July 13 documents have been referred!

Well we have been very quiet It is now August but we haven't had referrals yet in New Zealand yet but we are expecting referrals for one of two groups who had their paperwork in China in July!
So they will hopefully have both sets of referrals before the end of the month!
We look like we will not meet Alice until March April 2007 as the wait for all families has extended out!
It is hard waiting but we have two wonderful children at home and that helps immensley.

Aiden has really enjoyed his first 6 months at a college and really is into theatre sports and hockey this year is looking at how to fit in Piano lessons on top of all he does!

Emily is at Montessori 5 days a week!
And says things like "I love my Alice!" "Alice is in China waiting for us mummy!" "when I go on a plane I will get Alice?"
So currently Alice is involved in all our talk!
Emily finds it hard to understand why Alice won't be at her birthday party!
Yes Emily is about to celebrate her 3rd birthday! So that is all fun filled!

We had a fantastic time in WEllington at the Chinese Embassey with her friends Zara and Marlese!
And meeting up with Sophie, Meillyn and our friends and kids in Wellington too!
Well I need to pop Emily to bed!
Take care
Love Ruth

100 Good Wishes Quilt

We are making a quilt for both Emily and Alice. It is based on a tradition which exists in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei (a.k.a. 100 Good Wishes Quilt). The family invites friends and family to contribute a square of cloth along with their wish for the baby. Part of the square goes into the quilt for the baby, and the other part goes into a scrapbook with the wish for the child. It is said that the quilt contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from everyone who contributed a piece of fabric.

The adoption community has grasped this idea and we often do a quilt square swap with various of the Yahoo groups we are part of. Along with the fabric that is used for the quilt you send a "wish" on a card with your name and address and a small piece of the material. These cards can be put in a scrapbook and when the child is older they can enjoy looking through their Wishes book and match the materials to the quilt and where the fabric came from. Many of us will collect squares and wishes from our family and friends as well. This tradition shows our children just how much they were loved before they even arrived home, and becomes a special heirloom for them.

So if you would like to participate then you can send a piece of fabric which is either- 7”x 7” rotary cut square. If you are cutting the fabric by hand, please cut 8”x8” squares to allow for variance in cutting.



Some tips:
· Choose a 100% cotton fabric that you like.
· The wishes themselves can be just a heartfelt thought you dream up, a famous or not-so-famous quote, song lyrics, scripture passages, a family recipe, …you name it as long as you feel it will be uplifting to the child and family.
· It should include a small snippet of the fabric you used for the squares. That way, our children will be able to match it up to the quilt when they are older.
· There is a lot of personal choice in how to present the wishes. Theoretically, put the wish and a 1x1 square of the included fabric on a 3x5 or 5x7 card. It can be as plain or as fancy as you want to make it. You can hand write it, computer print it, use scrapbook supplies, scan the fabric and color print it on the paper, use cardstock, use stickers, use stamps.... it is completely up to you.

For some ideas of completed quilts, go to

We are DTC!

Well on the 23rd December we learnt that our paperwork was in China! It had arrived there on 19 December! So our wait begins! Currently our waiting time is at 9 months and CCAA are saying that it could increase out to 12 months! ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH! But we are hoping that it will speed up again!
We are all so excited that we are one step closer to getting Alice.
We have had a busy couple of months with Emily well and truely settled at Montessori and Aiden has finished primary school he is now a year seven boy at John McGlashan College. He starts there on February 7 2006.
We have farewelled Richard, Barbara and Devon who have moved to Canberra to live so that was very hard for Aiden the tears were flowing very fast that day!
Emily and Aiden are off for the summer and will both return to school on the 7 February.
Nana came on Christmas day and had a great time opening not only her presents but Emily's too!
We are looking at finishing removing my gear from the OSCAR building since I resigned from OUCA on the 1 December so that will be my last set of duties there.
Keith has completed his Real estate training and has a couple of interesting offers before him. So 2006 is shaping up to a fantastic year!
Well we hope that you have had a wonderful Christmas and that 2006 brings you all the joy, happiness and peace.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Love Ruth, Keith, Aiden and Emily

Emily has an accident!

Hi all Emily had an accident this morning and fell from her chair at the dining table while she was eating breakfast it was a big fall and she didn't calm down quickly like she would normally!
So after about 15 minutes we decided it was time to take her to the hospital!
After about 3 hours a house surgeon, a couple of nurses, 6 xrays, a morphine injection and a consultant we were discharged with Emily's arm in a sling and a fracture to a bone in her elbow! no plaster that would have caused all sorts of difficulty for her! so finally! we left the hospital!I have taken a photo and you can see she was still affected with the drugs in her system once she had had her sleep!
Well she is asleep now for the night we hope so no Montesorri for her today we will try again on Friday!
Regards
Ruth

Our first Visit to Montessori

Emily is having here first formal visit today to Montessori and then next Tuesday starts as a fully fledged Montessori girl! She will be attending 3 am's a week and should give both Keith and I some good quality blocks of time to get some work completed!

It is an interesting time with very mixed emotions about what is best for Emily and us but one thing we do know for sure she does require some interaction with other children!

She has really missed that, and is constantly running towards other children out in the wider community! So this will be an excellent opportunity to interact with many more children and she may even get a glimpse of her beloved Zara and Nora!
So give me strength not to blow it! and cry! She is an interesting girl whom we all treasure!
_Ruth

Leaving the children

I have to leave tomorrow for a conference and this is for 4 days! I haven't left Emily yet for 4 days only Aiden has been away that long from me and that was when he was 8! So for me it is a foreign concept!

I hate being away from the children for any length of time! (sad eh!)
But at least they have Dad at home with them! Keith amazes me constantly and is such an exceptional father. He plays with the children and happily reads all the bedtime stories!
Which in turn allows me time to do the connecting with the extended family and answering emails etc.

Well I must go and pack and get sorted for tomorrow a very early morning flight and 4 full days of work!

Cheers
Ruth