Susan's Birthday Was Today!

I have had a wonderful birthday thanks to my AWESOME husband! He has spoiled me rotten today and I have loved every single surprise he gave me. He even had a BEAUTIFUL bouquet of long-stemmed red roses and a teddy bear sent to my school which my principal hand-delivered to my classroom....WHAT A SURPRISE!
Thanks to all of my friends, family, and students who made this a special day too. I love you Doug for everything and for being such a wonderful husband!

Secret Pals Spoil The Kitties Too!

Today we got a box from our secret pals that was addressed to: "The Appleton Kittens" hahahahahahahahahahaha How wonderful are they??????? Inside there were balls, toys, furry and fuzzy thinggies and just wonderful little toys for them. Of course when they saw the box, they all came running over since they have gotten very addicted to helping us open boxes from our secret pals. Doug and I laughed when Chelsea jumped in the box before I could even pull the first toy out. Savannah went NUTS over these long things that hang from the doorknobs and have little puffy balls on the end for them to smack at. Tabitha kind of sat away from the action until the other two went in the kitchen for some "eats" and then she started playing with the blue puffy mouse and jumping in and out of the box. We laughed at these spoiled rotten girls of ours for at least an hour! Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Secret Pal! We will post pictures when I find the cable! hahahahahahahahahahaha You guys are the BEST!

Happy Birthday To Doug From Our Secret Pals!

I knew that I had forgotten to post something the other day when I was doing my blog. Doug's birthday was a couple of weeks ago and just the other day he went to the mailbox and found a card addressed to him from Mr. and Mrs. Secret Pal with our Marching Pandas DTC 06' Group. It was a really pretty card with Chinese writing on the front and inside was a really really nice surprise......an Outback Steakhouse giftcard! WOW! He did NOT expect this surprise! Our secret pals are so thoughtful and they do little things like this for us ALL THE TIME! I cannot imagine making it through this long wait for Rebekah without this couple who has looked out for us and thought of us so kindly. Everytime we get a little goody box, postcard, letter, etc. from them, you can tell that they truly put a lot of time and effort into whatever they choose to send. THAT's what has made a big difference in this wait for us! Whenever I've felt like I couldn't take the wait anymore, I'd get a card, email, etc. just to pick me up and give me the boost I needed to get back in the game. So, whoever you are, Mr. and Mrs Secret Pal.......THANK YOU!!!!! You have made a tremendous difference in our lives!
LOVE YOU BOTH!

New Book I'm Reading

I just got in this great new book and am reading it every chance I get! I would highly recommend it to anyone else that is interested in adopting from China or has already done so. GREAT BOOK!

Halloween Costumes For the Cats!

Ok, you guys are going to DIE laughing at these pictures! WE went to PetSmart today and they had COSTUMES for cats! We bought Tabitha (the calico) a witches hat which suits her little witchy personality. Then we found a FUNNY cow costume for Chelsea, who is such a little clown....plus the black and white goes with her fur! hahahaha Our other baby, Savannah, is such a scaredy cat when it comes to stuff like this so we didn't want to traumatize the poor cat. She just looked at her sisters and ran for cover! I LOVE the expressions on the cats' faces! It looks like they are thinking, "PLEASE give this woman a baby soon!" hahahahahahahaha I have laughed my head off at the pictures and I'm telling you, if you're having a bad day, just bookmark this site and you'll have a good laugh to bring your spirits up! I can't wait to make hard copies of these prints and put them on my desk at work! ENJOY! I love my furr-babies!

Baby Clothes From Aunty Fliss

My dear friend, Felicity, sent me some baby clothes today that came from Australia. What cute little duds for baby Rebekah to wear one day (hopefully soon). I just LOVED the pink pants! Felicity, thank you so much! You're such a thoughtful friend and have become one of my "bestest" friends! I'm glad we share the same LID (04/05/06). One day, we'll have our girls and I hope they become friends too!
Love ya' girl and THANKS AGAIN!
Susan

Go Tennessee Titans!

The other day, I got this cheerleader dress that I had ordered for Baby Bekah. It is for my favorite NFL Team: THE TENNESSEE TITANS! Isn't it just the cutes thing??? Now all I need is Bekah to dress in the thing! I've been assured by many many friends that that time WILL come and all of this waiting will be a distant memory.

Secret Pal Gifts For August Theme: "Crafts"

Well, once again our secret pals from the March DTC Group have outdone themselves! The theme this past month was, "Arts and Craft Goodies" and today I got home and found a whole box of crayons, colored pencils, sketchpads, coloring books, arts and craft kits, a "make your own teddy" kit, and a very very sweet note of encouragement. Our secret pals are apparently VERY busy people but they always find time to look out for us and spoil us rotten each month. I've taken several pictures because I couldn't seem to get closeup shots of everything in one picture. Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Secret Pal! We love you guys! And don't worry, we're hanging in there for the duration even though we have been discourage with the pitiful amount of referrals that the CCAA issued last Monday. We're just holding on to those dreams of that precious angel being placed in our arms! Thank goodness we have friends like you who are hanging in there with us!

In Charlotte, NC To Renew Fingerprints For INS

Well, tomorrow morning we go to the Immigration Office in Charlotte, NC to renew our fingerprints. We can't help but wonder if this will be the last time we have to do this. We thought that last time and boy did things turn out differently! At least when we're doing things like THIS, it helps it feel more real. I'll write Rebekah another letter on hotel stationary and mail it home to her so I can put it in the journal I'm keeping for her. I did that last time too. Gosh, I hope this is the LAST time we have to do this!

About Ready To Throw In The Towel!

Well, this morning we get up to check the CCAA Website and find that they have ONLY REFERRED 4 FREAKING DAYS of LIDS! What the heck is going on?????????? Where's the big "speed up" that everyone has been talking about?????? Everyone in the adoption community is totally pissed off and I'm one of them. I have been in tears all day! This is NEVER going to happen! We have to renew stupid fingerprints on Friday and to tell you the truth, I'm about ready to just QUIT. I'm so sick of this waiting and waiting and trying month after month to be a positive person........positive people never seem to get a break. I'm serious......I just don't think I can take this anymore!