Tara and Dale have received notification to travel to pick Sojo up.  They will leave Shanghai on the 27th for Kunming and have Sojo in their arms on the 28th.  They are so excited and you know who else is....Po Po and Gong Gong.  Yipee! 

 

They have recently discovered that Sojo is in foster care, so the powers that be have to go and bring her back to Kunming.  Everyone is thrilled that she has had a couple of months in foster care.  We are all sure she has been well cared for and loved.  We give thanks to the people at the orphanage and the nannies who have taken care of her there and in foster care. 

 

They will be in Kunming for a few days for paperwork and looking around and then back to Shanghai until it is time to go to Guangzhou to get her Visa for the trip to the USA.  They will both be on "maternity/paternity" leave, so they can just relax and get to know Sojo while they wait.  It is that infamous Homeland Security Form I-171H that they are waiting for.  Sojo cannot leave China without it.  They live in a real nice place with a beautiful pool and grounds to walk Sojo around on, so I don't think it will be a hardship for them.  It will be a hardship for us though.  We want to be with her too. 

 

Somethings they may do while they wait:

 

I have written about Yunnan Province and Kunming where Sojo waits before; however, I think it deserves more to describe it. 

 

I so wish we were able to go and see this place.  It looks so peaceful, so soulful.  All you have to do is look at Sojo's beautiful face and I think you see the soul of Kunming.  Someone recently looked at her picture and told me she has "presence".  I think Kunming has "presence".  That is probably why she has it too.

 

Yunnan Province has over 25 colorful Ethnic Minorities living there.  I am attaching a picture Tara used on her blog.  The women wear beautiful colored costumes (clothing) that remind me of the women in Cusco, Peru.  They strap the babies on their backs while they work in the fields.  Tara recently found out that the babies in Kunming rarely stay in the orphanage beyond 5 months.  We are not sure if that means Sojo is now in foster care or since she has been "placed", she is still in the orphange.  Tara and Dale like the idea of her being in foster care with a family of farmers.  They envision Sojo in a colorful, handmade embroiderd backpack, strapped on the back of a woman working hard in the fields.  She referred to Sojo, "resting against her heartbeat all day in the sun".  What a beautiful image.

 

Tara and Dale are thrilled that Sojo is from such a colorful part of China.  The know and appreciate the simplicity of developing areas of the world.  They miss that in China and were hoping that Sojo would come from a part of China with this type of history and presence. 

 

My research tells me that Yunnan is unlike most areas of China.  They do not limit the couples from having only one child.  Probably because it is in the country and they need the children to work in the fields.  One has to ponder, why would someone give up a child if they did not have to.  Maybe the mother still needed to do this for what could be any reason.  Maybe she could not handle one more mouth to feed.  Maybe she was unwed and ashamed.  Maybe her family could not help her.  Maybe she had been abandoned and was alone herself.  Maybe...  Whatever her reason, we give thanks to her for her unselfish love in wanting her daughter to have a better life than she could give her.  May Sojo always know that kind of love and may she always know the reassuring, comforting, unconditional love that Tara and Dale will give her.  We certainly give thanks to God daily for the gift of her life.  She is a blessing thousands of miles away.  She is a blessing that we have only a picture of.  She is a blessing we have never touched.  She is a blessing we hold close to our hearts. 

 

"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift".  2 Corinthians 9:15

Sojo is 7 months old today.  I think of her and want to kiss her seven times seventy thousand.  How precious she is.  I stare at her picture and dream about holding her in my arms.  She is so precious.  I pray that all the mounds of paper work needed gets sorted and approved and returned.  I pray that every little duck gets lined up in a row.  I pray that they can go and get her long before she is 8 months old.  I pray that they will have her in their arms to celebrate her 8 month birthday.  We will be with her to share and celebrate her 9 month birthday.  Maybe even other members of the Russell family.  Including Barley...this picture reminded me of Barley at a birthday party.  Until then precious Sojo...we love you.

Well, that's what we want to know.  Suddenly this morning I realized that the novelty of knowing Sojo is in China waiting for T&D to get her has worn off.  A picture is just not enough anymore.  I want to chant, "we want Sojo" at the top of my lungs from the top of a mountain and let all the powers that be know that we want the process to speed up. 

