Week from hell... almost.
Alright, here we go... Monday I had gone to lunch with my coworkers and when we came out to get back in the car found that someone had broken out my driver's side car window and stolen my purse!! OK, I know you're not supposed to leave valuables (or in this case, the appearance of valuables) in clear view but, I forgot, I was in a hurry. Damn!

Anyway, the interesting thing about it is that looking through the broken glass my very first thought was "OH MY GOD!! I am so glad they didn't take my adoption folder." You see it was sitting right there next to my purse and it wouldn't necessarily have had anything of value to another person in it but they definitely may have just grabbed it hoping for the best. Its kind of a little pink suede thing I carry all my papers around with me in. I don't always have it with me but Monday was to be a very big day for me. Bobby had taken some of his papers to the bank for notary and I was going to pick up the long awaited medical form from the doc and go to the bank later to have the notaries finished up. So it was with me. If they would have grabbed it, you know what would have happened, they would have seen nothing of value and dumped it into a dumpster. My 3 mos of work would require repeat. Not to mention the cost of having to reorder birth certificates, passports, etc. But the great thing is, they didn't take it.

Although it was a rough couple of days ie. paying to have the window replaced, two days on the phone to cancel credit cards, update online banking, auto debits, deposits, etc. It was really fine. Because in the long run my life, my real life, was not affected at all. So that's why it was "almost" the week from hell. As it turned out, even with my broken window, I drove over to the doc's office to get the form and went to the bank to have everything notarized. In fact while I was there I was able to change my account, etc. So in a way it was, uh, convenient... OK, I'm just kidding here. Truth is, it still sucked, but it did bring into perspective the reality that life is not always perfect, things get in my way and it doesn't always go as planned. People I love get sick, kids are not always "perfect", life is not always kind. But in the end, I must take it as it comes, do the best I can with what I have, and keep going forward. The only thing I can truly control is my perception of events/things/people I encounter.

I think I'll go hug my kid.....

Paperwork complete??
Ok, this is getting exciting. I have finally gotten the doctor to completely fill out my medical form. YIPPEEE!!! Also, I have gotten the DC approval of our letter to CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) requesting to adopt. I've attached it here so anyone interested can see the type of things they're looking for. Now, all we have to do is get all these papers notarized and then we'll ship them off to the DC to have them verified and authenticated by the secretary of state and the chinese consulate. Once that's done we'll only be waiting on the I171!!!

To The Officials Of The China Center Of Adoption Affairs:

We hope to adopt a child from The People’s Republic of China.

We are requesting a single, healthy, female baby between five

and twelve months of age. We would like the baby to be
as young as possible.

As a family, we have chosen to adopt from China because

it is a beautiful country with a rich history. Susan was fortunate
enough to be able to visit China in 1990 and enjoyed the country

and its proud people. We believe that a little girl from China would

be very happy in our home as we live in an area with many

Chinese families. Close to our city is a large community of

Chinese people where she will have the opportunity to learn about
and stay connected to her Chinese heritage.

Susan is an attorney who enjoys reading, gardening, and decorating.

Bobby works for an aggregate company and spends free time

playing sports and games with our two sons. Our adopted daughter

will have two older brothers age 17 and 15 years old who have
always dreamed of little sister. They both participate in numerous

sports and love computers. We are excited to become an American-

Chinese family and are already planning ways to educate our

daughter about China. Susan has begun learning Mandarin and

we plan to have our adopted daughter learn as well. Chinese holidays,

customs and interaction with Chinese Americans will become an
integral part of our family life. We plan when she is older to travel to
China so that she will be able to experience her first country personally.

We all sincerely promise to love and care for our adopted daughter
for her entire life. We will never abandon or abuse her or allow anyone

else to cause her harm. She will immediately become a respected member

of our family and be treated the same as her two older siblings. She will

share equally in any inheritance. Education is very important to our family.

Both our boys have always attended highly respected private schools with

the goal of attending and completing a college education. Our daughter

will be given the same educational opportunities. Our desire is for

her to grow to be a strong, healthy, intelligent, proud woman.

For these reasons we respectfully request we be allowed to adopt a

healthy, baby girl between the ages five and twelve months, as young as

possible. Thank you for your consideration.