CONGRATULATIONS ANGELA!!

The last former Thai-Nguyen-turned-Bac-Ninh referral just got approved!!! Angela has been waiting for this day for so long it almost seems unreal. She has to be the most resilient person I have ever known. For as long this relentless, tragic process to bring her baby home has been going on, she's handled every heart-wrenching step with grace and optimism. I applaud her and wish her happiness and joy through the next few weeks of itineraries, airports, hotel rooms, government red tape....all leading up to that moment when she sees her baby for the very first time and feels that surge of relief and unbelievable adoration; knowing that forever has arrived. Love you, Angela - you did it.

Out of Excuses

Ok. First it was sleep deprivation, then it was sleep training frustration, then it was Facebook, I could go on, but I'm pretty much out of excuses for not keeping up with the blog. To my small handful of (still) faithful followers, I humbly apologize -- but I had good excuses, right? And let me just tell you...that crazy Facebook is like crack! I still can't get enough. I will admit (reluctantly) that it's way easier to post pictures and updates through FB, so that's probably where you'll find all that stuff (and you should totally check - my kids are amazingly cute!)

Connor is 6. Not kidding. Six. As in, "I'm six, mom. (not mommy, mind you) So I can make my own decisions and run away with the circus if I want to." He's wonderful and sweet and other than the occasional meltdown about having to read for 20 minutes a day and shoe-tying struggles, he's the greatest big kid I know. And I mean BIG. He's exactly 1 foot shorter than me, which does not bode well for first grade.

I lose track of which t-ball season we're on now...6? Practices start next week, and he's looking forward to it. Watching his games is one of my favorite pasttimes. His team has been together since they were 3..for most of them, that 1st jersey hung to their knees, and their bats were as tall as they were. They consistently ran to 3rd base instead of 1st -- if they ran at all. Most of the time they were in awe of just hitting the ball that they just stood there and watched it to see how far it would go! Connor's favorite part was drawing in the dirt with a random stick in the outfield and post-game snacks. Now, he really enjoys if for the most part, but I'm pretty convinced that if Coach K didn't clear the field of random sticks before game-time, he'd be out there drawing blueprints for his next Lego building project.

Kenna just turned 1. And has turned this family inside out with her crazy antics. The non-sleeping was brutal, but she's finally turned a corner there for the most part. Of course, now that I've said that, she's crying...when will I learn? Back in a minute.

Ok, crisis averted - pacifier misplacement is an easy fix!

On to other news...Kenna started walking on Christmas Eve at 10 1/2 months. She's still a tiny, tiny thing, and to see her walk is a little unnerving...kind of like watching a large newborn toddle about and spin in circles. Funny thing, though...she has no idea she's small. She pretty much walks into a room like she owns the joint, scans for familiar faces and proceeds to the snack bar. Where does she put it all? Good question - if I can figure out her metabolic secrets, I'll share :) So far, she has not turned down anything except scrambled eggs. I can't blame her - scrambled eggs are a texture-phobe's nightmare, and make me a little squeamish, too.

As for the grownups in the house, we're hanging in there -- adjusting to being a fam of four has been an interesting ride of scheduling snafus and random tantrums (mine, not the kids'), but we're muddling through and wouldn't have it any other way. One day we'll all look back at this and wish we were still in the throes of it all, so I'm not wishing any of it away.

And in adoption news, the CCAA is now up to March 2, 2006. Why, that's not too far from our May 18, 2006 LID, is it? It's still at least a year away by Chinese adoption math standards. We're still in line, waiting our turn, but it's hard to believe we've been at this since October 2005. We're still looking at least another year before we head back across the International Date Line. At this point, we're in a wait-and-see mode. What's meant to be will be.

And a quick shout out to an old high school bud who will be travelling to China next week for their little girl - Congrats, Mike!

And, of course, part of my heart is always with my fellow ex-Thai Nguyen-ers...all of us have our babies home except for Ang -- any day now, I'm sure of it, though. The beauracracy still amazes me. Months after VN has shut down to new US adoptions, there are still so many babies who are stuck in paperwork limbo. JUST SIGN THE DAMN PAPERWORK AND GET THESE CHILDREN HOME!!!! I'm sure that will take care of it :)

Well, thanks for checking in - I'll be posting more often, but I won't be putting away the Facebook crack any time soon. I'm not ready to admit I have a problem.