Hough Stuff with Jessica, Kate and Ryan

We did make it home

2011-04-04T16:17:00.000-06:00

OK so quick update. We did make it home.

It has been one full week since Ryan has made it officially to the house. On Friday March 25th Ryan, Danielle and our sister in law, Kelly, made it into Boise at about 7 pm. We left the airport and went directly to the ER in Boise. Ryan was suffering from dehydration, malnutrition and RSV. So the admitted her and she spent her first two nights in the US at the children's hospital in Boise.

She was released one week ago Sunday and finally made it home. Needless to say she regressed somewhat, and I can't blame her. She was tired, hungry, people were in her business poking, prodding, checking, re-checking for 48 straight hours.

I can say that one week on now and she has really come around. I will say at 13 pounds and 28 inches long, she is a peanut. We are slowly introducing hew foods to her and last night she ate mashed potatoes and we are slowing trying to keep new things coming and move from the bottle.

Today we did have her cardiology appointment and finished the day with a visit to the pediatrician. The cardiologist is encouraged and is optimistic that she is a candidate for surgery. She did say that it is typical to wait 8-12 weeks post RSV before surgery, however given the circumstances she is going to push us for the end of April. Will keep you posted on the surgery front.

The pediatrician is keeping Ryan on a nebulizer (sp?) that will administer meds to help relieve the RSV symptoms.

Ryan had a busy day and was great to be able to take the day off and be there for the "big" appointments.

I am giving myself a goal of one posting per week. We will see how that goes.

More to come.

By the way, this picture is the first picture with all three girls and it was the night we got out of the hospital and finally home.

I am outta here.....

2011-03-17T06:41:00.000-06:00

It is hard to keep the days straight but....
All I know is that tomorrow the taxi picks me up at 2:30 pm to begin my trip home. I am wishing that I could have stayed the entire trip but just not enough time and it will be great to be home with the Jessica and Kate (sure do miss those two).

This morning we didn't have to be going until 9:30 am so we took a late breakfast. It was nice to be a little lazy this morning and enjoy our time together. From breakfast we went out to a new Museum that is home to exhibits of the many minority groups of the Guangxi province. It is a very nice exhibit and a great way to be out of the room for some time. Afterwards it was off to a minority artisan market. At the market, Danielle (and I) proceeded to go on a shopping spree. We haven't really done that before and it was a lot of fun. We made several purchases for Ryan to give to her when she is older; tea set, silver hair pieces, hand woven brocade scarf, silver dragon necklace and ear rings (framed), her chop (stamp), and I think a couple of other items that I can't think of right now.

Afterward it was back to the hotel for lunch. We asked our guide, Cindy, to join us and we all enjoyed another great dinning experience.

I will talk a little bit about Ryan Grace now. She is awesome! She reminds me more and more of her sister Jessica. Her expressions, actions....I don't know, just something about her. She is a tiny little peanut, if the scales worked we figure she is 16 pounds and is barely hits me above the knee. She walks, but almost prefers to be carried (and we comply). She laughs, has a great sense of humor and I cannot wait for her to meet her sisters. As far as eating she is still on a bottle although we are giving her solids and we know that she will eat the heck out of plain white rice, and chocolate.

I had forgotten how tired Jessica used to get. Danielle and I have been talking and we remember that Jessica used to sleep about 14 hours per day. Ryan and Jessica have similar heart defects, and it was not until after her surgery that Jessica began to keep "normal" hours. It was not until after surgery that Jessica began to put on weight and I know the same will be for Ryan.

We also have learned that Ryan has not received one immunization yet. According to the orphanage director they were concerned about immunizations and how that would affect her heart. Needless to say when we get home we are going to be keeping everything very low key until we get through surgery. Danielle already has appointments with the pediatrician and our pediatric cardiologist (I say our cardiologist only because she has treated all of our daughters). Danielle will be taking her in as soon as we get home.

Ryan has turned out to be a daddy's girl and I am not arguing as I have not yet had a daddy's girl this early in the process. I have to say I am loving it and will be sad to leave Ryan, Danielle and Kelly behind.

All in all it has been a great trip and we have been so happy to have Ryan in our family. It just feels right.

Taking the silver necklace and earrings out of the frame.
Now we need to get it reframed when we are home.

Ryan finally starting to show her personality

Silly girl

Such a happy girl

Just Pictures

2011-03-16T17:18:00.000-06:00

So I didn't get a post written. I am totally slacking on this trip, but between Danielle's blog and mine we are posting once a day. Since I am not going to post text, I am simply going to add photos.

Beautiful Girl

Walking down the hallway

Finally eating, granted my chopstick skills are not the best, but she won't eat with a fork.

Outside the orphanage

Guiping, China

Countryside

My turn

2011-03-14T23:36:00.000-06:00

Last night I fell asleep early and did not get anything posted. Had to leave that first post to Danielle.

MeiLi is great! So, so, so tiny. Nothing but skin and bones. We know it is due to her heart defect and we can't wait to get her back to Idaho and begin medical treatment. She is perfect in every way. Funny little personality and an attitude to match. I do believe she will fit in well with her older sisters.

Perhaps I should step back and review yesterday. In the morning we ventured out to a Walmart. Where Kelly was taking a few pictures and then got the "business" from a store employee who was not impressed that she was taking photos. Way to go KA. However we were able to go about our business and complete the shopping adventure with no other interruptions. Then it was back to the hotel, the taxi rides were about 20 minutes and cost about US$3 so not too bad. I have to say that it was nice to be out on the own. Danielle and I keep saying we are glad this is our third adoption and that we have been through the process before because if we were reliant upon our "guide" we would be in big trouble. She definitely is uninvolved in the entire deal, she is there only when she needs to be.

After the return to the hotel we got organized, felt like throwing up, continued to get organized and continued to fight nerves. We went to the Civil Affairs office at 2:45 and we received MeiLi at about 3:15. Again we were the last family to receive our daughter, but save the best for last right? Anyhow there are about four other American families who are adopting (not in our group) and about four families from Spain. We told Aunt kelly to lay low around the Spaniards, she being Basque we don't want any trouble.

Ryan (MeiLi) did so well on the hand off. Went to Danielle with no problem very quiet and just taking it all in. We had the opportunity to ask a few questions to the director of the orphanage, but like every other time there was no new news. Ryan is just awesome.

She hasn't really cried much, other than when we lay her down for a nap. She is still on the bottle and does not have an interest in solid food other than crackers. That is OK by us as our other two daughters never took bottles and we will cherish the time to feed her with the bottle.

