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HAPPY NEW YEAR! Welcome 2010!!!!!!!

Well, another year started today! SURELY this WILL be the year we get our baby! Geez, I've said that how many years???????? 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and now 2010! Hope springs eternal, right? Anyhow, here's to a new year and new blessings to receive! We send our friends and family the following wishes for this new year:
May you be happy, healthy, surrounded by those who love you the most, prosper in whatever you do, and always meet the challenges in life knowing how special you are and that others love you!

This Year's Ornament.......

Every year we pick out a Hallmark Ornament to add to our tree. We rotate turns and this was Doug's year to pick out the ornament. He picked this airplane out.....how appropriate, don't ya' think?????

Pooh Outfit Picked Out By Daddy

This was one of my Christmas presents from Doug because he knows how much I love little clothes with Pooh on them. I didn't even point this one out to him......GREAT JOB Daddy-To-Be! He even remembered to get a 12 months size as we hope she will be younger than 12 months. He looked in her closet a few nights ago and pointed out to me that our baby needs more PANTS because I've bought so many little cute dresses.....This one that he bought me has PANTS with it! I love when Daddies pick out outfits for babies! Love you honey!

Hardworking Cats.........NOT! hahahahaha

I just walked into our livingroom and found 2 of our cats curled up together in the new little bed thinggie we got them for Christmas.........AWWWWWWWWWWW! Love those furrbabies even if they are lazy little pampered gremlins! Don't you wish you the life of a cat??????

New Luggage.........READY TO ROLL!

Well, I finally felt like searching for camera so I could take some pictures. I wanted to get a pic of the new luggage Doug got me for Christmas. He couldn't BELIEVE that I wanted THIS pattern! hahahahahahahaha I've never been one that liked "plain" stuff.......plus I told him that we SHOULD be able to find this on the luggage carousel at the airports, right? hahahahahaha I LOVE IT! Can't wait to get that referral and be able to pack these and GO GET THAT BABY!!!!!!

Merry Christmas!

Well, it has certainly been an INTERESTING Christmas! First of all it started off on our anniversary (December 23rd) when I had to spend half the day sitting in a doctor's office. The verdict? BRONCHITIS! Geez! 5 hours and 2 prescriptions later, I collapsed in bed EXHAUSTED! I didn't feel like doing the cleaning and cooking that I needed to start for the Christmas Eve festivities that was to be at OUR HOUSE the next day! I just couldn't do it. Then, the next day came and I was ready to just pull the covers over my head and sleep. But I KNEW my family would be coming later in the afternoon, so I dragged myself out of bed and started cleaning, cooking, wrapping the last few gifts, etc. My hubs got home from work early and joined in, then my sister, Stacey came! I LOVE when she visits! One of my presents came in the mail at hub's office so he gave me that: Guitar Hero for the Wii we bought together for our anniversary present! YIPPEE!!!!!
My mom was the next to arrive, and then my brother, his wife and three kids! We enjoyed a meal of chili, Zuppa Tuscana soup, yeast rolls, little smokies, and chocolate pie for dessert! We tore into presents and had a ball just chilling out and talking and laughing! We really had a ball!
Before anyone arrived though, we looked online and discovered that there were rumors that the CCAA had matched dossiers through April 3rd! OH MY GOSH! That would be TWO batches done in December and only TWO days to go with one of those days (April 5th being OUR DAY!!!!!) Talk about a good present!
Anyhow, the day ended and I was sooooooooooooooooooooooooo happy to get in bed! We slept in til 9A.M. and then woke up to open presents! Hubs spoiled me rotten! He even got me the cute little luggage that I wanted for our trip to China. He calls it my "brady bunch luggage," because of the flowery pattern, but hey, it should be easy to locate on the luggage carousel at the airport, right???? hahahahaha I cried when he gave it to me because it just made it seem more real that we really be traveling soon to get baby! He also bought me this cute little Winnie The Pooh outfit that made me get all choked up! I got lots of other cool stuff and lots of goodies from Bath and Body Works! Hubs is so good to me!!!!! ANYHOW, it has been an interesting Christmas and I wish that I wasn't sick, but hey, I didn't like that spoil it and I hung in there as best I could. I'm excited that CCAA is closer to our date and I'm both nervous and excited that we will be parents SOON! Sometimes that nervousness is a little scary because I want to be the best mom ever! I worry that I won't be. I guess that is pretty normal for most moms, right? Especially NEW moms! hahahahahahaha
Well, Merry Christmas everyone! This will DEFINITELY be the last one without our baby (I HOPE! hahahahahaha)

Winter Wonderland! FINALLY!!!!!!!!!

