The LeMasters Journey to Kayla

Parker Vote for Most Beautiful Baby Contest

2010-07-02T16:34:00.003-04:00

Hi, fellow bloggers. I haven't written to my blog in a long time. We have since had our 4th and final children. Another boy....Which we love dearly!!!!

Our local station www.fox8.com is having a contest and our son is on it. Please vote on at the below link.

Thanks and many blessings to all of you!!!

Happy Holidays from The LeMasters

2008-12-01T08:07:00.004-05:00

Zack (9), Rylan (3), and Craigy (11)

Wishing everyone the best for the holidays and throughout the year.

What Fun We Had This Summer

2008-08-27T19:40:00.015-04:00

Zack, Cody, Rylan, Craigy, and Tanner
We had a great summer. It really flew by so quickly. My sister, Kim, and I started our summer off by taking my 3 boys and her boys to Cedar Point Amusement Park. He older son drove up separately.

July Update

2008-08-13T20:10:00.010-04:00

June 28th through July 4th
Craig and his cousin Cody went to Camp Carl's extreme camp. They had a terrific time canoeing, swimming, horseback riding, etc. Then on Wednesday Mom and Dad sent Craigy a letter addressed in RED, which gets them automatically thrown in the pool with clothes and all!!! This was Craig and Cody's 2nd year! It was a rough week without my Craigy.

June 30th through July 3rd
Zack started camp on Monday with his cousin, but only made it to 1 day at camp. Zack was swinging on a rope off of one of their trees when the rope broke and he hit his head on a rock and split his head open. I went to pick up Zack that night from camp and found out that he had a head injury that afternoon. I'm actually a pretty calm person, but could not understand why I was not notified that he was injured until pickup time that night especially with it being a head injury. I took him to the Dr for stitches and they said he should of had staples, but it had been too long since the incident. Poor Zack could't attend camp cause he wasn't allowed to get it dirty or wet, so we waited a couple weeks when it finally healed and sent him to splash camp. He and his cousin, Tanner had a blast and made it all week without any injuries (yea!!!)

July 2nd

Happy Birthday Cody!

July 4th

We celebrated at our house with some fireworks and a sat around a nice and cozy fire. The kids really enjoyed it.

July 19th
Today we spent the day at my sisters house for my nephews graduation party from High School. Nick is continuing his education at Kent State University. Congratulations, Nick...We're so proud of you!

July 26th
Today we had our employee/customer appreciation party at our house. We all had such wonderful time. We had a pig roast, and lots and lots of food, swimming, car show, inflatable games, music, and more. We really lucked out with the weather since it was suppose to rain, but it held off until the evening hours.

July 27th

Wow, 20 long months and still waiting. Being optimistic that things will change after the olympics. Let's bring our little girls home!

Logged in for 19 months

2008-06-27T23:24:00.002-04:00

We've been officially logged in nineteen months with China today. Let's hope we can start counting down in months.

May and June Update

2008-06-27T22:29:00.007-04:00

I'm sure alot of my fellow yahoo buddies and friends are wondering where in the world I've been lately. I've had an incredible amount of things going on with us this past couple of months, so I'll try to update you as best as possible.

May 3rd
Celebrated my 40th birthday
May 11th
Celebrated my mother's birthday
Celebrated Mother's Day and kids and Daddy took me out to my favorite Japanese Hibachi restaurant. Very Nice.

Agency Changes
Things have been a little crazy since learning that are local branch has made some drastic changes not to mention that we had to change our home study agency in the midst of updating my paperwork.

I'm glad to say that we are done updating all our paperwork and our just awaiting our HS SW to make her visit out to us before our HS expires on August 4, 2008. We are suppose to have our appointment with her on July 8th. I was getting a little nervous that we were going to get this done in time, but we kept everything current and received all our paperwork back in time, now just waiting on our appt. with her.

June 6th was the boys last day of school. Craigy's last year at the elementary school. Happy for him to be moving on, but bitter sweet as he moves onward to the middle school in September.

June 17th
Our baby Rylan (ok, toddler) celebrated is 3rd birthday.
Celebrated Father's Day with Craig. He finally finished he's cobra and put it in the Summit Racing Car Show.

We've seen a couple of movies lately:

Iron Man - LOVED IT
Kung Fu Panda - Enjoyed it
WALL E - Slowing moving in being, but still a pretty good movie too!

I have to be honest I haven't been checking anyone's blogs as much as I've tried I've let myself get into a slump with the slow down of referrals and the with paperwork renewal process, but I vowed to let this serve as a positive step as we've completed another milestone by entering the renewal portion of this wait.

Oh, I forgot to mention that my computer crashed, but it's up and working now, so I'm back again to blogger world.

I promise I'll keep up a little better on my blogging.

MOM

2008-04-26T13:44:00.003-04:00

Yesterday my mom and I spent the entire day shopping. I couldn't decide what to do for her upcoming birthday and Mother's Day, so I decided to treat her to a day of shopping. Anyone that knows my mom knows that if I would of given her money or a gift card she would of turned around and spent it on someone else. We had so much fun and little Rylan ran with us all day. He was such a little trooper and is such a good little guy that it made the day even more special. My mom is the most loving and caring person I know. She's always the first to offer a hand, the first to offer a hug and kind words, the first to offer encouragement, the first to say how special someone is, the first person that will be there if you need anything in a drop of a hat. She has always put EVERYONE ELSE'S feelings and needs first and never once asked or expected what's in it for her. She is truly a blessing and I cherish and love her dearly. Sometimes, we as kids get caught up in the day to day busy things in life and forget how important it is to let our loved ones know that we really do appreciate all that they do. Sometimes, I think I try to squeeze so many things into my day that I get anxious to get home to finish the rest of th errands that I forget about the most important people in my life.

Mom, here's a poem that I found that made me think of you. I love you.

A Precious Mother

Mom You've given me so much,
Love from your heart and the warmth of your touch.
The gift of life and you're a friend to me.
We have a very Special Bond which only comes from God...
I'm sure you agree.

As a child I would say Mommy I Love You,
Now you're my Mother so dear
I love you even more with each and every new year.

If I could had chosen, I would have picked no other.
Than for you ... to be my lifelong friend and Precious Mother.

- Author Unknown.

Dandelion Day

2008-04-26T00:25:00.006-04:00

Today was a beautiful, sunny, and enjoyable play day. Zack and Rylan picked me and Grandma some awesome looking bright yellow dandelions. The weather today was about 77 degrees with a slight breeze. We are so... ready for summer.

