I've Been Really Bad About Updating This Thing

For my long overdue update......

This past month has had many ups and downs so to say the least. I'll start with the downers that way my post will seem happier by the time you get to the end.

My mom is still in the rehabilitation center and it has really taken a toll on her. She desperately wants to get stronger so she can return back home, but in all honesty we haven't seen much progress. The physical and occupational therapy has helped to not allow her condition to deteriorate any further, but her strength has not increased enough to allow her to walk around without assistance. Her back is mangled, 9 fractures were shown in her last x-ray. Her heart can not with stand any type of surgery, so the fractures must set on her own. The doctors have her on a new pain management regimen that helps decrease her pain without completely doping up. The last one she was on left her like a vegetable, it was awful.

It's difficult to see my mom is this condition. It has been hard to take Amanda there because all she wants to do is crawl on the floor and I'm not comfortable in allowing her to crawl there. Micah has issues seeing his Grandma this way. There are times he doesn't want to go, but I remind him that by him being there helps Grandma. To make his time there more enjoyable he brings cards for them to play with, and he loves to draw pictures and write little notes to her. In all honesty I think Micah and Amanda's visits is the best medicine she gets, or at least that's what she claims.

Another unexpected event that occurred this month was our power poll outside was struck by lightening. This caused a short in the electrical and we lost power to half of our house. The lightening also shorted our A/C panel (No A/C for 2 days) and the electrical panel for our automatic sprinkler system. So this was an expensive nuisance to have to take care of in the middle of summer.

On a happier note, Amanda is doing wonderful. She is into anything and everything, and seems to want to play with everything but her toys. She is crawling very fast and can now pull herself up and walk along the coffee table and couch. She also has six teeth, with more coming. It seems like a new one pops up every other week. Amanda is still sleeping like a champ (knock on wood), and has not woken up in the middle of the night for over 2 months now! YAY!!! That's pretty good considering she's only been home for 3 months.

Amanda is also starting to talk/babble. She says, "momma", "dadda", "gagga", and "babba". The "momma and dadda" are not directed to Soowan or myself, so I'm not even going try and state that she's calling us that. One thing for sure.... she is starting to realize that when she does say momma/dadda, she's getting our attention. When Micah began to babble/talk we were sure of the fact that he was calling us momma/dadda until he learned his next word, "ball". Soon everything was "ball". He did this for about a month until he began to realize everything was NOT A BALL!!!

Micah is doing really good and is enjoying his summer a lot more now that it has stopped raining everyday/all day. He made his goal to read 50 hours for the summer reading program at the library. By reading 50 hours, Micah has been put into a drawing to win one of eight laptop computers donated by the Dallas Mavericks. He can't wait until August 18th when the city draws the winner's names. He feels confident his name will be drawn, so I guess we'll have to wait and see. We're just proud that he has read so much this summer, and the he set a goal and achieved it.

Next week we'll be going to Branson, MO for a little R&R. This will be the first time vacationing with Amanda. So we hope for the best and prepare for the worse, I guess. Our biggest issue will be having her sleeping in the pack-n-play. We're not sure how much she's going to want to do this. Also the other tricky thing is being in the car for 7+ hours. The longest car ride she's been on so far has been 2 hours and she did great. Praying she'll do just as well on this trip.

On a even happier note, Soowan and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary last week. For our big day Soowan took the day off and made me my favorite breakfast french toast, with strawberries, powder sugar and some bacon! He watched the kids so I could zoom out of the house to get him a card and a gift for our anniversary! This is the first time I've ever waited last minute to buy a gift. He was shocked by my lack of enthusiasm to shop. LOL!

One of our friends watched the kids so we could go to an adult restaurant. When we arrived the hostess took us to our table and there was a beautiful arrangement of flowers on the table FOR ME! Soowan took in a picture of my wedding bouquet to a florist and had them make up a beautiful arrangement with all the flowers that were in my bouquet! He gets major brownie points for that move!

