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