The Dawgs...

because they deserve a post too! This beautiful boy above is Bezo. He's our foster and has been with us for a few months. He came injured, but after 4 different antibiotics, surgery, and now daily injections he's FINALLY starting to heal! He's the sweetest boy we've ever had!

Zoey is just precious!

Though there's a slight size difference (ha!), she and Lola love to play!

They're snuggle buddies too:)

We LOVE our furry babies!

Still Catching up with Christmas!

Grandma Jill and Gampy

They gave the girls some "my little pony" things (which they love), and these cool boots!

They've worn them practically every day since!

Lola was a bit depressed...she didn't get anything.

8 SHOTS!!!!

Last night A and I went to get our vaccinations to travel. They say you need to do it several weeks before so your body has a chance to build an immunity to it all. We got 8 shots, 4 in each arm. I was almost in panic-attack mode before the needle poking commenced, but i made it through:) I used to say I had "needlephobia" but I am obviously overcoming my fears. I kept thinking about Connor's sweet face, and that was well worth the pain!
We are pretty sore today though!

WE HAVE OUR COURT DATE!!!

I got an email this morning that our court date is January, 22nd. Please join me in praying we pass court that day. Things can hold it up, like if the judge just doesn't show up. It's not America, after all. Ethiopia is VERY relaxed on time and appointments.
If we pass court that day, it looks like our visa appointment will be March 4th, so we'd likely be in Ethiopia Feb. 28-March 6th.
I am so relieved to have a timeline, even if it's not definite. I can focus on praying for our court date, and then have all of February to prepare for bringing home an infant.
I also got an update about Connor's low weight gain that I've been so worried about. I emailed our agency last week and asked to PLEASE have a doctor look him over again concerning this issue. The doctor found that Connor is lactose intolerant, which is why he isn't gaining weight! (Even an ocean away I had a mother's intuition something just wasn't right.) I was SO relieved to hear this because it's a simple issue to correct. However, soy formula is very expensive for the orphange to buy, so I'm going to Wal-Mart tonight and buying every can they have and shipping it to our agency, and they're mailing it next week. It's such a simple little thing to be shipping formula, but it makes me feel so much better. Just to be doing something for him. I haven't been able to do anything but pray for him, but now I can go buy formula! So, if you're in Wal-Mart tonight please excuse the crazy lady pushing the carton full of soy formula!

Christmas with the Crysler's

L had lots of fun with Uncle Greg...

and Gigi!

Sweet Mollie Claire was tuckered-out by the end of the day.

G told me that she wanted to go live with Uncle Paul. I asked why, and she said Uncle Paul told her she'd never get in trouble at his house!

Cousin Kady:)

Playing with Shea's gifts from Santa

G and Shea

Daddy Chris thinks he's a rock star:)

Christmas at Mimi's

Hugs for all the cool presents.

This requires an explanation...you see, last Christmas Paul brought up the fact that he got a drum set when he was little that he claimed "disappeared" just a few days later. Of course accusing my mom of getting rid of it because he was so loud. He expressed concern of how he would never know if he was meant to be a drummer...so this year Santa brought Paul another drum set. Santa also promised that since he's a grown man with his own house, she won't take this set away:)

The girls could hardly focus on anything else but the puppy, Zoey.

What a rock star! G gave a stellar performance that morning!

We Got More Pix's

We are so blessed. We had two families just return home from Ethiopia with their babies. They both took pictures of sweet Connor and we even got a video. I can't tell you how it made me melt just to see him blink his eyes. He is seriously the most beautiful little boy I've ever seen. He has big eyes, beautiful full lips, a perfect tiny nose, and is the prettiest carmel color that I've always been jealous of (I'm VERY white, unfortunately). The girls have had such a wonderful time seeing more of Connor. We even were inspired to get his crib up and bought his bedding today (I'll post pix's later of that). They just can't understand why we can't go get him now. I bet G asks me at least 5 times a day if baby Connor is coming today. So hard to explain.
Seeing these pix's have made me so happy, and so sad. Connor is so very thin. I know he's just 2 months old so I can't expect a big baby, and my girls were both very chunky so I don't have a good 'real' perception of what 2 month old babies can look like, but as his Mommy I'm worrying. Of course I know he's being fed well and loved on by women that I feel like I owe so much to, and I do know that he will probably be the type of person that couldn't get fat if we forced him to...I know all that. I know physically he's fine and he was likely born premature. My own brother-in-law was only 2 lbs when he was born and he is a perfectly health daddy now! So, I know all this with my BRAIN, but when I look at his skinny little legs and arms I just want to cry. It breaks my heart. I want to get on the next airplane and go over there right now and scoop him up in my arms. I can't tell you or ever explain how hard it is to be a mother to a child an ocean away. Especially a tiny infant. I pray all day long that he's being loved and taken care of and someone is smiling at him and he's getting enough to eat. I wish so badly that I was the one doing all of that.
We STILL don't have a court date yet. I'm not sure why, just praying we get that soon so we'll be a step closer to going. What they told us originally was we'd likely get to go late February or March. Can't come soon enough.

Christmas Morning

This puppy below was the highlight of Christmas morning for my girls. Santa brought the "polky dot" puppy, just like L asked him too. Her name is Zoey. She's as sweet as she is cute, and we are all in love with her.

(And yes, I am very much aware how dark and terrible these pictures are...but I am NOT a morning person and that is my excuse, even on Christmas morning.)

G and L coming into the dining room at 6:30 to see what Santa brought!

G had just opened the box Zoey was in...

and when her little head popped up both girls jumped back! It was utter shock!!!

Then they couldn't wait to get their hands on her:)

Love at first sight for both.

These costumes were among the favorites of Christmas gifts Santa brought!

