Love Is Thicker Than Water

Image taken from the Internet.

 i carry your heart with me

(i carry it in my heart)

i am never without it

(anywhere i go you go, my dear: and whatever is done by only me is

your doing, my darling)

     I fear no fate

(for you are my fate, my sweet)

i want no world

(for beautiful you are my world, my true)

and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

-e.e. cummings

 
I have heard about the dark days of adoption. Naively, I thought I was immune; I was wrong, hence the long absence from our blog. Just when the days seemed darkest and I was uncertain as to whether I could persevere, Eric and I were given a gift by two families we both hold near and dear to our hearts, and we are now and forever will be grateful.

Thursday night, we agreed to meet our good friends Blake Behrens and Kyle Simmons for a quick photo opp for The Okay See. (Shameless plug: If you've not yet visited The Okay See, you absolutely should and may do so here:  http://www.theokaysee.com/). I was praying the photo would be quick, because I was cranky that I had not yet been allowed to change in to my pajamas and slippers. We walked in to the garage, and Kyle, a fellow writer, or wordsmith, as he prefers, began to read this:

Adopt the mindset that if we try to change the world of an individual, 

together we might actually change the World.

For every shirt we sell we will donate the majority of our proceeds to families trying to adopt. 

This shirt will help Eric & Kylie Lyons bring little Joah home 

from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Love IS Thicker than Water.

I was confused and uncertain and momentarily lost touch with reality. Blake then unveiled our design--OUR design--the one that we have been thinking about and brainstorming and researching. Blake and Kyle then told us the story behind their inspiration and how sneaky they had been to keep the secret from Eric during printing nights. When Blake held up our first printed t-shirt, the floodgates opened, and the cry I'd needed to happen for a while began...and didn't stop.

 

There are not words that can express the love we have for Blake and Kyle, their sweet wives, and their beautiful children. Eric and I have both been blessed in our friendships with the Behrens and the Simmons, but neither of us could have ever anticipated their abilities to show us God's love in such a way. "Love Is Thicker Than Water" is the foundation upon which we will strive to bless others who are adopting, because, to be honest, adoption is not cheap. Just as mothers and fathers experience pregnancies and births of children, adoptive families experience trials and periods of waiting and financial obligations, and we understand that. Blake and Kyle have helped us realize our hope of blessing others monetarily in order to bring more babies home to deserving families. The Okay See is now selling our shirt and poster prints, and the proceeds will help us bring Baby T home. The shirts and prints are available at www.theokaysee.com and are amazing! In the future, The Okay See will continue to bless others going through the adoption process through design and printing. Blake and Kyle, we love you.

Update on Our Process: We are anxiously awaiting for I-600a approval. The I-600a petitions for approval for the advance adoption of an orphan. We've signed the form and were fingerprinted. Fingerprinting was a bit intimidating. Security is comparable to that of an airport, and as we inched toward the front door, I realized that, somehow, I had picked up my dad's pocket knife, a sizable pair of toenail clippers, and some cuticle scissors and shoved them in my purse. I ran to the car and dumped out my purse, then took in only the essentials, just to be safe. We made it through sans pat down and were soon waiting for our fingerprinting. I've never been good about wearing gloves when cleaning, and during cold and flu season I do wash my hands a little more than usual, but we had a difficult time getting a print because my hands are dry (read: sandpaper). Fortunately, the woman who worked with me was very patient and even offered her home remedy for dry hands: Vaseline and tube socks while sleeping. Although I have not tried it yet, I have been moisturizing a LOT! We know that our paperwork is being processed, as we were asked to send additional information this week. Fingers crossed that we'll be processed and approved quickly. As soon as we receive approval, paperwork will be complete in the United States and will be sent on to the Democratic Republic of Congo for processing. Our current modus operandi appears to be "hurry up and wait."

Update on Life: I am not sure why our lives seem so crazy, but we continue to exist in the whirlwind to which we have grown accustomed. We recently took our annual trip to Beaver's Bend and spent a long weekend together in a cabin in the woods. As usual, we had a wonderful time and rested and caught up with each other. I realized that Eric is a better cook than I, we are really good at sleeping, and the key to laughter is an episode of "Honey Boo Boo Child" and an hour in the hot tub. We had a great time! The Fancher clan happened to be in town for the weekend as well, so we had supper with them, followed by a campfire! 

Eric is in the middle of his first year as the president of the Oklahoma Art Educators Association, and it's keeping him pretty busy. He and Blake and Kyle have formed The Okay See, a printing company, purchased a screen-printing press, and if Eric is not at home, he is at Blake's printing in the garage. Between that and Thunder games, he's very busy. I think he's finding ways to keep busy while I spend time between working and attending classes at OU, putting in counseling hours at my internship in Moore, and traveling. I am off to Las Vegas on Sunday for a work conference. I've not been to Vegas, and I'm getting more and more excited as Sunday gets closer.

Last weekend, I drove to Austin and spent some time with some of my best friends. We celebrated the upcoming birth of Baby Sofia, who will be the newest baby in the crew, and showered Camille with love and goodies. Now that it is February, we are on the final countdown and are continuing to pray for a happy, healthy baby and a safe, easy delivery. We weren't quite complete and missed Emily and Mary Beth. It won't be long before we are Birmingham bound for Mary Beth's wedding! I love these sweet girls:

Top Row: Becca, Jennifer, & Lindsay. Second Row: Ashley, Kylie, Camille and Baby Sofia, and Rosalyn

I hope your February is off to a wonderful start. I'm ready for warmer weather and spring flowers!

Lots of Love,

Eric and Kylie