Fortune Cookies

Sometimes you just need a little reminder of what you have.

It doesn't have to knock you down or punch you in the gut to get your attention, but it stops you in your tracks just the same.  I had one of those gentle reminders tonight after dinner.

After meeting my husband and son for a great dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant after work, we got our fortune cookies.  I read mine and "stopped in my tracks."

You see, I sometimes wonder yet if our family is complete; most of the time, I feel it is.  I have been blessed with a wonderful husband and an amazing child.  But at other times -- you know, those times I torture myself by looking at the photolistings of waiting children who need loving homes -- I feel like we could add one more.  After hearing of a sibling call this past week and seeing a couple pictures of cuties waiting for their forever families, as well as more people pregnant at work and both siblings having more than one child now, I have had the "itch" recently to give Boo a sibling.

Last night, I asked God to open our hearts to another child if that is what is meant for our family, or to give me a sign if our family is complete.  I got whacked over the head with the answer tonight.

My fortune?

"Stop searching forever, happiness is just next to you."

Literally.

Okay, okay, I'm listening.

Let the Season begin...!!

I love Christmas.

I love the sense of joy everyone has at this time of year, I love the Christmas carols, and I love giving gifts. Yes, I enjoy getting them as well, but I get absolutely giddy when I have a gift for someone that I believe they will love, and cannot wait to give it to them.  That usually results in me being the one to push opening presents so that I can see their reaction!

This year, Boo has been helping with the season preparation.  We started listening to Christmas carols three days after Thanksgiving (on the way home from my family's holiday celebrations; will post more on that later) and he has been asking to hear Jingle Bells ever since!

This weekend we got our tree, which had to be sniff-tested first:

 helping haul the tree with Dada

the naked tree

our little Santa boy

Sunday night with lights and a fire going.

Oooohhh, have I mentioned I love this season?!

Last night, Chris and I decided to put together the train table we bought back in the spring for what was supposed to be Boo's Gotcha Day present.  After we got it, we decided to give it to him once the weather got colder because he loves being outside and we didn't want to give him a gift that would keep him inside when the weather was warm.  And wow, were we right!!!!  His reaction this morning was milder than I thought it would be:

...BUT, we had to make him stop to eat and then go to the grocery store with us later!!  

"I'm playing."

Also, when Chris put him down for his nap, he was quiet for about 45 minutes and then started crying.  When Chris went up and asked him what was wrong, he said that he wanted to play.  We're never going to get out of the house again!!

In the morning.  Three solid hours.

Another three hours of play in the afternoon and evening.

He ate dinner without any fuss.  I guess that's what all-day playing with your new train set will do to you...makes you a hungry boy!!

Train table: on sale.

Time to put it together: about 3 hours.

Expression on Boo's face and his enjoyment of the gift: priceless.

Giving Thanks for my Dream Come True

"What do you do when you realize all your dreams have come true?"

This quote came to mind when I started thinking about all I am thankful for in my life this year.

Because my dreams have come true.

Someone calls me wife.

And someone calls me Mama.

I adore being able to claim those two titles for my own (although daughter and sister are pretty awesome too!).

I am thankful for so many wonderful people that I have in my life: my family, my friends, Boo's babysitter, my co-workers.  But there are three very special people that I thank daily in my heart and whom will probably never know the depth or extent of how grateful I am to them.  They are Boo's foster parents and his birth mother.

The mother and father who opened their hearts and their home to a baby boy who needed some loving care, knowing that they would eventually have to say good-bye to him.  Judging from the pictures of Boo that we received from them when we picked him up, we know that he was a happy, well-loved baby during the time he was with them.  They did not know that he would be with them for an entire year when they first took him into their lives; at that time, it was more like 4-6 months.  They probably have one of the hardest jobs and they do it voluntarily, time and time again; that of taking in a child, loving him, caring for him, giving him a piece of their hearts, and then placing him in another couple's arms who whisk him halfway around the world.

