Care Package

A few weeks ago we got to send the first care package to our little boy in Korea! Kyle and Haley has so much fun helping me pick out some things to send him. The Dillion staff hand-carried his package to Seoul so it had to fit in a gallon-size ziplock bag. That was quite a challenge! There are SO many things we want to send to him, but we settled on a few fun things. We will have the opportunity to send more  later. We did a baby photo album with pictures of all of us, a soft blankie, monkey outfit that Kyle picked out, and a cute bag of soft sports balls. We also included a small gift to his foster mother. It was almost surreal packing it all up and knowing that in a few short weeks (or less) he would have these things in his little hands! The waiting is hard and we have a long way to go!

I saw this verse on a Facebook status today.
Isaiah 43:5
" Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west."

This verse popped up as the daily verse on the phone version of my Bible. What a great reminder to be patient and wait for His timing, even though it is hard!
Psalm 27:14
"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."

It's a BOY!

A lot has happened since I wrote our last adoption update - a WHOLE LOT! Some of you may know this story already, but I wanted to share it with those of you that we don't get to see on a regular basis. In the last few months we have accepted a referral for a sweet baby boy! He is currently 11 months old and completely adorable. As most of you know, I have a hard time keeping up with anything on a regular basis - laundry, dishes, exercise, etc. and blogging is one of those. It tends to be the one thing I can push off until tomorrow since I am exhausted at the end of every day.

The last few months have been a whirlwind of paperwork. Lots of hurry, hurry, and wait. We got an e-mail about this precious little baby boy around the middle of January and decided we wanted more information about him. After much praying and getting lots of medical advice we decided to say yes! He is considered a waiting child, which is a child with special needs or possible special needs. He was on this list because of a minor cosmetic issue with his chest which we are not concerned about at all. This all happened in a very unusual way. I am looking forward to telling him this story when he gets older - we really chose him specifically and want him to know how special he is!

At this point we didn't even have our formal application turned in! So, we rushed to finish that up, then completed our home study and in April we mailed another 2 lbs of paperwork to complete the assignment process. Our paperwork is now in Korea and we have officially begun our waiting period. The bad news is that the current wait is 11-16 months.We have been getting regular updates once a month and he is growing and thriving in the care of a wonderful foster family. We haven't decided on his American name yet, but we're working on it! I can't post any pictures of him, but as soon as we get him home I promise to post plenty!

Here are some very specific things you can pray for:
1. Speed - We are praying for the whole process to go faster than usual. I know this will require a miracle, but we know God can do anything if it is His timing!
2. Patience - Especially for me. The waiting is hard already and we have a LONG way to go.
3. His health and safety while he is not in our care
4. Continued good growth and development

The Next Step!

It has taken us a while, but we are FINALLY finished with our Formal Application - Step 2. It only took us 5 months! Ha! Any of you that know us well know that we don't do anything quickly - especially paperwork. Korea does not require a dossier, so this application included all the paperwork that will be sent to Korea. I finally mailed the entire pile of papers (about 1 1/2 inches!) and it felt wonderful! Once this part of the application process is approved, we will begin our home study process.Thank you for your prayers!


Here is the picture we sent with our paperwork. A sweet friend from church took this picture for us! Her name is Janice and her family is also in the adoption process for Korea! She takes beautiful pictures! Check out her website at adorationsphoto.com.

Family News!

Well, it's been a long time! We have some exciting family news that I wanted to share and I plan to continue blogging. This spring our family made the decision to start an international adoption. After lots of prayer and research we decided on Buckner/Dillion International as our agency and chose Korea. We have had lots of different reactions, but mostly positive from people when we tell them that we are planning to adopt. The biggest question is "Why? Especially when you already have 3 children!" I hope this will answer some of the "Why" questions!

About a year ago, the Lord opened our eyes to a great and overwhelming need. There are over 143 MILLION orphans worldwide today. As we started thinking and praying about the possibility of adoption, the subject continued to come up in Bible studies, sermons at church, books we were reading, and conversations with friends. It very quickly became clear to us that God was specifically calling us to adopt.

"When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands." - Deuteronomy 24:19

"Because I delivered the poor who cried for help, and the orphan who had no helper." - Job 29:12

"Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow."
- Isaiah 1:17

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." - James 1:27

The Lord has a great love for orphans. We were faced with this reality and with a calling and a choice. We decided to obey. Now comes the hard part - the paperwork!!

Here's where we are in the process:
After a lot of thought, research and prayer we have decided that Korea is the best match for us. We will adopt a toddler, probably between 18 months and 2 years old. They told us that about 80 % of the babies adopted out of Korea are boys. We will most likely be matched with a boy, but we can't specify gender. The children live with a foster family and have excellent medical care while we are waiting. We have been told that it takes anywhere from 20-27 months to complete the process, but of course that can change at any time. Recently, our Step 1 application was approved and we have officially been accepted into the Korea program. We just received Step 2 in the mail and we have a LOT of work to do!

Thank you for praying for us on this crazy journey!

3 Months of Catching Up!

Most of you have figured out that I have trouble keeping up with blogging! Here are a few pictures from the last few months. Alex is 7 months now and cuter than ever! He is having a hard time with ear infections, but otherwise a great baby. Kyle and Haley are enjoying their classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Kyle is learning so much and having lots of fun!

Camping trip this weekend (before the snow!)

Bathtime! Alex is sitting up now!




8 inches of snow in February!


January

Santa Pictures!

It has been a while since I updated our blog, so I am not going to try to catch up. Here are some pictures we took today. Alex is doing great, but he definitely adds another layer to our already busy schedule. I don't seem to find as much time to blog as I used to. I can't imagine why!!

We went to see Santa today and got some great pictures. We went to a mall near us and there was not a single person there today! The kids got to talk to Santa for about 10 minutes and just loved it! Santa was really nice and it was fun to have that extra time instead of standing in a line and feeling rushed. Haley asked for a doll and Kyle asked for a real gun so he can shoot the wild animals when we go camping. Santa said maybe a Nerf gun would be a better idea. I think Mommy and Daddy agree. :)

Alex was fussy so he did not end up in this picture. We did get one with all three that we bought for us. He wasn't happy about it, but he did tolerate it.

He was happy when we got home so I took advantage of that and got some adorable pictures in his Santa suit!

Alex will be 4 months next week. He loves to be entertained by Kyle and Haley and they are so sweet with him. He is laughing now and smiles all the time. We are now consistently sleeping through the night, which makes everything better! He is getting bigger and stronger and has managed to wiggle out of his bouncy seat more than once. I have to strap him into everything now. He is very social (is that a surprise in our family?) and is starting to fuss when we walk off and leave him. He is also really big - our biggest baby by far! - and almost wearing 6-9 month clothes. He loves to cuddle and I am taking full advantage of that since he will forever be the baby of our family.

3 Months!

Alex and Kyle - Haley was not in the mood for a photo session that day.

Alex continues to be a wonderful baby! I can't believe he is 3 months already. He loves to sit in his bouncy chair and watch Kyle and Haley. He is grinning all the time and he just lights up when anyone talks to him. When he gets really excited his whole body wiggles! He has started grabbing onto things and found his feet last week. He rolled over a few weeks ago, but hasn't done it since. He is growing fast - his feet are at the end of his 3-6 month sleepers already. I bet he will be tall like everyone else in the family (except for me).