Happy 1st BDay Emalee, Happy Thanksgiving and Prayers

So, I'm just a couple weeks late posting a happy birthday to Emalee. She actually turned 1 year old on November 9th. The day after her birthday Jacob came down with the flu and had a 100-104 fever for 6 whole days! So, I didn't have time to post anything and be a productive mommy at the same time. If that wasn't enough, David got the flu the following week and then Emalee got it. As of today we've recovered! I've decided that I need a clone and I'd get much more done!
Emalee's party was great! We gave her a traditional Korean Tol party with a bit of an American flare mixed in. After all, she is still a Korean citizen! We had a lot of fruit, bright colors and a five layer birthday cake! Korean sesame cookies, cucumber kimchi and Bulgogi were also served. She got lots of presents and enjoyed having her family come over to celebrate her special day with her. Everyone came except for Aunt Heidi and Uncle Jeff due to work schedules and Aunt Kara and Uncle Corey because Aunt Kara decided to get the stomach flu and go to the hospital instead! : ) We're so grateful that we had another day to celebrate our beautiful little princess. Three years ago we felt the Lord probing our hearts and we're so glad that we listened to Him. We have 3 wonderful gifts from God and we're just so humbled to be their parents!
Speaking of being grateful...Thanksgiving has come and gone, but we had a great day. We celebrated at our house this year and had my parents and my sister Heidi's family as our guests. It's always nice to be with family and I'm glad we had such a great day.
The next day was BLACK FRIDAY!!! I went to Walmart at 4:50 a.m. to get some great buys and totally succeeded! It went so well that I pulled back in my driveway at 5:39a.m. with everything that I planned on getting! Now that's what I call shopping!
Today my sister-in-law, Kara, will be having surgery to remove some cancer that's blocking her right lung. She could really use our prayers. I love her dearly and my heart just breaks that she is having to go through this situation. Please pray for her husband, Corey, too as he walks this road with her.
Lord God, I come to You knowing that You are fullly aware of what is happening in Kara's life. Thank you for allowing Your people to call on You with all our troubles, praises and triumphs. I praise You because You are a god that communicates with Your followers! No other god does that! You alone are the Lord Most High! I come to you now asking that You would wrap your loving arms around Corey and Kara today as they once again face this horrible disease of cancer. God, I know that you can heal and I humbly ask that You would do so. You've already done so many miracles in Kara's life and I thank You for that. Lord, I also know that sometimes my ways aren't Your ways. So, if that's the case would You give Corey, Kara and the rest of our family the strength to face this battle together? We know that our strength is only found in You! God, thank You for Kara's beautiful, fun, and bubbly spirit. Help her to rest in You today as You give her the "peace that passes all understanding."
In Jesus' Name, Amen!

Happy Birthday to Jacob!!!

Happy Birthday to Jacob!!! I'll never forget the day you were born. You were sooo tiny...4 pounds 1 ounce when you came into the world. Now you're 9 years old already and growing so fast that I can't blink or I miss it! I'm so glad God blessed our family with you. You're my silly little guy and can always make me laugh and smile. I love your blonde hair that sticks up on your head and your crooked nose. I love that you love life and have so many questions to ask about it. I love who you are and wouldn't want you to be any other way! I love being your mommy!

First yucky cold!

Thought I'd post a picture of my happy baby since she's not so happy today. She has her very first yucky cold. Poor baby! Even her brother's feel sorry for her.

I'll be having a garage sale tomorrow and Saturday if anyone wants to drop by. There's some really good stuff in it this time....toys, treadmill, lots of nice furniture, crafts, etc. Dad is being nice to come help me in the morning...thanks Dad!

Home 6 months!!!...and our last 2 weeks

We've done a lot of things in the last couple of weeks, so I thought I'd give an update...

Happy Birthday David! My oldest baby celebrated his 12th birthday! He was surprised that we actually got him what he asked for...a Nintendo DS. We thought that we'd have trouble w/him wanting to play it all of the time, but he's actually surprised us and has done really well managing his time wisely.
David has also started using his bow on the violin this week. He's excited to be able to do that instead of plucking the strings. He's can play the "D" scale, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", and a Folk Song.

Jacob is doing well in school. He's an excellent speller...makes an "A" on every spelling test and doesn't even have to study. He's made many new friends and seems to be enjoying the year. He's working on addition and subtraction.

We celebrated Emalee being home 6 months yesterday!!!! She has started to army crawl, clap and wave bye-bye. She's also started to sit up from a laying down position. We bought a baby gate for the stairway that Brian is installing this weekend. She's eating baby food much better and will eat Cheerios.

Tonight I'm going on a date with David and Jacob. We're going to High Street Bapt. Church to see "Bible Man Live!" The boys don't even know yet...I'm just going to surprise them. We're going with a friend of mine and her 3 boys. It'll be so much fun! Brian and Emalee are going to stay home and have have some Daddy/Emalee time. I think they were going to try ice cream together.

Remembering 9/11

Do you remember where you were at? What you were doing? How you felt? It doesn't seem like 6 years ago that America was attacked in such a vicious, cruel act of hatred, but today marks that anniversary. I hung my flag outside this morning and said a prayer for the families of the victims and for our country. I recalled my memories of that day....
I had just sent David off to kindergarten for the day, turned on the TV to watch the TODAY Show and the phone rang. It was my sister calling to tell me that a plane had crashed into the WTC. We chatted for a few minutes as we both speculated on what had happened when the WTC had been hit again by a jet! We both knew that this was terrorism. We sat in silence on the phone as we both watched Matt Lauer and Katie Couric try to gather their wits and report on this devastating news. I remember debating on whether or not I should go get David out of school...praying again for the safety of my family and the safety of my country. Remember the patriotism that followed? Do you remember the leaders of our country gathering on the capitol steps singing "God Bless America?" All those memories and feelings have faded over the years as we've gotten back into our normal routines.
I guess I wrote this as reminder to us all to pray for our nation. We are so blessed to live in a country that believes in freedom and opportunity and we should take the time to thank God for it and to ask Him to guide our leaders as they make decisions affecting our nation as well as the rest of the world.

2Chronicles 7:14
...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Sweatin' With A Smile On!!!

Earlier this month our church had Vacation Bible School. As we were driving home one day in 100+ degree weather Jacob said to me..."Mom, I'm sweatin'." Then after a few seconds I heard him say, "But I'm doin' it with a smile on!" I said, "Why are you smiling?" He said, "'Cause I'm mad about it, but I don't want to be mad, so I'm gonna smile!"

Out of the mouth of babes! How many lessons we could learn from our children if we just take time to listen. It's taken me a few weeks to mull over this conversation with him. I've just started studying the book of James and interestingly enough in chapter 1 vs. 2 it says, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials...."

I have a very good teacher/friend at my church that has taught me to be deliberate in my thinking. I think that is just what Jacob did that hot summer day. He could have been mad about his situation, but he made the deliberate choice to take control of his emotions. He "considered it all joy" instead. I hope that the next time I encounter a trial I can remember to apply this lesson.

My Tribute & FYI

Hats off to my fabulous sister, Laura, who knows exactly what to do in order for my blog to run smoothly! She helped me get my pictures where they're supposed to go so that you all don't have to scroll to the bottom of the screen anymore! Yeah!

FYI, it has been brought to my attention that dryer sheets such as Bounce, clean soap scum from shower walls. I've not tried this yet, but thought that I'd give it a whirl next time I clean. I do know from personal experience that Mr. Clean Magic Erasers do a marvelous job at cleaning soap scum from the tub and shower walls as well. Happy cleaning!!!

School and Court

The boys started school Monday and absolutely love it! They wear uniforms to school and were so handsome. I took their picture and a picture of them with our neighbor kids that also go to school with them. Anyway, they LOVE their new school and I think we're off to a great start to the new school year.

David will be playing violin this year. He's really excited about that and has his first class in violin today. Guess who gets to be his private teacher????? : )

Today is our first court hearing regarding our adoption of Emalee. It's our official "Petition to Adopt" her. From what I've heard the Judge just verifies with us that we do want to adopt her. It looks like she'll be "officially" adopted sometime in February. That's when she'll become a U.S. citizen too. We'll be so happy to have all of this over with soon.

