Receiving Gifts

I had a good quiet time this morning. (Samuel actually slept until 7am!)

During my quiet time, I reflected on God's gift of life and then how He is the giver of good gifts. Of course that doesn't mean we will never struggle or be persecuted, but He gives us so much more than we deserve. It is easy to get into the rut of looking around and seeing how others have more and then focus on what we don't have, but when I look at what I do have, I am overwhelmingly grateful.

Throughout the last 10 or so years, God has done so much in my life. Stripping off one idol after another. Well, the last few years, God is working on ones that I knew were coming, but dreaded: "financial security" and "I can do it". Working part-time instead of full-time, adopting, and Joe going through seminary while working full-time in facilities, does not leave much room for "financial security". We have been given so much, especially in the past year. Money, toys, clothes, gift certificates, free babysitting, meals and the list goes on. This has not been easy for me. I would rather be on the other end, but as time goes by, I have less to give other than my gratitude, and of course prayer.

As I thought about it this morning, I started to cry. I don't deserve good gifts from others. I'm happy to take gifts from God, if it doesn't involve others being inconvenienced. It is so hard to receive without being able to pay back or do anything in return, other than saying "thank you". But when you have no choice, you have to humble yourself and take it. I am losing my "I can do it" attitude, because I can't. No matter how I calculate, save, or work things out, I have to rely on God and my community/family. I knew this would be a hard lesson, but relationships have become richer, my heart is becoming less closed off to let others in, and my heart is softening. Fear, bitterness, pride, and more is melting away. God continues to refine me and I pray that when this season has passed, I won't forget what God is teaching me.

On a side note, Samuel is doing great! He had a fun weekend with pool time, family time, and good health. Yesterday he started whining again. We are going through another round of a few days of pain. Please pray for him and that I would know how to help him. He is more calm today, but then I haven't had to take him out to run errands or occupied to do errands at home. It has been a nice morning of just hanging out and getting lots of short cuddle sessions. : )

Final court date!!!

It has been a glorious and transitional 8 months so far!

The first few months were a bit difficult because I had to get used to the new schedule and life. Samuel is such a great baby, that it really helped. The hardest thing that I had to deal with was his lack of desire for rest. He still cries even when he thinks we are going to put him in the crib. Actually at this moment, he is in the crib, fighting rest. Sometimes he even bangs his head on the crib to stay awake. Poor thing. . .

The fun things about Samuel is that he is usually a very happy, active boy. (I say usually because when his molars are coming in, he is hurting.) He loves to climb, run, explore, and laugh. He laughs most often when playing peek a boo or pretty much any social interaction. He is a people-person. He will walk up to strangers to smile at them and loves to see other kids. We have been doing a LOT of play dates lately and hasn't met anyone he doesn't like yet. He rarely sits still very long. Watching Thomas the Train keeps him still the longest of anything else, so that is my default when I am trying to cook. Sometimes, it doesn't work. He likes to be where I am, watching me do things, especially in the kitchen.

He has had a few time-outs and responds pretty well to them. He usually knows when he is getting into something he is not supposed to. I can tell because he has that sneaky look on his face or runs away when we catch him. LOL! After the first couple of time-outs, he started following directions more quickly. He is one smart cookie and seems to know it. He will sometimes try to smile or put his lip out when he gets in trouble because in the past we would laugh. We are learning to hold it in or turn our heads. : )

Teething has been hard for us. It seems that a new tooth comes in every couple of weeks and he is in pain every few days. These molars are hard on him. His drool is pretty constant and so we have learned to just live with wet shirts and kisses, which we LOVE! He now has 2 sets of molars and one set of canines. I think his 3rd set of molars are coming in now. Or maybe it is his 2nd set of canines. All I know is he is pain. Poor baby. I wish I could take it away, but there doesn't seem to be any magic fixes. Medication is only temporary and doesn't always work.

Well, he has had tons of firsts! I wish I could post pics of some of them, but until the adoption is final, I am not supposed to. So, if you want to see any, check out my Facebook page. That is a "secured" site and I can post pics of him on there.

