the bright side.

yesterday i wrote about all the fun things i'm looking forward to doing with choi boy. YAY!

but, you wanna know a secret? i'm kinda freaking out about the fact that my boy will be home in a matter of weeks! days, even! eeek!

i know, i know, it's been such a long wait, and you all know how hard it's been waiting...but now that things are HAPPENING, it's like, whoa nelly!

so, as we take the remaining weeks to prepare for choi boy's homecoming, i am also going to take advantage of the last few toddler-free days we have.

looking on the bright side of our long wait, here are some things we are going to savor and enjoy before we bring choi boy home:

*eating out.

*taking my time while shopping.

*reading.

*showering daily.

*watching tv and not feeling guilty about what's on. a bravo marathon? sure!

*listening to music where shouting back and repeating the singer is not part of the song.

*having uninterrupted adult conversations. or having conversations in general.

*eating sweets.

*watching harry potter and the deathly hallows IN THE THEATRE! RIDiculously excited.

*and, um, hello? SLEEP! oh, dear, delicious sleep...yum.


of course, i am beyond ecstatic about choi boy finally coming home and will gladly give up everything on the list above. but for now, while we continue to wait, i'm just going to relish everything on the list above. :)

perks.

so, i've loved reading everyone's PPPs (that's pumpkin patch posts, according to my friend, joanna). but, i was having a bit of a pity party for myself (a lot like this one that kelly mentioned) because i didn't have a little guy of my own to bring along for a fun autumnal romp in the patch, therefore preventing me from writing my own PPP.

now that we are close to bringing choi boy home, i've moved from feeling sorry for myself to thinking about all the things that will be better once he is home. next year, i'll actually have an excuse to go to the pumpkin patch -- besides it being fun and seasonal, i'm pretty sure they don't have pumpkin patches in korea. well, at least not the kind where you can go for hayrides and feed goats. pumpkin patches in korea are probably big old hobahk (squash) farms. and korean people use a lot of hobahk in their cooking, which if you remember, i am not a fan of. when i was a little girl, i always got in trouble for picking out pieces of hobahk from my food.

aaaaanyway.

so yes, i'm thinking about things that will be lots better with choi boy. actually, i'm sure life in general will be so much better with choi boy in tow, so here are some specific perks i'm looking forward to:

*the pumpkin patch! (obvs...)

*along the same lines, the apple orchard!

*and the zoo!

*and the farm!

*and the aquarium!

*and the children's museum!

*buying treats while on such outings. can't you just hear it? "but choi boy NEEDS cotton candy/kettle corn/caramel apples/ice cream!" a few minutes later..."can momma have a bite?"

*walking into a children's movie without feeling embarassed.

*not feeling funny while parking myself in the children's section of the library or the book store. now i tell people i'm a teacher, but with choi boy around, i won't have any splainin' to do.

*trying out fun playground equipment. 'cause you know, it's to test out the safety of the equipment.

*being able to sit in the front of big crowds. ahem, "my son can't see!"

*priority seating on public transportation. nice!

and finally,

*three syllables: DIS. NEY. WORLD.


so excited. SO EXCITED.

;)



psst...have you entered yet?

a giveaway and an annoucement!

i was so excited about all the positive and sweet feedback you gave me on these:







thank you!

after some convincing and encouraging from the hubs and some friends (including many of your comments), i've decided to open up an etsy shop to sell these name plaques/paintings. yay!

am i crazy for doing this while we're (most likely) a few weeks away from a travel call? probably! :)

i'm still in the process of setting things up over at my etsy shop, so i'll share the link once everything is up and running. but, in the meantime, to get the word out and build my portfolio, i'm doing a giveaway!

two commenters will be chosen randomly and i'll be giving away one custom canvas name painting and one custom wooden name plaque.

to enter, answer this question:

what style or trend did you try (or faithfully follow) that you most regret?
(this really has nothing to do with the giveaway; i just need something to make me laugh while i'm home sick today)

me? the nasty big wave bangs of the late eighties/early nineties:
i am sad to say that i probably contributed a lot to the hole in ozone layer with all the hairspray i used in middle school. sad. and i'm SO not showing an actual picture of me with that hair!

