We will miss you George!

On Saturday night our dog George decided to wander and got hit by a car and was killed. He was a super cute (when cleaned and not too shaggy) poodle mix. He was awesome with kids and they adored him too. It has been a rough few days as we remember and realize what a special place he had woven into our lives and hearts. The kids were very sad but are doing o.k. now. They colored a box today that we will bury George in tomorrow. It's been a lesson to us on how quickly things can change and a good time to reflect on Heaven. You were a great dog George and we miss you!

Highlights of the Past Month

It is hard to believe that October is almost past us! Where does the time go? These have been some of our highlights (that I can remember - that darn memory):

*Twinkletoes getting two more teeth
*Twinkletoes saying "Da, Da" and "Ma, Ma"
*More smiles and giggles from all
*Runner interpreting Twinkletoes' babbling - she said "Praise God"
*Runner completing his Math book (which was originally for the whole year)
*Jammer beating his speed drills in Math and getting 100% on two of his tests
*Pixie enjoying preschool
*Pixie going full time into panties, even at night!! Yeah!!
*Jammer lementing "Why did Adam and Eve have to sin?" because he had to empty the dishwasher
*Doing tongue tricks at the dinner table (Yes I can flip my tongue upside down and Pixie can touch her nose with hers)...the whole incident was instigated by Twinkletoes learning to stick out her tongue.
*Completing our retaining wall in the front...now for the side!
*A wonderful surprise 30th Birthday party - that was truly a surprise - I had no idea - good job Jon!
*A new massage pad
*Having Twinkletoes lay her head on my shoulder and cuddle into my chest for the first time
*Watching Grandmas hold Twinkletoes for the first time
*Twinkletoes standing so proudly without holding onto anything
*Jammer and Runner both completing another level of their phonics program
*Pixie showing me a picture she scribbled and asking me "is this a proper noun Mom or a common noun?" A lesson I had just been giving to Jammer.
*Watching Runner deeply engrossed in reading his Bible - to the point we had to tell him to put it away while he walked
*Great brisk walks in the fall air
*Racing through the playset at the park (we all timed in under 10 sec. - amazing isn't it)!
*watching all four kids play together, swinging and laughing
*Pixie insisting that the picture of grapes she painted would turn into real grapes on Saturday if we put it in the fridge
*listening in on the kids while they play "House"
*Dinner with friends and family
*No cavities for anyone at the Dentist!!
*Dentist telling Jammer that his two front teeth are a tiny bit wiggly (miniscule - but it gave him hope!)
*Hearing the boys recite their verse from the week from memory
*Runner saying "Baby's are a lot of work Mom, but I'm still glad we got Twinkletoes"
*Twinkletoes reaching out her arms to me
*watching Daddy arm wrestle Jammer
*MarieElizabeth taking care of her babies
*lots of hugs and kisses, and "I love you's" - even "I love you VIVA!" (Marie Elizabeth's favorite)
*Soccer games
*Jammer teaching Runner how to play chess
*watching the boys pray their rosary at church on their own initiative
*Making it to daily Mass on time (we try once or twice a week)!
*Twinkletoes learning to click her toungue and her and Pixie doing it back and forth to each other
*planting 25 plants and 200 bulbs
*Rocking Twinkletoes while giving her a bottle and having her stare into my eyes.
*Lord's Day celebrations
*Taking my neice /goddaughter shopping for the day (even if she didn't wear the shirt - ha,ha Emily)
*Finding out we are going to have another nephew
*Twinkletoes' baptism - pics coming soon!

Motto to Live By (which I got on a plaque for my Birthday):
"Life shoud NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well perserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, choclate in one hand, latte in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "Woo Hoo, what a ride!"

It has been one month!

Twinkletoes has been with us for one whole month! One month ago in Seoul, Korea she was given to us by her dear foster family who all came to see her off. With smiles and tears we excitedly welcomed this adorable little girl into our lives! It is so hard to believe that it has already been a whole month but at the same time it's hard to imagine life with out her already!

