Moments I want to remember...

Conversations with Connor....

Connor: I told you he blows smoke out of his nose. (speaking of Nolan)
Me: What?! He doesn't blow smoke out of his nose.
Connor: Yes, he does. That's why he is brown!
Me: Connor, he's brown because that's the color God made him just like God made you Asian and mom and dad white. God is such an artist...look at all the beautiful colors He gave us in our family.
Connor: Well, he does blow smoke out of his nose.
Umm...ok?! LOL!!

Connor: (first thing every morning) Mom, is Nolan big now?
Me: Not yet, it will take awhile.
Connor: Oh, I thought he growed big last night. :)

Connor: Hey mom, when Nolan gets a little bigger he can share my underwear.
Me: Yep, when he's much bigger.
Connor: Yeah, he can borrow my underwear.

Connor: Is he awake yet? He is always sleeping. LOL!



Kyalynn Kutesies....

Kyalynn: I just love him! (Kyalynn says this many times a day)

Kyalynn: Oh, he's sleeping. Oh, be quiet. He's so tiny. I hold him?

Kyalynn is doing fabulously well with him. Before he came we were trying to prepare her and we'd ask her if she was ready for baby Nolan. She would always say (shaking her pointer finger) NO Baby Nolan! So we weren't sure how she would do when he showed up Thursday morning in her bedroom. Well, God worked it all out and she loves him, always giving him kisses and hugs and wanting to smell his hair. If he's in his playpen she stands and watches him and if she doesn't see him she'll say "where baby Nolan"?

Miss G's gushes...

Gabriella likes to help hold the bottle and loves to put her feet next to his to compare sizes. She is also a tremedous helper getting the diapers, wipes and whatever is needed. She even likes to do his diaper all by herself. :) She likes to share my lap while I'm holding him and is very gentle.
She is also the informer. When I finally get Nolan to sleep I'll run and get a quick shower. Her job is to tell me if she hears him crying or if Kyalynn or Connor need me. She stands right in the bathroom doorway telling me everything she hears. LOL!

And to think I wasted so much energy worrying if I could handle a baby with the other little ones. God is so good! He always works out ALL the details and honestly, it's Him in me that makes it work. Yesterday, I was holding Nolan (that's where he usually is) and trying to empty, move and fill their kiddy pool. Connor says to me "mommy you are strong". I said "No, Connor, mommy isn't strong, that's Jesus in me. He makes me strong". I pray for grace and His strength each morning, especially today as Nolan wanted to play from 3:30 am to 7 am this morning! LOL! Zack and Ryan are both working full time so that leaves me and the littles until evening. Rejoicing that God equips those He calls for His work! I surely could not do life without Him!!

Wild Ride....

Ok, so let me tell you, this was definately an adventure! A God Adventure...the BEST kind!

I have lots to say (I know, you're not surprised!) so I'll just start and post when I can. First, let me say right up front that I have no doubts God chose this wee little one just for us. There were God confirmations all along the way but He showed up and showed off on Wednesday for sure!!

Let me see, where to begin....Tuesday evening I received a call from the agency rep saying she was here in PA and had talked to BM and that BM decided she wanted us to come up Wednesday afternoon sometime after her C-section. Agency rep said she would call first thing in the morning to let us know how things went. We were on pins and needles all morning and Sean paced...a whole lot! Time kept ticking by and no call. I was just getting ready to call around lunchtime when the agency rep, Julie, called us. Thinking this was the moment we've been anxiously waiting for I start asking questions. She quickly stops me and says words that just shocked us to the core. BM never showed up at hospital and they can not locate her. Julie had been everywhere searching for her but had no luck. She said if she didn't hear something very soon she was heading back to Utah and that would be that. Now, we had thought BM might be changing her mind and we were prepared for that but to just not show up broke our hearts. We spent the next several hours praying and seeking God's will, not ours.

God moved and we got a call late afternoon to get in our car and start driving. I won't divulge everything but suffice it to say that nothing is impossible with God!

We went from excitement to despair back to hope and finally to rejoicing! We finally held Nolan in our arms late that evening. We got in our car and drove not knowing anything about Nolan. We didn't know if he was healthy, what he weighed, what we would find...we just drove.

As we were signing the papers I was reading the only medical information we have, his hospital discharge papers. He had a very rough start at life and after sharing my concerns we were put in touch with someone at the main office who broke everything down for me so I could understand what it all meant. He is doing well now. He is absolutely the most gorgeous little guy! He rarely fusses and is so tiny (at least to us). I've never seen diapers this small before. LOL! He was at the doctor today and we have some testing to be done in the next week but I totally believe God can do anything, (as He has proven!) and that Nolan will be just fine.

