For the 'Non Blogger'

This post is for the NON BLOGGER...I have spoken to some people who said they have missed some posts in the blog and then they couldn't find them.

On the left side of here is an ARCHIVES header. Under there is a link for each month. If you click on that month link, it will take you to the posts from that month.

The 'main' page here only lists the last 7 posts and sometimes more then 7 posts might have been written between your visits.

Also listed on the left under OUR LINKS is a link to e-mail us. We would love to hear from you either there or through a comment on a post.

To leave a comment, click on the 10 comments / 0 comments (however many there are) button and it will take you to another page. When on that page you can type in your comment and then click the OTHER or ANONYMOUS - but PLEASE type your name in the body of the comment so we know it was you!

So there you have a quick lesson on navigating our blog!!

Thanks for reading!

Thank You Secret Buddy!!

Today I received my January Secret Buddy gift!! Our theme this month was Tubby Time!

I received the cutest hooded towel with a bunny on the hood, Finding Nemo "Splashy Songs" book and a little duckie to tell you if the bath water is too hot and a very nice ladybug card!!

Thank you so much Secret Buddy - the gifts are great, I love them and I know Pumpkin will too!!

Saturday...

Saturday was another busy day for Mark and I. We were going to Kelly and Chip's house for breakfast/brunch. Roberta and Chris were joining us there. It has been a long time since all of had had the chance to get together and it was a great day.

Kelly, Roberta and I have known each other for about 16 1/2 years. We met each other at our first 'full time' jobs after we finished university and we became fast friends. No of us work at that same place any more but our friendship has endured. Things have changed so much from when we met to now. Kelly and Chip have 2 wonderful children. Aislinn is 6 and Rowan is 3. Aislinn is quite the artist and here you can see the pictures that she drew of Mark and I - Holy cow - can you believe that she is only 6??? I am thinking that she has some pretty strong artistic bones in her body!

Roberta and Chris have wonderful Clare. Clare is 20 months now and holy talker!! She speaks words like crazy. She can also recite most of the alphabet!! Can you believe it! Pumpkin received this wonderful book from Roberta, Chris and Clare. If you haven't seen this book, it is truly beautiful. The illustrations are out of this world. We also received a beautiful Paddington Bear Quilt square from Roberta, Chris and Clare. That can be seen here along with the other quilt squares we have recently received.

Thank you so much to Kelly and Chip for having us over and thank you so much to Roberta, Chris and Clare for the wonderful book and the beautiful quilt square for Pumpkin!

Well we left our breakfast/lunch and headed home for a bit and then we were off to our dinner engagement. We were headed to Shelley and Livio's for dinner. Bill and Julie were joining us there. I didn't bring the camera so I don't have any photos...sorry!

Shelley and Bill and I have been friends for about...9 years now - Holy cow - I didn't realize it was that long until just now! WOW!! Again, our lives have changed MORE then I would write here since we have met each other!! They have seen a different side of me that not many others have - and they are still my friends!!! LOL!!

What a great time we had last night catching up with everyone. It has been too long since we all had a chance to get together. We always say that we should do this more often, but 'life' just gets in the way!

Shelley and Livio have 2 great kids - Alana and Ethan. They are 4 and 2! Bill and Julies great kids are Danielle and Ashley and they are 12 and 6 (almost). The kids were all SO good last night!!

Book Tag!!

I have been tagged by Doris for this quick, fun one!!

Here is what you do:

Find a book nearest to you.
Go to page 123.
Type out lines 6 - 8 from that book.
Tag 3 people!!

Currently I am reading one of th 10 books I got for Christmas. This is by Stuart Woods. If you have never read any of his books, they are certainly worth taking a look at.

Page 123 is the beginning of a new chapter...

O.k. - here goes:

...floppy disk from its drive and inserted the next disk - a thin wheel of mylar plastic held rigid by a paper envelope.
It had taken weeks to be allowed to stay in the computer room after house, but finally enough accounting work had piled up...

