Family 2013

Family 2013
Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Stupidity


I am so embarrassed over this guy. What a dumb a**. Seriously does Florida have to have so many freaks?Actually the guy has a strong NY or NJ accent LOL! A guy in Barefoot Florida in a retirement park, has a sign in his front yard that reads "Obama half breed muslin" Yes it says muslin. I guess he is a piece of cloth ;) How totally ignorant. How dare he bring his race into it. Sad that anyone would care about that. Who are these people?? Stupid.
Coming back from vacation, In the middle of a (half dead )corn field, flanked by VERY OLD mobile home trailers and broken appliances, was a hand written sign that read "work hard, FIGHT hard vote REPUBLICAN" I wish I took a picture.
McCain would be so proud.
The bailout failed. So now what? Would the bailout really help us? Like you and me? Or just big CEO's and big companies? Not sure I want my money going to save mistakes by big gamblers. We are pinched too much already.
Thanks to everyone who emailed me the debate :)
Boo is sleeping in her teeny tiny panites right now!!! She was so mad when I tried to put her diaper on , I gave in. Honestly it isnt a big risk as she wakes up dry every morning. I am so proud of my girl. She potty trained like a pro :) On vacation she would wake up, go to her small potty (I could hear her peeing) then come to me and tell me "I win I win!" and have her panites in her hand! This at 6am makes a mommy happy~


NOTE~ I have removed the video because seeing the dumb sign really irks me. If you want to see it check out CNN, that is where I got the link from :)

Out & About

This trip to St. Augustine we took a train tour of the city. I highly recommend doing it. We saw and learned so many amazing things, that we never would have other wise. It was really fun. The city has a long , amazing history.



Flaglers Memorial Presbyterian Church Dome. (I think it was all copper)




















Fountain in St Jorge st. which is a really cool shopping area that was actually the old town in St Augustine. The spanish and the english lived here at different times. It reminds me a bit of Antigua in Guatemala with the spanish influence and the doors that hide little court yards and gardens behind them.






Last building made with Coquina Stone , which is tiny bits of shells pressed together to make a strong building material.


St. Jorge st. again, oldest wooden school house.
I LOVE old buildings and history, so these buildings were neat.
Mr. Flagler, who the county is named after, founded alot of the city when the Americans came. He poured tons of money into very fancy and elegant building all over town. The Baptist church (yellow one) he built it for $10,000 because he wanted the land their old church was on to build a church to dedicate to his daughter who died giving birth in 1889. It is down the street from this one and is HUGE and AMAZING.





The next pic is the entrance to Mr. Flaglers Memorial Presbyterian church. Look at all the hand carvings. It was built in 364 days in 1890. The dome of the church rises 100 feet over your head. It is amazing to think they did all this in 1890! Mr. Flagler was a partner (along with J.d. Rockefeller) of the Standard Oil Trust, because of this he was insanely wealthy.

Stain glass took 12 years to complete and it is thru the whole church.



The side entrance to Mr. Flaglers church. It is huge.


The interior. It had so many different areas, used for certain things. Each was very elegant.

Look at the hand carving on the door. This was a heavy solid wood door.



More beach pictures are coming :)
BTW~ my hubby turned off my DVR so none of my shows, including the debate recorded. Yup, he was punished ;)

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Beach life


Some shells we gathered



How stinkin cute is she ?

Bug the nature lover :) (lizard in her hair, Kendra)
Well sadly our time here is coming to an end. How nice if we could live on vacation ALL the time ! We have had a blast. The beach has been ours alone for the most part. SO beautiful. Tons of pictures when we get back.
No news on the adoption front yet...fingers crossed for Amy !!
Please pray Abby she is really having a hard time.
I recorded the debate I can not wait to watch it !!!! :)

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Life is a beach



We are here !!






We almost have the beach to ourselves.
Just a some quick pictures. It is beautiful here ! Now we are going to have a campfire and some smores and hot coca. Yum ;)

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Plate is FULL~ Prayers needed

I copied this from Abby's Mom, Michelle's blog. Please if you could send prayers and positive thoughts their way it would be wonderful. This family is SO overloaded right now. Btw, Sami was diagnosed with MRSA :(
This is the Rigg's blog if you want to leave them a message.


