It has been too long!

Ok, so it has been way to long since I posted last, but life has been hectic. When you have 4 kids someone is bound to have something wrong at any given time. Right now we are fighting fevers and bronchitis. The great thing is, at this point, Claire hasn't gotten what both the boys and I have. I am praying that God keeps her healthy.

She is such a doll and has grown very attached to mommy! I am thankful for this as I really need that for my own bonding with her. At times though, it is exhausting when she just wants mommy. She loves her daddy too and laid in bed with him for a long time this morning, just playing with his face. Her brothers are great at making her laugh (we got some great video of her letting out big laughs when she was playing with Hunter earlier this week).

Claire is walking around furniture and is my first baby to say mama before she has said dada. She is eating lots and will eat almost anything we put in her mouth. God has truly blessed us with a wonderful daughter.

She has also started falling to sleep on her own in her crib. I used to have to rock her, but now when it is nap time or bed time she will let me just lay her down with her binky and and her blankie. I still love rocking her especially when I am giving her a bottle (it is a great time to bond) but now I don't feel like my whole day is just spent in the rocking chair.

I can't wait for next Sunday and her baby shower. It is going to be fun to show her off. I am having a hard time picking out what she is going to wear since she looks cute in everything. I had to buy her some new shoes (size 2) because all of the ones I had were way to big. I guess she won't be joining the size 10 tradition for women in my family (my mom, grandma and I all wear that size:)!

It is hard to think that she has only been with us for 2 months. It feels like she has always been a part of our family. We love her to pieces!

Here are a few recent pictures of the kids:

What an angel!

It is crazy to think that just a few days ago we were picking up our precious little girl from the airport. It all still seems so surreal to me. I wonder if that feeling will every go away?

Claire is doing better than we could have hoped! She is a happy girl giving us lots of smiles and even laughing at us when she thinks we are funny. I love when I carry her over in front of the mirror and she laughs then looks up at me and smiles. She was so entertaining last night as she played on the

floor, looking at Chad and I with her cute smile.

Her brothers love giving her attention. Little Grant is even having fun imitating things that his little sis does. The cutest is when she shakes her arms and tries to clap and he follows.

She is still sleeping great. She goes to bed around 9:30 and sleeps until 7 or later. She usually has a few naps during the day and I have found that she falls to sleep pretty easily in my arms. I can then go lay her crib and she will sleep in there for a while.

She is crawling now too. It is so fun to watch her. She tries to crawl into the kitchen to get me when she hears my voice or sees my face. Once she gets to me, she has a big smile on her face.

Claire also loves when I put her in the carrier. She is immediately content as soon as I put it on wrap it around her. She has already fallen asleep in it many times.

I am so in love with this little girl. It already feels like she has been a part of our family forever. We are enjoying every minute of this gift that God has given us. We are so thankful and blessed!

She's Home!

Kisses from big brother Connor

Claire's welcome home sign (thanks Lorna)!

Even when she is crying she is cute!

Meeting her great-grandpa!

Our sweet daughter

Brother is so excited to show Claire her sign that he doesn't even care that it is upside down.

Claire and her escort

The boys waiting for their sister to arrive

What an amazing experience. I can't believe that just hours ago we held our baby girl for the first time. It still feels surreal. I was so worried that the wait at the airport would be hard, but time seemed to fly by as we were waiting. I was looking at the arrival board and her plane was scheduled to land in 10 minutes, then quickly switched to arrived! She had landed ten minutes early. Our baby girl was here!

I had spent the time waiting talking to everyone, including the mother of the girl who had escorted little Claire on the plane. The daughter an adult adoptee from Korea herself had been volunteering in Korea when she had heard that she could apply to escort a baby here when she returned home. She applied and was lucky enough to get to bring our little girl to us just as some had for her years before. Hearing the story from her mother made me cry. It was so emotional.

