"My Heart Hurts"

This morning we all arose, did a bit of reading and off we went to a local art museum to learn about Georgia artists. At the end of the tour, each child was given a canvas to create their own piece of artwork to take home. The children really enjoyed this and especially enjoyed spending the better part of their day with fellow homeschooling buddies! One of my favorite parts about homeschooling the past year has been developing new friendships. We have gotten to know some amazing families whom we will all hold dear in our hearts for a long time. This time in our life would not be the same without them!
During our drive home, out of the clear blue, MK said, "Hey mom, something bout my heart hurts!" I said, "What hurts Mei?" to which she responded, "My heart hurts about Baby M." I said, "Your heart hurts about Baby M?" and she said, "Yes, my heart feels better when we get her but now it really hurts cause she is not with us." MK really is processing our adoption in her own little mind. We had been busy all morning, no one spoke of our adoption or even spoke of China yet she clearly let us know that Baby M was not far from her mind.

Perfect.

Once upon a time, Ryan and I were engaged to be married. We had party after party, shower after shower and we lived in total bliss. As tradition would hold, Ryan's mother and my mother attended every event. During one of the wedding showers, the women went around the room giving advice to me on how to have a successful marriage. I do not remember how it all came to be but during this time, I proclaimed Ryan to be perfect. Ryan's mother quickly stated back, "No, he is not perfect...." Now, don't get me wrong, Ryan's mother loves him dearly but she is his mother. Since then, we have laughed about this conversation and I have begun to state that although Ryan is not "perfect," he is perfect for me....and he is.

I was reminded of Ryan's "perfect for me" status late last week when I entered the kitchen and saw him carefully stitching my heating pad thingy back together. Every night Ryan will heat this rice filled contraption in the microwave for me, fix me my nightly bowl of ice cream and deliver both of them to me. He has done this for years! Well, the rice filled heating contraption began to fall apart about a week or so ago and the children were most upset at finding bits of rice strewn about the house. Without a nudging or suggestion, Ryan thoughtfully got down our sewing kit given to us by his mother, and began the repair of the heating pad thingy. It is definitely the little things in life that get my attention and mean so much.