LOA!

We are beyond thrilled to announce that we got the call today that we have our Letter of Acceptance! This was our next giant hurdle and so glad we have made it! Eric will be picking up the packet at Children's Home. It will be more information for us to fill out (we are experts now) and also something very special. It will have instructions for us to finally send our care package to Maisy and her foster family! I have had the items together in a box for months, and can hardly wait to ship them. We have included:

1 Hat
1 Dress w/leggings
1 White sweater
1 Romper outfit
1 Lamb picked out by Libby
1 Bunny blanket
1 Soft fluffy blanket
1 Photo album filled with pictures of family

We will also include gifts for the foster family, and I am putting those items together to include.

We would love to push it and ask for another round of updates, but do not want to rock the boat. When we get our Travel Approval, we will ask again at that time. This is quite common, and her SWI seems receptive, so we can only hope that they respond with updated measurements and pictures.

Please keep Maisy in your thoughts and prayers that she is thriving and being cared for and loved. We will be over the moon if we get to meet our little girl by the end of this summer.

Big Bottom Girls

Libby and Boo, who was our house guest for a week.


Lovely day with Libby at Como today despite the rain. Miss Libby is always able to give me a giggle, even when quite inappropriate. While at the sunken garden in the conservatory, I hear this: "MOM, there is a naked statue in the water, and she has a BIG, naked bottom". Telling her to hush only gets me "Does she toot out of that bottom?" Anyone, anyone, when does this fascination end?

We have had a rough week in our house. Hopefully, all things are back on track. The big storm two nights ago was almost the final straw for me. Merlie the Dog is petrified of thunder. When the storm began, she was in the bed, on top of me, drooling in my face and whining. Somewhere in the night, Libby had already snuck into our bed. I thought I could get us all settled if I brought Merlie to Libby's room and the two of us slept there. Unfortunately, Merlie did not settle, and Libby woke up and began calling for me at the top of her lungs. Merlie and I went back to our bed, and I ended up with Libby's arms wrapped around my neck, Merfi the Cat on my tummy, and Merlie at my feet. Eric tried to get Merfi to come to him, but nope. I was hanging off of the bed for most of the night and actually had big black circles under my eyes the next day!

Libby and cookies she helped to make

Today I went to a local department stores to help update my "Garanimals" wardrobe for our trip to China. You want to pack lightly for international travel, but also should have enough clothes if you need them. At some point, I will put in here a copy of a packing list for travel to China with you, spouse, daughter and new daughter in mind. It's a humdinger! Anyway, my store credit card had expired (only use it once a year for the big sale, and then pay it off), but if you signed up again, you got 20% off, plus the coupon for 25% off if you had a card, on top of the sale prices! I saved a TON of money, and got things that really work well together. Now, I just need that travel approval so I can get the suitcases down and get this show on the road! :)

Libby and Lexa dressed up for the ball.

Our newest consumer

We had a bed tray in our room that Libby was allowed to have her snack on while watching Monkey George. Last week, against all rules, she decided to stand on it and it broke. When I came to the room and confronted her about it, her comment was, "We'll just go to Target and get another one". WHAT? I told her that we would not be doing that and she would now be having her afternoon snack at the dining room table. Again, she commented "But Target will have it. Let's just go there and get it now." Sigh. Sat down and had long chat with her, but wonder how much sunk in. Talked about it with some other Mom's and we all agreed that they just see things replaced when something happens to them with such ease, that they do not realize that there is more to the story.

Had a lovely play date at the house on Friday. It was a smaller group than expected, but in many ways, it was so nice. Was able to actually converse with the other Mom's, the kids all played beautifully, and the egg hunt was so much fun for all the kids, big and super small. Glad we had this, as the rest of our weekend did not go as planned. Eric ended up with a horrible toothache. His dentist has told him a year and a half ago that an x-ray showed a problem. Yep, he's a guy and did nothing. Easter Sunday morning, he woke up in such pain that he went to an emergency dental clinic. Our Easter egg and basket hunt with Libby did not happen. Libby and I went to church where there was a brunch and an egg hunt, and she had a blast, thank goodness. The doctor told Eric that they should wait on pulling the tooth and gave him antibiotics and vicodin. We were able to still have a lovely afternoon with friends, and enjoy the lamb which I cooked on our new grill.

Poopy head: A phrase all three year olds must use at some time, whether it makes sense or not. I can assure you we do not say this, so when Libby used it on Sunday, it made everything stop. We all looked at her, she looked at us, said it again, laughed and that was the end of it. This is when the big parental debate about sitting down and discussing it, which clearly gives it more weight, or just waiting to see if the word comes into use again. We have opted for silence for now, you poopy heads.

