Christmas and One Year Home

Merry Christmas! 

We have thoroughly enjoyed the last five days together as a family. Our time together started with cookie baking, cake making, ham smoking and friend playtime before attending the Christmas Eve service on Wednesday (it was a pretty full…and filling…day and a half!). We attended the family service at 4:00 pm, which featured a time when the kids ran up to the front for a Christmas story. Watching Oliver run up there I was so overwhelmed with joy to have him HERE to celebrate the birth of Jesus that I couldn’t help but cry. Not a dainty, dab the eyes cry. A full-on sob that I was stifling so as not to draw attention, meaning that I had that “ugly cry” look while tears streamed down my cheeks. 

Sobbing (for joy) aside, celebrating as a family was simply the best gift I could have asked for. After church we headed home to enjoy a Christmas Eve dinner. I had requested a traditional Christmas ham, so Tony took the opportunity to try smoking his very first ham. It was delicious! Oliver wouldn’t try it, but did enjoy it mixed in with scrambled eggs and cheese later in the weekend. 

Before bed Tony read us “Twas the Night Before Christmas” and then Oliver set out cookies and apple juice for Santa (guess who picked the drink!), and nine carrots for Rudolph and the other reindeer.  We were surprised that he fell asleep so quickly, and he didn’t wake up until 6:30 Christmas morning.

Santa stashed Oliver's two "big" gifts behind the tree.

Christmas morning was magical. Oliver was so happy to see that Santa had come and that the snack plate was picked over. Tony tried to capture a few pictures of Oliver’s first sighting of the tree, but we’ve been so focused on family time that we haven’t gotten around to looking at the camera. Needless to say, Oliver was full of awe and excitement.

The three things he asked Santa for he received (plus a slew of other items) — the Paw Patrol Lookout (he calls it the Pup Pad), Rubble (one of the Paw Patrol) and a Hot Wheels Race Track. Way to go Santa! As much as I wanted to snap a bunch of photos, more than that I wanted to be present in the moment. Therefore we didn’t get many pictures to share, but we had a wonderful time enjoying the morning.

Post-gift opening I did get a chance to snap these of a boy with his loot:

We headed to Oma and Opa’s for Christmas lunch and more unwrapping. I love this picture of Oliver trying his hardest to open one of his gifts! The paper didn’t want to rip and he just couldn’t get the gift open, no matter how hard he tried. 

We had a terrific time celebrating with family. In an effort to create our own new traditions we once again had a Christmas Cake. While not as beautiful decorated as the ones in Korea, it was Oliver’s choice to have a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Yum!

He crashed hard on the way home, all tuckered out from playing and opening gifts. He perked up quickly once we were home again, as there were more gifts to be played with. The rest of the weekend was a blast, with Oliver focused on staying home to play with all of his new toys and us forcing him to do crazy things like play outside in the snow, run around a shopping mall and go to church! I know, we are evil parents!

One surprising advantage to the time off together was that Tony and I had time together. Just to hang out! Oliver went to bed early a couple of nights and we stayed up late watching movies, something we haven’t done in ages (actually, it was more that I decided not to wake up at 5:00 to work out, so I was wiling to stay up later with Tony). 

We did learn a few things from our first Christmas at home:
1. We would be happy to pay a little extra to buy toys that already have all of the stickers placed in the corresponding spots. Who knew so many toys needed stickers!?

2. Buy extra batteries of all sizes. We may have thought we knew which ones we needed, but you just have to have one toy with no batteries to create a Christmas meltdown (lucky Oliver was able to be distracted long enough for us to get some batteries from Opa).

3. We need an extra recycle bin at Christmas. Our garage is now overflowing with cardboard.

4. Some assembly required. Yes, we knew this would not be fun. No, we did not expect it to take up so much of our day.

The day after Christmas marked one year home for us. One whole year. Amazing! I thank God for the opportunity to be Oliver’s mom, to celebrate the birth of Jesus as a family of three, and to get to spend so much time together over the holidays. I wish you and your families and a joyous holiday season and very Happy New Year!

The Plight Continues

Before bringing Oliver home there were a number of posts on this blog regarding the situation in Korea as it relates to adoption. The Special Adoption Law, enacted in August 2012, complicated our own adoption significantly, and continues to cause delays and challenges for families working to bring their children home. Perhaps more importantly, it is having an undesirable impact on children being born in Korea today. 

While our own plight may be over, the plight of other adopting families (domestic and international) continue, as does the need for hundreds of children without loving homes. As we prepare to celebrate our first Christmas together at home, I am saddened by the thought of those who are not together with their little ones this year, and the little ones who are without families (in part due to this law that was intended to help).

