We had a lovely trip to Pittsburgh & Washington DC. I was so happy that we went. We drove to my parents on Friday night and spent Saturday with my family. My sister, BIL, Mei, Jeff & I all went to this great bookstore (found by Jim, my BIL) "1/2 price books". For a family of avid readers (Mei included), it's Paradise! The next time we go, I've got to remember to take a list of what books I have and what books I need by some authors. It was great. I could spend all day there - LOL!

We drove to DC on Sunday. We went to a really nice French restaurant around the corner from the hotel on Sunday. We had a great meal & I had some wonderful home made chocolate mousse for dessert. On Monday, it was nice out, so we did all the outdoor things. We took the Metro to Arlington National Cemetary. We then walked across the bridge and walked the Tidel Basin. My favorite thing on Monday was the FDR Memorial. I loved the interplay between the water and granite. On Tuesday, it was drizzly and we did the indoor things - meaning the various Smithsonian museums. My favorite was the National Gallery of Art. On Wednesday, we went to the rest of the National Gallery, saw the Capitol, The Library of Congress and the National Cathedral. My favorites were the Library of Congress and the National Cathedral. Having never been to Europe - I was totally blown away by the Cathedral - plus, it's used everyday. The stained glass was amazing. We bought a book on the Cathedral and one just on the stained glass. We drove back to my parents on Thursday.

We went to Mei's recital on Saturday. She is so good - she played really well. She improves each time I hear her. She's getting so big now - my sister called tonight to say that Mei has her first loose tooth. I can't believe she has a loose tooth already!

We had a nice visit with our friends Kathy, David & Lauren on Saturday. Lauren is 2 1/2. She said the cutest thing - she won't say "three" when she counts. David asked her what comes after "two" and she thought about it and said "two and a half". I laughed & laughed.

That's all for now.
Stephanie

We had a lovely Saturday with Jeff's family. We haven't seen his cousins in a while - so it was nice to see them. We finally got to see his cousins twin boys - they are 8 months old and adorable. They have the most lovely smiles - big blue eyes, blond hair and beautiful smiles. We also received some additional good news - another of his cousins's has gotten engaged. So, it was a good day.

I've been suffering with my migraines. I've had a very bad 2 weeks at work and I don't know if that combined with the warm/cold/warm/cold weather has combined to greet me with a killer headache or not, but I spent most of yesterday flat in bed with one. I can get out of bed for 1-2 hours and then the pain becomes unbearable and I end up back in bed. I stayed home from work today and I've been sleeping on & off. I hope this helps.

There is no new news on the adoption. I keep hearing that things will speed up - but the RQ website shows that we'll be lucky to get our referral in 2009 if they keep up the slow pace of referrals. I honestly don't know if my head/migraines can handle another full year at my job. I keep looking for a new job - but I keep getting told that I'm either over qualified or under qualified. So, it appears that I am stuck treading water in my job and in my adoption - not the best option for a migraine sufferer.

Jeff & I will be travelling in a little while for a trip to Washington DC. Jeff went there 20 some years ago on his grade 8 class trip. I, ironically, have never been there. As an American citizen, I find it terribly funny that I've been to my adopted country's capital (Ottawa) but not my own :-) I'm looking forward to getting away from my life for a few days. We'll also be visiting my family and attending my niece Mei's violin recital. She's very good. I enjoy watching her - she doesn't have stage freight at all - she marches up to the platform without fear and performs beautifully! I'd love to have her strength :-)

Well, that's all for now. I need to heat up my microwave heat bag and put it on my head for a while.

Introduction

This is my first post. I've never blogged before. I don't know how many times I'll update this. As we get closer to our referral - I'll probably post more often.

We began our adoption journey in September 2005 when we began our homestudy. Our file was sent to China and logged in on May 18, 2006.

While we wait, we're trying to keep busy. We have received many donations from our friends - we have a crib, a high chair, a change table and lots of clothes. I haven't begun to do the nursery yet because I don't know how much longer our wait will last. My sister in law has offered to paint it for me when the time comes - so I'm happy about that :-)

I'm currently attempting to learn basic Mandarin. I don't think I'm very good - but I'm trying! I'm also an avid cross-stitcher, so I'm working on one project that may be put on hold - a very good friend of mine is expecting a baby and I want to make something nice for my new "niece"!

Stephanie