Na, na, na, na, na, na, na BAT GIRL!!!

G got this cool guitar and has proved to be a natural!

I love this pix! Kind of scary too...she looks like a drunk Wonderwoman playing rock-n-roll.

We had such a fun Christmas morning. The girls got lots of neat gifts and Santa even left a few things for baby Connor. He knew we needed some little boy toys! A cooked a big breakfast and we took our time playing in our pj's. Then it was off to Mimi's house for lunch and dinner that night with Daddy Chris's side of the family. More pictures to come later!

Happy 3rd Birthday L!

Today is our "lilly pad's" birthday. She is 3 going on 30. (G is 5 going on 13.) L sometimes is smarter and wiser beyond her years. She is a child that keeps it interesting and is always surprising us!
Dear L,
Happy 3rd Birthday! We can't believe how fast time is flying by. You are such a joy and so much fun to be around. You are so feisty and spunky, and yet so tender-hearted. I love that in you. You will go so far in life with your tough little attitude:) I also love how sweet you are to always share and love your sister. You are SO excited about baby Connor coming. A day doesn't go by without you mentioning him. You are going to be such a wonderful and caring big sister...and you won't ever let anyone push him around!
We love you and are so thankful God put you in our lives.
Love,
Mommy
Last night we went to Mommy's hometown to eat pizza and cake with the family! Here are a few pix's!

Aunt Cindy and Kady

L blowing out her candles!

At this point G was mad because it wasn't her birthday...

Anna Jayne and Mollie Claire

Glenda and Dad Bill

Lee and Kady

Paul and Jessica with Shea

G and L's Birthday Party!

Since they have such close birthday's and are so close in age, we've been having their parties together. So far they don't mind, and they play with the same girls any way. This year it was "Sweet n Sassy"! They had a few little friends go to the "salon" for the party. They had had their hair done, nails, and make-up. They got to play games walking a cat-walk and being little princesses. I think all the moms had just as much fun watching these cute girls. They were precious.

7 weeks old

Connor will be 7 week old tomorrow...well he technically already is because they are 8 hours ahead of us:) I can't wait to hold my precious boy! There are two families using our agency that are going to ET in the next two weeks. Both are taking pix's of him for us. Missy is even doing a video. I can't tell you how excited I am about this! The referral pix's aren't great (most are fuzzy) so it will be wonderful to literally see him clearly:) I also can't wait to see how much he's grown!
We don't have our court date yet. Hope to hear something about that in the two weeks.
We have to go back to the USCIS office tomorrow and be re-fingerprinted. This process takes SO long ours expired!

They Stopped

If you haven't seen the movie,The Blindside, go see it. A and I got a "date night" tonight. We were short on time so we grabbed fast food, ate in the car, and saw the movie. (When you don't get many nights out you change your expectations for a romantic dinner!) The movie was really wonderful. The actors were very good, and the best part about the whole thing is that it's based on a real family. Not only that, a REAL family that lives in Memphis. (Not a really racially diverse area somewhere.)
There should be more movies like this. More movies showing that families don't have to be made up of children that are genetically linked to their parents. Being a family doesn't mean you have to look like one of the "fake" pictures that are in the frames when you buy them. Families can be made up of people of different skin color and heck, that even come from other parts of the world. What makes a family is that you all love each other, WANT to be together, and you're all looking out for one another.
I am really inspired by this real life family. It was obvious that bringing a teenage African American into their family was not something they planned. Although, when God put Michael in their lives, they embraced their new path. They loved him and helped him reach his dreams and overcome his past. They didn't keep driving when they saw an obviously homeless teenage boy because it wasn't "convenient" for them. They stopped. That was huge for me. I wonder if answered truthfully, how many would say they would have stopped. More than that, I wonder how many self-professed Christians would stop and show God's grace to one of His children.

Peace Give-Over

G made a beautiful pilgrim for her Thanksgiving feast at school this year. She's been a pilgrim the last two years, so I'm hoping for an Indian next year! After all, even though we are very pale, we do have Blackfoot Indian running through our veins. I unfortunately didn't get the beautiful dark brown complexion of my great-grandmother.
Anyway, the feast was great. L kept calling it a "peace give-over". Even this week when they were talking about Thanksgiving they were calling it a "peace give-over"... I guess they've coined a new phrase.
With our referral of Connor we especially have LOTS to be thankful for!

Thankful for...

these two sleeping beauties, and the wonderful little boy that I'll be taking peaceful, sleeping pix's of soon:)

I stopped shaking.

Finally. I've stared at Connor's face for what feels like hours and I've settled into him. I'm still bursting with excitement over our baby boy, but I was able to stop physically shaking. Good thing too...I thought I was going to have a heartattack! I have an app on my iphone where i can see what time it is in Ethiopia. (They are 8 hours ahead of us.) I keep looking throughout the day and wondering what he's doing. Likely sleeping, I know, but it's still neat to wonder. I pray he's sleeping at night and that he's being held during the day:)
There's a great family I've met through blogging quite some time ago. They are going in December to bring their daughter home. They are going to take a blanket to Connor for us, and also take more pictures of him. I can't wait! I know he's going to change SO much by the time we get to go.
In case I forgot to mention, it will likely be late February or March before we will get to go to Ethiopia to bring Connor home. This will be a LONG wait!
The girls' are still super excited. L still says she will even change his dirty diapers, G honestly admits she wants nothing to do with that. They are both saying they're going to be "good big sisters", and that they are going to rock and hold him. I can't wait to see them with him. They are going to just gush over him!
Also have to be honest and admit that I am NOT a morning person. A laughs at me...he's lucky to get a slight grin in the morning. He doesn't take it personally, he knows I just don't function well before 8am, and my girls have notoriously woken up before 6:30 every day for the last 5 years. I am not too sure how I'm going to get three up and ready to leave the house by 7:15 every morning (A is going into sales so I will have to take G more often now). I have a feeling I'll be in the carpool line in my pajamas most days!

