Halloween 2006

Mary's premier Halloween costume

(she is trying to type, she coloured a wee bit today, more like rearranged the crayons into and out of the box repeatedly : ) !

anyway, without further ado, here are the photos!

gotta love daimler chrysler

two days ago, I had Mary in the car seat , ready to roll, do some power shopping etc. and the key would not turn in the ignition. The wheel was locked, and I tried jiggling it, tried spare key , etc.

No avail. so 3 phone calls later, D. Chrysler roadside assistance sent a dude with a tow truck. He managed to get the key in so the car could start and be backed outta the garage. then , towed it to nearby dealer. ignit. system mech. slipped or faulty or whatever, to the tune of $370. no charge for the tow. oh well. its fixed! so we were stuck at home all day that day.

The Giggler

Lunch at Champs with Mary Rose, Corinne and Mary Rose's Mommy.
Mary had the baked potato soup and chunks of her Mom's asian chicken salad.

On this rainy day, Mary requested that Mom take her to Nordstroom Rack!

Mary in command in the Eames chair!







nordie rack party dress


The point I am trying to make is...




another foo foo dress, what is Mommy doing to me??



Elmo sleeping it off !

Mary, at the start of her two city tour

On Monday, 10/9/06, we took Mary to visit Aunt Susie at her workplace, and then to visit Daddy's office too. At Daddy's office, Mary 'met' Mr. Burns, owner of the Springfield Nuclear power plant.

Also, a few photos of Mary in her 'crib' at the Valley Forge annex (aka Grandmom and Grandpop's house).

And dubiously considering my pick for her baptism dress!!

The Dailies of Mary Rose

Everyday's a holiday with Mary... !

Just a few on location photos of the divine Miss M.

First visit to the pediatrician is on Tuesday ! this may require lots of Cheerios (no, we didn't get a royalty for branding or product placement)!!

We are back !

Mary in the Art and Artifacts Museum, Mary lunchin, chillin, and shopping, naturalement !!





We got in to PHL airpt at 12;00 midnite or so, arrived home at 2 a.m.
Saturday, 9/16.
Barely made the flight from Chicago to PHL, due to immigration and customs. We only had an hour or so between arrival and departure time, and this was the last flight to PHL for the day!

still de jet laggin, and so is baby girl, and we all got colds (most of the group did)! Settling in, hoping someone doesn't wake up at 3 a.m. this time!!! She didn't while we were at the hotels!

Mary Rose goes shopping

We were taken to a japanese dept store in Changsha, and someone (?) bought Miss Mary 6 pair of shoes, including one pair of squeaky shoes! gonna get more of those!

We are doing well, Bruce and Mary Rose are napping, and I am in the hotel business center, typing emails before we leave for dinner. time's up , gotta go.

Off to Guangzhou on monday !

Well, we're off!

Here is the scoop on our accomodations. The White Swan was a no go, but these hotels are supposed to be 4 star,,, they have pools and jacuzzis and nail salons etc. so cant be all bad !!!!!!!!!!!

in answer to next ?, Bruce will be holding Mary while my nails dry !
Don't get hysterical laughing, I am sure there will not be time for spa treatments, etc !!!

HOTEL SCHEDULE
Hunan Group

BEIJING ACCOMMODATIONS:
HENAN HOTEL Phone – 011-86-10-6775-1188
Fax - 011-86-10-6774-5644
HUNAN PROVINCE ACCOMODATIONS:
HUATIAN HOTEL Phone - 011-86-731-444-2888
Fax 011-86-731-444-2270
GUANGZHOU ACCOMMODATIONS:
WHITE CLOUD HOTEL Phone - 011-86-20-8333-3998
(BAI YUN HOTEL) Fax - 011-86-20-8333-6498

we are set to return on Sept 15th (late at night)!

An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance.

This past Saturday, we saw Bruce's cousin and his wife. They have a daughter from Changsha (Hunan). They traveled to her about 8 years ago.
This we knew, but we got chills when we discovered that our daughter, also from Hunan (YiYang) is in the same SWI (social welfare institute) as their daughter was.
The Red Thread principle at work !
An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break." --An ancient Chinese belief

At Last, we have seen our beautiful daughter !!

They named her Qiu Ye because is to say that this lovely little girl that was abandoned in the garden is like a single autumn leaf.
Introducing ... Yin Qiu Ye

YIN
Means either "silver" or "polite" or "sound" or "shade" in Chinese.
QIU
Means "autumn" in Chinese

Precisely at 2:30 p.m Monday, July 31, 2006, we got the call from our agency. At 7:00 p.m. saw our daughter's sweet face for the very first time!! : )

She was found on September 30, 2005 in a garden circle of Yenjian Blvd. in YiYang (city), Hunan. On the same day a grocer store worker picked her up. She has a round face, fair skin, thick black hair.