These are amazing people.

The woman who made two of the hardest decisions one may possibly ever have to make in her life; the first being the decision not to end her pregnancy (in a country where there is still a huge stigma against unwed mothers) and the second being to make an adoption plan for that child...for her child...for our child.  Because I cannot imagine my life without the little boy she gave birth to for the both of us.  I thank God for him and for her unselfish decision every day.  A decision that is most humbling because I do not think I would ever have been able to do the same.  I feel almost guilty at times because I am the one who gets to see our little boy grow up, who gets to feel those arms wrap so tightly around my neck, who gets to hear that little voice say "mama."  And I just end up holding on to him tighter, never wanting to let go.  I hope somehow she knows that he is absolutely loved, cherished, and adored and that because of her decision, my dreams really have come true.

So to you: "What do you do when you realize all your dreams have come true?"

Randomness...

Making pancakes with Mama on a lazy weekend.

Love his truck apron...thanks, Sue!

I know it's not the best fort, but he. loved. it.

This was the first time for this, but won't be the last!

Taking a ride on a luggage cart.

I think this was Uncle Pat's idea.

And most of that luggage is NOT mine!

Tattooed sisters.

Boo and his Daddy's cousin.

Love this picture of the two of them.

Boo and his cousin; what handsome guys they are!!

Peek-a-boo, Boo!

Guess what he's getting for Christmas...boxes.  Ha!

First ride on the Amtrak going to meet Daddy.

He was such a good boy the entire way.

He walked the whole time and didn't ask to be carried.

Absolutely loved looking out the window as we were traveling and made sure I saw all the other railroad tracks next to ours.  

I loved seeing this adventure through the eyes of my 2.5 year old.

He put himself down for naptime in the trundle bed in our room when visiting relatives this past month.

I think this might be something we look into for him when we go to a big boy bed.

Just like his Mama: loves reading before bedtime!!

Movie Monday - Candle

Boo's cousin just celebrated his 10th birthday and was generous enough to share a candle with Boo for him to try to blow out.  They tried to "ice" him by telling him to wait, by our little man blew it out with the first puff!  And it doesn't even look like he put much effort into it.  :)

Nice shot, Boo!

Wordless Wednesday: Fall Leaves

Movie Monday - Following Commands

Watching a train movie and only partially paying attention to me!

Sorry about the sideways orientation; I don't know how to turn it upright.

But such a cute video!!  I couldn't let the grandparents miss it.

Ponytail?!?!

J has so much hair, I couldn't resist putting one of my ponytail holders in it the other night.  I know, I know, he'll probably be soooo embarrassed when he sees these pictures in the future, but that's what good mamas do, right??

"Cheese! Okay, am I done?"

"What?! (gasp!) You're taking more pictures?!?!"

"Hmmm, if I move real fast, they'll be too blurry to post...

...or, maybe not, she's still taking pictures...(sigh)

"Please, Mama, can I be done??"

Happy Birthday!

Welcome to the world, Z!

Can't wait to meet you in person at Thanksgiving!!  Congrats to my big sis and brother-in-law, and Z's big brother, J.

Trip to STL (Movie Monday included)

We recently went to St. Louis and stayed at a hotel near Union Station, which is an old train depot.  The hotel we stayed at has a bunch of large model trains (behind glass, thank goodness, and away from little fingers!) and we knew Boo would love to see them.  I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of him when he was studying them running back and forth between all of them like some demented train-obsessed child.  I probably could have taken my book and read for the evening while he kept pointing out all seven or eight trains that were on display!

There is a large man-made pond full of fish right next to the hotel and Union Station.  While we were waiting to meet friends for dinner, we let Boo feed the fish.  They were huge!  And have obviously been fed well and by many people; they definitely knew what they wanted to happen when they saw us peering over the edge at them.

