Thirteen Months!

On December 6, 2008, we were officially 13 months into our wait. This happened on my birthday and on the SEC Championship game. We flew to Atlanta for the game. We had a good time, but Florida beat us. They have an amazing quarterback named Tim Tebow. We played them well for the first 3 quarters, but into the 4th quarter, they held the ball for over 8 minutes. We couldn't make a comeback. Oh, well, they are now off to Miami against Oklahoma in the Championship game, and Bama is going to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl.

As of now, gas is about $1.68-$1.69 a gallon. With Christmas less than 2 1/2 weeks away, retailers are having problems with low sales. The economy is bad. The "Big Three" (Chevrolet, Ford, and Chrysler) are asking the government for help. Being considered is a loan with strict paybacks and rules.

We have insulation in our house! We are ready for sheet rock, but the gas guy who is to run the line inside has been a no show. This is holding up the sheet rock crew. The brickers are still rocking and doing a fine job.

In other sporting news, Tommy Tuberville has been fired or either resigned from Auburn as the head football coach. HA! This was announced a few days after Bama beat Auburn. That is three coaches this year in the SEC who are longer coaching. Tubby, Phil Fulmer, and Sylvester Croomes (from Miss St).

That is our update for now. Much more later!

Tide Gal & Tide Guy

Happy Turkey Day!!

We are almost at our 13 month wait. Our Yahoo group is in the process of our first Secret LID gift exchange. Our gift has been sent and we are anxiously awaiting our gift. It is so much fun. The theme this month was "China & Lady Bugs on My Mind".

In national news, gas prices are down even more. Last night, I filled up for $1.71. Down over $3 in less than 3 months. So many people have sold their SUVs at low, low prices and bought smaller cars. Now, with gas prices, the value of the SUVs should go back up. People are still scared to buy the SUVs though. The economy is still shaky. Food prices are still up. Stores and businesses are planning big sales, but less purchases tomorrow on Black Friday.

Our house still looks great. The brickers are doing a fantastic job. The insulation guy should start and finish next week. Then, we will be ready for the sheet rock.

And!! Big New! Bama is still #1 in the nation. We play our biggest instate rival on Saturday. Auburn has had a terrible year, but the Iron Bowl has had many surprises over the years. They would love to knock us off the top. Regardless, Bama will play Florida the follow Saturday in Atlanta for the SEC Championship. And, Tide Guy and I will be there!! If we win, Bama will go to Miami for the National Championship game. If we lose, we will probably go to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. Regardless, Tide Guy has tickets for both games!! So exciting.

Well, need to get ready to eat today!! Happy Thanksgiving.

Tide Gal & Tide Guy

Still Number One!!

Well, Bama just played LSU and we won in over time. Whew. It was close. We are still undefeated. What makes this win so special is that our coach, Nick Saban, used to be the head coach at LSU. Coach Saban left LSU to be the coach for the Miami Dolphins. That didn't seem to work great for him. It seems the head coach for a professional team doesn't have much control over those pro players. And, Saban likes having control of his plays. Anyway, Bama persuaded Coach Mike Shula to resign. For several months, we were up in arms because no one wanted us. In fact, some coaches used us to gain pay raises in their own camp. It was horrible for the Bama fans. Some how, some way, we got Nick Saban after he left LSU about 3 years ago. ((Okay, that and 4.2 million dollars!! But he is ours.)) And we are own our way to the SEC Championship game in Atlanta after being under his leadership for less than two seasons. Last night LSU had a pep rally and burned a stuff mannequin that was dressed like Coach Saban.

After our win, Tide Guy and I decided to go our favorite Mexican restaurant to celebrate the win. On the way, he told me he had a surprise for me for my birthday. He has already bought tickets for us through stub*hub.com for the SEC Championship game in Atlanta. Okay, now, some of you females out there might not appreciate this gift but I love it. I can't wait.

