WAIT LIST!!!

I just got an email from our case worker letting me know that our home study has been processed, and that we were officially placed on the wait list on August 15!!!! So we have been waiting a week and didn't even know it!

So, the next big adoption news I'll have will be in 4-6 months or so...introducing you to the child we've been matched with!!

God is good.

All About Brody

I have so many pictures to share of Brody, and so much to talk about out, I decided to do a whole post just about him!

I just have to say how incredibly proud I am of him. This boy makes my heart swell every day with little things his says and does. Most recently, it's been things concerning our adoption. I just can't get over how excited he is. And how involved he wants to be. As a 5 year old boy, he would have every right to be a little less than thrilled about the whole thing. Another sibling to share his mommy and daddy with. Another sibling to share his space and belongings with. But he has accepted it without hesitation and is embracing it with his whole heart. And he truly expresses joy when he talks about his new little brother or sister.

I mean, have you ever seen a little boy so excited about paperwork?! :)

He humbles me daily in the way he continually saves his money, finds spare change, asks to do little odd jobs for chore money...and he ALWAYS opens the lid on his adoption bucket and drops in inside.  One of his favorite things to do right now is to go with his daddy to the bank to cash that change in and find out how much he has raised to help bring his baby brother or sister home.

He even sometimes asks me things like...Who is going to take care of our baby until we get there? Why do we have to wait so long? It provides great opportunities for us to talk to him about trusting in God's timing and God's plans. I'm so thankful for his little heart. And his love for this child that he doesn't even know.

Brody has also been super busy getting ready to start Kindergarten!! He has been looking so forward to it all summer. Last week his school had orientation, where he got to meet his teacher and visit his classroom. He is at the same school as Brooke this year too, which he thinks is SUPER awesome!

My cute little Kindergartener and big 3rd grader at Orientation

Brooke loves being able to tell people that her nephew is at her school now :)

A few days later, we had his Kindergarten popsicle party!!  He really was excited, even though this picture doesn't show it.

He took his supplies, ate popsicles, and visited with his teacher and friends again.

Little brother really wants to go to big school with Brody

Brody's teacher, Mrs. Jackson

His desk!

Then, before we knew it, it was the first day of school! His school always has a theme for the year, and they go all out for the first day. This year is a western theme, so they encouraged the kids to dress accordingly! Brody was thrilled!

Walking to school, holding his Brookie's hand. They had country music playing, the staff was all decked out in their cowboy gear, there was a carriage out front, and one of Brooke's friends even had her horse there for all of the kids to see!

He went in just fine and didn't get upset, but I could tell he was a little nervous once he saw all of those big kids walking around. And he looked so tiny! But I was proud of how brave he was, and I waited until I got to my car to cry a little ;)

This was him coming out of school that afternoon. My cute boy!

And we let him pick where he wanted to go for dinner that night. He chose McDonalds!

Today was his 2nd day, and it was much easier! He wasn't the least bit nervous, and I felt much better about leaving him!

I waited to do his Kindergarten sign today when he was in regular clothes.

Brody with Mrs. Smith, who taught me Kindergarten!

This happy face was much easier to leave today than the little nervous grin I got yesterday. So glad he is loving it!

I will end with this picture. My favorite picture lately. If any picture could describe Brody, this does. Arms around those little brothers that he loves so much, head tilted back in laughter, pure joy on his face. This makes me so happy.

I am so proud of the little boy that he is becoming, and I can't wait to see what this school year holds!

Another Baby Step!

I'm quickly learning with adoption that each little baby step must be celebrated! There are no doctors appointments, ultrasounds, or first little flutters to feel. But there are little steps in the adoption world that move us closer and closer to seeing our child's face. And we excitedly celebrate them all!

I just got an email from our social worker letting me know that she received our home study back last night from Tulsa! It has been completely reviewed! She is signing it and mailing it back to them today for their official signatures, then it will be sent to Korea with all of our other paper work. We hopefully will be on the official wait list by the end of next week!

