Growing Snowflowers

The greatest gift of all!



We know Paisley wont be home for Christmas this year, more likely we will travel in March. What we really want for Christmas is to know that she is safe and well and cared for with love. We want her to know someplace deep in her heart that a family who adores her is waiting not so patiently back in the United States ready at a moments notice to come to China to bring her safely home.

This is what is happening in our house as the holidays approach...

Our iPod fundraiser is off to a great start, we have sold 48 tickets so far! Every single penny that we raise from this will help bring Paisley home! We couldn't be more grateful to those of you out there who have participated in one way or another. I'd like to give a special shout out to Kimberley who posted a banner on her website to help spread the news about Bringing Paisley Home.

We'd also like to thank one lady who donated, she didn't want the ticket, and expressed no need for an iPod...she just wanted to help. Thank You from the bottom of my heart! Please help us spread the word about the fundraiser; we need to sell 52 more tickets in the next two weeks!

You know, as we traverse our way through this maze called adoption, we are constantly reminded of just how generous people are. It is one great community filled with families that know the trials and joys of parenting, whether biological or adoptive; the passion and goals are the same, to provide a healthy happy loving home for our children and enjoy watching them grow into wonderful loving adults.

While we love to do these fundraisers, we are also burning the midnight oil(or 2am if you count last night)applying for grants for children with 'special needs'. This will help us bring Paisley to the US where she can get the best possible medical care. Wish us luck, it's hard work but EVERY single moment of effort is worth knowing that our little girl will come home. We are applying for 'matching' grants that are only offered to families who have been industrious and made much effort to fundraise! (as most of you know we have been tireless on this front!).

As Paisley's special need/medical condition is not visible from the front, it is in fact quite visible and may involve tissue that should be 'inside' rather than 'outside' it will require extensive and delicate surgery to repair and/or remove. Because her initial SN was mistranslated we have done a myriad of research and found several possibilities ranging from cosmetic to neural tube/genetic syndromes. It is without question that this little girl will spend quite a large amount of time in her first months home at Specialists and Hospitals. She will need a battery of tests so we have worked hard to pinpoint a team of amazing doctors including Surgical Neurologists (think McDreamy), plastic surgeons (think McSteamy) and Geneticists ready and waiting to care for our little P-nut! She will require MRI,CAT scans and other screening tests.

We are also working hard to outfit her nursery to avoid any hard surfaces or corners that might cause her distress should she bump her head on them. With Piper we didn't use bumpers in her crib, but it is necessary to put them in for Paisley, as well as modify her carseat headrest. Up go the child gates again!! If anyone knows of someone who makes carseat covers we are hoping to buy a Minky one for Paisley's Britax Marathon (thanks Angela in Willimstown!) so her head will always be on soft fabric. We are also doing sheepskin in Paisley's crib and stroller.

Another thing that has taken place is the transformation of the aptly nicknamed 'room of doom' ...our office! Last weekend we emptied it out...it took a lot of boxes and the help of some friends, but all that remains is a fold up table on which is perched our computer! Hey, I'm not ready to give that up yet! While I wont post before and after photos of the office in its full glory - sorry Tiffany! I will show you a before and after of the paint job...we are still at the 'before' color... a coffee brown...not at all suitable for a little girls room! Hopefully we'll have it 'Piperized' by Christmas so we can get the nursery ready for sweetP.

On top of that Mike is travelling for part of December, so fitting in trimming the tree, painting walls, moving furniture, writing grant applications, shovelling our driveway (yes we still use manpower...we are the only ones on our street that don't have a snow thrower!), making gingerbread houses, baking Christmas cookies, stocking the freezer with homemade baby food, sending out Christmas cards, applying for new fingerprints from the FBI, getting a Homestudy addendum to approve us for Paisley, spending more of FedEx sending paperwork to all the necessary places that I do on a haircut!! well, let me say it's a balancing act of vast proportions! This month is already flying by!