Fun Monday

Our wonderful hostess with the mostess this week is Robin, the Pensieve One. Her assignment is the following:


Regardless of what motivated me to choose this for a theme, next week please share words that inspire and motivate you--brief or bloviatory, s
illy or serious, from great world leaders to last night's Comedy Central...from a Hallmark greeting card to your favorite book. Choose one, choose many; let the quotes stand on their own or tell where you first read or heard them and how they affected you. There's a lot of leeway with how this topic can be handled.

It would be very difficult to choose just one quote. I love so many. So, I am going to choose two that I heard this past week that had me pondering life. This first one was sent to my via email from my son's birth grandmother:

“One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important.
Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970)

I just love that...kind of keeps you humble.

This next one I heard in song this week and it really struck home for me. The song is called "Stronger Woman" and it is by Jewel.

"Well from now on I'm gonna be

The kind of woman I'd want my daughter to be"

Here is the video if you would like to watch it:

Now head on over to Robin's place for more inspiration. Have a wonderful Monday!

Friday Funny History

As most of you know I usually post a joke on Fridays and call it my Friday Funny. Ironically I did not post one this past Friday, for reasons unknown to me until this morning.

Three years ago a very dear friend of mine had a reoccurrence of her breast cancer. It was a small tumor and radiation was her only treatment and it worked, for awhile. A year later it was back, but in multiple areas. I will never forget the phone call she made to me telling me. I asked her what I could do for her and she said, "Just make me laugh."

So that is what I did. I found jokes and wrote them in cards and mailed them to her. My goal was to mail one to her every week. Sometimes she recieved more than one a week, sometimes a week and a half or two weeks would go by before I sent one off. She loved them. It meant so much to her to recieve a hand written card. For 2 years I sent her jokes.

When I started blogging I incorporated this into my Friday Funny. Most of the jokes I sent to my friend I also posted here. Last Friday was the first Friday that I did not post a joke.

My friend passed away this morning at 5 am. She died peacefully at home in her own bed with her husband and sons and family present. I will miss her terribly, she was a truly special woman.

I will continue my Friday Funnies in her honor...she would have loved to see everyone laughing.

Our New Slinky Pet

This beautiful creature is our newest pet. His name is Sammie and he is a corn snake. He is just a baby and will grow to be about 4 feet long, he is currently about a foot long. His markings are gorgeous and the kids are smitten with him.


Last night we were awoken at 3 am by a loud screeching noise. Our cat brought a live mouse in the house and he decided that our bedroom would be an excellent room to play with the mouse. We didn't think that was such a great idea. I jumped out of bed and opened our door to the backyard and the cat was worried we would take his pet away from him. He grabbed his toy and ran outside. Boy, were we relieved. There is nothing worse than chasing/capturing a live mouse in the middle of the night. We have had to do that many times.


I will post the next installment of our Adoption Journey on Tuesday...the excitement is just beginning...stay tuned.


See you tomorrow for Fun Monday....

Footprints of a Family, our second adoption journey, part 10

this journey begins here I hung up the phone, looked at Dave, and said...."The baby is coming." We were instantly awake and our gears were running. The first thing I did was phone the airlines to have our flight rescheduled. While I was on hold with the airlines, I went straight to our clothes dryer and started folding clothes.


My husband sees what I am doing and incredulously asks me, "Why are you doing laundry now?" I looked at him and said, "I have no idea." To this day we laugh about that. I guess in my subconscience mind, laundry was a mind numbing, soothing act and that is what I needed in that moment.


Laundry aside, we changed our flight to that morning. My parents were going to drive us to the airport and watch Cassie while we were gone. Our good friends offered to drive our dog up to the kennels for us. Our other dog and cat were staying home and our neighbor was going to take care of them. We were set. Our bags had been packed for awhile. We were ready to go. As we were leaving the house our phone rang. It was L's mother again. Apparently it was a false alarm. We were literally walking out the door, one minute more and we would have missed the call. Now what should we do? The plane reservations were made, the car was loaded, the dog was gone, our daughter was taken care of....should we still go, or stop the process knowing that this whole scenario will be repeated again? Most likely within a few days.


We decided to go. Our momentum was going, we were unable to stop. Off we went to the airport.


