Some thoughts on Expanding our Family

I don't know what it is that has made me so ansy lately but, I am ready for the adoption process to move along. I know we are pretty far off, as our HS has not been completed yet but, I'm ready for a next step . I'm guessing this is because I am truly amazed at all the blogs and information out there pertaining to Korean adoption. The past few nights, I have not stopped reading and following other family's journeys through the process. There is so much to look forward to. However, I feel there is so much more information I need to prepare myself with.....what we as a family can expect, what this precious little boy will be feeling when his world is turned upside down, how to help our little G understand what is happening, and help our friends and family feel the same excitement we do. I know I'm probably jumping the gun on all this but, that's what I do. :) Our in-person Parent adoption training is scheduled for November. I think this might help us answer some questions and knowing that it will give us the opportunity to meet other families who are at the same point in the process as us is exciting. For now my personal next step is to start learning more about Korea and the Korean culture.

More to add...

to our busy Summer list.

We were invited by our best buddies, the B family, to come visit them in Houston and go to the Astros annual Gala.....Black Ties and Baseball Caps. The event was held on the Astros field and was organized to raise money for a local women's shelter. We had the most amazing time with the best of friends. I've posted some pictures below. In addition to the Gala, we went to the Houston Aquarium and got to see T pitch at two of the Ball games. We also got to spend some time on the field watching fireworks and watching the kids run around. We are so thankful to the Byrdaks for inviting us and giving us the opportunity to make such great memories.

August has been a month of ups and downs. On August 6th, we lost one of our close family friend's, dear Grandpa B. We will miss him dearly and are thankful for the time we were able to spend with him. He had such a gift for making each of us feel special especially, our princess G. Rest in Peace, Grandpa B. It was interesteting to watch G try and "understand" where Grandpa Bob is and what dying means. We are lucky that she is so close to the B kids (especially M). I think in their own 4/5 year old minds, they helped each other somewhat understand it better.

This past weekend we hosted a baby shower for M, A and Baby S. I think it was a pretty big success and am posting a few pics from that day too.

Some Pics to go with the last Post

LAKE HOUSE AND STARVED ROCK

Summer

Summer is going by way too fast (doesn't it always) and we are making to make the most of it and squeezing as much in as we can before Gracie heads back to school. So far we have...
***Rented a Lake House** The week of June 21st we rented a lake house in Paw Paw, MI on 3 mile lake. KJ was a little swamped with work so we invited the Bartecki's up to enjoy the house with us for the beginning part of the week. This was so much fun for all of us. I got to hang out with one of my closest friends while the kids played in the water. We couldn't have asked for better swimming weather either. Although, this summer has not been very hot, we were in MI during the hottest week of the summer so far (heat indexes close to 100). KJ, Mark, Amber and Neena came up to stay with us for the latter part of the week. It was a funfilled week of swimming, BBQing and relaxing. We are hoping we can do it again next year. It was such a good time.
***Went to the Zoo***
***Spent an afternoon at the Water Park***
***Spent some time in Baba and Grandma's Motorhome*** Well this wasn't all of us. Gracie went to spend 3 days in the Motor home in South Haven, MI with her gparents. She loved it and didn't want to leave. My favorite quote of those few days was "when are we gonna drive this thing? I want to see what it feels like to drive a house"
***Went (me) to Rascal Flatts at Wrigley with some girlfriends***
***Went to the Symphony at Millenium Park*** Again, this wasn't all us. Uncle Mark and Aunt Amber took Gracie and of course she loved it. Music and dancing....right up her alley. My favorite quote from that night was "How does the baby go pee in Amber's Belly?" Ahhh the mind of a 4 year old....gotta love it.
***Listened to the Billy Joel/Elton John concert from a rooftop on Sheffield***
***Had our individual meetings with Lifelink***

More to come....

First Dance Recital

Our little lady had her first dance recital on June 7th. She did such a good job. She was enrolled at the The Dance Workshop this year and had her recital at the Rialto in Joliet. She loved dance and loved her class. The class was a combo ballet/tap class but, her recital number was only to ballet ....Broadway Baby. She loved being the star that day and showing off everything she learned to her family....such a big girl!!!!

Starting an exciting journey...

As most of our family and close friends now know, we have begun our adoption journey. We are excited and overjoyed to bring a little boy into our family. It seems so surreal. I'm having a hard time accepting the fact that after all the discussions, research, and prayers for guidance.....we are actually in the midst of "the process". So excited!!!! We will keep this updated both for our memories and to someday show our little boy the journey the three of us experienced to bring him home to us.

In other news, our sweet G had her tonsils out on May 4th. She was such a brave little girl. I was so nervous leading up to the surgery. No mother wants to see their child in pain and I was imaging her being in this excruciating pain and refusing to eat. But, her recovery was nothing like that. She had mushy food for about a week and lots of Popsicles but, is now pretty much back to her regular diet. I had heard stories of how difficult it was to watch a child come out of anesthesia. I must admit that day overall was the most difficult. She was sick and "loopy" (as the doctors call it) but, really nowhere near as bad as I expected. The nurses advised us to keep her from running, jumping and screaming for a full 14 days. She has been feeling really good and hardly complains of throat pain anymore. The hardest part has been trying to keep her from playing and screaming. I must admit I am failing at that one but, who can complain. I'm so glad she's feeling better and looking forward to day 14 when she's in the all clear.

We also are anticipating the arrival of a new cousin for Gracie in November. We are so ecstatic that Uncle M and Aunt A are expecting their first child. Yippee!

Holidays 2008

The last months of 2008 were busy and exciting.

The Holidays started out with Thanksgiving at our place. KJ planned a fishing trip with M O. They were to leave the Friday after Thanksgiving at 4AM........(Yeah, I know...4am in the Cold Cold weather). Anyways, we figured since he would be heading out so early it would be a good idea to host here, instead of traveling someplace else. My mom (aka Neena) helped me do most of the cooking. We had a nice full table including lots of family. It turned out to be a wonderful night.

G received some dress up clothes from her buddy Logan earlier in the day. She became totally attached to the full Tinkerbell costume and decided to wear it all day including, during Thanksgiving dinner. You can do that when your almost 4 :-)

We were excited for G's first Christmas progam at school. As you can see for yourself, our little princess looked beautiful in her red dress. She performed like such a big girl up on the stage with all the other preschoolers.

G was all about Christmas this year. She was so anxious for the big guy in the Red Suit to bring her presents. She specifically asked for a ballet bag and clothes for her American Girl doll, Julie. We started our Christmas celebration at M&A's the Saturday before. M &A headed to Iowa for Christmas eve and Christmas day. For our celebration at their house, A made us a delicious dinner. As usual, she whipped us some unique and very tasty dishes. We spent the evening laughing, eating and opening gifts.

On Christmas Eve, we headed up to Grammy's for dinner. This was a particularly exciting night for G because Santa himself showed up after dinner. He brought the girls each a gift. As most of you know, for the past two years, G has wanted nothing to do with Santa. Well, she isn't terrified of the big guy anymore but, she chooses to keep her distance. She stuck close to mommy but, was glad to take her gift. The night was good and very festive. We loved spending it with Grammy and family.

The year ended with a big change for our family. KJmade another career move. We are so proud of Daddy and how he takes care of us ;-)