GETTING READY FOR HALLOWEEN

We were busy this weekend getting ready for Halloween at our house. Luna did a trial run with her costume last night. She is under the impression that she is a princess everyday, not just this Halloween.

Miss Bella is going to be a little ladybug this year. I'm hoping that next Halloween there will be two little ladybugs around the house. Bella is so hard to photograph since she is all black. It is also quite difficult because she is always moving! Luna also tried on Bella's costume but wasn't impressed.

Ian is sitting next to Mom & Dad's pumpkins. Mom & Dad are on the lazy side, they just nailed on the faces this year. Mom's pumpkin is on the left & Dad's is on the right. Mom's pumpkin needs to lean against the house because it can't stand up on his own.

Ian is holding the special pumpkin that he picked out (all by himself) for Ava. This is the 2nd Halloween that Ava has had a pumpkin. Ian wanted to send the pumpkin to Ava in China.


Griffin & Ian designed their pumpkins all by themselves and Jeff helped them carve them. We are still hoping that Hope decides to do her pumpkin too (not pictured). She is not crazy about cleaning out the inside.

We are almost ready for the big day tomorrow!!!

SECRET PAL GIFTS

Thank you Secret Pal for sending this wonderful book. In case you have trouble making out the title, the name of the book is The Waiting Child by Cindy Champnella. If you haven't read the book, I suggest that you pick up a copy of it. It's an amazing story of a little girl that fights with everything she has, to bring a little boy from her orphanage home. WARNING: Have a supply of Kleenex handy.

My Secret Pal also sent this beautiful doll for Ava. She included this information about the doll:

These beautiful dolls are hand crafted by women in a village just outside of Beijing, China. All dolls are hand-sewn using materials from their home village, Beijing and Guangzhou. Each doll wears a beautiful satin outfit that has a removable shirtcoat. The name of the seamstress and the date the doll was finished are sewn into the back of each one as a personal touch from the "auntie" in China who sends her love through her handiwork.


Thank you so much for both of the gifts. The book was WONDERFUL and the doll will be treasured for many years to come! I have the BEST SP!!!

MY WEEK IN REVIEW

I have to tell you, I'm glad this week is over with. Griffin has been sick all week (since the dance...Was his date really sick?) with a fever & cough. Ian had it the week before and missed a couple days of school. I have been popping vitamins all week because I'm terrified of becoming it's next victim. I hate feeling like my house is crawling with germs. ICK!

I had treatment #3 (acid) on the damn wart foot. I had it done on Monday and was limping around for several days. That damn wart just doesn't want to give up. It's a fighter, but I won't let it win. I've come too far. It wasn't as bad as treatment #2. The last one brought tears to my eyes when I tried to walk. Who would have known this would have been such a big deal.

Keith started Hope's new closet on Tuesday. He only worked the one day and then had outside work (for someone else) to do since our Michigan weather actually was nice for a couple days. He promises to be back on Monday. I have this anxious feeling all of a sudden that I want to get moving on the rooms. I'm not sure why. We need to pick out paint and get the flooring for the closet this weekend. I can't wait to finally start Ava's room. I think I'm finally ready.

In adoption news.....My body feels physically drained this week with the adoption rollercoaster. I am always on edge the week that referrals are expected. The fact that it is rumored that referrals have been sent & the cut-off remains top secret is getting old. Really old. I'm really pulling for all the August families and hoping that they will know something soon. Unfortunately, it looks like there will be no news until Monday. I have found myself believing that things are about to speed up. I'm setting myself up for a big fall if I'm wrong. Why do I do it? Need. To. Protect. My. Heart.

I had a nice surprise in the mail yesterday. My Secret Pal sent me a couple wonderful gifts. I will post pictures tomorrow. One of my gifts was a book & I have hardly been able to put it down. Thank you, SP. I only have a couple chapters to go and it's calling for me. Nighty night.

MY FORTUNE COOKIE

The other day, I opened a fortune cookie and it said.............................
YOUR PRESENT PLANS ARE GOING TO SUCCEED.
I can't remember what the other 4 cookies said. They were pretty tasty.

