Happy Halloween!!!!!

To take our minds off the events of the last week Friday evening we went to my cousin Terria's house to carve pumpkins with her and her kids. We had a really good time and it was a great diversion. Terria and I may not be the best pumpkin-carvers but we can certainly make anything fun!!!

Scraping the "guts" out of our pumpkin. The kids did not know what to make of all the gooey mess but it did not take them long to dig in....
" BJ "wanted his picture taken with his pumpkin goo as well

Our finished products:

Mother and son show off their creation!!!
"A" drew the face and then I carved exactly per her instructions.

We took both pumpkins out on the porch and lit them up much to the kids excitement.

Sunday evening I had the pleasure (?) of taking Kelby and 3 of his friends to a local haunted house. Yes, it was me and 4 13years olds!!! That is definitely an adventure in itself. We went through the haunted house with all 4 kids hanging on me in some sort of way, screaming with anticipation of what would jump out at us next. After we all made it out safely it was quite humorous to hear all the kids tell there parents "oh, it wasn't bad, we weren't scared at all!!!" Funny, that is not how I remember it when I was being pulled in 4 different directions. Oh well, it was a great time and I definitely earned some "Cool Aunt Robyn" points!!!

Hope everyone has a safe and Happy Halloween. Can't wait until next year when we have our own little goblin to dress up!!!

Ready to do something fun!!

I have never been one to enter contests on blogs even though my good friend Kelley won that great prize of band-aids once, remember that? Christie also won some scrapbooking supplies on a blog contest. So after the month I have had I thought why not? Let me throw my hat into the ring. Who knows even if I don't win the grand prize just winning SOMETHING would really lift my spirits.....so here goes:

Two moms in a blog is hosting a contest throughout November.
Click here for all the details!!!!!


There are 14 different challenges and I completed #1 just by announcing it here. Be on the lookout for further challenges later in the month.


Hope everyone is having a great week!!

An update........

******SISTERS*******
Momma Martha, Aunt Patti, and Aunt Kathy



This picture was taken at my aunt Patti's 50th birthday celebration in July. Last night at about 6pm she left this world and went to a place where her pain and discomfort is no more. Although we hated to see her go we knew it was time to say good-bye. We love you Patti!!!!!

From the mouths of babes.......

My family really got a dose of wisdom from Kelby (my 13 year old nephew) yesterday. His exact phrase: THIS JUST SUCKS!!!! And you know what? He is exactly right!!!

Our family is currently holding a beside vigil for one my aunts. My mom's sister, Patti, is currently in the hospital and not expected to live much longer. She is only 50 years old but has been struggling with Lupus and liver failure for several years and has finally fought all she can. She was admitted to the hospital on Sunday and has been going downhill every since. We are now to the point where we are talking about hours and not days. This is especially taxing because it feels like we just buried my grandfather yesterday even though it was actually 4 months ago. The only good thing we can say about that is that we are glad grandpa is not here to see his daughter struggling for each breath. Instead Patti's parents are both waiting for her to welcome her into heaven and "show her the ropes".

So here we sit reliving memories, talking with each other, and just waiting for that moment that is inevitable.

Please keep up in your prayers today because we really need all the strength we can get.

Is it really 22 months????

Yep, today marks the anniversary of our Log In Date. 22 months since the CCAA received our dossier. What was initially a 7-8 month wait, then 12-13 month wait, has now lengthened beyond 22 months. We have had a lot of time these last 22 months to grow new friendships, bond with our families, and prepare for life with a child in the house, not to mention the amount of time we have spent SHOPPING for Avery!!!



And it is not only me and Paul that have been doing the shopping. My dad came over a couple of night ago and HE (yes, he) had purchased these 2 outfits for Avery. He said that he was just going through Sam's and they caught his eye. How cute is that??? Thanks Dad!!!




As we all know the last LID referred was 11-30-05 which means when referrals arrive again in the next couple of weeks they will officially be in our month! No we are not expecting our referral in November, but surely we can't be far behind. What a great way to start 2008!!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend, I am off in a couple of hours to a girl's night. Should be tons of laughs and some great pictures so stayed tuned......

Words of encouragement....

Last week while I was in the Human Resources Dept at work I noticed a inspirational paragraph hanging on one employee's cubicle. Just because I am nosy (yes, I admit it) I started reading it and after the first couple of lines I was blown away. It was like it was hanging there just for me to see. I asked the employee to copy it for me. There was not author listed so I can't give due credit, but I wanted to share it with all of you!!!

