Let the Countdown Begin!

I am ashamed to see that I haven't written anything in SO LONG!  Life has a way of getting away with you, and I have gotten so busy that the blog has fallen to the wayside.  But, with our upcoming trip front and center in our minds, I am back to blogging.  I have much to catch you up on before we leave, and we are PRAYING that we will get our travel call sometime in January.

First of all, back to Han's birthday.  I said I would post some pictures.  Here are a few of her party.  We ate at a local Korean restaurant, and I made her a cake with her Korean name written on it.  The grandparents, aunts, and uncles all came.  Grandma gave her a handmade quilt for her room, and she got some pictures for her nursery and some toys and stuffed animals.  It was lots of fun, and really helped me feel happy on a day that I had been dreading for a while. 

I just didn't know how hard it would be to celebrate her birthday without her.  Honestly, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  Getting a DVD with pictures and video of her first birthday party in Korea really helped.  In the video, she smiled, clapped for herself, waved, and flirted with everyone in sight.  She was the star of the show, if I do say so myself. 

At Korean first birthday parties, the baby is presented with several items on a table and they "choose" one.  Whatever they choose is supposed to symbolize the path they might take later in life (a pencil for a scholar, etc).  She just looked and looked at all the items in front of her and never really made a choice.  Finally, her foster mom seemed to think it was time to move on, and she put her hands around the money.  Of course, this means she will be rich!  The picture of her with her fat little cheeks squished together as her foster mom led her off the stage with that money in her hands was hysterical!  All in all, it looks like she had a wonderful day.  She was absolutely stunning in her hanbok (the traditional costume worn by babies at their first birthday and by Koreans on special occasions throughout their lives).  Her hanbok was rainbow colored, and her headpiece was black with a little tassel in the front.  Adorable!  Can you tell I'm in love?

This is a picture of the things we sent Han in her birthday care package.  We sent a baby doll, a toy stacker, a toy cell phone, a panda hat, some clothes, and a picture album with some pictures of her birthday cake and her party.  My Korean friend wrote little descriptions on each picture to tell her about the party.

In other, unrelated news, we have been doing very well and the boys are growing and changing every day.  They constantly keep me on my toes!  Here are some pictures of what they've been up to:

We spent lots of time this summer at the beach.  The boys love it there!  Here they are on the Fourth of July.

This picture pretty much sums up Josh's personality.  He is wild and crazy.  We pray every day that his powers will be harnessed for good and not evil!  :)  He is a sweet baby boy, but he NEVER STOPS moving and if it's quiet in the house, you can bet he is up to something.  Should be very interesting when baby girl arrives. 

Luke's First Day of 2nd Grade and Max's First Day of Kindergarten!!!!

Josh's First Day of 3-Year-Old Preschool!!!

We took a trip to Disney World in September.  Here is Josh with Grammy and Papaw.  We had a wonderful time!  We decided to take this trip to help us deal with the LONG wait to bring Han home.  It was nice to have something to look forward to, and I do think it helped in some small way.  Although, of course it did not help our savings account at all!  Here are a few more pictures from the trip:

Happy Halloween!  Here we are with our new dog, Gizzy (aka Toto)

Hopefully this gives you some ideas about our fall.  It was exciting and eventful, as all of life seems to be with three crazy boys.  But, of course, there has been a sadness and a loneliness, too.  I think about Han every day, and we all pray for her every night.  I think of all the things we have missed in her little life- her first steps, her first words, her first snuggles.  But I try to remember the wonderful blessing that we have been given- we will have a lifetime to spend with her.  I won't lie and say it's been easy.  Waiting these nine months has been a huge struggle.  But God is in control, and our faith is being strengthened every day as we rely on Him to take care of Han and to take care of us as we wait.  Here's a picture of the things we put in the third care package we sent to Han- this one for Christmas:

In this one we sent another doll (this one more Korean-looking), some pajamas, a shirt and some pink jeans, some puffs, a couple of toys, some small candies for the foster family, and two little board books.  We also sent a video.  In the video, the boys sing a Korean song (Gom San Mari) about the 3 Bears.  Jake and I also read the two board book to her.  I forgot to mention that we sent a video with the last care package as well.  What a laugh!  Hopefully the foster family won't think we're too weird to raise their sweet baby girl after viewing the movies.