Home with Annelise!

Introducing the newest American Citizen:

2011-12-02T13:16:00.000-08:00

ANNELISE!!!! On November 28, 2011 a local judge signed the order of adoption for our family. Bitna will forever be know now as Annelise Bitna. She has been our baby girl since the moment we saw her picture, but now legally no one can ever take her away from us. We are her family forever!!! Praise the Lord. We love you precious Annelise Bitna. You bring us so much JOY.

Very cool!

2011-09-06T17:10:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share the picture we took at the hotel in Seoul right after we took custody of Annelise is on the cover of our adoption agencies annual report. It took me completely by surprise when I opened my mail today. I sent the picture to the agency as part of her birth announcement, and they asked me a few months back if they could use the picture, but I was not sure they would. I am so excited, and am going to frame the cover and hang it in Annelises room.
Maybe the raw emotion of that day is conveyed in this picture. We were exausted, Annelise fell asleep in the sling. Just an hour before we had left all she knew and loved behind and got into a taxi. We kissed the top of her head and Daniel held out the camera to take this picture. Who knew, what a moving picture it is!

She's HOME

2011-09-04T16:29:00.000-07:00

Five months, one week since she was placed in our arms forever and I can honestly say she knows she is HOME. It was not an easy road for her. I watched her grieve. I saw her resist. I prayed. I watched her grow. Love. Trust. Annelise now positively MELTS into my arms. Lays her baby head on my chest whenever she can. She knows. Who her Daddy is, who her Mamma is and who her brothers are. Praise Him who let her fall in love with us. I just want to document this moment. This week I know, she knows, She is finally HOME.

Pray.....

2011-08-24T17:25:00.000-07:00

Just had to put this out there... Too much on my mind to keep mum! My life is getting easier, Jack is in school now, Anderson's tantrums have calmed down, Annelise is an angel (most of the time). And today I could actually BREATHE again! It feels good. Almost a little TOO good. On my heart is the orphan. I try to forget, to enjoy this time with my littles, but I can't stop thinking there may be one more out there that needs a Mommy and Daddy. My timing is way off. We can't afford to start another adoption again, but it is ALL I think about. I love the ease of two at home and Jack in school. But then I think, do I want a life of ease here on earth? I look at our kitchen and think it needs a total overhaul. Which would cost about 20 grand. I know I could never do it. I would think with every new appliance a baby out there with big brown (blue?) eyes waiting. So pray for me. Pray for my hubby. If this is His will, and I do believe HE sets the lonely in families, then my hubby's heart will be changed, or I will be able to relax with this life I have with 3 small children. If you would like to offer me any advice, chime in! Because most of you that read this blog have the heart for an orphan.
Perhaps all it means is that we will adopt again one day, just not anytime soon. I know my hubby would love to be able to save save save for the future. And I get that, that is responsible. But who will look after them if not us?

The day Annelise turned one year old!

2011-08-02T19:25:00.001-07:00

There are many more pictures of this big day but here are a few. We had Annelise a birthday party at a local kids gym. It was so much fun. She wore her Korean Handbok her foster mother gave her. She looked beautiful! The other pictures of her eating cake are of our little home celebration. We lit two candles that day, one for her, one for her birthmother. The cupcake shows the two candles. I have to admit, it was really hard to stare at that special cupcake and not cry. So much was given for Annelise Bitna to celebrate her first birthday. We are honored that we were chosen to be her family. And we will never forget the ones that loved on our sweet daughter before we could.

Four months HOME !

2011-08-02T18:36:00.000-07:00

I can't believe she has been home four months~ She is a really sweet girl. Here are some summer pictures of her! We just love her to pieces!

THREE months home!

2011-06-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

Three months ago today we celebrated our forever family day. The first picture is in the hotel room right after we got back. Daddy feeding his girl. The second picture we are signing at SWS to take custody of our Annelise. Three months ago today, we had a daughter forever! We love you Annelise. !!! Annelise turned ONE year old last Wed, the 22nd. I am a terrible blogger, I still have to get those pictures from my friend. Guess who forgot her camera for the party? sigh. Soon, soon!

For Annelise

2011-06-17T17:13:00.000-07:00

A long long time ago, a wish was planted in my soul
A wish for you, daughter of my heart
I dreamed of your beautiful almond eyes
And I knew, You would be a part of me
I carried your face with me through two pregnancies
I never forgot you
I knew deep in my heart, you were for me
On my youngest son's first birthday, I heard you call
Desperation drove me to make that big call
I did not want to miss you
Your life was created during that time
While we paperchased and filled out necessary documents
I knew, I knew you were formed
God created you just for us in the fall time
I waited, prayed and longed for my sweet girl
Until one day, miraculously they called
A baby girl, so little and new
Was waiting in South Korea for us
Eighteen months to the day we began looking for you
You were placed in my arms forever
God knew

- Mommy

{ I just love her }

2011-06-14T17:45:00.000-07:00

Just a few reasons why I can't get enough:

1) She smiles when I walk into her room in the morning and holds her hand up to me

2) She carries around any and every small object she can fit in her hands. Most times her fists are full of crumpled paper, a toy car and a prized coin she pulled out of my purse. (eeeek)

2) She is super curious about everything, which I consider a major sign of intelligence ;)

3) She LOVES to eat. Almost anything I give her. And she always devours my dinner while the boys will sometimes question my cooking

4) She smiles really big at Daddy and melts his heart

5) She smiles really big at the boys (as long as they let her have their toys :) )

6) She has two little bottom teeth, which are kidna crooked, but that makes me love her more

7) She laughs when I put my finger in her mouth and pretend to be shocked when she chomps down. We do this game many times a day just so I can hear that sweet giggle

8) She loves the water. Bathtime, pooltime, water table time, toilet water (ok, so that is not cool but she thinks the toilet is an indoor water table for her) !

9) She get super angry when I remove her from her beloved bath every night. Which is why she manages to smear every piece of food from breakfast, lunch or dinner into her hair assuring her more than one bath a day. :) I love that she does that, too!

10) She is starting to take her first steps and after she does she looks right at me while I clap for her and she grins really big. She is proud of herself as she should be!

11) I love that we got to SEE her first step!

13) I love that she gives me kisses with her whole mouth open and just kinda sucks on whatever part of my face her mouth lands on. Super cute.

14) I love that she has tiny dimples in her cheeks that I see when she grins really big

15) I love that I NEVER get enough of my sweet girl.

16) I love that I am her Mommy and I can call her my daughter, forever.

17) I love that wherever we go, people see her and just grin. :)

18) I love that she lays her head on my shoulder when I rock her at night.

19) I love how she magically has settled into our family and I can hardly remember life without Annelise

20) I love that my when I threw her in the air for this picture, I was bathed in the warm sun, looking at my girl smile, thinking about what a blessed Mama I am. And I am. Blessed.

So how is she doing?

2011-06-11T17:13:00.000-07:00

I feel like I have been really terrible at blogging since Annelise came home. Two and a half months ago! wow! Life with three kids is just so.... busy! Man, I hit the bed at night and I think I am asleep before I get fully in it. My sweet boys are up every morning by 6:30am at the lastest. Usually by 6am. Annelise is generally a very good sleeper of late, but I think she may be getting another tooth because she has been unusually fussy for the past few days, and not sleeping as much. But generally I feel really lucky about her and her love of sleep. It was not always that way, but we worked it out. ;) She seems to really like her crib now and her stuffed animals in it.
She is a really happy baby, VERY active. Today I found her splashing in the toilet. Yep. Third time this week. And she took 4 steps at once today! Whoa! Slow down baby! She loves playing with any toy that is little or that belongs to the boys. Which they are not so fond of. We are working on sharing. And when they do take a toy out of her hand, watch out!!! DRAMA. We hear great noises come out of her tiny 19lb self. Well, actually, she is not very tiny. She is very long, and already in 18 month clothing. I think she will be taller than me. (I am 5'5) She loves her Mama and her Dadda, but lately I have noticed she is favoring me. (I am not happy about that at all.;)) She can be kinda sneaky, too. At times I have heard her shrieking and I assume the boys are messing with her, so i poke my head in the room already yelling for the boys to leave her alone, and she is just sitting there on the other side of the room from them yelling looking at them. lol. Today she tried to grab Andersons arm and she does scratch so Daniel kinda swatted her hand away since she had just scratched him. She wrinkled up her little face and you would have thought he had really done something awful to her. Poor baby. I think a little taste of the drama that will come with this sweet baby girl. :)
Anyway, life is settling into a pattern. We have alot of fun, and she takes a good nap every afternoon now, which is a relief. With preschool out for the summer, I do find I tend to stay home more. I have tried a few outings by myself with all 3, but Anderson is still not yet three years old, and I find it is overwhelming. If we just go to the park, that works, but a big outing is hard. I think the older they get the easier that will be. Jack will be in kindergarten in the fall (sigh, how did that happen?) so then it will be back to two littles each day. I will admit, I am looking forward to that only so that I will be able to do activities again by myself. I have heard people say the jump from 2 kids to 3 is harder than 1 kid to 2. I totally did not get it. Until I had 3. Now I see, now I see. lol.
Annelise is amazing. Gone is the baby that clung to my leg and would not leave my sight. I keep losing her in my house! I have to go hunting for her because she is so independant and relaxed with us now she just crawles away and gets either into something or makes a beeline for the stairs if the boys leave a gate open. She does like to be held sometimes, but generally she is happy playing on the floor. I see such a different baby now than i did that first month. She enjoys meeting new people. There are times when she will look into my eyes with her big brown eyes and I can just see she trusts me. That is everything. And she loves it when I rock her. Not for long, mind you, but she will let me for a bit. When we first got home, she would fight me if I tried to cuddle her. Now she lets me then needs to get down so she can explore. And I hear Maaamaaaaaa alot. And sometime uhmammaa which is Korean for mama. I will take it any way I can. Love it! I am more than blessed to wake up to my sweet boys and this little face every day:

Thanks for reading, I wish you all a happy Saturday!