Praise God for little blessings!

Back to School Playdate

Our playgroup had one last get-together before school starts for the big kids! I cannot believe the summer is over and they are getting ready to head to school!

We took the kids to the Museum of Natural Resources for an afternoon of exploring! They had a dinosaur exhibit that was new, so that was what everyone was excited to see, but they all enjoyed everything else just as much!

Yesterday's Group

We were so glad that Tara and Eden joined us! We love having them back in El Dorado, so they can do fun things like this with us.

They had this really neat little "Tinkering Studio" that was new since the last time we had come. Lot's of little gadgets and gizmos for the kids to play with. They loved this part!

Gabe and Karis in the Tinkering Studio

Jonah and Brody

Jax and Beckett

Trinity (I discovered that Beckett is the ultimate photo bomber. He appears in everyones pictures)

We loved having Brooke there with us, too!

Sweet Jon Tyler

Levi

Eden

Learning how an oil well works!!!

My favorite part of this museum is the area where they have the replica of Old Town Smackover built. Little general stores, a restaurant, hotel, church, jail, faux dirt roads, carriages...I just love walking around it and imagining what it was like to live all those years ago!

The kids loved playing in the jail! Ha!

The last thing we did was go into their auditorium that was set up as "Exploring Arkansas Heritage". The kids had a blast playing in all of the old timey dress up clothes.

...Posing for pictures in the giant canoe!

(I have no idea what he was doing here...but it makes me laugh)

...Playing "sping the wheel" to find out what their destiny might have been if they'd made the long journey across the country to Arkansas way back when it was first discovered. I think I got bit by a snake, but Brooke discovered a lead deposit and became rich!

...Brooke pretended she was the mother of these two cuties :)

...Jax and Beckett hung out at the bean bag toss game.

We had so much fun letting them play and pretend! We will definitely have to schedule more playdates here when it's too cold to be outside this winter!

Our Thursday

The boys and I made the dreaded Walmart grocery shopping trip this morning. Brent usually does our big grocery shopping trips, because once you load my cart full of kiddos, there isn't much room for groceries. But now that I've discovered and LOVE the big shopping "bus" as I call it, it isn't too bad. Brody and Beckett are buckled into the big kid seats, Levi is buckled into the regular child seat on the cart, and the whole basket part of the cart is open for groceries. And Levi is facing the big boys so he stays totally entertained watching them goof off. I know all you moms with multiple kids get this too, but I get so tickled at how so many older people stop us and want to look at the boys and tell me how I must "have my hands full". I just grin and say, "Yes, but I wouldn't have it any other way!"

Soon after we got home, we ate lunch, then I put Beckett and Levi down for naps. I've kind of figured out a system that is starting to work. Levi was taking two naps a day. One around 10-12, then another from 3-4:30 or 5. But Beckett naps from 12-3, so it seemed like someone was napping all day long. It was getting hard to find a good time to go and do things because it was always someone's nap time. Levi was beginning to get harder to settle down for that 10:00 nap, so the last couple days I have been keeping him up until 12, and I've been putting them down at the same time. They are both sleeping until 3 or 3:30, so I've had a good long stretch with them both asleep! Levi is good and ready to go down at bedtime now, and Brody really enjoys having that bit of alone time without a little brother (or two!) right on his heels.

Today, he wanted to make smoothies while they were asleep. I pretty much let him come up with his own little recipe...I just manned the blender. He put in Snicker bar ice cream, crushed ice, blueberries, and a banana. I have to say - it was delicious! He agreed!

Later this evening, after the boys woke up, we met Tara, Eden, Mom, Brooke, and Morgan at the pool for a nice swim. It was soooo wonderful. The water was really warm...just how we like it! We ended the day with dinner at a little Mexican restaurant! So thankful for these days with my family!

We have a few fun things planned this weekend...looking forward to it!