ADOPTION FINALLY FINALIZED!!!

today we met with several friends and family at the harvey county courthouse to finalize capri's adoption! we felt so blessed by all who showed up. we were pleasantly surprised that the judge we wanted showed up instead of the judge we were assigned. judge walker has been the judge throughout capri's whole case and he really wanted to be there for the completion. we didn't get the best pictures, some were blurry, but it's hard to point and shoot with teared up eyes.

me and capri before court...check out that smile (but pay no attention to the remodel job in the background)

another picture of pri and mama before the big day....

we purchased special bracelets for the special day and gave it to capri before court

snuggling with daddy before heading off to court

ms. marcia, capri's former teacher and our close family friend checking out capri's new 'pretty' 'pretty'

capri also wanted to share her bracelet with dr. krasne, lindsay's boss

the courthouse was getting a massive shipment of paper and the guys and capri were watching them unload it...not to mention, capri licking the fly in the window (gross!)

our little lady playing on the floor while we waited for the hearing to begin

just before judge walker arrived

our new family with judge walker and our attorney marilyn

celebrating with nina and grandpa


some of the wonderful friends and family who joined us

these were all our former workers, melissa from s.f.a, our three c.a.s.a workers and ms. marcia (teacher/friend)

what a blessed day. and we can't wait to continue the celebration tonight as we take capri out and start a new adoption tradition with her. she will be going out for a sweet treat...she has selected ice cream with treats in it, so we think there is a cold stone in our future. thanks again to those who attended in person and those who were there in prayer.

bye bye two...hi twee!

so on december 1st, our baby turned three. on the eve of her birthday she kept saying, 'bye bye two!' 'hi twee!' she is still telling people that she's two, hey, it's hard to admit that you're getting older, but she's doing great. she looks so big. we keep talking about how she's going to be 3 1/2 when the baby's born and can't believe she'll be a big sister, it's amazing all that GOD has done in the past year.

here are some pictures of our big girl on her birthday...
before going to church and lunch with nina and grandpa

a little grumpy 3 year old
when we got home from her birthday meal, we surprised capri by setting up her new ball pit...she was squealing with glee

officially official!

we found out yesterday that as of december 12th...capri will officially be ours!!! we will be going to the court house for the finalization and then we plan to PARTY. we will be sending out invitations for the end of december/beggining of january to have a finalization celebration.

we feel so blessed to have successfully made it through this 2 1/2 year journey. thank you all so much for your prayers, encouragement and support!

fall pictures

we love fall and have had a blast enjoying the semi-warm weather (until this week). we've enjoyed a corn maze, papa's pumpkin patch, putt-putt golf, and a day at the park with capri's buddy, abby. we've seen the leaves change, but more important, we've seen a change in the past year with our little angel. enjoy the pictures...

today we saw her name!

we went to a meeting today which we thought was going to be long, drawn out and unpleasant...boy were we wrong. we were told that we needed to attend capri's subsidy meeting. this is a meeting to discuss funding for capri for the next 15 years. it is supposed to be a time for us to say why she needs subsidy, and they are supposed to basically negotiate with us. well, they didn't. we told them what we were thinking, they said, 'okay.' now lets sign the form...that was easy!!!

so then they brought in the form...it started like this...we, the undersigned, do hereby request to adopt cassandra, who will then be named capri!!!! how cool is that. that was the first legal document that has said her new name. so now we are on our way to adopt this little monkey.

we had no idea that we were supposed to sign our intent to adopt form. we are no longer her foster parents, we are now being referred to as her soon to be adoptive parents. what a blessed day!

Moving Right Along

just wanted to post real quick to let everyone know how things are going. we started to read capri's file last friday, this is all part of the process of the adoption, although it's hard, there has been much needed information found in that 1000+ page file. i will be going on tuesday to continue reading through everything, so please keep me in your prayers as some of the things literally bring me to tears. it is so hard to see what all she's been through, but at least we know she's going to be ours, and all of that is in her past...THANK YOU GOD!!!

as for capri...she's a total nut and she's been catching up developmentally. still behind some, but making huge progress. she's learning her abc's and her shapes and colors...she's picked all of this up faster than we expected which is encouraging.

hope all is well for you and yours and thanks again for everything!!!

