Pictures From the Weekend :oD

I had a mini photo session this weekend. I got a couple of pictures with Anthony but mostly Ananya. We'll try again maybe tomorrow for Anthony's pictures.

I didn't even realize at the time that I caught her making a bubble.

This is Ananya's newest talent. She blows kisses.


My handsome boy in his outfit from India.

As you can tell, he is such a great big brother.

I just love this outfit. I have more in other sizes and colors.

This is her Easter dress. We are alittle late getting pictures taken, but my favorite studio in town closed.



They look like they are having deep thoughts.
We are doing well. All of Ananya's therapies start in the morning. She should be worn out. It will be nice to see what she can accomplish with therapists instructing us how to push her.
I just wanted to share some pictures of how big the kids are getting.

Huge Windstorms!! :o(

Ok. Today we had a huge windstorm on the east coast. We had crazy wind, like almost tornado. The skies were completely clear. We had blue skies and few clouds. Trees are down. We lost shingles off our roof. We meet with the insurance adjuster on Friday. I can't believe it.

On other fronts, Ananya is doing well. Her eating has picked up again. Her sleep schedule is normalizing. She is drinking her milk well before bed. She is picking up new skills. She will blow kisses sometimes. She loves to play "Hands Up!". We are still waiting for her services to start. I don't think that we are losing much though. She is still making progress. Her postures are getting better. She is doing so well with Daddy on the weekends. She is eating an sleeping good without me. I'm so happy. I don't have anything to worry about when I'm gone.

Our puppies are doing well. I started feeding them dog food today. I put food out for mom and went to feed the other dogs. When I turned back around, all 8 puppies were in the dog food. I quickly mixed up their dinner and they ate almost all of it. I hope getting them weaned and finding homes will help mom become healthier. She is just so skinny right now because she is taking such good care of all 8 of them.

The Last Couple Days

On Wednesday, we went to the doctor. Ananya had her big doctor visit with all of her blood work. Now, hopefully its over and done with. Poor Ananya had to get 3 vials of blood drawn (that took 2 sticks), then they stuck her finger. After that we had to get her TB test done. I think those are the worst. She handled it like a pro. She fussed alittle while they were drawing the blood, but quickly was smiling afterwards. She even let the nurse-practitioner hold her afterwards. She is really becoming a sweetheart. She has gained 1lb and 4oz. She is up to 17 lb 71/2oz. Her eating has slowed way down. I just keep trying to shove food in if she if fussing because she is hungry. Mostly I just give her food and see if she swallows it. I took some pictures this week that I think turned out pretty good. I need to hold Anthony down and take his picture. I want to start taking a picture of the every month so that I can see how much they change. I need to go feed my dog. I'll post pictures of her puppies soon. They are too adorable. Anyone want one?

The Kind of Person I Want To Be

Please click this link to watch this video. You have to see it to understand what I'm saying. http://cjcphoto.com/can/

I love the story that is told. I have heard this story from several sources. The video is amazing. Now my opinion.

I want to be like this man. I want to be able to give my children joy, even if it is difficult for me. Now I don't know how many of you have ever run. I work with people who run, bike and do triathlons. It is not easy. The pain and physical scars involved in running a marathon is incredible. I can only imagine how much pain this man went through to push his child for 26.2 miles, not to mention the triathlons.
I want to be the kind of person who will do anything for someone else. I want to give my children joy, but I want to be able to make sacrifices that are extremely difficult to make other people (even those who aren't family) happy. I can only pray and ask God to give me the strength and peace to sacrifice for others. I can only ask for stength and guidance for God. I'm human and not always strong enough to sacrifice what I want.
I have included the lyrics to one of my favorite songs by my FAVORITE band, Nickleback. The song describes how I have started to feel since starting this journey of growing our family. I know God has shown me others needs and given me the strength to help. I am not perfect. I can only try to be strong and pray.
If Everyone Cared
From underneath the trees, we watch the sky
Confusing stars for satellites
I never dreamed that you'd be mine
But here we are, we're here tonight
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died
And I'm singingAmen I, Amen I, I'm alive
Amen I, Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive
And in the air the fireflies
Our only light in paradise
We'll show the world they were wrong
And teach them all to sing along
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive Singing Amen, I, I'm alive(I'm alive)
And as we lie beneath the stars
We realize how small we are
If they could love like you and me
Imagine what the world could be
If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died

Hi All!!

