At the Zoo

Zeke was more interested in the riding lawn mowers than the animals.

Celebrating Zeke's Half Birthday

Sent from my iPhone

Follow Up

My friend Mandy asked a very good question about time outs and I thought it was worth sharing the info in a new post. She asked what happens when your child "does his/her time" in time out and then returns to the naughty behavior. We will give Zeke up to three time outs for bad behavior. After three, if he continues to make poor choices (like putting his foot on the table), we remove him from the situation. His meal time is over. Or, we move from playing with cars in the living room where he insists on throwing his cars to doing puzzles in his room. If he pitches a fit because we are physically moving him to a different room and activity, we let him pitch his fit. At the advice of our pediatrician, we let him have his "rolling on the floor" fits and completely ignore it, as long as he is not going to hurt himself. When he sees that he doesn't have an audience, he stops his fit pretty quickly. If he gets a time out for unsafe behavior, we remove him from the unsafe situation immediately and explain in our post-time out talk that something is "a big no-no" because it could hurt him. Hope that helps!

UPDATE: Russian Adoptions NOT Suspended

Is your head whirling yet? I'm glad I said, "apparently" in my earlier post this morning. Looks like US-Russia adoptions are still open. Click here to read the latest from the AP.

Something to Read

Just had to post a link to this article (click here) because I think it's an important issue to consider. Going through the adoption home study process really makes you reflect on discipline and how you want to raise your child. We only use time out's with Zeke and we expect anyone who cares for him to do the same. It's very effective because we are consistent with it. He hates time out and most of the time, a warning of a possible time out stops the inappropriate or unsafe behavior. Besides that, how can we tell him not to hit us or others if we hit him? Just something to chew on...

More on how we use time out (from the Super Nanny technique):
1. First, there's a warning given to Zeke at his eye level and making eye contact. It's not shouted from across the room. If the behavior continues, he will get a time out. Sometimes, acting out occurs because a child wants the attention of an adult. When you get on the child's level and make eye contact, you are giving the child attention. That's why a warning can stop the behavior and allow you to address the underlying issue.
2. If he continues the behavior, he gets a time out. The length of the time out is 1 minute x the child's age, so 2 minutes for a 2 year old.
3. If he doesn't stay in time out, he is repeatedly placed back in time out until he stays. There is no negotiation and we do not talk to him during this process or make eye contact. Sometimes, we have to do this multiple times before he stays in time out. I'm not going to lie. It takes time and energy to implement this technique but we strongly believe it's worth it and is far more effective than hitting.
4. When the time has expired, you get on his level and make eye contact. You calmly explain WHY he got a time out. He must say he's sorry. Then, we love on each other and he must promise to make better choices next time.

Time out works on so many levels but only when it's implemented correctly. Time out can let a child calm his/her emotions. Hitting a child only escalates the emotions. We also talk a lot in the course of our daily lives about good choices and bad choices (which would result in a time out). Zeke is always a good boy. We never tell him he's a bad boy. He's a good boy who sometimes makes bad choices. We think that this technique also reinforces that very important message.

Pray for Russian Adoptions

Apparently, Russia has suspended adoptions to US families in light of the recent craziness. Read about it here. Please pray for the children, the waiting families, and the birth families. This breaks my heart.

What You Can Do With $6

What have you spent six dollars on lately? Think about it. Coffee, something from iTunes, a quick snack at the mall? Consider the fact that six dollars will provide a child in Ethiopia with one healthy meal per day for a month! Robel Alawi, a staff person with our adoption agency has a wonderful ministry for the children who work and live in the streets of Addis Ababa. Check out his blog by clicking here and join us in financially supporting this ministry. We are called to be the hands and feet of Christ. This is an excellent way to live out that calling.

LOVE this story on adoption that aired on NPR!!

In light of the Russian adoption story about the mom sending her son back to Russia, it was so wonderful to hear this commentary on NPR. Since I work for an NPR affiliate station, I know several NPR staff members. There are actually many, many staffers who have children through adoption. This piece aired this week and I just had to share. Click here to listen.

Early Zeke

Since Brad is in Vegas, I have to get Zeke up early so I can be at work at my usual time. He's so sweet in the morning. I love the "morning Zeke." He's cuddly and extra pleasant.

