Trying to find the perfect pumpkin

Biiiiiggggg Trattor.........

Ricky's best friend RayRay

Ricky found a trattor his size to ride and push around

Top of the mountains in Gatlinburg where I proposed to Kristi

Ricky checking out the fish at the aquarium

The fam in Gatlinburg...all sporting shades

First night sleeping in a big bed by himself...ended up on the floor!!

The old boaty boat comes home!!!

Anal boy lines his trucks up in order of size!

More obsessive compulsive tendencies!!

Having a ride before bath time!!

First time eating corn on the cob.

Sitting in an ugly UT chair!!!!

Forgot some Rickyisms...

He sees trucks, airplanes, tractors and he says, "Biiiigggg Truck!" or "Biiiiigggg Trattor" and the other day he said, "Biiiiig Daddyyyy" - ha ha ha ha - I about fell over laughing!!!!

On Mondays, Kristi usually has to call me during the day b/c Little Man is having Daddy withdrawals. Yesterday, she called me as she was trying to put him down for his nap and when I answered the phone, "Hello" I heard this sweet little voice, light voice say, "Hi Daddy" and then I said, "Hello Ricky" in my normal voice but then he made his voice low and gruff and said, "Hi Daddy" to say it like me....I almost fell out of my chair at work laughing at that boy. He heard me laughing and I just heard giggles on the other side of the phone.

Last night, while reading the Bible, prayer time and singing, Kristi does most of the singing....he grabbed my hand to hold it and I heard him whisper, "Biiigggg Daddy"...it took all I had not to laugh and disrupt whatever we were doing at the time.

Now that he is becoming more vocal and coherent, I find myself laughing more and more!!!!

One day....

We will become regular bloggers ! ! ! Right Kim and Stacey??

Well, the past couple of months have been eventful.

Kristi is still teaching...has three more weeks to go and I believe she is ready for it to come to an end this semester. She still has intentions to do it again next semester, however, she is ready for it to be over for now.

We have visited my parents in Richmond at the beginning of October and are planning on traveling this Friday to go visit again. My mom's b'day was at the beginning of Oct so we were up there to see her for her b'day. This time, she bought the grandkids tickets to see Disney on Ice...we will see how The Boy does sitting through his first major show.

We went on our second trip with Ricky. We went on one of those cheap $99 for 4 days and 3 nights if you listen to a 90-120 min sales pitch on timeshares. We went to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg b/c we both love the outlets up there and we were needing some clothes for The Boy. We stayed in a Holiday Inn Express and contrary to the commercials, I didn't feel any smarter when I left. Our room was a normal hotel room with two full beds so Ricky slept in a bed all by himself for the first time. He is getting too big for a pack and play and any portable crib is too small as well so we figured we would give it a shot. Night #1....Kristi woke up at 3:30 and SMACKED me...she tells people she gently woke me up....but she SMACKED me and went "OHHHH" and pointed down at her feet. There was Ricky balled up and sound asleep. We still don't know if he fell out and just didn't wake up or he got up and figured we weren't going to wake up and just laid down on the floor and went to sleep. Night #2....un-eventful. Night #3...again, at 3:15ish, we hear this loud CLUNG and both of us shoot straight up at the same time. We hear little feet come pitter pattering around the corner coming back from the FRONT DOOR ! ! ! He had opened it and the latch at the top caught (Praise the Lord) and wouldn't let him open it up fully and he just closed it back. HOLY COW ! ! ! We locked the "deadbolt" and the latch, however, in hotels, that deadbolt releases when you open the door from the inside. I strongly oppose that feature now that I almost had my son walk out in the hallway and end up who knows where at 3:15 in the morning!!!!

During the day, we took Ricky up to Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg. He enjoyed getting out of his stroller and running through the exhibits, but I think is still a little young to fully enjoy it. We rode a Trolley and he called it a "BUS" and everytime we saw a trolley the rest of our stay he would say BUS...BUS...BUS!!! He sat in the seat by himself, not on a lap and hung on and just took in the sights. I took the two of them back to the top of the mountain where I proposed to Kristi and we shared a special moment as a family. And of course, we shopped. Our shopping has drastically changed since the spring of 2007. Ricky racked up ! ! ! ! I needed some suits and S&K was running "Buy one get one free" on the entire store so I took advantage of that and I don't think Kristi bought anything for herself. Overall we had a very good time as a family.

