Saturday, November 22, 2008

Good Morning Everyone and Welcome to the Saturday Morning Chat Group!



Good Morning Everyone~
It is bitterly cold here in Michigan! We really pretty much skipped over fall and jumped right into winter...we've even has some snow off and on. Nothing has stuck, but man is it cold.

I know that some families have received their TA and CA this week which is very exciting. Jill should be bringing home little Eli soon.


Time is running out for Project Christmas Angel. Boxes need to be received in Florida by the end of this month. If you would like to participate, click the icon above on my sidebar and it will tell you exactly what to do.

* On a side note, my neocounter subscription has evidently run out and it is causing huge problems on my blog, so if you have any issues..let me know. I'm going to have Tim pay for my next years subscription when he wakes up and all should be well again.

THE CHATROOM IS NOW CLOSED HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

152 comments:

Unknown said...

good morning friends.

redmaryjanes said...

Good Morning Amy, how are you?

Unknown said...

im good, just got home..how are you???

redmaryjanes said...

Too funny, you just got home and I just woke up. I am chilly. Man, it's cold here! I think we're going to have a mellow day here today though.

Unknown said...

its 19 here in atlanta

redmaryjanes said...

No way~
That's as cold as it is here!

Unknown said...

funnny...ok, so did you hear some semi- rough news to hear this week??

redmaryjanes said...

Actually it's 22 degrees here, so it's colder in Atlanta...unbelievable.

redmaryjanes said...

No, what's going on?

Unknown said...

i guess its public but one of the agencies closed this week, you may want to delete this comment in a few minutes..check out donnas blog at www.myshelbybaby.blogspot.com

Cupcakes and Hairbows said...

Hey Girls -- yep, I can confirm COLD in Atlanta! AMy, we must meet some day!

Unknown said...

uhm yeah! our adoption group is meeting at my house next month!!!

Cupcakes and Hairbows said...

Yes, the agency that closed is the one we used with our first (Ally's) adoption. We were so disappointed to hear that. It's sad. I think the primary reason they closed is because of the slowdown with China -- no new apps! They weren't China-only, but China was their biggest program.

Unknown said...

scary!

redmaryjanes said...

I have heard that this may start to happen since the China program is pretty much at a standstill right now. That is too bad. I am sorry to hear that. I hope that a lot of families who were with them are ok and still able to complete their adoptions.

Unknown said...

donna got her TA the same day she found out it closed.

i cant imagine all agencies closing especially when so many sn kids needs home.

Cupcakes and Hairbows said...

Not sure the status right now for "waiting families" (we have 2 friends who are in that category with this agency). They will hopefully be able to transfer seamlessly.

BTW - we had a huge week! We not only got news of our 800A approval, but got our LOA from China. Hoping a miracle occurs that we can leave the day after Christmas!

redmaryjanes said...

I just went over and read the post. Is this a nationwide agency?

redmaryjanes said...

I saw that you got your LOA! Woo Hoo! I am so happy for you guys~

Unknown said...

that is awesome. i am feeling closer to lynnmarie this week. im not sure why. i am guessing a match by next june unless we get one from our agencies other list

Cupcakes and Hairbows said...

Thanks -- HFC (the agency) is a small agency in ATL, but serves anyone! Most of their clients are likely in GA.

We are on pins and needles. Going to see Donna this AM -- THere are 4 girls who were on HFC's WC list (Ally and Shelby ard 2 of them) that get together for a pic with Santa!

Unknown said...

hold on, what is your daughters SN??? donna and i meet each week for weight watchers..i love her

redmaryjanes said...

Too funny. I have some gifts already. I'm going to work a little on my Christmas card list this weekend.

Unknown said...

tuesday is my christmas card/music/movie day

Cupcakes and Hairbows said...

Yes, both of our China girls are "heart babies". (I think you were asking me!!!).

We have our 2 big trees up but only one is decorated. We are hosting the family (mine) for Thanksgiving, so we need to get busy!

redmaryjanes said...

I have started to listen to some Christmas music in the car. Eli has really been after me to put up some lights. He sees many houses in our area that are already lit up. So, I may put some lights out today.

