God's timing

"The Lord will guide you always..." Isaiah 58:11a

Over the weekend we got together with dear friends we hadn't seen in a long, long time. We couldn't believe we had let a year and a half go by without getting together. We shared our joyous news with them and cried and laughed together while eating out a local Middle Eastern restaurant. I talked about how hard the next 8 to 12 months is going to be for us as we wait for our baby to come home. They reminded us that God's timing is always perfect. How true.

Yesterday I made a timeline of our journey thus far and couldn't believe what I found. Last year, the day we contacted our agency to begin our paperwork was the very day our baby was released from the hospital! I even took into account that Korea is 17 hours ahead of us. It was as if God impressed in our hearts that our baby is heading out into this big world so "get going on your application so I can put you all together!"

Pastor Rick Warren says if you believe in God, you don't believe in coincidences. Pastor Dave Gibbons also said if we make a timeline of our lives and pinpoint key events, God's hand at work will emerge. Wow.

After dinner with our friends, we went to their home for dessert and coffee. They prayed a prayer of blessing over us as we left. They also prayed for blessings for our daughter's foster mom and birth mom.

We know God will continually mold us and prepare us for parenthood as we wait to bring our little blessing home. When He feels we are all ready, we will be able to bring her home.

A Whole New World (Wide Web)

Clever title, ehhh? ;)

I've started researching kiddie items, like bedroom furniture, toys, clothes, high chairs, etc.. The internet certainly looks different now that I've got to get cracking getting ready for baby to come home! Gone are shopping for me, Gene and Jagger! (Well, not completely gone... for me, that is, haha).

I'm sure all you parents are already aware of this site, but just in case, I thought I'd pass it along!

My Record Thus Far

...for days gone by that I have NOT cried since our baby girl came into our lives is 1. I know, right? I realized on Friday that I made it through the day without shedding a tear. Up until then I was walking around all puffy-eyed and sniffling. I've just been so overcome with emotions.

So yesterday my sis-in-law came over and brought a big bag of books that my 4-year old niece outgrew. (Thank you Susan!!) There was one that was gift-wrapped with a pretty ribbon around it. SIL said she saw it in the bookstore and thought it was a perfect book for us to read to our little girl when she comes home. It's called On the Night You Were Born, and it starts out:

On the night you were born,

the moon smiled with such wonder

that the stars peeked in to see you

and the night wind whispered,

"Life will never be the same."

This was not just a {tear} moment but {TEARS}. I so want our little girl to know that the day she was born was such a special one. That in that moment, God knew she was going to touch so many lives and hearts. That even though there may come a time when she may wonder about that fateful day, that she will know in her heart of hearts that it became one of the most significant days of our lives.

Always know that. I love you.

Her name is { Blank }

I have heard and come across so many cute names but now that it's time to name our daughter, I can't think of any of them!

The other night we were discussing names, and Gene threw one out. We both went silent for a moment as we considered it. That's huge. Usually one of us responds right away with a negative. But with this one, we looked up at each other with wide eyes and I said "That one goes on the list!"

We now have a front runner on our whopping list with one name on it, LOL. So far we haven't come across any that we like better. Hint: it starts with a "R."

Where do we begin?

Now that the first of our paperwork is making its way to Korea, our agency says we can write a letter to foster mom! I sat down last night in front of the computer and just didn't know where to begin. I typed a line, then deleted it. I typed another one, then deleted that one.

How do you put into words thankfulness for not only taking care of your daughter, but loving on her? Tickling and playing with her? For making her laugh? For comforting her when she cries? For keeping a small lamp on in her room because our girl is afraid of the dark? For taking her to her monthly check-ups? How do we express our gratitude for her providing a loving, stable home environment - not just up until now - but for at least the next eight months?

I don't know if words exist to express how thankful we are that she in our lives, so for now I simply say...

Thank you. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

Great-Grandma's Change of Plans

I called my 91-year old grandma this morning to tell her the good news. She was overjoyed and thrilled. My grandma hasn't been feeling well lately and last year she lost her dog to an illness. She has lots of moments of sadness these days. When I told her we had a daughter in Korea and are hoping to bring her home by end of this year, she said:

"I've been sad lately and thinking about dying a lot. But now I have to cancel all my plans and LIVE! I can't walk much these days, but when your daughter arrives, I am going to run out to greet her and hold her!"

{ tear }

Funny part of this phone call was that because grandma is hard of hearing, I have to speak very loudly into the phone and repeat what I said three to four times. When I told her that our daughter is so beautiful, she responded "That's okay, she will grow up to be beautiful."

"No, Halmonie (<--means grandma in Korean)! I said she IS beautiful." I said.

"That's okay! Don't worry about that." she said.

Oh grandma!

Start Spreading the News

Tonight all of our immediate family members know our wonderful news. Everyone's reaction was so touching and heartfelt. Both my mom and mom-in-law teared up as they read their Valentine's cards. My sister-in-law cried with me over the phone. My dad said he couldn't wait for our daughter to come home. My father-in-law gave me a huge, genuine hug. My sister ran out and already bought our little girl a dress.

We are truly blessed to have such an amazing family, and can't wait for our daughter to come home and be a part of it. To complete it. Little does our baby girl know, that even though she's in Korea right now, her family here is celebrating this Valentine's Day with her in our hearts. We love you, baby Sunshine.

Extra Special Valentine's Day

This year's Valentine's is very special indeed!

Over the weekend I sent out handmade Valentine cards to family and signed them from our little girl. We sent the cards to family who know we are adopting and have been praying for us. It wished everyone a Happy Valentine's Day from Korea and let them know she has now found her forever mommy and daddy. {Insert my happy sigh}. I don't know if you can see in the picture, but the flower petals are scallopped hearts. There is also one petal that's slightly a darker pink than the rest. That special petal represents our baby. I thought this would be a cute way to let everyone know our good news.


Happy Valentine's Day!

And so it begins...

... a new and exciting and WONDERFUL chapter in our lives.

Last Friday my husband and I "unofficially" became parents to a beautiful 7-month old baby girl in Korea.  Unofficial in the sense that we must now start filling out all the legal paperwork, but it's without a doubt official in our hearts.  She is now our daughter and we are now her parents.

I am calling this blog Our Little Sunshine because her Korean name means "sun shining on the world."  Even though she is halfway around the world away from us, she is already a bright and shining presence in our lives.