Wednesday, July 30, 2008

And the winners of the July Great Bow Giveaway are...




OMG!!! My China Sister Michele and I have won the monthly drawing of the Sara Beth Bows!! Isn't that just wild!?
I would have never thought I would win, because I never win anything! Congratulations to you Michele!!

If you wish to enter the drawing for August just go to the title above and click! Then you can email her your information so you can have a chance at a $10.00 gift certificate this round. Good luck to any who enter.

Lesa

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Birthday Fun....

I am very happy to say that I had a wonderful birthday today. Yes, I'm one year older making this year 46, but you know I didn't feel old today. I had a great day!! The day started out wonderful. I got so many well wishes from my China Sisters this morning via e-mail. Thank you Lynn, Michele, Pam, Susan, Cynthia, Sherry, and Mary!!!!
What a blessing to have such wonderful friends. I am so lucky to be with a group of ladies that I am going through this wait for our China Adoption with. You 8 are a true blessing to me.
Leigh, thank you for being such a wonderful friend for 4 years! I am so grateful that you stay in touch with me still. You and I are very fortunate to have our precious girls and to have found out that they were nannymates in their SWI. What a Red Thread we have!!!
Thank you to my parents for the phone call today,and the great phone set; it was good hearing from you. My oldest brother, Joe called this evening and talked with me. It was really special for him to call. And Ganny, thank you for your song today along with your card that came in the mail.
Last but not least Holly, Wendy and Mike treated me like a true queen for the evening. It was just a really good day.
Mike and the girls took me out to eat at one of our favorite places to eat here "La Plaza". It is family owned and has some of the best Authentic Mexican Food. They came out with this sombrero and a sopapilla. I was to wear the hat while they sang to me. Believe it or not the whole restaurant sang too. It was fun! Wendy got a kick out of it.
After we got home Mike and the girls gave me my birthday gifts. I received Mr. Magorium's Magical Emporium, a very nice trash dispenser (can) with bags for the kitchen, a water purifier, and a silver chain with a heart pendant from James Avery. Not to mention I got two potted house plants and some lovely roses from Mike earlier. I still need to down load those photos, but here are some from the restaurant.

Thank you all for making it a wonderful day. I love you all.

Lesa




Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Bicycle Built For Three..... And A Skate Board T'boot!!

Wendy finally got a new bike!!! She was so excited when Holly and I brought it home for her. Ganny contributed to Wendy's wish to have a "Big Girl Bike" of course with training wheels. Where the built for three comes in is we added her little basket and she is carrying two of her beloved friends, Sammie and Patch.
We went on a walk to our park just down the road which is part of the school playground. We have never had a park this close to our house before and we are LOVING IT!!
Anyway here are a few photos of Wendy riding her new bike.










Here are a few of Holly trying something a little new to her. She has always wanted a skate board..... No, REALLY! Our neighbors down the street were having a garage sale and decided to be sweet and give it to WENDY. Well Holly confiscated it and got her a helmet so she could try it out. I thought Lacy would get a kick out of these. Oh, please ignore the person behind her... She needed a little help, but shhhhh don't tell anyone. Ha





A final note.... For those of you who don't know Holly and for that matter for those of you who do..... My parents informed me that Holly looks a little mad to them. Well Holly loves making these faces for the camera you see... Has nothing to do with her being mad. She is actually on a handicap ramp about to ride down and was showing us she wasn't really sure of it. Ha
Gotta love that Holly!! In the future I will post some of her other faces and you will get the idea.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Happy 25th Month of waiting for Mylie, and we're home from Colorado!

