Today: Official Approval! Lucey, Here We Come!

It won't be long now!

This afternoon Ron said, "Let's do one thing for Lucey today...let's go set up a local bank account and order the clean bills." (We need a large sum of money in clean, crisp $100.00 bills from the Federal Reserve.) I was not so excited but Ron was adamant so off we went. We were at the bank for about 30 min. and the phone rang. It was Carol---the news we have been waiting for! We've been waiting for 115 days--our Letter of Approval! It's here! I'm pinching myself....it's really here! It won't be long and she will be home! Lucey Louise Wu Tucker, We Love You! There are so many who are praying for you and loving you along with us. We can't wait to share your story with you.

There's So Much To Be Thankful For

Update: There really is so much to be thankful for... We received an email today with an update on Lucey. I could envision her as I read all about her. This is what the email said:

Her nick names are Xiao Yue and Yue Yue. She is 25 pounds and 33 inches tall. Lucey has 16 teeth and still takes a bottle with formula. She is fed mainly noodles, rice and buns....she should fit in nicely with the Tucker boys. Her schedule:
6:30a.m.-breakfast, 11:30a.m. - lunch, 5:30 p.m. - dinner.
She loves toys that make noise. She is afraid of plush toys like stuffed animals. Yikes...what will she think of Max? They say she is "cute" yet can be stubborn. She cries when she doesn't get her way. She does not talk much. She does say, Mama, Sister and Aunt. I would have to assume she has a foster sister. She won't be using the word sister around here. ;-) "She walks steadily and step by step slowly." It warmed our heart to get this email and to know how she is doing. As Andrew would say, "I miss her."

The last we heard, (and we are grateful to know this information) our file is in the Inter-Country placement department. They also said they were preparing the acceptance letter soon. That means we will be getting the travel approval shortly after that.

At this point...I think it's reasonable to assume that travel will happen in February. To think at one time we thought we would be traveling in the fall. We really cling to the promise that God's timing is best.

We wish you a Merry Christmas!
Love,
The Tucker Troops



As I was sitting near the Christmas Tree with Christian this morning, I was touched by a song we were listening to by Josh Groban. Josh Groban's voice is beautiful and the words caught my attention. I looked the lyrics up on line and was deeply moved. I feel so incredibly blessed this Christmas but also have a heavy heart as well. We wait for our daughter, Lucey, and that seems to be going slow. The news and the economic state of our country is gloomy. We have friends over seas serving in harms way. There are some personal matters that have my heart heavy. I had a wonderful prayer time this morning and this song capped off for me why I do give thanks. I give thanks for my sweet, precious men....All four of them! I am thankful for my family outside our walls. There is so much to be thankful for. I'm especially thankful for Jesus....who came as a baby for all of us......


Perhaps you will be touched by this song as well.....

Some days we forget

To look around us

Some days we can't see

The joy that surrounds us

So caught up inside ourselves

We take when we should give.

So for tonight we pray for

What we know can be.

And on this day we hope for

What we still can't see.

It's up to us to be the change

And even though we all can still do more

There's so much to be thankful for.

Look beyond ourselves

There's so much sorrow

It's way too late to say

I'll cry tomorrow

Each of us must find our truth

It's so long overdue

So for tonight we pray for

What we know can be

And every day we hope for

What we still can't see

It's up to us to be the change

And even though we all can still do more

There's so much to be thankful for.

Even with our differences

There is a place we're all connected

Each of us can find each other's light

So for tonight we pray for

What we know can be

And on this day we hope for

What we still can't see

It's up to us to be the change

And even though this world needs so much more

There's so much to be thankful for.

A Trip to Kansas

I got a text message from a very special friend last week telling me that there was a death in their family. My heart ached for this family and I felt the Lord telling me to go be with them. It's close to Christmas and there is much to be done but I trusted that the Lord would provide and everything would fall into place. Ron still had work commitments so I told him to stay with the boys. My Mom offered to go with me--thank you so much Mom! This trip would also give the both of us some time with Grandma before Christmas. I left here at 6:00 a.m. Sunday morning; picked up Mom and off we went. We had so much to talk about so the trip went very fast. We arrived in Kansas at 11:30 a.m. We stopped at our favorite place, Paner@ Bread, and picked up lunch for Grandma, me and Mom. My Grandma was so happy to see us. Before we ate lunch we shared a prayer together. My Grandma led us in a beautiful prayer. It was spontaneous, it was lovely and it will be a memory I will never forget. Isn't she beautiful; she is 95 and she means so much to me.

My Dear Auntie M. and Uncle Paul shared their home with us. I love staying with them. It's such a comfort and they always make me feel very loved and special. Their home has a tranquil air about it; very inviting. Thank you Auntie M. and Uncle Paul for making us feel completely at home. I dropped Mom off and headed to Lawrence for the visitation. It's never easy to say good-bye to a loved one. I hope my friends could feel God's love as they grieved for the one they love. I shared a hug, I held their hands...I pray for them. That's all I can do. I hope they know that their friends care about them.

It was a quick trip to Lawrence, my friends needed to be with their family so I headed back to my Aunt and Uncle's.....what a great visit with my Aunt and Uncle. The next morning as Mom and I were leaving, my Uncle noticed a fairly large oil spot under my car. It was my power steering fluid. Darn! I got directions to the dealership to have my car looked at. Praise God that the place was empty, the guy was incredibly nice and he didn't charge me. He checked out my car, added fluid and sent us on our way. Mom and I had a nice drive home; we visited and the trip went fast.