Dinner was great, but the best part was when we were leaving the restaurant we noticed it had been raining while we were inside eating. Then we heard someone say, "Look! There's a rainbow!" It was so beautiful and was the perfect end to our perfect evening together. (Or so I thought!) We left the restaurant, picked up the kids, came home, put them to bed and we exchanged gifts! Soowan blew me away with the gift he got not only for myself, but for all four of us.......

A 9 DAY VACATION TO HAWAII DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON!!! Soowan has tried to convince me for years to go away on a vacation during Christmas (since he has Christmas thru New Years off), but I would never budge. To me Christmas wouldn't feel like Christmas if we weren't at home. I did tell him a couple of years ago that if he took me to Hawaii for Christmas I would be more than 100% willing to go! I guess he took that to heart because we're going to Hawaii for Christmas!!! We'll be staying on the island of Kauai, right on the water! Another exciting thing is that I have a friend from high school who lives on Kauai and I'm hoping we'll be able to meet up with her and her family while we are there.

So there is my happy ending to this post which started off a bit depressing. I told you my month has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. Now here is a short video I shot of Amanda last week while at the park. OK, I know it's sideways because I keep on forgetting with this digital camera that I can't hold it vertical, but I always seem to do so. This short clip is way too cute to delete just because it's shown sideways. Just turn your head, or your screen so you can get the full effect!!!

Our 'Little Miss' Has Been Home For TWO MONTHS!

Two months from today Amanda was placed in our arms for the first time. It seems like she has been with us much longer than two short months. Her adjustment into our home has continued to be smooth. She has developed quite a bit since her homecoming. She can now sit up, she cut 2 teeth and two more are on there way, CRAWL (yes! this little girl is now mobile), clap her hands, pick up AND throw her toys, and the biggest blessing of them all is..... SHE SLEEPS THROUGH THE NIGHT!!! She's been doing this rather consistently since the second week she's been home.

Micah has been enjoying his summer thus far. He did VBS and had a blast learning about the Lord, and he went to day camp last week and enjoyed his time there. This week we haven't done very much considering it's been raining almost everyday. Hopefully we'll be getting some brighter days coming our way soon, so we can swim and be outdoors more.

My mom is not any better than the last time I posted, and the past two weeks have been tough for her. She was sent to the hospital for dysentery and the doctor found out that she had a parasite that colonized in her intestines. She spent 6 days in the hospital being treated for the parasite, and yesterday she was released and sent back to the rehabilitation center to continue her physical therapy. Due to all that she went through last week, she lost a considerable amount of weight and all the body strength she built up the 3 weeks to getting this bug. So she's back to square one as far as her physical therapy goes. The doctor's goal is to get her strong enough so she can be up and walking again. So please continue to pray for her that she can rebuild her strength so she can be independent again.

We do have one small praise to be thankful for..... Soowan has been given an opportunity with his job to open up a new office for his company. It's not really a promotion, more of a lateral move, but the best part is the new office is extremely close to home!!! Now he can come home for lunch every now and then, and NO MORE TOLL ROADS! This will save us about $50 bucks a month! Mmmmm.... maybe this savings can get me 2 pedicures a month instead of one. LOL!!!

I finally learned how to use the video on my digital camera. Here is Amanda in action. Isn't she so cute?

Time For A New Song

I love songs like this! This is my prayer for Micah and Amanda as they grow to become their own person. Life is hard, but God is good. He's the same God when we are on top of the highest peaks in life, just as He is same when we are in the deepest of valleys. I love serving such a wondrous and mysterious God. He plants blessings all around us, everyday. Some blessings are wrapped in a beautiful box that we can't wait to open, and other times He makes that little box we put Him in "EXPLODE" so we can grow in our relationship and knowledge of Him.