I can not tell you how appreciative we are to have him here while we wait for it all to be final. We also appreciate all the support we have had and still receive. There are too many to count and in various ways. Samuel has such a large family in Christ. He also has our family that we were born into, who adore him. Sometimes I still cry, thinking back to the days when I didn't know how or when or if we would ever have a child. And here he is. Our precious boy!!

So, the final court date is Monday, August 22nd. He will legally be ours! He is already ours in our heart and mind. I can't imagine life without him, nor do I want to. We are so blessed!!!

HOME WITH SAMUEL

I'm sorry it has been so long since I last posted. November has been a whirlwind of a month. It started with my dad getting in a bicycle accident and ending up in Grady Hospital for about 2 weeks. He has head, ribs, and other body injury. He is at home recovering, while my mom is running their dry cleaners. My sister-in-law and brother and taking care of all the medical paperwork and staying home with him when they can. We are having trouble with getting the VA to take over his treatments and cover the costs. Pray for all that to get worked out and for endurance for my family.

Then, we decided to bite the bullet and take another step of faith. We bought a small SUV for transporting Samuel. The minute we got home, we heard a message on our answering machine saying that our baby was ready for travel. What timing!

So, we got the first flight we could out there and back. We were in Korea for 3 1/2 days because we wanted to get Samuel home. We can't take him with us until the day before or the day of travel. Thankfully, we had a morning flight. We got to take him to my aunt's house the day before travel.

South Korea was awesome. Their rest stops are like strip malls, the service in malls and restaurants are top notch, there is always someone waiting to help you with a smile. We got to walk around the town where my mom and dad met and lived when I was a baby. We almost got lost, but ran into my aunt's mother-in-law and she pointed us back home. It was perfect timing.

Needless to say, the food was delicious. It was actually so hot/spicy, that it brought tears to Joe's eyes.

It was great to spend time with my aunt and her family too. I remember as little girl, thinking she was so beautiful and wanting to be like her. She got to be the first family member to meet Samuel.

Coming back home was crazy. Because we booked our flight last minute, we couldn't sit near each other and no one offered to switch places. Joe was so far away that he couldn't even hear or see us. Praise God, we made it without any serious damage. LOL

We were greeted by a welcoming committee. Here is a video our friend Jen made of it:

http://gallery.me.com/jenniferstyle/100082

Now, we are home trying to get into a routine. It took several days for Samuel to realize that night was not day anymore. Korea has a 14 hour difference. He is mostly sleeping through the night now and we are working on his napping. He is napping right now. Shhhh. . .

We LOVE our baby Samuel!!! He is so funny, curious, energetic, and adorable. He loves people, but knows who his mommy and daddy are. He looks at us periodically to make sure we are near by. When he is tired and cranky, he wants mommy or daddy. I LOVE IT!!!!

I am learning to get up EARLY and have my quiet time before he gets up. It makes for a happier day for both of us. Joe is an awesome daddy! He had to go back to work this week, but has requested evening duty. So, he feeds, bathes, and gets Samuel down for the night. It is precious.

Since we have had Samuel, he has already learned how to crawl, eat bite-sized snacks by opening his hands enough to shove it in his mouth (he LOVES to eat), and stand up in his crib. He is getting stronger every day. Just this morning, he was observing his hand movements as they opened and closed. It is such a joy to be able to watch those moments. I need to keep the video camera next to me to capture them.

If you want to see pictures or get faster updates, befriend me on FB if you have not already.

Approval Coming Soon?

