Family Rocks!!

We left yesterday morning and headed down to see my sister and her family. I absolutely LOVE going down to see them. There's nothing like spending time with and loving your family. We had a great time! Enjoy our pictures. My sister Beth and her husband Jeff
My beautiful superstar niece Lauren

My parents took us out for pizza last night and then took us out again for breakfast. Yahoo!

Five beautiful women!

What a family!

Sophie and Abby were inseparable this weekend. They had so much fun together. They giggled, and played and then giggled again. It's the stuff I used to dream about... Abby getting along with her cousins and becoming best friends. It actually happened this weekend!

Papa and his girls

Laundry, laundry,laundry....

My amazing sister (who has three daughters) was kind enough to loan me all her baby clothes for Grace. I have quite a few clothes left from Abby, but when Abby first came home as an infant, I did borrow these clothes from my sister. My sister is so giving!! She allowed me to use them again. Needless to say my washing machine has been working overtime tonight and will work again tomorrow to catch up on these little outfits. Here's the first load, all washed, dried and folded into piles. These are the 3-6 months size clothes. I'm hopeful that Grace will be 5 months old when she comes home.

This is the next pile. It's the 6-9 months size. She should be in these fairly quickly this spring.

Here's another 6-9 month pile. I think I'll be doing laundry for the next few days!

Happy Thanksgiving

Bless the Lord O my soul and ALL that is within me, Bless His Holy Name!
We had a great Thanksgiving Day. We started the day by waking up super early and running to Meijer to check out some early bird specials. They had a Wii Fit for half price and a portable dvd player on sale. I couldn't believe how packed the store was and it wasn't even Black Friday. We were successful with the portable dvd player, but not with the Wii Fit. I was even able to pay for it in electronics and didn't have to wait in the enormously LONG line.
Then we went to church were it was a packed house. I love going to church when it's packed and everyone is in a great mood. The atmosphere was so electric and so thankful. There was an open mic session and I can never bring myself to say anything. I'm not a public speaker and I get embarrassed so quickly. But my amazing dad stood up and gave thanks for his 8th grandchild who is in Ethiopia and coming home in January. I started crying. This is the one thing I am most thankful for this year and it is because of God's grace that my dream will be coming true.
After church we made another quick stop at Meijer to pick up some diaper deals and then it was off to my grandparents house for dinner. We had a feast! It was delicious! After a few games and some great conversation we headed home to go through the huge stack of ads in the newspapers. I was armed with paper and pen to write down everything I needed (I mean wanted). But...I couldn't find anything to write down. We did make one last trip to Walgreens to pick up a very few deals and then it was home to take showers and calm down. Tomorrow we're headed to my sister's house so it's early to bed for everyone tonight.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! My cousin Rachel and her husband, Ben, are in town for Thanksgiving. They flew in from Oregon last night. I haven't seen them in several years, so it's nice to reconnect again. Abby is loving the time with them. At bedtime I asked her what her favorite time of the day was and she said, "playing with Rachel and Ben". Too cute!

I love this picture! Here are four generations of beautiful Godly women. My grandma turns 89 on Saturday, then there's my mom, me and my daughter Abby. This picture will be a treasure for years to come.

Downtown Holiday Fun

Last night we headed downtown for the annual Holiday celebration. Even though it's an annual celebration, we've never gone so we weren't sure what to expect. We had a great time. The streets were lined with luminaries, the carolers were singing Christmas songs, Santa was visiting with the kids, there was hot chocolate and even chestnuts roasting over a fire. I ran into lots of people I knew and Abby loved the free cookies from the stores. We were only downtown for an hour, but it was totally worth it. We'll do back again next year.

Nesting

I've really gotten the nesting instinct lately. I just really want my Gracie home! I've already emptied several tubs of clothes and put them into her drawers. Saturday afternoon I decided to tackle the crib. I was planning on putting it up next week when I have a little time during Thanksgiving break, but I was in the cleaning mood and decided to go ahead and just do it. It looks so great in Abby's room. I was worried that it wouldn't fit nicely because Abby's bed takes up so much room, but I was surprised at how much room there was for it. I was also concerned that Abby wouldn't adjust to it being in "her" room, but again I was surprised. It didn't seem to faze her at all. She was totally fine with it. I hope I can be as blessed when Grace finally comes home and actually sleeps in it.

Friday Night Fun

On Friday night we ventured over to our friend Beth's house for dinner. This is the group of single adoptive moms that I get together with once a month. I absolutely love these girls. We have a great time and our kids get along so well! Beth prepared a feast for dinner and we were actually able to sit around the table and chat while the kids played and played and played. We giggled, laughed and shared. It was fantastic. I love this group of moms! Abby and Levi played hard all night. They spent much of the night running around in circles and screaming. (that is until I put a stop to the screaming...)

Aliya surprised us all by finally coming out of her shell and making almost as much noise as Abby and Levi. It was so fun to see!

Kim brought her friend Cassidy along and she fit in so well with all the kids.