We Got Our Referral!!!

This is one little tiny, sweet hand of Connor's.

I can't even begin to put into words what it's like to look into this sweet boy's face. The second I saw him I knew he was our son. He's gorgeous. And I'm not just saying that because he's mine:) He has a tan complexion, dark brown hair that was straight in the picture, and the biggest almond colored eyes with flecks of green in them. He's REALLY long, and if we are reading the handwriting right on the medical form he's 29 inches at 4 weeks old. We thought L was long and she was 21 1/2! He'll probably pass me up by 4th grade! He has just the sweetest face that I wish I could post on here so everyone could see, but I can't until we pass court. I also can't tell you his name yet, but it means "example" in Amharic. That really hit me. In the past 1 1/2 years since we started the adoption process we've definitely had some difficult times. A and I have said at least a dozen times, that maybe God is using us as an "example" to some. Also, it speaks to me as a prelude in what Connor's life will become. Us adopting him and choosing that path I know will be small and insignificant compared to what Connor will bring to us and the world. We will cry with him when he has to deal with the loss of his birth family and those circumstances, and will teach him that God placed his and our life on this journey for a reason. We are so grateful He did too. What a blessing!!! And right before the holiday's...

I got this phone call as I was in the carpool lane picking G up from school. When I told them we had a picture of Connor to see waiting on us at home they screamed!

This is when they saw their brother's face for the very first time. Look at those smiles!

They kept saying "Awwww". "He's so cute!" "He's a tiny baby!" And of course then asked when we could go get him. Still a hard thing to explain to a 3 and 5 year old. They are really so excited:)

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am literally in shock, and still shaking. About an hour ago we got our referral. About 5 min after I got off the phone with A, while complaining about this awful wait and my restlessness, the agency called and said "Hi Sarah, we have A on the other line, we have your referral". Well, I belted-out some major screams that I'm sure hurt both of their ears! The rest felt like a dream. I was sitting in the carpool lane waiting for G to come out while I was listening her tell us all about our baby boy. Surreal doesn't even touch what that felt like. Many, many tears and a very ugly cry overcame me:) To say that I'm "elated" is an understatement.
We still haven't seen his picture, but I know that's coming...we're very limited as to what we can say about him on here before we are legally his parents because of child protection laws. I can tell you that we are now the proud parents of a precious 4 week old baby boy!!!!!!!
I will write more later when I stop shaking.

I'm Nervous...

and excited. Just found out 6 referrals were given out yesterday. That means we should be really close to getting ours. I literally have a pit in my stomach. I'm nervous about what it will be like when we get it. There's just so much dang build-up with waiting so long! I'm not nervous about falling in love with his beautiful face or feeling like Connor's mother instantly. I know in my heart that this is a "God thing" and I trust Him with that. He's carried us here in the first place, and all of this is in His hands.
The thing I'm worried about is falling apart because I want to go immediately to get my child. I've said this many times, but I'm not exaggerating when I say I have NO patience. I am nervous that I will be a ball of nerves and anxiety waiting for the 3-4 months before I can hold the child I'll be staring at in pictures. I swear, I feel like I'm about to throw-up just thinking about the way that will feel.
A and I are on pins and needles, just waiting for our phone call. I really pray it comes soon!

Happy 5th Birthday G!

Absolutely can't believe my baby is 5 years old!!!

Happy Birthday sweet girl. We love your beautiful smile:)

You're the sweetest thing.

Look how much you've grown! This is your hand print at one year old.

L gave G a Barbie and Ken today. Ken had to do some push-ups, trying to impress Barbie. G said "look, it's Daddy!".

Both girls have a major obsession with "My Little Pony" right now. Who wouldn't love cute, pink ponies?

It just wasn't fair for L to have to watch G open all the presents. She got a little something too.

G LOVES the cards with music. She was getting her groove on to "Shake What Yo Mama
Gave Ya"!

Happy 5th Birthday! We love you so much. You are so sweet, tender-hearted, loving, artistic, smart, beautiful, and you have the prettiest voice. If I had to predict your future career now, I'd say you're going to be a singing artist! Although you are insisting you are going to be a "dolphin trainer"!
Love you,
Mommy

Weekend in Vol-nation!

We went to a UT football game last weekend. We had a blast! We went with great friends (Jeff and Micah), had awesome tailgating, and the Vols kicked-butt against Memphis. Oh! And we were also on ESPN for like 2 seconds, cheering in the crowd:) It was nice to get away with my husband for a weekend. Although we missed the girls' like crazy by the second day, it's nice to reconnect and do something fun with just one another to focus on. I think that's a great gift you can give your children...keep reconnecting as a couple to make a marriage stronger.
Anyway, lots of ORANGE this weekend, and lots of FUN!!!

Lost Archive...a trip to Chicago!

We made a pit-stop in Chicago on the way to Michigan to see family this summer. This was my first time to go and I LOVED it! I am definitely going back. The girls also had so much fun. We went to the American Girl doll store. L slept through that, and G luckily picked out the least-expensive dolls for them both!
That night we had sandwiches delivered to our room and let the girls' eat in bed. They thought that was really neat. Then we walked across the street to a huge park. The girls even went in their pj's. They had the most beautiful flowers and an amazing water fountain. G was so inspired she just danced around in her pj's like a old black and white movie! It was a fun little family adventure!

