The Required New Years Eve Reflection Post

So, do you ever get to the end of a year and wonder, "What the *&#($* just happened?"  This year is coming to a close and I'm not sure where it all went.
In the world of Lucy, she grew up more this year than I can believe:

• Reading
• Spelling
• Math
• Riding her bike
• Swimming
• Gymnastics
• Ballet
• Reading music
• Playing the piano

While I realize that every kid learns to do these (more of less), I'm just stunned at the level of independence she achieved in just one year.  We spent so much effort in 2009 "hand-holding" with her activities; this year, she's let go and stepped up confidently.  We're very proud of her.


We got adopted by a cat, Ariel, in August while on vacation in Emerald Isle, NC.

We sold our condo in Blacksburg this year and, for the first time in a very long time, we did not attend any Virginia Tech football games this year.


Mel had her tonsils removed in early December and she's still not 100% recovered from that. Mel and our friend Todd refinished/remodeled our basement and our den over the summer.


I took and passed all three CGFM exams and became certified.  I also competed in my first triathlon.


Most importantly, we finally got our referral for Penny, but you already knew that.

Busy Birthday for Lucy

I just dropped off our Chinese Visa applications, some additional travel paperwork, and of course another check with our adoption agency.

{Begin Minor Rant}

I don't want to sound too down, but at times it smacks of "insult to injury" to have waited this long and now see how the fees for everything have almost doubled. There's an end result of this process that is just out of our reach - and it (she) is more valuable than anything monetary. Yet I get frustrated to see my family penalized financially for someone else's sloth (and no, it's not our agency, btw).

{End Minor Rant}

We're still waiting to hear about our travel dates.  The best guess at the moment seems to be mid-February, but that's a rough estimate.  Once we have firm dates, we'll put them up on the blog.

So, as I posted previously, today is Lucy's 7th birthday. We (Mel, Lucy, & I) had lunch together at P.F. Chang's. Then the girls went to Elizabeth Arden's for manicures and pedicures, while I made the aforementioned document run. And later tonight we're going to the Kennedy Center to see South Pacific. It's sure to be a fun-filled day for Lucy!  I hope she can hold out all night!

Happy Birthday, Lucy!

Today our eldest daughter turned 7!  Wow!  Happy Birthday, Lucy!

Planning to Plan (or How to Make Your Brain Explode in 739 Easy Steps!)

Plan a trip.  
Plan a trip to China.  
Plan a trip to China to adopt an infant daughter.  
Plan a trip to China to adopt an infant daughter and take your 7 year-old daughter (also adopted from China) along with you.  
Do this planning in six weeks three weeks.  Over the major holidays in both the US and China.  Sprinkle lightly with delayed furniture shipments. Fold in work deadlines, pets, birthdays, vaccinations, and changing travel regulations.  Mix with the possibility of having to choose how we want the TSA to humiliate our daughter.  Pour into a blender labelled "HowAreWeGoingToPayForAllThis?" and hit "Liquefy" for 30 seconds.  ("Wow! That's terrific bass!")


And yet, I wouldn't trade all this chaos and headache for the world... I love my new daughter. My family loves our new little girl.  And we can't wait!

Referral Update, Photos, and Sundries

We received a "referral package update" today.  For a fee, we got two previously unreleased photos of BSP and medical information that is "updated".  I use the term "updated" loosely as we don't know the date of the information, and the only things that seem to have changed are Penny's weight and length. *sigh*  So while I grouse about not getting more information, the extra photos are worth the fee alone.

New photos:

 
So we see that: 

• BSP still is being dressed like the Michelin Man (but that's to be expected)
• She now has more hair than her Dad
• There's a creepy stuffed animal behind her... watching...
• She knows how to drool
• She belongs to a gang called, "Hong Dou", and
• She wears Mickey Mouse pants

In other news, Mel found a onesie that says "Baby Sister" on it, so we're going to get it embroidered with "Penny".


I've got more on my mind to blog, but it's late and I need to get some shut-eye.

Christmas Photos

Here are a few pictures from our Christmas Day 2010:

Merry Christmas Baby!

I hope you all have had as merry a Christmas as we have had!  This one has been extra special for many reasons.  Obviously, our referral for BSP tops off the list.  That has made this Christmas wonderful beyond words!  We've also been enjoying how Lucy has been thinking of Penny.  Lucy's always finding clothes and gifts for her baby sister and points out everything she sees that "BabySisterPenny" might like.  I always get a little sappy when I think of how big of a heart our daughter has.

This is also our first Christmas with Ariel - our young cat we brought home from our beach vacation in August.  While it's been a real challenge to bring her over to the "Nice List", Lucy has been loving all the cat-themed presents that apparently Ariel has been buying.  :-) 


Even though they're already on FaceBook, I'm going to insert Lucy's letter to Santa and his letter to Lucy so we have them here too.  I'll post some Christmas photos in a separate entry.

I love the artwork! Lucy in bed with Ariel meowing near her and the Christmas presents downstairs - very precious.

We've watched both the Grinch and Muppet Christmas Carol, so it's just a little bit before we head to Grandma and Grandpa Jones' for a gift exchange.

Again, here's hoping you've had the merriest of Christmases!