STORK ALERT!

STORK ALERT!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THOSE WHO WERE LOGGED IN FROM

NOVEMBER 15 - 21, 2007

Busy, Busy, Busy!

I know I have said it several times this summer but man, I am such a slacker! I was sitting here thinking back to last fall and thinking about how much time I spent on the computer and about all the times I posted. These days I don't even have the time to check my favorite blogs. The funny thing is that when I check in on all of my favorite blogs and see that they too must be so busy that they don't have time to blog, I get bummed. I miss seeing all the posts! So tonight as I was checking out the new babies (more about that in a minute!) I thought to myself, I should be mad at myself. I haven't posted in weeks. Of course I already know what's up in my life so I assume (you know what that does for me) that you know what's up with me too (sorry). So here is my update...

1. Baby update - Referrals are coming in today! I love this time of the month and I hate this time of the month! This month the referrals go until November 21, 2006. Congratulations to all of those who are getting their precious little ones this month. While I know it is still 4 months and 8 days away from our date it is one tiny step toward Emma. I just keep hoping and praying that once November is done that things will speed up. Anyone have any thoughts on this one?

2. I want to thank my secret pal again for the wonderful gifts she sent us last month. I promise to get picture posted soon. I just haven't got to get the pictures on the computer. You won't believe these wonderful gifts.

3. Last weekend I took a girls trip up to South Bend, IN to visit a wonderful friend that I have known since I was little. Holly, Beth, and Amy went with me. We had such a wonderful time just hanging out, eating waaaay to much and playing with Jenny's adorable kids. Oh, and while we were there I got a glimpse at Jenny's neighbors daughter (yes, you got it! She is from China!!!) Once again I will have to post some pictures.

4. Yesterday, my good friend Leslie and her husband Larry left for China to get Lily. Click on her link if you would like to follow her journey. I can't wait until Lily is home safe and sound! Congratulations Leslie and Larry!

5. On our way to South Bend I got some sad news. Katrina, my family advocate at AHH, called to let me know she is leaving AHH. While I am so excited for her new adventures she is heading off for Mike and I are so sad to see her go. Katrina has been wonderful for us and has been here for us from the start. Who would have thought that she wouldn't have been here to see Emma come home. When we first talked with her in Oct. of 2005 we thought we would have Emma home by the fall of 2006 and here we are still waiting! Katrina, I just want you to know how much your help and support has meant to us. Thank you for everything!

6. On July 29th we celebrated our 16 month LID Anniversary. How many more are we going to have. The wait right now is at 21 months and rising quickly!

7. On August 9th Mike and I will be celebrating our 10th Anniversary. I kept thinking that our trip to China would be the most amazing gift we could give each other but now it looks like it will be our 11 year anniversary gift, which by the way is right around the Olympics. I sure hope we go before then.

8. We got our paperwork back from INS so we are good for another 18 months. I hope we will not be redoing that one!

So for those of you who haven't been posting, what have you been up to? Until next time...

Back to the grind!

Well, vacation has come and gone. Boy am I sad to be back at work. I had a whole 12 days off and I enjoyed every moment of it. I even stayed away from the blogs for the most part which I am sure was needed. I do have to say that we snuck off one morning after our walk on the beach to check out all of the beautiful babies that were referred. Of course they were as cute as ever! We had a wonderful time at the beach and after being around my sister and all of the kids for a week our house sure is quiet. It made me even that much more anxious for Emma to be running around the house making some noise (I am sure I will eat those words one day!) I was also excited to hear that my friend Leslie got her date to go get her sweet little Lily. She leaves the first week of August. I can't wait to follow her journey. I know I have a lot to update I just need to find a little time. Hope everyone is doing good.

Oh! For those of you not in the adoption world referrals came out while we were on vacation and the dates were from Nov. 8th- Nov. 14th. Not great but it could have been worse. We just keep hoping for some kind of speed up. At this point I feel like the earliest we will get Emma's picture will be in March but most likely next summer.

July 4th!

Happy 4th of July to everyone!

I will post soon about what's going on around here but this morning we are off to the beach for a little July 4th trip. Of course I have the laptop so I will try to post while we are gone. I haven't gotten the pictures on here yet but I wanted to say a big thank you to our wonderful secret pal as she has out done herself again! You won't believe all of the wonderful gifts that were packed in this box. We really loved the blanket and hat that your Mom made (can't wait to post the pictures)! So thank you, thank you, thank you! Anyway, we are headed to Florida so I will post soon. I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday!

Does it matter?

