Hey if you're perusing blogs on a leisurely Sunday afternoon, would you do us a favor and check the counter at the bottom of this page? We're approaching 4 million views, which is kind of insane considering that we started this quiet little web site just to keep our families informed about our adoption. Anyhow, we would LOVE to get a picture of the site with the counter showing 4 million and we'd really like to know who was looking at the blog when we hit the big number. I think we'll hit it late today or early tomorrow.
So if you happen to notice the counter flip over,
pleaseohplease take a screenshot or grab your camera and take a picture. Oh man, we would SO appreciate it. We'll even send you some chocolate if you like that sort of thing (we're conducting an extensive chocolate taste test in the family right now, and should have a winner soon).
We are so excited and grateful for all the kick-butt friends we've made through this funky blog. I can't even imagine what this journey would have been like without the comradery and support of blogland and our families.
When we sent an out-of-the-blue email to our families in 2005 and said we were going to adopt internationally, they probably thought we were a little nuts. And then when we designed a website to share our adoption progress and named it "Do They Have Salsa in China?" they knew it for sure.
Heh. Things really have changed in the last four years (not the least of which is TubaDad's hairline *grin*), and we thank each and every one of you for laughing and crying and laughing some more with us along the way.
Cheers!
~~~
Update: Whoohooooooo, we got our 4-millionth view at 2:41pm today and awesome reader Raquel captured the moment and sent us a screenshot of it! So exciting, I think I might have squealed a little. Ok, I know I did.
As soon as we finish the chocolate taste test I'll send Raquel her winnings. Regarding that, by the way, we've tasted about 10 brands so far (Scharffenberger, Ghirardelli, and Perugina are in the lead), but have about 20 more to taste, and we're certainly open to suggestions. So if you have a fave choc, please share!
Thanks also to
Susie, who sent us a picture of the counter at 3,999,999, to
MamaBeans, who sent us a pic of the counter at 4,000,001, and to everyone who kept an eye on the count for us. You guys all rock.
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Hey, not me! I didn't think you were nuts. It sounded like a great adventure to me, even before I knew we would be traveling with you two and Wela and BobBob to China to get the two little "Funshines."
ReplyDeleteI just knew that you two wanted children and that you would be wonderful parents, and if this was how you were going to go about it, it was fine with me. It was a mighty fine decision. You have made a lot of people very happy.
Ma
I feel very fortunate as well to have made so many bloggy friends and even though we have never met, I consider you very special and dear. I look forward to the day that you, me, your twinados and my dynamic duo get to meet and we will someday I am sure. (I just got to meet Donna T this weekend :-) In the meantime, I will continue to check in on you, comment and help you begin your climb to five million!
ReplyDeleteHugs!!
From those of us who are official "Aunties," thanks for letting us parent vicariously through you!
ReplyDeleteAnd for documenting the hunnies.
What fun it's been to read.
(See you SOON!) (Can't wait to meet those famous funshines.)
You know everyone is going to be checking back all day so they can be the "one." Love your blog!!
ReplyDeleteNot yet for me. Still 3998__ (forgot last few).
ReplyDeleteWhere is the counter? I don't see it!
ReplyDeleteWow. I remember when we were all waiting for our referrals and I found your blog. Your LID was only a few days behind our's. It seems like only yesterday - I even remember the chocolate fountain pic. But that was a lot of chocolate under the bridge...or something.
ReplyDeleteBut now look atcha! Four million hits and a Scholastic Award nomination! How cool is all that?!
Thanks so much for sharing your family's fun adventures with all of us.
I first started reading your blog right as we begin the loooong wait for our daughter, I found your site by googling "hard adoption wait happy news" and I am so glad I found you all! I love seeing the girls grow up and hearing about what they are into is great as my girl is about a year younger so I get a feel for whats to come. And I am a little scared. Heh.
ReplyDelete03998994 for me.
ReplyDeleteLook how skinny you've gotten in 4 years!
