Another Christmas finshed...

and still no where near close to having Alison home.

Michael went to Mass last night and told me to pay attention to the readings when I went to Mass this morning. Well...I went to the Children's Mass and they alter the readings so that the Children can understand. I read the reading for the later Mass and it was, in a nut shell, about praying for a family and children and that if you're faithful, it will happen.

I want to believe that it will happen, and that will be when our Alison comes home...it's not going to happen any other way, miracle or not...our family will be formed when she comes home...there is no other way for this to happen.

I'm trying to stay faithful...I really am, but it is so hard sometimes to keep being positive about our adoption and the holiday's are tough...it's no ones fault...it is what it is and people truly are well meaning, but I guess that they just really don't understand what we are going through. I wouldn't understand it myself if I weren't living it every day.

I want a puppy

No...she isn't ours, but I want one! We have two cats and I know that they will both hate the thought of having a puppy in the house. But I told Michael that we need a new baby in the house and it looks like a new puppy will fit the bill...for now.

I would like a small dog, but Michael said if we ever get a dog it's going to be a Blond Lab...these are more work, but I think that if I can convince Michael...I want to get one now, or for his birthday in January.

Once Alison comes home you know that she is going to want a puppy...it's better to get our dog now so that he is all settled and trained before Alison come home.

Maybe I'll ask Santa to see if he can fit a little lab on his sleigh.

First Snow

I love the first real snow of the season. It's so pretty and clean! We are expected to get between 6-12" before the night is over.



I had today off so that is a blessing...the first snow is pretty, but I really hate driving in the snow. Now that my company has moved further west I know that my commute is going to be a nightmare in this weather...but today, it's just beautiful.

The only thing missing from my perfect, beautiful day is having Alison home to enjoy this first snow with me.

Fortune Cookie

So we stopped for some Chinese food on the way home from the birthday party and I just have to save my fortune from my cookie.

Here is what it said: "You will step on the soil of many countries"

I like that fortune and I'm going to save it. Now I just need a fortune that tells me when.

Happy Birthday Aunties Girl

Today was my great nieces birthday...she is two. Happy birthday aunties girl!!

Look at the dress up trunk! What a hit and so much jewelery inside...she definitely is a fashionista! Here is birthday girl Gabrielle and her cousin Abby.


Here is Gumpy again...he isn't wearing his fairy wings this time, but he has his pretty princess bows in!


Here is the new kitchen being put together...oh boy, make me some pancakes!


Here is Jody, Kayden and Nana waiting for those pancakes.


Playing in the new kitchen:

Ice Storms

We got our first real bad storm for 2008...all ice...here is a picture from a newspaper in NH which got hit really bad.



Michael and I really were not affected by the storm, but mom and dad are spending the weekend with us because they are without power and the talk was that it would take at least a week to get it all back up and running. My brother called tonight and said that his in-laws have their power back and they are just down the street from mom and dad so they are going home tomorrow. It was nice to have them come and visit though.

My brother lost power and my nice lost power. Hopefully, they can get home soon too.

And so it begins...

We have been talking about opening up a wall between our dining room and kitchen for quite a while now...we finally did it today. I was a little apprehensive at first, but I really love what we have now. We are far from being done and this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as renovations go, but little by little we will get to where we need to be...here are some before, during and after pictures...

Here is the wall in the dining room before demo:




Here are a couple of pictures of the kitchen wall that was removed...




Michael removed all the woodwork in the dining room so that we could use it later...we lost the corner cabinet, our hardwood floors were not under the cabinet so we have a big section of floor without cabinet or pretty hardwood and now we have to re-paint the dining room...I loved that room and there is no way that we would be able to duplicate the faux paint job that we had in there...




Demo...






This is what we have now...




There is no escaping our kitchen now!! With the wall gone you can see our 1950's kitchen with the white and gold cabinets...pretty huh...those are next.

Now we have to wait for the building inspector to come and then we can put up the sheet rock and close everything off.

Thank You Secret Buddy!

What a nice surprise I found on my doorstep today! I've been home sick all day and I gained .6 lbs this week so it was such a nice surprise to see that my Secret Buddy sent me a gift for Alison...perfect timing!

Take a look...her name is Silvermist and she comes with her own pixie dust...she is a Porcelain Disney Fairy...she is just beautiful!!



We are designing Alison's room with Fairies, butterflies, and flowers. Alison won't be able to play with this doll...but she will look perfect on the shelf or if I can find that perfect glass cabinet that I've been looking for I will put her in there.

We also received a real cute snowman decoration, a purple journal and starter chopsticks...these are perfect for me!!





Secret Buddy, you have outdone yourself...thank you so much for the good thoughts and the wonderful gifts!

I hope that you and your family have a great holiday season! I can't wait to find out who you are so that I can thank you properly!

Two More Holidays to go...

Thanksgiving went well, we had a house full and no leftovers!! Now we have Christmas and New Years...I find that the holidays make time fly faster for me because I'm so busy I don't' have time to think about the wait!

I had Nicole's kids overnight on Thursday, that's always fun. My little princess wasn't feeling well with a running nose...whatever she had I think that she gave it to me...it started on Sunday. I woke up with a soar throat and a stuffed head and it just got worse throughout the day...I didn't go to work today (after being off since last Wednesday) and I've been home self medicating all day.

I have to go to work tomorrow, sick or not. My company is moving on Friday and the movers brought all the packing materials on Wednesday of last week and I was home cooking all day. I should be okay, I cleaned out a lot of stuff over the last couple of weeks and most of what I have to pack are binders from my bookshelves and my personal stuff in my desk. It's going to be nice moving to a nice brand new home...a little bit longer commute each day, but it shouldn't be to bad.

Now I need to concentrate on my Christmas Shopping...this should be a snap this year...the kids are done so I just have to concentrate on the adults. Michael wanted a new Big Flat Screen TV...I told him Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday (his birthday is January 3!)