Olivia is 7 at OneTrueMedia.com

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Wow it's been a long time!!!

Some long overdue cuteness


Sporting a cute hat for hat day at school!!!

My little soccer star wearing a headband and pony tail, just like the US soccer team!!!!

Posing and looking so grown up!!!! Can't believe in two months she's going to be 6 years old!!!!

The Long Goodbye

Today we begin to say goodbye to Pop, each of us in our own way. Unfortunately Alzheimer's took you away from us many years ago. But Pop you are so much more than that, and we will always remember you as the the strong, stubborn, proud man, just like in these pictures.

We will always love you!!!!!!!!!!!!

gymnastics 5/18/11

On Saturday Liv had her first gymnastics competition

She did a floor routine.

And the balance beam

She got 5th place for balance beam and 3rd place for her floor routine.

She loved her teacher Ms. Annie

And we got an extra performance at home

Olivia is 5 at OneTrueMedia.com

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A very un-update on the adoption.

Today January 5th marks 2 months since our paperwork arrived in Guanajuato Mexico. It has been in Mexico since August. I didn't expect to hear anything of an update but I decided yesterday to call my agency. They did not hear anything about our case while they were in Mexico. They did tell us that they felt extremely safe while in the country. That's a relief. They did talk to the officials in Mexico City concerning adoptions between Mexico and the US. Mexico does want to work with the US, and so far my agency is the only one licenced to work in Mexico. Our agency has about 12 other families trying to adopt from the state of Toluca. We are the first family on the list for Guanajuato. That's the good news.

What is discouraging is that my agency has not matched any families yet. Some dossiers have been in country for over a year. It is so frustrating to think that a year from now we could still be no closer to being matched with a child. It breaks my heart that another Christmas has gone by and there is a child out there, maybe our child that does not know the love of a family. I feel like we are at a crossroads, do we sit and wait hoping that Mexico will move along, or do we explore other options to expand our family. That's the bad news!!!!!!!

The meaning of Maumma

Thursday Vinay's Grandmother passed away. We all called her Maumma. This means grandmother in konkani, the hindu dialect of Vinay's family. But I think it really means so much more. She was a beautiful bride who was wed in her teen years. She was an extraordinary mother to five children, three of whom were born before she was even twenty. She was a faithful widow, who lost her husband much to early. She was courageous to move across the world, and become a US citizen. She went on to valiantly battle breast cancer and win. She loved all of her grandchildren, and kept in touch with each of them no matter how near or far they lived. She was incredibly maternal to all who knew her. She will be missed by so many.

Thankful for people like this

Words can't describe how this reaches me. I have spent the last year being so caught up in my own life. I needed this reminder. I am thankful for people like Dick Rutgers, who are devoting their lives to this country that gave me my child.

Me time

Today I am thankful for Liv's school schedule. Originally I did not want her to go to school 5 days a week, but now I see it is good for her. Not only was she ready to be her peers more often, she really enjoys school. It also has worked out for me. It gives me time to get things done, then give all my attention to Liv when she gets home.

I can breath!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today I'm thankful for leggings!!!! After a season where skinny jeans were in style, ughhhhh, could they be any more uncomfortable. I am happy to take part in the leggings trend.

Big time slacker!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know why I thought I could do 1 blog post a day for an entire month!!!!! So today I am grateful that I am surrounded by people who love my imperfect self!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gratitude

Lisa over at http://curiousgirl-lisa.blogspot.com/2010/10/gratitude.html, curious girl is doing a month long theme of gratitude so I decided to join in this years NaBloPoMo and TRY and do a post a day or at the very least a facebook post.

I have so much to be grateful for in my life but it all starts with these two people who I am lucky enough to call my family!!! Vinay and Olivia fill my life with so much joy and love everyday. I am so fortunate God brought us together and made us a family!!!

15 years

Our family 15 years in the making!!!!!!!!!!!!!

15 years ago, late night in my dorm room a boy kissed me and forever changed my life. All the positive things in my life have come from us being together!!! Happy Anniversary Vinay!!

Here are some old pics thru the years!!!

My sorority formal 1 month after we started dating

Oh how young we look.

