tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33123166704328815932024-03-14T00:29:36.979-04:00Our Journey to EdenOur Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.comBlogger287125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-46205970262384079122011-01-17T08:43:00.000-05:002011-01-17T08:43:14.999-05:00One Year Home<iframe width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PL2r38nPzdU?fs=1" frameborder="0"></iframe>Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com66tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-45225044183829168682011-01-10T18:12:00.005-05:002011-01-10T19:32:33.600-05:00What happened next...After we left our visit with our sweetie we drove back to the SWS guesthouse. We visited the reception center where Eden lived for the first three months of her life. I will post some video of that soon too. We then went across the street for dinner. The food was good but not as good as the meal we had in Insadong. We then went back to our room and I did some cleaning. I even borrowed the vacuum cleaner! I set everything up for bringing Eden back to our room the following afternoon. I remember not sleeping well that night. I was excited to finally get getting our sweet girl, but more I was nervous and saddened by what I knew would be a painful day for Eden and her foster family. <br /><br />The next day we went to the SWS office building and we caught a glimpse of Eden and her foster mother as they entered the doctor's office for Eden's last check up. We then went upstairs and waited in the room with the yellow couch. This is the same room where Eden (and most SWS babies) have their referral pictures taken... Mickey Mouse wallpaper, yellow couch, big cream bear, Pororo airplane toy. Not too much later, Eden and her foster mother arrived. She handed us Eden and must have left to do some paperwork. We took some video and then she returned. We all played together until the SWS worker was ready. I treasure those moments. As I sat on the floor with Eden and her foster mother I remember praying somehow, someway Eden would remember all of us together playing. We signed some paperwork and spent a great deal of time going over the contents of bag after bag of items from SWS and Eden's foster mother. We needn't bring anything with us to Korea... they gave us enough supplies to last us for a week! :0) It is a very good thing we had brought an empty suitcase with us for everything.. and even that wasn't enough. We also talked about her schedule and Eden's foster mother answered some questions. I have video of her singing a song she would sing to her when she was putting her to sleep. I have posted before about the last moments before leaving SWS with our daughter. It all happened so quickly and it was very very sad. After we left the office we walked back to the guesthouse. We brought Eden up to our room and just kind of hung out for a while. Already she was like glue and I couldn't set her down for a minute. She cried pretty hard for about an hour and finally fell asleep on top of me. We both napped for about an hour or so. She was alright when she woke... no crying. We had some dinner... Ron got Domino Pizza and we made some rice for Eden. She made quite a mess so we tried giving her a bath. That was a no go. She freaked out. She cried for a little while again and then fell asleep on me. She didn't wake when I put her in bed next to me and slept through the night. We had to wake her up in the morning to catch a ride to the airport the next morning. More to come!<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rONuR66WbzU?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rONuR66WbzU?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-22309503072620941542011-01-04T09:57:00.003-05:002011-01-04T10:00:31.195-05:00One Year AgoOne year ago today I met my sweet little girl.<br /><br />I had plans of posting pictures and writing about each day of our trip... but we have had one illness after another at our house and I have not had the time or energy. I also plan on writing about Christmas... oh, I am so behind.<br /><br />This video will have to do...<br /><iframe width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PRIjvm-yfeY?fs=1" frameborder="0"></iframe>Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-46502503340358995222010-12-16T09:54:00.000-05:002010-12-16T09:55:11.604-05:00One year ago the phone rang...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp7yQpLSTUkDpm-JSw-68D1G1sK8zbpmT8_1rYcKB0n2Xo1wt0XA8xk8fQhHxfYInGqH9rcMQrDHonaPmklj-v6hS7kHLU6myBKFH2CaDxiR4qw1AU95vk9_GT1vh32SfiDWwaFRo30Hk/s1600/DSC07289.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp7yQpLSTUkDpm-JSw-68D1G1sK8zbpmT8_1rYcKB0n2Xo1wt0XA8xk8fQhHxfYInGqH9rcMQrDHonaPmklj-v6hS7kHLU6myBKFH2CaDxiR4qw1AU95vk9_GT1vh32SfiDWwaFRo30Hk/s400/DSC07289.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551092392913918562" /></a><br />and we got our travel call!!!! The call came sooner than expected as we were told the wait for travel would be around four months from referral. The call came in the later part of the morning while I was at work. How I managed to keep it together I will never know. <br /><br />After the kids went to bed we spent several hours figuring out our travel plans. We had to work around Ron's work schedule, Christmas, and my nieces baptism... not to mention crazy prices for flights. It was so stressful because I was ready to just hop on the next flight! It is a very good thing that there were so many events to keep me busy until our departure day... January 1st.Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-52843287858952361392010-12-05T21:04:00.012-05:002010-12-05T22:16:34.611-05:0020 Months Old<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27KMaq3QzZVoYIa_VMNaKgZXzOQJNc-n4GBiAYw0d2lS05MPxblQDrEW-mtRdJriIyeSnFrQhHMZzOQHqXDiJVzynRpVxJcl-XxJR64ZM_HEfV0S7rZZrsCPdfSxmP8iJtwYDUOhw_VY/s1600/DSC00016.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27KMaq3QzZVoYIa_VMNaKgZXzOQJNc-n4GBiAYw0d2lS05MPxblQDrEW-mtRdJriIyeSnFrQhHMZzOQHqXDiJVzynRpVxJcl-XxJR64ZM_HEfV0S7rZZrsCPdfSxmP8iJtwYDUOhw_VY/s320/DSC00016.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547396369113289826" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Y2AsCrhcBfe4GY78Z5qqT60i5VPfkCvs0GXzpwmP6NaQIPrkfGBzZ80SAQgECTyI7qJtfk61sSLOhginMaaa1g9buntZP6Op_tXcm1yCkW5fgrTaaW8arOeiPcq70xwwFLuZAsnxtQU/s1600/DSC00010.JPG"><img style="float:right; 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margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Ao8u1ahfNCb3M-pEvDmB0ZaGY4ELQBMsxMUir1bV9Ka5DVIF7ocgLZ6ce3XsX9MhEXd4tF-mkHGgU9_pZYouenvFnHU6TEFy6pOA8NHSs_cA1oplCWsjBaQabu9DB7aVBZJmf8YWpIQ/s320/DSC00003.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547394236655299554" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_eJKQ59qRPRXHDts8Dygn_6KCSkNWGcidXzl_Jokv1EGASd730gfM01VOu98jEJZiH6TvrWUrv2AyFehpViTZcWzHaKs54LGLqCrE5YyFeHTl3nyphjDiBMTAI0P7fHiZ4wdTTJ8OZo/s1600/DSC00077.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_eJKQ59qRPRXHDts8Dygn_6KCSkNWGcidXzl_Jokv1EGASd730gfM01VOu98jEJZiH6TvrWUrv2AyFehpViTZcWzHaKs54LGLqCrE5YyFeHTl3nyphjDiBMTAI0P7fHiZ4wdTTJ8OZo/s320/DSC00077.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547394230945241506" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2MTDgm2-roZ15qkI0wsxlnQwyzK-0DIfEAUUAhMU2uopDqsJbH-u3OFwGpcNf_SJi6LghHKGN-Guz42p4u4JIDICWAOGPIzFP6BrhyphenhyphenY2VZrPp1amLNp3XK5mJ8NQD-bsf_LdNfDrlewI/s1600/DSC00036.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2MTDgm2-roZ15qkI0wsxlnQwyzK-0DIfEAUUAhMU2uopDqsJbH-u3OFwGpcNf_SJi6LghHKGN-Guz42p4u4JIDICWAOGPIzFP6BrhyphenhyphenY2VZrPp1amLNp3XK5mJ8NQD-bsf_LdNfDrlewI/s320/DSC00036.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547394225765211314" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGuU7DKo0P4yOtOqPZyGYOTGVZiihKVnxcbUTuFqVQg8cyWp3UorhbXRhIGSmwGX8vrfKnMTzqbAb-SuPW0pyMb4vzz-_6RV6xdpwntX6-e2jDQNc0Q2tHV6uIjNc4R80qMP15hJRRo5o/s1600/DSC00068.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGuU7DKo0P4yOtOqPZyGYOTGVZiihKVnxcbUTuFqVQg8cyWp3UorhbXRhIGSmwGX8vrfKnMTzqbAb-SuPW0pyMb4vzz-_6RV6xdpwntX6-e2jDQNc0Q2tHV6uIjNc4R80qMP15hJRRo5o/s320/DSC00068.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547395212327909554" /></a><br /><br />Eden turned 20 months old on Friday. <br /><br />Two nights ago Ron and I found ourselves laughing out loud as we lay in bed recalling all of the funny things Eden has been doing lately. She is a funny girl. Her newest and funniest thing she is doing lately is pretending to walk into something and say, "Uhhhh" with this strange inflection... over and over again... to make you laugh. She is putting on a little show.<br /><br />Another super cute things she does is.... She will throw her typical freak out when she wants something screeching, fake crying, stomping her feet. We will then ask, "What do you want?" She will immediately stop and in the most girlie sweetest softest voice say, "dink." (drink) The way she says it is just so sweet and cute... so the opposite of what she was doing just seconds before.<br /><br />More good stuff...<br /><br />* She totally knows what, "What do you want?" means. WHICH IS GREAT!!!!!<br /><br />* She is saying too may words to list anymore!<br /><br />* She is still into Elmo and we have added two new Elmo movies to our collection. She knows the Sesame Street logo too. Today while at church there was a Sesame Street book face down with only some words and the logo showing. As soon as she saw it she said, "Elmo!" She also recognizes Christmas carols from her Elmo Christmas movie when she hears them on the radio. If one comes on she will say "Elmo!"