I give the first day of school a big fat F!

So Elias gets up this morning and he is excited! More excited to eat in the cafeteria than anything else. I am happy for him, he has always been a social thing so i figured this would be a breeze! Today he was wearing a white polo shirt with camo shorts and tennis shoes. Man he looked cute! My friend Rene and her son Owen, who is in the same class as Elias, all rode together today. We get to the school and we are directed to go into the "Multipurpose Room". There about a bajillion kindergartners and there parents in this HOT HOT room. Way to too, kinda like breath. Anyway, after eleventy-seven hours we are directed to follow the teacher and go to class. We had to put their school supplies out in front of their classroom and leave. Some of the kids parents were there and some had already dropped them off. We are walking in this line, well, it wasn't really a line... and the teacher is WAY ahead of us. Some of these kids could have dipped and she would have never even known because she never ONCE turned around to see her following. Strike One. Strike two came when I get a phone call from Rene and she said that her son didn't eat lunch today. I said WHAT! I saw her give the teacher the envelope that had Owens lunch money in it, why didn't he eat? Well, apparently Owen wanted to bring his lunch box to school today... hello, it was transformers!!! So she packed a snack for him for after school on the way home. That is why she told the teacher "here is owens lunch money for the WEEK." not for tuesday-friday but for the week. They thought the lunch that he had in the lunch box was his lunch. (Six chips and a granola bar just doesn't look like lunch to me, how about to you???) Rene talked to them about it and they said... oh sorry! We don't keep track of who eats in the cafeteria and who brings there lunch. All we do is turn the money into the cafeteria and that's all." How very reassuring. And no he isn't my child, but yes the mama bear came out... Third strike, and you guys are going to Love this one... My mom picked Elias up from school today because I had to work. She sat in the car line for an hour, which is understandable. First day of school = craziness! Elias gets in the car and he has blood on his shirt, on both of his arms and on his leg. My mom asked him what happened and he said he ran into the swing set at school. I guess they didn't take time to give him a Kleenex or wipe it because he apparently wiped his nose on both arms and some dripped on his nose. Anyway, when mom picked him up, he had been sitting outside for an hour and had blood all around his nose and a clot thingy in his right nose. Now I know my kid and I know that when it gets hot like this his nose bleeds. But did they even look at him all day??? The blood on his arms and leg were dried. He is a white kid with a white shirt on... how could they not see that! When he got in the car with mom, he said he was thirsty so she ran by the gas station and he drank a whole bottle of water. I am so angry right now. He is 5 people! There was no note sent home and no phone call as to why he was bleeding or had blood on his clothes. So over all I give that school a big fat F!!!!!!!!

**After thinking some more about that... how do they know that he isn't anemic? How do they know that he doesn't have HIV or hep? We were not required to list such things on his registration form. Pretty comforting, don't you think???

*** Elias will be moved to a new classroom as of this coming Monday! I am so glad! Thanks to all that have said a prayer! ***

Tomorrow...

Tomorrow is our baby's first day of kindergarten. I am kinda sad and mostly happy! Sad because he will be away from home all day and there will be no more sleep in days for us! I so enjoyed the days that I didn't have to work and we would sleep in and wake up all sleepy together! Elias is NOT a morning person, I repeat NOT a morning person! He usually goes to bed around 9ish and would sleep until 10 if we would let him. He loves waking up on his own and hates being woken up! So tomorrow will be such a big day for him! He is really excited that he will be making new friends and he is really jazzed about eating lunch in the cafeteria (ugh!). He will make it just fine! He is such a social butterfly and is such a kindhearted kid! We will be waking up at 6... wish us luck! I will post pictures as soon as I get home. They are having a "boo-hoo" breakfast for the parents of the kindergartners tomorrow ... isn't that sweet??? Wish us luck... My baby is growing up :)

I've Been Tagged!!!! Thanks Peggy! Peggy is a friend of mine that is adopting Grace from China! Hopefully Grace and Norah will grow up to be the best of friends! Here are my responses:

FIVE THINGS I WAS DOING TEN YEARS AGO
1) Working at Silverman Consulting
2) Living in Mt. Pleasant
3) Partying like a rock star
4)Not knowing what I was missing if I fast-forwarded to about 1999!
5) Being miserable!

