Party ova' here...

We interrupt our normally scheduled post to bring you...

If you're not aware of the biggest blog party on the women's-wide, wide world of blogging, then head on ova' to 5 Minutes for mom and get your blogger groove on ladies!

See, I'm under no false illusions that there are any men reading this blog besides my very own darling - who does it both out of curiosity for what I might post about him (see post directly below) or out of duty - to avoid the "did you read my blog this morning" question.

Meanwhile - I might have visitors, so I really should have tidied up the place - but I'm a wee bit of a sucker, aye I am, for St. Patty and his merry troupe of the little green folk. Did you never watch "Darby O'Gill and the Little People"?!? (don't say no, my heart can't take it!) Great flick, and you will love all things Irish post-viewing.

Here are my tiddlybits for any guests dropping in ~

About me ~ I'm a thirty-smhahdskelr(mufffle, cough sputter) year old gal from good ol' Texas country. Ok, not technically "from" Texas - immigrated to Texas from smoggy ol' California. Don't miss it a bit. I'm married, six years in April to a wonderful man who is both my best friend and my #1 fan. I say that because it takes a #1 fan to really appreciate/tolerate some of my horrors/behaviors. He is a middle school theater teacher, and I am his theater widow. I work from home with a wonderful job that provides flexibility and (gasp) occasional free-time. Who knew that women were supposed to have that! We have two childlike dogs and a chubby cat who is old and crotchety, but who we adore. (All of whom have more space on our king size bed than either of us do.)

Oh, and I just have to "holla" about my upcoming fun-trip - we're leaving this coming Saturday for New Yawk! Alright..New York. But you gotta say it like "Yawk" otherwise they know you're a tourist. Oh, let's face it - me and my baby scream "tourist". We're going to be looking up the entire time. What can you do?!? He's never been, and I've only been once - last summer - and it was an amazing trip. I LOVED it, and my only regret was that he was not with me - because I went for business. So now, we're making up for it by going for four days and seeing a couple Broadway shows - The Lion King and The Drowsy Chaperone. Since my baby is a theater geek, we are really looking forward to this trip and also to the fun and excitement of just getting away for awhile and not worrying about anything but being together and having an adventure!

Speaking of adventure though, we are in the process of adopting our first child from China - hurrah! We have decided to call her Keira Joy, and we have been in the process of adopting for 20 + months - boo! Our dossier (paperwork) has been logged into China's Center for Adoption Affairs for 11 months and counting, and we expect to see our daughter's face for the first time before the end of this year, the good Lord and American Airlines willing! That picture to the left and above is me holding the Dossier in it's UPS package the day it got sent! Her nursery is complete and you can see pictures of the charming cuteness that is her little bedroom HERE. It took a lot of love and effort and it was worth every single sweaty moment.

I love to read, I love to watch my "shows" like Lost, American Idol, and What About Brian. What? You don't watch "What About Brian"? You are sooooo missing out. Great show! I love scrapbooking! I've been doing it for 20 years - no lie. Since I was 12, I have created and kept scrapbooks, and I have every single one to show for it. Gotta love a hobby that sticks. I have baskets of yarn from the "must learn to crochet" phase. I have oodles of books from the "I will read a book a week" period of time. And I have racks of spices from 1993 forward from the "I WILL learn to cook" phase. Thank GOD in heaven that he sent me a man that not only has a passion for all things culinary, but that he can also create and produce AMAZING dishes of culinary delight. But I digress. I have an ungodly amount of scrapbooking supplies and when the mood hits me just right and I make my way up to that there "Hobby Lobby" store - it's fixin to be all over. Did I just use "fixin" in a complete sentence?!? Poor Keira already has three brag books - the layouts are all done and in the books - just no pictures on them yet. Oops...momma's got a brand new addiction!

I think that sums up the majority of the important stuff. All my family lives in California - and that's hard - but I'm working on getting them out here. Just takes time when your roots are firmly planted. Hubby's parents and family lives relatively nearby, so we see them quite a bit.

Oh! Cannot end this post without a big shout out to my M3 POSSE!!! You can't have girlfriends like these girlfriends and not post about them. One of the best things to come out of my adoption process, by far - are my M3 Posse. It's magic...strange but true, pure magic. They are da' bomb baby, yeah! (Watch out - now I'm channeling the Dog Pound and Randy Jackson up in heaya - shoot!) What can I tell you - we are all adopting or have adopted from China. We are all in the same age range, give or take a few. We are all going through or have been through the same things. It's just this strange and wonderful bond of women that is so rare in a group of six. It's just this awesome, inspiring, fun-loving, wonderful thing that I hope lasts for years and years to come. Can I get a witness?!?