Today we went back to the Civil Affairs office and answered a few questions, went through the formality of paperwork. As of 10 am Jin MeiLi officially became Ryan Grace MeiLi Hough. We are now her parents and she is our daughter. Our guide is applying for her passport this afternoon and we should have it Friday night.

Before coming back to the hotel we stopped and picked up Pizza Hut and now Ryan (and Danielle) are napping. Once they wake up we are headed over to a local shopping center to pick up a few more supplies and just get out of the room. The weather today has been cold and rainy (by cold I mean 50 degrees). It is a nice day to just lay low and let everything settle.

No pics

2011-03-13T19:20:00.002-06:00

We cannot get pictures to post, we will work on it.

Honk Kong and Beyond

2011-03-13T19:14:00.001-06:00

I am posting from nanning this morning. We made it last night at got to the hotel at 11 pm. So we meet Ryan today at 3 pm.

I wanted to go back and post about yesterday in Hong Kong.

On our last day we took the Star ferry over to Hong Kong Island (from Kowloon) and we walked to a series of escalators that go up the hill. We rode almost to the top and had to stop for a beer and lunch. I have to say the beer tasted good and that Auntie kelly had spied an Irish brew pub. It was fun and a great moment to stop and enjoy the morning.

From there we walked through a few alleys on our way to the double decker tram system. We didn't know where we were going other than Danielle was insistant that we go to the local outdoor market and check it out. We did stumble upon the area. It was fun but I have to say it was a little on the sensory overload. Lots of people, smells, sounds, sights.

We decided to walk back to the pier and catch the ferry over Victoria Harbor to Kowloon.

It was an enjoyable day and a nice way to finish off our time in Hong Kong.

You will have check back in the morning for our post on Ryan.

OK So It Is 3:45 am

2011-03-12T12:59:00.000-07:00

....and we are wide awake. Those following Danielle's blog, I can confirm that it is true. She left her Kindle on the airplane and no luck on getting it back (we are still making phone calls).

I will tell you about yesterday. Up at 6 am and early breakfast. We were off to take the Star ferry to HK Island and find a different connection to Lantaue Island where there is a Buddhist monastery and the largest sitting bronze Buddha plus the longest running tram in Asia at 3.5 miles.

After the tram ride we grabbed a quick lunch and then caught the subway back to Kowloon area where we are staying.

We made a pact that when we got back to hotel we would go to Starbucks and get coffee so we would not fall asleep. You can guess how well that worked out for us. We were all asleep by 5 pm and now it is almost 4 am and we are wide awake.

Enjoy the photos.

Hong Kong first day

2011-03-11T11:03:00.000-07:00

Hi-we started this morning with waiting for the Starbucks to open at 7 am. Then breakfast and we were off at 9 for our very quick tour. After the tour we went for tea at the swanky hotel The Penninsula, it was fun and nice to relax. It was great to be out and about however our downfall was coming back to the room at about 5 and taking a "quick" nap. 4 hours later we decided to get up. Then we were off again. Needless to say it is 2 am and we are wide awake. I am going to be but had to post and put some photos up.

Danielle is on the move....

2011-03-10T08:03:00.002-07:00

She decided to start a different blog for this journey. Here it is:

http://dueeastoncemore.blogspot.com/

In HK

2011-03-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

we made it right on time. 14 hours is a looooong time in a plane.

Our person met us at the airport and delivered us safely to the hotel. No problems. So I have to thank Marla for the recommendation and would do it again. Jack is the person that I have been in contact with online, he actually met us a the airport and was very helpful. We decided to sign up with his tour group for a 1/2 day tour tomorrow morning. We will meet in the lobby at 9 am and get back here at 2 pm and have the rest of the day on our own.

No pics yet, as it is now 11 pm we are finishing up showers and going to bed. Catch you all tomorrow.

Danielle Goes Live

2011-03-08T23:00:00.000-07:00

Danielle has decided to go back to her old ways.....again.

Here is her link:

http://www.huffsdueeast.blogspot.com/

My bag is packed and at the door......

2011-03-07T21:59:00.000-07:00

and thankfully the bag is packed on my own accord not because Danielle is throwing me out of the house. I am feeling pretty good about getting packed and having tomorrow night to review everything, or just relax.

Funny I travel for work and will be gone for a week at a time (or more) and it never stresses me like getting ready for this. Is it because of the scope of the trip? Perhaps.

Anyhow, we have everything planned for Hong Kong, hotel room, shuttle to the hotel, plan for three days of tourist things. It may be an interesting trip to HK. Danielle and I travel frequently and enjoy the planning stages, networking through the internet etc. This trip to HK is no exception. We frequently visit adoption blogs and are members of different adoption chat groups, so once the planning of this trip started we began researching what other adoptive parents have done when they visited HK. I made contact with a person who gave me an email of person who gave me an email of a person.....short story long, we booked with the person of a person of a person. So when we make to HK and if we actually get a shuttle, and if the shuttle actually takes to the hotel (or any hotel) and if the hotel actually has a room, then I think it will be another successful networking experience. We are to meet up with the "person" at the hotel. Danielle and I don't have any apprehension about traveling like this as we do it and it works. We trust and are comfortable with process.

Stay tuned for a forthcoming post in HK.

According To Schedule.....

2011-03-03T21:29:00.000-07:00

Here is the itinerary: We Get to HK on Thursday the 10th and spend 3 nights on our own in HK.

March 13: Fly from Hong Kong to Nanning

March 14: Meet the child

March 15: Registration & Notarization

March 16: Local sightseeing
March 17: Local sightseeing
March 18: Local sightseeing, getting the passport

Fly from Nanning to Guangzhou (Lynn fly home)
March 19:Physical check for baby & Photo for the baby & TB Test

March 20:Local sightseeing
March 21:Get result for check

Local sightseeing
March 22: Local sightseeing

March 23: Visa appointment, Swearing in ceremony at the Consulate

March 24: Get the visa

March 25: Fly from Guangzhou

Round Three

2011-03-01T20:42:00.001-07:00

Never thought I would be saying this but Danielle and I are adopting a third time (I am thinking this is going to be it).

We leave on Wednesday March 9th and will spend Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Hong Kong. Traveling to Nanning China on Sunday evening and we receive Ryan on Monday the 14th. We are blessed to have our sister in law, Kelly, traveling with us as I can only stay in China through the 18th.

More to follow.......