THE ROOM SHUFFLE

I am going to try and explain the room shuffle a bit better. Why are 3 out of 4 kids getting a new room? Believe it or not, there is some logic behind all this madness. First, Hope (being the oldest and the one that does the most whining) wants the old work-out room (pictured above) for her new bedroom because it's bigger than her old room. Hope's old room is actually located directly under our room. It's not a smart choice to give to Ava because it so far away from our room. Ian is old enough to move into Hope's old room. Giving Ian Hope's old room works out good because the two boys will have rooms next to each other. Griffin is the only one that is staying where he is.....It stinks being the middle child! Ava will be getting Ian's old room because it's the only other bedroom that is on the same floor as Mommy & Daddy (and she scores with her very own bathroom).........It's great being the baby of the family! I'm crossing my fingers that Ava is a good sleeper............I'd rather have her closest to our room in case she isn't.

This is a picture of the wall that the new closet will go on. We are going to be busy this weekend picking out paint samples for the three bedrooms. I'll keep you posted since I know so many love HGTV. I have to say that I am also addicted to all those home improvements shows! House Flip......My favorite.

PREPARING FOR AVA (2ND IN A SERIES)

Originally, we were going to do a little addition on to the house to add an extra bedroom. We decided that instead we would turn the work-out room into a bedroom by adding a closet. Doing it this way would certainly save tons of money that we would probably never get back out of this house when we decided to sell it. It's going to be a little bit of an inconvenience because we all know that work-out room gets ALOT of use (BWAHAHAHAHA!). After the new closet is put in, Hope is going to move into the new room. She is excited because it is actually a little bigger than her current bedroom. Next, Ian will be moving downstairs into Hopes old room. His new room will be next door to his brother. Then, Ava will be taking over Ian's old room. Ian is still too young to realize that he will be giving up the only other bedroom (besides the master) that has it's own bathroom. Ian is just happy that he gets to pick out paint for his NEW bedroom! Keith (the BESTEST builder in the world) is coming today to start the closet. I will post pictures of the progress.

LETTERS FROM A WAITING CHILD

I wanted to share a website that I found last night. Grab a box of tissues and click on this link.

FIRST DANCE W/ UPDATE

I have to tell you, I'm still in complete shock. Griffin told us this week that he wanted to go to the very first middle school dance on Friday. He is in the 7th grade and this is the first dance.....EVER! Griffin is a brilliant child (he gets that from MY side of the family) and spends quite a bit of time on the computer. He is rather shy at times and I just never would have thought that going to a school dance was his kind of thang. Not. In. A. Million. Years. Last night I hear my 6 year old ask him who he was taking to the dance (Did I mention that MY 6 YEAR OLD ASKED THIS??). I couldn't believe my ears.......MY SHY, 12 YEAR OLD SON WAS TAKING A GIRL TO THE DANCE!!!!!!!! I said, HUH?? WHAT??? YOU HAVE A DATE??? HUH??? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US?????? Griffin responded, YOU DIDN'T ASK. I responded....HUH?? WELL, I DIDN'T THINK............! I asked him what she looked like and he said.......WELL, SHE'S REALLY PRETTY. I didn't even think he noticed girls yet. Except...... that one time back in elementary school when he and his friend were taking binoculars to school to look at girls on the playground. That was the ONLY time and I just figured he picked up that strange behavior from his Dad's side of the family!

When Jeff got home last night and found out that his son had a date, he proceeded to give Griffin advice on how he should act. He told him to make sure he tells her that he likes what she has done with her hair and told him he could use some of his cologne. I HAD to chime in and say.....NO. NO. NO. Just stick with the deodorant and just tell her she looks nice. I turn to Jeff and ask him how on earth he was able to snag (I said snag, not shag) me! I even told my mother some of his advice and she said......WHAT A NERD!!!!

I just got back from dropping Griffin off at the dance. My babies are growing up way too fast. Sniff.