Say CHEESEburger

2008-04-26T00:13:00.002-04:00

Rylan went to my mom's this week since daycare was closed, so before heading off to Grandma's we had to have all his essentials. Baseball cap, CARS backpack, CARS lunchbox, sunglasses matching jacket and shorts. He's very picky before he leaves in the morning. I decided to take a quick snapshot and as I turned the camera sideways to get more of a portrait view he thought he needed to turn his head the same direction as the camera. It was too cute for words and you know picture is worth the thousands words.

WE'RE OUT OF THE REVIEW ROOM

2008-04-24T20:58:00.004-04:00

CCAA Document Processing - updated on 4/24/08

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents
registered with our office before December 31, 2006.

The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose
adoption application documents were registered with our office before
January 09, 2006.

WE'VE MADE IT OUT OF THE REVIEW ROOM and we move into the matching room where our paperwork will sit there for probably a couple more years. Atleast now we know that we've passed review and have moved into Department 2, aka the matching room.

Congratulations to my fellow November 2006 Log In Date people and all December 2006 LID's.

Craigy graduates from the D.A.R.E. Program

2008-04-17T23:52:00.001-04:00

Tonight Craigy and his cousin Cody graduated from the 5th grade D.A.R.E. (Drug Aware Resistance Education) Program from Brimfield Elementary School. We are so very proud of them both. This is a huge honor and commitment that they and all the other 5th graders in the school commit to never do drugs, alcohol, etc. The police officers in our community visit the school every week to teach students the importance of being drug and alcohol free and at the end of the school if they do everything required they graduate.

Congratulations Craigy, Mom and Dad are extremely proud of your accomplishments and the fine young man that you have become. You are truly a blessing of every kind to your mom and dad and to everyone that is blessed to know you. You are a caring, loving, thoughtful, and always a tremendous and gratious help to all who know you.

We love you!!!

Love,
Mom & Dad

CCAA ANOUNCES 2ND TRAINING SESSION FOR SPECIAL NEEDS

2008-04-12T11:55:00.007-04:00

On March 20, 2008 the CCAA announced their 2nd training session for their handicapped and special needs orphans and our agency, Children's Hope International, for their help with the program.

POTTY TRAINING

2008-04-12T09:08:00.004-04:00

We started trying to potty train Rylan late last summer when he first turned 2 and at first we thought he was interested and I went and bought him a potty chair. Well after only one day he decided he wasn't ready yet, so then approx. 3 weeks ago I thought I would try again since he kept pulling at his diaper when he was wet or go #2 and he would immediately come and tell me cause he wanted changed.

I started using pull ups and would use M & M's as an incentive everytime he went. I'm not excited at the thought of offering candy, but I came to the conclusion that this is something big for him and us and considering it's only 2 M&Ms at a time (probably 6 total in a day). Then my 11 year old, Craig, decided to pick out a drawer and make it a "potty drawer", well that was a BIG HIT. Everytime he would go potty and he would run to the "potty drawer" and pick out a hot wheel or puzzle and he was so excited and proud of himself. I love seeing the excitement in his eyes and how proud he is to be a BIG BOY.

Well yesterday I went to the store and finally found a pair of underwear that would fit. He was so proud to be wearing underwear, and of course it being Thomas the Engine and Spiderman helped out too!

So needless to say, I'm very proud of my little guys accomplishments and all of you that have been through potty training understand how difficult it can sometimes be. Luckily, he has so far done pretty good, we've only had 1 day of him regressing and it will probably take a while before he's totally potty trained, but we are all pretty darn proud of him.

One last thing, he started waking me up at night to tell me he has to go to the potty. Ok, I think you can see my grinning with pride for our little Rylan.

Adoption Length Article

2008-04-11T19:57:00.002-04:00

Below is a link to an article about International Adoption, China specifically and the lengthing wait that us families are enduring.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISSY

2008-04-10T20:25:00.002-04:00

Tonight me and my very best friend in the whole world, KRISSY, went to dinner for her birthday at WASABI Japenese Steakhouse for some hibachi cooking. Food was awesome as usual and so was the company. We both have a really great time. They always put on such a great show.

KRISSY, HAPPY 39TH....I MEAN 29TH BIRTHDAY, AGAIN

Boys Sitting In the Cobra

2008-04-06T22:56:00.002-04:00

Here's a picture Craig took of the boys sitting in the Cobra for the first time. Ok, well, technically sitting inside the underneath of the Cobra. Just thought it was the cutest picture of Daddy's little boys.

CCAA Documents Processing --but no word on Review Room

2008-04-06T21:38:00.004-04:00

"CCAA Document Processing
The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents
registered with our office before October 31, 2006.

The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose
adoption application documents were registered with our office before
January 09, 2006."

The CCAA updated their document processing "box" on Sunday evening
with the referral cut off date of 1/9/06.

I was really hoping to hear that November 2006 is out of review. Our agency still has not heard that anyone with our agency is out of review. I thought for sure we would of found out last month and then definitely without a doubt this month, but still no final update. I'm so ready for some good news of some sort.

Congratulations to all the new mommy's and daddy's out there that received their referrals this month.

Watson's Side of the Family

2008-04-06T13:15:00.004-04:00

Yesterday Craig and I drove to Winchester, VA for his Aunt Dorothy's funeral. She was a lovely women who lived to be 86 years old. This would be Craig's Aunt (his mom's sister). Craig also lost his mom approx. 4 years ago and his Dad approx. 14 years ago, so Aunt Dorothy was one of Craig's last living relatives on his mom's side of the family. As I'm sure you figured out Craig was a late in life child, so that's why all his relatives are so much older. All his Aunts and Uncles are in the late 70's to 80's!!! Yesterday was bittersweet, it was sad she passed, but we know she's in a better place. It was really nice seeing all of Craig's relative's yesterday. After lunch, someone suggested a family photo, so I thought I would post this on the blog. We are making plans to hook up again with his mom's side of the family this summer. Everyone is kindof scattered across different states. We live in Ohio, they live in Floria, Virginia, etc, but we promised to get together this summer and we are looking forward it!!! Craig and I decided to have a pig roast the end of June. Our first pig roast as our first family gathering.

Easter Holiday at Our House

2008-03-31T13:50:00.001-04:00

Easter went really well this year. Here's a picture of all our family and some friends.

This includes, siblings, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles extended family...basically you name it. Still not sure how we manage to squeeze everyone in every year. This year we had 32 guests. Needless to say we had alot of food!

RYLAN DANCES TO BOB THE BUILDER

2008-03-29T20:36:00.003-04:00

Every time Bob The Builder comes on Rylan immediately stops what he is doing and comes running into the room to dance to the intro of Bob The Builder. Alot of times he will dance in a circle so long that he gets dizzy and falls down.

