The Final Word

Updated 6/27/08 - this post is no longer relevant. We were informed on 6/27/08 that the child mentioned here (XY) is no longer available for our adoption. Please pray with us. And for us as we seek God for His will and as the CCAA seeks out another child for us.

Well, it seems as if God isn't finished with this story yet. As I posted earlier this week, we spent most of Tuesday and Wednesday praying and coming to an acceptance of this twist in the journey. Thursday morning, I got another call. It was our Miss Ashley (the SN Coordinator with our adoption agency). I assumed she was returning my email from late on Wednesday. I assumed that she was prepared to help me explain the technicalities of this new system so that we might better understand how to avoid this mess with future referrals. I assumed that she had answers to some of the questions that we'd sent for our director to consider when speaking with the CCAA.

I assumed wrong.

Unbeknownst to us (Don't ya just love that word? It sounds so Oxford-ish! Chris, are you reading this?!) . . . Anyway. Unbeknownst to us, the director of Living Hope has been in contact with various levels and departments at the CCAA. In a conversation with the HEAD of the Special Needs program at the CCAA, Samuel was told that little XY will be ours! Yes, you read that correctly. (I'm referring to her as XY which are her Chinese initials, not because I'm spouting some great algebraic equation. Just so ya know!) Little XY will soon become Aidan Hope after all!

Here's the interpretation of my scribbled notes from my conversation with Miss Ashley. (Have I mentioned that I just love Miss Ashley?!)

"Sam. spoke with head SN @ CCAA"
"working on paperwork to get her matched w/us"
"not 100% yet (hmmmm, we've heard that one before?!)"
"still very positive, CCAA is now saying she is ours"

Those scribbles are going in the baby book. Joining the other four baby books lined up on my bookshelf.

I still don't totally understand what went on between Monday afternoon THERE when the CCAA told Samuel her file was still available in the system and Monday morning HERE that her file was no longer available for viewing. I don't understand how another family could have locked the file, reviewed at passed on it. I mean, come on! She's as cute as the proverbial button and all her records seem to indicate that there's been no issues remaining with the need that presented for surgery. "Hey, what's wrong with my little girl that someone would say "No" to her file? What were they thinking?!"

Oh, wait! That's what's wrong. She's MY little girl.
And God just wasn't finished with the story yet.

So this morning, I shot an email off to the agency. No more updates yet. They were waiting for Samuel to call in. I reminded her of my cell number and LadyBug and I headed off to Costco.

At 11:25 a.m., in the baking ingredients section of our local Costco, while facing the humongo bags of chocolate chips, I got the call! According to Ashley, the director of the Special Needs Department of the CCAA has given VERBAL CONFIRMATION (to be followed Monday morning by a written letter of confirmation) that little XY is indeed OUR GIRL! It's happening. The drama is over. The mess is untangled. See, God just wasn't finished with the story yet.

And Aidan Hope's new story is just beginning . . . .

Check This Out!

Simple Mom is running a contest to give away a great budgeting tool that she recommends. I've been following this blog for some time now and find many of her ideas very easy to implement.

And for you gals that attend our church, this week's sermon in our "Where in the Word" series is all about God's Word on money and our finances. What a great tie-in!

Head over there now and enter the contest for yourself . . .

No New Word

Taken from the email I sent to our family:

There's no new word - the soonest we'd have heard (IF we hear anything at this point) was this afternoon. But at this point it looks like the computer glitch was maybe God's way of saying this is not Aidan. We don't really know what else to think. Monday afternoon was hard, very sad and frustrating to be so happy in the a.m. and then so sad so quickly on the heels of that. We're doing okay generally. At this point, we are concerned that this little girl find a family that will love her as much as we we were beginning to.

I've turned my prayers to interceding that she be placed in a home where she'll learn about Jesus, and learn how to love and be loved in a family. That she'll early in her little life feel a burning need to find Him. If I'm not the Mommy that will lead her on that path, you can bet I'm praying for the right one to do that. It's helped us all to turn our prayers to covering her while she is "in limbo" in the system.

We've not posted sooner cuz we've been processing it and praying - with no real word from the agency we didn't really know what else there was to say. Psalms 16 and 18 and 31 have been on all of our hearts. For ourselves and for this child.


Thank you for your prayers on our behalf. We appreciate the support and love more than you can know.

Great Distraction

The kids and I spent this morning at a local park with the MOMS Group from our church. I didn't even remember it, but I had invited LadyBug's best little friend from school, with her mom and sister to join the fun several weeks ago. With all we've had going on this week, it was a pleasant surprise for both of us to see them there. We also invited our neighbor to join us with her sweet little girls.

I arrived late, as I was on the phone for an hour and a half before the event trying to re-boot, re-start, power cycle and cast out demons from my dsl router. Thankfully the tech had a great sense of humor and four grown children of his own so he was sympathetic to my whispered commands and my "Can you hold on just a minute's?" that kept interrupting his directions to re-set this and unplug that and turn this thing-a-ma-bob inside out and do a rain dance on its case.

After play time we trekked home to Shaggy (he remained behind to do his weekly jobs - how weird is THAT?!). We ate a huge carb-loading lunch for the task ahead: purging and sorting the kids' rooms for our upcoming yard sale. Baby BlueEyes and I had tackled his room weeks ago, and LadyBug started hers yesterday morning. Today, we really made a huge amount of progress! There's a reputable pile of boxes and bags in the garage, neatly stacked on a tarp. Two of the three bedrooms are tidy and organized.

As I'm typing this, Dr. D is chipping away at his huge pile of "things-he-must-have" that have been stuffed into every possible nook and cranny of his room. The stuff that he can never-ever-ever-dispose-of! You know, like the class roster from first grade. Full of names he will never utter again. And the card with a tuft of fox hair taped on it that we found at Grandpa's house back in 1998. The "important" stuff.

I also took the time to post our yard sale details on craigslist (which by the way, I love love love!). If any of you have another idea of how and where to post yard sale information for free I'd love to hear it. And if you're in the area, we'll be busy selling our wares on the front lawn in two weeks. Rain or shine! All proceeds will be stuffed in our Adoption Jar.

All in all, a satisfying and productive day. And a welcome distraction from the pain and sadness we are still processing.

