Sun Yat Fai Lok!

(Cantonese for Happy Birthday)

U
Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday dear (xxxxxxx) Happy Birthday to you!

(I don't know if you want the world to know it is your birthday.)


I hope you are having a good day! We will have some funnel cake on the boardwalk tonight in your honor! (Wish you were here)

September Secret Pal Exchange
Baby Bed Time!

Well, I couldn't wait any longer and I made Barry go and get my September present out from it's hiding place. (Don't worry secret pal, I still have no clue where October's present is hidden!)

The first thing I saw were these adorable little baby slippers. The little duckies are just too cute!

Then I saw the Lullaby CD.......It will be on our CD player this evening! The CD is even purple, I love purple!!!! But you already knew that didn't you!!

The books are just way too cool. I love the Boynton series and I don't have any yet. I read both books to Barry as if I was reading him to sleep. We had a good laugh over that!

Thank you so much secret pal. Your gifts are always so thoughtful and special. I love each and everyone of them!

Hay Rides and Pumpkin Picking!!!!!

I cannot think of a better way to spend a Fall Saturday!

We spent the day with family (including our 3yr old Great Nephew) visiting a farm.

Picking pumpkins, taking a hay ride and buying lots of good fresh apples, peaches and pears!

I enjoyed this visit so much, I am still smiling!

Isn't he just the cutest??? He loved his little pumpkin. He kept picking it up and putting it down for the rest of the day!

Labor Day Weekend

So, my cousins came to visit for Labor Day Weekend and it has taken forever for me to finally put these photos together. After much delay here they are........

My cousins flew in late Thursday night / early Friday morning so Friday we spent mostly sitting around the house catching up with each other. Hurricane Ernesto was also visiting that weekend so it was another great reason to spend the day in the house.

Saturday we decided to follow Ernesto up the Northeastern coast and we went to see the Statue of Liberty and the Ellis Island museum. The weather was miserable but the history and the stories of the people were just amazing! The Ellis Island museum could almost be a whole day trip in and of itself!!!! It was so fascinating to see some of what the immigrants went through and read their stories.

Sunday was the annual Oktoberfest at the local German Club, (The Cannstatter). We had such a nice time and the sun even came out to shine on us for a while!!!! Lots of Ooompah band music, lots of good German food, lots of German pastries, and lots of German linens to buy. We shopped and ate and shopped some more! Barry and I bought a beautiful round tablecloth for our table. They always have the most beautiful linens imported from Germany. My cousin also gave us these adorable little angels made out of small round linens. I have to figure out how they make them because they are just so pretty and I would love to re-create them for Christmas presents this year.

It was so much fun to share this festival with my cousins and I cannot wait to take Jamie and teach her some of the German dances!

Monday the visit was over and we dropped them back off at the airport for a safe flight home.

Arlene, Heidi, and Brenda.......Thanks for making the trip and making more fantastic memories to last a lifetime!

The CCAA Website has been updated!

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before December 31, 2005.


The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before August 9, 2005.

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Again, for those of you not in the adoption community........these updates are like a lifeline. This is our only real way of knowing what is going on and how close we are to our referral. Everything else we read or hear is really just rumor!

I am not going to analyze this information or even extrapilate it out to a date that we can expect our referral. There is just too much unknown to go through all those exercises. I will say that this month they covered 18 days in this referral so that is almost two months time to process every month of dossiers.

Congratulations to all of the families who are about to receive a picture of their beautiful child, and may you have safe travels!

Oh, how fun!!!!!

Y

Michele and Chuck sent a couple of the pictures that they had taken of Barry and I, and well.......they are just too funny not to share!

This first one of course is us having dinner at the Lobster House in Cape May. Gee, who had the lobster. Maybe we should have an adult bib swap!

This next shot is us on the boardwalk in Ocean City. If I would have known that Barry's flip flop had a present from a seagull I would have picked another set of flip flops for us......Ooops. I guess you could say it adds character!

Thanks for sending the pictures Chuck and Michele! They made me smile even before my first cup of coffee!!

More things for Jamie's Nursery! My secret pal did another wonderful job with our August present.

We received a Winnie the Pooh musical picture frame and the most adorable little hangers with pictures of the Winnie the Pooh characters on both sides of the hanger. Way too cute!!!! I cannot wait to have Jamie's referral picture to put in the little frame, and I cannot wait to have her closet finished so that I can start to put some of her things in there!!!!!

Thank you Secret Pal, Awsome Job!!!!!

One book, Two books, Three books, and More!
(like that cute little LadyBug chocolate candy!)

My July and August books are here!!!!! Well ok, they have been here for a week or two but I haven't been feeling well enough to get on here and post. Thank you so much to my Summer Secret Book Pal! I love all the books and I am sorry that we had so much trouble this summer with the postal service.

July's theme was China (including Chinese Adoption) and we received:
I was already planning to buy Jamie this Chinese Lullaby CD so that she might have some familiar sounds in her room. Thank you so very much for your thoughtfulness.

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August’s theme was ABC’s and 123’s, and Jamie received her very first Dr. Seuss books!!!!! We just love them and cannot wait to share them with our daughter.

Thank you so very much to our summer secret book pal, and now that I have finally posted these pictures.......we get to eat that cute little Lady Bug Chocolate!!!!! Barry has had his eyes on that for days now!