Love Friday

* Love Janet's posts on Fridays and hope she doesn't mind me stealing her idea!

* Love Matthew in his new elephant hat and how hard he laughs when mama wears it and acts like an elephant. Which will never appear on this blog, by the way.

* Love how happy this little man has been this week. Love the laughing and the giggles and the smiling all the time! So happy he is feeling better.

* Love his new way of carrying around Stinky (yes, the name stuck for his blanket!). Love that he is figuring out how to multi-task :)

* Love that we have another new plan for handling his eczema...and hope that it works soon so he won't be so itchy all the time :( Love that I got to spend time with my boy and my hubby today, even though it was just to go to an out-of-town doctor's appointment.

* Love that we have NO plans for tomorrow except to spend the whole day together!

A New Social Worker

On Sunday we traveled to our adoption agency, this time to celebrate the retirement of a wonderful lady. "J" was our social worker for Matthew's adoption, and we loved working with her! We are sad that we won't get to work with her for our next adoption, but already love our new social worker.

We had a great time at the party even though we didn't know any of the families. There were families with children born in China, Korea, Guatemala, and I think Ethiopia. It was so fun to be together and to "talk adoption" with people who had been through it.

A lady was putting together a scrapbook for J from all the families who she worked with through the years. I made a page for her scrapbook and I was so happy with how it turned out:

Afterwards we went to one of my favorite restaurants where we met up with some good friends we know through our adoption agency. They also adopted a little boy from South Korea about a year before we did. I love this picture because the boys kept trying to give each other "knuckles" the whole time!

I must admit, something about knowing our application is done (it arrived at our agency today!) has me feeling pretty stinking excited! It's starting to feel real that we're adopting again!

Formal Application: Complete!

It's done!

The documents are printed.

The papers are signed.

The medicals are completed.

The questions are answered.

The check is written.

The prayers are prayed.

The envelope is mailed!

Our formal application is finally on its way

to our adoption agency!

Do you know what that means?!?!

It means in only one to three short years

(I really have no idea how long it will be!)

we will be on our way to Korea

to bring home another precious child!

What do you think, Matthew?

Does that sound like a good idea?

Yes, we think so, too!

Next stop: homestudy!

The Rocking Chair

For months before he came I home, I had visions of rocking Matthew in this cozy chair in his bedroom.

I would often go into his room, sit in the chair and smile (or cry) thinking of him and wondering what it would be like to hold him. I couldn't wait for that day to come!

And then he came home...and he hated to be rocked!

Yes, I probably had the only baby on the planet who did not want me to sit in a rocking chair with him before bed. In fact, if we even sat down before he was asleep, he would scream. Perhaps he was just used to being carried a lot by his foster mom. Maybe he often slept in a carrier on her back. Whatever the reason, when Matthew first arrived he would only fall asleep if we were walking with him.

I remember the first few days so clearly - the walking, the aching arms, the screaming back pain...the pure joy to have him home that thankfully made me not even care! I remember I would make up games in my head to keep myself from falling over or

dropping him..."Okay, count to 100 and then you can try to put him in his crib....one....two...three...." It was pretty brutal. And I felt sad that I couldn't just rock him in the chair.

Fast forward 10 months (has it really been 10 months already??). Matthew is a fabulous sleeper - we just put him in his crib, he talks a little or is silent, and he's usually asleep within minutes. He rarely wakes up in the night anymore except when he is sick (like last week). A few nights ago, I awoke to his crying and knew he needed something, so I went to get him. He needed a diaper change, so I took care of that, and then he asked for a drink, so I got him one and we sat in the chair so he could drink. After a moment he handed me his cup and pointed to my chest. I was confused and didn't know what he wanted until he turned to face me and laid his head on my chest. I asked him if he wanted to rock in the chair, and he signed "please".

And so it was another middle-of-the-night dream come true for this mama.

Love this boy so much!

Wordless Wednesday {Laundry Basket Fun}

Hello Monday...I'm Glad to See You!

First of all let me say THANK YOU for your thoughtful comments and for the idea to prop up the mattress - we got 12 hours of sleep last night! I was so thankful when I woke up this morning at 8am and realized he had slept through. It makes me feel like a new person!

Matthew seems a bit better today and we'll be starting him on a new antibiotic today, so hopefully that will help with the tummy troubles he's been having. He is still pretty clingy today but not screaming, so I'll take it :)

The weekend was pretty rough and we didn't leave the house much, but Brad and I both managed to go running which was a nice break. We are toying with the idea of running a 1/2 marathon in October (well, I am toying with the idea and trying to convince Brad to run it too!) and we started the training program for that this week. We both ran 30 minutes on Tuesday and Thursday and then 2 miles on Saturday. I was excited that my 2 mile run was done in 19 minutes and 36 seconds...faster than I used to be for sure. Brad and I have been taking turns going after Matthew goes to bed, so we don't run together, but that is okay since he is way faster than me anyway!

