We're back!

And we had FUN!

Much more to come...

How he came to be ours...

I have alluded to the newest addition to the family, our little peanut, but have yet to officially tell the story of how we became a family of four.  This, my friends, is how the cutie in the pictures below ended up in our hearts.  (Looking forward to the day he'll be in our arms as well!)

When we began our adoption journey, there was one thing that we didn't quite agree upon.  I thought when we filled out our paperwork, we should say we were open to gender (which in the Korea program would most likely mean we would receive the referral for a boy.)  The hubs?  He wanted a girl. 

I remember talking on the phone with one of my dear friends about it.  "My thing is, when you get pregnant you don't get to choose.  And he just tells me, 'Yeah, but this time we can choose.  And I really want a little girl."  My friend spoke these words of wisdom to me on that day.  "You just have to trust God with this.  Maybe your hubby's stubbornness on the issue is because He knows a little girl is right for your family.  But, if you're meant to have another boy, God will make it happen.  He'll change your husband's heart." 

Thanks Bon, that's good advice.  But, I think I'll just do this myself. ;)  I can be pretty persuasive.  I started with the fact that the wait time for a female referral was way longer than the wait time for a male.  And then you still have to wait another year after that to bring her home!  "Didn't you tell me the wait for a boy was 6-12 months and the wait for a girl is 12-18 months?"  Yes!  So, we could wait an additional 12 months for a girl!  "Or we could wait just a year for either gender, right?  I mean, that's what the numbers say."  Sigh.  He actually listened to me when I told him those time frames.

Then I came home from a Korea program meeting at our agency armed with information that I was sure would change his mind.  Do you know how many families are currently waiting to receive a referral for a girl?  Like 40 something!  And there are only 5 families waiting for boys.  "But, there are still families waiting for boys, right?"  Well, yeah.  "Ok.  I'd still like to wait for a girl." 

And so it went.  Every few months we'd have the conversation.  And each time he'd say that the wait didn't seem that bad and he didn't want to change anything right now.  Don't get me wrong, I loved the idea of having a daughter.  I would pause a little each time I passed all those cute, frilly clothes in Target.  I didn't buy one thing though.  I just had this strong feeling that this time, this baby would be a boy.

We get a monthly newsletter from our adoption agency.  While browsing through the Korea program news I noticed a heading in bold print.  Families Needed for Boys.  The short paragraph explained that the Korea program had an urgent need for families willing to adopt boys.  There were many healthy infant boys available for adoption.  It implored families currently waiting for girls to consider making a switch.  And that for families who do move over to the waiting list for boys, a match would be immediate.  This was like confirmation for me.  But, I knew how these conversations with my husband had gone over the past few months, so I didn't get my hopes up.  I didn't want to come at him again just trying to win him over to my side.  I truly just wanted to share with him what I'd read and hear his honest opinion. 
So, that night on the phone (this was during his six months at Ft. Huachuca, AZ) I told him there was something in the newsletter that I wanted to read to him.  I did.  He was quiet.  And then he softly said, "I just got choked up."  Very rarely does something strike a chord emotionally with my husband.  So, when I heard that, I knew.  God had changed his heart.  Literally in that moment!   
Just in time too. ;)  Our agency wasn't kidding on that whole immediate match thing.  More on that later...

Fun for the 4th

We didn't participate in any 4th of July festivities this year. :(  They had a big thing going on here on base, but it was open to the public and they were expecting 10,000 people.  I'm not as anti-people, I mean anti-crowds as hubby is, but even that sounded like a mess I didn't want to deal with.  We still managed to squeeze plenty of fun into the weekend and I don't think any one missed the big celebration.  (Although I think they had funnel cake.) :(

Saturday we had a great time at Kaylee's birthday party.

And Sunday was all about the girls.  Hubby only gave me a bit of grief about my girl's day...

...but it was definitely worth it.  I got a massage, a facial, the Olive Garden, the movies, and lots of great grown-up conversation with my friend!

And we made goodies!

Even though he likes to tease, hubby really is supportive of me taking an occasional "adult time-out." ;)  He even suggested we make it a quarterly ritual!  Sounds good to me.

Hot, hot, hot!

It was the hottest day we've had around here in awhile.  And we headed to the park.  We're crazy like that.  We were joined by slightly saner people only once in two hours.  They stayed for ten minutes.

We're doing the summer reading program at our library.  Every week we take in C's book log and he gets a new prize.  He was super excited that this week was the week of the sword. 

 No scabbard?  No problem.

His totally innocent placement of the sword makes me laugh.

Time to attack!

I called him off the ducks and sent him after a more appropriate target.  Geese are mean anyway.

Man, it was blazing hot.  The kind of day at the playground where you think your feet might catch fire from all the heat radiating from the rubber mulch.  Also the kind of day that earns you a gold star on your super mom chart.  Because the kid running around all red-faced and sweaty?  He doesn't care about the heat.  He's just thrilled to have the chance to play!  And you made it happen.

Bats at the Aquarium

Recordable storybooks are super!

We love recordable story books!  C has one his Daddy made for him to have before their first long seperation, we've sent one to Korea for our little peanut and have another one we're set to record in time for his first birthday package, and I helped C make one for hubby for Father's Day.       

I recently raved about these books to my parents and how I thought C would really enjoy being read to by Nana and Papa.  Not long after that, C's new Cars storybook arrived in the mail.

This one even has music on every page!  He loves it.  He's been listening to it a lot.

Most recently after he had been sent away from the dining table for throwing a fit about what we were having for dinner.  He was told that Mommy and Daddy didn't want to listen to whining and crying so he needed to leave so we could enjoy our dinner.

Then I hear my parents' voices coming from the kitchen.  Which was a little creepy.  And also funny because it was like he was saying to us, "Nana and Papa will still pay attention to me even if I'm acting all crazy."  :)

What a great gift!  Thanks Nana and Papa!

A father and son

Sometimes all you can do is shake your head and snap a few pictures. ;)