This morning, as we were riding in the van, he was munching on Honeycomb cereal, a new treat for him. When he gets milk on his chin, we call it a "milk beard." Well, he has taken this concept to new heights. This morning, he was holding a honeycomb up to his chin and saying "cereal beard." We were both cracking up.

This is our first week being "on deck." I know the time will fly by (loved your comment on the last blog post, Weed!) and I'm trying not to think about the fact that we are in the zone...but it's hard not be excited!!!

What Now?

As we prepare to enter our first week of being "on deck," you may be wondering what happens now? Well, I will always keep my cell phone charged and with me. Ha! We will get a call from our agency saying we have a referral. Our Family Coordinator will email us info on the baby. We will do some paperwork and send it back to the agency. Then, the agency begins working on getting us a court date. We've been told to expect a court date 4-8 weeks after accepting our referral. This is when we will travel to meet our baby for the first time! So, once we get a referral, this could all happen quite quickly. I have no idea when we will get our referral in the next three months. I'm still just happy to officially be "in the zone!"

We are ON DECK!!!

We got the on deck email from our agency this afternoon. That means we could get our referral as early as Monday or as late as July. What we do know is we are in the group of families that are NEXT for a referral!!! Woo-hoo!!! It's great to be OFFICIALLY close to our referral! Please continue to pray that we will pass court before the courts close in August.

Referrals for families with our agency...And some photos!

We're so happy that two families received referrals this week! This is excellent news! We're so happy for them. I keep hoping we will get the call this month.

Here are some fun fotos from Bebe's visit! Bebe took the great photos of Zeke.



Bebe told Zeke to look for the turkey!

So Long, Bebe!!

We loved having Bebe (Missy's sister Wendy) visit us. She arrived last Thursday and went home yesterday evening. Home is about to change for Bebe because she'll move to Thailand in less than two weeks. You can follow her adventures by clicking here. We already miss having Bebe here. We had a wonderful time! Zeke loves his Bebe. Photos from Bebe's visit are coming!!!

Easter 2010

I think he likes it:

Zeaster from bradbelote on Vimeo.

For Real This Time

Well, we had a very interesting development today in the waiting game. As you know, we have been second on the unofficial waiting list for some time now. We found out in January that there were two families with DTEs in June that had been matched to baby girls. We did not know how many families there were between the June families and us. We knew of one family with a DTE of 8/14 (we are 8/20), but that was it. The 8/14 DTE mom, a 9/4 DTE mom, and I have been trying to do some detective work to see if we could find out if there were any families ahead of us. We figured out that there was at least one with a DTE of 7/10.

We found out today that three families have been recently matched with baby girls. The DTEs are 7/10, 8/7, and 8/7. So, the moral of the story? Apparently, there were three families we didn't know of with earlier DTEs than us. The good news? We are almost certain that we REALLY are second in line now...FO' REAL! It's exciting to know (officially) that they've referred baby girls to families with August DTEs. They're in our month now!!! We will keep you posted on any other developments.

***If none of this makes sense, the bottom line is we're closer to getting our referral.

This week???

We hope to see referrals this week. Even if we don't get our referral, we'd like to see the family that's ahead of us get their referral. That would mean we are next!! I will keep you posted.

News and No News

We found out yesterday that we may not have to make two trips to Ethiopia after all. However, because this could change and the two trip requirement could be reinstated at any time, we're moving ahead as though we'll have to make two trips just so we're not caught off guard.

That's been the only news this week that directly relates to us. A number of families with our agency passed court. Families are traveling to get their kids. All of this is wonderful news and it made my heart sing! But, there still haven't been any referrals since late January. It's really disheartening but we know God has a plan with all this. My main concern is getting caught in the court closures that happen from August to October. My hope and prayer is that we can pass court before August. Please join with us in praying over the time line of our adoption.

A Short Must-See Video

Our pastor shared this in church a few Sundays ago.

Biker Babe

A few weekends ago when the weather was on the warm side, we ventured out and let Zeke take his Santa trike for a spin.

Happy Spring!

The Number Seven

As of today, it's been seven months since our dossier went to Ethiopia (DTE). Our agency estimates that the current wait for a female infant is 8-11 months after DTE. So, it would appear we are getting close. As recently as last week, our agency confirmed that its estimates are still accurate. It's a bit discouraging to think that we're this close and yet we still are not on deck. Of course, I'd take a referral over the on deck email any day.

There haven't been any referrals from our agency since the end of January. I'd like to think that we will get a referral in the next batch but it's hard to say if that will happen. Here's hoping!!