Picture heaven

2011-06-11T16:58:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about all these pictures!! I am going to hang them in every room in my house! :) Here are some more: My boys

I love this shot. Anderson was "all done"

A girls gotta have pink sandals!

Smiling for mama!

Daddy's girl for sure!

So which one is your favorite? I can't choose, but I love the ones of all the most. It just feel so good to be finally five. :)

Baby Birds Photo

2011-06-11T04:38:00.000-07:00

We had family portraits done a few weeks ago by a local photographer... here is a sampling. I will put up more later today. I love them. :)

[Korea's Got Talent] tvN 코리아 갓 탤런트 Ep.1 Sung-bong Choi!!!.avi

2011-06-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

Amazing boy. Watch!

The sweetest berry in the patch!

2011-05-31T07:40:00.000-07:00

I took the kids strawberry picking last week. We had so much fun! Last week we celebrated 2 months of Annelise being a part of our family. She is such a joy and doing really well with us. I can tell she is really bonded with Daniel and I, which is so good to see. She is sleeping great at night, also. Naps were hard to get on track, but after a bit of crying, she is now napping well. Life is good! Here are some pictures of our berry adventures, and a recipe to try!

Berry bread with Spread (from Taste of Home)

1 package (8oz) cream cheese, softened
2 packages (10oz each) frozen sweetened sliced strawberries, thawed
3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 eggs
1 cup canola oil

1) for strawberry spread, in small bown, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Drain strawberries, reserving 1/4 cup juice for bread batter. Beat 6 tablespoons berries into cream cheese. Set remaining berries aside. Chill spread.

2) in a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. Combine the eggs, oil, reserved berries and juice. Stir in dry ingrediants until just moistened. Transfer to two greased loaf pans

3) Bake at 350 for 55 minutes. Serve with spread.

(I made this yesterday and it is amazing!!!)

Bringing Annelise Home at OneTrueMedia.com

2011-05-16T18:47:00.001-07:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

{Labor of my heart}

2011-05-09T17:23:00.000-07:00

~LABOR OF MY HEART~

I would have given anything
to be the one to know
the pain of bringing you into this world
but it couldn't be ...

Though I did not bring you here
still I labored in my tears
through the long nights I prayed
you would come to me ...

You are the labor of my heart Child,
you are the labor of my heart
with all my strength I prayed
till they laid you in my arms Child,
you are the labor of my heart ...

Blessed be the maker
of bone of other bone.
He made flesh of my desire
and today I take you home...

You are the labor of my heart Child,
you are the labor of my heart
with all my strength I prayed
till they laid you in my arms Child,
you are the labor of my heart Child,
you are the labor of my heart...

Author Unknown

Happy Mother's Day to all my friends. This year I had an extra reason to smile. I am *so* blessed!

First portraits!

2011-04-27T17:12:00.000-07:00

Last week I took Annelise in for her first pictures. I think they are adorable. She did great! And tomorrow is ONE MONTH since our forever family day in Seoul! Wow! Annelise is so sweet, and really is getting comfortable with us and our house. She crawls into other rooms now and I have to go looking for her! That is very different from the first few weeks. I love having her home. She is such a blessing. Each day brings lots of smiles for all of us. Thank you God for our daughter!

Doing "really" well

2011-04-16T18:18:00.000-07:00

Well I am happy to say I am feeling a remarkable change in our lives since last weekend. Things are just "clicking" for all of us. Annelise is really getting comfortable with us and we are starting to see her true personality. Tomorrow will be 3 weeks since we had our forever family day in Korea! (wow!) I am starting to get into a good routine with her and the boys. Three kids is alot of work, but I am learning how to balance and I LOVE weekends when Daddy is here to help. Makes it all so much more fun! :) I know my last few long blogs have been kinda mopey, but honestly adoption brings alot of adjustment for everyone. I am happy that we are all bonding well and getting to like our new normal quite alot! You can see some good snaps in the three picture posts I just did. We have had a nice week! And we also had our first post placement visit which went well, except for a tantrum from Anderson. But Annelise was a happy camper! :) lol

{ Bathtime }

2011-04-16T18:15:00.001-07:00

Annelise loves bathtime. It was not her favorite thing for the first week or so, then she decided it was great! I look forward to it every day, she just gets so excited!

In her super cute poodle towel all snuggled after bath

Big smile for Mamma!

First trip to the yogurt shop

2011-04-16T18:09:00.000-07:00

We also went to the yogurt shop! Annelise had a tiny taste, but mostly munched on gerber puffs and yogurt melts. She had a great time, we all did! This is by far one of my most favorite pictures so far:

Sweet smile

Annelise's Day at the Park

2011-04-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we all went to the park! All three kids had so much fun. Here are some pictures that I promised! Only took me a week to get them up here! :)
I think this may be our first photo all together!

Daddy and baby girl

Anderson picked me this flower and was handing it to me, sweet boy!

I was jumping in and out of a sign playing peek aboo when I got this shot!

thanks

2011-04-12T16:36:00.000-07:00

Thank you for all the positive feedback to my honest post. I was nervous writing it, but my feelings are strong, and I had to put it out there, if only to maybe help another fellow ap feel they are not alone. I love hearing the wonders of how after even 9 months home, sweet personalities still are emerging. It shows just how hard these babies love. Sweet babies. How I wish every baby could have their forever family right from the start. But so thankful for the loving foster parents Annelise had. You can tell she was loved and adored. Today Annelise went to her first Dr. Visit. She is 19 lbs.28 inches. Poor baby had 2 shots and cried. It about broke my heart, which actually told me a lot about how I am totally falling for her. I hated seeing her hurt. I wanted to just take those dumb shots for her which is exactly how I felt when the boys got immunized. So boo for shots, yea for realizing new feelings! More later with cute pictures of our weekend at the park. First post placement visit in 2 days!

keeping it real

2011-04-09T17:31:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share that while each day Annelise is bonding with me more, these past 13 days have not been easy. It has been hard for both of us. The poor baby got taken away from her whole life. She still smiles, amazing. I had no idea what to expect. I tried to prepare myself, but I think I romantisized adoption. I knew she would grieve, but I had no idea I would. The first night I paced the halls of our hotel in Seoul with her, I felt the tears begin. I realized I did not know this little person, and she was really frightened. And then it hit me "I had no idea how to comfort her." That was really shocking to me. I still am learning how to comfort her. With my boys, they were newborns, and it just seemed natural to rock them. Annelise is not a fan of me rocking her. So I had to figure out what would help her. The flight home was tiring, scary and hard. But we survived. I have had people here ask me about our bonding. It is happening, but for us, it is slow and steady. I do love her, and know once I fully get to know her and her I it will be so worth it. I just wish more people talked openly about the bonding process and adoption. Maybe I am a rarity, I don't know. I do know that nothing worth having comes easy. Annelise is a huge blessing, and I am learning so much about love. A good ap friend of mine gave me a great quote "love is a commitment, not a feeling." For all she has been thru, I pray soon we feel like her family to her. Adoption brings great loss to the child. I pray for her birthmom and her sweet foster family daily. I know they are missing her. Adoption also creates families, and our little family is proud to call Annelise our own.

{ And we are 5 }

2011-04-06T17:27:00.001-07:00

Finally Five. A picture is worth a thousand words...

Home

2011-04-06T17:23:00.000-07:00

To put it mildly, someone is doing fabulous with her forever family!!!!

Coffee and dounuts....

2011-04-06T17:20:00.001-07:00

There was a bit of a theme in Seoul, coffee and donuts!! I don't know how I managed to lose 3 lbs. that week, but maybe it was that the donuts were spinach and carrot flavored? lol. Seriously.

My new friend, Erin. We met for the first time in Seoul. She picked up her adorable baby boy.

FOREVER Family Day

2011-04-06T17:16:00.000-07:00

March 28, 2011 we are forever united with our daughter, Annelise. Here are the pictures of her foster family and us at SWS agency. We took custody shortly after this and bid farewell to her foster parents, whom we will forever be grateful to. They took wonderful care of her and you could see the love they had for her, and her for them.

Trying to catch up..

2011-04-06T17:08:00.000-07:00

On the last day before we took custody of Annelise in Seoul, we took a tour and saw a big beautiful palace in Seoul. Here are the pictures of that:

And outside the artsy market in Seoul. This one was my favorite. I forget the name, will have to find my travel guide and get it up here, you have to go in Seoul to this market!

Forgive me for being so behind on blogging about Korea and now. With 3 kids under 5 yrs. old, I am doing good to get a shower. (seriously!)

Some of our very first moments as parents to Annelise.....

2011-04-02T12:24:00.000-07:00

Taxi ride leaving Sws....

In our hotel room right after Taxi ride....

better.......