Now reading that, it doesn't sound like an exciting book but it is. It is one in a series of books with the same character in it. Stuart Woods has quite a few different series' that focus in various characters.

So now for the tagging of other people - this is hard as so many people have already been tagged. I don't THINK the following people have been though... I tag Dolores, Kate andJill

Blah Weather...

I have always hated disliked winter - even when I was a little kid.

I don’t really know if it had anything to do with licking the pole at the park on a particularly cold day...hmmmm

As a kid, I did go outside and play in the snow for a bit, but never stayed out long. The nose dripping, the chapped lips and frozen fingers and toes just didn’t do it for me.

I thought I should try skiing. Skiers are ALWAYS looking forward to winter and snow so I thought – there must be something to this skiing thing...However, I have always had trouble with foot cramps and I soon discovered that being strapped in those ski boots is not a good combo with foot cramps!!!!

I have dry skin, like really dry skin, scratch and you bleed kind of dry skin. The winter is just so horrible for my skin. I can’t get enough lotion or humidity. We have a humidifier on the furnace and we have an additional one in our bedroom and still there is not enough humidity. I sometimes think I must have been a reptile in a former life with all the skin that I shed – I know, I know – you didn’t need to hear that!

Cleaning and scraping off the car and warming it up and sitting in the car shivering HOPING that the heat kicks in sooner rather then later. Driving in ice and snow is another story…I am not so fond of that either. Again I don’t know if it has anything to do with writing off my fathers 3 week old car during a snow storm when I was 16 (Roger wrote off his mother’s car on the same day – you never thought you would thankful that someone else had an accident - we can laugh about it now… we were both fine)

When it is very cold outside, I have trouble breathing. I go outside and take one breath and I feel like my lungs have shrunk to nothing and I can’t bet enough breath. I breathe through my scarf, my mitts or anything that I have that will filter the air and make it warmer.

As I have gotten older, my teeth have become more sensitive too. I take a breath in the cold air and almost pass out with the pain in my teeth. I do use sensitive toothpaste, but it can only do so much.

So as I sit here and the snow is falling profusely outside and with the temperature dipping to -13C (8.6F) tonight and a wind chill of -22C (-7.6F), I am not a happy camper and would much rather be on a beach in Mexico!

I am obviously not a very good Canadian girl!!

So ends my venting and complaining about the cold weather...for now...

Waiting Mommies Dinner!

Last night I had the pleasure of having dinner with 9 special ladies. Last night we had another Waiting Mommies Dinner!! What a great night we had. I was able to see friends again that I had already met, as well as meet new friends – including Debbie who is leaving for China in 8 sleeps!! From the back left to right is Jill, Catherine, Lea, Chris and Andrea. In the front row, left to right is me, Laurie, Debbie & Paula.

There was of course much talk of adoption, babies, traveling, our travel groups and agencies. And there was laughing – so much laughing!! I think I felt sorry for the people who were sitting around us. I am thinking they would have had trouble hearing their own conversations as ours would sometimes get quite loud and animated.

Speaking of the people sitting around us – click here to read Catherine’s story...

As a tradition has started with waiting mommies – the presents were flying!! There were 3 waiting mommies that were quite dumbfounded by the presents flying around everywhere – it was quite funny – in a good way of course! In the picture, there was a wonderful Chinese New Year card and decoration from Paula. A package of scrapbooking pages from Jill. A cute pink stuffed animal from Andrea. Chopsticks to practice with from Laurie. From Debbie we received a lanyard for Pumpkin's referral picture when we receive it. Ladies, thank you very much for the wonderful gifts. Again you can see a snippet of it on Catherine's blog.

We are INCREDIBLY lucky to be a part of this WONDERFUL adoption community. We entered this journey in the hopes of receiving a daughter, and already we have received so much more then we could have imagined! The people (the ladies from tonight, from other gatherings and my blogger friends that I have not met in person most specifically) have been amazing and I am lucky and proud to call them my friends!

