Complete Randomness...

I've taken some pictures in the past week that don't really warrant their own posts, but I wanted to share anyways. So enjoy my collection of complete randomness...

Ian and I made tissue paper turkeys for the table centerpieces on Thanksgiving. It was more involved than it looked and I don't think we'll be making them ever again! They turned out cute though and I just loved the way that they look like they are having a conversation (we didn't purposefully pose the heads that way, it's just how they ended up).

Later on that day we made some "Gooey Gunk", a concoction of glue, borax and water. It's one of Ian's favorite activities so we made a batch. Greg serendipitously discovered that air blown into the stuff results in a bubble so that is the new sole purpose of gooey gunk play, how big a bubble can be made! Greg and I decided to try and use two straws at once thinking we would both contribute to one large bubble. As soon as the two bumps started to emerge, we both started to snicker. I was thinking gooey gunk boobies, Greg was thinking gooey gunk booty, at any rate Ian luckily didn't see anything but two bubbles and was looking at us like we had lost our minds. Shame on us! Oh, gooey gunk also takes the shape of anything you place it on. Greg was trying to make a face print in that last picture. All I could think of was that squid guy from Pirates of the Caribbean. Gooey gunk is good fun!

On Friday we cut our Christmas tree down, once again from our side yard. When we moved in here, there were these small evergreens scattered over the side lawn. We were going to cut them down until we thought, we could have free Christmas trees for the next few years. This is the third year we've been able to do this, and we have one more year left. They are perfect little trees, but they are so sharp!! It was truly painful decorating this thing! That look on Greg's face in the picture where he's carrying the tree is pain, pure pain....

As we unpacked the Christmas ornaments, Ian remembered that he had made several in school last year and decided that he had to make a new one this year. He went away and came back with an ornament he made out of pipe cleaners and feathers he found in his craft bucket. It was really cute that he wanted to make something new and I've been really good about leaving those feathers hanging on our Christmas tree right in the front. All I can say is watch out Hallmark, your Keepsake ornaments are goin' down!

Lastly, this happened before Thanksgiving. I was making out the grocery list and I left the room to go check something, I can't remember now. But I came back and Ian had added an item to the grocery list. I busted a gut when I came back and found what he had done. It was so cute and yes, I did humor him and bought him some ice cream.

So Far So Good....

I wrote our program coordinator today to see if our package got there in time to go to Guatemala with the two ladies from our agency who left yesterday (I'm assuming this will mean new pictures as well, stay tuned!) and to ask how our case is progressing through the PGN. She informed us that our package is on it's way to Ana and that so far we have not received any previos (kick outs). This is good news! So I gave in to temptation and allowed Greg to call PGN today to see where we are. He was told we have been on the second reviewers desk since November 17th, and she said on average you are with the second reviewer for 5-6 weeks. You are then passed on for final review and sign off with Sr. Barrios. So, so far so good, we're inching along as expected. Of course, this doesn't mean a heck of a lot, as honestly, we could get a previo at any time, and I would venture a guess that the second reviewer would be most likely place for this to happen. I'm trying not to go there, but we have to keep it real! If we were issued a previo, we would be re-submitted back at the first reviewer so the wait starts all over again. So please pray for us, we want our girl home!

Retail Therapy, Day After Thanksgiving Style

My two neighbors and I joined the day after Thanksgiving sale mayhem again this year. We left our toasty warm homes at 4:15 in the morning to stand outside at Toys R Us for what seemed like the longest 20 minutes of our lives! The line was snaked out into and around the parking lot before the doors were opened at 5am, it was crazy! For pure curiosity, we asked the very first person in line what time they got there. She responded 11:30pm!! She sat in her car until about 1:00 when another person arrived where she then exited her car to wait outside in line. That's 4 hours waiting outside in the freezing cold! I hope it was worth it! I am so glad we didn't need any of the hot items (I don't even know what they were), I fear I would not do well in that situation. You would likely find me crying underneath the nearest display. At any rate, we did really well. I personally saved about $80.00 at Toys R Us which I am thrilled about, and my neighbors saved a bunch as well. After Toys R Us we hit Wal Mart (which was our first stop last year), what a difference just an hour and a half will make in the craziness! Wal Mart was so peaceful! No real spectacular buys there, but we did get quite a bit accomplished. We then hit Walgreens and Ace Hardware, wish I could tell you my finds at these stores, but some of the recipients read my blog...sorry guys! All in all it was a very productive day and was a lot of fun, I'm so glad we had removed the back seat of the van or we would have been in trouble! Here's a picture of our accomplishments!

