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... :)