"Bob ob-a see?"

Over the weekend, the Ladybug starting serenading her father and I after dinner. We had just finished a very messy meal of spaghetti, but we could not tell what she was singing. Do you have any guesses? What is the "Pick up a maid," and "Bob ob-a see?" BTW, you might hear me trying not to laugh in the background :o) Listen to the video below and see if you can figure it out.


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Any guesses? Well, after hearing the song a few times through I finally figured it out. Below is the final video of the Ladybug singing, My Life Would "Stink" Without You, as performed by the cast of Glee. I do not claim to own the rights to the song, this is just for the enjoyment of friends and family who would like to hear the Ladybug's version of the song.

Throughout the video you can see her silliness oozing, as well and the little drama queen just aching to get out. This is our happy, silly, funny, and goofy little girl... and this is what everyday is like at our house (as well as every car ride around town!). Enjoy!!!

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~~Aloha

Flashback Friday

Oh, how I remember this day.

November 2006, the third day that the Ladybug was a part of our family. The Holt families (the families with our adoption agency) visited a Buddhist temple located at a peaceful lake. Fog had rolled in making the place feel even more serene. The Ladybug and I wandered around the temple and grounds together. I carried her around in a baby-sling, where she nuzzled up next to my chest, listening to my heartbeat as we wandered around. She was still very unsure about everything that had happened to her, not sure of who we were yet, but she did know that cuddling up close to me made her feel safe.

That was a time that I look back on so fondly. She was so tiny and fragile, scared and unsure. But, she found comfort in her mommy. I like to think that she loved her mommy... after all, I love(d) her more than she could ever know. I remember this time so well, it was the first time I was a mommy, this was my dream come true. My little Ladybug was my dream come true.

Yes, I remember this day.

~~Aloha

Black and White Wednesday

Black and White Wednesday - Frost-cicles

This week marks the first time that I am going to try my hand at Black & White Wednesday!

A fellow blogger started this idea a few weeks ago on her blog (click the above photo to see her wonderful photos!). As she stated on her blog back in January,

"Black and White photos have always been a favorite of mine......and seem to be a popular choice with others too. Two years ago I started to hang black and whites on one of the walls in our home. My goal was to keep adding photos until the wall was completely filled. Well....let's just say that I can still see a whole lot of wall....LOL!

I take so many photos, but for some reason I don't process a lot in black and white.....and I would like to change that, so this is what I have come up with.......

"Black and White Wednesday"

Each Wednesday I am going to post a black and white picture. It doesn't matter what the picture is, it just has to be processed in black and white.

This will give me something creative to work on each week. It will help me refine my processing skills, because black and white conversions are not as easy as you think and last but not least.......IT IS GOING TO HELP ME FILL UP THAT WALL IN MY HOUSE:)

So what do you all think.......Anyone want to play along with me?

You can post a black and white portrait or a snap shot style photo, it can be a person, place, or thing.....whatever your heart desires, as long as it is black and white. You can tell a story with the picture, or just post the picture!!

It doesn't matter if you are a photographer or an ameteur, if you own a camera and have a blog or FB account, you can play along!!! And don't fret..... I will be posting every Wednesday, but you can come and go as you please. Play along as often as you would like. All you need to do is title your post "Black and White Wednesday"

So, I decided to join along. My first entry into this Wednesday endeavour is a few photos that I took recently of the "frost-cicles" outside on our tree in the back yard. Every branch on the tree had these gorgeous, yet ominous spikes, that were actually very fragile, delicate. Despite the freezing cold, harsh weather that we can get out here in the Dakotas, we do not often see nature in quite this way. I am so happy that I took the opportunity to capture the gorgeous crystals in photos. I hope you enjoy.






And... of course, one fun photo of the Ladybug playing in the snow!



~~Aloha!

Approval!!!

LOA!!!

For those who do not know, this is what we have been waiting for, and ours only took 40 days to get here. LOA stands for Letter of Approval, is a letter that China sends to the agency stating that they approve the family to adopt the specific child. The approximate time that it takes for families to receive LOA varies greatly, but is somewhat determined by how long the family's file has been "logged-in" in China. Our official Log-In-Date (LID) is September 27, 2009, so our dossier had been logged-in for almost 4 months when we received our referral for the Butterfly. Believe it or not, 40 days is a very short amount of time to wait. The average time is 55 days, and some people even wait over 100 days. We feel so blessed that we were able to receive our approval so quickly and smoothly. As you may remember in an earlier post, I expected our wait to be about 60 days, so this was a totaly surprise!

So, here is what happened today. After a rather hectic and frustrating day at work, I picked up the Ladybug from school and headed home. I was already aware that other people throughout the United States had received their LOAs because I had been watching the Rumor Queen board throughout the day (Rumor Queen is a place where families who are somewhere in the adoption process get together to talk, ask questions, answer questions, and offer all-around support). I had my cell phone with me all day and it didn't ring, so I wasn't expecting a message when we returned home. But, when we walked in the door, the message light was flashing.

The Ladybug and I proceeded to listen to someone from our agency whocalled to give us the great news. I was, and am still, in total shock. After calling the agency back to verify the news, The Ladybug and I started doing the "Happy Dance" around the room! She then ran to her room to start packing, again. Hmmmmm, sorry little girl but we are still not leaving yet. Hopefully in about three months.

We now will be sending in our I-800 to USCIS (Immigration), and wait for their approval. Hopefully things will continue to go smoothly for us. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

~~Aloha!