Yesterday, after waking up with a migraine and being sick all day, we ventured on our bus trip. I knew it was a day that I should have stayed in bed but the seats were paid for and I think norm was looking forward to the day away so I humored him and went. Our trip was to Atlantic City to the casino. The noise and smoke just made things get worse as the day went on. I ended up sitting on the steps having Norm rubbing my neck and shoulders to try to alleviate it. No luck on that or any success on the 14 Advil I managed to down in the day. So I woke up this morning and I still am blessed with it. Been a long time since I felt this lousy. So I am taking the day to relax and watch the Nascar race. Something I have grown to LOVE over the last year. So anyway we had to pass by the Philadelphia Airport which is HUGE and as I watched planes coming and going I cried softly to myself thinking about the day we will board the plane (my first plane ride) and fly to get our precious son. What a wonderful day that will be. And our return home for our family to bond with and love Derek will be even better.
Hopefully we will get the new updated picture by the end of this week and we can see how much Derek has grown. That will be a bittersweet moment. It will be great to see him thriving and growing but sad to know what we have already missed. We are anticipating with great hope and faith that we will have a G&R ceremony date in the next week to 2 weeks. That will set up our travel time and that in itself is going to relieve a spot of stress for me.
The other news we got yesterday is that Norm's sister, mae is expecting their 3rd baby around Christmas or New Year. Someone for Derek to play with. They will be one year apart.

First let me start this day by saying:
HAPPY 15TH BIRTHDAY ALYSSA!!!
It is hard to believe 15 beautiful years have gone by. I look at my daughter and see her growing up...literally (6 foot 1 inch)...but not only in size but in maturity also. She has always been kind, considerate, pleasant and most of all full of love for God and others in her life. She will always be a treasure of mine.
Now as we journey toward our NEW treasure I am making a plea to all who are reading and following our blog:
First of all THANK YOU to all of you who are following our journey, as you know it has been a very emotional one. I'm sure that isn't over by any means.
Second I am asking everyone out there to put their prayers into motion for us. I want everyone o PRAY that Norm will be holding Derek in his arms for Father's Day!!!!
I know prayer works because i wouldn't be where I am right now if not and if you wanted a list of things that have proven Power of Prayer to me I can make one for you. So I know it can work if we all come together and do it. Please for me!!!!

We haven't gotten any news about Derek for a couple weeks and as the phone call day approaches each passing day hold much emotion. We are excited at the beginning of the day and each time the phone rings I answer it with question and excitement that this may be "The Call" and at the end of the day and there has been no calls...we look forward to facing tomorrow!! We know the day is close and that it may only be a few more weeks and we'll be flying the friendly skies to get Derek home. We were hoping for an updated picture this week but that hasn't presented itself yet and I'm wondering if any will before we get to travel. I am just concerned by the measurements they gave us in comparison to the age they gave us as to whether they are in sync with each other. We aren't even sure what sizes to pack for Derek.
Well as the emotions continue to run rampant, we ask you to think of us often and remember to continue praying for us.
Thank You!!
Teresa

Okay, so today happens to be one of my "not so good" days. I try to overlook the fact that I am tired of WAITING and I tell myself and others that I am calm and that it is soon. Well deep, deep down my heart is aching so badly to go get Derek. I want to hold him so tight and kiss his cheeks. He is so beautiful and I can't wait to bring him home for everyone to meet. Wait til I can post his pictures...you will agree with how sweet he is. This has been one LOOOOOONG jouney and as it gets closer to the end I am getting more and more cranky with the wait.
I spoke with our new CM today, DeNese, and she seems very informative and sweet. I'm sure the relationship will grow as the time moves on. As my friend Michelle said in an email today soon we won't need our CM's we will have our babies. DeNese reassured the indication made to us earlier about our G&R being by the middle of June. If this really holds out we may be traveling in about 6 weeks or less hopefully!!! So maybe if we are really lucky we will get that call about the date for Mother's Day and we can be over there for Father's Day. I want Norm to have Derek in his arms on Father's Day so badly. The time is drawing near and the suspense is eating at me. I hate surprises as some of yu know and this is definatley one I am chomping at the bit about!!! She also said that there is still the possibility that we may not travel with Michelle & Jeff. If that happens I am going to be devastated. We are looking so forward to this time together with our babies. God has been good so far in keeping us together so as I told her I have faith THAT He will continue that for us. So as we now just sit each day and wait for the phone to ring with our date we look back over the whole process and progress we have made so far. WOW!!! We have accomplished alot. Keep praying with us for the phone to ring SOON!!!!

