Mom and Em's Visit!

My Mom and sister Emily were just here this past weekend for a visit. Robin, Wendy and I had a baby shower for Angela so they came in for it. It was really fun, here is a run down of our activities.

Thursday, April 18th. I went to work and then to my riding lesson. Apache was not walking very well at all and I freaked out. Something happened to him the day prior when they had him jumping so I had to ride another horse, (Nik), who is very sweet but you know I am in love with Apache and I was very sad during my lesson and kept thinking about him back in his stall knowing I was there riding someone else. I went and visited with him after my lesson and I told him I loved him and gave him some treats. I hope he heals fast. I went straight to the airport after my lesson to go and get Mom and Em. They were outside at the arrivals waiting for me so we got everything and everyone in the car and took off to go and eat at the Elephant Bar in Daly City since it was on the way home. We had some great food and each had a cocktail and went home and went to bed.

Friday, April 19th. Slept in a little more than we had expected, but it was fun to hang out in the morning in our jammies. We all jammed onto my bed in the morning and talked while looking at a catalog. We took off to have a fun day running around, but Apache was on my mind and I really wanted to visit with him so we went to the ranch. I introduced my Mom and Em to Nik, the thoroughbred I rode the night before, he is so tall! Then we went and saw Cane and little goat baby Jack. We walked over to where Apache was and for a moment I couldn't see him in his stall because of the way the sun was shining, but when I got closer and whistled for him, he was right there. I went into his stall and hugged him and gave him treats. He was walking around better than the night before, which made me really happy. We visited with all the other horses in Apaches area and gave the, all carrots. It was really fun. I am glad my Mom and Sister got to see me with my boy Apache. After the ranch we went over to 4th Street in Berkeley to walk around and have lunch. We ate at one of my favorite places, Tacubaya, yummy Mexican food. We went to the scrapbook store and popped into a couple other shops. After all of that we went over to Babies R Us and my Mom bought me the pack 'n play that I wanted for the babe. She also bought 2 really cute sleepers that I put away until we get "the call". After all the running around we went home and made a cake for the baby shower on Saturday then we went out for Vietnamese food at Lotus Garden.

Saturday, April 21 - got up, drove to Napa and had a baby shower for Angela at Wendy's house. It was fabulous. The food was wonderful and Angela looked incredible. She got some really nice gifts for her baby boy that is due at the beginning of June. I am so excited to meet him, I have watched him grow in her tummy and cant wait until he comes out into the world. The weather in Napa was pretty nice all day but later in the afternoon it started to rain. When the shower was over and everyone had left besides me, Mom and Em. We decided we would go to the outlet stores with Wendy and shop around. Wendy and I went to the Gymboree store while Mom and Em went to J Crew and other adult clothing stores. I got a really cute dress for the baby, pink with lady bugs on it with a matching hat and socks. I am trying to find a great little outfit for the giving and receiving ceremony but probably need not worry about it for a while. We went to Moki's back by my house for dinner and it was wonderful. Shortly after we got home we all fell asleep.

Sunday, April 22 - Got up a little late. Emily had some friends in town so she went and met up with them. Good think she knows how to get around the city by herself. My Mom and I went to Westlake Coffee Shop for breakfast and then went to the fabric store so I could pick out fabric for a quilt she is going to make for the baby. Of course everything I picked was pink, hello? After the fabric store we went home and picked up Em and went to the Half Moon Bay brewing company. We had to wait for a while to get a table so we each got a beer and we hung out and took some photos while we waited. Little did we know, the fun was about to begin once we got seated. Emily ordered some kind of passion fruit mai tai so my Mom and I had to copy. We all started getting a little loopy after that. We ordered some calamari for an appetizer that was so good. There was a funk and soul band playing Stevie Wonder and other songs in that genre while we ate. I got up to go to the bathroom and when I came back, I was talking with my hands (what else is new?) and knocked my drink right over. Whaaaa! Honestly, I didn't really need to finish it, I was the designated driver. We all ordered some fish and chips and ate and laughed so hard throughout our meal. I cant share some of the conversations, because they went downhill real fast and I don't want anyone to be embarrassed. It was a great time for sure. After dinner we ordered some desserts to share and made my Mom model each one. I don't know what it was so funny but I took a video of her laughing so hard, it is classic. Anyway, dinner concluded and we drove back to the city, watched some TV and all fell asleep.

