16 and 0 SO PERFECT

What a game!! Now we are off to the playoffs and Superbowl is next!!

Holiday Party

Well, we had our holiday party the Saturday after Christmas and before New Years.

This year was the start of a family tradition to have a holiday party each year and have everyone make a dish so that one or two people are not carrying the party. This year the party was at our house, next year it will be at my sisters house, and we aren't sure who is getting the honors on year three (my darling daughter should be here by then so I'm definitely NOT having the holiday party in year three).

I started to panic, I had a total count of 35 adults and 27 children coming and Michael felt that I didn't have enough food even though everyone was bringing something. We did have way to many deserts and more entrees would have been better, but after going out and buying more food that we really didn't need, the party want off fine and the kids took home a TON of food.

There really was no need to panic because as with every party, some people do not show up and we had twelve adults and six children not come. One day I will learn not to go by the total number of people that say "Yes, I'm coming" and knock off a minimum of ten off the head count.

We had a White Elephant Swap this year and it was a lot of fun. Even though we got out specific details about how the the White Elephant swap worked a lot of people brought new gifts and I think that they were a little bit surprised when they got "something slightly used, but still useful", oh well, live and learn, it was still a lot of fun!

2008 is just days away, let's hope for bigger and better referrals in 2008 and bring our babies home.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

The Holiday's

This year I've had a hard time getting into the holidays, I didn't decorate at all this year. I was feeling a little down about not having our daughter home, but some day she will be here and I just have to hold onto that. I just hope it's not five years from now...the rumors can make you crazy!!

My brother called me last night to ask how our Christmas was and I told him it was okay, we had Christmas Eve at our house with Michael's family and we went to my mom & dad's house for dinner on Christmas Day. My brother said that it must have been nice to have an all adult Christmas (he has 5 children from ages 2-16) I told him that I would honestly rather have 5 kids running around my house on Christmas day than just a bunch of adults having a very quite Christmas. Some day, we may not have 5 (I would love to have 5) but at least one.

We received two very special Christmas ornaments from Michael's Grandmother (she will be 98 next week!) and his mom. They are decorative round balls that open up and they each wrote a note inside the ornament...This is the best Christmas present that we could have received, they are keepsakes that we will cherish for a long long time to come.

My sister and I are trying to start a family tradition of having a family Christmas party every year. This year the party is going to be at my house and next year it's going to be at her house. We chose the Saturday after Christmas and before New Years because it was just so busy with the holidays to try and fit everything in before Christmas. We currently have approximately 45 people coming to our house and 95% of these people are my immediate family and 5% are friends.

We have a problem getting everyone together because our family is just so large, it would be better to rent a hall. We have a finished basement and that is where half of our guest (the children) will be hanging out and the adults will be upstairs with all the food and football. The Patriots are playing Saturday and we are going to make history with a shut out season...it's going to be crazy!

With the Holidays wrapping up I can say that it was great to have these distractions over the last couple of months and after this weekend we will be back to watching the rumor board and waiting for word that the CCAA is referring more and more days (I can hope)...the current rumor for December is that they may have only refer up to 12/20...that is only four days worth of referrals for the entire month of December.

Pray that we do not receive our child 5 or even 10 years from now...it's just to heartbreaking to even think about, but it could be reality with only four days of referrals being issued each month.

Well, that's enough of this crazy thinking, I have to learn to focus more on the positives, some months are better than others.

Where oh where has my Secret Buddy gone???

I hope everything is okay with my January Secret Buddy...I haven't had word from them since October.

If your reading this, please know that I hope that what ever is happening in your life right now, I hope that it all turns out okay. Don't worry about sending a gift, a quick note will work. I'll keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers.

Thank you Secret Buddy!!

We received some wonderful gifts from our February Secret Buddy. THANKS SO MUCH!!

We got a Chinese ornament for the tree that I think says "family" as well as a Willow Tree ornament...I love Willow Tree and I already have a very good collection started. There was also a red Chinese ornament and just the cutes little outfit for our girl with a red polka dot hat to go with it. Take a look! Aren't they awesome!!

