Warrior Dash

Yesterday, 11/21/2010, was the Warrior Dash in Austin. It is a 3.2 mile, cross country run with obstacles, lots of mud crawling, rope climbing, net squirreling, beam crossing, car jumping, hill sliding, hay stepping, and fire jumping obstacles. I'm in the picture with girlfriends (from left to right), Mary, Amy, me, and Allyson. Way to go WARRIORS!! GRRRRR!!

Halloween 2010

Alex had a great Halloween with the kids in the cul-de-sac. They all went trick-or-treating with the dads and the moms handed out candy from lawn chairs all together. Alex was Dash from The Incredibles (middle front).

Bats and Pumpkins for Halloween

We made some bats out of cans and paint and hung them in the trees in the front yard. Fun!

Stained the deck and built a little bridge

Next...landscaping!

Took 5 months to get through 3 weeks of dossiers logged-in May 2006

Hello Great Wall Families!

The stork has landed at Great Wall!

Yesterday we received referrals for families whose dossiers were logged in on May 16 and May 18, 2006. The CCAA's has completed the matching for families with dossiers logged in through May 18, 2006. Congratulations to all our referral families!

Sincerely,

Great Wall China Adoption/Children of All Nations


On September 29, 2010, LID's of May 16, 2006 got referrals.

On April 24, 2010, LID's of April 25, 2006 got referrals.

On June 7, 2010, LID's of April 25, 2006 got referrals.

On May 11, 2010, LID's of April 21, 2006 got referrals.

On March 1, 2010, LID's of April 11, 2006 got referrals.

On December 2, 2009, LID's of March 29, 2006 got referrals.

On October 12, 2009, LID's of March 28, 2006 got referrals.

On August 21, 2009, LID's of March 24, 2006 got referrals.

On June 19, 2009, LID's of March 16, 2006 got referrals.

On May 21, 2009, LID's of March 10, 2006 got referrals.

Serious deck building day

Marc, Paul and Gavin worked on the deck ALL day. It's 99% done! Alex and I served breakfast then took a trip in Alex's wagon to HEB for samples. SWEATY day!

New Kitchen and Fireplace surround and the Guys Work on the Deck

Alex's new glasses

Alex wore his new glasses to school today and turned in an art project (Mom helped). Here's what his teacher emailed out to the parents this afternoon...

Un oh... the pressure is on! Alex turned in his face project today (way ahead of schedule- no need to panic) and it looks just like him.

I am sending a pic so you can see how cute it turned out. I am joking about the pressure! There is none. But I personally like to see examples of things I am asked to do so.... here is a great one for you guys to look at. Remember, if your child decorates it with crayons, that is fine too. I don't want anyone making special night time trips to the craft store. Anything goes!

I am really impressed that Alex's family had time to put this together AND to get him glasses all in the same day. I am attaching a picture of our "morning message" so you can see what we wrote today.

Great day for everyone!

First Day of Kindergarten

We biked to Mills Elementary and gathered in the gym with all the other kindergartners. Alex was very excited and said hello to some friends before lining up with his class to march off with Mrs. Necak. Many parents were weepy, but we did okay because Alex was delighted to be there.

Vacation Condo in Galveson

Marc's parents just bought a 2br/2bth vacation condo in Galveston. "The Dawn Condominiums" I thought it would be fun to post pix of it! We can't wait to be there!

Hi Quebec

You do not lose your place in the non-special needs line by signing up to view the special needs kids. If you do decide you want to adopt a special needs kid and send a Letter of Intent to China, then your dossier is pulled out of line at that point.

Marc listened to the Special Needs Webinar

Next we are going to review the list of Special Needs we think we can accept. The issue is you never know how severe or light the need can be. The report you get may just be the tip of the ice berg. You have to be able to accept the worst case scenario.