FAVORITE SNACK FOOD (Just 5???)
1) Cappuchino Blasts from Baskin Robbins
2) Double Stuff Oreo's
3) Chocolate Milkshakes
4) Hersey Bar
5) Chocolate covered strawberries

FIVE SONGS I KNOW ALL THE LYRICS TO
1) Maggie May - Edwin McCain
2) Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
3) Praise you in this storm: Casting Crowns
4) Kiss - Prince
5) Betty Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes (?)

FIVE THINGS I WOULD DO IF I WERE A MILLIONAIRE
1) Tithe 10%
2) Pay off all debt including house and buy a Tahoe!
3) Buy my parents a new house
4) Take a big vacation with family and close friends
5) Adoopt a few more kids and be a stay at home mom!

FIVE BAD HABITS
1) Biting my nails
2) Popping my knuckles
3) Laziness, especially with housework
4) Too much play and not enough work (see #3)
5) Listening to music WAY too loud!

FIVE THINGS I LIKE TO DO
1) Snuggle up next to Elias in bed and watch TV
2) Spend my Friday's with my mom and Elias and my sister when she is off work
3) Have girl's night
4) Family Time
5) Go to Wal-Mart

FIVE THINGS I WILL NEVER WEAR AGAIN
1) "leggings"
2) parachute pants
3) Jelly Shoes (MAN they hurt!)
4) Black Jeans
5) Bikini :(

FIVE PEOPLE I TAG FOR THIS
1. Val
2. Lara
3. Mom
4. Heather
5. Tammy

Finally DTC!

Yeah! I was wondering if it was ever going to happen! I am so excited! And we are LID on my little sisters birthday! Awwww :)

Finally!

We finally have all of our stuff at the agency now and hopefully as we speak they are translating things and putting a pretty red bow on to send to China! I can't belive that it is finally done! Hopefully we will be DTC soon and then a quick LID! Will blog more later when little man is asleep tonight! We just got back from the pool and I feel a chlorine induced nap coming on. Aren't they the best! Back soon!

The brown envelope...

We got our brown envelope today! I was so excited! Some people get the envelope, some people don't but I am really glad that I got it! Had a pretty emotional last few days... The brown envelope is just basically them saying hey, we got your uscis stuff and sure, you can adopt from China. Very very cool!
Elias left to go to North Carolina with my mom and the fam. I miss that little fartblossom! I just never really realized how much he is woven into my day and into my every waking hour. You will never believe what I did! Some of this may be TMI but those of you that are mom's you will get a big kick out of it. My mom came and picked him up about 2 on Tuesday. So, I send him off and feel sad for a few minutes. I sat on the couch to think about him and then I lay on the couch. And don't you know I fell right to sleep! Woke up and made dinner. After dinner I - and here is the really cool part- I sat on the couch with a bag of Oreo's and read my book! I really did! And after that I took a nice long hot tubby - ALONE- and then finished the night off my watching TLC and HGTV before I went to bed! It was a dream come true I tell you!
I miss him though, and he will be back on Monday! Wonder how may Oreo's and tubby's I can fit in before he gets home?

What's New...

There has been a lot going on in this little Sharp family lately! Let's see... I had some surgery which was AWESOME! And everything turned out great. I was out of work for 6 weeks which was really really nice! Then we went on a cruise for 7 days with all of Shannon's family (dad's side). I really did not want to come home! It was so great spending time with all of the fam without cellphones or computers and stuff. The day that we left for the cruise my little sister graduated from highschool which was pretty heartbreaking because she is not a baby anymore:( I remember so clearly the day she was born.
We finally got all of our stuff done for the dossier and I am going to send that bad boy off tomorrow! Yipeee! I am so glad that is done! I know that all of it is necessary, but man!
Saturday Gram had a garage sale for us and donated all of the money that we made to help with the adoption. Isn't that sweet. And Shannon's cousins had a lemonade stand set up and sold lemonade and gave us the proceeds from that as well! It was truly a family affair!
Elias starts kindergarten on August 20th. I am so sad and so happy at the same time! I just cant believe that he is old enough to go to kindergarten! But his little mind is a sponge and he will love it! That's about all for us! Hope you all are feelin the love! Peace out! The Sharp Three XOXO

The Path...

