This one's for Angela

Who is sweet to ask for Lucy updates. Well, we could bore you with our endless attempts to get her to eat food, but nothing's very visual except for this cute photo (we're biased, admittedly). One of Lucy's latest things is this: for whatever reason one day I started humming the theme from "I Dream of Jeannie" to her. She loved it, and now everytime you sing it she smiles. This photo was taken during such a moment.

I have also taught her to cross her arms and blink like Jeannie -- I'm not making this up -- but unfortunately I do not have her mimic on camera yet. Naturally a genie will be a front-runner for Halloween costumes.

Please don't yell at me for putting the song in your head now. I hope it makes you smile when you hear it, too!

--M.A.

And it stoned me...

Lucy on Mother's Day!

My first Mother's Day: lovely daughter, good friends, sick husband.

Joe woke up early Saturday morning with a kidney stone attack, his first ever! He and Lucy and I rushed to the e.r., where his self-diagnosis was confirmed. They gave him painkillers and sent him on his merry way home. We came home about 8 a.m. and crashed.

That evening Lucy and I went to my friend Ellen's for dinner. She was hosting Andrea, a friend of ours who was visiting from Chicago. Both Ellen and Andrea were bridesmaids in our wedding, so it was cool to see them both at the same time. Joe stayed home, sleeping from his Percocet pills.

Dinner at Ellen's was very nice. She had a nice Mexican buffet dinner, and everyone got to socialize and have a wonderful time. As her little 4-year-old guest Simon said, "You make a mean quesadilla."

Simon and Lucy were very cute together. Personally I think Simon rushed the relationship, but kids don't want advice from the old folks, so I'll just stay quiet for the next couple of decades and support wherever this is headed: playdates, proms, whatever. (Psst: Simon, next time bring Cheerios and she'll be eating out of your hand). Seriously. This is one of the cutest little boys I've ever met. And I've met a lot of adorable ones, too.


Cute boys are everywhere! This one's Simon

Back home to crash. Next on the agenda was a 9 a.m. brunch Sunday at the Bristol, with many of the same crew from Ellen's, plus Joe's mom. Joe again said "go ahead," so up Lucy and I went. Lucy looked cute in her dress, bought specifically to make her mother happy on her first mother's day. I have no idea if she liked the dress or not, but she sure was cute! Brunch was great, except they wouldn't let us order off-buffet and get the green chili wontons! Andrea was disappointed. We got to hang out with Julia and Diego this time. Diego was of great interest to Lucy, but she picked up none of his wonderful eating habits, I'm sorry to say. (You can see more photos at our "journey to Lucy" website, by the way).


Lucy and I and Andrea after a green-chili-wonton-less brunch


Julia and her newest, little Diego


Diego the adorable!

When we got home, Joe was sicker, so we called Ellen to drive him to the e.r. (he refused an ambulance call, he was sick but not that sick, he said). I called Joe's mom to come out and sit with Lucy while she napped so I could go be with Joe.

This was the first time since April 3, when Lucy was placed in our arms, that both of us have been away from her, and I have not yet recovered from the trauma it caused me. But I felt she needed her rest at home.

Turns out Joe's evil kidney stone had been refusing to pass, hanging out in his body and causing an infection. His white count had gone way up, which is when they decided to admit him to the hospital (this was Sunday evening). I came home to get Lucy, then we went back to the hospital to visit with Joe.


Lucy visits DaDa in the hospital

So the docs decided that the antibiotics had stopped the infection, and they decided not to do anything invasive with the stone, just to let it pass. They released Joe on Tuesday, and today he went back to work. He's tired, but overall feeling much, much better.

And I will always remember my very first wacky but wonderful Mother's Day, because in the end everyone's back home and healthy!

Happy Derby Day!

Lucy's hat rivals any at the Downs!


Lucy's horse is Barbaro, she says.


In the first-ever adult Derby Day spent at home, not at work, I say hello to everyone a mere minutes before the 132nd Run for the Roses. As you can see, Lucy donned her Derby hat for the day. OK, for five minutes, not the whole day. Hope everyone will have a mint julep today in honor of the greatest two minutes in sports!!

Made it to Beijing

After being awake 30 hours plus, we arrived in Beijing's airport.
The guide from our agency, Families Thru International Adoption (FTIA), met us waving a blue FTIA flag and put us on a bus to the Kuntai Royal Hotel. This is a wonderful place. The rooms are a nice size, the bathroom nice and big, and Joe is already in his hotel robe and slippers, wondering how much it might cost to take them with us.

