The Letter {A Beautiful Gift}

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." 

-James 1:17

I've talked a lot about the highs and lows of adoption, and how the emotions seem to change from one day to the next. Well, a couple weeks ago, we were able to enjoy one of the biggest blessings in this process since seeing Lennox's little face. 

We received a letter from the woman who knows him best. The woman who gets to hug and kiss him every day and gets to put him to sleep each night. His foster mother. She had written a letter for us right after his first birthday in June and gave it to the director of our agency when she was in Korea in July. 

I can't begin to tell you how special this is for us! To hear directly from her on what he is doing and things he likes, and to hear her promise to love and care for him  is simply amazing. I'll never be able to thank this woman enough for all she has done for us. She is such a gift. And this letter is such a gift to us, as well. 

Bedrooms, Popsicles, and more!

I am loving our new double stroller! It's a Baby Trend Expedition, and I have had zero problems with it. Brent takes them running in it, and I use it walking, shopping, etc., and we both love it. This was at the mall after one of Beckett's allergy appointments. Beck sharing his ice cream :)

These boys are crazy about their Brookie. We don't know what we'd do without her!

My Beckett man is an ol' pro at this preschool stuff now! He is still having a blast, making friends, learning lots, and playing hard! 

Got the boys room super clean this week...it lasted all of about 2 hours. But it sure made me happy for the time being :)  Still love their little room!

Beckett was so proud of his first homework assignment - an all about me poster! (I love that his favorite animal is a sheep. Haha)

Trying to call up a big buck ;)

We moved Levi out of his crib and into a full sized bed this weekend, and all I can say is - We should have done this months ago! He doesn't try to get up, lays right down and goes to sleep at bedtime and naptime, and sleeps from 8pm until 7am! 

Brent also painted his floor this weekend - we love his new blue floor!

Here is a close-up of Beck's poster...

Sweet Brooke 

Popsicles with Annalise today!

Mom, Papa, and Tara's birthday!

Touring Seoul {Incheon International Airport}

Here is the first post in our Touring Seoul series! I'm doing this mainly to help myself learn a little more about Lennox's birth country, but also to share his wonderful homeland with all of you. 

The first place we are going to "visit" is Incheon International Airport. 

http://www.exploringkorea.com/travelling/arriving/

This is the main airport serving the Seoul area, and exactly where we will be flying into when we travel! It's actually located on Yeongjong Island, right outside of Incheon (which is Lennox's birth city), which is about an hour drive from Seoul. We will either take a taxi or airport bus to our hotel in Seoul when we arrive.  

From what I hear it's a really great airport. It was ranked #1 worldwide airport 7 years in a row by Airports Council Intrnational and has tons of super cool amenities. It has a spa, sleeping lounges, an ice skating rink, golf course, indoor gardens, and a museum! I have a feeling I won't be wanting to spend a whole lot of time at the airport when we finally get to Seoul, but it does seem like an excellent place to be if you were stuck there for a while. 

http://www.panoramio.com/m/photo/1243881

This is the beautiful Incheon Bridge, which

connects Yeongjong Island to the mainland of

Incheon. I think it is so pretty!

http://www.vistanature.com/incheon-bridgesouth-korea/

An Adoption Update - Where we are...

I know it's been a long time since I've posted an update on our adoption. I've been hoping that if I waited long enough, I'd have something really exciting to post, and I might actually have a more accurate timeline to share. But a lot of people have been asking, and there has been some positive movement, so I'll let you know what's currently going on and where we are. 

Here's a really quick rundown of the steps in the process that we still have to go through:

-Eastern (agency in Korea) requests our file to prep it for EP submission. 

-EP submission 

-EP approval

-Court submission

-Court date issued 

-TRAVEL!

Although things are still moving very slowly over there, they are finally moving again. 

Families matched with their children in January, February, March, and April of 2012 (just a reminder, we are a December 2012 family) are currently in the EP/court process. Some of them have just been submitted for EP, some of them have approvals, some of them have court dates scheduled, and some of them are in Korea right now receiving their children. There are actually even a few May families who have recently been submitted for EP!

