Bullet-o-Rama

I am having a hard time coming up with snappy titles....can't ya tell??

* This is going to be my first full week back to work. So far I have had holiday, teacher work days and bad weather.

* Sophie went to her first birthday party on Sunday at G*ymboree. She spent most of the party trying to get away from this little girl who kept pinching her cheeks...WTH???

* Chris felt the need to point out that the parents at the party "had to be AT LEAST 10 years younger than us!"

* I hadn't noticed. Kinda wished he had kept that little observation to himself!

* Sophie tried out her new little toddler bed ( so cute) last night. I went in to check in on her and Hannah before I went to bed and found Sophie sleeping on the floor! I had the monitor on..... I guess she just kind of slipped out and never woke up!

* I would have missed her sleeping next to me anyway. We will give it a try for naps, and try again around her birthday in the spring.

* We are planning on going to our local Chinese associations New Year festivities. Our FCC is more of a playgroup than a "cultural connection". It would be nice to meet some local families with kiddos from China though....

* Hannah is doing a nice job with Jazzie. They went to puppy school this past Sunday.

* Ben is going to be 13 years old next month....holy crap! That is all I have to say about that!

* Sophie is saying more words. She is FUNNY. She was yelling for Ben in church on Saturday, which cracks us up, because she never just says "Ben" she always yells it! I guess because we are always yelling for him to come to dinner, get out of bed, etc. Hannah and I were cracking up and she wagged her pointer finger at Hannah and told her "no, no" which of course sent us into a fit of the giggles. I just can't imagine our lives without her!

Hope you have a good week!

Weekend Part 2

We had sooo much fun tubing. It was definitely a little hill but we all had a great time! You can go pretty fast, and the "big" boys were spinning the kids tubes when they sent them down the hill. I have to say that when I stepped out of the car I thought I was going to freeze! But walking up the hill kept me moving and warm. Of course we didn't have any winter gear so we had to borrow from my mom and sister. Ben is wearing a "vintage" snowmobile suit...we told him it was cool. LOL:) It was lots of fun and it might just become a tradition.

Weekend Part 1

We had a great time and were lucky enough to get a 2 hour delay on our first day back to school! Here are the highlights from our first day.

* Our plane was delayed due to weather, but so were all the other flights. We got out in time for dinner. Skybus was awesome I am sure we will fly them again and again...especially with $20 round trip tickets!

* It was great to finally meet baby Hannah. Connely (moms dog) was sad to see her leave...she gave him lots of snacks.

* It was also so good to see Colleen again....happy with her girl and her crazy dog at home. Love ya girl!

* Watched the Pat's play on Sunday at my brothers house. There was enough food for 3 days! It was fun to see my TBG kids outside playing with their cousins.

* The Patriots won! The Packers lost:(

* The kids played outside every chance that they could and never complained about being cold....and it was freakin cold!

* Our nephew Michael cracked us up all weekend. He is very serious about his "Dorla" doll that he sleeps with and that "lasterday" is a real word for yesterday...and don't even try to tell him anything different!

* I miss my nieces and nephew. They are great kids!

* I don't miss the cold weather or the super dry skin that goes with it!

* I am glad that skybus tickets are soooo cheap I can visit more often!

* Apparently I love taking pictures with my new camera I must have taken 200! Day 2 pics and update will get posted later this week!

Heading North

We have dug out our boots, scarves,gloves, long johns and hats are are heading North this weekend. We are looking forward to visiting with family and friends. We bought our bargain airline tickets here. We are ALL flying for $150 bucks round trip! And it is a direct flight! I'll let you know if we have to sit next to livestock...:) We are taking all the kids, except Sophie and Michael tubing. My little southern babies are going to freeze there little biscuits off! I can't wait to see my nieces and nephew,it has been a year since we visited. This will also by the first time Sophie meets her Massachusetts cousins and Aunts and Uncles. It should be freakin freezing but lots of fun.
I can't wait to see Colleen again and to meet her Hannah. I know that she is getting her new baby Carter this weekend too. It has been a year since I saw Colleen! She was my first blogger "date", I can't wait to see her in her Mommy mode!

