New Orleans

This weekend we took the whole family to New Orleans to spend time with Aunt Bean, Silly Uncle Martin, Tripp, Ashton and baby Liam.  To say that we had a great time would be an understatement.  The kids got along great and I rarely heard a cross word.  The adults got two nights out on the town and I think that I gained at least 5 pounds from the amount of food and drink that I consumed!

Friday night was special because my dad's sister, Aunt Ginger, and her husband, Uncle Tom, were in town for a convention.  They came to the house, played with the kids for a bit and then we had a great dinner catching up and hearing old stories as well.

Saturday was a bit rainy but that didn't stop us!  We headed down to the aquarium where the kids had a blast!   I took a couple of pictures on my phone (so excuse the quality):

everyone is in love with Ashton!!

waiting patiently for the aquarium to open

Loving Tripp's pose here!

  The shark tank (you can kinda see one of the sharks in the back).  Cheese!

Where is the shark?

We love New Orleans!!!

After the aquarium, the kids and moms rode the street car (a fun, but long ride because of all the stops!) to Tripp's favorite place to eat - New Orleans Hamburger and Seafood.  I can't speak for the seafood, but the hamburgers were great!  Martin's dad met us for lunch which was also a special treat for everyone.

Ann Park on the street car

Sam on the street car

Woo hoo!

Tripp and Ann Park eating at a table by themselves!  So cute

Ward loved just about everything and is already asking me when we are going back!

Also on Saturday, Ted's sister Julie was sweet enough to drive over with her two kids (they live about 45 minutes away) and spend some times with the kids.  Ward loved seeing John Benton and Ann Park wants to be Ann Margaret, I think!  I just hope that she is as sweet to the younger kids as Ann Margaret is!

Saturday ended with a walk down Bourbon Street (adults only!) and an amazing dinner at Irene's.  I will go out on a limb and put that dinner in one of my top 5 favorites.  Delicous food, great wine, and the company was okay too!  This morning we packed and played at the park before we had to come back home.  A quick trip, but well worth it to see the bonds between cousins expanding and the wonderful memories made.

Soccer

Ann Park had a great time this weekend at the soccer festival.  Ted is her coach and she is really starting to understand the game.  Her skills are improving each time I see her play.  Like father, like daughter.  It is so great to see the two of them spending such quality time together too.  Another mom took some great pictures of the last game and I thought that I would share a few!

About to start the game

Dribbling to the goal!

taking it by this girl . . .

one more girl to pass!

and she scores!!! (although you can't see it in this picture, she did!)

running to give daddy a high five!

yes!

Awake

Ann Park woke up crying about an hour and a half ago.  I guess she had a bad dream . . . I couldn't really understand what was wrng, but she went back to sleep.  I, on the other hand, am still awake.  So many things running through my mind.

Of course the adoption is always at the top of the list.  As you all know, this week has been hard for me.  And hte last two days I have had a bunch of tennis matches and my sweet teammates have been asking me about it, so I have been talking a lot, which always brings it to the forefront of my mind.  When I don't have people ask about it, I can kinda put it in the back of my brain and just let it go.  But when I talk about it a lot it seems to consume my thoughts.  And then I read on Facebook that the family that was ahead of us in line left for Russia today to meet their little girl and another family is coming home with their son.  I know that I should be happy because that means that we are only that much closer, but I don't want to get my hopes up again.  I mean, it has been almost EIGHT months since we were registered in Vlad.  The normal timing for a referral is six months.  I guess there is really nothing normal about adoption though.   Thinking about all this just depresses me.

