tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82405154980418553922024-03-12T20:53:19.603-06:00From Axum To HereShenanigans and goings-on in our journey to adopt from EthiopiaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07133981581990023922noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-23380451746192760072013-08-23T12:47:00.000-06:002013-08-23T12:47:10.590-06:00Aug 18<div class="MsoNormal">
8/18/13</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We wonder how God could make such a perfect little creature
as Saryn. She reminds us of a little lap
dog- she loves to just sit in our laps or be held, for hours at a time. It is so precious! And her little face is so innocent and sweet
and… perfect. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She doesn’t even crawl yet, at 11 months! I think she’s been so coddled by all the
caretakers and kids at the foster care center that she hasn’t had any need to
crawl to get anything. So Reece is
giving her crawling lessons <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Tahoma; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>
sooo cute. She tries to get in position for crawling, then will move her hand
forward for one “step”, then give up. She can’t figure out why her legs are
tied up under her! So Christian says we
are putting her in Baby Boot Camp. I
have mixed feelings about it, because she’s pretty easy to take care of, being
basically immobile- we don’t have to worry about her getting into things she
shouldn’t- but we know she needs to learn to crawl for her body and brain
development. But for now, we are enjoying having a baby who seems younger than
she really is.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had put her down for a nap, and fell asleep with her up in
our room at the guest house. Reece and
Christian were downstairs, giving us some quiet time. After I fell asleep, Reece came in and said
“This is for you” and handed me three pieces of popcorn from his fist, then
left. He is such a little angel. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today we visited Entoto mountain and enjoyed the view. Reece
chased a goat, we toured the Ethiopian Orthodox church museum, and other
buildings in the cloister. At the end of
the day, we all got to share our favorite thing of the day.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ally: The little path that led to the monks’ quarters, with
its fence made of sticks and living trees; it reminded me of The Secret Garden!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Christian: The view of the city on top of the mountain</div>
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Reece: the popcorn</div>
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<br /></div>
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Reece is sooooo sweet with Saryn. He will often anticipate
her needs and say things like “shouldn’t we change her diaper?” He calls her
“baby saster”, the same thing he’s been calling her since she was just an idea,
back when he was 3 years old. He used to complain, “It’s taking for too long to
get my baby saster!!!” Now he keeps
loving on her, and helping her sit up, and asking her what’s wrong each time
she whimpers. He says his favorite thing about her is when she wakes up in the
morning and tries to stand up in her crib, holding onto the bars.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Napping here is glorious.
It will often rain in the afternoon, and with the window open to our
room we get a nice cool breeze. With baby girl angelically asleep by my side,
it’s just so easy to sleep.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Christian’s favorite thing about Saryn is her
“dive-bombing”. She will be sitting on your lap and then just suddenly collapse
onto his chest. A few seconds later, she will gather her wits and sit back up,
and take in more of the world. When that gets overwhelming (after about 10
seconds) she might dive bomb again. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
She is making little sounds including “mama” <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Tahoma; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>
but she doesn’t know that’s me yet. It’s
so cute when she cries, because she will say things like “yeah yeah yeah”
between her little cries.</div>
Allyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11670502172120122866noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-21698985425618637642013-08-12T11:43:00.001-06:002013-08-12T11:43:09.969-06:00Reece Gehman, on poverty<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We really wanted to bring Reece back to his homeland for a
visit when he was, say, in middle school or later, so that he’d be sure and
remember all that he saw, felt, and experienced. However, circumstances dictated it differently,
and we find ourselves here with him at age six.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I couldn’t be more delighted. He is absorbing his
surroundings and commenting on many things he sees, and we all process it
together. The first day he said, “Did this place used to be nice?” and “Why is
everyone here homeless?” and a little later, “Why does that man have a huge
hole in his shirt? It looks like he got attacked by a tiger and he shredded it
to pieces.” (All of this within earshot
of our taxi driver, and I was a little embarrassed at the thought that those
comments may have embarrassed our driver.)
I was trying to explain to him that in Ethiopia, there are not enough
jobs for all the people. So a lot of people barely survive, and all the money
they have gets used on food and shelter, and a hole in their shirt is not a
high priority. Reece said, “I know
someone who can fix their shirts- you, Mama.”
And that’s exactly what I plan to do- I plan on going to the government
orphanage and mending a lot of the tattered clothes there. I hope they will let
me in, and let me do it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t want to be that kind of Mom who rubs it in Reece’s
face…so I have to handle all these poverty comments delicately. We have told Reece from day one that his Mama
Wagaye had to give him up because she was so poor, that she didn’t have enough
money to buy food for them, and she was afraid he would die. I know that later in life Reece might wrestle with the fear of abandonment, so I am glad that he is seeing
now, firsthand, what true poverty really looks like. And how much his birth
mother loves him, that she gave up a perfect, beautiful child so that he would
have a better chance to live. Speaking
of Wagaye, we have asked our agency to try and locate her so that we can meet
with her again. It’s a very loaded idea:
does she even want to see us/him? Would it be too painful for her? I know she
loves him, but Christian pointed out that seeing him again may open many wounds
afresh for her and she may prefer leaving them alone. How will Reece react? Will it be incredibly awkward for him, being
in a room with both Mamas? Will it stir up in him these rejection feelings that
are probably latent within his little soul?
We don’t even know if the agency will be able to locate her. But we have sought it out. I personally would LOVE to see her again- I
want her to see how happy, beautiful, and bright is this child she bore- and
how incredibly blessed our lives have become with him in it. I also would LOVE
to help her find a stable job- she may already have one- but I’d love to hook
her up with Adera, the non-profit I have been working with in making diapers
for kids and selling jewelry that the Ethiopian ladies make.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In other news, I love being here during rainy season. I took
a nap yesterday with the door slightly open, and the sound of softly falling
rain on the Eucalyptus trees lulled me into a nostalgic sleep that reminded me
of innocent days of childhood. It’s hard to explain but it was just dreamy. I
know most people don’t like rain but I do- it reminds me that God is up there,
doing something. It cleans the air and brightens up everything. The sound is
calming and I love the smell of rain.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One more juxtaposition- jet lag should be more aptly called
“jet psychosis”. Someone in our family has been waking up anywhere from 1am to
5 am, every night, and not falling back to sleep. Last night it was me. It’s quite dreadful
wanting desperately to sleep but not being able to. And knowing you have a full
day ahead, and could fall asleep in one second if it were in the afternoon
rainy time… knowing I will have to push through all day feeling like a zombie
with a massive headache. I try to focus
on the good (of which, there is an abundance) and I get frustrated at my own
“flesh” and its weakness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We go to the Gladney Foster care every day (that’s where
Saryn is staying) but for all practical purposes it’s an orphanage, so that’s
what we call it to Reece. Reece made
fast friends with several children there, even though they don’t speak any
English. It gives me so much joy to see him happy and playing, and it’s amazing
that kids can just play by chasing each other around, jumping on cushions,
throwing balls, etc. I asked Reece his favorite thing about Ethiopia, and he
said “Playing with my friends.” Sad to
say, these friends are being transferred to another orphanage far away next
week, so Reece will need to make some new friends. He is keeping a little journal about his
trip, and today he wrote “my friends don’t have a mom and dad”. They were having so much fun, I was a little
worried that Reece would think that being an orphan was a wonderful thing,
because you get to live in a big house with lots of other kids. I need to
subtly remind him of the benefits of having parents <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Tahoma; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I asked Reece the other day, “Did you notice everyone here
has brown skin like you?” and he said, “No”.
