ok, i'll tell

ok, i am feeling much better since the last post (05/22). i got some feedback on the negativity of it, and i agree it was a bit rough. this adoption merry-go-round will bring the whole gamut of emotions to the fore, and we try not to post the negative turns. but this past week was unbelievable. since it has past, i might as well explain what went down.
we have come to realize that Lucy is not coming home till mid 2009. thats a positive estimate. so, we decided to pursue a second adoption thru Korea. we found an agency and we were initially accepted. this agency would have placed a child in our arms by december of this year. with our hearts racing, and endorphins in our veins, we scheduled our home study. tonya was able to finish typing up her new autobiography, and i was a couple of pages in when she came over.
she seemed nice, we made small talk... then came the bomb. she said that she found an issue with our application. our religion. even though we were initially accepted, the agency must have over looked the line that stated that we were Jehovah's Witnesses. they do not accept our faith when considering adoptions. it has to do with our stand on blood transfusions. (p.s. we do not accept blood transfusions, but we do accept every other blood alternative out there, which numbers into the dozen area). after explaining that strong memorial hospital is leading the way into non-blood surgery alternatives, and that we are very concerned about staying healthy and pursuing every avenue available to remain alive, she closed her book. that was that. our adoption hopes thru Korea ended right there. in a measure of possible comfort, she tried to tell us that there are a few religious affiliations that are not acceptable thru them, but what did that matter. we were not going to get a child from them. oh, there was one thing we could do.. we could have signed a waiver stating that we would not raise our child in the same faith, or that we would not uphold our beliefs in a time of emergency. a what??
needless to say, tonya broke down the moment she walked out our front door. that was not the visit we had expected. we really did not expect that we would have been turned down for an adoption based on religion. not in our day and age. not when a child is sitting in a metal cage in a poor nation, and we have a home, a family, a strong moral compass and most of all a ton of love to provide.
i hope whoever reads this can now understand my last post. a man exploding. it seemed to fit the moment. i didnt mean to discourage anyone. we are eagerly and happily pursuing Lucy yet.

on the flip-side

to spin that merry-go-round, sometimes a good shopping spree makes you feel better. so, off we went. besides the very productive day at the outlets (great deals on holiday weekends), i traded in my xterra and bought a new VW GTI. i love this car. size wise, it is the polar opposite of my xterra, but i think that is why i like it so much. well, that and the turbo charged 200hp 6 speed automatic/sporttronic engine with indy paddle shifters. i got the same grey as the one pictured here. i wanted the mini cooper s to win in this battle, but i did not find it to perform as well as i thought, or as well as this GTI. your homework: i task all of you to get to a dealership and test drive this car. do it for me, then post me your reviews. loves it.

dont ask, we wont tell

just gotta say, i kinda hate the world right now. the whole.. everything. the adoption industry, their cheesy reasons for the inept decisions, the whole thing. just hate it.
do we happen to have any black streets or darker markets in upstate NY?

9 months down

normal, regular child bearing humans would be expecting a baby at this point. for all of you that fall into that category out there, congratulations.

for us, we will gladly take our 9 months with a scoop of 20 more on the side. to go, please.

Ok Tracy this is for you: Since you tagged us. I will reveal 7 things about me that people may not know.

1. I love Chocolate Chip Muffins.

2. I get sad when I see old people.

3. Johnmark and I have been a couple since 1994. Best Friends first for 3 years. He finally came to his senses and the rest is history. We will be married 10 yrs. this year.

4. I have a hard time believing I will be a mom to Lucy or ??? someday. I will believe it when I see it.

5. I love sunshine, a day off and a clean house. Great combination.

6. I regret not spending more time with my family.

7. I am a much stronger person than I ever thought I would be.

Pics.

So I thought that my sista would like to see a sneak peak of me in the traditional Calabria Italian Dress. To be continued....

Ciao! We are back!

Well, we made it back from Italy. It was absolutely beautiful and a wonderful trip. We saw so many awesome things. We took 1800 pictures!!! Here are just a few to enjoy before we actually get them together in some sort of order. I could have stayed much longer. 2 weeks was not enough.