Difficult Attorneys Equals Focusing On Blessings

I can think of so many things I want to write about- So many things I could go on and on about but it is all the things that need to stay 'behind the scenes'- The adoption process between the birth mother, Matt, and I is, honestly, going wonderfully- We have been so blessed in this area.  The adoption process between us and the 2 Attorneys involved has been a bit challenging- figuring out what everybody's role is (between the Attorney's and Matt and I) has been probably the most difficult-
Because today has been a particularly difficult day in dealing with Attorneys I am going change my focus from difficult day to gratefulness- I am going to end this blog post with 10 things I am SO grateful for- Please know that I am no less grateful for number one than I am for number ten- I am just going to list my blessings in no particular order:

My husband, who has been a constant support in many way's over the past week- Thank's babe!!

My boys- my boys friends- and our nephew Jess who has been able to spend a few weeks with our family- I am so blessed to be able to say that there are 4 tween/teenage boys running around my house right now!

The rest of my friends and family and my dog Oklie........If I am really honest here I think of Oklie as one of my kids- so I guess I should have put her under number 2

Our Birth Mother- She has made the amazing decision for adoption and I feel SO GRATEFUL!

Sally Hansen Wax- It grabs all those little chin hairs and above the lip hair amazingly- 

Sharpie's- My writing just feel's 'HEARD' when I write with a sharpie- Like my kids won't miss what I am trying to say if I write their note in a Sharpie Pen-

My Bible- it is the most read book in my house!

TV!!

Processed food you can pop in the microwave and heat up- Corn Dogs, Pizza Pockets, Bagel Bites, etc.. Some nights it is such freedom when my boys ask what's for dinner to just say, 'look in the freezer and heat something up!'

CHOCOLATE...........anything and everything chocolate-

Ryan getting ready to play in his band concert-
So very cute!

May God Bless And Keep All Of Our Service Men and Women.......

Today is Memorial Day- A day to stop and remember the men and women who have lost their lives fighting for America's freedom.  I have walked around Arlington National Cemetery  just outside of Washington D.C.- It is a sobering sight to see- The beauty of the cemetery does not outshine the heavy feeling of grief in the air as you walk the graves of our brave soldiers- Thank you to each and every soldier, both past- present- and future for risking your lives to fight for America's freedom.  Thank you to their families- especially their wives and children as they endure everyday life with out their spouse or parent so that we can have our freedom.  May God protect and keep every soldier and soldiers family this day.........
And May God Bless America!

flag compliments of THIS website

A Typical Afternoon At The Beach

Zoomed out from where I am sitting

Oklie digging for sand crabs- 

Steamed Gecko Poop on English Muffins...Anyone??

This morning I was pondering the whole 'Gecko' situation- and after yesterday's post, learning about House Gecko's and how they like to inhabit with people I took a new look around my kitchen- I went out of auto-pilot make breakfast mode and went into seeing my kitchen through the eye's of a Gecko mode-
We eat either Toast or English Muffins 4 to 5 times a week- As I popped down the English Muffins this morning and with my 'new' eye's on I had a sudden revelation- The revelation came just as the coils started heating up in the toaster..........
My internal head thoughts went something like this:
"I wonder if Gecko's only eat bugs or if they eat stuff like human food......specifically bread crumbs!!!'
As that thought whipped around in my brain I popped up the un-toasted English Muffins and flipped the toaster around to the back to grab the removable tray's at the bottom of most newer toasters- The ones where your bread crumbs fall as the bread is toasting- The one's that must heat up as the toaster heats up-The one's that I have not cleaned in so long cause I never think about them (outta sight outta mind kinda thing)...
If you look closely at the picture below- the most obvious piece of poop is on the right hand side of tray (I wish I had the program where I could circle it on the picture in big bold red)-
Would anyone like to come over for Steamed Gecko Poop on English Muffins for breakfast tomorrow?
EEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

Sharing my drinking glass for the past 2 years!

Gecko's are a HUGE part of life living here in Hawaii- Every night we have an assortment of house Gecko's lining our windows eating the bugs- they are also all over our house inside- running on the walls, running on the floor, and dropping off of our ceiling- I got up to get a drink of water last night and stopped short when I went to grab my drinking glass- It is the same drinking glass that I use all day long and usually will turn over so that nothing will get inside at night- I had forgotten to turn it over last night......I should have grabbed my camera so you could see the gecko drinking out of my drinking glass the water that was left in the bottom of the cup- When it realized I was standing watching it drink it calmly crawled to the top of the glass and jumped down- like it was not the first time it had drank out of my glass.......It got me thinking- I wanted to get to know better the animal I have been sharing my glass with for 2 years........I put Gecko into Google's search engine and this is what I came up with.....

