Pet Unicorns and Family Time

I saw this on Facebook and it cracked me up.  Sorry baby Seals.  You won't be getting a unicorn.  A pet cat, of course!

We have had a busy week!  We have been on winter vacation for just over a week now.  We spent the first part of it cleaning house, having grandma and papa over for Christmas Eve brunch, visiting Grandmothers, and going to Bastrop.  It was crazy running around and seeing everyone.  We also drove to Houston and then to Arkansas.  That's where we are right now.

We went to the Garvan Gardens.  They were nice.  We thought it would be a  great place to take the kids when they come along.  We also went to see a fire station and to an aquarium.  It's been fun.  Tomorrow we are going to the science museum, Daddy's favorite!  Hopefully mommy can work in a bit more shopping as well.

With as much fun as we are having I really can't wait to get home, spend some time resting, see friends, and get the house ready for the arrival of our kids.  Next weekend daddy is going to install locks on cabinets and maybe put up carbon monoxide detectors.  We also need to draw out a map of our house and take some photos of our yard so that we can submit them both with our paperwork on January 7th at our first PRIDE class.  I wonder what other fun tasks they will give us to do so that we can get ready for our babies to come home.

I think tonight we are going to watch a movie, eat some soup, and stay warm while we relax inside the condo not doing much of anything.  We can't wait until we get to spend our evenings just hoping to catch our breathe after an evening of chasing around our little ones!

Barbies or Legos?

Little Ones,

It doesn't matter if you like Barbies or Legos.  Either way your daddy will be great at playing with you.  Last year we started a Seals Family tradition we hope you will like.  Every December we go to the Lego store and purchase a part of the winter village to put together.  Your dad is great at putting them together.  Mommy...not so much.  I get a bit tired and don't have the stamina it takes to put them together.  Maybe when we have more helpers it will go a little faster.  This year we purchased our second set so that we could put it up on the table with the one from last year.  It looks really lovely.  Your daddy keeps going and moving the pieces around.  He likes rearranging them so that the people move and do different fun things.  He also likes to hide Lord of the Rings characters inside of the village to scare me.  I think he will have a great deal of fun when he has someone here to play with him.  I'm really not that much fun when it comes to this stuff.  We can't wait for you to be here next year to help Daddy put everything together and play with it.

We opened presents today with your uncle Will, Grandma, and Grandpa after a very yummy breakfast of homemade migas and black beans.  Everyone had a great time.  Your daddy got a fun hat he wanted and some Grinch pajamas.  Mommy got a Belle Christmas ornament and some yummy candy.  Grandpa got binoculars that he can use when he watches football.  Grandma was excited about her Starbucks car she can use on her phone that will automatically reload itself after she has too much coffee.  Uncle Will didn't have any gifts to open because we already bought him plane tickets to fly to Vegas with his cousins in a few weeks.  Next year there will be more presents under the tree.  I'm sure Santa will get you a present or two to enjoy.  Until then we will just leave your stockings hung up and think of how much fun next year will be with you.

Last night your dad and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary with a movie and dinner at the Melting Pot.  I bet you would like that restaurant but we can't take you there until you are a bit older.  You have to cook all of your food yourself in little fondue pots.  I hope you love sweets!  Their chocolate fondue is very yummy.

Tonight we will go to the Christmas Eve service at church followed by dinner at Grandmothers.  All of your cousins will be there.  Right now you have 4 little cousins with a 5th on the way.  I wonder if you will get here first or the newest little Keller cousin.  Who knows how many cousins there will be by the time you arrive.  We will all eat gumbo and then each set of cousins will open something from whichever family had their name this year.  We got your uncle Zach a video game controller.  I bet he will enjoy it.  I wonder if you will eat the gumbo like your daddy or if you will just eat rice and fill up on sweets like your mommy.

I'm going to go clean up the mess we made opening gifts and cooking this morning before your daddy gets out of the shower.  I can't wait to see you under the tree playing with your gifts next year.  We love you.  Merry Christmas Little Seals!

XOXOXOXO

Your Mommy

Family Profile

We have decided to adopt through the Department of Family and Protective Services.  The TARE website, while not as useful and all inclusive as we would like, does provide some great information about adoption for those that are wondering if it is right for them.    If you are in Texas and are thinking about adoption check it out.  http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/

We created our family profile on the TARE website.  Here is our family description.  Hopefully I wrote it well enough to give the state some quick info about us so that they can find us a perfect forever family.