David and Jacob

David and Emalee

Jacob and Emalee

Wound up like an 8 day clock!

So, here's the scoop on the last two weeks of our lives...

The weekend of the 21st we took a little mini-vacation to Branson. We stayed at a friend's condo and really had a great time. It was nice to just leave all of our responsibilities behind and to abandon the everyday grind for awhile.
We went to Celebration City and Predator World. Celebration City was a lot of fun. I rode several roller coasters with the boys while Brian observed from the ground with Emalee. I love roller coasters! Brian would rather not have anything to do with them! Predator World was just O.K. It just wasn't what we were all hoping it would be. It was like a regular zoo except they have a few sharks and sting rays. It was way too expensive for what it was.
We played mini-golf and swam a lot too! I think the boys enjoyed swimming the most! Even Emalee swam. She loves playing in the water!

We got back from our vacation last Sunday and the following Monday morning David went to Baptist Hill for Boy's camp. He was gone Monday-Friday afternoon. He had a great week and can't wait to go back next year.

While we were in Branson Jacob had a lot of asthma problems. He's struggled with his asthma for several days now so we decided we'd better get him checked out. David's allergies are yucky too, so we took both of them to the Dr. this past weekend. Jacob was very close to having pneumonia and David has some major sinus allergies. So, Jacob was put on prednisone and flonase along with an increase in his albuterol and flovent. He also has an antibiotic. David just has to take some flonase.

For those of you that have had experience with albuterol....pray for us!!! Jacob is wound up like an 8 day clock! He's sooooo hyper!!!! He's taking 2-4 puffs every 4 hours!!! On top of that the prednisone is making him CRANKY!!! Tomorrow he gets to go to every 6 hours and maybe he'll start calming down by then.

I think Emalee is starting to get a cold too. She's just finishing up her antibiotic for an ear infection, but last night started a runny nose and sneezing and just hasn't been herself today.

WARNING: Major venting just ahead....
Did I mention that the VCR downstairs went out? We've had it since we were married so it's about time....BUT...the DVD/VCR player upstairs went out AND if that wasn't enough my dishwashwer bit the dust too! Why do things like this always happen in 2's or 3's???

Road trip!

We're leaving the house at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow so that we can go to K.C. David is running and jumping again in the Jr. Olympic State Track meet tomorrow. He competes at 10:00 a.m. We have to be there by 9:30 a.m. This will be Emalee's first time traveling further than across town and back! That's why we've decided to leave a little bit early. Hopefully, she'll be a great little traveler for us! After we leave K.C. we're traveling to Jeff. City to sees Brian's cousin Michelle and her family for a little bit and then we'll come home.

Good news this week is that all of Emalee's blood work came back and everything tested normal! Yeah! We also had the Dr. look at Jacob's back today because of suspected scoliosis. The Dr. said that Jacob definitely has mild scoliosis. He said that it's nothing to really worry about yet and that we will just monitor him as he grows.

Feeling Sad......

I just learned some very tragic news. One of the women on my adoption forum lost their newly adopted daughter to SIDS. This precious baby was only 10 months old and was brought home to her family around the same time we got Emalee. She simply went to sleep and woke up in Heaven. I can't imagine the pain that this family is going through. To wait sooooooo long for a baby.......it just doesn't seem fair. We just don't know what tomorrow brings do we? We think we have things all figured out, but the Lord tells us to live for today.

I also learned that another family that got their daughter around the time that we got Emalee has decided to terminate their adoption due to unforeseen medical needs that their baby has. Please pray that this baby finds a family that is able to care for her and that these parents would find peace and comfort in their decision.

These two families really need our prayers.

Hug and kiss your kids today and let them know how much you love them.

Checking In

What a busy summer we're having! David played baseball this Spring and Summer. He's had practice every Monday and games on Thursdays with an optional practice on Saturday mornings. He has 2 more games and baseball will be over for the year. I know he'll miss it, but I'll be glad to slow down a little bit.

Last Friday we had some friends from church over (The Pulliam's). The boys all played in the sand and built a volcano. They had the garden hose running up the volcano so that when they turned the water on "lava" would spray out of the volcano creating a wonderful adventure of play for them all! It was loads of fun for all the boys! Reminded me of some of the great things me and my siblings would play.

It's quiet this morning because the boys went to a VBS with our neighbors and Emalee is sleeping right now. Speaking of Emalee, I took her for a check up Monday. She weighs 17 lbs and 2 oz. She's 27 inches long. She has to get some lab work done so I took her to get her blood drawn. After 3 attempts to locate her veins and much crying and screaming on Emalee's part I decided that we were done for the day! They only got a few drops (literally) of blood so we'll have to go back at some point this summer to try again. This is not a future trip that I'm looking forward to. : (

We have our interview with the school that we've picked out for the boys on July 3. We're all very excited. Both boys are looking forward to going to a new school. They already know a few kids that go there, so I think that will make the transition a little easier for them. We also have neighbor kids that go there, so we can car-pool too! If you'd like to look up their school I think their web site is http://www.graceclassical.org/

Well, I'd better go get some laundry started!

Summer Time!!!

The boys had their last day of school this past Thursday! They're really glad that school is out and more than ready for a break from daily lessons and home work. David will start tutoring in math next week on M, W & F. During that same time I'm going to be working with Jacob on his math. We'll also be keeping up with reading and spelling. Some break, huh? Well, I'm hoping that this will be fun and don't plan on making it too hard or demanding on either of them. My goal is to just keep them polished up!

Emalee cut two teeth this past week! She's been really fussy and needing mommy a lot the last 5 days. She turned 7 months old this past Saturday. She's also rolling over several times now in both directions!

David is playing baseball this summer. He also ran in a track event last Wednesday. We found out about this event on the very day it was held!! David got 2nd place in all 3 events that he did. The 100m and 200m sprint, and the standing broad jump. He was the shortest and youngest boy that participated in his age group. Not bad for finding out the day of the event.
He will complete in the Jr. Olympic State meet on July 7.

Jacob is having fun playing with the neighborhood kids. He's not really interested in playing a sport this summer. I'm looking into some things that he might like to do. I don't want him feeling left out. We're thinking about having the boys in his Sunday school class over to swim one Saturday this summer. First we have to get the pool up! With all the rain we haven't done that yet!

Some of you remember that I have a friend that had triplet baby girls the day after Mother's Day. Well, 2 of them went home Saturday! The other one is suppossed to go home today or possibly tomorrow! Hurray!

Happy Birthday to my Hubby & other great news!!!

Happy Birthday, Brian!!! I love you with all my heart and am so thankful that I'm married to you! I hope you have a wonderful day!


The other great news...
My chin is still on the floor! I can't believe what happened yesterday and am soooo humbled and in awe! So, here goes.........
I had a person (wants to remain anonymous) come over to my house yesterday with the greatest news. They told me that a person that we've never met sent them to tell us that they have set up a fund at their bank for all 3 of my children to fund ALL of their years of schooling at a private Christian school of OUR CHOICE!!!!
Is your chin on the floor too? Mine is!!! This is for real!!! I don't even know what to say except that I'm still in shock! I even called this person this morning to make sure that it really was real and they laughed and said that it really is for real, it's all set to go at the bank and ready for this next school year! So, Brian and I are researching the schools in our area and have to make a decision pretty quickly because some of them close enrollment at some point this summer. Our only concern is that we need to find a school that would be able to work with David on some of his learning disabilities. Some of the schools here don't have those kind of resources, but I think we've found two that do. Pray that we make the right choice.
Beyond totally grateful,
Heather

Oh What a Beautiful Morning!!!

What a lovely day we're having. I've been so happy to have sunshine and mild temperatures around here lately. It really perks me up. I've actually washed, dryed and put away (that's the amazing part) 4 loads of laundry today. I've thoroughly cleaned my bathroom and kitchen, dusted the basement, windexed windows (even in the basement) and loaded and unloaded the dishwasher. I must say that I'm impressed with myself!

