My Name is Lisa Eisenberg. I am single, 35 and this my first child. I live in NYC and work in Healthcare Administration. Hmmm what else.... I'm a nice Jewish girl who decided not to wait for what may or may not happen in the romance/marriage deparment and the rest is history. Probably more information that you wanted but just a little Lisa-fact.

Girl, Boy, Twins requested?
I've requested a healthy baby girl but I have also begun looking at my agency's waiting children. I am possibly open to some minor special needs.

Age Requested?
I've requested six (6) months or as young as possible and my home study has approved me to adopt a baby from 0-15 months of age.

Child/children's names?
I am keeping a list of names I like but I will wait to decide on a name until I meet my daughter.

Nursery theme and colors?
Nursery will likely be pink/green, most likely in a vintage/shabby-chic design. I've purchased a beautiful vintage petite cherub chandelier with crystal prisms and antique hankies and beautiful old vintage rose plates. I have a mosaic round table and am probably going to have my childhood bedroom set (pine) sprayed white and I bought hand painted pink rose knobs (I love pink and I love pink roses more). What do you think?

Likes and Dislikes?
Likes - I like this group!
Dislikes - As far as items include anything overly religious (including my own faith).

Hobbies and Collections?
I collect (or rather I did) porcelain dolls but I have WAY too many so no more.

Favorite fragrance or scents?
CUCUMBER MELON!!!

Favorite foods?
This chunky chick eats most things. Favorites include Japanese, Thai, Seafood, Chinese and good old fashioned all American burgers.

Favorite books or authors?
For me - Christopher Anderson biographies, Kennedy Family stuff, Lavyrle Spencer, Danielle Steele and work related stuff.

For Baby - Karen Katz, Sandra Boyton, Todd Parr, China Adoption stories, single mommy stories, Jewish stories/holidays

Favorite movies?
An Affair to Remember, Same Time Next Year, Titanic, Mystic River, You've Got Mail and a whole bunch of others

Favourite music?
Are you ready? Bon Jovi, Eros Ramazzoti, Billy Joel, Elton John, Vonda Shephard, Peter, Paul & Mary, Josh Groban, Meatloaf, 80's, 70's Disco...talk about eclectic, eh?

Favourite colour or colours?
Pink, Green, Blue, Purple and basic black (little black dress and strappy sandals)

Registered at a store?
Just amazon.com for books

Favourite clothing item for a child?
HATS HATS AND MORE HATS (girlie ones of course)

1. We are Lisa and Eric Bryant, we have 2 dogs, Zane, a weimeraner and Ginger, a dalmatian. We live on the very north end of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, though with the work situation we'll likely face a transfer during the next 6-12 months... great, more paperwork!!!

2. We requested twins but reality is we'll likely receive a referral for one girl :)

3. We requested <12 months old

4. We have not selected a name... plenty of time right?!

5. Our nursery theme is Sun, Moon and Stars in primary colors of Yellow and Blue. You can see pictures on our blog of some in MArch I think.

6. We love to travel, ride motorcycles, watch movies. I love to scrapbook. WE both love the Red Sox though we rarely watch! And we both have zero tolerance for mean or deceitful people!!! Though we have our own personal faith, we dislike religious items (though we do love a huge wonderful Christmas tree... but that's no really religious!!!). I love large family gatherings around the holidays, the smell of anything fresh cooked, scuba diving, etc. We love bubble baths and lazy weekends!


7. Eric collects Zippos when we travel, I scrapbook and really enjoy it. Most of my hobbies are from my childhood, I used to compete on horseback for decades!!! right now I read, and enjoy my favorite shows... Survivor, Commander in Chief and Amazing Race.

8. I know you can't bottle them, but my favorite fragrances are major events, like buds blooming in the spring or the smell of a campfire on a cold fall night, or the smell of the outdoors after a long hard rain. I know this won't help a SEcret Pal, but it's the truth!

