Right now, life seems to be brimming with opportunities... and you're excited for all of them.
You are productive and creative. It makes you feel good to stay busy.
At your best, you have a full schedule and lots to do.
At your worst, you feel bored and aimless. Idle hands make you a bit crazy!
You are an island. You don't need anyone else to make you happy.
And though you see yourself as a loner, people are drawn to you.
Deep and sensitive, you tend to impress others with your insights.
You also tend to be psychic - so listen to that inner voice!
Summer has been alot of fun with Zoe here now. It is so great having her here. We have gone to the Zoo ,the lake, mini golfing, seen a parade. Zoe is such a happy girl she just loves her brothers and it is quite the same for them. i never thought teenage boys would like a little sister so much.
Memorial Day Parade
Zoe's first parade... We attended the Memorial Day Parade ... it was Zoe's first. She seemed to like it, after we ate at dennys and then later went to get ice cream at Minnehans. Zoe's first cone... she said"mama we come tomarrow for more?"
Big sister Kelli has been designing tshirts for an online contests and her Tshirt for the theme mothers day won first place. Its shows a mama dragon feeding her baby dragon a knight in shining armor. I don't remember feeding her one but times were tough hmmm .. that would explain why there was a lack of knights for me... oh well... Great job Kelli, we are as always so proud of you. Zoe is modeling Kellis prize winning design.. She is grumpy because " the sun is poking my eyes". Kelli's shirt sold over 2000 in the first 8 hrs. Pretty neat thinking folks all over will be wearing her artwork.. If you would like to get one for yourself they are $15 ,free shipping. Warning the womens sizes run small,the mens sizes are fine.Its called 'dragonly love'
http://shirt.woot.com/friends.aspx?k=5463
Congrats to Kelli for winning first place in the WOOT tshirt design contest... this weeks theme was mothers!!! Way to go Kel
http://shirt.woot.com/
So much has happened in the past month... Zoe's blood test came back all good but she still has to go see the kidney specialist next month to find out why she has so much blood in her urine. desi has been to the drs every week he has appts at the head specialist and skin dr, dentist and eye.Tevin just has the dentist and eyes to do. Zoe is talking so well in English. She has such a cute way of saying yes to a question ,... she does a a little ummm... and then yes. She continues to torment her bros and vice versa. Finally those boyz are getting a taste of what they put their big sisters thru, when they were the terror twosome. Zoe has to be watched like a hawk. She did manage to find the scissors and trim her hair, barely noticeable except to me.. I asked her "Zoe did you cut your hair with the scissors?" " ummm... Yes" She also cut up some fabric that I had ready to put into a quilt.
I can not believe I went all the way to China to finally have my Italian girl. She loves pasta, and can really pack away the food. But she is very sweet and always feeds mama some but she is not so good with sharing food with anyone else. her favorite movie is HAPPY FEET and she loves penguins. Shari found her a walking talking mambo animal and zoe just adores it. She also likes going to the movie theater,eating out, and to walmart.
Some firsts:
we attending the FCC Chinese News year, Zoe finally has met an aunt and some cousins. My sister Brenda , who donated her FF miles for Zoe's ticket and who waited at the Detroit airport for us,we did not have enough time to find her, drove with her youngest 2 , thru a blizzard from Michigan to NY to be able to be the first aunty to meet Zoe. Love was definitely in the air. Hosni and Gabriella(7 and 5 this july)wanted to take her home with them, I think their mom was coaching them a Little!!! we had a great time visiting and Zoe went to her first museum . They gave her a beautiful chinese outfit that Brenda picked out in San Fran's Chinatown last summer.Zoe cried and cried , and wanted to trade me in, when they had to leave..
Zoe also discovered the bumblebee costume and wore it for 2 days straight. She also does a song and dance in chinese that is so cute. She is anxiously awaitying the arrival of her friend and foster mate LuQi(Dannica). Zoe practices talking to her in chinese often.