We woke up to rain and cold today. Even though Zeke slept through the night, he was asleep in the car by 11AM. I'm hoping he'll wake up refreshed and happy from his nap.

A Family With Our Agency Passed Court!

Check out the slideshow of their son by clicking here.

An Easter Preview

Zeke and I picked out his Easter ensemble a couple of weeks ago. I think we've chosen a very Ralph Lauren-esque outfit. The other day, he tried on his shirt and tie (He wanted to wear a tie like Daddy)...So, this is the result: total cuteness! As our Parents as Teachers educator said earlier this week...He doesn't look like a baby any more...he looks like a little boy!

A Couple of Weekends Ago, We Had Awesome Weather

If this isn't a picture of joy, I don't know what is!

Still Not Much...and We're Almost Seven

We hit the 7 month DTE mark Saturday. We have no idea when we might get a referral. Really...no idea. I used to think I had an idea but God had other plans and that's a-ok with me. If I had to guess at this point, I'd guess May or June. That's based purely on my gut feeling. Who knows! I may post a survey this week just to gauge your gut feeling on when our referral might happen. Just for kicks! Honestly, we'd just like to see SOME referrals this month. It's ok if ours doesn't come in March. We just want to see some movement. Amen and amen.

What We Know (Not Much)

We had our conference call with the adoption agency Thursday. They went over much of the information we already knew from the email they sent out Wednesday. They clarified that the second trip will likely only require one parent and will be for only 3-4 days. They also made it sound like the lack of referrals in February was a real anomaly. Brad and I were both left with the impression that there *should* be referrals in March. We'll see.

So, we took Zeke to St Louis to visit the Science Center yesterday. He had a big time. There were life-sized dinosaurs that he loved. We also spent time in the Discovery Room where a woman who was probably old enough to be a grandma handled a giant cockroach from the rainforest. The kids could touch it but Zeke did not. I (Missy) did not go near the nasty thing. We spent the night in Fenton and drove back this morning. We stopped in Lebanon to pick up some dainties from a new cafe that sells cupcakes. Oh, my...delicious!

Big Changes

We just found out today that we will be required to make TWO trips to Ethiopia for our adoption. The first trip will happen 4-8 weeks after we are matched to a baby. We will be in country 5-7 days and will have to testify in court that we want to adopt the baby to whom we've been matched. Then, we will leave and won't be able to go back to get her for another three months. We have many, many questions and we hope to get some of them answered tomorrow on the conference call. Please pray with us as this puts additional logistical and financial strains on us. We take comfort in knowing that this change is not a surprise to God and God will provide us with whatever we need to meet this new requirement.

Conference Call with our Agency Tomorrow

We are hopeful that we will learn more about what's going on with Ethiopia adoptions tomorrow when we have a conference call with our agency. There haven't been any referrals (babies matched to families) since late January. It's very discouraging and I'd just like to know what's going on. I will post whatever we hear tomorrow afternoon. Please continue to pray for us, the other families, children, birth families, our agency's staff, and government officials on both sides of this process.

Zeke has not been napping at school. Say a little prayer that he will go to sleep, at least for an hour. He's been taking late afternoon naps, falling asleep in the car after I pick him up. I've tried to talk to him, sing to him, and even make some stops on our way home in an effort to prevent this late afternoon/early evening napping because it throws off his night time sleep. It's much harder for him to go to sleep when he's taken a late nap, plus he's kind of grouchy when he wakes up from a late nap.

Zeke Gets a Doughnut

It's no wonder he likes going to church. It's the only time he gets a doughnut!

Beautiful Spring Weather!

Fun Lyrics

Ok...this is the secular edition. This post would be super long if I listed the lyrics of praise songs that I love. I'll save that for a future post. For now, here are some song lyrics that I really enjoy...

Work That, Mary J. Blige
Feelin' great because the light's on me
Celebrating the things that everyone told me
Would never happen but God has put his hands on me
And ain't a man alive could ever take it from me
Working with what I got, I gotta keep on
Taking care of myself I wanna live long
Ain't never ashamed of what life did to me
Wasn't afraid to change cause it was good for me

I just wanna be myself
Don't sweat girl, be yourself

The Human Heart, From the musical Once on This Island

The courage of a dreamer,
The innocence of youth,
The failures and the foolishness that lead us to the truth
The hopes that make us happy
The hopes that don't come true
And all the love there ever was
I see this all in you.
You are part, part of the human heart.

