100 Good Wishes Quilt

I am a part of a few adoption groups on facebook. A few months ago in one of the groups, a mom asked who would be interested in doing a 100 good wishes quilt swap. I absolutely LOVE quilts! So I definitely wanted to be part of the swap. But I was unsure of what a 100 Good Wishes Quilt exactly was. I did some research and this is what I found:

"There is a tradition in China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or a 100 Good Wishes Quilt, to welcome and celebrate a new life. It is custom to invite friends and family to contribute a patch of cloth with a wish for the baby. Part of the patch of cloth goes into the quilt for the baby, and the other part of the cloth can go into a creative memory notebook with the wish for the child. The quilt contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation."

How cool is that?! It was so much fun to see all the different fabrics and wishes for my little girl. But I am no where near to having 100 wishes for Aubrey. So I need YOUR help!!!!!

This is so very, very simple! You don't have to be crafty at all to be able to participate. All you need to do is find a fabric that you really like. Just go to a local craft store, like Hobby Lobby, or maybe you even have some extra scraps at home. It can be any color, any design, etc. Just pick something that YOU really like. But it has to be 100% cotton. Wash the fabric. Then cut it into a 9inch by 9inch square. Good!! Now you have your square.

Now all you need to do is create a "wish" for Aubrey. Here is an example:

 

 

It needs to be written or typed on a index-sized card. You can write anything you want. A favorite quote, scripture, or words of your own. Don't forget to include your name and city, state. Then you need to cut a little swatch of the fabric so Aubrey will know which wish belongs to which person.

 

I will make a scrapbook with all of the wishes. And here is a picture of what the quilt might look like once it is finished. It is so cool to see all the different fabrics together.

 

 

 

I would LOVE if YOU would participate in Aubrey's 100 Good Wishes Quilt. If you are family, or a friend, or if we talk everyday, or if we haven't talked in five years, or if we have never even met, I would love for you to send us a square and a wish! (I have wishes and squares of fabric from people that I have never even met, but feel like I know very well just because of this adoption.)

 

So this invitation is to EVERYONE!!! Send us a square for the quilt and a wish for Aubrey! I know she will treasure it forever. And it will be passed down from generation to generation. Don't you want to be a part of that??? :)



What's Next???

Life has been quite interesting lately.

About two weeks ago, Jeremy decided he would like to look at recliners. The one he has now is old. And it leans to one side. One of the kids drew on it with an ink pen a few years ago. I'm sure you get the picture...Well, he found one he liked. We didn't buy it. We wanted to go home and "think about it" before spending the money. Good thing! That night while I was washing dishes, I noticed the water wasn't hot. It was only luke warm. So what do you think happened?

Yep, you guessed it! A broken hot water heater!! :(  So instead of a nice and comfy recliner, we are the proud owners of a new hot water heater. Yay!

Another thing, we have a water drip from our bathtub faucet. Jeremy called a plumber Tuesday morning to see when he could come out to fix it. He said he would come Friday morning. Perfect!

Well, it was a good thing he was coming Friday morning. Thursday night we were having some plumbing issues. The toilet in the boys bathroom wasn't flushing. The water was about to overflow. Jeremy was headed to Lowe's to buy a plunger. (Yes, we do NOT own a plunger!) But right before he walked out he told me to check my bathroom. *sigh* There was water all over the floor in my bathroom. I'm not even sure what happened. But every time my toilet was flushed, water would rise in my bathtub and the boys' toilet would bubble. When we would turn on the water in the sinks, it would all back up. What a mess!

So around 9:30 that night we packed up and headed to Mimi and PawPaw's house. I am so thankful we have them!! And the boys were quite excited to sleep over there. They love their Mimi and PawPaw, but I think they might have been more excited about seeing the new puppy! Sshhhh!! Don't tell them I said that! ;)

 

 

I mean, really?! How cute is this puppy!!!

Friday morning the plumber showed up. He couldn't fix the leak in our bathtub. He will be back next week to fix that. Then we had to call another plumber to fix the other issues. Apparently the main line was backed up. They fixed it. YAY!!!!!!

And now we are on today. Today is my mom's 56th birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom!!! The boys and I were meeting my mom for lunch at 11:00. On the way there, I apparently made a lady mad by how close I stopped behind her at a red light. Do you know what she did?! Put her car in reverse and acted like she was going to hit me?! Some people!!!

And then the next red light, I was sitting patiently waiting for it to turn green. A girl hit me from behind. (It was so NOT my day today!) I truly did feel bad for the young girl. She told me she was reaching in the back seat and I guess her foot slipped off the brake. Do you know how many times I have done that? Especially when I was dealing with a cranky child! I really did feel bad for her, but now my bumper needs to be fixed.

To say I have had enough is an understatement!! I am done!! Please, no more!!

So, on a good note! Look what landed on my husband today!