SAD DAY...HAPPY DAY!!!!!

I had to title this post because it reflects my feeling today. Today is the day that our very helpful and more than adequate case manager goes on maternity leave. We are as of Monday turned over to our new CM DeNese. Diane has assured me thatshe too will be wonderful and is very informative & helpful. Its just that feeling of having a "blankie" and you lost it at a store and your tummy churns everytime you think about it. I am nervous. With Diane I didn't ever feel afraid to call her or email her...she always comforted me. I'm sure DeNese and I will build a relationship too but I am going to miss Diane so much!!!
The happy side is that the reason Diane is leaving for now is because her baby is due in a couple weeks. This is so exciting and I can't wait to meet them in person. We are hoping to have Derek back home by the 23rd of June so that we can go to the agency picnic to show him off. Diane should be there too so I want to meet her so badly.
There has been no news about Derek or the dossier this week. Hopefully by the middle of May we will have our G&R date. I am so tired of waiting. Norm looked at me last night and once again said..."When are we going to finally get to go for my baby boy". He is so ready!!!

Yesterday was yet another day of shopping. Norm & I both worked in the morning and then loaded up the girls with the portable DVD player and their Ipods and off to Hershey Outlets we went. We found someawesome deals there. I have been searching with no luck for sundresses to take on our trip. Finally yesterday I went to the right place. I found numerous ones at The Dress Barn so I bought 2. They are the type of material that doesn't need ironed and they will pack really well. One more thing to check off of our list. The girls got some great deals at Aeropastale and I found a few tops for myself there too!!! Even Norm got a shirt. Then it was off to The Childrens Place...one of my favorite shops...and we found great stuff for Derek. Alyssa found the most items and the best prices. We had fun. Even Alyssa said when we got home that she had a good time...unusual for a soon to be 15 year old, especially mine. So I feel like I am making some headway on the packing which I better soon do.
Last night we went to a 25th wedding anniversary party for friends of ours. That was a great time. We got to be with some friends of ours that we unfortunately don't get together with often enough. We laughed about old times and made a few new memories to look back on next time we get together. Congrats to Chris & Tina for 25 years of marriage!!!!
I'm not sure what today hold for us yet. We have alot of things we'd like to accomplish today but it is rainy and that makes us lazy. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we are heading to Philly to the PA Hair Show. I love going there. Norm always goes with me. He is VERY supportive of my career. He truly is the best soulmate for me. I love that he wants to know what I do and to learn about my career. I'm not nearly as interested in his mechanic career though. I care but I don't get that into it. I hate the dirt. YUCK!!! All I think about is how dirty Derek is going to be after a day of tagging behind "DADDY" in the garage. Which remindsme...we got hime the cutest one piece shorts romper that says "Future CEO". I thought it was quite appropriate.
We probably won't hear much more on the adoption front until we get the call with our G&R date. So keep watching and I'll keep posting. Next week we will be getting our new case manager so I am a little on edge about that right now. I'm sure it will be fine. Just yet another adjustment to make in the process. Hopefully only about 3-4 more weeks and our paperwork will be back to the DIA and he will issue us our G&R date and we can begin our travel arrangements. We are looking so forward to getting to VN for Derek and also to CA to meet Michelle & Jeff. She has a few things in mind for us to do and see so we can't wait. I warned her it will be "rednecks" in the city when we get there. LOL!!!!

Wer received a phone call from Diane today with good news....She gave us a travel update!!! Here is the run down:

The DIA sent your dossier copies to the Department of Justice in DA Nang as
of last week. The DOJ has ordered the Da Nang orphanage to assemble a child
dossier. The orphanage director is currently working on collecting all
necessary paperwork for the dossier which should take about 7-10 days.


By the end of April the DOJ will have both the copy of your dossier and the
child dossier. They will then instruct the local security police to perform
an investigation on the child information. This is just a formality since
the police have already investigated the abandonment.


