Small Town Christmas

Yes, it's true. There are many times I wish that our little town had more. I wish we had an Old Navy, Target, and Hobby Lobby. I wish there was more for the kids to do. I wish there was a nice ballpark nearby to take the kids to. But then there are nights like last night, where I really do come to appreciate our little town.

Beckett went to Fayetteville for the weekend with Mimi and Pawpaw to visit family, and Brody wasn't able to go because they aren't coming back until Monday, and he would have to miss school. So, I wanted to make this weekend fun for Brody...I didn't want him feeling left out. We met Brent downtown last night when he got off work, to walk around and look at the lights.  We really do have the neatest little downtown.

It was so fun to just stroll around, looking at all of the little quaintly decorated storefronts.

And the stores have done such a wonderful job with their window displays! Brody would stop at each window and take in every detail. His favorite was the big nativity that was set up, but he loved this one with polar bears and elves, too.

Then, we walked over to Pj's Coffee to ride the downtown Christmas train!! It was just the neatest experience. If you haven't done it yet, you should! The kids loved it! The conductors are all dressed for the part, holding old-fashioned lanterns and everything. He even happily posed for a picture with Brody :) They lead you to the door of the train car, and welcome you with a hearty, "ALL ABOARD!" Then, they take you on a fun little ride through downtown.

The whistle blows each time you pass through an intersection, and Brody and Levi were waving at each car we passed.

When you pull back up to the "station", they help you unload, leading the way with lanterns again. It really was fun!

We finished off the night by walking over to MainStreet Pizza for dinner! A fun time was had by all, and I am so glad we got to enjoy a bit of our small town Christmas!

My Boys of Fall

{ With the excitement of everything that went on last week, I missed posting some pictures that I had planned on getting on here. Playing catch-up now!}

Winter is quickly approaching, but we have had such a fun fall! I have such a good time with these guys. I really do. As much as I sometimes wish I had a clean house and less laundry (or that I could just go pee alone), I really can't imagine how bored I would be without them.

We have played in the leaves...

And finished up another soccer season! Basketball practice starts in a few weeks for my little all-around athlete. He's going to have to narrow it down one of these days! ;)

He is the cutie with the ball.

His last game was frigid! This is how he was wrapped up on the sidelines!

I am proud of my boy and how well he finished up the season. He really got into it there towards the end and finished strong. He was more aggressive, and he scored a couple goals each game during the last three or four matches! Way to go, Brody!

Tales from the North Pole

El Dorado's Christmas paradewas tonight, and I was so thrilled that it was a warmish night, so we met Noni and Brooke downtown and took it all in! Brody and Beckett were so excited about it this year! I just love seeing Christmas through their eyes. Oh, to be a child again!

We ran into some family friends who had parked their truck in a great spot early in the day, and they invited us to join them, so we all gathered around and watched the parade together!

Levi was a little unsure of all the lights, noise, and people at first. I could not get him to smile for a picture for the life of me.

But he quickly warmed up to it all and was waving and blowing kisses at each float!

I know he is wearing a leash. Don't judge. When Daddy's not there to help, you gotta do what you gotta do.

I had so much fun watching it with Brody...just sitting and talking with him. He is at such a great age...he is just my little buddy. He is like having a friend with me everywhere I go.

And Beckett is just growing up so much! He has gone from toddler to little boy overnight, and it just blows me away. He is just an angel. Never really gives us any trouble...and this boy LOVES his Brookie!

Love this picture of Noni and Brody!

It was a fun night! Lots of beautiful floats, good music, precious kiddos, good friends, and a little Christmas magic for my boys. I'll take it.

Lennox's First Care Package

We sent our boy his first care package today! I'm hoping it gets there before his monthly visit on the 14th, but I've been told that, for Christmas and birthdays, the foster moms will come by the agency and get them even if they arrive later than their appt. I had so much fun shopping for him, and I really hope we get a few pictures of him with his gifts! But reality hit this morning as I packed his things in a box, knowing I'll never see him wear the little clothes or play with the toys. Month after month, I'll send over clothes I've picked out for him and toys I think he'll like and books I want him to read. But I won't get to see him enjoy them. However, I know it will be worth it! The joy we will have once Lennox is home will far outweigh the hurt of missing him.