2011-04-01T17:42:00.000-07:00

More smiles than tears today! Annelise is really becoming a part of our family. Things are starting to feel normal again. She has a cute little personality. She has been thru so much in her short life, I am so proud of her for being so strong. She is a brave little girl.

day 4 or 5 with annelise

2011-03-31T17:31:00.000-07:00

Because of the 13 hr jump with Korea time, I am confused as to how long we have had custody. I think it is 5 days? Lol. Last night was hard. She has her days/nights in a jumble. She screamed a lot of the night. I think I got 3 hrs sleep. Let's just not talk about it. So today she mapped for 3 hrs total. But seeing as how she basically did not sleep last night, I am hoping tonight will go better. She is in our bed because that is what she is used to, but flops and kicks like crazy. I can't wait till I can move her to a crib. I feel like no one has enough room. Queen bed. But today I did see a few smiles out of her. She is still scared and really wants to be carried everywhere. She will play on the floor a little if I am very close by her. Poor baby, I know this is so hard on her. Will try to catch up on posts about Korea and pictures this weekend. Daniel went back to work today, so,I am proud to say I took care of all 3 kids by myself all day. Whew. Praying each day brings her peace and me understanding.

home!

2011-03-30T08:04:00.000-07:00

We are home with Annelise! I am just too exhausted to give many details..... but the flight home was horrible. She is sleeping better than expected, but very clingy and scared since we left Seoul. The boys adore her. I am a bit , ok a lot , terrified to have Daniel go back to work tomorrow. I am praying we all adjust to her and she to us. This is all so much to handle. If I sound crazy, sorry, I am jet lagged! She is a sweet baby, and I am praying for us all to feel normal again! Will write more later...... thanks for your prayers!

{ DMZ }

2011-03-26T18:31:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we went on the DMZ tour, or Demilitarized Zone at the North Korean Border. It was another adventure. Driving to the DMZ was very interesting. I learned much about the tensions between the North and the South. It is quite sad. Our tour guide said the South Koreans very much want unity with the North. They love them and are family to them. But she said the North want nothing to do with them. She said for years they sent rice to the North, only to learn they were selling the rice to buy weapons. We learned another tunnel from the North was found only two weeks ago. There are 5 tunnels now the South has found that the North have dug to try to invade Seoul. They think there are many more. When we started to be able to actually see into the northern mountains, you could see the landscape completely change. There were no trees to be seen. They chop them all down for wood to heat their homes.
Here is Daniel at lunch. There were actually bugs being cooked on stoves. He ordered some type of noodles, but they were ice cold. He also tried some squid, which he said was very good. My lunch consisted of a coca cola and cookies. I am not a seafood eater and none too adventurous.

The Peace Bell. A symbol of the peace the South hopes to have with the North. Beautiful.

Standing with the girl guard. I just have to point out i have not gained 20 lbs. It was so cold I had on warm leggins under my jeans, a turtleneck, jacket, then another jacket over that.

Dorasan Station. The south built this station in hopes of reunification with the North. It is beautiful. Inside the station there is a whole map of a railway line they hope to put into place. They want to be able to take the rail thru China and into Europe. I was quite amazed the South built the station with the North still trying to invade them constantly. It just showes the hope they have for reunification.

{ Seoul Tower }

2011-03-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

Day 3 we went to Seoul Tower with our friends Erin and Craig, who are also in Seoul adopting a cute baby boy. It was quite an adventure. We headed out from our hotel around 8pm and took a taxi. The tower is beautiful:

Here is the lock we put on the tower for Annelise. Here you can see her name if you look sideways. We also put March 2011 and our names on the other side.

here we are with her lock

This is the view from the very top of the tower. It was beautiful and Seoul is such a large city. On the way up on the elevator the speaker told us the restroom at the top was the highest in the city. We thought it was a funny thing to point out. They also have a restaurant at the top and a gift shop and coffee shop. Coffee shops are very popular in Seoul, and are on every corner, which I love.

After we went to the top of the tower, we ate Cold Stone ice cream on the main level. ! :) It was yummy. We are all missing American food. The food here is definately different. When we left it was 10pm and we soon realized we could not find a taxi. And it was COLD outside. We kept asking people and we finally learned there are no taxis that come up to the tower that late. So we asked a tour bus if we could catch a ride. We hopped on, paid, and soon figured out we were on a city bus that just had a tour advertised on the side. We all felt really smart. By this point we just kept giggling. We got off a stop not close to our hotel and wandered down ally's and street for a good 2 miles. Did I mention it was below freezing? lol. What an adventure!

{ The airplane ride }

2011-03-25T19:02:00.000-07:00

{ I wrote this on scrap paper in the airplane! }

I am writing this blog post at 34,000 feet in the air. We have 388 miles to go to Seoul. 1 hr. 5 more minutes. This is a looong flight. 14 hrs. something. So what have I done? I have watched 3 movies, 2 Friends episodes and 1 everybody loves raymond episode. I have eaten 2 meals, a gazillion snacks (hey, what else is there to do?) drank tons of water and used the restroom about 9 times. The Korean air flight attendants are awesome. Korean Air rocks. They also served us rolls for a snack. I was not hungry, but took one anyway. Oh my, they were filled with this hot beef mixture and were delicious! There are 4 cute Korean babies and toddlers near us and I have watched them most of the trip. I got the flight attendants to teach me a little Korean. Oh, and I slept uncomfortably for 3 hours. My legs are aching but our red carryon we stowed has been "moved" apparently and we can't find it. It has my tylenol and seoul guide in it. grrrrr..
Takeoff was quite scarry. I have not flown for over 8 years. A bit afraid. I just kept repeating in my head "this is for her, this is for her" and I calmed down after we were airborn. 59 minutes to go - almost there!

Pictures of us meeting Annelise!

2011-03-25T15:42:00.000-07:00

The three of us!

Me and my sweet baby girl.

Daddy's girl

Annelise Bitna is amazing. We are so in love. On our way out the door to do the DMZ tour, but when i get back, will put up more pictures and blog more. !

Hallelujah, i got into blogger

2011-03-24T18:38:00.000-07:00

So sorry for lack of updates. I JUST figured out how to log in in Korean. lol. Oh my we met our beautiful daughter yesterday and she is just amazing. I am going to load pictures on my dad's computer in a few hours for you all to see. The airplane ride was looooooooooooong. :) We were very very tired when we landed and barely slept the first night. Yesterday was full of traveling on the Korean subway to reach SWS. There will be a whole blog post on that. It was not pretty! Then we met Ms. Sun the director of adoptions and she was very very nice. We asked how she matched Annelise Bitna to us and she said she thought she looked like us. :) We took a taxi to Annelise's foster families home and got to see her for the first time. She was very shy at first, but quickly warmed up to Daniel. He held her first. It did not take long for her to start smiling at us. I pulled out a toy phone for her that lit up and got the BIGGEST squishy grin. When she smiles her whole face smooshes up and we laughted so hard! She then started blowing smacking kisses at us. She blew one at Daniel then smiled huge and I saw immediately she had him wrapped around her finger. He was totally enamored with her. It was perfect. She then let me hold her and I blew her kisses. I fed her some gerber puffs and got a huge grin each time she ate one. Peach flavor. Her foster mom is wonderful and her and the foster dad love Annelise very much. They dote on her. It warmed my heart to see just how loved she is. The foster mom gave me a picture book of Annelise from when she got her when Annelise was 6 weeks old. Such an answer to prayer. And she also gave her a beautiful hot pink and yellow butterfly handbok for her first birthday. (butterflies! i saw butterflies everywhere while we were waiting on her referral!) It is beautiful and I promised to send pictures of ANnelise in it. She also gave me her favorite blanket, a big yellow quilt and Annelises favorite baby cookies. The foster mom told our social worker Monday will be very hard on her, because Annelsie is so special. (we take custody of our girl Monday at 11:30) I am dreading taking her away from her fm, because they so obviously love each other. Pray for us all!!!
The weather here is freezing. Seoul women are beatiful and wear high heals everywhere. I gave up looking like i kinda fit in. Today is tennis shoes, ski hat and 4 layers of clothing. Oh and glasses. My contacts freaked out on me yesterday and I am all out of spares. !!!! Anyway, I am shocked at how they don't wear hats or gloves here. It snowed yesterday. I look like an eskimo! :)
Today we are actually meeting up with my dad who lives here part time and works for Korean Air. He is going to show us around and take us to the military base. And buy me a winter coat on the base, thank goodness! I have my raincoat. !
Seoul is amazing, pictures to come very soon, I am so sorry for lack of blogging. I have much more to say... soon!! BLessings to you all and thank you for your prayers~ love, Elisabeth

on our way!

2011-03-21T18:50:00.001-07:00

Well the kids are dropped off at grandparents and Daniel and I are heading to our hotel. I can't believe we will board that big blue plane tomorrow. Dropping off the kids was really hard. I have never been away from them this long. I was choked up hugging my baby, Anderson. Jack is a big boy, but how will my baby do? Looking back in the car right o2 I see a pink carseat. This is so surreal. Tomorrow my sweet girl turns 9 months......and I will be on a big plane to meet her. Surreal. I have dreamed of her for a very long time. Praying for her tiny heart, we will be taking her away from the only mom she has ever known. So much planning, dreaming, wishing, hoping, worrying, has led to tomorrow. Has led to this whole next week. Dreams.....tears.....joy.....prayers......love. all for one tiny baby girl in Korea. One very special heart. Just some thoughts tonight..... sweet dreams!

travel call!

2011-03-21T14:53:00.000-07:00

We got travel call this morning! Leaving tomorrow! Already on our way! Staying near airport tonight. Crazy day! See you in Seoul! Annelise we are coming! Thank you Lord for this gift!

p3 SENT!

2011-03-17T09:03:00.001-07:00

Just found out packet 3 was sent from the embassey in Korea to SWS. Annelise is almost ready to travel. We could get tc anyday now!!!

Thoughts....

