This is the front door and step. Some might call it a porch but from a Southern perspective I call it a little more than a big step. To me porches are huge and can have a swing on them.

None the less here is the new front step. Complete with new pieces of hand picked slate. David and I sorted through several packs to pick just the right ones. It will look much better once the chocolate brown walls have been painted

Trent has always had the knack of being able to sleep anywhere.

All hope is gone

Well, if you happen to be standing in a check out line this week you may have noticed that Matthew McCounghey is going to be a father. Apparently his girlfriend is three months pregnant. (or at least that's what People magazine says)
So in my despair and unbelief I phoned Gayla to see if she had heard the news. While affirming that this is truth(she read the People magazine too), she helped me through the grief. Gayla assured me that surely if by chance we ever did actually meet and get married that I could in fact love his child as my own. I did point out that the 25 year old supermodel from Brazil may in fact get in the way of this(not to mention my own husband and 4 children) But again Gayla always sees the bigger picture, she said yes, But you can cook! Do you think any 25 year old supermodel can cook?
HA! Anyway, we have a lot of fun, and our dear friend Amy assures us that we probably wouldn't like him if we really knew him. Because in fact our friend Amy lived in the same small town as him and rode the bus with him for four years. Yes, he rode the bus to school. And apparently he knew he was all that and a bag of chips, which totally ruins any movie he's in for Amy. Conceit is a hard thing to get over.
And apparently I am very tired! Good night! Serious posts will resume tomorrow

Monkeys in a cage!

This is the beginning of what will become David's office in the garage. It will have two doors. One to the outside and one into the garage. This will make it so much easier on him when he sends and receives packages. Our neighbor the other day commented that they have renamed the UPS truck. At their house they call it David's truck. He is excited to have his own space that doesn't share a door to the kitchen inside the house. I'm excited that I don't have to look at all the boxes all the time.

Care package

The "wonderful" lady that was able to work her magic and get us updated photos of Ty, also sends care packages. She can call your child's orphange and see if they will accept a small gift for your child. So after we placed our order she went shopping and got all these things and mailed them to Ty from within China. It's cheaper and more reliable than sending it from the US.
So here's what Ty was sent:
A cute teddy bear
A photo album(winnie the pooh) with 10 photos of us in it. With translations underneath each picture.
A letter to the foster family - written by us- translated to Chinese.
And not one but TWO disposable cameras. Yes, I know it says he doesn't like the camera but I'm hoping he won't mind a yellow cardboard box. I'm hoping for as many photos as possible.
And last but not least this Winnie the Pooh car. I thought I was ordering a little hot wheel type car but this funny thing was what she bought. The lady told me it sings, makes noises and goes on it's on. She said, "it's very funny"

Mom and I have a joke about noisy toys. I always say those kinds of toys have to stay at Nana's house. So, when Nana saw this she said "that kind of toy might have to stay in China."

We'll have to see how really loud it is.

This is the American Girl doll that Nana&Paw Paw bought for Mia for Christmas. Her name is Ivy(in the catalog) but Mia named her Lilly.
And this is the new blue outfit that Mamie(Amy) bought for Lilly. I was trying to get a good picture of Lilly. So, I said, "Mia move her around to the front"

Mia said "Not right now Mom, she's a little shy"

A trip to the yard

David and I went in search of Granite for the kitchen countertops. Our contractor sent us to 3 different granite yards. The first was fancy with a nice showroom so we figured it would be pricey . Then the second, I think the train from Mexico off-loaded near where we parked our car. David was sure we were going to get a "deal" here. But as it turned out the price was higher than the first place. So, we just called the 3rd and then went back to the first place. These pictures are of the 1st place (is this beginning to sound like a who's on first conversation)

Anyway, here it is. 2 slabs of Gallo Ventiano, It's kind of neat to see the granite in the huge slab and then know that's what's going in your kitchen.

The Blue writing on the slab says "God Created" which is the name of the installer.

Here's your sign

A sign you've been living in construction to long.....
Mia - "Mommy, I'm hungry"
Me - "Yes, it's getting time to eat lunch"
Mia - "My tummy's really Grouting"

LSU

Way to Go Tigers!!! What a big win LSU had on Monday night. We were quite proud of our Louisiana team.