We met our friends for dinner at a seafood restaurant that had some great food!  But the best, by far, was the dessert that the three of us shared:

I figure it was good for us since it had bananas on it!!

That night, Boo could not get to sleep (hmmm, I wonder why? but I promise he didn't have that much dessert!).  He was soooo restless, rolling back and forth, from one end of the bed he was in to the other.  I got him water twice (which he gulped down), covered him up multiple times, and finally told him that if he needed something, he had to carefully get out of bed and come over to me and ask; this last was because he almost pushed himself out of bed trying to get my attention, even though we had him surrounded by pillows and blankets!  I then tried going to sleep, but my Mama mode wouldn't let me.  I was dozing on and off when I opened my eyes and there stood Boo, right by the side of the bed, whispering "HEY, MA-ma, I want water!"  After that, he dropped off to sleep quickly.  Unfortunately, I wasn't so lucky.

The next day we went to the St. Louis Zoo before driving home.  We probably got to see 1/4 of it, which is about the same amount we saw last time, so we're up to having seen about half of the zoo.  :)  We saw leopards and zebras and orangutans, oh my!

Snow leopards taking a nap in the sun.

These orangutans were also trying to take naps; there is one rolled up under the  sheet on the right.

Boo had a close-up encounter with one of them:

fist bump, i.e. the rock

Playing peek-a-boo.

At the end of our time at the zoo, he took a gorilla ride with Dada's help:

We had a great time and wish we lived closer so we could take advantage of the free admission to the zoo and the many other fun things a larger city is known for.  But we're smaller city folks at heart, so I guess we'll just have to continue taking numerous mini-vacations.  I like that plan.  :)

Our Little Engineer

The structure I found being built on our couch last week after a long stretch of silence from our engineer:

Notice the "driveway" areas for his matchbox cars.

Pretty amazing.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the cutest little M&M in the world!!!  (in a costume I was told by one lady I should patent! ha!)

ready to go!

getting the hang of this holiday.

He wasn't too sure at first, but after a few houses he completely understood they were all going to give him candy.  Wish I would have gotten some video of him running up a few of the driveways when we told him we were stopping at that house.  We tried coaching him to say the standard "Trick or Treat!" but the only thing he ever ended up saying was "Treat!"  

Can't blame the kid.

He's smart.

Very smart.

checking out his loot at a friend's house.

He lined up that candy and started naming who it was for...what a sweetheart!!

Boo is very good at sharing as long as he gets to pick what is shared.  I adore this boy.

Chris and I both couldn't wait to go trick-or-treating with Boo this year; last year, for various reasons, we didn't end up getting to actually go out; we made it to one neighbor's house and that was it.  So for all intents and purposes, this was our first Halloween actually celebrating the intended way.  We were only planning on going out for a little while, jump in the car and go to our old neighborhood as well, and then come back and spend the last hour or so handing out our own candy to kids that came later.  Weeelllll, that didn't happen.  He was We were having such a great time and spent more time than we thought in our neighborhood, so by the time we got back from our friend's house, there was no one left walking through our area!!  Which means that we have five, yes five, bags of candy at our house, along with all the candy Boo brought home...how many friends want to come over and help us eat them??  Any takers?

Movie Monday - Full speed ahead!

I couldn't resist:

...and I bet y'all were waiting for him to run into it again!!

Pumpkins

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit a couple weekends ago and we went to the local pumpkin patch while they were here.

Boo got to pick out a few small pumpkins as well as a big one to carve for Halloween.  He had a great time testing out looking at all the larger pumpkins!

"Look at this punkin!"

He also helped Grandma and Grandpa pick out and place their pumpkins in our wagon.  He LOVES to help do just about anything, sweet boy!!

Carving the pumpkin was a matter of Mama doing the dirty work and Boo beating on the pumpkin with a spoon to see if that would help get those slippery little seeds out!!

I just can't get over the difference a year makes!  We were pretty much in this same position one year ago and he has grown soooo much.