Hi, I want to ask everyone to please take the time to donate $10 to Love Without Boundaries in the face book challenge. LWB does AMAZING work in China saving many lives and enriching the lives of orphans who wait. LWB has lost their lead in the challenge. The winner will receive $50,000 (enough to pay for 10 heart surgeries). Today is the final day. The challenge ends at noon tomorrow. Whoever has the most donors wins the big prize. It is a hassle to sign up with face book but please do it anyway. Please give to Love Without Boundaries. They are doing such an important work for the kids in China. Thank you! http://apps.facebook.com/causes/giving
YOUR $10 will stretch SO far if they win this! Will you please help? You can check out their website to see what they do here. http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/
Thanks, Angel
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Please help a great organization!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
MY BABY GIRL FOR MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!
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This morning I woke up to a wonderful surprise!!! My adoptive mommy friend was able to post Kaiya's pictures on her blog! My birthday is Friday and this was such a wonderful gift. I was SO excited but also RUNNING out the door since I am in charge of carpool on Tuesday mornings. I also work out with a friend and was supposed to meet her. So I just copied Kaiya's beautiful face on my computer and took it with me. I sat staring at it in the parking lot before I forced myself to work out. I couldn't even shower after I worked out. I HAD to get home to post them for you. Thanks so much to everyone who wrote to let me know they were on the blog. You are such sweet friends. I know I have people watchin' my back. ;0) Of course I had to mess around with them and edit and play. Hope you love them as much as I do... of course that is NOT possible. Thanks SOOOOO much Leigh. These are such an amazing gift. I am so grateful. Hugs, Angel





How am I so blessed? She looks warm and healthy.

Isn't this wonderful? Isn't she amazing???? I KNOW! I KNOW! I am a gushy momma. I can't help myself. I am in LOOOOOVE!
Monday, January 28, 2008
My little helper
A sneak preview
We are not ready for the big reveal on the room makeovers quite yet. I KNOW! We are slow moving. BUT one room makeover kind of turned into a 4 or 5 room makeover. I told you I was nesting. ;0) So now we are just waiting on odds and ends here and there. I promise to put pics up when we are finally all done. For now here is a sneak preview into a couple of the rooms we made over.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Learning to go with the flow....
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What would happen if we just decided to go with the flow? What is in the middle? What would happen if we quit running from the pain and embraced it? What would happen if we just rejoiced when happiness came to us and quit striving for it? What is in the middle??
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For instance.... My I171-H expired 3 months before we started this adoption. 3 MONTHS! Not only that- I had asked Russ if we should extend it before. You can do that once. He voted no which made sense at the time because we were going to do a domestic adoption. This was before we knew. So it cost us a LOT more money to get that done and we lost about a month of time. Then we found out there was a new rule that we couldn't apply for the I171-H till our homestudy was done. Due to circumstances beyond anyone's control getting the homestudy done took 2-3 weeks longer than I had hoped and cost about $1,000 more than we hoped. It really wasn't anyone's fault- it had to do with meeting China regulations. My dossier was delayed a week by a freak snow storm. The lady at the Chinese consulate was so mean to me she made me cry in front of everyone and they would not do my papers as quickly as I had hoped. The morning I got everything authenticated I had a notarization mess up that ended up being hours of work and a bit of trying not to panic and cry. I found out the orphanage where my daughter lives has no heat and it's bitterly cold in the winter in her region. I found out many of the children have scabies and no medication.
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Wednesday, January 23, 2008
MORE WONDERFUL NEWS!
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I am floating on air.... I AM! Yesterday evening I came home to a letter in my inbox. My care package was delivered to our baby Kaiya yesterday by a wonderful mommy picking up her little girl in Yiwu AND she was able to take a new picture of Kaiya!!!!!! YES! Soon we will have a new picture of our sweety.
She can't send it to me till she gets back from China because it was taken on her momma's camera and they don't have the cords. THAT'S OK! I will wait. I am just so thrilled that she SAW her and has a PICTURE of her!! It had me really choked up.