We flew into Atlanta. We were planning on renting a car and driving to South Carolina. We have good friends in Atlanta so we decided to stay a night with them, since we were no longer in a complete rush. We had a wonderful visit with our friends and the next day we rented a car and drove the 2 hours to Columbia. Our friends would have liked us to stay a bit longer but we were anxious to get to our final destination. Even though we were in constant contact with L and knew she was doing fine, we wanted to be in Columbia. We knew that there was a reason for us to be there early, we just did not know what is was yet.


We arrived in town and checked into our hotel. The day was Sunday, February 6, 2000. We called L and made arrangements to meet her and her mother for dinner. In the meantime we went to the grocery store to purchase the essentials and unpack. Our hotel room had a kitchenette which we knew would be essential with a new baby.


Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. I will never forget walking into the restaurant and seeing L and her mother sitting there with the biggest smiles on their faces. We immediately felt at ease and had a wonderful meal. We talked and laughed like we had known each other forever. It was wonderful and we all agreed that this was a much better way to meet for the first time, rather than our first meeting being in the hospital.


We went back to our hotel. Before going to bed that night I wrote a note to Cassie. I promised to send her a card every day...and we did. Dave wrote some and I wrote some, and we wrote some together. Missing her was horrendeous, and every day we were there it hurt more.


We also made daily phone calls to my parents and spoke with Cassie. Everyday she asked us, "Is my baby brother here yet?"...and everyday we had to tell her "No". Everyday I hung up the phone crying...everyday my heart broke a bit more missing my baby girl. We had no idea how long we would be there. We second guessed our decision constantly, should we have stayed home? How long would this take? Not knowing was maddening. Patience....again....how many lessons would we have on patience.


What we did know was that we were there, and we would continue to be there until our little boy was born. As the days dragged on, the thought crossed our minds to just come home without our baby. That was when we were at our lowest...when we missed Cassie the most.


How many days until his birth....how long after his birth would we have to stay there?


to be continued....

Fun Monday

Our exquisite hostess with the mostess this week the Incredible, the Awesome..the One of a Kind...Swampy!!! Her assignment for this week is the following:

Choose a topic/theme and make an alphabetical list of words, phrases, photos...however you want to share your topic/theme.
Topics can range from pet-peeves, vacations, people who have influenced your life, jokes, favorites, philosopher's quotes/sayings, birds, flowers...anything. The sky is the limit. Your ABC list can be depicted with words, photos, illustrations... You are limited only by your imagination. Be funny. Be serious. Be creative. Be sarcastic. Be there, or be square.

I was a brave soul and signed up before the assignment was up!!! And this is truly an assignment...the kind of assignment that makes me cringe when my children bring it home.....Thanks Swampy!!! But...I am going to set a good example to my children and complete this assignment, sort of!!! I am making up my own rules though!!!

Here is my alphabet list of people I love and live with:

D - dedicated

A - adventurous

V - very handsome
I - intelligent

D - dependable

C - compassionate

A - athletic

S - sensitive

S - strong willed

I - intuitive

E - enthralling

M - monster boy

I - intelligent

C - cute

H - hilarious

A - active

E - eager to learn

L - lovable

Z - zealous

A - absolutely lovable

C - cuddly

K - knackered most of the time

B - ball of energy

A - ass, as in pain in

R - rambunctious

O - outstandingly handsome

N - noisy

T - territorial

U - mis Understood (by Dave)

C - cute

K - kitty

E - enjoys the sun

R - relaxation

R - relishes cuddles

O - orange

O - outstandingly gorgeous

N - nervous around strangers

E - easy going

Y - your lap warmer

Now pop on over to Swampy's nest to see everyone elses' lists....

Footprints of a Family, our second adoption journey, part 9

this journey begins here

I coudn't believe it. The moment I let go completely, it came back to me. How prophetic is that??

I waited to call her back until Dave was home. We held our breath and dialed the number.

L answered right away and asked us if we still wanted to adopt her baby. Of course we did!!! My heart was beating a mile a minute, tears were flowing down my face. We were jumping for joy...at that moment I felt utter peace in my heart and soul.

This was exactly one week before Christmas, 1999. She was going to wait until Christmas Eve to call us, but couldn't wait that long. The previous month was hard on her also. Once she was left alone, without any distractions, she was able to think. Initially she decided to parent her baby. Her mother was disappointed, but would support her. As time wore on, she changed her mind again...and again....and again. I can not fathom the mental turmoil she went through that month. My heart broke for her while she was telling me.

Her mother came in her room one day and said, "Well, I guess we should get the extra room cleared out and get it ready for the baby." L answered her, "That won't be necessary Mom. I have decided to place the baby up for adoption, with Alison and Dave."