Rylan learning to put his own pants on BACKWARDS

2008-03-29T20:29:00.002-04:00

Here's another funny clip of Rylan learning to put his own pants on. Hey, even if their on backwards. Atleast he got them on, Right?

Birthday Announcements

2008-03-28T16:37:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday

Nicholas (my nephew) who turns 18 on the March 28
Steve (my brother) who turns 47 on March 30th
Krissy (my very best friend in the whole world!!) who turns???? (a girl never reveals her age..ha ha)

Wishing each and every one of you a terrific Happy Birthday!!!!

Logged in for 16 months

2008-03-27T16:26:00.000-04:00

Today marks our 16 month of being logged in with China. I'm really hoping to be celebrating soon our announcement that we've passed the review room. No official word yet. According to our agency they are working on mid December 2006 dossiers, but they haven't yet received the official word nor has their "box" been updated as of yet. Keeping my fingers crossed. Wouldn't it be great if they're taking so long in the review room cause they moved the personnel from the review room (dept. 1) to the matching room (dept. 2) I can dream, right???

Here's the current status:
DEPARTMENT I AND DEPARTMENT II - Department 1 (the reviewing room) began reviewing November 2006 dossiers 12/07. Department II (the matching room) currently has January 5, 2006 through October 31, 2006 dossiers.

Rylan Cracks Egg

2008-03-26T21:10:00.002-04:00

Here's a quick video of Rylan cracking egg on big brothers head unexpectedly. Pretty funny. Hope you enjoy. I've also posted it on you tube.

Happy Easter!!!

2008-03-24T19:41:00.006-04:00

Hope everyone had a great Easter. We had a good Easter and alot of family over to our house. I've included some pics of our family and the kids doing an Easter Egg hunt. I finally went out and purchased a new camera as the camera that I used to have got lost in the snow while we went sled riding after we had that huge snow storm a couple of weeks ago, so I finally mustered up the courage to go buy another camera. I was more bummed about losing all my pics than losing the camera. I keep hoping once all he snow defrosts that I'll find it and maybe be able to pull some pics off the disk. Wishful thinking, huh?

Happy Easter!!!

Laser Tag

2008-03-02T18:00:00.003-05:00

Well yesterday afternoon we went to my favorite Japenese Hibachi Steakhouse "Wasabi" and afterwards Craig said hey, lets go plays laser tag!!! So of course the boys were all excited and its was only 5 minutes down the road from the restaurant. Daddy, Craigy, and Zack had a blast and Ry Ry and I sat outside in the game room and had a lot of fun too playing video games while we waited on them. Craigy was in 3rd place out of 31 people, Daddy in 9th, and Zack in last, but he didn't care cause it was so much fun.

As a matter of fact, they had so much fun that Daddy, Craigy, and Zack decided to go again this afternoon, but to also bring their three cousins with them, so needless to say, since Ry Ry is up taking a nap and I thought I would get a little blogging in to update our blog.

Hope all my fellow bloggers had a good weekend.

Baby Shower

2008-03-01T17:45:00.000-05:00

This morning I went to a baby shower for a friend of ours. She is having a little girl. She got the cutest little outfits and socks. Boy, how reality has set in that this adoption seems to get slower and slower. It's hard to believe that a couple of years ago that they were married and now theyre having their 1st child a "little girl". I'm so so VERY VERY HAPPY for them, if anyone deserves it, they do! but it's really hard to keep upbeat all of the time. Sometimes, I wonder if we ever will get our little girl. I keep telling myself we will, but honestly I also need to be realistic. I hope and pray that someday soon we get to bring our little one home. On a good note, we should be hearing anyday now that they are into referrals for 2006 and hoping someday so that we get word that November 2006 is out of the review room.

Logged In for 15 Months

2008-02-27T18:14:00.000-05:00

We've been officially logged into China 15 months as of today!!! I would be tickled to death if we only have 15 months now to count back down. Anyone know a good fortune teller, physic (he he)

NO SCHOOL TODAY

2008-02-26T10:19:00.004-05:00

Wow, what a surprise to wake up to the phone ringing with a recording from the school "THERE WILL BE NO SCHOOL DUE TO HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS....". Yippee!!!! My sisters kids are coming over this afternoon. Her boys are 10 and 7 and mine are 11, 8, and 2, so they are always begging to play with them, so I think I'll take time to catch up on some filing,make an apple pie (yummy), and play too.

No News Yet on the Review Room

2008-02-24T14:17:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to all the November 2006 LIDers that passed review. I'm anxiously ok, not so patiently awaiting for a change. Friday we got another update that our agency's box hasn't yet changed. I know we had someone in our group that had been questioned, so I pray that whomever that family is that they pass and that the CCAA moves onward to changing that box that all of November 2006 is out of review. Even though it seems to be that we are one of the last to go through review I do have to say that our agency keeps us updated continually. Good or bad. So here I wait.

Chinese New Year and Quiz

2008-02-09T09:32:00.000-05:00

I thought I would post this article about the Chinese New Year. Also when you are finished reading the Chinese New Year article there's a quiz you can click on at the very bottom to see how much you know or have learned. I missed the last question, but got the rest correct. Good Luck!!!

China Faces Coldest Winter in 100 years

2008-02-07T17:21:00.001-05:00

Here's another update on the China storms

China Storm and HTS

2008-02-03T19:14:00.001-05:00

As some of you have already heard China is suffering a horrible winter storm and many of the orphanages are without water, electricity, or anything to keep these children safe.

Please visit HTS

Half The Sky helps nuture orphans in China. Please click on the link above to find out more.

If you can help donate that would be great, if not, that's fine too, but if I could ask for you to say an extra pray tonight that these little ones and their nannies and families may find warmth, water, electricity and safety. They have been thru alot in their little lives, please pray for their safety.

Referrals through 12/27/05

2008-02-03T18:51:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to all the families receiving referrals tomorrow. As strange as it may sound it was very exciting to hear that they referred 8 days. I had heard rumors that it may only be a couple days worth of LID's. I hope and pray that we keep referring atleast a week's worth of LID's and hopefully coming into the New Year we can increase to 2 weeks worth at a time, but I don't think I'll hold my breath.

Logged In for 14 Months

2008-01-27T21:27:00.000-05:00

Another month passed by and we now have been logged in officially with China for 14 months. I have 2 wishes 1. Let's hurry up and get the November 2006 LID aka us out of review successfully along with our fellow Nov 2006 friends and 2. Hoping referrals start coming in 7 days or more again and not just a couple at a time. This is definitely a test in strength, faith, and PATIENCE. I'm trying really hard to stay positive and keep telling myself to look at the end result of being able to bring our daughter home to her forever family.

