Merry Christmas!!!!!!

It is so amazing how kids love boxes more than the gifts that come in them! Auntie Sarah and Zoie had the best fun with this box. Mom got some great shots of them!

We woke up this morning, smelling something great downstairs.......(we are still at my brothers with my family) and Mom and Sarah had already gotten up and started breakfast. Not only did they make some cinnmon rolls, they also started stuff for Christmas dinner. Wow, they are on a roll. Here's the menu:

Turkey, Ham, Bread Pudding, Yams, Jello, Stuffing, Deviled Eggs, Mashed Potatoes, Mixed Veggies, Cranberries, Olives, rolls, Potatoes salad, green bean salad and Gluwein.

Sound good???!! Mom and Sarah are doing a fab job getting this all together!

Can't wait to eat! I believe we are going to have a wonderful meal!!!!

HO HO HO!!!! I hope you all have a wonderful day, and get to enjoy some wonderful family time. I sure am blessed to be with mine this year. John is with his family and I am with mine.

Have a great day, try to be good!!!!

showing a man how to find someone on Facebook.....that has never touched a computer. Interesting!!!!

so, we were just sitting here with Mom, Dad and Sarah. And I was commenting on Mom's blog about her posts. It is just soooo cute how my Mom writes her blogs:) We were trying to show Dad how to get onto the internet, and specifically on Facebook. Hmmmmm.......interesting!!........hmmmmm..... I wonder if that is what he is going to ask Santa for this year.

Probably not.

So, Z and I made it to North Carolina fine.......went to dinner, let Z play and now we are just GOOFING OFF !!!
Tomorrow we will pick up Travis' gift that Sarah got him......wait for Gpa Jim to get here, and whatever else comes our way.
Can't wait to see some of my uncles', and some cousins.

fun, fun, fun!!!!!


just wanted to say Merry Christmas once again!

trying to get the Christmas spirit

I am trying to get into the Christmas spirit today. After talking with Amber earlier, I really decided to TRY to get more into the Xmas music, movies and decorations. Well, I must now tell you that I at least put up my Xmas wreaths on the doors.

I had my reservations about putting a tree up, going in the attic and getting all the decorations out and making it look super festive in the house. I just think that Zoie will have WAY too much stuff to get into then. She is totally in the curious stage and is extremely fast now! I just think she will have a better concept of not eating plastic, glass and all that jazz next year. Zoie and I are leaving Tuesday morning to go to my brother's and his girlfriend's house to spend Christmas there with all of my family. My parents flew in Friday, so a few of my uncles' and some other family are coming to my brothers house as well. It is going to be a hoot I imagine!! My family is cool. But you know how it goes, there are still a few nuts in every batch of cookies!! And I cannot take any responses from that last sentence audience!!! :>)

Just want to wish everyone a very, very MERRY CHRISTMAS!! But I guess I better be politically correct as well and wish those of you that are not "CHRISTMAS" people.........a HAPPY HANNIKA (incrrct sp.), FELIZE NAVIDAD, HAPPY KWANZA AND SO FORTH! Don't want to upset anyone:) Hope everyone gets to spend precious time with friends, family and loved ones.

Peace out sistas!!!

PS- this pic of Zoie is a few months old now, but I just thought it was cute.......but she is always cute, right?!?

need to add this!

I sat and thought about how fortunate I am, just this morning. I really must say that I am a very blessed, fortunate and ultimately grateful for my support system: my friends. I love that I can pick up the phone (to 2 people in particular- you know who you are!!!!----- )and just ask their opinion, if I am crazy for thinking the way I do about things, or about just any random thought I have about anything.
I just had to say this, I sure do love my friends and family. I am soooooo very blessed. Thank you God. I could not have gotten through this last year and a half without you two. I love you my very best friends: Amber and Yvonne. I just love you guys so much. I really forgot to say this in the last post. You guys are very much appreciated.

very happy to be sleeping in my own bed!!!

So Z and I are back from our trip, and now I am back sleeping in my own very comfortable Sterns & Foster! Gotta just love those guys!!!
I have learned about a get-to-gether or two that I missed out on...........damn!! Tisha and Amber both had their parties' while I was away.........hmmmmmmmm......should I take this personally?!?! ........................nope.
I guess that will be ok but if it happens again............there will be HELL to pay for you two! (that is funny, if I say so myself!! :<)
So everything is nearly back to normal......except the fact that Z and I are still on
Seattle time. We got home Wednesday and we have slept in late, and stayed up even later! John is not diggin' that whole deal.
This morning started "Operation Potty Training". I am still trying to learn all the do's and don'ts of that whole deal. Very very time consuming I am learning. Good times!!!!!!! Good times!!!!!
So to start off our day, I go and get little Z immediately upon waking.....take her diaper off...... put her on her potty, kept trying to make up a "potty song", never had I thought of making up a demo tape for going potty but I wish I had before I needed it. (I may try to add music to it and market it!)
The little chick got up off her potty and stuck her hand in her potty, and then I realized her hand was wet.......she pee-peed on our very first attempt at potty training!!!!!! OMG! I WAS STOKED!! I clapped, hugged her, and we did a little dance! She got up off the potty and went to sit down beside her doggie brother Sammy boy, then hugs him. I thought, oh my, how stinkin' sweet! She gets up from hugging him, and then Sammy starts to eat something on the floor beside him.
I am now intrigued at what he is eating, so I get closer and realize that he is eating Z's poop on the floor! SERIOUSLY GROSS!!!!! I immediately try to move him away from it, and put Z back on her potty........clean up the remaining poop, (just pebbles thankfully!) and go back to the potty to get Z cleaned up. Then guess what?
There was poopy in the potty too!!!!!!!! She pee-peed and poo-pood!!!!
My baby is growing up!!!!
I was telling Vonny about this endeavor tonight as we were playing Skip-Bo (cards), and she said it was a fluke that Z knew what she was doing.
It probably was. She just turned 20 months. I know potty training cannot be this much fun! We just had a great day. Poop and all.
***Food for thought: get the dog out of the bathroom before potty training.