I need to again thank my big girls so much.Shari and Kelli share zoe sitting and it makes one less thing to worry about
well we have made it thru the holidays. We have been home for 3 weeks,it has been hard to get into a routine with the boys being home and visiting friends. Zoe seem to enjoy Christmas although I am sure she doesnt understand any of it. She receieved some wonderful gifts from her sisters and grandma in Florida.She stayed up on new years eve ,actually she has made it to midnight almost every night. lately she has been wanting to sleep in my room, a few nights she will put herself to bed in her room, most nights she makes a bed for herself on my floor but ends up in my bed. This little girl is a thrasher, i mean 360 turns ,flips ,knees in my back, feet on my head, not a good co sleeper. i usually put her in her bed when she is sleeping in the hopes that when she wakes she will become comfortable in her own room. this is for her own safety, she sometimes wakes up and goes neow neow and then sleeps great the rest of the night.vhoic
we went to visit my friend Connie and her daughter Tiffany. Connie's son sean is one of Tevins friends. Tiffany is a month younger than Zoe so we hope they will become friends. Zoe seemed very comfortable at Connies and took her coat right off and started playing.. Connie was a reference for my homestudy as well as a continued support person. A personal request, Connie's husband Cliff will be leaving for a 13month tour of Afghanistan next week so if you could lift him and their family in your prayers it would be so appreciated.
I have to return to work tonight I don't want to but have no choice,apparently FMLA ends the 1st of the year no matter what.I hope Zoe adjusts well to the changes, soon she will be taking a nap everyday when mama does.
Zoe continues to do well, she is speaking more english but also more Chinese. I am excited about attending the CNY celebration with our area FCC group. Thanks for following along. Have a happy new year....
The journey to Zoe-traveling to China
Everything leading up to getting on the plane was chaotic.The money was unuseable so I was scrambling the afternoon before trying to find $4000 in new bills. shari and Kelli drove us to the airport and dropped us off ,security was a breeze and we nervously ate breakfast while waiting for the first of our 3 flights that would take us to the land of Zoe. Our first flight was a small plane and Tevin did great(me too)on all the flights. Roch--->Detroit--->Tokyo--->Beijing. we left 9 am weds and arrived in beijing 9 pm Thursday night. we spent several day in Beijing then flew to Zhengzhou where we would meet Zoe. To hear all about our trip please visit www.bringingzoehome.blogspot.com . Our trip to China was a wonderful experience and we look forward to visiting again. It was truely a trip of a lifetime and did not disappoint.China is such a contrast in itself. The traditional and old standiong tall against the modren and new. The people were all very friendly and we felt safe at all times.We were blessed with meeting Zoe and having her accept us so quickly,she had been waiting and looking at our photos for 16 months, She was ready for her family.
IF YOU WERE A LITTLE GIRL IN THE 70'S...
~ You had that Fisher Price Doctor's Kit with a stethoscope that actually worked.
~ You owned a bicycle with a banana seat and a plastic basket with flowers on it.
~ You learned to skate with actual skates (not roller blades) that had metal wheels.
~ You thought Gopher from Love Boat was cute (admit it!)
~ You had nightmares after watching Fantasy Island.
~ You had rubber boots for rainy days and Moon boots for snowy days. YEAH!~
~ You owned a "Slip-n-Slide",on which you injured yourself on a sprinkler head more than once.
~ You owned "Klick-Klacks" and smacked yourself in the face more than once.
~ You had either a "bowl cut" or "pixie," not to mention the "Dorothy Hamill". People sometimes thought you were a boy.
~ Your Holly Hobbie sleeping bag was your most prized possession.
~ You wore a poncho, gauchos, and knickers.
~ You begged Santa for the electronic game, Simon.
~ You had the Donnie and Marie dolls with those pink and purple satiny shredded outfits.
~ You spent hours in your backyard on your metal swing set with the trapeze. The swing set tipped over at least once.
~ You had homemade ribbon barrettes in every imaginable color. (Oh yeah!)
~ You had a pair of Doctor Scholl's sandals (the ones with hard sole & the buckle). You also had a pair of salt-water sandals. (is this an east coast thing??)
~ You wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder really bad; you wore that Little House on the Prairie-inspired plaid, ruffle shirt with the high neck in at least one school picture; and you despised Nellie Olson!
~ You wanted your first kiss to be at a roller rink.!
~ Your hairstyle was described as having "wings" or "feathers" and you kept it "pretty" with the comb you kept in your back pocket. ~ When you walked, the "wings" flapped up and down, looked like you were gonna "take off"
~ You know who Strawberry Shortcake is, as well as her friends, Blueberry Muffin and Huckleberry Pie.