Thanks....

Thanks to I-Con and Robin for nominating our little family blog for the "Blogging with Purpose" award. Our blog started out like the most of yours, just a way to keep family and friends up to date on our adoption progress and little things we were up to during the wait. Now it has become a way for me to document the crazy things that our kids do, the sweet things that they do and just post pictures of their sweetness. I wish I was a better writer, but thanks for taking the time out of your busy lives to stop by and see what the TBG gang is up to!

It is hard to come up with 5 blogs that have yet to be nominated but here are two of my favorites:
Paula at Heart Mind and Seoul writes so honestly as an adoptee and as an adoptive parent. She is smart, witty and honest.

Maia's blog is filled with beautiful photo's and stories of her very cool childhood. I have yet to read anything negative on her blog...well there was the home schooling debate:) She almost makes me want to move to Colorado with all that snow!

Paula and Maia you can keep this thing rolling by posting your favorites on your blogs. There are rules...but since I didn't come up with them or follow them for that matter I am not going to ask you to! If you are interested in the rules you can check here

So How Was Your Weekend???

Forty and Sporty!

Happy Birthday Chris! We are going to celebrate Chris turning the BIG 40 watching football and hanging out with friends. There will be lots of food, beer and fun. Can't ask for more than that on your birthday:)

A Special Need

Sophie's referral picture June '07

What a week in the China adoption world! Let’s hope that with the CCAA removing their information box agencies will get more information…..one can hope.

With the wait getting longer I wanted to talk to all you waiting families about special needs adoptions. First let me say that it is perfectly ok to consider adopting a special needs child because the wait has become insanely long. There I said it. Do I think that should be the only reason, certainly not, but if the wait has given you pause to consider a child with a special need …..Why not! In some ways I think that the wait has been the best thing for children in China who will NOT be adopted domestically because of a special need. More families around the world have opened their hearts to children with various special needs. Many of these children may not have found their family had the wait stayed at 8-9 months. We were added to our agency waiting family list one month after our LID backing ’06. The climbing wait definitely was a factor, but it was also something that we had talked about and gone back and forth discussing. I can’t imagine not having our Sophie. If the wait had been shorter this crazy, funny, smart and loving girl would not be sleeping next to me. Sophie was on another agency list back in December of last year. Her information was posted several times on the WC yahoo board. Unfortunately she had to wait longer for us to find her and bring her home, and I hate that. But I am grateful that we found each other. Her file was sent back to the CCAA in January ’07 and in June her file was sent to our agency.

Only you can decide what special needs you can handle. Only you know if you would be able to handle the costs of surgeries and therapy if that is needed. We carefully considered each special need on our agency list, and were honest about what we could handle as a family and as parents. We considered Sophie’s special need to be manageable for our family. It has not been easy, but it certainly has not been harder than we expected. Her prognosis for a long and healthy life is excellent.

Love without Boundaries has produced an informational CD about the various special needs most commonly found in China adoptions. The disc is $10 and once LWB gets their site up again you should be able to order the disc.

Adoption like birth provides no guarantees. If you feel the tug of your agency special needs program, take a chance….you may just find your daughter.

Sophie’s special need was us; our special need was Sophie.

An Interesting Week in Politics

A friend emailed methis. It was interesting to see which presidential candidates policy and views were inline with my own. I have to say that none of the front-runners were my highest percentage of agreement; it was some candidate I never heard of.... Interesting. Check it out I bet you will be surprised.

Back to Normal....

Well as normal as we get around here! The kids and I all headed back to school this week. Thank God in Heaven that it was only a 3 day week! I am exhausted. Sophie is doing well at daycare. Has her runny nose back, but I am guessing she will have that until there aren't any snots in the one year old room! I brought her on Friday and she cried when I left....for like 2 seconds! I scooted in to the observation room and she had already stopped crying and was playing. Granted she was being redirected by her teacher, but I was happy to see that she wasn't freaking out.

