She's 3!

Today our little girl turned 3 years old!  She understands a little more this year about presents, etc. but she didn't quite know what to think about everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to her the other night.  She got three presents to open tonight from us (no we're NOT going to give her 4 presents next year, 5 the next, etc.  It just worked out that way this time.)

And this is her the other night blowing out her candles on her rainbow birthday cake.  She did it several times and she's quite good at it!

She can now finally bounce/hop on something that's MEANT to be hopped on!

The other night we made pfefferneusse (a Danish recipe of a kind of cookie we make for Christmas).  Meighan and Daddy put the pieces on the cookie sheets after I got them rolled out and cut up.  It really didn't take too long.  It takes MUCH longer with one person doing it all!

Welcome Home, Liana Mei!

We were very privileged tonight to welcome home our friends, Brad and Tammy, and their new daughter, Liana Mei.  Here's just a few of the pictures I took.  She has such a ready smile and was taking in all of her new family!  What a cutie!

Visit With Santa

The Nebraska Children's Home had their annual Adoptive Families Christmas Party/Potluck tonight and then Santa came to visit the kids.  Once again, Meighan sat on his lap and did just great!  Here are the couple pictures we got.

Two Years Ago Today

We saw our daughter's face for the first time on November 23, 2008.

What a difference two years makes!

Winter Has Arrived

At least temporarily...

We got some cold rain Friday night and then it changed to snow and we (up here) got about 4" of slushy snow overnight.  So, Saturday, Meighan and I went out and made a quick snowman.  It was really the first time she WANTED to be in the snow much.  She helped pack more snow on the snowman.  She would go get snow from "over there" and bring it back to put on the snowman.  She couldn't just get the snow that was "right here".  Funny!

And then on Sunday, we went to church early to eat pancakes.  She wanted to try strawberries.  I think she liked them at least a little bit!

And here's a little fun we had (or blackmail picture, if you prefer)...

A VERY Productive Day

(The following post was written in a notebook but not actually posted on the blog until we received our referral because we didn’t tell our family that we were in process. We waited until we had the referral for our son before we published on the blog because we wanted to do this “covertly” and have it be a surprise to as many people as possible.)

Today was a very productive day – for once!

Yesterday, I was able to get 3 pianos to tune and make a little money. This morning, Meighan and I went and ran some errands. I had forgotten my grocery list and when I went back up to get it, the phone rang. It was HR at Creighton! I had applied maybe 3 weeks ago for a transcriptionist position with them. It was OK with the HR person that I called back when I got home.

So, our first stop today was the Douglas County Records Department to get background checks done for our dossier. It’s not a big deal or even very expensive—it just has to be done. I filled out the forms, paid the money, waited a few minutes for the papers and was on my way! The second stop was the CPA to pick up Tony’s employment letter. That was THREE dossier forms taken care of today! Next stop was the bank to cash the checks from the piano tunings. We then went to Office Depot to make 5 copies of all of the dossier documents collected so far. We are supposed to make 3 copies but I’m making 5 – because I did 5 last time.

Our last stop was the grocery store to pick up fresh stuff for the chili I’m making Friday for our soup potluck get-together. We got home by 1:00 and had a little lunch. I called Creighton HR back, she asked me a few questions about my previous jobs and said she’d get back to me either way in the next couple of weeks. Hmmmm.

I organized the copies of the dossier documents and recorded today’s expenses on the spreadsheet I’m keeping of our adoption expenses.

Home Study is DONE!

(The following post was written in a notebook but not actually posted on the blog until we received our referral because we didn’t tell our family that we were in process. We waited until we had the referral for our son before we published on the blog because we wanted to do this “covertly” and have it be a surprise to as many people as possible.)

We finished our home study visits on November 1 and we’re good to go except a few more documents for our dossier AND my needing a job. China has an income requirement and Tony alone doesn’t meet that requirement. So, I have signed up with Celebrity for match-hire jobs. It’s going to be harder working and having to think about daycare (getting to/from) instead of just thinking about myself like when I was single and working for Celebrity previously! The right position in the right location will come along, I know. We have a daycare set up for Meighan that we are all comfortable with but it’s in West Omaha so certain areas of town won’t be as convenient as others. In the meantime, I’m getting things done at home, worrying (as usual) about the busy-ness of the upcoming holidays, trying to get piano tuning jobs whenever possible.

