October?...Could this be the month we meet our son!!

Even though we were hoping to leave or hear something in the month of September, I am really glad the Lord had other plans. It was a blessing that our court date did not happen in the middle of Dee's father's passing. I was anxious about the timing of that, but the Lord worked it out perfectly.

Then we had a yard sale a couple of weeks later that took a lot of planning and time...but what a neat time it was to see the Lord provide for us. Seeing the neighborhood come together for our adoption was so encouraging...something I did not expect.

Two days after our yard sale, our precious friends, the Teacheys went through the horrible fork lift accident, which they are still enduring in the hospital right now. Doug actually has another surgery tonight at 5:00 p.m., please say a prayer for his fast recovery. What a blessing to see our church come together as a body and reach out to this family in need. So amazing to see the Lord working in such terrible circumstances. The Lord is good. Then the next weekend, my husband, Dee was able to be in a good friend from high school's wedding. He was afraid he was going to have to miss it, but the Lord worked it out.

Of course we would have jumped on a plane if we had received a court date in September, but so happy the Lord's timing was different. I believe it was especially important for all four of those events to take place while we are still here.

But, don't get me wrong friends, I have BIG hopes for October!! Praying that October is the month we see our sweet Charles Tucker!!! I have watched a couple of families who filed their papers after us, get court dates already...which left me discouraged.."No fair, we were next in line." But, of course the Lord reminds me this is not about lines, or who was first, or who has been waiting the longest, it is about his perfect timing for us to be united with Charles Tucker. And, to tell you the truth, even though this is hard to admit through my human nature, I really don't want my timing, I really want the Lords, because I know it is his plan and his plan it perfect and it is what is best for us and for Charles Tucker. And I am so excited for all these families that are on their way to Uganda!! This means more children will be orphans no more, but sons and daughters. Lord, help me to focus on the bigger picture, not just on myself and my wants and desires. You are doing things all around me that are amazing! Give me eyes to see you working!!

Today, we found out from our social worker that we have been assigned a Judge...which I think is a pretty big deal!! This definitely means we are really close to finding out a court date. The last couple of people who have received court dates have been two weeks out, which means we could receive a court date and have to be on a plane two weeks later. That is not a lot of time to get our whole family packed and on a plane.

So where does this leave me? Well it leaves me making more lists, packing, collecting suitcases, running errands, wrapping up things at home...in hopes we will leave soon!! I am pretty much thinking Uganda all the time, which is good and bad...It does makes it hard for me to focus on my children. If you know me, you know how task oriented I can be. So please pray I will find the balance between dragging my children around town to check things off my list and focusing on my children's needs, oh, yeah, and I did not even mention my husband (: yes, pray that I will find the balance between the here and now and looking forward to Uganda. Wow, is this a struggle!!

In between all the events of September, we have had several playdates with friends, at only a couple of them did I actually take pictures.

Playdate with the Loopers...Mary Taylor and Lauren Kate (21 months), these two babies were born 14 hours apart..we like to call them our little twins. Henry (4) and Lilli (3 1/2) are about three months apart...so we have enjoyed our playdates over the last four years...hard to believe it has been that long!!

Batman Henry and Ariel Lilli are in a very private conversation. Too cute!

Playdate with the Riddles....Andrew (3), Henry (4), Mary Taylor (1), and Jonathan (5) talked about Noah's Ark and made these fruit loop rainbows! The boys really enjoyed it...I am glad they were there to push Henry along, because he would not have finished unless they were there. I am realizing my son does not like crafts! He loves anything physical and very active...I guess that's a boy for ya! I tried to get Mary Taylor to make a flower, but after wards she ate the flower pieces covered in glue...I hope that's ok?? I think it is, the glue was non toxic. This activity was really a great learning activity because they had to sort the colors and I guess you could count them as you go too, to get in a little math, but we didn't think to do that at the time. But, they look really pretty when they are finished. And of course the best part was eating the cereal as they made their craft, considering we don't have sugar cereals except on special occasions.

Happy Thursday to all!!

Happy 30th Birthday...

...to my husband!! Yes, Dee is the big 30 today!!! Finally! I have been waiting two years for him to catch up to me. Yes, he is two years younger than me!! But, most people say I look younger than him...so that's all the counts..right?

