The Life We Imagine

Happy New Years to All! I recently reread Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God , and I was struck by this sentence, "There are years that ask questions and years that answer." This seemed particularly appropriate to our lives this year. Among the many questions that we asked in 2009 and anticipate answers for in 2010 are: "Who will our new son be?" "When will he join our family?" "What will our first trip out of the country be like? And where all will we go?" "How will our family of 3 transition to being a family of 4?" "Where we will live after Chris gets his promotion?" "When will we get to meet our new niece? And what will this little girl among 3 boys be like?" "How will Brooks handle kindergarten?" It will surely be a year of answers! On the adoption front, we may have some answers very soon! I received a wonderful e...

Bored? Not around our house! Here is just some of what has kept us busy around Tulsa this month . . . I added some of my favorite Christmas songs to the playlist for this month--though not always my favorite versions (except, of course, those by Josh Groban). I will say not a single version of Sweet Little Jesus Boy could hold a candle to Brother Jerry Cronan's version from my childhood, so I just left it off completely. Enjoy!!

A thing long expected takes the form of the unexpected when at last it comes! Mark Twain's Notebook Imagine my surprise when I opened email this morning and found our APPROVAL letter! What a blessing and what a big step! Thank you to Peter and the Ministry in Rwanda; this is so quick and efficient especially considering they just had all the work of getting the referrals out for the previous group. They are working so hard over there on behalf of us and these children. Thank you for your prayers--Thank you, God! The letter states that we will now wait 2 months for a referral (the information about our child). Here is the letter for those of you who'd like to see it:

"October gave a party; The leaves by hundreds came -The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples, And leaves of every name. The Sunshine spread a carpet, And everything was grand, Miss Weather led the dancing, Professor Wind the band." ~George Cooper, "October's Party" Wow! What a month October was! When you're done reading this post you'll understand why I didn't have time to stop and blog for the last month. It has been crazy and fun around here; as you'll see Brooks spent the better part of October dressed as Darth Vader. It has been beautiful weather, and we have been able to stay out-and-about just about every day. Enjoy these pics of all our October fun. (If you are reading this for adoption news only, scroll down; it's at the bottom!)

It has been seventeen years since two high-schoolers in Humble, Texas, started "going out." How time flies! I'd post a homecoming picture from that week, but gosh-dernit I can't seem to find one!

Well, the third time is a charm, at least for zoo campouts, that is. This weekend we went to our 3rd "Zoofari" which is a Tulsa zoo event for its members where we get to pitch a tent and spend the night at the zoo. The first time we went it was horribly hot, the next time there were severe storms, but this time was perfect. It did get a little chilly (in the 50's overnight) but it was so nice throughout the evening. We were able to ride the train and the carousel, make smores, and explore the zoo by flashlight. They had stations set up with the docents where we were able to meet and learn about a snake. Brooks also colored a giraffe mask to wear.

Three seasons ago we made the long drive from Tulsa to Austin for the Ohio State game and the Texas A&M game; it has taken this long to be willing to attempt it again. It is a very long drive and after a loss it is even worse. However, we figured that an older Brooks (with a newly developed Star Wars obsession and DVD player) combined with a game against the University of Louisiana-Monroe might work out better for us. So, Chris said he wanted to go to Austin and the game for his b-day and off we went. IT WAS GREAT! We had heard so much about the Lake being very low that we had given up on the idea of getting in the water, but after quite a hike over the rocks we were able to get to the water(for those of you who've been to the Lake house; check out the pictures!).

Then followed that beautiful season... Summer.... Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Well, it seems as if summer has come to an end and with its end has come a new beginning in our home. Brooks started Pre-K at Grissom Elementary School. It turns out that they are about the only school on the Tulsa area that has a 1/2 day program (2:45 hrs), so I put in for an out-of-district transfer so he could go there. The first week is absolutely kicking our rears! Mommy and Brooks rarely see the clock during the 6 am hours, but his school starts at 7:50 across town so it's "rise and shine" for us.

