Introducing...

Our son, Malakai Joseph!! We just feel so blessed that God has chosen us to be this sweet little boy's parents. We have mountains of paperwork to complete, but we just can't seem to get past this cute little face.

The call of a lifetime

Just when we thought it would never happen- yesterday we got "the call"!! We were just settling into the idea of several more weeks of waiting, then BAM! in less than a minute we found out our long wait finally over. Our social worker happily relayed the news that we have been matched with a baby boy born in February. We are absolutely thrilled, and so thankful that God has blessed us with this beautiful child. I can't stop staring at his picture! (Which, by the way, I will post ASAP, I just need to clear it with our worker first) We are already falling in love with him and cannot wait to get our little guy home!!
RA

Beach bums

This past weekend we got to take a weekend get-away. We were able to take a few days off work and headed over to the beautiful Oregon Coast. We headed north from Florence, hit Lincoln City, Tillamook, and finished up in Seaside. We went for a beach horseback ride in Florence, and stopped for a short walk around Depoe Bay. Lincoln City had fabulous weather- sunny and no wind! We, of course, gave ourselves a tour of the Tillamook cheese factory, and did a lot of beach and promenade walking in Seaside. After Seaside we headed east and met up with our friends The Rasmussens at the Hillsboro air show, then spent the night in Portland and had a short visit with each of our parents. It was a fun weekend, and just the get-away that we needed. Now, it's back to the grind, and being held hostage by our phone!! Check out pictures from our trip here.

Runner Chick

One of my personal "must do" before baby comes/waiting for baby goals was to complete my second marathon. When I learned last fall that Eugene was to hold it's inaugural "Eugene Marathon" on 4/29/07, my mind was made up that this would be the race. And boy was I thrilled when upon disclosing my plans to my running buddy, Robyn, she also said that this race was one of her choices for her next marathon!! We have known each other and ran together for several years, and always talked of one day training for and running a marathon together. Now, that day had arrived!! We began our training in early February, and over the next few months we spent hours on end, running countless miles together. Really, I don't want to count them... At the peak of our training, I was logging 40+ miles a week. During training, we encountered just about any kind of weather we could imagine- from freezing, to rain (big surprise!), to those occasional beautiful sunny early spring days. We knew that the conditions for race day could be any of those. Luckily, when race day finally arrived, it was one of those beautiful spring days. I was very happy with the race overall; I felt good and strong crossing the finish line, and completed the race about 30 minutes faster than my first marathon! Finish time was 4:28 (yes, that's 4 hours and 28 minutes- 26.2 miles is a long way!). Well, I guess I should say I felt good besides the nagging pain in my foot, which over 2 weeks later I discovered was a stress fracture. (Needless to say, I haven't been running much since.) Even though I sustained an injury, it was worth it. Training and anticipation of the race made the winter months fly by, and occupied my mind that would have otherwise been focused on "the wait". Thanks Robyn, for sticking in there with me and being such an encouraging and motivating friend!!
RA

We're not the only ones!!

Today was the Holt Family picnic in Eugene. One activity is a "waiting families gathering", it was so nice to be reminded that we're not the only ones waiting. The room was packed, and some families that have been waiting even longer than us! Most of the families were in the China program, which has been a very steady 20+ month wait for a match. One family we met at the picnic last year is also still waiting for their child to come home, but they are cleared for travel to Thailand in less than two weeks to get their daughter! It was such a great reminder that this is only a stage, and we will get through it! Our social worker introduced us to another Eugene family that has a daughter from Korea. They invited us to join their monthly gatherings. It was such an answer to my prayers- I've really been wanting a way to connect with other local adoptive families. It was a good time, and we even had bul-go-gi for lunch!! Yum! It is so awesome to see all those beautiful children from all over the world.
RA

Roller coaster

So, this week has been an emotional roller coaster on the adoption ride. Long story short, we still have no news. We've gotten reports this week (regarding our remaining wait time) ranging from several weeks to several days. Really, we don't know what to think, so we just have to put our trust in God and remind ourselves that everything happens in His perfect time. (Easier said than done!!) When we came home from work today, we did have two lovely surprises in our backyard. Our hibiscus got it's first bloom today, and we found a butterfly that has become quite smitten with our Rose of Sharon (also about to bloom). The butterfly let me get amazingly close to take a picture. I did use a little zoom power, but I was still only inches away from it!! Enjoy the pictures!



RA

Still waiting

Now that July is almost over, we are sure that our referral must be very close! The suspense is absolutely killing us; but what can you do besides just take each day in stride and continue with life?? A referral this week would mean; 1) our prayers are finally answered, and 2) we'd have a picture to show off at the Holt picnic this weekend. Not holding my breath, but- it could happen! Our chances of getting our referral this week are better than they were last week! I am also anxiously awaiting Holt's Korea program August update, hoping it will give us some clue as to what's really going on (as opposed to what I see on the bulletin boards, AKA: the rumor mill).
OK, I better stop typing now because I'm starting to ramble- no thanks to a super busy day at work today! As always, thanks for stopping by- maybe next time you'll see something really exciting!! (Oh, FYI- my friend Kathy's wait is over...her daughter arrived safely back on US soil early this morning!)
RA

Our wedding day

Was 9 years ago today! Wow, how unbelievable is that? It's gone by so fast; it seems like yesterday we were just a couple kids, starting our life together and ready to take whatever it had to offer us. Little did we know what life really had in store! Despite the rough patches we've been through (mostly relating to expanding, or lack there of, our family), it's been a wonderful journey with many chances for us to grow together and learn about real life. As we look forward to what the upcoming year holds, we are excited beyond words and amazed at the miracle that we will experience.
RA

Happy Birthday, Joe!!

