Can you help this picture?

This is one of my most favorite pictures of us with Kobe. Here's the scene ~ It was June and our first trip to meet the little cutie pie and it was EARLY (anything before noon is EARLY to me) and we were getting ready to leave to have our appointment at the US Embassy in Port au Prince. We wanted to get a photo of us with the boy as proof that we both had spent time with him in Haiti - that way we get the good Visa. So we got our picture but then someone brought out this old polaroid film and we figured we might as well use it and we got this gorgeous picture of our family. I TREASURE this shot. But the polaroid came out funky because it was old - does anyone know how to restore something like this?

True Story

Ko-Lou thought it was the funniest thing in the world to

yank the baby wipes out of the container at lightning speed -

he thought it was funnier that once he had

all his little hands could hold all we did was laugh.

The greatest thing in the world!!

Is a friend who really knows how to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies. I want to type more but I can't because my hands are too busy shoving cookies in the direction of my mouth, cookie monster style. (As if you needed a visual)

These are the most delicious morsels EVER!!!!!

Thank you Geralyn and Madi!! You both really made my day/week/month!!!

I have a confession to make.

I am not a good cook. Can I still be a good mom if I don't make things from scraps?

I once made a chocolate cake following the directions perfectly and forgot one thing...the flour. Now the recipe said the batter would be runny so I thought nothing of it when I popped my cake pan of chocolate soup in the oven and let it bake. But it didn't set up like a cake should, it actually turned into dark chocolate soup with burnt chocolate edging all the way around the pan. That wasn't going to stop me though so I let it bake for another half hour...not pretty.

What leads me to this post is that tonight I wanted something sweet. What I really wanted is Molten Chocolate Cake but as you can see from the example above I am not cut out to be making this recipe. I have chocolate chip cookie dough in the fridge - pre-made by someone other than me. I should warn you when I make ANY kind of cookie from scraps it turns out much like a pancake, light and fluffy. I have no idea what I do wrong but it's been that way since I moved out of my parents house. So anyway surely I can't mess up the pre-made cookie dough right? WRONG. In my defense the word "heaping" is in the directions. I made four cookies on the cookie sheet and what I pulled out of the oven was more of a thin cookie cake that covered the entire cookie sheet. I said "oh no" and had Nate come look and he started laughing and said it was ok that I am not a good cook. I laughed and cried at the same time because I am just miserable at cooking but most of all I just want a cookie and it's 10:30 at night.

Today I miss him...

Today I miss Lou so much. I can't stand it. I could stare at his photo all day long. I hope this craziness is over soon. I want my baby home.

Happy Birthday Kobe Loudince & Elta!

Dear Loudince-

Happy Birthday little boy! Today is your second birthday and I thought for sure that you would be home. It's ok because I just found out your favorite auntie in the whole world shares your birthday!! I know that Elta will make your birthday special for you. Today your daddy and I will be missing you for sure but I hope your day is special, you deserve the best.

I love you forever ~ Mommy

Happy New Year!

Well the last year has been filled with a lot of really extreme highs and a few extremely extreme lows. Cheers to a 2009 full of highs including bringing our boy home!

I hope you enjoy this photo as much as I do. Kobe was following Nate saying "Da-ddy, Da-ddy" with each step. I am very thankful to have such great boys.