I've been tagged....a long time ago.

Well, I have been tagged by my friend Heather in Philly to do this survey. Heather is one of my on-line adoption friends whom I have actually had the pleasure to meet while we were in New Jersey. She has the same log in date that we do. She tagged me several weeks ago but I keep forgetting to write so here goes...

5 THINGS I WAS DOING 5 YEARS AGO (10 years was not a good place in my life)

1. I had moved into my own home that I bought by myself. My condo I loved.
2. Living the single life and spending a lot of time with friends
3. Made a trip to San Francisco to visit family and friends.
4. Worked 2 jobs. The job I work at now and a part time job and Columbia Regional Hospital
5. Did not know my husband yet.

FIVE SNACKS I ENJOY this one's easy.

1. Chips (any kind)
2. Chocolate (any kind)
3. Movie popcorn
4. Ice cream
5. Pistachios

5 SONGS I KNOW THE LYRICS TO

1. My highschool fight song. (amazing because I graduated over 20 years ago)
2. My college fight song. (I think I can remember the words)
3. All of the songs that were in my wedding
4. The words to "Oklahoma" (my husband and his sons will get a kick out of that one)
5. "I can't help myself" by the Four Tops. I have it programmed in my phone as Dwaine's ringtone.

5 THINGS I WOULD DO IF I WERE A MILLIONAIRE

1. I would make sure my little brother was set for life.
2. I would donate money to our church.
3. I would make sure all of Dwaine's kids were set for life.
4. I would buy a completely frivolous car that would make people think I were going through a mid-life crisis.
5. We would both retire so we could raise our daughter by ourselves without the need for daycare.

5 BAD HABITS

1. I am completely OCD about keeping the house clean.
2. I am too anxious and worry about a lot of things that I shouldn't worry about.
3. I chew on my fingernails when I am nervous.
4. I make excuses not to work out.
5. Obsessing over how long the wait will be with our adoption.

5 THINGS I LOVE TO DO

1. Go to the movies with Dwaine.
2. Go out to eat with Dwaine.
3. Go on vacation and travel with Dwaine.
4. Go for coffee with Dwaine
5. Anything else having to do with Dwaine.

5 THINGS I WOULD NEVER WEAR AGAIN

1. My hair permed!!! How awful, someone should have told me...
2. Polyester pants. That should tell you how old I am.
3. A belly button ring. Yeah, yeah, I had one. Now I have a gut instead so I don't think I will be wearing one of those again.
4. Anything spandex.
5. Anything that has a 70's look. I hated it in the 70's so why would I want to wear it again.

5 OF MY FAVORITE TOYS

1. My ipod. I really love that thing.
2. My brother's GPS. We bought it for him for Christmas and that thing is the coolest thing ever!
3. My dogs. Does that count as two things?
4. Our lawnmower. I know that sounds really lame but we got a new one and I like to mow.
5. My computer. It is so amazing what technology has become.

There ya go. That took a lot of thought. I think I will tag Shelby, Marcy and Tamara D.

Have a good week, everyone.

Kelley

The latest...

Well, here's the latest on the Gelnar homefront......

Since I wrote last time, absolutely nothing has happened. Ok well a few small things have happened but nothing too major.

First, I just want to say that it is hotter here than h-e-double toothpicks!

With that said, now we can move on to business. I told you that David graduated from boot camp at Fort Jackson a few weeks ago. He is now in Maryland doing specialized training for the job which he chose. He will be studying generator mechanics. He will be at Aberdeen Proving grounds until the middle of October. Then he hopes to have enough time off to be home for Thanksgiving. Here is his address if you would like to send him a letter. I am sure he would appreciate that very much. Here goes: David Gelnar, Charlie Company 16th Ordinance Battalion, Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD 21005 .

No new news on the adoption front. Still waiting. It is hard for me to explain but the wait is slowly increasing and we are looking at 2+ years. We had a major slowdown as soon as we were logged into China and it doesn't look like it will speed up anytime soon. We will have been logged in for 6 months on Aug. 25th. Please pray that it speeds up.

