Little Happenings

I know that with all of the adoption updates I have been posting recently, it seems as though that's all that has been going on in our lives. But life has actually been going on as usual, and we have been having a super fun summer with these three little boys!

I have been enjoying snuggling with my footy-pajama'd Levi in the mornings.

And I took my big boys on a date with Amie and Luke to see Brave at the movie theater! We ate pizza before, then watched the movie...we really enjoyed it and the boys did awesome!

This was our official Application 2 approval that came in the mail earlier this month. Think somebody was a little excited?

I caught the boys decorating each other with mud...Yea, that was fun to clean up.

But they sure were proud of their artwork!

My poor little Levi had pink eye a few weeks ago. He was so pitiful.

The school I went to my whole life is closing down, so we had a huge alma mater reunion this summer. I enjoyed getting to see everyone, especially the teachers, and getting to stroll through the school one more time. Being in the gym, where I cheered on our basketball teams all those years, was a little sentimental.

We've been playing a lot of Super Hero games!

This was a fun afternoon. Brent and I were in Monroe, so we drove by the Duck Commander warehouse to get a pic of it for some friends of mine (who live out of state) who are huge Duck Dynasty fans. When we drove by, we saw the big RV out front so I decided to get Brent to take a pic of me by it.

While we were there, we noticed that they had opened a little store there at the warehouse to sell their merchandise, so we went inside.

And Willie was inside!!! He was so super down to earth and friendly. Can't wait for October for the new episodes!!!

A lot of evenings, after we put the kids to bed, Brent and I sit down to make bracelets. Thank you soooo much to those of you that have purchased bracelets so far! You are blessing us more than you know. Not just financially, but also just knowing you are excited about our coming addition, and that you are praying for us as we go through this adoption process!

If you haven't purchased a bracelet, but want to, you can order from my ETSY site (SeoulJourney link on the right sidebar) or you can just message me with your order!

I've been enjoying sharing my breakfast with this little sleepyhead :)

This picture may be blurry, but it is so special to me. The boys were cheering on Park, the South Korean swimmer, in the Olympics...and he won gold! (Don't worry, he wasn't racing against an American in this race :) )  How fun will it be for their little brother or sister to always be able to look at this picture and see them cheering for his/her birth country!

Yesterday, Brody got creative and made his own version of a Popsicle. He poured orange juice and crushed ice into a tumbler, stuck a fork in the middle and then froze it. After dinner last night, he turned them upside down, pulled the cup off of the top, and Whala! Homemade orange popsicles! He was so very proud of his creation.

Levi Hudson {Thirteen Months}

Levi Hudson, you are 13 months old!!

You weigh about 22 pounds, wear 12-18 month clothes, a size 3 diaper, and size 3 shoes. You are between the 25th and 50th percentile on the growth curve, but you still just seem so tiny to me. I think maybe once you start walking you will seem bigger. But for now, I'm just enjoying my little bitty Levi! :)

You eat great, pretty much whatever we give you, and you drink cows milk from your bottle and sippy cup. I'm still giving you one formula bottle at bedtime, but I think once this can runs out, I won't buy any more. You eat well, and love fruits and veggies, so I don't worry about you not getting enough nutrients.

After that horrible fever virus/ear infection you had at the end of May, you haven't gotten back into a great sleeping routine. I slept with you beside me in the bed that week and you haven't forgotten. You still go to
sleep on your own, but are waking up between 2 and 5 usually every night and wanting in our bed. We will figure it out!

You are still a vocal little guy...love to talk and mimic our words. And you also have quite a temper when things don't go your way. You let out a squeal that stops people in their tracks. You are cruising like crazy and starting to stand alone more and more. I don't see you walking this month. Maybe in the next couple months though.

Happy 13 months, sweetie pie!! We love you so!!!

Quick Update!

Just a quick home study update! Our social worker emailed me yesterday to let us know our home study report is all typed up and has been sent to the Tulsa office to be approved and signed (although we are already verbally approved)! They are currently taking 2-3 weeks to complete this step, and once it's done, we will officially be on the wait list!

