Ben Says

The move

2009-10-21T07:16:00.001-07:00

Posted via web from posterous Blaugher

Kuroshio Sea - 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world - (song is Please don't go by Barcelona)

2009-10-16T12:27:00.001-07:00

via youtube.com

Very cool

Posted via web from posterous Blaugher

Untitled

2009-10-11T18:17:00.001-07:00

Posted via web from posterous Blaugher

WTF

2009-10-07T07:33:00.001-07:00

Posted via web from posterous Baugherish

Boys

2009-09-17T18:09:00.001-07:00

Download now or watch on posterous

IMG_0001.mov (2985 KB)

Posted via web from posterous Baugherish

still gray in LR

2009-09-17T13:26:00.001-07:00

Posted via SMS from posterous Baugherish

2009-07-19T05:27:00.000-07:00

Summer Time...

2009-06-10T18:31:00.000-07:00

Pictures, Pictures and more Pictures....

So we had our family pictures made this past week and the experience was just wonderful!! I have to thank Kelly, from La La Photography , for the most amazing family photo experience ever. I was so dreading the act of taking pictures but knew it was time....But Kelly made taking pictures wonderful and she captured the boys perfect!! I highly recommend checking her out!! Here is a sneak peak of our session in the park...ENJOY!!

If you want to know more about Kelly and La La Photography check out her website or her blog.

2009-05-30T13:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Family Day Ezra!

Checking out the goods...

Power tools!

Cookie cake

Lincoln did the dishes...

2009-05-29T15:15:00.000-07:00

New Bike! Ezra got his Family Day present a little early. It was a nice afternoon and we couldn't resist. New balance bike...

2009-05-29T14:05:00.000-07:00

2009-05-28T17:53:00.000-07:00

2009-04-29T17:02:00.000-07:00

4-29 Unite for Hunger - For years Kelly and I have supported Heifer Int'l and Kiva. Both organizations have a unique way of fighting poverty and hunger around the world. If you are not familiar with either of these please take the time to visit their websites today and learn more.

http://www.heifer.org/
http://www.kiva.org/

Pictures!

New Skins! thanks Mrs. Jackie!

Mammary clouds

2009-04-21T12:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!!

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating Lb's birthday!! It was a blast filled with family and close friends. We are so blessed!! The boys just looked gorgeous in their hanboks together, it was so special. Lb chose the paint brush, then the jujubes that his grandma made for him and then he went for the money at the last minute...to cute!! We had a blast despite the rain.

2009-04-21T12:17:00.000-07:00

Easter

Lights out...

2009-04-15T17:06:00.000-07:00

2009-04-14T07:21:00.000-07:00

2009-03-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

Photo Purge!

Daddy's old PJs

2009-03-12T06:48:00.000-07:00

This was the second video... the first he took about 7 steps so I gave him the camera as reward and he took it and deleted the video of his first steps... oh well.

2009-03-07T05:36:00.001-08:00

2009-03-05T13:21:00.000-08:00

So it is difficult to find time to post...but here are some recent pictures (mostly from my cell phone, sorry people, the camera is just not available most times)!! But we are getting along great. BUSY!! But great none the less. Sleep well, not a lot, but we are dealing. Ezra has done his fair share of regression but seems to really be having a great week this week. He had a Teddy Bear Picnic at school last week and as you can see he loved the crown they made, and his monkey he brought. LB is doing great as well. He is a very happy and content little guy, and is doing well with brother's crazy schedule. He is still waking at night and fighting his naps, but all in good time, we will sleep again ( when they move out)...right??? We are all falling in love, oh what a wonderful feeling!!

2009-02-19T05:11:00.000-08:00

Ezra mistakes the video camera for a cell phone...

2009-02-14T05:39:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day....

Thanks for the cards Grandma!

2009-02-06T07:32:00.001-08:00

Long....

So sorry, I have been a bad blog owner lately...but we have just been taking time to bond and be a family. We have been getting back on a decent type schedule which has been nice. I have a free moment so I decided to update the blog world.

