House Meme

Well we are off to TN for our Adoption Reunion.....the HIGHLIGHT of my summer.... so I will be gone for a few days. I am NOT bringing my computer.....unlike some "OTHER'S" in my group! lol So you will have to wait for "MY" version of the reunion pictures until next Monday morning! ;) My sister and Mother will be here with Baby Daniel.....yes...poor little man is getting left behind. This reunion is about Sophia and her journey so we wanted to pay full attention to her and the families we are seeing. Mommy will soooooooo miss her little Thing 2!............ Thought I would leave you with the Inside House Meme that I was tagged with forever ago! Not pictured is our Master Bath, Laundry Room, Guest Bedroom, Half Bath, Play Room (which I thought I had pictured, but guess not) and Pet room. It was just too much. So here is my simple house.....enjoy.

Living room........ with a few of the Thing's toys here and there! ;)

Dining room table and mirror with lights that I had custom made...........I love Sticks furniture.

Kitchen shots.......a room that I wish was bigger.

A few shots of our bedroom.....we also have a master bath not pictured. This room needs a make over......I'm just not sure when to do it. The next remodel will be getting ready for the baby. That's ok......I'll get to it in time. ;)

Daniel's bedroom and bathroom......... he also has two closets in his room. I didn't take that angle shot. This use to be Emmie's room.......once upon a time....purple and pink......now blue, yellow and red.......I never imagined doing a "boys" room. ;) This is Emmie's room. She will be moving downstairs as we prepare for out next arrival. Lucky girl, she gets another new room. And let me tell you....the closet we are going to build will be HUGE! The girls share quite a nice, large bathroom with a sky light to make it sunny & bright. Obviously this is Sophia's room. Bright and cheery. She can see the "Hamster Run" above her closet. And hanging from her ceiling fan is a Double Happiness ornament we got in China. Little did I know at the time that it indeed would bring us Double Happiness. ;)

Ok...when we added on the girls wing in front of the house, we had extra space up above due to the high ceilings. So my little mind went to work and decided that we needed a little play space for the kids. At first it was just going to be storage......oops....sorry guys...change order......we call it "The Hamster Run"....don't ask me why. It runs along the top of the hallway from Emmie's room all the way down to Sophia's. Sophia LOVES it up here. However, when the guys had to paint it and the carpet guys came...I don't think they were too happy. Oh well...... it's like their very own Harry Potter closet. ;) So there you have it, minus a few rooms....my little home that the Tribe lives in! ;)

Porch/House Meme

I can't even remember who tagged me for this.....no surprise there, right?!?!?!?.....I'm thinking Seventh Diamond. I'm just pleased as punch that I got it done! I use to have a really cute table and chair set under the little porch area. It has now been taken over by the Thing's toys, water table and pool. The Pink Barbie Escalade can often be found parked under there after a cruise down our road. It's a dead end road with minimal traffic and we are at the end. It's great for bike riding, stroller walking or cruising in the Escalade. The kids play on this side of the house. I keep them away from the lake side unless we are swimming in the pool, eating dinner at the picnic table or heading down the dock to load up on one of the boats. The back side of the house. (or front, if you are using proper lake language) It's a deck, but I have another comfy chair that I like under the balcony where I can sit for a little protection from the wind. I often sit here and ponder my thoughts and idea's.

Side view of our house with our pool that we enjoy so much.

My little sun dock. I love having my morning coffee out here on a calm day when the lake looks like glass, its where I come to lay in the sun when the Things are napping and Hubs and I like to come out here in the evening to talk and drink something ice cold. The sunsets are beautiful.

Our little marina. Pontoon boat for entertaining, Speed boat for the fast ride, the older kids speed boat to the far right, two jet ski's which go way too fast and my little sun dock.

The playhouse that Daddy built for Thing 1 and Thing 2 last summer. They both LOVE playing inside it. I'll post pictures of the inside another time.

The kids swing set and play area. We decided to fence it in due to people coming down our street looking for lake property for sale. Behind our garage is our tennis court. I spend quite a bit of time walking/jogging around it with my ipod. Great stress relief for me. It is surrounded by the woods. I get to enjoy the birds, lake breeze and peacefulness. (The big brown barn in the background, right side, is where we store all our stuff) Although I like walking down the road as well, this keeps me close to home in case one of the Things needs me. I usually walk on the tennis court after they are in bed for the night. So there you have it....

The Tribe's Hang Out! lol

Random things about me

Ok....so I am a little behind in my tag postings, so here are some random facts that you might not know about me.

