Party and other stuff!

This weekend - we went to Memphis for my husband's cousins 40th party.  We had a blast!!  

Before we left I prayed for God to give me signs

that we are on the right path.  

God can be funny sometimes.....

SIGN #1

First we went into a baby store looking at beddi

ng.  We have a girl name that we really like that has stood out to us for along time.  This was not a store that I had on my list to visit - we were just driving past and stopped in - so right when

 we walked in there on one of the baby bed's was an adorable pink and brown blanket with the name we love in huge letters across it!!!  PS Pink and Brown are my favorite colors - they were the colors of my wedding!!  LOVE that combo!

OK so maybe it was not a sign being that it is a semi popular girl name.

Sign #2

Next we went to another store that was on my 

list - and I found another bedding sets that I loved!!  The name of the set just happened 

to be the SAME name that we love!!  OK - 2 for 2!!

Sign #3

We then go to eat before the party at our fav dining PEI WEI we pronounce it pee wee....

I never get fortune cookies but B always does....he opened mine and it said..."The Wish Most Dear to Your Heart Will Come True"..

Sign #4

Saturday morning we woke up and went downstairs for

our  FREE breakfast - B got a Memphis newspaper

....and look what he found in it!!

I love my husband!!!!

This and that

Yesterday I had the best lunch with a new friend!  She just brought her daughter home from Korea...

H is exactly what I need in my life.  Positive, fun, spiritual, sweet, kind...thank you H for talking me through my my fears and for praying for B and I!!  

Through this adoption experience it is simply amazing how many wonderful people and families that I have met!  

Thank you to all of our awesome supportive friends.  Thank you for believing in us and praying for us.  

PS - you all that have adopted in Nashville - who did you use to look over your referrals and medical info?? 

Look what I got!!

Well I have been given the greatest FIRST gift!!  My dear friend and fellow diva "B" gave the baby  "THIS LITTLE PIGGY WENT TO PRADA".  It is hysterical!!  Nursery rhymes set with all of the cool things that I love!!  Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, Nobu - all of the HIP brands and places!!  It is perfect!  B and I worked together in the beauty industry for years.  We are the closest of friends and I adore her!!  Thank you B!!

I also have been dying for the COCO doll from Blabla - so yesterday I bought her!!  Isn't she sooo cute!!  Watch out there is a new ET princess in town!!

TAGGED!!

Well - I have been seeing these "tags" on blogs that I follow and it looks like it has happened to me.

I have been tagged by Melissa and now I must list 7 interesting/weird facts about myself.  

1.  I am extremely chatty and can pretty much carry on a conversation with anyone BUT I really hate parties and small talk...I get very nervous around a lot of  people and would much rather talk with a few people about real things then talk with 50 about nothing. 

2.  I don't drink any alcohol - yep not even wine!!  Would rather eat my calories than drink them.  Not to mention hang overs.

3.  I have exercised 4-6 times a week for about 15 years - I lift weights 2x  a week and do some type of cardio either running, spinning, elliptical, or the "beast" aka the HUGE stairmaster.  I am a health nut!!  Drink my water daily, eat my fruits and veggies, floss....I LOVE living a healthy lifestyle!!  It is my way of life!!

4.  I am a vampire - I do not like being in the sun!!  I wear SPF 30 every single day on my face and when I run I slather SPF 60 all over!!  I love a cloudy day - I love to sweat but not when I just spent 45 minutes getting ready.  But the funny thing is.....I am an expert self-tanner!!  I use the spray type and the daily lotion.  I love the look of a tan just one out of a bottle!!

5.  I am probably the worst dancer you have ever seen!!  Picture Elaine from Seinfeld....that's me!!  OH yeah and I can't touch my toes - tight hamstrings from years of running!!!!

6.  I am thrifty - I keep the heat off as looong as I can, keep the ac to a minimum, shop on EBAY, turn off all lights and electrical items when not needed...I LOVE to have money and would rather put it in the bank then spend it on items I don't need.  Yeah I am a bit extreme!!

7.  I am a dork - I wear earplugs nightly #1 b/c I like to sleep in complete quiet and #2 b/c my hubs snores so freakin loud!!!  And yes I know that will have to stop when the baby gets here:)!

Ok blog friends - here you go u r tagged!!!   I usually really don't like these type of things...but it turned out to be kind of fun.

1. Liz

2. Chantelle

3. Julie 

4. Megan

5. Tracy M

6. Tracy A

7. Leah

I don't know how to hi lite links so sorry this is all I can do?!?!  

Picky Eater!!

Saturday I had my first taste of Ethiopian food and low and behold I liked it!!  

A little background for you....food and I don't get along so well.  I don't like any type of meat at all..no pork or beef or chicken or basically any type of bird.  I really don't like tofu either....so let's just say I have a very small diet.  I eat tons of seafood - shrimp tuna etc. I have never eaten fast food - well I think I did in hs but that was forever ago!!  SOOOO for me to find something new to add to my diet is awesome!!

My friend Z took me to an ET restaurant for lunch.  The owner suggested we try the vegetarian plate with a chicken dish as well.  We had 5-6 vegey sides that were all so fresh and yummy!!  Squash, turnip greens, chick peas...not really sure what the other were but I ate them all!!!  And I was not extremely full which I love!!!  Now I have to talk B into trying it - can you believe it my hubs is more picky than I am!  