Merry Christmas Secret Buddy!! To you and your wonderful family :0)

Ten Months!!

I can't believe that we are now Ten months and two days into our wait!!

I have so much to post and no time to post it!!

We had two snowstorms last week, one on Thursday that took me five hours to get home (average commute is one hour) and we had another storm on Saturday Night into Sunday. My driveway is like an ice skating rink and I think that it MAY thaw out by sometime this June!!

I've been super busy with work and with Christmas right around the corner...it's all good. I like when I don't have to look for things to keep me busy!

I received the cutest secret buddy gift from my February Secret Buddy, if Michael brings home the lap top I'll post pictures tonight. I have lots to post, so hopefully he brings it home...until then, chow!

Let it Snow!!

I just saw my first snowflake of the season!! I love the first snow fall, everything looks so pretty, especially the trees, covered all in white before the sand and road salt get mixed in and turn everything into an ugly dirty black.

I know, I know, it's going to get very old very fast once I have to commute in the slippery cold nasty weather. But right now being the first snowfall it's very pretty and definitely a big part of living in New England.

So...LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW

This is a Test...ONLY A TEST...

We had a sleepover at our house last night. We had Devin (8), Kyle (5), and Gabrielle (11 months). Their mom and dad went shopping on "Black Friday" to hopefully find some good stuff for Christmas.

The boys are always great to have and we haven't had a sleepover in a while so we knew that they would be fine. Gabrielle on the other hand was our test...but I must say, I felt like I cheated!! She slept through the night and woke up with a big smile on her face and was just great all day then I took them home.

It will be interesting to see how we do on our final exam in China...(I think that we will ace it!)

Happy Thanksgiving...

I love the holidays! I worked two days this week and have five days off!

I've been up early this morning getting everything ready for dinner later today. We have only 12 people coming to dinner this year (we usually have between 16-20). You would think that we have 40 with the amount of food we have!

I requested a 15 lb. Turkey, but Michael ordered a 25lb Turkey instead. We also have a 10 lb. Ham, two pans of lasagna and meatballs!! Everyone is going to have to TON of leftovers to take home with them tonight.

I love having family around and it helps at the holidays knowing that we do have a loving family already here and that it's only going to get that much better once our daughter comes home.

I'm so thankful for the blessings that we receive each and every day and for the health and well being of our families.

Living Life To The Fullest...

This is what you try to do each and every day. Sometimes it's hard to remember that when you feel like your "family" life is put on hold and waiting to start.

I'm finding that it is too easy to agonize over the wait and every now and again I get so insightful...SCARY! But, we do need to live our lives to the fullest. Life has not stopped because we are waiting for our child.

Michael and I had a great weekend. We had friends up from Virginia and went to Newport RI. We did absolutely nothing for 2 1/2 days but eat, drink and laugh...just what the doctor ordered! Oh yeah, we went to one of the mansions "The Breakers" to see how the beautiful people live...I can only say amazing!

So in this crazy roller coaster ride called adoption with it's many ups and downs, we must all remember that we are still among the living and I know that I have been wishing away the days, but I've realised that I truly need to appreciate our time alone together (me and Michael) before our daughter comes home. Once she is home and our entire world is turned upside down we are going to miss our time alone.

Today is a good day...who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Nine Month Anniversary...

Wow...today marks our Nine Month Anniversary!! I can't believe that it is already nine months. When we started this process we were looking at 10-12 months and we would have almost been there by now...unfortunately, the way things are going we could be looking at fall/winter 2009 and possibly 2010 before we meet our dear sweet girl.

On a happier note--we are ALMOST into the double digits of our wait and with the holidays the time is really starting to fly buy.

Waiting Family Meeting

I went to my first waiting family meeting last night with our adoption agency. I'm part of the "freshmen class" meaning that most of the people in the group are graduating seniors who just got referrals or are waiting to travel to pick up their children. Really when you think about how long this wait is turning into it is going to be like four years of high school, but instead of a diploma when we graduate we will finally be starting our family.

