THE NOVAK FAMILY

One Year Ago Today...

2009-02-17T19:27:00.003-05:00

... we met this little boy for the first time. It was a bitter cold day, and I was sicker than sick. But looking at his sweet face just melted me and his daddy.

One year later, this sweet baby boy is the most ornery little boy in the world. A boy who loves to laugh and play, who loves to torment his sister, go swimming, ride bikes, play with dinosaurs and Matchbox cars... A boy who has captured my heart a thousand times over.

Happy Gotcha Day, Ethan! We love you so much.

The Best Christmas Pagent Ever!

2008-12-17T18:39:00.009-05:00

So it was Christmas concert time at Maggie and Ethan's pre-school. I have to hand it to the staff there - they had their work cut out for them trying to wrangle the kids together AND teaching them all of the songs! But it was really cute - even though one of my children (ahem) wouldn't sing (case of stage fright!).

The preshow at home.

Ethan's class went first. Ethan came out of the classroom with his teacher, and he was PISSED!

My baby, crying for his momma.

I was sitting on the sidelines, hoping E would start singing. But it wasn't meant to be, and he sat on my lap the rest of the show. After a cookie and some juice...

... the same kid 10 minutes later - I kid you not. Happy as can be!

Miss M, waiting patiently to begin

Smiles at the ready!
Some intricate choreography going on with these girls.

Lastly, I leave you with 2 of my favorite selections.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-11T21:45:00.004-05:00

I know these are late...

We made the trek up north to spend Thanksgiving with the families. First stop - at Dad's house for our early turkey. After filling our bellies with some good eats, we headed over to Y-town to complete the world tour.

Portrait of Daddy, by Maggie

Playing with Playdoh with Uncle Tom

Two divas-in-training

Harley enjoying a cookie

Zoey and Astra - can't believe how grown up they are!

My baby

Zoolights 2008

2008-12-07T14:24:00.005-05:00

Our annual trek to the Zoolights - this time, it was Ethan's first time going.

Not too cold, not too crowded - just right to take two kids out into the night!

The lights were beautiful, as usual. The pictures can't do it justice...

Maggie, with the Christmas manatee (?)...
These parrots make me wish I was in Margaritaville

Even the Grand Cayman Iguana gets into Christmas!
Meeting the big guy himself. Ethan wasn't too sure about Santa, but he was really happy to get the candy cane afterwards.

Making cookies with Mrs. Claus.

The miniature train display - Ethan loved it!

I Need...

2008-11-06T11:11:00.001-05:00

... a permanent vacation. Feeling bogged down with work, home projects, upcoming holidays, and fighting a cold all at the same time... Trying to go to my happy place.

Get out and VOTE!

2008-11-04T14:11:00.002-05:00

"So because Obama gets in or McCain gets in, it's not going to be repaired overnight. The economy is not going to be repaired, the schools -- the disaster in our schools -- will not be repaired overnight. Nor will the social conversation be repaired overnight.

However, I would encourage every voter to say to his or her candidate, go in and do it, and you will not do it alone. I will help. You have to get up off that sofa or off that couch and give something to the country -- even if it's one hour every other week to an old people's home -- I will read, go into the children's ward and read, or give to your church or your synagogue or your mosque. ... Offer something to the country. So you don't just sit there." - Maya Angelou

The Best $0.20 I Have Ever Spent

2008-11-03T07:42:00.002-05:00

Halloween

2008-11-01T19:20:00.002-04:00

This year's Halloween was a success! Maggie was Fairytale Princess Dora, Ethan a hockey player (although he wouldn't wear the helmet). Promptly as 6:00, we began our trek around the neighborhood to get as many treats as we could. Ethan quickly got the hang of saying "Trick or Treat" (sounding more like "Tweet tweet"), and also asking for more candy at each stop. Ethan's legs gave out about 45 minutes into the voyage, but Maggie lasted impressively til 7:15 or so.

Maggie as Princess Dora

Ethan's hockey costume, complete with bruises, stitches and hockey stick

Maggie examining the goods at one house. She deemed it acceptable.

2008-10-29T15:24:00.001-04:00

What Your Halloween Habits Say About You

You're a friendly person, but not the life of the party. You like making someone else's day - and you'll dress up if you think of a really fun costume.

You definitely think of yourself as someone who has a dark side. And part of having that dark side means not showing it.

Your inner child is open minded, playful, and adventurous.

You truly fear the dark side of humanity. You are a true misanthrope.

You're prone to be quite emotional and over dramatic. Deep down, you enjoy being scared out of your mind... even if you don't admit it.

You are a traditionalist with most aspects of your life. You like your Halloween costume to be basic, well made, and conventional enough to wear another year.

What's Your Halloween Personality?

Pumpkin Fest

2008-10-16T17:51:00.003-04:00

I Love the fall... Pumpkins, apples and haybales - oh my!

Love the Fall Weather...

2008-10-14T20:39:00.003-04:00

What a gorgeous weekend we had. 80 Degree weather and sunny - perfect for a day at the zoo with the folks from up north. Aunt Jennifer and cousins Alex and RJ came down from Michigan to spend the weekend with us, which thrilled Maggie and Ethan. They love seeing the boys any chance they get.

