Happy Birthday Mom!

A beautiful lady celebrates her 62nd birthday today! It's going to be an exciting year of your life, mom! This year will see you retiring, finding free time for yourself (finally), maybe traveling... A new chapter, for sure! It will also be the year you meet your first Grandaughter! We are going to have such a wonderful time. So glad you will be free to visit more and share this amazing experience with us. We love you so much!

Wishing you a very happy birthday!

Baby Gifts!

I just got the cutest gift this week from a friend of mine and couldn't resist posting. It's a little rolling suitcase with a pink puppy that is all fuzzy and soft. In a word: ADORABLE! Ruby is ready for travel! Thanks, Jenn!
But I couldn't mention this gift without mentioning all of the thoughtful gifts our Ruby has received already. A few of them pictured above. The first gift we got was a really cute little dress from my friend, Sonia. So sweet with big daisies on it! Sonia also sent a cute sundress, a few tees, and a black velvet beret, too! Thanks, Soni! My friend Angie sent me the sweetest little tooth fairy box and art books for kids this summer. So thoughtful!
We received 2 fantastic books from Sandra Boyton and the softest teddy bear ever from my "Cuz" (and Godmother) Lauren & her hubby (Godfather) Chris. Then a HUGE unexpected gift bag from my brother, Jason and Melissa. They bought her 2 super-cute outfits complete with matching hats. (I love hats!) The red ensemble is my FAVORITE! Also in the bag were 2 sweet Mommy/Daddy Kisses books, and this cute pink star registry bear. We can actually go online and name a star after our precious angel! How cool is that? You guys are just awesome! My Dad's fiance' Lynn surprised me at the family picnic with the most beautiful dress I have ever seen. (1st picture). It's all pink and flowery and girlie...I LOVE IT! Even has a petticoat for complete twirling girlie-ness!
All the gifts and thoughts and prayers mean so much to us. Sure hope I haven't forgotten anyone already. Between all these nice gifts and the many things purchased by yours truly, her closet is getting pretty full! Heck, I even bought a potty. Pink, of course! And then there's the 2 feet tall Dora the Explorer I carry around the house in my sling (with weights). Tried the dog, but she won't stay in there for long. Yea, your laughing now, but you won't see me putting my new daughter down because of a back ache! No sir! No time for injury or even sore muscles. We have dolls to play with, tea parties to throw, play kitchen stuff to "bake" and all sorts of adventures!
Fun, fun, girlish fun! We are going to have lots more of it when our beautiful Ruby Kate comes home!

Can you LOVE a bag?

I think so! Amongst the sea of beautiful diaper bags out there, this one stood out and screamed BUY ME! BUY ME! I haven't done it yet. In fact I am trying to talk myself out of it. But, seriously, is this not the most hip, funky, hippie-chic diaper bag you have ever seen? It's by Isabella Fiore and appropriately called Baby Love. Think I may have to pick one of these up for me and my own baby love!

Hope & A Blankie

That is what I have today. Our agency is going to Thailand at the end of October and I have hope that we are going to find something out. Maybe it will be our grandest dream and she will come back with a referral. Maybe she will get new pictures of her or an update. Perhaps the social workers will give her a health update and let us know things like if she is walking, talking and developing okay. Or even just tell us how many precious baby teeth she has. Knowing these things would mean EVERYTHING. I think it's a long shot that we would get our referral this soon, but, hey, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE! If not November, then I just KNOW we will find something out by the end of the year!

For now, I am shipping some of the care package items we bought for our Ruby and sending to the agency to take with them. Very excited that they said we can now send items specifically for her. We have the most adorable Lil' Silkie blankie from lilamonsters.com. (FYI - they have a great assortment of small and large blankets, many with Asian or vintage patterns. Click on the title of this post to go to their website). Our Ruby was born in the year of the pig so we got a blankie with little pink piggies on it. So sweet I had to post a picture of it. If you double click on it you can get a closer view of the cute, silly, little pigs faces. We slept with it for a week so it had our scent on it. Read somewhere it was a good idea to do that. Also sending some development toys and the puppy and a small rag doll. All things she will be able to bring home with her.