Webinar attended

I listened in on the Webinar for Special Needs kids in China. Marc will attend the Webinar next week. Basically, you get a checklist of needs that you, as a family, can accept. You won't get off the non-special needs list unless you send in a Letter of Intent on a specific SN child. Needs can vary from Cleft Lip/Cleft Palate, Spina Bifida, Congenital Heart Disease, missing digits, older children, misdiagnosed cases, club feet, etc. After Marc listens to the Webinar, we will look at the needs checklist and see what we will submit.

Webinar for Special Needs Kids

We are going to watch a Webinar for Special Needs Kids from China this Tuesday evening. We'll post how it goes.

Thanks reader from Québec!

Dianne

Referrals in for LID's on April 25, 2006.

Hello Great Wall Families!

The stork has landed at Great Wall! Yesterday we received referrals for families whose dossiers were logged in on April 25, 2006. The CCAA's has completed the matching for families with dossiers logged in through April 26, 2006. Congratulations to these families!

Right now, we are working as quickly as we can to bring these families their referral! We ask for your patience as our response time to your phone calls and emails may be a little delayed. We thank ALL of you for your continued patience and support!

Sincerely,

Great Wall China Adoption/Children of All Nations

------------------------------------------------
On June 7, 2010, LID's of April 25, 2006 got referrals.

On May 11, 2010, LID's of April 21, 2006 got referrals.

On March 1, 2010, LID's of April 11, 2006 got referrals.

On December 2, 2009, LID's of March 29, 2006 got referrals.

On October 12, 2009, LID's of March 28, 2006 got referrals.

On August 21, 2009, LID's of March 24, 2006 got referrals.

On June 19, 2009, LID's of March 16, 2006 got referrals.

On May 21, 2009, LID's of March 10, 2006 got referrals.

LID's up to April 21, 2006

On May 11, 2010, parents with Log-in-Dates of April 21, 2006 just got referrals.

Previous referral:
On March 1, 2010, parents with Log-in-Dates of April 11, 2006 just got referrals.

Previous referral:
On December 2, 2009, parents with Log-in-Dates of March 29, 2006 just got referrals.

Previous referral:
On October 12, 2009, parents with Log-in-Dates of March 28, 2006 just got referrals.

Previous referral:
On August 21, 2009, parents with Log-in-Dates of March 24, 2006 just got referrals.

Previous referral:
On June 19, 2009, parents with Log-in-Dates of March 16, 2006 just got referrals.

Previous referral:
On May 21, 2009, parents with Log-in-Dates of March 10, 2006 just got referrals.

Hello Great Wall Families!

The stork has landed at Great Wall! Today we received referrals for families whose dossiers were logged in on April 21, 2006.

Congratulations to these families!

Right now, we are working as quickly as we can to bring these families their referral! We ask for your patience as our response time to your phone calls and emails may be a little delayed. We thank ALL of you for your continued patience and support!

Sincerely,

Great Wall China Adoption

Alex Rides the Rails

Alex and Marc rode the Metro-Rail on opening day today and Alex got his picture taken by KXAN news.

Referrals for April 11, 2006 LIDs

After 3 MORE months of waiting, we get a new email from Great Wall about the next batch of referrals. This means, in the past 3 months, Log-in-Dates advanced only 2 weeks. Just devastating.
-----------------------------------------

Good Afternoon,

Today we received referrals for families whose dossiers were logged in on April 11, 2006 and for a few of our expedited families. The CCAA has not released a cutoff date yet, but as soon as they do, we will let you know.

Right now, we are working as quickly as we can to bring these families their referral! We ask for your patience as our response time to your phone calls and emails may be a little delayed.

We thank ALL of you for your continued patience and support!

Sincerely,

Great Wall China Adoption

-----------------------------------
The last referral email we got from Great Wall (on December 3, 2009) ...
Referrals for March 29, 2006 LIDs

Happy Valentine's Day 2010

Alex is enjoying playing with Brooke and Matthew on a cold Valentine's Day at the park.
This was right after seeing "Alice in Wonderland"