Looking forward to Saturday night when we can all sit down and watch this new movie “Change of Plans”.

It airs Saturday, January 8th on FOX 8/7c.

For months Beza has been talking about “the poofy skirt”. Her friend Brooke has a poofy skirt – multiple ones actually – and as soon as I mentioned the word Christmas she would exclaim “I want a poofy skirt!”

When you Google “poofy skirt” you get images that bring to mind Grease and I Love Lucy. Not what either of us had in mind.

Shortly before Christmas Beza dragged me over to Brooke’s mom with a look on her face that said “What else do I have to do woman? Find out where she gets the poofy skirt!”

Finally, armed with the correct terminology – “pettiskirt” – I was in a much better position. And then she mentioned Costco. Brillant!

My parents were still looking for gift ideas so I passed it on to them. A few days later they called from Costco to say the biggest size they had was a 7/8. Um, yeah, I didn’t think that was going to work. So they got her something else.

That left me to hunt. I poked around online at various stores and etsy.com (I could get lost in that site for hours.). I came to the realization that it is difficult to find a pettiskirt for anyone over the age of 4 that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

I finally found one on ebay. Ordered it and it came super quick a few days before Christmas. Only I obviously wasn’t paying attention to the listing that clearly stated the skirt was 15″ long which, on Beza, is mid thigh. Oops!! At this point I figured the poofy skirt was NOT going to be making an appearance under the Christmas tree.

Beza would be poofy-less and very disappointed.

Then one night we were at Costco with the kids and, of course, laid out before us was the giant table of poofy skirts. Beza’s eyes lit up as I examined the size 7/8 skirt and leggings. I knew the leggings wouldn’t fit, but when she slipped the skirt over her jeans it fit nicely. Pure bliss!

As we continued through the store Mark and I whispered back and forth about getting it then, trying to come back etc. I wanted it to be a surprise, but it seemed like a waste of gas to come all the way back. Still undecided we headed to the snack bar for cheap family dinner of pizza. Noticing that Natalie and Beza had their backs to the exit path I surmised that maybe I could purchase the poofy skirt, slip outside and hide it in the van, and then come back in.

So I excused myself to go to the bathroom (hee, hee), got the skirt and went to the cashier on the far end where I could hide from the family, although it did require me to keep ducking behind the guy in front of me who definitely thought I had drank a bit too much eggnog or something.

Before I could check out Mark called and said they were done and he was taking the kids to the van. This helped with the sneaking past part but how was I going to get the skirt into the van without her noticing? They don’t even give you bags. The cashier suggested my purse. Of course any other night I would have been carrying my huge hobo-style purse which can hold a small infant (not that I do that). But no, I had a small purse. But I was determined and I rearranged items until I could stuff the big poofy skirt into about 6 square inches of empty space.

Under the cover of darkness I got into the van. From behind me I heard Natalie whisper “She doesn’t have anything with her. She didn’t get it.”

I tried not to smile too triumphantly 🙂

Christmas morning was complete when she finally opened her poofy skirt!

I figured it’s too late to do a 2010 recap – feels like old news. So instead, this is a looking ahead post.

Things I’m looking forward to in 2011…

• At the end of February I get to stand up beside my best friend as she gets married! So excited for her, the kids and Dan as they start this new chapter of their lives.
• In March I’m leading a World Orphans trip to Haiti. I’m taking this awesome group from Siloam Springs, Ark – the town where Mark and I went to college – to visit their Haitian church partner.
• In May I’m leading a breakout session at the Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit conference titled “Creative Fundraising for Your Adoption”. Anything fun to do in Louisville?
• Hopefully I’ll be finishing the book on above topic before then 🙂 Either way I’ve got tons of great conference material.
• April 1 the “No Shopping for a Year” challenge ends. I will then have a large bonfire. Just kidding! I’m not planning a big shopping binge but rather purchasing from the mental list in my head that I’ve been creating this year. Note, it’s fairly short and well thought out.
• The Together for Adoption conference is going to be in Phoenix this year in October. Woohoo! Trying to talk a certain Texan family into making the trip and hanging out at our house 🙂

I’ve been thinking through my goals for this year. They’re not necessarily well thought out, but this is a quick list of things I’m hoping to do in 2011.

• Finish writing the book on creative adoption fundraising.
• Besides, CAFO Summit,  have at least 2 other speaking opportunities.
• Attend SheSpeaks conference in July (if funds allow).
• Be more intentional about one-on-one time with the kids.
• Have a couple-only vacation of some sort with Mark – even if it’s a weekend trip to California. We used to do this every year but haven’t done it since Luke & Beza have been home and we’ve been traveling more for work.
• De-clutter and simply our stuff – including selling my stamping and scrapbooking stuff that is going unused. Together we’ve started to make quiet a dent in this over the holidays. Plus we’re making some money on ebay – maybe it will help fund one of the above 🙂

What are your plans for 2011?