Fun b-day gifts...

The birthday fairies were very good to me this year. Check out this Brighton China charm and charm bracelet from my sweet hubby. I love them...


Aren't these fortune cookie shaped bath fizzies adorable? They smell great too...thanks Jennifer!


Check out this fuzzy ladybug. She stands up and she's also a soft and fluffy pillow.



I also love my Coach passport holder...thanks Kim!


And last, but not least, a gift that only a cook could love...a new chef's knife. I can't wait to use it. Christine works at Sur La Table part-time and knows how to spot a good knife. Thank you! Ford, I hope you're not too jealous! ;)


On another note, I'm working on a "waiting" video that covers the time period since we applied to adopt until now...basically the last almost 3 years. I'm going to post it when referrals FINALLY get to February, which means we're on the home stretch!

The burning questions of the week:

Will we see a referral batch before the Olympics start on August 8th?

If we do see a batch, will they finally get into February?

If we don't see a batch until after the Olympics, will we loose an entire month of time or will it be a giant batch?

The waiting is killing me this month because there is a slight chance we may actually see them get into February! Finally, our month is coming and it feels great.

On another note, I wanted to show off the goodies I got in the mail from my bloggy friend Carol. Check out these super cute bibs. I especially like "I'm worth the wait"! Believe it or not after all my shopping, and you all know I can shop, I don't have anything with this on it yet.


She also sent these adorable onesies...I love them!


Carol, thanks again for all these goodies. I can't wait to see Lauren in them!

Back from Sedona...

Joe and I spent the weekend up north in Sedona for a little birthday relaxation (actually, today is my b-day). We stayed at a bed and breakfast called Las Posadas of Sedona. For the locals, it's actually just outside of Sedona in the Village of Oak Creek. We had a two room suite decorated very nicely in warm southwest colors...






Each afternoon, they would have a nice little snack waiting in the room for us...


They had a very nice kitchen and breakfast room and served a hot entree plus a pretty spread of fruits, home-made granola, breads, juices, and coffee. Our first morning they made french toast and sausage and the second day we had scrambled eggs and bacon. We have never stayed at a bed and breakfast before and we felt very spoiled...it was great!

The red rocks of Sedona are so beautiful. If you live in AZ and have never been there, you should plan a trip in the early fall. The red rock mountains are breathtaking and it's only two hours north of Phoenix.






On Saturday after shopping in Sedona, we took the back drive, past slide rock, up to Flagstaff to check out their downtown area. We found a cute little toy store that carries lots of Melissa & Doug old fashioned wooden toys. We got this adorable little pull alligator that dances as it's pulled...


Joe spotted this old style building block set. We have been looking for these for a while now. One side has the capital letter and one side has the small letter. The other sides have pictures of things that start with that letter. Don't these bring back memories of playing as a child?



There was also a Life is Good shop up in Flagstaff and check out what Joe found on the sale rack...



We also found a Naartjie outlet store and picked up these adorable outfits on the clearance rack...




On Saturday evening back in Sedona, we spotted a double rainbow...


All in all, we had a fabulous trip and would highly recommend the Las Posada bed and breakfast to any locals heading up there. Since it's just outside Sedona, there is a 15 min or so drive into the Sedona shopping area, but it's worth the short drive to stay there.

Nursery pics!

I have my new camera, so I finally got some pictures of Lauren's room.

This shot is taken from the doorway...



These are the sheers I got at Pottery Barn Kids. If you enlarge the photo you can see the detail much better...








I guess I need to stop clothes shopping now! ;)



Now that the room is done, I find myself wandering in there a lot to look around or just sit in the rocker. I also find myself going through the closet and picturing Lauren is all those cute outfits. I'm really glad we waited to get the room set up because I don't think I could have handled endless months and years of having it done. As it is now, we still have months ahead of us...but hopefully not too many!

Shopping cart cover...

I've had my eye on these KozyPal shopping cart covers for a long time. I found the site over a year ago and had it bookmarked since then. I think it's finally time to go ahead and order one. These covers also work on those wooden restaurant high chairs. Since you all know that I LOVE shopping, Lauren needs a way to look fashionable while in the cart. With the fun fabrics they offer, I think she'll be the fashionista of Tarjay!

I'm torn between a few different fabric prints...

Disco Dots Flamingo...


Disco Dots Sorbet...


Boho Blossom Clementine...


Carnival Bloom...


These covers have different options so you can customize it just the way you want. I'm going to add the sewn in bottle/sippy cup holder. Does anyone already have a Kozypal? If so, I'd love to hear how you like it.

29 month LIDversary...

Yup, this past Thursday marks 29 months of waiting, hoping and praying.

I think that just about speaks for itself...not much else to say about that.

Well, after years of faithful service our old 3 megapixel Canon Powershot camera has bitten the dust. Joe and I have finally decided on a replacement and went out in search of one today. After we came up dry at several electronics stores, we ended up ordering it at a camera store and having it shipped. We are getting the Canon TX1...it's a hybrid digital camera and camcorder in one. It's 7.1 megapixel with a 10x optical zoom and image stabilization, which should greatly reduce the number of blurry photos.

Once we get it and have a chance to check it out, I'll let you all know how we like it. For those of you still looking for a new camera and camcorder for the China trip, I'll post sample photos and video. By the way, the TX1 is $499, which is basically the same price as a standard point and shoot digital camera and a standard definition camcorder combined.

Surprise shower...

We have known a small group of local waiting families for over two years now. Since three of the families now have their children, we haven't been getting together monthly like we used to. Well this past Saturday we got together at Kim and Scott's place. They have twin girls from China and Kim is due to have a baby boy in September! Here she is with the girls, Jenna & Jadyn.


We decided to make the get together a surprise baby shower for Kim, and brought gifts, cupcakes and favors. She was quite surprised!



I had SO much fun playing with the kids. In this photo we are in the "lion's den" at the top of the stairs and the "daddy lion" aka Scott kept sneaking around the corner and roaring at the girls. They would scream and hide behind me when Scott came crawling up the stairs. They were having a ball...


Here's a couple of pics of all the girls. I love how Ava is playing peek-a-boo...hiding in the first pic and peeking in the next.




After a whole evening of playing with the kids, I am even more ready to go and get Lauren. We can't wait to have our own little one at home!