Hello? Is this thing on??? B&W Wednesday edition

Well, I have been really slacking on this blog lately. I can't believe it has been since September that I posted. WOW! We have had quite a busy time and it has finally slacked off a little although spring soccer is going to be starting up soon. So much has gone on, I don't know where to start or what to write about.... I guess I will go with our travel group!

We had a reunion of Olivia's travel group recently and we had a blast. We have always gotten together around February or March to celebrate the union of our family and this year was no different. It always starts with people arriving on Friday night where the girls go swimming. We closed the pool up Friday night. Saturday we would get their photos taken find a fun activity and then gather at our house in the evening for pizza and a birthday party for all the girls since they all have birthdays in January, February and March with the exception of Klaira who has an April birthday. This year was a little different in that they went swimming in the afternoon and then before the party got underway we walked down the street from me and I took their picture. They had fun and it has been amazing to see how they've each changed since 2005. They used to be shy and take a while to warm up to each other but not this time. It was fantastic!

One great thing about this reunion is that Sophia also gets to see someone in her travel group too as we traveled with a family twice. Olivia and Emelia are both from the same orphanage and when it was time to do paperwork again I strong-armed two other families into starting with us. We all got our LIDs together and our daughter's are from the same orphanage. The other family lives in TX so we don't get to see them but we sure miss them. So, when we adopted Sophia, Emelia's family adopted Londyn. Londyn and Sophia are tight. This year when we took pictures I took some of Sophia and Londyn. They are so adorable.






Hopefully I will catch up soon! Look for more B&W pictures on my friend Lisa's blog HERE.

Sophia referral anniversary -- very late {B&W Wednesday}

Well, I am very late in posting this important milestone and quite frankly I almost forgot it. Had it not been for a fellow Lovebug mom posting on Facebook I would have -- so thanks Laura! September 1st marked the 5 anniversary of seeing our precious Sophia's face. That day was so special to us and my fellow Lovebugs -- our DTC group on Yahoo. We spent one night a week in a chat room getting to know each other and on referral day we spent the morning in there waiting to see who was going to get "THE CALL" first. We used the same agency for both girls and with Olivia our referral was 3 days after everyone else's. While I rejoiced with my fellow Firecrackers, my heart was hurting that we had not been notified. So for Sophia I was quite surprised that our agency was the first to report phone calls being made -- ours was technically second but we were the first to get the info as my travel mate Susan was away from her phone momentarily and had to call back. What a great time we had in chat that morning. We made the trip to the agency so we could see her picture. That evening we met the grandparents for dessert at Dairy Queen after Olivia's gymnastics so they could see their newest granddaughter but they didn't know that {rather they weren't supposed to know}. I found out very recently that my mom (Hi mom!) tricked a 2.5 year old into telling before the big reveal. Sophia fit right into our family. She is loving, caring, beautiful, smart {she recently had her best day of school ever! according to her}, sassy, quiet, introverted and strong-willed. I took a picture of her with her referral picture that I converted to black and white in honor of Black and White Wednesday.

To see more black and white photos, go visit my friend Lisa's blog. She is about ready to travel for her sweet Reagan.

Bethlehem in Black and White

Now I know y'all are going to be shocked that I actually do have my second post in one week. Man, am I on a roll or what? Here are some of my favorite pics for the black and white portion of my workshop.

To see more black and white photos, go to my friend Lisa's blog.

A Visions Workshop -- Bethlehem

So, the weekend before last I attended my good friend Lisa's photography workshop. Lisa is a wonderful teacher and I just hope I can make her proud. I have just gotten into editing my photos but I wanted to post a few now. I have one I have converted to black and white that I am saving for Wednesday. ;-) We had lots of great models that day: the beautiful Alicia, Lisa's handsome son Nick, Lisa's BFF Shelly and her gorgeous daughter Delaney, Heather brought her lovely daughters Emily and Hannah, and the biggest surprise the ever fabulous Dita brought her 2 kiddos WonderBoy and Sweetie Pie. The ladies in attendance were awesome! Diana and I flew into town and arrived within minutes of each other. We have a China connection as Sophia and Ruby Mei are from the same orphanage in China. That evening Janet met us for dinner. We had a great night talking and getting to know one another. Saturday morning, we met the last of our little group Bickies (incognito name on her blog) joined us for breakfast where we talked about our cameras and their settings. I know you all are just wanting the pictures so I will quit rambling and post a few. Hopefully I can get some more edited today and tomorrow so I can have another post on Wednesday -- shocking I know!

