It is greater to give than to receive and this year we donated to "Christmas in Kyrgyzstan".
Feel free to read about the benefit the LaJoy Family sponsored. We were one of many families that donated to the cause for children in Kyrgyzstan to receive a special meal and get presents from Santa. We feel honored and blessed that we were able to contribute and are thrilled to see the reward - the happy smiling faces. Visit Julie and John Wright's blog for pictures and much more!
Be warm, be safe, and Merry Christmas!!!
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Glimmer of Hope
Within this past week, we have received two very promising emails from our agency about the adoption. Though things still seem difficult to understand and the issues won't be completely ironed out until after the holidays (mid-January is mentioned), we are confident that this may be the good news we have been waiting to hear these past couple of months. Authorities are stepping up and starting to delegate who does what, when, and where. We hope with the new structuring of their policies, the adoptions will run more smoothly. Our dossier should be on its way to D.C. if not already there and then off to Kyrgyzstan.
On another note, it's 5 days till' Christmas. With that, there leaves me wrapping frantically. Somehow every year I mention I will get a head start and NOT leave it to the last minute. And every year I always eat those words. From Hayden to cousins to family gifts, I will be swamped and covered in multi-colored wrapping paper and tape. YEAH ME!
We spent last weekend helping Hayden fight off a cold and getting our holiday pictures taken. One gripe. Why is it when you make an appointment - for anywhere - do you still manage to wait? Doctor, hairstylist, portrait studio or restaurant. Least it always happens to me. *Grrrr*
Thursday was Hayden's holiday party at school and mommy volunteered to help. When I arrived, the kids tables were separated into "centers" and each had a different activity. I got lucky and was in charge of cardboard Xmas trees and the children put stickers on them to decorate. Other activities included making a beaded candy cane, holiday foam bookmarks, reindeer food, and the messiest of all, icing "ice-cream cone" Christmas trees. The kids frosted waffles cones with green frosting and decorated them with holiday sprinkles and fruit loops. It was soo cute and such a mess! It was hilarious to see Hayden try to eat his. (He doesn't like to get messy). I wish I would have brought my camera, but picture him leaning forward and just eating it with his mouth. Eventually he gave in (with kids and teachers persuasion) and picked it up. I will be getting icing out of his navy blue pants for days!
That brings me to mention how we spent yesterday. SNOWDAY! Though I am sad Hayden didn't get to sing at his school holiday presentation (and not - because parents weren't invited, RUDE!) it really would have been an easy school day for both Hayden and Michael. However, the roads were horrible and we were stuck in our driveway until at least 10:30am. With at least 8 inches (I am thanking the neighbors for them letting us borrow their snowblower!!!) and more at the curb, we (and I mean Michael LOL) would have been utterly exhausted if we did all the shoveling on our own. Hayden and the neighbor kids played while the men worked and the women chatted. The good old days, only in 14 degree weather. In the evening, we jotted over to the neighbors for chili and board games while the kids occupied themselves. Overall, it was a nice relaxing day and a great stress reliever.
So onto Christmas... we will leave out cookies and carrots and magic reindeer food. May Santa bring everything on yours and our wish list (provided you've been nice, not naughty).
We will continue to have faith and hope - that the news gets better from here on out. ;)
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays from the V's! 0 comments Posted by Mel at 10:42 AM
On another note, it's 5 days till' Christmas. With that, there leaves me wrapping frantically. Somehow every year I mention I will get a head start and NOT leave it to the last minute. And every year I always eat those words. From Hayden to cousins to family gifts, I will be swamped and covered in multi-colored wrapping paper and tape. YEAH ME!
We spent last weekend helping Hayden fight off a cold and getting our holiday pictures taken. One gripe. Why is it when you make an appointment - for anywhere - do you still manage to wait? Doctor, hairstylist, portrait studio or restaurant. Least it always happens to me. *Grrrr*
Thursday was Hayden's holiday party at school and mommy volunteered to help. When I arrived, the kids tables were separated into "centers" and each had a different activity. I got lucky and was in charge of cardboard Xmas trees and the children put stickers on them to decorate. Other activities included making a beaded candy cane, holiday foam bookmarks, reindeer food, and the messiest of all, icing "ice-cream cone" Christmas trees. The kids frosted waffles cones with green frosting and decorated them with holiday sprinkles and fruit loops. It was soo cute and such a mess! It was hilarious to see Hayden try to eat his. (He doesn't like to get messy). I wish I would have brought my camera, but picture him leaning forward and just eating it with his mouth. Eventually he gave in (with kids and teachers persuasion) and picked it up. I will be getting icing out of his navy blue pants for days!