November is National Adoption Awareness Month

The following was posted on a blog I follow, Our Boy and His Cricket, and the blogger gave me permission to use it on my blog. It was written and given to her when they brought their daughter home earlier this year. It says it all. She used it to talk about the first sight of her daughter and included a BEAUTIFUL picture of their first meeting. My picture is not of our first meeting but happened later that first week. Tony captured this during one of our many photo ops in the hotel and it is a favorite of both of ours.

On the Eighth Day

10:15 am Heaven Time

"God," said the angel. "What are you doing?"

"I'm creating a woman."

"You made a female last week!"

"This female is a newer model. Unlike model A, this one will not be able to reproduce in her own likeness," God responded.

"You can't do that Sir," cried the angel. "How will man survive?"

The Lord studied the angel thoughtfully before He answered.

"Every once in a while a little soul is born and for one reason or another, the birth mother cannot care for her. I needed a stand-in female."

"I think you're going to an awful lot of trouble for just a stand-in," the angel said, shaking his head in bewilderment. "Have you taken a good look at this one? You still gave her loving arms to rock a child to sleep and gentle hands to wipe tears from crying eyes. Plus, I see incredible strength and courage in her face."

"Humm," God muttered, listening to the angel.

"And one more thought. I realize you give all the females giant hearts and fill them full of love, but you made this female's heart even bigger. Why?" the angel asked.

Stroking his chin, God answered.

"Because this female must be able to love a child from the body of another.

That takes a heart with a little something extra."

"You know, Lord, I hate to criticize, but all you did was create another mother."

"I know," God said. "I know."

-C.B. Roe - April, 2010

Fall Fun

ENJOY!

Hysterical!

I bought a little bowl while in China (at Jordan's for those who know the shops around the White Swan area). Meighan usually uses it for snacks but tonight she found another use for it! She had us all (including her) laughing hysterically! Turn up your sound. We hope it makes you laugh like it did us.

I got the video to appear right here and finally got it to fit in the post area. The link is also below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zfV46JJRY0

Shocking the Well, Part 2

(The following post was written in a notebook but not actually posted on the blog until we received our referral because we didn’t tell our family that we were in process. We waited until we had the referral for our son before we published on the blog because we wanted to do this “covertly” and have it be a surprise to as many people as possible.)

The place where we ordered our UV Filter from said to do another shock chlorination to try to get rid of the rest of the coliforms SO, on Friday night, October 1, we took showers early and poured 2 more jugs of Clorox into the well. By Tuesday we probably could have tested again but since I only wanted to make one trip to the lab (hopefully only one more trip!) I waited until we received and installed the UV Filter.

We received the UV Filter on October 6 and Tony laid it all out so he knew what he had to do. The following night he installed it but when he turned the water back on, the main shut-off valve was leaking – a LOT! So, another trip to Home Depot to get a new shut-off valve and time installing it and he was finally done!

We were both tired of dealing with water!

I took a water sample before the UV Filter was installed (to see how much more good the 2nd shock chlorination did) and another the morning after. I was told the results would be emailed to me on Saturday even though they were “closed.” Well, I didn’t get the emails until Monday, the 11th. BOTH tests came back CLEAR! YIPPEE! That means the 2nd chlorination worked! And the UV Filter will keep it clean!

In the meantime, our social worker has called and set up our three appointments to do our home study! She will come to the house on October 13th, 19th and 28th. For some reason three visits are required. So the “water thing” delayed our home study for a month. This will leave 2 months to get our dossier to China this year – if that’s even still possible!

Before & After -- We're FINALLY Done Painting! (The House)

We've been trying to get the house painted all summer. Tony had to do some repairs to the sofit before we painted. We finally got to start painting on Labor Day weekend! We were able to get three sides painted with two coats in three days. I worked on part of the back side the following week and we finally finished the new house color on September 12. Then I started working on the trim. With the rain and my new jobs (childcare at church and a part-time work-from-home job that I'm almost done training for) I finally finished the trim yesterday! Yippee! Tony wants to do some repairs to the 2-car garage yet this fall and get it painted yet this fall, too! I don't mind painting and my guess is it will be quite easy to do since I won't have to get up on a high ladder. I will be able to do all of it myself if I have to.