Today we actually had our first post placement visit with our social worker. We will have three total before we are able to finalize Twinkletoes' adoption and citizenship. It was wonderful to be able to share how well things have been going and how much we are enjoying her! As you can see from the pictures here she is so full of joy and has such a precious smile! Our social worker told us that he was very impressed with how well she seems to be adjusting and that he could tell by looking at her that she is very happy!

Her sleeping is definitely improving which has been our biggest obstacle. She is sleeping from about 8:30pm till 5:30am waking 2-4 times for comfort and then a bottle at 5:30/6:00. We have taken one side of her crib off and put it next to our bed (strapped to our bed for safety), this has been working very well as she is learning to sleep in her crib but is still close for comfort sake! although at night recently she seems to be really fighting something as she thrashes around as she is drifting off to sleep. She loves the kids especially when they make funny faces at her. Runner loves to call her name in a very sweet (but often loud) sing songy voice to draw her attention. Jammer is trying to convince us that he is big enough to carry her around (at almost 20 lbs. we don't think it's a great idea). Pixie loves to try to share all her food with her and often tells us "it's ok Mama, she not choke". Yikes - we keep a close eye on her, it's great she wants to share though!
This picture is Twinkletoes' first bath in the sink. The other kids thought it was hilarious to give her a bath in the sink. I'll tell you, having that great big (deep)sink is awesome for baths - as long as it is clear of dishes (which is rare)! She loves the bath , especially spalshing and sucking on the bath toys and the washcloth! She is not quite as sure of the shower though - she gives her very serious concerned stare at all that water coming down.


We ventured out one August afternoon to the Minneota State Fair along with Grandma Bev and Papa Jack - Twinkletoes was quite the trooper. You can see her here getting a ride on daddy's back - what a great place to be! All the kids had a great time! Runner was amazed at all the "treats" (junk food) we let him have. They enjoyed riding on some rides, seeing a comedian juggler show, and going through the Butterfly house where butterfly's landed right on their arms, backs, and heads. Grandpa Jack even had a couple land on his beard. Speaking of beards - Twinkletoes is not quite sure what to think of all that facial hair that Grandpa has. She stares at it so intently and very hesitantly will reach out and touch it. However, when Grandpa rubbed it on her cheek she didn't think it was very funny! It was a great day had by all!

Here are our four little blessings! It is still so amazing to me all that the Lord has blessed us with! We just passed our 8th wedding anniversary on September 4th (while Jon was sick in bed with the flu - nothing like in sickness and in health right!), and it has been eight years filled to the brim with life!!! There are many moments in my day where I sit back and am in awe of all that the Lord has given to me and to us - I wouldn't change a single moment - I treasure them all! There are days when having a house full of screaming maniacs may wear us down but the hugs, laughter, moments of wonder and moments of raw love will always make the struggle so worth it!

Pictures of Our first meeting with Hannah!

Hannah being handed to mommmy for the first time!

Our first picture with the three of us - we can't wait to get her forever!!!
Us with Hannah and her foster mother (and foster mother's dughter-in-law)
My first time holding Hannah - the toy was a big hit!
Hannah's first look at Daddy - that's all it took to have him wrapped around her finger!











These pictures were taken on August 9th, 2006 at Holt Korea. This was our first meeting with Hannah. We were able to talk with Hannah's foster mother with Ms. Lee (socialworker) translating for us. The meeting was about an hour long and Hannah's foster mother told us stories about Hannah as well as about her personality and schedule! This was follwed by Hannah's last check-up in Korea which we got to be part of - she is healthy - yeah! Isn't she beautiful! It was so amazing to meet Hannah for the first time, but so hard to leave her behind as we left. We were so excited to bring her into our family as she had been in our hearts for months!

We have been home for five days!

Well, after three long flights with very little sleep (and one vomitimg episode on Twinkletoes' part) we were welcomed home by a wonderful crowd of family and friends holding signs welcoming us and Twinkletoes home at the Mpls. Airport. It was a wonderful way to begin Twinkletoes' entry into the United States - to show her how much she is loved! I of course saw all the people as we came down the escalator and the tears began streaming!