Craig's 40th Surprise party

2008-01-20T16:23:00.000-05:00

I know I haven't been posting very often, but I have good reason. I have spent the past 3 months planning a surprise party for my husband's 40th birthday. His birthday is actually Jan. 20th, but planned his party a week prior (Jan. 12th), so he wouldn't figure it out. Wow, it was pretty hard trying to keep a secret that long from him and the kids. I basically spent every moment that he wasn't around trying to do invitations, ordering party items, creating a slideshow, gathering and scanning old photos. Well, I must say it was the best and most special birthday ever. He didn't figure anything out until 15 minutes prior to his party, but that was fine cause I still had more surprises up my sleeve. I'm going to trying to post his slideshow on youtube and then attach it here also to view. His slideshow starts off with him as a child and pictures of him with his parents growing up. Both his parents passed away several years ago, so I wanted to make it very special for him, after the first song it speeds up showing my husband's adventureous self that he is and then ends with him, me and the boys. I hope it will post okay and I hope all of you enjoy the slide show. My final surprise to him was I was able to contact a very old and dear friend of his that was our best man in our wedding and that he had been friends with since age 2that had moved out of state and we had lost his contact info after they moved. As I was cleaning for the party I found an old number and tracked him down. Funny thing is, a few months ago Craig mentioned that he wished he knew were we had put his old phone number and address info. I used to have it written in permanent marker on the dry erase board (not so permanent!) and it got erased. T I would like to end by saying that I have been very pleased to have met my husband right out of high school and to have had 3 beautiful loving boys along the way. As you will see I by the slideshow. What's not to love. p.s. I'm having trouble uploading to youtube. Hopefully I'll have it up tonight or tomorrow.

Hairbow Swap (January Theme: Wintery/Blue)

2008-01-12T16:15:00.000-05:00

Thank you to Suzanne L. for the cutest hairbow ever. I absolutely love the hairbow you had made. It fits perfectly for this months theme (winter/blue) and has a really nice soft wintery look. I can understand why you had a hard time parting with it. I'm so pleased to have met so many wonderful people along this journey.

Thank You Cindy and Art

2008-01-11T15:35:00.000-05:00

Thank you for the beautiful "Princess" dress bib. I've never see anything like it before. It's the most precious adorable bib ever. I can't wait to put it on our little "Kayla".

Speed Stacking

2008-01-10T15:11:00.000-05:00

Zachary got the speed stacking cup game for Christmas. All of the boys, including Daddy and I are addicted to it. You have several cups that you hurry up and unstack and then you restack in a certain order (i.e. you can put 2 on the bottom and 1 on top of each set) when finished you slap both palms down on the timer to see you did it the quickest. Who ever thought that stacking cups would be so much fun. (ha ha)

No More Public CCAA Updates

2008-01-09T21:57:00.000-05:00

Wow...what a total bummer:-(

Hopefully we can get updated through our agencies.

Bringing in the New Year 2008

2008-01-01T21:52:00.000-05:00

Wishing all my fellow bloggers a Happy New Year and hoping that this year will be better than last year for all of the waiting families.

Many Blessings and prayers for speedy referrals, so that we all can become closer to bringing our little one home to their forever family.

New Year's Eve 2007

2007-12-31T21:46:00.000-05:00

This year for New Year's Eve we decided to stay home in the comfort of our own home. We had a wonderful time with my parents, sister, brother and their families. We played "Are you Smarter Than A 5th Grader (I think I need to go back to school (ha ha), Taboo, etc" Toasted the New Years and probably ate too much food, but everyone including the kids had a great time.

Happy New Year!!!

Logged In for 13 Months

2007-12-27T21:29:00.000-05:00

Today we were officially logged in for 13 months. Bitter sweet. Glad to have 13 months behind us, but disappointed that I feel we haven't yet made a dent in moving ahead. All in due time I guess. I plan on hanging in there. It's going to be a long...long.. journey, but it will be well worth it in the end. This is truly a test of patience and trust.

December Cybershower

2007-12-26T22:03:00.001-05:00

Corinne, Joe, & Maggie Beth

Thank you for the very creative gifts. I love the moody bear. What a great idea, I didn't even know they sold these. All the gifts are so wonderful. The Pink Oink bank is so precious and I can't wait to start saving for her. The little reindeer slippers will keep her tiny toes and feet nice and cozy. I look forward to reading the Five Little Puppies to Kayla and putting her pictures in the baby bottle photo album. I also loved the Christmas Tree wooden puzzle. I received your package Christmas Eve just prior to leaving for my sisters and my little boy Rylan (2 1/2 yrs old) actually started crying cause he wanted the puzzle, so I hope you don't mind, but I gave in and he now says "mine" "mine".

Thank you for all the terrific gifts and I hope you and your family have blessed and safe holiday.

Christmas Day

2007-12-25T21:12:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!!!

Each year my sister and I alternate who gets to have mom and dad spend the night at their house. We started this tradition 4 years ago and I cherish it every time. This year it was my turn for mom and dad (hip hip hooray). We all had such a wonderful Christmas together. I honestly have to save that I have the best parents. They are so wonderful and the kids can never get enough of grandma and grandpa "Pa".

After our celebration at my sisters house, mom and dad settled in at our house and then we prepared for bedtime. We made hot cocoa and then Craigy, our oldest, read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to all of us. Daddy sneaked out and when I looked up he was video taping Craigy reading the story. This will be a tradition that I will forever hold near and dear my heart.

Afterwards, the kids scrambled to their bedrooms, although once in there they were a little too anxious to fall asleep, so needless to say, Santa didn't come to our house till almost morning, but he made it (he he).

As you can tell, the boys were very excited with all their toys and Rylan got a bike.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Christmas Eve 2007

2007-12-24T23:59:00.000-05:00

Every year we gather at my sisters house on Christmas Eve and have a big dinner of Ham, Turkey, casseroles, and all the fixings. We have our parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We start off by eating at 1:30 p.m. and then after we have a full belly move to the living room to open up our gifts from each other. Afterwords we fill up on dessert and packup and head off to church and then head to bed in time for Santa.

Christmas time is my favorite time of the year. I love being able to sit by the warm cozy fireplace and take time for rest and relaxation and enjoy each others company. I especially enjoy seeing the excitement and watching the twinkle in each child's eyes as they open their gifts. Wrapping paper and boxes flying everywhere and the complete and utter craziness of the kids excitement.

