Adoption Day

Thank you so much to all of you who have kept our family in your thoughts and prayers. It was a long day but the celebration that followed was great. We are so, so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.

It is OFFICIAL

Noel is legally adopted. Woo Hoo! The 20 minute max. courthouse visit turned into a 3 and a half hour waiting game. Our attorney was held by the judge on another case and we missed our spot on the docket. When the judge finally took a break, we were rushed into his chambers and 5 minutes later we were done. It was a long day kind of like waiting to have a baby, but without all those pesky labor pains. We had a celebration dinner at house with lots of family and friends. I have lots of pictures but have not had a chance to take them off the camera. Just wanted to hurry up and let everyone know the adoption had gone through.

Series of Events:
*Noelly's new backpack carrier arrives. When seated in it he looks like some kind of king on parade looking down on his peasants. (It is hillarious and I will add pictures soon).
*Chase disappears with the box it came in.
*Approximately 15 minutes later we have this.





I lost major Mom cool points by asking if he was a robot or Sponge Bob. He was a robot, of course. My heart was warmed by the fact he still amuses himself with boxes.

One Week

One week from today and this little man is officially and legally ours! He has always been ours, but it will be such a relief when the state recognizes that.

Happy Mother's Day

This is actually an Easter picture but I think it is a good illustration of Motherhood.



I had a much more introspective and thoughtful Mother's Day this year because, unlike most days, our family was shockingly unscheduled. Sunday I thought a lot about Noel's birth mother and the many women out there who want, so desparately, to become mothers. I am so blessed to be a Mom twice over. Both of my sons are such miracles in the way they came to us. With Chase I was able to experience the miracle of life growing inside me and birth, and with Noel the miracle of answered prayer and God working directly in our lives and the lives of others. Uhnlike other Mother's days when I am made to feel exalted, I felt quite humbled (in a good way).
I am very excited to report that as a combined Mother's day and birthday present I got a fancy new digital video camera. So just as soon as I learn to use it, I will be posting video to the blog. Given my technical skills, that should put you in store for some footage of Chase's high school graduation. Ha ha, I will actually try to do better than that and get some video and new pictrues up very soon. Lots and lots of love to all the mothers who read this blog.

Rainy days and birthdays

Saturday was Chase's last t-ball game. I almost added for the season, but actually forever because he will move up to baseball next year. I hadn't thought of that until just now, and it hurts my heart a little. It was a dreary, rainy day but they played anyway. The kids didn't care to play in rain.
He has just discovered his pocket. Thankfully he didn't make this discovery until the final game because that is where his hand stayed. Afterwards we had the t-ball party where he received his trophy. As you can tell he was quite pleased.

We then dropped the kids off at Chris' parents to have a date for my birthday. I have to say it was a very tough decision between going home and sleeping or going out to dinner. In the end, I chose the trappings of adulthood and we had a fabulous date at the Melting Pot fondue restaurant. It was especially nice to spend time together because Chris had to go out of town on Sunday and will be gone until Friday. It was the first time in a long time I haven't gotten to spend my birthday with him. Fortunately, I had two other handsome men to keep me company. I had a great birthday and felt truly blessed by all the love and well wishes.

Why I love working with college kids

Monday is my birthday, but my sweet students will be long gone by then so they gave me an early birthday surprise. This is what my office looked like when I opened it this morning. I am elated I could be such a pleasant diversion from studying for finals.