Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Tess's Tidbits: Happy Birthday, Mama!

Today, Mama is turning 30!  We wanted to wish her a Happy Birthday.  So, Happy Birthday, Mama! :)  I hope your 30th year is full of wonderful memories. :)

I had the privilege of going to Mama's combined birthday party last Sunday afternoon.  (Mama, Grandmama, and Mama's sister-in-law all have birthdays in September, so they always do a combined family party.)  It was a lot of fun, and I was honored to be the only doll Mama brought with her. :)  I thought I'd share just a few pics from the day.

We started with a trip to Panda Express for lunch after church.  Yum!!

Here I am at Mimi's house, next to the pretty cake that Mimi made.  Do you like my party dress?  I felt quite festive. :)

A closer look at the cake.  It was DELICIOUS!!

Here are all of the wonderful snacks we had to eat:  salad, pasta salad, fruit, veggies, hummus, pretzel thins, crackers, cheese, meat, and cake.  I was really glad Mama decided to set me up next to the cake.  I got to sneak all sorts of snacks when the humans weren't looking. ;)

Mama, Grandmama, and Mama's sister-in-law all got some nice gifts.  Of course, my favorite of Mama's gifts was this amazing bunk bed that was just my size!!

I had to try it out for myself. ;)  It will most likely end up being used for Emma and Charlie, but I pretended it was for Hailey and me anyway. :)

Mama has a slumber party coming up this weekend for her and all of her friends.  She still hasn't announced which of us she'll be taking to that.  We'll keep you posted once we find out. :)

Once again, Happy Birthday, Mama.  I hope you have a wonderful day. :)

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Breaking News with Maggie: Comment Changes

Okay, I know this isn't really worthy of a "Breaking News with Maggie" post, but I've been missing those, so I thought this was as good an excuse as any to do one. ;) 

I'm here to report a change in our comment settings.  This is something that Mama tried on her blog, so we thought we'd give it a shot, too.  We've changed it so that anyone can comment on our blog.  However, with this change comes another change.  Now that any Joe Blow can come by and leave a comment, we'd like to have the chance to preview our comments before they're published for the whole world to see.  That way, if anything inappropriate shows up, we can nip it in the bud.  So we decided to use comment moderation for all comments.  We're not sure how long we'll do this.  If we don't have any problems with comments, we may take moderation off again.  This is just a precaution for now. :) 

We hope this allows even more of our readers to share their thoughts with us. :)  Nice, appropriate thoughts, please.  And any praise of Maggie's posts is especially desirable. ;) 

Until next time, this is Maggie Wilson, signing off. :)

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Maggie's Memos: Up to Speed


As you've probably surmised from the title, the purpose of this post is to make sure we're all on the same page together (no pun intended). ;)  Tess and I were talking it over, and we realized that now that we've passed 1 year of blogging, it might be a good time to regroup and fill in our newer readers.

So, for starters, I'm not really lovin' the new header.  Mama and Tess worked on it together without my advice or knowledge...'nuff said.  Obviously, if I had been involved, there wouldn't have been the SHAMELESS plug for Belle's Bulletins smack dab in the middle.  I mean, come on!  Whose blog is this anyway?  Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to have...oh, I don't know...THE OTHER BLOG AUTHOR'S PICTURE?!!?!  I mean, no problem...I'm just one of the FOUNDERS of this blog!!! 

Okay, okay, I realize that I've had at least one header all to myself, too.  But still...it just was a little hurtful.  I think the next header should be a Maggie special, don't you? ;)

All right, moving on.  By now, most of you have probably seen our new labels.  Tess and I worked really hard to label every single post we've ever done.  Hopefully, this will make it easier for you to find posts featuring your favorite dolls.  Plus, we've labeled all of the different types of posts:  Tess's Tidbits, Maggie's Memos, Breaking News with Maggie, Tea with Tess, Emma's Editorials, and (gag) Belle's Bulletins (for those of you who are gluttons for punishment).  Our hope is that the labels will make navigating our site a little bit easier for all of you. :)

Now, on to another important subject.  Some of you might have noticed the gradual changes over the posts in our blog.  In earlier posts, we mentioned going to school and my "parents"...that sort of thing.  The best explanation I can offer is that when we started, we were still figuring out who we were as characters.  We have since discovered that we are not real girls, but actual dolls (duh...anyone who's been following us for a while knows this).  As such, we do not go to school or have real parents (not really sure where my "childhood memories" came from...weird!!  I'll have to work on that one).  We also do not age.  Well, physically, anyway.  I'm told that we'll grow mentally as we learn and experience more, but we will always look like the ages that we are now and will be considered eternally 13, 12, or whatever age we happen to be.  It's kinda like being Elvish, only weirder.  Plus, we don't get to have cool pointy ears.