First off...the trip to Korea (wow that seems like forever ago)

Was wonderful. Ezra did great!! He didn't fuss on the plane, he is such a trooper. I guess it helps that his Mommy and Daddy have taken him all over the world in his little short life. Ezra is not one to be center stage, or like a lot of stranger attention, but he did great, when approached by people. I was terrified he would scream or cry but he seemed to try really hard to appreciate people trying to talk with him. He did okay meeting with his foster mom, but it was his nap time and he was therefore a little cranky, but in the end, gave a hug and kiss, which I think made up for it. We ended up finding lactose free milk at the grocery, which was very cool and kept my milk guy very happy. Ezra was not on the other hand very interested in Lincoln. He met Lincoln with us the second meeting. He was very "yippy" as I like to call it, very needy, and a little hyper sensitive to the whole situation. Needless to say, it was a very stressful meeting for Ezra, but again in the end, gave Lincoln a big kiss and some love. Over all I am so happy that we took Ezra with us for so many different reasons. It was great for him to see Korea, even though I am not quite sure he "got it". I was so proud to be there with him and so proud to be his Mommy!! I was so happy to see the amazing people of Korea, embraced him so. It was really a full circle moment for all of us I believe. Being there with him, rocking the babies, receiving Lincoln, all being in the airport together to fly home, being stuck on a plane to bond, was all great. I had a lot of fear taking Ezra to Korea, and for it to be his 3rd birthday was very emotional. But I kept saying to myself, that if we all went, I could never regret not going, and that is so true. The trip was very hard, I will not lie. We were all exhausted, all a little touchy, Ezra vomited the first morning we arrived and actually we got the stomach flu the first night we were home. It was cold, did I mention that it was cold. But overall, I am so happy that we were there as a family. I think we all did a great job and it was so worth it!! I would do it again. Now, if we were to ever go back again, both boys would have to be older. Managing the streets and the subway, with one toddler was plenty!!

Meeting with Lincoln the first time was an absolute dream of course. He was very comfortable with seeing us and came to me right away. Our fist meeting the social workers were late, so we saw him in the hallway with the foster mom. She gave him to me and let me feed him his bottle. He was very happy and stroked my face...oooo la la...Mommy heaven. Lincoln loved loved loved his foster Mommy and she loved him. He would just melt into her, ooh so cute. He very happy, but was also sick, poor thing. He had a terrible rash on his neck, he was covered in eczema, and had a horrible cough and cold with fever and tummy issue. But he smiled the whole time!! Poor thing. He was better the day we left and Eastern was terrific. They gave us all of his medicine and instructions for the plane ride home and he was feeling so much better, that we didn't need any of it. Since we have been home he is feeling much better. His eczema, with the help of a RX, is great!! He has no fever and the rash on his neck is no more. He still has a little bit of cough and congestion, but other than that seems good.

Lincoln is the sweetest little thing!! He love, loves, loves to be cuddled. He is so snuggly. He smiles constantly and is very happy to explore. He loves Ezra to pieces and literally wants to eat him up. Lincoln is doing great! The first 3 nights at home were rough, very rough. He grieved very hard and was so so sad, poor guy. But since then he seems to be doing great. He is making good eye contact, is happy to see us, and he is sleeping pretty good at night as long as he has a bottle in his mouth on top of Mommy or Daddy's chest. But hey, I will take it!! I will gladly feed you all night long on my chest, if we can all sleep. We will worry about bad habits later..haha. He is not really napping, and fight the naps big time. But cat naps a little so that is good.
He is still sleeping in our room, mostly in our bed, sometimes in the pack and play or on Mommy's chest on the couch. He is transiting to our formula okay. We just recently started doing this. We loaded up on Korean formula while in Korea, because I wanted to give him some time to adjust before switching his milk. Ezra had such a hard time with this, but Lincoln seems to be doing okay with it.

Ezra is trying really hard to like being a big brother!! We are just taking it slow....Ezra too had a hard time the first few days home and did not like the idea that, "wonk'n, aka..Lincoln" was staying. He even tried to pawn him off on his Auntie Lynne...hahah!! But after a few melt downs, some cuddle time with Mommy and Daddy and some co-sleeping, Ezra is giving it his all as a new big brother. He is trying to help more and even wants to pick him up. He has been tickling him and saying sweet things to him. They are starting to actually play a little and giggle together which is just the most unbelievable feeling in the world I tell you. Most days even though I am totally exhausted I am also very filled!

I am so proud to have both my boys under the the same roof and I am so very blessed. I can't even begin to type what it means to be the Mother to such wonderful little people...I am so so thankful!! I am so in love with all my boys..

Okay enough sap...

So some pictures...

2009-02-01T11:10:00.000-08:00

A couple of nice photos of Lincoln...