 

The paper work that states, "yes" Tara and Dale want Sojo has been sent to the "powers that be" in Beijing.  They should get it by this evening our time and tomorrow their time (they are 15 hours ahead of Tucson's MST).  From then on, who knows.  Tara and Dale are hoping for best case scenario which would be 2-3 weeks from now.  Worst case scenario for someone in the US appears to be 2 months.  We are all praying that because they live in China, that the office in charge will let them go sooner than later.  They do not have to get visas or make elaborate travel plans.  They can just jump on a plane and get there. We are hoping they will let them do that SOON. 

 

The next hurdle is a form called the I171H.  This is a Homeland Security form that the US end requires.  They had to have their Home Study updated before they could submit this form for updating.  This is the 3rd round of paperwork for them.  This form got submitted a couple of weeks before they got their referral for Sojo.  Worst case scenario here could be 2-3 months.  That is not good.  That could mean they cannot come home for the summer.  Sojo needs a visa to come to the US and cannot get one without this form being returned approved.  They can pick her up and stay in China, they just cannot travel outside of China with her.  Again, we are praying for best case scenario...a few weeks.  As soon as they get travel approval to go get her, T&D plan to beg, plead and do whatever they have to, to get them to expedite that form. 

 

The next hurdle comes when they do come to the US.  They have to go through Hawaii to get Sojo naturalized as a US citizen.  It only takes 3 days there, as opposed to 6-8 months in the other 49 states.  Without her being naturalized as a US citizen, she cannot travel back to China or anywhere outside the US.  Since they have a contract with Shanghai American School in Pudong for the next 2 years, it is important that they get that done in a timely fashion.

 

So, what does all of this mean?  It means we get on our knees and we pray that all the things that need to fall into place, do so at a rapid speed.  We want to spend our summer in Tucson and Washington with that precious little girl, getting to know all about her.  We want to hold her and hug her and kiss her.  We want to feed her, rock her and play with her.  We want to take her for walks and talk to her.  We want to spend time doing everything and anything with her.  We want to show her the ocean, we want to show her lavendar fields, we want to show her the Daughter trees that are growing in their yard for her.  We want to kiss her toes and kiss her nose.  We want to love her as only grandparents can.  Hang on Sojo, mama and baba will be there soon to bring you home. 

Our Sojo was born in Yunnan Province in the southwest region of China bordering the countries of Vietnam, Laos, and Burma.  It is 152,000 square miles and has more than 42 million people.

 

The diversity of Yunnan Province's topography ranges from alpine mountains to tropical rainforests.  It has the most plant species of any other in China (more than 18,000).  It has many rare and endangered species of plants and animals.  It has amazing animals...the golden monkey, Asian elephant, red panda. 

 

There are 25 different ethnic minoritie in Yunnan.  It is the most culturally diverse province in China.  Yunnan celebrates life.  There are many parks, temples, festivals, rivers, lakes, forests, hot springs, valleys, farmlands, streams, vast skies and amazing clouds. 

 

Sojo was found in Kunming and most likely born there or nearby.  It is in the middle of the province at an elevation of 1,891 meters with mountains on 3 sides and the Dianchi Lake to the south.  It is said to have a pleasant climate all year with appropriate amounts of rain and sun.  With this type of weataher, plants and flowers bloom all year.  It is said to be the City of Eternal Spring.  It is believed that James Milton's Lost Horizons, was written with Yunnan in mind ... Shangri-la.

 

The orphanage that she waits in looks like a happy place.  It appears that the Chinese do their very best to provide a safe and healthy environment for the babies.  The picture makes it look like Disneyland.  I don't think it is quite that, but I have to admit, I feel good about where she is waiting.  I do think they are taking good care of her. 

 

Sojo has such a peaceful happy little face.  I think it must come from being born in such a lovely place.  I pray that someday we will travel to the place of her birth.  I pray that she will always feel the peace and serenity of her homeland.  I pray that she will always know the love and hope her biological parents had for her the day they decided to give her up.  I pray she will carry that love and hope with her always.   I pray that they somehow know that she will grow up in a family of great love. I pray that we have the opportunity to spend a lot of time with this precious and wonderful little grand-daughter of ours. I pray that God gives us many years to grow with her.

