Center: Leann and Lincoln. Clockwise from top left: (1) Grandpa (the Cat in the Hat) and Lincoln. (2) Andy, Lincoln, and Grandpa ~ 3 generations. (3) Janet and Lincoln. (4) Mimi and Lincoln on his new bed. (5) Dad and Leann. (6) Mom and Leann. (7) Ti Keshia, Leann, Mandy, and Carla in LA. (8) Houndstooth ribbon painted on the field at Alabama to honor the tornado victims. (9) Leann standing on the glass skydeck ledge in Chicago. (10) Leann, Annie Kate, and Angela. (11) Mom in the snow. (12) Dad shoveling snow.

Here is this year’s Christmas letter.  Enjoy!

In May, I flew to Los Angeles to visit my friend Carla. She has lived there for many years, but I’d never worked in a visit until now.  She obliged my silly requests like a stop at the Rose Bowl to see where Alabama won its 13^th National Championship, chicken and waffles at Roscoe’s, a trip to the Pacific Ocean, and a personal tour of ABC/Disney Studios.  I even made new friends in her roommate, Mandy and their puppies, DJ and Luke.  As luck would have it, while I was there, our friend Ti Keshia was in LA, too, so we got to meet her for dinner one night.  As you can imagine, it was VERY hard to leave.

As has become a tradition, Lincoln ran the bases at a few Tampa Bay Rays games this summer, but during one trip to Grandpa and Mimi’s he ran the bases at the Rays’s minor league affiliate.  This was special though as he got to be in a tag team race with the Charlotte Stone Crabs mascot, Stoney.  Stoney usually races against and loses to the kid runner, but this time Stoney and Lincoln competed against two others.  It was the first time Stoney (with Lincoln’s help) actually won the race.

By July, I’d stayed away long enough, and I took a trip to Alabama to see the damage myself and volunteer with the tornado relief efforts.  It took my breath away when I turned that first corner into town where I could see the destruction.  It felt like the world froze, and it broke my heart all over, again.  While I was there, I helped with organizing a warehouse where every day items are stored and distributed to those in need.  I also got the opportunity to spend some time with my friends, the Cunninghams, who I hadn’t seen in ages.  They are always gracious in opening their home when I come for a visit.  I also made quick stops to see Angela and her family in Birmingham and my friends Tom, Anita, and Jilian in Huntsville before I headed back to DC.  Jilian even gave up her Disney Princess bed to me so I could spend the night.  It was a rollercoaster of emotions during my July Alabama Tour, but it was worth every minute.

In August, my annual work conference took me to Las Vegas for the first time, and I have to admit, I finally understood what a dry heat was. It was still ridiculously hot, but not sticky like it is in the South.  The bulk of entertainment value in that city is lost on me because I’m not a big gambler, but I did enjoy the food and the fountain show at the Bellagio among other attractions, but I failed in getting a quickie wedding.  At the end of my trip, I crossed off a bucket list item and saw Garth Brooks live.  It was fabulous.  He puts on a heck of a show, and if you get the opportunity…GO!

Lincoln turned 4…FOUR…in September, and we all celebrated with a pool party.  It was the first time he’d gotten to invite his school friends to his birthday party, and they were all adorable to watch.  At his 4 year old appointment, our 2lb 14 oz, 16 ¼ inch preemie, weighed 45lbs and was 43 inches tall.  He’ll talk your ear off about dinosaurs and animals if you let him, and he’s smart as a whip, but I’m not biased at all.

In October, I did something I haven’t done in 11 years.  I went to homecoming at Alabama.  I took in the bon fire, watched the parade with my friends the Heggems, and thanks, again, to the Cunninghams, attended the Alabama/Vanderbilt homecoming game, which Alabama won 34-0.  Tuscaloosa was much easier to see this time around because I could see a lot of progress in debris removal and rebuilding preparations.  It’ll take time, but they are going to come back from this better than ever.

I was home for Thanksgiving.  Andy and the team were invited to the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, so I didn’t get to see him while I was home.  Still not sure if they could see Russia from their hotel rooms.  I did get to see Janet and Lincoln who came down to mom and dad’s for Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping.  I’m staying here in DC for Christmas, but mom and dad are coming up for New Year’s when they will see “The Jersey Boys” for the gazillionth time.  It’ll be my first time seeing the show though.

