Here it is! The Top of the Quilt!

I have finished the top of the quilt! I worked all day on Sunday to put all of the blocks together!!! I still need to add the batting and the back, but the hardest part is over! I am also going to scallop the pink edges to make it even more girly.




I also made a little quilt for Jana. This is one she can use right away and has most of the fabrics we got on it. I still have to add the batting and the back to it, but will probably be done before the end of the week. I'll post another picture when it is completely done.

We got our Travel Approval!!!

We got it!!! CCAI says that they are requesting a Consulate Appointment for us on November 22nd. That would give us a leave date of Novemeber 10/11th!!! We should hear in the next day or two if the Consulate Appointment was set. So excited!!! So much to do!!!

Quilt Block from Uncles & Family

I couldn't resist with this block. One of my brother's, Jamie, sent me one of his A&M t-shirts to use on the quilt. My other brother & sister-in-law (Thomas & Jennifer) sent me their daughter's University of Texas longhorn outfit. I had to combine the 2 into one block and show the rivalry between the 2!!! It is hilarious!

Quilt Block with a Chinese Theme

Quilt Block from Great Grandparents

I used fabric on this block that belonged to my grandmother (mom's side) and my grandfather (dad's side). The lace for the wings was my Great Grandmother's. All have passed on and I know they will be watching over Jana and helping her with the transitions to come in her life.

Quilt Block from Dippels & Dillewyns

Two of my good friends gave me the fabric that I used for this little girl.

I really appreciate both of your support and friendship!

Quilt Block from Tori

Tori, I really wanted to do a block that was special to you. I struggled because I wanted it to be so perfect. I remember you talking about flower arranging with such a passion last Christmas. I thought this block would also show that you are grounded and the type of person that could take the time to smell the flowers. And, I got your angel on it!!! :) Square blocks are hard to work with!!! :) All my love!

Quilt Block from Grant

Oh Grant! This fabric was HARD!!! I had a mental block for weeks over your fabric!!! I hope you like what I did with it!!!

Quilt Block from Whitlows

These fabrics are from our friends the Whitlows. They were so cute! I combined them all together and made the little girl decorating a cake. Karen is an excellent artist with cake decorating, so I was very excited to have made the block to symbolize that.

Quilt Block from Granny

These pretty fabric are from Granny (my mother-in-law). I had the little girl pushing the stroller because I thought it was symbolic of what a great Mom Betty has been to all of her kids.

Quilt Block from Dad

This cute block has fabric that Cory picked out. I did a block with the little girl petting the cat because Cory is such an animal lover and they all love him!!!

Quilt Block from Pixtons

What an amazing idea you had Catherine!!! I am sorry I couldn't get the whole family on there. There just wasn't enough room!

To explain this block to others... Catherine and her husband bought my business Rockabuybaby.com. Since, we have become good friends. She has been a wonderful support over these last few months of waiting. The balloon fabric is from the Floppy Seat that we used to sell and now they do. The dress is made from the same fabric. The sling that the Momma has is a piece from a sling that I made and Catherine bought prior to me selling my business.

This is very sentimental Catherine. It means a great deal to me how much thought you put into this. Thank you!!!

Quilt Block from Amy R.

Amy, I had big plans for yours! I will never forget us roasting marshmallows in our dorm room. I just couldn't resist doing the block this way. I am sorry I didn't get the lady bug & flowers into it, but I didn't see them until after I completed the block. I hope you don't mind. This is one of my fondest memories from college and one that I hope to share with our daughter. :)

(Note: If you can't see the marshmallows, click on the pictures to enlarge it)

Quilt Block from Russel & Hannah Switzer

Russel, I was able to use both of your favorite wordings and I think I did so pretty creatively. :) I thought the fabric that Hannah picked out was perfect to go with yours. Every garden needs a butterfly. :) Thank you so much. The poems you sent & wrote were beautiful and will mean a lot to to her when she gets older.

Quilt Block from Pat Jones & Uruskys

The dress fabric is from a table cloth that our midwife, Pat Jones, had under her baby scale. She used this scale to measure over 1500 babies that she had helped deliver! Brayden was one of them and had been weighed on top of this scale that lay on top of this fabric. This means a great deal to me Pat. Thank you!

The hat fabric is from my cousin's family. It is a piece from a blanket they used with both of their sons. This was really sweet for them to send something so sentimental.

Quilt Block from Kaleb & Brayden

Anyone who knows my boys, knows that their lives revolve around trains. If it has a train... they LOVE it. The hat is off of little pair of overalls that were Brayden's when he was a baby. The red plaid, blue, green, and maroon are all fabric from clothes that my Mom made for Kaleb that he wore frequently. And of course, there had to be at least 1 train... so I made it!!!

Quilt Block for Randalls

Paula was so sweet to get this fabric for our daughter's quilt. I thought this block was perfect for them. It resembles their 2 daughters and sitting on the moon. With such wonderful parents, the possibilities for these 2 little girls are endless. Thank you Paula for being there with the words I needed at the times I need them. I often remind myself of something you told me about a doorway. :)

Quilt Block from Bea at Curves

My best friend and I go work out at Curves regularly. We feel so lucky to have found such a wonderful Curves, as the owner, Bea, makes us all feel like part of her family. When she found out that we were adopting she even put a picture of our baby girl on the bulletin board. Bea asks regularly if we have heard any news and even called me at home when we were going through a rough week. This block symbolizes how Bea is always there to help/shelter us. Bea, thank you for providing a wonderful place to come to take care of myself and for being such a great friend!

Update on our daughter!

ALMOST as good as a TA. Here is an update on our daughter!

As of 10/19...

She weighs 22 lbs
She is 28 inches long
She has 8 teeth!!!!

She turns 1 on November 20th. I hope she can have a family for her first birthday.

Boys decorate cookies for Halloween!

It's official, she has a name...

We have finally chosen a name for our baby girl!!! She will be named Jana Dawn. Her Chinese name Xiao means "Dawn", so we have chosen to use Dawn as her middle name.

We got our Travel Packet 2 Email!!!

So, what does that mean? Our agency, CCAI, sends an email for us to download the Travel Packet 2 when we are about to get our Travel Approval!!! So, it won't be long!!!! I expect we will be traveling in 1-3 weeks! I spent the day working on packing. :)

More Picture of My Sweet Baby Girl!!! 7 months old!

Far Left in Pink!




Back Row!

Peter & Kaela's Quilt Block

This is the block for my brother Peter and my new sister-in-law Kaela.

Kaela sent a beautiful piece of her wedding dress, which I used for the dress on this block. This was very special.

Peter sent a piece of a blanket he has had since he was a baby. Peter, I thought it was appropriate to have this little girl carrying the blanket. I did not have to cut it at all this way and only sewed it enough to have it stay down. As you can see the blanket is loose and gives it a 3 dimensional look.

The little bonnet I used is a cream silk brocade. The picture makes it look darker than it really is. The lace trim that is on the bonnet and the sleeve is from my mother's wedding dress.

Peter & Kaela, I hope you like what I have done with the special things you sent. This block has been very important to me and I hope that you love it. I promise I will add your names to it before assembling the quilt.