Baby Hanger - or - How's The View Up There in the Cheap Seats?

Ever seen one of these?

The Baby Keeper - for a Bird's Eye View!

Smarty Pants Dance

Brightman Review

We recently attended a Sarah Brightman concert here in Central Florida.

Head on over to The Other Blog - Content: Questionable for my review of the over the top event featuring popera's biggest nutjob.

Pray for Our President Elect

We are about 10 days out from the beginning of a new presidency in the United States. We've had some tough times this last decade and Barach Obama is going to have a full plate when he takes office shortly.
Regardless of party affiliation, our nation needs to come together and pray to God for this man who will lead our nation. God will hear the prayers of the people as we pray for wisdom, direction and peace for Barach Obama.
The election circus is over - it is time to put it behind us and get on board in the reconstruction of a country in need of God's hand directly on the shoulders of our new president ....... let us pray .......

Giant Lemon Arrives in Central Florida

Story at

http://joannamei.blogspot.com

Need access? Drop us an e-mail .....

duoloco@cfl.rr.com

What to Do With Great Art .......

..... when there's no more room on the refrigerator .....

JMei's Wall of Art on the way to the utility room.

We bought some shirt gift boxes after Christmas.

When the wall is full, the objects d'arte get stowed away in the boxes

until she's ..... maybe 18 .....

when we'll give her the boxes of art to do with what she wants.

Happy New Year and Congratulations!

Happy New Year, Y'all ....... and congratulations to all those who received their first glimpse of their new family member!

LIDs through the review room:

February 28, 2007 (no change)

LIDs through referral:

February 28, 2006

Ye Dan Kuai Le

The closest I could come to "Merry Christmas" in Chinese ......

Ye is short for Ye Su, which is the transliterated name for Jesus.
Su means to revive, to come to, or to rise again.
Kuai le is happiness, joy, delight, or rejoicing.
Thus, Ye Dan Kuai Le, or Jesus' Birth Happy, is how you say Merry Christmas in Chinese.

.... and Happy Hanukah (The name "Hanukkah" derives from the Hebrew verb "חנך", meaning "to dedicate". On Hanukkah, the Jews regained control of Jerusalem from an invading army and rededicated the Temple. At the re-dedication there was only enough consecrated olive oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil. So, Hanukkah is celebrated for 8 days and nights) to our Jewish friends in Blogland ..... Joanna Mei reminded me of this yesterday as she babbled along in the back seat and said something that sounded like "Shalom" ..... from the mouths of babes.

The Narnia Tree - Then & Now

The spirit of the past 2 or 3 Christmases without Joanna Mei are reflected in the pics below.

Christmas decorations & lights were minimal.

In 2007, we put "The Narnia Tree" in the thicket on the side of our house.

It was named for the mythical land in CS Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia".

The land was always cold and snowy

and the blue lights on the tree gave the area the feel of a cool evening.

Click on the pic above for the full view. It's kinda cool......

This year, the addition of the lights strung in the trees was added.

The presence of Joanna Mei in our home is reflected in the decorations throughout the house.

Referrals!

CCAA has updated the portal to reflect referrals matched through LID February 22, 2006. Some blogs are reporting 2/23/2006.

We congratulate the new parents who have been waiting for this news.

JMei is doing the dance of joy for y'all.

And the prize for the LONGEST PREGNANCY goes to......

.......the Alpine Salamander.........found in the central and eastern Alps. It gives birth to 2 young .... at lower altitudes, the pregnancy lasts for 2 years and at higher altitudes it jumps to 3 years ...... longer than placement of a child from China. We should all rejoice that we are not Alpine Salamanders living above the tree line!

......and the runner up......... the African Elephant.......the pregnancy lasts for around 22 - 24 months.This is one of the longest gestation periods in the animal kingdom. (The blue whale, for example, has a gestation period of around 1 year.)

As for those in the Waiting Room for China Adoption, does the pregnancy begin with the decision to adopt and attendance at an informational meeting - or - with the LID. If we're talking about the latter, then we're doing a bit better than the elephant and hopefully ....... the salamander.

It was 2 years ago that we originally posted this peice. Well, it indeed WAS 3 years from the beginning of the paperchase to our Forever Day, so at that point, the gestation period of the Alpine Salamander at high altitude was just about in line with the CCAA's time frame.

"Merry Christmas" from "Habitat for Insanity"

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo Boo?

