Catching Up

Phew! It has been a crazy month! October always seems to be jam-packed with traveling and celebrations and even a short vacation, and this month has followed suit. Here's a quick update on the goings-on in our neck of the woods.

Last weekend we attended our sixth Austin City Limits with good friends. Eric and I have made it an annual trip with Jennifer, one of our closest friends, and this trip proved to be adventurous. We had so much fun and caught some of our favorite bands at the Festival. We'd live in Austin if we could, and maybe one day we will, but right now our roots seem to be growing deeper in Oklahoma. It was lovely to see our best friends Ashley and Ryan Akers and Marcos and Camille Acosta. Had we had a little more time, we would have caught up with the rest of our crew, but we will next weekend when we head to Lubbock for sweet Becca's wedding (more on that later). The weather was good (minus the torrential downpour that struck Saturday afternoon), the food was delicious, and the company was spectacular!

This weekend I'm headed to Fort Worth to celebrate with our good friends Jordon and David. Their wedding is right around the corner, and so the celebrating has begun! Couples' shower this weekend, the bachelor/bachelorette parties are coming up, and then the wedding is in Austin on December 29. It's all so excited, and Eric and I are both thrilled for David and Jordon. Now, if my bridesmaid dress would only get here!

Last but not least, Jennifer and I will trek to Lubbock next weekend to celebrate with Ryan and Becca and the rest of the girls at the Templeton/McPhetridge wedding! I had some fabulous help in finding the perfect dress and gold shoes, and I've seen a sneak peek of Becca in her dress and it's gorgeous. It's going to be a fun weekend, and I'm so glad to have another chance to see all of my best college friends. I think this year might hold the record for the most times we've seen each other since college. I hope this pattern continues!

An update on the adoption front: We are patiently waiting for our approved/signed home study report to come in the mail. Our social worker, Heather Hope, has been so great to work with. With the report ready to go, we have begun compiling the rest of our paperwork. There's so much to do, but it all seems to be coming together. I had a very small pity party recently with how slow the process seems to be but was quickly reminded that someone greater than me is in control, and all things are going just as they should be. Before we know it, we'll be bringing home Baby T!

Home Sweet Home Study, or Babyproofing 101

Photo credit goes to: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=baby+proofing&view=detail&id=A124CF294109AA9BB3402A9DEA7E19F6DD22CD24&first=36

"Ha, babies!" (Tina Fey, "Bossypants")

When it comes to babyproofing the home, there is an endless amount of precaution one can take: socket protectors, cabinet locks, toilet seat locks, doorknob covers, table bumpers, rubber ducky faucet protector, etc., etc., etc. As I worked late into the night, crawling on my hands and knees so that I could, following the advice of the experts (who are the experts anyway?!), view my home from "a child's perspective," I realized we would all be safer bringing children home to padded rooms than the death traps that are our houses. Don't worry; after the brief moment in which I lost complete touch with reality, I called it a night and came back to my senses. As Eric and I have diligently prepared for our home study, I realized that what my mom has always told me is true: With your children, you try your best to protect them; you do what you can, but at the end of the day, it's not in your hands. Honestly, I can't wait for the day that my brilliant son is "taking a bath" in the toilet or attempting to brush our Labradoodle's teeth with his toothbrush, because that will mean he's home with us, safe and sound.

With a TON of help from my mom, Rhenea, we got our house (including the garage, every closet, drawer, cabinet, nook, and cranny) cleaned out, organized, and safe in record time: four days. We worked from sunup to sundown (literally, just ask my mom) and were exhausted but rewarded each day by the prospect of a baby moving in soon. I have been putting off purging closets and drawers for quite some time, and I finally cut ties with many pieces of clothing I have been holding on to for those "what if I'm in this particular situation at this time of year and need to wear a __________," including but not limited to my first "power" suit with shoulder pads Suzanne Sugarbaker would be proud of (If you are unfamiliar with Suzanne Sugarbaker, I suggest you Google "Designing Women" right this instant.); a hot pink broomstick skirt; and the purple dress I wore for my high school graduation...in 2001. After numerous trips to Home Depot/Lowe's, Wal-Mart, Target, and Sonic, we got everything in tip-top shape. There were even a few adventures, including a hornets' nest, a near broken nose, and a mishap with a staple gun, the details of which I will take to my grave.

For those of you who are anticipating (and probably freaking out about, just as I did) a home study, I have some advice: Breathe. I can't count the times my mom, Eric, and our good friends reminded me of this simple, life-sustaining practice--just breathe. With this, coupled with an unending amount of kindness, love, and gracious understanding from those we love most, we did it!

We were extremely blessed to meet our social worker, Heather. If you're an Oklahoman looking for an AMAZING social worker to conduct your home study, I've got the gal for you. The first time I spoke to Heather on the phone, I felt like I was talking to someone I had known my whole life. She was understanding and more than willing to answer my constant barrage of questions. She talked us through the process and really took the time to get to know us (especially during the 4.5 hours she was in our home on Friday). Some people say their social worker knows them better than anyone else, and I absolutely agree; I can't think of anyone better than Heather to guide us through this exciting process.

