Good Times & GO BUCKS!

No, not the show... my weekend - it was filled with good times. On Friday Kevin & I took Micah to the mall to return some gifts that did not fit. Ok - not terribly exciting, but it is always fun to get out.

Saturday afternoon we got together with other area families that have adopted from, or are in the process of adopting from Ethiopia. I think we had 9 families there so it was a lot of fun. It is great to see the kids together. One family had recently adopted 3 children - ages 4, 6, and 8 (two girls and a boy). When they came in myself and another mom teared up. She has an excuse - she's a couple of weeks from traveling and I remember being very emotional then too. Me? No excuse really - it just makes me happy to see these children for some reason.

It was also great to see all of the families talking about their experiences and giving tips to the families who are traveling soon. (One family brought a pad of paper and a list of questions - so cute!) Since we're hoping to continue to meet up and form ourselves a little (or someday probably big) group, one dad said to me, "These children will all be like cousins - our daughter's Ethiopian cousins." :)

We got a couple of cute pictures of Minnow, Boomer & Micah. Here they are way back in early September...

And here they are now!

They've definitely grown! And, we've learned that in order to get happy pictures, we should give them each a toy. :) It didn't last too long though, as you can see...

This one I just think is cute of Micah and Minnow (Boomer is quick - he was gone already!)

So, after that we drove home with a very sleepy boy. I had to get home to finish cooking for a dinner that I was going to with the girls from high school. We've been doing a Christmas dinner now for about 16 years, or is it 18? Anyway, these girls are like family - we're all very different, but there is something about having friends for so long. Sometimes we only see each other this one time a year and it is always fun. So, I got home and started to finish my appetizer and realized that we had no water because of the water main break down the street. NO WATER. This means no shower. No! Good thing one of my BFs lives down the street right? (I showered at her house and the water was fixed by the time I got home that night.)

I had a great time with all the girls - lots of laughter and sharing (and eating and drinking). Here we are...

We had three mamas who are expecting, and we throw mini-showers for every baby, regardless of if it is first, second or fourth! Every baby is special. I got Nikki this cutie gap product (red) sweater sleeper. I love this thing - you should all go out and get one because it is so cute.

Sunday was lazy, but it was a beautiful 70 degrees (!!!) outside so it was just a great day. Kevin grilled hot dogs and we had my mom over for dinner. We pretended like it was Spring and that it wouldn't really be 20 degrees again next week. So, overall, it was a great weekend - good times.

OH - one last thing! I know this is LONG, but this is a great idea I saw over at Coming to Amharica. They are waiting for their referral, so they decided to have a special ringtone on their cell phones for their agency. That way they don't freak out every time the phone rings, and when they hear that fun ringtone, they'll know it could be the call. I wish we had done this and I think you all should. :)

Okay, one more last thing, I almost forgot - GO BUCKEYES! Ohio State is playing tonight in the BCS National Championship, so you know Micah will be decked out in his scarlet and grey. He is already getting ready for game day...

But this will be him if they don't win...

*Edit: It's the second picture - yup, they lost, again. So sad for Dad.