Man, time went fast this past month. If they all could go by that fast while we wait, but then life with Wendy would go by too fast; so what do we do? We enjoy the time we have with Wendy and wait for Mylie and take our family vacations and just plain old LIVE.
This summer instead of planning a move and moping around we decided to take a family vacation to Colorado. We live closer than we use to; so why not do it!?
We left Monday morning bright and early....kissed all of the dogs good-bye and away we went. It was an adventure, and we had never traveled the road we set off on.
It didn't take long to get into New Mexico and then not long to hit Colorado. Our first night we stayed at what Lacy use to call a Motel Dump. It really wasn't as bad as we had stayed before when Lacy was a baby, but it came close for today's standards. No T.V., no WIFI, and for the money should have been a very nice place to stay. It was just okay. We went to dinner at a steak place right back of it which had great food for a very expensive price. Oh well, since it was delicious we didn't complain. I had some of the best beef ribs I've ever put in my mouth, Holly and Mike had a Steak and Wendy had a burger. The Salad was really good. They brought out a server with 4 choices of dressing in canning jars. They were all homemade there and were really good. Our favorite was their Blue Cheese and their Ranch. Afterward we went back to our room and settled in with "I Love Lucy". Next morning we packed up the car got breakfast and left for the Gunnison National Park. What beauty to behold!! It is really something to see a spectacular gorge with a river below. It was over 2,000ft. deep. We hiked a trail that Mike swore was "moderate" I told him if this was moderate I would hate to see strenuous. ha' When we got back we were huffing and puffing and I read the brochure where it had all of the trails listed. This one just happened to be "strenuous" !!! I knew he wasn't correct on that. Even with it being a tough trail Wendy hiked right along with us and only wanted up on Mike's neck two different times.

We got back into Gunnison to spend the night again, but this time Mike had made arrangements for Holiday Express instead of the one the night before. What a relief that was. We ate at a Pizzeria in town and it was delicious with a less expensive price tag on the ticket. Wendy ate that meal when she didn't eat the night before. She had hiked with us the whole way and came out with an appetite!

On Wednesday we took off for Durango/ Silverton and arrived tired and hungry. Even though it says it says 125 miles to Durango from Gunnison doesn't mean it will actually be an hour drive or so..... NO, we missed our road (since it wasn't labeled)and ended up driving 240 miles and about 4 hours later.... You see the roads are very winding and not to mention the steep grades. But oh so lovely. This day we saw a gorgeous waterfall and got out to see it. We were greeted by some Chipmunks. They were so darn cute and we had them eating from our hands...even Wendy!!
We arrived at our hotel " Holiday Inn" which even though it has Holiday in the name doesn't necessarily mean it is related to the very nice and comfortable "Holiday Inn Express". Mike said thinking that they were related by company name it would be a wonderful place to stay, but it again wasn't the best especially for the price of 166.00 a night. Gee!! The internet once again was down, and Breakfast....what breakfast??? Most places like this have a room to where you can sit and have your complimentary breakfast...not this one. We found it to be a total rip...just a place to lay our heads and that was about it. The pool was gross and cold. When they have indoor pools you would think they would keep them clean and warmer. Again we were wrong.
Off to bed to get up bright and early the next morning to ride the steam train. Now, that is where the fun comes in!!!! We did have a great time riding the rails. Wendy just loved it, and when we got to Silverton 3 hours later we ate at the place we took the girls 15 years ago "The Bent Elbow". The piano player was even the same guy. Wendy really enjoyed herself, and so did we.
Back on the train after a 2.5 hour lay over to eat and shop. When we arrived back we ate at a restaurant next to the Depot again pricey, but good. Off to the Coffee House aka "Starbucks" to get some joe, and then across the street to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Yummy.

One more night to sleep and then we headed home on Friday. It took us a bit to get home since we got lost and found ourselves in some towns that we weren't planning on. This is where we found the tiny town of "Cuba NM". Don't ever go there if you can help it! We got a speeding ticket and we weren't speeding! We believe that the whole state is a trap for tourists. No matter if you are following the signs and going actually below what they set we still got a ticket! Officer: I need to see your license and proof of insurance. Mike: yes sir. Officer: did you realize you were going 42 in a 30? Mike looked at us and hesitated to say anything 'cause we knew no matter if we said we weren't he would have argued with us or sent us to jail. It was that kind of trap. Officer: would you like to pay the $88.00 dollars or go before the judge? Mike: I guess I have no choice I will pay the money since we will be out of the state later today. Officer: sign this sir. Mike: do you have a course that you can take to wave the ticket? Officer: what do you mean? Mike: in Texas we have it to where you can take a drivers course to help with your insurance. Officer: no, this is NM sir.
Wendy: Momma, daddy wasn't speeding. Me: I know Wendy, but this town was needing to make their quota. Wendy: I'm not happy with that officer. Momma: I know Wendy we aren't either. Wendy: sitting for a long while.....her little wheels were just turning, and then she said " I've got a secret". Momma: what is that? Wendy: I need some balloons and some water and also some pudding.... We all looked at her and thought "what is she planning?" ha.... Wendy: then if I ever see that officer again I will let him have it!! Oh my goodness. Who knew that this would upset her so. You see when a child has faith in an important figure in the community it lets them down when they feel like there was a wrong done and this is how Wendy felt. I just hope she isn't upset with all officers.

