December, 2005
Dear Family and Friends,
The holiday season has finally arrived. Where has the year gone? It seems as though the months have just flown by. Jon and I are doing quite well and the weather here is beginning to get cold. On November 27, we had our first snowfall of the season. What a beautiful sight!
Jon and I started our year off with a visit from my parents Rosie and Carlos. We celebrated my mother’s birthday tubing which was her one birthday request, that evening we enjoyed a wonderful dinner out and of course plenty of cake! Jon and I took our passport photos a requirement for our adoption process. Rumor has it The China Center of Adoption Affairs Office (matching room) will place our passport photos on a computer screen and then match us up to babies they think have similar features to us. I am not really sure if this is accurate so I really wanted our passport photos to look great! They did not turn out too bad and Jon’s looks really good. He chose a beautiful blue sweater (my favorite) which really brought out the blue in his eyes. I wore a red sweater. The color red means luck or good fortune. So let us keep our fingers crossed.
The month of February was wonderful! We completed all of our required documents for our adoption and finally felt a sense of completion. We started the adoption process, June of 2004. Jon and I went out to celebrate by having a really nice dinner at the Melting pot, a fondue style restaurant. Do not go there hungry as it takes a long time to cook your meal. The month of March was really nice as we attended Matthew Resnick, one of Jon’s best friends sons Barmitzvah in California. This was my first attendance at a Barmitzvah and all I can say is I cannot remember when I have had that much fun! We had the opportunity to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and visit my family, visit with Jon’s mother Ruth and friends as well.
In April we submitted our dossier (compiled documents) to China. The process of gathering paperwork for the adoption has taken up all of my time and is at times very stressful. Jon and I took a trip to Las Vegas as he attended his annual RTNDA and NAB, Radio Television News Directors Association Conference. While Jon attended the convention I enjoyed shopping, visiting all the sites and just relaxing. Jon had free time after the convention so we spent the extra few days with my parents who drove to Las Vegas. We missed visiting with our close friend’s the Ross Family on this visit. At the end of April we almost lost our cat Kimba, a.k.a. “Kimmy”. He was diagnosed with Renal Disease. Fortunately, Kimmy is still with us and doing quite well. Kimmy seems to have surprised us all including his Doctor. We take advantage of all the love and pets we can share with him for as long as we can. It seems as though he may still have a few more lives in him.
During the month of May, Jon and I attended the Race for the Cure run/walk. We had a lot of fun. What an amazing site to see so many people out to support family and friends. After the event Jon took me out to a really nice brunch as it was also my birthday that day.
In June, we attended our first China Informational Meeting through our adoption agency. We met many other adoptive families in the process including one who will travel with us to China. We spent the summer attending several outdoor events and a few visits to the Snow Cone Shack. Jon and I had the opportunity to visit This is the Place Heritage Park, a historical location in Utah. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn about Utahs first Mormon Pioneer settlers and the history of how they came to live in Utah. The historical homes were amazing to see. We will definitely return to see and learn much more in the future. Jon and I were amazed to find America's First Department Store located at Heritage Park. Jon knew I could not resist not making a purchase. I mean how could I go there and not find a little keepsake, its historical! My big purchase was a small sheep made of wood and wool. I love sheep! It sits on our shelf in our office as we collect things from all over the world during our travels.
July was filled with activities, in addition to a lot of time spent tending to my garden which I enjoy in the summer months. In return we had beautiful flowers this year that were eaten by deer that come down from the mountains looking for food. Fourth of July was a blast. We attended the “Hot Rockn Fourth Event” hosted by ABC4, Jon’s station. We had a wonderful day. We attended our first Stingers Baseball Game. Jon was offered VIP tickets in the Clear Channel Suite. What a nice way to enjoy the game as it was a very warm day not to mention have the suite to ourselves.
I went for a visit to California to visit my family and my brother Danny, who flew out from Michigan with his children Logan and Morgan. This was Logan and Morgan’s first visit to California since they are now old enough to remember the trip. I was able to visit with Ruth and spent the rest of my time going to Disneyland, Long Beach Aquarium, and attending family gatherings. It was really difficult to say goodbye. Jon and I had just enough time to spend a few hours together in California before I returned home. Jon had just arrived from Salt Lake as he stayed home to take care of our cat Kimmy. Kimmy requires a lot of care along with Sub Q fluid injections, which is similar to an IV.
Jon made a special guest appearance at an awards dinner honoring his close friend Legendary News Reporter Stan Chambers. Jon worked with Stan for 12 years at KTLA and they covered many notable news stories together. He thoroughly enjoyed his visit with some of his friends/and old co-workers. Jon was able to visit with his mother Ruth and visit with a few close friends.
The month of August came and went so quickly. Jon and I went to the annual Kimball Arts Festival held in Park City. We love to get out and enjoy the sun and see beautiful one of a kind pieces of art in a picturesque environment and listen to music. We had an evening out at the Hale Centre Theatre and saw an amazing performance of 42nd Street! All I have to say is our feet wanted to keep dancing as we left the theatre.
