It is what it is ...

Heh, can't believe it's been 3 months since I posted last! WTheck?!? I don't think I've ever gone that long without posting something....

So why have I been AWAL for so long? Let's see ... the last time I blogged, it was August and I wrote about my consignment sale and wonderful friends who surprised me at my sale. (So glad you did Cindy!) ;) I had to look back at my picture folders on my laptop from August, September, and October to see what all we were into. Then all the memories came flooding back! Man!!

Tay made the Middle School's volleyball team, so games started in August and ended in September. She did awesome! Too much to mention about that, I'm supposed to be summing it up here, right? Moving on, September was just as busy with volleyball continuing, Nissan Family Day, and a trip to the Nashville Zoo. Really, if I put all those pictures on here, you'd be so bored you'd skip down to the comments. By the time you got there, you'd say "the heck with this" and click out of there. (don't worry it won't hurt my feelings, how would I really know anyway, right?) After September flew by, October seemed to be just as busy.

The hubby sold his plane. :(  Hated to see him let go of something he loved, but it just wasn't getting used that much. We are so busy now, he just couldn't justify keeping it any longer. Some college student from Oklahoma bought it.

                               Going ....

                               Going ...

                               Gone ...

On that same day, Tay, Aiden, and I were in Bowling Green at the Korean Kiddo Playdate with a bunch of cuties. 

And a bunch of awesome mamas! :)

Oh yeah, good times!

Oh, and another awesome thing that happened was this, Aiden's birth mother went to Holt in Korea and asked to get another update on Aiden! Super excited about that! I wrote a letter to her and sent about 14 pictures too. Hope she finds comfort in those. :) 

After the Korean Play date, I began babysitting a precious 3 month old. I was a little worried on how Aiden would react to her in the beginning. I had no clue what to expect. Check this picture out and see what you think. 

Yes, he loves her.  He sits perched on the arm of my chair when I'm feeding her.  He wants to help hold her bottle. He'll take her empty bottle and put it in the kitchen for me. He touches her head so softly and caring. When her foofoo drops out of her mouth, he tells me. When she cries he looks concerned.  When she naps he likes to look in on her and watch her sleep. Would I have ever thought he would have done all these precious things? Not a clue, but he still amazes me every day. How can a 2 year old become so caring in an instant? I have so much to learn from him. 

Onward ... 

Tay got her first report card in Middle School. All A's and a D. WHAT?!?! She told me on the way home from school that day. My heart sank! She has never even made a "C" on her report card! Really?!? (yes, I have high expectations for my girl!)  And she had no clue why she had made that grade. It was in Math, not her best subject, but according to Engrade on the internet, she had a "B". Long story short and after a week full of stress, phone calls, a trip to the school, and talking to the principal, she actually had a "B", not a "D". Someone either averaged it wrong or keyed it in wrong. That's all that needs to be said about that. She made all A's and one B. So proud of my girl, but let me tell you, I could have done without all the stress! 

And I'll let this speak for itself. :)

I just love them to pieces! This is Tay's 6th grade picture. Geezzz, can she look any older? 

Middle School is the roughest! She's trying so hard to find out who she is and who she wants to be, plus all the other kids are doing the same thing. Lots of changes going on. It's enough to drive anyone crazy. Seems to be doing that to me most days and I don't even go to school! She's hanging in there and I'm trying my best to help her as much as I can. But I have to be honest, most days it's exhausting to say the least, by trying to instill values in her heart, honesty in her voice, and  compassion in her thinking. It's.the.hardest.sometimes. But if I'm going to have any say in her future, now is the time. <sigh>

November, sweet sweet November. It's National Adoption Month, time to celebrate and recognize. Where would I be today if Aiden hadn't come into my life? I think I can truly say, no where near where I am now.  He has changed my life completely. And I could go on and on and on, but I won't. Those of you who have read my posts about my own adoption know exactly what I'm saying. He is my savior, period. 

This couple, my inlaws, have been married 50 years, November 3, 2012. Can't begin to tell you what it means to us to have them in our lives. Such role models of true family values! I almost can't quite put my thoughts around that. To be married to someone for 50 years, is big, so big, you almost can't put a number on it because it's so BIG. Do people get that these days? I'm not going to get into the whole moral, family values in today's society. The future is now, deal with it and stop letting the future control you. 

Let's see, what else... oh, sold my trusty 217,000 mile Honda Accord and bought this little beaut!

We had outgrown the Honda. It was so good to us, I almost hated to see it  go......almost! Cause I'm lovin' my Ford Escape. :)  

As far as the Presidential election? Not even going to touch that one. Good grief, totally sick of hearing about it! It is what it is..... 

I know I've left some things out. We're busy, we're a solid family, we stick together, we love each other, and we support each other. Life can change in an instant. One choice can change your life forever. I could sit here and worry about the future, my children's lives, my grandchildren's lives. It wouldn't change a thing. I'm trying to live in the present, the here and now.  It's all I can do, day by day, hour by hour. But, I can make it count! I'll try not to have any regrets, live my life to it's fullest, and enjoy it. It is what it is... and I'm loving it! 

SURPRISE!!