AquaFit

Yesterday Jenn (Mark's Jenn) and I attended our first Aqua Fit class. What fun it was. I guess I didn't know what to expect as I have never attended such a class before.

Jenn and I got there VERY early as we didn't want to be late. Next week we will go about 20 minutes later!

Well at 7:00 the instructor came over and told us to all get in the water. I don't know why I was expecting the water to be freezing, but I did - It turned out to be o.k.

So we get started and do our class. Jenn and I were beside each other and we were having a nice conversation while we were doing our exercises. Then we got to the ABS section. Each of us got a 'pool noodle' and we were using these to hold us up while we were working our stomachs. There is a lot of kicking required etc for these exercises. Well I guess I was very enthusiastic at this point (go figure at the end of the workout I still had energy) and I was kicking away very engrossed in my abs and I ended up at the other side of the pool. Once I got 'back into reality' I looked over at Jenn and just started laughing as I was SO FAR away. We started out beside each other and by the time we were done the ABS, I was at the other end of the pool and there were 4 or 5 people between us!!

Anyway - after Aqua Fit we headed to the hot tub for a bit. It was very nice. About 1/2 of the class went there too, which was good so the change room wouldn't be too crowded at the same time.

So off we go to the change room after the hot tub. Jenn opens her locker and I TRY to open mine. I can't get it open. I try and try. Then Jenn tries to see if she can get it. We KNOW we have the right combo (NOT a DUDLEY) but is won't budge.

So I tell Jenn to get dressed as we are both standing there in our wet suit shivering. I go to search for someone to CUT OFF the lock. I find someone and we manage to get the lock off. Then she asks me for ID. I don't have any as Jenn picked me up and I didn't bring my purse. I told her this - she says 'That's o.k. - I am just supposed to ask for it.'...HUH - so I can go and ask her to cut off any lock. She didn't even ask me what was in the locker or anything before we opened it. C'est la vie...

SOOO I get home and I tell Mark that I had his lock cut off and he is going to have to figure something else out for when he goes to the gym in the morning. He says - "what do you mean they cut off the lock." I say - "It would NOT open. Jenn and I spent 15 minutes trying to get it open and it wouldn't open and we didn't know what else to do." He says - "oh yea, that sometimes happens. The combo just changes itself." I say - "WHAT!?!?!" He says - I" didn't think to tell you about it..."

National DeLurking Week...I am a little slow...

Hello Readers!

Last week was apparently National DeLurking week in the Blog world. Well I had other things going on and I didn’t get a chance to post about it last week, and since this is MY blog, I declare that is it “National DeLurking Entry” on my blog.

So, what that means is that those of you who regularly leave a comment are encouraged to contine to do so and those of you who read the blog and don’t leave a comment, THIS is the time to do so (leave a comment that is).

I would love to hear from you!!

Have a great day!!

I am LIVID!

When Canadians travel to China to get their child and they become a Forever Family, it seems that the Canadian government does not believe that the child should automatically become a Canadian Citizen.

When Americans adopt from China, their child is a citizen before they even leave China.

For Canadians, we must APPLY for our child to become a Canadian citizen and this can take upwards of a year for the paperwork to be finalized. On top of this, if the citizenship is denied (can you imagine) there is NO right of appeal through Immigration Canada - we must go through the courts.

NOW I have just read on the Star that second-generation Canadians born outside of Canada must re-register for their citizenship before their 28th birthday. I REALLY hope that I have misinterpreted this article – but even if I have, our children still have to apply for citizenship in the first place.

I am FURIOUS...our children – who will have reminders EVERYDAY that they were not born to us are going to have to re-register for their “permanent” citizenship – that doesn’t seem so permanent!!