Don't forget those quilt squares! I'm gonna bug you until you send 'em.

I also want to thank my secret pal - you know who you are. We are doing a secret pal exchange through my on-line adoption group. I don't know who she is but she has sent me some pretty neat things so far. July's theme was fireworks. She sent me the cutest little cheer outfit that is red, white and blue. She sent a soft and cuddly bunny and some red, white and blue hair barrettes. It is so cool to receive these little gifts for Ryleigh. It makes it all seem so much more tangible. So thank you to my secret pal, you are the greatest.

Well, I gotta go move the water in the back yard. Our poor grass... Pray for some rain - or even snow. I am ready for winter!!!

Kelley

Well, it's been 5 months...

Happy 5 month anniversary to us! It has been 5 months since our log in date. 5 long months since we finished our paper chase. 5 long months we have been waiting so far. It has actually been one year now since we began the adoption process all together. 1 year since we first went in and asked our social worker what our options were. 1 year since we decided to pick China. 1 year since I have felt a huge relief from the pressure of trying to get pregnant. That one year has its advantages. I dread thinking of how many more months we will be waiting. I try not to think about it. Last post I was really feeling the pressure of the wait. I guess it comes with those paper-pregnancy hormones.

Here's the latest update on our family.... David graduated from basic training yesterday!! HOORAY! What an accomplishment that is! We are so very proud of him. Also, today is his 26th birthday. Happy birthday, David! Dwaine and Ryan drove to South Carolina to his graduation and they are taking him to Maryland for his next round of training. This won't be anything nearly as demanding as basic training. He will graduate in October. I was unable to go to this graduation due to work conflicts. I am planning on going to the next graduation, though.

Ryan is off to band camp next week. That lasts for two weeks and then it will almost be time to start back to school. This summer has flown by! He hasn't had a whole lot of free time this summer due to summer school and now band camp. He has kept really busy. That is good for him, though.

Chris will be moving to Columbia to start police academy here at the university. He will be here until Christmas time. I am looking forward to him being here and I hope he decides to move here or somewhere close to Columbia. He has found an apartment and will be moving here around Labor Day weekend.

We are getting ready to sell my childhood home. Since Chris is not planning on coming back to Quincy, we are going to put the house on the market. That is a tremendously difficult thing to see happen. I grew up there and did not know any other home besides that one. There are a ton of memories that come flooding back when I think about that house and all of the wonderful holidays and events that took place there. It is also the house where both of my parents spent their last days on this earth. It is a sacred place for me. It was the place I could run to when things weren't going so well here. Anytime I needed to, I could always go home. I still call it my home even though I live here now and have lived here for 20 years. I have lived here longer than I lived in Quincy but 908 Locust is still home.

On a lighter note, I am putting out a plea for more quilt squares. So far I have 30 something. I need 100 in all. So if you would still like to participate, please send an 8x8 square of 100% cotton material and enclose a postcard with a wish for Ryleigh. Also, please attach a small sample of the material to the postcard because those will go into a scrapbook.

Here's an example:

This is from my friend Heather in PA. The wish says: "A girl's got to have a lot of class and a little flash! Have fun with life!"

You get the idea. You can write anything you want just as long as it represents you in some way. I'm looking forward to putting them together. So keep 'em coming in!

Have a great week everyone!

Kelley

Just thinking....

I have been thinking about a few things lately. Probably because I have had a little extra time on my hands the last few days. Dwaine has been in Washington, DC and I have been solo for the last 3 days. Sometimes it helps me to journal to get my thoughts in perspective.

I have been thinking about the adoption the last several days. Mostly in part because I have been looking at that stupid Rumor Queen site. This last month there were again, only 7 days worth of referrals. That puts us into the middle of November 2005. We were logged in Feb. 2007. If they only do one week of referrals per month, we will be dead before we get to go to China. I know that is very pessimistic and usually, I am not so much so but for some reason, I can't stop thinking about it lately. I don't want to be a mom who takes her kid out in public and everyone thinks the kid is her grandchild. I don't want to be too old to take good care of my daughter.