Roller Coaster of a Day

8:20 a.m. - Living Hope was almost 100% certain that this file was still open and still available. We were told to expect final confirmation of that by Tuesday a.m. All of this was based on a 4 p.m. conversation with the CCAA (China Time). Hopes were very high, and Miss Ashley promised to get our information loaded and our Letter of Intent back into the system as soon as the computer system at the agency was back up and running. (They were down from the storms over the weekend.)

10:40 a.m. - The file is gone from the Waiting Child list. It seems as if this referral is not ours. Best case scenario for us is that the file re-appears on the list after someone else exhausts their lock (the 48 hours given to review the files). Most likely scenario is that someone else has "locked" her file and proceeded with their own intent to adopt her. There are a lot more details and technicalities surrounding this. But they don't feel very important right now.

We are not likely to hear anything (if anything is to be said) before Wednesday. We are the first family that this has happened to with our agency, in the new Waiting Child program. So this is new territory for everyone involved. And we are all stunned. Sad. And trying to process.

Please pray for us.

Burned Out

No, this is not another post about the looooong wait till the open of business on Monday morning to hear about the adoption. This refers to the toasty warmth we are all experiencing after a day under the sun and intermittent clouds on 2 soccer fields.

Dr. D was asked several weeks ago to play on a special rec sports travel team. They were down several players for a special tournament, due to vacations and other league play. Now, Dr. D has never played in a seriously competitive league. His current league is a once a week, kind of a learning league and fits our family's lifestyle perfectly. Practice is for the first 45 minutes or so of the evening and the game takes up the remaining hour. It has become apparent to both The Boss and I that Dr. D has some serious skills, waiting to be developed and nurtured on the soccer field. And the game seems to suit him well - the etiquette and the "feel" of the game really energizes him. When he was asked to sub for some of the other, more competitive players on this team he was thrilled! And the idea of Fathers' Day away together enjoying a new experience was exciting for all of us too.

They played three tough teams, who've been playing together for a long season. These other teams were like well-oiled little machines, darting and passing and finishing each other's thoughts with each play they executed. Dr. D's team put up some very valiant fights, holding all three opponents to lower scores than any of us expected. And of the two scores that our team was able to shoot, Dr. D made one of the sweetest goals I've ever seen him make. I may be a bit biased here, but his technique, watchful eye, and accurate shot were things of beauty all melded into one glorious goal.

And I'm sure none of you will be surprised to know that I was a riotous fan. In fact, I'm a bit hoarse from cheering and yelling encouragements from the sideline. I may have even embarrassed my sons a bit. And I know I shocked a couple of the other parents with my enthusiasm. Not that I even care one little bit. Only two goals by our team for three hard-fought games and MY BABY MADE ONE OF THEM! Yes, I'm shouting at you now. Sorry (insert sheepish grin here!). Sorta.

Still No Word

The Boss and I were up before 6:45 this morning (not at all normal for either of us on a Saturday!), seeking the Lord and soaking in His Word. I must admit, as the time drags on (while we wait to hear from our agency about yesterday's glitch and what they are able to do to ensure that this child will indeed be ours) it is hard to keep choosing faith and standing on the promises that we feel the Lord has given us over this decision. But peace and faith are a choice and I am choosing to stand in that place, to be still and to know that He is in control. Those verses from Psalm 34, 37, and 46 mean ever so much more this morning than they even did on Thursday morning.

We are waiting expectantly. We are choosing to praise. I am supremely grateful for some particular things that have been happening here with the Gang lately that have prepared us for this vigil.

Ever since his accident, (see my 7/23/07 post) Baby Blue Eyes has struggled on and off with varying degrees of fear. These fears are mostly related to very large vehicles or thunder and lightning storms and do not dominate his life. But when they are triggered, they could easily dominate his day. We've dealt with it differently over the past two years. But recently I had this amazing conversation with him. (I didn't know just how amazing till I remembered our talks last night!)

I shared with him that instead of choosing fear, he could choose some different paths in his heart and mind. For example, when the doctor wanted to cap off his new adult tooth that was chipped in the accident and is now finally erupted, he chose fear. I helped him see how he could have asked the doctor or the nurse a couple questions that would have given him an explanation of what they were doing next. (In his defense, they did just kind of abruptly announce their plans and commence the project with little explanation!)

I also shared with him that he could choose to praise. His name, (his real name!) means "Our God is known through our praise," and is taken from Psalm 76. The psalmist there is proclaiming the glory and might of our majestic God. He's declaring His reign over all the land and his victory over all the enemies. I explained to BBE that when he feels fear fluttering in his chest, upsetting his tummy or messing with his mind, he can choose to worship Jesus. He can sing out loud, he can pray, he can even dance and shout to the Lord.

This morning, I am choosing to praise. I am choosing to worship. I turned my iPod playlist to all my hymns. While I was cutting up fruit for a yummy salad at 7 a.m., I chose to sing. Here's the song that the Lord has stirring in my heart for today. Please, sing with me. Worship with me.

JOYFUL, JOYFUL, WE ADORE THEE
by Henry van Dyke

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee,
Opening to their sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness,
Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, Fill us with the light of day.

All Thy works with joy surround Thee,
Earth and heaven reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee, Center of unbroken praise:
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
Blooming meadow, flashing sea,
Chanting bird and flowing fountain, Call us to rejoice in Thee.

Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blest,
Well-spring of the joy of living,
Ocean-depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our Brother,
All who live in love are Thine:
Teach us how to love each other, Lift us to the Joy Divine.

Mortals join the mighty chorus, which the morning stars began;
Father-love is reigning o'er us,
Brother-love binds man to man.
Ever singing marching onward, Victors in the midst of strife;
Joyful music lifts us sunward, In the triumph song of life.

Please Pray With Us NOW!

I just got an urgent phone call from our special needs coordinator, Ashley. In the process of entering the final data on our files to the new on-line special needs program there was a serious glitch in the system. For some reason, Aidan's file could not be accessed and the message was given that her file would not be available to Living Hope for another 15 days. This IS NOT how it's supposed to work, and we are being called to stand in prayer together against any attempt of the enemy to thwart this adoption!

The staff has gone to extraordinary lengths to assure that our information and Aidan's file have been sent to China by fax, by email to several high level connections, and to our Director of Living Hope (who is BY GOD'S PLAN in China right now).

Additionally, there is a former government worker who is now a Living Hope employee that has accessed some of her connections in order to assure that our information RELATED TO THIS CHILD has been sent to the appropriate people. Finally, the staff all banded together in prayer for our family and for our daughter before calling us.

