Almost home a whole month!

It's hard to believe how quickly this first month has gone. Kaden has changed so much just in this amount of time. Below is a picture I took today that I think truly caputres his personality!

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If Kaden Wore Glasses

I got new glasses at Eye Master's in the mall, and while we were there Kaden got to try on some glasses as well! We have been busy, busy, busy lately and the month of October is filling up fast. Our baby boy is going to be all grown up before we know it. He'll have been home 4 weeks tomorrow and on October 10, he will be 5 months old. Yikes!

Funny Fish Face

Whenever Kaden sits on one of our lap's while we are eating, he does everything in his power to get a bite. The funniest thing though, is the face he makes during his attempt. His eyes pop out and he puckers up his lips to make what we call the "fish face." It is so funny!

Home for 3 weeks

Can you believe that it's been 3 weeks since we picked up Kaden? Where has the time gone? It's amazing how much Kaden has grown and changed in these past few weeks. We are learning more about him each and every day and are beginning to "figure" each other out! We are so blessed to have him in our lives and look forward to the many, many more weeks ahead.

Kaden's First Harvest

Kaden rode in the combine yesterday! He didn't seem to mind it at all and even slept for an hour and a half. Today, he rode alone with Dad while Mom spent two hours at home playing "catch up" on house work.

Here's a video clip:

Kaden is eating cereal!

Well, I don't think the old wives tale is true. Feeding a baby cereal before bed DOES NOT help him sleep through the night! Kaden really likes the cereal and took to eating it like a duck to water. He has the spoon thing figured out and I couldn't shovel it in fast enough for him. But, he still woke up 4 times last night. Go figure.

Here is a video clip of Kaden packing it in! Also, I would like to ask for your prayers for tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. We are having our first post-placement visit.

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We're getting closer!

Last night Kaden went to bed at 10:30 p.m. He woke up at 11:30, 1:30, 3:30, and 6:00 for bottles. Then he slept until 7:15! So, he is pretty much back on his Korean schedule. His foster mom said he would sleep from 11:00 pm. until 7:00 a.m. waking up for two times for a bottle. We're getting closer!

Her report also said he took one morning nap and one afternoon nap. Kaden went down for a nap at 11:30 a.m. and is still asleep (it is now 1:15 p.m.). I will probably wake him up soon if he doesn't wake up on his own. So, I am hoping that he will take a nap from about 4:00 until 6:00 this afternoon and then go to bed around 10:30 again. Now, we just need to get his feeding schedule figured out and we will be doing really, really well!

Pray for sleep

I am sooooooooo tired. Kaden still has not adjusted to our time zone. Last night was the best so far. He slept from 9:00 until 10:00, woke up and was fussy until about 12:30 a.m. when he had a really big fit. Once he calmed down, he took a bottle and slept from 1:00 until 4:00. He then woke up, had another fit and another bottle and eventually went back to sleep until 8:00 am.!!!! This is the longest night's sleep we've had yet.

It is so hard on us to watch him have his nightly fits. We can't do anything to calm him. He won't take a bottle, turns his head from us, thrashes around, and screams at the top of his lungs. We think that he is grieving for his foster mom back in Korea. Nighttime seems to remind him that she is not here.

Please pray for our little guy. We want him to be happy and feel secure and loved. It's so hard to see him in such emotional agony. It's also really hard on us physically and emotionally. We are so tired. So, we would really appreciate your prayers.

During the day, when he's not sleeping, Kaden is generally very happy and easy going. He loves to look at lights and to listen to music. He sits very quietly and looks intently when I read him books (then tries to eat the book!), and he likes to lay on his tummy and bat his hanging toys back and forth. We enjoy these fun moments and they definitely outway the bad ones.

We've kind of slacked off on the picture taking lately. Chalk it up to sleep deprivation I guess! But, I wanted to share a couple of scrapbook pages I've created with some of our favorite pictures so far:

Starting to Adjust

Kaden is slowly getting back into his routine. He's still on Korean time, but at least he is sleeping in long stretches now rather than an hour at a time. When he is awake, full, and clean is VERY happy and content! We melt everytime he gives us a big smile or belly laugh!

Here is a video clip for your enjoyment:

We're Home!

Meeting Kaden at the airport was an amazing experience. The wait for him to arrive at the airport was almost worse than the entire 14 month wait of the adoption process!

It was such a wonderful feeling when I finally held Kaden in my arms. My friend Michelle was able to capture that special moment on film, and I think you can see the joy in my face.

We had a rough trip home and a rough first night home, but Kaden is now sleeping peacefully and we look forward to a fun day. He was all smiles and giggles at the airport, and we're sure they will return once he gets settled in his new surroundings.

We love him so much already. He has us wrapped around his little finger! Be sure to go to http://www.dropshots.com/starwarsfans to see more pictures. We will add more once we get them from Michelle. Hopefully we will have video soon too.

Thanks for sharing in our special day!

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!