Well, after many years of wanting SNOW here in Danville, we FINALLY got a nice little amount (7-10 inches)yesterday and last night. I just had to go out and take a few pics to mark the occasion since it doesn't happen often! hahahahahaha Of course it IS more exciting when we get the white stuff during a work week and have snowdays out of school, but hey, "beggars can't be choosers," right? It is just so PEACEFUL outside this morning as the whole city is blanketed in snow. Doug and I haven't done ANY Christmas shopping and were hoping to get it done today, but that will have to wait a day or two. The forecast is calling for more on Christmas Eve! WooHoo!!!!

Our Family Newsletter In Online

Every year I make an Appleton Family Newsletter to send out with our Christmas cards. It is so neat to look back and read the ones in the past and I keep them in a scrapbook for our family. This year, Doug has put the newsletter I made online. Here's the info:

Hello ..

Our family newsletter has been published and can be viewed from the following link http://www.vcan.us/Appleton

When prompted for a username enter, friends, and the password all in lowercase ( small letters ) is also friends .

Enjoy!!!

Another Christmas Tree Is Up!

Well, it's a little late getting put up, but alas we have put our Christmas tree up FINALLY! hahahahahahahaha We've just been swamped with work, and Doug's final Calculus class, graduation, my graduate course in Word Study from UVA, etc. etc......
The time between Thanksgiving and now has been just a BLUR.....where have the days gone????? Tonight we pulled out everything and got it all set up and as I am typing this entry, I have all of the lights turned out and am enjoying the glow of our beautiful tree. We started a new tradition tonight as we said a prayer before adding the first ornament. We couldn't help but be thankful for the blessings that we have and enjoy as we look forward to adding a dear sweet little blessing to our family SOON! Decorating the tree this year was NOT a sad event like it was last year.....last year I cried buckets of tears with every ornament we added, but this year there's a calmness in my heart that our time is near. I can't WAIT til we hold her next year at this time and every year after that. So.......Merry Christmas.....and I hope Santa brings us a referral! That's all I really want!

Daddy Get's His Degree!

Well, Doug graduated from Averett University this morning with a degree in Computer Information Systems! YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!! Years ago when he started this program we knew for sure that we would have baby BEFORE Daddy got his degree, but alas, here we are still waiting for Baby. Oh well, we hope that will come to pass shortly too! At least now Daddy will have more time to play with Baby and change her dirty diapers now that he has no more homework! hahahahahahahahahaha
I am sure am proud of my hubby! Love you sweetie and I'm awfully proud of you too! You worked hard and deserve to celebrate this great success!!!
(Oh and don't worry about the frown on his face in the pic of us together.....the sun was in his eyes and he was trying to tell this little old lady how to take the picture.....hahahahahahahahaha......believe me...he was HAPPY!)

Sweet Sunday!

Today has just been a restful and peaceful day which is great considering the stress of work and some issues that arose there last week. I won't go into details because I'm trying to get past it all and think positive, uplifting thoughts!
Anyhow this morning hubby and I went to church and just really felt the spirit strong in the meeting. We drove around some after church listening to Christmas music and just thinking about the baby that soon will be placed in our arms and in our lives forever! It was a very touching experience and I feel very close to our baby today. Warm feelings in my heart! Feeling a little of those "mommy" feelings that I've been missing for a long time. Feeling very blessed and thankful for all that I have and for a dear, kind husband who is also my best friend and for this little angel that Heavenly Father is going to entrust us to take care of, teach, and raise!

44 MONTHS and still counting! hahahahahaha

Hopefully not too much longer. These milestones used to be exciting, then they were heartbreaking, and now they don't mean a thing to us......we just look forward to the times when the referrals come out and pray that we are in the next batch or the batch after that.

Red Bags and Tissue Paper..........CHECK!