I am also going to do a Christmas Card and Christmas Ornament exchange on the blog this year.

Unknown said...

very cool. i know that donna has some 'digit friends' in atlanta too!!! do you guys know sheridan??

Unknown said...

has anyone seen the website of the lady that makes personal dolls for your kids? she has some with hydrocephalus, missing digits and hands, down syndrome and other things..its a really good site. wish i could have found it

Cupcakes and Hairbows said...

Ally is one of the "digits"! We have met Sheridan at Shelby's b'day party, but don't know them well. The digits are the 4 girls from the WC list - they were initially identified by the numbers "6, 7, 8, and 9" on the list! We want to get them jerseys with their numbers on them!

redmaryjanes said...

They identified them by numbers? I have never heard of that.

I just received Sophia's doll from Baby Be Blessed and it is darling, but I don't think it's the same lady.

Unknown said...

love it. have you ever been to a first fridays meeting?

Cupcakes and Hairbows said...

We went to 2 of the FF meetings in 2006, but the drive to Ackworth from Lawrenceville was alomst 2 hours with traffic. It was just too far. We went for a while to a small FF at Sharon Ankerich's up here in NE ATL, but they have moved and the group kinda whithered away.

Unknown said...

it was on one of the yahoo groups i belong in.

oh i so want a referral

Cupcakes and Hairbows said...

Amy - are you considering SN? How about you RMJ? I can't keep up.

Unknown said...

we submitted our mcc on june 16th of this year

Cupcakes and Hairbows said...

MCC -- that is one I don't know about. is it a list of SNs you would consider?

redmaryjanes said...

We are going SN, so is Amy.
We have been working on it for a while. The shared list is by far mostly boys right now and we want a girl, so we wait.

Plus, our agency isn't really motivated with it. So it will probably take a while.

Unknown said...

mcc- medical checklist

Cupcakes and Hairbows said...

Got it -- we started out saying no way to SN with Ally's adoption (she changed our minds -- she was actually the 2nd child we seriously considered). With Alaina's, we never considered anything BUT SN.

Great to hear -- just wish it would happen quickly for you all.

Unknown said...

me too but the wait for is getting long as well

redmaryjanes said...

Yes, I think China is managing the referrals and for a while there they were focused on matching the children with more serious SN's, so they were primarily on the list, but even really between boys and girls. Now they want to match boys and so boys are the majority. Hopefully after the boys are matched, they will put more girls on.

LaLa said...

Good morning ladies...still here : (

Congrats on the LOA!!! HOpe you are all doing well. It is cold this morning in Nashville too! We are going to our church in a while to make family advent wreaths : )

Cupcakes and Hairbows said...

I gotta run -- Ally's daddy is giving her a bath, and I get hair/pantyhose/dress duty! Gotta get all pretty to see Santa! I'll post a picture of the 4 girls (and likely moms) with Santa this afternoon! Check in with our blog -- have a happy day! Play some Christmas music!

Mom 2 six said...

Good morning all !
Congrats on that LOA - I am so happy. I just posted asking for advice on a camera. As much as we need to save I can't go back to China with a crappy one. It is freezing here in Wi. Not ready for the long winter. I am cirious- for agencies that have SN list - is the interest so high that you have to be matched?

Unknown said...

hello new people

Mom 2 six said...

Sorry about the crazy posts. No idea why that happened !

redmaryjanes said...

I can only speak to what my agency is doing. They have 80 families who have signed up do SN and China posts their SN children on something called the shared list which is a real time website where agencies can log in and see the children.
My agency looks at the list daily to see if there are any children on it who match what their families are looking for.
So, with our agency you have to wait to be matched.

Unknown said...

ok i think im going to go upstairs and lay down..

see ya sson everyone???

redmaryjanes said...

Good Morning Laura!
How are you all today? Any news on Coby?

redmaryjanes said...

Good Night Amy! Sleep well.

