Passport renewal :$50.-
Passport pictures for China Visa: $10.-
Remaining Agency Fee: $4,000.-
Visa Cost per person: $130.-
FedEx cost to overnight documents to my agency: $30.-
Knowing that as of the moment those documents left my hands & were officially on their way to my agency I had NO MORE PAPERWORK TO WORRY ABOUT UNTIL I AM PHYSICALLY IN CHINA: PRICELESS!!!!
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh Life is good!
Ruby In Her Own Time...
Well, it's official, I've checked the 'YES I ACCEPT THIS CHILD' box in the paperwork to go back to China and have all the necessary documents ready to go with passports & everything & will be headed to DHL first thing in the morning to send those to my agency overnight so they have them by tuesday! =) Once they have them they'll get put with the other acceptance letters from 7 other families in my group & then on Wed they all get sent to China. From there it's roughly 8-10 weeks before I travel. I must receive a TA (Travel Approval) first, then after receiving that, within a week or so I'm on a plane & off to get my beautiful birthday girl. Ronayne my friend who is traveling with me, is THRILLED because apparently today she realized that we'd be making a stop in Hong Kong, and I thought she knew that, but to listen to her go ON AND ON " OMG WE'RE GONNA GO TO HONG KONG, MY GOODNESS!!! etc etc etc" CLEARLY she didn't know at all & it was a very exciting tidbit of info for her, made her day. =) But then again, I'm always here to help. =) hehehe So for now, I continue to float on a cloud & just sit & stare at my little girl's precious face for hours on end. I know somewhere in the house there's probably dirty dishes to get to, or laundry just begging to be done, however... right now, all I want to do, is stare at that gorgeous little girl & periodically pinch myself because honestly I feel like it's all a dream. I'M IN LOVE!!!!!! That's all for now, more tomorrow I'm sure, I'm Italian and a LEO so honestly I just never shut up. G'NIGHT!
http://halfthesky.org/02CentersPrograms/centers/fuzhou.html
Cut and paste the above link into a new browser window to see the orphanage where Ruby is currently calling 'home'!! I'm so happy because it looks like such a wonderful place filled with bright colors and clean spaces & toys & wonderful nannies & staff who truly care about the work that they are doing!!! THANK YOU GOD FOR PLACING MY BABY THERE UNTIL SHE CAN BE PLACED IN MY LOVING ARMS! WHAT LUCKY BABIES MY RUBY IS WITH!!! I can't wait to go get my beautiful BIRTHDAY GIRL!!
I finally got the translation of Ruby's referral info. I had been dying to know where she was found & who found her etc... The following is what her referral said:
Fu Peimu, female, born on September 7, 2004 (her birthday was estimated according to her umbilical cord). On September 9th, 2004 she was abandoned at the front entrance of the Emergency Help center. (since child abandonment is punnishable by stiff fines & jail time, her biological mother shows not only courage but true love of her baby to have been brave enough to leave her in such an obvious & BUSY place. Clearly, she could've easily been caught & reprimanded for doing such a thing, yet her child's welfare obviously meant more to her and for that I am touched & amazed & forever grateful. That one act of selflessness and unconditional love will be something that I will forever be grateful for & Ruby will know that she was TRULY loved by her biological mother.) She was sent to our institute a staff of the Emergency Help Center. When she first entered our institute, according to the doctor’s check up, she was in good health.
She has six meals a day & her primary food is milk formula, egg, rice cereal made into a paste & noodles porridge veggies, egg & other foods. (basically my little birthday girl loves to EAT!) She is up at 6am every morning and takes one nap every day from 10-noon. (YIPPEE!!) She likes to sleep in a bassinet but the light needs to be OFF before she'll go to sleep. She sleeps very well at night but sometimes is fussy.
She can stand with support under her armpits. She can stare at a moving bell and with a slight pull of her wrist, she can sit very steadily. She grasps things tightly and can move her legs up and down. She likes to lean forward to wards people. She can LAUGH OUT LOUD. (LOL) MY DAUGHTER!!!