Of couse, I have some motivation. I'm having a jewelry party here tomorrow night (feel free to come if you like at 6:30 p.m.) and my family over Friday night. I always get more done when I have a good reason to do it.

Yesterday I went on a field trip with Jacob's class. We went on a nature hike at Ritter Spring's Park. I put Emalee in the Ergo (baby carrier) and she fell asleep the whole time we hiked! Jacob really enjoyed showing off his new baby sister too.

David's summer baseball league has their first game tomorrow night. He's really excited about playing again. They had 2 weeks off and he's ready to get back into the action!

We're all ready for school to be out! David is going to have a math tutorer this summer. We're really hoping that this will be a postive thing for him. His tutorer is very excited to work with him and seems to really want to help make thing "click" for him. Jacob and I are going to work on some math while David is tutoring.

The trampoline safety net is up and we'll be putting the pool up in a couple of weeks! I'm really looking forward to a fun summer with my kiddos!

Going on a date!

Today Emalee and I went to my friend Rachel's house. Rachel adopted a baby boy, Oliver (Ollie) earlier this year from Korea. I met Rachel on an adoption forum last summer and we figured out that we both live in Springfield, so we've kept in touch ever since!

Anyway, another member (Ansley) on the adoption forum came to Springfield this week to visit all the way from Oregon! Ansley, her husband Eric and their newly adopted son, Aricin were all at Rachel's this morning. It was a nice visit and so nice to put faces to names of people on the forum.

This evening Brian and I are going on our first date since Emalee's been home. We don't even know what we're doing! I think we're both just excited to get out of the house and have some "together" time w/o our 3 muchkins tagging along! We're leaving Emalee w/Nana and the boys are going to their school's Parents Night Out program. The boys love going there because it's pretty fun for them. Hopefully, Emalee and Nana will have as much fun ;-)

Picture of my kiddos!!!

If you'll scroll down to the bottom of this page you'll see a new picture of the kids that I just got back from JC Penney.

Well, David left for Jeff. City at 7 a.m. and was so excited that he could hardly contain himself. I think he's more excited about riding on the Grey Hound bus then actually touring the capitol city. : - ) Jacob seemed to be starting a cold this morning and Emalee is still sick too.

Brian & I are going out on a date tomorrow night. It seems like every time we have a date planned one of the kids gets sick! We've had to cancel our last 2 dates because of this. Ugh! Anyway, I guess that's life!

This week's post

It's past 5 p.m. and Emalee is napping, the boys and Brian are working on the lawn mower. I have a few minutes to post before I cook supper. I've been informed by a dear family member that I'm not posting enough for her liking. I think I'll just be posting weekly from now on unless I have something profound to say!!! So, here's this weeks post.

Last night Emalee was up two times. I was noticing that her nose was getting a little bit runny and I was right. She has her first cold. : ( She's okay, but she doesn't feel good today. She about wore me out yesterday wanting me to hold her A LOT! Now I know why!

Brian taught David how to mow the lawn yesterday. He is so proud of himself and asked if he could mow today too! Funny since they finished the job yesterday! If you need a lawn mowed I know of a boy that would be willing to do it for you!

Jacob got to use the leaf blower and was proud of his work too. After he was done he came inside and said that he wished that he was stronger so that he could mow too!

We got a trampoline from some friends that moved and couldn't take it with them. The boys are having a blast! I think every boy needs a trampoline. It's good exercise and gets some of that built up energy out in a postive way. Of course, there's always the fear of a broken bone! I try not to think about that and just pray that they're okay!

David will be going to Jefferson City this Thursday on an all day field trip with his class. This trip will conclude their study of the Capitol and Missouri government. The bus leaves at 7 a.m. and he won't return until 10 p.m. This is the furthest that he'll be going w/o a parent or relative! Yikes! He's looking forward to the trip. I'm looking forward to his safe return!

Lastly, we were very, very blessed today. We officially have all of Emalee's adoption paid in full!!!! Someone gave us the last of the money that we needed for our lawyer fees and we're so thankful for that! You know who you are and we love you very much! You have given us a relief from a load of stress that we were carrying around. Thank you so much!

Psalm 9: 1-2

I will praise you, O Lord, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

I do have time to write today!

Since I found a little bit of time to write today I'd like to start out by giving a BIG congratulations to both of my wonderful sons! They competed in our district Junior Olympic Skills competition this past Saturday and did a wonderful job! Jacob got 4th place in the basketball tournament and David took 1st place in Track and Field. As most of you know, David went all the way to Nationals last year and brought home the bronze medal and is hoping to have the opportunity again this year. We'll keep you posted!

Also, I wanted to let you all know that Brian is being ordained as a Deacon of our church this Sunday evening. If you'd like to come call and we'll let you know what time it is.

Today I went to a Korean adoption fundraiser sale held at High Street Bapst Church. I got to see my friend Rachel and her newly adopted son, Ollie. Rachel got to meet Emalee for the first time. I also got to meet the couple that is in the adoption process that the proceeds will benefit. Brian and I had 2 garage sales to help with our finances, but how cool is it that all these friends pulled together to help bring another baby home!!! I can't wait to meet Sam when he gets home!

Home 1 month!!!

Emalee will be home 1 month tomorrow. I won't have time to write tomorrow, so I thought I'd post this today! I can't believe it! One month ago (Korea time) we were at Eastern waiting in the lounge for Emalee and her foster mother. When they arrived her foster mother was crying and loving on Emalee as much as she could before she would hand her over to us. As heart breaking as it was, I couldn't help but be so thankful for the love that this very special woman had for my daughter. While we waited for Dr. Kim Sr. to arrive Emalee's foster mother held her and would turn around and walk to the other side of the room and talk to Emalee and pat her and hug her and mess with her clothes to assure herself that she would be warm, etc. I don't have words to express my gratefulness to this wonderful woman and unless you've been in my shoes you'll never fully understand how much she means to us. I tried as much as I could to let her know how much we love her, but because of the language barrier only our tears and hugs could show eachother how we felt. Brian and I decided that although we couldn't understand the Korean language the universal language that we did understand that day was the language of love.

Dr. Kim Sr. came to the lounge along with some other Eastern staff and he prayed over Emalee. I wish so much that I knew what he prayed. Our friends Charlie and Tricia were there adopting their daughter and video taped this special time for us. After the prayer our social worker asked me and Brian to go outside and get in the van. While we were in the van Emalee's foster mother had one more time alone with her to say her good bye's. Then she walked to the van and handed Emalee to Brian. The driver got in the van and we left.

The drive to the airport was about 45 minutes. Brian gave Emalee to me and I got to feed her the rest of her bottle and then she fell asleep in my arms for the first time. I think Brian and I cried all the way to the airport. There were so many emotions. We talked about how pretty she was and how little she was and how her hair was so long. Mostly, we sat in silence wiping our tears. One of the emotions that I didn't expect was a feeling of sadness. A sadness for my daughter for her losses. The loss of a language, culture, heritage, birth family. The loss of what could have been her future life. And although I knew in my heart that we were doing what the Lord asked us to do I couldn't help to feel this overwhelming sense of sadness right in the middle of my joy. It's another feeling that I can't explain and that you'll not understand unless you've been there.

Since we've had Emalee home she's gone from drinking a 4 oz. bottle to a 6-7 oz. bottle. She's turned over from her back to her tummy except she can't figure out how to get her arm out of the way yet and it makes her mad! She loves playing in her Exersaucer. She lays on her back on the floor and if her socks are off she likes to grab her feet and try to put them in her mouth! She doesn't care for the baby swing. She does still like mommy to carry her in the baby carrier. She's still in 3-6 month clothes and and size 2 diaper. She likes to laugh with daddy and is really starting to like her new brothers. She still sleep a lot! She goes to bed around 10 p.m. and wakes around 4 a.m. for a bottle, then sleeps until 8 a.m. stays awake until she has a bottle at 11 a.m. , wakes at 1 p.m. and stays awake until around 5 p.m., naps 1-2 hours and then stays awake until 10 p.m. She also takes little 30 minute cat naps in between some of that! At least it's a pretty consistent schedule.