~ You carried a Muppets lunch box to school and it was metal, not plastic. With the thermos inside!
~ You and your girlfriends would fight over which of the Dukes of Hazzard was your boyfriend.
~ You had Star Wars action figures, too! It was a big event in your household each year when the "Wizard of Oz" would come on TV.
~ Your mom would break out the popcorn and sleeping bags!
~ You often asked your Magic-8 ball the question: "Who will I marry. Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett, or David Cassidy..?"
~ You completely wore out your Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Fame soundtrack record album.
~ You tried to do lots of arts and crafts, like yarn and Popsicle-stick God's eyes, decoupage, or those weird potholders made on a plastic loom.
~ You made Shrinky-Dinks and put iron-on kittens on your t-shirts!
~ You used to tape record songs off the radio by holding your portable tape player up to the speaker.
~ You had subscriptions to Dynamite and Tiger Beat.
~ You learned everything you needed to know about girl issues from Judy Blume books (Are you there God, It's me, Margaret.)
~ You thought Olivia Newton John's song "Physical" was about aerobics.
~ You wore friendship pins on your tennis shoes, or shoelaces with heart or rainbow designs.
~ You wanted to be a Solid Gold dancer.
~ You drowned yourself in Love's Baby Soft - which was the first "real" perfume you ever owned .. .
~ You glopped your lips in Strawberry Roll-on lip gloss till it almost dripped off.
I still do the lip gloss thingư.LOL!!!
SHARE THIS WITH ALL OF YOUR 30 OR 40-SOMETHING GIRLFRIENDS...
IT WILL MAKE THEM SMILE TOO!!!!
Summer update
school is done. This years featured graduate is my nephew Kyle. Kyle graduated from High scholl and will be attending Cortland College this fall. Great job Kyle we are,have and always will be proud of you.
the boys...me and the boyz have started playing tennis, yes a little like the volleyball incident of 2004,but much laughter. kelli recently added a puppy so now i have a grandaughter..Tevin expanded his cat collection to 15 cats(11 kittens) yes that cat is getting fixed asap-even if i have to do it myself(just kidding)
the adoption of Zoe is in the waiting phase... but the end waiting phase.. all papers have been sent and logged in to China and we are waiting for travel approval... should be traveling in the fall(sept).. thats all for now. the house is basically done just some finishing touches take care enjoy your summer...
This fathers day was very hard. I hated everytime that talked about buy dad this and all the emails talking about fathers day. I really miss my dad and wish that we could go back to when i was 7 and at the beach or later playing cards. It is very sad that our kids won't have that fun , Zoe will never know her grandpa in person but she will certainly know about him. this video just proves the point no matter your age, no matter the circumstances, nobody wants to be without their daddy... peace Bonnie
Well I rec'd the final paper from the USA the coveted I171H paper saying that i have been approved for **ONE*
child.I got it late thursday but Friday was all day Desi treatment at the hospital (no Car Trouble) so I will go bright and early monday am to have it notarized,county verified and then fed ex all the papers to albany to state certify, they should come back within a week Hopefully and then off to my agency for USA authentication and china translation, then off to china,where we will wait in line for our Letter of acceptance(LOA). Some rumours floating around that this process is speeding up and that some folks may be having only a 30-60 day wait this would put us in august when we travel. except for the finances I am ready to go get my girl.
Desmond is now getting a larger dose of remicade. He also is being scheduled for some test, a catscan,some other things to check the extent of damage to his bowels and intestine.. it was thought to be mainly in his small colon but the test will so for sure.. Tevin is not too happy that the dr feels it would be good to get Tev tested for indicators of crohns so he will be getting his first blood drawn since he was 2... everyone else is doing well.
Kelli and Joe moved to a new place so now I see her even less...so sad... but she did just a a cute little puppy named tibby and a chinchilla.
the kitchen is done ..
hope all is well...
peace and if you feel you could help in any way please do.. all will be greatly appreciated
April 20th... Tevins a teenager... 13 and ready to go. we went to Tully's with Shari,Keiran, Kelli, Joe and me and the boys..No call from the MIA father.. well at least he is consistant.
