Boundaries, updates, stalkers

So here we are, almost 7 weeks from Gotcha Day. Things are kind of a blur to me.  Have 7 weeks really passed?  It's amazing at how far we've come and a little daunting that we have so far to go.  Samuel is communicating with us very well.  I really don't know how well others can understand him yet, but we're getting new (and appropriate) use of words every day.  His sense of humor is sure evident.  Yesterday, the kids and I were visiting with my dad.  I told Samuel to point at his sisters and say, "Courtney is a goober.  Cassidy is a goober."  He complied.  He then turned his pointing finger to me and said, "Mama is a goober."  Yeah, well, he's figuring me out too. 

As for other adjustments, our little guy is testing boundaries every day as well.  If he doesn't stop rearranging and hiding his sister's stuff, we may have WWIII.  As a matter of fact, we are going to put a lock on his closet because he's doing the same thing to his clothes and I am struggling with the daily adventure of finding socks, underwear, and clothing for him to wear.  Unfortunately, he seems to want to test to see if Daddy is just a big playmate or if he really has any authority.  You see, Samuel has a lot bit of a temper, and he saves it for his Daddy most often.  He'll figure that one out for sure. 

On the "think we've got it" front, Samuel is sleeping well and not waking in fear hardly at all.  It's good to sleep through the night and be greeted with a chipper "Hi!"  in the morning instead of tears.  He is also figuring out that his family members do leave at times, but they always come back.  When one of us is away, he asks about them often, but accepts the answer pretty well.  Now, Courtney & Cassidy will both be heading to camp/mission trip in a couple of weeks.  We'll see how that one goes...

On the medical front, we are waiting.  Matt says I need to be patient.  Both Matt and God and anyone who knows me KNOWS that one is a toughie for me.  We have done scans and a heart cath.  The doctors have seen what they need to see.  However, the very capable surgeons have never done a surgery of this kind on a child as old as Samuel.  The typically repair kids when they are about 6 months old.  The cardiologist is researching and consulting other surgeons for their opinions and expertise.  I realize this is a good thing.  Overconfidence can result in mistakes.  They want to do it right.  Got it.  Not patient.  I guess the longer we wait, it's just sinking into me that this is a complicated, risky surgery.  I knew that.  Now that I have Samuel in my arms and see that smile every day, the reality is harder than I imagined.

I blabber on and on. Sorry.   You want to see pictures, right?  Here we go!

Samuel and his animals have a TV watching party.

 Courtney is training up the child in the important things.

 Samuel wants to ride this scooter like his sisters.  He mostly turns it over, but he still likes it.

 We went to visit my mom's grave on Memorial Day weekend.  This pic doesn't show Mom's grave, but two of my precious ones.  She sure loved our girls and she would have loved our Samuel.

I laughingly told the nurse in the recovery room after Samuel's heart cath that I needed to post something on Facebook for the benefit of my "stalkers."  She replied, "They love you all."  I just about cried.  I love my "stalkers" and am SOOOO thankful for you.  We do feel the love.  Keep stalking :)