Not My Best

So, I totally failed on posting everyday last week of what I was thankful for. I got a little busy with travelling and cooking and you know how that goes. Thanksgiving was wonderful. We ate an enormous lunch at our house and then went to the Cowboys game. We won, which always makes life fun. I got to meet Justin's sister's new baby, Austen, for the first time. He was maybe the best baby I have ever been around. He never made a peep while he was here. I got some good baby practicing in. Late Thursday night, I rode with a friend to Little Rock to see my side of the family for the rest of the weekend. They were all wonderful. I got more baby time in with my other nephew, John. He is at such a fun age. He toddles all over the place. His new nickname is Destructo because everywhere he goes a little mess follows. I got to spend time with my parents and all three of my sisters. We always manage to have a good time. I had a great Thanksgiving, to say the least.

We still don't have a Giving and Receiving date and to be perfectly honest, I am getting worried about our ability to find a flight. I have been watching flights, and they are getting more and more expensive for Christmas time as each day passes. I have been begging our agency for more information, but they just don't have it right now. Maybe tomorrow, but for some reason I doubt it. I have been working on getting organized and ready for travel, but I can't really get into it until I know for sure when we are going to actually be leaving. I would like it to be NOW!!

I have been sick the past couple of days with a sinus infection. It has really knocked me on my butt, but I am starting to feel better thanks to some medicine. I had to spend 3 hours at the medical clinic by our house on Tuesday after work. It was so annoying. I read a book on Vietnam though, so I wasn't too bored while I waited.

This is really exciting news - it has been snowing today in Dallas. Can you believe that?!?! Snow. Yesterday at 6 pm it was 75 degrees, and today it is snowing. It obviously won't stick, but we never get snow, so everyone gets all excited. It is freezing to me. Bruiser and Bianca absolutely despise this weather. I think their little paws are going to freeze off when they go out to go to the potty.

I am off to continue reading about being a mom. Each day I think of something else to worry about that we don't know how to do for a 5 month old baby. We can do this, right???????

More Thanks

I am going to post each day this week the things that I am thankful for, so get ready for several posts from me. Yesterday's things were the things that make life worth living - the things and people that I depend on. Today's things just make life more enjoyable. Today I am thankful for: music, adorable baby clothes, my house, my favorite TV shows, rainy Sunday afternoons with a good movie, soft sheets, pictures of family and friends, Mexican food, a good pair of jeans, Christmas lights, TIVO, and all of my shoes!!

Here are some of Lucy's most recent goodies:

This is one of my favorite sleeper's. This is the front.

This is the back - I love it!!

Lucy's Christmas dress

Several little sleepers. One of my commenters suggested I look at these because they match Lucy's room perfectly. Thank you.

Justin just brought this outfit home. He picked it all out himself while travelling recently. He even picked hot pink tights to go with it. SO ADORABLE!!

Giving Thanks

I too am taking Jenn's challenge to express what I am thankful for. There are literally so many things, that I am just going to make a top ten list.

1. Justin, my husband. We have been through a lot together, and I am thankful for each and every moment we have had together. Even the bad times, because every time we have come out of the situation as a stronger and better couple. I am thankful for how much he loves me and Lucy. We are lucky to have him in our lives. He is going to be such a wonderful dad.

2. Lucy, our beautiful daughter. We love our girl so much without even meeting her yet. I am thankful that we were blessed enough to be given this amazing pumpkin as our referral. I am thankful that she looks healthy and strong in her pictures. Most of all, I am thankful that we get to be her mom and dad.

3. Family. Justin and I both come from loving, strong, wonderful, and caring families. We have parents who would do anything in the world for us. We have sisters who are the best friends anyone could ever ask for.

4. My dogs. My dogs mean so much to me. Bruiser and Bianca keep me company when I am alone. They ALWAYS want to cuddle. They never let us down. I love my dogs.

5. Friends. Our friends have been so supportive throughout this whole adoption. I have had to really lean on some of them throughout all of this. I have made new lifelong friends through the adoption process. Thank you to all of you who comment, give advice, and just listen to me. You are all immensely important to me. What would I do without the amazing friends I have? Thank you thank you thank you. I love you all.

