Some of my seesters peectures

When Sally and Andy were here they snapped millions of photos but my brainiac sister forgot the leads for her camera so she couldn't download them. Yesterday I received lots and lots of them and here are some of my favourites.

I love this photo of the 2 of them.

She looks so sweet here

Taken at the same place, on our way over to Naples.

Wish my sis was in this one but I still love it.

Egads why I love this one I am not sure but I do.

This just makes me laugh. We laughed a lot. As you know I have no pride, none at all.

I am so lucky to have such a wonderful sister and consider myself even luckier to have a brother in law like Andy. I'm sure some people put up with in laws but I really adore mine, on my side of the family. My girls have the worlds best auntie and the the 3 best uncles that the world has to offer. We always have so much fun together.

Oy!

I went to pick Rosie up from school this afternoon and a very tired and downtrodden child appeared at the gate. I new instantly that something was wrong and silently hoped she was just tired. Wrong.
She did say that she was tired but the temperature of 1.02.7 probably had more to do with her looking and feeling grotty than anything else.
I was surprised and a little cross that her teacher hadn't picked up on it and given me a call to come and get her.
She spent an hour on the couch and then it was time to pick up Lily. Poor little limp dishrag had to be carried the whole time. My sister and BIL returned from Orlando moments after we got home with Lily and she tried so hard to pick it up a bit. Hrr efforts were futile and the fever won out.
There is no school tomorrow in honor of Veterans Day and we were hoping to have an action packed weekend with my sis but now I am not so sure.
Having Auntie Sally and Uncle Andy here does make every thing seem better so hopefully Rosie will fell better too.

Phew, three posts in one day

Jacob and Richie-Rich have gone out for a while so I am frantically trying to get the blog up to date without being busted.

Last week Lily was chosen as "Student of the Month". This award has remained out of her grasp for many years. Nepotism comes to mind but that's a whole different story. Anyway, she was finally chosen for it and she was all proud of her little self. We were too.
The award ceremony took place this morning and I asked Richard if he would be so kind as to come along. He obliged. It means so much to both of them to have family staying with us. It's grandparents week at school this week and they are seriously sad that they can't participate so having Richie-Rich come to school this morning meant the world to her.

Two kids are chosen from every class and the character value for this month was respect. Lily and her bestie Adam were both chosen. Adam deserves a post all to himself because all we ever hear in this house is, Adam this and Adam that. I told his mum this morning that it's a good thing I really like her son as all I ever hear is his name. She replied, "likewise" and we both rolled our eyes and laughed.

Egads they are back...... better dash and hit publish.

Richie Rich look mortified at the idea of having to pose for a photo. I had to really plead for this one. He's such a good sport.Lily, Adam both beaming. I'm not sure who the other boy is but he looks rather bored.
Mrs Blanco the principal with the "little couple"


She looks really proud. Lilipop we are really proud of you too. You have the toughest 4th grade teachers out there and you were able to prove yourself. You earned it, relish in the limelight.

Absent

I am being a slacker at the moment but I am having to much fun to blog. My cousin Richard is here staying with us and I am not about to give up a minute with him. He's really good at dodging my camera but it appears I am even better than I thought with a moving target.
I'll catch up in a couple of days.

I love These Photos

I never thought I would meet so many truly wonderful people just because we share the adoption bond. One of these people is Tammie. She has a snazzy camera and took some great shots of my girls this weekend at the party. I love them, even the ones of me!

This is my favourite by far.

My girls don't get soda EVER. Lily has just discovered Sprite and has yet to taste Coke. Here she is all hot, really really hot, and sweaty seriously enjoying her fizzy drink

Think she liked the icing on the cake.
I wonder what Rosie was telling me that had me listening so intently.
Cheet-0 girl
Just a kid at heart

Sharing a special moment with Mummy

Ackk, she was so sweaty.

Cuteness


Tammie, thank you.
Did anyone take any of you and Erin? I was a little intimidated by all the grown up cameras so I didn't take many with my little purse camera.