We Did Make It Home

2009-05-16T22:17:00.002-06:00

Hi all, we did make it home Friday night! It was a very long day but made it none the less. We left Guangzhou on time and then were an hour late leaving Tokyo which put us in San Fransisco that much later. Considering we had only a two hour layover we missed our connection to Boise by about 20 minutes, crappy! However, we were able to get on the next flight back to Boise and arrived at 6 pm versus 1 pm.

My parents, Danielle's parents and Danielle's brother, sister-in-law and Kate's two new cousins all met us at the airport. It was a very nice reception.

We headed back to Caldwell for Pizza and catching up.

All in all a nice reception at home.

Monday afternoon is Kate's cardiologist appointment. We will keep you posted on the outcome.

Thank you all for your support, prayers and comments over the last 2 1/2 weeks.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1

2009-05-14T05:49:00.005-06:00

Today was the final day on this leg of the journey. Our flight leaves Guangzhou at 9:15 tomorrow morning and we head to Tokyo. Which means we are meeting in the lobby at 6 am or 4 pm Thursday afternoon if you are in Boise. We are scheduled to arrive back in Boise at 1:15 on Friday afternoon. Guangzhou to Tokyo (4 hours flight 2 hour layover) Tokyo to San Fransisco (9 hour flight 2 hour layover) then San Fran to Boise (1.5 hours). Kind of nice that the flights are broke up I guess, no straight 13 hours of flying. We will see how Kate does on this go, as the first attempt was not so good.

This morning we slept late and met a local guide at 10:30 where we then went to a pearl wholesale shopping area and an antique market. It was an awesome excursion and I am glad we went. Danielle and I could have spent hours shopping and people watching but after two hours the girls were done. We picked up some great deals and really enjoyed it.

From there it was back to the room so the girls could nap. Although it took some time for nap time to occur as Jessica just laid by Kate's crib and they both laughed and played together. I finally put Jessica in her bed and the girls were out in no time. Danielle to the time to go out and do some last shopping and photo taking.

We took an early dinner tonight and then headed out for one last walk around town. It seems that are timing was a little off, because by the time we made it to the district we wanted to explore people were putting their shops away.

We are outta here, see you all later.

Badminton and Noodles

2009-05-13T06:13:00.004-06:00

Not sure if that is correct, the spelling of badminton, but the "sport" seems like a local past time. In fact the restaurant that we were dining at this evening had the championship game between Hong Kong and South Korea playing on the big screen television tonight. Unfortunately it is hard not to get drawn in.

One thing I have realized about Jessica is you can take the girl out of China, but you can never completely take China out of the girl. Not that I would want to, but there is just something about her that is China. At about every meal the girl asks for noodles, she just can't seem to get enough of them. We have ordered them pretty much every meal since we arrived in Guangzhou. Guangzhou is actually know for a speciality noodle that is made from rice, not a flour noodle. The other thing that I have observed about Jessica is that she is drawn to badminton.

This evening at dinner, Danielle left early with Kate. So Jessica and I stayed behind to finish, and after she was done she crawled on my lap and we began watching the badminton match on television, must have been 15 minutes before we finally got up. Once we began walking back to the hotel, we crossed through a park. At night the park is crawling with locals out exercising and one sport that they really enjoy is badminton. Tonight was probably the third night that Jessica and I have spent alone strolling the park, and probably the third night that she specifically requested to sit and watch people play. She loves it! Of course she was correcting the people and telling me that the people can use their legs and arms to also hit the bird, something tells me she thinks badminton should be taken to a whole other level. Once we arrived back at the room she proceeded to tell Danielle all about it, so Jessica and Danielle have ventured out once again to observe.

Since Jessica and Danielle are out, Kate and I are getting along great. Of course Kate is asleep. I will say that today we made huge progress between the two of us. Today she actually let me hold her hand, she openly reached for me and she gave me a smile. I guess that is what will happen when you are locked in a van for 11 hours with someone you are really unsure of.

Eleven hours round trip. That is what it takes to travel to Maoming, including a 2 hour stop over. Today was the day we journeyed to where Jessica is from. I have to say it was a mixed emotion trip. Jessica has never asked about adoption, where she is from, etc. She is happy being herself, it was important for Danielle and I to go and find our more about the beginning.

We left the hotel at 7:30 am and got back about 6:30 or so. It was a long day but still a good one. When we arrived at Maoming we went to her orphanage and met the director and assistant director. We found out that Maoming has a population between 6-7 million people. The city is known for its petroleum industry, agriculture and jade factory. Maoming also has six orphanages and only two of the orphanages are involved in international adoption. I kept thinking what are the odds that out of six orphanages that Jessica would have made it to one of the two that do international adoption. I feel so blessed that she made it to us, and us to her. Someone was involved in the true plan of us all meeting.

Her orphanage, Maonan, has about 60 children. They range in age from days old to six years. The director gave us a tour and we got to see several children, several rooms and we met one nanny who worked there when Jessica was there. Danielle had printed off one of our referral photos of Jessica to take with us to show, coincidence but the director gave us a gift and inside the gift was a photograph. The photograph that he gave us is the very same photo that Danielle had printed off to bring. The photograph that he gave us also had Jessica's Chinese name written on the back. Again, all in Him. Amazing. Once I looked at the photo, I knew that there was no doubt that this was Jessica's "home".

After the tour of the orphanage we took the directors out for lunch at a local restaurant and it was all very good. Jessica really enjoyed the food. From there the directors drove us by Jessica's finding spot. It was sad to see, but the area has changed. The original place was made into a restaurant last year the director said. So we spent a few minutes along side the street, took a few photos, shared conversation. The last thing the deputy director said to Jessica was to never forget where she was from, we hope that she doesn't either.

We are so blessed to have both girls now, and we are blessed to have been to both of their homes. We will always have that, the girls will always have that.

It has been a good day.

It's A New Day

2009-05-12T07:56:00.006-06:00

Today we had nothing scheduled until 2:30 when we were headed to the US Consulate here in Guangzhou. So this morning our travel group from the adoption agency got together for a photo session and it was great to see all the little ones ready to get home. One family was leaving right after the consulate appointment, they were taking a train to Hong Kong to spend the night. The other one is leaving tomorrow for a couple of days in Beijing and the other family leaves at 7 in the morning for their flight home. We are the only ones staying on for extra days. That is OK as tomorrow we are driving 4.5 hours one way to Jessica's orphanage.