We had the chance to go out last night on a special birthday date at one of Dee's favorite Thai restaurants in Atlanta and then after wards at a special place for desserts and wine. It was nice to have a night away from the kids for a change...we needed it!

Tonight we celebrated with the kids over hamburgers, sweet potato fries, and broccoli for dinner and blueberry pie with bluebell ice cream for dessert. The kids were crazy as ever...I think they are still recovering from our weekend out of town. We were glad to get them down a little early!!

It's hard to believe we are really both adults now...we can't claim the twenties anymore! We are officially OLD! But, I would not change where I am for anything in the world. I have no desire to go back to my former self...so glad God is making us new! I am excited to see what adventures the Lord brings our way in our thirties! Hopefully we will be more free of ourselves, less consumed with the world...to desire more of him. Thank you for loving me and extending grace to me as we both trust God for his redeeming work in our lives.
You are an amazing father who gives more to his children than I could have ever imagined! I definitely take your involvement in the family for granted...You would rather hang out with the family and be the father and husband God has called you to be than anything in the world. I know I don't appreciate you near enough. Charles Tucker is going to love you! Can't wait to embark on our U*andan adventure soon!! You are a blessing that I often over look with the business of life. Thank you for loving us!!

Daddy and M.T. November 2009 during the Auburn game

Daddy with Henry and M.T. October 2009 at Chipotle in our p.j.s-one of our favorites!

Our family at cousin corries wedding-Sept.2009

Daddy and Henry-Lake 2010

Jackson beach trip 2010

 I am glad you were born 30 years ago, Henry Cleveland DeBardeleben IV!!!

Slapping a Christian just makes em stronger!

Our precious friends the Teacheys have been through so much in the last six days. Doug was in a fork lift accident last Monday afternoon and ended up having his leg amputated from below the knee down. But, the strange thing is....everyone is rejoicing! It could have been much worse and we are all praising the Lord for Doug's life!

Jenna went from not knowing if her husband was alive, to him possibly having to loose his whole leg, to only having him loose the bottom part of his left leg. What an emotional and exhausting experience. You would think...she would be made at God for allowing this to happen to her husband, but Oh, no, Jenna's faith has strengthen 100 times over in the past six days. "The Lord is close to the broken hearted..." He has given Jenna strength that only comes from him. I have been so encouraged by her faith and trust in our amazing savior.

When I saw Doug on Friday at the hospital, he was telling jokes and asking about Charles Tucker. He was in amazing spirits! He knows the Lord is good and he has a plan for all of this. While Doug was pinned down by the fork cliff, he was explaining to the other workers how to get him out, while everyone else was screaming. The Lord gave Doug the wisdom and clarity while he was in excruciating pain. Truly Amazing!! "When you slap a Christian, it just makes them stronger!" words by Richard Pittman at prayer the other night.

Thankfully our church is rallying around and supporting them through this hard time. If you are interested in being involved in helping the Teacheys in the days to come or want to know how to pray for them, go to Caring Bridge. You might have to set up a Care Bridge account...Once you do, look for Doug Teachey and his profile should come up with all the details of his story.

Please pray for his wife, Jenna, that she will find comfort and strength in the Lord in the days to come. I am praying that the Lord would be glorified in Doug and Jenna's suffering and more would come to know his amazing grace.

Charles Tuckers 2nd Birthday

Yesterday, September 25th was Charles Tucker's birthday. We were out of town at a wedding all weekend, so I am just getting around to posting about his birthday celebration we had at our house and about the celebration in Ug*nda.
Last Wednesday, Henry and I made him a blue and red cake with batman cars on top. We celebrated that night and video taped it. Well during the course of the night it was deleted by Henry himself...so the next morning before we Skyped with C.T. we had another celebration with the half eaten cake. My sweet friends at the babies home will hopefully show it to him soon. Here is the video we recorded:

(Remember to pause my music at the bottom of the screen.)



