Happy Birthday Kaylah

Today is Kaylah's 3rd birthday in China. We may celebrate a little tomorrow with a small cake. And my heart has been aching for a new photo since April.
Got one today! Along with an update! And we now know that she got our care package, it's the blue box in the back! OOOH how happy that makes Mama and Baba!
We are patiently waiting for our official TA (Travel Approval) from China and hope that we will be traveling in a few weeks to bring her home!

Here's what the update said:

"ZiYue can say ‘it is my stuff or I want to sleep or I do not want to go’ etc, when she has new cloth on, she will ask ‘am I pretty?”. She loves to have her hair combed and likes to have many ponytails on her hair and then she looks very cute. She remembers to put her stuff back in place. After drink, she puts her cup or bottle into the kitchen. If she wants to use bathroom, she will call mom. When she sees other people’s chicks come to her yard, she will kick them out. After she wakes up, she can get off her bed and does not need any help. She watches door and will call mom if someone shows up. She is sweet and takes care of her younger foster sister and brother. When she sees cars, she will put brother or sister’s walker to a safe place; if they cry, she will ask mom to feed them or take one of them outside to play."

Article 5 notice!!!

Yeay!!! We received notice from our agency today that our Article 5 was picked up today! What great news!!! Now, we wait for our official Travel Approval from China. This should be roughly (I say this loosely)1-3 weeks, then our agency will give us a few dates for our consulate appointment to choose from and then we travel to bring Kaylah home a few weeks after we choose! I'm so excited and when I look over to the right at our milestones.... It's so hard to believe that there are sooo many things we've done and amazes me that there are only a few remaining! Needless to say, that those remaining are the best ones yet!!!!!!! We are hoping to travel the last week in July and that would give us a gotcha day on July 30th! But, we could also be traveling in the first week of August. WEEKS AWAY.... It's getting so close! I can't wait to hold that little Diva in my arms!!!!

Cabled! And waiting on Article 5!

We couldn't be happier! We were cabled and NVC (national visa center) approved! Now, we patiently wait for our Article 5 and our official travel dates to go bring our little Diva home! Things are moving so fast! We could very well be traveling in a few short weeks to bring Kaylah home!
Our Colorado shower went wonderful and I still need to upload some pictures! It was an amazing turnout and we loved seeing everyone who showed up for support! We got lots of great goodies for Kaylah and are sooo looking forward to bringing her home. We have so much AMAING suppoirt from family and friends, it really means the world to Mike and me!

Kaylah's Room Progress

Nougat and Me.... he wanted to help put her bed together

Mike attaching wheels to the bed base.

Mike helping me hang her curtains.
These are blackout curtains from
Pottery Barn Kids. WELL worth the
investment!

The tree that I traced and painted onto her bedroom wall. This was a really fun project and we really like the way it turned out! It was a lot of fun to use an overhead projector, chalk and paints!

Look Ma- NO GREY hairs! Putting the bed together
was fun and easy with Mike!

Her quilt comforter ....still need pillows and wall art!

This bed ROCKS. It pulls out into a Queen for Kaylah
when she gets older! and the drawers GLIDE out.... sooo nice!
We love you IKEA!

i800 approval

Good GOOD news! Our immigration officer has processed our i800 paperwork. A HUGE milestone! Everyone has been asking... when will you guys be traveling???
Our agency has estimated it will be about 5-7 days for our NVC (National Visa Center) letter, 2 weeks for Article 5 and then about 2-4 for the travel approval.  Once we have travel approval in hand families typically leave for China about 10-21 days later.  Overall it seems we may be leaving for China sometime around the end of July up till the middle of August. Looks up to heaven, c'mon Gramma Shyler, start shuffling some paperwork up there! Last time my Mom asked for her help and we got our LOA in 19 days. ;) I know she's smiling down on us right now. I'd figure I'd ask, it can't hurt!
Our Colorado toddler shower is this Sunday and we are looking forward to seeing our friends and family out here! Such a great support system!

Kaylah's East Coast Toddler Shower: We've Been Sprinkled!

