save it for when you're older

Sam,
The speed at which you've learned a new language has astonished us.  I don't know of one adult who would be able to go to another country and learn the language in less than six months.  It's a difficult but incredible feat to be sure.  For all the happiness that I feel at your ability to understand and use English, I'm left feeling a bit, um, irked at your use of one particular word.  The word no.  Out of all the new words you've learned, this one seems to be your favorite evidenced by the fact that you use it with surprising frequency.  I'm left wondering--really, must you use it so much??  It's starting to make my eye twitch.

To ease the twitching of my eye and to keep you from further overuse of this word, I'm going to give you some guidelines for when you should (and should not) use the word no.

First of all, it's best not to use this word when talking to your Uppa or me, especially when we're saying something like, "Pick up your toys." or "Eat your peas."

Second, this is one of those words that I want you to overuse when you become a teenager.  Use it all the time when your classmates and friends try to get you to do something stupid.  Use it on yourself when you're tempted to not do the right thing.  By all means, use it with abandon in these situations!

Third, using this word when we ask if you just let Pepper eat off your spoon or if you just pulled Roux's tail is wrong since more times than not, based on past occurrences,  you should answer those questions with a yes.

Finally, the use of no at any age is acceptable and encouraged when you're asked a question like, "Is there any mama on the planet that's as awesome as yours?"

The best thing you can say in response to this and to all other requests and instruction from your marvelous parents is, "yes, of course!"  Adding in a "I have the best parents in the world!" wouldn't hurt ;).

~Love, your totally cool and always awesome mama~

friday night special: Korean Beef Stew w/ a side of computer problems

Thanks to computer problems that occur when the only person in the house who knows how to fix it is out of town, this post about the latest Friday night special is late.  This seems to fit with my mantra of late, "better late than never."

For this supper, I enlisted the help of my BFF, Crockpot, because she does an excellent job of making supper all on her own, leaving me with time to play with a certain little two year old.

Because of the previously mentioned computer problems, this post has no pictures :(.  So, close your eyes and picture what I'm about to describe...first, picture a steaming bowl of yummy goodness also called, Korean Beef Stew.  Then, picture our 100 lb canine vacuum cleaner planted beneath Sam's chair, eagerly waiting for the crumbs to fall.  Finally, picture Sam using the straw from his milk to drink the broth--made from rice wine, soy sauce, ginger, etc--from his bowl of stew.  I've decided that I'll save money next time by leaving out the beef, simply making the broth and calling it "Korean Soup."  Give Sam a straw, and he'll be as happy as a lark :).

Sam, I hope the memories of these Friday nights will fill our hearts for years to come and keep us warm when we're out in the cold, harsh world.  And, may they point us to the Father, who loves us and blesses us with times like these!

friday night special: jeyook bokkeum

Today brought a little of the unexpected.  Flat tire.  Two hours of waiting for roadside assistance. Occupying chairs in the local Firestone for two solid hours while waiting for new wheels.  And, the last unexpected event that I could handle came this evening when I found myself actually saying the words, "No, that's the cat's hiney!"

On a day like today, I'm especially thankful for the routine and expected, like the Friday night special.  This week's was Jeyook Bokkeum, a spicy Korean pork dish.  Sam left the table with a full tummy and a smile, so I think he liked it :).

P.S.  I'm vowing not to leave the house tomorrow.  Maybe this will keep some of the unexpected away from Sam and me....we had all we could handle of that today.

six months home

Six months ago, our adoption journey had come to a glorious end!  The precious child that we had carried in our hearts for years, knew only through progress reports and loved through pictures was now where he belonged--in our arms.

These days, with the memories of that journey still freshly written on the walls of our hearts, we relish the times that we have with our sweet Sam, and we give thanks to the Author of adoption who has blessed us in more ways than we can count.  Our hearts are humbled by His goodness.

P.S. Let me say that a mark of a good man is one who will carry his wife's purse without complaint.  I'm thankful for the numerous times since that day in the airport that Jeremy has carried my purse while I've had my hands full with Sam.  Just one of the many things that I love about him :).

friday night special: chamchijeon & kimchi fried rice

Tuna.  I'm not sure who in this house loves it more--Sam or our two furry felines.  So, when I found a Korean recipe based around tuna, I knew that Sam and I had to try it out.  With recipe in hand, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work.  The result of our hard work was chamchijeon, which are little tuna cakes.  (Something similar here would be crab cakes.)  And, to go along with these little bites of deliciousness, we made kimchi fried rice.

Inspired by the fall-like weather, I thought this would be the perfect time to teach Sam the word, "picnic."  He was all about having a picnic and eating our supper outside :).

Thanks to those nasty little insects known as mosquitoes, we couldn't play in the yard for very long after supper, so it was to the Lego table we went because nothing says fun like Legos, especially when you have newly acquired choo-choos that can go on the Lego table!

Grandparents' Day

In honor of Grandparents' Day, Sam spent time earlier in the week making cards for all of his grandparents--several of whom are his great-grandparents.  He painted, doodled, and signed each one before helping me send them off in the mail.  I know he's too young to understand why exactly I had him make these cards, but he's  not too young to understand the love his grandparents shower him with when we see them!  If you're a grandparent reading this, Happy Grandparents' Day!  Where would the world be without grandparents to pass on their love and wisdom?!?  If you're not a grandparent, go hug your grandparents and tell them how much you appreciate them!  The time we have with them is never enough.

,

Notice the card in the back that's for "Dat."  He insisted on making one for his Uncle Matt, aka Dat, because he was sending one to Nana :).

In memory of the best grandparent in the world...DP, how I wish Sam could know you!  He would adore you just like we do.  Although you're not here with us, your legacy of faith and love lives on as we tell Sam about you and teach him about the God you served so faithfully while you were on this Earth.  Love you and see you in heaven one day!!

pizza, Thomas the Train, and memories made

Friday night Sam and I turned our kitchen into a pizza parlor and made Kimchi Pizza.  Kimchi--the national dish of SK-- is fermented cabbage.  Trust me when I say it has a very pungent smell and taste.  In my humble opinion, the only way to eat it is with lots of bacon on top of pizza ;).  While the finished product has not been our favorite dish made so far, the process of making it was the stuff memories are made of.  Sam helped roll out the dough, "chop" the kimchi, and taste test along the way.  The rolling pin he used to roll the dough belonged to my great-grandmother, and as I watched him, I couldn't help but think that she had no idea her rolling pin would be used to make kimchi pizza or that it would be used by her great-great grandson who joined her family all the way from SK.  If she was seeing this scene from heaven, I hope it brought a smile to her face.

After counting down for the past month, this morning was the BIG day for Sam---the day he was going to meet Thomas the Train!!  We had a blast watching our sweet boy take it all in and enjoy his special day.

Sir Topham Hatt made an appearance and took pictures with all the kiddos.  While waiting for our turn to meet the Railway Conductor, I kept thinking that Sam was going to freak out and have one of those "Santa Claus moments"--you know those moments when kids are screaming at the sight of Santa but parents take the picture anyway.  Surprisingly, we didn't have one of those moments.  Sam told him hello and took his picture with him; although when I asked if he wanted to stand next to him, he was quick to say no {understandable since the costume was a little on the creepy side}.  Once we got on the train, Sam spent most of his time looking out the window and exclaiming over all that he spotted; it's not every day that you get to view the world from inside a train car that the Number One Blue Engine is pulling :0).

In spite of the heat, it was a GREAT day with our sweet Sam!! There's truly  nothing better than making memories with our favorite little boy!  And, since he has the memory of an elephant, we'll be reliving this day for a long time to come as we talk about it over and over and over again.