Here are some pictures of the things we sent to him this month!!
{Plaid longall and Christmas pjs, courtesy of Aunt Amie. Deer hat, sock monkey pjs, one pair of Robeez, and stuffed razorback, courtesy of Mimi. Red and black motorcycle play suit, courtesy of Noni.}

Kamsahamnida!

...which means "Thank you" in Korean!!

Seriously, we just want to say thank you for all of your excitement for us about our little man. We truly can't begin to tell you how much it means to read all of your sweet messages and comments. It makes me smile to know that so many people are praying for him and love him and are excited to meet him when we finally get him home! We know that we don't NEED everyone's approval to adopt this baby, but it is such a breath of fresh air to be surrounded by such love and support. We just want him to be loved. He deserves to be loved. And celebrated and all of those other wonderful things that our other boys already are. I just pray that he never feels any less special than his brothers. Because even very small children can pick up on those things. And I'm so thankful and feel so confident that our little Lennox will feel nothing but love when he comes home!! My heart just leaps for joy when I hear him being prayed for by name during our small group prayer time, or when my best friend and other family members are excitedly gathering little things to send to him in care packages, or when I hear people oooing and ahhing over how cute he is...because I know it means he is already loved. Even now. Even when he is half a world away.

So, from the bottom of our hearts - Kamsahamnida!!!!


"For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer."
1 Timothy 4:4-5

Our sweetie at {5 months}

I just can't thank you enough for all of your sweet words of excitement and encouragement. We are so blessed to be surrounded by so much support!

As much as I wish we could post his picture here on the blog, I can't right now. But I can share his name, and I'm so excited to do so!

We've named our son LENNOX CHAN LITTLE. Lennox is just a name that we love. We had it narrowed down to three or four names, and when we saw him, we both instantly agreed that he was our Lennox. (Other names we considered were Oliver, Jude, and Bowen.) Chan is part of his Korean name that the intake worker at the agency gave him when he was brought in at just 1 day old. It means Brilliant. We definitely knew we wanted to include part of his Korean name if possible, and we think Chan is a name that others will be able to easily spell and pronounce throughout his life. So, there you have it! Our little sweetie will be Lennox Chan :)

In his file, we received a report from his 5 month well child visit. The foster mothers bring them to the agency once a month to see the doctor. It will be soon after this time each month that we hopefully receive an update and new pictures!

At 5 months, baby Lennox:

~Takes 6 oz of formula every four hours and burps easily. He is already trying to hold the bottle for brief periods!

~Goes to sleep at 10pm, wakes for a bottle at 3am, then falls back asleep until 8am. Though slightly fussy before going to bed, he falls asleep soon if laid on the futon and patted. He takes 2-3 naps a day, lasting 0.5-1 hour each. He sleeps with his foster mother on the futon laid out on the floor.

~He likes leg-stretching massages during diaper changes, and he enjoys bathing!

~He babbles a lot and squeals with delight when in a good mood. He turns over both ways, and rolls to desired places. He scoots backwards by creeping on his tummy, and is trying to creep on his knees! If a toy is placed in his hands, he plays with it for a while. He bears weight on his legs/feet when placed in a standing position. And he recognizes his foster mother and other family members!

It sounds like our big boy, who now weighs almost 16 pounds, is doing just great!! We know that he is being cared for and loved by his foster mother, and for that we will be forever grateful.

The Most Joyous Day!

I can't believe the time has come where I am actually writing this post! We are thrilled to share that we have a beautiful baby boy waiting for us in Seoul, South Korea!! We cannot share his picture online until we actually have him in our arms...oh how I wish we could! But let me just tell you, he is ADORABLE! He has a head full of dark hair and chubby cheeks, and I cannot wait to get my hands on him! Our sweet boy is just 5 months old...born on June 14, 2012...so he and Levi are just a year apart!

