July 16, 2002

     Have been working on getting the kitchen, family room and hallway painted.  Will be done by tomorrow.  I would like to have the upstairs bathroom done before my surgery.

     Four more days and our dossier has been in China for 8 months!.  That means another 5 to 6 month wait, but we are on the downhill slide.  I am looking forward to feeling so much better this trip.  However, I am nervous about my surgery.  Mark is in Denton, Texas for work.  He will be home Thursday.  He is taking Monday of for my surgery.  PopPop is going to come down to be here for the surgery too.

     I am participating in a cyber shower with the December DTC group.  My partner has sent Gymboree Polka Dot dress and socks and 3 books from Amazon with ladybug themes.  I had to send a gift to Canada.  Not Cheap!  $13.25 just to mail the package!  It has been fun and has helped the time pass more quickly.

July 6, 2002

     All the firecrackers are done for this year.  As we did not have Nicholas, we did not buy any fireworks.  We actually spent the night at PopPop's.  Lenora had a ban on fireworks, so it was very quiet there.  We signed papers to have a realtor try to sell our house in Edmond.  We also cleaned the house and brought home the last of our things from up there.

     RaeAnne was playing with PopPop's canned foods and dropped one on her second toe of her left foot.  The toenail is a pretty black and blue.

     I am going to have surgery on July 22nd.  After years of suffering with my ulcerative colitis, I am having my colon removed.  It will be hard for Rae to understand why Mommy can't pick her up for a while.  And it will be very hard on Mommy to be away from Rae while I am in the hospital.  But the surgeon says I will start feeling so much better and be healthy by the time we go to China.  I am going to have to hurry and get a bunch of my painting done in the next week.  I don't think I will feel like it after my surgery.