Terrible Two's?

I spent a good part of today shopping... yes I know.. what a surprise.

Anyway.. let me tell you about my day.

I set out to buy a few gifts, some Easter treats for my nieces and nephews and of course something cute for Tamara ;o)

First let me say I totally forgot that since it was Good Friday that the men were out shopping with their wives. WHY? Now don't get me wrong they do come in handy.. but if you must take the man along you really owe it to the rest of us to train him before he leaves the house.

For some reason there are men who don't follow the rules in stores and in parking lots.

So lets review... shall we?

Gentlemen if you're going to shop please do so. I've had to go around more men that found a "buddy" today and insisted on chatting in the center of the aisle or right in front of the display that interested me.

When I say "excuse me" It's a polite way of saying "move please".

It is NOT a code word for "hey baby pinch my butt" or "come closer".

Yeah.. it's been one of those days.

Next those shopping carts are just that.. shopping carts. They are not go carts. If you can reach the handle bar you are too big to ride in one or on one. And no that is no longer considered cute.

Stores have a flow... please do not go against traffic. Speaking of traffic there is such a thing as parking lot etiquette. If I got there first, had my blinker on.. don't even think you can intimidate me with your huge SUV.

Oh yes.. the children... guys when you tell your wife you have them... she thinks you're serious.

OK.. Thanks for letting me vent.. I feel much better now. ;o)

So anyway.. I did manage to find everything I was looking for and of course a few cute thing for Tamara. Like two bikinis (someone might as well wear one around here..lol) So cute!!!

A really beautiful ballerina style dress. A growth chart for her room. Very pretty hand painted canvas... looks like a piece of artwork. Really cool.

And I ran into three Mothers with young children. One had a two year old, one had a three year old and the last was a four year old. All three Mom's said their child was going through a terrible two stage. So my question to all the seasoned parents out there is ...when do the terrible two's actually occur? Just trying to brace myself. lol

Have you had your Kiva today?

If you see this cute little girl on Kiva.org it's me.

I'm happy to report that Kiva has made it to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I've been a member of Kiva since April 2007 and this is the first time I noticed loans within the former Yugoslavia. Woohoo.. finally.

Kiva is a micro lending organization. It's not a hand out but a hand up. In the past year I've added small business owners to my portfolio from all over the world. From a Ana Rosa in Mexico that needed a small loan to start her at home cosmetic sales business to Sayaad Ahamad in Afghanistan who needed help with his grocery store in Kabul, Afghanistan. They both already repaid their loans. When they did it made my day! Not that I lent them a great deal of money but that it worked. I was able to help someone who really needed a boost.

Now we have people in Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Pakistan, and Alma in Bosnia and Herzegovina. So exciting.

If you've been to our house in the last year you may have noticed an 8 X 10 glossy of all my Kiva people on the frig. I keep it there as a reminder that yes I can make a difference.

Remember

"To the world you might be just one person. But to one person you might mean the world."

One of the many values I'd like to instill in our daughter is be charitable.

I've read that children who are adopted from an orphanage setting may suffer from survivors guilt. It can be hard to cope if they know other children were left behind.

That is one of the reasons for the orphanage fund raiser. I want Tamara to know that we will not forget her little friends. Nor will we forget that there are millions of children world wide that need help. Some are truly orphans and others like many of the Kiva families have parents that are trying but due to their circumstances struggle to feed, clothe and can not afford to send their children to school. Remember in most 3rd world countries schools are not free.

It is considered a luxury to attend school.

I want our daughter to be proactive not just reactive.

I want her to appreciate what we have and not take things for granted.

I want her to understand that the more you give ..the more comes back to you. Not really sure how that works but it does. I've been testing this theory for years. It's truly amazing.

While Tamara is young she will play a role in my fund raising. Whether she helps me bake cookies for homeless children, helps me tie a bow for a tricky tray basket or helps deliver Christmas gifts to a needy family my hope is that she will learn at a very early age what it feels like to help someone who truly needs it.