ENOUGH SAID

(one baby step closer to Emma)

Wonderful and Amazing People!

Once again I am way over due on posting but tonight I wanted to share a very special gift with you. This gift comes from a very special couple that I have never even met. Dana and Mike are friends of my sister Tommi. They live in her neighborhood. They had started the process to adopt from China but life took a different turn and they have since stopped the process. I feel for them as I can only imagine how hard of a decision that was to make. Dana had bought some wonderful things for her little girl and since life has changed she has sent these wonderful things to Mike and I for Emma. We were overwhelmed with Dana and Mike's thoughtfulness. We couldn't believe that they would give these wonderful gifts to us. Check out what they sent us!

This is a picture of everything they sent us. It was hard to get it all in one picture!! Can you believe they sent us all of this?! I took a few close-ups of the pictures ...
This beutiful doll has so much detail. I wish you could see it all in the picture. This one is going on Emma's shelf. Sorry Emma, you won't be playing with this one!

Dana's Mom had bought this for her. I can only imagine how special this was to Dana and I hope she knows how much I will treasure this. I can't wait to have Emma home and get her picture taken in this!
Okay Emma, you can play with these! The Corolle doll is so cute! Dana and Mike sent both of these for Emma. One to play with while she is little and then a larger one for when Emma gets a little bigger. I have to confess, I have already been playing with these!
I only had room to post one more picture so I chose the Precious Moment adoption figurine. I love Precious Moments and have the perfect place for this! If you check out the first picture again you will see an adoption book that I just loved. Mike and I sat down the first night we got it and read it. We also got such a cute asian lamp. We wanted to send out a big thank you to Dana and Mike for sharing these incredible gifts with us. I hope you know how much they have meant to us!

I also wanted to send a very special Happy Father's Day out to my Dad, my father-in-law, and of course my wonderful husband. Thank you all for being so special and always being here for me. I love you very much!

Passed me right by!

We missed our 14 month LID Anniversary! Anyway, another month has come and gone and we are still waiting! To all of those who share our date, happy anniversary to you!

Boy are we spoiled rotten!

When I got back home from out of town I had three packages waiting on the table to be opened. I couldn't believe that Mike didn't open them. You know me, I had to get them open ASAP. First off from my book swap I got 2 wonderful books Shoey and Dot and a My first Counting Book. I just love books and can't wait for Emma to be sitting in my lap reading along with me.


Then I got 3 bath books from the book swap. 2 of them can even be used in the tub! I love them!
Once again my March Secret Pal has gone way overboard! Look at all of this great stuff. Mike and I were so overwhelmed with all of the goodies (I almost couldn't get them all in one shot)! Kozmo was very interested in seeing what Emma got and believe me Jack wasn't far behind! Here is what was included: 2 stuffed babies one of which plays music, a plush growth chart that you can put pictures in, window shade, 3 ever so cute books and CD kids sing along set, skid proof bowl, 2 cute picture frames one of which is for friendship (maybe one day I will be able to put a picture of my secret pal and me in it! hint, hint, if I only knew who you are!!!), ladybug shirt, pooh sleeper, Dora sweatsuit, and a beautiful quilt. Hey secret pal, did you make this beautiful quilt? I love it! I can't believe all the thought and time you put into this wonderful gift. WOW!! I really can't wait until the day we know just who to thank. You are incredible!

Where does the time go?

Where has the time gone? It seems like for months I sat in front of this computer just watching days go by waiting for Emma. Now don't get me wrong, I'm still anxiously waiting for our Emma, but things around here have really been busy. I haven't had much time to even check out my favorite blogs and I haven't read RQ in a month! It really has been good for me. While I miss each of you I feel refreshed and exhausted at the same time.

The week before last Mike and I took a few days off and headed to Gatlinburg. We had such a great time relaxing in our cabin, checking out the moutains and doing a lot of hiking. It was a much needed rest. The picture below is a view from our chalet. It was so peaceful up there and I sure enjoyed the time with Mike.

I took this picture while Mike and I were on a hike. The weather was beautiful so we decided to stop and play in the Little Pigeon River.
We got home on Monday night and then on Wednesday morning I flew up to Conn. for work. Terri and I had to do a special training course at US Surgical. We got in early Wed. so we took the train up to New York to do some shopping. This was my first time in New York so I really enjoyed the sites. The picture below is from Time Square. We had a great time in the city and then it was off to training for Thursday and Friday. It was a interesting trip and I really enjoyed meeting such wonderful people from all over. We were suppose to fly in Friday night but our flight out of Conn was delayed which caused us to miss our connecting flight in Pittsburg so we had to spend the night there and fly out early Sat morning to Atlanta and then finally home to Louisville. By the time we got home I was exhausted and of course the airline lost our luggage. They found it in North Carolina?! The delivery man decided to bring it to us at 1:30AM!

