Perfect Moment Monday

The other night pea and I were reading an adoption story before bedtime. We talked about being different and how his skin is like creamy hot chocolate and mommy's is like a fluffy marshmallow. We laughed as we came up with various descriptions for our skin, eyes, and hair. Then, Pea asked,

"Why are people adopted?"

We talked about how some people are not able to take care of a baby for various reasons. We looked at a picture of his birth mother and talked about how he grew in her tummy. He then snuggled up to me and said,

"I don't want to be adopted again."

My heart instantly ached as I was reminded, again, of the loss my little boy has already experienced in his life and that the fear he may have that it could happen again. It was a reminder that love, as we often know it, is not enough and that attachment is not a one time event for adoptive families. It is a process that ebbs and flows throughout life and presents new challenges with each developmental stage.

This perfect moment presented itself in a seemingly imperfect way, but that is often where we find the most precious things! I squeezed pea extra tight that night and we snuggled a little longer than usual knowing these are the moments that help bond us together. And, whatever adoption issues come our way over the years, we will navigate through them together.

Check out more Perfect Moment Monday HERE.

FFF - Give Thanks

I have so much to be thankful for this year. This has been a really transformational year for me, which required a lot of soul searching. The year started out with plans to move away, start a new life in a new city, and change careers. Something I thought I REALLY wanted to do for a very long time. For several years, I just couldn't wait for the perfect opportunity to make such a huge change. Then...the opportunity came. It was right in my fingertips...I was so excited and swept away with all of these new possibilities. A new beginning. It's what I wanted, right?

But, I walked away. It was an extremely difficult decision and I really cried my eyes out in the midst of letting it go...letting go of the dream that I had been holding so tightly for so long. I was scared of what that meant, what I was losing, wondering what would happen now, and having this fear of being "trapped."

But, as the dust started to settle, I felt a weight slowly start to lift and I started to see my life with a new vision, a bit cloudy, but still new. I started to realize that I was not ready to walk away from the life I have. I started to open up my heart and mind to setting roots and really building a life right here. It was not at all what I expected. But, that seems to be the story of my life!

It took having the real opportunity to walk away to realize what I already have and to really envision creating a new beginning right here. Once that decision was made, everything seemed to start falling into place and, for the first time since moving back to my hometown 10 years ago, I finally feel like I belong here. I finally feel like this is home.

Finally feeling settled and knowing this is where we are going to be for a long time is a pretty amazing after feeling so restless for so long. I can finally let go and allow myself to find my place here.

So, this year, I am so grateful to finally feel at home and I am so in love with our life, the life that we completely unexpected!

( I am also so in love with this beautiful Japanese Maple!)

Check out more FFF on Hannah's blog HERE.

UPDATE!!!!!! AMAZING NEWS and perfect for Giving Thanks!!! Remember my dear friends, Brittney & Daniel?? They have been fighting like mad for THREE years to bring their daughter home from Guatemala and they recently find out that they FINALLY have PGN approval!!!! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE go give them lots of bloggy love. They are sooooo ready for their sweet girl to come home. Click HERE.

Perfect Moment Monday (I know, it's Tuesday!)

Have you checked out Write Mind Open Heart (formally Webbles Wobblog)? She rocks! Every Monday she hosts Perfect Moment Monday. It is about noticing a perfect moment, not creating one. My sister often talks about Perfect Moments so I was immediately drawn to this idea. And, after losing my patience too many times over the weekend to a very bossy pea, it helped me to step back and find a perfect moment in the midst of some not-so-perfect moments!

Here goes:

I LOVE popcorn!! I especially love popcorn cooked on the stove and drizzled in real butter. YUM! That is a rare guilty pleasure as I usually just indulge in the generic microwave variety. Pea also looooooves popcorn and gets so excited he literally bounces around the kitchen as the popcorn pops. The other night I got out two little bowls for our popcorn and pea suddenly stopped jumping and ran over to me. He grabbed one really big bowl and said, "Let's share out of this bowl, mommy."