Summers spent at the shore with friends

My favorite picture of our wedding day

Our Indian ceremony!!!!

adoption update

I got some good news on the adoption front today. Oh how I hesitate to write about good news, because this adoption has had so many setbacks so far. But I will fight the pessimist in me and write about it anyway.
So far we have completed 2 steps since our paperwork went to Mexico
1) Everything has been translated into Spanish- This happened during August.
2) Our paperwork has been registered in the Central DIF office- All adoptions have to be registered in Mexico City, where they check the paperwork.

So now our paperwork is ready to go on to the Mexican state where we are adopting from. Here is where the good news comes in. We originally picked the state of Toluca, there would have been about 10 families ahead of us waiting to be matched with a child. This process will be be about a 6-8 month wait. Recently our agency is working with the state of Guanajuato, Spanish pronunciation: [ɡwanaˈxwato]). So we decided to send our paperwork there and wait for a match. Ahead of us on the list is only 1 family!!!!!!!!!!! We are still looking at a 6-8 month wait, but it could mean more like 6 months. So that would mean we could estimate getting matched with a child in March!!!
Here a nice website with some history and beautiful pictures of Guanajuato
http://www.terragalleria.com/north-america/mexico/guanajuato/

The night before pre-k

Dear Liv,
Tomorrow you start Pre-K. Tomorrow I will put you on a bus, wave good bye, and watch as you head off to school. School will shape the next 13 pluse years of your life. No longer will I be your main source of education, thank goodness. I must say I am sooo sad to see you go. For the last four years you have been my whole life. Where has the time gone, it feels like just yesterday you started to crawl. And wasn't it just last week that you started to talk. I could swear that last month was your first birthday.
I've been able to watch as you've grown into such a beautiful little girl. Every smile, every tear, and yes even every tantrum, I've had the pleasure of witnessing. But lately I've been noticing how you let go of my hand first, as we head to the park. And at a party you no longer call my name just to make sure I'm still close by. You are so curious about the world, you are ready to see it with your own eyes, not just through mine.
You are ready to show the world who you are. Your ready to meet people all on your own, and your ready to try new things without your mother looking over your shoulder.
So tomorrow you will go to Pre-K. I will put you on a bus, wave good bye, and watch as you head off to school. Just don't look back because I might be following the bus in my car.

Summer lovin happend so fast!!!!!!!!!

This summer we took a 2 week vacation down at the beach house!!!! Liv had a blast!!!!! We did so much but I only took a few pictures!!!!! Here they are in random order!!!

Painting shells with the neighborhood kids!!

Mommy and Liv. Liv got sooooo tan, I just got more freckles and wrinkles!!!

Daddy took us out on this boat for a ride we will never forget!!

Photo shoot before going out to dinner!!!

Ahhhh such fun staying in this little house!!!

Enjoying the rides at Point Pleasant!

My favorite picture!

We went to a work party, Liv had so much fun with the kids.

2 tipsy Dads and there cute girls.

Liv enjoying the party

A perfect beach day!!!

Liv loved the ocean this year.

We spent a week with these crazy people, their 3 year old, and 18 month old twins!!! We all had the best time!!

Total beach bums!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anniversary

8 years ago today I said "I Do" , and I still do.

Dear Dossier

Tomorrow I send you out on your journey to Mexico. You will make one stop in South Carolina to be reviewed, don't mess it up, and then you will be registered in Mexico City. For the past 11 months you have sat on my kitchen desk. Taunting me, reminding me, and keeping me focused. Sometimes you would get shuffled under bills, outgoing mail, and even Christmas cards. But still you stayed waiting patiently for your missing pages to come in slowly and complete you.

On bad days I would bring you out and stack and organize you. On really bad days I would curse you as I walked by and tried to forget about you. But still you sat waiting. Not to long ago you were so close to being complete, and you decided it might be fun to loose a page or too. I wanted to send all of you to the shredder. But I didn't, your missing page reminded me that I still have some fire left in me, your missing page also showed me what an amazing husband I have, and that he would do anything to make me smile again. I guess I should thank you for that, but I'm just not there yet. I'm still mad at you. Still I wish you luck on your journey. Please fall into the right hands. Please don't get lost on someones desk, and please please please don't even think about going near any water. May your pages find us our child.

P.S. So tonight I will sleep with you under our roof for one more night. If God forbid a fire breaks out, you will be the first thing I grab, after Liv of course.

Jai Ho

We are going to an Indian Wedding in July! So we decided to see what fit Liv. Well that led into many outfit changes, and even a dance party. Here is Liv rocking out her Bollywood moves!!!!