ReplyDeleteWasn't me... but hey, congratulations on your bloggy success!! I have been an avid reader since LID (June 06) and have enjoyed are shared e-mails. Wishing you well!!
ReplyDeleteLisa
P.S. Love the yellow wall photo at the mall! :)
OK, I'm nuts !! I looked at the number, then refreshed the page. The number increased by 2 digits. Sheesh, one could really get obsessive with that counter.
ReplyDeleteI've been following your blog, cause I have 2 nieces from China.
Not sure how I got here, but hey, you are a true please to check in on. Really, the clothes, the jokes, well, just about everything is adorable.
Congrats on the 4M hit today !!
Well, I was close :) I started following your blog this past weekend. We are also thinking about adoption. Thanks for posting all of the great pictures and stories!
ReplyDeleteDamn, missed it by one. I've got the screen shot though, if you didn't get anyone right on!
ReplyDelete(wonder how many of us SAHM's were just madly refreshing there at the end....)
Well, it looks like you are over 4 million. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteSide note, I'll bet today you get your highest hits ever! Couldn't believe how fast that number was climbing!
ReplyDeleteI have been following your blog before your referral. You and many others in blogland helped me keep my sanity during the long wait (01/16/2006 LID).
ReplyDeleteDarn, I missed it by 8, did you get the 4 million hit?
I was 4million and NINE! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteoh darn, I was 4,000,829. But someone above me was 4,000,001,
ReplyDeleteCan you believe it they missed it by 1 !!!
Hope someone got your 4M !
Missed it by 5! Blogger was going crazy for awhile.....everyone was at The Salsa Home front....LOL! I did get a picture!
ReplyDeleteKim E
You already hit 4 million and 220 when I checked! I hope someone got a picture for you!!
ReplyDeleteHoly smokes .....I had 335 ahead of me ....
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see who the winner is :)
four million 612... thanks for sharing a bit of your family with all of us!!!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the big
ReplyDeletefour-oh...oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
On the chocolates: Milka used to make the most delicious chocolate eggs at easter, sold in an egg carton shaped pack of four. Each egg had a jagged, cracked line around the top which you levered off with the little spoon provided to find an extra smooth and fluffy milk or white chocolate mousse filling inside. Haven't seen them for a few years, though. Sigh.
Congrats on the 4M M3!
ReplyDelete4 Years!! WOW!!
One more chocolate you NEED to try, Frey.
Frey
One of the best in the land!! Dark is the best but the Milk comes in at a HIGH second place in our house!! BTW, you can get it at Target! Bottom shelf! :)
I first found you during the infamous gecko tail incident and it was love at first read! SOOO happy to have met your friend and for the glimpses into your wonderful family's life that you share with us. Love you friend. xoxo
ReplyDeleteHappy 4 Million!!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy to have found you.....you were the second blog I ever set eyes on......I think it was back in Jan of 2006 just as we started our paperchase. There are so many of your posts that stand out to me, but I have to say the one that I will never forget is the video of "THE CALL"....the moment your lives changed FOREVER. It only took me two years to come out of lurk mode, start my own blog, and actually leave comments for you and others.
I am so glad that all these years later, you are continuing to blog....you are an inspiration to so many.....keep the posts coming, we all look forward to each and every one:)
Lisa
I came across your blog somehow a few years ago while looking into adoption and have been following ever since! Congrats on the 4M!! Speaking of chocolate... I just completed my First Daring Bakers challenge which was a flourless chocolate cake (o.k... and don't forget the ice cream)! It was awesome! The recipe is on my blog. Your cake will taste just like the chocolate you choose.
ReplyDeletei am addicted to your blog :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on 4 million!
ReplyDeleteAt 9:15 CST you were at 4001435... wow!
4,000,000 page views, pretty awesome. But who was your first (non-family) lurker commenter? hahahahaha (just kidding, I know who that was).
