We moved blogs...

Check in with us at ourmeanderingroad.blogspot.com

Not that I update it very often...

ok, truth is that its been almost a year since my last post...but I am promising to do better!

March 27

I KNOW...its May, not March...but read on dear friends... There really is something about March 27...it seems to keep coming up in my life, like a sign...Its like God is giving me some hints about important stuff by making things happen on certain days or other kinds of 'coincidences' that tie into March 27th for me. In the China Adoption community (lots of us connect via blogs, internet groups and forums and stuff) we adopters like to call these coincidences or events 'red threads' - in honor of a little saying that is loosely connected to a Chinese legend (the legend isn't about adoption, its about marriage...but adopters have seem to have molded it around themselves). Here is the poem:

Anyway, back to March 27. My Emma was born on March 27, 2005. My fiesty and sweet Grandma Buck had passed away one year earlier, March 27, 2004 and My dear uncle Randy, one year prior to that in 2003. This year on March 27, 2009, not only did my beautiful daughter turn 4 years old, but we had another very special event as an answer to lots of prayers and waiting in making our family complete...

That beautiful boy is RJ Ping Broberg. (By the way, the RJ stands for Robert Joseph - my dad is Robert and my mom's dad was Joseph) Date of Birth: January 12, 2007 Place of Birth: Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China Chinese name: Lan Yan Ping

On March 27 I sent in my letter to the Central China Adoption Agency (the Chinese agency who places Chinese children for adoption) with a request that we be allowed to add RJ to our family. My agency had called the day before asking if I would be interested in looking at a file of a little boy, just over 2 years old. They stated that they knew I was looking for a younger baby, but thought I might still be interested in looking. But, they said, just a warning...once you see this picture it will be awfully hard to resist! Thats o.k. I said...I'll just take a little peek. Boy were they right!! It was love at first sight. Even though I was trying to be logical and non-emotionally attached...I just felt something, like I knew that this was the child waiting to be part of our family. My agency only gave me until noon the next day...March 27... to decide for sure. I had already decided to take the day off for Emma's birthday - so that gave me a chance to really talk with my family and contemplate in the quiet (well, as quiet as it gets with Emma around! :)) By noon I felt certain and I was ready to send in my request to the CCAA...and I did.

Before posting anything about this, I wanted to be sure that the CCAA was going to let me go forward...so I waited until today May 26, when I received my Letter of Acceptance (LOA).

Now I wait for Travel Approval (TA) and then I will be off to China. Hopefully no later than August! Pray for us. I am SOOOOO ready to have RJ with me and Emma and all the rest of my wonderful family and friends.

Here are a few more pictures (taken around August 2008):

GRADUATION

Today Emma "Graduated" from Preschool. Here are a few highlights:

Happy Easter!

Knowing EVERYTHING

Have you all seen this adorable commercial (no matter what your computer preference is...it is really cute): Anyway, a couple of days ago, just before Emma's birthday that commercial came on and when it was over she turned to me and said: "She (the girl in the commercial) knows EVERYTHING". Then about 2 seconds later she sighed and said, "I can't wait til I'm 4 and a half then I'LL know EVERYTHING...(sigh)" And here I thought that she already did!

Praying in Primary

My little girl is getting bigger. On Sunday she gave her first official prayer in primary. I helped her and pretty much had to feed her every word to repeat (even though at home she can do it mostly alone)...however, when I told her to say 'bless President Monson' (which she did), she then turned to me and said 'what about President 'bama?" I told her she could pray for him too. She did a good job and I was proud of her.

Happy Chinese New Year!

creator of this artwork

Well, its a new year.

And with the inauguration of our new president: I've decided to renew hope in all the things that seem a little crazy or out of whack in my life:

...like trying to keep my business afloat...

...like trying to believe that my referral WILL come someday from China...

...like trying to cherish those too few, too short weekends that I get to spend with my daughter before I have to go back to full days of work... ...like trying to refinance my home... ...like enjoying more time with my family... ...like trying to pay off my debt... ...like trying to see more movies... ...like trying to have a party once in awhile (like I did in the old days)... ...like getting back in touch with so many friends on Facebook (I LOVE that thing!)... AND MOST OF ALL...

...counting my blessings everyday!!

First Five....

taken from cath's blog (which was taken from kate's blog)...see how this whole chain of giving gets started?...cool: _______________________ the first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! my choice. for you. this offer does have some restrictions and limitations: 1. i make no guarantees that you will like what i make! 2. what i create will be just for you. 3. it’ll be done this year. {translation: you may be waiting a little while} 4. you have no clue what it’s going to be ... it may be cards, a poem, a bookmark, something yummy or a complete surprise to you (and me!) ... who knows? not you, that’s for sure! 5. i reserve the right to do something extremely strange. 6. most importantly, you must offer the same deal on your blog - the first 5 people to comment on your blog (or if you do not have a blog, facebook) get something made by YOU! the first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me ...

Christmas, Christmas time is here...

