The babies room- work in progress

We are finally making headway in getting the babies room all together.

Our theme has developed into being "circus" themed. Wizard of Oz was a close second but we thought she may enjoy that a little later.... and lots of animal images may be more fun for a little baby.

Todd completed two new paintings for her walls to make sure they were bright and cheery and the "monkey lamp" and small vintage ceramic cat are adding to the fun. We also repainted a wonderful vintage light fixture we had in storage that adds to the circus feel. From this the plan is to fill in where needed.

We bought the baby bed linens last weekend and the actual bed will come soon .... so all is lining up fast!

Her stroller is ready to go and Tosca is also spending alot of time in there (both in the room and in the stroller actually)- we think he is really ready for her to come home and knows what "fun" he has in store.

He is looking forward to his new little sister!

Month of May - Happiness, Tragedy and Miracles

On May 3rd I flew to Atlanta for a long weekend. "Mama", Auntrene and I drove to the Mountains for a long weekend (Paul had just started a new job at Kimberly Clark and could not go). We had a wonderful time and had fun shopping, eating lots and just acting silly all around. I flew back on Wednesday - Mama and Marti dropped me off at the airport.

On Friday we got a call and felt we needed to fly to San Antonio on Saturday to check on Pauls family. After helping out a bit there we flew back home on Monday.

Midday on Wednesday the 14th my mother was in a tragic car accident- hit by a driver that had warrants and no insurance. I had awoke at around 3am that Wednesday morning and could not go back to sleep- I was very upset, nervous and as the day progressed felt near a panic attack but for no reason that I could tell. It had gotten so bad, later that morning I called Paul and planned to take something to sleep through the afternoon and to calm down ... and I already had the medicine out when Marti called. Everyone knows how close Mama and I were and it does not suprise me that somehow, inside already knew what was in motion.

While we did not know the full extent of her injuries at that point when Marti called, we thought that all would be fine in the end. I flew out on Thursday morning and went straight to the hospital ready for a long stay of recovery. I slept at the hospital that night and all was going well enough on Friday for Marti and I to go home and not stay overnight at the hospital. On Saturday a turn for the worse - and with about a 15 minute warning she was gone. Paul was already on his way to the airport in Dallas, but we were lucky enough to have all our aunts and uncles and a couple of very dear friends with Marti, Onva and I.

There is not a day or hour that goes by that I dont miss her, and from the calls and cards I have received I am not alone .....

And in the end a miracle of happiness - born the next morning after the funeral, Brad and Jacquita had a beautiful adopted daughter delivered to them .... and her name is Nola.

Mama was so proud that little Nola was going to be named after her and even though they never had a chance to meet, I am sure she is already watching over her, and us all, from above.

"Our" pregnancy - phase 2

On March 21st we learned that our little baby is a girl... it was quite overwhelming.

We had heard the heartbeat and talked for months about possibilities, but being able to picture our families future now a little clearer, and having a girl like we really dreamed of, left us both a bit speechless. A little girls red sweater (to match her already purchased red Bugaboo stroller) from "Janie and Jack" was the first clothing purchased for her now quickly growing (now mostly in Pink and White) wardrobe.

Also, Tosca has become quite excited about the prospect of a new baby sister and has decided it his role to break in her new stroller by taking an occasional nap inside. Possible pictures coming soon, but until then here is a little Tosca for you to enjoy.

"Our" pregnancy - phase 1

So we began, with Charlette, to go to Drs appts and soon we had our first sonogram in Feb.

We found out as much as we could, asked questions and began to read even more than before trying to prepare for the excitement coming our way.

We had originally had prepared more for a toddler (1-1.5 years) and now we had to not only think of newborn needs but also pregnancy issues and all of the things that come along with it. We were both, at this point, still a little disconnected from it all.... we think that it is from all the stops and starts that have come along our path so far.... but that would soon change.

The backup plan - and destiny

OK... so now we are getting to the fun part.

We decided to retreat to our Villa above Malibu and think about it as you can see ..... oops, ahead of myself.

Paul decided that we needed a plan B and after a little coaxing with me (I still had hope for the Vietnamese at this point) we booked flights to LA on January 3rd to meet with our prospective new (and high priced) Beverly Hills "Adoption attorney to the stars"!

I had taken a new job back in October and along with him pretty much guaranteeing us a baby - it all sounded like the world was aligned for us at this point.

