Birthday Surprise

Across the ocean but in our hearts, you were born.

The plan last night was to go to bunco, but it got cancelled at the last minute. So, I decided that we should celebrate Ella's birthday.  I called a couple of friends to see if they wanted to join us for dinner and they said yes. I wanted to leave early so we could go pick up a cake. Nat said I couldn't get a cake. He finally told me Brittany already had gotten a cake. Right after that, Katy called and asked if we would stop by before we went to dinner because she wanted me to look at Wilson's mouth because she thought he had thrush. Didn't she know what thrush looked like???  I was so confused.

When I got to the door, I saw the decorations and sweet Elizabeth greeted me with a party hat. Everyone was there and they had suprised me with a birthday party for Ella that had been planned for weeks. Sneeky friends! I love it! We had a great time. Ella girl, you are so loved and already so spoiled. I hope you had a great day and celebrated in Korean style. We will be there to get you soon. We love you Ella!

SURPRISE!

Strawberry cupcakes

Your birthday song was loud with drums and cymbals.

The boys opened your presents. You are going to be one well dressed baby girl.

Nolan and Elizabeth blew out the candles while all the others played their loud instruments.

Here is a poem I saw on someone elses blog. It is perfect and I just love it!

As a girl I had a common dream, to be a mom someday.

My baby would have eyes of blue and hair the hue of hay.

But now my dreams have been transformed, new visions fill my head;

Now the tresses that I long to stroke are raven black instead.

And in my dreams those eyes are not so big or blue or round;

Now in my dreams they're almond shaped and colored cocoa brown.

And in my dreams my arms can stretch across enormous seas.

They reach half-way around the world and hold you close to me.

As you grow in your mother's womb, carefully knit together,

you're also growing in my heart, where you will stay forever.

And in my dreams the moment that your mother says good-bye;

I'll be right there to comfort you and hold you as you cry.

Our features may not look alike; we're different as can be;

But still I know the Father has created you for me.

And though I've not yet kissed your face, or held your tiny hands,

and though we're half a world apart in very different lands;

I'll be right there to get you just as soon as God allows.

But 'till He says the time is right I give to you this vow.

I'll pray for your protection every night on bended knee.

For God will hold you in His arms, until you're here with me.

-Gayle Leubecker

Visa Physical is scheduled and her birthday is today in Korea!

We got an email earlier that Ella's VP is scheduled on the 17th!!

We are beside ourselves!! I yelled and jumped around and Nolan, my 3 year old, says, "Mom is it the last thing!" How precious! We went outside on this beautiful day and he was riding his John Deere tractor around the yard yelling Yaaaaayyyy Ella is coming home! He rocks my world! Since Ella has made her embassy appearance already, I think the estimated time after VP to TC is 5 to 8 days.

Because Korea is one day ahead of us, Ella's birthday is today there. I hope she is having an amazing birthday today! We are going to dinner with friends tonight to celebrate.

Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

Dance in the Rain

Today was a little disappointing.

I think everyone in our EP batch was given their visa physical date, for next Wednesday, except us. I have to admit I have been pretty bummed and a crazy emotional mess today. However, I know everything is going to be ok and it is in God's hands.

I needed a little time out of the house to myself for a breather and where does a woman go.....the MALL! I pretty much just wondered around enjoying myself and I went into Kirklands. The first thing I see is a frame that said, "Life is not waiting for the storm to pass... it's dancing in the rain." Right beside of that one was, "If God leads you to it, He will get you through it." Those are words right from my dads mouth. I love that one.

Just a reminder that I am not in control, so I'm choosing to dance in the rain.

Embassy Appearance

I called the DC today and they saw her picture in the system!

Yay! 

I asked if Ella was smiling and she said she looked like she was pouting. I hope she is saving her smiles for us. Now all she needs is her visa physical and her visa interview. It's hilarious that they actually need an interview. But, I am sure there is good reason.

Now, just a little bit longer.....just a few more weeks.

Wordless Wednesday

Ella's Baby Shower and Celebration

     We are blessed to have the most amazing friends! Last night we had a baby shower for Ella at Mariah's. If any of you have been to Mariah's restaurant, you know it is one of the best. We had so much fun celebrating her adoption tonight. We used to get together much more often than we do now. Everyone has expanded their families and life has become very busy. We sure did enjoy having everyone all in one room.

                                 The decorations were so pretty!

Is this cake cute or what!

I would like to give special thanks to Katy, Brittany, and Kara. You guys ROCK!

