Batman Goes Shopping

This picture makes me giggle every time I look at it. Eze and his building (using ALL of the blocks).

Eze's AWESOME shirt he got from our friends who went to the Philippines. Such a handsome Pinoy with his doggy.

Eze's valentines that he and Dave made - amazing!

How I love this man and his crafty ways.

To update on the Simon front: We are waiting. And waiting. And waiting. The big thing that people are waiting for right now is EP (Emigration Permit). Families who were approved in March 2011 with our agency are the ones currently waiting for these. Since we were approved to adopt Simon (4 months ago – late October 2011), no EPs have been issued. There are new adoption laws coming down the pike over in Korea that change some of the process in adopting from there. I guess that’s what is causing the long wait – the government is trying to figure out what the new process will look like.

It’s hard. I don’t really think I have words to describe just how hard it is. In the end of 2011, we thought we’d hear about EPs being processed by January 2012. Then in January, they told us it would be February 1. Soon after that, the date was upped to mid- to late-February. Now we are hearing that it will be pushed out to March some time. I’ve lost faith that the announcement-makers are telling us true things. I vacillate between angry, numb and sad.

Last night Ezekiel and I were driving to the community center to run/walk around the track. On the way over he saw a star in the sky and was excited to make a wish. He said his wish out loud – “I wish my Simon baby brother could come home soon”. I told him I wished the same thing and he told me I was copying him. Thank God for a 4-year old to keep me laughing. Hearing him talk about his Simon baby brother nearly every day makes me want to walk across the ocean and carry that baby boy home in my arms.

LOVE! Simon holding the family picture we sent, so technically it's our first picture of our family of 4. He's here with his foster mom and our care package.

Telling Santa he wants a pony (because Mommy jokingly told Santa that). Awesome Santa told Eze ponies are pretty messy on the sleigh

Mommy showing a leery Eze how it's done.

Presents!!

Merry Christmas, everyone! May your days be merry and bright!!!

Tomorrow morning Dave is taking my parents up to the airport, then delivering goodies to all of our landscaping clients who live up in the Twin Cities area. So Ezekiel and I will have the morning to ourselves tomorrow. We might have to go out on a little Christmas Eve date. What to do?

Ezekiel is a full-blown believer of Santa Claus. One night before bed I told him a story about my sisters and I having a slumber party and waiting up to catch Santa in the act (true story). I told him that when we came upstairs after hearing a noise, I saw a black boot attached to a red pant leg flying up the fireplace chimney (false story). His eyes were huge and he completely believed every word I said. Now he tells many of the people we see that “My mommy SAW Santa Claus once!” I’m kind of a big deal.

This time around we’re using a large well-respected agency that is out of state. They also have a long history of adoptions, from many countries, but especially Korea. We feel comfortable that they know what they are doing, we like the processes they have in place for child placements, travel while in country. The thing is, they are so large that we have already dealt with at least 5 different people throughout the process. I’m always a little confused about which person I’m supposed to be e-mailing/talking with for different questions I have. At times it can feel impersonal, receiving form letters, wondering if everything is being communicated correctly, and feeling like we’re on our own to navigate these new seas. Don’t get me wrong, there are many many good things about the large agency too. For adopting from Korea, we are glad that we are with them. They process so many adoptions, that they are almost always exactly right with their predictions for travel. We get wonderful updates on Simon almost monthly. There is a large community of people to communicate with on their forums for any type of question you might have.

I guess it boils down to how much personal contact you want throughout your adoption process. In the beginning, I would have said that Dave and I would have been fine with it either way, we’re tech-savvy and can figure out most of the extensive and/or weird forms adoption requires. However, now that we’ve experienced both, I have to say we are fans of the small, personable agencies. There is just something knowing that you’re going to get the same person when you call or e-mail, and that person knows exactly who you are and where you are at in the adoption process that makes it all seem more do-able.

