Christmas Starts Now

I know I am supposed to complain that radio stations are already playing Christmas music and the stores are flooded with holiday decorations. Grumble, grumble.

But, I love it.

I am so excited for Christmas this year!! I feel like a little kid again.

Last weekend was our big leaf raking weekend (okay, so Adam and Jayden raked leaves and I worked on Etsy orders.) I could not stop thinking about Christmas the whole time so I asked Adam what he thought of putting the tree up early. He said we had to deal with the massive amounts of leaves in our small yard before dealing with the Christmas tree but we could do it next weekend. I was surprised he didn't give me a hard time about waiting until after Thanksgiving.

So the time has come! We are putting our tree up this weekend!! I am so excited. I can't wait to see what Jayden thinks of it all. I can't wait for him to see it all lit up and help put the ornaments on the tree.

Also, our Christmas cards came in the mail this week! I got a good Groupon deal but part of the deal was that I had to use it in the beginning of November.  We didn't get pictures done professionally this year so I just brought Jay out in the backyard and took some pictures with my (old/not very good) camera. You can tell the pictures weren't done professionally, but the cards still look really cute and I can't wait to  mail them.

I've also been putting a lot of thought into Christmas shopping and Black Friday deals. How many of you go out for Black Friday? I am on the lookout for Lego sales because I want to get Jay a couple Duplo sets. 

The other morning when the toddlers I watch got dropped off, their Dad asked if we are "those people" because Adam had put Pandora on the Christmas music station. Haha, yes, we are those people! Just wait until he sees the tree up when he comes on Monday.

But, don't worry, we are not forgetting Thanksgiving. I have photographic proof:

Our front door-

 Our fireplace mantel-

Oh, and I can't forget the turkey Jayden painted-

Cousins

My sister and brother in law came home for Thanksgiving! It was so nice having them here. Especially seeing the new baby.

While they were here, my sister and I took the boys to the mall to pick out matching Christmas outfits for them. (I know it's cheesy, but they will look so cute!!) They enjoyed looking at each other when their strollers were close. At one point we were in different sections and Jayden couldn't see them anymore. He got upset and kept signing "baby." Adorable. I brought him over to baby Ben and then he was fine as long as he could see him.

It's always hard for me to say good-bye to my sister. (In fact, we never actually say good-bye. We always say "See you tomorrow!" even though we know it's not true.) We have a good time while she is here and I can never understand why she lives so far away. I watch shows like Parenthood and all I can think about is how awesome it would be if we all lived close by and could do things like weekly family dinners. And watch our kids grow up together and be friends.

The day after they left, Jayden was walking around signing "baby." Then it hit me. As hard as it was before, now that Jayden is old enough to notice they aren't here and miss them....this is going to break my heart into a million pieces each time.

Look how cute the boys are together:

hehe :)

The bright side about saying good-bye this time is that I know they will be back for Christmas. My brother and sister in law will also be here. I can't wait!!!

Thank You

Thank you for sticking with me even though I've been a bad blogger lately.

I am so thankful for the blogging community. We've all been through so much together. I don't know how I would have gotten through the past couple years without you.

To my American bloggy friends, I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving with friends and family!

First Holidays

I had a Groupon for making a photobook and as I was thinking about what to put in the book, I realized that Jayden has had all of his "first" holidays. Starting with Halloween and ending with 4th of July. I decided to make a book of all those holidays. It always takes me forever to do this stuff. This one took days!

I love the book so much I decided to share with all of you:



(Yes, I included Dr Seuss' Birthday as one of the holidays. hehe)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thankful

Yesterday somebody commented on my blog post from a year ago and it made me go back and read it. I really liked it, so I am going to post it again. I remember how truly thankful I felt as I wrote this list. What a difference a year can make.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

I am Thankful

I am thankful for Adam. We have been through a lot in the past nine years and he has been amazing through it all. He deserves his own post.

I am thankful for my cats. I love my babies so much.

I am thankful that my family can get together and have a really good time together. Interesting conversations, lots of laughter, and so much fun. I am really looking forward to all of us being together at Christmas.

I am thankful that my parents live only 20 minutes away and we see them on a regular basis. I am also thankful that Adam enjoys spending time with my parents.

I am thankful for my doctor. She was stuck giving me my biopsy results over the phone, but she did a good job. She gave me her personal cell phone number to call her if I needed to talk about it more. How many doctors are willing to do that? Then she sat down and talked to me right before my D&C surgery and made sure I was okay. I had tears streaming down my face during the entire conversation, but she made me feel like I would be okay no matter what happened next. She is really supportive and I feel like she is doing everything she can for me.

I am thankful that we have medical insurance. We are very lucky.

I am thankful that I was able to start a business from home so when our baby comes, I will be home with him/her.

I am thankful for all the parents and children I work with. They are really good people. I am lucky.

I am thankful that I have a mom that I can tell anything to and who is always there for me. She is my best friend.

I am thankful for my adoption friends. It is so nice to have people who really understand. They are so supportive and even though they have already adopted, they are still there for me. They are still giving me pep talks and reminding me that my time will come.