THURSDAY THIRTEEN
13 things I want to do with my kids:
1. go snow tubing(not yet)
2. the beach (done)
3. do the drive in movie(done-clean feet rule passed immediately)
4. Pick strawberries(done)
5. drive cross country(done-to FL)
6.make handprints in plaster(done)
7. cave tour(done)
8.Niagara Falls(done-yearly)
9.hershey PA (done)
10.pick apples and make applesauce(done)
11.play hooky from school(done)
12.
zoes room
moving right along
February 4, 2007
this past week was a rough one. desi had a horrid time at the hosp. it took them 4x to get his IV in. they blew out 2 viens then got it in but his arm started swelling up but 4th time it was ok. Thankfully we won't have to go back until the end of March. He has lost weight and is now under 80lbs..he will be 14 in 2 months on a better note i bought zoes bed set.I found out that zoe is in a crib but that she could be in a regular bed. Its a little mermaid bet set and came with a table and chair set and bookcase. It was on sale for 45 $ at least half price. It should go well with her room . which is painted light sea green 3/4 of the way up and then the rest is blue for the sky. we are going to paint some of the rainbow fish characters on the wall. So after I come home with it desi says " what if she has nightmares that she is drowning... or she wets her bed cuz of the water" what a kid.. I am off work for 4-5 weeks for surgery. I guess its a good thing she isnt here yet it might be hard recovering and chasing after a lil wiggle worm... although I have done it before.
i have almost all of my dossier ready except the hs which should be done in about 6 weeks. please keep Zoe and all of us in your thoughts and prayers.
New video of zoe again... her foster home is awesome. she is quite a social character and a little ham.. peace to you all B
THURSDAY THIRTEEN
Thirteen movies I watch no matter when they are on, no matter how many times i have seen them
THIRTEEN MOVIES
1. When Harry met Sally
2. You've got Mail
3. Sleepless in Seattle
4.The X men Movies
5 Groundhog Day
6.That Touch of Mink
7. Please don't eat the Daisies(love Doris Day movies)
8. Somethings Gotta Give
9. Serendipity
10.10 things I hate about you
11. a Christmas Story(and any Christmas movie)
12. A DodgeBall Story(why?)
13.Goonies
well I thought i should write some of the GOOD things my boyz have been up to. Both des and tev are doing great in basketball this season. Tevin was chosen to take the SAT's ( yes SAT's) this year as a 7th grader. He would be taking them right along side of the high schoolers. He decided he did not want to do this yet. This week he also recieved an invitation to attend The summer institues gifted student program. it is held at 10 diff top colleges across the us.. UCLA,yale, and Michagan. Since bert lives and works at ann arbor we will be looking to attend there. I hopefully will travel this summer to China to bring Zoe home.I cant wait . life will be so much fun with her running around. Kel and shari are both doing well still great kids. take care BP
well lesson learned I HOPE.. last week Mr T decided that he did not want to go to show choir practice and instead went to play bball while his teacher sent some one down and he refused to leave. So he was kicked out of the show.Now this is a graded class full year. so mama was alil bit upset and plained to the boy that this was not cool and HE had to fix it. so the next day he talked to his teach and had to apologize to the whole choir on a mic with both jazz bands and senior choir. so hopefully lesson learned but most likely NOT... they sang songs from high school musical
Well Christmas arrived way too quickly but before that Miss Kelli turned 21 .. woo hoo
cant believe that...why that makes me 42 ... must be a typo.. we had a great dinner at Bugaboo Creek and Kel did kiss the 10 timing moose
here is my first fun friday foto challenge. a little slow. Here is Tevin the day before his 12th birthday just having gotten his feelings hurt. Tears are still in his eyes.i'd do anything never to see him so sad.. real tears
more photos
still not quite a smile
September 29, 2006
I thought i would just try to get some info from iaap regarding updates and within 5 mins i recieved these new pics just taken of zoe. I also can send her a care package . more later Bonnie
Bonnie....this just in:
Cheryl,
Dang XinHui:
1.Height:85cm
Weight:10.5kg
Head:47cm
Chest:49cm
2. She is walking very well. We have a teacher there, she is also learning the things from the picture books, and listening to the little stories. She loves to copy the teachers words, and can express herself very well.