First day of school......(and B&W Wednesday)

Well, today is the first day of school for us. My baby is officially in school now. Sophia has a fabulous teacher Mrs. C. She had a pool party 2 weeks ago so the kids could meet her, her assistant Mrs. T and the students in the class. On open house Monday, Sophia went right in to the class and found her spot. She was a little shy but this momma was a tad worried. Yesterday we talked about the first day of school, went to the lake, and watched a movie before bed. While I was cooking supper, Mrs. C. called to talk to Sophia! She told her how much fun they were going to have and what they were going to do today. At open house, we got a folder labeled "Sophia's Homework Folder" but really it had homework for ME! LOL In the folder was a sealed envelope that said "Do not open until the first day of school". Inside there was a letter to Sophia and a poem for me.

Every one has a "first day"
when they feel sad and all alone,
it can be so scary
when you're out on your own.

And I know that a "first day"
can be full of doubts fears,
but they're full of new beginnings.
Take my hankie dry your tears.

You'll find lots of things to do
and you'll probably make new friends.
I promise we'll be together
when the school day ends.

Here comes the teacher
blow your nose and be brave.
Come on now and wipe your eyes,
this is no way to behave.

Well good morning teacher.
We really must beg your pardon.
No, MOMMY doesn't always act this way,
but it's my first day of....KINDERGARTEN!

Olivia is starting 2nd grade this year. She also has a teacher named Mrs. C. She seems really nice and I believe Olivia will do well in her class. Unfortunately, we are over cap size in several 2nd grade classes so they may need to add a teacher. I hope if they do Olivia will get to stay in Mrs. C's class. They have changed the discipline guide that they've had the last several years so I hope this works better for us.

Here are the pictures from today. I used my point and shoot instead of dragging my big camera in today. Sorry there are more pictures of Sophia than Olivia. And since it is Black and White Wednesday at my friend Lisa's blog here, I made one of the pics black and white.

Black and White Wednesday {Robert}

Well last Friday my nephew and his girlfriend made me a great {ahem} fabulous aunt -- I say fabulous because I am too young and beautiful (ha!) to be a great aunt. Robert Michael (named for both his grandfathers -- yikes I can't believe my younger brother is a grandfather!) was born Friday morning and I have been itching to take his picture. Tonight fed the happy couple (burned my mashed potatoes again -- I was busy snapping away this time) and took some pictures. They just left to take their little one home and I had to edit a picture for black and white Wednesday. This is my first attempt with a baby so little and young. I can't wait to get into editing these photos. Here is a picture of Robert and his momma Monique.


For more black and white Wednesday pics hop over to my friend Lisa's blog!

Sophia's turn......{B&W Wednesday}

Well, it has been 2 weeks since I last posted but we were on vacation last week. We went to Atlantic Beach, NC and had a great time! I of course decided it was a grand time to get sick (had to go get meds from a Dr there -- so not fun!) but we made do. My mom went with us and I think she enjoyed herself too. We went to the beach, swam in the pool and went on a boat ride to see the lighthouse on Cape Lookout. Sophia(well us too) loved it all. She is taking swim lessons this summer and is doing wonderfully. She is now swimming without floaties (yay!) and she's only had 2 lessons. She is also my girlie girl. I really try not to dress the girls alike as that just increases the "Are they twins?" question but when I bought a dress for Olivia and she begged me for one just like it I couldn't refuse -- it had the twirl factor, ya know. Here is a picture of my girl on the beach in her beloved dress:


For more Black and White pictures, check out my girl Lisa's blog here.

Lexi in B & W {Wednesday}

I took pictures of my brother's beautiful family a few weeks ago. Here is a picture of his beautiful (and only) daughter. I hope he's ready for when she starts dating. ;-)


See Lisa's blog for more black and white Wednesday entries.

Black and White Wednesday and catch up

Oh wow has it really been almost 2 months since my last post? Where has the time gone? We are winding down the school year here and are ready for summer. I have so much to catch up with so here I go:

~~Olivia turned 7 in March. I can't believe it. She is such a smart, funny, beautiful little girl. She got glasses in April and loves them.

~~Her travel group came to town the weekend after her birthday. We have an awesome group and we loved every minute of our "families" visit. Sophia also got to see her Londyn (we traveled with this family twice and Londyn and Sophia are from the same orphanage) and we were able to meet her cute little brother Kai for the first time.

~~Olivia got strep throat on Spring Break. Yuck.

~~Both girls played soccer this spring and loved it!

~~In April, my good friend Lisa came to town on business and as a bonus my fabulous Texan friend Marla came too. They were going to surprise me but since my mom was going to be out of town they wanted to make sure I was able to get a sitter. We went to Felicia's house on Tuesday night of their visit for a "girls night". Missy drove up and we had a fabulous time! While Lisa was in her meetings on Wednesday, Marla and I went to the Kentucky Derby Museum. I have been a Louvallian all my life and I have never been so I thought I what better time to go and than to take my friend. We also found time to squeeze in Pedis. Love ya girls!

