BUSY WEEKEND!

We had such a great Memorial weekend filled with BBQ's and birthdays and some relaxing too!

We had a fun BBQ with some friends and family ~ the pool was open and the kids enjoyed swimming, playing and running around with bare feet!

We also celebrated my dad's birthday with another BBQ followed by a trip down to the beach; which we all enjoyed because the weather was gorgeous this weekend! The kids threw rocks in the water, looked for beach glass and Anthony tried to dig a hole to China. He wanted to get Mia sooner rather than later!

I hope everyone had a fabulous few days and had wonderful weather as we did. Enjoy the photos below!!

WELCOME HOME !

Meaghan Grace is home! Welcome home honey (and also mom, dad and brother, Sean)!

We had the pleasure of decorating Michelle & Mike's house yesterday ~ they left for China on May 10th and landing in the U.S.A. yesterday afternoon ~ we were all eagerly awaiting their return! I'm so happy we got to meet Meaghan and personally welcome her. She is such an adorable, petite little girl. She was very interested in all the children - what they were doing and where they were going - she carefully checked everyone out and was probably wondering what all the fuss was about.

The banner on their porch came out beautifully (if you want one go to www.gotchaback.net or email at Shelley@gotchaback.net) ~ enjoy the slide show below!!

ART FESTIVAL & FIELD DAY !

ANTHONY & HIS ART :

African Mask (and my darling boy!)


I love this time of year with all the end of the year festivities going on at the kids schools.

Anthony had his art festival last night and we got to walk around the school and see what the kids have been doing all year in art. It was a fun night and my boy was so proud of his work!

We got side tracked a little...well, Anthony did - he ended up playing a game of kickball with some friends he met up with - sports just seem to find him where ever he goes :)

So I watched Eddie mosey along, finding "ant friends", playing his version of hop scotch and just being his crazy self - he's always entertaining :)


A WIND CHIME-KITE-THINGY!

















EDDIE'S FIELD DAY:
Well, today Eddie and his class played all sorts of games and races and "competed" against each other for . . . well, a certificate - "Go Blue Team"!!!!

He participated A LOT more than mommy expected and that was just great! He did march out with his class in classic Eddie-style (that would be with his arms crossed), but once he saw daddy cheering him on, he really got into the spirit of the day :)










Daddy even helped out with one of the games - they had to toss the ball in the bucket full of water - and I was egging the kids on to soak Eddie's daddy (boy was that fun!)











Here he is proudly running with his award certificate at the end of the games - the look on his face is priceless!












He was so happy daddy took the day off to watch him in action!

Great job Eddie & Anthony ~ we love you :)

ANOTHER CALL FROM CHINA !!!!

I came home from the bus stop to a message ~ from China!! Michelle said she'd call back and I anxiously awaited her call - I mean she is calling from CHINA!!

It was so good to hear her voice - she is loving the White Swan Hotel and all of it's luxuries - she is also very happy with skype and doesn't regret not using the panda phone. I am filing all this info. for our China trip . . . someday in the future.

Meaghan sounds like a wonderful baby girl and I cannot wait to meet her! She is bonding very well with Michelle, and seems to be warming up more and more to her daddy and big brother, Sean with each passing day. Meaghan and family will arrive home this Saturday where she will meet her other 3 brothers - how exciting!!! You can follow their journey at www.meaghangrace.blogspot.com (or click on my side bar under meaghan grace).

LADYBUG, LADYBUG FLY AWAY HOME !

I was just thinking . . . this past week one or both of my boys have spotted ladybugs! I forgot to mention it on my Mother's Day post last week (silly thing to forget! But, that's me!) - while we were all out back playing and relaxing Eddie noticed a ladybug on one of the bushes! He called me over and Anthony came too and tried to get it on his finger. I ran for the camera and it flew away before I could take a photo!

Then, we were at a carnival (car-k-ival as Eddie would say) this week and the boys noticed a ladybug on the railing of the boardwalk. Again, I grabbed for my camera and before I could get it, the ladybug flew away!

My husband just rolls his eyes, but maybe, just maybe Miss Ladybug knows something I don't yet know??

LOGGED IN 7 MONTHS!

The months are flying by . . . this past month especially, I've had so much going on and with the excitement of Meaghan Grace meeting her forever family...well, time is moving quickly.

I don't have too many words of wisdom - in the past I could have guessed how long it would be until Mia was home; however, with this s -l-o-w down who knows ~

PHONE CALL FROM CHINA !

I just received a phone call from Meaghan Grace's mommy in China ~ they have Meggie!!!

They received her around 5pm China time and they walked her in to her mommy, daddy and big brother, Sean. She was wearing a Hello Kitty dress, sandals and had her hair in teeny, tiny pig-tails!!