Well, that about wraps it up.  As I said, I don’t think I could’ve packed anymore into one year.  I hope your year has been just as jam packed with blessings and memories you’ll never forget.  I’m sending y’all warm thoughts, lots of hugs, and wishes for a spectacular year to come.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

Leann

P.S. Roll Tide Roll ~ 01/09/2012

My parents were both educators: my mother a teacher, my father a principal.  Most days I’d have to stay later at school after the final bell because teachers don’t leave at the same time students do…or at least my parents didn’t.  So, I would sit in my mom’s classroom and play those computer games on a Macintosh computer until she was ready to go home.

Steve Jobs had the intelligence to create these personal computers and one of his target markets at the beginning was the classroom.  My father had the foresight to follow Steve Jobs early on and put Macintosh computers in every classroom in our school.  Since then, my father has only owned one computer that wasn’t an Apple product…and eventually I ended up with that IBM laptop.  In fact, I think I was the first person in my family to own a computer that was not an Apple product.

The phrase “think outside the box” is wholly overused, but allow me to use it here to describe Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs didn’t just think outside the box.  He WAS the outside of the box, and quite frankly he was out there all alone because no one could come close to his visionary audacity.  He was incredibly down to earth yet a little whackadoo, but that genuineness is what we loved about him. He changed the world in one of the most simple, yet important ways possible: he changed the way we communicate with each other. Communication is our world’s greatest asset, and Steve Jobs used his brilliance to harness its direction.

Today, Steve Jobs died at age 56.  He left behind a wife, four children, millions of dedicated customers, and some of the greatest inventions this world has ever seen.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Jobs.  Maybe some day we’ll meet somewhere along the Oregon Trail and catch up over some lemonade.

Today is your birthday. It’s hard to believe that 33 years have passed since this:

But after 33 years of what this world has thrown at you, this little girl is still plugging along:

Chasing dreams, believing in the good in people, thinking you can change the world.

Year 32 wasn’t an easy one, but as you’ve done with every other year of your life, you’ve survived any way you could…determined to have more good days than bad.  You have few complaints, really.  After all, your problems are stupid little 1st world problems, but you still live with one motto: no regrets.  Everything in life is a learning experience not to be taken for granted and only to be earned wisdom.  There is no way to change the past, but how you change your future because of your past is what matters.

Happy Birthday to that 33-year-old little girl who still believes in fairy tales and never giving up.

Love,

The 33-year-old little girl

Please be in prayer that all these pieces fall into place.

God has already moved a mountain range. What’s a few more pebbles?!

Yesterday, the Supreme Court overturned the judge’s original ruling effective immediately meaning the process to get the adoption approved is over, and now begins the process of getting all the paperwork necessary to actually take him home to Alabama! Roll Tide! (Sorry…had to do it.)  There are no words appropriate to thank you all enough for praying for my friends and being just as excited for them as I am.  God does amazing things, and sometimes He just wants us to ask. =) He has opened doors for these precious children, and I pray that the hearts of everyone involved will be changed forever because of the mountains God moved for Kirill.

Here are a few messages from Tesney:

“Honestly, I’m totally overwhelmed and humbled by the outpouring of love and support for our family and Kirill. I don’t know what to say. I can’t respond to every message right now, but I will do my best over the weeks and months ahead to respond. If you’ve tried to contact me about something important and I haven’t responded, try again. I’m reading them all, but my brain is so FULL and we’re so excited.”

“Found out we will likely be coming home on June 8th.”

“We will pick up Kirill as soon as we can get to Pskov, which will be after the court decree is ready here in Moscow. They have 5 days from the ruling so it has to be ready by Tuesday. We are praying the decree is ready tomorrow or Friday. If so, we can pick him up as soon as we get it to the regional court in Pskov on Monday morning. I’ll probably be waiting outside the doors for them to open. “

And this one from Twitter, which made me giggle: “Off to buy luggage and necessities for Kirill! Yay!”

Here are some celebration pictures post-Supreme Court ruling.  Enjoy the smiles!

Greg and Tesney with their lawyer, Alexander, after court, outside of the Supreme Court building in Moscow.

