BECAUSE THEY'RE 8 DAYS AWAY FROM OUR LID

and because Santa must have run out of room on his sleigh....I made a couple purchases tonight. First..... Look at it. Thanks to Jenn, I haven't been able to get Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bags out of my head for weeks! It was on sale today.....Can you say, meant to be?! =)

And next.......I FINALLY decided on a carseat. It's moments like this that I REALLY hope Ava is a girl. =)

And just so ya know, I did pull these images off the computer. I don't actually have them in my hot little hands yet. You're just going to have to trust me on this one. Private joke. =)

FEBRUARY 28, 2006

It's true.......Referrals are arriving for those logged in from February 24 through February 28, 2006! NEVER, did I think they would process February 28th THIS month. Rumors were going around that it was possible it might take an entire month to process just February 28th.....It was that big! I'm so excited!!! We're officially NEXT with our agency! The next time they receive a stork alert, it will be for us! When may we receive our referral, you ask? Well, the entire time that I have been watching referrals arrive.....Over 3 years now.....Our agency has never missed receiving referrals two months in a row. However, never have I ever seen a day as big as March 7th. Never. Ever. Our log-in-date is March 8th. With that said, I would imagine that we will receive Ava's picture and information in the next 8-12 weeks. I can hardly believe it! AND here we have Ian taking off 5 loops on the Ava chain.........

WHOO-HOO!! He just LOVES taking off the loops.

Eight loops remain that represent March 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and our LID of March 8. My stomach does flip flops just looking at it.

Last but not least......A very special gal is due to receive her referral in this batch. Pipo is off delivering other babies, while she herself is in labor today! I've been stalking her blog all day waiting for news of Pipa. I had the pleasure of meeting Pipo when I went to Georgia last February. She is going to be one awesome momma!

READY FOR CHRISTMAS

The tree is up, the presents are wrapped, cookies are made AND we have one little boy that is pretty darn excited that Santa is on the way....AND a couple of bigger kids that are pretty excited too....Just not sporting the Santa hat/beard! Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!

(Lyrics by Third Day)


There's a little girl trembling on a cold December morn
Crying for momma's arms
At an orphanage just outside a little China town
Where the forgotten are

But half a world away I hang the stockings by the fire
And dream about the day when I can finally call you mine

It's Christmas time again but you're not home
Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone
And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms
And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

As I hang the tinsel on the tree and watch the twinkling lights
I'm warmed by the fire's glow
Outside the children tumble in a wonderland of white,
Make angels in the snow

But half a world away you try your best to fight the tears
And hope that heaven's angels come to carry you here

It's Christmas time again but you're not home
Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone
And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms
And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

Christmas is a time to celebrate the holy child
And we celebrate his perfect gift of love
He came to earth to give his life
And prepare a place for us
So we could have a home with him above

It's Christmas time again and now you're home
Your family is here so you will never be alone
So tonight before you go to sleep, I'll hold you in my arms
And I'll tell you from my heart, and I'll you from my heart
I wish you Merry Christmas

We love you Ava. Merry Christmas.

MAKE. IT. STOP.

While some of you are enjoying the warm sun.....We in Michigan are enjoying the SNOW! Here is a view out the kitchen of my table on the deck.

I doubt we will be grilling out anytime soon!

Another view of the table and deck chairs.

AND the forecast calls for another 8 inches today.....Followed up by freezing rain this weekend. Woot!

In spite of all the snow.....I DID wake up with the best news today! OziMum FINALLY received her referral today (or was that my yesterday?) of the BEAUTIFUL Tari Mei. Click on her name and take a gander at the adorable Miss Tari! Congratulations OziMum and family....I'm surprised you still kept your sanity for as long as you were made to wait! I do believe that your Christmas will be a very merry one indeed!

MERRY CHRISTMAS BY THIRD DAY

I would imagine that just about everyone that has adopted or is adopting from China is familiar with this song by Third*Day. I wanted to post it here for those that might not be familiar with it.