I know! I have been… well, NOT here! And not on my usual blog patrol either. Sorry I just haven’t had time to check in with everyone, I am missing you guys. It’s gone from crazy to absolutely insane around here. So much stuff (good stuff but big stuff) coming up. I’ve started my own little countdown….
TWO days until my oldest kiddos come home for the holidays!! Tori and Zach will be coming in on the 20th… it’s going to be the best (and the craziest) Christmas ever. I can’t WAIT!!
THREE days until we have our family pictures taken! Yippeee! If you’ve ever had a family picture taken, you know I say ‘Yippeeee’ in jest. Truly. BUT we are having these done ‘professionally’… so I might be sayin’ yippeeee when I see the result 🙂
SEVEN days until CHRISTMAS! And NO, I have not gotten all my Christmas shopping done. But I am savoring this time, anticipating the joy of our Savior’s birth. What doesn’t get done just won’t get done. And that’s okay. If you are usually on our Christmas card list, before you get offended, Christmas cards are one of those things that won’t get done this year. As in all things, my excuse is that I have a lot of kids. That and the fact that my paltry efforts at capturing a picture worthy of actually paying to have printed on a card were, sadly, in vain.
I am, however, considering sending out New Years cards, depending on the results of our upcoming photo session.
And….
……. drumroll, please…….
EIGHT days until I leave for CHINA!!!!! Yes, this IS a surprise. We thought we’d be leaving sometime in January. I am so excited that I will be able to travel with my sister to adopt her precious Cole!! And yes, she is in the process of setting up a site with Joe and Jen, so if you’d like, you can follow along! The link will be posted sometime before we go, promise 🙂
So put another log on the fire, it’s gonna be a crazy end to 2008!
Yay! Can’t wait to follow Stef and Andrea’s Excellent Adventure to CHINA!!!! And give those big kiddos big hugs from their Ohio posse….we love you! Don’t sweat the cards….we won’t take you off the list. 🙂
WHAT? WHAT?? WHAT???????????????
EIGHT DAYS until you leave for China????
(Picking myself up off the floor)!
OH MY GOSH! You must be flipping out excited! You & Andrea will have SOOOO much fun, and I can't WAIT to meet Cole through the 2 of you!
FREAKING OUT! I love how quickly they are getting her there!
xoxo
wooooohoooooo! love that countdown!!!!!!!!!!
I can’t believe you said 8 days until you leave for China!! You must certainly be wigging out for SURE.
Christmas cards? Oh, I’m in the school of thought that New Years Cards are soooooooo much nicer (especially since I can’t get that perfect picture either!!!) Do what you can and spend some time just enjoying all the kiddos.
I am so excited to follow the Journey to Cole!!
Stephanie,
Here’s a little tip on your upcoming family photo shoot…
Save yourself a ton of money and a big headache by considering having your photo printed in black/white or sepia. I do this all the time b/c it doesn’t matter if your girls are wearing purple and pink and your boys are wearing blue and green and one of your little ones might be holding something like a lollipop (which may have oozed all over their shirt or face and is probably still not the same color of anyone’s shirt!) or special toy (to keep them from running away or totally losing it!). In the world of black/white/sepia it all turns into a wonderful picture. Really. And, for the record, I swear it makes me look 15lbs thinner! julia.
I was looking back at old photos I have stashed away (back when I used real film and always ordered doubles…just in case!?) and found the sweetest picture of my three kids under the Christmas tree. I had them all dressed in their cute Christmas outfits. Perfect plan…terrible pics. But the black/white ones I printed are adorable. Even though my one year old boy literally had (a stuffed) baby Jesus in his mouth and the girls hair was all fly-away and yucky. The difference is amazing, really.
YEAH YEAH YEAH!!! HUGS my friend!
🙂
-Nicole
Back when I had loads of little kids (my oldest 3 are big enough to really help out now) and ended up with pneumonia one Christmas…I just saved my Christmas card list and sent out Easter cards instead. The kids looked awesome in their Easter duds and it was a much more relaxed time of year to be getting photos made and writing out cards. So it worked great for me, too! Try it!
Have a wonderful trip…I’ll be following along!
Amy in Alabama
WOW!
That is incredible news.
What a Christmas gift.
Andrea
Can I come and grab my little guy? If you swing by the CCAA tell then to send our LOA !
🙂
WOW! 8 days! Oh my! You know, the Christmas card deal can be stressful. I got some done but I cut the list way down this year and used postcards to save on cost. I do love the photos you took of the children while tree shopping though! My SIL did a New Year’s card one year and they turned out very cute. HAVE A MERRY Christmas!
Oh my!! Wonderful and crazy!! A perfect combination. So glad the kiddos are headed home soon 🙂
Eight days till China…wowee!!! I have a teeny tiny itsy bitsy favor I want to ask of you. Can I ask??? Huh, huh, can I? (say that like a three year old) 🙂 cuz, you like, have NOTHING better to do right?
On the eighth day of Christmas, their aunt gave to them… a cousin!
Why is Zach away? I know Victoria is in college, but I don’t think your son is, unless he’s a super genious. 😉
Ann
Amazing news! That is just so awesome! I can’t wait to find their site on myadoptionwebsite…ours is http://www.myadoptionwebsite.com/journeytoemma
OH MY!!! That is big news!! I can’t wait to follow your sister’s journey. You two are going to have such an amazing time. And hey, leaving the day after Christmas means you don’t have to clean up all the paper, bows, boxes, etc… Major side benefit, eh?
There are always Chinese New Year Cards. I did that the year that Julia came home and they came out very nice. I even put in a picture of Julia under the Christmas tree.
Happy, happy travels!
Suzanne
I too am preparing to leave to get my little boy in China (26th-10th)! I hope we meet since I’ve been following your blog for quite some time:) Congrats and have a wonderful time!
Heather (FL)
How exciting you get to travel with your sister to China! I look forward to following her journey.
Happy Holidays!
Karen
Awesome, can’t wait to follow along on your trip. And, I love your attitude…what doesn’t get done just wasn’t meant to get done, no guilt thank-you-very-much. 🙂
Donna
http://www.handsful.com
It has been a while since dropping by… sorry but I see you have the same problem… I am so busy with work etc – at least it will make time go a little faster until we get Shauna…
Wow Stefanie!!!!! I am so excited for you and your sister and Cole!!!!! Cannot wait to follow along!!!!
Ann (Lizzie’s Momma)
I’m so excited for you — and I’m green with envy. Can’t you tell? Enjoy evey moment!!