Please stand in prayer with us that the appropriate measures are taken this next 24 hours to ensure that Aidan will continue upon the path to becoming our daughter. We firmly believe that the enemy wants to mess with our peace and we will NOT have it. Please pray with us. Please also pray for Ashley - this has shaken her up a good deal and I desire to see that the Lord release her from feelings of guilt or "what did I do?"

Thank you for your love and support thus far. We KNOW that He hasn't spoken this clearly this far along to leave us OR AIDAN now.

We'll post updates as we receive them!

*Updated 9:45 p.m. - In case I wasn't clear enough in the above posting, this "glitch" is one that could potentially shut down the process to adopt this little girl. After speaking with some people, it became clear that I may have not expressed myself clearly enough. Additionally, until this is resolved, I won't be posting any pictures of her. Please continue to pray - it is 9:45 a.m. in China right now, and we are trusting the Lord to move on the hearts and minds of the officials involved, on behalf of Aidan and our family to continue the process of declaring our intentions to adopt her, regardless of technology glitches!

Favorites Friday

*if you are "jumping in" in the middle of this journey, please read Wednesday's post first, then the one from this morning. It will all make more sense then! And if you've not read about our journey to today, please check my archives by searching "adoption" in the upper left corner of this page. Our family's story can be read there, oldest posts first . . .

My Favorite Things

The Lord Has Done
In The Past 48 Hours

• He has shown us His direction. Believe me when I say, over the past 2 days, His plan and His will for our family has been made abundantly clear. He has used our family, our children, and of course, His Word to point our feet on the path which He has laid before us.
• He has given us His peace. Thank you to those who have particularly been praying this peace over us. Whenever our minds got to racing or our hearts to worrying and fretting, we felt His presence move in with gentleness, calm and "the peace that passes all understanding."
• He has reminded us of our calling and our purpose. Through times in prayer and in the Word separately, The Boss and I keep coming back to each other and to the kids with a renewed sense of what our mission has been, since we started this journey in January 2006 (and really, in our spirits long before that!)
• He has given us unity and confirmation. All 6 of us have consistently been of like mind and like spirit in these past two days, and as word is getting out we are discovering that those we trust and admire and respect keep confirming our steps.
• He has given us great joy! We are BEYOND thrilled and excited to share with you that we have accepted the referral that was presented for our consideration on Wednesday morning. We have a new daughter! Aidan is coming home!
  

An official Letter of Intent (LOI) will be sent with our file to the CCAA today telling them that we are officially requesting the privilege of adopting this beautiful toddler. We thank our Special Needs Coordinator, Miss Ashley, for her tireless efforts on our behalf. This young woman deserves a post all her own, and believe me, I feel one brewing! Once that LOI (woooo hooo, I get to throw around those abbreviations now too!) is on its way, we will talk with Living Hope about travel estimates, final balances due, and further documentation that is still necessary. The whirlwind begins now!!!!!

Stay tuned for more information on our precious Aidan. I'm working through what documentation I have now, to be able to share with you a little about our girl. (Lord willing, I may even be able to post pictures.) For now, please know that we still crave your prayers, for financial provision, for quick paperwork exchanges and approvals, and for smooth travel plans - as soon as they can happen!!!!! I can't believe it, I'm going to China to get my girl! Suddenly, excitement about our summer has just taken on a whole new meaning!

Update of the Day

*if you are "jumping in" in the middle of this journey, please read Wednesday's post first, then the one from this morning. It will all make more sense then! And if you've not read about our journey to today, please check my archives by searching "adoption" in the upper left corner of this page. Our family's story can be read there,
oldest posts first . . .

We have had quite a few phone calls and emails back and forth with the agency and the doctor, and the gist of it all is that our request for further information has been submitted. But, like most of the paper-chase that is International Adoption, it is highly unlikely (we knew this, but it never hurts to ask!) that any more details will be forthcoming in any semblance of a timely manner. And certainly NOT by Friday at noon. Other similar requests were made for other children and it's been over a month with no response. Obviously, that's too late for our 48 hour window. So, we proceed with our prayers and our "being still" (very hard to do with a full day of school activities!) to hear His heart. We've been praying and encouraging the kids to pray and listen also - we fully believe that this decision is close at hand and that all four of the kids will have valuable input at tonight's "family meeting."

I'm off to finish the weekly church bulletin and get my soccer star ready for the second half of his final tournament with this league. I cannot even believe that he's "outgrown" the U-12 group - how can it be?!

Thank you all for the words of encouragement, support and the prayers that you are sending our way. We can't remember the last time we felt so covered with the love of the Body of Christ! Check back later for the latest and greatest on the goings on here with The Gang.

In the meantime, go HERE! for a fun way
to support foster kids in the U.S.
I heard about it from Steven Curtis Chapman's
website. It's a fun way to cool off
and "do your part" at the same time!

Where Are We Now?

Below is the update that we sent to our church's prayer ministry, after last night's consultation and some prayer and talk-time with our kids. Please continue to pray for us - we have until Friday afternoon to make a final decision . . .

It's 6:45 a.m. and I've been up for almost an hour now, thinking and praying and seeking the Lord. I slept deeply and felt refreshed, and with as fast as my mind was whirling last night at 10, that's a huge praise the Lord for me! You know it's big when I'm up before 7 a.m. and in bed before 11 p.m. :)

Here's the summary of last night's consultation and the update: The doctor raised some good, valid concerns to consider. Certainly not "deal breakers" as she kept putting it, but things that we might need to know more about before we finalize a decision. It turns out that the original diagnosis is not likely correct, and that what they did operate on was in many ways less severe with fewer long term consequences. That's the good news. The bad news is that she is low on the growth curves and there's not a ton of documentation about her growth and specifically her measurements since the surgery. As there are several questions about her overall health (since the surgery), we have requested that our agency seek more information about her. We are waiting for a response from them today. It is HIGHLY likely that we may never have these further questions answered.

So Todd and the kids and I need to determine how comfortable we are with the "not knowing." With any adoption, there is a degree of unknown and the degree of unknown's just skyrocketed when they handed us a picture and a medical history (SKETCHY though it may be!). We knew this going in two years ago, we knew it when we joined the special needs list, it's just another thing to face it with a child actually attached to the questions now.

We need continued prayer for discernment and wisdom. But the biggie now is that we need God to move on our behalf IN CHINA to release more information about her health history - specifically about her growth measurements at 5 months and currently. The information we've been going from is 7 months old (not unusual in Chinese adoptions!). Please also pray that we continue to seek HIM first and not get caught up in the emotions of it all (it's VERY emotional, and that's a hard request to admit!). We have until Friday afternoon to make our final decision to accept or pass on this child.