(Parenting FAIL) I was trying to
get him in touch with some of his culture, letting him know that his skin looks
like his birth mom’s. He said, “I still
love you guys, but it’s not really fun having white parents.” OUCH. I wonder if my comment provoked that,
or if was from his heart. I suppose this is all part of the wrestling that
comes with inter-racial adoption.</div>
Allyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11670502172120122866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-14028342446545388562013-08-10T13:10:00.001-06:002013-08-15T13:22:24.959-06:00Gotcha, Girl!We arrived in Addis on Thursday, August 8th, around 1:30 pm local time (to be exact, it was 12/3/2005 at 7:30 am local time, as Ethiopia follows a calendar roughly seven years and 8 months behind the Gregorian calendar, as well has having decided to have the day roll over at what for the rest of the world is 6 am). The head of Gladney adoption here, Dereje, picked us up and took us to our guest house (Yeka Guest House, $55/night), where we quickly dumped our bags before heading to Gladney's foster care center to get our hands on our little princess-in-waiting.<br />
<br />
Allyson had seen her three times already in June, but this was the first time for Reece and I to meet her. Reece was a bit shy at first and she a bit subdued suffering a cold. Still, we all got on splendidly as we loved on her and the other, older kids in the foster care center. Reece soon warmed up and was gleefully running around with them language barriers notwithstanding. There were two sibling groups (two sisters and then two sisters and a brother), which was encouraging as we know sibling adoptions have gone very slowly. They were fun-loving and sweet and we enjoyed being with Saryn and all of them. After a brief meeting with Dereje to discuss the details of our court date the next day, we headed to the guest house and were in bed by 8 or so, pretty exhausted.<br />
<br />
Jet lag has been quite a hiccup to Reece's normally stellar sleeping. He's woken up at 1 am and 2 am on our first two nights overseas, so that's made for some tired mornings. Allyson was completely drained this morning after staying up with him from about 2 am onwards, all while fighting a cold. Suffice it to say that Christian gets tonight's shift!<br />
<br />
In the early afternoon, we headed to court, stopping at a pretty unassuming high-rise except for the machine-gunned-armed soldiers standing outside. Dereje met us there and accompanied us up a few floors to a waiting room packed with ferengi (foreigners). All of the men were carbon copies of each other: white, wearing business casual with a fleece or Gortex jacket and backpack. We had barely sat down when our name was called. We marched into the judge's office, answered a series of checkbox-style questions and literally three minutes later were declared Saryn's parents and marched right back out. WHHHHAAAT? Four years of waiting, yearning, striving conluded like that? It was a bit surreal and quite bewildering, enough to make Allyson upset with Christian for his apparent non-reaction to the whole affair during lunch.<br />
<br />
Slowly, though, things sank in and we picked up some spring in our step as we headed back to the foster center to love on her some more. She is now officially ours and we could have taken her home tonight. For several reasons, we will keep her with the foster care for a few more days, but we finally, finally have got her. So thankful, so amazed. WOOHOO!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07133981581990023922noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-20518503342099264722013-08-09T12:17:00.000-06:002013-08-11T01:23:38.827-06:00We Knew it Would be Short Notice, but wow...When we first got matched with Saryn in May, we knew it would be a tight schedule for us to travel before the courts close in Ethiopia for six weeks in mid-August. We really wanted to travel before the court closure so as not to have two months pass without seeing her. Plus, if we can make that first court date, then the process can continue (after Ethiopian court, her case is passed for visa processing to the US Embassy, which does not close for Ethiopia's "rainy season.")<br />
<br />
We've spent all summer scheduling only a few weeks at a time as we kept getting updates of our progress suggesting we MIGHT travel before August. We got the notice in late June that the Ethiopian court announced their last day of business as Tuesday, August 6th. We figured we'd have to hear by early July in order to travel in August. As we resigned ourselves to an October-November date in mid-July, our caseworker mentioned that we might still get squeezed in, after a last procedural on July 30th. July 30th came and went and we again prepared for a later travel date.<br />
<br />
On our way to visit Christian's mom on Friday, August 2nd, our caseworker called to say that our court date was to be Friday, August 9th! We were elated, but didn't think they could make the window that short. Adding to our stress was that, contrary to what many families do, we would remain in Ethiopia for the 7-12 weeks between this court date and our US Embassy appointment, which grants Saryn the visa to travel to the US with us. In other words, we had about 3 days to plan for a 2-3 month trip, as we were headed the wrong way!<br />
<br />
We actually continued on to Mom's in Springfield to see her and my sister and family, taking the long stretches in the car to make endless lists, book flights, and plan what we could. It was a quick but enjoyable 36 hours in Springfield, then a long haul back to Fort Worth via a very needed pit stop in Tulsa where Wes and Joan graciously hooked us up with a bunch of things we needed for the trip. Then it was basically non-stop packing from Mon morning on until we boarded the plane Tuesday afternoon.<br />
<br />
We flew to Addis Ababa through Dubai on Emirates, highly recommended to anyone making a similar trek. Beyond Emirates' stellar service, they put us in a hotel for the 22-hour layover in Dubai, giving us the chance to arrive not completely exhausted (a shout out to Clayton and Margo Faulkner for telling us about traveling to Ethiopia with this airline). Ally used the afternoon for a fat nap, but Reece and I took the Metro to the Burj Khalifa, currently the tallest building in the world. The next day, it was a short 3-hr flight to land us in Addis on a Thursday afternoon.<br />
<br />
Now to go get that girl!<br />
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Reece enjoying the hookup of kids goodies from Emirates.<br />
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Reece eating a cream-cheese laden bagel we got from DFW before taking off. The picture doesn't capture it, but he was basically a wreck waiting to happen, squirming constantly in his seat with that weaponized cream cheese!<br />
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Try as I might, I couldn't get a pic of the Burj Khalifa and Reece with light on his face. Well, there you go: the world's tallest building and Reece in silhouette.<br />
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Cruising through the palatial Dubai airport.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07133981581990023922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-90395421969565740972013-06-29T00:44:00.000-06:002013-06-29T00:44:32.654-06:00Epiphanies in EthiopiaI just returned from the most amazing trip to Ethiopia. I went with several wonderful ladies through the Adera Foundation. Check out all their projects at <a href="http://www.aderafoundation.org/">www.aderafoundation.org</a>. <br />
I really struggled in my decision to go on this trip... not for lack of desire. I very much wanted to go; it was the cost that I struggled with. I was telling Christian "the money for the plane ticket alone could pay several months' salary for the orphanage workers...it could feed hundreds of kids a meal...I just think the money could be much-better used elsewhere." And he replied, "We have already been giving money to those causes for years. YOU really want to go, and I think you should do it!" The conversation wasn't actually that short :) but that was the gist of it. I haven't been on a mission trip in 10 years; I have been on several throughout my life, serving as a nurse on many of them... yet this gnawing thing inside me kept saying that the money could be better spent elsewhere. And while there's truth in that statement, I think he knew that it would do my heart an abundance of good to travel to the place and work with the foundation that I have been making diapers for and sending money to.<br />
I work as a school nurse in a Title 1 elementary school-meaning more than 75% of our kids are on free/reduced lunch. It's one of the poorer areas of the DFW metroplex. I have found myself continually drawn to the "underdogs" for my entire life, and have sought to help the poor as a general life-aim. Yet I have found myself increasingly put-out and kind of disgusted with American "poverty", since I have seen third-world poverty first-hand. I have done many things throughout the years to help the kids at my school (as anyone would, who had my job), and have been repeatedly frustrated with parents who tell me things like, "We can't afford glasses for our son- can you help us?" And I round up my resources and give the parent a free eyeglasses voucher- then she reaches into her purse for her iPhone with her manicured hands. I mention all of this as a preface to my biggest revelation while in Ethiopia...<br />
