It's October! Thus begins my most favorite time of the year. We took Connor to the State Fair of Texas yesterday. He is a total thrill-seeker! He wants to ride all the "big kid" rides, and he's actually tall enough for a few of them. He loves the adrenalin rush! However, he was a little confused by Big Tex - he didn't really understand his purpose. "Why is he talking? I didn't know balloons could talk! And in Spanish, too?"

Connor has decided to be Batman for Halloween. I guess the days of cuddly baby animal costumes are over!

As much as I adore the beginning of the holdiay season, it's hard for us all to go through it ONCE AGAIN without a tiny one to share the joy. We should hear something any day from Vietnam. Really, I swear! But it looks like travel wont be until the beginning of 2008. It is difficult to write 2008 and know that our family has been in a "holding pattern" since 2005.

On another note...all of our favorite Texas teams are doing well! Connor's t-ball prowess has improved dramatically. He's in the 5-6 year-old league now, where they have real outs and strikes! So far (we're 3 games into the fall season) he's scored 4 runs, had 6 or 7 base hits and has a couple outs to his credit. The Aggies are doing well and beat Oklahoma State in a close game...UT lost to OU, which always makes Brian happy, and the Dallas Cowboys are undefeated!!! We'll see how they do in Prime Time tonight!

The CCAA has finally made it through November 2005. You may remember that back in May, they finished through Novebmer 1, 2005. So do the math in your head with me....it may take me a minute...that's FIVE months to get through ONE month of referrals. Every time I think China can't slow down any more, they prove me wrong. The latest forecast for us is February 2009. And it continues to lengthen...

So anyway - life has not stopped for us. Although sometimes I wish it would, for just a second, so I could catch my breath and savor what's in front of me right now.

Many prayers and good wishes to the families traveling in Vietnam right now waiting for their children's Visas so they can come home.

Thoughts of grace and peace to my children's birth mothers, and the unbelievable strength and love they have for their babies in order to them a better life and help us grow our family.