Finally…

Word is out that EPs will start moving again next week.  Of course all of us waiting are waiting to see what happens Monday before we get too crazy.  We still have a long wait ahead of us.  At this point, once they start working on paperwork we have to see how long they are going to take to process each group.  No one knows if they are going to ‘ease’ into this, really get numbers flowing, or somewhere in between.  We don’t know how many families are ahead of us in our agency so it’s hard to even guess when we might be able to travel.  We are thankful that some of these kids are finally close to being home.  It’s beginning to feel real again.

Got Lunch?

 I am really enjoying the two days each week with Erik while Ryan is at school.  He is such a sweet and funny little guy.  It’s really only been the last couple of weeks that he has started to be interested in playing things like ‘store’.  When Ryan is around he usually follows Ryan’s lead, which means baseball, bikes, or monster trucks.  Today it was fun to be able to share some of the hard earned skills I mastered during my previous career,

the thousands of hours I spent in that hot pink ruffled Mexican blouse have finally paid off!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                 

 

 

                 

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch served daily.

Erik is very strict about us remembering to read our little children’s devotional before dinner.  Last night it was about surprises.  At the end the author asked what is something we could do that would ‘surprise’ God.  Ryan said that he would give all of himself to God.  I then asked Erik what he would do.  In brotherly love he said, “I would give him Ryan.”

A Good Day

Well, I didn’t get the ‘EPs have started’ email I was hoping for on my birthday.  I did get an email from a friend who got an email saying middle of March…but I’ll believe it when it actually happens.

I did get a fun lunch date with an old roommate that was in town for business. 

I also got beautiful flowers from Tessie.

And some very creative versions of “Happy Birthday” over the phone.

Harv took the boys to Target and they each picked out a gift for me:

1 large package of Oreos

15 Pink Peeps

1 Bag of Snickers

Oh, and a minivan.

Best of all, I got hugs and kisses all through the day from all of my boys.  It was a good day!

Worn Out

 Ryan doesn’t grow out of clothes as much as he wears out of them…

 

He ran out of socks so I let him wear a pair of mine, ONCE!  One day:

 

Most of Erik’s ‘hand me downs’ come from friends!  Play hard or go home! : )

The Wait

 We found a fun little park on Friday.  What a gorgeous Feb. afternoon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 So Harv and Ryan are at the monster truck show tonight.  I felt it was a ‘once in a lifetime’ event, no need to do it again, so Erik and I stayed home.  Erik was pretty good about staying home with me…until someone had to mention taking the train!  So I upped the perks of staying home with me: bubble bath, ice cream AND watching Olivia.  I couldn’t be happier sitting here in my warm house with a cup of tea and Erik sound asleep. 

Well, it seems I am going to need to add a few more projects to get done before Kimmy comes home.  I haven’t talked about all of that for a while because I can barely do it anymore.  It’s incredibly difficult to know that there is absolutely nothing you can do to advocate for your child.  We, along with many other parents, just have to wait with no time frame and no information on what is happening.  We could find out tomorrow afternoon (Korea’s Mon. morning) that things have started up again (a very happy birthday to me) or it could me another month, two months,…At this rate, with so many ahead of us, 2012 might not even happen for us.  It’s starting to not feel real anymore.  I found a cute little 2T winter dress on sale and my first thought was that it would be easy to fit in a Ziplock.  My FIRST thought was that she wouldn’t be here next fall/winter to wear it.  It’s beyond tragic.  I’ve seen a lot comments on the adoption message boards about people getting wiped out.  For instance, people joking that their child was going to come home and go straight into kindergarten or come home and they would have to start paying for college.  I think the part that is so painful about those kind of ‘jokes’ is that it shows that many people don’t get this whole adoption thing.  Would it be funny if their biological child was apart from them for months or years and they couldn’t do anything about it?   I was asked about when Kimmy was coming last summer.  I explained that we were in for a long wait and the response was, “Oh, well.”  You know, like when that pretty sundress you bought is backordered.  I can’t explain how or why I love this little girl so much already.  All we have is a short video and some very cute photos.  We have stats.  We know how tall she is, the number of teeth she has, and that she likes to tear apart books.  She has no connection to us.  She doesn’t love us or think about us.  But I think about her from the moment I wake up until I finally fall asleep.  I think about the first time I get to meet her and about playing dolls and giving her my dollhouse.  She’s ours. 

It makes me think about my Father.  About how He saw me.  I didn’t think about Him or love Him.  I did nothing for Him to love me.  “This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God.” (1 John 4:10) My love for our daughter is a beautiful reminder of how my heavenly Father loved me and adopted me into His family. 

 

So, we wait.  And I start Ryan’s kindergarten photo book.

Feeling Good!

Apparently, I’m a really good mom!

(on Pinterest)

The “S” Word

A few days ago Erik got up in the morning and crawled into bed with me.  After a little while he asked if he could watch a show.  I told him that he couldn’t.  He said, “Okay Mommy.  I love you.”  Yeah right!  He actually said, “You’re stupid.”  Hmmm…not my favorite way to start the day. I mean, we hadn’t even gotten up yet!  So he got to spend a while back in his room.  We had a little chat and that was it…until he and Ryan got into an argument and he called Ryan ‘stupid’.  So I dealt with that and figured that would certainly be the end of it.  Well, I guess he was on a potty- mouth role because he did it again later in the day.  By the time he was finished with the accumulating consequences he seemed to get that using that word wasn’t going to work out for him.  The next couple of days he was so good.  His mouth had a nice ‘Ivory’ scent…No, I didn’t actually wash his mouth out with soap.  But my grandma did really chase me through her living room and up the stairs with a bar when I was about eight.   Anyways, we finally made it back to church on Sunday after all of us being sick.  As we were driving there Erik told me he didn’t want to go to church.  I asked him why not.  He said, because it’s the “S” word.  So somehow that little brain of his figured out how to say it without saying it.  Oh, this boy!  And of course he had a great time at church and wanted to stay and play.

“1”

We got a couple of pictures from Kimmy’s Dol today.  Foster Mom did a beautiful job.  Her hair is a little flatter than normal because she had a little hat on. 

A Boy and His Dog

 Ruffy was looking scruffy so it was time for his first bath.  His proud owner could not have been happier about that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cuteness continues: 

A couple of days ago I heard Erik get off the couch and start running towards the kitchen where I was.  Of course I immediately heard him trip and fall.  I walked towards the living room and sure enough he was sprawled out on the floor.  He looked up at me and said, “Mommy, say ‘Safe’” 

Vans

I remember saving every dollar and dime I made in seventh grade to buy my first Vans. They were the newest and coolest thing then. They were blue and white with checkers along the bottom. Erik lucked out...Gramma bought his first pair.

Today was our last chemistry experiment. Today we learned about enzymes and temperature. It was a hit again. And we ate it for dinner!

Using warm water/warm location to rest with vs. cold water/refrigerator to get the dough to rise.

Real Science 4 Kids

My Little Valentines

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

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And this is how we end!