Finally- the announcement!

Adam mentioned that we had a big announcement on facebook a couple weeks ago. It got several of you all riled up and when he told me he said that, I had to ask him what this big news was! So, here it is! Adam wrote it down to share with you all. I'm sure some of you have noticed that the blogs have been put on the back burner the past little bit. This is why. We have SOOO much going on and life is more chaotic than ever right now. Transition is hard and we have been in this transition process for nearly a year now. We are beginning to get a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel and are excited for what the future holds.

We are NOT expecting (sorry to disappoint) but have some exciting news to share. This may come to some as a complete surprise but to others not a huge shock. I, Adam, will not be returning to teaching next year as I am going into full time ministry. I am really excited about what God is doing and continuing to do in my life to confirm this calling. So, I have turned in my letter of resignation at my school and will begin FULL TIME MINISTRY on June 4^th. I will be coming on staff at Lenexa Baptist Church as the Director of Children’s ministry. I am so excited to have the opportunity to work at an amazing church that we have called our home for the last 5 years. This is something that we can’t explain except that God orchestrates everything in his timing. So, that is why we have put our house on the market and started to look for a house closer to our church. Once again, it is amazing to see God’s hand throughout this process. I will thank you in advance for the prayers and can’t wait to share updates as we move forward in this calling on our lives. So, maybe not the announcement you thought but we are STOKED!!!!

autographs coming soon

We're going to be movie stars!!!! Kinda! When Neylan and I went back to his ENT follow-up a couple of weeks ago, the doctor mentioned that she was wanting to do some kind of story about how diet affects children's health. Cool idea, I thought! Last week we got a phone call from the doctor and she wants us to be featured in a documentary she is filming about this topic. I don't feel like I am ready for this at all since we are reading labels and monitoring everything that we eat and are still making mistakes! But, we agreed and are going to do it. There will be a few other families being filmed as well. She said it will be an interview similar to 60 Minutes!! I didn't expect her to be running with this idea so soon, but she is and so are we. I might learn something from the other families. I have no idea what this documentary will be used for, but if you would love to see it, I'm sure I'll have a copy. And I'll make the popcorn- but it will have to be plain- any other kind has butter- and therefore dairy!!!!

{Feb} Friend for Adoption

Whew! I am so behind on being a good friend for adoption, but I really like our gifts for February.

I found a fun etsy shop on Pinterest recently and loved what I saw. Lots of fun adoption jewelry from a family who lives about an hour from us and are adopting. I was happy to support her and her venture.

So, I found this fun necklace for Julie

and I found this one for me!

Julie sent this CD to the boys so we could have some dance parties! All 3 of our boys are big Fresh Beat Band fans, so this was a really fun gift for them.

knock on wood

We are now ONE week drool, runny nose, and excema FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are making progress and it feels good. It definitely seems to be the dairy that did him in. So, we are eating completely dairy-free and are finding some substitutes for the things we crave! I bought my first package of dairy-free cheese last week. It contained less than 2 cups of cheese and was $3.50!! EEK!! This will only be a treat. I made homemade mac and cheese with this veggie cheese and rice milk. It tasted pretty good and both boys cleaned their plates.

Bee Bim Bop

I purchased this book for the boys before we traveled to Korea and it has now become a favorite. Bee Bim Bop is a popular Korean dish of marinated meat, vegetables, and egg over rice. The book has a catchy rhythm and a delicious recipe in the back. I highly recommend this book for any of our Korean friends.

Grayson was so excited to help cook this meal. He talked about it all day and could not wait for Daddy to come home so he could start cooking.

Rice is ready!

You serve each dish separately and then combine it all and mix it!

Grayson wanted to eat with chopsticks, so we all ate with chopsticks!

It turned out to be delicious! We will definitely be making this again

He's Cured!!