Finally...a sigh of relief!

okay, we can finally let out that breath that we've been holding for years! capri is going to be OURS. we met with our attorney friday and she assured us that once she receives "the packet" we can officially proceed forward with this long awaited adoption.

it amazes us how things have changed over the past two years. we went from a couple longing for a child, to a couple fighting for a child, to a couple in love with each other as well as their child. GOD has provided so much, even through grief and heartache! we are stronger because of this fight, our testimony and capri's testimony can help others who are going through similar struggles and that gets us stoked to spread the WORD!

we are looking forward to what GOD has in store for us next. at the moment, we are requesting prayer that as HE brings other children into the picture, HE will lead us to the right child. we want to adopt again, but we want to make sure that it is with HIS leading, because we know how hard it is if it isn't HIS will. thank you for your prayers over the past two years with capri and the past nine years of our marriage!

July 25th, 2008

next friday, july 25th, there will be a staffing held to see if we get to adopt capri. at this point in time, no other families have come forward to request to adopt her, so things are looking great! we will keep you all posted as we learn more and will appreciate your prayers too...thank you!

Check out my Slide Show!

My Hero

Today I saw a precious moment that took my breath away
My husband and our baby girl pausing from their day

He held her in his big strong arms and showed her beauty all around
Then he kissed her precious head and placed her on the ground

I pray that you will always have the bond you share today
And the joy you share in each other will never fade away.

May your daddy always be your hero for he's my hero too
And each day we thank our Heavenly Father for the precious gift of you!

Mullet-Be-Gone!

we did it! we finally rid capri of her mullet! we took her to see the world's greatest beautician, kaley, and she worked her magic to rid our baby girl of her she mullet! at first, she was very scared, so i got in the chair with her, showed her my ring, and the cutting began. she looks so grown up now, and has an attitude to go along with it. she loves to show people her hair and say, "i cute!"




after pictures...isn't she cute!?!

tutu cute

it's a beautiful day, so capri grabbed her tutu and we went outside for some pictures...enjoy






then she decided she was done, and was letting me know about it...diva


"bye bye mama" "c-ya" "all done" (i guess she's trying to tell me something)

why toss a coin in a fountain when you can pray!

i have several things to be thankful for, but today, i am thankful for a new daycare!!! GOD is so good. we have been trying to get capri into carol's daycare for almost two years. people are always telling us how wonderful this woman is, and by the grace of GOD, three weeks ago, we met her. we were sitting next to her at a seminar for over three hours when we realized who she was, after the seminar, we introduced ourselves...not so subtly. i said, 'i've been praying for you!' normally i introduce myself first but hey, i was excited! so today, i phoned her and she has an opening starting june 1st. hooray!!!

let me tell you how wonderful this woman is...she has fostered SEVERAL children in her 22 years as a foster parent. she adopted a girl twenty years ago (named lindsay), and has TONS of experience with kids in foster care. GOD is so amazing how HE works things out. when we told our current daycare provider the news, she was ecstatic because apparently she doesn't feel like daycare is the right thing for her, so again, a GOD thing. we will keep you posted on capri's many adventures at daycare...we know there will be more to come.

Colbie Caillat, Kansas City, & A Cutie

we went to kansas city this weekend to see colbie caillat in concert. capri loved listening to the bubble song, but we were all sad that colbie didn't sing 'capri.' oh well, we will be seeing her again this next friday and have hopes that she will sing it there.

on our trip to kansas city, capri zonked out in the back seat and i had to take some pictures of the sleeping beauty.
(capri sound asleep in the kansas city traffic)


bear made the trip to kansas city too. he even attended the concert and capri was making him dance on daddy and mama's laps. capri treated him like her little baby and was sitting in the back seat of the car giving him drinks from her sippy cup. however, he didn't get to play in the fountain with capri and daddy. (sorry, i didn't have my camera for that...i know...i'm bummed too.)

all in all, it was a great weekend with only a few minor meltdowns...which is pretty good considering we are officially a professional fit thrower! further blogs on being 2 to follow.

