McFarren Family of Four

It's pumpkin patch time!

2009-10-22T07:22:00.000-07:00

18 months old

2009-09-18T11:41:00.000-07:00

Our precious Morgan SeonAh is 18 months old today and we continue to be amazed at the progress she is making. She jabbers all day long...would LOVE to know what she's actually saying, since clearly, it's very important for her to get it all out! She is able to say, "hello," "bye-bye," "night-night," "milk," "yes," "no," "I do," "thank you," and of course, "mama" and "dada." She likes to "woof woof," whenever she sees a doggie and she likes to give all of her stuffed animals and baby dolls kisses. So sweet. Her facial expressions are classic and her dance moves are really coming along. :)

Attachment-wise, she is doing great! She clings to mama more when she is upset or hurt and she lights up when daddy comes home after work every evening - she's always there at the top of the stairs to tell him "hi dada" with a smile and then requests, "up" so that she can be happy in his arms. She also gives her big sis hugs and kisses spontaneously throughout the day. Sharing is happening more frequently and they really are developing that sisterly bond. Some afternoons, I find them playing together in Sophie's room cracking each other up...just warms my heart.

What in the world did we ever do without our sweet Morgan?! It's like she's been with us always. God really did have the perfect plan for our family and we are grateful for our blessings every hour of every day. We are SO in love with little miss Morgan!

2 Years Post-Finalization!

2009-09-03T11:39:00.000-07:00

2 years ago, on August 31, 2007, we finalized Sophie's adoption. My, oh my, how fast 2 years fly! In honor of this special family day (we have a lot of those), I made bulgogi with rice, mandu (dumplings) and even found a mix to make our favorite Korean sweet-treat...hatteok! Add to the meal, kimchi and little yogurt drinks and our night was completely wonderful!

Our first attempt at making hatteok...tasted very much the same as it did from the vendors in Korea...
Little yogurt drinks...we had these every morning with breakfast at our hotel in Korea...
Sophie loves them!

We are so blessed to have her as a member of our family!

First Day of Preschool

2009-08-24T13:24:00.000-07:00

My baby girl, Sophie, began preschool today. Of course, she was absolutely ready and she walked into the place liked she ruled the school. I could barely get her to hug her poor mama before she just waltzed into her classroom for the very first time. I'm so proud of her for being confident and happy and excited for new adventures - she has an amazing spirit about her. What a big day in her little life - she was awesome!

I, on the other hand, had my mushball moment out in the car after dropping her off. Having never left her anywhere (other than with family), my heart hurt to watch her and her little backpack just walk away from me. After composing myself, I did enjoy my one-on-one time with Morgan (which I haven't had a lot of) and after some retail therapy at the mall, it was already time to get my Sophie back!

She enjoyed telling me all about what they did today, especially details about the snack! Oh, and she's already asking when she can go back because "preschool is so fun." Sigh. My baby girl is growing up way too quickly.

What Morgan Did On Her Summer Vacation.

2009-08-13T14:07:00.000-07:00

Very first Fourth of July...

Mama's girl...

Celebrating lots of family/friend's summer birthdays...

The original favorite spot...she clears off all of the books and sits there with pride...
Of all of the dress-up fun we have...Morgan LOVES this red scarf!
Rocking out the ponytail...our first attempt...

Chillaxin' in the rocking chair...her new favorite spot!

Blowing kisses...

We are so incredibly blessed!

She's published!

2009-08-06T12:39:00.000-07:00

If you've been a loyal blog follower, you may recall that prior to us traveling to bring Morgan home, we received word from our adoption agency that Morgan was going to be featured in our Korean agency's magazine. Because we were unable to celebrate Morgan's first birthday with her, Eastern threw her an official Tol party and took lovely pictures that we received when we traveled. In addition to that, they also published a few of those photos with a little story in their magazine...which we just got our hands on! This is the Korean version, so we have absolutely no idea what it says...we can only assume that it's some copy about her birthday celebration. We should receive the English version as well, as soon as they are done translating the magazine. What a great keepsake this will be for our sweet baby girl!

(BTW...you can click on the pictures themselves to see the larger view.)

The cover of the Eastern Family Magazine...

Look for our little supermodel in the bottom left-hand corner!

Our sweet Morgan...

Oh yes...today marks 4 months since we brought Morgan home! Hard to believe it's only been 4 months because it feels as if she's always been with us while on the other hand, it's amazing (and a bit terrifying) that time is passing so quickly!

What Sophie Did On Her Summer Vacation.

2009-07-31T08:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, so we didn't exactly go on an official "vacation." And the summer isn't exactly over...but, I've been quite possibly the worst blogger ever, so to catch everyone up, I'm going to post my favorite pictures of the summer thus far and hopefully, I will find more time to keep this blog up to date. So, here are my favorite photos of Sophie with Morgan's entry to follow...stay tuned!

Enjoying cake at Gwen's birthday party...

Prior to her first photo shoot for the center's fundraising campaign!
Fourth of July...

Prior to her first haircut...done by mommy and daddy...

She's seems happy with it...I'm just glad it will grow back! :)

With Riley...

At Gretchen's birthday party at the movie theater...such good girlfriends!

Morgan's been home 2 months!

2009-06-07T13:50:00.000-07:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

That's What Friends Are For.

2009-05-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

We love summer around here! The days are getting warmer and we are finding more and more excuses to get out and about with our friends. Lately, we've spent a lot of quality time with friends and fortunately, a lot of my best girlfriends have the cutest, sweetest, most fun kiddos I know! That means that Sophie and Morgan have great friends already built into the mix - love how that works out! Anyway, we realize that we could not get through our day without knowing that we have the best friends in the whole wide world - so this post is a tribute to all of those we've had the pleasure of spending time with these past couple of weeks. The McFarren girls love you all!

At the zoo with Gwen and Mandie...

Pictures, swimming and sleepover with the High girls...

Park fun with Jacob and Abby...

14 months old & 6 weeks home.

2009-05-19T06:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Morgan turned 14 months old and we celebrated her being home with us for 6 whole weeks! She has made great strides in bonding and attaching to us - it's as if she's always been in our lives - we are so blessed!

Morgan has finally figured out that her big sis can be lots of fun and she's learning so many things from Sophie. They LOVE to chase each other around the living room/dining room while both giggling hysterically...it is too cute! Sophie has also learned to be more gentle in how she approaches Morgan - yesterday, Sophie gave her a sweet little hug and Morgan just leaned into her grinning from ear to ear. It makes this mama so happy to see her girls getting along and even enjoying each other. The progress that they have made is just night and day compared to those first few weeks home. It really is amazing.

Morgan seems to be thriving in our family. At our latest round of doctor's appointments, Morgan weighed in at 20 lbs...while Sophie weighed in at 21 3/4 lbs. (Won't be long before Morgan weighs more than her big sis...it will happen, it's just a matter of when!) Morgan is completely off the bottle and formula - she seemed to transition from that like a champ! She nods her head yes and no according to what she wants or when asked a question, she says "hi" and waves when we see people, she claps her hands when we all say "yay" and she dances up a storm once we get the music pumping. She has also started calling me "mama" and Steve "dada." She is such a joy!

We are still having some separation anxiety, but it's minimal compared to what we were dealing with in the first 3 weeks home. She still does not like it when people leave the room, but now instead of collapsing into hysterical sobs, she usually becomes distracted by a toy and forgets all about it in a matter of a few seconds. We are hopeful that she is understanding that mama and daddy always come back to her.

Sophie is beginning to get used to Morgan being around for good. We have had to battle some listening issues and have recognized a lot of her new "behavior" as being her way of seeking attention. The above picture is from an ice cream date that I took her on, just mama and Sophie - she LOVED it. We are aware that we need to make more special time alone with her a priority to remind her that we love her just as much as Morgan.

Soph is at such a fun age - she loves acting out scenes from her favorite cartoons or the Wizard of Oz (drama has always been a big part of her personality), she makes up songs and dances to our everyday activities, she can already spell her name and Morgan's name, knows her letters and the sounds the letters make and when given a word, she can tell you what letter it begins with - I may be her mama, but I think she's one smart cookie! She makes us laugh all of the time and we love her larger-than-life personality...how did we get so lucky?!

I know I've said it before, but I just have to reiterate that we are so blessed. Our family of four is complete and we are all completely blissful!

Look who's three!

2009-05-06T12:05:00.000-07:00

Our little Sophie-bell turned three on Sunday and we are in total awe of her! We celebrated with family, Chinese food and a Wizard of Oz cake. Sophie had a ball! It's amazing to watch her grow and discover all kinds of new things. Her imagination is really taking off lately. She loves the Wizard of Oz - not one thing about it scares her! She still enjoys music, dancing and singing songs - she takes her job of being a "ballerina princess" very seriously. She is in love with her baby sister and as with everything she does, she loves passionately with all of her sweet little heart. She is spunky and energetic and still very much a night owl. She lights up a room with her smile and friendly "hello!" Sophie is a true blessing in our lives and we just love her to pieces!

Three weeks home.

2009-04-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow marks the three-week mark for us since bringing Morgan home into our lives. There have been some rough days as she initially grieved for the loss of everything she knew, but day by day, she has begun to let us see her personality and spark! It's such a blessing to watch her develop trust in us and reveal herself as she sees fit. We feel honored that she now seems to feel comfortable enough with us to giggle and make faces and babble at us - what a joy!

We still struggle with some aspects of attachment - Morgan remains uneasy of Sophie and doesn't really want to be in her presence. However, she will play Duplo blocks and share Cheerios with her big sister and is beginning to mimic her behavior...good and bad. The things she most dislikes are the physical hugs/pats on the back that Sophie attempts to give her. It's going to take time for them to work out the "terms" of their sisterly relationship, but we are certain that they'll get there. It won't be long before they realize they can gang up on us to get what they want!

This week has given us opportunities to get out and about as the weather has improved, minus the storms and tornadoes of this weekend. The girls both do better if we're enjoying the fresh air, so we went shopping, broke in the backyard swingset, braved the whole "first-restaurant-with-both-of-the-girls" experience and attended a fantastic Korean Adoptee Family Festival in our area. The girls behaved wonderfully and both enjoyed the change of scenery. All in all, this was a good week.

Oh, and don't look now, but our little Sophie turns 3 in one week. Someone tell me, how can this be?!

Traditional Korean Drum Performance at the Korean Adoptees Family Festival...
Watching the performance with wonder...

Traditional Fan Dance...

That's our tiny Sophie breaking a board as part of the Tae Kwon Do demonstration...

Even she's surprised (and very proud) that she broke it!
Big Sis and Little Sis...

They both spotted a bug...

The girls LOVED my attempt at noodles with black bean sauce...we had it in Korea and it was delish!

The Many Faces of Morgan

2009-04-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

It's been one week.

2009-04-14T11:56:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe that we've been home with our Morgan for one week already! The days are just all running together as we work on attachment and bonding with one another. Although there have been our fair share of struggles with this process, we feel very fortunate that we've gained as much ground as we have.

Sleeping. We got that part down! Morgan sleeps practically through the night, in her own crib in her own room - in fact, we've lucked out in that both of our girls took to their cribs right away even after having been used to sleeping on the floor with their foster mothers in Korea. Naptime is also coming along nicely too. There's only been one day that Morgan didn't take her nap when Sophie took hers. Gives this mama a nice break during the day to regroup!

