Meeting New Friends & Saying Bon Voyage!

On Wednesday we finally had the chance to meet Susan and Roger's daughter, Maiya. She's also a heart baby who came home from China in February. It was so much fun to get the girls together.



Aren't their matching sunglasses adorable?



Thanks for the darling bikini and sunglasses, Susan. We're looking forward to getting the girls together again in the near future. We are so blessed to live in a community with a large network of other adoptive families.



Our van is bursting with sand toys, beach clothes, mindless paperback books, and fun food. I’m looking forward to combing the beach for drift wood and interesting stones with my girls. I can almost hear the sound of the Lake Michigan waves pounding the beach.



Wishing you all a wonderful Father's Day Weekend. If you need any last minute printables for Father's Day (cards, coupon books..etc). HP has a great set of printable templates here.

Hooray to all of the wonderful Dads, Uncles, and Grandpa's in our lives.


Goodbye everybody. Talk to you in a week.

Getting ready for a little R & R...

For the last seven years, we’ve rented a cottage for our annual family vacation. It sits up in the dunes and it has access to a private beach on Lake Michigan. We're leaving this weekend and I'm so ready to escape from my job for a bit of rest and relaxation.



It doesn’t have internet access or cell phone coverage and so I’ll be offline for awhile. I'm not going to miss my work email, but I'll definitely have blogging withdrawal. By the way, my sweet friend Kimberely is finally in China! You can find her blog here or click on the red shoes on the side of my blog.

During last year’s attempt at the cottage, we found out that Josie was extremely allergic to mosquitoes (she still is) and her night terrors were worse in this strange setting.


(What a little peanut last year...)

This year should be better, or at least I'm hoping for a very different experience. I’m ready for sandcastles, frigid lake water, mystery novels, and cool drinks.



Just a few more days left of work! I can't wait!!

Opening the Pool & Father’s Day Gift Idea

Over the weekend, our above ground pool was resurrected. The girls couldn’t be more excited about the start of swimming pool season.



The pool thermometer registered 67 degrees and their swimming lasted all of five minutes.



Chris, thanks for braving the cold waters to help the girls. I was more than happy to stand outside the pool with the camera and warm towels in hand.



Josie enjoyed the foot pool at the base of the ladder because the shallow water was very very warm. I’m hoping that the solar cover on the pool starts kicking in. I don’t usually step foot into the pool until it registers 80 degrees. Maybe while we are away on vacation next week, the pool will warm up (wishful thinking).



Can you believe Father's Day is next weekend? We’ll be on vacation so we are going to celebrate a bit early this week. If you want something fun and more original than a tie or socks, I’ve got a super easy project that can be constructed from a dollar store nightlight.

This nightlight originally had a paper insert of a snowman(which I promptly took out). I printed a black/white picture of the girls on vellum paper and then replaced their image inside the nightlight. Isn’t this cute?



Daddy is also getting a couple of other handmade gifts from Emma which I’ve promised to keep a secret. A month ago, he also picked out a high-powered weed whacker (which he’s been happily using).

Happy “early” Father’s Day to all the Mr. Mom's!

Birthday Highlights

With Daddy home from Tampa, we finally celebrated Josie's 3rd birthday on Saturday. It's so much fun this year. Her enthusiasm and joy is absolutely contagious.











Happy Birthday, Josie.





PS. 7 days until our Lake Michigan cottage get-away vacation. I can't wait!!!

Happy Birthday, Josie

It's Josie’s third birthday and I woke up thinking about how very lucky and blessed we are. A couple of weeks ago, Chris and I were talking about how much joy and happiness she has brought to our family. We're so madly in love with this little girl.



At her second birthday, she was such a little peanut and lagging behind physically and developmentally. Within one year, she’s blossomed into an smart, independent and loving toddler. I catch myself just staring at her and thinking dreams really do come true. Happy birthday, sweet girl.

PS. We’re postponing her birthday party until the weekend when Daddy is back home. On Tuesday, she brought a few cupcakes to her daycare. She certainly has been enjoying spending some quality time with her Nana and Papa this week.