A Christmas To Remember!!!

Today was a magical day. From watching Jae-min (and Martin) walk down the hall to see what Santa brought them, to the frequent giggles and smiles, this day was one to always remember. I realized today what has been missing from Christmas' in the past. He's little, adorable, and oh so fun. Jae-min is what this holiday is all about. I have always had wonderful Christmas', but never one like this. This will be one I'll always remember!!!Jae-min's shirt says Mom's favorite Gift. I think that about sums it up!!!

We just love this little guy!!

Jae-min loved all his presents he got this season. Look out everyone, I think we have a crazy shopper on our hands!!

Thank you Santa!!! I love my diggers and trucks!!!

A very Merry Christmas to you all. Joe and I have waited for a Christmas like this one for a long time and it surely didn't disappoint. We loved every minute of it!!!

He's Officially Ours!!!

Today was a joyous day, a day to celebrate!! Today Jae-min Francis officially became our son in the eyes of the law. Today we finalized Jae-min's adoption. I guess that happy little face describes just how we were feeling today too.This adoption journey has come to an end. It's hard to believe that after 2.5 years of hopes, dreams, disappointments, worries, and even a slight path change, the roller coaster has ended. As I rocked Jae-min before bed tonight I thought alot about the last 2.5 years. How there were so many times we wanted to give up. How the disappointment felt when we realized how slowly referrals from China were going. How we then listened to our hearts being led in a different direction, Korea. How we "took a chance" on our little man because of his prematurity. How it felt to get that travel call. How it felt to hold our son for the first time, and to see his sweet face. Yes, all that we have been through was all rolled into one today when we watched Jae-min walk around the courtroom interacting with all of our family (and now his too) as well as his friend from Korea. Each step we took culminated today when that judge said his name Jae-min Francis and then signed that final paper. That's it. We stepped off the ride today and are so happy with how it ended. Jae-min is ours now and forever.

I would never have imagined the path our lives would have taken. Yet, this is the path we were meant to be on.

Forever, officially our son. Jae-min Francis!!!!!

Snow Much Fun!!!

Our area had a big snowstorm overnight, and when we woke up this morning it was like a winter wonderland. Lots and lots of snow. So, what do two new parents do with a huge snowstorm? We dress our little man like a marshmellow so he can't even move and then we throw him into a snowbank of course!!!!We then buckle him into his sled and slide him down the driveway!!!!

He had so much fun trying to walk in all his gear, sledding, and being pulled in the sled around the neighborhood. He's always such a trooper, never complaining and always enjoying new experiences. When he first touched the snow he giggled and said "COO" (cold). Then pretty much giggled until his cheeks were pink and freezing!!!

I realized I had never put a post up about decorating our tree so here he is hanging his new Elmo ornament up. The trees been up for a few weeks and Jae-min's done so well with it. He just mostly looks at it but doesn't really touch it or get into any mischief with it. He's such a good little boy. We got so lucky with that one!!!!

9 Months Home!!!!!

Today marks 9 months since we met Jae-min. I have thought alot today about this pivotal number...9 months. The same amount of time that Jae-min spent in his birth country. The same amount of time a typical pregnancy lasts, yet in Jae-min's case he was with his birth mother for a shorter amount of time due to his early arrival. It saddens me slightly to think that from this day forward Jae-min will know his new life longer. He will always have those previous 9 months with his birth mother as well as with his birth country, but will never move past that number....9 months. I continue to thank God every day for these last nine months, but never want to forget the nine months before. They made Jae-min into who he is today and I am grateful for those 9 months.
Today we celebrated by picking out our Christmas tree as a family of 3 and then meeting Elmo. Yup, Jae-min met Elmo!!! He was in complete awe and loved loved loved him.

Just look at those eyes staring up at ELMO. I think he was thinking wow, is that really you?

Jae-min gave a big cheer when Elmo walked in the door. I think Elmo found his number 1 fan.

Which tree are we picking mom because its cold out here?

Happy 9 months sweet baby boy. We will always remember where you came from and the people who loved you for the first 9 months!!!!

An Early Gift

Today we received an early Christmas gift, one that we have longed for and dreamed about. Today we spoke to the lawyer who is handling our finalization and we have a court date of Dec 22nd. That's right, in a few short weeks Jae-min will be officially ours. We will finally step off this adoption roller coaster and just live our lives like other normal families. There will be no more worries related to paperwork, timelines, home visits. There will just be us as a family. This day means so much to us as its the ending of one chapter and the beginning of another. We know that Jae-min is already our son, but it will be nice for the courts to acknowledge it too.
We've come a long long way. But to finally be at the finish line is unbelievable!!!Do you think these two are on the lookout for Santa or what?

