Back home again in Indiana

I got home late Sunday night and I agree with Mark ... I was reminded of my life pre-Mark and I'm so glad to be home with him! I really did have a good trip but I sure missed Mark. We spent the day together today, celebrating Valentine's Day, doing laundry, getting groceries, etc.

I was in Naples, Florida for work and I have to say that it was really nice to be on the warm and sunny Gulf Coast for a few days! The weather was sunny and warm -- like in the low 80's. Except for some weird sea-fog that rolled in and out over the weekend. That made things a little misty and yucky but I was able to enjoy a long walk on the beach on Saturday morning and again on Sunday afternoon on my way back to the airport. And I worked, too. Seriously! I did. My college at Purdue, Consumer and Family Sciences, held a golf outing on Friday and a brunch on Sunday. Both events went very well.

This is my friend Laura Sloop. We have worked together at both Manchester College and at Purdue. She was also in Naples for the Purdue events and we were able to sit by the pool together and catch-up over dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Laura definitely got more sun than I did!

I could have watched the pelicans for hours. I walked down the beach from Loudermilk Park to the north when I reached a canal and couldn't go any further. This flock of pelicans were hanging out and fishing for breakfast. They are so cool to watch because they literally nose-dive beak first into the water. Don't they look kind of prehistoric?

On Saturday afternoon, I was able to spend time with two of my great aunts -- Verna lives in Punta Gorda and Nelda is visiting her son Steve and his wife Teri for a few months in Bonita Springs. I had a great time visiting with the four of them on Saturday. Verna and Nelda are my Grandma's two sisters. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with all of them ... we don't get to see each other that often and the older I get, the more I treasure time with family. I have a few memories of Steve and Teri from when I was much younger but it was so great to get to know them now that I'm an adult, too. Visiting with all of them was definitely the highlight of my time in Florida! Verna and Nelda and I called my Grandma while we were visiting. We called my Mom too. Wish we could have a family reunion again! So glad that this visit worked out.

Verna is on the left and Nelda is on the right. I couldn't believe it when Verna told me that she had turned 90 last fall and Nelda will be 88 in April. Hope I have some of their genes!

This is Teri and Steve. Steve is Nelda's oldest son. They moved to Bonita Springs about five years ago from Massachusetts and really love being in the warmth and sunshine of Florida. Thank you for a great lunch!

And here is one last photo to keep you warm on these cold February days. Ha!

While Wendi's away.......

Okay...the cat isn't playing....he's bored. When Wendi is gone for any length of time, I truly get a chance to remember how boring my bachelorhood was. It is way too quiet around here.

Anyway, Wendi is in Florida for work this weekend which makes for a "less than romantic" valentines day. She did leave me a present this morning and notes I keep finding all over the house. I think it is kinda funny that the present she left me is the book "Wicked" which I am already a long way into and really liking. I guess she knows that if I have a good book to read I won't be out running around.

We have been meaning to put up some photos from last weekend when we went to visit our friends Chris and Sara and their son Tegegn. They are very gracious and understanding with our questions etc. They recently returned from Ethiopia with their son and are really acting as "Trailblazers" for us. I hope they don't get sick of our constant questions. Anyway, their son is adorable and is a very happy little guy. We really enjoyed visiting with them all. Tegegn wasn't shy at all and climbed right up my leg and wanted to play. Seeing him and Chris and Sara and how well they are all doing is a reassurance to Wendi and I that all the hard work and stress we are going through in adoption paperwork will pay off a thousandfold in the end.

What We've Been Up To

Sorry we haven't posted for awhile! Go to http://www.ailorphoto.blogspot.com to see what we've been doing for the last few weeks.

Today marks one week since our fingerprinting appointment. We're hoping to see our paperwork from USCIS soon -- hopefully early next week!