She recognizes those around her and can turn her head when people talk or call her name or when there is a sound from something nearby. She 'LIKES TO EAT' ( as if you couldn't tell from her beautiful pictures!! my baby is a healthy girl!) She can say MAMA and other simple words. She is timid and shy but quite ACTIVE and OUTGOING! ( also my daughter!) She likes to imitate, listen to music, talk, sing, and likes busy places. (WELCOME TO BOSTON BABY!!) She is VERY ENERGETIC and reacts QUICKLY! She likes to play with other children and is an outgoing girl. She likes to take baths and the closest person to her is her caregiver.
This was all documented on April 30th, 2005. (she was nearly 8 mos old at the time)
All her health info checks out WITH FLYING COLORS! MY BABY GIRL IS BEAUTIFUL AND HEALTHY & READY FOR AMERICA!!! ;)
I am blessed, that's it, I am so wonderfully, beautifully, incredibly blessed beyond all measure. THANK YOU GOD FOR MY GORGEOUS BABY GIRL, YOU HAVE MADE MY DREAM OF BECOMING A MOTHER COME TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!
G'night Ruby, I hope to hold you in my arms very very soon! MOMMA LOVES YOU!!
XOXOXOXOXO
On September 7th at 3:23pm, I got 'THE CALL' on my Referral of my beautiful healthy baby girl: FU PEI MU!!! THE CALL CAME ON HER FIRST BIRTHDAY AS SHE WAS BORN EXACTLY ONE YEAR AGO TODAY, SEPT 7TH, 2004! She is gorgeous & I am simply OVER THE MOON IN LOVE WITH HER! I leave on Nov 16th from Boston's Logan Airport to go to CHINA to get my beautiful baby girl & bring her home!!!!!!!!!! =)
Ruby Cate Pei Mu
Born September 7th, 2004
Ruby In Her Own Time...
" The things that you want are there for the taking... you just have to believe that you deserve them. "
-DC
Ruby In Her Own Time...
Here's the thing... I'm not much of a church goer but I do consider myself to be quite spiritual & a good kind person, THAT SAID, I want to know why it is that night after night, I say my prayer & it still has yet to be answered? Perhaps my 'prayer line' to the 'allmighty power' is flawed? I guess it's possible, I mean I did just toss my friggen cell phone through the wash the other day, what's to stop me from somehow messing up my 'spiritual connection' without ever knowing I did so? UGH it is true that SHIT HAPPENS and LIFE SUCKS and there's not a DAMN THIN YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!
You know, I enjoy having this blog because it is really helpful to be able to just purge every night & get shit out on the table & go to bed & do my best to leave it behind. I woke up this morning on my couch after only having gotten 3 hours sleep AT THE MOST and realized that yes, it's a new day, but NO, MY REFERRAL STILL ISN'T HERE YET! I think at this point I'm ALLOWED to be pissy and honestly, until I see my baby's face for real, I think most of you would be wise to just avoid reading my blog... it'll just depress you.
My friend is very wise... things we've talked about are similar in nature but not exactly on the same page... but close enough for sure. Two souls walking parallel through similar lives but just slightly different. Regardless, our hearts are in the right place relatively speaking, so that's good. We both need that in our lives.
I'm going to go check the status of this new package on it's way to my agency... probably another travel approval but honestly, I hope & PRAY that it's my referral, I just need to see my child's face. =(
-Me
... my head feels like someone or something is slowly crushing it with a vice... the dead center of my skull is full of this piercing pain like being stabbed in that one spot over and over, right behind my eyes. My neck is sore, my back is killing me and my shot hurt like hell tonight, like a goddamned bee sting. On top of all that, add to my stress level the fact that I STILL have not received my referral for Ruby. Oh and then add for good measure, some emotional 'goings on' with a certain 'friend' of mine and GOOD LORD it's enough to drive a girl MAD! And if I have to hear 'we'll see' ONE MORE TIME FROM ANYONE I'm going to pick up the BIGGEST HEAVIEST OBJECT I FIND AND HIT THEM OVER THE HEAD WITH IT! T used to say that all the time & it completely pissed me off, it's such a boring use of words... it's a cop out, people say 'we'll see' when they are too damn afraid to address the subject at hand. They hide behind those words, and it's lame. Yes or No work just fine for me, USE THEM PEOPLE! Anyway... I am feeling like I might as well have been hit by a train full force & am now completely numb. IF anything happens tomorrow I'll log it but otherwise, this crappy entry in the wee hours of the morning is going to have to do for now.
