Happy 5th Birthday!

Happy birthday Bethany!

Five years ago, unbeknownst to me, our little girl was born in a hospital over five thousand miles away. Although we were apart for the first ten months of her life, it feels as if she has always been a part of me. Today, as we celebrate her fifth birthday, we thank God for creating her, and for making sure she was loved and cared for until she was able to join our family.

We love you so much!

Farewell to Elementary School

Oh my! I completely dropped the ball on Austin's 5th grade culmination post. I had typed out the entire thing, and only needed to do a final edit. Tonight, four months later, I discovered I never published it! Sorry little buddy!

*** This post was written on June 30th, 2013.

September  5, 2006, Austin's first day of pre-K.

June 7, 2013, Austin's last day of elementary school.

 As I look back at Austin's pre-K picture, I only see traces of that pint sized boy. In his place I see a budding young man who consistently desires and strives to conduct himself as a child of God. I see a boy who can handle himself when he is wronged or overlooked, a boy who chooses to do the hard (and right) things, a boy who stands up for others, and a boy who always manages to see the good in others. Often times, Austin has been the one to encourage and convict me, and I am reminded of how often God uses our children to sanctify us.

In just a few short months, I'll be entering new territory, and I've been informed, or better yet, warned, that changes are a coming. Puberty, peer pressure, girls, and who knows what else being the likely culprits. Moms have cautioned me to avoid holding hands, kissing on the cheek, and hugging within a five mile radius of his middle school. It's going to take a significant amount of restraint on my part, but I'm telling you now, if I can get away with one or two, or three of the above without ruining his reputation, I'm going for it!

As I look toward the future, I am filled with hope and excitement for what God has in store for Austin. I don't expect the middle school years to be a breeze, but I know God will use that time to bring us closer to Him and to each other. In the meantime, I'm going to spend our brief summer before middle school squeezing in as much hand holding, kisses and hugs as I possibly can. :)

June 6, 2013
5th Grade Culmination

We were so proud of Austin on his culmination day. Not only did he receive the Young Scholars Award, but he also received the Gold Presidential Award for Educational Excellence. He worked very hard all throughout his years in elementary school, and had an amazing seven years. More than his academic successes, I have always been so extremely proud of the ways in which he has shown himself to be a person of character and integrity to his friends, their parents, and the staff at his school. Congratulations Austin! We love you so much. 

Preschool 2012-2013

Technically, tomorrow is Bethany's last day of school, but we couldn't have little sister miss her big brother's 5th grade culmination now could we?

So today she said goodbye to her teachers and friends, some of whom will be back again next year, and some of whom will be moving onto kindergarten. I tried to explain to her that it was her last day of school, but to her it was just the end of another day. Hopefully she won't be too disappointed when we don't go back all summer. 

I can proudly say Bethany's first year of pre-school was a success. She had a great team of dedicated teachers, teacher's aides, and specialists helping her every step of the way, and it shows in the amount of progress she has made. She still has a lot of work ahead of her, but I'm confident she will make great strides in the year to come.

Congratulations Bethany on completing your first year of preschool.

We are so very proud of you!

Happy 4th Birthday! Part 1

Our little girl turned four today.

It feels like we just celebrated Bethany's third birthday not too long ago, but now here we are celebrating her fourth. We passed out small treats to her sunday school class, and didn't get back home from church until the afternoon. Since we'll be having a party for her later on in the month, we opted to have a small family celebration with Korean food and cake to commemorate Bethany's special day. What about our traditional myuk gook you ask? Grandma already came by a few days ago to make myuk gook, and Bethany devoured it like a good Korean. :)

Happy birthday to my little girl who is a daily reminder to me that

our God is faithful,

hope does not disappoint,

every child deserves a family,

love can cross over continents,

 and blood lines do not a family make.

I often think about and pray for Bethany's birth parents, but particularly on this special day. I will always be grateful to her birth mother for having the courage to see her pregnancy through to the end, and for leaving Bethany in the care of those who would eventually find her a family. Our family.

Bethany's birth mother chose life, and today we thank God for that precious life.

Happy birthday Bethany!

We love you so much.

 

After waiting patiently all day, she was so happy to finally have some cake.

Three Years Ago

 

Today is a special day for our family.

It was three years ago when I first held Bethany in my arms, and we became a family of four. I will never forget that incredible day, and how God grew our family through adoption. (You can read more about our homecoming day in detail here and here, and find our adoption video here.)

Much has happened during Bethany's third year home, and I am happy to report she is doing extremely well. She's our sweet girl, ready to cuddle at a moment's notice, and the first to say thank you and ask if we're okay. She is also our spunky and determined one, sharp and fearless, strong and carefree. You wouldn't think it at first glance, but once she gets comfortable, you'll see her fire. :)

Her big brother is of course her best friend, and Grandma comes a close second. She enjoys being a part of the same preschool co-op from last year, and attending our local public preschool where she continues to receive speech therapy. It's been encouraging to see her interact with new friends, and see steady progress in her speech all year long. Although she has a lot of room for growth, her articulation and vocabulary have improved immensely, and the entire family is having fun cheering her on with every new word. Go Bethany! We hope to hear some good news when she has her annual IEP next month.