BEFORE -- Notice the two-tone yellow.

AFTER -- The new color is called "Gypsy Moth" (like a cream color) and the trim is called "Toasted Wheat" (it's a medium brown). NO MORE YELLOW!

Our Water

(The following post was written in a notebook but not actually posted on the blog until we received our referral because we didn’t tell our family that we were in process. We waited until we had the referral for our son before we published on the blog because we wanted to do this “covertly” and have it be a surprise to as many people as possible.)

So…on September 10, Holt called and told us we needed a well water test that is less than a year old. They said this is a State of Nebraska requirement. I asked her why we didn’t have to do this last time and she didn’t know. I called Culligan and on Monday, someone left a message that we should check with Midwest Laboratories about a water test. On Tuesday, I picked up a water test kit and took a sample in on Wednesday. On Friday, Holt called and said they got the results (we didn’t get our copy until Monday) and that our water is “contaminated.” She can’t approve a home study to be done until we have a pure water test. On Monday (Sept 20) she called and said she hadn’t gotten to talk to anyone yet but I could call if I wanted to. I called and found out that I could take the next sample—not necessarily someone from the lab. I also called Culligan and spoke to the guy there and he said something about “shocking the well” and suggested I call another company that can clean water. I called this other place and learned about a reverse osmosis system and how to shock a well. He said we could do this ourselves. So, I went and got several water test kits, 2 gallons of Clorox, and 5 gallons of drinking water so we don’t have to drink chlorinated water the next several days. When Tony got home, he poured the Clorox into the well and we did the next couple of steps before bedtime. We had to let it sit overnight in the pipes and then let it run from the outside for two hours. I called the lab and asked when we could test again and they said “When you don’t smell chlorine anymore.” It was Friday before we didn’t smell chlorine anymore but my mom was here watching Meighan while I painted trim so I didn’t get to take a sample on Friday.

On Monday, September 27, I took a 2nd sample to be tested. I had the results emailed to me on Tuesday and they came back MUCH better—but not perfect. So, I called our well people and spoke with 2 people at Culligan and learned lots! When Tony got home in the evening, we talked and decided to get a UV Filter System and that should take care of all the bacteria that’s left. I emailed Holt and received a reply that our file will be given to our social worker. Yippee!

We can finally start the HOME STUDY!

New Pictures

Our little daredevil!

Summer fun. I set up a little sunshade mesh tent (see next picture) I got several years ago and sprayed for mosquitoes so they stayed away and we had a good couple hours of water fun about three different times in August.

Jumping up and landing/splashing in the water on her little butt. She thought that was soooo funny!

At the fall FCC picnic there was a sand pit and she spent all THREE HOURS that we were there playing in the sand! She slept on the way there AND on the way back!

A new outfit that I think looks really cute on her. I told her last night it was very pretty and this morning when we dressed for church, I told her to go show daddy and she went and did a "ta da!"

Runzamatic Casserole

I found the following recipe in a local publication earlier this past week. It's called "Runzamatic Casserole". If you are not from Nebraska (or have never been to Nebraska), you probably don't even know what a runza is. It is beef with onions, cabbage and spices inside an enclosed "bun". The origins are German (and possibly Russian). It is often a Husker Game Day staple in and around Memorial Stadium. Here is a picture of a runza and an open runza to give non-Nebraskans an idea of what they look like:

So, anyway, I wanted to try this recipe because it sounded EASY for one thing, and if it actually tasted like a runza, it would be a good thing to take to a potluck sometime. So I gathered the ingredients and made it today in the midst of painting our house (more on that later). This is such an EASY casserole to make and it actually tasted like a runza! So, if you don't have Runza in your area, make this and you'll know EXACTLY what a runza tastes like.

Here's the recipe:

Runzamatic Casserole

2 pkgs crescent rolls
2 lbs hamburger
1 pkg (dry) onion soup mix
2 c. cheddar cheese (grated)
1/2 c. water
1 8-oz pkg shredded cabbage (or shred your own like I did)

Brown hamburger. Add onion soup and water. Add cabbage and cook 15 min. Take one pkg rolls and line greased 9x13" pan. Spread beef and cabbage mixture all over rolls. Lay second package of rolls over top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

(This is how the directions were printed. It didn't say what to DO with the cheddar cheese -- put it ON or IN -- so I put it IN right before I spread it in the 9x13" pan.)


