Kindergarten Graduation - A Hoedown Throwdown!

Our big boy graduated from preschool last week! And they had the cutest little graduation program I have ever seen!



Brody is such an outgoing extroverted child, I really didn't worry a whole lot about him starting Kindergarten. He went to preschool with several of his classmates, and he loved that his Aunt Brooke was right down the hall. And as I expected, he had a great year.



He loved his teacher, Mrs. Jackson, and he loved being in class with his best friend, Eli, every day!



He did to have to be reminded to sit still and quiet a lot, but that doesn't surprise me in the very least. Still and quiet are two words that I would never use to describe this firstborn child of mine. Ha! And as a six year old boy, I wouldn't expect it any other way.



Some things I want to remember about his Kindergarten year...



He got to meet the AR Razorback football coach and have his picture made with him during a quick visit to the school!



He played Bob the Pig in the Kindergarten musical, The Little Red Hen. And he loved singing his part in his best "opera" voice! :)



The entire Kindergarten class took taekwondo for a 9 week period, and he was one of the students chosen by Mr. Carlos to continue on with the class for the next 9 weeks! Brody loved that taekwondo is a Korean form of martial arts, and that they count in Hangul!



His favorite classroom subject is math, and his favorite activity period was PE!



He loved playing Kid's College - the home computer program for practicing math and reading, and ended the year in third place for his class!



He and his best friend, Eli, portrayed Lane Frost and Cody Lambert in the History Parade, and they won several awards and were chosen to participate in the History Parade Showcase!



He not only learned to read, write, add, and subtract this year, he learned many other valuable things. He learned to work as a team with his class. He learned about accepting others' differences and that no one is alike. He learned about hard work and dedication. He learned how to make friends with people who may not look or think or act the way he does, and he learned that that's ok. He learned that some things aren't going to always come easy to him (like handwriting - ha!), and that we sometimes have to practice a lot!


I am so very proud of this little Kindergarten graduate and all of the things he accomplished this year!


We loved his class, his teacher(s), and his wonderful school!


I can't believe my Brody man is now a big First Grader!

The shortest vacation you ever did see...

Yesterday, Tara and I were able to spend about 8 glorious hours in Destin, Florida! We usually take a trip to the gulf every summer, but probably won't this year, so I was thrilled Tara asked me to join her for the day. I was absolutely in my happy place - even if just for the day. 

Ryan was flying a family there, and had to bring two different groups - one in the morning and one in the evening. So, Tara and I decided to fly in with the first group, spend the day at the beach, then fly back home with Ryan that evening, after he brought in the 2nd group. 

It was perfect weather, and Destin has absolutely the most beautiful beaches in this country. And I have to say, laying out with no kiddos to tend to was quite fabulous. After we had lounged on the beach and floated in the water for a few hours, we cleaned up and met Ryan back at the airport, then had a delicious dinner overlooking the beach at The Backporch. 

About two hours later, we were back home in Arkansas. It may have been a quick trip, but I'll take a day at the beach any way I can get it! 

Catch-up!

Just playing catch up with iPhone pics tonight! Yup...a whole lot of pictures with no writing. We've had a busy (but fun!) Spring, school ends tomorrow, and we are super pumped about Summer!!

Mother's Day thoughts...

Mother's Day can be such a beautiful holiday...a day to celebrate and honor and show love to moms everywhere. After all, the only love greater than the love a mother has for her child, is God's love for us. And I know that it is a privilege to be a mom. My three boys are such a blessing to me. Being their mother is such a gift, one that I pray I never take for granted. THEY are my job right now. THEY are my mission field. Raising three (soon to be four) boys to prayerfully be godly, humble, honorable, and respectful men is a tough job. One that seems impossible most of the time. But the best thing I can do is direct them to the Father, the one that loves them even more than I do.

Yet as we celebrate Mother's Day, I also am reminded of those to whom this day brings sadness. There are those who have lost children, lost their mothers, endured miscarriages. There are those who battle infertility, those who are waiting for their child to join their family, and those who have given up a child to give them a better opportunity. There are so many reasons why Mother's Day isn't always a happy day. And while I celebrated with my three little loves this Mother's Day, my heart and prayers were also with those who were struggling. I thought a lot about Lennox's birth mom and his foster mom...two mothers who will forever be intertwined in my life.

And we, of course, celebrated my wonderful mother and mother-in-law. So, here's to Mother's Day 2013! Praying that I have all four of my boys in my arms next Mother's Day!

One Year In...What I've Learned

May marks one whole year since we started the adoption process. It truly doesn't seem like a year has passed since we sat in that private meeting at Dillon International in Little Rock and spilled our hearts to the social worker there, telling her of how we felt led to add to our family through international adoption.

Little did we know, at the very same time, a young woman was in Korea, 9 months pregnant with a baby that she had no way to care for. A woman that I still pray for, so thankful for her decision to give this baby boy life despite her circumstances.

And here wit sit, one year later, still many many months away from bringing him home. We are getting ready to celebrate his first birthday! And we hold dear all of the things we've learned throughout this year...

1) I've learned that creating friendships with fellow adoptive parents is VITAL. No one else knows what it's like to love a child that lives half a world away...or to watch him grow from a baby to a toddler through snapshots while you pray for him to come home. We met three couples at our adoption seminar last May, and I've become really close with the ladies. We are all adopting from Korea, and all accepted referrals close to the same time. We talk weekly (sometimes daily!), and I'm so thankful God placed them in my life when He did. Their understanding has been invaluable. I'm also a member of a few Korean adoption Facebook groups, and the information and support I get from these families is wonderful.

2) I've learned that this is a whole lot harder than I thought it would be. When people warned us that this would be the biggest roller coaster ride of our lives, they weren't kidding. It seems just as we feel comfortable celebrating exciting news we've received, discouraging news comes rolling in right behind it. I'm on a high one day admiring new pictures of our beautiful boy, then feel punched in the gut the next day as we are told the timeline has extended...AGAIN. It's just really hard to love this little boy that you know needs a home and a family...and be completely at the mercy of a foreign government.

3) I've learned a lot about prayer. And I feel like this is something God is wanting to teach me through this process. To pray boldly. Despite what "they" are telling me about timelines and waiting...I am asking God for big things. I'm coming to Him asking for things that only He can accomplish. I often find myself in just a constant state of prayer...while I'm cooking and cleaning, while I'm driving, while I'm playing with the boys. Yes, I'm learning much about clinging to the power of prayer.

4) I've learned that I have a really great husband. It went against his nature to do something with this many unknowns, but once he jumped on board, he never looked back. He is such an example for his children, and we are very blessed that he is ours.

5) I've learned that, despite my fears, I CAN love a child that I've never met. A mother's love can cross many oceans, and even though I've never held him, heard him cry, or smelled his sweet head, God has placed a love in my heart for this little boy that I can't even begin to explain.

Now, I'm boldly asking The Lord to bring these waiting children home to their forever families before another year passes!