Then the DOJ will seek the endorsement of the Da Nang�s Peoples� Committee
before making a recommendation and final report back to the DIA in Hanoi.
Upon receiving the report from the DOJ the DIA will make the necessary
authorization or �final approval� for the DOJ to invite the families to go
to Vietnam to attend the G&R Ceremony.


We still do not know when you will be traveling, but we are still thinking
that it will probably be in June.

So please continue to pray with us that the paperwork continues to move quickly and that we may still have a chance to travel before they are anticipating.

I am so excited. I have been anxiously awaiting for the 1000th reader to view our blog. It is great to see so many people taking advantage of reading blogs. I have found many favorites and many very informative ones myself. I hope to all that haave read this blog so far that you have gained some sort of knowledge from it. We will continue to keep it updated for your enjoyment!!
Thanks Again Readers!!!
Teresa & Norm

Hope everyone had as great of an Easter as we did. We ate good, had wonderful family time and I must say Norm & I slept good last night for once. We have no news about Derek today. The one thing that has me on pins and needles at this point is that our case manager (Diane), whom might I add is wonderful, is going to be reassigning our case to another CM due to her maternity leave. We only have 2 weeks left with her (but who's counting, right!) and then we get a new one. I guess I probably don't need to tell you how nervous we are about this change. We have found a friend and a comfort in Diane that is unexplainable. She has been the oneto calm me when I get out of hand with worry. I'm sure our next CM will be wonderful too but Diane knows us and our case so well that I just want our dossier to complete its rounds and get a G&R date before she takes her leave. That would mean only 2 weeks and I doubt it will happen that quickly. I'm still going to wish for it though.
I have once again today decided to tackle some of the packing. What dilemna's. I don't know where to start really. I'm not sure what I should put in our carry ons and what to put in the regular luggage. This makes me crazy. Today I am sorting out the important items for our carry on and putting them in quart ziplock bags as required. Geez...we need to pack alot of stuff!!! I overpack just going to the beach for a week imagine what it looks like here packing for a foreigncountry for 3-4 weeks. Last night Michelle & I hashed around (over email) a few hotel choices and I think we might have it narrowed down. We are using the Sandy Beach Resort in DaNang and probably the Lucky 2 or Paradise in Hanoi. We want to stay someplace respectable and accomodating for the right price.
I haven't been feeling well for the last few days and I have a doctor appointment tomorrow. Friday I got hit with a nasty headache and dizziness and I can't seem to get rid of either. Hopefully only an inner ear infection which will go away with a little medication. I am going to take along Derek's medical info we received and try to get the doctor to look his blood test results over quickly. Not that I have any concerns but I am curious if they are okay.
When we hear more I'll post ithere!!! Keep watching!!!

Happy 4 month Birthday Derek!!!! We wish we were there to hold you and kiss you for your birthday but I promise we will make up for it as soon as we can. All that's left of the wait is in the hands of the officials there in Vietnam. As soon as that call comes we will be booking the flight, finishing packing, and pacing the floors til travel day. We can't wait to hold you.
Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Many of my blogger friends are in the process of working on their baby's nurseries and continue to ask about how Derek's is coming along. Well I have been putting off taking pictures because as you will see in these we have a little bit of everything all ove the place in there right now. It is our packing station for the time being. I try to add a few things to the suitcases each week. It's all part of the "hurry up and wait" process. We have not gotten crib bedding yet as that is something i thought we might get for a shower. As it stands, my dear SIL's were wanting to throw one before travel but because it may be sooner than we expected originally time is too short. They will have one after our return. They have however asked that we make a list of the must haves to come home to and they will make sure it is all in place for our return with Derek. How great is that. They are a great bunch of girls. One would be as lucky as me to have them in their lives. So I have put the bedding on the list among a few other items that came to mind. Actually it is a little overwhelming seeing as I haven't done this for 11 years and I forget alot of what to expect. Well reality will strike once Derek is in our arms and anything I forgot on the list I will be sure to email home about. So here are a few pictures. Keep in mind that this is our sitting room just off of our master bedroom so it will be a perfect place for him.
This is his incomplete crib so far. This is when you walk into the room. This is my creativity in curtains...I didn't feel like hemming once i cut these off so I just slit the bottoms to make them look like grass. I impressed myself. The huge 60" shelf is hiding the many holes that were holding up the girlie things I originally had on the wall. Check out the clothing tree in the corner, I bought it at a craft show. Too cute to pass up.
Here is the pile of luggage. I cannot wait to be done packing!!!!!
I know this isn't jungle looking but I thought it was so cute and soothing for above his crib. When he gets a little bigger I'll change it to jungle animals. And on the wall that the crib end is, I have his dresser but no decorations yet. Waiting for a rocking chair for in there too!!!