I can tell you that I am sure there is going to be a Federal election before the end of the year and I will CERTAINLY be bringing my issues to our MP (Member of Parliament for those who don’t know). I am going to want to know what they are going to do for us and our family to be.

I seriously think that the Immigration law in this country needs to be reviewed!!!

If I have made any major mistakes in my reporting, please let me know. This is based on the research that Mark and I have done and I would don’t want to have an error in what we have reported here.

Advice...

Just wondering if there is anyone out there that has switched to Beta Blogger that wishes that they hadn't.

Every time I sign on, I am asked if I want to switch and each time I ignore the request.

I would like some feedback if anyone is willing to give it on the pros and cons of Beta...

The thing that scares me the most is that once you switch, you can't go back.

Your insight would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Alphabet Soup

Alphabet Soup

I've been tagged for the very first time by New Girl at Beginners at This... So here goes:

A - available or taken: Taken – by the BEST husband EVER!!

B- best friend: I would have to say that I am very lucky and don’t have just one. From different eras in your life you have different people – Always at the top are Hubby Mark and sister Tracey (not the same Tracey as listed below in the T section).

C- cake or pie: Probably cake – unless the pie if blueberry – YUM!

D-Drink of choice: I am big water drinker – usually a couple of litres a day – sometimes I will shake it up with a Coke if I am feeling wild!

E-essential item you use everyday: I guess I would say my contact lenses – I feel naked without them – speaking of naked – I guess I use clothes every day too!

F-favorite color: Blue.

G-gummy bears or worms: Neither – I am more of a ‘savory’ rather then a sweet.

H-hometown: Greater Toronto area.

I-indulgence: I LOVE getting a massage!! Luckily my plan at work is conducive to this!!

J-January or February: February as it is Mark’s birthday month.

K-kid's names: Yup we got ‘em – we’re just not sharing yet.

L-life incomplete without: Mark!

M-marriage date: January 20, 2004!!

N-number of siblings: There are SO many!!

O-oranges or apples: I would have to go with Red Delicious Apples – but not in the fridge – they hurt my teeth.

P- phobias or fears: I am thinking Earwigs – they are the most disgusting, creepy things.

Q-favorite quote: "Sing like there’s nobody listening" – if any of you have ever heard me sing, you will be cringing right now!!

R-reason to smile: Would it be too much if I said Mark again??

S-season: I like the summer when there is not too much humidity – it does a number on my hair!!

T-tag 4 people: There are so many that have already been tagged – let me check some sites...o.k. here they are: I tag Dolores, Kathy, Jill and Tracey.

U-unknown fact about me: I went backpacking around the world for year when I was in my 20’s.

V-veggie I don't like: I am only supposed to name one…are onions a vegetable?

W-worst habit: Again only one...Dropping my coat and bag at the front door chair when I come home.

X-rays: I bet I can beat anyone on the number I have had on my face/teeth.

Y-your favorite food: I am thinking French Fries…

Z-zodiac: Leo

Reaction from "The Show"

Well I am still of mixed emotions in regards to 'The Show' tonight (if you don't know which show - you can e-mail me).

There were some points made that were better then the Friday show, but in general I think they could have done a better job.

I am not going to get into all of it and there are SO many differing opinions.

There are 2 things I want to say about it:

1) Congratulations to all you adoptive parents out there who flooded the station with 'thousands' of e-mails. I would like to know exactly how many thousands are thousands. It is a great testement of how strong the adoption community is and what we can do when we all pull together.

2) The BEST part of the show was hearing that little girl on the swing laugh!! She melted my heart!

He's a Smart One!

Logan is our nephew – he is 4 ½ years old. Yesterday Logan came home with me for a couple of hours before his mom and sister were going to be joining all of us for dinner.

Well he watched a bit of the video that he brought over and then he and Mark played Snakes & Ladders and then they coloured.

Logan wanted to draw a picture of his family so Mark said he would draw a picture of his family too.

