Laurie tagged me!

My blog friend Laurie tagged me to do this, I should look back at what my answers were a few months ago to compare! She and I have some funky things in common like that she and her husband are also a Laurie and Mike and the list goes on a bit! Since this process started, I've met 4 Laurie/Lori/Mike couples!!! And there are NO Laurie/Lori's in NH - It's not a common name (around here anyway).

Eight things I'm passionate about!

~ Our family

~ Trying to be the best person I can be

~ Creating a balanced childhood and family memories for my kids

~ Being aware of others and trying to help

~ Exploring how I can try to make a difference in this little world

~ AFRICA

~ Giving credit where credit is due; God

~ Designing spaces that will create spectacular meals and wonderful memories

Eight things I want to do before I die!

~ Visit my "homeland" Sicily and trace back my roots and meet family

~ Do humanitarian aid work in Africa (especially ET)

~ Live in CA, the hills of Santa Barbara and do weekend trips to Napa/Sonoma etc. for wine

~ Retire with ease and spend alot of time with our kids and grandkids (Sanibel preferred)

~ Meet El Rushbo (please NO comments on this one, it's MY list)!

~ Watch our children grow to be contributing, productive, compassionate human beings

~ Say "I have no regrets" on my 100th birthday

~ Take a vacation with my best friends

Eight things I say often!

~ Snoopy, NO BITE!

~ Go ahead, say it, one more time and you're getting a time out!

~ Are you kidding me!

~ No way!

~ KNOCK IT OFF (dog and child)

~ You're my best friend, forever, and ever, and ever

~ You just LEFT from work!!

~ Nick, did you do a bum toot!

Eight shows I've recently viewed!

~ American Idol

~ Essence of Emeril

~ GOP debate (No comments please)

~ Brothers and Sisters (please come back w/new shows already)

~ No reservations (Ghana - Anthony Bourdain)

~ Oprah

~ Moment of truth

~ Intervention

Eight things that attract me to my friends!

~ Loyalty

~ History

~ Humor (and plenty of it)

~ Acting like we did when we all first started being friends (Fourth grade)

~ Decency

~ Core values (same as the decency one)

~ They make "life" dissapear when we're together

Eight things I learned in 2007!

~ That my husband is more than fantastic

~ That I want my son to stop growing

~ That this adoption process would prove to change our lives in more ways than I ever dreamed

~ That sometimes people can disappoint us unknowingly

~ That it's time for me to learn and grow constantly

~ That Ethiopia will be an experience of a lifetime

~ That you can meet people and form strong connections with them before you meet

~ That men just don't get alot of stuff that women get

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Michael's folks, Bill and Janette celebrated their 26th anniversary on January 2nd, but MP and I finally took them out on Saturday night!

How young do they look? Seriously, too young to be grandparents!

And lastly, the "little miss" before we left the house...

For those who don't know me, I have NO control over that eyebrow and it has been my nemisis all my life! It's mostly up whenever I don't want it to be! Ugh! You should see our wedding album! :)

More weekend info. to come, but we are thrilled and blessed that they "up and moved" from NY to be here in NH closer to us and Nicholas! It's been six months and they're adjusting to NH very well - Yay!

Weekly Video Update-

How could I forget??!!??

You guessed it!!!! He IS the MAN to beat! Superbowl is coming.... can you say FOUR super bowl rings??? Not to mention the rest of the AMAZING undefeated New England Patriots team!!!

We're huge Pat's fans and are already prepin' for the game! Woot wooot! I guess I'm outta the "funk"! Not really, but this is a wonderful distraction! :) Pa-leeeze - look at this man that God created, he cannot be real! :)

More to come on the Pat's front since there's nothing else to blog about!

New post. No news.

There's nothing for me to write from the adoption front or anything else for that matter....

You guessed it, it's "funk" time again. I received the monthly notice from our agency today which stated that the wait time for our age group has been lengthened by an ADDITIONAL six months....

My countdown is done, finished, and basically, a bag of shit dust at this point....

So, anyone up for a party??!!?? Besides that, I am in a home based business that revolves around the housing market.... Yes, you guessed right, not good. Cash in some air miles and I'm on a plane to design you the kitchen of your life! :)

Boo hoo for me... Life could be sooo much worse and I DO know that. I'm just being a cry baby (not literally) and the list could go on. This is just a snippet of how I'm feeling this second which is probably going to change in a day (or less).

