So worth it

First there was stopping in the 103 degree heat yesterday, after a long day at school, at Kroger to buy the cake. I had both kids and anyone that has to deal with car seats knows my pain of lifting the child, buckling the squirming child while sweating out the wazoo just to unbuckle her in 5 minutes. Anyways, we stopped at Kroger, Goober took all of 10 seconds to pick out his chocolate cake, with oreos and chocolate shavings on top. Then of course we had to go to the bathroom because why on earth would we have used it two seconds ago at our school? So at least 30 minutes at Kroger.
Second there was the stop at Party City, also in the 103 degree heat, also having to undo the carseat buckle, also having to chase down two kids as they tear apart the wig isle. I also had to pry candy away from Ribbit at least 20 times because the poor thing doesn't understand that mommy has to pay for it before you buy it. We finally left with a wig, a mustache and two candy bracelets and 6 candles, and spent a good 30 minutes at Party City.
Third, there was the whole swallowing my lunch whole because I had 15 seconds to eat and get down to Goob's building for his lunch.
Fourth, I forgot my swipe card and had to stand in the 104 degree weather with the huge cake and beat until someone let me in.
Fifth, I got to compromise with 6 and 7 year olds about how big of a piece of cake they could have and whether or not the icing was "white chocolate" or "whip cream" :). I also got to split up a would be fight over who could have the cherry on a certain piece.

BUT, all that was worth it as I heard several children tell Goober "happy gotcha day" and give him hugs. I went to leave the lunchroom, after grabbing all the trash and trying to race out to teach my next class and I heard " MOM". I looked back and Goob put down everything he had in his hands and said " one more hug". He ran to me and gave me a great big bear hug and said " thank you, see ya later". SO WORTH IT!!!!

Tomorrow is our court date and we sign our formal papers. The kids have been our children for so much longer and we have loved them for even longer then that. I'm praying for a sweet spirit for all of us tomorrow...for everything to go smoothly ( we were on the phone even up til tonight with our CPS negotiator). I ask that you also pray that no one will recognize our kids as we have to travel to the city of their birth and that Goober won't recognize anything that will prompt a negative memory.

Regardless of everything,...6 months of paperwork, CPS, AFS, Attorney, Psychiatry, Speech Development and Case worker visits, despite having to write down their every move, despite the sleepness nights, disgusting guest bathroom, toy filled living room, outfits ruined by body fluids (okay, ewww), trips spent to Sea World swimming in peepee infested water, late night trips to Target for must haves, late nights of reading homework with Goob, gobs of money spent on uneaten food, nasty food (aka McDonalds) and everything else that comes with kids......they are and will continue to be WORTH IT!!

Here is the wig we got for crazy hair day. He wanted to look like his Gramps...down to the handlebar mustache. Oh the love he has for Gramps :)

The cake he picked out....I would have made it but there aren't enough hours in the day.

"Gotcha"

He was sooo in love with this cake :)

Eating with his friend Emma, they have been in the same class for two years now. Sweet girl.

His new friend Zane and his crazy hair :)

Sunday Afternoon

I think the only reason I have time to sit down and write today is because I have developed a severe sore throat over the last couple of days and therefore the kids are plopped down in front of the boob tube. They went to church this morning with Adam but I stayed behind...tried to get into an Urgent Care just to wait 30 minutes for them to even give me a stack of paperwork to fill out..i gave up, went to Walgreens, came home and slept.

We have been super busy lately though and I have been meaning to record some of the hilarious things that have come out of Goober's mouth. First of all he got a STICKER on Friday....HALLELUJAH!!!!!  We went to a sunday school potluck dinner that night and then to the seminary for the fall kick off. The kids played in bounce houses and got their faces painted. We didn't get home until around 9:30. When I picked Ribbit up at preschool I watched her for a minute before I went in and she was sitting in the last chair in a line of chairs saying " All Aboard"...super cute

Saturday we went to a Scrapbook Garage Sale ( the best hour of my life) and momma loaded up on some stock. Goob helped me dig and would fit into tight spaces to tell me what things were....it was a bit crowded!  Then we went to Sonic close to my school to help the girls basketball team raise money for their upcoming tournaments. Everyone loved seeing the kids there and Goob's friend was there so he ate part of the time with them.