His Feminine Side.

When you live your life surrounded by females you will find your feminine side. If by chance you don't find it yourself one of the girls that you live with will help you find it.

Rosie painting Jacob's toenails
She also painted his toes.
I told him not to worry cos it washes off with water.

It didn't wash off with water nor did it come off with nail varnish remover. Jacob and Rosie both have pinky/purple toes. It's wearing itself off. Good thing he is a manly man at heart.

The Importance Of Family Dinners

All child development experts will tell you that it is extremely important for families to sit down together and eat dinner as a family.

They say this because they have never sat down and had dinner with Rosie and Lily and never had to endure a conversation with the two of them.

Rosie: Mama, I am going to drink all of my milk because milk makes you big and strong.

Me: That's right Rosie it does. Gosh when you grow up you are going to be so smart just like Lily.

Rosie: I don't want to be smart Mama, I want to be just like you.

Lily: Oh so you'd rather be blonde than smart Rosie huh?

Me: You two are right charmers! I happen to be very smart and just a little blonde.

Lily: Mummy, you are really blonde.

Good thing I haven't got a fragile ego.

Adoption Blogger Day (Long)

Today the Joint Council on International Childrens' Services called today, "We Are The Truth Adoption Blogger Day". What exactly does that mean and why am I participating in it? Well, unless you have been living under a rock or in a tent on a desert island you have heard all about this little boy and the sad situation that he has had imposed upon him by his mother. I refuse to call her his adoptive Mother as she is his Mother. The Joint Council wants to help spread the word that adoption is not a scary thing and not something to be afraid of. ( abusive and neglectful parents are fodder for another day!) So this brings us to the second part of the question, why am I participating in the blog day, that is simple. I am an adoptive parent I have 2 fabulous girls who totally rock my world, my hubby's also. In addition to this the adoption agency that this woman used to bring her son into her life is our agency and I stand behind them 100%.

I am sure that somewhere buried in the archives of this blog is a post that is pretty much the same as this one as I know I have told this story before.

When we entered the point in our lives where we knew adoption was right for us we carefully and I mean, oh so very carefully, selected an agency. I am the type of person that researches dishwashers so you can imagine the scrutiny that I put perspective adoption agencies under. The list was narrowed down fast, really fast. Three were left standing, out of about 50. It took me months to do this. Being a Brit I even went internationally to check out agencies over there. Finally WACAP stood at the top of the pile. They were out of state but this was a non issue. When we called in a social worker, (read after months of scrutiny and interviews) she groaned when she found out what agency we were using because they required so much more paperwork that all the others. This is why we choose them, they are thorough, very very thorough. I am obsessive and I need someone as diligent as I.

Oh the paperwork, the questions, the forms, the trips to the doctor, the notary, the bank not to mention the immigration headaches! Now it was our turn to be scrutinized. WACAP wanted to be certain we knew what we were getting into. Of course we did! Did we realise this and that about institutionalized children? ehh, yes sort of. Sort of? Sort of wasn't good enough they needed us read this, read that, talk to this person and that person, and finally fill out a bazillion forms. Finally we were in the program and our dossier was logged in.

We read about bonding and attachment, read about orphanages, read about developmental delays, read just about anything we could get our hands on. Who am I kidding? I read and told Hubby! We waited forever, or so it seemed at the time, along with our families, for our perfect, and healthy little girl and on July 3rd 2003 we finally saw her face. For us it was love at first sight. All our fears melted away and we had the most beautiful daughter in the whole wide world. (we still feel this way)

We were finally able to hold her in our arms on August 26th 2003. She was scared, terrified in fact. We were giddy, in love in fact. For the first time in years our world was the right side up and hers was upside down. Our dream come true was her biggest nightmare. Her cries as she realised her Nanny was leaving were heart breaking. I realised what was happening but for that moment I was only holding my daughter, taking her in, smelling her sweetness, and kissing her for the first time. I knew she was in pain but for that one tiny little second I was selfish. I "came to" quickly and her needs came first. Skin to skin contact, lots of time in our arms, eye contact all the stuff we had been told by our agency. Her needs were our first priority and nothing was going to ever come between us and what she needed. Of all the things I had read the conference call with WACAP's social worker was the most helpful information I had found/received for the first few days. It was priceless.

