Finalization Day Draws Near

Dear little Marguerite's finalization date is drawing near!

The most recent correspondence from our local social worker reads as follows:

All systems go! So please go ahead and get a court date when your'e able to. We ask the date be set at least 3 wks from the date you petition the court to give us ample time for the court report.


Life is very good, very good. We should be able to finalize very shortly after our return from vacation.

Pure bliss.

I think Marguerite is excited too... What do you think?

Spectacular Weather

Last weekend we were treated to some severe weather, followed by a spectacular rainbow and sunset.

Unfortunately, the storms that were merely exciting and beautiful for us did great damage in Eagle, Wisconsin, spawning tornadoes and extremely high winds. Our prayers go out to those who were injured or displaced by the tornadoes.


Storm clouds from our deck...

The post-storm sunset, viewed from our front porch...

The magnificent double-rainbow after the storms...

The sun sets upon a stormy evening...

Pals

One of the questions that Marguerite's birthmother asked of us during our phone "interview" was whether Marguerite would have contact with other children of color. Of course, we assured her that she would.

Here is Marguerite with a couple of her little friends. One of the boys came from the very same adoption agency in Georgia as did Marguerite!

Miss Cutie Grows

Cutie-pie Marguerite just gets bigger and bigger...

Check out the way she is pulling herself up to peer into this container (filled, incidentally with school books for next year—a brainy girl already).

Electric Omelette Breaks Eggs Again

This time Electric Omelette, the girls' rock band, performed not at a concert venue, but as an opening act for the Verona Hometown Days parade.

Anna Marie, Kathleen, and their band mates brought hand-clappin' good times to the parade festivities, performing their rendition of "Life is a Highway."

Turkey Season

It's that time of year... The turkeys are roaming our backyard (and eating our gardens)...

Too bad Joe didn't get a turkey license this year.

Just When We Thought She Couldn't Get Any Cuter

I'm telling you... Marguerite gets cuter by the day.

Check out those totally smoochable cheeks.

Random Cuteness

Andrew sports Dad's broken umbrella, Kathleen's sweatshirt, and Dad's mud boots. 

Marguerite as a blonde (modeling a wig from the kids' dress-up box)...

William gets ready to feed solid-food-eating Marguerite...

Marguerite rules the roost from that high chair, while proud sister Therese looks on...

Encouraging Nature Study

I have children who are, in many ways, nothing like me. For one thing, they like snakes.

The ringleader of the snake-loving contingent is thirteen-year-old Anna Marie who has made many requests to bring a snake home over the years. All such requests have fallen on suitably deaf ears. Until the last request, that is. 

In a moment of weakness, I said yes. I know, I know. Weak.

There are rules, mind you: the snake must reside in the unfinished basement, the snake must inhabit an enclosed aquarium, and the snake may never, EVER be carried upstairs.

So, now, I share my home and property with one devoted husband, six sometimes-but-not-normally-devoted children, a cat with a hair loss problem, who-knows-how-many chickens (daily tally changing due to butchering season), and A SLITHERING REPTILE! 

Lord help me. 

I'm trying to do my part to encourage nature study in our homeschool. Trying. 

Suffice it to say that if Gwin the Snake (named after a character in "Inkheart") decides to escape, our nature study is OVER. 

Harsh? Perhaps.

But I do take some satisfaction in the startled responses from moms who learn that I am actually allowing (for the moment at least) a live snake to take up residence in our basement. Indeed, I surprise even myself.

Like I say, I'm trying. 

 

The Landscaping Project

I have taken on a larger-than-life landscaping project (with larger-than-life weeds prepared to spring through the larger-than-life plot of newly sod-busted soil).

Chalk one up for Elizabeth's optimism-driven insanity.

I do, however, have my built-in entertainers to see me through the project...

Egyptian dancers...

Boys falling into toy boxes...

Macho, macho (little) men...

And my husband, drinking beer in his boxers...

Catching Some Vitamin D

This was the day we all got a leeeeeeetle (okay, a lot) too much sun.

The ridiculously huge landscaping project and Joe's never-ending veggie garden chores are to blame (not the silly folks who failed to apply sunblock, of course).

Finalization Day Approaching

If you haven't been over to our adoption blog in a while, you should. We are rapidly approaching finalization of sweet Marguerite's adoption, and excitement abounds.

Given the "legal risk" nature of Marguerite's adoption, the paperwork takes a little longer to process through Georgia and Wisconsin. But we are almost there.

It will be so nice to look down upon our beautiful baby girl and know that she is a Leone through and through. Of course, she's been a Leone in our hearts since Day One. We just look forward to the paperwork matching our hearts.

We love you, Marguerite Jane!

Guitar Player Hair

So I've been working on Marguerite's hair.

So many fun hair styles (and such a learning curve for dear ol' mom).

Sometimes (in fact, most of the time) I just like to leave her hair "out." No hairstyle, just nicely conditioned in a cute afro.

Yesterday, I was doing Marguerite's hair—combing, detangling, conditioning, and applying her curl-enhancing "custard." When I was finished, I patted her hair into shape -- a very cute, round afro. She looked great!

Therese came along and gushed "Wow, Mommy! I LOVE Marguerite's hair. It looks just like the rock-and-roll guys in Daddy's guitar magazine."

Hmmmm... Not exactly the response I was going for, but I certainly agree on the cute report.