Saturday, April 24, 2010

Monday, April 19, 2010

I love the smell of playdough.




Believe it or not, Luke and Ty started school today. They are going to finish out the year at Calvary----Luke in 1st grade and Ty in half-day Pre-K.

Their teachers reported that Luke and Ty had great days.

Brant and Jay reported that Luke and Ty are their own personal chick magnets.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

New names!

Biggest thing I forgot to tell you yesterday and the one thing that you really need to know is that Drew and I have decided to re-name the boys. I know, I know, their names are all they brought with them from Liberia and they are a link to their Liberian past---their family, their parents, their tribe.

It was a hard call to make, but when it came down to it, Kalee's name was just proving too hard for most every one here in the States to manage. For whatever reason, most folks couldn't get the pronunciation right, so it always ended up sounding like Collie.....or Callie....or Kayley.

As much as we would have loved for Kalee to hang on to that piece of his history and heritage, we just couldn't see setting him up for a lifetime of awkward introductions and roll calls that would result in the complete butchering of his first name.

So.......in a return to our tradition of giving our sons names of one syllable that are easy to spell and pronounce, Kalee is now Ty.

During our Christmas trip, when we discussed changing Kalee's name, Amos expressed interest in changing his as well, but he didn't like any of the options we threw out to him. The frontrunner, Brice, was apparently too close to rice to suit him. John fell flat. Jack was a possibility, but.....no fireworks.

Drew and the big boys never got on board with any of my personal faves, either. Kemp was too different. Cash was too edgy. Gray was nixed because it rhymed with Jay. And they all seemed to think Brooks and Lane were both too white. (Yeah, yeah, whatever.)

Then, when I went to Liberia in March, Amos told me that HE had already decided on a new American name. He wanted to be called Luke, in honor of his teacher's Ghanian nephew, whom he'd met recently. After lots of conversations over the last weeks, and despite my secret prayers that Amos would agree to be called Matthew, Drew's middle name, Amos stuck by his guns and repeatedly told us that he preferred Luke.

So.........Luke it is.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Hmmmmmm.....





....I don't know where to start to update you on the new guys. Honestly, they both have done great since we stepped off the plane in Greensboro, so there's not a lot of big news or drama to report.

Am I tired? Yes. Is my house noisy? Yes. Was it foolish of me to have our hardwood floors refinished before they arrived? Completely. Has my already rediculously-large laundry chore grown exponentially? You bet. Do I love the new guys to pieces? Absolutely.


To further get you up to speed:
  • Both boys have slept at least 12 hours every night since we brought them home.
  • They've eaten every thing we've put in front of them----except broccoli, which deeply offended their senses of smell apparently. Both boys eat often and they both eat a lot.
  • They've picked up an incredible amount of standard English in three weeks and are talking mostly in complete sentences and are asking for things by forming questions.
  • They love to scoot and shoot hoops and play with Kit.
  • They aren't afraid of Bill and Gracie (the cats) and no longer think they are voodoo spirits.
  • They've both learned to swing a baseball bat and can already catch and throw a baseball.
  • They love to do jigsaw puzzles and play with Matchbox cars.
  • They've behaved well in church four Sundays in a row and been to loads of Little League and Calvary baseball games.

So........really......all I can say is, Thank you, God. So far, so good.

Could it all fall apart tomorrow? According to the adoption books, yes. Could the boys have trouble bonding and end up being angry or violent or threatening? According to cable news, it's a possibility. Could I wake up to them begging to catch the first plane back to Liberia? Yep, definitely.

Do I expect any of that to happen? Nope. Not in a million years.

My mom radar is free of blips and pings.


Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Check 'em out!


I'm starting to get some stern emails requesting---nay, demanding----that I post news and pictures, but I'm sure you completely understand my computer time has been cut dramatically since the new guys got here.

Here are a couple of photos to tide you over until I can sit down and give you the 3-week update!

And for now, know that.......so far.....things are going great---even better than expected.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Beat Duke


Up until a few weeks ago, I'd never heard of Butler University.

Tonight, I am their biggest fan.


Go, Bulldogs!