this giveaway is open to anyone and everyone, so invite your friends to come and play, too! oh, and if you win, you aren't limited to names only on the signs -- we can do a family name, a teacher name for a classroom, a favorite quote, a house number, etc. :) two winners will be announced on tuesday, november 2!

good luck!

one very special momma.

first off, let me say THANK YOU for sharing in our joy regarding our EP submission. we are so grateful for your love and care for us and could not imagine enduring this wait without your support! we've still got a little ways to go, but, my goodness, your cheerleading is surely helping us persevere!

one of my friends IRL has been especially special to me during this entire process.

two years ago, when we were both in the thick of our infertility woes, tina and i got to know each other quite well as we shared honestly and openly in the way that only those who have traveled similar journeys can. the hubs and i became very close with tina and her hubs and leaned on each other and held each others' hands (the wives literally, the husbands figuratively) as we supported one another through different doctor's appointments and rough days. we were and are SO incredibly blessed by their friendship. we always say that our friendship with t&t is one of the best things that came out of this often grueling journey...the best thing being choi boy, of course!

tina and her hubs got pregnant through ivf earlier this year and she is due at the end of november. we are ECSTATIC for them! they are having a little boy and we are so excited to watch our sons grow up together. tina has always said that we might be bringing our boys home on the same day. and as much as i didn't want to believe it earlier on (because i was holdin' out for august or september, friends!), now that that is a very distinct possibilty, it is pretty darn cool. :)

we celebrated tina's bun in the oven on saturday and i was so honored to help host her shower. it was absolutely gorgeous, but i really can't take much credit for it. our friend, gloria, did an amazing job planning and coming up with the garden party theme, decor and menu and the rest of us were little worker bees.

look at this gorgeousness:

i love the giant balloons :)

and a better shot of the spread in better lighting. look at the miniature candied apples we made! SO cute. a bit hard to eat, but SO cute.


we had lots of floral centerpieces around the house and made these fun dessert kabobs as centerpieces, too.


here was my one major contribution to the shower:

the favors! my favorite kind of favors are edible ones, so i loved doing this.

as i made about 21 dozen cookies (256 cookies, to be exact!), i realized the full potential of my beloved kitchenaid mixer. apparently, a quadruple batch of chocolate chip cookies is all it can handle. hello? 9 cups of flour, 6 cups of sugar, EIGHT sticks of margarine, 4 eggs, etc...phew! good job, mixer.

the shower was a beautiful way to honor a beautiful momma...but, my favorite favorite part was the excuse to make stuff for her little man. remember how i said i had one more name plaque in the works? tina said she read that and thought, "that better be for me!" heehee, i love her!

her little guy's room has a train theme, so i set to work making some choo-choo goodies!

i'm not the best drawer, but i can manage copying something if i have a really good image to look at. as i looked through different train images, i couldn't find one that i liked and then remembered this amazingness that christine created for a certain two-year old funnyman. it was *perfect* and christine was so sweet in letting me use it as inspiration.

here's the finished name plaque with choo-choo ala christine:

(please don't judge me by my dirty windows. my mom judges me enough for all of you.)

i also made some bookplates:


and painted some wooden train items that tina and i found at m*chael's.



i loaded everything up into a basket with 10 of my favorite books and voilà, shower gift complete!


tina, i love you, dear friend, and i am so very excited for you! it's been a long and hard road to this point for both of us, but i can't imagine traveling it without you. i am so excited for our happy endings and for the little boys that will soon fill our arms. you are going to be an amazing and awesome momma...i am so privileged to know you and call you my friend!

EEEEEEEEP!

we interrupt regular programming to bring you this late-breaking news:

WE ARE IN! OUR EP WAS SUBMITTED TO THE MINISTRY EARLIER THIS WEEK!

yahoo!

we just got an email from our program specialist who just received this news from our program director (who happens to be in korea this week). she knew how anxious we were, so she emailed us as soon as she heard. isn't that nice? :)

yay!!! we're doing a major happy dance here.

this gives us a somewhat definite timeline now, something we haven't really had in this process. now we know that we will be in korea picking up OUR SON sometime in the next 6-9 weeks!

yippee skippy!



if you're visiting from iclw, hello! and a quick disclaimer...my posts *usually* have a bit more meat to them and aren't usually filled with a ridiculous number of exclamation points. ;)

things that make me go "huh?"

right now my mind is all over the place waiting for a call from our agency telling us that we have been submitted for EP. so, since i can't put together a coherent post on one subject, i'm just going to write a list.

