Kindergarten Graduation (6/5/08)

Ready to go! I didn't even have to bribe her to wear the dress. She was just thrilled to have the headband from Jolene.

The graduating Kindergarten of 2007-2008

Getting ready to walk.


Erin's friend Lauren

Walking

Finally! The proud graduate! She worked so hard this year. We couldn't be prouder of her.

I don't think I could say anything else to convey how proud we are of you Erin Chelsie!

Official for 5 Years

Erin - May 2008

Erin's Referral Pic - January 2003

I've been writing all about the days leading up to Gotcha Day & can't leave out Forever Family Day. What's that? That is the day that the adoption is finalized in China.

Don't ask me what the times were. I couldn't tell you. I don't remember. And I don't care. Because they really don't matter. What does matter? The fact that on June 3, 2003 China officially recognized that Chun HuaXu was now Erin Chelsie.

When we got to the police station, our guide Cindy showed us where to go, where to sit, what to do. We were going to get all of the paperwork notarized, completed. On the Sunday before Gotcha Day, the parents went down to Cindy's room to complete the paperwork we would need to accept the children. When I looked at Erin's pictures, I got very upset. In fact, I think I may have screamed that this wasn't my daughter. David got terrified & looked at the pictures & also wasn't sure. All the parents in the room looked at their daughter's pictures & all was fine for them. Apparently Erin had done a lot of changing from the time her referral picture was taken (January 2003) until the date her picture was taken for the Letter of Acceptance (May 2003). Oops. I felt like the behind of a donkey. Anyway, apparently the police officer who was assisting David & me was also unsure. He looked at the referral day pics, the Letter of Acceptance pic & the baby in my arms & started to question everything. I was dying inside. Were they going to take my daughter from me!? There was no way I was going to let that happen. And neither was Cindy! She started to yell at the police officer that everything was okay, & it was the same baby. He signed off on the paperwork.

We went back to the Guangdong Provincial Civil Affairs Building to finalize the paperwork, give the donations to the orphanage directors & give the officials their gifts.

When we got back to the hotel, I called my father. "Daddy, she's ours officially now. No one can take her from me." My dad & I were crying.

And here we are 5 years later. Erin graduates from kindergarten Thursday night. I continue to be awed by the child that is my daughter.

Gotcha Day #5

Today is the day! It's Gotcha Day 5 years later & I just can't believe that life was any better than it is right this very minute.

David & I were so nervous about the actual moment. How would we feel? How would we react? How would that sweet little baby react? After all, we looked different, smelled different & sounded different.

Our guide, Cindy got all of the families together early enough so that we could have the special honor & joy of waiting in a room filled with 15 families waiting to be united with their children. A room with not one drop of air conditioning. Not a hint of a breeze. Even I got hot waiting! All of the families walked around the room nervous as can be. I even have a picture of Gary Ranly showing us his watch. I was snapping pics of everyone just waiting.

Art & Susan asked David & me to make sure that we took pics & videod the moment when Julianna was placed in their arms. Duh! Like I would miss out on that moment. I have a video taped segment of Art telling us "no more, we're done." (I knew that was not true.) Susan turned around to address David Scott so of course I addressed Arthur John. Who remembers why? Who cares?

All I know is that when the babies finally came in, the 6 Yangchun families were told there would be a delay. The director with the nannies & babies were facing a traffic jam or some such thing. ARGH!!! I didn't want to wait anymore. I wanted Erin in my arms NOW.

As the babies were brought into the room, I took pictures of the families being joined with their daughters. I knew that as soon as I could I would develop the pics in doubles so I could share that special moment with the families. I had a blast doing it. Those pictures sit in my photo album, & I remember each parent & the look of joy on their faces.

Finally!! The Yangchun babies arrived!! Susan was looking out the door & screamed (in an ever so ladylike tone - not) that they were here. I got my camera ready since I didn't know the order that the babies would be united with the families. As I was snapping away, Mrs. Yu called out "Hersh," & I missed it. David yelled at me to "put the damn camera down" so I could take our daughter in my arms. Thanks for getting that moment Susan!

Tears streaming down my face. My heart exploding with joy. Finally, after all the years of wanting to be a mother, I was holding OUR BABY. I was so humbled by the beauty that was my daughter. Erin just looked at me. No tears. No screaming. She just came right to me. In an outfit straight from Target??? David was looking at me holding our daughter, & never had I seen such a look of total love as I did at that moment. And then I placed Erin in his arms. And he became a daddy. All the years of not wanting to be a father, all the uncertainties of how he could possibly be a good father. They just melted away when he looked into her face.

