My Very Last Post...

...at least from this blog! Yes, my dear loyal readers, I have moved my blog to a new address.

I started blogging during our journey to Carson. When we got Molly's referral, I switched to this blog to document how we were continuing our adoption journey. But now the focus of my blogging is changing.

Two months after bringing Molly home, our family feels complete. At this point after Carson's adoption, we were already itching to get back into the adoption world. That feeling is gone. At first, I felt guilty. Shame on me, I thought. I'm a pediatric nurse willing to adopt preschoolers with special needs...and those kids need homes.

However, our family balance finally feels...well, balanced. Molly is adjusting so well to life in our family and Carson has accepted that he's stuck with her forever. And he's finally OK with it. (Meggie is wonderful with both kids...but you probably already knew that!) And even with the chaos and confusion that defines our family life right now, I feel an amazing contentment.

While there are many wonderful families who go back again and again to adopt -- and I am amazed and humbled by their commitment to adoption -- that just isn't in our future. And you know what? It is OK.

Jaime from The Daydream Designer donated a free Blogspot makeover to our fundraising raffle before we went to China to adopt Molly. I really have no idea how Jaime found me to offer that gift, but I was very touched by her generosity to a complete stranger. It only seemed fitting, then, that I ask her to do MY blog makeover. Wait 'til you see the results!!

So, now my blogging focus becomes our journey as a family, trying to answer the age-old question: Are We There Yet?

Wacky Wednesday!

Here's what you get when you combine an adorable 4-year-old girl...
...with brownie-batter-covered mixer beaters. Yes, folks, she even had some batter on her nose.

Have a great rest-of-the-week!

What Did You Do This Weekend?

Us? Oh, we just hit the road for a girls' weekend away and met a bunch of celebrities! (And of course I took the camera so I could blog it for my loyal readers...)

Here we have Molly...
...a bit perturbed in the elevator of the hotel because she had to carry her OWN stuff! Come on, Molly...
...hurry it up, Chelsie wants to get to the room! (Chelsie, of Our Journey with Max fame, came along with us. Being the only female in her house, she was craving a girls' weekend away.) Finally in the room, Molly tried out her bed-on-the-floor...
...and loved it! (Hey, she's a WILD sleeper and those beds were tiny!) As we waited to leave for our fun evening...
...Molly hung out with Chelsie (aka her new best buddy) and played with the Color Wonder markers and book that Chelsie brought for her. Uh-oh, ladies, it's almost time to go...
...and the Divas still had to put on their makeup! A few pics before leaving...
...and we were off to the fun!! (Chelsie brought us glow-in-the-dark bracelets and Molly had a great time playing with them all night. Great idea, Chels!) Where were we headed?
Yes, indeed, we went to the tour of So You Think You Can Dance!! I bought the tickets before we left for China and wasn't planning on taking Molly. One of Meggie's friends asked us to get her a ticket, then decided not to go after the tickets were bought. Since it was Homecoming weekend at Meggie's high school, none of her friends were willing to skip the dance to go with us. Their loss, 'cause it was awesome!!

When I bought the tickets, I thought we were up off the floor a bit. When we arrived at the Arena, we found out we had floor seats. Not good when I'm with a tiny four-year-old, a 5 foot tall teenager, and a 5'3" friend...we were not going to be able to see a thing! I went to a security guy and asked if we could move up to the back row off the floor. He sent me to the box office. The box office told me to ask an usher for a change of tickets. The usher offered me four seats...
...in the FOURTH ROW FROM THE STAGE!!! (Actually, only one of the seats was a fourth row seat, and we ended up moving back to the fifth row -- where the rest of the seats were -- but we were NOT complaining!!) Can you BELIEVE that?! All it took was pursuing it -- and not taking "no" for an answer -- and we got the best seats I have EVER had at a show!! Front and center, baby!!

The show was awesome, although we were (unfortunately) surrounded by relatives of one of the dancers...and they were a rough and obnoxious crowd. Ugghhh!