Oh, and one more thing.  We've made mention of God often in our earlier posts, and our belief in Him.  Emma's even talked about being a Christian.  We've been struggling with this for a while, trying to figure out how it works with our life as actual dolls, and we finally came to the conclusion that we'll just have to ask you to suspend your disbelief.  Mama's faith is a huge part of who she is, and as a result, our faith is very important to us, too.  Yes, we realize we're dolls.  But hey, you're reading a blog written by dolls, right?  Can't you allow a little creative license? :}

Okay, we also thought it would be good to bring everyone up to speed (as my title stated) on some of our friends that aren't mentioned as much.

1.  Katie still loves to travel but hasn't been out much due to her eye problems and loose limbs.  (And no, I haven't forgotten that I still haven't done the interview about her trip last year...how embarrassing!!)

2.  Lucy (Katie's little sister) is now living with Mama's mother-in-law, which is why you haven't heard much about her in a while.  What started out as a visit became a residence.  Believe it or not, we actually had a whole post in the works about this, but the pics are trapped on the crashed computer. :(  We miss her, but she's very happy where she is.  She has two friends just her size there, and her other cousin Julia takes good care of her.

3.  Piper is now Emma and Charlie's cousin instead of their sister.  I think pretty much everyone knows that by now, but it seemed appropriate to mention it in this post.  Piper's new last name is Ellison, and she's a sister to Grandmama's Ruthie doll.

4.  I have a twin sister named Kate who also lives at Grandmama's house (who knew?).  We still haven't met yet.

I think that's about everything for now.  We'll be sure to let you know if we think of any other changes or updates.  I hope this post has helped you all figure out what on earth is going on with this blog. ;)

P.S.  I forgot, we normally add a copy of our old header to our post when we replace it with a new one.  So, here for your viewing pleasure is our former header.  I was really proud of how this one turned out. :)

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Tess's Tidbits: Game Night and Sister Talk

Good morning, readers!  (Well, at least it's still morning here...I suppose it's already the afternoon for some of you!)  I apologize for waiting so long to post again.  As Maggie explained in her earlier post, it's been rather difficult to use the computer lately.  It sounds like the situation may not improve for a while, either.  Papa just found out that the problem with the desktop is most likely related to the "motherboard" (whatever that is).  He said it will probably cost around $200 to fix the problem.  As Mama and Papa aren't made of money, we may have to wait a while before our desktop is up and running again.  So please bear with us in the coming weeks.  We'll do everything we can to post regularly, but everyone in the house has to work around one laptop computer, so it gets a little difficult to post sometimes. :}


One nice thing about our lack of computer and movie time is that we've all spent more time doing things together.  For example, just 2 nights ago, we had a game night in my room and Hailey's room.  It was so much fun!  We haven't brought out the games in a long time because we've been so busy with everything else.  Maggie, Emma, Katie, and I played Bop It in my room, while Rachel, Charlie, Hailey and Piper played Uno in her room. 


Maggie, Emma, Katie and I had a very lively game of Bop It together.  Of course, that was mostly because of Maggie.  She gets so excited when she's playing active games like that, and I must confess that her enthusiasm is contagious! :)  It didn't take long before we were all laughing and shrieking, trying to keep up with the demands of the game.  It took a while, but we got all the way through the novice level and halfway through expert.  Unfortunately, I was the one who messed us up.  I hate it when that happens!  Thankfully, everyone was very understanding.  Even Maggie didn't say anything, although I could tell she was disappointed. 


"Should we try for another round?" Katie asked cheerfully.


"Whatever you guys want is fine with me," I said timidly.  I didn't feel like I should be the one to decide, since I'd messed us up in the first place.


"I think we could give it another try," Emma said, giving me a sympathetic look.  I smiled back.  Emma was a lot like me...she always worried about what the others thought of her, too.


