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