After an intense "introduction and how to" meeting with him (of which we had to pay for of course) we left with a stack of forms to review, stars in our eyes and a potential hit to our bank balance that our check books had never seen (and hopefuly never will).

After going to the Getty Villa, lunch at the Ivy (where Sarah Michelle Geller had to wait on our table) and dinner at Mr Chows (where we sat next to Donna Karan and across from Ivanka Trump... no lie) we landed the next morning at Mels on Sunset to make our decision .... and called Mr power attorney and agreed to his terms, his fees and his 1.5 year wait. Thankfully we were going to wait until we got home to sign the forms and send the check.

That night, while getting dressed for dinner (in our beautiful room at the Ritz Carlton in Pasadena by the way) we got a call from our friends Todd and Martin who adopted little Taylor earlier in the year. There was to be an (unexpected) biological cousin to little Taylor and her mother was looking for a family to adopt on her own - and she lived 15 minutes away from us and was willing to meet us the next night when we flew home. Turns out, at only a few weeks pregnant she wanted someone who would commit early, be a part of the pregnancy and the birth. After only 2 meetings, all three of us knew it was meant to be and suddenly without forms, governement agencies or lawyers we were pregnant.

Our Vietnam Chapter

On June 8th of 2007 we boarded a plane bound for Ho Chi Minh city Vietnam. After the LONG 12 hour flight we were tired but ready to go.

After a day of sightseeing we called the Orphanage on our own and, with the help of our wonderful Renaissance hotel staff calling and making arrangements, hopped in a cab with written Vietnamese directions and a driver that spoke no English. After having tea at a house we thought was the orphanage, our contact then took us on to the Catholic orphange... asking all the way about our little threesome and how many kids we wanted to take home. He was a little disappointed that we were just looking and that we wanted a baby (under 1)

There were no children under 5 or so, but we were impressed with the grounds and the children. All seemed to be well tended to and better than we thought - but we had to keep in mind that it was a very controled visit also.

After all the flights, strange foods to try, harrowing taxi rides (be sure to click on the video above) and even a motorbike ride around town after dark for Karen and I.... we still knew no more than the day we started.

We flew on to Cambodia the next day. Elephant rides, heat, amazing art, humidity, ruins in the jungle, beaming sun... and a massage that is best described as (thankfully) G rated but still very odd..... we decided that there was no need to go back to Vietnam for another day, so we stayed just one more day in Cambodia soaking up all we could, and shopping!

On our way back we stopped in Tokyo.... all smiles, much cooler and much more expensive but surprisingly we are looking forward to going back someday. We loved Japan for the day we were there.

All in all, a wonderful trip of dreams (ask us, we love to talk about it) but no baby and still no clue. Little "Ling Ling" (as she was affectionately called by most everyone who felt they already knew her) was no where to be found in Asia.

Upon getting home, hearing from others "in process of pickup" and various blogs and US adoption posts we decided to come up with a plan B. Our agency still maintains that the system is not shutting down in Vietnam, but little did we know then that in April of 2008 it would be announced that all adoptions would stop in September.

Thank goodness for our plan B ..... and what it would (in a round about way) bring.

The beginning

Somewhere between the ongoing renovation of our Townhome, the "Miss Fayes unit #3" that we purchased and renovated (and finally sold) and the "Todds 40th birthday Peru pilgrimage" we decided that we had just too much love to share for just the two of us. It doesnt really matter who brought it up first or how it progressed.... just that the ball was rolling.

Upon a little investigation, calls to many that we knew and various web searches we decided that the time had come. We secured a home study person and an agency and we were moving forward. (If you need a good home study person we have one - if you need a good agency.... we dont have one)

We decided to take a trip to San Francisco to visit with our good friend Tom and also our good friends Dwain and Ben. Dwain had made this same decision years ago and found his wonderful son Ben... and we knew he would have great advice. Our close friend Heather and our niece Tiffany threw a superb shower here in Dallas and invited the world .... how could anything go wrong?

Fast forward through the months of Forms, interviews, fingerprints (and fingerprints again), visiting the beautiful and international intrigue of the "world of INS" and quite a few long conversations and many questions for our agency and why their rules kept changing (if you need a good agency, again we dont have one) we decided to go to Vietnam and check it out ourselves.

We really and truly thought that by the time we left, in June of 2007, we would have a referral and we may be able to at least see our new child (hopefully a girl). Our dear friend Karen went with us to give us another viewpoint (and to celebrate her.... other 39th bday) and off we went.

We had no idea what was in store at that point or how far we were from the finish.....