Hi Uncle Billy!

We had a quick photo shoot just before Hannah went to bed tonight.

Thanks for understanding the lack of posting everyone!  As Hannah’s signs say, we’re doing great, just crazy busy preparing for next week’s vacation!  I’m hoping to carve out some time to update the blog before we leave but in case we don’t, here’s a little sneak peek at next week’s adventure.  We can’t wait!!!

PS – Hopefully we’ll be able to pop up for a visit to see you this spring Uncle Billy!

Whaaat?? No More Google Reader?

I opened Google Reader this week to see a pop-up notification that Google Reader will no longer be available as of July 1, 2013.  Ugh!!  I use Google Reader to follow well over a hundred blogs.  I have them organized by those I check most often, people I’ve met and also by topics.   I’m going to miss this program that I use almost on a daily basis.

If you don’t use Google Reader, what do you use to track blogs and their updates?  Are you happy with it?  I’m on the search for a new tool to use and will begin to move my blogs over.

Buh bye Google Reader.  You’ll be missed. 

Phew….that was awful!!!

As many of you noticed, I installed a commenting system a couple of weeks ago and it ended up being a nightmare. There is a spineless reader of this blog who I am working on (and much closer to) flushing out and getting rid of as they leave inappropriate comments.  If only they knew their comments only led me to pray for them as they must be a very unhappy person to want to leave such cruel comments.  I have comments on permanent moderation so none of you need to read their nastiness but I’d just prefer this person leave for good or at least have the courage to say who they really are.

Anyway, I have a program installed to help me weed out this person and initially that program affected who could leave comments and how the commenting system worked.  I was able to get rid of that portion (thankfully!!) and move the program that will help me discover more about this person to something behind the scenes.

So, if you’ve been having problems leaving comments over the past couple of weeks that should be in the past now and the old version is back.  Thanks for sticking with me during this transition.

Happy commenting!  I love reading your encouraging and supporting comments.  Troll….move on.  Unless you want me to continue to pray for your heart.  I may not know who you are but God does and if you choose to continue to comment as you have then it will just offer more opportunities to pray for you.  If that’s what you want, continue to comment.

Thanks for your patience…

I’m trying out a new commenting program called Disqus to help me out with something.  So far I’ll admit that I’m not overly thrilled by what I have installed.

I made a couple of changes tonight so hopefully those of you who have been unable to leave comments should now be able to do so.  Please email me (see side bar) if you are still unable to comment.  You will help me decide if I keep this or send it packing.

Thanks for your patience as I work through this!

A Treasured Book of Memories

A couple of months ago Polar Mama shared a website that turns blogs into books.  This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time so took a peek at the website she recommended.  The site is Blog2Print and with their help I was easily able to turn our 2010 blog into a book!  

It was fast and easy to do and with a couple of hours of tweaking it was ready to go.  I use this blog to capture much of our day to day life so being able to capture it in printed form is a gift that will keep on giving.

Each book comes with a dedication page

and the ability to download any/all of your blog posts.  I chose to have this book contain all posts from Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2010.  I’ll make another one of these books for 2011 early next year.

I am thrilled with the finished product and it is a treasure that Hannah and I will enjoy for years to come.  It is 340 pages of fun, love, growth and precious, precious memories!!

Blogging Challenges with Kids!

I laughed when my friend Karen sent me this pic. She said this is what happens when she tries to read my blog and her kids notice. They want to look too and watch the videos which means Mommy gets squeezed out.

My challenge is that my little love likes to 'help' me blog by slapping the keyboard and banging the screen. This afternoon she spent the first part of her nap on mommy's lap which caused me to type with 1 hand which is never very productive but did allow me to get a little bit done.

A few weeks ago this was what happened when I took a bit of time to blog while Hannah played at my feet. I could see her and hear what was happening but just laughed when I noticed the amount of paper she had torn up in a short amount of time!

Here's a video taken one night when Hannah woke up and decided to help me blog. Even at 2:30am she's oh so happy!

Blog Maintenance

I recently found out that my blog was causing many people's computers to freeze or slow down greatly as it loaded. I've changed it so that only the 5 most recent posts load when the blog is opened so hopefully this helps the problem. From what I've heard it seems to have done the trick. That's good news as I felt bad for slowing down people's computers!

Happy reading!

Crawling and Standing !

January 11th - Just starting to crawl


January 26th - Crawling like crazy....except today since mommy put me in a dress!


Hannah's new found mobility was also really good for mommy. I finally found the time to record the last of the shower gifts and get most of them put away.
Hannah was amazingly blessed to have 8 showers in her honour and I wanted to record all the gifts in one place to make writing thank you notes easier...someday. Sometimes the gifts stayed in the hall longer than I liked but since she could now reach them it was an encouragement to get them recorded and put away. Unfortunately/Fortunately Hannah has made it very clear that mommy's computer time should be regulated so she fusses if I'm here for more than ummm....a minute! Thus, blogging normally happens after bed!

I love my little active girl and watching her explore her new world is a treat! I love nothing more than to just sit and listen to her precious little voice chat away to herself and her toys. Such sweet, sweet music!! This video features her adorable sneezes and....I love, love, love how her face breaks into that huge grin when our eyes meet!

Tip: Blog Navigation

With my precious love in my arms the content of the blog has somewhat changed including many more videos. I want to continue to include these so want to offer a suggestion for those who find the blog may be 'jumping' a little.

Rather than navigate with the mouse and the scroll bars on the side, using the 'up' and 'down' arrows will hopefully help the jumping.

Blog Makeover!!

Thanks Danielle for the beautiful new blog makeover!!! It’s a wonderful change and it makes my heart sing to see Hannah’s beautiful face each time I see the new header!!!

If you’re considering a blog makeover I highly recommend Danielle – the design girl! She’s great to work with; fast; listens to what you want and is happy to accommodate your requests!

Also, if you mention that you’re visiting after being here at Catherine’s Chatter she’ll give you a $10.00 discount! When you place the Deposit for your order, click the ‘Custom Payment’ button at the bottom of the order and enter $25.00 rather than the normal $35.00 deposit and say you’re visiting from Catherine’s Chatter. You won’t be disappointed!

Thanks again Danielle! I lurve it!

Tracking Referral Stats

For the past few years I have enjoyed tracking referral stats and recording them in a spreadsheet to help guesstimate when Hannah's referral might arrive. There is a link to this spreadsheet in the right sidebar.

With Hannah's referral right around the corner it had me wondering if anyone else pops in here to use the spreadsheet? I'm happy to try and keep it updated after Hannah's referral if people use it but, if nobody is using it then I'll probably let it slide.

If you use the chart and would like me to continue to update it, please leave a comment.

Thanks!

Welcome to 'Catherine's Chatter ~ My Adoption Blog!'

Welcome! If you're reading this for the first time, you may be one of many family and friends that have asked to follow my adoption journey. I'd origianlly thought of setting up a website but then 'blogs' became all the rage and besides that, they're much easier to use.

I look forward to sharing this special, amazing, wonderful, sometimes overwhelming journey with you!

Some days you'll hear about the steps that are happening in the journey. Sometimes you'll hear my heart's cry to God for His leading and guidance. Other days I'll just talk about the day to day events happening in my little corner of the world.

Please feel free to check in as often as you like. After each entry their is a 'comments' section. Please use these for your enjoyment and mine! It's fun to read your stories, thoughts and comments.

I've made a few entries before today. A couple of the key ones are:
A New Adventure...My Adoption Blog and
New Beginnings.

Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful journey with me! Your prayers, support and friendship are needed and appreciated!