Deja Vu

Today we celebrated Matt's 33 birthday! We ate delicious walleye that his father caught in Canada and spent time reflecting on the years of delicious fun we have had as a family.
This week has also been a difficult one as far as our adoption process goes. We have been waiting for so long that much of our paperwork is expiring and needing to be redone. Our fingerprints and petition to adopt (I600A) have or will expire shortly. The good news is that the USCIS has issued a statement that indicates it may be possible to get a one-time free extension. The bad news is that this means I have to get Matt to go to the doctor again. We met with our social worker yesterday to update our homestudy and finalize the re-do of our paperwork. It is just another hurdle we need to jump in the long race toward our daughter.




While we wait, our family has been keeping very busy. Matt has been working on some beautiful pond projects. There have been a lot of changes within my work but they will be for the better in the long run. The boys have been busy enjoying Camp Shalom and come home hoarse each day from singing and shouting and laughing for 8 hours each day. They have bronze little bodies from swimming in the pool for hours and running around having a blast.






Our family went to Colorado for vacation again this summer. We spent time with friends in Denver on our first night there. Jake and Erin, thanks for hosting our family! Kevin, you throw a great welcome party! Next our family spent four days at the Peaceful Valley Ranch near Lyons, CO. http://www.peacefulvalley.com/ It was a great place and we found plenty of fun stuff to do. Matt enjoyed fly fishing the St. Vrain River. Kaden loved feeding all of the animals, horses, ducks, baby goats and sheep. Kierik had fun fishing in the pond stocked with fat, greedy trout and playing anyone who was up to the challenge at ping pong. We all enjoyed the pool and hot tub. After a few days at the ranch, we headed for Rocky Mtn. National Park for some serious backpacking. The boys packed in 6 miles and up 2,500 ft. through rain and hail with smiles on their faces the entire time. Matt and I were shocked at how well they did. Kierik caught a greenback cutthroat trout, which is an endangered species of fish, and was excited to have another species checked off of his lifetime list. Kaden was such a trooper. When it began to hail in earnest and even I was getting a bit annoyed, Kaden pulled out his little green minnow net and began making a game out of catching hail. Matt loved fishing at pear lakeand I loved discovering all of the incredible beauty that surrounds an alpine lake. One of my favorite memories that I will record here for posterity...The hike to pear lake was about 1/4 mile from our campsite on pear creek. We had walked there to go fishing in the afternoon after a morning of cooking a big breakfast, playing cards, catching insects and otherwise lazing around. Right about the time that we got to the lake it began to sprinkle (unpredictable as the weather comes over the mountain and you can't see it coming until it is upon you). The boys and I had rain jackets on but Matt didn't. He tucked himself in amongst a tight grove of trees but the boys and I were anxious to get down to the lake. We pressed on. When we got to the lake we marveled at the size of the rain drops and the enormous ripples each one seemed to make on the glass smooth surface of the lake. The rain got stronger and we continued to press on. Kierik said that he and Matt had found a cave a little ways on and suggested that we try to weather the storm there.

Then the hail came again! The boys and I began to run but were laughing all the while at our foolishness

and the delight of the mountain storm and the thrill of being caught out in it. Kierik kept saying the cave was just a little farther but the hail just kept growing in size until finally our legs were stinging from it. I saw a huge rock bursting through the earth and suggested that we go and see if we could duck beneath it. We found a spot that was largely protected from what the boys affectionately coined "rail" (rain/hail mixture). We made a cozy spot beneath the rock and spent the next half hour watching the clouds in the sky shift and the wind pick up and the hail bounce off the rocks and water. I remembered that I had some pistachio nuts in my pocket and handed each of the boys a large handful and we munched in a comfortable silence. The rain started to let up and I asked the boys if we should try to make a run back to our tent? Kierik said, "no I kind of like hanging out here with you. Let's stay here until the pistachios run out." Kaden snuggled in a little closer and laid his head in my lap. At that moment, I made a conscious decision to hand out the pistachios one by one, just to make that precious moment last a little bit longer. There are just too few in this life.

So, as we continue to await the arrival of our daughter, trying not to get disenfranchised by the monotony and frustration of redoing paperwork, we work hard to savor this precious life we are given, to breath in moments of fresh air and peace of mind, to regard time with our friends as sacred and to be thankful for every second spent with our family. You all mean so much to us!


Peace to all.... and Happy Birthday Matty! Iwouldn't want to be on this amazing journey with anyone but you.

100 Good Wishes Quilt (Bai Jia Bei)

As most of you know already, our family has been pursuing the adoption of a little girl from China. Although we started the homestudy process in October of 2005, our paperwork was sent to China on May 15th, 2006. Now all we have left to do is wait and hope for the news of our daughter. It feels like a very LONG wait. So, to pass the time, I have decided to attempt to learn more about our daughters culture by making her a traditional Bai Jia Bei or 100 Good Wishes Quilt.