In September we gathered with our neighbors for our first block party and outdoor BBQ. We had a great time and enjoyed meeting our newest neighbors. Jon and I went to see Utah’s Healing Field. This was a beautiful memorial flag display where every flag is in memory of all the people who lost there lives on September 11 at the World Trade Center. This was a beautiful amazing and serene display. We were overcome by emotions that no words can possibly describe. Jon received excellent news that his News Department won three of the top Emmy Awards for Best Newscast, Best Team Coverage and Best Live Reporting. In addition to the station’s awards he was given yet another Emmy Award of his own to display on his Trophy shelf at home. This is his 12th to proudly display.
The month of October was filled with activities once again. Jon and I had Fall Portraits taken this year. I had a vision of vibrant red leaves, unfortunately on the day we took our photos it snowed in the mountains and our photos instead had yellow leaves and snow on the ground. Not quite what we had expected. I flew out to California for a short visit with family, my last trip of the year. We went to another China Informational Meeting, which covered our trip to China and what to expect. I decorated the entire house for Halloween and did more than usual this year. Jon and I spent time going to the Pumkin Patch and finding just the right pumkins. This year we had no snow on the ground and the weather was warmer than in the past, so there were more children Trick or Treating than usual. We almost ran out of candy, so Jon came to the rescue by going to the store to buy any candy he could find.
November is the beginning of our holiday season and we start the month off by attending another one of our monthly China Informational Meetings. Jon and I attended the MDA Toast To Life Black-tie event. It was a wonderful evening of beautiful music, a silent auction, various restaurant appetizers, fabulous drinks and excellent deserts. Jon’s favorite was the chocolate dipped strawberries. Jon has been so busy with work and rating sweeps he hasn’t done much else lately. Occasionally he has the opportunity to catch up on some quiet time by reading just for fun.
I had my first Cyber Baby Shower with friends I have met online through the various China groups. I have joined eleven China groups! I spend my time reading up on China and trying to learn Mandarin Chinese. I join my China groups daily to add support or learn from other adoptive parents in the process and those who have adopted before and try to prepare for our trip. I joined a Secret Pal gift exchange for a few months and finally found out who my secret pal was during our cyber shower. She lives in Minnesota. Many of the other adoptive mothers find waiting to hear from China about they’re daughters very difficult as there have been unexpected delays in this process. Notification and pictures of our daughters has seemed to slow down much more than we have all expected. Many of the other adoptive mothers do not have family or close friends in the state they live in, so we all got together to have a baby shower. What fun!
I spent a little time joining a small three dollar gift swap after the cyber shower with many of the other adoptive mothers. The theme was pink. The gift could be hand made or purchased but had to be pink and should cost no more than three dollars. This gift could be for mother or baby. I found this very challenging. Do you know what you can purchase for three dollars today?? I went a little over the three dollars and purchased pink metal bookmarks. We are all reading a lot these days so I thought this would come in handy. Every day I continue to receive small packages filled with beautifully crafted note cards and gifts.
The month ended with in Jon’s words as “the best Turkey he has eaten in years”. I am not sure what he meant by that as I changed my receipe this year slightly and I make turkey a couple of times a year. We had yet another excellent sit down Thanksgiving meal with a lot to be thankful for. For desert we went to the D’Antuono's house (Jon's boss) and had a wonderful evening. What a great way to spend Thanksgiving day.
We have so many other events took place this year we could not possibly fit into this letter. We had many gatherings with friends. Jon and I had several visits to the Chiropractor this year and are both doing excellent now. My badly injured sprained ankle from last year has finally just about healed. Today, Jon and I are off to a new start trying to eat a lot healthier and exercising. It is a good thing since we are about to start the Christmas Season. So many fun events are planned for this month. Jon is off to San Antonio, TX, and South Carolina for work. I will keep busy painting the house, completing my Christmas shopping and doing various crafts, and not to mention all the baking for my neighbors.
At this point, as you all are probably wondering, we have not heard anything about our adoptive children. We had hoped to be notified before Christmas but unfortunately The China Center of Adoption Affairs has slowed down on sending out referrals. We do not expect to be notified until sometime next year with travel expected no later than May. We will let you all know more as soon as we are notified.
Jon and I start the month off with Jon in San Antonio, TX just overnight and then on to a Wedding. We have plans to attend an event to benefit Primary Children’s Hospital a Christmas Homes Tour and our annual attendance to see the play A Christmas Carol. We have been so blessed and we have so much to be thankful for this year. We wish you all a wonderful holiday season. May you all be safe, healthy and prosperous in the New Year. We hope to see or hear from you all soon. We love and miss you all.
Love,
Jon and Diana
December 25, 2005
Christmas Day was very nice, Jon and I spent a quiet relaxing day with Kimba and Tigger. We had a very nice Christmas dinner.
December 29, 2005
My parents Carlos and Rosie came to visit for a week. We had a great New Year's Eve dinner at Sampan Chinese Restaurant and then went home to hang out and celebrate the New Year! Unfortunately I became very ill with the flu so Dad and Mom had several outings out alone.
January 7, 2006
Jon and I took Mom and Dad out to celebrate Mom's birthday at Spencer's Steakhouse and then home to have cake and ice cream.
January 8, 2006
We said goodbye to Dad and Mom as they flew home to California.
January 15, 2006
Jon and I attend the Auto Show. This is always really nice to get out and see what is new on the market.
