Mother's Day - 2006

I thought today would be hard. Last year, on this day, I thought for sure that I had celebrated my last Mother's Day as a non-mom. But then I started thinking....

A few years ago, my nephew wished me a Happy Mother's Day. While the sentiment was ultra-sweet, I had wanted to cry. It made me sad because I thought that I would never be a mom. I was at that place. Hope-less. Fast forward 3 or 4 years, and here I am...full of hope and wishes and dreams. Next year --- for sure --- there will be the beautiful and amazing Maya in my life! And I will wear the title of Mom proudly.

15 years ago (or something like that) single women would not have been allowed to adopt. Period. I am SO thankful for the US and Chinese Governments that have seen the possibilities and the validity of the single-parent adoption. I may be Maya's only parent - but she will know the love of many.

While Maya may not physically feel the love of a mother right this moment..she is loved and doubly blessed. She has TWO moms who are thinking about her...and loving her from afar.

I'm looking forward to next year's Mother's Day - but will cherish this one, too - because I know the love of a mother - and I know the love of BEING a mother.

More secret pal fun!

A few weeks ago, I received another box from my secret pal. What a great suprise these boxes of goodies are each month. I LOVE getting presents for Maya - it makes this long wait a little easier, and it makes it feel more real. For April, I received the most darling dress - red gingham with some embroidered flowers, ladybugs and butterflies. I also received some more scrapbooking items. A darling scrapbook that can be personalized with Maya's name on the front and some embelishments. There was also thesoftest and cutest baby doll in the box. I can almost picture Maya in that dress - here are some pictures!!



A close-up of the embroidery - SO cute!



scrapping and the cutest baby-doll!

Secret Pal surprises!

Last weekend, my new China mom-to-be friend, Diana, came to visit. Of course I would like to think that she came ONLY to visit me ... but we had another surprise in mind. Diana's secret pal for the July DTC group is none other than fellow St. Louis China mom-to-be, Dee Dee. After some stealth like planning on my part (ha ha!), I got Dee Dee (and other friend, Carla) to meet me for lunch on Saturday. We all sat down together and I was getting ready to take pictures when Diana comes over the the table and asks Dee Dee if she is Lia's mom. Dee Dee was quite suprised (and a little suspicious) to have someone ask her this question. We then "revealed" Diana as Dee Dee's secret pal and ended up spending the rest of the day together. Here are some of the pictures from a fun day with my new pals!

This is Diana finding her first Missouri geo-cache!


Dee Dee and Diana - suspicious or suprised?


A visit to the Butterfly House!