"i biva"

sunglasses have become capri's new best friend. she loves them...indoors and out. the other day we were walking out of the house and a neighbor saw her with her sunglasses on and said, 'she sure does look cute in those glasses' to which i replied, 'yeah, she's quite the diva.' (mistake #1)

capri kept saying 'i biva' over and over. we went to her appointment, i set her on the counter and the lady at the desk said 'hi sweetie, how are you?' capri looked at her, pushed up her sunglasses and said with her chest puffed out...'i biva.' the lady looked perplexed, i then explained that my ever so confident daughter finds herself to be a diva. the lady said, 'well she sure is a diva, check out those glasses.'(mistake #2) capri then lowered her glasses, looked over the top and said, 'hey baby!' oh good grief what have we gotten ourselves into!?!

control freak

i don't know what it is, but i have the hardest time with not being in control. i didn't always used to be like this, don't get me wrong, i love organization, but i never used to, my room was a mess, under my bed...i don't even want to talk about that. but now, i go nuts when my house is out of order, and crazier still when my child isn't in a "controlled" environment.

we went to the zoo today, it was wonderful and quite enjoyable until capri decided she wanted out of her stroller...'i out' she said over and over. finally i gave in and auntie laura pushed the stroller while i chased the 2 year old. it wasn't until about 15 minutes of this that i looked at laura and said, 'i never knew how much of a control freak i am.' laura just looked at me and laughed, apparently she knew.

it is amazing to me that after two years of watching GOD unfold this beautiful package that is 'parenthood,' i am still trying to grab it back from HIM. i need to let go and allow HIM to take capri in HIS arms. HE is guiding her every step, not me.

PAUL!

capri loves paul, and she loves to call him daddy, but a funny thing has happened lately. "daddy" has become "paul." now, i know that all kids go through this whole calling the parents by their name thing, but capri has taken it even further. she only calls him 'paul' when he isn't present or she can't see him.

here are a couple examples: capri is put down for her nap, we hear the pitter patter of little feet, then we hear her at the gate at the top of the stairs, "hi!" if we say nothing, we hear, "PAUL!!!!" this of course puts us in a fit of giggles. she sounds exactly like me when i'm upstairs and i holler down to him. i wouldn't call it yelling, just really loud talking. i know that we don't help the situation by our laughing, but it is so funny to hear.

the other night paul went into the kitchen and asked if i needed anything, i hollered back, "no, i'm good." however, capri needed a drink, so she turns her head toward the kitchen and hollered, "PAUL!!!" from the kitchen we hear, "yes, pri?" to which capri says, "a dink." so ever so obedient daddy/paul comes in with a drink for his little girl with a big smile on his face. capri then looks up at daddy and says, "it daddy." since she can see him, he becomes daddy again - it's her own way of thinking to say the least.

i bowvow

the secret's out, capri is officially addicted to wheel of fortune. over the past two years, capri as been an avid wheel watcher, she loves to watch 'pat' and claps whenever people solve the puzzle. she enjoys saying 'hi pat' and 'bye pat' (followed by blowing him a kiss) thus we are already concerned about her taste in men. she could care less about vanna white and all of the people on the show...it's all pat...all the time. she wakes up after naps talking about pat so we know she is dreaming about him...yikes!

so, with that being said, let's talk about last weekend. we took a family trip to the zoo and could hear capri in the back seat saying the same thing over and over again. we are always having her repeat things because she is still pretty hard to understand at times. she kept saying, 'i bowvow' when we would have her repeat it, it would come out the exact same way, 'i bowvow.' finally we gave up and said, 'honey, we don't know what word you are saying.' she of course moved on and didn't really speak the hidden word again.

monday evening, while paul was out for devotions, i was sitting with the little wheel watcher and she was completely drooling over pat. one of the contestants, from alabama kept buying vowels, to which capri would look at me and say 'i bowvow." finally it dawned on me...SHE WANTED TO 'BUY A VOWEL'!

does anyone speak two year old? i need an interpreter.