So this is a peek at the nursery. Hope you like it as much as we do!!!!

No new news on our paperwork...we don't expect to hear alot until the day they call with our G&R date now. Keep watching for updates though!!!

Today is an AWESOME day!!!! We just got a call from our CM and she told us that our dossier was accepted by the DIA. Only took 2 days....rather than 2-3 weeks. Things are rolling!!!! Now it will go to DaNang and it has to be approved by the DOJ. Then we can get our G&R date!!!! Won't be long now!!!!!
DEREK WE'LL BE THERE SOON!!!!!!

We received an email of an update today. We found out that Derek's head circumfrence is 17 inches which seems right on for his age & size. We also found out that our dossier is going to the DIA this evening (Wed. AM in Vietnam right now) and that there is a 30 day allowance for processing but it is believed that this will be handled very quickly and the 30 days won't come. Then it goes to DaNang which is where Derek is in the orphanage and the DOJ there has to review and approve it and give us a travel and adoption day date. It's getting so close. Sounds at this point like May will be our month!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!

Today I have started researching flights and hotels. This isn't going to be good. I am so overwhelmed I want to cry. If it wouldn't have been so heartwrenching to get this far I would stop right now. I just don't have any clue what i am doing. I have never flown or made a travel arrangement in my life. I need direction!!!! We want to get on the same flight as Michelle & Jeff so hopefully she will be able to coach me through this. It is so confusing.If I have all my hair left when this is done it will be amazing.

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!!!
This morning we recieved our medical reports for Derek. According to them he is healthy and all things seem normal. We were a little taken aback by his weight and height measurements. He is going to fit right in with this family.
Height--27"
Weight--16 pounds
Chest--18"
Since we are all tall: Norm(6'3), Teresa(5'7), Alyssa(6'), and Jessica(5'3). He will be right at home here.
He is so adorable and we can't wait to go get him. We are still being told that it could be as early as May if all the paperwork goes through smoothly. Keep praying.

I phoned Diane this afternoon and told her that WE ARE READY TO OFFICIALLY ADOPT DEREK!!!!

Yesterday I decided to satisfy a craving I've been having. I was shopping and was hungery for Chinese food so i visited the new Panda King restaurant and had the buffet. DELICIOUS!!! Anyway I got a fortune cookie of course at the end of my meal and opene it last night. My fortune was fantastic. Here's how it reads:
"A thrilling time is in your immediate future."
Sounds good right!!!!! Hopefully immediate future is real soon. I'm sure it is speaking of Derek!!!
Still no medical reports!

Well still no medical report today. Diane said that Ray hadn't forwarded anything to her. Shealso said that to avoid any dissappointment we may feel...there really won't be much information on the report unless there is a problem and it needs to be addressed to us. All I am worried about right now is knowing that he is basically healthy and what does he weigh, how long, and head circumfrence. These are important things for the doctor here to look at and determine things from. Hopefully this week yet we will get the info. We want to officially accept his referral so badly. I just can't get over looking at his picture...he is so beautiful. Am I allowed to be so prejudice about this??? !!!
On a brighter note...I looked outside today to see what my dog was barking so insistantly about. Much to my surprise there were about 8 robins pecking persistantly at our yard. WOOHOO!!!! Spring is springing! Tomorrow it is actually SPRING!!! And tonight it is snowing, go figure.
Today I did a little shopping and got curtains for Dereks room. They are a light lime green and will match his bedding great. They were way too long so I cut them off to length and didn't feel like hemming them so in staying with the jungle theme I put slits all along the bottom to make it appear as grass. They look so cute. Somedays I just impress myself with my creativity. I put some jungle animal wallies up and I got a dust ruffle to match his bedding and put that in the crib. It's starting to look like a nursery. I haven't bought the bedding, hoping for a shower. Hint..hint!!!! We also got wooden letters to spell out Derek and I am going to paint them tomorrow and put them on his new shelf that also looks so great in the room. It is reaally coming together. I'll flash a few pictures on here as soon as I get some of the clutter sorted through. It is the place that is holding all the luggage and the stroller and swing and on and on and on.
We have gotten him some really cute outfits and I am really having fun shopping for a boy...more fun than I thought I might. We are getting so anxious!!!!
I'll let you know when we get info!!!!