Well, that's what the doctor says anyway! Neylan had his ENT follow-up appt this morning and of course, he looked and performed great! He's been having good days, without much drooling, drainage, runny nose, and excema, since Monday. So, today he looked like a different person from the appearance he gave 5 weeks ago. The doctor walked in and took one look at him and said, "wow, you cured him"! So, she asked how things were going and if I had been open to the suggestions she gave last visit. I started by telling her that I felt she was under the impression that all of these problems had been created with the implementation of Neylan's "America" diet. So, cleared up that point and made sure that she knew that was not the case, but told her that the only link I could think of between the two countries was in fact the dairy. I gave her the run down of all that we have been doing, the diet changes we had made, and what we were seeing, (which really hasn't been much). She was very pleased that we had taken this challenge and run with it, actually taking it further than what she asked us to by going dairy-free. She said that he wasn't perfect by any means yet and that we are probably only beginning to see the progress she anticipates he will be making. So, the plan for now is to keep running with our dairy-free lifestyle and if in the next few weeks to months, nothing improves, we will call her back and start talking about removing his adenoids. When she scoped him last visit, she determined that his adenoids were enlarged about 70%. She said that was a fine size, but if they got much larger, we would remove them. Today when I asked her at what point and size she does adenoidectomies, she said 70% and beyond. So, if he can't start breathing through his nose and stop snoring, we will consider this.  Will keep you posted and see if we are on the right track to good health!

we have progress, folks!!

Progress is good. It's very exciting to see- especially after 8 months!! I have been wanting to post for a week or so, but was afraid to jinx it. Good thing I waited! Today was the BIG day! Neylan walked into daycare, whimpered some. I put him down on the step to take off his shoes with Grayson. He did, then got up and walked away. NO tears! Their babysitter and I just looked at each other in amazement at what just happened. This was the first day that has EVER happened. He usually just cries and cries and hangs onto me for dear life. But as soon as the door shuts, he turns off the drama! But today, no drama, no tears, just ready to start playing! YAY!!!! That's BIG! We've also been having a good time dropping off at church and at the gym. For the past 2 weeks he has just walked right in and not looked back. Woo Hoo!!!

On the other hand- the congestion, the drooling, the milk. Geez! Where do I start? I wish I had fabulous progress news to report on this front, but I don't. I mentioned in the last update post I that we had switched everything over to soy. But upon going back to my great team of co-workers, I found out that the proteins in dairy and soy are so similar that you have to avoid both because 25% of people who are intolerant to dairy are intolerant to soy as well. Grrr! All soy?? Not sure if I'm ready to go there. That will elimiate so many more things- all crackers, all cookies, cereal, on and on and on. Soy is in EVERYTHING! So, we have now switched to rice milk and are still monitoring everything he eats as closely as possible. We had a few good days last week with no congestion, no runny nose, and no drooling! Excited that we might be getting somewhere, but then bummed that it might be the dairy, which selfishly don't want to have to eliminate forever. But then over the weekend, everything came back in full force. Congestion so bad he couldn't breathe at all and drooling buckets. What in the world is going on?? I know it can take 6-8 weeks to rid the body of all dairy proteins and we are only on week 4, but come on. Let me see a little progress if this is the issue. We have one more week before going back to the ENT. We are still making it, but Adam and I are hungry all . the . time. Dairy provides some good protein which helps you fill up and stay full. I'm also starting to get some major cravings- bigger than any during my pregnancy! I just want some pizza or lasagna or something covered in cheese with a big bowl of ice cream for dessert! Adam and I are going to have to start sneaking off for some dairy-licious food!

Winter Jam

Adam and I attended our second Winter Jam concert on Friday night. We were once again volunteering for Holt, Int. to encourage people to sponsor kids from all over the world as they wait for their forever family. It was once again a sold out show. For some reason, the bands seemed louder and harder to me this year. I guess I'm getting older and could have really benefited from some ear plugs. We had a great night, got to meet another adoptive mom who lives down the street from us, and got to see kids being sponsored. Events that promote adoption are often too much for my heart and they make me want to do more and more. I can confidently say that we are not done in the world of adoption. I just can't say what it will look like for us in the future. Could just be a sponsorship, could be prayer for the orphans, or could be another kid. Don't know. But the passion continues to grow!

Kari Jobe

Newsong

Santcus Real

Skillet

Two weeks down!!

We are two weeks into our five week reduced-dairy trial for Neylan's congestion and drooling. And so far, I HATE to report NO progress!!! I know it can take a while to get everything out of his system, but I really thought that if this was the problem, we would at least be seeing some reduction in mucus or drool. Bummer! So, we continue on. . . The doctor asked us to cut back to 14-24 oz of dairy per day, trying to stay on the low end of that. So, I think I've managed to cut him back to no more than 5 oz per day with no progress yet. We are all adjusting fine. He does love his milk and asks for it all the time, so we have switched him to soy and are limiting that. We have given him soy yogurt and I am using soy milk in any recipes that call for milk. So, really not a bad adjustment at all. So, if dairy is not the problem. . .??? We may have to investigate reflux! Will keep you posted

What a relief!