ReplyDeleteCongrats on all the years of blogging, all the readers, and I'm so glad to have you guys as our friends from the very beginning of the journey and through all the fun times!!! Love you guys!
Wow--it's pretty incredible that between the 4 million point (2:41 PM) and now (10:43 PM CST) you're already had 1817 visits!!!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the 4M hits and thanks much for all of the effort you put into the blog and the pictures. Best to your family.
ReplyDeleteBob D.
Congrats! And do continue! Soon there'll be 8 million hits! :) It's become more than an adpotion blog. I love reading about your daily adventures about the girls.
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Hooray for 4 million AND SOME hits!! I've enjoyed following your family...
ReplyDeleteVery cool!! I'm so happy to have followed along on your journey over the years and have been apart of 4 million hits!
ReplyDeleteI vote you try Ritter Sport milk chocolate. They make other flavors, but I'm partial to the milk. YUMMY. Why on earth did it never occur to me to do a chocolate taste test myself? Oh I know! Because then I wouldn't even fit in my fat pants! LOL Course, I don't have twinados to keep up with!!
ReplyDeleteI reccommend you try Blanxart chocolates; they can be found at Whole Foods and are Spanish treasures!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the 4mil mark! Milestones are being made everyday, and not just by our toddlers!
Yay Salsa in China! So much fun to see all the growth and fun antics of the kids. We have grown frustrated with our Chinese adoption (LID May 16 06) and have moved on a bit- but I still visit to see what a successful Chinese adoption looks like!
ReplyDeleteWell, call me dense... but I couldn't find it, til I saw Raquel's photo!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm 4006203... hooly dooly that's alotta hits!!! That's 6203, just today?!!!
I think it's hilarious that you thought only your family would read it?!!! Good grief, girl, you entertain me, almost every day!!! Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful life, with the big wide world. And ONE DAY, we'll get to your little corner of the world, to give you all a big hug in person!
Oh crap! I commented under the wrong name!! four2five is me. Lee-Anne. Or as my "undercover" associates know me, OziMum.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you've hit 4 million in just 4 years, that's amazing!! How cool to get the screen shots of it too, great idea. :-)
ReplyDeleteThese are a little unusual, but have you tried Vosges chocolates? They have really unusual, funky flavor combos like milk chocolate iwth curry, and dark chocolate with wasabi -- there's even one with bacon! I know it sounds weird, but they are sooooooo good. :) Highly recommended! http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/
ReplyDelete- Jenny
4 million.....rock on, friend. Your gals are getting to be such big girls! And don't mind your hubs' receding hairline - he can take some of Joel's "deliverance" style beard any ol' day :)
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy your blog, your daughters are adorable, but I always wonder if any "adoption issues" arise with your beautiful twins. Everything in your family seems fun fun fun and I wonder if attachment or RAD or other adoption-realted "issues" arise. Do you honor/discuss your daughter's birthmom?
ReplyDeletePerhaps this is your forum though of course to talk only of the fun - which is wonderful! Just wondering.
To the last anon comment:
ReplyDeleteThank you, we think the girls are pretty darn great also. :-) Regarding your question, I hesitate to say this, but we really do have a lot of fun right now and aren't faced with many adoption-related issue yet. I say "yet" because I know with every fiber in my being that we will have rough times ahead. I don't think anyone on any side of an adoption (birthparents, chid, or adoptive parents) goes through life untouched. Issues will come and we're trying to lay the groundwork for success right now. I read everything I can get my hands on, we talk about adoption as much as we can with the girls (sometimes TubaDad laughs at me because I force it into conversations), we try to supply as many age-appropriate details as we can, and constantly evaluate what we're doing and how we can improve it. It's hard! We don't do anything that's perfect. Far from it. The girls just are who they are, there are two of them which probably makes a huge difference, and we're not in a particularly hard stage right now. I'm working on a long blog post called "Talking about adoption is hard" that will give a lot more details, and will post that as soon as it's done.