We all wore our purple and gold during the day. I received several words of encouragement as I went about my errands. It began to feel like I actually had something to do with the outcome of the game. Yes, that's David's data projector behind my head. Zane had to stay scrunched over for most of the game because of the contraption below.

Apparently this is the way Texans watch a football game. A 10 feet x 7 feet tarp stretched across an entire wall of your living room. It doesn't get much better than this people! (I'm not allowed to tell you what I really called this giant screen)

Sitting?

How come after a long day of driving, when you get home all you want to do is sit some more?

I drove our dossier(aka adoption paperwork) to Austin to the Secretary of State's office today. This is a crucial last step in the process. Then after 30 minutes in the building I drove right back. Only about 6 hours of continuous driving with a short Target stop in between. Which by the way, I found a few Christmas 90% clearance items still lingering around. A pair of flannel PJ's for Trent for 1.49. A Christmas T-for Kaylee .50 and some scrapbooking thingies for .39. I found the make your own scrapbook'd coasters for 1.29 but Amy advised against them. She says the adhesive doesn't stick right on the back. It was H A R D to pass up a $12.99 item for only 1.29. (But my new year's resolution is to only stock up on stuff if I know when and how it will be used.)

Anyway, the papers are done and will be photocopied in triplicate tomorrow and mailed away to the Adoption Agency which will translate and send them on to China. Then we (you know) WAIT some more.

IT CAME!!!!

We received our last piece of paper today from the INS. We now have to get most of our papers to the Secretary of State's office in Austin to have them state certified. Then we can ship the package off to our agency in Oregon and they will have it approved by the Chinese Consulate. Then finally the papers will go to China. And then we can start waiting again. (We still think we will probably travel sometime this summer)
We are just rejoicing today that the last paper arrived! The ball is now back in our court for a week or so.

The Horror of it All

It was time to visit the Estee Lauder counter and fork over the big bucks for another tube of "pure as silk" foundation. So, yesterday David and I went to Dillard's and when I asked for it the salesclerk looked at me like I didn't know what I was talking about. After several descriptions she finally dug up about 3 bottles. Of course they were all the wrong shade. So, I quickly made my way down to Macy's to try to purchase this sent from heaven make up. And I almost fainted when she confirmed my suspicions that indeed this item has been DISCONTINUED!!!!

The ironic thing is just the night before I saw "P.S. I LOVE YOU" and there is a scene where Lisa Kudrow's nail poilsh falls out of the boat and she screams "NO, that was my last bottle, Just when you find a color you like they take it away"

So, the Estee Lauder lady at Macy's felt a bit sorry for me and sent me home with several samples of their other foundations. But, I know in my heart it will never be the same as the Ideal Matte, Mousse foundation.

I told the lady if other people knew my secret for prolonging the life of the make up, then more people would buy it. (Because for goodness sakes it is $32.50 ( for one ounce)a tube.) So, I'll share my secret here because it may apply to other products you currently own. It's called the cut and rake. First you use as much as you can the normal sophisticated way. Then when you think it's time to throw the tube away. You cut the top off, very gingerly so as to leave a little bit still hanging on. Then you rake out all that's left in tube. I, (having done this several times in the last 3 years) can tell you that you will be shocked at how much is still in there. Now the reason you leave a little attached is so that you can close it up somewhat. One friend(who shall remain nameless) laughs hysterically at this secret, while other friends (who shall not remain nameless because they encourage rather than belittle) Darla S. told me I should try storing it in a ziploc bag. And so the secret was perfected.

So, I will try my samples, but I will always reminisce over the soft, mousse-like feel of my one true Ideal Matte.

Adoption of a 3yr old

I found this blog last night on a China group that I belong to. This mom is traveling home with her 3yr old boy from China. Reading her blog makes me very anxious and excited. When I watched the video it really hit home that we are going to have a significant language barrier. (I need to learn more than Hello, thank you and good bye)
http://cristofolettifamily.blogspot.com/

My favorite post is the one titled Update. Look on the right side almost to the bottom. I hope we have a tender moment like this one.

Christmas Pictures

Christmas pictures in no particular order. I think this may have been the least stressful Christmas ever. Enjoy!

