Science Fair

Both boys are in the Science Fair at their school this week. David made an Electromagnet and Jacob made bread that is supposed to mold. I don't have a pic of David's electromagnet, but here's a pic of Jacob and his bread!

Happy 1st Gotcha Day to my sweet baby, Emalee Grace Jeong Nothnagel. We love you sooo much! You've changed our lives forever and have made us so proud to be your parents. One year ago we brought you home to an airport full of family and friends that couldn't wait to finally see you in person. We are blessed beyond measure to have the priviledge of watching you grow into a beautiful, silly little 16 month old and look forward to watching you grow into a beautiful, strong young lady. God surprised us with you. We thought we had all the children we would have, but He knew something we didn't know...we needed a sweet baby girl from South Korea! We remember seeing you for the first time. We must have cried a million tears. You were so tiny, so sweet, and an absolute doll in the hat your foster mother had made you! Thank you, Jesus, for giving us such a sweet blessing.

Love forever,

Mama and Daddy

ADOPTION and CITIZENSHIP DAY!!!

Wow! I can't believe that this day has finally come. We went to court today and finalized Emalee's adoption. She was also granted American citizenship and is forever ours! We went to a Korean restaurant afterward to celebrate. These are pics of us in front of the court building and later pics with the Judge.

The Heavenly Perspective

This past month has been extremely difficult as we said "good-bye" to three different loved ones. Two of these departures were somewhat expected, an old neighbor friend that I grew up with since I was 7 months old and a beloved grandpa that fought Parkinson's with much dignity. The other was a complete surprise, a 47 year old deacon at our church that had a massive heart attack. All three men are in the presence of our Lord today!

Of course, things like this make a person stop and evaluate their own life. I've done just that. The one thing that I'll walk away with from this is that TIME really does matter. How we spend our time, who we spend it with, what we do with it. If you're a Christian then the one thing that we're put on this earth to do is to glorify God**. Is that what your TIME says about you? Most of us would think that we should spend more TIME with our loved ones, family, friends, etc. But how many of us would think that we should spend more TIME with God? Yes, other people are important, so don't read this wrong, but in the end developing our relationship with our eternal Savior out weighs all of the rest! When I enter His presence I want Him to know me, but more importantly, I want to already know Him! Give Him some of your TIME today!

** Romans 11:36
Everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by his power, and everything is for his glory.
Proverbs 16:4
The Lord has made everything for his own purposes.

We have a Finalization Date!!!

Isn't this picture precious? This is my Grandpa Smith holding Emalee at Christmas. A picture to treasure!

We're so pumped! Our lawyer called and has set a date for Emalee to be Finalized! This means that she will officially be a Nothnagel and an American citizen as of March 5!!! Anyone is welcome to come to the court house for this hearing...just call me and I'll let you know when and where to come.

While I'm on here I also wanted to give a brief update on my sister-in-law, Kara. She started radiation treatments yesterday and will go every day for 6 weeks for that. She's also having chemo every other week. Thanks for continuing to pray for her.

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!