6. The Razorbacks being so good at football this year. Yes, I realize this is not that important, but it is to me and the entire state of Arkansas, which is where I grew up. WOOOOOOO PIG SOOOIE!!!!!!!!!!!

7. Our adoption agency. No matter how frustrated I get with them on some days because I can't get a hold of anyone on the phone, the fact of the matter is, they brought us to Lucy. I am eternally grateful to them for that.

8. Health. Justin and I are both extremely healthy. Health is something that so many people take for granted until it is taken away. I try and thank God everyday for making us happy, healthy individuals.

9. Our church. Since moving to Dallas, we have found the most amazing church. Every Sunday I sit in the service feeling like the sermon is directed straight at me. I take away so much from every week. I love our church. It is a wonderful place to raise Lucy.

10. Our jobs. Justin has a job that he absolutely loves. Not many people get to have a job that they truly want to do and get paid to do it. Justin is so talented and gets to use his talents in such a productive way. Because of Justin's job, I get to become a stay at home mom with Lucy. I have always dreamed of being a full time mom, and I actually get to. I am so thankful that I will be the one teaching her most of what she learns as a young child.

I really am so blessed. I try and be thankful for how lucky I am everyday.

NEW PICTURES!!!!!!!!!

I finally got new pictures of Lucy today!!! I wish so badly that I could post a full picture of her. Only one more month until you all can see exactly how amazing she is. She has grown and changed SO much. Seriously, she is a chunky monkey. Big time. I love it! I know that she is being well cared for. There is a picture of her with one of her nannies and I can just tell that the nanny loves her. I can also tell how strong she is. One of the pictures has her on her belly and she has that little head raised high. So cute. This has been a great week in adoption land for us. We got word that we should be in Vietnam for Christmas and we finally got some new pictures. Oh man, she is just the cutest. We are so blessed. Enjoy the partial pictures.

A few fun tidbits of information about our girl. Her nails are not so long. I am relieved to know that they finally cut them. And none to soon, I can see a scratch on her ear in one of the pictures. In another picture, I can see her belly and she has the most gorgeous skin. She has little chub rolls everywhere. Again, to me this is a sign that she is being well cared for. She is definitely not missing any meals. I can tell she is strong. I could stare at her eyes all day. They are the most beautiful shape, which you all can see for yourselves. Our girl is perfect, absolutely perfect. What a wonderful day this is. I want to kiss on those cheeks right now!! Thank so much for all of the congratulations on the last post. You guys are the best.

Best Christmas Yet

First of all, thank you so much to all of you who made such sweet comments about our Christmas stuff and home. I really appreciate it.

I got some super duper exciting news today from our adoption agency. I was told to expect to be in Vietnam for Christmas!!!! Justin and I are over the moon excited right now. And a little overwhelmed and freaked out. I will fix the counter above tomorrow to be counting down to Christmas. I can't get my computer to cooperate for the moment. Just so you know though, it would be at 40 days right now. So, starting at midnight, we are in the 30s!!!! Can you believe that?? Less than 40 days left until we meet Little Lucy!! I really really need to start getting us ready to have a 5 month old in our house.

I made a pre-adoption appointment with a local international adoption pediatrician. We will use him until we get all settled and Lucy checked out, then we will change to a closer pediatrician. This doctor is about 45 minutes out of town. I have a list of about a million questions, so I hope he is ready for us. He seemed wonderful on the phone and has come highly recommended. He has two daughters adopted from China.

Also, I decided since we will most likely have Lucy on Christmas day in Vietnam, that she would need a Christmas dress. I have found some wonderful ones. I have not been able to decide which one is my favorite yet. They are all little smocked dresses. Too cute. Lucy's closet continues to grow. We are supposed to get an updated weight this week. And the new pictures. I will believe it when I see it. I sure do hope that the clothes I have been buying will fit our pumpkin. I am pretty certain that they will.

Okay, I am about to start reading my books on caring for an infant. I have some preparing to do!!!!!! This is going to be the best Christmas ever.

Deck the Halls

Here is the Christmas explosion that has happened at our house. It is all done except for the few Christmas Krinkles that have not come in yet. What do you think? It makes me so happy I can barely stand it. On a quick adoption note, I think that we may get to travel in late December now. It is not definite, but a really good possibility!!! That would put us at 3 months from referral to travel versus 3.5. If that is right, 15+ days will get shaved off the above counter! That would be so awesome!! To see all of the Christmas pictures, go to the Flickr link on the side.