Pelican's Perch

My sister-in-law, Tara, has a super sweet friend whose family has a gorgous home on Lake Claiborne. They call it "Pelican's Perch". Isn't that cute?! They offered for us to stay there for a few days this week, so we were so excited!

The kids and I drove down on Monday afternoon after our home study, and Ryan, Tara, Eden, Mom and Brooke were already there. My grandparents even drove down one day and spent the night with us. I enjoyed spending time with them so much!

The home was right on the lake and had its own boat ramp, so my brother brought his boat and we spent much of our time playing on the water. Riding Big Mable was our favorite!

Brooke and Tara

Me riding with Brody and Beckett

One of the most exciting events of our little vacation was Brooke and Brody learning how to ski!! There actually wasn't much learning to it...they both got up on their first try! I was one excited mommy watching my 5 year old water ski behind our boat. We were using trainer skis, and they were fabulous. They were called HO Hotshot trainers...I highly recommend them if you are wanting to teach youngsters how to ski!

Doesn't he look tiny behind the boat??!

We enjoyed a nice walk one evening...

And the kids loved the pool that was right against the water's edge...

I stayed at the house one morning and watched these sweet babies while the others were out in the boat. I kept them busy with Cheez-Its :)

Tara and I even took Levi (yes, he's in pink) and Eden for a ride on Big Mable. It totally relaxed them. They were in a daze by the time we finished.

Something about a nice boat ride always puts babies to sleep :)

We had a great week making family memories at Lake Claiborne...I hope we can make many more there!

Home Study...Check!!

WhooooHooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is how I feel right now because we COMPLETED OUR HOME STUDY!!!

Our super sweet social worker came out on Monday morning to do our in-home visit that is required for our home study. I will admit...I was SO nervous the last few days leading up to our visit.  I just found myself so anxious about every little thing. Was my house going to be good enough? Was I even going to be able to get it clean? Was she going to ask me something that I didn't know the answer to? Were the boys going to behave and mind while she was here? I hate that I let myself get so worked up about it, because it really was so super laid back and easy.

There was something funny that happened that I want to remember. In our autobiographies we had been asked to write a descriptive sketch of each of our children describing their personalities. I described Brody as being outgoing and talkative and one of those kids who never meets a stranger, while Beckett is more reserved and quiet and a little harder to get to know at first. (My description of each child was much longer than this...I just wanted to point out this little part.) We were so surprised that when our social worker arrived, Brody hid behind me and wouldn't talk, while Beckett grabbed her by the hand and drug her inside to show her his room. Ha! He took her to every little thing and said, "Dis is my fan, and 'dis is my bed, and 'dese are my legos" and on and on and on. We got so tickled! He warmed up to her immediately and was practically sitting in her lap by the time she left. Brody eventually came out of his shell and was talking to her some, but he just was so teased the whole time she was here! I guess he is old enough to realize the whole situation was a little out of the ordinary, and it just took him a bit to get comfortable with her being here. So unlike him though! I guess you never know about kiddos!

Anyway, she came in and we did the home walk-through first. She just walked through the house and pretty much just peeked into each room. I waaayy overcleaned. Everyone tried to warn me, but I didn't listen. Seriously, to anyone wondering...there is no need to organize cabinets and bleach baseboards and clean out every little drawer. It was so low key. She just has to make sure your home is safe and that there is room for the child. Then, I got Brody and Beckett busy with a few activities, set Levi up to play in the living room, and we just sat on the couches and talked. She asked us a few questions, we asked her some, she "interviewed" us individually (super easy), she talked to Brody for a little bit, we went over some financial stuff and our special needs checklist, and that was it! Done! We were finished before lunch, and honestly, I was enjoying talking to her so much that I didn't want her to leave! Brent even said it was easy and comfortable, and he wouldn't say it if it wasn't true. He is super private and doesn't like people intruding in his business, and I don't think he ever felt uncomfortable.  We are so thankful for our sweet social worker! I am so sad that I didn't get our official home study picture with her before she left. I thought about it soon after she left.