I feel very blessed to have such a loving, caring, and devoted family. I can't image a Christmas without my family. This year was sad without Grandpa, but I know he's up there in heaven telling his oh.... so many jokes. He was a very special man and a terrific grandpa. We love and miss you Grandpa. Merry Christmas.

Thank you Secret Buddy for Dec, Jan, and Feb

2007-12-24T10:27:00.000-05:00

It's a pleasure to meet my new (not so secret) secret buddy. I
noticed that you're from Novia Scotia. It's nice to meet others
from all over.

Thank you for our December, January, and February secret buddy
gifts. We loved everything from the soft fleece pink blanket, to
the Asian figure ornament to the personalized snowman ornament. I
absolutely fell in love with the snowman ornament that was
personalized with each family members name including the "waiting
for Kayla". That was so incredibly thoughtful of you. Thank you
also for the maple cream candle. I love candles.

Thanks again for everything and we anxiously await to see out next
surprise in March. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and Happy
and safe New Year.

Hair Bow Swap (December)

2007-12-24T10:20:00.000-05:00

Thank you to the Campbell family for the adorable red bow with the festive green ceramic Christmas tree. I hope some day soon Kayla can wear it. It will look adorable with her black hair.

Thank you Bib Swap Buddy (December)

2007-12-24T09:52:00.000-05:00

Thank you to the Darlington family for the most precious bibs. We received a pink bib that reads "I love my Daddy" oh, how I can't wait for Daddy to be able to wear this on his little girl. We also loved the red Christmas bib "santa's little helper" with the cutest little penguin. We are all so anxious for the day we have our little girl and little sister home for her first Christmas. We have a long wait, but we'll wait patiently for her....ok maybe not so patiently (he he).

Merry Christmas from The LeMasters

2007-12-22T16:50:00.001-05:00

Wishing everyone and safe and Happy Holiday.

Review Room Through October 31, 2006

2007-12-18T09:38:00.000-05:00

What's this mean? This means that we are now in the review room. It's nail biting time. I've so anxiously awaited this moment and now that it's here and I just want it to be over and hear that me and all my fellow November buddies made it thru with flying colors. Let's hope that this month gets thru review quickly, so that we can move on from Dept. 1 (Review Room) to Dept. 2 (Matching Room).

LeMasters Christmas at Kalahari Waterpark

2007-12-15T15:53:00.000-05:00

Every year we spend the 3rd weekend of December at Kalahari Waterpark to celebrate my husbands side of the families Christmas. They travel from Chicago, IL, Edwardsburg, IN, and South Bend, IN and some more from Ohio, like us. We reserve a huge room 3 bedroom suite and usually 1 to 2 more rooms to accomodate all the family.

It's the perfect place to celebrate since its a 1/2 way point for all of us and the waterpark is really a treat with its gigantic waterpark to cater to every family member from the little babies to the grow ups. They have a huge arcade, pottery, mini putt putt, tree house play ground, cookie decorating, Santa, and a little lion cub that you can touch, dining, and so on.

We arrive on a Friday afternoon to give the kids plenty of swim and play time and then the following evening we go out to dinner and come back to celebrate our Christmas.

This year we had our dinner at Nagoya Japanese Steakhouse in Port Clinton, Ohio. They've got the best and mean the best hibachi food I've ever had anywhere. We all enjoyed their hibachi dinner show and tricks. The kids were all giggling watching them cook our food. From there, we came back and celebrated Christmas.

Here's a picture of the boys getting their big gift early. They weren't to sure about a wii, but Craig and I explained to them about how much fun it is to play (we of course, had to test it out...way too much fun) and of course, it helps that they not sitting on their tushy's while playing video games. My oldest son loves guitar hero III. As a matter of fact, he hasn't stop playing it since it got it. Anyone got ear plugs??? Just kidding.

Merry Christmas and wishing all my adoption buddies out there and safe and happy holiday.

Many Blessings

Christmas Cookies!!!

2007-12-09T14:57:00.000-05:00

Mom and I baked our annual traditional Christmas cookies. We either bake at my sisters or my house. Sis could not join us this year as she was completely swamped trying to do interim report cards, so hopefully she can join us next year. We made Sugar Cookies, Peanut Butter Blossoms, Chocolate and Peanut Butter Fudge. After the sugar cookie dough was ready the kids rolled out the dough and made some pretty cute cut-outs.

My dad stopped by to TEST the cookies and before you know it Grandpa and his boys were rolling and cutting out sugar cookies. We all had such a terrific time baking, listening to Christmas music, and best of all enjoying each others company. My dad was a huge help with everything. He helped my mom and I with the cookies and even helped with cleaning and sweeping up everything. As you can tell by looking at the pictures you will notice that it was quite a mess, but hey, we all had a BLAST.

This is truly one of my favorite traditionals,

Gingerbread Houses

2007-12-09T14:36:00.000-05:00

Well here's me and the boys making gingerbread house and well, Daddy's testing the icing to make sure it's just right (he he). We had a lot of fun making them.

Breakfast with Santa

2007-12-08T13:41:00.000-05:00

Here's some pics. They're pretty hard to see cause of the light coming in from the window, but if I can scan the polaroid pictures they took I'll replace the other pics below

This morning we had breakfast with Santa. Craig and I and the boys, my parents, my sister and her kids, and lots of our friends all purchased tickets to the event. It was held at the local Applebee's and was put on by our local police department. It's a annual event and the proceeds go towards the police dept and the D.A.R.E. program. They had face painting, full breakfast, which is served by the officers, and the kids got to talk and and get a picture with THE REAL SANTA. They also got a goodie bag.

We all had such a terrific time and look forward to doing it again next year.

Christmas Shopping

2007-12-02T09:58:00.000-05:00

Last night my sister and I ran all over the place and got a lot of Christmas shopping out of the way. Schewww.... what a great feeling. We had such a good time and it started snowing too, so that helped for getting us into the Christmas mood, while atleast until the roads began to get icy, but hey we had fun anyways. It was funny cause I thought...WOW...I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping then as I lay there in bed last night and started counting in my head who I still needed to buy for I realized I was only 1/2 done. Hopefully I'll be finished by next Sunday. That's my goal anyways!

CCAA Website Updated

2007-11-30T21:55:00.000-05:00

Last night the CCAA updated their website that September 2006 was out of review. Someone from one the internet groups said that someone with a 10/31/07 LID has already been asked a question, so I'm hoping that they finish Oct. soon and move in and out of November even quicker. I know what I'm asking Santa Claus for!