Here is my beautiful Christmas angel. She is the joy of the season for me. We had an all day snowstorm in St. George. This picture was taken in the morning when it had just started. By the next morning the ground was covered. To say the least Emma was excited to have a "snowball fight" and to build snowmen (5 when all was said and done). The joy in her eyes and face was simply magical as she played in the snow. Here is our tree, decorated my the master's hand (Grandpa). Emma helped too. She looks like a little candy cane here. At the ward Christmas party, Emma sees Santa...(she has since seen at least three other Santa's...and each time asks for different things...I hope Santa is amazing and has some magical tricks up his sleeve this year!)

I'm dreaming of...

My OTHER Christmas angel. Its been two years since my paperwork was received in China for my second adoption. While this has been a magical, wonderful time for Emma and I, my heart does ache as I wonder about my next little one. I don't know if she or he has been born yet...and I don't have any idea when I might actually go, maybe not for as much as two or three more years. I pray that it will not take that long, but I honestly don't know. I hope that wherever my little one is (even if not born yet), that he or she will know that I am loving him or her already and dreaming of being together. Here is a picture of the 'matching room' - this central office in China processes all adoptions and does the matching of adoptive parents with children. You can see along the wall the shelves full of dossiers (applications/paperwork of adoptive parents). My dossier might be somewhere on that shelf! (I don't know when the picture was taken). This is an example of what is known as a 'finding ad'. In China, the county or province newspapers list the children who are in the orphanages in that area. This is the paper where Emma's ad ran back in 2005. This is just one of three full pages. Oh how I dream that every child on this earth could find a home where they can be loved, feel safety and be at peace.

THE HOLIDAYS ALREADY?

Gosh, I can't believe how long it has been since I last checked in here...and now it is the holiday season? Wow. How did that happen??? We had a great Thanksgiving. Emma made this beautiful turkey hat at 'preschool' on the day we had it at our house (once a week, 4 little friends do preschool at one of their houses), it was just a few days before Thanksgiving...so hence, the 'turkey theme': On Tuesday, Me, Emma, Aunt Jan, Grandma and Grandpa all piled into the car and headed to Karen & Matt's house. The Campbells have been working on their new house for like three year...that they built themselves (they totally rock!)... And it is now finished and we went to enjoy the Thanksgiving weekend there at Campbell Manor. It is just such a gorgeous home and I am so happy for them. We had a wonderful time just sitting around, watching movies in their 'theater' room, being cozy by the fire and, of course, having a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. Here are a couple of pictures of the event: Emma and Paige even took a dip in the hot tub... What would a Broberg family holiday be without singing together around the piano? And of course there was lots of Christmas decorating to do. The master at work:

Les Misbarack

I Love This! Especially the Javert/Mdme Thenardier...McCain/Palin.

How I wish we were in Beijing!!!

Olympic Fever!

We have been watching the Olympics in China with great joy. Not only because the Olympics seem to bring out the most remarkable spirit amongst all people, but also because we are seeing 'our' beautiful China. And we are so grateful that the world is getting to know a little bit more about China, its remarkable country and wonderful people. How proud we are of our Chinese and American heritage and history. Emma was way into the gymnastics...but now that we are into the diving...she is into that too. She watches very closely to how they start, put their arms up and hop...then how the arms and hands come back together to finish it off...then she does it too. I just hope she doesn't try it into the bathtub sometime when I'm not watching!

Family Trip & Reunion

We had a great time in Yellowstone with the Campbells and Grandma & Grandpa. And we had a fun Broberg family reunion in Pocatello...it was so great, especially because we got to meet our 'new' cousin Linda (and her family - Drew, Abby and Ashley)...how happy we are that they are part of our family!!

Sing Sweet Nightingale

Here is Emma singing a tune from one of her favorite movies...Cinderella. Hmmm...a future in vocal performance...? Well....maybe not...we are still searching for the tune. I think we will stick with dancing (notice the flashy "move" she gives near the end!) She sure sings with gusto and confidence though! I think it is adorable!

Lovin' L.A. - a quick, spur of the moment trip

Here's a 45 second recap of little trip we took to L.A. over the 4th of July. We took in some of our favorite places from the 'good old days' - like the L.A. Zoo, the Long Beach Acquarium, Universal CityWalk and the beach! We enjoyed a good, old fashioned 4th of July BBQ and then watched fire works across the harbor from the Queen Mary - it was a lovely, fun quick trip...too short, not enough time to see many friends...but still great fun.

Oh how we miss Los Angeles....(sigh)

Summertime

Here is Emma, first day of filming for Baby Signing Time. (I have a link to the Signing Time video series over there...we love them) Emma is going to be one of the kids in the new Baby Signing Time videos (vol. 3 and 4)!

Emma already loved to swim, but now she has taken swimming lessons and is has really improved!

Birthday Madness!

Emma turned 3 years old! Boy is she big and busy! We are having a lot of fun at every stage of life. Here are a few pictures from her birthday party!

A new scooter from Grandma and Grandpa! What a hot-rod!

Princess dress-up clothes from Aunt Jan!