I was working at the day care helping to give the kids a bath. They were a bunch of squirming, giggling 4 year old boys...as I rubbed lotion on one little boy's legs, I was thinking, "this feels just the same as when I'm putting a band-aid on a kid in Texas..." I had thought I might have a Mother Teresa-like beatific moment where the clouds parted, and glory of heaven would shine down on me. I had even made sure that these were the POOREST of all the kids in Ethiopia- I knew they were the poorest in Addis, the capital city- but I asked our Ethiopian driver Solomon if they were the poorest in the whole country, and he said they were. He said people in the countryside have land, and they can farm and sustain themselves- but these people, have barely anything. I was honestly expecting to feel something like "my life is now complete, I have helped the poorest of the poor." But I had nothing like that. I had the feeling of how SIMILAR it was to when I help someone, just a regular person, not someone in great "need"... honestly it was kind of disappointing. Yet in the long run, I think it's quite encouraging. To help ANYONE, even if I don't determine that their need is that great, is a blessed thing to do. I think Aesop wrote, "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted."<br />
I think the best thing to happen overall on my trip, was that it renewed my desire to give to these people. It gave faces and personalities to the statistics. I found out that Ethiopia's greatest need seems to be employment opportunities- the official statistic says 30% are unemployed- but I heard from a well-educated man there, who says that it's actually much higher than that- the government is embarrassed to release a more accurate statistic. I took over a sewing machine, and hoped to teach a woman there how to do some basic mending- and I found that one of the caregivers at the daycare had been through a complete sewing course. I asked her why she didn't work in that area, and she says there are no jobs.<br />
And to my great distress, I heard several first-hand stories of women who were lured to Arab countries to serve as maids- yet when they arrived, the man of the house raped them and treated them as slaves. Their passports were taken by the man of the house, and when the wife found out that the man and the "maid" were having sex, then the wife hated the maid as well. The "lucky" ones get out alive, if they can find someone in the Arab country who is kind enough to help them get back to Ethiopia. One story is that the family sold their only cow, to pay for their daughter's plane ticket to the Arab country- and then when she finally returned, she had been traumatized, and the family had nothing. It's a horrible story that I heard over and over again, in my short 10 days there. <br />
So my brain is in constant motion. I am trying to figure out how to help these women, these people. I know nothing about economics...I was trying to figure out how we could get an au pair service started for some of these young women- it would be a wonderful opportunity- but the logistics would be insane. The flight from Ethipia to the US is about 28 hours total, on average, including layovers. <br />
So for now, I am going to support Adera's IGA (Income Generating Activity) initiative. They have hired 4 ladies to work full time making beads from paper, and then making necklaces out of them. I plan on starting an Etsy shop soon so that we can sell the beads and reroute the money back to the ladies, in hopes that they can hire even more women and give them a job, and dignity. Even though they don't make much money by our standards, the money they make can help them get fresh food for their children instead of digging for waste food from the local dump.Allyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11670502172120122866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-70107795617280630452012-10-18T14:58:00.001-06:002012-10-18T15:00:40.118-06:00Yearly Update!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our big boy is a kindergartner now!!!</div>
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He's still full of life- I don't need to tell you that.</div>
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Nana and Papa and Reece have a mutual admiration society.</div>
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Waffle House date with Mama</div>
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He painted this picture and mailed it to Nana with a kiss!</div>
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He looks so big!!!!!</div>
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a little family photo</div>
<br />Allyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11670502172120122866noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-62921638513626900422012-04-18T10:24:00.002-06:002012-04-18T10:28:37.820-06:00This is our favorite kid!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTQmp8xQ9VH6YOzvdDCzns6eOgdOywDJlnle7uqP_ohp9OZmPq0msmB08NvQ6ZVcum5_cv7cAQMCUPUQIQggEhqPsp0jQqutQEJ_rmq6UPQ-KE754kEHoaq3THCL0nlBGqJu1oDcTL0YI/s1600/eyes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTQmp8xQ9VH6YOzvdDCzns6eOgdOywDJlnle7uqP_ohp9OZmPq0msmB08NvQ6ZVcum5_cv7cAQMCUPUQIQggEhqPsp0jQqutQEJ_rmq6UPQ-KE754kEHoaq3THCL0nlBGqJu1oDcTL0YI/s400/eyes.JPG" width="400" /></a> OH Reece, your eyes continue to amaze me on a daily basis.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifCeVaNHQ4nfIY7qt0XYskZEmnhrX9MwzW5VB2EZROfUEcEINrgK10Bb0qGq8_CtQ0jM4IghnylXB6dB7IuiWQHBMVM601nanmfwNsYBPKCO4GcKucrOl4JNXQxlNlxX2jpCtnekioliA/s1600/boots.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifCeVaNHQ4nfIY7qt0XYskZEmnhrX9MwzW5VB2EZROfUEcEINrgK10Bb0qGq8_CtQ0jM4IghnylXB6dB7IuiWQHBMVM601nanmfwNsYBPKCO4GcKucrOl4JNXQxlNlxX2jpCtnekioliA/s400/boots.JPG" width="298" /></a></div>
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Soccer socks pulled way up, with Mama's boots on the wrong feet, make for quite the fashion statement.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw1U67wgAWn5TnN5AZq3Z6zj22n6-AD56jKVmwBv9txD85Ac4nO8Q1IrWFvKdPgvE9PELTzMtF6hkd6E3Ji9hx6Cj02aqFAVWlVG5353Igx_NVYFWPa-PQwLHhCarpVYl9fK4dMzhffaw/s1600/DSC01264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw1U67wgAWn5TnN5AZq3Z6zj22n6-AD56jKVmwBv9txD85Ac4nO8Q1IrWFvKdPgvE9PELTzMtF6hkd6E3Ji9hx6Cj02aqFAVWlVG5353Igx_NVYFWPa-PQwLHhCarpVYl9fK4dMzhffaw/s400/DSC01264.JPG" width="400" /></a>He's just so big!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPaP3cjl_oeOKC6VNbv02YPumz9JEYlm_Rixh-dhvyLPhj1Z2WUg7PJCbbUgCeh0bmtfx4IxvblDO4_IdDaHrKAQ2R3UAay5HCeW0No3JkPRLWS-OalAgiNDu1WZkxV1SIzm6bHGhtB2k/s1600/DSC01289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPaP3cjl_oeOKC6VNbv02YPumz9JEYlm_Rixh-dhvyLPhj1Z2WUg7PJCbbUgCeh0bmtfx4IxvblDO4_IdDaHrKAQ2R3UAay5HCeW0No3JkPRLWS-OalAgiNDu1WZkxV1SIzm6bHGhtB2k/s400/DSC01289.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
We couldn't wait for Christmas, so we decorated this Halloween haunted house!<br />
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Spring Break hiking at Robber's Cave state park in Oklahoma!<br />
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I am now playing soccer at the YMCA!<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Here's an attempt for a family photo Christmas 2011.</span>Allyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11670502172120122866noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-17111493185657274382010-06-08T12:14:00.000-06:002010-06-08T12:14:59.577-06:00tidbitsI wanted to write a few little fun things about Eece, because he changes every day and I don't want to forget the details!<br />
Reece will not go to bed without socks. We do our nighttime ritual of brushing teeth, reading 2 books, I tell him a story then he tells me a story, we sing one song, and then he begs for me to go night night with him, he asks to give me hugs and kisses, he wants to tell me something by the door, he says he wants more hugs and kisses, he asks for his baba (bottle), he asks for a bandaid for the slightest boo-boo, he begs for just ONE more story, he says, "Mama, whach are WE gonna do tomorrow?", ETC.! So anyway after I finally tear myself away, he can be heard climbing up on his dresser to pull the top drawer open and getting some socks. In the morning, I ask him why he always puts socks on, and he says, "Because my feet were bery cold and they were almost freezing."<br />
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Reece just asked me, "Mama, why aren't we going anywhere? Why are we staying in the house?" (he loves to just get out.. go to McDonald's playland, only to sit by me or play with his trucks, but at least he gets his beloved french fries!) He also loves to go to Michael's (craft store!)...perhaps that's because I let him buy one candy when we go. He also loves all the little kid crafts there, and the little dollar cars.<br />
