Fingerprints for Adoption

Another step to cross off the list!! We had our fingerprints taken 'biometrically' at Homeland Security this past weekend. I was so happy because they were the first people to say 'Congratulations on your adoption!' I thought that was so nice..

I suppose that means we are official..at the very least, we are now on the U.S. government's 'radar'..we'd better fly right!

So true to form, because I am documenting everything about this process, here is a picture of us with one of the security guards who checked all of our information (and I KNOW, it's not the most glamorous picture but it has been raining here...ALOT! So that equals a STRING of bad, bad, bad hair days or even days of not wanting to mess with hair AT ALL...)

Adoption update

This is the part of the process where there isn't alot of news to report everyday. Our caseworker is sending us a hardcopy of our completed homestudy. It's been in Korea for two months now but we don't expect to hear anything at all for another 8-10 months. (at least) SO, the most exciting thing going on in this journey is that Seoul-daddy and I are going downtown to the big city to get our fingerprints made for Homeland Security.
We were also invited to an official 'Waiting Family' dinner, which we were unable to attend, so we are really 'in this'.

Someone asked me the other day what it feels like to 'wait'. On some days it feels like any other day..I go on with my life, take care of my kids, plan for the future, etc. But every once in a while random emotions sneak up on me like a stealth bomber during wartime. Nervousness. Anxiousness. Over-excitedness. Impatience. Fear.

Yes, those emotions do come to the surface while you are waiting. Those emotions are real.

I deducted the other day that if I had been physically pregnant, I would have had a baby by this point in the process. WOW. So there is the aspect that because I'm not physically pregnant, life is just cruising along. It's hard to plan, hard to decorate a nursery, hard to prepare for much of anything without a referral. And when you don't have a picture in hand or the latest, greatest news from your agency, people tend to cruise right along in life with you. Some days I wonder if we are actually adopting! And with that, as we are wrapped up in the family that we have NOW, I wonder the questions that people are often afraid to speak outloud..Will this baby gel with our family? Will I love it like I love my other two children? What if it doesn't bond to us? What if it does..too much? What if we're biting off more than we can chew?...those are the 'fear' questions. Ninety-nine percent of the time, these things aren't brought up because you don't want to scare anyone or give the impression that you have doubts. I'm just being honest.

But during those times, or shortly thereafter, God always seems to give me a glimpse that everything will be fine. This is all in His plan. I had similar feelings when I was pregnant with each of my children. It is more a fear of the unknown than a fear of what we have decided. And I will bank on the fact that fear does not come from Him. Ever!

So adoption is a road and as a family, we are learning to navigate and experience every twisty curve. What has been shown to us so far has been a faith-builder in and of itself..we can only count on it to continue to be!
Please continue to pray for us as we get a little closer to bringing our Seoul-baby home.

Happy Weekend everyone!!

p.s.

And one more thing..I've been thinking along these lines alot this week for various reasons and here's what shows up in my inbox today, below. (taken from John Fisher, The Catch) I wonder have you ever given any real thought about being smack dab in the middle of 'where God is'? It's not always pretty...but I find myself wanting to be there anyway. Have you ever felt closest to God when going through a deep valley in your life and then once everything is smooth sailing again your faith sometimes gets put on the backburner..we think we don't 'need' Him as much, maybe?? (I do..) Maybe that's why He wants us to reach out to those who are hurting, who don't have a voice of their own. Maybe if we're not hurting right at this minute, we should reach out to someone who is..He's there after all..food for thought this weekend...

"Instead of WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) it should have been BWGI (Be Where God Is). We will see injustice and go and interrupt it by making what is wrong, right, because that is where God is. We understand deeply the pain of the hungry and empower them with more than just food, because that is where God is. We will clearly see sex trade and put a halt to the practice by rescuing women and girls because that is where God is. We will identify with sinners, because that is where God is. "

celebrities and adoption

Looks like we're not the only ones adopting from South Korea..take a look at Katherine Heigl's new 10 month old little girl from South Korea! So cute!

http://www.jasonheiglfoundation.org/news.html

Happy weekend everybody!

It's all in the geography..

Seoul-girl had a geography test earlier this week and as I was looking it over, I noticed something that totally warmed my heart...

can you see what I'm talking about??......

sweet girl!

"Go Jackets!"

So I am shuffling kids out the door this morning and trying to get the garbage on the street, backpacks in the right car, show and tell items accounted for and I come out to our driveway to find Seoul-boy at the street...obviously pumped about the outcome of last night's game because he is waving at cars like he is Buzz himself...




He's happy to be a Jacket!

Mom/Daughter weekend part 2

Loved it!! We did so much and giggled, laughed, snuggled, played and had FUN all weekend long.
We went to a local antique show where Seoul-girl ogled over all of the old jewelry..She loves the old-fashioned clip on earrings..



We decided to buy matching glass bead bracelets to commemorate our first trip..mine is periwinkle and hers is turquoise..



Then we went to our favorite restaurant and ordered up a big plate of steamed crab legs. YUM!




We finished the night listening to the symphony give a concert by the ocean. It was wonderful! (oh yes, we had to have an ice cream cone, too!)



That night we laid in bed and talked and giggled while watching the Parent Trap on Disney.