I got the kids some stamps at the scrapbook sale, so after Ribbits nap we let them go to town. I turned my back for one minute and when I looked back Ribbit had stamped her chest and her chin and was going to town on the rest of her body.We just let her do it because a) it kept her happy and quiet while I got dinner together and b) it was water soluable ink. Goob had a blast watching her do it too!

Now for documentation of my funny funny son...
He was looking for a compass since he has been learning about them in school. He said "mom, what color is dad's compass?". I said " I don't really know". and he said " you mean you have been married for 4 years and don't know what color compass he has?"

Next, for dinner last night Adam and I had crab legs while the kids had grilled cheese. Goob told us how gross we were the whole dinner until we finally convinced him to try some crab. He took a bite and said " well, if it were french crab, I may like it".

After church today the kids and Adam went out and got us lunch. They brought me home some soup and Goober wanted to taste it. I let him and he said "i think I know how they make this, they put water, apples, bananas and noodles in it"...genius :)

1st Grade is Hard

Goob's transition to first grade has been anything but easy. He no longer has a bathroom in his classroom but instead gets to walk down the hall and go with other boys----this is a problem. He also has to read, do math, spelling, phonics and scripture memory every night-----this is a time filler and a problem. He also is going to officially be a Harvell next Wednesday and is having mixed feelings-----creating meltdowns for us at unexpected times and putting him on edge at school.

Therefore, we haven't been getting stickers for good behavior this week or last. As a mom it kills me to see the defeated look in his eyes every day when he gets to my classroom. I just want to walk over and tell his teachers "really, he has to be good ALL day long, I can't even be good ALL day long.....give him a stinkin break".      Now you see why I don't teach 1st grade right?

I also found out today the reason he kicked a little girl earlier this week. She told him that he was an orphan.........to be honest, I would have knocked her out myself. I understand that 6 year olds know nothing about adoption but way to squash his little heart, during an already sensitive time. This encouraged me to speak to all of the other mothers and his teacher today at a meeting. Goober wants me to bring in cupcakes next Tuesday to school to celebrate his "gotcha day" but he wants me to explain adoption to everyone. He says the kids don't think its a good thing and he is nervous. Each mom was so great to assure me that they will make sure their child knows that this is a happy day for Goob and to be joyful for him.

He has also been giving away the Honduran money he got from his grandparents. I let him start taking his wallet to school this week--it makes him feel like a big guy. Come to find out he is taking and giving out wads of money to his classmates. After everything else we have dealt with this week, when I found that out I just scooped him up and told him " Goober, I am so proud of you for sharing"...that got a laugh out of him and the other moms....I figured I had to find the good in him because I know there is so much of it there and I know that sharing that money was done with good intentions.

Its almost a step back though for us.  We are carrying out punishments that come with misbehaving at school, because he needs to obey authority no matter what..but boy does it ache when you have read his past history and can see direct connections and are steadily trying to undo 6 years of a crappy life that was unfairly dealt to him.

My prayer for Goober is that he will come to see that he is a sinner and that through all of this he needs Christ. I hope that he will look back over the last three weeks and see a mom and dad who tried to show him unfailing, unconditional love that mirrors what we are shown as Christians. Lately, my heart has been aching for Goob and that has led to many good discussions between the two of us on the way home about how our actions mirror our heart and how everytime we sin we are outside of the safety net of God and he hurts for us to come back.

Happy Birthday Gramps

We have been going 90 to nothing lately.
This past weekend we hosted a dinner for some people that we had met in Israel who had recently moved to Texas. Then last night Goober and I stayed at school until 9:30 for Mini School night. He was a trooper and we had a lot of fun together in between the end of school and the beginning of Mini School.
However, this post is not about us but to say Happy Birthday to my Daddy!!!!
Last night Goob called him and very sweetly told him how much he loved him and that he wished he could see him. Then Goob proceeded to tell my dad that he knew how old he was and he was only off by one year. My dad started in on this very sweet spill about he didn't care how old he was because all that mattered is that he got to live long enough to see Adam and I get two beautiful children whom he loves very much. Goob thought about that for about 1.5 seconds and said " yeah, but do you still have your Harley???"...I about fell out. Leave it to the 7 year old to ruin a sweet sweet moment. The rest of the conversation was based around their next Harley ride together, their next fishing trip together, how they are going to get Goober a leather vest to ride in. Then Goob said "ok gramps, we will see you in 2 weeks, we have a secret for you, we are paying for you to go on a cruise with us".....apparently its a secret from everyone b/c we aren't headed towards their house until Thanksgiving and we are looking at cruises for Christmas :)....wishful thinking I guess :).
I love you Daddy...thanks for being the best Dad and the best Gramps to my kids. See you soon (but not in two weeks :))