The anticipation was overwhelming. Everyone so excited, our extended family, the boys and our friends! Minutes later I laid eyes on my sweet baby. Her eyes were closed and she had a cute little hat on. Her wonderful escort began to unload Claire's bag and then I reached for my little cutie. She was crying, but I didn't care. Even her cry is sweet (at least at this point, give me a few months:). When I was holding her, I lost all track of anything around me. It was like I was in my own little world, just me and my daughter. I do remember showing her off to everyone and letting her big brothers all give her kisses (they love her already, especailly Connor who can't get enough of her).

The plane ride was rough for her and she had only slept two hours the whole time so she cried at the airport and at home until she finally fell asleep. Amazingly, she was awake and quite the whole 15 minute car ride home from the airport, but as soon as I took her out she was crying again.

The first night home went better than we could have hoped for. She fell asleep around 7 and slept in her crib until 2. I gave her a bottle then and she cried for a little while after she had finished it. Chad helped me get the baby carrier on and within seconds she had fallen back to sleep. I laid her back down in her crib and she was good until 4:15. Both her and Grant were crying (not really sure who woke up who) but daddy went in, rubbed her tummy and back and she has been asleep ever since (it is now 8am). I hope she sleeps this good every night!

I will go for now, but will leave you some photos from our wonderful day!

She will be here tomorrow!!!

So this is the last night I will go to sleep with only three boys in the house. I can't believe that the day is almost here. I am nervous, not about how things are going to go, but nervous with excitement and anticipation!

I have gone into Claire's room many times in the past few days and last night I cried as I read the verse written on a painting on her wall. I very good friend who has shared so much with me and our family through this journey, painted this beautiful gift for our little Claire. God placed the verse so perfectly in her mind so that she could share it with us! It has given me a whole new perspective on our adoption journey- she was created by God for our family!! That is amazing and I am tearing up just writing it! Not only that, but God already has a plan for what she is going to become in the future.

He is awesome!

So the next time I post, little Claire will be here and we will have new pictures of our little princess!

She's Coming Home!!!

The phone rang about 10:20 this morning and at I glanced at the caller ID, I knew this was the call I had been waiting for. It was our social worker letting us know that Claire's flight had been scheduled for her to come home.

It is thrilling and amazing to think that one week and one day from now, Claire will be in our arms and forever apart of our family! What a blessing God is giving us, with this little girl. Someone pinch me so I know it isn't just a dream!

She flies from Korea to Chicago for the first leg of her journey on Tuesday August 11th. She will have a little layover there before continuing on to the airport here in Des Moines. She is scheduled to arrive around 4:30pm.

What a great day for her to come home. It is the day of my parent's anniversary, one day after Chad's dad's birthday, and the day before my grandpa's birthday (who she is being named after). It would have been nice to have Chad's grandma and aunt from Texas still be here but they have to return home Sat. the 8th. It is also too bad that a good friend will be away and won't get to meet our angel until the next week. God's timing, however, is always perfect and the 11th is the perfect day for her to come as part of his plan!

We will post pictures as soon as we get them uploaded the day or two after her arrival!

WE HAVE VI!!!

I am praising God today!! I called DC this morning to find out the status of Claire's VI (visa interview). Before you jump to any assumptions, she doesn't actually go for an interview, it is just a time when the visa will be issued.

The first words I heard the operator say were, "she is beautiful." Well of course she is, I thought. Then it hit me. That must mean she has her picture and that means her VI must be scheduled. They don't get the child's picture to have on file until that point. The lady on the other line proceeded to tell me that her VI was set for tomorrow in Korea, which is actually tonight here. I didn't know what to say. I was shocked. When I had made the call, I was completely prepared to have them tell me it still wasn't scheduled!

I wanted to call Chad right away, and let him know but of course he was busy in a meeting (it seems to be a pattern that I can't get a hold of him when big news comes- like when we originally got the referral of Claire). I was dying to tell him but had to wait for an hour until he was out of the meeting.