2011-03-16T14:20:00.001-07:00

Whew, this waiting feels like it will never end! And I know I am at the very last step of our adoption before I get the phone call that I have waited for - travel call! I constantly have a million thoughts running thru my head. It is like I am on an adrenaline high. Rest is hard to come by while I am waiting for that magical call. I still have a bit left of packing to do, I need to sign a medical release form for the boys while we are away, make copies of house keys, keep the house clean and keep my laundry clean! AGHHHH.... it is kinda maddening. I feel like it is really hard to explain where I am now if you have not lived it. SOOOOOO excited to go, but soooo nervous about forgetting to something major and worried about leaving my boys. It is very similar to the feeling of right before you know you are about to give birth.... except I have been thru that twice, this is much more complicated. Arranging where the kids are going to be and such is a huge endeavor. I imagine if I were just packing to go to Korea, and Annelise were our first child, some of this stress would be off of me with getting my kids ready to not have us here for such a long time. And also I want the boys prepared for what will be happening to our family soon! I want to get in lots of snuggles and one on one time. I feel like I am under lots of pressure and I may burst! (not saying if you are waiting to travel to adopt and don't have kids, your life is easy street, i know you have just as many things going on, and you also have the added stress of being a first time parent!) So if you would say a prayer for my hubby and I to get thru these last days....... I would appreciate it. The phone could literally ring at any minute saying our sweet baby is ready for us to come get her. MY, this is what I have been dreaming about!! God is good, and I can't wait to get that call!!!!!!

NVC OUT!

2011-03-14T16:54:00.000-07:00

That's right we are NVC OUT!! WOOOHOOOOOOOO Happy Dance. Happy Dance!!!! The Visa Center forwarded Annelise's papers to the embassey in Seoul today, electronically. SOON SOON SOON. I got really choked up when the visa center told me she is out. Like, as in, I could barely say goodby to the woman on the other end. :) My baby is coming home!!!

Nvc In!

2011-03-10T17:20:00.000-08:00

I just talked to the national visa center and Annelise's paperwork has reached them! Praying we are nvc out by early next week! Annelise, we are coming soon sweet baby! After we are nvc out, her visa papers are sent to Korea and we are very close to travel call! Praise God! He knows the very second I will see my sweet daughter for the first time. It is so nice to know He has ordained that meeting for all time. Across the ocean, many miles away, her heart beats. He gave her life, and in that same moment, He gave us a daughter. Forever will I remember who brought us our daughter, and the very brave woman that gave Bitna life. We will be praying her home...... until that wonderful day I will gaze into the eyes of my little girl.

{ The Nursery }

2011-03-06T16:53:00.001-08:00

My Mom found this, love it!

I bought her this doll recently, I love her! She is soooo soft, and I thought she looked like my girl!

These flowers and butterflies are wall stickers. So soft and girly!

Coming in her room....

My Mom gave Annelise this picture frame for Christmas a YEAR ago. Boy was I ever happy to add her pictures!

Sweet Asian Dolls

woohoo...... closer to my girl!

2011-03-04T13:35:00.000-08:00

1600 approval today via phone conversation with our officer. This means we are 2-3 weeks to travel! Woohoo! Next stop, nvc in. Hopefully by next week! The national visa center will issue her visa then send it to Seoul. When we are nvc out, we will be a week away from that big blue beautiful plane! Soon sweet baby, soon! Thank you God!

St. Patty's Day Sensory Box

2011-02-26T13:44:00.000-08:00

Today I made a Sensory Box for the boys. I am so proud of how well they like it. I got the idea here: http://theprincessandthetot.blogspot.com/2011/02/st-patricks-day-sensory-bin.html
I already had the box, and I went to Michael's today and found cute little leprechan hats, green pom pom's, green bells, beads and braclets. I bought little green plates to stack things on, and a book on St. Patty's day from Barnes. Oh, I also found a green squishy ball from Michaels that smells like lime - they love it. Anyway, I love the idea, and I am going to switch the box theme every few weeks or so. They played with it for a good 45 minutes. I also had the boys go around the house and find green things to go in the box. They found 3 green cars, a green block and some other things. Fun idea! It was fun to watch jack make patterns on the carpet with all the shapes. Next up I am going to do an Easter box. And yea, they are in their jammies!

Anderson like to stack the bells in the hats

Kinda fuzzy, but Anderson was collecting as many green things as he could hold!

8 months

2011-02-23T04:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my Annelise turned 8 months old. I am praying I do not miss another "month" birthday! Happy 8 months darling girl.
In USCIS news, our file is with them, and it has almost been a month. Please pray with me an officer approves our file. I spoke with a very kind officer on Friday who "may" be searching for our file. I have been praying non-stop since then that God would allow our file to fall in her hands. She was very sweet, and said she loves to approve Korean adoptions, because they are so easy to approve. So, very encouraging. I think God hand picked her to answer the phone when I called!
Once she (hopefully) approves our case, her supervisor approved it and they 2 day air it to the national visa center, where it goes NVC in. Then within 3 days ( i think) it goes NVC out. From there Korea issues her passport and some other things I am fuzzy on , like p3's happen. Once we get that 1-600 approval from USCIS in the mail, we travel usually in 2 weeks!!!!
God's timing is PERFECT. I have no idea why our 1-600 got kicked back to me before it left the lockbox location, but I know God does. Resting in his perfect timing. I am wondering if it was just so I could have that sweet officer look for our file. Thank you God for watching over this adoption.
And sweet little Annelise, I love you so. Praying it is not much longer before I can meet you.

More shower photos

2011-02-20T16:11:00.000-08:00

First things first, here are pictures of what we watched during the shower. Video of my daughter!

Some wonderful gifts:

Car seat! (sorry, turn your head sideways.:)

My sister-in-law Rebekah made this beautiful Asian doll quilt for Annelise. I just love it!

Sweet pink elephant!

Dresses!

Thank you everyone who helped us celebrate our little girl. We are so grateful for all the wonderful goodies for Annelise!

Baby Shower #2!

2011-02-20T05:07:00.001-08:00

Beautiful diaper cake Rebekah made!

Me, my mom and sister, Rebecca

My Mom and I

My sister in law Rebekah and I

Me and my other sister in law, Meredith

Wow, my Annelise and I are so blessed! We had our second baby shower yesterday at my sister in law's house, Rebekah. It was so beautiful! I have tons of pictures, but these are the only one's I have now, more to come later today!

Oh be still my heart

2011-02-15T14:40:00.000-08:00

Today I got the video of my Annelise in the mail complete with an updated progress report on her and new pictures!! Be still my heart! I started shrieking when I saw the fedex man because I had been waiting on him all morning. I immediately threw the video in the player and watched in awe at Annelise playing with toys, scooching toward toy after toy then eating toys and making smacking noises with her lips. Oh my gosh, she is so adorable!!!! Then I watched as her foster mom gave her kisses and cuddled with her. How it did my heart good to see that! How will I ever repay that kind woman who is loving on my baby? She will forever be in my prayers! Then I showed Daniel the video when he got home around lunchtime and as I put on fb "I visibly watched him fall in love with her." It was amazing. She is amazing and we are so so blessed.
These pictures were taking a little over a week ago. :) I can tell how she is bigger, but in the video she still looks like such a baby to me. I pray it will not be long now until we travel.......

He hears us when we call........

2011-02-14T10:09:00.000-08:00

Last night, I woke up about 10 minutes after I feel asleep in a total panic that my child lives in Korea, and here I sit not being able to do one thing about it. I actually started having trouble breathing I was so so anguished. I began to pray my heart out to God. I prayed he would hear me calling for help, he would give me peace, and he would give me His strength to endure this wait. I prayed for him to watch over my daughter while I cannot. I fell back asleep sometime during my prayer.
Today I opened my mailbox and recieved our notice of action from USCIS saying they are processing our 1-600 right now. I called our agency to see how long they thought our approval would take. They did not think it would be long. THEN, the best part. Today our agency received updated pictures of Annelise Bitna complete with a DVD of her!!!! Oh my goodness. I am waiting now for the pictures to come to my email. HE HEARS OUR PRAYERS! God knew just how bad I needed some help. He knew today was the day I would be at my lowest point. He heard me cry out for peace. Thank you God, you continually amaze me with your love for me.
And just so you know, a dvd of your waiting child is VERY rare. And updated pictures with our agency this fast is also rare. No coincidence that today God chose to send me both.

where I am

2011-02-09T17:44:00.000-08:00

Since this blog is really my outlet for my feelings about our adoption, here is where I am. I miss my girl. I can't sleep at night. I don't feel complete anymore. A piece of my heart belongs to my daughter who lives in Korea. I think everyday about the things I am missing. Her smiles, tears, bubbles and sighs. I try to distract myself, but I just miss her. It is really hard to explain how I can feel this for a baby I have never met, but I do. I am just tired of all the unknowns. How will she adjust? Will she grieve for a long time? How will it feel to see that? With my boys, I was there from day 1. My daughter has had two other women that loved her before I will get to hold her. How will I convey to her that I will protect her? When will we get to travel to Korea to get Annelise? So many questions swirl thru my head. I pray for peace. Yes, I am so happy Annelise is my daughter. But I am so saddened knowing I will take her away from the only family she has known. I guess I am grieving in my soul knowing what my tiny girl will go thru. Praying one day our family will be complete. And Annelise Bitna will know I am her mommy and she is home.

Surprise baby shower!

