Siblings

This is the such an exciting time for our family as we continue our journey with God's blessing of raising two wonderful kids.

Shaleigh has seemed to adjust well with having Cody around and I'm so proud of her. Unlike most kids she didn't have the full nine months to get used to a new sibling she only had approximately a week. She loves to sit and watch TV with him and she loves to lay in bed with him and entertain him. She has been a wonderful big sister.

Cody is a very sweet young gentlemen who lets us all sleep through the night. Many times I wake up when I hear him stirring and look over to see him playing with his fist and slowly going back to sleep. He seems to only get upset when he is wet, dirty, or hungry. He doesn't have to worry about cuddle time as we all help with that including Shaleigh.

We have had a few adventures not many with both siblings as summer has started. Cody attended one T-Ball game so far and we have one more to go. He has had a chance to go outside and slide down the slide with Shaleigh with Kori's help. They have even had him on the trampoline for a few minutes. Shaleigh seems to understand to watch his head and neck area and tries to be very careful of him.

They have even had a chance to go swimming with each other. Of course Shaleigh is my water bug and she had a good time. Cody got to experience a pool for the very 1st time and wasn't too sure about it for a while. I think he was so shocked about having his little swimmers wet, but once he got used to it he sat back in his floaty and enjoyed the water.

Stay tuned to many adventures as our summer continues.

Mother's Day and Baby Dedication

The four of us

Cody

Dan, Shaleigh, Elsie, Cody, and Ellen

Mom, Shaleigh, Me, and Cody

The 4 of us at the front of the church

Grand-mom, Cody, Shaleigh and Granddad

Well to our surprise we got to dedicate our newest member right after we got him this year. It was such a special time for our family even though we were not all there for the dedication.

We all got up and went to Sunday school and church and at the beginning of church we sat up by the youth who were so excited to meet our newest member of the family...Cody. They all took turns holding him and gushing over him.

Unfortunately Lee and Kristie were not able to attend due to family problems. We know that they were there in spirit and we were okay with that.

So in 2006 we got Shaleigh right before mother's day and this year we got Cody the week of mother's day. I became a mom both times right before mother's day. How ironic was that.

We have been so blessed by both of our kids and we will continue to share many adventures as they both grow. Our family is now complete with God's help and blessing.

T-Ball

Shaleigh and me

Laynee, Kylie, and Shaleigh

Shaleigh

Well once again T-Ball has started up again for the season. There are 7 teams which is more then they have had in the past. Dana (my assistant coach) and I didn't know hardly any of the kids on the list...but regardless of that we ended up with a good team this year. They have done really good considering that we don't keep score. Shaleigh hated T-Ball last year because she couldn't get the ball last year before the boys could. So this year she has been such a go getter. She will go after that ball and chase after the player to tag them out. She has had the pleasure of playing pitcher for some of the games and the rest she has played between 2nd and 3rd base so that when they hit the balls out that way she can get them and hustle into the play and tag them out or throw the ball to base. I'm so proud of her this year and she is a good batter also.

She has once again had the pleasure of playing with Laynee and Kylie on her team and they have had a wonderful time knocking down another T-Ball season. I'm so proud of the way these girls have grown and the level that they have played at. Way to go Rangers we are all so proud of you.

Playschool End of Year Party

SORRY CAN'T FIND PICTURES IF I DO I WILL ATTACH LATER:

Okay so once again it is so hard to imagine Shaleigh going to big school next year and out of playschool. We have had some awesome teachers that have worked so hard with their kids to get them ready for school. So proud to have had Ms. Todd and Ms. Hooper along with Ms. Morgan this year to get her ready for the next big step in her life...public school.

They once again went to the park for the last day of school. Cody tagged along with me on this occasion. Shaleigh had so much fun introducing him to her classmates. They all got to play on the playground and eat ice cream with all the toppings. They had so much fun running around chasing each other. I have enjoyed watching this group grow up before my eyes. This year we say one major change in the dynamics of her class they added like 7 more kids this last year to the original 4 that they started our with.

So this will be the last time that I blog about the playschool regarding Shaleigh as she moves up to the elementary school next year. Don't worry if you thought we were actually through with playschool think again....Cody is already signed up for next year. They are opening up a babies room for the church members that have babies. So for the next 5 years you will be hearing about his adventures as he tackles playschool as Shaleigh tackles public school.

Highland Day

The class walking to the buildingThe class standing by the office

The kids going through the cafeteria line

The kids lined up waiting for the rest of the tour

The kids eating lunch

Shaleigh eating lunch

Okay so this was a very special day for Shaleigh and her classmates. They were all going to Highland Elementary School to eat lunch and get a tour of the school. They were so excited to be going to the big school but at the same time they were a little scared.

They left the playschool at 11:00 and we met them at the school after dropping Cody off with Aunt Betsy for a while. They got to eat with the 2nd graders. They did the whole thing....they went through the line and had to get their milk and everything so that they would know what to do next year. They all sat down at a table and after that Mr McBroom the principal came and gave us all a tour of the school.