When we got back to the White Swan, we called our parents to let them know they were grandparents. David spoke with his parents. For some reason I can't remember my in-laws reaction other than "congratulations." I know they were excited since they started us on this journey but can't recall more than that. I spoke with my dad. He & my stepmother were overjoyed. And then my dad told me how happy he was & how happy my mother would have been if she were still around.

David & I thank G-d each night before we go to sleep. We thank Him for placing this beautiful child into our lives & entrusting us with her. And we tell Erin each & every night how happy we are that we all adopted each other.

And The Nominees Are. . .

Wow! I am really honored. My dear friend Viv thinks I have something worthwhile to say. Ha! I really just ramble on you know. Perhaps she's a little biased since her daughter Kerri is my goddaughter. However, she is right about one thing. Erin & Kerri have this amazing connection to each other.

From what I understand, I have to nominate 5 other blogs that Make My Day. Unfortunately, I can't nominate Viv though. She certainly deserves it since this is how I see what's going on in her family's life on a daily basis. Odd though since we speak on the phone so frequently. Oh well.

And, the nominees for the 5 Blogs That Make My Day are:

• Gretchen from A Houseful of Critters. We met back when we were DTC (now known as LID). Many Wednesday nights were spent online chatting along with the daily emails. When we finally traveled to China, Gretchen & I were lucky enough to meet at the famed White Swan days after being united with our gorgeous girls Erin & Elise. Gretchen finally joined the world of bloggers this past year. Ever since then, I have to take a daily peek. I'm so glad that she does 'cause I love read about the goings on in her family!
• Sandra from The Daily Grind: Life With Jazzie and Tahlia. Like Gretchen, she is also a Waiting Heart. Sandra keeps it real over at her blog with topics of all kinds ranging from PAD (post adoption depression) to fun things like how her Jazzie & Tahlia love ice pops. I have been so blessed to have Sandra in my life. One day we'll meet in person. Till then we'll have a virtual cup of Starbucks together!
• Lori from Stress is the New Black. She is an amazing woman with a wonderful family. One day, she'll tell me her secrets. Like how she manages to be the mother of a wonderfully empathetic law student & the Dynamic Duo. How she manages to maintain a relationship filled with love, friendship & respect with her hubby Marc. And how she manages to do all this looking wonderful whenever I see her!
• Magi from Kaffee Klatsch. I found Magi over at Sandra's blog one day & have popped in ever since. She also has a fantastic hubby in Jim. (Hey! Anyone who would make fresh pancakes just because is fantastic in my book!) Her daughter Sera is just the sweetest thing! Pop on over on a Friday to see what recipe she's putting out. Pop on over to see what's going on over there. Just pop on over!
• PIPO from This Year in China. This woman is my hero! She handles all of her home repairs & rennovations with both grace & "pluck." She is crafty - go see the cakes she bakes & the quilt she just finished. She is one tough cookie with a heart of gold.

To be honest, there are many more blogs out there that I read on a daily basis. If you're in my blogroll, I look for you each day.

Sitting in My Office & Realizing

Yesterday morning, I was sitting in my office typing an email to one of my co-workers when it hit me.

It was Friday, May 30th. Exactly 5 years ago the day before, David warned me. We were not opening the suitcases & repacking them AGAIN. He was done. There was no more. We were getting ready to go to sleep. Why? Because exactly 5 years ago today, at this very minute, my in-laws were walking through our front door to take us to our last breakfast as a family of 2. They had asked if they could be the ones to take us to the airport when we left for China. It took us 5 seconds to say "yes" at the same time to them.

Why? Because they were the reason we were finally going to be parents. Back in the summer of 2000, they had asked us to come for a visit. Not too unusual mind you, but they said they wanted to talk to us. Huh!? WTF!? That day in 2000 changed our lives forever. They wanted to know what they could do to help us become parents. So. Erin if you want to know the truth, you were brought into our lives because of a simple question from Grandma & Grandpa. But I digress. (As usual.)

