Here are a few pictures of Madison's room so far. I am almost finished with one wall. I think it looks pretty cute. It is bright. I hope she will be able to sleep. I hope to have her room completed by the end of January and have Brian moved downstairs. We are ready to do drywall in the basement so things are progressing.

Merry Christmas!!


I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I am ready for 2007 because this is our year...the year we get Madison. Hopefully we will get her sooner than later. I am looking to a February referral and travel in April. April would be wonderful because it's my birthday and I think she would be a wonderful birthday present. April would be a good time to travel because it will be springtime. We are looking forward to a wonderful 2007!

Happy Christmas Eve to all!!
It sure doesn't seem like it's Christmas Eve. It has been a lazy day for me. Mark and Brian went to the movies and did some last minute shopping. I stayed home, baked, watched Christmas movies, cleaned, watched the Broncos, and spent time on the computer. I finally got out of my pajamas at 4:00pm! I know, why bother. I sure wish we had Madison this Christmas. I was so looking forward to a little one getting us up at 4:00am and seeing her eyes light up when she sees all those presents. Brian is not into Santa anymore and we ususally have to get him up. At least we know next year we will have a little girl running around.
It's snowing in Denver but not here. We had planned on going to Denver to see the lights at the county building but since it is snowing pretty good down there, we changed our minds. They have the lights up until the end of the stock show which is mid-January so we will see them then.
Merry Christams and Happy Holidays to all!!

Blizzard 2006
Wow! We got about 20 inches of snow the past two days. We started shoveling out yesterday... or should I say Mark and Brian did. I stayed inside where it was much warmer. They had a lot of shoveling to do. Mark helped shovel the neighbors. He had a snow blower which helped a lot. The dogs had a great time and were out there with Brian and his friend for a couple of hours. They whined when they had to come in. The dogs love the snow. The drifts were about four feet high. It was hard for Sh'Daisy to run in it but she kept up with Brian. They had a blast! We definitely will have a white Christmas. I'm sure this snow will stick around for awhile. The whole town was shut down for a couple of days. I still need to do some shopping but I think it can wait a day or two. Even the post office was shut down for two days. Oh well. Not much we can do about it. Christmas cards will be a little late. Something to look forward after Christmas! At least we got Christmas pictures taken.

Today is our one year anniversary of our log in date so we had a Red Thread picture taken. The only person missing is Madison. We will take another picture when Madison arrives. Hopefully we are only 3 -4 months away from getting her. Then the red thread connection will be complete!

We had a friend over tonight who took a lot of pictures of us for Christmas cards. He does a great job and we had a lot to choose from. Tomorrow I plan on going to get Christmas cards mailed out and send them on their way. I am a little late but oh well. Now that I am on vacation for 19 days I will hopefully be able to catch up on things. My list seems to be getting longer of things I want to get done.
The main thing I really want to get done is Madison's room. I started painting over Thanksgiving break but haven't had time since. I hope to get it done over winter break. Then I will feel we are so close to getting Madison. Today is actually one year for our log in date. Oh, how I wish we had Madison here for Christmas. God is good and she will be here soon. The wait is so long and hard but at least I know we have less days to wait now than more. At least we know we will have her this time next year.

I found out how to do these neat things with pictures so hopefully I will be updating my blog more often. We went to a travel meeting last week for the adoption. It makes it exciting to hear about travel plans! Our group is next!! Group 44 got their referrals and will soon be traveling. We are Group 45 so that means we are next! It still will probably be 3-4 months away but we are next for our agency!! I better get started Madison's room. I hope to be able to start during Thanksgiving break since I have the whole week off. Brian will be in Texas so maybe I will move him to the office so I can start painting. It is getting exciting knowing we are getting closer. I bought Madison two Halloween costumes today. They were 70% off so I couldn't resist. At least I know she will be with us this time next year. I bought her a Tigger outfit and a princess outfit! So cute and I can't wait to finally have my princess!! Mark even talks more about her lately and how he knows that somewhere in China she is born and waiting for us to bring her home. It brings tears to my eyes knowing he is getting excited too!