We have been home now for five days and we are doing pretty good. Twinkletoes is beginning to adjust to all her new surroundings but is resisting sleep - day and night. It has been a little rough. At first the only way she would sleep was when she was being cradled and rocked. We think this is because this is how she feels most secure during this huge time of transition. However, it has made for some very long nights for mom and dad - mostly mom! The last couple nights we have had success to get her to sleep for a 4-5 hour stretch holding our hand next to us. She has been amazingly still happy and calm (hardly fussing at all) during the day but today she has begun to become a little more fussy. We are hoping this means she is beginning to work through her loss and can therefore begin to feel more secure with us (and that she is tired enough that she will sleep =)). We have been told and have read that these poor babies need to go through a period of grieving but wasn't sure exactly what this looked like. There are definitely times when you can tell that she is feeling like things just aren't right (yet!!). Please pray that we can endure this process with peace and patience and that her little heart will heal and that she can fully embrace our family as her own. We are already so head over heals in love with her and can not wait for her to feel the same way! A good sign is that she is showing moments where she will smile and giggle or cuddle in to Mom and Dad- we treasure these moments as they help us get through her periods of grief. Adoption is truly an amazing work of God and we trust in him to bring our little Twinkletoes peace! Here are some pictures of our time in Korea and of our homecoming - for some reason they are not posting, we will keep trying! Thank you for sharing in this very special time with us!

Wow, what an adventure!!!

Well, we have spent the last two days scouring the markets of Seoul!!  Twinkletoes is such a trooper! She has been riding in the carrier that Lea-Ann has been wearing - for hours at a time! Sometimes she sleeps, sometimes she plays with her toys, sometimes she watches the sights go by, and sometimes she coos and makes faces at the people on the subway! Oh yes, she is a pro on the subway - she has to hold onto the bars every time we get in - it is so funny - we even got a picture of her holding on with both hands! She is such a peaceful baby, unless she is tired or hungry she hardly fusses at all - how did we get so lucky???!!! She eats everything (soft foods) - yes at seven months she is already eating table food! They usually start solid foods much earlier in Korea than we do in the US, usually around 4 months of age. Right now she is gnawing on a rice stick - a stick (almost looks like corn on the cob) made with puffed rice that is sweetened and formed into a roll - they are very yummy, mommy likes them too!

This has been a trip of a lifetime!!! The Korean people are very shy but honest, kind and helpful! There have been many times that we have commented on how safe we have felt in various situations where in the US we would not have. We asked the city tour guide about the crime rate and she said it is very very low. She said that Koreans have a very deep sense of honor for each other. The police do not carry any guns or sticks, she said they just shout and ticket. Koreans also love their children, we have been constantly stopped by people so they can see Twinkletoes and talk to her. We have heard that it is very difficult for Koreans to see their babies adopted out internationally, however they have been very gracious to us. You can see the sadness in the eyes of many as they watch us walk by or talk with Twinkletoes but there have also been many that have acknowledged us with gratitude and excitement for Twinkletoes' future.

We have striven to learn as much as we can about the Korean culture and to try to capture some of it to share with Twinkletoes as she grows. We have visited some of the historic sites in Seoul, such as the oldest Royal Palace which has a folk museum on the grounds that taught us about the history of the lifestyles and practices of the Korean people. We also visited the National War Museum which pays great tribute to the Korean War and it's veterans, it also includes a museum that shares the history of the Korean military/warfare dating back to prehistoric times. We went to a Korean Mass at the Cathedral - they are extremely reverent!!! We also stopped by a shrine to some of the Korean martyrs that Pope John Paul II promoted to sainthood. One evening we were able to go to a show called "Nanta" which is a show that started here in Korea and has been taken to Broadway. It is a musical about four chefs who are preparing a meal for a traditional Korean wedding. The story is told through the music, dancing, and acting - there is little talking. The amazing thing is most of the music is made with cooking utensils. There is audience participation and Lea-Ann got pulled up on stage to be the bride of the couple. We had a very sweet college age girl (studying linguistics) take us to a wonderful Korean restaurant to eat and shopping in the streets of Insadong. We have mastered the subway and have walked and walked and walked and walked the streets of Seoul - taken in the sights, sounds, and smells of this unique culture! All this and to top it off we get to be the parents of one amazing and beautiful Korean baby girl (we are proud parents - can't you tell!)