After our consulate appointment Danielle, Jessica, Kate and I got dropped off a local shopping district so we could do shopping for Jessica's orphanage. We wanted to get a little something for the children. We purchased soccer balls, basketballs, jump ropes, candy and clothes for the children. I guess not much but it was what we could think of. Danielle said that when she spent time in the orphanages in India that the children were very happy to receive candy. So it was important to her to provide some treats.

After the trip to the shopping district we made our way back to the hotel and met our group, or what was left of it, for dinner. We headed back to La Dolce Vita, which is where Danielle first got Kate to smile. I don't know if it is the Italian food, atmosphere, or what, but Kate was certainly relaxed to where she was laughing. It was great to see and we were all happy to witness the moment. Truly a blessing.

This evening on our way back from dinner, we passed the local park where the police officers were training. Danielle got a little video.

We are headed out of the hotel at 7:30 in the morning to meet our guide and start the trek to Maoming. Hopefully we will have a post tomorrow night, but it may be very late.

Some Days Are Better Than Others

2009-05-11T07:22:00.008-06:00

This morning we were up and going at 6 am once again, granted we had nothing scheduled until 6 pm because Danielle and I opted out of the zoo trip that was happening earlier in the afternoon.

We instead spent our family time doing our own thing which was very nice. After breakfast we had to sit around in the hotel room until after 11 am just to make sure all of the paper work for the US Consulate was correct. It was. Tomorrow we head to the Consulate at 2:30 pm for our swearing in ceremony, to where we are then Kate's parents in the eyes of the US Government.

We ended up having lunch at an Italian restaurant just down the road and it was a great day for pizza. Danielle actually got Kate in a high chair by herself and she didn't cry. It was awesome, Danielle started interacting with Kate and Kate gave her a smile. A SMILE! I couldn't believe it, I never expected it and was expecting to take a few more more weeks or at least days. What a blessed day today.

After lunch we did some shopping and picked up a few gifts for the girls and a few special things for Kate. We came back to the hotel for a rest before meeting our group for a 6 pm dinner date with a cruise down the Pearl River. It was nice to be out and about.

Winner, Winner, Winner

2009-05-11T07:18:00.003-06:00

I realize I forgot to give the answer to my question on who said "I would rather be smart than be an actor"

Danielle is the only one that answered and she is correct. Pinocchio is the answer. We have only watched it at least once a day, every day for the past week and a half. Jessica can now almost repeat the movie word for word.

Happy Mothers Day

2009-05-10T05:37:00.003-06:00

This morning we met at 9:30 for a trip out and about with our group. Our group is a nice manageable lot with only 3 other families. This morning we headed out to a local park, which just happened to be just across the street from the China Hotel which is where we stayed when we got Jessica. It was fun to see the China Hotel again, and it was nice to keep on driving by the place.

From the park we headed out to another temple where there seemed to be a lot of people. After the temple we headed to a local shopping district where we went to a few shops then had a family style dinner, and I have to say dinner was really enjoyable.

We made it back to the hotel room at about 2 pm where Jessica, Kate and I laid down to take naps. Danielle left the room to do some alone time. Kate and I got along really well, and we will probably always get along really well as long as she is sleeping. That may not be true, as after bout 3 hours she woke from her nap and I picked her up. After picking her up she cried for another hour until I put her on the floor to feed her. She was really good at letting me feed her so that went very well.

I was just getting a bath started for the girls when Danielle got back to the room. Kate really enjoyed her bath this evening.

Tomorrow we are to stay at the hotel while our guide delivers our paperwork to the US Consulate. We will be in our room until he calls us, this is to ensure that there are no problems with the paperwork. After that a trip is scheduled for the Guangzhou Zoo, which we are going to opt out of and do our own thing.

ummm, can you say good times?

2009-05-09T06:09:00.005-06:00

Yesterday was a looooong day. We got up and packed in order to finish our paperwork in Fuzhou before catching our flight to Guangzhou. Yesterday morning was an easy morning, then it was off to the police station to pick up Kate's passport. From there is was off to the airport which was one hour away. We got there in plenty of time as our original flight had been cancelled (originally at 4:30) and was rescheduled to 7:30 pm. The flight then was one hour to Guangzhou. I will say that Kate did awesome at the airport never cried once, interacted with Danielle and Jessica (still very leery of me) picked up food from Danielle's hand and gave food back. Huge improvements. Then the flight came and lets just say that Kate started crying as soon as we stepped on the plane until we stepped off. Good times.

We arrived in Guangzhou at 8:30 and were picked up by or guide (Simon), on the way to the hotel he called ahead to Papa Johns Pizza. Jessica requested cheese pizza, which I don't care for, but of course by the time we got to the hotel at about 9:30 Jessica was fast asleep. So Danielle and I got stuck with just cheese, but it really tasted good so we couldn't complain.

Both Jessica and Kate were extremely tired and never once woke after we arrived at the hotel. Jessica has her own bed in the hotel and I have to say it is nice to not receive an elbow to the face or foot in some other location. I actually got a good nights sleep last night.

Our hotel is on Shamian Island, versus with Jesssica we stayed off island and were removed from several opportunities. Today has allowed us much exploring and it is nice to be located in one central location with several choices for restaurants.

This morning we were up and going, but unfortunately Jessica tossed her cookies at breakfast at the table in the restaurant, good times. I assume that she was just so hungry from a long day yesterday and probably ate to fast. We all came back to the room and she was up and jumping in no time. Temporary set back.

After breakfast we headed to get Kate's visa picture taken and then the medical exam. All in all not bad other than since Jessica's adoption the US Government now requires inoculations for all children coming to the US. So needless to say poor Kate received 5 shots today. I don't know what they were so you would have to ask Danielle. Jessica and I got to escape all the shot drama by going to the local park so she could play.

We returned back to the hotel at about 12:30 and we put Jessica and Kate down for naps and Danielle had to go back and finish paperwork. We have a Subway located just outside the hotel, so she grabbed sandwiches on the way back.

This evening we got out and walked around the island and enjoyed the evening. We also found a Starbucks so we stopped for an iced coffee and went back to the playground for Jessica to let go of more energy.

I have to say that Kate has done extremely well today. She is interacting with Danielle more and more, she is eating very well and she is always looking for Jessica. If Jessica is out of her sight for too long she gets to whimpering. Also a huge deal to us is that Danielle held and walked Kate tonight for about 15 minutes in the hotel room then put her in the crib with absolutely NO TEARS. No crying, nada. Huge, Huge accomplishment. Good Times!

