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.