More Photos!

More photos for your viewing pleasure

Disney!

We just returned from the land of Mickey. We traveled to the Mouse House to meet up with the families that comprised our adoption travel group in August of 2006. What a blast! The girls are all growing and seem to be adjusting well. We all missed the one family that was not able to attend this get together but things went so well that we have agreed to try to get together as a group every other year and I'm certain they will be able to attend the next event. I'm going to post alot of pictures, they really need no words....

Wedding!

There really are no words to describe the beauty of the day that U*Haul and Pixie got married. The weather was beautiful, the waves softly lapping onto the shore as they exchanged vows was incredible. Of course there was a slight "oops" moment (what event wouldn't have one of those in our family, right?) when Pixie realized that she had forgotten U*Haul's ring in the hotel room. One of her bridesmaids husband sacrificed his ring for the ceremonial portion of "with this ring" until U*Haul could get his real ring on his finger later in the evening.

After the wedding we had a small reception inside a pavillion overlooking the beach where we were able to snap some incredible sunset photos as well.

U*Haul is now in his second week of boot camp and Pixie is holding up as well as can be expected. These two really are a match made in heaven.

In A Feeble Attempt To Keep Up With Tradition

I am posting in January. It seems as if my MO lately is to only post one (two if you're lucky) posts a month. I must make a better effort and updating here more often.

Sooo what's been happening in the Casa de la Dreamicle you ask? Welllllll, mi casa es de old casa (yeah I know, I was never very good at Spanish so you get what you get). We moved back into the big house. McGyver couldn't stand it for one. more. minute. So it's bye-bye to the river house and hello woods. Anyone looking to buy a house on the river? I've got one up for sale if you are.... heh.

I just returned from a trip to Savannah for work. The weather was terrible, the conference was great and as an added bonus I got to have dinner with my more than fabulous Aunt S and Uncle H. I don't get to see them often but I loooove spending time with them. They treated me to a scrumptious dinner in a gorgeous setting. Doesn't get much better than that.

Dreamsicle is having so much fun now that we are back in the big house. I didn't realize how much my girl loves carpet but apparently it rates right up there with her Elmo doll and lovie. She spends a large amount of her time "wolling awound" (rolling around) on the carpet with a huge smile on her face. She really has got to be one of the happiest kids on the face of this earth. No matter how stressful my day has been, when I open that door and she runs around the corner literally jumping up and down because Yeah! Mama is home!, I just want to scoop her up and never let her go. We are having so much fun watching her explode with personality, it sure makes you want to do the right thing all of the time since she mimics everything she sees.

Two more weeks until U*Haul and Pixie get married. My gosh, where did the time go? They are moving back into our house this weekend and Pixie will stay with us until U*Haul has completed boot camp and his schools. I'm looking forward to having them with us for a while.

I uploaded pictures but loaded them in the wrong place so I'll post photos once I move them to a more accessible place.

Merry Christmas-ish

Okay so I know I'm a little late with the Christmas post. But! Merry Christmas! I took this week off to spend with the kids (Chester is home) and we have been crazy busy just having fun. I showed much more restraint this year in the gift dept. Toys R Us did not explode in our living room as it did last year. Dreamsicle did receive an annual membership to the local zoo, childrens museum and a local garden/sculpture park that she adores spending time at. Add to that the books, puzzles, and assorted little gifts she received and that girl still ended up with quite a haul.

I, in my usual manner, ended up pulling an "Oops I did it again" incident. Friends of ours came over on Xmas eve. They gave me two beautiful (think expensive) wine glasses as a gift. I went to grab a bottle of wine to open to pour into these beauties and the wine bottle hit the glasses and sent them flying. Shattered wine glass everywhere. Right in front of the givers. Oh my. I do have class, don't I?

Chester informed us that he will be visiting Iraq again in 2008. I stopped at Macy*s today looking for a heavy duty wrinkle reducer....I'm going to need it.

And! I'm inked! I know-whodathunk that me, at my age, with the personality that I have would actually get tattooed but I did. I have wanted for a very long time to come up with a way to honor Angel Baby. I decided that a tattoo would be the perfect way. Once I shared my thoughts with the family there was no turning back. U*Haul and Pixie begged me to have it done before their wedding and Chester insisted that I get it done while he was home since Angel Baby was his twin. Chester stayed with me the entire time I was getting the tattoo and now I'm sporting a puffy heart with a halo over the top with a banner that has his name on it wrapped in angel wings resting on puffy clouds on my right shoulder. I'm very happy I did it.