2011-02-01T12:14:00.000-08:00

Today I had the honor of being thrown a suprise baby shower by my friends! It was so much fun, and the first thing I did when I walked in the room filled with pink and heard everyone yell "surprise!" was burst into tears. :) It has been emotional for me lately, and with our latest 1600 hangup (more on that later) I was having a rotten morning. It was so kind of everyone to be so excited for our family. Annelise got so many wonderful goodies. I will have to take pictures and post them all, and a friend took pictures at the shower, too. Annelise has more bows, outfits, books, bibs, burp clothes, and two of the cutest little girl towels for after bathtime I have ever seen. And even a portable noise machine for travel to Korea - woohoo! And something really special was a gift certificate for a local photographer to take our pictures wherever we want of our family when it is complete with Annelise. I can't wait to have them taken! It was so fun, I am just so thankful for the sweet friends I have. Thanks everyone - It made my whole week brighter!

On the 1600 side I left a field blank, and yesterday got back a rejection letter from the lockbox location. BOO BOO BOO. I was not a happy camper. I fixed it and overnighted it this morning, so hopefully the delay it caused us will not be anything big. Probably a week tops. Praying our 1600 sails thru to approval now.

Adoption has so many big ups and big downs. It really is similar to being pregant, but I am thinking the highs and lows seem greater. So last night was a big down, and today was a big up with all the celebration over my baby girl. We love you Annelise, and there is a big group of family and friends that are just as excited to meet you as we are. Hang in there sweet baby, soon we will be there.

what's been going on?

2011-01-30T15:56:00.000-08:00

I feel like I have not written in awhile, almost a week! So what have I been up to? Oh, I ordered Annelise's crib for starters. I can't wait till it comes in. It is espresso colored. I also bought some gifts for people we will meet in Korea. Social workers, foster dad, the next baby our foster family will keep. I am still hunting for the perfect foster mom gift. I want her to love it, but not really knowing her makes it hard. I have also been gathering info about what to pack, and what to do in Korea. I am also trying to compose a list of keepsakes to bring home for us, baby girl and some goodies for family. I keep reading Korean socks are amazing? And pj's too! There is a whole lot to do to get ready for Annelise, and I am happy it is keeping me busy. I really pray our 1600 gets approved fast, so this wait does not get too long. I just want my baby home! :) I will share pics of her nursery when my crib comes, it is so fun to decorate in pinks!

LEGALS!!!!

2011-01-24T14:34:00.000-08:00

Oh my GOODNESS, we have legals in from Korea. It only took 11 days. I have been praying and praying those would come in in two weeks, and look at what a miracle, less than two!!! One step closer to my sweet sweet baby. Thank you God!
Legals is a transfer of guardianship from Korea to our agency. Now we go stateside and the 1-600 is on it's way to be approved. Now if you will pray with me for a fast approval and that we get a super nice, understanding officer, that wants us to get our girl home as fast as we do. Heaven help me, I am so excited!!!!!

Twas the night before referral.....

2011-01-24T10:40:00.000-08:00

I don't think I have shared about the night before I got "the" best phone call of my life! I was rocking Anderson to sleep, and, as I always did, I was thinking about our baby on the other side of the world. But this night was very different. I felt a strange peace come over me. I actually was contemplating the fact that maybe she was not even born yet. I thought to myself "if my referral does not come until June, I will be ok. The daughter God meant for us to have will find her way to us." Yes, readers, for the first time in 8 loooong months, I gave it up. I surrendered our girl to God. I realized our adoption was so much bigger than my timeline. I was just finally ok with the wait. After months of agony, I realized it had gotten me nowhere but frantic. We had just spent the weekend in Georgia visiting family, and I had actually started telling family we may not even have her by next Christmas. (lol) And the craziest thing, after I had totally felt this amazing peace come over me I had this thought "I bet now our referral will come in tomorrow. I have totally surrendered our child to God."
11:14 am the next morning, my phone rang with the news that we had a 6 month old daughter, alive and well, residing in Seoul, South Korea. How great is my God?

Seven months old today!

2011-01-22T06:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Seven Month Birthday Annelise! To be honest again, this day is hard on me. I am actually missing my daughter's life. I did not quite understand how hard it is to have your child's picture and not be there for big milestones until it happened to me. I understood it was hard, but sometimes you do not fully "get" something until you are in the situation. To those parents that have to wait and wait to travel, oh man, I get it now. We are with SWS, so hopefully we will not miss too many more "month days". We ordered a cake to celebrate today (strawberry shortcake!) and i will take a pic of it tonight when we blow out a candle in her honor. We love you sweet girl. Mommy prays there will not be many more months of your life that go by without me there.
Here is another favorite picture of my daughter. We were so blessed to receive a huge stack of them. I have lots to share! As my friend Debra put it, "she is saving her smiles for when you get her!" I like the sound of that!

Sent with love.....

2011-01-22T06:20:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, I sent Annelise's care package to SWS in Korea. I have to be totally honest, it was emotional to send. I had to hold back tears when I filled out the customs form, because I was realizing she would be trying on these outfits, and squeezing her dolly without me there. But sending this little package of love was still really fun to do. Our agency is not quite as strict as some agencies on size of package, so I stuffed everything into two gallon ziplock baggies. It was a tight fit!!

Two cameras that will hopefully get filled up with pictures of our girl, and goodies for the foster parents, plus a letter to them. How do you thank someone who has loved your baby? Hard to put into words. The letter was in english, unfortunately. I am hoping the social worker will translate for them. Any tips on getting a letter translated for when we travel?

A dolly, that says "my first valentines day." Sadly, we will miss her first day, but I wanted her to have a little gift from us to celebrate a day all about love! And a sweet little elephant we have been sleeping with, so it has our scent. And a picture book with our pictures, so hopefully she will recognize us.

Two cute outfits, socks and a sleeper. Love all the pink!

Another sweet glimpse

2011-01-17T14:55:00.001-08:00

I can't figure out what to say about this picture without sounding like I am totally saying my child is the cutest child in the universe. So I guess I should say it, my daughter is the cutest baby girl I have ever laid eyes on. :) I guess that is my right to say as a Mommy. These photos I have are glimpses into her little life. She just looks soooooo sweet and I just want to jump onto a plane to Korea now and scoop her up. I just feel like I need to pinch myself each time I gaze at all my photos of Annelise. And I offer up thanks to her birthmom for bringing this little girl into the world. What a miracle.

Ummmm, some changes going on

2011-01-13T15:01:00.000-08:00

Well, if you notice the title to my blog, you will see that it looks a little different. Yes, we changed her name. Why? There are several reasons. One being, every time I looked at her sweet picture, "Leah" just did not fit. I was losing sleep over it, and sleep , my friends, is very precious to me. Then there is the meaning of Leah "weary one." That was really bugging me. Her given Korean name "Bitna" means shining. Her birthmother wanted so bad for her to have a wonderful life, with a very beautiful name and a special meaning. "Weary one" was not settling well with my soul. And then there is the Bible Story. Leah was not picked first in that story, and with my girl being adopted, I was having serious reservations with the implications of that. Now, I do love the name Leah. I think it is beautiful, and everyone I know with that name is wonderfully sweet. It just does not fit "my" girl. So , drummrolllll please, our little Bitna will forever be named ANNELISE BITNA. Meaning "consecrated to god" and "shining". We have PRAYED for our little girl for years. This meaning is very special to us, and I think her birthmother would be proud. As a teensy bonus, my name is Elisabeth Ann. Annelise is a part of me, and she is a part of her birthmother. I think that is very very special. And my little girl should have a name that forever shows her the love of two Mothers. I hope the name fits her, and looking at her, and reading about her life thus far, it totally does. We love you sweet Annelise Bitna.
On a side note, the "cloud 9" factor as I have dubbed it, has worn off. Today at the post office, weighing Annelise's care package fully brought me to the realization that MY daughter is halfway around the world, and I will not be there for her to enjoy the goodies. I am missing her life. Please pray with me that my sweet girl's paperwork moves fast so that we can go pick her up as soon as possible. I am missing her terribly, and so very aware of all that I am missing. A piece of my heart now resides in Seoul.

One of my favorite pictures.....

2011-01-11T16:58:00.001-08:00

Isn't Leah adorable in her red penguin hat? Her little outfit says "Christmas Baby" Definately a hat girl!

Meet Annelise!

2011-01-10T14:31:00.001-08:00

Here she is!!! My beautiful little girl. We could not be any prouder, more photos to come, soon. I am so in love with this little face. This picture was the first one I ever saw. You can tell how gentle she is. We are so blessed!

Care package

2011-01-09T12:46:00.000-08:00

I am trying to get a care package together for my Leah and instead of looking thru all the blogs in bloggy land to get ideas, I thought it would be better time management (my Christmas tree is still up in my living room! - must get down) if I told you all what I have and tell me what I need to add!
So far I have:
3 outfits and one sleeper (too much?)
A three pack a soft socks (or should i do a pair of robeez?)
2 disposable Kodak cameras
Jelly Belly package for foster parents (made in USA)
A Valentine soft dolly for Leah
A pink picture book for her to hold with our photos in it
A soft pink lovey that we have been sleeping with so it has our scent
I think I will also add a Starbucks viva coffee pack and altoids for foster family
What do you think?