Living so close to the Magic Kingdom, The Empress and myself get to visit often (annual passes - big Disney bucks) and love the place. She gets a ride or two and I get some exercise pushing the royal stroller. This happens just as the parks open as crowds increase over the course of 2 hours - then, it's back home for a nap and lunch.
Many times, we observe young girls, around 5ish, decked out in princess costumes (made of the finest 100% polyester) accompanied by tierras, scepters, big hair and rather garish makeup. Turns out, these lovely little girls have been to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.
One morning, after a visit to the MK, I stumbled across a reference to the attraction in an adoption blog. Here is one person's description of the pamper parlor ....... At the Bibbidi Bobbibi Boutique, Disney takes dress-up to a new level, giving each girl her own station in the salon and her very own “Fairy Godmother-in-training” whose job is to pamper her with every accessory and service a Princess could possibly want. Parents can choose from three packages at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique: the “Coach Package” which includes a hair style and shimmering make-up (for $35), the “Crown Package” which includes hair style, shimmering make-up and nails (for $45), or the ultimate “Castle Package” which includes the Crown Package plus a Princess photo shoot and a complete Disney Princess costume of her choice with accessories (starting at $175). After her makeover, each girl is given a pink sash that says “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique” — so everyone who sees her knows that she’s an official Disney Princess.

For some folks, the money is a drop in the bucket (not for this HomeDaddy), however, beyond the big bucks, is this giving the girls a false sense of value? I mean, $200.00 for a temporary fantasy? Maybe I'm making too much of it. After all, aren't we adults entitled to $200.00 fantasies on another level? Shouldn't we get our little girls ready to grow into bigger fantasies? Am I stirring the pot here?

Here is Disney's Web blurb on the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique, as well as another blogger who comes close to my feelings on the Baby Spa.

Don't get me wrong ...... we LOVE the Disney parks. I'm just a bit unsettled on this one. Next month's topic .......
"Children's Beauty Pageants".

Happy Thanksgiving......

.........from Joanna Mei

JMei's 2nd Birthday Pics

Head on over to

JMei, Bebe & HomeDaddy -or- Tales from the Cryb

for some great pics of JMei's big day!

Baby in a Tree

A friend sent us this illustration.

If you don't look for a baby, you'll see the baby.

Pretty cool..........

Deja Vu

Joanna Mei returns to her homeland via the China pavillion at EPCOT.

Pics over at Joanna Mei, Bebe & HomeDaddy - or - Tales from the Cryb

JMei enjoys a performance of "Beauty and the Beast" at the Disney Holloywood Studios. We found a walkway along a canal which leads from the Boardwalk Hotel (where we sometimes take walks around the lagoon) to the Studios. Since we were already there, we went inside and caught a show. Not sure there's much else there for toddlers.

More pics of our morning at the Studios over on "Joanna Mei, Bebe & HomeDaddy -or- Tales from the Cryb"

Brunch With The Empress

....... just in case you happen to be in Orlando .....

Please join us for

A Brunch to Cover All Bases


Including

Welcome Joanna Mei
Be’s 50th Birthday
Joanna Mei’s 2nd Birthday

Saturday, November 8, 10 AM

Bring a brunch item to share – we’ll have some breakfast casseroles and coffee for y’all.

Gifts: Not necessary. JMei received SO many that we’re rewrapping some and giving them to her at Christmas!(of course ….. we could STILL use that SUV)

Drop us an e-mail at duoloco@cfl.rr.com for directions.

Trunk or Treat

Our church, Windermere Baptist Church, sponsors the annual Trunk or Treat in our area and this year's event was quite a success. Church members deck out their trunks with family oriented themes, dress themselves up and give out the treats to the attendees. People came by the hundreds figuring that the Baptists were 'low risk' for handing out tainted/booby trapped candies. 10 inflatable play areas, a contemporary gospel band and food prepared by the Boy Scouts completed the offerings of the evening.

Other pics are over on "Joanna Mei, Bebe & HomeDaddy - Tales From the Cryb".

Sign in is required - leave an e-mail at duoloco@cfl.rr.com if you'd like to follow Joanna Mei's journey.

Windermere Police officer, John, catches Joanna Mei 'double dipping' in one of the candy tubs.

Vince, one of the founding members of the church, displays his great sense of humor as he poses between 2 skeletons singing Old Time Gospel Music. He rigged the skeletons so that he could control the jaws to move as Bill Gaither music played.
His theme was
"Old Time Gospel Music Never Dies".
I laughed like a soprano when I saw Vince and his buddies.


The Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe Slide.
One of 10 inflatables at "Trunk or Treat".

Katie - one of Joanna Mei's best friends at church.

I can't comeup with a caption for this one.