"Abby is still in the hospital with a high fever, and really feeling
pretty bad. She is very achy, has “mystery” pains all over that are no doubt
effects of the chemo. And her beautiful black hair gathers in small piles on the
floor each day. That she still has quite a bit left, is a testament to how much
she started with.Sami had to go to the doctor again this morning with another
infection on her opposite arm. That’s five infection sites for her in about
three weeks. She’ll have to go back to the doctor Monday. She continues to have
to be isolated from Abby, and semi-isolated from the rest of the family. (Sami
is not contagious/infectious accept by open wound to open wound contact…)Because
of Sami’s infection, we have to wash all the sheets every day, wash all laundry
after one use, no matter how slight; use a special cleanser in the shower every
day (that can be quite itchy to the nether regions), disinfectant the whole
house continually, and put some goop up everyone’s nose twice a day. Sami
continues on three times a day antibiotics.Michelle is sick and feverish, but
has to stay with Abby. She can actually get more rest there, than if she was at
home dealing with everything there. So, I’m at home, and she is there. Today,
she has had some sort of allergic reaction causing her to break out in swollen
hives from head to toe. I just spoke to her on the phone, and the swelling hives
are getting noticeably worse. Her mother is coming over to watch Abby while
Michelle goes to the emergency room.- - - - - - - - - - -UPDATE ON
MICHELLE:Michelle went to the emergency room. They think she had an allergic
reaction to an antibiotic course of Bactrim she finished last week.The swelling
was head to toe, down her throat, and in her lungs. She had spider-web-like red
hives all over her entire body. It was pretty scary looking.They have her on
steroids and antihistamines, and an inhaler…. She is back at the hospital with
Abby."


Friday, September 19, 2008

Seeing the LIGHT


If you know anything about Guatemala adoptions you know the story of Erin who has been fostering her beautiful daughter along with her hubby in Guatemala. They have been in PGN for 23 months. YES. I said 23 months. She has shown amazing grace under pressure and determination. PGN has totally controlled their lives. UNTIL TODAY. Go over and Congratulate them. This is Erins blog.

Erin we are sooooooooooooooo happy for you.

Getting excited


Boo- the potty training QUEEN :)



We are getting excited around here. We are now unofficially~



With the referrals starting up again, I was sharing with my hubby, Autumn & Brian's joy over FINALLY seeing there sweet baby boys little face, and it brought back all the memories of the day we received Boo's referral call and her pictures! My hubby and I were smiling so big just remembering the excitement and happiness we felt that day!! I swear you couldn't wipe my smile off for days! I was just giddy ;) Talking about it made us realize how lucky we are to get to feel that JOY and anticipation again ! What a blessing adoption is. It really is like no other journey God sends us on.

We are also excited because we are going on VACATION!! Monday we are off until Saturday to Anastasia State Park in St Augustine. We have a RV and the spots are super natural (ie lots of bugs and trees) which is neat (eek bugs). We ride bikes all day & go to the beach every night around 4 pm and stay until dark. We have miles of beach to ourselves. It is BEAUTIFUL. Warning~I will share lots of pictures ;)

Potty training is going wonderful still. Honestly she is so thrilled with the process it is fun. I went grocery shopping yesterday and didn't put a diaper on her. I don't believe in pull-ups. (I think that makes an accident easier) So in little teeny panties (her not me;) we shopped and an almost 2 hrs later we came home DRY and she said "Mama eeewwww, Mama eeewww!" While holding herself and she ran to the potty! Then she does the I WIN dance from "Wow Wow Wubbzy" on Noggin. Her favorite show LOL!!

Oh and I found my camera charger!! One less crime on her rap sheet :)

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Slowly but surely


Referrals are coming! Autumn and Brian received their MUCH anticipated referral for their beautiful little baby boy !! Kami also received her referral for her new daughter! Rumor has it the family in the #1 spot on the girls list also recd their referral so that means we are unofficially~


#15
Maybe we do have a chance to make the end of the year. Hmmm.