St. Francis of Assisi said, "Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." This Friday, Eric and I are headed to Dimmitt, Texas, my hometown, to participate in 4th and Bedford Church of Christ's Summer Celebration. The theme of the Celebration is "PUSH": Push yourself beyond a life of complacency and answer God's charge. We have an amazing opportunity to share our story and our plans to travel to the DRC to spread God's Word and bring home our baby boy. We are humbled that James has included us in this opportunity and pray that God will be glorified through our testimony. We are so excited to share our journey and hope to educate others about adoption and the opportunities we have as Christians to ease the suffering of the sad and broken, whether in our hometown or on the other side of the world. Hope to see you all there!

On the Fourth of July

Photo by Eric

"And the smell of the smoke and the lay of the land 

And the feeling of finding one's heart in one's hand

And the tiny tin voice of the radio band singing "Love must stand..." 

Love forever and ever must stand

On the Fourth of July." 

-James Taylor, "On the Fourth of July"

Happy Fourth of July! As I write this, I can hear hundreds (maybe thousands...) of fireworks soaring into the night sky. It's lovely to think of our freedom, of those who have and continue to sacrifice so much for us, including very dear friends and family members. A HUGE thank you to all of you! It's because of you that we can look forward to bringing a child home to this amazing country. 

We had an absolutely lovely weekend with two of my favorite people in the world, Ryan and Ashley. They drove in from Austin on Saturday and stayed until Tuesday morning, when the real world demanded we cut our party short. On Saturday night Jennifer joined us before leaving for Tremaine Dance Workshop at the Gaylord Texan, and so we took a short drive to Okarche to eat at Eischen's. We were able to muscle ourselves a table (which is a little stressful for me, I admit) and had fried chicken and okra. If you haven't been, you absolutely should; you won't be hungry for a week...or at least until the next day, like we were. We visited Tucker's Onion Burgers for supper on Sunday and then went to the Myriad Gardens for the Summer Jazz Concert series. Again, if you haven't gone, you should! The weather was awesome, and the band was really good, especially their cover of Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." Monday we swam and visited the Wedge, which was absolutely delicious; even Ryan said so, and he should know. Overall, it was a fabulous weekend, and I am so glad we were able to spend a few days together, relaxing and reminiscing.

Right now we are preparing for our home study and continuing to compile mounds of paperwork. Our home study is July 27, and even though everyone I've talked to who has gone through it before says, "Hey, don't worry about your home study. Just make sure you (fill in the blank)...," I'm still a little panicked. Okay, A LOT panicked. I've cleaned out almost every drawer, closet, and cabinet, and I'm amazed that a) I've found lots of little things I forgot I was looking for; b) we've collected so much stuff that we might be on the next episode of "Hoarders"; and c) I've managed to "hide" Eric's passport, my birth certificate, and the deed to our home in the most illogically logical place. I'm sure I will find it eventually; I'm sure it's all tucked away safely, right beside my brain.

If you're looking for something to do on Friday night, specifically between 7:00 and 9:00, Eric has a photography show at T, An Urban Teahouse, located at 7518 North May Avenue in Oklahoma City. He has taken some really beautiful photos, and he's working hard right now getting boards cut and photos mounted. I even chipped in for a little bit, until I couldn't handle the feeling of sandpaper a second longer. I am really excited about the work he has chosen to share. The folks at T have been gracious enough to allow him to show, and all proceeds from the show will go toward our adoption. With our home study on the horizon and our dossier near completion (okay, okay, "near" is a relative term, right?), we are getting closer and closer to bringing our little guy home. We don't know him yet, and while we do have a name picked out, for the the time being we are calling him "Baby T," which is apropos, don't you think?   

Photo from http://www.urban-teahouse.com/T_Urban_Teahouse/Home.html

Home Sweet Home Study

Hello! We haven't had much to report lately, but I guess it's time to post that we've found our social worker, and our home study is planned for July 27! We have been planning and working frantically to get things in order for this much-awaited day. I have been scouring sites with tips and tricks for preparing for the home study, and we recently raided the Ikea Home Safety section for socket protectors and cabinet/drawer locks. After a fun evening with our Marriage Mentor group from church (five kids under the age of 10 included), I realized that our house is not yet baby proof!

Other than preparing for the home study, we are right in the middle of "the Great Paper Chase." We are working on compiling our dossier and scheduling doctors' appointments, getting fingerprinted, and praying for sanity. There is so much to accomplish, and our summer schedules are just not allowing the time we need to sit down and focus. I am looking forward to a quiet weekend at home while Eric is in Austin at an Art Educators conference, and my good friends Jennifer and Kalyn have graciously offered to come and help me purge closets and drawers and work on paperwork.

My parents, Gary and Rhenea, came down a few weekends ago for cousins James and Sarah's wedding. We had a lovely time with the Baker side of the family, and we were so happy to celebrate with James and Sarah!

I hope you're all having a wonderful summer!