Quick Check In

Well, clearly I am not going to get the new blogger of the year award. ...I am absolutely entranced with my new daughter and am waiting very impatiently to get travel approval so that I can bring her home. She was such a tiny, young thing at the time of referral, I want to see her when she is still some version of a young infant. I know that anytime I see her and hold her will be heaven, but it sure would be wonderful to get her home by Christmas. Could I ask for a better Christmas present? The baby accoutrements are piling up - very exciting, although I am waiting to move into my new apt downstairs from this one and the process is taking a LOT longer than expected. I just want to start working on her nursery and washing and sorting clothes and sheets, etc. Patience is a virtue and amazing baby girl will come to this woman that can wait!! That's all for tonight. I am a very happy woman.

The Best News Ever!

I am still not sure that I am going to make the blogger of the year list!! I'm 2 days late in posting the best news I can ever remember!! I received my referral on Thursday, Sept 13, 2007 at 12:55pm. A phone call from the wonderful Judy Tokstad at PLAN and my life has been transformed! I was driving, pulled over, started crying and could barely think of what I wanted to ask Judy, except her name, birthday, weight and orphanage. I then rushed home, turned on my computer and doenloaded her pictures. I called my father and his wife and my closest friendsand family, who have all been waiting with bated breath to hear the news. Needless to say, we were all expecting it in Oct or early November!!

Hong Thi Nyugen (Nyugen Thi Hong in perfect Vietnamese order) was born on 07/08/07 (I love that date). I dont yet know her American name, but my friend Terry has been calling her Eva Heidi for a while since her first choice has been Eva (my wonderful mother's name) and last choice Heidi (which I wrote on a list once(!) and was never really considering..On Sept 5th she weighed 9 lbs. And on her referral pictures were taken on 09/04 - my mother's birthday - I love that! On Sept 5th she weighed 9 lbs!! Pretty good for a little peanut baby. She is beautiful and has such a peaceful energy about her (although looking atthe referral pictures timeline, it looks asthough they poked her, woke her up, snapped a few shots and when she'd done her job, she went right off to sleep!). I went out a bought little baby Eva Heidi Hong Thi a pink "referral day" rose that I am going to press and keep in her baby book. I had to go back to work for a couple of hours, but then celebrated with my friends the Windhorsts, drinking Pink champagne (I saw somewhere that Hong means pink), setting up her brand new bedding set on the floor, and proceeding to take pictures of her referral picture all tucked in bed!! Pretty funny for anyone who knows about Flat Stanley....I need to figure out how to download those pictures, if I can, from the Kodak Easy Share album my friend made of the evening...I came home, wrote my baby girl a letter (also to save) and attempted to sleep!

I have been exhausted and unable to sleep really well ever since (a sign of times to come??) but am in baby girl heaven and feel like the fun has really begun!!

I did it!

The challenges remain. I think I have finally overcome the technological roadblocks that have kept me from starting this documentation of my adoption journey. If you are reading this, I have overcome my technological troubles. Pretty cool, but nothing compared to the fact that I think I will be holding my baby girl in my arms by the end of the year!!