Greg and Tesney with their translator, Natasha, after court.

Greg's excited about Kirill coming home...so what else to do but a handstand in front of St. Basil's?!?

From Tesney:

“I have hesitated to post this or not, but we need all the prayers we can get and we know that God hears the prayers of the righteous, so here it goes. We found out today that the Supreme Court can rule in our favor and K can come home immediately after the court decree is filed (in 5 days from the hearing). This is different information than we were originally given. We were told that IF we got a favorable hearing, it would be that the SC would kick the case back to regional court and they would make the final decision. This is one option, but the SC CAN rule that our adoption is approved and K CAN COME HOME. So please, prayer warriors, please pray that this is the outcome tomorrow. We are praying for a MIRACLE.”

The basement of my house is unofficially called “The Bama Room.”  Its walls are covered in paintings and posters and pictures of The University of Alabama and its various sports and campus landmarks. In a small 8×10 space on one wall is a framed quote with no clear indication that it is Alabama related, but when I read the quote, all I see has everything to do with Alabama.

“You never really leave a place you love. Part of it you take with you leaving a part of you behind.”

On Wednesday night as I was somewhere over the Midwest in an airplane returning from a short business trip to Chicago, an F-5 tornado ripped through the pieces of myself I left behind in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on a mild August day in 2001.  A tornado that measured nearly a mile wide cut a track of almost six miles through the center of town on one of the main roads.  The storm was so strong that debris was picked up in Tuscaloosa and deposited some 60 miles northeast in Birmingham and even as far north as Knoxville, TN. The destruction was so great that piles of rubble replaced some of my favorite places beyond the point of recognition. Pictures were posted, but even though I can drive Tuscaloosa in my sleep, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out where the picture was taken. You can see before and after pictures here and here. Entire housing and apartment complexes have been wiped off the face of the earth.  As of today the death toll in Tuscaloosa is 39, and while that may look like a small number when you consider how tremendous this storm was, to me, 39 is 39 too many.

I’ve heard of other college towns or towns where a major university is located. I’ve heard in most of those places that the locals don’t like the college students. Sort of a “get off my lawn you snot-nosed kids” kind of attitude. But not in Tuscaloosa. Tuscaloosa embraces the students and the students embrace the locals. Plenty of students go to college at Alabama and like me, move away to start their careers. But so many students stay in Tuscaloosa or nearby in Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery, and Mobile to begin their careers. It’s a place you never want to be very far from geographically or in your heart.  It’s where so many of us feel centered and at home. Though it sounds far-fetched, every day of my life for almost the last 10 years, I wake up and wish I were there. Thursday morning that feeling was stronger than it ever has been.

You see I can deal with the bricks and mortar being gone. Those things can be replaced.  It’s not the fact that the Krispy Kreme or the Milo’s or the Big Lots is gone. It’s that THAT Krispy Kreme and THAT Milo’s and THAT Big Lots is gone.  Those places where I created memories with my friends. The Krispy Kreme where we knew the schedule of when the HOT NOW sign would be lit. You haven’t lived until you’ve loaded up the car at 2 am during finals week to drive to the Krispy Kreme for a study break and snack, and as cliché as it may be, there always seemed to be a Tuscaloosa Police Department cruiser parked outside. I can’t for the life of me remember what restaurant was there before Milo’s, but I can remember when we found out we were getting one. Milo’s sells hamburgers…in Alabama…and their secret sauce is still a mystery to me but oh so delicious on the burgers and fries. And until Tuscaloosa got a Milo’s, the closest one was in Birmingham. The pieces of my heart and my memories now lie in the piles of rubble of these places.

Over the last few days, I have watched from many miles away as members of the Alabama Family have come together and stepped up to save Tuscaloosa. Every new story I hear brings tears to my eyes like Houston Texans and former Alabama football player DeMeco Ryans showing up this afternoon with a truck load of every kind of supply that has been requested or newly drafted former Alabama football player James Carpenter calling the athletic department the morning after he was selected in the 1st round not to talk about the draft but simply to ask “what can I do?” or men’s basketball head coach Anthony Grant climbing on the roof of a house that was gutted yet still standing to help empty the attic of the resident’s personal belongings or the baseball team canceling practice on Thursday so they could help the relief efforts.