Kristi and I traveled down to Statesville to buy a boat trailer so we could bring our boat home. That was a full day!!! Drove to Statesville...looked at some used trailers...bought a trailer....the guy had to re-wire the whole thing b/c the lights were not working...drive another 3o mins to Lake Norman....load the boat (which I have never done before!) and then strap it down and turn around and drive all the way back to Bristol. Kristi found a storage place and I was worried about backing the boat into a small storage place but when I got there, it was a huge warehouse that I just drove right in and unhooked it...YEAH! Looking forward to next summer to get back on the water again!!

We went to a pumpkin patch with some friends from church. They have a daughter who is a little younger than Ricky. It was one of our first COLD days, so we weren't there very long. We picked out a couple of pumpkins, had some hot chocolate, the kids played with toy tractors, and we waited for the hayride. They would not start the hayride until they had 20 kids ready to ride and there were nowhere near that many kids while we were there, so we just packed it up and left.

Halloween - we had the hardest time trying to find a decent costume for him this year. We finally resided on letting him wear the costume we had for him last year - a monkey. Then my sister, Alison, in Tampa called and said she could send a Pottery Barn Spider that my nephew Davis wore when he was Ricky's age. Kristi and I signed up to work our "booth/trunk" at our church's Trunk or Treat. So we met at her parents and when I got there, Ricky was in the monkey suit and going around to some of their friends houses in their neighborhood. Kristi and I had to get going and we didn't want Ricky to be at the church for hours, so we left and her parents were going to bring Ricky up after awhile. We told them to put him in either one he would put on, so we still didn't know what he officially was going to be for Halloween. We were at the church for just over an hour when they arrived and he was in the spider outfit. He looked so cute! We took him around to all the activities they had set up for the kids and he got his candy for doing the activities. He did a great job of putting his candy in his bucket and not trying to eat it at that time. I think he ended up with a lolly pop while we were there and that was it.

Kristi's dad is still having some numbness so they did an MRI with him today and he should get the results and speak to the neurologist this week...Friday I think.

Kristi's brother got a new job at Regions Bank. I would have loved to get him on board at Wachovia, but that is considered a conflict of interest. So the best I could do is sit and talk with him about what I look for when I interview and we discussed banking in general.

We went apple picking last weekend as a family. Kristi's parents, brother and his family and us. Ricky had a really good time. We picked a little over 3 bushels. The orchard is on top of a mountain and it was cold up there. That along with the fact that we filled up our boxes and buckets within 25 mins, made that a short trip.

I guess, since the last update, Wachovia has been in the news quite a bit. First Citi was going to buy us, before we apparently went under and then Wells Fargo came out of nowhere and offered a better deal. I still don't know what the implications are going to be for my job. There is my position over the branch managers and then I have a sales partner who is over the sales people in the branches. Wells Fargo's current model has everyone in the branches report up to the manager, so there is only a need for one leader...not two. However, our service scores are much higher than their scores are, so they are intrigued by our model. We will just have to wait and see what happens. All I can do is keep doing my best and try and top the stank rankings. September's end of the month rankings had me #1 in the entire company - almost 200 people do the same job I do and I was at the top of the stack rankings. As long as I continue to do that, I would hope there would be a position for me when all of this is said and done.

Well....there is the long update. That would be the benefit of being on the ball with this...our updates wouldn't be so long!!!!

Father's Day
Ricky loves to stack - he did this all on his own!!
Hot Air Balloons in Abingdon with Didi
Look Mimi...Look at the balloons ! ! !
He talks a big game about "fire crucks" but when it came time to see one...he got scared.

Long time not type, huh?

HOLY COW ! ! ! The last time we blogged was right after the Reunion?!?!?!

Well, things have been CRAZY around here ! ! !

Ricky has since celebrated birthday #2 on June 9th.