Added to that list is my new beloved Kindle (I’ve already read two books on it, and now Dave has it so he can read The Hun.ger Games <— SO good!), and the fact that I have a job right now. I loved being a contractor, but with the downturn in the economy, it’s been hard for contractors to find projects right now. I now have this permanent job with people I truly enjoy working with, and great benefits. The drive stinks, and I keep waiting for that wave of “I made the wrong choice and turns out I hate this job” feeling to roll over me. Instead I feel peace each time I think of the fact that I’m able to provide for my family and use my skillz in my work place.

I’m still smiling from the memories made with my family the weekend before last. Awesome BIL Jay took pictures of the fam, and sent out a sneak peek so my mom could use it on her Christmas cards.

LOVE

Some Ezekielisms from the past few weeks:

Me: Ezekiel, you are such a bright boy!
Eze: Such a BROWN boy!!

Eze: (on a 15-minute “phone call” using Dave’s old cell phone) Hang on, it’s time to eat so I have to go. I’ll text you later on my cellephone (rhymes with telephone).

Me: Eze, what should we buy Daddy for Christmas?
Eze: I know! A Batman cave (this would be what he got for Christmas from my brother and SIL). And then we should make a bridge that connects my cave to his cave!!! (Just what Dave always wanted)

This morning Dave and Eze were leaving to go out to my parents’ house to play with some different toys and get out of our house for a while. Dave called for Gus (my parents live in the country, so Gussy gets to roam free out there). Gus didn’t come, so Dave asked Ezekiel to help look for Gus. After a minute or so, Ezekiel said, “Oh, Gus is in my room!” Dave saw the bedroom door is shut, so he scolded Eze and told him it’s not kind to lock Gus in any room. He went in and there was no Gus to be seen. Then Ezekiel said, “Oh. Wait. He’s in my closet”. Sure enough, as soon as Dave opened the closet door, Gus came out, tail a-waggin’. Poor Gus. He will do anything his boy tells him to do, he’s such a good dog. Dave put Eze in a time out and had a stern conversation about treating others (including dogs) with respect and kindness. I have to admit, I was giggling a little when he called me at work to tell me the story.

I got home from work and an evening out with friends, and Ezekiel ran over to me when I was in the kitchen. He started talking really fast about the plans for his Adoption Day that we’ll celebrate tomorrow (even though we met him Dec 14th US time, we celebrate it on the 15th since it was the 15th in the Philippines when we met him). He is pumped to eat Outrageous Garlic Soup, cupcakes and (his favorite part, he so informed me tonight) for “Mommy and Daddy to sing ‘Happy Adoption Day to you, Happy Adoption Day to you…’”.

I love that he is just as excited about celebrating his Adoption Day as we are each year. This weekend when we were spending time with my family, he said at one point, “I’m so glad I adopted you, Mommy”. Be still my heart. I love how true that is. We adopted each other and taught each other how to live, love, laugh.

My younger sister — that smart little lady — graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in Art. We made lots of cat calls and ensured she could feel our pride with each mention of her name. Loudly. After the graduation, we went to a hibachi grill in the town the college is located and had our huge family surrounding the grill. Some of us ordered sushi (mmmmmmm…), but we had the opportunity to enjoy the fun of the hibachi grill guy. I wouldn’t say that Ezekiel would necessarily agree that it was an “opportunity” to “enjoy” the fun. As soon as the first flame went up in the grill guy’s show, Eze jumped off of his chair and backed in the corner while covering his ears with his hands. It was pitiful and cute, every time the flames would come, he’d run and hide, either in the corner or under my parents’ chairs. He wouldn’t even come and eat his food until the grill guy was finished and gone.

Being a firefighter might not be in his future

We went back to our house to grab Christmas gifts for our celebration later that evening, and Eze played tour guide for my older sister’s husband who hadn’t seen our new house yet. We headed out to my parents’ house after that where Ezekiel and I (attempted) to nap. He told me he wasn’t tired through many tears, and promptly zonked out. Neither of us slept very long, though, before the cackle of my family playing games reached our ears. I got up after about an hour and Ezekiel said, “Boy that was a short one, it sure is loud up there!”