L had made her final decision and she was at peace with it. Her mom was at peace with it also.

The phone call was made and our world was made complete. We had a wonderful Christmas that year, knowing that it would be Cassie's last one as an only child. The following Christmas we would have a 10 month old boy crawling around. Yes, this baby was a boy and he was due in February.....the 12th to be exact.

I had decided that I wanted to breastfeed this baby. This has always been a dream of mine and through much research, I found it could also be a reality. I was taking herbal supplements in tea and pill form that could induce lactation. I also borrowed a breast pump from a friend and spent many an hour hooked up to it. I purchased a supplemental feeding device, drank liters of herbal tea, took tons of herbal supplements, and made permanent hickeys on my breasts. I was preparing for my second round of motherhood!!

The next month was also spent getting all the paperwork completed with our agency here and the one in South Carolina. The birthfather was still opposed to the adoption so we had to retain an attorney here and one in South Carolina. We also had to plan our trip back there for the birth. Our hope was to be there for the actual birth, but we also knew we would have to stay there for at least a week, if not more, after the birth before we could come home. Even though we wanted to be present for the birth, we had to be practical also. We could not fly across country and wait for a baby to make up his mind to enter into the world, knowing he could very easily be late. We made tentative plane reservation for February 12th.

Another dilemna we had was should we bring Cassie with us? We wanted her with us, but again we had to be practical. Who would watch her during the birth? Could we adequately care for a 4 year old during such an emotional time in our lives? The answer was "no". My parents kept Cassie and it turns out to be the wisest decision we made.

We also made arrangement for our dogs to stay in our friend's kennel for the duration of our trip. They knew it could be a spur of the moment drop off and were fine with the arrangements.

So, we were set. We had our bags packed. A bag packed for the baby. Travel arrangements were made. Care was set up for our daughter and our dogs. We were ready...we were in the hurry up and wait mode.

On Saturday, February 5th and 5:00 in the morning our phone rang....it was L's mother.


"L is on the way to the hospital. Her water has broken."


And so begins the most tumultuous 2 weeks of our lives....

to be continued....

Friday Funny

Allow me to translate for you:


If yur (your) name is momy (mommy) than u (you) sud (should) keep out. Do not ckom (come) in.



Notice the drawings on the door....he is a muralist in the making!!! This was during his train phase.....he has since moved on to insects and dinosaurs...and you wonder why we have not painted his room yet!! No need, he drawing murals on the walls!!



Anyway....back to the love note....


I found this little love note on my son's bedroom door one day when he was 4 years old. Apparently I really made him mad, which of course I would never do!!! (please refer to this post) He was so mad that he went into his room and wrote this note and stuck it on his door. I can only assume that the smiley faces were added to ease any anger I would feel when reading the note....."I was only kidding Mommy...see the happy faces!!"



I saw the note and immediately started laughing and grabbed my camera....this was pre blogging days too!!! Later that night when I was tucking him into bed, the note was gone. I innocently asked him about it and where it went. This was his response:



"I took it down because you are being nice now."



Funny, 4 years later and I am still being mean when he gets in trouble and still being nice when he is getting his way.....



Have a wonderful Friday!!!

Footprints of a Family, our second adoption journey, part 8

this journey begins here

I hung up the phone that day and immediately regretted it. I wanted that baby more than I wanted the breath that was leaving my body in gasps. I had become emotionally attached and was not ready to let go....but let go I had to.

"If you love something set it free. If it comes back it is yours. If it doesn't, it was not meant to be."

That was my mantra that day and for many days to come.

You may wonder how I had the strength and/or faith to do what I did. I had only known L for 3 months and I only knew her through phone conversations. Our phone conversations were very long!!! At least an hour, most times 2 hours. We spoke on the phone weekly, sometimes more. We both have very open, easygoing personalities and we both have the gift of gab. We became close very fast. I felt I knew her very well. I also had numerous phone conversations with her mom. We became close also. Not only did I feel close to L, I also felt close to her mom. I knew she had a wonderful support system and I knew she could parent this baby, and do a wonderful job.

I also knew that I was a distraction to her in her decision making process. She needed to make her decision without any distractions. I needed to let her go and wait. Patience.....again.

