We can do this....

Trying to enjoy my two little gifts that are right here with me, even though I am not forgetting about my little one who isn't.

NEW UPDATE

We just got word that Jude's surgery has been delayed because he has bronchitis. We don't know when it is rescheduled to but we do know that it isn't right now. We also got an encouraging report from Jude's foster mother saying that he is in good spirits, not expressing much pain, is eating less than normal but has the IV, smiling, takes a walk with his foster mother up and down the halls, is rolling over in his bed and trying to crawl around in bed, and is "popular" among the other children in his room. Ha. What a ham!

We are still hoping for more detailed medical information from the specific physician that is working with Jude. Our agency is working their tales off to get that information as soon as possible. 

Thanks for your continued prayers, friends. 

Our love remains.....

We got this video on Friday from our agency. What a comfort it has been to us over the past few days. This was taken when Jan was in Korea (she is the lady you will see on the video). Although this is prior to the injury, we are comforted to see his smiling, drooling, and adorable face. Soon that little guy will be in our arms forever. Until we are holding him in our arms, we are going to rest knowing that our Abba Father is holding him securely in His.

Our friends, Melissa and Chris Cook set up a prayer vigil. If you would like to know more, you are welcome to visit www.lovingjude.blogspot.com

I am amazed at our wonderful friends. 

We are honestly going through a tough time. We got word that Jude has third degree burns on his hand and wrist and will be having skin grafts on the 30th. That is Thursday in Korea, which is Wednesday here in the US (Korea is 15 hours ahead of us). We know that this procedure is painful and we are really concerned. We are hurting because our child is hurting and is thousands of miles away. 

Would you please pray for Jude starting Wednesday afternoon and keep on going until we hear more information? I am not sure when the actual grafting is during the day, but if you pray ALL Day Wednesday and Thursday, that should cover it. 

Specifically:

1. For Jude not to be experiencing pain

2. For his foster mother to be comforted, encouraged, and given strength.

3. For Eastern to get clear answers and direction

4. For every medical person that is going to be having their hand in Jude's recovery.

We are so blessed by all the prayers and support from our family, friends, our agency, Eastern, and our friends Jan, Duk, and Kimberly. So, so thankful for you all. 

Deut. 33:12 "Let the beloved of the Lord rest securely in Him, for He shields them all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders."

Dang, this kid is cute!

We haven't heard an update on Jude's condition (post burn) yet but are hoping to hear soon. We are headed to our agency tomorrow to drop off some paperwork and hoping to get a little video of Jude when we arrive. I'll cry....seriously, ugly type cry. I'm so madly in love with him. 

Good news: We did get a written update and the new pic of Jude (above....honestly, have you ever seen anything cuter?). In the new update it says he is

Turning his head toward sound, reaching for toys, and crawling (oh, yea...forgot to mention he is advanced :)...that's my opinion, any way), he eats about every 4 hours, wakes up twice in the night, and is an early riser (in Kersh timelines, at least). He is still sleeping with his foster mom (love, love, love her), and she describes him as happy and curious (umm..yep...apparently this was the cause of the accident, little toot). He weighs 16.5 pounds. 

Hopefully more updates tomorrow....we'll keep you informed. 

Prayers for my little one

We got a sad phone call today. Our friend at our agency called to tell us Jude had an accident at his foster home in Korea. Some scalding water splattered on him and he received second degree burns on his arm and chest. He is in the hospital now and will be for about 10-14 days. Poor little guy. We are madly in love with him and are hurting with him. I want very, very badly to hold him, comfort him, sing to him, whisper in his ear, caress his little face, tell him he is going to be okay and that mommy is right here. But, I can't. Better than that, though....I know he is in God's hand. Who better to be comforted by? 

From the preliminary report he looks to be doing well and recovering. We don't anticipate any long term problems and are awaiting a few answers from our agency in Korea. 

Things we are thankful for....

1. God is not surprised with this happening (he already knew and was already protecting Jude)

2. Jude is going to be okay

3. That little toot must be crawling (did I mention he is advanced for his age? :)....that appears to be how he got hurt....so, we are thankful that he is developing and it appears that he will be fitting right in with Creed's activity level

4. He is receiving fabulous medical care at a burn unit in a very, very modern and wonderful hospital

5. His foster mother has not left his side. Jan said that she has been there 24 hours a day. I love her so much. So, so, so much. Please say a blessing and a prayer over her, would you?

Thank you for your prayers. The verse I memorized last week sums it up....

Psalms 56:3 "When I am afraid I will trust in You. In God, whose Word I praise. In God I trust and will not be afraid."

Panic....