Tomorrow we board a plane back home. We are very ready to get back to our three other wonderful little ones who have been having a blast with their Grandma and Grandpa, however we will miss being a part of this culture that has given us our daughter. There is still so much to see and experience -another day maybe! We will always carry Korea in our hearts and hope to bring a little bit back with us (like two suitcases full - he,he)! Gabriel, Josiah and Marie Elizabeth we are bringing your baby sister home!!!!!

A good night and a good day!

Last night went pretty well. As bedtime came, she cried a little more... seemed to happen when she got tired. Dad seems to have the touch in getting her to fall asleep. Mom is excited about that. Though she didn't take her bottle very well, she did fall asleep by 9pm. She slept well, waking up at 2am and 5:30am for a portion of a bottle. She shared a bed with Mom, as our room has two twin beds. Twinkletoes didn't toss and turn much, she just likes to sprawl, arms and legs wide open. Mom slept okay, waking up often to check on her. Dad slept like a rock... as usual.

This morning was very good. We got up about 6:30am and played on the floor for a good hour. Twinkletoes had rice cereal and bananas for breakfast. Twinkletoes took a short nap while Mom and Dad got dressed. By 9:30am we ventured out for a day of shopping. Twinkletoes did wonderful in Mom's Kozy carrier (great buy!). She drew lots of attention on the subway, with many smiles and laughs from passersby. One Korean woman even came up to Lea-Ann and asked if Twinkletoes was adopted. When Lea-Ann responded 'Yes', the woman thanked her profusely, asking God to bless her. Twinkletoes took a couple of naps in her Kozy while Mom and Dad trudged around the markets of Seoul. We returned by 3:00pm with arms full, legs tired, and drenched with sweat...correction, JON was drenched with sweat as usual. He's been going through a couple pairs of clothes a day...it is sooo humid!

Since returning to our room, we've been snacking and playing. Right now, Mom is feeding Twinkletoes. Her smiles and laughs are coming more frequently. She's cuddling up to Mom more today and loves the subway...especially the shiny poles. Oh...and she tasted her first french fry.

We got Twinkletoes!

Today, at 3:00pm Korean time (midnight in Minnesota) we received Cha, Yun Ha (Twinkletoes) from her foster parents. It was an emotional moment for all present. The foster parents had cared for this precious little girl for 6 months. They have given us, but more importantly Twinkletoes, a gift beyond value...a truly sascrificial love; loving her as their own while knowing they would eventually give her up. Their love was obvious today. May God bless them for their selflessness.

The last 4 1/2 hours have been good. Twinkletoes is well attached to her foster family, so after 45 minutes of peaceful interaction, she decided she wanted her 'omma' back. She cried for about an hour before she fell asleep. Since her nap we have been interacting well. She is very cautious but we've found common ground over Gerber's banana flavored fruit puffs. She gives a smile or a giggle now and then. We know that tonight will probably be rough. This is all so much for such a little girl to go through. We are counting on all of your prayers to help her through this transition... and us. Thank you all for your support. Just three more days till we bring Twinkletoes back home to her forever family!

We met Twinkletoes!!!

Wednesday morning we met with Twinkletoes, her foster mother, the foster mother's daughter-in-law, and Ms. Lee (the Holt US social worker who interpreted for us). She is soooo beautiful and very serious. She would stare at our faces and really study us! When the foster mother handed her over she studied me for a while and then I pulled out a toy and she was very intrigued with it. She settled into my lap and actually layed her head up against my chest and chewed and played with her toy for 40 min. while the foster mother shared with us all about how she cared for Twinkletoes. The nickname they call her by is chachanga which means forehead, because she has a large forehead. She is also crawling and loves to have you hold her hands so she can "walk". She is very healthy - praise God! The foster mother commented on how calm she was with us because she usually is very shy and doesn't like strangers! It was so unbelievable that they are going to give us this beautiful baby girl and we are taking her home with us - we are so very blessed!