We are now gearing up for the wedding so we're firing on all four pistons getting everything in place for the "destination wedding".

Picture will be added soon. McGyver got me a zippy lil' camera to throw in my purse for Christmas but I haven't loaded the software onto the computer to allow me to download the pics yet.

Bah-Humbug-ers

Those of you that know us in real life know that we will give the shirt off of our backs if you simply ask for it. Here is the key point to take out of that sentence. Ask. For. It.~Ask for help. Don't just take.

5 days before Christmas someone broke into U*Haul and Pixie's home and stole from them. Their camera, i-pods, video games, gaming system, video camera-all gone. Those things can be replaced. But the dirty rotten scoundrels also stole family memories when they walked away with things given to the kids by my Dad (now deceased), Chester (from Iraq) and their Grandma M (also deceased). And they stole a young woman's sense of safety and security.

Karma-watch for it-

Dreamsicle

Christmas preparations are in full swing at the McGyver house. Last year Dreamsicle happily sat on Santa's lap and we have photographic proof to prove it. This year, not so much. We happened to run into the Jolly old fellow and his wife while they were doing their shopping. In Walmart. In full Santa suit. They happened to be checking out one aisle over from us at the same time that we were. Santa spotted Dreamsicle and bee-lined over to her. She froze in fear as she sat in the shopping cart. He didn't seem to notice as he tried to banter with her. She would not make eye contact, looked directly at me, finally covered her eyes and began wailing-NOOOOOOOOOOO!! At this point I scooped her out of the shopping cart as she was becoming more upset by the minute. The fat guy in the Santa suit would not leave her alone! I finally had to be rude and ask him to leave her alone. It was so bad that three lil old ladies that were behind me threatened to start beating him with their purses if he didn't get out of their site! Anyway, anytime we bring up the name Santa, it is not met with joy but with fear now. Sigh. Oh the joys of being two. Before this encounter I had taught her to hold her belly and say HO-HO-HO when I asked her what Santa says. Now she covers her eyes and yells NO-NO-NO instead.

Here's hoping you all have a HO-HO-HO holiday with no NO-NO-NO's.

Where did that Kitty-Cat go Mama?

A Couple more from Disney

Dreamsicle insisted on pulling her own luggage from the car to the hotel.

She loved the palm trees!

Pictures!

I finally found the USB cable! Pictures of our trip to Disney

Happy Birthday U*Haul!

Twenty years ago today~after Mcgyver's second helping of mashed potatoes but before dessert was served, we left my Aunt's house for the hospital. During the middle of the "big game" (can you say hello husband and resident OB physician-I'm over here, the one in labor, panting like a dog-please pay attention to me instead of the blasted football game?) U*Haul made his entrance into this world. With a head full of dark beautiful hair and a cry that would wake all of the other babies in the nursery, he made his presence known.

His dark hair has lightened over the years, he rarely cries any more but he certainly has brought joy to our lives.

It is so incredible that my baby boy, my last born son is now a man. When I look at him, I still see a 6 year old boy with a missing front tooth and a crooked smile. And yet a man he is. I am so proud of all that he is and all that he will become. I can't wait to see what the future has in store for him.

I brought pizza and a birthday cake home and everyone came up to the house to celebrate his special day. (Shut up-some people cook birthday dinners, I buy them when they fall during the week) Dreamsicle wouldn't eat, she was too excited about the chocolate thing in the box. W'az dat? was heard at least 15 times while eating pizza with her pointing her little finger at the box. When I brought the cake out and set it on the table with the candles in front of U*Haul she became the slightest bit indignant, exclaiming 'dat cake Dreamsicles! I gave her a small piece ( search my archives to see proof that she does not sleep when she consumes more than a tiny amount of sugar) of cake which she happily launched her whole face in to. It seems our sweet girl thought the most expedient way to eat the cake would be to put her lips into the cake rather than using a fork and bringing the cake to her lips. We all howled at that one. This might be a good time to tell you that it was a chocolate and whipped cream cake so when she picked her head up because we were all laughing she was covered in whipped cream. No pictures though-must get new camera STAT!