Whenever I see the sting rays, I start singing that song from "Finding Nemo" when Mr. Ray comes to pick up the kids for school. Weird, I know.

I already have a diva on my hands... Sigh...

My boy - look at his smile!

RJ making friends with the goats.

Maggie and the polar bears. Our zoo is supposed to be getting a polar bear exhibit in the next year or two - I can't wait!

This poor moose was having a bad weekend. He was about to lose his antlers, and had to be separated from the female moose because of mating season. Yeah, I'd be on edge too if I were him.
We love our cousins!

Two boys, zoo tired.

Apple Pickin

2008-10-05T20:10:00.005-04:00

You know it is fall when it is time to hit the apple orchard. Off we went, with buckets in hand to our famous Lynd Fruit Farm. They have huge fields with so many apple trees and every type you can think of... I don't know how the trees stand - the branches were literally falling over with all of the apples on them. I helped them thin the harvest by siccing my kids on their trees.

Maggie's idea of apple picking is to try to sample each apple she picks and then putting them in her basket. We also had to show Ethan that the apples on the ground weren't supposed to be for us to take. After a few pointers, they seemed to get the hang of it...

Maggie and Ethan trying a sample of the bountiful harvest

I love this picture! I am a very lucky girl...

The Best Day... Ever!

2008-09-29T20:24:00.004-04:00

Guess who came to the zoo... Yep, the ultimate explorer and hero to Maggie - Dora the Explorer!

After waiting in line for an hour (poor Dora needed a 20-minute break every so often to cool off), we finally got to meet her. Maggie was so excited, and she waited in line so patiently. Ethan even did okay waiting, with the help of Goldfish crackers and juice.

Getting a hug from Dora.

Group picture - feeling the love!

Afterwards, we went on some rides - the zoo passed out free ride passes to appease the families who had waited so long for Dora. I wasn't too sure on how they would do, but they LOVED it! I think I have some future adrenaline junkies here... And yes, that is poor John stuck in the caboose of the train.

Sorry if I offend anyone, but...

2008-09-19T13:45:00.003-04:00

I lifted this from my friend Sugarmama - credit goes to her for this.

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....

* If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're 'exotic, different.'

* Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, a quintessential American story.

* If your name is Barack, you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

* Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, and you're a maverick.

* Graduate from Harvard law School, and you are unstable.

* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

* If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a constitutional law professor, spend 8 years as a state senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state senate's Health and Human Services Committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs Committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

* If your total resume is: local weather girl , 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, and 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

* If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

* If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

* If you advocate teaching responsible, age-appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control and educating kindergarteners on how not to be the victim of a sexual predator, you are eroding the fiber of society.

* If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence-only sex education in your state's school system, with no other option, while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

* If your wife is a Harvard graduate laywer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.

* If you're husband is nicknamed 'First Dude', with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now.

Scenes from a Beach

2008-09-01T19:33:00.001-04:00

We're OFF!

2008-08-15T11:02:00.003-04:00

We're off for a week to the beach at Oak Island and to much needed rest and relaxation (as much relaxing that can be done with 2 kids!).

This is the view from our condo balcony!

Toot Toot Chugga Chugga...

2008-08-14T22:30:00.003-04:00

Maggie and I had a girls night out and went to see The Wiggles. We also invited our neighbors Julia and Julia's mom to come with us. Needless to say, the girls had a fabulous time dancing and singing.

Julia and Maggie waiting for the show to start.

"Look Mommy, it's the Wiggles! Can they see me?"

My tiny dancer.

Future rock star!

Ethan's Update

2008-08-09T10:27:00.002-04:00

This is Ethan in China (February 2008):

This is Ethan today (August 2008):

We went to the doctor yesterday for Ethan's 2-year old checkup, and his doctor is really happy with Ethan's development. He is 25 pounds, 31 inches tall and doing fabulous! Ethan is FINALLY on the growth charts for his weight - 15th percentile, but still less than 5th percentile for his height. So, as John says - he is short and stocky!

Yes, this is our son asleep in the lake, holding a fun noodle. Who does this???

For Hayley!

2008-08-04T21:11:00.005-04:00

Friday night we headed over to a free concert at the local library. Usually they have local bands scheduled, but this past concert was a special one for being the last one of the year...

Yes, folks - Justin Roberts!

For those of you not cool enough to know who he is, Justin Roberts is a very popular kids' singer and is Maggie's most favorite singer ever (for this month). He might even be better loved than the Wiggles - and that's saying a lot! Our good friend Hayley (Piper and Paisley's mommy) introduced us to the wonder of Justin's music. All in all, it was a fantastic concert (despite the heat)!

This was my view of the concert for the majority of the time.

Even Ethan was getting down and dancing his little butt off!

Maggie being a kitty cat - face painting during the pre-show!

2008-07-29T18:47:00.003-04:00

Goal: $1 challenge to save a child's life!