My Sweet Girls

On Sunday afternoons some children are playing in their backyards...this past weekend mine were on a excursion with mommy and daddy to put up a dog kennel. My non profit will buy large kennels for anyone willing to foster. They always have so much fun playing inside them. The pretend they're in "jail". Not sure how they even know what the "jail" concept is, as we have no incarcerated family members to visit. But they had a blast and were oh-so cute as always! I'm a very lucky mommy to have these sweet girls in my life. G will be 5 years old next week. For some reason this is sort of getting to me. Five seems like we've officially said goodbye to the baby-girl years. Before I know it she'll be into Hannah Montana...I'll miss Cinderella:)

More Halloween Pix's

Halloween 2009

Every year I make a giant sugar cookie spiderweb! The girls love decorating it with spiders and worms.


L's happiest moments in life involve icing:)

L was princess Jasmine


Grace was "Alice" in Wonderland.
Both of the girls were more excited about me putting make-up on them than even their costumes! All day they kept asking if I was really going to put eye make-up on them...they're so girly!


Before trick-or-treating! Daddy has a Superman shirt on you can't see. (Easy costume!) Brandi, Jerry, and their boys came over for dinner and went trick-or-treating with us, but she has the pix's of us all together. I'll add those later. We had chili dogs and lemonade with candy eye balls floating in them. Ms. Brandi also brought "kitty litter cake"! It was gross. I don't think she was surprised that no one ate it:) She's a great cook, so I'm sure it's tasty, but you couldn't get past the way it looked!

G's black Alice high heels proved to be too much. After just two houses Daddy had to run back home to get tennis shoes.

This was L's face the whole time. When she gets nervous she always puts her fingers at her mouth. All of the costumes and being out at night was a little scary for her.

We had a fun Halloween!!!

Pumpkin Carving Fun!

my mickey mouse pumpkin

L loved her little pumpkin!

Daddy had his surgical gloves on like he was at work!

Lola and Oswald thought the pumpkins were yummy!

L drew this face on her pumpkin all by herself!

This was G's masterpiece!

We had a fun afternoon carving pumpkins. It was perfect weather and the girls had a great time. It was also wonderful just be outside and get fresh air. Quick tip for the mom's out there: sprinkle cinnamon on the top, or lid, of the pumpkin. When you put the candle inside it smells SO good! We put L's little pumpkin inside tonight and the whole kitchen smelled like cinnamon.
*And thanks again for all of your prayers sent my way last week. I'm really blessed:) I feel so much better and am just a bit tired. Dr.'s orders are to stay away from all public places for a week until my white blood count gets back up. They said I could still catch something else nasty. So, I'm thinking of becoming a hermit. Just kidding.

Get Your Freaking Swine Flu Shot!!!!

I type this from my hospital bed. Yep, I'm feeling very unlucky. I had a hysterectomy last week and was feeling much better Tuesday, so what did I decide to do? I went to Wal-Mart. Walked around Wallyworld for an hour just enjoying not being in my house. Spent too much money and oh yea, bought the swine flu there while I was at it. Woke up yesterday with fever and called my gyn. Was told too if I had fever within 2 weeks after surgery in case of internal infection. She had me come in. She admitted me, and upon admittion to the hospital I had a fever of 104.4, a heartrate of 145 beats per minute, and was taking 12 more breaths per minute than the average person. My head felt like it was going to explode, I shook from head to toe, my whole body hurt, and I was vomiting. They laid bags of ice all over me and put me on a morphine drip. I was hallucinating and asking the nurses to feed my dogs and tend to my C.A.R.E. website. A. said my voice sounded like a witch, because it was quiet and high-pitched! My fever slowly came down over the night and I'm better today. Tamiflu has helped. Will be able to go home tomorrow if I'm still better.
When I saw my nurse today that admitted me I told her that I was sorry for being such a difficult and dramatic patient yesterday, but I really thought I was going to die. Her response was, "For a minute there I thought you were too. I've never seen a fever that high in an adult, especially accompanied with a pulse like that. You're a very lucky girl." Woaw. That scared the bejesus out of me. Even A who is usually very even-killed about illnesses said he was really scared. I've said my thank-you prayers today:)
So, if this does not encourage you to go get your swine flu vaccine, nothing will. Ya'll...it is NO JOKE! My family is on Tamiflu as a preventative right now, but as soon as we know they are in the clear we are taking a family trip down to the health department to get ours.

Kittens and 'Thank You's'

Isn't Halloween fun? Really Halloween is an all-year-round holiday in my house. My girls put at least one piece of dress-up or costume on every single day. They LOVE getting into other characters, whether it's princesses, pirates, or cats. They can stay in character for an hour, completely ignoring me and only having conversations between the two of them. I really hope Connor loves dress-up as much as they do. They need a prince, a boy pirate, and a dog:)
The one thing we really do love about Halloween though is that there are suddenly costumes for sale everywhere we go. It's an indulgence we have a hard time controlling.

As for the 'thank you's'...I had surgery a week ago tomorrow and am finally feeling much better. I'm still sore and get to feeling just yucky sometimes, but I've come really far. I wanted to say a HUGE 'thank you' to all of my friends that brought me food. That meant so much to A and I. Not having to worry about cooking, or God forbid A trying to cook something, was a big relief! We have really enjoyed all the delicious treats you all brought. (I also need everyone to email me what dishes I need to return. I was in bed I think every time one was dropped off and now that they've been washed I have no idea who they belong to!) I also appreciate all the phone calls I've gotten to check on me. I have to say I feel loved:)
Thank you Mama for being my 'right arm' and taking care of the girls, and to my Dad and GiGi for keeping them as well. It's so much easier to take it easy and recover when you know your babies are in good hands. I was able to sleep soundly knowing they were having fun in Cville while Mommy was doped up and complaining!