Wednesday, November 28, 2012 was the most joyous day in this journey so far. The day we were matched with our son. We are amazed that we only waited just over 3 months. What a blessing that is in itself! The day had been going on just like any other. My sweet friend, Brooke, had been over to visit with her sweet girl they just brought home from China, and we'd had the best visit. She returned home, I'd picked up Brody from school, and Brent was still at work. I had just fixed the boys a snack (thank goodness they were occupied!) when my phone rang. When I picked it up and saw the Dillon # on the screen, my stomach did a flip flop. I quickly brushed that thought aside and just assumed they were calling about something else. After all, we had not even hit that 4 month mark yet! But when I answered, and our sweet social worker on the other end asked if I was busy and if this was a good time to talk, I knew. She told me that she had a baby boy she wanted to talk to me about...and I think I squealed a few times :) I then remember running around grabbing a pen and a sheet of paper, and I ran to sit at one of the desks in the boys' room (not sure why I went in there...lol). My heart was pounding, and I just couldn't believe this was it! When I told her that Yes this was a good time and Yes we wanted to hear more about him, she proceeded to give me a few small details about our boy. Just his basic facts - age, weight, health, etc. She then asked me to call Brent, give him the information I had, and for us to discuss whether or not we were interested in viewing his complete file. Of course we were interested!! I called Brent at work, and after I finally convinced him that yes I was serious, and no I wasn't kidding, he said he would leave work early and come home so we could view the file together. So, then I had to wait for about twenty minutes for Brent to get home. I paced the hallway, jumped up and down a few times, squealed with excitement, said a million little prayers of thanks, tried to calm my pounding heart, snapped a couple quick pictures me and Beckett sitting on the rug (the other two were still snacking), and paced some more.

Thankfully the email didn't come through until Brent was home, or I don't know if I'd have been able to refrain from peeking. But within two minutes of him walking through the door, the email popped up. We got the boys settled with a movie, and we went back to our bedroom with the laptop to view our little one's file. Brent, being the level-headed, patient, and practical one, wanted us to read through his entire file before we viewed his picture.

It was so unbelievably surreal. This was our boys story. We read his Korean name and learned that it means Brilliant Dawn. We saw that he was born weighing 6.2 pounds on June 14, in the afternoon...a Thursday. We were in the throws of completing that tedious never-ending application 2 during that time. My labor of love :) We learned his story, about his birth mom and why she had to give him up. I had tears in my eyes as I thought about what a joyous occasion it was for us...but what a devastating time it must be for her. I'll never ever be able to express my gratitude to that woman for choosing life for that sweet boy. Her boy. Our boy. We went on to read more about his health history, his stats at each months checkup, and about the amazing foster family who is taking care of him until we can bring him home. When we finished reading his file, and knew we felt good about proceeding, Brent opened up the document containing his pictures.

And there he was. Our son. With his round face and his thick crazy hair and his fat little feet. And those perfect little dark eyes staring back at us, begging to be wanted and included and loved. Needing to be somebody's son. We never had any doubts really. This was our baby. We had his file reviewed by a medical professional the next day as they ask you to, and then I put in the call to our social worker letting her know we were accepting!!

It all happened so quick, and I'm just so grateful God allowed to us to see him right here at Christmas time. I'm so thankful the wait was short (even though I do know the real wait is just beginning). We are still being told approximately a year to wait for travel. I know it will be so hard, but it will help being able to look forward to monthly pictures and updates. And we will have fun gathering up a care package to send to him each month.

We are praying you home, sweet boy!!! We hope it's very soon!

{{I've included a few pics...the 2 of Beckett and I while I was waiting for that email to come through and one of our first official pic of the 6 of us (I've blurred his little face for legal reasons.) . }}