Shaleigh was so excited but she sure did stick close to her friend Laynee. They got to see the computer lab, the gym, and the playground. She even got to ride the bus over to the school and back to playschool. This was a good experience for them since they will go there next year.

They did Ms. Hooper proud...they stood in line and listened closely to what Mr. McBroom said and paid attention. We were so proud of the kids that went.

WOW

The first moment I held Cody in my arms

All of us trying to see Cody

Dan, Shaleigh, and Cody for the 1st time. I love this picture.

Shaleigh holding Cody for the 1st time

Cody and me together getting to know each other

Dan and Cody getting to know each other

Grandmom and Cody

Granddad and Cody

The birth mom Charolette

Me, Charolette, Cody, and Dan

The Banks family with Cody

Aunt Kristie and Karissa with Cody

Uncle Lee, Lucas with Cody

Carmen with Shaleigh and Cody

Mom with Shaleigh and Cody trying to feed him with help from big sister

Junior with Cody

Uncle David with Cody after work

Maridel with Cody

Kori and Aunt Betsy putting the swing together for Cody

Grandma Elsie with Shaleigh and Cody

Aunt Ellen with Cody

About the 2nd week of April I was sitting at work working the front desk when I received a very surprising phone call. The adoption agency called to say that the birthmom of a little boy had picked us from all the profiles she had seen. It was a very unusual situation....the mom was from San Antonio and she had given birth on March 1. The little boy had some problems after his birth and was in the hospital for about a week or so. From there a foster mom with Christian homes in Abilene went to the hospital and picked him up and brought him back to Abilene where he has been since discharged from the hospital.

The agency had in fact sent us his profile a month ago and asked if they could show our profile to the mom. After much discussing and praying about it we said that God knew what we wanted and he would provide for us. I then turned it over to the Lord and laid this situation at his feet (which was very hard for me to release control). The mom has so many mental problems and we hoped that it would not affect the little boy.

On to April....the agency said that they would be having a conference call with Christian homes of Abilene the next week but that they could not wait to tell us about the little boy that was soon to be ours. Of course I teared up and then forgot about it...my theory that I would not count the chickens before they were hatched. I didn't get my hopes up until after that conference call telling us when we could go and get that precious little boy. They called us the following Tuesday and gave us the foster mom's information and the go ahead to go and get him.

Well of course I automatically called that sweet precious foster mom, Shelly Blake, and talked to her about everything. She started sending us email and text messages containing pictures of our new baby...Cody James. We arrived in Abilene on May 3 and as soon as we checked into the hotel we let Shelly know that we were in town and then loaded back up and went to meet them and Cody. The minute we stepped out of the suburban I saw that precious child in her arms and of course teared up all over again. That was such a special moment that we got to share with Shaleigh, mom and dad. Shaleigh was automatically in love with her brother. She so wanted to hold him and she got to just an hour or so later. She leaned down and gave him a kiss and has been doing so since.

The next day was an emotional day...we were just hours away from driving away from Abilene with a precious little boy. The birthmom wanted to meet us so bad so they had arranged for her to ride the bus in from San Antonio. When she got to Dallas the driver did not show up for his route so they had to call in another driver to continue the route to Abilene. She got there around 3:15 or so and we were suppose to meet her at 4:15 and she had to be back on the bus at 5:00 to go home. We went over to Shelly's house to meet her, she was holding Cody and crying and rocking him. This was very emotional for her...but like she told us she wanted to give him a home with a loving couple that was involved in our community and church. She loved that about us.

After she left we spent a little time talking to Shelly and her family and then we left to begin our journey home with our little boy. We stopped in Lubbock where Lee, Kristie, the kids, and Beth awaited us. They loved on him and Shaleigh and then we headed home.

Through all of this I see the irony of all of this. Life Tree called us on April 21, 2006 at 2:00 and told us about Shaleigh. Special Deliveries call me on April 20, 2011 at approximately 3:00. We were all blessed with our two children right before Mother's Day on both years.

So without further ado....introducing Cody James Long.....

Playschool Easter Party

The bunnies going to the park

The kids sitting down eating their decorative cookies

Lining up to hunt the eggs

Shaleigh standing on top of the equipment scoping out for more eggs

The girls and their baskets full of eggs

Shaleigh and Degan

Part of her classmates

Well sadly this was her last Easter party for playschool. We have been blessed to have this playschool that has been a part of our lives for the last 3 years. This year the weather held out just a little cold not to bad. They were able to have their egg hunt at the park.

I got there just as they were walking to the park and it is nothing like see 11 little bunnies walking down the road to the park. They were so adorable. The school had pizza for everyone to eat and then they all got to decorate a sugar cookie. No matter how hard I tried not a single one of Shaleigh's friends would let me eat their cookie. Then they all lined up and got ready to hunt the eggs. The eggs were all over the grass and the playground. The whistle blew and they all took off. They had such a good time running around looking for the eggs and believe me when I say they all made a haul.