About 10 minutes after we recorded this on Thursday, my sweet friends already in Ug*nda to pick up their babies, set up Skype for us during C.T.'s birthday party. We had never Skyped before...so it was a really cool experience. And because it was 4,000 miles away, it was a little fuzzy...but still amazing to see C.T. in real life!! What an amazing gift from the Lord!

Leading up to the Skype...I think Satan in all his power, which is not that strong by the way, was trying to keep us from being able to Skype. On Wednesday, when I was trying to set up Skype for the first time, for some reason my computer would not download it. So I asked my husband to bring his computer home so we could set up Skype on his. Well, we had everything working, but the next day, his computer would not turn on for some reason. I was thinking, Lord this is just not meant to be. This all happened twenty minutes before we were suppose to Skype at 9:00 a.m. (4:00 p.m. Ug*ndan time). Then I decided to open up my computer and try it again. This time I got Dee to set up an account....and it worked with a minute to spare! "Thank you Jesus!" is what I said when I looked at the clock! It was very stressful, but the Lord had a plan and he wanted to be glorified through it.

About ten more minutes later, the birthday party started!! The babies home had the whole nine yards...birthday cake, decorations, music, Fanta, birthday hats....Charles Tucker sat there the whole time eating his two pieces of cake and drinking his Fanta, he did not make a sound or ask to get down one time. Wow! So different than what I am use to. Every once in a while, he would look straight at us and wave! It was precious! We were able to watch the whole party for about thirty minutes. Henry and Mary Taylor sat there and watched him as well. It was really special to be able to see his second birthday! What an incredible blessing!!

We have several more pictures of his face, but those will have to wait until we get Legal Guardianship of him. We also recorded most of the Skype with our video recorder...what a neat memory to be able to share with him someday!

Thank you so much to everyone who was involved in Ug*nda to make this happen!! Our family is truly grateful to you!! Can't wait to come over and give you all a hug in person!!

Happy Birthday precious boy! We already love you so much and we can't wait for you to be in our family. We can't wait to teach you how to run around the house naked after bath time, we can't wait to cuddle with you on the couch and read books. Henry can't wait to play super heroes with you and Mary Taylor can't wait to have someone her own age. Whenever M.T. see's your pictures she says, "Cha Tu", she loves seeing your face! You are missed everyday in our house and we long for the day you will finally be ours!!  The Lord is in control of all of this waiting and his plan is so much more wonderful than anything we could ever come up with, so we continue to wait patiently and long to be with you at the most perfect time!!

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY CHARLES TUCKER!!!

Update on Charles Tucker...birthday...skype!

Yes, this is my second post for the day...

About a week ago our agency sent us more pictures of Charles Tucker and some details about him.

*Now days he likes food and he enjoys it.
*He likes riding the bikes and the swings
*He responds to aunties call and does what he's told
*He likes singing baby Jesus, I love you
*His attitude has changed. He used to be so emotional and moody, crying a lot but now days he does not do that and is friendlier with other children and adults.
*He enjoys to play both with fellow children and adults
*He weighs 10.5 kgs (23.1 lbs) -8th percentile
*He is 79.5 cm (31 in.) tall-7th percentile

Before he came to the babies home he was not even on the charts as far as weight and height go, but now he is 7th and 8th percentile, that is definitely progress!

Wish I could post the pictures, but our agency wants to protect the children until we have legal guardianship! Believe me he is really cute!!

There are several families over at our babies home waiting for the rulings from the Ugandan courts, so they will be able bring their children home. I have been in contact with them and they have been loving on sweet C.T. I am so thank for you Aly, Tori, and Michelle!!

Charles Tucker will be 2 years old this weekend!! We plan on celebrating his birthday tonight and filming it. Henry and I are about to make his superhero cake...Henry's choice of course.  While we celebrate, we are going to film it and get to say hello to C.T. Then I will email it to my friends who are at the babies home. Then on his birthday they will show him our video!! How cool is that???

Well, you know what? It gets even better than that! Today, one of the families over at the babies home offered to allow us to Skype during the birthday party which is going to be tomorrow from 4-6p.m. Ugandan time, which is 9-11 a.m. Atlanta time. I am so excited, I can hardly stand it! I just hope everything works right with my computer. Right now I cannot get Skype downloaded, it is having problems. I think my husband will bring his computer home, so we should be o.k. Please pray that it works and we get the chance to visit with Charles Tucker through Skype!!! Technology is amazing!!