<br /><br />* She has a new nickname... The Claw. She scratches. Sometimes she will scratch other kids if she thinks that someone will take her toy. Sometimes she scratches if a child has a toy she wants. And sometimes she will scratch for no reason at all. She has drawn blood. I now have to be vigilant in keeping her nails trimmed down to nothing. I have mentioned before how much she enjoys getting her nails cut. Ugh. Can't wait till this phase passes.<br /><br />* So far Christmas is a hit. She likes this waaayyyy better than Halloween. She loves the decorations, music, and cookies. We decided not to put our tall tree up in our family room this year because I figured I would find her 1/2 way up the tree one day. Instead we removed our chandelier in our dining room, took the furniture out and now it just holds our smaller Christmas tree and some decorations. She loves to go in there and look at the tree and stuffed animals. She was napping when I put the tree up. When she came downstairs the first thing she said was "Wow."<br /><br />* Ron's parents came in from New York to celebrate Christmas with us. Eden unwrapped her first Christmas present. It didn't take long for her to figure out what to do. She was into it!<br /><br />* Eden is now outgrowing most of her 12-18 month clothes. I hate that she can no longer wear some of my favorites. Good thing I have my two little nieces to pass her things on to.<br /><br />* She calls all babies "Mia."<br /><br />* She has the WORLD CUTEST run. Tippy toe, bouncy, happy little baby run.<br /><br /><br />I love this little girl so much!!!! She is just so precious. I love seeing her personality come through. We may have another class clown on our hands!!!!!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3LTB-jRX0Ahr_U8NaYr_ZVp5UElTrKCQlguqA0UbQD1bx4OGjcwj6iGP91GJxfd_3Yj8SrStDM-lpcymdGft4xN2a3x3T2fEHoFalrltf6cWV9fb9DDPh0U_TQ4y_gsgu5AbElxc5n2A/s1600/DSC00020.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3LTB-jRX0Ahr_U8NaYr_ZVp5UElTrKCQlguqA0UbQD1bx4OGjcwj6iGP91GJxfd_3Yj8SrStDM-lpcymdGft4xN2a3x3T2fEHoFalrltf6cWV9fb9DDPh0U_TQ4y_gsgu5AbElxc5n2A/s320/DSC00020.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547401920414993282" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFt26kHNKlExE5j3oEwJbhd3dFH_PJmCJB5X-TFy_Lqi9-sXMFNmIkWFZc4TBwKM01FA-iARDttzFsmjP4PGDqzjesVgzKIubTNVAefiPGe9u2QC7cm_87gfVJjFLC5KNt5xAnWdq7t4/s1600/DSC00066.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFt26kHNKlExE5j3oEwJbhd3dFH_PJmCJB5X-TFy_Lqi9-sXMFNmIkWFZc4TBwKM01FA-iARDttzFsmjP4PGDqzjesVgzKIubTNVAefiPGe9u2QC7cm_87gfVJjFLC5KNt5xAnWdq7t4/s320/DSC00066.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547401902737435442" /></a>Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-19136786570682027832010-12-01T11:27:00.002-05:002010-12-01T11:29:27.450-05:00Wordless Wednesday<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1woD_VW-wHReIt5oulFZ1aBTwgqFt64PfDSJ4ojHHVKmZweHuG3HBNy7vRkkA-zD6C4g5xuslS129dSuCMpwzqwxz-F4-hfVavE8OPT4iOlPPg4ZwTTERCBWUJXlCynNtR_deHlWKoHA/s1600/DSC00021.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1woD_VW-wHReIt5oulFZ1aBTwgqFt64PfDSJ4ojHHVKmZweHuG3HBNy7vRkkA-zD6C4g5xuslS129dSuCMpwzqwxz-F4-hfVavE8OPT4iOlPPg4ZwTTERCBWUJXlCynNtR_deHlWKoHA/s400/DSC00021.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545751751039062210" /></a>Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-51323298027581600422010-11-23T10:05:00.004-05:002010-11-23T11:07:16.929-05:00Another Step Forward in AttachmentYesterday I had an appointment after work but needed to stop home real quick before leaving for my appointment. My in-laws were in town and were watching Eden. When I walked in I was greeted with a screaming, running, smiling, sweet hello. She was so happy to see me. :) I gave her a quick hug and then turned to leave. Well... then the tears came. "Maaamaaaaa... Maaaamaaaaa!" This was a first! I thought that maybe it was a fluke... but then this morning she cried for me again as I left for work. Same sad, "Mama"... with real crocodile tears. <br /><br />Although I really hate leaving her upset (she calmed down with her favorite distraction... food) and it breaks my heart to leave her.... I can't help but smile. See... up until now she hasn't shown a real preference towards me. She seems to tolerate me and seems to like me alright... but nothing more than that. She let me into hear world, but not into her heart. I felt like she knew I would meet her needs and was a comfort to her, but if I left tomorrow she wouldn't really care. I was replaceable. She never put up a fuss when I have had to leave her before. Although she is happy to see me, my "hellos" pale in comparison to the ones she gives to Daddy. There were even days when I would get home from work and she would grab my mom's leg and cry because I was home. Talk about rejection. It's been tough. For a while I felt like a servant.. feed me, clothe me, comfort me, get me what I want. All the while I keep waiting for <em>something</em>. Some little sign that I have have broken through and have entered her heart... that she didn't just want someone to be with her... but that she wanted ME to be with her.. that I have something that no one else has... that she has set me apart. I know it is selfish.. after all she has been though... focusing on my need to feel "special." I wonder how long it would take me to love again if everyone and everything I have ever loved and known was taken from me. She has done remarkably well, considering. <br /><br />Honestly, what makes me even happiest is knowing that she feels confident and safe enough to let me in a little bit... to start to love me.Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-36096373173875472072010-11-08T20:03:00.017-05:002010-11-15T22:21:43.281-05:0019 Months Old<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhguv_fQYDpLozS4cv35qbUwaaYktCznPyRU9pG9j1IJyfPX38Mt3eKPq8ZfZqM8GNE8FuEwoRi2CQf5-xCID_vDz5gIkt_4q59by33R0GM1eYplNPkiKA-h5yr4JENYMRBtkzNhSSTTMo/s1600/DSC00037.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhguv_fQYDpLozS4cv35qbUwaaYktCznPyRU9pG9j1IJyfPX38Mt3eKPq8ZfZqM8GNE8FuEwoRi2CQf5-xCID_vDz5gIkt_4q59by33R0GM1eYplNPkiKA-h5yr4JENYMRBtkzNhSSTTMo/s320/DSC00037.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539973443938027218" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4euBga2TI1P2bw5q0rFtqzK2jOapyOqO0QMIGfpRVQX-73CwMcTw1ltGEfPyOZNzrnObN8iuqsfxP-c71Qc3zc_st2DaiysAgodkp0hz3Wu-oVbZpNGSYv_Q4dRc5ydISUsz1OoLr9Q/s1600/DSC09975.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4euBga2TI1P2bw5q0rFtqzK2jOapyOqO0QMIGfpRVQX-73CwMcTw1ltGEfPyOZNzrnObN8iuqsfxP-c71Qc3zc_st2DaiysAgodkp0hz3Wu-oVbZpNGSYv_Q4dRc5ydISUsz1OoLr9Q/s320/DSC09975.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539966968690918274" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHI2ltfQgNrySAeEg5XRfL6UfXuw1Z-bredqUbxHUcNgpNCIBkqs-uG9HemNAmF0R6U90eGu0dcS7aZj5jgKnuFmHlbgnoyh6MTyIiQL9SzZjHEA8za5PO-wy21sUxd4mG9tCalBbQkvc/s1600/DSC09964.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHI2ltfQgNrySAeEg5XRfL6UfXuw1Z-bredqUbxHUcNgpNCIBkqs-uG9HemNAmF0R6U90eGu0dcS7aZj5jgKnuFmHlbgnoyh6MTyIiQL9SzZjHEA8za5PO-wy21sUxd4mG9tCalBbQkvc/s320/DSC09964.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539966957166930962" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1RiZ4EvhaSw7HhRFtPH8uPEUb5vcC0T4RdljyvwH5WiNX0kAuXJKwGYtBcLqkE7xGcd6V9ssT3hDHZiQ8LFKmQuMCf-F2Di7ibyaI1FMwM60-jpXl7N4Qa8wFTXg866QrzWr-N3K5N0c/s1600/DSC09965.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1RiZ4EvhaSw7HhRFtPH8uPEUb5vcC0T4RdljyvwH5WiNX0kAuXJKwGYtBcLqkE7xGcd6V9ssT3hDHZiQ8LFKmQuMCf-F2Di7ibyaI1FMwM60-jpXl7N4Qa8wFTXg866QrzWr-N3K5N0c/s320/DSC09965.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539966948756784242" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3MO7H0Ad35YTvqt76SOLYL6tBAWd5CCgS0LqaKhQ3oXatstJQEUi1QAgdg-okBFKzWZscLWCwwz4ZfQ4mibg6U4Ht6xQ2XGw79cQPPN96puKvg7Ti-EG8XQUDiErYdBycSEj4I-Z8Gmg/s1600/DSC00043.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3MO7H0Ad35YTvqt76SOLYL6tBAWd5CCgS0LqaKhQ3oXatstJQEUi1QAgdg-okBFKzWZscLWCwwz4ZfQ4mibg6U4Ht6xQ2XGw79cQPPN96puKvg7Ti-EG8XQUDiErYdBycSEj4I-Z8Gmg/s320/DSC00043.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539965890788686882" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimCDlxGIOk1838IcpL6u2FapzX-5sY8Vr8PqPTIpgs7EXE-ht-wXSllcRALirpTyt3cHyBZi_Wj1YfSj_OpnZ68vPPLPg19YFhajsY0SLAr8GQVF6AF2rVppJY-RVr2Hilz7C84-0yqzI/s1600/DSC00016.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimCDlxGIOk1838IcpL6u2FapzX-5sY8Vr8PqPTIpgs7EXE-ht-wXSllcRALirpTyt3cHyBZi_Wj1YfSj_OpnZ68vPPLPg19YFhajsY0SLAr8GQVF6AF2rVppJY-RVr2Hilz7C84-0yqzI/s320/DSC00016.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539965882172440530" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw4sauEQg8khxDp8YUaFtzlB7XmqAA6gqMkttfcsd55WDghwA7zgNwrHgG8x2qBBF51zn8xjBZuUUkkWny-X_jLZOS0gDf-hbZEfo_nONo9N4iuPLNtZGGbrT2xbHX-lRZSZ911mwbBbA/s1600/DSC00063.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw4sauEQg8khxDp8YUaFtzlB7XmqAA6gqMkttfcsd55WDghwA7zgNwrHgG8x2qBBF51zn8xjBZuUUkkWny-X_jLZOS0gDf-hbZEfo_nONo9N4iuPLNtZGGbrT2xbHX-lRZSZ911mwbBbA/s320/DSC00063.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539965880327651970" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgje8OGgN98OWeG8-wm1atSh3J44t8bvCcFTodpZaiX-5QyOgp7nePhZQjPvLEVl_943w9VG_M1R3XArcRh8GLLHAJor63M5rSz2ot22W9mu1tYW1RG_cJqYuictV6YEYdYi4s2fuiRPs/s1600/DSC00040.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgje8OGgN98OWeG8-wm1atSh3J44t8bvCcFTodpZaiX-5QyOgp7nePhZQjPvLEVl_943w9VG_M1R3XArcRh8GLLHAJor63M5rSz2ot22W9mu1tYW1RG_cJqYuictV6YEYdYi4s2fuiRPs/s320/DSC00040.