At the end of the show, they shot off confetti and Molly was SO excited...
...see her proudly showing it off? She considered it her souvenir of the show and protected those pieces of paper like they were made of gold! Hysterical! Meggie, however...
...requires souvenirs that are a bit more pricey! After the show, an usher told us that the dancers were going to shower and change, then go out to meet the crowd...
...so we bundled up and headed to the streets! It took almost an hour for the dancers to emerge...
...but Chelsie and Molly kept themselves occupied quite nicely! Actually, much to everyone's amazement, Molly was incredibly patient and only complained that she was sleepy near the end of our nearly two hour wait outside in the cold. What an angel!! This picture...
...gives you an idea of the crowd Meggie had to fight to meet the dancers. Actually, Chelsie and I had to give the Megster props...she befriended the two girls on the left of that picture (the one with her back to the camera is actually wearing my scarf to keep herself warm...I offered it) and made a deal to photograph each other with the dancers. This nice little deal got her right up next to the fence!

Here are the celebrity shots...
...with Brandon (and one of Meggie's new friends)...
...Kaitlyn...
...Melissa...
...Ade...
...Evan...
...Randi (Meggie's favorite)...
...Kayla......Philip (Chelsie's favorite)...
...Jason...
...Janette (my favorite)...
...Kupono (another fav of mine)...
...and with Jeannine (aka America's Favorite Dancer)!!

Yes, we stayed out in the cold for two hours for those pics. And, yes, I got sick from the experience and now have a nasty case of laryngitis. But it was SO WORTH IT!!!! You know why? Because my Teenager was so appreciative and had the night of her life!! What an awesome experience!!

Our Very Busy Day (Part Two)...

After arriving home from our road trip last Saturday, Meggie headed off to dance rehearsals and the Littles and I got organized to head to the Autumn Moon Festival. (At least it was nearby...at a local farm less than a half-mile from our neighborhood.) As soon as we arrived, we heard the Kung Fu demonstration had started and Carson HAD to see that!I must admit, Molly and I enjoyed it more than I thought we would. Carson was AMAZED at the bigger boys -- he kept saying, "They're like POWER RANGERS!" What a hoot!

We headed from the Kung Fu show to the free dinner. You know the problem with a free dinner? There's ALWAYS a catch. The catch at this free dinner??
Yes, folks, Mommy had to cook hot dogs (bleccchhh!!) over an open fire! Ooooo, I needed Daddy at this event!! At least the Littles were OK with the dinner offerings...
The free dessert consisted of marshmallows...which also required the whole cook-over-an-open-fire thing. Are you KIDDING me?! Thankfully, our dear friends Chelsie and Alan were there with their son Max...and Alan felt sorry for me so he made our marshmallow desserts. (Thanks, Alan!!) Dessert was a big hit...
...although Molly wasn't a big fan of getting sticky, so I had to hold the marshmallows and feed her! What a goofy girl!! A few random pics...
...of Carson and Max goofing around...
...of Molly inflating her Capri Sun pouch with air ("not respecting the pouch" as Daddy would say)...
...of Max, Carson, and Molly together...
...of Carson and Max looking at the video Chelsie made with her camera...
...of Molly happily giving her big brother a hug...
...and of Max being...well, Max! (He hates to have his picture taken, so you have to catch him off-guard.) They had a little play area at this farm with miniature houses, which Molly loved...
...and a large ship that all the kids loved! Here we have Molly climbing onto the ship...
..and following Carson up the bridge...
...but refusing to come down the slide until I took her picture!
Going up the bridge was a challenge for Carson (it required a bit of arm strength) but he was proud of himself when he could do it alone after a few tries!
He also required a picture to be taken at the top of the slide! Chelsie is so cute with kids...
...and I do believe Molly is becoming quite fond of her. Considering what a tough little cookie Molly is with new people, I was amazed how much she was willing to laugh and giggle with Chelsie! (You're warming her up, Chels...but, no, you CAN'T have her!!) As it got darker, we really wanted to get some pics of the kiddos up on the ship...
...not just you, Carson! We realized quite quickly that organizing six kids for a photo op is a bit like shoving cats into a pillowcase. (Not that I've ever DONE that...)
...and these were the best shots I got of Molly, Carson, Max, Wesley, Delilah, and Elliana! (Wesley, Delilah, and Elliana are the children of our friends, Doug and Lou Ellen).

So that's the end of Our Very Busy Day. Now I need a Very Lazy Day to make up for all that activity!!