Anyway. Now it's Saturday, May 31st. And 5 years ago, David & I were on a plane headed to China. It was a hellishly long flight, & David had never been on a plane with me before. (BTW, he hasn't been on one with me since then either.) We had met some of the families who would become fixtures in our lives from this time on. My feet swell unbelievably when I fly, so I got up to walk around. As I was walking, I remember going to my travel mates, Amy, Sherry, Parris Christina & a few others. I told them that since we "were in labor," this was our time "to push." So here we were 6 or 7 women walking this huge plane doing the Lamaze breathing method saying "we can do this" for about 3 or 4 times. Talk about a bonding experience. Our hubbies thought we were nuts, & we were. We still are.

Tomorrow it will be exactly 5 years that we landed in China. And our lives changed forever.

Thank G-d!

(BTW, when I say exactly, it's because the days this year follow the days 5 years ago. See! I told you I'm nuts. These are the things that drive me.)

So How Do You Take Yours?

We LOVE popcorn here! It's really quite an addiction for us!

My BlogLand friend Magi & her hubby Jim also love popcorn. I have a feeling that their daughter Sera will be enjoying the stuff soon also. Erin can't live without the stuff. It's why movies were created after all!

When I was a child, my dad took this funky silver thing out of our pantry & told me that I was in for a treat. He put that thing on the stove & so began my lifelong love affair with popcorn. Yup! You guessed it by the way. It was Jiffy Pop popcorn. Put it on the stove, shake it up a few times & the most wonderful aroma hits you like nothing else.

Every Friday night we have movie night in our house. Erin gets to choose which movie we're going to watch. Usually it's a Harry Potter movie or Lord of the Rings. Then we move on to popcorn. David takes down our corn popper & pours in the Orville Redenbacher. Erin gets so excited watching it pop. As soon as it's done popping, she starts to demand her butter spray. And then she carries over the huge bowl of popcorn to demolish it on her own. It always amazes David & me how she can eat so little when it comes to food, but when it comes to popcorn, she is just barely willing to let you sit next to her.

While David & Erin love their popcorn loaded with butter & salt, I don't. I prefer the kettle corn flavor or even plain with some garlic powder or parmesan sprinkled on it. How do you like yours!?

Saying Goodbye

Just the other day, a family lost a child. This is a horror that no parent should ever have to go through. Unfortunately we all know it happens & too frequently for everyone concerned.

I have thought long & hard about whether or not I wanted to write about this & came to the decision that I needed to. Maria Chapman lost her life the other day in a horrible accident. I'm sure that you've read of the accident. It's been all over the adoption & blog communities. Her family will need to hold strong to their faith (& I'm sure they most certainly will) as they deal with what has happened & help their son get through this. I don't know how, but I do know that they will. You see, faith is what this is about. Faith that G-d above had His reasons although unknown to us. Faith that love will help the family heal.

Maria had just turned 5. Erin is 5. I can't imagine losing her & what life would be like without her in it. Erin has her whole life ahead of her. Today she started questioning everyone's position in our family. How we are all related to each other. These are the things that a 5 year old is supposed to be thinking about & learning. I read that Maria loved to "wash dishes buck naked." Apparently, this is a 5 year old thing. Erin would also rather go "nakey" as we call it.

Saying goodbye is hard. I wish the Chapman family well. May their faith in G-d help them on their path to healing.

I Hate Preparing for Birthday Parties

Have you heard the news? I absolutely hate preparing for birthday parties. Period.

Why you ask? Well, let's see:

• A July party should NEVER be outside - especially when you live in S FL. Just ask Erin & of course anyone who came to her party last year. David went home & brought all of our fans from home to try & cool us down. It didn't work so we all "glistened" throughout the day. I didn't want a park party, but Erin had her heart set on a bounce party, & my friend Lisa wanted Erin to have her party with her favorite bounce. Besides, how do you say "no" to your only child will turn 5 only once in her lifetime. (I said "no" this year.)
• Erin & I are traveling to Texas for her Travel Group reunion & then on to California for a visit with Bubbie & Zaydie. Don't you think a 2 week vacation is enough of a birthday present? I do. Apparently David disagrees since he asked her what kind of party she wanted. ARGH!!
• All the neat places to hold parties are NOT in the county we live in. I can't justify having her party in Miami because, while I love him, my brother & his family would be the only guests who live there so everyone else would be totally inconvenienced. (I have some dear friends who don't cross county lines.)
• My good friend Michelle told me last week "Oh! I booked Lauren's party for the weekend of the girls' birthdays. It's at YCA." Great. Now I'm stuck because this is a really cool place, but you can't have 2 parties in the place for the same weekend with the same guests. Another ARGH!!!
• Erin loves to run & jump & bounce. We went to a great place for a party last weekend. She wouldn't jump into the foam pit because the poor girl didn't believe there was no water under the foam pieces. (It ripped my heart to see her standing by the foam pit looking as if she wanted to jump in. She literally couldn't the fear is still so strong.)

