Uncle John

Our brother-in-law John, has slyly mentioned being an uncle for the last several years.

"What do you want for Christmas?"
"How about to be an uncle?"

Ok, maybe not so sly.

So when we broke the news about our girl, he was pretty excited. And wants her first words to be 'Uncle John'.

Thankfully, Uncle John is giving of his time. Because he and Michelle weren't sure we were going to get everything accomplished before we head to China, Uncle John paid us a visit last weekend.  And because of his help, we are much closer to have things ready for our girl.  Thank you, Uncle John!

Successful fan install

Not to worry, I painted the closet. 

Our new room downstairs across from the baby room.  

Uncle John arrived with birthday presents for Chris from the Roarks/Tapkos. Most of which were not actually for Chris. 

Go Jayhawks! 

Grandma Sharon doesn't mess around.
Annie is pretty sure the panda backpack is for her.
No matter where I put it, I find it in another part of the house.
Shout out to the Lee boys for showing us that gift idea. 

Fedex dropped this one off compliments of Ron & Suze.
 I don't know which was funnier- Chris calling me to tell me it had arrived and excitedly pulling out of the box or his statement just a little while later...
"Nothing says your mid-30s like a carseat for your birthday". 

Baby Shower- Cabin Style

When Chris & I moved to Minnesota, we didn't know anyone. And we worked. A lot. 

But in though that work, we met some pretty amazing people.  Smart, talented, fun people. 

And now we are blessed to call them friends. Good friends.  Friends who we couldn't imagine life without. Friends who wrote adoption reference letters. Friends who gathered at the beautiful cabin in Wisconsin to celebrate with us and enjoy each others company. 

We can't wait for our girl to meet you and be part of the crew. 

Thank you.

Beautiful day in Wisconsin. 

Prepping an amazing meal. 

Parents in action.  

All the babes get some time with J.

The contenders revealed. 

The boys from Chicagoland. 

Ergo & Pellegrino- V is ready to party. 

Great food  & great friends!

Our girl's stylish weekender/diaper bag- perfect for cabin trips!

Amazing G- Mother, doctor, sommelier, party planner. 

IT'S HERE!!!

Our LOA (letter of acceptance) has finally arrived! This is the official letter from China recognizing the adoption of our girl. We can now can move forward to actually bring her home.  It has been the longest 120 days of our life.  All I can say is that Grandma didn't waste any time getting things moving! Thank you,  Grandma! 

Since the LOA arrival earlier this week, we have filed the immigration to the US and started visa paperwork. For the first time, we filed paperwork with her new name as a Roark! Our agency tells us to expect to travel in 10-14 weeks. That's mid-September to early October! While that sounds like a long time on one hand, it's actually short when we consider how much we need to do to get ready and still go to work!

July 11, 2012  LOA is signed! 

To make our week even better, we received an update! We received measurements from last week, a development report, likes/dislikes, etc. And new pictures! Our baby girl is beautiful, growing well and mischievous. We can't wait to meet her!

We're coming Baby Girl! 

Waiting

Patience has never been my strength. I have prayed for it many times and it's a regular request in my prayer line up right now. We are over 120 days into our wait for the last letter needed from China before the actual immigration and visa stuff starts. Other families in similar timelines have received theirs. Where is ours? We just want to get to our girl.

Sadly, during this time, we lost my grandmother, Kathryn. Grandma was 90 years old and thankfully was only really ill for the last few weeks of her life. She & Grandpa built a large wonderful family who will be able to teach our girl all about them. And while, Grandma is not here to officially meet our girl, she knew she was coming. And she helped us get our girl. A picture of us with Grandma last Thanksgiving went to China as part of our "family life" photos. So, there's a little piece of Grandma already with our girl's history.

Maybe Grandma can use her new status in heaven to pull some strings to get our paperwork through. I have faith there's a new angel on the case.

 Chris and I are going a little nuts waiting on our next piece of documentation from China. It could arrive any day... for the next month. While we are trying to keep busy, it becomes more difficult with each day. We appreciate any good wishes, thoughts or prayers you can send our way to get through this period.

Care Package #2  Off to China!  Included are a dress, jammies, Cookie Monster picture album with  pictures of us, Annie, our house, our parents and siblings, blocks, bunny & Pat the Bunny book, lollipops for all the children and candles for the nannies. One of the PhDs in my lab even translated a card for us. Now, we just hope it gets there...

In related news- I was fortunate to spend last weekend at Notre Dame celebrating my 10 year class reunion. I don't go back often so it was wonderful to see campus and so many friends.

I spent many nights here praying for many things. Now, I pray for my daughter here.

Maddy's candle is the new one in the center.

My classmate Sharon Bui Green kindly signed her book "Future Domers" to Maddy.

Ok, I got a little carried away at the bookstore. Note the Clashmore Mike book on the right- the story of when Irish Terriers were the ND mascot.

It's been 10 years since we were under the Golden Dome.

Fabulous group of ladies I've been blessed to call friends for 14 years!

Preparations: Step 1
New Kitchen

I long ago said I wouldn't have a child without a dishwasher. Well, with said child coming home in the fall (hopefully)- the time had come. This meant an overhaul of our whole kitchen, which we figured would be good for resale since drawers that fall out and 1970s countertops aren't top sellers.

The Before:

The blind corner cabinet for pots that I got stuck in a few times.

The During

There were over 6 layers of flooring. They demonstrated the times. Below are the 50s (right) and 60s (left)

The After:

 Note the DISHWASHER!

Annie is loving her new room!

A Question for the Parents Out There (or anyone with a thought...)

Sarah's biggest mistake was giving me access to post on this. Sadly, she needed a little technical help and this is the price she must pay. I have nothing to add to her timeline. I still screw up all the acronyms.

Turns out we have all Summer (and possibly some Fall, Winter...) before we get to squeeze said cheeks, so...

Question:

What do you wish you could still do that is no longer possible/realistic/easy because of the short people for whom you are now responsible for 24/7/365?