That brings me to mention how we spent yesterday. SNOWDAY! Though I am sad Hayden didn't get to sing at his school holiday presentation (and not - because parents weren't invited, RUDE!) it really would have been an easy school day for both Hayden and Michael. However, the roads were horrible and we were stuck in our driveway until at least 10:30am. With at least 8 inches (I am thanking the neighbors for them letting us borrow their snowblower!!!) and more at the curb, we (and I mean Michael LOL) would have been utterly exhausted if we did all the shoveling on our own. Hayden and the neighbor kids played while the men worked and the women chatted. The good old days, only in 14 degree weather. In the evening, we jotted over to the neighbors for chili and board games while the kids occupied themselves. Overall, it was a nice relaxing day and a great stress reliever.
So onto Christmas... we will leave out cookies and carrots and magic reindeer food. May Santa bring everything on yours and our wish list (provided you've been nice, not naughty).
We will continue to have faith and hope - that the news gets better from here on out. ;)
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays from the V's! 0 comments Posted by Mel at 10:42 AM
Better Than Twiddling Your Thumbs...
While trying to come up with gift ideas online for teachers, therapists, and bus drivers (surprisingly everyone else is almost done!), I came across a very CUTE page on the Better Home and Garden website. Since "Mom inspection" is always required *hehe*, I checked out two very cool virtual creations they have on their site.
Make your own virtual snowflake, or decorate a gingerbread cookie! The snowflakes had all of us oooowwing and awwwwwing! Once your finished snowflake is done, add a message (if you wish) and then watch it fall from the sky with other snowflakes! Divine and beautiful! And when Hayden tried the gingerbread cookie "decorator" it made me hungry! You can outline it in frosting, or frost the whole thing. Add sprinkles or candy, etc.
Anyway, you get the gist.
Hayden's recovering from a cold. When I was growing up, whenever I would catch a cold, a bad cough was soon to follow. I would sound like a horse... unfortunately Hayden has taken to my genes and needed to stay home on Wednesday to rest up. He's sounding and acting better today - thank goodness. It's family picture day tomorrow and I've been putting it off long enough. ;)
Adoption news. I am so fed up, hurt, sad, depressed, confused... that I will just leave you with the fact that we have no good news, obviously. From the update we received today - it looks like we won't be getting any good news for a while - or at least any movement or approval/paper signing until mid-January. *Sigh* My heart goes out to the families who have already met their children and have been waiting longer. I'm sure their heartache is much deeper.
I will try to keep my chin up and have faith.
Now, back to making FAKE snowflakes, all the while hoping the real stuff melts and stays very VERY far away. 0 comments Posted by Mel at 9:20 PM
Make your own virtual snowflake, or decorate a gingerbread cookie! The snowflakes had all of us oooowwing and awwwwwing! Once your finished snowflake is done, add a message (if you wish) and then watch it fall from the sky with other snowflakes! Divine and beautiful! And when Hayden tried the gingerbread cookie "decorator" it made me hungry! You can outline it in frosting, or frost the whole thing. Add sprinkles or candy, etc.
Anyway, you get the gist.
Hayden's recovering from a cold. When I was growing up, whenever I would catch a cold, a bad cough was soon to follow. I would sound like a horse... unfortunately Hayden has taken to my genes and needed to stay home on Wednesday to rest up. He's sounding and acting better today - thank goodness. It's family picture day tomorrow and I've been putting it off long enough. ;)
Adoption news. I am so fed up, hurt, sad, depressed, confused... that I will just leave you with the fact that we have no good news, obviously. From the update we received today - it looks like we won't be getting any good news for a while - or at least any movement or approval/paper signing until mid-January. *Sigh* My heart goes out to the families who have already met their children and have been waiting longer. I'm sure their heartache is much deeper.