So now, the really hard wait begins! I hope to get a call from Holt tomorrow, Thursday, or Friday letting us know when the day will be that Claire finally arrives here. I am very hopeful that it will be sometime next week so that Chad's grandma will still be here, and my dear friend Lorna will too (if Lorna isn't, it is her own fault for planning a trip to Florida right when Claire would come- just joking Lorna)! It would also be really exciting to have her home before she turns 8 months old (August 13th).

I am so giddy with excitement!!

"Lord it is my prayer that our beautiful Claire arrives very soon and safely. Please allow her lots of sleep and peace on the plane ride! Give her escort a enjoyable flight as well. Help Claire's grieving over her losses to be minimal and help her to attach quickly to Chad and I and feel comforted by our loving arms! Lord, I also want to pray for her foster mother in Korea. I know that these coming days and weeks are going to be hard for her. Wrap your loving arms around her and let her feel the peace that only you can bring. Let her take comfort in knowing how much little Claire is going to be loved, cherished and adored! Amen."

Updated Pictures!

The pictures I had been dreaming about finally arrived in an email today and I am beyond thrilled!! Little Claire is absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to hold her in my arms and gaze into her beautiful eyes! Her bald little head is adorable too. I guess she will be wearing lots of headbands until she gets a little more hair for the bows!

We are still hoping and praying for her to come home in Early August.

Picture Day

We headed to Sears today to get Grant's pictures taken. Needless to say it didn't go so well!

First, he was afraid of the camera and wouldn't go anywhere near the spot on the floor where he was supposed to be. I tried bribery with candy and suckers. Noting worked! So we left and

headed home. I was disappointed because I didn't know when I would get a chance to take him again after Claire got home. Then, I got a great idea. We live right next to a park so I decided to get my own camera out and take a few pictures at the park and see how they turned out.

I thought I would get one of Connor too! He is great at posing for mom!

So I am sending some off to Walgreens to get one of their family portrait packs. Hopefully they will look as good on the screen as they do on paper. We will see!

It was a nice weekend!

We had a fun weekend with family. It was especially nice to spend time with Chad's grandma and hear her stories about her younger days. She is visiting from Texas and on the way to Iowa, broke her pelvis. Though unfortunate, this accident has been a blessing to us, as we will get to spend more time with her before she can return home. We are praying for her healing but are also praying that God would allow her to still be here when are little angel arrives from Korea. It would be so wonderful for Claire to meet her great grandma this year.

The kids had fun at Colo Days as they enjoyed the parade and other activities going on in town. It never fails to amaze me how much candy our children get from the parade in this small town. Each kid had a giant ziplock bag full by the end of the short parade. We will be putting most of that away for awhile.

Hunter performed a little song and skit with his cousins at the talent show and they did a really good job although there was only one mic so you couldn't here what all of them were saying. I was really proud of how Hunter got up on stage in front of lots of people without being afraid. Even though they didn't win, this mom was extremely proud!

I also enjoyed seeing some old friends from my church in Nevada. It was fun to see Naomi (and her family), Sara (and her family) and Luke.

Wow, I feel so blessed. I am blessed with a wonderful hardworking husband, loving and lively children, wonderful parents, in-laws and siblings. But most of all I am so thankful for the life God has given me and for his never changing love!

Now, if we could just get that sweet baby girl of ours home!

EP!!

I am so thrilled to say that I just received the email from Holt saying that we have an approved EP (emigration permit). This essentially means that Korea has given permission for Claire to leave Korea! I can't believe it! So here is the tough part- her actual travel date could be weeks from now, a month or more. I am hopeful for a beginning of August arrival, but we will have to see what happens.

I have to always remember that God's timing is perfect! His plans are perfect and right even we don't see them. So, if August starts rolling through and little Claire isn't with us yet, I will take solace in knowing that God has a reason for it.

I just can't wait to hold her in my arms, to see her little face in front of me, to have her finally as a part of our family forever. It is so amazing how God is blessing us with this little sweet daughter from South Korea!!