This is Jude and his foster mother and his social worker in Korea. His social worker is most likely the one who gave him his name. Jude is holding one of the gifts that we sent him. He seems to like looking at the pics...looks like he is looking at Rinny in one of them!
Jude's Foster mother. We have prayed for her nearly every day for months and months....before Jude was even born. In addition, we pray for his birth mother, who we love with an amazing love that cannot be explained and that will last forever. I am so comforted by the way his foster mother looks in every photo. First of all (obviously) she is beautiful, but more than that she just looks so loving and she is smiling in every single photo we have been given of her. Jan (our case worker) said that his foster mother really, really loves him and that it is very obvious. She said that she really thinks it is a good thing that we are going to Korea so that we can meet her in person and that she can realize that we are a family who is going to love that little boy right back. Jude has no idea at this point in his life, but we hope in the future that he realizes that so,so,so,so many people have loved him dearly.

Okay, see....we got these absolutely adorable pics of Jude that I just HAD to share. Seriously, he is the cutest thing I have ever seen. At first, I was just shocked that he has two teeth!!!! I thought, how crazy?....my other kids didn't get teeth until like 12 months. This kid could be eating a steak when he gets home. After that, I started to think...hmm....that's kind of sad that he had to cut those teeth (that hurts!) without hims momma to help him through it. Then I started to think....yep, he's going to be home soon....then, I started to think "OH MY GOSH.....I gotta get ready for this kid to come home!!!!!" We gotta get some stuff done, what in the world am I doing blogging?...I gotta get busy. Off to look to see if the bedding I want is on sale yet and to do an online adoption course, I am serious.

Be praying for EP (Emmigration Permission), PP (passport), I-600 Approval, Visa, and TC (TRAVEL CLEARENCE!!!!!!)

Love em'

Love em'.....fun times with our buddies takin' a few pics and hangin' out. I love the pics at the top....How cute are these buddies? Creed loves Toda (can't ya' tell in the pic), probably because he throws him around. And, check out Tatum's face in pic number 5. This is generally how she feels about me when I pull out the camera (she's not one to fake it). However, she totally loves me when I put the camera away. You gotta admit, though....she did pretty good faking it for the camera for a few though! 

Fall Fun

Buddies...forever and ever.

Thinkin' of the little guy across the world...
Bff's for 6 years...

Of course, what would a fun night be without a show

Little bitty secrets
They were scared of the insides of the pumpkin...give me a break!
Rinny worked so hard on her painting 
Carys did too, can't you tell? 

In the mail....send out some prayers!

Here it is....the treasured 1-600. This is it, folks, it starts here. The faster this thing moves, the better. We sent a photo to our local citizenship and immigration office, never hurts to pull on some emotional heartstrings.

Okay, the poor fedex lady. I went up to her and said "can you make sure I filled everything out just perfect...you see, these are the most important documents I will ever send in my life!!"

We're about ready to send it off....Come on, baby Jude!
One thing checked off the list
Micah, seeing Jude's new pics for the first time. Ha. I should've waited but honestly, it totally did not cross my mind that I might need to wait. As soon as I saw that the pics were in my inbox.bam. I opened it. No waiting for this one, baby!

That's our boy!!!

We got some really, really fabulous news today from our case worker. She just got back to Korea and she came back with some happy news. She got to see our little Jude. She just laughed when she was describing him and she said "Sunny, his hair is CRAZY." She described him as "Mr.Personality" and said that his foster mother really, really loves him (Praise the Lord.) Not only did she get to kiss him from head to toe but she said that she told him that his mommy and daddy love him very much and can't wait to get him home. It's like Christmas around here with all the good news: She got PICTURES, she got VIDEO, and she got a written update. Man, this is a great day. 

How much good news can one "waiting parent" have in one day....apparently a LOT! She said that she also received our LEGALS today. That is a super duper good thing. This is our very first step in getting Jude home. It could still be about 2.5-5.5 months, depending. Keep praying, friends, keep praying. 

I'll add more pics tomorrow!!! (won't get the video until later)

Shout out to my friend Janelle who worked really super fast to do this collage print for me so we can send it with some of our paperwork. View her awesome photography and designs here.

What is all this hull-a-baloo? and Say a little prayer

If you can, say a little prayer for each of these things that I have bolded

Watch out...this post is dry and informative. This is just to answer the question "What in the world are we waiting for?" and "Why can't you just go get Jude NOW?"

Good question....here's what has to happen prior to Jude coming home...

1.Legals. This is all the legal documents for our child....basically the facts that get the "ball rolling". We got these today. Praise the Lord. Our agency says that this can take 4-12 weeks after assignment. For us, it was exactly two weeks. God is good.  (Please praise God for the timely arrival of our legals.)

2. I-600 (we are sending this form tomorrow) and hoping for approval in about a month. The approval will be sent to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS). This begins the visa process. This approval is called the I-171.  (Please pray for the "US Citizenship and Immigration" officer that will be handling our approval. Please pray that his/her heart will be softened and that they will work very hard to get our approval asap)

3.The approval will be sent by CIS to the National Visa Center (NVC). (Please pray for those in the National Visa Center that will be working to help issue the visa. Pray for a quick response from them.) 