Again....my world became ruled by the telephone. When would it ring? When it did ring would it be L or our agency. I became obsessed with the phone and was afraid to leave the house in case it rang while I was gone. Of course this was absurd...I had a 4 year old to take care of....a job to go to....dogs to walk, etc. Obviously I had to leave the house, and I did. I would take Cassie to school, go to work, walk the dogs, go grocery shopping.....and that was it. Every other minute was spent at home, waiting for the phone to ring.

But, it never rang. Thanksgiving came and went...no phone call. Should I send her an email? No...leave her alone.

Weeks went by....no phone call.

Dave did not have the emotional attachment that I had to L. He kept his distance very well, that was his safety net...his protection. Oh how I was envious of him during this time. He knew we had lost L's baby long before I even thought it. This was becoming a much different journey than our first one. Although we were still a united front, it was much more emotional for me. I spent hours on the internet searching adoption sites, searching for our next baby. Dave was detached from this...he was much more patient than I was.....oh how I yearned for his patience. He was also very patient with me during my emotional highs and lows. He was definitely the family's pillar of strength during this tumultuous period.

Christmas was one week away...I needed to do some shopping. I was tired of the phone dictating my life. I made a decision to free myself of the phone obsession. I left my house and was gone the entire day. I had a wonderful time....I felt free....I felt alive. I had not realized how depressed I had become the past month. That day energized me. I made peace with myself. It was obvious to me at this time that L had decided to parent her baby. I said a prayer for her and wished her well. I was ready to move on.

I came home that day to a phone message...it was from L.

to be continued....

Fun Monday

Our wonderful hostess this week is Nikki. Her assignment is the following:

1.) I don't know about you, but my family is great at creating strange words that only we know the meaning. Some were created when the kids were first learning to talk, others came about when our tongues were twisted and the word came out funny. Either way, the words stuck and we still use them in our daily conversations. What created words does your family use?! Please share the story behind the word if you remember. If you don't have a made up word then tell us about the unspoken way you communicate with someone. Do you and your significant other have a look that means "This party is boring, lets split" or do you have a look that your kids know means their butt is in serious trouble? Please share!! And a picture of the look would be very entertaining!
OR/AND
2.) In honor of St. Paddy's Day, please share your worst green beer story!

I don't have any green beer stories...so I will stick to the first one.

My favorite word we had was when my son was just starting to talk. Apparently he could not say Michael so he called himself GoGo. I have no idea how he got GoGo out of Michael...but he did and that is what everyone who was close to us called him for many years. Sadly, I don't remember how or when it stopped, but it did.

Another one from my son....he has always called skinny dipping - skippy dipping!! When he was younger he would always ask to go skippy dipping in our pool!!! Now everyone calls it skippy dipping!!

Head on over to Nikki's to see all the other Fun Monday participants!

Footprints of a Family, our second adoption journey, part 7

this journey begins here

The following day I called our adoption agency and gave them L's information. Contact was made between them and L, paperwork was sent to her.....the process had begun!!! Our agency informed us that we would need to retain an agency in South Carolina also, due to their state laws. They were able to recommend one for us and we contacted them. Paperwork was flying between California and South Carolina. Everything was falling into place. Well, almost everything. Unfortunately the birthfather refused to sign any papers and was being difficult. We did not allow this to deter us....the process continued.

The baby was due the beginning of February..it was now August...it seemed like a lifetime away. We busied ourselves getting the room ready and gathering baby supplies. We redid the nursery. This turned into a complete labor of love. My mom and I stripped the old wallpaper off the walls. Dave and I painted the walls a cheery yellow color. My dear friend, who ended up becoming one of this baby's godmothers, and I painted the ceiling a soft sky blue. Our wonderful friend's twin daughters painted clouds on the ceiling. The room was lovingly completed by many hands....just like our children are lovingly raised by many hands. A true labor of love.

We were in constant communication with L. We spoke on the phone constantly and emailed pictures of each other. She really wanted us to fly to South Carolina and meet her in person. Unfortunately, this was not possible for numerous reasons. We did the next best thing...we sent her a video of us and our house. We filmed every aspect of our house, outside and inside. We filmed each other and our pets. It was a wonderful glimpse into our home. L loved it. She told me her favorite part of the video was at the end. Dave was filming me talking to L. I was sitting on the floor and Cassie was standing in front of me. Cassie started walking backwards and then sat in my lap without turning around. When L saw that, she saw the blind trust Cassie had in me to be there for her and to catch her. It was then she knew she wanted her baby to be in our family.

