Monday, January 26, 2009

A Man's Best Friend..........


From the time we brought home Lola, our teacup Chihuahua, my nephew and Lola fell in love with each other...........


This picture was taken this weekend before my nephew left for home after their vacation.....Lola is now depressed without her "best friend", we are looking into doggie prozac....:)

A Few Short Months Ago.......


.....my nephew didn't even know Buzz Lightyear existed!  Since being home his brother and sister have introduced him to both Toy Story movies...........



......when he met Buzz Lightyear IN PERSON he was amazed, and couldn't take his eyes off of him.........you could see the wheels turning in his brain and smoke coming out of his eaea trying to process the amazing situation he was in..........

.......when we left, he stayed behind and watched while the next family having their turn with Buzz & Woody, and he just kept saying over and over, "Bye Buzz Lightyear, bye Buzz Lightyear."

1st Disney moment with my nephew - a huge success!

Saturday, January 24, 2009

FOUR Kiddos!

My sister and her family are headed to the airport after a successful visit with Mickey Mouse!


I thought after the arrival of my nephew this summer, it would be complete chaos with 4 children to look after at Disney World..............


............but honestly, it was so much FUN!  We are all tired........but SO ready to add number 5 to our bunch!

Love you my sister and your family!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Good News, Some Families are Receiving Their Referrals From China TODAY!

........the Bad News only 2 days worth of logged in families received referrals......this could very well be the smallest batch of referrals in China Adoption........


I keep my faith, knowing God has His plan for us, and  I continue waiting; enjoying Paige and Jack at my side!

Congratulations to the new families created today! 

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Paige and her cousin Claudia!


Hanging out in the double stroller............


A Full Blown Case of the SILLIES!



Best Buds!



Paige's cousins strapped her to a rocket at the Toy Story Meet & Greet for Buzz and Woody--"TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!

They may only be 4 months apart in age, but they are equal in their love for each other!

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Paige's N.Y. Cousins Have Arrived In Orlando! YAY!


So we had a little bit of time to "occupy" Paige while we waited for my sister's family to arrive for their Orlando vacation.......

Paige felt creative, so she wrote a million genius songs.......that's ALOT in Paige's language!  Thought I would share!  Look out American Idol!

Circus Time!


Well.......we have a family a tradition.......every year Grandma Carole & Papa George take us to the Ringling Brothers Circus when it comes to Orlando..........



Paige's favorite part this year was the elephant "poop" and the tigers........let me tell you when an elephant goes #2.......HOLY MOLY!


This year Paige's two friends, Jared & Noah, (and their parents) came along too!  Paige was THRILLED to sit between her two buddies!

Thank you Grandma Carole & Papa George we had a great time!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

It's That Time Of The Month Again!....


no, people, not "THAT" time of the month, it's Matching Time at the Chinese Center Of Adoption Affairs in China!

Right now there are Matching Room employees with waiting families' dossiers stacked on their desks, and little pictures of Chinese babies that are needing families........

This worker then "matches" the babies and parents together and then POOF a family is born!


So on my Chinese adoption Rumor board, it is known that matching is beginning for this months referrals..........it's a little earlier then usual because the CCAA wants to clear off their desks when they leave for the Chinese New Year holiday!

On another note, a friend of mine has a 3/22/06 LID (ours is 4/3/06) and she was told she may see her referral late Spring of 2009............that would mean we would receive our referral 3-6 months later..........it's still looking good to bring our Lily home in 2009!

Keep praying my friends and family---God is listening!!!

I just want to say this: "YAY!  YAY!"

Monday, January 12, 2009

Shout Out To Cousin Sam!


Sam we can't wait to see you at our house in May!

And we will see you next month in Tampa!  


Paige misses you and loves you so very much!

Fingerprints DONE!


No cell phones or cameras allowed inside, so for this blogging mama, this is the only picture I have of this "momentous" occasion for the 3rd time in our adoption journey!

We are just thankful we can ONCE AGAIN cross this off our adoption "to do" list, and wonder if 18 months from now, we will have another child or will need to redo our fingerprints!

Now we wait for our Immigration Approval to be mailed........a.k.a. Mommy Stalks The Mailman!

And this is how the The Thomas Family became my "chosen" family....

..........so go back to 1995, I am working in the Towers lounge at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel, and a 6 year old cutie pie comes in and goes straight to the tea box on the buffet.........

I, being the oh so helpful Cast Member, ask this little girl, "Can I help you find something?"........

The little girl responds, "I know what I am looking for.......I am looking for Lemon Lift tea!"