She went right to her mommy and daddy without crying. Michelle said she is just adorable and sounds thrilled, but tired (it is 9pm in China-12 hours ahead of us).
Meaghan has a bad cold and was sleeping on the bed as we spoke!

She wanted to post the video to her blog, but was having some trouble and she was very tired, as can be expected. I begged her to at least post one photo to hold us over!! You can check out her blog (it's on my side bar under "Mia's China Sisters") for updates and hopefully a picture of their first moments together!!
CONGRATULATIONS~ we are so happy Meaghan is with her forever family :)

What it's all about . . .

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY :

Just showing off my gifts from my dear boys! It is my favorite part of the day... when my boys come to me after breakfast and give me these precious gifts they made ~ for me :)

We had such a nice day; brunch with our family and then we came home to play basketball, baseball and then I finished reading "The Other Boleyn Girl" on the chaise in the warm, sunny backyard. Ahhhhh, what a wonderful day.

Hope everyone is having a truly wonderful day ~ Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies and the waiting mommies! A very special Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful mother ~ I love you so very much!!!


I pray that Mia is here with us for my next mother's day ~ that would be truly wonderful.

BOOK CLUB UPDATE !

I've been reading and reading, and well, reading!!! Our book club chose "The Other Boelyn Girl" for the month of April; however it is over 600 pages long so many of us are still reading!

Let me tell you, I was a bit scared to start such a looooooooooong book; but it is a wonderful read and I find myself daydreaming about the characters. It takes place in the 1500's during the time of Henry the VIII ~ two sisters competing for the love of the king ~ I would recommend it to everyone!


Since most of book club haven't finished last months read ~ we chose a thinner book for May: "The Glass Castle: A Memoir" by Jeannette Walls. It sounds interesting - and is a story of triumph against all odds (her parents chose to be homeless or nomads) and it explains how she was determined to lead a "successful" life.



*Off to the baseball game! Have a great weekend and a wonderful
MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!!!!

LOOK WHAT I FOUND ON MY DOOR STEP !

The cutest ladybug chair with a Mother's Day card . . . from Mia!

I thought I'd heard the doorbell ring ~ maybe it was the TV... so I slowly walked to the front door and looked out the window. I saw a familiar car and a familiar friend scooping up her daughter and "throwing" her in the car for their getaway!! What??

So, I open the front door and find this adorable ladybug chair and a card that reads: "I long for us to be together and will be dreaming of you this Mother's Day. I love you! Love, Mia. P.S. This chair is for me :) "

Thank you my dear friend ~ you never cease to amaze me with your thoughtfulness and understanding ~ what a blessing you are in my life !

CRAZY HOUSE!

Who shows up for dinner like this? Why, of course, that would be Eddie! Dressed in his fireman-best ~ that is a "fire hose" hanging out of his hat. Daddy even thought this get-up was picture worthy, so I ran for the camera. Oh, Eddie I have so many "blackmail" photos to share with your future wife and children - "he, he"!!
















As if Penny wasn't a character all on her own ~ this is Penny with her new "baby", and when I ask her where her baby is, she will actually run and get one of her stuffed animals! I am always looking for new babies for Penny because, well, she wouldn't be voted mother of the year. She shakes her babies and pokes holes through her babies - she tries to love her babies, but somehow they always end with a huge hole! The stuffing falls out all over my floor and then baby ends up in the garbage.

I am always looking for new babies (the "stronger" dog babies don't work either!) and I mentioned this to a few people. Anyway, Trish, my friend and neighbor is behind this new baby you see in the photo. Penny looks hysterical running around with this accordion "baby" (it's a baby book, but she already ripped the closure off). Let's see how long Penny will "mother" her new baby . . .




















Ahhh, then the end of the day comes - some peace and quiet. Anthony helps to calm things down (sometimes!)

I just love our crazy house :)

ISN'T SHE LOVELY ~

ahhhh, I could look at "her" all day long :)

My 3 best girlfriends and I went to a neighborhood pocketbook party last night and this is "who" I came home with (besides a wallet and awesome sunglasses!). It was a tough decision, which everyone at the party would attest too!! Sorry if I drove everyone a little crazy... a lot crazy! But, I can be somewhat indecisive... to put it mildly!

Lucky thing China does the matching for me! Could you imagine????? I would come home with about 10 daughters or it would take me a year (or two) to decide!!!

One day Mia will accompany me to one of these parties . . . o.k., I'm daydreaming about my daughter and I together picking out pocketbooks and it's hard to go on . . . o.k., I'm back ~ so Mia will come with her mom and hopefully she will be better at making decisions than her mommy!

Anyway, what a fun, fun night ~ we laughed so much and came home with bag-fuls of pocketbooks (some of us!) . . .