11 Months and Counting......

Today marks 11 months of waiting. We actually started this whole process in April of 2005, but only 11 months since our log-in date. At this time, we hope to receive a referral later this year (we're hoping for sometime this fall) but as we all know, that is entirely out of our control. So....we continue to wait and wait and then wait some more. In the meantime, we are trying to keep busy. One thing's for sure, Rusty and I agree, Spring cannot get here soon enough!!!

One Room Down, One To Go!!!!

February 1st was an exciting day for us (actually, we didn't find out until about 8:00 pm)! Our dossier for Emma Paige has been officially moved from the review room to the matching room. Basically, this means that all our paperwork has been reviewed and approved for us to adopt. That being said, now we are on to the 2nd stage of waiting for them to match us with our Emma! As you can see, they have filled referrals through October 13th, 2005. Our log-in date is March 7, 2006, so we still have several months to go, but this is a huge step forward and we are very, very excited!!

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!!

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!!

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!!