DISNEYLAND GIRL TRIP

In 1996, my good friend Mary & I, started a yearly tradition...a girl trip to Disneyland. The first time we went we were both kid-less. Then after the kids began arriving, the purpose changed to a weekend getaway for "mom" and a bonding weekend for dad & the kiddos. For 10 years I was the only one without kids and just along for the ride. This year, I got to join in with my friends' funny stories about the things our kids do & say and go crazy buying silly souvenirs for them. Or as one of the girls put it.."It's all just more crap that'll be thrown aside after a few days"....as she plunked down another wad of bills for more of it. But it all looks so cool and those D.Land salespeople beef up the suggested selling. "Ohhh..what a cute Tigger you're getting for your child...don't you want a Pooh bear to go with it?" As if it matters to a 1-year old. But I couldn't resist a few things, including his first Mouse Ears with his name embroidered on the back (after all..he'll need it when we take him to Disneyland next year *wink, wink*)

Funny thing is when you get a few girls together, away from the kids, it's like mental freedom to break all boundaries. Conversations are allowed to get goofy and off the wall. You act about 15 years younger (except for the frequent bathroom breaks) and get even more wacky when you're running on 4 hours sleep and staying up past 1am..only to get up at 6am to do it all over again. But hey...it's totally worth it. One interesting thing that's never happened was when we were standing in line for Space Mountain. We were almost to the ride when someone being carried off the ride screamed...several employees rushed over to whisk her out a back door. Suddenly, they announced that the ride was closed and started issuing Fast Passes to any ride in the park. As we were walking out, the Disneyland police in their white brim hats were coming from everywhere into the ride. We tried to squeeze some info from the park employees but they kept giving us vague answers like, "Oh, someone must have been lost in space" or "I don't know...maybe technical difficulties". This just made us all the more curious to find out the mystery behind Space Mountain. Hmmmm.....guess we'll never know.

A WELCOME SIGHT

Throughout our married years, Don always told me that one thing he looked forward to, was his child running to him with a big smile as he came home from work.

This week, his wish came true.

SILLY THURSDAY

Did I mention Nate has an older sibling? :-D

Wow where to start.... Nate is keeping us on our toes. We find his trail of "bread crumbs" everywhere....little wooden blocks in his clothes hamper, in the sofa, under the sofa, in the bookcase, in our computer bags and Don's cowboy boots. He has to touch EVERYTHING just to see what it feels like or how it works. He totally mimicks us too. I was fixing my hair as we were getting ready to go out and I looked down to see Nate standing next to me, patting HIS hair. ha!

Lately, everything starts with the letter "G" for him. He points to the birds and says "Gurd"...then he points to his truck and says "Guk!". The other day he pointed to his giraffe and said "Gaff!" That one surprised me since it's not a word we've repeated often. Maybe he remembers his Baby Einstein Animals dvd. At his doc visit last week, he weighed in at 23lb, 11oz. Gained 1/2 a pound and I think he's taller because his head hits the top of the kitchen table now. Or maybe it was because he was wearing sandals that were an inch thick.

Well I thought I had more clever things to write but it's late and my mind is mush. I've been swamped with a ton of freelance graphic design work and I feel bad because I keep telling Nate to go play with his toys or stick him in front of a B.E. dvd. He doesn't seem to mind too much and gets back at me by wandering off into another room to throw my shoes in the bathtub or see how much toilet paper he can pull off a roll. For some reason he likes to throw clothes on the floor. Especially after I just finished folding them. I wonder if he watched one of us doing that??? Doh! Sometimes poor Harvard gets the brunt of it when I look up and see Nate laughing and squealing while chasing after Harvard and waving his toy maraca.

That's my boy.

SILLY THURSDAY

1. HARLEY BOY
2. LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON!

NATIONAL ADOPTION MONTH

Did you know that November is National Adoption Month? It's a great reminder of so many ways you can support and encourage those who have adopted or are adopting or...if you're thinking of making that amazing decision yourself. It's a reminder to us of how incredibly grateful we are for the many, MANY people who helped us raise the fees to bring our beautiful son home. It's a reminder of how God worked through many people, teaching us patience during the long wait and presented us with a little boy who was just the right age, just the right personality for our family.

Take a moment this month to write a note to family who is adopting and encourage them. Or find an adoption blog and leave a positive comment, supporting them. I can't tell you how much it means to me to read everyone's comments on our blog. If you have the means, set aside a donation to give to a family making that huge decision to adopt. Or give them a gift for the new family member they're expecting. There's so many creative ways to support adoption. My own brother was adopted 4 years after I was born so adoption was always a very personal thing for me. He fits in with our family and even though we had the normal sibling squirmishes when we were kids, we are very close now. I can't imagine life without him.

Thanks for making a difference in the life of an orphaned child.