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As Roxie and I enjoy the beautiful weather in Chicago this Labor Day weekend, Garrett is miles away helping people evacuate and prepare for Hurricane Gustav. Right now he is just south of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, evacuating the bed-ridden and critically ill people of the area. He headed down to Louisiana on Friday in a convoy of ambulances and now he is leading a group of five ambulances as they evacuate people. The storm is not expected to hit until tomorrow or Tuesday, so he will be staying to help out for the rest of the week. We are so proud of him and wish him strength and safety to get through this storm. We also hope and pray for the well being of all the people affected by Hurricane Gustav. God Bless.

So what do you do when you make a big corned beef and cabbage dinner and use lots of pots, pans and dishes to cook and serve this dinner - and then find out the sink or dishwasher doesn't work? Well, you haul all the dishes to the bathtub upstairs, turn on some music and wash the dishes in the tub! What we thought would be a huge disaster turned into a really fun memory. As we approach our year anniversary of the start of our adoption journey, I can't help but think of all the wonderful memories we will create once a child joins our family.

Our 100 Good Wishes Quilt - As we patiently wait for a baby to join our family, we found out about a wonderful tradition that waiting families take part in - 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 100 Good Wishes Quilt. It is a custom to invite friends and family to contribute a patch of cloth with a wish for the baby. Most of the square is sewn into the quilt, while a small piece of the fabric goes into a scrapbook with the wish for the child. The quilt contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contribute a square of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation.
So we are asking all our family and friends to send us a piece of fabric and a good wish. We have started receiving the fabric and we are beginning to assemble the quilt. We cherish the idea of welcoming a child into our home with a quilt that represents the good wishes from our family and friends.

Happy New Year! We hope that 2008 is a good year for everyone and we hope that this is the year we welcome a baby to our family. The big news in our house is that Garrett has graduated Paramedic School. We are so proud of him - it has been a long year of studying and tests but he has done a great job.

Happy New Year!

November is National Adoption Month. We are going to celebrate this special month by helping to decorate an adoption tree at the Brookfield Zoo tomorrow. We will hang a picture of ourselves on the tree that symbolizes all the families who are touched by adoption. We are excited to meet with other adoptive families to celebrate this month this is so close to our hearts.