It's Possible

It's possible that I am a bit too addicted to blogs. I mean, I did just get home after a 13 hour drive with an 18-month-old...and I am checking blogs at 11pm at night!

I'm hoping to post pictures of our trip to North Carolina tomorrow...if I can get out of bed!

Wordless Wednesday {Why We Keep the Doors Locked}

Staying Home

I always knew that when I had kids, I would stay home with them. Maybe it is because of the wonderful memories I have of my mom being at home with me...I don't know how, but I just knew that was what I would do. Brad and I talked about it early on in our relationship and he felt the same way...so that was that!

I have now been a stay-at-home mom for 8 months! I must admit, the transition to being home all the time by myself was a lot tougher than I expected. It was strange to get up in the morning and not really have a reason to get out of my pajamas!

But after a few months, we started to get into a routine, and this became the new normal. In some ways, it is exactly like I thought it would be. In other ways, it is soooooooo much different! I would have to say, though, now that we're all settled in here, I absolutely LOVE staying at home.

I love not having the stress of a job and the worries of deadlines and things like that. I love getting up in the morning and having the whole day ahead of me, and getting to plan what we do and when we do it. I love that I can be flexible and do things at my own pace. I love that I'm here to take care of the house, although sometimes I do find that part of the staying at home to be a bit challenging! Since we're here all the time, I just get it cleaned up and then it gets messy again! Before when I cleaned it up, we were gone all day and when I came home...it was still clean! I have realized though that this is just an ongoing part of life and I try not to worry about it too much now.

More than any of that, though, I love the huge amount of time I get to spend with this little guy:

I love the snuggles and the wake-up giggle I hear when I creep into his room in the morning. I love teaching him new things and being able to hear him start to say new words. I am amazed to see him learning and growing, and I love that I get to see this.

Don't get me wrong - there are hard days, too. The hard days are so much harder than I anticipated. The days when Matthew is sick or clingy or cranky, the days when I don't feel well or when I'm exhausted and he just won't nap...those days are hard. Sometimes being home is very lonely, and when Brad arrives home I just want to talk his ear off since I haven't seen another adult all day! I try really hard to get out of the house, to spend time with friends, to go and do things...but still, sometimes it just gets lonely.

Still, all that little boy has to do is to waddle over and give me a kiss and I know without a doubt that for us, this is the right thing. For me, being home is absolutely where I'm supposed to be, and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Let's Try This Again

For the last little while when I checked my blog, all I could think was "ick" when my new design came up. So I thought I'd try to make it a little more "me" - I think I have achieved it! Only time will tell I guess :)

It's been a fun and busy week around here. Matthew has been learning new things that just keep me smiling. One of my favorites is that he has learned to say "Cheese!" and he seems to recognize that he needs to smile and look at me while saying it. Check out this "cheese"!!!!!

His new "cheese" knowledge comes in handy for getting good photos! I love this photo of Matthew with his grandpa and cousin Ben. We had a picnic with Grandma and Grandpa this week when I was going crazy from being stuck in the house. It was the perfect weather and we were so happy to go and play with cousins Ben and Emma for a while!

We are spending more and more time outside these days as Matthew is finally learning how to navigate grass! He will finally let us put him down in the grass and he is happy to walk around the yard now. We love playing in the sandbox, although I had to convince him several times that sand is not actually for eating! Can you see that he is thinking very hard about if this is just a giant spoon???

I've been running up a storm this week and am so happy that my knees aren't giving me any trouble. I even tackled some hills this week (and felt it the next day!). I am hoping to do another 5k in June and hope to be able to beat my time. It's been a fun week and now I am off to make some packing lists for our quickly approaching vacation to North Carolina!!!!

Wordless Wednesday {just plain cute}

So What About Four?

Being a family of three is wonderful and we are so happy to have started our little family. On my mind these days is the when and the how of becoming a family of four. Adoption is amazing, but there are some parts of it that I find hard and sometimes discouraging. Why does it have to take so long and why does it have to cost so much?

Is it worth it all? OF COURSE! Are we super excited to begin the process again? Without a doubt! I just wish sometimes that it wasn't such a long process.

Here's where we're at right now in thinking about number 2 (no big announcement yet, I'm afraid):

1. We want to adopt again.

2. We have decided on a country...we think!

3. We have to wait until Matthew has been home a year for our homestudy to be sent and for us to be "on the list" again - which puts us at September.

4. We will hopefully start our next adoption sometime this year.

5. We have been paying off debts and saving so that we can start again.

6. Selling the motorcycle will help the process along and will mean that we can start several months sooner...please pray that it sells!

7. We are open to either a boy or a girl...but I'm kind of thinking a little brother for Matthew would be so fun!

8. As with Matthew we are open to some special needs and are considering and praying about what we may be open to in terms of medical concerns.

9. We only have 2 bedrooms so we are discussing creative ways to make things work with two little ones :)

10. We are trusting God and know that He is in control of it all, and that even if it takes a while we will one day nod our heads and say that it was worth it all! Just like we did with Matthew!

I hope one day to have more details to share...but for now that's where we're at!

Off to the Zoo!

Do you ever have those days that just could not get any better? Yesterday was one of those days. It was perfect from beginning to end. We woke up in the morning, saw what a beautiful day it was going to be, and quickly decided we needed to go to the zoo!

I packed up a picnic lunch for us and then we hit the road. We stopped at a rest area and enjoyed our lunch on a blanket in the grass. It took me back to the days when I was a little girl and my family would go on picnics...those are the best memories!

