Sunday, November 05, 2006

We hate January......

We hate January!! We hate the cold!! We hate the snow!! Although you can't tell by this picture, I REALLY do hate the snow!! We didn't know for sure what new picture to post, so Angie said "get out in the snow and let me take your picture!!" So, here I am, standing by "Red Hot". Yes, the "blonde bombshell" is no longer with us!! She was sold, and I bought Ashley's Saturn, which Angie has named Red Hot!! "Blondie" was a good car, but it was time for a younger, hotter model. I really like driving it, it's a good car!! So, thanks to Ashley & Chris for selling Red Hot to me!!
We are starting to wind down from the holidays, and are looking forward to what Spring has to offer. We had a great Christmas, and it was fun to watch little Michael during his first Christmas. It made me very anxious to get Emma here so we can watch her experience her first Christmas. This year we decided to have Christmas just as if Emma was here. We bought her gifts, filled her stocking, which Angie cross stitched(along with one for Michael) just fer her. Santa even left her some great gifts. We decided that Ashley would make a great "stand in Emma". She was sooo excited to open her gifts!!!
Coming up in February, Gary, Casey, Brian & I are going to the KU vs Texas A&M game in Lawrence. It should be fun, since the Hawks will win!! GO HAWKS!! The women plan on hanging out in Wichita while we are at the game. Besides, they are having their annual "Wild Woman's Trip" in March over Spring Break. It's no men allowed, so us guys might be down at the lake in Canton, Oklahoma getting the trailer ready for summer. The trailer is getting a paint job and a deck put on, so she'll be good to go when we all start hanging out down there in a few months. We plan on having ALOT of fun this summer at the lake, especially with the addition of the jet ski!! We only got to use it over Labor Day weekend last year, so we are all looking forward to that!!

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Lazy Days of Summer



Now you tell me - is this the cutest baby you've seen or what. Mr. Michael is now 2 months old, and he is one happy baby. This month, he brought his mommy and daddy to Auntie A's and Uncle Russ's for a sleep over. We were getting a new roof the same day (no, we did not know until we got home from work) and so, needless to say, we had alot of excitement going on. It was fun to see him, and better yet, we got alot of holding time in because we didn't have to share with Grandma or Auntie B.

We have managed to make it through another month in our paper pregnancy waiting for Miss Emma. I am having a hard time understanding why the wait can seem so...long, but yet the summer flew by. It is hard to believe that school is starting, but it is time for some of my family members to get back to work (it's good to be a teacher). We have spent our days with family, enjoying each other and a lazy summer of hanging out.

We've been spending some time at Canton Lake in Oklahoma. Grandad Gary bought a place down by the lake, and after a little spit and polish, it has turned out to be a pretty nice weekend getaway. Our friends the Britton's also have a place, as well as, Uncle Roger and Aunt Connie, so it seems like a great place to hang out and rest up for the week ahead. We spend most of our time on the boat and laying out at the beach. Uncle Casey says he may buy a jet ski next summer, so that is definately something to look forward to for next year.

We also spent a Saturday at Derald and Tina's. They bought a new house this spring, complete with an inground pool. We had a great time hanging out for the day with Rusty's folks, Derald and Tina, their kids, and Tina's family. They have a really nice place, and they seem to have settled into their new surroundings.

We also had a visit from Shannie. We met up with her, as well as, Jenna and her boyfriend, at the Warren for drinks and took in a movie, You, Me, & DuPree. The movie was really funny (I highly recommend it) and the company was great! It's always special when my Shannie comes for a visit!!!

So, we are still waiting to hear about our grant from Shaohannah's Hope. We had to send more paperwork today and hope to hear something by mid-September. There are more grants to apply for, so we are going to spend the weekend trying to get MORE paperwork filled out and sent off.

We are 5 months into this waiting time, and are looking forward to September 7th, that marks 6 months, and hopefully that is the halfway point. It's all downhill from here! We think our little girl will be around 6 - 9 months when we hold her for the first time. That means she is probably being born just anytime, if she not here already. Who knows - maybe she and our baby Michael share the same birthday - now wouldn't that be something!!

