Merry Christmas

Christmas was so much fun this year. Josiah is at the age where everything is new and exciting. This year for the first time in many years we made cookies. Josiah helped of course. We made a cookie that is so rich even Greg could only eat one at a time. It is Oreo cookies mixed with cream cheese and dipped in chocolate. They were good!
We spent many conversations debating Santa or no Santa. Greg and I finally decided that we would go a ahead and do Santa. Some good friends of ours gave us a Santa's cookie making kit on the Sunday before Christmas and we put it to good use. Thanks Laura for the yummy cookie recipe. The three of us had so much fun making and decorating the cookies. I think we will do this every year.
Christmas eve was spent at Greg's parent's house this year. After a wonderful dinner the children exchanged gifts. Josiah and Leah were so excited they could not contain themselves. A funny Josiah story: He has been telling us that he wants to play the guitar. we have in turn been telling him that we thought it would be a good idea to learn to play piano first. Grandma got Josiah a play guitar for Christmas and one of the first things Josiah said was, "Mom, I told you I didn't have to play the piano first!"
When we got home from Grandma's house we put out cookies and milk for Santa. The next morning Josiah was so surprised to find that the glass was empty and the cookies gone. In their place were presents under the tree. It was great to see the expression on his face. Watching open his gifts was so much fun for me. He was excited about every single thing he got. We could not get him to sit still for even a minute to eat any breakfast because he was too busy bouncing from one new thing to another.
Christmas day Greg's parents came over for lunch and brought a seminary couple who was not able to go home for Christmas with them. We had a grand time.

One if by Land, Two if by Sea

Last week Tuesday Greg and I left for a 4 day break in Boston. Actually, Greg was at a conference and I went with him. We arrived late Tuesday night and after dinner we went to sleep.

Wednesday morning Greg had to be at his conference to register by 7am. After registering he returned to the room and ordered room service breakfast for me. I ate breakfast in bed then got an hour or so more shut eye (unheard of at home!). I got out of bed around 9am, showered and then strolled along the canal for about an hour. The time alone was so peaceful. I had time to think, pray and read my Bible uninterrupted! After a quick lunch at the food court at the mall across the street I went over to the Science Museum. I have a membership to the Science Museum in Louisville, so I was able to get in free. The afternoon at the museum was so much fun. I had forgotten that I could enjoy just being alone. I went to see a talk on stem cell research that was very informative, I saw the largest Van de Graaf generator in the world at work and I saw a presentation on making weather. I also spent an hour in the math room. Greg was surprised by this. By the time I got back to the room at 4:30pm I was tired. I rested for an hour and then Greg and I went to Quincey Market for dinner. Getting around on the T was a piece of cake. We got back to the hotel at 9:30 and both of us were exhausted.

Thursday I met my friend Deb, who now lives in Massachusetts for a couple of hours. We got manicures and went for lunch. Right at lunch time the snow began to fall. By 1pm it was really coming down and we were supposed to be getting about 7 inches in the next several hours. Debbie decided to take off early so that she did not get stuck in the snow. A wise decision I think. I had a 5 minute walk from the train station to the hotel and was the ground was completely covered by the time I got there. I spent the entire afternoon in bed watching TV and napping. Oh how glorious that was. And by the way, I didn't have to watch anything that had a cartoon in it. By the time Greg was done with his conference there was 4-6 inches of snow on the ground. We decided to eat at the Cheesecake Factory across the street even though it broke Greg's rule (no eating at chain restaurants when in Boston!) Back to the room to watch Survivor - yes I am addicted.

Friday Greg had the day off. We met up with Deb and Pete and toured Boston. We had so much fun seeing the sights. First we went to the Prudential building observation deck to get the lay of the land. After that we went to the North end for lunch at the authentic Italian area of town. My only request for lunch was good seafood. Pete delivered! I had the most awesome seafood risotto. It had clams, mussels, scallops, shrimp and risotto and it was goooood. I don't know what everyone else had - all I know is mine was good. After lunch we followed the Freedom trail. Visited Paul Reveres house and the Old North Church. We had to go into the gift shop to find the story of Paul Revere, since I didn't know all the details and needed an American history lesson. We bought pastries at Mikes Pastry shop and then took a train to Harvard Square. We bought hot chocolate at the Harvard bookstore and ate our dessert. By the time our sweet treats were gone it was time for Pete and Deb to head back on the commuter train home. Greg and I went back to the hotel for an evening of laying around. We arrived back home late Saturday night and while the time away was grand we are glad to be back to our routine and home cooking.

More Naomi Pictures!