So here it is Monday night and it is back to work tomorrow (yuck!). I am yet to have gotten to check up on everyone. When I got home on Saturday I had 3 packages waiting from my book pals and my secret pal. Tomorrow night I will show you all the wonderful things that I got. For tonight I am off to snuggle up with my wonderful husband! Talk to you tomorrow!!

I'M BACK!

Yikes! It has really been a tough month here and when I finally sat down to post tonight I realized that I hadn't posted since April 14th. So many things have been going on in my life right now that not only could I not find the time to post but I also couldn't find the words. So many of the people I love have lost such special and wonderful people in their lives over the last few weeks. I can't quite find the words to write about it yet but if you could keep some very special people in your prayers I would greatly appreciate it.

As I sit here I can think of so many things I would like to talk about and share with you, my bloggy family and friends. The past month has been filled with sorrow and stress but there has been a little joy along the way. We did celebrate 3 special birthdays: Charlee (April 14th), Corbyn (April 27th) and the birth of our newest nephew, Logan Michael, on May 2nd (congrats to Shelley and Mike). We survived another LID Anniversary, the big 13! Things were so crazy that the day came and went (I did remember it but it didn't make me sad this time).

I wanted to share this picture of Mike and I with 7 of our nieces and nephews (taken on Easter). It made me smile thinking about how each one has touched our lives in so many ways.

Now, I owe a huge apology to my incredible secret pal. In the mist of everything going on at our house Mike and I came home late one night to a HUGE box on the porch. It couldn't have come at a better time as we both needed a lift and boy did we get one. Check out ALL of these gifts that were packed in the box! We got a wonderful collection of books (which I can't wait to read when we finally get to sit down), a photo book, plush panda book, the cutest teddy, Asian note pad (so cute!), such cute clothes (a bath wrap, sweater, and sleeper), the sweetest sand dollar with Emma's name on (made me cry!), and the cutest travel playset. All I can say is WOW! Secret Pal, you went way overboard! I have to say Mike and I sat in the middle of the floor and just cried thinking about what wonderful and special people would think so much about us to send Emma these amazing gifts that we will all treasure for many years to come. I am just so sorry that it took me so long to post about these wonderful gifts. They all meant the world to us!
I tried to take a closer picture of the gifts, can you believe all of this is for Emma?!!
Here is the sand dollar our pal sent for Emma. I already bought a little stand and put it in Emma's room. I just cried when I saw Emma's name on it! Thank you so much for all of your thoughtfulness! I can't wait until the day I find out who you are so I can really thank you!
Hopefully things will start to get back to normal. I have missed blogging and have really missed out on what is going on in all of your lives. I could use a whole week to catch up! I also wanted to send out a congrats to everyone who got their referrals this month. Oh, for those of you who aren't from the adoption world, referrals went from Oct 25-Nov 1! (A baby step closer to Emma!)

Sorry I have been MIA but last weeks news really had me down. When I started hearing the rumors that they were only referring 2 days I thought NO WAY, something must be wrong. Well, as we know, it happened. I felt really numb. For the first time I thought that this adoption really wasn't going to happen. I decided that I needed to take a few days to regroup. I stayed away from the posts, RQ, and I even shut the door to Emma's room so I didn't have to look at it. You know what, it really did help. I needed the break to get my life back in order. I had become way to consumed with the wait. I have to say that I have a new attitude! There are so many things that I should be doing and places I should be going. We have put our life's on hold for way to long. Yes, we are still anxiously awaiting the time when we get to see Emma's face for the first time, the first time we hold her and our life with her but we have to remember it will happen just not as fast as we would like. You would think that by now I would have more patience after all these years of waiting. So, I have had time to take a break and now I am ready to enjoy the rest of our time while we wait on Emma. I know she will be worth every minute!

Yummy!!

When I got home from work today Mike had a box sitting on the table for me, well, for Emma. As I got closer I realized that it came from my wonderful and amazing friend Lisa. Now, over the past year Lisa has been spoiling the entire Kramer family rotten. She has become very special to us. Today she (and Mesa) sent us a chocolate egg. Not just any ordinary egg! This egg is from a local candy shop in Salt Lake and it has Emma's name on it. Lisa told us that this year Mike and I can enjoy Emma's egg. I can't wait! Thank you so much Lisa for always thinking of us. We are so lucky to have made such a wonderful friend. I can't wait until next year when Emma and Tate can pig out on their own special chocolate eggs!