If you can, please direct the prayer warriors to our blog (address below) - as we will be updating soon for this purpose. It's too hard to keep sending out individual emails with all the updates - with all of the end of the year activities, I'm in and out of the house all day today and tomorrow.

Finally, the Lord has been speaking to me from Psalm 34, Psalm 37:1-8, and Psalm 46. Please pray with us that His purposes for us will be made clear as we wait on Him! There's a lot of "be still's" in those verses and a lot of "he delivered's" and the recurring themes are His sheltering, refuge nature. We crave that today!

Thanks for your support and prayers. You can't know how much it means to all of us that you are standing with us in this journey.

I Got A Call Today!

*see below for updates!

We just got a call from our adoption agency this morning - there's a little girl that they think might be a good match for our family. I can't believe I just typed that sentence ~ I canNOT believe that this might happen. To us. Now. Can it be?! OH MY WORD!

The Boss has received a set of medical records and has faxed her information to the International Adoption program docs at CHOP already. They will review her file and give us a recommendation (maybe this afternoon?) of their counsel and prognosis information. I can tell you that she's a little over 2 years old and is "post-op" for the presenting medical issue that put her into the special needs program.

Please pray for The Gang: for wisdom, for clarity of thought and discernment for His Heart over this decision, and for patience and acceptance of whatever path He calls us to in these next 24 hours. For timing and finances to work out according to His plan. And for me: I can't decide whether to cry, throw up, pace, go running (ha! who am I kidding? I never run!), or laugh and dance all over my living room! :)

We'll keep ya all posted!

*Updated at 2 p.m. - We have a phone conference with the IA docs from CHOP at 7 p.m. this evening. Once that's done and we have all the necessary information, we will have some family time to pray and seek the Lord for an answer. How the heck am I gonna get anything done till then?!

hot, Hot, HOT!

Here's what's happening in our neck of the woods :)

"Tomorrow, Tuesday, June 10^th, elementary schools will dismiss early due to the continued excessive temperatures and most notably the projected increased humidity and heat index being fore-casted in advance of Tuesday’s thunderstorms."

from our local school district website

Baby Blue Eyes and I are waiting for them to join us in the pool!

Happy Birthday

Today is Anderson Cooper's birthday. I had forgotten all about it, but heard it on the news tonight when I was home alone in a quiet house alone baking a cake alone. I got to lick the beaters all alone. Can you even imagine the bliss of that?! I digress . . . .

Several years ago, a certain buddy of mine mentioned in a blog post that she might have seen Anderson Cooper's twin in her local grocery store. That night, I confessed to the whole blogging world (well, to all 6 of you who happened to read that post and the subsequent comments) that I have had a closet crush on Anderson Cooper since he appeared in The Celebrity Mole 2. In fact, that might be the first time I let the world in on my little quirk that I now call Celebrity Crushes. My, how far I've fallen! I mean, my how far I've come . . . . yeah. Riiiiiiiight. I digress again . . . .

Happy Birthday, Anderson!

We Love Mr. T

Did you happen to notice that Mr. T stopped by my blog recently? That he took the time to comment on Dr. D's splinter dramedy? Did you wonder to yourself, "Hmmmm, I wonder how The Gang got to be all chummy with Mr. T?" Did you start humming the theme to The A Team? Did you mumble to yourself "I pity the fool!" when you saw his tag line?

Well, calm yourself. This Mr. T is our friendly school band director. Dr. D's French horn teacher for now and, hopefully in the fall, LadyBug's band teacher as well. Since he took a moment out of his busy day to de-lurk himself (ha, I knew you read this blog and now I have PROOF!), I thought I'd introduce him around to the rest of you! And show him some bloggy love, in honor of his hard work and dedication to the students that he loves.

Bloggy friends, meet Mr. T.

Mr. T, meet my bloggy friends.

There, now you all know each other.

Here at the Gang's house, we love our Mr. T. He's bright, energetic, and has just the right blend of dry humor and light-heartedness to capture (and hold!) Dr. D's attentions. He has a way of inspiring our little French horn player to stick with it, to try harder and to do more with his skills. Mr. T keeps incredibly busy running the band programs & group lessons for two elementary schools, teaching private lessons for aspiring trombone players, and being a hubby and new dad. I'm sure there's tons more that he does that most of us don't even know about. He goes out of his way to answer all my questions as we navigate this new territory of Concert Bands, Wind Ensembles and musical talent. These last few weeks in particular, he has gone above and beyond the call of duty, helping with our search for a used horn of good quality and affordable pricing. He even inspected it for us and gave us his honest evaluation of the horn.

Our experiences with this elementary school band program have, so far, been absolutely a pleasure and we are very excited at the prospect of LadyBug participating next year. In fact, The Boss and I have been talking about what future participation in the school band program might look like for The Gang. Given that our district's high school marching band has won countless awards, it will almost certainly guarantee a very busy household. But we are so grateful for the start the kids have now and the foundations that are being set - largely due to Mr. T's passion and excitement for his job and "his kids" in the program.

When I asked Dr. D what he'd miss the most when he left 6th grade to move on to middle school, his first answer was "band with Mr. T." I think that says it all!

So, Mr. T - in this blogging mom's view, there's absolutely nothing wrong with being a "marching band mom." I look forward to it!

Special thanks to Dr. D
for helping me write this tribute
to one of his favorite teachers!

Snapshot in Time

After a brief verbal tussel with Shaggy, which Baby Blue Eyes watched
with concern and wonder, this is the conversation I had with BBE.

BBE: "Mommy, why didn't Shaggy want you to take his picture?"

Mommy: "Well, Shaggy doesn't really like to draw any attention to himself, and he didn't like Mommy and Daddy making a fuss over him."

BBE: "Why was Daddy mad at him?"

Mommy: "Shaggy was kinda rude to Mommy and Daddy and hurt our feelings with the way he acted. Thirteen year olds sometimes forget that Mommies and Daddies have feelings too."

BBE: "Well, when I'm sirt-teen and in 8th gwade, I'm not gonna complain and say it's dumb. I'm gonna be pleasant. Cuz I'm always pleasant and nice to my paywents."

Mommy: "Okay BBE. Can I get that in writing from you? Cuz I'd really like to remind you of that when you are 13!"