Philippians 4:4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Proverbs 16:2

All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but a man's motives are weighed by the Lord.

What a powerful verse! How often do I find myself trying to do the right thing for the wrong reason? I can try and justify it in my own mind but God knows my true motives. Was it to look good? Was it to give myself praise? God knows! He wants me to examine my heart and live my life by making choices for his glory not for my own rewards! So even if I am doing something good, I need to always examine myself and if the good is being done with a pure heart!

Look what I got for $50!

These are most of the things I got at the outlet mall last week! All these things for only $50. I also got a couple pairs of adorable shoes for $2.99 each and two pairs of boys tennis shoes for my little guys for the same price!

Today was a great day! First, the boys and I hit the outlet mall and found bargains galore. Children's Place had crazy amounts of clothes and shoes for only $2.99. I think Claire has just about all she needs after the sales I got today. It was a blast getting such great prices.

Then when I got home we called and found out that we have NVC in and NVC out as of today. This means that our I-600 was logged in in the US and has now been sent to Seoul, South Korea. One more step in the process that we have gotten through. We are VERY excited!!

I am currently adding some new photos to my blog so check back in the coming days. I also going to add some that are sewing project pictures from my www.ItsSewChic.com buisness!

Waiting for Claire!

So, it has been brought to my attention, as it should have, that I am way behind in posting to this blog. Life is a little hectic with three boys and our little girl on the way. Today, however, I am making time to update everyone about out lives and what is happening with little Claire over in Korea. By the way- we finally picked a name for our daughter. She will be Claire Liliana Se-ra.

After receiving Claire's referral, it took a little over a month to get her legals (essentially all her background history that the USCIS needs to approve her to come to our country). I was bummed that it took so long but was relieved that we finally had it. These papers allowed us to file the I-600 form with USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) allowing us to bring Claire home. It was just another step in the process and I was anxious to get it done. I new that once we submitted it, it could take weeks to get the approval.

Chad dropped off the form to the USCIS office in Des Moines on 6/19. This last week on 6/25 the official approval letter was in our mailbox. The date on the paper said it was approved on the 19th, only one day after we submitted it! What a blessing - something going very quickly in the process. I just have to remember not to get too excited and expect this to happen with all of the other things we are waiting on.

As of right now, we have done all the paper filling out that we will need to do. It is just a matter of waiting for all the paperwork in Korea to go through. I am still hopeful that it could happen sometime in August maybe September.

We sent Claire a care package a few weeks ago and we are hoping that maybe we will get an updated picture of her with everything we sent. I am dying to know what she looks like now since we only have a picture of her at a few weeks old. I am so curious if she has hair! It is nice that each month we get well baby checks (much like the monthly checkups for babies here in the U.S.) letting us know how tall she is, how much she weighs, how she is doing developmentally and what vaccinations she has gotten.

I am going to try and up date things on a more regular basis as we hear more.

God's timing is always perfect!

Last night I was working on sewing one of my pillowcases dresses for a customer when the phone rang. Hunter answered it before I got to it and said he wasn't sure who it was. I said hello and it was our social worker. I figured she was just wanting to check in and make sure everything was going good for us. Instead she started to tell me that there was a little girl that they were wondering if we would be interested in. My heart stopped for a second. Was this really happening? It couldn't be, we thought with the way things were going for referrals of little girls in Korea, it would be a least a few more months before this call would come. Yet, God had different plans because his timing his always prefect!

I personally had always felt that when the time came for us to receive this call, it would be "the" child because it was the one that God had guided the individuals at Holt to select for our family. There were a few minor issues such as her being born early and having jaundice for a while at birth but right now she is perfectly healthy. How could I say no to the daughter God had placed in our hands? I hadn't even seen her picture but I felt 100% sure that we should accept the referral.