I know that posts have been very far and few inbetween lately. There is a method to my madness and at times I do believe I am going mad.
When we first started this adoption, we were sooo excited. We told everyone we came in contact with but the biggest mistake was telling our son. Elias had been such a trooper though all of this and everything that he sees that is Chinese, looks chinese or could be chinese, he points it out and is so happy because that is where his baby sister is coming from. I know that all of this is taking forever for him, and I feel that it is taking forever too. When we first started this process, the wait was 12-14 months from the time our dossier was in China until we got our referral. Now the wait is up to almost 2 1/2 years and growing. Two and a half years. Wow. Try wrapping your mind around that for a minute. Elias will be almost 8, Shannon will be 39 and well, I will still be 19 of course. :) We STILL have not gotten our dossier out. Seems that everytime we try we hit a roadblock and something doesnt go right. Is someone trying to tell us something? Am I being selfish because I dont want to wait 3 years? I am just so torn right now. Sure there are other countries, and if we had maybe 20 grand more that may be an option. But it isnt. I am just really blah about the whole thing right now and pretty disenchanted about the adoption process in general. There are tons of babies that do not have moms and dads and brothers and sisters. They dont have anyone to tuck them into bed at night, no one to tell them that they love them. And I know that if you dont know any better then how can you miss something that you dont have. But I had it growing up and I think that everyone needs a mom and dad that love them. I just dont get life sometimes. This whole thing is really starting to stress me out and I am not sure that it should be. Shouldnt I be enjoying this??? Ugh. Thats it for now. Maybe later I will be in a not so foul mood. Peace and Love.

No...

we haven't dropped off the face of the earth. I am just a bit disenchanted with this whole thing right now. I am beginning to think that people think I am making this whole thing up, heck, sometimes I FEEL like I am making this up! But, I know that when it is time for Norah to come home, she will. Not sure if I wrote this in an earlier post, but we also put in our application for Special Needs if that should come open. We will love her no matter what! Peace and love.. pen

30 Months??

I spoke with our agency this week and she confirmed that the wait for referral was indeed 26-29 months. Not a happy camper right now and I think that it is time I step away from the computer for a little while. Please keep our family in your prayers. Thanks and God Bless! XOX Pen, Shan and Elias

Do I see a light?

Just a little FYI for people that read this blog... We are done with our homestudy and we just recently got an email from the dossier department in Georgia and they got our homestudy as well. They reviewed it and will let our social worker know of any problems that they found. We will then file our I600A, get our fingerprints done and begin all of the tedious paperwork for our dossier. Please pray for us that this will all go smoothly! I am not looking forward to the hours and hours of paperwork! For those of you that know me know that I am not good with staying on task and finishing a project! :) Once we send the dossier to China and it has been translated there and they rake it over with a fine tooth comb, they will give is a Log In Date (LID) and then we begin the wait. (A long wait might I add). So that's all that's going on with the adoption front... Hope all of you are doing well! XOXO The Sharp 3 XOXO

Long Time...

I know that most of you probably thought that we dropped off the face of the earth, but alas... we are here! Things are going fabulous on the adoption front. Just had our last homestudy on Friday (Shannon's birthday) and we got the rough draft today! We are just waiting for the rest of Shannon's blood work to come back and then our homestudy is DONE! We got an email from the agency today about our dossier. I feel so grown up and stuff now! We even have a User Name and password! Yipeee! Other than that we are just cruising by. Work sleep play and then repeat!

Deep Thoughts...

I don't know why, but for the last few days I have really been thinking about Norah. Maybe it's because Elias has been talking about her (ex. We went to a Chinese restaurant and he proceeds to tell the lady that his sister is in China and we are going to get her...) or maybe because I have been on the computer way too long stalking all of the web sites that recently got to see their sweet babies faces for the first time. Or perhaps its because I am a mother, or even better because I am Norah's mother. Even though I have never seen her face, I have never been to her place of birth, I know nothing about her except the fact that I am her mother. I have Elias, who is the most amazing child in this universe. Just one single smile from that kid and the whole world could crumble around me and I would stand as steady as a rock. I see him everyday, I know his favorite color, his favorite food, his incredible belly laugh, and in a room full of mothers and their children he could call my name and I would know that it is him. I know every freckle on his body and all of his tickle spots. That's my job, my calling, my heart... I am his mother.
So why is it that I get all choked up at the mention of her name? At the very thought of my children sharing a laugh or a hug or a disagreement? Why is it that I could share my heart with another child not born of my flesh and blood? Why is it that I ache to give her a warm bed to sleep in and share a good night kiss? Why is it that I would travel thousands of miles to welcome a child that I have never seen and love her unconditionally before she is probably even born? The answer is simple... Because I am her mother....

