San Francisco

We just got back from a lovely 5-day trip to San Francisco. This was so we could meet our new beautiful 3-month old twin nieces and to have a little mini-vacation for ourselves. We also got to see Robert's cousin and his best friend Matt who flew in for 5 hours just to see him. It was so nice to get away for a few days.

Here are a few photos from our trip.

Posing at the Golden Gate Bridge. There was some serious fog when we were there (and wind!)Here we are in Napa ValleyHere I am tasting and buying a lovely bottle of wine from Clos du Val winery. YUM!Our fun little convertible we traversed about town in. (I made them upgrade us as we had to wait 2 hours in line for our rental car. I felt it was the least they could do! Note to self: NEVER rent from Budget at SFO again!)
Sunset view from Robert's cousin's house in Oakland - amazing view of the Golden Gate BridgeHaving fun in Chinatown. This is a Chinese apothecary. Not sure what's she's mixing those for??Taking a walk in Muir woods to look at the Redwoods.Filoli Gardens
The "painted ladies" - beautiful Victorian homes
San Francisco trolley cars
Lombard Street - the crookedest street in the USA
Fisherman's Wharf - nothing beats a stinky seal!

Our New Neighbor

We seem to have acquired a new neighbor - not sure if it's Chip or Dale. He is in our backyard landscaping. Poor little guy is all scared.

August Referrals are in...

Well, it's another 2-day referral month. I try not to get too down on the number of days they referred this month as they were huge in terms of number of babies being matched, but it does get to you after a while. It sometimes seems like it's never going to happen. As soon as March referrals are over with I will hope for more days being matched. We shall see...

Here's the official notice:

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before August 31, 2007.

The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before March 24, 2006.

Thought for the Day

Well, as the years have passed, I've tried to stay positive on this whole adoption, which hasn't been easy by any stretch of the imagination. I'd like to share this wonderful quote from one of the Harry Potter movies, said by the character Albus Dumbledore.

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.
Albus Dumbledore

If we could always find that light switch - even when we're at our deepest and darkest days, we'll always be able to find that glimmer of happiness. I just need to continue to find my "light" each and every day and remember that there is a wonderful little girl who is going to be my daughter one day.

Significance of 8s in Chinese Culture

Since today is 8/8, I thought I would do a little research into the significance of 8s in Chinese culture. This is what I've found on Wikipedia.

In Chinese culture, certain numbers are believed by some to be auspicious (吉利) or inauspicious (不利) based on the Chinese word that the number name sounds similar to. However some Chinese people regard these beliefs to be superstitions. Since the pronunciation and the vocabulary may be different in different Chinese dialects, the rules are generally not applicable for all cases.

Because of the supposed auspiciousness of certain numbers, some people will often choose, attempt to obtain, or pay large sums for numbers that are considered to be lucky for their phone numbers, street addresses, residence floor (in a multi-story building), driver's license number, vehicle license plate number, bank account number, etc.

Lucky numbers are based on Chinese words that sound similar to other Chinese words. The numbers 6, 8, and 9 are believed to have auspicious meanings because their names sound similar to words that have positive meanings.

Eight

The word for "eight" (八 Pinyin: bā) sounds similar to the word which means "prosper" or "wealth" (发 - short for "发财", Pinyin: fā). In regional dialects the words for "eight" and "fortune" are also similar, eg Cantonese "baat³" and "faat³".

There is also a visual resemblance between two digits, "88", and 囍, the "shuāng xĭ" ('double joy'), a popular decorative design composed of two stylized characters 喜 ("xĭ" meaning 'joy' or 'happiness').

A telephone number with all digits being eights was sold for USD$270,723 in Chengdu, China.

The opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Beijing began on 8/8/08 at 8 seconds and 8 minutes past 8 pm (local time)

A man in Hangzhou offered to sell his license plate reading A88888 for RMB 1.12 million (roughly $164,000 USD).

Dragon Fish Industry in Singapore, a breeder of rare Asian Arowanas (which are "lucky fish" themselves, and, being a rare species, are required to be microchipped), makes sure to use numbers with plenty of eights in their microchip tag numbers, and appears to reserve particular numbers especially rich in eights and sixes (e.g. 702088880006688) for particularly valuable specimens.

The value of eight could also be linked with buddhism and the meaning of Lotus flower (eight petals)

Bird in our backyard

If you saw this bird, what kind would you think he is?

We thought that what we had was some sort of an unusual and exotic bird. Turns out, after much research on Robert's part, that it's just an ordinary cardinal in the process of molting. Who knew?! He certainly looks odd, doesn't he.

Seven Years of Marital Bliss

Well, to quote my friend Jen: "Seven's Heaven" and indeed it has been.

I've been married for seven of the most wonderful years to the best husband in the world! I couldn't have asked for more. I feel a lucky woman to have him in my life. He's my best friend. We've traveled the world, gone flying on airplanes, shared many "date nights" and have shared many laughs.

This morning, I awoke to a beautiful bouquet of roses and a handmade card. He's a keeper, for sure! A romantic at heart...

July Matches are in!

It's official. July matches are in! Two more big referral days checked off! Only 114 more referral days to go. Here's the official posting from the CCAA.

The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before March 22, 2006.

3 Year Anniversary

It’s hard to imagine that today is our 3rd anniversary of our Log-In Date in China. We certainly never expected to reach this milestone. But, alas we have… I am a firm believer in the philosophy that things happen for a reason, even if we’re not sure what that reason is at the time when it’s happening. So, I have to think that this wait is teaching and preparing us for this wonderful child that we get to call our daughter.

During our wait, we’ve taken lots of wonderful vacations (each one was supposed to be our “last one before our child”) and Robert was able to get his private pilot license (this would have been harder/impossible with a child at home). I have even gotten to meet some of my July 2006 CCAI chat group - some of whom we'll be traveling with in China - Yeah!

I strongly feel that we are on the downhill now awaiting our daughter’s referral. I am optimistic that around this time next year, we’ll be holding a referral in our hands and sharing with you her beautiful face.

I look forward to the day.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Waiting

Waiting
By Karen Cooper

I haven't met you yet or seen your face,
but in my heart you hold a place.
My hopes grow with each passing day,
even though you're miles away.
I know you're there waiting for me,
As I am here waiting to see,
the child God has sent from above,
to make me a mother and share all my love.