Love Without Boundaries is launching a $1 challenge to kick off our new Unity Fund for impoverished, rural families in China. So many times over the years, they have met families who have had to make the painful decision to abandon their child in the hopes of getting them the medical care they need. It has been a dream of theirs for many years to begin such a fund, so that when they learn of families in true crisis, they can provide their children with the surgeries they need so that such a painful decision does not have to be made. LWB has met so many of these families in person, and they love their children completely, but they simply could never afford a $5000 heart surgery to save their child's life when their family is living on less than $50 per month.

The Unity Fund was created to keep these families united and to give a second chance of a healthy life to at-risk children living in poverty. Join with us on this dream, and actually help prevent children from being orphaned. We challenge everyone to send just ONE DOLLAR during this challenge period to LWB's Unity Fund. Is it possible to find 5000 people to donate $1? With your help, we believe it is. If we meet that goal, then together we can impact a child's life forever. Pass on this message to everyone you know!

Pop just $1 in the mail to Love Without Boundaries and help change the world, one child at a time.

Love Without Boundaries

P.O. Box 25016

Oklahoma City, OK 73125-0016

or donate $1 online at http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/

A Nice Weekend Visit

2008-07-27T21:22:00.005-04:00

Last weekend, we had Uncle Jeff, Aunt Nora and the girls come into town to visit us. We had so much fun and it was so great to see them - their first official visit to Columbus! Maggie was so sad to see them leave, she cried. Then on Friday, she asked if her cousin Presley was coming to see her again.

The first part of our weekend was spent at the Splash Pad, a water park that is free admission (yay!). After a hot summer day and being in a car for 3 hours - this was a welcome relief.

On Saturday, we headed over to the Columbus Zoo and to 90 degree weather. Ugh! But it was a really enjoyable day, although everyone was "zoo tired" by the afternoon.

For our little man - Happy Birthday, Ethan!

2008-07-21T10:05:00.001-04:00

I'm Begging....

2008-07-20T21:04:00.001-04:00

... pretty please? Send me your quilt squares for Ethan's 100 Good Wishes Quilt?

Party Time

2008-07-09T22:46:00.001-04:00

The Zoo

2008-07-08T16:31:00.003-04:00

Every Wednesday during the summer, the zoo stays open until 8:00 at night. So we decided to take advantage of the warm weather and enjoy the summer before it goes away. Summer is just going too stinkin fast, don't you think?

Here is my shy little girl, who hates getting her picture taken.

The kimodo dragon also enjoying the summer heat.

Ethan going on his first carousel ride. The zoo's carousel is beautiful, with all of the original horses on it. I think it is my favorite part of the zoo. Again, my shy girl. Love that smile!
Notice Ethan on the horse. He decided to take a risk and actually ride a horse. When the carousel started, the look of terror on his face was both hilarious and sad! But he enjoyed the ride, white knuckles and all.

Meeting a turtle. Maggie was fortunate enough to touch a Madagascan cockroach as well. Bubble boy!
Maggie climbing the jungle gym. She got all the way to the top - and then asked John to come up to help get her down.
At the peak!
Maggie thought this was King Louie from The Jungle Book.

Bubbles and Ice Cream

2008-06-16T20:56:00.003-04:00

This is how we have been spending our summer days so far... how about you?

Where Our Stimulus Check Went

2008-06-14T08:04:00.003-04:00

Before the check:

After the check:

What do you think? Yay or nay on the new color?

Picnic in the Park

2008-06-05T20:38:00.004-04:00

I just love lazy Sundays, don't you?

Asian Festival

2008-05-26T21:11:00.007-04:00

After four or five years of not being able to go, we finally made it to the Asian Festival! It was well worth the wait - so many cool things to do and see. Plus the weather was perfect - 70 degrees, sunny and a breeze to keep us cooled off. So, off we went to Franklin Park. First thing we saw when we arrived - a traditional Indian wedding being performed:

The horse-drawn carriage that the bride arrived in.

Then off to the display booths. One of the first ones we came to was a woman who was doing henna tattoos. Maggie was kind of apprehensive, but she totally loved it afterwards.

At the pond, they were doing a boat launch, with floats representing different Asian countries. Note how the boats were anchored to fun noodles:

After watching some martial arts demonstrations and trying to track down a balloon for Maggie and Ethan, we stopped at the food booths. We got fried rice, Korean dumplings, Pad thai, chicken adobo and spring rolls. Can you say "YUMMY"? We found a nice shady spot on a hill and ate lunch there:

A girl dressed in traditional Indian clothes. She was performing with other girls, and Maggie loved their dresses.

A woman dressed at the Thailand booth.

My babies. They didn't have a China picture board - don't ask me why.

The drive home.

Re-Adoption

2008-05-23T19:04:00.004-04:00

All of us went down to the state courthouse to finalize Ethan's adoption, so that we could get his US Birth certificate. Although he was officially a US citizen when we came back from China, the state of Ohio makes it pretty difficult to get a birth certificate without doing the re-adoption. So... another $130 was spent to file paperwork, sit with a magistrate for about 10 minutes in this fancy-schmancy courtroom - and Ethan is now our son, at least in the eyes of Ohio! And that is all that really matters, isn't it? :)

Our two rugrats, waiting for the hearing.