And now I don't have a clue about what to do! She would like a bowling party but I'll tell you right now, the children just run around & don't bowl. She would like a ceramics party, but how do you keep 30 kids aged 1-11 sitting & painting for 1 1/2 hours?

UGH!! I hate party planning.

The Quake That Touched Too Many

When you first came to my blog, you knew that it was all about my life with my beautiful daughter Erin. She is the light of my life. I can not possibly thank G-d enough for the gift of her. Each night before I go to sleep, I whisper to her that I am so happy we adopted each other. Then I give a whisper of thanks to G-d to let Him know how I appreciate His faith in me with this gift of Erin.

China has suffered. If you watch tv, read the news, listen to what people are talking about, you know that there has been a terrible earthquake with many aftershocks. You can't avoid knowing about it unless you are the type to keep your head in the sand.

As the people of China suffer, so do we. Our hearts cry for the people whose lives have been altered. These are the same people who watched over my daughter for the first 10 months of her life. There are so many people that I know because of Erin & China adoption - friends who aren't friends but rather extended family, children that I have waited to see come home to their forever families. Yet I will also always think about the people who watched over Erin & these other children.

And I know that I can't just sit back & do nothing. If you are so inclined, please stop by Half the Sky to see how you can help. They have set up an Earthquake Fund to get assistance to China's people.

Pay It Forward!! Wanna Play?

I found my friend Viv playing a game, & I think it sounds really neat. I'm all about having fun & playing games, so I'm joining in. How about you? Wanna play?

Yes? Well, here's how you do it.

1. I will send a gift of my choosing to the first three (3) people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join the Pay it Forward exchange.


2. You must make the same commitment on your own blog.

So if you want a goodie, please leave me a comment. I'll need your snail mail address so that I can get your gift out. We can take care of that offlist.

Mother's Day Tea in Erin's Class

My flowers from Erin

I'm not quite sure about this dance!

It sure looked like fun!

On Thursday of this past week, Erin's class had a Mother's Day Tea. It was so sweet. The children had prepared cucumber sandwiches, baked cookies & made iced tea for us. I absolutely loved the projects they did. Each child wrote why they love their mother, made a collage with pictures of themselves & items cut out from magazines with words they wrote describing their mothers & a pot with flowers that they planted.

After having our "tea," Miss Cindy read the book "I Love You Forever" to the children & the moms. It's really a sweet book, & if you haven't read it, I'd suggest getting it. Then the children danced for us.

It was a wonderful morning. Thanks Erin!

She reads! She reads! Holy cow! She reads!

Erin has a very extensive library of books. When I had my baby shower, the girl who gave it for me asked everyone to bring a book so Erin could have a library. Jenn knew that both David & I are avid readers & wanted to intill a love of the written word in Erin as young as possible. Before Erin's first birthday, she had about 50 books. Unfortunately, she never liked to have either David or me read to her. She preferred to "read" her books herself. This usually meant that she would look at the pictures, tell us a story that she saw & turned the pages.

This evening Erin asked me if she could read a book to me. Of course I said yes. I was prepared for her to stumble through the book & get frustrated with the words she doesn't know. One of my favorite books that I've been waiting for her to read is Green Eggs and Ham. It's also one of her favorites. There was a week that I had to read that book to her about 5 times a day every day. She just really got it.

Well. My girl can read! Erin read Green Eggs and Ham to me tonight. She did a great job! I am so proud of my little reader! May she continue to read & develop the same love of books that her daddy & I have!

A Nice Relaxing Evening

Ah yes. I love Friday nights. We eat dinner as soon as I get home & then watch a movie of Erin's choice. It's a nice relaxing evening.

Today I was lucky & got out of the office at 5:00. I invited David & Erin to meet me at the office so we could go to Red Lobster for an early dinner. Erin loves Red Lobster & although she had a hard time with her behavior, I deserved a treat for my miserable week. She ate half of her popcorn shrimp & some french fries. We all left the restaurant, & David went to go shop for some stuff for Star. Erin & I went home with a quick stop at Publix to pick up dessert for the evening.