1. I was the Children's Ministry Director at our church for 8 years. Six of those years were volunteer, and my last two, I was paid staff. Reason for leaving....just plain burned out!
2. I made the Varsity Tennis Team as a freshmen in HS and I played doubles. My partner and I were 2nd in the state that year! The Newspaper called us the "The Dynamic Duo"
3. I have a fear of very deep water. If you even touch me in the water I just about panic at the thought of being pulled under. I have extra locks on all my doors leading to the outside so the kids can't get out! I've had drowning dreams about Emmie and Sophia. I expect Daniel's any day now. I wake up nearly hyper-ventilating.
4. I started piano at the age of 4 and competing at age 5. I studied for 10 years with my last year at Western Michigan University.
5. I love summer, hate winter. I use to be a major sun goddess, but when I went in to have what I thought was just a cyst removed, it ended up being basil cell skin cancer. Guess I need to be a little more careful!
6. My favorite out fit to wear would be Gap flare jeans, black shoes/boots, black top of some sort and chunky silver jewelry. I'm a simple kinda gal.
7. I never go anywhere without lip gloss.
8. My favorite perfume is Spellbound by Estee Lauder. I've worn it for the last 15 years.
9. I look really ugly when I try to down hill ski, but my ski outfit is killer and I look s-w-e-e-t in the lodge! lol
10. Most of my family lives in The Netherlands. I traveled there quite a bit through my childhood.

Thinking Blogger Award

Well, I was very surprised when Sue told me she nominated me in one of her top five blogs for this award. I started this blog back in December 2006 because I wanted to stay in touch with the families that we traveled with more. It just took off from there and has probably become my addiction when I have free time to be on my computer! ;) I decided that I wanted my blog to express my views on my family, adoption, things in my life, funny things that the kids do, little daily adventures and to try and be encouraging to those blogs I comment on. I have really enjoyed finding the blogs that I have so far, and I love hearing from everyone. When getting this award you are to link to the award site and nominate 5 of your favorite blogs that make you think.........this was hard...there are so many blogs that I just adore and go to on a daily basis........ So here they are in random order..... I'd add you all, if those were the rules! Jazzie and Tahlia Sandra's blog is one I love to read. She is down to earth, has Motherly wisdom and is not afraid to post trials along with happy posts. Families Grow~Watch Ours Verna is one of my travel mates and has also been known as the "Blog Fairy" I love her creativity and her love for making our blogs fun. She is using the donations she receives to go towards her daughter's trip to Israel and after that I believe she will take donations towards her second adoption. Who wouldn't want to help support that???? Pandapalooza Panda Mom's blog is a place I go to for spiritual encouragement. She always has that perfect scripture that hits home and has wonderful links that you can go to for encouragement as well. The Mad Race For Macey Kris has overcome so many obstacles in her life. She is recovering from many trials. She has accomplished GREAT ones!!!! I applaud her for adopting a child from China as a single woman. Her blog makes you think and her photography ability is remarkable. Seventh Diamond Kimberley is on her journey with her first adoption. She is a Mother that has wisdom. Her blog encourages and celebrates the joy of fellow bloggers. She is very artistic and will become a good friend to me during this long wait ahead of us. Now, take the time to stop by their blogs. And for those of you that I have nominated, I hope that you will share your favorite "Thinking Blogs" with us as well!

Side Note: I totally forgot about Panda Mom's post about the blogger issues! I'm so drawn to hers for other reasons that when this little thinking award started going around in bloggerland.....I just thought of her! Please stop by her blog...you'll see why it was so easy for me to choose her! ;) I'm so sorry Panda Mom!

Tag Time

Well, I have been tagged by Kimberley over at Seventh Diamond to show where I do all my blogging. I recently purchased a new computer so I could have a bigger screen and get my laptop off my kitchen counter. With Daniel and Sophia, the easiest place to have my computer is in a little corner of the living room, so this is what I came up with. I originally started my blog so I could keep in contact with my travel mates better. It soon became a blog world addiction and I have met so many people. I enjoy reading about their families and it is a place I can come to for support, laughter and encouragement. I also keep a note book for ideas or interesting facts I read along the way. Thank you all for sharing, and stopping by my blog. I now tag, Becky, Nikki, Blog Fairy, Daleea, and Sandra. P.S. be sure to check below for the nugget update! lol

Tagged

I've been Tagged.........

