Busy

It's been a busy, busy week.  And I am tired.  The boys just spent over an hour playing in their room (making a surprisingly small mess, too!) and I was flat on my back on the couch trying to get up the energy to do something.  

Look, it worked - I'm blogging!

Earlier this week, Nathan had a CT scan scheduled, so he and I were up  at 5:30am to head to the hospital.  This was my first time going it alone for a procedure like this and I was a little nervous about it, but Nathan was such a trooper and did really well.  He had to be sedated (since he can't sit still for 10 seconds, let alone an hour!) and he had as can done of his inner/middle ears and also his right eye.  We are looking into the possibility of surgery to improve or maybe even restore his hearing, and this is the first step!  Also, he has a dermoid cyst on his right eye that his eye doc wanted a picture of if he was ever having a scan done (this is not anything we're worried about).  

Nathan had a bit of a difficult time before he got his happy juice, but bubbles did help :)

Everything went well and as soon as he woke up he wanted to eat, eat, eat!  We were home by about 10:30am and he was fine the rest of the day.

What else have I been up to...well, I've been busy in the kitchen!  

Every single day, without fail, I think to myself, "Dinner again?  Seriously, do I really have to make dinner again?".  I kind of got in a bit of a funk and let's just say we weren't eating very well.  

I had the idea that maybe making freezer meals in large batches would be good for me to try, so I got organized, made a list of meals I was going to make, bought my groceries, asked Brad to take the kids outside for a couple of hours, and voila!

I was able to make 15 freezer meals in just under 2.5 hours!  Some of these are complete meals and some of them are just the main dish and I will just have to make a side dish (for example, I made meatloaf and will just make some potatoes and a vegetable at dinner time).  A lot of them just thaw in the fridge for a day and then I will pop them in the crock pot.  I'm pretty excited about not having to think too much about dinner for the next two weeks!  I will definitely be doing this again.

I'm loving Pintrest these days and getting some great ideas.  The best part - I'm actually doing them instead of just thinking what good ideas they are!  I'm looking forward to sharing some more projects soon!

Fun Fall Memories!

It's a beautiful day in our corner of the world!  The boys have transitioned down to no naps (boo!) but honestly I am finding this really opens up the day and seems to give us a ton more time to do fun things.  Today after lunch we made some colored rice, and the boys have been happily playing with it for over an hour!

Every Fall I look forward to our trip to the local apple orchard, and yesterday we had absolutely perfect weather so we decided to spend the afternoon outside.  My sister and a friend joined us and it was just lovely!

Nathan's favorite part - the goats!

Matthew's favorite part - his very first pony ride!  I thought he would be scared but when I said I'd be just behind the rope waiting with Daddy he shouted, "Alright, Mom!" and then he was off with a big smile on his face!

After all this excitement we snagged a table and enjoyed some apples and freshly made donuts.  Yum!  I made Matthew some homemade donuts and he and Nathan both devoured those.  Then the kids all ran around like crazy with a sugar high :)

Then we attempted a family picture...which is always fun with two toddlers!

We got some apple cider to bring home and Nathan insisted on carrying it!

Brad and I have been going to this same apple orchard since before we had kids and every year I find myself thinking about past years and marveling at how our lives have changed in the last few years.  It's hard to believe next year there will be another little one running around, too!

LID...And Then There Were Three!

We got good news this morning - our dossier was logged in with China on 9/21/12!

Just another step closer :)

In other news, someone new has joined our Stinky Family!

No, our family is not stinky :)  But we have three little blankies who are the Stinky Family.

When Matthew was little we got him his blue bear blanket.  The kid seriously loves this bear.  He used to drool a lot (Matthew, not the bear), and chew on the bear's ears, and it would get all stinky.  I started saying things like, "Where's your stinky bear?"  and, "Oh, that bear is so stinky!" and somehow it accidentally stuck.

And so the bear's name became Stinky.

When Nathan came along, so did another little blanket.  His had a monkey head on it, and when I was trying to explain to Matthew (who was then 2) what it was, I would say, "It's Nathan's Monkey Stinky."

And it stuck.  Monkey Stinky it is.

Well, as soon as we found out about Hannah we knew she couldn't be left out.  When my sister got her this beautiful, soft, pink blanket I knew instantly what we would call it:

Pinky Stinky :)

We are excited to have another Stinky member but we're really looking forward to the day when we have another family member!

Time to Shop!

Before getting the wonderful news about Hannah yesterday, we got other great news from our agency.  In a couple of weeks, someone from our placement agency will be going to China and visiting the city where Hannah is!  This is great news because it means that we get to send a care package to our girlie!

Until now, we have not been able to send a care package, and I wasn't sure we'd get to send one at all so this was very exciting news!  We sent one to both of the boys and I was disappointed to think that we wouldn't be able to tell Hannah one day about how we shopped for her and sent her a package while we were waiting for her to come home.

Today was a happy day (again) because I went shopping (without children!).  It was a lot easier this time as I had a general idea how much stuff I can get into a one gallon ziplock bag :)

Here's what I ended up with:

For the foster family:
* Werthers candies
* Jelly beans
* Note paper

For Hannah:
* A teething bead toy
* A little outfit
* A bib
* A photo book (ordered the photos tonight!)
* A bear lovey

I am hoping to get it in the mail tomorrow.  It's so funny, with Matthew and Nathan's care packages it took me so long to get it together and send it out.  It seems like the more children I have, the more productive I am!  So when Hannah comes home, that means I'll be super productive...right?!?!!

Oh Happy Day: Hannah Update!!!

Sometimes God answers such specific prayers, it blows my socks off!

On Friday, I was talking with another adoptive mama about how detached I feel this time around.  We have two pictures of Hannah from when she was five months old, and as time goes on, I find that I am just not feeling very much at all because it doesn't feel very real.  On the way home from my friend's house, I was talking to God about this and I asked Him to please, please let us get our update on Monday because it was time for me to feel more, care more, pray more for our daughter.  I don't want to be detached anymore, even if it makes my heart hurt more.

My hand went to my mouth and I gasped as I opened my email this afternoon and saw our case worker's name in my inbox with the subject: UPDATE!!

I opened it to find the sweetest little pictures of our beautiful girl!

I mean, really, could she be any more precious?  She looks so different from the last pictures we have!  I love her hair, her sweet little lips, her feet (which if the update is correct are almost the same size as Matthew's!!)...I love everything about her!

We also got a two-page update (which I have read no less than 100 times already!).  A few highlights:

*  Wonderful news - Hannah has been with a foster family and not in an orphanage since birth like we believed!  We are so thankful for this and to know that she is being cared for by a family.

*  She weighs 17.6 pounds (at 14 months old)

*  She has 8 teeth

*  She is introverted, timid, afraid of strangers

*  She loves all kinds of toys and likes being cuddled outside to play :)

*  She sleeps well with adults (uh-oh!  looks like lots more co-sleeping is in our future!!!)

*  She is saying some words and can follow adults orders (which is amazing - we had no idea if she even had any hearing!!!)

*  She can sit freely, turn over, stand for a while with holding

*  When she is crying, she can calm down by giving her snacks (this one made me laugh - she will fit right in around here!!)

*  She likes to eat porridge, eggs, meat soup, bananas, and has a good appetite

I can't explain it, but it is just so good to know more about her.  It does make my heart hurt, and the waiting harder, but I'm so thankful to know.  I hope and pray that in less than five months she will be home with us!!!!!  That is really not long...but tonight, I feel like I can't wait another minute!

A Cute Little Sleeper

It doesn't matter where or when...

he's stinking adorable

and perfectly peaceful...

my precious sleepy boy!