Rainy days are still fun!

So today was a bit dicey b/c rain was called for the entire day. The sun was out when we woke up and the boys raced out to a boating store to get a ski rope and by the time they got back the rain started falling. GRRRRRRR.

They decided to go water skiing anyway and after 2 hours of boys being on the water and the kids destroying the house, the girls decided to go outlet shopping in North Conway, NH. The dads took the kids mini-golfing and to a park b/c the rain ended up stopping once they got back on land. (that is always the way!)

The girls and I had a fine time perusing the stores and I made a few purchases that I am currently wearing!

Of course we overstayed our time at the shops and had to race home. Got back around 5:30 and the dads had already fed and bathed the kids!!!! I told them the good news and the bad news was that they did an incredible job taking the kids for the afternoon. I am sure it won't be long before we ask them to do it again ; ) The moms graceously did bed time while the guys set up some lawn games.

C&D made some tasty munchies for cocktail hour and the boys played "baggo" and the girls relaxed on the couch.

D of C&D took me driving in their vintage beetle. I had never driven one before and I was thrilled to drive a 2 gear car with no clutch! Ha! Total fun!

Here are some fun pics from today....


My friend T relaxing on the couch.


R on the grill making lunch.


The boys playing Baggo.




C of C&D is serving her apps to the guys playing lawn games. What a nice gal!

Lobsta

I am having trouble with the pictures on the last post. They are getting all screwy. Our friends M&T brought 33 lobsters for the 8 adults. Yes, do the math, it was a VERY good meal. Needless to say, there were a few crustations left over.


M of M&T then made Lobster-Cakes for cocktail hour yesterday. They were HUGE and so incredible. Nothing better than fresh lobster!

The kids were thrilled to have SMORES last night...




After the kids go to bed we retire each night to club HOMY (stands for our last names) which is the game room in this house. We blast club music and pull out the beers. In the absence of a sitter and being able to get out of the house, this is a great late night alternative!

VACATION

Hello From Maine!

We are on vacation with 3 other families at a lake house in Maine having tons of fun. Eight kids and eight adults lends itself to a whirlwind of chaos and mad fun. It is a 9 bedroom house right on a lake where we've got a boat and a few canoes and kayaks.

I made scrapbooks for all the kids and a T-shirt with a "Maine 2007" Logo I created with all our family names on it. Each day the kids are going to write their favorite part of the day and then draw a picture of it. Here is a picture of all the kids about to get their goodie bags.
Here they are working on their first journal entries. (the making of future bloggers!)











Our friends M&T have lobster traps back home and brought up all their lobsters for dinner last night. Here is a picture of our dinner table from last night. It was a GREAT meal!

Here are some more pictures from our first day here:





A picture of my handsome hubbie!






Kids on the boat yesterday.

Posh Pickles

As if I did not have enough to do, I have opened up a CafePress store. I did it mainly b/c I couldn't quite find the Adoption gear I was looking for. Something simple and not overstated. About 7 months ago I started drawing on paper and came up with this girl only it took me this long to figure out how to get her into .jpg format to get her up on CafePress. Well I finally bought some software and did it. And now she has brothers and sisters that look like L & B. How convenient ; )

I am going to keep working on new stuff but so far here is what I have got....
















Here is a link to my CafePress Store:

Umbilical Cord and the Red Thread

Adoption is beautiful. I love everything about it. I love the thought of my daughter with her dark straight hair. I love the word "adoption". I love that we are building our family through adoption. I love that we have the opportunity to not only grow our family in number but also to grow our family culturally. It has been over a year since we sent our dossier to China with the dream of the CCAA matching us with our second daughter. In the past year I love that fact that our family has embraced learning about chinese culture in anticipation of our newest member.

HOWEVER, what is really hard is this wait. It is really hard to stay connected when the wait keeps getting longer and longer. In the first 6 months it seemed like I celebrated each passing month as if I was counting down the months. But I am not. I cannot. Who knows how many months in the end we will wait. How can I count down or up if I don't know what to expect???? Lately, it seems like with each passing month I feel less and less connected with my daughter and that really makes me sad.