This'll be a short post. We'll have some fresh stuff for you to look at in the morning after we post tonight with today's adventures. On the agenda today is the Beijing Zoo, a little market nearby, a nearby mall and at some point the Hard Rock Beijing.

Killin' time in the Twin Cities

It's 9 a.m. and already he's had a bloody Mary!

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Well, our 5-hour lay-over in Minneapolis/St. Paul didn't start off too bad. We found the Wolfgang Puck Gourmet Express bar where they make a pretty mean Bloody Mary. I've had one. I'll have more.

The flight wasn't bad -- about an hour and 45 minutes. Mary Ann read some, slept some. I did a couple of crossword puzzles, couldn't sleep. Hopefully we'll get some real shut-eye on the next leg -- Minneapolis to Tokyo.

That will be about 12 hours in the air. Thank God for Ambien.

Joe wouldn't let me go to Mall of America during our 5-hour layover! Wahhhhh!


Mary Ann is actually excited about the next leg, the 12-ish-hour flight, because she can finish this great novel she's started reading called "Princess Izzy and the E Street Shuffle" by Beverly Bartlett. Although there is one thing that's going to make her put that book down -- I hear they're showing "Pride and Prejudice" on the plane. Mary Ann loves Jane Austen more than almost anyone or anything. She's going to miss Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy in this version (she's a BBC version snob) though. I (Joe) will be sleeping then, I sincerely hope.

In the airport in Louisville, we met a nice woman who lives in Louisville and is traveling home to the Phillipines to visit family. Jessie is our new traveling buddy, she'll be with us through Tokyo, then we'll split up.

She's a manager at the Meijer's on Westport Road and is responsible for the great deals on rawhide bones that Bernstein and Stella love to chew on.

Also, on the flight from Louisville, we sat next to John Roush, the president of Centre College. I've talked to him in the past, the last time when the Vice Presidential Debates took place at Centre in 2000. Nice guy. He was traveling to California to see his new granddaughter who was born Monday.

He seemed generally excited about our trip and even was telling others on the plane about what we were going to China for.

Always a salesman, he invited us to visit the campus and bring Lucy with us. Hope she can get into Centre and hope we can afford it if she does make the grade.

We've got another four hours to wait and if my figuring is right, that means another four Bloody Marys. I'll drink the next one in honor of Kirby Puckett. Then off to Tokyo.

Latest photos of Lucy

Recently we received two new photos of little Lucy, who from the photo where she's standing looks like she may, repeat may, have Peggy Hill's feet. Could be just the angle, but big feet or no, we soooo are in love with her.

It's official -- we leave March 28, that's Tuesday, returning April 14th, a long stay! We'll be in Beijing an extra day, I think. We're set to receive Lucy on April 3. We are packing like crazy, but we have a lot done so far. We can't wait for this!

I know we're cutting back on heat, but...

Stella, a mere five minutes after being put in her "playpen" on a recent morning. Can you say "drama queen?"

We miss you, Barney

As you may have read in our very first post, The Loaded Goat is named for an old Andy Griffith Show episode in which a goat ate some sticks of dynamite. We are biiiig -- reallly biiiig -- fans of the show. Thus it was with great sadness we learned recently that Don Knotts died. He will always be loved and remembered fondly by us as Deputy Barney Fife, who made sure law and order was kept in Mayberry. There was no character like him.
So, here's to you, Barn. You beat everything. Nip it, nip it, nip it.

Heeeere's Lucy!

Cutie Pie!


Our entry for the 131st Kentucky Derby!


Lucy stands her ground



Dr. FedEx makes a special delivery!


Mom signs for the precious cargo!


Mom (w/goofy grin) and Dr. FedEx


Friday, Jan. 27, 2006: Dr. FedEx (We don't know his name but we call him this since he delivered our daughter) was surprised to see us videotaping and photographing him when he arrived at 9:50 this morning with an envelope that gave us the first glimpse of our daughter. He didn't know what he had in his hands was so precious. We immediately when to the bedroom and spread the packet out on the bed, looking frantically for the pictures....

After more than a year of waiting, she finally seems real. Lucy Mei Bridget -- as she'll now be known. The name they gave her at the orphange was Yang Mei Xin, a beautiful name but hard to pronounce with our Western tongues. She's now at the Social Welfare Institute in Yangjiang, China, what appears to be a beautiful city nestled between mountains and the South China Sea. She weighed 16.5 pounds at her 1-year checkup. We're guessing she'll be in the 20 lb. range, give or take, when we meet her. We hope to have her home in a couple months and we can hardly bear to wait. She looks like she's got some 'tude.

