Looking like we are next!

Well the next round of referrals should be here this week & it is rumored that they will go thru 11/21/05. This means that our LID of 11/23/05 would be in the next batch that will come out in early September!!!! We are so excited to be able to finally say that. It's not 100% guarantee but about 95% sure that we would be getting our baby's picture & info right after Labor Day. (no pun intended : )

Please keep us in your prayers over this next month as this will be one of the hardest parts of this 2 year wait yet. We are so close, but yet so far. This time of the month (pre-referrals) is always a little nerve racking because we want so badly to know when we will be able to get Madison. But this final month will be extra hard. Thankfully we have a lot planned for August so I am hoping that it will fly by.

We had an awesome time last weekend between the Scavenger Hunt for the church youth on Friday & meeting with our China Adoption friends that we met on the Internet on Saturday. Some of the families have travelled to China & have their babies now so it was fun to see the beautiful little girls they were blessed with. This gives us hope to continue on our journey knowing that the end of one part is near & the beginning of another is after that.

Family Reunion & next batch of referrals

Mom w/her sisters
Travis & Matt
K & K on a walk

We had a great time at our family reunion in Omaha over the weekend. Our hosts (my cousin, Terry & his wife) did a beautiful job setting everything up at Mahoney State Park. The park had a lodge, cabins, campgrounds & lots to do. Many of us went to the water park on-site & a few people played mini golf in addition to consuming the endless amounts of food.

We also had a chance to visit with my cousin Tara & her family in Colorado before heading east to Nebraska. They have a beautiful new home that they opened up to us. There were a couple fo beautiful sunsets that we watched over the mountains in the distance.

When we got back we discovered the next group of referrals were sent out bringing us to 11/14/05. We are only 9 LID's away from ours!! We are looking at a September referral & likely late October/early Nov travel. It's starting to feel a little more real now.

Cozy Dogs & Waffles

We have found some wonderful places to eat on Route 66. There are chain restaurants a plenty on the Interstate but in getting off to follow the original road we have found some great establishments that have been there for years. One such place is Cozy Dog located in Springfield, Illinois. This is the place where it is said that corn dogs were invented. They do not call them Corn Dogs & if anyone tries to call them that, they will correct you.

There are plenty of small mom & pop places with wonderful food. We ate at a place in Santa Rosa, NM called the Route 66 Cafe. We had a great breakfast there one day. There are a couple of chain restaurants that we do not have in MN that we have relished eating at on some of the days. Two of our favorites are Waffle House & Taco Cabana.

We have seen some beautiful countryside & met some interesting people. We see some of the same people who are on a similar journey to us at the well known places. One such pair are a father & son riding a Harley along the route. We have run into them 3 times. We have had rain daily so they are toughing it out on their bike.

The hotels we have stayed at are also landmarks of the by-gone era. Two in particular are the Munger Moss in MO & the Blue Swallow in NM. These are your typical roadside motels like my grandparents used to own in my childhood. I can greatly appreciate everything that goes into running such places.

We are now heading north to CO to see family & are sad to leave the route. There are many memories that we experienced & places for future visits that have noted.

In search of pink elephants & blue whales

Well, we have officially started our Route 66 trip. We left out of Minneapolis & followed the Great River Road out of Minnesota & thru Northern Iowa & eventually to Bloomington, IL where we picked up old Route 66. We have been trying to stay on the Route as much as possible staying off the Interstate.


We have seen some beautiful scenery and a few sad scenes of old businesses that were likely once thriving in the heyday of the Route 66 traveling days. I was quite pleasantly surprised by the views in Missouri & didn't realize that so many vineyards existed in middle America. There have been some bizarre sights like the pink elephant outside of the Isle of Capri Riverboat Casino in Iowa. We also spent 1/2 hour in search of the elusive Blue Whale Park outside of Catoosa, OK. All in all the trip has exceeded expectations & we're having a great time.

Gearing up to hit the Mother Road

As a little distraction from our wait we have decided to take a trip on Route 66.

We're heading to a family reunion in Omaha but will take a major detour from Minneapolis to go thru Illinois, Missouri, Kansas (about 14 miles of it)Oklahoma, Texas, & New Mexico before swinging north thru Colorado to see 2 of our god-children& them on to Nebraska. Although we aren't going to be able to do the full length from Chicago to L.A. we're still pretty excited to be able to hit the parts that we will travel on. To make things a little more interesting we are renting a convertible to feel the wind in our hair. We may try to blog a little from the road & upload a few pictures. This will be good practice for our China trip.

Tick, tock

As we continue to wait we are trying to keep ourselves busy with the normal 'summer things.' Trips to the farmer's market, motorcyle rides, walks with the dog, etc. I can say that not one day goes by where we do not think or talk about Madison. How different life will be with baby, what kinds of fun things we will be able to do & some of the bad habits we have now that will need to go away after the baby comes.

After being married 12 years you tend to get into patterns & routines that don't necessarily lend themselves to being baby friendly. We have planned for some, but I am sure we will discover the depth of what will need to change once she is here.

Rest in Peace

We are sad today about the loss of our Sheba kitty. She was part of our family for almost 12 years.

Referrals came for this month & went thru 11/07/05. We are 11/23 so it is looking like we will not get our referral now until September. We are trying to stay encouraged & trust that God's plan for our life will be done.