Oh Eight

As Frank and I bid a fond farewell to a great 2007 we are especially excited to ring in 2008 because, if everything goes according to plan, it is the year we will bring home our child!

Yep, it is theee year. Our baby announcements will have the year 2008 on them. Our plane tickets. Our child's passport. Hundreds of important receipts. All those final documents and signatures. Ten thousand questions will be answered as we hold our Habibi in our arms and get to know his/her personality, strengths and quirks. We will plant the first of a million kisses on that little forehead and learn about love in a whole new way.

Could it really be that we will soon be all hunkered down, snug in our little routine of family joys, trials and triumphs? It's hard to imagine not being a waiting family anymore, although all of this waiting is strangely comforting. Don't get me wrong; we don't want to wait any longer than we must! But I kinda like the antici......pation. I relish in imagining the future in all of it's potential perfection. It's exciting and comforting. And as Blondie says, dreaming is free.

Speaking of dreams, every New Year's Day I write down my biggest goals for the year. Last year I did things a little differently. Instead of writing down words, I drew little iconic pictures of the things I wanted to accomplish. I heard that drawing pictures of your goals, even in just a rudimentary stick figure style, establishes them in your mind more solidly, making them more likely to be achieved.

Today I looked back at the 15 goals I drew last year. My success rate is about the same as prior years (roughly 70%), but I will draw them again this year because it's just more fun! My most notable unaccomplished goal of 2007 is, of course, becoming a family of three. Although it didn't quite happen by year-end, we made great strides and hope to check that off very soon!

Here are some of my drawings of a few of last year's goals:

Become a Family of 3:

Allow Less Money to Fly out the Window

Cook More Often

Frank is the real artist in the family, although my slippers, apron and giant oven mitt are totally hot. ;-)

Well, I need to go get ready for tonight. Nothing sparkly this year. We've declined several parties in order to babysit/have a slumber party for 2 of our sweet nieces. And we are more than happy to spend a lovely evening with them this year instead of partying downtown. They are a lot more enjoyable than over-imbibed revelers stepping on our toes and knocking over our drinks. We are sure to have more fun here than at the biggest bash out there! Hmmm...on second thought, I think sparkles are in order.

I wish everyone a safe and happy New Year! Let's all hold on tight to our little planet hurtling through space as we soar into 2008!

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Dear Habibi,

At the stroke of midnight, with our glasses raised, your daddy and I will toast to you. In Kazakhstan it will already be 11 am on New Year's Day. I wonder what you will be doing. Going down for a nap? Having a second bottle? Snuggling for a brief moment with your favorite caretaker? Whatever it may be I hope that at that moment you will feel the extra dose love we are sending over to you, effervescent like the Champagne bubbles in our glasses and tickling you from your toes to your nose. Happy New Year little love. It's going to be a stellar one.