How fun!

Here are a few cute things for Ella

Thank you to all of you who helped make this night special for us. We cannot wait for you to meet Ella.

This long journey is coming to an end and a new one is about to begin.

New WBC and Getting Closer!

     So as of yesterday when someone asks me when Ella is coming home, I can say, "THIS MONTH!" It really feels good not to have to say next month or we don't know. The word is out that the second batch of EP's should expect a travel call at the end of the month. Yay! So keep your fingers crossed.

     Nat was a little sneaky today. He called me at work to see if I had checked my email. Well, he already had checked it for me. He was so excited because he thought we had the visa physical but really it was just Ella's well baby check. He was so disappointed. It was really sweet how excited he was.

     Ella's well visit was good. She is holding onto furniture and cruising. I hope she holds out on those first steps so we can see! She is 28 inches and 18.9 pounds. That puts her in the Korean 10th percentile. She is a little peanut!

     We are very anxious about our trip. Every time I think of taking her from all she has ever known it makes my stomach feel like I am going down a fast elevator. Because we have fell in love with her through pictures over the past 5 months, it is hard to believe we will be complete strangers to her. I know I have asked a couple of times before but please keep her in your prayers.

Give Me an E!..... Give Me a P!!!

                                                                             

 Oh, hasn't today been awesome! 

I checked my email at work before I left for lunch and saw and email from Holt titled EP approval! I couldn't stop shaking, smiling, and crying. Ella Marie your mommy and daddy are coming to get you very soon! I don't know if I have ever felt this much emotion wrapped up in over a weeks time.

Needless, to say I spent my lunch hour calling everyone! Today is dad's birthday. I told him he had a present. He asked what it was and I said, "Your granddaughter got her EP today"! All of my families birthdays have played a significant part of being on the same day we get a lot of our news. I think it is another way of God saying, "Hey, here I am"! We should be Korea bound in about 3 to 6 weeks. I really hope we are in Seoul on her first birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!                                                                               

Happy 11 months Ella Marie!

    It is hard to fathom maybe being halfway around the world in a matter of weeks. I have really started nesting lately. Her room is done! A special thanks to Leslie for our glider rocker. Our Children's shop started their 50% off sale yesterday and guess who was there! I got some really cute things! I am starting to think of every little detail and making travel lists. It is so exciting and overwhelming at the same time. I have honestly never seen Nat stress about anything but he is pretty worked up about this long flight to Korea. I am usually the stresser so it is amusing to me to actually be the calm one.

     A friend from college, Erin, is in Korea as I type. She now has her daughter, Mabel, in her arms forever as a family of three now. They have waited for a child for over 5 years. They started with China and switched to Korea and soon got their girl. Her posts will break your heart and and fill your heart all at the same time. This transition is so hard on these babies leaving their foster families that have been the only family they have known. Please pray for them during this rough time of transition. Our hearts are ready but these precious babies are not.

     Our Ella turned 11 months two days ago. I cannot believe how fast time has gone since August. Everyone said it would go by in a hurry. I think of her about every second of the day. I long to see that precious face in person. We know the power of prayer, so please pray for her heart to be ready to bond with us. Happy 11 months precious girl! So much to do before we leave!

Here is a sneak peek at her room and some of my favorite special things.

Our house exploded in pink!

                                                                            

We have been Submitted for EP!

We have finally been submitted for our EP! I cannot stop smiling and shaking. Nathaniel is excited too. I think he is more excited about me being off work for a while.Once this is approved we will prepare to travel about four weeks from the approval date. During the four weeks she will need to make an embassy appearance and have a visa physical before they will issue her visa to come to the US. We can finally start counting weeks instead of months.

We are ready! 

Pray they will approve it very quickly!

New Well Baby Check and Picture!

    We received this in an email this evening  just after five. She just opened the care package we sent her for Christmas. By the date, it looks like she got it on December 28th when she went to her doctors visit.  Her checkup was good! She has 2 teeth on top and bottom and she is pulling to a standing position.  She weighs 18.3 lbs and she is 27.8 inches. She is growing!

     We are always excited to get new pictures. However, this wait is becoming unbearable. Today has been the hardest so far. Thank goodness for a new picture tonight to cheer us up a little. We are still waiting to hear about her immigration permit. (EP)  This mama is running out of patience. Please pray for our EP to come quickly!

Happy 10 months Ella!