Well, that sealed it, this little girl just jumped inside my heart forever and became family.....



Here we are 13 years later, Kirby 19........and me, amazingly STILL 21......hee hee!

After the "Lemon Lift tea" comment, her 8 year old sister, Austin strolled into the lounge and jumped into my heart too.........and then their parents Cheryl & Doug came in and sure enough you guessed it jumped into my heart!

On that vacation, I made sure to save chocolate chip cookies for the 4 of them, and had them waiting when they got off the elevator after a very long day of theme parking at Disney World -- and that's when I think I jumped into Doug's heart, Doug loves his chocolate chip cookies!

And then in 1996, Kirby and Austin had a brother!  Well, Cheryl had him......and thus Douglas jumped into my heart as well!  

5 years later, Douglas was our ring bearer and Kirby & Austin were my bridesmaids!

And now Paige is just as crazy in love the Thomas Family as I am!

Thank You God for bringing the Thomas Family into our Forever Family!

And A GREAT time was had by all..........


The Thomas Family left Orlando last night to return home to Pennsylvania.......and I'll admit it, I cried.......


Here's Paige with her "other family" after riding Toy Story "Maniac" - as Paige calls it, three times in a row!

I do believe Miss Kirby was crowned the greatest Toy Story Maniac Player with a score of 173,000 - ish!!!

We had a blast.......Paige heard a news reporter say Pennsylvania this morning on tv and said, "That's where the Thomas' LIVE!"  "Oh My!"

Miss you all already!  and love you MORE!

Sunday, January 11, 2009


this was Paige when she realized her birthday gift from the Thomas Family was from American Girl.............



.......great marketing American Girl!

Sheer Happiness & Joy.........


The Thomas Family showered Paige with American Girl "goodies" for her birthday......

This is the 1st time that I have seen such true joy & excitement over a gift from Paige....



.........inside the box were matching pj's for Paige and her Bitty Baby, Ruby (also a gift from Thomas Family)


..........a new feeding set with bottle, play food, and bib..........



.........a new crib complete with mobile for Ruby to sleep in.........do you see the sheer happiness on my big girls face?!?!?  

She is going to make one great Mama one day!

Thank You Thomas Family!  Cheryl - you did good!

Friday, January 09, 2009

Enjoying The Thomas Family!


When I first met Kirby & Austin, at age 6 & 8, in the Towers Lounge at the Walt Disney World Dolphin hotel where I had just started working, NEVER did I imagine them all grown up and playing with my daughter!

Austin is now 21, (!), and is on her school's Field Hockey team and a beautiful person inside & out........Kirby is 19, and finishing her 1st year away at college.  Paige reminds me so much of Kirby when she was a little girl, and I only hope that Paige turns out to be such a special, kind, giving person as Kirby is one day!


Paige jumps right in and hangs out with the "big kids".......in this pic (L to R) Kirby, Douglas (12, Kirby and Austin's brother-he is also a super kid!), Paige in her bear hat, Austin, and Austin's friend Chelsey on It's A Small World..........



Paige and Kirby playing around at the Magic Kingdom with Paige's Pirate Hook & Sword........Arrrghhh!

As soon as Paige and I get showered and dressed, we are up for more Disney Time with the Thomas Family today! YAY!

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Birthday Lunch at The Plaza!


We once again chose the Plaza Restaurant on Main Street at the Magic Kingdom for our birthday lunch!  My family has been going to this restaurant ever since our first trip to Disney World in 1976.......this place fills my memory with great times......


In case you've forgotten, it was Paige's 4th Birthday!  YAY!


Not only did Daddy get the day off from work, but so did Papa George!  He and Grandma Carole joined in on our Magic Kingdom celebration......


The restaurant sang Happy Birthday to Paige.......she's not loving this moment AT ALL is she?...........


........then she made a wish, yes my friends, once again, "I wish for my sister to come home".......(Jack says I've brainwashed her, but I really believe she DOES wish for her sister to be home........), then she blew out her candle.........


and dove right in...........that's my girl!.........complete with the hat still on her head!

In The Magic Kingdom - A 4 Year Old Gets A Credit Card!


Once again, only in Disney World!



As part of Disney World's latest promotion, "What Will You Celebrate?", Disney is giving away a free one day ticket on your birthday.......

Well thanks to Grammy & Pop Pop's yearly birthday present, Paige is the proud owner of an Annual Pass to Walt Disney World (and me too!  YAY!)