I LOVE MY ERGO!!!

I just have to say that I love my Ergo baby carrier! Today I went to Walmart and put Emalee in the Ergo. She LOVES being in it. She went right to sleep and literally slept the whole entire time that I was shopping until I put her back in her car seat. Then she slept in her car seat until we got home. Also, every time she starts to get fussy all I have to do is "wear" her for a little while and she calms right down! I have to admit that I was a skeptic at first when a lot of my adoption friends said to get an Ergo. It's really pricey and you know me, I'm the Walmart Queen. I just don't buy things that cost $100.00!!! However, since sooooo many of my friends said that they had tried other carrier and they just didn't work I decided to risk it and got the Ergo. When we brought Emalee home from Korea we took it w/us. Brian said that it paid for itself just on our trip alone! We stood in line in Chicago's immigration line for 2+ hours and wore Emalee the whole time. It's comfy, my back didn't/doesn't hurt wearing it and she feels safe and secure. What more could a mom ask for?! If you have a baby or toddler you should really look into this thing. www.ergobabycarrier.com

What a day of rejoicing that will be...

"When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be.
When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory!"

Do you all remember that hymn? That's the hymn that's been running through my head today. My sister-in-law's father stepped into heaven yesterday (Easter) morning after battling cancer for quite some time. My heart goes out to her and her family, but I rejoice knowing that her dad is in the presence of the King of King's! Entering heaven on Easter morning.....makes me wonder what kind of celebration he witnessed! Don't you know he shouted the victory! Thanks to my friends that have kept this family in your prayers!

I started off my Easter day by getting the kids up and ready for church. The boys wore new shirts their grandma got them and I dressed Emalee in her new dress that her uncle bought for her. About 2 minutes before we walked out the door she spit up all over her new dress! Not just a little spit up, but A LOT! I had to change her into another dress! She was beautiful anyway!

After church we went to grandma's house for lunch and then back home. While Emalee took a nap we had an Easter egg hunt w/David and Jacob. It was a fun day.

Today I took Emalee for her first Dr. visit. She's 25 inches long and weighs just shy of 14 pounds. She's long and skinny! Her head circ. is over the 95th percentile! Actually, on the Korean growth chart her head is just fine! Her Dr. was really impressed with her care and the quality of her records that her agency in Korea kept! He said she looked great! He also said that he wasn't too concerned with her heart murmur! He said that he could "faintly hear it!"
That's the praise for the day!

From dawn to setting sun a mother's work is never done!

Those of you that know me well, know that I like my house to be clean, organized and de-cluttered. It's amazing how a person that only weighs roughly 15 pounds, can't roll over or sit up yet can change things so drastically!

I haven't dusted since Emalee's been home and there is the never ending pile of laundry that never seems to go away! Not only that, but somehow these little bitty clothes are adding up creating more laundry to be done!

Emalee's grieving quite a bit today. She grieved over 2 hours last night and today it was about 1 1/2 hours before she finally zonked out for a nap! I really thought she was getting a little more settled, but last night proved me to be wrong. On top of that the boys are starting to act out more than they ususally do. We're trying to spend as much quality time w/them as we can, but they are still a little stressed with the change our family is going through.

Tonight we're going to see "Bible Man" live at one of our local churches! The boys are really excited about that! If you don't know anything about Bible Man, he's kind of the Bat Man of Christian cartoons! I'm sure the boys will really enjoy this, but I worry about how Emalee will be. I don't think she's up for a baby sitter, but the boys are really needing me to go too. Nothing like feeling pulled in different directions, huh?

Since it's Easter weekend I probably won't write again until next week. We plan on coloring eggs tomorrow and making the Easter Story cookies tomorrow night. Sunday we'll go to church and after that I'm not sure what we'll do. We may go out to eat, but we're still just playing it by ear w/Emalee.

Hope you all have a great weekend celebrating our risen Savior!

Home 1 week today!!!

Can you believe it's already been a week since we've been home? We've been so busy settling in to our new "normal" that time has just flown by! I believe that I'm finally caught up with my sleep and Brian is too!

Emalee is adjusting really well now! She's sleeping in her crib instead of in our bed! : ) She sleeps through the night only waking once for a bottle and then goes right back to sleep! She's such a happy and sweet baby. We are very blessed! She still has some grieving time every day, but it it's slowly diminishing. She does seem to still get upset when we've had too much stimulation, so we're still limiting certain things for her. She's still fragile and needs to learn who her caregivers are and build a bond and trust with us. We're also not introducing very many new toys/rattles to her so that she has something consistent every day.

The boys are doing well with her too! They both love her very much and talk and play with her daily. They've told their classes about her and one of them has requested that I bring her for "show 'n' tell"! Isn't that funny! Maybe in a few weeks!

Brian and I look at Emalee every day and still cry! We're just so happy to have her home with us! We've notice that Emalee has my bow tie lips and Brian's crooked pinkie finger! She's a perfect fit! We're amazed that we've been praying for this child since before she was formed in the womb of her birth mother! That just goes to show that the Lord does have a perfect plan for us...a plan for a hope and a future! We're just blessed that her future includes us!

Here's a poem I found a few months ago:

A Half A World Away~

A half a world away

Sometimes it seems we're so far apart.

but a half a world away,

Is not too far for a journey of the heart.

My little one, my precious joy,

I'm waiting for you.

My precious daughter, my little girl,

I know you're waiting too.

A half a world away,

A child waits for a family of her own.

While a half a world away,

A family waits to come bring her home.

My little one, my precious joy,

I'm whispering a prayer,

My precious daughter, my little girl,

I hope to soon be there.

A half a world away,

So many months of waiting are past.

A half a world away,

So many miles to bring you home at last.

My little one, my precious joy,

You're finally home to stay.

My precious daughter, my little girl,

We celebrate this day.

Knowing we

will no longer be

a half a world away.

~Jill Work

Our 3rd day as a family of FIVE!!!

We had a good start to our day because we actually got to sleep through the night! Emalee slept from 9 p.m. until 7 a.m. We were very pleased to get some sleep. She did cry a lot yesterday and hardly napped in the day time. There's a certain cry that's called the "grieving" cry. I had been told about it from other adoption friends of mine, but didn't know what it would be like until Emalee started grieving yesterday. It's a heart breaking and very sad cry. There's a distinct difference in that cry compared to her "I'm hungry" cry, etc. Like I said yesterday there's nothing to soothe her except to hold her and let her get it out. She does seem to be very comforted by being in my baby carrier so I wound up carrying her for about 4-5 hours yesterday. We're trying to limit her company to help her transition. Thank you to all my friends & family that understand this! We really appreciate it!

If you scroll all the way down to the bottom of this page I posted two pictures today. The first one is Brian holding Emalee in Korea for the first time and the next one is a picture I took of her on the jet smiling at Brian...she loves her daddy! Psalm 112 should be happy to see some pics! Whoever you are would you please identify yourself???

David and Jacob are doing really well today. Yesterday was a little rough on one of them because I was very occupied with Emalee. Today she has been really good and content, so that has helped me to have more time to spend with the boys today. Brian also took the boys out today for some Daddy time. They love their daddy too!

We're Home!

I finally have a little time to write today. Brian is playing with Emalee right now. The boys are at Chuck E. Cheese with a friend of mine.

We're getting some sleep. Not much at a time, but some. Emalee slept in her crib last night from 9-11 then got up for a bottle and stayed awake until 12:30 a.m. She's doing most of her grieving cry around this time. She'll wake up on and off and just do this sad little cry. There's nothing that can console her...she just has to cry it out for a few minutes then she'll fall asleep again. She had another bottle at 4 a.m. and then slept until 9 a.m. She's been awake since then. I'm sure another nap is around the corner.

She's a little bitty thing. I actually have her in a size 1 diaper right now! She weighs about 14 pounds and only has 4 oz. of formula about every 3 hours. Her personality is so precious. She likes to laugh and talk to us. I think that she'll adjust rather quickly. Probably a few weeks and she'll be settled in well.