I will try to keep my chin up and have faith.
Now, back to making FAKE snowflakes, all the while hoping the real stuff melts and stays very VERY far away. 0 comments Posted by Mel at 9:20 PM
I'll Close My Eyes, Let Me Know When It's Over
I know I promised an update last week... I apologize that it came and went. Truth be told, we did receive an update, but honestly... other than being let down again with the same old story of not knowing what really is going on, sometimes I wonder if I should lead everyone on. Should I bother with even mentioning we should be getting an update; get your hopes up that maybe we will have good news or any news at all? Then I think - if I don't... what's the point of all this then? My point is to inform you. I want everyone to be as much involved in the process as we are with our daughter (minus empty pocket books and carpal tunnel). To know where she came from, to know about her when she comes home, and for those who may travel in our footsteps after us. It's a hard path to travel in - but one we would NOT detour from any time soon.
So it's winter. I hate the cold. Show me the snow and I am fine. Bundle me up and take me out in 15 degree weather and find me NOT to be a happy camper. Even Hayden is wishing it was Spring because "it's Mommy's favorite season" he says. Do I have him trained or what? We have played outside a couple times, shoveled the driveway (Santa, I am begging you, please find a way to send my hubby a snow blower!!! LOL) and made perfect snowballs with Hayden's snowball maker. (Really cool toy!) We even played with the neighbors for a few hours until our cheeks and ears were going to fall off.
Meanwhile... we make do inside. Hayden has been driving me batty with all his "WANTS" for Santa. Half the stuff I highly doubt he will ever play with again if they were gifted. But Lego's... Santa please bring more Lego's!!!! STAT!
Aunt Michele's Santa will be handling this task and I am ever so thankful ;) . The other day, while I believe I was writing a blog entry Hayden was sitting in the hallway with his lego's just building away. He called me out and... by golly the whole set was turned into little Star Wars ships. Least that's what he called them. How we go from popsicle sticks to legos. LOL
This weekend we had a small holiday party. Our neighbors and some friends joined us and Hayden was even more tickled pink when the kids arrived. My basement/toyland took a few beatings, but with the help from several adults (thank you!!!) it was surprisingly easy to pick up. Made the OCD anal compulsiveness in me calm down.
I, of course, over budgeted how much food to serve. So we will be eating mini cheesecakes for breakfast lunch and dinner.
Holiday shopping is in full swing! All Hayden's cousins have been finished thanks to internet Santa! Our family has been generous this year to help pitch in for the Nintendo Wii for Hayden. This is a HUGE gift for him and seeing as such Michael and I won't be gifting ourselves this year. :( . Hayden loves the Wii at physical therapy (mainly the Wii Fit and since you can't have one with other...). It has shown such great results we knew this would be a purchase we would be making sooner or later. We couldn't be more thankful for our family's help, nor would we be able to purchase it without them.
Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!
Nana and G. Aunt Rita had sent Hayden some turkey dollars and he decided to spend it on 4 (Target dollar spot) Charlie Brown coloring books. We have been in love with him since Halloween and can't seem to get enough. So much so that "Santa" sent us an early gift of a soundtrack for the shows. Hayden (and Daddy) love listening to the music. I can't wait till it starts to drive me batty. For those of you who aren't aware - hurry and set your recorders... Charlie Brown is on tonight at 7pm on ABC.
Ok... off to my morning chores. YEAH! 0 comments Posted by Mel at 8:44 AM
So it's winter. I hate the cold. Show me the snow and I am fine. Bundle me up and take me out in 15 degree weather and find me NOT to be a happy camper. Even Hayden is wishing it was Spring because "it's Mommy's favorite season" he says. Do I have him trained or what? We have played outside a couple times, shoveled the driveway (Santa, I am begging you, please find a way to send my hubby a snow blower!!! LOL) and made perfect snowballs with Hayden's snowball maker. (Really cool toy!) We even played with the neighbors for a few hours until our cheeks and ears were going to fall off.
Meanwhile... we make do inside. Hayden has been driving me batty with all his "WANTS" for Santa. Half the stuff I highly doubt he will ever play with again if they were gifted. But Lego's... Santa please bring more Lego's!!!! STAT!