Today, we had my niece's 2nd birthday party. It was her first real party, and boy was she so excited. She couldn't wait for the cake and ice cream. The presents were second on her list. Cake first!!! Sadly, this was her first party. Last year at this time, my brother (15 months younger than me) was unconscious in ICU. He had decided to try out his new deer stand by putting it on his barn. Unfortunately, he fell off the roof about 14 or 15 feet. He broke his back, neck, 3 ribs, punctured one lung, severely damaged the other lung, and had brain stem swelling. He was airlift to the hospital. It was awful. He was in STICU (severe trauma intensive care unit) for 3 weeks and wore a back brace and neck brace for months. So, my niece's first birthday "party" was at the Holiday Inn, with a chocolate cupcake, and some gifts. I seriously don't think she cared. Basically, the fun part was chasing me around the room trying to get chocolate on me. That seemed to be great fun. (Ironically, we mailed our paperwork to our agency on November 2, 2007. My brother's accident was November 3, 2007, the very next day. China received our paperwork on November 6th and we were "official". Unfortunately, we were not able to celebrate or enjoy this occasion. In fact, we weren't able to check e-mail for a while as we were at the hospital so much.)

Friday and Saturday (November 7 & 8, 2008) my little historic home town celebrated 150 years. We had inflatables for the kiddies, Bluegrass bands, & story telling. In addition to that, there was a tour with old buildings, such as the old school buildings & the depot. Our school was the first school in our county. My hometown was a bustling metropolis 150 years ago. We were the Cotton Kings and had a train track going through. Our little town was the highest point & center point of the train system between the north and south. The train transported cotton, people, supplies, and such from the north to the south. We had restaurants, cotton gins, banks, and hotels at that time. Now, with lack of farming, the advent of of technology, other means of transportation, Wal-Mart, etc. our town is now just a little town. But, I'm very proud of our little town and our citizens. We are the people who rush to help those in need. We all know each other. We go to our school's games. We host a weekend celebrating 150 years. It was a great weekend and worth all the hard work.

Much more later,
Tide Gal

ONE YEAR!

Wow. It has been one year since China received our paperwork and logged us into the system. It seems so long ago and so recently at the same time. Unfortunately, the wait continues to grow and grow. There is no end in sight. In fact, I read a rumors the Chinese may tighten their restrictions. Again. As bad as that may sound, it could help us receive our referral sooner. But, that is only a rumor and may not affect anyone already in line. It is probably one of those rumors that if it does happen, we may not know it is a fact until it is implemented.



To celebrate this one year mark we went to our favorite restaurant in town. It is a Mexican restaurant and we are frequent visitors. We go at least once a week. When we walk in, we are taken to "our" table and the waiter usually knows what to bring without asking. Sometimes, the hostess will even ask if we need a menu.



Our house looks beautiful. The brick is going up and it looks great. I'm now trying to find lighting and we need to start looking at hardwood flooring.



Big News!! The University of Alabama is #1 in the country this week. So far we are undefeated. Our wins don't look effortless or suave, but we are still winning. Since our wins aren't pretty, many critics think other teams should be ranked above us. Sore losers!! We just plan to enjoy it right now. We all know that the rest of our opponents won't just roll over and let us beat them. They are going to fight to beat us.



Gas is going down. It is about $2.14 around town. It seems to have dropped quickly. There was just no legitimate reason for the price to jump that high, that fast, and stay up. Anyway, if prices stay down, food and other commodities should drop soon, too.



America voted Tuesday on November 4th, 2008, on the President. Unfortunately, my candidate did not win. That's all I have to say about that.

Okay. So, one year down, who knows how many to go. We both hope that the time line speeds up. Some how, some way. Whatever it takes.

Later,
Tide Gal & Tide Guy

11 Months?! Seriously?

Wow. Eleven months. Our paperwork has been in China for 11 months. We've been on the waiting list for 11 months. Well, 11 months yesterday. We forgot! Oh, well, sometimes it is hard to keep up with a specific date each month.

Our house looks great!! The roofers finished yesterday and the electrician has gotten a lot done. Not sure how much more work he has to do, but since he is also the plumber, he will be around for a while. Everything looks great.

We also had to take down a few trees and they were dropped today. So sad. But, they were either "trash" trees or too close to the house.

Bama is undefeated to date. We beat Kentucky Saturday. It wasn't pretty, but it is still a "W" in the right column. Luckily, we have this weekend off, so hopefully some injuries will heal.

