October! (And a little adoption update . . .)


"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!)




At the Pumpkin Patch







Oktoberfest




Happy Half-Birthday (notice it's 1/2 of a cake!)



Tulsa Kite Fest



The Oklahoma State Fair in Tulsa





Halloween! We all had fun, but judging by the reactions of the 9-11 year old male crowd in the neighborhood, Mommy's costume was the biggest hit!




Hallowmarine--They had a mermaid swimming in the fish tank, but her picture didn't come out well.

Hall"zoo"een--I think one of Brooks's favorite parts was seeing a group of dancers do a rendition of the "Thriller" video! And, he got to meet the Ghostbuster gang; I think Daddy liked that more than Brooks. You can tell it was a LONG night!




KiddiePark in Bartlesville--We really love this place; it's just perfect for the little kiddos.



Star Wars in Concert! Daddy and Brooks went and had a great time. Other people asked to take pictures with Brooks! Brooks has been humming the Star Wars music almost non-stop since this.




The Haunted Castle in Muskogee




Well, I hoped you liked the photos. It has been a fun month--all this and football, too!

Adoption news: I have come to the conclusion that God has decided that I need to learn patience. Honestly, I wish He would have picked a different time for the lesson, but, alas, I will be forced to learn. It appears that our best course of action for now will be to revise our expectations. We had really hoped to have our son home this Spring, but I think we would be better to shoot for the family reunion in mid-July. In order to not bog you down with adoption lingo, just suffice it to say that Rwanda has been swamped with adoption dossiers and they just don't have the man power to process them quickly. I applaud them for doing all they can to make the process very ethical and careful even if it means slower. They have made changes in the process to better protect their children and to safeguard the process. Anytime changes are made, the first few groups through will be somewhat "trial and error." It will happen.
The basics of where we stand is that our dossier is being reviewed by Rwanda. We await our "approval" and then we will wait for our "referral" or the information about our specific child. The general time frames are 3-6 months waiting for approval (you can see on our ticker where we are in this wait) and then 2-3 months waiting for a referral. After this, the best guess is 4-6 weeks for court dates, etc. and then we travel.
Right now, more than ANYTHING for our adoption, please pray that there is a way for our fellow adopters who are waiting for their referrals any day to get through court in time to bring their children home for Christmas. For us, please pray that we are in the next round of approvals, whenever that may be. Please pray that the Rwandan Ministry will have the time and resources to devote to the adoption files. Please pray that the children are well and loved. Please pray for me to learn to be patient.
Finally, for no real reason, for the last few weeks, I have had the song "Maybe" from Annie stuck in my head. Then, I caught it on late-night television one night and another blog used "Tomorrow" on their blog. Maybe if I write about it, my mind will move on, but I think I keep playing the song in my head because I wonder what our son thinks about, wishes about, dreams about. Many of these adopting families are adopting very young babies and toddlers. Our son is nearing 3 already; he has fears, concerns, questions. One person who has been in the orphanage, recalls the "older" children (preschoolers and toddlers) clamoring about them calling them Mommy and Daddy and asking to be held. Now that these children are seeing more and more of them--usually babies--leave with Mommies and Daddies, I wonder if they dream of getting a family. I wonder if our son wishes for us even though he doesn't know us. I wonder if in his way he has a bunch of "maybe's" rolling about in his little heart. Anyway, if you don't know the song I mean, pause the blog music and listen to it here if you'd like:

Comments

Cathy said…
Hi,
Sorry to bother you but I found your blog on the Rwanda yahoo group. Anyway my husband and I would love to start the process and if by chance you could email me at thecat3902@yahoo.com
I would love some help on how to move forward and recommendations. Congrats on your soon to be growing family
Cathy
Sunday, December 20, 2009 10:56:00 PM
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