Well, the trip was a success. It was a long day flying into Erie, Pa  and an even LONGER day flying home last Sunday. This is me... one ANXIOUS Mama who cannot wait to get her arms around her little Diva!

This is my Dad, Ray Sr. He's really anxious to be a Grandpa again! Kaylah is just gonna love him!

This is my little brother, Ray Jr. He's SO excited about being an Uncle again! 

 This is my Mom, Christine.... who is as OOOBER excited as me about bringing little Kaylah home as soon as we possibly can!

Carly, Cindy and Breanna.

 A CUTE little outfit for Kaylah.

Lots of fun goodies to open with everyone!

 LOVe this little purse from my friend, Melissa. It's SOOO going to China with us... I can't wait to see little Kaylah carrying it around filling it with goodies!

Another group shot. The Chinese restaurant was amazing! The food was spectacular and the company couldn't have been any better!  The staff was so friendly and were so excited that we were adopting a little one from China. They were teaching us Mandarin and were always saying, "OH she's such a lucky little girl!!"

All the loot we ended up with! And LOTS AND LOTS of squishes of fabric for Kaylah's Quilt! Working on taking pics of those! And we still need more! Please consider sending us some fabric and a good wish! We would love to include everyone and anyone who wants to participate!

Call out for "SQUISHES"

Dear Family and Friends: While we are waiting for the arrival of our daughter, we are working on a project with which we need your assistance. We are creating a "100 Good Wishes Quilt." 

To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or "100 Good Wishes Quilt." It is a custom to invite 100 people to contribute a single square patch of cloth. The 100 patches are sewn together into a quilt that contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from all the family and friends who contributed a piece of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation. We ask that you please participate in this project. We love the idea of welcoming our daughter into our home with a quilt that represents the good wishes for her from our family and friends.

HERE IS WHAT WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO DO: 1. Choose any 100% cotton fabric that you like. It can be from a piece of clothing or from a fabric store. It just needs to have a design and color that you like. 2. Cut one (1) 9" square from the fabric. 3. On a sheet of paper or notecard, put a small piece of the fabric and include your "good wish note." Please include why you chose the fabric and your name and address. The fabric will be used to make a quilt, and the notes will be placed in a photo album which we will give to our daughter when she is older. 

IDEAS FOR SELECTING FABRIC SQUARES: * Select a fabric that is meaningful to you. * 100% cotton fabric is best, as it washes and wears better. * If there are several members in your family, please feel free to send more than one good wish note and pieces of fabric. In China, these quilts were originally made from the garments of family and friends surrounding the child with luck and good wishes. 

IDEAS FOR GOOD WISHES NOTE: What would you wish for an infant to have in her life? Some ideas are good health, perseverance, success, love, and a sense of humor. Use that as a guide for your good wish note. 

To see what we mean, please check out these websites with beautiful examples of these quilts: 

http://www.originalquilts.com/100_good_wishes_quilts.htm
Please take a few minutes from your busy schedules to help us create this very special keepsake. The miracle of this adoption has been helped and nurtured by so many of you and this will be so incredibly meaningful for us as well as our new arrival! 

If you would like to participate, please e-mail me at krissiem72@yahoo.com and I will send you our address. 

Thank you!
Krystal and Mike Murphy

Sending out Visa application

Here we go! Sending out Kaylah's Visa application tomorrow to CCAI. Things are just trucking along! We hope to travel now by July to bring her home. I've been dreaming that we travel the last week in June.
I've never been a Mama before. And honestly, I'm a little freaked out. I know things will come "naturally" and that motherly instincts are supposably going to kick in while we are in China.
But she's going to be 3in July.
SO much to wonder about.
So much to WONDER about.
So MUCH to wonder about.

I got the tree done in Kaylah's room. And I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It's not perfect. but it's certainly FUN! And a BIG TIME "YEAY" for Lowe's selling small jars of latex paint that you have have tinted into ANY color you want! I'm sure someday, she's going to want us to paint over this. But for the next few years, I hope she enjoys it as much as I do.
Bedroom furniture will be shopped for in about 3 weeks. I'm heading to Pennsylvania in a few weeks for Kaylah's East Coast Toddler Shower that's going to be held on May 19th. I can't wait to see my many friends and family members and enjoy the celebration of bringing her home.
We'll also be having a Toddler shower here in Colorado for friends and family here. That is scheduled for June 10th. Fun times!!!! WE are so excited!