You are part of all who took the journey
And managed to endure.
The ones who knew such tenderness,
The ones who felt so sure,
The ones who came before you,
The others yet to come,
And those who you will teach it to
And those you learned it from.
You are part, part of the human heart.

The World Should Revolve Around Me, Little Jackie
There’s only one me in the galaxy
I am an endangered species
This kind of flower don’t grow on Earth
Just lettin’ you know for what it’s worth
This kind of mountain shouldn't cause a depression
So I bide my time with philosophical questions
Not for nothing but what came first?
The chicken nugget or the egg mcmuffin?

From Pinch Me, Barenaked Ladies
It's the perfect time of day
To throw all your cares away
Put the sprinkler on the lawn
And run through with my gym shorts on.
Take a drink right from the hose
And change into some drier clothes
Climb the stairs up to my room
Sleep away the afternoon.

The Wait

Well, just when I thought we were getting close, it appears things are slowing down. It was looking like we might get a referral in March or April but now, I'm guessing May or June is more likely. We still are not "on deck" and I haven't heard of any referrals since late January. There are a lot of families waiting to travel and pass court. I wonder if there's a hold on referrals until some of the backlog gets cleared out. It's all pure speculation at this point. The wait was so easy in the beginning. Now that we're (allegedly) getting closer, it's much harder. Please pray that Quilla is safe, healthy, and happy wherever she is.

Cutie Zeke

Zeke got a haircut yesterday afternoon because school pictures are today. It's probably the shortest it's ever been but he seemed to like it. Don't know if you can tell but they cut it a little shorter on top so we have the option of spiking it.

Hello, March!

I'm so happy to be done with February...on so many levels. First, it's one month closer to our referral. Second, March=Spring! I'm so ready to be able to take the Zekester outside to play. I know he's tired of being cooped up. We're thinking about plotting a getaway in a couple of weekends to St Louis where we can take Zeke to the Science Museum. We've never taken him but we think he'll love it. There's a dinosaur exhibit on display now.

Yesterday, we went to a gathering of families who have adopted from Ethiopia and families waiting to adopt. It was WONDERFUL to see all the beautiful children (honestly, they were all so beautiful!) and to get even more excited about our pending referral. There were 2 bounce houses at the gathering. With Daddy keeping a close eye on him, Zeke had fun crawling in and out of the bounce houses. We also had a fun time seeing the Jay family, who is waiting to be matched to a baby girl with our agency. It's been wonderful getting to know them and we had fun seeing them again yesterday.

God Gives Us a Wink!

So, I remembered the other day that I used to have several dark-skinned baby dolls when I was little. My sister and I had twin cabbage patch premies that were cute, bald, and black-BeBe and Grace (how funny that Weedy named her doll BeBe which is what Zeke calls her). I also remembered recently that there was a photo of me with one of my other black dolls...I was on the couch recouping from being sick. This is it:

My mom recalled another photo of me, my sister, and her in which I was holding one of my little dolls. This is it:

As my sister would say, I think God was/is giving us a wink! It's like God is saying, "See, even way back then, your heart was ready for what I had in store for you!"

The View

Apparently the entire hour of The View on Thursday was on infertility. I haven't watched it but I'm really happy to know that a TV show that reaches so many people tackled this important topic. Infertility can be so lonely and heartbreaking and the support for couples experiencing it can be so lacking. I really want to scream from the top of my lungs: YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

Check out the blog for a family that just passed court!

You can see a lovely video on their blog by clicking here.

And still waiting on an email...

I had really, really hoped that we would get our "on deck" email this week, telling us we are 1-3 months away from getting our referral. It hasn't come. We got another useful email with information about the referral process but it wasn't THE email we had hoped for...Oh well. Of course, I'd take a referral over the "on deck" email any day but typically, our agency sends the "on deck" before the referral. Pray for our continued patience as we wait to see who will be our Quilla!!!

Flux

I haven't posted in a while because there hasn't been much news to report. We have been DTE for more than 6 months now. Hooray! But there are rumblings that the US Embassy is getting more deeply involved in investigating cases. We have no official word on this and what the implications might be. Since we've been there, done that with the Embassy in Vietnam, we've seen first hand how God will not let any bureaucrat or piece of paper hold up an adoption. So, we rest in that comforting knowledge. If we hear anything more, we'll let you know. Just pray that we'll be able to bring Quilla home in late summer or early fall. That is our heart's desire.