I'm glad we went to Kansas....the trip was a blessing to both of us.

I hope that you are also feeling the blessings of this Holy Season......

James Bond?

Just in case you don't know this about Adam, he loves to dress! He loves to dress up nicely. He enjoys wearing ties. He was very pleased to learn that his school band wears a tuxedo shirt and bow tie when they perform. Adam also loves James Bond....you can imagine what came next.....

Adam's school band did a beautiful job with their Christmas concert. Nana and Papa joined us.

Nana and Papa brought Sammy too! We love him....isn't he cute!

A Night Under the Tree

We had so much fun decorating the tree. The boys love to help. They look at each ornament and share the story of where it came from, who it belongs to and what it means. Most of our ornaments have a special meaning. We have many military ornaments on the tree. Andrew and Christian wanted to sleep "under" the tree so Ron and Maxed joined them. Here they are, settled in for the night.

Two Boys and a Ginger Bread House

I had to take a step back and let them make this house together in their own way. I have to say, it may not have been my way--I like everything in perfect neat rows--but they showed great team work and a quickness about them. They were all about getting it done and getting it done efficiently. Andrew typically works in a quick fashion. I think that Christian had to keep up or he would have missed the opportunity to get his fare share done. Of course they kept wanting to eat the candy along the way.

The boys are ready! "Can we start?"

Taking turns with the bag of frosting. "Okay---let me try!"

They each decorated a side.

Doing the happy dance...."We did it, it looks great!" "Can we eat it?"

The finished product. It's still sitting on the shelf. They forgot about wanting to eat it.

Love,

Beth

Our Little Lucey Lu

Lucey Lu is 18 months old today.....It breaks my heart that she is not here with us. This journey to her seems to be dragging at this point. I have had some very sweet people give me encouragement as I wait on the Lord's perfect timing.

The piece of music that you are listening to is called "Breath of Heaven." My dear friend, Jeanne, sent this email at just the right time.....Jeanne, your timing was perfect and I really connected to the song. I love Amy Grant. It made me teary too. Thank you!

Hi Beth,

This morning at bible study, one of the women sang the song "Breath of Heaven" by Amy Grant. I thought of you and how you're getting a little discouraged waiting for Lucey to arrive. I thought I'd send you the lyrics (and if you know how to play it on the computer from another site, you should!). I actually have it on one of my old CD's. It's a beautiful song, and even though it's about Mary carrying Jesus, I thought it could be about us adoptive parents waiting and trusting in God and knowing He will send her when it is time. He is with you as you wait! I especially like the part where is says "hold me together". I know waiting just breaks you apart, but you know God will hold you together while waiting! And God chose you to be Lucey's Mom and you trust in his plan!

Enjoy (and cry if you want - a bunch of us did while this woman, blessed with a beautiful voice, sang this song!)

Thank you again Jeanne...you have been a gift to me on this faith journey to Lucey.

Love,
Beth

A Few of my Favorite Things....

Where we live, all the kids trick-or-treat on the 30th. It startled us the first time we heard this. Our town has a huge Halloween Parade on Halloween night. Everyone joins in on the festivities. But, all is quite in the neighborhoods that night.

I think this year will go down in family history as my favorite costume choice. Andrew and Christian loved the idea of being Thing 1 and Thing 2 from the book "The Cat In The Hat." Ron joined in at the last minute. This will also be the first year Adam has not dressed up to pass out candy. He had Drivers Education. Just another reminder that he is growing up.

Love,
Beth

Adam's First Game--

This is Adam's first year playing soccer for any school. He is playing for his High School and having such a great time! He is number 15. (I think, if you click on the individual picture, the picture will enlarge.) By the way, their team won. :-)





Love,
Beth

School Days--

Adam's first day of school on August 14...his response, "Oh come on Mom, do you have to do this every year?" I know, he's fifteen but someday he will love looking back on these pictures. I'm quite sure of it. He is having a great start to the new school year.

Andrew- left, Christian on the right. Their first day of school was on August 18th. We started with review and ended with this writing curriculum....Institute for Excellence in Writing. It's a wonderful, very methodical way of teaching students to become better writers. You can learn more about this product here.

Science day---studying primates, the opposable thumb...no, Max does not have one. Andrew and Christian tape their thumb to their finger to find out what it would be like without a thumb. "God sure knew what he was doing when he gave us a thumb."

Eating is not easy without a thumb. Especially when lunch is soup.

The St. Louis Zoo--taking a look at the apes and monkeys...


Visiting the Lovejoy monument-- Elijah Parish Lovejoy was a minister, a journalist and abolitionist who died a martyrs death. He lived in Alton, IL. where he was an editor for the Alton Observer. He was guarding his printing press after losing three previous to pro slavery mobs. He was shot while trying to protect the warehouse that held his 4th printing press.





Adam at one of his soccer practices. He has the ball.

The parents had a brunch for the guys during one of their long Saturday practices. My job--sandwiches. No problem!

We all have our own "fancy" chop sticks. We are practicing. The boys do pretty well. I think I will get Lucey a set of pink chop sticks. :-)

Love,
Beth