One Year Ago Today.....

we received the call that would change our lives forever....we had a son!!! I will never forget that day, being at work and getting into my car from a client's house seeing I had 2 messages. One from our social worker and one from Joe. I called Joe and pulled to the side of the road. He told me we had a son. I kept asking if he was sure and he kept saying yes. I don't know how we did it, but we finished out our workdays and then celebrated when we got home. The feelings of disbelief after years of waiting, the feelings of pure shock that Jae-min was matched with us!!! It was a whirlwind 3 months until our travel call. Updated photos and baby checks were our lifeline to our boy during that time.
To say that day was magical is an understatement. There are no words to describe it!!! One year later, we decorated the house tonight with Christmas decorations. We had a little helper this year. Last year we knew him in photos, but this year we could snuggle him and hear his sweet little laugh. The year has flown by and so much has changed. Looking back we know we wouldn't ever change a thing. All the heartache was so worth it!!!Jae-min's first time fingerpainting. He loved it!!

This is the first picture we ever saw of Jae-min. This is where I fell in love. From this picture I could tell he was a sweet angel and he was ours. We had to wait for the doctors opinions because he was such an early preemie, but secretly I knew!!! He was our son!!!

Thankful

Today we celebrate Thanksgiving. A day to give thanks for all the blessings in our life. We are thankful for our families and friends as well as our health. But...... as we sat around the tables today with both of our families we think we were all thankful for the same thing...Jae-min. He has brought so much joy into our lives and we still pinch ourselves that he is really here!!!He looked pretty suave on his first Thanksgiving. Gosh, he looks so grown up!!!

The happy family. The way it was always meant to be!!

We also gave thanks today to Jae-min's birth parents and his foster mom (omma). There isn't a day that goes by that we don't think of these selfless people, but today we are thankful for the sacrafices they made. They brought us the most beautiful gift. So, thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

The Three Amigos!!!!

Yesterday we met up at the Children's Museum in the city with our friends we met through our adoption agency. It was so fun to see Allie, Ryan and Jae-min play together. After going through the tough times of the wait and the tough times of the first few months home with these families, it was fun to just have a day of FUN, and oh what fun we had!!!!! The kids loved the different rooms to play in and they played hard. The parents played, chatted, laughed, and played some more. It was so nice to really not have a care in the world and just all truly enjoy ourselves. The kids were so cute together and we all talked about how we think its so important for them to grow up together. So they'll know of other families that look like them and they can talk about stuff as they grow. It's also great for us parents to have others to talk to too. The kids have all gotten so big since coming home. It was an awesome day. We can't wait to see what the future holds for these three amigos!!!!!!

Me, Jae-min, and Joe outside the museumJae-min enjoyed the jack hammer and daddy was very happy!!!

The three amigos. Jae-min, Ryan, and Allie. We think there might be some trouble in the future. Just look at those faces!!!

On Saturday we had gone to the Thanksgiving day parade in town. Jae-min was mesmerized by the bands and floats and had fun clapping to all the music. This little guy loves everything and is always up for a good time!!!

8 Months Home!!!!

Today is our 8 month anniversary as a family of 3. What was life like without Jae-min? It's hard now to even imagine. Our days are so full (as are sometimes our nights) with this little guy. We thought to celebrate this 8 month milestone we would share a snippet into our day. So, if you spent the entire day with this little family we have 8 things that you would most likely hear:
!. If you stop at a stop light for too long you will hear this from the little man in the back seat..."GO, GO, GO" until the car begins to move again!
2. To distract Jae-min from mischief, I often say "Lets go find Martin" to which his response is "brabra(brother)" and he takes off on the hunt to torment him!
3. If you're ever at our house and Joe asks you if you want "death role" just say no. Trust me on this one. We have mommy death roll, doggy death roll, and Asian death roll. You can use your own imagination on this one. Just say no thanks.
4. If Jae-min is near Martin's food and he has a silly grin on his face with his lips pursed together you would often hear "Are you eating Martin's food?" followed by a finger sweep and extraction of the goody.
5. Did you seriously poop again? How many times can these little creatures poop in one day?
6. At the end of a meal you may hear "CRACKER" shouted numerous times until you open the cabinet and retrieve one for the little guy whose got his pointing finger poised toward the cabinet.
7. You may also hear "No touch" often to which Jae-min will point his finger and wave it, and then of course touch it just the same.
8. But the best sound of all that you would hear would be laughter, squeals, "lets snuggle" to which Jae-min would rest his head on you, "good morning" to which you'd hear a delighted sound, and an "I love you"!!!!Our days were once filled with quiet, where now there filled with noise, laughter, and fun.