Create Your Own!

Painting...

I have finally finished painting the kitchen, dining room, and living room! I have thought about painting my house for four years now and I finally have it done! What a big relief. I was really tired of the white walls. It took me almost three weeks to complete because I couldn't decide on colors. I tried many different samples but finally did the kitchen in a sage green, and the dining room/living room in a wheat color and red barn. I think it looks pretty good. I still need to touch up some areas but I am done. I did the entire rooms by myself including moving the furniture!! Mark said he would not help and he didn't. Men! I even made neew curtains that match all the colors I have on the walls. Now I can start working on the nursery for Madison. I want to paint a Winnie the Pooh mural. I need to move some stuff out of Brian's room because that is where we are going to put Madison. Brian will eventually go downstairs to the master bedroom. Hopefully we will start working on the basement again this weekend!

Our 6th Anniversary!!

Today marks our 6th wedding anniversary!! I can't believe 6 wonderful years ago on a warm beautiful Sunday, we got married amongst my entire family and many friends. How time flies. It has been a wonderful six years. We didn't really do anything because Mark had to work and we had friends come up from Aurora. We took the kids swimming. Mark and I decided we would not get each other anything because Madison is our gift for many years to come. Works for me! I love him with all my heart and so thankful we are adopting a daughter! He told me I will probably get mad at him because she will have him wrapped around his finger and she will get everything she wants. He doesn't know how many clothes I have bought her already!

I'm sure some of you are wondering what a log in date (LID) is. Unless you are adopting, you really don't understand the significance of the LID. The LID is the date that allows you to know when your referral (stork) is on it's way. Our LID is 12/18/2005. This is the date that we were logged in in China. China goes by LID's to sift through the paperwork. They process the dossier's by LID's. Right now they are working on dossiers they received with a LID in June 2005. So when 12/18/2005 comes around that is when we will receive our referral. A referral is a picture of our daughter.

So.....WE ARE PAPERWORK PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!! Right now the wait is about 12 months. We have already been waiting 6 months so we have about 6-8 left. You just won't see my stomach growing, I won't have morning sickness, I won't be retaining water and getting big ankles before we go to China. You won't be able to feel the baby kick, we won't hear her heartbeat before we go to China (even though our hearts are already connected). We know for sure she will be a girl because that is what we asked for! We don't know when our due date is (we are leaving that up to destiny), but we do know: she will have hair as black as night and eyes the shape of almonds, and the most beautiful smile that will melt your heart with one little grin. She will be the miracle that we have been waiting years to see and we will fall deeply in love with her before we even meet.

Monday, May 15, 2006
Our Brown Envelope Came!!!

Our Brown Envelope is Here!This is just a bunch of forms that we need to take with us to our Consulate appointment in China for Madison's VISA and passport and medical exam, etc. Basically, all the paperwork we will need in China to be able to bring Madison home. It is our approval that we can adopt Madison! Now if the time would hurry up so we can do this.

A very special baby girl born in China
who was abandoned but not forgotten,
she was lost but now has been found
for God has a very special place
for this special baby girl to call home.
It was not in the country she was born in
or the orphanage where she was left,
but in the arms of a loving family many miles away.
For God had prepared the hearts of a couple
to accept one more to their number of precious children.
God knew before they knew that this little bundle of joy
would change their lives and hearts forever.


Written by Tammy Ambrosius

Mother's Day / Secret Pal

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day. Mine was pretty quiet. Mark had to work all day. We went to Olive Garden for dinner and that was about it. Next year we will celebrate more as we will have Madison. I want to thank my secret pal who dent me these wonderful ladybug cintronella candles. They are precious! Mark says we are getting invaded by ladybugs!! I told him the more ladybugs we have, the more luck it will bring Madison home to us! Wait till he sees all the ladybug clothes I have found for Madison!!