Fall at the Zoo

We went with our friends, Ms. Brandi, Brooks, and Brandon to the zoo during their fall break.

The new Teton exhibit was VERY cool with its' geysers!

Of course the polar bears are always our favorite:)

I'm Nesting

Do you think a woman's hormones can tell when a referral is coming like when she's almost 40 weeks pregnant and she's about to give birth??? I think I'm nesting. I was on a mad dash today cleaning and organizing. I took 8 full trash bags to Goodwill, and had 3 big bags of throw-away stuff...and I'm not done. I plan on tackling more this weekend!
This is how I felt before my girls were born. I had a week of mad organizing/cleaning before they arrived...maybe that long-awaited phone call to tell us about Connor is coming???
I know I haven't written much about Connor and our adoption on here lately. It's intentional. I've mentioned before that I have very little patience. BIG pitfall of mine. We've been waiting 10 months for our referral now...we thought it would be about 6 months...and we started this journey 4 months before that. So, if I think too much about when it's coming or start focusing on when this will play-out as far as us traveling, etc, I get frustrated. I want the pix of our beautiful baby boy, whom God chose for us a LONG time ago. I want to find out how old he is and what his name is. I want to know when we can go get him. It's a hard wait...
Maybe my "nesting" is a sign that we're nearing the end??? What do you think? Am I crazy?
Could also be because I'm having surgery on Wednesday. I have to have a hysterectomy. Have had some major problems for over a year, and now I have adenomyosis (not sure if I spelled that right?) so that has forced me into this. I'm nervous, but ready to get it done. So all this organizing is also because I know I'll be "out of commission" for a bit too. I'm hoping though it's more of a mother's intuition that info. on her baby boy is coming!

Calm Before The Storm

Just as I was trying to get back 'on a roll' with blogging, a "storm" hit this week. These wonderful, sweet, healthy pictures are from last Monday night. It was a gorgeous day, and I decided to do a picnic dinner with the girls at my friends' Ellen's house. She has nothing short of a mother-nature sanctuary and it's incredibly peaceful there. A met us there and it was great. We enjoyed good take-out and a beautiful sunset.
About six hours later the "you-know-what" hit the fan. L started vomiting and just as she's done 3 other times, didn't stop. It's literally continuous. In an hour and a half we were at the ER and by that time it was blood coming up (from tears in her esophagus). I spent most of the night there with her until she was hydrated and better. The next day was a day spent holding her and trying to keep things from coming up again.
Wednesday was better. L was feeling a bit better and I got caught up on laundry...then at about 6 that night I started getting sick. I'm much like L when it comes to this. I never get sick just once or twice...it's usually like 20 times. I called a nurse friend of mine who happened to be working at the hospital that night. She had me come in and get some fluids and meds. All of Thursday I felt like I was dying, and Friday wasn't much better. Had severe body cramps because my potassium had gotten really low. It was no fun. A stayed home from work to care for us, and now he's sick!!! He does have a much milder case though and is functioning okay. G is the lone survivor to outsmart this bug! (Knocking on wood right now.)
This is what happens in a family of many. One gets sick...we ALL get sick. Now I have laundry out the wazoo, no food in the house (nor can I stand the thought of cooking just yet), and am exhausted from the week. I even took my children to Wal-Mart today and told them to pick out any toy they wanted. It was a guilt-gift for a terrible week:)
Praying next week is so much better!

The 4-Letter Word

This is a conversation I had with G today...

G: "Mama, what are you doing?"

S: "Honey, I'm ironing."

G: "What is ironing?"

S: "It's what you do when clothes get really wrinkled. Mimi usually does it."

G: "Is it new?"

S: "No, you've seen it before. It's just been a really long time. Mommy hates ironing."

G: "Ooh, Mommy you said 'hate'!"

S: "It's never okay to say you 'hate' people...but it's okay to say you hate ironing."

G: "Oh, well I hate ironing too."

S: "That's my girl!"

Just a Swingin'

Been Sick

I am still alive. I have a ton of pix's to catch-up on here. I have literally been sick for over a month. I came back from a trip to Michigan to see A's family and got sick that week. Dr. said it was bronchitis. I haven't stopped coughing since mid August, and now I found out that I had pneumonia! The reason I haven't gotten better is because I haven't been treating it with the right meds! To say I'm frustrated is an understatement. Now I'm on two inhalers, my 3rd round of antibiotics, and meds to open my airway. So...there's a valid reason why I've been such a bad blogger. Don't give up on me girls!

Can you guess?

Can you guess why L is smiling??? Hmmm...what did A get for his birthday?:)
Yep. He got a little "ink"! Funny that we took L, but it was one of those no baby-sitter things. She had a blast though and entertained us all.

Fun At The Zoo

Prayers Please:)

I lost a good friend and C.A.R.E. member last night. My friend Sheila passed away suddenly last night from a brain aneurysm. She leaves behind two teenage sons and her husband Paul. Please keep her family in your prayers.

How Things are Going...

The girls' Gigi gave her this cool outfit. G LOVES it! She asks to put it on every day after school, and usually starts singing "I'm a rock star". (I like Pink:) Gigi has a lot of style...admittedly much more than I do. They'll be asking her to borrow clothes before I know it!

This is the face L makes all the time when we ask to take her pix. A tight-eyed mischievous look!

G is having a hard time adjusting to school. She LOVES school and every day gets in the car telling me how much fun she had...but every morning it's a completely different ballgame. She cries as soon as we mention school, and hates her uniforms. She screams and begs us not to take her, and either Daddy or I have to carry her in crying. This morning she stopped crying as soon as A got to the door of the school with her, so we are making baby-step progress. I think it really boils down to the fact that she's not a morning person. She'd just rather sit and watch cartoons than get ready to leave the house. This is also her first year to go every day. Even though I pick her up at 11:30, it's still an adjustment. It's also hard for her to see that L gets to stay home with me. So, say some prayers that this gets easier for her/us! Makes for an awful start to every day!