This came out SOOOOOO good and tasted EXACTLY like a runza. We were pretty hungry because it was a late lunch/dinner (noon meal - depending on what you call the noon meal). I will definitely be making this again. We have leftovers so we'll see how those are.

Happy cooking!

9/14/10 -- Note after making this the second time: I decided to use THREE cans of crescent rolls so that the entire bottom and top could be covered. It came out great and I think that's what I'll do from now on. I also shredded the cheese coarser this time. I think it was better. I use a little more than they say to use 'cause I like cheese!

Interesting Day

(The following post was written in a notebook but not actually posted on the blog until we received our referral because we didn’t tell our family that we were in process. We waited until we had the referral for our son before we published on the blog because we wanted to do this “covertly” and have it be a surprise to as many people as possible.)

Today was an interesting day. I had made an appointment to do a piano tuning so Meighan and I went down to Murdock. She stayed with my parents while I tuned the piano. We ate lunch when I got back. Then while we were just hanging out, my cell phone rang. It was our agency with a question about my employment…or lack there of…and the fact that we were showing income for me this year. I explained that it was “unemployment.” Oh. So I guess that answered her question. I asked if they’d totten our criminal checks back yet and she said “yes”! Wow! She thought it was strange that we and two other couples had gotten back in 3 weeks but others were still waiting 8-10 weeks! I figure it’s a God-Thing and that there is a little boy in China just waiting foir us and God wants us there sooner than later! We’ll see if this shows us anything in the future!

So we headed home and made a stop to take advantage of some sale prices. When we got home, there was a message from someone regarding a resume I’d submitted. It didn’t recognize the name of the company. I called them back to call me back and they eventually called back. It ended up being a job bank you have to pay to get access to. I may sign up later but right now I don’t have that extra money.

More Forms

(The following post was written in a notebook but not actually posted on the blog until we received our referral because we didn’t tell our family that we were in process. We waited until we had the referral for our son before we published on the blog because we wanted to do this “covertly” and have it be a surprise to as many people as possible.)

So, Tony got the “informal” medical forms yesterday. I delivered them to Holt this morning. They are still waiting on criminal checks from the FBI and mine from Florida. I asked how long those take and was told the FBI can take anywhere from 8-12 weeks! Really? So we are looking at the end of September at the earliest to start the Home Study. She said she would send the bill for the Home Study in a couple of weeks.

We also received our Birth Certificate copies today. Two more documents to check off!

Medical Exams

(The following post was written in a notebook but not actually posted on the blog until we received our referral because we didn’t tell our family that we were in process. We waited until we had the referral for our son before we published on the blog because we wanted to do this “covertly” and have it be a surprise to as many people as possible.)

August 23 was our medical exams with tests that have to be run, including a TB test. For a TB test you have to go back 2-3 days later to have it “read.” So I went back this morning and, of course, it was negative. I was hoping to pick up the one form so I could get it to Holt but it had been misplaced. Wow! I had everything in an envelope. How could that happen?

OK, so another small glitch. I thought I had the form on my flash drive but not THAT form. Only the form for the dossier that needs to be notarized. So I got the email address of the nurse so I could email her the form and have her print it out and have my doctor fill it out and sign it. Tony was going in the afternoon to have his TB test read so I asked him to pick it up if it was ready. Then if his was also ready, I can take both forms to Holt tomorrow. Geesh! HIPPA also plays a role in this and I won’t go into that!

Coordinating getting the Notary there to watch the doctors sign the other forms will be the next challenge!

Steppin' Up

Our little girl is growing up. Not only has she made great strides in her mental and physical growth since we came home 16 months ago, she is now into the next step of her walk of faith. Sunday, our church had their annual Steppin' Up celebration during church. This is where the kids parade into the sanctuary with different colored balloons to represent their different aged classes and they move to their new class.