Our focus has changed as has the joy we find in each day. This little face is the reason!!!

If you had told us 8 months ago Jae-min would be this well adjusted, happy, secure, and loving we may have been doubtful as we walked off that plane. We attribute this to the ways in which we've parented him these past 8 months and we honestly wouldn't change a thing!!!
Happy 8 months home Jae-min!!!!

1,2,3,4!!!!!!!!!

That's the number of steps Jae-min has taken on his own this week. That's right, you read that right!!! At the beginning of the week Jae-min was taking 2 steps to walk between Joe and I. As of today he has taken 4, count them 4, steps between us as well as to get to something he wants in the room. Its kind of funny to watch him plot out his move in his head and then go for it. He's becoming more confident that those little feet can take him somewhere. I had taken him to visit my work today and he was "walking" all over the place,4 steps at a time. So............. it's just a matter of time until he walks all the way across the room!!!Go Jae-min. You can do it!!!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

For those that added children to their family easily, this holiday may be just another day of annoying doorbell ringing and way to much candy. But for those that waited in the adoption line for 2 plus years (and years before that) this holiday was magical!!!!! I had always sat on the porch with Joe handing out candy and looking longingly across the street, wishing that we had our very own cutie to walk up the walkway to the neighbor's front door, ring the bell, and say trick or treat holding our pumpkin head bucket. Well, tonight that dream became a reality. We had so much fun wheeling Jae-min around the neighborhood in his wagon and walking him up to those doors while he held his very own pumpkin head bucket. We felt like we truly belonged in this holiday this year and it was amazing!!!
Jae-min had a great time visiting family this morning and afternoon and everyone was so generous to him...thanks so much!! We wish we could bottle up that love you all have for him and send it to Korea so they could feel how much he is loved.
Here's our little cutie in his pumpkin shirt having fun.

And here's the cutest little Tigger around (we're not biased or anything Haha)Happy Halloween Jae-min!!!

Hats For Korea

Our "little" project has taken on a life of its own!!! When we sent out the emails requesting hand knitted or crocheted baby hats to donate to Holt about a month ago, we never imagined how big this project would get. We continue to hear from you saying how many hats you already have done and we are so thankful and grateful. The generousity is truly amazing!!! We have a feeling that the babies waiting for their forever families will be very warm this winter. It means alot to us that you understand how we feel about giving something back to this amazing agency which cared for and helped bring Jae-min home!! We mentioned it to Father John at our church and he had us write about our story. This Sunday at church our story was in the bulletin with a request for hats. Wow, is all I can say. We never want to forget those in Korea or those babies still there. This is just our little (well, big) part to say thanks. Keep those hats going. We'll let you know around the holidays how many we receive.
This weekend we had a little fashion show with all the handmade sweaters Jae-min received as gifts. He looks pretty dapper in all of them!!! A special thanks again to all those that took the time to knit these special sweaters (and blankets, we'll be taking those out again soon). We just love them and we think our little guy loves them too.

7 Months Home!!!!

Today marks 7 months home. Boy, when we were waiting 7 months was an eternity and now it has gone by in the blink of an eye. We had a fun weekend doing all sorts of fun fall activities. We had a great time spending time with family at the apple orchard. Last year my heart broke the entire time we were there. If you had told me that day that next year we would join our families with our very own son I wouldn't have believed you!! What a difference a year makes.
We spent today as a family of 3 at a farm picking pumpkins, going on a hayride, seeing the TRACTORS and DIGGERS (which are two of Jae-min's favorite words), sipping cider, and digging in a big pile of dirt. We had the best time. A great way to celebrate 7 months home!!!Jae-min was soooo excited when he saw the tractor, so he decided to take the people for a ride!!

I think this pumpkin looks perfect!! So does the little cub picking it!!!

Apple anyone? What a way to ride, attached in your carrier on daddy's back.

7 sweet months with our little sweety. How did we get so lucky?

"A" OK

Could he be any cuter? We just love this little guy!!!!

