A long post!

On the Saturday before Mother's Day, Brooke, Suzanna and I went home to visit. My Aunt Gay from Tennessee was there.... she thinks this little girl is about it. We are going to have to try to get down to visit her sometime this summer. This is Aunt Gay and Brooke enjoying some outdoor time We then headed on to my mom and dad's house and spent the day there with them. The girls were able to play outside most of the day and had a great time. Brooke loves playing with bubbles and she works hard at it! Here is a rare occassion where I was able to get both girls sitting and looking at the camera at the same time. Brooke reminds me of Nellie from Little House On The Prairie... actually I call her that all the time :) Here we have Suzanna with Jody. Let me just tell you this dog is a PITA! I love her but dang I don't think I have the patience for a puppy. On Mother's Day, Suzanna and Brooke and I went to church. I love this picture of them! Brooke wouldn't cooperate a whole lot on this day when it came to getting pictures. But I thought this was a cute one. Next we have Memorial Day. I am sure that it is a surprise to many people that I am constantly dressing my baby girl up in dresses. But I gotta tell you, I love it! Don't get me wrong.... she is not all girly, girl. She loves to play ball and roll around in the dirt...but I do love getting her dressed for the occassion! In this first picture, she did this little "pose" and held her little leg funny. I got to giggling and so did she...the result is picture number 2! It's rained alot over the past couple of weeks. This picture was taken last week when she and I were getting ready to go out for dinner with my friend Amy and her kids. As much as what I love to buy the silly clothes and stuff.... Brooke LOVES to wear them. She was NOT leaving the house without her rainboots and "raindress" as she calls it. And then here we are yesterday.... Brooke was all ready to go to the swimming pool. She was too anxious to wait for me and the little turkey opened the front door. Needless to say, we now have safety handles on all of the doors so she can't get out. She is a busy girl.

And last but not least, we have a picture of Jody. Jody will be 8 months old on Tuesday and I have determined that puppies start their terrible 2's at rougly 7 months. So... our house is interesting. Can't you just see the mischief in her eyes?

I've had alot of people asking me where things are at with Brooke. They are no further along than what they were before. In fact, I sort of feel like we have taken a couple of steps backwards. The thing is this.... at this point, to her I am mommy and to me she is my child. I can't control this situation as hard as what I have tried. All I can do is make sure that she is happy and healthy and provide her with the best life I am capable of providing to her. We are already enjoying the summer - we've been fishing and swimming and to a BBQ - we will continue to do all of those things and enjoy life to the fullest.

I will provide updates on this website and you can bet that when something changes....good or bad...I will let everyone know. Also, whatever you do, please do not talk about the situation in front of Brooke. I belielve that she is beginning to have some understanding or at least confusion of what is happening. I do not ever want Brooke to feel anxiety or sadness over all of this...she needs to just have fun and be two. She just needs to know that we all love her very much. The best thing you can do for us is pray - I no longer have a specific prayer. My prayer is simple - that God leads Brooke to a happy and healthy life, surrounded by people who love her and that He protects her and keeps her safe.

Stay tuned for another post real soon - Brooke was able to spend several days with my parents and I want to post some of those pictures. The girl is spoiled!

Court

The only positive thing that came out of court yesterday is that the restraining orders were issued and so Brooke's Dad and his gang can't come anywhere near her. They are in place for one year and if he wants that changed he will have to fight it in court.

Unfortunately, that is exactly what he is saying he is going to do. He stated to the judge that he was filing for custody. This changes everything and really makes it all very tough. My hope is that he will realize the state can't take anything from him if he relinquishes his rights which would allow for me to move forward with the adoption.

Brooke got some new glasses and I love them! They fit so much better than the other ones. We have been playing outside alot. I have decided that all I can do is take things a day at a time and make sure that we enjoy every second we have together. Here's some outside fun from this week.

We are fortunate to have this large yard to play in. She and Jody run and run and run and both of them seem to be sleeping a bit better these days!

I love this picture and the way the light is shining down on Brooke. I like to think of it as God's light shining down on her, creativing a protective warm circle around here so nothing in this big ole world can ever hurt her......

And how could you not love this sweet little face..... having a child is like having someone walking around carrying your heart and lemme tell ya, she has mine!

I love you Brookie,

Mommy Dottie

A Trip Down Memory Lane.....

Two years ago on May 3rd, the most beautiful blue-eyed little baby was placed in my arms for the first time. This was the day that Brooke Marie would come to visit me for the first time. Here she is on that day. Can see why I fell in love with her - she was such an easy baby!

She is almost 3 months old in this picture...

A few days later I was able to keep her overnight for the first time. Amazingly, she actually slept through the night, but I didn't! I had to check on her ever 20 minutes or so just to make sure she was still breathing. Talk about a worry wart! I loved it when she would lay on my chest like this and go to sleep - the smell of her baby shampoo and her soft skin against mine, the sweet little breathes and sounds that she made. She had me wrapped around her finger right from the start!

Here she is on May 7, 2007 (3 months and 1 day old)

I took her home to meet my family the week of May 20th - this was the first time anyone got to meet her. Granny Great was ready with this brand new outfit! My Grandma loves this little girl - she carries on about her like you wouldn't believe. You would never know that Brooke wasn't our own flesh and blood. Yoda was a bit jealous and he wasn't too thrilled about having to share grandma's lap.....

And then here is the princess in August of 2007 - the first pictures we had made of her. She wore this cute little outfit to my Aunt Shelly's wedding. You should have heard everyone taking on about her! One thing is for sure - while I am not a dress kinda girl myself, I do love to put this little princess in them and anything else all cutsey and frilly!

And here she is last week at a program we have here at the park called, "Bubbles, Bubbles, Everywhere". She had alot of fun and so did I! The greatest thing about this type of classes is that she gets to socialize with other kids. But I didn't include any of the other kids in the picture because ...well...she's the cutest! :) KIDDING! Anyway, Brooke is really very social, she talks constantly, doesn't seem to meet a stranger, and will put on a show for anyone who will watch. We try to get out around other kids as much as possible so she doesn't feel like she should be the center of attention all the time.

What's to come?

Next week is an important week in our lives. Please pray that Brooke's biological dad will agree to sign papers to allow for us to move forward with the adoption. He has recently threatened to try to get custody of her.... we think he just did it out of anger because he is mad at Jennifer. My hope and prayer is that he will agree to this and we can move forward. It's time!

Please pray Monday and Tuesday that things go well and that Brian's (dad) heart is filled with so much love for this little girl that he has never known that he will do the right thing. In the following days and weeks, please pray for Jennifer (mom) that she will follow through and please pray for Karen (grandma) that she will be comforted by the fact that Brooke will be in a safe and loving home and that she trusts me when I tell her that she will also be a significant part of Brooke's life.

This little girl is the light of my life and I don't know what I will do if all of this falls through - so I trust that God has a plan and I'm just in the passenger's seat. He'll lead us all where we need to go.