It's a Wonderful Life!

I can’t believe how long it has been since I last updated this blog. Dear Readers are you still out there? It is a crazy time of the year and this year it seems like we have a little bit extra to add to the holiday hustle and bustle. I have been so stressed (truly that is an understatement) that I just couldn’t figure out how to get my thoughts in writing, much less my photos uploaded. The fact that I am writing today doesn’t mean I have figured that out, life remains a disorderly series of projects and outings and errands and obligations but I’ve decided I want to get it all communicated before I lose too much of the detail to the clutter of my own mind. Also since I have determined that Christmas cards would have to be one of the luxuries of the holiday I would forgo this year, this post will have to serve as my Christmas letter to my family and friends.  That way everyone will know what the Printy's are up to….which in case you don’t have any more time to read is basically our eyeballs!

First let’s start with the most important “project” on my to-do list; Macy’s adoption. We have had many frustrations but also some amazing surprises. As you know, our Letter Seeking Confirmation, which is the official document from China matching us with Macy forever came in ahead of schedule. We signed it with a small ceremony on the kitchen table with all the kids. Nina even had to sign her own paper! In a “normal” timeline that meant we would send our US immigration approval to China and await Travel Approval, unfortunately we do not have immigration approval from the US. In fact we were not even able to file the form with USCIS until last week because our home study was delayed by our social worker. That has been incredibly frustrating given that we started this process back in SEPTEMBER before we even had a referral. Our social worker completely dropped the ball and unfortunately her delay may cost us a couple of months. (Part of her explanation was she couldn’t work on the report because she was getting new carpet in her office. I about chewed off my own tongue to stop from saying something I would regret, more bees with honey right?) So now we are waiting for our immigration approval and planning on a March or April travel date.

Aside from our social worker disappointments I did have the most amazing thing happen this month. Through a series of coincidences, the miracle of the Internet and other Godly interventions I have been in contact with the woman who was Macy’s first foster mother in China. The woman who's name is also Lori,  is an American living in China and she cared for Macy for the first six months of her life. Lori actually found me though this blog (trust me any teasing Dart has given me about my blogging obsession was put to rest with this!).

Macy currently lives with a Chinese foster family but the orphanage in Xingyi oversees her care. That orphanage only recently has been able to participate in international adoption and Macy is among the first 4 or 5 children to be adopted from there. Anyway when Macy’s former foster mother learned of the pending adoptions she Googled the orphanage looking for information on the children. Lo and behold up came “Boys and Curls”! She recognized Macy right away and then though another American who also just adopted a child contacted me via blog coment of all things. Lori and I have been communicating by email ever since. Talk about a blessing, this dear woman has shared photos, video and even journal entries. Through our emails I learned that Macy was actually born a month later than her referral paperwork indicated. Her real birthday is August 24, 2006 and we have pictures of her at just one day old. As an adoptive mother I cannot begin to express the value of these photos. I am beyond grateful to know how well she has been (and continues to be) cared for.

Seeing the new pictures and watching the video was bittersweet knowing our travel has been delayed but ohhhhhh she is soooo beautiful. Praise God, how have we been blessed twice by adoption, thrice with our boys? More excited than ever we were able to send our first “care package” to Macy. We sent Macy a doll, backpack, sweater and hat, winter coat, velvet dress, a photo album and a few other trinkets. We also sent Macy’s Chinese foster mother; body lotions, perfume and cakes. We included a disposable camera and a letter translated into Chinese. Hopefully the letter will be read to Macy and the camera will be returned to us with pictures of Macy with her foster family. We used a service called Red Thread China and hopefully it will all make its way to our dear daughter by Christmas. We may even get new photos of a Macy (can you guess what I want for Christmas!)

Here are our presents from the USA for Macy and her foster mother...

and this is the stuff we had Ann from Red Thread add to the package.

So in non adoption news here is what is going on (just in the last month or so)….

I went to Phoenix and met up with 7 other Kaz Mamas to walk 60 miles in the Arizona 3Day for breast cancer. It was one of the most personally satisfying things I have ever done primarily due to the incredible friendships I have with these amazing women. There are actually 14 of us but for various reasons some could not join the walk. They were with us in spirit though and we kept thoughts of them close with our flat Stanley cut outs of them. (This was, if anyone is keeping track, my second 60 mile event this year.) How do you put into words the experience of meeting your best friends for the first time…I think the quote of the weekend was “we weren’t strangers when we met”, so true.

