Life is busy, but good. Madison my niece has been here for the past three weeks. It has been great having her here! Not even wanting to think about her going home sooner than later! We have been on the go since she arrived. It has been so much fun. The first weekend she came we had some other family here as well. (My aunt, uncle & cousins.) We spent some time at the pool & then all went to The Taste of Chicago. We took the train into the city. Maddie thought that was pretty cool. We had fun. We took Madison to Lou Malnattis. She would prefer to eat there everyday now. She loves it! Who doesn't it? Wow, that's some great pizza! Maddie & I had a girl's afternoon out & got pedis & manis...she is still rockin' that bright blue polish! She wears it well, let me tell you! We went to Discovery Zone LegoLand & spent the day. That was awesome! We went bowling with some friends another day, have hit several thrift stores & GoodWill's checking out all the bargains & have been shopping on several occassions. We went with some friends another day into the city & went to American Girl & then to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. We all went to the local Greek Fest one evening & had a great time. Over the 4th of July, we attended two fireworks displays & a Red, White & Blue Festival. The fireworks were amazing at all of the events. We went to Six Flags & the adjoining waterpark on two separate days & had more fun than we could of imagined! What a great family attraction both of those places are! Maddie & Thomas have had a couple of date nights. They went out & saw "Night At The Museum 2" & also the new "Harry Potter" flick...number 6 I think. (I know NOTHING about Harry Potter...not my thing, but they enjoyed it.) We still hope to get to the beach & to spend several more afternoons at the pool, but it hasn't been very warm. The high has been only in the 60's & 70's a lot of days. Maddie would also like to see The BlueMan Group, go to Navy Pier & to the Aquarium. We'll see. The plan is that she will stay another week making her total time with us four weeks. However, this is a very busy week at work for Thomas. So, we might not get some of our list accomplished. We are already talking about her next visit & making plans. We are planning to meet my parents half way, spend some time together & say our goodbyes. (Again, not really wanting to go there just yet!) I am so enjoying life as a family of three. It has been beyond wonderful! Days filled with homemade blueberry or bananna chocolate chip pancakes, sidwalk chalk, trips to the swimming pool, putting her hair in a pony tail, washing extra clothes, using more Spray-N-Wash than I ever knew was possible (That girl is a Ketchup magnet!), news paper covered tables for arts & crafts, girlie outings, a crowded bed with three exhausted people in it at the end of the day & everything in between...I couldn't ask for more or be happier! I am grateful for this time that we have had & am so glad to have such a great niece to share life with! She is awesome & I will forever cherish every moment we have spent together these last few weeks! I love you Maddie!
Speaking of family...we are once again back in fertility treatment. We have found a couple of great specialist in the area. They are very confident that we are on the right track & say that we should be expecting sooner than later. I keep telling everyone that we are from Missouri, so we say, "Show Me!". We will keep you posted. Things should be fairly quiet on this front for about another week & then things will really pick up.
I would like to say CONGRATULATIONS to a good friend & great woman & her family that will soon be expanding! Congrats Linda, Jim & "Little J"! Linda, as I said on FaceBook, it has been great to share this journey with you thus far! I am excited & can't wait to share the days, weeks, months & years ahead with you as you begin this wonderful new journey of parenthood of two!
Well, I hear Miss Maddie stirring. Time for me to turn this computer off & spend time with the little gal who has put a big smile on my face every minute of every day these last few weeks!
Oh, & I suppose before I close it is worth mentioning that today marks TWO YEARS since our paperwork was logged in with China. July 20th, 2007 officially marked the day that our wait to travel to bring our Mia home officially began in the eyes of the China agency; The CCAA that handles all China International Adoption. Not much else to say about that. No end to the wait in sight...