"I bet this time we can beat the expert level!" Maggie chimed in with determination.  She winked over at me, and I instantly felt relieved.  I loved my best friend dearly, but she was so competitive that she wasn't always so charitable with my mistakes.  Unless, of course, someone else said something to me.  Then she would be up in arms.  She's kind of funny that way.  :}


So with that, Katie started the game up again, and we tried to get even farther.  We didn't quite beat the expert level, but Maggie was the one to mess us up this time, so I felt a little better.  Sometimes, she seems invincible!  It's nice to know she's just like the rest of us. ;)



Meanwhile, in Hailey's room, the other girls were in the middle of their Uno game, when Charlie spoke up. 

"I can't believe that Hayden may actually be here in another month or so!" she said excitedly.  "It will be so fun to finally meet her.  Mama is getting all sorts of things ready for her.  It makes it hard to wait when I see all of her things set up in our room!"


Piper seemed to have a pained expression on her face at Charlie's words.  She didn't say anything (which is pretty normal for her), but she played the rest of the game in a somber mood.


"How nice for Hayden, that she'll be coming home to a cousin and two sisters," Rachel added gently, watching Piper's face.  Rachel, being another quiet doll like Piper and myself, was always watching out for the feelings of others.  "I'm sure she'll be so excited to get to know all of you."

Piper gave Rachel a distracted smile, as if trying to thank her for her concern.


"Do you know when Hayden is coming exactly?" Hailey asked Charlie.

Charlie shook her head.  "No, Mama mentioned something about a free shipping code and how we have to wait for that.  I'm not really sure what she's talking about, to be honest.  But Mama did say that Hayden should start her trip sometime in October."


The room grew strangely quiet after that, and the girls continued their game in relative silence.


Later that night, after everyone had gone back to their own rooms, Hailey came and sat on my bed and we talked for a while, as was our nightly tradition.  We often felt a little guilty that we had the largest rooms and actual beds, while the other girls had to share smaller rooms.  No one seemed to hold it against us, though.  Mama had explained to everyone that the reason the rooms were set up the way they were was simply that she had the most furniture for Hailey and me, so our things fit the best on the dresser.

Hailey told me about their Uno game and Piper's reaction to Charlie's news. 

"Charlie stayed behind to talk to me after everyone else left," Hailey shared.  "She told me it's been really hard for her and Emma.  They've had a tough time figuring out how to be sensitive to Piper's feelings.  I mean, they're both so excited to meet Hayden, and that doesn't mean they love Piper any less.  But every time they bring Hayden up, Piper acts really funny."

"Funny?" I questioned.

"Well, you know, like tonight," Hailey explained.  "Quiet, somber, and sad.  She's hard to read anyway because she's so quiet, but even with that, you can tell she's having a hard time with the whole situation."

"It's got to be hard for her," I said thoughtfully.  "She's found out that she's not who she thought she was, and no matter how sensitive everyone is, I'm sure it's easy for her to think of Hayden as her 'replacement'.  Not that Mama or Emma or Charlie would ever think of it that way.  I think even Piper would admit it wasn't the case, but it's hard to keep your feelings from interfering with reality."

"Charlie's really excited about seeing Hayden," Hailey continued.  "Do you think she'll even have time for me when her sister comes?  I mean, we are best friends and all, but I'm worried that Hayden will be more important to her than I am."

I smiled.  "Hailey, you'll always be special to Charlie.  She's just excited about finally getting to meet her sister.  She may want to spend a lot of time with Hayden at first, but she won't forget you.  Just think how you would feel if you got a chance to meet Ella again.  Would it make you love Charlie any less?"     

Hailey thought about this.  "No," she admitted.  "And I would probably be talking about Ella just as much as Charlie is talking about Hayden."

"See?" I asked her.  "Don't worry about Charlie.  She'll always love you, too."


Hailey was silent for a while.  Then, in a small voice, she asked, "Tess...do you still miss Ella?"


I swallowed hard.  Tears stung my eyes at the thought of my littlest sister.  "Of course I do," I said gently.  "We'll always miss her, Hailey.  She's a part of us."

Hailey sighed.  "It's been so long since she left.  Sometimes, I try not to think about her at all because it still hurts so much to be without her.  And...I think all of this talk about Hayden coming has made me think of Ella even more."  Hailey's lip trembled.  "I hope she's happy.  I hope she's being taken care of, and that she's found whatever she was looking for..."  Her voice broke.  I could see tiny tears spilling onto her cheeks.


I moved from my spot at the head of the bed and sat next to Hailey, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders.  "It's okay, Hailey.  It's going to be okay."  I felt like I was trying to reassure myself as much as I was trying to reassure her.  "I'm sure that wherever she is, she's very happy.  But I'm sure she still misses us, too."