I think I'll leave you with some Korean cuteness...last week we got to meet some new friends who recently adopted a beautiful little girl from Korea. Seeing her got me thinking, maybe a little girl wouldn't be so bad... :)

Can This Weekend Just be OVER Please???

I feel like this weekend started last Wednesday, when Matthew came down with a fever, and just will not end. The poor little boy has been feeling rotten and we found out Friday he has an ear infection. Saturday was miserable and his fever got up to 103, and the medicine didn't get a chance to kick in since he threw it all up. On me. Do I sound like I'm whining? Maybe a little :)

Yesterday his fever finally went away and he seemed a bit more like himself. Nights are just the worst still, with him waking up 4 times last night. Nights with a sick baby are absolutely my least favorite thing about parenthood. It is so hard to see them feeling so awful and to not be able to fix it. Plus there is the tiredness...that's no fun either.

I'm thankful that he seems to be improving a bit and can't wait for the crankiness to disappear as well. I'm ready for a new week with a little boy who is feeling good!

Some good news from Friday...Brad and I were able to visit our doctor to get our medical forms filled out for the adoption! Making progress...

It's Not Wednesday...and It's Not Wordless!

After a day at home with a sick child, I'm afraid all I can manage are some bullet points and a silly picture of my dog :)

• Matthew woke up with a fever so we didn't make it to swim lessons today. I was sad to miss it but secretly happy that I didn't have to pack up all our stuff to go to the pool again.

• I was able to get to the eye doctor's this afternoon to pick out glasses...which is seriously hard to do when you are a person who can't see clearly past a couple of inches without glasses. I can never tell what they look like and have to press my nose up to the mirror, which makes it hard to tell which ones look good. Thankfully they let me bring a couple of pairs home so that Brad could tell me his opinion. And so that we could try them on the dog. I think she looks rather dashing...

• Our adoption paperwork is coming along sloooooooowwwwwly. I could write a whole post about how weird I am finding it to be in the process again, and the struggle I'm having with getting started, and the internal conflict I've been going through as I see hundreds of kids who are waiting for a home because of a special need or because of their age...but suffice it to say I think I have resolved most of the strange feelings and feel ready to move forward. I am excited to see where the Lord takes us with this adoption!

• Today was one of the hottest days of the year and we had chili for dinner. Why did we do that? So many deep questions.

• I need to go for a run tonight, but due to the fact that it is still super hot and I had chili for dinner...it's looking doubtful!

Water Baby

Just because inquiring minds want to know, I will tell a little about bread sauce (although I can't really put into words the total yumminess).

You make it the night before your meal by mixing breadcrumbs, milk and margarine (I believe the word my Mom used when telling me how to make it was a "dob". Nice and precise!) in a saucepan on the stove. You take an onion that has cloves stuck in it and put it in the middle of the breadcrumbs while you heat it up. Once it is nice and soupy (but not too soupy...) you take it off the heat and let it cool, then put it in the fridge overnight. It soaks up all the yummy flavor of the onion and cloves, and the next day you take the onion out, add some more milk, heat it back up, and get it to this lovely pasty texture. Then you devour it as quickly as possible along with your chicken and veggies.

Does it sound even weirder than you thought?? :)

Thank you for all the Korean recipe suggestions! I will be looking them up and figuring out which ones Matthew can eat with his food allergies.

And now on to the main point of my blog post today...swim lessons.

Tomorrow is our last day! We have had a blast (for the most part) and Matthew has loved every minute of it (except when he was crabby and tired and teething). I just have one question, though:

Who in the world would put a baby swim class at NOON?

It is probably the worst time of day to have these little ones swimming. You either have to feed them super early, when they're not hungry, or wait until afterwards, when they're...asleep. Not the best time for swim lessons. Matthew's nap schedule has been crazy and he was a very unhappy boy today, so we ended up leaving early. At least it is nice and laid back and they don't mind if you need to leave part way through.

Today Matthew went off the diving board! And by "went off" I mean he was lowered down from it from one lifeguard to another without making any splash at all :) He loved it and wanted more! My sister came today and took some pictures for me...here is the only one I am willing to post on the internet:

We are loving summer!

A Little Bit of My Culture

We talk a lot about making sure that Matthew's Korean heritage is not forgotten and trying to incorporate some of the Korean culture into our family, but I also have a heritage that is important to me, and I want that to be a part of our family as well. We are such a mixture in our family - Brad is American, I am British and Canadian, and Matthew is Korean. So fun!

My British heritage is a big part of who I am. I grew up eating some "traditional" British foods and as I've gotten older, I have learned that I want to be able to make these foods for my family. My Mom and Dad often made it for us for Sunday lunch after church. It's taken me a while but I am finally able to make this meal by myself:

Trust me, it looks kind of gross but it is DELICIOUS! It is roast chicken with roast potatoes and vegetables, and we make a special thing in our family called bread sauce. I don't know if people here make it or not, but I have never found anyone else who does (except in England). We make it all from scratch, and it is kind of strange but oh so yummy.