BBE: "Yeah. Sure!"

You heard it here.

Splinter in the Grass

Easy there, Classic Mama,
this story is not nearly as racy as it sounds! ;)

The drama was unfolding while I was chatting with my mother on the phone. Dr. Doolittle was sitting behind me with tweezers and a magnifying glass, moaning and screeching about the pain he was inflicting on himself. The first splinter of bare foot season. Oh, how I hate bare foot season.

I hung up the phone after my mom and I got a good chuckle at Dr. D's quirky humor. The screeching and moaning was mostly for effect. Or so I thought. I poked around his disgusting sweaty foot for a minute and advised him to soak it in very warm water. I actually said "the hottest water you can tolerate," knowing that it would be lukewarm at best. The Boss and I set off for a nice walk around our neighborhood to look at all pretty landscapes and get some quiet time alone together. We needed it. Each of the four little gang members seemed particularly chatty and gregarious tonight. (Read: chaotic and out of control, with diarrhea of the mouth times FOUR!)

Upon return, we heard the melodic strains of Dr. D's French horn wafting through the open windows. The downstairs was empty, save for Shaggy hunched over the computer updating his little MP3 player with some country tunes (yes, another convert! yay me!!). I wandered upstairs to find Dr. D sitting on the edge of the tub, soaking his foot while he mournfully played the Star Spangled Banner on his French horn. Excuse me, his borrowed mellophone (a French horn for marching bands. Great. I'm going to be a marching band mom. yay me.) I set to work on the splinter.

What followed can only be described as hilarity. Pure dramedy. Screeching and howling and biting of towels was involved. Digging at dead skin and searching for potential entry points of the world’s largest splinter commenced. Laughing and admonishing my son to sit still, I poked and prodded. I wrangled his toe into weird and unnatural positions. I scraped some more and dug again. That little bugger was stuck and stuck deep. Out came the big guns. I thought Dr. D was going to wet himself when he saw me walk in with a utility razor. And being the sick and twisted Mom that I am, I got a little bit of a thrill and a not just a little giggle out of the suspense and dread he was now feeling. I could feel the blog post building in my head at that very moment. (These are the moments that I LOVE being a mom. Sick, I know.)

Finally, after scraping away LAAAAAAAAYERS of dead skin (I think I need a shower in some hospital strength disinfectant!) and digging the needle in under live skin, I called in The Boss for a third hand. While The Boss held the wound open and Dr. Doolittle screamed and moaned into a towel that I made him stuff into his mouth, I flicked the splinter out. I cleaned the toe thoroughly with rubbing alcohol. All that’s left for Dr. D is a little tenderness when he walks and a bit of sting - mostly to his pride. (We all heard him screaming like a girl, even through the towel!) And a strong aversion to running barefoot in the front yard while he takes practice swings with a 9 iron at the recyclables.

Now I’m off to scrub my hands with bleach. And maybe some lye if I can find it.

Favorites Friday

In light of yesterday's sad and tragic news about the loss of little Maria, Steven Curtis Chapman's gorgeous youngest daughter, I am posting today's Favorites Friday as a sort of tribute. This family has done so much for the plight of orphans all around the world, and we owe a huge debt of gratitude to their mission. In fact, their family story has played a huge role in our journey to China for our own daughter.

My Favorite Songs During The Adoption Journey

• Cinderella - by Steven Curtis Chapman, this is the quintessential Daddy Daughter love song. I will never be able to listen to this song again without a tear and a prayer for this precious family.
• He Knows My Name - the Lord recently gave me this song, by Tommy Walker, to pray over Aidan during this journey. It's likely that it will be some time before she can sing it for herself so I am lifting this promise to Our Father in her stead.
• All I Really Want for Christmas - also by Steven Curtis Chapman. The Boss bought me the cd the year we started our official journey and paper chase and there have been many days that this song haunts my heart as I wait for my girl.
• He Reigns - when our former church started using this song by the Newsboys in regular worship services, I was a wreck! For months after Baby BlueEyes was born, I had this sense in my spirit that we weren't "done" and that the Lord still had an "Aidan" to be birthed in my heart. This song helped me hang in there till HIS timing was right to start the process.
• He Ain't The Leavin' Kind - this declaration of the great faithfulness of our God by Rascal Flatts serves to remind me that although our daughter will have been left by her biological family, He is bringing her to a family that will never leave her. And that our foremost goal in loving and parenting her will be to model the faithfulness of our Father, that she might learn for herself of the True Love that will never leave her.

Please, join us in continuing to pray for the Chapman family. Their grief and pain is incomprehensible to us. But it's not to our Father. He well knows the pain of their loss. He well knows the agony of their hearts.

Father God, be close to this precious family in these horrific days.
Guard their hearts and their minds against any attempt
of the enemy to scar or wound them further.
Give them strength and endurance to face the days ahead.
Give them the comfort that only you can give,
by the ministry of your Holy Spirit.
We intercede on their behalf - be near to them, Oh God!

If you feel led to give a gift in honor of little Maria,
the family is requesting donations be made
to Maria's Miracle Fund through
Shaohannah's Hope, their not-for-profit ministry
that funds adoptions, both domestically
and internationally, and cares for the orphans of the world.

The BEST Man Won!

From his achingly sweet audition tape to his outrageous performance with ZZ Top. From his amazing rendition of "Hello" to his KICK BUTT version of "Still Haven't Found What I'm looking For." Looking every inch the true American Idol that he is, the best man won it all.

America has found what it was looking for.
Finally, an American Idol for grown-ups!

I have no other words. Except, I told you so! :)

Wacky Wednesday

Today is Wacky Wednesday at our local elementary school. It's part of "Spirit Week" leading up to their annual field day of games and fun and community building. Say what you will about home-schooling vs. private schools vs. public schools. This particular public elementary school that my children attend is ACES in my book!

They have been fortunate enough to remain on the smaller side of the local elementary populations, the administration makes genuine efforts to be family-friendly, and the environment there is full of life, fun and love of learning. We feel so blessed by the numbers of Christians that we've encountered in this little community and we are regularly impressed by how hard everyone works to make our school so outstanding. Wacky Wednesday is bound to be a fun day for the kids - the teachers all get really into the spirit of things and are just as silly as the kids! As an aside, I'm particularly fond of this school because of the higher-than-normal ratio of male teachers in the building. As a mother of three boys, I love that they have great men teaching them to love learning!