Geckos are lizards belonging to the family Gekkonidae, found in warm climates throughout the world.They range from 1.6cm to 60cm.

Geckos are unique among lizards in their vocalizations, making chirping sounds in social interactions with other geckos. Gekkonidae is the largest family of lizards, with over 2000 different species worldwide and many others likely yet to be discovered. The name stems from the Indonesian/Javanese word Tokek, inspired by the sound these animals make.

All geckos, excluding the Eublepharinae subfamily, have no eyelids and instead have a transparent membrane which they lick to clean. Many species will, indefense, expel a foul-smelling material and feces onto their aggressors. There are also many species that will drop their tails in defense, a process calledautotomy. Many species are well known for their specialized toe pads that enable them to climb smooth and vertical surfaces, and even cross indoor ceilings with ease (one hypothesis explains the ability in terms of the van der Waals force). These antics are well-known to people who live in warm regions of the world, where several species of geckos make their home inside human habitations. These species (for example the House Gecko) become part of the indoor menagerie and are often welcome guests, as they feed on insects, including mosquitoes.

I clicked on the 'House Gecko' to see what Wikipedia had to say about it-

They (House Gecko) are typically known as house geckos, due to their readiness to adapt to and coexist with humans.

Gecko

Brimming with Ramble.....

My brain is brimming right now with adoption detail planning- It is SO exciting and I am treasuring every minute of it!! Unfortunately my brain literally hurts from all the information I am sorting through so I can not even think to compose my thoughts to put down on a blog tonight- Oh my I just read over what I wrote and realize that ramble writing is the only thing brimming so far in this post :)
Just wanted to say a quick 'HI' and hope all is well with you guys.
Some of my goals tomorrow are to send my friend Darrah and e-mail, Call my cousin Molly to get an update on how she is doing (she is due with Twins in Aug), and BLOG!!
Talk to you tomorrow-

Lesson's from Becca (SBA)

I've been cruising the Internet looking at different ideas for baby girl Monogrammed items- When I see anything monogrammed I automatically think of Becca-
My cousin Luke married a girl from Tennessee- A true Southern Lady is the only way I can think to describe Becca- She's got a slight southern drawl that comes out strong when she say's words like 'July' (she would say Jewel-I)- She also has perfect brown shiny hair that has never been touched with any chemical and movie star pores (if you don't know what movie star pores are it's when your skin is so flawless you can't see a single pore)-
I think if a lot of her close friends were completely honest we would say that we watch her to see how we should be decorating, dressing, and conducting ourselves on airplanes (I learned that you should calmly read your book while flying on an airplane and not stare out the window saying over and over how amazing the clouds look and chatting incessantly).
Becca has big Monogrammed pillows on her bed and other misc. monogrammed items around her house.  She has taught me that you put the first initial of your first name as the first letter, your last name as the middle letter, and your middle name as the last letter (My monogrammed initials would be SBA) As I was writing what my initials would look like I laughed to myself- wouldn't that be funny if your name was Anne Savannah Sawyer..............hee! hee!  I would have to get that person something monogrammed just for the laugh of it :)
Back to my first sentence at the beginning of this post..............
I've been cruising the Internet looking at different ideas for a baby girl Monogrammed items- as I was searching I also came across a really neat looking sewing machine that I thought I would share.
All of these pictures (except the sewing machine) are compliments of THIS website

