another night in paradise....

that is if you consider paradise the big pink hospital on the hill. Another night of call. I'm hoping for a quiet night tonight. In case you were wondering why Tripler is pink, the legend goes that when they built tripler, the white walls kept becoming filthy with the red dirt, so they painted the hospital pink to blend in with the dirt. Perhaps we should consider pink carpet in our house, since the beige carpet is suffering from the same problem.



Cris and I have been super super busy the last couple of weeks. I did get the chance to watch Cris referree one of the college volleyball matches, and that was really fun! Last year he worked a lot with the high school teams, so it's really cool to get to watch him ref for some of the college teams this year.

I am hoping to sneak in a little trip to one of the other islands soon. We are both working a lot of hours, and could certainly use a mini vacation. So far we have only visited the "Big Island", where the active volcano is. Although there was no surface lava flow while we were there, we LOVED the rustic feel of the island, and getting away from the crowds and traffic of Oahu. I'm hoping to head over to Kuaui, the "garden isle" for our next trip. I'm trying to think of some fun things to do to keep us occupied while we wait for Nov/Dec to roll around.

Hopefully everyone enjoys their weekend, and a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Dad Stickley and Coral!!!! We are thinking about you and wish we could be there to celebrate with you!!!!

another night in paradise....

if you consider paradise the big pink hospital on the hill. hopefully one day i'll never have to work another 30 hour shift, and i'll remember these residency days fondly. But for now i'll suck it up, and hope for a quite night.

i'm dealing with our delay ok. thank you thank you thank for understanding and offering support and encouragement. I know many of you have been in this spot, and it truly helps to know we're not the only ones.

One of the reasons i'm so stressed out about this delay is because I am going to be spending 6 weeks in Michigan starting Jan 20. Cris will be here in Hawaii. So what will become of little baby Juneau for these six weeks. So far i don't know. And i'm totally totally stressing. While i'm in Michigan i will probably be continuing to work 80 hours/wk. I think taking her with me (without any other family support- she would need a nanny) is not a great solution. Poor baby June-bug will be getting a mom for 6 weeks, then losing a mom for 6 weeks. I am guilt ridden. I don't know what to do. I think the obvious best choice for her is to leave her home with her daddy, where he can dote on her and devote time to bonding. But i feel like she will never attach to me. I feel like i'll get home and she'll be like "mom-who?". Unfortunately, nobody really cares much about your personal life in residency. Well, they care to an extent, but it's kinda like a "do what needs to be done to finish the program" mentality, so cancelling or changing this trip to Michigan is not an option. I'm sad for her and sad for me, and angry at the situation, since we were supposed to have her home in August. Anyway, enough negativity. I know in the long run, when she is 16 years old and begging for the car keys no one will remember this little 6 weeks apart, but now it seems like the end of the world.

but, my pity party is not so bad when i have been seeing some amazing news! So many referrals and travel dates! This last week has been so great!

Now that I have 2 complete posts of complaining, I will try to think of something interesting or funny to write about next time. Really, life is pretty good right now. it's easy to point out the negatives, but there are many more positive things than I've been writing about.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

sad...

well, we found out yesterday that our travel has been delayed. We're not exactly sure why, but according to our coordinator we should plan to travel in Late Nov/Early Dec. we are of course somewhat devastated that our baby girl is getting bigger and bigger without her mom and dad. We are trying to stay positive in the face of such sad news. It's very hard to understand why these delays occur, but unfortunately international adoption is notorious for the waiting. So I guess we will be planning to be a family of 3 before Christmas.

The good news, though is that we got an updated photo. Juneau looks so much older than her picture last month! AND the poor baby lost all of that hair! It's so funny because i was just wondering the other day if she was going to keep that full head of hair until we arrived to get her, but i guess not! I still think hairbows are in her future (although cris would probably disagree).

Please be praying for us and our little baby until we can bring her home!

I think her cheeks are definately getting chubbier, and i'm seeing the beginnings of chub on her little legs.

sad

we are delayed. we don't know why. i emailed the VN coordinator a few days ago to ask if we should start packing, and she said "travel will probably be in late Nov, early Dec".
obviously we are really really sad about this news. and frustrated that the agency doesn't seem to think this is a big deal. Their excuse is that we are the first family to be adopting from Thanh Hoa, so it will take a little longer. I think 7 months from referral to travel is more than "a little longer".
trying not to be bitter, but it is coming out anyway.
anyway, i don't mean to be an absent blogger, but you guys have probably all been in this spot, when you don't feel like updating when there is not too much good to say.
i'm trying not to be a debbie downer, but i think if i keep writing right now i will be.
anyway, i'll write more when im in a bit of a better mood.

another "no news" post

nothing new to report on the adoption front. all is quiet. just waiting for that magical phone call to buy 2 tickets to Vietnam, and 3 tickets home. i've spent way too much time daydreaming about our trip. I've already searched out all the hotels. Now the debate is to stay in one of the "westernized" hotels, like the Hilton Hanoi, or to stay in one of the local hotels (the local charm but less modern convenience). I'm kind of leaning towards going with the local hotel, but i guess we'll see how brave i feel when the time comes.
Work is going fine at the Hospital and the University. no news in that dept. either.
Drew and Betsy and both loving their freshman year. We love having Betsy in Hawaii with us, although we don't see her very much between her busy school schedule, and her new awesome job at starbucks (which has some great fringe benefits for family members!) Drew is doing great in his first semester at Zion Bible College in Rhode Island.
I think my mom and dad are probably enjoying their first few weeks of having the WHOLE House to themselves in 30 years!

hopefully we will have some exciting travel news to post soon, or at least some updated pictures in the next week or so!

new photo...

i wanted to put up a little glimpse of the last photo we got of juneau. she's so stinkin' cute.
We had a great holiday weekend, just kind of relaxing, and getting some stuff done.
Cris and Summit both got much needed haricuts, we did some yardwork, housework, etc.

Getting a little anxious for some travel info now that September is officially here, but i have pretty much come to accept that no amount of worry or stress on my part will bring her home any faster. that certainly doesn't mean I'm happy about waiting, just more accepting.

In work news, I am finally off the Obstetrics rotation. I love OB, but i have been on the Obstetrics service for many many months, and I'm ready for a change of pace. Tomorrow I will be on the Infertility service, which is always interesting. The infertility patients as a whole are more educated and determined than any other OB/GYN patients. I often find myself learning a great deal from them, because they do so much independant reading/research. So i'll have to keep on my toes for the next couple of months and put in plenty of my own time with reading/research to keep up!

September is here!

Fall is coming, for those of our family and friends who live in states that have seasons. I can't believe September is already here. I was pretty convinced that by this time we would have gone to Vietnam, picked up our baby girl, and brought her to her new home. We found out a little info from another family whose baby is in our same orphanage. She told us the province is experiencing some non-adoption related governmental issues. There are some new officials that are having a power struggle with the old officials, so no progress has been made in the last few weeks. She also sent me some picutres of Juneau's acutal orphanage! It is so amazing to see the place she is spending her first few months. I am still hoping for travel by the end of the month, but based on the new information we've recieved it may be October. We are still doing ok with the waiting, although there are really hard days. We just feel so happy and blessed to have such a beautiful little girl waiting for us. One of the good things that the lady who sent the photos told us is that there is 1 caretaker for every 2 babies. It makes me really happy that someone is looking after our little girl.

Just a little reminder of her cuteness!

Mom and Dad Stickley sent the cutest package! Perfect for a little Stickley Grandbaby.

And this is the beautiful and special blanket made by Grandma Stickley! It's perfect!

Photos of Juneaus' Orphanage