Emotions of seeing Annelise Bitna

2011-01-07T16:44:00.000-08:00

Before I forget the emotions I felt the night of our referral, January 3rd, I thought I had better blog about it! I basically called every family member I could think of that day, and cried on and off, skipped, danced around and forgot to eat completely. So when 10pm rolled around, and I knew that "tomorrow" January 4th at 11am was the day I was going to see Leah's picture for the first time, I figured I had better go to sleep. I passed out almost as soon as my head hit the pillow (emotionally drained) and slept deep until 2am. When I woke, I was totally wide awake realizing that today would be the day I would see what the daughter I had prayed for for 1 year, 3 months and 8 days would look like. Then my mind started racing. I tried to go back to sleep, but, that did not happen for a long long time. Anderson woke up somewhere around 3am so I put him our bed and snuggled him. Then he decided to keep me company and rolled around for awhile till I decided he needed to go back to sleep. I made him some milk, fed him and he fell back asleep around 4. I also drank a big glass, hoping it would knock me out. I think i fell back asleep around 5ish and woke up again at 6am, totally ecstatic it was kinda daylight. I pretty much lept out of bed and flew to our coffee maker. I had to dress the boys and myself fast, because we had decided to drive them over an hour to my sister in law's house for a spend the night party with cousins, then drive over another hour to see our baby. After we dropped them off, my stomach really started churning. That hour and 30 minute drive from her house to our agency was loooooong. I really think I have never been that nervous in my life!! We FINALLY got there, I jumped out of the car before Daniel could park and raced inside ahead of him. (haha) Slow poke! He caught up inside the agency and we did not have to wait but a minute and we saw our social worker. She ushered us back into a conference room, sat us down and told us a few things about Bitna. She then pulled out a big stack of photos and laid them out for us. The first picture I saw of her I am looking at right now. She has a little smile and is staring right at the camera. I immediately started crying. I just loved her, plain and simple. This little girl is who I have prayed for and cried for, yearned for and hoped for, for so so long. She did not look necessarily familiar to me, but she was mine and I would have fought off a lion to protect her. Now, after 4 days of staring at all her photos, she looks very familiar to me, and I have memorized every detail of her sweet face. It is hard to explain what it is like to see your child for the first time, in photos, not real life. I hesitate to say it was so much more special than the boys births, because it was not. But it was much much different. Almost filled with more emotion, if that is humanly possible. I think the anticipation builds up with adoption, and perhaps it is God himself that places the love for a child not born of you in your heart very very early, so that you might see a picture of a child you have never seen, and love that child with your whole heart. I think God, who adopted us all, plays a very very big role in adoption. This little girl I cherish. I have her in every room of my house, even my bathroom. I don't want to go a minute without studying her face. All these months of waiting, and now here I am. It feels like a dream come true. I have not forgotten the hard, hard wait. But I see now WHY I had it. This tiny little girl was born to be our daughter. All these months of waiting have prepared me to love her like I do. Thanks be to Heaven for such a gift.
And I promise, just as soon as our agency receives our packet, you will all see her sweet little face!

Acceptance paperwork SENT!

2011-01-07T11:05:00.000-08:00

WOOOHOOOOOOO I sent off the mountain of acceptance paperwork this morning! I was practically skipping out of the UPS store, after showing every person who I saw her pictures. Then the boys and I went out for pizza to celebrate and bought Leah Bitna the cutest hairbow/headband to send in her care package. It matches this sweet little fleece outfit I am sending her. I am hoping her foster mom takes her picture in the outfit and bow and I get to see it on her!!!!!
One step closer!!!! Next up, waiting on Legals from Korea. All I do now is wait for travel call. We are thinking March or April, but it depends on how fast Korea and the U.S. processes her papers. I am just finding out if I can show pictures today or if I have to wait until Monday. Hopefully those will be up for you all later today.

Baby sista

2011-01-06T04:35:00.000-08:00

What Anderson calls baby Leah Bitna "baby sista". So cute! I put one of her pictures in a ziploc baggie and he has been carrying it around looking at her sweet face. Same with Jack. They are so excited. Except Jack is worried that her lack of hair does not make her look like a girl. Lol. I told him she just needs a big bow!!! He is so funny. He told me he did not want to hurt her feelings, so he would tell her she looked like a girl. I about died laughing. (don't worry, she definately looks girly!) The boys seem to be taking the news well and getting excited. I think Jack was a bit shocked she looks Korean, even though we have been showing him korean baby pictures for a long time now. He said "but she does not look like you?" Then once he thought about it he decided that was ok and she needed a bow in her hair. :) I love my boys!!!

The Referral

2011-01-05T14:46:00.001-08:00

Alrighty, I have a few mintues to share about our referral! It was Monday morning, January 3rd and I knew it was our 8 month anniversary day of our dossier going to Korea. I was trying hard not to call our agency, but figured it had been 2 months since I had called them, and it would not hurt just to see if they thought my referral would be coming in soon. I actually braced myself for the worst. (as in you may be waiting months longer...) The agency head, S, was not at her desk and it went to voicemail. I left a message with what I wanted and my cell number. This was around 9:15am. I had dropped Jack off at preschool and Anderson and I were on our way for groceries. We got groceries, got home and I decided that my cabinets we store food in had to be cleaned out. We had just gotten in from visiting family the night before, and i had suitcases strewn everywhere, i have no idea why i just had to clean out our cabinets. So I pulled everything out, and had it all sitting on our kitchen counters. Anderson needed a diaper change, as in, right away. So we went upstairs, and I remembered to take my phone with me. As soon as I got him on a clean diaper I jumped up to wash my hands. RING RING RING! (11:14am) I turned around, mentally grossed out because i had not made it to wash my hands but wanting to talk to the agency too bad to care. It was S, and i was happy she was calling me back, but in NO WAY thought it was my referral. She asked me how our Christmas went, I told her nice things then got quiet so she could tell me her guess as to how much longer we would have to wait. "Well, I got your message, looked at my calander to do my predictions, and my phone buzzed from the front desk. (me: wondering where she was going with this!) "A referral just came in SILENCE and it is YOURS!" I cried and cried. I said "seriously?" thru tears. I could not stop crying. I thought to ask her her birthday, but first I asked if it was a little girl. She said YES! More crying by me. (Poor S!) She told me her birthday (June 22) and that she is adorable and they have been passing her pictures around the office. I just kept crying. lol! She told me to get off the phone and call my husband and she would call our satelite agency and set up our meeting to view the pictures the next day. So I called Daniel. Poor Daniel. I was still crying. He thought one of the boys had been really hurt and he could not understand me. Then he lost the call. Poor Daniel. He finally got back thru and realized I was happy and we have our baby! The rest of the day is honestly a blur. I don't remember driving to pick up Jack from preschool. It took me 6 hours to get those food items back in the pantry. I was in total shock. I cried on and off ALL day. I got down on my knees and thanked the Lord my wait was over and I have a daughter in Korea. It was a day I will never ever forget. We had a daughter, I just had no idea what she looked like! More on that night and the next day soon..........
And I just have to add how crazy it is that I had not called in 8 weeks and the morning I call, my referral is delivered to our agency mintues after I call???? I think the front desk receptionist was wondering what telephone line connection to God I have! :)
*** And another, really neat thing to share. Go look at my post from the day Leah Bitna was born, June 22, 2010. I have the picture re-posted of us mailing our application to adopt. And read what I said. Amazing! "I wonder how her birthmother is coping" I know that day was so so hard for her birthmother. I was obviously thinking about her and praying for her. I am so glad. I know any extra prayers sent her way were needed. Leah was very very loved by her birthmother, and I find that an answer to my prayers for Leah.

So what's next?

2011-01-05T04:38:00.000-08:00

I thought I should do a post on where we go from here! I am filling out acceptance paperwork today and trying to get everything together that we owe Korea. :) Once our agency receives our acceptance packet, they send them to SWS in Korea, and we wait for Korea to send us "LEGALS." Legals are the petition to transfer guardianship to our agency. Once our agency receives Legals, they file that copy with CIS along with our 1600 form (petition to classify an orphan as an immediate relative) and several other forms that i am still trying to figure out. That is as far into the process as my mind can take me right now. Once I get this paperwork in, I will give a post about the rest of the process. I know the average it takes from referral to travel call is 8-12 weeks.
I will post pictures of our girl as soon as I get this acceptance paperwork in. I am required to wait on that (sorry!). But she is amazing, just so you know. :)
And I wanted to give you a tidbit of information on her in her file. "Bitna is gentle, girlish and calm" How lovely is that? I just love her name.
I owe you all a big post about the official referral, and I will try to get to that tonight. Monday, January 3rd was an amazing day, well worth every tear, prayer, sigh, and worry I have gone thru over the past 15 months 7 days that led me to Monday. And, guess what? Bitna was the 1st referral of 2011 for our agency!!!

I have looked upon the face of my daughter

2011-01-04T09:39:00.000-08:00

And it felt like Heaven. Yes, praise God our referral came yesterday and today we saw her. Leah Bitna you are ours, and we love you. Bitna means "shining" and the name was given to her by her birthmother. She was born in Seoul on June 22. She is 6 months old. With beautiful lips and chubby cheeks, and very little hair! Oh how my heart is happy. Every step of this journey has led to her. I pray she comes home by April. Thank you Lord for this indescribable gift. We have a daughter!

Most awesome bible verse ever

2011-01-03T10:50:00.001-08:00

Father to the fatherless, defender of widows — this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families.

Psalms 68:5-6

15 months

2010-12-28T05:02:00.000-08:00

15 months today, waiting on our sweet leah. And I have felt every day of it. My prayers lately are that soon this wait will end. I am not sure why we are waiting like this, but there has to be a reason. She must be out there somewhere, under the same moon. This is stretching me like nothing ever has. My heart seems to break with each long passing day I do not see my child. I love her, and a piece of me is missing. Trusting in god that he holds her and knows her name.