What can I say, we are good at what we do!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, the turkey's been carved, our family has departed and I've once again stuffed myself way over capacity. We had Thanksgiving with Greg's family this year and it was a very nice time. I'm still anxiously waiting to hear from Greg's mum to verify the gluten-free dinner I prepared was indeed gluten-free. This is the second gluten-free Thanksgiving dinner I have done and I'll say that I have all the respect in the world for the people who live this way every day. I'm sure it's something you get used to but I was a nervous wreck! The counters were wiped down early this morning and "the boys" were warned against touching my counter tops or they'd be in serious trouble! I literally broke down and cried when Greg asked Ian to carry through a cooling rack (that recently held gluten full chocolate chip cookies) and he deposited it right on top of my gluten-free cookie sheet (I bought brand new disposable ones so I didn't have to worry about any contamination from my stones and cookie sheets!). Ian looked at me like I'd lost my mind (clearly I had), and just kept saying I'm sorry mumma, I'm sorry! Poor kid. Anyways, there is so much you have to think about when preparing gluten-free food from the ingredients themselves, to what you cook them on. The only thing that was not gluten-free was the gravy, even then, I had full intentions of making that gluten free as well but Donna said she doesn't eat gravy anyways, so I just used the jars Greg brought home the other day, it was 10 minutes before serving time and I was spent so that was much easier!

I have so much to be thankful for this year.

My loving husband who takes so much from me. My emotions are consistently on the edge of late and I never know what to expect from myself. Looking at it from the outside must be a scary place to be! I'm so lucky to have him keeping me sane and loving me all at the same time!

My amazing son who I just thank God for every day. It's never a dull moment with him, and he is really shaping up to be a great kid. He's still 6, I need to remind myself just about every day, but he really is a good boy.

My daughter, can you believe I'm saying that? We are so fortunate to have been chosen to be her parents. I can't wait until next Thanksgiving where we can be celebrating her first Thanksgiving with us!

Our other family members who have all been so supportive of everything we have been through in the past few years. We are so lucky to have you all so close by, I wouldn't have it any other way!

Our friends, old and new. I never feel alone, it's just amazing, so thank you...

Lastly I think one of the things I've learned this year is to put things in perspective. Yes we have had our struggles through the past few years, but we have our family, we have a home, we have the means to feed our family, and we feel safe. I think about Ana's birth mother today, and of the fact that these things we take for granted are likely not true for her, and because of that she made the decision to send her child to a place where she would be safe and not suffer due to lack of food or shelter. I am so thankful to this woman for allowing us to raise her daughter. It is a gift without measure, I hope I get to thank her personally some day.

I said to Ian today, "Ian, what are you thankful for?"
he said "you and daddy, Ana, God, my friends, and Milo"
a few minutes passed and he chirped up again "oh and the nerf gun Uncle Shawne brought for me!"

He is six, isn't he?!

How Much Can Cammie Fit in a Gallon Sized Ziplock, part II

The mission: Fit the following into a gallon sized ziplock baggie:
1 velour Christmas outfit, 2 pairs of knit pants, 2 long sleeve knit tops, one long sleeved onsie, two pairs of Christmas socks, 1 Glo-worm lullaby toy, and 1 teether book.

Mission Accomplished!

With only minimal nerve damage to my fingers, lets just say that these bags have the double zippers, but both are not currently zippable (it has not yet exploded, so we're good).

Medical Updates...finally!

We have been anxiously awaiting a medical report on Ana for some time. We were informed a couple weeks ago that both September and October were going to be issued together. Well, we finally received them in the mail today, so here's how Ana is growing:

September - 9 pounds 8 ounces, 22.4 inches

October - 11 pounds 12 ounces, 22.8 inches

She seems to be gaining weight well, but I don't know about the length, less than a half inch in a month? I don't know if it's a mistaken measurement, or just one of those strange oddities in babies growth patterns. Anyone out there have any reassurances to ease my concerns? It is so hard to not have her here to know exactly what is going on. I can't even be sure that she has recovered from the bug she was fighting when we were there. Almost 4 weeks later, we're still not 100%, (yes the saga has continued past our luxurious date night at the hospital, more on that another time though) so I would love to know how she is feeling! I have e-mailed our program coordinator to ask the hogar director how she is doing though I don't know what kind of information (if any) I'll receive. We take what we can get in this process!

Retail Therapy

This weekend, my very good friends and neighbors Marcia, Nancy and I went to the big town o' Nashua for some retail therapy. We left at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning and shopped all day long before retiring to the Best Western in Nashua for the evening. Yes I know, we were only 40 minutes from home, but part of the reason for this little getaway was to really get away! The room was huge with two queen size beds (with no children in them and oh so perfect for jumping on, ask Nancy), a large bathroom (with no little boys to pee on the seats), and no worries at all except for are we going to be able to stay awake long enough to see Saturday Night Live (which none of us did by the way). We had a dinner and a breakfast that we didn't have to cook, and a steady supply of snacks including Marcia's famous chocolate pie (to die for!) and peanut butter M&M's (the official girl's weekend pick me up). Oh, and don't forget about the two separate trips to Annie's for pretzels! I taught Marcia and Nancy how to crochet, (have you started your scarves yet girls?) Marcia brought her Arbonne stuff and we all did masks, and Nancy taught us how to apply eye makeup on Sunday morning. It was all so girly and fun! We came home with a van full of stuff, and probably an extra 3 pounds each after all the junk food. I do believe both Nancy and Marcia were successful in their quest for the perfect fitting jeans, and I got some really great things to send to Ana in her Christmas package (pictures soon!). Next up, the day after Thanksgiving sales!