Eating. That's fine too. Morgan wasn't eating much when she came home, she was mostly drinking her formula. We've been slowly introducing baby foods, she loves her bananas and cheerios and are almost switched over from formula to whole milk already. She is very easy-going when it comes to eating and her preference of foods...the girl just likes to eat! Oh, and she had already learned to drink out of a straw in Korea - so we're taking advantage of that too - she gulps down apple juice like no baby I've ever seen! (While I've been reluctant to give my kids too much juice, Morgan has been having constipation issues, so I've been encouraging that apple juice to help her little system along).

Bonding. The first day home, she slept to try to block us out. The second day home, we'd look at her and she'd just melt into extreme sobbing fits - clearly grieving the fact that I was not her foster mother. The next few days were okay. Some crying here or there, but she would get down on the floor and play. Plus, she began to walk around here exploring the place. Saturday night and Easter Sunday, she finally let the grins and giggles reveal themselves! It was so rewarding to see her happy and having a bit of fun with us - she loves to play little peek-a-boo games with us and gives us high-fives - her smile is just the best!

However, now I feel as though we took two steps forward and one step back in that she has grown dependent on me holding her 100% of the time. I put her in her carrier and wear her when I need to get things done, like make dinner or try to clean the mess that my house has become...but, if I dare set her down on the floor to play, she loses it and just keeps reaching for me to hold her again. Don't get me wrong, I love holding her and loving on her, but it does take all of me. We tried to let her play with Steve last night while I was downstairs with Sophie - that went fine until she heard my voice, then it was all over. It's going to take some more work to get her to feel safe with playing with someone other than mama. Guess that will be the focus of our week #2.

Sophie is trying to be the best big sister she can be - she's been a sweetheart trying to love on Morgan - but, Morgan isn't having it. She doesn't like Sophie touching her and trying to engage her - she really wants nothing to do with her. That's heartbreaking to see the look on Sophie's dear little face when she has just been rejected by her little sis. We are trying to find a balance in spending time with Sophie and explaining what Morgan is going through while keeping Morgan feeling safe and comfortable. I'd say that the sibling-stuff has been the most challenging part of this for us in fostering the new relationships for both Sophie and Morgan.

In time, we see that this will all get better. We've already seen the strides we can make in one week, so we're excited to move forward some more in this second week.

Hope everyone had a nice Easter - it was such a blessing for us to have both of our girls with us on this first family holiday spent together!

Easter Egg Hunt...our first day out since returning home...

Dyeing eggs...

This is the typical sibling exchange right now...sigh...

Easter morning smiles...

Easter at Great-Grandmas...

McFarren Family of Four

2009-04-08T12:27:00.000-07:00

It's official - we are home and settling in as a family of four!

As expected, saying goodbye to Morgan's foster mother was emotional & I cried throughout the prayer said by Dr. Kim over Morgan before we left. Morgan however, didn't react as we thought she would...they placed her on my lap in the van, closed the door and off we went...she just kinda sat there for awhile and then seemed to settle back into my arms as she fell asleep on the way to the aiport. No crying & no screaming. She was like that for most of the flight as well. As with Sophie, Morgan chose to sleep away the pain of leaving the familiar. It's clear to us that sleeping was her way of coping - still is. We notice that whenever she awakens, she always inspects her surroundings, inspects us and either whimpers or falls right back to sleep again. My heart just breaks for the little sweetie.

So, we made it home without any trouble - Steve and I even watched a movie on the long flight home while Morgan napped in the bassinet on the plane. We were greeted at the airport by our dear friends and family and a very excited big sister Sophie! Soph was SO very happy to get to meet "baby Morgan!" It feels so good to be home!

Since being home, Morgan has slept A LOT...again, we know that this is her way of coping and just today, she has begun to cry sad tears that indicate to us that she has begun the grieving process. All we can do is comfort her and hold her close to us as long as we can...at least she does seek comfort with us...we are hopeful that that's a good sign. Sophie is struggling with the sudden lack of attention and hasn't fully grasped that she has to share her toys with Morgan - she keeps telling baby Morgan to share - once, Morgan even hauled off and hit at Sophie. Ugh. The sibling issues are already beginning!

All in all, adjustment is going fairly well...as well as can be expected with a one year old newbie and an almost three year old diva of the house! We are keeping things simple and calm to aid in everyone's bonding and adjustment. Morgan does have her first dr. appointment tomorrow as she came home with a nasty little cough and runny nose - as if she isn't already dealing with enough. Here are a whole lotta pics of our very long, very happy, much-anticipated Gotcha Day! Our family finally feels complete!

Leaving our hotel room with flowers for foster mom...

Morgan's last moments with her foster mother...
She's all ready to travel complete with her own backpack and her comfort item: a hello kitty toothbrush!

Just prior to placing Morgan in our arms...
In the van, you can see Eastern in the background, we're on our way to the airport...

Our first family photo taken by the ticket agent at Incheon Airport!
The Korean Air jet all set to bring us home...

Sleeping on daddy during our long layover in Chicago...

Playtime on the plane heading home...

Scenes from our homecoming at the airport...

Our two little lovelies in their carseats, together at last!

There's no place like home...

One last post before we go...

2009-04-05T03:48:00.001-07:00

It seems surreal, but our time here in Seoul is almost over. Steve has managed to get everything packed and fit into our suitcases and carry-on...that's a feat considering all that we bought and all of the gifts Sophie and Morgan received from those that love them here in Korea! We've had a great time exploring and enjoying all of the Korean culture we could cram into a week - has it really only been a week?!

Tomorrow is Morgan's Gotcha Day - April 6th! We are to leave our hotel here at 8 am Monday morning to be taken to Eastern where she will be placed in our arms forever...that's 6 pm Sunday evening for all of you in the Central Time Zone. Please pray for Morgan's foster mother around that time as this will be an emotional goodbye for her...please pray for Morgan as she is leaving everything and everyone she knows to be with us...please pray for a smooth and safe flight for us.

We are REALLY looking forward to being back home with both of our girls - Sophie, mama and daddy miss you like crazy! We are anxious to start the bonding process with Morgan and know that it may take longer than in Sophie's case as Morgan is older and has somewhat of a bigger adjustment ahead of her. Therefore, I'm sure you will all understand if we don't allow a lot of holding of Morgan other than Steve and myself - she will need to learn that we are her parents and caregivers from this point forward. Thanks for your understanding, friends!

Okay, that's about it from here - we have to catch some extra shuteye tonight as we have a looooooong day ahead of us tomorrow. Our flight takes off at noon, Seoul-time...10 pm Sunday night, your time. We finally get home, after a really long layover in Chicago at 5:15 pm Monday evening. Hope to see some of you soon, my airport greeters! So long from Seoul - we're ready to become a family of four!

Our last meal...the calm before the storm!

Love the Galbi-goodness!

Meeting Morgan - the sequel.

2009-04-02T07:32:00.001-07:00

Today was another busy meeting day for us. We met Sophie's foster mother in the morning, then had lunch with Dr. Kim, the Director of Eastern Social Welfare Society and finally, we got to meet Morgan again!

This meeting...well...it was challenging. When they first brought her to us, she really did okay, she even started playing with Steve's beard (Sophie did the same thing the first time she met him here in Korea!). We were told that she likes to play a few traditional Korean song-games, so we asked to see what those were and videotaped some really cute interaction between Morgan and her foster mother. Then, the foster mother left us alone with her by just sneaking out the door. Ugh. That's when the tears came...and came...and came. I guess the good news is that she reaches for one of us to comfort her when she's upset, but of course the bad news is that she misses her foster mother terribly when she is not there. It's going to be a long plane ride home, folks.

The foster mother came in and got her calmed down so that we could play a bit more (with her in the room) and Morgan really got a kick out of me playing peek-a-boo with her - hey, I'll play it for 14 hours straight if I have to - her smile is absolutely worth it!

Therefore, not a lot of pictures from this meeting. We will not see her again until Monday morning when we are set to leave for the airport and she'll be placed in our arms forever! That's 6 pm Sunday night for y'all, so please say a little prayer for our Morgan in the hopes that this isn't terribly traumatic for her...pray that we'll all get through this together...pray for her amazing foster mother who has taken such good care of her. We have a big transition ahead of us, so Steve and I are going to enjoy our last days here in Seoul as we prepare to become a family of four!

Random Seoul Pics

2009-04-02T06:59:00.000-07:00

View from our 12th floor hotel room...

First night here we HAD to go to ChoonChunJip! Oh, the spicy goodness!

Streets of Seoul...

I finally found a REAL Diet Coke in Itaewon!

Korea House...

Scenes from Namdemun Market...

Deoksugung Palace...

Seoul Tower at night...

Meeting Morgan

2009-03-31T00:59:00.000-07:00

Oh happy day! We met our sweet daughter, Morgan, this morning and we find it difficult to put the experience into words. She is an absolute sweetheart!

We arrived at the agency for a paperwork meeting prior to the meeting scheduled with Morgan, but as we were waiting for our social worker, we saw a woman enter the building carrying a little thing - I remarked that she looked to be too little to be our Morgan - but, the woman recognized us from the picture we sent and indeed, that little baby was ours. The foster mother was kind enough to let us sneak a peak at her before we had to do paperwork.

About 15 mins later, we "officially" met her and fell in love. Her hair is crazy thick and her eyes are just the cutest. She walked into the room to meet us, very wobbly and little, but she is walking. She's very inquisitive, loves her toys and loves her foster mother. The foster mom and social worker left us alone in the room with her for a period of time and we SO enjoyed just playing with her and trying to convince her that we're okay people. Eventually though, she noticed that her foster mother was not in the room...it was naptime...she was sleepy and just didn't want anyone else. So, we got to comfort her for the first time too. It's clear to us that adjustment will be different this time around - she's 12 months old and has completely attached herself to the foster mother.

She took to Steve really well and almost preferred him to me...he even got to give her a naptime bottle before she had to leave. All in all we had a great first-time meeting...seems so surreal that we are here experiencing all of this again. We did receive wonderful pictures of Morgan's first birthday party held here at the agency - lovely pictures that will be lovely keepsakes for Morgan as she grows up!

Our next scheduled meeting with Morgan is this Thursday afternoon - we are to meet Sophie's foster mother in the morning and have lunch with Dr. Kim, the Director of Eastern that same day as well. I will try to post more pictures as the opportunity arises. I could tell you about the trip and all of our sight-seeing thus far, but I know what you really want today are pictures of Morgan...so, enjoy!

Bags are packed...

2009-03-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update before we hit the hay! Despite this freakish spring snow/ice storm, we still plan on leaving in the morning...nothing is going to stop me from getting my hands on my girl! Our bags are packed, Sophie has been dropped off at Grandma's (boy, that was just gutwrenching) and everything is in order.

We will get to meet little miss Morgan on Tuesday morning at 10 (that's 8:00 Monday evening here) and we just cannot wait to finally lay eyes on the sweet thing! Hopefully, when you check this blog on your Tuesday morning, we'll have figured out how to post pictures!

Please pray for our safe travels and smooth transitions as we have a lot coming our way - Morgan is making the biggest adjustment of all.

And...we're off!

Oh happy day!!

2009-03-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

We have travel clearance!! Of course, we are super-excited - I kinda don't know what to do with myself! We leave early this Sunday morning (3.29) and after a long layover in Chicago, we arrive in Seoul at 4:10 p.m., Monday the 30th. I'm guessing we'll get to meet Morgan for the first time on Tuesday the 31st, but we may have to update that after confirmation from our agency. We'll be leaving Seoul to return home on Monday (4.06) and will arrive home (again after a LONG layover in Chicago) at 5:15 p.m. (Monday, 4.06).