9. Our favorite foods... chocolate...tea... hot cocoa...

10. I'm become fascinated while reading recently on historical and family stories from China. But mostly I love things like Grisham, Baldacci, stuff like that.

for the baby, see our amazon registry for books, we like both those on the adoption side of things and others. I list includes both.

11. Favorite movies... Hunt for Red October, Pretty Woman, Gigi, Family Man, I love Sean Connery and Julia Roberts. Mystery, drama, sappy romance...

12. Favorite Music... Billy Joel, Police, Sinatra, Classical, Jazz, Elton John, This one is tough. classic rock, 80-70-60 style music also.

13. Favourite colour or colours... Blue and green

14. Registered at a store... long story, our registry at Babies R Us is "still" online, it's been updated, but we'll update it more in the fall. We did however just complete a registry at Amazon for books, I love books and can't wait to build our daughter's library.

15. Favourite clothing item for a child? Nothing "too" pink. I love stuff like Osh Kosh, Janie and Jack, Gymboree. But mainly fun, bright, atypical stuff!

16. Anything else you would like to share with your secret pal? We've been on the road to a child for years, sometimes it seems like a lifetime and heartbreaks have been tough to manage, but we've got a sense of peace with our journey to China. To whoever becomes our secret pal, we thank you in advance for sharing this journey with us... from the bottom of our heart to yours. Our family blog is http://thebryantbunch.blogspot.com/.

We are the Hennen family. We (Andrew and Andrea) will celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary on June 8th of this year. We have three biological boys, Mathew age 13, Zachary age 12, and Noah age 11. We started our family when we were quite young and by the time we were in our early 30's we felt that we wanted more children. Since my pregnancies didn't go well, we looked into adoption. Our first adoption journey started in December of 2003. We brought our little blessing Sarah home to live with us January 15th 2004. She has been such a joy for our entire family. We now are waiting for Sarah's little sister Rachel. I can't wait to bring her home to be a part of our family. We only waited six months for our referral of Sarah, the wait is going to be much longer this time around.

Sarah and Rachel will be sharing a bedroom. I am excited to get started on the remodel but know that I have plenty of time. I have picked out the vine patchwork bedding from Pottery Barn kids. I am doing the walls in a buttery yellow and the curtains and bedskirts are in a bright pink. We live in a historical home built in 1878 and I'd like to do iron beds to keep with the theme of the house.

Things that I love are spending time with my family, scrapbooking, shopping, reading, and traveling. Our family spends a lot of time outdoors. I love to eat (the extra 30 lbs I carry can prove that) and our family enjoys all kinds of foods. We aren't very picky in that area. Right now I am reading the third book in the Good Earth series. I have very much enjoyed reading about the Chinese Culture and how they lived in years past. I am a sap when it comes to movies. I love romances and happy endings. I love the movies Notebook and Pearl Harbor. I cry every time I watch them. I enjoy music from the 70's, especially the love songs. Because I love to shop, and Sarah is my first daughter, I end up buying a lot of clothes! I love Hannah Andersson, Gap, Gymboree, Nordstroms, blah blah blah....you get my drift, I spend too much money-just ask my husband. I keep telling him though that we'll get double the use out of all the outfits when Rachel wears them. This doesn't help much though as he doesn't have much confidence in the fact that I won't buy more when she gets here.

I am a typical mom who does everything for my kids and I find that I forget about myself a lot. I am trying to pamper myself more and spend money and time on myself so that I feel special too. I just recently quit my job to stay at home with the kids. It is my goal to get into shape again, get my nails done, get a fresh haircut, and start to get my eyebrows waxed instead of always having to pluck them. I love jewelry and clothes but haven't updated my wardrobe in years. I am hoping that I still know how to shop "in fashion". Wouldn't it be fun to have a personal shopper to dress you? One that knows what looks great on your body type and the perfect colors that will show off your eyes? Well that's what I want from my secret pal. HA HA HA-can't blame a gal for trying though.

I am excited about this gift exchange. I think it's goingto be fun and will help pass the wait time. I am excited to see pictures of other April DTC'ers and what their secret pals gave as gifts. I also look forward to learning more about everyone and their families.