Her first night she slept like a champ, in the morning we got the face, the one that says," Oh no, you fruitcakes are still here? This wasn't all a bad dream?" and she cried again. Outwardly she was fine but she was protecting herself and was starting to close down emotionally. No one was home, just this little baby girl in a shell of a body. after a few days she started to rally round. We never put her in a stroller to begin with we always held her. She started to giggle and grin and then she started to babble.

The night we got home with her it was really late and she was asleep in her carseat. We carried her and the carseat into the house and propped her against the couch. When she woke up she hopped out of her seat and literally took off running. She ran from room to room, laughing and smiling. It was the most peculiar thing, it was as if she could tell she was finally home. The next 6 weeks we spent under self imposed house arrest. No big trips, just the store for necessities, no outings and if people wanted to meet her they had to come to us. That way they would leave us and Lily would get used to the idea of people coming and going but she never left, she always remained in the same place with us. The other golden rule that we refused to break was "nobody gets to touch or hold or feed the baby...NOBODY". That upset a few people but we had to make her learn that we were the ones who were there for her, we would comfort her and give her what she needed. She had to learn to trust us for everything she wanted.

It all paid off. Lily is a Rockstar. She is 7 now, almost 8. She is smart, funny, outgoing and an absolute daredevil. A fabulous big sister and the best daughter a mother could have. Her daddy will tell you the same if you ask him!

It wasn't long before we started the process all over again. This time we found Rosie as opposed to her finding us. Due to Rosie having a heart defect she was on our agencies waiting child list, or SN ( special needs) list. This time we really had to jump through some hoops with WACAP. Make a resource plan, visit a trillion experts in the medical field that pertains to your childs SN, convince us to 100th degree that you are capable of this and that you ARE the right family for this baby girl. They were on our side and they were fabulous. Before we knew it, well not quite before we knew it cos we counted down every single day and Lily was about to explode with anticipation at the thought of meeting her mei mei we were on that long plane ride again, heading back to China to fill the hole in our hearts that only this baby girl could fill.

Oh that moment all over again. The tears, this time the tears were 1.000 times worse. Rosie was in a Half The Sky orphanage and she truly didn't want to leave it. She cried so much our group referred to her as the screamer in the group. She was truly devastated. It didn't matter what we tried she wasn't going to stop at least not for a few hours. We followed the protocol that we used with her sissy. It took longer but it worked. Lily was her fast friend and I came in second. Daddy was not very welcome but he was fine after the initial shock of leaving my arms. As the days passed she came around, in her own time of course. She was fragile and not because of her heart. Her personality was fragile. Big tears could flood those tiny eyes at any given second. Oh my aching heart it was so sad. The big sister was a champ with her and Mummy and Daddy followed Rosies cues. My cousin accompanied us on this trip and she stayed at arms length. Rosie did not respond to any noise for 2 days. She started to convince all of us, even our guide, that she was deaf. No worries we can deal with it. Whatever it is she is ours and we will love her no matter what. Her chest was slightly deformed and we were not sure if this was due to her heart or not but it made no difference to us, other than if it was caused by her heart then her condition was going to be ALOT more serious than her medical records presented but again...it is what it is.

Once we finally made it home her special needs became quite obvious. A very mild heart condition and a big case of attachment issues. Our poor baby girl was hurting. Her emotional heart was hurting and there was no surgery in the world that could fix that. About 2 weeks after we got home Rosie still wasn't sleeping and it was not just the jet lag, we were missing something. Something was wrong with our little one and she was not a happy little girl. Sure she smiled but she was not able to relax. We were all sleep deprived and I don't know about you but I do not do my best thinking on 45 minutes of sleep a night. crazy I know. I thought about ringing Barb. our SW but decided that WACAP was the place to turn. I rang them chatted for a few minutes with Mary Ann and that night Rosie slept for 14 hours straight. They knew what to do, what to try and they were correct. I blogged about it but I am not about to search the archives looking for it but it was March 08. Lots of time and love and stability later and we have put many of her demons to rest. Some still show up and we fight them together. Yes, Rosie was a special needs child but it wasn't her medical needs that have caused her so many tears but her emotional needs.

