the story this coat tells.

Seeing Sam in this coat causes my mind to travel to another time and place.

Back to SK, back to the first time I saw him..walking in all bundled up--snug and warm, protected from the cold temperatures of a January day.  Me sitting there thinking that it was apparent his foster mom took good care of him.

Next to the day we took custody, the day we became official, the hardest and best day of my life.  The weather was still cold even though it was March, so he came again with the coat on.  After formalities and tears and goodbyes, we took our son, bundled in his thick green coat, up to our room and began the monumental task of becoming a family of three while parenting a child that was traumatized and grieving.  Our room was hot; Sam was sweaty and crying.  We tried to take his coat off, but he freaked out.  Back on the coat went.  Zipped all the way up.  He cried himself to sleep that night and slept in his coat.

Then to the morning after...we were finally able to stem the tide of tears by playing with him in the halls and kitchen of the guest house--distraction at it's best, bonding at it's best.  He's clad in pajamas, black shoes, green coat zipped up all the way.  All the running around causes him to get too hot.  Up came the milk that was in his stomach.  All over the coat.  Grossed him out.  Off came the coat.  Into the washer it went.  Once it was clean, we hid it in the suitcase to keep him from having another meltdown.

We're home from SK, home with our sweet Sam...for the first couple of days home, if he saw his shoes or coat, he would insist on putting them on.  Like he was waiting to be taken back to the life he knew.  Slowly, ever so slowly, this stopped, and we didn't have to keep the shoes out of sight.  March in TN is very different than March in SK, so the coat stayed put away.

This past fall, this winter rolls around and out comes the green coat.  Would seeing it trigger a memory?  Would he remember the trauma and grief?  Was having him wear it again a good idea?  Discussion between me and Jeremy; decision made.  With a hope and a prayer, we show it to Sam.  Put your coat on we say; it's very, very cold.  No meltdown.  No freak out.  No tears.  Praise the Lord!

Writing this has caused tears to well up in my eyes because the story of this little green coat is all too real.  The trauma and grief that Sam went through was heartbreaking to watch, but thanks be to our Heavenly Father for not leaving us in that place with the green coat on, zipped all the way up!  Not only has God healed Sam's heart, He has bonded us together as a family of three and allowed Sam to flourish in his new environment.  Spending a lifetime thanking God for this would not be enough.

friday night special and drinking with the cat

I'm sure my few faithful readers of this blog are waiting with bated breath to find out what Sam and I made for the Friday night special ;).  Well, I will keep you in suspense no longer...drum roll......we made a pizza using goguma, which are Korean sweet potatoes (different in taste and appearance than our sweet potatoes).

Now Sam does NOT like potatoes no matter how they are fixed.  He will eat french fries when he's really hungry but on a normal day, he gives them to Jeremy to eat.  Mashed potatoes are a definite no and usually induces the gag reflex.  Roasted potatoes cut into cute little cubes are also unacceptable, and you can forget potato salad!

I thought maybe it was because our potatoes are different in taste and texture, so I decided to try goguma and, for good measure, hide them under lots and lots of cheese.  Notice there's no picture of him smiling happily as he eats huge bites of the pizza we made??  Um, that's because he found the strategically placed goguma hiding under the cheese, and suddenly, he was "all done eating."  This ends my attempts at introducing him to the wonderful flavor of potatoes.  Maybe one day he'll like them, but until then, I'll just eat his share of mashed potatoes :).

That's it for the latest Friday night special...onto something else that happened on Friday.  This one involving drinking.  {Readers, please, excuse me while I talk directly to Sam.}

Sam,

You have at your disposal all the delicious chocolate milk (made like Mammaw Barbara fixes it) you could ask for; you have an unending supply of apple juice boxes and cold water by the gallon.  What more is there that could quench your thirst???  After what I observed Friday, apparently, a good thirst quencher is found in the cat's water bowl.  You didn't notice when I walked into the bathroom and saw you kneeling down, scooping water with your paw hand, and PUTTING IT IN YOUR MOUTH.  You didn't see me, but I saw you.  And, all I have to say about this is that drinking from the cat's water bowl is unacceptable in every imaginable situation.  So, let that be your last time of drinking with Roux the Cat.

donuts masquerading as fried pies & a plan to fund Sam's college

This Friday, Sam and I got adventurous and decided to try a Korean dessert, specifically Chapssal Donuts.  They're made using a sweetened red bean paste as the stuffing.  (Fun fact:  red beans are found in quite a few Korean desserts. ) Now, I know what you're thinking, but trust me when I say that it was good!  Sam, who doesn't even like beans, ate them up.  You can't even tell that they're beans, and besides, we live in the South where anything put in dough and deep fried sells out at every State Fair below the Mason Dixon Line!  Hmmm...maybe Sam and I should perfect the recipe and try selling them at the State Fair...I think we could get some college fund money or at the very least gas money for his Crazy Coupe.