Thanks to all of you that showed up at the airport. It made a very special day even more special for us. We feel very loved by all of you. Also, thanks to those that got gifts for Emalee, David and Jacob. The boys liked all their presents and I think they felt special too!

I'm getting spoiled by all the great dinners we receiving. I may never want to cook again!

Thanks for taking care of our family during this transition. We really appreciate your kindness and generosity. We're very blessed!

Have a wonderful day!

Email From Heather

Hi! This is Laura, Heather's sister! I got this email from Heather tonight and thought I would post it on here. Isn't God Awesome? Please remember to Pray for the Nothnagel's as they travel home. Heather, I will add my own prayer on here for you all. Thanks for letting me blog for you! I enjoyed it. After my prayer, I'll turn your blog back over to you and your password is now erased from my mind! LOL!

Laura,

It's 8:27 a.m. and just thought I'd tell some family member that we're leaving our hotel and going to get Emalee now!

Love you! Heather

Heavenly Father, I lift my sister and her family up to you as they start their journey home. Thank you God for giving them Emalee and for weaving this family together like only You could do. Thank you Father that You call them Yours. I thank You for giving Emalee a foster mother that loves her so much. Please be with her and fill her heart with Your love as Emalee leaves her to be with the family that you have chosen for her. I also pray Father that you fill the emptiness in Emalee's birth mother's heart and that somehow she would know God that Emalee is loved so very much. Thank You for this birth mother and the gift that she has given us. Thank you God for giving all of us a new joy and this wonderful new life to share with Heather and Brian. Please, God, just wrap your loving arms around this family as they begin bonding with eachother and growing in Your love. I ask that You just gently carry them in your hands as you bring them back to us. I also ask Lord, that you be with David and Jacob and help them to grow close to Emalee. Father, please be with Emalee as she travels and adjusts to her new life and family.
In Jesus name I pray, Amen

We Met Emalee!!!!!!

Emalee and her foster mother

Brian giving Emalee her first daddy kiss

Heather giving Emalee her first mommy kiss

Heather finally getting to gaze in Emalee's face and wiping up some baby drool!

Hello Everyone! What a wonderful day today has been! We went to Eastern at 9:45 this morning and met with the intake worker, Mrs. Park and received Emalee's passport and visa.
At 10:00 we met with the two Dr. Kim's (Jr. and Sr.) Our meeting with them was very nice. The meeting with Dr. Kim Sr. was very touching. He kept telling us thank you. He was pleased that we came to Korea to experience some of the culture here. We could tell that it was very important to him that we did that. He got teary during our meeting and we could tell that he truly has a heart for the orphan. He's a wonderful man of God. He told us that 45,000 orphans have found homes through Eastern since it was founded.
After our meeting with the Dr. Kims we walked down the hall to another room to meet Emalee. As we walked down the hall we spotted her! Our social worker lead us into the meeting room and then Emalee and her foster mother came in. Emalee was in a carrier on her foster mother's back. She was wearing the sweater that I sent her in January and a knitted white hat that her foster mother had made for her.
After we were introduced the foster mother handed her to me (Heather). I cried and kissed and hugged and told her how pretty she was and how much we all love her. I couldn't be happier! She is so cute and such a sweet and easy going baby. She never fussed the whole time we were with her. I held her up in the air and she smiled at me. Such a sweet smile! She seems very happy and content. Her foster mother said that she really only cries when she's hungry and said she thought she'd do well on the flight home.
Brian held her next. Emalee seems to really like Brian a lot. She smiled and laughed with him quite a bit. Her foster mother said that she seems to take to men better. Brian said that she's won his heart forever. She sucks on her hand a lot...she even chewed on Heather's finger a bit. She's a drooler! The foster mother said that Emalee will probably like David and Jacob a lot too!
After Brian held her I took her again and Emalee's foster mother, Mrs. Kim, started crying. She loves Emalee so much and it really showed. She's had seven foster babies, but Emalee is the first girl that she's ever had, so Emalee was very special to her. We're just amazed at the love she's shown Emalee and so grateful for it. We could never thank her enough. She will be in our hearts always!
We gave gifts to Mrs. Kim and then she gave us a hanbok for Emalee and a photo album of pictures that have been taken since she's had her. The photos are priceless since they are all we have of Emalee since she's been born other than the 3 we got from our agency. We also got a necklace for Emalee. It has the Korean flag on one side and on the other side Emalee's birthdate and her Korean name inscribed in hangul. This will be something to always treasure!
It was very hard to give her back when our visit ended. I had to give her more kisses and more hugs! Emalee was strapped to Mrs. Kim's back and then they left the building. It was a beautiful day and a wonderful meeting with our precious baby!
After our meeting with Emalee we had a traditional Korean lunch with Dr. Kim Sr. and other staff at Eastern. We sat at a table with Tricia and Charlie Morgan who are from TX. to adopt their daughter. There was a couple from Australia adopting a baby that we sat with too. There was an adult adoptee who was back visiting and a Dad with his 2 adopted children from Massachusetts here doing a home land tour. It was nice to sit and visit with all these other families and share in eachothers joy.
We will go to Eastern again at 8:40 in the morning. Dr. Kim Sr. will pray over Emalee and us and then we'll get her and go to the airport! Our flight leaves Korea at noon, we land in Chicago and have a layover there for awhile and should be home around 4:45 Tuesday evening.
We ask that you please keep Emalee's foster mother in your prayers. She's going to have a very difficult time tomorrow! She's a very sweet and wonderful woman. Also, please pray that our flights are not cancelled! And of course please pray that Emalee does well on the flight.
We love you all and will see you Tuesday!
Love,
Brian and Heather

Sunday In Seoul

Hello Everyone!
It's Sunday evening at 8 p.m. right now. We've had a busy day being tourists. This morning we went to Seoul Station and Lotte Mart and Pizza Hut and a palace (can't remember the name right now.)
Seoul Station is comparable to Grand Central Station. There are a lot of people there coming and going. We saw quite few S. Korean military men there.
Lotte Mart is like a Target/Walmart Super Center. We got to observe Koreans in their every day lives. It's 2 stories tall and has an escalator w/o stairs, more like a ramp so shopping carts can go up and down. It was pretty neat.
At the palace we witnessed the changing of the guards ceremony. We really are not sure about much of this, but enjoyed the sightseeing of it.
This evening we went to Seoul Tower. It is a major tourist attraction in Seoul. We went to the top of it and could see the whole city. Unfortunately, it's very over cast here but it was neat too! The tower is the 3rd tallest tower in the world.
Have you every tried Bulgogi Pizza at Pizza Hut? We didn't risk it, but it looked good. We're trying not to eat too much of the ethnic foods here. Some of them look really yummy, but we're afraid of getting sick and don't want to be sick when we bring a new baby home. We did try Bipbimbap on the airplane. It's okay, but we're not crazy about eating seaweed.
We're calling it a day now! Our legs are sore from walking so much today.
Anyway, we'll meet Dr. Kim Sr. and Jr. at 10 a.m. tomorrow. They are the founders of Eastern. Then at 11 a.m. we'll meet Emalee and her foster parents. We can't wait! After meeting Emalee we think we'll be having lunch at Eastern. We hear that there are several other staff members that we'll meet during lunch. If there's enough time after that we may rock the babies again.
We both thank you so much for all the prayers. Tomorrow will be another emotional day for us. It's been such a blessing to experience the people and culture of our daughter's birth country. We're so glad that we'll be able to answer some of the many questions that she may be asking some day. This is a beautiful country with a rich culture.
We love you all!
Brian and Heather

This Is Not Heather, but as close to her as you can get right now!

Hi everyone! This is Laura, Heathers sister. She is unable to post to this blog so she is emailing her posts to me and I am maintaining her blog while she is away. I will try to check my mail as much as possible and get her next blog up quickly. She is unable to reply to your comments right now, but if you wish to leave her comments please do so as I have set this up for her to receive them via email. I know she would love to hear from you all! As you can tell, they are doing well and having a good time. The best time will be when they get to hold Emalee and take her home!