 O.K., I am off to bake a super hero cake!!

Soccer balls and Tears

Along with the yard sale we had many events last week, including Henry's first soccer game ever! His team is called Atlanta Tigers and their is 13 boys and 1 girl on the team. He only knows about three kids on the team and he is probably one of the youngest which added to the fact he was terrified the minute he stepped onto the feild. Huge crocodile tears were shed because he did not want to play soccer. "I don't want to play! I want to go home! Take these clothes off!"

Dee and I did not anticipate this behavior from our loud extraverted, never met a stranger, full of energy child! So my idea was to let him sit on the sidelines and watch until he felt comfortable enough to play. His father on the other hand almost left the field in the midst of his embarrassment. But, he stayed and try to talk Henry up to playing and forced him on the field several times, which made the screaming and crying worse.

It was a very interesting experience for us all...to say the least! There is definitley a different between men and women, this confirms it even more! Toward the end of the game Dee pushes him onto the feild and he runs and almost kicks the ball, but then he turns and runs off the feild crying!

Our friend Shea is the only girl on the team, so she was not too excited about playing either.

All the parents at the game said their child had done the same thing last season and not too worry, this was completely normal. Dee, of course fears this is the beginning and the end of Henry ever playing a sport again!

After it was all over.... we laughed at the whole experience, but it was not funny at the time.
Hopefully next weeks game will be a much better experience!

***Please continue to pray for Doug,the curly girlies daddy, there is a strong chance he will have to loose his leg. Please pray for a miracle.

Yard Sale Fundraiser/ Movement in Uganda/ Prayer for a friend

Even though my husband was not totally on board with this yard sale, I think I proved him wrong. The pros definitely outweighed the cons....but this will be the last yard sale I do for at least ten or twenty years! IT IS A LOT OF WORK!! Especially if you take donations, label each item, supply all the tables, pick up several loads of donations... all the while having two kids under four in the car for five days. I felt pretty guilty for driving them around town all week, but...it is worth it and I am so glad we did it! Oh, did I mention that yard sales are hard on your marriage? Well, that's another topic for another time.

The A. Family and the D. Family got a lot closer to one another, for good and for bad! Right? Brad and Brook?? We had a lot of fun actually!! I know you both are having with drawls by me not being over at your house every night. Oh, yeah, Brad didn't you want to do this once a month?? Ha!Ha!


The night before the sale we were up late labeling and then I could not fall asleep until 12:30 a.m., but then woke up at 3:30 a.m. and could not go back to sleep, I just laid there. I guess I was a little anxious about how everything would go. So I started our big yard sale day off with three hours of sleep. But, I was running on adrenalin the first part of the day, so I was fine until about 1:00 and then I felt like a truck hit me, but luckily we have Chick-fila sweet tea just down the road!!


About 11:00 a.m. the husbands did not think we were getting enough traffic, so they decide to drive to the store to get poster boards to make more signs. I wish I had taken a picture of one...they looked horrible, but they obviously worked. The signs said, "Huge Yard Sale...Everything Must Go...signed: Mo Money". Yes, "Mo Money" was Brad's idea!! Brook would you agree our husbands are too peas in a pod!!


Those of you who know me know that I would loose my head if it was not screw on correctly. Yes, I misplace most things in my life. So you will get a kick out of this story. This cute little Hispanic boy comes up to me and asks me "Is this bag is for sale...there is a phone in it?"...Yes, this bag was my pink backpack purse! I had left my purse in the middle of the clothes while I was trying to organize them...I am not sure if I told Dee about this one yet! Ooops!


Here is what the scene looked like. It took us two and half hours to set it up. Thanks for taking these pictures Brad. I was too nervous to bring my camera..I thought I would leave it out and run the risk of it being stolen. So glad I didn't bring it...considering my normal patterns.

My motto for the day was: "If you want something, you will leave with it! We will come to a price agreement! Everything is negotiable!!" I think it really worked...we did not have much left by Sunday afternoon!