Can anyone say.... 19 day LOA?!!!!!!

Ohmyheavens!
*breathes into a paper bag*
We got notice that our "Letter Seeking Confirmation of Adopter" (LOA) is ready to sign! HOLY COW! u-n-b-e-l-i-e-v-a-b-l-e
19 days from our Pre-Approval <<--- almost UNHEARD of getting it that FAST!
Mike and I will be traveling to China to bring home Kaylah in aprrox 10-14 weeks!
That COULD mean we could get her by her birthday on July 7th.
It COULD happen.
It WILL happen.
I'm gonna be a Mama this summer!
Mike's gonna be a Baba!
*breathes into the paper bag*

Kaylah * UPDATE*

Were WE surprised today to see an email from CCAI with UPDATED photos!! OH mygoodness! What have they done with her hair? My heart smiled so big, and I have never wanted to hug this little one more than I do now. These SOOO made my Friday!

I'm not sure who the lady beside her is, but I'd like to think that this might be her Foster Mama. As a stylist, I can't imagine giving a little one this many pigtails, but whoever did this must love her!

And as if today COULDN'T have gotten any better..... another email appeared in my inbox! This time it was a Sponsor update report! And ANOTHER photo of Kaylah in her little Chinese New Year's outfit. Her expression and pose is a little different than the one we had before. Probably taken seconds after the other one. Here's what the report said:

"ZiYue is  a very easy going girl and  always is in a good mood.  She  is a caring and loving person. She likes to visits her friends from her neighbors. As long as she sees her friends, she will happily play with them or share her food or toys with them. If she sees her friend falling down, she will help friend to get up or wipes friend’s tears. She walks around and picks up broom,  chairs or  corns etc. she can eat by herself and eats very thing mom cooks for her. She loves dogs and enjoy chasing them around."

Won't Snickers and Nougat be HAPPY! We laugh at the thought of watching her chase around two chihuahuas. They are in for a rude awakening!

OOOH hold on darlin' Mama and Baba are coming to bring you home! I just cannot wait to hold you in my arms and kiss those amazing cheeks!

PRE-APPROVAL! Introducing: Kaylah Marie Yue Murphy!!!!!

OooohmyGOODNESS!

Happy tears are flowing here in Colorado! We received our Pre-Approval notice today to adopt little Dang Zi Yue! And now we can share her little face with all of you! She was born 7/7/2009 and is from the Henan Province, Nanyang City. She has the CHUBBIEST little face and we have fallen completely in love with her!! We hope to travel in August/ September to bring her home! I just can't seem to get my thoughts together and I am sure you have all sorts of questions... and we will post more as soon as we can process it all. But I wanted to post her picture and share the absolute JOY that I am feeling inside.

The STORK has LANDED!

File in review.
I can't believe it!
Unfortunately, we cannot share information YET.
I will say this, she looks like she needs a HUGE hug and that we have a few mug shots to keep looking at.
Her file will be reviewed by our doctor and specialists. ;) We remain calm and await to learn about her special need and want to have all this medical jargon interpreted for us.

One year ago today......

One year ago today...
Mike & I made the decision to pursue adoption. After thirteen years together and many medical procedures we decided that it was more important to be parents than to deliver a child.

One year ago today...
I remember sitting in a fertility specialist's office alone with Mike with tears in my eyes thinking that I would never get a chance to be a Mom, something I'd desperately wanted so bad. I remember being mad at my body, disappointed in the percentage of conceiving, I remember being just plain sad.

One year ago today...
I remember looking at Mike and hearing him say, "Let's adopt a little girl from China like Sara and Bill." Instantly, Mike made my heart smile.

One year ago today...
A friend of Mike's parents, Sara, recommended a local agency out of Denver, CCAI, and we questioned her how to get started and tried to get a clue as to how the process worked.

