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