The Grandmas try their hand at Wii bowling. It got a little dangerous when the tennis game was on.

Mia was very nervous about the arrival of Santa. She even slept with us because she was so scared of him coming into our house. After seeing all of her presents we were eating breakfast and she annouced that she likes Santa now. This was evidenced later in the day when she willingly held this santa's hand.

It wouldn't be Christmas without a picture of Paw Paw sleeping on the couch.

The dreadfully long Lowe's trip

It was buying time for a lot of the house supplies. Faucets, knobs, light fixtures, insulation............and more. So, when we had to go get the 3rd buggy I knew it was about to get ugly. I pulled out my new Christmas camera to try to distract our four helpers. This is what I got.




p.s. I haven't forgotten about the last 2 days of Christmas, but nothing dramatic has happened. I have nothing new to post.(Unless you want to see the Master Bath toilet that is in the middle of the bedroom) Mia gets a big kick out of that every time.

a step in the right direction

David and I went to the INS office to be fingerprinted yesterday. We have been waiting for them to mail us our fingerprint appointment since mid-November. We received it this past Wednesday. We were expecting a long wait at the office. (Being a government office) However, we were pleasantly surprised and were in and out within 20 minutes. As we were leaving David commented that he almost asked the lady if she knew she worked for the government. But he thought better of it! Since they still have more papers to send us.
Once our fingerprints clear they will send us a letter called a FDL (Favorable Determination Letter) that basically states we are good to go and can bring home an orphan and he will be declared a US citizen. This is the final step toward having our dossier ready to mail to China. Last time it took 9 days to receive this letter. We will see what happens this time. I expect it to take a little longer with 2 holidays thrown in those 9 days!

I did notice that my fingerprints had several lines across them. They looked like wrinkles, I asked the lady if those wrinkles were going to get in the way with the matching process. She said "No, they're fine, You people all watch to much CSI" Yes, I agreed with her, I probably do. I wanted to ask her if my prints would be run through CODUS but again, don't want to make the nice lady mad.

The recital that..... WASN'T

The hair was fixed just perfectly, the tutu was fluffed, the slippers were ready but apparently Mia wasn't.
It all started at drop off when she didn't want me to leave the room. Even though there were 14 other girls there wearing the exact same outfit ready to dance to Jingle Bells. It didn't matter.

She made it out on to the dance floor and then the tears began to flow. She would have no part of dancing on this particular Saturday. (See those crossed arms)

Oh but wait! After the recital she was all smiles for the camera. Ready to pose and twirl and show us all her moves

Luckily, there's a Spring Recital.

On the 10th day of Christmas

my true love gave to me...

Someone other than us doing the work

It was a joyous moment to walk in and see a "crew" tackling the mess. This guy was texturing the walls. All the texturing has now been done and almost all of the painting has been done as well. There is some trim to be done and some touch ups here and there.

On the 9th Day of Christmas...

my true love gave to me....

4 helpful friends painting way into the night

Gayla decided she likes my "Latte" walls a Lot-A. (Guess you had to be there)

Valarie edges the pink room with her favorite edging tool. We'll hope she doesn't go blind from staring into the pink.

Stacy works to cover the boy's "art work"
Darla worked her roller magic in the master bedroom

I was there to but no one stopped long enough to take my picture. Wow! These girls worked hard and I sure am proud. We did 3 bedrooms and the hall in about 4 hours.

On the 8th Day of Christmas...

my true love gave to me.....
helpful kids painting (walls, themselves, graffiti, each other, the concrete)

On the7th Day of Christmas...

my true love gave to me....

Bathroom tile laid twice

Nice Job, But Oh NO! the tile is straight and not laid on the diagonal

Now, that's better don't you think? (Don't tell me you can't tell the difference, because I can)

The job was suppose to be done on the diagonal and apparently the tile layer didn't know this and did a lot of the tile before anyone saw. So, he kindly ripped it all out and then re-tiled this past weekend. I tried to live with it the first way but after about 3 hours of trying to talk myself into it while painting this bathroom I decided not to start "settling" this early in the game.