Instead, I am really trying to focus on my faily right now and especially on Sam.  He has been sick fr about 5 weeks with a bad cold and has been really needy.  He started running a fever yesterday and after a trip to the doctor we got him on some meds for a sinus infection.  After only three doses of medication, I can tell a difference which is good.  But even without the cold, he is all over me these days.  He doesn't want anything to do with Ted and is being very jealous of Ward and Ann Park.  Last night he even pushed Ann Park out of my lap and told her "No!  My mama."  Of course, this is just another confirmation that God knows what he is doing.  Sam is clearly not ready to be a middle child.  It is going to be a hard adjustment for him and the older he is, the better.  And it doesn't hurt that I am putting him in MDO five days a week next year!

Also running through my heads are thoughts on our construction.  I love it all and am so excited.  I will try to take some pictures over the weekend to post.  Hampton and I went shopping yesterday for porch furniture and some bedroom furniture and things are really coming together.  I am starting to see it and I can also see hw our family is going to use the space and it makes me happy!

Alright, I am going to try to get some sleep.  Hope no one else is awake right now.  Maybe Angela is up feeding Landon and I provided her with some reading material!

Easter Weekend (WARNING: Long post)

We had a great Easter.  It was jam-packed full of activities and the kids had a blast.  They were out of school on Thursday, Friday and Monday so that made it extra fun for them.

On Thursday morning I took the kids down to Grey Rocks.  Both my sisters and their families were down there for the entire Easter weekend and I could not resist getting together with them for a few days.  We had to come home on Friday afternoon, but they all had a great time together.  Definitely a preview of what is to come on the Upchurch family vacation to Palmetto Bluff at the end of next month!

Ann Park and Tripp have the best time together!

But she also loves herself some Ashton!

Sam and Tripp singing some tunes

Ashton and Sam playing

Cher Cher feeding Billy

Ward and Louise

Sam and Sampson

Tripp driving the mule!

Hope in the pick-up truck

Pushing Ashton on the four-wheeler

The beloved rock pile!

Louise in her favorite attire - her chicken costume!!

Ann Park loves posing in hats!!!

Sam in Louise's chicken outfit

After we left on Friday, we rushed home and had dinner with Grandmom since we would not be with her over Easter.  (She went to visit Julie in Louisiana.)  Saturday was pretty typical - it started with soccer for Ann Park and then for Ward.  But then we had to rush to the Mountain Brook Club for the annual Easter Egg hunt.  The kids had a blast and Sam even took his picture with the Easter Bunny!

Saturday afternoon we rested and then had some of our cousins over for dinner.  Sunday morning we woke up to goodies from the Easter bunny.  Sam didn't really know what was going on, but he sure loved his candy and his Toy Story toys!  Oh and I promise that I feed Ward.  He truly looks like he is starving in the pictures without his shirt on!!

Star Wars clock!

Legos!!!

Peeps!  Ward's favorite (and they make me gag!!)

Look! Look!

After some quick showers, we headed to 8:30 Mass.  It was packed (as to be expected) but we got our usual seat on the third row.  Mass is a little longer at Easter but the kids did remarkably well for an hour and 20 minute service.  After Mass they had the church Easter Egg hunt, with more candy (but also a lot of stickers, rings, bracelets and other trinkets).  Then we came home and got some pictures of the kids in their nice outfits.  (We tried to do this after Mass but Ann Park would not cooperate - go figure.)    Ann Park wore a gorgeous handmade gown passed down to her from her godparents.

Sam's face in this picture cracks me up!

Ann Park and her beloved Abagail!  Thanks Cher Cher for a great Easter gift!

We ended Easter on a high note as well.  We had an Easter egg hunt at Lynn and Bryan's house.  The younger cousins got to play and the adults watched (or should I say tried to watch) the Masters.  Everyone had a great time.  The kids were so exhausted (as was I) and I was really glad that they got to stay home on Monday and just get things back to normal! 

We had to get a couple of group shots before the egg hunt!

Counting Sam's eggs (not sure what Ward is doing in this picture!)

Mama and Sam (who is never far from my feet these days!)