4.The NVC then sends the approval to the US Embassy in Seoul (the time it takes for the approval date on our I-171 to the time it arrives at the Embassy can be 2-4 weeks). This approval has to be at the Embassy BEFORE the visa can be issued. Before the visa can be issued, Jude has to also have a passport. (Please pray multiple times over for the officers in the US Embassy in Seoul, South Korea. Pray for Jude's visa to be issued quickly by that specific officer. Please pray for Jude's passport to be touched by hands that will move quickly to get him home.)

5. I-864 This document is being done now and it shows the Embassy in Seoul that our income meets the required minimum for adopting a child. Our agency's sister agency in Korea takes these to the US Embassy when they apply for a Visa. (Pray for the Embassy to process this paperwork quickly, making us one step closer to Jude being home. Also, please pray for our agency and our sister agency in Korea to work diligently and let the hands that work on his paperwork be determined and quick.)

6. TC: Once our agency knows that Jude's passport is issued and the visa cable is at the Embassy in Seoul, Jude should get "Travel Clearance" withink 2-4 weeks. Our sister agency takes Jude's passport and the I864 to the Embassy.  Once the visa is issued, that is celebration time friends!!!! Since we are traveling to Korea, our agency will notify us when we have "travel clearance"!!!! (Please pray for God's timing in the travel clearance. I know that I have a plan for this but pray that I would be reminded of God's perfect timing. I desire God's timing to be perfected and for Him to use people to bring Him glory.)

Thanks for your prayers and thanks to God for "every good and perfect gift is from above." James 1:17

Baby "K" Revealed!!!!!!

Hallelujah.

Hebrews 10:22 "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope that we profess. For HE WHO PROMISED IS FAITHFUL." Amen.

It is with an unexplainable Joy that we introduce you to our new SON......

Jude Han 

Born: April 11, 2008

in South Korea

What an answer to prayer! We give all glory, honor, and praise to Jesus Christ.

We want to share more details about all the excitement soon (ie: receiving the "call", the emotions, the love, the prayers, the excitement, and the praising!) That will all happen soon enough. 

Right now, we are beside ourselves and can't pull our eyes away from his photos to write any more.

***A favor to our friends and family (and any yet unidentified "blog stalkers" :)

Please, everyone who has watched our journey to Jude comment on this post. Something simple is fine. You can post anonymously (meaning you don't have to have a blog or gmail account) but PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU SIGN YOUR NAME AT THE END of your message. We really want you to comment so we can put them in Jude's scrapbook so he can know how many people already love and care for him.

This post originally posted on 10/1/2008 at 11:14 am. I am editing the post date so that I can put all my subsequent posts under this one so that this post is always the first one people see.

To do

Things to do before Judy Poot comes home....

1. Get house baby-proofed

2. Set up baby bed in our room (fyi: he probably will not ever sleep in it, the little toot!)

3. Get baby bedding (for decoration!)

4. Get new kitchen table (no room for Jude to sit)

5. Spend lots of quality time with Reesers (aka Rinn)

6. Spend lots of quality time with Creed

7. Get a stroller that will fit Rinn and Jude

8. Make room in closet for Jude's stuff

9. Paint dresser and attach to wall so that Jude won't climb on it and fall

10. Get rid of EVERYTHING in our house that we aren't using

11. Save some more money

12. Lose 15 pounds....seriously, come on...this has been a goal for like 2 years.

13. Finish Adoption Courses/ Take CPR

14. Finish our will

15. Order/ Send out birth announcements

16. Do all my Christmas Shopping (done prior to Dec. 1)

17. Eat at home more often

18. Be a better friend to my awesome friends

19. Do lots of schooling so that we can take a LONG break when Judey comes home

20. Buy Diapers

21. Get out toys/highchair, etc.

22. Start Jude's scrapbook

23. Clean out both sheds and fix ride on lawn mower

24. Make sure we are all caught up on MJ's knee surgery bills (yikes)

25. Make and Freeze meals enough for 30 days after Jude comes home

26. Slow down my life

27. Buy some bottles and different nipples for him to try when he gets home

28. Make/Freeze some baby food

29. Figure out how to make some of the food items he will be used to eating.

30. Make some more Korean friends

31. Journal more letters to Jude

32. Finish planning this years schooling so that I don't have to do it when Jude is home

I'll keep adding to the list, I'm sure. This is the most boring post you have ever read, I know. But, bear with me....if I don't write these things down they will never be accomplished. 

Hot Shot coming your way

Creed is loving this season of soccer. It is amazing to see the changes in him from 2 and 1/2 years ago until now. He's a pretty good player. Agile, little, speedy, tricky. Kinda like him in real life, I guess. He's playing with the Hot Shots and he loves all his little teammates. It's super cute. 

(I am not going to mention their record... remember: it's not about how many wins they have :)...let's just say it is a "defeated" season.)

Pure Delight....

I don't want to ever miss a moment of their lives. I love them so much. 

Outside fun the other day. Finally got our tractor up and running. Fun times. More later...just wanted to share. 

Keep praying for our "legals" to come soon. This is the first step we have to cross before Judey-Poot comes home.