Correction!! And Just For Fun.... Everyone likes to see pictures.... so here's one of mi' famiglia... Mom, Dad, Michelle (older and in black, like you couldn't tell) and me! Sadly, this was on my 27th birthday, ehmmmmm, NINE years ago! :(

They passed!!!

Thanks everyone who joined in and said prayers for Danni and Tommy - they're officially proud parents!!!! Yippee!!!!

Calling all prayers for the Walkers in California!!!!!

My BBF's The Walkers are going through court tomorrow to finalize the adoption of their son Judah. My thoughts cannot express how much I want this to be through for them. They have waited sooo patiently since their referral months ago.... They are so wonderful and their sweet babe Jude must soon be theirs. Please, everyone, put them in your thoughts and prayers tonight and tomorrow! We love you guys! We cannot wait to all celebrate with you tomorrow and anticipate your travel date!

Gratitude campaign-

This is something I always do when I see a man or woman serving this great country of ours... It's the least I can do other than be a pen pal to some of the guys serving overseas. I've tried not getting into politics on the blog even though it's one of my passions, but this isn't political.... just decent courtesy! Please say thanks to our service people (if you don't already), it means the world to them. My husband is a veteran.

I'm not able to upload it for some reason, so here's the link.

http://www.gratitudecampaign.org:80/fullmovie.php

My boys!

I forgot to add this with the party pictures, but this is after Nick dressed into his PJ's (Hugh Heffner style) and came down to say goodnite to everyone. Mommy knelt down to him and said, "make sure you go around and give everyone a squeeze and a kiss goodnite." He wispered back, "but I don't want to hug or kiss the boy ones, just the girls." "Okay", I said, but you should at least shake the boys' hands". And so, he did. What a pip!!!!

Today Nick had a dentist appointment and did fantastic! He was quite a ham and stole the show from everyone working in the office. I was a little nervous at one point when they were sticking "Mr. Thirsty" in his mouth to suction that he was going to throw up. He kept gagging, poor thing! I took his hand in mine and it was pretty swetty. We didn't have anything else going on, so we decided to make the trek down to Daddy's work to say hello and go out for lunch. We've been dieting so a "cheat" was called for! We NEVER go see Daddy at work, so for Nick he was freaking out with excitement - and he hammed it up for everyone there too!

Yesterday I was at the beach for a kitchen delivery - after seeing all the lovely pictures on Laurie and Mike's blog of the ocean in Cali., I thought I'd make everyone jealous to see the NH seacoast with snow on it, come on, who doesn't want to be in this frigid weather!? It's pretty neat actually, but it was freezing cold!!! Brrr! The ocean is a little more than a half hour from us-
Nothing else to update, just something new to post, it seems that there isn't much activity in the blog world or referral world these days! :( My camera is showing the wrong date, I just realized... must fix! I'm going to take the high road and cool it with the videos. Everything is best in moderation, right? :)

Party time....

We had a long overdue party with my best friends and their husbands!

Above left to right; Lynnie (oldest), Rhonda, Tess, and me.

Rhonda and I. She is just a ball to be with and my dearest friend. We've been together since 7th grade and never seem to have enough time even if we've been talking for hours. When we get together we are inseperable and act like twelve year olds. I bet you find that hard to believe!

This is everyone from the party except for Cindy and her husband. Where the heck are these two? I know, perhaps next door! Funny story...

What are the odds of you living next door to someone that shares your last name? Very rare unless you're related if you ask me! Well, that happens to be the case for us. Our next door neighbors share the same last name as us....

So, we have lived here for three years but have only had a few parties with our best friends (not cool and we must do it more). Last night it was dark (go figure) and the next door neighbors were also having a party!!! Their party started before ours, and so obviously they had cars in the driveway and on the street. Our first guests were Cindy and Ron. They were driving separetly because Ron needed to leave early for a hockey game that he was playing in. So, his wife Cindy came to our house first. She took off her coat and I took her treats and set them on the counter while we said our hello's etc.... Then she started to laugh and said, "you won't believe what I just did". "No, what" I replied. "I went to the neighbors house and drove up the driveway. I saw all the cars outside and wasn't paying attention. When I pulled in, I looked up at the house and was like, this isn't Lori and Michaels house, I'm at the wrong house"!

Cindy made a very easy mistake that was quickly noticed by her and promptly corrected!

Her husband Ron was to arrive very soon behind her with a slow cooker full of a wonderful ham cooked and sliced etc. etc. So a little time passed, and passed....