*ahem*

things that make me go "huh?"

1. the other day, i was driving and saw two cars with GIANT confederate flags on their rear windows. okay, what's the deal with this? i know the confederate flag is a symbol of southern pride, but what about all the other yucky stuff associated with it? do these people still want to secede and form the confederate states? no, really, i'm seriously asking...

2. i bought some children's music CDs for choi boy. the laurie berkner band. love her. she's lots of fun and not cheesy. but what about those cheesy guys? you know, those guys that wiggle and others like them? do you think they always aspired to be in a children's band or do you think they tried to be real rock stars and failed? and, do you think their wives are really proud of and excited for them? and what about their teenage children?

3. do breakouts ever stop?? a certain big birthday is rapidly approaching and if anything, i feel like my skin is getting worse, not better. i know, i should suck it up and go see a dermatologist, but mostly, i just feel like complaining. i'm a grown up for pete's sake! i shouldn't have to agonize about a having a huge zit on my face on picture day. (this really happened. 2 weeks ago.)

4. i love glee. but here's what i wonder. you know that face that lea michele makes every.time.she.sings? you know, this one?
do you think she really makes this face every.time.she.sings, or do you think it's part of rachel's character? dude, i understand the need to be passionate, but every single word and note? really?

5. while we're on the subject of weird singing faces, what's up with this one?
he is AWEsome in concert, but i can never watch the jumbotron because of that face. SO bizarre.

6. have cupcakes jumped the shark as the fashionable dessert? what's next? pudding? because that would awesome!

7. what do dogs think about? do they think in thoughts? what goes through piper's mind all day? nothing? because that would make sense, too. i'm not being mean, really. you have to meet piper and then you'll get it.

and on a more serious note,

8. if american christians tithed (gave ten percent of their income) and gave out of our excess, world hunger could essentinally be eradicated, clean water could be brought where it is needed, primary education could be funded universally, medicine could be provided for AIDS patients all over the world, and basic health and nutrition needs could be provided for everyone in the world. so why don't we? and present company (i.e. ME) totally included. my small group is reading the hole in our gospel, and it is just a big, swift kick in the butt. read it. i double dog dare you.

and the winner is...

elizabeth, who said:

Hmm... to be honest, I'm not sure I could read anything 100 times!
But eating 100? Oh man... Twix, cupcakes, candy corn, Heath bars... do I really have to choose?

yay, elizabeth! email me your address and i'll send off your goodies in the mail. so excited for your girls to use the snack traps and enjoy the book!

my favorite part was reading everyone's answers. here are some honorable mentions for the best answers:

michelle: I could eat 100 of any kind of cheese. I LOVE CHEESE. I pretty much don't discriminate when it comes to the stuff. CHEESE CHEESE CHEESE!

sue: oh, i like you even more now that i know you are a lucy maud montgomery fan! i adore anne shirley and diana barry. and of course, gilbert. love, love, love him.

sandra: I could eat 100 bags (and more) of Erdnussflips, which are a delicious peanut snack not made in the U.S. Great, now I am hungry!

christine: Uhm, I'd like a pair of those glasses... they rock. Really and truly!

and my absolute favorite:

kelly: OMG, I love Gilbert Blythe soooooooooooooooo much. All of a sudden, I can't remember your questions because I am drooling over Gilbert Blythe.

heehee! you guys are too funny. :) so glad many of us share an obsession with mr. blythe.

i loved this. so fun! i'll be doing another giveaway next week, so be on the look out!

p.s. i used this super cool tool to generate a random winner -- such a fun way to pick!

just so blessed.

back in june, i wrote this post sharing how overwhelmed we were by the outpouring of monetary support we've gotten from our friends and family.

it is one thing to receive prayers and love from others (and believe me, that, in and of itself, is pretty stinkin' amazing), but to go one step further and give sacrificially is quite another. makes me cry. every time.

i wrote that post four months ago and still, the gifts continue to come. they've come from close friends as well as from others that just wanted to bless us even though we don't know them as well. and through their giving and their hearts for our little family, we've become closer. it's total crazypants. just this past friday, another incredibly generous friend sent us a beautiful card and a check. blows my mind.

