Well, lots has been going on at the Picker household for the last couple months.  I’m sure an update is in order.  Sometimes I feel like the only people that read this blog are people that we see everyday, so, unless I have something profound to say, I often forget to blog.  But there may be a few others that read and would like to know what we’ve been up to.  I know for sure that my grandma in Kansas reads and would like an update.

First of all, thank God for spring.  I’ve always felt that there is a huge collective sigh when the weather turns warmer.  At least there is here at the Picker house.  Momma’s happier in the spring, and that makes everyone happier.  We’ve enjoyed spending a few warm afternoons in the backyard.  We’ve been on a few family walks, and Casey and I have both started running again.  We’re looking forward to Casey’s and Caleb’s birthdays in April.  My firstborn is going to be FOUR years old!  Yikes!

On the adoption front, we got our home study and dossier turned into Holt last week.  On Thursday, when our dossier was approved, we were told we were about #33 on the waiting list for a referral.  A referral is when we are matched with our little girl.  #33 sounded pretty good to me, and I settled down to get ready for our 4-6 month wait.  Well, evidently a huge number of referrals came in this week because yesterday I found out we had jumped up to #10!  We are so surprised and excited.  When we adopted Josiah, we were #9 on the waiting list when we got our referral, so #10 feels like things might happen fast.  Of course, everything could slow down now, and we could still wait a couple more months, but , on the other hand, it could be any day.  Now, every time the phone rings, the thought crosses my mind, “Could this be it?”

I have to admit that I’ve tried hard not to get too emotionally involved in the adoption process to this point.  I have known that there is a little girl out there who needs us, and who we need, who we will absolutely fall in love with, and who will be the perfect addition to our family, but I have reminded myself that I’ve got plenty to focus on at home right now with my two sweet boys.  I was ready to have a nice quiet summer with Casey, Caleb, and Josiah, and possibly get a referral towards the end of the summer or even this fall.

Well, finding out that we are #10 has definitely changed my outlook.  My heart is now engaged . . . can you believe it?  I’m getting a baby girl!  And the truth is, we could be getting a referral this spring!

Casey and I have been chatting a lot about girl names over the past few weeks, and I think we’ve just about made the choice.  Casey is hesitant to commit and wants me to remind everyone that we are reserving the right to change our minds if the name doesn’t fit her sweet face or go with her Ethiopian name.  But I’m pretty sure this will be it; the name we’ve chosen is:  EVELYN.  If you love it, let us know; if you don’t, we’d rather not hear about it.  We both really wanted a pretty name, and I love the way Evelyn rolls out of your mouth.  I had a great-grandmother named Evalyn, so it’s also a family name.  Anyway, she is Evelyn in my heart right now, and you’re welcome to refer to her as that unless you hear otherwise.

Well, the boys are screaming, and Casey is telling me we need a family outing, so off I go!

In the last three weeks, we have moved out of our old house, lived with my parents for a week, overseen minor renovations along with complete painting and carpeting of our new house, and moved in our new house, during the “busy season” at Casey’s work, while trying to do at least some of our normal Christmas stuff with a ten-month-old and a sick three year old. Right now Casey is passed out on the couch after working twelve-hour days all week and then coming home to help me move furniture and hang blinds each night.

Last night, with very little personal motivation, I set up the smallest, saddest Christmas tree in Picker history. In fact, if it weren’t for the kids we probably would have skipped it altogether this year, but Caleb wanted one and it is Josiah’s first Christmas, so we had to. I can’t help but feel that they’ve been cheated of Christmas this year. With everything that has been going on, we haven’t been able to focus like I want to or celebrate in all the fun ways that I would like to, though we did squeeze in a visit to Santa, on moving day no less. I just keep thinking, “Next year, we’ll do it right.” But I’ve just had to let it go, realizing that, at three and eleven months, they probably won’t remember this Christmas, and the all gingerbread houses, parties, and plays aren’t that important anyway.

What I want more than anything this Christmas is PEACE, and a few silent nights wouldn’t hurt either. We’re looking forward to slowing way down this week and enjoying Christmas with our sweet boys while we share with them the beautiful mystery of the birth of Christ.

So, needless to say, with all the craziness, there will be no Christmas cards from us this year. I’m sure you’ve been checking your mailbox every day for the last week, so I’m sorry to disappoint you.

We would, however, still love to wish you a very Merry Christmas and tell you how thankful we are for all of our sweet friends and family. This has been an incredibly challenging and blessed year for us. (Isn’t it funny how those always seem to come together, the challenges and the blessings? That’s a post for another day.) Walking through this year with you has been a blessing to us, and we hope we can love and support you and your family as beautifully as you have loved and supported us in the years to come.