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Reece and I are currently hanging out for a few weeks this summer before I go to work for 2 weeks teaching crafts to my elementary kids. Then Reece will be hanging out with Dada! Yesterday we went swimming and he loved it...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgFuOAFU-6gdYTv5xrr2NINLhr6fNZkIGh-UkT8u2ogRguexRUzfGg5S1M24w2V8XTiScZh-I09jaCnYqvq-UKuUywpHCirVbkRW-wduzOKz2LuAgSinZ1zQVy6tzCkP6vB9UOLmaJ0CE/s1600/DSC00034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgFuOAFU-6gdYTv5xrr2NINLhr6fNZkIGh-UkT8u2ogRguexRUzfGg5S1M24w2V8XTiScZh-I09jaCnYqvq-UKuUywpHCirVbkRW-wduzOKz2LuAgSinZ1zQVy6tzCkP6vB9UOLmaJ0CE/s320/DSC00034.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXXsp8Gz1YYTpAzbAE2bMV69IGPFZb6Ix0npJdPstemCa17gRA5JfBSGDjifgqNw3R4r7fBlSjHZFO-azaCK89ynO4iUH-geSjPMEAO-MdbjBdtRmWbDn17CvhndGJ0RVt_D26yM_eYk/s1600/DSC00430.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXXsp8Gz1YYTpAzbAE2bMV69IGPFZb6Ix0npJdPstemCa17gRA5JfBSGDjifgqNw3R4r7fBlSjHZFO-azaCK89ynO4iUH-geSjPMEAO-MdbjBdtRmWbDn17CvhndGJ0RVt_D26yM_eYk/s320/DSC00430.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfDqDXhcKS8mF-Mp_MWTveS3-t3HZcwnTnWggOaXEG6fiXkxLIpDLCZ_1liagGryd96tXyZzRBm1v3Dv9FMflc7yk9GuuerYuhyphenhyphenqL7dhirY2IPGR1FR3rDV57E18OGZ3q2uHanq87-6Hc/s1600/DSC00064.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfDqDXhcKS8mF-Mp_MWTveS3-t3HZcwnTnWggOaXEG6fiXkxLIpDLCZ_1liagGryd96tXyZzRBm1v3Dv9FMflc7yk9GuuerYuhyphenhyphenqL7dhirY2IPGR1FR3rDV57E18OGZ3q2uHanq87-6Hc/s320/DSC00064.jpg" /></a></div>Now, can you imagine a cuter ad for watermelon than this one?!! LOVE THIS LITTLE GUY!<br />
OH I almost forgot... out of the blue, he said, "Mama, I like you, I think you're beau-ful!" He just melted my heart!!!Allyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11670502172120122866noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-58853476187087281892010-05-17T09:07:00.000-06:002010-05-17T09:07:17.613-06:00my little boy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir9ScwPXCiOI2Xzug01b-g63DhyqeERS6IhktwYXgGUB8cqrYM2lGxT2xI0r6e9hcQhszhQZl6QPn8vlI0jJ8eV92FvKlVUx4qYX01_cPLpltHmRDKn33Aj2zlXu-3teXoifAXETHmv9w/s1600/I+need+a+bandaid.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir9ScwPXCiOI2Xzug01b-g63DhyqeERS6IhktwYXgGUB8cqrYM2lGxT2xI0r6e9hcQhszhQZl6QPn8vlI0jJ8eV92FvKlVUx4qYX01_cPLpltHmRDKn33Aj2zlXu-3teXoifAXETHmv9w/s400/I+need+a+bandaid.JPG" width="267" /></a></div>Reece does not get the title "Big Boy" until he goes potty on the potty chair every day for a week! We are working on it, but he seems especially resistant!!! Here are just a few little photos of our daily life together...<br />
Reece fell off the bed, busted his lip, and he cried for approximately 2 seconds, then said, "I need a band aid". So I handed him one, and this is what he did with it...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXio0ueIX0hyphenhypheneB_DbZWzkjwaq1NHuIWsSj1K9z_dGQ5eG8_SsbzjK0FsDXR9Lw3p8bN8Zm29suE62cXwj71e5JkQRSY-6YDfaCOUSs0Q7s0Km-npbFTmyMu-JSshoXjRqMrrlrT2GElFg/s1600/Lightning+the+Queen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXio0ueIX0hyphenhypheneB_DbZWzkjwaq1NHuIWsSj1K9z_dGQ5eG8_SsbzjK0FsDXR9Lw3p8bN8Zm29suE62cXwj71e5JkQRSY-6YDfaCOUSs0Q7s0Km-npbFTmyMu-JSshoXjRqMrrlrT2GElFg/s320/Lightning+the+Queen.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>And you thought Reece's eyes were big before! I took Reece to Toys R Us for the first time... he was a little overwhelmed. He just found the first rack and started pulling all the toys off... I kept having to distract him and show him around the whole place! I wanted him to find some super toys so we could use them as prizes for when he goes on the potty chair every day! He wanted this one.. a $300 "Lightning the Queen" car. He looks so excited in it!!!! I remember as a kid I would have looooved a little car... but I just don't want him to get spoiled!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPEWr1Mn-y3Ids_aBFZMNCz6hVCi1eZwC289dFqBOUzSkTQd_RWGCoslt4034-lm8oKn7bpPAtgPpwJPEm0LdLJWpQ3HdgwDIwREtMA21UWMme5cmfKyMlsolh6CTmr_mNrU7996z2jnY/s1600/nye+nye+trains.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPEWr1Mn-y3Ids_aBFZMNCz6hVCi1eZwC289dFqBOUzSkTQd_RWGCoslt4034-lm8oKn7bpPAtgPpwJPEm0LdLJWpQ3HdgwDIwREtMA21UWMme5cmfKyMlsolh6CTmr_mNrU7996z2jnY/s320/nye+nye+trains.JPG" /></a></div>If you look closely, you will see that Reece turned all the trains on their sides, because they were tired and wanted to go night night. I took this picture at midnight while he was sleeping.Allyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11670502172120122866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-12023059972102742912010-03-23T13:20:00.002-06:002010-03-23T13:34:24.387-06:00winter fun times<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO4xRjBRhJEbs4q9WC3wGzp3ObhtfKCfsoCMoB3WJTdrGp_jZN8xFVUfbYWEKnTUC1okZ2WEH_oW3mxP9HhwviRhfP2IjDBFj6qpSnhvGTw0qlzEZxiaoXprMlAeosKQs23kzM5Y2VAno/s1600-h/snow+day.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO4xRjBRhJEbs4q9WC3wGzp3ObhtfKCfsoCMoB3WJTdrGp_jZN8xFVUfbYWEKnTUC1okZ2WEH_oW3mxP9HhwviRhfP2IjDBFj6qpSnhvGTw0qlzEZxiaoXprMlAeosKQs23kzM5Y2VAno/s400/snow+day.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451911695735459714" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHISf8nINtIqtogLUc-IeEvyGnCff_d-zNQVBo3jLE2yQ0431D6icEeSm91W8zkgtVFlA-49HxJbAdJvsiPkGzgjTcc8YBfj6uKXsPYOcGVk_KDELqoGH94O2iPDb2HgAzVswHGv-o9Cs/s1600-h/Mama+Eece+Waffle+Hse.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHISf8nINtIqtogLUc-IeEvyGnCff_d-zNQVBo3jLE2yQ0431D6icEeSm91W8zkgtVFlA-49HxJbAdJvsiPkGzgjTcc8YBfj6uKXsPYOcGVk_KDELqoGH94O2iPDb2HgAzVswHGv-o9Cs/s400/Mama+Eece+Waffle+Hse.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451911686289061570" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIotzpe7K68rf87v0EbghmLvg0pE7NZKJMAsb-JkSun2S02QZvETRBrJ6jKGwjD7BvY20-djY4tiXTrfyCIh7EfSR6gTaWmg00Z2WjAFx0cUFdIx43bXulReBgF5Kvtjii8fzT6ykJRxM/s1600-h/Eece+Waffle+House.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIotzpe7K68rf87v0EbghmLvg0pE7NZKJMAsb-JkSun2S02QZvETRBrJ6jKGwjD7BvY20-djY4tiXTrfyCIh7EfSR6gTaWmg00Z2WjAFx0cUFdIx43bXulReBgF5Kvtjii8fzT6ykJRxM/s400/Eece+Waffle+House.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451911676600642546" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6AubWjyaZDeuZQNyqEkJf9eWlY5Du22Qv41_X6Cncmbme7e45U8IOchFpskZcZ-Fulf2btXK6KHYpvMIfB9QGjXyHIXutQEBm0R64r6Nj7x6HB7fryYZkPPb6hyh5G7G7y6GChRN8f2Q/s1600-h/Eece+and+Dada+hug.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6AubWjyaZDeuZQNyqEkJf9eWlY5Du22Qv41_X6Cncmbme7e45U8IOchFpskZcZ-Fulf2btXK6KHYpvMIfB9QGjXyHIXutQEBm0R64r6Nj7x6HB7fryYZkPPb6hyh5G7G7y6GChRN8f2Q/s400/Eece+and+Dada+hug.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451911664545765202" border="0" /></a>It actually SNOWED in Texas! Actual SNOW that stuck to the ground... maybe 6 inches of it! I was sooooooo excited! Reece said he didn't want to wear his mittens because they were "too cold". <br />Reece and Mama had a super fun date at Waffle House. When we sat down, he said, "Mama, let's talk about a owl." (which is his favorite book for the present... "Owl at Home", which is a book I used to have when I was a kid!) So he proceeded to tell me the WHOLE story about the owl... his detail was incredible. Then, I was trying to take a little video of him telling the story about the owl, but I was taking video with my phone, and he thought I was taking his picture, so he kept cheezing it up with a huge smile, and he wouldn't talk anymore! It was hi-larious!!! I don't know how to upload videos or I'd show you. Anyway this little guy is the most delightful little thing. I think he's the best, ever.<br />And the last photo is Dada and Eece "guabbing" each other. Yes, it's a little word we made up that basically means, cuddling/hugging/playing/wrestling etc. Reece is the smiliest kid I've ever seen! It's awesome to be his Mama! :)Allyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11670502172120122866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-62218141543907380242009-11-02T12:27:00.002-06:002009-11-02T12:31:19.328-06:00Reece is 3!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Bv9kN_mCDNC2tcJKP4i9vHZlAu-N6LZn8so8DsNC3IBe6v3TsM_W04SCSR5FlkSbOyr7uJBU-KE_9-8C8ZXmzE4sE6yDhbbr1ngcFg7FpoYAqTnrZlM17X_7Eo9o3Yo-h0KL1FFR2f8/s1600-h/2009+Halloween+042.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Bv9kN_mCDNC2tcJKP4i9vHZlAu-N6LZn8so8DsNC3IBe6v3TsM_W04SCSR5FlkSbOyr7uJBU-KE_9-8C8ZXmzE4sE6yDhbbr1ngcFg7FpoYAqTnrZlM17X_7Eo9o3Yo-h0KL1FFR2f8/s400/2009+Halloween+042.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399575551139459666" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsu8r7BJ-iNtDuyNF04eeprfaLHwbNJLhQSmerSugccz4O5C5fpS9UpN1JvjRt9e8HFTMzsU2o_UobGqHrozhPWQFQTIa9A-pF10gA0t7maQJAUf7oOcTot8dBTPjAFufwqoH53UrzGiE/s1600-h/2009+Halloween+021.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsu8r7BJ-iNtDuyNF04eeprfaLHwbNJLhQSmerSugccz4O5C5fpS9UpN1JvjRt9e8HFTMzsU2o_UobGqHrozhPWQFQTIa9A-pF10gA0t7maQJAUf7oOcTot8dBTPjAFufwqoH53UrzGiE/s400/2009+Halloween+021.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399575550201242674" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTXB_5ukWzW7eswaZv7Z2LQ0oXlD6h5A8DL4org4AQVbMEf6G796cB0_8S45wLUECT5JP7bFdvpNQhv6tBFDOAeg8IAHKkoViKKn57gU1mfro1qBoiZg46VZ6zCAxODCfJ6ensxcL-1Bc/s1600-h/2009+Halloween+030.