"I Would Rather Be Smart Than Be An Actor"

2009-05-06T20:35:00.008-06:00

Who can name where the quote in the title of this post came from? The answer to be revealed tomorrow.

This morning was a very nice quiet morning. We were not scheduled to meet our guide until 2 pm so we took it slow. Danielle got Kate up, fed and changed her. It went pretty well, she is not crying like she used to but still just does a whimper. I guess she is still working through it all. Also, don't know if I mentioned that she has been a sick little girl so we called our pediatrician in Boise yesterday morning and she has us giving Kate antibiotics now. We will see if it works, we suspect an ear infection or perhaps sinus infection. We have been blessed to have found another adoptive family from Ohio and their doctor sent a couple of different doses of antibiotics so they gave us one. Danielle emailed our Dr. with the information and from there we formulated a plan. The couple is from Ohio and they are first time parents, they are a lot of fun.

Jessica joined me for breakfast again, what a blessing to have this little girl with us. She is entertaining, curious, great little girl. I know that Kate will eventually get to the same place as well, all on her time.

After we just lazed around we rented a stroller from the hotel and went for a walk in the local park. It was fun to have the lazy morning and be on our own schedule, the park has an amusement part of it that we went to. We watched a roller coaster and again did the people watching.

From there we met Kathryn (our guide) back at the hotel to review the adoption documents again. Once that task was complete we were off to visit a Buddhist temple and monastery. It is great to see all the carvings and detailed paintings that have been completed. The temple was originally built in 876, and was restored in 1980. Apparently much of the temple was dismantled during the cultural revolution of the 1960's.

After the temple we headed to a market to make a couple of purchases for Kate and a couple of items for Jessica.

Kate did better today, granted that the evenings are still a struggle.

Road Trippen

2009-05-06T17:19:00.005-06:00

Yesterday was the first morning that I have been able to convince Jessica to join me for breakfast and leave Danielle to dine alone and have some quiet time. I have to say it was fun to have the company. Kids are so funny, they don't hesitate in doing their thing. At breakfast the waitress was going to seat us towards the back and Jessica kept saying she wanted a window seat. Of course Jessica is confused because she thinks everyone should speak English (and the people are confused because they are always speaking Chinese to her), so Jess was mad at the original seat and just walked past the table and kept going directly to a window seat that hadn't been cleared yet. She sat down and soon the staff was over to clear the table, all I did was stand back and tell the staff thank you.

After breakfast we jumping into a van with our guide and headed out to Gu Tian where Kate is from. It was a very nice break to get away from the hotel. On our last visit we were not allowed to leave the hotel for any drives, I think that was due to so many families had traveled with us and it was hard for the two guides to manage everyone.

We had a wonderful trip and saw lots of great country side. Driving along the river we noticed several barges traveling up and down the river. Our guide informed us that the barges are moving sand from up river into the city for construction. Apparently there is debate between industry and environmentalists, but we could see that industry is winning.

It was a great trip and much needed break from the hotel room. After reaching the city of GuTian (our guide said population of 30,000 but I would say much more), we headed straight for the orphanage. Granted it was a very quick stop (maybe 5 minutes) it was well worth the 3 hour one was drive. Afterward we grabbed lunch at a local restaurant and had a great time.

We rolled back into Fuzhou at about 4 pm and we were all ready to relax. Kate did well and Jessica did also. We are scheduled to drive to Maoming to visit Jessica's orphanage next Thursday but I am still debating on going or if I should stay behind with Kate as that road trip is about 5 hours one way and that might be asking a lot for Kate, given the next day we start all the plane flights home.

Kate is making progress but she won't give up the crying very easily. It tends to be a 2 hour fight every evening, and when she is awake she wants to be held all the time, plus the being held she wants us to be walking.

A Fairly Good Day

2009-05-04T23:31:00.007-06:00

Our guide met us at 9 am this morning and we went directly to the Panda exhibit. Jessica loved the Panda's and she was free to run and jump and play as much as she wanted. She really needed it. We spent about one hour there and caught the "Panda Show". Needless to say the show was somewhat interesting. Granted the "Panda Show" were some little creature that possibly resemble a racoon in size and look, other than the color is red.

From there we headed to a famous founder of Fuzhou and toured his house and then were entertained in a ceremonial tea service. We all enjoyed the tea, and Jessica did as well. She is a girl that enjoys tea and will drink it when ever it is available. We ended up purchasing two different types of tea that we can all enjoy at home. Our guide (Kathryn) did something for us as well, she asked for a free gift so the girl doing the service handed us a travel tea set, kinda fun.

I will also mention that yesterday afternoon, with permission from us through our guide, a woman came to our room and measured all the girls (Danielle included) and she is in the process of custom making dresses for them. I guess it will take two days, so we should have them by Thursday. Danielle is excited to have an actual custom made dress. Of course the woman wanted to make more dresses for as the girls grow. We said no as we think once custom dress is a nice to have at this point. We can always shop more when we are in Guangzhou next week.

The Swine Flue and You!

2009-05-04T23:22:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow we are meeting the guide at 9 am to head to Gu Tian where the orphanage is located. Kate was driven 3 hours into Fuzhou to meet us and our original plans were to go back to the orphanage to meet the nannies and see where Kate has lived the last 19 months.

We found out yesterday that we could still possibly go to Gu Tian however the Gov't is not allowing visitors to the orphanages. This is all due to the Swine Flue as a precaution no visits. Oh well, we still get to drive by the orphanage as that is where Kate was abandoned. Also, the nanny that found her is the nanny that gave her to Danielle on Sunday.

The exchange between nanny and Danielle was very hard on everyone, and yesterday at the adoption offices the nanny was very emotional as she has been with Kate from the very beginning. The nanny did tell our guide that she was happy to see Kate go home with a good family as she could tell that Jessica is a happy girl and that she wishes only the best for Kate.

A little history about Kate. Her name was chosen by the orphanage director. Yang is her surname, Cheng means grow up and Xin means joyful; in other words the orphanage hopes "she will grow up happily". So do I.

First Full Day With Kate

2009-05-04T06:08:00.007-06:00

Lets just say we went from one pissed off little girl, that cried, pushed, crawled away, vomited from crying so hard, screaming, everything you could think of.

To a fairly good day to where Danielle could hold her, yet on Kate's terms. By the end of the day today, I could hold her without her crying.