The other thing I have been thinking about is my dad. For whatever reason, he has been on my mind a lot lately. He will never see my children. He will not be a grandfather. This makes me incredibly sad. I miss him more and more all of the time. Just when I think it gets better, then it hits me all over again. I really hate that. He was such a good person and I always want to be like him.

I miss you, dad.

Kelley

Hello again

Hi everybody,

Just a quick update and a few miscellaneous items. Mostly though, I wanted to send a few pictures.

For those of you still interested in contributing quilt squares, I still need many more. I think I have around 30 now from various parts of the country. So far most have been from my Yahoo group. They have been very unique and all very cute. I can't wait to start looking at quilt designs. I mentioned that I have around 30 squares so far. Did I mention that I need about 70 more? (Hint, hint) You can send one, or more than one. I know many are looking and working on it. So far, I have only received 2 from friends of mine from here. All others have been from people from my online group. So be original, and make it something that represents who you are. Remember, the fabric should be 100 % cotton and preferrably pre-washed. Please enclose a postcard with a wish for Ryleigh and attach a small piece of the fabric to the postcard. If you have any question, please e-mail or call me.

On a side note, I mentioned that we had just gotten back from New Jersey. Here are a couple of pictures of Carrie in her pageant. She competed last year and placed in the top 10. She did a much better job in the pageant this year. Her singing gets better all of the time and of course she sang for the talent part of the competition. She was more confident and less nervous this year. She didn't place at all but none of the girls that placed last year did as well this year. I guess it is because you never know what the judges expect. They are different every year. We are really proud of her though. She came home this week and will be here until Tuesday. We have all had a nice visit and she and I spent a day at the spa last week. We have been having a good time. I wish she could come home more often. She will be going to Washington DC to spend the rest of the summer with her boyfriend, Gus. Then back to Westminster to begin grad school in the fall.

David is doing well. We haven't heard from him this weekend but last time Dwaine spoke to him, he sounded really good. He had rifle training a couple of weeks ago and scored high enough to be classified as a sharp shooter. Maybe those video games have paid off ;)

Dwaine and I are doing just fine. Still waiting to start remodelling on our house. I can't wait! We are refinishing the basement, getting new kitchen cabinets and countertops and combining the two back bedrooms to make one large master suite with a huge bathroom. We are putting an additional bedroom in the basement so we will still have three bedrooms. We are also adding a shower to the downstairs bath to make it a full bathroom. Right now we are waiting on the contractors to give us the word to order the cabinets. We are waiting on them to finish up another job before they start ours.

Well, hope you are all doing well and all of you please stay in touch.

Also, congratulations to my friend Becky who is expecting her third child! Congratulations!

Love you all,

Kelley & Dwaine

It's been awhile....

Hi everybody,

It has been too long since I've written. We have been really, really busy. My aunt and uncle (Mary & Jim) came to visit us two weeks ago. We had a really nice visit and went shopping and out to dinner. We really enjoyed them coming to visit. We celebrated Mary's birthday while they were here.

Last weekend, we went to New Jersey. We left on Wed. and came back on Sunday (Father's Day) Carrie was in the Miss New Jersey pageant. We are soooooo proud of her. She didn't place this year like she did last year but it seems like none of the girls who placed last year went to the top 10 this year. However, we thought she did so much better this year than last. Also her vocal skills just keep getting better and better. She sang opera. Don't ask me the name of the piece because I don't know what it was and it wasn't in English but it was beautiful anyway. The weather was nice and cool while we were there and we walked along the boardwalk every day we were there. Patti and Kathy went also. We had a nice visit with them also. This year's visit to New Jersey was a lot less hectic than last year's visit. We stayed in Ocean City this year where the pageant was being held. Last year we stayed in Absecon which is a 30 minute drive from O.C. That was a real pain.

