Goodbye and Hello

Yesterday we had to say goodbye to our Ugandan friends. G, J, and H became a part of our family and the house is oddly quiet without them. We're praying for safe travels back to Uganda and for their transition back into their lives there, which won't necessarily be easy for them.

To make sure our house isn't quiet for long....my best friend H, and her 4 kids are coming to visit!!! This is a complete surprise and I'm thrilled. They're also going to be here for my kids' joint birthday part this Saturday. They are thrilled because they always want to invite C, B, and C (and baby E this year too) and they actually get to come this year! Hurray! But please keep my husband in your thoughts. He adores this family but he's had a lot of sharing his house going on. :)

The good news - it's keeping us busy. Between visitors and the holiday season we can *almost* forget that we were hoping to get a referral this month and that the date has been moved off by a lot.

Reading

Earlier tonight I was able to sit and watch my kids - B was sitting on the couch reading a book (with chapters! - from school) to himself. He has to read it and then retell it to me. He did great.

Then E was sitting on the ground with a flyer that came in the mail. This is what she "read":
"There was a King named B and he met a Princess named E. They went to the castle...." she kept going but I thought it was ADORABLE! I loved hearing her imagination and her imagining her older brother as a king (not surprised that she was the princess).

Just thought I'd share a fun story about my kids b/c I want to remember it.

1 Year...

of waiting. Waiting for fingerprints, waiting for background checks, waiting for social workers, waiting for USCIS, waiting for a referral (still waiting). 1 year ago today we wrote a check and filled out an application that would have significant impact on our lives. Little did I know how much impact it would have before we even saw a picture of our Little One. We're still waiting for that but E and I are off to a play date with friends formed through the adoption process. Hoping for a referral soon, aware that it's likely to be a while still, trying to enjoy life with friends in while we continue to wait!

Question about Korea (traveling)?

Unfortunately I am not personally traveling to Korea for quite a while. But my cousin's boyfriend plays basketball in Korea (Go Mobis Phoebus!). She is visiting him for Thanksgiving and wants to buy a turkey in Seoul. Any ideas where this might be possible?!? I don't know which gu (district) he lives in, but I asked to try to narrow down how far they'd be willing to travel, but at this point if it's in Seoul, then let me know!
Thanks!

Pitter Patter

Pitter Patter goes my heart as I dream of the pitter patter of little feet at my friend's house soon! She got her referral today and I am just so excited for her! Wanted to share the joy and hopefully make a few people smile!

The WHY?

I was thinking I had written it here somewhere but apparently it was facebook or a forum. The good news about the longer wait (as frustrating as it is from this end) is that it is happening for all the right reasons.

SWS has made improvements in encouraging single mothers, so there are fewer relinquishments. Also they have seen an increase in domestic adoption so more children are staying in their own culture. These are wonderful things! I rejoice for these changes. I'm especially thrilled with children being raised by their mothers, I have started praying for these single Moms because being a single Mom is TOUGH. I haven't actually been one but my DH has spent a couple of years in Iraq, and that was close enough for me to have some major sympathy! And if being a single Mom in the US is tough, then a single Mom in Korea is a bit more, because it's more accepted in the US (even though it's not perfect here, it's still better than Korea). So I am praying for them

It's tough to sit here and struggle with feeling happy for all of that, but sad that it's going to take longer for us. Sad to see our children get older and the gap between our children grow. I have started looking at Rainbow Kids even more but as of right now we're waiting on the Lord (though thinking of increasing the number of medical needs we're open to, so I guess it's a bit of both).

Just thought I'd share the joy in this wait. I am truly thrilled to be working with a Korean agency that is trying hard to help single Moms and working to change the view of adoption in Korea. I know it's in God's hands when He brings the little one He wants in our family, home.

If you are interested in a Christmas CD....

Check out this blog: http://theblairfamily-dawn.blogspot.com/.
They are struggling with having sufficient funds to continue with their adoption.
Thanks.

