More foster mom gifts!!!

 Ok..so clearly Addison had the BEST foster mom in all Korea, because she sends her little gifts and things all the time..even though we've had her home for over a year and a half!!  She can clearly read minds too because the gifts she sent Addison LOVES!!  As you can see, she sent Addison a bunch of stickers, which Addison LOVED, and used generously! 

 She sent her this cute little bracelet..and Addison loves jewelry.

 Oh!  Here is Addison's sticker creation!  So nice ...and abstract.

 She also sent her this cute purse with her FAVORITE cartoon character; Minnie Mouse, whom she calls "tootles."  As you can see by her expression...she loved it!!!

 More love!!!

 She also sent her hair barretts.  (We alwasy need those!)

 ...and a note for us (in Korean..no translation!?!?!)

 If you speak/read Korean...I'd love a translation!!!  :)

 Here are some more hair things she sent us.  Sparkly little hearts!

 

Oh!!  ...And this is Addison telling me shes done with all the photos.

New Photo!!

This photo was taken at Avery's last check up which was January 19th.  She was 16 months old.  She's getting so, so big!  She is holding the gifts we sent her.

Adoption update

Yesterday we were told that Korea has decided to issue NO Emigration Permits until February, despite the fact that we were told paperwork would resume being processed in January. No reason was given. (Keep in mind, no child can leave the country without this piece of paperwork which they stopped issuing last June.) We were also told that they believe Korea will only accept one batch of Emigration Permits to be submitted each month, whereas last year there were months were two, three, sometimes even four batches were submitted within a month. What does this mean? It means that adoptions will be intentionally processed very slowly; much slower than ever before.

What does this mean for us personally? Who knows? We are two months behind those who are first in line to receive an Emigration Permit. Also keep in mind that once our Emigration Permit is submitted, it will still take 4-8 weeks to be approved and then we still have other paperwork that will need to be done before travel. This means even AFTER we get submitted and approved we'll still have things to wait on. All I know is that traveling this spring basically a pipe dream. I think summer is now the realistic season, but even then I hold to that very loosely because when we were first matched we were told fall, then we were told spring, and now were being told summer…so basically every time were get close, the date is changed – and it typically extends our wait by 3-4 months.

I will refrain from an emotional/angry rant about this situation as it will not do anyone any good and will not bring God glory. I am however BEYOND frustrated, and honestly wonder if we will ever get our little girl. Keep in mind, her birthmother or foster family can adopt her as long as she is in the country, so this line of thought is not unrealistic. I mean, how can her foster family bear to give her to us after she has been with them for almost two years?!? (…and how can I be the one to take her?)

So here's where I'm at: I'm WAY too far down this path to cling to unrealistic optimism that is based on absolutely nothing but unfounded hopes. I don't want to be pessimistic and negative either. I guess right now, I'm just staring into the face of the facts as I've been given them and the reality of what has already happened. I've long since stopped sticking my head in the sand and choosing ignore all the bad news that has been steadily coming my way since last June. I'd be foolish to pretend its all peachy when it is clearly not. I will say this; my prayers have changed from, "please bring Avery home quickly," to, "do whatever is best for her," and that's a very, very hard prayer to pray.

Pretty in Pink

I came out of my room this afternoon to see this on my couch. 

 I said, "Addison, what are you doing?!" 

She replied, "Readin' my Bible Momma."

Then she smiled really big!!! 

 She was alternating between her slippers & high heals...something I do daily! 

Here's the shoes she loves so much.  Notice the pinky toe sticking out??!  

This is her, "Really-mom?!" face.  I love it.  