After the meeting we asked about visiting the city where she was born, Deajeon City. Ms. Lee right away set things up for us to visit. She called to the Holt office that is in Deajeon city and had a social worker who could translate for us take us around for the afternoon. We took a bullet train down there (normally it is a two and a half hour ride and it took 50 min.). We were greatly surprised when the social worker took us to the hospital where Twinkletoes was born and we got to actually meet the doctor who is the director of the hospital as well as the doctor that delivered Twinkletoes. He gave us a tour and showed us what room Twinkletoes' birthmother labored in and then what table she delivered on. He read his records and told us how the labor and delivery was (only 2 hours)! He then showed us what room Twinkletoes and her birthmother stayed in together for a day or two for recovery. It was such a gift to us and nothing we ever imagined we could have to share with Twinkletoes as she grows and have pictures of the place she was born and the city her birthmother is from!

We then got to go to the Holt office intake center where bithmothers come to and we got to tour their home for unwed mothers. They currently had 33 women in residence and they can house upto 50. It was a really neat place and they have education classes and all sorts of programs for the girls, many of them were very young. It is an amazing work how all this is orchestrated. We also found out that Twinkletoes' birthmother was notified that she was adopted and a little about us and our family and that we live in the USA. We are so thankful that she choose life for her baby in the midst of a difficult situation. We are so blessed to have this sweet baby girl in our lives!

We are trying to figure out a way to post pictures and will do so as soon as we can!!! Please continue to keep us in your prayers - thank you!!!!

We are in Korea!!!

We arrived on Tuesay night (Korea time). 24 hours after we pulled out of our driveway in Minnesota we pulled into the driveway of Holt Children's Services in Korea. It was a very long flight and they kept the shades drawn the whole time! We were about an hour late coming in but as we walked off the plane there was a man holding a card with our name on it. It was great to see as everything was so foreign! He was very kind but spoke very little English as is the case almost everywhere here. It has been interesting trying to come up with creative ways to communicate!

We are leaving in nine hours!!!

Well we are pretty much packed, the kids are at Grandma and Grandpa's house and the dog is with a friend! In nine hours our plane will be taking off for Korea (via Denver and San Francisco )! Today has been so full of emotions. I was sick to my stomach most of the morning, actually I have been for about three days. This is one of the most amazing experiences of my life and it definitely rivals labor (even the sickness!). I am feeling better now that we are packed and the kids are settled. Our oldest son, Jammer, had a really hard time with us leaving - it took all I had not to burst into tears along with him. We have never been this far or gone this long from our kids before. I think that is what is I am the most nervous about - just making it back safely!!! On the other hand I am soooooooo excited and can not believe that we will be leaving tomorrow morning, flying halfway around the world and someone is going to give us a baby - our baby girl!!!!!!!!!!! Well, anyhow as you can see I am a basket of emotions. I started getting misty this afternoon when I was talking to our neighbors about watching our house ! Well I know I won't sleep anyway so I am going to get this disaster of a house cleaned up now before we leave so we can come home to peace (ha, ha)!!!!! Keep us in your thoughts and prayers and we will post from KOREA!!!!!!! Yahoo!!!!!

Well Baby Check in the mail today!

In the mail today we received Twinkletoes' 6 month well baby check from Korea. It says that she is 26 inches long and 16.5 lbs.! Sounds like a healthy girl! It also for the first time (we get a report every month) gave a description of her personality. It said she is cute and fiery and shy with strangers. Cute and fiery, she will fit right in with this family!!! I like to say we are full of spirit - can I hear an "Amen"! She is also starting to sit up and creep, is shy with strangers and is saying "omma" which is Korean for mommy. This means she is very attached to her Foster mother, which is ultimately good because if she is strongly attached there she has a good chance of strongly attaching to us! However, it is going to be so heart wrenching to take her from the environment she knows and have to watch her go through the cycle of grief that these poor babies go through! We are so happy that we will have a few days in Korea to spend with her before we come back home to the hustle and bustle of our household (this is not usually the case)!! Please pray for our sweet (and fiery =)) baby girl as she is going to go through a rough time for awhile. I can not wait to see our baby girl face to face - only five more days! This is so surreal!!!!