McKinley Museum Field Trip

2007-11-30T21:09:00.000-05:00

Today was Zack's field trip to the McKinley Museum in Canton, OH. Myself and Zack's grandpa "Pa" went with him today. The museum tells about the history of former President Wm. McKinley and many other historical things that happened in Ohio, specifically in Canton, OH.

Here are some facts:

**Wm McKinley was 1 of our 8 presidents from Ohio. He was our 25th president.
(The other seven are; William Henry Harrison, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William Howard Taft, and Warren G. Harding)
Wm McKinley was a former congressman and Governor of Ohio and then became president. He was well known as the only president to run his campaign from his front porch of his home in Canton, OH, so that he could stay close to his wife Ida as she was not well. People would come to him by rail instead of him going out to campaign.

Some of the other things we got to do was go to Discover World and see the dinosaurs on exhibit. They also had a planetarium that was really interesting. We learned about all the constellations, the sun, moon, mars, and the other planets. How to tell what star is what and find particular stars to know if your heading North, East, etc.

I've included some pictures from our field trip.

This Mastodon was found many years ago in Canton, Ohio! Here's a newspaper article on it. Don't know how well you can read it, but pretty interesting.

CAVS Game

2007-11-28T22:06:00.000-05:00

Last night Craig and I took Craigy and Zack to the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball game. Our seats were wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy up in the nosebleed section (haha), but amazingly enough they were pretty descent seats. We had such a blast. I think Daddy and Craigy were a little embarrassed of Zack and I cause we never shut up. We were rooting for our team thru the entire game and it paid off. We went into overtime against the Boston Celtics and ended up winning the game 109 to 104. Yippee.............GO CAVS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1 Year LID Anniversary

2007-11-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

Well today is our 1 year LID (log in date) anniversary. It's a little bitter sweet at this point. I'm excited to have 1 year under my belt, but at the same token this was about the time we thought we would be getting a referral. I think the frustrating part is that instead of counting down I'm still counting up and we really don't have a particular date to say only .......days left to go. Also I've been a little anxious because we are getting closer to being in the review room and I feel I need to pass this next milestone, before I can really get excited and be relieved.

Here's hoping my little picture of a cake with ladybugs brings us all a little...okay..a lot closer to bringing home our little ones.

Oh, by the way, everyone asks what are you doing to celebrate our 1 year anniversary. We're taking the two older boys to the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball game Tuesday night. GO CAVS!!! Hopefully I can talk them into to going to my favorite local Hibachi restaurant Wasabi.

Best Friends

2007-11-26T23:21:00.000-05:00

Since I changed the resolution on my pictures they seem to be posting much better, so I thought I would add some pictures of me and my best friend Krissy from our trip to Vegas earlier this month.

My husband and I started many years ago taking pictures of ourselves by just holding the camera directly out in front of us. As I am sure most of you can agree,its kindof hard if your the one taking the pictures to actually get pictures of yourself, so I tried my husbands trick and presto it works.

This picture is of us at the M&M store getting ready to watch the 3D movie from the tour. We sort of had the giggles.

Deorating the Tree

2007-11-25T12:15:00.000-05:00

The boys and I set up the Christmas tree last night. We had such a great time. We listened to Christmas music and since this was Rylan's first year of really being old enough to help it made it even more special. Each and every one of the kids helped to add a very special part to our tree. Rylan was so excited that he actually put probably 30+ ornaments in one area of the tree. Too Cute. We sung and danced and goofed off and had a terrific time. When Daddy got home he and Ry Ry put the star on top of the tree to add the final touch. Then we also made sure to add our ornaments with Kayla's name on it too. My boys asked me, "Mom, when is Kayla coming home". I was so touched that they asked as I don't mention it too much since the wait has extended, but I also wanted to cry as I want our little girl and little sister home with us so badly. I responded and told the boys your baby sister will come home when God thinks its time.

I love every year watching the boys excitement as the decorate the tree and seeing all the handmade ornaments they each made. Each ornament has such a special memory.

Wishing you and your family a blessed holiday season.

p.s. I have lots of cute photos to post, but still having an ongoing problem of spending hours trying to post 1 photo. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. I'm not getting the typical bx code that everyone else is, just "page cannot display". Arrggghh. Anyways, I'll try to upload images again later today.

Thank you Secret Buddy and Dear Friend

2007-11-24T00:00:00.000-05:00

Every month I'm always completely and utterly amazed at how thoughtful, gracious,and generous my secret buddy is. This month as we come to the end of Phase I of our Secret Buddy program my secret buddy has revealed herself and will no longer be able to continue on in the program. I can't explain how someone you've met over the internet through the adoption community and through the SB program has touched my heart so dearly. I feel as if I know that family personally. It's hard to explain, but the adoption community is very tight knit. We all lean on each other and know that we can voice our fears, opinions, happiness, and frustation with one another. I recently received a letter from her explaining how much she dearly enjoyed our family and being involved in the program. As I read through her letter, I realized how truly wonderful this person and their family are. You see, this family has not only endured the agony of the wait that keeps getting longer and longer for their adoption, not to mention Katrina that slowed down all their paperwork, but the worry and strength that it must take while she awaits the safe return of her husband from Iraq. I ask that each and everyone one of us take a step back and think how that at times we feel frustrated with this wait that we think how blessed we are to be home with our loved ones. I also asked that each one of us say a prayer that our troops return home safely to their families and that we can thank them for keeping us safe.

Secret Buddy, I want to personally thank you. You are truly a remarkable person and we should all gain strength from someone like you. We too are looking forward to getting to knowing your family better. I wanted to let you know that we held a special prayer on Thanksgiving Day (35 family members all prayed) for the safe return of your husband from Iraq. Your husband and your family hold a very dear and special place in our hearts. May God bless you and your family.

Many Blessings,
Lisa, Craig, Craigy, Zack, and Rylan

Thank You for the Gifts SB

2007-11-23T23:38:00.000-05:00

Secret Buddy,

What can I say, other than WOW. You spoil us way too much. I'll miss all your beautiful letters each month, but I'm so pleased to hear that you will be using this time away to spend with your family. I hope that we can keep in contact in the future and get to know each other better.

I wish you and your family all the best!!!

Thank you for all the incredible goodies. There's so many and each and every one of them are so thoughtful. It's been a pleasure being partnered with your family and I hope this journey speeds up for all of us!!!