Well, perhaps the most important compilation of papers I have ever held is now on a Fed Ex plane headed to Washington D.C. If all goes well our dossier will arrive to The Assistant Stork courier service on Monday. On Tuesday, they will then take the documents to the U.S. Department of State to be authenticated (they've already been notarized locally and authenticated at the OK Secretary of State). Steve from the Assistant Stork will wait while the authentications are done and then hand-deliver the package to the Embassy of Rwanda. He will return to pick up the documents (which need yet another seal from the embassy) and, hopefully, our Letter of Recommendation from the Embassy. The embassy has stated that they will only need 8 working days for their part, but you never know--I've heard of it going faster and slower for different folks. He will then FedEx Overnight everything back to us and we will send it to Rwanda! In the meantime, I am going to use this post to do what I t...

We hope you all had a great 4th of July Weekend! Chris mentioned really wanting to take advantage of his 3-day weekend, but we didn't want to have the time and expense of a long drive, so we had ourselves a fun "stay"cation here in Tulsa. The local Radisson here has a great indoor "water park" that proved to be the perfect size for Brooks. The water was all less than 3 feet deep, but the slides were big enough to be fun for the 10 year olds (and the occaisional parent)! So, we spent a ton of time in the pools and we also saw two movies, went bowling and saw the fireworks! All in all, a great weekend!

Well, we've been home a bit now but I am now sufficiently recovered from ou r Disney vacation to pos t some pictures. We all had a blast at Disneyworld. This was the first trip for both me and Brooks. We really vacationed hard and honestly hit just about every attraction and show! Brooks spent all the time in line for every single ride trying to convince us that he didn't want to go on this one because it was too scary/too boring/too loud/too dark/or he had to go potty right now, but he came off every ride with a huge smile saying how much he liked it. He really had a great time with everything and since we've been back he has been playing roller coaster on his bike and in the car down every hill we drive down. When we first started researching Disney and all the characters we would meet, we were at first worried that it would be all princesses and not enough "boy" stuff, but as you can see Brooks got to meet Power Rangers, Star Wars Characters, Peter Pan, Pirate...

We recently returned from a great trip. Chris had to travel to Jackson, MS and Tampa, FL for work, so we tagged along as we always do. We had a great time. Brooks really loves the beach and would play there all day. He enjoyed jumping over the waves and playing in the sand. He was very daring and would go too far if we let him. The Tampa zoo is amazing--and we know zoos we've been to 11 or 12 of them! They have great animals that you see very up-close, and they have rides like a little roller coaster. They also have a several splash areas and a ride that takes you behind the scenes into the animal areas. We got stuck behind a stubborn ostrich and had to wait for a handler to come move him. Believe it or not, I was a little afraid then due to our last up-close and personal encounter with ostriches at a drive-through safari! Despite an excruciating sunburn that I managed to get on day 1, we all had a great time. The food was also really great. Us landlocked people don't get the...

Brooks is getting a brother! We would like to share with you all some exciting news. We have started the official process of adopting a child from Rwanda. We look forward to having a second little boy who will come to live with us at the age of 2-3. We are very excited and hope that you will share in the excitement of this process with us. In adoption circles they refer to this as a “paper pregnancy.” I’m hoping I get to eat unlimited quantities of chips and guacamole this time around, too!

Our baby is four years old! We can hardly believe it has been four years since Brooks took us from being a couple to being a family. It seems like yesterday and yet so much has happened since then. Brooks has grown into a smart, affectionate, energetic, opinionated, and beautiful little boy. His baby face allows us the luxury of thinking he is still a baby, but we know he is all little boy! Brooks’s world is a fantastical imaginary land filled with Superheroes and “Bad guys”, pirates, and knights. He loves to pretend! He also soaks up knowledge as quickly as we teach him and often surprises us by using rather sophisticated language (and using it properly even if he doesn’t say the beginning “s” sound!) We have celebrated his birthday 3 times this year (living away from home as its advantages in the birthday party department!). Brooks was able to squeeze in a sports themed party with Nana and PawPaw, a pirate party with Mimi and Grandpa, and a Superhero party with his friends. At his...