I bought my first baby item !

I have LOVED this painting since the first time I saw it. It is for sale thru Mothers Without Borders, a great org. I knew it had to hang in Boo's room. Now that we are adopting from Ethiopia I really HAD to have it. It will be awesome in the girls room. I couldnt afford the big canvas but I think the large print with a nice mat and frame will be beautiful. AND the money goes directly to help children orphaned by AIDS. The little boy in Jesus' arms has lost his mommy and daddy. The website gives the background for the painting. There is different price points for smaller items too. Take a look :)

http://www.motherswithoutborders.org/worth-of-a-soul.php

No dr letters......

Well I ran into my first dossier screw up ;) I dropped off my dr letters last friday. I typed them up and stood right there while the office manager copied them onto office letter head. They were great. The dr was going to sign them this past tuesday or wednesday and I could pick them up. Well I went yesterday before lunch to get them. The office manager left for lunch early so the nice girl at the desk called her on her cell to find them. Miss Office Manager has a bit of an attitude ;( I could hear talking loudly on the phone "I dont know where they are right now!" I am at lunch, have her come back!" Mind you her lunch is from 12- 1:30 and this was 11:30. The poor girl on the phone looks very embarrassed, and just rolled her eyes. She explained I drove 25 mins here just for the letters... Well Office Manager lady had no clue where they were. URGH! So the nice girl tried to find them but couldnt. Now I have to go back Monday, as Boo was past naptime and I didnt feel like spending another hour driving around. Miss Office Manager better be in a good mood come Monday :) I will have my dr letters ;)

Always something right? If you are just starting out, make your dr appt first thing! This is one item that takes time. We had our physicals back in March, before we even had our dossier list. I learned from our last adoption, dr appts, tests, and letter signing is a project :) I also ordered our birth certs in March. Good thing too because mine didnt come with the letter needed to authenticate it so I had to call and wait for it. If I was down to the end of my dossier list that would freak me out. We have our passports already but need to get 2 more photos.

Making progress baby !!

You will get this look, if you take the binky for a pic!



Mama and her baby



My girls :)

Color me excited ! Yes, I received my hs draft F_I_N_A_L_L_Y !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was yesterday. Today, my sw sent it to my agency and they sent it back for a few small changes. I am so happy :) AND............ I started my dossier last week right? Well I only have to go one county over and pick up my marriage license, get one reference letter notarized, and have our financial statement notarized. YIPEE !!!!!!!! I hope I am not jinxing myself by being so pleased ;)

Sorry about the picture placements, blogger and I arent working well together tonite LOL.

My Baby girl is 2 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRINCESA !!!!

AAHH!! How did so much time pass so quickly? I remember waiting and praying for her to come home. Now she is 2. I thought about Boo's birthmom alot today. I truly wish I could hug her and be sure she was ok. I want her to have peace and know Boo is loved and cherished. I have such respect for her birthmom. She is a hero to me.

Boo. What an amazing child! She claps and says "YAY!!" when you tell her it is her birthday. She REALLY claps when you tell her she will be getting presents to open ;) !!! She is such a little person with so much personality already. She love Diego on Noggin and will take the remote from her Daddy and shake her little finger NO! at him, if she thinks he plans to change it ! I am in awe of her each day. God is GOOD.

HUGE Congrats to my dear amiga Angie. She was so blessed to bring home her second daughter from Guat this past week. Now she has all her kiddos HOME. Love ya :)

I added a photo to the right top of my blog, of an Ethiopian baby. Click on it and watch the 3 video clips. You will not believe what you are seeing. The number of children without ANYONE to care for them in Africa is unbelievable. Did you know 6000 children will be ORPHANED by Aids today.That is 6000 babies and children without parents. HOW can we not be moved by that?? Thanks to http://www.fromhivtohome.org/ for the info. Check out the website for ways to help, or more facts.

BUGS and VIRUSES

Some puppy love :)



We have them !!!!!! Try over 10 of them. Our home computer crashed on Sunday. I lost SOOOOOOOO many emails, links, blogs, websites, and addresses. I am so mad I am numb. I am on the laptop now. I even lost some pictures of my kids :( My dh forgot to update the virus protection. And back stuff up. Yeah....he is in big trouble. Big. HUGE.
We actually had ROACHES crawling across the screen !! Our good friend Sal saved some stuff but tons were lost. Thanks Sal :)
If you would like me to link your blog or read it send me a link k? If I had your email, could you resend it to me? Sorry. This sucks.