Music Video:
href="http://videzonn.com/videos/m/martina_mcbride/anyway-2.html" target="_blank">Anyway by (Martina McBride)

Music Video Code by Video Code Zone

AnywayMartina McBride/Brad Warren/Brett Warren (BMI)

You can spend your whole life buildin'
Somethin' from nothin'
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway

You can chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway

(Chorus)
God is great, but sometimes life ain't good
When I pray it doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

This world's gone crazy and it's hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway
You can love someone with all your heart
For all the right reasons
And in a moment they can choose to walk away
Love 'em anyway

(Repeat Chorus)

You can pour your soul out singin'
A song you believe in
That tomorrow they'll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway
Yeah sing it anyway

I sing
I dream
I love anyway



© 2006 Delemmava Music Publishing (BMI) © 2006 Bucky and Clyde Music adm by L’ile Des Auteurs Music / L’ile Des Auteurs Music (BMI). All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission.

Been A Bit Busy Lately

Now that it is Summertime for us, I'm trying to do a lot of catch up work around the house, before the Texas heat comes. The kids are sleeping in until 9-9:30, so I've been waking up early with Soowan and getting my long over due Spring cleaning done. I've also been working outside in the garden. In May we received rain 25 out of the 31 days of the month, so my garden is booming with blooms (but so are the weeds). My hydrangea's are in full bloom, the columbine are just about done for their first spring bloom, and finally the gardenia bush I planted 3 years ago has bloomed! YAY!!! I love going out on the back patio in the morning with my cup of coffee, my Bible and smell the sweet fragrance of my gardenias. Life doesn't get much better than this.

Micah and I have been out in the pool just about everyday the past two weeks. Amanda takes a solid 2-2.5 hour nap in the mornings, so Micah and I use this time to swim. This has also given me a chance to get some exercise by doing laps. It has also allowed me some more time to catch up on my reading, and getting a great base tan for the Summer. ;-) We put Amanda in the pool for the first time this week. I wouldn't say she loved it, but I also wouldn't say she hated it either. It was a bit breezy that day, so I think she was more cold than anything.

When we built our pool we were going to put in a beach entry style pool, but then we opted to have a sun-bathing deck put in instead. What this is, is a n 4 ft. x 10 ft. area in the pool that is only about 3-4 inches deep. This makes a perfect area for Amanda to sit down on and splash in the water (with Mommy or Daddy nearby of course).

The next 2 weeks Micah and Amanda will not be able to sleep in, for Micah has VBS this upcoming week, and the week after that he has a full day camp he's going to nearby. For the first time in 6 years I'm not going to be working VBS. I'm taking this year off, for I'm not ready to have Amanda spend 3 hours in the nursery at church for a week. I completely trust our church's nursery, it's more I'm not ready to be away from my little Miss for that long just yet. So the Amanda and I will be hanging out in town by our church while Micah is at VBS.

Also to add, my mom was back in the hospital the end of May. She is out now, but had to go to a rehabilitation center to do physical therapy to work on building back her strength and to get her circulation working better. If you could please pray that she will build the strength she needs to get her body back up and moving again. She has not been able to do much since she was in the hospital with CHF this past January. Her lack of activity has caused her to have some circulation issues in her legs. She has developed a blood clot in her left leg, and has some wounds on her legs that are not healing due to her poor circulation. The doctors want to take her off the steroids to help the wounds to heal faster, but when they take her off her steroids her rheumatoid arthritis flares up intensely, leaving her in great pain. Pray that the doctors and the physical therapists can find a way to allow her body to heal so she can have back a more active lifestyle. Thanks for your prayers.

Here are some pictures I have taken in the last couple of weeks. ENJOY!!!

Amanda's Been Home One Month

Today marks one month that Amanda has been home. She has been in our hearts since December 29, 2006 when we found out she would become our daughter. We can't put into words how wonderful it is to have something warm to touch and hold after 4 months of waiting. She has brought so much joy to our family it is indescribable.

Amanda has developed so much since she has been home. She can now sit up independently, she has cut her two bottom teeth, both on the same day. She is trying really, really hard to crawl. She can get herself up on her knees and hands, then becomes frustrated because she has not quite figured out what to do next. She rolls like crazy across the floor. Amanda especially likes to try and sneak up on unsuspecting kitty cats while they are napping.

