Stork Alert!!

We got notice from our agency that the bird is in flight, and they are hoping that our agency's referrals will arrive tomorrow for the families with a 10/28/05 LID!! Congrats to all those included in this batch (rumors are that the date goes to 11/1/05....), but our agency only tells us about 10/28/05 (so don't know if that means we don't have any others in 10/05).

Fly stork, fly!!

By Popular Demand...

Okay you all have asked, so here it is, the famous haircut....



I really do love it!!

New look for Spring

Okay today I decided it was time for a change....first off, I got my hair cut...now I don't just mean a small trim, but cut. I was down to almost my butt, okay about 3/4 down my back, but looked awful, split ends, different colors from all the hair dyes, etc. Now it is at my shoulders, and I love it. Ray on the other hand, not real sure, all I got was "oh you did get a hair cut" but nothing else, oh well, he'll deal!! It's so much bouncier, and happier looking!!

And then today was the 3 week visit to the nail salon...here's the results:

My left hand.....


and my right hand!












Notice anything??? Yup, 10 different colors and 10 different designs...I can honestly say I didn't choose it this time, I let Nina (my nail tech) choose what she wanted to do, and this was it!! I love it, of course I always love my nails (okay, maybe not so much the last time, yellow just wasn't doing much of anything for me, but hey it's only 3 weeks!!).

I promise a picture of my new sporting hair in a future blog, after I convince Ray to take a picture (and provided it is one that I feel is sporting enough to post, that my friends will be the real challenge)!!!

Tweety v. Woodstock....

It's a hard decision, they are both so very cute!!

Thanks Stacy for the thoughtful gift!!

Many thanks to Stacy, who so kindly thought of Chynna when she saw this present that she had to send it to her...wonder what made her think of Chynna when she saw this....



We can't wait to get Chynna home to read it to her!! Thank you Stacy!!

The Count Meets Cookie Monster

Something to watch for on 5/6/07

This will not happen again in our lifetimes. I would just like to inform everyone that at three minutes and four seconds after 2 AM on the 6th of May this year, the time and date will be: 02:03:04 05/06/07.

Wacky Wednesday (how phobic are you?)

You Are 20% Phobic

Wow, you're scared of very little. And you're always conquering new fears that come up. Have you considered a career as a stunt double? You should at least go on one of those crazy reality shows where you eat bugs!

How Phobic Are You?

This is so not me...I cannot and will not eat bugs, ewwwww!!! (Maybe I was a frog in another life????)

I am honored to be nominated (and my I am too old story)

With many thanks to Dawn for nominating my blog for this wonderful award (it gave me goosebumps, and made me feel loved)...I do believe that amazing red thread has connected our two families together and am so very glad that we got the chance to meet and create a stronger bond...your friendship means a lot to us and we are so happy to have finally met and can't wait to get together again someday soon...

Now onto my nominations of the bloggy friends I feel make me laugh, cry, and think each and every day (which I don't believe have already been nominated by others) ...blogs I look forward to reading on a regular basis... so with no further ado here they are in no particular order....

TundraChic...she cracks me up all the time and I feel a special bond with her. She makes me laugh and sometimes will write what I am thinking before I get the chance to comment on the subject.

Don and Be, this is a special couple Ray and I have had the pleasure of meeting in person at our monthly "waiting families" meetings...they will make terrific parents and we can't wait to meet their daughter when that moment happens!!

Stacy and I have been following each other's blogs for some time now and our friendship really is blossoming, and I feel so blessed to have her as one of my online bloggy pals!!

Elisa's blog is always so uplifting and full of great stories. And I love reading about her son Thomas and look forward to hearing the news (hopefully really soon, fingers crossed over here for her) of the referral of her beautiful baby girl!!

and last but definitely not least....

Gina...she is one of the first bloggy friends I have "met" online and hope that maybe one day we will meet in person (especially since we don't live that far apart)... and Gina is the one who took time out of her busy schedule to design my amazing blog and to even design some "waiting for Chynna" designs for hats, shirts, mugs, buttons, etc. She is one amazing gal!!