She said that Kaiya looks fine and that the baby room was not cold at all. It was warm. She said the babies were bundled up nice and cozy too. That was a relief.
She said while her little girl, Hope, may not have been showered with attention she was clearly not abused. She is sweet and polite and responds to comfort. THAT is terrific news! I have actually been hearing many stories about the children adopted from Kaiya's SWI- social welfare institute. All of the parents I heard from said their children bonded very easily and they could tell that someone cared about them. I pray every day that someone will love Kaiya. I am so grateful that those nannies are making the effort. I am sure they can't even know how vital they are. I will treasure them forever.
I don't know much else yet. She is busy in China right now. I am sure she will be able to fill me in on a few more details when she gets time to breathe. Here is her blog if you would like to follow their journey. I, of course, have been blog stalking! http://www.babyjellybeans.com/web/do/site/home?ID=282271 Just go to the travel journal to read her blog entries. Their are different photo albums listed below that.
YAY! YAY! YAY for a new picture and an update on our baby!
Hugs, Angel
Monday, January 21, 2008
Kaiya's 100 Good Wishes Quilt :0)
A precious friend of mine has asked if she can make a very special gift for our sweet Kaiya's room. BUT in order to make it I will need your help... Here is her letter...
Hi Angel,
I want to make Kaiya a 100 good wishes quilt. Could you post on your blog asking friends and family to send an 8X8 inch square of girly or neutral (washable)fabric and a 3X5 or 4X6 inch card with their wish for Kaiya? The wish card could include scripture, quotes, prayers or personal wishes and a small scrap of the fabric they send. They should also sign their names and location. I will take all the squares and make them into a quilt and you can put all the cards into a memory book for her. She can look back on both and know how loved she is.
Here is an example of a gorgeous 100 Good Wishes Quilt.
Isn't she SWEET?? What a special heirloom this will be for our sweet litte Lady Bug. I would love for all of you to be a part of this. If you would like to participate you can e-mail me at angel weir @ gmail.com and put 100 wishes quilt as the subject. I will e-mail you my address so you can send your wish for Kaiya.
You can check out my friends blog over here... http://middleeastcrazies.blogspot.com/ She is really cool and coming with me to Africa in a few months.
HUGS!!! Thanks so much for helping us give this gift to our baby girl. Angel
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Busy, busy!!!
We are making good progress. I don't want to post pics till we are done though. You aren't going to believe everything we got done!!! My awesome mom has been helping me. We have had a lot of fun and now we are zonked out! The bulk of the work is done. Now it is just little touches here and there. Plus we have things coming in the mail for the rooms. Ummmm yes... I said ROOMS as in plural. We have been painting like mad women. ;0) Angel
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Warning! Nesting Mommy!
My mom and I are working on Kaiya's room and numerous other projects! We have a good chunk of Kaiya's room done but have more to do. When it is all finished I will post pictures. I am so excited. I think it is going to be super cute. Hugs, Angel
Monday, January 14, 2008
WE HAVE LID!!!!!
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LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!!! WE HAVE LID!!!!!!!!!!! Our dossier is OFICIALLY logged in and under review with the government in China!!!! Woooohooooooo!
YES! That was really fast! I am so excited!! It is shaping up to be a May trip to CHINA to pick up OUR BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The next step we are waiting for is LOA. (letter of acceptance) We are at DAY 6 waiting for LOA today! This usually takes between 60-100 days. I have been seeing some people getting LOA in 70 days lately. 90 is the usual... Since they are about to have Chinese New Year I am thinking 80-90 days till LOA is probably a safe bet because we lose a week there. WOOOOOHOOOOOOO! I am so excited I can hardly stand myself. This is a huge step.
After LOA we get TA- travel approval. Then we get our appointment and GO! We are getting CLOSER PEOPLE!!!!
