Package for Baby!

Another family from our agency is leaving soon to pick up their child and they graciously offered to take a Ziplock bag full of treasures to our baby. I have spent the last three days carting Ryan around to find just the right presents. I wanted to send a suitcase full of things! I managed to squeeze in two outfits, two disposable cameras (please take pictures for us Foster Mom), a photo album with Mommy, Daddy, and Big Brother, two small toys, a Silky, a smaller silky with a little bear attached (picked out by Ryan), and a small book. (By the way, it was a gallon size not a quart. It's impressive but not a miracle). Packing has always been a sort of gift. When I was in YWAM I would just have people put whatever they wanted to bring on the bed and I would fit it. I think I learned it as a survival technique after my younger brother had helped me once before I went on a trip. His method was to look through my stuff and say, "You don't need this, or this, you only need three pairs of shorts in HAWAII." Well, turns out you need way more than three pairs of shorts in Hawaii when you live there for three months! You need like two dozen! So now I pack everything I need, even if it takes a vacuum. I tried to get one more outfit in, yes, I got the vacuum out and made Harvey hold the bag while I tried to get the air out to have enough room...but no go.

The closet has been cleaned out, all the 'shelves' and wood pieces taken out. Tomorrow I get to paint the new shelves while Harvey does the patch work. (By the way, I offered to fill and patch and I got turned down). Once the closet is done I can hang the extra outfit on a real rod. Putting the bag together has really helped me feel like he is coming soon. It was fun to know what I wanted for him and to find it. I almost spent $45 on a Silky I didn't really like (desperate) and found exactly what I wanted on the way home at Tuesday Morning for $6. The little guy might not be into a silky, but he needs to have a lovey from his momma (who slept with it by the way). (So it has my smell...does that actually work)?

Ryan's thoughts on God: "I don't hear God. Well, I do hear in my head." What did He say? "Be a good boy. Goodbye." I have to write these down because that was too cute! Jesus is so polite. I can't believe my baby is almost four. I think there are many more quotable moments ahead in the next year! Are you writing down your kid's funny thoughts?

So we are having almost 4o for Easter. (17 children under 4). Please let it be sunny!!

Please pray for Harvey to get over this sinus infection. It's been a few weeks and is still terrible. He has been on antibiotics so many times and they don't seem to help so he hasn't wanted to go to the doctor.

Got Sand?

A three year old and a dump truck...!

Ryan and his friend K. helped Daddy take sand to the backyard...

it's a little sandy along the way!




HAPPY!



Happy, Happy!!

(How long does sand actually stay in a sandbox?)

Despite the flu and yet another sinus infection, Harvey gets to check off another job on the list. Now it's time to do the closets. Once the closet is done I can start putting the baby's room together. Could the bathroom get done this summer?! I guess it depends if I add anything else to the list. I haven't been sunbathing while Harvey works, I have filled three large yardwaste cans with weeds. I found two Easter eggs! I'm a pretty good hider. The playdough was still good, but the candy was not so good.

So the theology questions have begun. While driving to the farmer's market Ryan asked, "Why doesn't Jesus listen to me?" I said, "He does, what did you ask Him?" "To put the sun in my lap." Hmmm, ....It's a good thing that Jesus always listens, but that He doesn't always do what we ask!

Shelves!

Harvey gets to check off one of his jobs on the list! The top of my dryer is cleared off. Now that the pile of rags and cleaners have a new home I don't have to stand on my tippy toes to turn it on. I don't know if you can see it well, but my friend Linda got me this darling laundry basket. It's wide and doesn't go all the way to the floor so it's easy to get things out. Plus, it is so very retro and I love that. Next, we (Harvey) move on to the closets. (Harvey decided he might as well do Ryan's at the same time). Being the submissive wife that I am, I said 'as you wish'!

I talked to our agency and she said to expect at least 3 months before our little guy can come home. It didn't sound like we are going to hear much in the mean time. She'll call us when/as she gets information. The government only takes in a certain number of cases at a time. So we will have to wait for our group to be looked at, then it's about a month to process it, and then a month or so to get his passport and other things done. It looks like it will be an exciting summer!