3. I have asked the orphanage, they said that as she had a heart problem, no immunization was done up to now when she was there. Frank is going to arrange it.
Hannah
Here are some RED threads in my life
1. my family has had a painting of two little Asian girls as long as i can remember.It has hung in everyplace i have lived at during all my moves. i guess i should be happy my sis dont get here much otherwise it would have been gone.will post pic soon.
2. i had a penpal ,Wen-Inn Lee ,who was from Taipei ,Taiwan.She used to try to teach me Chinese.I haven't been in touch with her since 1979. She started at the university that year,but last week while cleaning out my basement i found her picture that i have not seen in years(decade) in a box.
3.2 years ago .. around the time I started thinking about or looking at adoptions i had an infestation/visitation of many ladybugs,1000s of them in my basement and in my shed.
4.when i was a junior in HS i volunteered on my study halls and after school at the preschool program at holcomb and there was alittle asian girl named song mi who just loved me. she would always climb in my lap and give hugs and she would get all sad when it was time to leave.
5. adoption .. when i was 19 and living on my own i befriended a lil boy named bobby whose parents were older .he was always at my house . I would take him everywhere with me. He looked so small sitting in my Galaxy 500 that was as old as I was. Front seat the size of a couch. took him treat or treating, out to eat,we were together all the time. hes was 3 when we met. His mom talked to me one day and asked if I would like to adopt him.of course being 19 i had no clue and probably wouldnt have been allowed to... i saw him still after we moved but once he started school only saw him once in awhile he would be about 25 now.
6. everytime i felt discouraged about Zoe .. i would find something with her name on it or somehow related to her..ie
clothes at yard sale labels one bonnie jean and the next a dress label Zoey..books .. a rainy day with Zoe, Ten lil ladybugs,first flight. Lady bug things everywhere.
at one house where I bought about 20 outfits for Zoe,this was before i had met Xinhui and there was a little Chinese Dress it was size 2 i didnt get it because I thought she would be older but it actually will be the right size for my little peanut. the woman at the house told me they had adopted a little girl from Korea who was now 3.
7. when desi and I were trying to leave the hosp after Kieran was born we went down the wrong hallway and ended up on the odd side of the gift shop where there was a beautiful display of China dolls which of course i had to buy one the next day for Zoe
8. a ladybug landed on my shoulder and the next day i recieved new pics of Zoe
9. the only doll that survived the basement flood was a Chinese empress barbie
10. Kieran was born with the same type of heart condition that Zoe has.
11. I have always loved the Lenny Kravitz song "Flowers for Zoe" so the other day i was trying to find it to download to myspace and the bio came up that his daughters name was Zoe Isabella.. I DID NOT know this pretty cool
12. people comment that Zoe looks like someone...one pic she looks like my sis michelle when she was little ..prob the attitude in her eyes lol
her eyebrows are like tevins..SS says she looks like Tev
her skin and eyes are the same shade as her brothers and mine if i ever were to tan again.She has the same haircut that my grandpa V had. anyway you look at her I am amazed by her beauty. I hope her nephews will keep the boys in line when they are all teenagers.
I guess there are signs everywhere you just have to be open to them. the biggest sign of course being the way Zoe found me when i had given the list a break and was not even looking.
August 29, 2006
signs
Just a quick note before i forget.. i am very upset over the 2 deaths of heart babies waiting for their families to travel who both passedaway last week. They both were younger than Xinhui and may have had more complicated issues than Xinhui. I am still waiting for PA The ccaa has requested more info from me.. hopefully all will be fine..
at the house to day... pulling up carpet for the new flooring... i opened a drawer to put some of Xinhuis clothes in and there was a lady bug... then when i was moving books i noticed a david mc Phail book that i had got from a yard sale... and the title was First Flight. It was all about a little boys first plane ride.. It was very detailed... wish I had it for Kellis first flight last summer LOL. i will bring in for XinHui although she might be too young for it.