10 Little fingers GIVEAWAY WINNER!

2010-12-25T14:43:00.000-08:00

I decided to draw for the giveway today, because it was the last day anyone guessed for our referral. And since it is Christmas day, I thought that would be fun! Drummrollllll please:

CHRISTINE from 12,450 Miles! (Spencer's Mommy!)

Yay Christine! If you already have this book, let me know and I will send you a Barnes giftcard instead! You can email me at seouldreams@yahoo.com or fb me your address . :)

It was fun to pick a winner, even though I had to pick one instead of someone guessing the date because Miss Leah is just not ready to show her face yet!

Thanks for playing my giveaway!

Merry Christmas Leah

2010-12-25T07:41:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas daughter of my heart. Though you are not with us today, we are all thinking about you and wishing you were here. This is the second Christmas we have known you were coming, and my prayer is that next Christmas you will be here so that we can tell you just how many Christmas's we have all been waiting to share Jesus's Birthday with you. Daddy, Mommy, Jack and Anderson talk about you every day. The boys point out your room and ask when baby Leah will come home. We just want you to know when you read these letters one day, how much you are wanted and missed. So Merry Christmas darling baby girl. We just can't wait to have you in our arms.

Perspective

2010-12-22T05:58:00.001-08:00

So last night, I was having my nightly feel so sorry for myself that we have not gotten our referral time. I kinda go over it in my head every night after I get the boys to sleep. We are not too far away from 15 months of this journey to our Leah. When we applied to adopt and met with our agency face to face, they told me most children were home at 15 months. So, even though I tried to not get my hopes up too high, I did hope hope hope this Christmas would hold one more of these.....

I did not really think Leah would be home this year, but I was pretty confidant we would have her picture. I did not know about the 1-600A hang up we would encounter (three months to get approval) and I did not know that wait times were going to increase at our agency pretty dramatically. Several times. So while I bemoaned the fact that there is not a pretty pink stocking hung with my daughter's name, I looked down at my feet. Darn, I am starting to get a bunion on my right foot. Who in the world in my family gave me this? Then the adoptee voice piped up, "you have no idea, remember?" Then the more mature voice in my head spoke, "you know, Leah will have no idea where she inherited her eyes from, her smile or even know what her birthmom looks like. Is that really fair?" I was adopted as a newborn right out of the hospital, Leah will spend a good part of her first year either in the SWS reception room, or with a foster family that she will grow to love. Then I will come and swoop her up, take her away from her homeland and anything she has ever known, not speak her language, and take her on a ridiculously long flight right after we meet. Is that fair? NO! Adoption is not fair. I had no say in the fact I was adopted, and neither will my daughter. Yes, adoption is beautiful, but yes, adoption brings with it sadness and many questions that are not answered. So, this wait I am on is totally fair. This small suffering I am encountering this Christmas season pales in comparision to the grieving my daughter will encounter so very very young. Perspective. I will most likely never know why I am bunion bound. (sigh) I will never be able to say "thanks aunt sally." At doctor checkups on family history, i always have to write unknown, adopted. That is hard, every time. Leah will have to do the same. While we will share that bond, I am sure these things will bother her. And it is not fair every year on my birthday, I wonder about my birthmother and am not sure if she is even thinking of me. I want to give Leah everything, shower her with our love, and I hope that is enough for her. I know I feel that I was placed in the very best situation for me, and hilarious enough, my adopted mom, just had bunion surgery. (sorry, mom!)
So after this long, rambling post, I hope I have a better perspective of my wait. I will try to remember my blessings this Christmas season, and not focus on what I am missing. But I do love my little Leah, and one of the neatest things I have learned thus far on this journey is that my Mom wanted me just as much as my biological sibling. That is a gift that only adopting a daughter of my own could bring me. Merry Christmas everyone, and I pray this season finds you with someone to love, and if you are waiting, hope in your heart!

Just another day of waiting..........

2010-12-18T15:57:00.001-08:00

3 - The number of times tears welled up in my eyes today due to missing my baby girl so much and being so sad we have waited so long without even a picture of our daughter.
The first time was while watching the Food Network Giada's Christmas Special. Giada was eating her yummy looking dinner with family. Her cute daughter, who looked to be about 15 months old, was sitting by her. She was feeding her daughter dessert, and bam, I am crying wishing my daughter was going to be at our Christmas dinner.
The second time was when my wonderful friend dropped off this Christmas gift for us.

In the front inscripted "Just a reminder that you are not waiting alone. We can't wait to meet Leah."
The first few lines of this book "Every year on your birthday, I think about the day you were born, how the sun must have shone, or the moon looked so bright. I wasn't there, but I was thinking about you as I waited at home to be your new mother." Instant tears, what a beautiful book, what a special gift! It means the world to me that friends remember we are waiting. And this book is amazing, I look forward to the day I can read it to my Leah.
The third time was of course when I was rocking Anderson to bed. (Yes, he is over two years old, but I insist on rocking him to bed and he loves it!) I pretty much tear up every single night I rock that child to bed, thinking about my daughter on the other side of the world, so this night was no different. I hope someone is rocking her, loving her right now.
Until we meet sweet baby girl, I will love you and miss you terribly. xxoo, your Mommy

Quilt

2010-12-16T14:04:00.000-08:00

I am trying to distract myself from this agonizing wait, and I though about the adoption quilt I have heard of others doing. Are any of you doing it for your children, or have you in the past? I think the gyst is that you have loved ones send you a square while you wait for your child, with a special message to go with it, and have someone sew them all together for you.
Sigh, if we do not get our referral soon, i think Leah will be home in the Spring/summer and I bought some cute 9 month baby girl WINTER clothes. Ring ring phone, PLEASE!!!!!

Advent Conspiracy Promo Video

2010-12-14T19:24:00.000-08:00

http://armstrongfamilyof5.blogspot.com/2010/12/blog-post.html

Hop on over to this blog. (too tired to figure out the link thing tonight) Give in the orphan's name. What better gift this Christmas?

All I want for Christmas is......

2010-12-14T11:46:00.001-08:00

All I want for Christmas is for every child to have a home. 147 million orphans in this world, and yet so many do not adopt. I can't help but feel differrent this Christmas season. With every present I purchase for a loved one or friend, I feel a tug at my heart. I wish this money could go to help an adoption. It seems adoption has broken my heart. Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours. 147 million children without homes. I know that breaks His heart.
This Christmas season, my prayer is that families will hear the cry of the orphan.

And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.
Matthew 18:5

lessons i have learned in this adoption

2010-12-09T05:16:00.000-08:00

Thinking about the past 14+ months of our journey, I have learned a few lessons I will remember should we ever actually complete this adoption and adopt a second. First, I will not inform the masses before my first homestudy meeting. This will be our second Christmas without even a picture of our daughter, and the constant stream of question as to where she is, is she born, what is taking so long? , are you still adopting, etc. Etc. May indeed be my end. I know, people wonder. But at this point, I am in pain. I am weary and having every person I know or barely know asking me, when I may just be trying to cope and go about my daily life, hurts. So lesson learned. If we do this again, I will tell at referral. Lesson two, expect it will take months longer than you are informed. Do not get your hopes up that you will be this amazing fast adoption story. Three, do not stalk other adoption timeliness. Generally, this has only upset me. Four, do not buy a closet of clothing before you see the baby. It is just sad. And five, do make adoption friends again, because that is the one thing I have done right, and it really keeps me going, uplifted me, and gives hope and understanding. Thank you buddies, we will survive this wait!

How adoption has made me a loon.........

2010-12-08T11:43:00.000-08:00

I am refusing to send out my Christmas cards until I get my referral because I am determined that this year I will have my daughter's picture to put in there. So, if you receive a Christmas card from me, it will be because my husband has taken it upon himself to send them. And we all know that would never happen in a MILLION years. :)
Just another way adoption has turned me into a loon.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-05T09:12:00.001-08:00

We wish all our friends a Merry Christmas and a bright New Year!

SEVEN

2010-12-03T07:18:00.001-08:00

Our dossier went to Korea 7 months ago today. I know, my blog is all about numbers lately. But it is all that is on my mind. I never thought I would be waiting this long. :(
Seven is God's perfect number. I hope the number has special meaning for us this Christmas season. We love you, little Leah. And I hope you are out there, being loved and cared for until we can get you. They say time just melts away when you get that phone call. I pray it does, because this is really hard.

14 months waiting

2010-11-28T16:28:00.000-08:00

Today marks 14 months praying, waiting, and hoping for my daughter. Time seems very important in adoption. It is a kind of marker, when you have nothing to go on. I have been throwing myself into Christmas. The house is decorated, Christmas cards are made. This is super fast for me. This season I will be staying busy! One fine day, my phone will ring. And my little girl will be waiting for us.

This year we give thanks for.........

2010-11-24T12:07:00.000-08:00

Unknown BLESSINGS already on their way. - Author unknown

We love you, baby girl, and know you are on your way to us. We will miss you tomorrow, but hope with all our hearts next Thanksgiving we will get to hold you high when our turn comes around to share what we are thankful for.

A new day

2010-11-16T16:20:00.001-08:00

Yesterday's post was seriously depressing, so I thought I had better cheer it up. Today is my birthday, and while SWS did not get my memo that is would be a fabulous day for my referral, it was still a good day! I had sweet friends, yummy cake and a loving family wishing me happy birthday all day. What more could a girl want?

So while my birthday wish did not come true from last year, I have a good feeling this year's wish will come true.