If you'd like to see some photos of a family with our agency that just got back from Ethiopia with their kids, click here. It's fun to see kids in their new homes!

Some Christmas Photos Courtesy of Zeke's Great Uncle Blue!

Zeke and Auntie Bebe

Our Robert E. Smith Painting

Sent from my iPhone

The Death of an Artist

Not too many people outside our little hamlet will note the passing of artist Robert E. Smith, though his work has gained national fame. You can see some of his work by clicking here. For one of our early wedding anniversaries, I commissioned Robert to do a painting of our wedding day. This was my gift to Brad. I turned over a handful of photos to him from our big day and waited eagerly to see how our painting would turn out. I was so pleased with how it looked. He always hand wrote a story and recorded himself reading it on a cassette for each painting he did. It was so fun to listen to the recording and how he said my name: "Maaasseee." Here's his obituary:

Artist, writer, singer and actor Robert Eugene Smith peacefully passed away Feb. 13, 2010, aged 82, surrounded by friends and family.

Robert was born Oct. 14, 1927, in St. Louis, Mo., the only child of Clarence and Mary Agnes (Walls) Smith. He grew up in St. Louis, Union and Garland, Tx. He was forced to drop out of high school to help support his family, and was very proud to have earned his diploma in 1970, at age 42. In 1981, he completed 60 college hours at SMSU and earned a substitute teaching certificate, and later taught occasional art classes.

Robert moved to Springfield in 1975, with hopes of acting at Landers Theater. Although he spent time in Columbia, Jefferson City and St. Joseph, Springfield became his home.

Robert held many jobs, among his favorites, selling concessions at Busch Stadium and selling Grit newspapers. But it was Robert’s artwork that brought him fame and national recognition. Though he had drawn since childhood, he didn’t take his art seriously until 1967, when he sold his first collection of drawings to a friend for $25. Robert was self-taught, taking inspiration from coloring books, photos, history, news stories and his own experiences. His “story paintings”— complete with a hand-written description of the painting and a cassette of Robert himself reading the story . The paintings overflow with color, humor and incident, representing a triumph of the imagination over a strenuous and difficult life. They have been shown at New York’s Museum of American Folk Art, Vanderbilt University, the Springfield Art Museum and sold at distinguished galleries across the country. He is featured in The Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century American Folk Art. His paintings are on display in hundreds of Springfield homes and businesses. A mural of his painting of Springfield’s former Colonial Hotel, complete with Elvis Presley and Ray Charles, remains downtown at Campbell and Walnut.

Robert was also a prolific writer, producing many self-published volumes of poems and semi-autobiographical stories.

Though he didn’t drive, Robert traveled coast to coast by Greyhound Bus and bicycled all around Springfield — once even riding to Branson. He carried a camera everywhere, to record scenes and faces for his paintings.

Robert loved life. He loved to sing, anywhere from recording studios to answering machines. He loved to be on stage and on camera, recently appearing in the film To and From. He loved to dance with pretty girls. He loved wearing bright colors and costumes, often appearing in a sombrero, wig or clown shoes. He loved baseball, holidays, parades, Shirley Temple and telling stories.

Robert had an incredible memory. He recalled the make and model of every car his family owned, St. Louis Cardinals scores, and the names of girls he danced with when Sinatra and Elvis songs first played the radio. Friends’ birthdays were always marked with a phone call, a song and often, a small painting.

Managing Stuff

As we get closer to a referral and Zeke is closer to being able to crawl out of the crib, we are starting to think more seriously about rearranging the furniture. We are going to see if Zeke will sleep in the queen bed from the guest room (soon to be Quilla's room) so we can move the crib in there. It makes my head spin to think about managing all the stuff in our house. We've decided that once we get Quilla home, we will begin the hunt for a bigger house. Even now, I'm praying that we will find the right buyer for our house and the right space for our family.

Junk

All three of us are battling junk. We've got junk in our noses. Zeke is on antibiotics now. I had a terrible night with my nose stuffed up (not even nose spray could save me!) so I'm going to go to the doctor today or tomorrow. Blah. One more reason I'm ready for warmer weather!