In national news, the government is trying to help the economy. Nope. Not working. Stocks are down and the Dow Jones is terrible. Gas prices has dropped some. Here, it is down to about $3.59. It's possible gas should drop more soon.

Roll Tide Roll!!

Wow. Bama creamed Georgia on Saturday. Georgia was ranked 3rd! All the Georgia fans were very confident and the whole crowd of fans wore black. Turns out the black was appropriate for their own funeral. We had them 31-0 at the half. Things weren't as great the 3rd quarter, but Bama held on and we won the game. It was great!! Lee Corso picked Bama to win, and for once he was right. Usually, if he picks Bama, we lose. He is like a death sentence if he picks Bama. Now, Bama is 2nd in the AP polls.

The economy has taken a bad turn and Wall Street is not looking healthy. Law makers in DC are trying to help big business and that has turned into a horrible lack of teamwork. The DOW dropped 778 points yesterday, but had a good surge late today. Gas at our local Wal-Mart is now at $3.51 today. Basically, our country just can't catch a break from the disaster of September 11, 2001. As we started coming to terms with that disaster, Katrina hit, then several other hurricanes have limited our growth. We seem to take 1 step forward, then 2 backward.

Our house looks great. The roofers should finish in a day or two. (If they decide to show up and work a whole day.) The electrician/plumber started yesterday. He will do the electrical first, then start the plumbing after. Our mudroom shower and two guest tub/showers were delivered today.

It seems CCAA referred through February 15, 2006 this month. That is 5 days. Not the 7 like first predicted, but better than some previous months. Hopefully, now that the Olympics are over and everyone has left China, the wait will get shorter.

Tide Gal & Tide Guy

Roll Tide Roll

So far, Bama has won all three of their games. Our second game wasn't great, but we did well on our third game. It was so exciting. Our next game is in Arkansas, so Tide Guy and I will not go. Instead, we will shop for a master tub, then watch the game.

Hurricane Ike hit the Texas coast last weekend. There was an increase in gas prices a day or two before Ike struck. Gas on the Friday before went up 50 cents in 4 hours. Then, by Sunday in Tuscaloosa Sam's Club, gas was up to $4.79. Gas continued to go up to over $5.00 here and higher across the country. Luckily, it has gone down to to about $3.99 now.

Our house is going great!! Our shingles are sitting in the yard and should start going up on Monday or Tuesday. We've met with the A/C guy and need to meet with the plumber/electrician this weekend. And, we need to finalize the cabinetry this week or the next. All of our kitchen appliances have been ordered. The builder/framer has finished, so we need other guys in working. NOW!!

Roll Tide!

Tide Gal & Tide Guy

Let's Play Some Football

Well, the Olympics have been over for a week. What a let down. Tide Guy and I enjoyed watching the Olympics and have missed the competitions. The closing ceremonies were great. Not as great as the opening ceremonies, but still very nice. I think many people sighed a huge sigh of relief once the competitions were over. There were no disasters that were predicted before the Olympics started. In fact, many were surprised at how smoothly things went. Of course, there were some mishaps and the death of an American volleyball coach's father, but everything else was great.

Our house now has a few windows. They should finish installing those within two compete work days. We shopped today for a front door. Ugh. So much to decide and too many things to consider. We are also having a problem with a master tub. It seems the 5 foot length we need doesn't come very deep in many brands. With Tide Guy at 6'2", he needs a deeper tub if it isn't long just to be able to get all his limbs under water. He says that if he really wants to soak, he will just get into the hot tub outside. Hmmm.....

In sports news, we just returned from a great, fun filled weekend in Atlanta. The University of Alabama played Clemson at the Georgia Dome on Saturday. We meet our tailgating friends and had a blast. And we smoked them 34-10. It was a great game from the moment Bama got off the bus in Atlanta until they marched out of the Georgia Dome with a great win.

Hurricane Gustav hit Louisiana today on the three year anniversary of Katrina. Gustav doesn't seem to be as severe as originally thought. There is damage, but the majority of the population evacuated over the weekend. Gas last Tuesday at the Race Trac was $3.40. It is now up to $3.50ish in less than a week. Alabama plays Tulane on Saturday and the football team has evacuated to Birmingham to practice and wait for the game.