Bethany's a bit of an ipad/iphone junkie already, and it always surprises me how these little ones are so proficient with today's gadgets. She loves watching television, and her latest favorites are Dora, Tinkerbell, Sophia the First, and Peppa Pig. Her favorite part of the day is when we pick Austin up from school, and she gets to pull his backpack all the way to the car. Bethany loves to do "homework", cut with scissors, and chase her big brother with a nerf sword and nerf gun. She also loves to sing and dance, and is my tv buddy when shows like American Idol and The Voice are on.

Bethany still sneaks into our room nearly every single night. Once upon a time, we were those parents who would have nipped it in the bud, but having a ten year old, soon to be middle schooler puts things into perspective --- they don't stay little for long. I decided that waking up with her cheek pressed against mine, or her foot in my face was worth it knowing that she just wanted to be close to her mommy. I know soon enough she'll prefer her own bed over mine, and maybe the tables will turn, and I'll be the one sneaking into her bed at night.

Although I wish she could stay this little forever, I know she has a lot of growing up to do, and I can't wait to see what God has in store for her.

We love you Bethany!

Happy third year home!

February

March

April

May

June

July (Preschool co-op)

August

September

October

November

December

January

February

Happy Birthday to Me

I was battling the stomach flu on my birthday, and I was feeling quite miserable when I woke up. 

All that changed when I found an unexpected surprise waiting for me downstairs.

Thank you Austin for your thoughtfulness and creativity, and for making me feel a hundred times better!

 

Happy 10th Birthday Austin!

We started the day off with myuk gook, a Korean soup traditionally served on birthdays (made with love by grandma who came over just to make it), and even let him watch a little television.

Then we headed off to a middle school tour (yet another reminder that my baby is growing up much too fast). After the tour, I dropped him off at school with cupcakes for his class, but not before I showed him the surprise waiting for him on his school marquee.

In keeping with family tradition, I packed his favorite lunch with a birthday note, surprised him with balloons after school, prepared one of his favorite meal for dinner, and ended the day with ice cream cake.

It's crazy to think how quickly time has flown by, and that the little baby we brought home from the hospital is now ten years old. What a tremendous blessing it has been to watch him grow and mature into who he is today!

Thank you Austin for your tender heart, sense of humor, integrity, and passion for life. Your constant joy and ability to see the good in everything and everyone is such an example to me. Thank you for bringing me so much joy as a mother. I thank God every day for the privilege of being your mom.

Happy birthday Austin!
I love you.

First Day of School!

On August 14th, both of my kiddos had their first day of school. Austin started the 5th grade, and my baby girl officially entered the public school system as a Preschooler.

It was an exciting morning, and an exhausting one, as we had just returned home from vacation the night before (that's another post for another day).

 

Since they both started school on the same day at two different schools, we decided that I should go with Bethany, and Sam would go with Austin. I realized then that this is what it's like for other moms with more than one school aged child.... you can't be in two places at once. :-(

I had never missed any of Austin's first days of school, so I'll admit I was disappointed. On the other hand, I was pretty excited (and nervous) to take Bethany to school. She recognized the teacher from last year's afterschool speech class, so she walked right in and turned to me, and said "bye." I didn't want to mess with a good thing, so I gave her a hug and kiss and went home.

She was only gone for two and a half hours, but I spent most of that morning looking at my watch. At pick up time, I was so relieved to find a happy preschooler waiting for me.

A few hours later, we went to pick up Austin. He was a bit sad about not being in the same class with most of his close friends (i was too), but much to his credit, he made good of what could have been a bad situation, and has been enjoying school (minus the homework). ☺

Happy first day of school to my precious babies!

Preschool Co-op Graduation 2012

This past year, Bethany and I have had the privilege of being part of an amazing little co-op made up of an equally amazing group of moms and little girls. We met with the simple goal of preparing our little ones for school by teaching them the basics of the classroom, like raising your hand, taking turns, and standing in line. We also went through the ABC's, practiced fine motor skills, and did a lot of arts and crafts.

Most importantly, our goal throughout the year was to teach our girls about the precious love of God, and how He is a part of their everyday lives. We taught them Bible songs and stories, along with character lessons which they had many opportunities to put into practice during our weekly meetings.

I am so thankful to each of the moms and little girls who made Bethany's first school experience one we will always remember.

 July 13, 2012

Each of the girls received an award certificate highlighting their area of strength and a very official looking diploma, all made by mommy Judy.