So now I sit here on the couch watching The Fabulous Thunderbirds, catching up on email & blogs. And listening to David & Erin snore.

Great night, huh?

Cranky

Need I say more?

David went to pick Erin up from school this afternoon. He went out on to the school's playground where she usually is by the time he gets there. No sooner than he walks out the door than he hears the teacher on duty tell the children not to hang off the side of the tall slide. Yup. That was our sweet girl who was hanging around with her feet mere inches from the teacher's face. (What was the teacher doing just hanging around right there when she knew that was what the children were doing?) When Erin saw David, she got down & went over to him. Because she had shown disrespect to the teacher, David made her go back & apologize to the her. And that's when her "mood" began.

It didn't get any better by the time I got home either. We were treated to an evening filled with love & whining. Oh yea. That's just what I wanted tonight. Uh huh. Give me more.

Either way, her whining was sufficient enough that she was told to get into jammies earlier than usual. She chose to not eat dinner. Why? Well, you see, the eggplant parmigan that she tried last night & couldn't get enough of is GREEN, and we all know that Erin doesn't do green. And here I was thrilled that I had finally gotten my child to eat a vegetable! How did this happen? David prepared dinner as usual & put her serving on her plate. Ah ha! He had cut her eggplant parmigan up into bite-sized pieces. When she ate it last night, I was giving it to her off of my plate, & she never saw the color. Oh well.

Weekend Pics

Getting ready to watch our movie for the night.

My friend Jolene makes these awesome hairclips.
She gave this to me, & Erin decided that she had to have it.
It only took 4 years to get her to wear a clip in her hair.
Thanks Jolene!


Day 2 wearing a hair clip.
Will wonders never cease!?

Love Without Boundaries Auction

The "Born In My Heart" Art Auction has already begun. It runs from April 24th - April 29th (Beginning the 24th @ 9:00am PDT).

In nearly every orphanage in China, children in need of heart surgery wait to be healed. In an effort to help as many of these orphaned children as possible, Love Without Boundaries began the "Born In My Heart" art auction five years ago. This is an annual event that serves as a special tribute to the miracle of adoption, and also as a fundraiser to help provide these essential operations to children who need emergency heart surgery. You can help to save the life of a child by taking part from April 24-29. Every penny raised will help to heal precious children and give them the opportunity to grow and thrive, and perhaps even find a family of their very own. So please bid often and bid generously!Auction items will begin to launch at 9am (Pacific) on Thursday, April 24th. Nearly 300 items will be added throughout the day, and the auction will close Tuesday, April 29th (again, with items closing throughout the course of the day). They will have some absolutely incredible items this year, all donated by LWB's fabulous supporters!

You will be able to access the auction from the Love Without Boundaries website homepage at: http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/ beginning April 24th.

Please take a moment to have a look at all the beautiful items up for auction. Any donation no matter how small will make an incredible difference in the life of a child.

The Facts & Nothing But The Facts

According to Erin that is!

I was sitting here just doing nothing much on computer when Erin came over & started talking.

Mama likes:

• coffee
• soda (read coca cola NOT pepsi)
• chai
• cappuccino
• iced tea (don't get this one since I don't drink it)
• apple dippers with carmel
• Starzy (the dog)
• Troi (the cat)
• Daddy
• Me
• Herself

And Dada likes:

• models
• to play cards with me
• building things
• computers

And Erin likes:

• models
• watching tv
• Troi & Star

Now I know that there are other things we all like, but for now this is what Erin thinks. I wonder what we'll all like tomorrow.

Birthday Scrap With The Gals

The Poke Cake

Lisa checking out which pics to scrap

Mich & Jamey hard at work on their scrapping

Friday night my friends Lisa, Mich & Jamey all came out & celebrated my birthday with me. What did we do? Well, we are the ScrapSistas (formerly known as the ScrapSkanks mind you)!

We went to this marvelous little boutiquey place called Paper Niche. Friday nights they offer an evening with dinner & scrapping till midnight. Of course, they hope that you'll spend money on the supplies they have there. And goodness knows that this place has great items. In fact, while I was chatting with the owner & some employees, I even mentioned how pleased I was that they sell items I've been seeing in my scrapbooking magazines. I think that's pretty awesome. In fact, some of the stuff I purchased was found in those same magazines. Yay me!

