Tuesday, August 26, 2008

2 years, 5 months & still waiting

and waiting...and waiting. We are officially logged in with our China adoption paperwork March 29, 2006. We have been waiting all this time. Actually, we've waited longer because the entire paperwork process took many months to complete. It included so many forms, taking physicals, home studies, fingerprints (which we've done twice because they expire after so long)

and shuffling paper to and from the Gladney Center and different government agencies for proper approvals and notaries.

We never expected the wait to be this long. At the time of our filing, the process was taking about 10-12 months. We would have looked at other options had we known. Although, waiting has had some benefits. We have been able to save more money for the trip and will have everything ready when we bring our little girl home!

We'll keep you posted...but we're still waiting for now.

Huggles,
Deana

p.s. KittyBitty is now taking some medicine and is meowing and moving around a lot better. I tried to hand-feed a treat to her today, but she just licked it. Later on, I saw her go into the kitchen and eat a few treats from her treat bowl! I was so happy to see her eating on her own.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Kitty Qualms

My sweet furbaby, KittyBitty, has been sick lately. She's 9 years old and has always been a little overweight. A typical morning would be waking up to her howling for food in her bowl. Imagine my surprise when she hasn't eaten at all for the past week. She hasn't followed her normal routine either. When I'm getting ready for work, she follows me around and doesn't let me out of her sight. Lately, I've found myself walking around the house looking for her. After trudging upstairs, I'd find her curled up on the guest bed or plopped in a corner snoozing.

After spending a few hours at the vet today, we still don't know what's wrong. But the kitty's got to eat and she came home with a silly cone around her head and a feeding tube in her throat. Needless to say, she's being a trooper but she's not happy. I think tomorrow when the grogginess wears off, she'll spend more time trying to figure out how to get it off.


I prepared her food in the blender with some water and filled the syringe. The vet had drawn me a picture today to demonstrate the process. It went surprisingly well and she kept it all down. Well, most of it....Thomas did end up with a messy shirt when he took her to sit down and cuddle.



Off to bed. It's a busy, busy weekend in addition to feeding KB 5 times a day.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Recipe Time

This is a great recipe that will earn raves at any party or the office. It appears difficult but it's really just a "dump it all together and bake" cake. We've enjoyed it for breakfast and as a dessert. Thanks Nik!


Blueberry Coffee Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
8 oz sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup self rising flour
1 pint fresh blueberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
4 tsp milk

Beat butter at medium speed until creamy. Add 1/2 cup sugar, eggs, sour cream, vanilla and beat until smooth. Gradually add flour to butter mixture, beating until blended. Pour batter into slightly greased springform pan. Combine blueberries, pecans, sugar, cinnamon and sprinkle over batter. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes and remove outer ring. Whisk together powdered sugar and milk. Drizzle over cake.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Party Pictures

We had a great birthday weekend. Nikki, culinary extraordinaire, baked Thomas a fabulous German Chocolate Cake. Delicious!



Mom and Dad, you are looking good. Thank you both for a great weekend and for being so sweet to the birthday boy. Love you!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Happy Birthday Thomas!


You're 38 today! Hope your day is super special, just like you!

I love your quirky humor.
I love how you get up every morning chipper and ready for the day.
I love that you enjoy cooking.
I love that you leave my favorite part of the newspaper out for me every day.
I love that you work hard and love your job.
I love that you are always on time. Ok, sometimes this makes me a little crazy.



I love you, Thomas. Happy Birthday!

Sunday, August 3, 2008

My scrapbook nook

The "nook" is my favorite little hideaway at the top of the stairs of our second floor home. I spend most of my free time here either on the computer or working on a new layout. My desk usually looks like creative chaos, but I've been working on becoming a neater scrapbooker. We'll see how long that lasts!


I love displaying my latest layout on the wall. It typically stays there until a new favorite has been created!

A great find at Michael's to organize all the little embellies.