Monday, April 23 - 5:30 AM - rude awakening, the alarm went off and Mom got up to take a shower while Em and I slept longer. 6:00 AM it was my time to get in the shower and get going. We all got ready and left the house by 7:00 AM to get to the airport. I dropped the ladies off and sleep walked my way through work that day. Monday night was nice, Tim was still in San Diego and I had the place to myself. I went to bed early and slept soooo good.

Tuesday Tim came home! He stopped by and saw me at work and picked up the Jeep so he could run some errands. Then he came back and got me and went out for pizza for dinner. After dinner we went and test drove some strollers at Babies R Us and went home.

It was a nice long weekend with my Mom and Sister. I had a lovely time. I wish we could spend time like that more often.

Stay tuned!

Home Study, Home Visit

Yet again, I got caught up in my own world and haven't had time to update my blog.
First, a quick update on the home study home visit. It went GREAT! Our Social Worker is really cool and was at our house for 5 hours! Yes, I said it, 5 hours! She went over a TON of stuff that we need to be aware of as adoptive parents. We spoke about health issues, mental issues, attachment and bonding and so many other things. She walked around our apartment and checked things out. When we were done, Tim and I went out for Vietnamese food to celebrate one more step in this process to check off of the never ending list. We ordered some Vietnamese beer and were enjoying ourselves, the hot food arrived about 3 minutes before one of Tim's old co-workers came up to us and started talking to us for 45 minutes! We stopped eating to chat with her because we didn't want to be rude, but 45 minutes was way too long to stand at the table and talk. We know the owner of the restaurant and she even came over and told her we needed to eat and she didn't budge. Finally she walked away and we ate our cold celebratory dinner. The next home visit is Sunday, April 29th and she is only coming over for about an hour or so, so it should be easier this time - we were very nervous and anxious last time.
I keep praying for our baby girl and hope that her birth Mother is healthy and taking good care of herself. I pray for the caregivers in the facility that she will live in until she gets to come home to her Mom and Dad and cute grey kitty in San Francisco.

Tomorrow is the BIG day!

This entire week Tim and I have been anticipating the Home Study, home visit from our social worker, Pam scheduled for tomorrow. We have cleaned out the kitchen cabinets, wiped down the walls and have been working in the bedroom on moving things around. We split our room in two with a loft curtain so the baby will have her own space. It is so nice to have projects to work on together while we wait for our little one. We signed up for a Intro. to Vietnamese Cooking class up in Sonoma that will take place in July. I was surprised Tim wanted to take it, but he is actually excited about it. Tonight we are finishing up moving things into the hallway that need to go into storage tomorrow so tomorrow morning all we have to do it clean the bathroom after our showers and we will be all set for the visit. I thought I would be more nervous, but I am more excited than anything.

Wednesday night Wendy, Brent and I went to the Rodeo. Tim didn't want to go this year and hear me scream my head off at all the cowboys! We went to the Bull Riding only night and it was fun! I got to prove to Wendy I was no longer scared of horses by walking right up to one in it's stall and petting its head and talking to it. Looks like we may have changed roles a little in that area.

Wednesday at lunch Wendy and I went and got some baby clothes at Babies R Us. It was so fun! It was the first time I had bought anything for the baby. My social worker at the adoption agency told me on our call on Tuesday that I could buy things because the only reason we would get denied would be if we had a criminal record that we weren't honest about or a life threatening health problem. As far as I know we are both clear on both of those. Tim was mad at first, but then he admitted he just didn't want to get his heart broken if we were turned down and that is why he wouldn't let me get anything before. So sweet. But now, he is fine with getting a couple things here and there.

Well, I guess I should go. There is vegan chocolate cake in the break room and if I don't grab a piece it is going to be gone and I will be out of luck and you know how it gets at 3:30 in an office on a Friday - CRAZY!

Ciao for Now!

Power of Prayer

Just something I feel I need to share on my blog because it is so amazing!

On March 26th my Mom's Bible Study group prayed that Tim's Birth Certificate would come soon so we could move on with our paperwork, March 27th the Birth Certificate arrived and on the 28th Tim went and applied for his passport. He paid for expedited service which means 4 weeks now-a-days and we should get it on April 28th.

On April 10 my Mom's Bible Study group prayed that Tim's passport would come soon so we can finish our paperwork. Tim's passport arrived in the mail yesterday, April 12th.

By the end of next week we should be done with everything for the adoption agency which means we are 10 days before I thought we would be done. It takes 10 days to get the documents translated in Vietnam, so we just cut some time out of the process.

Thanks Mom, and also thanks Karen for always thinking of us and keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.