We took this photo ourselves, with the tripod and self-timer, which is why Josiah seems a little confused.

I’ll leave you with a little silliness. It’s nearly impossible to capture the spirit of my two boys with the camera. I hope you can read between the lines.

Merry Christmas!

What are your thoughts?

The new theme’s layout is based on Brian Gardner’s Vertigo theme, but as you can see, I’ve changed it up quite a bit. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments. If everyone hates it, I’ll scrap it and start over!

Last night on the news, Mary Beth and I saw that drastic measures are now being taken to try and conserve as much water as possible. Even after seeing this news, I wasn’t that worried about the people in Georgia. We now live in a day and age where drought doesn’t seem to affect our lives as much as in the past. We have all of the appropriate measures (reservoirs, water towers, etc) in place to store up water should a shortage occur. That’s why it never occurred to me to pray for rain.

Mary Beth and I were talking last night and she shared with me that when she and Caleb prayed together that night, they prayed for rain in Atlanta. I thought it a little odd that of all the things to pray for, they prayed for rain. After thinking about this for a while, it struck me that for some of my ancestors, praying for rain was a daily ritual. Farmers understand this much better than the rest of us. Their livelihood depends on God to provide rain to water their crops.

Thinking of all of this reminds me how much I depend on God for my daily existence. Whether I acknowledge it or not, God provides everything for me. Sometimes I think I shouldn’t trouble God about the little things in my life, but how wrong I am!

Just as I delight in every detail of my son, Caleb, God delights in our details. He just wants us to ask Him.

By the way, the forecast for Atlanta today calls for rain…

I have recently come across Everyday Mommy’s Hidden Treasure Blog Awards. Last week, I nominated some of Mary Beth’s previous posts and was excited to hear that two of her posts were chosen as finalists!

Here are the posts that have been chosen as finalists, along with their Category:

• Generations of Faithfulness – Faith
• Why I’m Voting – Current Events

I would appreciate it if all of you would take the time to go vote for her posts. Please visit this link to see voting instructions. The Voting closes at 11:59pm central standard time on February 16, 2007, so don’t wait too long! Thanks!

Now, if you walked out of my front door, you probably would not be able to tell that it had snowed at all. The sidewalks are dry, the streets just look slightly damp, and you can only find the tiniest bit of accumulation in the shadowiest recesses of our yard. This is the saddest excuse for a snow day that I have ever seen, and I have seen some pretty pathetic snow days. But, in the south, we will take every opportunity to throw around phrases like “inclement weather” and “hazardous road conditions.” We love a good snow day, or even a bad one. So, to all of you Yankees out there who are rolling your eyes or chuckling under your breath, I say give us our snow days, even if they are only imaginary, and we will let you have your “heat waves.”

SNOW UPDATE
A few hours after I posted the above, it started snowing big, white, fluffy flakes that were gathering up on the ground. We’ll see how long it lasts. May your winter be filled with safe and happy snow days!

I think it will be great for both of us to share our thoughts and perspectives in one place. As a result of this, I’ve shut down the old Shook Foil blog and brought all of Mary Beth’s old posts over to the new blog. So, you can still see some of the great things she has written.

As a result of this, we sat down yesterday and went over the design together in order to “soften” it up a little bit. Let us know what you think of the new design. We need all of the feedback we can get!

Now perhaps you are somewhat attached to this plastic Nativity scene. You have had it for many years, and, although it is cheap and plastic and the paint is chipping off, it has come to represent to you what the season is all about. For if God could humble himself to be born in a barn surrounded by animals with only shepherds to greet him, surely He doesn’t mind being immortalized by plastic light-up effigies displayed in front lawns across America.

So you feel a certain fondness for your Nativity scene. There may have been no room for them in the inn, but you have built Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus their own stable out of 2 X 4s, complete with a manger and hay. So, with this in mind, imagine that you have set out your nativity scene for the world to see, or at least for all the traffic down your busy road to see, and you feel that with your added cross made out of red and white Christmas lights in the background this is perhaps the finest Nativity scene in the county.

Further imagine that one morning you back out of your driveway, or perhaps walk to the street to get your morning paper, and you discover with great shock that someone has stolen your Baby Jesus! If you feel the same as this man or woman does then you might have also been compelled to display a sign like this in your yard:

This sign was actually displayed at a house that’s just down the road from us. I saw it and just had to stop to take a picture.