More News From Korea!

Good morning everybody! It's 9:25 p.m. here and we're getting ready to call it a day! We're really upset about the calling card. We've tried everything and just can't seem to get a call to go through. (Laura, you can put this on the blog if you want)
We managed to conquer Seoul's subway system today! What an adventure! We went to Namdaemun market today. This place was huge! It's a place that has a lot of shops on the street and vendors in the middle of the street. Brian and I are guessing that the market covers about 8-10 square city blocks like we have in Spfd. It's packed with people walking shoulder to shoulder. We got some souveneirs there and got Emalee a hanbok (traditional korean outfit) to wear for her 1 year old pics.
The people here are very, very nice to us. They all dress very nice too. We actually feel kind of scummy in our jeans and t-shirts. They all wear suits, dresses, slacks. Almost all the women wear heels...even with all the walking that they do here! We were on the subway when high schoolers got out of school. We noticed that they are very "in" to their clothes, shoes and ipods...just like our american teens.
When walking on the sidewalks people are very pushy, but other than that we have no complaints. In the stores they are very helpful and eager to please. We can tell that they have a lot of pride in their work. In the dept. store that we were at early today there were so many employees ready to assist us it was amazing! They literally stood waiting to apply customer service. A quality we don't get much in the U.S. anymore.
We met 2 Canadians today. One teaches english in a university here and his father was here visiting him. It was nice to speak to someone in English today. We also met a few of our service men here. They were helpful in giving us directions.
Well, off to bed for the night!
Love you all,
Heather and Brian

News from Korea

We made it to Korea! Our original flight to Chicago go cancelled so we were rerouted to Dallas and flew from there to Seoul. By the time we made it to Seoul we had been awake 24 hours straight. I think we each dozed on the jet maybe 1-2 hours each. It was so hard to sleep because we were so excited!
It's noon on Saturday here. We get to meet Emalee on Monday at 10 a.m. (Sunday at 8 p.m. Missouri time). Today we went to the adoption agency she's been cared through (Eastern Social Welfare Society). We each got to go to the baby nursery and hold and feed babies. Heather got to hold a girl and she looked a lot like Emalee's referral picture. It was a very emotional time! Brian got to hold a boy. Both babies were so sweet and couldn't have been much older than a couple weeks. There are about 25 babies in the nursery waiting for a home. Very heart breaking. The nursery workers remembered Emalee after we showed her picture to them.
We went to the Hyundai Dept. store awhile ago. It's very high dollar. We also found 7-11, Outback steak house, KFC, Pizza Hut, Dunkin' Donuts, etc. I don't think we'll starve. Everything around here smells like kimchi and isn't setting well with Heather's sense of smell.
Well, we're very tired. We'll write as much as we can. Thanks for the prayers!
Love,
Brian and Heather

Hello from Seoul, Korea!!!

Hello Everybody! We made it here. It's 8:25 a.m. right now here in Seoul on Saturday. So, it's 6:25 p.m. on Friday for you. We had quite a long flight getting here. Our flight out of Spfd. was cancelled to Chicago so we were re-routed to Dallas. They wanted us to fly to Tokyo, then Seoul, but luckily we found a flight straight out of Dallas to Seoul. Our flight left Dallas at 1:00 p.m. and we got to Seoul at about 5:30 p.m. the following day. It was about a 14.5 hour flight.

We didn't make it to our hotel until almost 9 p.m. and just did find the computer room. Brian is trying to call the U.S. while I'm in here writing this.

There is so much to write about already. Seoul is a very, very big city. Our driver said that there are 11 million people in Seoul. It's a lot like NYC here. People drive like complete maniacs!!! We don't think there are many traffic laws/speed limits...if so, then no one follows the laws. The only thing we've observed about drivers is that they do yield to pedestrians!

We're getting ready to take the subway down to our adoption agency. We had the same flight as Tricia and Charlie M. I think I mentioned them before.

Anyway, we get to meet Emalee at 10 a.m. on Monday morning. It will probably be the only time we get to see her until we leave Tuesday. It's a neat feeling knowing that we're in the same city that she's in right now!

We miss David and Jacob! I'll email you guys very soon and as soon as we figure out our calling card we'll give you a phone call!

Take care and we'll write again soon!

Love,

Brian and Heather

BEAUTY FROM ASHES!

What a day! All the last minute things have been done! We're getting ready to order dinner from Applebee's and play a game of UNO with the boys. After that they want to take a bike ride. I'm not sure if that will happen! : ) We're really going to miss them while we're gone! We have two great sets of parents that will be keeping them for us and we're so grateful for it!

Tomorrow is March 22. Thirteen years ago on that day I miscarried our first baby. This year I'll be traveling to get one. God is a God of detail, isn't He? He makes beauty from ashes!

The next time we write we'll be in KOREA!

I'M LEAVIN' ON A JET PLANE!!!

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Our tickets are booked and as today's heading reads..."I'm leavin' on a jet plane!!!" We leave this Thursday 3/22 at 6:20 a.m. and we'll be back this coming Tuesday 3/27 at 4:48 p.m.
Today has been a day full of packing! I'm trying to fit everything into as few bags as possible. It's become quite a chore! I'm not having a problem with the checked luggage...it the carry on's that are difficult. There are so many items that we're taking that we just don't want to risk getting lost by checking them. I'm determined that everything WILL fit!

Another family through my adoption agency will arrive and leave Korea the same days that we are. I've been emailing back and forth with this cyber friend of mine for quite some time. We pretty much followed the same timeline and it was so nice to have someone to share it with. Now we'll get to meet in person. I think it's funny that we're going half way around the world to meet when she and I are only about 9 hours apart here in the U.S.

WE HAVE TRAVEL CLEARANCE!!!!!!!!!

The phone rang at 8:45 this morning with a call from my agency saying that we had travel clearance!!!!!! I'm so excited!!! We're working on booking our flights right now. We're hoping to fly out on Wed. or Thurs. and return next week on Mon. or Tues. I'll update when I know what's happening for sure! Have a great day everyone!!!

Someone asked what our adoption timeline looked like so I've listed the highlights. Within all of this there was fundraising, fingerprints, adoption classes, CPR, immigration approval, etc. I didn't think I'd list all of those.

Nov. 2004 Started praying about adopting
Feb. 26, 2005 Decided to take the plunge and start adoption procedures
Mar. 31 2005 Sent in first application to our agency
Aug. 22, 2005 Homestudy was approved/put on waiting for referral list
Dec. 20, 2006 Got our referral of Emalee
Mar. 19, 2007 Travel Clearance

Sunday, the day before Monday

The weekend is almost over. In the adoption world this is a good thing since the phone never rings on the weekend. It is Monday, 8:10 a.m. in Korea and I'm hoping that somebody over there is working on getting us a travel call for this week.
Although I would liked to have had my TC (travel call) this past week, it worked out well that I didn't. I attended a baby shower for a friend of mine today that is expecting triplets...all girls! I really didn't want to miss it and I'm glad I got to go. Also, Jacob has a concert tomorrow night and we'll be able to go to it. It will make him happy that we can go!
While I was at the baby shower Brian decided to clean out our tornado room in the basement. Since we've already had a tornado warning this spring he decided it would be a good thing to get done.
Well, I'm off to help David study for tomorrow's spelling test!

MY NEW BLOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is the first day of my new blog. I've wanted to create a blog for quite awhile, but the thought of it was overwhelming to me. Luckily, my sister, Laura, knows what she is doing and is helping me.
The main reason for this blog is for me to write to my family and friends while we're in Korea. I'm happy that I can do this. But until the time comes to travel I'll post some of my journal entries that I've written over the last 2 years. This has been an incredible journey and we've shared it with many of you. I hope these entries give you some insight to just how amazing the Lord has been to us since we started our adoption process. It's a lot to read, so don't feel like you have to read it if you don't want to!