More good news is that Eastern is currently requesting all files through mid-September 2012 to be prepped! This means that they are translating, double checking, triple checking everything to make sure it is all in order for these files to be submitted for EP. Families are currently being told that travel may be about 4 months (maybe a little longer) away once eastern requests your file. That guesstimate could very well change, and we are hoping that it speeds up as the agencies and the MOHW and the courts adjust to the new process. 

Our prayer is that Eastern would request our file at least by the end of the year. That still allows 4 months for them to move from mid September files to early December files. I just know it will bring us such peace and comfort knowing that our file has been sent and that they are at least processing it. It would also give us hope that we may able to travel before the summer next year.

Speaking of travel, as it stands right now, we will be making two trips when we do receive permission to travel. The first trip will be about 7-10 days in length, and it will be to meet Lennox, have a couple visits with him and his foster family, and to appear in court. We will return home for approximately 2-3 weeks, then return to Korea for about 5 days to receive custody, take Lennox to his visa appointment, and bring that baby home!

I'll definitely try to do a better job at keeping adoption updates current on here. Hopefully there will be a lot of exciting things to post about in the coming months! 

Something else I'm really excited about is starting a blog series on here called "Touring Seoul". About once a week, I'll highlight a different place/tourist attraction/etc in Seoul, so that we can all learn a little bit more about Lennox's birth country. Seoul is a beautiful, fascinating city, and I can't wait to share more about it! 

Back 2 School 2013!

Mandatory first day of school pictures ;)

Levi had to pose with his backpack on, too. He wants to be big so badly!

Showing off their new backpacks!

Brody's school has a superhero theme this year. So fun. Here he is with Gator Girl - his awesome principal, Mrs. Reed!

Much to my surprise, his tender side came out as soon as we walked through the front doors, and the tears started flowing. I hadn't prepared myself for that! He is usually my little tough guy! I finally convinced him that it was going to be a fun day, and he felt much better when he saw some of his little friends by his classroom. You can see his little red puffy  eyes in this picture. 

But a friend of mine sent me this picture just a few minutes after I left, so I knew he was fine! He has a fabulous teacher for first grade, and I can't wait to see what this year brings for him!

On the other hand, I had prepared myself for this little guy to maybe shed a few tears when I left him. He has been home with me for the last 2+ years, and I knew that it might be an adjustment for him. But, he rocked it! He marched in like a little pro. 

And got right to playing!

I know he is going to have a great year with Mrs Candace!

And Mr Levi? He thought being home all morning with Mommy was pretty super!

This was the face Beckett gave me when I picked him up...think he had fun?!

He did! My little school boy :)

Picture Catch-Up (Part 2)

Brooke giving me a birthday pedi!

Mom brought over cake and flowers on the afternoon of my birthday. 

That's what you call a table full of love!

How many kids can you pile in Noni's lap?!

Brody had been over playing at a neighbor's house...this is how he came home :)

Brody and Beckett spent a couple days with my inlaws in Shreveport last weekend, so I took advantage of only having one little monkey at home!

We picked up Brooke and visited the bookstore...

Had cappuccinos at PJ's...

Well. Levi had gummies ;)

Played in the phone booths...

Let mom keep Levi while Brooke and I got manicures...

And took late naps!

We've been in the adoption process for 15 months now, and a lot of our paperwork is expiring, so we get to do it all over again. Endless paperwork...

Brent and I went to this fun little antique show on Saturday, and I picked up these cute little syrup jars for the boys! 

Brent also bought me this beautiful antique tea set and dessert plates. I'm. In. Love. 

Such gorgeous detail. 

And he took another late nap that day too!

Brooke wanted to come over and have a tea party with the new china, so we happily obliged. :)

Daddy letting Levi drive in the hay meadow! 

Enjoying using the syrup jars!

Before Beckett's preschool open house :)