When I was pregnant with my first two they were connected to me by an umbilical cord but there were days that I did not technically feel them. Yeah, I got fat and wore maternity clothes so there were those reminders but it wasn't until the baby kicked or turned around that I got that jolt of "oh yeah, there's a baby in there" kind of feeling. The one thing that I miss with this adoption is that reminder- that kick- that says to me "oh yeah, a baby is coming". I faithfully wear my red bracelet, a symbol to me and the world that yes, I am expecting a baby. Adoption maternity clothes so to speak.

Well I am happy to say that today I felt the baby kick. I saw that June 2006 is through review and with a July 6, 2006 LID I am certain we are being reviewed right now. I am so thrilled to feel like things are moving forward. I know the review room makes most people nervous but most people get through it just fine. I am calling it my 18-week ultrasound. It will take a few weeks to get the results but I am thrilled we are just in the exam room!

When you are pregnant your uterus expands to hold a growing baby. With adoption, you heart does the same thing. I feel like my heart is going to explode right now. I can feel her in there. Adoption is a beautiful.

JM ROCKS!

************** J O H N M A Y E R ***************************

Last night we went to see "John" as he is affectionately called at our house, and oh man was he great. We sat in the 6th row! At the start of the show when he walked out onto the dark stage and you could barely make out his sillouette, I heard my SIL gasp "he cut his hair". The lights went up and sure enough he had cut his hair and perhaps had a swig of hottie potion b/c he looked great. There was not a single female in the whole place who was not swooning last night. Married or not- it didn't matter.

The great thing about JM concerts is that I LOVE every song that is played. Unlike other concerts where I go hoping to hear one or two of my favorites, I love everything John plays so I am such a happy camper the whole time. He is a GREAT performer and is incredible to see live.

My current favorite song of his is Belief and he played that last night. It was great.

He played a bunch of old stuff too which took us back to the early days with L & B. Such a great night.

Big Week & Baby Steps

Today we celebrate 1 year from our LID. It has gone by in a flash but there has not been a single day that goes by where I don't think about my daughter in China. In my heart I have three children it is just a matter of going to get her. Last year on July 6th I was working in my garden and I found a ladybug and for some reason I just knew in my heart that we were being logged in that day. I was excited to later learn that I had been right, we were infact logged in on 7/6. This week I was playing in my garden with the kids and a ladybug landed on my shoulder. Again, I felt the presence of my daughter. She is out there and will find her way to us.

There are three bits of good news this week. 1) Referrals have been mailed. 2) The review room reviewed 31 days worth of dossiers in 14 days. That is a humdinger of good news. In the past it has taken them anywhere from 1-3 months just to review 30 days so 31 days in 14 is GREAT news. They are through reviewing dossiers that arrived before May 31st so they are working on June right now. After they get through June we will be next!!!! I am very excited. Now for the last piece of good news for the week, a favorite family of mine is in China right now picking up their Mei Mei. I am thrilled for them as they have had a picture of their daughter since last September. I can't wait until they get home!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!

What a wonderful time of year. I love the spirit of the 4th of July. I love the kids faces as they enjoy the parades, face painting and fireworks. I hope you all enjoy celebrating this year's Independence Day. It is a big week here at our house since 11 years ago tomorrow my husband asked me to marry him in the nave of Westminster Abbey in London and on Friday we celebrate our 1 year anniversary from LID. (And on Friday we are getting some new furniture delivered so that is always fun!)

I might as well take a moment to tell you all that we have decided to not to move. Our home could not sell at a price we were comfortable with. Well, I am saying that nicely. We were looking at possibly losing money on the house and that's no fun at all. So we are going to stay in our cute little New England town and enjoy being close to our amazing friends and family (who probably sabotaged the sale..LOL). L is thrilled as one of her best friends is in her Kindergarten class and B will be going to TK with a few of his life long friends. I am sure life is working out for the best.