My big boy - all 23 pounds of him!

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-10T12:46:00.004-04:00

Mama goose and baby geese at the zoo

"Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother." - Lin Yutang

(By the way, the pictures above show Mama Goose with 11 babies! How does she do it?)

Enjoying the Spring

2008-05-04T21:48:00.003-04:00

Going for a walk around the block

Ethan with his new wheels. Too bad his feet don't quite reach the pedals yet.

The only way he can really get around is by walking with it!

Maggie walking around in my heels. She walks better in them than I do.

Flying our new kite on a windy day.

Maggie has everything under control...

... until Ethan wants to try his hand at it. They are still trying to learn the whole sharing thing. He usually asks her to share by hitting her.

Even my Sammy cat is enjoying the sunshine. Isn't life wonderful?

It's so sad...

2008-04-28T20:10:00.005-04:00

... how this poor little boy has nothing to play with, isn't it? No toys, no books, no crayons - nothing but a roll of toilet paper to amuse himself. He must have learned this from his sister:

Maggie in June 2006

Love Without Boundaries

2008-04-25T15:17:00.003-04:00

Once upon a time, there was a newborn baby boy who was found at the gate of an orphanage in Fuling China on July 31, 2006. He was left with no note, and had a tumor on his lower back. The doctor estimated his birthday to be July 21, 2006 and he was named Bao Jin. Bao Jin was loved by his nannies, but was very limited in his movement due to his tumor. His development and growth suffered because of this too. The orphanage cared for Bao Jin the best way they knew how to, but knew that he would need more help if he were to thrive - help that they could not afford to give him. So the orphanage director contacted a charity named Love Without Boundaries to see what help could be given for this sweet boy. LWB was able to arrange for Bao Jin to travel to Shanghai with his caregiver to have surgery to remove this tumor. They were also able to pay for all of the travel costs and medical costs, so that this little boy could have a chance. One year later after the surgery, this baby is now a little boy who loves to throw toys, tackle his daddy, torment his sister and give kisses to his mommy.

LWB is now holding its annual auction on EBay to help raise funds for future operations like the one Ethan received. Please go here and bid on an auction item right now!

Ethan

2008-04-22T20:30:00.003-04:00

February 17, 2008

March 17, 2008

April 2008

Blog Makeover!

2008-04-19T12:11:00.005-04:00

To ring in Spring and to brighten up our website, I decided to have a blog makeover done. What do you think?

Also, "Thank You" Danielle for making over our blog - I think it looks FABULOUS! If any of you are interested in redoing your blog, please visit her site by clicking on the link posted above or at the bottom of our blog!

Please Keep this Family in your Thoughts

2008-04-18T20:40:00.002-04:00

I have been following the blog of a family adopting a little girl from Malawi Africa. Please stop over at Crystal's blog and keep her and her family in your thoughs and prayers. She and her baby girl are trying to get back home to the rest of her family, but at are at the mercy of the government and embassy's timeline. Some of the things that Crystal has been writing about will break your heart, and will definitely put things in perspective in your life.

I'm a Big Kid Now

2008-04-08T19:58:00.004-04:00

In the last month or so, Maggie decided that she wanted to start sleeping in a big girl bed now instead of her crib. Considering she is 3 now, she slept in her crib for a lot longer than I expected. So off we went to Toys R Us to get a new toddler bed. As an added surprise, I also picked up new Dora bed sheets to make the transition even more exciting for her. With a little bit of sadness on my part, John took down her crib and put her new bed in place. So far so good - Maggie has been doing really well about staying in her bed during the night and waiting for us to get her out of bed in the morning. One thing to work on - getting her to keep her pillow and the comforter on the bed and not throw them off in the middle of the night!

Here are some pics of her new bed and Dora sheets - exciting stuff!

Spring has Sprung (for now)

2008-04-07T13:30:00.002-04:00

Sunday was the perfect spring day, sunny and warm. We headed over to the park to enjoy the sunshine and shake the cabin fever away!

Miss Maggie enjoying the swing. She has been begging for a swingset!

Ethan enjoying his first swing - love that smile!

Smiling for Daddy!

Random Easter Pictures

2008-04-04T11:27:00.003-04:00

I know, I know - I have been seriously slacking on the blog. Why didn't anyone warn me that having two kids meant having ten times more work??? ;)

Anyway, I'm posting some pictures from our Easter in Y-town - enjoy!

A New Beginning

2008-03-19T11:04:00.003-04:00

Our good friends Hayley, Mike and Piper are in China now, adopting their second daughter. Her name is Paisley, and she is gorgeous! Take a look at their website and follow their trip. Congratulations Hoppe Family - we love you!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

2008-03-17T10:06:00.002-04:00

An Irish Blessing

May love and laughter light your days

and warm your heart and home.

May good and faithful friends be yours,

wherever you may roam.

