Thinking About

Thinking tonight about...

All the projects I need to get done while Brad is home from work this week!

Letters and photos to Matthew's birthmother and foster family

Send Nathan's care package (at long last!)

Organize and order photos for our family photo album...from last March onward. Yikes!

Thinking about my little boy across the world, and smiling as I think about when he will be here with us. Tomorrow's mission...find matching pajamas for Matthew and Nathan to cheer myself up and remind myself that there will be an end to this waiting and one day he will be in my arms forever.

Thinking about this little boy...

...and how much I love him! It seems like it was so long ago that I was in that agonizing wait for him to be in my arms. I am so thankful that wait is behind me and every single day I get to wake up to this smile!

Thinking tonight about how I've not kept up with running goals for the last week and how I'm going to get back to it. Sigh.

Thinking about the grocery list that needs to be made and all the new yummy meals we are going to try from my new cook book (well, I hope they'll be yummy!).

Thinking about the many blessings and challenges this year has brought, and wondering what 2011 will hold for us.

The Happiest Christmas Eve

Being with the ones I love, laughter, hugs, birthday presents, home with my sisters and my Mom and Dad and my boys, the traditional watching of "A Christmas Story", hearing my Dad laughing really loud during the movie, organizing presents under the tree and anticipating the joy of seeing everyone open them tomorrow...it's been a wonderful, happy day and I am so thankful for family, time to be together, and the most precious gift of Jesus come to earth for us.

Merry Christmas!

Thank You, Internet - You Fixed My Knee!

*Warning - to all my non-running friends, this will probably be a very boring post!  Feel free to skip this one and return when pictures of the adorable baby appear once again :) *

Well, as we know, the internet has lots of information that can help us (and it's all true, right?!?!).  I am very excited because I found something very useful on the internet last week.  I *think* I might have found a solution to my knee pain!!!  I'm kind of nervous to even say that, as though I might jinx myself by saying it and all of a sudden it will stop working!  But so far it's been a great solution.  What is it, you ask?

A rolling pin!

I have been having IT band pain for almost 2 years!  When I would run, it would start up after only a few minutes and would get to be really painful.  If I was running often, it got to where it hurt all the time, even if I was just lying on the couch.  I tried everything I could think of.  I did stretches, iced it, saw a sports doctor, did more stretches, had a cortisone shot, more ice...but it always came back as soon as I started running consistently.  It was really discouraging since I love running so much (it is still strange to hear myself say that!).

The iliotibial band runs along the outside of your leg from your hip to your knee...to be honest I don't know that much about it, but I know it was hurting a LOT!  I tried doing more research about it and found a treatment that kept appearing in running articles - using a foam roller.  It sounded great, but I don't have a foam roller.  Then I read somewhere that you can just use a rolling pin and I knew I was onto something!  I had two rolling pins anyway, and let's face it, it's not like either of them had been used that often.  So one of them has now been designated as my leg roller (Brad declared that he would be pretty grossed out if he ever saw me using it on food after it's massaged my leg!).  Basically I have been using it several times a day and rolling it on the outside of my legs.  I'm hoping to get some foam to put around it so that I can do the knee area better.  Yesterday I ran 2 miles and my knee did not hurt AT ALL!  I am so thankful to have found something that seems to be helping!

Smiles in the Snow

For those of you who were around last winter (or around the blog at least!) you may remember Matthew's reaction to snow:

Seriously, is that totally sad or what?  I think our trip outside lasted about a minute...and he hated everything about snow!  I was a little nervous about how he'd do this year but when it finally started snowing, he was very interested...from inside at least!  So we decided to bundle him up and all of us (Brad, me, Matthew, my sisters, and Daisie) headed outside for some winter fun.  We knew Daisie would be excited (and she was) and we were THRILLED that Matthew loved it too :)

He kept signing and saying "more" as emphatically as he could every time Brad stopped pulling the sled!  Poor Brad was exhausted so my sisters each took turns (I was working the camera thank goodness!).  We finally had to go inside because it was pretty cold, but from then on whenever we got close to the back door Matthew would point and say "MORE!" with a big smile.  Good news, Matthew...there will be plenty more snow for us to play in!

Happy Day

Today has been one of those all around great days. I had a visit from a sweet friend and her adorable baby boy, who just joined their family a couple of months ago. He is 14 months old and is absolutely precious, and next to him Matthew seemed SO big!

Another friend of mine stopped by today with a great gift - a coupon to join a local gym for $1 :) I had such good intentions about running outside this winter...and then it snowed. I don't really mind the snow or the cold, but I can't deal with the ice. I am going to the gym tomorrow morning and hopefully I can get in a good run. I have my eye on a 5k race on January 1st but we'll have to see...my goal is to be able to run that distance by then even if I don't run the race.

Tonight Brad took me on a date! His parents watched Matthew and we went out for dinner. It was delightful! And I had a coupon!! Do you see a theme today?!?

When we came home, we put Matthew to bed and he only got out TWICE! That is a big improvement from last Sunday's record -NINETEEN times!!!!! Seriously hoping that being consistent is going to start paying off soon.

And as if the day wasn't already good enough...I was checking my email a few minutes ago before going to bed and suddenly noticed an email from our placement agency. New pictures of Nathan!!! What an unexpected surprise and blessing! Oh, the cuteness!

I'm going to bed happy :)

When it Sneaks Up on Me

It comes over me at the most unexpected times.  The other day in a store I saw a display of Christmas ornaments - little snowmen with names at the bottom.  Matthew has one with his name on it that is hanging on our tree right now.  I wandered over to the display to find Nathan's name...but I suddenly found I couldn't see through the tears that filled my eyes.  