Andrea Hennen

Donna and Nathan

Add your name and a little something about your family.
We are Donna & Nathan from Prattville, AL and we have one bio son, Pearson, he will be 2 years old on July 13, 2006. I work full-time for the Alabama Air National Guard as the administrative assistant to the Commander of an F-16 Squadron. Nathan works for Hyundai in production.

Girl, Boy, Twins requested?
Girl

Age requested?
6-12 months

Child/Children’s names?
We haven’t decided yet.

Nursery theme and colours?
Walls are painted bright blue and a friend will paint flowers, ladybugs, etc. in pastel pinks, purples, green, and yellows. We do not have a theme.

Likes and Dislikes?
I like very feminine, pretty things, our home is very masculine and I can’t wait to “pink” it up a bit!!! We like dogs, going to parks and taking vacations. I can’t think of anything we really dislike.

Hobbies/Collections?
We love Auburn Football and collecting Disney things. I also enjoy teaching my 4 year old choir at church with my sister.

Favourite fragrance or scent? Coffee and lavender (not necessarily together)

Favourite foods?
Anything Italian and ice cream.

Favourite books or authors?
Any children’s books with beautiful pictures.

Favourite movies?
Shawshank Redemption, Pretty Woman, any Mafia movies.

Favourite music?
We like country and pop, and old rock music.

Favourite colour or colours?
Light green & pink

Registered at a store?
Amazon and soon to be Target

Favourite clothing item for a child?
Bubbles

Anything else you would like to share with your secret pal?
I am so excited to be a part of this group, and I can’t wait to start sending and receiving gifts, this is going to be so much fun!!! And I have to share this cute picture of Pearson taken during an Easter picnic at our church.

Hi we are Tony, Eda, Samuel & Benjamin Dal-Corobbo from Roxby Downs, Australia.

We live in an outback mining town where my husband works. We have been here for almost4 years now, and all going well will be here for another 3 or 4.

We currently have 2 boys, adopted from South Korea - Samuel( 4 1/2 years) in 2001 and Benjamin (almost 2) in 2005.

2. Girl, Boy, Twins requested?

Have definitely requested a Girl!

3. Age Requested?

We are approved for a childunder 2 years of age

4. Child/children's names?

We have a number of names we like -

the shortlist is : Lucy, Chloe, Sabrina & Sophie

with her Chinese name as her middle name

it will really depend what suits her when we see her photo

5. Nursery theme and colours?

Ladybugs - have found a lovely fabric with lovely soft pinks, greens, sherbet orange & red

which I think I will be using

6. Likes and Dislikes?

hate crosswords and jigjaws & ironing - love spending time with my family

7. Hobbies and Collections?

Love sewing - quilting/applique & sticheries, reading, scrapbooking and spending time trawling the internet-ebay, adoption chat groups & shopping

8. Favourite fragrance or scents?

Currently use Lancome - Miracle, and love rose scented body products

9. Favourite foods?

Italian, Seafood and cheese (with a nice bottle of Aussie white wine - yum!)

10. Favourite books or authors?

Harry Potter series, Dan Brown and currently reading alot about China

11. Favourite movies?

Harry Potter, James Bond - and anything with Pierce Brosnan

12. Favourite music?

Andre Bocelli

13. Favourite colour or colours?

Exotic Asian colours of pinks, plums & gold & dusty pinks, greens & cream

14. Registered at a store?

Not something that is widely done in Australia

15. Favourite clothing item for a child?

Looking forward to girls clothes! I like simple lines (not overly frilly) and will probably have alot of navy, pink, lime, red & denim.

16. Anything else you would like to share with your secret pal?

Can't wait to be a mum to our little girl & I love being home with my boys. Hoping the time goes quickly whilst we wait for that special call.

Ryan and Stacy


Add your name and a little something about your family.
We are Ryan and Stacy. We live in Kentucky. I am a special education teacher and Ryan is a mortgage broker. This will be our first child.

Girl, Boy, Twins requested?
We requested either boy or girl.

