So I know I have been promising this post for a while now, but between work, errands, trying to stay warm (hel-lo cold weather!), and the excitement of getting updated photos of Baby J, it's been crazy trying to find a time to sit down and write. I had actually received an email from our SW this past Monday about the main office having pictures of J, and then she proceeds to tell me that they are going through snail mail!! Even though I knew there was no WAY those pictures could be in my mailbox that day, I ran out there and checked. Sure enough, nothing. But, we finally got them and they were worth the wait! He is so adorable. I cannot wait to have him in my arms forever!! So here's the rest of the post (it is long and has a lot of pictures, just to forewarn you!).
Chris and I opened gifts before going to his family's for the holiday. He got me a pair of nice warm slippers that I wanted and a pair of very nice boots that he surprised me with. I also got a snowflake necklace that I had asked for; he picked out the design, though, and I have received lots of compliments on it from patients/co-workers at work. I got him some hunting items from Cabelas that he asked for as well as this mug:
He has been using this every day since he got it. I found it on the same website that I found the "Expecting a precious child from South Korea" shirt. Love it!
The Christmas holiday was spent with Chris' family: Taylor Christmas Vacation 2009, Day "X"! We got there Christmas Day at noon and spent the rest of the day visiting with family at their various houses. His older brother's family drove through the blizzard that day, but made it safe and sound, if somewhat tired, for a late dinner. Of course, Grandma Mary and our two nephews wanted to open presents that night. The boys had obviously been good this year, evidenced by the pile of gifts that they were each surrounded by!
grandma Mary, Zach, and grandpa Gerry
And no, Noah did not get a case of beer for Christmas!!
The next day, "the boys" mostly played video games and me and my SIL's got down to our holiday business...puzzles. Yes, we spend our holidays putting together puzzles, and we don't choose the easy ones!! It is something we all like to do, but don't have time to do during our daily lives, so we see how quickly we can put some together over the holiday/vacation. This time, we were able to finish the first one (which was very hard and we were all sick of by the end!) and had most of the second one completed before Chris and I left two days later. Here, Suzanne is hard at work trying to finish up our first one:
The last full day we were there, Sunday, Chris and I went to Mass with his mom and grandma. I don't know why, but during the Our Father, I always think of my grandmothers, both of whom have passed away in the last 2 years. I miss them so much and they were both such loving, caring women that I can only hope to one day emulate. But I completely lost it during Mass right before going up for Communion; I have no clue what people were thinking when they saw me crying my way up and then down the aisle! With this being the first Christmas after suddenly losing my mom's mom and knowing that I will never get the chance to personally introduce either of my grandmothers to my son, it was really hard for me. These holidays are bittersweet because J is growing up without us, but as we know from the pictures, he is growing up healthy and happy, thank God! And I like to think that my grandmas are sitting right there beside Him, whispering our prayers in His ears. :)
Here are some more pictures from the holidays:
the Taylor brothers do NOT smile for pictures!
Grandma and Grandpa, married 65.5 years!!
love the shirt, Zach! Go Irish!!!
Lexi found the largest dog toy in the house, I swear!! It was as big as she was!
something Jinx and Lexi do not get to do at home...
(you will always see them laying on one of us)
all four dogs that were there; it looks like Jinx is hooked to the back wall in this picture!
"The Nose and The Bandit"...I swear, they were cold!!!
When we got home, I finally got my squish book updated. All the wishes that I currently have for Baby J's quilt are in it instead of sitting in a pile. They should also all be pictured above in the slide show, so if you've sent one, look for it! I know I keep saying this, and then keep putting it off, but I am planning on starting on the quilt the end of February when I have taken a week off of work; that is, unless we are traveling or have traveled by then (don't get too excited, might be wishful thinking on my part!). I also want to get our bedroom painted before J comes home because that is not a project I can start and stop with once I get the brush wet; I plan on doing it in two-day increments, as I don't have more than that off at one stretch until that week in February.
I also got off our (possibly) final care package to a waiter friend who is going to visit her son in two weeks!! Thanks, Beth! Have fun on your trip. Hopefully we will soon be the ones carrying care packages over for others as we go to pick up Baby J!! Beth's son and Baby J have the same SW in Korea, so she is going to try to ask about him when she is there. I don't know if they'll tell her anything, but you never know. We sent another outfit to him as well as a soft book and also sent another camera and some face cream for the foster mother (I have found out from some friends that Korean women like nice face cream/anti-wrinkle cream; and you can tell, they always have such nice, smooth skin!).
if you look close, you can see my camera in the mirror taking the picture :)
We also got the stroller put together and of course, had to use our "guinea dog" to trial it out. She fit, but not as well as Baby J will!!
Finally, just some reflections about the past year, well actually, a year from last Thanksgiving. I still remember driving out to Chris' brother's for Thanksgiving of '08 and that that is when we decided we were going to go ahead with adopting a child. We had some questions for his brother and his wife, who had gone through the adoption process themselves a few years ago. They were able to answer some of our questions and dispel some of our anxieties about the process. By the middle of December, we were officially "on the list." We did not tell our families until Christmastime, as we were excited and nervous at the same time to be taking this huge step. We had decided that, more than anything, we wanted to be parents and have a child/ren whom we could love and teach. At the time we, or probably just me, was very naive about the whole adoption process; you see, I was worrying that we might have to miss my sister's wedding in July (yes, July of 2009, only 7 months after we got on the list!) because we might be traveling to get our child!! ha! Wow, did that bubble get burst quickly! Adoption is all about "hurry up and wait." Hurry to get the paperwork done for the first step, w-a-i-t for whatever is to happen to it, and then repeat...multiple times! We are finally in the last stretch of waiting. With the new year, we are hoping that things (things = emigration permits + visa interviews + travel calls) will start rolling in. Our SW told us there are about 10 children ahead of Baby J from 2009 to come home; we do not know if Eastern will be handing out their EPs in batches or what, we will just have to wait and see. We just want him home soon!
On the way home from Chris' family, I commented to him that "wouldn't it be great to get some updated pictures of Baby J?" and whaddaya know, we got some! Now I'm saying, wouldn't it be great to have a travel call for Chris' birthday, which is the beginning of February? Probably way too much to hope for, but remember, I do have a few angels up in Heaven who I KNOW have a lot of leverage with The Big Guy!
No comments:
Post a Comment