A MOMMAS GIRL

DIANE AND ASHLEY AT AIRPORT

OUR PRINCESS

US WAITING FOR ASHLEY AT THE AIRPORT

ASHLEY IS HANGING OUT

ASLEY AND CINDY ANN

OUR BEAUTICIAN

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SMILE

OUR LITTLE PRINCESS

ASHLEYS NEW COUSIN

Jordan Michael

Parents are Kayla and Jeff from Troy.
Born on: 9/23/2007
Born at: 7:49 PM
Weight: 8 lbs 3 oz
Length: 21"

MATRYOSHKA - RUSSIAN NESTLING DOLLS

RUSSIAN NESTING DOLLS
Nesting dolls are the best known and most popular of all Russian souvenirs. The Russian word for these wooden dolls is "matryoshka", but they are also called matrioshka, matryoshkas, babushka dolls, babushka's doll, matroshka, matryushka, and stacking dolls. Whatever you want to call them, nesting dolls have a fascinating history, and they are the classic Russian gift. Our nesting dolls are carefully handcrafted. Click here to watch nesting dolls being made.
The most traditional nesting doll design is one that looks like a young Russian woman dressed in Russian native costume with a scarf on her head. In the traditional nesting doll sets all of the dolls look almost identical to one another, and the number of dolls in the set ranges from 5 to 30, but some custom-made sets contain many more. In other cases, the set forms a theme, such as the classic sets of nesting dolls of Russian leaders, with each earlier leader nested inside

A FALL WEEKEND

It is saturday morning. As I sit having my cup of coffee and check emails Ashley is watching cartoons. We have been watching the leaves turn all beautiful colors and Ashley is in a hurry for them to fall so she can jump in them. Ashley is also asking when we will be decorating for Christmas.....wow is she rushing it! Next week her class is going on a field trip to a horse farm that also does recues. They will be learning about how to help save and take care of animals and then they are going for a ride on the horses. Ashley said she couldn't get on the horse because I would not be there to watch her. This touched my heart. I explained to her that they would be there to make sure she was okay. We are going to Randy's this afternoon to help him bring his boat in for the winter. Ashley likes going to Randys as he gave her nestling dolls which is a popular item in Russia. Ashley had her hair in 6 ponytails last night.....oh what a sight. We went shopping last night for some winter clothing then to burgerking for dinner. WOW can our girl eat. She ate a double hamburger, medium fries, 5 piece chicken tenders and a small drink. She is so skinny that we don't know where she puts it. She bought more coloring books and play dough also. The kittens are now 2 weeks old and creeping around. They are so cute. Ashley was tested for speech and language and will be going 2 days a week for a half hour each session. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

BABIES

Ashleys new cousins Janiye and Cheyenne's dad and his girlfriend had twin girls.
Her new cousins Isaiah and Nevaeh also have a new brother.
We thank god that all of these babies were born healthy and beautiful.

BUSY DAY

Ashley awoke this morning running a fever again so I called our doctor and he said a virus was going around. We dressed her warm and headed to family court to file papers. Ashley spent the afternoon watching animal planet and making Halloween decorations. After dinner Ashley decorated her room. It is amazing how good of an imagination children have. She did a great job. We have a ton of baby stuff that was in storage so I washed it all up and we are trying to see who to donate it to as there was a big fire tonight in Troy and one of the families has a newborn that can use our stuff. We also donated our bassinet to a family tonight that just had a baby and nothing for the baby to sleep in. Ashley was wondering why we weren't getting money for it so we explained that we wanted the new baby to have a bed. She is such a giggly girl.

FILING PAPERS TOMORROW

Tomorrow morning me and John are off to family court to file the paperwork on Ashley. We are hoping that they just make it a court order instead of a court date. Ashley says she wants to stay here forever; This is what we want also. She is a very bright little girl. We love her with all our heart.

FEELING BETTER

Ashley has no more fever; just the yucky nose. She is hoping that the fever will stay gone as she wants to go to school. I hope she always likes school.LOL!

SICK PRINCESS

Ashley awoke this morning with the yucky nose again and a slight fever. I kept her home today and gave her childrens pain/fever reducer, hot honey tea, and soup. By noon the fever was almost gone. I kept her warm and she hung out on the couch with her fuzzy blankets. She is whining now for real food so I guess I better get dinner cooking soon. We watched the lizzy mcGuire movie and she loves this one. It was on the disney channel. If the fever stays gone she will be going to school in the morning. I crocheted her a pair of elf booties today and she has had them on since.

MONDAY AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ashley did not want to get up for school this morning and this was a first. She had toast or toasted bread as she calls it for breakfast. She has a runny nose! Hope she is not getting the virus going around. I let the school know that she was not up to par this morning and that she had a box of soft tissue with her. She still has runny nose this afternoon. She just finished all her homework. She had math, social studies and spelling. She is getting help with her math in school and tonight she really whipped through it and I checked them and they are all right. We are having pasta for dinner so she is excited as she loves meatballs. We thank God everyday for leading us all together.

WHAT A BUSY WEEKEND

On Friday night we had pizza for dinner. Ashley loves dominos sausage pizza!
John worked Saturday morning until noon. Me and Ashley spent time doing crafts. After dad got home we went to Waterford town wide garage sales. Ashley loved this; she was all over checking everything out. SHe got a litebrite, a bunch of movies, found herself some toys and kept wanting to shop. On Sunday morning was four wheeling at the farm. I did not go as I have a horrible cold; Probably from getting caught in the rain. Ashley got to see the cows, kittens and the huge turkey. She was all excited when they got back home. She had fun with everyone. Sunday afternoon we spent the day home and Aunt Debbie came over with Isaiah and they spent the afternoon playing. We went to Pablos for dinner. Ashley loved the rice and beans. THe weekend went to fast.