Age requested?
As young as possible

Child/Children’s names?
Victoria Grace

Nursery theme and colors?
Daisies and ladybugs

Likes and Dislikes?
Stacy’s Likes: tea, knitting, dogs, walking, reading, blogging
Ryan’s Likes: running, watching TV, football (especially the Colts),movies
Our Dislikes: fleas, rap music, we’re pretty easy going I guess.

Hobbies/Collections?
I love to knit!

Favorite fragrance or scent?
Soft scents like baby lotion.

Favorite foods?
English breakfast tea, dark chocolate, pasta, chocolate,salads, chocolate, salmon, chocolate

Favorite books or authors?
A good mystery is my favorite. Dianne Mott Davidson, Jodi Picoult, etc.

Favorite movies?
Any oldies
Ryan likes Star Wars type movies

Favorite music?
Country, soft rock

Favorite color or colours?
Blue, tan, yellow

Registered at a store?
Amazon books

Favorite clothing item for a child?
It’s all Cute!

The Vandeven Family! I also had to add this site just for my secret pal:http://theonehouseadventures.blogspot.com/
There you will find more then you probably wanted to know about our family!

Added/changed info 5-17-06 on the Nursery colors and themes.


1. Add your name and a little something about your family.
We are a family of 5. Bart is 30 and I am 32.
We have 3 children:
Dante: 9 years old
Stone: 4 years old
Lucy: almost 2 years old
All are my biological children. Dante was adopted by Bart at age 5, and has always been DAD. And the best, if I don't say so myself. We live about 2 hours south of St. Louis.
2. Girl, Boy, Twins requested?
We requested a girl.
3. Age requested?
We requested an infant...6-18 months.
4. Child/Children's names?
Katherine (KATE) chinese name,
5. Nursery theme and colours?
I thought hello kitty would be it. I have a few things, so it is not like she won't have some.....but I could not resist the pink and light green vintage shabby chic circus bedding at a local consignment store (a very bad habit/or good hobby). I will more then likely post a picture of it on the ONE house adventures. I change my answer to vintage circus! (For now!) My husband may not agree....he's not a "vintage" lover like I am!
6. Likes and Dislikes?
We like to travel. We like the outside. We like to camp and swim.
We dislike mean people. We dislike CUB fans. He! He! We dislike spoiled milk! But it never happens at our house.
7. Hobbies/Collections?
CARDINALS BASEBALL!!!!!!!! The whole family loves the REDBIRDS. We also spend all our time outdoors, love to camp and swim! I also enjoy reading but never find the time!
8. Favourite fragrance or scent?
Lilac and sun tan oil (I guess that is cocconut and pinapple)!
9. Favourite foods?
We love to eat! My favorite: Lay's Dill Potatoe Chips!
10. Favourite books or authors?
I really like the classics a lot! I also like Karen Kinsbury. There really isn't too many books or authors I won't read. Bart is a finacial and economics man. He likes the Wall Street Journal! The Kids love all books!
11. Favourite movies?
Kate and Leopold, Pirates of the Caribean, classic old movies Jimmie Stuart, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Garland, Bette Davis.... of course, all the Disney's and Pixars!!!!
12. Favourite music?
Inspirational Christian, Country, Classic, Children's ....Music is good!
13. Favourite colour or colours?
Funny, I really don't have one. All colors have a time and place.
14. Registered at a store?
No, Did that 9 years ago. We've collected with the past 3 kids. I'm not picky and there is always a need for a second what ever it is you get! Even though, it is fun for the first timers or a big age gap to register!
15. Favourite clothing item for a child?
All clothes! I do tend to buy a lot of shoes though. It is a girl thing!
16. Anything else you would like to share with your secret pal?
The best part about doing this is not just getting things I like, but what others like too! It is neat to learn and share with others! So have FUN! That is what it is all about!