Just wanted to wish a very happy 30th birthday to my wonderful husband!! Hope you have a great day today, and don't work too hard!! Love you,
RA

Will this be the week??

Your guess is as good as mine!! And our answer is "We sure hope so!". As we begin our annual "week of celebration", with Joe's birthday on Tues and our wedding anniversary on Weds, we would be thrilled to get our referral this week- what a perfect gift!! (OK, we would be thrilled to get our referral at any time, but you know what I mean!) I just realized today is 10 months since our home study was sent to Korea...10 months!! That's a long time!! It's gotta happen soon...

My new identity

I am so excited that I've finally gotten my first necklace from Seoul Identity!! The character on it is Um-ma, or Mom, in Korean. And, what made it even more exciting; it was delivered, in person, by the artist who makes them! (She just happens to be my manager's sister) Amy does such beautiful work, handcrafting these custom pieces of jewelry with Korean or Chinese characters. If you have a moment, check out her website (link is on the side-bar), you won't be disappointed!
RA

A new week...

...brings with it a new sense of hope. Well, here we are, starting week 3 of July, and still waiting for "the call". The good news is that each day that passes brings us one day closer to learning more about our baby who is waiting for us in Korea. My friend and co-worker, Kathy, is also awaiting exciting news this month. Her daughter, who has been in Afghanistan since January, is expected to return home any day now!! (but she doesn't know exactly when due to security reasons) She has been my partner-in-crime at counting down the months until July. Here's to good news (soon!) for both of us, Kathy!!
RA

It's so hard to say good-bye...

Earlier this week we said good-bye to our sweet Spencer. His passing was somewhat unexpected. We found out late last week that he had a cancerous tumor in his mouth and nose, and he would not be around for much longer. His condition deteriorated quickly over the weekend. By Monday night he was miserable. We couldn't bear to see him in pain any longer, so we had to make the heart-wrenching decision to put him down. He was a part of our family for nearly 8 years, and much more than "just a dog". For those of you that knew him, you know he was just about as good as they come. He was very sweet, kind, gentle, well-mannered, and loved by all who met him. He was a wonderful big brother to Willie; way too tolerant of all his antics.
"We'll miss you big-boy!!!"
There is a tribute video below that Joe made in his memory.
RA

Spencer ~ A Good Dog

Our piece of paradise...

Is our new backyard! I have to admit, I am so impressed that my husband did all this work, almost entirely by himself! We started demo right before the marathon (end of April), then I injured my foot and wasn't able to help him. What an amazing job he did! When we found our new house last summer, we agreed the backyard needed help. It was kind of landscaped, had lawn and some beds around the edges of the yard, but had a very small patio and very little space to just enjoy. Shortly after moving in, we realized it gets the sun all afternoon long and we decided it was the perfect yard for a pool! I was a bit skeptical at first, when J proposed a yard with no lawn (I've never had this in my life!), but now I don't miss it a bit. In case you're wondering- we built a run for the dogs along side of the house and we live across the street from a very nice city park, so we have that space we can use. So far this summer we've already been enjoying our new space, and eating "al fresco" nearly every night! We can't wait to share it next summer with our little one(and we're really hoping s/he like the water!!)
Well, thanks for checking in on us. Take care.
RA

Free Hugs in KOREA

Here's what happened when they tried it in Korea, not quite the same as the US, but awesome just the same!!
RA

Free Hugs Campaign. (music by Sick Puppies album out April3)

I just love this!! Enjoy!
RA

Happy 4th of July!

Hope you are all having a safe and fun 4th of July. We've had a pretty low-key day around here. Pretty much just hanging out with friends and enjoying our new backyard. We're staying around the house this evening since the doggies don't like the fireworks. I was not able to run the Butte to Butte (annual Fourth of July road race) since I am still recovering from my marathon injury, but I did go down to the finish line to cheer for my friend Robyn (who I trained for and ran the marathon with)- Way to go Robyn!! Alright, I better get off the computer and go enjoy the rest of this beautiful day!
RA

A room for baby

So, of course, one of our "waiting for baby" projects has been the preparation of the nursery. We did the bulk of this work during the winter months (so we could be outside doing projects when the weather was nice...more on this another day). It was a little difficult to make color decisions not knowing if we were getting a boy or a girl. So, our plan is that once we know the gender, we are going to paint the dresser (bargain find from one of Joe's coworkers), the toy chest (yes, Uncle Mike, that's the one you made for me!), and the mirror frame, in a contrasting, gender specific color.

Before

During

After

The quilt you see in the photos is my first (and only!) quilt I've completed to date. We plan to use it in the nursery, either hanging on the wall or as a "rocking" blanket. The good wishes quilt will be my second quilting project!
RA

It's July!!!

It's finally July, and we couldn't be happier about it! We have been anxiously awaiting July since last August! You are probably asking yourself "What's the big deal about July??" Well, let me explain. Last summer just as we were about to have our second home study visit with our social worker, she shared some not-so-good news with us; that Korea would be changing some of their guidelines effective Jan. 2007. This change would delay our process, possibly up to 5 months!! Before the start of this year, the Korean government would release babies for international adoption basically as soon as they were born. In an effort to promote domestic adoption in Korea (which I know in my heart is a good thing), starting in Jan. 2007 they would keep the babies in Korea for 5 months before releasing them, making more infants available for Koreans to adopt domestically. What did this mean for everyone patiently waiting for their babies here? Basically it meant there would be no referrals coming from Korea of babies born in 2007 until June at the earliest. Our social worker told us we would not hear anything about our referral until at least July! Well, now it's July, so bring it on!! (By the way, today has been one of those "not-so-patiently" waiting days!).
RA