The group consisted of two sets of families, those waiting for China and those who already met their children in Guatemala and are waiting to go back and pick them up.

I'm not sure what I expected when I went to the meeting, but I liked it. I got to meet J. from my yahoo and RQ group...It's always so nice to put a face to someone that you chat with on line. J and her husband are LID the same time as me and Michael and we will definitely travel together to China.

Michael is so supportive of me and was coming to the meeting, but I let him get out of it at the last minute...he is so crazy busy and is traveling this weekend and I felt bad making him come with me...I really couldn't ask for a better man to support me especially in this crazy adoption journey--I love you Michael!

Michael is the type of person who will get more involved once our referral date gets closer...he is a here and now kind of guy and with the current wait being 25 month and getting longer we still have a ways to go before the here and now.

I think that I'm going to have to make it a point to go back to the meetings. I really want to meet other interracial families so that our daughter can see that she is not alone and her adoption story is quite similar to other children.

Quilt

I'm starting to go a little crazy with my quilt!! I've had all of my fabric cut for a while. I've got all of my first pieces sewn together. Last night I was trying to sew my 2x2 into 4x4 block and I have to tell you I was ready to pull my hair out of my head!! I couldn't for the life of me match up the block so that they rested evenly under the one's on top...I had to walk away because I was getting so aggravated.

Michael came home and I told him the problem I was having and he said to me "just throw the machine across the room and you'll feel better" MEN! enough said.

I'll pick it up again when I have more patience.

Extra Special Surprise...

Last night when I came home from work there was an extra special surprise in my mailbox from my February Secret Buddy. The reason that it is extra special is because this swap group only swaps every other months so this was a total surprise.

We got a very cute pink sun/pool/beach hat for our girl. I swear that our buddy is a mind reader! I have not really bought anything for our daughter because the wait has been so long, but every now and again I allow myself the simple pleasure of buying a little something and I've been on the hunt for hats! I've been hitting the sale racks and I got a $12 hat for under $2. So now my hat collection consists of 3 wonderful hats, one from my SIL, one from my secret buddy and one from me.

I'm not sure if I will have a little "hat rack" in the babies room or maybe put some pegs up in the closet for her hats...my dd will have two huge walk in closets in her room, so I may end up with the pegs in one of them.

Thanks SB!! Your awesome!

January Secret Buddy

I have another shout out to our January Secret Buddy! Thanks so much! I found a package on the deck Sunday and it looked like it was out there for about a week or so! Thank goodness it was under the awning and it didn't get all wet with the rain that we had...just look what we got...

Here is the cutes black cat bib and it looks like Lucy, Halloween socks and hand towels:


These are awesome...cheating chop sticks (for me) and regular chop sticks (for Michael) and a purse that looks like a Chinese take out container:




Michael got a Home Depot gift card and I got pumpkin lip gloss...I really do love the secret buddy swap!!

Thanks so much! I can't wait to find out who you are!

February Secret Buddy

I just wanted to give a shout out to my February Secret Buddy! Will you just look at all the goodies we got this month...I got facial lotions and hand creams. I haven't tried the facial yet, but the hand cream rocks!! We also got this adorable trick or treat bag for our dear daughter...wouldn't it be great if she was home for Halloween next year...one can dream.

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS...

WOO HOO...Boston Red Sox--World Series Champions!!

Come on Pats! It doesn't get much better being here in Boston!

Faneuil Hall and the Boston Red Sox

Yesterday was a BEAUTIFUL fall day here in New England!

It was about 73 degrees and my niece Samantha and I went into Boston for the day and shopped until we almost dropped! I LOVE window shopping! We had a great day. Samantha found some time in her busy schedule to spend the weekend with her aunt...and I'm ever so grateful to have her company when ever I can.

First we had to stop at the Harley Davidson shop in Everett because they were having a bike run for MDA and Michael had some toilet's at the event. He wanted a couple of pictures to post on the web site-I'll post some pictures when I get home.