another great dinner with family and friends!

hello fellow bloggers!

to start where I left off from the last blog....I must tell you about court.

ok, soooooo, after my Mom had to "wrestle" Kim about the signing of papers....she finally succumbed to sign with her blessings. The papers were not stated exactly how she wanted them stated, beings that she wanted to add more visits.....but the state was not granting them any more than 1 a year....she got pissed. So....my Mom intervened once again and saved the day.

I cannot tell you how much I love my Mommy!! She is always dead-on with everything!

They brought the bio father in....and I was absolutely saddened how they treat people in handcuffs. I just broke down. My heart went out to him.....he really looked terribly sad. We were instructed not to try to talk, look or communicate with him at all. How freakin' barbarrack can you be??!!
The judge was extremely nice allowing me to hold Z up to give the bio father a hug during the hearing, once his attorney begged that he should be allowed to see the daughter he has never seen. It was such a sweet/sad moment. I feel very saddened that he is where he is in life.

I am extremely excited to now let you know the outcome of court.

I am supposed to have the paperwork in my hot little hands at least by Tuesday, to bring back home to give our attorney to start the whole adoption process!!! can you say, "finally!!!"

So we are celebrating, and we have family and friends over to share in the joy!

The pics that I am posting are of me and my little niece Amanda. She is now 20, and getting married on the 28th of Dec. to a cutie-pie named Chris, and he is serving in the Army right now.

So..........this is also a pic of her new ink on her forearm. She got it done yesterday. I am proud of my dad, (her grandpa) he said it was "not bad". He is a good boy for not lecturing her!

I have to explain the licking pic--I started doing that to her awhile ago....and just had to keep up the tradition!!! I just love my little niece!!

peace out cheek-aaaa's!!!!!!

It is freezing here!!!!

hey ya'll! it was literally 9 degrees here yesterday...(brrrr!!!! ) the day we had court. I will have to start from where I left off from the last post.
ok, so here goes. Z and I stayed with my youngest sister Kristi, her new hubby and the kids Sunday and Monday night. We had such a blast! The kids had fun playing together, running around and just being cute.....
Tuesday we headed back to "Papa's and Gramma Roddens" and then had an interesting call from my sister "the sister" (Z's bio) late that night. She was a bit angry and said that she had just left her attorney's office, and she was not signing the papers. I was dumfounded. I wanted to know what had changed in just the course of a couple of days....and then I realized she had probably had a few drinks as well.
So I got hung up on again, then she calls back and yells at me some more....and then I got hung up on for a second time. I just love to be hung up on! Don't we all!!??!!?? No biggie! Happens alot with her.....just the way it is. Her last words to me were "if you want to play hardball with me, then I will see you in court tomorrow". I will try to post the rest a little bit later, we are getting ready to go see another one of Z's auntie's and some more cousins.
stay tuned to "my crazy life".

Here in Seattle!!

yeah!!! Z and I FINALLY made it to Seattle, after sitting on the tar-mack for over an hour just waiting to depart from Charleston. I learned that it is quite a challenge to keep an infant occupied for hours on end, when they are restrained on your lap and cannot move. Pretty tough! Z did very well on the flight out here, I must admit. We had an incredibly long day, but she only went into "crazy wild" mode one time. I really tried to prepare everything in advance. I am talking down to the coloring book, her Baby, snacks, sippy, and even her music. We really met some nice people on our flights as well. One guy that was next to us on the 2nd flight is Z's new boyfriend, she got quite intrigued by him, he was PC. (pretty cool, for those of you old school peeps)
We really took it pretty easy today, just sort of lounged around the house at Jack and Sue's (Z's other g-parents) and tomorrow we are taking all the kids to see Santa fly in over near my parents in Darrington. He is supposed to fly in on a helicopter.
I really cannot wait to see Z's face!
She (Z) is having a blast, she got to see her 1/2 sister and brother Kyle and Ashley and of course her Papa and Gramma, her auntie Megan and cousins Leah and Junior.
She is one busy chick!! Running around playing, playing and just being busy.
well, just wanted to update you all on our last couple of days.
I get to see my parents tomorrow, my sister and nephew and neice! cool!!! I am so excited to see all of them!!! OH, and I can't forget to tell you about the huge craft fairs (that means TWO of them!) that we are going to tomorrow! how fun!!!!

peace out!!!!!!!
don't forget to be nice to everyone, the world is a tough place sometimes!!!!!!