At the zoo, there was so much to see and do! Matthew was a happy camper from start to finish, and he was very interested in all the animals. His favorite animal at the moment is the elephant, and although they didn't have any live elephants at the zoo we did find one that made him smile:

As we walked around and looked at the animals, Matthew would let us know after a few minutes of looking at an animal that he was ready to move on to the next one by throwing his hands straight up in the air and signing "all done". He loved the pigs and kept saying "more" when we were near them!

He had fun sitting on all the little animal statues, and I had fun getting cute pictures of him!

By the end of the day he was totally worn out and he fell asleep for nap #2 of the day! Brad and I finished walking around the zoo, enjoying our time together and feeling a little bit like we were on vacation somewhere!

Although we often hear people complaining about this local zoo because it doesn't have a ton of animals, we had the best time and loved how peaceful and scenic it was. There were so many trees, beautiful trails to walk along, steep hills that gave me a cramp in my side...well, in all fairness they did offer a tram ride up the hill but we thought we'd get some extra exercise! Next time we'll take the tram I think :)

I know I'm just a big old sap, but so many times yesterday I found myself looking at my two guys and tearing up with gratitude. For so long I wanted to be there - walking around the zoo with my baby, enjoying those moments...sometimes I just feel overwhelmed realizing that I'm there now! It was so good to spend the day with my family :)

Best Race Ever!

I had such a good time at the 5k race last night! I was so nervous before (like I always am) wondering if I would be able to finish. As soon as we started though, I knew I felt good. Running (for me) is strange like that - I can tell pretty quickly if it is going to be a good run or a really rough run. Last night was great! I felt strong the whole time and was able to finish in a time of 32 minutes and 19 seconds - my best time ever!

I am hoping this summer to be able to get faster and to be able to run a 5k in under 30 minutes. I was excited to see the results today and to find out that I finished 16th out of 21 runners in my age group - I think I have always been last until this race! I felt so proud of myself and I am so excited to keep running and training.

I love having running buddies, and my friend Kristy ran her first 5k last night with me! She swore I'd never get her running...

I think she's hooked, just like me!

Thankful Thursday

So much to be thankful for this week!

Thankful for sweet baby Allison Nicole, my new little niece who arrived yesterday! She is just gorgeous and we are so happy for Brad's brother and his wife.

Thankful that Matthew was happy today!

Thankful that my sisters came to visit and made Matthew laugh like crazy!

Thankful that we FINALLY got a family picture with all three of us looking at the camera and smiling (it's a miracle I tell ya!)

Thankful that I get to run a 5k race tomorrow with my friend Kristy

Thankful that I got to play guitar tonight with our praise team at church for the first time since Matthew came home :)

Thankful that I get to see my parents tomorrow!

Thankful for all the funny things that happen throughout the day that help keep me sane (for example, the fact that sticking his tongue out seems to help Matthew concentrate).

Thankful for friends that make me smile (thanks, Katie!)

Thankful for nap time...for him and for me :)

It's been a good Thursday!

What We've Been Up To

It seems that I have forgotten how to blog! Actually, I've just been feeling lazy lately and haven't wanted to upload photos from my camera. Here's what we've been up to over the last week:

• Celebrating Mother's Day in a whole new way than the last few years! My heart overflowed at church as I looked back at the last few years and remembered how difficult this day had been in the past. I'm counting my blessings and am thankful for this little boy every single day.

• Battling sickness :( Matthew spent the weekend with a fever and feeling pretty crummy. Thankfully he is much better now!

• Spending time with family - always fun! Matthew's cousin Ben always wants to hug and kiss him (it is so adorable!) but usually Matthew is a little uncertain about this. This weekend he seemed ready to finally show some affection (or at least to let Ben show him some!)

• Running: I ran 3 miles on Sunday and 3 miles again last night - I'm feeling ready for my 5k race on Friday ("ready" meaning I should be able to finish it, not "ready" I'm going to win!)

• Talking and Praying...about adoption #2 :)

• Spending time at home, relaxing, cuddling, and doing not much of anything!

I know, I know, aren't you glad you glad

you checked in for this exciting update?

Learning to Love the Sandbox

Our families very generously got Matthew a sandbox to celebrate his adoption being finalized! We were so surprised and excited when they brought it out at the party. We had to wait all weekend to go out and play in it since it kept raining, but finally it came...

Matthew was introduced to the sandbox!

Now, being the cautious little boy that he is, Matthew was a little uncertain about this sand business. He let Daddy put him down for a couple of seconds (long enough for me to get a picture) but promptly was asking for "up...up...UP!"

He was not too sure about it when I took him out to play in it again yesterday. He just kept looking at his feet as if he was thinking, "What in the world is this???"

But after only a couple of minutes...

He figured out that being in the sandbox is so much fun!

This last picture cracked me up - for some reason, he always had to keep one arm far away from the sand! Can't be getting dirty all over, I guess! I have 3 or 4 pictures with him holding his arm up like this :)

I also wanted to tell you about a great giveaway going on over at Our Adoption Journey, a blog following Kala's journey to her little boy, Matthew, who is being adopted from Korea :) I am so excited to see her waiting come to an end - and soon, hopefully! She is giving away some lovely children's books about adoption, so hop over to her blog and enter to win!

Adoption Day!

"Now no one will ever be able to tear your family apart."

That is what the judge said at the end of our adoption finalization on Friday. Tears flowed and I was surprised by the emotion that overcame me as we celebrated this special event. I was just overcome with thankfulness to know that no matter what, we are a forever family now!

We were so thankful our families could come to court with us. It was a wonderful day! Our little boy looked so spiffy!

After the court event, we went home and got ready for our party! We had about 35 people come over to celebrate with us. It was so good to be surrounded by family and friends who were by our side throughout the whole journey. We were blessed with absolutely beautiful weather and had a lovely barbecue in the backyard. So fun!

We are so happy and so in love with this amazing little boy!