LaLa said...

no news on Coby...we can't believe we aren't in VN yet.. our agency can't check "officially" until Dec 3rd b/c the 60 business days will be up then...you know they take every holiday

redmaryjanes said...

I hope he is home by Christmas so he can wear his little Grinchy shirt :)

Mom 2 six said...

Got it- It sound like there have been changes to the SN program with the shared list concept. We were fortunate to see Eli on an agency list and with being able to go with that agency right off the bat. I hope that for those waiting there is some progress soon. It is heartbreaking for so many.

Mom 2 six said...

Everyone is up and ready to eat. Gotta run. Have a great weekend everyone.

redmaryjanes said...

My used to get a quarterly list from the CCAA but wouldn't let us see until we were out of the review room, so by the time we made that hurdle, the new shared list on the web had started. So, we have had one delay after another that has cost us a year now. Very frustrating.

redmaryjanes said...

Have a great weekend Jill!

A Mom- In-W8ing said...

Good Morning Ladies!

We had lots of snowfall last night so hubby is shovelling like mad this morning. I am working on some reports for work so once I am finished I will drop back on here. Hopefully I will get done before the chat is finished...if not have a wonderful day everyone!

Smiles! :o)
Nikki

redmaryjanes said...

Hey there Nikki!
Good luck with your work :)

Kelley said...

Good morning! Kimberley, I loved your post about Eli wanting to marry you. So sweet!

redmaryjanes said...

Hi there Kelley! How are you?

redmaryjanes said...

Anybody here?

LaLa said...

Hey...I am outta here to go make an advent wreath : )

redmaryjanes said...

Ok, have fun Laura!

Valtool said...

Good morning y'all

Mr.Brian said...

Good Morning ladies,Mr.Brian just has to do his stop and say Hi!It is cold and it snowed about two inches overnight.
Maybe I better put on Christmas music and put up my tree. (No not yet).
Have a great weekend!
Mr.Brian

redmaryjanes said...

Hi there Michael!

redmaryjanes said...

We're going to put some Christmas things up this weekend.

Valtool said...

I was thinking about it. I like to do lights outside, but the shape of our house really makes it difficult

Heather said...

Good morning girlies - how is everyone? Brrrrrrrrrrr, here.

Valtool said...

Conscious if nothing else :)

redmaryjanes said...

Well, that's pretty good for a freezing Saturday morning!

redmaryjanes said...

Good Morning Heather! How are you?

redmaryjanes said...

Sorry, I had to supervise something going into the attic for a minute there!

Heather said...

Good, thanks. Cleaning out the playroom closet - fun, fun - I put it away, Hannah takes it out. I throw things away, Hannah retrieves them:) Em is still quarantined for the day

Valtool said...

We should be heading out soon to go help hold leashes at the basset hound rescue adoption day. 10:30-1 at a local petstore

redmaryjanes said...

I am trying to get some things put away that we aren't using. Eli's toddler bed is going to the attic since he's now in a big bed.

redmaryjanes said...

Oh Michael, that is so cool! How is your new Basset doing?

Heather said...

Kimberley - your proposal post simply tickled me...how incredibly sweet - my mom oftens references a note my brother wrote her where he said he would never marry, just stay home forever with mommy. He's been married 22 years to a very nice girl, who is not so warm and fuzzy, so much for that plan:)

Valtool said...

She's good, eating well and playful. The only problem so far is she growls and barks at my brother whenever he comes into the kitchen or family room (her spaces) like she's defending us.

redmaryjanes said...

Tyler used to propose to me when he was little too. It was so sweet and now Eli has started. It does just melt my heart.

k1 said...

Guess WA is the hot spot this morning. It's in the 40's

morning all

redmaryjanes said...

Is your brother not a dog person?

redmaryjanes said...

Hi there Karen! Yeah, it's in the 20's here.

k1 said...

Well, since we have yet another day of planting at the church, I'm glad it's warmer than that. We are just praying that the rain holds off. It is a sloppy, slippery clay mess up there when it rains!

k1 said...

I am hoping, hoping, hoping that they will announce today that we got the occupancy permit for the new Recreation Center yesterday. After a whole year of delays of one sort or another!!