"Then why did she have to leave us?" Hailey whimpered pitifully.  "Why couldn't she have stayed here with us?"

"I don't know," I said hopelessly.  "Some things we'll never know.  Mama says that God knows everything, though, and His plan is always right."  I thought of the picture I still had of the three of us at Christmas time:  Hailey, Ella and I in our Christmas dresses at the foot of Mama's big tree.  I had finally put it away because it was too hard to look at it anymore.  Hailey wasn't the only one who missed Ella.  She wasn't the only one with unanswered questions.  But I knew that we had to trust that she was okay, and that hopefully someday we'd hear from her again.


I could tell Hailey was getting tired, so we moved to the head of my bed and snuggled together.  "Let's count our blessings, shall we?" I whispered comfortingly.  "We have so many things that other dolls don't."

With a deep, shuddering breath, Hailey swallowed her tears and started a list with me.  I wished I could make things easier for her.  For that matter, I wished I could make things easier for myself!  I hated feeling so helpless and powerless.  All I knew was that I planned to cherish every moment I had with Hailey.  I didn't want to take her for granted...ever.


 

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Maggie's Memos: Media Deprived!!!!

Okay, so now I look completely flaky...again!!  We honestly are working on more posts, but you would not BELIEVE the last two weeks we've had! 

Those of you who follow Mama's blog know already that she got a flat tire and had to replace both rear tires.  That just seemed to issue in a rebellion led by all of Mama's and Papa's appliances.  First, their desktop computer crashed, then their TV stopped working (you can hear movies, you just can't see them).  Mama's kitchen light was broken for 2 or 3 weeks, but that's finally fixed so Mama can take nice blog pics again.  Oh, and a minor issue, but in the middle of all this, Mama's kitchen broom broke.  I think it's a conspiracy!!

So, I'd just like to say that I'm feeling completely media deprived!!  We can't watch movies or TV or play the Wii, and there is now 1 laptop computer for all of us to share.  Between Papa unwinding at the end of the day with an online movie and Mama doing her eBay sales and trying to blog here and there, there's been almost no time for Tess, Emma and I to do our blogging! 

Oh, and I failed to mention the other joyous news.  Mama and Papa decided to cancel Netflix because it was too expensive after the change in pricing.  Plus, they said all of us (including them) were spending too much time on it.  Dude, have you guys ever tried being a doll?  There's only so much we can do during the day!  I'm going totally nuts without my Netflix!  And now it's looking pretty hopeless that I'll ever get to see Captain America.  Mama and Papa missed it in the theaters, and now we won't have Netflix to rent it later. 

Okay, now that I've spread my happy mood to all of my readers, I suppose I should sign off.  We'll try to get our rears in gear and get some posts up for you as soon as possible.  It's not like there's anything else to do around here! :(  Besides go outside, or read a book, or play a game, or talk...hmm...I guess I could try to amuse myself that way.  We'll be in touch soon!

Monday, September 12, 2011

Maggie's Memos: A Quick Hello

Hey everyone!  I figured I'd just type up something real quick so you'd know we were still alive over here.  We have some posts in the works, but things have just not slowed down since Mama's daughters started school.  With all of the human comings and goings, it's getting harder and harder to post. 

This past week has been especially crazy because Mama has been on the computer constantly.  She sold off a bunch of her fashion dolls and other things on eBay (Good riddance!!  Now if only she'd get rid of more of the Disney ones...their sing-along nights every month are getting REALLY annoying!!), so she's had to do a lot with eBay and Paypal and USPS.com.  She has three auctions left that are ending on Wednesday, so by the end of this week things should be a little bit calmer.

So, in other news...I CAN'T BELIEVE I HAD A SISTER AND NO ONE EVEN TOLD ME!!   Hello!  Can we say incompetency in leadership here?  I mean, Mama didn't think to mention even once that I had a sister...and not just a sister, but a twin?!?  You'd think that would kind of be on the IMPORTANT INFORMATION list somewhere. 