-Me
... another TA! Grrrr It seems like every day there's another package on it's way to my agency & each time, although I hope deep in my heart that it's my Ruby's Referral, it's just someone else's Travel Approval, which is great for them, but SUCKS for me! I swear, if I had a quarter for every minute I spent being patient during this whole adoption process I'd have enough money to bring EVERYONE TO CHINA WITH ME TO ADOPT YOUR OWN BABIES ON ME! ugh So there's another package on it's way to my agency tomorrow, due by noon their time, 3pm my time. We'll see, I've lost all the 'excitement' at tracking these packages to be honest. It was fun at first now it's just like setting myself up for yet another fall, so what's the use? I know she'll come when she's good & ready but it seems as though my future daughter is truly living up to what is now my current mantra 'RUBY IN HER OWN TIME' HAS OUTRAGEOUSLY HIT THE MARK THIS TIME! It's a great book but I think if I ever adopt again, I'll get a book that is titled something like "THE BABY WHO ARRIVED EARLY!!" or something like that. I'm tired, I babysat my munchkins tonight, and am still here in marblehead at their house right now. I just put all three of them down for the night, read the stories, gave out all the kisses to everyone & a few hugs as well. I love them so much & it's nice to know that even if my darling Ruby is taking her time sharing her sweet face with her Momma, my babies who I've loved for the past 3 & a half years are always more than willing to share their sweet smiles and hugs & kisses and "I love you!"'s with their nanny! I am truly blessed, even if it appears that my daughter is somewhat of a slacker ;) LOL
-Amy (in slow motion these days)
Ruby In Her Own Time...
Ahhhhhh MUCH BETTER! Brand new CELL PHONE! Same brand as before, Nokia 6015i, I'm very 'old school' and am a serious creature of habit so this is my phone of choice! ;) The only bummer is that all my numbers in the old one were lost so I only have a few numbers in this new one, no big deal. I honestly didn't call half those people anyway. I also got my ringtones back too, and am very happy now. I know, I'm retarded... whatever, I'm happy! =)
Family is coming tomorrow for a few days & they're staying in my room so tonight, after I'm done watching my friends Kids I'm going to strip my bed & put on new bedding etc to have it ready for them when they arrive tomorrow. For now, I'm going to go play with Kayla & Danny, she's nearly 4 and he's 2... and they're ADORABLE! ;) HEHEHE
More later maybe!
-Amy
Ruby In Her Own Time...
So it's not even 8am yet and I've been up & showered & dressed & am leaving shortly for the friggen Verizon Wireless place to get a NEW CELL PHONE YET AGAIN! grrrrrr I would very much like another Nokia but honestly, after two of them dying, I probably should switch to something else... but I JUST ORDERED A KEWL NEW FACEPLATE FOR THIS PHONE DAMNIT~! IT'S GOT A LADYBUG ON IT!!!!!!! I hope they can replace this with the same model if not, maybe I can write to the guy from ebay that I got the faceplate from & get the same one but just for whatever new phone model I end up getting should it come to that! grrrrrrrrrrr leaving here at 8:30am, want to be the FIRST in line at that place, NOT GONNA WAIT AT ALL! Need my phone cuz it's how my AGENCY gets in touch with me! Lovely that I'm days away from getting "THE CALL" and my cell phone decided to SHIT THE BED! ok, I need to go work more on Ruby's Christmas Stocking... it's so close to being finished I'd like to have it done within the next week or so. I think the deadline for having it finished in time to send to the woman in CA who sewes it & puts it all together is like Sept 15th or 17th or something like that, so I have a little more time. Ok, off to work on that, once the cell is working again, I'll blog it. PISSAH!