So glad to have this HUGE step done. It feels like such a weight has been lifted off. So, here's hoping good things come in the near future. And really hoping this process doesn't take as long this year as it did for most families last year. And, simply, very grateful for the adoption tax credit, which made it possible for us to begin this journey!

Friend for Adoption {Jan}

Julie and I are trying to get back on track after a busy holiday season. So, although we sent each other's gifts at the very end of the month, we're trying! I keep forgetting to take a picture of what I send her each month, but I gave her some Mary Kay vanilla-mint hand cream and a vanilla-mint lip balm. And she sent me this great book! She has read it and said it was a must for moms of boys. I'm so excited to have it and get to reading. I wonder if any of the conversations are about obeying your parents as a toddler!! That's what we need to discuss!

Having a friend for adoption has been great. If you are interested in partering up with someone on this journey, check out the button on the right of my blog.

we're on the road

Neylan has been home for 7 months and we are starting down the road to find some answers for a few of the issues that still plague our little guy. When we met Neylan in Korea he was drooling like a faucet. His foster mom had bibs on him and cloths stuffed down his shirt. It was that bad. She said it was just him. He was also teething at the time, so we considered this issue a horrible side-effect of his teething. He was also congested and wet sounding in his chest. When he saw the doctor in Seoul, he was diagnosed with bronchitis and given an antibiotic, which we gave him with no success. So, here we are, still dealing with the drooling and congestion- 7 months later!!! The teething ended just before Christmas. And now we realize that these two things, along with the mouth-breathing were not a side effect of the teething. BUMMER!!! Now, we have to figure out what is really going on. I am blessed to work with a wonderful team of OTs and Speech therapists, who after hearing all that is going on recommended that we see an ENT.

So, we had our first appt on Wednesday. I got myself prepared on Tuesday by writing down all of the issues and each of the areas that needed to be looked at. We saw the nurse practitioner first and I ran through my list giving her lots of info. When I told her that we needed to look at a milk/dairy allergy or intolerance, she told me that that was definitely not the problem. We would have seen something obvious if there was an allergy. She took a look at his tonsils and said they were tiny. First thing ruled out!!

Then the doctor came in. I knew when we made the appt that she was Asian and was very happy about that. The first thing she asks is how much dairy he is getting each day! I believe she was a little shocked by the amount I told her and said that was way too much, especially for an Asian. A HUGE percentage of Asians are lactose intolerant, hence the reason I wanted this looked at, but was told it was a non-issue by the nurse, and was told it was a BIG issue by the doctor! She took a look at his adenoids through a scope in his nose and determined that they were not large enough to be a concern. Second thing ruled out!!!

So, with tonsils and adenoids checked and looking good, we are now discussing the dairy and reflux issues. Fortunately at this point the nurse walks back in to listen. As the doctor is talking about the how much dairy affects your gut and your sinuses, especially in Asians becuase they don't have as much dairy in their diets, the nurse says, "wow, I never knew that"! Good, glad we were able to teach her something today!! I completely agreed with the doctor that  dairy does effect Asians in a different way and it can quickly cause nasal congestion, which causes you to breath out of your mouth and then drool. At one point she said, "you've done a great job with him and he looks big and healthy and strong. So, now you need to back way off of the dairy and I think that will fix the problem". I agreed, glad the nurse had learned something and we finished our visit promising to cut way back on the dairy and follow up in 4 weeks.

As we walked out of the building, it hit me! She's under the impression that we caused this! I believe she thinks that his congestion and drooling were caused by him switching to an American diet. NOT SO!!! He came home in this exact same condition, on his Korean diet, and he was HUGE. We didn't feed him a ton to fatten him up like some kids who are adopted need. He's always been big and "healthy". So, then I felt really dumb that I missed this when I was talking with her. I had explained this to the nurse, but the information never got transferred to the doctor. After going back and forth trying to decide if I needed to call the doctor back and let her know that in every single picture I have of his infancy, his mouth is hanging open, he is drooling, and he has been congested since before we left Korea, I decided to go with her plan and reduce his dairy intake significantly and see what happens. This is probably a good plan for us. We consume a good amount of dairy and if there's a possibilty that we are headed toward being completely dairy-free, we at least have 5 weeks to start cutting way back and getting prepared for it. So, after doing this for 3 days, we are doing well. There are lots of recipes that are dairy-free, his daycare provider is willing to help us and is writing down everything that he eats so I can adjust at night for him (14 oz is our limit- solids and liquids). This may be just what we need to get our whole family eating healthier! No more cooking with cream soups, cream cheese, sour cream, cheese, less bread, ect. So,we'll keep you posted. I'm hoping to see some results. If it's not the dairy issue, it may be a reflux issue that will need to be treated with meds. We still have a long road ahead before we know for sure. Today was a hard day for Neylan becuase he simply could not breath. It affects his eating tremendously as he is trying to chew and breath through his mouth at the same time. I know I hate that feeling and when I am congested, eating takes so much effort.