Sunday, July 17, 2005
Yesterday we had our first home study. I finally feel as if we are one step closer to our daughter. I am still in amazement that this is even happening and feel so blessed to be part of this miracle. We have been trying to decide on a name and I’m pretty sure it will be Emalee. It’s a pretty name. Emma means “beloved” and Lee is in both Brian’s middle names and mine. So we combined the two together and will give her Korean name to her for her middle name.
Our caseworker said he thinks we should be on the waiting list by mid/late August. It will still be quite a few months before we get to meet our daughter, but I feel that she has been born in my heart for a long time already. I’m amazed at the love I already have for her and can’t wait to hold her.
There are so many things to do before Emalee comes home. David and Jacob will both be going to school this fall. While they’re in school I’m going to try to get photo albums, baby books, etc. done while I have time to work on them. I’m also trying really hard to reassure the boys that they are still loved by us as much as ever! I think David is struggling a little bit with the idea of another sibling and just needs a lot of love and reassurance right now.

Monday, July 25, 2005
We completed our second home study visit yesterday. Our caseworkers name is Bill G. He said he definitely approved us and will write up his report ASAP! We should hear from our agency, Dillon, in a few weeks. He said that we should probably have a baby by Christmas 2006 just as a general guideline. Hopefully it will be sooner than that. I went to Target today and bought a doll for Emalee. It’s an Asian Fisher Price doll and I just couldn’t pass it up!

Friday, August 26, 2005
It finally came today! We are officially on the girl’s waiting list as of August 22. It’s a relief just to be on the list and to know that this is really going to happen. Now we just need to get our passports, go to Kansas City to get fingerprints done and complete my online parenting classes.

September 19, 2005
I can’t believe that David has turned 10 years old! He seems to be doing very well in school and they are working to help him learn better. Jacob has had to adjust to going to Kindergarten. He’s very smart and likes to learn, but he’s been getting really tired. He misses being home and has been testing the teacher a little bit learning to adjust. I’m sure this will pass!

October 11, 2005
We got our passports last week! So, we’re ready to travel now whenever the call comes. Now I just have to do my CPR and internet classes.
Jacob lost his first tooth yesterday and was very excited about it! He came home from school telling me all about it…that was sooo cute!

October 14, 2005
Ephesians 1:4-6
For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will—to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves.


October 16, 2005
Today has been a good day. It’s been a day full of celebration as my parents celebrated their 40th anniversary today. I’m very thankful for that and am so proud of them for achieving this in their marriage. We held a reception for them at their church and several friends and family came to congratulate them. I think mom and dad had a good time.

November 13, 2005
1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on Him for He cares for you.
Today I got a letter in the mail from Shaohannah’s Hope. It said that our request was being reviewed and they asked for copies of our 2003-2004 tax returns. I just hope and pray that something comes from this.
The Lord has been working on me this past week on trusting Him to supply our needs. This subject seems to be a continuing lesson in my life and every time I get through one trial or circumstance it seems like the next one is a little bigger than the last. I know in my heart that everything will work out fine in the end, now I’ve just got to get that message through to my head.

November 21, 2005
Hebrews 10:23
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

A lot of families have gotten their (TC) Travel Clearance this week. It’s been encouraging to see!

January 2, 2006
I can’t believe it’s already 2006! This year is going to bring a lot of excitement to our family as we will get a referral for Emalee and maybe go get her as well. We’re praying that the Lord will supply the rest of the funds that we need. This has been our biggest act of faith since the boys were born. I’m praying for a miracle and believing one will happen! I’m still amazed that clear across the world there’s a baby meant to be my daughter. I never thought I’d have a girl, but it looks like God has other plans. I’m glad His ways are not my ways!


January 3, 2006
I didn’t have much time to write yesterday but there was something I have thought about that I just wanted to write down.
The boys and I were getting ready to go to Walmart and as Jacob turned about to walk out the door I noticed that David had taped a sign on his back that said “$1,000.” I thought that was funny and started thinking that if I were a big brother trying to get rid of my younger brother I would have put “free” on the sign. As I thought about that the Holy Spirit whispered to me, “Heather, you were bought with a price.” I won’t ever understand it, but for some reason the Lord thought of me enough to give His own life for me. He paid the ransom for me. This was a neat thought the Lord gave me to start the new year out on. The next part of that verse is this:
1Cor. 7:23 You were bought with a price, do not become slaves of men.
It reminded me just Who it is that I serve and why. When I think of what He paid for me it makes me feel even more glad to be a slave of God. In the price He paid for me He also set me free. Free from sin (Rom. 6:7) and the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2)
How gracious and merciful you are to me, oh God. Thank You for adopting me and giving me freedom in You. Remind me that it’s You I serve and not men. Thank You for freeing me from my sin Lord. Thank You for setting me free!


January 10, 2006
I decided to be brave today. I called to check the status of the Shaohannah’s Hope grant that we applied for. The lady I spoke with told me that they had just mailed letters out the day before. She checked on our file and it said that we got a grant! I’m so thrilled! I did some figuring and with the grant, our tax return and savings we have about 65% of our expenses covered. There’s one more grant I’m going to apply for but this one was a HUGE answer to prayer.


January 17, 2006
I’m overwhelmed as I write this because one of my biggest prayers has been answered! Jacob asked Jesus in his heart tonight! He’s been thinking about it for a long time and decided that tonight would be the night! He asked me before supper when a good day would be and I told him any day that he felt God wanting him to would be a good day. A couple hours later he came in the living room saying that he would like to ask Jesus in his heart tonight. So, we all four knelt down at the couch with him and I lead him in prayer. It was a sweet moment.
Thank you, Jesus, for saving both of my sons! I pray that their lives bring glory to Your name. Draw them near to You, Lord, and help me and Brian to guide them and teach them in Your ways.

January 18, 2006
It’s funny how I seem to learn so many spiritual lessons from my kids. Here’s the latest…Jacob came home from school today and as soon as Brian came home Jacob ran up to him and said, “Daddy, I sinned today.” After pondering on that for a couple of hours the Lord spoke to me. “How many times do you run confessing your sin to Me?” So many times I run and hide from my Daddy instead of running toward Him. God reminded me that his love never fails and that He’s always ready to embrace me in His arms and forgive me. I just need to run to Him!
Thank you, Father for Your unfailing love. Thank You for providing forgiveness when I sin. Help me to seek You when I feel like hiding.

June 14, 2006
Another prayer for finances was answered today! I’m so totally thrilled and again in awe of how great our God is. He is faithful. Phil. 1:6 says, “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.” That’s just what He has done! Thank you, Lord Jesus, for answering our prayers. "My God is amazing, steady and unchanging; my God is a mountain firm beneath my feet. My God is a mystery, how you gently lead me, now I got this God song rising up in me…Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah! Your love makes me sing!!!"

Sunday, June 18 2006
Today is Father’s Day. It also happens to be the first day of our summer vacation. We’re in Buchanan, Michigan right now getting ready to start our week of “Family Camp” with Life Action Ministries in the morning. It took us 11 hours to get here and we’re all really tired. The boys are trying to sleep, but they’re so excited it’s hard for them to do that. I must admit that after traveling all day I kind of have my second wind and am ready to do something. I guess I’ll go take my shower now.

June 21, 2006
Today was a good day. Actually, I’ve enjoyed the whole week. Yesterday we went to Warren Dunes right on Lake Michigan and let the boys play at the beach. They really had a great time. Tonight was “date night” so Brian and I went to St. Joseph, MI. to sight see. We walked out a pier to a lighthouse. There were a lot of sailboats out and it was really pretty. I was looking at all the sailboats coming in and was reminded of our theme verse for this week:
Matt. 5:16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
I was thinking of how the light was shining and leading the boats into harbor and how when our light shines for Jesus we help lead people to Him. It was a beautiful picture of God’s glory.
This is a good vacation. We’re learning a lot and having fun at the same time. The food is really good and I haven’t had to cook all week! I’m really glad we took this vacation!