So, today we are sending gifts to our little girl waiting for us on the other side of the planet...with love and with hope.

Happy Birthday Hubby

Today is a great day. It's the day my beautiful husband and best friend was born. He's such an incredible man. The kind of guy that is always there. He's sweet and funny, loving and hard working. He can always make me laugh. He lends a hand to friends and family or gives to charity at the drop of a hat. He is a loving and generous soul and with a heart of gold. I can hardly remember what life was like without him and I'm so glad I don't have to!

This wonderful man proposed to me on this day - HIS birthday - about 15 years ago, saying I was his best gift ever. No, my dear, YOU are the best gift. Happy Birthday! I love you with all my heart.

Jen

Adoption Community

I am constantly reminded what a small and wonderful world we live in. Yea, there is chaos and war. There are children in need of homes and help and the world is far from perfect. But in and amongst all this, there are good people...everywhere. In every part of the world. The adoption community itself is comprised of some of the most loving and kind people I have ever not met! Through yahoo groups and blogs and emails we have bonded and shared our stories. We inspire and support each other. We share facts and give hope. It's really something I hadn't bargained for when I started this and something I am so thankful for.

My brilliant husband is the one who encouraged me to sign up for the groups and blog. Yes, the way I ramble on, you are probably saying, SURE, like she really needed encouragement! :) But I wasn't sure at first. I was so bummed about the wait. Well, all I can say is I am so glad I did. There have been so many that have helped me through this process in big and small ways and it means so much.

I looked at my blog today and saw over 4000 hits from 67 countries. That, too, is amazing. Is it possible I encourage or inspire while others are encouraging me? I hope so. It's also fun to pop on every morning and see what countries or cities have been to our blog. If you stop by the blog regularly, PLEASE drop me a line. I would so love to hear from you and hear your story. My email is macimiller@comcast.net

Thank you all again for your kindness and friendship and advice along the way. Best to all of you adopting. We are in this together and we have an incredible path ahead of us!

Weekly Inspiration

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.

Buddha

Good Bye Summer

For those of us in the US, today (Labor Day) signifies a day off. In 1894, the labor union decided workers needed a day off and made it a federal holiday. Personally, I think it was a fabulous idea! It's the last big weekend of summer, kids are going back to school, seems like a great time for a long weekend. It's a time, traditionally, for end of summer parties, BBQ's, and time with family and friends. We had a fun social schedule this weekend with lots of places to go and friends to see. Friday night was date night in - just the two of us. Sat we had my friend Susan and her boyfriend over for dinner. Sunday we had a blast at our good friends Charlsey & John's pool party. I think I carried their precious daughter Ava around for 2 hours. She was so cute I didn't want to put her down! Then today we headed over to my brothers for a cook-out and great visit with the family. We always have fun with them and I especially love seeing my nephews. Relaxing, fun weekend.

It's been a great summer for seeing friends and family. We figured we better go out and do it now before we have a toddler at home. Still, with summer coming to an end I don't find myself like many - longing for more hot lazy days. On the contrary, fall is one of my favorite seasons. Mother Nature takes care of all the landscaping and the crisp cool mornings make it perfect for a power walk (or jog if I am feeling particularly motivated). It's the time of the year we got married, the time we settled on and moved into our house, both of our birthdays, and a few family birthdays, too. This year autumn may bring even more magic than most years...news from Thailand. Maybe, just maybe, we will get our referral this fall. I don't know why but we are holding onto the hope that we will hear something by the end of the year. Prayers said, fingers crossed. :)

Pictures above are from the garden and yard this summer. Love the one with Chloe (our dog) just sitting there watching the deer crossing through the yard.