A whole year already??!!

Yep...this blog has been around one year!! I started it after we had been home with Annslee for 8 months and I felt I had 'outgrown' my babyjellybeans site. I really planned on shutting all of it down but I had many family and friends request (more like insist) that I keep posting pics of Miss Annslee so they could keep up with her. I didn't realize in the beginning how big the bloggy world was. Over the last year I have met such wonderful people and watched how we all support each other through this journey. I started out reading the blogs from our China travel group and then was linked to other families who had also been to China or were experiencing the now very long wait to meet their little ones. Once we decided to go to Vietnam for our next sweetie I found out that there are many Vietnam family blogs as well (mainly thanks to Nicki who has a very extensive VN blogroll) Now my China buddy Jia and her family are heading to Taiwan for their newest additions so I had to start looking at some Taiwan familes like sweet Kobi as well. I even have a few non adoption related ones like my friend Maggie who is just fun to read. I need to update my friends list so you can see more of them too. I wish I could meet more of you in person but I feel so blessed to know all of you!!

Apparently Annslee was doing flips over it too...ha ha



A few people have asked about Malia so I thought I would give a little update. I usually do all that on her website (there is a link on here) simply because we will get a CD of it for her to keep like we did with Annslee. We have been logged in now for a little over 3 months. As you may know from reading that journal we got our 171H last November so we should have been logged in sometime in January but there were meetings in Vietnam and one thing led to another...so here we are. Our agency has only received one referral so far (on July 2nd) but they are hopeful more are on the way soon. The earliest we would get a referral is mid August but it could be much later. Unlike it was with China, we will have no warning that it is coming so you can all be surprised with us : )
Yes, we are very busy with Miss Annslee but are also very anxious to have our second child home. I know there is always the argument about whether it is easier the second time around..believe me, waiting stinks no matter how many kidlets you already have keeping you busy. The wait is different this time though. I haven't shopped (gasp...) like I did waiting for Annslee. By this time in the wait for her I had tons of clothes, toys, etc... I have bought exactly 3 things for Malia and they all involve Annslee. She has a big sister/little sister frame (hmm...does that even count?), a bib announcing her love for Annslee and matching St. Pat shirts for next year (packed away so no photo)




I did help the Easter Bunny pick out some things just for her at Easter so maybe that will help me feel less guilty ; ) The pig was b/c we think she will be born in the year of the pig and the cross reads:

Before you were conceived I wanted you. Before you were born I loved you. Before you were here for an hour I would die for you. This is the miracle of life. ~ Maureen Hawkins



So here I am a year later with almost 26,000 hits on my blog meter...thanks for hanging in with us!! Oh, and go over and give your congrats to JiaLi's family. She is Annslee's Qichun sister and now they are heading to Vietnam too for their sixth blessing!