I haven’t felt much like writing lately, but sometimes I am just overcome by the little wonderful things that I feel the need to write them down.  Not so much for you or for me now, but for me years from now when I think back about this age. 

The best moment, the absolute best moment, for me as a parent is when Spud falls asleep in the car in the evening and I get to carry him into the house as his little head is nestled into my shoulder and I feel the heat of his breath on my neck.  Ahhh, heaven on earth, I tell you, heaven on earth!  The only thing that even compares is having him fall asleep in my arms as i feed him his bottle.  Since I don’t give him many bottles now, sigh, it is even rarer for this to happen.  I will so miss this as he gets older. 

I’ve always appreciated my weekends, but I appreciate them even more now that I am working.  Honestly, the last two weekends have been just about the most enjoyable weekends I have had in years.  On Sunday morning Spud was dedicated at church and a number of friends and family arrived to share the special moment with us.  This felt like a true celebration of his arrival with all of us gathered together to express our love for him.  They couldn’t all be with me in Vietnam to adopt him, but they got to be a part of this moment.  It was an emotional time for me, not just because of what I was I promising, but because my pastor asked me to briefly share our “Hear & Respond” story.   When I look at how far I have come—from being absolutely against being a single parent, to being frightened of having a boy (I don’t have any brothers, peeps, and the only thing I know about men I have learned from Tony & Fil and a few male friends—and they didn’t always make it seem appealing), to being scared out of my mind as our van bumped up the broken brick road to my son’s orphanage to meet him for the first time.  I have come so far. (have you heard the Rascal Flatts song “God Bless the Broken Road?  You really must listen because it is SO appropriate in this situation).

But from the moment I finally met him I have been so head over hills in love that my mom has mocked me on at a couple of occasions saying “Erica has a boyfriend!”.  To think that he ever freaked me out that bad is laughable now. 

Yesterday afternoon after everyone left, the Spud and i spent some time out in the yard.  I love being outside in the spring.  I get so excited about flowers and plants and gardens.  Of course, by July I as so stinkin’ hot you can’t convince me that those plants need more water than me.  We met some new neighbors.  Actually, Spud called them over.  Anytime he would see people walking around the neighborhood he would yell out progressively louder until they would look up and come over and talk.  It was interesting.  I actually met another single adoptive parent in my ‘hood.  She has already offered to sit for him when I just want to run to the store.  It will be nice to have that kind of help close.  I hope that we become friends (as long as she isn’t crazy—that tends to happen to me a lot.  I’m not crazy, but crazy tends to follow me). 

Anyway, I’m starting to do a little yard work.  Planting bulbs, mulching, etc.  I bought some raspberry and blackberry plants that won’t produce fruit until next year or the year following.  Spud LOVES fresh fruit and he will suck down blueberries and raspberries.  Perhaps I need to go back and get a blueberry bush as well…

Ahhhhh, heaven.