Notice there's no picture of these donuts because they looked terrible!  They were supposed to turn out as nice round balls with this delicious stuffing on the inside...well, when you're using a recipe that's in grams and trying to half it and convert it to cups, things sometimes go awry.  Our dough wasn't wanting to cooperate (read stay together to form that nice, round ball), so we went all Southern and made them like you would make a fried pie.  Looks aside, they were fun to make and to eat!

Along with this dessert, we had to eat "real food."  So, we made a trusty favorite--Korean Stir Fry using a wok that my dearest friend surprised Sam and me with.  After a long, blah work day coming home to a surprise delivery was just what my spirit needed.  And, the wok worked wonderfully!  Cooking Korean food in a wok made realize that I feel kind of...official.  Like the process and ingredients of this culture's food isn't as foreign to me anymore.  A good feeling indeed.

her choice changed everything.

 Today in our nation's capital, thousands have gathered to take a stand against abortion and March for Life.  (This is an annual event that marks the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which has resulted in over 50 million babies being aborted.)

When your heart has been touched by adoption, like ours has, abortion becomes more than a news story.  You realize it for what it is: a choice that could have been made by your child's birth mother. This is a realization that never fails to make me shudder at the very thought.  It's a realization that always causes my eyes to well with tears and my heart to overflow with thankfulness.  Thankfulness that my arms hold the precious child of my heart.  Thankfulness that our house rings with the sounds of a three year old.  Thankfulness for the blessing of adoption and forever families. 

And, most of all, thankfulness for one very courageous woman.  In spite of what it could cost her, she chose LIFE.   Because of her choice, our family, our lives, and our hearts will never be the same.

did you see that? it was the finish line!

This time last year, we were in SK.  After waiting for what seemed like years, we boarded a plane, flew halfway around the world, and anxiously awaited the moment when we would meet our son.  We were nervous, relieved, excited, happy, scared, overjoyed, and overwhelmed. Above all, we were THANKFUL that our time of radio silence, our time of waiting and wondering, our time of expecting/hoping/dreaming, our time of white knuckle gripping our tiny mustard seed of faith was drawing to a close.  Our adoption journey finish line was in sight, and not even a Boeing 777 could get me there fast enough!

Just like parents who never forget their time in the delivery room, we will never forget the day we first laid eyes on the child that we had carried in our hearts.  I have thought of that day a lot during this past year, marveling at the goodness of my Heavenly Father.  How amazing that He would choose two very imperfect people to parent one of His precious children.


Now one year later, we're making Korean BBQ Chicken pizza for the Friday night special and playing choo-choos like we've never been apart. Truly amazing.

"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy."  Psalm 126:3

recent happenings

To keep a blog current, one needs a working computer (which I no longer have since mine finally, after threatening it for the past two months, gave up the ghost) OR one needs husband's work computer, which isn't being used because husband is watching football.  Yay for football and for husband's who let their work computer be used for things besides work :).

Wanted--one long, uninterrupted nap:  Let me just say that I am still tired from Christmas "break."  My poor house is evidence of the fact that I'm dragging my tail feathers behind me and can't seem to catch up on sleep or housework.  {I am maintaining it enough that if Sam were to eat off the floor, which he's been known to do, that he wouldn't need a tetanus shot.}

Sam's New Hobby:  Sam got invited to his first birthday party, which he was very excited about.  I figured out what he was mostly excited for when he said, "Open up presents?"  We had to have the talk that he opened presents at his party in November, and now it's Callie's turn to open presents.  Ever since Christmas, his new hobby is opening presents..even ones that don't have his name on them.

One bottle of aspirin and earplugs, please:  Did I mention the party was at Chuck E. Cheese????  When we were leaving, Sam was asking me if he could play more tomorrow at Chuck E. Cheese...of course, I responded as I quickly hightailed it out of there.  He doesn't need to know that it'll probably be many, many tomorrows before we return to the Place Where Time Stands Still.

Having a Party for "No Good Reason:"  Sam woke up from nap on Friday crying to go to the party and not understanding that the party wasn't until Saturday.  This led to us deciding to have a pre-party party for the Friday night special.  After making and eating PB&J "sushi rolls," we ate cheesecake and ice cream.  And, we played everyone's favorite party game, Pin the SmokeStack on Thomas, which made for some very funny pictures--you know those kind of pictures that you turn in to the yearbook or senior slideshow ;).

WarrenFamily3.0 Christmas Special

Last year, as we waited for the BIG day, 

we were celebrating our final Christmas as a family of two.

This year, we had our sweet Sam HOME where he belongs and had an incredible time celebrating our first Christmas as a family of three.   The memories we made were plentiful and will be thought of often; they'll no doubt fill our hearts with warmth each and every time we sit and remember.

To the Giver of every good and perfect gift, thank you for the precious gift of allowing us to be Sam's parents.  May we honor You in the way we raise him, always pointing him to his Heavenly Father.