Judson had an emergency appendectomy - I was 2 hours from home at one of my Financial Centers and thought I needed to head back home and got wheeled into surgery immediately to remove my appendix...it was getting close to rupturing, but had not. I was out of work for a week and a half. Returned to work for three days and then...

Kristi's dad had a stroke...we stopped by their house to pick up his truck so we could go purchase a box spring and rails to add another bed at the house - we rented it out for race weekend....get to that in a minute! Kristi's dad said something was wrong and he needed to go to the hospital. He had just been the one that drove me to the ER, so when he said he needed me to take him to the ER, I thought he was kiddin' and actually snickered a little - boy, that made me feel no bigger than an ant ! ! ! ! They were having a garage sale of all things so Kristi and I packed their "extras" up to take to the mission and Kristi's mom took him to the hospital. They found that he had a stroke in the lower back portion of the brain - affected his equilibrium and he had some numbness, but no sagging of the face or loss of motion with any limbs, praise the lord!!! They went in to see what had caused it and another praise the lord, they did just a precautionary test and found that an artery in his neck was 95 - 97% blocked. So they transfered him to another hospital and put a stint in. He is recovery pretty well...moving around good now, still not cleared to drive but should shortly. He just had some tests done this week and they found another blockage in his heart which will require another stint - so he isn't out of the clear yet.

Kristi has started teaching a class "Strengthening Families" through the local social services organization. It gets her out with adults and she is getting paid to do it, so she is earning some $$ on the side. I am glad she has found something that she is interested in and can make a difference in people and give her a sense of contribution to the family income.

We joined a church - Tennessee Avenue Baptist Church and we have met some really good people and building friendships. A couple of guys stopped by the hospital to see me, they mowed the yard during my recovery, we had meals sent over to us...very similar to the relationships we had built at Pinedale. Nothing can ever replace Pinedale, but it is nice to have that quality of people and friends around you as a support system. Pinedale has their sermons on Podcast, and I just recently downloaded 6 to listen to this week while I travel to my Financial Centers. Good stuff....good to hear our former pastor and actually our former sunday school teacher preached one sunday, so it was good to hear him as well.

Race #2 in Bristol was in late August - YES, THE REDNECKS INVADED AGAIN ! ! ! ! This time, not only did they invade our town, they invaded our home!! HA! Just kidding. We are at such a good location to do it and heard from a lot of people that they rent their house every race, so we signed up for it in late spring or early summer (after the first race). It is good money and the folks we had stay here left the house in great shape - just like we had left it for them....they even left us some steaks in the 'fridge!!! Our trash can was 2/3s full of beer boxes and cans...as long as the house is OK and they didn't tear anything up, that is fine. It forced us to do some home improvements that we had put off, which was still kinda tough with me recovering and father-in-law in the hospital...so we will be better prepared next year.
Since I am a fan of racing, I bought the tickets from one of my employees again. Kristi's brother and I went to the Nationwide race and Kristi went with me to the Cup race. All had a good time. It is fun to watch the really red rednecks make fools of themselves. Spend A LOT of money to get here...spend A LOT of money on food and drinks...spend A LOT of money on tickets....and they get drunk and pass out!!! ha !!!

Kristi's just had an uncle on her mom's side just pass away, so I am at home today with the Boy and he is napping, so I thought I would FINALLY update this for all of those who still check us out...probably gave up on us, huh?