******TRAVEL CALL******

Well at about 11:00 this morning we received our travel call!!!! Well actually Jon received the call and called me on my cell to let me know the great news! I was tied up for a couple hours before I could get home and start working on our travel arrangements but my head was spinning! After having a really hard day of waiting yesterday I woke up today with a new perspective. I decided that I wasn't going to "wait around" all day for the phone to ring but enjoy the day and talked/prayed myself into being patient and to not expect to get our call until next week sometime. I was really peaceful - amazing how God orchestrates things! Well I got home and began calling airlines and travel agents. We really wanted to leave on Monday (arrive Tues.) as we have to have three full business days (Wed., Thurs., Fri.) in order to be able to receive Twinkletoes before the weekend so we could have some time with her in Korea before our flight home. This meant we had to have our travel itinerary sent to our agency by 7:00 (5:00 in Oregon where our agency is!) so they could send it to Korea and have it approved, as it was already Friday in Korea. We were down to the wire but we got it all done after spending lots of time on hold!

We are flying out Monday morning at 8:19am and arrive in Seoul, Korea at 5:40pm Tuesday (Korea Time). We will get to meet Twinkletoes and her foster mother on Wednesday and spend some time getting to know her. On Thursday we will get a tour of Seoul with a tour guide set up by our agency and then on Friday we will receive our baby daughter! That will be one amazing day! We will then have the weekend to "chill"/ bond with Twinkletoes/ and sightsee. Then Monday morning we will head back to the airport and fly back home! We will arrive back in Minnesota at 6:07pm Monday evening!

I am going to have a busy three days (as Jon is working long shifts all three days) of packing and getting everything ready for our other three rascals who will be staying with Grandma and Grandpa Von Feldt for the week! I am so excited but yet a little nervous also as this will be our first time out of the country and also the longest we have ever been away from our kids! Thank goodness we have the Lord watching out for us all! Praise God for this amazing miracle and journey of life!

Our paperwork is in Korea!

Well, last week we had to resubmit a form to the US Embassy in Korea. We have been watching it cross the world through the wonderful aid of the internet and the FedEx tracking system. We know that it arrived at our agency in Korea at 10:15am Monday morning (that was 7:15pm Sunday night Minnesota time). Our agency now has to take it over to the US Embassy and the approval usually takes 24-72 hours. When that is completed, she will be ready to travel and they will call us! We are really praying that it will be this week, so we can travel next week! I will admit my heart jumps a little every time the phone rings!

Another week of waiting

Well, we made it through the rest of the week! I (Lea-Ann) am doing better than I was - Jon is very stoic. It was a tough week as we watched 13 travel calls come in on the message board for others. We are very happy for them and anxiously await ours (hopefully next week)! A friend from the message board who also had a paperwork problem had it cleared up today - praise God! She is adopting a 3 year old boy who really needs to come home to his family (as they all do)! We are hoping that we will be traveling to Korea at the same time. We are truly being tested in the areas of patience and trust and learning to grow in both! Please keep praying, we so greatly appreciate it.

Today was a day of tears!

Well, today we got a call from our agency. We thought it was the call saying they are ready for us to come and get Twinkletoes. Instead they told us there has been a problem with some paperwork at the U.S. Embassy in Korea and they need us to resubmit it. Which means it will take till next Monday before the paperwork will even reach Korea because of the weekend. I scrambled this morning to refill it out, go get it notarized and overnighted to Oregon where our agency is. This will most likely delay our travel till at least mid-August. I am trying to hold fast to the knowledge that all will happen in God's timing - even when I don't understand it!!!! My heart just aches to have our baby girl home with us! On August 8th she will be 7 months old! Please keep us in your prayers that things will resolve quickly!