Becca and I

Tiny Prints, Zazzle, Party Cat, and Food 4 Less

I Googled Baby Shower invitations just to see what's out there- I used the search engine Yahoo and came across a wealth of different brands, styles, and colors!
Zazzle offers Damask Diva, Black and Pink Chic Damask, and an opportunity to send out 'chic' cards-  You can even order personalized postage stamps, thank you cards, and return address labels that all match your baby shower invitation.
Tiny Prints offers not only BIG IMPRESSIONS but 'Elegant Damask' that has a side note reading 'This product is no longer available for purchase.' (seriously- just remove the picture of the card already)
Party Cat- a company I had never heard of before this search offers Hot Pink and Black Damask Digital Photo Cards.....................
One of the most interesting things I came across was a baby shower invitation with Skull's dubbed 'Skullicious' (I would never have thought to put a skull on a baby shower invitation)
The more I looked at and thought about baby shower invitations it started dawning on me what I was looking for but could not seem to find-  Why I was not falling head over heals in love with any of the hundred invitations (which a lot of them I would consider my style)I looked at:
From the time I can remember my mom has hosted parties- you name it and she's had a party for it- Every party my mom has ever thrown that required invitation's (at least in my memory) the same routine transpires- She goes down to Food 4 Less- goes over to their stationary section which offers 40% off and selects the appropriate occasion invitation- She then excitedly comes home and fills out each and every one with her 'signature' handwriting (I always wished I would have inherited her hand writing- It is so professional and perfect looking) and sends them off to the proper recipient-
If all goes as planned and we get to celebrate little Ellie joining our family with a baby shower- I hope that her invitation is lovingly selected by my mom at Food 4 Less- It might not be the trendy pink and black damask (which is sooooooooooo adorable) with the matching return labels (fabulous idea and I will definitely keep this in mind for the next party I throw) but it will be hand selected by little Ellie's nana- one of her names sake- to be delicately tucked away in her baby book and the story will be told to her someday how her baby shower invitation came about-
I love you mom

Definitely the most unique baby shower invitation I
looked at today :)

Congratulations to 6 Lucky Winners and Victoria's Mascara :)

Yesterday's Blog post was a Give-a-way celebrating almost 3,000 views on this blog and the new's that our family was chosen by a birth mother!  To become a winner in the Give-a-way you had to follow these rules:
P.S. I know the rules said the first 3 but........... who's counting anyway 
The first 3 people to comment on this blog post WITH 20 words or more (you can talk about whatever you want) will receive a $5.00 Starbucks gift card (the Star Bucks gift cards are SO cool here- they have a beautiful bird with Hawaii stamped across them)- I will put the gift cards in the mail this week!!
CONGRATULATIONS TO:

1. Wendy (who commented first on my face book page and was struggling to figure out how to sign up to comment on my blog- she wasn't sure if her post would count cause it was not on my 'actual' blog- HECK YA it counts Wendy!!
2. Heather
3. Darrah
4. Kristi
5. Hope
6. Paula

Really enjoyed reading all of the comments- Thank you for posting girls!
Getting on to the second part of my post........................
This morning I used the last of my Mary Kay Mascara- Because I have used the same Mascara for so many years, I have been 'out of the loop' as to what I would use if Mary Kay was not available- I have been so busy I have not ordered anymore Mary Kay to replace what I just finished- I stood in the mirror this morning pondering what Mascara I should try while waiting for Mary Kay to arrive- My plan was to stand at either K- Mart or Wal Mart and look over all the Mascara and buy the one that appeared to be a good fit.
As I was standing in line this morning to get the Starbuck's Gift Cards for the 6 winners (WHOOP WHOOP) I noticed that my friend Victoria was working the counter- As I got closer to order I happened to have some time to stand and stare (hee! hee! I am not usually a 'starer' but I had mascara on my mind- Victoria is a girl that is in the 'fashion know'- I wanted to check her mascara out to see if it looked like something I wanted to ask about)- Her lashes looked UH-MAZE-ING!! Perfectally Separated, Long, very full- What was that girl wearing cause I was going to get it as soon as I got those gift cards.............


MAYBELLINE VOLUM' EXPRESS 'FALSIE' MASCARA


Hope you are all having a wonderful Tues.  My Eli turned 15 today!!

This is what the Starbucks gift card looks like

My beautiful friend Victoria

3,000 (Three-Thousand) Visits with a GIVE A WAY

Good Afternoon Everyone :)
I just scrolled down to the bottom of my blog trying to decide if I wanted to add another picture- The 'visit' counter at the bottom of the page caught my eye- It read a count of almost 3,000!!!!! (I started actively posting on the blog in Nov/Dec. 10)
WHOO HOO!!!!!!!!
That's some reason to celebrate if you ask me-  I read quite a few blogs these days (I am in the process of trying to decide if it is a phase or a new life style choice (the reading of blogs)........hummmmmm....I'll keep you posted on that one)- A lot of the blogs I read do give-a-ways for special occasions.......
I am going to do a give-a-way to celebrate 3,000 visits on here and to celebrate that we have been chosen by a Birth Mom-
Here's the rules:

The first 3 people to comment on this blog post WITH 20 words or more (you can talk about whatever you want) will receive a $5.00 Starbucks gift card (the Star Bucks gift cards are SO cool here- they have a beautiful bird with Hawaii stamped across them)- I will put the gift cards in the mail this week!!