July 20, 2006
We are so excited. Today we found out that David is going to the Jr. Olympic National competition in Colorado Springs, CO. I’ll be going with him Aug. 10-13 and it’s an all expense paid trip! He qualified because he was in the top 3 competitors in the United States for his age group and sport. This is really a neat thing to win. He’s really excited because we get to fly…I don’t think he realizes exactly what he’s won. I guess that will keep him from getting a big head.
Yesterday was a rough day. I found out that Korea is making more changes to its international adoption program that may be affecting us. It looks like referrals may take a lot longer to get as a result of the changes. Anyway, Korea is promoting domestic adoptions and beginning in Jan. 2007 they want babies to be at least 5 months old before they are referred over seas. This means that we may have to wait another 5 months AFTER Jan. 1, 2007 to get our referral. I know that this is a good thing for their country and I’m so glad that their government is putting a value on life, but for us it’s very disturbing news. We’ve already been waiting for Emalee 11 months and I just don’t know how I will have the strength to wait any longer. Our prayer is that the Lord will just grant us favor and get us a referral before the end of the year. Of course, I want His will to be done, but it’s so hard to submit my will to His.

August 19, 2006
Our trip to Colorado was just great! It was a lot of fun for the kids although we were completely worn out and had very little rest time. We happened to fly out the same day that the terrorist level was raised to ORANGE due to a liquid bomb terrorist plot. That was a little scary, but we decided to go anyway.
Once we arrived in Colorado we went to our hotel and got our clothes from the Olympics to wear and had a few hours to unpack and explore the hotel and read the itinerary booklet. That night we had an “opening ceremony” and dinner. The kids ran with the torch and an Olympian lit the torch for the weekend. We also attended a speaking engagement where they introduced all the 72 finalists and some Olympians gave speeches of encouragement to the Jr. Olympians.
The next day tennis, basketball and soccer had their competitions. In the evening we went to a place called “Mr. Biggs”. It was a family fun game place. David and I road the go carts together, played mini golf and he played laser tag. We got to bed pretty late that night.
The following morning was David’s track and field competition. He did SUPER! I couldn’t have been more proud of him and his sportsmanship. He got the bronze medal and is very proud of it. He actually beat he silver medallist in the jump and the 50m dash, but the shot- put put the silver medallists score above David’s. Considering he was the only 10 year old and the other two kids were 11 I think David did great! The best part was that he had never flown in a jet before and really enjoyed that experience.

As far as the adoption goes I’ve finally gotten an "official" letter from our agency stating the new changes to the Korea program. It’s nothing I didn’t already know and I still think that we have a great chance of getting Emalee’s referral by the end of the year. The babies that are taken into Eastern’s custody before Dec. 31 are NOT affected by these new changes. Hopefully, she will be in their custody by then. If not then we’ll probably be waiting until around May ’07 for a referral.

August 22, 2006
It’s been one whole year since we’ve been waiting for Emalee’s referral. I can’t believe it! In some ways it seems to have flown by, but in another way it’s lasting for what seems like eternity! I started off the day by being a little depressed, but was quickly reminded that the Lord has this in His hands and in His time table. He has the most perfect baby girl for our family already chosen and picked out for us. He’s still weaving our new family together and I just need to be patient until the tapestry is finished. I’m sure it will be beautiful.

November 14, 2006
Well, babysitting has begun and it is definitely keeping me busy. It’s helping me keep my mind off of the every day wait for our referral. Today though my mind has been on Emalee. I’m so nervous that we won’t get her referral this year and I’m not sure how I’ll do emotionally with that. I say that I trust that the Lord is working things out to His good, but I question if that is what I’m really believing. Do I really trust Him? And if I do, when will I choose to let go of this overwhelming desire to be God’s helper?
At least I can’t deny that God is teaching me some things during this incredible journey that I’m on.


November 22, 2006
Today marks 15 months that we’ve been waiting for Emalee’s referral. Most referrals are taking about 16 to 16 ½ months right now. I did learn that the new laws in Korea won’t affect the babies that are born in 2006…only those born in 2007. Hopefully this will be good news for us. One of my adoption forum friends got her boy referral last week. I’m happy for their family!

December 24, 2006
PRAISE THE LORD AND HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!
After all these months we finally know who our precious little Emalee is! I got a phone call Wednesday, Dec. 20th from our agency telling us that they had a file of a baby girl they thought we’d like to look at. I knew in my heart that this would be our baby. Our agency emailed the file to us to review and we said, “YES!” immediately. Emalee’s Korean name is Jeong Eun Hong. She was born November 9, 2006. She weighed 6 pounds 6 ounces at birth and measured 20 inches long.

Part of me is still in shock that this has even happened. I’m an emotional mess right now. Not a bad emotional mess, but a really, really good one! I’m humbled and in awe that the Lord has chosen us to be the parents of this sweet baby girl. I’m just out of words….all I can say right now is that the Lord has been faithful and good to us. He couldn’t have given us a better gift this Christmas! The referral of Emalee has filled an empty place in my heart and will make this Christmas one that I’ll always remember.

We’re hoping that we will be able to go to Korea in 2-3 months to bring Emalee home with us. I spent all day filling out the necessary forms for U.S. Immigration permission and her acceptance paper work. Not what I planned on doing Christmas Eve, but oh so grateful for it!!!

Lord, You are faithful! You have carried us through this process the last two years and I’m so thankful for it! Thank you, Lord for answering our prayers. We asked that You’d reveal Emalee to us this year and You did! We’ve asked for financial provision and You’ve supplied! We’ve asked for peace during the long wait and You so gently gave us the peace that passes all understanding. We asked that You would protect Emalee and You’ve cradled her in Your loving arms this whole time. Thank you Father, for loving us and giving us grace gifts even when we don’t deserve it. Help us to be a living sacrifice for You. And most of all we thank you for the gift of Your son, Jesus. Merry Christmas!

December 25, 2006
My precious Emalee,
I just found out who you are 5 days ago, but I've known you in my heart for two long years. Because of you we had an extra special Christmas this year. We’ve told Nana and PaPop, Uncle Corey and Aunt Kara all about you. We surprised Poppy and Mamaw, 4 of your great grandparents, Uncle Paul, Aunt Valentina, Aunt Heidi, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Laura, Uncle Michael and all 11 of your cousins by having them unwrap your picture for Christmas. They were so surprised and all cried and we all had a special prayer time for you. What a precious time that was... and guess what? We have it all on video so you can see how loved and just how special you are to all of us. You've been the "talk" of every family gathering we've been to and your picture is posted everywhere we look! I can't tell you how special I feel to be your mama. I'm humbled and just taken back at the incredible gift the Lord has given me this week. I thought of you being alone in the Eastern nursery today and asked the Lord to hold you for me today. I dreamed this week of kissing your fuzzy little head and can't wait for that dream to come true in a few months. David and Jacob have "talked" to your picture every day since we've had it and are soooooo excited to have you as their baby sister. Daddy looks at you and says “she’s so cute” I think he's in love with you already! We officially named you this weekend! Your name will be Emalee Grace Jeong Nothnagel because you are our "beloved grace" gift from Jesus! We love you so much and can't wait to get you home. I love you, my precious daughter! Love, Mommy

February 21, 2007
It’s been awhile since I’ve written. We had a major ice storm in January and that put everything on hold in my entire life for at least two weeks. Our adoption is moving rather quickly now. We’re very excited because a lot has happened in just the last few weeks.
January 26 we received our legals for Emalee ,February 17 we received emigration permission and today we received passport permission. We’re only waiting on one thing….her visa issued by the U.S.A. Korea is done with everything on their side. We think we have another 2-3 weeks before we travel to get her. I can’t believe this is finally almost over and I’ll have my sweet baby home.
I only have 2 more days left to babysit and then I’m going to shop like a maniac to have everything ready for our trip. There’s a lot to get done still and I hope to get the majority of it done before we leave.


March 5, 2007
We found out that Emalee’s visa has been approved!!!!! I’m so excited! We were just told a few days ago that it might take another 6 weeks, so this is definitely an answer to prayer. It looks like we’ll be traveling in roughly 2 weeks to go get her. I still have quite a bit to get done before we travel and am starting to get a little bit overwhelmed, but it’s a good feeling too! I’ll be holding my baby very, very soon! All I’m waiting on is a phone call from our agency giving us permission to travel!!!