2007 September Cybershower

Thank you Deanna and David for both of the lavender PJ's. The first PJ reads "sweetheart" with an adorable pink & turquoise heart and flower on it the second PJ is tiny cupcakes, hearts, and flowers. They are both really sweet. Also we loved the getting the book "I Love You Like Crazy Cakes". We have the larger paper book, but didn't know they made a smaller traveling board book, which will be perfect for when we travel. Great idea! We loved everything.

Gotcha Day Blogs

To the right of the screen is some more Gotcha Day blogs. Hang in there everyone. I know we have a long journey, but seeing all these families with referrals will keep us strong. Hold on...we will get our daughters!!! For now, I'm going to live through these blogs by seeing all the other families and their happiness on Gotcha Day!!!

10th Month LID Anniversary

While another month has gone by and really no movement...actually extremely small baby steps forward to bring Kayla home. We're hoping to hear of more referrals in the next week or so, but rumors are that they are even smaller than what they have been. I would love to see that we are finally out of November 2005 LID's. November was such a gigantic month for LID's that I'm really hoping that once we hit December and January things will move a little faster.

This month really hits hard because this was about when we were suppose to get our referral for Kayla and then approx. 6 weeks later go to get her. When we signed up we were told it was a 10-12 month wait from LID, and then the timeframe just kept getting slower and slower. Looks like we are definitely learning to be patient with a 2-3 yr wait still ahead of us.

We'll wait....patiently? I'm really trying hard with the patience part of it, but I've got a great husband and terrific boys, so I'm blessed, but I still so deeply want to bring little sister home.

Review Room Through August 2006!

Things are looking a little brighter today!

The REVIEW ROOM has made it through August 31, 2006. The CCAA just posted it on their website and today marks are 10th month of being logged in. Now lets just all keep our fingers crossed that REFERRALS make it out of November 2005 and into some of December 2005.

CLEVELAND INDIANS AMERICAN LEAGUE 2007 CENTRAL CHAMPS

Congratulations to the Cleveland Indians!!!!

Today our home team clinched the AL Central Division. The Indians played against the Oakland Athletics "A's" with a score of 6 to 2 today. GO TRIBE!

Oct 2006 DTC Group -Secret Buddy (September)

What another terrific surprise and a great way to end the work week and begin the weekend to receive our next secret buddy gift for the month of September today. You will enjoy this as I know you said you also have boys. As I'm unloading Rylan (2 yr old) from the car the boys drop their book bags and everything else and yell "mom! we got our next package from your secret buddy", so of course we put dinner off and rip open the box. Rylan immediately pulled out the adorable "Hello Kitty" backpack (LOVE IT) for Kayla and insisted that it was his until he sees the little wooden puzzle that you sent him and off he goes. Next the boys go through the box and we're so excited to each get a "Tangle Classics" toy, which I must say you are always so thoughtful and include the kids each month. Then as if that wasn't enough, you also got Kayla a lamaze play & grow panda (which I think lamaze toys are awesome), a Peek-a-Boo Panda Book, A MushABelly Chatter ladybug, and the oh so popular "everyone loves a brown eyed girl pink t-shirt. I can't wait to see Kayla in her little T-shirt and little pink backpack, too cute. Also my husband loves cashews, so I'm sure he'll love the cookies.

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you have given my family. I loved the letter that you included and I anxiously await the day that it's revealed who are SB is. I hope soon we get to find out who you are, but even without knowing your name, I feel that I already know what kind of person you are. I wish you and your family a safe and happy journey and I pray each day that we get to bring home our daughters and hopefully sooner than expected.

November06LID - Bib Swap (September theme: pink)

I just joined for the first time the bib swap with the November06LID yahoo group that I belong to. It's been really fun and exciting. It's also a way to help me keep busy, so that I don't dwell on the wait for our little girl.

My first bib was from the Waterman family in IL. They sent us three adorable pink bibs. Here's what each of the bibs read "love", "mommy's little girl" (you better believe it!), and "thank heaven for little girls".

Thanks again to the Waterman family. We loved each and every one of them.

Zack's "8" Birthday Party

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZACK!!!

WE LOVE YOU SO....MUCH!!!

Love, Mom, Dad, Craigy, & Ry Ry

Last night was Zack's 8th birthday party. He originally wanted to have a swim party, but the weather decided otherwise, so we agreed he could invite some friends over for a slumber party instead. The boys had a terrific time. Zack really likes Star Wars, so that was his theme. We had cake, pizza, pop, ice cream and then moved onto a couple of games, which consisted of pin the "light saber" on Darth Maul's light saber, and from there we did a pinata. Then of course, we put the Star Wars movie in and some of the kids watched that, while the others checked out the new toys.