There is an organization that works to advocate for adoption in Korea, MPAK. As described on their website: 

MPAK's mission is to promote adoption in Korea, and to bring about positive changes to the Korean adoption culture and to advocate the needs of homeless children to have homes of their own. 

If you have a few minutes, check out their most recent post, recapping 2014 and the atmosphere surrounding adoption in Korea. Click here for more.

My heart aches for the families and children. It is also filled with joy, however, that we made it through and that tonight I get to answer Oliver's request for chocolate chip cookies! 

One Year

Today marks our one year family anniversary. We are having a great day today. The morning began with gifts for Oliver. Three gifts from Tony and I, and one from Oma and Opa. Tony said that growing up, when his family would celebrate the boys' arrival anniversaries, gifts were part of the celebration. He wanted to continue that tradition, and I'm pretty sure that Oliver is happy with that decision! 

For lunch today we made our first trip to Chuck E. Cheese. Oliver has been seeing commercials on TV and wanting to go. Since he loves pizza and games, it seemed like a good fit.

He's been spending the afternoon playing with his new toys and is now watching his favorite Korean cartoon character, Pororo. We will be making homemade bulgogi and japchae for dinner tonight, then heading out around town to look at Christmas lights. All in all a far different day than our first one as a family of three!

We have been doing a lot of reflecting on the past year as today approached. While Tony and I still have much to learn on the parenting front (and know we will never have it fully down pat!), we have come a long way. I've written many times about how wonderful Oliver's done as he has adjusted to life here, and I think Tony and I have also grown tremendously. Our first day with Oliver was one of the most difficult days we have ever had! We had a 2 1/2 year-old child I could not speak our language, who had expectations of us couldn't quite get right, and we were terrified (so was he). 

Tony and I have been blessed in countless ways. While the first few months were especially hard, overall things have gone really well. Our family and friends have continued to be there for us. Oliver has surprised us time and again with his compassion, humor, willingness to trust and love us. 

What a year it has been! Oliver, we love you more than we thought possible. 

One Year Later: And Away We Go (aka The Craziest Thing I Think I've Ever Done)

One year ago today Tony and I made what could be the craziest, most uncharacteristic decision we've ever made -- we decided on a Tuesday to fly to Korea early Wednesday morning. No final court approval, no promise of taking custody, no hotel booked, no car seat installed...nothing. Just a wish to be together with Oliver for Christmas. Check out the full post here.

The way things fell into place on our crazy journey is still fresh in my memory. God watched over us, as only He can do. We are just a few days away from our one year Family Anniversary (December 20). As I reflect on this time last year, on Oliver's life in Korea and life with the family he knew coming to an end, I am overwhelmed with heartbreak for him and the foster family. As I think about this moment, the right-here right-now, I am overwhelmed with love. For Oliver. Tony. The foster family. Thankfulness. Appreciation. 

On December 17, 2013 we made a crazy decision, leaping into the unknown and praying for the best. In the twelve months since, we've had a lot of unknowns, a lot of prayers for the best outcome. But I think that crazy decision turned out to be one of the best decisions we ever made. 

Fantastic Weekend!

We had a great weekend! The festivities began Friday morning at the Hopkins Stages Theater. Tony and I took Oliver to his first musical, Rudolph. What a fantastic experience! Kid-friendly, fun, authentic to the story and in general top-notch. Oliver had a blast and was very well behaved. Here are photos from before the show began.

The cast lined up after the show and gave autographs, hugs and took pictures. Here are a few (keep in mind we were snapping on the go, so the quality isn't the best):

After the morning musical we headed out for burgers and malts...then to the rides at the Mall of America. Nickelodeon Universe was nearly empty, so no lines and lots of rides. Tony even took him on the log chute!

On Saturday Tony and Opa took Oliver ice fishing. Unfortunately Tony was the only one to catch anything, but Oliver got a chance to hold a "cropper" and hung out in the ice house with Opa. He lasted far longer than expected and all three guys had a good time. 

On Sunday Oliver helped bake the first batch of Christmas cookies. We picked one of Tony's favorites -- peanut butter blossoms (the ones with the kiss on top). Oliver helped open all of the candies (and managed to do a good job and not eating them all), prepare the batter (mixing, measuring and spooning), and then rolled the batter into balls and covered them in sugar. Tony snapped a picture and although he looks a little stunned here, he had a good time:

I've mentioned this before, but Oliver has a wealth of compassion. This past weekend he was especially attached to his "Baby Otter" and kept putting him down for naps, coming to get me when Baby Otter was crying, trying to find a home for Baby Otter, and more. Last night he put his new Misfit Airplane (from the musical on Friday) and Baby Otter together in Baby Otter's home. I mean, how sweet can this kid be?! Melt my heart...