Your Time Coming

Your time is coming! The dreams and desires, the things you want to accomplish, the situations you want to see changed will happen. Just because it has taken a long time, or because you have tried and failed, don't give up on those dreams. Don't be complacent about pursuing what God has placed in your heart. I encourage you today-to get your fire back! It may be taking a long time, but God is a faithful God. No matter how long it's been, no matter how impossible it looks, if you'll stay in faith, your time is coming. Every dream that's in your heart, every promise that had taken root, God not only put it there, but He has every intention of bringing it to pass. Start declaring today, "My time is coming....God is working behind the scenes on my behalf...I will fulfill my destiny...I will fulfill the plan God had for my life!" As you declare and expect and wait for the appointed time, your faith will grow. Your hope will grow. And you'll step into the destiny God has in store for you.

To me this little paragraph hit the nail on the head......yes this wait for Avery is long but God put that desire in our hearts and HE WILL BRING OUR DAUGHTER TO US!!!!

Happy Friday!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday at Six Flags!!!!

Last Saturday Paul and I had the great pleasure of accompanying Christie and Anton on a day outing to Six Flags. All four of us are roller-coaster enthusiasts. Our grand plan was to open the park at 10am and close it down at 10pm. Well, after all was said and done we all decided that we are officially getting old and that 12 hours at a theme park is just too much (unless, it is a Disney park of course). We wound up arriving shortly after 10am and once we got into the park the lines were not too bad. We wasted no time jumping on the rides.

Paul, Christie, and me on the Texas Tea Cups:
Anton decided to sit this one out and at first I was doing to the spinning and we were all having a great time THEN Paul decided to take Christie and I for a spin and it was totally "no holds barred". Christie and I were screaming and thinking that at some point our cup was going to go air born. We made it off safely but I think we all walked a little crooked for a while.

TITAN: the best coaster in the park.
This picture was taken while we were waiting to unload after riding the Titan. Paul and I kind of snuck our camera on the "on loose articles" ride just so we could capture our faces after riding.

Right next to the Titan is the Sidewinder. I had never ridden this before but Christie informed me it was a total blast......and she was right!!
We decided to ride in separate cars after seeing some of riders appear to get "crushed" by the velocity of the ride throwing you around. I think it was a very good decision on our part. The boys skipped this right but had a great time laughing at us while we were riding.

Could we smile any bigger?
Paul, Robyn, and Anton having a great time!!

Can you see me waving in the red shirt????
Christie captured this picture of me while riding the "Superman Tower of Power".

As we were winding down our day we decided to see the Spongebob Squarepants show
Robyn and Christie stylin' in our 3D glasses.

By this time it was after 5pm. I am not exactly sure how it happened but we all simultaneously decided we had had enough and were done for the day. We casually made our way back to the front of the park but not before a couple of more photo ops

I think by then delirium was kicking in:
Paul was not too overly impressed when I coerced him into putting on the blue furry hat for a photo.

This picture is priceless:
You would think they were some regal couple...but no they are just a couple of crazies trying on hats in a souvenir shop.

And last but certainly not least:

I have got to Six Flag numerous times in my life and I have one tradition. I MUST have a PINK THING when in the park. I am really not even sure what it is but some type of Popsicle/cream bar combination that is so yummy. My dear husband who knows me so well spotted the one place in the park that you can buy these and while Christie and I were shopping surprised me with my treat:
I love the Pink Thing!!!!!!!!!!!!


Overall it was a great day with great friends and even though we did not close the park down we definitely got our fill. We even had time to stop for a great dinner and still be home and in bed by a decent hour.

Ladybug sighting!!

In the Chinese adoption community ladybugs are a symbol of good luck. Often people report seeing a ladybug right before good news is received. This past Saturday Paul and I went to Six Flags with our dear friends Anton and Christie. As we were casually walking around the park Christie suddenly exclaimed "ROBYN DON'T MOVE!!!!" I was not sure what was going on but Christie was so adamant that I immediately froze in place. The next thing I knew she was getting out her camera to take a picture. Out of all the people in the park and this ladybug miraculously landed on me!!! Hopefully the legend is true and this is definitely a sign of good news on the horizon for us!!

Is there such a thing as Disney withdrawals?

If you know Paul and me personally then you know we have a love for all things Disney. Especially the theme parks. When we made our first visit to Walt Disney World in 1996 there was an instant attraction to the atmosphere, the rides, the child-like state. We knew we would return again and again. Soon after that trip we added Disneyland to our favorite vacation spots. It soon became a pattern to visit the "world" in the even years and the "land" in the odd years. As a matter of fact during our trip to Disneyland in 2005 we made the decision to pursue Chinese adoption. We both know all the parks (4@ the world and 2@ the land) like we know our own home. We have strategies to minimize wait times, we know the best time of year to go, we even know where the outlet stores are around the parks that sell actual park merchandise. We are self proclaimed Disney park freaks!!!

