Family

Brian has been told yet again, "We'll have a job offerby next Friday!"  Seriously, I'm over it.

Now we have been told that Brian will have a job offer by next Friday.  Haven't heard that one before. *La Sigh*

Brian is still waiting on the job offer.... maybe next week. So we wait..... some more.

Today is Brian's birthday.  He isn't admitting how old he is and prefers to keep it low key... so we did.  Just his favorite cake and dinner at his favorite restaurant.

I've been meaning to write this since we got back from vacation at Mimmi's.  As I mentioned in the Adventures of Daddy, Snoopy had his own little adventure while we were gone!  It all started the first Saturday.  Brian was feeling sorry for Snoopy who had been home all alone the day before (his first mistake... never feel sorry for that dog!). 

If you are a yellow jacket and you decide to attack my husband be warned: I WILL get you!

So Tuesday night I went sneeking out of the house at 11:30 PM armed with a can of Raid Wasp & Hornet killer, a flashlight, and a pan of dirt.  I found the yellow jacket nest hole and emptied the can of Raid into it and dumped on the dirt. Very anticlimactic.... but effective!

So in our 10 days at Mimmi's house, I learned a few things.  A.) I need that set of eyes in the back of my head people are always talking about and B.) 88 year old women and toddler/preschoolers do not mix well.  I also learned that one must follow the 88 year old woman around and be sure she puts up medicines, etc and then one must follow the toddler and preschooler around and pray that they don't run opposite directions! If one does not do this, one will come very close to calling Poison Control for the second time in a single day.

Well, poor Brian had quite a time while we were away.  What was suppose to be a nice relaxing time by himself for Brian turned out to be quite the opposite!

Well, we're back home from visiting Mimmi! A great time was had by all.  I have a number of posts planned to get caught up, but it might take a bit since I've got a number of other things going on.  Watch for the gDiaper review... it's going to be a long one! I don't know when I will get new pictures uploaded since the mass import function is not working... but we'll try.

I am a nurse. I have been a labor & delivery nurse... I have seen hundreds (thousands?) of births. They are all different, all special, all moving on a certain level. But I find that I struggle to "get into" the births hidden inside the whirling medical world of elective c-sections, epidurals, and doctor-focused care. The births that move me, inspire me, fill me with awe are those where the woman knows she has wrestled with God and, walking on the very edge of the abyss, she has won another life to join the ranks of the human race.

Here's what we've been working on this weekend... the birthday present, and we're not done yet.  Boy am I sore!  I'll keep you all posted on how it goes.

We have a little tree/bush outside our breakfast nook window and for the last two springs a robin family has built their nest there.  I was so excited when they returned this year because this year at almost 3 Miriam notices and understands everything.  I knew she would LOVE watching the little birds grow.  The mother had been sitting on the nest for about two weeks and I think the babies hatched yesterday. 

We have just returned from a week long trip to see Mimmi and also saw Grandma W. for a few hours.  The kids had a great time, although Evan missed his Daddy as always.  Evan was actually a bit mad at Daddy when he first showed up again.  I'll post pictures later...

It's a little late but I thought I would share a picture from Christmas.  Funny how hard it is to get toddlers to sit still long enough for a decent shot under the tree.

Anyway, the kids had a great time this Christmas.  They LOVED opening gifts and by the end they were real pros! 

We have a new addition to the pack family. A sweet doggy named "Snoopy" who is half Lab and half Basset Hound. Seriously, he could not be any sweeter. He loves humans, likes the kids and is very patient with them, and ignores the cats. Perfect! He is laid back and gentle. He thinks he's a lap dog, but at 55 lbs I'm not so sure! LOL

I though that I would share an amazing story about Evan's adoption. Before we adopted Evan our family was in the process to adopt from China. We had completed our homestudy which is why we were even contacted about adopting him. Our families knew our plans to adopt from China and I had even talked with my mother, Mimmi, about coming and staying with Miriam when we traveled to get our child. The day after we learned about Evan, the same day we asked to be considered to adopt him, I called my mother to tell her about Evan and that we were being considered to adopt him.

Well, I survived my trip to IN. Actually the week spent with my mom (Mimmi) was great. She took a lot of time off to spend with Mira and me, and we had a good time. Mira just loves her Mimmi... in fact Mira has been grumpy since we've been home and wants me to hold her all the time. Someone got a little spoiled me thinks! The only down side of the trip was the plane ride up there!

We've had Miriam for just over three months now! We have settled into a routine of sorts and Miriam is doing very well. She has finally started to sleep through the night most nights except for waking once or maybe twice. Much better then before!
She is sitting very well these days and plays well with her toys. She still refuses to roll over. She looks at me like I'm nuts when I try to get her to do it.

Today is my last day of maternity leave. I have to return to work tomorrow. I really wish I didn't have to go back to work. I just want to stay home with Miriam, but until Brian gets a job with benefits this is what I have to do.
We are at least lucky enough not to have to hire a babysitter as Brian will be able to watch Miriam since I will only be working weekends.

Good morning everyone and HAPPY THANKSGIVING! It is a beautiful day here in east Tennessee... sun shining, baby sleeping :-)... what more can you ask for?