UPDATE:
I just got home from picking Griffin up at the dance. He seemed pretty happy when he got in the car so I figured he must of had a pretty good time. I asked him how it went and if he danced with T. He said that when a slow song came on (he is NOT a fast dancer) his date was in the bathroom. He said that about an hour after they got there she got sick and stayed in the bathroom (Hmmmmm) for most of the night. He said that he is going to ask her to the next dance. You gotta give him credit.

PREPARING FOR AVA (1ST IN A SERIES)

This post is the first post in a series of the preparations being made for the arrival of our little Ava. I decided to do this post today because Melissa would like to talk about anything except the wait. These pictures are of my new home office. I'm really hoping that I will be able to shove my computer, forms, letterhead, envelopes, fax machine, files, pens, pencils, stampers, copy paper (not yet sure where the copy machine is going to fit) and anything else needed to work from home. I am hoping that someday I will be able to return to work at our office, but that will be when Ava is ready. I gotta tell ya, these pictures are bugging me because the door on the bottom cabinet is cracked open. I apologize if it bugs you too.

THE STORK WILL BE FLYING SOON

An agency just told someone with a LID of August 23, 2005 that they have been matched and will be in this group of referrals. They were told that referrals will arrive at the beginning of next week. I will be crossing every body part that will cross (sorry, Jeff)...... that they make it at least until August 24th. August 24th is a HUGE day with so many people with that LID. IF they can make it past the 24th it will be VERY good news. September is a much smaller month and hopefully the CCAA can catch up a little bit. Repeat after me.................Please give us the 24th! Please give us the 24th! Please give us the 24th! (I originally was chanting....Give us the 24th but thought I would add the word please)

THANK YOU SECRET PAL!!

This a picture of the beautiful basket that my Feb/March Secret Pal sent me. The basket has another liner that can be changed to use for the entire fall season. As you will see from the rest of the pictures......The kids were VERY happy with their goodies! Ummm, as far as the Dove chocolate that was meant for Jeff..................Ian gave him some skittles and I just thought we would call that good! Hope that is alright with you! =) Sorry I didn't post this sooner as I had promised. My blog just seemed to disappear on Friday. I'm not sure what was up with that! Thank you again, SP! Also, the little black dog on the table (in the picture with Ian) is his little stuffed Bella and not the real Bella.....just thought I better clear that up to avoid confusion.

ONE OF THOSE DAYS!!

Have you ever had one of those days when you know you probably shouldn't even leave the house? I haven't even been awake an hour and I know it's going to be one of those days. Yup, I should probably go back to bed and start all over again.

THE JOY IS GONE

THIS LITTLE GUY AND I ARE NOT HAPPY AT ALL. NOT. AT. ALL. FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT INFORMED ME THAT YOU DON'T EVEN OWN A WINTER COAT OR THE CURRENT TEMPERATURE WHERE YOU LIVE.............WELL,LET'S JUST SAY I HAD SOME NOT SO NICE WORDS ROLLING AROUND IN MY HEAD. WON'T SAY THEM, TRYING TO HAVE A FAMILY FRIENDLY BLOG HERE.

THE "S" WORD

IT'S FALL, GOSH DARN IT!!! WHY AM I HEARING SNOW SHOWERS IN THURSDAY'S WEATHER FORECAST? FALL IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE SEASONS. IT CAN'T BE OVER ALL READY! IT JUST CAN'T! I WON'T BELIEVE IT! LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA.
MUST GO BACK TO MY HAPPY PLACE........HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY.......HAPPY HAPPY JOY!

REPORT FROM THE MOLE

Anyone that knows me even a little, knows I'm a need to know kind of gal. It may explain why I frequent the rumor site from time to time (Hee-Hee). I have managed to make a connection to someone that works for a large well known multi-country adoption agency. Several months ago this person said that the wait time was going to extend to around 18 months. Currently, this agency truly believes that things will settle in at around 14 months. She just returned from China and while there went to several orphanages. She stated that there were LOTS of babies in the orphanages and they looked very well cared for. I am really excited that they have gone from believing an 18 month wait down to a 14 month wait. Just thought I would share my little inside scoop with all of you, even if it isn't much.