Then we went into Faneuil Hall for the day, we had lunch at a place called "Dick's Last Resort". Apparently, the "theme" of the restaurant is that the wait staff is RUDE to everyone. Good thing Samantha told me this before we went in because I would have been rude right back and then left..she wants to come here for her Birthday with some friends.

They made her a hat that she had to wear while we sat outside and had lunch, EVERYONE stopped to look at her when they walked by...she was a great sport:



We also went into the Boston North End and looked around, stopped at a coffee shop and had a cappuccino and a biscotti and just watched the world go by...here is a picture of my girl at the coffee shop:



We had a great day and she is such a good kid...I can't believe that she is going to be 17 in March...just blows my mind.

And to top off a perfect day we ended a perfect game 7 series WE ARE THE AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONS and we are going to the World Series....GO RED SOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8...

Eight is a lucky number in China, and today is our lucky 8th. Anniversary of our LID, let's hope that we aren't behind the 8 ball too much longer! Come one speed up!! Maybe our lucky 8 ball will speed up the referrals for November!

Halloween Party 2007

We had our Second Annual Halloween Party yesterday and the weather was perfect after a week of rain and cloudiness!! We were expecting 60 people and we had a TON of food, and you know that not everyone showed up so I had lots of leftovers that went home with everyone.

We had a bounce house, a pumpkin for everyone to draw their own pictures on, and we saw some scary pumpkins, we had 2 piñatas, a donut eating contest and a cotton candy machine...we had a ton of fun!! The cute little kangaroo and ladybug are Kayden and Gabrielle...precious!

Here is Nana (Michael's 97 year old grand mother) and Louise (Michael's mom):




Here are is some pictures of the party:

Lady Bug, Lady Bug...

In the adoption community, the lady bug is a symbol of good luck and some people swear that they see lady bugs just before they get their referrals. So...lady bugs hold a dear superstitious spot for all of us.

My mom is a huge collector or things...and with so many children (7), she gets a lot of the things that she is collecting at that particular time. Mom gave me the Mei Mei doll that is the sister of Chan (she found her certificate and her name is Mei Mei). Well tonight I asked if I could have one of her other porcelain dolls...I've seen it before and never thought anything about it, but tonight this doll struck something in me.

Mom received this doll from a friend so I was hesitant to take it home, but she wanted me to have it...this is an Anne Geddes doll and it's a sleeping child in a Lady Bug costume...take a look, the head and hands are porcelain and the body is beans (I have to play with my camera...these look a little fuzzy):





Michael and I went to to my mom and dads to try and get that Lobsta that we missed two weeks ago...IT WAS AWESOME!! The restaurant is closing for the season so we made it just in time. I got the 2 lb. King Backed Stuffed Lobsta...I wish I had a camera to take a picture...it was so pretty! And it was only $41!!! That's wicked cheap!! Michael got the prime rib that was HUGE and needless to say, dad has a lot of leftover meat and lobsta to snack on this week.

October Referrals

Well...it's not looking good for the October batch of referrals. The CCAA is closed this week on holiday and they did not update their web site to show the cut off date for referrals. They definitely referred to November 30, 2005, but we were all hoping to see some December referrals as well.

I feel so bad for these family in early December 2005 that were hoping to receive the referrals this month.

We definitely know for sure that they referred 5 days worth of referrals and will not see the update from CCAA until next week when they re-open their offices. The numbers just seam to keep getting smaller and smaller...

The Topsfield Fair

We went to the Topsfield Fair yesterday and what a beautiful day we had!!

We (me, Nicole, Gabrielle, Jody and Kayden) went to breakfast at the diner...here we are waiting for breakfast:

This is Handsome Kayden:


This is Pretty Gabrielle before pigtails:


After breakfast we went to the fair. It was great because we got there early and the crowd wasn't bad. We had our very first merry-go-round ride:





Then we went to the petting zoo...these are some great pictures and the goats where a hit with the kids:









The little ones had a great time and were pooped out by the end of the day.