We have had a rough wait, missing Morgan's first birthday and all, but it's all almost over - FINALLY! I don't know why, but I had figured that we wouldn't get the call today as my phone didn't ring until later than anticipated...I felt as if I had hit rock-bottom...had just emailed my mom about how life isn't fair (yes, I'm a bit dramatic) and then, the magical call came our way!! For all of my waiting friends, you will get that travel clearance and you will get to meet your sweet kiddos...just when you think you can't take it any longer...God's timing will be revealed!

I have so many things to get done - our Sophie is not traveling with us and we are going to miss her terribly, but we know she'll be in good hands with the grandmas. That being said, Steve and I are thrilled to be taking this journey again - we love the city of Seoul and the Korean people. We plan on soaking up all of the culture we can and enjoying our little vacation before becoming parents of TWO spunky little gals! ;-)

Please pray for our Morgan as she is in for a big change - her world is about to be turned upside down and we know it will be difficult for her. Please pray for her wonderful foster mother as she prepares to say goodbye to our sweetness. We will make every attempt to keep you posted through this blog on our travels, hopefully with lots of pictures too!

I'm off to pack...Morgan, mama and daddy are on their way!

VI!

2009-03-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

I called the National Visa Center in D.C. this morning to see if our Morgan's visa interview (that last step) had been scheduled...kept expecting no news as I've grown accustomed to them telling me...but, this morning was different! Morgan has her visa interview scheduled for tomorrow!!! (Also keep in mind that it is Tuesday in Korea right now) Hurray!!!

We are praying that once the visa is issued, which can happen rather immediately, that we'll get travel clearance very soon - could we be traveling by the end of this week?!

Prayer warriors, start your engines...this is the last lap and we are so very close to going to get our girl!

She's a celebrity...of sorts.

2009-03-19T13:27:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Thank you for everyone's support and encouragement through this period of waiting...yesterday was especially grueling, but we got through it with the love of all of you. I hope to post pictures soon of our little birthday celebration for Morgan...we're transitioning our old programs to our new computer and it's taking some time.

As difficult as yesterday was, today has been wonderful. No travel clearance yet, but we did receive an updated development report on Morgan per my request. Our girl is growing up so quickly and it sounds as if she is a happy and loved little thang! Some of the highlights from the report are...she's walking and climbing up steps...if she's in a good mood, she's loud and laughs...she likes to listen and dance to music...she sleeps well throughout the night on the floor next to her foster mother...she likes people and is affectionate..."she can make a cute face"...she is friendly, curious and likes to try. Also, as of last month, she weighs 18.5 lbs and is 27.6 in. tall...not large by any means, but she's really close to Sophie's size already!

The most emotional part for us was the statement on her birthday. As most of you know, the first birthday is a big deal in Korea, and we were anxious to know what, if anything, would be done to celebrate since we could not be there. Apparently, the staff at Eastern, our adoption agency counterpart in Korea, threw her a first birthday party. She got to wear her hanbok and chose items from the tray (Toljabee)...our little love chose the pencil first and then a book, which means that she should make good grades in school! We are told that pictures were taken of this party and they'll send them to us ASAP. (I suggested that they just let us go to Korea next week to save them from sending them to us!)

Oh, and the most fun part...we are told that the story of our Morgan's birthday party is to be featured in the agency's magazine! She's going to be in her first magazine at the age of one...that's my girl! You can bet that I'm already trying to arrange to get a copy of said magazine...

All in all, today was a good day. We live for any updates on our kiddo as it makes the wait a bit less heartbreaking. We are comforted by the fact that Morgan is thriving and happy and loved by many!

I'll keep you posted re: any pictures we receive or any important phone calls we'd like to receive in the very near future!

happy birthday.

2009-03-17T12:31:00.000-07:00

***DISCLAIMER: If you factor in the time difference, it is March 18th right now in Seoul. So, yes indeed, our baby girl just turned one year old...halfway around the world.***

Sweet baby girl Morgan,

Happy birthday to you, our special girl! We hope that you have a fun day and feel lots of love and happiness as you turn one whole year old - what a day! Your mommy, daddy and big sis all miss you very, very much and wish we could give you great big birthday hugs, but that will just have to wait. Our hearts ache to know you, to hold you, to look into your beautiful eyes and be with you as you mark all of these important milestones in your little, precious life. But, we know that you have a loving foster family that is nurturing you and preparing you for all that life has to offer. It's a beautiful life, my sweet daughter...and I cannot wait to share it with you. Until we meet, know that you are loved by so very many and that we are all celebrating your first birthday in our own little ways.

Lots of love, hugs and kisses,
Mommy

Not much to say.

2009-03-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

So, no news...not much to say. Just wanted to commemorate that today is 3 months since we officially accepted Morgan's referral. Hoping to get travel clearance any day now...could still be weeks from now. With Morgan's first birthday fast approaching, we feel more antsy than ever. Please keep us in your prayers as we hope to have good news soon...we have to be nearing the end, right?

A Different Perspective

2009-03-12T12:01:00.000-07:00

As we prepare our home, hearts and lives for the addition of Morgan - nope still no news yet - I thought it'd be appropriate to think about how all of this will feel to our baby girl. We've been anxiously anticipating her arrival for months now, but she has been settled and comfortable with her foster mother in Korea and has no idea as to what awaits her in her new home in a new country with all new strange people. Take this as food for thought...

A Different Perspective
Immense Loss; Walk a Mile in Baby’s Booties

Imagine for a moment…

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 fiancée. You love his touch, his smell, the way he looks into your eyes. For the first time in your life, you understand what is meant by "soul mate," for this person understands you in a way that no one else does. Your heart beats in rhythm with his. Your emotions are intimately tied to his every joy, his every sorrow.

The wedding comes. It is a happy celebration, but the best part is that 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 in the 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 nothing is okay. Your beloved is gone. Where is he? Will he return? When? What has happened to him?

Weeks pass. You cry and cry over the loss of your beloved. Sometimes you ache silently, in shock over what has happened. The new guy tries to comfort you. You appreciate his attempts, but he doesn't speak your language-either verbally or emotionally. He doesn't seem to realize the terrible thing that has happened...that your sweetheart is gone.

You find it difficult to sleep. The new guy tries to comfort you at bedtime with soft words and gentle touches, but you avoid him, preferring to sleep alone, away from him and any intimate words or contact.

Months later, you still ache for your beloved, but gradually you are learning to trust this new guy. He's finally learned that you like your coffee black, not doctored up with cream and sugar. Although you still don't understand his bedtime songs, you like the lilt of his voice and take some comfort in it.

More time passes. One morning, you wake up to find a full suitcase sitting next to the front door. You try to ask him about it, but he just takes you by the hand and leads you to the car. You drive and drive and drive. Nothing is familiar. Where are you? Where is he taking you?

You pull up to a large building. He leads you to an elevator and up to a room filled with people. Many are crying. Some are ecstatic with joy. You are confused. And worried.

The man leads you over to the corner. Another man opens his arms and sweeps you up in an embrace. He rubs your back and kisses your cheeks, obviously thrilled to see you.

You are anything but thrilled to see him. Who in the world is he? Where is your beloved? You reach for the man who brought you, but he just smiles (although he seems to be tearing up, which concerns you), pats you on the back, and puts your hand in the hands of the new guy. The new guy picks up your suitcase and leads you to the door. The familiar face starts openly crying, waving and waving as the elevator doors close on you and the new guy.

The new guy drives you to an airport and you follow him, not knowing what else to do. Sometimes you cry, but then the new guy tries to make you smile, so you grin back, wanting to "get along." You board a plane. The flight is long. You sleep a lot, wanting to mentally escape from the situation.

Hours later, the plane touches down. The new guy is very excited and leads you into the airport where dozens of people are there to greet you. Light bulbs flash as your photo is taken again and again. The new guy takes you to another guy who hugs you. Who is this one? You smile at him. Then you are taken to another man who pats your back and kisses your cheek. Then yet another fellow gives you a big hug and messes your hair.

Finally, someone (which guy is this?) pulls you into his arms with the biggest hug you've ever had. He kisses you all over your cheeks and croons to you in some language you've never heard before.

He leads you to a car and drives you to another location. Everything here looks different. The climate is not what you're used to. The smells are strange. Nothing tastes familiar, except for the black coffee. You wonder if someone told him that you like your coffee black.

You find it nearly impossible to sleep. Sometimes you lie in bed for hours, staring into the blackness, furious with your husband for leaving you, yet aching from the loss. The new guy checks on you. He seems concerned and tries to comfort you with soft words and a mug of warm milk. You turn away, pretending to go to asleep.

People come to the house. You can feel the anxiety start to bubble over as you look into the faces of all the new people. You tightly grasp the new guy's hand. He pulls you closer. People smile and nudge one other, marveling at how quickly you've fallen in love. Strangers reach for you, wanting to be a part of the happiness.

Each time a man hugs 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 is nice and you're hanging on for dear life, you've learned from experience that men come and go, so you just wait in expectation for the next one to come along.

Each morning, the new guy hands you a cup of coffee and looks at you expectantly. A couple of times the pain and anger for your husband is so great that you lash out, sending hot coffee across the room, causing the new guy to yelp in pain. He just looks at you, bewildered. But most of the time you calmly take the cup. You give him a smile. And wait. And wait. And wait.

--Written by Cynthia Hockman-Chupp, analogy courtesy of Dr. Kali Miller

We have Passport!

2009-03-03T10:14:00.000-08:00

Wow...things seem to be moving so quickly now! We have Passport, which means that we should travel to get Morgan in the next 2-4 weeks! Wow.

We still have so much to do...so many lists to make...things will be super-busy in the McFarren household, that's for sure!

Now, my friends, we await THE phone call! The next time we hear of progress will be the call that tells us that we have travel clearance...that we can hop on a plane and go get our girl!!!

Of course, we would LOVE to be there in time for her first birthday, but we are just so happy to know that the end is near...our waiting is almost over.

Celebrate!

2009-03-02T13:50:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday, my family and friends held a celebration brunch for our baby girl Morgan and her mama (that's me!)...it was incredibly lovely despite the 4-6 inches of snow that fell at just the right time to keep most people from attending. I am so grateful to the few that made it and for all of those who put so much work into making the brunch special. The brunch food was super-yummy, the mimosas hit the spot and the cake was, once again, out of this world!

We received a lot of generous donations to take with us to our agency in Korea and you could really feel the love everyone has for Morgan and our family. Morgan now has some darling new clothes all her own and a carseat so that she can ride next to her big sister in style...My friends, Casey and Mandie, ordered me an amazing mother's necklace that includes the girl's names hammered into silver with swarovski crystals representing their birthstones dangling next to their names...I can't wait for it to be shipped! Although, it was snowing and cold outside, my heart was warmed with everyone's thoughtfulness...we had a great time and I have a fun story to tell Morgan about her shower-day!

We have EP!

2009-02-26T10:53:00.000-08:00

Yes! Just got the word from our adoption agency that we have been issued EP, Emigration Permission, from Korea! Yahoo!

To break it down, we needed EP before Morgan will be issued a Passport. After Passport, we just await word of her Visa and the all-important Travel Clearance! Timewise, our agency says that it's usually 1-2 weeks from EP to Passport...and 2-4 weeks from Passport to Travel Clearance!

Add it up people and we could be traveling to get Morgan in 3-6 weeks!! Please pray for all of those working on Morgan's paperwork - that they have everything they need to do their jobs efficiently.

Priceless.