I am thankful for our house. It took us a long time to save up and buy a house. It's not big or fancy, but I would not trade it for any other house in the world. I love it.

I am thankful for all my twitter friends. So much love and support. So many laughs. I love you all.

I am thankful for Facebook for helping me keep in touch with old friends. Even if it is sometimes hard to look at baby bumps, sonograms, and birth announcements everyday.

I am thankful for my TiVo. I love it. I am sorry if that is too materialistic, but I do. Also, my lap top.

I am thankful that my sister and brother married awesome people. And that all 6 of us can get together and have the BEST time together. I just wish it could happen more often!!

I am thankful that Adam and I chose adoption. That we are homestudy approved and it's only a matter of time before our baby finds us.

Never Underestimate the Power of Jayden Pictures

Years ago my sister and brother in law announced they will never come home for Thanksgiving again because the traffic is too much to deal with. The holiday makes the 7 hour drive a lot longer.

Logically, I understand.

But, my heart has been hurting because I so badly want my sister home for Thanksgiving this year.

So, I have been sending her text messages with pictures of Jayden asking for Aunt Katie to come home. (I know, it's not playing fair, haha.)

Guess what....my sister called Friday night and THEY ARE COMING HOME FOR THANKSGIVING!!!

YAAAAAY!

They are going to wait to leave Thursday morning instead of Wednesday evening, which should eliminate some of the traffic. I'm so excited. Jayden has changed so much since the last time she was home in the beginning of October. I can't wait.

SO HAPPY!

I am Thankful

I am thankful for Adam. We have been through a lot in the past nine years and he has been amazing through it all. He deserves his own post.

I am thankful for my cats. I love my babies so much.

I am thankful that my family can get together and have a really good time together. Interesting conversations, lots of laughter, and so much fun. I am really looking forward to all of us being together at Christmas.

I am thankful that my parents live only 20 minutes away and we see them on a regular basis. I am also thankful that Adam enjoys spending time with my parents.

I am thankful for my doctor. She was stuck giving me my biopsy results over the phone, but she did a good job. She gave me her personal cell phone number to call her if I needed to talk about it more. How many doctors are willing to do that? Then she sat down and talked to me right before my surgery and made sure I was okay. I had tears streaming down my face during the entire conversation, but she made me feel like I would be okay no matter what happened next. She is really supportive and I feel like she is doing everything she can for me.

I am thankful that we have medical insurance. We are very lucky.

I am thankful that I was able to start a business from home so when our baby comes, I will be home with him/her.

I am thankful for all the parents and children I work with. They are really good people. I am lucky.

I am thankful that I have a mom that I can tell anything to and who is always there for me. She is my best friend.

I am thankful for my adoption friends. It is so nice to have people who really understand. They are so supportive and even though they have already adopted, they are still there for me. They are still giving me pep talks and reminding me that my time will come.

I am thankful for our house. It took us a long time to save up and buy a house. It's not big or fancy, but I would not trade it for any other house in the world. I love it.

I am thankful for all my twitter friends. So much love and support. So many laughs. I love you all.

I am thankful for Facebook for helping me keep in touch with old friends. Even if it is sometimes hard to look at baby bumps, sonograms, and birth announcements everyday.

I am thankful for my TiVo. I love it. I am sorry if that is too materialistic, but I do. Also, my lap top.

I am thankful that my sister and brother married awesome people. And that all 6 of us can get together and have the BEST time together. I just wish it could happen more often!!

I am thankful that Adam and I chose adoption. That we are homestudy approved and it's only a matter of time before our baby finds us.

Wordless Wednesday: Making Turkeys

Sunday Night Stress

It's Sunday night. Time to get ready for a new work week. The only thing good about Sunday nights is watching Brothers and Sisters and that isn't even on tonight.

I am completely overwhelmed. The stress of everything this week is getting to me.

I am really scared of my surgery on Tuesday. Really scared. Scared of going to the hospital, scared of being put completely out, scared of the surgery itself, scared of what they will find. I've had this surgery three times before, but it's been 4 years since the last time. And my Mom can't come this time and that makes it a little scarier. (It's probably scarier for Adam too since he won't have back up if I run away in my hospital gown at the last minute and refuse to have surgery.)

Thanksgiving is this week. That brings out a whole bunch of feelings I don't want to deal with. Thanksgiving day is 16 months that we have officially been "waiting." Holidays always make the wait a lot worse for me. I can't believe we are going to have another Thanksgiving without our baby. A year ago right now we were being profiled for the first time. I was so sad when we were not chosen, but I knew the chances of being chosen the first time were slim. I told myself not to worry and that by next Thanksgiving we would probably be with our baby. Since then I have learned not to tell myself things like that. (Or at least I try not to anymore.)

I am really missing my siblings. When they are home, everything is so much fun. We have dinners together and hang out and play games. But, they are only here a couple times a year and that makes me so sad. This was a really bad weekend. I spent the whole time being sad and anxious. It's times like these that I wish they could be here. They can't come home at all for Thanksgiving this year.

I am sorry for all the sad blog posts lately. I will be writing a list of things I am thankful for later this week to make up for it. I do have a lot to be thankful for. And if you are reading this, you are one of those things I am thankful for!!!