Anyway, I'm hoping to get a chance to meet her...I guess.  I mean, she may be my twin, but she likes pink...and she's all girly.  I think it's safe to say we don't have identical personalities.  I'm sure we'll get along, though.  I mean, it's not like Tess and I are all that alike, either. :}  

Of course, the other crazy news is that Mama's eBay and Craigslist sales did really well.  Her birthday is coming up at the end of the month (she's gonna be really old, too...she's turning 30!!!!).  So it's sounding pretty likely that the newest Hathaway sister will be joining us soon.  Mama is really excited, and of course, so are Emma and Charlie.  I'm not so sure about Piper...she's still having a rough time adjusting, I think.  She's been hanging out with Mimi's doll Jo, who's here for a wig-gluing appointment with Mama.  The two of them have been almost inseparable the past few days. 

I promise we'll be back with some real posts soon, so don't give up on us! :) 

Friday, September 2, 2011

Emma's Editorials: Visiting Ruthie

Hi everyone!  Sorry it's taken so long for me to get this post done.  Things have been pretty hectic around here.   Any of you who follow Mama's blog know that she recently re-did all of our rooms.  Whew!  They look great now, but things were quite a mess for a while there while Mama tried to figure out where to put everything!

So, I have lots of news to share since my last post!!  First, the rest of Ruthie's visit went wonderfully.  Piper and Ruthie were nearly inseparable!  We found out all sorts of things.  Piper is Ruthie's older sister (Ruthie is 10 years old, the same age as Hailey), and her last name is now Ellison.  Piper Ellison.  Doesn't it sound elegant and refined? ;) 

Anyway, we all had a great visit.  Then, two weeks ago, when it was time for Ruthie to go back home, she invited all of us (well, Piper, Charlie, and me) to come visit her!  Charlie and I have been to her house before, but it's been a long time.  Piper's never been there!  We were really excited to go. :)

When we first arrived, Ruthie gave us a grand tour.  We were especially interested in seeing where her room was and where we were going to stay. 


"This is where you will be staying while you're here," Ruthie said, leading us into Grandmama's guest room. 


There was a huge, comfortable bed and lots of beautiful human-sized furniture.  We loved the colors of the bedspread, too. :)  How exciting it would be to stay here like guests at a fancy hotel!


"I'd like to introduce you to some of my friends," Ruthie continued, leading us past the big bed.  "This is where your Mama's girls come and play when they visit."


We were excited to see who we would meet.  We had heard that Grandmama had a lot of dolls too.


"Hi everyone!" Ruthie called out cheerfully as we rounded the corner.  Four dolls looked up with cheerful smiles to greet us.  "I'd like to introduce you to my cousins..."  She paused for a moment and gave Piper a special smile. "...and my sister."  Piper shyly smiled back. 

Ruthie turned back to her friends.  "This is Emma, Charlie and Piper."  Then she introduced her friends, one by one.


"Emma, Charlie, Piper, this is Cassie..."


"...Felicity..."


"...Molly..."


"...and Melanie.  I believe you've met Melanie before."

We all said "hi" to one another and visited pleasantly for a few minutes.  Ruthie explained that these were Grandmama's play dolls, much like Dorcas, Leisel, Jane, Felicity, Josefina, and the others at our house that lived in the playroom.  Cassie, Melanie, Felicity and Molly got to play with Mama's daughters whenever they came over.  I shuddered a bit at this thought (I'd seen Mama's youngest girl's version of "play"), but these dolls all seemed completely happy with their lot in life.


Next, Ruthie introduced us to their two horses, Penny and Butterscotch.  Charlie and Piper made friends with them, but I hung back.  Horses make me a little bit nervous.  Charlie is completely nuts about horses, dogs, or just about any other animal.  She even has a horse of her own.  His name is Edison...and yes, that is after Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor.  What can I say?  My sis is a science nut! ;)


When we could drag Charlie away from the horses, Ruthie took us up on top of the big bed to meet three of her other friends.  It was a little tricky getting up on the bed, but we managed.


"I'd like you to meet Bessie, Kate, and Elinor," Ruthie said happily.  I could tell she was really getting a kick out of introducing us to all of her friends. 

"Did you know that Kate is Maggie's twin sister?" Ruthie asked us.  We were shocked.  I wondered if Maggie even knew she had a twin!  Kate looked just like Maggie, except she had curls framing her face, and she had blue eyes instead of brown.  That, and she was wearing pink.  Maggie wouldn't be caught DEAD in anything pink! ;)

"Who told you they were sisters?" I asked curiously. 


"Grandmama did," Ruthie replied.

This was very interesting news!  I'd have to ask Mama about it when we got home. 


When we climbed back down from the bed, Ruthie showed us all of Grandmama's amazing clothes! 

"If you need anything, you can just borrow it from the trunk," Ruthie explained proudly.  "Grandmama has great taste in clothing."