One year ago today...
Making the decision to adopt was an absolute leap of faith; we decided to trust our instincts as we delved into adoption. We had a really good feeling about CCAI after our first call. They were professional, helpful and patient...we had a lot of questions! Mike & I knew immediately that this was the agency for us.

One year ago today...
We began the process and never looked back. The paperwork is intimidating, but we always felt that CCAI was our partner and coach through the numerous steps.

Today...
We "patiently" wait for a file with a little Kaylah's face on it. We are LID, and hoping we get to bring her home this year. We have come so far and really look forward to becoming parents.

Sundress #2 : WOOHOO

Well, it "seams" that I have a sundress bug. ;)
And I'm happy to say that this little dress is for a special little girl who is going to meet her forever family this week! Lil Miss Emily! I am having such a fun time re-learning the fun"ness" of sewing! My friend, Christine asked if I could make a little dress for Emily's Consulate appointment and I was all over it! I even picked up a turtleneck onesie and a cute pair of cotton pants with a ruffle at the bottom for Emily to wear since it's cold in China right now.

Safe travels Sullivan family! And we cannot wait to see pics of your family +1!!!

Two months LID!

Today, we celebrated our 2nd month anniversary for being LID with another ladybug cake! This time, I made a fabulous lemon cake with whipped cream frosting! And I had been dreaming of how to come up with some cute ladybugs for the top. I have to say that I am VERY proud of this little cake. And it turned out way cuter than the first one. Mainly because I made the frosting... and it didn't looked like canned frosting. LOL What can I say, I am picky about frosting. I hate it when it's too thick or too sweet. This frosting was p-e-r-f-e-c-t-o! SO light and fluffy... doncha just wanna have a piece??

I dreamt about using the Hostess Snowlballs! And I think the ladybugs turned out DARLING! I used green chocolate melts for the heads and had fun with some of the sprinkles I had in my pantry to use as eyes. I then used black chocolate melts to draw the antennae and mouths. I used the same black chocolate to decorate the snowballs. *HINT:* when you are using the chocolate, I love using a chocolate squeeze bottle and I wait until it's a little bit cool. It sets up fast and doesn't run.

I used the same black chocolate again and drew out "month L.I.D." onto a small piece of parchment paper and cooled in the freezer, then placed them on top of the cake once they were set. It's been my favorite thing to do when it comes to cake decorating!

And here's a FUN new development! Mike is growing a moustache! He's not going to shave it off until we are matched. I have to say he looks handsome and it's the first time I have ever seen him with facial hair like this. So now.... we wait. We TRY to be patient and know that all of our family and friends are as excited as we are. Kaylah will get here. And most of all, she will be loved.

Sundress test

OK-- well I attempted to make a little sundress for a friend of ours who is adopting their little one from China. She just turned 2 and they are hoping to bring her home in March or April. So, I had been wanting to try to remember how to sew clothing again. (It's ben YEARS) And honestly, I can vividly remember sitting and watching my Grandmother and Mother sew clothes for me when I was little. They always made matching outfits for my babies and barbie's too.

It's called a knotted sundress. And I was soooooo TICKLED pink about how it came out!
I will definitely HAVE to make one of these for Kaylah! Perfect for going to the zoo!

As I was sewing, I had great memories fly back into my head... my Grandmother was always sewing me something. I can remember running up and down the isles at the fabric stores picking out my favorite fabric...and begging her to please get "THIS ONE" and to make me a dress. When my Mom came out in January this year, she brought out some of the fabrics that they used to make my outfits in the 70's. AMAZING fabrics! And she even found this retro fabric that has these crazy neon owls on it! Pattern was cut out---never sewn together. We are missing an arm... but found more fabric so we can finish the romper for Kaylah! Those were some GOOD times, some of my best childhood memories. And I can't wait to make those kinds of memories for Kaylah!

One Month LID ;)

Quick entry today, Superbowl is still on and I've been busy baking and decorating our one month LID celebration cake! The frosting is pa-thetic! I only had a little tub of the pre-made stuff. Poor cake looks like it's melting! Yeah yeah--I know I am a perfectionist. But I rarely have pre-made stuff around the house. Fresh is so much better!

