SO MUCH HAPPENED FROM THIS DAY FORWARD....


It was one year ago today that we embarked upon a journey that would lead us to this beautiful country.....



To see for reality this beautiful face...


It has been a fun, enjoyable,yet some days challenging ride through this adventure but I wouldn't turn back in a second. We just look at Derek each day and thank God and our friends and family for each day we share with him.

I think I can confidently say that.... Derek is potty trained. He even did a poo in the potty today!!! WOOHOO!!!!

Daycare is going quite well. He usually wants to stay when I get there for him. He loves the kids. Even though they were all in their little cots sleeping when we left today he still waved goodbye to each of them. So cute!!!!!

I am campaigning for prayer again for my mom. She got a report to day that her liver enzymes are quite high and that she will need to have a full body cat scan on Monday. We are scheduled to get the results for that on Sept. 8th. We are hopeful that it is a fluke in the lab or that it is caused by her new medication. Please remember her.

Tomorrow Derek, the girls, and I are heading out to Hershey for a day of back to school shopping. I am NOT looking forward to it!

SHOULD I OR SHOULDN'T I......

I am almost afraid to put this in writing but after Day 2 of success I would like to brag about the potty training with Derek. We started really getting serious about it this week. I seem to keep it under control here at home but when he goes to work with Norm all hell breaks loose. I guess Daddy needs to get tougher. Anyway we have been doing what a few other blogging parents have done...PANTSLESS!!!! IT WORKS!!! He realizes there is nothing there to catch what is coming out and he runs for the potty. We even did a short road trip today in UNDIES and he stayed DRY!!!! A big WOOHOO to Derek!!! So we are almost "Potty Trained". Derek will start daycare Tuesday and it was my goal to have this accomplished by then. We'll see.....

As I looked back through the archives of Derek's adoption process I realize that it was one year ago today that we made our decision to travel to Vietnam at the end of August 2008 regardless of whether there was a decision made by the Vietnamese government or not. We needed to be there....we needed to fight for our son!!!!!

WOOHOO.....A BREAKTHROUGH!!!!!!

Dialogue on our ride home from the amusement park tonight:
Derek: Mommy
Me: Derek
Derek: Mommy
Me: Derek
Derek: Mommy
Me: Big D
Derek: Daddy
Norm: What
Derek: Mommy, Daddy...I LOVE YOU!!!!

Me & Norm...instant tears of joy. Our first time hearing Derek tell us that he loved us and for us to both enjoy it together was so awesome!!!!

He is the coolest!!!!!!

On the way to the park we were passing a McDonalds and Derek said: Mom
I said what Derek and as we passed by McDonalds and I looked back at him he pointed and said: HEY!
Probably the first time we passed a McDonalds without stopping for him to get a "CheeBurr"!!!!!

Well we have decided to enroll Derek in the Daycare/Preschool Program just 1/2 mile from our home. It is a great little center with wonderful staff. He will start going 2 days a week for 4 hours per day and then increase to 2 full days and 1 half day in about 3 weeks when school starts for the girls. It was a hard decision but we feel he needs the structure and social time and also that he may take to learning there better than he is at home. They even potty train and have a super record of successes. We are working on it here at home but I think they have a better set of nerves than I. I am packing his bag of clothes and undies for his cubby and he starts on the 18th. We know he will love it and that it will be us who have to work through the tears and transition.

As you all know I am trying hard to divert Derek's attention to racing. Any racing will do....Nascar or Dirt Track. Wednesday we found out about a local track in our area that Kasey Kahne would be holding a charity race event. I of course made the decision that we would be attending. We headed to Walmart early in the afternoon to buy ear protection for Derek (pictures below). He didn't want to take them off from the time we tried them on until the races ended. It was a struggle keeping them off of him. It all ended up that we sat 30 feet away from the flag stand where they had Kasey & Kyle Busch stand to do interviews. What a thrill to be so close. The race was awesome!!!!