Anyway, trust me when I tell you a good time was had by all.

Thanksgiving 2007~Broken, Shattered and Scratched

Let me start out by saying that it was marvelous having the whole family together for Thanksgiving. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than having my boys and daughter in love assemble at the house with Dreamsicle, McGyver and I, allowing me to cook for them. The turkey was moist, pies were devoured and there was nary a spec' of mashed potatoes left in the bottom of the bowl.

Having said that, the day did not turn out as planned...

I must have had a pie spill over in the bottom of the oven (how I have no idea, since the pies were on a baking sheet). I did not notice this until I placed the turkey in the oven and the smoke detectors started screaming. When I looked into the kitchen, there was smoke billowing out of the oven! Since you may recall we moved this summer, we had no idea that the smoke detectors were hard wired into the security system. It took us 15 minutes to finally figure out that removing the batteries from the smoke detectors while opening every window and door in the house was not going to stop the blasted noise. We finally had to unplug the battery for the security system to have some peace.

During Dreamsicle's birthday party, I had asked a friend of mine to be in charge of taking pictures with my camera. Somehow during the course of the festivities, a beverage managed to make its way into every nook and cranny in my camera. It started to work after it was dried out but decided to die an untimely death on Thanksgiving. I have absolutely no pictures of the fam for this holiday.

It is a McGyver family tradition that we put our Christmas tree up on Thanksgiving. While the boys were out in the garage getting the Christmas decorations from the rafters, they managed to drop the rubbermaid container that held all of our ornaments. All but 12 broke. All of the hand made ornaments that the boys had made over the years that I treasured, all of the ornaments that my father purchased each year in honor of Angel Baby, all gone. I actually think I lost my speech center of my brain for a while when that happened.

And then to top it all off~Chester must be used to driving a very big tank that has nothing in its way. Aunt Genious stopped by the evening of Thanksgiving, Chester was pulling out of the driveway in my car (the one I purchased a year ago) and clipped Genious' truck with my car. Both vehicles have scratches the entire length of the autos.

So-it will be a holiday remembered for alot of reasons, gave me an awful lot of time to remember what is important (the camera, ornaments and vehicles are just things-the health of my family is of the most importance to me).

But lets all hope Christmas goes a little better

If I Could Only Find My USB Cable

I would be posting many, many pictures. Pictures of Dreamsicle at the Magic Kingdom when she met Belle. Pictures of her at the resort-especially of her while she was "phwimming".

I would also be posting pictures of Chester's homecoming last night. I laid eyes on him and the river of tears began flowing again. He was no sooner out of the protected part of the concourse at the airport then my arms were around his neck, I was sobbing the big messy tears again and he was lifting me up in his arms in the sweetest hug I have ever felt in my life. The Patriot Guard was there and I guess there was much, much clapping that ensued. Not only from the members of the Patriot Guard and our assembled group of family and friends but everyone else in the terminal at that time. I honestly did not hear one sound other than the words "I love you mama and I'm home" that came from Chester's sweet lips.

We arrived home and U*Haul came in. Despite the late hour (1:00 am by that point) we stayed up a while and talked with Chester. McGyver and I finally gave in and went to bed. This morning my alarm clock rang at 5:30 for me to get up and get ready for work, before I left I crept into Chester's room and he was wide awake. I asked him why and he told me that U*Haul had just left. Oh how my heart if full. Two of my boys stayed up all night reconnecting. The last time that happened involved flashlights and a tent made of sheets over their bunk beds many, many years ago.

Family Code Red

This is a PSA for our extended family.

If any of you suffer from insomnia and would like to meet Chester when he lands at the airport the scheduled arrival time is Sunday night at 11:30 pm. The Patriot Guard will be there to welcome him home as well so it should be quite the night.

Also-get ready for the arrival of Bridal Shower invitations. U*Haul and Pixie have decided that they don't want to wait until after boot camp or schools to get married. Scheduled wedding date is now February 7th on S Padre Island in Texas. Reception to follow back here in the Mitten State the following weekend. Much money is flying out of my hands as we speak! :) But oh so worth it! Finally! the girl who has been a McGyver for so long will be officially my daughter in love.

Where Has The Time Gone?