May peace and plenty bless your world

with joy that long endures.

May all life's passing seasons

bring the best to you and yours.

First Haircut

2008-03-13T21:33:00.002-04:00

Maggie and Ethan got their haircuts done today. All I can say is that the girl who cut their hair definitely earned her tip today. Maggie did great as always, but let's just say that Ethan had a little bit of a meltdown as soon as she started using the clippers on him. I'm pretty sure I had nail marks on my fingers from him gripping my hand so tightly. But he looks so good - such a big boy!

When life hands you lemons (or 20 inches of snow)

2008-03-11T09:40:00.003-04:00

You make a sledding hill out of the huge snowdrift in your front yard (and use a Rubbermaid lid as your sled)!

Storm of the Century...

2008-03-08T21:54:00.003-05:00

Maggie's Picnic Table

The back yard and playhouse

Maggie in the driveway - what was shoveled so far!

Maggie and our neighbor Julia playing in the snow banks!

Maggie stuck in the snow

...or at least for 2008. We got hit with 12 inches of snow since yesterday! It's supposed to slow down tonight, but we will be digging ourselves out for a while. Plus it will take the city snow plows at least 4 or 5 days before they get to our road, so we may be taking the 4-wheel drive truck everywhere. Of course, next week is supposed to warm up into the 50's - so we'll probably be facing flash floods with all of the melting snow. Perfect!

John had to shovel the driveway twice, and will probably need to do it once more tomorrow. Maggie got to play outside for a while with her friend Julia, while Ethan and I stayed inside.
Maybe he'll get to play in the snow tomorrow, but for now - inside was much cozier for us!

Our First Outing

2008-03-04T13:31:00.002-05:00

Since Monday was so nice here, we decided to head to the zoo for the day. Ethan and Maggie were going stir crazy (and I think John was too), and we all enjoyed the weather, getting the sunshine on us and blowing the stink off of us.

We are HOME!

2008-03-03T20:59:00.004-05:00

After a 30 hour trip, we finally got home late Thursday night. We ended up having an almost 3-hour delay in Newark NJ, so instead of getting in at 7 PM - we landed at 10:00 PM. It was a very long flight. Ethan was kind of a terror, but that is all we could expect from a 19-month old who wants to boogie around! He didn't sleep very well on the flight, and was totally off his sleep schedule. We are still paying the price for that now - he is not sleeping through the night yet. Poor kid is so sleep deprived right now, which means John and I are too.

Maggie looks like she grew 6 inches in the 2 weeks we were gone! She looked like such a big girl now - I can't believe I can actually pick her up still. Compared to Maggie, Ethan is so light! We missed her so much, but it was definitely the right decision to keep her here. The trip was hard enough - having a 3 year old along would have made it even hard.

I'll be posting more now, as we catch up on our sleep...

Off We Go!

2008-02-13T11:47:00.003-05:00

We fly out tomorrow! Our flight will be 15-16 hours long, so we won't be able to post until Friday night/Saturday morning at the earliest.

Follow our trip at this site. Talk to you soon!

Only 6 more to go

2008-02-08T13:15:00.000-05:00

Only 6 more days until we leave - we're coming, Ethan!

We also got a call today from our adoption agency. They have been able to get in touch with Ethan's orphanage to make sure the kids are doing okay, with all of the storms they have been getting hit with. The orphanage said Ethan is doing well - it is colder than usual, but all of the children are doing okay. They can't take the kids outside to play and to get fresh air due to the cold, but they are doing fine. WHAT A RELIEF!

Happy New Year!

2008-02-07T07:28:00.000-05:00

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Happy New Year, everyone! Today starts Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rat. Maggie is wearing new clothes today, and will be celebrating with her preschool friends. She is taking in red envelopes with chocolate coins, coloring pages, firecracker candy and a book that talks about Chinese New Year. She also made a paper lantern to help celebrate:

Tonight, we will have dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant to complete the celebration!

Holding up Half the Sky

2008-02-03T07:42:00.000-05:00

Holding up Half the Sky

One day an elephant saw a hummingbird lying on its back with its tiny feet up in the air.

"What are you doing?" asked the elephant.

The hummingbird replied, "I heard that the sky might fall today, and so I am ready to help hold it up, should it fall."

The elephant laughed cruelly. "Do you really think," he said, "that those tiny feet could help hold up the sky?"

The hummingbird kept his feet up in the air, intent on his purpose, as he replied, "Not alone. But each must do what he can. And this is what I can do."

— A Chinese Folktale

As many of you have read in the news, China is being hit with its worst snowstorm and winter weather in at least 50 years. Unfortunately, this is affecting a lot of the orphanges (Social Welfare Institutes) in China, and the children in the SWIs are in trouble. Some of them are in remote areas, and are running out of diapers, food, blankets and having to deal with broken heaters and water heaters, with no access to get supplies due to the snow. It breaks my heart to think that Ethan might be cold or hungry, but I have to keep the faith that he is being well taken care of. I know the nannies and staff put the babies' needs first, but the orphanages need our help.

