Keep praying, friends.

As we prepare for Jude's coming home we are thrilled beyond belief. Honestly, it is like we are on a cloud looking down at our life. Micah and I have felt a calling to adoption for our entire married life, 10 years now. To see that now, God's plan is being fulfilled is simply amazing. To know that along with this step of obedience we are receiving one of the most wonderful gifts we could imagine is simply incredible. 

As we journey to Korea my thoughts are drifting more and more to what the experience will be like through the eyes of our little Jee Han. Months and months ago I found this letter. To read the full letter you can go here

But, here is some of the ideas that help put words to what our little guy might be feeling.

"Imagine for a moment that you have met the person you've dreamed about all your life. He has every quality that you desire in a spouse. You plan for the wedding, enjoying every free moment with your fiancee. you love his touch, his smell, the way he looks into your eyes. Your heart beats in rhythm with his. 

The wedding comes, it is a happy celebration but the best part is you are finally the wife of this wonderful man. You fall asleep that night, exhausted from the day's events, but relaxed and joyful in the knowledge that you are next to the person who loves you more than anyone in the world...the person who will be with you for the rest of your life. 

The next morning you wake up, nestled in your partner's arms. You open your eyes and immediately look for his face. 

But, IT'S NOT HIM! You are in the arms of another man. You recoil in horror. Who is this man? Where is your beloved? 

You ask questions of the new man, but it quickly becomes apparent that he doesn't understand you. you search every room int he house, calling and calling for your husband. The new guy follows you around, trying to hug you, pat you on the back...even trying to stroke your arm, acting like everything is okay. 

But, you know that it is not okay. Your beloved is gone. Where is he? Will he return? Who is this man? 

Weeks pass, you cry and cry over the loss of your beloved. You find it difficult to sleep. Months pass, you still ache for your beloved, but gradually you are learning to trust the new guy. More time passes. You are beginning to trust. 

Still, as new men hug you you wonder if he will be the one to take you away. Just in case, you keep your suitcase packed and ready. Although the man at this house in nice and you're hanging on for dear life, you've learned from experience that men come and go. "

As we think about this experience for Jude, we understand that in his little nine month old mind he will have no idea who we are. No idea that we have loved him since before he was born. No idea that we have prayed for him for 2 years. No idea that people at home have been anxiously awaiting his arrival for a year. We will be strangers to him. He is our son and he will gradually start to understand that through the amazing and powerful hand of Jesus Christ. 

Much of this story might seem to take out the mighty hand of our Most Powerful God. We believe in miracles but we also know that through the miracle God is performing that Jude will be grieving. Grieving his loss of his birth family, his foster family, his country, his culture, everything. 

Keeping all that in mind, friends. Pray. Pray. Pray. 

We love you and so will Jude, eventually :)

JUDE.....

HERE WE COME!!!!! Travel call came a few moments ago. Praise the Lord.

"Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land" Proverbs 25:25

We will let you know the for sures but it is looking like we will be leaving WEDNESDAY, see our son for the first time on Friday, and return home with our newest addition on Thursday, Jan. 22nd. Glorious Day!!!

Happy 9 months

Jee Han,

We love you and are thinking about you on your 9 month birthday mark. We know that we will be holding you in our arms soon but our arms are still aching to hold you at this moment. We have waited and prayed for you for a very long time. Since before you were born, we loved you. Madly, deeply loved you. Now, very soon we will be holding you for the first time. My heart brightens up every time I think about that moment. All this waiting, all this praying, all this heartache, all this emotion....it is all worth it, my little guy. Every ounce of it I would do again without a second thought for you, only you...my little Jee Han. 

tag...I'm it.

I usually really stink at these blog tag thingy's...but, since it was from my buddy Ash, I decided to actually follow through :)

Here is my fourth picture in my fourth album in my computer's iphoto. This second  picture of my grandad (little guy) and one of his sisters. 

Lately, it seems I have been thinking a lot about my grandad. He was like my dad. He gave me away at my wedding, he had "talks" with me about life, and he was my hero.

He was the wisest person I have ever met and could fix absolutely anything. He loved me more than life itself and there is not a shred of doubt in my mind that he would have died for me. His love was deep and I still think of him very often. 

He died 5 years ago and I am so happy he at least got to meet Creed. 

I also remember all the stories he told me about his service in the Navy. I used to love to sit and listen to those stories. He fought in the Korean War. He helped to make South Korea the free and amazing country it is today. He made it possible for my son to be my son, and I also know, without a doubt, he would have given his life for my little Jee Han. 

God is good that he allowed me to be with my grandfather, literally sleeping by his side, when he was escorted into heaven by our Heavenly Father. 

Full Disclosure

Sitting with a friend the other day and she made a comment something to the effect of, "on your blog, you look like such an amazing person." Ha. I think I really laughed out loud. How sweet of her!!!! I got to thinking that I probably need to do a little more full disclosure on the blog and not just post the fun, pretty, good stuff. Plus, just ask my family...in fact, my mom could really tell you some great stories about my "perfection!" So, in the interest of you seeing what I am actually like, here ya' go. 

How

was I a biology minor in college, study science all through my schooling, and not ever, ever do this experiment? It was a real hit with my babies, a kind of "magic" if you will. 

Notice Creed's "wow, that is amazing" face.


Rinn's "ho-hum" face.
Now, folks, this water thing was awesome how you could get it to bend after just combing the comb through your hair and holding it up to water. Not sure how that works, or what we learned, but it was cool nonetheless.
Now, Rinn really was impressed with that trick.

Bring your Cousin to School Day

In Bible class, learning how to tell if someone is a person. Then, we are learning about the differences between how we are as a person, and how God is. Pretty deep stuff, actually. Max was SOOO sweet (why would I expect anything different?). He wanted to do everything that Creed was doing. I warned him, "Max, it will take Creed a while to read this little paragraph, are you sure you want to just sit there and watch him?" "Sure," he said. While Creed was sounding out every single word, it was the sweetest thing in the world. Max just sat there and watched him sound them out. Occasionally, Max would sound them out whispering, and kind of whisper the answer to Creed. Man, cousins are awesome. 

Max reading his book to us. I would occasionally ask Max questions about what he had just read to check comprehension...again, it was really funny and sweet. He always gave the correct answer, but kind of acted sympathetic that I had already "forgotten" what he had just read and had to ask him for clarification :).

Math games. Fun. If Creed could seriously just figure out what the number 8 looks like and have it stick into his memory, we would be gold. For some reason, that number slips his mind everytime. Memory block or something.
Okay, do I have it easy or what? I am serious when I say that this is what Rinn does while we are in school. She is either participating or doing her own little thing, not interrupting. Dang, she is sweet. Not sure what was up with her hair this day.
Science fun. We were working with magnets and paperclips. Notice Rinn has the goggles on...safety first for her. You never know what kind of splatter you might get in the eyes with the magnets and such.