I do have some election thoughts but right now I am too tired. It is coming ;)


Potty news~Boo is amazing!!!!!! This sweet baby has not had an accident in 2 days!! She stayed dried today thru nap then wouldnt pee-pee on the potty before we had to run out the door to take Bug to gymnastics. We were there for an hr then came back home and she was still dry! I put her on the potty and bless her heart she filled it up !!! She looked so relieved LOL! I am just amazed at her. She is such a sweet , smart baby :)

How cute is this? I went to get dinner tonite before I picked the kids up from bible study, and Boo from the back seat says "Momma , baby wants nuggies " "Nuggies yummy babys tummy" I swear I wanted to pull over and just squeeze her :) I love my kids.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Criminal mischief, and a laugh

I have 2 words for you. NAUGHTY BABY. Yup. I said it. My sweet Boo is on the road to trouble. What is a Mommy to do? Lock her up? Ground her? Take away her Noggin ? Start drinking early in the day? (I kid..or do I?) In the last few days my little girl (all 20#s of her) has gotten into my purse and eaten 2 packs of gum, destroyed my lipstick, and lost my keys. Then she went into my bathroom and climbed up on my bathroom counter and decided to brush her own teeth, and smeared toothpaste all over her face and the floor. Her next trick was to climb up the bar stool, onto the breakfast counter, over to the kitchen counter and grab a cup out of the top cabinet because and I quote .."BABY WANT TEA !" No, Baby want a time out! Man what a day. But the worst was yet to come. Saturday night while sitting outside, somehow Boo shoved little sticks into my moms car locks. Both sides. Keys will not go in. (It was a fun story to share with the locksmith.) Finally her last crime of the weekend was to throw away the charger for my camera battery. Notice no new pictures :) If you are wondering who is watching the little bugger it is ME! 2 yr olds are sneaky little creatures :) and very determined.
But on a good note, the potty training is going amazing!!!! She has been waking up dry and going in the potty first thing. I was shocked when she went to the potty 2 times today all by herself ! Only one accident, and she was crushed over it . She kept saying "oooohhhhhh, what baby do?" It was so stinkin cute . She even called me back to her crib tonite to take her to the potty!! Sorta makes up for her crime spree~~ ;P

If you dont watch Saturday Night live you HAVE TO CLICK HERE !! For all my political friends it is a fun distraction. Seriously, I cracked up. Palin and Clinton spoof. I just watched it again and it is hysterical. . Tell me what you think :)

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Three P's


Boo and George our Ferret :)

Teddy Bear our American Bobtail (22#'s)


Pets, Potty training and pain ;) (mine) Today I started to seriously potty train Boo. I have been slacking. She was doing so well then we had gone on 2 back to back vacations and I let it slide. She is so small I wasn't in a hurry. My other 2 kiddos were both trained early. Bug by 21 months and my son by 25 months. So today we set the timer and put on teeny tiny panties (so cute!) and went in the potty ALL DAY. She dances after she washes her hands :)

The pain was my migraine. HATE THEM. I took my big kiddos to my moms for a bit.
Did you see the damage from IKE? How horrible. Prayers for everyone touched by the storm. WHY, Would anyone stay behind on the beach? I saw a family who stayed in a hotel (on vacation) and made their daughter sleep in the closet ! Seriously! The girl was so traumatized over it. I would take my kids and be long gone. I would head to PA. Not worth the risk to my family.

This was the lamp I put in Bug's room. I finally decorated it a bit.


Watch out HGTV here I come. ;)

I kid :)

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Prayers & Pictures

First , I wanted to send out prayers for our Country and everyone touched by 9/11. I remember being on vacation in Orlando, watching the tv monitor at 9am as the second plane crashed into the tower while the reporter was talking about the first plane. I couldnt believe what I was seeing. It was so frightening and just made me sick with fear for our Country. All of Orlando was locked down (they didnt know if the Disney area would be hit) and we couldnt leave the hotel for a while that day. Everyone walked around in stunned silence. My Uncles both have businesses in Manhattan and the city, we were terrified for them. So so scary and sad.