I can't believe how negligent I've been in keeping up with this blog lately. It certainly isn't because of lack of things happening at Casa de Dreamsicle that's for sure. So much to update-are you ready?

1. Chester is currently winging his way back to the good ole' USA! That's right, he is officially out of Iraq. I had no idea how much stress I actually surpressed over the course of the last 7 months until I received the call telling me that he was out of harms way. Once I heard his voice telling me "Mama, I'm coming home" I immediately started sobbing. Like a baby. Big, messy, cry my eyes out tears of joy that lasted for hours. He decided to stay out in Cali to attend the Marine Corps Ball before coming home so we won't actually see him until just before Thanksgiving but man am I happy.

2. After months of anticipation, U*Haul finally proposed to Pixie! Yep, the two are gittin' hitched! Not quite sure of the date yet, it will be sometime in the warm-ish months of 2008 but they need to figure out U*Haul's training schedule first.

3. That's right-I said U*Haul's training schedule. He leaves in February for boot camp. He joined the Navy. Going to be a submariner (can we all channel the Beattles now and start singing We All Live On A Yellow Submarine?) The funniest thing I heard was when I told Chester about U*Haul's decision to join the Navy and be on a sub. He was outraged-telling me to tell U*Haul to pick a different job. When I asked him why he was so upset, he said "doesn't he realize how close of quarters you live in when you are on a sub?" I had to remind him that Gee-maybe this piece of advice coming from a guy who has to sleep sitting up in his tank while on missions may not be such a great thing. We both laughed at that one.

4. Dreamsicle is growing by leaps and bounds. I had her evaluated by Early On and she has a little of a gross motor delay but cognitively she tests above her age group so Mama is happy, happy, happy! She wanted to be a Princess for Halloween (like that surprised anyone). She was set on being 'rella (as in Cinder-ella). I took her to the Disney Store to pick out her Cinderella costume and when we got there she looked over the Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White Costumes but didn't seem too excited. That all changed when she turned around and saw the Gold Bling that was Belle's costume. So she dressed up as Belle from Beauty and the Beast~complete with light up shoes, light up sceptor and crown. She was gorgeous and she had a great time. Pictures to follow as soon as I locate my USB cable.

5. My travel schedule is brutal right now so I've been having Dreamsicle travel with me. Last week we had Aunt Genious accompany us to Chicago for a conference where Dreamsicle made her maiden voyage to the American Girl store. She chose a bitty baby and promptly named her Mamie. So Mamie the baby now goes everywhere with us. I have a conference in Orlando beginning Saturday so Pixie is going with me to care for Dreamsicle while I'm in classes. We have the Belle costume packed and should be posting some great pic's of her at Disney next week.

Well there you go-the update on the McGyver family. Life is good!

Where Has The Time Gone?

Has it really been a month since I have posted here? Holy cow, time sure has flown by! So much going on I can't believe that I haven't kept all 3 of my readers updated! Seriously-you all need to start commenting on here-it isn't painful, I promise, but you are giving me a serious complex since I track how many hits and from where they come-why oh why do you all hover beneath the shadow of lurkdom? Don't be afraid-come into the light! :)

Anyhoo-Dreamsicle is exploding in her personality. How did we get to be the lucky ones that parent the happiest toddler in the world? Seriously, this girl is happy. I'm a little on the high energy side but she makes me look like I'm an 87 year old with her exuberance and love for life. Every day is joyful. Seriously. She is talking constantly. We can only understand about 25% of what she is saying but that doesn't stop her, no sirree-she just looks at you, cocks her little head, shrugs her little shoulders and soldiers on with her conversation. She has much to say and will not be stopped! Oh boy is McGyver in trouble when he finally can understand her, she has herself some serious Daddy love conversations with him.

In the big boys news...We are almost done! Chester will be back on US soil soon! Soon people! Not soon enough for me but soon enough that I need to make flight reservations ASAP! This has been a looooong 7 months. U-Haul is currently signing his enlistment papers for the Navy as I type this. Honestly-what is it with my children? I'm amazingly proud of their desire to serve their country but two in at once? I have taken up running. I've never run a day in my life but I need to release this nervous energy I have seemed to have picked up in some way. So far I can run a whopping 1/2 mile but my goal is to get up to 3 miles. I may be old but I'm determined! Please say a prayer that my body cooperates with my will to do this.