Wednesday rolled around and we gave the social worker a call requesting a copy of the info she had given me verbally the night before over the phone . Chad and I opened the email and saw the pictures of our beautiful daughter. It was surreal! I was thrilled and couldn't wait to call the sw and let her know we would accept the referral. Chad was excited too but wanted to make sure everything was good by thoroughly reading through her file that day.

At about 2:40pm we made the official decision and I made a phone call to our sw. We accepted the referral and we couldn't be happier!

We are now waiting for all the paper to arrive via FedEx Thursday, Friday but hopefully before Tuesday. God is so good!!!

We had to brave the freezing cold  temps this morning (-15 F) and went to have our fingerprinting done at the USCIC office.  It went smoothly and hopefully we will have approval soon.  This is for the I-600A that has to be filed and approved to allow us to bring a child to this county.  

Needless to say, I will not be making any more trips outside today!! Brrrrrrr!!!

We are still waiting for our referral and I am more and more excited everyday!

So, I was just thinking the other day that I have never shared how Chad and I came to the decision to adopt.  So here goes-

It is really hard for me to explain how it happened but I do remember a couple of things that lead up to God planting the idea in our hearts.  

One of the first was when I attended the ICC Women's Retreat last year (2008).  I felt like God was drawing me to sponsor a child at the Compassion International table they had.  I chose a little boy slightly older than Hunter who liked soccer because my kids love soccer too and I figured the boys would relate to this little guy easier.  

A few weeks later we were working on finally getting our old acreage sold (almost 2 years after we had first put it on the market).  The couple wanted the home but wouldn't be able to purchase it because they were in a hold up with an adoption in Illinois.  They were not permitted to move until the process was complete and the biological parents were dragging their feet.  The biological parents had not had the child since she was 6 weeks old and now she was almost 2 yet they were slow to finally sign away their rights. The awesome thing is all the time we were trying to sell that house, I had heard God remind me over and over that it wasn't about the money. It had been a struggle for us carrying two mortgages, yet God provided for us and when the money was finally all gone, the house sold. It was His timing and for his purpose that those people bought the house when they did.   His plan was to bring this family into our home, not to save us from any financial disaster, but to bring adoption to the forefront of our minds.  I wouldn't have imagined that God's plan for our house sale was to lead us to adopt a child.  HE is so amazing and His plans and timing are perfect!

I had never thought adoption was something I was open to.  I could have children and I didn't know how I would love an adopted child the same way as my own children.  Yet that was exactly what God was telling me we were supposed to do.  He had put those events in my life to prepare my heart for this amazing journey.  He had erased the worry of how I would love this child and replaced it with complete certainty that if I was following his plan it would be just fine and this little one would feel to me no different than my other children.  It is amazing to see how God can work in your heart to change it so swiftly.

So as I was having these feelings, I brought it up to Chad.  (Now, he says that it was his idea and he brought it up to me but I see it differently).  I figured that if he was unsure and against it then it was not the right time.  To my amazement, he was in total agreement.  Clearly God had been working in his heart too.  

We were unsure what to do next.  This was all new to us.  We started by doing extensive research online to determine the route we wanted to take.  We were up late many nights laying in bed with the laptop trying to determine where our little child would come from.  We had decided that International Adoption was our best option, as the holdups that can occur here in the US were unappealing to us (after seeing what the couple whom had bought our house had been through).  At first we were drawn to countries near Russia but that quickly faded as we become more and more interested in South Korea.  I was in love with the beautiful features the little Korean children had and we were so impressed to know that infants in Korea were actually living with foster families prior to their adoption, rather than orphanages .  A bonus was that South Korea allows you to choose the gender of your child if you already have at least 2 of one gender.  What a blessing God had given us, we were going to be able to have a little girl!

So we had settled on a country, now we had to pick an agency.  We found a few that work in Iowa and have adoption programs with Korea.  Holt was one of the only ones to get back to us and we have been impressed ever since.

Sure the process seems long at times, but it will be so worth it in the end when we hold our little gift from God in our arms and she is forever ours!