Mike and I are waiting patiently for our match and hoping for a phone call soon! Each month we are LID and await our match, I will bake and decorate a little cake for us to enjoy. I got the idea from a family friend (Sarah) and other online blogging waiting families. It seems to be a pretty popular thing to do! I will say that I only had one tiny tub of pre-made cherry frosting, but at least it was better than nothing. And I have some other fun ideas to try to change it up from month to month as we wait to see little Kaylah's face.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Mike, Susan, Blake and Kye took me out on an adventure today. Somewhere I have never been, and to witness something I had never seen. A new experience, and one that made me smile form ear to ear! Plus, it was good getting out into the beautiful downtown Colorado Springs area and walk around in the fresh air! We went to a local Chinese New Year Celebration. And it was FANTABULOUS!

I would like to post a video, but I haven't quite figured that out yet through blogger. Gimme some time, I am sure I will figure it all out! HEre are a few more pics of what we saw today. It was so much fun and a new experience that I think will be in our future when we have Kaylah home!
These Lion dancers were amazing to watch. They brought these lions to life and were so talented! So much fun to watch!!
We watched several dancers and tasted some Chinese food. There were also some really neat vendors there and we enjoyed walking around and spending a little cashola here and there on a few goodies for Kye and for Kaylah. It was fun to see so many families there with little ones running around. And I was so impressed to see how many adoptive families were there. Somehow, I felt connected to them, and I didn't even know them.

Yes, that would be MIke (I need to work on his smiles a bit more) and lil Mr. Kye. Isn't he a sweetie? We love spending time with Susan and Blake too. They are amazing parents and have become good friends!

Help from Mom and the Girls...

Ok, I am posting this picture, as embarrassing as it is. HOW our hallway closet got this bad? I have no idea. But I can tell you all this, it took almost 7 years. I had the help from my Mom while she was in town helping me recover from surgery AND I had to call on the special powers of these ladies, who are on my favorite t-shirt -->> The closet wasn't always this bad, it did start out organized, but somehow, it's manifested into something that is was totally and completely embarrassing.

Ok, here it is. (Covers her ears...) YES. I KNOW. (Shakes her head.) But to my defense... this stuff IS behind two sliding doors, so it's not in my face. And to all of my friends and co-workers who think that my house is "perfectly" tidy... see? I was not so perfect... YET. And YES, that's a Delaware license plate and I HAVEN'T lived there since 2001! Not even going to think how in the heck that got in there!

Can you see these bunnies? OMG? They were on my front porch? And now you ask... "What does your hallway closet look like now?"

TA-DAAAAAaaaaaaaaa!!!!!! WHOOP WHOOOP! How COOL is THIS?????? Many thanks to my Mom for helping get some major storage containers and she was great enough to help us stock up on paper products and cleaning supplies for the next several months. Aren't Mommies GREAT?! What a blessing!

Now... I have more towels in the washer... gonna fold them and PUT them away! The two bottom shelves are going to be reserved for Kaylah's things: sheets, towels, blankets.
Who said "Mother Nesting" wasn't fun? I LOVE getting organized!

We did it! We are LID baby!!!! WOOHOO!

This week, we were faced with me having an emergency surgery Tuesday morning. I am healing now and on the road to recovery, something came out from left field and WHAM... life seemed to be spinning. We thank God for a new OBGYN who was on top of her game and who saved my life, literally. We lost little baby Murphy and their spirit is up above with Grandma Shyler watching over our little Kaylah until we can bring her home.

This morning, I reached over for my ice water and saw that I had 9 emails on my phone and clicked "open" and the last one read... Congratulations Mike and Krystal.... and I smiled. Thwacked Mike on his arm several times to wake him up and said, " LOOK, LOOK LOOK!" WE are LID!!! I couldn't woohoo loud---cuz my gut is so sore right now it isn't even funny. Even hard to cry--- no gut wiggling is permitted. Official LID: January 5, 2012~!

Kaylah's tree is on hold, but I will post pics as the project resumes.