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539965869411057890" /></a><br />Eden celebrated her first Halloween this past month. It took me quite some time to find the perfect costume... a strawberry, Little Red Riding Hood, Minnie Mouse... but I ended up finding the cutest pumpkin costume on<a href="http://www.etsy.com"> Etsy</a>! I have to say she looked adorable!!! She really seemed to like her costume too! Other than that... Halloween was a bust. She really disliked the whole pumpkin carving bit... she actually was spitting and gagging when we cut it open. She didn't seem to care for the smell and wouldn't touch the seeds/guts. Eden is going through a phase where she hates having he picture taken. She will be fine and the minute to take the camera out she will start to throw a fit! Sooo it took forever to get a decent picture of her in her costume. I needed LOTS of distractions! Plus she is so very busy that it is difficult for her to hold still long enough to even take a picture. Thanks to Uncle Jay I did manage to get one good one! She didn't get into trick or treating... not that I figured a 19 month old would. She just wanted to pull the wagon. I am curious to see if Christmas will be more her speed.<br /><br /><br />More cool stuff...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirrGyJAvW7iKNImm4d-CdwYHnx86XJ4UkPVjMt6ol6SJFhkO8c4SUZ44ZUhvqlPcWfqgJh6KgutEHDU0KEz7SrkLTTS1HMzKQzK-aNetRkMocibL3rZ3wKgZahayQIpbjhAmwa2dfPSEQ/s1600/DSC09967.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirrGyJAvW7iKNImm4d-CdwYHnx86XJ4UkPVjMt6ol6SJFhkO8c4SUZ44ZUhvqlPcWfqgJh6KgutEHDU0KEz7SrkLTTS1HMzKQzK-aNetRkMocibL3rZ3wKgZahayQIpbjhAmwa2dfPSEQ/s320/DSC09967.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539974708234873954" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiglWfbPMgnRLF2GhbvNv-0soaHtDTQ50JxP_6fWkr286UIQY7YERP0Id-1xnhyzvyVQ3QhhSxIovLFv0dsDuAxQWJ3NRFgJcv62Yxyd2eTPODVcTfAohvh7ssASPnWVdQQr7HJwx_lp3U/s1600/DSC09955.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiglWfbPMgnRLF2GhbvNv-0soaHtDTQ50JxP_6fWkr286UIQY7YERP0Id-1xnhyzvyVQ3QhhSxIovLFv0dsDuAxQWJ3NRFgJcv62Yxyd2eTPODVcTfAohvh7ssASPnWVdQQr7HJwx_lp3U/s320/DSC09955.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539974699804754930" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGt1B1KrqO2z8Uq5y0rX7BxE82gmyLSO73RCu8S5OwdDt8JLrh2qQjeKtuhwmZGO_Q8nKh-cQ6tAieox4_99AAzlMirVxMYrGIkVxwEz-r5UuoBSOn3wZWmmoMddOdjzvIClvMldpyPOo/s1600/DSC09960.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGt1B1KrqO2z8Uq5y0rX7BxE82gmyLSO73RCu8S5OwdDt8JLrh2qQjeKtuhwmZGO_Q8nKh-cQ6tAieox4_99AAzlMirVxMYrGIkVxwEz-r5UuoBSOn3wZWmmoMddOdjzvIClvMldpyPOo/s320/DSC09960.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539974693285081378" /></a><br /><br />* She continues to be a super funny kid! I can't help but laugh when she crinkles her nose up and smiles.<br /><br />* She still loves to be chased and will screech and scream but then runs into your arms instead of away from you.<br /><br />* She LOVES Adrian. She asks for him all the time. If she doesn't know where he is she will say, "A-den ho-keee." She must have figured out that if Adrian is not home, chances are he is at hockey.<br /><br />* She has a great sense of direction. She will start calling out, "Nonna, Papa" when we pull into my parents subdivision. She will also say "hockey" when we pull into the rink. She really freaked me out though when we were driving and were stopped at an intersection near my sister's house. She started saying, "Tee Tee" and pointing in the direction where we would need to turn to get to her subdivision. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-WM5BCy9xZ9oQtYxcmyyg4q1HUAzqXuSGbNdTZxUFcQOzY-34JzJcpbndyxRBYuuN5t-JwjKgBuqSSDLlSnCzr8avJbbgTH3lo_VUNYoyBE3kJd_Jjp3gsP2A0jcy1IozWqq4TEoFBnQ/s1600/DSC09974.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-WM5BCy9xZ9oQtYxcmyyg4q1HUAzqXuSGbNdTZxUFcQOzY-34JzJcpbndyxRBYuuN5t-JwjKgBuqSSDLlSnCzr8avJbbgTH3lo_VUNYoyBE3kJd_Jjp3gsP2A0jcy1IozWqq4TEoFBnQ/s320/DSC09974.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539978591983828978" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDQ9-A9lUZQjSWv2RSgkSjc1XhWsyXG_Qwbv0bG4ibnLMrIofgQ-fxGM2kWno4aaen-D7_yr_YBeEr1JaA4SP_kBbdYoBqvqy7gH6gvaYxWVnmvdM_ghwjMaxwvSZDL0heg9mGmNPFr_o/s1600/DSC09958.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDQ9-A9lUZQjSWv2RSgkSjc1XhWsyXG_Qwbv0bG4ibnLMrIofgQ-fxGM2kWno4aaen-D7_yr_YBeEr1JaA4SP_kBbdYoBqvqy7gH6gvaYxWVnmvdM_ghwjMaxwvSZDL0heg9mGmNPFr_o/s320/DSC09958.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539978586946606338" /></a><br /><br />* She is starting to put two words together... Mama All Done (I guess that is three!), Mia Night Night (three again)<br /><br />* She does the same thing each day when we arrive home. We will get out of the car and she will start saying, "ReeeRoooo" (Hero) and will run to his crate. She will then let the dog out. Next she will start saying, "Elmo" over and over and over and over... until you put the Elmo DVD in.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKYrMGdRBcz9N0dk5ofOONC6LcVaVtZG5f-VeYjnAUvIfenZ2lBk2miMihxRY0SGz5vIAqKx8orTlx5JHwMuGt2rnABI3Ugv4pRWj_TOvcY1H3hFddWVPsuZP7F3FkrZOKVjyIM4QiRXc/s1600/DSC09996.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKYrMGdRBcz9N0dk5ofOONC6LcVaVtZG5f-VeYjnAUvIfenZ2lBk2miMihxRY0SGz5vIAqKx8orTlx5JHwMuGt2rnABI3Ugv4pRWj_TOvcY1H3hFddWVPsuZP7F3FkrZOKVjyIM4QiRXc/s320/DSC09996.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539975822981040082" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8R7bitUyZb1y-vNUcUop_0a5StGn4jHhuGZA4_wDnGLSrBuyOhMmzycAc2PnVLY0lA5r-SST3uUaKNib-vDi_AEY75j0OhTzmYBKHKH62v8t_bZgcRCPXiphFeEeRGrLabN0HkIRv9pg/s1600/DSC09990.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8R7bitUyZb1y-vNUcUop_0a5StGn4jHhuGZA4_wDnGLSrBuyOhMmzycAc2PnVLY0lA5r-SST3uUaKNib-vDi_AEY75j0OhTzmYBKHKH62v8t_bZgcRCPXiphFeEeRGrLabN0HkIRv9pg/s320/DSC09990.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539975807590963858" /></a><br />* She LOVES her BFF and cousin Mia. She asks for her daily. She will go to her picture and say, "Mia" and then run to the front door and reach to open it. It's her way of saying that she wants to go to Mia's house. <br /><br />* She has a new love in her life besides Barney... Elmo. She has one Elmo Christmas DVD. We basically have it playing on a loop. She will watch it for just a few minutes but if you turn it off she will go nuts. This morning as I crawled out of bed one of the songs was playing in my mind over and over. "It's almost Christmas, It's almost Christmas, It's almost Christmas Daaaayyyyyaaayyyyaaayyy." Ugh.<br /><br />* She hates to have her hair done or nails trimmed and will throw a giant fit when either needs to be done.<br /><br />* She loves raspberries with a passion.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5fC4isafvDQ2sAXneDTiWx0D2PO_Jf1EBCO5ekFqx9VrfltkvvIhDIuObORg6KrGyqz6gvdUTcdsBTZj1p9vsPuReXxu_eWK_FL_JXuWxkTIfawjrQBniqRTuxC_yqXCuSbszeCepRcQ/s1600/DSC09984.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5fC4isafvDQ2sAXneDTiWx0D2PO_Jf1EBCO5ekFqx9VrfltkvvIhDIuObORg6KrGyqz6gvdUTcdsBTZj1p9vsPuReXxu_eWK_FL_JXuWxkTIfawjrQBniqRTuxC_yqXCuSbszeCepRcQ/s320/DSC09984.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539977198432268866" /></a><br /><br />* She loves to "help" me do laundry. She will help put the clothes into our out of the washer and dryer. Her favorite part though is shutting the big door.<br /><br />* She is in a scratching phase. She actually drew blood on a child at church last week. She will grab and dig her nails into faces. Nice. She will do this if someone has a toy she wants or if another child looks interested in a toy she has. Sometimes though she will just do it for no reason at all. I hope this phase passes quickly.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhenFmpsZebK_a34EE8OiIRLzDg_sEfwIdEACLDg6Hmv7pAbJstMegDSdgtLPmdI6ygtcbAZeMmINn0r3EpSavVojX-sDKyeFzbF6PYsaXGBMJp6ysFHLDFYvN-7G6a88TxELJ-5lqEDe8/s1600/DSC00011.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhenFmpsZebK_a34EE8OiIRLzDg_sEfwIdEACLDg6Hmv7pAbJstMegDSdgtLPmdI6ygtcbAZeMmINn0r3EpSavVojX-sDKyeFzbF6PYsaXGBMJp6ysFHLDFYvN-7G6a88TxELJ-5lqEDe8/s320/DSC00011.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539977206012494834" /></a><br />Eden has been home with us for ten months and the days are just flying by. I can't believe how much she has changed when looking at pictures of when we first brought her home. It seems that time seems to move 15 times more slowly when you are waiting to bring your child home. Once your child is finally home time seems to move 15 times more quickly! <br /><br />We are so blessed and honored to have this beautiful child as our daughter. She is more than I ever dreamed.Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-66669475685977568722010-11-07T17:50:00.000-05:002010-11-07T17:51:34.151-05:00Orphan SundayToday is Orphan Sunday.