The Adoption Process

We first started the paperwork chase in June of 2005. We sent all our paperwork to our agency, AAC in Berthoud, in August. Our official log in date was November 28. The wait time from our LID to referral has slowed down. When we started the process the wait time was six to seven months. There are many rumors and speculation about what has caused the slowdown but the truth is that it doesn't seem like anyone really knows why. Our agency is still holding to the 10 month range which would mean that we would see our referral in October of 2006. This process could speed up or it could slow down even more with many agencies reporting a 12 month wait. All we can do is wait, work on our basement, wait some more, paint the nursery, wait some more, shop for Madison, wait some more, find a teaching job, wait some more,....well, you get the point. It's pretty much a waiting game. As you can see by the ticker, we are five months and maybe only five months to go!! In the mean time, we wait and wait and wait....

GRADUATION DAY!!!

Graduation Day....
Last night I received my Masters degree in Education!! It felt soooo good to finally be done. It was an exciting night because I never thought I would ever get my Masters. Thanks for the support from Mark and Brian. No big parties or anything because Mark had to leaeve for Atlanta at 1:00 am for a weekend conference with Primerica. I hope to now get a job at a school I can stay at for many years instead of these one year positions.

I went garage sale shopping today, I found Madison several fun toys for her room. I found a little vanity so when she plays dress up, a chalkboard/white board,a little kitchen, a swing for her dolls, and oh yea, more clothes!! She has lots of clothes in all different sizes!! I can't pass up a good garage sale bargain!!

DTC Group Dec 2005

Secret Pal Gift Exchange / Cyber Shower!!
I am a member of a Yahoo group called DTC 2005. Ours was December 18- our official countdown begins!! It is an online group for families whose Dossier to China was December 2005. There are people from all over the world including 8 families from Colorado. Mark and I actually got together with three couples for dinner in March at a couple's house in Erie. Two of the couples will be adopting their second daughters from China. It was great meeting the families and the little girls from China! We plan on getting together in May or June and go bowling.
The DTC group has done a postcard exchange, quilt exchange, secret pal, and cyber shower. It has been a great way to keep busy as we all wait for our referrals. This month's theme for the secret pal was lady bugs. I received from my secret pal the cutest lasybug teas set. I can't wait for Madison to have her first tea party! She has several ladybug dresses to wear at her tea party! Next month's theme is Mother's day. I better get shopping now so I can get it mailed on time!
I received from my cyber pal the book "I Love You Like Crazy Cakes" along with a Sweet Dreams lullabies cd. I can't wait to hold Madison in my arms and read her her book and listen to lullabies as we drift off to sleep.....
Here are a few of the outfits I have found for Madison. They are with ladybugs, of couse, because ladybugs are a sign of good luck for adopting parents. Her closet is getting full and I haven't even started on her nursery!!

Grad School is FINISHED!!

Yea!!!!! I am done with grad school and I will be getting my degree on Friday! I can't believe I am finally done!! It has been a long two years trying to go to school, teach school, work another job, and keep up on household chores. I know,I need some cheese to go with my whine! . I can at least cross one of those things off my list!! Graduation ceremonies are Friday night and I know they are not the most exciting thing to sit through but I figured I have spent enough money on my Master's, I should go through the ceremony. My graduation trip will be China. No Mexico this year but China will be well worth it when we get our daughter!! Only 17 days of school left so that will slow down soon. But then summer school starts four days later so not much of a summer break. Oh, well. I know when Madison comes I will only teach school and not work another job. She will be my priority! Hopefully she will come in the fall and we will not miss to much sohool. We are five months down and maybe only five to go!! Only CCAA knows!

Welcome to our blog!!

This is where we will keep our family and friends informed of our adoption of Madison. Our official log in date to China was December 18. That means we have about a 10-14 month wait until referral. We are at month 4 so hopefully only 6 months to go. We never know how long it will take until China decides when to send out referrals. We hope it is early fall if not before. It better be before Christmas! Mark and Brian don't want to miss hunting season! I prefer not going to China in the winter. My mom will be staying at our house for the two weeks we are in China. It was very nice of her to do this for us. I don't think Buddy and Sh'Daisy could handle going in a kennel for two weeks. I will keep everyone posted so check back often!!