We have been logged in four months! Well, it will be on the 30th of this month, but with only 28 days....
I got a call from a stranger today who heard I was adopting from a lady at her church Living Hope. She just moved to Bowling Green and is actually leaving for China next week to pick up her daughter. I plan on meeting her when she gets back into town. It was a phone call I did not expect but was a nice surprise.

On another note, those of you who know me well will giggle over this. I had to get contacts yesterday (1st time)I did ok in the office taking them in and out. When we got home last night they were not coming out. One was stuck under my lid. My loving husband had to take them out for me. When I got up this morning I told myself I was going to put them in on my own. Well on the second try I dropped it! and I still haven't found it. So I am waiting on my second trial pair and if I can't get it right then I will be glasses bound. Only me could lose a contact in the first day.

Wish 4,5,6,7, and 8










The latest wishes come from my friend and Confirmation sponsor Sharon, she sent the red checked and christmas pattern. The red checked in the same pattern she used to make her daughter a dress when she was a little girl. My friend Sandi who I went to High School with sent a Chicago tshirt because we love meeting up in Chicago with our husbands for a long weekend. We call it our Reunion Tour. The KA tshirt comes from our friend Kyle. He sent the KA tshirt because that was his fraternity and my brothers where we all went to school. The last wish with the pretty butterfly pattern comes from Natalie whom I met when I signed up for an online quilt swap. She is from Colorado and should be getting her referral in a couple of months. She has waited long enough! Thanks so much for all the great wishes! If you click on each picture you can read what has been written.

WISH 1,2, AND 3!! My cousins Connie,Trey and their two girls Ellie and Caraline sent me these heartfelt wishes and fabric. The green is curtains from their house to let us know we are always welcome in their home. The pink and floral fabric is from Ellie and Caraline's baby blanket. I couldn't have asked for such a fantastic way to start off.
I am thinking about starting a second blog and linking it to this one. I will let you know what I decide.
I can't wait to see what comes in the mail tomorrow!
Sarah

Who is this idiot???
Please send your thoughts to the Lafollette Press in Campbell County, TN. The editor is Linn Hudson. You can email her at lhudson@lafollettepress.com

Just outrageous!!!

BIG BABY GIRL SALE - ONLY $17,000! - Jim Dossett

The Chinese have given us many things; gunpowder, spaghetti, woks,
Jackie Chan. Oh yes, they've also been delighted to give us their
discarded children. Actually, they're delighted to sell us their
kids. And government officials have laid down new ground rules for
foreigners who want to adopt children from China's overflowing
orphanages.

Prospective adoptive parents must not be obese; no more than 50
years old; must not take antidepressants; must not have severe
facial deformities. So the bottom line is, if you take up two seats
on a plane, are a member of AARP, take Prozac, or resemble the
Elephant Man - No Chinese kids for you!

Mind you, these edicts are issued by a culture where parents
traditionally leave female babies at orphanages or by the roadside
because they wanted a son, or because the government allows them
only one child. Ninety-five percent of the children available for
adoption are girls. I'm amazed that one of the world's oldest
civilizations, dating back to more than six millennnia, still
doesn't realize that women are the best of us all.

I doubt whether many Campbell Countians would be eligible to adopt a
Chinese baby - not because we're fat, old, or grotesquely deformed -
but because it costs more to buy a child in China than many of us
make in a year.

According to Chinese baby brokers, the estimated total cost of a no-
frills adoption, not including travel, is about $12,000. The
estimated total cost plus travel for two is $17,120.00 - such a deal.

"End of Year Sale! Get your certified, pre-owned girl child for the
amazing price of $17,120! She's a beauty despite a few minor
scratches and dents, but comes with a manufacturer' s warranty - no
surprises under the hood or the diaper!"

Once the bucks are shelled out for the kiddie commodity, who knows
where the money ends up. Maybe some of the cash trickles into the
new charity created by the China Center for Adoption Affairs. This
burgeoning group of capitalists is hopeful the charity will improve
conditions in orphanages and "keep infants and young children alive
and well enough to be adopted." It makes you wonder about the fate
of toddlers who are not well.

Despite the high costs and stringent rules issued by the baby
dealers, childless couples from the U.S. and around the world still
flock to China in hopes of bringing baby home. God bless you decent
souls. Stick religiously to your pretrip diets of carrot sticks and
cottage cheese and look forward to the fat and happy times you'll
have raising your baby girl!


Someone wrote the editor to complain and here is the editor trying to justify the situation.

--- Linn Hudson wrote:

> Thank you for submitting your thoughts on Jim
> Dossett's opinion piece
> that appeared on the editorial page of our
> newspaper. Please accept
> my personal apology over this matter. I have spoken
> with Jim and he
> also apologizes.
>
> Jim's comments were aimed at the Chinese government
> and its policies
> for adoptions. He did not intend to disparage these
> children and
> their adoptive parents.
>
> Jim's intent with this opinion piece was not to
> criticize, ridicule
> or offend adoptive children and their adoptive
> parents.
>
> Jim himself was adopted as a child. Due to this
> experience, Jim
> respects and admires those who adopt on a local,
> national or
> international level.
>
> While we take full responsibility for any item
> appearing in the
> newspaper, for clarification purposes Jim is an
> independent columnist
> and is not an employee of the newspaper.
>
> Once again, your feedback is appreciated and will
> help us as we deal
> with sensitive topics in the future.
>
> --
> Linn Hudson
> LaFollette Press
>
>
> Sarah,
>
> We have spoken with at least one family in Campbell
> County who has
> adopted a daughter from China. We will be running
> their positive and
> uplifting story in an upcoming issue.
>
> -- Linn
>

Happy New Year

Chinese New Year
The Year of the Pig
by Holly Hartman

4705 (or 2007) is the year of the pig

Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The Chinese year 4705 begins on Feb. 18, 2007.