So much to catch up on

What a busy weekend. I am behind with my updates. I know you guys were all on the edge of your seats huh? heehee..
First, another adoptive mom who I met thru our journey with Boo, Seegal, also a fellow blogger, needs TONS of prayers and positive thoughts right now. She was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. She has 7 wonderful children. She is a strong faithful lady and I know she would welcome your thoughts and prayers. Her blog is password protected but this is the link~http://www.4ourprincess.blogspot.com/ HUGS Sig. Pray for her quick smooth recovery.


We actually got out of the house on Saturday WITHOUT kids ! Can you believe it?? It was so much fun. My hubby and I and our dear friends Sal and his wife Charlotte and my sister and her boyfriend Ry all went to "Larry the Cable Guy" HEEHEE!!!! IT was so fun. We have seen him before and it is just good humor. He actually started his career close by on local radio so we have followed his career a bit. Man we laughed so hard! My wonderful inlaws stayed with the kids at my house until 1am ! They all had a nice time too :) No pictures ....I forgot my camera!

My little Bug was under the weather Saturday all day and I was a bit worried I would have to miss the concert ( cant leave my baby if she is puny) but she felt better when Nana got here ;) Had a Dr appt today, Turns out my baby needs to go potty more often. Being the busy girl she is, she has been putting it off, which is NOT good.
I finished all my online courses for our adoption. I learned alot of interesting info. I think it is good to require PAP to read thru this stuff. I plan to move on my dossier this week. Fingers crossed for me it goes smoothly. Oh , No..... I do not have my hs yet. I know you were wondering..LOL.

Random thoughts..

Boo helping me with dinner~

Well still no HS draft. Urgh. My binder from my agency DID come ! I have started my online adoption prep courses :) Kinda interesting. We didnt have to do this part when we adopted Boo from Guatemala. I will be starting to check off items from my dossier list come Monday :) SOOO excited. I just want this dossier stress behind me, so we can just settle in and wait for our referral. I "think" I will be ok waiting. Right now I feel like I will. But....ask me after a few months ! I was a wreck waiting for Boo's referral and I only had to wait 10 DAYS !! Man talk about a cry baby huh?!?!? Now I am looking at a good 6 months...yikes.

I recorded the Ethiopian documentary " Walk to Beautiful" I am looking forward to watching it and sharing my thoughts. I am a bit nervous...It is on PBS, if you check your local guides.

We had some debate here on gender. My hubby out of nowhere, decided it would be nice to have another boy. Ok....I thought we had decided on a daughter due to several factors that make it feel right for us. If he really wanted a boy, I didnt want to deny him that. We have a wonderful son. 2 wonderful daughters. Any child will be a HUGE blessing to our family. We even talked about a sibling set of one of each (yup we were feeling kinda kooky ;) after MUCH praying, thinking and talking we have decided to stick with our original plan of a daughter under 18 months old. I really feel peace with our decision. I know for us, right now this is good :) Picking gender is a bonus of adoption. It is also a HUGE decision. I think it is a personal one , and no one should feel bad for the choice they make for their families.

Recovering ..

OMGosh how I LOVE this baby !

We had a birthday party to go to, for my friends 7 children on Saturday. Whew! Between the heat, activities and TONS of candy and junk food my kids were wiped out. Me too ! Not from candy LOL :) the heat was nuts. It must have been 90 without shade. They had a great time. My sweet Boo loved the candy bowls :) and Bug ate many things with red dye which is a NO-NO for her...so we have needed a few days to get her back to normal. Lots of jumping,bouncing,crying, and nutty behavior.

Oh..bad news-Bug was diagnosed with Asthma last week :( I know it is treatable, but she is my baby and it upset me. You want your kids to be healthy always.

Off to our fingerprint appt today !! Now just pray my homestudy draft comes ..........anyday now right??

I pitched the candy bags after we got home.

Bad Mommy ;)


Have you ever seen a cuter, hot baby?

We got IT !!!!!!!!!

YES !! We have our fingerprint appt next Wednesday woohoo !! That is awesome :) I also sent in our notarized contracts -so early next week I should receive my dossier packet. Moving forward, slowly. My sw should be done with my homestudy soon. Then everything else I will be able to do myself. So much easier when you can handle things, and NOT depend on others ya know?