That's the scoop dear guests...

Regular readers, don't miss the post below about some gifts I got last week from the hubs..

Now, after this post - if my visitor numbers don't shoot up just a little, I might be bummed! It ain't easy being this comical friend!

Seacrest - Out!

-cb

Thank you, you wonderful man...

I told you all that I would be posting about a wonderful and "drool worthy" surprise that my love got for me. When I had been home from Texas for about two days, a large package arrived on the front door step. It had AB's name on it, so I called him and he said "maybe it has my name on it, but I think it's still for you - maybe you should open it?". Excitedly, I opened the box, and saw two more beautifully wrapped boxes inside. I could tell right away that AB had shopped at one of my favorite online stores, the Red Envelope. If you haven't stopped by there, they have a lot of Asian themed items, as well as some beautiful other things. In addition, they have a signature way to present their items, which is a gorgeous red box with a thick ivory material bow. It's so pretty you don't want to open it.....well, almost.

First I opened the card which said:

"I love you so much. I am so glad you're back home. -me"

Then I moved on to the big red box. As I unwrapped the layers of aqua blue tissue, I quickly saw a luxury item - a beautiful white terrycloth robe. As I lifted it up and out, I saw that he had had it monogrammed with my nickname initials. A little background; since we started dating, AB had a little "pet-name" for me and it stuck - and for the most part, when he addresses cards to me, or writes little notes, he puts "HBOO". I will be vulnerable and tell you that it stands for "Honey Bunches of Oats". Please don't think that we're rediculous...it's just this sweet little thing that has stuck from our dating years. So, thank you babe! It's a wonderful and beautiful gift and I absolutely love it!

Meanwhile, there was still another gift to open. I grabbed up the second box and made my way through the ribbon and tissue to find the following for Keira Joy! A little background on this one - last year when our dossier finally went to China, AB got me this same thing for Keira, only it was "Year of the Dog", which is what we thought she would be, since we also thought we would be home from China already. Meanwhile, weeks turned into months and suddenly it was the "Year of the Pig". This is the most thoughtful little thing he could have gotten me. I LOVE it! (and I know Keira, our little "piggy", will love it too!)

Enjoy the pics - and Babe - KUDOS to you for being so romantic and wonderful. And for always finding ways to surprise and amaze me with your kindness and love. And last but not least, for remembering that "gifts" is one of my primary love languages. You're the best hubby ever!

-xoxo
cb

Two Things...

You would think after Eleven Months of waiting, I would be somewhere hiding under a rock. But the truth of the matter is this - I have close, dear friends who have been waiting fourteen, sixteen months. How can I whine and complain? I mean, I can - but why should I? It won't change anything and it won't cause a sudden speed up in China. So, as my 12 month LID is next on the "order up" menu, I pause to reflect on the last year and all that has changed for me. The biggest of which is, my M3 Posse. (see slide-show above) I could not have gotten through this far without visiting said "rock" if it had not been for my amazing friends traveling the adoption road with me. Thanks gals for taking this journey with me, one painstaking day at a time. I have high hopes the wait will melt away the moment we're holding our children for the first time. Now, when that will be - who can say? But just the same...happy LID to me and the hubby for reaching 11 months LID.

Meanwhile, if you would like a pick me up, head on over to my dear friend Dena's website Room for Grace - and you can experience their adoption of Piper first hand. We have known this beautiful family since they were paperchasing in '05 and it's so amazing to have seen them walk this journey and finally go get their girl! They're in China as I type this and it's just a beautiful and wonderful story to follow. Love them! Can't wait until they come home and we get to hug all over that beautiful baby girl! Here's a stolen sneak peak - I'm so bad, but aren't they sweet!!!!???!!! Makes me want to jump on a plane tomorrow and go get my girl - also makes the wait bearable...

Don't forget to peak down below at the post underneath this one - it's a new one also, for the hubby!

Hugs,
Christie

A Teacher's Passion ~

One of the reasons that I, without a doubt, love my husband - this picture was taken last Friday at the school. It truly captures a teacher's heart in motion...

It also captures the student's admiration for that heart and for the passion he has for teaching them.

You have to click on this picture to really see it...

I love you, babe!