Papi and his Bug~







My sweet MIL w/a stylin hat thanks to Bug





My girls playing :)






My handsome boy Peanut







Our happy family :)


Look at that face ! What a little stinker ;)



My wonderful ( I am so blessed) inlaws are finally home from Tenn. they came over to visit this weekend. The kids were so excited they are back. So nice to see them again :)
Oh~in case you aren't familiar with the adoption process my wait list number refers to our place on the list for a baby girl under the age of 18 months. There is also a boy list and a list for siblings. As you move up the list you are closer to your new child :) The wait time is usually between 6-8 months.




I caught Sarah Palin's speech last night when she arrived in Alaska. I thought it was neat how she seemed so friendly with everyone in the audience. But alot of her speech was the same old, same old. Nothing new. I can see that people in Alaska love her. She seems friendly. I still think she is a bit cocky and too far to the right....did you know she hunts? Gross :( You know I LOVE animals. Not into hunting. No, that isnt the only reason I dont care for the ticket LOL!

I was watching CNN last night and McCain's camp was freaking about Obama's comment about pigs and lipstick (who wrote that?) I don't believe he meant Palin. AND did you see the clip showing McCain uttering the SAME statement? That is the same old politics we are tired off. Tell me why McCain wants to raise my taxes? (Obama will raise taxes if you make OVER $230,000. Which still sucks but that isn't the lower middle class who are drowning. ) Tell me how long it will take to lower gas prices? Tell me when this housing nightmare will end?
Animals and lipstick doesn't help me ;)

Are you watching the CNN special tonite ? I am :)

Monday, September 8, 2008

Number update


We now return to our regular programing :)


Our new number for our agencies girl waitlist is ............17. That is pretty good, 5 spots. Now in order to receive a referral before the end of the year we need to move atleast 5 numbers a month. I seriously doubt that is going to happen. All is GOD's time right? :) That is what I tell myself.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Ok, take your seats


Boo & I before her embassy appt 12/06
I cant believe how tiny she was!



I want to thank everyone who emailed me and left a comment. It was fun hearing from everyone. You don't have to agree with me, or me with you. We are lucky like that! I think this Presidential campaign is going to be very exciting! I found this clip from "The Daily Show, w/ Jon Stewart" Its pretty funny - it shows how the media and the politician talk out of both sides of their *** just to confuse us :) It has actual quotes. Kinda sad Kinda funny.





Ok now....what did I think about McCain's speech? I liked it. I like him as a person, a solider and an American. I was moved by his war stories. Just awful. He is quite brave. That is something to be respected.





He stated his plan is to "Restore Honor and Dignity" to the White House. Ok. BUT, his party, his friend, his buddies..are the ones who have taken the "dignity" out of the White House in the first place. Gas is thru the roof, my taxes are insane, my rents are down but my insurance is TRIPLE what it was, milk is $4 a gallon. Every street around me including the new expensive developments have foreclosed houses on every street. Unemployment is way up. I want to believe him, but I just don't . Do I think he would be tough on our enemies? Yes. Do I want us rushing off to another war? No. I wish we were out of this one. I hate knowing people are dying everyday. Remember Palin has NO foreign policy experience. If she were to wide up in charge then what? Who is behind her? Alaska is lovely but it is a world of its own no? Obama has Biden (tons of experience) Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Al Gore and many friends in the Senate to pull from. All very experienced. McCain says he "hears us" Ok. BUT he hasn't heard us for the last 8years when he voted with Pres. Bush 90% of the time. The first Pres. Bush said "read my lips, no more taxes" and he raised taxes. Can you believe anyone? Will Obama raise taxes? I don't know.McCain is going to drill more oil wells to solve the energy problems. All I have heard said this is not a solution. I am not an expert so who do you believe? I was impressed that John McCain didn't dismiss the amazing strides Obama has made and his millions of supporters to get to the place of being the first Black Vice Presidential candidate ever. He showed him respect. I do not think the folks before him did. Obama, like him or not has made amazing strides for our country. And he has pulled people together. The speech didn't do enough for me to make me vote for him but I do like him more. Honestly I am looking forward to the debates. That is where I hope to see actual plans laid out and what each guy/woman has under pressure.