Chinese months are reckoned by the lunar calendar, with each month beginning on the darkest day. New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest. In China, people may take weeks of holiday from work to prepare for and celebrate the New Year.

A Piggy Year
Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality. Those born in pig years tend to have excellent manners, make and keep friends, work very hard, and appreciate luxury. They are very loving and make loyal partners. Lucille Ball, Humphrey Bogart, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ernest Hemingway, Alfred Hitchcock, Mahalia Jackson, David Letterman, and Arnold Schwarzenegger were all born in the year of the pig.

Fireworks and Family Feasts
At Chinese New Year celebrations people wear red clothes, decorate with poems on red paper, and give children "lucky money" in red envelopes. Red symbolizes fire, which according to legend can drive away bad luck. The fireworks that shower the festivities are rooted in a similar ancient custom. Long ago, people in China lit bamboo stalks, believing that the crackling flames would frighten evil spirits.

The Lantern Festival
In China, the New Year is a time of family reunion. Family members gather at each other's homes for visits and shared meals, most significantly a feast on New Year's Eve. In the United States, however, many early Chinese immigrants arrived without their families, and found a sense of community through neighborhood associations instead. Today, many Chinese-American neighborhood associations host banquets and other New Year events.

Chinese New Year ends with the lantern festival on the fifteenth day of the month. Some of the lanterns may be works of art, painted with birds, animals, flowers, zodiac signs, and scenes from legend and history. People hang glowing lanterns in temples, and carry lanterns to an evening parade under the light of the full moon.

In many areas the highlight of the lantern festival is the dragon dance. The dragon—which might stretch a hundred feet long—is typically made of silk, paper, and bamboo. Traditionally the dragon is held aloft by young men who dance as they guide the colorful beast through the streets. In the United States, where the New Year is celebrated with a shortened schedule, the dragon dance always takes place on a weekend. In addition, many Chinese-American communities have added American parade elements such as marching bands and floats.

Hope everyone has a great one! We were supposed to attend a party last night for some families in town with adopted children from China celebrating but Ken was sick so we had to skip :(

100 Good Wishes Quilt
Ok, I have decided to participate in a quilt project that is popular in the adoption community since we have such a long wait for China. I am asking and hoping that everyone we care about and prays for our adoption will help us reach this goal in having our quilt finished by the time we leave for China( whenever that will be) :).
As most of you know I have a new computer and have lost most my email addresses so if you can see that have missed anyone or know of someone that would like to send us good wishes please forward this on.
As most of you know I can barely thread a needle, so needless to say I will have to pay someone to make this. I am not ashamed to admit this! ;) I am open to any referals.
Here are some links to better explain this.
http://members.cox.net/~joannanorman/quilt/photos.html
http://www.aquiltofwishes.com/index.html

Dear friends and family,

While we are waiting for the arrival of our child Kate we are working on a project with which we need your assistance. We are creating a "100 Good Wishes Quilt".
To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or 100 Good Wishes Quilt. It is a custom to invite 100 people to contribute a single square patch of cloth. The 100 patches are sewn together into a quilt that 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.

We love the idea of welcoming Kate into our home with good wishes from family, friends and fellow adoptive families.

Here is what we would like you to do:

1. Choose any 100% cotton fabric that you like or has meaning to you. It can be anything an old shirt, your favorite old curtains, something you saw in a fabric store be creative. I know some of you are expecting if you would like to include something from your baby bedding if u have extra.

If it is new fabric please wash it and dry so if it needs to shrink it will.

2. Cut out two (2) 7x7 pieces of fabric.

3. Get a 4x6 index card attach one piece of fabric and please write your good wish for Kate or your favorite prayer. Please tell her why you chose your fabric.This piece of fabric and index card will go in a scrapbook that she will be able to read as she gets older.



Ideas for selecting fabric squares:

Select a fabric that is meaningful to you.
100% cotton fabric is best, as it washes and wears better.
Ask lots of other friends and family members to give you squares of fabric so that eventually you will have 100 squares. (In China, these quilts were originally made from garments of family and friends, which would surround the child with luck/good wishes.)
As I get these squares I will post them on www.cantwaitforkate.blogspot.com so everyone can see. If you do not want your name posted please let me know.
Please take a few minutes out of your time and participate in this project and help us create this very special keepsake that she will keep forever keep and know so many of u prayed for her safe journey home. If you have any questions please feel free to email me back.
Love,
Sarah and Ken
Please email me svolkert@insightbb.com
to get my address.

Here is a vidoe of Mac sliding down the slide in Kate's future room. The slide was her fathers when he was a little boy. I don't know how to add music or anytrhing yet. Hopefully I will gain some experience before we go to China.

Happy Valentines Day

I love this picture of Carson and Chapel! Their faces are so precious.
I finally got around to ordering my fabric, but things have been changed up a little. Still pink and brown just a few minor changes.
I took some video of my niece today and I will be experimenting learning how to upload video to my blog. Hopefully it is not too hard. To be continued......

In honor of women's history month and in memory of Erma Bombeck who lost her fight with cancer. Here is an "angel" sent to watch over you.

IF I HAD MY LIFE T O LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck
(written after she found out she was dying from cancer).


I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.


I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
(Instead of wishing for nine months of pregnancy, I will cherish every moment and realize the wonderment growing in China is a miracle given to me from God - Sarah Apple)
When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner." There would have been more "I love you's" More "I'm sorry's."

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute. ..look at it and really see it . . live it and never give it back. STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!!!

Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what. Instead, let's cherish the relationships we have with those who do love us. Let's think about what God HAS blessed us with , a nd what we are doing each day to promote ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally. I hope you have a blessed day.