OK, China, Let's Go...

Our Alarmist Media

"If it bleeds, it leads." That's the general rule adhered to by the mainstream press -- and nothing jumps off the front page like a good doomsday scenario. Remember Y2K? SARS? The Avian flu? Weapons of mass destruction? So, you can understand why I'm not surprised that this whole "swine flu" scare has been blown way out of proportion.

For example, The Canadian Press is reporting that China's mainland has confirmed its fourth case of swine flu. That's four cases out of over 1.3 billion people. This is what qualifies as international news?

The frustrating aspect of this fiasco is that this particular strain of influenza is no more potent than those which contribute to about 250,000 to 500,000 deaths worldwide each year. Still, that hasn't stopped Reuters from reporting that U.S. health officials are concerned that "the 5,123 confirmed and probable cases and six deaths in the United States" are just the "tip of the iceberg."

I'm sure it's reports like these that have prompted the World Health Organization to keep the alert against this particular flu strain at phase 5, with phase 6 being the worst. Did anyone happen to mention to the WHO that approximately 15 million children died from starvation last year? Or that 46 million kids were murdered by abortion? Where are those headlines?

The Undy 500 Needs Ya!

We really want to make our goal of 500 items by May 24, race day.

Please click HERE to read more and to help. THANKS!

I need an epidural!!!

This is such a painful delivery!!! What in the world? Today marks the 38th month since we were logged in to China's system. We REALLY thought we were going to get Olivia's referral last week. Not even thinking we were being unrealistic this time. April referrals came out on the 3rd, so logic would say that the first week of May would bring the next batch. What fools we are to have had faith in China and to even USE logic. What fools. So we have said, "some time in the next year" in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and now in 2009, and then we have said, "some time in the next month", and "hopefully some time in the next week" and now we find ourselves repeating that. What fools! Once again, we are wrong and once again I ask myself why I am surprised. I am mad at myself for even getting a little excited. The rumors are that the delay is due to the swine flu, even though that makes NO sense. But remember, there is no room for logic or common sense in international adoption. Please pray for us. We. Are. Fried.

An Undy 500 Update!

240 Undy items so far! Click HERE for more info.

Need Yer Help!

Please join us in collecting 500 skivvies by race day, May 24! For more, click HERE!!

Introducing...

Please click HERE for more info. Thanks!

Our Friends Have Their Son!!

Our friends, Alan and Ruth, were in our travel group for well, years, but then they felt like they wanted to adopt an older child - so now they have an 8 year old boy instead of an infant girl! Check out their blog HERE.

Flip Flops Arrive in Ethiopia and Malawi!

Please click HERE to read more and see some great pictures on the Flip Flop Fleet blog!

I love me some thriftin'

With this unbelievable economy, there has never been a better time to hit the thrift stores. I love thriftin' - but it has to be a good deal. I am amazed lately at some of the prices I have seen. $4.99 for a used kids' t-shirt? Ummm, this is a THRIFT store. Give me a break. I can buy a NEW shirt for $4.99. At the "Underground Target" I can a buy new clothes for $3.00. Upstairs, at the "normal" Salvation Army, on Fridays and Saturdays, kids clothes are $1.00. Sometimes there is nothing whatsoever that I would want to purchase. Sometimes there are great finds. Here are some of the things I have gotten the past few visits. Again, all of these items cost $1.00 each.

I dropped this down on the floor and it landed just like this, and then Abby laid down next to it :)

For Olivia, a like-new snowsuit, Target brand

a Tommy Hilfiger sweater
For Patricia, a GAP sweater

and a fleece pullover
For Philippe, a Ralph Lauren Chaps sweater

and a really nice lined rainjacket from GAP

My advice to novice thrifters is check for stains, holes, tears in seams. You never know why that item ended up there in the first place. My mom loves to do mending (!!), so if I do find something that needs mending, I still get it, but if you don't sew or know someone who does, I wouldn't. My mom can even fix pretty bad holes in knit sweaters, so that is helpful, too. I don't know how she does that...

My other bit of advice is to learn what days are the "right" days to go. Tuesday is senior discount day at SAVERS and so my mom and I go together and I pay her back for the purchases. Some stores have other pricing discounts like "today all yellow tags are 50% off" so you look for items with yellow tags. Nearly all the clothes the kids wore while we were in Haiti were from the thrift store and I even bought some items for Lee and I so we had things to wear that weren't "favorites" since we knew we'd be spraying bug spray all over, sitting on the floor, etc.

If you are a reader, stop going to Borders and Barnes and Noble. There are ALWAYS tons of books for all ages. I have stopped shopping at the thrift stores who forgot that they are thrift stores. I know the ones who often have good things at THRIFT store prices and I go there. And when I feel the desire to "shop", I head there instead of the mall. It is way more exciting to pay a $1 per item, especially when times are so tough and money is so tight. Have fun! Let me know if you find any goodies!