A Christmas-Filled Weekend

Yes, I know the week is more than half over and I am just now posting about our past weekend! It was an extended weekend, however, so today is really more like my Tuesday instead of my Wednesday.

Saturday was a fun-and-Christmas-filled day with Oliver. We began with the Brooklyn Park Lion's Club Waffle Breakfast. Their waffles are always delicious so Tony and I have made it a habit to attend the waffle breakfasts when we can. The December breakfast also features...Santa! We thought this would be good opportunity to introduce Oliver to Santa, and he was so excited. He woke up asking about it, wanted to get his list ready, and upon arrival went straight up to him. No fear! He hopped right up into the big chair (sitting next to Santa, not on his lap) and proceeded to give Santa his list. They had a great chat, we snapped a few pictures and then we were off to enjoy breakfast. Sadly the background wasn't decorated like you see at the Mall, but Oliver didn't mind. 

After breakfast we headed to our local nursery to pick out our Christmas tree. Oliver helped us find the perfect tree -- he has a great eye! Before dinner we headed to Maple Grove's Holiday Parade. It is a short parade (one or two blocks long) along Main Street. Here is Oliver watching the fire trucks roll through to start the festivities:

I got a chance to hold him up as well:

The parade ended with a community tree lighting:

On Sunday we decorated the tree. Tony strung the lights and then we worked together to hang all of the ornaments. You may recall that we purchased an ornament for Oliver the first Christmas we knew of him (see this post from 2012). We also had one for him from this year. If only I could have captured his joy at having his own ornaments to put on the tree! He was delighted and so very thankful. What a sweetheart!

He really enjoyed hanging the ornaments -- and playing with them! Here are a couple of pictures to share (in the one with Tony Oliver is giving us his best "Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas"):

Monday was a Mommy and Daddy christmas shopping day, during which time Oliver helped Oma decorate her trees. He is so excited for Christmas and for Santa, I don't know how we are going to make it another 15 days!

The Christmas festivities will continue as we have tickets to see Rudolph at a local children's theater this Friday. He is really enamored with Rudolph and his story, so this should be a fun experience. Yeah!

Thankful

Last week we celebrated our first Thanksgiving together. Hooray! To get us into the Thanksgiving spirit, Oliver and I made little turkeys for each of the family members, and on Thanksgiving we each wrote something we are thankful for. Oliver loved making them (and did a really good job putting them together), and our three turkeys now reside near a small Christmas tree in our living room. Thank you, Target, for offering this project to an otherwise uncrafty mom! 

As for many of us, Thanksgiving is very much about the food. While the adults enjoyed a wonderful, traditional meal, Oliver preferred to fill up on the appetizers and dessert -- specifically carrots and dill dip (yeah! he finally ate carrots!), summer sausage and ice cream (he wouldn't touch the jello salad or the pies). Lots of summer sausage! He refused to try nearly all of the meal, but still had a good time. This year we have so much to be thankful for, and I am beyond happy that we got to spend it together. Here are a couple of pictures from Thanksgiving:

Over the weekend three fun things happened that are worth reporting. First, we received a package from Oliver's foster family! They sent Tony and I both lovely scarves. For Oliver, they sent a hanbok, which is a traditional Korean costume worn on formal occasions (for example, the one he is wearing in his first birthday photos; they are often worn on birthdays, the Lunar New Year, etc.). When we brought Oliver home they included his first birthday hanbok, but by then he had long outgrown it. We put it on him and it fits pretty well -- though he didn't want to hold still for a photo!

Second, Oliver and I went on a fun dinner date to Punch Pizza. I think this might have been my first time taking him out at dinner time somewhere so busy. He did a great job waiting in line and then sitting across from me at the table. We had a good time together (even if I didn't get to eat much before he was done and ready to leave) and I am glad it all worked out.

Third, we started to decorate for Christmas! Oliver was so excited about each and every decoration. The amazement as each item came out of the box was heartwarming. The oohing and aching. I loved every moment! He is so excited for Christmas. We bought an Advent Calendar to help him on two fronts. First, to help him know how much time until Christmas (he kept thinking Santa was coming now). Second, to help him keep in mind that Christmas is really about the birth of Jesus (his Advent Calendar is a fabric manger scene with pieces he sticks on each day). It seems to be helping and is a fun thing for him to do each morning. I don't have any pictures of the decorating right now, but we will be doing our Christmas tree this weekend and will be sure to snap some good pictures.

To think that last year at this time we weren't yet a family...and today my heart melts just thinking about him. Love.