We then snuggled on the couch under a blanket with our big bowl of popcorn and watched Dino Dan (pea's newest obsession). Pea then gave me a big hug and said, "I love sharing popcorn with you mommy! This is the best!"

Definitely a perfect moment!

Check out more Perfect Moments HERE and link up to share your own Perfect Moment!

What I learned last month

One of my favorite new blogs is Strocel. Every month she posts what she has learned over the month and I love that idea! Sometimes it feels like life is just flying by at lighting speed so I love this idea of reflecting back on what has really mattered over the last month. So, here it goes...

Over the past month I have learned...

• My husband is incredibly handy! He has worked so hard on our house and I am amazed at how much he can do! I remember back when we were buying our first house and he was so nervous about being able to take care of things. Well, he is awesome!


• I have also discovered that my hubby does so much more for our family than what I often give him credit. That is very humbling for me.


• Over the past month, I have really grown to loathe dinner time. Mind you, I love to cook so it is not that. It is the end of the day transition...everyone (eh hem...Pea) is tired, grumpy, and hungry. Predinner time is also known as the witching hour in our house when the little monster emerges. Once dinner is on the table, then I hear "I don't like that. I want something else." Now, pea eats about ANYTHING. I believe this is more about a 3 year old trying to assert some control! It's just a phase, right?!


• Unfortunately, I have discovered that stress has wreaked havoc on my teeth. During pea's adoption process, I started experiencing a lot of jaw and tooth pain. Come to discover I had started grinding my teeth at night. Now I wear a bite splint every night and it makes a huge difference. But, the damage had already been done and my tooth is now cracked. It's a crown for me. Sheez.


• I am constantly amazed at pea's memory. He has this ability to randomly pull out memories of things that happened ONE TIME months and months ago. I have no idea how he does this when I can barely remember what I had for lunch yesterday. He only needs to see or hear something once and he will remember. Sometimes they are not things I want him to remember...for example, today he mentioned the time I hit a mailbox when we were parking at a garage sale. This happened MONTHS ago! I nicked a mailbox with my mirror and all I said was "OOPS! I hit that mailbox." We never talked about it again until this morning. How does he remember this stuff?!


• Over the past month, I have been reminded that I work with some pretty amazing people who are some of my best friends.


• My dad received a prestigious distinguished alumni award last month from his Alma mater and I was so proud. I learned all over again that my dad is amazing. I love you, dad!
  
  

What have you learned this month? Check out more month in reviews HERE.

FFF - Family Fun

We definitely like to have fun! And, we most often find it in the simple, everyday stuff. One of our favorite activities are family walks in our neighborhood. Have I mentioned how much we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our new neighborhood??? All pea wants to do is ride his bike and he just can't seem to go fast enough! Typically our walking route entails going to the fire station. Shocking, I know! We no longer live right beside a fire station, but we still live within walking distance of another one!
Another fav activity is playing in the yard. Pea decided that using the tee to hit the ball is just too boring. In fact, he is actually pretty good at hitting a pitched ball! He is much better at hitting that I am at pitching!

Just hangin' around at home. Pea and his daddy ALWAYS have fun together. Daddy has a very special way to always make pea laugh. I just love watching them play together.

Check out more FFF at Hannah's blog HERE and have a great weekend!

Welcome!!!

Welcome, welcome, welcome to Peas and Carrots!!!

Ya know, I really debated over the new name and felt like it needed to be something really deep and meaningful, but nothing felt right. And, to be honest, I just couldn't give up "pea!" So, what pairs perfectly with peas??? Carrots, of course! A perfect pair with their own unique little qualities. I think it's perfect.

As you will notice, I also couldn't leave everything behind so I just moved all of my previous posts to our new little piece of the blogosphere.

Hang in with me as I get settled in our new home and do some organizing and cleaning. In the meantime, make sure you don't miss any other BIG announcements by

signing up as a follower. :)