Every Little Girl Needs...

A Tea Set! I went out with my mom shopping for a bit yesterday and she bought Norah this cute tea set! I love it! I know there will be many tea parties in my future! **Notice the little ladybug on the spout??** (Mom, you rock!!)

Referral Time!

Alot of families got to see their babies faces for the first time today! This is such an exciting time of the month and it is sooo neat to see these little girls that will be coming home soon! Elias and I look at the babies at this time of the month on a website that is called the Rumor Queen. Every picture that we look at he says, "Is THAT her mom! My baby!" And I have to tell him no, that's not her that is someone else's baby. I don't know who is going to take the wait worse, me or him! Bless his heart :) Congrats to you families that saw your girls today!

Where IS My Sister??

Elias always wonders where exactly Norah is. He talks about her alot, which is really cute! So, Aunt Laura gave Elias an inflatable globe and we circled China and then the US. Now he can look at it and see where she is!

Homestudy, Finally!

We have the date for our home study! We will be doing the first one February 19th at 9:00. Now all of you that know us, know that we are not early risers! Even Elias will sleep until at least 10 if we would let him! But we are going to live a little and try getting up at zero dark thirty! Please say a prayer for us that things will go smoothly! It should only take about an hour and a half!

Happy Monday!

What a wonderful weekend! Friday night Valarie and I had a girls night! It was needed! We closed on our loan and our girls night turned into a celebration! We went to a children's boutique in Mt. Pleasant at the Towne Center. This place was amazing! Val bought Norah a cute little back pack that is red and purple and has ladybugs on it! I will post a picture in a few days! Then we had a really nice dinner on Sullivan's Island with NO KIDS!!!! How does that happen! It was so nice having that time and talking about things to come!
Earlier that day, my mom and I hit the outlets! Mom bought Norah a really cute purse and a picture frame.... as soon as we get that referral picture it will be in there! I got her a little teddy bear with a pink bow and a pink tutu on! I can't stand it! I want to buy everything!
On an even better note, my friend Peggy and her husband Paul just finished their paperchasing! I am so happy for them and I can't wait to see baby Gracie! I know that Gracie and Norah will be spending alot of time together as they grow! Awww she already has a friend! I am so thankful that God has placed people around us that are adopting from China as well! I will post some pictures as soon as I can! For now it's off to bed. I have to work tonight! XOXO

Well that settles it!

We have officially named our daughter:
Norah Catherine Sharp
Awww :) I LOVE that name because it means so much to so many people! My grandma, my mom and my sister are all Lenora. I just shortened it and added and "h" and there ya go! Sweet Norah! I am so thankful that we have such a supportive family going through all of this. And by family that also included friends that are family as well! Catherine was my dad's moms name. I never got the chance to meet her, but I hear she was a wonderful woman and mother. My parents named me Penny Catherine and I always knew that if I had a daughter her name would also be Catherine. Shannon's Aunt Laura's middle name is Katherine and so is his great-grandmas. So, there you have it! I am just thrilled pink about all of this! I love her and I can't wait to see her and hold her in my arms! XOXO

What do YOU think???

As all of you know, we had originally planned to name our daughter Gracelin. We have called her this since day one, and that name seemed so appropriate then.
Well, we have changed our minds on the name and wanted to run a few names by all of you to see what you think. (I think there are only about 4 people that read this anyway, and I have asked you and I know what you think!)

So here goes:

Norah Catherine "CN" Sharp - Norah for my mom, sister and grandma, and Catherine for my dads mom and also a few lovely women on Shannon's side of the fam.
Addison Catherine "CN" Sharp - random name that I like.

So, questions, comments or concerns? Or maybe some names that YOU like??

Will write more soon!

XOXO The Sharp Three ( Can't wait til its 4)