We are thinking of Ella as she turned 10 months old today . We wish she could be here for Christmas but that is not the perfect plan. She is always in our hearts.The boys were fighting on who was going to hold the stocking. Nathaniel said he would hold the picture. They are both so excited about their sister.

We love you sweet girl! Merry Christmas!

Thankful For Friends

A friend loveth at all times Proverbs 17:17

  Tonight twelve amazing women has blessed me beyond measure. My heart is full of overwhelming joy from the kindness and prayers.

  We had dinner tonight with dear friends Blake, Brittany. and their two boys. She sent me home with a gift bag and made me promise I wouldn't open it until the house was quiet and I could open it with Nat. My very thoughtful friend knew how disappointed we were when we found out we would not get our EP this year. She had an idea to have a doll handmade for Ella and the the idea grew into a prayer chain for our daughter in Korea and our family. This doll traveled all over Bowling Green as each special lady prayed over it asking for safety, health, strength to wait, and God's perfect timing to bring our baby girl home. Reading each card filled me with the hope I need.
                                                                         

 
           
This is a very special doll.  Under her skirt she has her name and scripture.

I am so thankful for all the support from friends for our adoption process. Words cannot thank these ladies enough. I cannot wait to share Ella with each of them. Thank you!                                                                                                                                                    

November WBC!

We received Ella' new well baby check for November today. She is doing great. There are really no changes but it has only been four weeks. She is not pulling up to a standing position yet. Maybe she will be slow to walk so her mommy and daddy can see! She already brings us so much joy!

New picture of my girl!

I opened my email before I left work to find a beautiful picture of our precious girl. Nothing could be better other than holding her in my arms. I can't wait for that day to come. I can't even imagine what it will feel like. I know it will be amazing.

The Lord knew we needed a smile today.

Ella's second care package

We finally mailed Ella's second care package this week. Hopefully she will get it before Christmas. My favorite thing we sent was the recordable story book Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I sure hope her foster parents let her hear it everyday so she will recognize my voice.  It is a bedtime book so maybe they will let her listen to it each night. With the incident that happened this week between North and South Korea we pray that war does not break out from this. It adds more worry and concern to our journey. Please pray for the safety of South Korea and its people.

Happy 9 Months Ella!

    I wonder what Ella is doing as I write. It is cold and rainy outside. Nolan and I are having a really good mommy day at home. I keep thinking about Ella today and that she is 9 months old. We have been working on her second care package this week. We thought we better ship it soon in hopes she would get it for Christmas. It is hard to decide what to put in it. We found a toy phone that rings and records our voices. My boys always loved anything with buttons and noise. We are also sending pj's, socks, a winter hat, a baby doll, and Christmas cards for both her and her foster family. I hope she enjoys! This wait is so incredibly hard.

I600 Approval!

     We received our I600 approval today in the mail from USCIS. She is now declared as our family member. We are one step closer to our baby girl. Come on Korea we need some more EP's!!! Please pray specifically for our EP to be submitted quickly and approved for the first of the year.

October WBC

  Tonight when I opened my email I had an October well baby check. Ella is still right on track. She is crawling and sitting up very sturdy. She also has two teeth on the bottom. I am so proud of her. We did not get a picture but hopefully in the near future I can see that precious face again.
   Thanks for all the encouraging words. I am better today now that I have had some time to process everything. I know this is on God's time. I am still just so disappointed. To see tears well up in your seven year old sons eyes is tough. It is hard to explain all this to him. Even tonight after tucking him in bed I told him I just opened her October baby check and she is doing great. His response was, " But mom we are missing it all." My Nathaniel thinks about things so much more than he ever lets on to me. However, he tells his teacher and other room moms everything. LOL!  He is my little thinker. As for Nolan I think he asks me everyday when Ella is coming home. When we go to a store he points to girl things and says, "Mom we need this for Ella!"The boys already love her so. She is going to be rotten! I can't wait!!!! It is going on noon in Seoul, Korea right now. I hope she is having a great day!

Disappointing News

    Well there was rumor this week that all the EP's are out for the year from Korea. An EP would give Ella approval to leave the country. We received the official email tonight that we would not be submitted until 2011. We are sooooo disappointed. I never thought we would get caught in this mess. We are to be prepared for this to add a delay up to 2 more months which now puts our time frame for February to April. We will miss our baby girls first Christmas, first birthday, first steps, and first words. This journey is an emotional roller coaster. I was hoping we were close to the end. Please pray that the Lord prepares her heart for our family and change.  The older they are the harder the transition becomes. We are so sad tonight.