Now for my "I am too old story" (I can't believe this happened....):

I went grocery shopping this evening and the cashier who was about 16-17 years old was ringing up my groceries when she notices my fingernails (you all know how unusual they usually are, remember they are still a yellowy-green with Gator Orange and Blue flowers), and she proceeds to tell me how "interesting" they are (okay can't argue with the girl so far, they definitely are "interesting") and then asks me how old I am (not the most appropriate question but hey I don't care so I answer her), "33 going on 34 in June, why?" I ask her (guess I shouldn't have asked, but I did), she told me that "you are too old to have fingernails like that"....WHAT???? I didn't know what to say at that point...guess I better get our my walker soon (or color my hair, guess the grey is showing through again....)...what's a girl to do??!!

Tuesday funny!!

The ickies gotta hold on me...

Today I stayed home from work...woke up feeling really icky, hot and cold and just icky (Ray told me when he got home tonite that I could be his heater, guess that explains the hot and cold spells today...).

After about 50 calls from work today (guess no rest for the weary...) I did get some much needed rest and some hot tea, and got to watch some of the adoption stories and baby stories on TLC today (those are some great shows....).

Anyhoo, I've gotta quite a few emails and inquiries as to how I was feeling so thought I would post and let you guys know, I believe I am on the mend...feeling ever so slightly better this evening, so hopefully the ickies have found a new residence to bug...

Thanks for the many get well wishes!! You guys are the best!!

Dual Champs!!

A good friend found this and sent it to me, and I thought, "how cool!!"

Not a sound could be heard...

Spring has sprung, and for the first time EVER I have allergies to something...and the crazy thing is that I live in Fla where things bloom all year round. Lately all I do is walk around sneezing up a storm and sniffling, with puffy looking eyes....then yesterday happens....I lost my voice!!!

Now for all of those who know me, this is quite devastating, I would open my mouth and nothing....I'd put all I could muster to say something, and only this little mousy sound would come out (and let me tell you, nothing mousy sounding normally about my voice)....so since I couldn't talk (which Ray found to be quite humorous, nothing funny about it honey!!) and I felt just plain awful, I took some allergy medicine (non-drowsy kind which is so the opposite for me) and slept and slept and slept...

I woke up last nite at 10:00 pm and was soooo confused, it felt soooo much later....

And it was back, sorta, it would come and go...so while my voice was still around I called my mom (hadn't spoken to her all day), and called my brother back.


Ray tells me I kept clearing my throat while I was sleeping during the night and coughing some, so maybe just maybe I coughed that frog back up and the voice came back...

All I can say is my throat is slightly sore today, but my voice is back hopefully to stay this time!!!

Some of the coolest frogs EVER !!

Thursday funny

Bonus Wacky Wednesday (What city do you belong)

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique soul like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

Wacky Wednesday (what your fav color says about you)

What Your Favorite Color Purple Says About You:

Intuitive --- Seeking --- Creative Kind --- Self-Sacrificing --- Growth Oriented Strong --- Very Wise --- Rare

What Does Your Favorite Color Say About You?

Getting to know you better...

Ok, I needed something a little more upbeat, so I "borrowed" this from Jade Road. Tag you're it...

