We Have a Committee Date!!

(drum roll please)...January 10th at 1pm! It's a Thursday. A Thursday that I'll spend wringing my hands and gulping peppermint tea to easy my nervous stomach.

Sheesh, it's like taking a pregnancy test. Except the stupid thing takes 6 weeks to give a result. And instead of peeing on a stick you put a complex family scrapbook together to be judged by a panel of caseworkers. But other than that it's just like taking a pregnancy test.

Also new news is that DHS decided to have Committee for both boys (Tristian and his brother, Eligah. And, yes, that is actually how their names are spelled). So, we would be getting 2 new sons! Our children would be aged 5, 4, 3 and 2. But, as you can see, I tend to get ahead of myself. There are 2 other families that were chosen, as well. Probably really great folks who are just as excited as we are. It so sucks that 2 families have to come away disappointed. That's the worst thing about adopting through foster care, I think. 3 great families are chosen for each case. Only 1 will win adoption rights. The other 2 either write DHS off forever or keep applying for children and get to Committee again. Our worker says that she's never seen a family go to more than 3 Committees before getting placed. I really don't want to go through this twice more but I know we won't give up. We have kids out there who need to come home to us. We will find them.

Belated Thanksgiving Pics

It's been a bit crazy around here (I'll explain next post), I'm admittedly late with posting my favorite Turkey Day moments and even later with wishing you all a blessed Thanksgiving.


But they say, "Better late than never!", so here are some of faces that truly made me thankful on Thanksgiving day:

A boy and his puppy.

Lexx watching the annual dog show that comes on after the parade. He was very concerned about what this groomer was doing to his fellow dog. And, yes, he actually did watch amazing long portions of this competition with ears perked up and eyes wide. He also made funny noises throughout which cracked us up.

These next 2 shots are my boys watching Home Alone. Remember that movie? I had forgotten how ridiculously funny it is to the under-6 population. They laughed their little heads off and I got just as much entertainment by watching them giggle.

The Name Game

We've been playing the name game around here. With the impending Committee date (which our worker assures us is soon) it's beginning to sink in that we may soon have another son (or 2). Now, the question: Tristian is 3 years old. Do we change his name? Our first line of business is to assess if we like the name itself and if it goes well with our other children's'. Nope. Then we move on to the meaning of the name. Do we like it's meaning? "Cry of sorrow". Absolutely not.

So, we've now established that the name is going. I was considering leaving it in, but the whole, "cry of sorrow" thing has me anxious to get it off him.
Now, to The List. The List has been around for ages (the first names on the list were put there by our teen aged selves). The List holds some of the coolest names on the planet, if I do say so myself. Names laying in wait for our children to claim, giving them one of the aforementioned coolest names on the planet. These names are carefully chosen not only for the name itself but for symbolism and meaning. Most are Hebrew.

So! To The List, then! We hold his picture next to The List and begin.
We eventually reach the end of The List. Our potential son still smiling back at us from his spot on the Waiting Children Bulletin. He's not on The List. None of the coolest names on the planet are his. I can't understand this! Surely one of these must suit him! Can we make one fit?
Nope.
None of them are this child.

After days of consternation a few arguments we came across a name that we had never considered before. We hadn't even really liked the name until now, but...it seems right. It sounds different than it ever did before. I went to get his picture and was surprised at the rightness of it. How can you argue with who your (potential) child is? We just looked at his smiling face and said, "Well, look at that. That's him, alright. That's who he is. Huh."

It's a good name and it continues to grow on us as we look up it's meaning.....Yes, that's who he is! It's perfect. Absolutely perfect. That's his name....
one of the coolest names on the planet.

Lexx Gets a Buz

From Mommy: My dog is so strange. He'll be quietly watching the boys play in their room, just laying on the bed. Suddenly something catches hold of him, we don't know what, and he'll explode off the bed and grab one of the boys' favorite possessions. The targeted boy will pop up and pursue the dog who usually takes several laps around the house flying off furniture and skidding across the laminate floors before bursting out the dog door. At this point the boy runs to the sliding door and stares at Lexx, eyebrows knitted together. Lexx stares right back with with the stolen treasure wedged in his mouth. And they stare at one another. The boy may laugh, or in the case of torrential rain, boy may grumble. Finally the boy will find his boots and run outside to reclaim what's rightfully his. By this time the remaining members of the family are there at the door, cheering them both on. Finally Lexx tires and the boy takes his item back into the house. The dog trails after, finds a comfy spot to lay and resumes passively watching both boys play.

Pomeranians are weird.

Another Gold Start Moment...

Mommy: "Solomon, here's your worksheet. The directions say, 'Billy is at the park! Color the things in the picture that rhyme with rat. Then think of another word which rhymes with rat and draw it into the picture.'"

A few minutes later...

Solomon: "Here, Mom, I'm done."

Mommy: "OK, let's see. I see you colored a mat, a cat, a hat and a bat. Real nice! Now, I don't see what you drew, though. Remember, you were supposed to add something into the picture that rhymes with rat, as well?"

Solomon: "Right there - on the boy's arm!"

Mommy: "Oh, uh.... what is that?"

Solomon: "A tat."

Same day, different kid:

Mommy: "E says eh, eh, eh! Like..."

Malachi: "eh-eh-elephant!!"

Mommy: "Good! Can you think of anything else that has the 'eh' sound?"

Malachi: "What the... h-eh-eh-eck!"