Jamey made an awesomely yummy cake for my birthday! I'd only heard of a poke cake before, but now I can see why people make them. Super moist & definitely hit that sweet spot! Mich gave me a great 12 x 12 ladybug scrapbook. I've been wanting to do a scrapbook about Erin's hobbies, & now I have the perfect book to use! Lisa did all the driving & gave me the evening out. I love my Sistas!

The only bad thing about it was that Viv couldn't be with us to celebrate. Sheez! This whole living in Canada is putting the kibosh on our parties. Of course, I know that her spirit was with us partying the evening away.

Thanks my friends!

*******UPDATE******************

For those of you who wanted to know what a Poke Cake is:

You bake the cake, & as it's cooling, you poke holes in it with a toothpick. Then you pour either jello or pudding over the top so it seeps into the cake itself. After that, you can either frost the cake or not.

Flowers Flowers & More Flowers

From Viv, Corey & Kerri

From Daddy & Nancy

2nd Bouquet from Daddy & Nancy

(On behalf of the florist)

Let it never be said that I can ever have enough flowers! Last week my office was overflowing with birthday flowers. In fact, most of the flowers are still blooming beautifully in my office.

Okay, So We Didn't Quite Make It. Oops!

Presents have an interesting problem in our house. They can never seem to wait to be opened till the right time. Oops! This has been a problem for them since David & I got married. The presents just can't hold out. They want us to ooh & aah over them. They want to be used/read/viewed immediately if not sooner.

My birthday is this coming week, & David has been carefully planning on what to get me. Nope. No diamonds, jewelry, purses or such for me. I just really am not too interested in all that - unless we're talking about Coach or Dooney & Burke. My wants are really quite simple. This year David told me that I wasn't getting any scrapbooking supplies since in his not so humble opinion they're only consumables. (Has he noticed that his models are "consumables" also? Nope.) So I had to remind him of that lovely invention called a wish list. Duh!

I really got some great stuff (to me) this year! I absolutely love Val Kilmer & have been dying to get a copy of his movie Real Genius. He is so young in it & it really showcases his ability to do comedy. Then there's Tombstone with Kurt Russell & Val Kilmer along with a host of other actors I enjoy. Of course, David couldn't totally stay away from scrapbooking as a whole & got me 2 books that I've been wanting. Now all I have to do is actually find time to read them & put into practice what I get out of them. I also got a number of other books. This is going to be so cool!

Thanks David! I love that you so totally get me!

Great News!

Today David took Erin to her very first eye doctor appointment. We had been concerned lately because she has a tendency to hold things very close to her face for reading/viewing. She also tends to lean over a paper when doing homework. Since the two of us both wear glasses we wanted to head off any potential problems. Needless to say, I went to my sources for the name of a good eye doctor. My friend Lori gave me a recommendation to her daughter's eye doctor.

David hates taking Erin to her appointments since I'm the Keeper of all Information Deemed Important. He called me 5 times in 15 minutes for various pieces of info. I was really concerned about how Erin was going to do since she, like all other children, hates going to the doctor. David did his usual great job to prepare her for what was to come (read eye dilation here). Yes. She had a hard time but did really well.

According to David, the eye doctor was really pleased with Erin. She has no vision problems at all. He said that she's just picking up some bad habits with leaning in close to see things. Then he told David that he doesn't get to give this kind of news often enough.

Thanks for the recommendation Lori!

Has it really been 5 years?

Yes. It has. 5 years ago today at 2:45 pm I got THE CALL! 5 years ago we saw our daughter's face for the first time!

Of course, it was April Fool's Day, & I had been depressed for weeks. It had been 14 very long months since our DTC (Dossier to China) which is now known as LID (Log in Date). When Emily Jou called, her first words were "This is the call Tammie." I got so angry that I yelled at her "This is a rotten thing to do. How could you be so mean?" And I hung up on her. Talk about nuts! Thank G-d she realized what happened & instantly called me back "No Tammie. This isn't a joke. You have a daughter! Are you ready?" WAS I READY!? Hell yes!