2009-02-25T12:34:00.000-08:00

Two tickets to see the animated movie "Bolt:" $5.00
Large Diet Coke for Mom and kid-sized Water: $1.00
Two medium popcorns on free popcorn day: Free
Seeing Sophie super-excited at her very first movie: Priceless

Okay. So, the prices at this movie theater were beyond reasonable. But, I would've paid just about anything to see my little girl enjoy something SO much!

The theater is one that shows movies that are no longer playing on mainstream screens right before they're released to DVD. Every week, the early matinees are "Mommy and Me" which means that the lights aren't turned all the way off and the sound is much lower than your normal movie-experience...GENIUS if you have a two year old! Also, they have free popcorn days and deals on drinks...even better! Here's the real kicker, Sophie and I were the only ones there this afternoon...we had our own private screening of "Bolt!" Hope Sophie doesn't get used to this "royal" treatment. She did an amazing job for it being her first movie theater experience. The only hiccup was that she didn't weigh enough to keep her seat bottom down, so I had to keep re-distributing her body weight in the seat so she wouldn't just fold up with it!

What a fun day for Sophie and her Mama!

11 months old.

2009-02-18T06:11:00.000-08:00

Wow. Today is Morgan SeonAh's 11 month birthday and we could not miss her any more than we do right now. This wait is starting to take its toll as our baby girl just keeps getting older and continues to learn so much without us. We still have no update on either Morgan or our paperwork to bring her home. Please pray that we hear something, ANYTHING soon! In the meantime, you know where our thoughts and hearts are on this day...and everyday.

On the Sophie-front, she had her surgery yesterday morning and once again, came through with flying colors. I continue to be amazed at her resilience - she has been in our children's hospital so often, that she really know her way around the place and certainly knows the drill. The nurses comment that they wish every patient was so cooperative and sweet...I take that as a compliment...we are extremely proud of the little miss. Here's hoping that this set of tubes lasts her for a long time, keeping that fluid out of her ears and maintaining her hearing.

Sophie-love

2009-02-16T12:37:00.001-08:00

The above photos were taken on Valentine's Day...Sophie's dress is actually a precious gift from her birthmother in Korea. We thought it was extra-special for her to wear it on Saturday.

The last picture is of our homecoming shirts that I ordered for our little family...we hope to wear them on Morgan's Gotcha Day when we bring her home from Korea. The adult versions came from Adoption Mama online and the little girls shirts I had made on Zazzle.

In Sophie-news, she is scheduled to have her surgery to replace the tubes in her ears tomorrow morning at 8:10. We are to be at the hospital at 6:30 a.m. Thanks for all of your support and prayers.

Two.

2009-02-15T15:37:00.000-08:00

Today marks 2 whole months since we saw our precious Morgan's face and officially accepted her referral. Still no word on further progress, but we remain hopeful that we'll hear from Korea soon. Keep in mind that our agency says to plan on travel 3-6 months after referral acceptance. (We received Sophie's travel clearance (TC) at right about 3 months post-referral.)

Steve and I are still working on our adoption education requirements and we continue to transition Sophie into her big girl bedroom...it's been interesting!

Hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day!

Lunar New Year Celebration!

2009-02-09T06:50:00.001-08:00

This weekend was our annual Lunar New Year celebration put on by the Forever Families group in our area. Sophie had a blast playing with her friends and we really enjoyed the company of the other parents on hand to celebrate!

One of my friends said it best, "Our lives are so rich."

Night, Night.

2009-02-03T08:42:00.001-08:00

Introducing Sophie singing our version of a "Night, Night" song set to the tune of "Where is Thumbkin?" Warning: she has a serious case of bed head!

Still Here...Still Waiting.

2009-01-30T06:36:00.000-08:00

Friends, January is almost over and we feel blessed to know that we are getting closer to making our family complete. We haven't received any word on progress with Morgan's adoption, but we have faith that things are moving along. On our end, Steve and I have completed our Infant CPR course required by our agency and we've finished two of the three books we are reading this time for our education requirements. Next, we will tackle 3-4 online adoption courses, finish the other book relating to toddler adoption and we should be golden!

Each month that goes by, the more impatient we become. Please pray that the remainder of our wait is peaceful and productive as we prepare our hearts and home for Morgan's homecoming.

It's been a rough month in terms of illness spreading amongst our little family and I'll be grateful when all of the doctors appointments come to an end. Sophie is feeling better, but had to have one of the tubes in her ears removed as it was ineffective. That means that she will endure another surgery to put the tubes back in her little ears on February 17th. Factor in all of the pre-admission appointments and follow-up appointments for us all and we have another 2 weeks of waiting in the waiting rooms. Sigh. I often wonder if I should have been keeping track of just how many hours of our lives are spent waiting for doctors appointments...then I think that I really don't want to know.

This weekend should be a great little get-away for us as we are taking a roadtrip to visit our dear friends, the Westons. Sophie is super-excited about playing with Jacob and Abby and I am looking forward to getting away and visiting with one of my best friends. Here's hoping that February will be full of blessed news for everyone!

Happy Lunar New Year!

2009-01-26T08:46:00.000-08:00

- The New Year's greeting is "say hay boke-mahn he pah du say oh" (www.clickasia.co.kr)

- 2009 is the year of the Ox. (photo from flickr.com)

- Cute kiddos all dressed up ready to celebrate Lunar New Year (www.clickasia.co.kr)

Let's Review.

2009-01-23T10:59:00.000-08:00

Because our computer has been on the fritz, I was unable to get online for the past week or so. However, thanks to my computer-savvy hubby, we are back up and running. I've emptied my camera's memory card and thought I'd just show you what's been happening in our world for the past couple of weeks.

Sophie in the midst of her pneumonia and sinus infection...

The girl is getting so much better!! Posing with her new PURPLE walls...

Her big girl room is purple...

Awww...I'll always remember "de coupe"...
Steve's last picture with his beloved car that he's had for over 10 years...

Who you callin' a soccer mom?!

Say what you will, but I LOVE my new mini-van! Ha!
Sophie with her pals all ready for her first night in her big girl bed!

Waking up after her first nap in her big girl bed...

Inauguration Day 2009...

President Obama taking the oath...

Sweet Sophie witnessing history...

Where does she get it?! ;-)

An excuse to make cookies!

Sophie liked the blue ones...

A whole ten months old!

2009-01-18T14:50:00.000-08:00

We are missing baby girl Morgan so badly today as she celebrates being a whole ten months old! Sophie sang a little rendition of "happy birthday" to her this morning and I must admit that we've been staring at her pictures even more than ever. Of course, we wonder about all of the fun things she is learning to do and we ache to get our arms around her - we don't want to miss a thing! We are blessed to know that she is in the loving care of her dear foster mother and for her, we are forever grateful. We sent Morgan's foster mom a card and a picture of our family in the hopes that she knows just how much we appreciate her. We also hope that she'll show Morgan the picture we sent and tell her that we all love her to pieces!

Happy 10 month birthday, my sweetness! Mama, Daddy and Sis are thinking of you and loving you like crazy!

One month.

2009-01-09T13:50:00.001-08:00

Well, it's been exactly one month since we received Morgan's referral call. (We officially accepted on 12.15.08.) Our lives have been turned upside down since learning of our new daughter! With the holidays, traveling to be with family and illness, this month has just flown by! I must admit I'm a bit numb when I think that it's already been a month. We have so much to do between now and that blessed travel clearance - we are sure to be super-busy for the next couple of months. Task #1 - paint and prepare Sophie's big girl room as we look to transition her into her big-girl bed so that Morgan can take over the nursery. The paint color has been selected and we have the new bedding...we just have to clear that room out and somehow convince Sophie to sleep in a bed and not occupy herself with her toys until the wee hours of the morning. Yikes!

Sophie-update: She really came into herself last night! There was singing. There was dancing. There was even resisting Mama again. We are so excited to have her back! We continue to use the nebulizer and run the full course of antibiotics, but she has made remarkable strides in getting better. We were even able to attend her annual cleft palate clinic today at the hospital, which is a great thing since it's hard to get that appointment and we really didn't want to postpone it as we have other things to do in bringing Morgan home! Sophie did an excellent job of letting all of the doctors and specialists examine her and we are pleased that she is progressing right on target. Her surgeon doesn't see the need for another surgery until she's 6 years old, barring any unknowns. That's terrific news! We do need one follow-up with her ENT as apparently, the tubes in her ears are completely clogged and need to be attended to...that sounds like no fun.

This Mama is happy that it's finally the weekend. Maybe we can all get some much-needed rest and perhaps, we can really begin to "nest" for baby Morgan!

I-171!

2009-01-08T17:24:00.000-08:00

Yippee! In this otherwise bleak week of trying to overcome Sophie's illness, a bright light appeared in our mailbox yesterday...our I-600 was approved by our local Citizenship and Immigration Office and is on its way to Korea! It appears that they received our application on 12.29.08 and approved us on 1.05.09, which is pretty gosh-darn fast, folks!

We are so happy to have this taken care of as it's something else we can check off of our "waiting to travel" list. Here's hoping that the Korea-side completes their paperwork just as quickly...we want our baby girl home!

Also, an update...Sophie has just begun to perk up around here. Finally, after 2-3 days of being lethargic and really not even responding to us, she began to sing, "Where is Thumbkin," once again...it's music to our ears! Little by little, we are getting our Sophie back. Excellent timing as we are scheduled for her annual cleft palate clinic tomorrow...would love to be able to keep that appointment if at all possible!

Sophie is just not herself...

2009-01-07T07:24:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, our Sophie-girl has pneumonia and a full-blown sinus infection that has caused her eyes to swell up. We discovered all of this after visiting the urgent care doctor - who gave us no answers and sent us to the emergency room - still no answers and finally at our pediatrician's follow-up appointment yesterday, the x-rays told us what was wrong. While we are not happy that she has become so ill, we are grateful that at least now we know why she's been so lethargic and sick AND now, we know how to treat it. We are the proud owners of a nebulizer and she'll be receiving medication through it every 4 hours on top of 3 other antibiotics to help clear this gunk out!

My poor girl - she has been such a trooper, having had her urine drawn, blood drawn, IV stuck in her after about 3 attempts, x-rays and now, breathing machines. It's true, she is a warrior.

Prayers for a speedy and complete recovery would be greatly appreciated.

I leave you with a picture of Sophie at happier, healthier times - just last week, while she was playing dress-up with all of her FABULOUS accessories. Hope you feel like having fun again really soon, sweet girl!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T15:54:00.001-08:00

This was a surprise new picture of Morgan! 2009 is going to be FANTASTIC year!

Spilling the beans.

2008-12-30T10:16:00.000-08:00

Steve and Sophie calling Grandma Sandy in Virginia with the news of Morgan's referral!
The boxes containing the framed photo collage announcing Morgan's referral ready to go on our "referral tour!"

Grandma Gayla and Papa discovering the news that, "It's a Girl!"

Happy Grandparents.

Sophie is happy to tell Grandma, Papa and Uncle Jeff that she has a little sista!

Mothers and daughters have a special bond.

Grandma claims she knew that this was coming...as our referral tour continues.
Sharing the surprise.

Happy Great-Grandparents!

More posing for pictures.

The day we FINALLY saw our daughter's face for the very first time!
The last stop on our referral tour, a few days later...telling my dad the happy news!

Thanks to everyone for sharing in our excitement as we made the rounds on our tour and as we called those loved ones far and near with our blessed news. It is such a joy to know that our Morgan is loved already. Hope everyone had a happy holiday...will post more from that later.

Love is in the DETAILS!

2008-12-18T14:14:00.000-08:00

So, here it is...the LONG rundown of the details!