Be sure to check out the photos. I posted alot of pictures this time (since I didn't quite get that done during the last post)!

We hope you have a great Labor Day Weekend! We'll be at the lake, hanging out with our family and friends!!

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Happy 7th......



Okay....I know what you're thinking - "Shouldn't that say Happy 4th?" Well, normally yes, but at the Wheeler house, the 7th is definately a day to celebrate. We now have 4 months behind us in our wait for Miss Emma. Currently, the wait time is at 12 months from LID, so I guess we have made it 1/3 of the way. Our 1st "Trimester" is behind us. Of course, we are always hopeful that the wait time will shorten up, so I guess once again, we will wait and see what happens.

Also, July 7th marked the 1 month birthday of Michael Alan (he's changing so much already) and Casey and Sarah's anniversary. They all seem to be getting along great and settling into this new world around them. Of course Casey is once again very busy with swim team, but I really think they are just enjoying this summer, being together, and getting to know this sweet baby boy.

So let's see, this last week also brought another milestone as Gran had her last chemo treatment. She has been quite the trooper through this major ordeal and while she has had some rough days, she seems to keep her chin up and keep plugging along. I am very proud of her and the way she has dealt with her illness. Even though she is struggling physically, she has an amazing inner strength and I am very proud of her.

Our family spent the holiday weekend here in Wichita. At Gran's request, we took in a ballgame on Saturday night and went to church Sunday morning. The ballgame did not quite meet our expectations, but we still managed to make our own fun. Church, however, was really great. They had a wonderful, patriotic service and we really enjoyed it.

We have started to purchase some things for Miss Emma. We were not sure what size clothing to buy, but you can only look so long, and then you just can't wait anymore. We have picked up a couple of outfits and yesterday, we bought a very tiny swimsuit (it is just too cute!) Seeing how our hotel in China has 4 swimming pools, we knew the suit was a must! She also received a very special cradle for her babies made by her Great Grandad Fred (Rusty's Grandad) and Grandma Cindy made her a new pink blankie (it might be the softest blanket ever)!

We've posted some pictures from the 4th. We also included some showing all the fun things we've been gathering up for Miss Emma!

That's about it for now. Hope you are all having a great summer! We'll post again soon!!

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

3 months down!!!



Okay......so it has been forever since I last posted something. We have had a crazy couple of months. I know that is no excuse, but time has definately gotten away from me. I'll try to do better in the coming months. So, June 7th marked our 3rd month of waiting for the referral of our little girl. While the wait is hard, it seems that the days are flying by. We started a calendar and are marking off the days one at a time. We are preparing ourselves for a longer wait, but secretly praying that we will still be able to go to China the beginning of 2007. I guess time will tell.

Speaking of time......where has it gone? Last time I posted, we had just celebrated Easter Sunday, and now it is almost 4th of July weekend. I can't believe how fast May and June have flown by. Well, we have alot of news to share so I best get to it.

The last weekend of March, we had a shower for Casey and Sarah. It was really nice for them and they received alot of nice gifts. It was fun to see everyone and we spent a nice afternoon together. My family had a garage sale for the Angel Fund. We have found it to be a great way to make a little cash for the fund, and every year, we seem to still have some junk to sell. This year's sale did not fair so well, but the girls decided to try again the next weekend, and they had better luck. They ended up making about $500.00....a definate boost to the fund for sure.

The next weekend, Rusty and I celebrated Mother's Day on our own. I was very excited when Rusty gave me the Amy Coe diaper bag from Target. Sarah had received one at her shower, and I was definately jealous. Leave it to Rusty to come through and produce one for his wife as well. It is soooooo cute. White w/ black trim and pink and white poka-dot on the inside. I think it was more of a gift for me than Emma, but I know that we will definately be stylin' next spring!

