Tests

Thanks for the calls, comments, emails and prayers. I appreciate it! I'm off for a round of tests today that I HOPE gives me a real answer. I can't imagine there's too much more to check out, but as fascinating as I find medicine, there's clearly a ton I don't know... even when they try to spoon feed the info. to me!

Sam has settled into his summer at home pretty nicely. He and Daddy have a little routine going that seems to work. Up around 7, morning snack (don't utter the word breakfast or you'll get an early morning dose of the whines) and then off for an hour's walk in the wagon. Hopefully when I feel like an hour walking around won't kill me, I'll be able to join them!

They come home, have another snack, play outside, then we all have lunch together. Most days, I'm able to help get him down for his nap before getting back to work. By the time Sleepyhead wakes up, I'm winding down for the day. There are the occasional errands and playdates thrown in, but as long as Daddy keeps the schedule moving, Sam's a happy guy.

He started copying us again, which I always find amusing. I don't know what he *thinks* we've said, but if you ask him a question that he chooses to answer in the affirmative, he replies, "Absolutey positooney!"

He also must have listened to Mommy, and hearing the words repeated back were hilarious and a bit embarrassing at the same time. I sound like that?!

Rob said he was going to do something. Can't recall what it was. Sam looked up at him, exaggeratedly shrugged his shoulders and said, "Are you KIDDIN' me, Daddy? You must be kiddin."

Uh Oh. Good thing we swore off swearing a long time ago...

Lyme Away

It's not Lyme that I have. I don't know what it is right now, but further, more detailed tests showed that it's not "tick disease" as my boss so nicely calls it.

I made an appointment today since I still have a fever (9 weeks and counting) after three weeks on antibiotics. He had more in-depth results that had come in. Now we know it's not Lyme, but another test that's positive isn't conclusive either.

If you're the praying kind, I'd appreciate all the prayers and positive vibes I can get. I am determined to stay calm until I know more, but this is not fun!

Gotcha Day, Take 2!

I just tucked Sam in for the night, and had the sweetest chat about how lucky we are to be a family.

It was almost to the minute two years ago tonight that we waited anxiously in Terminal D of the bustling Philadelphia airport for Sam to arrive from Seoul. The journey from his loving foster mother's home to ours in New Jersey was over 24 hours, and according to his escort, he hadn't slept AT ALL while flying. That fact alone made him none too happy when he was handed over to us. Luckily, with a little bit of sleep under his belt, he turned into a giggly, happy baby who quickly learned how to keep his parents in stitches.

As happy a day as this is for us, there's a bittersweet element, too. I can't help but think that his birth family has no idea that today is significant to a little boy they loved so much that they had to make the heart wrenching decision to place for adoption just so he'd have a chance at a life they couldn't give him. I can't help but think how his foster family, after caring for him for 11 of the first 13 months of his life, must have been so sad to hand him to an escort at Holt, knowing they may never see him again.

I know that we have become the family we were meant to be. As painful as some of the parts of Sam's earliest days are, he is forever a part of a family that loves him more than anything on Earth.

Last year, Sam was too young to understand why we were so excited about this day. It's different this year. He is still too young to understand much of what we talk about, but he did repeat several times that today is "Gotcha Day."

He gets the important parts: there's an airplane involved, the word Korea is somehow associated, lots of people waited for him to arrive and they waved flags while they waited, and we now we celebrate how blessed we are to have each other.

We started the day by watching the video from the night he arrived since Rob has to be at his school's graduation tonight. Sam's seen the video many times before and calls it "my movie." He watched intently this morning, identified everyone who was there, and waited with bated breath to see his own arrival.

He was very cute... When he finally saw a glimpse of a tiny version of himself, carried in a podaegi on his escort's back, he ran to the TV and pointed, shouting, "There I am! That's me. I'm HERE!"

He watched his reaction on the screen go from smiley, to hysterical, to calm again. He turned to us and said," Mommy, Daddy, look. I was crying, and you made me feel all better. I'm not sad anymore!"

It's so ironic to hear him say that, since his mommy cried happy tears several times today. I just keep thinking of our special night two years ago and seeing what an amazing little person he's turned out to be.

Baby James

I just peeked in on a blog that is chronicling the struggles of a family whose son, James, is battling Wilms Tumor. James was adopted from Korea and diagnosed less than two months later.

It sounds like the family has had some good news following surgery yesterday. I hope he continues to improve, though there's still a long road ahead.

Please check it out and pray for Baby James: http://jrjschrandt.blogspot.com/

Wardrobe update

I'm a bit too tired for a full Relay recap right now. I couldn't possibly do it justice in my state of exhaustion, but at least a couple of people commented on my earlier wardrobe nightmare post, so to put your mind at ease, here's a brief bit of justication for this weekend.

1. I promised no more bandannas. I lived up to that one. It was 92 degrees and ridiculously humid this weekend, but I wore my melted coif proudly. Better to have bad hair than sport a purple pirate look.

2. Mismatched clothing? I handled that one with ease, too. Regular purple polo and khaki shorts for the entire event. I do think they were a few sizes bigger by the afternoon, stretched out from the dampness of the day, but at least I was wearing coordinated colors.

3. Pasty white legs? Well, that would have been a good trend -- at least healthwise -- to continue. Not so much. The humidity meant lots of sweating. Lots of sweating meant the SPF 55 I applied just slid right off. I now look like a splotchy lobster. I have a bright red "V" from the polo shirt and patches of crazy burn on the backs of my knees! Who gets burned there?!

I'm off to apply more aloe spray and take a nap.

Here's a newspaper article on the event, for your reading pleasure:
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070603/NEWS01/706030393