Adoption Update...

We have been in the process of gathering paperwork to adopt a little girl from China for a little over a year now...it is a LONG tedious process but I know that it will be worth it in the end when we are holding our daughter in our arms one day. However, that day seems to be further and further away every day. It's hard for me. Todd and I are the type of people that we will analyze something to the nth degree...then once we make up our mind we are READY! When we started the paperwork process we were told 3-5 years...we then went to a conference that told us they were hopeful that the wait time would shorten to 18 months again...now we are being told 7-10 years. Really?! 7-10 years???!! That's just insane to me. And, to make matters worse our home study agency is taking their sweet little time getting this home study complete AND the international agency is being very picky about the wording they would like to see...I am trying to stay level headed and calm...but really I just want to bang both of their heads together and tell them to just get this done.

We've been working on our homestudy since September 2009...it's just the 2 of us in the household...nothing fancy to us either....now I have NOT met the dossier submission log in date with my international agency and have to go 'on hold' until I have all the paperwork gathered. Once we get the homestudy approved we can apply for the I-800A...but in addition to that I have other paperwork that has to be updated....this is a long journey, it's heartbreaking, and there are times I don't feel like I have anyone other than Todd to turn to....I long for our daughter from China. I feel this is what we are meant to do in life....we are fortunate enough to supply a warm, loving, caring home for a child in need....but why does it have to be this hard????

Good news is that today the social workers have communicated and they hope to have some resolution to the home study by the end of the week..fingers crossed!!

Meal Plan

This is a little late in the week....but I will be linking up with Meal Plan Monday....check it out for other meal plans!!

Tuesday-Taco night
Wednesday-leftover roast chicken with fresh pasta and marinara sauce
Thursday-St.Michaels concert picnic...tomato, mozzarella, basil and proscuitto sanwiches and fruit
Friday-shrimp and heirloom tomato salad with feta cheese and balsamic dressing
Saturday-spaghetti with meat sauce
Sunday-shrimp with fresh pasta and pesto sauce

Have a great week!

Our weekend in Charleston

The other weekend, we flew to Charleston to stay with Nick and Cory who are expecting their first baby in August. It's a GIRL and her name will be Lucy Ryan McBee. We had a wonderfully relaxing weekend with such good friends and their families...here are a few shots from the festivities...

The Tearoom in Summerville, SC that had the BEST Sunday brunch

Todd and Nick escaping cleaning inside and spending some 'quality time' together

Presents for baby Lucy

The delicious food and diaper cake by the fabulous hostesses and Cory's Mom

Nick and Cory...the happy parents to be!!

Todd and Whitney...friends from college. Whitney is getting married in October, we can't wait!!

Nick, Cory, Me and Todd

Dinner at Magnolia's in Charleston....right after they asked us to be Lucy's Godparents. We were so honored and Nick brought tears to both mine and Todd's eyes when he asked us. We were very happy and shocked all at the same time. Lucy...we can't wait to meet you and share such a special part of your life with you. You will be one loved little girl!!

Thank you Nick and Cory for a great weekend....

Girls weekend

I am travelling to Tulsa, OK this weekend to see this beautiful lady....Susan and I have been friends since we were 3 years old when we lived across the street from each other. We were side by side all through Elementary School...then my family moved us to Maryland, where I live now...but we continued our friendship through the years, through highschool, through college....and I am finally making the trip back 'home'. She has a wonderful weekend planned for us and I can't wait!! We are even catching up with some other girls we knew from Elementary School....and I haven't seen them in 21 years!! Can you believe it?!

I leave Thursday and will be back Sunday....I hope Hubby will miss me....but with a fishing trip planned I am not thinking he will so much ; )

HUGE catch up

This is the wonderful chalkboard that y hubby made for the hallway downstairs that leads to the garage and half bath.

This is the finished project with chalk!

These are the curtains that I MADE!! And....without a sewing machine! My friend Sara had a link on her blog and it inspired me!! Just a little no sew hem tape...an iron...some pre-bought panesl from Wal-Mart ($13 for 2) and 2.5 yards of fabric fro Wal-Mart at $5.88/yard....it was the cheapest project ever and I am so happy with the way they turned out. They are hanging in our office and look great!

My beautiful Golden Retriever, Marley in our backyard the day after Todd cleaned things all up. Marley has her 'summer-do' here and my house is so much cleaner without the dog fur!

Thanks, Daniel for sending out such a yummy piece of cake for dessert!

April and Todd....brother and sister who share a birthday one day and five years apart!! We met at Mason's for a delicious lunch to celebrate their Birthdays.

For Todd's Birthday this year, we ended up eating dinner at Scossa and then went to see Date Night together. It was a wonderful evening. Then, on Sunday we had a brunch with 10 of our closest friends and their kids down in Cabridge at Clearview. It was a delicious all you can eat and drink champagne brunch and of course I left my camera at home!

Relaxing weekend

Friday night we went to In Japan--the new Japanese Steakhouse restaurant in town--with some colleagues from work. It was a great night!! Then, Saturday we stopped by the Open House our realtor was having on the flip property we just finished in Denton. She had a lot of people threw the house and there were 3 showings today. I hope we get a contract soon!! We were then able to relax that afternoon and took a 2 hour nap! Wow, that felt great. We ate dinner at home then went to Dairy Queen for some ice cream and Red Box to rent I Love You, Man.

This morning, we surprised a friend for brunch at Clearview in Cambridge to celebrate her Birthday. It was a delicious Champagne brunch, that I look forward to going back to again soon!! Her husband did a nice job of surprising her with our company...we had a great time!!

Now, I am relaxing, AGAIN, finishing up my Book Club book. This month we are reading Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann. I am near the end and love how it is all starting to come together. We neet Wednesday night, and I can't wait. We don't stay on the book topic too long ; )

Hope your weekend was just as relaxing!!

Meal Plan for the week

I have been really SLACKING recently with posts....but for now, here is our meal plan for the week. I have been so good with the grocery bill (more on that later), that I haven't had to shop this week, at all!!

Saturday: Chicken Georgia with mashed potatoes

Sunday: crockpot pulled pork, Stouffers mac & cheese, cucumbers and onions

Monday: grilled tuna steaks, mashed potatoes, salad

Tuesday:pork chops, stuffing, green beans

Wednesday: On your own....BOOK CLUB

Thursday:stuffed chicken breast (tomato and mozzarella),brown rice, green beans

Friday:shepherds pie

**Shepherd's Pie Recide**
This is the easiest recipe ever....
1 lb. ground beef
potatoes
Vegetable Beef Soup
Milk
butter
Salt and Pepper

Brown ground beef in a skillet. Drain any excess fat (depending on what kind of ground beef you buy). Add the vegetable soup and simmer. Cook potatoes in seperate pan. I ususally use 3-4 medium sized for the 2 of us. Mash...we love our Kitchen Aid mixer for this...lots of butter, salt and pepper and some milk. Put the ground beef mix in an oven safe bowl....top with mashed potatoes and take a fork and drag across to texture the top. Bake in the oven at 400°F for about 30 minutes (or until the top of potatoes are just a little crusty).

ENJOY!