Our Journey For Cole

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Saturday Nov 10th - Jackson's B-day Party

We took Cole to a birthday party yesterday at a place called Frozen Ropes Baseball Park. It was Jackson's 7Th B-day, and Cole was the youngest one in attendance, but he very much enjoyed watching all the kids play various baseball games. And then he got to play with a wiffle ball towards the end of the party, which he had a blast doing (See Video Clip Below).

After the party we headed over to Jackson's house to visit with his mom & dad, and let the kids play. Jackson's sisters, Anna Carol & Katie, thought Cole was their very own real life play doll! They made him drink from his water bottle & do pretty much whatever they wanted him to do. He was in absolute heaven, believe me!

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Happy Halloween!

Cole had a great time answering the door and seeing all the kids in their costumes, but he absolutely loved going trick-or-treating himself with daddy.

It didn't take Cole very long to get the hang of things....walk up to the door, look really cute, hold pumpkin bag out, and get lots of cool stuff!!

I'm pretty sure that Halloween is his favorite day of the year now...until he has his 1st Christmas anyhow.

P.S. It seems that the costume worked much better for Cole without the head piece.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Certificate Of Citizenship

We received Cole's Certificate of Citizenship, but they mispelled Uzbekistan! Oops. So, it has to go back, and we will have to wait for a new one to be issued, because unfortunately it does matter. We also need to submit 2 passport type photos when we send it back, so I guess I'll have to take our little man to the post office for some pics.

I was really thinking that once we completed the adoption that we wouldn't really have anymore paperwork to deal with...yeah, I was dead wrong!

We applied for Cole's passport, but I found out that his social security number still has to be applied for, because the forms we filled out in Uz at the US embassy had to be redone & of course that part got filled out with a no, instead of a yes on the corrected form...we were in a hurry & I missed it. Anyhow, at this point I'm hoping we will receive Cole's passport without his social security # being submitted. If not, well then it's gonna get tricky, because the passport agency has Cole's birth certificate, which of course is needed to apply for his Social Security #. Always something.

Oh, and then we need to file his Recognition of Foreign Adoption paperwork with the courts, so that he can be issued a new birth certificate from Texas. I'm telling you the fun never ends! LOL. He is still worth every bit of paperwork & more!

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Fort Worth Alliance Air Show

The boys went to the air show today, and as you can plainly see Cole is still all smiles from it! You could say he had a good time.

I am waiting on photos from Stoney, that were taken at the air show, and will post them as soon as I get them.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Saturday Morning

Cole is using my childhood rocking chair, while watching his Sesame Street DVD. The chair is closer to his size than all the other chairs we have for him, as he's really small for his age, but I'm sure he'll be growing like crazy very soon...

He's getting over a cold, but sleeping all the way through the night, with one nap in the afternoon. He's finally starting to like milk, and drinking much more of it, thankfully.

He's received all kinds of new toys since we got home from friends & family, and is having a ball playing with each & every one of them!

Cole is still only saying "momma" in English these days, but he's getting really close to saying something else soon, I just know it.

Adoptive Mothers Poem

Being an adoptive mother is not for every woman. She must possess not only the natural mother instinct but an understanding and appreciation of the situation that brought a child into her arms making her a mother.

The adoptive family comes to be by choices made, choices made by the first parents and by the adoptive parents. This bond the adoptive mother has with her child grows over time, like the child did within his first mother's womb. Day by day, touch by touch, with each tear, kiss, and memory made they became a family. Adoptive mothers have that special knack to let love grow.

The adoptive mother knows that she is a mender of wounds, not just of the physical skinned knees with a band-aid and a kiss, but of the heart. She gives love, acceptance, and permission to ask and talk about the day he was born and of his first parents. Adoptive mothers are embracers, not only of the child with many hugs and kisses, but of the child's heritage and history.

She embraces the facts of her child's past with strength for herself and the child. She's not only a memory maker planning family vacations, activities, and birthday parties, but also a memorykeeper. She's a tier of shoelaces and of hearts. She weaves lives together into a tapestry of a new family, with many different brightly, colored threads showcasing their individualities and family origins. Together they create one unit attached to each other.

Adoptive mothers are experts at finding lost objects, but understand and validate the profound, deep loss left by adoption. She allows the tears to fall and grief to be felt, allowing the mourning of the mom not there. She is secure in knowing that she's not a replacement, but a finisher of a race for someone who, for whatever reason, could not run any longer.

This role is not for the weak of spirit, or the easily wounded. Loving a child not born to her but calling him her own, but this is what she does, it is her calling. She is a mother.

Quick Facts

Uzbekistan, in the ancient cradle between the Amu-Darya and Syr-Darya rivers, is the most historically fascinating of the Central Asian republics. Within it are some of the oldest towns in the world, some of the Silk Road's main centres and most of the region's architectural splendours. When To Go The best time to visit is in spring from May until the end of June, and in autumn from September until November. The weather is mild and in April the desert blooms briefly. In autumn it's harvest time, and the markets are full of fresh fruit. If you're interested in trekking the mountains, summer (July and August) is a better time to visit; at all other times the weather is unpredictable and there can be snow in the passes from Christmas to February. You may wish to remain in the mountains to stay cool, as the rest of the country will be sizzling at this time. But remember, whilst the mountains are pleasantly cool in summer, they are freezing in winter.