So, if you own an Annual Pass, a free one day ticket, is not necessary......well, you can get a Disney Fun Card.....a gift card with the amount of the one day ticket to spend in the shops at Disney World!  Cool, no?!

Paige got her very own Disney Pre Paid credit card worth $63 to go hog wild shopping on her special day!



Her 1st purchase was a coon skin hat in Frontierland!  tee hee!  this kiddo tickles me.....

The Mickey Mouse Ice Cream bar was GIVEN to her by a very nice Cast Member, who was just as tickled by Paige in her coon skin hat as I was!  This picture was taken around 10:10am yesterday.......that's some way to start off a birthday celebration!



Donald Duck also LOVED Paige's fashion accessory choice.....they matched!



When Paige went to make her 2nd Birthday Fun Card purchase, she was sprinked with Pixie Dust!  See her holding her Disney Credit Card?!  Why don't the cashiers at Target do this when I am paying our grocery bill?  it would make grocery shopping a bit exciting........

FYI:  the Cast Member told her to make a wish before she Pixie Dust'ed Paige, her wish:  "That my sister Lily comes home".........(my wish too my baby girl!)



Paige's 2nd purchase: Baby Belle wrapped in a blanket........

she has wanted this doll for months!  Everytime we are at Disney World, she goes up to this doll and hugs her and says, "Mama, can I PLEEE-ASE have her?"

Because I need to buy the" aforementioned" groceries at Target, Paige's Baby Belle doll was not in our budget........but getting to buy her with her Disney Credit Card made that purchase soooooo much sweeter for Paige!  

Can you see how freakin' happy she is with her doll?!?

Her 3rd purchase was a Light Up Minnie Mouse "snow-globey" toothbrush, 

The remaining purchases on Paige's Disney Credit Card were little presents for Cheryl, Doug, Austin, Kirby, & Douglas who came to Orlando yesterday for a little celebrating with Paige, Mickey Mouse, & warm Florida sunshine.......

.......these little treats were folding/reuseable Mickey tote bags for the girls, a Disney airplane for Douglas, and a Mickey Mouse pen for Daddy Doug to keep him stress free at work, and when he is paying the credit card for this Disney vacation!

Thank You Disney World for Paige's gift card!  She had a ball picking out her birthday surprises!  What a fantastic opportunity for a 4 year old girl!

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

We've Kept Paige ALIVE for 1,461 Days!


Yes folks!  Paige turned four years old at exactly 10:35am this morning.........

To think how much my world has changed since this little miracle came into my life blows my brains to the moon!  

I honestly didn't think it was possible to love another human being as much I love Paige......a whole new life began the day this kiddo was born.....and what a blessed, fun, sometimes challenging world it is, but I would not change one darn thing about it!

Paige, Happy 4th Birthday, my sweet little lady.........I love you all the way to the moon and back!

Monday, January 05, 2009

Grandparents are supposed to spoil.....


Paige spent New Year's Eve at a party with her Grandma Carole & Papa George -- she partied in 2009!

New Year's Day was spent at Monkey Joe's (a kid's dream place with huge blow up slides everywhere) with her grandparents, their friends, and their friends' grandkids....she had a blast!

This video was taken right after she got home........she was wired from all the fun....and this is what she said after I asked her if she had any chocolate......."out of the mouths of babes".........

Thank You Grandma Carole & Papa George for ringing in 2009 with Paige!  She is still talking about all the fun she had!

Sunday, January 04, 2009

33 months + 1 day!


Yesterday, was our 33rd month anniversary of our dossier (paperwork) being officially logged in by the CCAA - China Center of Adoption Affairs.......

Way back then, wait times were about 8-10 months......I braced for 12 months.....heck I am a pro now at 33 months!  


This is Paige after drinking Crystal Light Fruit Punch......it's my very own Batman Joker!, no?

We are both sick, so lots of pj time, movies, stories, and cuddling are filling our days!

We both need to be healthy by Tuesday!  Paige's 4th Birthday Extravaganza & The Thomas Family arrives in Orlando!!!!  Do you hear us GERMS?  We're talking to you....we are evicting you from our host bodies by the end of today or early tomorrow!

.........ok, back to original post topic.....33 months of waiting down, how many more to go??!!

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Happy 2009!

Wishing all our family and friends: happiness, health, & lots of laughter in 2009.........



.........I love this picture of Paige........it's like she has a really juicy secret to share........

I wonder -  do you think she knows if Lily is coming home this year.....could Lily's guardian angel have whispered in Paige's ear just before this picture was taken?  (0nly time will tell!)

Happy New Year!