Here's my two, decked head to toe in their Wacky Wednesday finery. I take no credit - they did it all with each other (a huge milestone of sibling relationship building here!) while I was sleepily checking my emails after breakfast. With the morning sun glaring on their feet, you can't really see that they both have mis-matched socks and shoes. I just hope the school nurse doesn't call me to meet her at the ER with broken ankles from LadyBug's sneaker and ballet flat! And yes, those are pipe cleaners in LadyBug's hair and monkeys hanging all over Dr. D.

Have yourself a Wacky Wednesday - you deserve it :)

Happy Blog Birthday to Me!

Belated . . .

Saturday, the 17th, was the one-year anniversary of my adventures in blogging. I'm not up on the latest trend of celebrating such an auspicious event, and frankly, we were so busy opening our pool on Saturday that I didn't even remember the date till I dropped into bed at 12:30 a.m. (I was up late helping - hovering over?- Shaggy and his first real babysitting gig for the neighbors.)

Because it's only Monday morning and I'm wrung out from a long and crazy week and weekend, I'm going to take the easy way out and share this meme with you. I found it at Ni Hao Y'all (another adoptive mom's blog that I follow). Maybe, if you've been a reader for the whole year, you'll actually learn something new about me. And if you had fun reading it, then consider yourself tagged. Here we go!

Favorite person (outside of my family)? My life-long friend Stacey G. She’s the friend who has been there through all the good, the bad, and the ugly and loves me anyway!

Favorite Food? Hot buttered popcorn.

Quirks about you? I have this weird tendency to develop harmless little crushes on celebrities – sometimes for no real reason and other times because they are just too darn cute. This mini-obsession is well-chronicled over the course of the year of this blog. And in my current side-bar . . .

How would the person who loves you most describe you in ten words or less? The Boss said, "Outgoing, purposeful, giving, prudent, worshiper, thoughtful, organized, creative." I know, he rocks.

Any regrets in life? This is oddly embarrassing, but I have a couple former boyfriends that I hurt unnecessarily when I ended our youthful romances. I’ve made amends to one, but there are two to whom I’d love to go back and apologize. I was immature, selfish and not at all Christ-like and it still sticks in my craw. I know – I need therapy, I’m sure.

Favorite Charity/ Cause? I love Compassion International. I’m also very passionate about any godly, faith-based organization that supports orphans, especially in China.

Favorite Blog recently? I am pretty addicted to Confessions of a CF Husband, and recently got my husband and sons hooked on Stuff Christians Like.

Something you can’t get enough of? Hugs and kisses from my Gang. Coffee with creamy sugar-free hazelnut creamer. Also well-documented over the course of this year.

Worst job you’ve ever had? Making donuts at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday mornings in the kitchen at Messiah College. I’m soooo not a morning person, and the hour was (IS) ungodly. Seriously, is God even awake that early?

What job would you pay NOT to have? I could never, ever be a cafeteria lady at any educational facility. The left-overs, the messes on the trays, the noise? Oh. My. Goodness.

If you could be a fly on the wall, where? The Rumor Queen’s office. I have no idea how this woman is so connected and so in touch with so many facets of the Chinese adoption program – I’d love to hear even just snippets of conversations she has with her sources. See, aren’t you curious now? It’s all so “Deep Throat” and CIA-ish for me!

Favorite Bible verse right now? Jeremiah 29: 11-14 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a HOPE and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

Guilty Pleasure? My secret stash of Cheetos and the occasional Starbucks Chai Latte. Cheesy romantic comedies.

Got any confessions? Not that I’d share here!

If you HAD to spend $1,000 on yourself, how would you spend it? Probably on a diet/weight loss/training program to jump start me back on track. Maybe on some landscaping around the pool area instead.

Favorite thing about your house? My new bedroom. My front yard and the landscaping.

Least favorite thing about your house? My kitchen – cabinets, lay-out, flooring.

One thing you are bad at? Numbers and logic-related puzzles. Theology debates/discussions.

One thing you’re good at? Making my house a home. Decorating, hospitality, creating a safe environment for The Boss and the rest of the Gang.

If you could change something about your circumstances, what? Speed the adoption (and the fund-raising too) along so we can get on with the business of parenting and loving Aidan.

Who would you like to meet someday? Besides Aidan? Well, I’d love to meet Dr. Dobson and his family. Dr. Sears and his family.

What makes you feel sexy? Huh? What’s that?! Umm, newly shaved legs? The Boss’s cologne.

Who is your real life hero? Also documented here – My mom.

What is the hardest part of your job? The constancy of it. Ironically, it’s also a source of comfort for me: it’s always there, it always has to be done, and it rarely changes in its nature.

When are you most relaxed? Is it a bad sign that I really can’t answer that?! I'm not sure I remember what "most relaxed" feels like.

What stresses you out? Rushing, clutter, and repeating myself 100 times a day. Huh. That must be why I can’t answer the above question.

What can you not live without? Jesus. The Boss. Good intelligent conversation with adults, time with my family, coffee with creamy sugar-free hazelnut creamer.

Do you agree or disagree with the recent article that reported that blogs are authored by narcissists? Someone actually wrote an article about that? I had no idea . . . now I have something else to stress out about . . . . Gee, thanks.

Why do you blog? Mmmm, well, I have lots more to say than The Boss could possibly handle listening and responding to on any given day, so that’s one reason. Additionally, I have enjoyed the challenge of writing again, no matter how trite or trivial my subject matter. I love the sight of words on the screen and I kinda get high on the feeling of words and thoughts flowing out of my brain onto the screen. Plus, it’s a fun way to connect with others (old friends, adopting moms), keep up on current events, and learn from others. Really. I know, I’m a geek.

Who are you tagging? Anyone who had fun reading this can play!

New/Newer bloggers? Haven’t read any new ones lately . . . Suggestions anyone?

Bloggy friends? Kateri, Heidi at God's Grace In Practice and Bev at Happy In The Moment.

Bloggers you’d like to get to know better (or in person!)? Elissa at The Harrells. Plus, I just want to kiss her little sweeties’ cheeks off! Have you seen this child of hers? OY!

Bloggers who you don't think will respond, but you hope will? Honestly, I’m not answering this – I hate that pressure when I read my name in similar such places, so I won’t do that to you!

There you have it. Play along or don't.
But please be sure to leave a comment and feel free to speak up.
I'd love to hear more about you!!!

My Roots Are Calling Me!