 

 

When I think about the blessings in my life, I am amazed and can't even comprehend the power of it all.  Do I deserve these blessings?  Absolutely not and absolutely yes.  No, because I have done nothing to deserve this joy.  Yes, because God doesn't care.  God gives these gifts freely and undeserved.  It is called "grace".  We simply have to look for it.  Did I want grand children earlier in my life? Yes!  Was it worth the wait? Oh, yes!  I look at a picture of Sojo (they are all over the house -- on the bathroom mirror, on the fridg, by the computer, in my purse) I am in awe at her beauty; and the feeling I feel inside that envelopes me like a cloud, is warm and soft and tender and real.  I cannot even imagine what I will feel the first time I see her in person and touch her tiny fingers and kiss her tiny cheeks.  I know I will have to temper my excitement so I will not frighten her.  Can you just see this wild and crazy woman running up the concord at the airport (against the law, I might add) grabbing this baby out of her mother or father's arms (can't you see the security guards now) and scaring the bejeepers out of the poor child.  Yes, I will definitely have to do some serious adjusting to my behavior.  I feel like a big ole pig wallowing in a big puddle of love.  Oh, Sojo...how we love you.  Oh, God...how we thank you!

 

P.S. Check out the pictures of our precious little one.

 

 

At 11:30 PM, Mountain Standard Time + Arizona's not springing forward, we got the call.  She is beautiful, she is precious, she is tiny, she is amazing, she is perfect, she is everything a first grand child should be.  And, we are thrilled beyond words. 

 

She was born in Yunnan Provence, which is in the Southwestern part of China, near the Vietnam and Laos border.  Tara and Dale are thrilled with that because it is an area they have heard much about and have wanted to visit.  Now they will when they go to pick her up.  We do not know when that it just yet.

 

I am speechless.  How do you put into words the joy that something like this brings.  The waiting is over and it was worth it.  You know why.  Sounds so simple, but you do understand.  She seems like she was the perfect baby for Tara and Dale.  She actually looks like Tara.  I know that sounds silly and when I use to hear people say that about an adopted child, I would chuckle inside.  Especially, if the child was from a foreign country.  But, she does.  She was hand picked by God, just for them. 

Okay...so I am a bit ditzy and am not always practical.  That's okay.  I am about to be a grand mother. 

 

I remember so well as I approached motherhood and my due date with my first child (the mother of these babies/baby we are waiting to hear about).  I was so practical...I had no choice.  Her father and I had just moved to NY and he was just starting his first real job with real money coming in for the first time.  I wasn't working.  Not because I didn't want to or we didn't need the extra money.  It was because there was no such thing as "equal rights" or "discrimination laws".  I was pregnant, plain and simple and no one, I mean no one, would hire a pregnant woman in 1968.  It was actually on the application, "are you pregnant" or "do you plan on getting pregnant".  Can you imagine that?  So, not being one who would lie about anything, least of all an official document on file, I decided to be a "stay at home" mom early.  Hence, the being practical.  Each Friday, when Daddy to be came home with his paycheck, we would divy up the money for rent, utilities, food, etc. and then decide what we could spend on "baby" things.  One week it would be a dozen diapers, the next a few undershirts.  It took us an entire month to save up for the crib.  No sonograms in those days so there was no idea whether it was a boy or girl, so each item had to be unisex.  No impractical purchases of pink or blue, just in case. 

 

So, call me crazy...we have a few extra bucks these days after working hard all these years...let me be impractical.  Let me buy tiny little crocs for tiny little feet that I haven't even seen.  Let me buy them in pink and green ... let me buy a big ole pair for myself.  Let me dream of holding two little hands, one on either side of me.  Let me dream of taking walks with them.  Let me dream of telling them stories of when their mother was a little girl.  Let me tell them stories of when their Uncle Sean and Uncle Matt were little boys.  Let me dream of holding them in my arms and hugging their tiny little bodies and kissing their chubby little cheeks.  Let me dream about taking off those tiny little crocs, giving them a bath, putting them into their jammies, tucking them into bed and telling them how much they are loved. 