Bon mots and prayers from Uncle Al

Who better than to give such perfect words of wisdom than one's godfather !!

Here, an excerpt from from my Uncle Al's e-mail:



June, patience is a virtue - you & Bruce have sure shown your Catholic patience and , I'm sure prayers. I pray every day for your adoption to finally take place and that it will be a wonderful one !

More back story on Uncle Al !

BRANCH OF SERVICE U.S. Army Air Forces
HOMETOWN Philadelphia, PA

ACTIVITY DURING WWII NAVIGATOR, 70TH TROOP CARRIER SQUADRON, 433RD GROUP, 5TH AIR FORCE. SERVED FOR 18 MONTHS IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC, NEW GUINEA, PORT MORESBY, NADZAB, HOLLANDIA, BIAK, LEYTE IN THE PHILIPPINES. SERVED AS HEAD NAVIGATOR FOR THE SQUADRON. TOOK ON ADDITIONAL DUTIES - MESS OFFICER AND ASSISTANT OPERATIONS OFFICER. BASIC TRAINING FORT MCCLELLAN, ALABAMA; NAVIGATION SCHOOL, SELMAN FIELD, ALABAMA. AFTER GRADUATION, WAS ASSIGNED TO THE 70TH SQUADRON, 433RD GROUP. FLEW FROM FORT WAYNE, INDIANA TO SAN FRANCISCO. WAS SELECTED TO BE THE GROUP COMMANDER, COLONEL GILES' NAVIGATOR AND LED THE SQUADRON OVERSEAS. STOPPED IN HAWAII, CHRISTMAS ISLAND, THE FIJI ISLANDS, NEW HEBRIDES, BRISBANE, TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA. THEN ON TO NEW GUINEA FOR A BRIEF TIME IN PORT MORESBY AND ON TO NADZAB OUR INITIAL BASE. RETURNED FROM OVERSEAS DUTY MAY 5, ON TO PHILADELPHIA MAY 8, RECEIVED REST AND RELAXATION LEAVE. MARRIED MAY 19, THEN ON TO MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA FOR BEACH REST AND RELAXATION. RECEIVED DISCHARGE THAT WAS TO BE EFFECTIVE AUGUST 6, 1945.

Details of a room

Scenes from an empty room !

stuff & Nonsense

Look what Bruce did to my Madame Alexander doll !
actually, it was not in great shape to begin with, her neck was 'broken', and arms very loose...

off to the doll hospital with her

The Official Referal Countdown is On !!!

Check the documents processing box on the lower right side of the CCAA home page to see when they have finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with their office up to July 5, 2005 (our log in date) and beyond.

We hope to hear within 20 days that our referral package is on its way to us, and possibly even to receive a photo or 2 before that. When our agency calls us, I am gonna high tail it over there, faster than





And here is the weblink for the White Swan, Guangzhou, China, where we will most likely be staying. This is where the US consulate is, and where
everything will be finalized and we will officially have our daughter!
http://www.white-swan-hotel.com/eng/Public/index.asp

Cape May Redux

We stayed at this bed and breakfast in cape may in 2005, for what we thought would be our last vacation as a party of two.



Due to circumstances beyond our control, and lots of red tape (no pun intended) from the US and Chinese government agencies, we booked a stay there again this year

Stayed in the turret suite, lots of wine, great weather, enough shopping (but never too much) and great food. We will have to choose a different b and b, if we migrate to cape may again, because... no kids allowed.
there are many b.b's that do accept les enfants, so no worries!


















Disney flashback, circa 2004

at a retail emporium in the Magic Kingdom, shortly after I fell off the curb near the entrance. Yes , someone came over and brought me a wheel chair, for a bruised knee !

and me without my ball gown !

Gotta love the blog o sphere

http://soldiersangels.org/heroes/index.php

http://www.oldwardogs.us/

http://www.mudvillegazette.com/milblogs/

The Constant Gardener

http://www.stonedcrab.net/

Plein de fleurs et bon anniversaire, Star Wars Style !












Bruce deserves the landscape architect of the year award, for the color, symmetry and backbreaking work he has put into the garden and landscaping of our petite castle !

just a few photos!

the last one is a post stormy sky over the park, just before you get to the Covered Bridge ! we had gone to Normandy Bistro, and were en route home, when this sky presented itself !