Flat Stanley & Caseworker Interview

FLAT STANLEY

First of all, can we all "LOL" that Mike and I are taking a buddy picture with a paper guy? ;) So my nephew Jace in California had read the story of "Flat Stanley" in school (I am vaguely familiar but never read, I don't think) and we're asked to send their own "F.S." to someone and have them report back with a photo and story about where FS has been. So, first of all, he sent it to Michael and not me!? (What the heck? he he) Now, please forgive my break in this story but Michael is THE biggest 'stick in the mud'! He rarely does anything without written notice of 2 months of preparation. But when we received the envelope in the mail on Monday, I barely finished reading the letter to him and he was practically jumping out of his shorts to do it! What the heck?! Anyway, I was very happy that his instant reaction was so great but it gets better. He was devouring the instructions, mumbling plans to himself and outloud, counting off the places he wanted to take Stanley and what he will say in the 'essay' portion. Last night he was so excited to show me that he made a paper Titans jersey for Stanley! Can there be more exclaimation points in this post!?!! Hilarious. So, today, before meeting our caseworker Dave, we stopped in Nashville to hopefully take pictures of landmarks (worried some would be ruined from the recent flood disaster) and F.S. I do not want to spoil Michael full report to sweet Jace but there will be more than 1 picture and hopefully Michael can contain his essay about his new b.f.f.'s adventures in Tennessee to half a page. LOL. So, thank you Jace for unknowingly getting your Uncle to show who he's been hiding from us. I hope you get to see how much we love our state, especially Michael. It's his pride and joy and he was a perfect match for this assignment. We hope you get a good grade or a pat on the back, whatever they are passing out. We love you Jace (and Flat Stanley).

CASEWORKER INTERVIEW

For those of you that have missed it, we are trying to get approved so we can adopt again. No there is no baby waiting (that we know of), we are just taking the steps to complete the paperwork to be approved to adopt. With Evan, we took almost a year to get the paperwork finished. It was exciting and important to us but we were so distracted. 2 years later we were blessed with Evan. This time we are even more motivated cause we have the gift of Evan to remind us, every moment, what is waiting for us at the end of that rainbow. We are surprisingly patient yet very motivated. We know this is the right time for our family and cannot wait to see who is joining us next. No matter how short or long of a wait it is this time, we feel great about our progress and can't wait to move forward! :) So along with paperwork, we have sets of interviews with Dave our new and AWESOME caseworker. We already had a Home visit interview so this time, since he comes from Indiana, we met him in Madison. I have never been there so thankfully we made it ok. Dave is great. He is friendly, professional and hard working. We had a couples interview then individual interviews and he said, "well, you passed"! lol I didn't think there was a possibility not to 'pass' but was kinda nervous after he said that to be honest. he he. Well, Mike "passed" too and now all we need is verification of our health and a FBI background check completed (fingers crossed. lol) then we will be approved and get to be on the http://www.itsaboutlove.org/ website for birth mothers to start viewing us. It has also been recommended to us to list ourselves on http://www.parentprofiles.com/ (it's sort of an adoptive parents advertiser but will cost us money every month. boo but yay for the exposure).

I just cannot tell you in a blog how excited I am that my children come to our family this way. Before Evan, I was so excited for my friend Jeff the whole time his wife was pregnant, not knowing that right before his son was born, I would finally be a parent too. It's just like not knowing whether you are pregnant but from the time I found out we were 'pregnant' to his birth was shorter (and slightly less physically painful). Children are a gift, I personally hope I can wear Michael down and get him to let me have as many children as I want (3-4) but if Evan is our only child, it will be wonderful. I will let you know how you can help once we are "Approved" so look forward to that post to see what you can do to help us find our next family member. Thank you for all your love and interest in our struggle with fertility - success with Adoption. Hang on, it's going to be a bumpy ride! :) xoxo

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

Coccinellidae & Lampyridae

Coccinellidae: aka... LADYBUGS! Lampyridae: aka... FIRE FLY's!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccinellidae

Coccinellidae is a family of beetles, known variously as ladybirds (UK, Ireland, Australia, Pakistan, South Africa), ladybugs (North America), or lady beetles (preferred by some scientists). Lesser-used names include ladyclock, lady cow, and lady fly.[1]
They are small insects, ranging from 1 mm to 10 mm (0.04 to 0.4 inches), and are commonly yellow, orange, or scarlet with small black spots on their wing covers, with black legs, head and antennae. A very large number of species are mostly or entirely black, grey, or brown and may be difficult for non-entomologists to recognize as coccinellids (and, conversely, there are many small beetles that are easily mistaken as such, like tortoise beetles).
Coccinellids are found worldwide, with over 5,000 species described,[2] more than 450 native to North America alone.
A few species are pests in North America and Europe, but they are generally considered useful insects as many species feed on aphids or scale insects, which are pests in gardens, agricultural fields, orchards, and similar places. The Mall of America, for instance, releases thousands of ladybugs into its indoor park as a natural means of pest control for its gardens.[3]
A common myth is that the number of spots on its back indicates its age.[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefly

Lampyridae is a family of insects in the beetle order Coleoptera. They are winged beetles, and commonly called fireflies or lightning bugs for their conspicuous crepuscular use of bioluminescence to attract mates or prey. Fireflies are capable of producing a "cold light", containing no ultraviolet or infrared rays. This chemically-produced light, emitted from the lower abdomen, may be yellow, green, or pale red in color, and has a wavelength from 510 to 670 nanometers.
There are more than 2,000 species of firefly found in temperate and tropical environments around the world. Many species can be found in marshes or in wet, wooded areas where their larvae have abundant sources of food. These larvae can also emit light and are often called "glowworms", particularly in Eurasia. In the Americas, "glow worm" also refers to the related Phengodidae.

or

(3rd picture shows:) Photinus pyralis, known by the common names Common Eastern Firefly[1] and Big Dipper Firefly,[2] is the most common species of firefly in North America.[3] This organism is sometimes incorrectly classified as Photuris pyralis, which likely results from mistaking the similar sounding genus Photuris.
The species' common name refers to the characteristic flight of the male, which flies in a J-shaped trajectory, lighting on the upswing.[4]

"WHY DO YOU POST THIS", do you ask?... I've been wanting to post about this for some time cause I think it is cool and educational. Unfortunately I get distracted. Ladybugs and Fire flys are the state insects of TENNESSEE!! (agricultural official insect of the state is the "European Honey Bee", Butterfly is a "Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra_Swallowtail_Butterfly)

We are the coolest! Every fall we get an infestation of Lady bugs in our homes (seeking warmth? I haven't researched that. If anyone knows, please comment) which to many DOESN'T seem like the 'coolest', lol, but I personally still think it is neat. :) Fire flys are in the summertime and are just the most fun to watch and catch! Wanna know YOUR state insect/s? Well, here you go:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_insects

I hope you enjoyed this educational blog post. I hope to add more random posts like this one throughout the next year. :)

Random moments

a birthmark has emerged! i just noticed it last week!

what a good swimmer (in our back yard) ;)

first resturaunt high chair experience. almost ready ;).

we had california visitors last weekend, kathy and charlotte ludlow. they were great guests! they especially loved seeing evan and only held, loved and complimented him. perfect! ;) we hope they come back to stay with us again. and great job to kathy who ran in our Music City Half Marathon... What a woman!

"I love to read"...

beggers. (look how those sweet hands are folded. ;) sooo cute!)

momma's wishful thinking that we could buy this "$100.00" walker. it's sooo cute!

his first two teeth are even bigger than this now but you get the point. ;)

No reason but in the last couple weeks, here is Evan in random moments. (we don't own the sweet car walker but wish we did! we were at toys r us and couldn't resist a little photo shoot. he he. keep your eyes out for a 'combi' brand walker like this used and let me know!)

Cooing and Giggling

Cooing with mom on March 7th, 2009. Enjoying a beautiful sunny Tennessee day after having snow just the week before.

snowing in tennessee!

view of my chop shops parking lot a few minutes ago! cross your fingers for a white christmas!