No pics, how about an announcement?

I've got no pics today.  Why do I have no pics? It's because my camera is missing.  We've narrowed its placement down to "in the house somewhere."  For those whose houses do not include six children, that might be comforting.  For me? Well, it's a little like saying you dropped something in the ocean.  It's a finite amount of space, but there's a whole lot of places in that space it could be.  We have a black hole in this house that doesn't just suck in one sock per pair.  I think someone could go into the witness protection program in our house, because they would never be found. 

So I took my kids to Target today, yes all of them.  Does that thought make you tired? It does me, but maybe that's because I actually did that.  We had to buy a birthday gift for a party tomorrow, and the father won't be home to help with the kid sit.  I thought that as a treat I would let the kids have popcorn while we roamed around.  We had two carts to split the tods.  D and Bob had Monkey Boy (MB) and Sissy and I had the rest.  That was all fairly uneventful, minus the spilling (twice) of popcorn in the shopping cart. An inquiry was made as to whether or not one could consume the popcorn that was laying in the cart.  Now, I'm no germaphobe mom, but engaging in that activity would be taking one's life in one's own hands.

This popcorn eating did provide an opportunity for LB to learn a new skill.  Since the kids were sharing bags, I wanted him to grab some popcorn in one hand, then use the other hand to put a piece at a time in his mouth.  If I'd tell him to grab some, he'd pick one piece out of the bag and put it in his mouth.  I'd say, "No, take a handful."  Which meant pick one piece out of the bag and put it in his mouth.  I said, "Grab the popcorn in your hand."  Which meant squish the daylights out of the piece in his hand (by the way, in case you are wondering, all the other kids were modeling to him how to do it correctly).   Trying a new strategy, I took his hand and helped him grab a handful.  While I was explaining how to use the other hand to put one piece at a time in his mouth, he shoved the handful in his mouth, spilling the majority of it down his front and onto the floor.  Did you know that Target has little trashcans in the store (not to sell but to use for trash)? We were glad to find that out.  I thought I would try one more time, so I helped him get a handful and held his hand so he couldn't Hoover.  I took his other hand and got one piece out to put in his mouth.  I'm explaining the whole time and say, "See, that's how you do it."  Which meant let go of all the other pieces of popcorn in his hand and let them drop to the floor.  So if you were in Target today and heard over the loudspeaker, "Beserk lady on aisle four."  That was me.

Okay, enough for the tease....here's the announcement...We are officially expecting again!  We have been matched with a precious one and her file is locked, meaning at this time no one else can adopt her.  We don't have the final okay from China yet, so no pictures of her until we get that (in about three months).  In the meantime, we are praying for another match before the final okay (called an LOA, or Letter of Acceptance) so we can travel once for both kids.  There are so many contingencies in adoptions it's very difficult to predict when things will occur.  I tell people that the process is regular and varied at the same time.  The steps are regular and ordered, but the timing of it all is so varied.  So here we are again, ready to start our newest adventure.  Oh wait, every day brings one of those, doesn't it?