Then, a knock at the door. Ron enters! Ham (in cooker) in hand!

Fast forward to when everyone has arrived; Ron says he has a funny story to share!

He proceeds; "so I'm driving down your street and see all the cars, I pull in, park, get the ham, get out of the car and walk up the walkway to the front door. I rang the bell and some kid answers. He didn't look familiar so I asked, is this the Parkers? Yes, he said and called the hostess by name to come to the door. I knew right away that I was at the wrong house"!

He asked if he could give them the ham so that they wouldn't tell anyone and they had a good chuckle. How embarrasing! We love you Ron! What a sport. I know how that feels as I've done the same thing before when going to do a kitchen consultation with bad directions! It's no fun!!!

Here's a quickie shot of me doing a little video. You'll have to turn your head since I can't figure out how to turn it 90 degrees to fix, or just don't watch it. It's really nothing, but I had so wanted to do video of the party. My two friends Rhonda and Lynnie didn't want me to post their debut, so this is the best I have. Give me a break though, I'm still learning this new thing~


Adoption wise, oh yeah, this is an adoption blog! Still waiting - Michael and I made our predictions and I wrote them down on paper.... I'm going to do a blog prediction to soon. Our referral date and gender are the biggies, the age is pretty much known...20-24 mos.



Disclaimer; I've spent alot of time trying to make this clip look "real" and not like an old movie turned sideways, I give up, next time it'll be better, I promise!

Live on the ground in NH!

If you live in New England (or probably anywhere for that matter) and have any type of inclement weather, this is probably what you'll see if you turn on the local news!! Don't forget, TV adds ten pounds to your weight! ;)

Auntie Kiki, someone loves you!!!

I'm going to wear the heck out of this new thing that I can do.... hopfully soon I'll have it mastered and it won't take me twenty minutes to get the video loaded correctly. There are probably ten extra steps that I'm adding that don't need to be here!

Let's try this again-

You'll never guess who got a camera...

This is me making a face (in case you couldn't figure that out on your own) at the whole process of trying to take a picture of myself in a mirror! It is a good representation of what I look like most of the time - annoyed! :) Anyway, here is the necklace, and you can see a glimpse of the barrette too which I wear on my shirt(s).

I bought an inexpensive camera that is nice and small - so, still playing around with it and it's nuances, but, all and all, happy with my purchase. I'll be taking pictures left and right now -

Too bad most of our snow has melted or I would've taken a picture of the BEST snowman you have ever laid your eyes on - seriously! I had no part in the creative creature, it was all MP and Nicholas.

Last night I had a dream that seemed so real; in my dream I was awoken by the phone ringing. I was dazed (as any normal person would be) and stumbled out of bed and fell on the floor clumsily. If you know me (all five feet) and the huge height of our bed, this is not very hard to do. The answering machine came on before I could grab the phone on my nightstand and it was a man's voice! Our social workers' name is Roy (do you get the subtlety).... So, I hear him saying that there are two children that they have matched us with. For some unknown stupid dream reason, I still didn't get to the phone in time, but was freaking out. The strange thing was that the children's ages were quite a bit older than we had requested (in the dream).

I have crazy, crazy, crazy, (this could go on) crazy dreams all the time. Mostly nightmares unfortunately, but this felt so real. And of course, in the dream I started screaming crying but no sound came out! What a feeling!

Perhaps it is a sign for our friends in TX, or perhaps it's just a dream.... either way, I am happy to say that I know what it feels like to get "the call"....

Do you hear it??? The babe train is coming.........

Yet another sign of that big ole babe train that is heading down the tracks!!!! Hoooootttttttt, hoooooooootttttttttt! Chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga!

Thank you to my sweet husband MP for getting this for my birthday - it just came today and I love it!!! I am dying to take a picture of it ON ME and will in a few days! Promise! Another toddler referral came today - we are very, very close my friends, like weeks away! Pinch!

Something that occurred today on a group was that someone was made to feel a little uncomfortable about speaking lightly of referrals etc. It IS something that is terrible for these children to have to deal with and grow with, but let's not lose sight of the miracle that adoption is. And I WILL NOT ever feel guilty for wanting and being excited for my childs union with me and my family. Ever....God DID chose ME and my husband to work through to bring them home here with us. For that I will never be ashamed of or guilty of. So, YES, the train is coming and this child is soon to be in their forever loving home that God chose for them and we couldn't be more thrilled for this next chapter in all of our lives.