Post-nap, we played some games with my family, and then the little kids headed out to sled with Auntie Yaya, Uncle Jay and Dave. I pretended that my boots didn’t fit or some such nonsense to avoid having to go out in the frigidity and risk getting snow down my pants. We ate our traditional soup-for-Christmas-Supper, and then took family pictures by the Christmas tree. My brother-in-law Jay is a very talented photographer, so he set it all up, and had it on a timer, so we were able to stuff the whole family in for a few shots. Everyone (who lives in the United States) was home for the weekend, so it was nice to get an almost-whole-family picture. The next time we take family pics, it’ll be with another little man in the shots. I can’t wait for that day. We also took individual family shots that I can’t wait to see.

After pictures, it was time to open Christmas gifts. Ezekiel’s reaction to my brother and his wife’s gift to him was priceless. It was this huge Bat.cave. He looked around and exclaimed, “Is this for real?!?!?!?!?!” And just kept oooohing and aaaahing over its awesomeness. He got a bowling set that he really loves too, and even had my little nieces pretending they were at a bowling alley and there was a screen with their names on it telling them whose turn it was.

After I opened my gift from my parents, I was a little confused. I opened my box and there was a new microwavable baked potato cooking bag in there (my old one was all tattered and old). I dug in there to see if there was something else, but it was empty. My older sister sitting next to me got the same thing. Dave said my face looked grumpy. I’d like to think I’m not that shallow and greedy (?), I had been hoping for a Kindle for a while and Dave knew that. After everyone else was done opening their gifts, suddenly my mom walked over to my sister and me with a small box in each of her hands. Matching Kindles for us. Yay!! I was so excited, I danced a little jig. Another awesome gift that we received was handmade pot holders from my mom. Why are they so awesome? Well she put one pot holder in each of our stockings, so that as a couple we would have a set of potholders. I pulled mine out and it was yellow and green. Dave pulled his out and it was yellow and purple. Perfect for our Packers vs. Vikings family

After we put the little kiddos in bed at my parents’ house, we came upstairs to enjoy some wine our older nieces bought us, and play the game we’d bought my dad – Sour Apples To Apples. SO much fun! We all had a great time, and likely kept the kiddos awake longer (and embarrassed our nieces) with our jokes and cackles.

We are giving my siblings-without-kids an opportunity to sleep in before heading back out for more fun. Ezekiel has asked us approximately 78 times this morning when he can go back out and play with his Bat.cave. Then Ezekiel has a Christmas program at church this afternoon. My heart is happy today.

I love my boy and his imagination.

We opened the e-mail at the same time, and just sat on the phone silently, grinning at the handsome face of our son. I’m pretty sure I could hear Dave’s grin over the phone. Then we read through the physical exam together. Simon is “cute and fine”, just like he’s been in all of his other exams. He is the same size at 13 months that his big brother was at 20 months And he is now WALKING! Oh my. What a big boy.

It was all I could do to focus on my afternoon meetings with visions of that little man running through my head. I was trying my hardest to focus on what the doctors and nurses at work were saying, and it took lots of energy to listen to them, and not start thinking, “I wonder when we’ll travel? What will he look like by then? I wonder if he had a dol (birthday party) for his first birthday? I wonder if we’ll get pictures of that?” Meanwhile, Dave was remembering what our friend Dustin told him once about the adoption seeming more real with each update and each picture they received. Dave whole-heartedly agrees, it feels more real each time we get these awesome updates and beautiful pictures. We didn’t get updates during our wait for Ezekiel, so it feels like Christmas has arrived with each of these updates.

When we showed the pictures to Ezekiel, he was so excited. He loved that Simon was smiling big in the pictures. He is such an awesome big brother.

What's that? You like my hat?

Why thanks! I think it's pretty cute, if I do say so myself.

He makes this mama's heart go pitter-pat