Last week was my big Time & Again Children's Consignment sale. I was all in the throws of it for the last 2 weeks really! I love being able to have my own sale, at my own house. It's totally awesome, a lot of hard work, but totally worth it to see all the adorable baby, toddler, and kids stuff, and see all that great stuff go to good use! Saturday was the big half price day and a busy day at that.  Tracy, my high school friend, was helping me that morning. We were sitting in my garage while having a slow time, which was nice for a moment, when all of the sudden, I was totally SURPRISED at who was walking up the walk to my garage!! These sweet sweet girlies, Cindy and Ella!!!

Okay! You got me Cindy, I was totally shocked!  And the visual of my lower jaw dropping to the floor should have been your insight - Yes I was totally surprised!!  I had no idea they were coming to visit us! I proceeded to pick my jaw up from the floor and ran to them for a great big hug! With tears in my eyes of course! What a great great surprise! So great to see my friend and her sweet kiddos! Cindy and I chatted quite a bit while the kiddos played in our back yard. 

Needless to say, Aiden enjoyed himself too!  Cindy had her youngest son with her, Nolan. I think he had a great time playing too! Tay enjoyed herself! She loves to play with Ella!

I love this picture!! Ella and Tay had so much fun together on that trampoline!

I laughed so hard when this happened! Ella is so adorable and to see our Korean cuties together was so heart warming!

Every time I took a picture, Ella wanted to "see" the image on my camera. It was so adorably cute! 

Isn't Nolan a cutie!! And he loves his sister too!

Even though my brain was so involved in my sale, I couldn't help but think of their visit for the rest of the day! Cindy - you're right, there's no reason why we shouldn't get together more. Although our lives are so hectic, for the sake of our Korean cuties, it should be a must! I loved that you guys stopped by for a visit! It still feels like a "family" get together when we see you guys! I love that feeling, it lasts for a while each time, which is the way family should feel!

It was a little different this year ...

This past Sunday was my birthday. I turned 39 again! Okay, honestly, I turned 42 but I'm proud of my age. I'm growing old as gracefully as one can, or at least trying to. So I awoke that morning, just like any other morning. Aiden was still sleeping, so I just laid in bed and enjoyed the quiet for a while. I soon remembered it was my birthday, Sunday August 19th.  And for once, my first thought was, I wonder if my birth mother is thinking of me right now. Yeah, heavy statement. Did she think of me every year on my birthday? Did she think of me often, did she only think of me on my birthday??

This year was the very first time I actually thought of my birth mother first on my birthday. Where as, all my years before last year, I had only thought of myself. But something happened last year that has changed my life forever. Instead of repeating all that I wrote a year ago. You might want to read this post.

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.....

Thank you Aiden for giving me a new light on my life. He is my saving savior. He's showed me the missing link to my own life and how he has made it so much more. I don't know if I would have ever seen the other side, when all I was doing was staring at the wrong one. It took me 40 years to get past my own hurt, abandoned self, asking why all these years. Why was it not so simple to see? Because this little guy had to show me his way.

He set an example that made more sense than anything else in my life, where it finally clicked! It's weird how life works out sometimes, just as it should be....

Finally ....

It finally came! I can't believe it finally came! We've been waiting for almost 6 months for Aiden's Certificate of Citizenship to come in the mail and it showed up today.  It came certified mail no doubt! So glad I was here to sign for it! It is the.last.document we had to submit to the government to get proof that Aiden is a US citizen. This is the final "task" that had to be completed for his adoption! I can't believe it's all finally done! So, check this picture out!

From what I've heard, he'll need this to apply for college and I think to get his driver's license. Really?!? I can't even imagine Aiden going off to college OR getting his driver's license!! Hold on there cowboy, one thing at a time!!

So happy that ALL the paperwork is done. We have legally adopted Yeong-min Gim from South Korea who is now legally known as Aiden Lee Lemmons. Even though he is now legally Aiden, he will always know where he was from and every bit of information that exists of his life before us. It's all tucked away in all these books.  The three photo albums have over 300 photos of Aiden's life up until 3 days before we got him.

 The top book is my blog book, which has every detail of our journey to him. 

The second book on top is his baby book. (which I need to be doing better at filling out, bad mama!)

These two binders have all his Well Baby Check ups, medical records, background information. You name it, it's probably in there!

So there it is, Aiden's life in all these books. I'm so happy to have all these details and pictures about his life before us. So when he's ready, we'll sit down and look  at all this stuff, maybe even take a trip back to South Korea some day! Oh yeah! How could we not?!? :)

Proud Parent Moment ...

You know, we all have had them, a proud parent moment.  When your children do something that totally makes you proud, and, if you were like me, then you'd blog about it.

We've all had those PPM's, when an awesome report card comes home, great check up at the dentist, or when your child's art picture gets put on display at school. But, I would say this is just about the highest ranking PPM there is. Taylor, our 11 year old daughter, was baptized on July 22nd!

She was nervous as to be expected, but she was so excited at the same time.  Days before that Sunday, she was counting the days till then saying, "I can't wait till Sunday!". So proud of my girl to make her decision to be saved all on her own.

Yep, this definitely ranks very high on the chart! So proud of our girl! And what's really neat is, I was baptized in this same church back in 1979, when I was 9 years old. So this really has great meaning, especially to me. :)