4 months...

When we first started waiting, we were told 4-6 months. Soon after that it was updated to 4-8 months. I never got another "official" word from our agency after that so I never completely let go of the possibility of 4 months.....until last week.

Now we've been told to expect a 12 month wait for referral. I had a bumpy week last week. It wasn't easy to get to a good place with this news. But I'm there. I'm at peace. I don't actually think it is going to take 12 months. I don't know if that is wishful thinking or if it my "gut" or if God is putting it on my heart that it won't be that long. I know that it may very well be 12 months but I have prayed a lot and I am at peace with God's perfect timing. It helps that the other part of the equation that made this really bad news is not as big of a deal as I'd originally thought. I'm not ready to talk about that until we have more info but it's a relief.

It is hard to hit this 4 month mark, which I had been desperately looking forward to, and realize it's not the milestone I'd expected to be. But nonetheless I'm celebrating hitting the 4 month mark and praying that it's sooner, rather than later. But Your will be done, not mine.

Weight Loss progress...

I believe a bit a little while ago I had the goal of 10 lbs. by Halloween. With the 10-miler you would think this would be an easily attainable goal, but I didn't quite make it. I'm currently .8 lbs. from my goal. On Halloween I was more like 1.5 lbs. from it. But I'm fairly happy with my progress.

Slow and steady is good. Plus I've found that as I get close to the race and I'm training hard I don't really lose weight, I mostly maintain. Now that I'm just doing a couple of short runs per week, I'm losing again.

Once I lose the .8 lbs I will be at my original goal weight for Weight Watchers too (I'm a Lifetime member but I haven't found a meeting that worked for me here so my consistency has been quite low, trying to change that now).

Just thought I'd give an update. It's getting harder to run now. I ran in 38 degree weather on Wednesday. Honestly proud of myself because I wouldn't have done that a year and a half ago. It's cold and I was done. Now I'm trying to run until it snows.

Pumpkins

Hope. Hoping for three pumpkins on the front porch. Right now I have that, ironically. (It's so much fun watching G experience silly American traditions.) It looks right to have 3 pumpkins on the porch. I'm very hopeful that next year we will have that again. And that the 3rd pumpkin will be our child's pumpkin.

The pumpkins above were illustrated by (from left to right) E, B, and G. Then carved by H (the interpreter) and me. Yesterday the kids really had a blast. I had my little Minnie Mouse ladybug (dressed up as Minnie Mouse who decided to be a ladybug for Halloween). E was so sad that we couldn't find a Minnie Mouse costume in her size, but this compromise worked pretty well. Plus the costume was comfy, fluffy and warm. B was a transformer (Bumblebee to be exact). G was a princess - the princess of hearts (not the mean queen of hearts, a very nice princess of hearts - not sure who came up with that, Walmart I guess, but it looked adorable on her anyway).

We went Trunk or Treating then to another family's house for dinner, then trick or treating in their neighborhood (our neighborhood is pretty sad for trick or treating).

As my friend wrote on facebook - only 3 1/2 weeks until we can put up Christmas decorations! Hopeful that next year there will be 5 stockings instead of 4...

Ephesians 1:5

"he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ"

This struck me earlier in the adoption process and continues to grow in my heart.

Do you know that I think about, pray for, and love my child and I don't know who my child is yet?
Do you know that God loved you before you were even formed in your Mother's womb?

Do you know that I greatly desire to know my child and have a relationship with my child and spend time with my child?
Do you know that God greatly desires to know you, have a relationship with you through Jesus Christ, and to spend time with you, His child?

When I do have a picture, this love will increase and my desire to know my child and have my child know me will increase.
God sees us and His desire to have us know him is stronger than we can imagine.

Plus God is perfect. His love and desires are stronger than we can comprehend. He loves and desires this relationship with me EVEN more than I do with my child. Hard to wrap my brain around that.

Just thought I'd share something that has been forming in my brain (and heart) for a while.