L was receiving regular prenatal care and had her first ultrasound.....she also started feeling pregnant and felt the baby move for the first time. She called me, very excited and I shared this wondrous news with her. Our phone conversations started taking a turn at this point. Fortunately, she was very honest with me...and I appreciated this and thanked her for it. She was vacillating in her decision. The baby was becoming a reality to her and she was not sure she could follow through with her adoption plan. My premonition was coming true.

By this time I had strong feelings for her. I really cared for her and her mother. We had established a relationship. I spoke to her mother as much as I spoke to her. Her mother was 100% committed to the adoption plan...L was not. I felt for her. She was making a momentous decision that would affect her entire life.

In November we were having a phone conversation that was very typical of our conversations at that time. L was vacillating in her decision. I finally said to her -

"You are about to make a decision that will affect you your entire life. I have no doubt in my mind that you will make an excellent mother and you have wonderful support from your family. If you choose to place your baby for adoption we will give him a wonderful home and promise to keep the adoption open and loving towards you. You and only you can make this decision. You need to make this on your own, without any distractions. I am a distraction. I will let you go now so you can make your decision. Whatever you decide will be right for you. Whatever you decide, please let me know. I love you L, good luck."

We hung up the phone and I cried....

to be continued...

Friday Funny

Why Hank quit hunting!

Saturday morning Hank got up early, put on his long johns, dressed quietly, made his lunch, grabbed his shotgun and the dog, slipped quietly into the garage to load the truck, and proceeded to backout into a torrential downpour. There was snow mixed with the rain, and the wind was blowing 50 mph. He pulled back into the garage, turned on the radio and discovered that the weather would be bad throughout the day. He went back into the house, quietly undressed, and slipped back into bed. There he cuddled up to his wife's back, now with a different anticipation, and whispered, "The weather out there is terrible." She sleepily replied, "Can you believe my stupid husband is out hunting in that stuff?"

Have a wonderful Friday!!!!

An Award...How Very Exciting!!!

HolleeAnn from TheVasquez3 has given me this awesome award!!! Thank you so much HolleeAnn. You are a wonderful new blogger friend of mine. If you have not visited her yet, please do so. She is an incredible mom to a very lucky young lady...she even does sleepovers!!! How great is that? My poor daughter is deprived because I totally dislike sleepovers!!!

So....now for the fun part...I get to pass it on....I am going to pass it onto the following blogger friends who visit me on a regular basis and leave me wonderful comments. They make me feel loved and they make me smile every day!!!!

Swampy

Daily Diatribes
Alix from DC Days

Debbie

Hootin Anni

Manners and Moxie

Meg

Cynthia Dahhling

ChrisB

Sandy

Ordinary Art

Rainy Day Diamonds

Chrys

Melissa

Irene

Angela

Fiona

Heather

Blue Momma

Ann

Beccy
FUNky Mama

I hope I didn't forget anyone...please let me know if I did!!!



Thanks for all the encouraging comments....you make me smile every time you visit!!!!

Footprints of a Family, our second adoption journey, part 6

this journey begins here

My heart stopped. I was paralyzed momentarily.

"I am 8 weeks pregnant....please call me...."

I called her. Her name was L and she lived in South Carolina. The other side of the country....the opposite coast from us. We talked for quite awhile, maybe an hour? I can't recall...what I do recall was the comfort and ease we had with each other. We clicked instantly.

The birthfather was aware of L's plan and was supportive of her decision. She was not ready to parent her baby...the timing was not right in her life. Abortion was out of the question for her. She was adopted by her stepfather when she was very young. Adoption seemed to be a perfect choice for her. Her mother supported her decision.

She found our website from one of the adoption sites we linked to. She liked our letter and loved the fact that we had a daughter. I think she fell in love with Cassie. Ironically she wanted her baby to go to a family who already had a child. Cassie's birthmother wanted her baby to go to a family who did not have children. Every birthmother was different.

I referred L to our adoption agency to commence the paperwork process. She also agreed to email us a picture of her. We hung up the phone and I sat in shock for a few moments staring at Dave. I couldn't believe it....did we finally have a match?

I relayed all the details to Dave. This sounded very promising. L appeared to be sincere. I liked her, I did not detect any red flags. This process had taught me to listen to my intuition. The voice inside my heart and soul that told me right from wrong. The voice that screamed in my head with every other woman who had contacted us the past few months. That voice was subdued this night...this felt right except for one thing. This one thing was huge, it was momentous and I could not quiet my voice from saying it over and over in my head. I told Dave...