Rosie is 3 now and taking the world by the horns. Her heart is condition was fixed by a fabulous team of doctors and her broken heart is still healing. We still have some rules in place regarding who gets to be close to Rosie and we follow her lead and she lets in who she can. Most people don't see what we see, the scared, anxious side of her, she saves the best for us. She learnt very quickly to turn to us for comfort and for that we are so very thankful.

The problem with having children is that from the second you become a parent your heart magically moves to the outside of your body and you watch it move around and get hurt before your very eyes in the form of your children and it hurts so darned much.

It truly saddened me yesterday when I realised that I was going to have to say something to Lily about this little boy and his plight because I was worried that one of the kids in school might say something to her because they all know she is adopted. We had been making sure we kept her away from this story as we didn't want to scare her or worry her as it is our job to protect her but as I thought about it, it would be scarier to hear about it from school or have some dingbat make a nasty comment about her being sent back than hearing it from us. All the talk about families are forever blah blah blah and now I am explaining how this woman decided hers was not forever and put the kid on a plane. Thankfully Miss Smarty pants got it and realises she is not going anywhere as this family truly is forever.

Ours was a typical adoption story but now it is just a typical, "and they all lived happily ever after" story. When I am asked if the girls are adopted I say, "No they are not, they were. Now they are just Lily and Rosie."

Will there ever come a day when I don't have to explain my family to someone....oh gosh I really hope so. Will I ever stop advocating adoption...not a chance!

I have such a beautiful family and you can too, just open up your heart.

Families ARE Forever.

Shortly after Rosie started to talk she would say the same thing to us when one of us left the house and she was staying behind. She never faltered and she was very serious, she would say, and still does, "you come back see me again?" We would and do always tell her that we will come back. We tell her we love her and that we are a family and that families are forever or words similar to those. It wasn't long before she added this phrase to her list, "don't leave me". This one was harder to hear as her face when she says it is quite frankly filled with anguish and worry. Again we tell her we will never leave her.

This is all part of Rosie, part of what makes her, her. It is something that she has to work through, with our help of course and something that hopefully one day will fade into the recesses of her memory bank and stay there and not resurface every single time she goes to bed or someone leaves the house or a myriad of other daily events occur to rock her foundation.

I know I have mentioned her abandonment issues before here but they just don't disappear they linger and when you least expect them they resurface or as is the case with Rosie they never get laid to rest even for a day. It must be so exhausting spending your life worrying about whether your parents are coming back. I remember as a child being taught by nuns at a convent and at 6pm the grandfather clock would strike and if the doorbell didn't ring at the exact same time I was panic stricken. I was petrified that my father was not going to come and get me and that I would have to stay there in the convent with Sister Vincent. I knew he would come but each second there was torture for me, I truly hated it and the nuns. They spanked my fingers with a ruler if I fidgeted. As much as I knew I would go home to my parents I was petrified of that place, my fear was associated to a place not my parents ever leaving me. (BTW we aren't even Catholic so this was really over the top!)

We now know that Lily plays a pivotal role in how Rosie is doing. Lily is her rock. When she is around all is well in Rosie's world. They don't stick to each other like glue when they are home and sometimes they fight like cats and dogs and even want to do things separately but when Lily has been around all day for a few days and she then returns to school it upsets Rosie.