2012...and still no movement

So 2012 is here.  This was when Korea was supposed to start re-issuing Emigration Permits.  They would reset the quote and begin anew and we were so excited!  In past years there has been movement within the the first week with either approvals (in earlier years) or submissions in later years.  So all week, I've been waiting to see who gets submitted for their Emigration Permit so we can begin to calculated (roughly) when we might get ours and travel. Each day I checked email to see what was going on...and nothing. Nothing Tuesday, nothing Wednesday, nothing Thursday, and then Friday...nothing.  Last year there were batches of Emigration Permits submitted every week in January, but that clearly isn't going to happen this year.  So now, all I can do is sit and wait.  Any timeframe I had has been blown out of the water, and at this point no one knows whats going on.  To say I'm frustrated is not adequate.  I really have nothing to say.  I'm kind of numb, but I feel a stream of anger welling up inside of me, and the urge to rant maniacally is pecking away at my mind and tempting my tongue to unleash, so please pray that I can still be a reflection so Christ even when the small hope I had was simply wiped clean away and I have been left with nothing expect a photo of my sweet baby girl.

Christmas Lights

 We went to a local Garden where they had put up over 700,000 Christmas lights!  It was beautiful!

 I went with Valerie & her daughters!

 Teh blue lights behind us were bundled to resemble grapes.  They were very cool!

 Here is Bridget..posing!

 Here is Gracen!

 Here I am with Addison!

 

 Addie was curious as to what was in the paper bags!  We caught her just as she peeked into it!  So cute!

 This photo doesn't do the garden lights justice!  They were very pretty!

These two ladies were in front of us the enitre time we were at the garden...and they walked SO SO slow!  Bridget expresses our feelings perfectly

Christmas at Mom's

 Christmas afternoon we went to my mom's house to celebrate Christmas.  Here is my brother and many of the grandchildren sitting on the couch.

 Addison reclining with Dad.

 Here is my Cecelia

 Addison posing

 Mom & Dad working in the kitchen!

 Cecelia & her mom Larissa

 My mom opening gifts from us

 Drew got his finger stuck while trying to open a gift!!!

Grandkids crawling all over mom

Corinne & Addison cuddled up in a chair!  So cute!  

Christmas

 A photo of our family before going to Christmas Eve Service

 Little Miss before church

 All the kiddos

 The boys opening gifts

 Look!!!  Lips gloss!!!

 Here she is cooking us some breakfast!!

 Addison got a new kitchen & shopping cart!  She loved them!

 Jack opening gifts

 Nick was relaxing in his new sweats

 Drew got his long-awaited golden headphones!!

 Ahh!!!  gold headphones. 

 Drew & Nick got new shoes

 Jack chillin with his new necklace & sweatshirt

 Addison playing with her kitchen

Dad helping Addison open gifts

Highly Favored

Luke 1:28: "And having come in, the angel said to her, 'Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!'"

Most of us have heard this passage taught or read. It the very familiar passage where the angel tells Mary she will carry the Jesus who will be conceived by the Holy Spirit. It is remarkable to think that this young girl had an angel appear to her and tell her she was "highly favored" by God. How would that make you feel? How you react if you were told you were highly favored by God? Wouldn't that be an incredible thing? Wouldn't that change your perspective on life, yourself, your future? How would you react? What would you say in return? Would you sign for joy, fall down in worship, or just allow the precious words to resonate in your mind? Well, God has said that to you - to anyone who is His child – anyone whose life is hidden in Christ through faith in His completed work on the cross. He said it in Ephesians 1:6: "to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved." You might be thinking, why that doesn't say the same thing, but it does! You see the Greek verb that means "highly favored "is "charitoo." This verb is only used on other place and that is in Ephesians 1:6. Here the verb "charitoo" is translated "has made us accepted." Although our English translations don't same the same phrasing, it is the exact same verb in the Greek. It is the exact same tense, same usage, and same meaning in both Luke 1:28 & Ephesians 1:6. Think about that. You, if you are a child of God, are highly favored, just like Mary - highly favored in the eyes of God. What an awesome thought. Merry Christmas.

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" (2 Cor. 9:15)

(Thoughts borrowed from Dr. Erwin Lutzer Moody church – Chicago)