Parent Teacher conferences and Report Cards

It's been so crazy here. I'm in the middle of parent teacher conferences and report cards. I'm working 14-15 hour days and feeling the pain. My parents have been incredible and have been keeping Abby until I get home around 8:30pm. They even bring her home and have her in pajamas for me. They are such a blessing. I have a love hate relationship with parent teacher conferences. I truly do enjoy meeting all the parents and I always have important things to share with them, BUT it's hard to have conferences after a loooong day of teaching. I'm so ready for Thanksgiving break.

When I came home from my conferences, I found Abby's preschool report card waiting for me. It felt a little weird being on the other side of the report card. I've always been the one creating the report and writing the comments. This time I was the receiver. I've never been more proud of Abby! She's doing great!! I don't have conferences with her teacher until March, and I'm sure it will be different to be on the other side of the table. But for now, I'm in love with my daughter's report card and with her awesome moral character.

Yep, I'm in love with coupons!

It's true. I'm a fanatic with coupons. But...I can get such great deals!! Today I headed to Target armed with my store coupons. I was ready to find the deals. We headed to the baby section. Yep, I'm going to be a momma again so I need to stock up!! I got everything in this picture (4 tubs of baby wipes, 4 packs of baby wipes and 4 packs of toddler wipes) for only $1.16!! Can you believe it? What a deal! Maybe, just maybe if you're nice, I'll share my secrets. :)

A Perfect Fall Day

Today was absolutely beautiful. It was almost 70 degrees and we saw the sun all day. I love the Indian summer in November. We went off to church this morning. It was my week to teach preschool so we headed to church early. Then while Abby went home with my parents, I was able to go to the second service. It was so much fun to share my referral news all over again with my church family. There are two other families who have adopted kids from Ethiopia this past year and they were excited to share my news. After church we headed out to Pizza Hut for lunch. We talked and talked about our traveling plans, new baby clothes and how we can't wait to bring her home. By the way, I have decided on her name, but I'm not going to put it on the blog. So if you see me in real life, ask away because I'm totally ready to share. Otherwise I'm sure that you'll be able to get it out of Abby without any prompting or bribing. She pretty ready to share her news too.
After a short nap we headed outside for an afternoon walk. I walked the dog and Abby rode her bike. She was so excited to be back outside again. It was so beautiful outside that we quickly shed our jackets in the sun. After our walk I pulled out my beloved lawn chair and the neighbors joined us for some entertainment. Ahhh...it made me miss the lazy days of summer. I thought I wouldn't get the lawn chair out again, but it felt good be in it today. I'm not sure how many more days there will be. We headed in for some dinner, bathtime and some Dora before bed. I worked a little more on report cards and now Abby's sleeping and I'm checking email and updating the blog. It's been a good day. Abby thought everyone should have a snack so she volunteered to get her snacks and share. It was cute to watch her give everyone a snack. I'm only hopeful that she'll also be in the sharing mood when her sister comes home.

This picture cracks me up. I asked both Jake and Abby to smile. Jake did a great job, but Abby thought she would be funny and look the other way. But you can tell by the smile on her face that she knows exactly what she's doing.

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow!!!

Today turned out to be a G-R-E-A-T day!!!!! Today I got the call!! Around 11:30am my adoption agency called and told me they had a referral for me. A referral!!!!! For me!!!! She' adorable!!!!!! I wish I could post her pictures but there are regulations with that and I won't be able to post her picture until she becomes legally mine, which is after our court date. Anyway, here are the vital statistics:
Name ??? (yep, STILL haven't decided, or I just want to keep you guessing)
Age ?? (unknown...she was abandoned so there is only a guess at her age...approximately 2 months old right now)
Weight about 9 pounds
If you see me in real life, I'll have her picture and yes, I'll share it. She's so BEAUTIFUL!! I'm totally amazed at the intricate workings of our God. He worked out every finite detail. Every single one! Even down to same size and season of clothes that Abby wore when she was so little. PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!!

Happy Birthday Nana!

Today was my mom's birthday! We love her SOOO much! We are so blessed by her and through her. She has been the most incredible mother, but even more so she has become an amazing friend. Very few people can say that they get along with their mom as friends, but that's exactly what we are...friends!
We hosted her birthday party and we had a feast! The menu included chicken enchiladas, tacos, chips and cheese, fruit salad, corn, ice cream and cake! We all left the table with full stomachs. My brother and his family joined us too. My sister-in-law and nephew stayed home due to illness, but the rest of the family came and we had a great time. Enjoy the pictures! Abby helped me make this cake yesterday and was super excited to show Nana as soon as she arrived.

Here's a close up of the cake. It was super easy and super fun! It looks great and tasted even better!

The kids were holed up in Abby's room working on "art" projects. They all had their own art coloring book. This is Seth. Abby and Leah are below.

Here's the whole gang at dinner. What a good looking bunch!

Since everyone was worried about sickness Nana decided to use a paper to put out her candles instead of blowing. It was hilarious and caused us all to laugh. We love you Nana!