Today it is snowing all day long. It has gotten heavier this afternoon. The girls went to school this morning but were sent home at 10:15 & 11:15. Almost not worth getting out of bed to send them today. It is predicted that we will get around 12 inches of this white yuck. I am so ready for spring. 2 days ago it was 70 degrees here. So I ask...why the snow???!!!! Hubby is trying to get one of the snowmobiles going so there is something for him & the girls to do tomorrow. I won't go because I hate being cold. The roads here are becoming very treacherous so I anticipate my clients to cancel tomorrow since this is supposed to last throught the night. Hubby, Mom, & I are supposed to go to a Boyd's Bear bingo to benefit Relay For Life on Sunday so it better clear up for that. I was also hoping to go out for at least one green drink tomorrow night for St. Patty's Day.
Since I was snowed in today I decided to work on Derek's room. I got his shelf hung up and a few baseball hats hung on the pegs...it is so cute. I can't wait to get crib bedding to complete the room. I also decided to start packing. I didn't get far. It is way too overwhelming for me. I have never flown or traveled so far for so long. I just don't know where to start. I have downloaded lists from other families that have traveled to VN but I just can't seem to get it together. If anyone has any suggestions....I am open to hear them.
The other thing I did today was color both the girls' hair and they both got brave and i waxed their eyebrows too. They are growing up so fast. Jessica had her first 5th grade basketball game last night and she scored the first basket of the game. WOOHOO!!!!! Alyssa has her first track meet on the 27th. I run in all directions.
We should be receiving our travel guide and hopefully Derek's medical report Monday. We are very anxious to see how much he weighs and how long he is as his picture looks as if he is going to be tall. He'll fit right in with the rest of us then. We'll let you know what we find out.

We got an email from our CM today that tells us that the medical exams are being done this week on the babies in the orphanage. We should have a current medical report next week on Derek's conditions. We are praying that he is healthy and strong. Our dossier will be hand delivered to the DIA next week by Duc. The DIA required that it be hand delivered for some unknown reason. Let's just hope it's a good one. And Ray is working to have our travel guide finished for us to receive next week so that we can begin looking into our travel arrangements and requirements of Vietnam. We are going to try to start packing some things so we can get ahead of the game. We were told to pack light as there are accomodations to do laundry there. We intend to carry along an empty suitcase to pack items in that we will purchase there.
Norm is getting very anxious to travel as he can't wait to hold his son in his arms. I have had a sense of contentment about me since we received the picture and Norm has gone full circle in being very anxious now.
Soon we will be holding Derek in our arms as we have been holding him in our hearts.
Continue to pray for safety and health of the babies in the orphanage.

Check out this onsie I made this week for Derek. This will be the first sport that he will be HOME to watch. Alyssa will be playing and she was so tickled with the design. There ill be many more made as the girls play alot of sports.