I want my boy home.

For the most part I think I'm doing pretty well with the waiting this time...but the ache is always there, and comes out now and then in a sigh as I watch Matthew in the tub and wonder what it will be like to have two little boys playing in the tub, or a teary smile when I see a mom with two little boys.  I never would have believed before adopting that you could miss someone you have never met.

Every day we pray for our Nathan, that he will grow big and strong, that he will stay healthy and that somehow his little heart will be prepared for what is to come.  And we pray with all our hearts that our child (and so many others who are waiting) will be able to come home much sooner than anticipated.

While we're waiting, we have been gathering items to send to Nathan in a care package.  We are sending him a shirt, a toy, a teether, a monkey lovey, a photo album, a pair of socks, and a bib.  We are also sending his foster mother a scarf.  Matthew helped me pick some of them out (of course we had to send a train bib!) and once I print out pictures for the little picture of our family to put in the album, it will be all ready to go!

I love knowing that soon these things that we picked out for Nathan will be in Korea with him!  It helps me feel a little connected to him.  If only I could climb into the package and go to Korea too... :)

We Love Our Weekends

Weekends are just the best.  We love having Brad home and it is so much fun just to be together.  Saturdays are so relaxing and every week I am reminded what a wonderful guy I am married to when he lets me sleep in so that he can spend some time alone with Matthew.  They play in the living room, watch Matthew's favorite cartoons, and sometimes head out to the *manly* home hardware stores together :)

This weekend has been so relaxing.  Today we hung around the house for the morning, and after Matthew's nap we headed to the mall and just walked for an hour and a half!  We love the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, the Christmas music playing, and being out of the house.  We didn't buy a single thing!

I also got to fit in a run today and I was so happy because I ran 2 miles again and my knee did not hurt at all!  I ran on Monday, did a workout video yesterday, and ran today so that means I met my goal for the week.  I'm looking forward to this week and hoping I can stay on track!

Cake and a Christmas Tree

On Saturday we had a birthday celebration for Matthew.  We kept it kind of small with just family and had a fun time eating dinner, cake, and opening presents.  I was determined to make a special cake for Matthew even though (as you may have noticed) cooking is just not my thing.  I must admit I felt pretty proud of my creation - free of egg, milk, and nuts...and pretty darn tasty if I do say so myself!

I think that Matthew's cousin, Ben, enjoyed it!  Either that or he was trying to avoid getting any in his mouth...

On Sunday we decided it was time to go and get a Christmas tree.  Last year Matthew was sick and we were still dead tired from the whole becoming new parents thing so we just put up our fake tree.  This year we bundled up and headed out to cut one down ourselves!

Matthew's favorite part (although you can't tell it from this picture!) was riding on the wagon.  He was so excited yesterday morning when he woke up, and as we came out to the living room he kept saying, "Tree! Tree! Tree!".  You should have seen his face when I turned the lights on...priceless!  It's so fun having a little one around during the Christmas season!

Some Things Are Getting Easier

Over the last few weeks we have been stepping into new territory - the toddler years.  I refuse to say we are entering the "terrible two's" because I choose to believe that this year will be terrific and not terrible.  Please don't burst my bubble by telling me otherwise :)

As we've faced many new challenges lately, I've found it easy to become worn down and overwhelmed with this whole parenting thing.  I just really, really don't want to screw it up, and sometimes that is hard since I have no clue how to handle things!  The last few days, though, I've been reminded that although there have been new challenges as Matthew has grown, there have also been many things that are getting easier.

For example...

• Eating is way easier these days.  Not only have we figured out how to manage his food allergies (and he's got the smoothest, most eczema-free skin I've ever seen by the way!!!) but now that he can feed himself I actually get to eat!  With both my hands!  That is a blessing and even though it's been that way for a while, sometimes it's good to remember how much work meals used to be.

• Communication:  This is one that could be placed on the "easier" and "harder" list right now.  Matthew is talking a ton and most of the time we can figure out what he wants/needs, which helps a lot.  On the other hand, his lack of ability to communicate is often what causes the meltdowns.  Still, hearing him talk and learn new words has been so amazing, and lately he has been getting so expressive.  This is him telling me that his food was "hot" yesterday (although it wasn't...we haven't mastered "warm" yet!).
  
  

• Trips out are so much easier now.  It used to take me so long to pack up and get ready.  Now we are pros at getting out the door in no time flat!  It also helps that he can walk (this came in very handy today when I was carrying 13 library books!  I was glad to hold his hand instead of carrying 27 extra pounds!)

• Taking pictures: easier!  He loves to smile for the camera now :)
  
  

• Reading books - now that Matthew's attention span is getting longer we can actually read real stories!!!  Love this!
  

I'm sure every age has different challenges and different advantages.  I keep finding myself saying "Oh, this is my favorite age for sure!" to every age that Matthew is!  There are so many great things about each stage and that is the only thing that keeps me from being sad that my little boy is growing up (sniff, sniff).  

It's only been one day, but so far...two is for sure my favorite age!

Look Who's Two!

What to say about my very handsome

two-year-old?

Yesterday was Little Man's birthday!

Today I looked at him as we sat on the couch reading a book together and just shook my head in wonder.  How is it that I am so blessed?  Every day, every moment with my sweet boy is a gift...even the hard ones.  This last year has had its rough moments, but it has also been without a doubt the best year ever.  Matthew has grown from a squishy baby into a funny, charming, sweet little boy and it has been amazing to see the transformation.  I'm thinking that the year ahead is going to be one big adventure :)  Thank you, God, for the blessing of this little boy!