Joseph's Hope Foundation - Adoption Message

Help celebrate! November is National Adoption month. Nat and I have had four of these precious girls in this video in our sunday school class. They are precious!

One Less: Celebrate Adoption

These families in the video are on the adoption forum I am addicted to. So many of them give support to others like myself who are going through the process. Help celebrate National adoption month in November.

A new picture!

     My heart leaps today to get to see that precious face! I get butterflies every time I look at her. We already love her so much. The picture was taken with her foster parents and the care package we sent to her. I love that she is holding the baby doll. I cropped the foster parents out for confidentiality reasons but they look so sweet. I wish I could call them and thank them for taking such good care of her. Ella looks so happy and healthy. May God bless this couple for doing such an amazing job of taking care of not only Ella but other babies as well until they get their forever families.                                                                          


                                                                             

New Well Baby Check!

     We were so excited to return home today from our trip to find a new well baby check on our email! She is doing great and is right on target for an 8 month old. She has grown one inch and gained almost 2 pounds. She is creeping, sitting briefly, reaches, transfers objects from hands, prefers foster mom, responds to name, plays peekaboo and patacake, imitates speech,  and uses single syllables. Unfortunately, we did not get a new picture yet. But if lifted our spirits to know she is developing fine.

                                                                         
     Nathaniel has been on fall break this past week and goes back to school on Wednesday. We enjoyed going to Jackson's orchard. It was a beautiful day! We took the boys to Cincinnati for the weekend and visited the zoo and stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge. The boys loved it! We will definitely have to go back sometime. Our dear friends Blake and Brittany went with us with their two boys. We are thankful for great friends to share good times with. Their baby, Luke, is almost 9 months which makes him only 4 weeks or so difference in age from Ella. I enjoyed holding him and thinking about Ella. I hate I am missing such a sweet age but being around another little one the same age is special thinking that she is doing the same things.

                                                                               

                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                           
     We ask for prayers for our EP submission. (Korean paperwork) We have not yet been notified. We really want approval before they run out of EP's for the year. Otherwise we will have to wait to January to be submitted. The wait is painfully hard. We just want her home!

     Happy 8 months this week sweet girl!!!!!!!
   

Happy 7 months Ella!

     It will be a month this week that we received the phone call. Ella turned 7 months last Thursday. I wonder if she is sitting up yet and how much she has changed already since the first picture.
     We finally finished the online adoption coarse we had to take. We are done on our end. Now we have to wait on our government and Korea's to finish the rest.
     This week in Korea they are celebrating Chusok which is the Korean thanksgiving. Families come together for a ceremony of thanksgiving to their ancestors and visit their tombs. Fathers enjoy a relaxing week's holiday and mothers are kept busy cooking special Korean dishes. I love that there is so much respect for family.
      Because it is the week of Chusok, Holt will be closed. There will be no news this week for sure. I can't help but think that she is not with her family. But our thoughts will be with her all week and thankful she will be with us in a couple of months. Keep the prayers coming for our I600 and emigration permit.
   

Legals and mailed I600

     Well it has been over two weeks since we got the phone call about Ella. I had no idea how much harder the wait would get after seeing her picture. We cannot get her here soon enough.
     Shopping has already taken place by multiple family members. We mailed her care package last week. I hope she gets it soon. They are usually good about making sure they get it and a lot of times they will send a picture of them with their gifts. We are definitely hoping to get a new picture.
     We received her legal paperwork from Korea Friday and we mailed I600 Friday as well to declare her as a family member. Everything is out of our hands once again. Everything else is in the hands of Holt Korea.
     We ask for prayers for several things: for her safety and health, for USCIS to issue our I600, for Korea to submit and approve emigration permit very quickly, that she would be able to come home in December, and for us as we wait. Is that too much to ask for? I hope not!
     A friend of mine had posted this post on her facebook page and I thought it was perfect for how we are feeling. " I am not the author of my own story. My narrative is being penned by One who is the definition of all that is wise, loving, pure, true, and good. But since I am in the story, I am often called to wait. So, Lord, once more I ask for the grace to wait not only so that I can get what I'm waiting for, but that I will become what you want me to become while I wait."
                                                                P.D. Tripp
   