Probably my favorite part of the day was meeting all the people in our community. They were all very encouraging about our adoption and some even felt compelled to give more because they thought it was such a good cause. I made several connections with neighbors I had never met before and they were all very excited about their new soon to be neighbor, Charles Tucker. Some even asked why we wanted to adopt and it was neat to be able to share what God has done in our lives. I handed out a sheet of paper explaining our reason for adoption when people seemed interested. I believe...there was a bigger reason for doing this yard sale other than the money we made. It really seemed to bring the neighborhood together in a neat way. I had no idea they all would be so supportive. I was greatly encouraged and I believe this news was a blessing to others. I feel like it brought orphan awareness and hopefully a fresh perspective on Christianity to those that have a bad taste in their mouth for "Jesus".


I want to give a special thanks to the fifteen families who were able to donate to our adoption yard sale last Saturday. Thank you to Beth, Cameron, Stewart, Frida, Marisa, Shelley, Amy, Amanda, Becky, Jenn, Corrie, Hannah G., Hannah H., and a couple more families in our neighborhood. Their "junk" become many other people's "treasures" this past weekend. Isn't that what they say, "Someones junk is someone else's treasure".

All the "junk" that you all donated made $850.00! We only had a few large pieces of furniture...mostly clothes, shoes, books, frames, toys, and some knickknacks, so $850.00 was a lot more than I thought we would make! We are $850.00 closer to paying for our trip!! God is so providing in many, many ways!


My across the street neighbor, Beth, also made some cookies, muffins, lemon squares, and pound cakes to sale too! Beth, we appreciated your constant support throughout the whole weekend, besides, we needed someone to keep Brad straight. Ha! Ha! Thank you for everything Beth!!


Another way the Lord encouraged me this weekend was by allowing me to meet this lady who offered to do our family portrait for free to get her business going. She needs to take pictures of families in order to advertise. I was like...yum....yes...Of course!! I was thinking does she know that is one of the greatest things she could have said? She obviously reads my mind. Or God really does care about the little things. If you have been following my blog for a while, you will remember the last time we tried to get a family picture. If you don't remember...go here. Once again the Lord is providing!


It was a great weekend Brook! Yes, I said weekend, we continued the sale on Sunday, I am glad we did...it was practically all gone by 3:00 p.m. Like I said the pros out weighed the cons. Thanks for convincing me to do it three weeks ago! (don't say anything Dee)

***The court dates in Uganda went very well! Two families that I know of got visas to go home!! Which is amazing!! The other two families that are associated with our babies home are waiting on another court date to get a verbal and written ruling, so they can have custody of their children. Until then, they have to stay in the babies homes. They can still go visit them everyday, so it is not that bad. Oh, and my friend's daughter was able to wear her pretty smocked dress!! Yeah, its the little things the Lord cares about. Don't you love this? The lawyer felt like their hearings went well. So this is very encouraging! It is very important that things keep moving with the Ugandan Courts. If those before us are doing well...we will be right behind them!! Still anxiously waiting a court date. Our social worker updates us weekly on how things are going, she seems very hopeful we will go in October. So we will see!


***Please pray for our friends over at House of Curls. Doug was at work when a fork lift fell on his leg. He is in surgery now. Please pray that the blood would continue to flow to his foot. Pray also that his wife Jenna has God given strength to handle the situation. I believe the Lord gives special grace in tough situations like this. I can't stop thinking about them....so tough.

Court dates in Ug*nda today!

I am having one of those restless sleepless nights, but its O.K. because the past several nights I have slept soundly. I can't help but wonder maybe the Lord had me wake up and not be able to go back to sleep this morning so I could pray for the three families who have court dates this morning in Ug*nda, happening... about now. So before I really got out of the bed to get on the computer, I said a prayer for these amazing families who are anxiously waiting the verdict of hopefully getting legal guardianship of their children. A couple of these families have been waiting 8 months to travel to Ug*nda to meet their children...perspective check...I have only been waiting 2 and half months, which seems like an eternity. So these families probably feel like a dream is being fulfilled, one that has felt so far away for so long...but the Lord's heart is for orphans to have families! So we can have hope that we will be with our children soon too! So excited for these families who are with their children in Ug*nda!! Yea!! I just can't believe it!!! This gives me so much hope!!