Anyway since we anticipated Avery's homecoming in 2006 (when the wait was 6 months) we could not wait to make our annual pilgrimage to the east. As the wait lengthened we put off our trip because we wanted to be able to experience the next trip with our daughter. Since it is apparent that we will not be visiting Disney again this year we are starting to get very antsy. Could a trip to Hong Kong Disney be in our future?????

All I can say is look out Walt Disney World in 2008 because "The K's" will be back and this time we WILL have our daughter with us.

What has really got me thinking about this is that a very dear friend left on Saturday to visit the world and I also have a co-worker leaving today for the same place. I told them both to have a great time but to also tell Mickey that we have not forgotten him and we still love him and we will be back soon!!

This and that.........

So this post is going to be just a bit random (surprise, surprise) because I figured there was no reason doing separate posts for each topic. So here goes:

NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A BARGAIN!!!!

Last week while I was in a local Carter's store (love me some Carter's) I spotted this shirt on the $1.99 clearance rack. I thought it was just too cute to pass up and as a matter of fact I bought a second one just like it but in a different color. Well lo and behold yesterday Paul and I were checking a new department store in our town (who's initials are JCP) and as we were browsing through the children's clothes what did my eye see?? Yep, that's right the same exact shirt!!!!!!!!!!!! It was on sale for the bargain(?)price of 2/$20 but $14 if you only bought one. Score one for the bargain hunter (that's me!)!!! As we continued to browse around the department I saw many Carter's items all priced way higher that I had seen them before. So the moral of the story is this: if you have a Carter's store near you check it out before buying Carter's brand clothing anywhere else.


PROOF THAT IT IS NOT JUST ME!!!!!
Last week while I was at work I received a phone call from Paul at 3am (we both work nights)informing me that there was a new Little People set out. The theme of the set was camping and since we have a travel trailer Paul just knew that Avery needed her own mini camper. So HE bought the set!!! So now not only am I adding to her ever-expanding collection but he is as well.

Baby Shower Madness
Saturday afternoon, I had not 1....not 2.....but 3 baby showers to attend for girls I work with. I guess that's what happens when you work on a maternity floor. The "bug" hits all the nurses too. My mom made the cake for one of the showers (pictured above) and it was not only adorable but also a huge hit with the staff. Thanks Mom!!! Anyway I made it through the first 2 okay but just could not bring myself to attend #3. I knew that there would be several ladies attending that I had not see in a while and I just couldn't go through all the questions about Avery again. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy for all these ladies and don't begrudge anyone having a baby it is just the seemingly endless questions and explanations about OUR process that can get me down. Anyway, I sent a gift and that's what counts, right?

Movin on' to other things..............

*The CCAA has updated their website and the official cut-off is Nov 30th. So when we referrals arrive next month they will definitely be in our month. Cross your fingers for a large batch next time.

*Paul and I will be attending Travel Training hosted by our Agency in November. We figured this was one way to feel like we were doing something toward getting our daughter home.

*I also sat down last night and designed our adoption announcements. The will of course have to be tweaked when we received the actual referral but one less things to be done.

*Kolin's team won their football game Saturday. That is two wins in a row (whoot!whoot!)!!!!!

*Kelby was unable to play in his game last week. He is having some eye issues so please say a little prayer for him.

*Mom and Dad FINALLY have there living room in order. In the last 2 months they have has new carpet installed, purchased new furniture, removed a wood burning stove, and painted. WHEW!!!!!!! I will have to get some pictures up for you to see their creation.

*While I was attending showers on Saturday, Paul picked up his dad and brother and they had a day of "guy bonding". They visited all those "manly" stores like Bass Pro Shop and Cabellas. Anyway I think they all had a great time and loved spending time together.

I think that's all I have for now!!!!!!

Hope you week starts off great!!!

Referrals are here......

but the cut off is still to be determined. The CCAA is closed for the Chinese Holidays this week so no one knows the official cut-off yet. What we do know is that Nov 30th LID's received their referrals and Dec 5th LID's did not. So that leaves the cut-off somewhere in between. Regardless of where the cut-off date is it means that the next batch of referrals would include Dec and that is our month!! Could we possibly be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel??

Hope everyone is having a great week!

These shoes are made for walkin'........

Yep, Paul and I are getting healthy. I purchased this very cool (and cute) pair of shoes and we have both been making good use of the treadmill we put in our living room. The living room might not sound like the idea place for a treadmill but we thought that if it was right there in front of the tv then we would have no excuse not to use it. Rowdy does not quite know what to think when momma and daddy turn on this loud contraption, turn up the tv and walk so he just stands at the edge looking up at us.
Paul has been using it to run 1.5 miles everyday when he gets home from work and I have found out that watching a 30 minute program while walking makes the time on the treadmill fly by.

We are trying to build our stamina for not only climbing the Great Wall but also chasing a toddler around. So wish us luck on our heathly adventures!!!