Tonight all was well. We have spent a great day together. Rosie had a pajama party at school and once Lily came home and homework was done all sorts of fun was unleashed. That is our usual routine. Routine is also key with Rosie, she needs to know what is going to happen next. After dinner I mentioned that it was time to go and get in the bath and get ready for bed. Rosie stopped dead in her tracks looked up at me with big sad eyes and said, "don't leave me when I am sleeping". I picked her up and looked in her eyes and told her I would never do that. I told her I will never leave her. I might take her to school like I do Lily but I would go and get her just like Lily. What she said next literally left me shaking, she said, "you left me in China". I told her from the very second she was handed to Daddy Lily and I we have never left her but she insisted that she was left in China!

This is not something that she knows about. China is still just a word to her and it holds no meaning or so I thought. I asked her who left her but she just buried her head in my chest and didn't answer. I didn't push it but I really wanted to. The questions were lining up in my head as fast as machine gun fire. We sat on the floor with me explaining how we will never leave her when she is sleeping and then just as fast as the moment came it was gone but for me this is a scar, a scar that comes from Rosie being hurt. Somehow, somewhere she does remember something....but what? Hopefully now the words will come and she can say what it is that scared her so very badly

Yes I am fully aware that there are many parents of biological children whose children don't want to be left alone or left at school, I know this happens. It happens frequently but there is a difference between separation anxiety, (which to a point is healthy and normal ) and abandonment issues.

We carried Rosie almost everywhere we went for nearly a year. We used carriers or our arms because the stroller was just to much distance for her in a strange place and caused her to much distress. One time I used a stroller under duress and remember looking down and seeing that she had pulled her blanket over her face. She couldn't handle it so she hid.

Yes, it is easy to read into normal behaviour and sometimes misconstrue it as adoption "stuff" but that is where being informed and educating yourself comes into play. Alot of what I see from her is typical 2/3 yr old behaviour and I am not about to put up with a temper tantrum over not getting your own way but it is the other stuff that we as her family see that you don't see that makes us realise that she, our little peanut, has a hurt in her heart and it is still being fixed.

Tomorrow is another day and we will approach it with our shoulders back and our fighting stance at the ready.

It's The Mundane Stuff.

Late yesterday afternoon as I was standing at the sink washing grapes, of all things, Lily was doing her homework and Rosie was waiting for the aforementioned grapes, I was hit by a wave of contentment. This is what I was put on this planet to do. I love it. Being a Mummy just rocks my being to the very core.

When we were waiting for Lily's referral these were the moments I dreamt of. I would be driving in my car and I would look into the rear view mirror and think, one day, not long from now there will be a little black haired girl in the back seat, right there, all buckled safely into her car seat or I would dream of the day when I would be able to put on a tiny little pair of shoes and help her with her ABC's. Now it happens all the time and I love it.

Rosie is right smack in the middle of the. I love you Mummy/Daddy/Lily phase and it is the greatest thing in the world to hear. She says it so many times a day and she even says, "You make my heart happy". Who wouldn't be dancing on a cloud?

The milestones in Motherhood are really wonderful but for me it is the little things that make me do the happy dance. It really is the mundane stuff that makes it all so worthwhile.

Holding a sleepy girl at the end of the day, and it doesn't matter which one it is, and listening to her tell me about her highlights and favourite moments that is when I melt and think I couldn't have made it this far, my heart would have never made it. I think I was always missing a little piece of my heart until my girls came along but now it is complete.

There are days when I sit down on the couch when they have gone to bed and sip gin straight from the bottle, (kidding) and thank my lucky stars that the day is over but that is usually when we have been rushing around and overly scheduled but due to the fact that my mantra for life is KEEP IT SIMPLE, those days are few and far between.

Girlies, Your sparkle and zest for life brings me such joy and happiness and I want you both to know how much Daddy and I truly love you.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Happy Anniversary To My Big Bruvver.

Three years ago today we were in England for the Civil Union of my big brother to his partner of a trillion years Jon. This was something that we had waited a really long time to see and were thrilled was finally taking place. My brother Colin, as I have mentioned many times before, is one of the worlds kindest souls and his partner Jon is probably nuts for putting up with him. These 2 have been together for 20+ years and have the kind of relationship that is enviable.

