New Friends

Making such good friends over the last year has been such an unexpected gift. I thought maybe I'd be lucky to get to know a few adoptive families and find friends for Ruby that she can really relate to and connect with down the road. I also thought it would be so nice to reach out to other Mom's and exchange stories and such. But what I didn't expect was to make such good friends. Friends who are a constant support, a lift when I am down, a kind word from someone who has been there, an excited cheer when the news is good. Friends who have become a part of our daily lives, though they live in another town, another state, even across the globe. 

We follow your blogs and anticipate each step of your journey as we travel through our own. It is not uncommon for us to sit at dinner and one of us say, hey,  Terri and Chris are getting their referral this month!...did you know they got to meet Jessica & Matt?...I bet Nancy & John will get their referral next!...Did you read Ellie's sweet post today?...or read Rosemary's? Did you see the incredible box of goodies Jessica sent me? Did you see Mireille's newest stunning pics of the girls? Oh, and Sharon, wonderful Sharon, and those gorgeous boys! How much we think of you all and I'm sorry cause there are more that we follow and we love you all, but these are the friends I have gotten to know and "talk" to often so I mention them above.  I hope I get to meet all of you out there someday.

Dawn, from Red Thread Family is another great friend I feel so lucky to have met. How nice it is when you finally meet a fellow blogger and find the conversation so comfortable and easy! Such was the case last weekend when we met up at the local Chilli's. Just like my meetings with Rosemary and Ellie (and phone conversations with Nancy) we chatted like old girlfriends that had seen each other just yesterday. Been following Dawn's blog for some time and was hooked from day one with her witty posts, great sense of humor, and what a beautiful, fun family they are. In fact, she was closing her first blog "Eggrolls & Chopsticks" and I begged her to keep it up a few more days so I could read their whole story. She thought I was crazy, but kept it up for me to read most of it. :-)

I got to meet this lovely person and her daughters on Saturday. It was such a great lunch and we went to a nearby park afterwards. The girls were even more beautiful and absolutely precious in person. Lily is a total sweetheart and we made fast friends. She has the most loving personality! At one point, I had been holding her little sister and after Rosie got up and ran back to Momma, Lily (age 6) hopped on my lap. It was so cute. I had to fight the tears at Lily's affection and how it felt to hold that cute little peanut, Rosie!  They were just so sweet! They brought me a gift bag for Ruby (thank you!) that Lily was excited to hand it me when we first met. I opened it a bit later and found the most adorable sundress and shades for Ruby! (Pics on next post) Can't wait to see her in them! Dawn's little Rosie had a pair of shades on herself and seemed to just love them. She is too cute for words! 

Here I am with Dawn's adorable girls...

And here is Dawn & Rosie at the park....

More pics on Dawn's blog and a funny bit about me pushing Rosie on the swing too carefully. She likes to go HIGH! Poor kid, I was pushing her ever so carefully. New Mom syndrome. :-)