So, all in all, it was a good visit. We ruled out some big things and we are running with Plan A. We shall see!! 

The Celebration Continues!!

Last weekend we had the opportunity to celebrate Lunar New Year with some adoptive families in our area. Most of our children are from Korea, so it's really fun to get all of the kids togther. We had a great potluck dinner of mostly authentic foods, the kids got to make a dragon craft (since it's the year of the dragon),

then they got dressed up in their hanboks and had a parade

and a quick photo shoot

We have always enjoyed meeting other families who have adopted. I am finding that the adoption community is very supportive of each other and friendships develop very quickly because we all share a passion that is huge. I found it interesting that at this event two kids tables were set up for the kids to be able to eat together. Naturally, the boys took one table and the girls took the other. Most of the kids were older, but Neylan just gravitated towards them, especially the boys. He did not want to sit with us and kept getting out of his chair to go socialize with the big Korean boys. He was the youngest boy there, but not afraid or shy at all around the other kids.

Happy Lunar New Year!!

This week is the biggest celebration for Koreans throughout the year. It's their Lunar New Year. It is traditionally celebrated on the second new moon day after the winter solstice. This year that was January 23rd. They celebrate for 3 days and take the opportunity to travel to visit family during this time. Everyone gets dressed up in their hanboks, has traditional foods, and the little ones collect money from their parents, grandparents, and older family members.

The boys' babysitter, who is Korean, has helped me understand this holiday more. When we got their hanboks, they came with a little purse-like bag. I wasn't sure what it was for or how to use it, until this week. Lydia told me that those are the money pouches the kids carry around to collect their money in. A traditional bow is performed when meeting an elder and then money is collected. Lydia said typically a lot of money!! (Don't tell the boys, but that tradition won't be carried out in this house!)

We have been too busy this week to do much celebrating or to have Korean food, but we are going to a Lunar New Year party on Saturday night with other adoption families to celebrate this big holiday with all our kiddos from Korea. More pictures to come!

Nov/Dec Friend for Adoption

 I have a little catching up to do. Obviously keeping up with the blog was not a New Years resolution. So, each month my friend for adoption, Julie, and I have been sending each other a little gift to stay encouraged. It has been a lot of fun to try to pick out something that I think someone, who I have never met and know very little about, would like. In November I sent her a photo tile necklace of her little guy (and forgot to take a picture of it beforehand). In December, I sent her a package of Inchbugs for her son's cups. These are fabulous labels that have your kid's name engraved on one side and braille on the other side. You can put them on any cup or bottle so that everyone knows whose cup is whose when you are in public places. Because any mom knows that writing with sharpie each time you drop them off somewhere gets old quick! I also bought Grayson and Neylan a set. They come in a pack of 4 for about $13!

Julie had a lot going on in November so she doubled up and sent me one gift for both months. She sent me this beautiful necklace, which I love and will wear as a reminder of just how blessed I am.

If you are new to my blog and want to know more about Friends for Adoption, check out the button on the right! It's been fun to connect with others who also share the same heart for adoption. 

Finally, a Celebration

Since we didn't get to celebrate Neylan's citizenship on the day that it happened two weeks ago (because we were really sick), we decided it would be fun to take our families out to have some real Korean food in honor of Neylan. We found what looked like a good restaurant in town and decided to try their lunch buffet. It was really good and authentic. The person who liked it the least- Neylan! We are still really trying to convince our Asian that Asian food is delicious! 

Our lunch was great, but they didn't serve dessert and Grayson was asking for it. So, in order to not disappoint the American, we went for frozen yogurt. Grayson got to pick the toppings for he and Neylan's bowl (chocolate/vanilla swirl yogurt with white chocolate chips and jellybeans!). This American treat was a hit with both boys, especially Neylan, the Asian! 