Excited to hear from you

Big Thank You

Thank you SO much everyone for all the love and support you have shown in response to the news that we have been selected by a birth mom!  We are so very excited and can hardly wait to meet little Ellie and her birth mom...I am not sure how much I will mention what is going on behind the scenes- but just know that what I can share, I definitely will-  I hope that you all had a great weekend-

Today was a beautiful- We found ourselves down at the beach just hangin'!!

Guess What!!!!!!!!

Oh my goodness you guys..........

WE'VE BEEN CHOSEN BY A BIRTH MOM!!!!

Going through the adoption process really is such a roller coaster ride for both the birth mother placing her child and the adoptive parents waiting for placement- Nothing is ever for sure until the baby is born and the proper papers are signed-  I am going to keep most of the details of what is going on behind the scenes of our adoption process private for now... I look forward to sharing the full story at a later date-
What I can share with you is this:

Our Adoption Attorney from Hawaii called while we were in Oregon over Easter and told us about a birth mother that is due in July with a baby girl- We were able to have several conversations with this birth mother to determine if we all felt like a good match.  Praise the Lord we all did!!

Our Attorney's (her attorney is in California) have drawn up the proper paper work to start our adoption process- I can not stress enough, and I think I am stressing it totally for my sake and nobody else's- Adoption is a very delicate process and a very emotional one- Matt and I do not know what the future holds but at this point this is what it looks like for us...........

Ellie Marie (Ellie is after my mom and Marie is after her birth mom) will be born somewhere around the beginning of July.  Her actual Due Date is July 15 but because her birth mom will have a scheduled C-Section about a week before we are anticipation right around the 5-8 (please know these dates could very easily change).

We applaud little Ellie's birth mom for the brave decision she made to place Ellie with a 'forever family'- We also feel such a deep sadness for her (birth mom) as she has to deal with the grief of placing a child up for adoption.

May God be glorified through this situation
Thank you again so much for all of your prayers as we have waited for our precious girl to make her way to our family.

o.k. I am getting out of professional sounding blog writing mode and just gotta say.....
THIS IS SO SO SO SO SO SO SO EXCITING- I went through each and every one of the clothes I have for little Ellie and my heart about beat right out of my chest with excitement-
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Repeating it from Memory

So.........Yesterday's blog talked about my son Eli's favorite book when he was little (COWBOY PUP)....
Completely from memory (and darn it I could not find a picture of the book on line to post on this blog)........
I can not remember what I had for breakfast this morning- but for some strange reason (maybe it's because it has to do with my Eli:) I can remember a book I have not read in 10+ years (Ryan was NEVER interested in Cowboy Pup- he was all about the movie BABE- in our house we always repeat the saying from that movie "that'll do pig.....that'll do" and then we bust out laughing):

Please add a slight 'mommy' voice that is a bit annoying when reading the following- and make sure to make all the animal noises in your head too- cause that's what we would do for Eli

"Who's that wearing tall black boots, each with a silver spur
With Lasso Chaps and a big white hat-it's Cowboy Pup for sure!
He saddles his horse Tumbleweed, climbs on and say's giddy up
When her rides by all the cow's moooooooo Howdy Cowboy Pup
The Cows are thirsty by high noon, he herds them to a lake
While they drink he shoo's away an ornery Rattle Snake
By campfire light beneath the star's, at the end of his long day
Cowboy Pup sings with a lone Coyote 'yippe-ki-yi-yo......Ki-yi-yay'"

Eli 1999

15 Years Ago Plus One Week

15 years ago plus one week - May 17,1996 at 4:39 a.m. I delivered an 8 lb. 14 oz. baby boy by way of a natural birth- without a stitch of pain medication (I always tell everyone I was crazy- my thoughts now.....EPIDURAL!! It was not until I saw my sister deliver her son 4 years later with an epidural that I thought to myself "Maybe that was route I should have taken")

Mine and Matt's Eli- the Eli that we stared at in Awe and Love in the wee early morning hours on that May morning almost 15 years ago- The Eli that earned the nick name 'Kid Pup' while he was still wearing diapers because he would have us read the book "Cowboy Pup" over and over and over again (Matt and I can STILL say it from memory from reading it so many times)- somehow we exchanged the 'Cowboy' with Kid and to this day Eli is known by Matt and I as 'Kid Pup'- To our Eli that we have watched go from infant to toddler to young boy to young man............