Wordless Wednesday

Adoption Update: Fingerprinting

Mark and I made the trip to Indianapolis this morning to have our fingerprints digitized (is that a pun? ha!) by US Immigration. We were thankful that Indy did not get their predicted snowfall on Monday night and we were back in Lafayette before it started snowing here on Tuesday afternoon.

It didn't take very long to be fingerprinted. We arrived early for our 9 am appointment and our names were called right on time. I thought it was so cool to hear about four different languages being spoken in the waiting room.

We had been moisturizing our fingers for days in preparation for being fingerprinted. We were worried about Mark's hands because he has always had rough and dry skin. Ha! His fingerprints worked on the first try! Mine, however, took some extra effort. I don't know if it's because I work on a computer for the majority of the day or what, but the technician kept saying that my fingertips are "worn" and "scarred." Huh. I wouldn't think that to look at them myself! We're just hoping that she was able to get prints good enough to pass Immigration. According to the technician, no amount of moisturizer will help! So now we're keeping our fingers crossed that everything goes through on the first try and that our I-171 is returned to us quickly.

You're not allowed to take photos inside the building but we wanted to record this step of the process. So here I am in Indy, outside in front of the building.

We'll let you know when we receive this last and very important paper for our dossier -- stay tuned!

There She Is ....

I confess to watching the Miss America pageant tonight. Afterall, it is a scholarship program and I am all for giving away money that reduces the cost of higher education. I also confess to eating a rather large bowl of ice cream while I watched the pageant. (As Mark would say, "a Hutchinson-sized serving of ice cream.") Anyway, here's a shout-out to Miss Indiana! Way to go! My family in Pennsylvania called at the end of the pageant, well, my Dad specifically, and wanted to know if we knew the new Miss America -- crack me up! : ) Nope, don't know her, Dad.

Turns out that Miss Indiana wasn't the only one on stage winning prizes this evening!

My parents also called to tell us about their stage debut in Chambersburg, PA tonight. They are spending the weekend at my sister's house with Heidi and her family. Brandon and Andrew were in a children's choir tonight, part of some kind of community theater event, and from all reports, both boys did an excellent job! During one of the intermissions, Mom and Dad were selected from the audience to participate in charades! The theme was 'body parts.' (I know! Could be bad!) My Mom had to get my Dad to say the word "vein" -- which she did. And then my Dad had to get my Mom to say the word "tastebuds" only he was allowed to use words instead of acting it out. So he said "flavor" and my Mom said "taste." Off to a good start! And then this next part cracks me up ... Dad said "Wilbur" and my Mom replied "buds!" (Insert laughter here from my PA friends and all those who know what Wilbur Buds are!!) Very clever, Dad! Too smart, Mom!! And congrats on your Harrisburg prize package!

***Wilbur Buds are little chocolates made in my family's hometown of Lititz, PA. They look like Hershey kisses but taste waaayyyyy better! Wilbur Chocolate actually is older than Hershey's.

Aahhhhhh .... the weekend

This week was jam-packed with work and activities. I'm glad that another weekend has arrived! We've got alot to do, mostly working on Mark's new studio space. There's painting, de-construction, construction, and cleaning to be done. We're so excited to get Ailor Photography into this new and larger space!

Mark's hand is healing really well. He's not been wearing the splint much at all. Thanks to everyone who has inquired about him! We're looking forward to Sunday when the article about Mark/Ailor Photography will be in Lafayette's newspaper.

We're also looking forward to Tuesday when we've finally got our appointment to be fingerprinted for our adoption paperwork. Now, just so it doesn't snow that day ...

Anyway, not much else to report. Just glad for the weekend -- did I mention that already? The weekend started with a smile for me. When I got in my car at the parking garage at work at the end of the day, I turned on the car and the radio station was just starting to play one of my all-time favorite songs ... Vacation by the Go-Go's. If that song doesn't put a tap in your foot and make you do a little dance in your seat, I don't know what will.

A child of the 80's??? Yes. Yes I am. : )

Have a good weekend everyone!