2009-01-27T11:24:00.000-08:00

Ezra @ 8.5 Months and Lincoln @ 9 months

2009-01-27T11:11:00.000-08:00

From Ben Says

2009-01-24T19:01:00.000-08:00

2 N ONE SHAMPOO

So tonight as I (ben had an unexpected errand) finally got both boys out of the bath, both in their jammies, both covered in lotion, both warm and toasty. Lincoln to sleep with a bottle, got Ezra a snack, and a drink, read him a book and put him to bed, I finally got into the shower. I knew I had to hurry, because I didn't want either of them to be bothered, but I had been covered in lots of things since the beginning of the day ;)...I began to wonder why...I didn't have 2 n one shampoo anymore. All I have is this fancy kind I started to buy not to long ago, with this great conditioner..but people I have to say...I am going to have to go back to the quick 2 n One for now.

Okay...why you are really here. Sorry we have not updated in so long!! We couldn't really get the blog to work in Korea...then we have all been sick (Lincoln a cold, Ezra and I the stomach bug ugh)...so uploading pictures has not been top priority!

But let me just tell you that we are so so so so in love!! Lincoln is an absolute doll. His whole face smiles and lights up the room. He is just the tiniest thing, Ezra was never this small even at 4 months. He weighs 20 pounds and Ezra weighed 24 at 4 months. Lincoln is wearing the same clothes that Ezra wore when he came home, so sweet.

Lincoln is doing very well considering his big change. He is a very happy baby during the day. He is crawling and pulling up, he loves to growl, and is beginning some baby food. He loves his big brother and wants to get to him at all times. His nights on the other hand, have been rough...we are just being very patient, poor guy. Ezra always had a hard time at night and if I was in their shoes, the nights would be tough for me to. So for now, we are just giving him tons of cuddles and pats and games to take his mind off his sadness in the night.

Ezra is a great big brother. I really think that the trip to Korea helped so much with this transition. I have to admit, the trip was hard to make with the boys (and the bug the day we got home was terrible), but it was well worth it for many reasons. But Ezra is adjusting well. When we do something, like take a nap, he says.."dada, dada", he always wants everyone involved. The other day, he said, "dada, dada, bebe, bebe"..to cute.

So now for why you are really here the pictures...I will try an update more often.

2009-01-21T12:05:00.001-08:00

Happy first family day Lincoln. It is going to be a big one.

Two hours from now we will receive Lincoln and hop in a van to the airport. If all goes well from there we will arrive 18 hours later in Atlanta. 5 hours after that we will be in Little Rock. It will be a long messy ride for all of us...

We have had a wonderful time here and it is so nice to return and reunite with the wonderful people that make up Eastern Social Welfare Society.

2009-01-19T16:38:00.000-08:00

2009-01-17T22:00:00.000-08:00

This morning we took Ezra to Lotte World for his birthday. it took him a while to warm up to it but he enjoyed it and seemed to like all the sites and children... favorite ride... escalators! Oh well.

I think jet lag is catching up to all of us today. I was up from about midnight to 3 am last night and we all came back to eastern for a nap this afternoon which should help.

Down to business tomorrow with a full day of meetings and our first time to meet Lincoln. Ezra's foster parents will come see us on Tuesday and then we will see what Wednesday holds. Hopefully another meeting with Lincoln. The weather has been much more comfortable here then I thought it would be. As long as you are bundled up it is fine. Some of the subway trains have heated seats, so that is an added bonus.

I'll try to post some photos tomorrow (or tonight if I can't sleep)

2009-01-17T08:42:00.000-08:00

... We ended up at N. Seoul Tower atop Namsun mountain in the center of Seoul. It was pretty foggy up there but E loved it because there were tons of toddlers and young children up there running and playing.

The weather yesterday although cold was comfortable until just before we arrived back at eastern. Then while Kelly got E ready for bed I hot footed it to McDonalds (20 min walk) for a couple of burgers in bed... I did have bulgogi for lunch tho.

We will meet Lincoln in about 36 hours. And E's foster parents the day after that... Today... Lotte World (indoor amusement park) for E's birthday.

2009-01-17T08:29:00.000-08:00

First off it is one in the morning on sunday here so Happy 3rd birthday E. I hope you have a great day today and a wonderful trip in Korea.

Yesterday was a busy day learning how to navigate the city, we had lunch over looking some beautiful buildings, took a bus tour of the city and ended up a

2009-01-12T11:10:00.000-08:00

The Call!!!