Once gay marriage as it is frequently called was deemed legal in the UK Jon and Colin decided to partake in what was initially going to be a small ceremony but before long it had turned in to a huge event and was without a doubt one of the most fun and emotional "weddings" I have ever attended. They and 100's of their closest friends and family turn out to give them the biggest bash and not one they would soon forget.

Happy 3rd Anniversary Jon and Colin.
And just so you know, any time you are ready to throw another bash like that we are ready.

My brother is the short one only he isn't really that short Jon is just really really tall.

Back To Regular Scheduled Programing.

The service is now behind us. I have to say it was the hardest funeral I have ever been too but also one of the nicest. The church was standing room only which wasn't a surprise. Everybody we meet has something to say about Uncle John.

The girls didn't come here to go to a funeral, well not that they are aware of anyway, they came to see Grandpa and Nannis and all of their cousins and that is just what they have been doing. We have kept things as normal as possible for them and they have been having a wonderful English summer. The weather here is hot, think 90 degrees hot. Everybody is wilting but not my girls cos they are used to this.

Here are some photos of the fun they have been having and the people we are having it with..

My Cousin Stephen.


My Big Brother


Playing with cousins


Beautiful riverbank


Oops...kids in the river!




Tonight daddy took us out to celebrate our wedding anniversary. 22 years ago we were here in the same church we were in yesterday getting married so it was really nice to be home to celebrate it for a change.






Jakey leaves us tomorrow and heads home. This will be a hard trip to leave but life must go on. Lily wants to move here and we all agree it would be for the best but it just isn't going to happen at least not yet.

The Family Has Arrived.

Yesterday the rest of my family arrived for the funeral. The are so many of us and even more that are not family who are going to miss Uncle John. The funeral is going to be huge and not something that is going to be easy for any of us but I think we are as ready as we can be and at this point we all just want it over. I know I do. You can't change the inevitable and it is time. Daddy and Uncle Brian are both so snippy that Andie and I wish they were female so that they could better handle their emotions!

Last night Stephen, Sally and the girls arrived and then Andie, followed by Sally and Colin and even auntie Ann and Uncle Brian came over and before long there were 15 of us having dinner and after the little ones had gone to bed we sat around and laughed and talked and regaled each other with foolish stories as only we can. I think this family is certifiable. It was a good night and a much needed one. I couldn't sleep last night, probably because their is going to be a queue for the showers this morning and I want to make sure I get in early LOL so I have been up since five which considering what time we went to bed isn't good.

Our girlies are fine. Lily and her Grandpa are joined at the hip, as always. Rosie is also loving him. Nannis is also where the sun rises and sets. Rose is alot more reserved than at home and has a huge case of mummy -itis which is getting hard since my arm might fall off at any point. Auntie Ann removed her stitches and she didn't even squeak.

I had better go and have a shower before all hell breaks loose I hear other people stirring.

Special Needs Versus Non Special Needs. Updated

That is it, I am at the end of my rope with the nasty fricken comments. This will be a rant. It probably won't be very polite so if you are easily offended I strongly recommend you stop reading right now.

When we chose to start a family through adoption we decided with our first child to choose a healthy baby girl. We were naive. We wanted the world and we went for it. Thankfully after a very long wait we were handed the world. Lily is a perfectly healthy child and has filled our lives with joy beyond our wildest dreams. She is everything to us.

When we jumped back on to the adoption rollercoaster a few years later we consider a special needs child right from the inception of our journey. We knew that many of the defects, diseases and disorders that China considers SN are truly nothing to be overly concerned about. At the beginning of the journey we spoke to our agency about this but we didn't do a live broadcast as we felt it was something that was our business and not public fodder.

As the wait grew longer and longer we perused the lists and finally we found our daughter. Yes, she was our daughter. It took us a long time. At one point we gave up as we felt she wasn't there and we were supposed to wait for her to be matched with us. But on that fateful day we found her, we saw her face and we knew. I cannot explain to you how we knew other than by saying she evoked the exact same feelings deep within us that her sister had done 5 years earlier. Rosie was right there staring back at us. She was ours.