Referral! Intoducing Ella Marie

                                                                                  
      How many of us really can recall a specific time that God is visibly working in our life? I don't think he could have been more visible than he was today. We started the morning off at the hospital to welcome our dear friends baby boy into the world. It is always a miracle when a healthy baby is born. We were excited to add joy to the most dreaded day of the year for us which is the day our sweet Cambell Grace was born. .It was such a joy to see his precious newborn face and his proud family.  That was just the beginning of the joy that is yet to come for the day.
      I spoke with my sister-in-law, Kerry, today on the phone and she said, "Call me when you get your referral today." We just laughed. I have had several friends telling me August was going to be our month. Brittany had even said, "Wouldn't it be great if it was the 24th!"
     Nolan and I had lunch with Nat, his sister Lisa, and her husband Doug, at Garcia's. We headed home because Nolan needed a much needed nap before we picked Nathaniel up from school. Shortly after getting him to bed my phone rang. It was the call we have anticipated all year.  Jessica from Holt told me she had a baby girls file in hand and she thought we would be interested. After filling me in on the details the tears started rolling. I knew this was going to be our daughter!!!!!! I called Nat to get home so that we could open her picture together.
     After rushing home we waited anxiously for the email to come through. I called due to my impatience and she said it would be just a few more minutes. Finally the email popped up and I cannot begin to explain the feeling of overwhelming excitement and joy. She was so beautiful and perfect in our eyes. Our first thought was how pretty she was. We read through all her family and medical backgrounds and so thankful that she is healthy. The doctors all described her as alert, fine, cute, and adoptable without any medical problems. We were speechless and overwhelmed by God's perfect timing.
    We are now in the process of acceptance paperwork. We ask for prayers that the next 4 to 6 months goes smoothly and that we can get her home as soon as we can. We hope to have her before her first birthday on February 16th.
     We questioned for a year if adoption was really what God wanted for us. Wow! has He made it visible or what? We are still overwhelmed with all He has done in our life over the past four years. This just really topped it off getting our referral on Cambell's day. Beth Moore stated in one of her studies once, "If you feel like God is calling you to do something and you don't do it, you are the one that misses out." We are so thankful He kept opening the doors for us so we did not have to "miss out." August 24th will always be a sad day for us but now it is blessed also with joy!
    We feel so blessed! Please pray for her and that we continue to get healthy well baby checks and that we can get her home! We are beyond thrilled! Nat's fortune cookie the day before said, "You will be crossing the great waters soon." We hope that is really soon!

   

Summer is coming to an end

We have had a great summer and it is coming to an end very soon. Our vacation in Vero Beach was wonderful. We enjoyed great quality time together and celebrated the Fourth of July with amazing fireworks over the water. Nolan loved the sand. Nathaniel enjoyed the waves and fishing.

Nathaniel started first grade two weeks ago and loves it. He is my social butterfly. I am not so sure he enjoys the academics. He has the teacher he really wanted. He is happy!

My  baby turned three years old on August 10th. He asked me for weeks, "Is it my birthday yet?" Broadway the clown came to help us celebrate along with friends and family.

Many have asked me have we heard any news on the adoption. We are still just waiting for that email to come along with our referral. I am trying to be patient. I feel like we are so close! I check my email and read the forum daily. Pray we receive our referral before Holt meets their quota for the year. Otherwise we will have an even longer wait time.We will keep you posted!

Summer Update

We are becoming very anxious for our referral as we might be closer than we originally thought. We know of three couples who turned in their paperwork just weeks before us has already received their referrals. I found this out last Friday night while everyone in the house was already asleep. I couldn't stand it so I woke Nat up and he said, "Don't get your hopes up." Well it has not worked because my hopes are pretty high these days.


The golf tournament for Joseph's Hope foundation was on Monday. It was a success! We had a half day at Crosswinds with 68 players and donations were also made. We hope to make this an annual event. Plan on coming next year! We are already thinking of other fundraisers. I think the next one might be at Park Mammoth shooting range with a competition.


I finished writing book reviews today and put them in the mail. We are required to read five books and watch a medical DVD for educational purposes. The only thing we have left to do before we would go to Korea is an online adoption class. It is hard to find the time when you have two little boys running around here.


I try to wait patiently. However, I am not very good at that. I know God has already chosen our baby and we just have to wait for her on his timing. Nathaniel is getting very excited too. When I told him about the other families getting their referrals he couldn't stop hugging me. He is going to be crazy about her even though he pretends girls are yuck!


Summer so far has been a blast! We have been swimming and at the lake a lot. We are headed on a family vacation with my in laws to Vero Beach. This will be Nolan's first big trip to the beach. Last time he had just started walking the week before. He is going to love the sand! Nat really dislikes sand on him so I have already made him take an oath that he will not whine about it for the boys sake. If he does one more shopping day for me! Ha Ha!


