Disney World (Florida)...

This week (and part of last) our family went to Disney World, Florida. Our family had been to Disney world before so, it was no "I have to go on, it's my first time", although my younger brother was only two years old (so it was hard to remember at the age of two and now he's four). Our family didn't go on as much rides, although we went on most. We skipped water rides due to rain and cold air, we skipped rides with long waits, and sometimes we wouldn't ride because after fifteen minutes in line someone (who was the whole reason we were in line because they wanted to ride it) changed their mind (but after out of line would change their mind again). One our family's all-time favorite is the monorail, this year (like usual) we rode on the front on the way to Epcot. We also enjoy shopping at the Lego store, the (HUGE) Wonderful World Of Disney store, Once Upon a Toy, and that's just about all of our family's favorite stores (well, mine anyway). This year our family stayed at a really cool hotel, it's pretty new, it's the Nickolodeon Holiday Inn and Suites Hotel. It has twelve buildings, in the first six it has a smaller pool that looks like it should be in a section of a water park (because of the water slides it has, and the next six has a larger one with a little bit more details, each pool has two hot tubs and an area for younger kids, a mall, a kid's spa, stores, buffets and character breakfasts (characters: spongebob, rugrats,...), shows (slimetime), and rooms are available with one, two, or three bedrooms (not including a kitchen and living room)! During our trip we chose to go to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. My younger brother enjoyed them the most (I think), because he met Spiderman and Captain America. At Universal we rode E.T. (fun), Back to the Future, Jimmy Neutron, and Shrek 4-D ( which was horrible). Then we began for our trip home, it was a (very,very,very,...) LONG drive home, but we made it home at 12:19 am Friday.

"I want a new sister because..."

Earlier today four (out of the five) members in our family went to a relative's home to watch a recorded adoption story. On the way home our second youngest child was asked, "why do you want a new sister?' She responded by simply saying, "so she and I can play together." Later that day our family's youngest was asked that very same question, he responded by saying "No, because of the dirty diapers." Then later on that day (while we were at the park) I thought how much their answers would change because next year our second youngest will be seven, and our youngest will be five. I thought how she (the seven year old as of next year) might have to take on more responibilities, and he (our five year old as of next year) might enjoy bonding and playing with her. I guess that when people adopt it is what they think is best, so they would adopt because they are comfortable and feel that it is best to adopt. But, sometimes the kids have a lot of input into the decision. Then I thought (yet another question) of how our relatives and family (outside of our home) thought of the idea. They said something like, "why would you want to bring up another baby in your home?" But now they are a little more comfortable with the idea (buying outfits and wanting to go to China with us to get her). The parents in our family are going to do what they think is best, but the family has some input (including the children), but we won't change our mind just because someone thinks that we are crazy to adopt. I think that our family will enjoy having a child. Later on I asked myself the same question, my answer was "yes, it'll definitely be a challenge, but it'll be a very fun and exciting adventure." So, what I guess I'm trying to say is, if you are going to adopt you should definitely do what you want and what you think is best. But your decision should be what you feel is comfortable, but it is still okay to let your kids know what is going on and let them talk their feelings over with you (just like my family did). Our family is definitely going to be happy with the baby. (Even though it'll be 6-8 months till we get the baby) China here we come!

The Endless Wait...

This is a website telling my thoughts and feelings during the procees of my family's adoption (right now we are still most definetely in the process, and some links or things you were searching for may not be here), and this is where our website story begins... We have recently sent our DTC (dossier-to-China) on October 28, 2005. From then on begins an endless wait... Starting with an LID (log-in-date), then a referral (after the wait of 6-8 months), then finally comes China. A year (technically 6-8 months) usually gos by pretty fast, but not this time. With a bunch of activities in which we are committed to, I really hope that they will make "The Endless Wait" go by a whole lot faster. We know a friend who got their referral today, and it makes me feel like our referral will be here soon also. On DTC day (a few days back) we sort of celebrated by going to Babys-R-Us to buy a cute little gift for our baby (which we hope will be girl between the ages of 0-12mos.), and we have most (if not all) of her nursery ready. We are planning on naming her Kenzie. The two youngest of the family are happy to be getting a new sister, and the youngest (which is a boy) will get to be a big brother. Anyway, we are expecting a referral about July of 2006, and we are expecting a LID(log-in-date) very soon. Our family is Christian, and we have been praying for the baby's safety. We have recently created this website on November 10, 2005, even though we wanted to start it earlier. Our family is very excited, and can't wait to go to China. We are not planning on turning down a referral, (because as most people know that baby/child will get put at the bottom of the stack, and will probably never get adopted); we will be happy to open up our home to any baby. Our family is very excited, and can"t wait to go to China to get our baby!