SNOW!!!!!!!!!

It's snowing (and snowing and snowing). We haven't had a good snow in a LONG time. So I just had to go out and enjoy it and give Mari her first looks at the fluffy white stuff. Don't worry, she has fuzzy socks on with her warmest fleece sleeper, gloves, snowsuit that has over-hand sleeves, and her furry hat I knitted. She is sitting on a snowman cookie tray (that would probably make a good snow-saucer when she's a little older!).

My first "taste." Yummy!

Getting ready.

Let's go already!

Mommy likes the snow too.

Me, my house, and SNOW!

Posing on the back porch! Can I get ANY cuter?

Random Thoughts

So nothing new to report...hopefully this week???? Just looking forward to hearing about court dates. Also looking forward to receiving my "travel guide" from CHI so I can get down to the nitty-gritty of prep.

Let's talk about the weather. Last weekend it was in the mid nineties...yesterday when I got off work at 7am, it was 35 degrees!! What!! I love fall but that is a 60 degree difference. It was too hot to mow the grass last week and now it is too cold. And I really need to mow one more time before winter. Any volunteers? Hahaha!

Interesting facts about dates. I did a baby registry with Wal-Mart and BabiesRUs, as well as signing up for diaper/formula coupons, etc. On all these, I put my "due date" as October 1st. My referral came on October 5th. Hmmmm...pretty good estimation! I ran back through my blog to see what I was doing the day Amari was born (keeping in mind that this may not be her actual birthday--just what we think it is!). I didn't post that day (I had only been posting about a week--had only mailed my application in 2 weeks before this) but I did spend that weekend, including the "birthdate," cleaning out Ollie-dog's room and shopping for nursery decor! It is weird to think that I was preparing over here while she was starting life over there!!

Check out Mumblerrr website...this couple is adopting thru CHI also and the husband's business, Sugardaddys, is going to be featured on Bobby Flay's Throwdown on Food Network. Pretty cool! Hey guys...if we get to travel together, will you bring me a brownie?

Deedra clarified that she got pix of her son because the first one wasn't the greatest quality. I'm really happy that they received one that they could really "feel" the spirit of their son in. A little disappointed because I was hoping this meant there would be updates forthcoming. Oh well, the whole adoption process is about trusting and being ready for anything. I'll take any info I can get but if none comes, I'll just have all the more fun expecting the unexpected. I just stare at Amari's picture, wishing I could hold her hand (she has it curled up like she wants to hold on) or run my fingers through her curls. Soon...soon...

Be sure to check out CHI's website every now and again...scroll down the right side to all the different blogs. They are labelled by home state and by country of adoption and divided into waiting and completed. Best of all, CHI moves blogs to the Traveling section while families travel for their gotcha days. It is a lot of fun to keep up with. Right now there are a couple families in Colombia and one in Kazakhstan. Check them out.

Told you this post was random thoughts...also rambling.

Sunny Days!

So Dad posted some great moon pix on his blog that he took last night (and I'm betting that he did not know it was the Asian Moon Festival!). This morning, driving home from work, the sun was so amazing and I thought I should get some pix of it. It was so huge in the sky (the pix don't do it justice size-wise) and the rays streaming off it were magnificent. So here are some sunrise pix as the neon ball makes its way past some morning clouds.

Hot Shots!

Hot - It is so hot here!! Upper nineties (without the heat index) and no break in sight! The grass is brown and dry, everything is wilty. I can not stand the heat. I'd much rather be cold and be wrapped up in a quilt drinking hot chocolate.

Shots - Went to the Health Dept for my shots this morning. Ouch! Let's just say that I'm glad that I had already had Hep B, tetanus, and MMR. So I got 5 shots...my arms hurt! But so far, that is the only bad part...a little headache and achiness earlier but nothing ibuprofen couldn't handle. The only thing left on the disease list is a prescription for malaria meds...haven't decided whether to do this or not. Supposedly if we stay in Addis, the elevation is high enough that there are no mosquitoes! But if there is a mosquito in 1000 miles of me, I'll get bitten. The problem is that the med for malaria makes your skin super sensitive to sunburn (just what a white-skinned redhead needs to hear when traveling near the equator!). We'll see.

I'll post more later this weekend. Planning to do a little shopping and go to the movies tomorrow if I feel well enough.

Rainbows and baby blankets

Here is a picture of a rainbow I took the other day (actually, if you look closely enough, it was a TRIPLE rainbow). The colors were SO vibrant, which the camera does not do justice. The weather was so strange...it gully-washed for over an hour but the sun was out and here was this unbelievable rainbow. So, I'm standing in the pouring rain, barefooted, it had dropped 20 degrees, I was freezing and wet, trying to figure out how to use the panorama feature on my new camera (maybe I should practice INSIDE), and trying not to fall down the driveway. So the picture doesn't line up great but you get the idea...it was unreal. Here are the ends of the rainbow that better show the colors!

Here is a beautiful quilt my mom made me. She is an incredible seamstress (used to make all my clothes) and this is a new project for her...it is so pretty and soft and matches the nursery perfectly. Again...pictures can't do it justice!

Here is a great picture of fat Sam. Not to leave out the other animals but I loved this picture. I'm not sure what he is looking at, but he is awake in this picture...very rare state of being for him!