the cutest purple suits. Then, when we got on the plane I thought we had stepped into the Miss Thailand Pageant. They were all dressed in beautiful traditional Thai dresses. The service was fabulous, the food just incredible, seats were roomy and comfy. Yes we paid more but we definitely got our moneys worth.

So, the nest time we post we will have held Emaline for the first time!

=),
Jessica

Smallest Motel room ever

2007-12-11T09:07:00.000-05:00

Last night we had to stay over in New York because our flight to Bangkok was supposed to leave this morning at 11:35am (that is another story). We touched down at 11:20 last night and around 1 am we finally made it to our motel ,the Comfort Inn. It's actually pretty nice(well it's clean and it has Internet, breakfast and shuttle so I can't complain) but it has got to be the smallest room we have ever stayed in. I kid you not when we walked in there was a hallway no wider then our suitcase and then it opened up(if you can really say open about anything in this room) to a space no bigger then 8' x 10' with a king size bed that takes up most of the room. we had to get into bed from the foot of the bed because there is like only a foot on each side.

Anywho, off to breakfast then back to the airport.

=),
Jessica

Leaving on a jet plane..........

2007-12-06T00:49:00.000-05:00

Jynger called the consulate in HCMC and we are getting our I600 pre-approval this week!!!! We are offically leaving Monday on Thai Airways!!!!! By this time next week we will be within hours of holding our daughter!!!!! I told you God was still in the Miracle Business!!! We got our Christmas Miracle. PRAISE THE LORD!!!!! Thank you everyone who prayed for us and encouraged us this past year and half and then some.

=),
Jessica

G&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-12-04T10:29:00.000-05:00

December 14th!!!! Yes, that is next Friday! NOW we just need a lot of prayer that we will be able to keep this date. We have NOT received approval for our I600 yet. I can't believe in just over a week Emaline might finally be ours for good!

=),
Jessica

This SHOULD be our week!

2007-12-03T09:22:00.000-05:00

Up until now no families from any agency had received I-600 approvals. FINALLY, this morning I am seeing reports online of at least one agency getting I-600 approvals(at least 2 families). Please pray that we(us and the other Dillon families that should have traveled already) will be next! Yesterday was a very rough day and I was really starting to lose hope. Now, we again have hope that we could be with our daughter for Christmas. We are also expecting to get our G&R date this week. This could be a Merry Christmas after all!

Thank you for the prayers and please continue to pray!

=),
Jessica

It's Official. We've lost it!(Turn off the music at the bottom of the page first)

2007-11-27T20:14:00.001-05:00

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!Here for your viewing pleasure... 2 Krispy Kreme doNUTS!!!

Talk about an answer to prayer!

2007-11-24T16:42:00.001-05:00

Not only was the Typhoon downgraded... IT TURNED AROUND, did a complete 180! Whew! Everything is going to be ok! Now we can get back to stressing about will we ever get to go bring Emaline home.

=),
Jessica

What's next???

2007-11-24T10:30:00.000-05:00

I really didn't think this could get more stressful but right now there is Typhoon bearing down on Ninh Thuan (the province where our baby is). Something like 200,000 people have been evacuated from the area and Jynger does not have any info on how the orphanage is handling this whole situation. Please pray that everything will be ok and that we will get an email tomorrow that everything is indeed ok at the orphanage.

Also, please continue to pray that we will get word this week or next that our I600 is pre-approved. As I previously stated, if that doesn't happen we will have to proceed with a homestudy update and refiling our I-600. This is the last thing we need right now.

=I,
Jessica