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!