Puerto Rico

My husband and I had to go to Puerto Rico on business and were able to sneak in a little time for us too. We really enjoyed ourselves. We visited Old San Juan where the streets are made of bricks and the sidewalks are very very small. We did some souvenir shopping and they also had some of the same nice shops that they have back home Coach, Hilfiger, etc.

Our hotel was really nice as well as everyone we met in Puerto Rico. It was more expensive than I anticipated, but it was well worth it. It was just nice to get away for a couple of days and enjoy ourselves.

Later we visited the Barcardi factory and our tour guide was awesome. My husband's favorite drink is Mojito's and I'm more of a person that likes drinks without tasting the liquor. My favorite is Strawberry Daquiri's! (Notice...both use Bacardi...ha ha)

We had terrific weather and the beach was unbelievably beautiful, but there's no place like home. Home with my boys and happy as can be.....now let's move things along and get our daughter and little sis home from China!!!!

July Is Out Of Review!!!

Good news, July 2006 is out of review. The CCAA has reviewed documents through July 31,2006. These families move from Dept. 1 (Review Room) into Dept. 2 (Matching Room). As a reminder our LID is 11/27/06, so we are waiting for China to review our paperwork. This is the next big step before you can receive your referral. We still have a couple of years atleast to wait, but this is a big relief to many families. We're another step closer to bring our little girl and little sis home.

1st Day of School

Wow, what a day. You think I would be used to this by now. It still brings tears to my eyes to see my boys heading off to school another year. Craig is in 5th grade this year and Zack in 2nd grade. Along with the new school year, they are also starting off in a new school building that is just finishing up on construction. It should be hopefully a pretty good year for them. Today when they got home they said they had a great 1st day and met some new friends. I guess I can't hold onto them forever:-(

History of Labor Day

Why do we celebrate Labor Day?



Photo courtesy U.S. Library of Congress
Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor

For a lot of people, Labor Day means two things: a day off and the end of summer. But why is it called Labor Day? Labor Day is a day set aside to pay tribute to working men and women. It has been celebrated as a national holiday in the United States and Canada since 1894.
Labor unions themselves celebrated the first labor days in the United States, although there's some speculation as to exactly who came up with the idea. Most historians credit Peter McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, with the original idea of a day for workers to show their solidarity. Others credit Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J.

The first Labor Day parade occurred Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City. The workers' unions chose the first Monday in September because it was halfway between Independence Day and Thanksgiving. The idea spread across the country, and some states designated Labor Day as a holiday before the federal holiday was created.

President Grover Cleveland signed a law designating the first Monday in September as Labor Day nationwide. This is interesting because Cleveland was not a labor union supporter. In fact, he was trying to repair some political damage that he suffered earlier that year when he sent federal troops to put down a strike by the American Railway Union at the Pullman Co. in Chicago, IL. That action resulted in the deaths of 34 workers.

In European countries, China and other parts of the world, May Day, the first day in May, is a holiday to celebrate workers and labor unions. Before it became an international workers holiday, May Day was a celebration of spring and the promise of summer.

Membership in labor unions in the United States reached an all-time high in the 1950s when about 40 percent of the work force belonged to unions. Today, union membership is about 14 percent of the working population. Labor Day now carries less significance as a celebration of working people and more as the end of summer. Schools, government offices and businesses are closed on Labor Day so people can get in one last trip to the beach or have one last cookout before the weather starts to turn colder.

Referrals through Nov. 25, 2005 - Ughh...

CCAA website was just updated this evening showing that they have referred through November 25, 2005. This means that they have only referred 4 DAYS worths of LID's. It's all I can do to not cry. Just when I hope and pray that we might possibly see some kind of speed it and that the wait couldn't possibly get any slower than 7 days. I feel like, as many of us waiting do, the feeling of how much more can we take of this unbearable long wait. I'm wishing all of those who have waited thus far and have received their referrals congratulations and all of us still waiting one big giant hug.

Which Superhero are You?

Ok, I guess I'm Supergirl, not sure how I got those results, but hey, I'm not complaining. Please take the below survey. Trust me. It's pretty funny. Hey, I don't feel so old now after getting my results (ha ha). So....what are you????
Your results:
You are Supergirl

Supergirl 75% Green Lantern 65% Superman 60% Wonder Woman 55% Robin 55% Spider-Man 50% The Flash 50% Iron Man 40% Hulk 30% Catwoman 20% Batman 15%

Lean, muscular and feminine. Honest and a defender of the innocent.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

September Gotcha Day Blogs

I've posted to the right sidebar families that are receiving their precious little ones in September of their Gotcha Day. Hope this eases the wait a little in helping all of us still waiting all referrals. Hopefully this months referrals will cover a little bit of December 05 LID's (Log In Dates). Congratulations to all the families receiving their precious little ones this month and to all those soon receiving a referral!