Heather said...

Must go get a marshmellow for our little potty trainer!

redmaryjanes said...

Hey there! Good job little potty trainer!

redmaryjanes said...

It's probably too late for me to get any daffodils or tulips into the ground. Eli wants me to get some Christmas lights out front.

Valtool said...

I have bulbs to plant too, been too cold to want to be out there, but I still plan to do it

Valtool said...

Pete is not anti-dog, he just spends all his time in the house in his room (tv and computer) so he's not in her area much

redmaryjanes said...

I think she will get used to him, it will just take a little while.

I really would like to have some more early Spring flowers out front.

I'm getting ready for the holidays too, so it will be funny putting out the snowman and planting bulbs!

k1 said...

Bulbs would probably be easier. We are planting mostly bushes and shrubs, with a few trees thrown in here and there.

Valtool said...

Thanks to clearance sales at work last year I have larger Snoopy on his doghouse decorated for Christmas to put up

redmaryjanes said...

Oh man, I would love that Snoopy! I just have the plastic snowman and a candle. Then some miscellaneous stuff.

redmaryjanes said...

Kelly doesn't have internet access, so she won't be on today. I miss here. We're going to be going to the Children's Museum together with the kids on December 7th.

k1 said...

I still need to put the Halloween stuff away! Haven't thought about Christmas stuff.

Valtool said...

Heading out, have a good week y'all

k1 said...

Did they forget to pay the comcast bill?

Dec 7 Rick and I will be helping with our church's Santa Clause Conspiracy. We go to area nursing homes and hand out stuffed animals to all the residents and visit and sing carols. We hand out around 3000animals each year.

redmaryjanes said...

Have a great day Michael!

k1 said...

bye Michael

redmaryjanes said...

I did pretty good with Halloween, but I never did get my Thanksgiving stuff out. I don't have much for Thanksgiving though.

k1 said...

Me neither

redmaryjanes said...

So, Rick is going to play Santa? Too cool!

k1 said...

He's gonna be a Santa's helper. Not to be confused with an elf. Lots of people do dress up as Santa, Mrs. Claus, and elves. The rest of us just go along. We had 300 teams one year.

redmaryjanes said...

That is so awesome! Eli is just starting to understand Santa and he is so excited.

redmaryjanes said...

So, when are you coming to MI?

k1 said...

This all started when Pastor Tim visited a little girl with leukemia who was in the hospital at Christmas. She didn't believe in either Jesus, God, or Santa. She had no hope or expectations.

Tim's heart broke. He started visiting people in hospitals and nursing homes and discovered that even the most 'out of it' patients had a reaction to Santa Claus. It triggered an inner child response and they would actually become responsive for a while.

For some of the long term patients, the visit from Santa and his helpers are the only visitors they get all year. Its so sad that people warehouse their family members. I understand some of the need, but when its just done out of convenience, it's sad.

k1 said...

Don't know. I may try in the summer.

redmaryjanes said...

That does break my heart. Tim's Dad can come and live with us when he's too old to live on his own. I told my Aunt that too.

k1 said...

When are YOU coming to WA?

Special K said...

Good morning all!

k1 said...

morning.

redmaryjanes said...

Hey there Karen! How are you guys this morning?

Special K said...

Cold! I thought this was Hotlanta, but it feels like West Michigan!

k1 said...

I have made an observation in the last two years of being exposed to adoption: there seems to be an inordinate number of people who's manes start with "K" involved.

Kellys, Kelleys, Kellies, Kristys, Kristies, Kims, Kimbers, Kimberlys, Kimberleys, Karens.

Special K said...

LOL - I think you're right!

k1 said...

Yep, WA does seem to be the hotspot today.

Am gonna have to get going to get ready to play in the dirt.

Have a great weekend. Try to stay warm!

k1 said...

ooops, names, not manes

redmaryjanes said...

I didn't think about that, but it's true.
Yeah, it's freezing here.

Special K said...

Mom said they had a little snow on the ground. I kinda miss that. I mean if it's gonna be freezing, it might as well have a little snow.

redmaryjanes said...

