back to school

After four wonderful months of staying at home with Sam, I went back to work this week.  It's not as bad as it sounds though because I am only working part-time.  While I would love to be able to stay at home full time, no one has offered to send us a check for doing nothing or to pay our bills, so the trusty 'ole paycheck is still needed.  Since Jeremy travels certain days of the week, I will be at home those days and will work on the days he's home.  This allows one of us to be at home with Sam and to not use daycare/babysitter, which is important to us.  {I'm not knocking daycares or babysitters...unless it's the daycare I worked at in college..it was unfit for your pet goldfish!}

My return to work has been harder on me than it has been on those in the house with the XY chromosomes.  On top of the typical worries that a mom has when not with her child, I worry that my being away from him will damage the bond that we have or that he'll think I'm not coming back and on and on it goes.

To the working moms who know all to well what it means to leave your children for the day, carrying worry and guilt with you as you drive off, I have a new found respect for you!  And, to the adoptive working moms, who know what it's like to worry about bonding, attachment, feelings of abandonment, and all the other worries going through our minds, I understand!

Working moms have a heavy load to carry.  I've only been carrying it for a few days, and I'm worn out physically and mentally!  Thankfully, there's One who promises rest for our souls, and it's to Him that I must go.

May we all find our rest in Him and cherish each and every moment that we do have with the sweet babies God has given us!

friday night special: bibimbap

Friday night found Sam and I taking a trip around the world with our taste buds once again.  On the menu:  bibimbap, a Korean dish that basically means "mixed rice."  Bibimbap holds a special place in my heart because it was the first Korean dish that I ever ate.  It was served at a traditional Korean dinner that we attended with the president of the agency during our first trip to SK.  This was also the day that we met Sam for the first time :).

Cooking Korean food with Sam on Friday nights has become the highlight of my week.  It's such a sweet time with my favorite little boy on the planet!  I wish I could accurately describe the look on his face when I start heating sesame oil in the skillet.  It's as if his nose carries him to the kitchen and keeps him glued as close to the stove as I'll let him get.  When the finished product is finally placed on the table, he sticks his little nose in his bowl and breathes in deeply, savoring the smell of comfort.

I know a day is coming when he'll turn into one of those funny creatures known as teenagers and spending Friday nights at home with mom will probably not be the highlight of his week, but for now I'll breathe in deeply and savor the moments I have with my sweet Sam!

re-adoption paperwork--completed and filed

Although Sam's adoption was finalized in SK, we knew that we had to readopt him here.  This would allow us to legally change his name and apply for a Tennessee "birth certificate."  It wasn't something I was looking forward to doing because I knew there would be paperwork involved (which I think I'm allergic to thanks to the overexposure of paperwork that I've suffered as a SPED teacher).

When we received Sam's citizenship certificate in the mail last month, I knew that my excuses for procrastination were used up; I had to suck it up and start working on gathering the necessary documents.

After another few weeks of procrastination, I finally had everything ready to go this week.  So, several ink cartridges and paper cuts later, we filed our petition for re-adoption in court this morning!

"FILED" one little word that takes a huge load off my mind.

We had to submit FOUR stacks of paperwork like this.  This is our copy to keep.

Friday Nights w/ Sam

1.  How I love the plethora of recipes on Pinterest and Friday night dates w/ my sweet boy!

2.  Sam continued to take huge bites of deliciousness all the way through his second bowl, washing all of it down with chocolate milk.

3.  That face.  My heart is melted.

four months home!

I had no clue that the past four months would find me learning the names of every Thomas the Train character ever created.  Or, that I would be saying things like,"No! Don't pee in the cats' water bowl."  I also didn't know that I would be waking up each morning and reading the same two choo-choo books over and over.  Nor did I realize that my chair would become the hiding place for a certain little boy's favorite toys.

Four months ago, we brought our sweet boy home, and our lives were forever changed.  We will always thank God that He saw fit to bless us with Sam, who fills our house with so much joy and laughter.

Sam, we can't believe it's been four months since we brought you home.  Your uppa and I have enjoyed each and every moment with you.   Always remember, you are the child of our heart, and we will love you forever and ever!!!

a new way of watering flowers

After suitcase living for the past two weeks, we're back in our house and our normal routine.  Being in Pigeon Forge was wonderful and visiting the homeland is always my favorite, but I must say it feels good to hang around the house all day without having anywhere to be.  There was plenty of housework for me to catch up on, but Sam saw that I took frequent breaks for playtime.  Since it's hard for me to resist that sweet voice and tiny hand tugging on mine, there were several chores that didn't get done...oh, well, they'll be there for another day.

An outside chore that I've passed on to Sam is watering the flowers, which he loves because it puts him in complete control of the water hose.  While watching him do his thing, I was reminded once again that this little boy has his own way of doing things.  Sam's method of watering the flowers involves drinking from the hose to fill his mouth with as much water as possible and then showering all of the water onto the thirsty little flowers below (and to think that all these years I've been watering my flowers wrong).  The flowers were thankful for the [secondhand] water, and I'm  thankful for my sweet boy who makes the most mundane tasks memorable.

Now, I'm off to work on a list of additional chores that Sam can apply his creativity to ;).