I was thinking about the two families we know who adopted their children this winter. It will be SO MUCH FUN when the weather is nice and they can take their babies to the park. We love taking Zeke to one park in particular where there's a small lake with lots of ducks. There's also a big grassy area where we would spread out a blanket and just sprawl out. *sigh* Can't wait to do all that again!!

Ash Wednesday-The Start of Lent

Observing Ash Wednesday and Lent are still relatively new to me. This time of reflection and repentance has become a very important part of my spiritual life. During Lent this year, our church is doing a study called "One Month to Live." How would we alter our behavior, thoughts and priorities if we knew we had one month to live? It's a powerful question and we're looking forward to this Lenten study. If you are unfamiliar with Ash Wednesday, as I once was, here's some info on it.

From Wikipedia:
Ash Wednesday is a day of repentance and it marks the beginning of Lent. Ashes were used in ancient times, according to the Bible, to express mourning. Dusting oneself with ashes was the penitent's way of expressing sorrow for sins and faults. An ancient example of one expressing one's penitence is found in Job 42:3-6. Job says to God: "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. The other eye wandereth of its own accord. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."

You may have heard someone say they were giving up something for Lent. Our church encourages us to GIVE for Lent instead of just giving up. For example, you might decide to give up Starbucks coffees for Lent and donate the money you would've spent on lattes to a mission project. Lent asks us to honestly evaluate our priorities and then make the necessary changes.

Lent leads up to Holy Week, which includes Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday. Our church offers such wonderful observances of all these events. On Palm Sunday, children walk down the center aisle, smiling and waving palm branches as a man portraying Jesus re-enacts His entry into Jerusalem. The Maundy Thursday service commemorates the Last Supper. It's held at twilight, ending as the sun goes down, leaving the sanctuary in darkness as the congregation files out in silence. There is a prayer vigil at our church on Good Friday. And that evening, our youth group will light a bonfire in the front yard of the church at the foot of a giant wooden cross. They keep watch here in shifts until sunrise on Easter morning. There are amazing stories of how people driving by the busy road in front of our church have been impacted by the site of young people sitting at the foot of a cross. People who don't attend our church have stopped to pray in front of the cross during the vigil. It's a powerful testimony to our community and I'm always so proud of our youth for doing it. Of course, this all culminates in the beauty and glory of Easter morning. With all that in mind, it's with anticipation that I begin Lent...

Waiting for Spring

I loved going through Target today with Zeke. We both found fun pairs of spring/summer shoes. There was also Easter decor and candy out and a few summer outdoor items. There WILL be an end to this long and cold winter! I think almost everyone will agree with me. It's time for some warmer weather! I love that today is Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras), the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of Lent. I always begin to feel more hopeful that the cold won't last THAT much longer when we enter Lent. Ok, so here is Zeke with his new shoes.

Missy's new shoes

Well, as hard as we try, the glasses sometimes get askew.

Zeke loves to line up cars.

Yep, that's Baby Signing Time on the TV in the background. For some reason, he's been wanting to watch that lately.

Zeke Explains Turkeys

Mom: "Zeke, where does the turkey go when it snows?"
Zeke: "To the turkey house."
Mom: "What does the turkey eat?"
Zeke: "Pizza."
Mom: "What does the turkey play with at the turkey house?"
Zeke: "Cars."

Zeke thinks the neighbor's shed is the turkey's house. Maybe he's right!

On an unrelated note...File this one away under "be careful what you ask for." I was just saying not long ago how I'd love to do travel writing. Lo and behold if I didn't get info a week later from a friend about doing freelance travel writing for a website. It's been fun and some nice extra $$. I just got a "bigger" assignment that pays better and is even more fun to write. I won't name the website for which I'm writing but here's a hint. The website had an ad on during the Super Bowl!

Lunar New Year Celebration!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Zeke and the Turkey

First, cutie Zeke. (Scroll down for photos of the mythical turkey!)




It's our belief that our kitty Pierre Clovis has bewitched the turkey and is keeping it around as his pet. We believe these two photos are proof that our theory is correct.

An Adoption Journey to Latvia

We first met the Tuckers at Cheddar's in late 2006. We had just started talking about adoption. This family was the regional contact for Great Wall China Adoptions and they met us at Cheddar's for dessert to discuss adoption. We met Kristin and Tim along with their two beautiful daughters: one biological and one adopted from China. It was so great to see how perfectly normal they all were. Not only normal but exceptionally kind and willing to answer all our questions. Even though we are unsure if we'll ever adopt from China, given the slow pace of that program, we are thankful that we met the Tuckers. They gave us so much advice as we prepared our dossier for China. They are wonderful advocates for adoption! Now, they are in the process of adopting two girls from Latvia. They are in Latvia now. You can follow their blog by clicking here. We are so very excited for them!

