Well.....our poor dog Howard has a bacterial infection in his ear...YUCK. We are working on an aggressive treatment. I will take him back in a week to see if this treatment is working. Apparently it is a bacteria that is resistant to most antibiotics...hope it works.

I began putting out Halloween things. I am always early with holiday decorations. This way I get to help kick start the neighbors hehehe

DD Ruth is doing a sleepover slumber party tonight, that begins with a fancy dinner downtown. Luckily, our dd will eat just about anything, including vegetables so no problem there.

Finally Fall

I love the fall...no more hot weather, and none for 6 months!!! The colors are so beautiful, though we do not get as much color change her in N Tx. Mostly green one day, dead and brown the next. My parents are enjoying fall foliage in Canada still. They should be back next week.

Chinese VISAs

We received our passports back with the visas in them. It looks great. I thought it would be a larger piece of paper, but it was actually pasted inside the passport. DH make the required copies of everything, and I think this is all for the required paperwork.

Another family from N TX got their referral yesterday for a FU girl and we have the privilege of taking a package to their daughter...always glad to help another family.

I am beginning to get excited and I think all of this painting, etc is my expression of nesting. I did a lot of it the day before I gave birth to my son Bryan. With Ruth, my parents were in town and my DF was painting her closet and my DM and I were hanging wallpaper when we got her call that she was born...and what a shock!!!! She was supposed to be a boy! So I painted flowers on the wall along with the dinosaurs and she never noticed.

Spending $$$

Well, we decided to buy the sofa and ottoman table and it was delivered today. Of course we are afraid to sit on it because it is so nice, but I am sure this will change. For right now, we are moving the existing lazyboy sofa into the front room until we either find someone to give it to or we donate to the local charity.

Once the furniture arrived, I realized that the blue/gray color on the fire hearth had to go and NOW.....so off to painting, again. I also had to eradicate the color from the trimwork over the kitchen cabinets and do you know how to paint that high...first you call all guardian angels to help keep you from falling (and keep the phone close incase you do) Then you put a step stool on top of the counters, grab onto the trim molding on top of the cabinets and pray that that does not pull off, bend half backwards, learn forwards, and paint quickly.......you will be sore when you are done. I will finish the painting tomorrow, muscles willing.

soccer, rain, dog, shopping

Saturday we went early to soccer for the team pictures. Afterwards, we began the warm up for the game. The team we are playing beat us 5 of the last 6 seasons, losing the last season to us. They are very regimented, with multiple coaches, all dressed alike, the parents all dressed alike. We are the team running around the field like a bunch of fun loving kids, they look like a drill team. About one minute before the game, the sirens go off indicating there is lightning in the area and we clear the field, all the girls piling into the back of our van with the tailgate up, and the coach backs his huge SUV up to ours and also opens the tailgate-thus making a roof over the area. The parents gather, the music is blasting, we have a mini birthday party of a team member who brought the cup cakes today. In short, we had a great time. The game was finally called after 45 mins....good thing because about 1/2 minutes later, it let loose...

We will have a makeup game later.


When we get home, our old dog Howard is walking on 3 paws. He indicated an injured paw yesterday, but today is really playing it up....off to the vet. The rain has cleared and gotten cooler. Howard has somehow sliced one of his pads...no quick solution. He will have to give it time.

Jeff makes it home safely from Athens. Gas at our local station is 2.01!!!


Next a friend and her 9 yr old daughter come from Coppell for a visit. We did like we always do---went shopping. We are in need of replacement sofas and we found something we like. Ran back home for DH Jeff, who would rather see the results than the actual hunt. A nice brown leather coach and large square leather ottoman-good for feet and sitting on. We think about it and head out to our favorite restaurant-China King Super Buffet. YUM!!!!

A/C, Marshall Islands, A passing friend

Nothing much going on. Had the A/C man out this morning. The downstairs unit quit last night, but luckily the upstairs unit was humming along. Just needed a small part not a complete new motor-YEA! With it being up to 100 today, so glad we have a man that can come out on the same day called!


DH Jeff is on his way to Athens, TX for a funeral of a long time family friend, Billie. She and her family were very close to Jeff and were like a second family. Billie died Thursday.


I thought I would share some information on our daughter Ruth. She was born in Majuro, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, located in the pacific just west of the Int'l dateline. 1,500 very small islands, very poor, and the nicest people you will ever meet. We have an open adoption and have met her birth mother. We got Ruth at the young age of 10 days olds, but took us until this past fall for the US Gov't to figure out how to get her citizenship!
This is the hotel we stayed in. Don't let the photos fool you...they are third world, but with a beautiful coral reef location.

Vacancy

The room is finished and ready for occupancy.

Tumbling down

My MIL in Florida took a tumble a few weeks ago and ended up in the hospital for about 5 days, getting CAT scans, stitches, soreness. She is now home recovering. Don't you love her shirt w/ dd Ruth's handprints on it! We got one just like it that we sent to dd Sara in Fuzhou, without handprints on it.


My mother took a tumble a few days ago. She had been on the ladder getting the leaves off the roof from the HUGE oak tree that hangs over the house. Somehow on the way down, she took the express, landing on a large flower pot, and cracked a rib. She is in a lot of pain. They are both in our thoughts and prayers.

SHOTS

Well, I got my three shots today hehehe

The RN did a great job and I felt no pain. I also got happy faces on my bandaids because I did not cry!

We are tracking our plane tickets that were sent yesterday.

Mailing Sara's package

Today I mailed a package to Sara. Hopefully she will get it in a week, according to the postmaster. I also overnighted the package to GWCA to process our Chinese Visa.

