Build a Bear

Today Joseph got his first Christmas present of the season. Grandma sent him to build his very own Mumble at Build a Bear. Mumble is the penguin from the movie Happy Feet. We had a great time watching him stuff, bathe, dress and just love Mumble. Joseph enjoyed this so much and was so proud. Hands down, he has the best Grandmother around and we all thank her from the bottom of our hearts for this very special day. Enjoy the pictures!


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One Month

Today we are officially one month down to our wait for Mimi. Who knows where the wait is going. The newest rumor is that there is going to be a speed up but I don't believe anyone really knows for sure. As much as we want a speed up and our daughter home, we know in our hearts it will happen when it is meant to happen. I read on my friend Theresa from Tampa's blog a beautiful Thanksgiving post and she said if she "wished it all away, I would have missed...." Well she is right, this past week our family has made such wonderful memories and they are part of this journey to bring us to our daughter/sister. It's funny how often Mimi is talked about and made a part of our daily conversations. Mimi is a part of every day we spend now, even though she is not here with us yet.

We spent our Thanksgiving on an Island called Boca Grande. It is a beautiful, unique, peaceful and just amazing place. The minute I stepped foot onto this Island back in June, I said one day I will live here. I felt it even more this trip. I mean by one day, after our children have grown. But in the meantime, Joseph absolutely loves the island and is sure his sister will too. This is very special place to all of us in many ways. Well for one, it was the first overnight trip we took with our boat back in June. We weren't there more than a couple of hours when we were settling in, had taken our golf cart around and began to fall in love with the island, when I received an email from our agency that we were matched with our social worker. This is a big step in the adoption process..... We finally connected by phone the next day and as we chatted we started to discuss our first meeting and she said she'd be coming to see us from Boca Grande. Well, my heart skipped a beat as I was sitting on our boat on Boca Grande. Yes, this is pretty ironic as this entire island is only 7 miles and only has about 600 full time residents. We both laughed and joked about how small the world was. This was our first trip back since June and the island was even more special to us this time. We set out with a bit of a cold spell for Florida (only in the 60's) on Wednesday but it quickly warmed up by Thursday and stayed in the upper 70's for the weekend. There was great fishing (we caught Sheepshead, Red fish and Snapper), great shopping with lots of boutiques and amazingly good restaurants and we got to spend an evening with our social worker/friend and her family which was very special as well. On our last night there was a Christmas Walk and they lit lumanarie throughout the town. This was a tradition my family did growing up so it was very nice to see it again. Joseph really enjoyed it and wants to try it on Christmas Eve at our house. Santa even showed up in Boca Grande - how cool is that!
This was Ms. Boo's first boat trip and she did awesome. It's as if she had been boating forever. She loved it and was a big hit with everyone she met.


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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

We are grateful on this Thanksgiving day and give thanks for the many blessings we have in our lives. We are thankful for our family who we are not with today but know that they are always in our hearts and minds. We miss you all!
We also give thanks to the caretakers in China who are taking care of our daughter and all the other children awaiting their forever familes. We will be eternally grateful..... As we have requested a girl between 18-24 months, we know in our hearts she is already born.
Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Birthday Alice

My best friend Alice's birthday is today - being she is my best friend, I should know that, but no I call her one day early every year. Maybe she should just consider officially changing it to November 21 - it would certainly make my life a whole lot easier - just kidding. I'll definitely call on the right day next year. Alice's beautiful daughter Julia is going to have surgery next week for her tonsils, ear tubes, etc. so she is, as she should be, a nervous wreck. I don't think her birthday will be a big deal for her this year but I want her to know that I am thinking about her and wish that we could be together to have a glass of Pinot Grigio (her favorite wine) together and talk endlessly as we have spent so many, many nights - Remember those nights at Crown Plaza Alice - oh goodness.... We have known each other since 1991 when we worked together. Our jobs ended but not our friendship. We have been friends through the good, the bad and the ugly. She knows everything about me and still likes me - amazing. Anyway HAPPY BIRTHDAY my friend!!!!!
Alice has 2 beautiful children adopted from Russia - Julia is 5 and Christopher is 4 - here they are.....


Enjoy your day....

Cabbage Key

This slide show is a little late but nonetheless deserves a post... This wonderful little island which is only accessible by boat or sea plane took us just under an hour to get to but felt as if we traveled a million miles away. It was beautiful, tranquil and just so peaceful. The one and only restaurant on the island is covered with dollar bills from people who have eaten there from all over the world. Joseph took forever to find the perfect spot for his dollar and told the waitress when he comes back he will have money from China to hang up. We can't wait.....

Oh, by the way, the answer to how much money is there - $70,000 at last count. When there is a storm and the wind blows down the money, whatever falls is donated to Charity.


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Ladybugs everywhere....

Today our mail brought us these beautiful ladybugs from Grandma in New York....




After we started the adoption process I was telling my mom that I bought a ladybug nightlight and was going to keep it on in MRK's room until she came home. She didn't know the significance of ladybugs and the China Adoption world - so I explained it to her and she then told me how she had a ladybug pin in her wallet since she was 16 years old - wow!!!! Well I think that Grandma and Mimi will always have a special connection through ladybugs.....




Thanks Mom (Grandma)

WE ARE BACK - where - what the heck school did I go to - Thanks Christina...

Boo and I arrived safely back in Fort Myers late last night. I got to spend the day with three wonderful ladies - Robin, Judy & Liz and of course, all the beautiful dogs. I am eternally grateful to them for all the love that Boo has already been given. She is a wonderful puppy and I fell in love with her the minute I held her, as did Joe & Joseph..... Thanks to all of you for the hospitality, the fun day and of course, Ms. Boo....
Below is a slide show of our day

Michigan Bound.....

I'm off to Michigan to bring home Boo. It is a bittersweet day for all of us. As much as I know we are going to love her so much, Chloe's death was untimely and unnecessary. Boo has been living with a really neat person named Judy who was kind enough to send me more recent pictures. Judy and I have been emailing each other this past week so I feel like I know her already and I know that Boo has been in really good hands and loved very much.

Gifts, etc.

Here is a picture of the wonderful books Aunt Christina sent for Mimi and all of us (we are learning Mandarin quite well) and the book we won (well paid a small fortune) for at the Silent Auction at our Reunion :)




Here is the beautiful Cross from Aunt Donna....



Here is my precious doll my wonderful husband bought for me (and Mimi) at Epcott from the dollmaker who made the first doll we ever bought together in Cape May in 1991 - small world - lots of red threads.......


Finally, here is the beautiful picture and book that we were the highest bidder on at the silent auction - and by the way it wasn't so silent at the end.... I made sure we got it though - hate to be competive but geez, I just had to have it :)

Here comes the sun....

Introducing Ms. Boo.....




Chloe's wonderful breeder in Michigan, Robin, has given us another gift in our lives. This little pup is a Norwich Terrier (similiar coat and personality but different ears and color than the Norfolk). She will not replace our Chloe but we are ready to open our hearts and home to her. She will join our family this coming weekend.
****Adoption update: We spent this past weekend in Orlando for our Adoption Agency's Annual reunion. It was wonderful to see all of the beautiful children and to meet the many people who we have been working with. I also got to meet Theresa


- She and I had the same fingerprint appt, we then each had our bumps along the way, we ended up DTC the same day and then ended up with the same LID. We keep saying "it's meant to be". We just may even travel together to get our children. The CCAA also had about a 15% increase in this last batch of referrals. Maybe, just maybe, things are going to speed up.