WE ARE PARENTS!!!!!!!

Sorry for the delay in posting our exciting news but after the phone call of a lifetime on Friday, it has been a crazy whirlwind!!!

We have been referred a beautiful little girl!!

She is gorgeous! (But then maybe I am a little bias...)

Her name is: Feng NianQiu
Living in: Feng Cheng City, Jiangxi Province (foster care)
Her birthday is: April 25, 2008

She has a cleft lip & palate, loves to play with her toys, looking at books and listening to music. I can’t wait to learn more about her and hold her in my arms!!

I have not spoken directly to my agency since receiving her referral so I will be calling them tomorrow, until then I will not be posting pictures but I will give you a sneak peek…



I will post more details as soon as I can.





Happy Father’s Day to the best Daddy in the world!

Larry, the timing of this referral was so wonderful! What an amazing Father’s Day gift, for you to see your daughter’s face for the first time on Father’s Day weekend!! I know you are going to be the best Dad to our little princess and I can’t wait until the first moment I see the two of you together…and every moment after that!! I hope you enjoyed your day!! Next year will be even better!!!!

Easter Greetings!!

Happy Easter to all of you!
















I hope the bunny finds you & you all enjoy a nice day with friends & family!

Have You Flapped Your Jack* Today?

· In Canada, the United States, and South Africa, flapjack is another term for a thin pancake that is not only crispy, but slightly chewy as well. A largely defining attribute of a flapjack is its large diameter, commonly measuring 12" (30 cm) or more.

Today is Shrove Tuesday* (pancake day), yum!! I will indulge any holiday that includes food … especially PANCAKES!

One of my co-workers, Danny (you may remember him from this post) brought all the ingredients to work for making pancakes from scratch … YES, I said SCRATCH! At lunchtime Danny went to work in the kitchen making tones of pancakes. Of course, once the aroma of pancakes wafted throughout the office the taste-testers began to arrive. We were treated to apple cinnamon pancakes and real maple syrup.

Thanks for the tasty treat for lunch today Dan!

After I left work I came home to make some more pancakes, lol!! Guess I just couldn’t get enough!

*Shrove Tuesday Traditions
Among Anglicans, Lutherans and other Protestant denominations, and among cultures in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, this day is also known as Pancake Tuesday, as it is customary to eat pancakes on this day.
Pancakes and doughnuts are associated with the day preceding Lent because they were a way to use up rich foodstuffs such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent. The liturgical fasting emphasized eating plainer food and refraining from food that would give pleasure: In many cultures, this means no meat, dairy, or eggs.

Here is a good recipe for some Good Old Fashioned Pancakes.



INGREDIENTS
· 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (sifted)
· 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1 tablespoon white sugar
· 1 1/4 cups milk (room temp.)
· 1 egg (room temp.)
· 3 tablespoons butter, melted (unsalted)
·
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot. Enjoy!

Happy Canadian ...

I hope everyone has a wonderful day with family & friends!

Be thankful for all that you have and count all your blessings every day!

For My Friends South Of The Border...

Enjoy your long weekend with friends and family!

Happy 141st Birthday Canada!!

I hope all my fellow Canadian's enjoy the holiday and all the festivities that go along with it!

Be safe & have fun!!!

Busy Birthday Fun!!

I had a very good birthday with lots of good wishes from friends and family. I came home tonight to K*F*C for supper and ice cream cake for dessert, yummy!!



A few weeks ago I broke my camera at my friends birthday party and I was devastated. Taking pictures for me is like breathing. The best gift I received today was a new camera!!! Woo Hoo!! I will be putting it to good use tomorrow night. A bunch of friends are getting together for some drinks and dancing to celebrate my birthday with me. I’m sure that outing will deserve a post all it’s own, lol!

Tomorrow we are also going to "late" Easter dinner at my Mom's house. As you know my Mom and I were away from home last weekend so we decided to have our usual Easter dinner this weekend instead.

Busy, busy day tomorrow and then recuperating on Sunday before heading back to work on Monday.