After a very long week, last week, and feeling the weight of this very long journey, I was awake this morning at 3 am. ...unable to go back to sleep with the anticipation of knowing when, just when will I see my newest baby boy. I knew that his visa was going to be issued, just didn't know when our agency would call with the news. So I waited.

I officially got out of bed this morning after drifting in and out of sleep, the weight on my chest was deep. I decided to keep E home from school again today...to keep him healthy for a trip I wished was soon. Ben left for work and I began to pace. I couldn't sit still, I couldn't do work, I couldn't do much of anything. In all of our years in the adoption journey, I have never really seen travel calls on Monday, and was having a hard time grasping this reality. But felt for sure we would hear something on Tuesday. Still...I felt like that I couldn't relax until after 10am, since Ezra's call came at 9:30. I went downstairs and decided that I would light the boys' candle. I have a 3 wick candle for them, representing their birthmoms, thier foster family and of course us. Hoping that the scent would fill my house and help me to relax.

My sister called about 9:15 and I literally jumped!! But when I looked at the caller id, alas it wasn't our social worker...so I filled Lynne's ears with my anxious tone of worry. As we were talking, the phone rang..at 9:32, it was Jan!!! Music to my ears..Lincoln is finally ready to come home.

Baby boy we are on our way to see you on your 9 month birthday!! Ezra my love you will turn three in Korea!! And Mommy and Daddy are so excited to finally become a family of 4!! Look out Korea here we come!!

2009-01-06T05:21:00.000-08:00

2009-01-01T09:22:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

2008-12-29T16:49:00.000-08:00

2008-12-28T06:05:00.000-08:00

Kelly is crying...

A few seconds ago Ezra climbed into her lap with his blankie, snuggled up and said, "Love You". The first unprompted "Love You" from the moose...

2008-12-25T09:20:00.000-08:00

The Christmas Cactus in Bloom

Jammie's for the Boys on Christmas Eve

Opening the Jammie's...hope this gets better Mom!!

2008-12-25T09:19:00.000-08:00

Oh Santa knows what I like!! Thank goodness...

A little overwhelmed...

Merry Christmas Sweet Love....

(Daddy looks a little tired in the background!!)

2008-12-24T14:57:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Morning to Sweet Lincoln.

Well, it is Christmas morning in Korea. We wish we were there with you!! On your very first Chirstmas you are so far away. We are all thinking of you sweet one and just want to squeeze your sweet cheeks and kiss you sweet lips!! Mommy, Daddy, Ezra, Grandma and Grandad will all see you so soon.

2008-12-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

Ezra's favorite online video...

2008-12-17T13:34:00.000-08:00

The Wait....

The cold air, the ice and the holidays does not make this wait any easier to dear sweet Lincoln. I am just hoping and praying that we hear good news by the middle of January and hope of course that my estimate is the longest possible estimate. I just want you guys to know...this wait is hard, hard, hard!! And most people say, well, just enjoy this time...and while I agree...that is very impossible to do and spend most of my day stalking the mailman in hopes of hearing something about Lincoln's visa...

So on a lighter note....E is enjoying the holidays for sure. He loved decorating the tree but what he likes to do the most is cook with Daddy. Which is just the cutest thing you have ever seen. They have made lots of stuff since the weather is just right for cake and cookies.