<br /><object width="400" height="225"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=12616432&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=12616432&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="225"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/12616432">Creation Groans</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2226554">Christian Alliance for Orphans</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-65406400867830001172010-11-02T17:04:00.008-04:002010-11-04T16:06:34.941-04:00Adoption Awareness Month post 2When I was a little girl, if you would have asked me how many children I would have one day, I would have said five. I most likely would have told you that I was going to adopt a Chinese baby too. No joke. Not sure exactly where that came from. Honestly, part of it came from my fear of childbirth... and probably because I have always thought that Asian people are so beautiful. I remember wishing I had Asian hair and Asian eyes. <br /><br />Things sort of worked out the way my ten year old mind envisioned. Instead of "Chinese" we have a Korean born daughter. Instead of five kids... we have three. Three is a lot. No doubt about it. I can't imagine having five... or four. Not while working anyway. I know people do it, but I know that for me personally I can't take on one. more. thing. <br /><br />But then... I see a face. A face of a child waiting for a family. <br /><br />...and then I wonder... does my heart, my home, my leave from work, my schedule, my wallet, my children, my piece of mind, my husband... have room for one more? A mixed bag. Some resounding YES's and some HUGE no's.<br /><br />It's hard to be in the adoption arena and know what I know and see what I see and not feel like...<span style="font-style:italic;"> I should be doing more.</span> Scratch that... <span style="font-style:italic;">I WANT to do more.</span><br /><br />You see that face and you think...<br />I want to love you. I want to hold you. I want to show you and teach you and be there for you. I want to tuck you in at night. I want you to know the love of a family. <br /><br />Some faces haunt me and I will have to check over and over again to see if anyone has stepped forward to adopt them. Many of the children on these lists have special needs. Some are severe but many are not. Some are on lists because of age alone.<br /><br />This child has been waiting on the <a href="http://www.rainbowkids.com">Rainbowkids</a> site for a year.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDmfuM-8i2MvH6P5zYwC_FvHFNKWg0rpNBiJOHepFUj0N6GFuOZdfGXMyIy5cePLLZ5GcJSvD543dtlEThfM8YDwgA-hyuSJQcu2TRe11Gz62jGnk6kMKdmB4CW-3CLRfhuhhjj8AdWv0/s1600/Side.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDmfuM-8i2MvH6P5zYwC_FvHFNKWg0rpNBiJOHepFUj0N6GFuOZdfGXMyIy5cePLLZ5GcJSvD543dtlEThfM8YDwgA-hyuSJQcu2TRe11Gz62jGnk6kMKdmB4CW-3CLRfhuhhjj8AdWv0/s320/Side.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535069092300743938" /></a><br /><br />These two cute guys are likely still waiting because they are boys, over the age of 2, and have some malformations of their fingers and/or toes. I have had students who have had missing fingers and never once did it stop them from doing anything. This is such a minor need. Yet they wait.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0Wz9GupRAMZe-vRF5sFp4UT26esLVppxpjfI4nRk3jNVa2ijqcXJ1WnFRy6HcoPvMgfQmqYeeBuAYZHorwqgRLj5A-e-UlNZFVkry-_FSOAUK1iDPKttGjcViKWWhltVTChDaew68SM/s1600/Side.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 133px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0Wz9GupRAMZe-vRF5sFp4UT26esLVppxpjfI4nRk3jNVa2ijqcXJ1WnFRy6HcoPvMgfQmqYeeBuAYZHorwqgRLj5A-e-UlNZFVkry-_FSOAUK1iDPKttGjcViKWWhltVTChDaew68SM/s320/Side.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535119029673564434" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhemdSSvKY991MjvYXaoINUlnLBoIRNifaMSKn-Ntc0xTykH4-YsZ0WpaUxkH__dgoFViNGI9Lx85ZreJN7WwuBWrTjAxdbcZa_wihwTbkUu8dyNSuwGXvqt8RKDcL7CzvvXMxVvpkMwxI/s1600/Side.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 96px; height: 71px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhemdSSvKY991MjvYXaoINUlnLBoIRNifaMSKn-Ntc0xTykH4-YsZ0WpaUxkH__dgoFViNGI9Lx85ZreJN7WwuBWrTjAxdbcZa_wihwTbkUu8dyNSuwGXvqt8RKDcL7CzvvXMxVvpkMwxI/s320/Side.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535119024060869458" /></a><br /><br />... and there is this sweet girl<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIU4pvmPSt5fb1j7JY5ZDGDqof1rYAJbp6syOBnfh7_qDdS-yhYkTbod5UIsEBDQC-CZmo7aA44OLcNH_Ck3L01Q1s8sC4BN0hUC_P8cjwwAqx1TwoPNr4ADmowxmQwzyP-Q-y-WMpPcU/s1600/G10_92.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIU4pvmPSt5fb1j7JY5ZDGDqof1rYAJbp6syOBnfh7_qDdS-yhYkTbod5UIsEBDQC-CZmo7aA44OLcNH_Ck3L01Q1s8sC4BN0hUC_P8cjwwAqx1TwoPNr4ADmowxmQwzyP-Q-y-WMpPcU/s320/G10_92.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535070147688912226" /></a><br />Although I have not read her full file... her "special need" is so minor. It doesn't appear that she will need future surgeries or therapies or medication. Her age is likely the reason why she is still waiting. I just want to reach out and cup that sweet face in my hands. <br /><br />There are hundreds and hundreds more children on these lists... from all different countries... all deserving of a family.<br /><br />I know that there will always be "that face" that calls to me. Even if I adopted 100 kids... I know that my heart would always want do adopt more. For now, I need to focus on the three little faces that greet me each morning. I need to love them, teach them, tuck them in to bed at night... and I am blessed beyond measure. So, I will do what little I can for these waiting children... advocate for them, pray for them, and encourage families out there to learn more.<br /><br />If you are interested in learning more about these waiting children the following website has many links to photo listings. But be forewarned... you may see the face of a child that will steal your heart.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.comeunity.com/adoption/waiting/photolists.html">Come Unity</a>Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-14741595669102581342010-11-02T15:22:00.003-04:002010-11-02T17:03:40.588-04:00November is...ADOPTION AWARENESS MONTH. I am going to *try* and do some posts about adoption in support. This blog really has suffered since Eden has come home. I am now a working mother of three active kids. There isn't a whole lot of time to spare. Most days I feel like I am barely keeping my head above water. My house is never clean, there are always piles of laundry to be done, and I can count on one had the number of days per month that we don't have something planned for after school. Hockey practices (for two kids), hockey games (for two kids), drum lessons, church group meetings for the kids, church volunteer days for me, doctor appointments, work meetings... ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Most of it is all good... just busy.<br /><br />I have thought several several several times about ending the blog. I don't think that there are very many readers anyway. ... but then I will get an email (like I did today) from someone I never met telling me how reading this neglected and poorly written blog (my opinion) has somehow helped them. Whether it be using our agency, changing countries, encouraging them during the wait or deciding on adopting... this blog has helped someone. For that reason... I will continue. <br /><br />First up for adoption awareness month... a video created by a adoptive family. This family frequents a Korea adoptions forum that I am a member of. They collected pictures from other members and made this video. Eden is not in the video as I never had the 10 minutes it would have taken to send in a picture. Enjoy!!!!<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0W_Tt_bogrU?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0W_Tt_bogrU?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-36276106749240972552010-10-30T23:08:00.001-04:002010-10-30T23:10:29.001-04:00Happy Halloween!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLfGVFWHPO865TypVLavLDjdbRVlGBpAEwGSS5m8qomK-xEwOjcpYuNjClWTSp4qgVIWlp9RwuQa2kll2r11pLj8vrbR6aXHEdhreCw85YO9rz5uvorDf7ayloEo59ULREjnhuNlWe2ac/s1600/DSC00024.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLfGVFWHPO865TypVLavLDjdbRVlGBpAEwGSS5m8qomK-xEwOjcpYuNjClWTSp4qgVIWlp9RwuQa2kll2r11pLj8vrbR6aXHEdhreCw85YO9rz5uvorDf7ayloEo59ULREjnhuNlWe2ac/s400/DSC00024.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534042228770533538" /></a>Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-34698273904637616952010-10-12T12:24:00.001-04:002010-10-12T12:26:04.671-04:00Referral Day VideoI wanted to get this post out for our referral day anniversary... but didn't have time. <br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ke4r8pdV_hc?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ke4r8pdV_hc?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-50747188814646919622010-10-04T16:01:00.007-04:002010-10-07T21:26:37.751-04:0018 Months Old<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg71QlWPd8CO79HCYTNF1zUoH5FalJ629D9aE6fX6AaF1FyCdHhqNldcwwSUYdRYGN1moi8jrSI0JlPzu5iuhyS6uvugcmbzJdksaCUVexXOeYzg8F92ogObH1nXJUKpZFmaoWoIHfFWSM/s1600/DSC09963.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg71QlWPd8CO79HCYTNF1zUoH5FalJ629D9aE6fX6AaF1FyCdHhqNldcwwSUYdRYGN1moi8jrSI0JlPzu5iuhyS6uvugcmbzJdksaCUVexXOeYzg8F92ogObH1nXJUKpZFmaoWoIHfFWSM/s320/DSC09963.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525477828168601154" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOLZQ_XSioa3ghn83-i6qu-D_4RrJr_DtYAUL72R-8ecqovIO2weXUJKat3VHgTmniIIcIXyeXnXB6jbexkxWkqswO8S2r8NCyn6vDxkrw0G-R0tPuYNFgKngnhQDmq6ftD5DnkJR-igU/s1600/DSC00008.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOLZQ_XSioa3ghn83-i6qu-D_4RrJr_DtYAUL72R-8ecqovIO2weXUJKat3VHgTmniIIcIXyeXnXB6jbexkxWkqswO8S2r8NCyn6vDxkrw0G-R0tPuYNFgKngnhQDmq6ftD5DnkJR-igU/s320/DSC00008.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525477827161437314" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglb5-1Z3FKGo6a7QKzl4OQxl9DkkIGU3yBCSRCVD6f-lHM4ykT6G9nnx4VNQPkVe_IZrPa7lE3NKD2YrRp_6ybaVV9WC1cReQKXBksV6Of_E3A5eam49A_ZSkKQ5fRlooOF5-y2yk1VvU/s1600/DSC00004.