1. FIRST NAME? Dannye (or Panny, or Dennis)
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Nope, I'm an original...
3. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Watching Falcon Beach last week (she lost a baby, so very sad...)
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Nope we just don't get along...
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH : you mean when I get to take a lunch??
6. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? does my husband count, hehe (besides Freckles of course).
7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Of course, who wouldn't want to be friends with me???
8. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Oh please!!!
9. YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yuppers (unless while I was sleeping they were stolen).
10. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Not unless pushed.
11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Reeses Peanut Butter Crunch.
12. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Nope, but even when I tie them they seem to come undone.
13. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Why, you smell me (guess I better put more vanilla sparkle deodorant on)
14. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Oreo or cookie dough.
15. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? eyes
16. RED OR PINK? Pink (or purple)
17. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? my "ant" butt
18. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? my grandparents...
19. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Well, I’m not sending it, I’m posting it, so I guess not. But you all can post it too!
20. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES YOU ARE WEARING? No pants, no shoes, not kidding (wearing my PJ's)...
21. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? chicken taco.
22. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The 11:00 p.m. news in the other room, and Ray "sawing logs" in bed...
23. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Purple (are there any other crayons in that box???)
24. FAVORITE SMELLS? fresh baked bread!!
25. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My mom (we speak quite frequently, she is one of my bestest friends!!).
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Well Jade Road didn't send it, but yuppers she is GREAT!!
27. FAVORITE DRINK? Tropical punch
28. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Any sport where the Gators are winning the National Championship (chomp, chomp!!)
29. HAIR COLOR? who remembers the original color?? EYE COLOR? yuckie brown
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? nope. can't stick my finger in my eye, but wear glasses.
32. FAVORITE FOOD? Chicken and rice.
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? scary
34. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Holes on Disney Channel last night (I love that movie)
35. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? no shirt either (see #20)
36. SUMMER OR WINTER? Fla. Winter!
37. HUGS OR KISSES? depends, who's offering???
38. FAVORITE DESSERT? soft warm chocolate chip cookies (or Krispy Kreme Donuts, mmmm)
39. MOST LIKELY TO PARTICIPATE? dunno???
40. LEAST LIKELY TO PARTICIPATE? the CCAA
44. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Like you don't know already, but big surprise here, a FROG!! (hey, what happened to is #41-43?)
45. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? The Riches!! Now that's a show I love!!
46. FAVORITE SOUND? Frogs!!??!!.
47. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? who??? hehehe
48 . WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? England with my sister, nephew, and brother-in-law (it was soooo cool).
49. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I don't think it's ladylike to reveal those types of secrets...
50. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Fla born and raised (remember I've never seen snow).
51. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO READING? everyone’s!

Moment of silence...

I just wanted to take a moment of silence and remember the families of those who lost their loved ones, had loved ones injured, and especially the family of the shooter, in the Virginia Tech tragedy...how very sad for all!!

Tax time...

It is getting down to the last day for filing the ever dreaded taxes...and for the first time I put this off, and put it off, thinking "heck if I'm paying in then I'm doing it as late as possible"....well good news!!

Really late last night, I sat down and figured them out....and heck not only am I not paying the government, but apparently it is paying us!!!


Although I don't know why I am so very excited over this bit of news...I'll just be turning around and giving it right back since we have to redo fingerprints and renew the I-171H really soon...but hey I'll take whatever good news I can!!!

Have you ever had one of those days?

What a weird day today was, first it was ugly and miserable this morning (quite unusual for Fla. especially during the spring), heavy rain, high winds, and just plain weird...


This seemed to make time stand still, again quite weird (although with this adoption, time does seem to be standing still, or at least like we are running as hard as we can and not getting anywhere)....


Then my brother called and asked Mom and I to go with him to get a new TV (his just quit working last night for some reason, probably a blown fuse or something), so off we went to Best Buy...

We looked at this one flat panel TV which was an open box special, but it didn't come with any kind of stand (the salesman "couldn't find one", convenient right??), so my brother liked this other TV to which the salesman was trying to talk him into buying a lesser TV which cost more money, which my brother turned down, so
this "salesman" goes to check on the availability of the TV my brother wanted, tells my brother they have it in stock, goes to the back and comes back and "can't sell" the said TV because (and I kid you not).... "we are doing inventory and we don't want to mess up our inventory by selling the TV"....are you kidding us?? you can't sell a TV in a store that SELLS things because it would mess up the inventory?????!!! Quite crazy, needless to say we left that craziness behind....

And an amazing time was had by all....

What a great time we had this evening, and we all felt like we have known each other for quite some time and not that we were meeting for the first time tonite...Dawn so kindly brought her book of their adoption of Lily, and it was so amazing...I loved hearing about their experiences, and meeting them was great...

Lily seemed a little shy of me at first, but after a short time, we hit it off really well, and what an amazing little girl she is (and funny...yes Dawn I agree with her I was too heavy for that little chair, hehe)...here's some photos of Miss Lily:

This was when we first met Lily, Dawn and Jacob...see she's not too sure of us yet...










And this is after a short while...


















And this is at the end of the night showing us her triangle she custom made from her fortune cookie...











and they so very kindly gave Chynna this gorgeous dress and matching hat (thank you again Dawn, Jacob, and Lily....):



I hope we stay in touch and continue our friendship for many years to come!!!