At that point I would easily get 30-40 comments daily on my blog but once we announced that we had a daughter (12 months ahead of the queue) my comments dropped to 5 or 6. We were sent one or 2 emails about how we had jumped the line.  We were shell shocked. WTF? This little girl with her heart condition who was sitting all this time in an orphanage in China with nobody to love her had finally found her family and all these people could think of was that we had beaten them to the finish line. Give me a break you selfish jerks.

Today, over 12 months later, we received yet another accusatory email from someone in our original group stating how they were one of only 3 families who had stayed the course and bought home "their" babies home at the right time.

Does it really matter when we travel? I know the wait is endless and the ride is bumpy but in the end our children come home to loving families and that should be the focus of the journey not whether someone with a LID later that yours gets to go first. We found our little girl and somehow were supposed to walk away from her because some people felt it wasn't our time. When you have your child in your arms I hope with all my heart that you will understand how shallow you were being.

Grow up and put love in your heart and not jealousy because if that is what you are going to teach your children then quite honestly you do not deserve to parent a child.

Rant over. Fa la la la la

Update...I wrote this earlier when I was really ticked off and have since calmed down a little. I am still fed up with the nasty comments. Jacob is really annoyed about them and heaven help anyone that make one directly to him.  Rose was meant for us, and us for her, end of story, full stop. I am turning off the comments. I don't want to hear anymore about this, I am fried.

We Are Family

As of lunchtime today we are officially a family in the eyes of the American judicial system.

We pulled Lily out of school early and the wonderful Dade County Public School System even agreed to make it an excused absence since we did show them the letter from the Honourable Judge Cohen. We don't think that they noticed that it said Rosie's name and not Lily's...giggle giggle.

We zoomed and I mean zoomed to the courthouse downtown and waited for our attorney to arrive. No sooner had he shown up we were informed that Judge Cohen had a family emergency and Judge Bernstein would be hearing our case, at some point during the course of the day. Thankfully our attorney knew the bailiff and we were ushered in very quickly. Judge Bernstein was a really nice Judge and he cleared the courtroom for us stating that this was an adoption and his mind that is a private matter. Just as we were seated and everyone was making a huge fuss over the girls I smelt something a bit off. Yes, dearest Rosie had thought that was a great time to poop. I made her stay really still and thankfully the whole proceedings just took a couple of minutes and no one was any wiser. The judge posed for photos with us and chatted for a while to Lily. We then left the room went down to the 20th floor and filed our paperwork. (I made a detour to the nearest loo to take care of business) That was it. We said goodbye to Sandy, our attorney who just so happens to be married to our social worker and we left for a celebratory lunch.

Waiting for court to begin

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing


Judge Bernstein posing for a group shot. He truly was so nice.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Daddy and his daughters

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Mummy and her girls

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Sandy and his girls. We are so lucky to have met both Barbara and Sandy on this journey. Barbara wants us to adopt again just so that we can stay in touch.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

The Official Family

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

We Miss Grandpa, Nannis and Gypsy

Whenever I go home, yes I do still call it home and it will always be home to me, it is as if no time has passed at all and we slip right back in to English life. This was a very brief visit but it was worth every second. The visit was made even shorter by the fact that we were delayed in Miami on Wednesday night for 3+ hours. Normally this would be a slight hiccup but when every second counts it was a real pain in the neck.

Rosie rose to the occasion and I am happy to report that she travelled just as well as her sister did at her age. Before the plane had even reached the taxiway both girls were fast asleep and remained that way until we came in for a landing.

After a brief car trip we arrived at my parents home and the games began. Rosie was a little unsure of everything for about 10 minutes but she soon warmed up and followed Lily's lead. Lily has a very strong bond with her Grandparents and it was obvious that Rosie wasn't about to be left out. Most of Thursday was spent awaiting the arrival of the newest member of the family, baby Erin. Jeanne's youngest son and his wife were also coming to stay and they were bringing their new baby. Lily was so excited about it but due to the late night the night before she was already in bed asleep before they arrived. Rosie woke up and was more than a little surprised to find not only Nannis and Grandpa downstairs but also a new baby and a dog.
We were all more than a little surprised when Rosie sat with her Uncle Chris so that she could inspect the baby.