I could see that just by looking at the clothes.  We were all really excited to see so many cute outfits.  I couldn't wait to try some of them on.


After we'd browsed through Grandmama's clothes, Ruthie took us to her room.  She was almost bubbling over with excitement.  "Emma, Charlie, Piper, I'd like you to meet some of my best friends," she began.


There wasn't quite enough room for all of us in Ruthie's room, so I hung back a bit and let Piper and Charlie have a better view.


"Hi," said a pretty girl with brown, almond-shaped eyes and long, brown hair.  "I'm Jess.  It's nice to meet you."

"Hey," Charlie said suddenly.  "Aren't you the same Jess that came over from Eureka with Rachel and Maggie?"

Jess grinned.  "Yep, one and the same.  Tell them hi for me, okay?"

Charlie promised she would. 


"Nice to meet you," said a quiet, low voice.  "My name is Josefina."

Another Josefina, just like our own sweet Josefina at home.  This Josie seemed to have the same gentle personality.  Her hair was a lot shorter, though.  Ruthie explained to us later that Grandmama had rescued her from eBay and a hard former life.  I was so glad that Josefina was in a better home now!


"Hello again!" the last doll chuckled.  "It's me, Janie!" 

Of course, we all remembered her from her earlier visit to our house, when Mama had done a comparison post on her and Charlie.  It was great to see Janie again.


We visited for a while with our new friends, but soon it was time to go down to the other end of the room to meet Grandmama's last two dolls.


"I'm glad to meet you.  Kaya is my name," said the first doll warmly.  She looked really cute in her blue polka dot dress.


"And I'm Sophia," said the other doll.  "But you can just call me Sophie for short."

"I think you've met everyone now," Ruthie said with a grin.

"Wow!" I responded.  "You have so many friends."

Ruthie nodded happily.  "It's great.  We all have so much fun together."

"And we usually even manage to stay out of trouble, too!" Sophie chimed in teasingly.

We all laughed at this, and then said our goodbyes as Ruthie led us out to the living room. 


We all had a wonderful visit, laughing and talking for the rest of the afternoon.  We tried on clothes, ate delicious snacks, and jabbered on about anything and everything. :)  When it was time for bed, we each picked out a nightgown to wear from Grandmama's trunk and then all of us piled into the guest bed, Ruthie included. :)  We felt a little bad about kicking Bessie, Kate and Elinor out of their spots, but Ruthie assured us that this was the norm when guests came over, and that they didn't mind. 

Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep that night.  We had so much fun, though! :)


The next morning, Ruthie got dressed in one of her favorite fancy dresses (she loves getting dressed up!) and went back to her spot in her room.


Her friends were so happy to see her again.  "We've really missed you," Janie confessed. 

Ruthie just smiled.  I knew she was glad to be back home.


All too soon, it was time for us to go too.  Piper went up to Ruthie and squeezed her hand.  "Thank you so much for inviting us," she said shyly.  "It was wonderful to see your home."

Ruthie returned the squeeze and grinned.  "Anytime, big sis!"

And then, it was time to get in Mama's car and go to our own home. 

So, like I said, that was two weeks ago.  Things have been...well...different with Piper since Ruthie's visit.  Before Ruthie came, Piper seemed okay with being our cousin and still feeling like a sister.  But it seems like now that she's had a taste of being with her real sister, she's not as content staying with us.

The room rearranging didn't really help.  You see, that's our other big news.  Mama was able to get some contact information for Hayden!  We're all working on emails to send her.  Mama didn't have an actual email from her, but she's been able to learn about some of Hayden's interests and hobbies.  So far, we know she loves horses, Strawberry Shortcake, and Disney Princesses (especially Jasmine and Belle).  Since finding that out, Mama has found a few things to have waiting for her when she arrives (whenever that may be).  The problem was, when our new room was all set up, there was actually more stuff for Hayden in it than for Piper.  I think it was kind of like salt in the wound. 

Charlie and I have tried to encourage her, but as you all know, she doesn't really like talking about how she's feeling, so it makes it difficult. :(  Hopefully we can help her feel better about things soon. 

I'll keep all of you posted on how things go.  And of course, as soon as we hear from Hayden, we'll let you know. :D  It's hard...I'm really excited to meet Hayden, but I almost feel like it's betraying Piper to feel that way.  I'm not sure exactly how to handle it. :( 

Talk to you all soon.