I think, I feel, I pray... To Emily and Moody-

(This is their symbol)

I pray for the comfort of you dear ones. I pray for the fortitude to lift your spirits, I pray that He will calm your weary nerves, I pray that time will most swiftly pass, I pray that those children will not want, I pray that you will not need, I pray that this will soon be done, as it shall be done by Him and His will.

Many thoughts and emotions arise from this time in our lives.... it brings out the most raw and fresh feelings one can have, but all worth it in the end....

In this we pray to OUR LORD JESUS... In this we pray to give speed and strength to our dear friends in Texas to bring their chins up from down. To bring their frowns to grins, to make them sure that they know, their kids are right around the corner.
Please, Dear God, bring these children to their home very soon. Amen.

We love you E & M -
xoxo Lor

Stuff-

Well, I'm sorry to disappoint any of you that thought I had something interesting to say, but I just wanted to do a bunch of writing on various thoughts. I just finished working all day and now feel drained. Not to mention that I spent almost a half hour doing a post, and I minimized it to do something and somehow clicked off of the blogger site so my post vanished.

I spent the day working on a nice kitchen plan and order... it has taken me all of last week and today to write up the cabinet order and draw all of the final plans. Another reason that I'm a bit angry right now is that my blackberry won't email me the pictures that I've recently taken and wanted to share on the blog! I love adding pictures to posts, and I have a bunch that I took specifically for this purpose. It has come to my attention that there must be a magnet in my body that clashes with any electronic equipment within five feet of me. This has been the case for several years now. I will buy a new camera this week!!! A nice cheap $100 type... The $800 digital Sony that is only a little over a year old will require at least $150 in repairs! Sounds okay, but this is the second time it's broken! Two strikes, they're OUT! And so am I camera wise. Besides, I'll need a small one for our upcoming travel to Africa!! :)

I'm getting happier as I type! Yay-

So.... I'm not sure if you're aware, but my husband and I are in the process of adopting a toddler from Ethiopia. Anyway, Emily sent me an email today and mentioned something about the roller coaster ride that this process is. It's just so funny how we are on the same page with other adoptive parents.... Just last night, I walked into the kitchen, I just couldn't stop smiling and beaming. Michael, of course said, "what's up"? And I tried to explain my feelings and emotions to him. This is how I felt and how I explained it;

"I feel exhilarated" I said, "it's the exact feeling of being strapped into a roller coaster ride. You buckle up and the thing starts to move. Then, you slowly creep up, and up, and up, and up this great big hill. You're both nervous as hell, and wide eyed at the sights and emotions that are to come as soon as you reach the top. The way I feel this very second is that we're at the very last few clipety clops of the hill. Just about to be revealed is the most amazing experience ever".

The only difference is, that most people refer to good and bad times as a roller coaster ride, for good reason. But, in this instance the roller coaster ride has only just begun, and the ride is ALL good. When you are on a roller coaster, the entire ride is an experience, and we've only just been creeping up the hill.

When we get our referral(which I'm very soon to change the name of), we will have reached the top of the hill. We'll scream, cry, and be amazed at the beauty in front of our eyes. When that car starts to creep back to the platform that's when OUR pilot comes on over the intercom and says; "welcome to Boston"! And then, our family will be complete, and begin another chapter of our history.

I feel so calm about this adoption right now. Please don't confuse calm with "not thinking about it". It is in every fiber of my awareness at all times. It is So real to me after this week. I've always felt it "real", but it reminds me of when I was preggers. Every milestone made it more real. I remember being in labor (for 27 hours) and right before he was born the Dr. said to me; "OK Lori, another push or two and your little boy will be here". I almost fainted! You should see the look of disbeleif on my face in the home video... As real as it was, it was something we planned and planned and planned for. We didn't actually think we'd have a child! That's kind of the awareness that this week has brought to me. I've been picturing exactly where he/she is... I think they either haven't been brought to the orphanage yet for "intake", or will be VERY soon.

Another picture I wanted to share... Michael and I were shopping for baby gifts last weekend. This store is just fabu and I HAD to buy something for us too. Since we're dying and hoping that we get a girl (don't know why, just do this time around) we bought a little barrett (sp?). I've been wearing the barrett on my shirt every day in the hopes that God will see! At the end of the day, we could care less what gender we get, obviously, or we would have picked one, but this is our secret wish. Whatever God has in store for our family and for our little babe is PERFECT and we will have NO (none whatsoever) regret over not asking for a specific gender.

