Kaden's Coming Home!!!

Sorry it took me so long to post. It's been a crazy, wonderful day! We found out at noon that Kaden will be home THIS THURSDAY! In less than 48 hours, he will be in our arms. I'm still in shock.

The day we've waited for is finally going to happen. Thank you so much everyone for your prayers and support. I will be sure to post pictures as soon as I possibly can. It may take awhile as I will be adjusting to first-time parenthood!

Nursery is finished

We finally put the finishing touches on the nursery this afternoon. It is all ready to go. Now we just need Kaden home to enjoy it!

Also, we are now the #1 waiters with Holt International on our Holt Web Forum. So, we really are getting very, very close to a travel call.


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Frantic Day

We got a call from our social worker today letting us know that the Embassy in Seoul never received our I-600 approval. After spending all afternoon on hold on the phone with USCIS, I finally spoke to a live person who promised to resend it today or tomorrow. Three people got their travel calls today and I really had hoped to be in that bunch. Had the Embassy received the approval in time (I think they lost it), we probably would have been. - SIGH -

Have to keep trusting in God's timing. Help me remember that!

Baby Shower

Today was Kaden's shower. It was so much fun and he got a lot of great stuff. Now we just need him to hurry home to enjoy it all! I'd like to send a big THANK YOU to Jennifer, Hannah, & Kim for hosting the shower. It was absolutely perfect. I'd also like to send a THANK YOU to everyone that came and made it such a special day.

Here are just a few pictures. You can view the rest by clicking on the picture link to the right. If you need the password, just e-mail me at rat898@juno.com.

Kitchen Update

We are ALMOST done with the kitchen! Go to our DropShots page to see more pictures and read the update (link at right).

Also, we got Kaden's medical report today from his hospitalization. He was released from the hospital on Monday, August 14 and as of that date he weighed 15 lbs. 14 oz.!!!!!! We have one BIG boy arriving soon!

I-600 Approval!

We got our I-600 approval in the mail today! It was approved on August 15 - our 8th anniversary. It is also interesting to note that today is Kaden's 100th day, a highly celebrated event in Korean culture.

Now all we can do is wait for a travel call!

Please pray for Kaden

We just found out this morning that Kaden was admitted into the hospital on August 8 with a Urinary Tract Infection. I'm assuming that he is out of the hospital by now and on antibiotics.

Please pray that he gets to feeling better soon and will quickly be on his way home!

We're getting closer!

We found out yesterday that as of August 1, USCIS was processing I-600 applications with a receipt date of July 13. Ours is dated July 27. So, if they keep processing at the same rate, our application should be approved around the time of our anniversary - August 15. That would be a great 8th anniversary gift.

Since that is just 1 week away, I'm starting to panic. The kitchen isn't done, the nursery isn't done, and I have to work at the college this week and next as well. Oh well, it will all work out in the end. I'm just excited to get my baby HOME!

God's timing is perfect

New laws going into effect in Korea have really made me realize this week that God's timing is perfect. Starting in January, South Korea will not release babies for adoption until they are 5 months old. Here I have been complaining that Kaden will already be 4 months old by the time he comes home, and many other families are now facing the reality that their baby will be 7-8 months old at the least, when they come home.

If we hadn't have started the adoption process when we did, Kaden would not be our son, and we would have gotten caught in this new legislation. Wow. God is so good! So, I need to stop worrying about how fast or slow USCIS is approving our paperwork, and simply look at how blessed I really am to be in God's perfect timing.

Update on Kitchen & I-600

Well, we still don't have I-600 approval, but at least we know they got it! We received a receipt dated July 25. So, if they did take the full 6 weeks to process it, we would get our approval on September 5. We, of course, are still hoping for approval and travel in the month of August.

Our kitchen is coming along. Ryan has the ceiling framed out and has one piece of sheetrock up so far. He needs to get some wiring figured out for our lights before he can hang anymore. In the meantime, we are getting by nicely in our makeshift kitchen.

For those of you that know Hank Clark, we found out yesterday that he has gone to be with his wife. His funeral is tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. While we will miss Hank, I can't help but be happy for him. I know he's wanted to be with Mary and enjoy eternal rest with Jesus for a long time now. I keep picturing him on a lawn mower with Mary on his lap, happily mowing the day away!