4 years old

Rocco insisted tonight that he was too big for a onesie. At four years old, he's probably right. The traditional picture of his monthly growth had to be changed. So here is my growing boy at 4 years old ...this time dressed in a white shirt and blue shorts. He's still in his blue chair holding two of his favorite trains. Yes, we still love Thomas here. (Some things haven't changed).

At four, he weighs 29 pounds. He can count to 50, and he insists anything that takes a long time is about 10 minutes. Little man loves to sing his ABC's, make himself laugh for no reason, likes Curious George, CARS, and trains, still sleeps with us, and finally gave up the bottle at night. He loves to be snuggled, cuddled, and loved on. Jason and I always kid him about giving our love away, but he has decided that we can "share" his loving now. After I kiss on him, he'll turn to his daddy and say, "Your turn!"

This was a big month for Rocco. To celebrate turning four, we had a big cookout at our house. It was a Disney CARS party. In his mind he thought that all of his friends should yell, "Surprise!" That's just what they did, even though he knew full well about his party. Carolyn brought him a few minutes late to give us time to gather on the back porch and give him his "surprise." Here he is in his CARS hat and shirt just arriving at his party with his "nanny."
We were blessed with beautiful, but very windy, weather. It was absolutely the perfect spring day for an outdoor party. While Jason grilled our hot dogs and hamburgers...

the kids enjoyed jumping on the trampoline and playing on the swing set. After everyone had finished eating, the kids tried to find just the right string that would open the Lightning McQueen pinata.

All of the kids quickly stuffed their brown paper bags with their goodies ...then headed to our driveway for the next game. Rocco later said that racing with his friends was his favorite thing we did at his party. We found all of Rocco's wheeled toys and allowed the kids to race to the end of the paved driveway. After each race they would change cars and do it all over again. Some even decided to just race on their own two feet. After a few races, my mom went to the car to get Rocco's present from my dad and her. His first bicycle! This was very special. My parents gave him his first riding tractor and tricycle, so it was cool that they were the ones to give him his first bicycle, too.

The cake was so cute...and delicious. To match our theme, it had Lightning McQueen on it. We also partied with music from CARS in the background. Rocco knows most of the words from Real Gone and Life is a Highway and will sing it. Of course, he wants me to sing with him. His latest song is Route 66.

Rocco is blessed with so many friends and family that surround him with love. Both of my parents and Jason's parents were able to be at his party. Uncle Tyler and Aunt Tonya also came. Several friends from church a few other family members also made his day special. Jack, JJ, Weston, Will, Drew, Hayes, Matthew, and Sydney were the kids that came to celebrate with Rocco. Two of his special guests were our neighbors. Sandra actually did our home study in order for us to get Rocco. She was a big part of helping us get our miracle. They continue to be in our lives and enjoy seeing Rocco grow up.

After eating cake and ice cream, Rocco prepared for one of the highlights of the afternoon...presents! His daddy helped him open them while I took pictures. Once all the presents were opened, we headed out for a hay ride. Jason drove the tractor. Baby Sydney and "Ta" rode shotgun. I don't know who enjoyed it more, the adults or kids. I prayed that Rocco would have a very good time at his party. And, thankfully, he had a blast. His friends made it extra special. Rocco is at an age now where he is finally playing with friends and not just beside them. It's so fun watching him interact with his buddies. After playing for a while with his friends, he even decided to start sliding all by himself. For a little boy who was once scared and begged me to hold his hand, this is a big accomplishment! By the time his party was all over, it looked like Christmas at our house again!

Rocco Starts T-Ball

In the past Rocco has been in Kindermusik and tumble class. Tonight we began another extracurricular adventure...T-ball. Our friend, Roger, was the coach. His 5 year old son, Hayes, is one of Rocco's friends and is also on the team. Matthew is a 5 year old friend from church. The last friend that he already knew on the new team was Will; he's just 3 months older than Rocco. These three boys know Rocco; they were at his birthday party this past weekend. It was great to start Rocco out on a team where he actually knew some of his play mates.

I told him he had to wear his baseball cap while he played ball so that he could keep the sun out of his eyes. He never took it off the entire practice. Every now and then he would find me somewhere behind the fence and yell, "Hey, mommy! I'm over here!" Carolyn came to watch him as well. He waved to "nanny" several times, too. Not once did he beg or even ask me to come with him on the field. He's such a big boy now.

Rocco did really well listening to the coach and helpers. He did everything they asked of him. The kids ran a good bit around the bases several times. They would take a short breathing break and go again. Later I asked him why he had his hands on his head. His reply? "I don't know."

Practice began at 6:30. The sunny but cool spring afternoon was the perfect weather. The kids worked in small groups with adult helpers on various tasks. They practiced swinging with a bat, catching the ball on the ground and up high, and throwing the ball. The last thing they did was Rocco's favorite. Being a CARS fan, he is all about racing. Roger had the kids run around the bases in order to get them familiar with 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and home. When practice was over I asked him if he liked it. He was so excited he said, "I just raced around the bend!" To him this new adventure is one big race. He continued to tell me, "The just coach just told us 'Go! Go! Go!'"

