New Niece!
Posted by ahechtenns On December 21, 2007
Here is the site http://www.passthepaska.com/index.php check her out!Â
Lots of happiness today!
Posted by ahechtenns On December 20, 2007
Well, it’s been a day with mostly good news.  My brother, wife and children arrived.  They will be spending Christmas with us. We are very exicted.  We managed to get to the tree farm and marched around in the snow and found a tree.  Uncle M cut it down, and we hauled it back.  Tomorrow it will get decorated.
Also on the good news front we have a new NIECE! WHOOHOOO!!! She was born at 7:05pm Ukraine time.  At this point we hear mom and baby are doing well.  I hope Uncle B has a picture on his web site tomorrow.
Making Gingerbread
Posted by ahechtenns On December 17, 2007
Today R and I made gingerbread. We had to do something.  R is in the process of giving up her naps. Well, to be truthful, I should rephrase that. R has given up her naps, and I am still adjusting to it. So at 3pm we decided to make gingerbread cookies.  It was a lot of work, but R had a good time. It was a great time with playdough for her. They turned out alright, but I know why I don’t make a lot of cookie cutter type cookies anymore.
Need I say more?? What a darling cutie
Posted by ahechtenns On December 16, 2007
Dinner with friends
Posted by ahechtenns On December 15, 2007
We had a lovely dinner with 2 of our family friends that have also adopted from China.  We finally have a picture of the 3 little girls on the couch. It was tough, but we finally got a half decent picture of the 3 girls!Â
100 Good Wishes Quilt
Posted by ahechtenns On December 13, 2007
I’m so excited!  R’s 100 good wishes quilt is done!  I finished piecing it in late August, and I took it in to be quilted. It just came back.  The picture really doesn’t do it justice. There are more pictures in the gallery.
Family Day
Posted by ahechtenns On December 13, 2007
Well, 3 years ago today we became a family of 3.  What and exicitng time.  We had dinner out this evening, and had some lovely cake while watching our adoption movie. It’s so hard to believe that our sweetie was so small!! R was also thrilled to see herself as a baby.  Very happy memories. We are so very blessed to be together.
Eagerly awaited
Posted by ahechtenns On December 10, 2007
We are waiting for news of a new nephew or niece. A’s brother and wife are in Ukraine and awaiting the birth of their first child. V every so dilligently posted a list of what she is supposed to bring to the hospital with her. Check it out! http://www.passthepaska.com/index.php
Wow. Enough said.
Day 8 – back home
Posted by ahechtenns On December 9, 2007
We made it home safely.  R watched her first full length movie on the airplane, Ratatouie.  It was so funny to watch both her and daddy with their headphones on, stareing so intently at the screen.  I couldn’t even give her anything to eat. I tried to wave a cracker in front of her eyes, she didn’t blink, her eyes stayed plastered to the screen. I finally put it in her hand, a second later she drags her eyes away from the screen for a second which she used to toss the cracker back my way. Ok. Point taken. Don’t bother me while I’m in my movie zone.  She did drift off to sleep for the last bit of the movie which was good as it was nap time.Â
Oh I have to tell you what happened at the airport. We finally made it through check-in and a very croweded security check, and I bought a bottle of water (as my daughter was hollering for a drink).  I emptied the bottle into my re-usable SIGG container, and I looked around for a recycling can.  I couldn’t find one, and seeing 2 security guards, I went over to ask them. I politely interrupted their conversation and asked where I could recycle the bottle.  The super tall (at least 6’5″) guard gives me a huge smile and says to me “You’re from Canada, aren’t you?”. I laughed and replied I was.  He said “you people up there recycle everything”.  I polietly agreed. Then he told me they don’t recycle.  The garbage was the only option.  I asked if they recycled in the larger city of Ft. Lauderdale, he said no. “Not even PAPER?” was my response.  No he replied. He told me he had lived in Canada for 7 years and was quite into recycling. He seemed pretty ashamed that there wasn’t any sort of recycling. WOW. Here in my ignorance, I assumed that most of Canada and US recycle! It is so sad. Even our cruise ship had paper recycling bins in every stateroom.
Day 7 – Half Moon Cay
Posted by ahechtenns On December 8, 2007
Day 7 – Half Moon Cay
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Today we docked at an island that Holland America leases from the Bahamas.  It was beautiful, talcum powder soft white sand, and clear turquoise water. Wow. A delight.  We got some beach chairs and the fun began.  R was in and out of the water.  We alternated between the simple beach and a play structure they had built that had 2 small water slides.  They also had some floating logs/crabs/sharks for the kids to climb on tethered in the water. We were there by about 8:30 and were in the water until close to 12pm.
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Further down the island they had a BBQ with fresh salads and fruit. They had these little huts spread out past the kitchen/grill area. Each hut had 9 picnic tables, and was surrounded by tropical bushes. It was a delightful place to eat lunch.  Shortly after that we caught the tender back to the ship, and R had a nap. After daddy and her went swimming again, and I started packing. Our vacation is over.  We look forward to being home, and celebrating Christmas with you our friends and family.
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