I'm Giving Up My Shoe Budget For Something Much, Much Better

Howdy Y'all!

Most of you know that we are going through the adoption process - and this week was a BIG week for us. We have been activated for about 10 months - which means our profile is out there where potential birth moms can view it.  Over the past 10 months, I have tried not to think about it too often because waiting can be so hard.

Back in December, our specialist that we have been working with at the agency told us about a birth mom that was interested in us, but that she was higher than our budget.  We said we would be interested and were told they would send out a social worker to visit with her to make sure she was committed to an adoption plan.

Fast forward to Tuesday of this week - I was kind of getting discouraged because we were getting to the end of January and I thought maybe the birth mom had changed her mind so I send an email to our specialist just to inquire if they made contact with her or if she had changed her mind.  When we received the email back which stated that they had made contact and another person from the agency would be contacting us about a match!  Tony and I both got excited - this is what we had been waiting for.

On Wednesday, I was at work - and it was BUSY!  I was on the phone with one of my co-workers discussing work of all things when my cell phone started ringing.  I didn't recognize the number (and it was a local number) so I wasn't anticipating it to be about the adoption since they are based out of Kansas City. As I listened to the voicemail that was left, Lara was explaining to me that she wanted to get in touch with us about a match and to call her back.  Now, I felt it was becoming more and more real.  When I say I was BUSY on Wednesday, I really mean that I was BUSY.  But, how do I not stop everything that I was doing and return this phone call.  We learned on Wednesday that our birth mom was due on March 12th - this is only 6 weeks away!!!  Nerves kick in - and I am not sure that I heard another word that Lara said after she got started.

That afternoon, she sent us over the cost of the adoption and the medical records for our birth mom.  We reviewed them Wednesday night and decided this is the baby for us.  We got all the paperwork signed and notarized on Thursday and today we wired the funds to the agency.

Today, I asked if they knew the gender of the baby - and it is a GIRL.  So, my shoe budget, which helps me buys lots and lots of shoes each year, has now been slashed - and I couldn't be more thrilled about it.  I can't wait to fill up the closet, the drawers, buy enough bows to last a lifetime.

Sometimes it is still hard to believe that in less than seven weeks time, Tony and I will be traveling to upstate New York to pick up a precious baby girl that we can call our own.  Her name will be Kinley Aline Poll - Kinley is a name my best friend Laura had picked out for her baby girl - but, God has blessed her with two boys - so she is letting me use the name.  Aline is a family name that has been in the family for 3 generations and Kinley will be the 4th.

I love that I will be able to shower this little baby with tons of love just like my parents did for me when they adopted me and took me home from the hospital at 2 days old.  They were great role models of how to treat an adopted child - which is no differently at all.  I always felt the same as my brother and sister - and never different.  While Kinley won't have anything to compare to, she will be loved no less than a biological child.

We love her already - and can't wait to meet her in March.

Toodles!

Food Oddities

Howdy Y'all!

I know that I have shared before about my pickiness when it comes to food...however, this one is about something completely different.

Do you have foods and/or drinks that you only have at certain places or certain times?  Well, here are a few of my examples:

• Ginger Ale: I really love Ginger Ale, but I ONLY drink it on airplanes.  And, what I love the most is that my friend Rhonda is exactly the same way!  I thought I was the only crazy person.

• Chicken in a Biscuit Crackers:  I really do love the way these days, but I haven't had them in years and years and years.  Ya know why...because, I only ate them at church camp and I have been there since I was in college.  Maybe I need to go to Pineywoods again so I can get a taste of those yummy crackers again.

• Laffy Taffy Sticks (preferably Banana):  When I drive back to Arkansas from Texas (and only on the journey back), I have to stop and get two Laffy Taffy Sticks.  Am I a weirdo?

On another food note - when I eat chips, I have my favorites that I have to eat last.  No, my favorite has nothing to do with the flavor of chip or the kind of chip...my favorite kind of chip is a folded chip.  I don't know why they are so special...I just love them!

Seriously, doesn't this picture look tasty??  Look at all those folded chips in there.