Ann Park and Katelynn

Timing

So shortly after I wrote my post this morning, I read the below on Facebook.  A perfect reminder for my day (and many other days as well):

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." -- Psalm 27:14



"...God doesn't waste time...He redeems it. The time of waiting will be used to prosper us in each season of life..." --- Proverbs 31 Ministries 4.6.12


So thankful that our God doesn't waste a minute of His childrens' time...instead He uses that time to "equip" us for what is next. What an amazing God...a God who is always working for us and with us.

The Silence is Deafening

So we have gotten past Easter.  And still no word from our adoption agency . . . not that I really expected it, but I guess a small part of me was hoping for an Easter miracle.  I really think that I did well during Lent to give up a lot of my stress about the adoption, but it is a daily struggle.  And today in particular seems kinda bad.  Not sure what sparks a "bad day."  I am sure that some of it is that I am not feeling well (I have caught a nasty cold) and a bunch of people have been asking about the status of our adoption lately.  I know that they are just making conversation and trying to be nice, but it is really hard to say again and again and again "nope, we still don't know anything . . . still waiting . . . not sure when . . .  hopefully soon."  It just brings the feelings up again and again.  And to mere acquaintances.  It is better when it is friends and I can at least tell the truth about how much this process sucks right now.

But I another part of me knows that as soon as I see her, hold her, smell her, I will understand God's plan.  I will know why He wanted me to wait on her.  And once we get her home, the memories of the waiting will slowly fade as I get to spend the rest of my life with our daughter . . . the good and the bad (and the ugly).

Please keep us (and me) in your thoughts and prayers.  I know that I need them.  And please please please don't ask how the adoption is going.  Maybe May will bring good news . . .  but I am trying to not get my hopes up.

Anticipation and Discipline

I am in a great mood this morning!  We had a really fun family weekend packed with soccer games and birthday parties, as well as time at Railroad Park riding bikes and scooters with Grandmom.  The kids were well-behaved the vast majority of the weekend with little fighting between Ward and Ann Park which is so nice (more on that later).  Sam has been struggling with a cold so he was more on the whiny/I-want-momma-all-the-time side, but it was okay.

But I am so excited for later this week because I get to see BOTH of my sisters as well as BOTH of my new nephews.  Still can't believe I have not met Billy and he is 5 months old (and a happy, happy baby) and I can't wait to just hold Liam, who by all accounts is an angel.  Both of their families are heading to Grey Rocks for a long Easter weekend.  We have to be in Birmingham over the weekend, but the kids are out of school Thursday, Friday and Monday for Easter so I am going to take them down on Thursday morning and come home Friday night.  I hate that Ted can't come, but I understand that he can't leave work since we are going on a big family vacation in May. 

Back to the fighting reference though - Ward and Ann Park have been fighting like cats and dogs and just generally not treating each other well.  I went back to my trusting parenting guide by John Rosemond (The Well-Behaved Child) and found a system that I thought I would give a try.  And it is working.  Here is what I did.  I sat them both down and told them that, as I knew, that the fighting had to stop. I told them that I knew that there would sometimes be conflict (as they are not expected to get along all the time!), but that they did not need to scream, yell, stomp, snatch, or come running to mom and dad every time they got in a disagreement. The three of us then wrote down the following three rules about fighting, entitled "DO NOT DISTURB THE FAMILY PEACE":  (1) Keep conflict to yourself.  Do not bother anyone else with your conflicts (i.e. I don't want to hear you yelling, stomping, etc.);  (2) No tattling; and (3) No pushing, shoving, pinching, snatching, touching. 

And how do I enforce those rules?  Well, they each have an envelope with 5 tickets in it.  Each time they break one of the above rules, I get a ticket.  No warnings, just give me a ticket. (And if Ward comes to tattle, Ann Park has to give me a ticket too beacuse they are BOTH disturning the family peace, even though Ward was the tattler).  If they lose 5 tickets in one day, they have to go to their room for the rest of the day (they can come out and eat dinner with the family) and go to bed early.  When in their room, they may read or draw/write.  They may not play with legos (Ward) or Barbies, babies (Ann Park). You should have seen their eyes when I told them that.  And they know that I mean business.

