PATIENCE

The rumor mill is working overtime, and it isn't good. I check in on our agency's adoption message boards to learn about each phase of the adoption process. The new topic that has everyone talking? LONGER wait times. I haven't specifically heard this is the case with our particular agency, but I'm preparing myself for the announcement.

DECKING THE HALLS

It's that time of year! Time to deck the halls, and get ready for Christmas. I started with the blog. I hope you like the new format. I like to change it up with the holiday or season, it makes me feel like a significant amount of time has passed and we are one step closer to our baby.
In addition to the new look, I added the "followers" section. I honestly don't really know what it means. I'm hoping it will let you know when I have updated, since they are sometimes quite infrequent, and I don't want you to forget about us. I also don't really know how one becomes a follower, so good luck with that. As you can tell, I am not exactly a computer genius. If you are reading my blog, and you know more about what this new feature is, feel free to share with the rest of us!

I am going to go and decorate the rest of the house! I'll add pictures once we're done. I hope everyone is busy getting into the holiday spirit.

GIVING THANKS

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."
~ Melody Beattie ~

This Thanksgiving I feel blessed. I feel grateful for my life, my family, my amazing husband, and our beautiful daughter. I feel incredibly overjoyed that we were chosen to embark on this journey of adoption. I feel honored that we belong to friends and family that support us in each step we take, towards completing our family.

This Thanksgiving I thank all of you for being a part of our lives.

GETTING EXCITED!

Whenever people inquire about how difficult the waiting is, I answer the same way... Right now everything is so far off, it kind of seems hypothetical to me. I'm sure as we get closer, and especially after a referral it will be torture, but for now it's ok.
WELL, this week things became less hypothetical. It's sinking in. I am so excited. I'm researching carriers and thinking of nurseries. I even picked out a pair of baby boy shoes. I won't buy anything until a referral (as instructed by Imants), but it's so much fun looking!
I know I'm going to come crashing down after this high. But for now it's so much fun.

IMPOSSIBLE SITUATIONS ARE POSSIBLE MIRACLES

November is Premature Awareness Month AND National Adoption Month. Ironic, since premature babies has led me to adoption. A month to celebrate and mourn all at once.
I celebrate the adoption journey we are on. I celebrate our little miracle, Livija. I celebrate the babies that are saved everyday through the amazing technological advances. Babies like our Livija.
I mourn our sons.

The title of this post is a quote that meant a lot to me in the days following Livija's birth. It continues to mean a lot to me now. I feel that the many impossible situations we have faced in the past 3 years, are leading us to our next miracle. I just wish it wasn't so far away.

Our first attempt at Korea Night started out great. Imants had the day off. We chopped, we prepped, and we marinated. Our parents came to toast our first attempt at Korean food, as well as Imants' birthday. Then... the lights went out. We continued preparing, thinking this was a temporary setback. Why we thought this, I don't know. Afterall, it was October, and for some unexplainable reason we had about 8 inches of snow causing tree branches filled with brightly colored autumn leaves to come crashing down around us.
So we had pizza.


Korea night Take 2:
Our parents joined us as we finally made our meal. It consisted of cucumber kimchi, Dak-Galbi (spicy chicken), Kan-Pung Saewoo (fried shrimp with hot sauce), and Gaeran-Jjim (Korean style egg casserole). Recipes all gotten from our book Discovering Korean Cuisine.
The kimchi was good. The chicken was good but VERY spicy, since the 1 hour marinade sat for 2 days. The shrimp was amazing. The egg was watery but not bad. And my rice cooker made perfect rice. Overall it was a success.
By the end, my belly was full, I was loving Korean food, and my lips were on fire from the spiciness of it all (in a good way, of course).
This adoption process is very long, but I look forward to using the time to learn more about the Korean culture.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

This past weekend was my birthday. I was woken up to breakfast in bed and singing from Imants and Livija. I got an Abby Cadabby birthday card, and a rice cooker/poultry and fish steamer. Time to start cooking up some Korean dishes. We went to a Korean market today to get all the necessary ingredients, and then had an authentic Korean dinner at the restaurant next door to the market. It was my first experience with Korean food, and I loved it. Livija was even loving it, much to the surprise of the waitress, who warned us that some might be too spicy for our 3 year old. She tried a little bit of everything, and even leaned over her papa to scoop some up from his plate.
I ordered the bim bim bop, because I had heard of it before (and, I'll admit it, because it's so fun to say). I'll be sure to post an update on how our first "Korean Night" goes. Maybe if it resembles an authentic meal, I'll even include some pictures.
It was a great birthday weekend. Next year's birthday, I may not have both my babies with me, but I should have a picture of the one on the way. This thought gives me some hope.