I guess you want to know about Ricky, huh? That boy is ALL OUT ! ! ! Non-stop ! ! ! Scrapes here, bruises there, bumps here....ALL BOY ! ! ! His speech has finally started to speed up some, but he usually goes back to his favorites: Fire cruck (then he makes a siren noise), po-po car (police car), me-ment truck (cement truck), pane (airplane), copper (helicopter), moto-i-ya (motorcycle) then he does like a motor boat with his lips - a lot of HOGS here in East Tennessee!!! He still loves balls, trucks, and being outside. He put together his first attempt at a sentence the other day. He kept going down the list of family members like he wanted us to call them, we tried a few and no one was home, so then he got his shoes on and said, "umm Mimi...ah..car....bye-bye"...he wanted to get in the car and go bye-bye to see Mimi. He had done away with milk, but I gave him a full sippy cup this morning and he drank it all, so maybe he is coming back around. He likes us to put ice in his cup and he shakes it up and feels it clanging around. He is starting to get more particular with his eating...he lets us know if he doesn't like something...but overall, he eats very well for a 2 year old. If you haven't been around Ricky a lot, then you might think he is potty trained because he knows all the motions and acts like he can do it, but he can't. He is letting us know when he poops...he pats his butt and says, "Poop". He will take his diaper off and stand at the toilet and say, "Pee pee" and never do anything. He is still sucking his two fingers in the mornings and as he wakes up from nap time - he has stopped for the most part while he is awake. We tried the "Thumb" stuff - you paint on their fingernails and it is like a hot sauce, but he ends up sucking it off and then goes to town on those fingers. A lady at church recommended that we tape his fingers and he got that off and still shoved them in his mouth....we used the bandage tape...doesn't stick all that great. We are now trying athletic tape. He loves church. We were helping out at Vacation Bible School the week of my surgery, and were going every night. So now when we go to church on Sundays and Wednesday, he says, "Bible cool?" No fussing anymore when we drop him off...he just walks right into his classroom now without even looking back to say "bye".
I could go on, but a lot of things I can't remember right now. Maybe we will get better at updating this.

Kaz Kids in their Kaz shirts - Joshua, Haven, Serik, Ana Grace, Ricky

Couch full of little bundles of joy!! Noah, Joshua, Haven, Serik, Ana Grace, Addison, Ricky

You got your hands full now! Ana Grace with her Mommy (Teresa) and Ricky

Best Chums PJs ! ! Joshua, Noah, Ricky

Pretty in Pink - Ana Grace

Party of 17 please....lunch after the Zoo

That feels funny...I kinda like it! - Judson and Haven

Check out the car I found! - Serik

Will Nashville ever be the same??

The Kaz Kids together for the first time!! First night in Nashville...Addison, Haven, Joshua, Noah, Ricky, Ana Grace
HI MOMMY ! ! ! ! !
Cute ain't I? - Joshua Prudhomme
Look at me Daddy! - Serik, Haven, Addison, and Ricky
I'll come to you anytime especially for some popcorn! - Stacy and Ricky

So this past weekend Judson, Ricky and I had one of the best family weekends ever. I think it ranks in the top ten since we brought him home. Even as I type this my mind races and I pray that I make sense of everything.

We just celebrated our first adoption survival weekend with the amazing friends that we met in Kazakhstan. I was so excited leading up to the weekend and by Friday I was like a kid at Christmas…I could hardly contain myself! Judson and I were the first family in Kaz (from this group) so we were the first family to leave Kaz…we only had the opportunity to met Haven Marie! In Nashville we finally met David and Kim’s little bundle Joshua, Keith and Teresa’s angel Ana Grace and Chris and Gretchen’s tyke Serik. All the kids are perfect!!! I mean perfect, in all ways. I know I am a little partial but really they are all healthy, well adjusted, loved, funny, smart, amazing little angels. I could not believe how perfect each one of them was…I just wanted to squeeze and kiss all of them all the time!!!! I did contain myself for the most part. Ricky would have just thought that was normal behavior for mommy but I did not want to scare the other children!!!

It had been almost one year since we had seen all the families but it seemed like it was just yesterday. We all picked up right where we left off. I just keep thinking “Has it really been a year since we were in Kaz?!” All of us had issues (and I mean big obstacles to overcome) getting to Kaz and/or while we were in Kaz and here we were celebrating our children in Nashville, TN.