So far we have not gone to the room yet.  Yesterday I had 4 tickets from both by lunch and they were angels the rest of the day.  It will happen.  I am sure of it.  And it won't be pretty.  But it will be effective.

Incredible Birthday!

So for all my ranting and complaining on the internet (and in person) Ted planned the MOST AMAZING birthday for me.  And it was a whole day.  Let me give you the full picture:

On Monday mid-morning, I got an e-mail from Ted at work.  He told me that he had gotten me the day off work for the next day (in a very cute, lawyer way that included filing a "motion" in front of my Judge for a day of relaxation) and included my schedule for the day.   He had arranged for child care for the kids, since it was spring break I got to go to my favorite exercise place (Grand Jete for all those from Birmingham) and then a wonderful lunch with my parents.  Then, the best part - I got a massage and then a manicure and pedicure.  I got home around 6, showered and then we headed to my favorite restaurant - Hot and Hot.  We enjoyed a wonderful bottle of wine, courtesy of mom and dad, and I had an amazing Red Snapper. We talked and talked and I don't think that we mentioned the kids.  As much as I adore and love my kids, adult conversation is so great.

All in all, a pretty much perfect day.  All courtesy of my precious husband.  I guess I'll keep him!

Nothing to say

So I haven't posted in a while.  I really don't have anything to say.  We are almost done with our homestudy update.  The last of our reference letters was mailed yesterday, thank the Lord.  Once our agency receives it, all the paperwork should be done, and all we have left to do is the update with the social worker.  We are (hopefully) going to do the meeting with her via Skype or telephone and not have another in-person meeting.  Once all that gets done we are just back to the waiting.  I feel like it has been forever since we had that bad couple of days in February, but I know that it really hasn't even been a month.  Time is moving slowly.  But I am trying to accept it even if I am sad about it.

In other news, the construction is going so well, despite some bad weather.  They have framed the walls of our bedroom/dressing room/bathroom and have started on the roof framing.  They have still not poured the concerte slab that connects this structure to our house so it lookes like we are building a separate house.  I have gotten some pretty funny comments about it.  The plan was to pour the slab today but it looks like it could rain at any minute (and is gonna be like that all week) so I am not sure if it is going to happen.

Next week is spring break.  Of course we didn't plan anything because we were really hoping that we would be in Russia, be on the way to Russia, or be on the way back from Russia.  I am working on Monday and Tuesday and then am going to take the kids down to Grey Rocks for the remainder of the week.  Mom and dad will be there (dad will probably be living there as turkey season starts on Thursday!) so they will be a huge help.  I haven't heard that Ted is going to take any time off so I guess that we will see him on Friday night.  He is helping try another case in front of the same judge in Texas next month so I am sure that he will be working hard for the next few weeks.

Ward and Ann Park started back on their soccer this week.  They have the same teams (give or take a few players) as in the fall, and they are both so excited.  Ted is coaching Ann Park's team and it is adorable to see all the girls and the crushes that they have on him.  He really wanted to coach Ward's team but I think secretly he is glad that he got "stuck" with the girls.

Finally, I am turning 35 one week from today.  Not one person in my family (other than my children who have been drawing me birthday pictures for the past week) seem remotely interested in my birthday.  In fact, Ted has not said one word about it - not even a "let's try to go to dinner" comment like he usually says.  And I am leaving for Grey Rocks the next morning.  Mom hasn't either but she has a lot on her plate with being at Jeanne's to help with Liam (well, mainly with Tripp and Ashton) and now heading to help Kit who had her tonsils taken out yesterday.  Then she is headed back to Jeanne's to help for another week, so I know that her mind is not on it.  But with all that said, I have to admit that I have my feelings a little bit hurt. I seriously hope that I don't end up cooking my own birthday dinner.