This whole thing took place at my office. The lady who hired me, had just come in & heard/seen what was going on. Everyone there was in tears as I sat back & took the information. Because I couldn't receive attachments, I had Emily send the picture of Chun HuaXu to David. After all, I got The Call so he should get The First Peek. It was the most humbling moment of my life to hear my husband cry & tell me "She's beautiful Tam."

After we finally got our call, we had to deal with SARS. Ugh! We waited14 months to get our referral, & now China wasn't sure they wanted to let us in so we could bring our daughter home. All of the rest of The Waiting Hearts which include my dearest friends Sandra and Gretchen had been there right along with me. This was probably the most exciting time in our lives. We had spent 14 months emailing, having weekly chat sessions, cyber showers, scrapbook supplies, the sniper that hit the VA/MD/DC area. You name it, we went through it.

I wouldn't change a thing. After all, here we are 5 years later with the most perfect child for our family.

The Bouncing Mamas

Checking out our pedicures before we bounce.

Would you expect anything less?

Mich getting in the frame.

Lisa relaxing while she snaps away.

Lazing around the bounce with her camera.

I've fallen, & I don't want to get up!

Yup. Who else would get into a toddler bounce house?

Did you really expect us to leave our cameras out!?

You asked for pics of us in the bounce! Here we are! It always amazes me that I love to get into the bounce houses with my friends & our kids. I've gotta tell you that if you have the chance to bounce with your kid, you should! It's fun from a whole other perspective.

Random Pics

I've been remiss. A few weeks ago Erin went to a birthday party for her friend Olivia who was turning 2. She played with her friends, & I played with mine. The kids bounced, jumped & had a blast. The moms got into the bounce, snapped pics & had a blast.

The Flying Pig is Here!

My friend Michelle is a marathon runner with a big heart. She runs for a reason & usually some cause is benefitting while she helps to raise funds. This time, she's running The Flying Pig Marathon which benefits the Ohio Valley Voices School. This school gives non-hearing children the opportunity to learn how to speak thereby giving them a voice. My fellow Waiting Heart Sandra's daughter goes to this school so, of course, this is a cause near & dear to my own heart. Please take a peek, & if you're interested in supporting Michelle, stop by her blog.

To All You Lurkers!

and I do know who some of you are! Come out! Come out wherever you are!

We who blog really want to know what you think. Please do leave comments for us. Many of us are going to publish our blogs in the future for our children. It would be nice if your grandchildren, nieces, nephews, etc. knew that you took the time to stop by & also what you had to say.

Ah! Purim! Let the fun begin!

Yesterday Erin's school had their Purim celebration.

I must have looked like a crazed person at the mall the day before. I ran to the Disney store after work on Thursday to purchase a princess dress for Erin to wear. The previous year she wore a Belle dress from WalMart & had welts on her waist because the tulle edges hadn't been covered. This year I decided to spend the money so she would have fun & no problems.

It was worth it. Miss Donna put Erin's hair into a ponytail since I'm hair-style deficient. Miss Wanda put a pretty pink ribbon into Erin's hair. What did I do? I left my cameras in the car. Duh! I've never done that since forgetting to take pics the day we readopted Erin. Thankfully, Miss Donna offered to use the school's camera for this pic. Later in the day, Miss Belinda emailed this to me at work. Thank G-d for these special ladies at her school! I haven't figured out what I'm going to do next year. Maybe they'll move with Erin to public school? (I can hope!)

Lessons Learned

I wonder who teaches children it's okay to be cruel. I wonder who teaches children that being mean is acceptable. And I wonder who takes the ultimate responsibility for all the negative crap that children are exposed to.

David & I are working very hard to ensure that Erin is a nice person. We definitely don't believe in original sin but know that children can say/do hurtful things. It's not always easy to do the right thing, & G-d knows that I certainly don't get there 100% of the time. I've always said that I'm not perfect nor do I want to be. However, when it comes to my daughter I try pretty darn hard.

Last night we had a situation with Erin that pretty much shocked me. David always puts Erin to bed. We have a routine that works quite well for us. Erin gives me night-night hugs, gets her pill & a drink, gives me another hug, asks me when I'm going to sleep, hugs me one more time & goes into her room for some time with Daddy. Last night David came storming out & told me that I needed to take care of Erin because he was too ticked. Since this has happened maybe 3 times in 4 years I asked him what happened.

