Miscellaneous

I've been photo tagged by my friend Stacy. I'm supposed to pull the fourth picture from the fourth file on my computer, so here it is.

This is Miriam "helping" me put together the little table and chair set she got from Mimmi and Grandma Katie for her second birthday.

I'll tag Jen, Cindy, Amy, and Sarah.

I've been tagged by my friend Sarah to share 7 random things about myself. So here goes.

1.) I "met" my husband in July 2001... we met online. :)
2.) I started reading the Harry Potter series years ago after I received one of those radical conservative emails about how "evil" the series is. I basically went right out and bought the first book and read it! Yeah, I'm kind of like that sometimes....
3.) I have an incredible memory. I remember many things from my first 2-3 years of life. I even have a memory from when I was 2 months old. It runs in my family... my mother also remembers things from her first year of life.
4.) In my professional life, I have had the privilege of giving many little human beings their very first bath. I have also given far to many their only bath.  And, yes, that was a privilege too.
5.) I wasn't allowed to go to the movies as a child. I think I was 21 the first time I stepped into a movie theater.
6.) I'm addicted to "LOST". Yeah, scary, I know.
7.) I'm a serious name nerd. Brian says that I'm part of the name Amish. :) I disagree, but if you've named your little girl Madisyn or Kennedee don't ask me what I think of the "name"!

So I'm suppose to "tag" seven other bloggers. But honestly, I'm not sure that seven people who have blogs and have not already been tagged actually read my blog. Heck, I'm not sure seven people read my blog! So I guess I'll tag Ruth, Spark, and Jen cause I know they read sometimes and haven't done this yet. And if you're a lurker and have never commented... consider yourself tagged! (How's that for punishment?? Well, if you exist....)

What a crazy week this has been. Saturday we had a get together with our local Guatemala Adoption group at the park.  It was a small group this time, but nice to see everyone.

Then Sunday I got sick. Really fast. With flu like symptoms; sore throat, head ache, fever, chills, aches. UGGGGG. Monday was NOT fun. I was hitting the Tylenol trying to stay ahead of the fever long enough to keep up with the kids. Lets just say I heart PBS!!  But even an unending supply of TV didn't tempt my crazy duo for long and by 11 they were wreaking the house while I lay on the couch under blankets.  Thank God they still take naps!  But I'm better now except for a nagging sore throat when I eat certain things.

Today is a good day in another way. Today our adoption is OFF HOLD!! WOOOHOO!! Really, I wasn't sure it would ever happen, but it has. Now we get to wait again but this time it is for a referral; at least we are back in line. :)

Multiple answered prayers to report tonight. First, little Susannah is much better and on her way to the US with her new family!! What a miracle!!  Second, Brian FINALLY has a job offer, he is still negotiating, but hopefully we will have something signed in the next week! Whooohooo!

Did we really just pay $5.09 for a gallon of gas? All due to a hurricane that came no where near us and a bunch of IDIOTS who don't know how to control themselves!

Not only do we have a woman as a VP candidate, but we have a woman willing to wear her newborn son in a SLING!!! Check it out: Sarah Palin

I found this on another blog and since I love to read I also found it iteresting! :)

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!). 

Okay... as promised, a full review of gDiapers.  I used them for 10 days while visiting family; two of those days were a 12 hour road trip.  Except for one issue, I LOVED them.  I'm going to break things down into sections and give gDiapers a grade as well as compare them to disposables and cloth (Motherease and various pocket diapers).

Ease of use:  gDiapers=A, disposables= A+, cloth=B

The gDiapers have arrived. Very fast shipping and delivery... I'm impressed by that. I like the look of the diapers in person.  The cover is very soft, strechy and comfortable looking.  Miriam LOVED the pink striped cover and cried when I made her take it off.  Evan seemed to really like the feel.  The fit looks good on both kids...

I've always hated using disposable diapers.  They cost an arm and a leg, are full of bad cemicals, and are clogging up the landfills.  So we went with cloth diapers... most of the time.  I've tried a number of different types of cloth diapers and found one I like and don't mind using them at all... most of the time.  But there are times when the hassle of cloth just isn't worth it... namely travel.  Finally, I think I've found a solution.  gDiapers. I'm so excited.  I can't wait for my order to get here so I can try them.  I'll keep you posted!

As I mentioned in this post, I've always been drawn to natural births.  So I guess it's not a surprise I loved this movie/ documentary.  I highly 

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. 

Yea!! I have FINALLY gotten the Adoption Info section of this site up and running.  I have a lot more to add to the site over the next few days/weeks, but it's a start!

The weather have been very nice around here for about a week and a half now. The kids have been out playing in the yard a lot lately and I've been busy with the camera. :) If you hang around the site a bit you will notice we have some new header pictures as a result. (Thanks Honey!) I think it makes for a nice new look.

Well, looks like Sarah has very kindly "tagged" me so I better play the game or she'll hunt me down! Also I never write about myself so I guess it can't hurt for a change. :)

So here goes, TEN RANDOM things about me.

I thought from time to time I will talk a little bit about some of the blogs that I read.

First up there is Chinese Starfish.
This is the blog of a South African woman living in China running a foster home for children with special needs. Her story is interesting, heartwarming, sad, and a powerful testimony to the good still in this world.

Brian has finally updated the website!! Yea! Yea!

You'll notice a few chances besides the look. We have made most photos private, but if we know you online or in real life we would be happy to give you a login name so you can see them all. Just drop us a note using the "Contact Us" form. I will keep a few pictures in a special album for everyone to see, but it will be a LOT less then before.

This website and blog will be getting a new name and a face lift very soon... well, as soon as we can given that we are a bit busy right now! We want a site that can include both of our children as well as any other children in the future. With that in mind the site will be renamed WesthavenKids.com. If your wondering where the name came from, Westhaven is the name of our house. Yes, our house has a name. :) Anyway, stay tuned for a new look!

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!

Well I have finally gotten all the pictures uploaded to the site. I'm still working on getting the journal enteries from travel up loaded. Miriam doesn't give me a lot of time to do things like that. :-)
All the pictures can be seen from the albums link. Enjoy.

Well, after installation and some tweaking, I think I've finished setting up the new photo albums for the site. You can check them out via the Photo Albums link at the left. This system allows Danielle to add and edit photos and their captions much more easily than the old system, so hopefully we'll be getting more pix up here, and more often. If you have any problems with the photos (or any other part of the site), please drop me an email , so I can fix them (or at least try!).

The finished nursery pictures have been uploaded. They include pictures of the three blankets/quilts I made for Miriam.

I haven't post in a while since there is no new news to report... this is NOT a case of no news is good news. On the other hand, I guess I need the extra days to get stuff done. I'm almost feeling panicky when I think of all I have to do to get ready for a baby and travel! AHHHH... must stop thinking about it and just DO. :-)

Check out the photos Brian posted of me working on the nursery. I hope to have it finished soon. :-)