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTXB_5ukWzW7eswaZv7Z2LQ0oXlD6h5A8DL4org4AQVbMEf6G796cB0_8S45wLUECT5JP7bFdvpNQhv6tBFDOAeg8IAHKkoViKKn57gU1mfro1qBoiZg46VZ6zCAxODCfJ6ensxcL-1Bc/s400/2009+Halloween+030.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399575546705133810" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVRPTW23wApVBHsrVLDHXt_K40L_zRJ2ZHptRLsZ9RgWJ8WKodcwsm-geMEt18YJmm_X1X7BzYICfqV_wX1rn3EdghOfL1GGzApqlXO2ord8ki1jlzeSfC6MC-axv2lEuM9TCaqjHpHo/s1600-h/2009+Halloween+006.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVRPTW23wApVBHsrVLDHXt_K40L_zRJ2ZHptRLsZ9RgWJ8WKodcwsm-geMEt18YJmm_X1X7BzYICfqV_wX1rn3EdghOfL1GGzApqlXO2ord8ki1jlzeSfC6MC-axv2lEuM9TCaqjHpHo/s400/2009+Halloween+006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399575540530978914" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsQtc5xlrduAjavvzzNhkQBBtiDLZhYpWb_GafsGLYbHHF4sSB29lbxQ0YfIiAN-FnTgWn8eKoBLnjH_yuJT2u-l4gNuE8CD_gJRtw7OA_nlUzYJi04QV9HZf22MaAwSGnvjMDRXlFkPs/s1600-h/2009+Halloween+001.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsQtc5xlrduAjavvzzNhkQBBtiDLZhYpWb_GafsGLYbHHF4sSB29lbxQ0YfIiAN-FnTgWn8eKoBLnjH_yuJT2u-l4gNuE8CD_gJRtw7OA_nlUzYJi04QV9HZf22MaAwSGnvjMDRXlFkPs/s400/2009+Halloween+001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399575535837943378" border="0" /></a><br />Our sweet angel turned 3 years old this weekend! We had a "Word World" themed party for him (since that's his fave TV show). I made him a Duck cake and his Nana, Auntie M, and cousin Boo were the guests of honor. He got lots of new clothes (yay!!!) and even some new toys. We were also blessed with gifts from the mail from his Aunties/Uncles/Cousins up in Minnesota!Allyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11670502172120122866noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-84030985193844914702009-10-06T21:10:00.002-06:002009-10-06T21:21:21.094-06:00soomebody comment! or no more photos!!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJmeWQNVpSH7mGocAPU8uBQ8krszQpW4q9JXX3xsYsiR-b0xYLyITzn1o2ssk2_OlZb5Gg0vx731_wLB71gsHqSww-UODAr8xiiwetkYuurPe0pb3QHwcmdUCX2YSyh5k_PE9tsfNsr4/s1600-h/DSC_0035.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJmeWQNVpSH7mGocAPU8uBQ8krszQpW4q9JXX3xsYsiR-b0xYLyITzn1o2ssk2_OlZb5Gg0vx731_wLB71gsHqSww-UODAr8xiiwetkYuurPe0pb3QHwcmdUCX2YSyh5k_PE9tsfNsr4/s400/DSC_0035.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389691514011287474" border="0" /></a><br />Eece ran into my room this morning and said "Happy Birthday Mama!!! What a little sweetie. I say, "Reece, are you Mama's beauty?" and he says, "No, I Dada's muneca!" (Yeah, we call him muneca, which is the Spanish word for "doll".)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz6wUXNDLhEMSWvLSl4SWQrrnhBbx3dCiBH8Ci1F8jziZBFaJtOYrpNi3hzh17_oW82Gx7R56zyc1Z3PW-cxNddwQkGDaGd6hJhjxoObJUSbm0rn7kO4FSiMbC4zj_DNkfxMfi0oHRf94/s1600-h/DSC_0023.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz6wUXNDLhEMSWvLSl4SWQrrnhBbx3dCiBH8Ci1F8jziZBFaJtOYrpNi3hzh17_oW82Gx7R56zyc1Z3PW-cxNddwQkGDaGd6hJhjxoObJUSbm0rn7kO4FSiMbC4zj_DNkfxMfi0oHRf94/s400/DSC_0023.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389691508087514930" border="0" /></a><br />Okay, I posed Reece for this shot because he has the cutest way of trying to charm us into giving him what he wants. If we say no to him for some reason, he turns his head sideways and cuts his eyes at us, and gets a big smile and makes this little sing-songy noisy that is totally irresistable! We call it "being skunky".<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3zXdCuFlTJkGyvbHE3kdHOHtHjVbydiMJDsroP-vhrj0Mut5XXMynuyDXcu3qPfa-Vx5X5QinvvG4XgLrKIemkky_sYQQtvN9kicFhoQRogV4QOR1z1uaz_3Zdwcptj08jc8weFXLXVE/s1600-h/DSC_0020.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3zXdCuFlTJkGyvbHE3kdHOHtHjVbydiMJDsroP-vhrj0Mut5XXMynuyDXcu3qPfa-Vx5X5QinvvG4XgLrKIemkky_sYQQtvN9kicFhoQRogV4QOR1z1uaz_3Zdwcptj08jc8weFXLXVE/s400/DSC_0020.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389691498032841826" border="0" /></a><br />Reece found all my knitted items and decided to take them for a spin. What a blast- sliding all over the kitchen floor!! Reece is almost 3 now! Wow... he'll be 3 the day before Halloween.<br />Okay people you need to please leave comments!!! I wonder if I'm posting in vain!!!Allyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11670502172120122866noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-50235290790537964882009-08-17T20:27:00.003-06:002009-08-17T20:38:15.894-06:00supa cute<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXR5cvsH8SOigZsQBGq_5EOIB0s1WEMcCDCdibUceHpC0yiXrUqf9WvSpa2Ds-V38TnU882XPZHNNbeuKPkucncxoNkTl0vtBOrdGbhZaDuV91PafAESYCEmCZFPNwLYokwhxQJzO4eTo/s1600-h/CIMG1466.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXR5cvsH8SOigZsQBGq_5EOIB0s1WEMcCDCdibUceHpC0yiXrUqf9WvSpa2Ds-V38TnU882XPZHNNbeuKPkucncxoNkTl0vtBOrdGbhZaDuV91PafAESYCEmCZFPNwLYokwhxQJzO4eTo/s400/CIMG1466.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371125913512138242" border="0" /></a>I love how this photo shows Reece's enthusiasm! Nana always cooks eggs for Eece when we visit in Tulsa. This time Nana let Eece help!!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLhKwDDR7Q7o2azSiv8dywcVCZ0qstWiutvV1sdvVIsZUNtHvkXSWiUy8mictw9_llQYTct6Knc6-qbOC_pAuSrcNT3tUXDybLgixiT2QLpMcuMDCvRC6FGjKGXH63O50i9Pjy1tXlsBo/s1600-h/CIMG1444.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLhKwDDR7Q7o2azSiv8dywcVCZ0qstWiutvV1sdvVIsZUNtHvkXSWiUy8mictw9_llQYTct6Knc6-qbOC_pAuSrcNT3tUXDybLgixiT2QLpMcuMDCvRC6FGjKGXH63O50i9Pjy1tXlsBo/s400/CIMG1444.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371125904593781330" border="0" /></a>Me and my BFF Jill del Rio! In just 2 short weeks she delivered a healthy baby boy Benjamin! :) We visited them in Las Vegas for a week. We had three 2-year-old boys running around. We had a blast!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSlVZwp-F3R34Uv1cYz4ix4Hot7UQdaAV8MscEpN_TxsYPEMwYtn44hRz3E4_Ddxf-yE-eqj-2vMBPB-M_jr_oR17WCuuTcx9BtRk_j4rj1oHBR8Fu1R_kGAIovYJPEGXZDO-lhx7-V8A/s1600-h/CIMG1412.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSlVZwp-F3R34Uv1cYz4ix4Hot7UQdaAV8MscEpN_TxsYPEMwYtn44hRz3E4_Ddxf-yE-eqj-2vMBPB-M_jr_oR17WCuuTcx9BtRk_j4rj1oHBR8Fu1R_kGAIovYJPEGXZDO-lhx7-V8A/s400/CIMG1412.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371125890424882098" border="0" /></a>OOOH that smile!! Those dimples! Both Dada and Eece!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgORRdi7Ry62bwU9RDPMeN5M70c99sMwMtM03CSQnifmKjW_B9IFUSlkPo_XXmi5Izt-89RlURDR78AzxWnVBh4npZQnvqUnkZE0KzFVIWNIUoX6G4JxFbHorjFaI1q_1UfWdFvQnd_ayE/s1600-h/CIMG1397.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgORRdi7Ry62bwU9RDPMeN5M70c99sMwMtM03CSQnifmKjW_B9IFUSlkPo_XXmi5Izt-89RlURDR78AzxWnVBh4npZQnvqUnkZE0KzFVIWNIUoX6G4JxFbHorjFaI1q_1UfWdFvQnd_ayE/s400/CIMG1397.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371125881102844018" border="0" /></a>Eece does love his Mama. Awwww.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLjyjBSC-WAyibu3kDSXnWu5Xwluug-q8ZX6z2C-eugxR3fBEgav7oz_qF3ES0grk65ulEy8mFLTDLE48-7a4LdQNkQntegsD8APPRoHmhPWX_7lJmsidm81N9Ro9w2sq-GTHtctKqnE/s1600-h/CIMG1390.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLjyjBSC-WAyibu3kDSXnWu5Xwluug-q8ZX6z2C-eugxR3fBEgav7oz_qF3ES0grk65ulEy8mFLTDLE48-7a4LdQNkQntegsD8APPRoHmhPWX_7lJmsidm81N9Ro9w2sq-GTHtctKqnE/s400/CIMG1390.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371125872846647298" border="0" /></a>What would summer be like without a slip-n-slide??? Reece loved it (except for the mean ants who somehow bit his little toes).Allyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11670502172120122866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-35003249266699054182009-06-23T10:23:00.000-06:002009-06-23T10:25:08.686-06:00Blog Union VIdeohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMbywycuiWg&feature=player_embedded<br /><br />I don' t know how to embed things into this blog but if you can somehow get to the above YouTube video, you'll see lots of beautiful children adopted from Ethiopia! This video was taken last summer at the Blog Union (wasn't a "reunion" because most of us hadn't officially met in person yet!) And yes Reece is in the video!Allyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11670502172120122866noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-57112265894363503592009-06-16T10:59:00.006-06:002009-06-16T11:14:45.462-06:00Spring Break (now that it's summer)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVJ_p8YAdueWr1T5PhzfE8QcgIlnABPfv1DfxytNQI-TP3TeAYzoRCm_q1guR-LP-xn2Cp2M9EpeEKvRYzjkBl9RYUsyrOVjK7Qk6XjqbDfs_OKioD-Pm_GDbx9c-O48RTy9R4zx_zco/s1600-h/Reece+crunchy+nose.bmp"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVJ_p8YAdueWr1T5PhzfE8QcgIlnABPfv1DfxytNQI-TP3TeAYzoRCm_q1guR-LP-xn2Cp2M9EpeEKvRYzjkBl9RYUsyrOVjK7Qk6XjqbDfs_OKioD-Pm_GDbx9c-O48RTy9R4zx_zco/s400/Reece+crunchy+nose.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347974793688367922" border="0" /></a>Okay! I had to pull a photo up from the Archives!!! Is this not the cutest kid you've ever seen?!!! He's irresistible!!! This photo was taken 1 1/2 yrs ago... sigh! Reece talks all the time now... this little baby didn't have any words yet.