Olympics

The United States has had great success in the 2008 Olympics. We are ahead of the Chinese in total medals and 2nd behind China in total gold medals. What a great accomplishment. The closing ceremonies begin in 2 days.

Unfortunately, there is a possibility that some of the Chinese female gymnasts are much younger than the required age of 16. One of the girls looks about 11, maybe 12, rather than 16. Some or all of our American gymnasts have already returned to the states. What a shame should they be determined to be the gold medalist in the all around. Some of them may even be higher medal winners in individual rounds.

Football season starts in one week. Tide Guy and I are going to Atlanta for the Bama/Clemson game. Not sure if that is a great idea since every time we travel for a game (except for Hawaii) we lose. But, this should be fun!

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In other news, our house is coming along great!! It looks so much like a real house. Almost all of the blacking in is done. Just a few small pieces and we are done. A few parts of the wrapping is done, too. That should all be done within a few days.

We are so excited for the shingles and brick to go up. Our bricker is at another job and should start our house in about a month. We are almost ready for the plumber and electrician. Moving along!!

Have a good one!

Tide Gal and Tide Guy

The Olympics Are Here!!

08/08/08

I just love the Olympics!

The Olympic Opening Ceremony in Beijing was last night. What a spectacular show. So creative and imaginative. And so many fireworks. It was wonderful. It was stated last night that the show was a vision of one man who started his creation immediately after the 2001 announcement that the 2008 Olympics would be in Beijing. He was basically given free rein and an unlimited amount of money to impress the world. Some of the "bird's nest" was created specifically for the Opening Ceremony. Afterwards some of it will be removed. It will go from over 90,000 capacity to over 80,000.

Eight is a lucky number in China, so they picked 08/08/08 as the day for the Olympics to begin. During the show, there would be 2008 people on the floor participating. Whenever another set of drummers, dancers, or participants entered the arena, there would be another 2008 people on the floor. These groups would all do their show in total unison. It was amazing. They would form a circle or semi-circle perfectly with out marks on the floor. They would them move within the circle and keep the correct form. It was amazing the detail in the show.

The world wondered if China would be ready for the ceremonies, the sporting events, the athletes, and the visitors. The construction seemed to be never ending and not close to completion. There were problems with people protesting the relationship between China and Tibet in different cities as the flame circled the world. Last night it appeared they were ready.

What a show!! Now on to the games. Go USA!!

Tide Gal and Tide Guy

Lots going on here!!

Today we are at our 9th month of waiting. Sometimes it seems longer, sometimes not. I think the reason it does seem long is the wait is still that much longer and then some. But, still. We are 9 months into it. Yahoo.

The opening ceremony for the Olympics in China begins in two days on August 8, 2008. There is such tension in the world regarding Tibet, there is a great deal of concern about safety for the participants and spectators. Also, the smog is really bad at times and the health of the athletes is a concern.

Also, the house is coming along nicely. The roof is on most of the house and the framing on the bonus room started yesterday. We have some great builders and they do great work, with lots of attention to details.

Much more later!

Tide Gal and Tide Guy

A Few Framed Walls

Our builders were able to get a few wall framed today. This is so exciting! The slab of concrete (basement) we have had for a while now has a top, we have a floor on the first floor, and now we have a few walls framed!

7 Months, Italy, and a Floor!

Well, 7 months have past since our paperwork was received in China. Time has flown by fairly quickly. Unfortunately, we don't have any idea how many more months we have to go before we travel.


Normally, I try to post on our logiversary, but we were away on the June 6th. Tide Guy retired from the military on May 23 2008. We had a lovely retirement ceremony and on the 25th we flew to Germany and Italy for 15 days. We landed in Munich, Germany and stayed for one night. We then spend a few days in Garmish, Germany in the German Alps. From here, we took a train to Venice, Italy and stayed 3 nights. We took another train and went to Florence. We stayed there several days and also took a day trip to Pisa. From Florence, we trained it on down to Rome for a few more days. It was a great trip and we had a wonderful time.



While we were gone, not much was done on the construction of our new house. But, now we have subfloor and we should have framing going up tomorrow! While we were in Venice, we went to Murano, where glass items are made, and bought colored glass globes to go above the counter in the kitchen. We also bought a cuckoo clock in Germany!