God Bless!

Easter Weekend is here!

Easter weekend is here! This week seemed to just fly by. Probably because I have been playing catch up all week from being sick last week. Tuesday night I got a call from our social worker at the home study agency and our first home visit is next Saturday! We are excited and nervous. My focus this weekend is to get the house ready, do laundry and relax. We have to have two home visits, so the second one is on April 29th and then we are done with the home study completely. We just keep on praying that everything works out and we get our baby soon. It is weird to be at the mercy of all the people involved. I have been reading as much as I can about the process AFTER the child comes home with us. We have to get her citizenship, etc. as she will just have a green card. That is a whole additional process, but I am familiarizing myself with it now so there are no surprises.

I rode Apache last night, it was incredible! There is a new addition at the stable, a baby dwarf goat named Jack. He weighs about 15 pounds and I was carrying him around like a baby. He has the funniest cry - sort of an extended baaaahhhhhhhhhaaaaa (low pitch all the way up to a high pitch). He lives in the stall with Cane. Cane doesn't seem to mind him at all. Cane was out eating grass yesterday, it was nice to see him out and about as opposed to him in his stall and me massaging him so he can walk. He seemed happy to be outside for sure. There was a lot of drama at the stable last night too. When I first got there a horse broke loose and ran towards the road, someone got to the gate in time though. The owner of the horse tied it up completely wrong and it was not a good situation so the horse broke free and ran. 2 riders yelled at my instructor because Apache bolted with me on him (no ones fault, really, he is a horse) and their horses got scared. Funny thing, I was in total control, my heart beat didn't rise or anything, I pulled back on the reins and he settled down pretty quick. It happened too fast for me to freak. After my lesson there was a dog fight in the barn between some neighbor dogs and the ones that live at the stable. Geeze, too much tension. It was a great lesson though. Apache is slowing learning to pick up the pace without me having the use the crop. He responds to my clicking and kicking, which is great. I don't like the kicking, but sometimes you gotta do it to get him to go.

Spoke to my bro this morning. It was nice to get a call from him. I think his visit out here brought us closer together. He got to see where I live, my city, car, apartment and life in general which makes it easier sometimes to relate to someone.

Update

I know, I know, I have not updated in a while. Tim and I both have had the flu over the last week. Tim had fever of 103 last Monday so I decided to stay home with him and take care of him. His fever broke and I went to work on Tuesday but by the time I got him, I thought I was going to die. My skin and hair hurt, nothing felt good against my skin, not even the heaviness of the covers on my bed. I went to bed at 7 that night and got up the next day and attempted work, I only made it until about 11 and had to leave. I got home and had a fever of 102 and went to bed, Tim was asleep on the couch. The rest of the week was a blur between walking from the bed to the kitchen, calling in sick and sleeping. By the weekend, I was going a little stir crazy and needed to get out so Saturday night I went to the laundry mat to wash the flu sheets and bedding. Sunday, Tim and I went to see The Host at the Embarcadero Theatre, went to lunch and walked around downtown a bit. We both agreed that the entire day out felt a little surreal since we had been shut in for so long. I don't know what I did so bad in a past life or something to get sick so much this year. I have never been sick like I have in Sept., January and then now, ever in my life. Geeze, it has got to be over by now though, right?
An update on our adoption journey, our home study paperwork is all turned in and we are supposed to be getting a call from our assigned social worker this week to schedule her visit with us at our home. We will have two visits with her and then she writes the home study report and either approves or denies us and then sends it to adoption agency. Today, is my first call with my social worker at the adoption agency. The call is 30 minutes once a week from now until the time the child is placed in our home. Tim's passport should be at our home by April 28th by which time all of our additional paperwork for the Vietnamese dossier should be complete. I am excited to be getting closer but am nervous as well, like the rug could be pulled out from under us at any time. I think about the birth Mother a lot lately and how hard it may be for her to give her baby up in order for us to be parents. I pray for her and hope that she takes care of herself medically and can get good care and food when she needs it. I hope that she knows we will love her child as much as she would and maybe even more if that is possible. I know that we will not know about her or her history, but I pray that she is healthy and has a good heart and will make the best decision for the welfare and future of her child. Ugh, it is emotional and a ride I will never forget. Right now, I love looking at little girl clothes and cant wait until we get the referral and know her age so I can start collecting little things for her to wear. I already have a little wrap picked out for her plane ride home with us. I know, I am getting ahead of myself, but it is so exciting! Anyway, gotta get on with my day.
Stay tuned...