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_4B3MBW1cllVhIX9kbK6n3C2AEe1ni_YiQjsyEeUIzxtozDwHPwaHVjd0mqpXjsiidxr_TZCzS56icEMzkaf68YBIl12Q41VcVMvGvkMejEltblhknPe1LOEevN_CbDRgpTtpH4j9jM/s1600-h/dada+arms+head.jpeg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 105px; height: 105px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_4B3MBW1cllVhIX9kbK6n3C2AEe1ni_YiQjsyEeUIzxtozDwHPwaHVjd0mqpXjsiidxr_TZCzS56icEMzkaf68YBIl12Q41VcVMvGvkMejEltblhknPe1LOEevN_CbDRgpTtpH4j9jM/s400/dada+arms+head.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347973355408981090" border="0" /></a>Oh darn, this one is tiny... but I just wanted to show you how much Christian and Reece delight in each other! Christian can't keep his hands off Reece- he loves to grab his belly, toes, and "hahms" (also known as his thighs). We call this guabbing. Yes, we have our own little silly family language that is nearly impossible to explain, however we find it endearing. When we were in Chile, they referred to babies as "guaguas" (pronounced wah-wahs). So we Anglicized the word and pronounced it Gwa-gwa. And then it evolved into a verb, known as guabbing. It's when you find your baby so irresistible that you have to run up and guab him! Pick him up, toss him around, let him ride on your back, squeeze his belly or legs, cuddle him, cradle him, kiss the brown sugar on his neck, etc. Or, if Reece is pretty tired, he will absentmindedly guab himself- like, while watching TV, he'll play with his own toes or rub his hand repeatedly on his toy elephant. That's guabbing.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVOzCrbXpNOFGAi4NIVEfL7C6eM51_ArH6iIjNr93zHG6bvlbv6ucMO3OtrcLG8SH9THWNhvXiwkMHzkBXBbCqzk4S2tJNZYw759sT1uf3MU5yxN1lb2CTUS38IKJzaxJB2q0jVfE5G4/s1600-h/ImageServer.psp.jpeg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVOzCrbXpNOFGAi4NIVEfL7C6eM51_ArH6iIjNr93zHG6bvlbv6ucMO3OtrcLG8SH9THWNhvXiwkMHzkBXBbCqzk4S2tJNZYw759sT1uf3MU5yxN1lb2CTUS38IKJzaxJB2q0jVfE5G4/s400/ImageServer.psp.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347972466377647490" border="0" /></a>Yes our little sweetie pie smiles all the time. Well, almost. He loves to help Mama and Dada on their computers. I'm sure he would squeal with delight if we ever allowed him to touch the buttons. Here, Reece is looking at a photo of himself on the internet. (I am on the design team for Creative Memories scrapbooking products, and I made a page with his picture on it! So I don't know if he realizes that maybe thousands of people have seen his picture online! go to <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">http://projectcenter.creativememories.com/photos/discover_construction_zon/boys-and-their-toys-scrapbook-layout-2.html</span> and you can see it!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4T-94VhyphenhyphenGFXL-1QvKsr41QUu3GEZ3PrwyyFdtkIOGUqrT0sF_w-0JSHYPZVuf-VDAKaQ-j83ut5nUr2nTFXhBnPCgSdVsFT-A6IUMGrCmF2Mplr2Bo_wdzHdfQOsVueQK2A3hns5D-H0/s1600-h/dada+eece.jpeg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4T-94VhyphenhyphenGFXL-1QvKsr41QUu3GEZ3PrwyyFdtkIOGUqrT0sF_w-0JSHYPZVuf-VDAKaQ-j83ut5nUr2nTFXhBnPCgSdVsFT-A6IUMGrCmF2Mplr2Bo_wdzHdfQOsVueQK2A3hns5D-H0/s400/dada+eece.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347971323315271090" border="0" /></a>I just love this little picture of my guys. We enjoyed camping at Turner Falls, OK. All day before we left, Reece ran around saying, "Go camping! Go camping!" even though he didn't know what camping was. Also, when we told him about the waterfall, he kept asking desperately to see it- even though he didn't know what a waterfall was, either.<br />Christian and I both felt amazed, and blessed that this beautiful little man has such complete trust in us. He didn't know where we were going, and he didn't know where we were when we arrived, and yet he was just as content as he could be, trusting in Mama and Dada to take care of him. He loved taking walks in the woods; he loved the tent; he loved the sticks and the dirt; he loved the waterfall; he loved our poor excuse for S'mores (there was a fire ban at the campground...we made s'mores over hot coals). This little guy is just as delightful as possible. We are soooooooo in love with him!Allyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11670502172120122866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-90994446801665764362009-01-24T03:37:00.003-06:002009-01-24T03:58:41.757-06:00Missed you!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7G2cU8tXJDdYDIjdcdb2aQUzXe-KSUSfN1JiinEhyE7_PUvz2EhxqF58qyqC_-z4RvAsxYkWtrPuxR70qZymEBE7moJU-6rbkbwOCgma7JLsjnsh0lxMtqu_xjWh9k7QoS7iv0WNxXI/s1600-h/CIMG0872.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7G2cU8tXJDdYDIjdcdb2aQUzXe-KSUSfN1JiinEhyE7_PUvz2EhxqF58qyqC_-z4RvAsxYkWtrPuxR70qZymEBE7moJU-6rbkbwOCgma7JLsjnsh0lxMtqu_xjWh9k7QoS7iv0WNxXI/s400/CIMG0872.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294794867287692194" border="0" /></a><br />Reece really loved meeting little Ruthie Funderburk! He keeps saying "Baby Woothie"!! Perhaps he has already fallen in love with her?? We have so much enjoyed having Jana and Michael in our lives. We became friends through the Gladney Ethiopia adoption program.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUAlzARzDbRLu00sn6YeNYLEphNuGMDY_TJfV0d01sF83qeeolRQFWwJuubvtFADcb_gA5GP4DV7FZYvu3S6OouS4vfeLEza6QOU0wQa3HHaKWbF0Ch4GigrKO4SBeOLn7n36kh8OICj8/s1600-h/CIMG0856.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUAlzARzDbRLu00sn6YeNYLEphNuGMDY_TJfV0d01sF83qeeolRQFWwJuubvtFADcb_gA5GP4DV7FZYvu3S6OouS4vfeLEza6QOU0wQa3HHaKWbF0Ch4GigrKO4SBeOLn7n36kh8OICj8/s400/CIMG0856.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294794860856989426" border="0" /></a><br />Reece loves to watch "the Office" with us! I wonder how long that will last?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoAyZ6BrdQFZyRL1tkxGS86PNGHCRsQnlD60kpsW13aIsvfSVe5busgjAcCO81BUuJKydsPSEi1S3EbuSQAjGItvAQyPLTN3tiiZOJJTKRVjEgGmYhSWZJCvcqayMCamDfIHv8jw9fDX0/s1600-h/CIMG0877.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoAyZ6BrdQFZyRL1tkxGS86PNGHCRsQnlD60kpsW13aIsvfSVe5busgjAcCO81BUuJKydsPSEi1S3EbuSQAjGItvAQyPLTN3tiiZOJJTKRVjEgGmYhSWZJCvcqayMCamDfIHv8jw9fDX0/s400/CIMG0877.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294794857787624050" border="0" /></a><br />Reece is looking at the "Book of Eece", at pictures of me, him, and Wagaye (wuh-guy-a) who is his birth mother.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMUm6GgN2exRkZiPhK__lJH6A4n9FKxmIirEvuCgk-xCKB3fJK5tF218TNjf-WuDIsLESfcG1d1YK_tOWnvGZ0njTcAG4mi-SIzcQDMuaDfDQNhyzz5sl8QILIYwL9U_F_SnQjqr3qG8U/s1600-h/CIMG0875_edited-1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 286px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMUm6GgN2exRkZiPhK__lJH6A4n9FKxmIirEvuCgk-xCKB3fJK5tF218TNjf-WuDIsLESfcG1d1YK_tOWnvGZ0njTcAG4mi-SIzcQDMuaDfDQNhyzz5sl8QILIYwL9U_F_SnQjqr3qG8U/s400/CIMG0875_edited-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294794853268857394" border="0" /></a><br />I lubba that belly!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgseqC7Ew3UQXzdxhwaVgLwwBtEOMdEOaEeoP-a05OrSA12vlmfE1ficJcm6em4cyRwiG2FEJMR-5ga4UwXy-BmQ8vpG-Hz0K0LY7JWULnU6SiZ9_DxVrP6B3gfVZGh4F1o23JD1599jjA/s1600-h/CIMG0857.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgseqC7Ew3UQXzdxhwaVgLwwBtEOMdEOaEeoP-a05OrSA12vlmfE1ficJcm6em4cyRwiG2FEJMR-5ga4UwXy-BmQ8vpG-Hz0K0LY7JWULnU6SiZ9_DxVrP6B3gfVZGh4F1o23JD1599jjA/s400/CIMG0857.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294794848205149810" border="0" /></a><br />Love those 80 degree January days in Texas!!!<br /><br />Little Reece keeps me sooo busy that I don't have time to blog! Actually I spend my time making real (physical) scrapbook pages about him... so much, that he calls the scrapbook the "book of Eece". He is talking more and more every day!!!<br />I was showing him pictures of his birth mother, Wagaye... the woman to whom we are forever indebted. I was telling him about her...and now Reece goes around saying "Gaye belly" (becuase I told him he grew inside Wagaye's belly). It is so precious... we want him to know that he was adopted and that he has two moms who love him, and we want it all to seem very normal and natural.<br />In other news...I am partaking in Project 365... it is soooo cool! You take one photo every day. I've done a good job so far this year!!! 24 photos in 24 days... I am already surprised at the greater variety of photos I am getting.<br />I also just started another blog...(it's 3:50 am) It's my papercrafting blog! I do all sorts of paper arts and it's my way of relaxing and having fun. I make greeting cards, teach cardmaking classes, and have a personal scrapbooking service! Anyway that is at<br />http://ally-minimonkey.blogspot.com is that right???<br />So enjoy these photos of Reece!!! He is soooooooooo precious! He recently said a 4 word sentence: "Donkey look through window." That's what's happening in one of our favorite books by Richard Scarry. We LOVE him! Christian and I both read his books when we were kids, so we are so excited that his books are still available.Allyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11670502172120122866noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-1222948619093286552008-11-04T17:51:00.003-06:002008-11-04T17:59:49.295-06:00Pumpkin Carving Extraordinaire<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqafzBIaCrmM95maEQUxVZWl9-Oerdr9bqC0J-M4tw_TwpRRY6yAnv2WPeNnn4bp_WH_ZDO1KTblck-MF44HF4KwjKREdiIRqx0WyZDzrXI0ZxqAbmwQxl_f-28eSYYXhItbAUwNsG7ro/s1600-h/DSC_0036.