Grayson's favorite part may have been the big chalkboard on the wall

What a great celebration to end the year. What a year it has been in this journey. When we were home last Christmas we had just received our referral and were filling out our acceptance paperwork. And this Christmas we have Neylan and have been home six months already. Wow, time flies. Neylan is doing well and is blending in with our family nicely. I can't wait to watch him grow and develop even more during the next year. 

We love you Neylan!

America has a new citizen

What an exciting end to a long adventure as we finalized Neylan's adoption on Monday. Kids from South Korea remain in the custody of their adoption agency for six months after they return home and when the social worker signs off, you can go through the local court system to finalize. We really wanted to get this process done by the end of this year for tax purposes.

On Sunday night, Adam got sick with the stomach bug and on Monday morning, I woke up feeling queezy. We sent the boys to daycare and spent the day in bed and on the couch. But we were not about the miss our court appointment. We were determined to make it (and I was willing to take the puke bucket if necessary). Thankfully our appointment was at 4:30 and we were able to muster enough energy to get dressed up and appear before the judge. The appointment went well. I was questioned the most, but had been prepared so knew the answers to all of my questions. The judge was very patient with the boys making noise throughout the whole process. And before we knew it, we were done. The hearing only lasted about 15 minutes.

So, with this, Neylan is an American citizen, receives a new birth certificate, can get a social security card, and is officially now "Neylan" and a permanent Foster child!

Our attorney, judge, and us!



one year ago {yesterday}

On December 16th, 2010, we received a phone call and four pictures that would change our family forever. The first glimpses of our youngest, Neylan. I will never forget that day as I got an urgent text message to call Adam as soon as possible. I had no idea what he wanted, but called him back shortly. We had a healthy little boy waiting for us in South Korea, if we were willing to accept him. We took a few days to stare at the pictures and pray about it and decided that he was the one for us.

So much has happened in the year since. Neylan has changed tremendously from the little baby in these photos. He has quite the personality and is learning how to deal with his older brother in the best way he knows how. We are tremendously blessed to have him with us and look forward to the years ahead as he grows and continues to weave his way into our family.

Playdate!

The boys and I had a playdate/catch-up session with some great adoption friends this morning. All of our kiddos are close in age and the three youngest came home from Korea within the last 6 months.

Grayson took a liking to this Elmo music toy and attracted many dancers to join him on "stage". They were so cute.

These are the newest additions to our families. Neylan and L already have an arranged marriage! They are only 3 weeks apart in age

Our project for the day was decorating Christmas cookies. The kids did a great job and were so well behaved during this venture.

Our attempt at a group photo. This is the only one I got with everyone in it (just not the front of everyone!)

New Friends

We have loved meeting and connecting with other adoptive families throughout and after our process. You can meet complete strangers who have adopted and instantly feel connected because you share something big in common. You have both walked the long, hard, amazingly rewarding road of adoption. Today was one of those experiences.

We met two adoptive families in September at the Chuseok festival (Korean Thanksgiving) who brought home little girls from Korea. One of those families traveled the week after we did. That mom has organized a group of Korean adoptive families from around our area that get together every so often. So, today was the Christmas gathering. It was held at an Asian buffet. We didn't really know any of the families who would be there, but decided to go anyway. Becuase it's fun to meet new families. We had a great time. There were only 5-7 families there and of those, I had actually met three of them before today! We had a yummy lunch and enjoyed watching the kids interact with each other.

Neylan was quite the extrovert today as he gave lots of strangers hugs and waved to everyone. But, this little girl was by far his favorite. He repeatedly went up to her and gave her hugs. She didn't know quite what to think. Neither did we! He just loved her. We wonder if there is someone in Korea that she reminds him of.

It's so fun seeing a group of kids from all over the world come together with their forever families. These kids are no longer orphans and are so blessed to be with the families they are with.

Delivery made!

We are so excited for our new friends who picked up their daughter today from Neylan's foster mom. Rylan and Neylan lived together for several months before we picked up Neylan this summer. Rylan's parents also were gracious enough to hand deliver a photo book to Neylan's foster mom. They also captured some pictures of her looking at it so I could see. Maggie said she started crying and was so excited to see Neylan again. DJ, the social worker likely helped translate the book.

We are so grateful they were willing to do this for us. To see pictures of Neylan's little buddy, check out their blog. She's a cutie and you will see, their foster mom made sure both of them were well fed and insulated!