Happy Anniversary Waiting Hearts!

Today marks a very special anniversary. It was 6 years ago today that our dossier was logged in to China. Our paperchase was officially over, & the wait began.

There was nothing left to do other than make lifelong friends who would be there with me for what was an agonizing time. The February Waiting Hearts was filled with an amazing bunch of people. We had a cyber shower, online scrapbook supply swaps, & of course, Wednesday night chats. We went through the Virginia/DC sniper, SARS & so much more.

Susan & her family have become close family friends. While we don't live close to each other, we visit a few times a year. We both used Great Wall China Adoption, were in the same travel group, and adopted daughters from the same SWI - Yangchun in Guangdong Province.

Gretchen always joined in on the fun. We were able to meet in China while staying at The White Swan hotel. It was so neat to finally meet her & get to see her sweet Elise.

Sandra was the person who kept me going. I looked forward to Wednesday night chats because we always had to talk about The Bachelor - her ultimate favorite show at the time. She was my cheerleader even when she didn't know it.

All that was to get me to the most precious gift of all - my beautiful daughter Erin. I can't say enough about what this child means to David & me. I don't know how the CCAA does it, but the staff there seems to match each child to their Forever Family perfectly. Thank G-d for their insight.

Birthday Scrap Night

This past weekend my scrapping buddies got together to celebrate my birthday. Normally we do it as close as possible to our birthday, but Lisa's son Joe came down to visit her. It was a great night.

Some of the children came to join in on the fun also! Viv helped them make their own art projects. I got some wonderful gifts from my pals! Lisa knows how much I love the candles she sells (Mia Bella soy BTW) & she gave me a goody bag filled with the yummiest scents ever! Ibis gave me a little basket filled with all kinds of scrap embellishments & Starburst chews. Viv gave me a gorgeous tote which I'm going to use to carry around more of my scrapping odds & ends. And Jamey made a wonderful cheesecake. She found out that's my favorite & asked if she could make one for me since it's her specialty. She also went to the trouble of finding out how to say Happy Birthday in Hebrew & then read it out loud to me.

As I blew out my birthday candles, I made this wish. (Yes, I know that we're not supposed to tell, but really my wish has already come true.) I wished that I would always have friends like these in my life.

Thanks Ladies!

Scrap Skanks in Action

Some my friends & I get together a few times a month to do some scrapbooking. We have tons of fun - gossip, goodies, scrapping. I need another Scrap Night!