Snow & Sickies

Well the girls have a snow day tomorrow and there is no snow....YET!  The weather people are saying we are going to get 12+ inches by tomorrow night.  I have mixed feeling about that...I'm kinda ready for winter to be done, I'm sick of the cold/snow/drearyness BUT my girls have never seen 12+ inches of snow!  So I suppose as long as we can stay in the warm house and watch the snow from there I'm good with it :) 

As for the sickies, Lexy got us started when she woke up Friday with a fever :(  The doctor wasn't sure if she had the beginnings of a sinus infection/virus/strep throat but put her on antibiotics.  She's feeling better except at night when she has a hard time breathing and sometimes sounds like she's coughing up a lung.  I started feeling icky on Sat. and then Mike's icky started on Sun.  Whatever this is it's wiping us out!  So far (knock on wood) Brooke hasn't gotten this but she's avoiding us and taking vitamin c like they're candy.  BUT I have to say I would much rather us have this icky than the other one going around town with the pukes!

What is there to do in Ecuador?

A man visited Lexy's school to talk about his travels to Ecuador and show pictures.  A few nights later, Lexy announced to Mike and I that she and Brandon (whom she has called her boyfriend since last year) are going to get married, move to Ecuador and have two children when they get old enough :-)  She said that both her and Brandon loved hearing about and seeing pictures of Ecuador and they both want to live there.  We told her that Ecuador is a long way away and we would miss her, without missing a beat she said "you can visit us a lot!".  Isn't she supposed to want to stay with us forever???  At this age Brooke told us that when she got married her husband was going to move into our then spare bedroom and they would both live with us forever :-)

Earlier this school year, Brandon's mom told me that Brandon told his grandpa that he had a girlfriend (Lexy) and when grandpa asked "well is she cute" Brandon responded with "well duh, I like her don't I!"  Wouldn't it be so awesome if they did end up together one day?!  Lexy says he's her boyfriend because he makes her laugh everyday, what better reason could there be :-)

So I guess we need to start researching what there is to do in Ecuador!

Snowmen

Lexy has been begging to make a snowman.  Finally today the snow had melted just enough to be perfect for snowman making!  Daddy and Lexy headed out as soon as Daddy got home for work and had a great time :)

Brooke's First Date

This evening was sad, happy and scary for me.  Brooke went on her first date!  I have such mixed emotions about her growing up :(

A few weeks ago, she invited a boy she had been texting with to be her date to the Formal Dance put on by the sorority she's in.  This week she asked if she and her date could go out to eat before the dance with her friend Cristy and her boyfriend (who happens to be her dates brother).  After many discussions and questions asked we decided to let her go somewhere local.  I'm not ready for her to be old enough to go on a date...or even like a boy for that matter :) 

Another Snow Day

Yesterday was another snow day for the girls.  Brooke was at a friends house and I just didn't feel like going out in the cold.  Lexy finally got the opportunity to go out and play when Daddy got home and she had a great time!

All the way to school this morning Lexy kept looking out the van window saying "oh man, I wish I could play in that big pile of snow"!  I can see that girl living someplace with lots of snow and being out in it everyday when she grows up!!

Pinky

Well now I know the reason why we have not heard anything more from the far away agency about Pinky.  Today they updated their website to say that there is a complication in her case that requires them to find a family from their state for her.  I'm assuming that the complication is that they are no longer in contact with birthmom and will either need to find her or file for abandonment to terminate her rights before adoption can occur which can take up to a year.  It made me very sad when I read the update.  Especially since they finally put a photo of her on her profile and I was right...she is absolutely beautiful.  I really felt that she was supposed to be a part of our family :(  All that dreaming, shopping and planning for nothing.

So we continue to wait...

Hmmmm...

Not too much going on around here.  Not that the quiet is bad, I love our peaceful drama free life :-)  I see and hear so many people focus on the negatives of their life and drama just seems to surround them.  I choose to focus on the positives, look for the good, enjoy my life to the fullest.  I guess I just try to be a "glass half full" kinda gal!

We have been doing "stuff".  We went to the basketball game last Friday to watch Brooke cheer.  And the girls and Mike all had the day off on Monday so we headed up to the mall for Lexy to get more things for her build-a-bear dog that she made and for Brooke to look for shoes to go with her dress for Formal (it's this weekend).  I've been kinda lazy and haven't taken hardly any pictures for the past couple of weeks...I think I get a little burned out after Christmas!!  And without pictures posts just seem boring :)

No new adoption news.  We did get an e-mail from the far away adoption agency that said they received our homestudy, etc. and that they would contact us if we were a potential match for "Pinky" but haven't heard anything more.  Our time will come :)

Could this be the one?

This morning as I was visiting each of the many adoption profile websites I look at daily, I noticed a new profile on the far away special needs adoption website.  She is listed as "Pinky" and she's asian, there's no picture but I'm thinking she is absolutely beautiful!  She may have challenges due to her birthmothers decision to drink heavily throughout her pregnancy. : (

I sent an e-mail to the agency telling them of our interest.  Now we wait to see if we get a phone call.  Since I sent that e-mail I have had a VERY nervous stomach.  And I've been looking at all things baby and girly on etsy.com :-)

Another door opened....could this be the one?

Snow Day!

Brooke woke me up this morning telling me that they had a snow day!  Lexy begged all morning to go out so after lunch Brooke headed out for a snowball fight with neighborhood kids and Lexy and I headed out to play!  After we were frozen through we came back in for mint hot chocolate and butterscotch haystacks!

Adoption Update

Hmm where to start...this all gets so confusing about what kids I've written about and what kids are no longer on "our list" and which ones we are still looking into!

Okay so the sibling group of four from far away state are already matched with a family.

We inquired and submitted our homestudy today for two brothers (almost 3, 3 months) from nearby state.

AND...

Our adoption worker finally got word that she can work with us to submit our homestudy to the far away agency (NY) that does special needs infant adoptions.  So Mike and I sat down tonight and submitted our client application and homestudy to the agency.

So as of right now we have homestudies submitted for...

Sib set of 3 (b-3, g-2, b-8mos) from our state
Sib set of 2 girls (7, 1) from nearby state
Sib set of 2 boys (almost 3, 3 months) from nearby state
Special needs infant adoption agency

Happy New Year 2011

After toasting in 2011 with sparkling apple juice, we sat and talked about the fact that while 2010 was a good year for our family, we are anticipating a GREAT year for 2011 :-)

Last year after deciding to come up with a "word to live by" for the new year instead of a resolution, I wrote...

"My word for the New Year is Believe...believe that anything is possible, believe that things happen for a reason, believe that stepping out of our comfort zone will lead us to our next child(ren), believe that we can take on the responsibilities of our new child(ren) and will be given the resources we need!"

While Believe was a good choice for the year and truly helped me keep my head in a good place, I've decided to go a little stronger with my word this year.
 
My Word to Live By for 2011 is DETERMINATION.
 
Determination to make things happen.  I WILL have the drive, dedication, nerve and persistance to do what I need to do.  I WILL NOT rely on someone else to make it happen, wait for a "better time", accept less than I expect, feel powerless.
 
There are several areas in my life that DETERMINATION is needed, a few of them are...
 
Adoption....I will actively look for "our children", I will do what I need to do to open new doors, I will not let anyone (adoption workers) make me feel like I'm asking too much of them/too many questions.
 
Weight/Health...I will do what I know I need to do to be healthier, I will not wait for a better time, I will focus on being healthier everyday.
 
Home...I will work on not procrastinating (making more time for doing fun things with/for my family), I will work on being a more patient mom and wife, I will work on focusing on the positive.

**Determination**