The kids both have basketball games today, neither of which I am attending. (see exhausted reference in previous paragraph) Instead seeing all of Burlywood at the YMCA this Saturday I am cleaning. This is what happens when I go back to work, my weekend is spent cleaning. That sucks. I need a cleaning lady ( really I need an asst. wife), but apparently China, maternity leave, hospitals stays, and Christmas have used up the cleaning lady cash. Oh well, guess I better get moving on this housework. We have friends visiting tomorrow afternoon, my house is a wreck.

Have a great weekend!

2008

Last year I wrote a letter to Sophie, this year I decided to write a letter to my blogger friends’ daughters.


Dear Mia,

Your mom will always be there for you, just like she is always there when a friend needs her. She will show you how to be a good friend. She will love you always. She has waited for you to come with a positive attitude and words of encouragement for other waiting moms. She has missed you and thinks of you every day. She has been sad but not for very long though, because she has never doubted for one second that she was meant to be your mom.

Love Mommy’s Friend,
Maryellen


Dear Ava,

So much going on with your family! You are going to have a big sister, two big brothers, 3 dogs, and horses! Your Mom is a professional mommy. There is nothing she takes more seriously than her life as a mom. She will hug you and kiss every day. Your mom and daddy will always love you and keep you safe; they have whispered this promise to you many times. Your sister and brothers will teach you so many new things. They have waited for you too and can’t wait for you to come home.

Love Mommy’s Friend,
Maryellen

Dear Jadyn,

What a strong and determined Mom you have! She is so smart and funny. She will show you that there is nothing that you can’t do once you put your mind to it! Waiting for you has been hard for your mom too, but she has never given up hope that you will be a family. She has prepared so many places in your new home for you. Wait until you see your playroom! Your Mom did that just for you! Your mom has helped so many waiting mommies with her funny stories. They all miss her when she takes breaks; she makes waiting a little easier for so many people. She has a generous heart. She will always love you and you will always be the most important person in life.

Love Mommy’s Friend,
Maryellen

Dear Victoria Grace,

This letter is one of the hardest for me to write. I have seen the tears in your Mom’s eyes. She loves you so much and aches to hold you. She is going to be such a great mom. She is kind and will teach you so many things. She has waited such a long time to be your mommy! She will read you stories, she will act silly and make Christmas cookies with you every year. She will teach you to be strong and believe in yourself. She will love you always; I have seen it in her eyes.

Love Mommy’s Friend,

Maryellen



Dear Baby E,

Your family has waited so long for you! Waiting has not been easy for your mommy or your daddy, but they know that you are waiting for them too. They have prepared a beautiful room for you, that you won’t have to share with any of your brothers! Speaking of your brothers you will have three to teach you so many cool things. They will protect you and love you the only way big brothers can! Your mom will love you always, she has loved you for such a long time already and she hasn’t even held you yet. Her love for you is endless and she will always be there to hold you and keep you safe, but more importantly to remind you that you are loved.

Love Mommy’s Friend,

Maryellen


Dear Gracie Mae,

What fun you are going to have with your Mommy and Daddy! Your home is filled with love, music and lots of laughter. Your mommy will teach to love unconditionally, because little Gracie that is how she loves you. She will show you that you can be strong and still cry. She will sing you songs, read you stories, play dress up and shower you with hugs and kisses. She will love and treasure you always.

Love Mommy’s Friend,

Maryellen


Dear Macey,

Be prepared to have your picture taken! Your Mom can’t help but capture beauty around her, and you Macey will add so much beauty to your Mommy’s life. She is waiting for you and praying for you every day. She will share her love of God and her faith with you each day. She will show you that love is boundless by how much she loves and cares for her patients, friends and pets. She will show the simple yet amazing things all around. She will love you forever, she has promised that in her heart.

Love Mommy’s Friend,

Maryellen



And last but not least I wish all of you a Happy New Year! I hope and pray that this is the year that your daughters come home to the love that waits for them in each of your hearts.