Next time you eat one of these items, hopefully you think about how silly I am.  :)

Toodles!

Memories of a Great Man...

As many of you all know - my granddad, Louis Gene Cooper, passed away on Saturday morning.  Luckily, I already had plans to be in Texas this weekend to celebrate the upcoming birth of Kenley Vasek, my college roommate's daughter, so I was able to spend Thursday night and most of Friday at the hospital with him and the rest of his family.  As sad as it was to see him dying, it was nice getting together with my grandmother, his 5 daughters and most of his 14 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren and sharing the memories that we have of him.

I love how my granddad always greeting me (or any of the grandchildren) with "Hey Gal" or "Look Who the Cat Drug In".  However, as long as I can remember he has been hard of hearing - so, when you answered him, he always said, "Huh?"  I loved how it was standard...but, we got used to it and we just had to remember to talk a little (or a lot) louder.  :)

My granddad ALWAYS carried around change in his pocket...and he loved to rattle his change in his pocket.  You always knew when he was in the room because of the sound that he made with that change.  Probably because my grandmother was around him 24/7, this sound would get on her nerves and she would always say, "Gene, stop rattling the change."

He loved to play 42 (dominos), he would play with my dad and uncles after the Thanksgiving and Christmas meals.  He was an amazing dominos player - and his team would usually win.  I was lucky enough to learn how to play 42 and was able to play with him at least once.

Granddaddy was also a country Baptist preacher - and he officiated one of my cousins weddings.  He started praying during the wedding, then realized he had missed a song that was going to be sang, so he stopped in the middle of his prayer.  We all kind of giggled and laughed - and those are the kind of memories that we all loved about him.

He was really a great man and was loved by many.  He will certainly be missed - but, we all know that he is in a better place now.  As my niece Hailey said, "Why are you all sad?  We ARE going to see Granddad again in Heaven."

Love you granddad.

2010: A Year in Review (First Half of the Year)

Howdy Y'all!

I really can't believe that 2010 is coming to a close - it feels like it has been a blur.  I am going to try and pull out some of the memories that I had over the year.  Sometimes I have a hard time remembering yesterday - so this may be interesting.  :)

January
I honestly don't remember much except a couple of things.  Tony and I went to Las Vegas with a couple of friends and had a great time.  Before we left, my dad came up with the idea of a traveling gnome.  So, along came Bertha!

Unfortunately, Bertha died during the trip.  How sad.  My dad is so great that he already had one in the mail before I got back home to Arkansas.

We did have a blast in Vegas - and it was great seeing old friends.  We had lots of laughs, actually won money, saw a few shows and laughed some more!

My friend Rhonda was expecting a new baby right around the time I was in Vegas - and I told the baby she had to wait on Miss Angela to get back.  And, the baby listened...  In late January, Paige Berry made her entrance into the world!  She is quite a cutie!

February

We got lots of snow - and had a few snow days.  Being cooped up in the house for a few days gets a little old - but, it gave me time to get caught up on LOST.  I had not watched a single episode before January - but, I was able to get all caught up and ready for the final season in February.  Awesome show!

I ALWAYS do the driving to see my family.  When I saw ALWAYS, I drive to Texas 4-6 times a year and they only travel here about once a year.  But, on a whim, my mom and Hailey came up to Arkansas to see us for a long weekend.  I introduced them both to The Melting Pot and PF Changs - my niece never eats - but, she gobbled up her food at both places.  It was amazing!

Tony and I made a big decision in the month of February.  We decided to pursue adopting - and started down the path of doing lots and lots of paperwork.

March

My best friend celebrated her dirty 30, as we like to call it.  Every day for a week I gave her something - it all started with 30 pieces of her favorite gum and ended with a caricature and petit fours.  Thanks to Jason Bellini for that amazing caricature!

April

This month was all about seeing spring in New York City - if anything else happened in this month, I don't remember.

Laura and I headed to the Big Apple and had the best time.  We climbed to the crown of the Statue of Liberty, walked miles and miles, went to see the cutie patootie, Jimmy Fallon and saw Good Morning America, shopped, watched Phantom of the Opera, went to a few museums and had tons of fun!  It was the best time in the city that needs to be repeated AGAIN...soon...or at least after she gives birth to her new bundle of joy in May.