Well, we finally bought the 10 red gift bags and red tissue paper that we will use when we go to China. Apparently we have to give gifts to the China officials and nannies and orphanage directors, etc. It is a tradition to give gifts in red bags in China and we've put it all off for the almost 4 years that we have been waiting. With the fact that they are only "four" days away from our LID of April 5th, we decided to do some little preparations like this. We don't want to jinx ourselves, but since red bags and tissue paper are pretty abundant at Christmas time we thought it was a wise choice to get them. Now.......what do we put in them? I've heard all kinds of suggestions and have NO idea what to give these people. I have heard that many of the gifts just get shoved in closets because a lot of people tend to give perfumes, lotions, baseball caps, etc. and they don't really want that stuff anymore. Some agencies have told their clients that they prefer things like deodorants, toothpaste/toothbrushes, shampoos but that seems kind of "offensive" to me. I wouldn't like someone giving me stuff like that.......seems like it suggests, "you stink!" hahahahahahahahaha Some say give chocolates or candies....others say no. Some say give things from the area you are from, but what??? Whatever we give has to be pretty lightweight for traveling and not taking up too much space. I don't want to spend a lot if there's a chance it will just get tossed in a closet somewhere........I really don't know, but at least I have red bags and tissue paper!!!

GREAT NEWS TONIGHT!!!!!!!!

Just got an email from our agency and apparently CCAA has posted on their online system that they have finished matching families through March 31, 2009!!!!! WOO HOO and THANK GOD!!!!!!!!!! They can now move on to the April folks and our dossier was logged in on April 5th, 2006. I am sitting her bawling my eyes out and shaking like a leaf! Could we be next??????? I think it might be February for us, but hey, that's ok......I can live with that! WHEW!!!!!!!!!! What wonderful news!!!!!!!!!

Done With Thanksgiving.....Now On To Another "Babyless" Christmas

Well, we made it through Thanksgiving. There are some stupid rumors circulating that a couple of agencies are saying that CCAA has finished matching and should be sending referrals. WHATEVER! They didn't send them last month at all and we are still stuck on the March 28, 2006 date. No movement in over a month and here we are approaching Christmas. As mad as it makes me, then again I am just numb inside.......no feelings at all one way or the other on this issue. Of course I want our baby, but it's like my heart has shut down and won't even think about it. I did have one little moment in the Hallmark store Friday while out shopping with my sister. She had stopped to get her haircut at the salon and I went to the Hallmark store to look around. I saw the "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments and burst into tears! Yep, standing right there in the crowd of folks at the store......I had to sneak around to the empty aisle and try to gather my composure.......geez! Anyhow......that's where things stand and have stood for over a month. No news at all coming out of China except that the CCAA has a new director (which may slow things down as we wait for HIM to his act together and settled into his position.......GEEZ!). I'm just going on with life, burying myself in work, enjoying reading some books, taking a graduate class on Word Study through UVA which has me dreaming up all kinds of new projects for myself, playing my piano, singing.........

Ladybug Quilt

Last Saturday Doug and I drove down to Halifax County, VA to go to the annual craft show. I love going to this thing every year and Doug always agrees to go with me (he's such a good sport! hahahahahaha). This year we were walking around looking at all of the handmade items and we got to this one booth and saw a handmade baby quilt with ladybugs! It is so pretty and is purple too! Oh I loved it, but I was going to pass it up, but my sweet hubby convinced me to get it because he knows how I am. If I hadn't gotten it, I would have gotten half way home and said, "I should have bought that quilt for the baby." So..........we are now the proud owners of yet another quilt for our baby Rebekah! hahahahahaha There's just something about quilts that I absolutely LOVE and this one is gorgeous! The lady that made it was just so excited about us adopting from China! She even threw in a Carebears bib and those little things that go on the newborn's hands to keep them from scratching themselves (I didn't have the heart to tell her that our baby would probably be too big for those). She even hugged me and I cried.....yep, right there in the middle of craft show! hahahahahahahahaha She teared up too! Oh well, Rebekah is going to have to get used to an overly emotional Mama! I hope she likes her ladybug quilt as much as we do and that it becomes one of her favorites! Oh, and you can see another bib that Daddy picked out for baby! I think our little girl will be spoiled rotten!

Happy Halloween (Hopefully The Last Without Baby!)

How many Halloweens have I said that before, right? hahahahahahaha Well seeing as CCAA is only 8 days away from our LID, I am ASSUMING that by next Halloween we will have a little bundle of joy all decked out in a costume and enjoying trick-or-treating each and every year. Yes, we are one of those "RARE" families that sees NOTHING wrong with having fun on Halloween. It seems that today's society has more and more people who think Halloween is some sort of evil tradition that inspires kids to be evil.....GEEZ! Whatever happened to normal people who saw Halloween for it what was supposed to be....a day to dress up, go trick-or-treating, carve Jack-o-Lanterns, etc. I'm amazed that some people can turn it into something horrible and think that it brings out "evil." I guess that's what the "political correctness" has done to our society.......well, it's stupid and since this is my blog, I can say that! hahahahaha
Anyhow, my sister and I have this tradition where we send each other a goody box every year because we always had so much fun on Halloween! I got my package from her today with cute cat bumper stickers, a magnet that has a "spell book" on it,and a bag of my favorite Mounds candy!!!!! YUM YUM! I love the bumper sticker that says, "My cat is smarter than your honor student." HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA My sister loves her cats just like I love mine!
Doug and I carved our pumpkin today and sat it outside tonight. Oh it is so cute!!! I also got a cute picture of my handsome hubby in front of our house after he had carried the pumpkin out. I love him so much!!! I can't wait to see him as a Daddy!!!!!

