Snowy Update!

Well, it's official ... we broke the 100" mark for snow for the year. We are now officially at 100.4" of snow and more on the way on Wednesday evening through Friday. When will it end?!

Last night's snowfall were the big sticky flakes - looks beautiful, but makes for near white-out conditions. This is a picture Robert took off our back porch.

What happened to Spring??

Happy Spring everyone! We thought we'd do it a bit different in Wisconsin - i.e. about 10 inches of snow are expected for today! Yes, snow..... I thought Spring meant pastel colors and tulips and daffodils, but I was wrong! We've already broken the record snowfall amounts for the year, so I guess someone wants to make sure that this record is REALLY going last for a very long time!

I took this photo this morning, so we actually have even more snow than what's shown. What's scary is that we were first beginning to see some grass on our lawn and now it's gone again! One of these days...


So, while we're freezing our tootsies off, my parents left this morning for Costa Rica. Now why couldn't I have joined them?!

Madison Weather Strikes Again!

Well, Heather and Dustin got fogged into Madison and were unable to leave today for China - so that means that attempt #2 will happen tomorrow morning. I have been given the privilege (if that's what you'd like to call it) of picking them up at 5 am tomorrow morning and driving them to the airport. Should be nice to send them off (although my appearance at that hour may scare them!).

Yesterday, I had lunch with Heather and Kris to wish her a "bon voyage" at the Great Dane (favorite local brewpub).


Afterwards, Kris and I spent the day together shopping (for Kris) and returning (for me). Later, Kris came over and I cooked her Thai Red Curry chicken and we made chocolate dipped strawberries. YUM!! Here she is proudly displaying one of the creations!

20 months and counting...

Well, it's been 20 months now that we've been waiting for our daughter. When we started this whole process we figured we'd have had her already at this point. But, time passes and along with it, the international adoption community at large.

We've seen an increase in the waits for most countries (most especially China) - partly due to overflow from people no longer wanting to wait for Chinese children and also the new Hague convention treaty which goes into effect on April 1st. Not all countries are Hague certified which means that you can no longer adopt from certain countries anymore (another cause of the increase in waits everywhere).

So, our wait continues and life goes on. We have no choice but to accept "what is" and not "what was".

In the meantime, our daughter's room is ready and waiting for her to fill it. Her closet is teaming with clothes thanks to Aunt Ruth/Uncle Todd and Tanya/Jerry/Elie. (I can't wait to see her in them.) She has her crib, dresser, night stand, changing table, teddy bear chair and paintings that I've made for her. She is already so spoiled...

We occasionally get glimmers of hope. We have friends leaving for China on Tuesday to pick up their son. He is a beautiful little boy and we can't wait to meet him - a future playmate for our daughter (they only live a few blocks away from us).

Next set of matches are in!

Congratulations to all of the families who received their matches yesterday! The CCAA matched families with log in dates of December 28, 2005 - January 4, 2006! Another 8-day batch...

At least now the CCAA is out of the 2005 LIDs and is into 2006. Only another 27.5 weeks worth of LIDs to go... (We are 7-14-06). If they continue on the 8-day track of matches, that means another 24 months to go from now. We keep hoping for a speed up, but doesn't seem to be in the cards. Maybe after the Olympics in China are over??? Time will tell...

A beautiful poem

I found this beautiful poem that I think I'm going to put in her Lifebook (adoption version of a baby book). I couldn't resist making it look pretty...

A little humor needed

Well, it's another winter storm here in the lovely midwest! Right now our streets are completely ice-covered, all the malls are closed and everyone is encouraged to stay home (which we are) for the day. We are expected to get up to 9 inches by the end of the day. We have already broken the record for most snowfall in a single year - so now it's time to say "enough already!" So, I felt a little humor is needed today to lighten my mood.

Being a cat person, I found this funny..

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Chinese New Year Party

Yesterday afternoon, Robert and I had our very first Chinese New Year Party celebrating the Year of the Rat. It was lots of fun. We ended up with around 25 adults and about 20 kids. Let's just say that our house got a little crazy, but we enjoyed it thoroughly. We had the kids making dragon masks and coloring "Year of the Rat" pictures. The adults had lots of Chinese appetizers and desserts. Below is a little video I created from a few snapshots we took during the party. I apologize to those of you who didn't make it in... we got carried away talking and not taking photos... Next time...

Happy Chinese New Year

Today marks the first day of the Chinese New Year - the year of the rat.

Chinese New Year (simplified Chinese: 农历新年; traditional Chinese: 農曆新年; pinyin: Nónglì xīnnián; literally: "Agrarian Calendar New Year") or Spring Festival (simplified Chinese: 春节; traditional Chinese: 春節; pinyin: Chūnjié) is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is sometimes called the Lunar New Year, especially by people outside China. It is an important holiday in East Asia. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first lunar month (Chinese: 正月; pinyin: zhēng yuè) in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called Lantern Festival (simplified Chinese: 元宵节; traditional Chinese: 元宵節; pinyin: yuánxiāojié).

Chinese New Year's Eve is known as Chúxī (除夕). Chu literally means "change" and xi means "Eve".

Years for Year of the Rat
1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020

Rat personality traits
People born in the Year of the Rat are one of the most industrious and hardest working in the zodiac.

Forever busy in pursuit of an ambitous personal goal, at times they may become difficult to work with since they are born perfectionists. Rats must ensure that every "i" is dotted before completing an assigned task. As a result, they are often successful financially, and are good providers for their family and those they cherish most dearly.

Loyal and loving, Rat people inspire loyalty in others who are close to them. They are essentially honest individuals and loath to betray a confidence. However, their quick wit and restlessness can sometimes lead to chattiness, and they can often be relied upon at large social gatherings for a good story or a juicy bit of gossip.

Their energy levels and expert organizational talents are such that it is a rare thing to see a Rat person sitting idly by with nothing to do.

They may even sometimes be viewed as opportunists who cajole others into helping them accomplish a great ambition. In their careers, Rat people can find much success as business leaders or politicians.

Rats are most compatible with : Dragon, Monkey, Ox

Famous people born in the Year of the Rat : Charlotte Bronte, Truman Capote, Catherine I, Prince Charles, Sasha Cohen, Eminem, Peter the Great, Mata Hari, Scarlett Johansson, Wolfgang Mozart, Plato, William Shakespeare, Leo Tolstoy, George Washington