A long, long time ago....

I remember a time when I was going to be better about keeping up this blog. Well that day came and went and here I am....months later and no better at it than I was. Lots of things have happened since I updated last but I'll just hit the most important.

We unfortunately lost Crombie in June. His heart just finally gave out and he couldn't make it anymore. We miss him terribly and our house has not been the same since. Riley grieved hard for a couple of weeks but he got some special attention and that helped him get over it. Ella? Well I'm honestly not sure she noticed. She's kind of into her own world and I don't think she thinks much about what might be going on around her. Kind of a Diva.

Some new pictures of the nieces/nephew - okay well they are not "new" - they are from June but I'll post some NEW pictures soon.

Cutie Pie

All of the "N" kids

Goodbye is so hard....

Goodbye my dear friend. You will never be forgotten. You are at peace now and without pain but we miss you terribly. Our lives will never be the same. We love you.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

I can hardly believe it but it has been a year since we were logged in with the CCAA. Surprisingly the time has gone fairly quickly and we hope and pray that the next year goes as fast....although I don't really want to age that quickly so it's a blessing and a curse. I suppose if we survived the big Earthquake of 2008, we can survive anything. Seriously???!!!! We live in Oh1o for goodness sake!

Happy 14th Birthday Kelsey! Love you!

No Time Like the Present...

No time like the present to get back to this blog. I honestly had no idea how long it had been since I had updated. Time flies (or melts) as you age I suppose. At least that's what I hear. :-) But I'm going to make an effort to get back here more often.

Nothing to report on the adoption front. According to RQ today referrals are only up to January 9th, 2006. At this rate we should travel somewhere around 2012! Well not really but that's exactly how it feels! Some days are much harder than others. At least I have this to keep me busy! Isn't she cute??????

Crombie is doing good with his heart condition. He had some bad days after Christmas but he's doing much better now. He has gained some weight and seems to be doing pretty good. He's still on more medications than most of the residents in the nursing home down the street but as long as he will take them we will keep on keepin on. Here he is getting lots of sympathy and love rubs from Lindsay over Christmas. Rough life. And Ella and Riley are doing great. I think they are getting cabin fever though!

We are very ready to get the boat in the water and get the house at the lake opened for the season. This has been a long winter and I'm so looking forward to getting out on the lake! The kids are too. It's been too long since I've been able to go barefoot! That reminds me - I desparately need to get a pedi before the season starts! I've put that off too long.

Last night we went with my parents to see the Golden Dragon Acrobats - a Chinese acrobat group. They were amazing! I highly recommend seeing them if you ever have the chance. Amazing! Did I already say that? Well they were!

The sun is reportedly supposed to make an appearance this weekend - we will see if it really happens - I have my doubts. We haven't seen the sun in so long that if it does come out I may end up with a severe burn! Have a great weekend.

Not Even Close

Boy - being off for a week has really done a number on me. I'm ready to be done for the week but it's only Tuesday! I haven't slept well lately so it's especially hard on me to count beans all day and not close my office door for a quick nap. :-)

I'm thinking of taking Riley and Ella to get pictures with Santa. Ella had hers taken one year and they made it into an ornament. I happened to find it while decorating the tree and it's so cute! It's funny because a lot of parents have pictures of their kids with Santa and the kids are sometimes so unhappy - well, that was Ella! Not that happiest Golden Retriever. She's mellowed with age so maybe this year will be her year! I guess until we bring our daughter home they will have to just deal with my maternal desires. I'm sure they will be excited. ;-)

She's here!

I'm terrible but I haven't had time to post the past few days! For starters....she arrived - all 8 pounds 9 ounces, 21 1/2 inches of her! And she is gorgeous! She looks exacly like her big brother and sister did when they were born!

Introducing Hope Elizabeth.......

Hope with big brother CurtisShane and Hope and the Dr.

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving also. It was chock full of family and good food and many many thanks for all that we have been blessed with. I'm back to work today (boo) and I'm seriously jonesing to see me some kids! We had the kids off and on over the holiday and it was so much fun! Shane and Curtis put up the Christmas tree! Now I just have to start thinking about shopping!!!!!!

Bun Leaving The Oven

My sister is having a baby - TODAY! NOW! We are headed to the hospital since she is actively in labor. Whoo Hoo!

One Particular Harbor....

It's getting cold here and I've gotta be honest - I don't like it. I've always thought I really should have been born and raised where people have never seen snow and they spend their days in flip flops and cut offs (fashionable or not!). I love the Fall and the beginning of winter (well I really only love Thansgiving and Christmas) but then I want the mercury to get back up there and warm me up!

This pic is from St. Thomas when we were there on a cruise earlier this year. I can just picture myself sitting on the back of the one of these boats drinking a Margarita listening to Jimmy Buffett, soaking in the sun! Well a girl can dream can't she??!! Reality is that it's supposed to get down to 35 degrees tonight. Blah -- well back to my dream. :-)

Congratulations!

It's official! Deepest congratulations to those families getting to see their beautiful children this week! The CCAA matched through December 8, 2005. I can't wait until it's us!! :-)

Halloween 2007

We had a great time taking the neices and nephew Trick or Treating. They all looked so cute and had a lot of fun. Karly was mesmerized by everything and everybody and she had a deathgrip on that pumpkin full of candy. She would NOT let her Uncle Shane carry it for her. She just didn't trust him with her Kit Kats - smart girl! Curtis skipped Crazy Mike's, but really who can blame him????

1 Popstar and 1 very muscular Spiderman:

"Can we go now? Huh? Huh? Huh?":

Cute Little Dora:

"Are you ready yet????"

They had a great time and got lots of candy!

Rumor now is that the CCAA has matched through December 8th. Still a rumor at this point though - I can't wait to start reading about the referrals though! It's what keeps us going!