As I'm sure most adoptive families experience, waiting for a referral is agonizing. Knowing that it could come at any minute or it could come months from now is enough to make any sane person, crazy! I had reached my threshold the weekend of December 6-7th...so much so that I had actually called our agency case manager on Monday, the 8th just to make sure that they hadn't shut down their Korea program entirely. Now, I'm a smart person most of the time, but I just really needed that reassurance that we were still moving forward with all of this AND I think I secretly wished that Jan would just tell me that oh yes, by the way...and give us our referral. That didn't happen, but I did feel a sense of peace after talking over my anxieties with our her. I resolved that we just wouldn't get the referral until after Christmas and as much as that would hurt, I was going to be okay with that.

Fast forward to the VERY NEXT DAY! It was snowing, our first real snowfall of the season...Sophie and I stayed home all day in our pjs, making snowflake cookies and enjoying our Christmas tree. I had just finished reading another adoptive families blog...I went back to read the details of their referral call and I wondered out loud when and how that would happen for us. Immediately after that thought, my phone rang. It was approximately 3:15 p.m. It was Jan, our Korea program case manager (the same woman I spoke to the day before) telling me that she had a referral for me and Steve. It took my breath away and I literally had to sit and tell her to give me minute to compose myself. After a few deep breaths and wiping the tears away that were quickly welling up, I said to Jan, "Talk to me." Her next words, "It's a girl!" really put me over the edge and I calmly, but unsuccessfully tried to listen to the rest of what she was telling me! She ran down all of the pertinent medical information and stats, told us that they recommend getting a doctor to review the file before we decide to accept or decline and said it was up to us whether or not we wanted to see pictures now or to wait. Knowing that once we saw a sweet babyface, it would be hard to stay objective, we opted to wait. She quickly e-mailed the referral to us and then, I was off and running.

I called Steve at work and breathlessly got out the news...he must've thought I was losing it! I told him, "It's a girl!" and his response was, "Really?! I told you so!" Apparently he knew all along that we'd get another girl. We shared our excitement with each other, but I wanted to catch our pediatrician before he left for the day, so I quickly got off the phone with my dear hubby. Talked to our amazing pediatrician, who is more like a family friend by now, and he graciously told me to e-mail the info and he'd take a look at it for us. I was supposed to give him until Thursday afternoon.

Right after I got off the phone with our agency!

Sophie waking up to the news...

Capturing our dazed excitement!

That night, we were cautiously optimistic that everything would check out a-okay with her medically. I had a gut feeling...the same gut feeling I had immediately after receiving Sophie's referral...that this baby girl was ours! We hung the first Christmas ornament and stocking up in anticipation of accepting the referral. (FYI...we had purchased the ornament and stocking the Sunday prior to our referral call...isn't it wild how everything came together?!)

The first Christmas ornament and stand-in stocking...

Sophie did the honors of hanging it on the tree...

So complete...Daddy, Mama, Sophie, Morgan and Buddy (our furbaby)

Waiting to hear back from our doctor was almost unbearable. We chose not to tell anyone until we had officially accepted which was difficult as I am a terrible liar!

Thursday afternoon came and went without any word from our pediatrician, which meant that Friday had me scrambling to get someone, ANYONE to return my calls! Finally, our doctor called me back from his home with his screaming children in the background after 5pm Friday night. Had a great discussion with him...he said that there was no way he would've made us wait throughout the weekend without knowing...sigh...we knew in our minds what we already knew in our hearts. We were getting another daughter! Since he called so late on Friday, our adoption agency had already closed, so we had a wait a couple of days longer to see our daughter's face and to share our news. Ugh.

As soon as the Dillon offices (our adoption agency) opened on Monday (the 15th), I was calling to tell Jan, "WE ACCCEPT! BABY GIRL IS OURS! Now, send me the pictures ASAP!" ;-) Then, after finally seeing her face, we were in love. Such a happy day! I went off to make prints so that we could start telling our family members and close friends that night...we were just busting to tell everyone!

So, there you have it. The story of our baby girl Morgan's referral. Since then, we've been scrambling to tell all of our loved ones, filling out acceptance papers and government forms. We even received her legals which was fantastic, but it meant still more paperwork to complete all before we leave for the holiday. It's been a crazy whirlwind and I will post some of the fun from telling our family to the breakdown of what comes next in a week or so.

I leave you with our sweet Morgan!

Born March 18, 2008
South Korea

Sophie has a secret...

2008-12-17T13:38:00.000-08:00

We are over-the-moon happy to let the WORLD know that we have accepted the referral of a precious baby girl!!! We were blessed to receive this gift just in time for Christmas. Now, without further ado, allow me to introduce you to our baby girl, Sophie's little sis...

Morgan SeonAh

Details to come...

2008-12-12T07:02:00.001-08:00

Today marks our 7th month of waiting. Thanks for taking this journey with us as we continue to wait...

Thankful

2008-12-01T06:56:00.001-08:00

Nobody said it was easy.

2008-11-26T06:24:00.000-08:00

Adopting. Still.

Waiting. Still.

Praying. Still.

Dreaming. Still.

Anxious. Still.

Weary. Still.

Hoping. Still.

Grateful. Still.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone...here's to an even happier December!

Scenes from a Gotcha Day...

2008-11-19T13:26:00.001-08:00

Gotcha Day!

2008-11-16T07:10:00.001-08:00

It's hard to believe that it's been 2 whole years since our baby girl was placed in our arms forever! The memory of Dr. Kim praying over Sophie prior to leaving Korea and the tears as we grieved not only for all that Sophie was leaving behind, but also for all that her foster mother was giving us remain as fresh as they did on this day in 2006. We continue to carry Sophie's foster family and birthfamily in our hearts and prayers...it is clear that our little girl has been loved by many!

This day is and will remain one of the most special days for our family - it's the day we had dreamed of for so long...the day we found each other and never let go! Sophie-girl, your mama and daddy love you more than you can imagine...Happy 2nd Gotcha Day, pumpkin! Let's celebrate with cupcakes!

After arriving at the airport, 11.16.06

Celebrating Gotcha Day, 11.16.07

Sophie JeeHyeon, 11.04.08

I didn't give you the gift of life,
But in my heart I know
The love I feel is as deep and real
as if it had been so.

For us to have each other
is like a dream come true!
No, I didn't give you the gift of life,
Life gave me the gift of you.

Author Unknown

Happy Distractions

2008-11-13T06:54:00.001-08:00

During this wait for baby #2, I am thankful for the little distractions that keep my mind off of the long process of international adoption. The last few days provided the latest distraction...my sisters-in-law, Dana and Leah came into town all the way from Virginia. We are married to brothers and it's always interesting to share our stories over some wine! Then, one of my best friends, Danielle came into town from St. Louis to...attend the New Kids on the Block concert with us! Yep, we just couldn't get enough in Boston, so we all bonded over our love for NKOTB one more time...this time from the 3rd row! We are lucky gals! As silly as it is, for a few days and for a couple of hours during the concert, I didn't think of the adoption ONCE. That folks, is what I call a happy distraction. Thanks girls for taking my mind off things...let's do it again sometime.

2008-11-12T19:30:00.000-08:00

Today marks six months on the waiting list for our second little one. We're getting SO close to knowing who our baby will be...thank goodness for happy distractions that help to take my mind off of the wait. I sure hope that we are nearing the end of this wait for our referral...please pray for good news soon.

Happy Blogaversary!

2008-11-08T06:50:00.000-08:00

Well, friends...it's been exactly one year since we launched our blog with the announcement that we were taking the first steps toward adopting another baby from Korea. The time has flown by and we can hardly believe that we have been immersed in this process for a whole year!

In the beginning, I wasn't sure if we could keep up with a blog, but it has become another outlet for us to communicate with all of you across the miles and now, I don't know what we would do without it!

On this, our one-year blogaversary (who even knew that was a word?!), it's my pleasure to report that on the Unofficial Waiting List kept up by our agency's forum friends, we are in the #2 slot...only one family ahead of us!! (unofficially, of course.) This news is exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time as we don't know when to expect our referral call...it could be any day now OR it could be months from now. Adoption is so unpredictable. We are trying our best to remain calm and give Sophie our undivided attention as we prepare her for a sibling.

We appreciate your prayers for a peaceful wait and for peaceful hearts as we have some important decisions ahead for us! Thank you for following our blog this past year...the best news is yet to come!

Rock the Vote

2008-11-04T10:25:00.001-08:00

FYI...gas prices have actually dropped under $2.00 in our neck of the woods!

Adoption Awareness

2008-11-03T08:05:00.001-08:00

November is National Adoption Awareness Month...how will you celebrate?!

LEGACY OF AN ADOPTED CHILD

Once there were two women who never knew each other
One you do not remember, the other you call Mother

Two different lives shaped to make you one
One became your guiding star, the other became your sun

The first one gave you life, and the second taught you to live in it
The first gave you a need for love, the second was there to give it

One gave you a nationality, the other gave you a name
One gave you the seed of talent, the other gave you aim

One gave you emotions, the other calmed your fears
One saw your first sweet smile, the other dried you tears

One made an adoption plan, that was all that she could do
The other prayed for a child, and God led her straight to you.

Now, which of these two women, Are you the product of?
Both, my darling, Both, Just two different types of love.
---- Unknown

Paging Dr. Sophie

2008-11-01T11:57:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T10:49:00.001-07:00

Vroom...vroom!

2008-10-24T13:20:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Charlie and one of his job perks, I had the opportunity to ride in a race car today out at Kansas Speedway...what a rush! Sophie hung out with grandma while I went around the track for a few speedy laps - she loved watching the "fast cars!" I had so much fun...I couldn't help but smile during the ride, but the wind was so cold and hitting me so fast, my teeth felt frozen! I am extremely grateful to have had this experience. Enjoy some of the photos (as you can tell, it's a cold, dreary day here...we were lucky to get this in as we've been dodging rain all day).

Happy weekend everyone!

Sophie with the official pace car...
Posing in victory lane...
Got my "fashionable" suit on...

Getting ready to climb my way into the car...

Sophie's ready to watch mama go fast!

That's me...blurry at about 160+ mph...
Making the race helmet look good! (actually, I just didn't know how to get it off!)

Girls can do anything, Sophie!

Cookie Monster

2008-10-22T13:22:00.000-07:00

Thanks Grandma for the fun cookie...

Licking her lips in anticipation of the yummy cookie goodness...

So In Love...

2008-10-14T18:56:00.000-07:00

Today, Steve and I celebrated our 8 year wedding anniversary! Steve took the day off work and we took Sophie-girl to Lawrence, our favorite little college town to walk around and stock up on new KU gear. Later, Sophie went to Grandma Gayla's while Steve and I enjoyed a nice dinner out, just the two of us. What a lovely way to spend the day!

Hard to believe that we've been married for 8 years...We are blessed beyond measure!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-13T06:46:00.001-07:00

Five.

2008-10-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

Happy five months of waiting everybody! We are suprisingly upbeat at this month's marker as we feel we are getting extremely close to knowing who our next little family member will be.

As it stands on the unofficial waiting list with our agency, there are only 3 families ahead of us thanks to an abundance of referrals happening these past few weeks. I always remind people that things can slow down just as quickly as they can speed up, so we are "cautiously" optimistic while still attempting to be grounded. ;-)

We find ourselves excited with anticipation as we await that all-important referral call and all of the emotions that go along with it...we are so lucky to grow our family in this way!

Congrats to all of our forum friends and their recent FANTASTIC news!

Had a date with...

