Fab-U-lous Blog Award

Fab-U-lous Blog Award!

Hannah was so very nice to give me the "fabulous blog award." Now, I know my blog is not fabulous in the least...it's just a place for me to record the everyday happenings of our very busy family. Hannah must have let the excitement of the holidays go to her head or something!!! Hannah, thank you for thinking of me, though! So humbling!!! Hannah is a special friend to me. She and I both adopted our children from the same town in Guatemala. We went through some very difficult times - very stressful times where it really seemed like our children would not be allowed to come home. If you check out our posts from October/November/December 2007 you can see what I mean. Hannah, another adoptive mom in the same situation, and I really leaned on each other, and are all very thankful to have our children home this year.

Here are the rules to receiving this award:

1. You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous bloggers in a post.
2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.
3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.

Instructions: On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.

All right - here we go! My Five Biggest Addictions:

1. DIET PEPSI!!! Absolutely, positively, my biggest addiction. I would not be able to survive without it. Okay, I did survive when I was pregnant, but cracked one open in the hospital everytime, as soon as labor was over. I can't stand the taste of coffee, so Diet Pepsi is my substitute.
2. This is really a close second: I live for bargain hunting. I am a coupon queen. My co-workers are amazed (and so is my husband - well, I think he would be amazed, but he's always too busy ripping on me) at the deals I can find. It is a very rare day that I purchase something for full price online...and buy nearly anything in the grocery store either on sale, with a coupon, or both. My resolution for 2009 is to keep track of my savings - and them maybe my husband will stop picking on me!!!!!
3. My husband will be laughing when he reads this one: laundry. With 6 of us, there is always a ton of laundry. We have not yet graduated to one of those huge front-loading washers, so I have to do tons of laundry with our regular washing machine. I cannot stand seeing overfilled baskets of dirty laundry, it drives me nuts. Plus, I like my kids to look nice, and I spend a lot of time making sure their clothes are clean and unstained. As I write this, I have a load to be folded, a load in the dryer, and more ready to be washed. Laundry is a great addiction, because with a larger-sized family, there is ALWAYS something that needs to be washed. (Note - ironing is NOT part of my addiction, I can't stand ironing)
4. Chocolate: and darn it, I'd have a model's body if it wasn't for chocolate!
5. Helping others: strange addiction, yes, but it's what I like to do most. I'm a school counselor, so I even get PAID to do what I love. I would love to win the lottery, start up a huge scholarship fund for kids who need it, and then work for a non-profit (with Guatemala ties) for the rest of my life. I'm debating going on a service trip in 2009 (if I can get off of work, that is). I like donating to different causes, donating food, etc. I'm VP of the PTO at my kids' school. But what hurts the most is that I wish I could do more...I feel like I'm not helping nearly as much as I should be helping. Once I'm retired, I'm going to be one of those people who donates time all the time!!! So, if you read this post, please consider donating something for me (time, food, clothes, toys, money, etc.). (And no, I'm not the least bit trying to brag. I should be doing so much more than I am.)

OKAY - SHOUT OUT TO FIVE OTHER BLOGS!!!!!

1. Ana: Ana brought her son home the same day that Caleb came home. She even delivered Gerber Puffs to the hotel room for Caleb, since it was the only thing he would eat at the time. I never got to meet her, I was "kinda" 9 months pregnant when it was finally time for our Embassy appointment and wasn't allowed to fly to Guatemala for pick-up. Anyway, she has a great attitude and insight on everything and I value her every word.
2. Kerri: I met Kerri in Guatemala. We were on a visit trip, she was there for her pick-up. Since adopting her first daughter, she adopted another daughter from Ethiopia. She is a single mom and I am amazed (and a bit jealous) at all she is able to accomplish! I'm dying, and there are two of us. She has got to be one of the most organized people I know!
3. Sue: I met Sue through the guatadopt.com boards. Thank heavens for Guatadopt, huh???? She and her husband recently returned home with her son from Guatemala. So now she has 2 young children to keep her busy. Sue is one of the nicest people ever. Hi Sue!!!!
4. Kim: Okay, another adoptive parent from Guatemala. Sorry...I need to broaden my horizons I guess! Kim used the same agency as we did. Her daughter has only been home a month, and I'm so excited for her to have her first Christmas together as a family. (Heck, I'm excited for us, too!!!!)
5. Dara: Dara doesn't have a blog, more of a website. She's been feeding HER addiction of Facebook lately, so I'm not sure if she'll read this or not! Dara lives in the town where Caleb was born, in Guatemala. She has given me hundreds and hundreds of pictures and stories of the area. What a goldmine for when Caleb is older. I am eternally grateful to her and the information.

Okay, thank you for checking out my un-fabulous blog. Have a great day, everyone!

Kris