Mondays

Every Monday (well, the past three) I have thought to myself that "we would probably have a baby today." I think there's the thought that the Dillon staff will come back to their offices on Monday morning with a referral on their desk; we are just a phone call away. But, no referral today. Patiently waiting, knowing we need all the time we can get with just two!

However, I did receive an interesting email today. A couple in our Rockwall adoption fellowship just received a referral for their 2 month old Vietnamese boy! We haven't met them yet, but there will be another Viet adoptee here in Rockwall at the same time. Very exciting.

Pic of Charlotte and McKenna at the Halloween party Sat night. Jack-o-Lantern carving commenced tonight in the Tompkins' household. That was a first. At least the seeds will be yummy!

Ultimately Sore

Ultimately sore is what I am sure I will be in the morning. Our week/weekend included some greats:

• Dallas Market w/ MRA and Mom. Love the $5 showroom.
• Gigi and Finn here Friday AM.
• Three downstairs rooms experiencing "Total Home Makeover." PAINT!
• Lunch with Ryan yesterday at the Rockwall Harbor where the girls proceed to dance on the amphitheater stage.
• Halloween Party with many from the Rockwall area adoption fellowship; so encouraging & great treats Dawn!
• Italian Dinner & Pictionary (modified for our old age) at the Huntley's. Made broccoli rabe' which Always makes me think of Chris W. and the V&T Friday night crowd.
• Sitting through Sunday School class as an adult.
• Great worship with our Trinity Harbor family.
• A beautiful Sunday afternoon.
• Oh, and the highlight, Ultimate Frisbee tonight with Veritas (the youth group)! (This pic is basically me...and Missy.)

Ryan was kind enough to let me sub in for him the second half of the gaming. It was a BLAST! We must find more babysitters who are not in Veritas so we can both play. Tomorrow I will not be able to bend my knees, but at least I will have lots of promised Dora band aids on my boo boos. The best was my cheering section, "Go Mommy!"

Happy Day

Happy Birthday, Allison!
Enjoy your "day off."

Prom

As I had a rare afternoon at home with C only, we looked at some pics together. Love this one and miss you all!

Under Pressure

Rachel and Ben Wheeler are such an example of endurance under stressful circumstances. We all continue to pray with them for little John, 6 months old, as he recovers from the surgery that connected his esophagus to his tummy. After a little leak turned into a big leak, he now has three chest tubes running from his body, and his breathing is being aided by a ventilator. However, they are encouraged as the fluid that filled his chest has been greatly decreased. Two of the tubes should be removed this week, and we desire that the hole in his esophagus heal quickly.
Ben is the pastoral intern at our church, and his family has had quite the six months. With Ben in seminary, interning at Trinity Harbor, and three other kids at home, Rachel wrote this in her recent email, "We reached the point last week when our internal struggle grew so intense, that we realized we needed to give up, turn around and embrace what God was doing rather than resist it. Through that surrender we have found peace and an assurance that this has been God's plan and He is fully in control even if we don't understand. We threw out all our timeframes and were reminded that God is the only proper place for us to place our hope--not doctors, nurses, etc. His ways are not our ways, but He is good and is proactive for our good. Even the faith to believe these things is a gift from Him. He did much work in our souls as well as John's body last week!"
Thanks to God for the spirit to even write such words!

Which Fireplace are we Talking about Anyway?

Sitting around for a snacky dinner at the bar tonight, the discussion arose as to whom Molly could "hate." She asked first about Pharoah (after saying "I hate you" to Mommy was discussed as being off the table). To which Ryan replied, "You may only hate Satan." As Molly inquired as to the identity of Satan, Charlotte chimes in (who knew she was in this convo) "Ho, Ho, Ho." Satan....Santa. I can see the mix up.

Daily Routines

Love it when Ryan and the girls make smoothie together! Notice that C is all the way ON the bar, feet and all.
Decided last minute to head to Waco today for some g-parent time and then the Baylor game tomorrow (girls trip). Not a great first "live" football game for Molly, I'm sure. BU playing UT. After her Aggie comment, my parents may shuttle her out of the game after the first quarter.
TX State Fair & now Football. We're becoming "real."