I Wished For You

We have been searching for some children's books relating to adoption to incorporate into Jae-min's bedtime routine. We have begun to talk to him about his story and how he joined our family but thought it would be fun to let him see some stories as well. We bought 3 and they arrived yesterday. I opened the box and took out this amazing book entitled I Wished For You by Marianne Richmond. As I read it, my eyes filled with tears. It addresses how a little bear's mother wished for him in her heart for such a long time. It also addresses how his birthmother wished for him a better life than she could give at that time. Also it addressesed the fact that this little bear looked differently from his parents. How wonderful!!! The big theme is about wishes, and how sometimes they come true, and sometimes they don't. The mommy bear explains how she wished all day and all night and never stopped wishing. Sounds very familiar huh? Last night we snuggled on the couch and read this book to Jae-min. We think this will become a favorite in this family and will open up the lines of communication in the future. Oh, how I love a good book!!!!

In other news, Jae-min had his 15 month check up last week. He's a picture of health and developing well!!! Jae-min and I have joined a music/story time at our local library once a week. We are having a great time!!

We have our final social worker visit Monday and we received our adoption finalization papers in the mail. We fill these out, our social worker writes up a report, we mail it into our agency and they deliver it to their attorney. She then schedules us a court date and we can finalize. Right now the courts are backed up, so it may not be until the winter, but we'll see. We can't wait for our social worker to see him again.

We've been having fun around here and can't wait to make Jae-min Francis legally ours. We know he's our son, but it will be nice for the courts to acknowledge it.

6 Months Home!!!

Six Months. 184 Days.
During the last 6 months we think we have felt every emotion/feeling known to mankind. We have experienced joy, sadness, frustration, elation, doubt, overwhelmed, anxious, laughter. We have gone through the darkest days and nights with each other and have come out the other side. We have wanted to give up and we have wanted some days to last forever. We have all looked at each other and cried and felt so inadequate that all we could do was laugh. We have slept on the floor, patted a bottom for hours to soothe to sleep, rocked and cuddled for countless hours. Again, through it all, we have made it through and even stronger than we were before. We have become a family!!!
Last night as we played on the floor in Jae-min's room we were sitting in the spot where we had slept when he first arrived home. Tears welled up in my eyes as I remembered those days. During those times it felt so hopeless. We were exhausted and overwhelmed and had so many first time parent jitters. Looking back at those days I sort of felt a twinge of nostalgia. I'm not saying I would wish for them back, but I am grateful we went through them. They make these days so much sweeter.

As things have settled down we have begun to notice the little things that make Jae-min unique and we thought today, our 6 month anniversary, would be a good time to share them. Enjoy...

How do we love thee?

Let us count the little ways......

*We love his belly laugh and how his face gets bright red, almost looking like his head will pop off.

*We love the scar by his left eye from a scratch he had when we met him in Korea. We say its his little Korean souvenior.

*We love the dimple high on his left cheek when he smiles big.

*We love how his pinky toes jut out slightly from the others.

*We love how in certain light you can see the peach fuzz on his cheeks.

*We love his birthmark under his armpit.

*We love his inquisitive mind and his love of learning.

*We love how he feeds the dog one piece of food at a time.

*We love how he rubs his blankie as he falls asleep.

*We love that he is Korean.

*We love seeing his smiling face at 6 am. Well, we like it more at 6:45 but thats another story.

*We love how he cuddles into you as he's rocked.

*We love how he loves us unconditionally,

*But most of all we love how he made us a family!!!

Happy 6 months home Jae-min Francis. We will never ever forget that day, that trip, and all the days that followed.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

Yesterday was Joe's fantasy football draft with his buddies from his old job (that sounds so weird). This year we had Jae-min home to help daddy pick the best players. So, he turned on the computer at 8:30 am while I got Jae-min dressed in his football outfit only to realize that oops the draft was actually at 8:30 PM. So...needless to say, Jae-min did not attend the draft but looked cute in his outfit anyway!!! We worked on touchdown all day and hope Jae-min has it by the first game. Jae-min and daddy waiting for the football draft.

Jae-min has had a big couple of weeks. He's started walking behind his push toy and climbing the stairs. He has several new words "cracker", "car", "go" which he uses appropriately. He's also used other words yet not consistently so we won't count them yet. He's also using the sign for help appropriately. He's begun to feed himself, after lots and lots of patience and work!!!
With all this progress comes a little "toddler tude". Jae-min has grown independent and with this independence comes some frustration. He's begun to have mini meltdowns, mini tantrums, and whining. He's definately testing us and we know this is totally age appropriate. We're actually happy to see these tests because it means that Jae-min feels comfortable and safe with us. We're sort of igoring these behaviors which is working so far. So, "toddler tude", it doesn't work with us!!!!!