It is weird, but it seems adoptive parents have a bond like nothing I have ever experienced with anyone else. For example, we just met Chris and Gretchen this weekend and I really enjoyed getting to know them. Gretchen and I talked like we had known each other for months. Not once did we have to resort to the “How’s the weather here?” question. We just talked about our kids and our experiences and life. It was great! Gretchen if you are reading this, I really enjoyed chatting with you and I hope to see you soon. Maybe the next time we get together we will not get kicked off the comfy couch:o)

We did a lot of really fun things like go to the Nashville Zoo, we ate way to much, shopped at the mall and attended a massive church (it had an indoor playground). The thing I enjoyed the most was “chat” time, no matter where it was. To just spend time with the ones we love and shared our experience with was a blessing from God Himself. The only sad part of the weekend was saying goodbye to our friends. It is like a little hole is left in your heart that only they can fill and understand. It is the part of your heart that holds your adoption story. I can not wait to see our friends again. I hope it is sooner rather than later!!!!!

One last parting thought- For those of you who are thinking about adopting, do not be scared to take that leap of faith. Our children are living examples of what a little bite of love (OK maybe A LOT OF LOVE), proper food and nutrition does for a child. All of our children were not pictures of heath when we met them. As a matter of fact, they were all below average in every level known to man and did not know how to show or receive love. Look at them today!!!! Each one of them is a poster child for health and love. They are happy, healthy, and well loved. This weekend I saw five, live and in living color, examples of how a little TLC changes lives!!! Are you ready to show a little angel some TLC today?

Looking back...

I don't know who these people are, but I like that finger....
Are you going to take me home with you??
I kinda like being in this fella's arms...
Still in Daddy's arms a year later!!
Mommy always show me how to do things!!!
Thank you God for bringing my Mommy and Daddy over to bring me home!


Looking Back

I have been thinking about this blog for a month now. This very one and as I start, tears begin to puddle in my eyes… in some ways I am a little fire cracker and in some ways I am a big ole baby. Matter of fact, I have written this blog fifty different ways in my head throughout the month. On Friday, Judson and I had an anniversary - we became a mommy and daddy for a grand total of a year. No Ricky’s birthday is not in March but the first time we laid eyes on our wonderful little boy was one year ago yesterday. I have had so many emotions this month. Our journey to Ricky was so long and rocky. It lasted seven years! Ricky is not our first child - yes he is the first child I have ever held in my arms or heard call me mommy but we lost two children before Ricky. Our first child’s birthday would have been in March and we found out we were pregnant through IVF with our second child in March. I do not think it is by mistake that we met our son in March. I remember the day so very clearly - I remember the drive to the baby house, the walk up the stairs and down the hallway and oh, the smell. Judson and I were told to wait in this room - it seemed like an eternity. My heart raced, my feet tapped and all my senses seemed to be on overdrive, amazingly enough being sleep deprived from our travels. Then there he was - the child that Judson and I had prayed for, longed for, cried for, fought for, loved beyond understanding and almost died for was right there for us to touch. I was almost scared to touch him for fear that it was all a dream. Was he really there - our son? Our chosen child, the child made in our hearts and dreams. The child that God himself searched this entire earth over and selected for us. The child God kept safe tucked in His arms of love until we arrived home with him. Was I really holding my baby boy? Then I looked and Judson and I saw all the emotions that I felt on his face. He was a daddy at that very moment - not an uncle anymore but a daddy. I sometimes wonder if the look Judson has for Ricky is the same look God has for us. If so His children are so very loved. I knew right then that Judson Bell would meet death before he would let any harm come to our little one.

Our journey was long and hard. God had far more confidence in my ability than I ever would have, but then again, I am not a one women show! I cried, I screamed, I even raged against the winds that seemed to crash down around me on a daily basis but God never gave up on me because he had a far greater plan for our family. He wanted college sweethearts to grown in love for each other and Him. Judson and I could not have walked that road without the love and support of our family, friends and our church Pinedale Christian Church. All I had to give God during our journey was my faith the size of a mustard seed and I let him do the rest. There were many times when my mustard seed faith was put to the test but God always seemed to do what He does best and that is BE GOD!

Ricky is amazing! The bonding was not instant for him like it was for us but today there is no happier, healthier little boy. When I walk in the room he says mama and my heart melts. When I am rocking him to sleep he will grab my cheek and give me a kiss and I know that I would kill for this precious treasure God has given me. He looks at his daddy and takes a running leap for him without any fear in the world because he feels safe and secure in the arms of his daddy. I think God had a reason for Judson to be the first man for Ricky to meet and that is because Ricky will always have just one Daddy! Judson, thank you for being the husband and daddy you are to your family!