"I BIG"

this weekend capri decided it was time to become a big girl and start sleeping in her big girl bed. on saturday night, i said let's get ready for bed, she climbed up into her big girl bed, hunkered down, and said, "migh might." i covered her up and she zonked right out. when she woke up on sunday morning, she sat in her room reading books until mommy and daddy woke up. when paul went in to get her she said, 'big bed' 'big girl' 'i big!' we headed off to church and she of course announced to everyone, 'i big!' she was so proud of herself, i of course cried on saturday night realizing that my baby girl is in fact big.

so this morning, i went in to see my sleeping beauty before we went to daycare, at some point during the night, she got out of bed to read, as books were EVERYWHERE! however, i found her standing up next to her bed, with her head on the bed, snoring away and drooling. i was turning to get my camera and she woke up and said, 'i read.' i said 'yes capri, i see that, and did you sleep good?' she looked at me, puffed out her chest and shook her head yes and said with a big grin. "i big mama!"

UNEXPECTED BLESSINGS

WE FOUND OUT TODAY THAT CAPRI'S PARENTS SIGNED OVER THEIR RIGHTS THIS MORNING. WE CAN NOW MOVE FORWARD WITH THE ADOPTION PROCESS. SUCH A HAB. 1:5 KIND OF DAY...WATCH, AND BE UTTERLY AMAZED, FOR I AM GOING TO DO SOMETHING IN YOUR DAY YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE, EVEN IF YOU WERE TOLD"

THANK YOU GOD FOR UNEXPECTED BLESSINGS, WORDS DO NOT EXPRESS OUR GRATITUDE

Praise Him!

we had court this morning, and it was short and SWEET! the judge scheduled a 2 day termination trial for april 15-16th. usually this is scheduled about 4-6 months down the road but he wanted to expedite things since it's all dragged on so long. we are praising GOD that things went so smoothly. we will continue to keep you posted.

what we've been up to

just an update on how the case is progressing. we go to court next week for what is being called a permanency planning/pre-termination trial. basically the parties will go before the judge and present why termination needs to occur. then, it's our understanding, if the judge accepts the reasons, he will set up a termination hearing down the road and rights will be terminated. so we are going in the right direction.

please continue to pray that all parties involved will do what they need to do before court. we've had a lot of feet dragging and had to babysit a few of the people involved, as this is "just another case" to them.

another change this week is capri will be starting a new daycare next week. with great sadness (see picture of capri crying), we said our goodbye's to debbie and roger, capri's daycare providers. they have made a huge impact on capri's life. they have helped so much with encouraging her as well as us. it will be a big adjustment, but we have found a provider that we feel has a heart for children as well. also, noah, another young boy from capri's current daycare, will be attending the new one so as capri says, "my buddy" will be there.

we will continue to keep you all posted as things change. thank you again for your prayers and encouragement.

Scrapbook

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

I Need A Time Out!

so...we've started using time out with capri because she's starting to test us more and we came to the conclusion that time out would work best for her, and us as well. this weekend was our first time out weekend, and we decided that we were going to stick to our guns and put capri in time out for 1 minute whenever she did something that she wasn't supposed to (i.e. shutting the door to the bathroom and fishing in the toilet...ahh parenting!)

it went something like this...

(door shutting...water splashing...something going kerplunk)

"capri linay...you'd better not be in that bathroom"
(bathroom door is shut...silence from the other side)

"alright young lady, you're going in time out."
(escort 2 year old out of the bathroom, into the kitchen, and place said 2 year old on the mat in front of the sink with her back to the counter...this is THE SPOT designated by us)

"capri, i want you to sit on this time out mat for 1 minute, on your bottom, and i will set the timer. if you get up, we start over again"
(blank stare)

"bottom, mama"

"yes, on your bottom"

"bottom"

"yes, on your bottom"
(this conversation drags on for several minutes)

"okay capri, you may get up, what do you say to mama?"

"soggy, mama"
(i take no offense to this, i know she isn't calling me soggy, at least i don't think she is.)


so, two days, and several episodes from above later...

(door shutting, very quietly...no splashing...Thank GOD)

"capri linay, if you are..."
(mid sentence...door opens, 2 year old comes out, plops down in THE SPOT, and looks at the clock, sighing loudly)

"good girl, you sit there for one minute"
(i begin unloading the dishwasher and look down at THE SPOT...2 year old is scooting across the floor on the time out mat...ON HER BOTTOM)

I NEED A TIME OUT!