Refreshing:)

(I'm aggravated because I can't figure out how to get these pix's bigger...were emailed to me as jpeg and saved fine...any suggestions?)
Last weekend I went to Nashville to have a girls' night...but it wasn't long enough! Next time we're doing a two-nighter! It was so refreshing to spend time with my besties. We ate enough for 3 men, did some shopping, laid around talking, and even did some "bar hopping"! It was a perfect day. I feel very much "myself" when I'm with these girls. They've known me since I was a kid, so we are extremely comfortable around one another. We don't have to "watch what we say" and we don't get embarrassed in front of each other. We even share VERY embarrassing secrets that we all just laugh about. We all need girls like these. I'm a lucky girl!

Uniforms

This week was G's first week of wearing uniforms to school. She was less-than enthusiastic about this. She cried most mornings while I dressed her, telling me "I not look cute". I knew this was coming. She is a pink and frilly kind of girl. Red and navy plaid are just not her thing. She usually found it "cool" when she got to school each morning and saw that they were all dressed similar, but that never helped the next morning! I'm hoping the uniforms are accepted quickly:) I think she's so stinkin' cute in them!

First Day of School!

G and Ms. Emily

Notice my swollen eyes...I am NOT a morning person.

Today was G's first day of 4 year old Pre-K. Her class all dressed-up like princesses and princes. They were super cute. G was VERY excited about getting dressed up for school, and hadn't stopped talking about it all week. She even requested to take her teacher a PINK apple. I found the pinkest apple Kroger had to offer. She cried a little when we left, but I think it was just so exciting and overwhelming. Didn't cry long and she was all smiles when I picked her up. She told me about them going on a scavenger hunt around the school to find Cinderella's shoe, and playing on the playground. She said she LOVES her new teacher, Ms. Emily.

So, good happy day...a bit sad that she's in school 5 days a week now, but it has to happen:)

Love you G!

Happy Birthday A!

Yesterday was my husband's 33rd birthday...we only had one "3" candle, so he settled for a 3rd birthday cake:) I cooked his favorite dinner (rotel chicken) and didn't have the energy or will power to make a cake. I was going to stick a candle in a brownie, but my mom thought that was terrible and surprised him with a cake. How sweet!
Happy birthday honey. I love you so much and am so glad you were born!!! Can't imagine life without you...
*L was so funny. She picked out Daddy's birthday card. She went to the children's section and chose a superman card!

End of the Vacay Pix's

So here are our "matchy" vacation pix's. Everybody has to do them. It was really fun. As soon as we went down to the water to take some pix's in the tide, G took off into the water. She was soaked through and through. She's such a free spirit. It was a blast watching her. If I had run down to the water and ran through it in a fancy dress, everyone would think I was a nut, but when she did it it was wonderful to watch. L was in a bit of bad mood that night. She wasn't "feeling" the pictures.

A New Day

Thank you for all the sweet comments and encouragement from all my dear friends...both those I live near and those bloggy friends:) I went to see a movie by myself last night (the 9:00 show so I could get the girls to bed first...has been a battle with L lately). It was nice. I sat, ate a huge thing of nachos, and didn't feel embarrassed by my concession stand choice. If you're curious, I saw Harry Potter for the second time. I have read all the books and LOVE them. A guilty pleasure. My husband is always thrilled when I don't make him go to one of the movies with me...he doesn't know what he's missing out on! It was awesome!

Bad Morning

It's been an emotional, bad day so far. I woke up to some very disappointing personal stuff I won't go into...then got an email back from our agency. I emailed them this weekend complaining about feeling like a number, never getting a personal email, and having NO FREAKING IDEA as to when we'll have our son. Got that email back...when we were applying for the adoption, the "wait time" for a referral was 6-10 months. Of course, A and I being the glass half-full people we are we knew we'd get our referral closer to the 6th month mark...Now the wait time is right at 11 months. Looks like we may be getting our referral Nov. or Dec. (if things stay the same) and going to Ethiopia in the spring. I know God has our child already chosen for us and we have to be patient, and this is all in His hands...but sometimes I really want to scream! It's easy for me to say this is teaching me patience and in two years from now this wait time will seem like nothing, but right now, in the midst of it...it's hell. WAY worse than my difficult pregnancies. The adoption process is such a religious experience. We already love a child we've never seen, on the other side of the world, and whom will look nothing like us. It's truly ordained by God...but that sure doesn't make it easier.
So, I'm having one of those emotional/hormonal days just like you do when you're pregnant! The other crap that happened this morning has just been icing on the cake. I'm just sad today.

Proud Niece

My Uncle Reid that lives in LA sang at the Hollywood Bowl a few nights ago! He took me there years ago to see Carmen preformed, and now he was the star. I can't imagine singing in front of 17,000 people! He's an incredible opera singer and has worked so hard on his career. His talent runs so deep that as soon as he starts singing or playing the piano, you just know God had to have blessed him with his talent. (God has some explaining to do when I get to heaven one day...why in the heck did I not get his voice?) Anyway, wanted to share these pictures. I am a VERY proud niece. Love you Reid.

Fun Times

Our condo had the best fireworks show we'd ever seen. We were able to hang-out in our condo balcony and watch. The girls, Mimi, A and I loved it! We were like 5 little kids watching them!

Happy 4th of July!

