My first square

So, after some deliberation I decided my first square would be a Christmas fabric. Christmas is my favorite holiday and I just thought the words on this fabric were so appropriate, "Home Sweet Home" and "My Sweet Family." Too cute, I had tears when I picked it out.

Squares from the Ray Family

My cousin Gillane, along with her husband and two kids sent two sweet squares for the quilt.

A square from the French's

Spencer, Charlene (my cousin) and Kate sent a yellow felt square for the quilt. They also sent a cute scrapbook page.

A square from the Orme Family

The Orme's sent a square that is light green. I tried to take a picture of it but it comes out looking gray so instead I will post the scrapbook page they made.

Squares from the Chuluota Duncan's

A square from Jesse Duncan



A square from Melissa Duncan



A square from J.J. Duncan



A square from Abigail Duncan



A square from Marianne Duncan




Each of the Jesse Duncan family also made a scrapbook page with a piece of the fabric on it. They all wrote sweet messages for the baby.

Making Progress

Michael and I went for our physicals today. That is the last of the paperwork except for the creation of 3 paper profiles. Two of them go to the local LDS Family Services office and the third is our copy. I have been gathering pictures of us for those.

We will be writing the letter to the birth mother and answering a bunch of personal questions about ourselves online.

Then we each have a personal interview with our social worker and then they do a home study (visit our home and make sure its a safe environment.)

I'm getting excited. Some adoptions the birth mother chooses you just before the birth and you have to hurry and purchase baby things and get things ready, and in some cases travel to where she is. So, in light of that possibility I am picking out a few necessities to have when the baby arrives. I would like to have a travel system (car seat base, stroller, carrier), diapers, soap, wipes, and a few pairs of clothes that are not specifically boy or girl things.

Maybe that's crazy but, I just can't help myself.

First Square!

Michael and I talked about what squares we would like to do and after that conversation I bought this...


He is a football fan and loves the cowboys.

We have begun all of the paperwork and preparations for adoption. It is fun checking things off the list of to-dos one by one.

We are trying to have all of the squares by January 15th. So send them in so I can do more blog posts!

100 Good Wishes Quilt

Dear Family and Friends,

We are adopting! We have decided to use LDS Family Services and are hopeful that the process will be speedy and joyful. We have already met our caseworker and begun our first round of paperwork.

To keep busy during the wait, we have decided to work on a project with which we need your assistance. We would like to invite you to participate in creating a “Bai Jia Bei”, otherwise known as a “100 Good Wishes Quilt”. In parts of China, when a baby is born, family and friends of the child donate fabric pieces to the child's mother. She then makes a quilt for the baby from the fabric. It is said that the luck, energy and good wishes from all of the families and friends who contributed, surround the child when s/he is wrapped in the quilt. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation.

Here’s what you need to do to participate:

1. Please choose any fabric that you like.

2. Cut a 8” or 9” square to be used for the quilt.

3. Hand write or type your wish for the baby on a piece of paper. Decorative paper would be wonderful! Your wish can be anything - your hopes for the baby, thoughts on the adoption, a poem, prayer, quote, verse, favorite saying, advice or anything meaningful to you. Make sure to sign your name, and the city and state where you live, on the bottom.

The paper with the good wish, and a small swatch cut from your your fabric, will be incorporated into a special “Good Wishes” memory book for our child. We will be able to track the fabric in the quilt to the good wish by placing the smaller scrap of fabric in the memory book with the good wish.

If you have more than one person in your family who would like to participate, then please feel free to send more than one quilt block and wish. Remember, we need to get to at least 100 wishes, so the more the better. Children are welcome to contribute to this project!

We know you all have very busy schedules, but we hope you will be able to help us create this special keepsake. This will be incredibly meaningful to us, as well as to our baby as s/he gets older.

Please keep us in your prayers as we go through the adoption process.

With warm regards and best wishes,

Michael and Elena