 

 

The ladybug is a sign of good luck in China (also to those of us that have a special place in our hearts for China)

 

With that being said, we are getting closer and closer to getting to our baby girl! We received our I800 approval two weeks ago. This week we got our GUZ#, were cabled, and sent a PDF of our approval to our agency. So we should have Article 5 drop off Monday evening, our time (Tuesday morning, China time). Please don't ask me what all of this means. Because at this point, I really don't even know. I'm just going with the flow of things.

 

Honestly, I need to focus on getting things ready for her. I need to paint her and Carter's room. I need to wash her clothes, etc. So, so much to do!!

 

Here's to a happy and busy week!! :)

 



We received an update on our girl!!!!

This morning while I was at the gym....I got the best email!! I was on the elliptical (or the exersaucer as I called it when talking to Jeremy - Yes, my mind is completely gone because of this adoption and possibly the other three little rugrats running around!) I saw that I had quite a few emails. Then there it was!! An email with a subject that read "Fu Jing Ju's Update". My heart skipped a few beats.

Angela with Ladybugs ~n~ Love was who we used for our care package that we ordered last week. We paid for a phone call to the orphanage with hopes of learning more about our daughter. Well, in this email were our ten questions that we had asked the orphanage and TWO pictures!!

So picture this, one excited momma at the gym trying not to cry over this email! I knew people around me would think I was nuts if I lost it! I held it together. Thankfully I had a few friends show up so I got to show off her picture. Once I got in the car, I had to disect her picture. Oh my goodness!! My daughter is amazingly beautiful!!! And then it happened.....the UGLY CRY!! You know what I'm talking about!! ;) To see my daughter's face, oh, it was great!! I can't wait to meet this little girl.

 

Gotta love all the extra layers of clothes!

 

Then I read the email. I was so happy to get our questions answered. One really important thing that has been on our minds...is she in the orphanage or foster care? Aubrey is in foster care. Such great news for us! We also got updated measurements of her. Now I can go shopping for her and know more of a realistic size. I had been going off of measurements from April of 2012. She has grown some since.

I could not wait to show the boys the pictures. Carter's response....AWESOME!! Ethan and Bradley... AW!!!! She is so cute!! They love this little girl so much already! It's amazing what this girl has done to our family. We haven't even met her yet, but she has changed our lives tremendously!

I also spoke to our officer at USCIS today. She said she will be approving us in a day or two for our I800. Yay for progress!!! We are moving right along!

Look at this sweet girl!! And those beautiful eyelashes! I can't wait to wrap my arms around her! And snuggle with her under a blanket to keep her warm!

Times....They are a Changing!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
Yes, I'm late.....I know. But better late than never, right?

So what's new with us? A whole heck of a lot of stuff! But how would you know since I hardly ever post?! That should probably be a new year's resolution of mine. Yeah! What a great idea! Ok, I will post one time every week...maybe even more than that! ;)

Well, Ethan was on the phone tonight...with his GIRLFRIEND!! WHAT?! When did this happen? When did my "baby" get old enough to have a girlfriend? Actually, the truth is, he has had a girlfriend for a month or so. But he "broke up" with her today since another girl liked him. So, yes, my son is "going out" with a new girl and apparently talking on the phone. I gave him permission to go in my room so he could talk without his little brothers bothering him. And just who do you think is hiding in the corner trying to listen to Ethan's conversation? BRADLEY!!

I tell you what....Times....They are a changing around here!!

Guess what Carter ate for supper?! The child ate ROAST!! Yep, that's right! He ate a whole bunch of it and kept asking when I would cook it again. Ok, to most people this may not seem like a big deal. But in our house, it is success!! But why, you ask! ;) Carter is not a fan of red meat. Actually, he isn't a big eater at all. He eats like a bird. So, to watch that boy devour his roast and green beans made this momma so happy!

Not to leave out Bradley, but I don't think there is anything new with that boy. Maybe just the fact that he is getting more goofy by the day. He is quite the character!

And our sweet little Aubrey and the adoption. I realized the other day after talking to a friend, that I never updated everyone on the status of our adoption. We finally received our LOA(Letter of Approval) from China. HOORAY!!!!!! We waited so long for that one piece of paper. Thank you God for that LOA!! So now I can say that we are in the final stages of our journey to Aubrey. We are currently waiting on I800 approval from USCIS. (Approval from immigration that she will be an immediate relative) I'm hoping that will come next week. Then just a few more steps and we will be leaving on a jet plane!!! YAY!!! As of right now, we are hoping to travel in March.

Today Jeremy and I ordered another care package to send to her. In that package is a teddy bear, a blanket, a toy, a new outfit, a camera, candy/nuts for the caregivers, and a pillow with our picture on it. We also paid for a call to the orphanage. I am hoping we will get some updated measurements...something...anything!! This momma wants to hear something soon.
I just told Jeremy earlier, I can't wait for the day that I can stick her in the buggy at Target and buy her something and give it to her right then!! Not have to mail it halfway across the world!! Soon, baby girl....soon!!!