WELL!!!! It seems that David was talking with Erin & told her that when she turns 6, she will have to start walking because we won't be carrying her anymore. He told her that this was happening because she's a big girl & getting bigger. Apparently, Erin took this very negatively & told David that he was "too darn fat." (Yes. You can pick your jaw up off the floor. She truly did.)

When I went into her room to chat, she was already hysterical because she knew that she had done bad. The usual response is that Erin will tell you she doesn't know why she said what she said. I explained to her that we cannot say things that are hurtful or rude because we don't want to give someone a sad heart & make them cry. Lately, I've had to remind her that there is NOTHING she can do that will make us stop loving her, send her back to China or leave her alone. I reminded her that we want to be her mommy & daddy & even flew all the way to China so we could have that job. Since Erin is in Hebrew School Sunday mornings, I know that my friend Karen is teaching the class all about mitzvot (G-d's commandments). I asked Erin if Miss Karen had taught about mitzvot yet (knowing full well that it's an integral part of the curriculum) & she said yes. I asked her if what she said to her daddy was doing a mitzvah or not. Needless to say, she knew the answer.

I told her that she was right. Daddy & I are fat. However, that is not a nice thing to say to anyone. When we finished our conversation, Erin went out to David & told him that she was sorry she made his heart sad.

She seems to understand what I was saying & was quite upset over having hurt her daddy's feelings. Hopefully, we won't have this chat again soon.

You Go Girl! Again!

She's done it again! Erin has amazed me beyond words today. I don't know why I'm shocked though.

Last night Erin decided that she doesn't want to have a nightlight on in her room anymore. I thought for sure that she'd change her mind, get up in the middle of the night & turn it on. Nope. Not only did she leave it off, but she also fell asleep & stayed asleep till this morning. BTW, she's trying it again tonight. I wonder if this will be it. Will she fall asleep easier? Will she stay asleep? I hope so.

This morning Erin told me in the car that she was going to do something special for her daddy's birthday. She wanted to make a birthday card for him so I told her that he would love to get a special card just from his little girl. When she came home tonight, she gave him a birthday card that she made in aftercare. She must have told her friends because one little girl who she's really friendly with made David a card also.

Tonight we ordered dinner in for David's birthday. He worked late & then had to pick Erin up because I was supposed to have a meeting which would last until 6:15 - 6:30. (Yay! We got out early!) Anyway, I was going to stop off at the grocery store & pick up birthday subs (yes we have made subs a weekday birthday tradition) but when I say it was pouring, I mean the heavens above opened up & just let it all come down. And, of course, the lightening was pretty nifty too. That said, we ordered in. Erin asked for miso soup again along with her shrimp tempura roll. While she didn't finish either the roll or the soup, we're pretty impressed.

Okay Erin. Here's your "High 5!"

Like It's Going Out of Style

That's how Erin has been eating this week. After school on Sunday, we went out to eat lunch at one of our favorite places. We've been going to Moon Thai since before we brought Erin home so it's always a good guess that we're going to end up there.

In the last 6 or 7 months Erin has been dipping her finger into my salad because she loves their super yummy peanut dressing. She recently began to eat some of my lettuce as long as it is totally coated (read drenched here) in the dressing. This past Sunday Erin decided to eat her own salad (again lettuce drenched in peanut dressing) & got through about a quarter of it. When the miso soup was served to us, she promptly tucked right in & ate almost half of it. Why is this so surprising? Well, she's never eaten soup before & turned us down repeatedly in the past with our offers for her to try it. She enjoyed it so much that the server sent her home with a whole new cup of soup. We thought that would be the end of Erin's lunch & probably food for the day. Nope. She managed to eat some of her pad thai dish.

No sooner than we got home that she started with "I still hungry." HUH??? Who the heck is this kid with a bottomless pit for a tummy!? She got to eat grapes. We only had green grapes which she's always refused in the past. Munched on those like there was no tomorrow!

Dinnertime came, & Erin ate her entire slice of lasagna. She even at the meat from the sauce which she usually leaves on the dish. It made me so happy to see her eat with enthusiasm. After dinner, she was again still hungry but we decided to put the brakes on her eating.

She's been eating like this all week long! I can't believe that she's eating 3 complete meals a day now. Too cool!

3 Word Sunday

She's 5 & definitely still needs her naps. So why does she fight me on this? Could it be because she's 5? Could it be because she might miss out on something?

That's okay. When she gets to be my age (a well-kept secret), she'll learn that naps are perfectly delicious!