One Hundred Random Things About Me

 

1. I was born in 1946
2. I grew up in rural Northwestern Pennsylvania
3. My parents divorced when I was about one year old
4. I was their only child
5. I was baptized in an Episcopal church as an infant
6. I knew from a very early age that God was the one I could count on
7. I have a half sister
8. She is 15 years younger than me
9. She has been married 3 times
10. She has two grown sons to her first husband
11. She has two BEAUTIFUL daughters to her second husband
12. She has several step-children to her third husband
13. She has 4 grandchildren
14. We are very different
15. We love one another very much
16. Our  mother was an alcoholic
17. She tried to commit suicide once
18. Our mother was an angry, sad yet wonderful woman
19. Our mother loved us very much
20. My father was my prince in shining armor
21. He taught me about a loving God
22. In my teens he fell off the pedestal I put him on
23. He loved me very much
24. My step-father treated me like his own daughter -- he protected me
25. He was a sad alcoholic
26. My step-mother was an amazingly gentle and kind woman who taught me to do my best at all things and never give up
27. Both of my parents and step-parents have passed on and I miss them
28. I have lived in a small town, in the country, a large city, a mid-sized city and a growing metropolis
29. I never met a Jewish person or an African American until I moved to Pittsburgh after I was married at the age of 20.
30. I am married to my best friend in the world
31. He is the very best man I know
32. He is the only man I have ever really loved
33. He was the second Catholic I had dated
34. I converted to Catholicism before we were married
35. My faith as a Christian, as a Catholic is very important to me
36. My life centers around my God, my husband, my children, my friends
37. I have three wonderful & amazing grown children.
38. They each drove me crazy in their own special ways
39. I love each of them fiercely in very different ways  -- no less, no more -- simply different
40. I have one son-in-law who has taught me many things about forgiveness
41. I have one almost daughter-in-law who has also taught me about forgiveness & trust
42. I know that moments in time slip by and if we hold on to them too tightly they can consume us
43. I have girlfriends from almost every stage of my life & I treasure each one
44. I wish I had nurtured my female friendships more over the years -- the older I get the more I learn from them
45. I never met a Hispanic person until I moved to Tucson at the age of 35.
46. I never flew on an airplane until I was 31
47. I never had a passport until I was 47.
48. I have been on 4 continents
49. I want to be a grandmother
50. I will soon be a grandmother
51. My daughter and her husband are adopting a baby in China
52. I respect life from the womb to the tomb
53. I cherish friends
54. I love to travel
55. I love to read
56. I miss my daughter who lives in China
57. I long for lazy days sitting on a patio or deck drinking coffee, chatting with her about everything and nothing
58. She was my first born
59. She is an amazing woman – filled with grace & wisdom  -- she teaches me how to be a better person
60. She is a 2^nd grade teacher, on her way to being a librarian
61. I am proud of her
62. I am proud of her brothers
63. My children challenge me
64. My husband challenges me
65. My faith challenges me
66. My friends challenge me
67. I love to be challenged
68. My middle son challenged me the most
69. He is an amazing man and a  source of tremendous joy
70. He is a High School Special Ed teacher to kids with extreme challenges
71. He is very good at what he does
72. My youngest child, a son taught me about flexibility
73. He is super flexible, adventurous & level headed, most of the time.
74. He is family oriented
75. He has his own business
76. I love to write
77. I write memoirs and prayers
78. I have discovered blogging
79. I like blogging
80. I spend too much time on the computer
81. I like to start my day with prayer
82. I like to start my day going to early morning Mass
83. My husband created a “sacred space” for me in a spare room
84. My husband adores me
85. I adore my husband
86. I hate exercise
87. I hate dieting
88. I love good food
89. I have high blood pressure
90. I have high cholesterol
91. I have the beginning of Diabetes
92. I need to diet and exercise
93. I need to get more healthy
94. I love a clean house
95. I hate to clean
96. I love a beautiful yard filled with flowers
97. I hate gardening
98. I love the mountains, deserts and streams of Southern Arizona
99. I love the warm climate of Southern Arizona
100. GOD IS GOOD AND I AM BLESSED

Well, I have decided that my imagination about what to write about waiting on our grand daughters in China is about empty.  How many times can you say you wish time would fly right now?  I guess if I am to continue this blog, I will have to come up with other ideas.