Well, I think I have rambled on enough for one post. I have many pictures to post so stay tuned!

Metcha Day 2006!

August 28th, 2006 was so hot. We had arrived in Jiangxi earlier in the day and took a bus to a government office. I can remember riding the elevator up to floor number 7. When we stepped off the elevator you could hear babies. As we entered the room that held our babies, I laid eyes on Dreamsicle for the first time. She was holding on to her Ayi, lightly tapping her leg over and over. She had little tufts of bird hair and was the tiniest of the tiny. Wearing summer Strawberry Shortcake pajamas and pink shoes. My heart was pounding so loud I really thought that the other families would most certainly be able to hear it. I could hardly contain myself as I watched her, mesmerized by her every move. At one point, while our guide was having a conversation with the orphanage director I was aching to hold Dreamsicle so badly that I pleaded with McGyver to "just go get her". It happened soon enough, we were the second family called. When they finally placed her in my arms, I took her to a quiet corner of the room and don't remember a thing about the rest of the families getting their babies. I was so deeply in love at that very moment that the rest of the world seemed out of focus. Time seemed to stand still as I held her and we scoped each other out. There were what seemed like hours of waiting around after that, completing paperwork, sweating like never before, impatiently waiting to be able to go back to the hotel to begin our lives together as a family.

Here we are one year later. The tiniest of the tiny has grown so much, come so far, completely entrenched herself into the fiber of our very beings. Thanks for allowing us to parent you Dreamsicle. We are so blessed

The Social Worker

It is done. The social worker social working portion of our adoption was completed last Monday. Said social worker visited the house commented on how far Dreamsicle has come since our 6 month post placement and left. So the official part is complete. Almost. I still have not applied for Dreamsicle's birth certificate. This I must do soon~note to self.

This Girl That Is Two

Where has my baby gone? This girl that is two is so quickly changing before my eyes. Her ever expanding vocabulary is so exciting to hear except. except. inexplicably she has suddenly decided that the word "sit" must now have an "h: in it after the "s". Hmmmm, perhaps Daddy needs to be more aware of his language...She can clearly identify every member of our family but absolutely refuses to say her name. I'm getting a little worried that she may find herself going to kindergarten and signing the word "duck" when they ask her her name. These are the pics of Dreamsicle getting ready to watch the parade on the Fourth of July. Yes, there really is a full scale nativity scene in the background of one of these pictures. What? You mean to tell me that your town doesn't pull out the Christmas decorations for 4th of July?

Thank You

To Dreamsicles birth parents. Thank you for the choice you made. We will light a candle to honor and remember you every year on her birthday just as we did yesterday.

Happy Birthday!

Today our Dreamsicle turns two. TWO! The theme for the birthday party is Two for Two. We have a whole lot of celebrating to do to make up for birthday number one which came and went without us being united as a family. So today Dreamiscle will be receiving two presents and two cakes.

In her referral paperwork one of the words to describe her was clever. That she is. We went out to eat last Sunday. I gave her a sip of my soda and she wanted more. I redirected her to her milk but she was sitting right next to me. She pointed over my shoulder and asked "what's that?" I looked away to see what she was pointing at only to turn back around and find her sipping on my soda again!

Our girl is the most tenderhearted, loving child I have ever encountered. She touches every single person she meets. I look back on our family 3 years ago and now realize that it never would have been complete if she had not joined it. Thank you Dreamsicle for completing our family circle. We love you and are so glad you are finally home.

Pictures!

From left to right: Koli wearing her daddy's shades; playing with her cousin at the family reunion; chillin' on Grandma's porch; showing off her new ability to wear piggy tails.

This Mom's Heart

I have so many posts sitting in "draft" status right now. I'm going through a rough time and can't seem to articulate what it is that I am feeling. But I'm going to try.

Chester is out on his longest mission yet. We have not heard from him for some time now and I am filled with anxiety. I long to hear his voice and know that he is okay. Not just physically but emotionally as well. He has done well so far but I feel deep within my very core that this mission is somehow different and I worry about the well-being of his heart. I worry about the well being of my heart~should his heart be breaking over there, I can only console from a distance. This separation is difficult and I ache for the day when he is back on US soil.