May

Our friends Britten and Scott were tying the knot - so, it required a little girls trip to Austin, Texas.  I still can't believe I got Laura and Tabitha in the University Coop.  That is the sign of a good friend - if I can get a Razorback in Longhorn country (even if they did to the Horns down).

The wedding was great - the time with the girls was awesome - getting to see my roommate from college was amazing!

Scott, the Groom

Britten, the Bride

I also started up this blog in May - and I have tried to keep up with it...  One of my first posts even paid homage to my "big brother" Greg Gunnels.

Me doing "The Greg"

One of the major things that happened in May is that Tony and I became "activated".  What does this mean?  It means that we were officially on the market to be chosen by a birth mom to raise their baby.

June

At the beginning of June - I always say that Walmart throws me the biggest party!  It is Shareholder's Week...which brings concerts and a huge meeting.  I always have the best time.

This Shareholder's Week brought us concerts by Zac Brown Band (love them!) and Tim McGraw (eeh)...and during the meeting we were entertained by Jamie Foxx (love him!), Enrique (hot!), Mariah Carey (blah!), Mary J. Blige (good), the American Idol winner whose name I can't remember (better than expected) and Josh Groban (good, but a let down to close the show).  I love this meeting!  Love it!

Tony and I also traveled to Dallas...and we got to eat one of the best things on the planet.  Snuffers!  Yum-o!  We traveled down to see Tony's parents - and my mom, sister, niece and I all went to see Wicked.  My second time and their first...it was still as amazing the second time as it was the first.  If you haven't seen it, order tickets now!  You won't regret it!

Snuffer's Cheese Fries!  The BEST!

Sorry to bore you all - but, hey - I was impressed that I was able to remember this much!  Yay me!

Until next time...toodles!

Big Church...and Sunday School

Howdy Y'all!

Have you ever had something trigger random memories?

I am not actually sure how we started talking about Play-Doh at work - but, that is what started this whole flood of church memories.  If you are asking how Play-Doh can trigger church memories...it's easy.  It all started with me remembering that we used to make Play-Doh from scratch in Sunday School.  Have you ever tried this?  I just remember it being really salty (yes, I did taste it).

So, here goes a few other Sunday School memories...

• In the same Sunday School class that I made the Play-Doh, I suddenly remembered praying for my dead grandmother.  Strange, I know...but, I guess as a little person, I thought she would come back and see me.  I think I prayed for her every week for at least a couple of months - my Sunday School teacher probably thought I was crazy.
• As I grew up, I had a sweet old lady as my Sunday School teacher for many years...Mrs. Parrish.  Poor Mrs. Parrish had to deal with me and it probably aged her.  :)  For example, when I was in the fourth grade or so, we were in Sunday School and Mrs. Parrish was telling us about the Easter Sunday Sunrise Service the following Sunday.  She went on to tell us that it was so early and you could be casual and you didn't even have to brush your teeth.  So, me having the smart mouth I do, I prayed OUT LOUD that Mrs. Parrish would brush her teeth before the church service the following week.  Oh boy...

I also had a lot of fun times in "Big Church".  Did y'all call it this when you were little?  Heck, I still call it this now...so who I am kidding.

• My friend Crystal and I would try and sit together in "Big Church" as much as we could.  I liked sitting by her family much more that I enjoyed sitting by mine.  Her mom and Mamaw would give us Trident gum - and my mom would just pinch me when I was being bad.  Who would you choose?
• Crystal and I also loved the hymns that had "Amen" at the end of them.  Even though the rest of the congregation didn't sing the Amens...we did!  It was a special treat when you got more than one of these a Sunday!
• When Brother Ty was preaching - if I am being honest - we got a little bored as young kids so we had to come up with our own entertainment.  So, we would trace spirals on each others hands over and over and over again.  I am not sure why this would be more entertaining than listening to the sermon...
• As we got older and sat with the youth group at the front of the church, we still sat side by side and we still found little ways to entertain ourselves.  One man (I don't know his name) prayed almost every Sunday and his favorite words were "Heavenly Father".  We would count the Heavenly Fathers during each prayer and I think he actually got up to about 58 in one prayer one time.  During our counting during the prayer, we would occasionally get ourselves to giggling and would almost burst out in laughter.  Just too funny...