Officially Insane

For the past week or so, I have been extra emotional. I cry at absolutely everything. I think a big part of it is that a couple of my very best adoption friends are in Vietnam right now with their babies, and I have an additional 2 months of waiting. I am glad that my agency is ethical and taking their time to do everything correctly and by the rule book, but that doesn't make me wish that they would hurry this up some. Also, I still have no update. No new pictures, no new measurements, nothing. I just wish I could get some information on Lucy and make sure that she is okay. I do feel good about the fact that my above counter is in the 60s now. It started at 85 days to go.

In order to make myself feel better, I have started getting out my Christmas decorations. That is right, I said Christmas. Yes, I am well aware of the fact that it is only November 6th and that Thanksgiving is 2 and a half weeks away. And you know what, I don't care. Christmas makes me more happy than anything. Justin is out of town and he is going to come home to quite a surprise. I started by just getting out my new stuff to admire it.
That is what the first two pictures are of - just the new stuff. I always end up getting a bunch of new stuff, but this year I was lucky enough to get to order a bunch of stuff wholesale through a friend. It has been a blast getting Christmas goodies at half price. That means we can get twice as much, right?!?! There is still some stuff that has not come it yet.

Then today, I decided that I needed to unwrap all of the ornaments for both trees. You should have seen me getting the boxes out of the attic. I am lucky I didn't kill myself. It was absolutely necessary to go ahead and get them out so that I could assess what we have. This way I can make sure and put my very favorites in the front and center of the trees. Each year as I get out our stuff, I can't believe how much I love what we have and how beautiful it all is. I LOVE IT! I am feeling so much better already.

Here are the ornaments for the kitchen tree, which as you can see, is purple, green, blue, and gold. It goes so well in our kitchen that is predominantly green with purple and gold accents. This is my funky and fun tree.

Here is my coffee table in the living room covered in the bigger, main tree's ornaments. It is only allowed to have ornaments that are red, white, or silver. It is the traditional tree and the one that the gifts go under. It is classic and gorgeous. I am a big fan of TONS of ornaments. I don't really think there is such a thing as too many ornaments, as long as there is only one per branch. I am no where near one per branch because it is a 9 foot tree, so there is still room for some more ornaments.

Justin gets home tomorrow. I would already have the trees up if I could man handle them on my own. We will put them up together tomorrow night. Then on Wednesday I will get everything else in it's place. I will post lots of pictures of the final product. I think that everyone should post their Christmas decorations. It is so fun to see how everyone interprets their idea of Christmas. I will go first, since I am the only idiot already decorating, but I expect the rest of you to follow. It will be joyous!! So, let me just say, Happy Holidays!!

3 Months Old

This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but I was having issues with Blogger.

Today is Miss Lucy's 3 month birthday!! I hope that she is having a wonderful day. We were scared once again with another typhoon hitting central Vietnam, but it seems for the moment, that the storm has decided to change its course and not head right towards Lucy's province. These storms will stress a girl out like nothing else. It is just terrifying to think of your baby in an orphanage unable to help herself with a powerful storm heading right her way. I think we are in the clear though.

Happy Halloween a day late. I got so mad last night because we had 1, yes I did say only 1, trick or treater. What a let down. I think the problem is that we live too close to a pretty busy street, so the kids seem to head the other direction. My nephew was a shark. So darn cute.

I am hoping to get an update really soon on Lucy. We should get new measurements and some new pictures. I am dying to see some new pictures. Babies change so much from month to month, so it will be so neat to see how much she has grown and changed. I told Justin that it almost felt like getting her referral all over again. I am so anxious to see new pictures of our girl.

I had a very real and detailed adoption dream last night. Justin and I were in Vietnam, we had Lucy, and we were actually pretty darn good parents. Usually my dreams are totally scary and I have no idea what to do with Lucy. But in this dream, she was happy and smiling and playing with us. It was great. She looked exactly like her picture. I think I had this nice happy dream because of the wonderful pictures and videos that Nicki has posted on her blog.