Dreamsicle's birthday is just days away now. I cannot stop thinking about her birth parents. I know that even after all of these years I still rejoice but also dread Chester and Angel Baby's birthday. I wonder if Dreamsicle's birth mom is counting the days until August 2nd like I do December 2nd. I wonder if she is remembering where she was, what she was doing as she prepared for the arrival of this baby. We will never know the circumstances surrounding her decision to abandon this precious girl of ours but based on what little information we have, I think it was a difficult decision for her. That's not something I will ever tell Dreamsicle because it is not based on fact. The truth is I will never have the answer for Dreamsicle but I think there will always be a sadness whether she verbalizes it or not as she gets older that she does not have that information. The big WHY? I'm sure that her birthday will always be a hard time for her. This little Dreamsicle the Tiny, the person McGyver and I so desperately want to protect and nurture and love, will undoubtedly wrestle with this sadness all on her own. We can be there to listen and comfort, but we can't own or take away her grief. I pray that the love we have for her is enough to help her get through it. This year I will cherish her birthday, not only because it is the first one we will celebrate as a family, but because it could quite possibly be the only one we will ever have that she will be able to enjoy without anything getting in the way of her happiness.

Big Doings at (new) Casa de la Dreamsicle

Things are a changing here in the land of Dreams. We have had a change of address. That's right-we moved out of the big house in the hundred acre woods and bought a new home on the water. It is simply divine. Our house faces a bayou, you cannot see another house from our yard-I am in heaven. Moving was awful. The home we purchased is about half of the size of our old one-trying to decide what needed to be moved and what didn't was a tedious, time consuming task but it is over and we are settled (finally). It is nice to be able to be surrounded by my family again. We literally could go days without seeing the boys when they lived at home in the big house. With three floors and too many tv's, gaming systems to mention I often felt disconnected. I wanted a smaller home for the safety/security of me and the babe when McGyver is away on his hunting trips but also because there are just 3 of us left in the house. This fits us. Dreamsicle handled the move like a champ. The floating playpen is securely fastened to our dock and we can decide on a whim to take the boat out now! Yippee!!

We also sold our 5th wheel. I know! Can you believe it? I had to seriously stop and consider the fact that we only use it one weekend a year for my family reunion-not really wise to keep something for one weekend a year. So we put the for sale sign in it and it sold within 3 days. To a lovely older couple who vacation in Southern Texas. I'm sure they will love it as much as I did.

The fourth of July had its good parts and bad parts. Dreamsicle adored the parade (big, loud sirens and all) and absolutely HATED the fireworks. She hid under a blanket (we were on the floating playpen) the entire time then fell asleep as soon as they were over. So not what I was expecting when I thought last year of what this year with her would be like. But-next year she will be a year older. I have pictures to share and will do that within the next day or two. But for now, if you can't find me it is because I am outside sitting on my deck, enjoying the view.

This time last year

This time last year I received word that our referral was winging its way across the ocean. I can remember the nervous anticipation that filled my very soul as I tried to sleep on the eve of our referral. Thoughts of our Dreamsicle~would she be healthy, young/old, happy/sad filled the night time hours as I waited for morning to arrive.

The next day June 26th dawned bright and beautiful. I went to work since I had no idea when the phone call would arrive. McGyver called early afternoon to tell me that our adoption agency had left a message on his cell phone but he wanted me to take the call. I called from work and received all of the info on our precious girl. I could not stop crying as I heard the details of our newest family member. "10 months old, a little wisp of a thing but cuter than all get out" was how the person from the adoption agency described her. I had no idea how true that description was until I received her photos later that evening.

One year ago tomorrow, we saw the face of our precious girl for the first time. What a difference a year makes.

The final pics

Dreamsicle filling her Mama's shoes, sleeping after her long day of boating, daddy and Dreamsicle on the boat (notice the grill, yes it is attached to the floating playpen)

And Even More Photos!

Dreamsicle on the boat, corn on the cob, I posted the same pic twice,

I have too many photos to upload at once so here are some more!

Dreamsicle taking her baby for a ride, on the carousel at Disneyland, Chester's last meal before Iraq, just love her shirt, being carried around in U*Haul's work duffle bag

Pics A Plenty, Pics Galore!

Photos of Dreamsicle and Chester, Dreamsicle on the plane to see Chester, Dreamsicle's first corn on the cob, first trip on the floating playpen and various other sweet shots. Enjoy!