Available or Taken.............Happily Taken

Best Friend...............Several great friends that I couldn't live w/o

Cake or pie.............Pie

Drink of Choice.........Water or Energy Drink

Essential item I use everyday............Microwave (Daniel's bottles)

Favorite Color..........Purple

Gummy Bears of Worms..............Gummy Bears

Hometown...............Battle Creek

Indulgence..............Getting to go to Maui every spring break

January or February.........February, it's a shorter month

Kids names..........Emmie, Sophia, Daniel, DJ, Susan and James

Life incomplete w/o..........Family, Friends and God

Marriage............July 31, 1992

Number of siblings...........two wonderful adopted sisters. Corrie and Ingrid

Oranges or Apples.........Apples with peanut butter

Phobias or fears.....when the power goes out in the middle of the night

Quote........Red Thread........we all know it! ;)

Reason to smile..........family and we are happy and healthy

Season......Summer......I am a sun goddess

Tag 3 people.........Dawn, Rhonda and April

Unknown fact about me............I am a blinkie and Gymboree addict!

Veggie I don't like..........raw veggies.........YUCK!

Worst Habit...........Thinking too hard

Xrays..........back

Your favorite food.........Chinese from Yen Chings

Zodiac.......Gemini

ABC Tag

Ok.......I have been tagged again and I know that if I don't respond, my Nazi blogger friends will hunt me down, so here goes..........lol

A is for Age

I am 39 and holding

B is for Beer

I don't drink it often, but if i do, it has to be really cold and in a chilled glass

C is for Career

I was our Children's Ministry Director for about 6 years. Now I am a SHAM! Love it!

D is for Dog's name

Boomer and he is a chocolate lab

E is for Essential items I use everyday

My lap top and cell phone

F is for Favorite TV show

I don't know that I have a favorite. But I loved Knot's Landing! (dating myself, I know)

G is for favorite Game

I like playing cards

H is for Hometown

Battle Creek

I is for Instruments I play

The piano, flute and piccolo

J is for favorite Juice

Cran-Grape

K is for whose butt I'd like to Kick

My own....I really need to lose 10 lbs

L is for the Last place I ate

Out? The Grille last night with Emmie and David

M is for Marriage

I've been married for 14 years to a very generous, giving and loving man

N is for my Name

Stefanie

O is for Overnight hospital stay

Well, I've had two children by c-section and few other overnights as well

P is for People I was with today

My children, my sister Ingrid, my husband and the thousands of people at the mall

Q is for Quote

An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break.

R is for biggest Regret

Not adopting sooner in my life

S is for Sport

Tennis, volleyball and soccer

T is for the Time I woke up today

Well, if you count that fact that I began my day at 11:35PM last night and stayed up until 2:27AM with Daniel.......and then the alarm going off at 5:30AM.......I've been up a LONG time already! Not a happy Mama! It's going to be a JAVA day......ALL DAY!!!!

U is for current Underwear

Pink and black.......only from Victoria Secret!

V is for Vegetable you love

Broccoli, corn and a good salad

W is for Worst habit

Stressing over things I have no control over

X is for X-rays I've had

Lungs and kidneys

Y is for Yummy food you ate today

So far it has only been coffee and not nearly enough. The caffeine buzz is sure to hit soon!

Z is for Zodiac

Gemini

Blog Tag

So, our newest blogger friend Nikki decided to start a blog tag. (I think) And my other computer techno wiz friend Becky, made up this cute clip art.

Here are A Few of My Favorite Things.............

1. Spending time with my family.

2. Summer Time

3. Singing and listening to music

4. Going out on the weekends with my husband

5. SHOPPING

6. Drinking anything hot right now due to this cold weather

7. Basking in the sunshine and lounging on the boat

8. Dreaming about my 2nd daughter from China

9. My friends........near and far

10. Our church

Now......A Few of Miss Sophia's Favorite Things........

1. Sissy

2. The rest of us.......Mommy, Daddy and Deedal (Daniel)

3. coloring and stickers

4. snuggling with her favorite baby and orange satin blanket

5. Wiggles, Barney, Dora, The Big Comfy Couch and Blues Clues

6. Mr. Potato Head

7. Deli meat, BBQ chips, Dibs, apples, grapes, blueberries, cookies, OJ, and Mandarin Oranges, fried rice, yogurt.....she really is a good eater.

8. Going places with Mommy

9. Playing with In-gee (Aunt Ingrid)

10. Being happy........she is always happy and wants us to be "happy too?"

I suppose I could on and on................these are just a "Few" of my Favorite Things. After all......"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!" ;)

TAG............your it........Becky, Verna, Emmie, Pam, Dawn and Beth! ;)