From the medical information, it looks like she is healthy. She was brought to the Social Welfare Institute in Yangjiang, a city on the South China Sea, on Sept. 24, 2004, From her size, weight and other information they were able to obtain, the doctors there decided that she was born on that day.

She can stand and walk with help and loves riding her rocking horse. Mom and Dad will be buying one soon. She also loves listening to music. Don't know if they play the Grateful Dead, the Stones, George Jones or Jackson Browne at the Yangjiang Social Welfare Institute but she'll hear it soon enough.

She understands a little Cantonese -- can hand you things if you ask and she understands the word "no." Unfortunately, we don't speak any Cantonese. It's going to be interesting to see if we pick up a few Cantonese words before she picks up a few English words. It's a good thing she's from the South of China. She may understand some of mom's Glasgow, Ky., accent. Anybody know how to say "Y'all stop that" in Cantonese?!!

We will post more info as it's updated before we travel, and of course any more photos!

The Stork Has Landed!

Happy Mom and Dad on Referral Day!

We don't have a photo of our sweet baby yet, but in mere hours we will!
Yang Mei Xin is ours! She is 16 months old, birthdate 9.24.04, and we will go get her in China in a couple months! We are so honored to be blessed with her, and we cannot wait to take a first look at her sweet face. We will be taking off work Friday to wait for Mr. or Ms. FedEx to deliver all the vital stats of our precious daughter. Stay tuned!

The Mask of Jackie!

My very hip friend Angela sent me this way cool Jackie Kennedy mask for Christmas. I am thinking it'll be fun to wear on the airplane ride to China. I really think our dog Bernstein models it better than I do. We didn't even try it on Stella (we value our lives...!)
Thanks, Angela!!

Houston, we have ultrasound!

We're in the homestretch, although technically I think we'd be considered in the fourth or fifth trimester.

Patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue...

!!!!

Is this the sweetest smiling doggy face or what?
Bernstein's a good boy.

Merry Christmas, and yes, we're still waiting!

Lovely as this baby doll is, this is NOT Lucy....Joe's Aunt Joann gave us this beautiful Chinese doll for Christmas, and as you can see by our faces we were about ready to pretend she is our real baby. We are crossing our fingers that we get our referral sometime in January -- maybe early, maybe late -- but it can't come a second too soon!

Happy New Year to one and all!

I work with an interesting lot...

Luster, your wish is my command. You have now become the person you most secretly admire!


If this is how he looks after Kentucky WINS...


This is me trying to conceal my identity. I do not know these people.


"You HUFF!"


"They're doing WHAT in my bedroom?"

She coulda been a contendah...

Sometimes you learn things at the vet. Like the first time your little beagle has an allergic reaction to her first full round of shots. When Joe took Stella for her vaccinations in the fall, she had a reaction about 3 hours later. The photo on the left is what she looked like after she got back from the vet, still very swollen even hours later. Ouch. The photo on the right is what she normally looks like.

40 isn't Fatal

The man is my husband. The woman is not me.

Dogs, Dogs, Dogs!

Meet our family.

Bernstein is our Golden Retriever. He's named after a character in the movie "Citizen Kane," one of the greatest movies of all time.

Stella is our Beagle. She's named so we can shout "STELLA," like Stanley Kowalski did in "A Streetcar Named Desire."

Bernstein is among the sweetest dogs you'll ever meet. He will be your friend for life if you'll only rub his head for a few minutes and maybe hold his paw when, "Pffumph," he throws it up on your thigh or maybe on the coffee table.

Stella looks like an angel. I've got four stitches that are proof looks are deceiving. Really, she's not all that bad -- her anger is more and more under control now that she's older but she can howl until the cows come home.

Bernstein's greatest claim to fame is he is the logo dog for the local Golden Retriever rescue group, GRRAND. Mary Ann took the picture in hopes we would get him in a calendar the group was planning. They made him the logo instead. Big Red
photogenic boy. Now, you can see him around town on city buses and a courier service's trucks.

We hope Stella ends up with a claim to fame other than sending me to an immediate care center. Stay tuned.

Why The Loaded Goat?

Why The Loaded Goat as a blog title? The Andy Griffith Show, one of my favorites of all time because it reminds me of my Mayberry-esque hometown, had an episode called "The Loaded Goat." It featured a goat who ate some sticks of dynamite.