We are both excited about using adoption to create our family.  We have been married for 6 years now and have always known that adoption was the way we wanted to create a family.  Education will be a high priority. In a house with a high school physics teacher and an elementary school librarian, our kids will have plenty of help as they meet their social, emotional, and academic goals.   With jobs in schools we both have understanding principals that will allow us to use our time off in a flexible manner whenever appointments arise.  With close family and friends we enjoy spending time cooking on the grill, riding bikes, or swimming in the neighborhood pool.  3 extra bedrooms and a large yard create a house that is the perfect place for a family of siblings to grow up.  We look forward to creating lifelong memories with our forever family.

This is Nice

Day 2 of winter vacation is starting off nicely with kitten snuggles and sleeping in.  Hopefully soon the idea of sleeping in will be a nice idea at best.  I can't wait for the sound if happy feet running up and down stairs waking me up.   Right now I can stay in bed until 8:45 or so and still make it to the early service at church.  Hopefully soon I'll be pushing it to get everyone dressed and out the door in time for the late service.  I plan on spending what I hope is my last winter without children taking advantage of many of these tiny free moments I won't be able to enjoy as much when my babies get here.  I'm not sad.  I look forward to the time when waking up at 6 is sleeping in.  I look forward to my house not being clean with all the laundry caught up and the Christmas tree looking pristine with  all of the presents wrapped underneath.  I can't wait to hide gifts and have more than 2 loads a week to wash.  

Last night we were walking with friends that are pregnant.   We were all talking about when their baby E arrives.  We realized that you might be here even sooner.  I hope so.  I can't wait to meet you.

While we are driving 8 hours in a quiet car to Arkansas, opening gifts, eating brunch, and celebrating with your future family we will continue to think of you.  I hope your enjoying your holiday break right too.  I can't wait until we can spend it together.   We love you little ones!!

As Crazy As This Week Is It Is About To Get Super Cray Cray!

I am super excited and extremely worried at the same time.  I felt like this week has been very hectic and rushed.  It's the last week of school before winter break.  The kids are all off the wall.  The teachers are overwhelmed.  I'm just trying to make it to Friday!  The good news is I have 2 more work days until I can get a 2 weeks vacation.  Even though that vacation will be filled with family time, endless driving, and hopefully catching up on a few good books I will at least get a few days to sleep in.

Starting January 7th, my birthday, something even better than 2 weeks off from school will start.  We will begin our adoption classes!  I saw they will be crazy because we will have to drive down to Austin 2 times a week for the entire month of January, plus a day in February.  Stephen will have to leave work early twice a week rather than being there to tutor his kids.  I will have to get someone to cover me for 4 different library late nights.  Our work lives will be very busy but it will all be for a good reason.  In the end it will be to ensure that our kids get home soon.

We also took a few photos last week.  We wanted to use them as our Christmas cards/gifts for family members over the holidays.  I am sure everyone will be super excited to see our faces.  Since we did them so late and I have been so bogged down we won't be sending out too many of these lovely treats.  Here are a few of the photos we took.

Clearly we are waiting to see which shoes we need.

I love this book!  I can't wait to read it to our babies!  It's a great book for any family.  Todd Par rocks!

We already have stockings for our babies.  I can't wait to fill them with goodies.  Right now only one big Grinch has anything in his stocking.  ;)

Family Photo 2013.  I think Callie may not have been having a great time.  She would much rather have been laying on the floor getting a belly rub!

Let's see what the winter vacation brings us.  Hopefully a few minutes of peace, time to rest, and a little bit of time to complete this mountain of paper work CPS sent me.  Here's to finishing out 2013 strong to prepare the crazy ride 2014 is sure to bring us!  

And We're Off

Little Babies,

We went to an information meeting last night.  There we learned a few more details about the journey we are beginning to find you.  We were given an application.  We filled it out and mailed it off.  We have officially started our search for you.  I can't wait to find out who you are and when you will be coming home.  Until then I get to update our online profile for the state and wait on them to contact us about when we can begin taking our PRIDE classes.

These classes are supposed to help us get ready to meet you.  During our PRIDE classes we will also be assigned a case manager to help us look for you.  They will do a home study to see how lovely our house is.  They want to make sure we have a great place for you to live and play.  They also want to make sure we have enough money to make sure all of your needs are met.  Don't worry little one.  We do.

We have 2 empty bedrooms waiting for you.  You will have a nice bathroom to share.  And I bet if you leave your bedroom door open at night our cat, Callie, will come sleep on your toes and keep you company.  We want to put a swing set in the backyard for you to play on.  We will wait until you get here so that we know what kind you would like.  We also have a game room upstairs for you to play in.  We will fill it with toys and books so that we always have something fun to do together.

I(Mommy) hope you love to read.  I think my favorite part of the day will be when we read together every night before you go to sleep.  I have lots of great books here for you.  I can also get you more books every day from the library.  I can't wait!

Daddy loves to play games.  He is also great at helping with math or science homework.  I think playing with you every night will be his favorite part of the day.