What's next? She has to type up our home study report and send it to the Tulsa office for approval. She thought she could possibly have it on the way to them by the end of the week. Depending on how busy the Tulsa office is, she said they should have it approved within 2-4 weeks of receiving it. Could be longer if they are really backed up, but hopefully it wont be any longer than a month. Once they approve it and sign off...we are OFFICIALLY ON THE WAIT LIST FOR A CHILD!!! Yaayy!!!!

I honestly can't believe that we are finished with those first few steps that were so daunting and scary to us when we first started. I remember being so afraid of all of the paperwork and the home study. But my fear was in vain. It really wasn't bad at all. Time consuming? Yes. Scary? No. It was actually very exciting to be making steps closer to our 4th child. I know the hard part is just beginning. The waiting. Waiting to see our child's face. Then, the long wait to bring him home. I know these next few months are going to be so busy with Brody starting Kindergarten, Beckett's 3rd birthday, Levi will probably be walking soon...I am hoping this will help in the wait! We will keep everyone posted as I hear updates about our home study! Thanks so much for all of the prayers and for the sweet messages I got Monday morning letting us know we were being thought of. Your support and exitement means everything to us.

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

The kids and I left Monday afternoon to spend a few days at the lake...pictures to come!

Our Bracelet Adoption Fundraiser!

I am very excited to introduce our bracelet adoption fundraiser! I have been working on making these cute beaded bracelets to sell, and hopefully help us raise funds that are required to bring our child home from Korea! With the Korea program, the fees are due very early on in the process, so we are hoping to do a little fundraising to help with these costs.

I will be selling the bracelets through Etsy, so you can click on the link on the right side bar of the blog that says "SeoulJourney Etsy Shop". You can view the bracelets there. I have been wearing mine every day...and I love to double them up and wear a couple at a time! I hope and pray that you will consider purchasing a bracelet (or three! haha) to help us in raising some of our international fees required to bring our child home!

We would be honored if you would share this page on your blog or feed to share about our fundraiser!

www.etsy.com/shop/SeoulJourney

Overwhelmed and Questions Answered

Wow. First of all, we are so overwhelmed and thankful for all of the sweet, encouraging, and supportive comments and messages we received after announcing our adoption news. Thank you, thank you! It's such a blessing to have so many people in our lives who love us and are truly excited and supportive of this!

I also wanted to take a few minutes to answer some questions that we have been asked the last several days. I don't always have a great answer for all of the questions that come my way...I'm still learning so much about it myself...but I'll do my best to answer what I can.

Why adopt from South Korea and not the US? ~My answer is simply, Why not Korea? There is no fiber of my being that feels that any one child is more important that another. It doesn't matter what country they were born in. Brent and I feel led to adopt internationally, just as some people feel led to adopt domestically.

How did you choose Korea over all of the other countries? ~ We simply went through the requirements list for each country that our agency works with and found the country that best worked for us. China was out because you must be 30 to adopt from there, and I'm still a couple years away from there. Many of the European countries, such as Russia, require you to travel to their country for two or three separate trips, each trip several weeks in length. With three small children at home and with Brent's job, this just wasn't the best option for us. Some countries don't want you to have more than 2 bio children already in your home. Ethiopia is only accepting families who are adopting a child over the age of 5. So after going through all of the lists, we just narrowed it down...and South Korea was the best fit.

Why do we think that our child will be a boy? ~ Most of the children (about 85%) that are available for adoption from Korea are boys. Although in-country adoption in Korea is not popular, when it does occur, girls are adopted more readily than boys. So, that leaves many many little boys available for international adoption. And we say, why mess up our routine any? ;)

Why does the process take so long? ~ I really wish I knew exactly. Between them making sure we are fit parents, wait lists, legal procedures, immigration and citizenship procedures, government regulations, etc, it's just a really long process. I'm
sure we will learn so much about this aspect of it as we go through the process, so hopefully I'll have a better answer later!

Have we lost our minds?! ~ Haha. Actually, I won't deny this. With the three little monkeys I have at home, my mind is probably mush a lot of times anyway. But all joking aside, people can't believe we are starting this while Levi is still so young. But if you take into consideration all of the time frames, Levi will most likely be between 2 1/2 and 3 when our little one comes home...that's actually the biggest gap we've had! :)

Those are the main questions that come to mind right now. I'll answer more as they come along!