journal7

Travel

Journal
July 2002 - September 2002

7/16/02 - A little birdie told me that I better update my journal or else so here you go. Sorry to everyone for being so lax - just a lot of things happening at work to keep me busy. My friend Connie H. (she's the one whose house we stayed in for the big shopping trip to Potomac Mills) came to visit me on 6/14 and stayed through Sunday. We had a wonderful time together and both completely ignored watching our weight. The greatest success of the weekend was finding a crib bumper to match the other bedding for Connie's nursery. I wish I could show you pictures - it is absolutely wonderful with a ocean theme. Her daughter will have a great time in that room. Connie left for home on Sunday but that night I participated in another Cybershower. I can't remember if I have explained these before or not so here is an explanation for the un-informed: I along with other adopting parents who have hooked up through one of the many internet e-lists switch names and buy each other gifts. Then, on a designated day we all get online and open the gifts together in a chat room. Goofy, yes; but loads of fun. This time our cybershower had a theme- bathtime. I received some great gifts including toys for the bath, a net bag that attaches to the shower wall with suction cups to hold all the toys in, bath towel, etc..
Then it was off to Michigan on 6/23 for a week-long finance class at the University of Michigan. While there, I was able to get in touch and see my old college friends, Barbara and Richard. They both looked exactly like I remembered them and they said the same about me. The class ended up being absolutely wonderful and I was very, very happy that I went. Who knew that numbers could be that much fun???
June ended with my passing of the eight month mark in the official wait. So I enter July heading toward month 9 (aren't I supposed to get a baby soon???!!!) My parents arrived July 3rd to spend the holiday with me. They brought with them my toy chest which I plan to re-paint for my daughter. They also brought with them the beautiful afghan that my grandmother crocheted for her first great-grandchild. And of course my mother brought all those ladybug items that she had purchased at Gymboree to stuff in my daughter's already full closet. We three were gluttons as we tried out new restaurants and toured Pittsburgh during what turned out to be one of its best weekends (weather-wise) to date. I had a great time and was sorry to see them go.
Elizabeth celebrated her 26th birthday (can you believe I've had this journal going now for over a year?!) by receiving a drum from her family. Now if you ask Elizabeth, this was probably one of the best B-day presents she's had - at least that is what I'm assuming from the squeals of delight I heard over the phone after she opened it. Yesterday my mother celebrated her birthday (aren't you glad I'm not putting how old you are in here?) and I hear that she got a nice chocolate pie made by my dad. Now my big news is that tomorrow the crib and dresser will be delivered. I'm hoping to take pictures and post on the website but it might take some time as I have yet to buy a digital camera (on my list of things to do) but I have bought a DVD player. Well, that should get most everyone up to date. For those of you wondering how much longer - my agency announced today that those dossiers sent in between 5/30/01 - 6/19/01 have been matched with children and are awaiting the directors signature before being mailed to their respective adoption agencies. That would mean that if things stayed the same (ha ha! We know by now that doesn't happen) that I would have 5 more months of waiting before I received my referral. So that would mean that my referral might (just might) come by mid-December. Of course, I remember when I thought it would be here in October so who knows what tomorrow will bring.

7/18/02 - Bet you thought it would be another month before I posted again! Surprise!! I got crib and dresser and as promised, I'm attaching a link to the pictures. Click the ladybug to see pictures of the nursery. That's all for now.

8/25/02 - Wow, I can't believe that I've been officially waiting for almost 10 months and that I started this process 15 months ago! I've added a link to my baby registry above - yes, I still need stuff! It has been a busy but LONG month. It seems that the closer I get, the longer the months seem to drag on. My FCC chapter had its annual picnic last week and my dad came up to check it out and meet my friends Tracee and David. He brought along a new toy - a camcorder! Jordan will be having a lot of pictures and film taken of her if the picnic was any indication. The end of July brought about a major purchase - a new car! Yes, my poor little 1992 Mazda Protege (my very first and only car) was given away after a tearful goodbye (ie. trade-in) and I drove home in a brand new 2002 Mazda Protege. Hey, if it works - why change? Plus the deal was right - 0% interest for 60 months. August arrived and with it another big purchase in preparation for the arrival of my daughter - a digital camera. I finally convinced myself that the liklihood of me wanting to print out 8x10 prints or large was unlikely and that I could be very happy with a 2 megapixel camera. So, I now am the happy owner of a Canon Powershot A40. I'm still learning how to use it - but so far I like it! I'll be off to Richmond next weekend to celebrate Labor Day with my family. Oh - and I'm on my way to being a healthy mom for Jordan - today I officially hit my goal weight, having lost 37 pounds. Now I just need to improve my endurance by continuing to exercise! Ta ta for now!

9/26/02 - Probably you are wondering, why doesn't she post more often? What the heck is going on?? Well, I'll tell you - the wait has begun to drive me crazy. There are a lot of rumors flying around right now - many are contradictory. My agency has told us that the current batch of dossiers awaiting referral include the latter half of July and all of August. That is a lot of dossiers!!! My agency alone usually gets 50-60 referrals a month - this current batch is closer to 100. Of course that means that the time it takes for CCAA to complete the referrals is longer so we haven't heard any news since 8/23 when the last batch arrived. Another agency is saying that they think September referrals will be included as well. I really can't believe that but it does affect my friends Tracee and David who are an early September DTC and don't know if they'll be getting "the CALL" any day now or in another 4-7 weeks. I do know one thing - my dossier has been dusted off and is back in the process! Yes, I've made it to Department 1 (aka - the Review Room). Here, my dossier is reviewed with a fine tooth comb to make sure all my 'I's are dotted and 'T's are crossed. Usually a dossier will stay in the review room for 2-3 months. So when did I enter department 1? I have no idea. When will I move to Department 2 (aka the Match room, or the Magic room)? Again, no idea. Let me tell you - it makes everything VERY nervewracking!! So that is why I haven't posted. Because my emotions are everywhere these days. I don't want to think about it but I guarantee you that I think about it every minute of every day. I'm ready for Jordan and hopefully, soon, she'll be ready for me.

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