Memorial Day Weekend

Let's just say that we did not have a Memorial Day Weekend to remember.  It started off a little rough on Friday night when Trojan started having problems.  By Saturday morning, I was in shear panic mode as we left for the vet.  The diagnosis:  a concussion.  We think she banged her head while playing ball ball.  So, the last few days have been spent making sure my baby recovers.  She seems much better but still has a very dilated eye from the medicine.  Thankfully, the vet thinks she'll make a full recovery.  Life just wouldn't be the same without my active Trojan running around.

We spent most of the weekend trying to get last minute "to do" items completed.  Painting has been at the top of the list.  We also stopped at Target to pick up our last gift item:  Starbuck's Via, instant coffee.  This is for the group gift for Holt Korea workers: the gift includes coffee, tea, honey and 2 different boxes of Tasty Cake snacks.

Finally, on this Memorial Day, a big thank you to all service men/women (past and current) that have served this great country.  Our country will forever honor you.      

EP Approval!!!

We just received the news that our EP has been approved as of yesterday.  Crazy, huh.  After months of waiting, the wait for the EP has probably been the longest segment.  Because with its approval, we are finally heading into the home stretch.  Now, we just have to hurry up and wait for the travel call.

It looks like they are averaging about a month after EP approval for travel.  Which could mean that we get him home before or might even be in Korea during his 1st birthday.  How neat would it be to celebrate with the foster family.

We had a pretty good week: WBC report, updated pictures and now his EP.  I do believe that we hit the trifecta!

Tuesday Musings

Ok, I'm going to do my musings a day early.  Who could wait after receiving his May WBC and with more pictures.  Our little one is a growing boy.  In the 75% in height and 90% in weight.  No wonder, he takes a bottle every 31/2 hours!  He has excellent sitting balance and is now able to stand on his own.  Still a little timid with the walk--holding onto furniture.  And did you notice the boo boo on his head.  No idea how it got there, but something tells me there is a story behind it.  It's amazing how much he changed in a little over a month!

Still no word on the EP, which is a little disappointing.  The last group was approved in 3 weeks, but didn't find out until 2 weeks later.  Let's hope that's our case as well.  We're keeping our fingers crossed for word sometime this weekend.  Luck be a lady tonight!  

Quiet Week

It's beginning to look like no EP approval this weekend.  And no WBC either.  It pretty much goes with the theme of this week:  cloudy with a chance of rain.  I just missed a massive storm while walking back with the girls from the park.  Whew, that would have been really bad because I'm still not allowed to run.  At least my hair looks spectacular from the high humidity (I kid).  Which brings me to another item to add to our to buy list:  a straightener for Korea.  A must.

Yesterday, during the work lunch hour, a good friend and I walked down to Reading Terminal.  The goal: to find Philadelphia themed things for gifts.  Jackpot.  We ended up buying Philadelphia coffee mugs and Starbucks instant coffee for the two doctors.  For the Social Worker, I grabbed a cool Independence Mall paperweight.  Which brings me to the group gift.  We found a cute Liberty Bell Tote Bag, which I'm going to fill with coffee, tea and honey.  I grabbed two different types of organic honey.  That gets us really close to finishing off the gifts.  The foster family is already finished and we have a couple of other tote bags (USC Trojans and Philadelphia Eagles) to give away to drivers, tour guides, etc.  We're going to need a bag just for the gifts!







     

Wednesday Musings: Cool Gadgets

This weekend, we got this cool gadget from Mike's parents, which is going to come in really handy.  A video monitor with sound capabilities.  Love it.  Have you ever noticed how much better the gadgets are than we were kids?  Last weekend, we spent time shopping for the little one.  Who knew they now make thermometers that take a reading simply by holding close to the forehead?  Trouble with a kid that wakes at every noise.  Well, you need a sound machine available in six soothing sounds.  As for the gadgets of all gadgets: A miniature spa bath for the kid that craves pampering at a very young age.  Soap bubbles not included.

It continues to be quiet on the adoption front.  We are now on week 3 waiting for EP approval.  Hopefully, our email will contain a little surprise on Friday.  We can hope, but there is no guarantee it will come.  So while waiting, we continue to be amazed with the plethora of new gadgets.  And don't even get me started with the toys.  Let's just say that I had a hard time pulling Mike away from the toy aisle.  

     

Spring Time Bliss

It's been pretty quiet on the adoption front.  We are still waiting on EP approval.  Until we get that, we can't really move forward.  So, in the meantime, we've been outdoors enjoying the beautiful spring weather.

Answer me this:  how many ball balls must a person chunk to tire out Baby Girl?  Let's just say that my baby loves it.  And she figured out that the pool cover is a new short cut.  So she happily retrieves each ball, jogs across the pool to her mama, only to howl with delight with the next launch.  Awe, the simple joys in life!

  

Wednesday Musings: Chicken?

This family loves roasted chicken.  And yes, the Cavs have managed to convince me that they so very much would like their fair portion.  Mike, on the other hand, is pretty hard core about not feeding them our food.  So, imagine my surprise when I saw him reach down and give each pup a taste.  But alas, with every unexpected reward there comes consequences.  Miss Trojan took this as a perfect opportunity to gentle nudge herself under Mike as he was cleaning dishes.  

Let Freedom Ring

It's a great day to be an American.  Who among us can forget the unimaginable violence of 911?  Senseless really.  To take the life of innocent bystanders.  To get impressionable young men to carry out your deeds.  To hide for a decade like a coward.

But today is really not about that individual.  It's about the courageous acts of unselfish Navy Seals that put their life on the line for our country.   Life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  So today, those are the core values that I am going to focus on and more importantly, it makes me proud to be an American.  We may, at times, be battered and bloody, but our resolve will carry us forward.

Baby's Room

We've been busy this weekend.  On Saturday, we spent most of the day shopping for the foster family gifts.  That really is no easy task.  How to express all of your gratitude with gifts to people that you don't even know.  Luckily, we have a shopper extradaordinaire in our sister-in-law who also just happens to be Korean.  She offered up some great tips.  The lady from Macy's was also very helpful.  When she found out it was for the foster family, she pulled out a picture from her phone.  Her friend was in Thailand that very minute getting her son.

Later, we worked on the little man's room.  We found some cute walls decals on Etsy.  Now, we just need to find some storage for his toys.  We'll start buying clothes as our time gets closer.  And that might be sooner than anticipated.  We found out on Friday that many of the April 6 EP submissions were approved.  That puts our group next on the docket.  

Hard At Work