For Kayla
Chinese Baby Steps Doll
Cabbage Patch Kids Newborn Doll
Chinese Busy Basic "Busy Lil' Dragonfly" Doll
Yellow/peach outfit w/ bib
Busy Basics Busy balls
Disney's Mermaid bubble blower
Monkey Teether
Lil' Pals take-along toys
First Aid Panda Cool Pack
Sassy soft photo book (great idea!)
Sesame Street (Big Bird in China) (for all the boys and Kayla)
Teethe On Me
Musical Dragonfly (adorable)
Dragonfly Teether
Arrangements of Books
Sesame Street (Color Fun, Counting, ABC, Big/Small Fun, Elmo's Furry Lil' Christmas)
Teaching You Baby To Sign (great idea)
Collectible Christmas LadyBug Ornament by Gloria Duchin, Inc

For Mom
Body Butter Delights (too kind and love it!!)
For Mom & Dad
Security Boarding ID Pouches (awesome)
For Little Rylan
Cars Soft Ball (he loves balls and CARS..PERFECT)
For Craigy & Zacl
Shining Stars glow in the dark (had to peel it from their hands to take photo)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

2007-11-23T22:07:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to wish everyone out there a Happy Thanksgiving. From our family to yours I wish you and yours a safe and happy holiday. I'm so thankful and blessed from my husband, all 3 of my boys, Craig, Zack, and Rylan, my parents, and siblings and entire family. Also I wanted to thank so many of my adoption friends that I've met along the way that have made this journey bearable. I'm thankful for all the love and support each one of you have given me and my family.

Shopping

2007-11-23T22:00:00.000-05:00

Normally the day after Thanksgiving I get up at 3:30-4:00 a.m., but this year I decided to get some Rest & Relaxation first. So I called my mom this morning and we both concurred that we were too tired to hit the stores, well, atleast until 2:30 p.m., so this afternoon we hit a couple of stores, but didn't really buy much. We both felt that there really wasn't much in the ads for BIG SAVINGS to get us in the mood. Hopefully, I get in the Christmas mood & shopping soon, but for my husband's sake, I've actually saved money for the first time in years for the day after Thanksgiving specials.

I must say it was really nice not having an agenda and just casually cruising the stores with mom today. We enjoyed spending time with each other and just hanging out. I think this weekend the boys and I will put up our Christmas tree and then probably head down to my mom & dad's and get their tree and choo choo train setup. The boys always get a kick out of getting Grandma & Grandpa's tree out and getting it up and running.

FOR ALL WE HAVE

2007-11-17T14:30:00.000-05:00

For All We Have

A table with chairs, that welcome sight
Our family, our friends, pure delight

A caring kiss with a gentle smile
Each tender hug lasts that country mile

The presence of love so fills the air
This gift of God brings our hearts so near

Reflections of past bring nurtured thought
Great visions come by, what life has taught

In thankful ways we embrace this day
And often think of loved ones away

Those serving us proud are often gone
But their spirit remains, closely drawn

Our Nation should praise each special one
For all we have is through what they’ve done

The freedom to have Thanksgiving Day
Keeps certain plates bare, please truly pray

~©2003 Roger J. Robicheau~

I'm Back

2007-11-17T13:53:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, I know I haven't been posting as much as usual, I'm trying to prepare for a big Thanksgiving dinner and had to go out of town for business yesterday, but I'm back now. I guess I better get back on track and start shopping and cleaning for Thanksgiving and keep up on my blog. Every year we have 25-35 family and friends over for dinner, so it takes me a long time to get ready. I'm hoping to be able to relax a little more this year:-)

5 more days till Thanksgiving!

Vegas Trip

2007-11-03T22:43:00.000-04:00

VENETIAN

CAESAR'S

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I took a much needed get away with my best friend Krissy. My husband paid for the two of us to take 3 beautiful days to Las Vegas. I'm not sure how rested we both were, but we had lots of fun and I think we hit about every casino on the strip. Speaking of which, if any of you are heading there maybe you can try to bring my $$$ back (ha ha). Krissy is my very best friend in the entire world. She has 2 boys and I have 3 boys. We have a hard time catching up on things cause mommy duties always come first, so after 10 years of saying we have to get together with it just being us two, we finally did it! Here's some pictures of Vegas.

11TH MONTHS OF BEING LOGGED IN!

2007-10-27T22:23:00.000-04:00

We've been logged in for 11 months as of today. We are moving forward in babysteps, but atleast its forward.

Halloween Fun

2007-10-27T13:26:00.000-04:00

Slide show of picking pumpkins, carving pumpkins, and school Halloween party.

Pictures from the Pumpkin Farm

2007-10-27T12:52:00.000-04:00

Now that can post pictures again. Here are some photos from our day at the pumpkin farm last Sunday.

Uploading Blogger Photo Problem

2007-10-27T12:38:00.000-04:00

Aarrggghhh,

Sorry I haven't posted lately. Blogger is having problems with some of us being able to upload photos. Oddly enough I've been having problems too, I try to upload a photo and it looks as if its uploading the photo then it get the infamous "page cannot display - refresh page". I'm not even sure if mine problem is the same as the others having the same problem as their problems are giving them a BX code error. Any suggestions? I even tried switching browsers from IE to Firefox and that was worse, so I switched back. Hopefully will be posting pix soon:-)

UPDATE:
It appears that this photo update worked. It only took 5 minutes for my photo to upload, but if its working now and just be happy with that for time being:-)

Pumpkin Picking Time

2007-10-21T19:18:00.000-04:00

Every year we go to the pumpkin farm and the kids pick out their pumpkins. It's so much fun. They have tricyle racing, a maze, apple cider, carmel apples, kettle corn, and lots and lots of photo ops with their different variety of halloween painted boards. They also have lots of little tikes wagons so you can put the kids and pumpkins in them while picking out that perfect little pumpkin.

Also another tradition is that each year we have the kids stand by the pumpkin height board and take their picture, so we can tell how much they have grown. Today way a terrific day with the weather being close to 80 degrees. We couldn't of asked for better weather.

Oct 2006 DTC Group -Secret Buddy Theme (Oct - Me Hungry)

2007-10-20T15:28:00.000-04:00

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you secret buddy for the amazing gifts. It's incredible how you find things for each months theme and that also have dragonflies and ladybugs with each items. We received this month more awesome gifts. Included in this months theme for Me Hungry is:

Sizzler's Noise Magnets for each Craig & Zack
Playdoh Super Tools playdoh set for Rylan
Chinese Favorites Recipe book
Chinese Cheater Chopsticks
3 Bib set with dragonflies & butterflies (pink)
Soft Lavender bib "I Love My Big Brother"
Brocade bib with dragonflies (pink)
3 pack of Sesame Street Elmo Spill Proof Cups
3 pack of Sesame Bowls with lids
4 pack fork & spoon set
Snack Trap (Anti spill snack cup)
Snack Trip Accessory Lid
Disney's Talking Tea Set
My Little Lovely Ladybug Pony
Sippy Snacker w/ (sippy cup AND containers)
Sesame Street Containers

Also I want to add that I really think I have the best secret buddy EVER. She goes out of her way ever month and it always amazes my at how CREATIVE and GENEROUS she is.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!! You definitely brightened up my day, once again!