Logan kept asking questions about Mark’s picture – who is that? Why don’t they have faces and why are you drawing those kids in the air? Mark had drawn in our daughters in a bubble with a string between the two of us.

He said that what Mark drew looked like two girls and he wanted a boy cousin and a girl cousin. We said that we were pretty sure that they were both going to be girls – he was NOT impressed!!

Then we explained to Logan that they were “in the air’ as they were not here yet. Then we said that we were waiting for them to come to us. His response was – I thought you had to GO to China to get them!!

It was just the cutest thing!!

Busy Day

Mark and I started out the day by meeting Dolores & Shawn for brunch at Cora's. What a wonderful brunch we had! It was great to see Dolores and Shawn again and I was happy that Mark had the pleasure of meeting the both of them.

We got along famously! They are a wonderful couple and we are so happy that we are going to be sharing such a great gift with the two of them. We were together for 3 hours!! I knew that Dolores and I could talk for that long, but I was most impressed by the guys – they were great!!
The topics of conversation were diverse – of course we spoke of adoption but we also spoke about politics, house renovations, family, driving and flying and traveling.

There were also presents!! From Dolores and Shawn, Pumpkin received a book, a “Piglet” with a book in his backpack and a bunch of hair clips in a pretty bag! (they don't show so well in the picture) Thank you so much!!
But wait there’s more, we also received quilt square # 9 from Dolores and Shawn too!! Thank you!! Our daughter will be lucky to have you in her life!

I know that we are going to be great friends and our girls (who will most likely come from the same SWI) will be friends before WE meet them!

After the mood I was in earlier this week – it was a FANTASTIC way to celebrate our 1 month LID!!

After some quick shopping (where we bumped into my mom) we headed to (Mark’s) Jenn and Paul’s. Paul is going to be doing some work in our basement – we (he) is building a wall. Mark and Paul headed to Rona to buy “stuff” and Logan and I came back to our place – I had the house keys...Jenn and Saige were coming over later for dinner. Logan was so good watching his movie and then when Mark was finished in the basement helping with what Paul needed him to do, Mark and Logan coloured and played Snakes & Ladders. It was very cute to watch.

While they were doing that, I was preparing our ‘impromptu’ dinner with whatever I could find in the cupboards and fridge – I did pretty good considering that I didn’t even go to the grocery store.

We had a great dinner and then Paul went back to work downstairs and I took Logan and Saige upstairs to bathe them. I thought I would help Jenn out as she pulled a major muscle in her chest/back and it would be hard for her.

Since we didn’t have any bath toys – Tupperware is most helpful – they had a hoot!!

Then by 9:00 they were all gone and Mark and I sat down to watch our movie...The Lakehouse...it was o.k. Mark said it was the worst movie EVER – I wouldn’t go that far!!

SOOO to make a long story longer – we had a fabulous 1 month LID anniversary!!

1 Month LID Anniversary!

Today is our 1 month LID Anniversary!! I am in a better place today then I was earlier in the week!! We are going to celebrate today with a brunch with
Dolores & Shawn as it is their 1 month today too - we will be travel mates (hopefully) to China! This will be the first time that the 'boys' have met!! Dolores and I have gone out for dinner a while back. We are looking forward to it and what a GREAT way to celebrate out 1 month!!

On another note - I was DISGUSTED while watching Paula Zahn on CNN last night!! There was a segment that was SUPPOSED to be about Chinese adoption and turned out to be about how Americans adopt Chinese babies because they think they will be smart! How INCREDIBLY ill informed! Mark and I were speechless and angry. We had a letter written to the show even before it was over!! If you too would like to give feedback, you can do so here.

For those of you who are interested, you can read copies of the transcript either here a blog that has posted it or here which is their actual website - scroll about 2/3 down...

I still cannot compose in my head what I want to say about the whole situation. Talk about sending the adoption community back!!

Thank You!

Thank you doesn’t even begin to cover what Mark and I are feeling right now!!