 

It is certainly spring in the desert.  The temperatures go back and forth from the 70's to the 90's and back down and up again.  The fresh spring green of the Palo Verde's and Mesquite trees are turning a more subdued green as their bright yellow blossoms fall onto the ground; the spring winds from California blowing them across the brown desert floor.  The pollen count is sky high and lizards are doing push ups on the concrete block wall that surrounds our back yard.  Green and yellow are the color of spring, as summer rapidly chases its heels.  Yellow blossoms on Prickly Pear Cacti will soon turn to green fruit and then into the juicy red fruit which will bring birds and other desert animals to feast upon them.  The spindly Ocotillo stands tall against the blue sky like an upside down spider; its tiny green leaves bursting forth and the bright orange flumes at its tips sway in the wind.  Soon the Giant Saguaro Cacti will burst forth with beautiful white blossoms upon its giant arms and they will turn into another red fruit that the beasts and birds of the desert will feast upon.

 

And who said, "the desert is dead"?

Wow -- will it ever end?  Will we ever get that phone call that they received their phone call and that they have seen a picture of a baby or babies that will soon be in their loving arms?  So much speculation about why and no one really knows.  The act of patience is something that anyone who goes through the Chinese adoption process knows so much about.

 

This red tape is spinning and weaving a web of confusion and complications for the summer.  No one knows when these babies will arrive on the scene.  This web of confusion is making summer arrangements and accomodations nearly impossible.  Will we be going to Washington to meet these babies or will we be going to China to meet them?  Will T & D be going to Washington for their scheduled classes and needing help in China with babies?  Will they spend their entire summer in China waiting and still not know when these babies will arrive?  There are no answers to these questions. We all must simply wait it out.   Che Sera Sera -- what will be will be.  That is the answer.  We will wait along with them -- we will go where and when we need to.  We will cherish the thoughts and dreams of them.  We will wait.  When we see them for the first time -- we will know why the wait was worth it. 

 

The reason for the picture is ... we plant a seed ... we wait ... often through many months of winter ... suddenly a small growth of green emerges from the earth  ... it grows ... a bud begins and finally a beautiful flower bursts forth.  If we had not been patient ... we may have dug it up just before that green emerged or the bud appeared or the beautiful flower burst forth.  We wait...

Now I really try hard not to go out and buy up the entire baby sections of stores.  I know my daughter and son-in-law would frown upon that.  Our bank account would not fair too well either.  So, I keep myself under control and buy only when I simply cannot stand it any longer.  Or, if my daughter says, "mom, I have a shopping task for you".  Oh my goodness...I get excited then.  I am given permission, free rein...I am like a horse when the bell rings at the Preakness.  That was how the mulititude of Easter Baskets began.

 

This task was that I was given permission to purchase Crocs for the babies.  Now, I am not crazy enough to go out and buy Crocs for a baby or babies that I do not know the size of.  I told her that I would have to wait until she could send me a little foot print of them to know what size.  However, the waiting has been getting to me.  The other day, I was in this store and there they were ... hanging in rows.  Big ones for Po Po's and little ones for those precious little girls.  I wanted to buy those tiny little purple ones or pink ones or blue ones or green ones or red ones.  But...at 25 bucks a pop, I had to control myself.  I would have no idea what size.  They all look tiny, but would they be too big or too small?  So, I just bought one pair...a big pair of hot pink ones for Po Po. 

 

Little ones...hurry up and have ma ma and ba ba measure your cute tiny feet for me.  This summer we will slosh around the grass in Washington together.  Won't we be stylin'?  Maybe Ma Ma needs a pair too.

 

 

Well, I am not sure what others do, but this g'ma, nana or po po in waiting volunteers at her church.  She volunteers more than ever because she isn't working.  But, that is another story.

 

She works with other women of faith in a women's ministry that prepares and presents women's retreats.  We have one coming up called "Beloved Daughter of God".  The first time I thought about that, I was in awe of the simple yet powerful tone of those words.  I am a beloved daughter of God.  He loves me without fail.  I do not have to do anything to deserve this love and there is NOTHING I can do that will take it away.  It is unconditional, it has no limits, it is free and it is mine.  WOW!  I wish all women (and men) could know this kind of love.  It frees me to be who God has meant me to be all along.  What a gift.  I sometimes fail miserably in accepting that and believing it on a daily basis.  I allow the world...society...people...to cloud my vision of who I am and what I am worth.  I make mistakes, He forgives me.  He gives me another chance.  He wipes my slate clean again.  He needs to sometimes remind me just how beloved I am.