She is full of smiles most of the time. I love walking into her room in the mornings and and after naps to see her beautiful face smiling up at me. It truly melts your heart. As much as her smile brings joy to us, we know she enjoys us smiling back at her. Amanda has made great eye contact and from day one, and she has never tried to push away from us in confusion or fear. She knows our voices, and will turn towards our voice if she's with someone else across the room. Amanda also loves to be held, and to be outside with the wind blowing in her face.

Micah's last day of school was this past Thursday! YAY! Summer has begun!!! We can not believe that he is a third grader now. Micah is still excited about becoming a big brother, and he loves his little sister very much. He loves to make her laugh by playing peek-a-boo or just acting plain silly. Micah's been reading to Amanda every night which she seems to enjoy, and by him doing this helps him work on his fluency. She will sit in his lap contently looking at the pages of the book, then up at him and give him a great big smile. The two of them have built this incredible bond and as parents we could not be more proud.

Before Amanda came home I was a bit worried about how Micah was going to feel, and nervous that our relationship would change in a big way. When discussing this fear to my prayer group, my friend Theresa told me that the best gift I could ever give to Micah is a sibling. My, how true her comment has become! Our relationship as Mother and son has only grown stronger, and his instantaneous love for Amanda has been so pure and so sweet.

I've said this before, but while preparing for Amanda's arrival we prepared for the worst and hoped for the best. She is even more amazing than anything we could of ever dreamed up. We know that this has only become possible by the thousands of prayers we've prayed, along with our wonderful friends and family who have prayed along side us. God has been faithful to answer each prayer, and we know that her adjustment is a testament of those prayers. So we would like to thank everyone who was so diligent in prayer for our family.

~ I pray that our faith together will help you know all the good things you have through Christ Jesus. Philemon 1:6 (NLV)

Home Three Weeks

Amanda has been home three weeks now and everything is going rather smoothly. She's been sleeping through the night quite consistently, and really doesn't make a fuss unless she is wet, hungry or not happy with the way she's being held or what she is being fed. Micah is still content with his role as big brother and we still have not seen any signs of jealousy. I think the 8 year age difference keeps them from having a power struggle to share their toys. =)

Amanda is trying really hard to get up on her knees and crawl. This is exciting but I don't think I'm quite ready for her to be crawling around the house just yet. We missed the first 5 months of holding and cuddling her. My fear is that she will not want to be held and cuddled as much once she knows she can cruise around. At least that's how Micah was once he learned to crawl.

Another funny thing about Amanda is what she likes and doesn't like to eat thus far. We went through all the vegetable and she like them all, except green beans. This week we started her on fruits and she wants nothing to do with them. We've tried applesauce (hates it), pears (hates them too), we tried peaches yesterday and my goodness did she throw herself a little fit! We even tried to mix the fruit with her cereal and she wants nothing to do with that either. Last night she was so furious at us it was almost comical. She was clinching her lips together so tightly when we were trying to feed her the peaches, and she was trying to scream all at the same time. She knew if she opened her mouth we were going to try one more spoonfull of those peaches. =) Then once we gave her more veggies she was all smiles, happy and content as if nothing had bothered her a few minutes prior. Talk about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde! Whew! Like I mentioned when she is not happy with something she'll let you know. =)

Many of you were disappointed last week that I didn't post any pictures, but the birthmark issue was heavy on my heart. Besides we didn't take all very many pictures of Amanda that week. We decided to give her a break from our paparazzi style of photographing her.

Mother's Day was a day filled with great joy and many emotions. We had Amanda dedicated at our church, and I basically cried throughout the entire prayer. After church we went out for brunch at the Gaylord Texan, and spent a nice afternoon walking through the hotel and spending time together as a family of four.

Since Amanda's been home we've been rather busy with all of Micah's end of season/year activities with soccer, choir and school. He will become an official third grader next week. Micah has been counting down to the last day of school for the past 2 weeks. He will keep himself busy this Summer with VBS, a week long day camp at a private school nearby and swimming everyday in the pool. We have not decided if we are going to be taking a vacation this Summer, but if we do it will be nearby.

