Stepping Stones

I love rocks.

I have a red one from the parking lot in Arizona where we bought my engagement ring.
I have a boring old gravel one from the driveway of the first barn that Horse and I were at together.
I have pictures of nothing but rocks from a trip that I took with one of my closest friends, Bea, a few years ago.
I have rocks with fossils imprinted in them that my hubby found for me near the creek after a canoeing trip, eons ago.
In fact, I have a "rug" at my front door that is nothing but river rocks glued to a mat. I LOVE to walk barefoot over its smooth, cool, goodness on hot summer days.

I have a spot in the garden ( it is fun to say this and I am using the term VERY broadly,<makes high fluetin' rich woman face>  "in the gahhhhh-den"  ) where I toss any odd and unusual rocks that I find. (There's also a place where I toss old sea shells and I love to catch the boys thumbing through them, I like to imagine that our "garden" is a fairytale spot full of imagination for them.  In fact, there is also a place where I toss old fragments of terra cotta pots.  Eek! There may be an episode of "Hoarders" in my near future. :) )

I've been thinking about all the "rocks" that I've "collected" while we've been waiting to bring Lyric home -the  "little, smooth, stepping stones"  that have helped me feel closer to her.

There have been a bunch and it's been so much fun:

APRIL 2011 - I bought this Chinese tapestry through 
Love Without Boundaries' "Born in My Heart Art Auction." It says, 
"A red thread connects those destined to meet.
It may stretch or tangle but it never breaks."
I had it framed and hung it over the place in Georgia where I stood (for hours) to work on adoption papers. Now, it hangs near our kitchen -the "soul" of the house.

In JUNE 2011, I finished this quilt for our baby girl...

...and this stuffed owl.  I named her after Princess T.
Owls have become the unofficial mascot of this adoption 
and Q-Boo is amassing a nice collection of them.

The end of JULY 2011, we took the boys to Disney World. They'd never been and we figured that, after we added another small child to the mix, it might be a while before we'd get to go at all. Look what I found at the China Pavilion at Epcot! Chinese dolls! 

In AUGUST 2011, on our 8th anniversary, K-Man gave me these earrings
which are the Chinese character for "mother."

In SEPTEMBER 2011, K-Man found a random, arbitrary Chinese coin while he and the kids were playing with the coins in our piggy bank. I looked it up on the internet to be sure- yep, Chinese. We have no idea where it came from. 
K-Man decided that it was a good omen,
"Q(-Boo) is coming soon."
I had it made into a necklace.

Also, in SEPTEMBER 2011, came Wild Child's gifts to Lyric. He has a very favorite Puppy and Kitty and he was snuggling with them in the back of my truck when he said, "Q(-Boo) needs a Puppy and a Kitty." Later, that day, he came bringing these to me while we were in a store, "These are Q(-Boo's) Puppy and Kitty." He refused to play with them, at all. They rode with me in the front of the truck on the way home and then he took them straight to her crib and put them in. "They're Q(-Boo's.)"

And, Middle Child's gift to Lyric.  
The SAME DAY that Wild Child found Lyric's gifts, while we were shopping for school clothes, Middle Child found one of these shirts for himself and then promptly said, "And, we have to get one for Q(-Boo.) Let's see, what's her size?"
He didn't know about Wild Child's gifts.

Around that same time, I bought my "Waiting Necklace." 
We'd bought a "Waiting Ring" made out of turquoise, years ago, 
when we were waiting on my engagement ring to be made.
How awesome that the "Waiting Necklace" was made by Princess T's mom!

OCTOBER 2011-This is my old cedar chest repainted for Lyric,
the painting thingy on the wall I did for her with quotes that remind me of her (one of them says, "Owl love you forever") and the glass belonged to my paternal grandmother. When I first read that Q-Boo's name means "smooth, agreeable" in Chinese, a watercolor picture flashed through my mind of this glass filled with"smooth and agreeable" purple and green pebbles. ( I think in pictures sometimes.)
So, I am going to fill it with "smooth and agreeable" things
that I find while we are in China.

On NOVEMBER 20, 2011, we were eating at a Chinese restaurant with our extended family. We'd spent most of the meal talking about Lyric and when I'd cracked open up my fortune cookie, this is what it'd said.

K-Man's fortune cookie.
 A-Girl note: The only time that the adoption was ever in doubt was one weekend in FEBRUARY 2012.  It was a VERY VERY long weekend. On Monday, February 20, 2012 
we received the phone call that we'd been hoping for, 
"Chill out, we've got this covered."  
Yep, three months, to the day, from November 20, 2011.

And, because all things circle back around, 
I bid in LWB's APRIL 2012,   "Born in My Heart Art Auction" and won these Tiger Shoes. 
(Q-Boo was born in the Year of the Tiger.)

They match Lyric's Tiger Hat that I bought from Scarlet Threads.

(Yes, it has a tail. CUTE!)