See ya Karen~
Stay warm!

k1 said...

bye ladies

redmaryjanes said...

We don't have any snow that is sticking, but we did last weekend. It's just really cold here right now.

Special K said...

Hi Lena!

Lena Just Lena said...

I'm enjoying a cup of coffee and a nice, sunny, AZ morning. It's going to be in the high 70's today, I think. Hope everyone is doing well.

redmaryjanes said...

Hi there Lena,
I'm having some coffee too. The boys are doing different projects to clean things up around here.

redmaryjanes said...

You are going to be going to see your sons soon aren't you?

Lena Just Lena said...

Yes, in less than 3 weeks. I can hardly stand it! LOL. I'm a little overwhelmed and trying to figure out packing etc-this is my first trip as their mama....and it's Christmas time.

Truly Blessed said...

Hi all, anyone still here? I havn't read through any messages, but wanted to say "hi" (our computer is finally working again!).

Special K said...

Hi there! I'm in and out today. I'm setting up our new computer.

Lena Just Lena said...

I'm here too.

redmaryjanes said...

Wow, that is so exciting. But it must be so hard to have leave them when you come home. I don't understand why it is taking so long. You have already been approved to adopt them.

Truly Blessed said...

Hi Lena, I'm Kelly -- not sure we've ever met before. So, from browsing the most recent posts, it appears you're heading off to meet some special children? How wonderful! Where will you be traveling, when and to meet whom?

Lena Just Lena said...

Hi Kelly, Nice to meet you.

My sons are in Haiti. They are 5 and 2 (almost 3). I met them for the first time in July on a short term mission trip. And I'm going for a visit next month.

:-)

Truly Blessed said...

Oh how wonderful. What great ages -- and boys, too! I have three sons and adore them!

Lena Just Lena said...

Well, as you know, international adoption is an 'adventure'. At least that's what I've dubbed it.

We have only been partially approved by the many powers that be. We actually have our first home study visit set for the Saturday after Thanksgiving. How weird is that?

I was hoping to be able to take my completed dossier to Haiti in December, but that is not going to happen. so, hopefully we can have our home study approved by the end of the year-that is my revised goal/hope/prayer.

Truly Blessed said...

Hey Kimberley,

Did you get my email about the Children's Museum with Kim K?

redmaryjanes said...

Yeah, I did, I responded that we'd like to go. Eli's B-day is the 6th though and I don't know when we'll be celebrating. Is the 7th a Sat or a Sun?

redmaryjanes said...

Karen? What kind of a computer did you guys get?

redmaryjanes said...

I hope you have them home soon Lena. It must be so hard. Do they know that you are their mother?

Truly Blessed said...

I forgot that Eli's b-day is the 6th. The 7th is a Sunday.

Lena Just Lena said...

Yes, Kimberley, they do know, but only thru pictures etc. I haven't been there to let them climb all over me as "mama" yet. I'm hoping that on some level this trip will make it more real to/for them. Although that is a double edge sword, because the wait/process is sooo long, and we're just getting started.

redmaryjanes said...

Then we should definitely be able to go on Sunday. I know he will love it.
How are you all today? We are doing major work around the house.

Truly Blessed said...

Sorry, things are a bit noisy & distracting here (imagine that!). I should run now...

Enjoy today, and yes, we'll be at ABC tomorrow.

redmaryjanes said...

How old are the boys?

Lena Just Lena said...

five and two (turning 3 in January)

redmaryjanes said...

Have a great weekend Kel!

Special K said...

We got a new Dell Inspiron Desktop. I hate messing with these things, but it must be done.

redmaryjanes said...

I really hope that things speed up for you guys Lena.

I should get running too. We have a million things going on here today. I'm trying to get the house into some type of order. No promises there though. Have a great weekend!

redmaryjanes said...

That's a cool computer Karen!
I hope you guys can get it up and running easily.
I've got to run though and help with some projects, so have a great weekend!

Lena Just Lena said...

Bye all! Have a GREAT weekend.

Special K said...

Bye everyone!