L really enjoys corn:)

There was live music every night by the pool and tiki bar. The girls really loved it. The danced til they were exhaused every night. They karaoke one night and they even sang "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" together in front of at least 50 people. I got it on video, and if I was savvy enough I'd put it on here because it is so darn cute. I have to admit, I sang a little Janis Joplin that night too:)

Guess What?!!?

I love to watch Paula Deen. She reminds me of my grandmother. Anyway, she had a guest chef on this afternoon and they were making Injera Bread! For all of my friends who aren't adopting a child from Ethiopia (ha!), injera bread is a flat bread they eat with every meal. Sort of looks like a pancake. I don't think it has much taste. They use it as a utensil. They wrap their food in it and scoop up the food. The bread really soaks up the juice and takes on that flavor. If Connor is closer to toddler age, I'll definitely be making it a lot because that's what he'll be used to.
Here's the recipe from Paula's episode if anyone is curious enough to make it.

Ingredients

* 2 pounds self-rising flour
* 1/2 pound whole-wheat plain flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* Pinch salt
* 16 ounces soda water

Directions

Combine the dry ingredients and then add the water. Mix to a smooth, thin batter. Heat a large nonstick skillet. Ladle enough batter to cover the bottom of the skillet, tilting the skillet to cover the base evenly, and then set back on heat. When small holes appear on the surface remove the injera bread. Cook only on 1 side. Repeat with remaining batter.

Fort Morgan

We got to watch them shoot canons over the ocean!

Down the road from our condo was where the battle of Fort Morgan was fought. We sort of snuck in before they closed, and caught the reenactment at the end...so we don't know any details:) The fort was huge and really beautiful. I loved looking at all the old stone and brick buildings, and the sun was setting to make a wonderful backdrop. The fort was full of very dark rooms that gave me the creeps. I'd like to go back and tour the whole thing next year.

More Vacation Pictures

Love this pix of L! What a life!

We let the girls stay up late, and they'd get a bit delirious:) They are so giggly and silly!

G thought the "beach ball booty" was the funniest thing ever!

Check out L's face...she didn't want her picture taken.

This is how we ate dinner every night. We'd make a picnic on the balcony for the girls, and we'd eat at the table. It was perfect! Awesome food prepared by Mimi, a wonderful view, and great company!

Blog Button

CARE has a blog button!!! If you'd like to put it on your blog, just copy the code below, go to layout on your blog, and copy as an html text. That's it! Hopefully this will bring us more exposure and adoptions!

X-rated Dolphin Show

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We took a dolphin cruise with "Captain Lori" one day while on vacation. We've never done this before and it was really neat. We drove to a bay area that dolphins go to when babies are being born. Sharks won't come in the bay because it doesn't have the fish they live off of there...so they're safe there and they know it. Anyway, Capt. Lori was very animated and told us all kinds of interesting things about the dolphins. The girls had a hard time finding the dolphins. They were more interested in watching Capt. Lori.
A., my mom, and I got lots of laughs during this cruise. Capt. Lori kept playing the theme song from "Flipper"...she should have been playing a Marvin Gaye song. Apparently, we kept "interrupting" a pair of dolphins that were, um, mating:) They came within 5 feet of the boat twice, and you could definitely tell what they were doing! It was funny.

Vacation Pix's

Last year L HATED the sand. We had to take a kiddie pool and lots of blankets down to the beach each day, because she wouldn't sit in the sand. This year, she cried the first 15 minutes about the sand, and loved it the rest! She would have sand from head to toe!

G loves to play "catch ball", and she's pretty athletic. She definitely doesn't get that from her Mama:)

This is G's interpretation of taking a shower:) She's pretend she was bathing with her bucket of ocean water.

They discovered goggles this year...and as you can see they are not just worn under water.

I am finally getting all of the vacation pix's edited/organized. Quite a job when you take so many! We had such a glorious time, and I wanted to have pictures to remember it all:)

"Dog Lady"

This is a very sweet girl at the pound now who I'm trying to find a foster for. You can check her and her sister out on the website: www.covingtonanimalrescueeffort.com.

I am not exaggerating at all when I tell you that I get at least 2 phone calls a day from strangers asking if I am the "dog lady"... word gets around fast. Since I started this dog rescue org. it has been non-stop. I just got off the phone with a lady who called me (I don't where they ALL get my number from!) to ask me to take her dog because it's getting in fights with the others she has. I mean, seriously. This endeavor, or calling, has really taught be a lot in the last 5 months. Here's a few things I've learned:
1. People will take advantage of you. They will place an inconvenience on you just to make things easier for them. If you give some people an inch, they'll take it a mile.
2. Most people have great intentions to do something, but when it comes down to actually doing it, they back out. It's like seeing humane society or starving children commercials on tv. Most will have a sudden surge of "oh my gosh, I need to send money", but never will.
3. There are a lot of people out there that regard animals as disposable creatures. When they get tired of them, they can easily drive out to the country, open the door, and shove them out.
4. Even though I am mostly disappointed when it comes to all things revolving around dog rescue, there are some really great instances when people have been incredibly giving. Like a couple here in town who are building kennels to foster our dogs, volunteers that will drive sick dogs to foster homes and vet appointments, and women that will spend their Saturday's with me in extreme heat to try to raise money and find potential adopters. Some people are freakin' awesome!
5. Last, and certainly not least, I've learned that it doesn't matter what people call you. They can call you weird, lazy, different, or even "the crazy dog lady". If you feel good about the difference you are making and you know you are living the life God has called you to live, then it only matters what God calls you:)

A Beautiful Day

It was a beautiful day today, so we went to the zoo.

They have a very cool new bird exhibit. You got to hold these sticks with birdseed on them and the birds would fly right up to you and land on them. Very cool, and very startling at the same time!