I hope you all ...

Hippity, Hoppity Easter Is TODAY!

I hope you all have a wonderful day spent with lots of friends, family, food and of course ... CHOCOLATE!!

I was looking for a video to include in my post tonight and I found this. It is not really related to easter but there is a bunny in it and he is adorable! The song is really nice it you listen to the words. Enjoy!



I have enjoyed the last 2 days with my Mom. One day we relaxed and the other day we shopped our buts off! I'm sure I will probably post more about this in another post since my Mom got me something special for Easter while we were shopping.

Luck O' The Irish To Ya'

for the comments!

First of all THANK YOU for all the encouraging comments on my previous post. I am still dealing with this issue and I am hoping that it will be resolved this week.

I am always amazed at the wonderful support that comes from all you bloggers that I have never actually met. Starting this blog was something I was hesitant on doing and now I can’t believe I even thought twice about it.




I feel very fortunate to have the support of all of you.

Halloween Wrap-Up

Here are some pictures from our Halloween adventures. As you can see Riley and Mackenzie received lots of treats, I got some too ;o). I actually had a lady ask me if I was the girl she sees in the morning at the bus stop, lol!!! I guess I still have a few years of trick-or-treating left in me! You can't see them, but my jammie pants are flannels with Care Bears on them. They are so cute and I love to wear them in the winter. My costume was warm, comfortable and convenient for when I finally got home, lol!

The weather was perfect and we all had lots of fun.


(click on image to enlarge)

Here is a picture of the ice-cream cake I got Larry for his birthday. Ohhhh it was so yummy!!



Here is our cat, Sneakers, enjoying the paper bag the cake came in, lol!





Free Comments & Graphics Codes

Wicked Halloween Wishes For YOU!

Tomorrow I have a full day planned so I thought I would come and wish you all a very HAPPY HALOWEEN!! After work tomorrow I am going to take my godchildren out trick-or-treating. I go out with them every year. Oh I can’t wait till’ Maggie is home and can go with us!



I have dresses up every year to go out with them and this year is no exception. My costume is really easy this year…I am wearing my PJ’s and going as a little (or not so little) girl at a slumber party! I hope everyone has a fun evening weather you are trick-or-treating or giving out treats.


Enjoy the flashback video!
Did you watch this show?? I did and I loved it!

Thanksgiving Day!

Happy Thanksgiving Day to all my Canadian blogger pals!!

Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada. Larry and I went to my Mom's for ham dinner. Of course we all stuffed ourselves silly. I had made individual cherry and blueberry cheesecakes for dessert and they were so yummy!


After all the dinner mess was cleaned up my Mom and I went to town to browse some of the little shops. I found some good ideas for Christmas gifts.

Oh by the way, there is just:

The question is...is this our last Christmas without Maggie????

A Special Day To Celebrate!

Send this eCard !

Here is a little information about the Chinese Moon Festival:

In China and throughout many Asian countries people celebrate the Harvest Moon on the 15th day of the eighth month of their lunar calendar. The date in the Western calendar changes yearly. This year, it falls on September 25.

The Harvest Moon or Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhong Qiu Jie) is a day of family reunions much like a Western Thanksgiving. Chinese people believe that on that day, the moon is the roundest and brightest signaling a time of completeness and abundance. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, children are delighted to stay up past midnight, parading multi-colored lanterns into the wee hours as families take to the streets or city parks to moon-gaze.

It is also a romantic night for lovers, who sit holding hands on hilltops, riverbanks and park benches, captivated by the brightest moon of the year....

The festival dates back to the Tang dynasty in 618 A.D., and as with many celebrations in China there are ancient legends closely associated with it.

In Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, it's sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival, (not to be confused with a similar celebration during the Chinese New Year), but whatever name it goes by, the centuries-old festival remains a beloved annual ritual celebrating an abundance of food and family.