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqafzBIaCrmM95maEQUxVZWl9-Oerdr9bqC0J-M4tw_TwpRRY6yAnv2WPeNnn4bp_WH_ZDO1KTblck-MF44HF4KwjKREdiIRqx0WyZDzrXI0ZxqAbmwQxl_f-28eSYYXhItbAUwNsG7ro/s400/DSC_0036.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264955831789180546" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqafoJpil7Yb4_2EqFqU7vhV3hrH0jTxkVxbnQBFASwJbLsurw1w2bTqcG906o8Gdf1r_oHoUjZgy33qgYn7sDhBFlsmx5cKfLOiQBtdsRlQ8w9dlAGgBFAf1qoyl4xynjAzpWdxcfJlc/s1600-h/DSC_0020.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqafoJpil7Yb4_2EqFqU7vhV3hrH0jTxkVxbnQBFASwJbLsurw1w2bTqcG906o8Gdf1r_oHoUjZgy33qgYn7sDhBFlsmx5cKfLOiQBtdsRlQ8w9dlAGgBFAf1qoyl4xynjAzpWdxcfJlc/s400/DSC_0020.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264955829318864066" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8l4hGXUFpAiin5NMkQJKGlli6GhLQuQmWPDQk3Z_vTqeDV9ExxyNYNr7Tj-6I8DykzPFAOleLrNfGkTN0DTn-uVKFfDNAPsHTDsAQluv-UrV6PMelIMBaFVgrglM80rJPN5CrRssM4vE/s1600-h/DSC_0016.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8l4hGXUFpAiin5NMkQJKGlli6GhLQuQmWPDQk3Z_vTqeDV9ExxyNYNr7Tj-6I8DykzPFAOleLrNfGkTN0DTn-uVKFfDNAPsHTDsAQluv-UrV6PMelIMBaFVgrglM80rJPN5CrRssM4vE/s400/DSC_0016.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264955826588798658" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb0ZEreHTzC5waRKmlHtwq1gxnSLalRsdvMxFIUu4hoHCU34Rp9qZzpJ8POINm3eP7L62dQLy0INWg9P05_wT1u7OYH_vnRBVxtjiT19KcDQrR7amoEeHuaq5fvy0d2JlovVMKJKagUew/s1600-h/DSC_0007-1.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb0ZEreHTzC5waRKmlHtwq1gxnSLalRsdvMxFIUu4hoHCU34Rp9qZzpJ8POINm3eP7L62dQLy0INWg9P05_wT1u7OYH_vnRBVxtjiT19KcDQrR7amoEeHuaq5fvy0d2JlovVMKJKagUew/s400/DSC_0007-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264955814614033266" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdUFlK-gtZqbwiIqp_2kZ5v3LdZ5LQp6KR6RQ4ZvmhQym55ENWvQ2AhreUAlK_UT6s0htjA6iOY7OCqxQwZaJGpT0-8xOSg7J36YJ18XEiNDVd6UzJhdlbn2e7M_Y7QOo5u36CzWyMOKk/s1600-h/DSC_0010.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdUFlK-gtZqbwiIqp_2kZ5v3LdZ5LQp6KR6RQ4ZvmhQym55ENWvQ2AhreUAlK_UT6s0htjA6iOY7OCqxQwZaJGpT0-8xOSg7J36YJ18XEiNDVd6UzJhdlbn2e7M_Y7QOo5u36CzWyMOKk/s400/DSC_0010.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264955812663039794" border="0" /></a><br />We hosted our 8th annual party this year! I wanted to carve Mother Theresa but I couldn't find a pattern. I settled for Mona Lisa instead. We had lots of fun getting messy. We had a blast from the past with Steve and Erin, and Melissa coming this year! :) And faithful Shawn showed up again, proving her steadfast devotion for the 8th year in a row! Reece had lots of fun, being entertained by Joshua Coan!Allyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11670502172120122866noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-62354938919005460162008-11-04T17:38:00.002-06:002008-11-04T17:48:47.609-06:00Halloween Cuteness!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV0cH48hIcjKr4Pq6FIQQcv_8k0s3m6Fzk37r_Io91Nk8uN2Tn5I36Ci_5ezxa00yf5wEp_KctSyKbQtvDslWBDCOVW4Bw2UuovgjaGh8ggniJQ2Ad91ea3wKQ0shDBegqFYJ5jMRoUFw/s1600-h/CIMG0670.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV0cH48hIcjKr4Pq6FIQQcv_8k0s3m6Fzk37r_Io91Nk8uN2Tn5I36Ci_5ezxa00yf5wEp_KctSyKbQtvDslWBDCOVW4Bw2UuovgjaGh8ggniJQ2Ad91ea3wKQ0shDBegqFYJ5jMRoUFw/s400/CIMG0670.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264953317683032930" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdHEfqL5Dk51L1uyjgUzRxMsgpAjgSNXjDnirh0a51lG0k13U5d93c6UnxLRYS-o5pktmJVAmit04y58mDR5_krWQIlJUia3kBhBZ1nKCeT69bFsRR4qmiR4HZqB3bj8xcTKC3frBvZsc/s1600-h/CIMG0666.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdHEfqL5Dk51L1uyjgUzRxMsgpAjgSNXjDnirh0a51lG0k13U5d93c6UnxLRYS-o5pktmJVAmit04y58mDR5_krWQIlJUia3kBhBZ1nKCeT69bFsRR4qmiR4HZqB3bj8xcTKC3frBvZsc/s400/CIMG0666.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264953314347781890" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWT5rNM_bzX2PR2_4J1Ysjsp39DrIyzyhdTKzFekWUATRkPJmaeSSpUAjM1iNi-QBrsIsoTzkX5RXTd6MdtUFLuSIxGAZdYjOoS0tKMJaEMn_mwfcMpUYbnKh_nJ6xN0PJxgnbrXAS8JU/s1600-h/CIMG0672.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWT5rNM_bzX2PR2_4J1Ysjsp39DrIyzyhdTKzFekWUATRkPJmaeSSpUAjM1iNi-QBrsIsoTzkX5RXTd6MdtUFLuSIxGAZdYjOoS0tKMJaEMn_mwfcMpUYbnKh_nJ6xN0PJxgnbrXAS8JU/s400/CIMG0672.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264953305445773842" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsRL08AXZbdK2MLsIXZL5QjZZM_wsOAt9NtMgrW6a0fKgUmSgkSiIMxItHDHd_6SVsPEkI1DpqMXqdHuscyHM8YvtotWbSDccvnLNKpO1O18V8BtZ1f7Y9FGT3TYRNoZ-UWNO1j_BgtRM/s1600-h/CIMG0678.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsRL08AXZbdK2MLsIXZL5QjZZM_wsOAt9NtMgrW6a0fKgUmSgkSiIMxItHDHd_6SVsPEkI1DpqMXqdHuscyHM8YvtotWbSDccvnLNKpO1O18V8BtZ1f7Y9FGT3TYRNoZ-UWNO1j_BgtRM/s400/CIMG0678.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264953296904860418" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZCPbOWNWIOmrrSCNRpsQKcjtWT93ani17otsHWqFn_iLl5CJgWJlnb7CvGWmcPIlI7f5fkFmQdio81BVNyMkt38PMA6tq6di31j_lT8eHRjoPj15yHejThEd0mHEup8mMFOp3YRMn1xY/s1600-h/CIMG0662.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZCPbOWNWIOmrrSCNRpsQKcjtWT93ani17otsHWqFn_iLl5CJgWJlnb7CvGWmcPIlI7f5fkFmQdio81BVNyMkt38PMA6tq6di31j_lT8eHRjoPj15yHejThEd0mHEup8mMFOp3YRMn1xY/s400/CIMG0662.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264953286451821570" border="0" /></a><br />Oh Reece was the cutest little monkey ever!!! He liked his costume (bought for us by my good friend Ann, who knows that monkeys are my favorite animal!) Reece got the hang of trick or treating pretty quickly. He would go up to the houses and say "Treat" and then "Thank you." A few times he put candy from his bag into the bowls of candy of the people we were visiting. What a refreshing lack of greed on his part! :) He got a little bit scared at one of the houses (look at him eyeing the fortune teller lady!) But overall we had a super blast. Nana, Papa, M, and Boo came to visit and share Reece's birthday/Halloween weekend, so he got LOTS of attention and loved every minute of it!Allyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11670502172120122866noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-72817309422131253652008-11-04T17:36:00.001-06:002008-11-04T17:37:37.622-06:00Bald Eece commentaryOkay, I have to defend myself. I was buzzing Reece's hair to about a 1/2 inch, when he suddenly jerked and I cut a huge bald spot about 5 inches long across his head. No bleeding or anything, but there was NO saving his hair after that! He sorta looked like he'd been in a major car accident and had brain surgery. So I figured the most sympathetic thing to do was to make him bald! And don't worry everyone, this happened a month ago, so now his hair is about 1/4 inch long and looks very nice!Allyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11670502172120122866noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-15901534880258286092008-11-04T17:27:00.003-06:002008-11-04T17:35:24.979-06:00Bald Eece!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEQ0NWCmFp4aXSqvNPyJD4__r2IFd0-QwnfXfpmzJjuxX7c3iwSdOBHssG2OpbeydlLfQZMozXrq6fHfVlxvZ0mLYM-w4Q7GqSoMcRhKUL5GLf5VKqBm7t_b4ujGqPu86j6tc8np7CMTc/s1600-h/DSC_0278.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEQ0NWCmFp4aXSqvNPyJD4__r2IFd0-QwnfXfpmzJjuxX7c3iwSdOBHssG2OpbeydlLfQZMozXrq6fHfVlxvZ0mLYM-w4Q7GqSoMcRhKUL5GLf5VKqBm7t_b4ujGqPu86j6tc8np7CMTc/s400/DSC_0278.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264949557398506082" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPFwrNvcCj53yNhGrl6fcy0J6A520ldRdkIHzhwScAV4KD0PK_Qg_N5SxXyf5Jy_nQFOZ9T0jt8tb84P7kznVJZav5fv7VK9FOvJUX2hwNfd-362EtwvnaBhvMyJCXM619eGfKIFtV6Kg/s1600-h/DSC_0277.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPFwrNvcCj53yNhGrl6fcy0J6A520ldRdkIHzhwScAV4KD0PK_Qg_N5SxXyf5Jy_nQFOZ9T0jt8tb84P7kznVJZav5fv7VK9FOvJUX2hwNfd-362EtwvnaBhvMyJCXM619eGfKIFtV6Kg/s400/DSC_0277.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264949547040010802" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7E7FhdUMncyj319qnPSFBU9ie010pLEGJTO8Qhy88sdBcPTmXHxwIWWvgeQo51twYLFlNmORLzQ-qe1XQkuqMwNGb8yFiMlkxPBoWGugkCWozxbNbGUayKerNIq2YpwXGTARnbsu6eE/s1600-h/DSC_0276.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7E7FhdUMncyj319qnPSFBU9ie010pLEGJTO8Qhy88sdBcPTmXHxwIWWvgeQo51twYLFlNmORLzQ-qe1XQkuqMwNGb8yFiMlkxPBoWGugkCWozxbNbGUayKerNIq2YpwXGTARnbsu6eE/s400/DSC_0276.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264949537575678722" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitUOqCTW0D2TyPXrEzwicvgzfTawU3qC_S94LgiHUzyfF9JEJoT60nAXlLAdAEmCx0fqUAIleg6F4LA9DNCS7WCDraK4iVvsKpHpk_pTkp_sHxLgk5Du2nKQwLrAHWTN9H6Sjc5rVItpw/s1600-h/DSC_0273.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitUOqCTW0D2TyPXrEzwicvgzfTawU3qC_S94LgiHUzyfF9JEJoT60nAXlLAdAEmCx0fqUAIleg6F4LA9DNCS7WCDraK4iVvsKpHpk_pTkp_sHxLgk5Du2nKQwLrAHWTN9H6Sjc5rVItpw/s400/DSC_0273.