A little celebration

Last night we went out with the family for a little celebration. We were celebrating 2 special things, Mike's birthday and our 1 year LID. Yes, they both feel on the same day. If I can go back for a minute, last year our dossier left for China on 2/24/06 (DTC) and I was really hoping that we would be logged in by mid March. Well, it didn't happen. It was in April when Katrina called to inform me that we were our LID was March 29th. At first I was a little disappointed, but then I realized that we were logged in on Mike's birthday. What day could be more special to me than that?! So anyway, we went to P.F. Chang's to celebrate the occassion. We had such a good time and even got the kids to try some of the food.

Here is a picture of the family (only missing 3)! Thanks to the whole family for coming out to celebrate with us. Hopefully we can do it again when little Miss Emma gets home. The waitress even brought us a pair of kids chopsticks to take home for Emma. If that wasn't enough, look what I found sitting on the table...

Yes, you got it! A ladybug sighting!! I loved it (thanks sis!) and yes it came just in time for the stork alert! Hopefully tomorrow we will be finding out how far the referrals got. Congrats to all you waiting parents who will be seeing their babies.

1 YEAR LID!

Happy 12 Month (1 Year) LID Anniversary!

In honor of Mike's favorite team we had to use the Browns Jersey.

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

Happy Birthday Michael!

Thank you for being the most wonderful husband in the world!

Today and everyday I celebrate having you in my life.

I Love You, Always, Forever!!!

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Donette!

Just wanted to let you know I am thinking about you today!

WOW!

WOW! WHAT ELSE CAN I SAY?!!

I have tried to post this all day but Blogger kept going down. I worked on it for 2 hours this morning (typed it 4 times!) Yesterday my day started off blah but ended up getting better and better. I had a terrible week at work and was so glad for it to be over. So yesterday morning I woke up in a funk. It got a little better as the day went on and then just after lunch the big news came out about Tubby leaving UK. How could that not change your mood! Then when I got home from the office it was so nice out that Mike and I took Jack to Bernheim for a walk. This is where the WOW factor came in! We pulled back in the drive and I noticed a box on the porch. I hadn't ordered anything so it must be from our March Secret Pal. Of course I grabbed the box (boy was it heavy) and Mike got the box cutter so that we could see what was inside. We couldn't believe what all we found inside. I guess you would like to see...!

Check out all of these goodies for Emma!

(No one should be this spoiled. Well, maybe Emma!!)

We loved all of the ladybug stuff. I can just see Emma in this cute little shirt, holing her ladybug while I read her this cute ladybug story! Check out the frame (just need Emma's picture to put in it!) The fuzzy thing on top of the frame is the cutest fuzzy ladybug pen (love it!)
To spoil little Miss Emma even more, our pal sent this bunny that plays music when you pull the small bunny down, these adorable barrettes, bedtime book (did I tell you how much I love board books?!) and a fun phonelike play toy! I just hope we can keep Jack away from these soft animals as he always thinks they are for him!

Our pal thought of us too! I love the bag and I know it will come in so handy. I love the bath gel and will be using it tonight! Boy are we spoiled?!!!
When you thought there couldn't be anymore in that box, Emma gets spoiled even more! The sweatshirt says it all "Baby Princess" and I am afraid the onesie is going to be true "Don't be fooled by the diapers, I'm in charge"! I can't wait for Emma to get to wear these!

We want to send a very big thank you to our amazingly thoughtful pal. You went way overboard! We love each and every item that you picked out and sent to us. It truely turned my day around. I sat in Emma's room last night playing with all of her goodies. We feel so blessed to have such wonderful people around us during our wait. Your gift came at just the perfect time. I can't wait until I know exactly who to thank! You are amazing secret pal!!

It's Looking Up!

MY DAY JUST GOT BETTER!

THE PRESS JUST RELEASED THAT TUBBY IS GONE!! DREAMS CAN COME TRUE. HE WILL BE HEADING TO MINNESOTA. I GUESS THAT HAPPY DUST REALLY DOES WORK! COME ON BILLY, WE NEED YOU!

How I feel today!

THIS SUMS IT UP!

Go Cats!

GO CATS!
I KNOW THE CHANCES OF BEATING KANSAS TODAY AREN'T GOOD BUT I STILL MUST ROOT ON MY WILDCATS!