Sweet Little Emry Tayte....
Tim has been having lots of fun taking pictures the past few weeks. His favorite thing to take pictures of are our nieces of course. Here are some that he took this past weekend of little Miss Ava. Don't you want to just kiss those cheeks?!
Want to hear a VERY cool story??!! Of course you do! Ok...here I go... So, tonight Tim and I decided to ride our bikes downtown because the Extreme Volleyball Pro Tour is at the beach this weekend and also on the first Friday of the summer months all the shops stay open late, they have live music, ice cream, you know just stuff like that. So, we locked up the bikes and just walked in and out of shops, went to the art museum, listened to some music, etc. We then decide to go into this Map & Flag store because we wanted to get an Ethiopian flag. So we get our little flag and then we walk over to the maps and Tim pulls open this fold out map of Ethiopia and we are looking at it. This woman who was shopping in there came up to us and said "Hey - you're looking at an Ethiopian map - are you planning on going there?" I said "yes - we're actually adopting from there". She says "I was born in Ethiopia". I said "really?!" (she's white - so I was a bit surprised). Turns out she was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia because her parents did mission work there. She's lived, in Racine, for 6 yrs now, but her brother still lives there. Her brother works with groups that come over to do mission work. So...she was VERY excited to hear that we are adopting from there. She wants me to keep in touch with her and let her know how things are going. She's going to hook us up with her brother while we are over there. It will be so nice to meet with him and have him take us around. I'm sure our agency will be great with all of that, but will be nice to have another "connection" there. She has some friends that live in the area here that are leaving tomorrow to go pick up their child from Ethiopia too. So...needless to say - I was SO excited. I walked out of the flag store in tears. I mean think about it what are the chances that we are in the store at the exact same time as her and when we are looking at an Ethiopian map - she walks by and sees what we are looking at?! Coincidence? Nope...I don't think so. That was God. What an awesome way to start the weekend!! Oh and the picture above is our purchase from the flag store.
Before we went downtown...we got a special invitation to a PEE PEE TEA PARTY!! Have you ever been to one?? Our niece, Ava started potty training a couple of weeks ago and once she earned 5 stickers - she got to have a pee pee tea party! Uncle Timmy & Aunty Dawny were lucky enough to get invited. We had a lovely tea party with cookies & milk (we pretended it was tea) and balloons too. I did however feel a little underdressed for the occasion because Bayli & Ava were oh so cute in their pink dresses and jewels. 
New numbers....new numbers!!! Well...I thought I knew for SURE what our new #'s would be. I thought that we moved 1 spot on the boy list and 2 spots on the girls list. So...was pleasantly surprised to hear that we moved more than that.
People often ask me if I'm getting anxious & impatient. Obviously...we are anxious & impatient because we've been wanting a child for several years now. But, the past 2 months have honestly gone pretty fast and I feel that I've been pretty patient. So - I think I'm handling the waiting period "ok" so far. Ask me again in a couple of months and I'm sure I'll be singing a different tune. But...I think as long as there is some movement...I'll be ok.
Ok ok ok....I know you are wanting to know the #'s, so I'll shut up and post them!
For a Boy....
For a Girl...
This past weekend was the 105th Anniversary for Harley here in Milwaukee. Tim had some family in town for all the festivities so we got together for a nice cookout on Sunday. Here are some pics of some pretty cute little Harley riders.
Don't go anywhere...it's still me!! I decided that my page needed a little change-a-roo... so.....TA-DAH!!! Like it?! I am so mad at myself though...in changing layouts somehow I lost our timeline. I'm upset because that's the only place we had it documented. I guess I'll have to go back and try to piece together dates...bummer.
My sister in-law bought me this SUPER cute onesie last week and I just had to share it with all of you. It says "New in Town" and has little brown feet. Love it! Thanks Tammie!!
My friend Jenna also got me some cute baby stuff too. A little baby photo cube thingy that we can put pictures of the family in and it makes some cute little noises. I absolutely love getting stuff for the baby. I'm usually the one always buying stuff for other people's babies, so when I get stuff for OUR baby - it's very cool. Kinda makes it "real" on a whole different level. Know what I mean? Even though we don't know if it's going to be a boy or a girl or the exact age...it's just so fun. It's probably a good thing I don't know the sex and age because it would be so hard to not constantly be buying stuff. Everytime I go into any store...I must must must hit up the baby section. Just to browse...because I can!
I took Tim into Babies R Us the other day because I wanted to show him some bedding in there that I liked and they have some reserved parking spots for "Expectant Mothers". Tim says..."We should park there - you are an expectant mother". Hehe...we didn't park there, but I kinda wanted to.