Cooking

Ribbit's favorite thing to do these days is "cooking mommy cooking". She got a play kitchen from my parents for her birthday and she cooks everything...pillows, stuffed animals, the mail, etc. She tells cooking night night and bye bye when we leave. She gets extremely upset if you move her stool that allows her to reach the microwave too...just ask Goob, he has experienced her wrath. Here is some footage of her cooking one night.
Oh, and the first video is just her telling me that she has a stinky.....yeah, potty training isn't over yet :)

Goober and Ribbit

For security reasons we will now be referring to E as Goober and B as Ribbit.
We asked Goober to help us pick out his pseudo name and he gave me this list in this order : Poophead, Fartface, Big Dad, Spongebob and of course Uncle Chris. B is Ribbit because she sleeps with three stuffed frogs every night and is extremely upset if even one goes missing,
I should have done this a lot earlier, especially considering our unique situation. We aren't in any sort of danger and we aren't extremely worried but since we took appropriate measures on facebook we figured that should carry over to the blog.
I will still post pictures and videos as those are not searchable without captions!

Enough of that. Goober is learning a lot in first grade and therefore has a lot of homework, most of which he does while still at school waiting for me to finish up in my class. He has read three books to us every night and is getting better and better at sounding words out. He still gets frustrated at himself for not being perfect but we are working on that.

Ribbit has started asking us to watch "moomies"-movies. She is finally able to sit still longer than 5 minutes but only for Dora and Baby Faith. She still makes the best faces and makes us laugh constantly. She is even putting together small sentences like " mommy, no like it" ( i hear that at least 10 times at every meal ). She tells us all the time that Adam is "my daddy, no kiss :)".

Mom, thats what supposed to happen!

Since I couldn't form a decent sentence if I tried (lack of sleep, busy week of art classes) I will let these sweet sweet videos do the talking......Goober and I have watched these several times and crack up everytime.

And not to leave sweet Ribbit out....

this was taken early one morning before going to school...she loves to go see her friends!

Tae Kwon Do

Goober has just been saying and doing the funniest things lately.
He comes up to my classroom on Tues/Thurs and waits for me to finish teaching since his school gets out earlier than mine. Last year he did just fine and entertained himself behind my desk. Well this year he is ready for some attention.
First let me tell you that he thinks he is a man. He has been begging us to let him wear deodorant and wife beaters (those white tank tops looking things for boys). We have been declining both of those requests. But, when Goober and I went to Wal Mart the other night to get him some correct (i'm a horrible uniform mom) uniform socks he saw the tank tops and started pleading for them. I said no at least 3 times and he finally said " mom, you won't let me wear deodorant and you won't let me have these and mom I am a man!!!". I laughed so hard and grabbed a pack of those stupid little cheap tank tops.
So there you have it, Goober now wears a little tank top underneath his school polo shirt every day. He came into my classroom on Thursday and immediately went to my desk chair ( I was teaching up front). About 2 minutes later I hear all of my 7th graders laughing and look up to see that Goober has stripped down to his tank top, shorts and socks....has put one of my headbands around his forehead (picture a sweat band) and is standing in my desk chair looking out over the whole class.
Then right before the bell rang he came over and started putting his feet up on one of my 7th grade girls desks ( he knows her from last year). I asked him what he was doing and he said in a really macho voice "just stretching for tae kwon do"....HA

So speaking of Tae Kwon Do...here are some pictures and videos...that class is going well so far and he hasn't tried to use any moves on Ribbit yet!

He is still not sure of all the Korean commands....watch those hips :)

Yeah, he is totally cheating...but he is a cute cheater and he said he didn't know how to do it correctly....his teacher made him re-do it :)

And here are some more of him warming up...he really does try his hardest....and he is really concerned about his tae kwon do suit looking just right!!!...oh, and he pronounces it Twi Kwon Dough---he is picking up my accent and its starting to become really noticeable and really really cute...especially how he says his new last name....Harvell....its about 5 syllables long!