But, the ones that make me cry the most are the outpouring of support: physically, monetarily, and supply donations from people who any other day of the year would have no reason to acknowledge Tuscaloosa. The Yankees organization gave $500k to the relief efforts. Penn State football set up a fund for their fans to donate to. A guy drove from Wyoming in his utility truck to help with the downed power lines.  Auburn University has even set up collection sites all over Auburn and is personally driving the donations of supplies to Tuscaloosa this weekend. And nearly every university in the Southeastern Conference as well as the other universities in the state of Alabama are lending a hand as well.

The University itself was spared any structural damage but lost electricity until late Friday. Now though, it can fill in as shelter locations and volunteer support and organization. In short, it can give back to the city that has given it so much over the years. Some of the greatest people God ever put on this earth live in Tuscaloosa, AL, and they’re hurting and fighting and stunned and they need our help. This is a comprehensive list of ways to help. And this is a list of the volunteer efforts and donation needs. And pray…prayers are always welcome. God is healing Tuscaloosa.

The city of Tuscaloosa became a place I call home almost 15 years ago. Wednesday night I slept in an Alabama sweatshirt just to feel some tiny bit of closeness to that home. It has given me so much over the years, and I hope and pray that in the days, weeks, months, and years to come I can give back at least a fraction of that because some how, some way, we will put the pieces of our collective hearts and lives back together, and Tuscaloosa will grow stronger because of this. Roll Tide, T-Town, Roll Tide!

I have a friend named Tesney. I still remember the very second I met her. She is kind and smart and funny and desperately faithful to God. And she married a man who complements all of that. Two years ago they, along with their son Clayton, decided to adopt a child with Down Syndrome from Eastern Europe. In the last couple weeks, they have faced the Enemy at every turn and have stood firm and faithful with God. During an agonizing 5 hour court date in Russia, they were grilled, but still stood firm and presented what everyone believed to be an airtight adoption case. However, when the judge returned her verdict, she said she rejected their application to adopt sweet Kirill citing that he was “not socially adaptable” because of his Down Syndrome. There are not enough words in any language in the world to describe how angry those words make me, and I despise the fact that I live in a world where this kind of opinion still exists.  Yet, here we are. As Tesney and Greg submit an appeal to the Supreme Court in Russia, all of us are trying to spread Kirill’s story.  As the days have gone by, we have all become abundantly aware that this fight is not simply about Kirill but about every single one of the beautiful children in his orphanage who have Down Syndrome and have been deemed unworthy of a family and forced to continue living in institutions that cannot possibly provide the love and care these beautiful creations of God need. Below you will find Kirill’s story. For their complete adoption journey, please visit their blog here.  If you have successfully adopted an international child with special needs, please comment on their blog so that they can get in touch with you ASAP.  Please repost this blog entry or the link to their adoption story and spread the word. Finally, look at the pictures below the story of beautiful Kirill and tell me how anyone could call him “not socially adaptable.”

Kirill’s Story

Two years ago Greg and I began praying for God to do whatever he wanted with our lives. We handed him a “blank check” so to speak, and told him to cash it. He opened our eyes to children with disabilities wasting away across the ocean in Eastern Europe. We joined God and started our adoption journey.

Our family is more than equipped to handle a child with special needs. I have a degree in Early Childhood Education. I am a member of the Board of Directors of Best Buddies of Alabama. I have volunteered for RISE and Eagles’ Wings. All of these organizations serve individuals with special needs. My husband I have close friends and family who have special needs and we are a big part of each other’s lives. Our wedding party included some of these special people. Our involvement with individuals with special needs led us to adopt a child with special needs; specifically, we chose Down Syndrome.

As we prayed over the faces of thousands of orphaned children with Down Syndrome, we ultimately chose a little boy named Sergey from Russia. Eight months later, as we neared the finish line of our adoption, one of Sergey’s family members in Russia stepped forward to adopt him. We were heartbroken for our loss, but God showed us that we were following him, and his ways are perfect. We knew we still wanted to adopt, so the way we saw it, two children would find homes because of our journey…Sergey went to his family and now we would choose another child to come into our family. We took great comfort in knowing that God could see this when we first committed to Sergey! We were honored to be a part of his plan.