and remember when i was really down about having to update our homestudy? friends of ours read that post, asked us how much we needed, and right then and there gave us what we needed to cover ALL our homestudy update fees. amazing.

this journey to choi boy has been filled with so many ups and downs and we've really learned so very much. one of those lessons has been on generosity and hearts that are cheerful in giving. we have been just so blessed by all the friends and family that have showered us with their love and support, and as we have received, we've learned so much about giving. we hope that as opportunities arise for us to be on the giving end, we will also be able to give with cheerful and joyful hearts...


want to help me get in the spirit of giving? (i know, i know, lame segue!) today's your last chance to enter my 100th post giveaway! :)

more distractions.

you know how i mentioned that i started crafting as a way to distract myself from thinking about this looooong wait?

people, i've gone into full craft-mode. things are out of control. it looks like a craft store threw up on my dining room table. i now understand why some women have craft rooms in their homes. the hubs keeps asking nicely when i'll be done. we have to move copious amounts of paint, sandpaper, tape, etc out of the way each time we sit down to a meal. it's a little ridic.

but, it sure is fun! ;)

want to see my latest wastes of time projects?

TA-DA!


holy bright flash, batman!
this one is for my friend jen's new little girl. jen and i used to work together and she's had a huge impact on my teaching. i'm so thrilled for her and her new bundle of joy!

and this one is for a current co-worker:

i just love argyle, don't you? i did this one on canvas. mostly because the store ran out of the wooden plaques, but i also thought it would be fun to try out a diffferent surface. what do you think?

i actually like these two more than choi boy's so i really might end up doing his again...neurotic? perhaps.

i have one more in the works. (told you, totally out of control.) i'll post pictures of that one after i give it to a very special momma! :)

bonjour, big baby!

look what arrived in my inbox yesterday!



pictures of choi boy in his birthday hanbok!



clearly, our boy thinks being in a hanbok is just about the awesomest thing ever. look at that face of sheer joy!

it also looks like choi boy got a haircut! so long, dreams of baby mullets and rattails...

i love these pictures and am super thankful for them, but they make me a bit sad, too. it's bittersweet because they are a reminder that choi boy is getting so big (look at his gigantor feet!) and we're missing out on watching him grow.

le sigh...and so it goes with the wait.

i can't wait to FINALLY have him in our arms and kiss those big baby feet again and again.



if you haven't already, join the 100th post giveaway fun!

one hundred {a giveaway}.

this is my one hundredth post.

100!

in kindergarten/first grade land, 100 is a big deal. it's a huge, almost unfathomable number, and being able to count and write numbers to 100 is a rather important milestone that comes with bragging rights. we celebrate the 100th day of school in style (think glasses made out of the number 100, obnoxious hats, cereal or bead necklaces with 100 pieces, etc), so i thought i'd do the same to commemorate my 100th post!

to celebrate, i'm going to be doing my first ever giveaway! yay! who doesn't love giveaways?

don't worry, i'm not going to be giving away 100-shaped glasses. although, those are pretty darn cool, if i do say so myself.



instead i'm going to do a giveaway inspired by two of my favorite pasttimes...reading and eating!



koala lou is one of my favorite children's books by one of my favorite authors, mem fox. it's about a sweet little koala who tries to earn her mother's love, only to learn that her mother loves her unconditionally and that she always has and will. it's kind of a tear-jerker. ;) i had initially planned on getting this book signed by the author, but we all know how that turned out. nevertheless, i'm sure you'll love it!



and, everyone has raved about these snack traps so i thought i'd throw those in, too! even if you already have some, i'm sure extras always come in handy, especially if you or your kiddo are anything like me and easily loses things. :)

to enter, fill in the blank in one or both of these sentences:

i could read ___________ 100 times.

i could eat 100... (and no lame answers like cheerios or grains of rice! i want to know what you could eat mass quantities of because you love it so, so, SO much!)

my answers? i could read anne of green gables 100 times. i heart gilbert blythe. and, i'm pretty sure i could eat 100 chocolate chip cookies. especially if they're ones i made. i'm not gonna lie, they're the bomb dot com. true story.