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglb5-1Z3FKGo6a7QKzl4OQxl9DkkIGU3yBCSRCVD6f-lHM4ykT6G9nnx4VNQPkVe_IZrPa7lE3NKD2YrRp_6ybaVV9WC1cReQKXBksV6Of_E3A5eam49A_ZSkKQ5fRlooOF5-y2yk1VvU/s320/DSC00004.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525477814886123970" /></a><br />It surprises me just how much Eden grows and changes each month. She is such a precious perfect gift. <br /><br />This month she is...<br /><br />* Eden started going to an in home day care three days per week while I am working. She did great with the transition... I had been worrying for months. I LOVE her screaming, running, smiling hello when I pick her up each day. <br /><br />* Eden said... Adrian! Well... it was more like "Aaaden" but it was clear as day. It's so cute. I thought for sure she would say Luca's name first because Adrian is such a hard name to say!<br /><br />* She likes to throw her dirty diaper in the garbage after I change her.<br /><br />* She loves coming home and letting our dog out of his crate.<br /><br />* She likes to say "no"... a lot.<br /><br />* She is back to drinking bottles. After a few months of rejecting them, she is back on a bottle kick and will ask for one often.<br /><br />* I love the way she asks for a cracker... "rrrr rrrrr."<br /><br />* I don't know if I ever wrote that she can do a somersault and will do one if you ask her to. She has done this for months.<br /><br />* It has been six months since she had her ears pierced and can now wear regular earrings!<br /><br />* She loves sleeping and going to bed. When I say it's time for night night she giggles and runs for the stairs. I pick her up and she lays her head on my shoulder. She then waves to everyone as I take her up the stairs.<br /><br />* She still thinks burps are hilarious and will fake burp and laugh.<br /><br />She makes us laugh all the time. She is so funny and cute. I so wish her birth mother knew what an amazing child she is. I so wish she could see the miracle she brought into this world.Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-22580788874366250092010-09-16T20:14:00.003-04:002010-09-16T20:42:12.505-04:00One Year Ago Today....we got <span style="font-style:italic;">the</span> call. We saw our baby's face for the first time. What a wonderful day it was!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV8q-wdDunAFC5ABtJaPziU6_9_mX5r_X8LFTa6Wsrgi5X9Tm1LwF04VHU7CFxav_XDFUh9GWdhWL56d9tw1KUZkDRosMN1NXynKBspnyHjlWKzvIdeOLYppW6w8AVxXQd5zA97nKToAA/s1600/DSC06694.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV8q-wdDunAFC5ABtJaPziU6_9_mX5r_X8LFTa6Wsrgi5X9Tm1LwF04VHU7CFxav_XDFUh9GWdhWL56d9tw1KUZkDRosMN1NXynKBspnyHjlWKzvIdeOLYppW6w8AVxXQd5zA97nKToAA/s320/DSC06694.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517675525866802386" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit5i7G9kAX_DOrsmK3pbm7YGyiJBWXPo33BG0NyDevkaDh3C-fgS-jjqIfD3jSMip7zJI0clZJBKeYZFoAUcjWTHr6v8qmrHLA0rwjlSqKtnsN6Z229PlqA0RtwNet5sSw9kFic6nko5c/s1600/DSC09997.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit5i7G9kAX_DOrsmK3pbm7YGyiJBWXPo33BG0NyDevkaDh3C-fgS-jjqIfD3jSMip7zJI0clZJBKeYZFoAUcjWTHr6v8qmrHLA0rwjlSqKtnsN6Z229PlqA0RtwNet5sSw9kFic6nko5c/s320/DSC09997.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517675518127701394" /></a><br />A referral picture and Eden looking at her referral picture<br /><br /><br />More to come on how we celebrated our first referral day anniversary. For now... I am too tired to post anything more than this. :)Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-79167630258406035562010-09-03T09:53:00.009-04:002010-09-04T10:28:01.134-04:0017 Months old and 8 Months home<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjesvK8pIdxni4lCe58hznIZndYG_Qa1mjsXpTD1fcSYWXhwDzVB_8MNawCz1vQfXqgIJonpW-67ttprO7syWgWGcvT_AQXPY09s_IHpNUYTJ5C0e5gkRTtVa7hf3G4_Lz8NO57jPgiU40/s1600/DSC09979.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjesvK8pIdxni4lCe58hznIZndYG_Qa1mjsXpTD1fcSYWXhwDzVB_8MNawCz1vQfXqgIJonpW-67ttprO7syWgWGcvT_AQXPY09s_IHpNUYTJ5C0e5gkRTtVa7hf3G4_Lz8NO57jPgiU40/s320/DSC09979.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512759877088916818" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZlG1O6tLkK0dbLfdWaORJmYTvu4gPnj-5yIJbHJNpVIlniv_a5-lx878plzWYT1v3ixDYW81AymaSjGO-tBuqI5c4HEgu0rCHG1TI_JKS3KGg24Znx-IaJ1GEFY5UMB_HtjWtCC8E1w/s1600/DSC09977.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZlG1O6tLkK0dbLfdWaORJmYTvu4gPnj-5yIJbHJNpVIlniv_a5-lx878plzWYT1v3ixDYW81AymaSjGO-tBuqI5c4HEgu0rCHG1TI_JKS3KGg24Znx-IaJ1GEFY5UMB_HtjWtCC8E1w/s320/DSC09977.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512759847961831234" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9I8uhpqweeaeqPrgLP3pgzab6m8INSlTIi13lm7omZbpbe7qZF0dSnuYE4JeKIfL_C9O1uPnKTOoo3PsnGX3W3xnb1gJnoVO7_ddYyTTW8x1WLW_5Zmr0qIPrNdSrefW77RaMbH3s3w/s1600/DSC09972.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9I8uhpqweeaeqPrgLP3pgzab6m8INSlTIi13lm7omZbpbe7qZF0dSnuYE4JeKIfL_C9O1uPnKTOoo3PsnGX3W3xnb1gJnoVO7_ddYyTTW8x1WLW_5Zmr0qIPrNdSrefW77RaMbH3s3w/s320/DSC09972.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512759832360368418" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil_CbCsSIZguhaXYO3mj6gqsoAhBUvWNlIbFlYFR8rNWs_TXtltuD0R1ESzJ4Y0LOmGpB8ZhXlQB9HiDxf6ztbnnq2kr1591NPeHqgLdgmwBY8NhZ0r-HRzokq75QqojSCe2qTMLSZxbI/s1600/DSC09969.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil_CbCsSIZguhaXYO3mj6gqsoAhBUvWNlIbFlYFR8rNWs_TXtltuD0R1ESzJ4Y0LOmGpB8ZhXlQB9HiDxf6ztbnnq2kr1591NPeHqgLdgmwBY8NhZ0r-HRzokq75QqojSCe2qTMLSZxbI/s320/DSC09969.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512759827080510578" /></a><br /><br />Our sweet, smart, beautiful girl is seventeen months old today. She is a ball of energy, funny, and way to bright for her own good. She can be trouble with a capital T... going from one "no no" to another... like she has a radar for things she is not supposed to do. She has the BEST smile in the world and nothing on the Earth feels better than her little arms wrapped around you. Here's more....<br /><br />* She is just too dang smart and determined. Her goal each and every day is to find a way to escape from her play area. Mind you.... it is our entire family room. The room is basically her play room.... just a couch, chair, TV and about a million toys. She has the run of the place. There are several large gates blocking the three entrances into the room (darn open floor plan) to keep her in a safe area in the house. Well, from the moment she is in the room she is looking for a way out... and she has found several. One is to just ram her way out with all of her body weight and strength. This will bust open one of the sides. I now have to wedge a chair into that corner to keep it from happening. She will also slowly move her entire toy bin out of the way and fit through a tiny not humanly possible opening between the gate and stairs. My personal favorite though is that she will drag her chair over to the side of the gate and stand on it and try to climb over. I couldn't believe it when I saw her do this!!!! Without the chair she will find other things go drag and stand on. It's nuts. One day I set her in the family room and ran upstairs to put some clothes away. I am upstairs in her bedroom and the next thing I know... I turn around and she is standing right behind me... smiling of course. She broke out, went all the way up the steps (alone!), and found me. Scary.<br />Here she is caught in the act...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_RiRe7Q_Yvk740Rk57g994xTRSD3li8um08s6g5la0KT_JM3CzwKjz0GshBbGppBQBcUXVSh8QJ2lLEV4BqbYWcpWytopFYMnvRjN6RyjV2TbJa-v2mdPg0JjKOaoyu3l7UDnpmCp9Ec/s1600/DSC09903.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_RiRe7Q_Yvk740Rk57g994xTRSD3li8um08s6g5la0KT_JM3CzwKjz0GshBbGppBQBcUXVSh8QJ2lLEV4BqbYWcpWytopFYMnvRjN6RyjV2TbJa-v2mdPg0JjKOaoyu3l7UDnpmCp9Ec/s320/DSC09903.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512763931034635634" /></a><br /><br />* She makes the same noise for all animal sounds. She growls. So if she sees a bird, dog, fish... whatever... she says, "grrrrrr".... so funny. Our chiropractor has a full size spine model in his office which she thinks is an animal because she growls at it whenever we are there. :)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-A7VOpmpzCxLC-9THqZ40ZxMdqYGn33jUiF-l0WtnrMKGZUhyphenhyphenEPc_sAc6jJ1m7BhtBqog_-5_7k9cN9Q0UwdLDECq29BKBwCCBuTJykAgBiitdRLYoxWmRizAKAKCkqnenQ3-c8F2Lyk/s1600/DSC09853.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 225px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-A7VOpmpzCxLC-9THqZ40ZxMdqYGn33jUiF-l0WtnrMKGZUhyphenhyphenEPc_sAc6jJ1m7BhtBqog_-5_7k9cN9Q0UwdLDECq29BKBwCCBuTJykAgBiitdRLYoxWmRizAKAKCkqnenQ3-c8F2Lyk/s320/DSC09853.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512713321431751298" /></a><br /><br />* She is repeating everything now and learning lots of new words. She knows when we say, "Say....." that she is to repeat the word. It is so cute. Some new words are... apple, please, cracker, up, Hero (our dog), outside<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDNovdQNQ5hht1PNUV6xnG_eludATexZQeNu0NdC_EXnLN7hzHrZH3Jyyz9CyI6ZvdoEh1mAgYQjmDPVa0020TwCSqPZ_IF7CbYovOx4VHtF5YUEVbrZS4NUiWBvcxgref9raTw4_qdY0/s1600/DSC09944.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDNovdQNQ5hht1PNUV6xnG_eludATexZQeNu0NdC_EXnLN7hzHrZH3Jyyz9CyI6ZvdoEh1mAgYQjmDPVa0020TwCSqPZ_IF7CbYovOx4VHtF5YUEVbrZS4NUiWBvcxgref9raTw4_qdY0/s320/DSC09944.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512713336151153842" /></a><br /><br />* She now waves to everyone as I bring her upstairs for bed or nap. It is so cute.