Shortly after losing Sergey, we received a new referral with a grainy photo of a four-year-old blond-haired boy wearing pink glasses named Kirill. We were instantly in love with him. We had to re-file a lot of our paperwork because of the change in referrals and regions of Russia, but we were fast and we thought we were looking at three more months at the most until we would have Kirill home.

That was well over a year ago.

Since then so many things have happened. A tragic story of an adoptive mother sending her child back to his country alone on a plane with a note pinned to his shirt rocked our world…he was from Russia. Adoptions in Russia came to a screeching halt. Kirill’s region stopped processing adoptions for eight long months. The judge refused to accept any Amercian adoption cases until an official treaty was signed between the United States and Russia.

Even though we wouldn’t be able to finalize the adoption in court until the treaty was signed, we were allowed to go visit Kirill and sign our official petition to adopt him in August 2010. We fell more deeply in love with him. This was our son.

During that time, we found out that Kirill is the first child from his region EVER to be adopted with Down Syndrome. A birth mother keeping her child with Down Syndrome is unheard of in this area of the world. Adoptions of children with Down Syndrome just don’t happen there, these children are literally hidden away from society in orphanages and mental institutions. As our process continued, it became apparent that Kirill would be a pioneer. If our adoption was approved, it would pave the way for other children with special needs to be adopted from this region.

Then, a miracle happened around Christmas and the judge in this region suddenly changed her mind and began processing American adoptions again. We were elated.  Could this be the light at the end of a very long tunnel? I was somewhat nervous about Kirill being the first child adopted with Down Syndrome from his region, but our agency was very confident that if we got a court date, our adoption would be approved. In seventeen years, they had never had a case rejected IF the family was issued a court date. We were told not to worry, so I didn’t. After meeting the judge’s requests for several supporting court documents, we were finally granted a court date-March 17, 2011. St. Patrick’s Day…I was thrilled. This would be our new favorite holiday! Our son was coming home!

Our other son, Clayton, who had just turned three when we started this adoption process, has prayed fervently for his brother. He is now almost five. When we told him Kirill was coming home, oh my…we had an excited big brother on our hands! At one point he even went to his room, dumped out his toy cars and divided them into two stacks…one for him and one for Kirill.

Last week, as we sat in the courtroom and suffered through five agonizing hours of difficult questioning, we were not prepared for anything but an approval of our case. Two doctors, two social workers, and the Minister of Children’s Services all made very strong statements on our behalf. They fought for us. Hard.

But when the ruling was read, the judge said, “Your application to adopt is rejected.” The basis given was that Kirill was “not socially adaptable” due to his “medical condition” and he was better off in an institution than in a home with a family. As the judge read her ruling, she stated several times that we were a good family, that we met all the criteria to adopt a child, but that she would not approve our adoption because Kirill has Down Syndrome and “he is not socially adaptable due to his medical condition, therefore his needs are best met in an orphanage.” She told us that we could adopt another child, because legally our application had no problems according to Russian adoption law. She said she would approve our adoption for a “typical” child, but not this child. Why? The only reason? Because he has Down Syndrome. Even though we were approved by our home study and by the USCIS to adopt a child with special needs. It makes no sense whatsoever. Denying a child a family because he has Down Syndrome is a violation of human rights at its most basic level!

It was like a terrible dream. We were so unprepared for this outcome. As we left the courthouse in a mental fog, the doctors and social workers that had testified came to us and said, “If you appeal, we will fight for you. Appeal. Fight this decision.” Of course we were going to appeal…I could no more walk away from our biological son, Clayton, at this point. Kirill is just as much my son.

So here we are, asking God to move the mountain that is standing between Kirill and us as we appeal to the Supreme Court in Moscow. There are also three other families who are in various stages of adopting children with Down Syndrome from Kirill’s region; one of the families has a court hearing set for next week.

We are hoping that someone will hear our outcry and help us bring our son and these other waiting children home. His adoption will set the precedent for many other children in his region. There are 98 children in his orphanage with special needs alone. It is one of many orphanages in this region that houses children with special needs. This is about more than just one child, the lives of hundreds of children with special need are at stake.  Please help us.