Family of Five

Did that title get your attention? Well, it almost happened. Our adoption coordinator who allowed us to get Ribbit and Goober so quickly called on Friday. They had an 11 day old Hispanic baby boy who needed a home that night and we were first pick. Adam and I had very little time to make a decision. We talked very calmly and tried to think about our kids first. In the end we decided that right now would not be a good time to bring in a baby, or any other child. We want to give Goober and Eli ample time to be Harvells and to see how we do things, including birthdays, christmas, thanksgiving,etc. I hurt for that baby but our coordinator did let me know that the baby had been taken by a family from our agency (everyone wants baby so I knew he would find a home). She also told us that we were on her short list of families to call for these type of situations...which is great...we want more kids and since we aren't used to having a long wait or transition period, we really don't know what we are missing :). Sooooo, needless to say I burned up a lot of categories there within a 20 minute period :)

We are having a yardsale next weekend, shhhhh...dont' tell Adam :). We need to get rid of some stuff before attempting to move closer to my school. I went through all of the kids clothes and there was a ton that they have outgrown....however, I will not part with the outfit that they both came to us in and the outfits they had on in the pictures we were first sent of them. I will probably keep those for forever just to remember that very special week in our lives. I'm also keeping some clothes that are in almost brand new condition to either give away or keep (since our family will expand eventually). Everything else is up for sell....Goober was super cute helping me to decide what to keep and sale. He would make a horrid face at the shirts he didn't like and make a comment like "ewww" or "never". He is so fashionable. Some things though he would say "What do you think mom"....that made my day!

Today I had the kids to myself...Adam took a job with a friend to make some extra cash. Anyways we went to Chic Fil A for lunch and the kids played for an entire hour in the play area. Goober instantly became friends with a little boy there and I heard him tell him that his name was "Michael".....he loves loves loves his new name and I am thrilled...I didn't correct him or ask him why he told that boy that.
When we were leaving I said "guys, come on" ...and everything since then that has come out of Ribbit's mouth has been followed with a "come onnnnnnn".

Here are some recent pictures....from the weekend when my parents visited. They are pretty good! Ribbit didn't want anyone to hold her but Papa so that is why she is making the mad face in one and why my dad is in the other one with us!

Why I love our school

I just wanted to write down some thoughts that convey why I love my job. First of all, it was a very hard decision for Adam and I to make over which teaching job to take. I had offers from both public and private schools. The public school offered me more money and the private school offered me a chance to include my faith in the curriculum. It really came down to where did I want my kids going and that is why I chose private. Turns out the pay is not that bad especially when you consider that I get two stipends for my kids to attend here and a good benefits package. But, there are three other huge reasons that I love my work place.
1. People matter-One of my good friends, the drama teacher here, adopted three beautiful Hispanic girls the day before our inservice started. She was overwhelmed, to put it lightly. She not only had become a mom to three overnight, but she also had syllabi to write, lessons to plan, and a bajillion other things that go along with the beginning of the school year. She also had to get her girls enrolled at our school, buy them uniforms, and don't forget all the paperwork and meetings that go along with adoption. So, during our first inservice meeting she realized that she didn't have the paperwork she needed and started crying--just pure exhaustion. Immediately our school head ( who was leading the meeting) stopped and we all jumped up and surrounded and her and started praying for her. We missed a good portion of our meeting and just let her talk to us and tell us what she needed from us. I knew entirely how she was feeling and thanked God that Eli and Bre came to us a)during snow days, (b) in the middle of the year and c) at a good time to take maternity days. No one cared that we didn't get to everything we needed to cover that day and our school head cried along with that teacher reminding her that we care more about God's children than we do about agendas.
2. Student-Teacher Relationships-I have absolutely loved coming back to teach and already knowing 90% of the students in my class. Its like going to a big reunion and being excited to see every single face. I couldn't wait to hug every single one of my 7th grade girls. They had so much to tell me and let me know just how sad they were to not have me for bible this year. One of them told me that she went around and told the new 7th grade girls two things...1)they had an awesome bible teacher this year ;), and 2) that if they wanted to get me off subject just ask me about my kids :)....haha..so true.
3. High Expectations/Rigor-Our school is very very competitive. Goober is learning French, Spanish and German this year. When you get into 5th grade you start Latin and pick up another language in Rhetoric school. We have a 100% rate of every senior leaving our school and graduating college on some kind of scholarship. We demand rigorious curriculum out of our kids and there are high character standards that must be exemplified as well. We spend 1/2 of all of our inservices discussing what is means to be a classical, college preparatory bible based school. We read the classical books and philisophical books as a whole staff so that we can join in on the great conversation. I love that my Goober is getting this kind of education and that I am part of training up students who will enter the workforce as CEO's, Surgeons, Leaders, Teachers, etc....all who have a distinctive christian worldview!