one commenter will be chosen at random on tuesday, october 19th. good luck! can't wait to read your responses! :)

what'd he say?!

a few weeks ago, one of my friends/colleagues came to me to talk about one of her students. this student moved to the states from korea in late spring and is still in the beginning stages of acquiring english.

my friend came to me because while she was teaching, her student kept saying something in korean and cracking himself up, to the point of distracting his classmates. so, my friend asked me what the word meant in a conversation that went something like this:

her: he keeps saying this word in korean and laughing hysterically!
me: do you know what the word is?
her: i don't know, something like "hong" or "hyong"?
me: hmmmm..."hyung" means older brother, but that's not really funny...
her: okay, that must not be it, i'll find out and come back to you.

a few days later, here's the conversation that unfolded:
her: i remembered!
me: what is it??
her: okay, it's "bong koo." is that something?
me (seriously stifling my own giggles): heehee, "bahng goo"?
her: yes! yes! that's it! what does it mean??
me: FART.

poor kid...he must have been so bored and not understanding anything, therefore resorting to entertaining himself by pretty much repeating the word "fart" over and over to himself. classy. ;)

the best part? my friend had me tell the boy to stop saying that and try to pay attention. then she said to him, "at school, we don't say those words. we say nice words. do you understand?"

he nodded fervently.

then i asked him in korean, "do you understand?"

and he looked at me and shook his head. :)

you gotta love the mind of a 6 year-old!

a distraction.

goodness, thank you so very much for all your love and support. i so needed it. kelly's comment: "And yes, one IS the loneliest number but I hope you know that you are not alone - we are all here for you Grace." felt so true. fo sho. thank you for being here for me.

really, we're okay now. we're at peace and we're learning a lot (like, a lot, a lot, A LOT) about patience and trust.

and, i misspoke. we are *not* the only family waiting for our child to come home from korea. we *are* the last waiting family waiting to get our EP within our US agency, but there are other families with other US agencies waiting for their EPs, too. like, min. she's become my waiting buddy and we'll probably be in korea at or around the same time in december. if you have a moment, go give her some encouragement, too...her daughter is just beautiful and min and her family have been waiting for so long to bring her home.

though we are doing better, i needed something to keep my mind off our extended wait, so i got/attempted to get my craft on.

now, i can't sew like dana, or knit like suzy or heather (and a lot of my other blog buddies, too!), or design like christine, or crochet like kelly, but i do make these name signs for babies/children.

i've been painting these signs for a few years now for my friends' children, so i was excited to finally be able to make one for my own little one.


i think i got a bit over enthusiastic because i'm not sure how much i actually like it. the green is a lot more green that i thought/wanted (note to self, ANY color looks dark against white!), and the brown might be a bit overkill.


i still need to touch up the letters a bit, and i may end up scrapping the whole thing and starting a new one, because hey, i sure have the time! :) i'm also working on two signs for two other very special little ones and i'm thankful to have something to keep me occupied. you may see a LOT more attempts at craftiness from this non-crafter during extra long wait. bear with me, k?

left out.

you know that feeling you get when you're the last one picked for a team? or when all your friends get invited to a party but you don't? or maybe you were athletic and popular and never experienced such privileges. ;)

anyway.

that's how i'm feeling today.

remember that serious hoping and praying i was doing on sunday (and many of you were hoping and praying right along with me) about getting notice of EP submission this week?

yeah, not gonna happen.

it turns out, there *was* a batch sent in to the ministry late last week. and it turns out there *were* phone calls made early this week to families notifying them of their children's EP submissions.

we just weren't one of them.

actually, from our agency, we were the ONLY one that wasn't one of them.

we spoke in person with the program director yesterday and she told us that we absolutely should have been a part of that group, and that when she saw that our names were not on the list along with the other families, she was shocked.

she told us that she would be calling korea to see what happened and she also reassured us that back in april when the EP submission quota was first met, we were definitely on the definitive list for families that were guaranteed 2010 EPs and travel calls.

today she called to tell us that she tried to get the korean agency to push our paperwork into the ministry, but she was told that while we wouldn't get in with this next batch, we *would* be submitted in 2 to 3 weeks.

being submitted in 2 to 3 weeks brings us to traveling in december.

DECEMBER.