2008-10-06T12:53:00.001-07:00

our local Citizenship and Immigration Services office this morning. Many of you may remember that we had our fingerprints taken and filed our I-600A way back on June 30th. The fact that we still had not received approval of these things worried not only us, but our adoption agency as well. The I-171H was the document that we were waiting on, which basically indicates that we've been pre-approved by the US government to bring a baby from another country into our family as our own. While things through USCIS have slowed down, this timeline seemed a bit excessive. So, after many failed attempts by our adoption agency to contact anyone regarding our applications status, we made a person-to-person appointment for this morning to finally get some answers!

Steve went with me to make sure we covered all of our bases and I was DETERMINED not to leave there without some answers! We waited for them to locate our paperwork for approximately 10 minutes at which point, the little fella behind the counter called us up to the window and handed us our I-171H! We had been pre-approved on July 7th (about a week after we filed our application!)...they had just failed to send us the notice of our approval. As happy as I am that yes, we are officially not waiting on that paperwork any longer, it also makes me a bit peeved that a vital piece of my sanity was sitting in a folder on some guy's desk all this time! We've learned our lesson...when in doubt, question the people "in charge" and if it comes down to it, make that appointment to contact them face-to-face.

So, HOORAY! We finally, finally have our I-171H! Things at our agency seem to be moving right along as several of our adoption forum buddies have recently received referrals for their children! What a blessing it is for us to follow along with their journeys - such a source of strength and inspiration for us as we continue to wait for our miracle. We are getting very, VERY close to knowing who our next baby will be - of course, we are super-excited for that day to come! I feel as though we're a family on the verge!

A special and unrelated shout-out goes to my friend, Danielle and my sisters-in-law, Dana and Leah...can't wait to see you all here next month for the KC NKOTB concert...Ninth row tickets are made all the more special by the prospect of sharing such an experience with you all...Lots of love, my girls!

Happy Fall! (It's our favorite time of year!)

Back from Bahstan!

2008-09-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

This was my first weekend away from my Sophie...Thank goodness she was in the capable and loving care of her daddy! (I think that they hardly had time to miss me!) Anyway, although the weather in Boston was rainy the entire time I was there, I still had such an enjoyable time with Danielle, my friend from high school, and her sister, Jessica. Jessica graciously let us stay with her and took us around to the sights of Beantown. The entire trip culminated in the reason we traveled to Boston in the first place...we went to our very first New Kids on the Block concert on Sunday night! It was truly a dream come true for us as we were never able to attend their concert back when we were 13 years old...now, 18 years later, our dream was fulfilled. Sigh. We had the absolute best time ever and will always remember acting like we were 13 all over again!

At JFK Presidential Library...

Getting blown away in my first Nor'easter Storm!

Sam Adams Brewery Tour...
Cheers Bar in Faneuil Hall Market...

Fall Colors of Boston...

All ready to go to the New Kids concert...

There they are!
My favorite, Joey, singing...
Dreams really do come true...
The round stage directly in front of our seats...
All in white...

Pouting because it's over...

Posing with our NKOTB souvenirs...

Old School

2008-09-25T10:50:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I'm embarking on a "pilgrimage" of sorts to Boston...going to hang out with my lifelong friend from high school, Danielle and her sis...can you guess who we're going to see in concert while we're there?! Jealous?!

Photos circa 1990! (That's why they are such poor quality...you can click on the pics to see a larger view of me in all of my awkward glory!)

My 13th Birthday Party!

Friends Forever - taken in 1995!

Senior Year Talent Show Performance Honoring Our Fav Boy Band!

1995...Danielle is in the middle & I'm the one on the far left in the totally awesome hat!

Now I know my ABCs...

2008-09-22T13:18:00.001-07:00

Very rough video of Sophie singing her ABCs...Daddy Steve is accompanying our little songstress! This is the first part...as you know, 2 year olds get distracted easily!

Here's the conclusion to her ABC song...took about 4 takes to get it all in! This time around, she is distracted at the beginning, you can hear her pointing out the colors on the piano mat and then she decides to finish singing. Life at our house is seldom boring these days!

Chuseok Holiday

2008-09-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

Chuseok, the “Harvest Moon Festival,” is one of the three biggest holidays in Korea. It is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, which usually falls in September or October. This year's celebration is September 14th. Chuseok is a time for families to give thanks for the year’s harvest.

Traditionally, Chuseok is celebrated over a three-day period. Koreans celebrate this holiday in their hometowns. But first, they have to get to their hometowns. ... And getting there isn’t easy! With most of the country’s population traveling, traffic is incredible. Roads resemble parking lots as cars and buses creep along, bumper to bumper. A trip that usually takes two hours may take 10, 12, or more. Some destinations are accessible by train or plane, but tickets sell out within hours of going on sale.

Once weary travelers reach their hometowns, there’s work to be done. Family members spend the day before Chuseok preparing traditional foods for the feast. The most famous of these is songpyeon. To make this special rice cake, rice from the new harvest is ground into flour. It is then boiled and kneaded to make dough. The women (and often the children) in the family shape pieces of this dough in circles. They stuff it with such things as honey, sesame seeds, dried fruit, chestnuts, and bean paste, then fold the circles into half-moon shapes. Finally, they arrange the songpyeon on a bed of freshly-picked pine needles and steam.

On the morning of Chuseok, family members put on their best outfits – usually traditional hanbok – and honor their ancestors with a feast of foods from the new harvest. The feast includes rice, rice wine, and songpyeon, along with kimchi nuts, fruit, and fish.

Families often visit the tombs of their ancestors to pay tribute. First, they tend to the graves. They cut grass, pull weeds, and clean up the surrounding area. Then comes the final Chuseok ceremony. Family members perform a formal bow at the graves to express gratitude to their ancestors. They may also leave food offerings.

Once the ancestral ceremonies are over, families eat and celebrate together. Older family members often tell stories to the younger ones. Later in the day, families may play traditional games. The day often ends with a special dance known as “Gang-gang-su-lae.” This circle dance supposedly originated in the 16th century, when a Korean admiral stopped a Japanese invasion by ordering women to dress in military uniforms and dance in circles around fires in the evening. Japanese forces saw the dancers and were tricked into believing the area was well-defended.

Above article found on theholidayzone.com and photos found on Yahoo!Inside Korea.

Four.

2008-09-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

Today marks four months for us on the waiting list for baby #2. If I remember correctly, it was about this time in waiting for Sophie's referral that I lost all sense of rationality and became rather obsessed with the process. I'm feeling a bit of that this time around...granted, it isn't quite as extreme, but I do have my moments! ;-)

We are finding peace in the fact that we most likely won't get our baby's referral until the beginning of next year. There's always that hopefulness that the floodgates of referrals will open up and SURPRISE, we'll get the referral before Christmas! But realistically, we're looking to at least January before #2 will be revealed to us AND that's fine.

The rough days come when there isn't much movement at all in the process for the other families along with us on their journey. I always take great comfort in seeing referrals trickle in and seeing the babies come home to their forever families. Unfortunately, that kind of news has been sparce lately on our adoption discussion boards and really, just any kind of news of the program moving forward, would be such a blessing for all kinds of reasons.

We are also having an "issue" with getting our pre-approval from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). While it isn't imperative that we have our I-171H (the document that the government issues as pre-approving us to adopt a child from another country and bring into our home here in the US) right this second, it really would help to know that there aren't any hiccups with our paperwork and fingerprints. FYI, we got our pre-approval for Sophie within a month of submitting our fingerprints last time around. This time, we submitted our fingerprints back on June 30th and still haven't heard a word. Sigh. Our agency is looking into the matter, but we are fearful that our KC office has slowed down dramatically and that these types of delays will happen when we seek our actual approval after our referral. That could delay our travel to hold our baby. I know, that's all in the future and things could change...no use in dwelling on the "what ifs" right now. BUT, that's all I have to do right now.

International adoption is such a leap of faith and you really do just have to put everything in God's hands and rely on God's timing to get you through! Some days, that's easier to do than others. On those other days, I often turn to my friends, Ben and Jerry! Please pray for peace in the remaining waiting months.

Sophie, in the meantime is becoming such a fun little gal! Her newest and latest joy is in making songs up for just about anything. Last night, we caught her singing something about her macaroni that she was eating at dinner. She's also quite the little chatterbox - there's hardly a silent moment in our house as she wants to discuss even the everyday, mundane tasks. Oh, and everything also has a dance attached to it - like her "time for night-night milk" dance and "put on pajamas" dance. We are so very grateful to have her in our lives - we know that we are incredibly blessed and she really does help to keep our minds off the wait for our next family member.

We Are So Blessed

2008-09-12T06:56:00.000-07:00

Another adoptive mom posted this on her blog recently and I think it sums up our experience perfectly! It's really worth the read...

We Are So Blessed
by Brenna Fay Rhodes
copyright 1997

We are so blessed. We have the opportunity to pray and wait and plan and hope and dream and work for our child. Circumstances don't allow us to take our child for granted ~ ever. We do all these things for so long and at such great emotional cost, that when our child is finally in our arms, we truly cherish every minute. Every second.

We are blessed to be in our child's life. We are blessed that God planned for us to be a family, and that we were given the opportunities that brought us together. We get to see all the best parts of mankind in our wonderful children. All the goodness and potential and innocence and ambition and confidence and love. And what a beautiful sight that is.

We are blessed to have run this race. It is long, and very often it is practically impossible to complete. But we run anyway, and believe in ourselves and our child enough to the do the impossible. We run, knowing that at the end of this great race, a child is waiting for a chance at a wonderful life. And we get to be the ones to give him that life. Wow.

We are blessed that when our child laughs, we are the ones to hear it. And when our child cries, we are the ones she looks for. When our child feels pain or joy or accomplishment or excitement, he shares it with us. We are needed and wanted. And we are blessed.

We are so blessed to have had the chance to see life from a different angle. To see that things don't always go as you planned them out in 5th grade ~ because there are better things in store. To be part of the few who feel constantly misunderstood. To be the one always on guard against the rude or ignorant comment. To feel the frustration of not having the perfect comeback to that comment until three hours later. Our kids can use those experiences and lessons we have learned. We are deeper, stronger, more compassionate people because of this journey. And the world our children live in is better, because we grow in those ways.

Our child is blessed. He is patted and hugged and nestled and rocked and kissed and squeezed and taught and tickled and corrected and praised. He is told he is precious in God's eyes. She is certain of her value in our eyes. And she never wonders if she will be cared for tomorrow or the next day. She sleeps comfortably at night, safe in our care.

We should tell our children we are proud. We saved and scrimped, prayed and begged, planned and schemed, worked and worried. We hoped endlessly for them. We dedicated years of our lives to finding them, followed God's path to them, waited in His time for them, then brought them home to their forever family. We gave our whole hearts to our child, even before we ever saw his precious face. Now that is love. And parents who adopt know all about that.

Take a Hike

2008-09-08T13:38:00.000-07:00

This Saturday we were able to take advantage of the fall-like temperatures and went for a hike at a local nature sanctuary. Fortunately, we made it to the car just as the skies opened up and the rain poured the rest of the day! Sophie loved riding in the carrier on her daddy's back - she kept petting his head and saying, "I love you, daddy!" We saw many deer (they weren't even scared off by our Sophie yelling out at the top of her lungs, "Oh, hi deer!") and other animals including turkeys, a butterfly and of course, lots of squirrels. Sophie kept asking where the ducks and the kitty cats were, but overall, I think she was a happy gal! ;-) It felt really nice for all of us to get out and enjoy nature for a little bit.