I LOVE this face! She was squealing and saying "your too close birdie"!
Um...no pictures of L with the birds. She didn't like them. She absolutely refused to feed them. She watched from the comforts of a stroller;)

The face painting was really neat. They couldn't stop looking at themselves! G was in a bad mood later (no nap), and cried even harder when she realized her tears were washing the paint away! It was pitiful.

I even bought this stroller off a family while there. I commented on how much I liked it, and they sold it to me! I got a great deal:)

Vacation Snapshots

G like to pretend she was "showering" with the ocean water in her bucket. Her interpretation was hilarious:)

L in deep thought...

G did a lot of her "kung fu" moves on the beach!

We discovered goggles this year...and as you can see they are not just an
accessory worn around water.

Sisters

SISTERS MAKE LIFE EASIER


A sister is the one who makes life easier to live,
Whom you can share our likes and dislikes with,
She is the one who tells us her vast secrets and feelings
And asks us to do the same,
And has the rights to know all our friends' name.
She makes us feel comfortable when we are sad,
She guides us the right way when we are bad,
She is more than any word can tell,
She holds us when we tend to fall.
She comes to know our problems through our eyes,
She is of course naughty but wise,
She is my life's sunrise.
We should always make oneself full
of these qualities to be a sister.
And my Sister you are the most beloved to me
As you care so much for me!

7th month waiting

Today marks the 7th month we've been "waiting" for that phone call and picture to be emailed. It's a hard wait. We started the process one year ago this month, and it feels like 3 years ago! We are so excited about receiving a baby boy that God has chosen for us, and it just can't get here fast enough. We love him so much already:)
Our agency's "wait time" for referrals is an average of 6-10 months...so we could get the call any day, or it could be 3 more months!!!! Even after the call, it will be another 3-4 months before we'll be able to go get him and bring him home. Pray for our patience:)

Our Tribute to Michael Jackson

So, this may seem silly to some, but I wanted to include the girls into something special for Michael Jackson's memorial service day. I kept thinking that my mom can tell me the exact day, place, what she was doing, how she felt, etc, when Elvis passed. MJ is the Elvis to our generation in terms of our musical genius. My children will be listening to Michael Jackson songs one day...yours will too. We will always listen to Elvis, and MJ will be the same. His music will prove to be timeless and his talent never matched. I wanted to be able to tell the girls what we did the day of his memorial, so even though they won't remember, they can sit with friends and share this funny story.
I racked my brain trying to come up with something to do. They don't know who the heck Michael Jackson is! So, I made white glove sugar cookies!!! We had friends over and they all decorated them with sprinkles. One day, 20 years from now, when they are with a group of friends and a Michael Jackson song comes over the radio...they can laugh and tell them their silly mom made them glove cookies when he died. And L, I PROMISE you were there! I don't know why Mommy didn't get a pix of you. Sorry honey:)
On a serious note...I thought the service was incredible. It was tasteful, heartfelt, and somehow personal when there were so many present. The music of course was incredible, and I loved seeing all of the images of MJ with friends. I broke down in tears when "We Are The World" was sung. If you really listen to most of his songs, he was trying to really make this world more peaceful and caring. And when his daughter Paris spoke, well...I was doing the ugly cry. I pray there is not an ugly custody battle. They deserve a peaceful transition with their grandmother.
I wanted to post these words Michael wrote, because they are worth reading:

There comes a time
When we head a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And it's time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can't go on
Pretending day by day
That someone, somewhere will soon make a change
We are all a part of
God's great big family
And the truth, you know love is all we need

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

Send them your heart
So they'll know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us by turning stone to bread
So we all must lend a helping hand

When you're down and out
There seems no hope at all
But if you just believe
There's no way we can fall
Well, well, well, well, let us realize
That a change will only come
When we stand together as one

Vacation Hang-Over

Just got back from this beautiful place.

With these wonderful peeps.

G got really good at Frisbee,

and water slides.

L loved some parts of the vacation,

and didn't like other parts.

We got to see some dolphins up close and personal,

and came home with a few sea creatures.
It was a great trip! Sad to leave the lack of schedules, a "live-in" nanny (aka Mimi), the beautiful scenery, and time spent with the family. Now, back to laundry, a house the girls destroyed in no less than 30 minutes of being home, and lots of canines around here. I have a vacation hang-over...it will take me at least 4 days to recover!
Lots of vacation pix's to come for the family blog-scrapbook...warning: may be nauseating.

what infuriates me...

i need to vent. with michael jackson's unfortunate death, we've watched a lot of news in the last week watching for details on his memorial service, death, etc. it's all so sad. i've heard people say they are sick of all the mj talk and songs on every radio station...but they need to get over themselves. he'll be like elvis still is today, an artist memorialized through his music. no matter how different he was or eccentric, no one can deny that he was a musical genius.
but that's not what really ticks me off. what infuriates me is all of the media on tv questioning whether he is the genetic father of his children...i mean this makes me see red just typing it! michael jackson has been the sole guardian for his three children, their primary caregiver, the only parent they've known. the fact of whether or not he is linked by genes to his babies is irrelevant...HE IS THEIR DADDY! i think it is completely inappropriate and disrespectful to even propose that that somehow makes a difference. i mean, if God forbid anything ever happened to a. and i, would someone say that connor should go to someone else b/c he isn't biologically our child? it's ludicrous! mj left a will, as their father, as to who he wanted to raise his children should something happen to him...if his 3 children are split-up, it will be a major injustice and failure of our court system.
so, i wish people would stop with the talk of "whether they are his children"...THEY ARE! we are all God's children, are we not? so we are all genetically linked to one another anyway.
whew, i feel better now that i got that off my chest!