I have met a couple of nice families thru blogland, who also are adopting from Ethiopia and some who actually live pretty close by ! I could not imagine adopting with all the stress involved and the research required , WITHOUT the internet ! Could you imagine? Man, I would feel so lost and alone ! While adopting from Guatemala I made MANY wonderful friends. 2 of them are my closest friends even after our adoptions were done. I found Guatemala adopting families to be so warm and supportive. I am hoping to have the same experience thru Ethiopia adoptions. So cool to journey with people who really GET what you are going thru :) Unless you have been through this adoption stuff you really do not get it ;)

Happy Birthday !

My sweet girl Bug, is now 7 yrs old ! She turned 7 on May 8th. We are so proud of this sweet child. She is kind, spirited, funny,sweet, and full of energy ! We love you Bug !!



My hubby and ry my sisters boyfriend sorta look
alike :p !


Aunt Meem and Boo


Boo lovin her cake !

Thinking..

I was reading a yahoo group that I am a member of while gone. The topic was corruption and liability in adoptions. The topic was becoming very heated. Many people on the bd felt that as adoptive parents or adoptive parents in process we are helping to fuel the corruption that the adoption trade brings to country programs by in fact adopting. Many issues were raised that I wont bring up here, but it did make me stop and think. Hard. What was my reasons for wanting a baby girl? I think for our family it is the right fit. I think each family when adopting should have the right to chose gender. Maybe not for a first child...I dont know? Should we demand super fast referrals?No. That is asking for trouble. BUT can we be blamed for wanting our babies home? No. It is hard. For me the referral brings joy and saddness. For my new child, my thoughts are for all they have lost to become my child. With my daughter Boo's referral I was so happy, and so sad. I couldnt imagine how sad her birthmom must have been. I hurt for her. With my new child I will be so happy to see her sweet face but also so sad for all she has lost (one or both parents?plus her birth country and family members) to become my child. Adoption is amazing and wonderful and sad and tragic. I think it is important that we do not lose sight of all the complexities involved. While adopting from Guatemala my agency referred as many baby boys as girls. Many parents requested baby boys either for their first child or in addition to their families. Yes overall baby boys do wait longer. It is sad and wrong but a fact. I think it is unfair to blame lack of ethics in SOME adoption professionals on parents hoping for a child. Chosing a child for your family is a personal choice. Like many things in this world this too is a very complex issue. I wish there were not conditions that made children orphans. I wish mothers had every resource needed to raise their children. I wish no child or adult went to bed hungry only to wake up hungry again in the morning. Sadly that is not the case. Is throwing the baby out with the bath water so to speak the answer ? No it isnt...bottom line-what is BEST for the child?

Rather be in the mountains

GOD's Beauty ~

We are back in Florida :( it is good to be home, but I wish home was in the mountains. We just feel so "right" when we are there. I dont think it is just a vacation high either. We love nature and being outside, so playing in the rivers, hiking, and just staring at the awesome beauty that is everywhere fits us perfectly. We would move in a heart beat-IF Michael didnt need that darn job so much LOL! Seriously I would love to buy some land and build a log cabin and just slow down a bit. We could do without cable (NOT internet heehee!) and many extras to make it work. It is a dream of ours. It is nice to dream :) Anyone been to Townsend/Pigeon Forge area? Love the Smokies :)


The power of the rivers always amazes me ~

Gotta love the Dogwoods all in bloom !!



Bug and Aunt Laura rock hoppin

Our Contracts from our agency came while we were gone. We have our conference call tonite, then we just have to wait for our contract to be mailed in and logged in to receive our dossier packet. I can NOT wait to get my hands on that ! My sw is working on our homestudy too so we should have it soon. Things are moving again :)


More wonderful Tennessee pictures. Man did we have fun !!




We saw a SNOW CAPPED mountain !!

Cades Cove~





My wonderful inlaws with Boo and I.



Daddy and Peanut

My brave boy! Bug is in the background

We stopped in Georgia on the way up and back just for a pit stop. We got TICKS both times ! Yikes ! Who knew ticks were easy to pick up in a KOA campground? Gross.

Our litte tick friend :(

First Bass in Georgia for my hubby.





Peanut got up at 6 am to fish before we were back

on the road to Tennessee.



He CARRIED the bass up from the lake to

show me :)

I have TONS of awesome pictures to share, many pretty ones of Boo too. Check back :)