Old People

Yesterday on the way home from school Goober gave me some sound advice.
"Mom, watch out because when your teeth start feeling out then you know that you are old"

"Mom, when I am 14 can I stay up until 9:00? You and dad stay up later and seem okay"

"Mom, when you are old you can't climb trees so all you can do is watch TV"

Most of that came out as one long sentence but I could tell that he been thinking about it for a long time. He says that "reading in his mind" is getting easier and that he re-read the tractor book during reading time.

When I picked Ribbit up today she dropped her paintbrush and yelled " Hi Mommy, Bye Friends"....bwa hahaha, she is a hoot. She wore her bow all day yesterday which is a huge deal!! She gets real excited when we tell her that she is going to school in the morning and is very cooperative.

Goober 1st day of 1st grade

Today was a busy busy busy day for everyone in our family!!!!
Goober started first grade today and I was really worried. He got mad at me on the way to school because I got him a large Sprite at McDonalds, not a medium one as he requested. I knew I would need a sweet tea to get through today and I always get him a drink...he normally drinks it after school too. So needless to say, he got a few " get over its, and move ons" from mom. He walked straight to his class though and immediately smiled. His teacher, Mrs. Stewart helped him get started and when I went to give him a kiss he said " bye mom" and dodged it :). I still got one though!!!
The minute he got to my class after school he showed me his homework ( he was proud to finally have homework), his sticker for good behavior and his empty lunchbox. He did his homework in about 5 minutes and was super proud of himself. He told me that he sits at a table with a girl named Payton and she is 6. He said he is the oldest in his class and that he ate most of his lunch but didn't like the jelly in his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
He then told me that they do "reading in their minds" in 1st grade. He said it was weird because he had never "read in his mind" just out loud :). He said that he spent a lot of time trying to figure out a word and that he actually started to sweat while doing so. When I asked him what word it was he said "tractor" and that he should have know because it was  a tractor book. Just the way he told me everything and how excited he was kept me laughing.

Ribbit and Dad also got a lot done today, she had her 2 year old check-up and the doctor told Adam that it was the best one she had ever done. She said that Ribbit is very happy (duh) and that her vocabulary is superb.  She is in love with her kitchen from CC and Gramps and tonight when we started to put her to bed she told every part of her kitchen bye bye and that she loved them :). She's also pretty fond of her Mr. Potato Head doll and likes to wear his glasses.

I taught all day long today, still not ready for the school year to begin :). We raced home after school to get Goober to tae kwon do. When he came home from that he had to read 4 books to get caught up on the summer reading log that I had no clue about....im not surprised. He read all 4 of them in less than 15 minutes and went right to bed.

Another adoption milestone

Today was a good day, soo good it brought tears.
Today we went to the Department of Children Services for Step #1 towards the finalization of our adoption that will consummate on August 31st. Today was like a big hug for Adam and I. Our AFS worker was there and she just adores our kids. Our CPS worker was there, who again told everyone how far we had come and told everyone how much we had grown and the great things she had seen out of Ribbit and Goober. A big wig CPS worker was there to give us definitions, medicaid info, explain what will happen if and when we leave Texas and so forth. A surprise visitor greeted us when we got there and recognized Goober immediately. It was his old caseworker. As an adoption parent (probably any parent) you tend to freak out when a stranger recognizes your kid but you don't recognize them. She had tears in her eyes and asked him if he remembered her. When he said No, she said "good". She has been with the kids since day one and wanted to come meet their family and see their happy ending.
During the meeting I was on the verge of tears. We learned more information about their birth mother and potential father(s), much more than I wanted to know. I eventually asked them to stop talking about her because a) i couldn't handle thinking of what my kids have been through b) i won't be lying when I tell Goober that I don't much and c) today was supposed to be a happy day. They understood but I also told them if and when Goober wanted to know or if genetic problems started to arise then we would call, otherwise we have all the history we want and we have their written history that we have already read and they printed out the rest of it for us to read when we can.
The kids did great during the meeting, Goober found a tablecloth and built a fort in the back of the conference room....shocking right. They smiled everytime Ribbit called out "mommy" or "daddy" and would run to show us something. Goober told them the new middle name he chose and everyone thought it was great that he was honoring his dad.