~Dawn
I LOVE birthdays, don't you?! My birthday was on Saturday and I had a wonderful day! Friday night we had our kickball team over for a cookout to celebrate being in 1st place! Woohoo - go team! It was a nice cookout...lots of good food and some good fun. And I received some wonderful & thoughtful gifts!! Here are a couple of pictures from Friday night...
We got our monthly call from Julie today and our new #'s are.....
for a boy.... and #24 for a girl still. We don't expect to move much more the next 2 months with the courts closing, but happy to see some movement in the last month. :)
Last night I went to the State Fair to see Vanessa Hudgens & Corbin Bleu. NO....I am not a fan of High School Musical - I've never even seen the movie. My friend Deanna asked me if I would go with her to take her daughter Aaliyah. Ok...sure....why not. Well, I think I might possibly be deaf in my right ear from fifty gazillion 4-15 yr olds screaming their little heads off, but it was all worth it because as we were walking out Aaliyah says "Mom - that was the best night of my ENTIRE life". Hehehe...I replied with "Oh man - ME TOO!!". While it may not have been the best night of my entire life...it was close. Because of the teeny boppers? no no no.... because of this....
Friends...let me introduce you to the deep fried smore on a stick. Yes, you read that right. Only in Wisconsin do we take a perfectly delightful treat...deep fry it and then slap a stick in it. Somehow that seems to make EVERYTHING better. Well, they sure did get it right with this one. It was SOOOO good. I should have taken a picture of the inside of it, but I was too busy devouring it. It was nice and warm with a crispy...yet soft shell with lots of ooey gooey marshmallow & chocolate inside. I would love to know who invented this...they really truly deserve an award. And I would love to express my gratitude to them. So, for those of you who live in WI...go to the fair and get one!! Ok, I think I have rambled on enough about that.
Happy Wednesday everyone!
P.S. Here's a picture of Aaliyah at the concert. Let me just tell you - she was dancing & singing her little heart out. It was pretty cute. And little does she know...I have some video of her that I think will haunt her later in life.
I'm sure some of you have seen this in an email forward at one point. I remember getting it a couple of years ago, but a friend just sent it to me again last week and for some reason this time it just seemed to hit a chord with me (and Tim to0), so thought I would share it all with you. I'm now referred to as one of Tim's golfballs. hehe
The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle,when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golfballs. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous 'yes.'
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job,your house and your car.
The sand is everything else---the small stuff . 'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.
Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents.Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical check-ups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golfballs first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what thecoffee represented. The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.' The coffee just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'
Guess what came in the mail today? A big check? Nope...I wish. Our marriage certificates from Jamaica that we ordered 3 months ago. No - that is not a typo - 3 months. R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S. We have been calling and calling and calling to get copies and if we were lucky to get someone to pick up we would hear excuses like "it's being sent to the printer" or "our shipping machine is broke" or "no worries - you will get them". When we ordered them we were told 4 weeks...well that turned into 3 months. We were tired of waiting for our copies to come in, so we ended up sending in our original marriage certificate with our dossier, which I didn't want to do. But, I'm SO glad we did - because look how much longer we would have waited. Ok, just had to vent on that.
And ok...I just have to ask this question. Is it possible to go into Target and buy ONLY what you went in to buy for? I don't think I have ever...and I mean ever gone in and came out with only what I originally intended to buy. Why is that?!?! I went in for dog food, toilet paper and napkins. While I did buy all of these things, I also came out with a gift bag (it was only $1 and it was cute - so I HAD to buy it), also came out with a shirt (it was on sale and again cute - so HAD to buy it), oh and I picked up some shower gel, some handsoap, paper plates, and a toy for Addy. I think next time I will make it my mission to go in and stick to the list. Although I don't have high expectations for that one. :)
Thanks for the suggestions on the books everyone. This week I am getting ready for our rummage sale that we are having this weekend. I'm doing one with my sister in-law and I'm hoping to make some extra moolah. I went through my closet tonight and I never realized how much clothes I have (some with tags still on - ssshhh don't tell Tim). So, felt good just to get it all out of the closet! And my parents dropped off a bunch of stuff for us to sell too - so thanks Mom & Dad!
We received word that our dossier is now being sent to Ethiopia early this week. Whoop whoop! And also...in doing some blog stalking... I believe we are #20 on the boys list already. Moving 2 spots in 2 weeks is pretty darn good I'd say. However...those are not official #'s, but I'm pretty confident. I was so happy to meet some new people online this weekend that are RIGHT by us on the list. So, it will be fun to get to know them and go through the journey together because most likely we will be traveling together to get our babies! How exciting!
Ok...off to bed now. Nitey nite!
~Dawn