Traditional foods for a Chinese Mid-Autumn feast are red — for good luck. Lobster and salmon are particular favorites along with apples, pomegranates, roasted peanuts, pomelo, chestnuts, fatt koh (sponge cakes) and

Moon Cakes

(www.chiff.com)

Moon Cakes are a delicacy consumed during and around the Mid-Autumn Festival. They are often, but not always, round or rectangular. They have a noodle-like dough on the outside, and the insides are usually filled with one or more of the following: sweetmeats, bean paste, lotus seed paste, melon seed, all sorts of nuts, and duck egg yolks. Moon Cakes can be steamed, baked, or fried (www.chinatown.com.au).

Labour Day Weekend & 19 More Days!

Labour Day weekend always signifies the end of summer to me so I thought I would post this little poem I wrote.



Today we are getting ready to go to Lisa & Jeff's house for a Labour Day Weekend Party!! I love get-togethers at people’s houses. We are having supper, playing some outdoor games, having a few drinks and I'm sure there will be lots of laughs through out the evening.

I hope everyone has a great Labour Day long weekend!

And don't forget:

Mother's Day Scrapbooking

I didn't get this scrapbook page done in time for Mother's Day but I still wanted to share it on here. (If you click on the picture you will see it bigger.) Hope you enjoyed your supper Mom!

Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day is a special day for us to express our love and gratitude for our Mother’s. Today I would like to introduce you all to my Mother, Suzette. She is a wonderful, giving, beautiful, loving, and thoughtful person. When I was growing up my Mother gave me room to spread my wings so I could go on my own life journey, even when she thought it was the wrong choice.

She let me test the waters of life but she was always waiting on the shore with a life preserver and towel; so that if my adventure took a wrong turn she was able to save me, dry me off, and get me back on track.

For Larry and I, my Mother is one of our biggest supporters in all that we set out to accomplish, especially our decision to adopt. She is going to be a fantastic Grandmother, and I can’t wait for our baby to meet her. She has been reading and researching since we began our adoption process; as well as purchasing a million-and-one baby items! (Just to clarify, I acquired my shopping skills from my shop-a-holic Mother)

We end up arguing and bickering when we are together but usually it is something silly and we get over it rather quickly and are back to our usual “chatty” selves. (Anyone that knows us, knows that we could talk a hole through an iron pot!)

Because of my Mother
I have become the person I am today.

My supporter, my confidant, my life long teacher, my biggest fan, my best friend …

MY MOTHER!

Love you MOM!! XOXOXO

PRECIOUS MOTHER

Mom You've given me so much,
Love from your heart
and the warmth of your touch.
You are my Mother so dear;
I love you even more
with each and every new year.
If I could have chosen,
I would have picked no other.
Than for you...to be my lifelong friend
and Precious Mother.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to all of you who are Mothers, will be Mothers, have Mothers, or are missing your Mothers. Today is a day to reflect and enjoy all of the memories from the past, present, and the memories to come in the future! Hope your day is wonderful, however you spent it!

Easter - The Sequel

Well since we received so much snow on Sunday our Easter dinner and egg hunt at Mom's had to be moved to today. Even Jeannie came for Easter dinner this year. We all had a great day hunting for eggs and yummy dinner. This was Sydney's first time hunting for eggs with us, she came in second place. GREAT JOB SYD!! The Easter bunny managed to find all of us, even through all the snow! Below are some pictures from Easter Monday at Mom's.
** By the way, I WON THE EASTER EGG HUNT!!

"I'm Dreaming Of a White Easter!?!?"

Not sure what I should blog about first today, Easter or the weather. For any of you that don't live in snowy Nova Scotia and surrounding areas; for the better part of yesterday and last night we received up to 30 centimeters of snow in some areas. Unbelievable, maybe but here are some pictures to prove it. This first picture was taken in the afternoon on Saturday, the next picture was taken about 1 hour later.














This picture is the end result on Sunday morning!













As for our Easter, plans changed, and we spent the day home relaxing after all the eggs were found. Good Job Sydney!! Here is a few pictures from Easter morning.