Any comments :)





Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Not feeling it


My sweet boy & my pup I do feel :)

I listened to Sarah Palin after the fact on msn. I admit I have NOT watched the entire Republican convention. But I do have a few feelings, right now, late at night I am going to post :) Being moved to tears IS NOT one of them.





1- Where are the Americans of Color? Be them Hispanic, black or Asian? I saw 2 black people, plus the "cowboy" singer (cant remember his name) That makes 3 black people. There are more black people on my street! I did see one man maybe from India? Seriously!??! HOW can the Republicans represent the American people when the American people were not there ? My America has all kinds of people, white, black, Hispanic, Asian, etc, rich and poor and in the middle.


2-Sarah Palins soon to be son in law was chewing gum. Tacky.


3- LOTS of "Good ole' boy" feelings and outlooks.(We'll getcha!) :)


4-LOTS of talk about her/their opponent , NOT mentioning Barack Obama by name which to me seems dismissive and disrespectful. (Obama mentioned McCain by name)


5-Treating Obama as a joke which to me shows the Republicans think they are smarter then the rest of us, and politics as usual.



Bear in mind this is MY blog :) and my feelings :) no hard feelings if you do not agree. And feel free to comment, you dont have to have your hubby do it ;) Just be nice.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

PJ cuteness & Updates

Boo shouts "hug" then grabs !
Is there anything sweeter then a
freshly bathed,pjed up baby :)

Being cheeky :)


Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend :) Thankfully Gustav slowed a bit before it hit landfall. Prayers for everyone involved.


We had a relaxing weekend. Just hung out a bit. My mom who has health issues , has walking Pneumonia, so we went over to her house and let the kids swim and took it easy. If you could say a prayer for her that would be great. She is older and lets herself get run down.


My friend J, is home again. Thanks for thinking of her and praying. They found that she also has an enlarged heart, which is where the clot came from. She has a condition called PHE ? Or PE ? (I think...) She is on limited bed rest & self shots for the clot. They are hoping to get her to 30 -36 weeks and go from there. So far baby is doing great.




I am copying from Kerri's blog for sweet ABBY~

"Does everyone follow the Riggs family blog? If you are not familiar with this amazing family.... check out their blog. They are one diverse family and full of love. They have 4 biological children, 2 kiddos from Guatemala, and a beautiful daughter from Ethiopia. One of their Guatelings, Abby, was recently diagnosed with Leukemia. Bless her little heart. She is precious!Abby has some pretty intensive chemo treatments 2-4 times per week for the next 5 MONTHS.... You can read more about what is going on at the Rigg's blog. Amy will be coordinating meals for them. If you are interested in sending or giving money for meals, that is welcomed. Either contact Amy to send the payment, or pay via paypal. (Directions on how to do this below) A few people are going to be making frozen meals at Supper Thyme to give to the family. (One meal to serve 7 is approximately $25) If you live local (OKC) and are interested in delivering a frozen or refrigerated meal to them at the hospital, either email Amy at amyde63@hotmail.com or leave a comment on Amy's blog.Directions to give via paypal: Once you are logged into your account, click Send Money. In the "To" box, type in my email address - amyde63@hotmail.com Type in the amount, and then click services/other, and then click continue. Wah lah"


If you could donate even a few dollars all together it will really help :)

Did you see Gov. Palin's daughter is pregnant? I was so impressed that Barack Obama made a statement that Gov. Palin's family and most importantly her children are off limits in politics" Such class.
"...Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls knows that we know, and holds us responsible to ACT..." Proverbs 24:12

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." -(Mahatma Gandhi)