The OVERWHELMING support that we have received recently has been tremendous! Mark and I have been blown away at the wonderful and positive comments on our blog as well as the fantastic and supportive e-mails and phone calls that we have received. We are truly grateful for everything.

It is so nice to know that there are other people out there going through the same thing who really “get” what we are going through. It is also great to be able to share the good times with people too!!

My dear friend Dianne had adopted 4 year old Jordyn in December of 2005. She had to go through the home study, the medicals, the background checks and all the other things that we had to go through. She was frustrated many times along the way. This is part of the e-mail that she wrote to me – it brought tears to my eyes…

I just read your LID entry. I totally get how you are feeling. I am truly sorry.

The only thing I can think of to say is what an adoptive mother said to me when I was where you are. She had a two year old daughter who was the most amazing, precious thing you could imagine. She was truly happy and could not even remember life before. Then she told me she was so frustrated with the process she almost removed her name from the list 3 years ago. If she had done that she would have removed her name before her beautiful daughter was even born.

She believes every family is destined for a certain child. Now that I have Jordyn I would have to agree. We were definitely meant to be. She is so much like me my family just laughs. Perhaps you were LID on Dec 6 because that is perfectly timed with when your baby / babies will be available.

Mark and I are truly blessed to all you wonderful people in our lives – either in person or the bloggy world. Your positive comments validated that what we are feeling is o.k. and that what we are going through is ‘real’. I can't always articulate what I am feeling or what I want to say, but again we can’t thank you enough for the support and please know how very appreciative we are.

Thank you!

LID...

First off – I wrote this yesterday, but decided to wait until today when I was calmer and I could ‘tone it down’ before I posted…

I am generally an optimist. I really am!! However, right now I am sitting here crying. I can’t quite figure out if they are tears of joy or tears of frustration or tears of despair…

We received our LID (Log in Date) and it is December 6th…I am not quite sure why it took 36 days to be logged in – 5 weeks and a day. I want to scream – not a good scream either. Receiving your LID is supposed to be a good thing…I am NOT feeling so good right now. I know I am supposed to be happy that we are now ‘in line’ but all I can feel is frustration.

I have seen so many people who were DTC after us who have an LID before us – how does that happen?? We all know how big of a difference 1 day can make in this roller coaster ride and a week or two – well, that can be forever!!

I sometimes wonder why I am here. Why are we doing this? Why are we voluntarily subjecting ourselves to this emotional pain and heartache? Why are we putting our future in the hands of someone on the other side of the world who, let’s face it, doesn’t even know us. At times like this, it is so hard to ‘see’ the end and the joy that we will eventually feel.

From the beginning of this journey – NOTHING has gone as it was supposed to go. I mean NOTHING. It is been full of and incredible amount of disappointment, miscommunication, frustration and anxiety – much more then we bargained for – and we bargained for a LOT! I guess technically, NOTHING has gone as it was supposed to go since we started trying to conceive 3 years ago. In our ‘plan’ we were already going to have 2 kids (or almost 2) at this point in time and now with these new predictions of timelines and an estimate of a Dec ’06 log in date taking 34 months to receive a referral…I simply don’t know if I can do ANOTHER 3 years… But I guess there is no choice.

I know there are other people who have been trying longer then us and I know that everyone who is adopting has felt similar to what I am feeling now – but I am being selfish today and I am thinking about me and not anyone else. THIS SUCKS!!

When we got our LID (which I figured would be soon), we TRULY expected it to be about November 27th. Nine days is a long time, especially if you miss the cut off by that many days. I guess that is our fault for trying to find ANY rhyme or reason to all this.

I just got off the phone with my mom and I was filling her in on our LID and how I was feeling. She reminded me about when I wrote about Everything happening for a reason. I am having a hard time with that right now, but I will come around.

