Double ugh...

Now, not only did I catch a cold virus over Christmas I now have the stomach flu. Yesterday, I felt like dying. Today is better. What a way to ring in the New Year!

Christmas at the crack of dawn

Kayla was so excited about Christmas that she woke up at 4:30 a.m. We opened presents around 6:00 a.m. I haven't been up that early for Christmas in years. She was so excited at everything she got. Santa brought her an American Girl doll and she had two stockings full of stuff. One was taller than she was. My dad cooked us Christmas breakfast and then I was off to bed again by 9:00 a.m. Later that afternoon, we all went to see Marley and Me. Having read the book, I thought I would be prepared for how sad it would be but my mom and I were both bawling in the theater. Marley looked exactly like our precious lab Lady who died a few years ago.

Even though I was not feeling good, I did manage to get to the mall the day after Christmas. Not even an illness will stop me from shopping good sales! I found a lot of good bargains and Kayla and my niece got to spend some of their Christmas money.

We had a wonderful holiday spending time with family and eating good food. Kayla feels like a part of the family now for sure and everyone has embraced her. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and enjoy the rest of 2008.

Ugh....

I've been slow in updating my blog over Christmas because I caught a Christmas day virus and have been sick ever since. There were several sick people in our household over Christmas so it was not as fun a holiday as it could have been...at least I got some rest time.

Twas the weekend before Christmas...

and all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a mouse...and certainly not Kayla! Kayla is so excited for Christmas. Her excitement starts building all day and by the end of the night she is totally hyperactive. And of course this is the time of day when I am wiped out. Makes for interesting conversation ;). However, it is wonderful to see Christmas through the eyes of a child this year....to them it is something really special.

We had dinner at a Japanese restaurant on Friday night with Kayla's aunt and uncle and little cousin whom she lived with the past year. We exchanged Christmas presents and had a good time seeing them again. Her little cousin gave me a ring which I proudly wore all night.

Saturday, we went to see my 94-year-old grandmother and gave her her Christmas present. We spent time sitting and talking with her. She's lived an incredible life and it's neat to hear her tell stories of my dad growing up.

Saturday night we went to eat Mexican food and see a movie and called it our Christmas dinner. I also gave Kayla her early Christmas present she has been begging endlessly to open. It was pajamas from Limited Too, her favorite store. The poor girl has no winter pajamas so hopefully she will be warmer now when she sleeps.

Yesterday, we got up and went to church and had communion for Christmas. The sanctuary was decorated so beautiful and the big screens showed snow falling. I left there feeling like it really is Christmas and remembering the reason why it is Christmas.

Last night we had Christmas dinner with the woman I call my "Little Rock mom" and her husband. We exchanged presents and Kayla loved the little angel dancer they got her. We sat down to a fancy dinner complete with glass tableware and excellent food...we both felt special. We ended up hanging out at their house for almost four hours we had so much fun.

And now we've got two more days full of Christmas parties and Christmas dinners before we pack up and head north for the holidays. With the Christmas shopping done, I hope I can remember to stop and savor the moments this Christmas week.

It's a snow day!

We woke up this morning to streets full of ice. Kayla's school is closed and my office is closed so we got to sleep in in our warm, cozy beds. It's freezing outside! However, during the night I managed to cut my eye with my fingernail and I have been in excruciating pain for the last five hours. My favorite thing to do in my down time is read and I can barely open my eye. Not fun. I hope I can find a good movie to watch...

Stomach flu

I received a call from the school nurse Friday that Kayla had thrown up in her English class. She proceeded to throw up constantly all day Friday but Saturday it was gone and she was worn out. We had to cancel all our fun weekend plans but I think it was good for both of us to get some rest. I'm crossing my fingers that I don't come down with this stomach virus.

I finished all of my Christmas shopping yesterday and wrapped everything up. So now I'm just waiting to see if this winter storm will keep us trapped at home the next few days...

Leaves and gingerbread houses

We had another wild and crazy weekend. Kayla had a friend spend the night Friday night and they were actually pretty good, freeing me up to watch some TV shows that I wanted to watch and catch up on some reading. We had a baby shower for a good friend on Saturday and then afterwards we went and ate Chinese food at Kayla's favorite restaurant. Saturday night, we built a gingerbread house together and watched Christmas movies. We laughed and had the "I want a cell phone" conversation. Then we had the "I want a dog" conversation. I'm guessing these conversations never end.

Sunday, we went to a 1-year-old birthday party for another good friend of our's baby. Kayla loves little Caroline and Caroline loves her. They both had a big time. Sunday afternoon, we, along with our friend, Angelia, raked leaves. Yes, I said I raked leaves. I know that's surprising to some of you but I did it. I just thought of it as good exercise. Kayla helped some but she was more interested in making sure we got hot chocolate at the end. She did make us some good hot chocolate, though!

Six months

Today, Kayla has officially been in my care for six months, which is the legal time in Arkansas that a child must live with you before the adoption is finalized. Our court date, for whatever reason, has been set in February. But I still can't believe it has been six months. It has gone by fast. I remember thinking when she first moved in that there is no way I can do this all day every day and yet I have been doing it for all these months. We went through the inevitable ugly transition period this summer and survived that period and since then it's been pretty smooth sailing with a few bumps in the road. Now, it feels like she has been in my life forever and I can't wait until she is "officially" mine forever.

Kayla's cause

Kayla created a website this weekend to help hungry babies. She created the site all by herself and only asked me to do a little editing. She wants everybody to go see it and she's trying to figure out how she can get comments added because she wants everybody to "say something about it." The website is http://www.warmilkforsmallhearts.synthasite.com/. It's called "Warm Milk for Small Hearts."

Our Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend. We picked up my grandparents for the drive up there and back. Kayla really enjoys them and they love being around her. We had the whole family over on Thanksgiving day and stuffed ourselves, passed out, then went to see a movie--our holiday tradition.

My 3-year-old niece, Isabella, has fallen in love with Kayla and begged to come over and hang out with her everyday. Kayla taught her a dance they are going to share with us Christmas Eve. Isabella followed her everywhere and cried when she had to be apart. Isabella has found a new best friend.

We watched the Razorbacks come from behind in a miraculous win over LSU. My dad, Kayla, Isabella and I even left early because we were sure the game was over and we had lost. We were so wrong and we had to listen to the winning touchdown on the radio. I am glad for Casey Dick that he got to go out a hero.

We shopped, ate leftovers, watched movies ("Australia" was by far the best one we saw and the best one I've seen all year), slept, read, and ate some more.

And we will be back in three weeks to do it all again...