We also met up with another couple from my Yahoo! online adoption group. Heather and Paul Peters. They live in Philly and were kind enough to meet us close to where we were staying. We had a really nice lunch with them and we exchanged gifts for our daughters. I got Heather a small ladybug purse for her baby and a quilt square for her 100 good wishes quilt. She got Ryleigh a Mulan Barbie which, I understand, are difficult to find. I have started a small collection of things that I have either bought or received for Ryleigh. I don't like to buy things because for whatever reason, I feel like I will jinx the whole adoption process. Sounds goofy, I know but I have nightmares of buying baby clothes and furniture and supplies and setting up a nursery and then something bad happens and for whatever reason the adoption doesn't go through. Crazy, but that's me I guess.

We got back on Father's Day and came home to a mess. Our a.c. went out while we were gone and the moles had declared war on our yard. The grass was knee high and my outdoor potted plants were fried from the heat even though Ryan and Chris had watered them. So Father's Day turned out to be a home improvement day. We celebrated Father's Day on Monday and also Ryan's birthday. He is 16 now. Chris stayed with him while we were gone and took him out for his birthday on Thursday eve. Chris is trying to make a man out of Ryan I suppose because he took him to Hooter's. Needless to say, the waitress made him get up in front of everyone and embarrassed him quite a lot! I wish he had taken pictures because it sounded like it was really funny.

Carrie came home on Thursday this week and we have been enjoying her visit. She will be here until July 3rd. I am taking her for a spa day on Wednesday so we can bond and be pampered.

David is doing really well in basic training. He calls us once a week and he sounds so upbeat. He seems really proud of what he is doing and he has accomplished a lot so far. He graduates from basic training at the end of July. I am really proud of him too.

So life here at the Gelnar's has been really good lately. I am really grateful for all of the wonderful things we have been blessed with. I am mostly grateful for my family. I hope you are all doing well. I will have a little more time to update my blog here in a couple of weeks and I will try to include more pictures.

So until later,

We love you all - Kelley & Dwaine

Just an update...

Here's the latest from the Gelnar house.

We did celebrate our third month anniversary since LID. 3 down ? more to go. Still waiting. We did get the mysterious "Brown Envelope" in the mail yesterday. This envelope contains more paperwork (imagine that) to fill out for our visas when we go to China. Apparently it isn't anything we need to fill out until we get there. The thing I think is neat is that at least someone in China recognizes the fact that we are waiting for a child and they have sent us paperwork to acknowledge that fact.

I have posted a couple more pictures of some really cute quilt squares I have gotten in the mail recently. I have 20 so far. I just need 80 more. Start sending those squares everybody! Chris is working on his. I think that's really cool that he wants to participate. I have my squares ready to mail out to my group. The cards to go with them turned out really great. Dwaine wrote a poem to go on the card. He wants to be a part of this as much as I do. It is really great that he is taking such an active role in the whole process. Not only did he help with the initial paperwork, he is participating in little things like the quilt square exchange also. He is the greatest husband ever!

Another family update... We have heard from David twice now. He has been in basic training for almost 2 weeks. He injured his knee on the very first day. He is wearing a knee brace but he says it is doing fine. He also had an injury to his arm which got infected and he had to spend the night in the hospital to treat it. His spirits seem to be really good and he says that it is actually getting a little easier. I am sure they are working very hard. He only has about 5 minutes to talk to us once a week. He has alternated calling Dwaine and his mom too. We are sending him letters making sure he has mail when they have mail call.

Ryan is out of school next week. He is starting summer school shortly after that. His birthday is June 16 and he will be 16. We are going to give him my car to drive but not until next year. That means I get a new car!! How great is that! I am looking to get something large enough to fit a baby seat in the back.

We are headed to New Jersey in about 10 days to see Carrie in the Miss New Jersey pageant. We are looking forward to that and I will post pics of her and give you all an update on how she does. We are proud of her no matter what.

Well, that's all for now. Hope you are all happy and well. Until later...

Kelley & Dwaine