I am still getting used to the idea that we have a daughter. God has definitely surprised us with this. When we were waiting for Josiah to come home all we had was the 2 pictures that were sent with our initial paperwork. This time around we have been blessed with so many pictures of Naomi. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy:

What's in a Name?

Since we have had the fun and difficult job of coming up with a name for our new daughter, I thought it would be fun to explain the importance of naming in Korea.

In Korea a name is usually made up of 3 characters. Each character is pronounced as a single syllable. The family name is placed first followed by the given name made up of 2 characters, one of which is chosen by the clan and used by all members of the same generation. This is the generation marker and changes from one generation to the next. Some families give generational markers to female offspring, but most do not since females are not usually recorded in the family chokpo (the genealogical table that traces one's lineage).

There is a great variety of given names, but only about 274 last names in current use. Forty- four of the last names account for less than 100 persons each. Each character of a Korean name has a certain meaning. According to tradition a child's fate is influenced by the name it is given so it is not uncommon for the parent, or the paternal grandfather who is usually given the honor of naming the child, to consult a professional name maker. (Notes on Things Korean, Han 1995)

Here are the meanings of our children's names:

Josiah TaeHyung

Josiah = sustained by God, Tae = great, Hyung = goes well

Naomi YooJin

Naomi = beautiful woman, Yoo = mild, Jin = true

We got a very nice surprise today - several new pictures of Naomi. Hope you enjoy them as much as we are.

A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words!

Surprise!!

Wednesday November 14th, 2007 started off just like any other day. We were up early and off to school by 9:30am. I ran errands and back to school at 12:30 to pick Josiah up. We spent the afternoon doing lazy activities because I have had the flu all week and have been just dragging myself around. After dinner I decide to stay home and send the boys to church by themselves.

After they left I curled up on the couch with a magazine for the evening. Not long after that the phone rang and it was our case worker from Adoption Assistance. She said that she had a preliminary referral for us. A 4 month old little girl. She wanted to know if we would be interested in reviewing her information since she was considered a special needs child. Yoojin has some medical issues that we had to consider. I called Greg at church and told him everything I knew and we agreed that we would have a couple of physicians look at the information to help us understand the extent of her medical needs.

The last few days we have spent researching, talking to doctors and praying - a lot. We have talked with family and with some close friends and have received wise counsel. On Friday night we decided that this is our little girl and we are going to accept her referral. Nothing is official yet. We have to wait for the formal packet of information to come and then we will begin the paper chase. We have no idea when we will be able to travel to Korea to get her, but hopefully we will know more when we meet with our case worker and we sign all our paperwork.

Wow! What a surprise! I really didn't think it was possible that would have a little girl and surly didn't think it would be this soon. We have no names picked out and will let you know when we do. Her middle name will be Yoojin so for now that is what we will call her. Please pray with us that her health would be stable and that we would be able to travel soon to bring her home.

Now for a fun Josiah story:

Josiah has been telling us for several months now that he wants a brother. He and I were driving in the car on Friday and I asked him how he felt about getting a sister. This is the conversation that followed:

M: Josiah how would you like a sister instead of a brother?

J: No girls allowed. I don't like girls.

M: But Mommy is a girl

J: I like Mommy, but we need 3 boys and only one girl. Daddy and Josiah need a brother. Maybe we should get 2. A brother for Daddy and Josiah and a sister for Mommy.

M: I don't think that is going to happen. God decides these things. We don't get to choose.

J: (slight pause in conversation) Oh!

Then I hear him talking but can't make out what he is saying

M: What is that sweetheart?

J: I am not talking to you, I'm talking to God. God please, please, please can we have 2. (pause again). Yes, Mommy He says yes. Did you hear it?

When we showed Josiah the picture on Friday night and asked him what he thought of this little girl. He kissed the picture and hugged her and said, "I love her !" He has been carrying her picture around with him ever since and is apparently OK with a sister.

Meet Emma Jayne - our little niece

WOW! This has been a roller coaster 2 weeks for us. It all started 2 weeks ago when my sister, who is pregnant, went to the ER thinking she was having a miscarriage. The ER doc told that she was, but the next day she went to her regular doctor and he said no the baby is fine and she needs to rest. She will be having a followup ultrasound on Monday. Please pray everything continues to be OK.

Monday this week my brother and his wife had their little baby girl. Emma Jayne was born Monday afternoon weighing in at 3.8Kg (about 8 lb). A few hours after the birth, Melanie (mom) had a drop in blood pressure and was hemorrhaging. She was unable to recognise my brother. 36 hours later she is OK and the doctors are a little puzzled at what might have caused her to have such a reaction. They have since said they think it was a drug interaction. Mom and baby are doing well now and are at home resting.