 

My goal as a grandmother...a nana or a po po is that my grand-daughters (or grand-sons someday) might know the depth of God's love for them.  I hope that they will know that through my example.  I know I will shower them with love and I want them to know how much love I have for them.  I want them to know how beautiful, how valued, how precious, how loved, how whole they are.  I want them to know that this love is unconditional and has no strings attached.  I want them to know that they get a clean slate everyday to start over if they need to.  Hard as I try, I know I could never accomplish that without the knowledge that God loves me like that.  His love for me will overflow onto them.  I have always known God loved me.  I just never knew how much. 

 

Darling baby grand-daughters...wherever you are...know that you are precious...you are loved, you are valued, you are beautiful and you are whole.  Stay safe until your ma ma and ba ba come for you. 

 

Love, Po Po

Had a not so late night phone call last night from T...around 9 pm our time.  It was not the phone call we were waiting for.  It was not the "let's do the baby dance" phone call.  It was one of those disappointing ones.  She had made a call to her Shanghai contact and was told that there would be no baby this month...not in this group of referrals.  I wanted to cry.

 

I kept searching for the right words for her and they seemed stuck in my throat somewhere.  I could not find them.  T was so positive in her thoughts about it.  I was so proud of the woman she has become.  She once told me that our expectations can bring our greatest disappointments and sorrows in life.  I try to remember that when I have expectations and every time, she is so right.  She is a wise woman and will make a wonderful mother.  These little girls out there waiting are so fortunate to have a mommy and daddy like T & D waiting for them. 

 

And so, we wait another month for these little munchkins.  We can only pray that the month of April flies by fast and that they are on the referral list for the end of April.  There is a reason.  We don't know what it is.  It could be something as simple as a paper stuck somewhere it shouldn't be.  It could be a document that really needs to be updated and without it the process would not go smoothly.  It could simply be that there are not enough clouds in the sky today.  I really don't know.  I can only fall to my knees and pray that they are safe, warm and loved wherever they are waiting. 

 

Hang on little ones...your ma ma and ba ba will be there as soon as the people who hold the power can process all the mounds of paper work. 

 

NOTE:  No picture.  I could not think of one that would show what disappointment looks like. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You have to love this picture.  It is beautiful.  The little girl, the pig, the butterfly, the reg thread and the flowers. 

 

Well, it is 2007...the year of the pig in China.  The golden pig they say.  Does that mean our baby girl(s) will have a lot of good fortune and be all the things that this Chinese New Year is to bring?  Or, because they were most likely born in 2006, does this mean they are born in the year of the dog?  Most likely it means the year of the dog.  However, I know that they will have good fortune no matter what, because they will have parents who will love them more than the all the stars in the sky.  They will have grand parents who will love them fiercely.  They will have uncles and aunts and cousins and friends around the world, who will encircle them with more love than the highest number. 

 

So bring on the pigs...bring on the dogs...bring on the stars in the sky.  Little ones...your good fortune will come from the people that love you and all the wonderful experiences you will have in life.

 

 

There is a legend in the Chinese Adoption World that a lady bug is a symbol of good luck and that referrals are on their way.  A referral is the moment all prospective parents wait for.  They get a picture and information about the baby or babies (if twins) that has been chosen for them. 

 

Well, I have been calling those lady bugs.  See the pictures.  I have two lady bugs that sit on my computer monitor and the other lady bugs are in our roses.  Okay...so I cheated a little bit there.  I bought the lady bugs at Home Depot and deposited them into the rose bushes.  I have sent them on their way to China with a prayer that referrals come out next week or the following at the latest.  The following week, the first week of April is Holy Week.  What a wonderful Easter present that would be.

 

So fly away, fly away little lady bugs.  Fly onto China and the CCAA.  Let those referrals fly onto all the ma ma's and ba ba's out there. 

 

Bless you little lady bugs wherever you are.