To be honest, I was nervous about today. Last week when I got onto Goober he looked at me said " I dont want to be adopted, I want to live with my mom". As I pulled the knife out of my heart, I took a deep breath and asked God for direction. I then turned to him and said " You will always love and miss her, I think that's great, it means that you are a loyal person. However, when you say that to me out of anger it doesn't sound genuine and it becomes disrespectful because you are trying to hurt mom. I love you to much and I know you love me and that in your heart you don't want to hurt me". About 10 minutes later he came and found me and said " well I don't want to live with her, I just miss her". We had our usual cry time about her and how good of a mom she was and how she just made some bad choices. I think he is finally processing alot of things surrounding the adoption and its becoming very very real to him. I also think he is a 7 year old boy who knows how to push his moms buttons. I told him that even bio kids sometimes tell their birth parents that they don't want to live with them ....but only in anger and only to hurt their feelings. He hasn't said it since and like I said, he was in such a good mood today and all we talked about was adoption!!!

We are well on our way to becoming an "official" family of 4!!!!! In our hearts we already are and have been since Feb. 6th though!

Our little ballerina

After Ribbit's party my mom and I wanted to dress Ribbit up in her tutu and get some pictures. I always cringe when I look in her closet because I know that many of those outfits will be too little for her soon, so I wanted pictures!!! My parents are leaving in the morning and Goober and his Pawpaw have spent lots and lots of time having good talks while they were fishing right beside our house. They found a pond ( don't ask me where ) and they actually caught a fish today. He lasted for all of 3-4 hours in our home and then went on to the big fish pond in the sky. My dad took him outside in this crazy heat for several hours at a time to their fishing hole....im pretty sure they are best buds. My mom has been a big help, keeping my kitchen clean, getting the kids showered and dressed and taking me to Sam's today to get a whole bunch of lunch food for Goober!

Here are some pictures from Ribbit's ballerina photo shoot....CUTE ALERT!!

Mom and Dad Date

We really had a great time at the Rangers game....THANK YOU SWEET STUDENT AND PARENT for allowing us to watch it from your suite!!! It was even better since the Rangers were down 7-2 and came back to win it in the 11th inning!!!!!!!!

Love you Adam, thanks for putting in a looongg night with me after a long day of being a daddy!

Ribbit's Animal Noises

Playing catch up with videos.....Here is Ribbit making animal noises.

Ribbit's Birthday

This may be a long or short post depending on how long Ribbit naps. We just finished up her birthday party and we are exhausted...apparently Ribbit is too!
We had over several couples from our church, two with little girls Ribbit's age. We had an Elmo themed party as that is her new favorite cartoon character. She dug into her cupcake, mainly eating the icing. She wasn't sure what to do when people sang to her so she just looked around. Goober helped her blow out her candles as her little breaths wouldn't do it. She did pretty well opening gifts, took her time and played with each one a little. She got a Mr. Potato Head, A Doctors Kit, several bows, several stuffed animals, a busy bag activity, a mini kitchen, mini food and cooking pots, a tickle me elmo and a Dora bathtime castle. She also got some puzzles, a drawing board, a bag with a B on it and probably something else that I am forgetting. Everyone left around 1sh and we put her right down for a nap...ahh, good planning!!!! I am a little sad that she is already two but I can't wait to see her grow up and charm the pants off of even more people. She did say Thank You to each person after she opened their gift but she was a little freaked out when the two little girls tried to give her bye bye hugs.
When I picked her up from pre-school on Thursday she yelled " bye bye friends" so I'm thinking that she likes being there. Goober and I have been at the school for long days this week getting my room ready. My parents are here and they have had the kids ever since they got here. It worked out very well. Adam and I had a going away party to attend on Thursday so they took Goober to Tae Kwon Do and put the kids to bed. Then on Friday night a parent from our school gave their suite in the Rangers stadium to several teachers to use during the Rangers vs. Indians game. I didn't tell Adam about it so right before we had to leave I handed him a new Ranger shirt and said get in the car we got a game to catch. The suite was soo nice and it was awesome to watch the game in air conditioning...especially with this weather. We felt "wealthy" for a night :). I really wanted to spend some alone time with him while my parents are here because we rarely can find a babysitter and frankly my parents didn't come here to see me :).
Ill upload pictures and videos from Ribbit's birthday later on tonight but here is a video that you may need a kleenex for.
In Adam's words " the whole Sea World trip was worth it just to see the look on Ribbit's face when he was watching the whale". You have to wait until the very end of the video!!!

