Daughter in Hungary -  It is taking way too long for this adoption.  We have had our dossier in Hungary since 3-1-12.  They first told us 3 months, then 6 months, now they say girls are so sought after that it could be several more months.

Daughter in Heaven - Video is from a year ago last spring.  Can't imagine a second holiday season without hearing Abbie's footsteps down the hall...or feeling the excitement in the air.

Update from Heaven:
Abbie welcomed too many young children to heaven in the past few weeks.  Several who looked very much like her.  Lots of little girls about age 7-10.  I am sure she is making them welcome...but I am also positive that their families are suffering.  These families will always be in my prayers.

One of Abbie's teenage friends is recovering in the hospital from an infection.  She lost her spleen due to cancer and now has a tough time fighting infections.  We are praying that she is home by homecoming and as Abbie would say "we love her with our whole hearts."

Update from Hungary:
We had hoped to go to Hungary this past Spring or Summer as we were told it would most likely have been last Spring or Summer.  Life is unpredictable...so we may be in Hungary this year when it is really really cold.  Luckily we have warm hearts and lots of Iowa winter-wear for both us and our new daughter.  While I am not a big fan of the cold...growing up in Iowa...I know how to do it...been there ...done that...so to speak. People are telling us not to try to learn the language as it is too hard...thus...I am trying to learn the language...that is sort of how I roll. 

We slowly have started to do social events again...but we are very bad at them.  Often..one of us gets sad and we end up leaving...I apologize to our friends for this...there is no rhyme or reason to what triggers there reactions...it could be a bicycle with training wheels (as Abbie was sad she never learned to ride her bike without training wheels...her treatment did not permit her to do so)...change of seasons...school pictures...trips down roads we had not ridden since she passed away...just about anything...that is just the way it is...

Nia..continues to get spoiled and she and Shubert (the cat) still provide us with many laughs...Abbie called it the "Nia Shubert show!!"....

Hugs to all...have a great week.

Defrag and Reboot Time

No referral just some thoughts on the waiting time.  Ok so we are waiting for the referral for our new daughter and it is hard.  I decided to try to look at this time from a different perspective.  Instead of suffering, I want to look at it as a good thing.  Here is what I have come up with. Let's just say your brain and spirit are the components of a hard drive (computer hard drive) and for let's say a year and a half it was never shut down properly and it was working 24/7.  In the process it retrieved a lot of information that exceeded the capacity of the hard drive...beyond its limits.  Well to get your computer working you have a couple of choices: (1) throw out the hard drive or (2) reboot and defrag the hard drive.  So I am looking at this waiting period as a time to "reboot and defrag" my hard drive...since I really don't want to "throw it out."  Defragging sometimes takes a lot longer than you want it to, but it is worth it in the end. That is my spin for the day.  Have a great day everybody.

No referral yet....It is hard waiting....I just cannot wait to see Abbie's sister's face. Cannot wait to learn her story and see her country and discover her personality. We are learning more about Hungary but mostly just yearning to see her.  We know having another little girl is going to be a lot of work....we honestly look forward to that type of work...we enjoy that type of work...we cannot wait for that type of work.  I wouldn't have missed a day with Abbie, even the very hardest of those days.  Every day was worth it regardless of how hard. I would do it all over again in a second.  Abbie gave us so much...and I learned so much from her. 

I love taking care of little children...tons of work but even more tons of fun.  Some suggest I might need a reality check...well I do know children often grow up and  don't stay little forever... ...that is exactly what we are hoping for...

Egan means yes...and Nem means no in Hungarian...that is about all I know....so much to learn...but what better reason to learn it than to be able to talk to your child....  Rosetta Stone does not offer Hungarian...so I am using the Pinsleur program.  Hope I can learn "I love you" before we go...or at least "drink" "bathroom" "bedtime"and "good morning."  Does anyone know if Hungary takes Mastercard, Visa and if they have easy access to the internet?  What about cell-phone service?

Hi everybody.  My name is Mary Ann and I am a mom.  I have one daughter in Heaven and one daughter in Hungary.  Really? Yes...my 9 year old daughter died last year from cancer (Rhabdomyosarcoma).  She is such a special wonderful little girl, bright, funny, charming and a negotiator.  My other daughter, I have never met, but she lives in Hungary.  Abbie always wanted a sister.  So we are next in line to adopt a little girl from Hungary age 3-6 years old.  I have never been to Hungary and up until the past few month, I have never met anyone from Hungary.....so this is an adventure.  When we get the call, we will travel to Hungary and live there for 5 weeks and return with Abbie's sister.  Wow!!!  Feel free to follow the adventures of both of my daughters....yes..Abbie too ...as she is doing some very terrific things in heaven and she also lives on through all of her friends, who we refer to as Abbie's Peeps.