Later tonight when I asked him what he thought about T-ball, Rocco said, "I just raced with my friends."

Spring Break

We enjoyed being outside today feeding the animals. I rode him in his wagon, and we threw out carrots & celery for the wild rabbits. His favorite part was throwing handfuls of thistle for the birds.

Unanswered Prayers

In the midst of praying for another child, I came upon the country of Nepal. This was last December. It sounded perfect. Healthy children, quick referrals, short wait, not terribly expensive, etc. The only thing was that the country had a limit on how many families could adopt from there. I was hot on the pursuit! I wanted us to be one of those families for 2010.

I researched till the wee morning hours, thought I found the perfect agency, contacted them, filled out the paperwork, prayed some more, begged Jason over and over again. All this to be told, "No." A definite, "No." A "Quit asking me 'No'!" And tonight I found this on-line.


Caution About Pursuing an Adoption in Nepal

March 04, 2010

The U.S. Department of State strongly discourages prospective adoptive parents from choosing Nepal as a country from which to adopt due to grave concerns about the reliability of Nepal’s adoption system and the accuracy of the information in children’s official files. The Department also strongly discourages adoption service providers from accepting new applications for adoption from Nepal until reforms are made, and to be vigilant about operating in an ethical manner under the current adoption system.

The Hague Conference on Private International Law recently released a report on its Intercountry Adoption Technical Assistance Program, based on a visit by a delegate from the Hague Conference’s Permanent Bureau to Nepal in November 2009 ......... The report details a number of weaknesses in Nepal’s current adoption system, including the falsification of documents, improper financial gain, and lack of a child protection system.


We encourage parents who have filed an application with the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MWCSW) in Nepal, but have not yet been matched with a child or received an Adoption Decree issued by the Government of Nepal, to consider a change of countries.

Thank you God for guiding my path. And help me (for I am weak in the area of patience) to trust your heart when I cannot see your face. . . for You know what is best. . . and one more thing. . . help me to remember that when I don't get the answer I want from a prayer, it doesn't mean it's unanswered...


And so I sit back and wait to see what God will do in our lives. He's ever at work...all the time. I just forget to stop and look around.

Thanks God for the reminder ;).

Forever Ours

March 14th: Our Gotcha Day! Three years ago today we officially adopted Rocco. We were in beautiful Ninh Thuan, Vietnam.

You have to check out my friend's blog http://www.carlsonkrew.blogspot.com/

We met Don and Kim-Lan on our journey to get Rocco. You can read about all of the adoption happenings through her eyes on this beautiful blog. They adopted Maile from the same orphanage that we adopted Rocco.

Three Years Ago Today...

It's hard to believe 3 years have passed since we boarded the plane that would take us to Vietnam where we would meet our son for the first time. Here's what our day looked like three years ago.

March 10, 2007 - Saturday
6:00 am American Airlines Flt: 3410 Duration: 3hr
EQP: Embraer 145 Jet
Columbia, South Carolina to Dallas Ft Worth

8:00 am arrive in Dallas Ft Worth at Terminal B

12:10 pm Korean Air Flt: 32 Duration: 14 hrs 30 min
EQP: Boeing 777-200 Depart: Terminal D
Dallas Ft Worth to Seoul , Korea

March 11, 2007 – Sunday
5:40 pm arrive at Seoul Incheon International Airport

7:00 pm Korean Air Flt: 681 Duration: 5 hr 40 min
EQP: Airbus A330-300
Seoul, Korea to Ho Chi Minh City

10:40 pm arrive at Ho Chi Minh City Airport



Yeah, we were in the air a L...O....N.....G time. I lost track of the hours we spent on that plane (and how many planes we had boarded); it was the next day before we even arrived in Ho Chi Minh City. The Dillon Agency representatives were waiting on us. It was the first sight I'd seen on the trip that finally made it seem real. The 14 month adoption journey and trail of paperwork was finally about to pay off.

Rocco and the Trains

Yes, we still love Thomas around here. The latest to his collection came from his great-great Aunt Conkey. She mailed him the wooden cow trains. (Not a good idea to take to church. They kept mooing.)

My Niece, Daelyn, Turns One

My brother's little girl, Daelyn, turned one on Feb. 17th. We had her birthday party at my parent's house today. We decked the place out in pink and white balloons, silver confetti, and lots of curly ribbon. Daelyn wore a sweet, pink dress with a cupcake on it.

All of the party guests were family. These four cuties are all cousins. All but Daelyn are 3 years old.

The cake had a cute picture of her dressed as a fairy. She loved smushing the icing between her fingers and eating it, just like most one year old's do.

Daelyn was so sweet, as always, and full of hugs and kisses. She was all smiles.

Rocco and Daelyn are just crazy about each other!