You Belong in Dublin

Friendly and down to earth, you want to enjoy Europe without snobbery or pretensions. You're the perfect person to go wild on a pub crawl... or enjoy a quiet bike ride through the old part of town.

What European City Do You Belong In?

Thanks to Hands Free Heart for this fun little quiz.

I'm still here - hoping to be more consistent soon.

Apology Accepted!

Somehow, when I posted a couple days ago about the contest over at the Today Show, in partnership with Teleflora, I missed the breadth of the controversy into which I was jumping. I admit, when I read the description of the "NonMom" Mom category, I was slightly miffed. (This controversial description is laid out in my Thursday post.) I mean, I know I'm a mom because I gave birth to these four who are mine for now. And I know that my pending adoption will only enlarge and enhance my definition of "Mom." What I missed, amidst my tears and total sap-reaction to the moms featured in this awesome category, was that they were lumping adoptive moms into the "NonMom" Mom category. Well, I didn't really miss it, but I was willing to overlook it for my own purposes. Because I loved the way that they (NBC and Teleflora) were choosing to honor these moms from all different walks of life, I assumed it was purely a lack of education about the issues surrounding adoption.

What I didn't know is that this "NonMom" Mom category had been ruffling a LOT of feathers for a couple of days. (I'm pretty clueless about most of these controversies and other world events lately!) But after a couple commenters left their thoughts on my Thursday post and I spent a couple minutes of down-time investigating the whole issue, I slowly began to realize that I jumped headlong into a boiling cauldron of hurt feelings, irritation, and anger at the lack of sensitivity expressed by the contest organizers. Several blogs and adoption boards were lit up with well-thought out comments on this topic. Several of these same sources had horrible, derogatory and mean-spirited comments flaming the powers-that-be at NBC and Teleflora. I waded through it all, and at the encouragement of my new blogging friend over at Happy In The Moment and some of her commenters, I crafted a polite and considerate email to send to NBC and to Teleflora. I got a standard, canned response from NBC, owing to the huge volume of emails that they receive. But I also got two beautiful apologies: one from Teleflora and one from Edelman, the PR group that has been working with Teleflora for this contest. Here is an excerpt from the apology on behalf of the Edelman group:

After closer examination, Teleflora recognized how this may have been offensive to moms who have adopted children… moms who are indeed real moms in every sense of the word. This show of insensitivity was in no way intended and Teleflora offers its deepest apology. It was always Teleflora’s intent to salute and celebrate all moms.

Please know that in response the concerns expressed, Teleflora immediately changed the name of the “Non-Mom” category to “Adopting Moms,” which has already been posted on the “semi-finalist” page at www.AmericasFavoriteMom.com.

I thought you might want to know. On behalf of Teleflora, I hope you have a very happy Mother’s Day.

And from Teleflora themselves, edited to avoid repetition:

In response to your concerns, Teleflora is immediately changing the name of our "Non-Mom" category to "Adopting Moms." After closer examination, we can see how this may have been offensive to moms who have adopted children -- moms who are indeed real moms to their children in every sense of the word. In fact, many of us at Teleflora are "adopting" parents ourselves, including our president and owner. The essence of this category still focuses on a grandparent, neighbor, step mom, or mom to adopted or foster children, each one raising and loving a child.

In closing, all of us at Teleflora would like to offer our sincerest best wishes to all the many women throughout the world who have worked so hard and given so much to earn the name "Mom."

I am happy to report that the boards and the blogs are all lit up now with gratitude for these apologies. I recognize that each of these organizations probably worked extra hours away from their own families to craft these responses and control the damage that was unleashed. I'm sure many of you are working moms, and I want to say thank you for the efforts that you have all put forth toward righting this offense. Your efforts are not in vain. Your apologies are accepted, and I am very grateful that you heard us and understood our thoughts and feelings. Thank you, Teleflora, Edelman and NBC.

I feel better now, don't you?

Favorites Friday is back!

I haven't done a Favorites Friday in a few weeks - seems as if my Fridays have been either too incredibly busy to allow for proper rumination and development of a scintillating topic. Or they've been too impossibly quiet and boring which thereby numbs my brain against proper rumination and development of a scintillating topic. Today is neither incredibly busy nor is it impossibly quiet. I'm sitting here listening to the conversations between Baby BlueEyes and "GoH Jus" Niece as they create their egg carton caterpillars (the absolute stretch of my creative crafty-mom pursuits!) and the steady drum of rain on the roof. All the makings of a perfect Friday morning. Especially now that I've gotten out all my big words for the day (and quite possibly the whole weekend) in the above sentences.

My mom's birthday was this week. And with Mothers' Day looming, I thought I'd share with you some of my Favorite things about my mom. This format is taken from a little survey that we had to complete for a Mother~Daughter luncheon I attended at her church last weekend with my sister, her girls and my LadyBug. I hope from it you can capture a bit of what makes my mom so amazing. And what makes all of us love her so incredibly much. She's a very special woman and I'm happy to share her with you in this way.

My Favorite Things About My Mom

Something funny about my Mom - One of the funniest things about my mom is that she can’t get through a joke (or at least a really good one!) without cracking herself up! Another is that her Boston accent returns briefly almost every time she talks with her mom or her sisters!

Something I admire about my Mom - I admire my mother’s wisdom and compassion – she’s got a gift for meeting you where you are at, but not leaving you there. I love that when I talk to her about parenting or marriage or ministry in my local church, she always gives me another perspective to think about when we're done. (See, Mom, I DO listen to you! Honest!)

A special memory of my Mom - A favorite memory of my mom is when she stayed overnight in the hospital with me when Shaggy was born. I was so scared, now that he was actually “here,” and in a lot of pain from the delivery. When I started to go into shock overnight, she got right on the nurses to get me some help and was so encouraging when I started to nurse. I also loved the sight of her holding her first grandbaby – it was thrilling!

Something that distinguishes my Mom from all other women - My mother’s anointing to be a godly mother-figure to the many younger women in her life is something that distinguishes her from other women in our lives. She carries that anointing with grace and humility and is very real and approachable in her ministry to all of us!

And an add-on to the original questions, Something that I hope to emulate from my Mom's life - I hope to grow into a steady, "rock of the family" woman that all my family knows that they can count on. I watch what my Mom is walking through as her mom ages, and I am amazed at her steadiness, her resolve, and her faithfulness to honor her mother's independence and still be sure that my Grandmother's health is prioritized. It can't be easy to watch her mother become more and more frail and I'm humbled by the way she's handling it all. Her whole family KNOWS that she can be counted on to make wise choices and it's a blessing to watch.