Well, this year Meighan was old enough to move from nursery to Preschool A (based on her birthdate). She got to carry an orange balloon and most of the kids in this class had a parent to carry them or walk them in. After the parade and a song with the congregation, they all went to their new class. The teacher, Miss Marlo, immediately got out Playdoh for the kids to play with. Meighan was a little apprehensive about touching it but I worked a little bit in my hand to show her what to do with it. She eventually sat down on a chair and I eventually slipped out of the room to join Tony in the service. Afterwards, we went to get her (and show Tony where the room is) and I think she hadn't moved from that chair and one of the helpers was playing with her with the Playdoh! Others of the kids were down playing with toys, etc., but Meighan hadn't moved! She liked the Playdoh! She did wonderful!

I, however, had my little "mom moment" and teared up a little while walking into the sanctuary with her -- knowing that this is a "next step" for her. I'm also a little disappointed that she will be in Sunday School and not sitting with us most of the time. She has come with us to the service most of the time and she's done pretty well. I wanted her to know how to sit in church (as much as a toddler sits!)

So, after Sunday School and church, they had a big celebration out on the front lawn with 3 bouncy houses (something Meighan just LOVES!), carnival games with little prizes, face painting, balloon artists, vinyl sign makers and a meal consisting of hamburgers/hot dogs, chips, drinks and ice cream bars. It was kinda hot that day but at least it wasn't rainy. Quite a nice day for something like that.

So now Meighan will get to spend time with some kids her own age (and maybe start talking more?) and we will actually get to listen to the sermon. There's good and bad things to having Sunday School during the worship service.

Painting a Moving Target

A while back Meighan helped me shake up my nail polish bottles. Then she wanted to shake them up again. That's what she thought they were for--to hear the little balls shake inside them. So I painted my little fingernail and said that's what this is for. I asked her if she wanted her nails painted. No. So I painted my whole hand. Do you want this? No. So I painted my other hand. THIS is what it's for. It's nail polish. Do you want that on your fingernails? No. And she wouldn't let me pick her up. So I took it off.

The other day she wanted me to paint her nails. Then when I got the bottle open, she didn't want her nails painted. So I put the brush away and then she changed her mind...again. (This is normal for her!) I got her one hand painted and then heard a car door. Our speech therapist was arriving. So I painted her other hand real quick. Not a great paint job by any means! I told her to hold her hands up like this (TEN FINGERS!). She greeted the speech therapist like that and WELL after they had time to dry, she wouldn't use her hands. It was quite funny!

So as of today, she's had nail polish on for almost 48 hours. She looks at her nails every once in a while and we say "pretty nails!"

Fashion Sense - NOT!

This is what happens when you let a 32-month-old pick out her own clothes for the day.

The Cats

Our two cats are having to play second fiddle since we brought Meighan home. Sunshine wants NOTHING to do with Meighan and Misty tolerates her. If Misty forces her way onto my lap and Meighan sees that she's there, Meighan immediately comes over and tries (usually succeeds) to push her off my lap so she can sit there for a couple seconds before continuing on with her busy-ness. Here's a few pictures taken recently of our cats.

Misty will actually "guard" Meighan sometimes. This particular morning, Meighan had ended up in our bed after not sleeping through the night.

They both love the smell of ham when Tony is making his lunch. This was a cute picture.

This was another time that Meighan was on our bed for a nap and Misty laid down like a "wedge" at the foot of the bed. I like the look on her face.

I love this picture! Meighan put the leis on Misty and Misty is giving a look like "Look what I have to put up with!" and Meighan has a look of satisfaction on her face!

This is our Princess Sunshine. I caught her hiding at the corner of our bedspread before we went to church yesterday. She keeps her (very FAR) distance from Meighan and runs whenever she knows Meighan sees her and might actually come near her!

PIP Class, Day 2

(The following post was written in a notebook but not actually posted on the blog until we received our referral because we didn’t tell our family that we were in process. We waited until we had the referral for our son before we published on the blog because we wanted to do this “covertly” and have it be a surprise to as many people as possible.)

Today was the second day of our PIP training. We all got to know each other better and we all have each other’s phones and email addresses so we can stay in touch. Tony told me later that it would be kind of neat if we got to travel with at least one of the other couples. We’re all going with the China Child of Promise option so we’ll see…

I thought it was good to take a “class” for this training because last time we did the training via DVD and online testing so we didn’t have other people’s input, but this time it was good to bounce things off other people.