Things have been in an uproar in our house this past week. After receiving the WONDERFUL news of our ability to accept a referral of our son Derek, we looked around the nursery and decided we better start thinking blue instead of pink. So my mom and I feverishly rooted through the 4 rather large tote boxes of girl clothes we have bought since starting the adoption process. Wow, we had quite a stash. So we dug out receipts and matched with as many items as we could and have returned those to the stores and got credit for them. The rest of the stuff that we couldn't match with receipts or that I had already removed tags I began compiling to sell on eBay (one of my favorite places to hang out). We have really decreased the size of our piles. I still have a lot to get rid of though. Some I have saved to send to my friend Michelle for her new referral of her daughter. I hope she likes them. So I have been quite busy on this computer lately. We bought a few pieces of clothes for Derek but I am kind of waiting to get his medical reports hopefully this week and see exactly how much he weighs so I can get a better idea what sizes to buy. I hate returning things. This week I am going to try to begin packing some stuff for our trip to get Derek so that I don't have to do it all at one time. Tonight we have to go to Alyssa's basketball banquet...good food!!!! I am also going to try to start Derek's scrapbook this week. I hope to have time to transition Jadens original one into a special one for Michelle to give to Linhly. Yesterday Jessica and I went to a craft show at the high school and I got a beautiful wooden 60" shelf with pegs to hang in Dereks room. I had to get something that would hide all of the nail holes I have in the wall from the girly stuff I originally had up. We also found a really cute giraffe clothes tree and they personalized it for us. We got him a stuffed monkey to hang on it too. The nursery is going to be jungle animals. I am waiting to buy a lot of the decorating stuff until after I see if there is a shower. I figured that would be good things to get for that. I think the only big thing left to buy is a highchair and his crib bedding. My mom has been having fun shopping.

If we get any updates this week I will share them.

Now that things are settling into perspective and I have a little time I'd like to share our referral experience with you:
On Monday we were made aware that the 2 baby girls that were in the orphanage had been referred out to other families and there were still the 2 baby boys. Diane said to us that she had to ask us this but she thought she would know our answer: Would we consider on of the baby boys for a referral. Well I wasn't OVERjoyed but I was excited for the opportunity. It had been what seemed like forever that we were waiting for this day. I called my mom first because I needed someone rational to give me a little direction. She was quite helpful at helping me think outside the box. Then I called Norm to come to the house right away. I told him about the availability of the baby boy and we pondered, cried, and finally decided that through this whole chain of events that God had chosen for us to have a SON!!! We instantly after making the decision were now OVERjoyed. We called Diane right away and told her we would like the bay boy. She was thrilled. She thought she could have the picture for us that afternoon yet. The day rolled on and around 3:45 Diane called and regretfully told us there was a mix up and they didn't have our baby's picture but should have it on Tuesday for us. Oh the suspense. In the meantime my friend Michelle who also was expecting her referral Monday received hers and emailed the picture and name Dat to me. Oh what a beautiful baby I told her. So perfect with pouty lips and button nose and those big brown eyes!!!! Later that evening we took the girls to see the Harlem Globetrotters, which by the way they absolutely loved and we had a wonderful time, and I received a call on my cell phone there. I wasn't sure of the caller ID # so I didn't know if I should answer it but something made me push the button and cautiously say hello. Much to my surprise it was Michelle. She went on to tell me how they mixed up her picture and the pic she got was a boy(even though he had on a pink hat). Well now I was really confused. She did however get her correct picture and might I add she is absolutely gorgeous. I can't wait to hold her as well as our own son. Anyway, the next morning Diane called and said she didn't have a picture but she had his name... Dat. Ring any bells....that was the same name Michelle gave me with her initial mix up picture. Guesss what...We have met our SON!!! So Diane followed up by emailing me his picture (the same one Michelle had received) and brief medical information. WOW!!! He was here...now comes the longest wait of all. She told us that they are anticipating that we can travel within 2-4 months so we aree trying to prepare for the sooner just in case but not to get too excited yet just in case it goes longer. It is so hard not to have him in our arms. So we have been flying HIGH since Tuesday and our families are so happy and they have fallen in love with him. We still have to wait for further medical reports and speak with his doctor we will be attending here to check over the reports and then we can accept his referral officially. Truthfully I can't see us not accepting it. So last night I decided that we can't any longer call him "our son" & "our baby", he needed a NAME!!!! o we had several in mind and we discussed it with the girls and we ended up putting a few names in a hat and picking one out and well that's how he got his name...DEREK ROBERT LAHR!!!!! One of the unfortunate things is that he was abandoned and therefore we do not know his true birthdate however with all of the pieces put together by the agency and when he came to the orphanage they believe that his birthday must have been around December 5th so that's the date we are going to use. So Derek is now 3 months old and will be around 6 months old when we bring him home to be with us. We can't wait for that day.
What a turn of events huh?!?!?!?!