I’m Thankful: Day 4

I’m super tired right now, so I’ll make this short. I’m really thankful for Printers today. Why? Because we got our Acceptance Paperwork and I was able to start printing the endless amounts of forms that need to go to Korea. I can’t believe that I’m at this point again in the process. I remember being so overwhelmed when I was doing Charlie’s paperwork, and calling one of my Adoption friends and being like,’ okay – WHAT did you put for number 5…‘ and thinking I was going to screw everything up. But it all worked out. And Charlie is home.

So here’s to smooth sailing for #3. And thank you to the makers of Printers. You made me a happy girl today.

I’m Thankful: Day 3

How absolutely fitting that yesterday I started my 30 Days of Thankfulness and talked about my kids. Because something so super amazing happened today. I received the phone call that I had been anxiously waiting for. We received the referral of our new son!

YES – we are adopting again and we are thrilled beyond belief to be adding another son to our clan. I was planning on posting his photo and some more information tonight, but I decided that I’m going to hold off until our ‘acceptance paperwork’ is officially in (which should be tomorrow or shortly there after). Our Agency has ‘rules’, and I really don’t want to be breaking them so soon (even though I did post a sneak peek on Facebook – but I do have privacy settings on there).

Anyway, today I’m incredibly thankful for my new son. I know we have a long wait ahead of us, but I’m looking forward to the day where we all get to be together as a family.

Leah Lemmons - November 3, 2011 - 4:28 am

So, So, So incredibly happy to here of the new addition!!! Congrats, lots of love, and support coming your way! Can’t wait to hear and see more! :)

Leah Lemmons - November 3, 2011 - 4:29 am

Um, that’s supposed to be “hear”. Hate it when I don’t proofread! :p

Grace P. - November 3, 2011 - 8:03 am

Again, I am so super happy for you guys!

Liz K - November 3, 2011 - 8:43 am

Rachel, I’m so HAPPY for YOU!!! I can’t wait to hear more details on him!!!

Sandra - November 3, 2011 - 8:45 am

Congratulations! Referral calls are the best (and travel calls too). I hope you’ll be able to pass the time well.

Bridgette - November 5, 2011 - 4:29 am

Congratulations!!!! This is awesome news!!!

Cristina Larson - November 8, 2011 - 12:49 pm

Rachel,
I am so excited for your newest addition to your family! I will be praying for you and your husband as you wait to meet your little one. WOO!!HOO!!

30 days of thankfulness {day 1 & 2}

Last year I saw that a lot of Bloggers were taking part in a ’30 Days of Thankfulness’ challenge. I thought it was a super neat concept as I think it can be so easy to take so much of our lives for granted. But being the nerd that I am, I didn’t like starting mid-way through. So this year I get to start at the beginning. And since I normally blog at night, I figured I’d just do Days 1 & 2 together, so I can stay on track.

Did you know that November is also ‘Adoption Awareness’ month? So with that, I’d have to say that I’m thankful for Adoption. My story is the typical ‘baby abandoned, no birth parent information found’. It has never bothered me that I know nothing about my ‘roots’. I don’t know who I look like, or where certain personality traits come from. I don’t know if  anyone would say, ‘you laugh just like your dad’ or ‘you wrap presents just like your mom.’ But you know what? It doesn’t matter to me.

Instead, I hope to humbly serve like my Dad does. Or have the incredible ability to relate to kids like my Mom. I may not have the physical example of the traits I mirror, but I have two great examples of what I wish to become.

I know that had I stayed in Korea – be it as a child of a single parent, or raised in an orphanage – I would not have been given nearly the amount of opportunities I received as a result of being raised by my Parents in America. My parents weren’t out to save the world. They weren’t looking to start a crusade. They were just looking to expand their family. And for that  … I’m truly thankful.

And while seemingly the same, I’m thankful for Adoption again, because it brought me my two little kiddos. I never thought that I would adopt. I wasn’t ‘against’ it, but I didn’t ‘set out’ to do it either. Life easily brought us to this choice and I’m so glad it did. Because I cannot imagine my life without my kids. Me – the girl who loved to sleep late and take long naps. The girl who loved to shop for herself and not have a schedule. The girl who had issues with poop and got nervous holding other people’s babies. Sure, I still love to sleep … and still like to shop (but now for the kids) … and I follow a schedule … and I change poopy diapers (but I still get nervous holding other people’s babies) … and I really do love being a Mom.

But having my kiddos makes it pretty easy.

Leah Lemmons - November 2, 2011 - 4:33 am

I could have wrote this myself. I think I’d have to say I am thankful for it too. I can truly say, I have no clue where I would have been without my parents adopting me. Not knowing who I look like, wondering what traits I have, etc. I, too, never thought I’d adopt. I did have one child, but life led me to adoption too. Totally unexpected I might add! But “A” has taught me to be thankful for my life, my parents, and my birth mother. I never had that or understood that till “A” came into my life, seriously. Great post and totally understand where you’re coming from!

April - November 2, 2011 - 7:06 am

Love this! Adoption rocks, for sure!