I ask you to please keep BM and her 3 children in prayer as they grieve and begin to heal. No matter what she did or didn't do, she will always be a hero to me. I can't even begin to imagine the love it takes to make the decision to place the child you have carried. Unselfish love that promises a beautiful future you can't provide. I can't imagine the ache in her heart and her arms. She actually gave birth 13 days ago and brought him home. To carry him and place him at birth is love but to carry him, birth him, take him home and attach to him and then place him is amazing love!!

Connor enjoying the bounty
Ryan just loves to hold Nolan. We fight over who gets to hold him. LOL!
Zack couldn't get over how tiny Nolan was
My brother and his new nephew
Isn't he too cute?!

Truly Blessed Beyond Measure...

I thought I was blessed before but boy, oh boy, I absolutely KNOW it now. Meet our newest blessing.... NOLAN ELIJAH!!!!



All the Grandparents already infatuated with our newest member!
Kyalynn's first time holding Nolan
Gabriella taking her turn

So Tired...

First, a disclaimer: This is going to be a venting post. There may be turbulence with alot of whine so if you prefer not to walk down this path with me then you may want to go on to another blog right now and come back in a few days! :)

So tired...of all the drama.

All The Drama...
Well, our agency calls Thursday night and asks if we would like to talk to BM on Friday at 1:00. Of course, I said yes. So she calls BM, schedules everything and calls me back to confirm. Friday at 1:00, no call. Finally, about 20 minutes later I get a call from our agency that they can't contact BM. At this point, my concern is for the BM as she has health issues that have led to hospital stays and my mind starts rolling with possible scenarios, none good, of her being sick at home, alone. Agency says they have a call into her "support" person and will call me right back. Well, 2 hours later, I call them for an update. They have none. BM has not returned their calls and apparently, no one knows where she is or what's going on. Now, for those of you familiar with domestic adoption, you know this raises serious red flags, especially this close to birth. Agency rep tells me the "support" person was in the middle of something and was to call her back in about 10 minutes and then she was going to call me right back. This was Friday.......well, Sunday evening I finally get that return phone call! Better late than never, I guess.

BM is fine, she took a trip out of town and had a great time, or so I'm told. Agency's words to us were "try to stay calm, I know BM keeps going off the grid but the good news is she keeps popping back in." At this point, I do have some wiggling fears in the back of my mind however, and this is the important key, ultimately, it's all in God's hands and IF he wants this child with us, then so be it. IF not, so be it too. Either way, we will trust His plan for our lives.

To clarify, I've had several conversations with BM and I really, really like her. I respect her greatly for choosing life in an especially difficult time of her life. She has spunk, adores her children, has tenacity, and is carrying alot on her shoulders as a single mom to several children.

So, that's the drama for now. Of course, that's just part of it, we still have 5 other children that give us plenty of drama on a daily basis. :)

3rd Time's a Charm...

Ok, so I got a call. Now let me refresh your memory....several weeks ago, on a Tuesday afternoon I received a call saying be prepared baby might be born today. Then, last Friday night we got the call around 6 pm saying your baby will probably be born tomorrow. Now, I get a call and she says, your baby will definately be born the 18th. So...it seems like this may be it :) Our birthmom's C-section is scheduled for this coming Wednesday!

Counting down the days to being a family of 8!!

Another Blow...

Well....as I've stated before this whole adoption has got to be a God thing because we don't have the necessary funds lying around waiting to be used. Trust me, all funds around here are used promptly to pay bills, buy food and exist. LOL! We are trusting God to meet the financial needs.

We have been blessed by many of you with donations and we thank you so very much! We have been blessed by family and friends as well. At this point, we don't have a need for anything material-wise except for diapers and formula! How God is that?! However, we are still waiting on God to provide this last $10,000! Come on God...rain it down. :)

We have applied for several grants and a no interest loan. Today we received word from one of the grants that they were overwhelmed with needs and can't possibly meet them all so we will not be receiving money from them. It would be a lie if I said I wasn't disappointed and frustrated but ultimately, it's up to God how he meets our needs. I would really, really like for Him to do it MY way but funny, He's not buying into that one. :) So....we wait. There's alot of that going on around here lately!! Maybe He's trying to teach me something.....hmmmm! LOL!

