One Horse Open Sleigh...

I think Jingle might be missing home just a bit. We found him this morning in one of our sleigh decorations. That seemed to cheer him up pretending to ride through the snow. In today's letter Jingle (Santa's favorite elf, apparently) told the kids he would have a surprise word search waiting for them. He made a special one for each of them. Max's uses Thomas the Train words, Abby's is princesses and Madison's is Harry Potter. All things they are each currently "in to".

A Present From Jingle...

This morning we found Jingle sitting on a present under the Christmas tree. His letter told us to wait to open the present until after school, but some naughty children couldn't wait and opened the present before reading the letter all the way though. He understood their excitement though and promised not to tell Santa.

We had a fun little Jenga party today. It seems like Jingle knows just what we need to get the Christmas excitement going in our house!

Fitting Right In...

Jingle has already made some new friends. We found him this morning just chatting away with all our Christmas toys. They had some stories to swap I'm sure! I probably should warn them to sleep with one eye open though, I hear Santa's elves can be a bit mischievous.

Our activity for today was to make some yummy s'mores at Paw Paw's fire pit. I won't tell you what Jingle told us marsh mellows really were...but maybe you can guess! Being from the North pole and all, he would know!

That Silly Jingle...

We woke up this morning to find poor Jingle stuck in a box of cereal. He said he just wanted some breakfast but couldn't quite figure out how to get the cereal out of the box. I bet he thinks twice before doing that again! :)

Today, Jingle wanted us to decorate our house. He said it just doesn't feel like home to him without Christmas decorations everywhere. So, we got down the boxes (about 12 or so) of decorations, turned up the music and had ourselves a house decorating party! It isn't completely finished, but it looks oh so much better! Thank you Jingle for getting us going!

Jingle the Elf...

We had a visitor last night. His name is Jingle the Elf. He was hiding in our house. Apparently Santa thought we might need a little elf making sure we really should be on the nice list. He left us a letter to read this morning telling us he's got some fun stuff planned for our family until Christmas, when he has to go back with Santa to the North Pole. When the kids woke up this morning they found him on the rocking horse. He said as soon as he found out Santa was sending him to Texas he knew he would have to ride in on a horse. I haven't figured out his personality yet, but I think he might be a little mischievous. I can tell he has a good heart though! In his letter he told us our first activity is for each Koceich kid to make a paper chain with 22 links to count down the days until Christmas. So, we are on it!! Sooo excited to have Jingle here! We'll be sure to let you know what he's up to!

Thanksgiving Memories...

Wow...Thanksgiving came and went like a flash! I think I am so consumed with work as it is nearing the end of my busy season (I'm almost there!!) that life speeds by from October-December! I did slow down for a couple days to enjoy time with family! Wednesday we had my dad's famous lasagna (oh so good) and Thursday back to Dad's for a big traditional Thanksgiving turkey meal. This year the Thurmans and Vincents (James' family) were there which meant lots of cousins time. Friday night was my turn. We hosted about 20 people for a delicious ham dinner. Everyone brought a dish and I added some Ethiopian tibs(kind of like a beef fajita dish) with a little too much Berbere(an Ethiopian spice we brought back) and injera (an Ethiopian flat bread), mashed potatoes, cornbread stuffing and two caramel apple pies. I love cooking for everyone for Thanksgiving. We have oh so many blessing to be thankful for!! Our evening ended with some awesome Uncle Joey time! He's the best uncle ever!!

** I wish I had taken more people pictures but I went into hostess mode as soon as everyone showed up and forgot to snap pictures!

Referralversary....

One year ago today, I was sitting at my computer editing pictures and the phone rang. I almost didn't answer it because it was a long distance number I didn't recognize. We had received our "on deck" email just 2 1/2 weeks before and were expecting to wait 1-3 months before receiving a referral so I was trying to stay busy and not be too anxious every time the phone ring. I don't know what made me answer the phone because I really wasn't thinking it would be the referral, but I did and sweet Terra's voice (our agency representative) was on the other end. As soon as she told me who it was I knew and I was one crazy emotional lady. After a brief panic about what to do since Matt and the kids were all at school I asked Terra if I could gather them all and call her back. We had talked about all being there to see his face for the first time but hadn't actually made a plan.
After getting off the phone I jumped in the car to start gathering kids. I called Matt and told him to find a way to come home and to pick up Abby on his way. I wonder if I was even coherent when I picked up Max and Madison? I don't think my heart stopped pounding for the hour or two between Terra's phone call and the time I would actually see my son's face for the first time.
We got home and set up the video camera so we could video our reactions to seeing him for the first time. We wanted to show him some day just how much we longed for him and how overjoyed we were knowing that the little boy we were seeing for the first time would be ours...a gift from God.
We were all situated and we called Terra back and it went to her voicemail...ahhhh.
So we left a message and waiting maybe 30 minutes or so. She called back with all the details she knew about our precious boy. He was four months old at the time. The rest of the story is his to tell.
During the phone call Terra sent the email with his picture. I am so grateful that I video taped it. I was so emotional seeing his face for the first time I wasn't even aware of the rest of the family. Going back and seeing the video later was so emotional. Especially sweet Abby was overjoyed and overcome with emotion. I must figure out how to post it...check back!

After that referral day we would be assigned a court date for December 24th. We passed court on the first try (more about that day on the anniversary) and traveled to pick up our precious boy in February.

Here is the blog post Matt wrote on this day last year...

Sweet Sam,

I can't describe to you how much you have changed our lives for the better. You have brought us to a deeper level of understanding God's amazing love for us and the lengths He goes through to bring us home!! You have given us a perspective on the world and opened our eyes to realities that have been hard to see, but at the same time have given us a compassion for others and a purpose. You are so loved and adored and make us smile every day!

I love you so much. I get the giggles just watching you walk around and explore and study everything. I can already tell at this young age that you want to understand everything around you. You are a communicator and you love making everyone smile and laugh. I am grateful for you and so exciting to see what God's plans are for your life...I know they will be amazing!!

Love,
Mommy