One year since making it official!

2008-08-31T19:09:00.000-07:00

Today marks one year since we went to court and asked a judge to make us an official family...one year since we finalized Sophie's adoption! Aren't we lucky that we have all of these neat little anniversaries to celebrate?!

We marked the occasion by going to our favorite Korean restaurant (the same one we visited after the finalization hearing) and had cheesecake at home for our celebration dessert. Today, it was just the three of us and it gave us yet another opportunity to reflect on just how blessed we are and how incredibly happy we are to have our Sophie!

More pictures (then & now):

Sophie last year...

Sophie this year...

With the judge and our attorney at adoption finalization last year...

Finally, an official forever family last year...

With mommy one year later...

With daddy one year later...

Where do babies come from?

2008-08-27T05:34:00.001-07:00

Okay. I can't take credit for this, but I saw this posted by another mom on an adoption forum and I found this article so moving, that I just had to share. According to whomever posted it, this article was written in the summer of 2005 in her local newspaper by a Cathy Fishel.

Babies Come From Unlikely Places

Where do babies come from?
They come from joy and commitment and love and confidence. They come from sadness and want and loneliness and loss of faith. They come from the afternoon or the early, early morning or the dead of night. They come from years of anticipation, and they come unexpectedly, at the worst possible times, in cars and at dinner parties and during ice storms.

Babies come from prescriptions and syringes. They come from frozen test tubes stored in the depths of medical center freezers. They come from strangers who want to give an incredible gift to other strangers. They come from experiments and transplants. Babies come with help and without it, from good judgement and bad. They come from heaven, and sometimes they go right back.

Babies come from contentment. They come from discontent. They come from every continent. They come continuously, without end. Sometimes they never come.

And this week, one baby, one very lucky girl, is coming from China.

In her little life so far, she came to a mother who could not keep her. She came to an orphanage who loved and cared for her, but who wanted to find her a still better place. Her name and little picture came to an adoption agency, who brought them to my brother and sister-in-law. She came into their hearts, then into their arms, and very soon she will come into their home.

This baby, this week, will come to a new town, a new country, and a new family who is giddy to the point of being almost sick with excitement. She will come to a new room of her own, stuffed to the rafters with gifts and clothing from people who love her sight unseen, and to a new swing set, a little cabin, flower gardens and fresh vegetables, and all of the attention she can stand.

She will come to a place where the supply of Cheerios and hugging will never, never dry up. Soon, she will come to Christmas lights and Fourth of July fireworks and birthday candles, more and more every year. She will come to a lacey First Communion dress, sleepovers and toenail painting with best friends, and bargaining with Mom and Dad about curfews and car keys. And in time, she will come to the understanding of what it is to be a daughter, not only of the two parents she sees at the dinner table, but of the two other people whom she will probably never know.

Where do babies come from?
They come from the sadness and want of a mother who must give her flesh and blood away. They come from lonely arms. They come from a lack of faith - or is it belief? - in the future.

But babies also come from the joy and commitment of new parents who never stop looking, no matter how far they have to search. They come from the love and confidence of an extended family who had unfurled its many arms to embrace a little person whom they have never met but love without measure already. Babies come at the worst of times that miraculously, turn into the best of times.

And this week, one baby is literally coming from out of the blue on a summer afternoon from the airport, from China, direct from the arms of an angel.

KU Football Kick-off Rally

2008-08-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

Rock Chalk, Jayhawk!

Lovely Weekend

2008-08-17T11:23:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend we had! The weather was perfect for all of our planned outdoor activities and we got to spend oodles of time with our friends and family. We are so fortunate to live in such a diverse, interesting city...Friday night, we attended the KC Ethnic Enrichment Festival for the second year in a row. What a blessing it is for Sophie to learn about other cultures and to celebrate being a Korean-American. We watched the Korean Tae Kwon Do demo on the main stage and ate our way around the world, including some very excellent bulgogi and kimchi (staples of Korean food!) While at the festival, we also met up with Charlie, Grandma Gayla and Laney as well as our friends, Trey and Clayton. Such a pleasure to see all of you!

Saturday evening, we went to the KC Chiefs preseason game with our family. Charlie is always so nice to get us tickets to at least one of the games and of course, we were treated to the annual shrimp boil tailgate party...what a great tradition! Sophie did an outstanding job of sticking with our group while tailgating and of watching the entire game like a champ! There was a lot to entertain her and as much as she loves football, she loved hunting down the mascot, KC Wolf even more. We are so lucky that we get to share these things with her!

Hope your weekend was just as lovely as ours...enjoy some of our pictures!

Ethnic Enrichment Festival...

Chiefs Tailgate & Preseason Game...

Three.

2008-08-12T10:55:00.001-07:00

Today marks 3 months for us on the waiting list for baby #2. As always, we'll keep you posted with any news on the adoption front when we have it! Thanks for your support and encouragement as the wait wears on...

Soapbox

2008-08-12T10:36:00.000-07:00

I don't normally get all riled up about matters of the media (at least not publicly). However, a story this morning caught my attention and I thought I could use this recent protest to assert my opinion on the matter.

Apparently, in the soon-to-be released movie, Tropic Thunder, the "R-word" referring to those with mental disabilities is used at least 17 times in one scene, one section of dialogue. There are even being t-shirts printed with quotes using that word to promote the movie. I strongly agree with the disability rights organizations protesting this movie's opening. 17 times is more than a little excessive.

I have always had strong feelings regarding the use of the "R-word," but have recently noticed a surge in its usage just in everyday conversations, music and other entertainment outlets. I've also noticed more and more children using it liberally and nonchalantly...for that, I cringe.

In my experience, as the sister of an extraordinary man with Down Syndrome and as a past parent consultant/event planner for parents of children with disabilities, the "R-word" has very negative connotations. It is a derogatory label used by those who think they are being cute or funny, but let me assure you, it is extremely hurtful to a large community of individuals contributing amazing things to this world. As a child, I fervently defended my brother from childish taunts using that word and unfortunately, I feel as though I need to continue to advocate against its usage.

My rant is not one to discourage you from seeing the movie. See it. Draw your own conclusions. My main goal is to challenge you to ban the use of the "R-word" in your own household. My challenge is for you to raise your children to respect ALL people from ALL walks of life. My challenge is for you to come up with more intelligent ways of addressing others. At the very least, be mindful that some words, labels and "jokes" could be hurtful to others.

Thank you for allowing me to address this heated topic. I realize that I am mostly "preaching to the choir" however, it is a good reminder to all of us to lead others by our positive example. If you are interested in the article outlining the protest of the movie, click on this link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080811/film_nm/boycott_disability_dc

S-O-P-H-I-E

2008-07-31T14:16:00.001-07:00

Here's my first attempt at posting video of our little Sophie, who just learned how to spell her name - we are ever so proud! Oh, also on display are her dramatics as she deeply sighs when I ask her to sing - I don't know where she gets it! ;-)

This one's for you, Aunt Leah! We love you!

Speech. Ready? Okay!

2008-07-23T12:09:00.000-07:00

For those of you who may not know, Sophie began speech therapy with a different provider at the beginning of June and we could not be happier with her progress! The nasal tone is vanishing from her sounds and she is articulating much better than before. We (and her speech therapist) are very pleased to see her making such gains in the short time she's been with this center. I've joked with some of you about the "medieval contraption" that they sit our Sophie in at the beginning of the sessions to keep her 2 year-old curiousity contained to the task at hand. She doesn't mind and really, it's just a low-to-the-ground high chair...but I find it hilarious to see my little baby in such a thing! The first time they presented it as an option I must admit, it scared me a little...but I assure you that it is humane and completely necessary!

Sophie's new thing is to say, "Okay!" as an answer to most anything. Today, at speech, the therapist asked if Sophie was ready...so, Sophie said in her best cheerleader voice, "Ready? Okay!" Sigh. She's growing up way too quickly.

We love summer birthdays!

2008-07-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

It's always a good time getting together with friends and family...especially for summer fun in the sun! Sunday was a day full of birthdays...my mom, our friend, Riley and our friend, Gretchen all were born on July 20th! Below are some pics from Riley's birthday party on Saturday...can't believe you are already 2, girl!

It's been two years...

2008-07-19T10:24:00.001-07:00

since we got the call from our agency stating that they had a possible girl referral for our family!

Just to set up some context, we had been on the wait list for 9 months and had just heard that wait times were increasing again, now we were anticipating a 12-14 month wait at best...I remember I was driving home from work and heard my cell phone ring without enough time to dig through my bag and answer it. When I noticed that the number of my missed call was from a different area code, I just hit redial thinking I'd get someone who had dialed the wrong number. The friendly voice on the line answered, "Dillon International!" Our adoption agency...hmmm...I hoped nothing was wrong with our paperwork. I identified myself with the Korea program and said that someone had just tried to call me...I was immediately put through to Alice. Then, she said those unbelievable words...we have a possible girl referral!! I really shouldn't have been driving at that time...don't really know how I made it home. I frantically tried to get all the info I could about what the next steps would be - Alice would send us the referral report along with medical info in an e-mail right away. I called Steve, who was bowling with his team at work...ah, gotta love those team-building exercises and he assured me he was hurrying home at once! While waiting for him to get home, I paced and paced the house...I must've walked into and out of the nursery 100 times...I just didn't know what to do with myself. Finally, we reviewed the info Alice e-mailed us and talked to our pediatrician. He was going to look at the medical stuff and get back with us (he actually e-mailed us that night around 10 o'clock!). Meanwhile, Steve and I went to our favorite Mexican restaurant to think and talk and emotionally eat. I think it was over dinner that we fell in love with this little girl that we hadn't met yet and had a lot of unknown health issues to address. It was a girl...we wanted to be parents so badly...there really was no question in our minds what to do...it was clear to us that this miracle in South Korea was destined to be a part of our family.

Picture taken with referral report on July 19, 2006 - look how crazy I look!

It would be 3 days later that we actually saw our first photo of Jee Hyeon (whom we would name, Sophie JeeHyeon)...we instantly fell in love with her big brown eyes! It would be a week from our referral call before we told a single soul about our blessed news! Our baby girl had heart surgery in Korea 2 days after our referral call and our agency advised us to wait until that surgery was complete before we made our official decision. I remember praying for her like she was already ours...it was the most nervewracking time for us. We kept our mouths shut about the potential GREAT news from everyone...my best friend, Casey was induced to have baby Riley the day after our call - it tore me up having to keep something so big so secret from her, especially while we were all hanging out in the hospital waiting for Riley to come into this world. We kept our mouths shut even while we were throwing a surprise birthday party for my mom that week - it was nearly impossible not to tell everyone, especially our family, when everyone always wanted to know our progress in the adoption process. It was such a relief when we had made that official acceptance and we could FINALLY make the round of phone calls to shout it from the rooftops - we were going to be parents! It was a girl!

Our first picture of Sophie...

Wow. That was all two years ago. My, oh my, how Sophie JeeHyeon has changed our lives! We are entirely confident that God led us to her - she has fit into our family perfectly! It makes us laugh to remember how scared and crazed we were on this day two years ago. It also makes us wonder how we will receive baby number 2's referral - I'm sure there will be a story to tell with that one as well...we can't wait to discover all that is ahead for our family.

Two.

2008-07-12T08:43:00.000-07:00

Today marks two months for us on the waiting list for baby number 2! No real news to report, but we are slowly inching our way up on the list. We still have a lot to do to prepare for our next little one, so here's hoping we can use this time wisely! Hope everyone is having a fantastic summer!

