She better not steal my name!!

I am just putting this out there now in case the unthinkable happens and Britney Spears pregnant little sister steals my baby's name! I thought of Jasey first!! I can just see it happening, her name is Jamie, the baby daddy's name is Casey... put the two together and voila! I know it is a long shot, but it would just be my luck;)

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas... I guess.

Well, the tree is up, the house is decorated, the lights are hanging on the house outside. But when I look out my window I see a blue sky, green grass, and palm trees swaying in a light breeze. I know, I know, those of you who are freezing you butts off are wondering why I am complaining. I'm not really, but I am finding it hard to get in the Christmas mood when the weather is exactly the same as it was 3 months ago! I miss having to throw a sweater on because it is getting chilly, or the comfort of walking in to a warm house from the cold outside. The only time I get to wear a sweatshirt is when Jason has the A/C set to freezing. The lack of seasons here really gets on my nerves sometimes, but other times I realize how lucky I am not to be dealing with the extreme weather I have been watching on the news from the mainland lately.
Another reason I can't seem to get jolly is that my Christmas Spirit (AKA Jason) is gone until the 12th. I always start December off this way, kinda blah, but he has enough spirit for the both of us and eventually brings me around. My house looks like a Christmas store, and it's all his doing. I will have to post some pics of the madness!
I can't help but wonder if we will be celebrating Christmas with Jasey next year. When we started this journey I was so sure she would be here by next summer, but at the rate things are moving right now, I just don't think that is going to happen. I am prepared for a long wait, it is just the uncertainty I am having a hard time with right now.
Okay, I am off to wrap some presents and listen to some Cristmas tunes, maybe I will find my Christmas groove... ho ho ho.

10 years!

I cannot believe that Jason and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary today! It's strange how at times it feels like we just met yesterday, then at other times it's like we have known each other forever. 10 years ago today we walked out to Yokosuka City Hall in Japan, signed a couple papers, then were told to have a seat and wait. They called us back up to the counter 20 minutes later, handed us a certificate written in Kanji, and said "Congratulations". That was it, no ceremony, no frills, just sitting on a bench in city hall:) I can't believe we didn't take a camera with us, but I guess those memories will just live in our minds.
We had our church ceremony 3 days later at the Chapel of Hope on Yokosuka Navy Base. It's nice to have two days to celebrate our anniversay, the second day falls on Thanksgiving! This year I think I will be thankful that we are still together and happier than ever. I know people had their doubts, since we were so young, and there was only 5 months between our first date and our wedding date, but we proved them wrong!

Prepare to laugh at some retro pics. We look so YOUNG! I guess we were just 19 and 22, but geez, we look like kids!

Shortly after we met... Me with a seriously bad dye job, and Jason rockin' an awesome shirt!



Back when we were young and skinny;)



Jason wearing the T-shirt he wore to propose to me on our camping trip.



My reaction after the proposal.



See! We were even taking self portraits way back then!



My favorite posed pic of us from our wedding.



And my favorite candid.



This was taken at the reception my Dad threw for us in Canada, 2 weeks after the wedding.


Can you find the beer in the last two pictures? It's an ongoing joke that beer has been the "3rd party" in our marriage from the very begining;)

Yay! It's here!!

I was so excited to open my mailbox today and see an envelope from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services! Our approval is here! This is a huge step in the right direction for us, and I am relieved to no longer have to stalk the mailman everyday.
Next step is Authentication, which means all of our paperwork will get sent BACK to Hawaii so the notaries can be authenticated by the Secretary of State office. Let's hope that doesn't take too long!
Here are the beautiful papers I have been waiting on...





I surprised Jason with them when he came home for lunch... Thumbs up from him! ;)

Panda Express does it again!

What has my life become?!? I have started relying on fortune cookies to brighten my day! Oh well, whatever works:)


Here is a bonus of another thing that brightens my day... Jake says "Hey"!

Not much new to report...