I know i need to update on the new grandson ... Keiran Was born August 18th, 2006. He is absolutely beautiful. Shari was amaxing... i am going on vacation when the next grandchild is born....too much stress but so much joy. Keiran was found to have a heart murmur. We took him to Golisanos Children Hospital(where dede gets his treatments) last Friday and he has the very same heart condition that Xinhui has.. A VSD.. a small hole in the heart chambers that most likely will heal all on its own.So Thankful for that. Ian and Aidan just loved their little brother... take care Bonnie
chicken mama going south
August 17, 2006
Well today me Kelli and Desmond drove down to the finger lakes to meet up with my Mom and sis Becky and Michelle,niece megan and BIL brian to wine taste. the first thing they do when they arrive is hand me a bag with 6 dif fabrics for Zoe"s quilt... guess they read my journal entry... i was so happy.
Now my family does not NEED alcohol to be crazy it just helps lol. We ate at this restaurant that "due to limited technology could not do seperate checks for more than 4 people but they would provide a calculator for our use" hilarious..
My mom and sis Barb are heading to Michigan to visit sis Brenda and then flying south...we havent even frosted yet
we kept getting updates thru out the day from Shari and Tevin(who remained with Shari to be midwife) just kidding luckily.. Her contractions were pretty steady... continued on next entry
Zoe is found our meimei
July 2, 2006
well it has been a busy few days starting with an email stated new children on Iaap wc list. So i look . first one
Dang Xin Hui - girl - 6/15/2004, hmm.. girl... check, age... year of the monkey... check special need... VSD ... check.. ok
I showed the boys her pictures and told them what I knew about her and they said yup thats Zoe.. lets get her...So I did a little back and forth email... and I was very impressed that i heard back so quickly especially on a holiday weekend. I sent an email a few actually stating that I would like to be Xin Hui momma and figured it would be a long 3 days til I heard anything. I prayed alot last night asking God that if we were meant to be a family with Xin Hui that we would hear a yes from iaap. As we know everything is according to His timing and apparently He is right on top of things. I checked my email .. message from iaap.. hmm .. skip over that one... not ready to hear .. already found family ... placed with someone else.... so I finally open it... and Thank You to God.. it read : We have marked her as placed with your family.
Woo Woo... but of course there is the pre approval that I must get from CCAA . They are fed exing the papers after the holiday. I may also be changing HS agency as I have heard from many that it is not the norm to have to pay a placing fee when you are using a diff international agency. I am posting a photo. I dont want to get to gung ho until we have preapproval..
Looks like we might have Zoe home by the end of the year.
Xin Hui just turned 2 in june so she is a monkey and a gemini... So maybe some of our personalities will get along.. thanks to all. Please keep us in your prayers.
peace happiness and fast PA's Bonnie
An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break. -Ancient Chinese Belief
Thank goodness that it is almost summer. No more snow although it looked like it was going to drop some of the white stuff yesterday. Desi has been having a rough time in school. He has not been taking his medications on time. he is looking quite ill. Very skinny in the face. I will make him get weighed on Tuesday when we go to the hospital for his methatrexate shot. desmond and I attended an adoption seminar held by Catholic Family Center(our homestudy agency) and Wide horizons ( angelina jolie adopted thru them ). I learned some stuff but really knew more about China adoption then the reps. We are still looking for Zoe. I applied for a little girl but she had over 50 applications for her and she went to a family with younger sibs.
still searching hoping for nics file to come soon. Take care
Hi This is our link to our fundraising site. Its really easy to use and a portion of what you spend buying from 600+ stores will help us bring zoe home. Thanks for helping us on our journey to bring Miss Zoe home. peace and happiness
Our spring trip to Niagara Falls Canada
Almost didn't get across border cuz Guy thaought it would be a good idea to argue with the border attendant. i think she took pity on me and the 5 kids and let us pass. Probably went home and thanked her man for not being a tall red haired red neck freak. Oh well to each their own.We had fun the hotel was disappointing but we had a good time and apparently the dog had a good ol time at home.Nothing that a vaccum and a new couch can't solve. lol
4-11-2006
The boy is in trouble.whoo hoo another green letter from school .. certified mail no less. Boy just being stupid but no tolerance for anything in school ... a good thing
April 14 2006
still searching for nics paperwork might be on the next wait list.Have started gathering the documents needed for dossier . Have talked to homestudy
agency should be ready to start next month.
Still remodeling the ranch putting hardwood floors down this weekend woo woo Peace