What on earth do these two things have in common, you say?  Let me tell you…

 

There is a Giraffe named Daisy.  She was won by a young man in 1965 for a young woman he had just begun to date.  The young woman loved the giraffe and kept Daisy on her bed as a reminder of that auburn haired man who won it for her.  The young woman married the young man the next year and Daisy made her way to a bed in an apartment on Atwood Street in Pittsburgh.  Daisy happily stayed there for 18 months.  At the end of those 18 months the young woman and young man moved to New York, where they soon found themselves decorated a small bedroom for a baby to be born toward the end of 1968.  Once the crib made it’s way into this room, Daisy found herself in the corner awaiting that baby.

 

Well, that baby was born.  She was a baby girl.  Her room was yellow and Daisy fit right in with her yellow body and brown spots.  The baby girl loved her and played with her for years.  As you can see by the picture, all those years of love made their mark.  Her neck is floppy, her body and spots are faded.  She was much loved, like the Velveteen Rabbit.  The baby girl had two younger brothers who contributed to the great love Daisy experienced. 

 

For many years now, Daisy has been snuggled down in the corner of an old truck awaiting the arrival of grand children in the home of that young man and young woman, now much older.  It wasn’t until the other night when the late night phone call came that she came out to sit on the bed again.

 

Now late night phone calls are not something one normally wants to get.  If you are the parent of a teenager, you want to run down the hall and make sure your children are all snuggled into their beds before you even answer the phone.  We can relate to this – having had a couple of those in the 1980’s.  No names will be mentioned, in order to protect the innocent??  With family across the country, we always worry about bad news from there as well.  So…why didn’t I have that dread when I heard the phone ring the other night?  My first thought was…maybe it is T or D calling to let us know they got their referral on the baby(s) for the adoption.  It was 4:30 a.m. and I quickly picked up the phone to hear a male voice with other noise in the background.  I immediately said, “hello” with no immediate reply.  I continued to say, “hello, hello, hello” – thinking we had a bad connection.  Finally, I recognize the voice that says, “well, this is a surprise, you calling me in Africa”.  My reply, “well, this isn’t a surprise, you calling me from Africa”.  My brother-in-law is in Africa.  He said, “I didn’t call you” and I said, “well, I didn’t call you”.  I wanted to add, “heelloo, it is 4:30 in the morning, why would I be calling you in Africa”?  After a quick, “how’s the trip going” and “the trip is great” and “we’ll talk when we get back”, we hung up.  I’m still not sure how this mysterious phone call happened.  As I laid my disappointed head back down on my pillow, I somehow thought of Daisy and where she was and where she should be.  I don’t know call me crazy, but a call from Africa at 4:30 in the morning when you are waiting for a call announcing the arrival of grand children from China makes perfect sense to me. 

 

 

 

 

Last year, the week of Easter (Holy Week) our daughter asked if we were up to a grand parent task.  Of course we gave an emphatic "yes".  The task was to find Easter Baskets for the darling grand children we all hoped would arrive long before the next Easter.  I thought we would have no trouble finding the Easter Baskets that I had a vision of in my mind.  I couldn't describe it, but I knew I would know it when I saw it.  However, I forgot that by this time, most baskets would be long gone.  But, off we went shopping.  I found exactly what my mind was looking for at Cost Plus World Market.  They were perfect...pastel colors, little bunnies or chicks stenciled on the side.  And, there were lots of them.  The only problem was...they were in all sizes and not one size came in "twos".  How could we buy one small one and one large one?  Now would that be fair? So, we bought them in all sizes and I went about sending my husband off to a nearby city to check out the Cost Plus' there.  No luck.  So, 3 baskets in 3 different sizes found a home on the shelf in a closet. 

 

Recently, I found two baskets with cloth liners in two different colors.  Not exactly what I had in that picture in my mind, but close.  Today...I went back to Cost Plus to see if there were any like last year.  Nope!  BUT...they did have some really cute ones.  I couldn't resist.  I bought two again.  This time the same size and they are different colors with little eggs hanging from them.  Still not the ones I loved from last year, but getting closer.

 

So...now what do I do?  I have 7 little baskets for two little girls.   I am thinking that the Mommy and Daddy to be will have to make the decision on this one.  It is simply too much for this Bunny to decide.  All I know for sure is that the two little girls that will collect Easter Eggs in these little baskets have already captured our heart strings.  Bless you little darlings where ever you are.  Love, Po Po and Gong Gong