After all learning to share is important at any age.

~~~

Paper chase update... Documents were picked up by DHL today..

they're on their way to Georgia. ;o)

Another Big Push...

I think my friend Mary said it best. In January when I told her we had excepted a child referral for adoption she said "you must be so excited"

"I am" I replied "I'm excited and a little bit nervous" She then said "of course you're a little nervous. You've been pregnant for almost 3 years"

Hurry up and wait... hurry up and wait. I've been hearing this from other adoptive Moms for years never really understanding how intense the "hurry ups" and "waits" really are.

When you have a biological child you always know where you're child is and you have a pretty good idea of when they will arrive. For the most part you're in full control. Then the big day comes. Your water breaks and you go into labor. If I had to compare the two methods of becoming a Mom... I must say "hurry up and wait" would be the contractions. Except when you adopt your contractions can be a week or more apart.

~~~

So we had another big push today. Our Home Studies have arrived signed and sealed from Trenton and tomorrow it will be on it's way to Georgia via DHL. In the mean time I had several conversations with Immigration today. So far so good. Now we WAIT. Again.

Tea Daddy?

This came to me via email a few weeks ago from Judy C. in Florida. I thought it was soo cute and funny I thought I'd share it. To all you Daddies out there pay attention.. there's a lesson to be learned here. Enjoy!

One day my mother was out and my dad was in charge of me and my brother who is four years older than I am. I was maybe 1 and a half years old and had just recovered from an accident in which my arm had been broken among other injuries. Someone had given me a little 'tea set' as a get-well gift and it was one of my favorite toys. Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news and my brother was playing nearby in the living room when I brought Daddy a little cup of 'tea', which was just water. After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, my Mom came home. My Dad made her wait in the living room to watch me bring him a cup of tea, because it was 'just the cutest thing!!'
My Mom waited, and sure enough, here I come down the hall with a cup of tea for Daddy and she watches him drink it up, then says, 'Did it ever occur to you that the only place that baby can reach to get water is the toilet??' And sure enough........!!!

A Baby Asked ...

A baby asked God, 'They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?'

God said, 'Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you.

'The child further inquired, 'But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy.'

God said, 'Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy.'

Again the child asked, 'And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?'

God said, 'Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak.'
'And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?'

God said, 'Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.

''Who will protect me?'

God said, 'Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life.

''But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore.'

God said, 'Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you.'

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, 'God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name.'

God said, 'You will simply call her, 'Mom.'

*** Came in an email from Sondra

I heard a Buzz

I heard a buzz today at church that some of you maybe having issues leaving a comment post.

Thanks for the heads up Shirley.

I have since loosened the security measures on our blog. In an effort to make it more user friendly for friends and family.

Please feel free to post your comments. Part of the fun of blogging is feedback.

I think you'll find that the communication between readers and bloggers can be very entertaining.

So have fun with this. Stop back often and share in the excitement as we prepare to bring our baby home.

~~~

Paper Trail Update

Our Dossier should be on a plane to Georgia. Being hand carried.

Our final Home Study is in Trenton.

Soon as it comes back to us (FEDEX) it too will be flying over to Georgia.

We're making progress.

Tamara Sunday

Happy Palm Sunday Everyone.

Did you know that the name Tamara means Palm or Spice?

Yes she is and will be the Spice of Life for us and she will be our little Princess.

Here is a little history about the name Tamara.

Tamara is a name for girls originated from Herbew and it means date palms. Historical background of this name is that this name belonged to the daughter of King David and sister of king Absolom.

See I told you... a Princess ;o)

In Russian it means Palm Tree

TAMARA
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, English
Other Scripts: Тамара (Russian)
Pronounced: tah-MAH-rah (Russian), ta-MA-ra (English) [key]
Russian form of TAMAR. The name can also mean "spice" in Sanskrit.

OK That's your language history lesson for today.