Beautiful Baby Afghan From My Friend Mandi

Today, I got a wonderful hand-made baby afghan from a dear friend, Mandi. We both share a love of crafts and this was such a sweet surprise! It is a plum color and VERY soft. I absolutely LOVE it and yes, it made me cry! I am so touched because I know how much work went into it and because I think that gifts you make for someone with your own two hands are just so full of love because they take time to create. Thanks Mandi, you're such a sweet friend! I can't wait to see our baby, Rebekah, enjoying it!!!!

Still Hanging In There!

This week I have been off on Fall Break. I had the chance to go through some of the adoption stuff and also through the baby's room. Today I cleaned out the nursery closet and organized it. I also found a baby quilt that I started making and never finished as well as some fabric that I have for making a couple of taggy blankets (one to send over to the baby in a care package once we get the referral.) Anyhow....nothing to report. We had hoped to have her referral BEFORE Christmas, but I think it might be in January or February which means we will need to renew our fingerprints AGAIN since they expire in February. Oh well.....what can we do???? Nothing except hang in there. They are only 8 days away from our LID......come on China and get to us! Included are some pictures of Doug and I from last weekend when we went to a friend's wedding at Castle McCulloch in Jamestown, NC. It was a beautiful wedding, but a cold and drizzly Fall day.....thus my hair is flat! hahahaha

I Love This Quote

I just found this quote on a website I was looking at tonight......I NEEDED this!

Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity.”
-Margaret Nadauld

UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, once AGAIN the stupid rumors were FALSE! The CCAA did NOT get through March 29th nor did they finish up the month of March! WHEN WILL I LEARN NOT TO LISTEN TO ANYTHING ON THE RUMOR QUEEN??????????????????? They only made it through March 28th. Yes, we moved up 3 more days, but my heart sure was hoping it would be more! The 29th is a huge batch according to poll results so I am thinking they will only do that ONE day next time. Oh well..........

HOW FAR DID CCAA GET THIS MONTH??????????

Well, we are on pins and needles waiting to hear how far CCAA got this time with referrals. We have heard the rumors that they may have gotten finished through the March 29th and maybe even finished the whole month of March. THAT would be such a wonderful thing if they did! Then we could possibly get OUR referral next time! So.......we're saying those prayers and keeping fingers crossed.....come on CCAA!!!!!
It is so cool to think that CCAA will be picking up OUR DOSSIER and will be matching us with OUR baby! Oh my gosh, I get goosebumps and have tears in my eyes just thinking about it! We are soooooooooooooooooo close!!!!!!!!!

A Letter To Our Baby (On 3 and 1/2 Year LID-iversary)