What an exciting and nervous time...I can only imagine what they are feeling. I prayed that the judges would show up and things would go smoothly. One family really wanted to dress their little girl in special dress they had picked out for her, but because the child has to go in a separate car with the babies home care takers, she was nervous the traffic would be slow and their little girl would show up too late to put it on. I love that this mama wants her to wear something special, something picked especially for her. This little girl probably has never had something of her very own...I know the Lord cares about the little things, so I prayed that this precious girl has on her special dress for the big day. I prayed the Lord's will would be done in each of these families and they would have an overwhelming peace of the judges decision, even if they have to be rescheduled. ): And if they have to be rescheduled, then their child cannot come stay with them yet, but the child has to stay in the babies home a little while longer. Yes, the parents can still spend as much time as they want in the babies home with their child, but they cannot take them out of the babies home quite yet. But, if the judge rules favorable today, these three orphans will be united with their new families to start the process of getting a visa to leave Uganda! Wahoo!! ......The process of getting a visa can take a couple weeks or more, so that is why we are planning on staying in Ug*nda for four to six weeks, but hopefully it will be shorter, but TIA (This is Africa).

Did you know that Ug*nda is a very beautiful country in Africa, located on the Nile River. A large part of the country is covered by Lake Victoria.

 

 Ug*nda is also located on the Equator...which means it has very tropical climate.

It is also filled with amazing mountains and lush valleys.

The Nile River...

Queen Elisabeth National Park in Western Ug*nda...

So when you are praying for these families today, you will know where they are!!

Can't wait to let you know how the Lord worked today in Ug*nda!

"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
   nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him" 
I Corinthians 2:9

Do we have a court date yet?

No. )=

We are hoping we will find out this upcoming week. Once we know our court date, we will begin to prepare to travel.

A couple of days ago, I realized Charles Tucker's birthday is in two weeks, September 25, 2010, he will be two. So I sent him a special mickey mouse musical card and a toy car for $8.00 through the postal service that will hopefully arrive on his birthday...but probably not likely considering it takes 10-15 days to get there. I think I have about 14 days to spare. The alternative was to pay 130.00 for UPS so it would arrive promptly in a week, but I felt the money was better saved for our plane ticket to get to him in person!! I will just have to pray that it gets there and doesn't get lost between the 4,000 miles to Ug*nda. In between purchasing his gift and the UPS store, I forgot to take a picture of the gift so we could remember it and show him when he is older what we got him for his second birthday...Oh well, "can't document everything"... as my husband would say!

When we first got our referral, two and half months ago, we thought there might be a chance of us traveling in September to be there for his second birthday. Well, it is still not God's timing for us to be with him, so we are waiting, waiting, and waiting some more. Do you notice a theme? When you sign up for international adoption you will experience a lot of WAITING. So be prepared! Yes, we are waiting on the Ug*ndan Government to assign us a judge and a court date, but we are ultimately waiting on God's timing for us to be with our third child. Waiting on God's timing is never easy, but Oh...so worth it!!

While we wait, I have been trying to do all I can now, so when we receive a court date we will just have to put everything in our bag and hop on a plane. We might only have three weeks to prepare to take our whole family to Africa, so that requires lots of thinking ahead. I am completely a "list person" and I love marking things off...it is therapeutic! I have two lists, one is for things I can do now before we receive our travel date and the second list is what I need to do once we receive our travel date.

One of the things on the first list is "clothes for travel". We need to make sure we have summer clothes, but fairly conservative and ones that provide more coverage because of the risk of getting malaria from a mosquito. We will be wearing bug spray every time we head outside our guest house to help prevent mosquito bits. And we can't wear skin so soft, it has to be full of "Deet", so lots of chemicals, but I guess it's worth it to prevent malaria...a disease people die from all over the world.

I also have a couple of things I want to make for Charles Tucker. One of those is a "lovey" that he can love on and help with his transition into our family. Both of my kids, received a special "lovey" when they were born and they continue to love on their "bankys" when they sleep and need something to comfort them besides mommy and daddy.

Henry, 13 months old, loving on his "banky"!