*sigh*

i remember when we first got choi boy's referral and saw his sweet little face, we prayed and prayed that he would be home by his first birthday. and when that didn't seem possible, i prayed that he'd be home for halloween (omg, i had the CUTEST costume idea for him and piper -- a knight and his dragon! i know, right? feel free to take that idea as we won't be using it). when we didn't get an august EP, i started praying he'd be home for thanksgiving. well, after today, i am praying that choi boy will be home for christmas.

i don't think i'd be able to handle christmas without him.

and while i'm still choosing to rejoice, because let's face it, a 2010 travel date is still a whole lot better than traveling in february 2011, it's still hard. really hard.

one is the lonliest number.

what to 'do?

it's no secret that choi boy's hair has been the subject of much thought and contemplation. we all know that choi boy has somewhat long, flowing locks that are regularly pinned back with pretty hair clips:


apparently, the foster mothers don't cut the children's hair. i've heard it's something about letting the adoptive parents have the honor of cutting it for the first time or something -- not sure.

so, one of the things that's kept my mind occupied during this (ridiculously long) wait is thinking about possible hairstyles for choi boy.

there are just so many classy styles to choose from! let's take a moment to peruse, shall we?

first up, the ever-sophisticated baby mullet. or, as i learned from mulletjunky (mmmhmmm, there *is* such a site), also called "the infantullet".
source
i have no words.

equally as stylin, the rat tail:source
oh goodness, i just had serious flashbacks of elementary school cooties.

there's always the page boy cut:

source
does anyone else remember this commercial? i think it's HIL-arious. "i'm a little lad who loves berrrries and creeeeeam!"

the fab four from across the pond did some major trendsetting with the mop top:
source
love, love me 'do! (sorry, i couldn't resist)

another wildly popular "musician's" hairstyle?
source
the bieber baby! i have to rule this out, though, because i wouldn't be able to stand that constant head-shaking he does.

we could go more modern ala brangelina's tots:
source
but the thought of bleaching my baby's hair? uh, no thanks.

we could go all posh and becks and copy their boys' coifs:
source
seriously, *is* there a more beautiful family?

in all seriousness, though, i'd love choi boy to have hair like little kingston rossdale or grier henchy:

source
there is nothing cuter than baby curls! but, i'm pretty sure choi boy's hair is too straight.

what 'do (sorry, last time, i promise!) you think? any other awesome styles i should consider?

EDIT: i had to come back and add this amazing gem. the hairstyle of all hairstyles.

ladies and gentlemen, i give you:

the bowl cut.
modeled by none other than, you got it, daddy choi.

sorry, peter! ;)

a bit of happiness.

oh man, after i wrote that post this morning, i went to church and the sermon really hit home. the pastor spoke about suffering -- so appropriate and what i needed to hear. i know the word "suffering" sounds a bit dramatic, but sometimes, it's really what i feel like we're doing during this wait and through a lot of this journey from infertility to adoption.

the point that really spoke to me was when the pastor was talking about rejoicing in the midst of suffering. though it sounds crazy to think that one would rejoice while suffering, his point was that there is more to life than just the here and now and that in the grand scheme of eternity, this time of suffering is often but a moment and a mile marker on the road to heaven that builds our faith and brings us closer to God. and, as he said, if you can rejoice through suffering, you can rejoice through anything...amen.

so, i am going to choose to rejoice. and as contradictory (and perhaps a bit disingenuously so) as i may sound from this morning's post to this, i find that i usually have to make the choice to rejoice before i actually can.

i rejoice in the fact that our choi boy is being lovingly cared for by his foster mom. i rejoice because our son is in good health. i rejoice in the fact that we even have the means to adopt. i rejoice because we *do* have a son and we will be with him soon.

and, so, i'm going to focus on things that make me happy.

like finding great deals! :)

yesterday, my friends amy, christine, and i went to a local children's consignment sale and we found some incredible deals for our little ones. i was chatting on fbook about it with dana, and she requested a post seeing all my goodies. so, this one's for you, dana!

because we thought choi boy would be home late summer/early fall, the vast majority of clothes we had for him were t-shirts and warmer weather clothing. my shopping mission when approaching this consignment sale was to find some fall/winter clothing for choi boy, and my goodness, the sale delivered! look at my finds:


how cute is this outfit? i love the orange plaid with the brown pants. it reminds me of fall foliage.