Congrats to all my buddies who got LID with me today. I can't wait to be in CHINA with you! Hugs, Angel
Saturday, January 12, 2008
A Special Little Girl Needs a Home
Hey blogger buddies. I was passed this information about a VERY important situation. Can you help me find this special little one's mommy and daddy?
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Hi all,
This week AAI staff has been in China, and we are being given the wonderful opportunity to facilitate that first known adoption of an HIV+ child in from China. There was a big meeting with the "powers that be" in China, and basically these government officials who are in charge of the orphans in China had no idea that HIV+ children could be treated with medication and be basically healthy. They had no idea that these kids could live long, full lives. They had no idea that HIV was not spread through casual contact, etc.
After some education and explanation, and the AAI staff sharing how over 20 HIV+ kids have now been adopted from Ethiopia, the Chinese officials agreed to "try it". They gave us the referral of one child, a 20 month old little girl. She is very beautiful and seems to be doing well, although is small for her age. She is developmentally normal and had not been showing any signs of illness. From what we know there are no ARV's available for Chinese orphans, so getting her home quickly will be important.
We would love to get the word out about this little girl so we can try and find her a home. If we can find a home for her quickly and show the Chinese officials that there are parents who will adopt these children, it could very well open the door for many more HIV+ Chinese orphans to be placed in loving homes in the US instead of dieing in orphanages.
China has been flexible in the past with its guidelines for special needs kids and we believe that they will be flexible for parents adopting HIV+ kids, however for the first case we want a family that meets the guidelines so it isn't a "stretch". The guidelines are - parents between the ages of 30-55- married for two years- income of at least $10,000 a year per family member and net worth of $80,000- no more than four (maybe five) children in the home.
Please feel free to spread this information around anywhere you see fit, especially if any of you have connections with the China adoption community.
Also please share my work contact info, which is erin@adoptionadvocates.org and 307 248 0530
Spread the word blogger buddies. This is a huge opportunity for this group of little ones. Hugs, Angel
Friday, January 11, 2008
Gotta Go My Own Way
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I wanted to share something with you. I got special permission from Zoe to put this on here because it is a look into her brave little heart. One of her favorite movies right now is High School Musical 2. She will watch it over and over if given the chance! ;0) She especially loved this one song (me too) and would repeat it many times. It seemed very important to her. While she was at my mom's house last week she ended up talking to my mom and telling her that it reminded her of Guatemala and they talked about many of the reasons why. Of course her application of the song is different than the original meaning. It was so precious and impressive that she was able to take these words and apply it to her history. It made me cry.
I don't share all of the details of what my little warrior went through growing up. Those are hers to share when she wants to do so. I hesitated on whether to share this because I don't know if it will make sense if you don't know her whole story but I think you'll get it.
I will share that our Zoe had to make tough decisions when she was in Guatemala and was given some choice in what her future would be. As a 6 year old little girl she was wiser than I can fathom. My little girl is amazing and strong and brave. At 6 years old she had faith that there was something better for her- that she would be loved and safe and happy someday. Her life in Guatemala is something we treasure and we know that there will be a place for those people in her life but she needed to find a different path.
So here is a piece of my peaceful warrior's heart. It makes me teary. The words are written below the video.
Gabriella
I gotta say what's in my mind
Something about us
doesn't seem right these days
life keeps getting in the way
Whenever we try, somehow the plan
is always rearranged
It's so hard to say
But I've gotta do what's best for me
You'll be ok..
I've go to move on and be who I am
I just don't belong here
I hope you understand
We might find our place in this
world someday
But at least for now
I gotta go my own away
Don't wanna leave it all behind
But I get my hopes up
and I watch them fall every time
Another color turns to grey
and it's just too hard to watch it all
slowly fade away
I'm leaving today 'cause I've
gotta do what's best for me
you'll be ok..
I've got to move on and be who I am
I just don't belong here
I hope you understand
We might find our place in this
world someday
But at least for now
I gotta go my own away
Troy
What about us?
