Monday, May 24, 2010

Yo-Ho Yo-Ho A Pirate's Life For Me...

OK...Many of you know that we are true Disney Fans! Never thought I would actually be saying that out loud ~ it let alone post it, but here we are! I always did like the "big mouse" but it wasn't until the girls came into our lives that I truly understood what Disney and all its magic means...

Even though we are currently getting ready for our next China journey to bring home our Benjamin (praying for our travel to happen this June), the girls are also gearing up for our next Disney vacation again this January. I know ~ it seems like such a long time from now, but seeing how my sister & I plan every.single.detail. so we can get the most out of our 12 days there, our house {and phone conversations} are already buzzing!




now with Disney in mind...

It seems lately the girls favorite song from anything Disney is ~ "Yo-Ho Yo-Ho A Pirate's Life For Me"! They have been playing & singing it so much I think the song is embedded into my brain...And ever since they got this very colorful and fun parrot hat from Aunt Lisa & Uncle Scott, the song has taken on a whole new meaning ~ especially for our Annabelle! Because according to her it is her "pirate hat".






Isn't it just too funny!



I mean check out the size of that hat!


Apparently, Annabelle thinks it is funny too!
Yep ~ this crazy & true Disney fan family will be headed out once again to the place "Where dreams do come true"...

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

"Thinking of..." Black & White Wednesday

I know it has been some time since I last posted to Lisa's amazing Black & White Wednesday, but in all defense...I have been busy (and a little crazy at times too)! As many of you know, we are getting ready to travel once again to China for our third child ~ our first son! And while I do see my world of dolls, dress-up, and pretend make-up soon to be including Hot Wheels, bubble guns, race tracks, and insect houses ~ I am loving everything about it!

I never imagined myself having a little boy...

Well ~ almost never...

Back many moons ago before I even thought adoption was possible for us ~ for me....

I was so sure that if God blessed me with a baby, that baby would be a boy. I used to think about boys names constantly ~ Micheal Kristopher, Kristopher Joseph, Joshua Micheal, Kevin Randy, and Randy Kevin...well you get the idea...(I explain later about the name choices)...

As you can see, our family did not start off by having a little boy but was truly blessed by adopting a baby girl from China and seeing how I had no girls names in mind, I had to come up with something quickly.

I do believe many of you know how I got Francesca's name. It is really simple. I wanted an Italian name for my daughter. Coming from a family of 100% Italian blood flowing through our veins, I knew I wanted my daughter to become a part of our very rich and proud heritage! My mom, grandmother and I started playing the name game...Stelina, Carmela, Antonella, Bianca, Caterina, Nicolina (after my grandmother) and Chiara...but none of theses names felt like the perfect one for our perfect daughter. Than one night while flipping through the channels on our TV, I came across the movie, "Under The Tuscan Sun" which only started about five minutes prior to me coming across it. Having seen this movie before and truly enjoying it, I put down the remote and started watching it ~ once again ~ for probably the 15th time. As many of you know, the main character of the movie name was Frances. So when she decided to restart her life and move from the states to Italy, her name quickly changed from Frances to Francesca. I so can remember the exact point in the movie where her name is being called out, "Francesca!" It was at that moment I knew what I wanted my daughter's name to be.

As for our Annabelle ~ that is really simple. Her unknown and amazing sponsor while she was at Hope in Beijing was responsable for the funding her life saving surgery. Her sponsor named her Annabelle Faith and seeing how we are so beyond grateful to this unknown person, we just had to keep her name given to her by this blessed angel.

Now getting back to our little man....

It's not that I never imagined being blessed with a little boy, but after traveling down the roads that we did to get where were, our two girls were all I ever thought we would be blessed with.

And as you all know...that one year ago this past month on May 4, 2009 that all changed for us.

We were asked to review a file on a very special little boy in Luoyang City Children's Welfare, Henan Province, China and within minutes of seeing his face and reading his history, we said YES!!!

a little boy from China....

So that leads me to where I am at today ~ thinking of China once again. Our travel time is coming up fast, for I am thinking we will be traveling sometime in June and getting a family of four ready to travel for over two weeks to country that is half way around the world is not easy...let alone packing for number five.

This is a photo that Keith took when we visited the Summer Palace back in 2008 (when we traveled for our Annabelle). It is also one of the photos I was able to save from my crashed notebook. After tweeking it up just a bit and changing it from color to black & white, I knew it was the perfect photo for me to share with you all today of where we are headed...

chinese lantern 1 B&W


and just so I can show off some of Keith's amazing photography here is the original photo that was taken...

chinese lantern 1


So there you have your answer ~ this is what I am "thinking of..."


(if you are interested in learning more about our little man who is waiting for us in China and would like to follow along in our journey this coming summer, please visit his web site.)

Now as for those boys names...I wanted the name Micheal for he would be named after the little boy my grandmother lost some many years ago. As for Kristopher, Joseph, and Joshua, they are just some names that I loved and as for Kevin and Randy...My husband Keith is an identical twin. His brother's name is Russell. When the twins were born, four names were tossed around...Keith, Kevin, Russell, and Randy. Keith & Russell where the chosen names so in honer of those two names that could have been ~ they too were in the running. But seeing how we chosen Benjamin ~ none of those names were the perfect choice for our little man.


Make sure you check out all the truly talented photographers that feature their personal breath-taking B&W photos on Lisa's Black & White Wednesday! And if you have a black & white to share with everyone else, please do so on her web site!

the long road

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Article 5 (our second LOA)

YES ~ finally after what seemed like ~ forever ~ we received word today from our agency that our Article 5 has been picked our by their rep in Guangzhou at the US Consulate and it is currently on its way to be delivered to the CCAA in Beijing! Once all the paper work is reviewed by the CCAA, China will than issue us our TA (travel approval)!

Yes...we are almost there...

As for the home front, life is busy.

Between, shopping for Benjamin, shopping for the girls (both~mostly for China), shopping for all the other essentials we need for China, cooking my butt off so I can pack my two freezers so I don't have to cook once we get home, working on our Visas (yes they should of had been done by now), getting our home in PA on the market, planning our next BIG Disney vacation for January (the last time we were there for almost two weeks and this time I am thinking we'll be there a few days longer...) and just all the other normal ins & outs that many of us deal with every day...there is never enough time for me to do what I would like to do...

I am really hoping that once we return from China...life as I know it will return...

Anyway, here's praying that we receive our TA in 2 weeks rather than 4...sigh

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Annabelle's 3rd Birthday Celebration!!!!

April 28, 2010

Annabelle's 3rd Birthday Celebration!

Happy Birthday to Our Sweet & Spicy Little Girl ~ We Love & Adore You So Very Much...





Just a quick post here to let my family & friends know that I have not disappeared. Things have been crazy ~ once again ~ in the Leonard household. With summer approaching so very fast as well as our possible travel to China for our darling son, Benjamin...my to-do list appears to be never-ending {sigh}. I have been trying my best to keep you all updated on Benjamin's web site with all the ins & outs of where we are at. It is now looking like we will be traveling some time this coming June...


As for life here, we are getting ready for Francesca to start Kindergarten (can you hear me whimpering because I am not taking it well...) and Annabelle to start Preschool this coming fall as well as traveling for our little man. We truly have so much to be thankful for and know how much we have been blessed with...