Zoo Outing

2008-07-11T06:31:00.001-07:00

We had a blast at the zoo yesterday with a few of the families from our adoptive families group here in KC. Although it was hot and muggy, Sophie had a great time with all of her 'big-kid' friends!

Big Birthday Weekend

2008-07-07T08:20:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday America and Happy Birthday to Me! Yep, I'm a firecracker born on the fourth of July! Still, to this day, I love to think that the whole country is celebrating MY day with fireworks, food and fun! (At least that's what my parents always told me...is that not how it works?!)

Also, my brother was born one year after me on July 6th. So, we got to celebrate Jeff as well!

Between lunch at Saddleranch with my dad, the family bbq at mom and Charlie's, couples dinner out at Yardhouse and Jeff's birthday dinner at Don Chilitos followed by cheesecake, we had a fantastic and very busy weekend...this morning, the whole fam is on a sugar detox from all of the birthday desserts we consumed. We hope you all had a safe and fabulous fourth of July weekend. We were so blessed to spend it with a large majority of our loved ones!

Welcome to the world, baby Kayleigh!

2008-07-03T18:38:00.000-07:00

At 8:59 this morning, our new little niece and Sophie's new cousin, was born in Virginia! Kayleigh Xandra McFarren weighs in at 8 lbs. 14 ounces and is 19 inches long. We are so happy that both mom Dana and baby Kayleigh are doing fine. To celebrate, we held a "birthday celebration" in her honor...cupcakes and all!

Happy Birthday, Kayleigh! The world just got more beautiful!

Fingerprints

2008-06-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

This morning, Steve and I went to the Kansas City office of Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) to file our pre-application (I-600A) with the Department of Homeland Security and to get our fingerprints taken. For Sophie's adoption, we did these things separately, but now our KC office wants you to do them both at the same time. We are relieved to report that it was smooth sailing this morning as we were in and out of there in just under an hour! Hooray!

Just an FYI...once our pre-app is approved and our fingerprints clear the FBI, we'll receive our official Notice of Pre-Approval (I-171H) ...this just makes it all the easier to file with our government once we get our kiddo's referral. Such a process, huh? We're so glad to have one more step completed on our journey.

Pictures...lots of 'em!

2008-06-25T13:24:00.001-07:00

Celebrating summer...

Watching cartoons at the Gymboree store...

Spending time at the Deanna Rose Farmstead Petting Zoo...

With friends, Quinn and Dylan...

Relaxing with mommy...

Holding hands with her stroller buddy, Chase...

Musical Sunshine

2008-06-19T07:01:00.001-07:00

I just adore this version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" mixed with a little "What a Wonderful World" and thought it might bring a smile to your face and sunshine to your day! It's performed by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - a Hawaiian musician whom I think passed away not all that long ago. However, his version of these songs will always bring peace to my days. Cheers!

One.

2008-06-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

One year ago today, we faced our hardest challenge as a little family...Sophie's cleft palate surgery. I still remember just how difficult it was to hand our angel over to the nurses - it was the worst thing I've had to do thus far. I even recall making the nurses cry when they saw how upset I was...it was gut-wrenching. I remember trying to keep ourselves occupied in the waiting room with lots of food, Diet Coke and pacing the halls for the 4-5 hours she was in the operating room. I remember being incredibly scared, yet having to remain calm and strong when we first saw her in recovery. My poor baby looked so beat up and helpless. However, she quickly taught us all so much about strength and courage as she healed from her surgery with a great "warrior" spirit.

Seems like so long ago when we look at what great strides she has made in this past year. She now receives speech therapy once a week and is really beginning to show improvements in her articulation. Coincidentally, we were at Children's Mercy again this morning for her routine ENT check-up. Her ears and tubes look just fine and we were content to leave the hospital with stickers and animal crackers - SO much different from one year ago!

"One" more thing...it has been one month since we were placed on the waiting list for baby #2. My, how time flies! Steve and I are now awaiting an appointment to get our fingerprints taken with the Citizenship office - a required element for pre-approval to bring our baby home.

It's a Wait List Tradition...

2008-06-10T11:29:00.000-07:00

...to pose with our letter! You know us, we document EVERYTHING!

Official Waiting List Date: May 12, 2008

Our Very First Waiting List Date: October 10, 2005

Our Homestudy Has Been Approved!!!

2008-06-04T12:39:00.000-07:00

Hip, hip hooray! We are paper-pregnant for the second time! Just got the e-mail from our agency that now, we are officially on that wait list for our baby - oh, happy day! Timelines are still being projected at 12 months wait for a referral, however the latest referrals are coming in at 3-5 months. We are hoping for the shorter end of the wait, but are completely prepared to wait a year before knowing who our next child will be.

It truly boggles our minds to think that our baby could already have been born at this time or could be born very, very soon! Most likely, he or she would be about 5-6 months old when we receive the referral.

Please pray for our future baby's birthfamily as they prepare to make one of the toughest decisions they will ever have to make...pray for a healthy pregnancy and birth...pray for all those who will take care of our baby for the first months of their life...pray for our own sanity and patience as we wait for our blessed new addition to be revealed to us.

As always, we'll keep you posted.

Screeching halt.

2008-06-02T13:01:00.000-07:00

We still have no news to report on the adoption process and I have to say that the wait for our homestudy approval letter is beginning to take its toll. Overall, the process for baby number 2 has been much more gentle on our emotions because we have our Sophie to keep us occupied (and boy, she DOES keep us busy!) and the timeline has been looking very encouraging for a quick process.

That still doesn't mean that we are void of any anxiety around this adoption! I finally had to break this morning and call our agency just to make sure we hadn't missed anything and they assured me that due to an onslaught of applications, our approval is taking a bit longer. No worries...we just have to exercise more patience. After talking with our case manager, I feel a sense of relief. I'm also a bit embarrassed that I let myself get so emotional. I guess those "pregnancy" hormones are back in force!

Please pray that our homestudy approval happens within the next couple of weeks so that we can officially state that we're expecting and pray for peace as we prepare to enter into the "real" waiting period. Sigh.

When Love Takes You In - Steven Curtis Chapman

2008-05-28T07:32:00.001-07:00

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Steven Curtis Chapman as they mourn the tragic loss of their youngest daughter. It is truly a tragedy to hear of this news - we are holding our Sophie a little tighter as we are reminded of the remarkable gift we have been given.

This song by Steven Curtis Chapman has been a favorite of mine since we have entered into the adoption world as it touches on the miracle of adoption and I felt it appropriate to post at this time.

For more info: http://entertainment.msn.com/news/article.aspx?news=315536&silentchk=1&<

To learn more about the Chapman family's foundation to help families unite through adoption, you can find Shaohannah's Hope at: http://members.shaohannahshope.org/site/PageServer?pagename=abt_home

I heart mom!

2008-05-11T19:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the fabulous moms in my life! To celebrate, 4 generations of women in my fam - my grandma, mom, Sophie and myself took part in a Mother's Day 5K walk. It was chilly and very windy, but we all had high spirits and finished like champs! I am so proud of my grandma for rising to the challenge and of my mom for making this our second Mother's Day walk together and of my Sophie-girl who didn't complain once and actually enjoyed being bundled up with the wind in her hair. I have such great female role models in my life and I'm glad that Sophie does as well.

I also have to give a shout-out to all of my mommy friends, some of whom I saw Friday night (Ladies night was so-needed!) and some of whom I haven't seen in a while. I carry you in my thoughts always! A special thanks to those who supported all moms, especially adoptive moms, when seeing the unfairness in a recent NBC contest* - my friends are amazing! I am so blessed to be surrounded by great friends and family - I *heart* all of you!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sophie!

2008-05-03T05:19:00.000-07:00

Can this truly be?! It seems like only yesterday you were first placed in our arms - tiny and quiet and ever so sweet. NOW, you are full of personality, growing into a lovely little girl, making us laugh every single day! We love the way you sing along with all kinds of music and chatter on and on about things (even though we don't understand 50% of what you're trying to say!). We love your goofy ways of cracking yourself up and your dramatic pauses for added affect. We love your independent spirit and the loving hugs you give us throughout the day, for no apparent reason. We love that you always want to play with the big kids and you assert yourself to keep up with 'em. We love that you make everyday a dance party - you have dance moves for everything! Baby girl, no one could love you more than your mommy and daddy do - we are so proud of you, our vivacious 2 year-old! Happy, happy birthday, kiddo!

Oh, Happy Wedding Day!

2008-04-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

This Saturday, my mom, Gayla married her sweetheart, Charlie in a lovely little ceremony that took place in Parkville, Missouri. It was such a perfect day, a fantastic party and Mom has never looked as stunning as she was that day! We are happy to welcome Charlie to the family, although he's felt like a part of the fam for awhile now. Here's to Gayla and Charlie and to finding their best and last love!

Homestudy Visit #2 Recap

2008-04-17T06:10:00.000-07:00

Well folks, last night was our final homestudy visit and I don't think it could've gone any better. Our social worker is becoming an old family friend if you add up all of the times she's been out to our house and that makes it a lot easier to talk to her and answer her questions. This visit consisted of our individual interviews and a tour of our home. The interview questions were mostly surrounding what challenges we have had to face since adding Sophie to our family and what challenges we anticipate in adding a second baby into the mix. She also inquired as to how our personal lives and marriage have been affected by having children. (How about COMPLETELY?!?!) The visit then ended with a quick tour of our house...do you know just how difficult it is to clean the house with a 2 year-old under your feet all day?!

It's amusing to us just how differently we are approaching this adoption. Last time, we were so nervous about every little step and this time, we were able to really relax and realize that our social worker is working for us to make sure we have the supports we need to make our family the best it can be! We seem at peace as this process continues to roll along at this pace...no real anxieties this time. Plus, our social worker is a KU grad, so that automatically makes her part of our family!

Speaking of KU, I've finally posted some pics from watching our Jayhawks win the National Championship at Brian and Casey's and the day after, greeting the team in Lawrence at the football stadium. Thanks to Casey and my cheapo disposable camera for the images.

Next step in this journey of adoption is getting the word that our homestudy has been approved and that we are officially on that wait list. Hopefully, we can post that good news sooner rather than later...

Homestudy visit #2 is set!

2008-04-10T18:46:00.000-07:00

In all of the excitement of KU winning the National Championship and Sophie entering into her "terrible twos," we almost forgot that we are also in the process of adopting again! Whoops.

Anyway, we are thrilled that we have our last homestudy visit scheduled for next Wednesday, the 16th, at 6 p.m. This is our last step before getting on that all-important wait list!

Off to clean the house...

The celebration continues...

2008-04-09T15:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Steve took off work and we made our way to Lawrence to welcome our championship team home. It was a cold, gloomy day but nothing could have stopped us from being there to share in history. As I've posted, our digital camera is still being repaired so I've had to revert to the ol' disposable camera with film that hasn't been developed yet. To tide everyone over, this photo was taken by a photographer with the Lawrence Journal World...we were there along with 25,000 of our closest friends! Rock Chalk!

The Year of the Jayhawk

2008-04-08T07:11:00.000-07:00

We really have no words to express the feelings going through our Jayhawk hearts this morning!

Sophie is a little trooper and stayed up for the entire game, OT and all! Steve and I didn't get to sleep until well after 1:30 a.m. and this afternoon we are off to welcome our Jayhawks home as the 2008 National Champions! There's a celebration at the football stadium as the team arrives back to Lawrence and you know we'll be there...rain or shine!

Wow. Again, we have no words as we are so happily stunned on this fine Tuesday - the morning after greatness!