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264949529754156050" border="0" /></a><br />Someone (who will remain nameless) told me that it's really easy to cut ethnic hair. All you have to do is get a men's beard trimmer and put on an attachment, then just buzz the hair to about 1/2 an inch. So here's what actually happened...Allyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11670502172120122866noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-11795380058418179842008-05-30T22:01:00.000-06:002008-05-30T23:11:37.126-06:00Mr. Happy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFllwgRfRmOBzWrGI_djpe7zzaLsmQBFgV5a0IzF9w0fXdU6vweQ7WW7vg1KPKwEosvxJbmXYHSshane1oqugB8Uu7RUP_Fm46dJpM09ibjEtzJ9or2EUi57IFJR_5KMyljxNhFbUMB88/s1600-h/DSC_0095.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFllwgRfRmOBzWrGI_djpe7zzaLsmQBFgV5a0IzF9w0fXdU6vweQ7WW7vg1KPKwEosvxJbmXYHSshane1oqugB8Uu7RUP_Fm46dJpM09ibjEtzJ9or2EUi57IFJR_5KMyljxNhFbUMB88/s320/DSC_0095.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204562193047105554" border="0" /></a><br />In case this picture wasn't enough to make the point, the shirt Reece is wearing actually says "Mr. Happy" on it.<br /><br />We are absolutely amazed by Reece's fun-loving nature and good-natured temperament. He is happy and congenial almost all of the time, and is bringing huge amounts of joy and fun to our house and family. He does show the occasional flash of temper if he doesn't get his way, expressing this by a quick swat, urgent utterance, or stamping of the foot. Recently, he has discovered his thespian side and will cast himself on the floor and bury his head if he doesn't like one of Mommy or Daddy's decisions. We are so happy with this little guy!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07133981581990023922noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-62937169334528028762008-05-28T18:38:00.000-06:002008-05-28T21:49:52.243-06:00I'm an American!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBahEt3RZilsujt4tsiEuddtspw-YgXxaPmMmcI72o-mOWFCtb2aXj2Nkx3p-LIBADek8zRNejouoQsckHXLsfp1MTU799SLIRYUCVUgEGrg8c1Qqdqjj3YMg_4G0Wa8O4Ou5z_NmjMj0/s1600-h/CIMG0406.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBahEt3RZilsujt4tsiEuddtspw-YgXxaPmMmcI72o-mOWFCtb2aXj2Nkx3p-LIBADek8zRNejouoQsckHXLsfp1MTU799SLIRYUCVUgEGrg8c1Qqdqjj3YMg_4G0Wa8O4Ou5z_NmjMj0/s320/CIMG0406.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204562987616055330" border="0" /></a><br />Mom and Dad finally got off their duffs and had me adopted (re-adopted? the adoption recognized?) here in the United States. Bright and early on April 30th, Mom and Dad rousted me out of my slumber and carted me down to the Ft. Worth courthouse for an 8 am appointment. A few repeat-after-me's, raisings-of-the-right-hands, and questions from some dude in a black robe, and it was done! Oh yeah, and the bailiff gave me a stuffed animal and took pictures of all of us. Not a bad deal, really...<br />After all of that, there was some business about social security something or another, so we headed a few blocks over to Taylor St. to take care of that. Then it was off to IHOP for a celebratory breakfast--a great morning, all in all!<br />(Post script from parents: turns out that our lawyer doesn't know whether this process officially makes him an American or not; she referred us to another lawyer or the INS website to find out about this. We did find out from the SSA that a TX birth certificate is enough proof for them to change their designation for Reece from "permanent alien" (or was it "resident?") to "US citizen.")Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07133981581990023922noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-12253028254233574132008-05-27T22:02:00.000-06:002008-05-27T21:08:00.346-06:00Caught in the act!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5k5xd1OjetYzhZw0tJ4KjMq1rcW0JZbu40NtP9TElYTLsI3_Ds10u08zb3CAWgZs-ejnwsVCDtY72QRUE7TsNn_5CGU69idArSU6ZeCd41lkCtG0AzvpoXHvcvAP-DiCRs-fOhwpd-eM/s1600-h/DSC_0070.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5k5xd1OjetYzhZw0tJ4KjMq1rcW0JZbu40NtP9TElYTLsI3_Ds10u08zb3CAWgZs-ejnwsVCDtY72QRUE7TsNn_5CGU69idArSU6ZeCd41lkCtG0AzvpoXHvcvAP-DiCRs-fOhwpd-eM/s320/DSC_0070.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204561587456716802" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />I am awfully curious and will put my grubby little hands on anything within my reach. I do for the most part obey my parent's off-limits areas; however, sometimes, they leave certain doors open and I get to explore "uncharted territory."<br /><br />In this particular photo, I had decided to help myself to Mom's drink by her bedside. After swiping it from the night table, I walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, dumping the drink into my mouth along the way (never mind that I don't know how to drink out of a regular cup). I didn't really care that most of the liquid was making its way onto my shirt and the carpet rather than my mouth...<br /><br />I didn't, however, anticipate the effect of the spilling drink on the linoleum floor of the kitchen. Upon passing into the kitchen, I promptly slipped on the floor and landed on my back, banging my head on the ground. If you look closely, you can see the brown color of Mom's tea on the floor by my head. My bitter crying caught the attention of Daddy, who, upon discovering my pathetic state, added insult to injury by taking a picture of me before tending to my boo-boo!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07133981581990023922noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-60903893299530711322008-05-26T01:08:00.000-06:002008-05-26T00:09:11.405-06:00Beauty and Cutey<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1H0T-brwA-8UmDcoUPLJko5_UYGHDIV01d0cLGN6_Uzc8lO-GDyFT55z6f3DWeR3570L-k-JXEF3hiqBC-dqstouDyrxyRaAwwu50fgvXH-vu68Bf_3myVSpCFjklRE4UPwksueuUcMc/s1600-h/DSC_0036.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1H0T-brwA-8UmDcoUPLJko5_UYGHDIV01d0cLGN6_Uzc8lO-GDyFT55z6f3DWeR3570L-k-JXEF3hiqBC-dqstouDyrxyRaAwwu50fgvXH-vu68Bf_3myVSpCFjklRE4UPwksueuUcMc/s320/DSC_0036.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204558533734969250" border="0" /></a><br />Here are my beautiful wife and handsome baby bathed in the late-day sun of Easter Sunday. Notice Reece's all-natural mohawk! I liked it and wanted to continue to let it grow (harboring secret ambitions for Reece to have Sampson-like powers), but Mommy and Nana put the kabosh on that and reined it in a few weeks later with Reece's first haircut:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVbcQswy3bItvbNrd9jhzpUgE_9AtUyiaa2yBr1ZcQIiKiNoJSvqLCuPoQlHvyYkJ9Xqw5yUoLS7-q3dAe8IoIaWjGbG_XNsg35UYxgEd1URsIRk4fwiv7FpG4LaqEDegfKNOIoR3SjZ8/s1600-h/CIMG0376.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVbcQswy3bItvbNrd9jhzpUgE_9AtUyiaa2yBr1ZcQIiKiNoJSvqLCuPoQlHvyYkJ9Xqw5yUoLS7-q3dAe8IoIaWjGbG_XNsg35UYxgEd1URsIRk4fwiv7FpG4LaqEDegfKNOIoR3SjZ8/s320/CIMG0376.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204559689081171906" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjze_RRxc_ENCNwiellK6rHC_S_vC4czAgMFA0WRp2lpG9rrckdi07TA8nt03FEGk1JMiBzMt0wQwfS_PQ389gH5vevuYb5EOmnvHNiHMI6zlVnv5WRH6pAAY-1vXdqLi_MlD7CYCDjR5M/s1600-h/CIMG0383.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjze_RRxc_ENCNwiellK6rHC_S_vC4czAgMFA0WRp2lpG9rrckdi07TA8nt03FEGk1JMiBzMt0wQwfS_PQ389gH5vevuYb5EOmnvHNiHMI6zlVnv5WRH6pAAY-1vXdqLi_MlD7CYCDjR5M/s320/CIMG0383.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204559852289929170" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIsbuWlvwJ2WRlPdEmLZq2-NCrVdD0pnco2cC5-UGf2pUrnE8svRugWFfKId6xIUFH6p8dLJnYsAgfV4MTtmcWncz0qi_cMbGBnY1GEJRd9VTvhKxZUjxl_MXEbxMQ8EEpomvjDQvxaA8/s1600-h/CIMG0382.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIsbuWlvwJ2WRlPdEmLZq2-NCrVdD0pnco2cC5-UGf2pUrnE8svRugWFfKId6xIUFH6p8dLJnYsAgfV4MTtmcWncz0qi_cMbGBnY1GEJRd9VTvhKxZUjxl_MXEbxMQ8EEpomvjDQvxaA8/s320/CIMG0382.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204559160800194482" border="0" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07133981581990023922noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240515498041855392.post-68791635896560045552008-05-25T17:25:00.005-06:002008-05-26T00:13:21.823-06:00Re-legitimizing ourselves in the blogosphereWe know we've really dropped off the globe of the Ethiopian adoption blogosphere since the arrival of Reece--just a few short bursts of postings months apart since we came home with him last August. To make an analogy: in the world of Ethiopian adoption we have "made it" and are now rich and lazy--we have forgotten our roots!<br /><br />Now that we have decided to party down with other Drew, Carey, and Zoe, as well as other Ethiopian adoptive families this summer in CA (click <a href="http://web.mac.com/careygrange/DrewCareyShow/Blog_Union.html">here</a> for more info) , families who for the most part have met through the blogosphere, we are feeling the pressure to re-legitimize ourselves in the blogosphere. We don't want to be imposters out there!<br /><br />I really would like to write more regularly, but I'm too busy (oh wait, I have only one child and you other bloggers often have 2 or 3 or more!)...well, actually, it's my job that's so demanding (oh wait, Ally and I are both in the school system and we only have 3 months of vacation every year)...ok, I'm just lazy. So here comes another flurry of postings about life with our very own Ethiopian royalty, Ras Besufekade!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07133981581990023922noreply@blogger.com2