"She is only 8 weeks pregnant. She has not felt the baby move yet. It is not real to her. She will change her mind when it becomes real to her."

How right I was...

to be continued....

Friday Funny

A man was driving down the road and ran out of gas. Just at that moment, a bee flew in his window. The bee said, 'What seems to be the problem?' 'I'm out of gas,' the man replied. The bee told the man to wait right there and flew away. Minutes later, the man watched as an entire swarm of bees flew to his car and into his gas tank. After a few minutes, the bees flew out. 'Try it now,' said one bee. The man turned the ignition key and the car started right up. 'Wow!' the man exclaimed, 'what did you put in my gas tank'? The bee answered,

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful that my son is better and is back to school. I am also thankful that my daughter did not get the stomach flu YET!!


I am thankful that my mom is healing so well and is being a great patient!!


I am thankful that I am close with my inlaws and can be a source of support for my mother in law right now. Their lives just got more complicated and they both need our help and support right now.


I am also thankful that this is my 100th post!!! What a perfect post to be the 100th....a gratitude post...how wonderful!!!


Head on over to Julie's to see everyone's elses gratitude posts!!

PS....new installment of our journey is below!!!

Footprints of a Family, our second adoption journey, part 5

begin this journey here




Have I mentioned that we are not patient people? The waiting was interminable!! But, we had a daughter to take of and lives to lead....while waiting.


I must admit that I spent countless hours on the computer during these months. After Cassie went to bed at night and during her naps I was perusing adoption sites, bulletin boards...searching for our next angel baby. I did engage in a few email chats with young women, but nothing panned out and I can't remember details anymore. At one point we looked into adopting from Guatemala, but quickly nixed that idea. The financial cost was too great, and we would have to be away from home for too long. It wasn't a good match for our family.


Back to the waiting. Our life was busy, our life was good. Our daughter kept us busy and our minds occupied, she was our saving grace during these months.


August rolled around and our annual camping trip was upon us. Every year we go camping with our best friends (family that you choose). I had to pry myself away from the computer and our voice mail. Off we went for a week of fun, dirt, smores, laughter, and good times. It was a wonderful week. I could almost forget my intense desire for another baby, almost.


Adopting a baby is akin to delving into the unknown. You know you will eventually bring home a new life. You don't know any of the details. When you are pregnant you are given a due date. You know that sometime around this date you will give birth. In adoption you are not given a "due date". You have absolutely no idea when your baby will arrive. You also don't know where he will be born, to whom he will be born to....no details, completely unknown. This is the aspect of adoption that is the hardest to accept, but you don't have a choice. Accept it you must if you want to proceed.


We wanted to proceed. We accepted it and continued on the journey. We tried our best to stay on the right path in our journey, to not get lost or confused during the curves and twists. We knew how our journey would end....we did not know the route it would take.


Our camping trip came to an end and homeward bound we were....dirty and happy. As soon as we got home and started the laundry I checked our email and found this -


"I am 8 weeks pregnant and want to place my baby up for adoption. Please call me.......L"


to be continued...

When It Rains...It Pours...

Nothing else can happen...I hope we are done!!! Monday night my father in law took a very nasty fall. He is still in the hospital with a broken wrist and multiple facial fractures. He had surgery on his wrist early Tuesday morning. He will be OK and may come home today. Unfortunately he will be incapacitated for quite awhile, which will make my mother in law's life more complicated!!! So now we have my mom and my father in law laid up for awhile!!!


Then, last night my poor son came down with the stomach flu. I am spending my day today doing tons of laundry... why can't children make it to the bathroom????


So, I hope to try and catch up with everyone today...I am sure I have a ton of email to sift through and I haven't visited any blogs all week!! I miss you!!! I am also hoping to write the next installment of our 2nd adoption journey!!!


Don't give up on me yet....Life is happening to me right now....but it should calm down soon!!


EDIT...added later...Remember my cousin Sherryl? Well her daughter Andrya....my second cousin..who I adore...has now started her very own blog!! I am so excited for her. She is getting married this summer and I adore her fiance also!!! Please head on over and give her a warm blogger welcome!!!

Fun Monday....not so fun over here....

Janet is the host this week for our Fun Monday....she has a wonderful assignment....but unfortunately.....my creative juices are not flowing very well. I racked my brain all week trying to come up with something...and I just couldn't. I am so sorry....but please go check out everyone else's....I am sure you will thoroughly entertained.....I, myself, and looking forward to reading everyone's!!! Have a great week!!!!