We put up our Christmas Tree a few weeks ago.  Our stockings are hung up as well.  There is one for you.  We know it will stay empty this year but next year hopefully Santa will drop by and fill it up for you.

We can't wait to meet you little loves!  We will keep updating this blog as we are searching for you.  Hopefully one day you can read it and find out all about our search for you.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy 

How it All Began

Recently it began with bacon.  Really it began with a clarinet.  I guess you could say it began with "A Beautiful Mind."  I suppose I could quickly start at the beginning.

In high school my dear friend Sara played the clarinet.  She made it to state.  YAY Sara!  While she was playing there she met a guy named Stephen.  He gives a new meaning to tall dark and handsome.  She liked talking to him.  He was pretty fun.  She thought I'd like talking to him too.  She was right.  I did.  We got along well.  I liked his sense of humor.  he was fun and funny.  A few months or so later he graduated and was moving to Austin to go to UT.  At the same time my parents were moving the family to the same area.  He wound up moving a week before I did.  We were able to meet and hang out a few months later.  I was dating someone else at the time.  That didn't last long.  We started dating a few weeks after we met.  We have been inseparable since then.

Stephen and I had our first "official" date when we went to see "A Beautiful Mind" together in 2009.  We have been together ever since.  Back then we saw lots of movies together.  Now we can't even agree on one to watch.   Maybe its because now we actually watch the movies.  No kissy faces are involved.  Who knows?

We stayed together though high school (I was a senior in high school and he was a college freshman when we began dating) and college.  We were there for each other through quite a bit.  Eventually he proposed.  Of course I said yes.  We were married one very chilly, extremely windy December day.  While it was not the wedding of my dreams the results were the same.  We were officially husband and wife.

Since then I have earned my MLS and he has earned his teaching certification.  We both were offered our current jobs in the same week.  Once that happened we started getting our finances together.  No debt.  Bought a house.  Savings.  In that order.  Now we are physically and financially ready for the next step, one we have wanted to take for a while.  We wanted to be sure we were ready.  We wanted to be sure we could offer our kiddos whatever they needed and some of what they wanted.

This is the point in time when the bacon comes in.  While eating brunch together Stephen got to listen to me complain about how long this whole process was taking.  I was ready for kids by gosh golly!  We still needed bedroom furniture and our savings account was smaller than we wanted but I was just so tired of waiting.  (If you know me you know I am always tired of waiting and I am a bit of a complainer).  A few minutes after out talk I hear a very full Stephen tell me from his spot on the couch that he had a deal to make with me.  A deal?  What kind of deal?  Usually his idea of a deal isn't something that peeks my interest.  Today it did.

"If you go get me one more piece of bacon I think we can go ahead and start the adoption process in December."  What else could I do but get the man the last piece of bacon?  Heck, I'd of gotten dressed and driven to HEB to buy a whole new package to cook for him if that's what it took.  Lucky for me he just wanted the one piece.

So now here we are.  A month or so later.  Sitting up in bed unable to sleep.  Tomorrow we go to the adoption information meeting so that we can sign our application and get this show on the road.  I tend to be a planner and know that this will be a long road.  As of right now we want to adopt through CPS rather than dealing with a private agency.  I'm a bit worried about how stressed out this entire process will make me.  I have yet to receive information about when the next set of PRIDE classes are(the classes we have to take in Texas to be able to adopt).   Surely an agency that doesn't have even these dates together isn't going to be easy for me to work with.  I

'll try my best to be patient.  I'll write random ramblings on here when I just can't deal with being patient anymore.  I'll see what adoption related tasks I get put on my plate tomorrow when we turn in our paperwork.  I'll talk to my friends that are super supportive.  I'll ignore those that aren't.  I'll go to church and read my bible and pray for patience and my babies.  I'll snuggle my kitten.  I'll decorate my house.  I'll do whatever I can to keep my mind from stressing me out.

This is the verse that I will repeat over and over again!  I'll say it for myself, for my not always 100% perfect but always perfect for me marriage, and for my babies that are out there waiting for me.  I look back on my life and there are many examples of my perfect plans not working out and then something bigger and better taking place.  I know that this wait for my babies is just one more of them.

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Our Journey Begins

Baby Seals,

We don't know much yet.  We don't know where you are.  We don't know how many of you there are.  We don't know what you have gone through.   We do know that we love you.  Your daddy and I have your rooms empty and waiting for you.  Tomorrow we are going to turn in our adoption application.  That is the first official step we have to take to bring you home.

While we would really like you home right now we will try hard to wait patiently for your arrival.  I'll begin taking care of the paperwork.  I hear there are mountains of it.  Your dad and I will get the house in tip top shape for you.  We will research ways to be great parents to you.  And we will wait. It sounds like we might have to do quite a bit of waiting.