And lastly, (again, pictures would help here) last night were the two big debates. Don't forget that we live in NH which just happens to be THE PLACE TO BE if you're a news correspondant etc. I am very passionate about politics and the like and we were very excited to watch both debates last night. We've been dieting all week and it's been killing me, so, last night we decided to have filets and oven roasted pots. while watching the debate. For a nice treat sometimes I bring the small round kitchen table into the living room. Last night was one of those nights (it's been like a year). After bringing it in, I set the table right in front of the fireplace and TV and we lit a fire. It was so nice and fun (AND DELICOUS) to sit in the living room at a table in front of the fireplace. It felt like we were at a B & B or something with room service! Not to mention that the food and my wonderful shallot peppercorn sauce for the steak were out of this world.

I wish a safe business trip to China to my big sis Michelle and her signifigant other! We'll be anxiously awaiting your return Auntie Kiki & Jim!! xoxoxo

NINE!! (SEE SIDEBAR RIGHT)

Tons to blog about, but I have alot of work "work" to do today! I'll do a couple of posts later, but for now, check out my new countdown!!!

Timkat!

I MUST PREFACE THAT THE ENTIRE SECTION BELOW WAS COPIED VERBATIM FROM VALARIE'S BLOG!

"Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in Africa. It still follows the ancient Julian calendar, so Ethiopians celebrate Christmas on January 7. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church's celebration of Christ's birth is called Ganna. It is a day when families attend church. The day before Ganna, people fast all day. The next morning at dawn, everyone dresses in white. Twelve days after Ganna, on January 19, Ethiopians begin the three-day celebration called Timkat, which commemorates the baptism of Christ.


What is Timkat?
Timkat or Epiphany is the most important festival in the Ethiopian calendar. It is celebrated all over Ethiopia, but the most spectacular celebrations are reserved for Lalibela, an isolated mountain town in the arid north of the country. Lalibela is famous for its unexplainable rock-hewn churches. Over a thousand years ago 11 churches were carved out of solid rock, and many Ethiopians believe they were built by angels.
How is Timkat Celebrated?
The festivities begin in the 3rd week of January, usually around the 19th January. Crowds, all dressed in white, dance and sing in the streets to the beating of drums. Priests, decked out in jewel encrusted velvet and satin robes, carry a replica of Arc of the Covenant called a talbot. They lead grand procession through the streets.

The real celebration begins at about 2am after the processions lead the people to a place symbolic of water baptism. Priests perform mass and bless the water. A communal baptism follows, with the most fervent Christians throwing themselves fully clothed into the water.

What's the History of Timkat?
Ethiopian history teaches that Christianity came to Ethiopia long before it spread to Europe. Missionaries arrived in Ethiopia some 40 years of the birth of Jesus. Epiphany is the 12th day of Christmas, when the three kings were said to have bestowed their gifts upon the baby Jesus. This day falls on 6th January in the western calendar.

Here is a video of a young mans personal journey to Timkat."

Thank goodness it's finally 2008!

I don't know if any of you feel the same way as I do, but I'm so happy that 2007 is over! Now we can get back to our boring and wonderful regualar routine of life and look forward to knowing we will get the call this year!!! For sure!! And we don't feel like we're trying to get it before a specific holiday or occassion now. Sounds stupid, but it's a freeing feeling and much less pressure. It's almost like starting the wait from scratch, but with a much shorter overall time frame. So, I'm contemplating starting my count all over again. We've been waiting for four months now, but let just call this week ONE. And I bet we'll get our call before we reach week TWELVE! That's not that far away and I know we can do it! Twelve weeks is nothing in the grand scheme of things is it??

On another note... My keyboard hit a wall yesterday and just froze up and wouldn't work at all!
This new one stinks and it's making me want to stop typing - it's that bad! I didn't realize how used to a keyboard your hands and wrists could get!

Christmas was wonderful other than the fact that I was laid up for a couple of days with a horrific stomach flu/bug! No details needed! It seems so long ago and I really meant to post about all of our get togethers etc, but now I feel like it's old news and I just want to move forward! Nick was a joy and got soo many wonderful treats - it was a bit overwhelming though!

So, cheers to everyone and here's to a fruitful and healthy new year - and to those of us still waiting, our referrals will come, in a short amount of time!