2008-12-12T11:52:00.000-08:00

Update:
So some have you have been confused with my short ever so frustrated post filled with tons of adoption lingo.
So now I will explain. Lincoln got Emigration Permission and a Passport ready from Korea. We were waiting on our government to give Lincoln permission to come into the United States. Once they say it is okay for him to come, they can issue a visa and Lincoln here we come. But without that approval, things were at a gigantic stand still…. nothing else can happen, until our file is approved. Our file consists of background checks, fingerprints, home studies etc…. The office that gives this approval was telling our agency and us that current processing times were 6 months. There is no other CIS office in the United States with wait times like this. This was simply unacceptable. A long time is 90 days and we had submitted our paperwork October 30.
So for the first time our agency suggested that we go to Memphis and ask what was going on. They do not usually send families, because if everybody goes, it would be a crazy mad house. But this was crazy…6 months!! UGH!!! They were going to have to give us a reason for this timeline, explain themselves, gives us our approval or we were going to move our file to another office. Our son was ready to come home.
So we made an appointment with the office earlier this week. We got up at 5 am, dragged poor little E out of bed bright and early and headed to Memphis for our 8:15 appt. Ready with all our paperwork and an envelope, postage paid, and email from another office telling them we wanted to move our file, or have our approval.
I didn’t sleep a wink last night, and was very, very nervous!! But made our way up to the counter, started explaining why we were there. We soon, got a supervisor, opinion, telling us 6 weeks. I then asked to speak to the supervisor because after all I drove all that way. She came out and I repeated our case to her. She quoted me again, 6 weeks. I told her that my baby boy was ready to come home and I was ready to go get him. I begged her to go check our file. Just to tell me that it was okay, that it was all there and they didn’t need anything else. I wanted to be sure that 6 weeks was going to be the max. I started to cry…..So she finally agreed.
She came back a little bit later and said, Kelly, why don’t you and your family go get some breakfast, get some coffee, and come back in an hour. OMG!!!!!!!!!!! SERIOSLY!!!!!!!!!! Ok, you got it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2 hours later, we left the Memphis office with our approval in our hand!!!!! Our prayers answered!!!!!! Finally, we can move forward.
So we still have 1-3 week wait……..but it isn’t 6 months!! Hurry home baby Lincoln, we miss you so much…Mommy and Daddy have waited a very long time for you.

2008-12-11T13:47:00.000-08:00

Bittersweet

So good news is Lincoln received his EP and PP yesterday! He is all ready to come home except our government is being a pain in the - you know what. We are impatiently waiting on Memphis to give us our approval so we can bring our baby Lincoln home. All he needs is one little piece of paper…that is all. So frustrating. I wish I could say I felt optimistic, or that they will hurry up and do it, but the truth is: I don’t know what they are doing, I don’t know what they are going to do, and I don’t know how long it will be. We are going to drive to Memphis tomorrow in hopes that they will help us solve our problem. But other than that…..we know nothing.

2008-12-06T06:39:00.000-08:00

2008-12-06T06:29:00.000-08:00

How to keep yourself busy while waiting for boy #2.

2008-11-28T09:04:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!

and

Happy to be Home with a Little Dress Up!!

2008-11-19T13:37:00.000-08:00

Found this while moving stuff from one phone to another...

Video taken about 14 months ago.

2008-11-18T12:07:00.000-08:00

Ok so for those of you up on your adoption lingo....we are having serious CIS issues!! UGH!!!

For those of you who don't know what I am talking about, lets just say that CIS holds the keys to Lincoln coming home and we are truly frustrated.

Now that said, I have to say, that this time it is our faults. We sent in the i600 a month ago....and we misplaced a signature. So a week later we got it back, signed it, and sent it back. Hoping and praying that we did it right.

Then yesterday's mail came, and yes folks, my heart truly skipped a beat when I saw a large package from Memphis. Again they sent it back wanting another signature, this time mine...which is a little confusing because really all they need is Ben's but whatever...I will do anything...so my signature I signed and back in the mail.

On top of all of this the Memphis office is notoriously slow!! And by slow I mean a good time frame for them is 8 weeks for approval...so now...we have to wait more, when I already thought that 4 weeks had come and gone. Reality...we have to start all over from this week. So that means that my baby boy will likely not be home for a long time! UGH!!!

So as confusing for all of you out there as this post maybe...or for those of you who have been there done that please send a record amount of prayers and good thoughts our way concerning Lincoln's paperwork in Memphis office. We are really hoping for a miracle!

As far as we know at this point...the paperwork arrived in the Memphis office, again, at 830 this morning. Let's just hope that it is all right and ready for processing!!

2008-11-17T10:22:00.000-08:00

OOPS!!

2008-11-14T11:24:00.001-08:00

Just For Fun....

Getting so BIG!!

2008-11-11T07:22:00.000-08:00

My best friend from the time we were 10 years old just became a Mommy!! So so so bittersweet because now we live so far from one another that I can only enjoy by pictures. Meet beautiful Ava!! She has the most gorgeous hair and a wonderful Mommy and Daddy...CONGRATS guys!!

2008-11-09T16:19:00.000-08:00

The Annual Walk for CommUNITY, sponsored by JCCA

Team REAL families!!

