Oh, The Clouds Did Part!

Here are a few shots from our day. Once friends started arriving for our party, and the fun began, I let go of taking any more pictures. Annie's friend Gabriel came, Eliza, Miles, Spencer too. Then Rinny (and her friend Abbey), Chloe and Ezra came after school, then when Dallas and Natalie from down the street saw the jump house, they came running too. As you can see above, Papa brought Annie tulips for her birthday...

...and we gave out violets (from our local garden center Nina!) and bubbles as party favors.

We decorated the house with some color flags.

And Jasper watched the jump house go up but was strictly forbidden to go in!

Then Sara and Ezra bounced and bounced and bounced, and were the last one's to leave the jump house.

Thank you everyone for helping to celebrate six years of Annie with us!

It's Annie's 6th birthday today!
Six! I can hardly believe it!
Today we are going to have a little party around 3:00 to celebrate. I've got cupcakes, cut-up veggies, sandwiches, and a small violet plant for each child. She also wanted to give bubbles as party favors, so we bought them and we made custom labels to commemorate the day. I did most of the production, with Annie as art director, plus she wrote the copy (I did a little editing. I wasn't comfortable with 'butt' and 'vomit', which she thought were hilarious, but I left in poo-poo for that authentic six-year-old flavor.) Her final copy goes

"Silly bubbles buffalo blow,
flower funny fu-fu-fee-fee,
wacky wooky walrus ice,
penguin poo-poo, party favor,

Love Annie"



I'm not sure what I'm going to do with six kids trapped inside my tiny house if it continues to rain like it has all day and night...I guess they'll just run around and trash the place and have some fun! Wish me luck.

Here's to Olive!

Here's a link to a blogger from Australia that my Aunt Pat, AKA LaLa Pat, found out about and forwarded to me. Her name is Olive Riley and she's 107 years old. She just started her blog this month and she's only posted a few times. Olive has a friend/helper setting things up and doing her typing as she narrates. I'm interested in following her blog and what she will choose to post about given her age and life experiences. Check her out here allaboutolive.com.
Thanks Pat!

Between the Raindrops

We dashed out between storms today and played at the beach. Ahhhhhhh. I love being outside after a storm. So does Annie and her friends Corinne and Chloe.

Irish Heartbeat

The first time we went to Ireland was in 2001. A few days before we left (we bought non-refundable tickets) we heard through our adoption agency that Annie's Birthmother Patricia wanted us to parent her baby. It was our first "nibble" in the nine months we had been waiting. What a thrill! Only we still hadn't heard from her. Not a call or any signal from her at all. So it seemed like a vague possibility, and one with high risk factors. One of which, it was still unknown whether or not Annie's Birthtfather was going to agree to the adoption. So we went to the West of Ireland. We wandered. We explored. We were healed and renewed by the enormous amount of green. We walked. We ate. We breathed. We absolutely loved it. We also wondered...is our baby on it's way to us?

We arrived home on Presidents Day weekend. We met Patricia that Thursday. She was 39 weeks pregnant. We (Bill & I & Patricia) knew immediately that it was right. The following Tuesday we were in labor. Ten hours after that we had a daughter. We cut the cord. We came home. We became a family! We had grafted a whole new branch onto our family tree.

Then three years later, we took Annie back to Ireland for her third birthday. My Sister Fran Fran and Aunt LaLa Pat came too. We rented a cottage in Dingle bay together and had a wonderful time!

This time of year reminds me of Ireland.

We'd go back in a heartbeat!

(Photos from the top)
Me in the garden behind the cottage we rented in Sligo.
Annie the morning of her birthday.
Annie and I in Doolin.

little frida

Once again Annie is in her "Frida" mode. Most days she's asking for a uni-brow, braids on her head and festive dress. She also wants to look at the works of Frida Kahlo which can be bloody, sad and intense. Yikes! I've told her about Frida's life and how her body was injured and that it had a lifelong and painful effect on her health and life. Thankfully there are all the wonderful images of life too. Frida with animals, friends and flowers. And of course, with a paintbrush. Viva Frida!

Rosy, Blossoming, New and Promised

I enjoyed BITTER BETTY'S BLOGS recent post of color so much I decided to try one of my own. It's in honor of Valentines Day 2007, and also for the coming Spring, and all that is rosy and blossoming, new and promised.

PHOTOS:
(Top to Bottom)
Perfect pink planter sitting atop the upstairs potty.
My riotous new rain boots from Jane.
The Whispering Moon on Annie's wall.
Annie enjoying a freshly bloomed Breath of Heaven bouquet.
Red vintage trim that I scored on my last trip to visit Pat.
Annie's salmon-pink, much-loved water bottle from LaLa.
Annie's petal pink silk bedspread from Grandma and Grandpa.
The only shoes Annie's worn these last five months or so. Can't you tell?