Finally Final!

Almost the whole family showed up for the Adoption Ceremony on Monday. It was just too cool. The courts were running a bit behind, so we had some time together in the hall to chat, take pics and let the cousins play.

The judge signing the Decree of Adoption, "...and this child, Zephaniah Henry, shall now belong to Micah and Lynee Lewis as if born to them." My favorite part. My second favorite part of this particular ceremony was the part when the judge asked Zephan if he was hereby willing to accept and reside by the rules of his new Mother & Father. To this he replied, "No want it." When we had Levi's ceremony, he answered with "Yes, Sir."
Such very different boys! Both crack me up.

Inroducing Lewis 4.0, the ultra-cool newest version:

Now, back to the house to PARTY!!

WOOOOHOOOO!!

I just got a call! Merry Christmas to us!! We're finalizing Zephan's adoption THIS MONDAY!!!
Our ceremony will be at 4:00 and we will officially ring in the new year as a legal family.
Thank you, God!! It's just what I wanted.

Merry Christmas!

I hope all of you are enjoying your families today! This season has been so fun for our family.

Here's our ultra-natural Christmas tree ornaments (we went out and grabbed some birds to decorate the tree. They loved it and sang and cooed - it was so pretty) I told Malachi one day that the twin chicks still didn't have names. Malachi's usually the one who names everyone, so he contemplated thoughtfully as he held one of the babies. Then he said, "Well, this one pecks at my hand a lot, so we should call him Little Pecker." He didn't understand my laughter, but took my advice when I recommended another name. He ended up settling on Shade and Shadow for them :)Micah's on Winter break from school and we've been having some much-needed time together. Our church went to the carousel by the river to sing carols and munch cookies and let the kids ride. It was a ton of fun. Even Zephan, who was rather freaked out by the carousel, enjoyed the ride once I found a 2-seater bench for him and I to ride on together, instead of a horse.My niece brought her Mom and Dad, too and she loved riding the horsies. Bree is the opposite of Zephan in the area of new experiences. He melts down and she dives right in. We've also been baking and visiting friends and enjoying Christmas lights and songs. Micah and I even got to go to the movies together. We saw Avatar in 3-D while Great-Gramma Reyna stayed home with the boys and listened to Zephan cry for 3 hours. He DID NOT want to be left that day. But Avatar was FANTASTIC!! It was my first 3-D movie and I was very impressed.

We also got to mutt-sit our favorite (other than Lexx) doggy, Bentley. My boys ADORE this dog and sleep with him when he stays with us. Lexx and him get along great and they enjoy one another. Someday when we get a bit bigger of a place I know I'll pine for a big dog. There's nothing like them.
Well, Merry Christmas to you! I was hoping for the off-chance that the courts would call and tell us that they'd magically fit us in before year's end, but God's in control and I'm trying to be patient.

Enter The Tree

It's Christmastime! As you can see above, we've been downloading Christmas movies (the one my fellas are watching happens to be A Christmas Story - one of my faves). It's also time for the annual finding of the tree! We were disappointed to discover that the farm we usually visit to get our tree is closed during the week. Which was the only time Micah's schedule was un-hoarded by school/work. We really love this place as they have an adorable little tractor-pulled train that takes a scenic route up a mountain and drops you to find the perfect tree. It comes back when you're done and the tree gets loaded onto the caboose and everybody gets another ride down the mountain. Then, as they load your tree for you (major score here) the children are treated to hot coco and cookies. Total cost? $25.
Yeah. They rock.
But this year was almost as fun. We still got a ride on an ATV-pulled cart, and they also had cookies and cider. What was adorable, though, was the shop dog who accompanied us through the forest to the delight of my boys. We're dog-lovers and "McKenna" was a welcome addition to our adventure.

Find just the right one! GO!!
Found it!!



Then it was time to participate in another family tradition: discovering that the tree is, in fact, too big for the space in which it's supposed to fit. Then comes the chin-scratching and moving around of furniture until....it finally fits!

Yay!
So, the living room will stay this way for approximately 12 minutes. You know what kids say when you're caught staring? Well,
I DID take a picture.
So it would last longer.

Let's see. What else. Oh! The twins hatched just a bit earlier than I estimated:

and the boys are quite enjoying them, but once they're weened, their Daddy is going to gain his independence as there seems to be only one thing on his little mind ;)

Not a whole lot new, other than that. Christmas shopping is done. Levi's gifts are especially amusing as he's asked no fewer than 11 times for a princess. EVERY time we pass a Disney Princess item, he's just so impressed. He's so used to (and loves playing with) his brothers' Star Wars guys, I think he just loves the colors and sparkles in contrast to all the black and gray. So, anyway, I bought him Princess Jasmine and Snow White. They're the same size as their other action figures and each come with an extra gown and shoes.
Now, seeing as I'm in charge of the Christmas shopping (yes, that's the reason, isn't it?) I didn't see the need to tell Micah that I bought his son "girl toys". I mean, I didn't keep him apprised of all the other gifts, right? You know, I don't even think he wants to be bothered with every little detail. And, he'll probably be so distracted on Christmas morning that he won't notice, right? And, hey, even if he does, those Star Wars guys need girls to marry, right?
It's only fair!

And it's SO not a big deal.

...and so on.
So, yeah. We'll see how that goes over. If it makes any difference, I also got him the Play Dough set he thought was cool, and a Transformers reel for his View Master.
Well, if I don't get back on here before Christmas, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! Oh, and by the by, Zephan's adoption paperwork is still sitting at the courts waiting for the Adoption Ceremony which they haven't called to schedule yet. It doesn't look like we'll close by the end of the year. Which would have been really nice. But, oh well.
Take a lesson from Brier-Rabbit and stay cool.... until next time :)

The Worst Thing I Ever Did

Well, maybe not the worst, but pretty close. And let me tell you, I will not be making the same mistake again. I knew Levi's hair was getting out of control. It was taking more and more time to get him ready to go, and the tangles were causing too many tears. I asked Levi about a hair cut and he seemed excited. I debated. I sought council. I found a salon catering to ethnic hair needs. And we set his appointment. Then we went in and I told the lady. TOLD her how I adored his curls and how nervous I was to cut them.

She showed us how long it would be if we took off 5 inches, then 4, then 3 (keeping in mind that, when stretched out, his hair WAS 7 inches long). I said I was comfortable with 3. And she began to cut. And I grew worried as I saw chunks of hair fall to the floor.

It was looking waaaay to short by the time she said, "Now we need to blend the sides..." I knew. I knew I would cry. I knew the nearly 2 years of hair growth would be a long time in coming back. That the famous curls were gone. I listened as they said how much older he looked and was sad when they turned him around in the chair so that he could see. His eyes were huge as he asked me if I would buy him some new curlies.
Then she asked if I wanted Zephan's trimmed, too. I hope I didn't say, "NO!!!" as loudly as I think I did. I paid the butcher lady her money, said thank you and left, Levi fingering his short locks.
Now, you may think I'm being too dramatic, but he bounced and giggled his way around this house all day long with those long georgous curls boinging on top of his little head. I've always taken such pleasure in it. Is he still adorable? Absolutely. Does it really matter in the grand scheem of things? Nope. But, I will tell you this: I will never trust another salon (and a fairly expensive one, at that!) with this child's hair. He'll be lucky if I ever cut it again.

Now I'm done complaining. Thank you for listening. Next post will be something filled with Holiday cheer and a better attitude, I promise!!