THE NUMBER SEVEN

Another month has come and gone. Today marks 7 months that we have been logged in to China. I have to say that this month seemed to go just a little faster than the last. We still have NO idea how many more months are ahead of us. Currently the wait time is 14 months and that would mean we are 1/2 there. Of course, things can change(Blah Blah Blah) and I guess that I'm just grateful that we at least have 7 months behind us.

DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE??

Here is a picture of my new computer and my favorite/only blogging spot. I used to do a bit of blogging while at work (alright, maybe a wee bit more than just a bit) until I cut my hours back and NOW..........I'm actually too busy to blog at work. I EVEN have to bring the gossip magazines home to read! The old computer was a laptop and it fit quite nicely on this little desk and now I have this big ole' thing. The future plan is to create an office downstairs for the new computer and I will eventually be working from home full-time. I have been putting it off until it gets closer for Ava to come home. My fear is that my butt will become EVEN wider if I am left at home all day with little to do but sit in front of the computer. When Ava is here, I'm sure I'll be sooooo busy chasing after that little munchkin, I'm hoping it might lose some of the ability of getting quite soooo wide. At least that is the plan.

I want to thank all the computer geeks and non computer geeks that heard the whistle. I finally was able to get my camera program to download and actually show up on my computer as hardware. Don't even ask me how I did it, I have no idea. I'm just so happy it worked because when Johnny answered the whistle, he wanted to know ALL the info on the new computer. One of the questions was..........What kind is it? Is it a Dell? Ummm........... I don't even know the answer to that one. Some computer geek built it for me and all I know is it has some bad a$$ case. The last picture is for you, Johnny. Thanks again for all the quick responses to my little problem.

THE NEW COMPUTER

My new computer came today...........WHOO-HOO! Last night Jeff thought he would be a funny guy and tell me that the computer wasn't going to get here until next week. I guess I sounded sooooooo sad that he had to admit that he was pulling my leg. For the last couple weeks I have been trying to read blogs and the print has been soooooooo small and the pictures have been soooooooo fuzzy and IF you had typepad..........FORGET IT! Now..........We seem to be having a problem with the new computer. It seems that because the new computer is so much more advanced that my old digital camera, I can't get pictures to download to the computer from the camera. It can't seem to find the hardware. When does it end????? Any computer geeks out there have any suggestions?? Anyone? Anyone? Johnny??

WHAT HAVE I DONE?????

I am at home waiting for the delivery of our new furniture. Usually, I am quite confident on my color choices. Not. Today. I ordered a sofa and love-seat in a dark green color. I ordered two chairs in a yellow color. Right now, if I had to describe the color, I would say it is school bus yellow!!!! I hope that is only in my mind since I haven't seen the color swatch in sooooo long. If that isn't bad enough, I'm beginning to doubt the color of the sofa and love-seat. We have a wall in the kitchen that is a reddish color. It's going to look like Christmas. The L family will not need to decorate this year........... It will be Christmas all day/everyday/365 days a year. I'm very afraid.

STUPID COMPUTER!

For those of you that don't know, my computer at home is about to croak. Yup, it's on its last leg. It's toast. Got the picture?? We should be getting our new computer this weekend. Doesn't it just figure that the time I actually have pictures I want to post........I CAN'T POST THEM!!! I have really interesting stuff (at least I think so). Can't. Post. Them. I've got you on the edge of your seats, huh? Stay tuned........................................................

A HUGE STEP!

I can't believe I finally did it................I ordered Ava's crib bedding! This was such a HUGE step for me. I was planning on holding back from making this purchase until we made in out of the Review Room. I just felt like I didn't want to jinx things, ya know? I have looked online at HUNDREDS of crib bedding! I have seen so many different kinds of bedding, my eyeballs are hurting! I fell in love with a couple different ones but this one came out on top. It also wasn't $700 like the other two (Breathe Jeff, I said it WASN'T $700). I just hope Ava is going to be little enough to enjoy this for awhile. I'm telling you, if the CCAA doesn't speed things up, we are only going to be able to qualify for a referral of a teenager! We aren't getting any younger, ya know!