We heard from our agency that our paperwork has been sent to Korea! We still don't know when the 'gotcha' day will be, but hopefully we'll start to get more information.

Part of my motivation for starting our adoption blog is that following several other families' stories has been so helpful to me. I hope that ours can be that for others as well. As I was reading one of the blogs I really enjoy, the story of little Makenna was shared. She is a precious little girl who needs much prayer, as do her parents. I put her blog button on the side for any of you who would like to read her story and pray for her and her family.

For those of you who have expressed concern about the inequality of jobs on 'the list', rest assured that I have given Harvey an extension and that I have added: 'weed the entire yard' to my list.

It's a boy!

I was reading Ryan a book on Thursday evening and got a surprising phone call! It was the director of our agency calling to see if we wanted to hear about a little boy she had met on her trip to Korea. Of course we said "yes". After telling us a little about him the director said she would email us the picture and the information she had about him. It is hard to describe the feelings of opening your email to see your child for the first time...and on a throne! We think he is darling and can't wait for him to join our family. Our information is pretty limited, but his growth is on target and he is doing age appropriate things. He is six months old as of yesterday. The director said he has a very sweet personality and was very friendly.

When we went to meet the agency in February we were told that they usually have a referral for you within six months after getting all of the paperwork finished and in. Since we have a couple more things to send in, we were very surprised and happy to hear so soon. I may have to give Harvey an extension on his 'list'.

Now we have another pile of papers to take care of and have notarized. We have been told it is usually 3-4 months to get everything done and have the baby come home. We'll hope it's even a little sooner!

We are still working on his name. We will keep part of his Korean name.

We'll put up a few more pictures that we have gotten soon.

Thanks for all of your love and support! We appreciate all of your prayers for Seo Jin while he is still in Korea and that God will prepare him and us for our new life together.

"The List"

So I prefaced the conversation with, "I don't want to stress you out..." (Harvey always pauses a moment before answering when I do this). "but can we make a list of the things we need to get done before the baby comes?" Of course he played along. Mind you this is an ongoing list (Harvey already knows this):

1). Closet in Baby's room needs shelves/hanging rod (H)

2.) Laundry room needs shelves (H)

3.) Build sandbox in the backyard (H)

4.) Garage needs to be organized/move things into shed (H)

5.) Get a shed (H)

6.) Bathroom needs ceiling, floors, plumbing, lighting, tub, toilet, a handmade vanity, sinks and a few other odds and ends (H)

7.) Buy fun towels and bath mat for bathroom (J)

8.) Finish Ryan's baby books (J)

9.)Get caught up on all of Ryan's photo albums (J)

Harvey better get moving on his list!! I can't finish my jobs until he's done!!

Pray for Harvey!

Dreams!

When I was pregnant with Ryan I dreamt that I gave birth to a large Tongan woman. (Not an easy delivery!) Not surprisingly, last night I dreamt that we got a picture of a little boy and when we went to pick him up he was a grown blind man. It's probably better if we don't analyze these!

Yesterday we did our CPR/First Aid training. The CPR man came to our house. Okay, if you need to take one of these, this is the way to do it! One of the couples we met in Arizona joined us. It's always unnerving to go over all of the horrible things that can happen to your children, but the information was helpful and we're glad to have done it (and to be done with it). We wrapped up the evening with a trip to a Korean restaurant.

Ryan is starting to get the idea of a baby coming to our house. Every time I have brought it up until now he always starts down the trail of his having eight babies and a minivan with magic doors. I think he had given up on having a sibling and was just looking forward to having a lot of his own (John and Kate are much to blame)! He said we should move back to our old house because we had a crib there. He then said the baby could sleep with him. I don't think that's going to last very long. At some point we should probably get this guest room in order. Our poor bathroom is going to have to wait again. (Plus I want a sandbox in the backyard...poor Harvey!)