Two Year Family Day

Right after Libby has been handed to us (most beautiful scary moment ever).
Michelle, Janice and Eric nervously waiting for our names to be called
Our guide Molly by the front desk






It is so hard to believe that two years ago on March 31st, we were driven to a large government building with others in our travel group, brought to a large waiting room where we sat nervous and shaking. Then, our names began to be called. We stood up and walked forward and the director of the SWI was walking towards us with a very unhappy girl. He handed her to us and we began to cry and then she began to cry. Eric and I tried to comfort her. The director told us that Libby had gotten car sick on the drive from Maoming, and that was why she only had three layers on and no shoes. It seemed obvious that she was still not feeling great, and now was scared. I saw my travel mate Michelle offering her little girl a snack, which she seemed to like. We tried the same, but it did not work. I don't think we were prepared for how overwhelmed we felt. I can barely remember leaving the building and getting on the bus back to the hotel. A little face with big eyes and lips looked so sad, it broke my heart. We were all so exhausted. We showed Libby all around the room, her new toys, and her crib. Finally, we ordered room service and Libby sat on Dada's lap the whole time. I tried worming my way in by doing the stacky cups by myself over and over again, but did not win her over that day. At the end of a very emotional day, we all finally went to sleep. I probably got up 20 times to check on her. We were told that on day three, everything would be just fine. Our hard headed little girl did not quite agree with that, and it was much closer to day 6-7 before we saw her first real smile and then got a laugh.

We feel honored and so fortunate to have Libby as our daughter. The past two years have had highs and lows, as any journey into parenthood has. But the lowest lows fade into nothing compared to all the highs we have had and all the love we have found. Thank you Lisbeth Ann Qiu Roller for being our little girl. For opening are hearts even more than they had been before. We have tickle fights, bath time splashing, hide and seek, spontaneous hugs and kisses and arms put around our necks with the words "I love you Mama and Dada". You have been a gift beyond any other. We love you.

One more picture

This was a picture of Maisy that was attached to a document. We had not really thought we could get it to copy, but it did, so although this is probably from when she was six months old (or younger), it is a new one for us to share.

I have some house stories, funny Libby stories and other things to write, and I will hopefully get to them soon. Right now, I am going to head out and enjoy this gorgeous day with my family.

Captain Monkey Toes and Other Adventures

That's Captain Monkey Toes

Last week Libby came out of her room wearing an interesting assortment of clothing. I looked down at her and asked her who say was. She told me she was a super hero. (Wow, pre-school does bring a whole new world home to us). When I asked her her super hero name, she looked almost offended that I did not know it on my own, kind of sighed and then shouted, "Captain Monkey Toes". Yep, you read right :) Unfortunately, her little destructive friend ripped her super hero crown apart, and so far, no others appeal to her. Watch hear for further updates on our super hero and her super adventures...
With her Easter bonnet...

We had neighbors who moved to the 'burbs last summer. They told us that when their house sold, that if the new owners did not want it, we could have their swing set. It took longer than they had probably anticipated, but the house finally sold. The new owner is not in need of a swing set, so up the hill it is coming! We are so excited. We have gone down there a few times to visit it. It has two swings, a fort at the top of the very nice slide, a sandbox, and to one side, a pole to attach the baby swing. Woo hoo! We are doubly excited because we are taking out the birch tree in the backyard that is slowly dying. It will cost us a few pennies to have it removed, so really did not want to spend money on a swing set, and ironically, the swing set will go where the birch was-how cool is all this? AND, trust me, Eric has an "idea" for moving the swing set here, so watch for some interesting pictures to appear in the next few weeks!

At Christmas, Libby had no desire to see the man in the red suit. I would ask her sporadically if she would be interested in a picture with him, and the answer was always "No". She did not seem to be afraid of the idea, just utterly disinterested. We were at the mall on Friday, and the Easter Bunny was there with a similar set up for pictures. OMG, she loved that bunny. She hugged him, high fived him, and was completely captivated. We went back this morning, Easter dress on, and had her picture taken with him. She just smiled from ear to ear.

I know people would like updates on Maisy, and trust me, I am sorry we cannot provide any. We will be sending a care package when we get our Log In Date. At that time, we will ask for another update. We may get one, we may not. When we get closer to travel, we will ask for weight, height, and a few more pics and just hope we get something, but again, no guarantees. We think about our little girl constantly and hope she is being well cared for, growing, developing and bonding with her foster family. We cannot wait until we get the go ahead for travel.

Libby and her pal Tenzing. Yes, the mom's are planning a wedding for 23 years from now...

Introducing.....

I know, can you believe it? We are so darn happy and excited, words do not come close! We are head over heels in love. Libby is very thrilled to be a big sister (for now, we will see how she feels when it happens)

http://www.BabyHomePages.net/crazyformaisy

If it asks for a log-in and password, it will be:

crazyformaisy
ourgirl

If you can tear your eyes away from just about the cutest little girl in the world, we would like to ask that you use discretion if you forward our website to anyone. We would prefer to keep it among friends and family, but are aware we may unintentionally miss some folks.