Mary Taylor, three weeks old, loving on her "banky"! Henry gave her a "blanky" and a "paci" as his gift to her. His two favorite things as of age two. Mary Taylor gave him a "Diseal", a Thomas the Train....another favorite, as of age two!

So I thought Charles Tucker would like his own special "banky"! Yesterday was the day I decided to mark one more thing of my list. My first attempt at making a "banky" with mitered corners, harder than it looks! Don't look to closely...the seems are definitely a big mess, but C.T. won't care!

 
This Saturday we are having a joint yard sale to raise money for our adoption expenses. It will be down the street from our house from 8:00-4:00, please email me if you want more information. We are also accepting donations from people who live in the Atlanta area. If you have a pile of junk you are trying to get ride of, email me and I will come pick it up! All the proceeds from the donations will go straight to bring Charles Tucker home! Hopefully sooner than later.

It's time for me to go to bed...we have a full day tomorrow as always!

In Loving Memory of...

Henry Cleveland DeBardeleben III (1948-2010)

Cleve was very excited to have a new addition to the DeBardeleben family in 2003. He welcomed me with loving arms.

We had Dee's whole family over to our new apartment when we first got married...Cleve loved eating whatever we cooked! Great family picture!

Dee's mother loves going up to pick apples in North Georgia...so this is one of those adventures...we also got to ride the train...I can't believe Cleve is on the ground in this picture..Too Cute! Oh.. this is the Georgia/Tennessee line...I was trying to figure out what we were doing?..

My mother, My sister Amelia, Cleve, Dee, and I hamming it up at Jennifer's wedding in 2004.

Cleve with Will, his son-in-law, and Dee at Neely's wedding back in 2005 (I think?)

Cleve really did have some silly moments...at the beach in 2006

Pop and Henry celebrated on the same day, Henry was one month old and Pop was 59 years old in 2006.

Cleve loved his dog Millie (springer spaniel) and also gave lots of attention to our dogs too...Bell (Boxer) always enjoyed sitting in his lap....Christmas 2006

Pop and Nana with Henry age 13 months at Mellow Mushroom...October 2007

Pop always took Henry out on play dates to the Zoo, to watch the trains, MacDonalds, or where ever he wanted to go! Of course, Bell always wanted to go too...January 2009

Before the play date started...Mary Taylor (2 months) got some one on one time with him too.

Mary Taylor grew to love Pop from the very beginning...who couldn't with all that attention he gave her!

Summer 2009 we all went to Saint Simmons, GA for a week at the beach. We had a great trip and I think Pop enjoyed himself too. Henry had a special love for Pop..can you tell?

Pop would do whatever Henry wanted him to do...what is there not to like??  

Pop and Mary Taylor (9 months) at Jekyll Island.

 

 Nana and Pop with all three grandchildren at Jekyll Island...Henry (2), Dexter (1), and Mary Taylor (9mons)

Two grandfathers, T.J. and Pop giving Mary Taylor (12 months) all the attention she could ever want...maybe that's why she thinks the world revolves around her! ...November 2009

Pop's last Christmas 2009...what a great picture with all his grandchildren. Henry, Dexter, and Mary Taylor really made him happy!

Pop at his house on Christmas Eve 2009 with Henry...

Two days before Pop died, he asked Dee, his son, to put a picture of Charles Tucker by his bed in a frame. This meant so much to us. It helped us realize his love for us and his love for his new grandson. Charles Tucker will always know how much his grandfather already loved him even though he did not get a chance to meet him on this earth.

The commencement ceremony for Henry Cleveland DeBardeleben the III, also known as "Cleve" to the world and "Pop" to his grandchildren, was very difficult and emotional, but brought much redemption for our family.We have confidence and trust that Cleve longed for something more than this world could offer...

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

The Lord was greatly glorified through all the words spoken at the ceremony. I hope and pray that many hearts were stirred through his death, so many will come to LIFE. Cleve's two children, Dee and Jennifer both spoke at the service leaving no eye dry from the memories of their father. It was a tremendously, special time for the whole family, even though some things were hard to hear...I do believe the Lord was glorified through Cleve's life.

We Love You Pop!