To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei. It is a custom to invite friends and family to contribute a patch of cloth with a wish for the baby. Part of the patch of cloth goes into the quilt for the baby, and the other part of the cloth will go into a creative memory book along with your wish for our daughter or our family. The idea is that the quilt will contain the luck, positive energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation.

So, what exactly am I asking you to do?
1) First, think about a piece of fabric that has some special meaning to you. It could be a piece of your own clothing or your child’s clothing that has special fondness or memory associated with it. It could be a part of a blanket, old curtains, fabric from a pillow case, or any other item that you hold dear (and are willing to part with of course). If you can’t identify a piece of fabric like this, than it is fine for you to go out and buy a piece that you would like to contribute. This will allow our little girls energy to fill that particular square with her own positive energy. I will need 2 pieces of the same fabric that measures at least 8” x 8” (one goes in the quilt and the other goes with the page in the book containing your wish).

Please contact me so that I can mail you a page of cardstock. This will be your page in our daughters Good Wishes book. Please do not feel pressure here. It does not need to be anything fancy, just something to distinguish your page from the next persons. However, if you want to get creative, please go crazy! Do not forget to include your wish for our daughter and/or our family. This could be a simple note, a quote to live by, a poem, a favorite nursery rhyme or something else completely. The only requirement is that it is filled with happy thoughts and positive energy. I know that this will be a treasure that our daughter and our family will read for years to come.

I am excited to get started on this project. I will be using all of Matthew’s grandmother’s quilting tools and my grandmother’s sewing machine. This feels so special and important to me, as it is a way to connect my future with our family’s past. Both of these women were extremely important in my life and I miss them a lot. I can’t wait to honor their memory through this project. As I am anxious to get started (and since I have never done anything like this before, I have no idea how long it will take me), I would truly appreciate it if you could return your fabric and card to me no later than May 31, 2007. If you have questions, please email me at seeliel@yahoo.com and I will be happy to answer them. I know and appreciate how very busy everyone is so it really means a lot to me that you are willing to take a few minutes out of your schedule to think about and consider my families future and send your positive hopes and wishes for our daughter. To those of you who have already submitted your contribution, they are beautiful...every single one of them shines a light on what incredibly special people you really are. THANK YOU!!!!

Annual Update

I can't believe how time flies. I looked back at this Blog and realized it has been over a year since I have posted anything. It could mean that the quest for Poppy Picklebottom has stalled or that we have just been very busy. Well, honestly it has been a lot of both.

To catch you up on news from the past year, we have sold the old house on Jefferson Street to a really nice young couple. We went on 2 great vacations this summer. We went to Estes Park, Colorado for a week of fly fishing, hiking and time at the Dude Ranch (see photo). We also went on a 5 day excursion down the Wolf River on a house boat with Matt's family! Both were so fun. I will try to load photos for you to see. We are trying to get some of our adventure travel out of our system as we know when Poppy comes we will be spending more quiet time around the house. Our beloved dog Bohdi died on September 9, which made us all very sad. He is buried under a beautiful tree in our backyard where lanterns are hung. We each lit a candle for several nights in his honor and continue to miss him terribly.

Kierik is now in second grade but in a combined second/third grade classroom. He is doing a terrific job in school and continues to amaze us with his maturity and sweetness. He has joined a gymnastics team that competes in Illinois. In his very first meet he placed second overall! We were so proud of him. He has come along way in overcoming his fear of being in front of people...from dashing off the stage in his kindergarten winter program to competeing in a major gymnastics meet. Wow! Next weekend is the State Competition. It is a much bigger meet so we will see how he handles the next challenge.

Kaden has said goodby to all of his preschool friends and has made the adjustment to kindergarten look remarkably easy. He has gotten nothing but positive remarks from his teacher who adores him and has done really well academically. He is one of the top three readers in his class and amazes us every day at how well he can read. He continues to be really "into Pokemon" and has mastered the fine art of bargaining and trading for cards. His personality contiunes to shine. he was selected by the gifted and talented teachers for an activity called Destination Imagination. Unfortunately, the facilitator did a less than steller job of helping the kids get to know one another and Kaden never really found his comfort zone. He was, however, given the lead part in his kindergarten play and did a beautiful job! He has also discoved a love to cook. He has always been my little foodie (loves to eat sushi and make gyozas:0) and likes to help me or Matt in the kitchen. This has become a really wonderful past time for us. We spent a lot of time this winter trying out different soup recipes.

Finally, as for our adoption process, we are continuing to wait. It wavers between patiently and frenetically. We have learned that the wait time contiues to be extended so our anticipated 9 month wait is now looking like 18-24 months. Each time I open my email from our agency I hold my breath and pray that they have not extended it again. They have also tightened the criteria for who can adopt from China. Luckily, the new criteria does not impact us. In the mean time we are reading a lot about China, both historically and by Chinese authors. Someday I will list all of the books I have read since starting this adoption process. They are too numerous to list in this already lengthy post. For now that is all we can do. We talk about her, think about her, dream about her and ask continually for the forces that be to keep her safe until we can pick her up.