So there it is – we have an LID. Now after 11 months of paperwork, we are “officially” in line and the ‘real’ wait begins…I know I should be happy and I will be – maybe tomorrow…

A bit of this and a bit of that

Now that the holidays are over, I guess it is time to get back to the real world…

Mark and I had a great week off. We were very busy – as usual – so much so that I didn’t even write about most of what we did on the blog as there was no time...Here is an edited version of our activities.

Last week I had a couple of great lunch dates. The first with my good friend Kelly. Kelly and I have been friends for about 16 years now. It is scary to actually think that! Wow!! We had a great lunch – although it could have been longer, but Kelly had to get back to work. Pumpkin received two beautiful gifts from Kelly.The first is a board book copy of "I Love You Like Crazy Cakes". Now we have two versions of the book. Pumpkin can have her own copy as we are reading to her. Our second gift was this beautiful 'flipping" picture frame. It stands on its own and holds 25 pictures. It is like an easel - very cool!!

My second lunch date of the week was with my cousin Kathleen. We generally try to do a dinner date so that we are not pressed for time, but with the holidays and all sorts of other things going on, lunch was better then nothing. Again, our lunch could have been longer as there is never enough time to say all the things that we want to say!

On the 29th, Mark and I attended a surprise birthday party for our friend Linda. Wow was she surprised!!! You should have seen her face!! Our friends from Port Hope made the trek out here for the party and it was GREAT to see them. Linda (neighbour Linda) decided that we should have a theme for the party and it was ROMAN HOLIDAY. This was chosen as Linda (Birthday Linda) was going to Rome in April and we thought it would be fun. So we dressed up in costume – Wow was it a HOOT!! We all got into it and really had a fantastic time.

On December 30th we had “Cottage Christmas”. There is a group of ladies that Mark and I go to the cottage with in the summer – the same group from Port Hope from last night as well as the two Linda’s. Linda (neighbour Linda) has a cottage and she is gracious enough to let us all come and trounce on her peace and quiet. When we are there, there are 7 of us and 5 dogs in a small cottage!! We had another lovely night of present exchanges, a WONDERFUL dinner and LOTS of laughs!!

In October, we were in Port Hope for Linda and Beth’s birthday and I brought some meatballs as a contribution to the dinner. I came home with my crock pot and that was that. Well, at the end of the evening, there was a black serving spoon left over. Beth and Joan were SURE that it was my serving spoon. So as a joke, they wrapped it up for me and gave it to me for “Cottage Christmas”. I opened the spoon and was glad to have a new serving spoon – as you can never have enough. Well Beth and Joan are killing themselves laughing at me. I don’t know what is so funny. Then they proceed to tell me that it is my spoon and they are returning it to me. It was not MY spoon (well it is now). So that sent everyone into a fit of laughter!!

So at the end of all of this, I have a new spoon and the original (unknown) owner of the spoon is out a spoon!!

As for December 31st, Mark and I took it easy. I think this is the first time that either one of us ever stayed home on New Year’s Eve and it was WONDERFUL. We had a nice dinner, watched a movie and were asleep before midnight!!

That brings us to New Year’s Day. We went to Hortense’s for our traditional New Year’s Day Chinese food dinner – this year we had lunch instead though. Roger and Anita were headed to Ireland and their flight was at 6:00 so we started earlier – 1:00 so that they could eat, socialize and then we could take them to the airport by 3:30. The rest of us stayed and played cards. No pictures as I was unable to locate my camera – it has since been located.

That brings us to today – my last day of vacation…I have to go back to work tomorrow:( - Mark went back today. Needless to say, I would rather be on vacation...

I hope everyone had a wonderful 2006 and may 2007 bring you LOTS of happy baby news!!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all our friends and family and of course, my "blog mates".

We wish you all much laughter, joy, health, happiness and of course, SPEEDY referrals!!

We hope 2007 is good to you and all your wishes come true!!

All the best for the new year!!

Mark & Michelle :)