We pushed it too hard and tried to go out for dinner. Not so much. The problem is that if you sit down with Kate she will cry. Needless to say Danielle went outside the restaurant and walked with Kate while Jess and I tried to eat. That didn't work either because Jess wanted to be with her mom and as soon as I said no she was to stay with me, she began to cry. Pretty soon we had two girls crying and that equals no good. We cut dinner very short and brought the food back to the hotel.

This evening we were going to give Kate a bath but she had other plans. So Jess got one and during that time Kate decided to have another episode in crying/vomiting and let it go all over Jess's blanket. To understand the importance of Jess's blanket, you have to know it has been the only thing that has always been with her since we adopted her. Needless to say Jessica is not impressed, as the blanket is in the laundry bag. It is going to be a rough night.

By the way today it became official, we are now the proud parents of Kate Ann ChengXin Hough.

As bad as this post sounds, I am still very happy, very happy!

Kate Ann ChengXin Hough

2009-05-03T04:30:00.004-06:00

I guess I will start off by saying that we arrived safely at Fuzhou after leaving our hotel in Shanghai at 6:30 am. Danielle and I really surprise ourselves with how good we have become at travel....

We made it to our hotel at about noon, ordered room service and got unpacked. It felt good to finally get settled somewhere for one week. Jess and I grabbed a quick nap before our guide called us to meet and discuss some of the final paperwork.

At 4 pm today we received our Kate. Let's just say that the exchange was not quite what I had envisioned. In fact is was down right tough. With Jess everything was easy, nice, no problems. With Kate all I could think of was our friends Christi, Doug and Maliah Martine from when we adopted Jess. Lots of tears, screaming, crying... it was rough.

I am not going to say much else other than we are getting settled.

It has been a long, long, emotional day. We are ordering room service and calling it a day.

Pictures at some other point.

It's A Good Day

2009-05-02T02:09:00.013-06:00

So today went without naps and it has ended up being a pretty good day. This morning we were up at 6 am after a rough night of sleeping all afternoon and then being up for about 2-3 hours in the middle of the night. We walked along the Huangpu river and The Bund and had a good morning. I will tell you that all of the guide books say to get used to people starring at you as a Westerner and this morning was no exception. It is interesting getting used to all the rubber necking going on, still can't figure out why, guess we just look different. In fact we were actually approached by a father and he motioned for Danielle, Jessica and I to get in a picture with his daughter. I would guess that she was about 10 years old. Interesting for sure.

From the Huangpu River we walking to Gucheng Park and then to Yu Yuan Gardens. As mentioned yesterday their were also lots of people out and about. At this time of the trip I have realized that I need to remove myself from the crowds as I get overwhelmed by all the starring, shoving, pushing, etc. Before leaving the park we stood in line for steamed dumplings. I had one and will admit it was good, but something in the back of my mind told me to stop at one. Guess I am a little leery of street food. However, Danielle and Jessica couldn't be stopped and they ate about 20 dumplings (we paid about $3.70). I am happy to report neither of the girls are sick, perhaps they are just a little more adventuresome than I.

(watch this video, no wonder it is sensory overload)

We hailed a taxi and made our way back to the hotel for a brief break before heading out again. Instead of walking and expending all of our energy we got another taxi and headed to Fuxing Park located in the French Concession of Shanghai. It is a great park! Very quiet and removed from all the hustle and bustle of Shanghai. The French Concession is certainly not as touristy as what we had been doing, very laid back and probably more Western in development.

Before leaving the French Concession we walked along a few streets and stumbled upon a Starbucks where we went in just as it was beginning to rain. We sat outside, enjoyed two coffee's and one hot chocolate, and did a lot of people watching. The people watching is one thing that never gets old.

We stopped another taxi and came back to the hotel for another quick rest before heading out again. This time it was East Nanjing Road which we would associate to be the Time Square of Shanghai. Lots of neon signs, lights, people.... It was fun to walk around and check it all out, lots of Rolex watches I could have purchased but decided to pass up the great opportunity.

Well, tonight is the last night as a family of three. Tomorrow is the big day. We are getting up at 5 am to head to the airport at 6:30 for our 8:50 am flight to Fuzhou. We arrive in Fuzhou at about 10 am and then meet our guide for the trip to the hotel. We will get checked in and meet Kate tomorrow afternoon. Wish us luck and we appreciate all the prayers!

Nappy Time Is Tough

2009-05-01T10:53:00.012-06:00

We started out on a strong note yesterday, up at 6 am, had a great breakfast and out of the hotel by 8:30. We headed straight to the Bund and took the Tourist Tunnel under the river to the financial district. The financial district houses the Pearl Tower, the Jin Mao tower and the Shanghai World Financial Building. The Financial Building houses the Worlds highest observation deck. It is located on the 100th floor and has glass bottom floor so as you walk along you are literally looking directly down on the streets of Shanghai. Needless to say my vertigo really kicked in and I couldn't wait to get down.

After we made our way down to the ground we grabbed a quick bite to eat at a coffee shop in the bottom of the Financial Building. We then walked back to a very packed shopping mall, keep in mind Friday was a national holiday in China. At the mall we located a Best Buy where I needed to purchase a card reader so I could download pictures from the camera to the computer. I had forgotten ours at home. I should also point out that although there are places for lines to start, the lines are quickly ignored as people push and shove to get what they want. I love the challenge of pushing back. No one really takes offense but you have to be aggressive, and this whole process is against my amiable/amiable side. I am really embracing the driver side of myself, if I wouldn't have we would still be standing at Best Buy.

Afterwards we walked back to the hotel to take a quick nap. Well that hasn't worked very well as it is now 1:30 am and we are all wide awake. Needless to say we laid down at about 3 and woke up at midnight. Totally missed dinner and we are celebrating by having granola bars and hot chocolate in the hotel room.

Here are a few more pics from the day.

Mai The Way

2009-04-30T16:14:00.001-06:00

Danielle started a blog herself. So please check hers out, of course from her perspective!

http://www.huffsdueeast.blogspot.com/

We've Been Shanghaied

2009-04-30T15:57:00.002-06:00

Not really, but couldn't resist using Shanghied. I always associated that term with some that was "taken" by someone, maybe I am completely wrong.

We made it to Shanghai last night at about 5 pm and the flights were very uneventful and Jessica did great. I think she is a better traveler than her mom and dad combined.

After arriving at the airport we cruised through immigration quickly then on to catch a taxi to downtown. The hotel web page said it was a quick 40 minute drive, but that was not the case last night. The problem is that today is May 1st, in other words a country holiday, and with Shanghai having over 15 million people I think everyone was either headed into or out of town for the long weekend. Our taxi ride took us just under 3 hours. However, we made it no problem, got checked in, took showers, Jess and I watched a movie and we were out.