And I think it just goes to show that there are so many people adopting in the same position we are in. We can afford to take care of our children on a daily basis it's the large outlay of money that we don't have. Unfortunately, we've been too busy bringing these precious children home and haven't had the ability to store up money in a savings account. The need is so great...for children to find loving homes....for families wanting to be that loving home but needing the finances...and for us, each of us to do whatever we can to help.

Above all, prayer is the most important thing but don't be afraid to invest in the life of a child....it makes all the difference in this world to him or her and ultimately, to all of us.

Sean's Cousin...

Sean's cousin, Bobby, was killed on Saturday in a motorcycle accident. He and his wife were travelling when a car pulled out in front of them. I will spare you the gruesome details but suffice it to say it was really bad. His wife is in critical condition. They have a 10 year old daughter, Julie. Please pray for Kathy to be healed and restored to her daughter quickly. They especially need one another during this critical time.

Prayers Appreciated!

I was on the phone with our birthmom yesterday and she was having major contractions. She headed to the hospital around 6:18 pm and we didn't hear anything again until this morning around 11:00 am! The agency was calling to tell us they had no new information. UGH! So finally around 5:00 I broke down and had to call the agency. Nope, no news.

The deal is birthmom has some serious health issues, baby is breech and big so they are wanting to do a C-section. Well, she just called a short while ago to tell us that baby will NOT be born in the next couple of days. Apparently, she will be 38 weeks this Tuesday and they did an amnio and they are saying babies lungs are not ready yet?! So they are giving her medication to stop or slow down contractions and steroids to help babies lungs develop quickly.

Please, please pray for birthmom and baby's health. Birthmom is very uncomfortable, retaining fluids, and so tired. Of course we are anxious for baby but my heart is focused on mom right now. I feel for her and know how miserable this pregnancy has been for her on alot of realms.

So our family would appreciate your prayers and we will sit back and wait for The Great Physician to do His best work and excitedly look forward to holding our new little one.

Thank you so very much!!!

Jury Duty

I was mailed a letter several months back stating I was chosen for jury duty. I had to fill out a form and then they sent me a paper just recently stating I was to report June 16th at 8:15 am for week long jury duty. Well, that's wonderful and I would really love to do it. I was wanting to be a legal assistant while in high school so it's definately something I would be interested in...someday. Just not right now. Especially since the new baby should be born within the next two weeks!!

On the paperwork they sent me it says in bold lettering, if you do not show up for your jury term you will be fined $500.00 and/or imprisonment or both! Oooh, not something I'm up for. LOL!

So, I call the court administrative assistant and explain we are adopting, baby to be born SOON and I can't possibly be there on the 16th. She says "for how long?" I'm not following her and say "well...it's a newborn and I don't want to leave him for quite awhile". She said "can't you get a babysitter?" I again explain that I could but we are adopting this child and he will be a newborn and I don't want to hand him over to a babysitter so soon. She says "I see. Do you stay home?" Ummm, "yes". She proceeds to tell me that you can not be excused from jury duty indefinately. So, she was getting at knowing when I would be available to serve. She said "will you be available in a year?" Sure, I guess. She seemed hesitant, like I was making this up. HA! I couldn't make this stuff up! She again asked "couldn't you get a sitter to come to your home?" I said "of course, however, this will be my sixth child and I will have 4 children age 5 and under!" That seemed to do the trick and so she told me to write a letter detailing why I can't serve and then within the next month they will have a jury commission approve it and send me my new dates to serve in the next year.

Goodness, who knew how badly they want me to serve?! This is the second time in 3 years they have assigned me duty. The first time I told them I had 2 newly adopted children (Kyalynn and Connor) and they left me off the hook. They never once have asked Sean to serve...hmmmm!

So, here's to next years jury duty.

Nudist Colony?!

Not really, but if you surprise us with a visit you will most likely see 3 little Koreans bare and unashamed! :)
We have the little kiddy pool out and they like to splash and play naked! Oh my! I would love to show you a picture of how much laughter and smiles the kiddy pool produces in a day but you'll just have to imagine their smiles.

Because we live at the top of a mountain, surrounded by trees and wildlife their playing in the buff is not a problem. Ever since Kyalynn came home from Korea she has loved being naked and it took real effort in the beginning to keep this girl clothed. LOL! So to say she is loving this is an understatement.

So, for now, while they are still little we will allow them this priviledge and enjoy their innocent laughter and joy at being "naked and unashamed".