Okay - so now we are up to May 19th, my big 34th birthday. My mom came to visit on Friday and she went with Rusty and I to eat at Abuelo's. We had some fun swirly drinks and good food. It was a quiet, but very relaxing birthday. On Saturday, the Reist family joined us. Rett's college graduation was also Friday the 19th, and they had come back to Wichita on Saturday. Ashley and Chris were also here, and we all went out on Saturday night to celebrate Rett's big day. Becky and Brian joined us late that evening and they stayed over till Monday.

This same weekend we had some really bad news. On Saturday morning, we learned that my cousin Kevin had passed away late Friday night. It was a total shock and the next week was a difficult time for my family. We traveled to Ulysses on Tuesday night and attended the funeral on Wednesday. It was a really nice service and was standing room only - a testament to how many lives Kevin touched and how much we will be missed.

Because we were home during the week - we spent Memorial Day weekend doing nothing. It was a really, really relaxing time for Rusty and I. We just spent our days together, laying around, watching movies, a little bit of shopping, but mostly just enjoying our time together.

So - for our really big news......June 7th marked the birthday of our new addition, Michael Alan Wise. He was 8lb 8oz, 21in long. While getting him here was not easy, he was definately worth the wait. He is wonderful and our family is so blessed. We have waited a long time for a little baby to call our own, and he is definately everything we dreamed of. Casey and Sarah seem to be getting along really well. Auntie A (that's me) and Uncle Russ were there to greet him and we stayed in Garden for several days after his arrival. It was a special time for our family and we were so glad to be there and share that moment together. Yes, we have already been back to see him this past weekend, and yes, we will be seeing him again this weekend as well. We ended up spending Father's Day weekend in Dodge City. I'm not sure how long we can keep this up, but we intend on being with him as much as possible.

Well, I am sure there is more to tell, but I think I've gone on long enough. This weekend, we are all headed to Canton Lake to clean up the house my parents bought down there. I'm sure I'll have a story to tell about that next week. Don't forget to check out the photo page and also check out the links to see Michael's Story (yes, his daddy made him a blog also). :)

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Happy Easter



Hello Everyone! Well, April 7th marked one month down of our long waiting period to get a referral about our little Miss Emma. We are expecting about nine more months of waiting, but of course, we remain hopeful that the wait times will shorten, and that long awaited referral will come sooner than expected! Until then, we are trying to keep busy and occupy our time, and so far, April has proven to be another busy month.
We started this month of by moving Gran back into her refurbished apartment. For those who may not know the story, while we were on our Wild Woman's Weekend to Austin, TX, a pipe broke in Gran's apartment, causing the Great Flood of 2006. Basically, the water was running out of both doors and of course, made quite a disaster of her apartment. Since then, she has been living in another apartment in her complex, and finally, the time came to move her back home. I know she was so happy to be back in her space and we were happy to help get her there.
We were fortunate to have some of our family here with us for Easter Sunday. Grandma Cindy and Auntie B (that would be Becky Jo), as well as Aunt Teri, were all here for the weekend. Gran and Aunt Judy were also here and we all went to church together Sunday morning. The service was really nice and we had a good time together. Of course, our thoughts were with our little girl, and she did receive an Easter basket from Grandma and Grandad and a ladybug book from Aunt Teri. Our house is slowing filling up with all the things a little girl might need. She is so loved already, and we haven't even met her yet!
Up next is a shower for Sarah and Casey. Michael Alan Wise is schedule to make his appearance around June 1st. We are definately looking forward to his arrival!
That's it for now - don't forget the photo page!

Monday, April 03, 2006

Emma's Quilt


We spent the weekend working on Emma's quilt. I think Rusty is in shock that I am actually using the sewing machine. I told him I would use it, but I think he had his doubts. Anyway, the quilt came together pretty easy. It is turning out to be really cute, and we are excited to finish it up. We are planning on taking it home this weekend for Gran to quilt the "E" in the center. Once she's done, then we should be able to finish the edges.

This weekend we'll be heading to Ulysses. Gran's apartment has finally been refurbished after the "Big Flood" of 2006. I know she is ready to be moved back in, and we are excited for her to be "home again"!!

That's all for now! Be sure to check out more pictures on the photos page.