Happy Mothers' Day Mom.
I love you
Though I may not say it often enough,
You Are My Hero.
I want to be just like you when I grow up.

America's Favorite Mom

I'm way behind the times, apparently. For a while now, the Today show has been running a great contest in conjunction with Teleflora Florist, for"America's Favorite Mom." This morning, while making a real breakfast and sipping my creamy hazelnut coffee, I got to see the semi-finalists in the "Non Mom" Mom category. The definition of today's featured category is as follows:

"Grandparent, stepmom, or mom to adopted children,
each one raising and loving a child.
A priceless gift for everybody."

I know I'm a sap. I know I'm the worlds' easiest target for all Hallmark and retro McDonalds' commercials (you know, the one with the little sister and the big brother's letterman's jacket?). So, when I tuned in and turned it up, I knew the stories would get me. And I wasn't wrong! You really must head over and view the stories of each of today's moms yourself (Go to the "vote May 8th section of the page).

These women are doing great work and I am happy to report that the common denominator between all three of these awesome moms is their belief that they are doing God's work. That God created these families with which they have been blessed. That the children they have the privilege of parenting came to them via God's hand. It was a good thing for me to see today. And a great reminder for all of us: these precious ones are God's and when we serve them, we are serving Him!

Go. Read. Cry. Vote.
And be encouraged: you are doing God's work today, Mom!

Couldn't Have Said it Better Myself . . .

I found a great conversation about blogging, commenting, and readership tonight, by way of Happy In The Moment. By the way, I can't exactly remember how I found Happy In The Moment, but I'm thoroughly enjoying her take on the world. When I visit there, I'm always surprised by the combination of light-hearted joy that she finds in the world around her and insightful thoughts about the moments with which she has been blessed. Drop by her blog and enjoy the happiness! (It doesn't hurt her case one iota that she's a fellow David Cook fan!)

Anyway, this great conversation about blogging and commenting can be found here. And if you are one of my lurkers, DE-LURK yourself already. It doesn't hurt, I promise. In fact, it's often quite fun to leave your thoughts and feelings. To share your voice with the rest of us. Fun and not painful at all. Honest!

Fresh From My Garden

Baby Blue Eyes wants me to be sure

to tell you all that he wishes
you could smell 'yem'
cuz 'yem' smell 'weeally' good!
He's right.

Gearing Up For Mothers' Day!

I've never done this before, but I hear that 5 Minutes for Moms is hosting a huge blogger giveaway and I thought I'd get in on the action. Head over there for your chance to join the fun! I'm heading back there now to make sure I didn't miss anything really great. Come with me - maybe you'll win something too!

And The Award for Funniest Real Life Experience Goes To . . . .

Okay, a couple days ago my friend at Like I Was Saying posted about her new affinity for Giant Foods' new "shop from home" grocery service. I was excited to read her thoughts, as I belong to a consumer survey group that works with Giant Foods. This idea had been tossed around the discussion boards and there was mixed thoughts on how the service would be received and implemented.

I contacted LIWS and asked her permission to give the Giant people the link to her blog. Seems as if Giant Foods really wanted to hear what she had to say. And so did a local consumer advocate reporter. They set up a meeting at the local Giant, planned an interview and some filming time. Please, please, give your ab muscles a great work out and head over to read her behind the scenes view of the experience.

But DO NOT commence reading with a full cup of coffee.
Or with water in your mouth.
And especially not with a full bladder.
Trust me. Don't do it!


Oh yeah. If you are curious about the new shop at home service
that Giant is piloting, head here for the consumer reporter's story about it.
Pretty cool stuff!

A New Low

Last night, I had to grocery shop. Couldn't put it off any longer. But since I knew it would be a tiny trip (for us!), I grabbed The Boss and my coupons and we were off. I hoofed it through the store like a maniac, shopping and plotting and searching for coupons to match sales all with one eye on my watch. Sending The Boss off (which causes fits of panic and stress every time) with very specific instructions on specific foods to add to the cart. Gaging time needed, moving faster when necessary, and hurrying the cashiers in my mind.

I paid the nice boys with the ridiculously low-slung, baggy pants (please, did that fad not end a couple years ago?!). As we threw the last of the bags in the cart, I glanced at my watch. OH NO! 8:07 p.m. I knew that since David Cook has sung his American Idol brilliance towards the end of the last couple shows, it was likely that he'd be singing his Neil Diamond American Idol amazing-ness early in last night's show. Hurry it up!!!

The Boss threw the bags in the van, I revv'd it up and picked him up on the fly from the cart corral. Seriously, the van was moving before his butt was totally planted and the door was shut. Risky, I know. And while I was flying out of the parking lot, I called the boys and made them put the phone up to the tv speakers. I caught his first song, amid a ton of distortion, in the car with my cell on speaker while trying to responsibly and legally drive home as quickly as possible. Not the most well-known of Diamond's songs, but when you have a younger sister who loved (loves?) all things Neil Diamond in her teen years (I know, that's a whole 'nother post, I swear!!), you know all these songs. He rocked it. I drove faster.

As Shaggy was putting the phone back and laughing with Dr. Doolittle over my NEED to hear David's first song, I heard him (over the UN HUNG UP phone!) say to Dr. D, "She's pathetic. That's just sad." I couldn't believe it. My 13 year-old thinks I'm pathetic. And sad. I think I've sunk to a new low. But then (after I screeched to him, "I CAN HEAR YOU, YOU KNOW!") I heard him cracking up and laughing hysterically. That punk. He knew he hadn't hung up yet. He got me. UGH. Maybe that's my new low - he got me, and he KNEW he would. Punk.

Anyway, we got home, flew in the door and made everyone help unload and put away the groceries (I may need a treasure hunter to find that peanut butter and those canned peaches!) and clean up. Just in time. Just in time for David's second song of the night. He rocked it. Again! And his hair? Dude, I think I might get mine done like that. I love his hair! Oh wait, mine is already kinda like that. Why does it look so much funkier on him than on me?! Yeah, as I was saying, David Cook rocked the house last night. He is sooooo gonna win this. Or as Paula said:

"I feel like I'm looking at the next American Idol."

Yeah. That's what I've been saying. Since his adorable audition tape.
In Simon's words, he is "brilliant!" Yup. That's what I said.