What about everything we've been through?
Gabriella
What about trust?
Troy
you know I never wanted to hurt you
Gabriella
and what about me?
Troy
What am I supposed to do?
Gabriella
I gotta leave but I'll miss you
Troy
I'll miss you
Gabriella
so I've got to move on and be who I am
Troy
Why do you have to go?
Gabriella
I just don't belong here
I hope you understand
Troy
I'm trying to understand
Gabriella
We might find our place in this
world someday
but at least for now
Troy
I want you to stay
Gabriella
I wanna go my own way
I've got to move on and be who I am
Troy
What about us?
Gabriella
I just don't belong here
I hope you understand
Troy
I'm trying to understand
Gabriella
We might find our place in this
world someday
but at least for now
I gotta go my own away
I gotta go my own away
I gotta go my own away
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Our Sweet Droopy Dog
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We received an update on Milka, the little girl we are sponsoring at Eagle's Nest Orphanage in Guatemala. Isn't she wonderful???I am more in love than ever of course. ;0) I mean just LOOK at her. She is killer adorable. You know what is REALLY weird? On her update I found out that her birthday is May 7th of 2006. That is 3 days before Kaiya was born. They are EXACTLY the same age!!! How weird is it that of all the children I fell so hard for this little one who turns out to have a birthday 3 days away from Kaiya's?? Then she ends up stuck in Guatemala needing sponsors. Very interesting.
The whole time I was in Guatemala I kept watching the kids and wondering which ones were close in age to our little China doll. I had no idea. :0) I wonder what God has up His sleeve for this precious little one I have dubbed Droopy Dog- DD.
This one cracks me up. Look at that face. This is her with a present on Christmas. She looks pretty unhappy with Santa. Hee hee hee...
Eagle's Nest still needs financial support. Even if you can only give $10 bucks every penny adds up. Eagle's Nest has NO income coming in right now because adoptions have been put on hold. You can imagine the pressure of trying to care for these dear children not knowing where the funds will come from. Claire wrote to me to tell me how many of you responded last time I posted about this. It really touched my heart. To give to Eagle's Nest all you have to do is go to their website http://www.eaglesnestint.org/ Click on "How Can I Help" and there is a donation button. You can donate through Pay Pal. It is super easy. To see children who still need sponsors you can go to "Adopt-A-Child" and look at the pictures. You are not required to send any specific amount...only what you can afford. You just specify which child you want to sponsor and you will get monthly updates like we do for Milka. If you have questions please e-mail we at angel weir @ gmail.com
:0) Angel
I'm BACK! ;0)
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Thursday, January 03, 2008
How To Use This Blog
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Care Package For Kaiya
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Because of the generosity of a super awesome momma I am getting to send my Kaiya a care package in China!!!!!!! This mamma is going to pick up her little girl who is OH SO CUTE in about two weeks. She is at the same orphanage as Kaiya so she will be taking these things for me. HOW AWESOME IS SHE??? I am so thankful as I have really wanted to be able to send Kaiya some things for the winter.
Here is the first page. Thanks to Nikki (she did my blog) I have a picture of all my sweet girls together. Isn't that sweet?
Here is the next page...
This is the last page. I also stuck some extra pics behind each picture in the vague hope that they would see them and show them to her. I can wish right?
Here is the package all put in a gallon zip lock baggie! Can you believe I fit it all?
That is her Chinese name.
Here is the other side. That is a picture of Kaiya for the caretakers.
I am so happy. It's really strange. I think because I am purposely making the decision to be content every good thing that happens feels like a wonderful surprise. I love it. This is the way to go.
It is so good to know that Kaiya will have the things she needs to be warm and growing. HUGS! Angel
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
WE ARE DTC!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy New Year 2008!!!
I wish you all the best this year. I wish you joy. I wish you adventure. I wish you something beyond what you are capable of doing on your own. I wish you growth. Most of all I wish you love a little deeper than you have felt it before.