Why We Walk
We Walk because we prefer understanding over misconception.
We Walk to teach our children tolerance and acceptance.
We Walk to learn more about ourselves and others.
We Walk to identify our similarities rather than our differences.
We Walk to celebrate our diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
We Walk to ease the pain of past transgressions.
We Walk to feel the power of our community.
We Walk to reunite.
We Walk to make the world a better place.
We Walk to change lives!

More Pictures Here

2008-11-09T07:13:00.000-08:00

Thought everyone might need a Lincoln fix...I know I do!!!

We are going to mail tiny boy a little package tomorrow. I forgot to take pictures of it before I shoved it all into the bag and there was no way I was taking it all out. There is a silk scarf for his foster mom, some candy for the foster dad and for Lincoln: 2 outfits, a blanket, a toy and some socks.

2008-11-03T18:19:00.001-08:00

Election day 11-04 Get out and vote... for whomever! Our votes are cast (we went early)!!

2008-11-03T18:09:00.000-08:00

Ok...so in my spare time....I like to paint!! So here is the latest project.

2008-11-03T18:03:00.000-08:00

The Shirt my Auntie Anne made for me and it finally fits!!

The shirt my Daddy used to wear that my Grandma and Granddad brought for me...

2008-11-01T18:23:00.000-07:00

Here we are in the hospital Saturday night. E has almost 104 degree
fever and a cough. Waiting on the results from his first x-ray...

Bronchitis... they let us go after a few more tests and an antibiotic shot in each leg... ugh

2008-11-01T05:56:00.000-07:00

Ezra, Isabelle, Sylvia, and Izzle off for a night on the town...

Dem Bones.

2008-10-30T07:40:00.000-07:00

Legals Arrived and Officially Sent to Memphis!

So we did it!! As Ezra would say!! We got Lincoln's legals and have sent them off to our beloved Memphis CIS office :)!! So we just hope and pray that the paperwork goes swiftly with no bumps so baby boy can come home soon! We know Memphis is typically slower than most but not usually "late" so I just keep chanting that in my head, over and over and over again...that all in good time the paperwork will bring us closer to travel.

Grandma and Granddad drove all the way from Denver this week to see big boy E!! He so enjoyed their company and loved loved loved playing with Grandma in a big long hide and seek box!! We spent most of our time enjoying the weather and the fall foliage outside...gotta love fall.

2008-10-19T06:13:00.000-07:00

Waiting for Lincoln...

First haircut by myself

2008-10-18T07:32:00.001-07:00

2008-10-15T05:21:00.000-07:00

So Here he is....

Surprise in my Inbox of new pictures from last week!! Thanks Jan!

2008-10-09T10:46:00.001-07:00

Our Journey Thus Far

2008-10-05T18:18:00.000-07:00

We had a well rested weekend....relaxing...

cooking.......

Overall you couldn't ask for a better weekend!!

2008-09-28T17:33:00.000-07:00

2008-09-28T15:30:00.000-07:00

So this weekend we went to Worldfest!! It was the most beautiful morning and Ezra had a great time. What could be more fun: stairs, grassy hills, running, jumping, water fountains and playing the drums!! We all enjoyed the sunshine for sure!

Worldfest

2008-09-27T08:51:00.000-07:00

2008-09-18T14:47:00.000-07:00

Ezra's First Day of School

Well, we got over being sick and Ezra is officially at preschool. He is doing pretty well. He has made his first "school art", goes to chapel, music, speech and most importantly his favorite part, "side" (playing on the playground)!! We are having a hard time separating from Mommy...but when I call to check on him (like in the parking lot) he is always doing fine. Mommy on the other hand....well, she has not a clue with what to do with herself. I have spent one day visiting with an old friend over coffee and the others days running some errands. Yesterday Ben and I had our first lunch date, in I seriously don't remember when. So I guess it is good :)!! But Mommy still misses her baby, even if it is only for a couple of hours. I usually drop him off and pick him up a little early ( I know I am a teacher's worst nightmare) but I just can't help myself!! I figure he has all the time in the world to be grown up, so a early lunch and snuggle with Mommy is always good, right?

Gustav

2008-09-06T09:24:00.001-07:00

Mr. Gustav on his way out of town.

2008-09-02T06:29:00.001-07:00

Ezra's First Day of School...
In Momma and Dada's Bed.....

Well Ezra was suppose to start his Mommy's Day out Class today!! But we have all been sick all weekend..YUCK!! With temperatures well past 101 and into the 103's we are home for awhile. I guess school will have to wait til next week.. Poor baby!!