There is a way to help out these babies - please visit Half The Sky right now and click on the Little Mouse Emergency Fund to donate as little as $25 to help these orphanges get the help they need right away. $25 is not a lot to most people, but that money may help save a child and help get an orphange through this terrible winter.

Happy Birthday to Me (A Bit Early...)

2008-01-31T20:14:00.000-05:00

Even though Miss Maggie's birthday isn't until February, she received a little surprise package in today's mail from our good friends Hayley, Mike and Piper! Since Maggie had kind of a rough week (getting over a stomach bug), she got to open the presents early.

Maggie with her presents, waiting so patiently for Mommy to find the camera -took FOREVER!

Oh My Gosh - I Love this Dress! Perfect for the spring!

A new game to play! AWESOME!

Thanks so much, guys! As Maggie said, "You are the BEST EVER!!!" Many hugs!!

Adoption website

2008-01-27T10:18:00.000-05:00

During our trip in China, I will be posting to another website - www.babyjellybeans.com. I have heard of other families not being able to access Blogger abroad, and I didn't want anyone to miss a minute of our trip. So, here is the website:

http://www.babyjellybeans.com/web/do/site/home?ID=311050

I'll be posting on both sites up until we travel, and then through Baby Jellybeans on the trip. So keep checking our updates!

Our journey starts

2008-01-23T07:38:00.001-05:00

Our plane tickets are booked! We leave on Valentine's Day, fly to Newark and then catch a plane to Hong Kong. We will be coming home on February 28, with Ethan in our arms and home forever! Only 3 weeks to go!

One Step Closer!

2008-01-22T08:48:00.000-05:00

WE GOT OUR TRAVEL APPROVAL!

Next step - we need to get our Consulate Appointment verified and then we can start booking our plane tickets. Hope to have this done by the end of the week, but tentative leave date is set for February 14. Bad part is - we will miss Maggie's birthday, but we are going to try to celebrate this either before we leave or when we get back. So for now - we start getting our packing list together! Holy crow - THREE WEEKS TO GO!

And it continues...

2008-01-20T19:43:00.001-05:00

We still are waiting to hear about traveling to China. Our agency called us Friday afternoon, which made my heart jump into my throat when I saw their phone number on Caller ID! But, it was just to get some pre-travel information. However, they did say that we will probably be leaving February 14, and coming home on the 28th or 29th. So we can at least narrow the dates down! We should hear something for sure this week. I am starting to look at flights now - and all I can say is "OUCH!" The airfares are pretty expensive. But it is all worth it in the end - we will have our new son in three weeks!

The Best Thing in the World (according to Maggie)

2008-01-12T12:51:00.000-05:00

My girl loves herself some Play Doh. Normally, she can't stop talking for 5 seconds, much less give me a minute to get something done around the house. But - when I get her Play Doh out - all bets are off! I can get at least an hour's worth of work done - I LOVE THIS STUFF!

Snowman by Maggie

Elephant by Daddy

Dinosaur by Aunt Jennifer

Still Waiting...

2008-01-10T20:45:00.001-05:00

We're still waiting to hear on when we get to travel to get Ethan... Hopefully we'll hear something within the next week or so, but it looks like we aren't going to until February. The days are just grinding to a halt for me right now... Somebody make it go faster so that we can go get our sweet boy!

Going Green, a little bit at a time

2008-01-06T10:24:00.001-05:00

Okay, I'm going to stand on my soapbox for a few minutes.

After doing some cleaning and throwing things in our recycle bin, I couldn't believe how many catalogs we get each week. I'm talking at least 7 or 8 a week. I don't shop from a catalog - I'm an online shopper. But the by-product of my online shopping is getting put on companies' mailing lists, which then sends my information to other companies (although I always mark not to send my info - does this always happen? I don't think so.)

Today, I found a website that will hopefully help reduce the number of catalogs we receive. It is called Catalog Choice, and it is a FREE service that will contact companies that you don't want to get catalogs from anymore. You select which ones you want to keep getting, and which ones you don't need anymore. I am going to make an effort to enter in all of the catalogs I get this month in order to save a tree! How about you?

Update on Ethan!

2008-01-02T13:55:00.000-05:00

Look what we got today from our agency! Doesn't he look so handsome? John is not impressed with the pink pants, but it's all good!

Ethan is now 9.5 KG, or 20 lbs and 27 inches tall. Maggie is 30 lbs and 36 inches tall, so he is catching up to her! He can stand while holding onto something, walk while holding something and take a few steps while being helped. I still don't know if he is crawling yet, but I love that he is trying to walk!

Hopefully we will get to travel at the end of this month, but we may have to wait until after Chinese New Year in February. China celebrates the new year for a week, and all offices are closed during this time. Keep your fingers crossed for us that we get to go this month!

Happy New Year!

2007-12-31T20:59:00.001-05:00

Recipe for a Happy New Year

To leave the old with a burst of song

To recall the right and forgive the wrong;

To forget the thing that binds you fast

To the vain regrets of the year that's past;

To have the strength to let go your hold

Of the not worthwhile of the days grown old;

To dare go forth with a purpose true

To the unknown task of the year that's new;

To help your brother along the road

To do his work and lift the load;

To add your gift to the world's good cheer

Is to have and to give a Happy New Year.