The next morning we hit the beach! Body surfing, boogy-boardin', swimming out to sandbars, hunting shells in tide pools. Loved this!




After quick showers, Seoul-girl decided she wanted to do something she'd never done before..she's not crazy about heights but she decided to climb to the top of the lighthouse-all 126 steps of the over 100-yr old structure! One thing about Seoul-girl is that she may get nervous, but she's brave. Usually fear isn't something that will stop her from a thing she really wants to do. Awesome views from the top!



We ended the day shopping at the pier, eating out with family, riding bikes around the marsh, having banana popsicles (our new favorite) and reading in bed until 10!

We have a family tradition when we leave a beach spot that we eat at one of the local breakfast places on the drive out so Monday morning before the drive home, we ate big stacks of buttermilk pancakes at The Sandcastle Grill!! We ate outside overlooking the pier so we could see the birds and fishermen..



I hope she had as much fun as I did. I can honestly say that my daughter is a really warm, caring person who I love being around...she's got a quick wit, too!! (quite the fashionista, I might add..)



What a blessing this weekend was for me..even though I missed my boys at home...I'm officially a fan of the mother/daughter weekend!!

First annual Mother-Daughter trip

I've been thinking about this alot the past few months and finally decided to act on it. As you all know, spending time with my family in PURPOSEFUL ways is kind of a 'thing' of mine. We do lots of themed family nights, mother-son activities, father-son activities, special days, dates with daddy, Mommy/Daddy date nights and plain ole' hangin' out with each other!
Our life is busy and fast. We live in a busy and fast world. I've always been the kind of person though that craves solitude in my spirit. I love being relational. I love talking and laughing. It's the precious little moments that matter most to me. But it's so easy to inadvertantly blow off the ones you love the most because you don't have time, you're too tired, you have to work, you have this meeting, or that practice..not very purposeful.
So, Seoul-girl has reached the age where she is old enough to head off into the wild,blue yonder with Seoul-mama. Our upcoming weekend is unscripted for the most part. We'll be seeing some family but we'll also be on our own alot. And we'll be at the beach which is perfect for our first trip away together.
I'd love to take a trip w/ my son in a couple of years. (To be fair, Seoul-daddy has planned an awesome father/son weekend here in the big city starting the second we pull out of the driveway. Two sporting events, a camp-out, popcorn and football on the couch so no worries there..)
Here are my reasons as to why I want to start this tradition:

A chance to be alone. No siblings, no split attention span, no interuptions.

Enough lull-time to have the really great conversations. In my house, quality conversations usually happen when my children feel safe and relaxed enough to share their hearts.

An occasion to build memories. My parents never did father/daughter, mother/daughter outings. But I remember the memories where I was alone with each of them by chance and doing something fun. I want that for my children.

Experience adventure...together! Seoul-mama used to be a flight attendant. Now that I'm not, I still tend to get wanderlust pretty frequently. Travel is such a rich and educational experience whether you are going across the ocean or across the state. I don't want my children to be afraid of venturing out and seeing God's world. So for now, they'll go with us. But I also want them to know that adventures don't end once you reach adulthood, specifically parenthood. And lessons learned while travelling can be experienced at any age.

Most importantly though, I want to forge a stronger bond with Seoul-girl and Seoul-boy NOW while my influence is pivotal in their lives. They may still be children but what they think, feel, love, and dislike is important to me. And I want to unveil God's amazing love to them, little by little, action by action. That only comes through relationship.

So here's to our weekend adventure and discovering something new about each other while we are away! Hope your weekend is full of discovery, too!

Girlfriends at Women of Faith

As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house anymore. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul.1 Samuel 18:1-3 New King James Version

WOW! What a weekend! Some girlfriends and I attended the Women of Faith conference and as usual, it did not disappoint!

Do you ever have those days? Some of those 'days' may turn in to weeks and for some of you it might be a complete season that you find yourself in..the kind where you find yourself less than up to par, less than joyful, less than confident? Seoul-mama was having a week like that last week. There are some personal things that I've been struggling with that I had been holding onto as 'mine'. What I needed to remember and DO was turn it over to HIM, but we forget that sometimes don't we?

So on Friday night I found myself sitting in an arena with 15,000 other women worshipping our Savior, crying and laughing and LETTING GO. I left there with an immediate lift in my spirit that still hasn't subsided.

God continues to show up at exactly the right times, doesn't He?

And if there is one thing I am thankful for it is a group of women with whom I can share 'life'. What a blessing they are, what an answered prayer, what support and let's face it..what a HOOT! These ladies walk different paths, live different lives, have some different interests and I just adore them for it! They add so much to my life.

Highlights for me?

Hearing Steven Curtis Chapman perform and testify to how God has remained faithful to him and his family through the past year following the tragic accident in which his youngest daughter was killed. Loved hearing his call for Orphan care...loved that Women of Faith sounded the siren repeatedly for us to care for those in poverty...loved that Sheila Walsh was so open about her marriage struggles the past two years...loved Mandissa's honest dialogue about her weight and body image...loved the 'hotel room time' after Friday night's session with all the girls and what we laughed about...I'm a fan of girlfriend getaways!!



Love my girlfriends!!