Siblings!

Having 2 kids is way too much fun!

 

I've been pleasantly surprised (&very grateful!) with how smooth the jump from 1 to 2 has gone.

I am really enjoying this stage of life and watching them interact. 

 

 

 

Mater is "towing Evelyn Grace"

 

 

 

 

She loved this. Caleb did too. I followed very closely, don't worry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday

Super Daddy

We're blessed around here to have our very own super-hero.

 We call him Super Daddy.



He rescues us from all types of occasions and just basically makes sure we all survive in one piece. We think he's pretty great, most of the time anyway!

Tough Guy

Caleb's taken up the tough guy look....



He fell off a play ground last week....



But don't worry....



It really hasn't slowed him down one bit.

Smile!

Nothing like a smile to brighten your day (and ours)!

 

 

 

 

We've been catching a few of these recently....And loving it!

Monday we had Evelyn Grace's follow up appointment and she is doing GREAT!

Her incisions have healed (they have scarred but that's to be expected and hopefully as she grows they will stretch out and be more faint), she has gained weight (she is almost at 10 pounds, she grew 7 cm in length, putting her in the 5th percentile for her age although when you factor in the preemie start to life, she is doing excellent), nursing has drastically improved the past 2 weeks for those of you who have been praying, and her chest cavity continues to sound clear.  The doctor seemed very pleased and we don't have to return until May. Wow! Thank you for your prayers through this and your contined prayers as we recover from this difficult time in our lives.

Are We Still Adopting?

We have been asked several times recently if we are still adopting and the answer is a huge YES!  We can't wait to welcome another little life into our family through the means of adoption.  In many ways, Evelyn Grace's birth has made adoption seem all the sweeter - we have been confronted with the preciousness of life in new ways, seeing it even more deeply.

If you think of it, please keep us in your prayers  - we are at somewhat of a crossroads in deciding what direction to head with the adoption.  We absolutely love the agency we have been working with (Small World Adoption) but the country we are currently in process to adopt from (Ethiopia) is sadly seeing more and more trouble on the adoption front.  For several months recently our agency wasn't doing referrals and they weren't sure they would be able to continue with their license in Ethiopia.  That was recently renewed but as we have seen the country shut down further and further over the past 9 months, we aren't sure where that leaves us.

In the meantime, as we have seen the issues in Ethiopia develop, South Korea changed their laws and now allows for expats living in Korea to adopt!  This had not been an option when we began our process and likely would have been the first place we would have started if it had been an option.  We are living in Korea, we have Korean friends, we have been able to get to know (some of) the culture here and we don't know how long we will live here....As we have been learning more about adoption, we know that when adopting internationally it is hugely important for the child to be connected with their birth country, to grow up knowing about it and to have their family honor their heritage.  We would be in a great position to do that if we were living there or had lived there for an extended period of time.  The downside is we would no longer be able to work with our agency (SWA), as they do not work in Korea.  Another downside is that the PROCESS for expat adoptions has not been established yet in Korea (and that might take a long time to establish) so it would be a very big unknown to venture into.  Korea has a long history of changing its adoption laws and process and stipulations.  More instability.

The bottom line is we need to trust the Lord to direct our path in all of life and this is no exception.  But we are currently struggling to decide which route to go.  If you could pray for us in this decision, we would hugely appreciate it.  We need to decide by April because if we are sticking with our current agency, we need to update our homestudy the beginning of May!  If you have donated to us, please know your donations will continue to go towards funding this adoption. They have either already been used towards steps we have taken this past year OR are sitting in our adoption fund, waiting to be used in future steps.  Thank you for your financial support and making it possible for us to get this far and to continue.

Thank you for joining us on this journey of adoption and for your prayers and support throughout the process.

Caleb Turned 3!

Hard to believe this was Caleb's 3rd birthday IN KOREA....we've been here a while now!

My whole pregnancy I pictured being huge pregnant at Caleb's 3rd birthday party - Evelyn Grace was due the day after his birthday and seeing as I was over 2 weeks "overdue" with Caleb, I just planned for a long pregnancy.  As it was, Evelyn Grace was almost a month old on Caleb's third birthday.  Because of everything, we were a little late to plan Caleb's party so we just made it special as a family on his actual birthday and planned his party later in February.  I won't go into detail but thought I would share some pictures from his special days.

Birthday Morning Balloon Wake-Up

HUH?

Family party

We watched Disney's Cars in our PJ's, Mom fell asleep
 

Pictures from the Lightening McQueen "party with all my friends":

 

 

Coloring their "wheels"

 

Sadie

Isaac

Sadie helping Elisha pin the wheel on Lightening McQueen

Caleb and Sadie not cooperating for a smile...Steve's Lightening

Can I just stop and say Steve's big Lightening McQueen really impressed me!
Super fun Daddy.

Baby Graham!

Balloon Room

Graham and Evelyn Grace hanging out on matchy blankets

Lightening McQueen "3" Cake

Goofs wouldn't smile!!

Elisha, Sadie, Caleb

E! Cake!

 

 

How did 3 years go by already?!? Birthday Boy!

Caleb, at 3 years old you have definitely become your own little person -- a boy beginning your long journey towards manhood.  You have a very strong personality, you are a natural leader, you like to set the pace and you are FULL of ENDLESS energy and ideas. You like to run best.  You have only one volume: LOUDER. You like to tell jokes and are developing a sense of humor, you like to tease your mama. You have nicknamed me "Mompa." You still love to read and will never tire of book after book. You've started to enjoy looooonnng books, books with few to no pictures, chapters of the "real Bible" at a time and you listen intently, asking and answering questions. You ask regularly about when you can go to school, you have an incredible vocabulary for a 3 year old and a huge memory, often quoting your books, songs, verses or movies. You love Sunday School.  You continue to enjoy music. Your dad introduced you to Christian rap and you love it (of course, because Dad does!)...You adore your daddy and mimic even the smallest ways he does things. You claim your favorite rapper is: "I like all the rappers...KB, Lacrae, Tadashii, Trip Lee, Sho Baraka, Andy Mineo...you know all of them! And my favorite song is Man Up."  You love to play pretend, often assuming the personality of a particular character for days at a time, never missing a beat. Your imagination knows no limits.  It's incredible how you can wake up and remember immediately who you are pretending to be.  Whinnie the Pooh, Lightening McQueen, Thomas and Joshua from the Bible are your favorites. Your best bud is Sadie Sortore and you have a very special attachment to your 4 cousins Audrey, Luke, Natalie and Andrew.

Happy 3rd Birthday to my first born son - You are energetic, full of life, loud, happy, dramatic, joyful, challenging, creative, imaginative, questioning, fun-loving, take-charge, active, funny and so much more....you changed our lives and we are so thankful the Lord gave you life 3 years ago tonight! We are truly blessed.