And what a weekend!

What a wonderful weekend! I stopped by the USCIS to have my fingerprints scanned on Friday after work and then drove up to my parents weekend for TCU Homecoming weekend. My sister, brother-in-law (BIL) and nieces came up from Austin as well and great times were had by all. Friday night was uneventful as I didn't get into town until 9 pm. Saturday, we had breakfast prepared by my Dad and then went into Fort Worth for some shopping. Afterward, I took my oldest niece, C., to TCU for a tour of the campus. Yes, she's only five, but she's interested in what college is all about, and she likes spending time with her Aunt. I took the opportunity to talk with her about my plans to adopt. (I know it's a long way out, but I really wanted to let her in on what was going on.) It's a conversation that will be a favorite memory for a while. We walked and sat in the grass for about a hour and a half. Key highlights of the conversation:

• The excitement as her face lit up with joy as I told her. She is looking forward to teaching the baby many things such as how to swim and all about baseball, and she wants to babysit.
• She asked wonderful questions: "Will the baby have two mommies?", "Why will the baby's Mommy not keep her?", "Will the baby have two birthdays?"
• I told her that it won't be until a year from this Christmas or when she is finishing 1st grade, and she responded, "I'm patient every year from Christmas to the next Christmas or from my birthday until my next birthday. I promise I can be patient!" All with a huge smile!
• She wants to put together presents for all the boys and girls that don't have mommies and daddies yet. She said she'd put together two boxes one for boys and the other for the girls with crayons in one and coloring books in the other, but they would share them. The boys would get baseballs and the girls would get hair bows and clips. She's such a giver!
• This morning she drew a picture of me, J. (her sister), herself, and the new baby. The picture also had the plane that the baby and I would fly on to get home from Vietnam. (I'll try to get a picture of it scanned tomorrow.)
• She also told me that I'm not allowed to move from San Antonio unless I move to Austin, Round Rock, or Georgetown because she wants to see her cousin all the time. Too cute!