~~Sophia graduated from Pre-K this month. She had her field trip to the zoo and school she will attend in August. She's been there many times but it was still a treat for her to ride the school van.

~~Olivia has had the best school year. I cannot say enough good things about her teachers this year. She has a high reading level and her testing scores were phenomenal. She is a math machine teaching herself multication and division. We (the school and us parents) are discussing putting her in 3rd grade reading and math only. She can handle the work and will still be with 2nd graders the majority of the time. She thrives on being challenged so we are trying to figure out what would be best for her. Now if we could just get the talking under control. ;-)

~~We are going to the beach next month and can't wait. My mom is going with us and the girls are super excited.

On to the Black and White Wednesday portion of this post. My brother and his family came over for a photo shoot Sunday and I took a few of Olivia. This is my favorite one of her. She looks so lady-like.
Visit Lisa's blog for more fabulous Black and White Wednesday posts!

Art of Editing

Well, my good friend Lisa has started teaching classes on Photoshop and the Art of Editing. I have always been a bit envious of her pictures and now I have the chance to learn how she edits them. Yay! She is also going to be teaching a few other classes -- Lightroom and a more advanced Photoshop class. She has 3 classes in March and when she finishes those she will schedule her April classes. You can click on the button below to find out more info....

Pretty roses.....

Well, it is time again for black and white Wednesday. My darling husband always gives me roses for Valentine's Day. He started the first Valentine's day that were together/married (they are the same since we met in March and were married in September of the same year). Back in the day, they were delivered to me at work but now he just gets them and has them on the table for when I get up in the morning. He has started getting the girls their own flowers but not roses. He bought them tulips that they can plant together. Here are my flowers with just a little bit of color....



Check out Lisa's blog for more Black and White Wednesday.

B&W Wednesday -- Sophia's new love

Well here it is another week has gone by and it is time for Black & White Wednesday. This is a throwback to Christmas. Sophia has asked for well over a year for a DS. She saw her cousin's DS which is how she knew about them. I was so set against it because I did not/will not have the child that takes their DS everywhere (restaurants, family member's houses). I, however, relented and Santa brought her one for Christmas. I set time limits on them and where and when they can play them. Here she is Christmas morning with her beloved toy:

Please go and see Lisa at The Long Road to China for more Black and White Wednesday pictures. Also she is starting something fantastic if you want to learn more about Photoshop and/or Lightroom.

Our queen...

Well, last Friday night my niece Bailee was on the court for her school's Basketball Homecoming Queen. My mom, the girls, my niece Alexis, my brother and my sister-in-law went to see if she won queen. She didn't win but she will always be a queen to us. I took a few pictures and decided to make one of them black and white for Lisa's Black and White Wednesday.


To see more Black and Whites go to Lisa's blog HERE.

B&W Wednesday and 6 yrs ago

Well it is Black & White Wednesday again. I am still learning how to convert but am having fun doing so especially going back through my lightroom and picking out photos I haven't processed before. This is from this past summer. I took the girls for a photoshoot in their pettiskirts. I wish I knew how to add just a little of the pink that was in Olivia's clothes for this shot.


Now for the 6 yrs ago part -- 6 yrs ago yesterday Olivia was placed in my arms. We got to our hotel about 9 pm and we were handed our babies at 9:30. We had only found out about 4 hours (at the airport waiting for flight to Nanchang) before that we were going to be getting them that night instead of in the morning like the original plan. There were 14 sets of anxious and nervous parents. We have a reunion with our travel group every year (usually February or March) and I can't wait to see our group this year. We celebrated her family day on Sunday by going bowling, the bookstore, dinner of her choice and the ice cream parlor for dessert. I can't imagine our lives without this amazing girl!

Recipe Monday time...Updated with pic and a few notes

It is time again for Recipe Monday that my good friend Colleen of The Nuthouse started. We got several inches of snow on Friday night/Saturday morning so we took the time to stay indoors tried out a new recipe. Mine did not look like the picture in the book -- well it could be because I changed it up a bit LOL. I will put what we did and include the original recipe at the end. I attempted to take a picture of the finished product but it didn't look pretty. It did however taste wonderful! **Pic is now added**

Ice Cream Sandwiches

1 roll (18 oz) of chocolate chip refrigerated cookie dough
1/2 cup caramel sauce
4 cups chocolate chip ice cream, softened
Hot Fudge topping (optional)
Whipped cream (optional)
9 maraschino cherries (optional)

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 13x9-inch baking pan. Let dough stand at room temperature about 15 minutes.