We also found out that all Holt needs from us is our criminal checks (waiting for Nebraska State Patrol to send to Holt) and our medical forms and then they can start the Home Study. So…I’ll make appointments with our doctors.

PIP Class

(The following post was written in a notebook but not actually posted on the blog until we received our referral because we didn’t tell our family that we were in process. We waited until we had the referral for our son before we published on the blog because we wanted to do this “covertly” and have it be a surprise to as many people as possible.)

Today was the first of two days of the required 10 hours of education that we need to do in order to adopt from a Hague country. Holt calls it “Parents in Process” (PIP). There are 7 couples! Wow! Large/full class! Two of us are “veteran adopters.” The other five couples all have at least one child but are adopting for the first time. Two of the couples are planning to adopt from Korea and the other five of us are going to China.

Milestone

As of today, we have had Meighan longer than she was in the orphanage. Tony sat down a while back and figured this out.

I often wonder what her life would be like if she had been raised by her birthparents.

Currently, she enjoys watching (parts) of Disney movies such as "The Little Mermaid," "Snow White," and "Finding Nemo." She also likes a video that was taped at Disney World with the characters and some kids doing various beach songs and dances. She doesn't quite get the non-instant gratification of rewinding the video tape, though! She has accepted it more lately but more often now she is requesting the DVD movies.

Last Monday, she and I went to our friends from church house to play with their 18-month-old daughter. Aubree usually tends to cry when someone other than her immediate family picks her up, but I caught her in a pretty good mood at one point. I picked up Meighan and said "take our picture!" Both girls (13 months apart in age) weigh the same right now -- 23 pounds EACH! I was holding 46 pounds! See the strain on my face?

Application Sent (Taken)!

(The following post was written in a notebook but not actually posted on the blog until we received our referral because we didn’t tell our family that we were in process. We waited until we had the referral for our son before we published on the blog because we wanted to do this “covertly” and have it be a surprise to as many people as possible.)

Misty Blue Eyes’ 6th Birthday! Can you believe we’ve had Misty for almost 6 years now? Wow!

Well…today we dropped off our application to Holt to start the process for a son/brother. We don’t have a name decided yet. It isn’t as clear as a girl’s name was for me. We’ve been throwing out name ideas to each other for a while now. When we heard or saw or thought of a name, we’d tell each other. We just don’t know yet, but we will probably keep it a secret until we return again. That’s something we CAN control in this crazy adoption process!

Happy 4th of July from the Smiths!

New Look for Blog

For quite some time I have been wanting a 3-column template for our blog. Finally, Google came up with a new template designer that allowed for 3 (or even 4) columns. I looked at the designs, colors, layouts and finally decided on this one with 3 columns. Our blog is now wider and I have also deleted most of our slide shows of our trip to bring Meighan home. I kept "Gotcha Day" and "Coming Home" 'cause I really like those! I also took a couple of the gadgets from the very bottom and put them on the left side. The archive is easier to get to at the top on the right side.

I hope these changes make it easier to see our blog. I hope to keep adding to it for quite some time!

Father's Day and Other Pictures

Here's this year's Father's Day picture. We are really liking the fact that she has more hair this year. When we take her shirt off for bathtime or pajama time, she looks "up" and turns her head back and forth so that she feels her hair on her back. It's kinda cute.


And here's a few other recent pictures.

Saying Grace.

I had gone to a motivational seminar on Monday and my mom stayed with Meighan. She didn't/wouldn't take a nap. However, while we ate supper (she didn't want to eat right then), she was leaning up against the couch and we realized it had been quiet for quite some time! Tony looked in on her and she was finally asleep! Standing up with her head on Mickey Mouse.

Article About Holt's "China Child of Promise" Program

I recently received an email from someone at Holt who had found our blog online and wanted us to write an article about our experience with Holt's China Child of Promise program. I wrote something up and it is now online. You can see the whole enewsletter here and click on the article about Meighan from this page.

Look How Far She's Come!

A year ago, Meighan wouldn't have anything to do with her bare feet on grass, but now...

And today, we attended the Nebraska Children's Home Society's free family event called "Sand in the City" and look what she did today...!