As I kid, I had many memories about the activities on Sunday.  First, we went to church.  Second, my dad would be waiting at the door with the belt to let me know that my behavior wasn't appropriate at church.  Third, we ate roast and lastly, we took a nap.  Rinse and repeat.  It happened every Sunday (actually I am sure that spanking thing happened about once a day if I am telling the truth).

At least now I know how to go to church and not get in trouble while I am there.  :)

Hope you enjoyed the little trip down the "Big Church" memory lane.

Toodles!

Christmas Time Brings Lots of Snooping

Howdy Y'all!

So, I am notorious for snooping for Christmas presents.  If there was a Top 10 Wanted List of Christmas present snoopers, I would probably be first on the list.  Honestly!  Just ask my mom or dad or sister or brother.

Two particular stories come to mind:
1) I would go into my living room when my parents were gone and unwrap all of my gifts.  Seriously.  I would cut the tape right along the edge, gently lay out the paper, admire my gifts and then wrap them all back up just like I found them.  I would tape right over where the old tape was.  This worked perfectly until I left the scissors and tape out on the piano.  Dang!  Til this day, my mom still draws on the tape to ensure no one gets into the gifts.

2) Again, while my parents were out and about - my sister and I decided to get into the attic to look for presents.  In my parents attic, they have an area with plywood - but, there were some gifts just on the rafters (not on the plywood) so we decided to take a look.  It would have worked magically if I didn't trip fall through the sheetrock.  No lie!  How in the world do you hide a big hole in the garage??  Needless to say, we were told we were in big trouble and all of our gifts were going back to the store.  :)  P.S. We still got our gifts.

I am pretty sure that during the 7 years I have been married, I have always persuaded Tony to let me open my gift(s) early.  I can't wait...it is that dang snooping gene.  So, this year, he was trying to be so sneaky about the gift, using a checking account that I don't monitor...but, he asked me one question.  "What scents do you like?"  That got me thinking...and I came up in my head that he bought me a Scentsy Texas Longhorn jar and some waxes.  Last night, he mentioned my gift and I told him I already had a great idea of what he got me.  He said he didn't want to know what I thought and then he broke down and wanted to know.  So guess what - I was right and he was mad (not really).  He said, "I can never surprise you!"

He got me another gift too (Sequined Uggs!!!), but they are on backorderer and aren't coming until January.  Big boo!  :)

So, it looks like it is another year that I won't have any gifts under the tree from my husband...but, another year where I know my snooping skills are right on par.

Toodles!

Kids Say the Darnedest Things...

Howdy Y'all!

I spent the day yesterday with one of my favorite little people (people under 5) and I just love the things that come out of their mouth.

Here are a few things that I have heard over my lifetime that I just find so cute:

Hailey Ward (as told by her teacher, Mrs. Gold)
Since Colt McCoy got married, I am just going to marry Justin Bieber.


Kennon Teff - Yesterday
Me:  Kennon, are you going to have a baby brother or a baby sister?
Kennon: A baby sister.
Me:  Do you have a name picked out for your her?
Kennon:  Cookie Monster

Laura, it sounds like you are going to have a little blue girl monster that loves cookies.  Love that!

Luke Berry - A Few Weeks Ago
Rhonda (Luke's Mom and my friend): Luke, eat your chicken, protein gives you big muscles.
Luke:  Potatoes are good for my knees.
Rhonda: Where did you hear that?
Luke: Facebook!

Ashley Faucett (my sister) - Many Years Ago
Mom: Chris, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Chris: A Veterinarian
Mom: What about you, Angela?
Me:  A Doctor
Ashley:  I want to be a frog when I grow up.

All of these crack me up!  Kids are just too darn funny.

Toodles!