We are Kevin and Gayla Smith from Haltom City TX. We are on the north side of Fort Worth. We have two wonderful children Chayla, 6 year old adopted from Rostov-on-Don, Russia in June 2000. I was a single Mom when I adopted Chayla. Three years later I meet my husband (online) and we were married 9 months later in June 2004. We soon decided to adopt a little boy from Russia. In March 2005, Kavin joined our family also Rostov-on-Don, Russia. And we thought that would complete our family but God had other plans. He told me we have one more. I said no we don't. To make a long story short we are adopted from China.

We have requested a little girl AYAP

Her name will be Adayla Rose (Chinese name) Presley Smith
Nursery theme and colors? Her nursery will be pink with a lot of lace and ruffle. (The more lace and ruffles the better).
Likes and Dislikes? We LOVE NASCAR....We are a Nascar family.
Hobbies/Collections? Scrapbooking (love to scrapbook) Collections Coco Cola stuff. I also collect driver license from relavtives.
favorite fragrance or scent? Nothing to flowery....Have allegries
favorite foods? Mexican
favorite books or authors? Paul Hauck
favorite movies? All time favorite Pretty Woman
favorite music? County (Tim McGraw and rascal Flatt)
favorite color or colors? Yellow and red
Registered at a store? Not at this time
favorite clothing item for a child? Bow for her hair the bigger the better

I also started selling Mary Kay Beauty Products to help support the adoption. I also work full time at RadioShack. I happen to work at home for them. My husband is a RV tech and in the process of adding on to our home to make room for Adayla.

Chester and Lisa Moore
1. Add your name and a little something about your family. About the Moore Family
My name is Lisa and my husband is Chester and we live in Southeast TX.
2. Girl, Boy, Twins requested? Girl
3. Age Requested? As young as possible
4. Child/children's names? Faith ?
5. Nursery theme and colours? Safari (Animal prints) Not baby animals or cutesy stuff
6. Likes and Dislikes? We enjoy traveling and spending time with each other. We both hunt and fish and like spending time outdoors with our dogs.
7. Hobbies and Collections? I like to cook, read, and watch food network. I collect zebras and animal print things, cookbooks and Peanuts.
8. Favourite fragrance or scents? my favorite scent is 273
9. Favourite foods? Mexican and Italian
10. Favourite books or authors? John Grisham and Harry Potter books
11. Favourite movies? Comedies
12. Favourite music? Hard rock (80s bands)
13. Favourite colour or colours? Dark Green, animal prints
14. Registered at a store? No
15. Favourite clothing item for a child? none really
16. Anything else you would like to share with your secret pal? We have more likes than dislikes, we will try anything once. We really aren't into the cutesy stuff but I am sure our parents will be. We are both only children and this is the first for us. Our parents are so excited about the baby girl - Can we say SPOILED!

The photo is a Chester and I with our friends kids Corbin and Evie.

Welcome to the April 2006 DTC Secret Pal Gift Exchange!

This is where you post the answers to the questionnaire about yourself and your family so your secret pal and the group can get to know you better. Feel free to post pictures and make the blog your own. This should be alot fun and it will help us pass the time as we all wait for our little angels to come home.

Here is the Monthly Themes for the gifts

May 2006 - Baby Bath Time
June 2006 - Pamper the Parents
July 2006 - Meal Time Accessories
August 2006 - Nursery theme and colours
September 2006 - Baby Bed Time
October 2006 - Fall Frolics
November 2006 - Reading for Fun
December 2006 - Tiny Tot Toys
January 2007 - Travel Essentials
February 2007 - Welcome Home Baby and something small from your city/state/country
don't forget that we will have a cyber babyshower at the end of this month and we can reveal to our secret pal who we are.


Questions from Questionnaire

1. Add your name and a little something about your family.

2. Girl, Boy, Twins requested?

3. Age Requested?

4. Child/children's names?

5. Nursery theme and colours?

6. Likes and Dislikes?

7. Hobbies and Collections?

8. Favourite fragrance or scents?

9. Favourite foods?

10. Favourite books or authors?

11. Favourite movies?

12. Favourite music?

13. Favourite colour or colours?

14. Registered at a store?

15. Favourite clothing item for a child?

16. Anything else you would like to share with your secret pal?


Ready set go let the shopping begin!