i heart this striped sweater so much. and the navy pants have such great detail with yellow stitching.


don't you love henleys? and this one is thermal, too! and how sweet is that embroidered dinosaur (ahem, apatosaurus)?


this jacket is my *favorite*! i love, love that it looks like a miniature version of a man's jacket. and how can you go wrong with blue suede shoes?? choi boy will have to grow into them, but they are stinkin' adorable.

the best part about the jacket?

it's REVERSIBLE! i didn't know this until i got home, so it was like i got a surprise extra jacket! so rad. rad, indeed.

and finally, of course i couldn't leave without some books:

but not the hippopotamus (jeepers, that is a hard word to spell!) is my favorite sandra boynton book, and i love the carl books, too. have you seen my duckling? is another sweet one that i love because there are very few words and you have to really look at the pictures to get the story, very much like the carl books.

the best part was that most of these items were new (some still with tags) or very much like new.

and the grand total for all these finds? $23.75. score!

happy now. :)

i just threw all these clothes in the wash and did my first load of choi boy laundry. kind of exciting! and a random question for you mommas...i know you have to wash before wear with infant clothing, but do you have to do the same with new toddler clothing?

seven months.

hi.

i'm trying to be conscious of how much complaining i do on here, because i don't want this blog to turn into something that's a drag to read. and i thought twice about whether i should write another complaining post right after writing about the incident. in the end, i decided that, today i just need to share something that's on my heart, even if it's a little heavy.

when we first began our adoption process, we were told that the wait time between sending our acceptance papers to korea and bringing our son home would be 3-5 months. this seemed like a pretty manageable wait. after we got our referral and sent all our paperwork to korea, we were told the wait to travel had been increased to 4-6 months. still, 4-6 months sounded doable.

well, friends, as you can tell by the happy baby ticker on top, it's been 7 months, now. seven months of waiting and waiting and WAITING. seven months of thinking of milestones missed. seven months of watching baby stuff pile up with no baby to use them. seven months, which means we've surpassed both estimated wait times given to us earlier in our process. sigh.

i think, somewhere along the way, the wait time was "officially" increased to 5-8 months or even 7-10 months, but i don't know what to believe anymore.

we were really hoping that last week, after the chuseok (korean thanksgiving) break, we would have received the good news that choi boy's papers were submitted to the ministry for emigration permission (EP). but, nothing.

i'm hoping that we'll hear something tomorrow...

after being submitted for EP, it's usually a 6-9 week wait until a travel call. from the travel call, we'd probably have a few days to a week until we actually travel. so, with all that, we're looking at mid-november to early december to travel, making our actual wait time 8-9 months. which is hard to swallow when we thought we'd be bringing choi boy home in august or september.

i just don't understand what the hold up is. i just want my baby home.




i'm secretly hoping that tomorrow morning, i'll hear from our specialist that we are in the ministry for EP, making this sad little rant null and void with much happier news to post about tomorrow.

party at my crib!

thanks for all your encouragment and reassurance that i don't look preggo. now, after hearing all your stories, i am fully expecting to drop 10 pounds within the first two weeks of choi boy being home. you promised! :)

moving on to happier, non-rude matters...

after having choi boy's room painted, my hubs set off to work on putting together the furniture.

first up? the crib! i lurve this crib...it took a while to settle on one we liked. we wanted it to be in a dark wood stain (espresso), with modern lines, and we needed it to convert to a toddler bed. after months of searching and browsing, we settled on one that is even more gorgeous in person than it is in pictures. although, you'll only see the pictures, so you'll have to take my word for it! :)

here's my personal handyman at work...he did most of this while i was out with my mom, so he took these pictures of himself while working (which is why some are a tad blurry). kinda cute, if i say so myself! ;)

first he laid out all the pieces (you can really see the green paint and stripes here):


and then he went to work and put the crib together all by himself!




this is when i came home -- i was so impressed!


the finished product -- ta da!


oh, and big sister, piper? she totally watched in fear and trepidation as her beloved futon was moved out and this baby thing was put together. i wonder what she's thinking as she observes all these changes. oh, to have doctor doolittle's special powers...


more nursery sneak peeks to come!