Trust in the Lord...

Proverbs 3 :5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all of your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight." This is the verse that Jon and I had engraved in our wedding rings. It is our "marriage verse". It is posted above our sink so everyday we can remember to trust our Lord. This adoption process has been a true exercise in trust and faith. Back in April when we felt the call of the Lord to move forward on the adoption of  it definitely didn't fit within our understanding. We had been talking about adoption and our plan was to move forward with it in another year when we sold our house - hoping the sale would provide the money we needed. The morning that I woke up with the overwhelming sense that the Lord had a child for us, I didn't expect it to be on the internet. However, that is exactly where she was. The fact that the Lord put the desire for this beautiful baby girl in both the hearts of Jon and I was confirmation that we were to move forward in faith. When Jon said to me, "if one of our children were stuck on the other side of the world and we needed $20,000 to get him/her home we would figure out a way to do it. So if she is the child the Lord has for us we will figure out how to get her home." This was huge because Jon had been adamant about us not moving forward without having the money. We were reminded of the call and promise we had made to each other when we married that we would never let finances stand in the way of being open to life (children), we just hadn't realized this encompassed adoption.

Therefore we moved forward in seeking out more information about the process of bringing this baby girl home to be part of our family. A couple days into the process we came against some pretty major obstacles - we were actually told that we would not be able to move forward with her adoption unless we agreed to change our homestudy agency. Jon and I discussed the options that were given to us if we wanted to move forward, which would have cost us an additional $2500 - $3000 for our homestudy. We decided we wouldn't change things, we would hold fast and trust the Lord that if we were to move forward with this adoption he would remove this obstacle that would cost us more money and the agency would allow us to adopt her. Within 5 days after much prayer and fasting the agency dropped the stipulation and approved our family to adopt Yun-Ha Cha, a beautiful 3 month old baby girl from South Korea. We then received a $3000 reduction in her fees and a $2000 grant from the agency. This was our first confirmation from the Lord that we were moving forward with his blessing and he would provide for our financial need.

We then began researching foundations that provided grants to help families adopt. We came across the Kingdom Kids Adoption Fund which would aid in fundraising by setting up an account to enable friends and family to donate on your behalf and receive a tax-deductible donation for their giving. We applied to set-up a fund as well as applied to several other foundations for grants. We then prayerfully wrote a letter asking for financial help from our family and friends. This is a very humbling experience, asking others for money. I had to continuously pray against pride and fear of judgment. Someone once told us that if you don't ask for help in your time of need you are robbing someone else of the gift of serving Christ through you. I often had to remind myself of this truth and the promise the Lord gave to provide when I became insecure in the face of financial strain, fear and judgmentalism. The Lord provided a very low interest unsecured loan, that we originally took out for home improvement, to enable us to pay the initial upfront costs. As things have moved forward in rapid succession it became clear that we would be traveling soon and we had little money for the $4000 of expenses that we will incur. We had received $300 in support from our fundraising efforts and had heard nothing from the grants we had applied for.

This past Tuesday afternoon Jon and I were riding in the car and I asked him if he had been earnestly praying for the funds we needed to travel and he admitted that he had not been specifically praying for that. So right there at the red light we lifted up our financial needs to the Lord and again that night as we went to sleep, we prayed for our dear Twinkletoes and the money we needed to go get her very soon! Once again the Lord has shown us his faithfulness. By Wednesday evening we received $1250 from family and friends and on Thursday we got a call from Kingdom Kids that an anonymous donor had donated $1000 to our fund. In two days we had gone from $300 to $2550, more than half of what we needed! Once again we were shown God's faithfulness and providence in our lives.