Waiting Weirdness

It's a little strange being on the "waiting list" for a baby. Often, when the home phone rings, I think, "We could "have" a baby today." It seems a little remote/surreal. Painting his room later this month will help. Overall, I'm glad to have this time to see M&C grow and mature before #3. Mature relative to being 2 & 4 that is.
I am spending some time reading The Quiet American by Graham Greene & Shadows and Wind: A View of Modern Vietnam, both recommendations by Amanda H's brother who taught in Vietnam.
On another note, I am also reading Your Home, A Place of Grace and am excited to potentially discuss it next semester with the women of Trinity Harbor. Thoughts from you who have done this?
As most of you know, I will actually finish only one of these books. Maybe I can change...

I-35

One thing I love about our move to TX is the chance to see my family for "no reason at all." Thanks Mom & Dad for your visit this weekend. It was so fun and encouraging to have you here! Of course, our NYC weekends with the Tompkins are so memorable; miss those! Bagels anyone? Can't wait to see Marian on Wednesday.
Church yesterday was great. At least according to my preferences. Ha. In Christ Alone, Amazing Grace, Jesus Paid it All...some good singing! And some great prayer. We continue to pray for little John Benjamin in the ICU as they work on connecting his esophagus.
Okay; I have not much left in me with this post. Since I started writing I have had to help C fix the people in the Play Mobile about 5 times, listen to a piece Ryan is reading on the Syrian Jews in Brooklyn, clean crayon off a piece of furniture, and ward off requests to make paper dolls right now. That might sum up our Monday morning. Mondays are my favorite, though. Daddy's Day Off!
And, yes, we survived IKEA. Barely.

Wider than you Think

Today we are making the trek to, where else, IKEA! Such fond memories of that place. Love it and hate it. I was just reminiscing to Missy how I moved to NYC with 13 UPS boxes and two suitcases to my name. Upon finally finding that first apartment, we made the sacred first trip to furnish our hard-earned space. What a day for those of us who piled in that Christensen van--E, Emma, Cindy, and our fearless driver Zac. Just imagine the trip back through the Holland tunnel and onto Canal Street (for about 3 hours) with the five of us, a desk, entertainment stand, nightstand, and that great wicker chair in which Emma had to sit. We made it. Barely.
While this trip will surely be less crowded and involve less traffic and hopefully less near-death lane changes, IKEA with a 2 & 4 year old could be the same degree of chaos. I will think of you all!

Small World

Last night we enjoyed our first Rockwall Adoption Fellowship as we joined them in a picnic and lantern walk in which the kids circled the park with lanterns, celebrating the Chinese Lantern Festival. It was great to see families in the Rockwall area with adopted kiddos. M&C had a great time both making new friends, seeing a few they already knew (The Dunns in our church have two birth sons plus little Lillie from China. She is C's age and they play in the nursery together weekly.), and carrying loaned lanterns and glow sticks in the parade. Ryan & I were encouraged as we met other adoptive parents in the area.

If any Tompkins are reading, one of the women we met there grew up in Montrose, PA. I mentioned we had been to a wedding at the Gun Club there. Small world! Not to mention the kids who are now living in the same subdivisions and may have been born in the same 'hoods across the globe.

Some Things Considered

Today I heard my first Texan say, "I heard on NPR that...". Ok, ok that's not totally true (Mom), but it is rather rare. Then she mentioned David Sedaris! I know, C & Mel, I never even finished "Naked," but it made me at least smile to think of him. And you. And KLS, my friend who lives and breathes for NPR. I'm sure this isn't the last you'll hear of my new NPR friend.

The pics sum up a fun afternoon with the "girls." Molly, Charlotte, Ava, Katherine, & Alexandra that is. It was great--ice cream cones in 93 October degrees.

Big Tex

So we made our first official visit as a TX family to the State Fair of Texas. What a trip! To start, it was Rockwall ISD Fair Day. Every school district in the Dallas Metroplex gets a day off just to go to the fair! So, lots of the fathers take the day off too. We met up with friends from church for lunch--Fletchers Corn Dogs and Corn on a Stick for all. Ryan sampled the fried cookie dough (Every year; fried food cook offs. We didn't try the fried latte.) Then to the Hands on the Farm, to feed the animals (baby bison, ostrich, giraffe, zebra, water buffalo, & more!), then to the Midway for RIDES.

Ryan feels like he is on his way to being Texan. I was able to appreciate the fair for what it was. And you know what, it was like one gigantic Wildwood, E! Gigantic! How many acres, you Texans? 50? 100? I just googled it. 277 acres! M&C were pooped! We want to go back. It's going to be a prize for when that child starts sleeping again. That will be worth a fried latte. Or a fried cosmo. Yes, they really offer them.