Aunt Michele's Santa will be handling this task and I am ever so thankful ;) . The other day, while I believe I was writing a blog entry Hayden was sitting in the hallway with his lego's just building away. He called me out and... by golly the whole set was turned into little Star Wars ships. Least that's what he called them. How we go from popsicle sticks to legos. LOL
This weekend we had a small holiday party. Our neighbors and some friends joined us and Hayden was even more tickled pink when the kids arrived. My basement/toyland took a few beatings, but with the help from several adults (thank you!!!) it was surprisingly easy to pick up. Made the OCD anal compulsiveness in me calm down.
I, of course, over budgeted how much food to serve. So we will be eating mini cheesecakes for breakfast lunch and dinner.
Holiday shopping is in full swing! All Hayden's cousins have been finished thanks to internet Santa! Our family has been generous this year to help pitch in for the Nintendo Wii for Hayden. This is a HUGE gift for him and seeing as such Michael and I won't be gifting ourselves this year. :( . Hayden loves the Wii at physical therapy (mainly the Wii Fit and since you can't have one with other...). It has shown such great results we knew this would be a purchase we would be making sooner or later. We couldn't be more thankful for our family's help, nor would we be able to purchase it without them.
Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!
Nana and G. Aunt Rita had sent Hayden some turkey dollars and he decided to spend it on 4 (Target dollar spot) Charlie Brown coloring books. We have been in love with him since Halloween and can't seem to get enough. So much so that "Santa" sent us an early gift of a soundtrack for the shows. Hayden (and Daddy) love listening to the music. I can't wait till it starts to drive me batty. For those of you who aren't aware - hurry and set your recorders... Charlie Brown is on tonight at 7pm on ABC.
Ok... off to my morning chores. YEAH! 0 comments Posted by Mel at 8:44 AM
It Pays to Keep Up, or We Pay...
I know it's been ages - I'm not perfect and even slack in some departments. But it's also hard when there's no news to report.
HOWEVER! I've hunted down some. *Hehehe*
Before I start spouting off, I want to say Happy Thanksgiving to all. Michael, Hayden and I definitely enjoyed our time off, spending it with family and decorating (one of several things I do best). Thankfully we were all healthy this holiday. Let's cross our fingers for the next one.
All righty, on to the good stuff. I emailed our agency earlier this afternoon and received a response by the time Hayden and I came home from our "crazy Tuesday" (as we have so nicknamed it). Hayden hopes off the buss, I drive over to G.L. and he has 2 different sessions of therapy... only to pick up dinner on the way home; usually walking in the door around 6:45ish pm. Long day!
Anyway... on to point. Our dossier papers have all been received (even the revised ones) and will be finished being translated hopefully early next week!!! Once that is done - they are shipped to Washington then to Kyrgyz. With this comes more fees. Luckily this isn't the choking hazard just yet if you catch my drift... but it's a start. We also are waiting anxiously to hear the country update that should be coming later this week. I will be sure to post more when I know more.
Tata for now... 0 comments Posted by Mel at 12:18 AM
HOWEVER! I've hunted down some. *Hehehe*
Before I start spouting off, I want to say Happy Thanksgiving to all. Michael, Hayden and I definitely enjoyed our time off, spending it with family and decorating (one of several things I do best). Thankfully we were all healthy this holiday. Let's cross our fingers for the next one.
All righty, on to the good stuff. I emailed our agency earlier this afternoon and received a response by the time Hayden and I came home from our "crazy Tuesday" (as we have so nicknamed it). Hayden hopes off the buss, I drive over to G.L. and he has 2 different sessions of therapy... only to pick up dinner on the way home; usually walking in the door around 6:45ish pm. Long day!
Anyway... on to point. Our dossier papers have all been received (even the revised ones) and will be finished being translated hopefully early next week!!! Once that is done - they are shipped to Washington then to Kyrgyz. With this comes more fees. Luckily this isn't the choking hazard just yet if you catch my drift... but it's a start. We also are waiting anxiously to hear the country update that should be coming later this week. I will be sure to post more when I know more.
Tata for now... 0 comments Posted by Mel at 12:18 AM
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