What we've been up to!

Well, I promised that I wouldn't get caught up each month in anticipaiting our new number on the waiting list, but I have found myself checking email every 15 minutes for the past few days! We are supposed to receive an email during the first week of this month to update us on our new number and I'm getting a bit obsessive! I have tried to get signed up with a Yahoo group list from our agency that will help me to figure out "unofficial" numbers, but I haven't had any luck. Maybe I haven't been posting on it correctly because I'm not really sure how it works. Anyway, based on what I've read on another group list from our agency, there have been some referrals of baby boys in the last couple of weeks, so I expect that MAYBE we will be in the single digits this time! We are getting excited as we anticipate seeing his little face for the first time!

So, here are some pictures of things that we've been busy with over the last week. Beckett had a scrimmage last Sunday afternoon and Sean put him in the catcher position! Yikes! He is playing machine pitch this season, and there he was, with all of that equipment on, squatted down while 40 mph baseballs came flying at him. He basically just acted like a ball stop, which is what Sean said he is supposed to do. He didn't really enjoy it. He thought it was boring! Saturday is opening day for the baseball season! Stay tuned for pictures of the "River Dogs" in action!
On Wednesday mornings, Beckett goes to Nana and Papa's house so that Helen and I can participate in BSF. (Bible Study Fellowship) I will usually send a book for him to read and a couple of skills pages for him to review and then we do our lessons in the afternoon. He usually gets those things done pretty quickly and gets to do fun stuff with Papa and Nana. This week, he found that he has a new "gift." (Direct quote from Beckett!) The picture below might give you an idea of what this new found gift is, but if you are still confused, check out his blog, The Slam to find out what he did for a good part of Wednesday morning. Then, if you can tell me how I can incorporate this into his first grade curriculum, just let me know! :)

On Monday afternoon, my Aunt Marilyn (aka "Auntie Mame") came to visit. She lives in western NC, so it isn't too far from us. We went over to the lake side trail and did a short hike on Monday afternoon. Sean and Beckett went to BSF that night and the three girls went to dinner at Abuelo's. We had a great time.

On Tuesday morning, we headed downtown to The Tennessee Theater for a school matinee presentation of The Magic Tree House Musical. Beckett has always enjoyed the Magic Tree House books and he and Auntie Mame used to play "Jack and Annie" a few years ago when I first started reading these chapter books to him. We thought she might enjoy going with us to see the musical. It was a great show and we all had a good time. Here is a picture of AM with the kids in front of the theater!

Here is a picture inside the theater of them with a cardboard cut out of "Jack and Annie." Helen must have seen something more interesting!

So, that is the latest news! Hope everyone is doing well! Stay tuned for our waiting list number! I hope to find a message in my "inbox" soon!

We have been "favorably determined!"

What is "favorably determined" you might ask? Well, yesterday we received a letter from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to notify us that they have "favorably determined that we are able to furnish proper care to an orphan as defined in Section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act." This is a huge deal and we are so glad that we have this important documentation! It was the only thing we were waiting on (in terms of paperwork) and we must have it in order to accept our referral! (Which gets closer each day!) As far as we know, we are still sitting at #12 on the waiting list for our son! This important piece of paper cost a lot of $$ and a trip to Atlanta for fingerprints, but it is all going to be worth it when we get to see our little boy's face! Just wanted to share our good news and keep you updated!

I am so humbled when I think about how I have been adopted into God's family, not because of anything that I have done, but because of His glorious grace and amazing love. I know that God has so much to teach our family through this adoption and I anticipate each new lesson with great expectation. I want to share a verse that I was recently reminded of that speaks so beautifully to how believers have all been adopted. John 1:12-13 says, "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or of a husband's will, but born of God."

Thanks for your continued prayers! We are so honored to be joining God on this journey as we walk out His plan for our family!

Just a Couple of Pictures!

I had not updated our blog in a few days, so I thought I would add a couple of pictures that I took of the kids today. Helen LOVES strawberries! Here is a picture of her as she enjoyed her strawberry snack this afternoon. This was after she had just had a big bowl of blueberries! Glad she loves her fruit!
Here is a picture that warms my heart. Beckett is finally choosing to read when he has free time! He is really into The Magic Tree House books and now I will find him reading when he hasn't been asked to! Here is a picture of him reading "Sunset of the Sabertooth" and enjoying a strawberry snack! It doesn't get much better than that!

Enjoy your Tuesday!

Beckett Met a Famous Author Tonight!

You probably don't know this lady, but she is a wonderful children's author. Her name is Mary Pope Osborne and she writes The Magic Tree House series of books. I began reading these chapter books to Beckett when he was four years old and he is now reading them to himself! Beckett and I had the opportunity to meet her at our local Border's book store tonight and he had his picture made with her. It was a great night! Check out Beckett's blog, "The Slam" to find out more about our evening! (Just click on "The Slam" and it will link you to his blog!)

Before and After

I've had a couple of comments asking about Beckett's hair, so I thought I'd share the before and after pictures. He REALLY wanted to grow out his hair, so we have been working on it all Fall and Winter. I've mentioned before that he has a "chia head" and his hair grows straight up in the back around his crown. Once we made it through that stage and it began to lay down, it was looking pretty nice. However, I'm just not used to Beckett with all of that hair, and Sean couldn't stand it! Sean nicknamed him "Sonic the Hedgehog" because of the way his hair looked every morning when he woke up. It stood up all over! It was definitely much more difficult to manage. Sean says that whenever you have to put gel on a boy's hair and use a hair dryer, it is too long. (No, he isn't very opinionated! Ha!) Anyway, last Thursday, I took Beckett and Helen to Target to have their 7 and 4 year old pictures made. Beckett had his picture made "with hair"! We left Target and went to straight to see Will, Beckett's new barber,and let him cut it all off. I think Beckett felt a little naked for a couple of days. He wanted to keep his toboggan on all of the time but I think he is getting used to it now. I love it! He looks like himself again! And it is SO much easier to take care of! So, enjoy the before and after shots!

WITH hair......

WITH VERY LITTLE hair......

Leprechauns and Rainbows

Last night for dinner, we had loaded baked potatoes and salad. We were reading about why potatoes were so important to Ireland and about the plant disease that attacked the Irish potato crop in 1845 that eventually led to the famine. So during dinner, our doorbell rang three times and the kids answered the door to find no one there. This has happened for the last three years on St. Patrick's Day! They found a note from their friend the leprechaun and some magic powder. They were instructed to add magic moo to the magic powder and it magically makes a green yummy treat! Here is a picture of Helen after she shook up her magic powder and magic moo and another pic of her tasting the green treat!

Yum!

I made a new St. Patrick's Day treat for dessert last night. It was a rainbow cake! This was SO fun and it turned out pretty cute! Here is a picture of the sliced cake and another couple of pics of a slice of the cake, including one with a "cloud" of Cool Whip! I thought it turned out so pretty!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We love St. Patrick's Day here at the Harper Hullabaloo! Hope you all have a happy day! Beckett and Helen are waiting for their special leprechaun friend who visits every year with a little "Magic Moo" surprise! They never see him, but he always leaves a little leprechaun magic to keep them guessing!
Beckett has been taking the Stanford Achievement Test for the last two days at our umbrella school, CAK. He finished testing this afternoon at 1:00 and we went to the park with a whole crew of our friends who had been testing also! What a beautiful day and what a great way to end two successful days of testing! :)