"I don't remember growing older. When did They?" [ Tevye / Fiddler on the Roof ]

He
used
to
be
this
big.











When he was
two days old,
Kacie
was
the
first
in
our family
to
hold him
at the Lafayette, Louisiana
Women's and Children's Center.



That's
the
same
day
Trey
became
a
big
brother.






Scott, Kacie and Trey
took care of him
for the first week
while living
in a hotel room
in Louisiana
waiting for the
Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children (ICPC)
legal process to clear.

Six days later
Jamie and Keri
flew
to
Louisiana
to
meet
their
new
brother
and
son.









I
held
him
for
the
first
time
on
May 12, 2007 ~
Mother's Day.





















After our wonderful, yet emotional weekend together which included saying goodbye to Jasmine (the baby's Birthmother), everyone except Warren and I left to return "home". We lived in a hotel in Kenner, Louisiana (ten miles North of New Orleans) for two more weeks. The baby couldn't be taken from his state of birth by adoptive parents who reside in another state until the ICPC was official. These three hotel workers became my best friends. They were so good to the baby and me. Linda and Brenda (giving me hand squeezes) are twins. They brought us food and presents, loved on the baby and loved on me. We shared stories and conversation and were sad to say goodbye to each other.









































Suddenly,
(seems as quick as this post),
Warren Bryant JJ Bullock
became one!
But
he
hadn't
yet
met
the
big
brother
he
was
named
after.




So
we
took
him
to
Costa Rica
where
his
brother
Bryant Matthew Bullock
had
been
living
for
two years
working as a missionary
for
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.








Home
for
the
Holidays
never
felt
better.





























Finally,
after waiting
a year and a half,
it was time for
Adoption Finalization
at the
King County Courthouse
in Seattle.









The towering skyscraper met its match on floor 3 that day!

















His birthmother never waivered in her desire for us to adopt him, yet there were other factors that caused the
bureaucracy
of
the
Bullock Case
to
become
quite
a
stack.

Case
Closed!

Quoting
the
judge:
"I've signed the the Findings and Decree. You are an official family."

As Mark Twain put it: "It's not the size of the dog in the fight.  It's the size of the fight in the dog!"

Suddenly,
(seems as quick as this post)
our
baby
became
two!










Suddenly he became 3.

Suddenly he became 4.

I wish I could hold each of our five babies one more time . . .

for one hundred days: that's all I ask.

Infancy just didn't last long enough the first time 'round.
But I will try to focus on smiling because it happened
instead of crying because it's over.

Jazzing up the Forms

Playing around on paper, I'm Keri Bartlett Bullock, CEO, Bullock Family Household. My Human Resources staff is spearheaded by Scott Bryan Bullock (AKA Husband, Father, Breadwinner). Of course, straightup, my chosen line of work is Stay-At-Home Mom. My husband and I have been raising children together for 22 years. As a result, I've filled out dozens of registration and consent forms at schools, doctor's offices and in the realm of the wide, wide world of sports! To entertain myself during the process, I write things like, "CEO, Bullock Family Household" or "Human Resources Advisor" or "CEO, Bullock Children Fanclub" in response to the Job Description, Occupation or Industry prompts appearing on all forms underneath the line where the "responsible party" is to print their name. That includes government agency forms such as when I applied for a passport. Some officials haven't been amused and have let it show, in one way or another, that they think I'm weird. (They got that right.) But once in a while it's created spontaneous laughs and comments. It's made for an enjoyable, conversation piece over many desktops in our community during the past two decades. However, may it never be interpreted that I don't believe the job title shouldn't stand well enough alone on its own pedestal with the handwriting or mention of just one word: "Mother". The duties and responsibilities are equivalent to that of the important work of any CEO is all I'm sayin'. Yet, the paycheck which all hardworking, good mothers receive is not achievable through monetary salary.

Meet my employers: Kacie Linn Bullock (16), Trey Bryant Bullock (4), Bryant Matthew Bullock (22), Jamie Linn Bullock (19), Warren Bryant Bullock (2). They write my paycheck. The type that only children can write. They also work for our family. They're tremendously helpful co-workers;  the older they get the harder they work.