<br /><br />* She gave her first kiss!!!!! It wasn't for me and in fact she hasn't kissed me ever... but it couldn't have been sweeter. My sister's daughter Mia was over. Mia is six months younger than Eden. She got so excited to see her that she ran over and started hugging her. Then, she pulled back, puckered up, and kissed her right on the lips! It was so adorable! Up until that point I had no idea she even knew how to kiss. Sure.. she gets kissed about a thousand times a day... but she had never given one.<br /><br />* She still loves Barney and really likes Mickey Mouse. She says "Baaaaneeee" and will sing "I llllaaaaaaaa" for the "I Love You, You Love Me" Barney song. She will say "Meee Mooouuuu" for Mickey Mouse. It is adorable.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbS0MuVAgaeroe6qXEpHKSAQMBO1kVCflRTp0okzfD8WbBhQfqeIwcDrtuGBWk01MvisDul1yCmfbh7ZMQIRDwthZEZXo1UqvtQcP13XtxgyegJe66uvP-4_t4wMouDQyfj_HQiZ0mwVs/s1600/DSC09852.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbS0MuVAgaeroe6qXEpHKSAQMBO1kVCflRTp0okzfD8WbBhQfqeIwcDrtuGBWk01MvisDul1yCmfbh7ZMQIRDwthZEZXo1UqvtQcP13XtxgyegJe66uvP-4_t4wMouDQyfj_HQiZ0mwVs/s320/DSC09852.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512712574603601522" /></a><br /><br />* She understands just about everything you tell her. If you tell her that we are going bye bye, she will run to the front door, try to put on her shoes, and pound on the front door. She usually adds, "Ouuusiiiii" while doing so.<br /><br />* She attracts a ton of attention. People are always stopping to talk to her and complementing on how cute she is. I am amazed at how many people stop us who have adopted or know someone who has. <br /><br />* We received her new birth certificate. It lists her birthplace as Korea but lists us as her parents.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaeu-dJZZODM2XHRuLnvEtFOj2QcUbicnfzX3x6La_m_ZCPudLHWvQ6FLxX6I2PSvKBxjlwUMGC5hZ3xD5eg6DOFYbBTeGkHJ-yCG80TFTcDrjSSlcaKEk_V-LRKy1HGc214QISNIc_Xw/s1600/DSC09846.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaeu-dJZZODM2XHRuLnvEtFOj2QcUbicnfzX3x6La_m_ZCPudLHWvQ6FLxX6I2PSvKBxjlwUMGC5hZ3xD5eg6DOFYbBTeGkHJ-yCG80TFTcDrjSSlcaKEk_V-LRKy1HGc214QISNIc_Xw/s320/DSC09846.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512712569395371330" /></a><br /><br />* She is still a screamer but less often. I think she is catching on that she doesn't get what she wants when she screams.<br /><br />* She loves babies... real ones.<br /><br />* She is still better with bath time. She is not crazy about getting water on her head.. but overall she is much better with it than a few months ago.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJOUdvMN5d1XJ87o_inM1w7FIyvpTu_aDIqdvgtoEwfsl3ItPpKPdOcqMMoDKX8doWuATzDcfA-OTl-XNo-U5UzCcE2d4c1SWs3wkxImlw1_iNlp_kZB7Kl2wAgDQ4yBrx5QdXEvSLPc/s1600/DSC09838.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJOUdvMN5d1XJ87o_inM1w7FIyvpTu_aDIqdvgtoEwfsl3ItPpKPdOcqMMoDKX8doWuATzDcfA-OTl-XNo-U5UzCcE2d4c1SWs3wkxImlw1_iNlp_kZB7Kl2wAgDQ4yBrx5QdXEvSLPc/s320/DSC09838.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512714159334316514" /></a><br /><br />* She thinks that she can do whatever the boys are doing... which is hilarious and scary at the same time. She wants to play what they are playing, go where they are going... and when she can't... look out!!!!! She gets mad.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl8HvDu81OPUk2s3DFRhik7e7en8oS5cEJZYtfoFPmyk789IffYXJa-m98g7bBusyVsQW3Y5rTdpWHI_i9Z8t9H1-G_Xrn0699l0GPQCbSAxhh_3EaJcJHnDmmd55fv4arBNdeTU1M9KM/s1600/DSC09955.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl8HvDu81OPUk2s3DFRhik7e7en8oS5cEJZYtfoFPmyk789IffYXJa-m98g7bBusyVsQW3Y5rTdpWHI_i9Z8t9H1-G_Xrn0699l0GPQCbSAxhh_3EaJcJHnDmmd55fv4arBNdeTU1M9KM/s320/DSC09955.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512714541193306386" /></a><br /><br />* She is still a great sleeper. She hardly ever protests going to bed.<br /><br />* She has been home with us eight months now. This is the longest she has lived in one place in her life.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXIla15SgrmBDG1Rjx5skFsmHB-7vZRXwFtbJluxB5lzt-gahnRuw3WzPs-u5MKZEbTpNEYr37JEWDsY3qM8QoPyPHjvg4V8RmsFgWnFsGB49xudY96YHYkh2bbDONnMRrwW6NI263QNs/s1600/DSC09913.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXIla15SgrmBDG1Rjx5skFsmHB-7vZRXwFtbJluxB5lzt-gahnRuw3WzPs-u5MKZEbTpNEYr37JEWDsY3qM8QoPyPHjvg4V8RmsFgWnFsGB49xudY96YHYkh2bbDONnMRrwW6NI263QNs/s320/DSC09913.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512714147205835394" /></a><br /><br />She is full of happiness and joy. You can't help but feel it when you are around her. She makes me laugh all the time. I continue to be in awe of her beautiful face. Ron thinks she is the most beautiful baby in the world and is always saying, "just look at her" and stares in amazement. He thinks she should be on posters and agency advertisements for adoptions... "If she were on the advertisements, there wouldn't be any babies without families." I love that.<br /><br />With all of her beauty, it is hard to imagine her being anything but a perfect little angel. We know better. This girl is trouble. She reminds me of the Elvis song...<br /><br />You look like an angel<br />Walk like an angel<br />Talk like an angel<br />But i got wise<br />You're the devil in disguise<br />Oh yes you are<br />The devil in disguise<br /><br />but I wouldn't have her any other way!!!!! Wellll..... most days. ;0)Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-15691419502771521992010-08-21T20:37:00.007-04:002010-08-22T10:16:01.468-04:00Taylor Nicole<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Wis8bUUoHUpngHHNdwKDg0ca4N4TVkSgbjnVZOAAXuFfFC83lDo0FGJvwxSEJwKakdZYQRyQ9_aGRXcA5a43IDESol9GQUSHmBs-rZHGKf2U0pgJticZdYFI9JLyVXJ4Ny8XDpOTHHA/s1600/TylorBirth+071.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Wis8bUUoHUpngHHNdwKDg0ca4N4TVkSgbjnVZOAAXuFfFC83lDo0FGJvwxSEJwKakdZYQRyQ9_aGRXcA5a43IDESol9GQUSHmBs-rZHGKf2U0pgJticZdYFI9JLyVXJ4Ny8XDpOTHHA/s400/TylorBirth+071.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508237551449320306" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyj-OQ8UxJ4xWj9pexa3yKePM0L0p9ayDwCf2dGe__E1RegVFVUOIBMpucmBHJzKznMetTux7BeSYiR143pLjEGxVnV4OeIIGjmc7s_RbHuFjNdBQXfNM7IzIY6P5tLS1Q2ZvDS76pueI/s1600/TylorBirth+109.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 296px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyj-OQ8UxJ4xWj9pexa3yKePM0L0p9ayDwCf2dGe__E1RegVFVUOIBMpucmBHJzKznMetTux7BeSYiR143pLjEGxVnV4OeIIGjmc7s_RbHuFjNdBQXfNM7IzIY6P5tLS1Q2ZvDS76pueI/s400/TylorBirth+109.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508237597131317570" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6RdZtJc50-08tj-sE94OCld9LP6Or5UG-D5NqJLOYWaqoEdgTTZzNjUA-B8vow0OSUPYtXaq4It-25W791RmzihMPWHghoFlxZMPVzAqs0SzWVf2h6bKT83YYXZiCXv3q3ja7GS3SIgc/s1600/TylorBirth+011.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6RdZtJc50-08tj-sE94OCld9LP6Or5UG-D5NqJLOYWaqoEdgTTZzNjUA-B8vow0OSUPYtXaq4It-25W791RmzihMPWHghoFlxZMPVzAqs0SzWVf2h6bKT83YYXZiCXv3q3ja7GS3SIgc/s400/TylorBirth+011.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508237475840192642" /></a><br />Introducing my new precious niece!!!!! I have not seen her in person as they live in Canada... but will very soon!!! I can't wait to hold her! Congratulations Tommy and Niki!!!!Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-79196052391522448932010-08-09T16:18:00.004-04:002010-08-09T16:26:10.248-04:00Adoption Day<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xB9DZSpWC64&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xB9DZSpWC64&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbSfxeA0E6X78dS2AL8a5dw2jWQHWAcV3fBxyN2FTe5qzMCz9DqYAkli6SE77QsPJgHTVv0ng1n2CSs8fv1wN8GipP_21O8oSXXdfVcbEI8hU2QM8vrD7lhnpdJr9GrmpalFZYM88smCA/s1600/DSC09767.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; 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cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-q3Fn-9NOcEOfjU9KdFYu0GcWUZ7NUeTWCMQca4BZvlhcrxv5ih-y_nn4fv3mkB-YVz6fJmpAztGyWc71zo6IhlsiKq5aNSBk0DcMq8CPGr_Uzfp-QZHclNkYPdelZ543GhRAipv8xI/s400/DSC09834.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503507422432004018" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPkte_5SckkQeKZm7HwKk2TXfrxp11yOC5VEt3qvrADnK-iIExu9JCQZiIvXvhXmy9Jk4p1ee7I4jIbTo0f4s8jiX0Ms2YOmi-tJx8QrAcjTj9xvxRQ050SpHlUvc32EPsLNvotUeteE/s1600/DSC09829.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPkte_5SckkQeKZm7HwKk2TXfrxp11yOC5VEt3qvrADnK-iIExu9JCQZiIvXvhXmy9Jk4p1ee7I4jIbTo0f4s8jiX0Ms2YOmi-tJx8QrAcjTj9xvxRQ050SpHlUvc32EPsLNvotUeteE/s400/DSC09829.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503508326171359842" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtoZ65N0nExTqi79WWA0hn1yHsKaEjdGQ4vtHT6kbO2xuheGBBNzu62G4JYz_LEYHLlJTUzwLMTuHRjhTP7637_uukQWBWF4D0-a6M7TUd9nPlETOfZvWODF54HIB3MLa_4anJZWj8N8g/s1600/DSC09816.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtoZ65N0nExTqi79WWA0hn1yHsKaEjdGQ4vtHT6kbO2xuheGBBNzu62G4JYz_LEYHLlJTUzwLMTuHRjhTP7637_uukQWBWF4D0-a6M7TUd9nPlETOfZvWODF54HIB3MLa_4anJZWj8N8g/s400/DSC09816.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503508316676264562" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFcEcBQ6PFyV0SKOdAnb5cb67j0c8pfAErkwmpfLQEwZ8P9OlZDjI_SnmUcuOV4pweqrPr1rQG_gyRIlEq3aTD1Kqp8M7pmaAGTFs9F35hgifOKM7DvV_uxvGw9bx-NJdgq0KWtaxNc34/s1600/DSC09788.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFcEcBQ6PFyV0SKOdAnb5cb67j0c8pfAErkwmpfLQEwZ8P9OlZDjI_SnmUcuOV4pweqrPr1rQG_gyRIlEq3aTD1Kqp8M7pmaAGTFs9F35hgifOKM7DvV_uxvGw9bx-NJdgq0KWtaxNc34/s400/DSC09788.