Calling All Squares!

2007-12-29T16:04:00.000-05:00

This picture above is the "Bai Jia Bei", or 100 Good Wishes Quilt. In China, the 100 Good Wishes Quilt idea is about wrapping your new child in the good wishes and hopes of friends and family. We did this tradition when we adopted Maggie and it turned out so beautiful. I attached a picture of it here:

We would like to do this for Ethan as well, to "wrap" him with the love of our friends and family and also celebrate the traditions of his homeland. We already have some squares and wishes, but need a lot more to get to 100! If you would like to help, please email me and I'll be happy to send you our home address! No square is too much and no wish is too mushy!

Merry Christmas to All...

2007-12-26T20:56:00.001-05:00

We hope everyone had a lovely Christmas! Ours was really nice, and it was so much fun to be able to watch Maggie really love the holiday. She had so much fun and got so much stuff! The play kitchen was a big hit, along with the new Dora books she got. My dear brother bought her a drum and music instrument set - thank you very much! But she loved playing with her cousins too, and seeing her family. I also received a beautiful necklace from John (thanks for the help, Hayley!) - perfect timing after getting our Letter of Acceptance for Ethan! Here are some pictures from our holiday:

My new necklace!

Maggie opening her kitchen from Santa

My new Dora game!

Maggie with her cousin RJ

Decorating Christmas cookies with the cousins

The Munchkins - how cute are they?

Maggie and Uncle Tom

Us versus "It"

2007-12-26T09:44:00.000-05:00

Santa would be visiting our house a few days early this year, so Thursday night we decided to put Maggie's present together. We got her a play kitchen on sale, and we were so excited to give it to her! At 9:00 at night, John brought the box inside, opened it out and proceeded to pull this out. ARE YOU FREAKIN KIDDING ME?

Three and a half hours later, after watching the movies "Elf" and "Animal House" (and almost losing our fingers from using a pocket knife to break the pieces off), we finished!

Next time, we are going to pay to get these things assembled.

WE GOT IT!

2007-12-22T08:35:00.000-05:00

We heard from our agency yesterday afternoon - we just got our Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from China! That means that they have officially "matched" us with Ethan, and have approved the adoption to move forward! This means we can expect to travel sometime at the end of January to get Ethan - yippee!

But now we have to get in gear and get ready for his arrival! YIKES!

Christmas Cookies - according to Maggie

2007-12-16T11:03:00.001-05:00

First, I have to mix the dough and put lots of flour on the board. Proceed to wipe my hands covered in flour onto Daddy's pants and my pants/shirt.

Then I roll out the dough. Insist on doing this step by myself, since I am 3 years old.

I use cookie cutters to cut out the shapes. Again, I need to do this by myself, as Mommy and Daddy don't know how to do this. My favorite cookie cutters are the candy cane and star.

I put the cookies on the cookie sheet and Mommy bakes the cookies for 6 minutes.

I let the cookies cool before frosting them. I try very hard not to eat the frosting directly from the bowl, but sometimes my willpower is not so strong. Hence, the red frosting around my mouth - which makes me look like The Joker.

I finish by putting sprinkles and sugar on the frosting. Somehow a good portion of the sprinkles end up directly in my mouth during this step - yummy in my tummy!

The final product!

Can we do this again tomorrow?

Snow

2007-12-16T10:57:00.001-05:00

At 11:00

At 12:00

At 2:00

Please... No Autographs

2007-12-13T21:12:00.000-05:00

Why do you people keep following me? It's so embarrassing to be recognized like this...

The More The Merrier!

2007-12-12T16:37:00.000-05:00

A good friend of mine who I met when we were going through Maggie's adoption made a huge announcement yesterday! She is such an inspiration to me - she helped us so much in our decision to adopt Ethan. I can only hope to be half the mother she is - congratuations Stef and Chris!

http://www.sophiemakessix.blogspot.com/

The Moment You've All Been Waiting For

2007-12-08T16:56:00.000-05:00

"Mary Had a Baby Boy" (sung to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb") as presented by Maggie's class at her Christmas Concert today. Overall, the concert was a success - there were only 3 or 4 wailing kids out of 15 kids, and no one fell off of the stage. Please hold all applause until the end.

The Loveliest Sight To See...

2007-12-08T13:58:00.000-05:00

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Preschool Style

2007-12-03T18:14:00.001-05:00

So I walked into Maggie's classroom today to pick her up, and walked in on concert practice. The pre-schoolers are having a Christmas concert this weekend, and they were about to start singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".

Setting the scene - 10 kids between 2 1/2 and 3 years old, belting out Twinkle Twinkle at the top of their lungs. Not singing it - screaming it, yelling it as loud as they could...

The concert is going to be very interesting - I better bring my earplugs...