Hopefully, on the next post, we will have walls!!

6 Months!! Yahoo!

Six months down. That seems like a great milestone. Hopefully, it is. These first six months went by fast. Seems the rumors still say the wait is growing and will continue to grow. Also, I've read that there are more domestic adoptions within China. Meaning, there are more adoptions within China and less international. So, there are more orphaned children staying in China and less leaving China. It also means there are less children available for international adoptions.

We have so much going on right now. Tide Guy retires this month after 20 years in the military. Twenty years! He begins a new job next month. Our house building is moving along nicely. Slowly, but nicely.

Maybe more next month!
Tide Gal and Tide Guy

5 Months!!

Whew. Five months down. How many to go? Well, we still have no idea. Last night Tide Guy predicted we would be traveling in the summer of 2010. Two years. I hope he is wrong. I hope it is much sooner, but I have a feeling it will be later.

In other news, the Chinese have decided not to relax the one child policy at this time. This means, the number of children available for adoption should stay about the same. Of course, anything could change at any time.

Our agency only deals with Chinese adoptions. Many agencies deal with several other countries like Ukraine or Korea. We decided on our agency since they are a well known agency in the states and respected in the Chinese adoption world. Many people who started the adoption process for a Chinese child have the option to changing countries if their agency deals with other countries. Many are changing due to the increasing wait time. However, we do not have that option. Those traveling today have waited about 18 months. But, when they started the process the wait was 6 months. Our concern is our wait is rumored to be 2 years or so. If our wait time triples as those traveling today, our wait would be 6 (SIX!!) years. That is a rough way to look at the wait, but still not an unreasonable thought.

Oh, well. We've just decided it is what it is. We'll wait.

Tide Guy & Tide Gal

Four Months!!

We are now over four months into the wait as of March 6, 2008. The rumors are still that the wait is 3-4 years with 4 years being more probable. Hmmm....that is a LONG time. We hope this isn't the reality.

Some rumors state the wait is due to the Chinese not wanting to be known as the country with the most adoptive children. Some rumors are the wait is extending because China has allowed more citizens to have more children, relaxing the one child policy. Others rumors say there are more in-country adoptions in China. All rumors. Maybe true, maybe not. Maybe the wait is due to the number of people applying? That seems more likely to me.

Oh, well. We're still here. Waiting

Three Months!!!

Three Months!!! Okay, it has only been three months, but we are three months into the wait.

In current Chinese news: China has had some very unusually cold weather over the past few days. Enough ice to stop transportaion. There has been lots of ice in many areas that never get very cold. Think icy conditions in south Florida. Thousands of Chinese have been stranded in train stations trying to go home for the upcoming Chinese New Year. Hundreds of thousands of people stranded without heat. Most homes and buildings don't have heat, either. This also means many orphanages and homes of foster children are without heat, too.

Also, there are also lots of rumors about the wait time. Many rumors are predicting 3 years and some are predicting 4 years. This could get interesting. In addition to many obstacles in the Chinese adoption world, the Olympics in Beijing this year will cause more delays. Basically, all activity will cease during the times surrounding the Olympics.

Hopefully, prayers will be answered and the wait time will decrease.

We've dug our basement for the house and it has rained ever since. Now, we have more of a swimming pool rather than a basement. Hopefully, we will have more exciting news next time!

Until then,
Tide Guy and Tide Gal

Brown Envelope!

Hey! We got the famous brown envelope yesterday! It is from The Foreign Service of the United States of America, U.S Consulate General, Gaungzhou. It states the Department of Homeland Security has approved our petition to adopt an overseas orphan. (or in our case orphans!) We are now to wait for the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) to send our agency a referral of a specific child and a travel permission letter. This letter was dated October 19, 2007.

Wahoo!!

Tide Guy & Tide Gal

Two Months Down

Okay. Two months down. That wasn't too bad. But, it was the holidays so maybe we were just too busy to realize we were waiting. Hopefully 2008 will be a great year and the wait will decrease.
We have lots planned this year that should help us keep busy.

Have a great 2008!

Tide Gal & Tide Guy