Here are some pictures of the kids. These were taken on Mother's Day, and I think they came our rather cute. We are ordering announcements for Amanda today and they should be arriving in your mailboxes within the next couple of weeks.

Mongolian Spots 101

Mongolian Spots? Is this a term you are completely not familiar with? I'm learning that many people (esp. those in the medical, social work, and daycare/nursery profession) have no clue what Mongolian Spots are.

What is a Mongolian Spot? Mongolian spots are flat bluish to bluish gray skin markings that commonly appear at birth (or shortly thereafter). They appear commonly at the base of the spine, on the buttocks and back and also can appear on the shoulders. Mongolian spots are benign and are not associated with any conditions or illnesses. Mongolian blue spots are common among darker skinned races, such as Asian, East Indian, and African.

So why am I bringing this to your attention you might be asking? Because Mongolian spots can be easily mistaken for bruises, particularly by well-meaning white people who have no experience with them, they have triggered accusations of child abuse against some adoptive parents. For this reason, it is important to be sure that both your child's pediatrician and the caseworker who completes your post-adoption work record information on the presence of Mongolian spots into their records. You can assist in the documentation of this information by taking snapshots of the spots and providing prints to be included in your child's files. Since you cannot take for granted that everyone will know what Mongolian spots are, it is good advice to have their presence recorded from the start. Reference by link

When Micah was born, he had a Mongolian spot on his lower back/buttocks area and our Pediatrician told us it was a birthmark. So we were not alarmed by this one bit. Then when Micah was about a month old we put him in our church nursery. When Soowan came to pick him up he was questioned by one of the workers. He explained that it was a birthmark, but he knew the explanation he provided to her was not sufficient to put this woman at ease. So he returned with Micah upset (rightfully so) and we began talking about the matter. At the time our friend Angela (who is Chinese) returned to the church nursery to talk with the worker and the nursery director that our son's blue spot was a birthmark, and that it is not to be suspected as anything differently. So we thought our worries were over, but each time there was a new worker in the nursery, the same questions would be asked. So inevitably we had his birthmark documented, and we made sure to explain what exactly was on his butt if we noticed a new worker in the nursery.

Now we are running into the same situation with Little Miss Amanda. She has Mongolian spots all over her buttocks, back, shoulders and upper arms. I have to admit the first time I changed her I was a bit shocked. We knew by her paperwork she had them, but was not prepared for what we saw. We were changing her at the airport, and all I could think of was to cover her up immediately because we KNEW we would be questioned by someone quickly if we kept her undressed.

We have taken her to the Pediatrician and had all her marks photographed and documented. He gave us a card to keep with us at all times with his pager # so he could be contacted immediately in case we were ever questioned, or in a situation that we are accused of child abuse. He has had families where the authorities take the baby first, then call the doctor after the parents have been booked for child abuse. Shocking? Yes it is!

We asked the doctor, "Wouldn't police authorities, medical professionals, social workers know what a common birthmark would look like?" He replied, "You would think so? Unless they have never been in contact with a infant/child with a Mongolian spot." My goodness, do we really live in that tight of a bubble???!!! He has had patients who were removed from their parents due to false accusations of abuse, when all the child had was a birthmark. This scares the heck out of me, due to Amanda's Mongolian marks and fear that someone who is not familiar with them will make the same accusations against us.

My fears have become even more inflamed after talking with the ladies at the nail salon I go to. I went this week to have a pedicure done and brought Amanda along because the workers there would of been mad if I had not. The family who owns the nail salon are Vietnamese and they noticed Amanda's spots almost immediately. I talked with them about it, and I was in tears when I left because my heart ached for them for what they have had to endure because of their own children's birthmarks. One says her son has them on his arms and wrists, so she keeps him in long sleeved shirts all year long. OK, that's insane because we live in TEXAS for heaven's sake!!! All of them had stories of nurses at urgent care center, freaking out about their child's birthmarks. Going so far as to removing the child from the room, and then all "you know what breaks loose" at the urgent care center, until someone with brains educates the staff on what the marks are. INCREDIBLE!!! You would think they would of learned this in school!