Elf Yourself

Zane found this Elf Yourself web-site and made this little song and dance number. Zane and I think it's hilarious. Especially the Paw Paw elf.(that's my dad)
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1504566579

On the 6th day of Christmas...

my true love gave to me....

A very open floorplan

This shot is from the gameroom looking toward the kitchen, See the big ledge on the left. That was actually a walk in wetbar. Complete with cabinets, shelves and a sink. It is now all gone....

This is from the kitchen looking out into the living room. See the white bucket on the floor. That's where the bar once was. I'm so excited to have the house this open. I can see "who started it" without having to leave the kitchen.

On a side note... all the kids have been asking to see Alvin and the Chipmunks movie. I thought it would be a nice break to take them tonight. I didn't realize tonight was actually the opening night. Also, it was apparently the opening night for several other movies. I have NEVER seen so many people in line(s) at the movie before. I remember standing at the Charles Cinema and complaining if there were more than 6 people ahead of me. Well, my have things changed. I waited for 25 minutes just to get the tickets and then 2 more hours before the movie actually started because all the showings were sold out until 9:20. It was quite the event.

But, the movie was really cute and everyone really enjoyed it. Mia almost made it to the end. She feel asleep during the last 10 minutes, just in time for David to have to carry her across the back 40 to get to the car.

On the 5th Day of Christmas....

My true love gave to me...
A Dumpster in the driveway

And look what went in it....

Lots of Tile

and tons of BLUE CARPET.....It's gone Hooray!

On the 4th Day of Christmas....

my true love gave to me..... Four Kids at the dentist

I had to deviate from my theme today. I believe a 2 hour trip to the dentist with four patients and No Cavities deserves it's own blog post. (David took a break from the house, I don't fly solo on this type of trip.) Kaylee's behind the lady in the purple jacket. Getting the flouride that she obsessed over for several days. She hates that part.

They give each child their own pair of sunglasses, to help with the bright overhead lights. Did you notice the white Kilz paint on Mia's fingers? Yes, we had worked on the house earlier.

On the 3rd day of Christmas....

my true love gave to me....

A kitchen to gut

(Yea, I know gut is not really a Christmasy word but I what else can I say?)

Before

During

The after picture will come a few weeks from now. The cabinets will be in Dec. 21st. Merry Christmas to Me!

On the 2nd Day of Christmas....

my true love gave to me......

Lots of 80's Wallpaper, To scrape off


I am not kidding, I scraped wallpaper for 11 hours in just the laundry room. I even had help. Emily came over for about 4 hours as well. That night I had to take Ibuprofen and Benadryl to get to sleep, my bicep hurt so bad.

On the 1st Day of Christmas...

My true love gave to me a big, old house to remodel....

The theme for this year's 12 days of Christmas will revolve around the current project that we are focused on. We've owned the house for about a month now and are frantically trying to get it ready to move in. We hope to be moved in by mid-January. We feel very blessed to be able to work on it and not have to live in a construction zone.

So Close

Westlake High School made it to the Superdome in New Orleans for the championship game. I told Zane that the team they are playing is also 14-0 this year. He said, "Well someone is going home tonight 15 - 0 and someone is going home 14-1." Sadly it was our Rams that has to make the LONG drive back home.
High School Football3A State Championship Game
Final Score:
Westlake 18

Parkview Baptist 19

Glitz and Glam

Mia was invited to Holland's Glitz and Glam Birthday party. Oh My! this girl sure had a fun time. She's been carrying around the invitation for a week, waiting for Friday to finally come. Well it was well worth the wait. The photos below show a little bit of the fun from the party today.
Let me start my spa experience with a soft, fluffy robe and a cold drink.

Sure! I have time for a manicure.

Getting my hairstyled

Gotta Get my make-up on!

Wow! Aren't we beautiful

" Raise the Roof" Was this a birthday party or a dream come true?

A true conversation

I overheard this last night while Trent and Mia were playing:
Trent- (With a pink clam shell case in his hand, Presents it in front of Mia and asks) "Mia Will you marry me?"
Mia - Takes the pretend ring out of the shell and says "Yes, Thank you for my ring"
Mia - "Hey wait, Take this back, I want a bigger one"
Trent - "Listen, You get what you get and you don't throw a fit"