I was driving down to McDonough on Friday and had a conviction to call about the
paperwork again. Joe and I discussed earlier that morning not to call, but the
conviction was strong. So, I called Joe and told him. I asked Joe to call since
he was home and I was driving. After some convincing that we don't need to wait
until later in the day he called. He was home because he was getting ready to
leave for a men's retreat at noon and it was around 11am. So, he called and
found out that we were assigned an officer. She said that she had just gotten
the paperwork and went through it on the phone with Joe. She noticed a form was
missing. Praise God that Joe was home to find it and fax it. God was using
that time to make me see that I don't have to have control because Joe couldn't
find it at first and had to leave soon. I couldn't find it because I wasn't at
home. I just had to pray that God would show Joe where it was. Finally, Joe
did find it and faxed it out to the officer. I called her and she got it. She
said that it should be approved this week some time!!!!

Korean Festival

We had such a great time at the Korean Festival. I haven't been to one since I was a young girl. My mom showed us how to play all of these games. It was fun watching her do them too.









This is a version of hackey sack. It is harder because under all that stringy stuff is a plastic weight. So, it is hard to see where the center of the weight is going to hit.












This is a Korean board-game. There are 4 people on 2 teams. The big silver things are like dice, only all four people on a team flip them at once. The way they land, tells you how many places to move your piece on the board.


This is sort of a mix between see-saw and trampoline. You take turns jumping and propelling your partner higher into the air. It is a great work-out too.








This is how they used to make rice cake.




My mom is getting ready to arm-wrestle. Yeah!








This is sort of like a bean bag toss. Only you have these arrow-looking things and you try to get them inside the jar or one of the hoops. Abby rocked at this one!














We told the boys to "Go fly a kite". . . and they did. (Sorry, my corniness just came out.)

They actually flew them for a long time.
One was even made like the traditional Korean kites.



This is a game sort of like jacks. My mom can throw all 5 pieces in the air, catch them on the back of her hand, flick them in the air and then catch them inside her hand. She does is so fast too.
We were all amazed.




There was so much more to do, but it was sooo hot. There were jumpy things for the kids, demonstrations and mini-parades with traditional dancers, drummers, and dressed royalty. You could even dress up in traditional Korean wedding clothes for pictures. Unlike American festivals, most of the activities are free and your prize was food. Now, that is my kind of prize!

I don't know why I don't have pictures of those things. I must have gotten tired of pulling out the camera.
All in all, it was a great day. I look forward to bringing our baby to these in years to come!

Wounds

I got this nasty burn on my arm over a week ago. I was baking something on a cookie dish and hastily took it out. When I did, it seared my arm. Not but a little while later, I did the same thing and seared my other arm. The second one wasn't as bad and was near my wrist.

The first wound is definitely taking much longer to heal and not look so gross. It is bigger, but is also located just above the inside of my elbow. So, every time I pull my arms in, the air is blocked from touching the wound, thus causing it to get sticky and gooey. YUCK! The smaller one gets plenty of air and has almost healed itself, yet there is definitely going to be a scar.

Emotional and spiritual wounds are like physical wounds. The more we try to cover it up, the less it really heals. The more we close our arms rather than reaching out to God for healing, the grosser it gets. When we open our arms and let His "air" breathe on us, the better it heals. There still may be a scar, but hopefully, we can use those scars as reminders to not be so hasty and that God heals all wounds.

BTW- I am learning to sleep with my arms open. ; )

Triathlon

I still have a few more pictures to get and upload, but I couldn't wait to share what I have already. : )

There were 8 students that I have taught in the triathlon. One was the sibling of one of my students, but I worked with him in an after-school program. There was one family that I don't know who also joined the cause. Awesome!

This was a BIG deal. I was surprised to see how many children were there and how serious some of them and their parents were. Some kids had very expensive bikes and the parents were "coaching" them like it was the Olympics.

This was the first triathlon for all of the students I knew, and they LOVED IT!!!

They raced by ages; oldest to the youngest.

First, they swam.
(There were different distances for each age group.)



Then, they rushed to their bikes.










Lastly, was the running.
Most of it seemed like it was uphill.













To the FINISH line!








They were tired, but excited about their accomplishment.

Some of them wanted to do it again.

I am so proud of all of them!!!



Here is a link to a video one of the parents made of the event. It is wonderful!
http://gallery.me.com/jenniferstyle#100062/IronKid

Happy watching!