Well, that's not true. There is TONS going on in the adoption world. If you are a part of it you already know; and if you aren't, I will spare you all the gory details. The gist of it all is there are some major changes happening with paper filing procedures, and investigations into certain provinces to assure things are happening on the up and up. I am of course concerned about these things, but don't feel the need to contribute to the already abundant amount of discussion going on out there about it in Adoption Blogland.
We are just sitting here, twiddling our thumbs, waiting on our approval to come from USCIS. Not much we can do until then. Cross your fingers for us that it comes this week!
Here are a few recent pics from the Meeks household. Enjoy!

Me and Jason at the Khaki Ball- Can you tell I love self portraits?!?


Ewww... Pumpkin guts!


I think Owen and The Baby had a conspiracy going on...


"Let's both smell the same spot on the pumpkin so she can't get a good pic!"


And just a bit of Hawaii scenery for those of you who are starting to get a bit chilly :)

Back on track!

We had a big bump in the road last month with a problem obtaining our Immigration approval. I had to scramble to get some documents from Virginia, and Jason had to do another interview with our home study agency. I am so happy to say that the home study social worker called this morning to tell us our addendum is complete! I am going to pick it up in a couple of hours and drive it straight over to USCIS to submit it. Hopefully they will stick to their 10 day turnover for approvals, if so we will be totally back on track in no time! Yay! What a relief:) One step closer to bringing our baby girl home.
I also want to let everyone who is immediatley affected by the new I600 procedures know that you are all in my thoughts. I can't imagine how hard it must be to have your travel dates at your fingertips, only to be told the wait will be longer. I know you have probably heard it a million times, but I am sure once you are finally united with your babies, the wait be totally forgotten and totally worth it. Keep your chin up!

I'm in love with a Monster!

No, not Jason;) I found Jasey's first "teddy bear" at the Tacoma Mall last week while visiting with my Mom and sisters. Those who know me well know that I usually do things slightly unconventionally, so why should my daughters stuffed animals be any different? The line is called Eanie Meanies and the monsters are named Mye, Ni and Moe. The store only had Moe, but I found them at www.manhattantoy.com so I could get the other two. All the plush toys on there are so cute, I think I will definitely become a regular customer there!

Please tell me Jasey will turn out okay with these monsters as her first "teddies"!

Mye


Ni


Moe

The other "Baby" we are waiting on

In addition to anxiously awaiting the arrival of Jasey, we are counting down the days until we can bring home Jake. He is our 6 month old Chocolate Lab that is currently living in Washington with my Mom. Her dog Gordie fathered a litter that was born in April, and Jake is the pick of that litter. Because of Hawaii's animal import rules, he won't be able to come home until February or March of next year:( We are hoping that Jasey and Jake will be the best of friends! Sorry so many pics... I couldn't narrow it down!

Newborn- She had a litter of 11!


3 1/2 weeks old-


7 Weeks old, Homecoming day!


His first duck-


9 weeks-


Same pose 6 weeks later-


Being silly with Gordie-


Latest pic, Our handsome boy at 5 months old-


I am heading to my WA in a couple days for our inaugural "Girls Weekend" with my Mom and my two sisters. I can't wait to get some Jakey cuddles;)

Jumping the gun a bit...

So, I know that we aren't even done with the paper chase part of this adoption, but I have to admit work on the nursery has started. My Mom and my Auntie Val were here visiting for the week, so I had to put their creativity and craftiness to work. I wanted to change an armoire that was being used as Jason's video game station into a changing table for Jasey. I am so excited to say that my Mom and my Aunt made it happen, and it is even better than I could have imagined. Check it out!

Before-


Getting started-


Finishing touches-


All done!-


Finished inside-


Close up of quote by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese monk-


They also painted the letters that will hang on the wall over Jasey's crib-


Thank you so much Mom and Auntie Val, I couldn't have done it without you! I can't wait for Jasey to see all the hard work you put in to her nursery, I know she will love it. Now you just have to come back to Hawaii to help me put the nursery together:)

Wasting away again in Margaritaville...