Amanda has been given so many adorable outfits that are sleeveless and they look so cute on her. She will wear them, but only at home or if we are going over to a friend's house. We have decided not to dress her in them when we are out in public to avoid any conflict. You may still notice her marks with her short-sleeved tops, but we are OK with that, they show just a little bit. There is no way we will keep her in long-sleeved shirts through out the summer months though.

Well I hope you all learned something today, and like the old saying goes, "Never judge a book by it's cover." And remember, "Jumping to conclusions will only lead to a tragic landing."

Here are more links that show pictures of what Mongolian spots looks like, so you can better educate yourselves and to see how they do resemble bruises (but they are not bruises).

Link

Link

Link

HOME ONE WEEK

One week ago today, Amanda was placed in our arms and hearts forever. It's only been a week, but it feel as if she's always been here. Maybe because in the past 4 months she has grown in our hearts while awaiting for her arrival. I can honestly say there is no difference in the experience of holding your child for the first time whether it is through birth or adoption. The emotions are exactly the same. The birth of one was physically exhausting for me, while the other was emotionally draining on me/us. The end results are just the same, and the power of that moment is indescribable.

Since the day Amanda has arrived home, she has been doing very well. Her demeanor is very calm and easy going. She loves to smile, coo and scream out in excitement at the top of her lungs. She is a very easy baby..... Way easier than Micah was. I think it has a lot to do with the care she received by her foster parents in Korea (Bless their hearts, for I can only imagine the pain they felt having to say good-bye to her), Amanda's temperament, and the fact that we actually know what we are doing the second time around. We believe it's a mixture of these three factors that has allowed Amanda to adjust so smoothly.

Amanda loves to roll around on the floor, and jump inside her 'Johnny Jumper'. We believe she has adjusted to the time change, and has slept through the night 3 out of the 7 nights she's been home. Her sleeping good has done wonders for the dark circles under my eyes! =)

Micah is enjoying his new role as big brother immensely!!! Micah loves to make Amanda laugh and he's hoping that her first word will be Micah. So far we have not seen any sign of sadness or jealousy over the attention Amanda requires to take care of her needs. Micah enjoys helping, and offers to change diapers, pick out outfits for Amanda to wear, and he enjoys feeding her a bottle from time to time. He's been a great help!

Now Samson my cat, he's the one who is not doing very well with the new addition to our family. He will jump up onto my lap as soon as Amanda is off of it. When playing with her on the ground or watching her jump around, he makes sure he's right there in sight. I think he wants us to gawk at him like we are gawking at Amanda. He had kept his distance from her, until this past Monday. I was taking pictures of Amanda playing under her little gym, and Samson sneaked under and laid himself down right next to her. She did not notice him at first, but when she did, she was not startled at all. She tried to roll over to touch him, but all Amanda accomplished was to kick Samson and then he ran off. I did get pictures of their first encounter.

"The furrless cat is not looking so I think I'll lay down next to her!"


"So far so good! I don't think she notices me yet."


"YIKES!!! INCOMING!!! RETREAT! RETREAT!"


Yesterday we took our "Little Miss" to the pediatrician to have her checked out. He said she was a perfect picture of good health and that developmentally she is exactly where she needs to be. He said he has seen many babies adopted internationally in his 30+ years of practice, and mentioned that the babies who are adopted from Korea are always the healthiest. Amanda now weighs 13 lbs. 12 oz. (20%) and is 27 1/2 in. long (95%). She is our long and lean string bean!!! He said we can start her rice cereal this week, then the next week we can add in some veggies. He then said after she's been on both for a few weeks to add in the fruits. We gave Amanda her first try at the rice cereal this morning and she didn't seem to mind it, she just needs to learn not to push it all out with her tongue.

I've decided that I will post updates each Friday on this blog. I will talk about our outings as a family and post pictures of the week. Here are some other pictures of Amanda from this week!

Mommy and Me


"I love my dolly!"


"I love to jump!"


The T-Shirt Says It All


HAPPY GIRL!!!


This Morning eating rice cereal.