One final thought- For any of you that are going though challenges in life right now (which includes me), be like the farmer that asked God for rain and then prepared his fields because he knew God would send the rain.

Hope you had a great weekend!

More park and Easter pics

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
Check me out...I'm one cool dude!
Easter Bunny was good to me!
Look at all of my goodies Mommy!

Slam dunk the egg!! Didi says my heart was just a racin'!!
I want my egg out of that cup but Mommy and Daddy are making me wait.
Here I come ! ! ! ! ! Catch me Daddy ! ! !
I like sliding by myself, but dad makes a good cushion.
I conquered the HILL!!! Mommy was there to help me!!

Happy Easter to All-

I can not believe what a difference a year makes. Last year Judson and I spent Easter in Almaty, Kazakhstan waiting to bring our precious, wonderful, amazing, baby boy home. Even though we were in a country where God is not seen on every street corner we still celebrated the fact that God is our Risen Lord and Savior. While in Kazakhstan we met some very special people that live in Almaty. They opened their homes and hearts to us while we were away from our families and Judson and I will forever be grateful. We think of them often and hope all is well with all aspects of their lives.

This past week has been a blur- it has been very busy! Plus I was on the verge of ranting a few times so I stayed away from the computer.

I will get on my soap box about one thing and then I will STOP- WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE PRICE OF GROCERIES- I MEAN REALLY!!!!! $1.88 per pound for squash and zucchini- you have got to be kidding me! I try to feed my family as healthy as I can but if this keeps up I may have to take up farming. For those of you that know me, I am not a farming kinda girl. Don’t get me started on the price of eggs, milk, cheese, other veggies or anything fresh. Okay let’s move onto a happier place.

Friday, we had my mom, dad, brother and Carson (my 9 year old niece) over for an Italian feast and homemade coconut cake. After dinner we dyed eggs and had a blast. Ricky was amazed when he put a white egg in a cup and it came out colored. He got so excited! I mean his little heart just pounded with excitement! He could hardly wait for the egg to hit the dye before he wanted it back out of the cup. He would get so excited he would just slam the egg in the cup and “slosh” went the die and he would just clap his little hands and sometimes just squeal with excitement. He was such a joy to watch. He was a perfect little angel all day- he was such a great little helper and when mommy needed him to play on his own he would go play in the living room. I will never forget our First Good Friday. When it came time for bed and it was his daddy’s time to rock him, he wanted me! Judson said, “I can tell when you and mommy have a good mommy son day.” My heart grew about 10 times because Ricky is a big daddy’s boy!

Saturday, was our first park day as a family. Ricky and I have been to the park many times but it was the first time Judson got to experience the adventure. There are no words to describe how awesome this time was for me. I loved watching daddy and son play together. Ricky was such a dare devil and Judson had a permanent smile on his face the entire time. The bond and love my two boys share is undescribable. There is not one ounce of blood that is the same in Ricky and Judson but no daddy loves their little boy as much as Judson loves Ricky. I am blessed beyond words to have the opportunity to share in this amazing journey with Judson. I love you honey!Easter Sunday, was COLD with a high of 37. It was warmer in Kaz last year on Easter. After church Ricky found the basket the Easter bunny left for him. Ricky loved his basket and wanted to open all the eggs to see what was inside of each one. I am very excited about all the Crayola TaDoodles Ricky received from the bunny. We will definitely spend some time this week drawing a picture for daddy! The day winded down with just the three of us playing and enjoying our new family.

God has blessed us so very much this past year. Some of the greatest blessings come in the most unexpected package. Judson and I never knew God’s plan to grow our family would come through adoption. It is only because of adoption that we have our son - the son that God had chosen just for us. Some people may question if miracles still exist and my answer is yes. I look at my son every day and I see God’s miracles for my life.

Easter 2008

Happy Family on Easter!

Stay away from my egg....

seriously...stay....away!!

Daddy's Easter sweater made by his Great Aunt, worn again after 32 years!