So, this has absolutly nothing to do with the adoption, but I had to share what a great time we had last night at the Jimmy Buffett concert. It was sooooo fun! The show was at the Waikiki Shell, an outdoor venue, and the weather couldn't have been better. It rained a bit right before the show, but cleared up right in time. It was our first Jimmy Buffett show, but Jason has been a life long fan and he converted me to an official Parrot Head over the years:)

Here is our attempt at a self portrait during the show-


Jason, with Jimmy over his shoulder-


And Jimmy himself-


And just so this post isn't totally unrelated to Jasey, these are the headphones I am going to order for her so she can enjoy concerts with us! She will be the youngest Parrot Head at the show!

Yay for Panda Express!!

Not only did my orange chicken and steamed veggies brighten my day a bit, but the fortune from my cookie was definitely a keeper!

In case the pic isn't working, it says "Your ability to love will help a child in need." :)

Speed Bumps

Why is it that just when you are cruising down the road, quickly and smoothly, you hit a bunch of speed bumps? Okay, okay, logically I know it is to slow you down and make you aware of what's around you. I guess I should actually learn from that little analogy and quit pouting about our current situation.
Up to this point our adoption process has been painless. Every single form, application, procedure, etc. has been quick and easy. I guess I needed a bit of a wake up call, because we have run into some complications with our immigration approval. I'm sure it will all work out fine, but I am so frustrated that something has to go wrong, especially right at the end when I thought I was finished with everything.
I know in the long run I will be thankful for this setback. When I hold our baby in my arms I will be telling myself "If you hadn't hit a snag you would have been finished faster and THIS wouldn't be your baby!" But for now I am feeling a little blue that our wait is going to be even longer.
Okay, enough with my pity party. Gotta dust myself off and work on getting us back on track!
Who ever said adoption was the EASY way to have a baby?

The Why's...

We are having a lazy Sunday, so I figured I could use this time to answer the most common questions that Jason and I have gotten since we started announcing our plan to adopt.

Why can't you get pregnant? Short answer, we can. Long answer, we have been married 10 years and a baby hasn't happened yet. After a few doctor visits for both of us, we, and our doctor, are confident we could get pregnant with medical help. Doing so just didn't feel like the right path for us right now. I can't say we will never try and fight the fertility battle, but for now our hearts just weren't in it.

Why adopt? Since Jason and I met, we have always talked about someday adopting children. We think it will be a privilege to be able to open up our hearts and home to a baby that is in need of loving parents.

Why adopt internationally? We realize there is a huge need here in America for adoptive families, but for our first adoption, the decision to go international was an easy one. Although international adoption is full of ups and downs, red tape, and uncertanties, we felt that having a course of action laid out with a light at the end of the tunnel was the way to go. Honestly, alot of what we read about domestic adoptions kind of scared us. For example, they say you can expect 1 or 2 adoptions to fall through before you actually get your baby. And even though international adoption is a hard process, we felt we had a little more contol over the process then putting our picture in a book and waiting for a birth mother to choose us. I can't say we will never adopt domestically, but for our first experience, international was for us.

Why Vietnam? This question is hard to answer, how do I explain "It just feels right."? Once we decided to adopt, I was glued to the internet reading about every adoption program known to man. As soon as I started reading about Vietnam, I just KNEW in my heart it was the program for us. So when asked why we are adopting from Vietnam, I usually answer "Because that is where our daughter is." :)

The beggining...

How do you start a blog? Is it a simple introduction, or should it be some complex statement of who you are and why you feel the need to put these thoughts out there? I have had a hard time coming up with an answer to that, so I have spent the last week changing layouts over and over again. Yeah, that's why I'm not writing, those green dots just don't say ME!
So, I will make it quick and painless. I am Michelle, 29, married to Jason, 32. We live in Hawaii, for now. We are in the process of adopting our first child, a baby girl from Vietnam who will be named Jasey. This blog will serve a couple of purposes- First, it will be a way to keep friends and family informed of what is going on with our adoption, and second it should be a great way for me to fill up my time while waiting for Jasey.
There, I did it! My first post... short and sweet. Stay tuned!