Bring on the questions and comments....

Since we have made the announcement we have had sooooooo MANY questions and comments and I have felt that I have had to be  defensive about what we are doing.  I will try to answer and comment on the ones that I feel deem a response.

1.  Why Ethiopia??  Why not China, Guatemala, domestic adoption etc??

For us the timeline, the qualifications needed, and the way we were drawn to this country fit what wanted.  Not to mention the absolute peace that we feel in our hearts when we discuss Africa.  

2.  Why not have a "child of your own"...this one still bothers me...and blows me away when people ask me this...it is an extremely personal question -  but I will do my best to answer it....

Again for us having a biological child is not something that we want to explore right now. Adopting from Ethiopia is in our heart  - we have researched, spoken with MANY other adoptive parents, had the absolute pleasure to meet many Ethiopian children, spoken with our priest, spent thousands of hours on the internet reading about Africa, read adoption books....we have done our homework and this is what we are doing.   BTW - she will be our child she will just be from Ethiopia.

3.  Do you not want to have a baby that looks like you and B?  We do not need to have a child that looks like us to feel at peace.  

4.  Do you not worry about the future of the child and how she will deal with "being different"?  Hmmmm different how?  

By this do you mean color of her skin?  She will be raised in a loving family with 2 parents that love her and that love each other.  The USA is made up of people with every color of skin.  My family alone is  blessed to have people from Italy and Ireland.  She will be raised to feel confident about herself and to be independent.   She be educated about her birth country and to feel pride  that she came from Africa.

5.  When will you get her?  Well, depending on when we choose to start the process - it should take around 15 or so months - hopefully shorter :)!!  

There are other goofy comments/questions that have been made that do not warrant an answer - to those people I just laugh and smile and tell them to read - educate themselves on certain things before they throw their opinions in.

Look what we bought!!

I have been wanting to buy these GAP Inspi(red) t shirts forever and this weekends I think B and I needed a boost so I bought one for him - the cool new design for guys - short sleeve red and I got this one!!  LOVE it!!  

Half of the money from these t shirts go to the Global Fund which uses 100% of the money to finance health and community support programs in Africa.  (Yes I stole this exact line from the GAP website:) )

Keep us in your thoughts today - 

I TOLD MY FAMILY!!!

Well - yesterday I told my mother!!  

I had just received an email from a friend of mine with photos of her new niece and nephew that are currently being adopted (domestic) and are black - they are sooooo adorable!!!. So I called my mom to ask about her about it being that I did not know.  Somewhere in that conversation I got the courage to tell her.

I said - mom I have some news to tell you...."we are adopting a baby"!!  She got excited and starting saying "oh that is wonderful"....so I just went with that and kept talking.

Me - "And the baby is going to be from Africa - Ethiopia to be exact"....

Mom - "Ok ok ok..." in an excited sort of shocked voice....

I just kept going afraid to leave a quiet moment or to take a breathe...."we will go to Africa to get her...she will be an infant....around 3-12 months old...most likely 6 or so months...I have researched this for months....B and I are sooo excited....this is the biggest secret that I have ever kept...it will take about 15 months..."

Questions from her then started - I was prepared...."no China takes X amount of time, Mexico....well I really have not heard of children being adopted from there??....Guatemala is not currently open...no I really never thought of domestic...it really was never anything we considered....no I have not told my brother...."

She sounded happy -  said she would love the child with any skin color even "purple"...

GREAT - wow this went better than expected!!

I was on a roll - I called my brother a few hours later and told him as well!!  

At first he  said - "yeah right - you are kidding...." but then he realized I was serious ...and he too seemed happy for us.  Saying "congrats" - "you know your niece has a little boy on her soccer team that is from Africa"....excellent!!  

I then received a call from my mom - I think it had sort of sunk in at this point...some of the race questions came up..."the concern" for B and I...."I want you to be really sure"...."people are prejudice"...."I am going to be really honest with you through out this process"....

My explanation (channeling Liz and Chantelle)....

"Yes, we are sure"

"We are not asking for permission - just your support and blessing"

" I understand your concern - take the time you need..."

"While I appreciate your honesty....think before you say something that could effect the future...."

I then talked to my dad - he really only asked why we didn't want to have any "children of our own" -  I said " at this point in my life this is what we are doing and what I am suppose to do" ...he asked how long it takes....I told him about 15 months (hopefully shorter)....he said well he has some time to get used to it and maybe we can sit down and I can tell him my thoughts...."great I would love to"....

SO - in summary - it went OK??!?!?!?!  Not as bad as I thought but not as well as I would have wanted....but it is done.....deep breathe!!  The weight has been lifted!!  

Signs sign Everywhere signs!!!

Well....another "oh my" moment today!  

While having lunch today with my hubs (after a closing YEAH!!)...we ran into a girl that I know from the gym that he went to college with.

She sells countertops so we were discussing how to build our businesses etc.  

Brad mentioned to her that he saw her (or her twin) at the golf course the other day.

She said oh that was probably my sister.  You know they just adopted a baby girl from South Korea!!

A huge smile started to appear on my face as I looked over at B.  He was smiling ear to ear!!  

We of course them told her that we too were adopting!!  

I LOVE it - what a forward thinking city that we live in!  Just incredible!  Everywhere I turn - people are adopting!!  What a wonderful gift!  Gorgeous day - perfect weather!  God is GOOD!!