2.) Spread dough evenly into prepared pan; smooth top. Bake about 18 minutes or until the edges are light brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. **Make sure you keep an eye on the cookie. Mine went 22 min per the original recipe and they were a little too hard so I cut the cook time a few minutes.**

3.) Line 8x8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil or plastic wrap, allowing some to hang over edges of pan. Remove cooled cookie from pan; cut in half crosswise. Place 1cookie half, top side down, in prepared pan, trimming edges to fit, if necessary. Spread 1/4 cup caramel evenly over cookie in pan. Spread ice cream evenly over caramel. Spread remaining caramel over bottom of remaining cookie half; place caramel side down on ice cream. Cover tightly with foil or plastic wrap; freeze at least 2 hours or overnight. **We tried it after 2 hours but overnight works much better!**

4.) Cut into bars and top with hot fudge sauce, whipped cream and cherries just before serving, if desired.



Now for the original recipe:

Banana Split Ice Cream Sandwiches

1 roll (18 oz) of chocolate chip refrigerated cookie dough
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup strawberry jam, divided
4 cups strawberry ice cream, softened
Hot Fudge topping (optional)
Whipped cream (optional)
9 maraschino cherries (optional)

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 13x9-inch baking pan. Let dough stand at room temperature about 15 minutes.

2.) Combine dough and bananas in large bowl; beat with electric mixer at medium speed until well blended. Spread dough evenly into prepared pan; smooth top. Bake about 22 minutes or until the edges are light brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

3.) Line 8x8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil or plastic wrap, allowing some to hang over edges of pan. Remove cooled cookie from pan; cut in half crosswise. Place 1cookie half, top side down, in prepared pan, trimming edges to fit, if necessary. Spread 1/4 cup jam evenly over cookie in pan. Spread ice cream evenly over jam. Spread remaining jam over bottom of remaining cookie half; place jam side down on ice cream. Cover tightly with foil or plastic wrap; freeze at least 2 hours or overnight.

4.) Cut into bars and top with hot fudge sauce, whipped cream and cherries just before serving, if desired.

Black and White Wednesday

Well I am trying to get better at posting and I think that with Recipe Monday and Black & White Wednesday I might just accomplish my goal! My friend Lisa at The Long Road to China started B&W Wednesday and although I missed last week I knew I could participate this week. My nephew Austin turned 3 this month and I took his birthday pictures and I turned a few of them into black & whites. This one was my favorite....

Recipe Monday

Well my good friend Colleen started a new thing a few weeks ago called Recipe Monday. I have been a little out of it with some computer issues but am ready to tackle this one today. I made this on Friday night but unfortunately I did not take a picture of the finished dish. So here is my entry:

Cheezy potatoes:

6-7 Potatoes
1/4 c. milk
1/2 stick butter or margarine
1 sm pkg Colby/Monterey Jack cheese (finely shredded)
1 tube Ritz crackers

Spray the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Peel and cut potatoes, rinse and put on the bottom of your dish. Pour in the milk, cut and add the butter around the dish. Sprinkle on the cheese. Bake for about 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees. After, crush the Ritz crackers over the potatoes and bake another 15-20 minutes.

This is a recipe you can halve if you want to. One thing I also like to try with this one is add bacon (either bits or real cooked bacon) just before adding the crackers -- my meat eater of the family loves when I do that!

B & W Wednesday

My good friend Lisa has started a Black and White Wednesday where you process a picture of yours in B&W. I love black and white pictures but I sure don't know what I am doing. LOL I like this picture but I think Olivia's face looks weird but this is my entry anyway.

My pretty Sophia

Sophia turned 5 a month ago and she seems to have just grown up on me overnight. She is a sweet, stubborn, beautiful little girl. She is such a girly girl too. She is ready to start kindergarten but mommy -- not so much. She likes to lay in bed and "practice my reading" as she says but can't read anything yet. I am tempted to start teaching her but am afraid of teaching her before she's ready. I hope she loves to read as much as Olivia and I do.

I am still alive....

Wow! I can't believe it has been over 3 months since my last post. I have been so very busy -- not to mention sick for the last week. I went to Philly last month and had a great time with friends! We laughed until early morning and I was sad when it was time to go to the airport to come home. This group of ladies (Lisa, Marla, Ivy, Colleen, Gail, Steffie and Dita) are wonderful and I am truly blessed to have met each one of you!

We celebrated Sophia's Family Day last month. I can't believe she has been home 4 yrs now. On Friday she will be 5! How did that happen?!?! She is blessed to share her birthday (and name!) with a girl from her school. They have truly become inseparable over the last 1.5 yr. She had a party a couple of weeks ago and we will have family over on Saturday.





This picture is for my girls! You know who you are! ;-)