DTV!

Let me clear the cobwebs and dust bunnies off my blog before I begin...
So, it has been a month since I last posted, the holidays have come and gone. We had a nice Christmas at home, my sister Jen and her boys were visiting Hawaii, so we got to spend time with them. New Years was quiet, just the two of us. We lit off some fire crackers in the street in front of our house, then had to fight off sleep until midnight. PARTY ANIMALS!!
But, I finally have some good news to share... WE ARE DTV!!! For those of you not in the adoption community, that means Dossier to Vietnam (I think!). In other words, everything that can be done with out paperwork here in the U.S. has been done. It is officially in the country of Vietnam, currently being translated. The translation can take up to 8 weeks, but once it comes out we will finally be issued our number on our agency waiting list. I am anticipating we will be around #45, which sucks because our agency is optimistically anticipating 40 referrals in 2008. Yes, that means we most likely won't be meeting our baby girl this year. We are staying positive though, we will get her when the time is right.
The Director of our agency and his wife picked up and moved to VN last week. He hand carried a group of dossiers (ours included) over there himself. It makes me feel good to know that one of the heads of our agency is actually living over there, and overseeing things first hand. I admire his dedication to this program, and adoption in general.
Happy 2008 everyone! I hope we all have an awesome year!

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 :)