Bang bang bang

2010-11-15T17:17:00.000-08:00

That is my head. Banging against the desk. How long will it be until I see my baby??? I am being very counterproductive tonight, going thru blog after blog trying to find South Korean blogs of families waiting for a referral longer than me. Silly, I know. I am not having much luck. Out of 13 blogs, it looks like one family waited longer than 13 months from the start of adoption to referral. And yes, it could be months more. How. will. I. manage. that.
I love to read new blogs of families getting their referral, but each time I do, i stalk the timeline and shoot up my fists when I see they got theirs faster than me. Just a little confession from an almost 31 year old woman. Sigh. God is in control. God is in control.
Tomorrow is my Birthday. My wish from last year was to see my sweet Leah. I guess there is always tomorrow.

Another adoption friend referral!

2010-11-10T15:53:00.000-08:00

I am so excited, because my adoption friend, that I met first in our educational class a looooong time ago (lol) got her baby boy referral today!!! She is with our agency, and has been waiting the longest of anyone I have heard of recently. Her paperwork has been in Korea for seven and a half months. I am very excited for her and me, it means things are moving at Barker, despite the slowdown. I am not sure how many came in today, but it gives me hope that she did not have to wait longer than she did. I kinda gage my wait on hers. She was the only person I know ahead of me in the wait. I am sure there are others, but I do not know any of them. I know we are top for girls, just not sure when Barker will get more referrals......
Congrats Debra! I can't wait to see pictures of you baby boy!!!!

Help this family keep their adoption file from closing!!

2010-11-08T16:17:00.000-08:00

http://theblairfamily-dawn.blogspot.com/

This family is in need of your help, tonight! They are adopting a precious baby girl from Ethiopia and if they do not sell enough $10 Christmas cd's tonight, their agency will shut down their file. They are almost there, can you help?? Their goal is to sell 644 cd's in 24 hours, which is almost up, and last I heard, they still need to sell 200 and something.

Link up and spread the word! I cannot imagine the thought of losing Leah over insufficient funds....... please help them! Christmas cd's make great gifts!!

Leah's dresser and her closet :)

2010-11-08T06:13:00.000-08:00

My friend gave me this dresser and we painted it pink over the weekend. I love the way it turned out. I am going to add crystal knobs!!

Her closet, more clothes in those pink bins underneath. Most of these were given to me, or bought really cheap off of friends, so awesome!

This sweet asian doll was given to Leah by another adoptive Mama, Heather.

The bow drawer. Yes, I do have two boys. Yes, I do need my daughter soon before one bow drawer becomes two.

About the giveaway...

2010-11-04T16:16:00.000-07:00

If I still don't have the referral by the end of december, i will just draw a name from the pot! And you all can send me flowers for sympathy. (j/k)! kinda!

:) This is what happens when I do giveaways. I remember the last giveaway was "guess when Elisabeth will get her 1-600A approval" and what was supposed to be a 6 week longest scenario ended up taking 11. Way past when everyone guessed. sigh. Next giveaway will not surround numbers and my adoption! Leah is just taking her sweet time. Maybe she is a really calm, restful child?? !!

I love..... a dedication to my baby

2010-11-02T17:13:00.000-07:00

Baby girl, I love you.
I love your sweet Asian eyes
I love the dimples you will have when you smile
I love the soft tufts of your hair, that one day I will stroke when I rock you to sleep
I love how soft your heart will be
I love how you will come to me because another made the ultimate sacrifice
I love how with every breath you take, you will be a miracle
I love how with each long day that goes by, I know your heart beats on the other side of the world
I love that God purposed you for our family
I love that before you were created, He knew you
I love that loving you reminds me of just how much I was loved by my birth mother
I love that you are bringing the light of adoption into the world
I love that I dream of you at night
I love that one day I will see your sweet face, and remember you from my dreams
I love that I am getting to experience this
I love how when I hold your big brother, I try to imagine what you will feel like
I love how each moment with my boys, and the love I feel for them, reminds me just how blessed I am that I will get to experience this with another child
I love how when I see a pink outfit, I think of how sweet you would look in it
I love that you have a closet full of clothes bought and given to you with love
I love how loving you for this long will make my first glimpse of you that much sweeter
I love how loving you has brought me close to many others with hearts on fire for the children of Korea and all over the world
I love that when I hold you for the first time, it will all be worth it
I love that I will get to experience meeting you for the first time with your Daddy
I love to imagine the look in your Daddy's eyes after he lays eyes on you for the first time
I love that God wrote your name on my heart

This is so disapointing

2010-11-02T13:11:00.000-07:00

I just talked to our agency and the waits are getting longer. They put us getting a little girl at a few month longer wait now. Even though we are at the top of the list. I have heard they give the worst case scenarios, but I can't seem to wrap my mind around that right now. I just want to sit with my grief. I don't know how I will do this until February or March. I am so ready to snap with the wait at our 6 month mark/ 13 month journey. They originally told us 4-6 months. Now they are telling me 8-10 months. This is so hard.

Ten little fingers, ten little toes GIVEAWAY!

2010-10-31T05:43:00.001-07:00

I just bought this book yesterday, for Leah, and I love it. Mem Fox is the author. It is a lovely story, all about babies from all over the world with the theme being, each has ten sweet fingers and ten sweet toes. I think it the perfect book for any baby, but especially our babies, brought over to our homes from another country. I can't wait to read it to my daughter.

I love it so much, I want to give it away! Let's play guess when Elisabeth is going to get her referral. The person who comes closest to the date will get this book. We are in the November - January referral range for our agency. We have been at the top of the list for a little girl for 6 weeks. I am hoping for November, but fully realize Christmas may come and go and January will be our month. I have heard SWS sometimes holds babies over December, then out go lots of January referrals. (making alot of the January referral babies 6 or 7 mos. old) I am not sure why this happens, anyone have any insight into this?? I do know several families that have gotten January referrals with the sweetest babies, so I would feel happy to be a part of this group. But November is my birthday month, so come on SWS, match me this month!!

Good luck, hope you win!! And if you already have this book, I can substitute it or do a barnes giftcard for you to pick out your own new book. :)

Good signs....

2010-10-28T06:35:00.001-07:00

So I have to read into these few things, because I am desperate to get our referral!!! I was talking to a preschool parent who is adopting a child in the foster system and guess what day they go before the judge to grant adoption? November 16th, my birthday. :) I'll take it as a good sign. Then, I was reading another blog, and a family got their referral on October 16th, which was a year to the day they began their adoption journey. October 16th is Jack's birthday. :) Do you think this means anything?? I know, I may be reaching. lol. Now I just need something for August 14th and March 7th. Anyone got anything?

Oh and today marks 13 months into this adoption.

Christmas shopping?

2010-10-25T11:40:00.000-07:00

Need to do some Christmas shopping? Why not hop over to shopping for a cause, order some gifts, and support others adopting! They have some great things, I will definately be shopping to support adoption this year!

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This is how I feel about......

2010-10-22T05:40:00.000-07:00

THIS ADOPTION WAIT! (but I know it will all be worth it.....)

Get ready for a whine

2010-10-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

It has to come out, a good old feel sorry for myself whine. Here goes!

It has been one month 5 days since I found out we are number 1 or 2 on the list for a girl born in Korea. I am tired tired tired of this wait. I am fried. Undone. Emotionally drained. I am wishing I had never told anyone we were adopting because I am so tired of answering the questions about if we have our referral, and when we are going to get it. Blabbler mouth here told everyone we would have our referral in the fall. And I was not crazy, I was told we would. The waits got longer. But it was possible, there is one family that started adopting after us with our agency, and already has their baby home. I was told " the process is averaging sign up to home in 15 months." So, yeah, at almost 13 months of this I figured I would have her sweet little picture.

I try to stay positive, I do. I try to be thankful for all my blessings. And some days, I manage to focus on the positive. But lately, as the 6 month mark waiting gets closer I am anxious. How long are we going to be at the top of the list like this????

Waiting is rough. I am so ready to see my daughter. So ready to have our family complete.

Thanks if you made it this far. I know I do have so many blessings in my life. And I do know it is all in God's timing, and this should be teaching me something. I love you , sweet Leah. And I pray really really hard that soon I will have you for my daughter.

May you live all the days of your life.
--- Jonathan Swift

PUMPKINS!

2010-10-17T18:27:00.001-07:00

We went to the patch last weekend and here is the proof!
My baby pumpkin. (hopefully not the baby for long!)

I love how sweet this picture is

Apparently when you are 5, it is not cool to pose nicely for your Mamma

Jack redeemed himself!

This would be an awesome last photo on this post, huh?

A HUGE tractor. The boys loved it!

Private no more!!!

2010-10-17T18:04:00.000-07:00

I am done being private. That lasted long. I decided I do not like being private at all. Woo hoo bring on the comments now. (lol)

Here is a sampling of Jack turing 5. The child had 3 different cakes. Here are two of them.

Batman cake! Party with preschool buddies!

My Mom and sister came up for a visit to help Jack celebrate, so fun!

My sweet sister, Rebecca

A few of his toys.

The three of us, Anderson was pooped from the excitement and went to bed before dinner. (poor guy!)

Happy Birthday Jack!

2010-10-16T06:54:00.000-07:00

Today my Jack Ross turns 5 years old! Happy Birthday big boy! Wow, where did the time go? He was just born!! You worried us half to death, being a preemie and in the NICU for 2 loooong weeks, but look at you now! We LOVE YOU JACK!!! And are so proud of the wonderful big brother you are and and sweet energetic boy you have always been. And we LOVE how excited you are about baby Leah. She will be lucky to have you always look out for her. We hope you have a wonderful day, all about you!!!!