Nathaniel called Nat today and asked if he could buy me a gift. He said he would use all his money in his bank. He told Nat that I really wanted the just dance wii game , which I did, and that he wanted to go get it for me. I think it might be one of the best gifts I have ever gotten. We danced our hearts out. By the way it is an awesome workout. If you have not tried it you really should.


Keep the prayers coming for our baby girl! Maybe it will be sooner than we thought! We will keep you posted.

Spring Update

I thought I would add a little spring update. Nolan and I began Easter weekend at mom and dad's while Nat and Nathaniel went turkey hunting. Sunday we celebrated with Nat's family after church at Olde Stone. The boys had so much fun seeing the Easter bunny and hunting eggs with cousins and friends. Nathaniel has started soccer for his 5th season and loves every minute of it. I still wonder where this athletic blood is coming from. It has to be from Nat's dad.

As for the adoption update not much has happened. We found out our marriage certificate was not civilly registered. What does that mean? I asked Nat what that meant and he asked, "Are we really married?" Well the answer is yes we are. The court house had a copy on file and we had to pay five dollars to get a copy of our own marriage papers. Everything was resubmitted and we officially have our USCIS approval. Our homestudy was approved March third. Now that everything is done I contacted Holt and was given an estimation of 12 months from March third. So possibly 10 more months until we receive a referral!


We are all starting to feel very anxious. Some days I question all this and it doesn't take long to get a confirmation that we are doing the right thing. I have been working two extra days a week to save money to be able to bring our baby girl home. Nat has been doing tile jobs for friends and family at night and on weekends to also save money. I found out today that I might have another job for October through December for another maternity leave for a friend. Everything just seems to keep falling into place. We have saved over 3,500 dollars so far but have a long way to go. Everyone has been telling me if God opens the door He will provide the way.


Nathaniel is so sweet talking about our baby. He keeps asking lots of questions about her age, when we will get her, how far away Korea is, and her name. So we have officially decided that her name will be Kinley Marie. We had this name picked out if Nolan had been a girl. It still just seems to fit. While talking about Kinley Marie he still asks about Cambell. He told Nolan while we were in the car this week he had a big sister. How sweet he is. He never ceases to amaze me. Nolan also told one of his Sunday school teachers a baby was coming. We were surprised to realize that he knows what is going on. Both boys are really excited about the idea.


We will continue to update. We ask that you keep praying for our baby girl!

There has been a lot going on this week. First of all we are so very proud of Nathaniel. He received two awards on Tuesday at school. One was for reading and the other was student of the month from his class. He was so excited! We were too! He said we should do something special since he got two awards. He wanted to go to Chuck-E-Cheese and that is where we celebrated his special day. He also lost his first tooth and finished his very first season of basketball. Wow!

Here is the latest update on the adoption process. We had our fingerprints done this week. I asked the lady if this was what it felt like to be a criminal and she said, "At least it is not black ink and a mug shot." It went well and it was very quick thankfully. We were in and out in 15 minutes. Our homestudy has been sent to Holt and USCIS and Holt has approved it. We should get our confirmation from USCIS in 60 days or less. Our social worker says this is our golden ticket to bring our little one home. If we have to wait longer than 18 months we will have to be fingerprinted again. Hopefully that will not happen.

Also this week we were able to visit with a very special family from our church, Tim and Nikki Buchannon. Isaiah, their five year old son who had Apert's Syndrome, has been in and out of Vanderbilt for surgery and visits more than I can count. They have been a true blessing in our life and such an example of faith and strength. Isaiah is now in Heaven. He will truly be missed. I ask everyone who reads this to please pray for comfort and healing. I know he is in the Lord's arms and I hope Isaiah has already met my Cambell.

This week I am especially thankful for my family and two healthy boys.

I wanted to share with you the necklace my wonderful sister-in-law, Kerry, gave me. It is the Korean symbol for hope. Tomorrow is Valentine's day. By this time next year I hope to have at least a picture of our new little one by then. Until that picture comes I will wear my necklace and continue to pray for her. Visit seoulidentity.com if you know of anyone who would like a necklace. They also have Chinese symbols.

We will be having a golf tournament this spring for Josephs Hope Foundation. Those of you who like to golf will have to plan on coming. The date has not yet been set. I will let you know.

Decals are now available on the website for Josph's Hope Foundation. They are $5.00 and all the money will be donated to the foundation. Check them out!