From Mini to Mini Van...

Ok, so I've never really owned a Mini Cooper. I actually own a 7-passenger SUV, but I have always coveted my friend Robyn's ruby-red cutie that NEVER has to worry about parking challenges, and doesn't even know what a 3-point turn is! AND until fairly recently, I could almost justify owning one. Great Gas mileage, enviable zippines, undeniably hip, can fit car-seats, .....and right there, my friends, is where my earstwhile dreams of owning a Mini have come to a screeching halt.

It won't fit 3 of them. Truly, 2 car seats would have been quite a challenge, and really only possible if Connor stopped growing and Brian and I never drove anywhere together ever again, and we could certainly NEVER go to Costco. But it was possible. It was still out there......but i had to let it go.

So, head hanging, I went to look at Mini Vans this weekend. I'm going to hate myself for saying this, but they truly are the only workable option that makes any sense for a family of 5 with three kids under 5. I am officially uncool. And there's really no going back once you make the minivan leap. I'm afraid it's inevitable.

But I have to admit, I love those automatic sliding doors! And Kim, I take back every crass anti-minivan thought I ever had when you got yours. If there was ever any doubt, you are clearly the smartest of us all!!

The motto of China Adoption...."where the wait gets longer, the longer you wait."

This couldn't be more true! Today, some message boards are proclaiming that the wait is now expected to reach 30 months from LID to referral. For us, with a 5/18/2006 LID, that means......hang on, let me do the math....November 2008. That is just nuts, but strangely, it kinda works out with our Vietnam adoption. If that date is close to accurate -- which is almost impossible to predict -- then Keira will be home a little over a year after Kamryn. That is the plan, anyway....and if something goes according to plan in our lives, it would be a miracle! But hey, I think we're due for a miracle or two.

"The miracle is not in "birthing" a baby - it is in the way your child becomes a part of you, part of your heart and your life. It is in the way the love you have for that child is immediate and everlasting." - unknown

I found this statement to be so true. I loved Connor and Emma the minute I discovered I was pregnant. And the love for Keira and Kamryn was instantaneous as well, from the minute we knew we were adopting them.

My thoughts today are with the victims of the Virgina Tech shootings and their families. May they find peace in each other and within themselves.

Conversations at the Passport Office: A 4 year-old's perspective on foreign travel, honeymooning and birthmothers

N: It's so great you got your Passport picture taken care of today!
C: Why?
N: Because now you can come with me and Daddy to bring your sisters home!
C: Why?
N: Because......um...well....here, let me show you what your Passport will look like. (N fumbles through Mommy Purse/Briefcase/Carry-on bag looking for Parental Passport. Finds Brian's.)
N: Look - yours will be like this, only YOUR picture will be right here. (Points to crazy mugshot of husband, hopes child is not scared.) And see these neat different-colored stamps? You'll get some like these when you travel to China and Vietnam.
B: See, buddy? These neat stamps are from our honeymoon in Jamaica - aren't they cool?
C: (Silent for a rare, brief moment.....and then...)
C: IS THAT WHERE YOU GOT ME? IN JAMAICA??
N: (trying to contain laughter) No honey, you are from Mommy's belly.
C: Why?
(N bangs head against brick wall and searches for a sharp stick to poke out eyes. why-oh-why did I go down this road????? Recovers slowly...)
N: Because some children are from their Mommy's tummies, and some come from...um...other women's tummies in other countries -- like Kamryn and Keira will.
C: Oohhhh - other tummies. They're sooooooo lucky.
N: Gee, thanks, hon. (says under her breath...well, mine seemed good enough for you at the time...
C: They'll already have all their stamps!

ONLY 2 DAYS!!!!!

AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH! The blessed CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) matched the equivalent of 2 days worth of dossiers this month. That basically means that families in line (logged in) before October 26, 2005 have been matched.

That's a really long way from our log-in date: May 18, 2006. The latest predictions say we should have our referral for Keira anywhere from June 2008 - October 2011. How's that for planning?

So in the meantime, our paperchase to Vietnam and Kamryn has officially started, Connor has an appointment to get his passport tomorrow and our social worker is on call to revise our home study. Life certainly does go on, doesn't it?

In other news, on Saturday Connor played his T-Ball gameIN THE SNOW!!!!!! This crazy Texas weather never ceases to amaze me. The kids were great sports in their cold-weather gear, and it made for some interesting pictures....coming soon :)

The Waiting...

....is the hardest part. (Thanks, Tom Petty) Now that song is stuck in my head. Everytime I hear something new about the China adoption wait, it's not good news. The timelines and wait times have extended WAY past where anyone would have thought possible. Since we've been in line (May 18, 2006), the wait has pretty much TRIPLED.

Patience is NOT my strong suit, and this wait is doing quite a number on our family. Connor asks daily about his baby sisters, and tells me what a good big brother he is; how helpful he's going to be...he has offered to change diapers, too! I don't know what I can do to hold him to that one, but there's gotta be a way......

The shock of the wait time, though, is met full force with the joy of knowing that our boy will have 2 baby sisters by the end of next year, and we'll suddenly be a family of FIVE!! I don't think he can be fully aware of what that means for him, exactly. Unfortuntely, I'm no help, since I'm an only child, and Brian....well, Brian doesn't talk much, but knows it will all work out.

The only thing on this weekend's agenda is Connor's T-Ball game, and an attempt at traipsing all over DFW looking for a patch of picture-perfect bluebonnets where I won't feel my life is in danger from the oncoming traffic on the highway!