Dearest Rebekah,
As I sit here on this day and wonder how much longer it will be before we see your face in a referral and then how much longer until we HOLD you, my heart is so full of love for you. You will never understand how much I love you until you have a child of your own. This whole adoption journey has been one that has not been the easiest, but I KNOW in my heart that you are meant to be our little girl. I can feel your spirit pulling us to China. I know that you are longing for a mommy and Daddy to hold you and love you, just as we are longing for a baby girl to love us and give us toothless grins and sweet giggles. We need each other my darling and one day (hopefully soon) our innermost desires and heartfelt prayers will be answered. The day WILL come when we will walk into a room and have our names called. And as we step forward, we will see your sweet face and feel you placed in our arms FOREVER! Oh my gosh, I'm sure you will cry and be frightened at first, but we will hold you close and speak words of love in your ear. We will rock you and comfort you, and in time you will come to know the love of two parents and come to trust us to take care of you. Of course we will make mistakes and I hope you will be patient with us as we learn to be parents and we promise to be patient with you as you learn what it means to be part of our family........our little baby! I can't wait to bathe you and put lotion and powder on you to comfort you. I hope you like the smell of Johnson's Baby Lotion......sometimes I go in your room now and open the bottle and put a little on my hands, just to savor the smell and to know that one day YOU will smell like that! Yes, you have a very silly Mommy! I also look through the little clothes and outfits that hang in your closet and are in your drawers and I picture your little arms and legs being in those things. I look at the hairbows and ribbons and picture your beautiful hair adorned with those things. Oh my goodness......let's hope you like those frilly things (unlike your Aunt Stacey....hahahahahahahaha). I just had another thought.......what if we're in for a big surprise and our referral is for a boy?????????????? Oh my, we have a LOT of things to change in your room if that is the case, and instead of the letter being for Rebekah, it will have to be for Cameron MacClayne.....hahahahahaha That's always a possibility, but I just feel deep in my heart that YOU will be a little girl....OUR little girl that I have dreamed and prayed for ALL OF MY LIFE! That's right Rebekah, I have wanted to be a mother to a little girl for as long as I can remember. All those years of having baby dolls and dreaming of the one day when I would have a REAL baby in my arms have prepared me to be YOUR mommy. The tender feelings deep in a mother's heart are so special and so hard to put into words. I cannot describe them and every time I do, the words are so inadequate to even compare to what I am feeling when I think of you. How do you describe love?????? I don't think you truly can sweetie, but I promise to SHOW you love and I hope that you will love me back. I hope that I will be the kind of mommy that you will always be able to talk to and to share your thoughts and feelings with. I'm sure there will be times when I will have discipline you and I promise you now that I will always discipline with love in my heart. I want you to always know that I love you and want the best for you in life. I want you to grow up believing in yourself and enjoying the beauties of life. I want to explore and learn and become the best person you can be in life. And during all those year, I promise to always be there for you; cheering you along. I will be your biggest fan and will find joy in YOUR joy. I will share your pain and disappointments in life; for life is full of those too. But even in tough times, you can find reassurance in my love for you. I pray that you will grow up knowing that we all have a loving Heavenly Father who is never far from us. I hope you find comfort in prayer and that you will develop a strong testimony of the Gospel. I pray that you will try to make righteous choices in life and when you make mistakes, you will repent and learn from them. We all have to do that too. No one is perfect baby girl. Oh my goodness, I just love you so much already and you're not even in our arms yet. And while I'm talking about the love I will have for you, let me just mention your Daddy.........you are going to LOVE your Daddy. He is so loving and funny and just a great guy. He wants to be your Daddy so badly! We talk about you and what it will be like once we have you with us. His eyes just light up when he talks about being your Daddy. I hope you will know how much you are wanted by both of us! You are going to be so spoiled! hahahahahahaha Well, I guess I should close out this rather lengthy and emotional letter. Yes, I have cried as I typed this to you today, but that's ok, you'll learn that your mommy is a very very very emotional person.....get used to the tears! Take care my sweet little one......you are FOREVER in my heart; tucked in there so lovingly; protected until the joyous day when you will be tucked in my arms and loved and protected FOREVER. I pray that you are safe, and warm, and that someone is holding you when you cry, until we can do that ourselves. Sending you my love baby girl!
Love,
Mommy (and Daddy)

Our Last Visit To The Halifax County Fair Without Baby

Tonight Doug and I went to the Halifax County, VA Fair. I grew up going to this fair EVERY year of my life and as we walked around we couldn't help but think that next year, we will be pushing a stroller with our little baby! YAY! I hope she likes it as much as her Mommy always has. We rode the Ferris Wheel (one of my all-time favorites) and the Tilt-A-Whirl (another favorite). We ran into my brother, Tony and his wife and kids. What fun! My little niece (1 year old)was able to pick up a duck and win a stuffed duck! We saw the country music performer, Chuck Wicks, in concert. It was a fun night!

Today Is My Birthday

Will this be the last birthday that I celebrate without our baby? Good golly I hope so! I would seriously hope that next year she will be here with us. Of course with China you just NEVER know.....hahahahahahaha
It has been a rainy birthday, but tomorrow the sun is supposed to come out. I guess you have to experience the rainy days to really appreciate the sunny ones, right? Kind of the same thing with the adoption......you have to experience the horrible, torturous, never-ending pain of the wait so that when that day comes where we are handed our precious little one, we will TRULY appreciate it! I just REALLY hope we at least get our referral before Christmas....it would be great if we traveled before then, but I will be happy to at least know who our baby is and to have that little face in my head.........something to hold on to over the holidays....oh well...what will happen will happen and nothing that I say or want will change that. Anyway....happen birthday to me, right?