It is now 6 am and we are all wide awake and taking yet another shower. Breakfast starts at 7 and from there we will be out and about doing the tourist thing. I do have to say that our hotel "The Bund Riverfront Hotel" is a pretty great place. Nice rooms, great staff and looks to be a great location. From our room we can see the Pearl Tower and The Bund area of Shanghai. So I think this morning we are going to walk over to the Pearl Tower and then to another skyscraper to tour it.

We will post pictures this evening.

Still Getting Bags In Order

2009-04-28T22:29:00.002-06:00

It always seems like we are last minute. Here it is 10:30 at night and still adding odds and ends to the bags. Weighing and reweighing, the pound limit for baggage in China is 44 lbs, so with two in country flights we have to make sure we are OK. So far so good, so we are stopping. Now just completing last minute copies of documents and trying to find pictures of the nanny that brought Jessica to us. As we are headed to Maoming and Jess's orphanage we want to ensure we have pictures so we could meet the woman again.

Needless to say it is going to be difficult getting "good" sleep this evening but we will give it a go.

Next time we visit should be from Shanghai on Thursday/Friday.

We Would Still Be Waiting

2009-04-23T19:08:00.002-06:00

As a side note, when Danielle and I started on the road to adoption it was 2005. When we applied to adopt Jessica it was March 2006.

After we applied for the initial adoption, Danielle and I began discussing the possibility of adopting a child with minor special needs. When we talked to our original adoption agency about the possibility we made the switch to special needs and were immediately matched with Jessica.

If we would not have made the switch to special needs we will still be waiting to be placed with a child. In other words, the process to adopt a non special needs child from China is taking over 3 years. 3 YEARS!!!

We are truly blessed to have been lead to special needs children and have adopted two daughters by the time we would have originally adopted one.

Both Jessica and Kate are heart babies, meaning they have heart conditions that require surgeries to repair. Jessica had her heart surgery in November 2006 and is now a healthy growing child. Kate is scheduled for her first meeting with the pediatric cardiologist on the Monday after we get home. From that appointment we will begin the plan for Kate's surgery and moving to getting her on the right track.

It amazes me every time I think about the timeline that Danielle and I have been on.

We are very blessed.

Shanghai

2009-04-20T14:18:00.005-06:00

Danielle and I spent the weekend talking about how we never thought we would ever go to China even once, let alone twice. It is interesting how you are called to something or moved to something. For us adoption was that calling we couldn't ignore.

Now it is so awesome to be planning a trip to Shanghai. We are really looking forward to exploring on our own, we went to the bookstore on Sunday and picked up a couple of travel books and travel maps of Shanghai and bit by bit our trip is coming together. For the most part all of our adoption time is already planned and set once we get Kate, so we are enjoying the "planning" phase of the first two days.

We booked our room at The Bund Riverside in Shanghai. The next big question we have is do we take the high speed train from the international airport then catch a subway connection to our hotel, all while doing this after rolling off the plane with our luggage; or do we catch a cab. We are really leaning to toward the cab.... I guess you will have to stay tuned to find out.

Can't believe we are only one week away from meeting Kate. Danielle and I have been placed with Kate since September 2008, it just takes a long time to get through all the paperwork. Needless to say, it feels like it has been a long time coming. We have her room all completed, Jessica and Kate will share a room. Jessica says she is excited to be a big sister, and I am sure she is, however it will be an interesting change for Jess after we get home and we all get settled.

By the way we are taking Jessica to China with us on the trip. To me it seems that she is really starting to remember things from yesterday or even months ago. I am curious to know how much of this trip she will remember when she grows up. We also feel blessed to have arranged an additional trip to Jess's orphanage when we are in Guangzhou. In 2006 we were discouraged by our guides from making the journey, but Danielle is determined to go this time and she has made it happen. I doubt if Jess has any memories from there, but I guess you never know.

We are going to try to contact the orphanage to find out if there is anything that we could help provide for the children; clothes, diapers, formula etc. Not sure how to make this contact yet, but we are really drawn to making sure we can provide something that the orphanage could use.

Danielle and I are so blessed to be going on this journey a second time, it is truly amazing to think about.

WOW, long time no post!

2009-04-17T22:58:00.002-06:00

So the adoption front has been verrryyyy slow. I am happy to report it is complete and here is our schedule for meeting Kate. And yes, Jessica is going with us, as she is excited to become a big sister.

4-29 Boise to Shanghai, Shanghai tour on our own from 4-30 to 5-3

5-3, fly from Shanghai to Fuzhou via FM9521, meet guide from CWTS at Fuzhou airport, check in Xi Hu Grand Hotel (Western Lake Grand Hotel), meet Kate in the afternoon.

5-4：proceeding with adoption registration and notary

5-5, visiting Western Lake, and shopping

5-6, visiting Gu Tian County SWI (Kate's orphanage)

5-7, visiting the Panda World

5-8, visiting Xi Chan Temple, picking up Kate's passport, fly from Fuzhou to Guangzhou via cz365 (16：20/17：50), meet guide from CWTS at Guangzhou airport, check into Victory Hotel, Western Building.

5-9：physical exam, visiting Walking Street

5-10：visiting Liu Rong Temple and Liu Hu Lake Park

5-11：applying for visa，visiting the zoo

5-12：picking up visa，

5-13：visiting Mao Nan SWI (Jessica's orphanage)

5-14：resting

5-15：leaving Guangzhou back to the States at 09：34, Boise at 2: 00 PM

LOA Update

2009-03-02T12:08:00.001-07:00

LOA (Letter of Approval) means that Danielle and I have officially been matched with Kate. We received the news the last week of February. One thing you can count on for international adoption is you can always count on change.

Danielle has learned that as of February the US govt now requires additional paperwork which will take about two weeks to process. Currently our documents are somewhere in Missouri waiting to be approved, when that happens our documents will go to US consulate in Guangzhou, China.

I guess I really don't understand the whole process at this point due to things constantly changing, but Danielle is on the ball. We have been doing a lot of praying trying to get through the process.

I guess we are about 8-10 weeks out now from possible traveling.

I will keep you posted.

Kate Update

2009-02-03T18:42:00.003-07:00

We just received updated photos of Kate. Danielle has located Americans that live in China, they had adopted a daughter a few years ago and she was from the same orphanage as Kate. They went to visit the orphanage for Chinese New Year and were able to supply a quick update and pictures.

