Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays from our family to yours! We hope your holiday season has been filled with love and joy!

Perfect Moment Monday: Answers

As you remember from my last perfect moment post, we were waiting for news from Victor's visit to pea's birth grandparents...

Later that evening, we received an email from Victor stating he had just spoken with pea's birth mother and was going to meet her within the hour! What a complete surprise!! Victor took her pictures of pea and a letter we wrote.

A couple days later, we were blessed with about 18 pictures of pea's birth mother and another family member. Amazing.

We also received more information about pea's birth family.

It has been a whirl of emotions, but I feel a huge weight lifted knowing we have made a connection with them.

It was such a perfect moment to see pea's face reflected back to us in these pictures...something most of us take for granted. A perfect moment of not having to wonder or fantasize. A least for a moment.

It was definitely a moment full of emotions and my mind has been reeling ever since. We are not sure how this will evolve, but making this connection is truly a gift.

Check out more Perfect Moment's HERE.

Before and After - Final

We have FINALLY finished our dining room! One room down...many more to go!

You have seen this picture, but here is the BEFORE.......drum roll, please....


AFTER!!!

I LOVE it!!! What a huge difference, eh?!?! Who wants to come over for dinner? :)

Next...we are building a kitchen island to make our kitchen more functional until we can tackle that remodel project (a few years).

Searching - Perfect Moment Monday

This past week brought a completely unexpected surprise through a random chain of events. I contacted Victor last week (in Guatemala) to arrange a time to skype with pea's foster family. In the meantime, I joined the Guat Mama group on facebook and was reading a thread about birth family searches. One fellow Guat Mama posted she hired Victor to search for her daughter's birth mother and had a wonderful experience. So, I contacted her for more information. One thing led to another and I found myself corresponding with Victor about a search.

Now, we have always planned to search for pea's birth family, but had planned to wait a little longer for various reasons. But, pea's birth family has been on my mind A LOT lately, especially after the slew of earthquakes and tropical storms that hit Guatemala this summer. I would have these moments of panic thinking, what if we miss an opportunity and it's gone forever?

Then, last Friday, I received an email from Victor stating he had found pea's birth grandparents. My heart stopped.

Victor explained that he traveled four hours ONE WAY to the town where they live and was able to get some basic information. He did not meet with them at that time because he needed to do some preliminary investigating first. Now, mind you, he was doing this on his own time. We have not paid him a dime, yet, and we had no idea he was going so soon!

I couldn't believe what I was reading. My heart swelled and I started shaking. For a moment...time stood still and shifted as this possibility seemed to be opening up.

This was a perfect moment of possibility.

The possibility of finding the family that gave my son life.

The possibility of getting information, any information, is amazing. Simply amazing.

The possibility of making a connection, whatever it may be, across the boundaries of country and culture. Because, regardless of what separates us...we will always be connected. Always.

Today, Victor is traveling again with the intent of meeting with pea's grandparents and, possibly, his birthmother.

Needless to say, our hearts are reaching across the miles today...filled with hope and possibility.

Check out more Perfect Moment Monday HERE.

November Roundup

Time to reflect on the past month! November FLEW by so fast and I can't believe it is already December. Here is a summary of November musings, activities, and other random stuff.

1. I am trying to accept that "mommy guilt" is just an innate part of being a mom. I definitely struggle with this, though it ebbs and flows. At the same time, it is also a measure for me. When the guilt starts growing, I know it's time to slow down and prioritize. I just try to remind myself that I can choose to allow the guilt to eat at me or I can choose to use it as a guide to shift gears a little.

2. Pea has started showing an interest in watching Scooby Doo lately, which means straying from Nick Jr. Which means...COMMERCIALS. I.HATE.COMMERCIALS. Thanks to commercials, pea thinks he needs a cotton candy maker. We try to stick to watching shows on the DVR so we can skip through the commercials, but that doesn't always work out. And, yes, I shamefully admit we have been watching waaaay too much TV lately.

3. A few weeks ago, I volunteered at Challenge Day at our local high school. It was amazing. Every high school should do this. If your high school participates in Challenge Day, it is sooo worth being a volunteer. Check it out HERE. I spent 6 hours with 16 and 17 year old kids grappling with some really tough issues and I was blown away by their courage, resiliency, compassion, and willingness to take a stand. It was awesome and I learned so much from them.

4. A few months ago, pea started chewing his fingernails. Not sure why. I then discovered that he was also chewing his toenails. Gross, right? I have not trimmed his toenails or fingernails in months! I learned that he chews his toenails in bed before he falls asleep. Every time I would ask him why he chews his nails, he just shrugged his shoulders so I let it go. The other night I decided to ask him again and he told me he chews them to "get the bugs off." Yes, he thinks he has bugs on his nails and he needs to chew them off.

5. I really hate the "rivalry" between moms who stay-at-home and moms who work outside of the home. I really, really hate it. You all know what I am talking about. We are all doing the best we can so why does it need to be this way? We need to support one another, regardless of our situation.

6. I have learned that you absolutely cannot reason with a screaming, out-of-control child. If fact, saying anything is enough to escalate the situation. Deep breaths. Wait it out. Be there to give hugs when the time is right.

7. Never place a mug of coffee on top of an icy car roof. It inevitably leads to a very cranky morning.

8. I have truly been amazed with myself at how patient and calm I have been waiting for "the call." Seriously!! Of course, I have had a few anxious moments, but they are usually fleeting. I assumed I would be a crazy, anxious, stressed out mess waiting, but I know the call will come at the most perfect time and I feel freakishly calm...most of the time. :)

How was your November? Check out more monthly wrap-ups HERE.

Magic

The mind of a preschooler is, like my mom says, magical! Like all kids, pea has quite an imagination and it definitely makes life very interesting! The pure, uninhibited imagination of a peschooler is such a reminder of how much we lose as we grow older. Witnessing pea's imagination come to life everyday is so much fun...most of the time.

Pea's newest thing is his imaginary friend, his brother. He has actually been talking about his brother for awhile, but it has become NONSTOP over the last 3 weeks or so and his stories are getting more and more elaborate. He often talks about going to his brother's birthday party and driving by his brother's house. His brother does not live with us, but rather seems to move around a lot. Sometimes he lives under a bridge, sometimes down the street from us, sometimes by the fire station, etc, etc. He talks about what his brother wants for his birthday, what kind of cake he is having, his brother's favorite toys, TV shows, and more. He weaves quite a tale!

The other day, however, he was deadset on going to his brother's house when Jason picked him up from school. Jason played along for a little while by asking our typical questions about where his brother lives, what he's doing, etc, and that usually diverts the conversation enough to get home. This time, however, pea was unrelenting and kept begging to go to his brother's house. Fast forward a little to big ol' screaming fit with threats that he was going to kick us out of the house, kick "all of the people" out of the house, his brother was going to be mad at us...you get the picture. Last night, he again started begging to go to his brother's house when we were out and about. He was actually giving us specific directions like, turn left here, go straight, turn right there. Of course, it was always the opposite direction of where we were going. Luckily, we dodged another tantrum when a police car drove by, completely captivating pea's attention.

Nothin' like a police care, ambulance, or fire truck to save the day...this time.

In spite of a few fits over not being able to go to his brother's house, I love listening to pea's stories. Sometimes he makes suff up just to be funny because he is a self-described "funnyman." And, most of the time, he is still able to let his imagination run wild. It truly is magical.