Along with being reminded about trust I have been reminded about faith. A few week back a reading really struck me at church. It was the story about when Jesus went and preached among his own people and they did not believe in him. The passage states that he could not perform the miracles that he wanted to do because of the people's lack of faith. We have free will and he will not force himself upon us but when we turn to him in faith, it frees him to work miracles in our lives. He does not call the equipped, he equips the called - when we answer! I am so thankful that we have been called to move in faith and trust on this adoption - it is so awesome to see the Lord at work. We are so grateful that he has entrusted Twinkletoes to us and we are so grateful to all of those who have answered his call in answering our prayer! You have helped us, and hopefully others, to see the hand of our Father at work in our lives. Thank you also to all of you who have been praying for us and the process of this adoption. Things have been moving forward in record speed with no hang-ups, which is almost unheard of in international adoption. We are expecting to hear any day that Twinkletoes is ready for us to come and get her and bring her home! We are so very blessed! Praise God for his faithfulness!

If you would like to make a donation on our behalf for the additional expenses we need to cover, you can do so by clicking on Kingdom Kids!
We deeply thank you and appreciate you helping us answer the Lord's call to bring Twinkletoes into our lives! God Bless You!!!

Pixie can't wait for Twinkletoes!

All the kids are so excited as we have been getting closer and closer to Twinkletoes' arrival. Pixie though has been diligently getting ready. The girls will be sharing a room and we have been rearranging things to put the crib up and make space for Twinkletoes. Pixie helped mommy sort out all the baby girl clothes and put away what we think will fit Twinkletoes for the remainder of the summer. She has asked on several occasions as we are getting ready to go some where, "can we go pick up Twinkletoes so she can come with us?" She is so excited to be a big sister and is often talking about what she is going to teach Twinkletoes or share with Twinkletoes. She has often commented while doing something, "when Twinkletoes gets bigger she can do this too." Today all three, Gabriel, Josiah and Pixie , were discussing in the car how we were going to rearrange who sits where. They of course all wanted to sit next to Twinkletoes. We may have to play musical carseats for awhile! It warms my heart to see all of our little ones so eager to receive another sibling into the family! We are so greatly blessed!

EP Approval - Travel soon!!!!

Well, as of 7/13/06, last Thursday we have EP approval. EP stands for emmigration approval from the Korean government. This is a really big step and it came in record time. The agency is now securing her passport and visa through the embassy. They told us to expect 3-5 weeks and it came in 2 weeks and one day! Now they say we will have our travel call within 2-4 weeks but others have been getting their calls very quickly. Another woman that recieved their notice of EP on the same day as us was hinted to be ready this week to get their travel call. Once we get the "travel call" we need to be in Korea within two weeks! Of course, we will leave as quickly as we can. I'm starting to gather all the things we need to be able to go. We are still not sure if Jon and I are going to both be able to go because of the financial strain. Please pray that the funds we need will come in - we have applied to many grants and really hope to hear from one very very soon! We will let you know as soon as we know!!!

Jammer's Birthday!

Today is Twinkletoes's birthday, he is seven years old! Can you believe it - it is amazing how fast the time goes. He will be starting second grade in the fall, once again we will be homeschooling. I have been reflecting on how grown up he looks, even my sister commented on it the other day. He is no longer a "little boy", now he's "cool". He enjoyed a party last week with his friends at a play zone called "Pump it Up" and today we had lunch at the hospital with Daddy, Papa D and his cousin Owen (and of course Runner and Pixie). Twinkletoes is growing very inquisitive about the world around him and loves to laugh!! He wants to be a scientist when he grows up! Happy Birthday to my oldest son - We love you!

Great Article!!!

Here is a great article of an interview with Molly Holt who is the daughter of the Holt family which started the agency that we are adopting Twinkletoes from. It talks about all the work that they are doing in Korea. See article!

Our newest addition!

The Lord is entrusting to us a beautiful baby girl from Korea - Twinkletoes. We are so excited to have her join our family. The Lord first brought her to our hearts in April, 2006. Things have been moving quickly but we are so happy because that means we will be able to bring her home quickly also! After lots of paperwork and time working with agencies, we hope to bring Twinkletoes home in August! She will be seven months old.

She was born in January and is with a foster family in South Korea. She was born at six pounds with some health issues but is now doing great according to the reports we have been receiving! She is currently a whopping 15 pounds!! Here is her birth picture and a current picture we received of her recently!