We are home now and are happy we went on our vacation in spite of the little things along the way.... You see, there were many more big and wonderful things that happened to out weigh the bad.

Lesa

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Fun at the Dairy Farm











We went to a dairy that is 45 minutes away from home. This has been around 2 weeks ago, but just now located which camera the photos were on. I hope the Grandparents forgive us for being tardy.

We met up with the International Adoption Group here and had a BBQ Picnic Social and then a tour of the Dairy. You never really realize all that goes into taking care of a Dairy until you visit one.

Now, even though Wendy is very allergic to Kittens/Cats she still held a baby or two or three. They had the prettiest little kittens ever. Sure shoot'en Wendy started having her reaction as we were walking the Dairy grounds. Her little eye started swelling and itching. She felt miserable, but still managed to have a baby calf suckle her fingers.
We were the first to leave due to her allergies. I'm going to lay odds that it was the kitty's that did it, but hey we were around Hay, and Cattle not to mention the wind picked up and there were two major dust devils hit as we were walking back to the main building.

Wendy still had fun all the same. Once in the car and on the way home she started getting some relief just being away from the elements.

Those baby cows were the cutest things. Have you ever seen "City Slickers"? Well one of them looked just like "Norman". Helloooo. Love that movie.

Our Baby Birds have learned to FLY!!



I went to check on the nest today as I do everyday, every 10 minutes or so. I at first didn't see anyone in the nest. Then when I came back around the corner there was "John" the smaller of the two. Right directly after taking his photo he flew out!! I was so proud of the boy. Then I came back and there was "Jimmy" the larger of the babies. He loves to be talked to and will tilt his head as Holly and I talk real sweetly to him.
My babies are growing up.
The first photo is of John and the second one is of Jimmy. There is a movie with Cary Grant called "Room For One More" (which fits our family so, and may be our new blog name...ha) They end up getting a boy and his name is Jimmy John. So hence the names for the birds. It seems like our house "always has room for one more" be it baby, or animal.

Saturday, July 05, 2008

Hurray for the Red White and Blue....





Hope everyone had a safe 4th of July. It was very peaceful here. No nasty neighbors blowing off fireworks directly across the street from us! For those of you who haven't a clue we had the worst neighbors in our old neighborhood. I think this is the best 4th of July we have had in a long time.
On the 3rd we had a wonderful relaxing picnic with our friends Sally, Joely, and Camry along with their Cocker Spaniel "Cookie".
Then on the 4th we went to our neighbors Church to let Wendy play some games at the block party they were having there. We enjoyed spending time with them that evening. Then we ate at Sakura's Japanese Restaurant for dinner then headed back to the house to watch the Sand Lot. It was a great evening.

Lesa

Thursday, July 03, 2008

We have baby birds!!

You have to click on the photos to get a "Birds Eye View". These are Barn Swifts and we were advised by our neighbor to knock the nest down when they started building it. We didn't have the heart to do that! Besides we are able to watch everything they do from our entry way. Yes, there is bird poop on the porch, but that can be sprayed off. These babies are actually a week old now and are growing feathers. They still have baby fuzz on their little heads. They are so cute. Every time we head out the door Momma comes flying around to make sure that they are okay. Feeding time is fun to watch. The babies have gotten where they sit up more and if we open the door the pop back down to hide. TOO CUTE!!
Enjoy the photos...remember to click on them to get a better look.

Lesa





Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Sara Beth Bows

JULY GREAT BOW GIVEAWAY!!!
It's that time again! A new month means a new
Sara Beth Bow giveaway!
This months giveaway is all about tropical fun!
Wouldn't your daughter look so adorable in this whimsical
Medium Basic Double Layer Flamingo Bow?

The surprise this month is that we are drawing 2 winners instead of 1! The first name drawn will win the Flamingo Bow and the second name drawn will win these oh so cute clippies in white with mint, pink and hot pink dots!

Please read the rules for this month's giveaway...

1. Receive one entry for emailing your name and address to sarabethbows@carolina.rr.com

2. Receive one entry for every friend you refer to this giveaway (friend must mention your name for you to receive your entry)

3. Receive one entry for every $10 you spend at Sara Beth Bows from July 1-28

4. Receive one entry for linking this giveaway and Sara Beth Bows to your blog or website (please email me the link to your blog once you have posted about this giveaway)