Hi everyone! Well tonight is the night. I'm going back to work. I'm not especially thrilled but I know Ananya will sleep through it and I'll see her in the morning. YEAH!! For once mom will only get the cheerful part. Last night me and Anthony went to the movies. We saw "Meet the Robinsons". It was really good. The storyline was actually about a boy in an orphanage. The movie was 3D and we ended up with some cool glasses as you can see. I was happy to have a day out with my boy. He has been out of school this week. We have been lazy. As you can see I cut my hair. I was able to donate it to "Locks for Love". Its a whole lot shorter now but so much easier to deal with. Pretty soon Ananya's hair will be as long as mine. Her hair is growing so fast. Its so much like Anthony's because it is unruly. Hopefully that will get better as it grows.

She is really starting to gain weight. I can't wait to go back to the doctor to see how much she gained. I'm not sure the weight we got from the nutritionist was the same as the doctors. She definitely feels like she has gained more than 10 ounces. Some of her clothes fit better now. I was hoping to get their Easter Pictures taken this week. I wanted to get family pictures done too. Unfortunately I didn't do it yet. Either I'll take them this afternoon or they will be spring pictures that are taken next week. Well, I have to go take a nap while Ananya is sleeping. Its going to be hard to stay up all night after living like a normal person for 7 weeks.

Have a good weekend. Happy Easter.

Wonderful Weekend :o)

We had a great weekend as we celebrated Anthony's birthday on Friday night. We started the day with a pizza party at school for his class. He had 2 very special guests at his party. His Papaw and Grammy (great-grandmother) made the trip all the way from Pennsylvania to celebrate with us. Anthony had 9 guests at his party and boy did they have a ball. They got lots of tickets, played laser tag 4 times, rode bumper cars, played putt-putt golf and generally ran wild. I was kind of upset (not really) because no one ate any of my cake that I spend 2 hours icing. They just wanted to play. Oh well. Anthony got some cool presents and just generally got to have lots of fun with his friends.

Ananya enjoyed the company too. She got to meet all her brothers classmates. They all just love to talk to her. She got to meet her Grammy and Papaw for the first time. She really likes them. She didn't want Mommy to take her back from her Papaw (we were all shocked). She let some of the parents at the party hold her too. She is doing so well. We had a weekend full of new skills. She started waving some. She will open both of her hands when Grammy asks her and sometimes when Mommy or Daddy ask. She likes to put her arms over her head now too. She wants to crawl so bad. She will move 1 hand and 1 leg and then think real hard about what is next. Then she sits up and looks at what she wants trying to figure out how to get to it. She got a birthday gift from her Papaw too. We found a great wagon at Northern tool that has big wheels that will go good at the beach. She likes to ride in it. Her bumbo seat fits snuggly in it so that she is stable and safely sitting up. We were all sad when Grammy and Papaw had to leave for home this morning. Hopefully we will see them soon. To all our fans in PA, we will definitely be home for Thanksgiving this year. Ananya can meet everyone then.

We continue to have daily struggles with Ananya. Her mood can flip rather quickly and she can't tell us what she needs. She hasn't eaten as well in the last few days as she has since we got home. I'm not sure what is wrong but I'm going to have to include snacks in the schedule now. She was eating so well before that she really didn't have room for food between meals. The nutritionists wants her to have about 1200 calories a day! I may start to monitor her calories for a couple days to see if I'm getting close with her eating less. I'm trying not to stress too much about it. We meet with the therapists this week to get started. I'm hoping to start speech soon because I really need her to start chewing her food.

She is such a doll to have around. I love her so much. I've been blessed with this wonderful family. My children are great. They love each other so much. My husband is a patient and wonderful father. I have loved spending my days and nights home with them. I am going back to work on Friday night. I know they will get along without me (they always have) but I'm a mom and need to feel needed.

I'm following the adoption journeys of others from our agency through their blogs. Several of the families that traveled in 2006 to meet their children are starting the journey again. I'm jealous of them. As much as having Ananya has filled our house and our hearts, it shows me there is room for more. I so want my house full (with this house it won't take much more). I want to watch a big family grow older. This is probably a surprise to my dad who is no doubt reading this. We are both only children. Only God knows what is in store for my family. I can only pray for his blessings and follow his guidance to my children.

Have a wonderful Easter everyone. Don't forget to thank God for all He has blessed you with as we remember what He sacrificed for us.

Happy Belated Birthday to Prasun!! This Indian Angel turned 2 on Friday! I was thinking of you baby!