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The following morning we all woke up really really late and Lily was beside herself with excitement when she met Erin and Gypsy the dog. She still has no idea that Rosie had already met them and we are keeping it that way so shhhhh. Nannis, the girls and myself all went out to do a little shoppy, the second reason for the trip and we stopped to have lunch. When Lily and Nannis went to get a table Rosie suddenly went running after them and was more than happy to be with Nannis.

Cheeky little monkey


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Lily just LURVES lunch out with Nannis.


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After all the shopping we went home and played with Grandpa. This is the same grandpa who isn't supposed to be lifting the kiddies at the moment and isn't supposed to be over doing it...hmmmm.



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By Saturday morning I thought we were going to have to surgically remove Lily from Gypsy.


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At this point there were 6 of us visiting N and G but that all changed cos Uncle Mike showed up with Lily's favourite cousin Heather. Let me tell you it was chaotic. I left and took Rosie and we went to visit my Uncle John.

The 3 cousins


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Lily with the youngest member of the clan.


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We had a really wonderful time. It was short, way to short but Lily got to see her grandparents so for the first time since this summer I am not having to listen to her whinge about missing them. Rosie got to meet her grandparents and is of course smitten, who wouldn't be? The weather was cold, freezing cold and we all loved it. I lost Rosie's blanket when we all went for a walk about the town so that made for a wonderful naptime and bedtime that night! We went to visit Andie's parents and Rosie left me with my mouth hanging open as she made herself right at home and even shared her remaining blankies with Auntie Ann. My father wondered if the similarities between Ann and Andie put Rose at ease...who knows, she just loved being there. Lily loved it too as they didn't have any toys for her to play with so Uncle Brian showed her his gun collection. I know it isn't very PC but what the heck, she loved it and he is a pro with such things so I knew she was safe!

Everybody went to bed rather late on Saturday night and I had to be up at 4am to get us ready to leave at 5:45. I was counting on 3 hours of sleep but Lily woke me up at 2 cos she was sick....very sick. At 5:30 Daddy got up and I told him I didn't think we would be able to leave and did he have a mop and bucket!!! Nuff said!
I carried/dragged a very poorly Lily through Heathrow and have to say I was bowled over by all the people who were willing to help. I asked no one yet people kept creeping out of the woodwork. It was truly another example of the human spirit. Lily slept for 8 of the 9 1/2 hours home and was finally feeling better when we landed.
Of course not all stories end on a chipper note and once we were back in Miami the horrible attitudes just kept raising their ugly heads starting with immigration! The chap was so rude and I was so tired I swear I nearly told him to kiss my lily white ar*e but I refrained as I didn't fancy another flight back to the UK right then.

The girls spotted Jacob before I did and the whole arrivals area was forced to listen to shrieks of, "daddy, daddy, daddy". It was so sweet.

I woke up yesterday and headed to work when suddenly I was hit like a lead balloon with whatever it was that Lily had. It knocked me flat for 27 hours but it left as fast as it came and we are all hoping that Rosie and baby Erin don't come down with it as it appears that Lily already spread it to Nannis and Uncle John before we left. Oh and this lurgy has a name: winter vomiting disease. I swear I am not making it up. My father rang yesterday and spoke to Jacob and told him that there is a mini epidemic spreading across the UK. If you don't believe me google it. Even I couldn't come up with a name that barmy!

To my wonderful brother and Jon. I am so sorry but there just wasn't time. It would have been to rushed and I didn't want that, I want a night like we had last time. Lets do it this summer.

I saw my sister her hubby and my niece and nephew. It really is amazing how many people you can see when they all live close together!

Last but not least, Thank you Daddy and Jeanne. I wish it were longer but there is always next time.