Craigy off to 5th Grade Camp

2007-10-17T21:59:00.001-04:00

This morning I sent my oldest son off to 5th grade camp for three days (he's in the middle). I barely made it out of the parking lot before I started crying. I am so happy that he's going and I know he just went to camp this summer too, but it doesn't get any easier. I guess part of it is that I worry that he's going to be ok, which I know he's in good hands, and I think the other part of it that bothers me is that he's my oldest and he's growing up so so fast. I guess this really brings to reality to cherish EVERYDAY with your little ones. On a lighter note, I don't have to help with homework or studying for 3 days, except for my 2nd grader, but I think I can handle that homework (ha ha)

Nov06LID Group - Hair Bow Ribbon Exchange (Oct Theme:Autumn/Halloween)

2007-10-16T21:49:00.000-04:00

Thank you Ashley for the beautiful black & orange kitty halloween bow & accessories. We also enjoyed the magnetic poem that I'll keep on my fridge that read

A wish that everyday for you
Will be happy from the start

And May you always have good luck

And a song within your heart.

Indians beat the Red Sox's butt last night...Woo Hoo!!!

2007-10-14T21:55:00.000-04:00

Wow, what a night the Cleveland Indians won against the Boston Red Sox. They won game 1 we won game 2 with a score of 13 to 6. The game went into 11 innings. It started at 8pm last night and didn't finish till wee hours the next morning. What a pleasant surprise to wake up to. GO TRIBE!!!! Click on the Cleveland Indians highlighted in RED then once you enter the indians page watch the video to the right. What a 11th inning we had!!!
GO TRIBE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bib Swap for October 2007

2007-10-14T21:50:00.001-04:00

Thank you Brandi & family for the two adorable pink mommy bibs that read "mommy's little girl" and "my heart belongs to mommy". We loved them both, along with the lovely card. Thanks for sharing our journey with us!

Zack started Basketball Practice

2007-10-13T21:39:00.000-04:00

Well Thursday was Zack's 2nd time at basketball practice. They teach them the fundamentals of basketball, so that when they do get to 3rd grade they'll know what to do when they actually get to play. He loves basketball, so he really is having a good time and he is actually pretty good at it. He's my little Lebron James (ha ha)

LAST DAY BY THE POOL!

2007-10-08T21:07:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we hadn't yet closed up the pool, so we decided since the weather was close to 90 degrees both Saturday and Sunday to have one last picnic and swim party before closing it down. Craigy and Zack said "Hey, mom...do you think that we could have our own little picnic?", so of course I said "sure". Here's their pictures of their own little picnic, of course, our dog "Keeta" decided she wanted in on the picnic too. She won't let the boys out of her site.

GO TRIBE!!!

2007-10-05T22:30:00.000-04:00

Tonight the Cleveland Indians took a 2-0 lead against the New York Yankees for the Division Series. Go Tribe!!!

Nov06LID Group - Hair Bow Exchange (September Theme: Choice)

2007-10-05T19:57:00.001-04:00

Today I received the most adorable set of PANDA hairbows. They are so precious and will look so adorable on our little Kayla. Anna, you did a great job picking them out!!! Thanks

September Cybershower Additional Gift

2007-10-05T19:45:00.000-04:00

Wow, what a surprise. I just got home from work and had a box from my September 2007 Cybershower buddy Deanna and David. Our buddy had mentioned that she had one more thing that she wanted to send, but it wasn't quite complete yet. As if what we had already received wasn't already enough today's handmade crocheted pink blanket brought me tears. Tears of joy, of course. I can't express how precious and how extremely thoughtful it was of you. Kayla will treasure it forever. Your hardwork, love, and friendship is so so treasured. Thank you so much and I look forward to the day that we can all meet up with each other. I've met so many dear friends through our adoption journey. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I've been honored with the "You Make Me Smile" Badge of Honor

2007-10-02T13:52:00.000-04:00

Here is what the person that created this award says about it: the thing that I love most about blogging is that I learn so much about a person just by reading their blog. I have met MANY wonderful people with wonderful stories to tell,and I am grateful every day for each person that I have the pleasure of crossing paths in life with.I wanted to create something special for the top ten people who have inspired me through their blogging; the stories they tell, and the lives that they lead with grace and dignity. I visit their blogs for inspiration and encouragement.
Please grab your badge and wear it proudly, and pass it on because you inspire and encourage me, thank you.

I WILL wear this badge proudly and I will pass it on. I am to now nominate 10 people for this award. I would like to thank Brandi for nominating me. I too love follow Brandi and Angie's blog. I now need to nominate 10 people who haven't yet been nominated. I came up the 5 nominations to the below people.

I nominate:
Angie
Gail and Dan
Mark & Terri
Stephanie and Jason
Mark & Michelle

Zack officially turned "8" today

2007-10-01T21:48:00.000-04:00

Zack Now - What a cutie!
Zack 2004 -- Say CHEESE
Zack 2003 -- What a character!

Today Zachary officially turned "8" today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ZACK!!! Mommy and Daddy love you so very very much and are so proud of you!!!

Today my husband and I went in and woke our little guy up to wish him Happy Birthday. We surprised him and gave him a glow in the dark basketball. He was so surprised and still half asleep, but was so adorable. I'm still having a hard time believing how quickly they seem to grow up right before our eyes.

As a little girl, I remember waking up every year on my birthday and having a small gift of some kind wrapped and laying next to me in bed. My parents always would call me on my birthday first thing in the morning to let us know how special and proud they are of us and of course to say Happy Birthday. I'm glad to be passing this tradition onto our children and I hope that they always know how much we love and are proud of them!

CHINA'S NATIONAL DAY 2007 - BEGINS OCT.1ST

2007-10-01T21:44:00.000-04:00

Today is the beginning of China's National Day which begins on October 1, 2007 and last approx. a week.

2007 September Cybershower

2007-09-30T09:44:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-28T19:37:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-27T21:58:00.000-04:00

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!

2007-09-27T20:12:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-23T19:42:00.000-04:00

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)

2007-09-21T21:46:00.000-04:00

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)

2007-09-17T19:46:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-16T21:25:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-14T19:01:00.000-04:00

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!!!

2007-09-10T22:10:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-04T22:14:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-03T00:01:00.000-04:00

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...

2007-09-02T23:46:00.000-04:00

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.