Musings

Zeke is doing so well with his glasses! He's a real champ about keeping them on. He doesn't like having them put on but once they're on, he leaves them alone.

We had dinner Saturday night with Greg, Laura and Baby Anna. Anna is so CUTE and is super happy. It was so much fun to see her and Zeke together. Zeke talks a lot about Baby Anna. It's been a good starting point to introduce the idea of us getting a "little baby." Zeke refers to himself as "big baby" so we assure him he will still be the big baby, even when the little baby arrives. Of course, we don't talk about it a lot yet because there's no way to make it concrete for him yet. Once we have our referral, we will have Quilla's photo around the house (just like Zeke's!) and it will be easier to talk about her arrival with him.

The passport is on its way. Putting my beloved passport in the mail yesterday was a leap of faith. It's silly because if it gets lost in the mail, I can just apply for a brand new one. However, that passport symbolizes all the fun trips I've made in the last ten years: my first trip to Europe, subsequent adventures all over Europe, my first trip to Asia, my first trip to the Caribbean, our journey to Zeke. It's such a neat keepsake.

Passport

The reality that we might be getting kinda close to a referral prompted me to get moving on my passport. It expires in June. It's so hard to believe I've had it almost ten years! I originally got it for our trip to Paris in 2000. I've come a long way since then as an international traveler. It's exciting to think that the first documented trip in my new passport will be our trip to Ethiopia! So, I will send off all the documents this afternoon, ensuring I get my new passport in plenty of time.

There's really no new info on the wait for our referral. We just keep hanging on, eager to see what news this month will bring!

A Tasty and Healthy Recipe

BANANA BERRY MUFFINS
¾ Cup All purpose flour
¾ Cup Whole wheat flour
½ Cup Sugar
¼ Cup Oatmeal
2 tsp Baking powder
½ tsp Salt

2 Bananas, mashed
½ Cup Soy milk, unflavored
1 Egg
2 Tbs Vegetable oil
1 tsp Fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Vanilla
1 ½ Cups Fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk to blend. Place bananas in a separate, large bowl. Stir in milk, egg, oil, lemon juice and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients and then add the blueberries. Mix.

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and serve!

SOURCE: Zorba Pastor on Your Health

Kitty Boys and Celeb Follow-UP

Scroll down to see photos of Zeke in his new glasses!

Pray for the kitty boys. They are at the vet getting their teeth cleaned. They are put under anesthesia for this. I always hate the fact that I can't explain to them what's going on. They were both growling around at me this morning because they were hungry. However, I had to take away their food as of 10 last night. So, if all goes well, I will pick them up this afternoon after I get Zeke.

On the celeb look alikes...That photo of my (Missy's) doppelganger IS Elinor Donahue, aka the chic from the Andy Griffith Show. It's just a later photo of her that I think looks even more like me! The resemblance is scary!

Pics of Specs

We're now using the head strap to keep the glasses up on his nose. Otherwise, as you can see, he lets them slide down and he just looks over the top of them.

Zeke's Glasses, Day 1

We got Zeke's glasses yesterday evening. Oh mercy, he is so CUTE in them! We went to Target. We were eating a snack in the cafe and these two older ladies literally stopped and stared at Zeke. They were just watching him with these big grins on their faces. Zeke was obliviously eating his cookie. I didn't think it was possible for Zeke to be any cuter but he is extra cute in his specs. I know...shame on me for not posting any photos. I will soon! I just hope that today at daycare, he doesn't break his glasses. I also hope the other kids don't bother them.

Celebrity Dopplegangers

This week on Facebook, people are changing their profile pic to their "celebrity doppleganger." Brad thinks I look like Mary Eleanor "Elinor" Donahue.


Brad wasn't sure who he looks like. I suggested Tom Cruise. I actually had someone ask me once if I had met Tom Cruise. I said, "No. Why?" The person said, "That looks like you and Tom Cruise in that picture." It was me and Brad. Of course, I would argue Brad is MUCH better looking than Tom Cruise.

Who do you think our celebrity look-alikes are?