I wasn't sure how Matthew would feel about it, but I think this picture says it all:

He wouldn't even stop eating to look at the camera! I was so happy to find that he loved this meal and especially the bread sauce.

Now I think I need to make a Korean meal again soon...any suggestions?

Family Weekend

We had a great time with my family this weekend. My sister Sarah really misses Matthew a lot when she's away so of course she had to spend some quality time with him. We played outside and Matthew showed Sarah his rock collection :) Thrilling stuff!

On Saturday we had fun playing with Matthew's little train set (one that I had when I was little). Unfortunately, Daisie got one of the pieces and chewed it up, so we couldn't even make a circle track anymore. I tried to get a picture of Matthew playing with it but he just wanted to play peek-a-boo with his head in a toy bin!

We went to a very cool local toy store planning to try to replace one piece of track...but once my Dad and Brad saw all the track layouts, they had to buy a few extra to make it bigger. We kept asking who the toy was really for...

Matthew got in some snuggle time with Sarah while she played video games. Doesn't he look as if he could fall asleep at any moment? Maybe that's why he took a 3 hour nap today!!!

It is always so good to visit with family and we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Matthew's passport so that we can go and visit them at last!

This and That

The pictures I posted yesterday were actually taken on Monday. Matthew just would not nap and, as you could see, was not a happy camper. I laughed out loud about Stacy's comment that suggested those pictures should have been of me instead of him...yes, I did feel a bit like having a tantrum, too! And on Tuesday when Matthew was almost falling asleep during swim lessons and had to be taken home early, I barely refrained from telling him, "I told you so!" Somehow I knew that reasoning with a 19-month-old may not go that well :)

Today we have been stuck at home as the little mister has a fever. I'm pretty sure it is just because of the molar that is pushing its way through his sore little gums. He has been waking up frequently during the night and when I woke up this morning, I suddenly realized that I am starting to feel fatigue that is reminiscent of how I felt all the time when Matthew first came home. It's been a long time since we've had middle of the night snuggles...I'm trying really hard to still enjoy them :)

Adding to the exhaustion is my new love of running. For some reason I am once again addicted to running, and I have gone for a run 4 out of the last 5 days. It is so unlike me! I've discovered that it was all the work that went with running that I did not enjoy - now I go by myself in the evening after Matthew goes to bed, and it is wonderful! I don't have to pack up anything, I don't have to go at a specific time...I just go! I'm loving it.

Tomorrow my mom, dad and sister will arrive from Canada for a visit! I am so excited to see them and I know they can't wait to see how Matthew has grown and changed. We applied for his passport today so hopefully it won't be long until we can take Matthew to visit Canada for the first time! There are so many friends who are anxious to meet him. We can't wait to introduce our little man to everyone!

Wordless Wednesday {When He Won't Nap}

Peek-a-Boo Video

It's been a fun summer day around here. Brad was off work today (thank you very much, Independence Day, for falling on a Sunday this year!) and let me sleep in till 10am. Glorious! Matthew and I headed to the pool for his first ever swim lesson and we had a blast in the water together. He was exhausted but for some reason boycotted his nap this afternoon...not cool. He is getting a molar and is a bit cranky from that when he should be sleeping, but otherwise was nice and happy all day long. We played outside and had lots of laughs playing with bubbles, and after he went to bed I was able to go for a run. Now I am getting ready to settle in with some adoption paperwork, but I thought I'd share this cute video of my little man!

Saturday Getaway...and a 5k!

In a move that was very unlike me, I signed up for a 5k this week. For today. I don't know why, but I just really wanted to run one. The only one I could find for today was in a town a couple of hours away called Frankenmuth. I have heard a lot about the town, and wanted to go...so I asked Brad if we could go and spend the day there. He is usually quick to get on board with new ideas, so he promptly said, "Sure!"

We left early this morning (I had to wake Matthew up today instead the other way around!). Matthew did great in the car and has turned into a real travel pro since the North Carolina trip :)

Here he is before the race giving me my good luck kiss. Or maybe he's laughing...I'm not really sure!

I knew there would be a lot of people but I was still kind of surprised to see the crowd when we arrived. It made me super nervous!

Because the crowd was so big, I started out way too fast, but couldn't seem to do anything about it. Mile one was good, mile two was painful, and mile three was...very long.

But I made it! Brad was so sweet afterwards and said that I didn't even look like I was dying at the end like I normally do :) I took it as a compliment! I finished in 33:19 - not my fastest but still okay. I was 24th out of 58 in my age group...I was not last for once!!!!

It was so great having my boys there to support me (well, Matthew slept through the race but he was awake and ready to support me once I finished and had a Popsicle...)

The race course was really nice - we got to run through this covered bridge twice.

We spent the rest of the day walking around town and enjoying the beautiful weather. We even found a treat for Matthew that he could have - raspberry sorbet. He loved it!

We finished up the day at a huge Christmas store where we got Matthew an elephant ornament for the tree this year and a really cool advent calendar.

The day was marvelous and now we are all exhausted!