CHILLY MORNING

It is a cloudy and chilly morning here and Ashley was being silly before school. She came out of her room with her new purple dress on with her beige jeans underneath, fuzzy toe sock and a zippered hooded sweatshirt. I should have taken a picture of this but I could not stop laughing. I told her that there was noway she could wear that getup to school so she decided that if I was laughing this much she better change. She wore the pants and the toe socks but decided to wear a long sleeve shirt under her sweatshirt. I signed a paper for school where they are going to test Ashley in speech and language. They will mail me the results when they come in. Ashley is making friends in school and is not hanging on to me for dear life anymore when I take her to school. She looks forward to seeing her friends. This is a great sign.

SPELLING TEST

A big YEAH to Ashley. She had a spelling test today and got a A-......Greta job!
She had a really good day in school and she is making lots of friends.
3 of her new cousins came over tonight and they were playing ball....... monkey in the middle.
Ashley was full of it tonight and giggled about everything. What a joyful sound. We had an easy dinner tonight.....hamburgers, toss salad and chips. Ashley wants meatball tomorrow night and we told her she was going to turn into a meatball. This caused her to giggle all the more.

ADOPTION POEM

ADOPTION
Author: Teri Harrison
Longing for a child to love,
I'd wish upon the stars above.
In my heart I always knew,
a part of me was meant for you.
I think how happy we will be,
once I adopt you and you adopt me.
I dream of all the joy you'll bring,
imagining even the littlest things.
The way it will feel to hold you tight,
and tuck you in every night.
The drawings on the refrigerator door,
childhood toys across the floor.
The favorite stories read again and again,
hours of games with make-believe friends.
The day you took my outstretched hand,
a journey ended, but our lives began.
Still mesmerized by your sweet face,
still warmed inside by our first embrace.
I promised to give you a happy home,
a loving family all your own.
A house you've now made complete,
with laughter, smiles and tiny feet.
A parent is one who guides the way,
know I will be there everyday.
Rest easy as each night you sleep,
a lifetime of love is yours to keep.

LOTS OF HOMEWORK

Today was ashleys second day of school. Boy did dhe has alot of homework. She practiced her spelling and then I tested her and she only got one wrong. She had a drawing to do in art and she loves to draw and did a great job. She had to practice her language vocable words and then social studies. She forgot to write down the page number so it took us a while to find what they read in class today so I could figure out what the homework was. She is watching tv for abit now before dinner. We is excited as we are having potato puffs with dinner. She has a great appitite for a small girl. We are going after dinner to get a new backpack. She has her eye on a pink and black one so we are going to go get it for her. Well off to watch tv with Ashley....hope everyone is having a great night.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Ashley started school yesterday as we contacted them and agreed that she would spend her first week home adjusting. Ashley wrapped her arms around me and did not want me to go. I explained to her that she need to be at school and that I would meet her there again at 3 pm when school got dismissed. She was so excited to see me after school that I thought she was going to knock me over. She had a great day and made a couple of new friends. She came right home and did her homework. We then went shopping for the list of school supplies. WOW I don't ever remember having to have that much stuff. I had a lonely day as I missed having her home with me.

ADJUSTING

Ashley has been with us for a week now and it seems like she has been her forever. She is adjusting well. THe first couple of days she would not leave my side. If I went to the bathroom she was there. At bedtime we left the door open as she kept coming in to make sure we were still there. We tell her that this home is forever and no matter what she will never have to leave. Ashley is so full of love and has no problem expressing it. She is getting on a routine nicely. We have had no problems that is not normal for her age. She wants to watch tv and it takes a couple of minutes to get her to bed and she likes trying on her new clothes and just dropping them on the floor but this is normal for a girl. We can not put into words how much we love her.

A SPECIAL THANKS

We want to thank our new friends Diane and Dave for allowing us to become Ashleys new parents. If you could only know how full of love my heart is for her. We thank God for leading us to you and Ashley. We believe that everything happens for a reason and we believe he guided us to find you to find her. We can never thank you enough for everything. We pray that others looking for their child can find a couple like you. You will forever be in our hearts.

HOW IT CAME TO BE

On Wednesday September 9th we talked to a couple from out of State about their daughter. Asley is 10 years old and was adopted 3 years ago from Russia. Asley has ADHD and FAS. They knew in their hearts they they could no longer have her in their home and were looking to disrupt this adoption. Ashley was with a couple other families and this did not work out. We talked about her problems and what kind of home she needed. On Thursday they faxed us papers for her to join us and gave us the time that she would be arriving at the Albany airport. Ashley and her adopted mom came down the walkway. This was a very emotion time for us as we were looking for our child forever. We all went out to dinner at which time Ashley was told she would be going home with us. She was upset and confused. M heart was breaking and I wanted to just cuddle her but did not want to overwhelm her at that time. After dinner we went back to the motel to say are good byes to "mom". When it was time to go Ashley got in the vehicle with us and was a little chatter box. She is a very beautiful little girl and we felt so blessed as we did not just gain a daughter but we also gained new friends with Diane and Dave. We did not go right home as we went shopping. Ashley is all girl and loves to shop. We got home about 11 pm and it was like she had been with us forever.