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503508306252542882" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDmUq90db_JKKs4pqIgum_DXp8nAR_tXgZLG2jdDhz-eyNCgnjalPZFjL928J2F9JtSBLNFnwumKmRwcg_ZIQiTqs9_CV3N-bhYPO1KEsVj0uc3_QmGNMWM_dHpfevqrDItCY3nfU1lC8/s1600/DSC09827.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDmUq90db_JKKs4pqIgum_DXp8nAR_tXgZLG2jdDhz-eyNCgnjalPZFjL928J2F9JtSBLNFnwumKmRwcg_ZIQiTqs9_CV3N-bhYPO1KEsVj0uc3_QmGNMWM_dHpfevqrDItCY3nfU1lC8/s400/DSC09827.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503508332451869058" /></a>Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-60323534199992775262010-08-08T14:36:00.002-04:002010-08-08T14:43:36.801-04:0012 Year AnniversaryI so wish I could rewind and live this perfect day all over again.<br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/db4T4OY554E&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/db4T4OY554E&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-41179287668997742272010-08-05T09:43:00.000-04:002010-08-05T09:44:23.694-04:00Finalization Tomorrow<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLdssVMaHPn9yQyLolnsbCSPFu-vqHXZf1S95GfNXpfiI3KOL57J1vEbo4hSF9CV9y9L2xkvq9MbceCquAHSEZQeOKQaHA5n5vrLe6cbcQV_UCLRW_DBcwYWG1BIWV5vOsl4bgbml1hZk/s1600/DSC08690.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLdssVMaHPn9yQyLolnsbCSPFu-vqHXZf1S95GfNXpfiI3KOL57J1vEbo4hSF9CV9y9L2xkvq9MbceCquAHSEZQeOKQaHA5n5vrLe6cbcQV_UCLRW_DBcwYWG1BIWV5vOsl4bgbml1hZk/s400/DSC08690.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494578680447223554" /></a><br /><br />The "adopting" chapter comes to a close tomorrow. I couldn't be happier. Although, adoption will always be part of our lives, the days of paperwork, social worker visits, waiting, waiting some more, etc... are finally over. I would do it all again in a heartbeat... but... I am thrilled to be stepping off this insanely wild roller coaster ride and just getting on with life. <br /><br />Tomorrow is such a very special day. Tomorrow Eden legally becomes our daughter and a United States citizen. I hadn't given it much thought about finalization day until recently. I had spent countless hours envisioning our referral day or the day we finally would meet Eden... but not this one. I am not sure why. Maybe it's because the thought of this process actually being completed was out of the rheum of what I thought possible or something. Now that it is actually here, it is more special than any of the days leading up till now. Sure the referral was super exciting. One of the best days of my life. The day we met Eden and the day we brought her home are up there as well. However, each of those days were such a mix of emotions. <br /><br />The referral was a day of disbelief, relief, excitement, happiness, along with a shot of off the charts adrenalin. I was high as a kite... and then the anxiety set in. The what if's, the worry, the obsession with the time line to bring her home. I hardly ate for days and would be so hopped up on anxiety and adrenalin I would get the shakes. I suddenly didn't feel the need to sleep. I lost my mind a little bit.<br /><br />The day we finally met Eden was so surreal. I remember feeling numb. My emotions were on overload and just sort of shut down. Sure, I was super excited and happy... but it just didn't feel <span style="font-style:italic;">real</span>. I remember riding to the foster families home and Ron taking some video. He turned the camera on me and asked, "How do you feel?" I remember wondering why I was so eerily calm. It was like I was watching what was happening in front of me like it were a movie. I wasn't <span style="font-style:italic;">really there</span>.<br /><br />The day we received Eden is one that is one that I had thought would be the most exciting... and it was exciting. This was the day I had waited for for three and a half years. However, the last moments we spent with her foster mother were excruciating. It was a tearful goodbye that left everyone in tears... including our caseworker who does this for a living. We all met at the SWS office... us, our case worker, and Eden's foster mom. Eden's foster mother's demeanor was different from the first time we met. She was more standoffish... like a little wall had grown overnight. She wasn't unfriendly, but not the warm bubbly person we had met the day before. I know that she was probably trying to distance herself, protect herself from the hurt that would be coming... trying to be strong. We signed the required paperwork, went over Eden's schedule, went through the bags of items Eden's foster mother gave to us, and asked some specifics about how warm she likes her bottle, how she likes to be held... things only a mother knows. We then entered the hallway where the elevator was. Eden's foster mother carried her. I was told to take her from her arms. Her foster mom started to cry. We took one last picture together. She came over to Eden and through her tears talked to her. I wish I knew what she said. She stroked her face. I wished so badly to be able to talk to her, hug her, assure her, console her. I felt so cold just standing there holding what felt like <span style="font-style:italic;">her child</span> while she said her goodbyes. I now wish I would have tried to do or say <span style="font-style:italic;">something</span>. I wasn't expecting that moment. I wasn't prepared. I don't know what I thought was going to happen. I didn't expect to feel so <span style="font-style:italic;">guilty</span>. I just stood there frozen. We were told to get into the elevator. The last image was of the foster mother bending over crying and one of the workers trying to console her. The doors to the elevator closed. Ron, our case worker and I were all crying. The sadness was so thick... it was hard to breathe. Then Eden laughed. She laughed her Woody Woodpecker laugh as if she knew she had to do something to break the tension. She was smiling her dimpled smile and then we were all laughing and crying at the same time. Sooooo this is hardly a day I would say was the best.<br /><br />Each of these days has been bittersweet. Such a mix of thrill, love, excitement, happiness, anxiety, worry, and... loss. The day we received her referral was the day she lost the opportunity to be adopted within her own country, her own culture. The day we received Eden was the day she lost the only family that she has even known. The day we brought Eden home was the day she lost her country, language, everything familiar. So much loss. And that loss will never go away. It will <span style="font-style:italic;">always</span> be there, always be felt... if even just a fraction.<br /><br />But tomorrow is different. Tomorrow is not about loss. Tomorrow is about GAINING a forever family and another country. There are no goodbyes, no unknowns, no fear... <br /><br /><br />This is what makes tomorrow so special... and the happiest day in <span style="font-style:italic;">our journey to Eden.</span>Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-66837339618065009822010-08-04T15:15:00.010-04:002010-08-04T15:36:51.259-04:0016 Months Old<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9AowEa2xkjx2IcXmW731N8PA_ccjt76ioHQBw1DcEmZIIbSaVPJnHOjjKFfoeYhD2E2r9xcIGusWugwfwQxJ7AsQ1zkrmIg85fla5uYXbnfML4-TqE8-SbmJT6kOKKU3hEM6EwH-aizc/s1600/DSC09550.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9AowEa2xkjx2IcXmW731N8PA_ccjt76ioHQBw1DcEmZIIbSaVPJnHOjjKFfoeYhD2E2r9xcIGusWugwfwQxJ7AsQ1zkrmIg85fla5uYXbnfML4-TqE8-SbmJT6kOKKU3hEM6EwH-aizc/s400/DSC09550.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501637901034133170" /></a><br />Another month come and gone. Here is what Eden is up do now....<br /><br />* She is a climber! She has discovered that she can climb up on the couch and chair. She tried to climb the gate as well. Oh boy.<br /><br />* She is the complete opposite of the baby we brought home seven months ago. My quiet, contented, take anywhere baby... has been replaced with a insanely loud, active, easily irritated, fiery, into everything toddler. She has a mind of her own and can throw a tantrum like nobody's business. SHE IS SOOOOOOO NOT AN EASY BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfiMqvOpZThy7hZMGBXqTXkptfXlQf-KaU9IjHzd6TeP2lqtjTbTYQu-JNgyCK61gMg42Nu-6DchDilJB3Vxc3Ne5eI8gRtAwcJKXoej7aNKD_OTgmIc6_PXo2eAQytFwDBpiL-4We1Do/s1600/DSC09647.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfiMqvOpZThy7hZMGBXqTXkptfXlQf-KaU9IjHzd6TeP2lqtjTbTYQu-JNgyCK61gMg42Nu-6DchDilJB3Vxc3Ne5eI8gRtAwcJKXoej7aNKD_OTgmIc6_PXo2eAQytFwDBpiL-4We1Do/s400/DSC09647.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501636841665432962" /></a><br /><br /><br />* Her language development has sparked over the past month. She has added "all done", "up", and "e-i-e-i-oooooo" into the mix. She will try to repeat lots of words I say but most come out not sounding quite right. She will get the sing song pattern of what I am saying but will just use "ma" as the word.<br /><br />* Bath time is now fun!!! It only took seven months but we finally convinced her that she doesn't need to scream bloody murder! I have proof....<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtgDU-HVox65TUY5zH65BbO2v9XV2WWE3vpzgXAltkKlMwis-ETu2wCpTZcIXS8zVjGA6eD3qskysz-mZ7Wcu637OPRCJiEiRHfMtfGRZFFWHSxwDBUJ8OpwojzSbCtjYbB3zd0MIEdus/s1600/DSC09632.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 336px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtgDU-HVox65TUY5zH65BbO2v9XV2WWE3vpzgXAltkKlMwis-ETu2wCpTZcIXS8zVjGA6eD3qskysz-mZ7Wcu637OPRCJiEiRHfMtfGRZFFWHSxwDBUJ8OpwojzSbCtjYbB3zd0MIEdus/s400/DSC09632.