Still waiting

Now that July is almost over, we are sure that our referral must be very close! The suspense is absolutely killing us; but what can you do besides just take each day in stride and continue with life?? A referral this week would mean; 1) our prayers are finally answered, and 2) we'd have a picture to show off at the Holt picnic this weekend. Not holding my breath, but- it could happen! Our chances of getting our referral this week are better than they were last week! I am also anxiously awaiting Holt's Korea program August update, hoping it will give us some clue as to what's really going on (as opposed to what I see on the bulletin boards, AKA: the rumor mill).
OK, I better stop typing now because I'm starting to ramble- no thanks to a super busy day at work today! As always, thanks for stopping by- maybe next time you'll see something really exciting!! (Oh, FYI- my friend Kathy's wait is over...her daughter arrived safely back on US soil early this morning!)
RA

Our wedding day

Was 9 years ago today! Wow, how unbelievable is that? It's gone by so fast; it seems like yesterday we were just a couple kids, starting our life together and ready to take whatever it had to offer us. Little did we know what life really had in store! Despite the rough patches we've been through (mostly relating to expanding, or lack there of, our family), it's been a wonderful journey with many chances for us to grow together and learn about real life. As we look forward to what the upcoming year holds, we are excited beyond words and amazed at the miracle that we will experience.
RA

Happy Birthday, Joe!!

Just wanted to wish a very happy 30th birthday to my wonderful husband!! Hope you have a great day today, and don't work too hard!! Love you,
RA

Will this be the week??

Your guess is as good as mine!! And our answer is "We sure hope so!". As we begin our annual "week of celebration", with Joe's birthday on Tues and our wedding anniversary on Weds, we would be thrilled to get our referral this week- what a perfect gift!! (OK, we would be thrilled to get our referral at any time, but you know what I mean!) I just realized today is 10 months since our home study was sent to Korea...10 months!! That's a long time!! It's gotta happen soon...

My new identity

I am so excited that I've finally gotten my first necklace from Seoul Identity!! The character on it is Um-ma, or Mom, in Korean. And, what made it even more exciting; it was delivered, in person, by the artist who makes them! (She just happens to be my manager's sister) Amy does such beautiful work, handcrafting these custom pieces of jewelry with Korean or Chinese characters. If you have a moment, check out her website (link is on the side-bar), you won't be disappointed!
RA

A new week...

...brings with it a new sense of hope. Well, here we are, starting week 3 of July, and still waiting for "the call". The good news is that each day that passes brings us one day closer to learning more about our baby who is waiting for us in Korea. My friend and co-worker, Kathy, is also awaiting exciting news this month. Her daughter, who has been in Afghanistan since January, is expected to return home any day now!! (but she doesn't know exactly when due to security reasons) She has been my partner-in-crime at counting down the months until July. Here's to good news (soon!) for both of us, Kathy!!
RA

It's so hard to say good-bye...

Earlier this week we said good-bye to our sweet Spencer. His passing was somewhat unexpected. We found out late last week that he had a cancerous tumor in his mouth and nose, and he would not be around for much longer. His condition deteriorated quickly over the weekend. By Monday night he was miserable. We couldn't bear to see him in pain any longer, so we had to make the heart-wrenching decision to put him down. He was a part of our family for nearly 8 years, and much more than "just a dog". For those of you that knew him, you know he was just about as good as they come. He was very sweet, kind, gentle, well-mannered, and loved by all who met him. He was a wonderful big brother to Willie; way too tolerant of all his antics.
"We'll miss you big-boy!!!"
There is a tribute video below that Joe made in his memory.
RA

Spencer ~ A Good Dog

Our piece of paradise...

Is our new backyard! I have to admit, I am so impressed that my husband did all this work, almost entirely by himself! We started demo right before the marathon (end of April), then I injured my foot and wasn't able to help him. What an amazing job he did! When we found our new house last summer, we agreed the backyard needed help. It was kind of landscaped, had lawn and some beds around the edges of the yard, but had a very small patio and very little space to just enjoy. Shortly after moving in, we realized it gets the sun all afternoon long and we decided it was the perfect yard for a pool! I was a bit skeptical at first, when J proposed a yard with no lawn (I've never had this in my life!), but now I don't miss it a bit. In case you're wondering- we built a run for the dogs along side of the house and we live across the street from a very nice city park, so we have that space we can use. So far this summer we've already been enjoying our new space, and eating "al fresco" nearly every night! We can't wait to share it next summer with our little one(and we're really hoping s/he like the water!!)
Well, thanks for checking in on us. Take care.
RA

Free Hugs in KOREA

Here's what happened when they tried it in Korea, not quite the same as the US, but awesome just the same!!
RA

Free Hugs Campaign. (music by Sick Puppies album out April3)

I just love this!! Enjoy!
RA

Happy 4th of July!

Hope you are all having a safe and fun 4th of July. We've had a pretty low-key day around here. Pretty much just hanging out with friends and enjoying our new backyard. We're staying around the house this evening since the doggies don't like the fireworks. I was not able to run the Butte to Butte (annual Fourth of July road race) since I am still recovering from my marathon injury, but I did go down to the finish line to cheer for my friend Robyn (who I trained for and ran the marathon with)- Way to go Robyn!! Alright, I better get off the computer and go enjoy the rest of this beautiful day!
RA

A room for baby

So, of course, one of our "waiting for baby" projects has been the preparation of the nursery. We did the bulk of this work during the winter months (so we could be outside doing projects when the weather was nice...more on this another day). It was a little difficult to make color decisions not knowing if we were getting a boy or a girl. So, our plan is that once we know the gender, we are going to paint the dresser (bargain find from one of Joe's coworkers), the toy chest (yes, Uncle Mike, that's the one you made for me!), and the mirror frame, in a contrasting, gender specific color.

Before

During

After

The quilt you see in the photos is my first (and only!) quilt I've completed to date. We plan to use it in the nursery, either hanging on the wall or as a "rocking" blanket. The good wishes quilt will be my second quilting project!
RA

It's July!!!

It's finally July, and we couldn't be happier about it! We have been anxiously awaiting July since last August! You are probably asking yourself "What's the big deal about July??" Well, let me explain. Last summer just as we were about to have our second home study visit with our social worker, she shared some not-so-good news with us; that Korea would be changing some of their guidelines effective Jan. 2007. This change would delay our process, possibly up to 5 months!! Before the start of this year, the Korean government would release babies for international adoption basically as soon as they were born. In an effort to promote domestic adoption in Korea (which I know in my heart is a good thing), starting in Jan. 2007 they would keep the babies in Korea for 5 months before releasing them, making more infants available for Koreans to adopt domestically. What did this mean for everyone patiently waiting for their babies here? Basically it meant there would be no referrals coming from Korea of babies born in 2007 until June at the earliest. Our social worker told us we would not hear anything about our referral until at least July! Well, now it's July, so bring it on!! (By the way, today has been one of those "not-so-patiently" waiting days!).
RA