Ruby In Her Own Time...
Ok so there is one more package on it's way from Beijing to my agency... it's left Beijing but so far hasn't touched down in CA. I will obviously be tracking it but I think this time, until I get the call from my agency that YES it is INDEED my referral, I am going to just chill & be a silent observer. The events of the last few days were the roller coaster ride from HELL! Talk about a fast ride straight into a brick wall! ugh...
So, for now, new package on it's way & once I know more, I'll post more. But for now, I'm going to sleep, gotta get up bright & early to be the first customer at the cell phone store to get a new phone, mine died completely tonight.
Later Gater!
-Me
Ruby In Her Own Time...
It was TA's (travel approvals) that they received today, not referrals. HOWEVER, as of right now, there is another package headed to my agency from China, and I'm hopeful that this time it WILL be my daughters referral. I will track it online & keep my blog up to date but the DHL guy says that because of monday being a holiday, it's schudueled ETA is by Noon, this coming Wednesday, Sept 7th. No more to type for now, I'm emotionally drained & need to go curl up & nap. Sorry.
Ruby In Her Own Time...
TRACKING SUMMARY:
CURRENT STATUS: SHIPMENT DELIVERED!
DELIVERED ON: 9-1-05 9:50am
OMG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ANY MINUTE NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! C'MON CALL DAMNIT CALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ruby In Her Own Time...
OMG IT'S ON IT'S WAY TO MY AGENCY!!!!!!!!!! I CAN'T EVEN BELIEVE IT I'M SHAKING LIKE A LEAF & THIS IS SUCH A WONDERFUL DAY, MY FRIEND KATHERINE FROM NJ HAD THE SAME DTC & LID AS ME & SHE JUST GOT HER BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS REFERRAL & HER LITTLE GIRL IS 10 MONTHS OLD TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG WHAT A WONDERFUL DAY THIS IS, I THINK I'M GONNA FAINT!
Ruby In Her Own Time...
ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MY REFERRAL!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ok, current status is this...
at 6:56am pacific time it arrived in WA at the DHL facility!
NOW I JUST HAVE TO WAIT TILL DHL DELIVERS IT TO MY AGENCY BY NOON THEIR TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG OMG OMGWOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO
Ruby In Her Own Time...
REFERRAL STILL IN TRANSIT! I've got my camcorder all set up on the tripod in the living room, aimed at my favorite toasty chair surrounded by all my books that I LOVE and have my Ruby Journal and special pen courtesy of my BEST FRIEND IN THE WORLD, JEN, SOON TO BE MOMMY JEN! YEAH SPEC! HEHEHE I have my cell phone on the ottoman in front of the chair & it's ready to go & I have my RED SOX hat on cuz it's just a bad hair day all around so hats are GOOD! I have a little list of things to remember to ask Eric when he calls from my agency to tell me he's staring at Ruby's BEAUTIFUL FACE! OMG I'm bundling all my emotion up inside but trust me, when that call comes & I hit record, it'll all come rushing out and the tears will flow... HAPPY TEARS!!!!!!!!!! OMG RUBY MOMMA CAN'T WAIT TO FIND OUT ALL ABOUT YOU BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Everyone keep Ruby & Me in your prayers today... I know we're going to need them for sure!
Ruby In Her Own Time...
REFERRAL IS ON THE ROAD AGAIN!!! As of this morning current status is: "In Transit" it left San Francisco at 4:06am & is on it's way to Washington state! OMG OMG OMG OMG I am feeling sick to my stomach I need to go sculpt to direct all this nervous energy towards something! But first A COLD SHOWER! OMG OMG OMG MORE LATER AS IT HAPPENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