The Official Start of Christmas Season

2007-12-02T20:23:00.000-05:00

On a cold and windy Saturday night, we bundled up and headed out to the zoo for our annual Wildlights night. It isn't officially Christmas until we see the 3 million(!!!) lights that are put up all around the park. The workers usually start putting up the displays in October, since there are so many of them to put up!

We along with hundreds of other families braved the cold and wind, and oohed and aahed at the displays. We got to see Santa's reindeer, but they were hiding in the corner and wouldn't cooperate for a picture. We also tried to see Santa, but the line was waaay too long and it was getting a little late for Miss Maggie. So instead, we headed over to the miniature train display. It was double the size of last year's display, and so cool! They actually have stations around the display that let the kids control the train whistles, lights and even let smoke out of the chimneys.

Girls Night!

2007-12-02T10:03:00.000-05:00

Two of my bestest buddies Stacy and Amanda came into town Friday night to visit and do a shopping excursion on Saturday. I really think the shopping was just an excuse to come see Miss Maggie - she had the BEST TIME EVER!!! She had 2 new minions at her beck and call to play with - who wouldn't love that? I really miss them - I think my New Years resolution will be to make sure we get together more often and not let so much time pass between visits.

Oh Christmas Tree

2007-11-28T20:16:00.001-05:00

We put up our Christmas tree on Sunday, and put the lights up outside too. Maggie loves having the lights on - she asks to turn them on every morning when she wakes up. I think there is going to be a battle royal when we have to put this away after the holiday!

Some pictures from Thanksgiving...

2007-11-28T20:09:00.000-05:00

And a good time was had by all...

Update on Ethan!

2007-11-26T12:07:00.000-05:00

We received a little update on Ethan. He is doing really well with his foster family, and is trying to learn to stand on his own. His favorite thing to do is to pick up toys and throw them down - 100% pure boy! I cannot wait to see that sweet face in person. We are still patiently waiting for the approval to come from China, which I hope will come sometime in January. Good thing the holidays are here to distract us in the meantime...

I have also had the pleasure of working with a group called Grant Me A Chance. They are a non-profit group that helps adoptive families like us raise funds to help offset the expenses with the adoption. People always ask us how much it costs to adopt a child - and it can cost up to $15,000. Since Ethan's referral was so sudden and unexpected, we aren't as prepared as we had thought we would be. But Grant Me a Chance offered to post Ethan's story on their website to allow people to donate towards his adoption! I have also included the ChipIn link on our blog as well, so if you would like to donate - you can just click on the ChipIn icon and follow the steps from there.

Raking leaves...

2007-11-17T16:28:00.001-05:00

Thanks to 2 gigantic trees in our front yard, we usually end up bagging 20-25 bags of leaves every year. Luckily, we had an expert assistant helping us out this year...

We don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan...

2007-11-17T16:17:00.000-05:00

We're from O-HI-O!!

GO BUCKEYES!

Ethan's Story

2007-11-05T11:34:00.000-05:00

For Maggie's birthday, I decided that instead of toys or something that she would lose interest in a week- we would sponsor a foster child through CCAI's Charity Outreach program. Now don't worry - Maggie got plenty of fantastic toys and things from her grandparents and cousins! But I really wanted to give back to the country that helped us become a family. So, we got set up with the foster family program.

I received quarterly reports on the children that we sponsored, and rejoiced every time our sponsored child was matched with her forever family! This occured several times throughout the year, and I received a new match each time. Our latest report was sent to us in July 2007 for our newest sponsor. He was this little boy who had these heartbreaking eyes - John said they were "brutal", and that was the perfect word. He was so tiny and looked so fragile! I read in his report that he had a tumor on his back, which was removed via surgery. Something in this little guy just grabbed me. On the off chance that we could find out more information about him, I contacted CCAI to see if they would ever receive his file in the Waiting Child program. They emailed me to say that the chance is highly unlikely due to the number of agencies his file could be sent to, but they would let me know if they did see it come across their desks. I was disappointed, but accepted it and hoped that this baby would find his family soon.

One September afternoon - Friday afternoon - I got home from work and saw there was a message on the answering machine. It was CCAI, asking me to call them back right away and "You will never believe what we received today!!" I started to cry - was this really happening? YES IT WAS! Deniece called to let me know that they received Fu Bao Jin's file, and wanted to know if we would be interested in reviewing it! This was truly a one in a million chance, and it was a miracle that CCAI would have received his file in the first place!

After a lot of discussions, a lot of medical opinions, a lot of praying and a lot of support of our family and friends, we accepted Bao Jin's referral on September 28, 2007! We asked Maggie what we should name him, and she replied "Ethan". I have no idea where this name came from, as she doesn't know anyone by this name! But it was decided that he would be named Ethan Patrick Jin Novak. Hopefully we will get to travel in early 2008 to bring him home!

Hello!

2007-11-04T10:36:00.001-05:00

After numerous questions from other families asking us what our blog site was, we decided to make the leap into blogging! Since we are adopting for the second time, I thought this would be the easiest way to keep everyone updated with our progress on our adoption and also post updates on our 2-year old. Forgive me in advance - I am new to this, so the blog is a work-in-progress!