Firsts!!!!!!

As you all know Jae-min joined our family through adoption so we didn't get to see some of his "firsts", but we've tried to make up for that since he's been home. We didn't get those little "first" footprints and handprints when he was born to place on his birth certificate and then place on our shirts so.....we made our own!!! We bought a little kit this weekend and had Jae-min press his hand and foot into the clay so that we could always remember how small he was when we met him. Who needs those teeny tiny prints when you can have the chubby ones that hold onto your hand while snuggling? We love our "first" prints even more!!!!

This weekend Jae-min had another "first" that we could be a part of. He had his first haircut from his Auntie!!!! She did a great job and he looks so snazzy and handsome I just can't stand it!! From the back and sides he looks so grown up, but from the front he still looks like my little baby. When he finished getting his haircut (which he did a great job at) I looked at him and my breath was slightly taken away. He's sooo handsome and I just want him to stay a baby alittle longer. I feel like we haven't had enough time, and now he's turning into a little toddler. Give me my baby back!!! haha Let's stop time and stare at his cuteness.

This first picture is the after:

This second picture is the before:

Our last "first" this week has been for Joe. He has started a new job teaching in the electrical department at the local highschool. His first day of school was today and he was a wee bit nervous. It was a big decision to leave his other job, but Jae-min and I are so proud of him and can't wait to go to his school and peek through the windows and whisper "thats our daddy". We'll wait though, we don't want anyone to think we're crazy haha.

So, we celebrate these "firsts" and look forward to many many more in our little family.

Silly Goose!!!!

The other night after dinner we went to feed the two geese that live at our local small airport. We were all excited to go on this family outing and Jae-min clutched the bread bag in his hands all the way there. When we approached the geese everyone was happy and having a great time, until.... Remember I said that it was a family outing? So yes, that means we brought along Martin. He was being very good with the geese when all of a sudden the big goose began to hiss at Martin, distracting Jae-min, which allowed the little goose to snatch the bread right out of Jae-min's hands!!! They were in cahoots I tell ya!! So, needless to say our fun outing turned into a barking, crying fest with two very upset goose visitors. Silly Gesse!!! I never knew geese hissed, did you?

This past weekend we met up with another family we had met during our waiting family groups. They traveled to Korea in June to bring home their son Ryan. We were so excited to finally meet him, he's such a doll. We went to a local park and then to the waterfront for a casual dinner. The boys had so much fun playing and eating together. It was so fun to see them home with their little one!!! Welcome home Ryan. We hope you and Jae-min are great friends.

5 Months Home!!!!

Today marks 5 months home with our little Jae-min!!! The time has totally flown by since March and we just can't believe its already been 5 months. Where does the time go? This past month has been a big change for Jae-min. We think that now he finally feels like this is his house too and he's really become very inquisitive and alittle more independent this month. He loves exploring and looking back at us to make sure we're still there, waving.
So, in honor of 5 months home we thought we'd post 5 new things about Jae-min:
1. He's now saying Mama and Dada, music to our ears!!! He also uses word approximations for ball (ba), book (bo), bird (bir) and balloon (baoo) and he's trying Martin (Mabroer) which translates to Martin brother. If you know him well you can decipher between all these b words and if not he'll just keep repeating them until you figure it out.
2. He's understanding more directiions to get ball and trucks, He's also able to look for mom, dad, and Martin when asked.
3. He and Martin totally crack us up everyday together. They now actually play together, Jae-min getting him a toy and Marty running down the hall to fetch it. Jae-min then squeals in delight as Marty runs back toward him down the hall dropping the toy in front of Jae-min. This could go on for hours, or until Marty gets tired!!!
4. His play has changed from just shaking and banging to actually playing with trucks and all of his toys in a different manner.
5. He is so lovable and friendly, always waving to others in church, at the beach, at the canal. He has this little Mr. America wave that totally captures everyones hearts as he makes eye contact with you and waves. He's just alittle cuddle bug and loves cuddles, tickles, and smooches.This month has brought many new experiences for Jae-min and he's enjoyed each and every one of them. We can honestly say that now we really can't remember life without him. Just look at that face!!!!