"I didn't even feel it"

Mommy: (yesterday morning) "Sara, it is your birthday today! You are now 5-years-old!"
Sara: (mouth open and wided-eyed) "And Mommy, I didn't even feel it...I was sleeping the whole time!"

5h 13m 13s

I DID IT!!!!! I came in a little slower then I had wanted, but with most of the run at a temperature of 28C I'm just glad I was able to finish!!!!

A Conversation with Me, Myself and I

“When is this going to happen?”
“Maybe it won’t.”
"Of course it will, this is meant to be”.
“Who am I kidding; nothing in life is for sure.”
“I wonder how old he will be.”
“I wonder if she will have lots of hair."
“He will be beautiful."
"Don't get too excited, nothing has happened yet."
“I hope there are no more delays."
“Of course there will be more delays; there have been delays every month since the start.”
“Maybe something will happen this month.”
"Maybe I will get the call at work this week."
“Unlikely.”
"Are we going to be one of those families that EVERYTHING goes wrong?"
"We are going to be one of those families that everything goes right and your baby will be home before we know it!"
"Why hasn't my case worker contacted me?"
"Probably avoiding me because of more delays."
"I wonder if her hair will be hard to take care of."
"I won't have to worry as much about the hair with him."
"I have a long time to wait still."
"I can't believe that we might not even have a referral by summer."
"Everything happens for a reason blah blah blah"
"I wonder if we will meet his birth family."
"How old will she be?"
"Where will I be when they call?"
"They are never going to call."
"Why is it taking so long?"
"I need to see that beautiful face."

And so on and so on...over and over...

What do you talk to yourself about??????

I think I can I think I can

ONE WEEK until the marathon...yikes!

Running shoes/socks - check
Hat/shorts/shirt - check
Band-aids for blisters - check
Sport gels/drinks - check
ipod/nike+ - check

26.2 miles...ready or not, here I come.

Wow, those baby birdies are growing up fast.

Please sign...

Please support Bill C-397- An Act to Amend the Citizenship Act Petition to Members of Parliament. http://www.petitiononline.com/C397/petition.html

Currently, if our child (born in Ethiopia and will become a Canadian citizen) were to give birth to his/her own child anywhere outside Canada, our grandchild can NEVER become a Canadian citizen - just because our child was not born in Canada.

Shopping addiction...

Well, admitting you have a problem is the first step...right? I confess - I am addicted to shopping...well, not just to shopping in general, but BARGAIN shopping. Searching, rummaging, lurking, hovering, etc. for a good deal on any item (but mostly shoes and clothes) gives me such a rush...and a deal on designer labels...well, I don't even think there are words to describe that feeling...whether it is a pair of Nine West shoes for me, Gap jeans for Sara or Ralph Lauren underwear for Chad...it all feels the same...ultimate satisfaction.

I am not even ashamed to admit that one of the first places I go to in almost any store is straight to the clearance rack! I LOVE it...the rush of finding "it". And I prefer to shop alone - other people just slow me down - I can sometimes spend hours in just one store. I like what I like - and I don't need someone talking me in or out of buying something.

I often wander over to the infant section to see what deals I could have gotten if we knew the age/sex of our new little one and I just die when something is a really really good deal and I have to walk away...just torture and so unfair. However, sometimes I just can't help it and buy for my friends children - I just can't leave such a good deal for someone else. Chad better confiscate my credit card after we get "the call" - retailers will not know what hit them when I am through with them!!!

New life...

...right in our backyard, inside our treehouse.

11 months...I mean 4 years.

We are now at 11 months of waiting for our referral; however, it has been over 4 years since we signed on for our second adoption. I have been so fixated on getting through to our referral on a month-to-month basis that it only dawned on me the other day that Sara was only one-year-old (she will turn five this month) when we were officially approved and began waiting for adoption number two. Over the past four years, in our adoption world, we have complete two full homestudies (one domestic and one international), three homestudy updates, have had two birthmoms change their minds, and switched our adoption plans from domestic to international - even when I don't want to think about all of "it", there is always some kind of reminder marking our journey. It better be true about what people say - "good things BETTER come to those who wait!"

Will this month be "the" month? I have not the foggiest idea! My heart wants to believe "yes", but my brain and the reality know that we are still a few months away. Several months ago we had planned to save up our vacation days for our trip to Ethiopia and my mat. leave, but we have decided that life is too short to save and wait for all this to happen. So, we are taking three weeks off this summer, just to hang out, maybe take a trip somewhere - not sure where yet (any kid-friendly suggestions are welcome).

May 15, 1999

Today marks our ten year wedding anniversary - somedays it feels like much longer and other days it feels like the first day we met, but we always wonder where the time has gone. I think we both would agree that we have only gotten better with time.

I love so many things about Chad (too many to list), but the one thing I love the most, since the day I met him, is the way he makes me laugh - even at the most unsuspecting moments, he can get me smiling. The best way to describe our marriage is "fun". We have a blast together - even when I am rolling my eyes at all his bad (and sometimes inappropriate) jokes, I could not live without the fun we share.
I love Chad above all else - we are the foundation of our family and if we are strong our family will be too. To this day, I still rush home everyday from work to see him and still smile when I see him from across a room.

People have told us that they admire us as a couple for what we have been through as we continued to thrive and grow stronger - for us, this is what we signed up for from the start, all the good, the bad, and the ugly - this is nothing to admire - this is what marriage is all about... and no matter what life throws at us, we find our safe place with each other.

...and people told us that marriage would be tough...ha, we showed them...

My life, my love, my everything...I love you, forever and a day.