The decision for the nursery is official, and Snoopy wins by a landslide!

So I ordered our crib bedding yesterday after we made the final decision that we were going to do the Snoopy sport theme. Oh, I just cant wait until it gets here! It's so exciting to be starting to talk about the nursery. Boy, it looks so weird to even write that. That we are planning our babys nursery! This is the first real purchase we have made so far, and of course its only the very tip of the iceberg. I thought Snoopy was just such a sweet choice somehow. I guess because he is someone we grew up with, you know? He's classic. We are going to go out and start looking at cribs and all that good stuff within the next few weeks hopefully. Ugh, I just hope that 171-H gets here! It's still a dark cloud hanging over my head, and Im just not going to feel safe until we have it.

Bonjour Vietnam

I thought this was just way too good to put on the side of the page. Its a song sung in French by a Vietnamese girl who was born and raised in Belgium. She sings about her native country, which she doesn't know anything about it except what she has seen or heard about from war movies and the like. In the song, she says: One day, I will be there, I will be there to say hello to my soul, to say hello to YOU, Vietnam."

The accompanying slideshow of the country is amazing, and the lyrics are on the page as well.
Enjoy!

Bonjour Vietnam

100 Good Wishes

OK, so another project Im doing to pass the time until the baby is home, is to start collecting fabric to make a 100 good wishes quilt. I was going to wait to start asking people to help until we had our approvals from everyone (still waiting on CIS), but Georges mom went absolutely bonkers over this idea, and has already started soliciting the help of everyone she knows (and probably a few strangers on the street). So I figured that I would just take the plunge and start too.

What a wonderful idea this is for any child, not just those who are adopted. To know that so many people were willing to take the time to send a contribution to their special quilt, and to enclose a wish for their future. Below is a copy of the letter we are sending to friends and family, explaining about the quilt, and asking for their help.

If anyone sees this and would like to send a swatch of fabric and a wish for our baby, please leave a comment and let us know. We would really appreciate it!

Dear:

While we are waiting for the arrival of our new baby, we are working on a project that we REALLY need your help with. We are creating something called a "100 Good Wishes Quilt."

To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or "100 Good Wishes Quilt." It is a custom to invite 100 people to contribute a single square patch of cloth. The 100 patches are sewn together into a quilt that contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation.

We are asking you to please participate in this project. Although we arent adopting from China, but rather Vietnam, we love the idea of welcoming the baby into our home with a quilt that represents the good wishes you are all sending his/her way.

Here is what we would like you to do:
1. Choose ANY fabric that you like. It can be from clothing or from a fabric store. It just needs to be a design and color that you like.

2. Cut one 7"x7" piece of fabric. Tip... if you have no idea how to work with fabric, ask for assistance at a fabric store and show them this letter. They will probably cut it for you!

3. Include your "good wish note" and please remember to attach a small (1"x1") piece of the fabric to the note so the child can match up each square with who sent it. We will place all your wishes in a scrapbook that we will give to the baby someday.

Ideas for selecting fabric squares:
*Select a fabric that is meaningful to you.
*If there are several members in your family, please feel free to send more than 1 set of scraps. It would be so special to include good wishes from all members of your family!! In China, these quilts were originally made from garments of family and friends, which would surround the child with luck/good wishes.

Ideas for good wishes note:
Well... what would you wish for a newborn child to have in his/her life? Some ideas that come to mind are good health, perseverance, compassion, and sense of humor. Use that as a guide for your good wish note. Keep in mind that they will not see your note until he/she is older, of course.

Please take a few minutes from your busy schedules to help us create this very special keepsake for our baby.

Thank you!

Finally, something happened!

Oh, I cant believe it! I'll tell ya, it seems like an eternity waiting for each new task to get completed! Its so weird because its like I get this high when something new happens, and then once the frustration of the waiting sets in, its like I crash. My mood has been pretty down lately, but Im trying really hard to keep my chin up. I guess somehow Im still very afraid. Afraid that something is going to happen and take all of my hope away, and with it, my chances of having a baby. Infertility will do that to you, I guess. It makes you almost scared to dream after a while. I do realize that I spent alot of time (years!) building a great big wall around my heart, to protect myself from any more pain. Little by little I'm starting to let my guard down though. With each step we take towards our child, one more piece of the wall falls away. I just wish I could really, completely enjoy it, and not always be thinking in the back of my mind "please, please dont let anything bad happen to mess this up for us!".

This past week was big for us though. We had our homestudy officially approved, and today the agency sent it off to CIS! So we should have our approval form, our 171-H, within a few weeks they think. Im just so excited that we have made it this far already! Adoption is a long road, but it really is amazing. Now if our agency would just receive their license from Vietnam already, we would really be full steam ahead..........

The Wait

The man in the moon is a friend of mine,
I talk to him most every night.
I tell him how deeply I long for you
and how I hope that you're all right.

He insists there's no need to worry,
that he's watching over you...
Helping you to have sweet dreams
And sleep the while night through.

He says his lady friend helps him
by singing sweet lullabies
So that when you're sad, feeling all alone,
She helps to calm your cries.

Until I can come to get you,
which I hope is very soon,
Please find solace in the stars
and my friend, the man in the moon.

For I'm watching him and he's watching you,
So it's like I'm at your side,
Tucking you in, kissing your cheek,
And telling you, dear, "good night".

Hurry Up And Wait

This is one of the many dreaded times where nothing is happening. At least nothing I can see. Our social worker has sent her homestudy report to our agency where it is being edited for the big trip to CIS. I should be happy, because that is progress in the making, right? Wrong. The only time Im happy is when I am doing something myself. I need to have a task/assignment to do to keep myself busy and feeling like Im doing something to get my little guy here. I thoroughly enjoyed tearing the house up, cleaning everything square inch for the social worker. Also, even though it was something of a pain, making all those calls and sending letters all over the place requesting new birth certificates and everything else. Now we are sitting idle and its making me so sad. Why is it taking so long for us to have a baby? Why cant it be now???

Well, this is a picture of what we are thinking of for the nursery. Its not for definate yet, but I just fell in love with baby Snoopy the minute I saw him. Right now the babys room is Georges office. He has been working on finishing half of the attic for a while now so he can move his stuff up there. Once he is all done, I can paint! That will keep me nice and occupied then.