Cooper Lee Bates!

Fabi has un-officially become Cooper! (as of March 18th, the last day that the birth parents or relatives could appeal the termination of parental rights) I decided to begin calling him Cooper now that the adoption is underway. I hope for everything to be finalized within a month or two. Yahoo! Cooper is adjusting nicely to his new name, although it is hard for me to remember at times!! I think he will always be my baby Fabi!

Please pray for us as we enter this season of waiting - waiting for paperwork to be filed, for caseworkers to plan meetings, and for the final court date to be scheduled. I am trusting that God will faithfully bring Cooper into the Bates family as soon as is best, but sometimes it is hard to wait! I can't imagine a day when we can live without the constraints of the foster care system. Soon we will be able to leave the county without permission, go to the pediatrician without a bunch of extra paperwork, and I can let family and friends babysit without a foster care license!
He is well worth the wait!

We Love You, Cecilia!

After more than 2 years as my foster home director through Lena Pope Home, Cecilia has accepted another position at Lena Pope in the counseling department. I am so proud of her hard work and genuinely excited for her new journey, but I am sad that she will no longer be my director. Anyone who has walked with me through my time as a foster parent knows about Cecilia. She has been such an important fixture in my life over the past 2 years. It is her job as my director to facilitate interactions with CPS, answer questions about paperwork, and visit my home twice per month. Cecilia has done all of those jobs and thousands more! She literally kept me afloat when I had a difficult first placement. She's listened to me cry, transported kids to doctor's visits when I had to work, brought me Sonic when I was overwhelmed, and sat beside me in several nerve-racking court hearings. More than anything, she encouraged me to persevere and be courageous when I felt like giving up. It is most likely because of Cecilia in my life that I have reached the place of adoption with Cooper. I probably would have quit long before now if not for her friendship and kindness. Although we had our last "official" visit a few weeks ago, I am certain that "Miss Cecilia" will always be a part of our lives. : )

We miss you already, Cecilia! We've been so blessed by your friendship and hard work. Our family will always count you as a dear friend!

Easter Egg Hunt at the Bates'

Our Easter 2008 was spent in The Woodlands with my family. I remember how little Cooper (Fabi) was last year and how drastically our lives have changed since last March. Last year he couldn't even crawl and this Easter, Cooper is running around like crazy! Sometimes watching him grow seems like a miracle. I've discovered such joy in the moments we spend together as a family, especially those with my parents and brothers.

This year for Easter, Uncle Colin and Pop created the ultimate egg hunt for Cooper in my parents' backyard. I think they had just as much fun hiding the eggs as he did hunting for them! At first Cooper wasn't sure about what to do once he found the shiny little "balls", but when we showed him the treasure inside each egg, he was REALLY into the hunt!


He wasn't hurting for attention... : )
Uncle Colin introduced Cooper to the jellybean inside each egg and made a new best friend!

We had such fun... thanks Pop, Lolli, and Uncle Colin!

TCU Egg Hunt

The TCU Easter Egg Hunt has become a tradition in my family. I took Ana two years ago when she lived with me and Fabi's first egg hunt was last year. It is always so much fun. There is nothing like a spring day and those famous TCU tulips!

My favorite part of the egg hunt is the photo op with SuperFrog. Needless to say, it WASN'T his favorite! Last year he willingly let Super Frog hold him while I snapped pictures like crazy. This year was a little different...
We were amazed at how much TCU has grown up even since I graduated in 2004. Frog Fountain has been updated and is now in it's new home in the center of campus. Fabi just loved it!
Hence, the "WOW" face!

Giddy-Up Little Cowboys!

My parents have made it a tradition to take their grandkids to the Houston Rodeo each spring. My mom took Hudson and Fabi shopping for some "cowboy gear" and they were ready for a rip-roarin' good time! Aren't these the cutest little cowpokes you've ever seen?!

Here's Lolly with her two grandboys!
Lolly and Pop and Hudson (who was an excellent cowboy and wore his rodeo clothes ALL day long, much to our surprise!)
We had a blast at the rodeo... we looked at all the displays and tractors, we ate "rodeo food" and even rode some amusement rides. "Aunt Meg" got to ride with the boys, mostly because I had the smallest knees and could fit in the preschool rides! Hudson got to ride the big ferris wheel with Pop and he was so excited!

We did a lot of fun things, but the best part of the rodeo was watching the boys at the petting zoo. Hudson, being more cautious and level-headed, approached each animal slowly, and carefully allowed each to eat from his extended hand. Fabi, on the other hand, threw caution to the wind and went straight up to each animal without an ounce of fear. He did the same thing to each animal... he patted its back, layed down on the ground and looked the animal straight in the face, and then gave each a huge bear hug. We were cracking up! He even tried to hug the turkey, but the turkey didn't seem to excited about that idea!
I just kept praying he wouldn't squish anybody... sometimes he doesn't realize how big he is!
With his extreme love for animals, I have a feeling he may need a pet of his own someday! (We'll see!)

More Rodeo...

My little buckaroo...

I couldn't help it... I had to add one last picture! ADORABLE!