Happy Almost 15th Birthday- 

You are so loved and so cherished!  God Bless and keep you Kid Pup!

Doing 2 things for the 1st time on Saturday!!

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to do 2 things I have never done:

• Travel over our road- from our ranch, through the ranch on the other side of our ranch- all the way to the ATV tours where the public road starts on a 4 Wheeler- Mind you I have traveled this road well over 1000 times over the past 2 years in a vehicle but never on a 4 Wheeler

AND

• Go to the local Farmer's Market that is hosted in the Community College's parking lot- My friend Julie and I had decided to get together for a bit of girl time on Sat- she made the suggestion to go to the local farmer's market......I got to learn the market from an expert- Julie shop's at the Farmer's Market often and was 'in the know' which vendor to buy veggies from- she also knew that the ginger lemonade was worth trying!! 

I am SO SO glad I decided to grab my camera before Ryan and I set out on the ride over the hill!

We had quite a bit of rain Sat. morning- These are water falls
on our side of the ranch

HIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

View from the top looking South

My camera did not capture the beauty of the
orange in the flower on this tree-

Every time we pass over our road we see this 'ugly' duck-
He normally hisses if I stop to feed him- I had no food this time so he simply
turned his head and avoided me all together - hummm..Maybe he hates my food :)

If you have not read THIS blog you will not understand when I say
That the peacock still stands on the side of the road and not the middle!
I see the lesson was well learned.

He really is beautiful

At the beginning of our ranch road you go through
this row of trees...If only our road was this flat and paved!

The back side of the monument on the ranch we pass through
to get to our ranch

front side-
p.s. see those mountains in the back ground- we pass over those
to get to our ranch

I totally get where this 'tree' is coming from-
I feel exactly like that a lot in my life :)
Some of you will not have a clue what I am talking about and some
of you will chuckle to yourself cause you will totally get it-

Farmer's Market

My friend Julie buying veggie's at Farmer's Market-
Hi Julie :)

I love you Mom!

I honestly do not know what I would do with out my mom- The role she has played in my life has, in turn,  played a HUGE roll in the mother I am today and the grandmother I will be someday-

I tuck my kids into bed pretty much every single night while saying prayers with them.... cause that's what I was taught
Our house usually has my boy's friends running around or just hanging out and is an open door to company......cause that's what I was taught
I still hold my boy's hands and give them big hugs all the time..........cause that's what I was taught
My boys wear Vick's on their chest and feet when they are sick.........cause that is what I was taught

My mom watched my boys every Fri. night when we lived on the Main Land to give Matt and I a date night- This started when they were about a year old- If my boys allow, I will do the same.......case that's what I was taught
My mom loves unconditionally and with more compassion than most.....I wish I would have paid attention more to learning this trait when I was growing up cause it's what I was taught

Mom, I love you and thank you so much for the example you have been and are as a mother and 'nana'- Happy Mother's Day!!

I just have to end this blog with saying that for those of you who have lost your mother- I am so so sorry.....God has asked you to carry a burden that I myself can not completely understand- For my friend Treva who will spend her first mother's day without her mother (her mother passed away last summer)  for my cousin Nic who lost her mother several years ago, for my friend Stephanie (who also lost her mother several years ago), and anyone else spending Mother's Day without your mom- May God Bless and keep you and you are in my prayers.

2006

Thurs. night the Office is on :)

Years ago, my sister in law was telling me how funny a certain show she watched was- Then my cousin started talking about it..........Then, when they were together they would talk about it and I would have absolutely no clue what was going on- I HATE THAT!  I'm a girl that likes to be in the know-

The name was a bit blah-zay......The Office??  The first episode I watched it completely annoyed me that they would look at and talk to the camera- I stayed with it- watched a few more episodes and found myself laughing more and more at the odd sense of humor- Matt always say's he would love working in an environment like 'The Office'- I wouldn't go that far- But it sure makes for a funny 30 minutes every Thurs night. 

P.S. Tonight is 2 episodes back to back!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEExciting!!