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501636380395858290" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1qK-X4OoxQW_jgH-lS_wpEhpwSFrHhvlum0oNqSIwap5DjSxWczw1YRn5MGLaXgLM3j-2csnhcKdo7MsbWKZzy7bOzldB6cQSg3e8Iwy76wW0NIAc8MS0MHESi8Y8N2dB863q_IvDyk/s1600/DSC09626.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 329px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1qK-X4OoxQW_jgH-lS_wpEhpwSFrHhvlum0oNqSIwap5DjSxWczw1YRn5MGLaXgLM3j-2csnhcKdo7MsbWKZzy7bOzldB6cQSg3e8Iwy76wW0NIAc8MS0MHESi8Y8N2dB863q_IvDyk/s400/DSC09626.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501636369326787474" /></a><br /><br />* She weighs 22 pounds and is tall for her age on the American growth chart.<br /><br />* She has figured out how to unzip and take off her sleep sack. She will have it totally off when I get her out of her crib in the morning. Oh, and she likes to take her diaper off too.<br /><br />* She loves to read books. I love when she squats down to look at one. Like this...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijH8f1RYVK_JNN-Lbq-Nmt92eDeYiYxZUzWoJQTLPk1rO_RZ5QibhL70xnr0HORCJuIHWz0UMGwpkKzE4a4XV0VSPfOrwpPbFk7AwEv-Tw7Mrfo5CM163quPxPMo9OjneEv5bRRSlCSvE/s1600/DSC08635.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijH8f1RYVK_JNN-Lbq-Nmt92eDeYiYxZUzWoJQTLPk1rO_RZ5QibhL70xnr0HORCJuIHWz0UMGwpkKzE4a4XV0VSPfOrwpPbFk7AwEv-Tw7Mrfo5CM163quPxPMo9OjneEv5bRRSlCSvE/s400/DSC08635.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501638713857119026" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicp4KFeWTTmPmFco7AFLuHiE9fEdalX2CUHqxJFLCTw2Pny9tBjOIlO-GZl8TU7hbIpY5qZoyIgpx5sDzZzzZHrxF8FvXB7SS9m67mZop1WU9BoP1ad2H-ARt7CG9IVAHB9OXcsb2_y8I/s1600/DSC08634.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicp4KFeWTTmPmFco7AFLuHiE9fEdalX2CUHqxJFLCTw2Pny9tBjOIlO-GZl8TU7hbIpY5qZoyIgpx5sDzZzzZHrxF8FvXB7SS9m67mZop1WU9BoP1ad2H-ARt7CG9IVAHB9OXcsb2_y8I/s400/DSC08634.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501639204300294914" /></a><br /><br />* I have found that if we are going anywhere it is best to wait to put on any shoes or socks and not to do her hair/put in hair bows until we arrive at our destination. I think that removing them is her way of getting back at me for making her ride in the car seat. :)<br /><br />* If you ask her where her eyes are, she will blink real hard. If you ask her where her nose is, she will point to yours.<br /><br />* It appears that she really likes Barney. Oh brother.<br /><br />* She LOVES to brush her teeth!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiMYkKWPKkIiQq_dghlDXUyIBOXXvz3wqM6wMa70-9h3kn6NoWrWheZ7ze4cONij7rlCrPtghXRAzcFa3mZmeVNyIuxD_ujHWYUfF1uBTW0ZNPkpQk9wOfamzu8BCqKpxjHV4v6Mga4H8/s1600/DSC09641.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiMYkKWPKkIiQq_dghlDXUyIBOXXvz3wqM6wMa70-9h3kn6NoWrWheZ7ze4cONij7rlCrPtghXRAzcFa3mZmeVNyIuxD_ujHWYUfF1uBTW0ZNPkpQk9wOfamzu8BCqKpxjHV4v6Mga4H8/s400/DSC09641.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501636848714327602" /></a><br /><br />* She is down to one or sometimes two bottles. She LOVES her morning bottle and will cry for it even if you give her other food. She rarely drinks her night time bottle anymore though.<br /><br />This little girl is a handful. She is super curious, smart, headstrong, independent, and fearless.... all great qualities. However, they can also make mommy's life a little nutty!!!!!!<br /><br />She really is the most beautiful child I have ever seen. I look at her and she takes my breath away. Even when I am tired and frustrated... I look at her and marvel in her beauty.Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-92146277399738896032010-07-30T09:20:00.003-04:002010-07-30T09:22:42.061-04:00Flashback Friday- Big Hair Edition<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_z_EOiAsiAfLbYrF8rVVn3Izf7ui8XJStY52I_8ceWa77VYbAR2T7HRcduXpVxv2LjyitXIWNfYjIa8QwLe8keUiadbJD_u082luZ9Hpr5syOysH09LRAWCWY7lUMdIDoLc3GKgxl7d0/s1600/cheer"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 382px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_z_EOiAsiAfLbYrF8rVVn3Izf7ui8XJStY52I_8ceWa77VYbAR2T7HRcduXpVxv2LjyitXIWNfYjIa8QwLe8keUiadbJD_u082luZ9Hpr5syOysH09LRAWCWY7lUMdIDoLc3GKgxl7d0/s400/cheer" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499688746238000594" /></a><br /><br />High School 1991<br />I'm the second from the left.<br />For the record... it was impossible for your hair to be "too big." The bigger the better.Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-64422396456127450652010-07-22T12:10:00.003-04:002010-07-22T12:51:07.188-04:00SummerThis sure has been a different summer. It seems to be flying by but it also seems like we haven't done much. We have taken a couple of trip up north but day to day... we are kind of stuck. Having a baby at home sure changes things. Usually the boys and I have a jam packed schedule... swimming, nature trails, library, picnics, play dates, etc. This summer I find it difficult to do much at all. Our beloved trips to the library where we could spend hours reading and browsing have turned into mad grab and go dashes. Let's just say that Eden isn't exactly a quiet child. Swimming and spending time outside need to be scheduled around naps/lunch/and Eden's daily mood. Trips to the movies or shopping need to be scheduled prior with a babysitter. Soooo most days are spent at home. It is just so much work to prepare and take her places. She HATES her stroller and has only fell asleep in it once (our trip to the zoo.) Most of the time she spends shriek screaming to get out. She has figured out how to get out of her stroller even with the five point harness. She can also wiggle out of a shopping cart belt in two second flat (all the while screaming and people staring.) My sister and I have dubbed her the new David Blaine. She would rather be carried but once she gets tired of being in the Ergo she will scratch, pull my hair and bite me in order to get down... and once you do let her down she refuses to hold your hand or walk in whatever direction your would like her to. My independent shrieking contortionist. It is out of control. I am not saying that she does this EVERY time we go out... but it has happened enough to make me really evaluate if a particular trip is worth the risk. Keep in mind too that all the while I also have a very active/distractable/no-fear six year old that I can't take my eyes off of for a second. Ugh. <br /><br />I am board. My boys are board. <br /><br />At the same time we have made such strides in attachment this summer. I love not working and being able to spend so much time with Eden (and my boys.) I feel like she has bonded so much more with me. It isn't until she starts doing things that she hasn't done before that I really see how far we have come. She is so much more affectionate with me now. She now "melts" into me when I hold her and will lay her head on my shoulder. I am able to calm and soothe her much more quickly now as well. When I was working it seemed that the minute I would walk in the door she would start to fuss. My mom would say, "she has been good all day, so happy, she is such an easy baby." The total opposite of what she would be like for me. I HATED it. Now that I am home with her I can see that from about 5:00 - 8:00 she is just fussy. I hate that I am not home during her happy hours of the day while I am working. I am DREADING going back to work. I worry that all the progress she has made with me is going to disappear. I worry about yet another change for her. <br /><br />We have about one month left of summer vacation. Today we have a trip to the library planned after Eden wakes from her nap. We have our books already requested and on hold (via the library website) so that we can just drop off the old and grab the new if we need to. :) We will just have to see.Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-36433692181753842422010-07-14T14:49:00.004-04:002010-07-14T16:29:49.952-04:00Wordless Wednesday... Recent Favorite Photos<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_VlIiYY60qX-EhUrlN7fN3k64oOfYMIn-TbCf8N-foB-_Ne66yHZoQrtXe3rWQeQdXlU_WPf6DsukrDg_ytQPBLxQxY85j4JmY-84siFuuzFIhJ1OS_iQc3kLN-8pBjsmaZXaZLeqrPQ/s1600/DSC09282.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 343px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_VlIiYY60qX-EhUrlN7fN3k64oOfYMIn-TbCf8N-foB-_Ne66yHZoQrtXe3rWQeQdXlU_WPf6DsukrDg_ytQPBLxQxY85j4JmY-84siFuuzFIhJ1OS_iQc3kLN-8pBjsmaZXaZLeqrPQ/s400/DSC09282.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493861453772612114" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBiKoGxvXHMW9pB1wn4BOgJOnxI7dEUmScpsN2PDYkKGhdh396Z_62pM_glsMWll7RWdgDd7XtkBruOS8bs4DAMPL_Gh5L-UpMWIPT7vUx1aA9lqQ3LHkw9aRyZD0p-nxjedlmlc_FXMk/s1600/DSC09155.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; 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cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS1ZjRsBAiYNuxwmTv_6ZI2ONJqad09VqKz-RiBqRxHbPtjWxIcCMYy9JGHZZbyv8YERMwW7f9v8w7Z_vxHbT4zOyVSWxjiSPm7PtUPnjEuAAKOiFKMyKL-ogoIji-bLclZCBRRjrYkJk/s400/DSC09537.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493838217729432882" /></a>Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312316670432881593.post-46922678066645597192010-07-09T10:24:00.001-04:002010-07-09T10:27:19.161-04:00Flashback Friday- Poo Poo EditionYup, that's poop. Luca was/is always full of surprises.<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eBbOFdUM_8U&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eBbOFdUM_8U&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Our Journey To Edenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15228315557302341647noreply@blogger.com7