Grace P. - November 2, 2011 - 7:09 am

Thanks for sharing this! Beautifully written from such a unique perspective of an adoptee and adoptive mama!

Lisa Ferratto - November 2, 2011 - 8:56 pm

Rach, this blog is spectacular. I can hear your voice as I read even though I haven’t heard it in years. (It’s crazy how long ago cosmetology school was!) Thank you for making me smile! I am so happy for you and Bob and your beautifulllll (and expanding!!!) family. xoxo

liz k - November 3, 2011 - 8:56 am

Love your post!!!!

Kim H. - November 3, 2011 - 10:52 am

Love this! Made me cry!

twas a Happy Halloween

This year I had these grandiose costume plans for my kids. I had an image in my mind of what I wanted them to wear and I could even see the ‘shots’ I wanted to capture with my camera. And then Claire informed me that she wanted to be a black cat.  That was soooo not part of my plan. So of course I did the only logical option available to me, and I bribed her  (she will now be the new owner of some Ariel bath toy she’s been wanting). And of course time totally got away from me, and I almost ended up without a red cape for the girl. But the crisis was averted thanks to Target.

Anyways, since Halloween fell on a school day, Claire got to wear her costume to school. So I decided to take some photos of her while everything was still ‘fresh’. Good thing I did, because it was the only time I was able to get ANY photos of Charlie. That kid does NOT care for his costume.

So without any further adieu, here is my version of

Little Red Riding Hood  … and the Big Bad Wolf

When I went to pick Claire up from school, I noticed there was this little patch of green grass by some trees. And I thought to myself, ‘oh – this would be perfect for Little Red Riding Hood!‘ So I made Claire stop and let me take her picture. Again. (she’s such a good sport!)

And now these photos only remind me of a happier time … because the rest of the night wasn’t as great. I should have known when we got lost on the way to our friend’s Parents house and ended up in a cemetery (how does THAT happen?!) and Claire informed us that it looked like a great place to sit since there were so many flowers. We had fun hanging out with friends, but when it came time to trick or treat, Charlie had a melt down and Claire said she was too scared of Halloween (I’m guessing because it was dark out?). So we got to 3 houses before we called it quits.

Ahhh well … such is life. Maybe we’ll have better luck next year.

{and no, that is not my house}

Jenny - November 1, 2011 - 12:27 pm

sorry the trick-or-treat part didn’t go so well, but i think the costumes more than make up for it. i love little red riding hood and the big bad wolf! :)

Sandra - November 1, 2011 - 4:28 pm

The costumes are *awesome* and you got some really great pictures. Sorry that the rest of the night didn’t go so well. No candy for you, huh?!

Ajumma - November 1, 2011 - 10:13 pm

oh Sandra … I had MORE than my fill before the Holiday hit :)

just another Saturday afternoon

So the kiddos have been up at my parents house for a couple of days while I’ve been working on a big project and Bob was at a continuing education class. The plan originally was for me to go with him, and then we’d go to Napa afterwards, but instead, I got to stay home and glue ribbon for hours on end. Super fun.

But today we headed up the hill to go get the kids. On the way we stopped at a place called ‘Teriyaki Junction’ for lunch. A friend told me that the owners were Korean and that they had a few Korean dishes on the menu. I’ve only been there a couple of times, but much to my delight, the owners remembered me. (I refer to it as the ‘Korean hook-up’. Basically, it’s when ever a Korean approaches me purely because I am Korean. It happens at completely random times – and yes – I totally love it.)

{bibimbap – or as Dora would say, it’s DELICIOSO!}

So when we actually made it to my parent’s house, I was informed that the plan was for us to go to a nearby park area because Claire had discovered a bridge that a troll lived under (just like in the story ‘The 3 Billy Goats Gruff’ – which my parents read to her all the time) and she wanted to show it to us. Unfortunately, the park area was closed … so we’ll have to save that for another day. Instead we decided to make our way to a different park-like place to let the kids burn off some steam before our drive back down the hill.

it’s so great to see the kiddos play together

and to genuinely enjoy each other

as that wasn’t always the case …

… when Chuckster first came home

now it’s just your typical sibling rivalry

as they learn to respect each other’s personal space

we’ve really come a long way

and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for our family


***IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION REGARDING MY BLOG ROLL: Please know that when I quickly put the lists together, my intention was to make it easier for people to navigate the Blogs. I thought that identifying which Blogs were Korean Heritage families would be helpful to those looking for them as a resource. I was not trying to ‘segregate’ people or make ‘division lines’. I’ve also changed the category names with the hopes that they better communicate what I was trying to do. You can find further Category descriptions in the FAQs – located on the top menu bar ***

Sandra - October 30, 2011 - 10:36 am

Even though we are quite literally years away from bringing home baby #2 I am already panicking about how they’ll get along. So it’s awesome to see that yours have started to like each other!

Grace - October 30, 2011 - 6:50 pm

dear me, i LOVE claire’s pink boots!!!
is it acceptable for 30 year-old women to wear pink, sparkly cowboy boots?!

Liz K - October 31, 2011 - 9:32 am

Love the updates and the photos :)

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