For the update, Kate looks good and healthy. She really enjoys her walker and is continually on the go. Kate was reported to pay attention to people and really observe. Kate made lots of eye contact, which for orphanage care is a great sign. To us that me

ans she is getting really good care and attention. Our prayers have been answered and we are very blessed.

Still no update on traveling.

Enjoy the picture!

Hi There!

2009-01-27T22:15:00.004-07:00

I guess the last time that I updated was last year. Time sure gets away sometimes.

On the adoption front, we have not heard any new news about Kate. We sent our Dossier out in December and are still waiting to hear from China on the official approval. So we wait. Our best guess is to get approval at the end of February, early March. If that happens then we will probably travel to Gutian, China in April or May. For sure we will keep you posted.

As a family, we have been busy over the past month. From Christmas, birthday, wedding, ice skating, etc. We have been on the go. Jessica turned four in January, Danielle's cousin Greg got married on the 3rd and Jessica was a flower girl with her cousin Molly Jo. I had the opportunity to take Jessica ice skating for the first time. A friend of mine, Steve, had grown up playing hockey back East, so he joined Jessica and I and taught the both of us how to skate.

I am including some pictures from the last month.

It's Christmas Eve Eve

2008-12-23T20:54:00.002-07:00

Hi all. Hope this finds you all well. We have been spared several of the recent heavy snows that others have been experiencing. We have probably received about only 7 inches total, that is with some high winds.

Jessica is an outdoor girl for sure. Danielle was able to purchase Jessi a new snow outfit and she seems to stay warm. I am excited for this snow season as we have decided that this will be the year to start Jessica on snow skiing. I started skiing at about the age of 12 and Danielle has been a couple of times and was miserable the entire experience. I will say that Danielle has learned to appreciate good snow gear and she has admitted that it does make a difference. Come January we will be headed to the mountains to give the new family sport a go.

On the adoption home front, we are officially Log In Date (LID) to China. The date of our LID was December 17th. So that means our official countdown for our Letter of Approval (LOA) has begun, so we are anticipating that timeline to be about five months. Then we have to get the Travel Approval (TA) which is about an additional month.

We have also learned, through one of our chat groups, that another couple is headed to Gutian Orphanage in January to get their child. We are hoping that the couple will be able to be in contact with Katie and that they are able to provide Danielle and I updated photos and a report.

Wishing you all the best and many Blessings this Christmas Season and in the New Year.

DTC and Christmas Dance Recital

2008-12-08T15:46:00.010-07:00

DTC. For those not in the adoption community, DTC means Dossier To China. In other words, Danielle and I have officially sent all of our required documents to China for the CCAA to approve. It will now take about 3-5 months to be approved and then about 1 month after that until we travel to China to meet Kate. The picture on the right shows all the documents that made up the dossier. Our agency confirmed that CCAA received our dossier early last week. We have not received confirmation that we are LID (log in date) yet, but we anticipate that to be this coming week sometime.

The time is moving fast and we are so thankful to have all the documents out of our hands.

In other news this past Friday, the 12th, was Jessica's first dance recital, (note the picture on the left, Jessica is catching air). My parents were able to make it into town this weekend, and we are so thankful for the opportunity for them to come. We had a great time and celebrated our gift exchange early. It was nice that they could enjoy the time with Jessica and watch her open the gifts that the had gotten for her.

Wishing you all the best this time of year.

This is Jessica at home after she received her roses from her pappa and myself for her first dance recital.

Quick Update

2008-11-27T19:40:00.005-07:00

First off, Happy Thanksgiving. We hope you are all having a great long weekend.

I wanted to share with you our last update of Kate, we received confirmation a couple of days ago and we are so happy with the updated information.

"... your daughter is doing well. She can sit independently and pull herself up but she cannot walk on her own yet. I asked if she is crawling, and was told no because the caregiver doesn't want to put her on the floor to crawl because of her heart condition (according to her). She said that when the baby cries her lip will turn blue and she doesn't want to upset her by putting her on the floor to crawl. Other than her heart condition, she is doing well and she is a bright child."

Kate is 15 months old in December. Of course Danielle and I are so thankful for the great news. The picture above is from when Danielle was on the phone with our adoption agency when we got the call about being accepted to adopt Kate.

Here We Go!

2008-11-25T18:51:00.010-07:00

Welcome to the new blog. I have to say that I got tired of myspace and decided to move over here. So far so good, I am going to continue to explore all the different options with blogger and edit as needed. Bare with me as I go through the changes. Hopefully this will be a fresh look at Hough Stuff as we move towards our second adoption, hence the name Hough Stuff con Katie. Kate Ann Cheng Xin Hough is the name of our new daughter. Kate turned one year old on September 11th and it looks like we are still about 5 months out from being able to go get Kate and bring her home.

The latest update is that Danielle and I pushed at getting our paperwork through USCIS (government immigration), it was the last bit of paperwork that we needed before we submitted all documents to the State Department and Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C. All said, it took us a total of 57 days to complete the USCIS part (this is fast given the majority of wait time is now 120+ days for approval).

Danielle sent the dossier to Washington D.C. on Friday November 21st. The courier that we hired delivered the papers to the State Department today, tomorrow the papers will go the Chinese embassy then they should be completed and shipped back to us December 1st. We will be cutting it close, our adoption agency gave us until December 5th to get our Dossier to China. I must note that we did file an extension to give us extra time to get the dossier completed, but it has always been our goal to get the dossier completed more sooner than later.

We will be submitting our documents to our adoption agency the first week of December with hopes of the agency sending it to CCAA (China) that same week. The we are only about 3-5 months before we can go get Kate.

In other news, Danielle switched hours at work so she now goes to work from 6 pm to midnight 3-4 nights a week. So I am able to get home, sit down to diner with Jessica and Danielle for about half an hour before Danielle has to leave. It is working out good for us, we took Jessica out of day care so either Danielle and I are with her all the time.

Since we are not putting money into day care any more, we decided to get Jessica into gymnastics and dance. She loves them both!

Jessica's first dance recital is December 12th, I am excited about seeing her in the show. For the gymnastics, I guess there is no recital to speak of, so I took an afternoon off from work to go watch. I have to say that I was almost moved to tears, it was awesome to watch Jessica be so comfortable with herself to be so sure of what she was doing. She was focused on her gymnastics and payed attention. It made me realize that she is growing up quickly and to realize that she has already been with Danielle and I two years, she is well adjusted and a happy girl. I could not be more blessed!