BUSY

I am back at inservice this week which means I am going 90 to nothing, putting in right at 12 hour days and therefore making me sleepy and overwhelmed.
Fortunately my parents are on their way to Texas right now and they are eagerly waiting to get their hands on my kids. I am glad that they will get some of the attention back that mom has not been able to give them this week.
Ribbit started pre-school on Monday and so far loves it. When I picked her up on Monday she said " swing"....a new word for her. She also learned fence and said it about every fence we passed on the way home. Wednesdays word was "friend"...everyone was her friend but apparently she doesn't like them because I got a strong " NO" to that question. We took cupcakes for her today to preschool since she won't be going tomorrow on her actual birthday.
I am a little sad that she is turning 2, and I can't believe that I am a mom of a seven year old either.
Speaking of my seven year old he has been saying some super sweet things lately. He has been saying " i love you too" to Adam instead of just "ok" when Adam says I love you. He also has been hugging me a lot more when I am standing and this morning he asked me "mom, do you still love me even though i lie?". I about melted. I promised him that I would love him regardless but that I know his little heart was not meant for lying. I am pretty sure that our family bible time brought that question up but I hate that he even asks me whether or not my love is unconditional.
He met his new first grade teacher yesterday and I think they are a good fit!!!!
More videos and pictures soon, probably not until after this crazy weekend filled with two parties, a surprise for Adam (hehehe :)), family visits, church, and the first day of school on Tuesday!!!

Pray for us---we go finalize some more things on Monday for the adoption...(names, medical insurance, kids health, review last 6 months).....they are pushing us to be completely official by the end of August. Our CPS worker told Adam in a meeting on Tuesday that she was so proud of us. She said that she was worried at first because we are young and have never fostered but that she had seen great things out of Goober and Ribbit. That was soooo nice for us to hear because CPS honestly intimidates the snot out of me!!!

First day of Preschool

Ribbit started preschool today! She did just great. She walked right into her classroom and said " bye bye mommy" and gave Goober a hug. Her teachers said that she was really happy all day and played well. They said that she cleaned up very methodically and that they attempted to have her pee pee in the potty twice. We really like this preschool, they send you email messages throughout the day and send you pictures.

Goober went to school with me today so that I could go get some work done and so that Dad could go to work. He played well in my classroom, glazed some ceramic pieces and was overall pretty good. We got home though and it was a different story. I honestly thought to myself several times throughout the evening " where did this kid come from". I think our family bible time did some good though because right after he got out of the shower he came and hugged me and said " sorry mom for.......". No one even told him to do that, I was a very proud momma.

A video of Ribbit singing and Goober teaching her the peace sign...

A video of Goober feeding dolphins at Sea World!!!

More Sea World pictures

"Mommy, Elmo"---Ribbit's caption as I publish this picture

"It looks like a fat sea lion"-Goober's caption for this picture

Family picture in front of the large sealion/sea cow thing.

First Shamu show on the first night we were there.

" That was cool"-Goober's caption

Goober feeding the dolphins on Wed. morning...wasn't scared a bit.

Picture in front of the large tank that we sat and looked in for quite some time.

 Ribbit yelling " mommy, hold you"....she is quite demanding these days :).

So since getting back from Sea World we have majorly crashed. The house is destroyed, the dishes are dirty and our main focus has been on (a)getting paperwork ready for our courtdate on Monday, August 8th, (b) getting the paperwork ready for Ribbit to start preschool on Monday, August 1st, (c) getting things together for Ribbit's 2nd birthday party and (d) mom getting ready for school to start on August 9th.....so in other words we aren't busy at all :).