The next week we DROVE (11 hours one way-my mother won't fly and I am a VERY good daughter) back to southern New England for the Thanksgiving holiday. Our first night in Rhode Island we had dinner with Jennifer and Marshall Robinson and one of their beautiful babies, Jude. Jen and I knew each other through our Kaz Mama 3Day Team and although we have become close on line friends we had never met in real life. The Robinson's were a delight to be with and the night flew by much too quickly. Meeting Jen felt more like a reunion of old friends.

The next morning was Thanksgiving Day and we attended my high school’s traditional holiday football game and then went to Connecticut to have dinner with Dart’s brother’s family. This was Nina’s first Thanksgiving and she got to meet her CT cousins and Aunt for the first time. It was also Nolan’s 10th birthday and we were so grateful that Aunt Bobbie was able to get him a NE Patriots cake for the celebration!

The next day we visited with my family and again Nina met an Aunt and Cousins for the first time.

Later that night, we had dinner with Ray Steele, best man at our wedding and Dart’s college football teammate at Brown.

Our trip down memory lane concluded with my 25th high school reunion. ( I can almost hear the collective gasp. Yes I said 25 years. I am that old.) I have to admit I had a lot more fun than I thought I would. I think the pre-reunion we had on Facebook and sharing my blog with my former classmates allowed us to talk about something more recent than the prom.  Many people knew about Nina and Macy joining our family and I was truly touched at the support and kind response we received about our adoptions, and so much to my surprise I really enjoyed myself. (Once again yeah for blogging!!!)

When we got home we headed into “Surgery Week”… both Nina and I had surgery the week after Thanksgiving! On that Wednesday Nina had corrective eye surgery on both eyes for a condition called strabismus. She was such a little trooper and about the cutest little patient you’ve ever seen. Her procedure went very well and today her eyes look great. Two days later I had surgery to remove a tumor in my breast. After a month long breast cancer scare we were relieved to learn the tumor was benign and other than a small incision I am as good as ever.

Like many of you we have shopped and wrapped and put up the Christmas tree too. I usually put up at least three trees but this year since we won’t be home for Christmas we just did one small tree for Nina to enjoy. We hung all of our favorite ornaments mostly made by the kids or acquired on special occasions. This year we added the “year of the cow” ornament purchased in Kazakhstan and Nina’s little red orphanage shoes. Also I put up our growing collection of China ornaments. For the past two years I couldn’t bring myself to put them on the tree thinking I would never find my daughter in China but of course this year they were hung with joy and with one very special little girl in mind.

Now finally to this week… over the next few days we will be frantically packing (including clothes, formal wear, a 2 ft Christmas tree, stockings, matching Christmas PJ’s and “Santa gifts”) for our trip to the Mediterranean. We will be traveling for 18 days to Spain, Italy, Greece, Egypt and Turkey; I mean how do you top Christmas in Kazakhstan? THEN I guess because I am a masochist and since packing for a family of 6 at Christmas time is apparently not painful enough, yesterday we also started a HUGE remodel on our house. My great room is currently in a state somewhere between demolished and destroyed and will likely stay that way for another month. Are we having fun yet?

Now I am sure I am leaving something out but a thousand words later I don’t have the energy to write anymore and frankly I am shocked YOU have continued to read this far. We are, like most families busy and stressed and occasionally overwhelmed but still grateful to be so. As easy as it is to complain about all of the chaos in my life right now I cannot stop but think how lucky I am to have any of these wonderful problems to complain about… how lucky I am to be here to complain at all! I was at the mall the other day with Nina and she was riding the Christmas train.  She was ringing the bell and waving to me all ear to ear smiles. I flashed back to where she was a year ago. Uncontrollably my eyes flooded with tears. Nope, I’ve got nothing to complain about.

So my dear friends and family I am not sure if we will be able to update again until after we are home so I will say to all of you who have made it this far (and to those of you who just skipped to the end)…

With Much Love From The Printy SEVEN... we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!