9 months LID

Okay today is our 9th month of waiting....labor to begin soon?? apparently not, but on the flip side, we'll be meeting Dawn, Jacob and Lily in a few hours...we'll post later of our wonderful visit!!! Can't wait!!!

A Friday the 13th update, some great music, and some news

Today is the dreaded "Friday the 13th", and how do I start this dreary day off, but by reading in the paper "Iron Curtain hits Russian adoptions" which stated that "Authorities said Thursday that they have halted the work of all foreign adoption agencies in Russia for several months, virtually shutting down the placement of children from one of the most important countries for U.S. families seeking to adopt. The move comes after restrictive rules imposed by China on Americans trying to adopt and U.S. warnings against adopting from Guatemala."

What the heck is going on ??? First the restrictions effective 5/1/07 (which by the way wasn't against just Americans, but ALL seeking to adopt), then the Guatemala thingy (sending those attempting to bring home their loved ones into a tizzy), then the 2 days of referrals (which by the way must have been huge numbers cuz my large China only agency announced 30 referrals in this batch, which was just one of the two days), now this??!!??


I think I need to take the attitude of many others out there and just stick my head in the sand and wait with it there until first we are out of the review room, and then second our referral is here... yup, that's what I'll do...

So while I am waiting, here's some great Sesame Street music (warning it will stick in your head)...



P.S. By the way, tomorrow Ray, my parents, and I are getting together with Dawn, Lily and Jacob of Eggrolls and Chopsticks to meet for the first time, can't wait!!! I promise I'll post pictures!!

Froggie "porn" hehehe

It's back...Wacky Wednesday!!

You Are the Thumb

You're unique and flexible. And you defy any category. Mentally strong and agile, you do things your own way. And you do them well. You are a natural leader... but also truly a loner. You inspire many but connect with few. You get along well with: The Middle Finger Stay away from: The Pinky

What Finger Are You?

Our Easter activities and a post-Easter surprise

We had a great time Easter, a wonderful dinner and fun filled family activities...



The bunny was amazing to all good boys and girls, young and old alike...






the eggs were hidden and found....










some of which were quite profitable...









it was even a beautiful day for some bike riding...










Then yesterday, I got a wonderful surprise for Chynna...



her 100 good wishes quilt was done! It is so beautiful...Ms. Thomas did a fabulous job, we are so very blessed!! And look what she did with the extra squares she had left....


an adorable pillow case!! We so love it, and what a wonderful surprise!!

Thank you Easter Bunny!!

The last in my Easter series...



Hope you all have a fabulous Easter!!

Painting the room....

Easter egg hunt...

Greaser babies

The Middle Wife...

I got this email from a friend (thanks Aunt Sue), and it had me laughing so hard I had to share it here....

The "Middle Wife" by an Anonymous 2nd grad teacher



I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second-grade
classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually,
show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that.

And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.

She holds up a snapshot of an infant. "This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday."

"First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there.

He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord."

She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me.

The kids are watching her in amazement.

"Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. "She walked
around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.

"My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie
down in bed like this." Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.

"And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like
psshhheew!" This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!

"Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe.
They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom's play-center, so there must be a lot of toys inside there."

Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat.
I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another "Middle Wife" comes along.

Easter bunny new image

Easter filling....

Why he became the Easter Bunny

National Champs yet again!!!

The Fla Gators did it again!! Once again chomping the Buckeyes for yet another National Championship!! How very cool!!

If it wasn't Easter weekend, in answer to CJ's question about my nails reflecting
the Gator Orange and Blue, not this time, but quite possibly the next 3 weeks!! This weekend, they will be a pastel purple (I hope), but stay tuned, Orange and Blue nails are always styling (hehehe).

Please, oh please sing along with me....


"We are the boys from old Florida,
F-L-O-R-I-D-A
Where the girls are the fairest,
the boys are the squarest
of any old state down our way.
We are all strong for old Florida
down where the old Gators play,
In all kinds of weather
We'll all stick together for
F-L-O-R-I-D-A."

Poor Easter Bunny!!