2008-08-30T14:47:00.000-07:00

Grief

So I know that we have been MIA and have decided to take a big break from the adoption world, as we know it. I apologize deeply for the absence but have needed to take time to be a family and heal. We had a very unexpected bump in our process of adopting Julius.

After accepting Julius referral you could say that we have had our ups and downs. We knew that Julius would need surgery upon his arrival home, and had planned on that as something minor that we could most definitely handle. It was a difficult step for us to take in the first place. We are a small family living on one income and only so much Mommy and Daddy to go around. There were many signs along the way, I guess you could call it “mommy’s gut” that lead me to many prayers and many tears as well. But I felt in my heart that it all would work out. We prepared for our son, whole-heatedly. We loved him, we treasured him. As much love as we gave we were greeted with some more news upon which we were very scared. We talked a lot, we grieved, we waited. We waited for more medical information. We knew we needed facts. We held fast and kept preparing for our son. Then the news came, one late afternoon. We were greeted in prayer by our agency. We were a little taken back by the different information that we had and most of all we were scared. These were not the answers that we had planned to hear. These weren’t the facts that were supposed to come, this was not happening.

We sought comfort in each other but knew in our hearts that whatever needs that Julius had, whatever they were whether minor or major, we just felt in our hearts that the path we had planned for was not the path planned for us. We had to withdraw. The most difficult decision we have ever had to make in our lives. We as a couple have had much grief surrounding building our family. And really was taken back by all of this. I thought our days of grief were behind us, I thought that this was the safest way; I thought that this was our way to peace. I truly had to find a peace with our decision. I had to find solace, that the many prayers I had said had been answered, it was just not the way I had planned.

Never will I be able to hold my dear sweet baby. I miss him; I still love him, but know in my heart that he has a different journey. I may never understand all the things that happened that led us to this place. I may never know why. I know that only time will give me perspective, only time will allow me to see the bigger picture. But right now, right now, we are truly grieving.

Our biggest prayer right now, of course is for Julius. We want nothing more than for him to find his forever family. We have to find peace with our decision, and know that our many prayers that have enveloped this tiny baby soul will lead him to his home. So although we are grieving, we find peace that this journey, our journey will lead this beautiful baby boy to finding his home.

2008-08-29T04:52:00.000-07:00

In celebration of a successful morning of proper potty usage we are posting more Big Boy Pants shots.

2008-08-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

Big boy pants

2008-08-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

2008-08-13T11:31:00.000-07:00

Joe Who!?!?!

2008-07-13T18:27:00.000-07:00

Returned Friday from Denmark. We had a great time and really wished we could have stayed longer.

2008-06-22T06:33:00.000-07:00

Painting with Momma...

Cleaning up.

2008-06-15T07:04:00.000-07:00

Been a while... so here is a photo purge...

E and Busy

Dining Room

Ezra's Room

Best seat in the house

Bedroom

2008-05-31T06:03:00.000-07:00

2008-05-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

Still tiny tho...

3M's Me, Milk and Monkey

2008-05-13T06:14:00.000-07:00

The room is painted.

2008-05-11T06:37:00.004-07:00

2008-05-11T06:37:00.003-07:00

2008-05-11T06:37:00.001-07:00

2008-05-11T06:36:00.000-07:00

2008-05-11T06:35:00.000-07:00

We are currently painting, trim is done except for the window.

2008-05-11T06:29:00.000-07:00

This is another or the lights we picked up. I had to rewire it but I think we paid $10 for it and then $1.97 at the hardware store for parts.

2008-04-24T18:18:00.000-07:00

cheese dip!

2008-04-24T16:50:00.001-07:00

Oh yeah, cheese dip on the deck!

2008-04-20T05:37:00.000-07:00

This is the living room. Mom and Dad were asking about the paint color... there it is.

the PVC light

Painted the living room ceiling and hung the new chandelier

2008-04-06T14:58:00.000-07:00

pelicans

2008-03-27T18:22:00.001-07:00

Arkansas river.

2008-03-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

From the big dam bridge.

yum

2008-03-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

Mmm, cheese dip.

monkey

2008-03-26T16:01:00.001-07:00

Ezra enjoying the nice weather.

2008-03-25T18:56:00.000-07:00

Gettin' some trim.

2008-03-25T18:55:00.000-07:00

Ezra likes that ginger ale...

2008-03-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

Mud goes up... Almost done?