I ALSO confirmed the airline tickets. We thought we would upgrade to business class and we could, for only $8,000 extra EACH! I wonder what is going on in Business class that costs that much. Of course they can probably MOVE! We hope that the flight is not too full and we can have a seat between us, or we will be spending a lot of time pacing to streach out our legs. We we went to get dd Ruth it was also 17 hours, but split between two days and we had an overnight layover in Hawaii.

We are leaving from Dallas, to Chicago, to Beijing. Coming home will be from Hong Kong to San Francisco and back to Dallas.

Time creeps on

5 years ago today..

...our country changed forever.

Our daughter Ruth was 3 and I had just dropped her off at daycare. I did not hear about the planes on the radio because we listened to Barney or Veggie Tales everywhere we went...I heard about it after I took to Ruth to her classroom. I rushed home and turned on the TV, and cried. Suddenly the world in which our daughter would grow up would never be the world in which we grew up in and I ached for her.

My husband was working in downtown Dallas on the 27th floor and I wanted him to get out of building and away from the city. He knew that he had a responsibility, but got home as soon as he could, and I just cried and held him when he came through the door.

At the time we lived near a very small airport and one night Ruth asked me if a plane was going to land on her...I hugged her so tight.

Special soccer practice/Teo

This afternoon Ruth and her Strikers soccer team had a very special practice. The coach was Teo, a Brazilian soccer player/coach. Teo played in the World Cup with Pele in the 70's. He is the Dallas Texans offensive and keeper trainer, along with the N TX Olympic Development coach. It was a long, hot practice but Ruth said she had fun and learned a lot. We have two other coaches that work with the team during the two weekly practices.

Jeff had fun conversing with Teo in his Portuguese. Jeff and his family lived in Brazil for a number of years..what an adventure that was!

Soccer begins

Today is the first game of the soccer season. This year we play on a full size field with a goalie. Our problem is that as a goalie, all but one of our girls ducks when the ball comes at them full force-not that I blame them! Ruth has not practiced this position and the coach will probably play her as a forward. She has gotten an awsome kick. AND THEY WON!!!

7-0 This year the girls play real positions, and our awsome goalie pulled us through. That kid is not afraid of anything! GO STRIKERS Last 3 years they were the butterflies, but this year they have decided that now that they are 8, they needed a tougher name...it all begins too soon this growing up thing!

Weather in Nanchang

More Paperwork!

OK, I do remember 16 months ago when we began the huge amount of paperwork. We got it done in our time. WELL, now we have more paperwork due NOW! I have spent all day getting forms, filling them out, getting shots lined up-yes I can procrastinate!

We will send Sara her package tomorrow so she will have time to take photos and get used to the idea of a new family before we pounce on her. We are very excited to be going at the same time with a family from FL who is adopting one of Sara's friends. Hopefully by the time we go, another family who is also adopting one of Sara's friends will also have their TA and all 3 of us can go together!

We are so excited and it feels great to say "my girls".

Travel Dates

Tentative travel schedule:

Depart U.S. on October 26, 2006
Arrive in Beijing on October 27, 2006
Beijing Tour on October 28, 2006
Fly to Province on the morning of October 29, 2006
*If you skip Beijing you must be in the Province by October 28, 2006
Gotcha Day- October 30, 2006 (upon confirmation with the Beijing
office)
AC appointment- November 6, 2006 at 9:00 am
Family goes to AC to pick up passport with visa and take oath -
afternoon -
November 7, 2006
Depart China- after 9pm earliest on November 7, 2006 or anytime
November 8,
2006

Going for Sara-9

Today at 2:17 pm we got a call from Beth at GWCA that our TA was unexpectedly sent with the TA's they received.

We really did not expect our TA until NOV and were fine with this...more time to get ready, get shots, get our sanity. Our daughter Ruth-8 is very excited about her sister coming so soon-well, almost 16 months after we began, but who's counting. We are now waiting on the appt date and travel dates.

Your results:
You are Green Lantern

Green Lantern 85% Spider-Man 55% Supergirl 55% Hulk 55% The Flash 55% Iron Man 55% Superman 50% Wonder Woman 50% Robin 48% Batman 30% Catwoman 25%

Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination.

Labor Day

Happy labor day to everyone. We have spent the three day weekend doing NOTHING! What fun is this. DH is actually off work for all three days, and working from home instead. At least we get to see him now and then. We saw the movie Barnyard. It was a cute movie. I did decide to repaint my liv/din room. Ran out and got the paint from Home Depot since they are running a special w/ $5.00 rebate per gallon and I needed two, so since we did not labor this holiday, I did plan on heavy laboring this coming week.

Also totally enjoying the rain we FINALLY got. Those of you in N. TX know about the terrible drought we are in...yea rain!

School begins-another cold

Our dd Ruth has gotten her first school cold. You know...put a LOT of kids together and what have you got? A virus chain! Every year it is the same thing. They pass the bugs around like candy. Thank goodness we have a 3 day holiday to clear this up. Lysol all around!

Well, we are now a full three weeks into school-third grade! It has already begun

.........THE DREADED FUNDRAISERS...........

I really hate these things. Almost every home in this neighberhood has a child going to the same school, so they are also trying to sell these things-coupon books for the local area. Being ONLY good in this immediate area, it is no good for the other relatives that live either out of the city or out of the state! We never go out, so no good here. Ruth (I) did sell one to my younger sister that lives nearby. DH is not allowed to sell things at work and, being the boss, sticks to the rules. YOU SEE>>>>>>for many many years my sisters had children selling stuff and I did not have children. I always bought things, usually the cheapest available, reminding my sisters that someday there would be payback..gotchya!

And another thing, they give these really cool (cheap) prises based upon what the child sells. Yes mommy, I can sell 86 and get my own ipod worth about $5.00!!!!! They have even had us fill out slips for every item sold and it is posted on the board...that way humiating the child in front of the class if they do not have their name up there...what are we teaching our children?