No School Today

It's 7:30am, the wind is whipping and the snow is falling!!! I wonder if the kids will let me curl up with a good book and a latte . . .

Ants

He really wanted a hamster. Knowing that we have a very inquisitive cat and due to a poor track record for keeping pet enclosures clean, Santa opted to bring Alex an ant farm. It's actually pretty cool. It's filled with a gel that is not only their home, but their source of food (lots of little Hansels and Gretels).

We ordered the little guys on line a few weeks ago and had been eagerly awaiting their arrival. Of course the day of their delivery was the coldest we've had so far this year. And they had to hang out in the mailbox for hours until we returned home in the evening. They were in a little vial. No blankets. No mittens. No hot chocolate. They were not looking very happy. Or active. Or alive.



Much to our surprise, and quite the test of our reflexes, the little nippers were far from dead (well, most of them anyway) and those little Steve McQueen wannabees tried to escape! Only one brave soul perished in the ill fated prison break, may he rest in pieces. The surviving soldiers proceeded to scoop up the hypothermia victims, deposited them in one corner of their new home, and began tunneling. According to the literature it takes about a week for the ants to begin digging their new digs. Ours must be overachievers (Steve McQueen was no slouch) for they have moved and grooved and have a quite impressive 3 day old subterranean habitat.

Bunny Clock

Debbie, a new blogging friend, posted a photo of a soup tureen that looked a bit like my bunny clock. I mentioned to her that I would snap a photo and post it for her to see. It's not an antique but I find it to be quite charming! Voila!

There's Ice in My Birdbath!

How wonderfully seasonal! Although my family in Chicago may feel differently, I'm so happy for the cold!

Nine on the Ninth of Ohh Nine

One year ago today we logged on to our agency's website to see the new list of waiting children. That is when we first saw our Kate. I could say that hers was the only face that spoke to me. The shy smile and the hand on the hip. But there were others. Other children that we would have been very lucky to welcome into our fold. One thing that did stand out about our Kate was that the very day that we were looking at her picture was her birthday. My first thought was I hope her family finds her today on her birthday.

When we got the call the following week, it was my birthday wish that was being answered (our birthdays are two weeks apart)! And our life and family took a new, exciting turn. We took this picture one year ago to send to our daughter waiting for us in China.



It's amazing to think that 9 years ago today this amazing, spunky, loving creature was born. And 1 year ago today this amazing, spunky, loving creature was born to us.





Happy Birthday Kate!! We love you and are lucky beyond compare to have you as a part of our family!

The Lemonade Award

The purpose of this award is to give it to someone who is showing gratitude or a good attitude ("if life hands you lemons, make lemonade") within their life or blog.
The rules:
1) put the logo on your blog
2) nominate at least 10 blogs that show great attitude and/or gratitude.
3) have your 10 pass it along to 10 more!

I wish I had enough blogging friends in my arsenal to pass this along to and do it justice, but I think the few friends that I do have tagging along with me on this journey will be able to spread the wishes as strongly as 10 friends would!

Thank you Kimberly! A wonderful friend to me and my family here in North Carolina. I appreciate the Lemonade Award and will pass it right along!

Below are a few friends that have been very supportive in many ways, being there when perhaps I was the "lemon" that they had to deal with! Some I think I was able to be on my best behavior with. An old blogging friend that has had to deal with the lemons that were dealt out to our agency, but has hands down handled them with grace and whose blog brings so much beauty to those that visit it. And one new friend that I have yet to have met, although I did know her husband in college, and I hope to meet her in person someday!

Lynn at http://wishesquilt.blogspot.com/

Lori at http://ajourneytoourdaughter.blogspot.com/ (who I know is very busy getting her business started up, but your blog has brought much joy!)

Lynn (a different expat Lynn) at http://lifeaccordingtolynn.blogspot.com/

Chelsea at http://gourfamilyadoption.blogspot.com/

Jolie at http://www.little-latham.blogspot.com/

Carla at http://gulke.blogspot.com/

Picture Tag

My friend Lynn tagged me for picture tag. Sounds like fun, so I think I'll play along.

The object of picture tag is to:
1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer.
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder.
3) Explain the picture.
4) Tag 4 people to do the same.


No Cheating! (cropping, editing, etc)



So this is a picture of one of our Virginia Tech friends, Brian Self, at his wedding in July 2006 to Eileen. They were married in Colorado in the shadow of Pikes Peak. They are now living in San Luis Obispo, SLO, (not sure if I spelled that correctly), California. He's an engineering professor at Cal Poly and she is working on her Masters in Sustainable Architecture.

So, Kimberly, Chelsea, Carla, Kristy? Photos anyone?